by Pam Uphoff
Damien put the cold case and its remaining embryos where it would get enough light to function, then put it out of his mind and got back to hauling freight. Mike had run two wagons all spring, with both Vani and Code doing some driving.
"We caught a report, from here to there, describing the horses as one white, one dark grey. So we kept the dark ones together and the light ones ditto. There's been no sign of any interest in obviously pinto horses."
"Glad to hear it."
Chapter Forty-nine
Spring 1364
Karista, Kingdom of the West
Lefty tried to not keep looking at his new insignia. Captain? Are they crazy? "They've got a boat, not fancy enough to be some lord's toy, but not a fisherman's either. I wouldn't look twice at it, out on the bay. I also wouldn't want to cross the ocean on it. They cut it apart to get it through the Gate. It's about thirty feet long. Stuff inside fits the book descriptions of an electric motor and batteries. The Auld Wulf said they probably had something on the sails to collect the energy of the sun to charge the batteries, and they could make good time even without the wind . . . they'll have more spies in the city shortly after they get that boat down to the ocean."
"Damn. All right, let's go talk to Colonel Bricker. He'll need as exact a description of the boat as you can give him. Is there any of that magical training that might help us?"
"We snuck in invisibly and took a few things. We can slow them down considerably with missing or misplaced parts. But the way Oscar was eyeing the boat was scary. I think he's in love. If you want the whole boat, I suspect he'll be delighted to get it for you."
Rufi chuckled. "No, I think not. I'm torn between sending the Dreadful Duo back to sea, or down to Fascia. So, I'm compromising and sending them to Ash with Selano, he says they all three need to work in compasses more often, and with the corridor I can grab them and send them off to Fascia if the observers I have there now report anything odd that needs those two rascals' special talents."
Lefty looked surprised. "You got an observer into Fascia?"
"With great difficulty, and he stays on the outskirts of town and mostly reads newspapers. The Auld Wulfe said he had the best natural shield of my candidates, so hopefully he'll survive any accidental encounters with either the Oners or Pax."
Lefty nodded his understanding. "Although when the Amma moves on Verona, he may have trouble getting word out of Fascia."
"Yes. But we need the earliest warning we can. Because we can never rule out them deciding the Kingdom would make a better first target."
Chapter Fifty
1364 Early Summer
Ash, Kingdom of the West
Rustle relaxed in the tall grass studying sheep. Specifically the Sheep Man's sheep. Because they weren't all sheep. They'd been crossed with something else, and then the genes bashed around a bit, and then a fix here and there. They reminded Rustle of the dragons' first drawings, and she wondered if Nil had been teaching himself about transformations thousands of years ago when he made the sheep.
That must have been so much fun! Nobody to boss you around, and all sorts of brand new things to figure out yourself, not just repeat what someone else had done. She wondered how to straighten out the messy stuff in the sheep's essence. Make sure all the needed genes were there, and in the right places. Hmm, there were groups of genes that were absent from some of the sheep's chromosomes . . . or were these additions, and the chromosomes without them were normal for sheep? and with a few 'junk genes' for spacers to eliminate crimps—just make sure the additions were just pairing the working genes, stabilizing them and smoothing the whole, and didn't turn on or off any genes that were functional in any way . . .
". . . And I'll get even stronger after I've fucked someone." Tromp's voice intruded on her meditations. "And during sex I'll gather up tons of power. Every time I have sex."
"That's just silly." Septi's voice replied. "Dragons usually mate just one time, and store the male's essence."
"No wonder you dragons have lost your magic," Tromp sneered. "Once in your whole life time? I'm going to do it lots of times."
Rustle crinkled her nose. Tromp was about four hours younger than she was, and they were both going to be twelve in eight months. She sounded like one of the Mage girls, always talking about boys and sex.
"And when I have lots of power, I will turn you back into a dragon." Tromp smiled triumphantly. "Then you'll know I'm better than you are. Then you'll really owe me."
"Owe? Owe! A dragon will not ever be indebted to a human. Or any other creature, for that matter, Witch."
Rustle rather thought Tromp was going to get herself eaten by a dragon, if she ever succeeded in a transformation. She worked her way through the high grass and in between sheep. The dragon girls were worse than Tromp, and she was starting to be seriously worried for Primo, when the Mayor decided to let them return to being dragons again. Once she was over the hill and out of Tromp and Septimus's view she stood up and trotted off. There had to be somewhere she could study genes without interruption. If not sheep, perhaps cattle or horses? Would any of them show these signs of having been experimented with in the past? She slowed thoughtfully. Sir Romeau's horse Sun Gold and the mysterious Black Horse of the Auld Wulf's seemed like possible candidates.
She scanned the valley. The plowing and planting was done, so the horses had been turned out to graze. They were in a loose group across the valley and she headed for them. First the normal horses, then the possibly abnormal horses. Would the Auld Wulf let her look at his horse?
The horses eyed her, and spotting no ropes, relaxed. A couple came up to get scratched and check to see if she had any treats about her. She counted chromosomes and looked them over. In the cells that were actively dividing, the chromosomes twisted up tightly and were the easiest to check. No lumpiness, no oddities. Harry's decrepit dun nosed her and she obliged with a scratch and checked his chromosomes. "Huh. You've been experimented on. You're much better put together than those sheep though. I think they must have been some sort of hybrid. You're mostly horse with little things stuck in here and there. And then big things . . . just like witches. How interesting. Did Harry work on you?"
The horse shook his head and she eyed him thoughtfully. "I wonder just how old you are? And if Sir Romeau knows how old Sun Gold is. Do the Gods' horses live as long as the gods? And which god are you supposed to belong to?"
The old horse shook his head again and went back to grazing. Rustle walked to the wizard's tower, which was located for convenience as a farm house rather than a properly remote wizard's tower. Sun Gold had most of the same little additions stuck all over his mostly horse genes and the big packets as well. The other horses were mostly ordinary, but a few had one or two of the genetic additions. She looked up to see her Dad watching her.
"I'm checking for genetic engineering. I don't understand why some of the horses have just a little bit."
"Umm, could be that black stallion of the Auld Wulf's has been used for breeding off and on. He's been around for thirteen hundred years, after all. Which mares have some?"
They checked most of the mares and foals, with Rustle trying to show her Dad, and eventually Nil and Question, what she was looking at and calling an addition. The Sun Gold foals all had a half set, of course. Inky had several. She rubbed Inky's nose and wondered if she was going to lose her old riding horse.
"No, but we may breed her more often." Nil grinned as she tightened up her mental shields. "Much better. And you're old enough to not be knocking around on an old harness horse. How about a Sun Gold foal next year?"
Rustle grinned. "Only if it's hers. Do you think that wine would make sure she got all the added genes, like it does in humans?"
"Umm, only one way to find out, Miss Scientist."
Chapter Fifty-one
10 August 3481 / Summer 1364
Karista, Kingdom of the West, Comet Fall
Damien decided he had too many horses.
And looking at Blackie
and Macy he was going to have more, real soon. Code admitted that Solstice had jumped the fence more than once. "But it was in the Late Fall, so I figured it wouldn't matter too much. I did build a much higher fence, as soon as the ground thawed."
There was only one thing to do.
Build a bigger barn.
He took a rare pair of days off, taking a few of the synthetic gems around to a jeweler he delivered to regularly. The man nearly drooled over the blue diamonds "from a family connection in Verona", and suggested that he'd be delighted to take any more. The first thing Damien did was buy the lot next door. He started planning a proper stable. He really didn't have too many horses. He might need to hire people, but that was just another layer of authenticity on their pretense.
He sent Code, Jeinah and Jeff off to the farm in a small cart. Sombrero and Frosty were looking a bit run down, and Damien figured they'd earned a break along with Blackie and Macy. The black roan colt ought to be out running around in a pasture . . . He kept Solstice. At two and a half, the big guy could work a few half days and earn his keep. And Damien wouldn't have to worry about any more fence jumping. The youngster was strong, willing and smart. A pleasure to work with. He bought a gelding to team with him.
Chapter Fifty-two
Early Fall 1364
Ash, Kingdom of the West
Never watched Rustle skipping down the hill. "Nearly twelve years old. Where has the time gone?"
Dydit snickered. "I don't know, we seem to have stuffed so much into it, it feels almost too short to me." He leaned on the porch rail, standing in the sun.
"We've slowed down lately. Just as well, I really need to pay attention to Rustle's progress. She's studying with Lady Gisele, and Gisele sent her to Answer for permission to start doing genetic alterations to animals."
"I didn't know you witches did such things. Thought that was Nil's specialty."
"Oh, we could not possibly send a witch to a wizard for lessons! Anyway, it looks like she's going to try something with rabbits."
"Good. We can eat the finished experiment . . . if we dare." He stepped back onto the porch to hug her and rub her belly.
"Insensitive brute! Although I do hope she doesn't get attached to them. I don't want her breeding rabbits the way you and Nil breed horses." She leaned back against him, how the hell she'd wound up pregnant again . . . well she knew how it worked and no doubt large families were a natural result of living with men, but really, given her bodily awareness, she ought to be able to avoid . . . and she was half-owner of a potions manufactory. Well, she'd get back to exploring soon enough.
"Prolifically, you mean? Oh, I was in the village this morning and the Auld Wulf had left this for you." He stepped into the house to grab something.
Never took the book. "Lighter than air . . . ships? Nothing is lighter than air, that's silly." She opened the book and studied the pictures, leafed through, then started reading from the start. After some period of time she heard the crunch of hooves on the hard ground. "Are you going back to the tower? Tell Question I've found something much better than a wagon for exploring."
"Right. Then I'll build some rabbit hutches."
Chapter Fifty-three
20 October 3481/ Fall 1364
Karista, Kingdom of the West, Comet Fall
Damien thought he spotted a familiar looking boat as he steered Solstice and New Boy down Market Street with two crates to deliver to the sea docks. It certainly looked like the boat they'd been assembling at Gate Camp. He dropped off the crates, and begged off a job as he headed for the wharf where the boat was tying off. Two strangers, a man and a woman were talking to Captain Furnier. The Captain spotted him and nodded to direct the other pair's attention to him.
The man looked natural in the local style. "Damien! Nephew! It's been so long. Surely you remember your Uncle Mig and Aunt Andrai?"
Damien gulped. Apparently they were getting some new personnel immediately. "Uncle Mig? Old Gods, it's been years!" He thumped the man on the shoulders, and turned to the woman. Her chilly expression cooled his acting considerably. "And Aunt Andrai. You, I'd have recognized anywhere. You haven't changed a bit."
They played old relatives for a bit, got their belongings up and into the wagon, and Damien drove them through falling temperatures and rising winds to the house. He grabbed Vani to help unharness the team, while the rest unloaded the back.
"Of course we'll be buying our own place . . . " Uncle Mig boomed as he heaved luggage through the door.
Vani was looking a bit uncertain. "They didn't even write ahead?"
Damien grinned. "Well, no. Do you suppose their town pitched them out? Aunt Andrai can be a bit sharp. Just sort of avoid her until she's settled down. Maybe they have enough money to buy someplace away from the docks." He walked inside, and joined the conference.
"So they're asking for volunteers to be deep moles. To fit into the society and observe through the next ten years. The possibility exists that the One will take over this World, and that would, for the first time, get us an observer on one of their colonies. Captain Andrews and I will be presenting ourselves as a married couple, no children. Over the next year, those of you with at least a year on your current enlistment will help us establish our bonafides in the community, then any of you who are not staying will be taken off."
Damien bit his lip. He'd enjoyed this world. He'd miss the team, Code and Vani. He glanced at Max, who looked like a man about to jump off a cliff and wondering if there were rocks down there. Hell, he'd even miss the whores down at the Sooty Duck. Oh hell. He couldn't not stay. "So, where do we sign up for this mole duty?"
Captain Garcia smiled. "Right here, but wait for the full disclaimer. There are going to be two possible comet impacts. The odds are looking about seventy-five percent and forty percent. The first one will hit the southern hemisphere 19 December 3484. Three years and change from now. The big one will hit 21 December 3492. Also south of the equator, but it's so big the consequences will be deadly, worldwide. We are making plans to get everyone off before the second one hits, if indeed it does. But with active hostilities between us and the Oners, the possibility exists that we won't be able to leave."
Hell. He'd even miss the horses. Bloody damn pintos everywhere . . . and that granite knob at the farm would be the best place to ride out earthquakes if the comets did hit. "Right, well, what's a comet or two, now and then."
Tony shook his head and Carl agreed. "It's been fun, but it isn't home. You lot stay safe."
Max straightened his shoulders. "I'll stay."
Mike and Allie apparently swapped some signals and waffled together. "We'll think about it. No other mail, nothing official for either of us?"
"Non. What are you expecting?"
"A baby permit."
Damien gawped a bit. "When did this happen? Romance under my nose and I didn't even notice?" Oops! Do not say that you thought the lieutenant was getting a bit pudgy.
"You've been busy."
“And you don’t have any mail.” Captain Andrews frowned at the pair.
Fortunately the moles had come well equipped to set up housekeeping. "To help our nephews, and be close in case of need."
Damien gave up his little room and crowded into the attic.
Vani leaped to help these sudden relatives of her sort-of-adopted family, and when they bought the house at the end of the street, had them set up with chickens and seeds for their garden that she promised to dig up herself, come spring. "Aunt Andrai" didn't quite know what to make of her, but did appreciate the need for natives as partial cover. Damien was just thankful he'd gotten Jeinah and Jeff away before the moles arrived.
Mike and Allie had a quiet wedding two months before Mike jr arrived.
Damien drained the bank account to buy the almost habitable shack between the half finished stable and the "Garci's" place. The business needed the room. The people needed the room if they were going to stay. Or maybe, stay sane.
They went to work on the shac
k. Before mid-winter Damien, Max, Tony and Carl moved in, leaving Mike, Allie and the healthy-lunged baby in sole possession of the original house.
"I am quite certain that neither of you had permission to reverse contraceptive measures. I suppose you applied for a baby permit after the fact?" Captain Andrews' eyes flashed. "This is the most irresponsible behavior imaginable."
Mike sighed. "We haven't the equipment to reverse a vasectomy, ma'am. Nor did Lt. Torrance remove her implant. Under the circumstances of limited communications, we sent in a post pregnancy application, with accompanying explanation of being in the field on a classified assignment."
The Captains were nearly as appalled by the rampant horse breeding. "You have a farm in the country and are paying someone to mind your pregnant mares?"
"Well, it started as a good way to get a native asset out of town while the spy wars were hot, last year. Worked like a charm. And it's certainly handy right now." Because you're going to throw a fit over Max and Jeinah. "Two foals last year, and there may be two more later this year."
Both Captains eyed him. But said nothing more.
They finished the new barn in spurts between winter storms, then they knocked down the old barn and enlarged the new stable a bit. And included two small rooms for Code and Vani.
"Aunt Andrei" raised eyebrows over the extra rooms. "You have how many employees?"
"Two. Sometimes three. And I may hire a local to mind the farm this summer, and bring the others back, and a fresh team of horses so we can trade off horses during the long summer days." Although more likely I'll try to keep Jeinah on the farm where you won't notice how attached Max acts around her.
She looked at him in exasperation. "I know we're supposed to sink in and disappear into the local population, but inviting them into our homes?"
"Every native attached to family and business is one more layer of authenticity. And don't think people don't realize when you're pretending to like, or dislike someone. You're much better off being tolerated as 'Damien's stiff aunt' than disliked as 'that snooty foreign woman, thinks she too good to speak with the likes of us' and you know it."