Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions (Death's Handmaiden Book 3) Page 13

  ‘Do we have to, Captain,’ Booker, Zayden’s partner, asked. Well, it was more of a whine, really.

  ‘Since Zayden saw fit to disparage your new captain, yes, you do. I’ll take care of the paperwork with Nava. Let whoever’s on duty at the infirmary know to treat him as hostile.’

  ‘Not sure that’s needed, Captain. I think he’s had the fight beaten out of him.’

  Courtney looked Rhett over for a second. ‘You might be right. Let them know he’s a potential vomiting risk then. There might still be something in there to come out.’

  ‘Oh, God,’ Zayden said, grimacing. ‘I hope not.’

  236/4/29.

  Another patrol, but this one was in daylight and it was not with Courtney. Sixte Wescott walked alongside Nava, looking like a really happy puppy. It was a little weird, but Nava had specifically wanted to patrol with Sixte: she wanted to find out why he was so enthusiastic about her.

  ‘Do you enjoy being in the SSF?’ Nava asked. They were wandering the various areas of the campus where the after-hours clubs operated. There was no expectation of real trouble, but the SSF were expected to keep a lookout while the students were out of classes.

  ‘Yes,’ Sixte replied. ‘I plan to join the ASF after I graduate. Go into law enforcement. Uh, my uncle is already in the ASF, though he’s not directly involved with policing.’

  That seemed to mesh with what Nava thought, so she asked. ‘Major Deveraux Wescott?’

  ‘That’s right. My father’s younger brother. He, uh, mentioned you. After I asked about you anyway.’

  ‘Hm. And what did he have to say?’

  Sixte was silent for a second or two. His expression suggested that he was working out exactly how to say what he wanted to say. ‘Well… Okay, so I heard you were in Alliance City when there was that terrorist incident.’

  ‘It wasn’t publicised, but it’s fairly common knowledge at the school.’

  ‘Right. I also heard that Fawn Tyrell was there, and she’s one of Uncle Deveraux’s people.’ He paused, perhaps expecting a comment, but Nava remained silent. ‘And there have been a lot of rumours about some of the stuff you got up to last year. Like taking on an entire squad of mercs on your own. Fawn Tyrell visited you here last year, so I figure she’s your ASF liaison and the captain confirmed that in the meeting. So, I asked if he knew you and… Well, he wouldn’t say much, which means it’s all a big secret. He’s hella frustrating at times. I know he knows about stuff, but he never talks about anything he can’t talk about.’

  ‘I would hope his nephew has learned from his example.’

  ‘Oh, I’m pretty good at keeping secrets. Anyway, Uncle Deveraux would only say that, if there was ever a problem here that I thought was way over my head and I couldn’t go to the captain about it, you would probably be able to handle it. Whatever it was.’

  ‘I see. So, when it was announced that I would be taking over the SSF, you were quite happy.’

  Sixte held up his hands. ‘Don’t get me wrong, Courtney has been a good captain. Great. The SSF has done well under her, I think. She’s good in a fight, and she knows how to command her people. But we were expecting her to stand down this year – she pretty much had to – and I have to admit I was kind of dreading who might replace her. I think Zayden might have gone for it if the captain hadn’t said her recommendation was going elsewhere. Then we heard Taryn Borchardt Firmin was applying. Zayden was sure Courtney was recommending Taryn, but I didn’t think so. I’m just really glad you got it, and your plans for next term sound amazing. Being in the SSF may be more than just a tick point on my résumé.’

  ‘Huh. Glad to be of help. So, I want your take on procedures. Is there anything in the patrol system you think could be improved? This is your chance to influence the future course of the SSF, Six. Don’t waste it.’

  ‘Oh, crap.’ He looked genuinely horrified. It was as though he had been hit with a surprise test. ‘You just want me to come up with stuff?’

  ‘We have a couple of hours, right? Take your time.’

  ‘A couple of hours. Right. I take it back. You’re going to be an evil captain.’

  Nava nodded. ‘I get that kind of thing a lot.’

  236/5/2.

  On a Thursday afternoon at the beginning of May, the household was out of lessons and being diligent. Homework was being done. By Mitsuko and Melissa anyway. Nava was quite content to leave it for an hour since all she had to do was a research report on small unit tactics she could have written from memory while sleeping. Instead, she was watching over Courtney’s shoulder because Courtney was not doing homework either. Courtney was busy working through paperwork for the SSF.

  A distraction event abruptly happened, though Nava was the kind of girl who could ignore distractions easily enough: Mitsuko paused in her work, stretched somewhat like a cat rising from a good nap, and yawned. ‘This is tedious. Are you ready for the handover next week, Nava? I see you’re still watching everything Courtney does.’

  Not moving her eyes from Courtney’s screen, Nava replied. ‘I believe I have a good start. I have the basics of the required administrative work down, I think.’

  ‘You should have,’ Courtney commented. ‘You do know it’s really hard to concentrate when there’s someone looking so intently at what you’re doing, right?’

  ‘Yes, and that isn’t how you spell proceed.’

  ‘Yeah, thanks.’

  ‘Anyway, the first lieutenant has organised the first lectures,’ Nava went on. ‘I have a reasonably firm grasp on the patrol system and a few operational areas I wasn’t sure of. I’m still studying what seems to be the main component of the captain’s role, but a little learning on the job is probably to be expected.’

  ‘The main component?’ Melissa asked.

  ‘Paperwork.’

  ‘Oh, really? Somehow, I figured there would be more patrolling and, you know, field work.’

  Nava shook her head. ‘Reading and writing reports. Filling in forms for the school’s administration. Paperwork.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Courtney said, ‘that’s about the size of it. Police work is never as glamorous as you see in the vids.’

  ‘I never thought it was,’ Nava said.

  ‘I thought it was,’ Melissa admitted. ‘Though, if I really think about it, there’s no way it could be.’

  ‘Just about everything involves more paperwork than you’d imagine,’ Mitsuko said.

  ‘I think it’s a universal law,’ Courtney agreed. ‘Like gravity.’

  ‘We’re all sorceresses,’ Melissa pointed out. ‘Gravity isn’t universal for us.’

  ‘Well, you know what they say about death and taxes. It’s true of paperwork too. Even where gravity doesn’t work.’

  236/5/6.

  SSF HQ was not quite as full as it had been at the last meeting Nava had attended. Notably absent was Zayden, but Nava knew why that was. Two more members were away due to family commitments, but they would be getting a recording of the proceedings sent out to them.

  Also noticeable was Nava’s dress, which now had gold trim above and below the corseted section and around the arm holes. Courtney’s dress still had the trim, but she had said it would be something of a relief to change out of that dress when the meeting was done. Nava was not entirely sure that the soon-to-be ex-captain was really that sanguine about losing her position.

  ‘Okay,’ Courtney said, ‘let’s do this.’

  Silence fell over the room as everyone turned to the head of the table where Nava was standing beside Courtney. Sixte was smiling at them. Pretty much everyone else was wearing a neutral expression, though it looked to Nava as though, in some cases anyway, that was because they felt the little ceremony deserved some solemnity. Not that there was much ceremony.

  ‘If you’re expecting a long speech,’ Courtney went on, ‘well, sucks to be you. What I will say is that it’s been a pleasure to serve with you all and, at least most of the time, you’ve made me proud to be your captain. I hope you�
��ll do the same good work for your new captain.’ She turned to face Nava. ‘Nava Greyling Sonkei, I hereby relinquish command of Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery’s Student Security Force to you.’ Then, surprising Nava a little, she saluted. ‘Welcome to the SSF, Captain.’

  Surprised or not, Nava returned the salute. ‘Thank you, Captain. I accept command of the SSF. You stand relieved.’

  ‘I am relieved,’ Courtney said, the statement not sounding like part of the ceremony. The grin which followed it as she lowered her arm added to that impression. ‘Now I can finally hand over the paperwork to someone else.’

  ‘That’s something to look forward to.’ Nava turned to face what was now her team. ‘I hope I can count on all of you to do the excellent jobs you have been doing up until now.’ She paused. ‘However, if any of you feel you can’t continue under my command, I’d like your resignations by the end of the week. Zayden Hillam has already submitted his resignation to Courtney. He won’t be back with us next term. I don’t hold grudges. If you don’t want to be here, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can find a suitable replacement. There won’t be any questions asked.’

  She paused again, apparently waiting to see whether anyone would speak up. No one did. ‘Okay, on to other matters. For now, patrol patterns and the like will remain as they have been. As I’ve already said, I’m going to be recruiting new members, starting this week. We’ll have some new blood in this room at the start of next term. I’m letting things bed in for a week before we really get going, but the first voluntary lecture from the ASF will be taking place in the evening on the twenty-first. Details to follow. It’s not going to be exciting. It’s covering basic police procedures. All the lectures will be available on vid for those on patrol duties when they happen. I’d like everyone to watch these first ones, even if you can’t be there, because they cover the most basic protocols we’re expected to follow.’

  ‘It’s mandatory?’ Booker Tucker asked.

  ‘It’s highly recommended.’ Booker was going to be one to watch, Nava figured. That was assuming she did not get his resignation in the next few days. ‘I’ll be posting additional lecture schedules to the private site as soon as I know details. Aside from that, it’s late spring break and the usual reduced patrol schedules will be operating. Go about your jobs as you have been doing and enjoy your time off. I know I’m going to.’

  236/5/7.

  The sun was not as hot in early May as it would be later in the summer, but it was still warm enough that Nava could lie in the back yard of the house and enjoy the heat on her skin. She was wearing a bikini or, since the house was on the end of a street and the garden was not overlooked, half of a bikini. Beside her, Mitsuko was wearing a swimsuit which barely deserved the name and a lot of sunscreen. Even Melissa was in a bikini, a pink one with white, shell-textured beads on the hip strings.

  Courtney was wearing shorts and a camisole top, and she was not sunbathing. ‘For someone who just took over the SSF, you seem very relaxed,’ she said to Nava as she brought a tray of drinks out to those basking.

  ‘I went over the patrol schedules and a few other details yesterday afternoon,’ Nava replied without opening her eyes. ‘I start interviewing new recruits tomorrow morning. Today is my day off, but I have my ketcom here, so I’ll be alerted if there’s a problem that needs my attention.’

  ‘You know Nava always does her homework before anything else, Courtney,’ Mitsuko said.

  ‘Huh,’ Courtney responded. ‘Have you done your homework, Nava? Your schoolwork, I mean.’

  ‘On Saturday afternoon,’ Nava replied. ‘I have this in hand, Courtney. You really can stand down and stop worrying in my place.’

  ‘I’m not– Okay, yes, I probably am. I should relax, right? I should go put a bikini on and lie down beside you.’

  ‘Yes,’ Mitsuko said, ‘you should. Relax, Courtney. Nava’s got this. All you need to worry about for the rest of the year is your final grades.’

  Courtney winced. ‘That jinxed it. Something really bad is going to happen now.’

  ‘I must concur with my predecessor,’ Nava said. ‘What were you thinking, Suki?’

  ‘You worry too much. Kyle is visiting this weekend, isn’t he?’

  ‘Yes, he is,’ Courtney replied. Now she was smiling.

  ‘Is Naomi coming with him again?’

  ‘Yes. Kyle thinks he wants to see how Nava is coping.’

  ‘That’s going to be difficult to decide,’ Nava said. ‘I won’t even have been doing the job for a week.’

  ‘Well, we can’t think of another reason for him coming. Unless it’s just nostalgia.’

  ‘I guess we’ll see when they get here.’

  236/5/8.

  The SSF’s HQ was, for obvious reasons, a secure suite of rooms. If you were not a member, you needed to request access. Two of the rooms were on an external corridor: the one where the SSF met when needed, and the one where hearings were conducted. It just so happened that the ‘court’ room was guaranteed to be free all day, so it was that one Nava was using to conduct her interviews.

  When she hit the release button for the door after she heard the door’s chime, Moritz Evered poked his head into the room with a guilty sort of look on his face. Briefly, Nava wondered what he had been up to, but she concluded his ‘guilt’ was more about confusion. He had been summoned to court and he had no clue why, but he had a bad feeling there was probably something he had done wrong to warrant the new captain of the SSF wanting to see him.

  ‘Come in, Moritz,’ Nava said. ‘You’re not in trouble. This just happens to be a useful room.’

  ‘Uh, right,’ Moritz replied, entering and allowing the door to close behind him. He still hung near the door, wondering what was going on. ‘Why did you want to see me, Nava? I mean, Captain. Captain Nava?’

  ‘Nava is fine for now. Have a seat.’ Nava waited while Moritz took the seat she had indicated beside her at the table normally used for the SSF contingent at any given hearing. He was a big man, but right now he looked kind of small, nervous. That was probably a good reflection of his personality. He was generally pretty brash, but there was an undercurrent of insecurity behind his bravado which kept him to the status of wingman among his peers. He was not ugly, but he was also not particularly good-looking either. Mid-brown hair and hazel eyes did nothing to distinguish him.

  ‘So, why am I here?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ll get straight to the point then. I’d like you to consider becoming a member of the SSF.’

  Moritz’s face froze in surprise. ‘You’re serious?’

  ‘Generally. And specifically. I’m seriously offering you a position in the SSF. As is fairly widely known, I declined Courtney’s offer last year. While it’s generally assumed that people offered the job will accept, I don’t hold that view. You may decline if you wish.’

  ‘Uh, you know, we haven’t always been exactly friendly.’

  ‘I’m aware.’

  He frowned. ‘But you still want me?’

  ‘I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.’

  ‘No… No, I guess you wouldn’t. Can I think about it?’

  ‘I’d like to know before Friday, if possible, but you may consider it.’

  Wheels turned. Nava could almost see his brain working. It meant rank within the student community. It meant working under Nava, a support student who had in fact killed a friend of his in a duel. Nava was actually pretty badass and not as bad as he had first thought. She was better than most combat students when it came to fighting. It meant responsibility. Was he up to that? How could he really refuse?

  ‘I’ve thought about it,’ Moritz said. ‘I’m in.’

  Nava nodded. ‘Thank you, Moritz. It requires confirmation from the administration, but that’s basically a formality. You’ll hear what they say by the end of the week, probably sooner. They’ll ship you some new uniform jackets at that time. I’ll be in touch with timetables and other details. Welcome to the SSF.�
�

  One down, several more to go. It was not going to be a short day.

  236/5/11.

  Two dashing men in ASF uniform of black and gold walked into the house. One of them was immediately wrapped in a flying Courtney. The other edged past the couple as though this were the most normal thing in the world and continued into the lounge.

  ‘Good morning, President, Captain, and Secretary,’ Naomi said.

  Melissa giggled. ‘Maybe we should get Marie to move in too. Then we could have all the female members of the council under one roof.’

  ‘Where would we put her?’ Mitsuko asked.

  ‘Well, Nava hasn’t actually slept in her room since we moved in…’

  Rather than answer, Nava got to her feet. ‘Good morning, Naomi. I’ll go make some drinks.’ She set off toward the door at the back of the room.

  ‘I was going to ask her how her new role is going,’ Naomi said once Nava was through the door.

  ‘And she’ll tell you that she only started on Monday and it’s a holiday week,’ Mitsuko replied.

  ‘That’s… fair.’

  ‘She might give you some impressions, but don’t expect much.’

  ‘I’ll try to restrain my enthusiasm. How do you think she’s doing? I’d ask Courtney, but she’s going to be vacuum-sealed to Kyle for at least another five minutes.’

  There was a shriek of ‘Hey!’ from behind him, but it came a couple of seconds late, in the middle of Mitsuko’s reply.

  ‘I think she’s doing quite well,’ Mitsuko said. ‘She’s got almost all the new recruits she wanted. There’s one away for the holiday, so she’ll be tagging that person tomorrow, I believe. The training scheme she’s planning starts next week. In a small way, but it’ll ramp up fairly quickly. She’s putting her stamp on the position early and, from the feedback I’m getting, the school is very enthusiastic about it.’

  Naomi nodded. ‘When Kyle mentioned her plans, in broad strokes because he didn’t know the details, I asked around a little. The ASF seems to be strongly behind her endeavour too. The instructor corps anyway. Anything which makes their job easier is fine by them and since she’s using ASF instructors, they believe they’ll get better-quality recruits from SAS-squared.’ A slight smile touched his lips. A rather proud smile. ‘They already expect good recruits from SAS-squared.’