Chris Hechtl's Blog, page 18

PRI 3 Snippet 5

  Watch out for rip off artists out there, especially shipping! I went to purchase something for $19 and they wanted "$18.99 for 'Expedited' shipping to guarantee it gets here by Christmas."

I went with the free shipping (Dec 14-21) and low and behold they shipped it within 20 minutes of my order. Funny that!

Anyway, moving on...

 

On the road between the capital and Pryor City

 

For safety's sake, the team was split up with one driver, one soldier, one of the diplomats. and one of the gaijin in each vehicle. Legatus Zane took the middle one. They chattered over the local radio excitedly during the day but lapsed into silence as the road wore on.

They caught up over pauses to stretch their legs, but there was just one every six hours. Selene got them into discussing the mission.

In order to pass the time during the long drive, the passengers either slept or held briefings on Caliope. What little they knew about the nation was old. The players were mentioned, but again, all of their data was old or third hand.

The detailed information they had was centered on the spy caravans. The images of the spies were loaded on their phones. The three Terrans had smart phones with all of their information. Each of the devices were locked by a thumbprint and pin.

Selene and Jim entered a healthy debate about the clothing the natives had worn, their language, and even the design of their vehicles. Sydney listened for a bit but eventually tuned it out when it got boring.

They took one rest break outside a village at the halfway mark between the capital and Pryor to refuel and unload their abused bladders. It was nearly dawn. The mechanic checked the vehicles and did some minor adjustments before they hit the road again.

Legatus Zane, the military leader, made certain to report in about their progress through the radio.

^^^^^^

Legatus Zane did his duty to report in as instructed. He wasn't keen about the mission, but he knew his duty and intended to follow the mission to the best of his ability.

He was a veteran of the Duluth war as well as the commando unit, the Flying Legion. He had taken Alpha Platoon into Duluth to rescue Princess Zara. He'd been on track to be promoted to princeps, captain, but this mission had come up.

He'd initially resented being tapped until he'd been told in a backhanded way that it was something of a compliment. That the command authority trusted his discretion and leadership and his ability to see the mission through and protect the group.

It was a lot of responsibility though. Sergeant Waters had said something about protecting bumbling DPs in deep injun country was a thankless job. He hadn't been certain as to what that had meant.

He was cross-trained in security though, and he had medicus training to boot. He had his formal uniform packed away with him as did all of his troops. Of the troops, he had only been able to bring Shane with him as a familiar face.

All of the miles were fully trained but only four were veterans like Shane and himself. The drivers were all Flying Legion cross-trained in security, which was something of a relief to him. He did occasionally wonder how long he'd been on tap for this particular mission and why no one had dropped a hint as to it coming up. Perhaps because they thought he might try to avoid it?

Such questions could wait until later he thought as introductions began.

^^^^^^

Caliopean Gate

 

Erbecus was briefed on the acceptance of the request and that the convoy had moved out a day later. He was surprised at how fast they had moved.

He was even more surprised that evening when he was informed that the convoy had Pryor just before bed. “How? Didn't they leave yesterday?”

“Yes. They are traveling on our new roads with new vehicles,” the legatus replied with an indifferent shrug.

When he repeated the news to his team, Quintus was excited. The others were skeptical, but when he repeated that they would be seeing the convoy sometime tomorrow, they had a mixture of quiet alarm and excitement.

“Isn't that rather fast?” Hadrien asked.

“Very.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that they can move troops around very fast or goods,” Quintus replied absently. The others looked at each other in concern. “Trade must be very fast. Does anyone know the distance between the capital and Pryor? Sorry, I don't know. I'd like to calculate how fast they are traveling. Do we know the exact time they left?”

Erbecus shook his head. “I don't know either of those things,” he said. Quintus looked frustrated but then shrugged his question aside.

^^^^^^

PRI 3 Snippet 4

 So, sitrep, Goodlifeguide just got back to me and said the manuscript will be returned sometime during the week. Cool.

I guess you'll just have to contend yourselves with snippets for the time being.😀

 

Max was annoyed that a majority of the road construction projects outside of the capital had to be switched to tar over concrete. Concrete was great for some things, but the concrete didn't hold up to the expansion and contraction of the cold winters, nor the rock salt used to clear the roads. They had several sources of oil though, so it had been sorted out.

The cement works was a major project and drew a lot of power like the fertilizer program. No surprise there, grinding rocks and moving rocks took a lot of energy. He just hated the idea of tar roads since they didn't last long either.

The oil products were coming in handy in other ways though. Not for vehicles, well, not directly. He was death on fossil fuels even though he had grown up wrenching a variety of gas and diesel engines in his youth. He backed Eugene's insistence on going green as much as possible and avoiding the pitfalls Earth had stumbled through. They didn't need or want to repeat past mistakes but instead do their best to learn and avoid them if possible. That was why they were using ethylene and biodiesel when electric wasn't good enough.

He hadn't been thrilled about opening up a seam of coal either, but both oil and coal were being processed for a variety of material. Everything from activated coal for industry and water filtration to plastics were being produced by the material. The growing steel industry required vast amounts of cooked coal in the form of coke in order to process raw iron into steel products.

There were limits to the raw supplies though, so he had to wonder if they'd run out before they could switch to another source of material.

It still beat building out of cobblestone though. It also beat building in the capital itself.

He shuddered. The Roman slash medieval style of street construction was narrow. Buildings frequently overhung the street since there was no building code. Well, there was now, but it was only affecting new construction.

Back alleys were extremely narrow, some only wide enough for a person to walk down. They were also poorly lit and covered in trash and slop in some quarters. Some were dangerous places to be at night.

The mayor and the city council were working on changes, but it was taking time. The first street signs and lights had gone up, along with traffic lights. But they were only on the main thoroughfares that were wide enough to handle a lot of traffic.

Some streets were going to have to be labeled one way. It was tough.

^^^^^^

Sergeant Waters passed an open tavern door and noted the MPs were checking it. He cocked his head but they didn't catch sight of him. Apparently, they were checking just to check? He wasn't certain.

He was stuck in traffic; traffic in the capital was getting terrible as more and more vehicles were becoming available. It had been bad enough with branacks and carts, now the wider cars and trucks made it horrible at times like this. It fairly crawled. This was not something he'd wanted to have to sit in, but he was stuck.

He could hear the radio broadcast so he knew it was a high-end tavern. The native-built radios were expensive and only useful in buildings that had been wired for electrical power. They were a major draw though, bringing in natives to listen to the news, sports, drama, and music from the outlandish box on the wall.

They, of course, drank expensive ale or lager and ate there before going home. He saw the MPs pull a kid out of a tavern. The lad had his head down and was in a rumpled uniform with vomit stains on it. Well, at least they got their man he thought as he moved on.

^^^^^^

Sue eyed the Burger Meister and sighed internally. Some people had to be shown things. He was a greedy type. She knew he had his hand in the till from some reported gossip around the castle. He'd had to scramble after a couple of audits and didn't like getting his hand slapped.

He had weathered those scandals and managed to adapt to audits and spreadsheets. But he'd taken some of his ire out on the Terrans by foot dragging and demanding explanations for everything.

She understood the theory; it was wise to explain things rather than just order it. That way the people understood the reasoning behind the changes. But it was still maddening to see some things go so slow.

“I still believe it should be first come, first serve. It's not like we have a lot of room in the streets for traffic to give the right-of-way to medicus,” Doland sniffed.

“First off, it isn't just medicus,” Sue interjected when he wound down and paused. “It is to any first responder, be it a medicus team or firefighters or law enforcement,” she explained. “Getting out of the way of the firefighters allows them to get to a scene and put a fire out before it spreads to consume an entire block,” she said firmly.

She saw him wince slightly. He really should lay off the fatty foods she thought idly.

“The lights and sirens, are they really necessary?” a city counselor demanded. “At night, they wake me up!”

Sue turned to him. “They are there to get people to move aside. Time is precious in a crisis. Every moment counts.”

“Still …”

“The simple answer is, if it is your child or wife or even you in the back of the ambulance would you want it delayed and stuck in traffic?” she demanded.

He blinked and then shook his head.

“And by extension, if the ambulance was trying to get to you to render aide?”

He shook his head again.

“I'm a medicus. I don't want anyone to die if we can stop it. The faster we get to a scene the faster we can help and the higher the chances of survival. It is that simple.”

She bowed and stepped aside from the podium. When they continued the debate, she just shook her head. Her phone went off, and she quietly excused herself to answer it.

^^^^^^

Princess Rescue Inc Snippet 3

   So, I see Lil Red is having trouble staying off the naughty list, she's made some of my decorations disappear and is currently tormenting our other elderly grumpy resident. Loki is not amused by her being playful and hateful all in one bundle of tussling fur.😼

  She got me this morning; my mistake in assuming the wire tie was long enough and she wouldn't go after the hand holding it. Sigh. It's skin, it'll grow back... eventually.😩

 In other news, Christmas print and paint projects are moving forward full steam. And on to the snippet!

 

 

 

Retired Master Sergeant Wayne Waters watched the military exercise. He nodded to himself as he watched the boots being put through their paces on the obstacle course. Another platoon was jogging past him.

He'd had to adapt the native terms to some degree, but he was creeping in some modern military terms and training into things as time passed. He nodded to himself and then took himself off to the next stop.

He heard the soft rounds going off, then a flashbang and winced. He'd planned to get there ahead of time but had been delayed. Oh well.

He got out of the jeep and went to the control center. Once inside he looked down at the inside of the shoot house. “How are they doing?”

“Fair to middling,” the tech in charge of the shoot house replied.

He nodded. He had the effective rank of a general but refused to put on airs. He insisted on being called a sergeant if someone had to call him by a title. Not that anyone did so. He liked that they deferred to his wisdom, though it felt odd.

His eyebrows rose as he saw the two competing teams in the shoot house. The attackers were a SWAT unit attached to security. The equivalent of the Secret Service in the Imperium. They were in a hostage rescue scenario. The counterforce was run by some of the Flying Legion, and they weren't making it easy on the SWAT people.

Good. That was how he liked it. Train hard. The more you sweat, the less you bleed.

The assault team was making their way through the shoot house but had gotten bogged down at a door. Typical, it wasn't like you could blow holes through the building like you could back on Earth. Here, a majority of the buildings were made out of stone. Even the lathe and plaster ones were tough to penetrate. If you set a charge, you might kill the hostage on the other side with shrapnel.

As he watched, the point on the assault team underhand threw a grenade. It went off and the two guards opposing them were graded as terminated.

The assault team moved forward as the disgusted guards got on their knees and placed their hands behind their heads to signal they were out of the fight. The point waved and another team member came up with a handheld scanner. They scanned through the door. The sergeant looked down to a screen that echoed what they were seeing. He saw the heat signatures of four people in the room including one, the hostage, seated facing the door.

“Yeah, this isn't going to end well,” the tech murmured.

Small charges were placed on the hinges and latch and then blown. The door bounced off of the lip in the inner archway and came back at the assault team. The point shrugged it off but the delay allowed the shooters inside to fire at them and more importantly, take out the hostage.

“Sucks to be the hostage,” the sergeant muttered as the team entered, took out the opposition with a flurry of shots and then the exercise ended. A klaxon went off to signal it was over. The lights came up.

“Fail,” the grader said over the PA. The sergeant crossed his arms and listened as they graded the exercise. He made a mental note to look into some sort of recon drone that could fit under doors. Something flat. Maybe even a flashbang? Something about as thick as an eighth of an inch that would go off and momentarily disable the people inside? The doors in the Imperium were thick and solid but had gaps on the bottom to allow them to swing easily. Some of those gaps were damn near a half inch wide. He'd seen Hex-rats go under them easily.

“Carry on,” he murmured as they began to reset the exercise.

^^^^^^

“It's been a year local time. No sign of anything from Earth. I wonder what is going on?” Sydney asked. The group was together for a rare evening. Not everyone was there of course; many were off on one duty assignment or another. But a full one-third of the Terrans had managed to get together to make it something of a party.

“I'm not sure I care,” Max replied with a shrug as he toyed with his beer bottle.

“I do care. I don't like not knowing,” Sergeant Waters growled. “They are up to something.”

“Well, fortunately, Doctor Delacroix has made it so they can't come through easily,” Sydney said.

“With a bit of help,” Max interjected with a nod. They'd figured out how to flip the gate so it faced out to sea rather than to the plateau above the cliffs. That meant anyone who came through would replay the Loony Toon gag of walking out into open air.

Of course they'd warned the people of Earth with a message in a bottle. There had been no response.

Given that the gate was inside a room on the platform and had a narrow ramp entrance to get up it, they couldn't launch aircraft other than small drones. There had been two drones that had been reportedly sent through the gate, one a ground drone, which had pitched over the cliff into the sea, and then an air drone, which had gotten about a hundred meters out over the sea before a local Pterosaur had pounced on it midair.

After that, nothing, nothing at all.

“They earned it. Wanton poisoning the planet with pollution … raping the natural resources …,” Charlie sniffed.

“We were a part of that group too up until a few years ago,” the sergeant reminded her.

“But we've done better. I did. I went as green as I could,” she said defensively.

“Sometimes you have to break eggs to make an omelet,” the sergeant said.

“And what's that supposed to mean?”

“It means we can't always take the high road and go green right off,” Ginger, one of their lead pilots stated. She flapped her hands. “Being green is nice, but it is extremely limiting.”

“But it is the right thing to do,” Charlie insisted.

“And we're not doing the same here?” Ginger asked. “We've got to have petroleum for some things; we've got to have fossil fuels to extend the range of our vehicles and aircraft …”

“We're trying to not do that! Right?” Sydney demanded. “Right?”

“We're trying. That doesn't mean we’re succeeding totally,” Max admitted with a shrug as he left.

^^^^^^

Princess Rescue Inc 3 Snippet 2

 Still in chapter 1...

Doctor Sue Carter felt her hair ripple as she wandered the battlements. She had needed to stretch her legs after the cabinet meeting.

Her time was taken up entirely too much by meetings. As a doctor, she understood it; you had to make sure everyone was on the same page. You also needed to be there to discuss problems and put your two cents in to make sure your voice was heard and that medicine was progressing as a field and not stagnating from neglect.

Well, that wasn't going to happen. Not on her watch. Which was why she put her time in. At least Eugene and Deidra didn't make her sit in on parliament or other meetings. She shivered slightly.

She ran her fingertips through her hair and then went back to the counsel room. When she found it abandoned, she turned to a page. “Are we done?”

“Yes, Doctor,” he replied with a nod.

“Okay. Glad I checked I guess,” she said as she checked her phone. Phone service was solid in the capital but spotty outside it. She noted the time and then called Wanda. “Hey, I'm free.”

“Cool. Charlie just checked in. She said you took off as soon as you could.”

“Yeah, I was getting a headache. Anything new happening?”

“Nope. No fires, no major accidents.”

“Okay. I'll check-in with the U and then maybe kick it for the night.”

“Bully on you, girl. Wanna do our nails? Wine and movie night? And don't tell me you plan to grade papers. I'll … I'll … bury you in them!”

Sue laughed softly.

“That's what TAs and grad students are for,” Wanda complained.

“Okay, okay. I'll check …,” she caught herself as she was about to say in with Zara or Deidra. “Um …”

“Charlie's free. She said she'd give me her rundown on how the cabinet meeting went. So come on, live a little, gal, you earned it,” Wanda said in a properly wheedling tone of voice.

“Well … okay,” Sue said as she turned and headed to Wanda's tower. “You talked me into it.”

“That's the spirit!” Wanda replied with a grin. “See you in a bit?”

“Sooner than you think,” Sue said as she changed course for the tower.

Security might need to carry her back to her suite later, but that was then. For the moment, she was going to enjoy the rare free evening with her friends.

^^^^^^

“Should I be going?” Eugene asked, looking at Deidra over the suitcase. He could tell she was distressed by the separation. He was too; he didn't like leaving her with her morning sickness.

He had returned from Duluth three local months ago, just after the Caliope Caravan incident. He hadn't planned on going back north again until fall, but parliament was making noises and Zara seemed in need of additional hand holding.

He'd also promised to be there when they opened several more factories and to help set up two that were a bit tricky. Trying to explain what to do over the radio when they ran into issues had proven tougher than he'd expected, so he knew he had to go.

“Yes,” she finally said. He hugged her gently. “It's the right thing to do.”

He sighed. He heard the leader in that voice, but also the doubt. She knew the risks of flying, of travel. But she also knew it was important.

“Besides, we promised Zara, and well …”

“We're committed to Duluth's recovery,” he supplied for her when she faltered and her shoulders shook.

“Something like that,” Deidra replied.

Duluth's recovery was still an ongoing process. Deidra refused to invest again in the country since they were struggling to repay back the loans she'd already made. There were some in the Duluth parliament who were resentful over it. Reports trickled in that they were sullen. “You did nothing to warn us, to stop the coup, or to help us. In an annus, I will reconsider it,” had been sent to those who had called her out on the lack of progress.

“Those who helped were rewarded with new titles and lands. And we're giving them discounts,” she said.

“But it isn't enough,” he said.

“No.”

“They think that we're keeping them under the Imperial boot. Forcing them to pay back for the war,” he said. She shook her head.

“I know, love; it's more than that. If you'd gone that route, you would have taken a page from the Romans or the English,” he said. She turned to him. “The English conquered their northern neighbor Scotland. In order to stop the frequent attempts at revolt, they committed genocide. They went around and killed many of the first-born males in the prominent homes. Later they drafted the Scottish males into their army and navy and sent them overseas to die in the colonial wars.”

She blinked and then shook her head.

“I know, I know, you aren't that way. But I'm just quoting an event from my history as a reference.”

She nodded. “I won't deny that it has happened. But you counseled me on the eye-for-an-eye thing. As much as I resent the war and … losses,” she didn't mention her little brother's death or her and her sister's rape but he could feel it lingering in the air. “I know there are some good people there now. They are working on it.”

“Right. And they have a say in their future. And we're working on parliament here, one that will incorporate the Imperium and Duluth together.”

She nodded.

“It's just going to take time,” he murmured.

She nodded. She watched him quietly as he finished packing. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she got up and pulled him into her arms and then down to the bed.

“One more for the road?” he teased in a husky whisper as he smiled.

“Shut up and get busy,” she growled huskily.

He chuckled and complied.

^^^^^^

Princess Rescue Inc 3 Snippet 1

 So, I got this back from Rea yesterday and just finished the edits to send it to Goodlifeguide.

FYI: Look for the maps inside!

In other news, Juggernaut and Pantheon are still in the hands of the Betas. I'm hip deep in Christmas projects. Most of the decorations are up (6,000+ lights!) and we're working on 3D print projects while I paint in the evenings. :)

On to the snippet!

 

Ianna Imperium Capital City

 

Sydney Heart chuckled softly to himself as he walked the battlements in the evening. Things were returning to normal, such as it was in the Imperium. He was glad he had returned with the others. He rather regretted leaving. His life, his purpose was on this new world.

He didn't regret for an instant taking on Eugene's call for adventure on an alien planet. Everyone thought they were insane, but it had paid off. Well, for most of us, we've lost some people along the way he reminded himself with a pang.

He looked over to the lights of the drum tower in the keep. The windows were lit, and he could see movement inside. He also saw guards outside on the battlements and nodded.

He could have crashed the cabinet meeting but he didn't really have a purpose there other than to take notes for historians to write about this time period. He frowned thoughtfully.

He had his fill of fame and fortune when he'd returned to Earth. Also skepticism that they'd gone anywhere. He was busy since his return, but not as busy as he'd expected.

Deidra had carved out a title for him, chief historian, and he was a history professor at the capital university. In fact, he was chief of the department. He also helped a few of the local media out. That was starting to be his new passion, to start up a healthy media to keep the populace informed and the power mad lords of the lands in check.

It was tough though, but it might be worth investing more of his time into it he thought as he finished another lap. He needed investors though, and that was tricky.

^^^^^^

“So, they are sticking to the Caliope mountain slopes this season?” Eugene Ryans asked. He was a Terran like some of the others in the room. He had gone from running his own multi-billion dollar company to an adventurer through the wormhole on this world.

He'd rescued and married the local king's daughter during a war and had negotiated to apply Terran tech to help the kingdom survive. When the king and queen had died, he'd stayed and married his beautiful wife. They now had two beautiful children.

Two beautiful children but also problems. It seemed like every time they solved one, two more sprang out of the bushes and threatened to overwhelm the careful balance they were patiently trying to forge.

“Yes. The science expedition wants to do a comparison of the flora and fauna in the mountains there and compare it to what they found in the north,” Charlie Therman said.

Eugene nodded. Charlie was one of their two premier chemists. She preferred biochemistry over general or industrial chemistry like Wanda did. She was in with Nate Billings and Mary Delouses, their two prime biologists and botanists.

“We're still arguing over the size of this place,” Charlie sniffed. “I still think this place isn't much bigger than Great Britain,” she said.

Eugene nodded. “And we know there are islands around it. What's beyond it?” he echoed as he looked at the large map that dominated the wall in the conference room.

“What do you mean?” Deidra, his lovely wife and Impertrix of the land, asked.

“Just what I said.” Eugene got up and walked over to the map. He looked at it and then pointed to it. “What's beyond these islands? Is there a larger continent? More than one?”

Deidra shook her head. “Always exploring?” She smiled to her mate. It was that sense of curiosity and desire to explore that had brought him and his people to her.

“Why not?” Eugene asked as he cocked his head.

She pursed her lips. “I'd like a little security here for us and our people before we spend a lot of energy and resources exploring.” Over the years, she had grown more comfortable in her role as Impertrix. Eugene rarely interfered with her decisions. He did want to be consulted though, and he was an excellent sounding board.

He frowned thoughtfully. “There isn't anything more about Duluth? What about these islands?” he pointed to the islands in the northeast above Duluth.

“No,” she replied with a shake of her head. He could see her look of concern though.

“The grand duchy? Do we know what is within their borders? What about beyond them?” They had the coastline mapped from the sailors who plied the planet's oceans as well as the aircraft and balloons that had gone up to improve their maps.

“Which one?” Ivara, the kingdom's spymaster asked. She was a recent addition to the cabinet and didn't like being exposed to the others in it.

“Caliope?” he asked.

“Yes, we have maps but they are old. We have Caliope in the southeast, the Grand Duchy of Medicini in the northwest, the Nuevo Imperium in the south, and pirates off our west coast,” the spymaster stated.

Eugene nodded thoughtfully as he resumed his seat.

“The Frumentarii have managed to penetrate Medicini and the Nuevo Imperium,” Deidra said as she got up and went over and sat down in his lap. He didn't protest her pregnant form; he knew better. Besides, she knew he liked it. His arm went up to support her like a lap belt. She stroked his hand gently.

The others in the room smiled slightly. There were just the few there, not the full cabinet to scandalize anyway.

“We know Medicini and Caliope aren't happy about our sudden tech advance. They've been talking with each other. What we can only guess, our spies can't penetrate that high up the … what did you call it?” Ivara stated.

“Chain of command,” he said as he thought about the problem.

“Right.”

“You think they might form an alliance?” Eugene asked after a moment of thought.

“It is possible. They probably feel threatened by our rapid advances,” Ivara explained.

“You and I both know that they can't stand against our army,” Charlie replied with a sniff.

“And I think they know too. But both countries are well known for their scheming. They have been traced in such acts as destabilizing our people more than once,” Deidra said with a scowl.

Eugene frowned thoughtfully. “Asymmetrical warfare,” he murmured.

“What?”

“When one can't stand against a more powerful enemy you get crafty. In this case, you fight a different form of war—with spies, economics, sabotage, assassination, terrorism, or sponsoring conflict and division.”

Deidra winced.

“At the moment, most of the dominus are focused on their own domains and getting their tech levels in parity with each other. They aren't interested in going to war against each other,” the spymaster stated quietly.

“Not directly. That is always another threat, their scheming too,” Deidra sighed.

He squeezed her gently. She patted his hand as he slowly let up.

“So, enemies above, below, and to the either side. Yeah, I get your point about not getting too involved with exploring,” he said with a grimace.

“Sometime, love,” she murmured, stroking his hand gently. “Let's make sure our home is safe for our children first.”

He nodded. He'd never forgive himself if he went off gallivanting and something happened at home while he was away. He winced internally. Speaking of gallivanting, he was about to take another state trip. “Okay,” he murmured.

“With Duluth under our command, the others might feel even more threatened. I am unsure as to how to handle them,” Deidra admitted, looking from him to the map. She bit her lower lip slightly.

“Talk,” Charlie stated.

“Talk?” Deidra and the others turned to her.

The biochemist shrugged. “Talk to them. Diplomacy. As long as we're talking, we're not shooting at each other.”

She turned to look at Charlie and then to Eugene. He nodded and then shrugged.

“Sorry, something I picked up from my reading,” Charlie murmured.

“No, you are right,” Eugene said, returning his wife's look.

She studied him and then nodded slowly.

“It won't work with the pirates,” he said as he considered the problem. “Nuevo Imperium?”

“They are trading with us and show no interest in war. Far from it,” Ivara supplied. “They are eager to trade.”

“Good. So, the duchies?”

“Medicini is scheming but hasn't reached out to us. Caliope …,” Ivara shook her head.

“Sent spies. Pity we can't return the favor,” Eugene said as he eyed her.

She blinked and then her eyes narrowed at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” he paused and then shrugged. “One of the covers for spies is diplomats. By sending in people to talk, they need to get to know each other, which means gathering information. That information allows you,” he nodded to Deidra, “to make informed decisions better.”

Deidra pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“The trick is to not be blatant about it and get caught,” Charlie slipped in helpfully. “A little bit here and there, just enough to get a clearer picture of the players and what motivates them.”

Eugene nodded.

“What do we know about them?” Charlie asked as she indicated the map and Caliope.

“Very little. It has been many, many Annus since we sent a delegation there. They have forts at the passes and turn away independent traders. Anyone who climbs over the mountains do not return,” the spymaster said.

Eugene winced. That statement told him what he needed to know, that she had tried to send spies and they hadn't returned.

“Ah.”

“I wanted to send more spies over the mountains but all of the passes are covered,” Ivara admitted. “Trappers …,” she shrugged. “They have to survive the basilisks and living in the bush and get over the mountains, and then look around, then back.” She shook her head.

“Then they are … wait, they are isolationist yet sent traders to you?” Charlie asked. “I mean us?”

“I believe you know why. As cover for spies and thieves,” Ivara said.

Eugene nodded. “And to sow discord. To keep the Imperium fighting itself or others like Duluth instead of paying attention to them. That is how they keep things going for them.”

“Yes,” Ivara replied.

Deidra looked annoyed at the idea. “Well, we'll have to change that.”

“How?” Ivara asked.

“By demonstrating we aren't interested in conquering them,” Eugene shrugged. She nodded. “But it's all moot until they reach out again. We have to bargain from a position of strength.” Deidra nodded.

Ivara nodded as well. “So, that leaves last on the subjects for the month …”

“The gate,” Charlie supplied, looking to the image on the map.

“And we did something about that too,” Eugene said.

“For now. I think it was hasty though,” Ivara said.

“Hindsight. But I agree. I'll talk to Max and see if we can do something else. Open negotiations or at least make sure they can't invade through the portal. If they really are under threat of destruction, they could get desperate and bad things could happen. Bad things for us I mean.”

Deidra shuddered. He hugged her again. She patted his hand. “Yes, please do that.”

^^^^^^

Multiverse 5 has published!

 

Fantasy, Science Fiction... 5 new stories to explore. From The Collection, an alternate history to Burrow, and then more exploration of the world of Princess Rescue Inc and even 2 stories in the Federation Universe!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KZG9ZJS

B&N:

2940160790657

.. to be continued... grr

Multiverse 5 Snippet 5

 Sitrep: 

  So, I did the map of PRI land (I don't remember off the top of my head what I called it) I am going to do regional maps for PRI 3 later.

I sent MV5 off to Goodlifeguide, they should have it back to me sometime next week.

  In other news, the Pantheon project has grown into a novel. I'm 129 pages into it, I'm at the half way point. I've got 1 more chapter and then I'll stop and shoot it off to the Betas. :) (I promise this time!)

I have a cover in mind and am thinking about how to get it done in between other stuff.

My To-Do list keeps growing. Every time I scratch 1 item off I add 2 more. Fun.

On to the snippet!

Burrow

The following is classed as a scifi story not fantasy. You'll see why when you read the full story. It is another story that might turn into a full novel some day. (I already have a follow up story planned!)

“Stomper!” a voice screamed as the thunder of feet on the ground began to carry the news across the warren. Everyone looked up fearfully to the ceiling as they passed on the message. They began to move, slow at first, but then in the opposite direction of the sighting and of course downward. Always downward, though such instincts could be counterproductive to survival in some cases.

The Roo began to bottleneck at narrow choke points which caused a panic. Stampedes happened as the giant herbivores stomped closer and the dirt began to fall.

“Easy now, calmly, I said calmly,” the counter said, trying to get people to move with care.

Then the first cave-ins were reported.

Lop Ear rushed through the group to the high caverns. He went on all fours at one point, even bouncing off the walls to get around people. A few times he bounced off people too. The ground shook with every footfall. The air was cloudy with dust.

“You are going the wrong way!” a breeder complained. He ignored the complaint. He got to a hatch, stopped to catch his breathing, and then removed the pins holding it in place. He lifted it carefully and looked out. He went back and grabbed a spear, pulled the cover off the tip and then went back to look.

Lop Ear snarled in anger as he poked his head up from the hole to see the Stomper. It was more than one; others were in the distance but working the grove of trees upwind far from the burrow. It had tentacles on the front and long heavy legs. The thing browsed the trees, ripping leaves and fruit off of them.

As tempting as it was to attack, he forced himself to stand firm near the root of the opposing tree. It was too late; if he went to attack the beast now, it could fall and destroy what he sought to protect. No, the warren would just have to cope with the disaster to come.

Each foot stomp shook the caverns. When one foot came down too hard, it went through the top layer and the beast stumbled before it recovered. It moved away, sidling away from the unstable ground.

The tree began to release toxins in the air to defend itself. The beast made a loud trumpeting sound as thorns began to prick its tentacles. The thorns were the tree's second level of defense.

After one more browse of tentacles, the beast moved away and then towards a copse of trees upwind and thus avoiding the smells the tree had released to warn others of its kind.

Lop Ear noted the direction and sighed. It was through hard ground so the tunnels there should be safe. He watched until the beast was beyond the third tree and then ducked down to see what the damage was and if he could help dig some people out if they were still alive.

======

The defender went back down into the warren and to the largest chamber near the collapsed tunnels. Doc was there triaging the wounded.  The brown and white spotted Roo had to listen to plenty of hearts with a hollowed-out horn, reassuring those who had been stressed by the disaster. He used pieces of volcanic glass to magnify small things to see bigger.

Cloud eyes were common ailments of the old as well as stress on their heart. Gas was another; those who ate too much of a certain diet tended to get it and complain constantly.

A check of the stool and an order of medicinal herbs would fix someone up for a time.

None of that applied here though, so as soon as he was certain the patient was in no danger of death, he moved on to check others. Occasionally, he had to bandage a wound or set a broken limb. Those Roo that had been trampled he had to check. There were a few that had died in the crush of bodies, and the diggers were ready to move them on to the next life. Their families cried as they sorted out their belongings.

He shook his head and moved on.

~======~

As soon as the all clear was announced, Counter sent groups of growers up to check the trees dithering the entire time about the harvest. Diggers were pulled in from the projects to dig out the tunnels in order to check the damage and shore up areas that needed it.

Assistants did a head count. They received a list of those that had died in the tramplings and those still missing. Grimly the diggers got to work, tapping and pausing to listen before working on the collapsed areas again. Hours later many were just bodies but a few were smart or lucky enough to have survived the collapse. The smart ones managed to stick near a structure and create a pocket of air as quickly as possible. They then waited to be dug out.

Six Roo had been trapped near where the Stomper's foot had come through the roof of a tunnel complex. They'd dug themselves out and then crossed over the open land to a nearby tunnel and back inside. They excitedly told others of their adventure, embellishing it as they did.

Lop Ear just shook his head.

~======~

Multiverse 5 Snippet 3

 Sitrep:

So, I got the manuscript back from Rea. I am sitting on it while I work on a few additions. (maps!)

 In other news, I'm 1/4 done Pantheon.

On to the snippet! 

 

Still in The Collection:

One would think this war was against another tribe, but of course, that was not so. The giants were monstrous, yes, and primal, but they were unorganized and lacked much in the way of technology. For some they barely clothed themselves, and a club was the best weapon available.

The goblins were scattered and not united. The elves kept to themselves unless provoked. No, this was a war between men. Professor Jaroll Verax shook his head as he studied the painting. They tried to blame the other tribes but in the end man only had themselves to blame for their shortcomings.

Not that they would ever see it that way. No way.

He looked at the line of eager students out the window and sighed. “What are we on?”

“Seven,sir,” his wife and assistant replied. When they were in working hours, she was all business, especially in front of the public.

“Very well, send the next applicant in,” he said.

He listened to the speal from the lad but other than being muscular he was of little use. He had cotton between his ears and was classic jock, good for moving heavy bits but that was it. He sent the lad on his way and then went to the door.

“This is a meticulous job that requires hours of study and research through books,” he called out to the assembly. “It pays little, but for those truly interested, the work is its own reward.”

He was not surprised when a majority of the applicants faded away within moments. Only three stubbornly remained. He waited a moment and then motioned to the trio in.

There were two lads, both straplings and a lass. The lass looked every inch as stubborn as his wife, and he had a sinking feeling she would back this one's application to the hilt.

He pointed to her first. “Ladies first. Name?” he asked curtly.

“Ester Able,” she replied with a soft voice.

“Have you any experience with historical archives?” he asked.

“I worked in the city library until it burned down,” the girl replied.

He nodded. “So you know the index system?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Ah? Have we met?”

“I saw you at some social functions before the war,” she said.

He studied her. She had a matron-style hair updoand a prim conservative look but she looked back at him with cool eyes.

He nodded slowly. “All right,” he said as he turned to the second lad. “You are?”

“Reg Fauxcore,” the lad said with a bit of a stutter. He seemed rather nervous.

“What did you do before this application?”

“I,ah, worked as a bus boy. And I've done messenger duty,” the lad stated. He had long black hair pulled back in a pony tail but had a powerful smell about him. His clothes were rather ragged.

“Are you a student at the University?”

The lad shook his head.

The professor grimaced. “I'm afraid this job is for students only,” he said firmly.

The lad looked ready to cry but nodded. He started to back away. “Wait,” the professor said. He fished out a pence and flicked it to the lad with a thumb flick. The lad fumbled it but caught it. “For your trouble.”

The lad nodded and took off.

The professor turned his eyes on the other male. “And now we're down to two. Name?”

“Dapper Harpin,” the lad said. He had acne but was relatively clean. He did have the odd scent of smoke.

“Been smoking?”

The lad grimaced. “No, sir. I was pulled in to the bucket chain.”

“Ah,” the professor said with a nod. “I don't take to smoking. It's a bad habit,and it can lead to some disastrous accidents.”

“My grandfather had a pipe but I never liked smoking,” Dapper replied.

“Ah?” the professor frowned as he tried to place the name. “I remember your name for some odd reason …”

“I am in Professor Trem's course and Professor Quill's history course.”

“Quill. You applied for the internship but you were passed over.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Found other work?”

“With Master Lox and then Master Faw and then Master Pen.”

“Pen,” the professor's eyes lit. “You were the lad he turfed out for printing his schoolwork?”

“I was also printing my first monograph,” Dapper replied with a nod and grimace.

The professor blinked. “I see,” he said in an admiring tone of voice. “Bold brass ones,lad,” he replied.

Dapper said nothing.

“It isn't uncommon for students to do that though. You have to write your thesis monograph somehow after all. Get very far?”

“Not far enough,” Dapper sighed. “Sorry, sir,” he said after a moment.

“Not a problem. You won't have much opportunity to use my materials here, but you will learn quite a lot if you stay on. That is, if I hire you,” he said.

He eyed the two. “I will put it bluntly, the pay sucks, the hours are long, but we will feed you what we can when we can. This work is subsidized … barely,” he said with a grimace.

“But there is only enough work for one,” his wife interjected quietly.

“Yes, quite,” the professor replied. “So, I'm giving each of you a week trial.”

“Together or separate?” the lass asked.

“Hmm …”

“If we split them up, it is fair to them. They won't have a chance to compete directly or sabotage each other,” the professor's wife interjected.

“My colleague is correct,” the professor said. “A week I find is too short and yet overlong for our limited budget,” He grimaced.

“If it pleases you, sir, I'll work the first day for half pay and food,” the girl said.

The professor noted his wife's sudden interest but nodded. “Very well.” He turned to the lad. “Come back in a week for your trial.”

“Yes, Professor. Ah, can I ask what we're to do?” Dapper asked.

“Ah. Well, I can show you.”

~~~=^=~~~

Multiverse Snippet 2

 Sitrep:

So, scheduling snag in the editing, but we're getting it back on track. My bad. :) 

  The story Pantheon has grown to the point I've turned it into a novella. (15,000 words so far) It may turn into a short novel in it's own right. I went from poking at it as a treatment to breaking it down and actually finishing sections.

  I already have a couple of finished chapters with it and it's 50+ pages. Not bad since I started it Sunday as a lark and I've been writing 3-5 pages a day initially.

  In other news, I am looking at using Inkarnate to make maps of PRI, Bootstrap, and other locations in my books. I am running it past the Betas now.

On to the snippet!

Still in The Collection:

~~~=^=~~~

At dawn he dragged himself into his bedroom and half fell, half threw himself on the bed. He knew he smelled of soot and smoke, he couldn't help it. He turned his head to the bathroom he shared with 7 other mates, it was in use. He grimaced.

The bucket chain to put the fires out had been a disaster. Oh, they'd gotten the fires under control, but only after proper dwarven built pumps had been set up off the pier to pump salt water onto the raging fires.

Some of the people had stayed to watch the smoldering ruins be put out but he'd gotten out as quickly as he could. He had class in a few hours.

His encrusted eyes closed and he fell into a doze.

~~~=^=~~~

When he woke it was midday and he cursed his thoughtlessness for sleeping through class. Professor Trem was not the forgiving type.

He got cleaned up, ate a stale bagel he'd saved and then went out. He had his books clutched to his chest. He went to the class and almost wilted in relief when he saw that classes had been canceled for the day. It meant he had another day to stay as a student. Another chance to finish his work and to find a new job and avoid the draft.

He checked the other classes to be sure, and then snagged a snack off a tray that was headed to the professor's lounge. That fended off his hunger pangs as he rushed back to his dorm.

“Rent's due at the end of the month,” the matron reminded him at the base of the stairs. He nodded and headed up at a brisk pace.

“And don't thunder up the stairs like an ogre!” the woman called up, clearly incensed about something or other. He shook his head.

He used the key to unlock the door and then put his stuff on his bed. He knew better than to leave it out for long. One of the other larger mates might try to steal it to pawn for coins that they too needed.

He checked the work list he'd scribbled down. There were 2 requests for tutors but in subjects he knew little about. He grimaced and set the idea of trying out for them aside.

History was not a popular subject in wartime. The same for language arts and art itself. Those who chose those majors seemed to be doomed to be drafted first. It wasn't fair, but it was their lot in life.

There was a note about a possible job in the city. He grimaced and checked the address carefully. When he was sure he had it down he went and got cleaned up and into his best outfit.

He hid his belongings and then took off to hopefully find work.

~~~=^=~~~

Multiverse Snippet 1

 Sitrep:

So, Carlos sent me the feedback this morning. I went through it and then shot the manuscript off to Rea for editing. We should see it back by the end of the week.

It is short, just 5 stories. (I guess I was in a mood?) Anyway, no Christmas stories. There are lead ins to possible future books though. Who knows what the future will bring?

I am trying something new with this book, I asked Goodlifeguide to help me embed pics and map(s?) into the manuscript. So, it should be something different. I've never tried it.

On to  the snippets!

 There is 1 Fantasy, 1 Scifi, 1 PRI story, and 2 Federation stories.  The PRI and Fed stories will have impacts in upcoming books.

Snippet 1 from the fantasy story:

The Collection

 

Note to the Reader: The following is my take on a Fantasy World War. It is grounded though, so unlike Paul Anderson I went demon, were, and magic free. What can I say? I've got to be me.

 

War had been something of a thing for ages as resources in some areas became scarce. All of the tribes of man were used to it. They had to constantly battle the environment, the beasts, and themselves to survive.

Each of the 3 major tribes of man had taken a different approach to survival. Man, the most prosperous had found that sheltering behind curtain walls of stone offered the best protection. Others in Man's tribe like the dwarves took a variation of that theme by building stone fortresses into their mines and cliff faces.

The tall and lean elves took a different approach. They were always quiet hunters and moved into the woods. They built their fortresses in the treetops.

The second tribe of man were based around the goblins. They were smaller than the dwarfs but lean and hairy. They had been broken into smaller groups that had interbred until there were tiny Gnomes, Leprechauns, and hateful Gremlins.

The third and last tribe of man were the giants. Ogres were the biggest of them, dull whited creatures that also lived in the mountains. They had the most branches to their family tree though, Orcs haunted the jungles, while Trolls were in the canyons, mountains, and highlands. White furred Yeti were in the mountains in the east, while big brown hairy things were in the forests of Mishiike Minisi.

All 3 tribes of man were said to hail from Afriuka. It was said that they had spread across the world by land bridges during the various ice ages that had come through the annals of time.

Of course, others insisted they had paid a high price to the Spinx in the desert to cross there and then head to the other continents.

Each of the sub tribes generally kept to itself. Only men tolerated the other species... so long as they were civil with men. Rarely did the third tribe interact peacefully with the others. They generally were brutal in protecting their home territories against any intruders.

The same could be said of the elves. They were always haughty and sometimes thought of as kind but cruel.

The goblins that had found a niche in with men eked out a living as tinkers, thieves, spies, and light workers. They tended to resent the larger tribes and were not above causing some havoc from time to time, especially if it was out of spite.

Dwarves were the master craftsman of the tribes of man. Their ability to work stone and metal were unparalleled. A dwarven smith or stonemason were central to any community. Some towns had fallen into disrepair or even been abandoned when the local dwarves had left.

During their time in the motherlands it must have been safe. But outside them, beasts were everywhere. Dapper stopped his quill and looked at what he'd written. His eyes strayed to the tombs nearby.

He was a student of history, though not for much longer. His money was nearly out, he couldn't find work and he was going to be drafted. He knew it, the warning letter had come in the night before. His eyes lit on the image of a beast, one of the three toes.

He'd wanted to study the history of the beasts but honestly, his talents were not with them. He grimaced as he checked the page.

He wished he could write the report with his typset, but he'd lost that job when he'd been caught 'wasting paper and ink'. Wasting! As if! Writing his reports and the treatment for his very own book was not a waste!

Master Pen hadn't seen it that way. The master printer had turfed him out without his backpay, the sod. The evil sod. He'd even thrown his work into the street where it had landed in a mud puddle.

His eyes went over to the papers by the window. They were crinkled and stained. He wasn't sure he could get much out of them. Not even a pence. They might be good for recycling, or for burning, but that was it, the ink had run.

Darn.

He heard the rising wail of the klaxon and winced. It sounded like a cockitrice, not brassy like the dragons, but high pitched and a long scream of warning. He went over and shut off the lights hastily, and then checked the curtains.

He peeked out the corner of one and noted the night watchman was pointing with his rod to people outside to move quickly. He made hustling motions just as the building shook. The night watchman's knees buckled.

Dapper twitched the curtain shut and then rushed to another window. He looked and saw the fireball rising in the night sky. A dragon circled it while loyal griffin riders rose to intercept it.

Dragons were the largest of the cryptids, the beasts that haunted the world. Man had managed to domesticate some of the beasts over the centuries. Not many, but some like certain breeds of dragon. That one had just dropped firebombs on the port docks and warehouses.

He heard yelling and winced again. Someone banged on the door and he went to it.

“They are looking for a bucket brigade. Get dressed,” the floor matron barked and then moved on.

He grimaced and put his oldest set of clothes on and then hid his meager belongings in the floorboard below his bed. He pushed the bed frame back over the hiding spot and then took off as feet pounded outside in the hallway.

~~~=^=~~~