Chapter 4 #2
The mug vanished and when they all turned back to me, I was holding it in my left hand.
“It’s a specialized version of portal creation,” Declan said.
“Craig can create small, highly specialized wormholes to either take matter or send matter. We’re calling it Apporting,” he said, glancing at me and nodding.
I switched the mug to my right hand and pushed the mug onto the floor in front of Wulf and Cora.
Wulf sucked in a sharp breath, causing his sister to look at him. “Shields wouldn’t affect it, would they?” he asked.
“No, they don’t, Wulf,” Declan said.
“That’s how you killed those birds,” Wulf said, looking at me.
“”Ah, the axeheads didn’t have, ah, shields,” I said, puzzled.
“No, but they had physical objects somehow placed inside their brains,” he said.
“How do you know that, son?” Chris Gordon asked.
“We investigated. Omega wouldn’t give us the details so we… snooped,” Wulf said.
“Overheard Caeco talking about it,” Cora said, tapping her ear. Of course they had superhuman hearing, along with strength and speed.
“Barriers won’t stop that protocol, just like they don’t stop portals forming,” Wulf said.
“And combined with your weird aiming protocol, you can target anyone, anytime, anywhere,” Cora said. “It makes you the ultimate assassin.”
“Or bodyguard,” Vesta’s dad said instantly. “Like when radicals attacked Vesta outside a restaurant at the start of the semester. That attack failed almost as soon as it started.”
“Because you felt their intent,” Wulf said, looking at me. I nodded, eyes on him but following his sister’s reactions with my Intent protocol. She was alarmed, frightened, and thoroughly surprised about the news of Vesta’s attack.
“You killed them?” Cora asked me.
“He took the hands from two of them and put the grenade back in the face of the one that threw it,” Vesta said.
“Should have put it underground,” I said. “But nobody throws things at me on Greenacres. They just attack head-on. I’ve got some work to do on my reflexive responses.”
“You attack back,” Cora said, making it a statement. “When you get attacked, you respond in kind.”
“Yeah. Military dad.”
“Wait, your mother’s alive?” Cora said.
“Seems dear old mum had some secrets,” I said quietly.
Nobody had anything to say to that, but I could feel their sympathy and surprise at that.
“The kitchen staff was already prepping some early food,” Chris said. “You alerted them?” he asked me.
“You all eat a lot,” I said.
“Like you don’t?” Vesta asked back.
“Well, I didn’t get a chance to work up much of an appetite, but Cora must have burned a calorie or two when she wrecked me.”
“Not really,” she said, looking at her fingernails.
Somehow the affectation was just a little awkward, like she maybe didn’t normally look at her nails that often.
Then I noticed that her nails glittered, and I realized they were likely naturally sharp and strong.
Or maybe supernaturally sharp and strong.
“Let’s grab a table and have some food,” Chris Gordon suggested, leading the way to an eight- person round table. We were no sooner settled when two of the kitchen people came out with plates of beef, mashed potatoes, and corn.
“There will be more variety shortly, but this should get you all started,” the head cook said with a big smile which was mostly directed at Chris. He thanked her and I swear she almost fainted.
The staff retreated to the kitchen and everyone dug in. Buster jumped up on the empty chair next to me, chirped at me once, and then curled up.
“That’s the biggest house cat I’ve ever seen,” Chris commented. “And maybe the most scarred.”
“She kills two-foot-long centipedes on Greenacres,” Cora said, smiling at my cat. “That would scar anybody.”
“So, not to kill the food mood, but what happens next?” Wulf asked.
“We’re sending Caeco and Craig to Greenacres to do some digging,” Vesta’s dad said.
“Smart,” Wulf said. “Her gene mods make her gravity-ready, and she doesn’t use magic. But Craig won’t have magic?”
“I wouldn’t have much magic. There’s a little bit that’s naturally ambient and it’s enough to power my intent and aiming.”
“He’ll have rubies for his apporting,” Vesta pronounced, her eyes locking on mine as if daring me to protest.
“Yeah, a couple,” I agreed.
“I knew it!” Cora said. “You do have them.”
“Didn’t seem like a good idea to leave them lying around,” I said. “My question is what can be done to change my appearance?”
“Hah, that’s my cue,” Omega said, his avatar suddenly sitting in the last empty chair. “The nanos in the bracelet you wear can alter your facial features enough to fool facial recognition and also stiffen a joint or two to modify your biomechanical movements.”
“That might impede his fighting,” Vesta said.
“It would release instantly in a dangerous situation or if he felt a dangerous situation approaching,” Omega said.
“The nanos will be taking direction from him, as my presence might alert the Adversary. And because the nanos will be below skin level, their presence will be masked from the alien AI.”
“What’s that now? Below the skin?” I asked, but Vesta just put a hand over mine and I felt her assurance flow across our bond.
“Will they be able to connect for comms?” she asked.
“Yes, but entanglement will be kept quiescent unless needed,” the supercomputer that ran the world said.
“What about insertion and extraction?” I asked.
“There are obviously many options for portals,” Omega said.
“I calculate that the best insertion will be a portal forming elsewhere in the Golf Alpha solar system for a single small drone to land you and Agent Jensen. Extraction will be best served by these two pulling you both home.” Omega nodded at the father–daughter team across from him.
“What are the risks we need to be aware of here?” Cora asked.
“All of the plots and actions taken earlier this semester have been conducted by a loose confederation of fanatic and political elements,” Omega said.
“Anti-supernatural, anti-AI, and human governance first organizations on Earth and on Golf Alpha One-One-Seven joined together. The ideal outcome from their standpoints was if Ilissa Shenn had been able to pull you, Cora, into a conflict with Craig, precipitating a catastrophic series of deaths or battles, while inserting alien software into my systems on Earth. When that failed via Vesta befriending Craig, an attempt was made on Vesta’s life, then an attempt to abduct Craig.
All of those have failed, but Vesta’s presence here at Arcane is now common knowledge. ”
“Yeah, just look at the witch and were media sites,” Cora said with a snort.
“There has been a flurry of applications for Arcane from around the world,” Chris said. “Witches and weres. You’ll all need to be on your toes, as every one of them will be seeking alliances and influence with Earth’s future Steward.”
“But I have a beloved?” Vesta asked.
“That is not common knowledge,” Omega said. “It is known that you are dating Craig, but not that he is your beloved. I have worked hard to maintain that fiction.”
“Why? They’re going to be pestering me,” Vesta protested. “For no good reason.”
“And being very obvious in their actions,” Wulf said with a nod. “Super easy to identify all the would-be suitors.”
“Exactly, Wulf,” Omega said. “It will be important that you two are fully aware and on guard, not just for attempts at Vesta or perhaps Craig, but at yourselves. Much like Ilissa Shenn’s machinations.”
Cora’s pale cheeks pinked a bit at that, but she stayed focused on her food.
“So, if this is going to take place after finals…” I started.
“Yes?” Vesta’s dad asked.
“Could I get another shot at Cora in the sand pits?” I asked, watching her from the corner of my eye.
Her head jerked up and she stared at me. “You’d have to have an avatar,” she said.
“Oh, I think we can throw one together,” Vesta said. “Right, Dad?”
“Sure. I’ve got some time before I have to go back to the pack. You have ideas?” he asked me.
“Oh, yeah. I have lots of ideas.”