Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions (Death's Handmaiden Book 3) by Niall Teasdale (best summer reads txt) 📕

‘Maybe,’ Nava said. ‘This is going too far. If they want me, then I think it’s time they got their chance.’

Skylar’s face went even more serious. ‘Uh, Nava, what are you planning to do?’

236/6/4.

‘I’m going out on patrol tonight,’ Nava said.

Mitsuko, who already knew this, did not look pleased, but it was Darius who spoke. ‘Is that entirely wise, Captain? It seems to be playing into their hands.’

‘It is. I won’t let them hurt any more of my people. Tonight, everyone but me will be patrolling in armour. If they want to attack anyone, they’ll go for me and I’ll arrest them.’

‘You’re that sure of yourself?’

Nava gave Darius a blank look, as though surprised at the question. ‘Yes.’

Francis burst into laughter. ‘Don’t question it, Darius. Nava could take on a battalion and come out on top.’

‘That may be a slight overestimate of my capabilities, Francis,’ Nava admitted, ‘but thank you for your vote of confidence. I won’t actually be alone. Everyone patrols in pairs. I’m enforcing that rule with particular emphasis tonight.’

‘Who are you taking with you?’ Darius asked.

‘Booker Tucker.’

‘Him? Why him?’

‘Oh, I think it’ll be interesting to have him along. He has an interesting attitude to justifiable force which I’d like to observe.’

~~~

‘So, why aren’t you wearing armour, Captain?’ Booker asked. His voice sounded a little hollow thanks to his helmet, but it was recognisable.

‘Well, I look fairly good in that armour,’ Nava replied, ‘but I look better in this dress. I mean, I can’t wear my kickass boots with the armour.’

‘Ha! Good one. You’re trying to provoke whoever’s attacking us into taking you on, right?’

‘Something like that. How are you finding the new armour?’

‘Better than the old suits. We don’t get to wear the helmets much. I’m not so used to that. Uh, maybe a little claustrophobic, but I think I’d get over that in time.’

Nava nodded. ‘I felt the same way, more or less. The more familiarity you have with it, the better it gets.’

‘You had it before the rest of the support stream, right?’

‘My family considered it a must, so they bought me a set. The school wasn’t going to complain.’ They were taking their time, doing a standard patrol route between the clubs, but it was early and there was little to see. No one had got drunk enough to cause trouble yet. ‘And the other reason I’m not in armour is that if we find a drunk, seeing two people dressed like you coming at them would probably result in projectile vomiting.’

Booker’s shrug was a little dampened by his armour. ‘We can get someone to hose us down before we take it off.’

~~~

‘Hold on, Captain,’ Booker said, pausing on their way to the senior nightclub. ‘I’ve got a call coming in.’ The suits did not have a built-in computing capacity, but you could lock a ketcom into a slot in the back over the right shoulder blade. Inside the suit, it had the same protection as the wearer, and the suit’s electronics allowed you to access your personal computer through the helmet interface. You could take calls with complete security too, so long as you remembered to cut off the external air system for a bit.

Nava waited. She had a feeling this was going to be it. Whatever happened next, it was going to bring an end to the attacks. One way or another.

‘A friend of mine says he’s spotted some students sneaking into one of the training plantations,’ Booker finally said. Nava looked to the south where the training fields and forests, along with various support buildings, were located. ‘He says they were carrying bottles. Think we should check it out?’

‘Yes,’ Nava said without hesitation. ‘did you get a better location than “one of the plantations?”’

‘I have the right one on the heads-up map in here.’

‘Good. Lead the way.’

Nava had decided to set aside the question of what Booker’s unnamed friend was doing out in that area at this time on a Saturday. There were a number of legitimate – or at least believable – reasons for someone to be there. The nights were already pretty warm and, despite it not being encouraged, students would go out to the woods for alfresco sex. Drinking outside the clubs and private housing was actually forbidden, but not unheard of. So, maybe Booker did have a friend who had given him the tip.

‘How far?’ Nava asked as they got to the edge of the fields which were the northern border of the outdoor training section of campus.

‘About a kilometre,’ Booker replied.

‘Okay. Let’s get moving.’

Pacing their run, it took them six minutes to reach the end of the forest where, their tip said, they would find a bunch of students getting drunk. They slowed to a walk at the treeline and began to head into the woods, Nava clipping her ketcom to her dress with the recording function working. Ten metres in, the path branched.

‘Take the left one,’ Nava said. ‘I’ll go right. Call me if you find them.’

‘On it, Captain.’ Booker set off down the left track. Nava had chosen the directions based on where they were standing. Booker had made a point of being on her left for most of the evening.

Nodding, Nava set off down the right-hand path. There was not much light. The sun had set already and Shinden had no moons. Nava had good night vision, but this needed something else, so she was using the spell she had last used in a cave, Sense Environment. She had to work it from scratch, forcing her mind to follow the processes needed to cast it, but it was a fairly easy one compared to some she had worked that way. Now she could ‘see’ a sort of relief map of the world in front of her, a radar image of her surroundings with the added advantage that vegetation was not a complete screen. Someone hiding behind a bush would be fairly obvious. When she arrived at a clearing maybe