Sixth Squad today. They were the squad who’d been stationed outside the Pillar space when it all went pear-shaped. They’d sent Quane to get help, and went in to try and rescue people and fight off the Ionoth, only to all succumb. Ammas, their Telekinesis talent, had died. All that made me a little nervous about testing with them.
Their captain is a girl named Cormin, who had a touch of Taarel about her in terms of her air of command. She looked more Amerind than Asian, and was very decisive and efficient. Her attitude toward me was quietly polite but distant, and her squad followed her lead and were all very courteous but not remotely inclined to chat. A girl called Jorion has replaced Ammas, and she kept glancing at me when she thought I was turned away, a puzzled, evaluating look. I wonder if I’ll ever find out why. I never found out why Anya found me so annoying. I think it’s probably best not to spend too much energy trying to work these things out unless I’m assigned to a squad. There’s eighty-four active Setari, and every one of them is going to have an opinion about the enhancing stray.
Only Thirteenth left now, and nothing at all in my calendar next week. They obviously haven’t decided what to do with me. All this testing, but I’m not entirely sure they’ll allow me back into the spaces, even with First Squad. I also think they’ve had orders not to take me out into the city – First collected me for dinner again tonight, but in Mara’s quarters.
Tuesday, May 27
World of Mystery
I bought some fancy interface games today. I’ve been hesitating over joining an online game, but most them use voice chat, and I just can’t make myself sound enough like a Taren to risk that, even with the cool voice modifiers you can use to get in-character.
I’m also entirely uncertain whether I would be allowed to join: I’ve never tried to post on a public forum or communicate outside KOTIS, and that’s not just because I’m worried about the reaction of whoever I talk to. I’ve never been specifically forbidden to, but the Setari aren’t allowed to reveal their identities, and the Kalrani aren’t allowed to post on public forums at all. I don’t particularly want to deal with being ordered not to talk to people. I’m a lot more settled than I was, but I’m avoiding confrontations and upsets. I really don’t like how I’ve been feeling since Kalasa, and I don’t want to push myself just now.
The games I bought were single-player puzzle/adventure games. The first one I’m playing is a noir-ish murder mystery, set on Tare before computers, let alone the interface. It works as a really interesting history lesson for me, and is letting me dip my toe into the virtual worlds so many Tarens consider daily entertainment. In the game I look down at myself and I’m this six-foot guy. I reach out a hand and I’m missing my little finger. It’s very disorienting, and is only the tip of Tare’s virtual entertainments, and probably as full-on as I can manage at the moment. I’m still way too big a wuss to try any of the games which are in-skin. Sight and sound is more than enough.
Otherwise, full squad hand-to-hand training. I concentrated hard, and Mara said nice things about the effort I was putting in, but the gulf between me and First Squad is so monumental. At the same time, I’m better than I was. If I went back to Earth and some random thug tried to attack me I might have a chance of tripping him and making him fall down.
Thursday, May 29
Great Wall of Astroturf
I was nearly late for my session with Thirteenth Squad (thanks to my new game, which is very engrossing). The captain of Thirteenth is called Teer Alare, and he’s this absolute baby-face. He looks about fifteen – taller than me, but like he’s not old enough to shave. I could totally picture him sitting in front of the TV with Jules, playing Halo or some stupid skateboarding game. I was half expecting him to be wearing a goofy grin, and for every second word he used to be cool, but he was curtly professional and started us out at a spanking pace.
Thirteenth is a big hitting squad, so we were in the highly shielded training room, starting on the second person – a very grim-faced girl named Dry – when KOTIS went to full alert. Everyone went still, waiting, then a broadcast message appeared in the interface (red words in the mid-distance of my field of vision): "Massive at the Dohl Array."
Before any of us could react, Grif, the captain of Second Squad, brought me into a mission channel with his squad, and began rapidly adding squads. Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Tenth, Eleventh and Thirteenth. Most of them were on their sleep shifts, more than a few only just struggling to consciousness. Everyone else was in the spaces or on Muina.
"Gather at Green Lock," Grif said. "We’ll be going through the spaces to Gorra, possibly collecting Sixth on the way, and then using transports to the Array. No delay."
That seemed to mean run. Alare gave his squad a hand signal, cast me a glance to make sure I understood, and it was a quick dash down a couple of corridors, a short elevator ride, another dash along a major travelator with lots of greysuits and pinksuits hopping hastily off it out of our way, then another elevator and another corridor. The elevators made it easier, giving me a chance to catch my breath. Everyone else was barely breathing quicker.
Eighth Squad went no connection before we were halfway there, and Fifth just as we arrived. All of Second Squad was waiting by the gate, along with a mixed crowd of partial squads.
"Thirteenth, go straight through," Grif said as we came up. "Further briefing once we’re at Gorra. Devlin, you’re with Fourth."
I promptly sat down on a seat I suspect had been deliberately left empty for me, and hoped I wasn’t too red in the face. A greysuit came disconcertingly out of nowhere and gave me a once-over. They can monitor my heartbeat, temperature, various chemical levels and so forth using the interface, but the greysuits are very fond of peering into my eyes and asking me whether I feel lethargic. Thirteenth went through, and then Fourth arrived all in a group.
Ruuel nodded at Grif, gave me a five-second glance which I interpreted as usual formation, and headed into the gate-lock. Auron paused beside me, offering me one of his shy smiles, and I stood and went in with him. The location of the gate appeared as a triangle in the interface and we went through without pause, not even waiting for the gate-lock to close.
Ruuel gave typically abbreviated orders once we were all through. "Auron, your sole role will be moving Devlin. Stay unenhanced for greater flexibility. Eyse, paired with Auron. Steady speed."
Auron lifted me off the ground with Levitation, and they began jogging at something just short of an all-out run. I’d never been on the Gorra rotation – it was five spaces long, but they were still empty from the last time they’d been cleared – and then we were in Gorra’s near-space which looked, unsurprisingly, just like Unara’s near-space. Tarens don’t go in for a great deal of architectural experimentation. We were through into a gate-lock about twenty minutes after setting out, which is pretty impressive time for reaching the other side of the planet.
We beat Eighth Squad, which confused me considerably until they arrived with Sixth. They’d detoured once they’d reached Gorra’s near-space and gone into the rotation Sixth was scheduled to clear, collecting them. Gorra had a KOTIS facility, barely, and we went straight to two tanz which were being prepped for us. These were flat things about three times the length of a bus, very similar to the transport I’d ridden in with Sa Lents to Unara: wedge-arrowhead airplanes.