Vanya's Journals: An Ignored HeroineVanya's Parasol journal continues. The next morning, Katie awoke me early, knocking on my door. It was still dark outside, and the city lights shone faintly through the window.
"Vanya, come on! We need to get dressed!" she called quietly. "The ceremony is today."
"What? What ceremony?" I called back, throwing the covers off my legs and hurriedly putting my armored suit back on from the cleaning-box at the foot of the bed. Afterwards, on opening the door, I found Katie waiting outside, wearing a pair of pale pink pajamas. "What ceremony?" I asked again.
"The military awards ceremony," she explained awkwardly, uselessly grasping for words. "Merit in battle, and all of that, annoyingly long speeches... So, yeah!"
"But we just got here!" I protested. I didn’t want to go, really... it didn't appeal to me at all. "How could they want something like that so soon?"
She laughed, motioning for me to follow her. "It's a Parasol tradition," she explained. Once inside her bedroom, she pressed a panel on the wall. It slid sideways, revealing a small closet filled with shelving, all packed with folded cloth.
"What's all that?" I asked, a little nosily.
She didn't seem to mind. "My old clothes," she explained. "You can't wear that
armor everywhere, silly – you'll stand out. No, you need something that blends in." She paused thoughtfully. "Think of it as hand-me-downs."
"Okay..." I said. "I don't want to have to wear your old clothes, though. –It feels wrong of me," I added hurriedly at her hurt expression. "I feel like it would be greedy to take it from you." I'd felt this way before.
"Don't be silly," she laughed. "I'm
giving it to you. There's a difference."
It didn't feel like much of a difference to me.
After digging around for a minute, she pulled out a black skirt and held against my waist. "This looks like it'll fit," she said, and then pulled out a fancy, gray blouse. "Raise your arms," she ordered, holding it out by the shoulders.
I did, and she measured it against me, sliding her hands down a sleeve to test the length against my arm. "
This looks about the right size, too. You're lucky we have the same build, or I might not have anything for you to wear." She handed them to me and pulled out a set of knee-length black boots, too.
"All of this?" I asked in amazement as she laid a striped jacket and pantyhose atop the growing stack.
"Of course, silly. It all matches. ...
If you can wear the shoes, which might not fit. You'll need to shave your legs, though, so I left a sonic hair remover on the dressing table last night."
"I've never tried matching things before..." I admitted in embarassment, trying to steady the pile in my arms. "I don't know how it works."
Katie laughed, tilting her head at me. "I can tell. You wouldn't wear that armor if you had any fashion sense. It needs some sort of black accessory to make it work."
I swallowed guiltily. "Like a cape?" I asked, remembering the one I'd refused to accept from Mr Frog.
"Yes, exactly. Now go put those on while I get dressed."
Everything fit. The shoes did, too, though they were a little too small and pinched my feet.
When I was done, I stood in front of the dressing table and examined myself in the mirror, trying to ignore the scabs from where the exploding metal had sliced my face the day before. The clothes felt... strange. The hose in particular felt cold on my legs, the shirt felt itchy, and the thin, horizontal, black-and-white stripes on the jacket seemed glaringly unnatural to me. I didn't really want to wear any of it, and I really, really hoped Katie knew what she was doing. At the same time, it looked similar to what I'd seen people wearing the day before, so I finally gave up. There was no way to take my daggers, or Almory's sword, so I left them lying on the dressing table and went to leave my bedroom.
I found Katie's father waiting outside the door, and took a surprised step back, looking up at him. "Mr. Kenzon?"
He examined me critically for a moment. "You look so much like Katie did when she was younger..." he mumbled, and then his eyes seemed to focus. He spoke in a quick, hushed tone, as if trying to keep Katie from overhearing. "Vanya, I need to talk to you about something important."
"What??"
He gave me an annoyed look and went on, "I would rather not speak to you at all, but I need your help."
That was the last thing I expected. "You think you can trust me?"
"Don't question my sources," he advised coarsely, brushing the topic away with his hand. "Just listen. I hired a private investigator last night, and after examining the shuttlecar's debris, he determined that someone had rigged a grenade to go off when the car hit the switchpoint. You were right – someone is after my daughter."
I processed it quickly, trying to remember everything I knew about grenades. "Why? Why would someone want to kill Katie?"
The man sighed, reaching into his pocket. "'Why' doesn't matter. I need you to give this to her after I leave this morning, and
make sure she accepts it." He held out a pocket-sized PEA.
I reached out for it. "What is it?" I asked, as he set it in my hand.
"It's just a PEA. If anything goes wrong at all, make sure she lets me know. Can you handle that?"
After starting to nod, I hesitated. "How does it work?" I asked innocently.
Kenzon gave an exasperated sigh, and seemed to switch gears. "Oh, I hate this," he muttered, and then, louder, "I'm going to give you a high-level shuttlecar override code. You can't tell
anyone I gave it to you or we'll both get in trouble. Understand?"
"Yes... You're letting her take a shuttlecar?" He kept surprising me.
Kenzon rolled his eyes, stating in a hurried, annoyed voice, "Look, I wish there was a way around it, but the other methods of transportation require authorization and supervision by an adult Parasol employee, and I have work today." I started to speak, but he guessed what I was going to say. "Yes, I
know you're a Parasol employee, but you're also a dimensional native, so they won't accept it. Listen carefully. If she tries to do anything but come
straight back, use this code to bring her back home. Just think it into the console." He tucked a slip of paper into my jacket pocket. "Can you do that for me?"
He was staring into my eyes with an expectant, urgent expression... Just that once, with his defenses down, he was being open about how much he cared about Katie, even if indirectly. On one hand, it felt like I was betraying her... but on the other, I understood his desire to keep her safe... I would've done the same for Salaia. "I promise I will," I told him sincerely. I paused, and carefully suggested, "You love her very much, don't you..."
The man glanced uncomfortably towards her door. "I don't want her to get hurt," he said, dodging the question. "I know she hates me for it, but I have to keep her safe."
I frowned up at him sympathetically. "She's all you have left," I said quietly. "She does love you, though."
Mr. Kenzon dug his hands into his pockets. He started to turn away, and I saw a hint of a sad smile trace his lips as he muttered, "Sometimes I wonder."
At that moment, Katie's door opened and she walked into the sitting room, looking back and forth between her retreating father and me as she pieced everything together in her mind. Then, she walked over to me and asked quietly, so as not to let him hear, "What was he talking about?"
I hesitated as I noticed she was wearing the same Parasol uniform she'd worn the night before. "Nothing important," I finally said, hoping she wouldn't ask anything else.
She appeared mildly annoyed with my response. "Okay," she said, and turned away, starting towards the kitchen.
That made me start worrying I'd offended her... I had a feeling it was the fact I hadn't told her what her dad had said, but I'd promised him I wouldn't until after he left. Normally, I would've told her everything, but I was a little afraid of her father. "Is everything okay?" I asked, hurrying after her.
"Yup."
I frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Mhm."
"You're not upset at me?"
"Nope."
Though I strongly felt she was, I didn't know what to do about it. "Are my clothes okay?" I asked, hoping it might start a conversation.
Katie didn't even bother to turn around, getting bowls and a box out of cabinets. "They're fine."
While I didn't like how she was acting, I felt it was my fault, and I hated it... after all, if I hadn't decided to keep everything from her, she wouldn't have been upset.
Kenzon called to us from the sitting room. "I'm going to work – I'll see you later tonight, Katie."
"'Bye, dad," she called back, pouring little flakes of stuff from the box into her bowl.
I watched her for a moment, and after he'd left, I took out the PEA. "Katie, here. He wanted me to wait until after he'd left to give this to you."
She made eye contact with me for the first time in the past five minutes, and then reached deliberately for the device, setting her bowl on the countertop behind her, forgotten. "He actually got me a PEA? He's never let me have one of my own before... I've had a military PEA, but that's different, and Parasol property..."
"He wanted you to call him if anything bad happened." It was possible I was telling her more than I should have, but I felt it was justified.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, so
that's why..." Katie said, as if it explained everything. "Fine. Why didn't he just give it to me himself, though?"
I didn't know the answer to that one. "I don't know..." I said truthfully.
Slipping the PEA into her pocket, she shrugged it off. "Let's just eat breakfast. Have you ever had cereal?"
~~~
After an unusual breakfast experience, followed by Katie's insistence that she fix my hair, we left Mr. Kenzon's apartment and headed to the shuttlecar port. Before long, we'd boarded one, and were gliding towards our destination. Dawn broke over the horizon, a false star's brilliant rays shining between the buildings and glinting off their metallic surfaces, lighting even the dark sides with a blaze of reflected light, dancing in complicated patterns as the sun rose slowly.
"Where are we going?" I asked her, tugging at my itchy blouse and jacket. It reminded me of the override code.
"To the Vynalus Forums," she replied, the morning's problems already forgotten. "You'll love it," she assured me. It's absolutely beautiful."
Katie wasn't lying. After we'd left the shuttlecar, I began to see just what she'd meant. Strange trees lined the outdoor avenues through which we walked, each reaching hundreds of feet into the sky; great fields of grass stretched out between the sparsely crowded pathways, all the way to the building ahead; majestic waterfalls tumbled in rows from its glass parapets, spraying mist as they fell elegantly into crystalline pools below. I'd never seen anything like it, nor have I since.
"It's so beautiful," I whispered. "How do they get the grass to stay so short?"
"They mow it," my friend explained, trying not to laugh at my ignorance.
Though I didn't know what she meant by "mow," I knew it definitely wasn't something the dwarves at home had ever done.
Finally, we reached the great, circular building. A guard stood at the door, letting everyone in one by one, and when he got to us, he sent us to a different door, where a second guard let us in separately.
The dwarf stopped me as I passed him, speaking in a low voice. "Don't make a scene or announce yourself. You are a normal guest. You are not to reveal your identity or nationality. Understood?"
"Understood," I echoed quietly, looking at his helmeted face in bewildered surprise. Solnay had said they wouldn't talk about me, but I hadn't realized they'd be so careful to enforce it.
"C'mon!" Katie called from up ahead, and I followed, jogging forwards. For the first time in the past year, my armor wasn’t encumbering me... it felt nice.
Following the flashing, scrolling signs on the walls, we eventually found ourselves outside the ground floor of a colossal auditorium, with many of its thousands of soft, blue seats on tiered balconies above. My friend quickly ushered me inside, explaining she had to go backstage and find Saemin's mother.
It wasn't long before I found my seat in the first row... or, really, it found me. Reudh and Solnay had been watching for when I would appear, and he called me over as soon as I walked in the door. His eyes lingered on my inflamed scabs, and though he told me I looked "splendid" in my "Parasol raiment," I strongly felt otherwise. I was never overly pretty, and the scabs only exacerbated that fact. People who tell you you're pretty just want something from you, I think... Reudh isn't a bad dwarf, but he isn't above it. He would marry me in a second.
As I watched, Katie walked onto the stage to stand beside Trebor. It wasn't long before someone approached the podium onstage and quieted the gathered crowd. He announced himself as General Baltus, and began a lengthy speech, his voice projected across the incredible chamber. After a while, his tone shifted, speaking of my deceased friends from 48D. He told of their bravery; he told of how they'd taken on a force a hundred times their size, and won, but at great cost. He spoke of heroics and honor, glory and a noble cause...
He was lying through his teeth. There isn't any nobility or glory in combat... honor is meaningless, and heroics get you killed. You're fighting for your life, and nothing else matters to you. Even so... it was inspiring the way he said it. As he went on, I could almost sense the emotions of the people around me... It was a rekindling of spirits... a rallying of hope. It was a sense of patriotism, as if everyone felt the same for their company as they might for a nation. Yet, all was silent.
When the general finished, he stepped back, calling a name: "Almory Mallarkus Bertran". While Almory's father ascended the steps, Solnay whispered from beside me that Almory's husband and two children had died in the crossfire of a Ballpoint attack on Parasol's civilians, a story everyone there knew well. Her father accepted Almory's Medal of Honor, and with a practiced military salute, he headed back to his seat.
Hawkins Toamula had no family, but the general mentioned him anyway.
As the general called out another name, "Jonah Hylcelon", Solnay rose and climbed up to where the general stood, accepting Jonah's Medal of Honor quietly and leaving the auditorium.
Gearbox's name was called was next, and a teary-eyed, slender girl went to accept his medal. As Baltus handed it to her, she broke down, prompting a collective "aww" of sympathy from the crowd. She couldn't stop crying, and someone had to lead her gently away.
Finally, General Baltus called Saemin's name, "Saemin Lo Diel", but no one came. At the back of the stage, I noticed Katie and Trebor standing at attention, waiting silently for their turns... Katie met my eyes as she searched the crowd, but all was silent. No one came, and an uncomfortable moment ensued as the general disappointedly placed the medal on the podium and turned towards my two friends, calling Katie's name.
Even from where I sat, I could see the teardrops glistening in the bright lights on her face as she walked forwards, accepting her medals one at a time. She didn't receive the same Medal of Honor that the others did, but several smaller ones.
The general asked her if she wanted to make a short speech of acceptance, but she seemed tongue-tied... eventually she managed an awkward "thank you" that echoed unnaturally through the chamber, and went to resume her place at the back of the stage.
The Parasol general called "Trebor Mallarkus" to the front. With head held high, a stalwart expression on his face, and jaw set firmly, Trebor complied, seeming far more confident than Katie had. When the general asked him the same question, he nodded silently and took a place at the podium.
"Friends," Trebor began in a bold tone, his voice carefully modulated, "my fellow citizens and employees of Parasol: We are here today to celebrate a victory... that is not just any victory. We are here today to mourn a loss... that is not just any loss. We are here
today... to find a way to mend a wound... that is not just any wound."
Trebor went on, carefully detailing the events leading up to the final battle... an altered version of the story, without mentioning Reudh's party or me. He mentioned the scythods, though... and he mentioned John, a former employee of Ballpoint, who had "left his old home behind, and left his new home a better place." It was Almory's plan, Trebor said, to distract Ballpoint and open the portal, and John who attempted to carry it out. "It would have gone well," he went on, "if it hadn't been for Tames."
It hurt a little that he would cut me out of his speech, and especially that he would give John and Almory the credit... but I understood why, and listened carefully as he went on, telling parts of the story I'd never heard: what had happened after I'd left. He explained that Tames had betrayed them and overloaded the power generator, destroying the shield and leaving them defenseless.
Trebor was magnificent. He continued in a rushed, flowing manner, without ever giving the hesitant General a chance to interrupt. He told how Saemin had manned the railcannon until the last, and how Hawkins had thrown himself onto a grenade to save the lives of his squad. He told how Almory had sought to avenge his death by carving a path through the Ballpoint troops, and how Jonah had given his life in an attempt to save his comrades. Some of the crowd wept quiet tears, as in a voice hinting at emotion, Trebor described how he'd held his dying sister – his captain – in his arms as she died. He told how he'd tried to give his own life to save hers, and how her last order was for him to let her die, so that he might live. His audience listened intently, hanging on every word.
"These are your soldiers!" Trebor cried out powerfully, reaching to their hearts. "
These are the men and women you send to fight your battles. It is
not just any wound we seek to mend today, but an immeasurable one! Yet, it
can be mended! You, my friends, my fellow citizens, have the power to change the fate of many such as they. It was Tames – it was
Tames that destroyed Auxiliary Squad 48D. It was not a enemy that brought us to our knees; it was not an enemy that killed my squad mates, no – it was
one man, the
weakest link. "We must bind ourselves together as one!" Trebor called out. "We must become what 48D could not: a whole with a common goal. It is up to
you, my fellow employees! It is up to
you, the scientist, the office worker, the mechanic, the engineer – it is up to
you to follow John Smith's example, and make our home a better place! If we stand divided, we shall fail, but if we stand united as a single group, all progressing towards the same goal,
we shall prevail! For unity is a virtue our enemy could never command."
It hardly seemed like Trebor anymore... War and death has such power to change a person. At the time, I wasn't sure if Trebor just wanted to honor his sister's memory, or if he wanted revenge... and I knew he blamed me for what happened to Almory.
It scared me.
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Topic: [34.11] Spearbreakers - It shudders and begins to move (Read 2279274 times)