Now it was the reverse. Women had to better themselves to be suitable mates, work hard, and provide for their families.
The Decimation tipped the balance of majority in the favor of women, but did something to tip the scale of social power toward men. With fewer men available, the pool of mates for women also was smaller.
I have several friends and acquaintances – and sadly, yours truly – who are still looking for their partners. As we group around a table at our favorite restaurant on a regular basis, we share our stories and console each other for failed attempts . . . and, I am sorry to say, curse those that have succeeded when we haven’t.
All in good fun, of course.”
Entine Contact – 242 A.C.
Over two hundred and forty years after the gender reversal, Talsenia was contacted by the Entine Republic.
The Talsenian public was quick to accept the entry into the Republic. Females are allowed into the Entine military upon application, but entry by males is severely limited based on aptitude in navigation, and to a lesser degree, research and development. Normally this would be against Entine law, as any gender is to be allowed into the military, but is through a special agreement of producing the TLS-079 Gatling Cannon, and supplying the republic with emergency reserves of Yvonite.
Chapter Ten
Or, A (Not So) Healthy Dose of Conflict!
Katrina was eating a tangerine on the coffee table while watching TV with Natalia and Angelica.
Silver came up the stairs.
“Hello, ladies!”
“It’s Silver!” Katrina chirped.
“Hey, Katrina. Is Alisa around?”
“I think she’s in her room working on something.”
“Good. I need to have a chat with her. Is Ken here? I don’t think I saw his car in the driveway.”
“He’s doing a little last minute shopping. He’ll be home soon.”
“Better sooner than later.”
Angelica noticed Silver seemed a little more on-edge than usual. “Something wrong?”
“Huh? Um, well, I’ve just been anticipating something for the last few days.”
“What is it? Your period?” Natalia asked without missing a beat.
Silver frowned. “You know, I never liked that about you.”
She rolled her eyes and went back to watching TV as Silver headed to Alisa’s room.
* * *
When Ken returned home, he grabbed the bags from the trunk of his car and was about to hit the stairs when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end for a moment. He remembered the feeling when Silver would train him, and he would ‘phase out’ both of them—
Ken dropped the bags inside, near the door, and ran upstairs.
“Silver!” he yelled, trying to find where he was.
Katrina, Angelica and Natalia were in the living room, confused.
“Ken? What’s happening?” Angelica asked.
Ken bit his bottom lip. He was a little relieved when he saw Cassandra, Alisa and Silver arrive from down the hall from Alisa’s room, followed by Sasha.
“Silver! What’s going on here!?” Ken yelled, looking around for him.
“We’re about to have company.”
“Company!? Exactly what is going to happen here!? I demand an explanation!” Natalia shouted, stamping her foot down for emphasis.
“It’s a space-time field to put us out of phase,” Katrina said.
“Out of . . . phase!?” Natalia echoed. “What does that mean?”
“Did you do this, Silver?” Ken asked.
“Yes. Things are about to get really hairy.”
“What do you mean?” Ken asked.
“They’re coming.”
“They? Who exactly are they?”
“I don’t have the time to give you all the details right now. Ken, Cassandra, Katrina, come with me. Natalia, Angelica, Sasha, you three stay inside. Alisa, do what we agreed upon.”
Alisa nodded.
Silver headed down the stairs, followed by the three he chose. Ken picked up his pipe, they went out the side entrance and Silver stopped in the middle of the driveway, looking out toward the street.
“What are we waiting for?” Ken asked Silver.
Katrina was looking around.
“Something’s . . . coming . . .” she said.
“Huh?”
“Over there.” She pointed ahead to where Silver was looking.
The air shimmered two feet off the ground at the end of Ken’s driveway. It looked like a curtain that was shifting in the breeze.
Ken addressed Silver without looking at him. “What’s that?”
Silver produced his staff. “It’s someone trying to break into this space-time field.”
“Wait. Aren’t we phased out of reality or something? How can they get in here?”
“We’re phased out on this time plane. They’re trying to break through from a different time plane.”
“This is crazy,” Cassandra muttered.
“That it is,” Silver agreed. “But it’s real. You’re about to get a crash course in it.”
The shimmering expanded.
“They’re not evil by any stretch of the imagination. They’re simply . . . misguided.”
The shimmer continued to grow.
“They’re being used by someone with ulterior motives, and are blinded by their need. And they’re not above resorting to force to obtain what they need.”
“And what do they want?” Cassandra followed up.
The shimmer suddenly grew to the size that a person could walk through. And that’s what three of them did.
Silver half-heartedly waved to Streyes, Schove and Sona. “Hey, gang. Long time no see. How have you been?”
Schove grimaced at him. “As if you didn’t know.”
Streyes stepped forward. “This is your last chance. I don’t want to do something even more . . . unpleasant. You have friends with you, right?”
“They can take care of themselves. But you surprise me, Streyes. I would expect those kinds of threats from Schove, but not from you.”
“We’re reaching the end of our rope. We don’t have a choice.”
“I’ve told you how many times? I can help if you want help. You just have to ask. The Library can’t help you.”
“And why is that?” Streyes asked.
“Because it’s not as omnipotent a place that everyone thinks it is. Your ‘benefactor’ – and I use that term loosely here – has ulterior motives, and is playing you three for fools to accomplish what he wants. When he’s done, he’ll toss you aside.”
“Tohtell is a fine, upstanding gentleman who stepped up to help. We’re grateful and are working to repay our debt. As long as we get the key to the Library, he’ll work as hard as he can to cure us.”
“I’ve told you that I can help you if you ask me for help.”
Schove cut in. “We already did! And you refused!”
“I refused giving you access to the Library, not helping you out. You’re not listening.”
Sona stepped forward. “Because Tohtell has researched all he can, and concluded the only way is the knowledge in the Library.”
Silver pointed his staff at them. “He’s wrong. You’re wrong. I wish you could believe me.”
“Then why not allow us access to the Library? Then everything will be settled. We can see who’s telling the truth.” Streyes offered.
“Unfortunately, that can’t be done. If you had access to the Library, he would force you to show him to it. And he’ll throw you aside after he has it. Tohtell is a madman who is concerned with only one thing: absolute control.”
“Stop it, Streyes,” Schove said. “He’s not going to help us. I’m tired of waiting. It’s time we showed him what we’ve learned since last time.”
Streyes produced his axe. “I wish it could have been different, Silver.”
“So do
I,” Silver lamented.
Sona and Schove also produced their weapons. Ken took the opportunity to brandish his pipe, and Cassandra unsheathed her blade.
Ken didn’t know what was going on, or who Silver’s three acquaintances were. One of the three said they were at the end of their rope. Did they have some sort of illness? If so, wouldn’t Silver have helped them? The Library was what they were after, or at least access to it. Why wouldn’t Silver just do it?
Ken could stand there for a long time with a cascade of questions, but he wouldn’t get any answers at that moment. There was a threat to his safety and his tenants’ by those three, and Ken didn’t care for that.
He glanced to Silver, and regardless of how much he didn’t like Silver, he felt that he could only trust in the man who had been teaching him tricks for the past few weeks. Ken hoped he could hold his own.
If they were going to fight, what would Cassandra be able to do? She didn’t seem like a manipulator or anything like that, so would she be able to stand her ground against someone who could move many times faster than she did? And what about Katrina? She was a manipulator, or something. Was she able to fight?
That’s when he felt something emanating from Silver, and it somehow affected Cassandra. That answered one question. He didn’t feel anything from Katrina, but being a complete novice to the space-time thing, he wasn’t sure if he should have been looking for something else.
Ken overlapped, and was just in time as he saw the three strangers at the end of the driveway fly towards them.
“Ken, you’re with me.”
Silver jumped to the left, followed by Ken, to the roof of the adjacent house. Streyes and Schove followed.
Ken and Silver launched a barrage of energy blasts at their pursuers when they landed. Silver’s smaller bursts were avoided, but Ken’s larger shots had to be knocked aside. When their opponents were in range, they committed themselves to melee attacks. Streyes headed for Silver, and Schove to Ken. Both sets of combatants locked weapons.
Schove grinned at Ken. “Hey, Streyes! We’ve got someone here with some teeth. What’s your name, victim?”
“As if I’d tell you,” Ken muttered.
This was combat. Real combat. What was he doing? The guy with the clawed gauntlets was specifically trying to cause him harm, maybe even kill him.
Why the hell was he there!?
The question wasn’t answered. Instead, in the split second it took him to consider the question, he came up with a response and not an answer.
It didn’t matter, since he was already involved.
Ken calculated and used the energy to push Schove back into the air.
Ken glanced over at Silver. His ‘teacher’ had just given his opponent a head butt, and then swung with his mace, knocking Streyes toward the ground, where he skidded ten feet. Silver fired a beam up at Schove who was still hovering. He evaded it.
“What are you doing, Ken!? Attack him!”
Ken looked up at his opponent and bit his bottom lip.
Was this really happening?
* * *
Cassandra had problems of her own.
The woman’s weapons were shorter than her saber, but she had two of them, and she was very fast . . . faster than anyone Cassandra had ever faced off against. Even faster than her mother.
Cassandra was amazed that she was holding her own. She felt lighter and quicker than she ever had, and that must have made the difference, but she was parrying and defending more than her opponent was. Even if she attempted to strike, it would be evaded, and the woman would retaliate with a savage combination that Cassandra would have to block, sidestep and duck to avoid losing a digit, or worse.
Cassandra had practiced so much to reinforce what she learned over the years. But despite all that, she was running on the mental path toward panic. All the techniques she knew, studied, and rehearsed over and over again – reactions she could come up with and implement in any other situation – were completely useless now. She’d repeated her exercises so much that her body reacted when it needed to, but it seemed all the tactical knowledge she had was gone, nonexistent, for her current predicament.
It was completely different than when she was fighting Silver. She was able to block, counterattack, evade, and figure out what to do back then, regardless of how he attacked.
Trying to get a little room to breathe, she hopped back, causing the woman to miss with her attack. That was when Cassandra saw Katrina come out of hiding and produced some sort of stick – or was it a staff? It didn’t matter, as the tip glowed briefly, and a blast of energy hit the woman directly in the face.
Shaking off the brief surprise, Cassandra took the opening. She hopped forward and slashed down her opponent’s body.
What she thought was the conclusion to the fight was anything but. She witnessed a brief spark when her saber impacted against the woman.
The woman was unharmed.
“No way!” Cassandra and Katrina exclaimed in unison.
The woman tensed up, and her eyes turned orange. Cassandra saw blood trickle from the outer corner of her left eye.
The woman’s kick was fast and caught Katrina full force. She yelped in surprise, hit the brick siding of the house, and fell to the ground, unconscious.
Instinctively, Cassandra moved back to avoid the woman’s second kick. She was about to strike back when she noticed the pulsating ball of energy in the woman’s hand.
Cassandra froze in disbelief. Energy? Right in her opponent’s hand? Was it some kind of magic?
That pause was enough time for the woman to thrust her hand forward and hit Cassandra in the chest, point-blank. She flew back, went through a bush, and landed on her back. She gasped for air as the wind had been knocked out of her.
She struggled back to her feet when she was shot again.
* * *
Terms exist in every language to state that one’s skill may be lacking at a particular task. One of those terms is “Biting off more than you can chew.”
Another one is “In over your head.”
That’s the one that was running through Ken’s head over and over. He’d been hit several times, albeit lightly. His opponent was toying with him. There was no other reason he could think of. Ken couldn’t land a single blow, whether swinging or shooting, and he was getting frustrated.
Schove obviously had more combat experience than he did, and was making Ken well aware of it.
On the other end of the spectrum, Silver was giving his opponent a hard time. His speed was greater than his opponent’s, but Streyes was showing more frustration than anything. Silver looked like he hadn’t a scratch on him.
Ken continued to flail at his opponent, each of the attacks being blocked or dodged. Schove glanced toward the ground and then smiled if noticing something. His eyes turned orange and a streak of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. He lunged forward and attacked with such force that, even by blocking it, Ken was sent toward the ground.
He landed safely and looked around and saw Cassandra – motionless – on the ground several feet away. He wanted to check on her, but with enemies around he couldn’t. He didn’t see Katrina anywhere. He hoped she was safe.
Silver landed in the front lawn of the yard next door. Ken rushed to join him. Streyes, Schove and Sona surrounded them.
“What do we do now?” Ken asked.
“Don’t worry. It’s under control.”
“Are you nuts!?”
“Now this is the kind of power is I’m talking about! What say you now, Silver?” Schove shouted triumphantly.
Silver tilted his head to the side. “Not bad, I guess. If all of you were real manipulators, I’d be worried.”
“We didn’t ask to be pseudo-manipulators!” Sona yelled.
“Remember when I told you to not continue your experiments? You wouldn’t listen. I told you about what could happen, an
d the effects that most certainly would happen.”
“You could have done what it took to stop us! Why didn’t you force us to stop!?”
“Because it would have still caused you to pursue it in other ways.” Silver shook his head. “Why is it that you blame everyone but yourselves? It’s always someone else’s fault. Sometimes you have to accept that things that have happened to you . . . no matter how unfair it is.”
Schove dashed forward. “I’M TIRED OF LISTENING TO YOU CONDESCEND US!”
Ken stepped in front of Silver.
“Out of the way, victim!”
Schove batted Ken out of the way. He flew toward his house, over his car and slammed up against the side of the house.
It hurt. It really hurt. Ken’s vision wobbled a bit. He couldn’t see out of his left eye. There must have been some swelling. He didn’t know if he put up his field or not, but it felt like he had been hit by a car, then run over by another one.
He looked around, and saw Cassandra still unconscious, and Katrina was next to him, also unconscious. He was going to reach out to her when he heard an explosion of energy, and he looked toward Silver.
Silver’s three opponents leapt at him like animals ready to take down their next meal. Their coordinated attacks were impressive, but Silver’s evasion of every attack was just as impressive.
After one step to evade Streye’s axe, he kicked Streyes aside and shot Sona away with an energy bolt. Schove continued attacking, undaunted.
Ken didn’t know if it was because of a blow to his head, but he thought something was odd about the way Silver was moving. Schove seemed to be as fast as ever but Silver looked . . . slower. He was parrying and evading with time and space to spare, but his movements were different.
All of the sudden, Schove swung once, disarming Silver, and a second slash hit him in the arm, causing a spray of blood.
Silver’s staff flew through the air and clattered next to Ken’s car.
Schove grabbed Silver by the neck and hoisted him. “Where’s that condescending attitude of yours now?”
Silver struggled to reply. “I seem to have left it . . . in my other jeans.”
“Jokes to the end, huh? Well, we’ve won, so there’s no need for you anymore.”