“But we’re here,” Megan said, brightly if brittlely.
“Yes,” Joel said, sighing. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, now. Once you close with the coast we can portal you to Chian…”
“I think… I should stay here,” Megan said. “At least until the battle is done. If it goes bad, I can always port out. And… well I’d rather stay here, for now.”
“I noticed that you seem… close to Major Herrick,” Joel said. “I don’t suppose that has anything to do with it?”
“You mean my boyfriend?” Megan replied, grinning. “Dad, if you don’t have agents on the boats, I’d be very surprised. And where the councilwoman is sleeping would be part of their reports.”
“As is her attachment to a young Blood Lord officer,” Joel said, nodding. “One that… spends a great deal of time trying to get himself killed.”
“He’s very good at not getting killed, as well,” Megan replied. “And as he pointed out to me, that’s his job. I want him to come back, but I think I’d love him less if he wasn’t what he is. He’ll make it; I have to believe that. And despite what your reports might say we’re not having sex. Too soon for me, something he understands. He’s a very unusual young soldier.”
“Yes,” Joel said, dryly. “I’ve seen those reports as well. How is Bast taking it?”
“She’s sleeping in the same cabin,” Megan chuckled. “She’s been good company. Herzer has suggested, a couple of times, that I… discuss things with her. About… what happened to me. I’ve talked to her some but not as much as either would prefer. I know I have to talk about it but… Bast is the wrong person for me. I’ll find a counselor after we get this battle settled. I promise.”
“Good,” Joel said. “Something else I can relieve my mind of. You’ve made me very proud of you, Megan. I was proud of you before, naturally; any father with a fine daughter is. But what you have been through, how you handled it, how you are handling the burden thrust upon you now, all of them make me very proud. Your mother would be proud as well. Will be when she hears about it.”
“Thank you,” Megan said, her face clouding. “I won’t say that any of it was easy.”
“Very few things that are easy are worth the time it takes to do them, Megan,” Joel said. “What you did was hard. And you did it well. What you are doing now is hard and you are doing it well. That is why I’m proud of you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Megan said, making a face.
“Now, go assure your friend that you’ve had a nice chat with your Poppa,” Joel said. “He looked as if he wasn’t sure.”
“I will,” Megan said, standing up and cocking her head at the avatar. “I can’t kiss you good night but…” She put her fingers to her lips and threw him a kiss. “Good night, Poppa.”
“Good night, Megan,” Joel said. “Be well.”
“I shall.”
Chapter Thirty-two
“Ensign,” Edmund said as Van Krief came in the cabin. “Feeling a bit left behind on the tide of events?”
“A bit, sir,” Van Krief said, sitting down nervously as Edmund waved to the cot.
“Well, you’re not anymore,” Edmund said, tossing her a dispatch envelope. Unusually, it was still unsealed. “Read that.”
Van Krief opened the envelope and extracted the three sheets within. She read the first sheet, her face a somber mask, then turned to the second on which was included a map and the last, which was a signals supplement. When she was done she looked up.
“Comments?” Edmund asked.
“Bold, sir,” was all she said.
“Necessary,” Edmund replied. “Magalong has to move. He’s done well in the defense but he is going to have to move like lightning. You’re taking that dispatch to make that clear and to make clear why. You know why, right?”
“Yes, sir,” Van Krief said. “Sir, I’ll make sure he understands.”
“But only Magalong,” Edmund said. “Keep this very close. If it gets out, we’re all up a creek. And don’t go and wrap those around some cigars. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Van Krief replied.
“Dragon leaving in thirty minutes. You’re on it.”
“Yes, sir.”
And then there was one.
“Sheida,” Edmund said, sighing. “Sorry to bother you again.”
“I’m three hours behind you, Edmund,” the queen said, smiling. “And you’re never a bother. But you should be getting some sleep.”
“Agreed,” Edmund said. “I think the reason Alexander conquered half the world was that he was young enough. But this won’t wait. What I’ve left out of most of my orders is the real battle. And for that I need two portals.”
He explained for a moment and then had Sheida pull up a schematic of the battlefield so she could understand.
“Bold,” Sheida said. “To the point of rashness. You risk our two most experienced legions, a major town, the loss of the coast.”
“A hundred thousand orcs will mean the loss of the coast,” Edmund pointed out. “If we get half the pieces moved correctly, the right half, we’ll have mouse-trapped most of Chansa’s forces. At least a goodly chunk. I don’t care how many people they have in Ropasa, they’ve got to keep some supporting their forces. Ergo there’s only so many they can use as soldiers. And we’ll have winnowed them down heavily. It’s a chance I’ve been waiting for, one of the prerequisites of taking Ropasa in our lifetime.”
“And if we take Ropasa, they’ll be squeezed down to… Northern Frika and some holdings in Sind.”
“Exactly, and the northern wildernesses. And few major power sources after which you can take care of the rest. That’s if we can’t capture some of the Key-holders. But we’ve got to destroy their forces, winnow them down at least, with minimal loss to us. And we can do it. Here.”
“And you need…”
“Two portals,” Edmund said. “Surely you have the power for those?”
“Power, yes,” Sheida frowned. “Just one problem. I’ve agreed to limit portal creation to Key-holders only. When we first started making them, there were… security issues. And too much power use. It’s a voted-on protocol. I can’t break it.”
“Who’s free?” Edmund asked. “Send them to Raven’s Mill.”
“I suppose Elnora, not that she’s going to be… willing,” Sheida said, wincing.
“Megan?” Edmund suggested. The other UFS Key-holder was an academic and a specialist in domestic affairs. Hardly the person he’d prefer handling a critical military task.
“I’d… rather wait,” Sheida replied. “I want to get more of a feel for her. I trust her on one level, she’s Joel’s daughter after all. On another her… experiences are going to have affected her. I don’t want to thrust too much on her at first.”
“Very well,” Edmund said, shrugging. “If you could send Elnora to Raven’s Mill, then, to prepare.”
“I shall,” Sheida said, sighing. “It’s never easy, is it?”
“Nope.”
Prior to the Fall, Elnora Sill had been an academic, specializing in the history of “Women’s Issues.” Like everyone else on earth, it had been a hobby rather than a vocation but one that she followed with intensity.