John Henry took off the helmet they were all required to wear now and wiped sweat off of his face. Frankly, the headgear was a little annoying but rules are rules and he put the 'hard hat', as they called it, back on. Still, it helped keep things organized as you knew who were working on the line, who were visitors and who were supervisors just by looking at the color.
Plus the TvD logo was a nice touch. Made the purely functional headgear a little classier.
One downside was that he was wearing a supervisor's helmet. He'd always been a common joe but Miss Oberst said he had 'potential', give him a fifty-cent an hour raise and a yellow hat, so here he was. Dunno for sure what she was talking about. I don't do anything differently from before. The raise is nice, though!
He scanned the area and spotted someone goldbricking."Jerry! Get your lazy ass on the line! Your break was over five minutes ago and if I don't see some steel down, I'm going to kick you hard enough, you'll be able to see Frisco!"
The man who had been napping in the shade jumped to his feet. "Sorry, Junior! Just lost track of time."
"Don't give me that. The dead couldn't sleep through the shift change whistle. You make quota today or I might rethink letting you have this cushy job, y'hear?"
Apparently Jerry found that threat credible and rushed back to work!
Yeah, it's a real stumper. But as long as the pay is good, who am I to complain?
Despite his loftier title, he still worked a full day like the other gandy dancers. The only real difference was that he kept the rest in line and he talked to the mages every day. He wasn't quite sure what to make of them. Their Anglish was halfway decent and they worked hard but seeing a man heft a rail like a twig was a mite unsettling.
There was also another mage who was in charge of fusing the rails together with magic. She was an Irish girl from New York that was a greenhorn when they found her just a few weeks ago but now she was working like she had been doing it for years.
"Hey, Miss Goblet. Have you completed your welding for today?"
She pushed a red lock out of her face. "I've said before, it looks harder than it is. I can fuse a lot more rail than this. And it's Gob-nait, not Goblet!" She held the joint between two rails with her bare hand and focused. A red glow appeared and he could feel the heat from where he was a few feet away but she showed no signs of pain. After a few seconds, she quickly pulled her hand away revealing a smooth section of steel, the two pieces of rail joined as if they had been made that way.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Lawd, girl, that never gets less impressive."
"I'm still shocked myself." She tapped a ruggedized orb that was affixed to a leather belt like an oversized belt buckle. "If I hadn't taken that test back East, I'd still be a housekeeper. But a mage-smith, huh? I hadn't even heard of such a thing."
He looked at her well-defined biceps and large frame, "You probably could work the line even without magic."
"Shut your bake!" Despite her words, she seemed pleased. "By the by, have you taken the test yet? You might get jammy, too."
"Me, nah. I'll be working until I drop into my grave, ha!" But her talk reminded him to complete that task. "Might as well get it done now. Looks bad if I ride everyone's ass to check the box and I forget my own self!"
"I have time, I can do that for you."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, the boss showed me how so that I can pick up the slack." She led him to a rail car that was used as an office. It traveled down the track as they completed their work. When local staff questioned this, a Germanian mage just laughed and said, "We'll be moving far too fast for a stationary headquarters. If you blink, you'll miss it!" Stretching behind the engine were a line of 'dormitories' as well and even a mess car to feed the workers.
She opened a panel on the side of the car to reveal two handles and a row of unlit indicators. She grinned when he looked puzzled by this. "Ah, so many people are getting tested so they rigged this up a week ago. Also I think the office types were tired of people tramping in and out when they were trying to get work done."
"What do I do? Grab these things?"
"Pretty much. Then try to push some magic into them."
He looked at her with disbelief. John stopped his first reaction with difficulty as there was a lady in earshot. "Excuse me?"
Gobnait shrugged. "I can't describe it better than that. It's not hard but keep an eye on the lights. One turns on automatically and try to make more of them light up. It's better to just give it a try!"
The handles were a standard size but they looked like toys in his huge hands. The red-head activated the sensors and said, "Go on, big guy."
John Henry, still unsure, just concentrated on the lights. Huh. Did the second light flicker a bit? He tried to focus on the feeling as the light came on. It went out and then flared up even brighter. "Ha! This is easier than I thought! How long should I do this?"
"Take it as far as you can go."
"Yes'm." He knew nothing about biofeedback or how the machine worked but he was starting to associate a feeling in his hands with the lights on the machine. It's kinda like when I have a good head of steam going at work. He squeezed and tried to remember the sensation of holding a shovel, holding a pick, digging and working until the rhythm sinks down into his bones like a song made of sweat and steel.
He was focused so much, he didn't see the row of lights come on one after another. Gobnait wasn't surprised when one light came on, many people had minimal abilities with magic, but her eyebrows raised when light after light came on. They said each light was ten times harder than the last and he's almost gotten them all! Her surprise turned to nervousness as the man strained. "H-hey, big guy... Mr. Henry! Whoa!"
The hard-working man was focused, he didn't hear her at all and was oblivious to anything around him...
…until he pulled the tester out of the solid steel mounting of the train car with a enormous screeching of metal!
Both of them stared at the handles of the sensors still in his hands, pieces danging from them, while sparks arced feebly from exposed wires on the train.
"Do you..." He cleared his throat nervously. "Do you think I'm gonna have to pay for that?"
She shook her head. "I'm not sure." She grinned after a slow minute. "But I think you'll be able to afford it really soon!"
* * *
Tanya looked around, pleased with what she saw. "You've done a fabulous job putting this together, Enrico"
He was a Francois ex-pat engineer and had moved (small) mountains in the past two months. "Thank you, Madame President! This building meets all your requirements, I believe. The security and sound room in the basement will control the music through the consulate grounds. First floor is for retail space, mostly music related but with some associated merchandise. Second floor houses the recording studios."
The two walked through the lobby where different shops were lined on either side based on their target demographic and specific products. At her insistence, areas targeting the younger audience had a lot of neon lights and bright colors while there were more sedate venues for adults and for expensive record players. "Is the third floor ready? In many ways, that will be the heart of the operation."
"We are still waiting for the permits to be approved."
An annoyed looked crossed her face. "We sent everything in, yes?"
He nodded. "As soon as we started the project. In fact, before everything else."
"What's the holdup? As far as you know?"
"If I had to guess, I'd say local government."
"One moment." She walked into the nearest storefront, found a phone and called up the operator. "Yes. Connect me to the mayor's office. Tell them Tanya Degurechaff is calling. Yes, I'll hold." She tapped her foot as she waited. At a speed that surprised Enrico, she began to speak again. "Quiet, I'm not interested. Someone in city hall is slowing up my permits and you are going to fix it. Again, I don't care, just handle it. If you have any questions, call up Alphonse and ask him exactly how patient I am." She hung up without saying goodbye. "That should handle things, Enrico. Are there any other problems?"
A bit shocked by how much power she casually wielded, he was caught by surprise but pulled himself together. "No, not at all. We have the transmitters and antennas set up on the Tower. We'll have the radio station broadcasting by the end of the week!"
* * *
After fixing the issues with the radio licensing, Enrico and Tanya took an elevator to the second floor. The two had similar interests in music and technology so the discussion on the way was lively. "I want to increase the dynamic range in our products while also increasing the fidelity."
"Hmmm, that will be expensive."
She waved off that argument. "Doesn't matter. Audiophiles with money will fund our R&D in the end. Less expensive models will follow. But we absolutely need the quality there first to attract those dollars. The essence of our brand is quality first, quality last, quality forever. Sometimes it costs more, but you get what you pay for."
Also, I'm getting tired of the terrible recordings they call 'good'! Maybe I'm spoiled, but I remember how amazing music can sound and it grates on my ears when I hear some of this crap.
"We use diamond stylus needles for that reason, regardless of costs."
"Oh, yes! The counterweighted arms with the elliptical styluses are delightful... I know some people who were moved to tears when hearing how good it was."
She looked at him askance. "Some people?"
He threw up his hands. "Okay, fine, it was me! But I wasn't alone!"
Instead of a conference room, they went to a large recording studio. Today there was a collection of vocalists gathered. They were chatting with each other when Tanya arrived. A burly singer looked toward the open door, "Oh, President Degurechaff!" He was a baritone that had sung with her in New York for Ode to Joy and had come with her to Chicago when she made him an offer.
"Please call me Tanya when we're making music. President, Ambassador or even Colonel are left outside that door."
He grinned. "Can do, Tanya."
"I'll keep this short, but first are there any questions?"
A tenor that hadn't worked with her before spoke up. "Um, what's the plan? I mean, we are here. And you are here, umm..." He looked a bit embarrassed and just trailed off.
"That's a cogent question and it's the key to situation. Basically, I'm very, very busy and I only have one mouth. Also I have a good range but not nearly wide enough for all the songs I want to record."
This news rather shocked everyone considering that her release rate dwarfed anyone else by at least an order of magnitude. And she was just telling them that it wasn't fast enough?!
"We're going to split the recordings into three categories. Category 1 are albums where I sing. I'll participate in every one of the songs. Category 2 are albums where I'll write all the songs for you. The primary reason is that I have songs that require male singers." She smiled wryly. "Apparently there's not a huge market me singing passionately about my love for another woman."
There were several uncomfortable glances between some singers that Tanya failed to notice.
"But, in a broader sense, there are songs that need male singers either based on subject matter or just the vocal range required. The market for male vocalists is and will remain large, of course."
"What about duets?"
"Male/female duets fall under Category 1, for the most part, unless they are out of my range. Again, if I sing, it's the first category. Now, Category 3 belongs to you." She waved to the expansive studio around them. "Musicians aren't assembly line workers. If you have a song you want to sing, a performance you are working on, or anything like that, please feel free to use the facilities outside of reserved hours. If you come up with something interesting, please consider having TvD produce it for you."
Everyone seemed quite excited by the announcement and there was a small buzz around the room as the performers whispered to each other.
Tanya was satisfied with that response. This is ideal for me! They can use otherwise wasted studio time and it helps keep creative types from feeling like draft animals. And if they happen to come up with something good, we can release it under our label and make money that way. I can't lose no matter how it turns out.
What the singers were thinking was quite different. My God, she is so generous! Studio time is horribly expensive and she is basically allowing us to earn extra money by doing our own music. We don't have to find a producer, or a place to play, or rent recording equipment. It's like she's just giving us money for performing our own music!
"You probably know that we'll be starting our own radio station soon. While there will be news broadcasts, it will primarily be for music and entertainment. Anything we sell on discs will also be played on our radio station with appropriate credit being given. So... something else to look forward to."
Enrico saw their faces drop. "No, no! Don't misunderstand. We're not asking you to be radio musicians. We're going to improve the recordings so much that we can just play those instead while you are doing more important things like producing new music. Your job is be creative. Our job is to help you do it!"
Tanya nodded. "Thanks for clarifying that. You, all of you, are going to bring joy with your hard work and talent and we'll depend on technology to share it with everyone. If you are EVER feeling overworked, please tell us so that we find a solution. You are making music, not bricks!" She chuckled. "Although, frankly, I don't want an overtired, groggy person making bricks either!"
There was general laughter at that while she continued. "That said, we are going to be making a LOT of music. I have many songs that I need help with and we going to be very, very busy starting tomorrow." She looked at them steadily. "All of you were chosen because you have great voices but, moreover, superior range and control. I have a vision for a lot of these songs and I'd much rather find people who can be flexible to match that sound in my head."
"Like all TvD employees, you have the option of become a partial owner rather than taking a regular salary. I'm not pushing you either way but we do have a track record of success. But everyone here has an additional option. Every album produced you can take royalties or an interest in the production company. So the first is general and diversified among all our divisions, even internationally, but the latter is all concentrated just on the music side of the business."
"Do we have to decide now?"
"No, of course not but please tell Enrico by the end of the week so we know how large a paycheck to write!" She smiled again and said with conviction. "The choice is yours, after all and you should think about it. It's a gamble but even if you don't become rich, you'll always have a roof over your head and will never miss a meal here."
I hope they take the offer. No one works harder than the owner of a business and it will help keep these creative types focused on making great music. Since I'll feed them basically an unending series of great songs, I can relax more and let them make us money!
* * *
The R&D department at TvD was an interesting place. People were drafted to assist or test products constantly. But, the less formal testing area was definitely the cafeteria.
The west wall had a bulletin board for comments on food and the east wall for everything else.
Uwe had a bowl in front of him with steam rising off of it. Lange was walking by and happened to glance down. "Is that... noodle soup?"
"Ah, yes! The latest product of course." He picked up a strand with a fork and examined the gentle curls which were unlike spaghetti which were straight. "Free lunches are great but guinea pigs should get their food for free, right?"
"Of course," Lange said dryly. He chuckled and sat down with a colorful cube, having already eaten lunch but wanting to try out some new products. "How's the soup?"
"Oh, it's fairly tasty. If it was merely edible, that would be a win since it's designed to be as inexpensive as possible." He held up a torn piece of tin foil. "The gimmick is that you can change the flavor with 'flavor packets' while the base product is just the noodles. They are fried, then folded and dried into a block. You just pour on boiling water, add the packet and then wait for three minutes."
"Sounds convenient."
"Oh, it is! Plus there are suggestions on how to upscale the meal with vegetables or meat but it seems fine just like this." He slurped up some noodles and then glanced at what Lange was holding.
"What's that?"
"It's a puzzle cube. You twist the sides and try to get all the colors to match on all six sides. I worked on the mechanism inside. It's surprisingly simple to make once you have the basic idea."
Uwe looked at wildly disordered squares. "It doesn't look simple."
"Simple to make. Not so easy to solve!"
Uwe's fingers almost instinctively moved toward the toy but he was prevented by the lunch in front of him. "We are going to sell a lot of those, I think."
He nodded toward the noodles. "Those too." I hope they don't become TOO popular. The diets of my team is terrible as it is.
Their conversation was briefly interrupted by a sudden clatter from another table followed by someone yelling 'Jenga!' and general laughter!
* * *
A pair of bloodshot eyes stared across the slumbering city at the well-lit tower in the distance, calling to her like a poisoned siren, whispering of the climax to her dark desires. Shining ideals were tainted and long forgotten leaving only a horrible hunger.
Soon...
It would be time to feed.
Chapter 95 - Ezekiel
Tanya looked out her office window at the darkening skies. "Hmmm... this will depress attendance a bit but we've been quite lucky with weather so I shouldn't complain." She tapped her desk with one finger while lost in thought. "We're ahead of schedule both with construction and revenue, so maybe we should push ahead on expansion plans? We have the property in place both in Chicago and around the country... why not go ahead? The current conditions can't last forever."
The only other person in the room was Oskar who was engaging in actual consular work. It was rather minimal, for now, as most Germanian citizens had left the country during the Great War. Other than new immigrants to the Fatherland, the majority of his work was complaints about illegal seizures of property by the Unified States against their citizens. Unfortunately, he could do little about those as of yet.
He had grown comfortable being a sounding board for her ideas. She apparently trusted him to give intelligent feedback and he strove to live up to that. "Which conditions?"
She nodded and pointed at the brewery one could see from their vantage. "That. The prohibition amendment is unpopular despite its current public support. And this will only get worse. Some day there will be enough displeasure and they'll repeal it. It depends on whether enough people are afraid of being un-elected!" She smirked cynically, "Or when the power-that-be see their own supplies start to run out."
Oskar put down his paperwork. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you do intend to duplicate this consulate in other locations?"
"Essentially, yes. This will be the center but I want to copy this success everywhere. Not everyone can travel to Chicago. I want to allow a good 50% of the country to be able to visit a consulate with only a few days travel."
"So, your theory is public demand for alcohol will force their hand..."
She caught his gist. "Ah! How did I miss that! With enough locations, we can help reduce pent-up demand with our very legal supplies." Plus there will be less crime as our very presence will undercut the massive profits to be had. Less crime means less public outrage against Prohibition. I'd better up our security wherever we establish ourselves as we'll be in this business long term. Tanya looked at her colleague with obvious pleasure. I love working with smart people! It's not just that they do their jobs well, but they help me improve my own performance. She continued to look at him while she thought. Still, I can't stifle his growth by holding him down here. It's bad for the company if I don't let him expand his power and capabilities. I can't think of someone better to start our new location and it's not like he's unfamiliar with what needs to be done as he was here even before I was.
He noticed the smile and was amazed at how it made the girl's face light up. He was used to her professional smiles, her knowing smirks, her sometimes wicked grins but this expression actually made his heart skip a beat. He had been trying to avoid thinking about her as a woman, both due to her age (even if marrying at 17 was quite common for women) and the fact that she was literally his superior. This willful blindness was shattered when his father bluntly asked him if he found her attractive enough to marry! I hate to admit it, but he has a point. From my observation, she's extraordinarily competent, enormously intelligent, and is even fiercely protective and loyal. She takes better care of her employees than most people do their own families!
"50 percent? That will mean opening a lot of consulates across the country."
"Of course! I want us to become synonymous with drinking. But not in any crude way. Fine drink, delicious food, safe entertainment... in general, good fun for everyone." A light spatter of rain came down and the day darkened further as dark clouds further hid the sun. He'll be key to these expansions. I best give him some encouragement and show my trust in him. "I'm going to go out for a brief walk, Oskar." She put a hand on his shoulder, grateful that she didn't have to reach up since she had grown some and the tall man was seated. "I'll be depending on you and I look forward to us working together for many years."
The former prince cursed his heart for skipping another beat as she left the room!
* * *
The Powered Rangers looked up at the sky, much like everyone else. The storage and maintenance area for the Powered Knights had largish double doors as it was a converted warehouse and both were currently open as the weather was pleasant other than the rain. Ranger Green shook his head. "No outside shows today, I do believe."
Ranger Blue said, "They aren't 'shows', they are public relations events and demonstrations of our technology."
"Aaaaaand, that differs from shows in what material way?"
"There are several significant and obvious differences that I can't be bothered to enumerate at this time."
Yellow said. "Stop it. This is a good opportunity to do maintenance on the Knights. The weather is reason enough to make sure they are in tip-top shape."
The only female Ranger sighed at this and shook her pink-helmeted head. "Really, that's going overboard, don't you think? There aren't any engines, the orbs are sealed, the joints were lubricated not two days ago and the surface is corrosion proof." She ran a finger over the surface of her Knight and showed her pink finger was still clean. "They've even been washed this morning. What kind of maintenance would they need that isn't just busy work!"
Red, the squad leader, just looked outside though the open and let them squabble. The team was still gelling and they didn't have an appropriate opportunity to 'shake out' their personalities to make it an effective force. Arguably, that wouldn't be necessary here in the States, but it made him uncomfortable that their training had been so much more theoretical than practical. It's like a mildly aching tooth. An itch you can't scratch. That damned feeling won't go away until we get some more suit time. I should ask the commander for a day off so we can go somewhere and let loose a bit. No place for that inside Tanyaland, of course! "Green, didn't the Colonel buy some farmland west of here? Farmland gone to seed?"
"Yes sir. They'll be reclaiming it this month and get it productive again. Nothing but scrub grass and weeds right now."
"Good. We might be going for a little trip soon. In the meantime, everyone suit up! Precision practice for everyone!"
Green groaned. "Not that Tai Chi stuff again!"
Pink hit his shoulder with a balled fist. Not that it did much as the man was almost as solid as his Knight. "Don't knock it! My handling of my Knight has improved a lot! I even do it outside sometimes to keep me limber."
"Oh, limber is it? Good, good, very good!"
She hit him again. This time hard enough to bruise!
"Ow! Sorry, Pink! Apologies! First round is on me tonight!"
She lowered her fist. "That's better. I'm not ordering anything cheap so bring your big wallet!"
Red looked out at the incoming storm again, an uneasy feeling creeping behind him, laying an icy finger on his neck. Crap. I can't wait to get a few workouts under our belts! He suited up with the rest in preparation for moving his Knight very slowly in synchrony with the others.
* * *
The rain had driven most of the shoppers, diner, and those on holiday inside the nearest buildings. The rain varied from a solid drizzle to a downpour but it was definitely getting stronger. Fortunately, most of the visitors came for the food and drink and less for the scenery and this didn't affect their plans much.
NON-visitors were less sanguine about the weather, however. A group of school-kids looked at the weather, tragedy etched on their faces. Today they had a bit of a field trip planned where they could play with some new toys that had been sent from the TvD test labs. They were roughly split into the 'inside' toys and the 'outside' toys. Almost to a one, the kids were itching to try the 'outside' today today!
Buddy looked out at the dark skies and sighed... a sound echoed by his friends. Frau Hartmann cleared her throat to get their attention. "Sorry, children but the weather is too uncertain today to play outside. But Mrs. Seidel says she has some new songs for you and the band room now has the student instruments and microphones so it should be entertaining. For now, though, please clean up and get ready to go to the other building." She stepped out to make a call to the music hall. "Please tell Frau Seidel, I'll be sending the kinder over because of the weather. Thank you so much!"
His best friend, Waldo, tried to make the best of it. "She's right, music is pretty fun and it beats doing nothing inside, right?"
A gleam formed in Buddy's eye. "Waldo. Pal. You know..."
"Stop. Every time you say 'you know', we get into trouble."
"But look at all this stuff! Freezbees, boomalangs, high-flyers, arm rockets... it will be a crime, no a sin not to play with them! A mortal sin, I'm sure of it!" He started to pour on the charm, as he always did. "All of these toys are waterproof. They told us that! And it's not raining so much right now. Barely a sprinkle!" As he talked, other kids started to gather around, enraptured by his words. "Imagine all those toys, flying through the air like planes, no like mages! And," he lowered his voice, causing the others to huddle even closer, "she's going to send us to the music hall but we can take just a little side trip to the picnic field, right? We'll just play a little bit. Right? No one will ever know!"
Wanting to be convinced, they were. Easily! When Frau Hartmann returned, she was prepared to tell them to clean their area and put on their raincoats but she found the room spotless and the kids already prepared to trudge through the gentle rain to the other building. "Oh my! Well, since you are all ready, you can go over now. Mrs. Seidel is ready for you. Tarry not!"
Instead of the foot-dragging and complaining, they practically leapt at the chance to go to the music hall and, if their rain jackets were a bit bulkier than normal, she didn't notice at all.
* * *
Doctor Trapp was finishing with his patient, the only one today, for a mild strain. "Please be more careful, Mr. Jones. Those dollies are there for a reason! No one will complain if it takes you sixty seconds longer to move a barrel as long as you do it safely."
"Gotcha, Doctor! Sorry to bother you on such a miserable day."
"This? This isn't bad as long as people stay indoors. Too many chances for slips and falls in this weather!" He jotted down a quick note to talk to Degurechaff about some kind of surface that was less prone to accidents. With anyone else, I'd be waved off or told it was too expensive. But her passion for preparation and safety nearly rivals my own! "Keep the bandage on and dry for two days and come back to see me then. And think about how saving a few seconds lost you a few days!"
"You got it, Doctor. I'll see you then." He went out in a wheelchair to the entrance way to be taken home. The front of the hospital had an extensive awning area so there was no ground exposed to precipitation like rain or snow, so he was able to get into the car without problem.
Pete came back with the wheelchair and parked it in its spot, out of the traffic lanes. "Another slow day, I think."
Della smiled and said, "That's for the better, right?" She wore a traditional nurses uniform but eschewed the cap.
"It's kinda spooky, actually. You'd think something would happen once in awhile other than a bad cold, or mashed finger..."
"Or a sprain?" She laughed!
Helen inserted a file for the injured worker into a drawer and closed it. "It's not that unusual. We have a youngish population with many of the dangers one normally encounters eliminated. Crime? None. Traffic? None. Falls? Almost everything preventable has been prevented. Our health campaigns even proactively prevent or ameliorate illnesses. What would be shocking is if we DID have average sickness and injury rates!"
Trapp came into the room after washing his hands thoroughly. "Indeed! I'm pleased to say that every initiative on the 'A' list is complete and we are making good progress on the 'B' list. We can't prevent everything but it's good to eliminate what we can. Some rather obscure things are on the 'B' list, after all. There aren't many tornadoes in Chicago but we're ready to weather them if need be."
"Really, Doc? What's next, flood protection?"
"No need... we've already got drills to get people to a safe level in the once-in-a-century rising of the water levels. No, we are quite ready for floods, I dare say."
"You keep at it, Doc," the ambulance mage said affably. He glanced at the rain that had picked up a bit and murmured to himself, "Still seems spooky to me. It's too quiet by half."
* * *
Tanya walked in the rain without fear of being wet. A mage shield could deflect bullets and shrapnel so mere droplets of water were no match for it. I suppose a direct lightning strike might be a problem but a thin layer of water is sufficient to guide electricity around a shield. Airplane hulls work that way at least with the metal acting in the same regard. Hmmm... I wonder if you could blast off the water off someone and ionize the air around them to attract lightning? Must make a note to have someone look into that.
Those less magically inclined (or orbless) were rushing to get under cover with the occasional few strolling calmly with umbrellas or raincoats. Even they, however, were merely going from place to place and didn't tarry.
"Maybe a cup of coffee and a small snack before lunch? There's that new chocolate shop that could really have their wares 'sampled' before opening next week." She didn't think twice about this, calorie-wise, as she maintained a habit of exercise and magic use to keep herself fit. Having heard too many horror stories in her old life about how much harder it was for women to maintain a healthy weight, she took extra precautions since she was rapidly approaching adulthood.
Keeping in fighting trim is harder, of course. Normally, I wouldn't think about it in this post-war period but an assassination attempt or two gets your attention. Perhaps an video-game like arcade where you shoot magically created targets? You would need a mage to run the thing but that's fairly simple illusions and if we use a specialized orb, all they would need to do is put magic in and let it move forward. No good for actual combat practice but it would make some money! She pulled out a journal and make a few cryptic notes before putting it away.
She glanced up at Eiffel's Tower with a grin. I've taken one thing but maybe each park -- I mean consulate – should have something similar? Unfortunately, I think they've already broken ground on the Empire State Building. Plus the land we have is too far out from the city center to justify such a structure. That arch thing in St. Louis? Yeah, that would be good. I'll want it near water, so maybe in Los Angeles? No, let's see if we can co-opt the Golden Gate Bridge. The south is going to explode with industry and vacationers when air conditioners become commonplace so let's make some long-term investments there. Worse comes to worst, we can just grow oranges!
She was surrounded by drizzling rain, but saw nothing but sunny shores in her imagination. Glancing up, she frowned slightly. "Eh, what's that?" High, high up in the sky, there was a glint of light that didn't appear to be lightning.
* * *
Ringed around the consulate were a series of watch stations that were constantly manned and alert. They also kept in constant contact with each other through scheduled checks and just general chatter. Major Hawthorn had been tempted to squash this 'misuse' of the communications but decided that there were few way to ensure that all stations were active and working properly than the constant jabbering even if the topics were less than military.
The observer/radio operator was also in charge of another piece of equipment: the mana detector. It was a complex device that teased weak mana signals, converted them to something technology could understand, and presented them on an oscilloscope-like display. With training, one could even tell who produced what signal and how much power they were using.
Of course, ALL of them had memorized the ex-Colonel's mana signature as a necessary part of their training!
Cal was resting a bit from his flying patrol of the morning. He was on the 0400-1200 shift this week and was yawning a bit as he copied his recordings of the patrol to an orb in the watchstation before he was free for the day.
Ted, the observer, looked over at the mage. "I'd say you looked too tired to move, but your grin tells me you are going to meet your Germanian cutie after this!"
"What can I say? When you're right, you're right. Pleasant company and a bit of lunch would suit me fine."
"And dessert?" He chuckled to show he didn't mean any harm by the jab. Cal could be fierce if he thought someone was making fun of Gisela!
"Shut it! But keep an eye out for an invitation from me one of these days." He pulled out a box whose contents were obvious.
"Jumping Jesus, is that a ring?! You really are serious about this girl, huh?"
"Like I said, when you're right." He looked toward Eiffel's Tower. "She's special. Hell, if I can convince her to put up with a roughneck like me, I'll do whatever I can to never regret that choice."
"I'd say she's the lucky one, my friend but I gotta say you're the one marrying up, ha ha ha ha!" He stopped laughing long enough to clap the big man on the back.
"Don't I know it! Well, I'm heading out."
"Yeah, good luck, I mean it." He glanced back to his equipment and noticed a signal coming through that looked odd. Despite the dozens of mages at the consulate, he knew their signatures by heart after the first month. This was new... and strong. He triggered his radio, "Station 3 here. I'm getting a mana signal I don't recognize. Strength gamma positive 2.3 and rising."
Another voice came on the radio. "Station 2. I'm seeing the same thing, gamma positive 2.4, 2.5, 2.6..."
Ted tweaked his settings. With two side-by-side stations showing the same signal, that mean it was equidistant to both of them which gave them a good track for the approach of the bogie.
"Station 7. Same thing! It's over 3 already!"
The station 13 operator swore out loud. "How in the hell are we all getting the same strength signal! It's not inside the consulate and it can't be coming from all directions!"
Ted flipped his settings between external and internal with no change of signal strength. "It's coming from high up! It has to be at least 30,000 feet with these readings!"
"29-five, 29, 28-five!"
Ted called out, "It's going at least 500 fps! Scramble, scramble, scramble!" He glanced over at Cal but the man was already gone.
* * *
Glowing like the sputtering torch, it fell like a comet, illuminating the skies, making the clouds glow red in reflected light as it dropped toward the Earth. None could hear the words but they were screamed aloud from on high! "I will not on you with pity; I will not spare you!"
Power, raw power shook the firmament. "Doom has come upon you! The time has come! The day is near!"
The light solidified until it was like the sun, blasting away the rain and mist! "I am about to pour my wrath on you and spend my anger against you! I WILL judge you and repay you for all your detestable practices!"
"Here I come, you bitch! IT'S JUDGMENT DAY!"
Chapter 96 - Pride
Mere seconds before the general alarm sounded, Tanya realized what was happening. Her magically enhanced voice resounded through the consulate, "LUFTANGRIFF!"
Then the alarms started wailing for city blocks all around.
Like a well-oiled machine, people sprang into action using long-practiced protocols. A waitress calmly told her jumpy patrons (including a few that were about to head outside to see what was going on), "Please everyone, come down to the shelters. There's likely a severe storm incoming, possibly a tornado and it's not safe. Just follow the red lights to the stairs, thank you!" Storm shutters were lowered all over the consulate and crowds of people were led to fortified underground bunkers.
Outside, much the same was going on, except here it was guided by public announcements and what staff happened to be outside. The sirens were interspersed with advice from the speakers situated around the consulate. "This is an emergency! Please follow the red lights to the nearest shelter! This is not a drill! Please follow the red lights to the nearest shelter!"
The alarm had, fortunately, occurred when the Empowered Rangers were suited up so they were able to race immediately out to assist. Green looked around, "Where are they, Blue?"
"No idea! Keep your eyes up, though! That's an air raid warning!"
"Air raid?! In the Unified States?!"
"Cripes, Yellow, didn't you hear the warning? Get it in gear, man!" Pink had the best eyesight and was scanning the skies. "Over there, behind that cloud!"
"That high? It's either a meteor or a mage and I'll only give you one guess as to which one. Okay, Rangers, get ready for when that thing lands. Keep your shields up and your weapons out! Move out!"
* * *
Major Hawthorn, his voice steely in the midst of a real emergency, was the calm amidst the storm. "What do we know, sergeant?"
Smith was on the phone while the other military men were trying to find out some info as well. "No word yet, Major! Whoever he is, he's strong, real strong. No match with anyone from Germania and the Consulate staff has been triple-checked."
"Have the operators compare to the Named files. No matter what country. Even if they are listed as dead. Keep all the guards on the perimeter until we know who it is."
"Sir!" He got on the radio using the frequency reserved for the operators. "Everyone, try to find this mana signature in the Named Guides. Anyone not already inside the consulate, continue to watch the perimeter in case there are more attackers." He continued to relay orders as they divided the tasks while continuing to monitor the incoming bogie.
"I'll take Francois!"
"Commonwealth, here."
"Russies!"
By being the last to speak, Ted got the Unified States. He frantically flipped through the unused recognition guide while keeping one eye on the displays. By design, the Named were at the front with other notables later in the book. He muttered under his breath as he compared the mana signatures one after another, "Anderson, no. Clark, no. Farmer, no. Franklin, no..."
* * *
Not wanting to make a target of herself, Tanya stayed close to the ground. She noted with grim satisfaction that weeks of drills were working. Her employees had hustled the civilians inside, she heart announcements of the main gate closing and steel shutters covered many of the shop windows. I need to get to the Knights. I don't have my loyal meat shields but maybe my new steel shields will work even better! She used her boot orbs in short bursts to zip from cover to cover as she moved closer to the disturbance.
The brief break in the clouds vanished and the glowing light was covered as it got closer and was soon lost in the rain.
Stifling a curse, Tanya continued to move closer to what she guessed was the landing point. She almost reached for her trusty type-97 that had been left behind in Germania. While useful, her cane wasn't a general-purpose orb and she ground her teeth over its limitations. I don't care if it violates the peace treaty! I'm going to get a good orb if I have to build it myself!
Finally, she caught sight of the Yellow Knight armor. Even in this weather, it practically glowed because of the shiny anodized surface. She sent a focused call to him with vocal magic, "Yellow! Join up with me, we'll go together."
He stood up straighter and looked around, finally spotting the hiding ambassador and then only because she chose to be seen. How can she hide so easily with that gold hair and bright blue clothes? Not having enough to time to solve that conundrum, he triggered the radio in his armor. "Argent is here! Form up for instructions!"
True to their training, they assembled in record time. Even now, Tanya was impressed at how lightly the armor moved though they weighed enough to crack pavement without the rubber treads on the bottom of their feet.
"There's a strong mage incoming, no word on who he is yet. Rejoice! You get to field test that fancy new armor we made for you."
"How should we deal with this?" Blue asked as the quintet and Argent hid behind a solid wall, out of sight to anyone near the center of the consulate.
"A combat mage with a good orb can absolutely dominate with maneuverability." She grimaced. "Those suits don't have combat orbs and I also don't have mine because of that damned treaty. What we need to do is take advantage of what we do have. The most important thing is to focus on defense."
Pink stood up straighter. "Defense, commander?" She almost grew up on stories of the daring Argent and this seemed... out of character.
"We are surrounded by civilians and this is. Not. A. War! Your suits were made to function like mobile armor, not force projectors. If you take a risk to focus on offense, you are giving up your most valuable asset. No, we're going to lead him to the best battleground for our strengths."
She outlined her plan and was rewarded with nods and grins. Give me a few weeks and I could add them to the Salamander Kampfgruppe with no problem. Since infantry don't count as mages... no, focus! I wish I could lead this bogie out of the consulate but then we are under the laws of the Unified States and there's no telling how that work out. They might even blame ME for this nonsense! We'll keep this in the construction area. Not much to damage out there but buildings we are going to tear down anyway.
"Okay, move out!"
* * *
Cal was moving without direct orders and that worried him very slightly, but that feeling was washed away by what was probably a mage attack. We're supposed to protect the consulate grounds. Intercepting an unknown mage has to qualify!
What he didn't admit, even to himself, was that his heart wasn't about guarding the consulate, but one particular resident.
The light that had guided him to the intruder was lost in the clouds, possibly mistaken for lightning flashes. Honestly, it was the worst situation: a mage of unknown identity, a rather expansive area to protect, no hope for immediate backup, and what was feeling like inadequate training. There was only one signal, so just stick to the basics, keep my shield up and keep them busy until I know more or get some assistance!
He flew through the skies feeling terribly exposed. While dogfight was against protocols, he knew that the defenders, theoretically, far outnumbered whoever was coming so he had to keep them away from the ground. With luck, he could identify where they were and bring them to where the defenders were concentrated.
He hoped, at any rate!
Where would they be going? There are no military targets here. So it's either an assassination or just an attack to cause death and chaos. He set his jaw and looked in the distance at the biggest, most obvious landmark. Without wasting further time, he sped toward it, rifle cocked with a round ready to deal with whatever he found.
* * *
The waiters were doing their best to usher people down the elevators that weren't designed to evacuate Eiffel's Tower on a moment's notice. They kept people calm but moving efficiently.
In Germanian, the head waiter said to the manager, "What do you think is happening?"
"Who knows? But it has to be serious or they wouldn't be doing all this, Elias" He scratched his head while sighing. "At least this is the last batch and no one is panicking. Did you hand out the meal vouchers?"
"Yes sir. If this comes to nothing, hell either way, then it'll be a big hit on our numbers."
The older man laughed. "It's not about numbers, it's about people. So what if we have a bad day? People will remember how pleasant we were, the way we handled ourselves, the fact we went above and beyond. Trust me, I've managed restaurants and people for many years. How we respond when things are going wrong will stay with people much longer than when they are going right."
Elias peered over the edge. "I've never seen the consulate look so deserted since we opened up. Even with poor weather, there would always be people walking around." He sighed and shaded his eyes from the rain and looked upward at the storm. He squinted as the flashes lit up the surrounding clouds. "Anthon, my friend, I... Oh, Scheisse! It's coming this way!"
Anthon yelled to the remaining waiters. "We're going down on the Express!"
* * *
Ted flipped another page and the mana signature almost jumped off the page at him. He glanced at his instruments, "...seven, eight, nine... that's it!" He triggered his radio. "I've got it! It's Sioux, nine-point match – almost a full ten!"
Another voice interrupted. "Can't be. I already eliminated him. Why are in the Legadonian files, anyway?"
"Not Anson, you idiot! It's Maddog! Mary Sioux!" Almost as one, the others grabbed their Unified States booklets and verified what Ted had reported.
A chill fell on all the operators. It was never admitted to publicly, nor even openly discussed inside the military, but it was a well-known fact that she had caused more friendly fire deaths than anyone in the great war. Only because of the fact that deaths were mostly from non-American allies kept any semblance of secrecy around it.
That, and the belief she was the only mage that might challenge the Devil of the Rhine and win.
He flipped to the emergency channel shared by the Unified States and the Consulate. "Bogie identified, it's Mary Sioux! I repeat, the mana signature is a 9 points match for named mage, Mary Sioux!"
* * *
The radio operator in the consulate stood up when she heard the message, knocking over her chair with a clatter that startled everyone in the room. Not bothering to pick it up, she ran to another machine and activated an entire row of switches. "Attention! The unknown mage is Mary Sioux! Maddog Sioux is flying into the consulate! All personnel not already inside, take cover immediately!"
All through the consulate, speakers everywhere broadcast her message. At maximum volume, weird overlapping cries cut through the sound of the rain. Mary's name echoed through the empty streets and reached Tanya's ears. The others turned toward her but she just said, "Keep to the basic plan but dodge as much as you can and keep your shields up!"
What?! How did that crazy bitch get here with an orb! Intel said she had been discharged! Am I the idiot for actually believing something they told me again?! She narrowed her eyes as they raced to the construction site. But wait... if she has an orb and she's coming here maybe that means she's doing this under orders. What better way to get rid of an inconvenient Germanian ambassador than to have a dishonorably discharged soldier do the dirty work. Damnit, it makes too much sense! They can get rid of me and not take any real blame for it... just some crazy Legadonian girl driven mad by the War. I need to reduce the variables and do it fast!
"Red, radio the base to tell the Unified States to stay out of the consulate. It's too dangerous for them to get involved. Tell them we'll do our best to keep her here. The rest of you... when I tell you to, I want you to run away as fast as you. Regroup at the consulate offices and protect the people there."
Red's breath caught but he answered, "Yes, Colonel!" Even now, she's thinking about our lives and even the lives of the American mages.
Pink protested, "Colonel, we can help!"
"Against any other mage and I'd agree with you. But all you can do against her is maybe take a single hit. The cost is just too high. Remember, run when I tell you. For now, follow me!" She sped on, her heels glowing, followed by the quintet of Knights, their shiny metal armor shedding the rain as they raced behind her.
* * *
Major Hawthorne momentarily lost his composure for the first time. It was a lapse so brief that only Sergeant Smith spotted it. "Repeat that?"
"Sir! The ambassador said that we should stay out because it was 'too dangerous'."
Hawthorne's eyes narrowed. Of all the personnel in Chicago, he knew best the power and peril that Sioux represented. He just had no idea how she made it to the city and with an orb! "What's your analysis?"
He answered quickly. "We've scanned the consulate pretty thoroughly... the staff as well. I doubt they have a combat-capable orb on the entire grounds. And the number of combat mages is almost as rare. There are a few veterans but, outside the ambassador herself, none of any real note. Even she never would face Sioux head on and mostly countered with mobility and occasionally the use of some special orb that Intelligence tells us was stolen by the Russies after the War."
The Major recalled the Constantinople Incident and how much damage was caused there. I certainly hope she doesn't have that secret weapon inside our borders! But, even if she does, she's still going to try to handle this herself so others won't get hurt. The damnable thing is that even if we wanted to help, she's blocked us. Otherwise, WE would be the ones invading Germanian soil! Though he tried to remain cynical of her motives, subconsciously he was convinced she meant the way she presented herself: someone who genuinely wanted to make the world a better place.
He was about to give orders when a radio operator suddenly shouted. "Sir! News from the consulate!"
"Spit it out, man!"
He gulped. "It, it's Eiffel's Tower..."
* * *
Mary's eyes narrowed as she saw the Tower. It filled her vision as she grew closer as if prodding the hatred in her heart. "Look at that, just a monument to her evil Pride!" She looked around and scowled as she saw no one around. "She's still not coming out? Well, I'll make her! You want to hide, bitch, well hide from this!"
She didn't bother using her rifle and just shot a blast of pure energy at the Tower. The horribly loud and deep buzzing sound filled the square as the beam of magic sliced cut into the metal of the huge structure! The angled cut caused the top of Tower to slide to one side to sounds of screeching metal as the observation deck and restaurant tumbled to the ground below!
Mary smirked at the destruction. "Come out, come out, bitch! Pride goeth before the fall!" Her glowing eyes could be seen through the driving rain. "Time to FALL."