Anarchistbanjo's World

Chapter 23

It was Llana that caught the wolf bitch in her snare and feeling sorry for the orphaned pups convinced Tobal they should try raising them as pets. It seemed like a crazy idea but she did it anyway. She had a primitive animalistic aura and sensuality that was almost overpowering and frightening. Gradually Tobal felt some of that developing within himself.

The cubs stayed with them and didn’t have the instinctive fear of fire most wild animals have. They loved Llana and wanted to stay near her. They barely tolerated Tobal.

They spent the days out in the wilderness in extreme physical exertion combined with drawing energy from the earth and recharging themselves. In one day they did more than Tobal had ever been able to do in three days. She taught him to lope at a tireless mile eating pace they would keep up for entire days at a time stopping only to recharge and then move on. They practiced sending physical earth energy out and taking physical earth energy in. They absorbed it from the earth and living things and gave it back to the earth and living things. His physical body began to live and breathe physical earth energy.

These were the things she taught him about. The life force and energy within all things and how to feel it and tap into it. She taught him how to purify his own energies and work with them to make them strong. She said she couldn’t teach him much more until he had completed the Journeyman degree.

Nikki, Melanie and Becca each had their fourth newbies to solo. But Tobal made heads turn as he proclaimed Llana ready for both initiation and to solo. She was questioned at length by the elders and then approved to solo. There was a bit of grumbling but Tobal didn’t care. Llana was his last newbie and next month he would be initiated as a Journeyman. He was happy and that was it. Tyrone had soloed and he received his fifth chevron.

Green grass was starting to show in places and the melting snow made tiny rivulets of water running down toward the lower foothills. The weather was beautiful and it was warm in the afternoon.

Tobal watched as Angel acted as High Priestess. Tobal was surprised to see Dirk in red robes training as High Priest for the circle. It felt good and comfortable to see people he knew and trusted advancing into these positions.

He found Tyrone and asked him about his solo. Tyrone laughed and said it had gone well except for the wolves howling every time he played the fiddle. He had gotten lonesome for company though and was looking forward to training a newbie of his own.

The big news at camp was that Sarah, Anne, Derdre, Seth and Crow had all returned from the village and been waiting at sanctuary for newbies. Since they had been waiting for two weeks it was unlikely there would be enough newbies to go around. Several members had gone to sanctuary only to find a large line of people waiting for newbies. Zee was pissed, Kevin was pissed, Mike and Butch were pissed, Tara and Nick were pissed, Wayne and his student were pissed, Char and her student were pissed. They had all been hoping for newbies. Now Becca, Melanie and Nikki were going to be looking for newbies too!

Zee and Kevin had decided to stay at sanctuary with Crow and his group. The others had come to circle steaming mad and needing to vent. They were glad the kids had come back from the village but it struck them wrong that Crow and the others could spend a cozy winter in the village and then just waltz back here and get newbies in the spring. Tobal’s sympathies were with Crow and his friends. They had been at sanctuary when the newbies were and that was what mattered. He had camped out more than once waiting for newbies.

He hardly saw Becca at all. She was there to proclaim her newbie ready to solo and then came up and kissed him.

“I’m going to sanctuary,” she said simply. “If I leave right now I can be in line ahead of these others.”

He pulled her into his arms and held her against him. “I’m sorry it has to be this way. You’ve only got two more newbies to train. Then we can be together all we want.”

Her green eyes flashed as she smiled at him. “I’m going to hold you to that. You better really mean it.”

“I mean it,” he whispered. “Now you’d better go so you’ll beat Nikki and Melanie. You know they will be right on your tail.”

Becca laughed, “We’re all going together. If we need to we will draw straws to see who goes first.”

He gave her a final hug and kiss and then watched as she headed toward where Nikki and Melanie were waiting for her at the edge of the gathering spot. He waved at them and they waved back. He missed Becca and didn’t really feel like talking to anyone else so he kept to himself during circle and the initiations.

Later it was only Ellen and Rafe that were there to talk about what had been going on between the Circle of Elders, the village and the City Council. The others were probably on their way to sanctuary to try for newbies. Tobal simply felt fortunate he was done with all of it. Ellen told her version of what had happened the past week when they had gone back to meet with the City Council.

“This time we were expected and warmly welcomed. They even had a conference room set up with seating for everyone, not just the City Council. The Mayor welcomed us and then introduced a Federation officer named General Grant.”

Ellen looked at Tobal and Rafe but neither had heard of him before. She continued. “General Grant addressed the room and reported there was classified research taking place within the mountain complex that he was not at liberty to discuss. He said several members of the city were involved in this research and knew of it. I saw several City Council members glance at each other nodding. In fact, the general continued, they recruited heavily from the city itself for people to be involved in the project due to the unique training each of them had been given before being granted citizenship.”

“Again there were several nods around the room and I was able to tell that none of this was new to the members of the City Council,” Ellen said. “ Then the general categorically denied that the classified project had anything at all to do with the lake or what had happened there. The military complex in the mountain had nothing to do with rogue attacks on clansmen and the village had nothing to fear from them. He was deeply hurt at the unfounded allegations and hoped improved communication would prevent further misunderstandings.”

Ellen’s eyes flashed. “I asked why we had been ordered to keep Crow and his group from the village and what made the general think they had the right to order us to do anything. The general reddened and said a mistake had been made. We were civilians and should not have been ordered to do anything like that. They should have sent a military unit.”

“When the City Council asked why it had been so important to keep Crow and the others away from the village the general said it had been considered important to preserve the integrity of the training itself and not compromise the intent of the requirements of citizenship. Open communication with the village would jeopardize the quality of the training the Apprentices were receiving and complicate the duties of the medics.”

Ellen stopped a moment before continuing. Her eyes were flashing in anger. “The general went on to assure the room there had been no bad intent and the interests of the city had been foremost in all of these activities. The mayor seemed content with this and asked the City Council and any of the circle members if they had anything to add before adjourning. I was furious at the general’s denial of military involvement and the City Council’s apparent acceptance of his explanation. But I knew when I was outclassed. There was simply nothing more that I could do.”

She continued, “The mayor was about to adjourn the meeting when something impossible happened. Howling Wolf appeared in the middle of the room out of nowhere. He simply appeared out of thin air and addressed all of us.”

“He told us that General Grant was telling lies. Then he said he would tell us the true story. He said that thirty years ago Ron and Rachel Kane were citizens of Heliopolis and involved in the creation of the social experiment we are all familiar with called Sanctuary. Their main circle and gathering spot for the Apprentice degree was located at the lake by the waterfall. The Journeyman and the Master locations are the same today as they were then.”

Ellen paused before continuing. “Howling Wolf said the social experiment was funded by the Federation and closely monitored within the mountain complex. It’s commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Harry Kane, brother to Ron Kane. Ron and Rachel Kane were the parents of Tobal Kane who is now soon to enter Journeyman status. There were whispers around the room at this as several City Council members looked at each other.”

“Then Howling Wolf explained the Sanctuary program was just a front for a type of much more advanced research, namely time travel. Some gasps filled the room and I noticed there were several white faces including the general’s.”

She looked at Tobal. “He said Ron and Rachel Kane created a machine capable of sending a person forward in time into the future or backward into the past. The problem was Ron and Rachel were the only ones that could use it. It wouldn’t work for anyone else and no one knew why.”

“Ron and Rachel continued travelling forward and backward into time. The scientists continued to think of way to improve the machine. Ron and Rachel believed it was a human problem and not a machine problem and worked in secret with a small handful of trusted friends. They developed techniques that would prepare an individual for time travel. The most important was the technique of bi-location.”

“Howling Wolf told us that he appeared in the room using bi-location techniques he learned from Ron and Rachel Kane and has been teaching to his own students since that time. There were gasps and hard looks on the faces of some of the City Council members.”

“He said the bi-location process does not require a machine. Time travel does not require a machine either. There was a small handful of people taught to how to time travel by linking with Ron and Rachel and then they were able to do it on their own without help. He said he knew of several others still living that were now doing this and teaching others how to do it.”

“Howling Wolf said the group was time traveling when the massacre at the gathering spot occurred. His wife and children were murdered and so was Sarah Gardner’s mother. Sarah is another Apprentice that is now teaching her second newbie to solo. Fortunately two of his grandchildren were not at the gathering spot and are alive today. They are also currently enrolled in the Sanctuary program. He told how stunned the group was when they arrived back at the gathering spot and found everyone murdered.”

“He then told how Ron and Rachel told them to flee. They were going to talk with Ron’s brother and find out what had happened. They agreed to meet at a specific location in history where they often met up before. The entire group fled and later tried meeting but Ron and Rachel never came. Howling Wolf got very angry and said his son and wife were hunted down and executed. He found out later that Ron and Rachel had been declared dead by his brother Harry and their son, Tobal was taken by his uncle to be raised.”

Ellen paused in her story to see how Tobal and Rafe were taking it. Tobal was very grim and Rafe looked almost ill. She continued.

“Howling Wolf told how their group had perfected time travel without the machine, but the scientists had been working on it separately. Ron and Rachel were involved in that part because their machine had been needed to locate time periods and initially propel a person into a specific time. Simple bi-location was not enough. The military believed time travel required the intense magnetic fields the machine produced and they didn’t know about the secret research done by the other group.”

“He told how Ron and Rachel solved the problem temporarily by wiring themselves into the circuit making it tolerable for other humans by acting as buffers for the energy. When they were wired into the circuit others could go through the gateway and time travel. Lieutenant Colonel Harry Kane was the first one to successfully go through the machine in that manner. This was an exciting scientific breakthrough and many excursions were made into the past and present doing research on the nature of time itself.”

“Soon regular trips were being made every week. Howling Wolf told us the problem was that Ron and Rachel needed to be wired into the circuit for the entire time that the operative was gone and it was very draining on them personally. That meant the operative could not stay in the past or future for an extended period of time the way Ron and Rachel were able to. The military needed operatives to spend larger portions of time away on missions. The military was intent on seeing if it was possible to alter history for political power and influence. At least that was the military dream. Ron and Rachel refused to take part in any tampering or deliberate altering historical events.”

Ellen laughed. “ Howling Wolf really had everyone in the room listening to him. I saw several faces on the City Council that were almost pure white. It was obvious he was telling us the truth. Then he told us Ron and Rachel remained the only ones that could successfully be wired into the circuit of the machine.

Lieutenant Colonel Harry Kane and his wife tried it with disastrous results. She died and he was paralyzed for life. Ron and Rachel were devastated and Howling Wolf said it was then they refused to cooperate with any more experiments involving the machine. They already knew time travel without the machine was possible and much safer. They believed there must be some safer way of initiating time travel to an unknown location without the machine.”

“It was about a week after their refusal to participate that their bodies were supposedly found floating in the lake by Lt. Col. Harry Kane. Howling Wolf explained to us how this could not be true since Harry Kane had just been paralyzed and was still in the hospital trying to deal with the loss of his wife. He had suffered a serious mental breakdown at that point.”

“Howling Wolf swept his eyes around the room looking at each of us. He said the simple truth was that Ron and Rachel Kane were taken prisoner and wired permanently into the machine against their will so the military could continue to operate it. By being hard wired into the machine longer missions were made possible so operatives could be gone for days at a time.”

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“I already went through this with Crow,” he protested. “You already know more than I do. I can’t teach you anything you don’t already know. It would be wrong to take credit for teaching you when I didn’t.”

She relaxed a little. “Is that all that’s bothering you?”

He nodded glumly.

“Let me ask you something,” she said quietly. “Do you have any doubt in your ability to train newbies in survival skills? Any doubt at all? Even the smallest?”

“No I don’t,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Last fall I had to give additional training to three of my newbies so they would be ready for winter. I thought they were trained well enough and then realized they weren’t so I took extra time and gave them more training.”

She nodded. “Nobody made you do that did they?”

“No.”

“What does the Council of Elders think of your training?”

“I’m one of the better trainers.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the newbies I train are happier and healthier than a lot of the others. They also seem to make good trainers themselves and are mostly willing to train through the winter.”

She smiled at him. “Your parents created this program to bring people up to a certain skill level in both knowledge and demonstrated ability. Do you believe you have reached that skill level and are ready to move on to the next?”

“Yes I do.”

“But you can’t advance because the program will not allow early advancement even if you are already prepared correct?”

He nodded, “That’s right.”

“Well, I’m in the same situation,” she said. “I already know how to survive, how to defend myself and I am also a healer. I also know advanced techniques that my grandfather taught your parents and other advanced techniques that your parents in turn taught my grandfather.”

“Can you talk to my parents?” He interrupted.

“Yes,” she nodded biting her lower lip.

“Are they alive?”

“Tobal,” she said slowly with pain in her eyes. “Your parents are no longer human, and they are dying. They are asking for our help.”

“What do you mean, no longer human?” he shouted. “I see them and talk with them during circle.”

“What you see and talk with are their spirits,” she whispered. “They have developed their spirit bodies to the point they are almost physical. In fact, once their spirit bodies were physical and they could go anywhere they wished by changing their physical bodies to energy and teleporting instantly to where they wanted to go. They can’t do that anymore.”

She shuddered, “Your uncle captured them and imprisoned them. He wired them like electrical components into the circuitry of a machine and they have been kept alive artificially for over twenty years in special fluid filled tanks.”

“Tobal,” she said looking hard into his face with tears in her eyes. “I have traveled in the spirit to where they are kept imprisoned. Their physical bodies have mutated and become grossly deformed. Only their spirits remain human. They wish to be free of their physical bodies and become simply the Lord and Lady. But your uncle won’t let them die.”

“I need to see!” He sobbed in denial and fear. “I need to know for myself. I need to see them and talk with them. I need them to tell me.”

She put her arms around him as his shoulders shook and comforted him till he regained his composure.

Wiping angry tears from his eyes, he asked, “You’ll teach me?”

She held him against her breast. “I’ll teach you, Tobal. I promise.”

The first thing she taught him was the story of his parents and their classified research involving time travel. Ron and Rachel had built a matter transmission machine and tested it. This machine used powerful pulsating magnetic fields at certain resonant frequencies to create a gateway into time and space much like the ones in current use for matter transmission. The problem was that mineral and crystalline objects would work but organic materials would not.

After several years of research Ron and Rachel developed the first gateway or portal that allowed living matter to be transported through it to target locations and began using it themselves. This was an important military break through. It allowed troops to be transported instantly from one area to another and was immediately highly classified.

It was purely by accident the time traveling capability was developed. One of the giant capacitors malfunctioned while transmitting Ron and Rachel to a target location. It threw the entire machine out of phase and Ron and Rachel ended up in the 16th century.

When they didn’t appear at the target location retrieval was attempted and they were brought back successfully. They also brought some artifacts back with them. From that point on, the classified research became about time travel and not troop transmission.

By trial and error they were able to travel into the past and into the future and achieved access to twenty historical time periods and three future time periods. Each time period seemed to act as a nexus point in time and space. If the machine wasn’t keyed to a nexus point nothing happened.

It was like working random codes until you found one that worked. The process was slow and frustrating but also highly exciting at the same time. That was when the problems arrived. Ron and Rachel were able to go back in time through the machine but no one else could and live to tell about it. The machine did horrible things to those that tried, Drove them insane or deformed their bodies. No one knew why it only worked for his parents.

They had developed the necessary training programs to prepare other time travelers. But the machine only worked for Ron and Rachel. It was a classified military project and a team of scientists worked furiously to remodel the machine and make it work with other people.

It was only when both Ron and Rachel were hooked into the circuit with the machine at the same time and used as buffers that others were able to go through it. Tobal’s Uncle Harry was the first one to successfully time travel through the machine when it was hooked up in this fashion. He led a team through the machine several times to many previously unknown time periods in addition to those that your parents had discovered on their own.

There were problems with this because Ron and Rachel were not willing to be wired into the machine for hours at a time waiting for other time travelers to come and go. Trips into the past or future could only take two hours at the most and the drain on Ron and Rachel was severe. Their health suffered each time they hooked themselves into the machine and others used it.

Ron and Rachel were able to time travel themselves without any of those restrictions and could be away for weeks at a time. They felt it was more important they be allowed to make extended trips and do research than be confined wired to the machine so others could experience briefly what they could do for extended periods. They altered the machine and designed different programs searching for ways that others could use it.

Still the machine would only work if Ron and Rachel were wired into it. They tried wiring other time travelers into the machine and it killed them. It almost killed his Uncle Harry when he tried wiring himself and his wife into the machine. It did kill her and left his uncle paralyzed.

That was when his uncle went mad and had the gathering spot attacked and the villagers massacred. Ron and Rachel were seized and forcibly wired permanently into the machine and declared dead. That was when the program was officially closed down.

That was the story the Federation knew and was trying to keep secret. But there was much more to the story than that. There was an even greater part only Howling Wolf had known. Half way through the projects developmental stages Ron and Rachel were beginning to think that the problem was with the people and not with the machine itself. They discovered Howling Wolf and his secret shaman bi-location ability.

His parents thought this additional training was needed and started working in secret with Howling Wolf and a handful of others at the gathering spot on the lake. It was after Howling Wolf’s training on bi-location that they realized they no longer needed the machine to time travel to places they had already visited. They met in a secret place under the waterfall at the lake to do this training. It was where they would travel back in time and return with items to prove they had done it.

Howling Wolf needed help to time travel at first. Ron and Rachel had linked together with him and had made several trips back into different time periods. Later he had been able to go to those same locations but he was not able to go to new ones. It seemed the machine opened the gateway the first time and that once it was opened and a person properly attuned, they could travel through it at will. Even Ron and Rachel had needed the machine to open the gateway the first time to new locations.

At the lake the group discovered two people who had already been to a specific time period could take a third person without using the machine. Once that person had been taken and brought back they could make the journey on their own without help. Still they were only allowed access to the three future times and twenty historical times that Ron and Rachel had personally gone to. They were not able to go to the ones that had been discovered while Ron and Rachel were wired into the machine.

Llana had completed this training but her grandfather couldn’t link with her well enough to take her through by himself. He needed one other person to be able to do this. Both Ron and Rachel had linked with him and taken him through. There needed to be one more person to take Llana through without the machine and there were no others.

Howling Wolf thought they were all gone. All except Ron and Rachel, he and the others had called them the Lord and Lady. They were still there in the mountain complex held prisoner and alive. Things were not right because they were both ill and were both slowly dying.

Llana felt they needed her help and she needed their help to time travel. She had talked with them in the spirit and they had told her they would help her.

Then Llana spoke of the massacre at the lake and how the small group of people had been below in the cave time traveling when it had happened. Howling Wolf and the others had emerged from the cave only to find their families murdered. They had buried them in a mass grave and raised the pile of stones over the dead bodies. Afterward they had left not knowing whom to trust and knowing their very lives were in danger if they were ever found.

This was all news to Tobal and he was beginning to think she was crazy until he remembered Melanie had said something about time travel. He thought about the strange shop in Old Spokane with its “replicas” and suddenly he wasn’t sure about anything anymore. He hadn’t thought about Heliopolis as having the secret technology of time travel the Federation was willing to kill for. The Federation would kill to keep it and would kill to prevent it from getting into the wrong hands.

Suddenly he thought of Sarah’s father, Adam and knew Adam and Howling Wolf could teach Llana time travel if they did it together. They were both trained and could take her with them if they went together. They could also teach him if he were properly prepared. He thought about telling Llana about Adam and decided to wait until he had been trained so he could go with her at the same time. They didn’t need his parents to time travel but they might need to time travel to rescue his parents.

He thought of circle and the pagan rituals they practiced with the Lord and Lady. They represented much more than the old ways suddenly and he liked them that way. They were ways to communicate with his father and his mother who were still alive and needing his help. Then he thought about the 3rd degree and the medics flying around in air sleds and the med-alert bracelets they all wore and suddenly he felt a massive headache coming on.

Crow had taught Tobal how to work with spirit energies and open energy channels within his body. What Llana was teaching him was entirely different. She taught him how to reach deep within the depths of the earth for energy and security. She taught him how to use the energy of the earth to make himself stronger, how to stand against a tree and recharge himself after reaching the point of exhaustion. She also taught him how to control that energy and send it out.

He saw her one time walk up to a deer and pet it. Birds would come to her when she called them. Llana said the spirits of the plants and animals talked to her and told her what they wanted or how to make use of them. As the sap started running in the trees they collected maple sap to boil down for maple syrup and collected other newly sprouting plants and herbs for medicinal uses.

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Chapter 22

Tara and Nick were the next to join in the dance. Tara had always been into dance but this was the first time he had seen Nick get into it. Again Tobal was impressed at how the winter had matured Nick. Then he thought of the changes in his own life. He was not the child that had been dropped off at sanctuary almost a year ago.

He realized he had been here one year and he still had one more newbie to train. He was not going to beat Rafe’s record after all. Looking around the room he spied Mike and Butch talking with some girls and urging them to dance. They were laughing and having fun. He figured that Mike and Butch were also looking for newbies.

Sarah, Anne, Derdre and Seth were still at the village with Crow. No one had seen them and there was some talk and concern among the clansmen that something was wrong. There were rumors and stories about members of the Elders council being put in jail. As far as Tobal could tell the rumors were about things that had happened last month and nothing new. Wanting to hear something new he looked around for Ellen and Rafe.

He spied Ellen over in a corner talking with Rafe and made a beeline toward them trying not to spill his tankard in the jostling crowd. At least it was warm in here he thought moving past bodies that smelled of wood smoke.

“We can’t talk in here,” he shouted to Ellen above the drum beat.

She nodded and shouted back, “We are meeting in the brewery in a few minutes.”

Tobal nodded and went off to find Melanie, Becca and Nikki to tell them about the meeting. Their robes were still wet but warmer and they put them back on before dashing over to the brewery where they took them back off and found places around the fire to sit. They folded their robes and sat on them on the wooden floor.
Ellen and Rafe welcomed them and Ellen brought everyone up to date on what had been going on with the Council of Elders.

“We tried everything we could think of to contact the city government through the communications and computer systems we have access to,” she said. “What happened was we were warned not to make contact with the city and just to mind our own business. The city will contact us when we are ready to become citizens. We are not part of the city yet and have no legal rights until we complete our training and become citizens.”

“These messages were prominently displayed on each air sled monitor screen and on the computers at home base. No one even thought to come to us in person to explain or hear our concerns,” she said bitterly.

“This did not sit well with the Council of Elders, especially since the arrest and questioning of the five of us that had been sent to the village. We were released but the Council of Elders now realized someone thought they had the power to arrest clansmen anytime they wanted and hold them without cause. They believed this same someone was responsible for the rogue attacks. The council wants to know why these things are happening and if they are happening with the approval of the city.”

Ellen looked around the small group. “The final decision was that the same five delegates would journey on air sleds to Sanctuary and then cross the wall into the city. We would find a place with lots of people and set our sleds down and wait for the authorities. We would probably be arrested but the city itself was populated with clansmen. We were counting on that bond of kinsmanship to get a fair hearing.”

She grinned, “I was the first to go across the wall and land my air sleds in a central area. The others followed me in. Even before we had landed a crowd of people appeared wondering what was going on. I called out that there was an emergency and one of the citizens nodded and started talking on her cell phone. Several of the others were also on cell phones. It was a matter of minutes before authorities arrived and put us on some type of air transport. We were not arrested or treated as prisoners but we certainly were not given any choice about things either.”

“They took us down to the police station where we gave our statements.” She laughed, “It was obvious that the persons involved wanted no part of this and were way over their heads. They passed us on to the mayor who listened and then called an emergency session of the City Council. This was against the strong opposition of someone wearing a federation military uniform. I gathered this uniformed person was the representative of the mountain complex and the ones that had arrested us.”

“I was elected the spokesperson for our group,” she told them, “and with grim determination I faced the City Council and told our story of being arrested and questioned, about the massacre at the lake and the mass grave, how it was a forbidden area. I told them about the rogue attacks that were centered around the lake itself and the attempt to make it seem the village was responsible for those attacks.

Then I told them that was impossible because the rogues have some way of tracking anyone that has med-alert bracelets and are able to hide in a way that the villagers can’t. I told them of the rumors the city was going to lead an attack on the village. Several members of the City Council looked at each other quickly and at least a couple had red faces.”

“They weren’t the only ones,” she continued. “I could see the man in uniform getting redder and redder and angrier and angrier. I spoke about Crow who had grown up in the village and now wanted to become a citizen. How his concern for the safety of his village was the reason that led him to make the journey back with four of his friends. The entire group is still within monitor range of our air sleds and they can visit the village according to our own Council of Elders.”

“I told them how we were suddenly alerted that the village was forbidden and that we needed to keep Crow and his friends from going there. That was not right. I faced the City Council and told them Crow was technically a citizen of the village and had every right to be there. He could also bring friends if he chose to do so. Then I mentioned how the air sleds went back to the base and were severely reprimanded and ordered back out to bring Crow and his friends back by force.”

“The City Council was pretty quiet by then,” Ellen said. “They listened as I told them of the confrontation between Howling Wolf and the other villagers that offered to protect Crow and the others. I told them how I was there and that pressing the issue then could have resulted in injury or death to innocent people.

At the mention of Howling Wolf I saw several council members glance at each other and take stronger notice in what I was saying.” She chuckled, “I took advantage of that interest and told how the Council of Elders decided to send a delegation to talk with Howling Wolf and find out the truth of things for themselves.”

“I then described the armed strike force I had seen waiting by an air transport back at the mountain complex when we returned. I also told how we five members of the Council of Elders had been immediately arrested and held for an entire week without being told why. The man in uniform was a pasty white by now and struggling for composure. I told them how we tried every possible way to make contact with the city itself. We needed to see if the City was aware of these things and if it supported them.

I told how the Council of Elders had tried all ways possible to reach the city but been blocked and told it was forbidden. That is why in a last ditch effort we chose to fly a delegation over the city walls and speak with the city officials directly.”

“They didn’t know what to think or say.” She chuckled. “There was a dead silence as the City Council looked toward the man in uniform and waited for his response. He was clearly uncomfortable and said that he was not prepared to respond to these allegations and needed to consult with his superiors.”

“The Mayor then asked what the Council of Elders would like to have happen. I said the Council of Elders would like to ensure the safety of the villagers and Howling Wolf. They would like communication between the village and the city so they could monitor and address any abuses that were happening.

I mentioned this could be done by opening communication lines to the city from the base in the mountain where we were stationed. I concluded by saying this was a matter for the Elders of the village, the City Council and our own Council of Elders and there were many things that needed to be discussed and brought out into the open. We also wanted the rogue attacks to stop and whoever was responsible for them to be punished.”

Ellen continued her story. “The Mayor looked pretty grim and told us the City Council would need to do it’s own research and find out what was going on. They also needed to hear from the Federation and he looked pointedly at the uncomfortable man in uniform. He suggested they adjourn until the next month and set a time to meet again here in the city and asked for a vote from the City Council. All voted in approval.

He then asked if the City Council approved a direct communication line to be opened so the Council of Elders could contact them and keep them informed of developments. Again all voted in approval. At that the Mayor asked the uniformed person if it would be possible for the Federation to open a communication channel for the Council of Elders or whether the City Council needed to do it He saluted and said the Federation would provide the link.”

“ I think it’s bugged,” Ellen continued, but it’s more than we had before.”

She continued, “Then the Mayor adjourned the meeting and escorted us back to our air sleds. He told me we had done a very brave thing coming into the city and they would look into our story and be looking forward to our meeting next month.”

Ellen completed her story and looked at the others.

“So it seems things are happening. Hopefully next month we will know more about what is going on.”

They talked a bit more and asked more questions until they reached the point where they just needed to leave things and process them later. The talk shifted to other things.

The big news was Rafe had gotten his sixth chevron and would be leaving with Ellen after the party to get his Master’s initiation. With all that was going on he was eager to get his own air sled and do some snooping around on his own even though Ellen was warning him not to.

The meeting broke up and most of them went back to the dance. Tobal spent a little more time in his farewells with Becca. After a final kiss and hug he took his pack and left in the pouring rain.

Tobal was getting impatient. It had been almost one year and he wanted to move on into the Journeyman degree. After Tyrone soloed this month he would have five chevrons. He only needed one more newbie to train. He was no fool. After talking with the others he knew at least eleven of them wanted newbies to train and they would be lucky if five showed up. He left immediately in the rain heading for sanctuary. He had not been the only one with that idea. Kevin and Zee were already there ahead of him when he finally got there a few days later.

April rolled around and spring was in the air. Tyrone was on his solo and Tobal was at sanctuary waiting for a newbie to show up. There had already been three and it was not likely there would be any more this month but he was determined to hold his place in line and get it over with. Kevin and Zee and some others had already taken their newbies and left. This would be his last trainee and then he would be ready for the 2nd degree. He wondered about his last student and who it would be.

Would it be a boy or a girl, somehow it didn’t matter. The skills they needed were all the same. He thought about his last five newbies. Some like Melanie and Crow he had grown very close to. Others like Nick, he hadn’t hit it off with and didn’t see very often. Sarah and Tyrone were fun to hang around with and he loved doing things with them but they weren’t really that deep and sometimes he missed the serious side of life.

Still, he wasn’t prepared when Lanna walked through the door for the first time and claimed sanctuary. He did a double take as he saw a fierce Native American warrior dressed in soft decorative buckskin with a claw necklace around her neck and tattoos on her face.

She was tall and good looking with straight ebony hair like Zee’s. She was about his age, older than most of the newbies and from the village. She was Crow’s older sister. He remembered Crow had a sister but hadn’t thought he would meet her here. He was shocked at how little he really knew of Crow and his family. She had been training with Howling Wolf since she was a little girl.

“I can’t train you,” he said in dismay.

“Why not?” She looked at him pointedly.

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