188. Recruited: Tabitha.

The fucking army. You can’t go anywhere without tripping over Lieutenants. Junior Lieutenants mostly but some Senior. Captains seem to be as scarce as hen's teeth, and Majors are worse. In Obalno, the Major came and saw us. Here I can’t get higher than a Senior Lieutenant.

I have spent almost two weeks being given the run around by the Fiske. I assume they are trying to find out about me and get some leverage before we meet. So that frustrates me as I need a decent Fence or more. Now the army is giving me the runaround. It is not unexpected, but I am starting to want to hit something. That is usually Modrica’s role.

Modrica and I are sitting in a room with a Senior Lieutenant and a Coproral, who say they are from Military Intelligence. I have no proof of that. It took me a week to get this meeting set up. Modrica’s two-week period ends in two days, although I am interested in what they might do If she ignores it. If I can’t get success playing by their rules, then we will start playing by our own.

“Are you aware of our work for Major Sione in Obalno?”

“I have read his report. It does not mention Modrica.” the senior Lieutenant replied.

“Modrica was fully involved as she is my Krvne Sestre.”

“How long have you been in this relationship?”

“Two and a half years since Jern.”

“Do you have proof of this relationship? After all, it is highly unusual for an Orc and a Human to be in such a relationship.”

“Proof? What sort of proof?”

“Miss Skygge, we have many people who come here with lots of reasons to avoid military service. A human and an orc in Krvne Sestre is probably a new one. If you are in this relationship, what proof do you have?”

Modrica let out a frustrated rumble.

“Please describe the circumstances that created this relationship,” he continued.

Well, goblin shit. I can’t tell him I am the Black Butcher, and Modrica was my head enforcer, and we earned in it the gang war. “That is confidential.”

“Then I am not sure I can help you. Is there anything you would like to add, Modrica?”

I could tell Modrica was ready to hit something or someone. I doubted the Lieutenant or the corporal would be able to tell. It looks like we might be switching to our rules now.

“If there is nothing to add,” the Lieutenant went on, “then it is probably best to complete Modrica’s enlistment now. I know you wouldn’t think of it, but we have had people try to disappear, and that gets messy for everyone.” He pulled out a piece of paper, “Now you will have a full assessment with the trainers, but I need your Classes and all skills over Apprentice level, please.”

Modrica stared at him. I was thinking furiously about how to get out of there without violence. They will have to get Težka at some point. If I incapacitate these two, Nyx and I could Mimic them and Modrica, and I could walk out. It was the middle of the day, which was not ideal. However, that should work and limit the violence to these two.

Suddenly the was a sharp knock on the door. The knocker didn’t wait for a response and just opened the door and walked in. Another bloody lieutenant, this one was female.

“Yes?” said the one with the form.

“Orders from Captain Blythe, sir. Are these Skygge and Modrica?”

“Yes.”

“Then I have some questions, sir.”

The male Lieutenant sighed, “Very well.”

The female looked at me, “I believe you know Quinn Fletcher?”

Who the hell is Quinn Fletcher? The name Fletcher rings a bell, but I can’t place it. “I am sor…”

“Quinn Fletcher from Hrothgar,” she interrupted, “1.8m tall, dark skin, has a snake bond. He has a sister Audrey Fletcher.”

Fletcher and Hrothgar together make the connection. They were the IDs the army gave us in exchange for Tabitha and Warren Carter. If Wiremu is using that fucking ID, I will kill him.

“I might be able to contact him,” I said slowly. My mind was spinning with what was going on.

“Indeed, but if my information is correct, you are Audrey Fletcher, are you not?”

Who the hell is this woman? I was about to deny it when the man dude spoke up, “She had Spiritually verified ID to being Skygge. Is there some fraud going on here?”

“No, Lieutenant, this lady and her brother assisted the Kingdom at least twice before the incident, I see in your folder. They both have the rank of Special Lieutenant in the army.”

“Special Lieutenant as in affinities?” The male Lieutenant and the Corporal were wide awake now.

“This is the most common use of the rank in the army, but there are others given the rank for other purposes, like this lady and her brother. Unfortunately, there have been strong rumours of her brother's recent demise. However, this is beyond your security clearance, and I must ask you to leave these two to me.”

“We were enlisting Modrica here as a Special Lieutenant. However, this lady,” he pointed to me, “insists she is in a Krvne Sestre relationship with Modrica,” Modrica growled. “Sorry, they both are acknowledging the relationship.”

“Really?” she said, surprised. “Given what I know of Miss Fletcher’s history, I would say that is entirely possible. I will take responsibility for this from here.”

“Very well,” The male lieutenant and the Corporal stood to leave, “I will report this up my chain of command.”

The female Lieutenant nodded, and we all waited for them to leave before the Lieutenant closed the door and moved to sit in the vacated seat.

I waited until she was seated and said, “Who the hell are you?”

“I am Senior Lieutenant Kelda.” I must have looked like I didn’t know who she was, and that was because I didn’t. She continued, “We never actually met, but Warren, Sten, or Quinn, whatever his name actually is, trained me during the goblin horde near Jern.”

Then it clicked, “Oh, I remember Drugič going on about a love-struck Sten. You’re that lieutenant.”

She frowned at that description, “Well, if I remember, Drugič was one of the orc sisters, and there was the other one with the yak bond. And the big human with the dog.”

“So you remember the Canine Queens. It doesn’t explain what you are doing here.”

“Sten was extremely helpful to me back then. I worked my way up to Senior Lieutenant and transferred to Military Intelligence, as they seemed to be involved with Sten. Is Warren his real name? He was Warren when I first met him and then Sten after visiting Hrothgar, but I discovered that MI gave him an ID for Quinn Fletcher.”

“No, Warren is not his birth name.”

“We were getting ready for your arrival here when we had reports of Sten’s death in Beitemark. But then the Kirghiz Treasury notified us the Quinn identity had been activated, and a Quinn Fletcher bought a Blacksmiths here in Kirghiz about two weeks ago. A blacksmith shop didn’t seem to fit his affinity, and the tenants didn’t recognise him, so we weren’t sure.”

“My biggest concern is the statement, “We were getting ready for your arrival,” do you plan to clarify that?” I asked.

“There is a lot we need to discuss, but I would rather do it with Quinn there too. What should I call him?”

“Quinn is fine.”

“What should I call you, Tabitha, Skygge, Audrey?”

“Definitely not Audrey. Call me Tabitha.”

“So Quinn is not dead, and he did buy a blacksmith?”

“He is not dead, but that may change when I see him next. I have no idea about the blacksmiths. We have been doing our separate things since arriving.”

“You are upset with him?”

“He should never have used the Quinn ID.”

“I think that is going to be to our advantage here because I can get Modrica sorted. You are actually Krvne Sestre? It wasn’t just for the recruitment?” I nodded, and Modrica grunted her affirmation. “Fascinating. I can get her assigned to our unit. You will need to go through the basic assessments but not the full Basic Training. Let's fill in this form, and I can tell you when to report to the base. Classes?”

Modrica answered, “Brawler, Pulgist, Blunt Weapon Master, Armoured.”

“Ok, I haven't heard of the Armoured Class, but the Trainers will know. Skills? Let's Start with Apprentice Skills. We are not worried about Novice Skills. By the way, there is no point in fudging them, as the trainers will find out.”

“Shield, Shield Bash, Throw Weapons, Riding, Earth Spike, Earth Wall, Earth Bones,” Modrica paused and looked at me. I nodded, and she said, “Claws, Rend, Crushing Bite.”

“Right, Journeyman?”

“Small Blades, Axe, Sense Spiritual, Hide Status, Identify, Boost Constitution, Power Fist, Armour Smash, Fast Strike, Armoured Skin, Wagoneer, Dwarvish and Common.”

“Master?”

“Darksight, Unarmed Combat, Blunt Weapons.”

“Affinity is straight Earth?” Modrica nodded, “Bond?”

“Težka, Dire Bear.”

“Any Monster kills?” Modrica shook her head.

“Right, I see they already have you down as a cavalry recruit. I will change that to Special Forces, which basically means Military Intelligence which will keep us all together. Your Class and Skills in Blunt Weapons differ greatly from what the cavalry will require anyway.”

I spoke up, “We are not interested in being a MI unit. We will not be dancing to anyone's tune here.”

“We can discuss what that means when we are all together. Let’s just say MI has much more freedom than other military units. The trainers will want you and Težka for two weeks, Modrica. It will be scheduled in a week or so.”

“She is likely to bash anyone who yells at her,” I said, and I saw Modrica smile.

“Well, this is the army. If they can’t handle that, they shouldn’t be here. Do you have somewhere we could meet in a couple of days?”

I gave her the address of our residential compound, and we walked out without hitting anyone.