Aberrant: The Middle Children of History - Keeping the home fires (from) burning.

[Elspeth]

A month had passed since she had killed Jarutu and sometimes it seemed the challenge hadn't really started until after she'd won. The people had acclaimed her Queen in the course of several days of celebration after Jarutu's downfall. The military men had all pledged their loyalty to her on bended knee. Foreign governments were sending representatives, corporations were sending executives, even the UN was recognizing her the head of the Sierra Leone government, but...

There was always a but. The military men were all trying to take advantage of their positions and ignore her orders, the Foreign governments wanted stilted agreements that put Sierra Leone in a bad position and the Corporations just wanted to rape the nation's natural resources. She'd become used to the dance by now, smiling and using her charm to avoid making the bad deals with the other nations and stalling the corporations.

Today had been the worst. A whole gaggle of Military officers had paraded before her to make demands that they be allowed to strengthen the borders. They always came in blustering and making demands and telling her what needed to be done like she was a child. She was thirteen certainly, but she was also more intelligent than any five of them put together, and while she didn't know everything or have all the knowledge to make every decision, she didn't lack for smarts. As always a few minutes in her presence had them remembering who was boss, but here it was, three o'clock in the afternoon and they had already managed to convince themselves that her decision to leave the assets were they were was wrong. Sometimes her nova charm seemed to work against her rather than for her. Having the reputation of being one of the most charming people in the world gave them an excuse. After they left they would talk together and decide it was her personality and charm that had them changing their minds and not her reason and intelligence.

Guinea and Liberia were both apprehensive about Jarutu's overthrow and feared that Elspeth would want to expand. She was a nova after all, how could she not want to rule the world. If she started moving military assets to positions along the border they would be sure she meant to invade and they would take preemtive action. Sierra Leone couldn't afford that kind of mistake right not, and yet her military councilors had taken it upon themselves to go against her express orders and order two brigades toward the Liberian border. "Idiots!", she grumbled.

She had had to personally call the brigade commanders and order them back to their home bases. That was the most galling thing. They questioned her and asked if she wouldn't rather leave that decision to the generals. Well, that was the last straw. The General's were idiots, but they weren't really evil men, but she couldn't allow her authority to be undermined. She would have to act.

[Elspeth]

Elspeth sat in her chair behind the elegant three hundred year mahogany desk in the Queen's study. She was deep in thought but the thoughts were not pleasant. She had 'issues'; not the personal kind but the political. This morning she had received word that Count O was coming for a visit. That was good and bad. Good because he held a good deal of influence around the world in certain circles. Bad because he was also a lightning rod and his arrival meant he wanted a photo op that would also draw some of that negative attention her way. She was a member of the Teragen just as her parents had raised her, but while she believed in the philosophy, she wasn't interested in the politics of the movement. Worse, she seriously disagreed with some elements like Geryon and his killers. Of course she imagined they would consider her the Teragen equivalent of PETA, since she was so concerned for the baselines. She didn't care, her parents had taught her that she was responsible for the people of this land, they were hers and she would lead them well. Noblesse Oblige.

Before she could consider the matter any further there was a hesitant knock at the study door.

"Yes?" She rose to her feet. They wouldn't disturb her here unless it was important."

"Your majesty?" The voice was that of her house steward, an older heavyset woman who had been one of the cooks during Jarutu's bloody reign. She had been kind to Elspeth when she was hiding in the palace as a cat so she had been rewarded with a promotion. The woman had taken to the position and ran the household now with an iron fist. Ironically, she treated Elspeth with considerable deference and spoke to her in a tone of voice that bordered on worship. If the woman only knew that Elspeth had lived in her room for several weeks. That thought always made El smile.

"What is it Clara?"

The door opened slightly and the woman stuck her graying head in, "That Count Oraiz is here. Arrived a day early!" She looked like she would like to give the man the rough side of her tongue but was holding back because she wasn't sure how Elspeth felt about the visit. For her part El would have liked to have seen it.

"Very well have him wait in the formal receiving hall and offer him refreshments and I will be there shortly."

"Very good your Majesty." She closed the door gently on her way out, but with her hearing Elspeth could still hear her muttering about the Counts rude early arrival and practically stomping down the hall.

*****

The formal receiving room had been thoroughly scrubbed to get up all the blood stains in the weeks since Jarutu's fall. Even so she couldn't help but see the scene in her mind's eye as she entered. The crowds of Jurutu's supporters gathered to witness her execution as they stood around the large columned room while Jarutu sat on throne on a raised dais against one wall. She had been naked and bound and her powers had been disrupted so that she couldn't escape. She banished the thought and walked sedately toward where Count O stood. Today she wore her eufiber, stylishly shaped into a floor length gown of green silk, and there were small blue flowers in her pale blond hair reminiscent of a crown. She also wore a moderately sized sapphire pendant hanging between her breasts.

As she approached she was surprised to see that Count O had brought a small entourage with him. Three males and two females, all but one of them looked to be baseline. Interesting. The four baselines had the look of fighters, even the women. One of the women was of indeterminate race, perhaps Asian perhaps Latino, it was hard to tell, the other was a caucasian woman with a smile on her face and what looked like dirt stain on one of the knees of her pants. Those pants looked like they would allow for easy movement and combat rather than for fashion. One of the men looked to be a native of the region, possibly even Sierra Leone, he had the look of one of the tribes about him, he was big and looked ready for a fight. The last of the baselines looked to be a straight out of Norway or Sweden by his coloring and build. All four seemed quite competent judging by their looks of readiness. None of them focused so much on Elspeth that an attack could have come at them unawares from a side door.

But as interesting as those four were, the boy standing next to Count O was by far more fascinating. He looked to be about her own age and had dark brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. The intriguing thing was that he stood like a warrior, tall and proud and it looked like he could move in any direction should danger arise. She liked that.

Despite her interest in his escort Elspeth addressed Count Oraiz as the most important of the visitors. "Welcome to Sierra Leone Count. It is a pleasure that you should chose to visit so soon after Our ascension to the throne." She took the time of her address to study this man who had been at the forefront of Nova politics since the beginning. He was tall and stately and had nearly as much charm as she did herself, but where hers was natural, she suspected that his was as practiced as the day was long. She held her place having approached to the exact inch that was appropriate. The count also knowing the exact degree of courtesy to show approached and bowed then kissed Elspeth's hand. Once the official etiquette had been satisfied, Elspeth gave him a real smile for the first time.

"Come and sit with us and tell us of your journey and what brings you here ahead of schedule. It must be most important." El waved to servants who were waiting in the wings and they brought chairs for her, Count O and the nova youth he had brought. Once they were comfortable she finished, "You may speak freely, this is as private as we can get."

[z019]

The Count smiled and sat with the grace of one long accustomed to being waited upon. He motioned the boy to step forward, the young nova doing so and bowing deeply to Elspeth. "A favor to several friends, Your Majesty. This is Darres Ancarr, the son of Vulcan and Muse whom were friends of your parents during their childhood."

Oraiz paused there and contemplated the youth for a moment; he seemed amused and perhaps testing to see how long young Darres would be willing to stand there, head bowed to the Queen of Sierra Leone. Finally he turned back to Elspeth, "He accompanied me so that I could vouch for his character. I came early so that this matter wouldn't interfere with our scheduled activities during my visit." His voice was polished and smooth, but it was obvious that he considered whatever it was that Darres wanted as a minor matter.

Darres flowed from his bow to one knee in front of Elspeth's chair during the Count's explanation, his eyes coming up to meet her and shining with sincerity. "Your Majesty, I have come to offer myself and my followers to your aid. If you would accept my oath, I would serve you and your people as well and long as I am able." Like her, the charm and poise he possessed was a natural evolution, giving his words a weight and seriousness despite the dramatic nature of his entreaty.

The Count watched them both hawkishly, his eyes betraying only a mild amusement at the passion play before him.

[Elspeth]

Elspeth smiled and stood and took Darres' hands between her own. "I, Elspeth, Daughter of Conn and Aine, by the power of mine own hand Queen of Sierra Leone, accept your pledge and in return promise that I will be your good and faithful liege."

She looked to one wall and stretched out her hand and a sword streaked across the room and smacked into her palm with a solid slap as she took a grip on it. She touched each of his shoulders and then the top of his head with the flat of the blade. Finally she held the blade out tip first for Darres to kiss. When he had done so she placed the sword across the arms of her chair and took him by the hand again. "Rise, Darres Ancarr, Knight of Sierra Leone." She then kissed him on each cheek.

[z019]

The boy flushed, presumably with pride, and bowed again before stepping back towards the baselines that had accompanied him. "Your Majesty, allow me to introduce the others that have pledged their service to me, and as my liege, to you."

"Carol Inari." The blond man stepped forward and bowed. Though he lacked the grace of the quantum born, he more than made up for it in style and the slight twinkle in his eyes at all the theatrics.

"Kiersta Shavella." The woman of indeterminate race stepped forward and bobbed her head at Elspeth. She seemed nervous and retreated back to the group quickly.

"Anjela Lourdes." The American woman stepped forward and gave a lazy salute to the young queen. She grinned widely and winked at her before stepping back again. Darres stifled a small sigh at her gaffe, but seemed used to the casual attitude.

"And Omorede Selehe." The large African man stepped forward and bowed his head with a galacial grace. His voice rumbled low and rich, "A pleasure to serve you, Queen Elspeth."

"Quite the addition to your palace, Your Majesty. Will you be instituting an full knightly order in Sierra Leone?" The Counts voice smoothly stepped in after the introductions, carefully neutral to his opinion on the matter.

[Elspeth]

To the Count she was polite and proper to the very inch that etiquette required, but him she did not nore ever would trust very far, he was too involved in the politics of the Teragen to not be wary of. "It remains to be seen, but it is something I will consider now that you have brought me one who is worthy of such a title. I thank you for that."

Elspeth was pleased, she'd gone from having no one she could trust to having a potential of five. Assuming they could be trusted she would have the beginnings of a royal body guard. She wasn't going to make the mistake her parents made. They didn't think they had any enemies so they did not bother with body guards, they also thought themselves invincible. Elspeth knew she had enemies, some of them novas and she wasn't about to leave her self undefended.

"Darres you are the first of my knights. You may be the only one, we shall see. If you are offering your vassals as my guards would they be willing to endure a scan of their intentions? I would not be invasive, but before I will allow someone to become my personal body guard it must be done." She hoped they would volunteer. Her mind was opened even now to their surface thoughts and it was more to judge their reactions to the question than a real desire to scan their minds that caused her to ask it. She could certainly scan them without their knowledge, but should any of them panic at the request she would know to delve deeper. She kept her face neutral and did not in any way try to use her charms to have them agree, that would have defeated the purpose. She didn't intend to probe Darres though, he had sworn. That would be enough.

[z019]

Omorede and Keirsta nodded immediately, their thoughts showing that they both had not only expected this, but had had dealings with enough Terats before to take no offense at the request. Anjela nodded a second later after only a brief hesitation. She didn't like someone poking about in her mind, but figured that since she didn't have anything to hide getting all upset about it wasn't worth the time or energy.

Carol was far less enthusiastic then the others and gave Darres a long, nearly accusatory look that clearly stated 'You owe me.' He did nod however, the lines of his body taut with unease. Darres gave a very slight sigh of relief and smiled at Elspeth, "You have their permission, Your Majesty, and mine as well."

[Mr Fox]

Elspeth beamed at them using her charm to put them at ease. "I am sorry for having asked, but it was your reaction to the question I was really looking for. Had you refused then I would have dismissed you from service but not scanned you. Since you agreed, I won't scan you at all. I don't make a habit of scanning my friends or those close to me unless I believe I can't trust them." She smiled and shook each of their hands giving them the winning smile of the world's most charming person. "Welcome to my service each of you. I won't require you to were uniforms normally, but for special occasions it will be required, you are to be the royal bodyguard after all. Darres, the same goes for you. As first Knight of the kingdom you will need to occasionally dress the part. Not that what you have on is in any way shabby, I don't mean to imply that but we will want to appear as a united front to certain outsiders."

During these discussions Count O sat watching Elspeth test and win the trust of her new bodyguard and she knew he was doing it. She was sure that at least one of the multiple reasons he had come was to judge whether she was worthy to be called a Terat. She didn't think he would be disappointed. She had been trained by her parents after all.

"Darres, what colors appeal to you as for the royal guard?"

[z019]

He considered carefully for a moment. "The colors of the flag would be best for formal wear, I think. White and gold with blue and green accents." The young man smiled and shrugged, "I'm not much a clothing designer." He nodded to the smaller of the women, "Kirsta would probably be the best for that, she knows a little bit about of everything as far as I can tell." The baseline colored at the praise, but seemed to stand a little taller for it as well.

[Elspeth]

Elspeth gave Darres a brilliant smile, "Excellent suggestion. I will order it done. You will all need to get fitted by my taylor." She grinned at the looks some of Darres' retainers gave to that. "As for daily uniforms, I am thinking black. I want you all to look imposing and sharp."

She looked at the four in turn, "You each have come here serving Darres and now you find yourselves as the Queen's body guard. You don't have a problem with that do you? If you choose to stay and protect me I intend to give you as the first members of my guard the rank of captains. You won't be part of the military, but I want each of you to lead or be part of a squad of guards." She did not invade their minds but she did keep her own telepathy sharp and other senses sharp for any hint that they did not like this plan.

She looked back to her knight. "Darres can you find good candidates and fill in the ranks of my body guard and hire them?"

[z019]

The boy nodded, his joy at this having gone so smoothly clear on his face. The four baselines ranged in response from impassive to mildly surprised, but from the general tenor of their thoughts none of them were against the idea. Kiersta seemed the most nervous at the idea of being in a position of command, but eager as well.

"Of course, Your Majesty." Darres bowed sharply. "Would you prefer these new guards to be composed primarily of current soldiers, new soldiers, or a mix of both?"

He might only be 13, but he was a nova and a Terat. Anyone that underestimated him took their lives into their own hands.

[Elspeth]

Yes! Her knight wasn't just a pretty face and she had to admit to herself quite the nice pair of shoulders as well. He seemed to be sharp and intelligent too. Elspeth felt satisfaction at that, she had judged well.

"A mix is fine. The most important qualities are loyalty and good instincts, skill in combat can be learned."

Out of the corner of her eye Elspeth could see the Count nod ever so slightly as though chalking up another point in the win column for Elspeth. She was sure now that she was being tested by this whole situation and she was pretty sure that she was passing. She was about to look over at him and suggest he could retire for now while she got about the business of running her nation, but she was interrupted before she could.

"Your majesty!" The plump steward of her household came bustling and waddling in. Elspeth frowned slightly and the woman blushed which was a feat for the ebony skinned former cook. "I apologize for interrupting especially as you have such distinguished guests, but I just got word your Generals have done it again. They ordered those troops back to the borders countermanding your command. I knew you would want to know right away." The woman gave a fairly credible bow for someone as round as she was.

Elspeth was far too practiced to show any outward emotion in front of Count O. She looked to her knight. "I believe we have a 'situation'. My generals are good men, but they don't believe that a female, much less a young one can possibly have the intelligence or wit to understand military matters. We need to disabuse them of that notion."

[Elspeth]

Elspeth considered her options briefly and decided that something definitely had to be done about the wayward Generals. In addition, she needed to introduce her new Knight to them and her people. The problem as she saw it was that her Generals did not believe a young girl no matter how smart could possible know what she was doing in matters of war. To compound the problem her own charm was working against her in this situation. She was widely know as possibly the most charming and charismatic person in the world, or certainly among the best so they expected to be won over to her way of thinking any time they met with her, and therefore dismissed what they had agreed to shortly after leaving her presence. She needed to accomplish two things here. Make an example so that they would not defy her direct orders again, and thus encourage others to do so, and bring them to heel so that this would never occur again.

"Darres. I will summon my Generals. They will be expecting the order and no doubt will come back soon. They will arrive expecting to be won over by my charm. It won't be charm that I will be showing them. Their actions are treasonous. I would execute them all, but they are good men and they believe they are doing their best for the kingdom. They cannot go unpunished however, and they must be made to bow to royal authority. I intend to put you in charge of them, but like anything else they will not accept that without struggling against it. Being a male and not being me, you will have two advantages. They won't expect anything out of the ordinary from you but will simply see you as a young boy." She grinned and placed a placating hand on his arm. "You are a nova and that makes you far more than your years, just as I am more than mine."

"The point is that as a man, and as someone that doesn't arrive with a 'reputation' they won't know what to expect from you and so you can teach them a lesson that will drive home to them just how capable you are. After that I believe they will follow you willingly and by extension, me. You will have to best them in military matters somehow."

Her eyes narrowed menacingly, "That is after I make an example of them of course. Disobedience to the crown cannot be tolerated."

With looking she addressed her steward, "Martha, summon the generals and bring me Mr. Blackwood our crown lawyer." Elspeth probably knew the law completely by heart and even without any legal knowledge she could likely win any court case against the best lawyer in the world on her personality alone, but having a 'renown' legal scholar standing at her side quoting the law would give the appearance of authority and gravitas that a 13 year old girl quoting law word for word would not have no matter how charming or even awe-inspiring she might be.

"Darres, this will be your first act as my knight, do you have any suggestions as to how you can prove your skill and tactical expertise to them?"

[z019]

His brow knitted in thought. "They moved troops to the Liberian border. There's a large forest near the border southeast of Kenema. We can make excuses to both Liberia and Guniea that the troop movements were endurance exercises and wargames by making them just that. Have the troops near the Guniea border begin engaging in survival exercises and endurance marches, moving along and inward of the border as they do so. As for the troops near Liberia, split them into three armies and assign them colors. Have myself and your two most quarrelsome and experienced generals pull straws marked with the colors to determine who is given which section of troops. Each team will have the following objectives: capture the main base of the other two teams, capture as many officers of the opposing team as possible, capture the the opposing general. This will work best if we are able to outfit the soldiers with mock weapons like paintguns, but if that is not an option there are rules for engagements like these that can be put into effect to determine 'kills' and 'captures'. The games end either on a set date, if you wish, or when one team captures the main bases or generals of the other two teams. Captured officers can be kept as a detriment to the other teams or traded for like hostages."

He looked up to her, "Would that work, do you think? They have a two to one advantage," he grinned, "and I have a quantum advantage."

[Elspeth]

Elspeth grinned, "That should be sufficient to prove the point that you are better than they are. I will give them sufficient incentive to win that there will be no question but that you beat them fair and square."

She looked to Count O. "Sir, I hate to ask it but would you mind making yourself scarce while my generals are present? I fear they might take your presence to mean that Darres and I were coached by you into the actions we are about to take and that would diminish the effectiveness of our present exercise."

The Count smiled approvingly, "Elspeth, my dear lady, or rather, your most excellent Majesty. I am more than fully satisfied that I was able to be of assistance to you through the introduction of my young protege Darres here. If you will allow me I would be happy to return another day on a more purely social visit. I had heard wonderful things about you, but now that I have met you, they don't tell half the story. Whatever I might do for you please don't hesitate to ask." He left unsaid all those things that were understood between them, how he was satisfied that she was indeed a capable ruler and that she would make an excellent queen and teragen example; albeit of a less violent and more benevolent path.

Once the count had left, Elspeth and her new Knight got down to some serious planning while her new personal bodyguards met with the royal haberdasher to get fitted for their new uniforms. Shortly before the generals returned, Elspeth worked with Darres to get his Eufiber transformed into what they agreed on would make an excellent uniform for her first Knight. She thought he looked awfully dashing in the black outfit.

Once all the appropriate parties were waiting on the Queen's pleasure outside in the hall, Elspeth gave the order to show them in. She was seated on her throne the sword across her knees and Darres at her right shoulder standing and looking imposing despite his mere thirteen years. The generals and Mr. Blackwood filed in; the generals cocky and just a little pompous, and Mr. Blackwood looking confident but curious.

"Mr. Blackwood approach Us and stand to our left please." She was sitting in all her splendor and majesty and those before her could not help but feel her sheer presence weighing on their souls.

"Rather than make this a formal court proceeding I've asked you here privately so that we can resolve this without the need for bloodshed. Mr. Blackwood, please quote me the constitution of Sierra Leone in regard to obedience to the Crown in matters of war."

He cleared his throat and took on an important demeanor as if quoting the Constitution was almost religious in significance, which to him it probably was. "Not the exact words mind, but...'The rightful sovereign of the state shall be the final authority in all matters of the Military. The King or Queen is the Commander and Chief of all armed forces for the kingdom."

Elspeth smiled and it was not a pleasant smile and the assembled generals all began to look nervous. "Tell me Mr. Blackwood, what does the law call disobeying a direct order from one's Commander in Chief?"

Mr. Blackwood did not hesitate, "Treason your Majesty, which is punishable by death."

The generals were decidedly uncomfortable now and starting to sweat despite the cool temperature of the room. Elspeth, smiled. "Exactly why I did not make this a formal court proceeding, if I had then Sierra Leone would shortly be without her generals. You have all disobeyed direct orders regarding military matter. That cannot be excused, nor can it be allowed to pass unpunished." They were all sweating now and more than one made moves to loosen their collars as though suddenly feeling their ties too constricting.

"However, I do know you to all be good men, and I am aware that you were acting in what you believed to be the best interest of the nation. That does not excuse what you have done and you will all have to be punished for it. I will not have you tried for Treason, for you would then be subject to only one penalty. Instead I will make it a lesser offense and have you each demoted one grade."

The generals breathed a collective sigh of relief at getting off so lightly, but Elspeth was not done with them yet. "That is not all. Despite it being with the best of intentions, I cannot have my military leaders second guessing my decisions. That is why we need to settle this business of you doubting me. So, I have made a decision, I intend to appoint a general to be the overall commander of all my armed forces. I will deal directly with that man and he will interface with the rest of you and relay my orders and advise me in military matters. Pick your best two men each will command a force in the field in a war game. I will pick one man as well and the winner of the three will be made my commanding general." She waited as their hopes picked back up then added, "The losers and any of you who are on their team will be flogged."

She gestured to Darres, "Incidentally, let me introduce you to Sir Darres Ancarr. I believe he mentioned to me earlier that he would like to answer my challenge and lead a force against you. Surely the best generals the kingdom has to offer can defeat an inexperienced young man even if he is a nova, he won't be using his physical abilities in the contest only his mind." She smiled the unpleasant smile at the generals again. "Good luck gentlemen, you will need it. I will leave it to Sir Darres to fill you in on the rules of engagement. Incidentally, I have ordered a massive shipment of paint-ball guns for use in the exercise. I would be very disappointed should men lose their lives unnecessarily in what is intended to be a friendly contest. Do I make myself clear?" She was quite clear. The sword rose from her knees and flew end over end to the wall where it had hung and just before impact slowed and gently replaced itself on it's hooks. Elspeth rose and waited for everyone in the room to bow before sweeping out of the room. Leaving Darres to deal with what she hoped would soon be his subordinates. She was confident in his abilities, but still, the challenge was an opportunity for him to prove himself not only to the generals but to her as well.