2: Rusted Revenants and Sending Stones

Firebase “Sherwood”

Alleghe Wilds, Ver Sayles

14/7/-1

-Lieutenant Colonel Kreiya Marsden-

-Executive Officer, Allegheny Irregulars-

Kreiya rapped her fist against the side of the compound’s ancient computer console, with an obviously righteous fury directed at the machine’s archaic and lengthy startup sequences. The XO had been working closely with First Lieutenant Okaanen Sumuverho in updating the old wildcat mining outpost into a proper base of operations for a mercenary company over the past two days, and the progress had been frustrating at best. Not on account of his help, of course. Oak was at times a bit dense, but he was very good at what he did. Besides, it was a far cry from all the obnoxious civilians that kept getting in Kreiya’s way.  

Always cleaning their firearms, as if they intended to use them. Dirtying up the place needlessly.

Smoking cigars in a poorly ventilated command room like they were the only ones present. Obnoxious and unprofessional.

Microwaving sandwiches with the mayonnaise already applied. There aren’t even words for this.

Kreiya had heroically sheltered Oak from their relentlessly obnoxious behavior, driving them off with her cane on several occasions. But when she displayed her sidearm as an indication of displeasure upon catching a sentry cooking canned tuna on the auxiliary power banks, the room was ceded fully to the Irregulars’ jurisdiction. Kreiya was thankful for the opportunity to work in proper peace, but appalled that anyone would think she’d ever shoot a civilian. She was only pointing with her firearm for emphasis.

Free of the rude (and clearly overdramatic) militia, Kreiya and Oak made much better progress today. The lieutenant worked far more than he spoke, which was a relief to the XO. If he spoke, it was about beer or Miss Silver, his sweetheart. For Lieutenant Colonel Marsden, this was a coin flip between just bored or actively repulsed. Beer is fantastic. But it’s just beer. I appreciate his passion, however, Kreiya would think to herself as Okaanen would laud his lagers and praise his pilsners. It was still preferable to his musings on his darling Miss Silver. Eww, feelings! XO Marsden made sure to find a loud piece of equipment to adjust when he’d discuss matters of the heart. Those things are quite alright to discuss with anyone but your Executive Officer, and Kreiya courteously reminded her Lieutenant of this gospel truth at any opportunity. Today would prove to be different, though.

Potentially even worse.

“Y’know, Kreiya… CO seems to really care about you.”

“Okaanen, don’t make me roll up these schematics and whack you with them.  Besides, Remy’s married, and he knows he’s not my type by virtue of being ‘he,’ as well.”

Kreiya shot Oak a look, but made a horrifying discovery when it found his gaze.  Today the First Lieutenant had worn his “big boy pants,” apparently, and he showed no intentions of diverting from the topic at hand.

“You know what I mean, Kreiya.  It’s not a romantic thing, he’s not that self-destructive… he’s just quite fond of you.  He lets his guard down around you.”

“Oh, that’s nonsense!  I threw a potato at him two hours ago when he came to check on our progress and he was ready for it.”

“I’m going to allow you to be obtuse.  But I did mean emotionally.  He doesn’t try to meet your expectations because you literally expect nothing from him.  I think it’s a different experience to him.”

Kreiya knew it was foolish to entertain a discussion about these things.  She also knew that she likely had no choice in the matter.  Okaanen was the only person that could get these ancient computer consoles functional, and Kreiya was nothing if not task-oriented.  Besides, how bad could it possibly get?

“Oak, everything is a different experience to Remy.  It’s a near certainty that the past times are either forgotten or he was not paying attention.”

“Yeah, I get that.  But it’s the little shit, Kreiya… you remember the time you tore him up over the duty roster mix-up?”

The woman smiled as she nodded.  The CO was not known for his skill in handling downtime activities, and the duty rosters would often go unmodified for weeks.  The habit of leaving important maintenance tasks undone and the same crew members locked into the same mundane task day after day was one that cost no lives but did no favors to morale, and Kreiya had thoroughly dressed-down her commanding officer in a staff meeting regarding the issue.

“Yes… I remember that one quite fondly.  I smacked him across the back of his head with the clipboard and everything.”

“Well, remember the day after that meeting?  Remy spent all night organizing the crew duties and implementing a schedule rotation.  He’s stubborn and doesn’t like putting in the effort on the little things… but despite that, he listens to you.”

“And?  It’s not my fault that the CO has a healthy survival instinct.”

Okaanen shook his head, clearly caught off guard by Kreiya’s solid logic.  Or was he?  He hadn’t come around to shutting up quite yet, it seemed.

“Now Kreiya, we both know that’s not true.  I watched him leap his mech into a chasm with no hesitation.  Took half a day to get him out, and nearly a week to haul out the damn machine with both legs shattered from the impact.”

“Aye, I suppose he does still try for hugs far too often to be considered aware when it comes to self-preservation.”

Oak’s grunt of acknowledgment was a comforting sound to Kreiya, as it indicated she may have a few moments of quiet where she could work peacefully again.  It wasn’t that she minded conversation, either.  It was the topic that was so off-putting.  So what if Remy’s gone and attached himself?  It doesn’t change the job or the circumstances, she contemplated silently.  Much more straightforward to take the facts and leave the silly people bits alone.  Feelings muddy up the reality.  

————————

The pair continued their work from within their new command center.  After an hour or so of muttering and cursing at the machines, Kreiya’s efforts were rewarded.  Sure, Okaanen was the one doing the tinkering, but one could not say with any certainty that her insults and lamentations didn’t help persuade the ancient computers to behave.  The XO was pleased with the developments, and preparing to sit down and enjoy her afternoon tea, when Oak shook his head at her preparations for rest.

“Not quite done yet, Lieutenant Colonel.  We’ve got comms, but they’re wide open.  There’s no encryption built into these old systems.”

“Oak, are you telling me all that work was for nothing?”

“Far from it, XO.  We were blind, deaf, and mute when we started.  Now we’re none of those things… we’ve just got to keep our mouth shut to stay unnoticed.”

“This is Remy’s company… keeping our mouths shut won’t be easy, if even possible.”

“You’ve got a good point there… luckily, I’ve already got a workaround.”

Still chuckling at Kreiya’s insinuations, Okaanen motioned to a satchel of beacons he’d stashed in the corner of the room.  He walked over and picked up one of the heavy devices, showing it off to his XO and doing his best to explain the technology behind it.

“Now, normally these beacons are used as location markers.  I’ve been able to adjust their frequencies to receive data as well as transmit.  The range is limited, maybe about 15-20 kilometers.  But they’re simple surveying probes.  I’ve got dozens, and can get a hold of more as I need them.  The idea is to start spreading our reach around Ver Sayles, working out from the wilds of Alleghe.  We’ll set up a small web of these probes, and bounce our communications off of them instead of using a wider transmission band with greater reach.”

“Sending stones…” Kreiya muttered under her breath as she attempted to listen to all of Okaanen’s technical jargon.

Oak looked at her with a bit of surprise and far more appreciation than the XO found comfortable.

“I was gonna call them ‘localized comm beacons,’ but I’m a bit more partial to your pick, Kreiya.”

“Well, it’s an old Dungeons and Dragons thing… magical stones, like little recorders.  Used for sending messages securely across wide distances.  These are a bit more advanced, perhaps, but it feels right.”

“Agreed, XO.  Now, ready to go help me place the first set?”

“No.  However, I don’t think that’s an adequate answer in this situation.”

Oak laughed as the pair headed off to one of the militia’s pickup trucks, beacons in hand.  Kreiya most certainly did not, being more partial to remaining in one place.  As they exited the cavernous mountain redoubt and emerged in the forested hills, however, the cool breeze and inviting sunlight seemed to beckon her forward into this affair of exploration.  Her first Lieutenant handed her a map of the surrounding area with a crude circular pattern sketched out.  Today’s excursion would set up the initial ring of beacons.  The Irregulars would have to start out small, and hopefully spread their influence through the hills and hollers of the Alleghe Wilds like moss does along a forest floor.  The slow progress was frustrating to Kreiya, but she was well aware of the cost of over-extension.  At least two of her demotions while serving in the regular army were due to refusing to lead her forces into a position that couldn’t be held, and each time, the forces sent to do ‘her job’ were absolutely decimated in the effort.  I hate the slow game we’re playing, but it’s preferable to a quick death.  Can’t wait until these steps are in hand and we have more to work with, though…

The first four beacons were placed without incident.  Okaanen showed Kreiya how to ensure their safety, carefully digging out holes for each beacon, burying them until they were nearly imperceptible, and then, finally, placing one of the plentiful blackberry bushes in the forest at the dig site, obscuring the remaining visible parts.  Kreiya appreciated the lesson in gardening, but was surprised he’d take the time to inform her.  After all, Oak was doing all the digging.  It is a bit strange he keeps getting two shovels out, isn’t it?

The final beacon was located in a heavily forested area which required the duo to walk the final kilometer to its location.  On their approach, Kreiya suddenly reached her arm out in front of Oak, bringing him to a stop.  As he looked over, the concern in her eyes brought him to attention, and the XO pointed to their left.  Ahead, obscured by the trees, were three of the Remnants' occupation soldiers, laser carbines at the ready.  They hadn’t spotted the pair of Irregulars yet, and seemed heavily distracted.  Kreiya spoke up in a raspy whisper.

“Pitched battles are more my specialty, Lieutenant.  Any thoughts?”

“None yet, ma’am.  But they seem mighty preoccupied.  Maybe the forest will prove a valuable ally.”

Kreiya and Okaanen retreated backward ever so slightly, taking care not to alert their company to their presence.  They crouched down and watched.  After several minutes, they were able to gather that some local wildlife had held up the three-man patrol, and their foes seemed just as anxious about being here as the Irregulars did.  Kreiya began to raise her rifle, looking for a shot, but Oak reached out and pushed her barrel toward the ground.

“If we leave bodies here, more will be back.  They could search the area and find our beacon.  Let’s find a way to scare them off instead, it’s likely they’ll blame it on whatever’s got them spooked out here.”

“An excellent suggestion, Okaanen.  I do wonder, though… should I growl? Roar?”

“No… just listen.  Wait for nature to provide.”

No sooner had Oak responded when a noise split through the trees.  The roar of a large cat echoed through the trees, causing the three soldiers and both mercenaries all to perk up and turn toward the sound.

“Mountain lion, sounds like.  Lemme try something, but go ahead and ready that rifle, Kreiya.”

Oak pulled a small device from his pocket, vaguely resembling a hand-held radio.  He made a couple mimicking calls, trying to get his pitch right. Then, he turned on the device, and gave his best “big cat snarl” into the microphone.  The device lowered his pitch and magnified the volume, and a very convincing growl burst forth from the Irregulars’ location.  The patrol all looked back toward the area, but before they could identify the source of the sound, the real mountain lion responded from the other direction.  The trio of soldiers looked back and forth between both sounds, then at one another, before bolting into the undergrowth in terror.  

After a few tense moments, Kreiya followed Oak the last few meters to the final beacon location, and this time, the XO took the pleasure of digging up the spot.

“You know, Okaanen… I’m wondering what happens if the real cat shows up before we’re finished.”

“I’m sure Remy wouldn’t mind if you came back with a new company pet.”

“Oh, I’m absolutely sure he would, Lieutenant.”

Kreiya thought about it for a moment as they placed another blackberry bush over the day’s final “sending stone,” and then she let out a cackle

“And that is why we’re gonna go find ourselves a kitty, Oak.”