The Woodward Academy, Year 8

Chapter 3: August

"Vigax, the batalisto's on the portal for you, sir," the communications soldier told him.

David put away the map he was looking at, and then got up to follow her into the main room.  She motioned him to the portal for Ark North HQ, which he was a bit surprised about, but shrugged it off and sat down.

"Good afternoon, sir," David said.

"Vigax, I have... a rather unusual suggestion that has your name on it.  Did you send this?"

"I assume so, sir.  I did send a comment regarding the werecat problem, if that's what you're referring to."

It had been discovered that an elite unit of werecats had infiltrated deep into northwestern Callamandia.  Their purpose seemed to be similar to that of Scout Company 1: sabotage, intelligence gathering, small unit raids.  They were causing grief, and the arkigo had sent out a request for ideas on how to deal with them.  David had conjured his report down to company HQ the previous day.

"This sounds utterly insane.  You know that, right?"

"Sir, from the very beginning of this war, the weres have been using our weaknesses against us.  I think it's high time we do the same to them."

"This could be seen as chemical warfare..."

"It's not a poison, sir.  Hell, it's a food item."

"But it will disable them."

"No, sir, it won't.  It will merely make them less aggressive."

"Where would we get it?"

"In the quantities we need, we'd have to find a wholesaler.  I can do that research for you, sir, but it will require me to leave my post for at least a day or two."

"Get on with it, then.  The arkigo isn't yet convinced, but he wants to have the plan fully fleshed out, to make a decision on it."

"Yes sir.  I'll head to Earth as soon as possible."

"Very good.  You are dismissed, Vigax."

David rose from his seat, thanked the communications soldier, then headed off to find Jack, who was the most senior officer besides David himself.  He found him in the rec room playing ping pong.

"Jack, I've got to head off-base for a couple days to do some research for the arkigo.  I don't know what might turn up while I'm gone, but whatever it is, you'll have to deal with it.

"The guard rotation's already established, so you shouldn't have to do anything about that unless there's an injury or illness.  Anything else... well... do what you need to do."

"Yes, sir," Jack said.  "You taking the rest of your troop with you?"

"Ahhh, no.  I don't think that would be wise, where I'm going."  David could just imagine the looks he'd get walking beside Giendia down an American city street.  "Should the need arise, you can borrow them as part of your own troop."

"Works for me," Jack said.  "Good luck."

David nodded, then went off to find Vivian, to let her and Giendia know what was going on.  Then he'd have to make his way through the travel gate.

If they use this idea... this could be interesting... if it works.

 "Well, well, Miss Bishop.  Definitely a step up from the last place I saw you," David said.  The last time he'd seen Jenny Bishop, she had still been in rehab.

"David," she said with a smile.  "What are you doing here?"

"Business, I'm afraid."

"I didn't think you had jurisdiction over us normal types."

David grinned.  "I don't.  But I'm no longer a Rimohr... or, well, anyway, it's a bit complicated.  I'm not here as a Rimohr, anyway."

"Oh?  What do you do now?"

"I'm a soldier."

"And business brings you here?  There's a war, on American soil?"

"I don't live in the United States.  Again, it's complicated.  I need to price out something that your company sells."

"We only sell in bulk.  We're a wholesaler."

"Well, I do need about three tons of it...  I'd call that bulk, wouldn't you?"

"Um... yeah, that would definitely be one of our bigger orders.  What is it you need?"

"Powdered milk."

"Three tons of powdered milk?  That's a big milkshake."

David chuckled.  "I can't really say what it's for."

"Making milk, I'd assume," Jenny told him.

"Smart-ass," David said with a chuckle.

"Let me just look up how soon we could put such an order together, and what it would cost."  She typed on her computer for a while, and then looked back at him.

"Okay, so, we can have that to you next week, anywhere you like within the northeast.  It will cost you $20,000."

"Is that all?" David asked.  "How is the powder shipped?"

"By truck."

"No, sorry, I meant in what kind of containers."

"I... have no idea.  It doesn't say here.  We could go down and ask the warehouse guys.  They'd know.  Come on."

David followed her down to the warehouse, where they talked to the warehouse manager.  The powder, it turned out, would be shipped in plastic barrels.

As Jenny led David back toward her office, she said, "Kind of coincidental, you needing something the company I work for sells."

"Coincidence had nothing to do with it.  Thinking about you is what gave me the idea in the first place."

"Oh?  Why were you thinking about me?"

"Wondered how you were getting along."

"Much better, thanks to you.  I've never really thanked you, have I?  For saving me, I mean."

"I didn't save you.  I just paid for your treatment.  You saved yourself."

"You also got me this job."

David shrugged.  "I asked around.  This company uses parts made by the company I own part of, so it wasn't that hard."

"Still, there was no reason for you to go to all that trouble for me.  I've not exactly been your friend up to now."

"Well, you got me, there," David said.

"So why did you help me?"

"I don't actually know.  My familiar says it's because I can't stand seeing a damsel in distress.  I just couldn't help myself."

"Well, whatever your reason was, thank you."

Jenny suddenly stopped and opened a door.

"Isn't your office that way?" David asked.

"Yes.  But the break room is this way."

"Ah."

David followed her into the break room, which was deserted.  It didn't look like it got much use, either.

"Do you guys not get breaks or something?" David asked.

"This room is just for the office staff.  Three days of the week, I'm the entire office staff.  Including today."

"Really?  I thought this was a bigger company."

"It is.  But the company is run out of the office building in Virginia.  This is just a warehouse operation.  My day consists mainly of taking orders over the phone, and dispatching the trucks to their routes."

"Sounds a bit dull."

"Hell of a lot better than spending your day in a drug-induced stupor," she said.

"I would imagine so," David agreed.

"So are you planning to order your three tons of powdered milk?"

"Probably, but not today.  This was a research trip, to find out the cost and the timetable."

"So, your mission is complete?"

"You could put it that way."

"So you're not on duty now."

"In a sense," David agreed.  "Why?"

Jenny walked back over to him and looked up into his face.  "Because there's something I think I still owe you, and I wanted to give it to you."

"Oh?" David asked, but when Jenny sank to her knees, he had some idea what it was.  As she unzipped his fly and unbuttoned his pants, he was pretty sure what it was.

Jenny pulled David's pants and briefs down off his hips, exposing his cock to her view.  She gently wrapped her hand around it, stroking it slowly, watching as it hardened under her touch.  Once it was semi-erect, she slipped her lips over the head of it.  She continued to stroke with her hand as her mouth slowly engulfed his length.  By the time she had half of him in her mouth, he was fully hard, and she had to stop, because she just couldn't take any more.

As David closed his eyes, to just enjoy the feel of her mouth, Jenny started to bob slowly on his cock.  Her hand continued to stroke the other half of his dick, while her lips moved along the part she could reach with her mouth.  Her tongue slithered from side to side, causing wonderful tingles to shoot along his groin.

For several minutes, Jenny worked him over.  Finally, David reached his point of no return.  He grunted to warn her, but she merely kept up her actions.  In just a few more seconds, he blasted his load deep into her mouth.  She took it like a pro, swallowing repeatedly to massage the head of his dick and coax more cum out of him.  Once his orgasm tapered off, she let him slip from between her lips, and then she rose back to her feet.

 David pulled Jenny close and kissed her.  She was a bit surprised when he slipped his tongue into her mouth, but she was happy.  The two kissed for a long moment before he finally let her go.

"Wow.  Most guys won't kiss after a blowjob."

"You had to taste it, so I can deal with it.  I see no point in shunning you for doing something I thoroughly enjoyed."

"Hmm.  I can think of a few other things you might thoroughly enjoy..."

David smiled at her.  He said, "You do realize you don't owe me this.  I kind of already collected, if you'll recall..."

"Yeah, but that wasn't me giving it to you.  That was you taking it.  Not that I didn't enjoy it, once I got over being freaked out..."

David snorted.  He pulled her close again, and kissed her once more.  As he did, he reached down and fondled her ass through her skirt.  Jenny moaned into his mouth, and started to unbutton his shirt.

Once David's shirt was off, Jenny began to work on David's slacks.  David took that moment to shove her skirt down off her hips.  Her panties went with it.  David then started to work on her blouse.

The two finished undressing at about the same moment, but they continued to kiss for a minute beyond that.  David stepped back from her, and then took a quick look around.

"I seem to recall you like it from behind," David said with a grin.  "So why don't you bend over the table here?"

Jenny quickly complied, spreading her legs and tilting her hips to give David all the access to her he could ever want.  He slipped up behind her, and then slowly inserted his cock into her pussy.  Jenny moaned softly at the feel of him inside her.  Once he had buried himself fully, he paused, enjoying the feel of her.  He caressed her ass cheeks, and ran his hands along her sides, arousing her even more before he began.

Once he felt she couldn't take any more teasing, David moved his hands to her hips and gripped gently.  He then began to roll his hips, making small movements inside her that nonetheless hit a lot of good spots.  Jenny mewed and moaned, her hips quivering in the grip of the wonderful sensations shooting through her.

David started to move more, letting his hips slide back a short way before rolling his hips to push back into her.  Jenny was panting now, her arousal rising quickly.  Her hips were rocking back against him with each thrust, shoving him even further into her cunt.  He slid his hands along her sides and up to her tits, gently grasping them and molding them with his fingers.

Jenny was soon right on the knife edge of ecstasy.

"Oh, god, David... C'mon, give it to me!  Just a little more!"

David sped up, thrusting deep into Jenny's pussy with each stroke.  He moved his hands slightly, so that each time he squeezed her tit, his fingers would stroke along her nipples.

In seconds, Jenny could feel her orgasm approaching.  In just another moment it arrived, and she screamed out her pleasure.  David continued to thrust into her, prolonging her orgasm and pushing him closer to his own.  Finally, he passed the point of no return, and shoved his cock all the way into her and held it, his cum blasting deep into her pussy.  The warm feel of it invading her caused her to tremble and twitch even more.

The two stood together for a very long time before Jenny finally got control of herself.  She liked how David was holding on to her, just letting her recover.  She straightened up and leaned back, and David's hands ran across her stomach, holding her tight to his body.  She could feel his cock against her ass.  It wasn't hard, but it still felt very nice.

"Eighteen-year-old me says thank you," David told her with a chuckle.  Jenny giggled as David kissed her earlobe.

"What does twenty-six-year-old you say?" she asked.

"He says he's looking forward to when he has to come back to actually place an order," David said.

"Hmm," Jenny said with a grin of her own.  "Twenty-six-year-old you might get a discount for that kind of thinking."

David laughed at that.  "Come on.  I think we should probably get dressed before I get you fired."

Jenny snorted.  "I told you, I'm all of the office staff today."

"But what if your boss calls in for something?"

"He never does.  But even if he did, the voicemail would get it, and I'd just call him back.  Don't worry, you won't endanger my job by laying me over this table and thrusting into me so hard it walks across the floor."

David's eyebrows both went up.  "Was that a request for next time, or right now?"

"Whichever you'd prefer," she said with a smile.

Jenny took a rather long coffee break that day.

"I will get those figures to the arkigo shortly," Vocator Schultz told him.  "Is there anything else?"

"No, sir... just wondering why Troop 12 was overlooked for an assignment this cycle..."

"You weren't overlooked.  Troop 12 will be operating as part of Operation Quiet Kitten, if the arkigo goes forward with it.  Since timing on that is undetermined, we didn't want you out of position."

"Oh.  Yes, sir.  That makes sense."

The vocator nodded.  "I do, however," he went on with a grin, "have a request here from Batalo Potter for your assistance..."

David tried to hide his groan.  "Sir, can't someone else take one of these for once?"

"No, you were once again asked for by name.  Cheer up; you'll be done before there's any chance of starting the operation, and otherwise, you don't have anything to do."

"Except worry about the weres coming here."

"Little chance of that.  Since we broke the back of their push last month, they haven't yet reorganized to try again.  They probably will try again, but it won't be soon."

"Yes, sir.  Where am I going?"

"Vigax Hermany is waiting for you in Treacle.  She'll take you to the small village where the problem exists."

"Yes, sir.  How am I getting there?"

"Unfortunately for you, we can't spare a peg coach in that area, it's too dangerous.  You'll be going by regular coach."

"And that's not dangerous?" David asked with a grin.

"Not to our pegs.  We have lots of soldiers, not so many pegs."

"Uh-huh," David said with a grunt.  "I'll be on my way within the hour."

"Good work, Stroud.  By the way, I've put you in for a Silver Slash."

"Uh, thank you, sir.  If I may ask, what for?"

The vocator chuckled.  "Only you would ask that.  You've done one hell of a job keeping things organized up there, especially for someone who wasn't trained to be in your position.  Even with your extra duties for I-Corps, you've managed to keep it all running smoothly.  That takes some skill, and we like to recognize that when it comes along."

"Well, thank you, sir."

The vocator just nodded.  "With the investigation, again, take the usual two days.  If there's something there that needs more, we'll figure it out then."

"Yes, sir."

The vocator signed off, and David could finally grumble out loud.  After getting that out of his system, he thanked the comm soldier and went to find Jack, and then Vivian.  Twenty minutes after that, he was on his way northeast, to Treacle.

"Hey, David," Vigax Hermany said in greeting.

"Hey.  Ginger, right?"

"Yeah."

"Where's your boss?"

"Oh, he didn't deem this worthy of his attention.  Why do you think he's pawning it off on you?  Besides, this one looks a bit tricky, and The Weasel doesn't like to take responsibility for having to say, 'I don't know.'"

David snorted.  "I know the type.  So, what do we have?"

"A troop of soldiers was wiped out last night while investigating a village.  I don't yet know more than that."

"Any survivors?"

"One.  He's here in the infirmary."

"Okay.  Let's talk to him first, since we're here."

Ginger nodded, and led off.  They found the soldier getting his bandage changed.

"Sir!" the soldier started to rise, but the healer held him down.

David waved him down, as well.  "Take it easy.  I'm Vigax Stroud, this is Vigax Hermany.  We're here to investigate what happened to your troop.  What's your name?"

"Soldier Richard Newkirk, sir."

"All right, Newkirk.  Just relax.  What can you tell us about what happened?"

"We were sent in to investigate a report of a wiped out village.  When we got there, we found dozens of bodies lying all over the ground.  They were gashed and bleeding.  Must have been fifty or more."

"Go on," David encouraged.

"Well, we went through the village, checking to see if any of them were alive, but no luck.  I was one of the lead soldiers.

"When... whatever it was... happened, it was all behind me.  I had reached what seemed like the last of the bodies, and was looking ahead of us for more, when I felt this sharp pain in my back, and then a sudden thud.  I was knocked to the ground and out cold.  I don't know what happened after that.  Hell, I don't really know what happened before that."

"His injuries?" David asked the healer.

"Look like claw wounds," the healer said.

"How long's he gonna be laid up?"

"Two or three weeks."

"Sorry, sir," the soldier said.

"Don't apologize for getting hurt.  And no need to apologize to me for anything.  I'm not your boss.  I'm just the schmuck they stuck with the investigation.  You didn't hear anything, see anything... smell anything?"

The soldier shook his head.  "No, wait... right before I got hit, I did hear a quiet noise behind me.  Could have been feet shuffling, but it was so soft, I didn't pay it any attention, and I can't describe it any better than that."

"Probably footsteps of the were who nailed you," David said.

"Probably," the soldier agreed.  "My liderra's gonna... well, no, hell, my liderra's dead with all the rest, ain't he?"

"Afraid so.  If you think of anything else, please let us know.  We'll let you rest now."

"Yes, sir."

As the two walked out of the infirmary, Ginger said, "This one sounds like it's gonna be trickier than the other one we worked on."

"Maybe.  If he hadn't said they checked the bodies, I'd figure the weres were just playing morphing games."

"What do you mean?"

"Weres can look human.  So, you look human, put some blood on yourself and lie on the ground.  Look at me!  I'm a human corpse!  But if they were actually checking bodies to see if they were alive, I'm not sure how you fake that."

"So... what's our next step?"

"Go look at the village."

"Okay.  It's about an hour from here."

"Let's get going, then."

 "Oh, god," Ginger said, gagging slightly.

David just grunted.  The bodies of the soldiers were still littering the ground.  In the distance, a hippogriff was eating one of them.  It was distasteful, but there simply wasn't time to deal with the dead, and David wasn't going to challenge a hippogriff.

"So... the first thing to notice is that all of these people are wearing uniforms," David said.

"Right... well, the army is always in uniform," Ginger said, breathing deeply and trying to recover her composure.

"Yes, but where are the dead bodies they were checking on?"

Ginger paused, and then looked around.  "Hey, yeah... there aren't any here.  You think it was maybe an illusion?"

"Have to be a damned good one, to fool a whole bunch of people at touch-range.  Solid illusions can be tricky to pull off... and I'm not sure if there are too many weres who could do it."

"So, what, then?"

"I don't know yet," David said.  He pointed to the ground.  "Here, and there... you can see the marks on the ground where it seems people were lying.  This is actual blood stain here on the edge... that's no illusion; there was a real, bleeding something lying here."

"Okay... so... maybe they were corpses, and the weres... disposed of them somehow?"

"The only method of disposal the weres would have employed would have been eating them, and that would be rather obvious... and far more sickening."

"So... what?  I mean, I can't imagine the weres would have actually been bleeding themselves...  Maybe they killed some people, here or elsewhere, and took their blood?"

David cocked his head.  "A possibility... but I'm still not sure how they'd have faked out people checking to see if they were alive."

"Me, either.  So... now what?"

"Now we keep looking.  Maybe there's a clue on one of the bodies."

"Urgh."

David grinned in sympathy.  "No one said investigation was fun."

After two hours of looking over the bodies, David came across one that had provided a clue.

"Got something here," David called out.  Ginger came over to him.

"Whatcha got?"  David pointed.  "Runes... um... so?"

"He drew them for a reason..." David said.

"You know anything about runes?  I can't read them."

"You don't really read runes.  They don't represent letters or words.  They represent concepts."

"Well, whatever.  I didn't even know that much, so how does this help us?"

"He drew the runes for conflict and deception."

"Okay... we're in the middle of a war... and we're pretty sure the weres used some kind of trick, so again, I don't see how that helps much."

"Yeah.  By itself, it doesn't.  And I'm not sure I want to try the other thing that would help.  Let's keep looking for more clues... but make sure not to disturb these."

Ginger nodded, then went back to what she was doing.  David moved on to look at more of the battlefield, to see if there were any other clues.

Two more hours of looking, and David had returned to the runes drawn by the dead soldier.  He lowered himself to the ground and sat cross-legged.

"What are you doing?" Ginger asked when she saw him.

"Something unpleasant."  With that, David closed his eyes and put himself into a meditative state.  After that, he reached out with his mind, feeling for the runes before him.  As soon as he made the connection with them, the imagery began.

Five minutes later, David rose from his position on the ground.  He motioned for Ginger to walk with him until they were on the edge of the village.  David then turned and cast a spell.

Slowly, all of the bodies before them disintegrated, the tiny remains of their bodies floating away on the breeze.  The hippogriff snorted, unhappy to have his dinner taken away.  He stomped, and then took to the air.

"Well how are we supposed to investigate now?" Ginger demanded.

"We're not.  There's nothing to learn here.  I'll tell you about it on the way back to Treacle."

"So what happened?" Batalo Potter wanted to know.

"Before I tell you that, I need to make it clear that the physical investigation told us nothing at all.  The information I'm about to give you came from runic interpretation."

Potter nodded, then waved for David to carry on.

"What the Vrudenans did was to disguise themselves as corpses.  They had wounded themselves in minor ways, causing themselves to bleed, to look more 'dead'.  Then they each cast a spell of some kind that rendered their breathing and heartbeat undetectable.  I will have to do some research to find out what that spell was.

"The Vrudenans, of course, were the ones who made the request for help.  Then they lay down and waited for the soldiers to come in.  Once the soldiers were mixed in well among the 'dead bodies', the weres simply stood up, morphed to their hybrid form, and attacked.  The few seconds of shock from our forces was all the Vrudenans needed to complete their transformation and tear into them.

"The only reason that Soldier Newkirk survived is because the were who attacked him wasn't thorough.  He thought that Newkirk was already dead, and so left him lying there."

"This is hardly the first time they've used this damned trick, in some form, on us.  How the hell do we fight this shit?" Potter grumbled.

"My suggestion, sir, would be that any troop encountering dead bodies should vaporize them on sight.  Gently, if possible, out of respect for the dead, but in any event, we know for certain that we cannot trust what we're seeing."

Potter looked at David, then nodded.  "I'll run that suggestion up the chain with my endorsement.  Good work, Stroud."

"Thank you, sir.  As usual, I had help."

Potter grunted.  "You are dismissed," he said.  David saluted, then shook Ginger's hand, and left.

I hope I won't be doing too many more of these damned things.  I can be a cop or a soldier... I can't do both at the same fucking time!

 David was on another visit to the Garibaldi home.  He had spent the previous day at his own home, visiting with Olissa, Denise, Gwen, Jess, and his neighbor, Pam.  Roy had still not chosen to return, and David had discussed it with Denise.  She was worried that her marriage was coming apart, but there wasn't anything David could do to help her.

He had asked her why she didn't join Roy, who was staying at Gwen's house while Gwen and Jess were staying with David.  Denise just shrugged and told him she was more comfortable where she was.  He didn't press her on it, especially since they were both naked at the time.

Now he was supposed to take Zyla on another trip out of the house.  The only problem was that there was a recalcitrant child to deal with.

"I don't wanna!" Grace screamed.

"Grace, you know you have to take a nap, Sweetheart," Zyla said.

"No!"

"Look," Tina - the babysitter - said in a cheerful voice.  "I have your favorite stuffed dragon..."

Grace took hold of it and whipped it across the room so hard it knocked a picture off the wall.

At that point, David stepped in.  "Okay, that's enough," he said.

"No," Grace retorted forcefully, but with less volume than before.

"Grace Lenore Garibaldi, you will settle down right now," David said sternly.  Grace flinched at the use of her middle name; she knew she was in trouble now.

David knelt in front of Grace, to be at eye level with her.  "You are tired, and you need to get some rest.  You need to take your nap."

"Wanna go with you!" she said.

"We aren't going anywhere fun," David told her.  "You would have to sit and be quiet, and you wouldn't be able to get up and run around.  Trust me, you are much happier staying home."

Grace kicked at the carpet, looking down with a pout on her face.

"Now, I think you owe both your mom, and Miss Tina, an apology."

"Don't wanna!" she said petulantly.

"I didn't ask you if you wanted to," David said, his voice getting as hard as it ever did while talking to Grace.  "You'll do it because it's the right thing to do."

Grace looked up at him, and it was clear in his gaze that there was no wiggle room for her in this situation.

"Sorry, Mommy.  Sorry, Miss Tina.  Sorry, Uncle David."

David's look softened immediately.  "That was a good girl.  Now come give me a hug."

Grace stepped over to him and tried to break his neck, so hard was she gripping him.  David tolerated it for the moment, not wanting to make more trouble.  Finally she let him go, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Now, you be a good girl for Miss Tina, and you take your nap.  When your mom and I get back, we can play a game, okay?"

"'Kay," she said with a sleepy smile.

"Good girl."

With that, Tina led Grace out of the living room back to her bedroom.

"How the hell do you do that?" Zyla asked in awe.  "I have spent a half hour before trying to get her to take her nap.  I've even tried that whole getting stern with her thing, and it never works!"

David shrugged.  "Maybe she just doesn't believe you really mean it."

"Do you have any idea how close I've come to paddling her little behind?" Zyla admitted.

"Do it," David said.  "Just don't do it while you're angry.  Punishing someone while you're angry is... not safe."

Zyla gave David a knowing look, but didn't say anything.

"Anyway, come on.  Let's get this over with."

"If you don't want to go, David..."

"It's not that.  Just... bureaucrats."

Zyla chuckled, and then they headed out to the glidetruck.

"Can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked disinterestedly.

Zyla set some paperwork on the counter as she said, "Yes.  I've come to apply for Fallen Hero benefits."

"Mm-hmm," the man grunted apathetically while picking up the paperwork and thumbing through it.  After the most cursory of glances, he tossed them back onto the counter toward her.

"You don't have all your paperwork.  You're missing his time in service record, and the report detailing the nature of his death."

"Surely you can get those things faster than I can," Zyla said.

"Miss, I don't have time to do your work for you.  My job is to process paperwork, not to go out and collect it."

"I wouldn't even know who to call for those documents.  Who do I-"

The man interrupted her with an obviously annoyed sigh.  "Then I suggest you go ask somebody.  This is not my responsibility.  Next!"

David didn't move.  "She is asking someone, dickhead.  She's asking you."

"Listen, Mister," the man started.

David interrupted.  "The rank is Vigax, you supercilious little twit.  And your job is to serve the public, not to act like some paper-pushing despot.  Now, answer the lady's question.  Who should she talk to in order to obtain the necessary forms?"

"I would imagine, the military.  I don't know, and I really don't care."

"Will you care if I send you to the infirmary?" David asked coldly.

"David, don't," Zyla said, putting her hand on his arm.

"How dare you threaten a member of the government," the man snapped.

"I didn't threaten you.  I asked you a question.  Now, if you happened to take that as some foretelling of what might happen in your future, that's on you, not me.  Rest assured, however, that I will be filing a complaint with the Veterans Benefits Bureau about your attitude."

"What-ever.  Next!"

David and Zyla stepped back from the counter, and the next victims stepped in their place.

"You can't just beat up everyone who pisses you off," Zyla told him on the way out the door.

David grunted.  "Sure.  You tell me one thing, my training officers tell me another thing... who am I supposed to believe?"

Zyla could see that David was teasing her, but she whacked him on the arm anyway.  "Remember what you said about not punishing people when you're angry?"

"Ouch," David said with a grin, and Zyla smiled at him.

After a moment, David said, "Let me see that checklist thing on the top."

Zyla handed it to him, and David looked it over.  He said, "Let me take this with me back to base.  I'll talk to my CO, and see if he can't get these forms sent over to the VBB for you."

Zyla sighed in relief.  "Thank you.  I really had no idea where to even start asking.  I mean, okay, the military, but it's not like there's a military base in Bolmont... is there?"

David chuckled.  "Not unless you count my house.  Come on, let's go get something special for dinner, since Grace was... eventually... cooperative."

"I still want to know what spell you're using on her."

"Maybe it's Dad Voice.  I dunno."

Zyla snorted.  "She never listens to Joe."

And just like that, the mood in the vehicle changed.  Both of them stopped, and the emotional fog that engulfed them was almost palpable.  David was the first to recover, and he reached over and took Zyla's hand briefly, squeezing it in support, and then letting go.

Zyla took a ragged breath.  "Thanks.  It's like walking through an archery range blindfolded.  You're going along, no problem, and then suddenly, it runs through you like an arrow."

David nodded.  "I know."  With that, he got the truck moving, and they headed for the market.

David stepped into the office, to find that Jenny was having a discussion with her boss.  He stood quietly, waiting for them to be finished.

"Oh, Hi, David.  I'll be with you in a minute."

The man looked over and scowled.  "Get lost, creep.  No boyfriends during work hours."

"Mr. Acosta, this is-"

"If I wanted any shit out of you, I'd have asked you, now wouldn't I?  You're already on thin ice with me for fucking up my lunch order!"

"Sir, I didn't mess up your lunch order.  The restaurant did not sell what you asked for."

"Don't give me any lip, bitch!"

David quietly stepped over and shoved Mr. Acosta into a nearby filing cabinet.

"I don't think I like your tone," David said.

"Ooh, tough guy.  What, you some gang punk?  Some mob wannabe?"

"You wish," David said.

"What the fuck's that supposed to mean?"

David grabbed the man by the throat and squeezed.  "I'm the guy that makes the mob piss their pants," David said coldly.  He looked over at Jenny.  "Is this shit-for-brains right-handed or left-handed?"

"Right handed," she replied, intrigued at what David was going to do.

"What the fuck is it to you, asshole?" the guy demanded.

David dragged the man over to the desk and grabbed his right hand, slamming it, very hard, onto the desk top.

"Now, here's what's going to happen.  In the next two minutes, you're going to choose one of two outcomes for your life.

"The first is, you're going to get on the phone, call your boss, whoever that is, and you're going to resign your position with the company, effective immediately."

"Not fucking likely," the man snarled.

"Well, see, that leads to option two."

"Which is?"

"You no longer have a functioning right hand."

"You don't scare me, fuckhead," the man lied.

"Then you are clearly too stupid to hold the job you currently do.  Frankly, you should be terrified of me, because even I don't know whether you're walking out of this room alive or not."

"You wouldn't kill me, just for mouthing off to her!  She's my employee!"

"No, she's your subordinate.  You don't own this company."

"How the fuck would you know?"

"Because I met the owner when I got Jenny this job... and he wasn't you.  Now, you're down to sixty seconds.  You picking up that phone, or are you learning to write left-handed?"

The man stared at him.  "You're serious."

"As a charging mother elephant."

The guy's hand shook as he reached for the phone.  "I can't dial left-handed," he tried.

"Jenny, if you would?"

"Of course, Mr. Stroud," she said with a smile.

"The amusing part... at least to me," David said to Acosta while they were waiting for someone to pick up, "Is that I'm not Jenny's boyfriend.  I'm a fucking customer."

Acosta paled.  That alone would be enough to get him fired, if he wasn't already being forced to resign.

Acosta closed his eyes and bowed his head at his own stupidity.  When someone picked up the phone, he stumbled through a resignation, making some excuse about family circumstances and a new direction.  Only when the phone was set back in its cradle did David let his hand loose.

"Do you have any idea how hard it's going to be for me to find a new job, walking out on this one with no notice?  They're not likely to give me a good reference."

"Especially not after I tell them what a douchebag you were to me," David said.

"Why are you destroying my life... over her?"

"Why not?  Is she in some way less important than you?"

"She's a fucking dispatcher!"

"And...?"

"I'm an office manager!"

"And you think that makes you more important than her?  My, we do have an ego, don't we.  Do you know why I'm willing to destroy your life... no, let me help you understand my point more clearly: do you want to know why you were risking death this afternoon?"

"Why?"

"Because Jenny is my friend.  That makes her enemies, my enemies.  My enemies have a habit of dying or spending lots of time in hospitals.  I don't give a rat's ass about you, your life, or anything else that involves you.  But you were hurting one of my friends.  People don't get to do that.  Now, you should leave, before I have time to reflect on whether you actually deserve worse punishment than you're getting."

With that, Acosta went back into his office and grabbed his personal items.  David and Jenny remained silent until he had finished, and then left the office.

"Thank you," Jenny said sincerely.  "He's been getting nastier by the week."

David nodded.  "I do what I can."

"Have you really... you know... killed people?"

"I'm a soldier.  Soldiers kill people.  Yes, I've killed a great many people.  Does that scare you?"

"A little, I guess."

"Me, too."

"So," Jenny said, shaking off the experience, "did you come here to place that powdered milk order?"

"Yeah.  Just how far south do you deliver?"

"We'll ship anywhere in the country, but it'll take longer.  Where do you need it?"

"Roanoke, Virginia."

"Oh, that'll only take an extra day, so no big deal."

David nodded.

"How are we handling payment?"

"Wire transfer."

"Okay, well, here's the account information you'll need..."

David went through his bank's app to move the money over.  Normally, this would be an issue for such a large amount, but one government had talked to another government, which had talked to a certain bank, and so nobody said a word.

"And... there it is.  Okay, so.  6,000 pounds of powdered milk, delivered to... what's the address?"

David gave her the sheet he'd written it down on, and she typed it into her form.

"Oh!  We can have that to you next Wednesday.  Is that soon enough?"

"That'll be fine.  Thank you.  You know how to get a hold of me, right?"

"Yes, I still have both numbers you gave me."

"Good.  If you have more problems here... well... within the next month or so... let me know."

"Why only within the next month?"

"After that, the company will belong to me, and I don't think you'll be having any problems."

"You're buying the company?  How can you afford that?"

"Not everyone is as they appear," David said with a grin.

"O...kay... but why are you buying the company?  Not just for me..."

"No, not just for you... but I'll admit I wouldn't be buying it if you weren't working here.  I had my financial guy look over this place, and he told me it would be a safe investment."  Actually, what the man had said was that David would be a fool not to buy the company, as it was deliriously undervalued.  David's main goal was to make sure that Jenny would always have a job.  He would have propped up the company if he'd had to, or found another one to buy in its place.  David still didn't understand his motivation for looking out for her so excessively, but since it wasn't hurting him to do it, he would continue.

"You have a financial guy?  A cop and a soldier has a financial guy?"

"I also have a house half the size of this warehouse, so..."  David shrugged.  "I'm not exactly what I appear to be."

"I guess not.  But, um... can I ask for one more favor?"

"Sure."

"You know where I live, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Could you maybe drop by tonight?"

"Sure, I don't have to go back to base until the morning."

"Good.  I'll be in the shower at eight," she said, and winked.

David just grinned.

We're all ready on the other side, sir," a soldier informed David.

"Very good.  The truck's not here yet, so we're just waiting."

"Yes, sir."

Twenty minutes later, the truck arrived.  It was a large box truck with no markings.

"You Stroud?" the driver asked when he got out of the truck.

"Yeah."

"Sign here."

"Not until I see what's in the truck," David said.

"You don't trust us?"

"Buddy, you're driving an unmarked truck, and you're not wearing a uniform.  I have no fucking clue who you are."

"Have it your way.  Frankie, open the truck up for him."

The driver's partner opened the truck and pulled down the loading ramps, so they could walk up in.  David entered the truck and opened one of the plastic drums.  Inside was thirty gallons of milk powder.

"Okay, then," David said.  He closed the barrel, came back down, and signed the man's form.

"How you planning to unload this shit?" the driver asked.  "I don't see a forklift."

"Manpower," David said.  "Why don't you two go get some coffee for about fifteen minutes?"

The driver snorted.  "You think you're going to have this unloaded by hand in fifteen minutes?"

"Humor me," David said with a grin.

"Whatever.  We'll be in the steak joint down the street for lunch."

"Here, have lunch on me," David said, and handed them a hundred dollar bill.

"Holy shit, buddy!  Thanks."

After the two men were gone, David turned back to the truck.  The soldier next to him looked a little grim.

"Sir, they're right.  There's no way we can empty that in an hour, let alone fifteen minutes."

David just looked at the soldier.  "You have a citizenship in Callamandia, and you don't know how to unload this truck quickly?  Maybe you need to go back to school."  David turned to the truck and said, "Guterzug!"

The top pallets started to shift, moving forward in a line.  David used his wand to manipulate them, lining them up on the ground.  In less than two minutes, the truck was empty.

David looked over at the soldier.  "I said they'd be out of the truck.  I said nothing about them being in Callamandia."

The soldier just stared, gobsmacked at how easily David had handled that task, alone.  Meanwhile, David went over to the bulkhead door that led down to the basement.  He called up some soldiers, who made their way up the stairs.

"Carrying these down those steps is going to be difficult, sir," the capadra in charge of the detail objected mildly.  He expected this officer to scream at him for complaining about the work.

Instead, David said, "Yeah, I know.  That's why we're not going to carry them down.  We're going to roll them down."

"Won't all that bouncing damage the containers, sir?"

David just rolled his eyes.  "When I get downstairs, I will set things up.  Two men per barrel.  One of you will be in front.  You will guide the barrel down the steps.  Don't start work until I call up to you, understood?"

"Yes, sir," the capadra said.

David went down into the basement.  He had seen already the random items that filled its space.  The travel gate was on its back wall, directly opposite the stairs.  David went over and activated the gate.  On the other side were several more soldiers.

"You're ready to maneuver the barrels into the field?" David asked the capadra in charge of this team.

"Yes, sir."

David nodded, then turned.  He waved his wand, and several lengths of pipe lifted up and flew up the stairs.  They settled, and then temporarily stuck themselves together, forming a smooth rail on either side of the steps.

"Okay, now, run the barrels down the rails," David called up.

The first soldiers were a bit awkward until they got the hang of it.  After the third or fourth barrel, everything went smoothly.  Three barrels a minute were flowing down the stairs.  In less than half an hour, the yard of the home was free of plastic barrels, and the travel gate was closed.  David went back up to the yard to wait for the truck drivers.

When they showed up and looked in the truck, they were astonished.  "How did you..."

"Magic," David said with a grin, finding it hilarious that he could tell them the utter truth, knowing they would think he was being sarcastic.  "Enjoy your lunch?"

"Hell, yeah!  Thanks again."

"No problem.  Drive safe."

"Hey!" Frankie asked.

"What?"

"What the hell are you gonna do with eighty barrels of powdered milk?"

"If I told you that... I'd have to kill you," David said with a grin, then waved at them and turned to go back down the steps to the basement.  The two drivers just looked at each other, then closed up the truck and left.

David, meanwhile, made his way back into Callamandia.  When he stepped out of the blacksmith shop that was on this side of the travel gate, he saw that the supply company's wagons were already filled with the barrels.

"Everything ready to go, sir?" David asked the batalisto in charge of the supplies.

"Looks like it.  Where are we taking this stuff?"

"We don't know yet," David said.  "For right now, you can take it back to base.  We have to locate the target before we can use this, and the target keeps moving."

"What's in these barrels?" the batalisto wanted to know.

"I'm not allowed to tell you that, sir.  Don't worry, it's not dangerous."

"Not much of a weapon if it's not dangerous."

"Sorry, sir, I can't say anything further.  Orders from my CO."

The batalisto grunted.  "You want us to tie up two wagons?  For how long?"

"Unknown, sir, but probably less than a week."

"This better be worth it," the batalisto grunted.

"Funny, that's what the arkigo said," David replied with a grin.

David and Troop 12 were working their way through the forest.  They had heard a rumor that the werecat troop was nearby, and so they were looking for them, so that Operation Quiet Kitten could begin.  They hadn't been in the field for a full day yet, so David figured they were unlikely to find the werecats.

They had apparently found something, however.

"Vigax, I hear-" Giendia started, but stopped when David raised his hand for silence.

David pointed to Vivian, and then to the left.  She nodded and headed in that direction.  He pointed to Giendia, and right, and she departed that way.  He moved forward in the center, aimed straight at the noise.  He twisted his path left slightly, signaling to the other two, as it was clear the noise was passing right to left, and he wanted to get ahead of it.

Giendia signaled to him, and motioned that she had seen one person, moving quickly but not running.

Not making a whole lot of noise for someone who's moving so fast, David thought to himself.

Suddenly, he got a picture from Jailla, who was now watching the target.  David could tell by his movements that the guy was a soldier; no civilian would have moved so adroitly through the woods at that speed.

As David kept an eye on the target through Jailla, he moved to a spot in front of him.  There was no path here, but there was a less dense area that led through this part of the forest.  David felt that the target was probably using that for silence.

After another minute, David could see the target with his own eyes.  Though David was certain this was a soldier, he wasn't wearing any uniform, but instead a simple tunic-style shirt with pants, boots, and a short jacket.

A spy, then.  Either ours or theirs, and I doubt it's ours.

David hunkered down, hidden by several bushes.  As the target moved even with him, David leapt out and tackled him.  They rolled and David came back up to his feet.  Drawing his sword, he aimed it right at his opponent.

"Callamandian Army.  You are my prisoner.  Stand and put your hands behind your head."

"David, knife!" Vivian shouted.

"Take him!" David replied.

In a blink, the target fell hard to the ground, a large wound open on his back.  David used his foot to roll the body over.  Vivian and Giendia soon joined him.

"Nice shot," David told Vivian.  She smiled at the praise.

David started to rummage through the man's pockets, when suddenly something appeared from nowhere, right on the man's chest.

"What the hell is that?" Vivian asked.

"Oh, fuck!" David shouted.  He picked up the device and threw it as hard as he could, augmenting his strength magically.  The bomb was nearly a quarter mile away when it went off.

"What the hell?  He looks dead!" Vivian demanded.

"He is dead.  That's the problem."

"I don't understand," Giendia said.

"Me, either," Vivian agreed.

"It was in his Conjuring Room.  There's a danger to the Conjuring Room.  If you are completely incapacitated, your Conjuring Room will collapse, and everything you have in it will come popping back into the real world.

"The Vrudenans are apparently using this as a sort of booby trap, or dead-man switch.  If you kill one of them, then the bomb pops out of their Conjuring Room and kills your ass." 

"Why haven't we seen this before?" Vivian asked.

"Mastering the Conjuring Room is hard.  Not a lot of people can do it.  Not a lot of humans can do it.  I have no idea how many weres can.  I imagine that the Vrudenans they're using as spies have been trained heavily in how to do it, to act as a self-destruct device on whatever intelligence they're gathering.  So, whatever this shit is, it must be important."

David collected every piece of paper from the man's pockets, then took off his jacket and felt around for hidden items.  He did the same with his pants.  Finally, with nowhere else to look (that anyone wanted to contemplate), he vaporized the spy so as to prevent knowledge of his fate.

"Come on.  I'll look through this shit later, but we're supposed to be looking for werecats, not spies."

"Aw, fuck me with a dragon horn," David muttered.

"That would probably be incredibly painful," Giendia warned.

"What's the matter?" Vivian asked.  They were all sitting together at breakfast, and David had been reading through the materials that the spy had been carrying.

"The Vrudenans found out about something that we would really rather they not know about."

"Oh?  What?" Vivian asked.

David was about to answer her, but stopped himself.  "Uh... I don't think I should actually tell you that.  The fewer people who know about this, the better.  It's that dangerous."

"Since when do you know about our top secret stuff?" Vivian asked.

"I came across this in my civilian life.  I can't say any more than that.  What I can say is that the king is going to need to know about this, and soon.  We need to get this stupid operation on the road, so I can report in."

"We haven't found the werecats yet."

"I know that."

"And it's not scheduled to rain for three more days."

"I know that, too."

"So..."

"So I'm stuck being frustrated.  Lucky you."

Giendia giggled, but Vivian frowned.  "Great."

It had taken them two days to locate the werecats, and it wasn't Troop 12 that finally found them.  A falconswift let them know where to go, however, and so they made their way to the rendezvous point.  The supply company had also dropped off the barrels of milk powder.

"How are we supposed to get these to the werecat camp?  It's like two miles that way," one of the soldiers asked.  David had been placed in command of the small group responsible for the "quieting agent" as the plan called it.

"You know how to levitate shit, I'm assuming.  The two barrels you're each responsible for only weigh a hundred pounds apiece."

David, however, conjured his away into his Conjuring Room.

"Well, sir, if you can do that, then why not just do it with all of them?"

"First, my CR isn't that big.  Second, you don't put all your eggs in one basket that way.  Now, lift 'em off and let's get moving."

The group, led by Troop 12, made their way into the forest, moving slowly so as not to make any noise.  If there was anything with ears more sensitive than a werewolf's, it was a werecat.  They had four hours to make the trip, however, so they felt they would have enough time.

David was hunkered down in the bushes, about two hundred yards from the werecat camp.  He was using a pair of Earth binoculars to keep an eye on them.  The plan had been laid out in detail before the soldiers had gone into the field, so no communication was necessary.

Standing beside him were his two barrels of milk powder.  They had originally been blue, but that wasn't a great color for hiding in the woods, so they had re-colored them into a crude camouflage pattern.

David looked to his left and right.  Giendia and Vivian were standing, waiting.  Vivian had her own barrels, but Giendia, not having any magical ability to speak of, held her bow at her side.  Her job was to keep the unit safe from someone sneaking up on them.  As such, her head was constantly moving in response to sounds and motions.

The plan called for them to wait until right before it started to rain.  Failing that, they would have to do it right as it started raining, but David could see the rain clouds approaching.  He figured there was about a half-hour before it arrived.  They would wait twenty-five more minutes.

When it looked like rain was imminent, David signaled to the soldiers nearest him, who would then pass the message down the line.  They all pulled the lids off their barrels, then pulled their wands.  A strong ventus charm sent the milk powder soaring into the air, and forward.  It fell, almost like snow, all over the werecat camp.

David finished his task quickly so that he could get back to monitoring the werecats.  He could see, even from here, the confusion on their faces.  None of them knew what this strange white powder was.  They would probably get a hint as some of it landed on things that were wet or sweaty, but it wouldn't be enough.

A few minutes later, it started to rain.  The rain was not a downpour, but a medium soaking rain, which was absolutely perfect.  As the rain fell, the milk powder got wet.  The falling rain churned it, reconstituting it back into milk.  As David had learned during one of the Magical Creatures Familiarization Seminars back at Woodward, the smell of milk had a somewhat debilitating effect on werecats.  That's what they were counting on.

The werecats sniffed the air, and then inhaled the scent strongly.  It was amusing to watch their bodies go nearly limp from the perfume of milk that filled the camp.  As he watched, they all morphed into their various cat forms.

"Shit, I forgot about that part," David muttered to himself.  "All right, go," David told the soldiers.  "Just remember, we're trying to take as many alive as we can.  These are the ones who will have useful intel.  Don't let yourself get killed, but don't hex them unless you have to.  Move out."

The soldiers started running toward the camp.  Other soldiers, who were on the other side of the camp, saw the movement in the trees, and moved in at the same time.  Troop 12 stayed back, trying to watch for anything unforeseen.  Giendia now turned around, facing behind them, to keep an eye out for reinforcements or a patrol.

As a hundred human soldiers filled the camp, the troop of about fifty werecats were finding it very hard to care.  Since the soldiers had orders not to be overtly threatening, the werecats took note of them, but acted drunk and unconcerned, licking their paws and rolling on the ground, smearing the milk scent all over their bodies.

In short order, all but one werecat were restrained and in custody.  The one had gotten belligerent when a soldier approached, and so had met an unpleasant fate.

With the operation complete, David emerged from the trees.  He met up with the vocator who had been in overall command of the operation.

"How'd we do, sir?" David asked.

"All but one," the vocator said.  "Perfect execution.  I hear this was your idea."

David grinned, but said, "Now, sir, you know this would only have been my idea if it went wrong.  This was obviously the arkigo's plan."

The vocator laughed.  "Too true!"

"Do you need us for anything more, sir?" David asked.  "I need to get back to HQ."

"What's the rush?"

"While we were looking for this unit, we ran across a... well, he was probably like a courier, but he had information in his possession that needs to get pretty high up the chain of command, and quickly."

The vocator nodded.  "All right.  We've got this thing wrapped up, anyway, unless there's some kind of evil surprise waiting out there in the woods for us."

"We didn't see or hear anything.  And the transports should be here in... what, like an hour?"

"Yeah.  In fact, you might as well wait here.  That transport can get you back to your HQ direct from our camp, once we've delivered our friends here."

David nodded.  "Yes, sir, that makes sense.  Thank you."

"Hell, figure you deserve that at least for whispering in the arkigo's ear."

David smirked, then walked back to his own unit to wait for transport.

 When David had made his report at Scout Company 1 HQ, he had been immediately told to report to Ark North HQ.  When he told the arkigo that the information he was carrying might, in fact, be too sensitive for the arkigo, he was told to go to his quarters, and further instructions would follow.

Now, he was walking into a rather fancy hotel in Cormatsen.  It was the first time he'd ever been to the city.  It was about half the size of Bolmont, and seemed to be full of ornate buildings.

David was escorted up to the top floor, and led into a waiting room.  He was told that someone would come for him.

David stared out the window, watching the few people on the streets pass beneath him.  Jailla sat on his shoulder, sleeping.

"Excuse me," a young female voice said.

David turned around.  "Oh, hello.  Can I help you?"

"The king will see you now.  If you'll follow me."

David nodded, and followed the girl out into the hallway, and down two rooms.  David was ushered into a sitting room, where the king and several of his advisers were gathered around a table.  David stopped and bowed at the waist.

"Relax, Vigax," the king said.  "Please take a seat.  I'm told you have some rather important and sensitive information for us."

"Yes, sir..." David looked back and forth at the people in the room.  He didn't recognize any of them.  He didn't even know what they did for the king.  "Sir... I don't want to be a pain, but you might wish to reconsider the number of people who are going to hear what I'm about to say."

"Just how devastating is this news, Vigax?" one of the advisers asked.

"This fact alone could win or lose the war," David said bluntly.

"If this is related to a military operation of some kind, I will need my military advisers to hear it, so they can help evaluate the danger."

"This is not about a military operation, sir.  It's not even about the military at all.  This would best fall under the realm of magic technology, or whatever the appropriate term for that is."

"You're not referring to some use of Earth gadgetry in Callamandia, I assume," one of the advisers said.

"No.  I mean something magical that has not, up to now, been used."

The king considered for a long moment, then motioned.  Eight of the ten advisers that had been in the room, left.

"This is Arkigo Bradley Eisenpatton, the head of the army."

"Sir," David said formally.  The arkigo nodded.

"And this is... sorry..." the king said, clearly not remembering the man's name.

"Good to see you again, Master Elderwok," David said, finally recognizing the man.  The scribe nodded to him.

"You know each other?" the king asked.

"Some years back, I asked Master Elderwok to do a little research for me, sir," David explained.  "I assume you've asked him to stay just in case my newfangled magic isn't so newfangled?"

The king smiled.  "Something like that.  I need both of these people to evaluate what you're going to tell me.  So, tell me what you have discovered."

"The Vrudenans have discovered something that could be extremely dangerous to us.  Master Elderwok may have come across it in his reading, but I don't know how extensive the records are on this particular concept."

"What concept?" the arkigo asked.

"Portals," David replied.

The king looked confused.  "Explain what you're talking about."

David held out his hand and uttered a spell.  A glowing sphere appeared before them.  "Imagine that this is Dugerra.  Now... before I begin, I should ask a few questions.  I don't want to cover things you already understand, nor do I want to leave out something important that you don't know about.  Please bear with me, sir."

The king nodded for him to go on.

"Do you understand what magic actually is?"

"Not in any usable sense.  I know it has something to do with energies, and different energies interacting, etc.  But I don't think I understand it clearly enough for whatever you're about to tell us."

"Okay, sir... what do you understand about the other forms of energy, such as electromagnetism, gravity, and the like?"

"Even less."

David sighed quietly, then took a deep breath.

"Okay.  Magic is, as you know, a form of energy.  Those of us who are wizards are able to manipulate that energy directly to perform tasks.  The energy exists in a field that surrounds the planet.

"However, the magical field that surrounds us is not homogeneous.  It's... well, not lumpy, as such, but it has areas of higher concentration.  It's perhaps best to demonstrate visually.

"Here is a... well, a representation of the magical field around Dugerra.  This isn't precise or accurate, it's just to give you an idea of what we're talking about."

David waved his hand, and around the glowing sphere in front of him appeared a jumbled mass of lines, criss-crossing each other at seemingly random places.

"What you see here is the magical field.  You see how there are bright lines running through it.  These are the areas where magic is more highly concentrated.  The person who discovered this called these 'lines of focus'.  Now, you'll note how the lines of focus are often crossing each other.  This happens in myriad places around the world.  These we call nodes.  Nodes are even more powerful than the lines of focus, and it is these nodes that are important to our discussion.

"It is at these nodes that a portal can be created.

"A portal, in this sense, can be thought of as a travel gate that never leaves the planet.  These portals, instead, take you to a new location on the planet.  So, using our model here, I could build a portal here-"

David waved his hand, and one of the nodes flared, leaving behind a red dot on the blue spiderweb of lines.

"- that would link up to a node here."

David waved his hand again, and another node flared, leaving a dot.

"Now, once these two portals are built and linked, you could travel from this point to that point simply by walking through.  It's as fast as stepping through a doorway."

"My god.  And these portals can be anywhere?  To anywhere?" the arkigo asked.

"Well, no.  That's our one small saving grace.  Portals can only exist at nodes.  And you can only link nodes that have direct paths to each other.  And first you have to be able to figure out where the nodes are, to even begin to construct a portal.

"The problem is, the information I gathered suggests that the Vrudenans are putting serious research power behind an effort to find and create portals."

"How did you come across this information?" the arkigo asked.

"While in the field on my last assignment, my troop killed a Vrudenan courier.  The papers he had with him talked about this project.  I'm not at all sure why that courier was where he was... my fear is that they were trying to get the old records from the Royal Archive."

"How can there be records of this?  I've never heard of portals before," the king objected.

"And how do you know all about them?" the arkigo demanded.

"I know about them purely by accident.  I live in Pendergrast Manor."

"And?"

"And Giselle Pendergrast was the wizard who discovered the existence of portals.  There are four of them in Pendergrast Manor itself."

"Oh?  And where do they lead?"

"Two of them lead to each other, within the house.  The other two lead to a hill on the other side of the planet.  I discovered their existence because some house troll children were using my attic as an easy way to get up the hill.

"Giselle Pendergrast lived over a hundred fifty years ago.  She brought this information to the sitting king at the time, but when she discovered the part I haven't told you yet, she was ordered to stop doing research and hide what she had learned.  No one had seen it until I read her journals, which were in my attic."

"Were?" the king asked.

"I have since moved them somewhere else for safe keeping."

"You said she discovered something else.  What was it?" the arkigo asked.

"The OmniPortal."

"What the devil is that?" the king asked.

David pointed back to his glowing planet model.  "As I said earlier, a portal links two nodes that have direct paths to each other.  A portal can be created an any node you like, but it can only go to one place.  For instance, the portals in my attic can only go to that hill.  They can't be redirected to go anywhere else.

"The OmniPortal, however, has only one fixed end.  It can be steered to any other node in the web of magic.  This is the danger.  If the Vrudenans discover the OmniPortal, they can destroy us without any possibility of resistance from us."

"How so?" the arkigo asked.  "I mean, I see how it would allow them to move from place to place, but..."

"Sir, I haven't done the math to figure it out, but you can be fairly confident that there is at least one node in Senesty itself.  The Vrudenans could bypass our entire defense structure and take the capital.  We would have no way to fight them."

"Good lord," Livelius Elderwok gasped.  "No wonder they stopped looking for it."

"Yeah.  Depending on who has it, it could be disastrous for the entire planet."

"So... how do you build an OmniPortal?" the arkigo asked.  "If we could build one first, then we'd have the advantage."

"You don't build an OmniPortal," David said.  "You have to find it.  Only one OmniPortal exists, according to Giselle's research.  Its fixed end is located on one specific node, and only in that place can you construct the OmniPortal.  She was prevented from continuing her research before she ever figured out where it was.  I have her notes, but I haven't taken the time to educate myself on the math necessary to find it."

"Well, turn over those notes to us.  We have plenty of advanced minds to work on the problem," the arkigo said.

David looked to the king.  "Are you sure you want to do that, sir?  If you start people working on this in a concerted fashion, then it's going to get out.  The Vrudenans will hear about it.  The documents the courier had did not mention the OmniPortal.  If they hear about it, they will want to know about it.  They will target the operation for intelligence gathering.  It isn't that hard for a Vrudenan to fool us into thinking they're a human.  It's just one more advantage they have over us."

"How so?" the king asked.

"Sir, Vrudenans tend to stay in hybrid form most of the time.  We can't mimic that in an undetectable way.  So they can hide among us, but we can't easily hide among them."

The king nodded.  After long moments of thought, he said, "I think you're right, Vigax.  We don't want to make a big deal out of this.  What I do want to do, is to find out what the Vrudenans know.  I need to find out how far along they are in their research."

The arkigo asked, "How do you want us to go about that, sir?"

"Every way you can.  David, you found one courier.  Do you think there would be others?"

"Quite possibly.  They have to get information back and forth somehow, and they can't get past the divination blocks any more than we can."

"Then I want you, as well as other members of Scout Company 1, to be out there looking for them.  This is a top priority.  We need to find out what they're doing."

"Yes, sir.  Do you wish me to relate that to my CO, sir, or will you send it down the chain of command?" David asked the arkigo.

"I'll take care of it, Vigax," the man said gruffly.

"By the way, David," the king said, now that the meeting seemed to be over, "My wife has approved you for a Queen's Cross."

David blinked.  "Sir?"

"The Medal of Merit, also called the Queen's Cross, because she is in charge of awarding it."

"Yes, sir, I know what it is, I'm just not sure why I was being considered for one."

The arkigo said, "You just put together an operation that took out an entire intelligence operation, without a single loss on our side, and only one loss on theirs.  We've already started getting good intel out of them.  That was one hell of an idea."

"Thank you, sir."

"Your official notification will come with the standard medal rotation, of course," the arkigo said.

"But I personally wanted to say thank you," the king said.  "You have a habit of thinking outside the box.  That's very helpful.  Keep it up."

"Yes, sir.  I'll try."

"Good man.  You're dismissed."

David rose, bowed to the king again, and then left the room.

How the hell do you find one courier in a quarter million square miles of land?

 "All right, Vigax.  I'm sure you're aware that our priorities have changed somewhat," Vocator Schultz said over the comm portal.

"Yes, sir.  I'm afraid that's my fault, sir."

"I'm aware.  No matter.  We take our orders from Ark North, and they said we go looking for these couriers, so we go looking.  I am assigning troops 6, 12, 18, and 23 to this task until further notice.  They may be called upon for other operations as necessary, but they won't be mentioned in the general cycle of assignments."

"Yes, sir.  Can I ask why you chose those specific troops?  I mean, I know why you chose mine, but the others may see this as some kind of punishment.  The task is not likely to yield many results, and it's going to be boring and stressful."

"Other than yours, I drew the other three from a hat.  I agree with your assessment of the probable outcome, and I didn't want to play favorites.  I will probably change out the troops assigned to this at some point."

"Yes, sir.  I'll let them know.  May I assume that we're to begin these tasks immediately, rather than waiting for the new cycle?"

"That is correct, Vigax.  Your troop, however, needs to be back in time for you to hand out assignments.  You will need to come back to the comm center regularly, to handle your administrative duties.  This is going to make for a heightened work load for you."

"Yes, sir.  Do I get a raise?" he asked with a grin.

"Certainly.  I will raise a glass to you at the pub every night," the vocator said with a chuckle.  David laughed, too.  "You have your orders, Vigax.  Carry on."

"Yes, sir."

David signed off with the vocator, thanked the comm soldier, and went outside.  He used the public address spell to call together the other three troops and give them the bad news.

"How the fuck are we supposed to find some guy running through the woods?  Uh, sir?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Good question," David said.  "My best answer is to use detection spells.  They can extend your range quite a bit.  Spread out your troop as far as you can safely go.  Let's face it, folks, we don't really have a lot of chance of running into one of these bastards, but these are the king's orders, so it's what we're going to do.  Any further questions?"

There were none.

"Okay.  Get yourselves ready for a field mission.  We move out in an hour by peg coach."

As the other troops moved off to prepare, Vivian and Giendia stayed with David.

"Is this because of that courier we killed?"

"Yeah.  The Vrudenans know something they shouldn't, and we're trying to figure out just how much they know."

Vivian nodded.

"You two had best go get ready.  I'd hate for us to be the ones holding up the mission."

Vivian grinned, and then the two moved off.

David stared into the distance.

Are there any tricks we can play to find these assholes?

"Jailla... could the forest birds help us with this?"

"Perhaps.  I will inquire when we get to where we're going."

"Thanks.  That's about the only card we've got in our hand at the moment."

"Certainly the king can't expect great results for this plan," Jailla said.

"I don't know.  I do know that we need this information, so whatever he expects isn't as important as that."

Jailla chirped in agreement.  "But will we get it?" he asked.

David just growled.  "Probably not."