by Randal Sloan
He looked at her with an impassive face. “We are not here for a picnic. You can stay at home if you can't hack it. This is the plan that the higher-ups have come up with, so we are going to do this by the book. I expect they decided the approach from the south was too obvious, so we are coming in the other way.”
As far as the Major was concerned, discussion was over, so he turned and walked out of the room, handing his orders to Hernando, who was senior on the team for the mission.
Hernando read the orders. “Wheels up end of the week, guys. Make sure you do everything by the book.” Pulling Carla aside, he told her, “I’m getting too old for this. At least you like to jump out of planes. This is a horrible op plan, as you tried to tell him. Do you have any connections to try to get us a second opinion, since our much too young Major will never push back?”
Carla shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t even directly report in your chain of command. I will give it a try, but it’s a long shot.” She sent a VR message to her new commander, but she got a message back saying he was unavailable for the next two weeks. That wasn’t going to do much good. Really strange, too, since she would have expected him to remain involved at a high level. Something was going on, but she hadn’t a clue what she could do about it. She thought about sending a message to the Presidential Chief of Staff, but she decided that it was too risky to do. No, they were on their own, and would just have to make the best of it.
Carla knew that in another day or so they would lock down all communications. Right now, she could still send personal messages, so after a moment’s thought, she sent a VR message to Miranda. She knew that Miranda was supposed to be back at school. They had swapped VR addresses before they got off the plane, promising each other they would stay in touch, and it looked like she was going to be out of touch for a while.
She had to use a code or the snoops in charge of army communications would block her message. So thinking a moment, she sent, “Going to be gone, visiting our favorite country, but would like to see you when we get back. Not sure about the return flight.” She had no idea that Miranda was nowhere near school, or that the message went into a queue that no one was checking. Miranda had her own problems that had caused her to lose touch.
#
The next morning, Julie rose as usual and had the usual breakfast, but when she went to meditate, at first she couldn’t get past the events of the last evening. She kept seeing those last two blows she had delivered in her fight, the ones that had done the most damage. It had been terrifying, but just a little bit exhilarating, too. What had she become? Finally, she took several deep breaths and tried to clear her mind. At last she was able to get into her meditative state. In her distress, she went so deep that she almost stayed past her appointed time. When she counted her heart rate, she counted only thirty-six. She had never gotten it that low before.
After the normal lunch and an extra fortifying cup of tea, Julie headed over to meet with her new trainer, the Master himself. Despite their history, she was still nervous. What if he had changed his mind? What if he had finally decided that she really was a monster? When she arrived at the Master’s cottage which he used as his home and office, she was met by her friend John, who she should have realized would be there as the Master’s assistant. He led her out into the garden beside the building. It was a very beautiful spot. Julie could feel the energy flows, much like the dharma centre that they had gone to in Hong Kong.
John just looked at her a moment. Finally, he told her, “The Master wanted me to talk to you a few minutes before we start your training. It is not going to be easy, and he wanted me to answer any questions you might have before we begin. You must be completely committed if you are going to do this.”
Julie had begun to wonder about some of it herself. “Why do you think I must compete to become a full monk, and then for the higher levels? Isn’t what I have achieved enough?”
“I can’t answer that. However, I believe it is your destiny and I believe it has something to do with your future away from here. What is it you intend to do after you leave here?”
“I would love to say I am just going to disappear. But it appears that I am an agent of change to the world too, and we know that brings conflict. Also, I am completely dedicated to fighting the evil Organization that is opposing Space Tech and supporting evil across the world and space.”
“Then I believe you have the answer to your question. I will relay our discussion to the Master. He should be out to see you shortly. Please wait here in the garden and meditate on our words.”
Julie nodded and sat crosslegged on the grass while waiting, feeling the energy flows around her and contemplating her discussion with John. It wasn’t long before she felt the presence of the Master, who also sat on the ground beside her.
“Good day, dear child. I see you are already appreciating my lovely spot here. This is where we will work today. What you must learn to do is not hard, but yet it is often difficult for many. You must learn to go to your deeper, almost meditative state in your time of need, and you must learn to do it in seconds instead of minutes. And you need to be able to maintain that level, even when distracted or distressed, as you were last evening. Your only task for the remainder of the day is to remain here and practice this. I have tasked Master John with the job of attempting to distract you during this process. He will attempt to break your level of concentration so as to prevent you from achieving your goal.”
The Master rose and left Julie to her task. She rather quickly was able to do her task as long as she was alone, dropping deep into her zone within scant seconds. After all, she had been trying to do the same thing all along. But she was able to go deeper and do it faster as she worked on it. Then John began his activity. At first, he merely walked by speaking to her, the first time successfully distracting her. When that would no longer work, he tried throwing objects beside her. Eventually he resorted to more serious attempts. He threw a bucket of water on her. He tickled her nose with a feather. Late in the day, he approached her and sitting in front of her he began a series of exercises involving a combination of punches aimed toward her. Julie easily blocked them without thought, although her concentration slipped. Only when she could respond without distraction did he proclaim she had successfully completed her exercise.
“Be back here in the garden tomorrow morning after your first meditation period,” he told her finally. “You did very well today.”
Julie bowed, high student to master, and returned to her cottage room. She was very quiet that evening, but Mama Kash and Loraine both sensed that she needed her space, so once more they didn’t try to push her.
#
The next day, the Master met Julie when she arrived at the garden. He smiled at her and then he explained what she would work on that day. “It is time for you to make a change in your workout. I want you to no longer try to slow your movements during competition. All contestants are responsible for protecting themselves, but you must be in control at all times.”
He showed her what he wanted her to practice that day. “Drop into meditation, go through one set of movements. Stop, walk to another spot in the garden, then repeat. Use this for all your movements during the day. Make it become a habit.”
Julie wondered if there was a way to include something she needed in this exercise. “I have been struggling with something I wanted to ask you about. One of my problems with control is due to my sometimes overwhelming senses. How do I fit my enhanced senses, such as sight, hearing, or smell into this? Sometimes it’s a good thing, like the other day when I was able to hear those men before we reached them, letting me be able to prepare to meet them. Is there any way I can learn how to handle them better?”
The Master thought about it for a moment. “Try this exercise. When you move about the garden today, use your extra senses, but try to learn to push them to the background, ready to use at any instant like the combat moves we are working on. Practice those two things the rest of today.
Tomorrow you will spar with other monks while I watch and instruct you.” Julie worked on her exercise the rest of the day.
When she returned to her room, she didn’t have much on her VR. Emily was being mysterious about something but she wouldn’t give details. Julie knew Emily was working on her office at Space Tech so it probably had something to do with that. Nothing else caught her interest, so she kept practicing into the night, moving in and out of meditation. She just didn’t need that much sleep anyway.
Julie arrived the next morning to see the Master, John and three other monks waiting for her. She bowed to the group, student to many masters. All of the monks wore the red robes, meaning they were all Master level monks.
Master Kash, as the highest monk, was the one expected to return her bow, which he did, master to very high student. “I want you today to simply concentrate on your moves as each of my helpers work with you. Work through your basic routine with each of them. Do not think of today as competition at all.”
Julie worked through her routine with each of the monks. By the time she was facing John, she was able to do it all nearly at full speed without thinking about it. John was the best she had ever faced, and he was able to block her basic routine with no problem. His attacks kept her busy blocking and several times he almost got through her block.
Julie was able to see that the Master was teaching her to worry less about the ones competing, but to take care of herself. And, she realized, the other lesson was to use the level she needed for the competition. Facing John she had to raise it higher, that was for sure.
John bowed to her, the bow of friendship, then turned to the Master. “She needs to up it a little to get a feel for it. I am willing to face the consequences.”
“You are indeed a worthy friend to her,” the Master told him and then spoke to Julie. “One step up in your routine but no more. I need to keep my assistant a little longer.”
Julie bowed to the Master and then to John. Then she launched into the next level of moves, again at full speed. Once again he was able to block everything. John really is good. And, he is a good friend.
Gradually Julie’s strikes began to overcome John’s guard. Finally, one caught him and he held his hand up and stepped out. Julie immediately stopped, asking him, “Are you alright?”
“I will be. You are just so fast. I knew what was coming and knew what to do to block it, but I just couldn’t get the block up in time. I thank you for the opportunity to try it. I believe it will help me to improve. Perhaps we will try again on another day.” He gave Julie a bow that surprised her, student to low master.
That brought a smile from the Master. “He sees it even more now. It is so sad that so many of the others cannot see.” He looked at Julie intently. “Your first competition with the trainees will be tomorrow. You need to sleep tonight,” he told her with a slight frown. “Meditate lightly in the morning. You want to just feel the energies, refresh yourself.”
Julie bowed to him, disciplined student to master. “I will do so, Master. Thank you for all you have done to help me.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Competition
The next morning, Julie rose well rested, ate the normal breakfast, and this time went back to her first meditation spot on the island. She concentrated on feeling the energy flows over the island, not allowing herself to go deep. When she stopped, she felt refreshed and energized.
She joined the other trainees in the small arena that was used for the competition. The arena included a sitting area so that anyone who wanted to watch a particular match could do so. There was a judging table set up and seated there were the three High Master monks currently on the island, all wearing the deep violet robes. Among them, Master Tristin was in charge. He was the oldest of the three and carried an air of authority about him. Other than Master Kash, everyone deferred to him and even Master Kash showed him a high level of respect.
A number of Master monks wearing the red robes supported the competition. They were assigned tasks such as choosing the contestants for the upcoming matches, refereeing over the individual competitions, and tabulating the results of the matches. Healer monks were there to work on any minor injuries that might occur as part of the competition.
For the day’s matches, there were several dozen monk candidates competing, and the competition would last for the entire day. Each candidate was designated by a stone with his name painted on it. The stones were placed in a large basket and two were drawn to determine the competitors for the individual matches. The matches would be scored by points. Each time a trainee was struck that would be a point to his opponent. The first one to score three points would win the match.
Julie noticed that she was given a white stone, and her stone, along with a few other white ones, was kept separate from the others. Julie went up to ask the monk in charge of choosing the stones for matches what that meant. “Why are you keeping these stones in a separate basket?” she asked him, afraid that meant something bad.
“You are in the group who have been chosen by the masters because you have demonstrated higher ability. You will be competing later in the day when those of lower ability have withdrawn. This is done to protect them more than for you, although I’m sure you can see the benefits.” Julie, nodded. She certainly could see the advantage for her. She would be able to watch the others first and adjust her level of participation to match the competition.
A group of men came up to Julie. They were the group that Julie had worked with the days preceding the attack on her. “We all want to tell you something,” a spokesman for the group told Julie. “We are all very sorry for what the other three tried to do.” He and the others together gave Julie bows, apologetic student to high level student. Placing her hand on her heart, Julie bowed back to them, forgiving student to student. That brought smiles to the faces of the group.
The competition began in earnest. Because of her role, Julie spent the morning watching most of the others. Some of them were progressing well and had good matches. They would no doubt make monk status. Others showed promise, but they still had a lot of work to do. A few quickly realized they weren’t cut out to be monks and withdrew from the competition.
When it was Julie’s turn, she easily defeated each opponent she faced. She knew it wasn’t fair to them that she had it all down already, the moves that most had to spend hours learning came so easy to her. Plus she had already had much more advanced training than they had been given.
She kept to the basic moves she had used in her practice the day before, but even then none of them were able to respond fast enough to block more than a handful of her moves. The best one lasted a couple of minutes. He had already won enough matches to qualify as a true monk, but still he bowed to her, monk to monk of higher standing.
When the competition was finished, a little over half would be granted monk status. The rest would either leave the island or go back to class and attempt to make it again in the next competition. They were all told to take the next day off, no work.
#
That night Julie had a strong feeling, a premonition she guessed, that something bad was happening with her friend Carla. She had bonded strongly with Carla even though they spent only a short time together. The desperate escape from Kinza when she still knew herself as Miranda seemed like a long time ago after all that had happened to Julie, but she still treasured the time she had spent with Carla on that flight after their escape.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it. Whatever it was, she didn’t think it had happened yet, but it was going to happen if she didn’t do something about it. She had to do whatever she could to help. She tried calling Carla, but there was no answer which made her even more worried. All she could think to do was to check Miranda’s message queue, since Carla would have called Miranda, the only name she knew. With all the crazy stuff going on, Julie hadn’t thought about listening to Miranda’s messages.
She immediately found Carla’s VR message. “G
oing to be gone, visiting our favorite country, but would like to see you when we get back. Not sure about the return flight.”
After listening to the message, it was obvious Carla was using code. Not surprising, since if it was a mission, they would not let her tell anyone where she was going. The part about her favorite country had to mean Kinza. That probably meant she was assigned to another mission to that small third world country, a big deal since the government after the coup there was definitely hostile. Julie suspected that the mission had something to do with the need for zechronium, a real problem that still had to be resolved. Her uncle had been working on it from a negotiation standpoint, but he hadn’t made any progress and neither had the US diplomats. It appeared that the US President had decided to do something about it.
If Carla was on a mission, they were probably blocking communications to the team, so at least that explained why Carla didn’t answer. But the part about not being sure about the return flight sounded like Carla was expecting problems on the mission. To do anything to help probably meant Julie would have to go to Kinza. Carla must have been really worried to add that in her message to Miranda, who for all Carla would know, was still a student in school.
After thinking about it a minute, she forwarded the message to Andrea at Space Tech. Its didn’t feel like whatever it was had happened yet so she had time. She needed more information. She told Andrea she needed Miranda’s account to be monitored from then on, and asked her to have Uncle Ted check their Space Tech contacts to follow up on any operations the US armed forces had going on in Kinza. She requested her uncle get back to her by the next day.
#
The next morning Julie still did her meditation and workout with Mama Kash’s group. She had found out that the competition for the next level would begin a couple of days later. She, along with Jerrem from her original group, would be competing with the monks in an attempt to move up in status. Julie went back out to her special meditation spot, again feeling the power flowing across the island.