John Ringo - Against the Tide

“That… is going to take some getting used to,” Megan said, fingering the chain around her neck. “I would like to introduce my… retainer, Baradur.”

Edmund peered at the wee folk for a moment and then said something in quick, liquid tones.

The guard frowned for a moment and then replied, puzzled.

“The language has shifted,” Edmund said, frowning. “But where did you come from?”

“The wee folk are among the tribes of the Highlands,” Megan said, surprised. “You know of them?”

“Not from the Highlands,” Edmund replied, rubbing his beard. “But I recognize them. Old memory, very old people. Good soldiers, the best. There were some in Anarchia as well. I’d give my right arm for a battalion of them. And on that note, we need to talk. Mistress, if I could have a moment of your time. Herzer, Joanna, which means the wyvern bay, damnit. Shar, get the fleet squared away on the course we agreed upon and then come join us.”

“Yes, sir,” the admiral said.

“Mistress?”

“This way,” Megan replied, gesturing towards the wyvern bay.

“What we have here is a grade A cluster f… a grade A cluster,” Edmund said as soon as chairs had been secured for the bay. Joanna was curled at one end with Bast lounged on her and the rest were gathered in a semicircle. “New Destiny landed on the north end of the peninsula, inside of it, and have put in a fortified camp cutting off Balmoran. They also have control of the waters around it but only until we get there. However, they’re installing portals and can supply through them…”

“I thought that porting into Norau was impossible,” Megan said, frowning. “It certainly was for me.”

“Force majeure,” Bast said, shaking her head. “Who hold land own land. Very old protocol, but protocol still.”

“Correct,” Edmund said. “They hold the land, now, they have sufficient forces in place that we cannot immediately throw them off, and have water access to it. Ergo, under the damned protocols, they can port into it. Even destroying their fleet won’t change that. We have to beat them on the ground.”

“Fortified camp?” Herzer said, frowning. “That will be hard.”

“Indeed it will,” Edmund replied. “And they took the Naval base and most of its stores. That’s where they’re resupplying from, now.”

“Rachel?” Herzer asked.

“Unknown,” Edmund replied, his face hard.

“If they’ve captured Rachel…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Edmund said. “This is not about rescuing Rachel, Herzer, get that straight. It’s about breaking New Destiny’s invasion.”

“Rachel is your daughter…”

“I know that very well, Herzer,” Edmund replied, tightly. “But this is not about special privileges for my daughter. She takes her chances just like every other combatant…”

“I was about to say,” Herzer said, cutting him off, “that as such, she has access to information that New Destiny wants to know. Yes, I care if Rachel lives or dies, but I suspect that if New Destiny knows that she is there, they’re more interested in what they can squeeze from her. Recapturing Rachel, therefore, certainly has an allowable level of necessity to it, Duke Edmund.”

“Edmund,” Joanna said, “Herzer has a point. You might be so close to the situation it’s a point you’re ignoring to avoid the special privilege issue.”

“We don’t know where she is ,” Edmund ground out. “We don’t know if she’s among the refugees from the peninsula. Or if New Destiny has already ported her back to Ropasa. If they have, she is gone . And this meeting is not about where Rachel is. It’s about how to throw New Destiny off the peninsula.” He looked at the others and nodded. “Very well. The bow corps is on the dreadnoughts about a day behind us…”

“I have five remaining wounded,” Rachel said, trying to ignore the blood-spattered monster following Conner. Not to mention Conner who, if anything, terrified her more. “I am aware that you normally kill your enemy’s wounded and I cannot prevent that. However, if you leave them be, I will willingly work on your own wounded. If you kill them, you can still force me to do so. But I will do a much better job as a willing doctor than as an unwilling one.”

“Show me,” Conner said, gesturing courteously towards the wards. “I promise on my honor as an acolyte of the Lady Celine I will not have them killed.”

Rachel tightened her face and led the way into the ward. At the sight of the blood-spattered elf the two conscious wounded drew up, aware that with no weapons there was little they could do.

Conner strode over to Kalil, looking at him with his head cocked to the side and then extending a hand and muttering. Kalil flinched back but all that happened was that an enlarged hologram of his skull appeared in the air. Conner looked at it, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“So much power,” Rachel whispered, leaning forward to examine the hologram.

“We have power in New Destiny,” Conner said. “You can have power, if you are willing. A plate?”

“Subdural cerebral hematoma,” Rachel sighed, ignoring the implied offer. “I didn’t have enough power to do internal repairs; I had to relieve the pressure.”

“It’s very good work,” Conner replied.

“You’re a doctor?” Rachel asked.

“Of sorts,” Conner said. “With power, not this sort of work. But we have techniques that you don’t, or are unwilling to use.” He continued down the line of wounded, examining each of them. At the last one, an abdominal injury, he stopped and shrugged.

“This one is dying anyway,” he said.

“You don’t discuss a patient’s condition in front of them,” Rachel snapped.

“Well, he’s unconscious, isn’t he?” Conner replied, ignoring her. “Would you like to save him?”

“Of course,” Rachel said, angrily. “But I don’t have the power.”

“That is what you think,” Conner said, smiling at her in a maddening way. He whispered under his breath and the soldier began to glow. “There. There is the power you need.”

“I can’t sap a wounded man for the power to heal him!” Rachel snapped.

“Oh, you must not take too much,” Conner admitted. “But there is power in plenty here. He is not so far gone.” He touched her shoulder and whispered again. “There. Take it. And heal. You can take it from him. You can take it from others. You can take it from yourself. Everywhere, there is power to be had.”

Rachel felt the link and used it to bring up a diagnostic holo, one that she had rarely been able to use. Power was apparently power and her own protocols worked with it. The soldier had been struck by a cart. The legs and ribs were easy enough to repair, or at least splint, but the swollen abdomen had shown extensive internal injuries and without a skilled team she had been reluctant to open him up. Now she could see the extent of the damage. There was no way she could draw enough power from him to even repair the ruptured spleen, but… she tapped into herself, drawing her own nervous energy, and began to effect what repairs she could.

“Silly,” Conner snapped as her knees sagged. “Very silly. Draw from him , not yourself or you’ll never be able to do anything.”

“I’ve stopped up the worst,” Rachel said, weakly. “I can do the rest later, when I’m recovered. I won’t be you !”

“Then watch how I heal them!” Conner roared, spinning her across the room to the elf and extending a hand. He began to chant and light formed around all of the wounded.