“Such a dog would bite your hand off,” Master Mechanic Lukas said.
“Aye, he would. And if you offered him food? Would the dog wag his tail and be your friend?”
Lukas shook his head, looking grim. “No. He might take the food, but he’d still be ready to bite, because to him everyone is an enemy.”
“And just so are the people of Tiae,” the captain said. “Pacta Servanda has held on to the rule of law, but the people of Pacta Servanda have been marked by too many years of dealing with a world that is full of hurt and death.”
Mari nodded, feeling hurt inside herself as she thought of Tiae and its people. “We’ll have to talk to them. Approach them very carefully. Hopefully we can convince them that we are willing to help, long term.”
“If anybody can do it, you can,” Lukas said.
“I’m not—”
“Oh, stop it, Mari,” Alli said. “How many Mages do you have taking orders from you, listening to you, calling you elder? How many people even talked to Mages before you decided to do it?”
“Even Mages talk to Mages only when they have to,” Alain said.
“There!” Alli said. “See? And you got the locals in Julesport to help us, and the locals in Edinton. Commons listen to you. You know how to talk to them.”
“And Mechanics,” Professor S’san said. “I know of no rebellion that has ever occurred within the Guild. No matter how badly things went, no group of Mechanics ever arose to fight against the Guild. But you are leading such a group. The commons and the Mages may listen to you because of the daughter prophecy, but Mechanics are another matter. Even before the daughter connection, the Senior Mechanics feared your ability to lead and inspire others.”
Mari couldn’t sort out how she felt as the others spoke. Was it discomfiture at the praise? Happiness at being told she was doing a good job by people whose opinions she respected? Fear of letting down them and so many others? “I… I’ll do my best. I assume everyone agrees that we should go to Pacta Servanda? What else do we need to decide?”
Senior Mechanic Gina spoke up again. “As far as I can tell, things aren’t really organized. Everyone just listens to you. But you shouldn’t be deciding everything, or having to deal with everything, especially if we keep gaining people.”
“That’s a very good point,” Professor S’san said.
“I would recommend that Master Mechanic Lukas and Professor S’san be put in direct charge of the Mechanics, reporting to you and passing on important decisions to you,” Gina added.
Mari looked around for objections. “That sounds like a good idea. But I also want Mechanic Alli designated in charge of arms production. She is going to need that authority.”
Lukas nodded judiciously. “Alli would be an excellent choice for that job. If I had my wishes, we’d work on other things first, but we’re going to need weapons to give us time and space to work on other things next.”
“Thank you,” Alli said, smiling. “I’ve found a design in one of Mari’s forbidden texts. It’s a rifle that’s simple and rugged. It uses a clip and semi-automatic feed like Mari’s pistol, so it would have a much higher rate of fire than the Guild’s lever-action rifles, and the barrel is longer and has better specs, so it would also have a significantly better effective range.”
“Sounds like it would need a lot of ammunition,” Mechanic Ken commented.
“It will,” Alli said. “We’ll have to look at mass production of small-arms ammunition.”
“And far-talkers,” Calu said. “Another one of Mari’s texts has some designs that would let us build far-talkers smaller, lighter, and a lot better than the current Guild models. Hey, Mari, do you have any idea why the texts call the far-talkers rah-dee-ohs?”
“No idea,” Mari said. “Those sound like good first priorities.”
Mechanic Kasi waved toward Calu. “I don’t know what his specialty is, but this guy did a great job on that rear guard command. If we need someone to work with the common militaries, I recommend him.”
“My specialty is theory,” Calu admitted.
“Ha! Well, you got your hands dirty in Edinton, theorist!”
“What about the Mages?” Professor S’san asked. “Do they report to Mage Alain?”
“That would mean Alain was reporting to me,” Mari objected.
“Is that a problem?”
“He’s my partner! We’ve made every decision together, and his have equal weight with mine! Alain should be seen as… as…”
“Your executive,” Senior Mechanic Gina said. “The invaluable co-worker who helps get everything done.”
“Then who deals with the Mages on everyday matters?” S’san asked. “Assuming that everyday and Mages belong in the same sentence?”
“Mage Dav,” Alain said. “He has shown a gift for speaking to other Mages.”
“Mage Dav is cool,” Alli agreed.
“That’s settled, then,” Mari said, hoping that Alain had taken well what she and others had said. It had proven unexpectedly difficult to put a title on the role he played for her and with her. “What else?”
Professor S’san pushed a piece of paper toward Mari. “I went through the Guild Hall Supervisor’s files before we left Edinton and found this. It’s the latest warning the Guild sent out about you, a few days before you showed up in Edinton. I would advise you not to bother reading the parts about your mental, emotional, technical, and moral failings.”
Mari picked up the paper, skimming through the first part despite S’San’s warning. “Clearly insane, huh? Fanatical. Paranoid. Pro—promiscuous?”
“You didn’t think they’d avoid saying that about you, did you?” S’san asked.
“I didn’t— Unqualified?!” That stung worse than the charge of promiscuity.
“Nobody who knows you would believe any of that,” Alli said.
“Yeah, but first the Mage elders claim I’m some seductress trying to ensnare Alain, and then—” Mari stopped talking, realizing too late that she had never told even her friends about that embarrassing charge. “Let’s just forget that last part.”
“Fat chance,” Alli murmured.
Mari did her best to focus on the last part of the report. “Seriously? The Guild leadership is reporting that I may be in Altis again, and in Syndar, and in Amandan en route to Kitara, and off Daarendi, and in Gullhaven, Kelsi and Jacksport. The Guild also has reports that I’ve got armies in Amandan, Kelsi and Jacksport.”
“Wow,” Alli commented. “You sure get around, don’t you? Why didn’t you tell us about all of these armies of yours?”
“It must have slipped my mind.” Mari read the final paragraph out loud. “If Mari is seen, she is to be shot on sight. Take no chances, as she is murderous, ruthless, and deranged, and will show no mercy to any Mechanic who crosses her path. Any Mechanics, Mages, or commons who are near her are also to be killed without hesitation because they may well be part of her evil plots against the right and proper role of the Mechanics Guild as the supreme power in Dematr.”
It was quiet for a moment after Mari had finished, then Calu shrugged. “No surprises there. The Guild first tried to kill you just on suspicion that you were doing something wrong or might do something wrong someday. They would have done the same to us, eventually. Mechanic Dav told me about the evidence of Guild purges that he found in old records.”
“There is good news in that report,” Captain Banda said. “They’re not thinking about Tiae. The Guild is seeing you behind every tree, but they’re still not imagining that you’d be going to Tiae. It doesn’t occur as an option to the Senior Mechanics.”
“That’s good for us,” Lukas agreed.
“May I ask something?” Mechanic Kasi spoke up. “Mechanic Calu is suffering from a bullet wound. So are some other Mechanics. I understand that one of the Mages was badly hurt in the fight with the dragon. Why haven’t the Mages healed any of them?”