by TR Cameron
Ruby asked, “Benefits of a good relationship with the government?”
Diana snorted. “Good might be a strong word. Let’s just say my boss, Bryant, is really effective at convincing people to let us try things out for them. He’s a hell of a politician. For a former field agent, anyway.”
After the appropriate amount of time, they slipped on their helmets and headed in. Diana led their single-file line as the head of the team, followed by Idryll, Ruby, and Morrigan. Her sister complained, “Feels weird to be without my bow.”
The agent replied, “We tried to brainstorm a way this training session would work with the bow, but it’s too close quarters. For that one, eventually, we’ll likely have to do something outdoors. However, you’ve given Kayleigh a project to think about, which keeps her out of trouble, mostly. Enduring a bored tech is not a thing you want to do often.”
When they turned a corner to discover an opening ahead, Diana stopped them with a raised fist. “Okay, here’s how this will work. I’ll go in fast and hard. Idryll, since you’ll need to be up close to fight, you’ll charge any opposition. If you find multiples and have to choose, head for the one with the heaviest weapon. As far as positioning, I’ll go straight and veer left or right as the situation dictates. Morrigan, you go left as soon as you clear the entry. Ruby, you go right. This will be our standard deployment unless I say different.”
Morrigan said, “Why, if it’s okay to ask?”
Diana's smile was audible. “It wouldn’t be on an op, but learning is what training is all about. This positioning ensures we’ll have separate lines of fire as long as we don’t do anything stupid. Idryll needing to be hand-to-hand adds an unpredictable factor, so she’ll need to be ready to drop to the ground if anyone yells ‘down.’”
The shapeshifter, uncommonly serious, replied, “Got it.”
Their suits had external pickups and excellent optics and acoustics, so even while entombed inside, everything sounded more or less like it would normally have. The only difference was that Ruby couldn’t feel the atmosphere on her face and could only smell the metal and plastic of the helmet. Diana said, “Okay. Here we go,” and surged into the room.
Ruby followed the others through into the chamber beyond, which was two stories high, as opposed to the claustrophobic nature of the corridor they’d been in. One opponent was visible, their rifle already aimed at Idryll, who was running straight for them. Diana had moved off to the left, and Ruby took a step to her right as instructed and brought up her pistol. Their enemy shot first, and Idryll dodged to the side and rolled, a yelp of surprise heralding a likely hit from their foe. Ruby, Morrigan, and Diana all opened up simultaneously, and the attacker staggered and fell under the barrage.
Diana ordered, “Morrigan, guard the exit. Ruby, help Idryll.” Then their leader walked over and shook her head at the figure on the floor. “So, they decided to sacrifice you, Tony?”
Whoever controlled their comms must’ve been watching because his voice came over the same earpiece that had formerly been her team only. “I lost rock paper scissors. Pretty sure I took out your tiger, though, which would be a more than fair trade.”
Idryll, who Ruby had helped to a sitting position, replied, “My leg is locked up. I think he must’ve hit me in the knee.”
Tony groaned. “I was aiming for your chest. That was a great dodge. You should really carry a weapon, though.”
“Or maybe I should stay in the back, then attack by surprise once things get started. Ruby can be the one who runs in as a distraction. That’s her best role. Bait.”
Diana’s helmet bobbed. “Yep, I agree on the surprise attack. We’ll try that on the next go-round whenever we do one. Figuring stuff out is the whole purpose of this exercise. For the moment, though, you’ll be in spectator mode so you can watch.”
Idryll replied, “I’m able to limp along.”
“No, you’re a liability if you do. In a real operation, we’d probably have to give you medical attention right now and definitely couldn’t detail someone to help you continue forward. So, you’re out.”
“Well, damn.”
Ruby laughed and patted the shapeshifter on the shoulder as she rose to her feet. “That’s okay. We’ll give them hell in round two.”
They advanced down the only available hallway with Diana’s rifle leading the way. She stopped again before stepping through the next opening. “Okay, we’ll do the same thing, only I’ll go up the middle and stay there. Morrigan has the left. Ruby, you’re on the right.” They rushed in and found nothing in front of them. Diana spun and brought her rifle up, pointing it toward the ceiling, and at the same moment, Morrigan went down, crying out in surprise. Ruby turned in time to see a blur go past as Rath, who had apparently hidden up high, raced by, headed for the exit.
Diana said, “Oh no, you don’t,” and shifted to block him. He flipped a throwing knife that required her to move slightly to deflect it, and he darted through the small gap that created and bolted out of the room. The agent turned and fired, and his laughter sounded in their ears. “Missed me.”
The agent laughed. “This time. You won’t get that lucky again. You, I’m going to kill first.”
His Arnold Schwarzenegger impression was impressive. “I’ll kill you last.”
Diana shook her head. “Okay, so that’s how it’s gonna be? Fine. From here on out, magic is fair game.”
Chapter Ten
Ruby followed Diana, her right hand filled with the pistol, her left ready to cast defensive spells as needed. Her partner had explained in the previous moments that the rules of engagement for magical powers were limited to electricity, which the suits could detect and dissipate, and force magic, but only for strikes. She felt somewhat naked without her shield but understood the reasoning behind the training restrictions. She sensed something up ahead and said, “Hold.”
Diana stopped, and a moment later replied, “Good catch. Physical trap, hidden with magic. I guess illusion wasn’t specifically disallowed.”
Ruby laughed. “I kind of thought it was off-limits, but it seems like the other team is playing a little loose with the rules.”
“They do that. It opens up possibilities, as well. Let me encase it so that after we move past, we can leave it active in case anyone tries to get us from behind.”
They progressed in safety to the next opening. Diana said, “Illusion isn’t my strong suit. Can you make it look like we’re entering the room before we actually do?”
“Absolutely. If there’s one thing I have a lot of experience with, it’s creating illusions.” Their doppelgängers materialized over them, forming a sort of double vision for a moment before the apparitions charged into the chamber beyond. Lightning crackled, and automatic gunfire sounded.
Diana ordered, “Go.” They ran into the space and found only one enemy. Cara was already moving in the exit’s direction when her boss laid down a line of bullets in the way. The other agent skidded to a halt and let her rifle fall, drawing the daggers at her hips and charging at Ruby.
Her partner moved to intervene, but Ruby said, “I’ve got this.”
“You sure?”
She had no time to reply since their foe was already on her. The transparent faceplate revealed a grin on Cara’s face as the other woman stepped forward and launched a flurry of attacks. Her daggers stabbed out three times, high, medium, and low, and she finished the sequence with a spinning leg sweep. Ruby blocked the first knife thrust with her pistol, which flew out of her hand at the impact, and the remaining ones with a long force shield in her left hand. She leapt over the foot that tried to steal her legs and snapped out a kick of her own.
The ball of her foot struck her enemy’s helmet and pitched her backward. Cara turned the motion into a roll, coming quickly up to her feet and tossing a dagger at Ruby’s face. Ruby coated her hand with force magic and slapped the weapon aside, noting in passing that instead of falling, it curved to return to the other woman’s grip. “Fancy.” She
waded in, drawing her sword as she moved and leading with a force blast from her left hand. The other woman raised her dagger, intercepting the magic and grounding it out. Ruby slashed her blade across in a diagonal chop, but Cara stepped aside to avoid the blow.
Ruby’s armor stiffened as her foe delivered stabs into her exposed ribs. It made her next kick awkward as she snapped a sidekick into the other woman’s stomach that knocked her backward a step. They both moved with a new respect for the other, circling slowly. Cara said, “Nice one. That probably would have put me on the ground in a real fight.”
Ruby chuckled. “Assuming I survived the knife wounds, of course.”
“You would’ve had a shield up. Training is a little different. You know,” her voice cut off in mid-sentence as she launched her next attack. It was a jumping sidekick that Ruby easily avoided, guiding the other woman’s leg off to the side. Cara smashed an elbow back and caught Ruby’s helmet. Her faceplate went dark for a moment, apparently simulating a loss of vision, and she reacted by throwing a force wave out in all directions.
When it cleared, her rival was several steps further away, and Diana held a raised pistol pointed at her. Ruby said, “Do it,” and the other agent pulled the trigger with a grin. Their opponent went down, and a string of curses that hearkened back to her military background filled the channel. They stood over her locked-up form and smiled down at her.
Diana said, “Aww, did you fall?”
Cara spat another curse and replied, “She’s good, but in a real fight, I think I would’ve won.”
Diana shook her head. “In a real fight, it would’ve been two on one. This wasn’t the smartest tactic.”
Cara shrugged. “So you say. Still, it was an excellent distraction, don’t you agree?”
A canister landed beside her, dropped from above, then detonated. Lightning reached out, locking up Ruby’s armor and causing her to fall. Diana hit the floor as well and growled, “Ambush. Stay down, cover the door.”
The other woman stiffly climbed to her feet, her training suit simulating significant damage. Ruby reached out with her right hand and used force magic to bring her pistol back to her, then aimed it at the doorway. She summoned a force barrier and put it in front of the opening, ensuring that any enemies would at least have to work to get at them.
That defense solidified not a moment too soon, as Anik leaned around a corner and unloaded a stream from his rifle into the room. The barrage would’ve surely had one or both of them, but the rounds didn’t penetrate her magic. Diana said, “Good job,” and drew her sword, transferring the pistol to her left hand. She stepped in front of the opening. “Okay, I’ll take over the barrier. You get yourself ready to go.” As Ruby obeyed, Diana explained, “I’ve put a tiny hole in the force shield, only enough of a gap to stick my gun barrel through if someone shows up. There’s a small risk, so be sure you stay to my right.”
“Seems like it’s totally safe. What’s the problem?”
The agent shrugged. “Electricity could sneak through and catch me, or fire could penetrate and explode the ammunition in my weapon. Let’s not even get started on shadow tentacles.”
Ruby carefully didn’t touch her forearm and shuddered at the thought. “Yeah, let’s not. Those suck.”
Once they were as ready as they were going to get, they advanced cautiously, looking for additional traps but finding none. Diana said, “I’m fairly sure we’re nearing the end. I know how big the training space is, and it feels like we’ve covered most of it without doubling back on ourselves. Sometimes the computer sets up a maze, but this map seems to be pretty straightforward. So, probably a safe bet to expect both of our remaining opponents in the next room.”
They tried the illusion trick again, but nothing happened as the other figures ran in. Diana muttered, “That’s weird. Okay, I’ll go in first. You wait five seconds before following.” She dashed in, sword and pistol raised, and immediately went down as Anik tackled her. He discharged another of the electricity weapons, taking them both out of the match.
Ruby was already in motion and couldn’t stop her charge into the room. She called up a force buckler and looked around carefully for enemies but saw none. Until a laugh sounded from above, where she’d failed to look. She turned in time to see the pair of throwing daggers coming at her face. They struck her helmet, and she was down and out of the fight.
The comm channel went active with all the voices, and the other team crowed and cheered over their leader’s loss. Fortunately, Morrigan and Idryll had both gone down before Ruby, so she didn’t have to deal with them joining in. Her armor unlocked, and she rose to her feet and traded a fist bump with Rath. “Nice throws, my friend.”
He nodded. “Planning to have a training session with Idryll. You can come along.”
She grinned. “Absolutely. It’s a date.”
Diana’s voice carried over the others’. “Okay, folks, we’ll have a debrief and another run in three hours. In the meantime, grab some lunch, reload, and do whatever else you need to do.”
Ruby stepped beside the leader and took off her helmet, gesturing for the other woman to do the same. When she complied, Ruby asked, “Can I have a few minutes to talk to you about something? Something I’d rather no one besides you hears about?”
Diana nodded. “Absolutely. I’ll get lunch sent to my quarters. We’ll talk there.”
Chapter Eleven
Ruby collapsed into the chair on the visitor’s side of Diana’s desk. The agent’s quarters seemed to have personal space in the back and public space in the front. Diana disappeared momentarily into the former and returned with a pair of towels, rubbing her neck with one and tossing the other to Ruby. The other woman laughed. “Training always works up a sweat. But it’s a good sweat. So, lunch should be here in ten minutes or so. What did you want to discuss?”
Now that she was at the moment, Ruby wasn’t sure how to start. Hey, I have a magical artifact stuck in my arm that’s babbling at me inside my head about turning me into its meat puppet. How’s your day been? She asked, “Does your sword talk to you?”
Diana rolled her eyes. “Incessantly, and usually at the worst times. No matter how often I tell Fury not to distract me while I’m fighting, those seem to be the moments where unsolicited advice inevitably arrives. I presume you’ve had a similar experience with yours?”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah. Two voices are inside there, although they’re pretty good at not distracting me at bad times.” Her words trailed off, and she found no more to replace them.
Diana sat in her chair and leaned backward, putting her feet up on the desk. “I’m not the keenest judge of people, but I sense that asking me about my sword isn’t the reason you wanted to have a quiet word. Out with it.” The command was playful, but it still felt like an order.
Ruby stood, unfastened the snaps holding the top of her training armor together, pulled her left arm out of its sleeve, and extended it to the other woman. Diana’s boots hit the floor as she leaned forward to examine it. “Nice tattoo. I’m guessing it’s more than a tattoo, isn’t it?” Ruby nodded. “Atlantean artifact?” She nodded again. “Damn, girl. That’s some heavy stuff.”
Ruby laughed as she got herself properly dressed and sat. “Right? Its voice is becoming a real problem. What do you know about them?”
“Quite a bit, but probably not the things you need to learn. An Atlantean named Rhazdon created most or all of them. Typical power-player, wanted to rule the world or something. Eventually turned out to be not as evil as once thought. That doesn’t change the fact that these artifacts are around and still causing trouble after all these years.” She shook her head. “We find them and store them away where no one can get at them. It’s like putting a single rock in a river’s flow for all the good it does. We have a lot of work ahead of us on that score.”
“The Mist Elves know virtually nothing about them, so that’s all pretty useful, thanks. You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who had one?”
“Not anyone on the side of the angels, anyway. I take it you’re finding it a challenge to deal with?”
Sudden tears threatened as a wave of emotion washed over her because someone understood, it seemed. She sniffed once to cover it and replied, “Yeah. I need him to shut the hell up, or at the very least, I have to make sure he can’t get in my head without my permission. Or something. Basically, I just want him to screw off.”
Diana laughed. “It’s male?”
Ruby shrugged. “It first appeared as a woman, a Mist Elf ruler, but then turned into an Atlantean man. I guess I have no idea what it really is, if it even has a true state.” She managed a crooked smile. “So, any suggestions on how to deal with it?”
The agent rose. “None from me, I’m afraid, but I have a friend who knows just about everything there is to know about, well, everything, I suppose, if you ask her. I’ll set up a meeting. You stay here. Lunch should show up shortly. No poking around my bedroom. The magical protections would reduce you to goo.”
Ruby’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Diana laughed. “No, but keep out anyway. I’ll be back in time for the next round of training, and I’ll try to get this set up for you as early after that as I can.”
After winning the second training scenario, Ruby was tired and satisfied with the knowledge she’d gained as she, Diana, and Rath stepped through the portal to Kemana Stonesreach. It was similar to her home in that it was underground, with a central source of illumination and shops, streets, and houses all around. It was different because the bowl was steeper and the stairs leading upward numerous enough that her legs ached at the sight. Also, instead of the small castle that housed the city’s ruler laying in the center, as it did in MountHaven, it was on one end. Diana noticed her looking in that direction. “If you view it from above, it looks vaguely like the sun, with the streets as rays of light shooting out from it. Kind of artistic. Possibly overly aggrandizing.”