‘Well, yes,’ Melissa replied since it seemed to be her that was being asked. ‘Of course it was…’ She trailed off and then frowned. Michiko waited patiently for her to continue. ‘You know, I wasn’t scared until after. I was nervous. I’m a nervous kind of woman, Michiko. I’m sure you’ve noticed.’
‘You used to be.’
‘I still am when I don’t know people. So, I was nervous, but I wasn’t afraid. I mean, we had a trained marine and four combat magicians. Suki may only be a first year, but she’s got power. You should’ve seen the Fire Blast she used. Courtney, Kyle, and Darius are older, so they knew what they were doing and they’re all powerful enough in their own rights. Those soldiers didn’t know what they were messing with. So, it wasn’t that scary.’
‘Don’t sell yourself short, Mel,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Or Chess. Your spells kept them out until they brought in explosives. Chess provided the intel we needed to protect ourselves and counterattack.’
‘We were just doing what we usually do in tactics classes,’ Rochester said. ‘I scout, Mel blocks, and–’
‘And Nava takes out the opposing team without breaking a sweat,’ Mitsuko finished for him since he did not seem to want to.
‘That. Yes.’
Michiko watched the little exchange and then appeared to hesitate before asking a question. ‘Did Nava really kill a tank on her own?’
‘Yes,’ Zackery Trenton said to his youngest daughter. ‘I’ve seen the initial report. It’s quite clear that Nava was able to destroy an armoured robot tank, singlehanded.’ He glanced at Mitsuko. ‘Is this the second or third time she’s saved your life, Suki?’
‘Depends how you count it. Third, I think.’
‘Do you think you could possibly manage to go the rest of the year without needing to be saved?’ Yuzuki asked.
‘I’ll try, Mother,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘I really will. But I’m not making any promises.’
~~~
‘So, how much of Nava’s backstory did you know when we had our little chat back in May?’ Mitsuko had managed to get her mother alone and was finally getting to ask the question which had been worrying at her since Nava had told them what she was.
Yuzuki looked at her daughter for a second or two and then went back to carefully arranging flowers in a vase. ‘Death’s Handmaiden? The connection to the Redwings? Her ancestry?’ Yuzuki asked.
‘All of that.’
‘When you took up with her, we naturally had the Greylings look into her background. It took them a surprising amount of time to get all of it, but we think they did.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘We weren’t supposed to know, Suki. We knew that she wouldn’t tell you unless you needed to be told for some reason, because she had been told not to tell anyone. The Greylings are satisfied that she has no ties to the Redwings. Did she tell you that she slaughtered more or less everyone in the base on Earth?’
‘Well, Fawn Tyrell told us that part, but yes. She told us about her genetics too. That she’s not human.’
‘Does that bother you?’
‘Should it?’
Yuzuki turned and gave her daughter a smile. ‘I don’t believe it should, no. What “human” is has been a moving target for thousands of years.’ Her face straightened. ‘The issue is more to do with what Nava actually is. She’s a template for a more powerful sorceress. If that becomes widely known…’
Mitsuko nodded. ‘Yeah. That could turn out to be a problem. The Redwings won’t give up either.’
‘No, I don’t suppose they will, but they’ve been dealt a severe blow here on Shinden. Much of their operational cell on this world has been wiped out thanks to Nava and the ASF. That’s what I’m told, anyway. For the time being, you should be safe from them here. And you did promise to stay out of trouble for a while…’
‘I did not,’ Mitsuko said. ‘I said I’d try. I very explicitly avoided promising anything. It’s not like I had much control over the trouble I’ve got into so far this year.’ She grinned. ‘I promise not to go looking for trouble, but if it comes looking for me, all bets are off.’
Yuzuki sighed. ‘I suppose it’s all we can ask for…’
~~~
A military tiltrotor dropped lightly in to land on the mansion’s pad. The wind from its rotors blew Mitsuko’s hair into her face and she was briefly jealous of Melissa’s shorter style. The blades did not stop, but a door opened in the side of the vehicle and, a second later, Nava was dropping to the concrete and then rushing across to where her friends were waiting. She paused briefly, turning to wave back toward the craft’s cabin. The tiltrotor was returning to the air as Nava continued on toward her reception party.
‘I wasn’t entirely sure you were coming back,’ Mitsuko said as Nava approached.
‘Of course I was,’ Nava replied as though there had never been any doubt about it. ‘They wanted to go over what I knew about the other possible survivors. Not that I could tell them much. Even the descriptions were probably wrong. Maya used to have beautiful, long, blonde hair. Anyway, I’m here. There’s nothing to worry about.’
‘There is,’ Melissa said, though she was grinning. ‘Now that you’re back, Suki’s going to suggest we spend the rest of the evening in the baths.’
‘It’s only about half past seven. If we spend all night in there, we’ll all turn wrinkly. Oh, I’m going to need some clothes from somewhere. I don’t suppose you guys brought my luggage from Alliance City?’
‘We did,’ Mitsuko said, ‘and I’ve had it all laundered, but you don’t really need to worry about it for now.’ She turned, starting toward the house.
‘Uh, why not?’
‘Oh, Nava… If you think I’m letting you wear anything at all before lunch tomorrow, you’re far more naïve than I thought.’
###
About the Author
I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the
