Date: 2021-06-29T22:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction
Description: Zhenyi Hypatia Drakos had two astrophysicists as parents, one Greek and one Chinese. They gave her a love of space and the intellect to study it. Her name, glasses and independent spirit made her the target of bullies from her first day of school. To survive Zen adapted by becoming self-sufficient and capable of fighting back. When the pulsar she discovered at age thirteen begins changing, she discovers that humans are not alone in the universe. Draconis is the story of how Zen shares this news with the world and prepares herself and the planet for what is headed their way.

Armour

DRACONIS - Episode 5

Ethan Stand

Copyright © 2021 by Ethan Stand

Ethan Stand owns the content in this book and reserves all his legal rights of ownership. ‘Armour’ is published for your personal enjoyment. He allows quotations in book reviews and social media posts. In fact, if they are positive reviews, he encourages their use. If you want to use it for some other purpose, then email him and get his written permission, if you don't then you may not reproduce or use it.

ISBN 13: 978-1-922336-17-0 (E-book)

‘Armour’ is fiction, Ethan isn’t writing about real people and doesn’t intend in any way to point the finger at anyone. If there is a similarity, then it’s unintentional and a coincidence. Some of the places, nations, corporations, institutions, public figures, books, movies and songs Ethan mentions are real. Ethan has used them in a made-up story (fiction), i.e., IT ISN’T REAL.

Ethan designed the cover using Photoshop. Vellum was used to prepare the e-book.

Published by Ethan Stand in 2021

You can find out more at www.ethanstand.com or write to Ethan at ethan@ethanstand.com.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 1

Zen joined the line going toward the table with the sign ‘A-D’ stuck to the front. No one was paying much attention, and she’d mostly escaped notice until she reached the front of the line, although some of the people had been commenting on her weapons. Behind the table and watching on was an older man in a sergeant’s uniform. Sitting at the table was a woman in civilian clothes. Zen smiled at both, then stepped close and said, “Good morning, my name is Drakos, Zhenyi.”

The woman looked up with surprise and almost faltered but managed to squeak out, “Good morning, do you have your assignment letter?”

Zen took the letter out of her pocket and handed it over. The woman looked at it and double-checked it, then handed Zen a lanyard which had her name, a thumb drive and an ID number on it as well as one of the airport type tags for luggage. She said, “Put your phone, and personal effects in your bag, then lock it. Put the tag on your luggage and leave it with the luggage piled in trolleys near the sign which says ‘Brindabella’ then head inside and line up to have your medical.”

Zen nodded her thanks and stepped away. The sergeant stepped close and said, “Just a suggestion, but maybe it would be best to leave the weapons in your bags.”

“That’s what I’d planned, but I was told they don’t do much good if I can’t get at them when I need to.”

“Do you have a permit?”

“I do, Sergeant.”

“Carry on.”

Zen thanked him, then headed toward the stadium. There was a line of small trailers with names nearby. She found several with Brindabella and placed her bag on one with twenty or so bags already loaded, then headed into the stadium. The gate was open to let people onto the pitch, and there were a dozen or more large tents. Behind the tents, she could see several hundred people her age resting on the ground. Two tents had large signs indicating they were for medicals. Zen went to the one for women.

There were about ten girls ahead of her already waiting, so she just stepped into line. The one just in front of her turned to say hello, and her eyes went wide as she stared. She finally said, “Are you, Zen Drakos?”

Zen was embarrassed and knew this was going to get old really fast. She clamped down on her temper and said, “Yeah, that’s me. What’s your name?”

“Isla, Isla Cooper.”

“Well, pleased to meet you, Isla.”

“Wow, you too.”

Before she could say anything else, two people were called forward, and the line shuffled forward. By the time Zen’s was called through there were about twenty girls lined up behind her, and Zen was ready to explode from all the attention. Inside the large tent, it was divided into four cubicles. Zen was directed to one where a nurse was waiting.

Without looking up, the nurse spoke brusquely, “Take everything off and put it in the crate then put on the gown. The crate will stay with you. I’m going to get some basic data, then you’ll see the doctor. Give me your lanyard.”

Zen did as she was told and started undressing. Out the corner of her eye, she saw the nurse’s head twitch when she read the lanyard and then look over before beginning to enter details in a computer. When she was ready, the nurse looked up and said, “Sorry, I was a bit curt, I’m just angry we have to do this.”

“This?”

“Train people your age for war.”

“Me too, but I’m trying to save my anger for the ones waging the war. Most of the girls coming through are feeling scared and lost. Kindness will help settle them down.”

“Not you?”

“I’m scared and lost too, but at least I understand what’s happening.”

“Ok, lesson learned. Stand over there and let me check your height...Good, now onto the scales...Sit down and I’ll check your blood pressure and heart rate.”

All in all, it took five minutes, including a urine test. When that was done, the nurse said, “Thank you for understanding. Take the crate and move through to the next tent.”

In the next tent, there were seats, and people were checking footgear. Those who didn’t have boots were having their feet measured. Zen had her old Doc Martens, and after the assistant checked the soles, she was waved away. Zen was ushered into the next area. When a cubicle was free, she was told to enter. In the cubicle was a doctor about her mother’s age. She looked at Zen and after staring at her for about ten seconds said, “I heard this is all your idea.”

“Pretty much.”

“My daughter’s your age, and she’s in the second group. I’m trying hard not to blame you for that.”

“No, go ahead and blame me. I’m happy to own it. Every kid that gets trained is going to have that much greater a chance of living. What you should be angry about is I wanted us trained first, instead of you old people.”

The woman snapped, “I’d rather she was safe and sound, hiding in a bunker.”

Zen took a deep breath then said, “I think the same thing about my folks and my little brother. Truth is, though, that not all the bunkers will be safe. Ten million people squashed together like sardines, and everyone knows that people will lash out. I’d want my brother to know how to protect himself. The aliens are going to find some of these megacities. Then what? If people don’t want to just stand still to be killed or whatever, then they’ll have to be prepared to run or fight. When were you hoping she’d learn these things? I get dozens of death threats from people like you every day, and I’ve been trying to ignore them, but what do you think is going to happen? Seriously, you need to grow up or shut up!”

The woman looked down then nodded slowly. “I’m sorry. That was about as unprofessional as it gets.”

“No kidding! Look I’m batting two for two, so if the rest of the people in this line-up are like you guys then let’s finish this without talking.”

The woman nodded and then checked Zen’s reflexes and asked a few medical questions. Finally, she said, “What’s the tape and bandage on your leg?”

“Cut in my calf, it’s a few weeks old, and it’s strapped to stop me overdoing it. The doctor said I’ll be back to using it as I want in a few more weeks.”

“I need to check it.”

Zen sighed but lifted the leg. Miriam had kept the wound out of the press, and she’d hoped it stayed that way. Finally, when it was unwrapped, and the nonstick dressing pulled away, the doctor said, “That’s more than a cut, it looks like a whole section was torn out. What happened?”

“Bullet from the attack the other week tore out a few inches.”

“You were shot? I didn’t hear that on the news.”

“Good. I’d prefer it if no one knew.”

“I’ll have to note it in my report. They’ll need to ease up for the first few weeks on the exercise regime.”

“It’s doing pretty well. I did five k on the treadmill yesterday.”

“What did your doctor say about that?”

“I didn’t mention it.”

“Do you have medication?”

“Some pain killers, but I left them in my residence.”

The doctor typed a few notes then said, “You can get dressed. Just put the gown and slippers in the baskets there.”

Zen got dressed, then looked up. The doctor was staring at the guns. Zen said, “Is that all, doctor?”

“Um, yes. Here is your lanyard. I’ve copied everything onto the data stick that’s inside it. Once again, I apologise for what I said. On reflection, it was ill-considered.”

Zen just nodded and left the tent via the exit. A private pointed her toward the next tent. He said, “Psych checkup is next.”

Zen tried not to growl and just nodded and thanked him before moving on. This time she had to wait with two others for a free tent. The others just stared at her, and she was relieved until more came to wait and then it became almost too much. No one said anything, but it was clear everyone had an idea who she was. Finally, her name was called out, and she was led to a smaller tent which only had a desk with a laptop and a chair on either side. On the other side of the desk was a man she placed somewhere in his late sixties.

He waved to the chair opposite, and Zen took a seat. He looked at the weapons and raised his eyebrows. He said, “Paranoid?”

Zen shook her head and said, “No, death threats.”

“Yes, I did know that. I’ve just glanced through your school records, and I’m a bit confused. If they are at all accurate, then you shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near weapons of any sort.”

Zen said nothing and the man typed something on the pad in front of him. “Do you realise that you come across as anti-social?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to elaborate?”

“No.”

He wrote a few notes then said, “That’s it then. I’ve been able to pigeon-hole you into a nice little box faster than anyone else so far this morning. I imagine you’ll be the fastest all day.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. As a counsellor I’m not really supposed to give advice but will you permit an old man one indiscretion?”

“As long as you don’t tag it onto the time. I’d hate to come second because of your need to hand out pearls of wisdom.”

He laughed and said, “Fair enough and that ties in nicely to my advice. Zhenyi, enjoy your life no matter what it throws up at you. Don’t let life become a burden but own it every moment of every day. Everything I’ve seen says you know this already, but it’s going to take some work to remember it in the months and years ahead. Believe it or not, but some of us agree with everything you’ve done and only want the best for you.”

Zen nodded and said, “Thank you. I do appreciate the advice. Sorry for being anti-social.”

“Good. Now go and annoy someone else.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Once Zen left the tent, a corporal was standing ready, and she said, “Now you wait. Go park yourself somewhere till your location is called out. You’ll see signs on the barrier to show where to wait.”

“Thank you.”

There were already several thousand teens waiting along the edge of the field. There were almost thirty-thousand fourteen-to-eighteen-year-olds in The Australian Capital Territory. This first group had been randomly selected from those aged fifteen-to-seventeen, well except for her. Altogether, five thousand had been selected to be the guinea pigs for the program in the state, with the second group due to start in three weeks. The five thousand had been further split into five, and each group of one thousand would be trialing the various programs that had been discussed.

Some psychologists had commented on the unethical nature of using people just to learn what worked. Still, they’d been overridden by the situation. Zen just hoped that this Brindabella option wasn’t the one filled with dozens of lectures. Near the sign which read ‘Brindabella’ were several hundred teens. She manoeuvred her way through them until she was near the fence. As she approached, two of the boys leaning on the fence straightened and ran their fingers through their hair in what Zen imagined was some sort of male mating ritual. A nearby girl just sniffed and turned her head away.

One of the boys said, “Well, we must be going to the best place if you’re going.”

Zen ignored him and said a general ‘hello’, then sat and leaned back against the barrier and closed her eyes. The girl who’d sniffed said, “Too good for us?”

Zen looked up and said, “No, sorry. I didn’t get any sleep last night, and I’m exhausted. I’m expecting things are going to be hectic straight away and I want to be ready.”

“Don’t you know what’s happening?”

“Not really, there are five programs, and it depends on which one this is. I promised not to check, so I’ve no idea. I’m just hoping it isn’t the one that starts with a day of orientation lectures.”

Another girl standing nearby asked, “What about the others?”

“Everything from learning to march to a ten-kilometre hike.”

Nobody said anything for about twenty seconds then the girl who’d asked the last question sat next to Zen and said, “Hi, I’m Ida, Ida-May Cardones.”

Zen smiled and said, “Hi Ida, I’m Zen, Zen Drakos.”

“I imagine everyone on the planet knows who you are.”

“Yeah, unfortunately. I’ve spent sixteen years trying to be mostly invisible, and now this. Would you believe some of the security people thought I’d be able to do this incognito?”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope.”

The other teens were listening in, but none offered their names, so Zen basically ignored them. That was until the boy who’d spoken first said, “Cool outfit, can I see one of the pistols?”

Zen looked across and said, “Sorry, I don’t know you well enough.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that, I don’t know you. I’m not going to hand a loaded weapon to a kid I’ve never met before. Besides being irresponsible, it would be stupid. Maybe after I get to know you.”

“Seriously, you won’t show me?”

“No. I’m sorry.”

“Maybe I’ll take one.”

Zen struggled to keep a lid on her temper, but several more teens arrived to watch, and the dynamics changed. Ida leant back near Zen and said, “You sleep, I’ll keep an eye on the moron.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

The next thing Zen was aware of was Ida saying her name and shaking her shoulder. Shaking her head to clear the fuzziness, she heard Ida say, “There’s something going on.”

Zen looked at Ida, then lifted her head as the sound of yelling voices penetrated the sleep fog.

Chapter 2

Zen looked around, and the number of people on her side of the oval was now about three thousand. Loud voices could be heard from the direction of the entrance, and when Zen got to her feet, she could just make out the flashing lights of the police. Ida said, “A crowd’s been building outside over the last twenty minutes, but dozens of soldiers have just arrived, and it sounded like some buses are here.”

There didn’t seem to be an organisation to the yelling, and Zen could make out that it was mostly anger at school-age-kids being trained for war. She looked around as soldiers took up positions at the entrance, then sighed and said, “I pretty sure the soldiers are just security. The buses being here are just the usual excursion type bad planning. I doubt we’ll leave until everyone is processed.”

“People sound pretty angry.”

“Yeah, they’re mostly just scared for their kids, and anger’s an easy emotion to show.”

A boy next to Ida had been listening in, and he asked, “What does that mean?”

Ida answered before Zen could. She said, “Well, the two emotions they’re struggling to express are fear and love. They love their kids and are afraid of what’s happening. They’re finding it hard to show and express that, so they turn it outward and yell at others, it is much easier. They could simply say, ‘Sorry, my family isn’t going to participate in this whole bunker thing and war type mentality, we’ll deal with it on our own.’ They won’t because they understand why something like this has to be started, and deep down, they want their kids to have the best chance possible. They hope their kids hear them yelling and know they’re loved.”

The boy was just staring at her, so she shrugged her shoulders and said, “Sorry, my mum’s a shrink.”

Zen almost smiled but held back, knowing it wouldn’t help. Instead, she looked around at the mostly quiet teens. Some were used to being the centre of attention and were trying to gather a following, but most were feeling isolated. Small groups had formed where people from the same schools were near each other, and the familiarity was a comfort. As Zen sat back down, she turned to Ida and said, “Ida, thanks for watching out for me. I’m sorry if that kept you from friends.”

“That’s OK, I’ve tried to stay invisible myself most of the time. Do you know anyone here?”

“I’ve met one family socially a few days ago but haven’t spotted them yet, and I spent most of the time talking with the adults anyway.”

The two chatted quietly for half an hour, then paused as soldiers came through handing out water. It was another hour before the line going into the medical tent cleared. Half this time was taken up when the two girls lined up for the toilet. As soon as the tents were finished with, workers came and started clearing them away. It was another twenty minutes before a soldier called for everyone’s attention.

When most people were listening, he said, “We apologise for the delay in getting started, but most people have now arrived and been processed. As you should have realised, there are five destinations for your training. Not all are in the ACT, so we need to get you moving. The first group are those going to Brindabella. Your gear is already loaded, and the buses are ready. You need to have your lanyard ready for scanning before you can get on a bus. Move.”

Zen got to her feet and walked with Ida, they joined the group heading out of the venue. They got on the tenth bus that was lined up and had seats near the middle. Once they were all seated, a corporal walked through the bus checking everyone had their seatbelts on. When he came to Zen, he looked at the weapons and her gear and said, “I can store them up the front if you like.”

Zen smiled and said, “Thanks, but I’m supposed to try and get used them although I will take the vest off.”

After the corporal had moved on, Zen unclipped the tactical vest and lay it on her feet with the pistol and knives underneath. Ida said, “It does look uncomfortable.”

“It’s not too bad when I’m standing, but it is restrictive when I sit down.”

“Brindabella’s not that far.”

“I know, but Brindabella isn’t one of the training sites. None of those names was. I’m sure the misdirect won’t last more than a few hours, but it should give us time to get where we’re going without too much interference.”

“So where are we going?”

“Not sure exactly, but it’ll be somewhere between an hour-and-a-half and four hours.”

“I might need to sleep myself if it’s four hours.”

“Ditto.”

It was clear within the first twenty minutes that it was one of the longer trips as the corporal handed out more water and a packed lunch for each teen. There was some general whinging at the food, but Zen just slid hers into the pouch of the chair in front of her and leaned back. Ida said, “Not hungry yet?”

“Not really, I had a late breakfast and had too much coffee.”

The trip took four hours, and both Zen and Ida slept most of the first half until the road began to wind further into the Snowy Mountains. About ten minutes after waking, Ida said, “So, where are we going?”

“Somewhere in the Jagungal Wilderness area.”

“So I take it this is the one with the hike.”

“That’d be my guess.”

“Some of these guys won’t make it.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s one of the objectives.”

The road became gravel, until the end it was sealed again. The sealed section was very recent, and Zen knew the road had been formed by army engineers over the last three weeks to give access to the site. When the buses stopped, they could see lines of large fabric tents in the distance. Each was about twenty metres long and nine meters wide with a semicircular profile. Each one looked to be sitting on a solid floor raised off the ground.

The corporal who’d travelled with them stood and said, “We’ve arrived at what has been designated Camp Cameron. Once you leave the buses, you have one hour to get your gear and find yourself a bunk. You will need your lanyard to swipe into the shelter. Once the hour is up you will no longer be treated as needy and lost school students, but as citizen trainees in the Australian armed forces. The bunk you choose will be yours until you leave here in nine months. We have expectations for how your space is to be maintained, so I suggest you do not unpack until you know what those expectations are.

“In one hour, just before two o’clock there will be an announcement for you to gather on the assembly area. You will find a map on the inside of your shelter, which tells you where this assembly area is. It is expected you will arrive ready to meet your assigned platoon leaders and prepared to remain focussed and attentive for the following three hours. Be prepared for physical activity. You are dismissed.”

Most teens on the bus came to their feet and began crowding into the aisle. Neither Ida nor Zen had moved. As the bus unloaded, the people at the back pushed forward, and rather sarcastically Ida said, “They’re just excited.”

Zen rolled her eyes and was last off after Ida. As they stepped down, Ida was about to follow the others who’d hurried away from the buses to a large cleared area on one side, but Zen said, “Corporal, do you need help to unload the bags?”

He smiled and said, “So, I have two smart citizen trainees out of sixty-five. This is going to be a long nine months.”

“Don’t be too hard Corporal, they’re used to people doing everything for them.”

“Well, for both our sakes I hope they’re fast learners.”

With that, he led them to the luggage compartments which the driver had opened and started unloading. Zen said, “Ida, want to grab some helpers, or will I?”

“Let me do it. If you do, we’ll end up with the queens, not the workers.”

Zen poked her tongue out and helped unload. Five minutes later, Ida returned with six others and said, “The others said they could wait.”

“At least we know six people it might be worth sharing a tent with.”

“Oh, I do like the way you think. Corporal, how many in each shelter?”

“Twenty, but single-gender in each, no age restrictions.”

Two of the six were girls, and Ida said, “Are you two in?”

After getting nods, she said, “Then once we have twenty I’ll get the shelter and book it. Sixteen to go.”

One of the boys shrugged and said, “Good idea, mind if we copy it?”

“Not at all, just makes sense.”

There were fifteen buses all up, but even after watching students go back and forth, most just lay on the grass and watched or found their bags and hurried off. Each time Ida saw a girl taking a second trip, she moved beside them and shared the plan. Most were keen, and she took their lanyards. When she had twenty, she told the twenty-first what she’d done and suggested they do the same. She then hurried toward the shelters and after finding an empty one, swiped all twenty names into the shelter. Ida then headed back out, locking the door behind her. Only those registered could get in.

She then found each of the girls and after handing their lanyards back, explained which shelter they had then went to finish helping. It took half an hour to unload the bags, and then Ida and Zen made their way to the room. Inside, there were two electronically sealed lockers at the end of each set of bunk beds.

Zen said, “Want the top or bottom?”

“Don’t really mind, but probably the bottom.”

“That’s fine. I'll take the top.”

“What did you have when on school camps?”

“Never went on them. I spent most of those weeks in detention or on suspension.”

“What? You’re kidding me. I would have thought you were one of the good kids.”

“Not even close. Teachers who had me one year were usually given the option of additional paid stress-leave the year after that if they agreed to have me in their class again. Most opted to have a year break.”

After choosing their beds, they swiped the locker, and their name appeared on the small screen. Zen dropped her bag inside the locker then looked at the bunk. She checked her watch then said, “I want to sleep, but attentive probably means go to the toilet beforehand and be hydrated.”

Ida said, “Three hours at this altitude in the Snowies will be windy and cold, so something warm.”

One of the other girls said, “Pen and pocket-sized notebook in one pocket, snacks in another.”

Zen grabbed her light jacket and fingerless gloves. Ida said, “It might be colder than that.”

“Probably, but the inner armour is pretty warm.”

“Inner armour?”

Zen tapped her chest and said, “Bullet proof plates, my security detail made me promise to wear it while they weren’t watching me.”

Ida just stared then said, “OK then, let’s go.”

Zen, Ida, and all those in their shelter arrived at the assembly area ten minutes before two, and they could see a row of soldiers waiting with clipboards. Zen said, “If this isn’t alphabetical, it’s going to be messy.”

“Could be age and alphabetical.”

The girl who’d mentioned the pen and snacks said, “It’s still going to be messy. I suggest being pre-emptive.”

“We’ll look like brown-nosers.”

“We already do.”

Most of the girls shrugged and headed over to the soldiers. It turned out that it was age and alphabetical. By two o'clock, each of them had found their platoon leader and was standing, or sitting, behind them waiting for the others. Ida’s platoon was the one before Zen’s, and they were close enough to carry on a conversation.

At two o’clock a bell was rung over the PA system, and a voice said, “Platoons are organised by age and the letter of your last names. Move quickly, you should already be waiting. You have ten minutes.”

Zen watched as people lined up and tried not to put people into boxes by the way they moved, dressed or talked. Each platoon was supposed to have twenty members, ten of each gender. However, not everyone had turned up to register, so most platoons had between fifteen and eighteen members, although some had a full complement. Whatever method had been used to choose the training destination, it was clear that athletic ability hadn’t been a part of it. The whole range of ability and body shapes were present from those who were obviously serious athletes to those who hadn’t made the best nutritional or exercise choices for most of their lives.

Once everyone was in place, they were instructed to sit in lines and space themselves out into some form of order. Once that was done, a Captain stepped away from a group of soldiers who’d been waiting on one side. He had a wireless microphone and walked until he was in front of the group. He said, “Welcome to Camp Cameron. I am in command of this training facility, and my name is Captain Payne. You are part of the first group of what are being called ‘Citizen Trainees’ in the Australian armed forces. Despite the word citizen being part of this descriptor, you will, while you are here, be treated as recruits in the Australian Army. This is your boot camp.

“You have all heard that what is most likely an enemy force is headed towards this planet. Our job is to prepare you for when they arrive. We want you to have the skills to both survive, and if necessary, defend yourself and protect others. Usually, those who enlist understand what they are getting into and have already bought-in to the essential culture of the armed forces. In contrast, many of you simply don’t want to be here, and the whole idea of marching in the rain while chanting encouraging ditties fills you with dread. Get over it, and quickly.

“Discipline here is not sadistic, but it is challenging, repetitive and usually highly physical. You will not be beaten, but you may be forced to do push-ups until you collapse or run until you fall. If you give your best, then even if you don’t reach our expectations, you will be respected and treated fairly, and generally with kindness. Slack off, cause trouble, or harm another and you will find out just how harsh army life can be.

“Each of you has been put in a platoon and have an assigned platoon leader. Each of these leaders is, or was, a corporal in the Australian Army. Each platoon leader has an assigned assistant who will help in the day-to-day management of your platoon. Each of these assistants is, or was, a lance-corporal or senior private in the Australian Army. They have the authority to order and carry out discipline at any time of the day or night as they see fit. You have had the opportunity to choose a bunk. Each shelter has an assigned leader, and after the evening meal and before you retire, they will explain the standard required to be maintained in each shelter.

“Tonight your evening meal, which we call dinner, will be between six and seven-thirty in the mess hut. Lights out will be at nine. Reveille will be sounded at six, and PT, or physical training, will start at six-fifteen. Your platoon leaders and shelter leaders will remind you of these times only once. A schedule for tomorrow is being placed in your shelters as we speak. It is expected that you are waiting and ready to begin at the time mentioned. It is not when you start moving to the correct place. I will now hand you over to your platoon leaders and assistants. Thank you.”

Chapter 3

When he finished talking, Zen turned towards her assigned platoon leader and the lance corporal who’d arrived to stand next to him. The corporal said, “Trainees, my name is Corporal Sadlier, and this is Lance-corporal Grieve. You have been designated as Camp Cameron’s Eighth Platoon. In the next three hours, we have three objectives. One, to explain the layout and routine of Camp Cameron. Two, to get some indication of your general level of fitness, and three, to make sure you sleep well tonight. Let’s begin with a brisk walk to warm up. Please follow Corporal Grieve.”

The lance-corporal started off, and when no one moved, Zen stepped out behind her. Her action was copied by the others. Corporal Grieve led them out of the main camp and along a trail which headed along a ridge and then started to climb up towards Mt Jagungal. She slowly increased the pace until she was moving at about five kilometres an hour. Zen found the speed stretched her calf, so she opted for shorter faster steps. She could hear the corporal moving along the line correcting people’s stances and encouraging them to move faster.

Finally, he came level with her and said, “Trainee Drakos, you might find it easier to take longer strides?”

“Thank you, Corporal, but at the moment I’ve some damage to my left calf, and the longer strides were pulling on the stitches.”

“I’m sorry, when did this happen? I don’t have a record of it, what happened?”

“It was two weeks ago, a bullet.”

“Can you keep this pace?”

“Yes, Corporal.”

“Good, I want you to get it checked out after dinner tonight.”

Zen acknowledged the comment and listened as the Corporal moved back down the line. After half-an-hour, the lance-corporal stopped and started doing some stretches. It was clear she expected those who stopped to join her, although the corporal had to speak to several who’d just dropped to the ground. Zen looked around and could tell that at least half of the group was out of breath, and several were heaving from the walk.

After ten minutes of stretches, the lance corporal stopped and said, “You may sit, but you may not slouch or lie down. Trainee Dennison and Trainee Donnelly, you may lean back against a rock if you need to. Listen, if this was a typical boot-camp, we would push you until you dropped and then keep pushing. Some of you would be forced to drop out because you just won’t cut it in the army. Instead, as Captain Payne was trying to point out, our objective is for each of you to do your best and then see if you can push past that.

“Usually, this platoon would be graded corporately based on each person’s level of performance. You would be pushing one another to reach the standards expected by the army because failure would mean you are all punished. There will still be an element of that, but for the most part, we will mix things up to let each of you train with people near your fitness and ability level. Each week you will be evaluated and given a growth goal for the next week. Failure to reach that growth goal will affect each member of this platoon.

“The other times you will be together are for lectures and on group training exercises. It is expected that you will learn to complement each other and support each other, regardless of whether you like each other or not. Some of you might find you despise someone in this group, but that must not change the level of support you offer each other in the group exercises. Suppose it does show up during an exercise. In that case, you, and the whole platoon, will find yourself thrown together in increasingly challenging situations until you learn to control yourselves.

“Some of you have been bullied, and others have been the bullies. Bullying will not be tolerated. Trainee Dennison and Trainee Donnelly were singled out before because they are not as fit as the rest of you, and their joints are not as flexible. Sitting upright would have caused them both discomfort or even pain. If any of you tease them, mock them, or belittle them for their lack of fitness you will be given additional and menial chores or repetitious meaningless tasks until you learn that every single member of the Australian Armed forces is to be valued and shown respect.

“On the other hand, you will have recognised that Trainee Drakos is wearing firearms and she was ready before the rest of you arrived. It is clear that she is driven and wants to excel. Holding this against her, treating her with derision or teasing her will earn you the same menial chores and meaningless tasks until you learn that every single member of the Australian Armed forces is to be valued and shown respect.”

As soon as she’d said this, Corporal Sadlier began discussing the different things that would make up their training and what they could expect to do in an average day or week. Zen took out her notebook and made a few notes, then handed out blank pages to those who had a pen but no paper. After almost an hour of instruction, Corporal Sadlier said, “Stand, it is beginning to get cold so we will move briskly back to the camp on a different trail. This return trip is four kilometres, and when we get back, you are dismissed to prepare for dinner. I suggest that if the amenities are clear that it would be wise to grab an early shower. Now, follow Corporal Grieve.”

Once they were dismissed, Zen headed to the shelter and found she was one of the first ones back. The corporals had explained the system for doing laundry and knowing she had time, she headed to a large shelter that was almost four times the size of the one for sleeping. Inside was a long desk and several soldiers standing and looking bored. One of them asked if he could help. Zen said, “Thank you. I wanted to get my allotment of additional clothing if that is possible.”

“Not only possible, but it is also smart to get in early. Now, most of your clothes you should have brought with you. We provide a basic jacket, three shirts, three cargo pants, five socks and a pair of boots if you need them. You should have brought your own underwear, thermals, t-shirts, shorts, jeans, pyjamas, running shoes, a towel, toiletries and swimwear. If you forgot anything, we can order it in but will charge you or your family.”

“I’d like the jacket, shirts, pants and socks please.”

Zen had her pick of sizes. She wasn’t too surprised when Ida and several others from their shelter arrived before she’d finished. Ida said, “Great minds.”

Once she had everything, Zen had a shower then waited until Ida and some of the others were ready, before heading to the mess tent. Zen locked her vest with pistols and knives in her locker. She kept the knife at her ankle and wore the concealed bullet-resistant vest under her shirt and jacket. The food was pretty basic, but there was a lot of it. The group had finished eating and were chatting when a sergeant walked up and said, “Excuse me, Trainees. Trainee Drakos, there is a message for you in the administrative centre.”

Zen took a deep breath and sighed. She’d been told this wouldn’t happen. She said, “Thank you, Sergeant. I’ll make my way over.”

“I’m here to escort you, Trainee.”

Zen wasn’t sure what it was, but something wasn’t right. She stood slowly and noticed the retention strap on the sergeant’s holster was unclipped. The gun was not like the others but matched the make and model of the ones she had claimed from the CIA. As she turned towards him, she noticed his eyes were tracking two corporals who’d entered the room. She grabbed her tray and dishes and said, “Sergeant Wilson, I’ll just put these away, then I can follow you.”

His eyes tracked back to her, and he said, “Leave that for the other trainees, I was told it was urgent.”

Zen put the tray back on the table, then as she turned back, she knocked her empty cup onto the floor, and then as she bent to retrieve it, she palmed the knife from her ankle sheath. Standing, she took half a step back and said, “Sergeant, you should have waited a day or two before making your move.”

His eyes widened, and he reached for the gun even as her arm came around. He changed his movement halfway through and brought his arm up to block her only to feel her knife as it was driven deep into the forearm. His half scream was cut off as she brought her right elbow around and drove it into his nose, breaking it and driving him to the ground. There were two shots which sounded almost like one and Zen, whose back was to the entrance, was driven forward over the body of the downed sergeant. Moments later, there were repeated shots on the outside and people yelling.

Zen had lost consciousness from the impact of the bullets hitting the three quarter inch ceramic and polyethylene armoured plate she’d worn all day. She wasn’t out for long, and Ida was the first to drop to her knees to check on her. The two corporals were half a step behind, and one said, “Trainee, take a step back.”

As Ida stepped back, Zen groaned, and one of the corporals helped turn her over to lie on her side, while the other checked the sergeant. After removing his weapons, she tried to find a pulse but couldn’t. The captain and a medic were next on the scene, and the medic turned to the corporal who’d moved Zen onto her side and asked, “What happened?”

“She was shot twice from the doorway. Before that, she defended herself with a knife when the sergeant made a move for his weapon. She’s wearing armour.”

The captain turned his head and said, “Smart girl. Why did the sergeant attack her?”

Ida raised a hand then said, “She called him Sergeant Wilson, but his jacket says his name was Kelso. When he didn’t notice, she said he should have waited. That’s when he went for his gun.”

“Any reason why she was suspicious?”

Zen’s voice was shaky, but she said, “His holster retention strap was unclipped, and he had a different model than is used in the Australian army.”

The medic had finished checking Zen and turned to the sergeant. The corporal who’d checked him said, “He’s dead.”

Several soldiers appeared with a stretcher and left soon after with Zen, who was still moaning quietly. A voice came over the announcement system. “All trainees will return immediately to their assigned sleeping quarters. You will remain there until the leader of your shelter releases you. All other personnel will move to your assigned duty station. Out.”

Zen was taken to the medical tent where two soldiers were being prepared for an airlift to the nearest hospital. On another table was someone dressed as a soldier and it was clear he was dead. The doctor said, “How many more?”

The medic with Zen said, “Just Trainee Drakos and another dead intruder to put with that one.”

Stepping close, the doctor asked, “So Trainee Drakos, what’s happened to you?”

The medic interrupted and said, “It hurts for her to talk. We need to get her shirt off to get a look, but I think she was shot twice in the back.”

Once Zen’s top was removed, the doctor said, “I think it’s just significant bruising, but we should have an x-ray to make sure.”

The centre had a portable x-ray machine and after being forced to stand still when every breath hurt, Zen was made to lie down. While they waited for the helicopters, the security checked the perimeter and found the real Sergeant Kelso unconscious and bound behind one of the outer buildings with a private. Captain Payne arranged for those trainees who hadn’t eaten to have their meals in their shelters and ordered they remain indoors until morning. He then came to talk to Zen. He said, “Trainee Drakos, how are you feeling?”

Each breath hurt but Zen smiled weakly and said, “Very sore, Sir.”

“I imagine you are. Besides the one you found and the one who shot you, we found no evidence to support that there were others with them. They’d ridden in on an electric ATV, and we found that, and everything points to there being only two on this mission. I suspect those in charge will be very reticent for you to remain here.”

“Sorry to disagree, Sir, but they don’t have any choice in this. If you’re prepared to have me and it’s just some bruising, I’ll stay. If it’s more serious, I’ll be back later in the week. If you think it is too big a risk to your command, I’ll transfer to another camp. I need to learn this stuff.”

“You are already very dangerous.”

“I understand that, Sir. What I don’t know is how to operate in a team. I don’t know the right manoeuvres to make in the field, or how to hide and sneak, and dozens of other things in the curriculum.”

“Let me think about it and talk with my staff.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Chapter 4

Miriam, Sergeant Furneaux, and a specialist physician arrived on a helicopter about ten minutes earlier than the medical flight. The doctor looked at the x-rays and did a thorough check of Zen, and said it was almost certainly only some significant bruising and she should rest as much as possible for at least a week. He prescribed something strong for the pain. When he’d given his report, Miriam said, “You want to stay, don’t you?”

“I need to.”

“If the Captain agrees, will you agree to a security detail?”

“No.”

The sergeant said, “What about just me?”

Miriam turned to look at him, but he was looking at Zen. He continued, “I won’t get in your way, and I will, for the most part, stay out of sight. While you’re sleeping, I’ll rest, but the rest of the time I’ll just keep watch. When you eat, I’ll be there and watching. When you go for a run, I’ll be there but not seen. While you’re in classes, I’ll stay out of sight but keep watch on the perimeter. If it becomes too much for me, I’ll get one other to help, but that’s it. When you’re back at work, I’ll take the time to recharge.”

Zen hadn’t seen the captain enter the room and was surprised by his voice. “Trainee Drakos, I will let you stay under the condition you accept the sergeant’s offer. If not, then I don’t have the personnel to protect you. The only other option is for me to request more personnel and that will be more intrusive than what the sergeant suggested.”

Zen looked over at Miriam, who nodded. Zen said, “OK, thank you, Sergeant, Captain.”

Miriam stood and said, “I’ll head back then and try and explain this to Dr Bateman and the PM. I brought another set of plates, and although they’re rated for multiple shots, I want you to swap them out and put the new ones in. I also brought a helmet that I want you to wear.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, until your helmets are available, it’ll protect you.”

“Um, OK, could you please have Margaret contact Wes and say he needs to design a model to meet the military standards for armour or higher?”

“Any messages for your folks?”

“Just tell them everything. It’ll give them time to get over it before I talk with them.”

“Will do.”

After Miriam and the physician had gone, the captain took Mark aside and introduced him to the lieutenant who was over the camp’s security and the two soldiers in charge of Zen’s platoon. Finally, the doctor said, “OK, do you need help getting dressed?”

Zen reached down to lift the vest that was draped over a chair but could hardly move it. She said, “Yes, please.”

“I’ll send one of the female medics in.”

Zen needed help with the vest and shirt. When they were on, she said, “I’ll just carry the jacket.”

The medic said, “You will need to exchange that I think, it’s got holes in it.”

When Mark returned, Zen said, “Do you know where the guy-who-attacked-me’s firearm is?”

He laughed and said, “I’ll find out tomorrow. Do you need help back to your barracks?”

“Probably, I feel stiff all over.”

“Walk slowly then. I’ll get the medic to help.”

Zen walked with the medic next to her, but it was only as a precaution. Mark was a few steps behind and had his rifle up as he kept his eyes moving everywhere. When they arrived at the shelter, Zen discovered everyone was still awake. She was introduced to the lance-corporal assigned to their shelter, and as the door was closed behind her, the corporal helped Zen over to a chair. Ida came over and said, “You OK?”

“Yeah, just bruising and I’m really stiff. I’m rethinking that top-bunk.”

“No problem, we’ll swap till you feel better. What happened out there? Who was on the helicopters?”

“One took some wounded guys to hospital, and the other was my minders checking on me.”

They talked for a while then the lance-corporal said, “That’s enough for tonight. Lights out in five minutes.”

Zen needed help getting into her pyjamas and struggled to find a comfortable position. She took more pain-killers at midnight and again when she woke at five. It took her almost five minutes to crawl out of bed and get her light shoes on for the short walk to the latrines. She was about to head off when she saw the vest and helmet at the end of her bed. With a sigh and by gritting her teeth, she got the vest over her head and had to bite her lip to stop crying out as the backplate dropped against her back. When she’d done that, she put the helmet on without the buckles and grabbing her lanyard headed out toward the latrines.

She’d only taken a few steps when she saw Mark move away from the edge of the shelter and keep pace with her. He did as promised and kept his distance, but at all times was between her and the camp’s closest perimeter. He followed her back to the tent after, then disappeared behind the edge of the shelter. Zen wasn’t used to dressing in front of others, so she was glad the others were asleep as she slowly got dressed.

At a quarter to six Ida’s and several other small alarms went off. By then, Zen was mostly dressed for PT and only had to somehow tie her laces and tighten the vest over the top of her t-shirt. Ida sat up and saw Zen standing there looking all pale from her efforts and the pain and said, “Seriously, you’re joining PT?”

“Well, I will if I can get help tying my laces.”

Ida dropped to the floor and did them up for Zen, then headed out to the latrines. Zen spent the next ten minutes straightening her bed and getting her day’s clothes ready. By the time she was finished, so were the rest of the girls in her tent. By the time reveille was sounded, the dorm looked like it was supposed to. Their barrack’s supervising corporal stepped in and after checking everything shook her head and said, “Trainees, brilliantly done. Follow me out, and we’ll start slowly warming up. You’ll be doing PT in your shelter groups, and if we start early we can finish early, You’ll have warm showers and first bite in the dining room. Trainee Drakos, are you sure you’re up to this?”

“As long as I can hobble around, I think I need to get moving or I’ll be stiff. I used to get bruised a lot when I boxed, and the best way to recover was to move.”

“Fair enough, don’t forget the helmet then.”

Ida helped her buckle that in place and then the dormitory followed Lance-corporal McNamara out into the cold, heading for the field where they’d assembled the day before. Mark shadowed their movement the whole way. Their barracks was the first onto the field. The lance-corporal led them through a warm-up, then took them for a medium-paced jog before running through push-ups, chin-ups, various types of jumping and burpees.

Zen did as much as she could, and when things were too much, she stretched or worked at half the speed. After an hour the group headed back to shower and dress for the day. A medic was waiting on the edge of the field and said, “Corporal McNamara, the doctor would like to check on Trainee Drakos before breakfast.”

The lance-corporal nodded at Zen, who peeled away to follow the medic. Once she’d been checked out, she headed back to the tent to get her stuff for the showers. As she was leaving for the showers, most of her group had finished and were dressed. She said, “Go eat, I’ll be as quick as I can.”

One of the girls, Noor, said, “Nope, we decided we’d wait. Do you need help?”

Zen sighed and said, “If it isn’t too weird then, yes. I’m actually kind of body shy, but it’ll take forever otherwise.”

Another of the girls, Quinn, said, “I model and do cheerleading, and I’m used to showering with others. I’ll come help and promise not to ogle. Ida, bring some clothes.”

Twenty minutes later, a somewhat embarrassed Zen was escorted to breakfast by her dorm. She was embarrassed mostly by Quinn’s descriptions of her bullet wound and bruising. She’d re-donned the tactical vest with weapons and the thigh holster. Once inside, she removed her helmet and waited while Ida got her breakfast.

After breakfast, they had some free time until eight-thirty, then back into their platoons for a twenty-kilometre hike before lunch. Zen was told to skip the hike and instead had to write a report of what happened the night before. All the people who’d been in the dining area the night before had already given their statements, and hers was last. Once that was done, she was shown the way to the Captain’s office.

He said, “What happened last night has been kept out of the press, although I suspect it will leak one of these days. Apparently, the government has reached some agreement with the main news services. They’ve promised to keep the editors informed on what is happening as long as the editors agree that some things remain unreported for the national interest. I had a radio call from Dr Bateman, and he asked me to try and change your mind about staying. He advised that I should call you all manner of names, the kindest of which is stubborn. Will you change your mind?”

“Not readily, Captain. If you think the other trainees will be at much greater risk, then I will.”

“They will be at some risk, but I doubt it will be that much. General Fletcher has assigned more troops for general security and will use the posting to help train personnel in stealth and evasion techniques.”

The captain reached over and opened a drawer and took out Zen’s knife from the day before. He said, “This is the first Ari B’Lilah I’ve seen on a non-Israeli.”

“The head of my security is on loan from Mossad.”

“Yes, the formidable Agent Friedler. I’m going to return this to you, but there will be an army psychiatrist arriving soon to help you work through the trauma of last night.”

Even though Zen tried to keep her expression calm and unresponsive, the Captain laughed and said, “For your information, I have two daughters about your age. Both of them were picked to start in the second iteration of this training, and both don’t roll their eyes like you didn’t. Don’t you feel upset that two men died?”

“Not really. I feel more upset that two men were wounded. If I’m honest, I’m also annoyed that they wasted two trained agents on a squabble instead of saving them for when the Draconians arrive.”

“Your so-called squabble has pushed their country into what’s shaping up to be another civil war.”

“Would have been worse if they’d imprisoned or killed their most capable civilians.”

“Yeah, I don’t disagree with that. Now, we have cameras in the mess hall. My martial arts head-trainer watched the footage of the attack. He said your move was more Krav Maga than Aikido or any of the other martial arts you’ve studied.”

“Yes, Sir. Miriam and I have been sparring as often as I can find the time. It’s something I picked up from her.”

“Well, it was effective. Apparently, he would have died almost instantly. What I want to know is, was the move instinctive or would you have changed it if it was some stupid trainee who decided to take a swing?”

“I chose it because it was potentially, if not probably, lethal. I had no idea if he was the only person trying to kill me and didn’t want to have to stop to subdue him. If it was a stupid trainee, I’d have probably gone the Aikido route because it tends to annoy stupid people.”

“And the knife?”

“I only used that because he had a pistol and I wanted to disable his arm.”

“Thank you. In the so-called normal world of the last forty years, you would be on administrative leave while we did an inquiry which might take six months and tie up dozens of personnel. In this new reality, I’m satisfied your actions were justifiable and in proportion to the threat. Here is your knife. When you’ve finished with the psychiatrist, the doctor wants you to rest until lunch. Your platoon is due back at one. You should be able to participate in most of the afternoon activities to some extent.”

Zen stood, and after waiting to be dismissed formally, she left the office and followed instructions for where to meet the psychiatrist. The rest of the week Zen slowly participated more fully in the program, and by Friday she was able to join in for most of the PT session. Late Saturday, after dinner, a helicopter arrived to take Zen and Mark back to Canberra for two days. Phil was waiting when the helicopter landed. He said, “I just wanted to see for myself you were OK. Go rest, and we’ll talk in the morning.”

Chapter 5

Zen was a little disorientated first thing Sunday morning, and she had to hold down her excitement as five-thirty was too early to call her family. For most of the week, there had been no cell coverage, and only a temporary tower that had been erected late on Friday had given any of the trainees a chance to call home. The only time to do that was in the few periods of free time between reveille and lights out as phones weren’t permitted during training time. There had been a lot of discussions while setting up the program. Zen knew that while some wanted no outside communication, the freedom to share what was happening would eventually increase its acceptance in the wider community.

What was prohibited was breaking personal privacy by sharing anything on social media or posting pictures of anyone except yourself. Two of the trainees had broken this rule on Friday. Besides their privileges being withdrawn, they’d spent most of Saturday doing pushups and running in circles or carrying rocks. They’d had to do this even though the posts and pictures had been intercepted and withdrawn before they reach a non-secure network. The switching off of the tower during the rest of the free periods that day had cemented the regulations in everybody’s minds.

After a longer than usual shower, Zen had breakfast and headed for her office. She’d debated what to wear, but in the end, she wore the armour from the residence to the main building. Each of the agents in her detail met her with smiles, and most of them commented on how pleased they were she’d not been more seriously hurt. She’d been in the office for ten minutes when Miriam showed up. Miriam gave her a hug and was only satisfied after Zen let her check the bruising on her back. Even then, she shook her head at the dinner plate-sized discolourations of yellow and green.

In addition to calling her family, where she had to once again show them the bruises, Zen spent three hours reviewing what had happened during the week. She then spent another five reading and responding to the various reports from the different pies she had her fingers in. Wes had sent her a CGI mockup video of the first prototype. After reading his comments, she added some observations from what wearing something like that all day felt like. About ten minutes after she’d sent the response he called for a conference after checking the other members of the company were free. They spent two hours in discussion, and he promised a second working prototype within the week.

The final draft of the treaty to formalise the independent international space agency had been produced, and Zen spent her evening reading that and adding comments. She headed back to her rooms at midnight but was back at the desk before six the next morning. Most of the day was spent in meetings Margaret had organised. Still, she also had time to review the data from Voyager 2 and skim through the newest data that had been collected.

One of the more disturbing things she read was news that migration patterns and numbers for hundreds of bird species had been reviewed. Upwards of twenty-five percent of some species had been severely affected in the month since the gravity waves had returned. Another report estimated the number of additional dead birds in that period at over two-and-a-half billion. While this was less than one per cent of the estimated bird population, the situation was growing worse exponentially.

After dinner, she and Mark were transferred back to Camp Cameron. When they were about halfway there, he said, “I was told they’re predicting it’ll snow up here later this week. Not sure how they’ll keep the training going through winter.”

“If everything stays on schedule, then all will be revealed in two or three weeks.”

“Don’t you think that as your security, I have a need to know?”

“Sure, but where’s the fun in that?”

When they landed, Zen quietly made her way to her dorm where lights were out and she silently slipped into her bed, exhausted. The next morning she was again up before the others, but as she was moving freely, she used the time to clean and check each of her weapons. Just before five-forty-five Ida said, “Hey, you’re back. How is the outside world without us?”

“Falling apart. How was the weekend?”

“Mostly PT stuff and we started hand to hand stuff. What about you?”

“About thirty meetings and hundreds of reports.”

“Seriously!”

“Yep, I came back for a rest.”

“You want to change bunks, or are you OK down there?”

“Why?”

“It’s getting colder, and while the heater is good, hot air rises.”

“I’m fine to stay here.”

After PT and breakfast, each trainee was handed a printout of their performance during the last week. It highlighted areas they needed to work on and put them in groups to focus on those areas. The exact amount of expected improvement was recorded and a small matrix outlining how a grade would be determined was shown. Each trainee spent twenty minutes with one of their platoon leaders during the morning while the others participated in a range of sporting type activities. When it was Zen’s turn, she met with Corporal Sadlier.

After a week, the soldiers had stopped using the trainee label unless they were addressing a group. He said, “Zen, yours was the hardest Improvement Advice to put together because you were hurt last week. We asked Sergeant Furneaux to place you based on what he’d seen of your abilities. That helped, but he was honest enough to say he’d only been paying proper attention after your first attack. He connected us with Agent Friedler, and her comments were useful in trying to see where you fit in. If their observations are accurate, then you are in the top group in every physical activity except running. In that, we’ve put you in a lower group because of your wound and because we have some serious runners among the trainees.

“Most of the lower groups have easily measurable growth criteria, but that becomes harder when you’re in the premium level group. That’s even harder when you were placed based on second-hand observation. With that in mind, we’d like you to do your best, and we’ll have a better grasp on how to help you next week. We also want you to spend more time in strength training. You’ll still be with your platoon for the indoor sessions and the driving lessons that start this week. If I understand things correctly, these will be halted on weekends primarily because you have other duties. Is that correct?”

“That is correct, Corporal. It was the least disruptive way that could be thought of to let me have the days I need back in the office.”

“You do realise how weird that sounds coming from a sixteen year old’s mouth?”

“I do, and I’m open to other suggestions if anyone has some.”

“No. No suggestions, just the comment. Are you up to full physical involvement this week?”

“I think so. I’ll probably still favour the calf, but the pain from the bruising is almost gone. The only other difficulty is I’m still finding the armour restrictive when I’m twisting.”

“No advice on that, except to say that you may not remove it. We’ve been instructed to insist you wear it at all times.”

The next morning Zen was placed in a new group after breakfast. Instead of doing a twenty-kilometre hike, they did a twenty-kilometre run through the alpine fields followed by an hour of strength work. That afternoon Zen’s platoon had their first driving lesson. During discussions, it had been decided that all the trainees should not only be able to drive, but should know how to start a car without the keys, and how to do essential maintenance. They were also going to be taught how to ride and maintain a motorbike.

While they were learning to drive, another group began learning how to weld. Others started a medical training unit, and still others were taught the basics of using a lathe, both wood and metal. When Zen was picked up Saturday evening, she asked to sit beside the pilot and spent the whole trip talking to her about how to fly. The weekend was much the same and Wes had not only finished the prototype but sent it to Zen to evaluate hands-on. He’d also included a prototype designed to military specifications.

While the general shape of the more substantial mask was similar to a typical full motorcycle helmet, it had less padding and was smaller and closer in to the face. It was designed to fit on the shoulders to help support the neck. The addition of graphene fibre springs which changed both their state and their stable elasticity coefficient under different electrostatic and magnetic situations, helped give the wearer a full range of motion without adding additional strain on the neck muscles. Zen’s OLED screen had been added, and with the CPU and wireless built into the shoulders, she had access to everything she’d usually have had on her phone, as well as additional information from a range of cameras included around the helmet.

The helmet was designed to be modular with components able to be swapped in and out by a simple key lock mechanism. The armour could be retracted to easily using a control panel either on the small breastplate or via a wireless connection to a wrist control. This allowed natural ventilation in normal conditions where it left the face uncovered. Zen thought it looked a little like the Sky Ronin paintball helmet she’d once purchased. This one, though, was designed to conform to military specifications and provided full support for breathing in hazardous environments.

The filtration system used a variety of electrostatic and passive systems, and the filter pads could be easily cleaned using water. There were chemical sensors in the filtration unit that measured the air quality and content and switched to an alternate air supply if necessary. At this early stage, the alternate air supply was in small canisters running along the shoulders. Still, there were connections possible for more substantial options, including adding a full rebreather system. After making dozens of comments, Zen asked Miriam and Mark to give feedback, which added another few pages of comments and suggestions. She then asked how long it would be before they could do a limited run.

She also modified parts of the civilian model which also rested on the shoulders but didn’t have the more expensive graphite spring system. It did include the filtration system, and being made from carbon fibre reinforced polymers, it was lightweight but sturdy. Jamila had done a brilliant job with making the modular design modern but stylish. With the eye-level display, multiple cameras, wireless capability, Bose speakers, air-quality controls and redesigned support, Zen was pretty sure it would sell. She also asked about how soon they could begin production.

Work had started at the site for the space agency, and the first research personnel were expected to arrive within two weeks. The situation in the US hadn’t eased, and it looked like some states were preparing to secede from the union if progress couldn’t be reached to assure people that individual rights and freedoms would be reinstated and protected. The pressure was exacerbated by two Category Five hurricane systems that were bearing down on the east coast. Both were centred on cities called Jacksonville, one in Florida and one in North Carolina.

Zen also spent several hours online with her family as Hal seemed to be withdrawing with her gone. BB suggested she and Hal visit the following weekend. She was also able to make contact with Sahara, whose national service was in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Sahara had made a few friends, and they shared what had been happening. Sahara was very distressed about Zen being shot. Sahara’s group had already begun weapons training, and Sahara had discovered she had a real gift in spatial awareness. She’d been pushed into the top group for further training.

On the flight back they had to leave early because of the snow forecast, and when Mark asked the same questions, Zen said, “This week it will be clearer. Things have already started over the weekend, and you’ll be able to see some of what’s planned before Wednesday if you go looking.”

“You do realise how annoying you can be, don’t you?”

“I do. It’s one of my gifts that I’ve had extensive opportunity to develop over much of my short life.”

The next morning after PT, the area was rocked by several large explosions from the direction of Mt Jagungal followed by the sound of heavy equipment. The noise had started two days previously, and the trainees had become used to the constant noise, which began at six and ended at nine. On the flight back to Canberra the following Saturday, Mark said, “Is this the site of one of the cities?”

“Yes, they’ve begun excavating the top entrance using blasting. Some big machines are on their way from Western Australia and should be here in a month. By then, the lower entrance tunnel will have started using a boring machine moved from a tunnel project in Sydney.”

“What is the drilling for all along the deeper valley on the other side of the camp?”

“The plan is to cover the entire valley and build another peak where it is.”

“What do you mean, cover the valley?”

“We’ll fill it with pods and then fill it in over the top with up to a hundred metres of excavated rock. The geology of the region is stable, and it allows us to build channels to control water runoff. We don’t have the time to excavate everything we need before the Draconians arrive, but we do have time to build refuges and hide them. The engineers are doubling up on what they think is needed to support the roof. The trainees will start work on the pods in a couple of weeks. Once the first five layers are in place, we’ll be able to move the training camp inside.”

“Zen, that valley is over five hundred metres wide and two hundred metres deep.”

“I know. Once the drill holes are completed, the plan is to deepen the valley and make the sides much steeper. Ten thousand workman will be here next week to pull away the debris.”

“Are you sure that’s enough?”

Zen ignored Mark’s sarcasm. “It should be. The plan is to excavate around the clock, and a lot of work has gone into where to move the debris so it can be reused without having to do too much work. They’ve already diverted the stream that runs through the valley and plans are in place to install hydro-generators. Another feature is the expectation that this area will be covered with snow for longer each year, possibly even year-round. I’d thought we couldn’t use geothermal energy, but there is some mature technology that we can use. We can use the temperature difference, not only of the rock at the depth we’re aiming for, but the accumulated heat of the population to generate additional power for the city’s use. It’s kind of cool.”

Chapter 6

BB and Hal had arrived earlier that Saturday, but by the time Zen arrived, Hal was already asleep. However, he’d decided to sleep with En for the night and was in her bed. Zen chatted with her mum for a few minutes, then explaining what she’d been doing all week she headed for bed only to be woken by Hal when he found her in the bed, just after five. She spent an hour playing with him, then after breakfast let him watch something on her huge wall of monitors while she read all the reports. Mid-morning, BB came to say she was taking Hal to church.

Zen said, “What? Church?”

“Yes. I have decided I do believe there is a God. I believe he is the one that Christians believe in. Your father has agreed that I have just as much right to influence you and Hal as he does. He is finding it hard when I want to talk about what I believe, but we have agreed that avoiding the issue is not healthy.”

“So that’s what you meant the other time when you said you’d pray for the mobster?”

“Yes. I have prayed for him. I also pray for Hal and you. Your father isn’t happy about it, but I also pray for him. I suggested that to be annoyed about something he thinks does nothing is highly unreasonable.”

“So, what do you mean about influencing me?”

“Sometime, I want the opportunity to tell you what I believe, and why.”

“Well, of course.”

“I also want you to come with me sometime and listen to one of the services. I think it will help you understand what I am talking about. Your father thinks that is brain-washing.”

“So was school, and you sent me there.”

“I know, the thing is the school doesn’t usually promote an ideology contrary to what he believes.”

“Of course they do. Pretty much most of the stupid educational policies promoted mediocrity. Dad rants about that all the time.”

“Zen, religion can be divisive, and we are still working out how to fit it into our relationship. Anyway, Hal has been coming with me to church. Mr Morris has invited us to the church he attends this morning. It is a different style than I’m used to, but I’m trying to learn more of how God is leading me, Biàn Bīngqīng, and what he wants of me.”

Zen wasn’t sure what to think, except she knew she’d support her mother in whatever she did and trusted her intellectual honesty. After they’d left with their security, Zen pulled up the reports from the various projects and began working through them.

She spent the afternoon with Hal and then after dinner, went back to work for a few hours. When Hal woke at five, he couldn’t find Zen and woke BB. She checked with security and heard that Zen was still in her office. She’d been there all night, and around two o’clock had locked her door and told them not to disturb her anymore. BB asked Elice, the head of Hal’s detail to get him breakfast, then made her way up to Zen’s office. Miriam and Johanna were both standing outside the room, and Miriam said, “I hope you have more luck than we do. She’s so focussed and hasn’t had a break since she went to the bathroom at two.”

BB knocked, but it was ten minutes before Zen stepped away from her boards and unlocked the door. She didn’t say anything, just relocked the door and stepped back into the middle of her room and kept turning in slow circles as she looked at the sixteen transparent boards she’d arranged in a large square around her. Every six or seven minutes, she’d move closer to one and make a note, erase something, modify or add an equation.

BB didn’t interrupt but tried to see what the equations and writing represented. It took her almost an hour to understand what Zen was putting together, but she didn’t have the background in the various disciplines. It was another half an hour before she realised that neither did Zen. By that time she’d seen the connections, but had no understanding of what they meant in practical terms. She must have said that out loud for Zen said, “I know, right. It’s weird.”

Once she’d started, Zen began discussing her thoughts out loud. She said, “Look, here is what we’ve put together on the shape of the construct from what’s visible from the NASA craft…This is the current approximation of the theoretical concepts to create the fusion reactor… Here’s the atomic representation of a reduced graphene oxide one of my projects is working on and underneath some data on its electrostatic properties at various temperatures…Then we have my gravity equations…Here is dad’s latest monthly summary on suspected intra-galaxy fluid movement. I know no one but the real nerds even glance at it, but if you plot it over time and focus on the area of space the construct is coming from, then it looks like this.”

None of it made sense to BB, but she added a few connections when she saw similarities. Miriam had called Ted when BB had stopped responding, and he arrived just before nine. Zen had begun to fidget around eight-thirty, and when Ted knocked, she looked up and hurried from the room to go to the toilet. By the time she returned, Ted was following BB as she slowly turned and tried to put things together in her mind. At twelve, Ted stepped near the board with Zen’s equations on the fusion reactor and said, “We’re thinking of increasing the number of axes by one to better match the data from the first model we made.”

Within ten minutes, Zen had made dozens of small changes to each of the boards, and BB had done the same. Ted had no idea what they were doing, but after he saw the flow of their changes, he made a few more small changes to things where he had some expertise, and the wave of changes continued. When there had been no changes for almost twenty minutes, Zen said, “But what does that show, if anything? I mean, it’s all totally subjective.”

When no one answered, she moved to the board with the diagram of the construct and said, “Well, if the changes do mean anything, then the better model would look like something this.”

She used a different colour to change the shape slightly. “We need to re-examine the data and see if that’s possible or plausible. Maybe it’s an error on their part, or I forced the change on the wrong equations.”

She moved to the model of the fusion reactor. She said, “It would mean if you change the rate at which you rotate the fields around these two axes, it should increase the internal current to make it self-sustaining and provide a substantial excess.”

Moving to the model of the graphene oxide armour, she said, “If we change that, then while we still use graphene oxide we’ll use the oxygen-seventeen isotope. If we do that, then the armour could be an order of magnitude stronger under the conditions we’re looking at.”

Looking at her gravity equations, she said, “It suggests these are true only under most conditions. If we could manipulate dark matter at the subatomic level, then these would need to be refined.”

Ted was making notes as Zen went around the boards. When she’d finished, she shook herself and said, “Ted, can you show these to people who know what they’re doing so we can see if I’ve wasted your time or not?”

BB said, “I’m hungry. Zen, you need to see Hal before you head back. Dad will bring him down next weekend, but you need to spend some time with him. Leave this for Ted.”

After BB and Zen had left, Miriam said, “Dr Drayson, what did Zen and you do?”

He shook his head and said, “In scientific terms, what Zen did was the equivalent of a carpenter trying to fill a hole by getting the right sized piece of wood to fit in. It almost fits but is a bit big, so he makes the hole a little bigger so it will fit, but then he sees it’s been rotated the wrong way to match the grain and so he shifts it a little more. He then can see somewhere which isn’t entirely filled in, so he gets small slivers of wood and shoves them in the small hole with some glue and then shaves them until it looks natural. He then paints over it, it now looks pristine, and only he knows it’s a mish-mash and hodge-podge of really dodgy carpentry.

“Zen saw some similarities and bent, or maybe even broke the science to fit. No, that’s not right, she bent the equations, the theory, to fit. To most scientists, what we did is as abhorrent as modern art would be to an impressionist or a realist. I imagine it will either fail abysmally or change the world as we know it. Let’s pray for the second. Zen’s shown an ability to connect dots that’s almost mystical to me. In her mind, these equations are connected somehow, and she penciled in that connection. It seems right to her. So, if anyone erases these boards except for Zen, then I recommend you shoot them. We’ll know fairly soon if some of it is in the right direction. If it is, then take these down and give her new ones as these will have historical significance alongside the Rosetta Stone.”

With that, he started taking photos and videoed everything before calling Leon and asking him to model something a little radical. Margaret had been listening, and Miriam heard her make a call for some new boards as they needed some replaced. Margaret then said, “Agent Friedler, these two boxes came for the Ambassador from her company that deals with respirators. They came while she was busy. Would you think it OK for me to ask for them to be delivered to the residence? I suspect the Ambassador will need to be with Hal until she heads back to the camp.”

“I’m sure it would be OK. Thank you for looking after her.”

“Oh, nonsense. It’s just so much is going on, and the poor dear is worked off her feet. I just want her to find some joy, and I know this has been a pet project of hers. I suspect it’s another one of those dot-connecting ideas Dr Drayson was talking about.”

When the boxes were dropped to the residence, Zen and Hal had a blast opening them, and Zen had a great time fitting the basic model helmet for Hal and then BB. When she had it just right for BB, she paired BB’s phone, and after showing BB the controls said, “What do you think?”

“It’s very light. It feels like wearing light headphones and sunglasses.”

BB had it at the minimal setting, and her face was uncovered with only a visor showing. Vents at the back let air move around her head except for the headphones and padding over the top of her head. Zen said, “Add the facemask. It will engage automatically if the sensors detect poor air quality. Wes said it will close if someone farts too close to you.”

Hal started laughing at what he considered an almost rude word, and BB pressed the button. A frame extended to beyond her chin and then unfolded to enclose her mouth, nose and jaw. Zen said, “The padding extends over the nose to form a seal. If you go to full protection, that withdraws and seals at the base of the neck.”

BB moved her head around and even leant forward, so her head was hanging down. After testing everything, she minimised the head mask and said, “It’s much easier to wear than what we used to use in chemistry experiments, or when we painted the house. When will they be available?”

“We’re doing a week of testing to gauge public response and get some comments, just like I did with you. It also has to get past a safety review board, but if that’s fast-tracked as it should be, then we’ll start production in two weeks. This is one of a limited run of one hundred that we had made. Take it with you and show dad.”

“What’s in the other box?”

“It’s the military version and is much the same, but more robust and has dozens of additional features. What you were wearing can be upgraded with some of those features, but it isn’t designed to be bullet-resistant.”

“Show me.”

Zen and Hal unpacked the military version, and Zen fitted it to herself and paired it with her phone. She cycled it through the different options, then said, “So, what do you think?”

Hal said, “It looks scary.”

“I know, that’s cool though. Mum?”

“It looks dangerous. May I try it?”

Zen let BB try. When she’d put it through its paces, she said, “It’s not much heavier than the other one.”

Zen smiled and said, “It’s more than twice as heavy, but there are some really cool graphene fibre springs which spread the weight out over your shoulder. If this was part of a suit, then it has connections which will join the springs to others along the full length of the suit and have most of the weight resting on the ground. The springs respond rapidly to electrostatic changes and magnetic field fluctuations so it shouldn’t be too hard to program the weight distribution to change depending on what part of a stride the person is making. Wes thinks it will also have a possible boost function to power assist the wearer.”

“That will chew up a lot of power.”

“Yes, we know. He’s working with a friend of a friend in Germany who designed a flexible battery that can be charged through movement. It’s possible this would be able to hold a charge which powers the entire suit and is partially recharged as the person moves or as the spring resumes its shape. When the changes are made to the spring properties, there is often an energy discharge which is given off as heat. If this can be reused as well, then we think the suit might be able to run for a whole day without needing a recharge. We’ll run a layer of the battery between two flexible carbon fibre layers.”

“How long would a recharge take?”

“The aim is to keep the flexible battery fully charged by using what’s stored in a separate power pack. After a day, the pack would be replaced and the suit ready to go immediately. If we can get fusion working, then recharging should be easy. There would be a bank of cells waiting for anyone who needed it.”

Hal didn’t want to let Zen go when the helicopter arrived but did so finally, after the promise that they’d see each other the next week. Zen left the helmet behind when she headed back to Camp Cameron.

Chapter 7

When she woke Tuesday morning, she was surprised because it was Ida who woke her, and she was being shaken. Ida said, “Up you get, sleepyhead. Both my alarms have gone off, and you slept through yours.”

“Thanks, boy was I tired.”

“Busy weekend?”

“Yeah, pulled an all-nighter Sunday and I’m paying for it now.”

“You’re just getting weak, Drakos.”

“You’d be the one that knows what that looks like, Cardones.”

Both of them laughed, and Ida helped Zen get everything in place. After the weekly evaluation and lunch, there was an indoor session on the first iteration of pod design and how they were being constructed. As they left the tent they used as a classroom, one of the boys from Zen’s platoon said, “Why did we learn that?”

Most of the trainees turned to Zen when questions like that were asked. She said, “OK, this is not the whole truth, but it’s all I can say for now. You’ll possibly be living in something like this for the next fifty years or more. It only makes sense that you know how to maintain it.”

That evening after dinner Zen was sitting in the shelter enjoying a few minutes of peace. She was reading some of the reports she’d not gotten to because of her fixation on the equations when Lance-corporal McNamara entered the room. They all came to their feet, and she said, “Gather around.”

They all moved to the far end of the room where there was an open area and some tables if they needed to relax or study. Three of the girls were at the tables already, but they closed their books. The corporal sat on the floor, and the girls all moved to do the same. She said, “I have two objectives. The second is task orientated, but the first has to do with the make-up of this tent. When this whole thing was set-up, there was an expectation that each dorm would generally have a sampling of the trainees, and this would help with running the camp. After three weeks it’s pretty clear that we have one-and-a-half to two very driven barracks full of generally likeable, thoughtful, mostly tidy and helpful girls, and only a smattering of those in the other barracks.

“There was some talk to see if this was because of a particularly charismatic leader, but while you are certainly all leaders and show charisma, it still doesn’t explain it. We have the same situation in the male barracks, and their assistants are talking with them as well. In the review of the program, a situation like this hasn’t shown up in the other camps, and the analysts have asked us to try and work out how, or why, this happened.”

No one said anything but half of them glanced briefly at Ida and Zen. The corporal turned and said, “Somehow it doesn’t surprise me it has to do with Cardones and Drakos.”

Ida said, “I’m sorry Corporal, but if that was meant to point the finger at us, then it should be Drakos and Cardones. She is more the culprit than I. I’m more of an unwitting accomplice.”

Zen shook her head. “Corporal, all I did was make a vague comment. The true culprit took that and made it into this whole scheme which has apparently upset an entire program and baffled dozens of analysts. You were right the first time. Even so, it might even be best to say, ‘nothing Trainee Cardones does would surprise me, she even led astray that poor and highly impressionable Trainee Drakos’.”

After the laughter died down, Corporal McNamara said, “What happened? Ida, you first.”

After Ida explained, the corporal turned to Zen, who just nodded. The corporal looked around the group and saw they all agreed that was what happened. She said, “I suspect the male side will get the same answer. Whatever the reasons, it’s seen this dorm and the others who found their bunk under that scheme progress significantly faster than others who on paper would have fitted into this group. We won’t change that at this stage, but we do want you to help us with some of those who are at the other end of the spectrum and aren’t succeeding. We want you each to mentor a girl.”

No one said anything, but most shrugged as if they’d do what was asked. The corporal looked around the group then focussed on Zen and said, “Zen, what do you think?”

Zen had hunched her shoulders in and tightened her lips and was about to speak when Ida nudged her and said, “Stop that. This isn’t school. I thought you promised you were going to be someone different this year.”

Zen turned and stared at her with fire in her eyes and said, “Seriously! You’d share that in the group.”

“Zen, we all like you. What you were going to say would have swayed some of us, even me. I’m sorry to share what was private, but I think it’s important.”

Zen just shook her head, then turned back to the corporal and said, “Sorry about that, her mum is a shrink. She can’t help herself, and sometimes she overshares.”

Ida hit Zen then glared. Zen said, “OK, my first three reactions were no, no, and hell no! I’ve never been a mentor in my life or even asked to be one. Even in grade one, they learned I’m fundamentally an influence for chaos, not order. Have you read my file?”

The corporal was trying not to laugh but shook her head and said, “No, we got nothing more than three sentences on each of you from whichever psychiatrist interviewed you. Yours only wrote two words for you. I can’t share them as that would be unethical.”

Zen turned and raised her eyebrows at Ida and said, “See, that’s the word I was looking for—unethical.”

The corporal said, “Zen, some of these girls are trying and failing. They are working as hard as they can but just can’t push past something in their lives that’s stopping their improvement. If what you’ve described the next few years becomes true, then they’ll probably not make it. We aren’t looking to have you mentor the ten percent who are doing just enough to escape discipline, we want you to help those who are really trying.”

Zen looked around the room, then sighed. Finally, she said, “Corporal, I’d be willing to be a mentor if you think it would help.”

Ida put her arms around Zen and said, “Oh, I’m so proud of you.”

Before Zen could say anything, the whole dorm piled on top of her and Ida. Once the laughter had died down, and everyone was back in their positions, the corporal said, “Thank you, all of you. We’re going to start the program tomorrow straight after breakfast. There’s no way we’ll hide the program, so we decided to own it. The day will be an hour longer, and the other trainees will have remedial classes in areas where they are weak during that hour. Before I leave, I’ll give you the name of your mentee. Are there any questions?”

There were five or ten questions, all which focussed on clarifying the objectives and boundaries, but Zen zoned out. After the corporal had handed out the names and left, Ida leant against Zen and said, “I am sorry.”

“Yeah, I know, and I do understand. My other friend would have done the same.”

“You do realise you have far more than two friends.”

“Maybe. Who’ve you got?”

“Elice Dennison.”

“She’s in my platoon. She really is trying, and I think she’s actually improved a lot, but they might not have seen that. Her joints are more flexible than they were, and her weight is dropping. People in the platoon don’t tease her, but she’s still always last for things, and that has to hurt. Her bra’s too loose as well.”

“What? How on earth do you know how to size bras?”

“I don’t really. My mum couldn’t care, and I got away most of the time with athletic ones and baggy shirts. Sahara likes all that stuff and took me shopping with her all the time. It was so embarrassing the day she took me to this fancy lingerie place and asked them to ‘fit my friend’. I could have killed her. Anyway, I was persuaded to buy a particular size and did the research. Wrong size and you get pains in your breasts, neck, and back. When it’s too big, you can still get a sore neck and bad posture. Elice’s boobs are huge, but I still think the bra is too big.”

“OK, we’ll consider it. Who have you got?”

“Kiva Murray.”

Ida shrugged then said, “No, wait, I can help.”

She raised her voice and said, “Hey, Trainee Nelson, front and centre.”

A tall girl who was reading came to join them. Ida lowered her voice and said, “Kel, Zen got Kiva Murray, anything to share?”

Kelly Jones shook her head and said, “She’s very quiet, a bit flabby but more out of shape than an obvious life choice. She’s completely uncoordinated. I think she’s trying, but for someone who is obviously right-handed, she has two left feet and two left hands. She can’t tighten a nut, can’t throw a ball, and when she does push-ups, she can’t get the muscles to work in sync. Been disciplined every week for withdrawing into her music during classes. They finally took her phone away. She knows it’s not allowed, but she’s much worse without her fix. She borrows a different one every night from someone in her dorm.”

Soon the whole group shared names, hoping for some input. The next morning after PT, Zen waited behind and said, “Corporal McNamara, may I have permission to use my phone for music during the mentoring session?”

“Zen, besides not being surprised you girls shared names, let me tell you her trainers tried allowing music and nothing’s worked.”

“Please?”

“Sure, but just for that hour. She needs to learn to focus on what’s around her.”

“Thank you. I also want permission to have some privacy, a dorm or a few hundred metres down one of the trails?”

“Not in the dorms or classrooms, that’s orders. You could go down a trail, but the Captain would kill me if you went without guards.”

“My guard and one other?”

“OK, I’ll discuss it with Security and let you know at breakfast.”

After breakfast, the group of mentors was introduced to the mentees. As the others paired off, Zen said, “Hi Kiva, my name is Zen.”

“Yeah, hi. Everyone knows who you are.”

“Good, let’s go for a walk.”

“Sure, might as well. I should warn you the reason I’m in this retard class is I’ve two left feet.”

“We’ll see. The problem might be the other way around, though.”

“What does that mean?”

“Maybe you have two right feet.”

“What, oh, whatever!”

Once they were away from the rest of the people, Zen started down a trail, and Kiva slowed then stopped. Zen said, “I have permission. Look, there are our guards.”

Zen pointed to Mark and another soldier who was already ahead of them and fully armed.

“You mean, your guards. Isn’t that the one watches everything you do?”

“OK, yeah, he’s one of my guards, but they are both watching, so you know this is legit.”

“Yeah, OK. How far?”

“Two hundred steps.”

Zen let Kiva go ahead and counted as Kiva walked, and wasn’t all that surprised when she stopped on her two hundredth step. It was something Zen would have done to annoy people. Still, it was also something Zen would have kept track of automatically once the number was mentioned. Zen sat down and said, “Did you ever play ‘patty cake’ when you were a kid?”

Kira had sat down and said, “Nope, sorry, never did the whole school thing. I was homeschooled, and my folks tried to stay away from anything that might brainwash me to accept societal norms uncritically. This whole thing has them in an uproar. Dad’s got lawyers taking it through the courts.”

“That’s fine. I never played ‘patty cake’ either, I only watched it as most of the time I was sitting in the ‘quiet corner’.”

Zen tried to explain, and Kiva rolled her eyes, but after watching Kiva try to follow along Zen could see what everyone meant as she kept getting the wrong hand and the timing wrong. Finally, Zen said, “Let’s go from kindergarten to full doctorate in one jump. Here, put these in your ears.”

She handed Kiva some earbuds and then put some in her own ears. She hit play and started slowly with some Lewis Capaldi. It was ‘Before you go’ and she closed her eyes and swayed a little with the music, and when the beat came in, she lightly tapped her fingers on her knees. When she opened her eyes, Kiva had hers closed and was just still, no movement and then as the song ended, there was a slight movement of the fingers. Zen hit loop, and the music started again. This time Kiva’s fingers were tapping in time almost immediately.

On the third time around Zen tapped Kiva on the knee at the start, and when her eyes opened Zen motioned they needed to tap in time. Kiva rolled her eyes but did as she was asked. On the tenth time, Zen had their hands up, and they played patty cake using knees, ankles and chest and not once did Kiva miss a move.

Zen stopped the song and put her hand out for the earbuds, then said, “Cool. Same time tomorrow. Let that play in your head all day. Walk to it, run to it, eat to it.”

Kiva just stared at her and Zen said, “Here, put them in and follow me. I’ll walk back to it.”

Zen moved her feet in time with the movement and turned the whole two hundred steps into a shuffling, sliding dance. When she was done, she put her hand out again for the earbuds. Kiva handed them back and said, “If I do that, they’ll think I’m crazy.”

“So?”

Zen then started to sing the lyrics, “Was there something I could’ve said to make your heart beat better?”

Kira looked around and said, “If you stop singing I’ll try it. That is so not your gift.”

Zen smirked and said, “Ouch, at least I can play patty cakes.”

Kiva looked hurt for a second, then smiled and called Zen a rude name before walking off. After a few steps, she started walking to the tune. Zen started singing at the top of her voice as they went their separate ways. When she got back to the dorm and stepped inside, Ida was standing and said, “Was that you? Were you in pain? Did someone shoot you again?”

“I was singing.”

“Oh sweetheart, that is not the word people use for what you just did. It’s safe to say we have found a flaw in the Drakos girl’s list of abilities.”

Zen just poked her tongue out at Ida, then changed and hurried to her next class.

* * *

On Friday morning, Zen started Kiva on capoeira and let Kiva choose the song. Some of them Zen vetoed because they were too fast for the beginning moves. In the end, Kiva picked something by Billie Eilish. Zen changed the settings and removed the words, telling Kiva she could add the words in her head, but she needed to listen and watch Zen as she moved. By the end of the hour, Kiva could finish the movements and match them to the music and to Zen.

As they danced back, Zen said, “You’ll improve as you get fitter and as you increase flexibility. Try and stretch for a few minutes every few hours through the day just to stay loose. Are you used to the others teasing and picking on you yet?”

“Pretty much, they’ve started trying to pick the song and copy the music. Yesterday only the corporal got that song, some of your music is really old-school.”

Zen smiled, then headed to the dorm. Ida was getting changed and said, “Who would have thought a different bra would make so much difference to Elise?”

“Well, I would.”

“Except you?”

“Sahara.”

“Shut up. Word is Kiva wasn’t last through yesterday’s obstacle course.”

“Nope, she came fifth in her group.”

“They said she wriggled and jived her way through and even stopped for a moment and just lay on the ground, rocking.”

“I do understand, there’s a really slow emotional instrumental section in the middle of yesterday’s song. Really hard to do anything but just feel the pathos of the girl’s broken relationship, it makes me almost cry almost every time.”

“You are nuts.”

“Says the girl who gets her mentee to be a better soldier by measuring their boobs.”

Chapter 8

When Zen arrived at Drakos House that Saturday, her dad was waiting. After giving her a hug, he said, “Hal’s in your bed. You’re looking tired and even more angular than before. You need to eat up.”

“I am eating. They’re increasing our calories, but we’re working hard too. How has your week been?”

“Ha! My week has been the same as your mother’s. We’ve been run off our feet trying to pull to bits and implement what you guys did last weekend. At the moment, the transcript of your boards is officially being called the Drakos-Biàn-Drayson proposal. Both BB and Ted want their names removed or put in the addendum. BB calls it Zen’s codex. I expect from sheer use, it’ll probably end up as the DBDP in literature if and when you get around to writing it up.”

“So, did any of it make sense?”

“Seriously, you’ve no idea what’s been happening?”

“No, I try and stay away from the reports during the week.”

“Leon and Ted flew my mathematics friend and me down on Tuesday. We worked on the changes you made and with input from the team they have, we changed maybe half of what you did to reflect the more esoteric pieces of knowledge they have filed away in their brains. The basic equations are very similar though, and if the modelling is reflected in the full-sized reactor they’re building, then they hope to have a working model in less than two weeks. They added several hundred technicians and took over a dozen workshops and have people working around the clock making the different components.

“When I finally had time to look at my own research, I was able to connect a hundred small details that had bothered me over the years. I even took out my folder of failed hypotheses and think that, for some of them, I may have been on the right track. I’m running some of the data through a supercomputer I booked and should have some results next week. When I arrived, Phil suggested some of your own projects have made some huge strides during the week but wouldn’t give me details. I suspect he didn’t have permission to check up on them.”

They talked for a few more minutes then Zen headed to bed, knowing Hal would wake her the next morning.

* * *

As predicted, Hal woke her just after five, and they talked and played games until six when they went for breakfast. After breakfast, Zen read through the various reports. The spaceport had twenty thousand contractors and workmen crawling all over it in two twelve-hour shifts. They were building accommodation and administration blocks as well as preparing the launch pads. The pods had started being erected in the Jenolan Cave system, and it was temporarily being assigned for those from New Zealand. While there had been talk of mixing people from different nations, the final consensus had been that the sense of identity would help cement ownership.

Zen sent a quick message asking if she could tour the caves, then read through the details of how many had been rescued and already arrived. There was a fund set up for people who’d lost everything. After she read all the terms and conditions for how the money was to be allocated, she rearranged some of her savings and after a search through the data of those who’d arrived, she finally found a woman who’d been CEO of a small clothing retail business in Christchurch but had lost everything. She rang her.

“Hello, this is Manawa Hahipene.”

“Hello, my name is Zen Drakos. I’m sorry to jump straight to business, but I was looking through the list of those who’d arrived, and I have a small business proposition for you.”

“Um, is this ‘the’ Zen Drakos?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing when you say it like that, but yes.”

“And you have a business proposition?”

“Yes, I understand you will be being relocated to one of the bunkers in the next few weeks. Each person has a two square meter allotment of space, and I realise you and many others don’t have belongings to fill even a half of that. I was reading a report on the money that’s been given, but I suspect that won’t get to you for a month or so at least. If I had fifty or so sewing machines delivered and a range of materials, buttons, zips and stuff, would you be able to find fifty people who could make good use of this?”

“I could, but how is that a business proposition?”

“I want you to run the program and make sure that people share what they make. Once the first shipment of cloth and stuff is used up, then you get to keep the machines and can use half the second shipment however you want. It’s business because I want you to have the headache of making sure it’s mostly fair and above board and no one takes advantage of the program, instead of me. Oh, I also want you to do this for free.”

“What do you get out of it?”

“One less headache.”

There was silence for a minute, then Manawa said, “OK, you have a deal. Where do I sign up?”

“You don’t. This is done on a verbal handshake. You rort the system, and I’ll find out, then I’ll make your life hell. Keep it mostly within the lines, and we’ll probably never even talk again.”

“What do you mean, within the lines?”

“Well I suspect you know people, and they’ll be the ones you approach. Most people would say that’s a type of nepotism. I think it’s just smart to use people you trust. Having said that, I want this to benefit the broader community.”

“OK, you have a deal.”

“Good, I’ll have a lady called Mrs Margaret Cosgrove contact you tomorrow, and she’ll be after a list of what you think you need. Second, what other things do you need more of that will help get more people involved? You need to get the people moving toward being independent and self-sustaining. It can’t be things involving animals or food production as that’s most likely best done en masse. I’ve not seen the latest of the ventilation systems so I’d hold back from suggesting herbs or mushrooms. I’m thinking of things that will stop hands being idle and help get the community working together. Lots of you will be needed to help build the bunker, but some will still feel isolated and lost.”

“A lot of the kids have no toys. I know people who do simple carpentry. With wood, glue and paint and simple tools, they could make stuff. Others knit and could make bears and dolls for the smaller kids.”

“Good. Talk amongst yourselves and give Mrs Cosgrove a list. If there are other things you can think of, then she’ll get what she can and have it delivered. Oh, I’d prefer you discuss this without mentioning my name.”

“OK, I can do that. Thank you.”

“No problem. Bye.”

After she’d hung up, Zen smiled, and after writing a note to Margaret, she kept working. Fifty thousand had died when the hurricanes had hit the United States a few weeks previously. Still, the biggest problem was getting aid to the twenty million left homeless and having to deal with the flooding and loss of almost everything. There was a wave of dysentery sweeping through the camps that had been set up, and several hundred were dying every day.

An earthquake in Japan had caused a tsunami, and they’d been forced to do an emergency shut down on one of their nuclear reactors. Millions of fish had washed ashore all along China’s coastline. That number was less than five percent of those estimated to have died from a huge algal bloom that filled the Yellow, East China and South China Seas. The long term effect on the coastal industries was devastating, especially when combined with the almost certain increase in the frequency of difficult weather conditions.

A doomsday cult which had been under the radar in Western Europe had been uncovered when over twenty thousand took their lives using drugs and poison gas in five locations the previous Friday. Euthanasia clinics in Switzerland and the Netherlands had been swamped with requests, and several countries were looking to implement similar programs to help relieve the pressures the new reality was putting on their government. Zen found it hard not to react to what she considered an act of unbelievable selfishness by all concerned. Still, she had sympathy for people who’d been allowed to grow up without the skills to function in a world where everything that gave them value was now being taken away.

As she closed the report, Hal’s movie had finished, and he asked if they could play. Zen agreed, and as she did, she hoped he would learn the skills to survive and never experienced the hopelessness that was affecting so many people. As she reached down to pick him up, she suspected her mother’s faith would give her strength in a time like this. She wondered how prayer worked. Was it based on an exchange? It didn’t seem reasonable for anyone to just get whatever they wanted. Then there was the flow-on effect of whatever extraordinary actions were taken. Zen expected the minimum requirement was some form of allegiance. Still, she didn’t know enough about God to make any hasty agreements and made a note to talk with her mother about how she thought it worked.

After playing with some of the toys she’d bought for him, they played hide and seek in her residence then had lunch with Ed. He said, “I thought I’d take Hal to the park after lunch, can you come?”

Zen shook her head and said, “It’s safer if I don’t. For all of us. If I stay here I can get some work done then play when you get back.”

After they’d headed to the park, she looked through what had happened in her different projects. Wes had not only reworked the helmet with newer, stronger, more reactive springs but had extrapolated the design into a full bodysuit. He sent her the proposal and suggested she have a full-body MRI and send a full-body cast of herself. He’d sent the details through to Margaret, and she’d already made arrangements for the scan later that evening. Johanna was nearby, and Zen asked if she and another two women could be found to help with the cast.

The reason Wes had suggested these things was so that the springs could be added to the bodysuit to run parallel alongside the muscle fibres. Small sensors on the inside layer could read the compression in the muscles and trigger the springs to amplify the effect and power assist all movement. His design, which had been aesthetically modified and improved by Jamila, covered the body in up to an inch of material. This served not only to help with movement but hardened when impacted as sensors on the outer layer registered the pressures applied.

Each of the sensors had control of a single square centimetre of the suit and the reaction time was almost instantaneous. In the tests that had been done, the suit not only stopped each bullet before it had penetrated half a centimetre, it also absorbed its kinetic energy, using this to recharge the central layer which was formed by the flexible battery. Another improvement was a process to replace damaged sections without needing to redo the whole suit.

Zen called a management meeting for the company. After the new materials were discussed, they decided to look for additional investors. Zen contacted her grandfather in Greece, and after a relatively short presentation, they had access to another ten million Euro. Wes logged out almost immediately to hire people he needed to help.

Zen spent a few hours with Hal later in the afternoon, then sat and talked with her dad until eleven when she was ferried to a clinic for the MRI.

* * *

After an early breakfast Zen, along with Ed and Hal, were taken to visit the Jenolan Cave system. The first few levels had already been filled with frames for the pods, and workers were adding the conduits for sewage, water, gas, air and electricity. On the trip back, Zen made dozens of suggestions and sent them through to Phil. One thing had become apparent, they needed a reliable energy source, or much of what they’d done wasn’t going to last, and it also wouldn’t be finished on time.

After lunch Zen was kept busy in meetings and conference calls until late and she didn’t arrive back at Camp Cameron until after midnight.

Chapter 9

After PT on Tuesday, the trainees were gathered together on the main assembly field. After coming to attention, they were told to stand easy. It all came together like clockwork, and the older soldiers wondered if all the yelling and screaming they’d been put through could have achieved the same level of precision. Captain Payne looked out over the trainees and said, “You’ve been here for four weeks, and all of your trainers are impressed by what you have achieved. If this is any indication of what you will achieve, then I believe you will be an enormous asset to the country in the years to come. I know many of you have been wondering what the explosions and machinery are for. Some, I know, have guessed accurately that this is one of the sites where a bunker will be built to help us in the years ahead as we deal with a world that is becoming increasingly hostile. One in which it is most likely we will be involved in a deadly war, with a hostile alien force.

“For the next few weeks, you will be spending each afternoon helping to assemble some of the first layers of this new city. The engineers have ongoing excavation work to do, but they’ve already prepared an area where we can begin to build. We’d planned to do this for one day a week, but winter is here earlier than expected. Additionally, the forecast is it will be a cold, long and brutal one. If we work hard, then we hope to move the camp into the city two weeks from now.

“After I finish speaking each platoon will be formed into four squads. Each squad will have an assigned leader. These leaders have been chosen by the platoon corporals in consultation with your dormitory corporals. Each squad will be responsible for building an array of pods, one array every day, for as long as necessary. Once you construct the framework, a team of tradesmen and construction helpers will come through and add the necessary conduits and piping. After that, you will help seal each of the pods.

“Just so you understand the importance of this task, and so you don’t take any shortcuts, let me remind you that what you do today and tomorrow, may have to last for decades, if not longer. If you fail to tighten a nut or don’t fix a faulty bead on a weld, if you fail to seal the panels into the frame properly, then people will suffer because of these mistakes for years to come.

“After you are dismissed, you will meet with the platoon leaders for the allocation into squads. Squad leaders will then meet in the large teaching room for additional instruction. At the same time, the rest of you will be issued with safety gloves, masks and harnesses. Once the squad leaders have received their instructions and have been issued their equipment, you will follow the platoon corporals to the building site where you will be shown how to complete the required task. Today you have assistants from the construction crews. Tomorrow you do this on your own. Please come to attention.”

After everyone snapped into the attention position, he dismissed them. Corporal Sadlier instructed Zen’s platoon to follow him, and when they reached their usual outdoor instruction spot, he said, “Trainees, have a seat.”

Once everyone was sitting, he said, “Four weeks ago I was pretty sure I could pick out the four people who would eventually end up being squad leaders. I put you all into boxes and was confident in my ability to predict what would happen. I was wrong. When Corporal Grieve and I sat down to split you up, we discovered that all of you would make an excellent squad leader. On that first day, Corporal Grieve singled out Elice and Kyle because of their poor flexibility and overall health. Both have made significant gains, and they’ve shown an impressive strength of character to achieve what they have. Elice is meticulous when it comes to detail and would be a good and effective squad leader. Kyle’s situational awareness is among the best in the platoon, and he would make a good and effective squad leader.

“I tell you this so you will not feel that your work hasn’t been noticed, or that your involvement and improvement isn’t valued, it is. Even so, we did finally have to make a choice. The choice wasn’t just made on ability but also the particular makeup and skills needed in each group. For example, each group needs someone who is a gifted welder. In the end, choices like that limit who can be chosen for particular roles. So, we’ve decided that the four squad leaders are Alan, Helen, John and Zen.”

The rest of the platoon was divided into the four squads. Zen found herself the leader of a squad with four others, Liam, Mia, Nathan, and Xander. Corporal Sadlier said, “Zen, we’ve put Xander in your group as the back-up squad leader. He’ll take over on the days you’re not here. Xander, you should go with Zen to the meeting to receive additional instructions. OK, off you go.”

Xander and Zen stood and joined the other squad leaders as they headed to the second meeting. When they arrived, and when everyone was seated, Captain Payne introduced one of the head construction engineers. The engineer looked around the room without paying much attention, then said, “Um, OK. Captain Payne has said you’ve already seen the basic shape of the pods we are building. The design makes use of cubes, dodecahedrons and what are known as bilunabirotundas. When you have one cube, six bilunabirotundas and eight dodecahedrons and put them together, you get an eight-celled stackable polyhedron which is somewhat cuboid in shape.”

The engineer passed around several models of the complex shapes then said, “These polyhedrons can be stacked infinitely to fill a space, and their frame is highly stable and resistant to shearing and compression. With a range of other shapes which have been designed, these will give individuals a room size of almost thirty cubic meters or, if used by a couple, nearly sixty. There are also options for families. If a larger communal space is needed, then using the outline of several pods to form a larger space and adding additional supports to the framework so that the structural integrity isn’t compromised, is easy to do.

“Your task is to put the different steel pieces together like a giant Meccano set. We’ve already laid the foundations and have completed the first two levels. These are going to be vacant at the moment, and the intention is they will have security sensors installed as well as escape tunnels. Most of this work has been checked and double-checked by a team of structural engineers, and we believe it will stand up to decades of stress. Once the frame is in place, we will add the inside panels, and the vacant spaces will be filled with expandable foam. This will not only give people privacy but is engineered to add additional strength to the frame.

“These frames have already been installed at several sites, and the inner panels should be installed later this week. The concept designer of this particular pod system, Ambassador Zen Drakos, visited the pods just yesterday and her suggestions are being incorporated into the new panels as we speak. You should have the latest iteration by the time you’re ready to move in.”

When he’d mentioned Zen’s name, she’d cringed a little, but except for some snickers, mostly from girls in her dorm, all of whom had been chosen as squad leaders, nobody did anything to highlight her presence. Unfortunately, the engineer misinterpreted the chuckles. He said, “I know it seems strange that someone your age designed this but it’s that, more than anything, that gives me confidence that you can help build this bunker. Now, each part of the pod has been preformed from zinc galvanised steel, and when we add the foam which has been created to help prevent corrosion, it also helps seal the nuts, bolts and washers in place.”

The engineer talked through the process and handed out instructions. After checking for questions, he finally said, “So, I’ll see you all later today down at the site.”

He went to the door to greet each of the squad leaders, and when Zen went past, he said, “Oh, I’m sorry, Ambassador Drakos, I didn’t see you in the room. Have you come to see the progress?”

Zen glanced at the Captain, then said, “Not quite. I’m actually one of the trainees here and will be leading one of the teams. I’d appreciate it if you kept that information to yourself to help with the security situation.”

He promised to do so, but Zen heard the Captain add emphasis to the request as she left.

* * *

Zen had no problems with the construction process, and the engineers had brought tools to help move the one-hundred-and-fifty kilogram beams into place. There were manual, electrical and pneumatic torsion wrenches to make sure everything was constructed to specification. In the beginning, some of the trainees struggled with the lack of safety barriers and having to work using Column Climbers and safety harnesses fifty metres above the ground. After the first few days, none of them took much notice of the height. All the squad leaders were told to keep watch on people not using their safety harness. If the platoon leaders discovered anyone taking a risk, then both the offender and the squad leader had to do several hundred pushups and a ten-kilometre run. This soon fixed people’s inattentiveness.

By Saturday night the trainees had installed a thousand pod units which would be accommodation for fourteen thousand people. It sounded like a lot, but as Zen explained to those in her dorm—this project alone had over one-hundred-and-fifty thousand pod units in the plans, and they hadn’t installed any of the panels yet. Those would take another week to install. If it wasn’t for the tens of thousands of workers being allocated to each site, there would have been no hope of getting it finished.

Even with the program changed to let the trainees build their new living quarters, and even though she was exhausted, Zen arranged to meet with Kiva for an hour each day to continue their lessons. The first time she moved to head out into the freezing night, Ida asked where she was going, “I’m trying to keep Kiva’s momentum up. We arranged to meet every night. Corporal McNamara gave permission.”

Ida just shook her head, but the next night half the dorm followed Zen out into the cold. Friday night saw almost all the trainees out on the assembly fields doing additional PT or getting specialised help from the Corporals who had given in to the pressure from the trainees for the extra lessons. Kiva was confident enough that Zen worked with her on the field. They were soon the centre of about fifty students working to improve flexibility and coordination through what they thought of as dance.

Captain Payne looked out over the field and shook his head. His assistant, a Lieutenant Hamilton, said, “Something wrong, Sir?”

“No. I was just thinking about how young they were, and thinking of my children. I’m in contact with the other camps, and although almost all have been a success, there is something here that is different. We’ve had our share of delinquents, but almost without exception they’ve knuckled down and improved, albeit grudgingly. Overall though, the improvement is astounding. My girls are in training, and I wish they were here. No offence to our platoon leaders but I think it’s something else.”

“The Cardones-Drakos groups that formed at the beginning?”

“Most likely. They’re both full of potential, and those groups set the tone for everything else. The other difference is the attack the first night. I suspect the reality of the situation was hammered home forcefully. No one could deny that this was serious and it flipped a switch in most of them. I think they’ve all got something that maybe we’ve tried to suppress for the last few decades. They’ve started to believe in something that’s bigger than their own sense of self. They remind me of what I read of the ANZACs. Willing to die, if necessary, for their country, their families, their way of life. I wish we could somehow help the rest of the nation to grab hold of that with all they have.”

“I suspect the reality of what Zen outlined to the UN is sinking in. The death toll is rising, and while we aren’t the only ones doing something, we’re still way out in front.”

“We are, but as General Fletcher reminded us last week when the Camp Captains met, from here on in, we have to do better and do it faster. Scientists are now predicting some parts of the planet will be uninhabitable by the end of the year.”

“If not all of it, that is, if the asteroids aren’t dealt with.”

“Thank you for that positive note to end on.”

“Just trying to help, Sir.”

Chapter 10

Zen was so tired when she arrived back at Draconis House that she didn’t even shower but simply fell into the bed. Her parents had decided to stay in Brisbane for the weekend and give her an uninterrupted weekend to work. She didn’t stumble to the bathroom until nine the next morning. After stretching, she made her way to the small kitchen area in her suite and found breakfast waiting and Miriam sipping a coffee. Miriam said, “You getting old?”

“I’m feeling it.”

“Mark described what you’ve been doing. I’ve asked him to add another soldier to help. I’m not keen on being overly trusting with all the contractors around, and he was looking as tired as you do.”

“What have you been doing with all your spare time?”

“Ha! We’ve been working hard to triple the number of agents. Ted’s becoming so valuable he already has a detail. We need to talk about your guy Wes, because if what he sent for you to try out works like he says it does then he needs to be protected.”

“Everything we’ve been doing is being updated and stored in separate locations constantly.”

“It’s not just the information. He’s put this together in less than a month. Phil’s put in a temporary order with your company for ten million civilian helmets and ten thousand of those done to military spec. He’s waiting for the quote.”

“Unless we find a way to mass-produce, then we can’t make that many. Even if we could, at the current production prices that’s still over twenty billion dollars without any markup.”

“Woah, that much?”

“At least. We’ve a dozen people looking to speed up the development of an automated production line, but that won’t help with the military spec suits, they’re made to order. Wes has a couple of people he knows looking for ways to add some elasticity into the suits to help mass-produce them, but at the moment that really downgrades their safety potential. We’re buying this stuff from research laboratories that make it to order on the side. When, if, we can manufacture the components here, then we should be able to do it a lot cheaper, maybe half that. I know we have a guy from Perth working on what we need to do to make the stuff ourselves. One of the big factors is where we can get the energy from. With everything we’re doing as a country, we’re pushing the limit on that at the moment.”

“Yeah, most parts of the country are already on rations with only eighteen hours power a day. Good news is it looks like the team from Lucas Heights are ahead of schedule and hope to have the reactor ready to test in a couple of days.”

“Good, we need that to work. Once I’ve finished breakfast, I’ll head over and check the reports.”

“Nope. First, you need a haircut. Margaret noted it was almost in your eyes last weekend and you’re booked in for a cut this morning. The stylist is coming here.”

“Anything else?”

“You’ve a few appointments, but I’ll let you check on them, most are tomorrow.

* * *

After her haircut Zen spent the morning reading reports except for an hour in the middle when she chatted with Hal and her parents. She was just finishing her lunch when Phil knocked on her door. He said, “Eating at your desk is the sign of a workaholic.”

“Nope. I was just too lazy to walk back and forth, and Nakul offered to get it for me.”

“In other words, you wouldn’t have eaten unless he’d reminded you to.”

“Maybe. How have John and Julie been doing?”

“Nice deflection. They’re OK. They’re at different sites and from what I hear they’ve settled down and are working hard. Julie’s probably finding it the hardest, and the few times we talked she sounded lonely. The last two weeks she’d found a few good friends, or so she said.”

“She’d been at the same school most of her life?”

“Yeah, her social group was pretty much the same since pre-school. Everybody had their place and knew who they were and where they fitted in. It’s a good growth time.”

“What doesn’t kill you, and all that?”

“Something like that, although Diane’s worried it’s hurting her. I didn’t come to discuss my family dynamics, though, I wanted to see if you’d opened the package from Wes.”

Zen looked over at the two large crates that had been left on one side of the room, and said, “Nice deflection. I haven’t. I was trying to get caught up on this Ambassador gig before working on pet projects.”

“I’ve seen the prototypes, and I’m hoping we can start getting these into the public arena. We had dozens die from the ash clouds.”

Zen shared what she had with Miriam, then said, “OK, let me read his reports then I’ll open the box. Want me to call you when I take off the wrapping?”

“Very funny, and yes.”

Twenty minutes later, Zen rang Phil, and said, “OK, I’m ready to open the crate.”

When Phil arrived, she was surprised to see General Alistar Fletcher and Miriam with him. She came to her feet and said, “General, this is a surprise.”

“I’m Alistar in this setting, ‘Ambassador’. Phil promised to let me know when you were going to open it. I’ve chatted with your Wes a few times, and I’m a little dubious about his claims, but if it does what he says it does, we’ll be looking to purchase some. Oh, I know what you told Phil, but we’ll just have to make it work somehow.”

“It does what he claims. I’ve read the specs. This is the second full suit we’ve made and the first has been put through its paces and came through with flying colours. I’ll open the boxes while you watch, but you’ll need to leave while I suit up. The sensors work best when against bare skin.”

Phil smiled and said, “Just open it already.”

“Which one first?”

“The big one. Now! Please!”

Zen had to cut off the straps while Phil used a screwdriver to remove the side panel before Zen could pull loose the foam which had been used to hold things in place. Inside the large crate, she could see the main body armour on one side and some shelving on the other side. On one was the helmet and the others had a range of attachments, including several battery packs, holsters, a harness which attached to the armour for things like additional magazines, sheathes for knives. There were several smaller boxes, with one labelled, ‘Zen’s cool stuff’.

Zen unpacked each of the shelves, and as she did, she handed the pieces to Phil, who passed them on to Alistar after looking at them. Each piece was black with an electric circuit pattern just visible under the outer carbon-fibre layer and done in a slightly lighter shade of deep grey. When everything was out except the armour, she reached in and pulled out the fully rigid suit and stood it in the centre of the room.

It had the same black colour with the circuit pattern, but you could see and feel the slight contours of Zen’s muscle groups outlined. Although Zen was embarrassed by what could be seen, she was glad for the modesty styling around the groin, hip and breast areas.

Alistar said, “How will you get in that? It feels solid.”

Phil answered before Zen could. “It’s been locked in that state. The electrostatic focus holds the material rigid. Once Zen flips the switch, it becomes more flexible.”

Zen said, “It’s manufactured in four distinct pieces. There are the legs which attach physically just under the modesty covering, the arms and back, and then the front section.”

Alistar said, “How strong are they when joined together?”

“Once the arms and legs are on, the front piece fits into a groove on the legs, and then there is a similar system on the sides. The seal is not visible and with even a small amount of remaining power keeps the seal both water and vacuum tight.”

Zen moved her fingers over a slightly lighter section on the left forearm, and an LED display appeared. She touched two of the buttons, and the suit collapsed in on itself. She reached down and unhooked the front torso section and handed that to Phil, and handed the arms and back to Alistar after detaching them from the legs. After a few minutes, Phil said, “Wes said the material is made to wick away perspiration. How does that work?”

“It’s kind of like the body’s lymphatic system. The moisture is pulled through the inner layer by a combination of osmosis and a micro-thin airflow layer which keeps the body at a semi-constant temperature.”

“Semi-constant?”

“We have some sport’s medicine people consulting, and they’ve set some parameters for what’s known to be helpful for muscles under extreme conditions. They suggested letting some of those areas, like around the thighs and calves, be a bit warmer during stress to help protect the muscles. The circuit pattern is mostly for show, but it mirrors a thin, flexible circuit which connects sensors all over the body.”

“So, a lymphatic system?”

“Yes, the liquid and salts are moved through the system to a filtration module running along the spine. This is designed to act a bit like the kidneys, and the filtered water is added to the hydration pack and the waste set aside for disposal. The chemist who designed the system says it’s robust enough to deal with pee.”

Zen picked up one of the small unopened boxes, and Alistar said, “What’s that?”

Zen blushed and said, “Um, its underwear. The suit has enough support for the breasts, but the chemist did suggest an additional layer of hygiene around people’s privates. For men, the suit has extra protection around the groin and um, a special underwear thing.”

Phil smiled and asked, “A special underwear thing?”

Zen blushed, then glared and said, “It’s underwear designed with a special pouch for their thing. OK?”

Phil was about to ask another question when Miriam cut in, “Dr Bateman, may I remind you that Zen is your daughter’s age. Although she’s a scientist, and an adult, perhaps we might leave this topic for a better venue.”

Phil nodded and said, “You’re right, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you Zen. I apologise.”

Zen had gone bright red, then said, “So am I, I should be able to be clinical about it. We spent half an hour on the science and design last week. OK, out you all go. Miriam, you can stay if you want.”

Once Phil and Alistar had gone, Zen made sure the shades were drawn then started undressing. Miriam said, “Do you want me to leave?”

“No, that’s fine. Barracks life has purged me of being embarrassed in front of women. Still a giggly, embarrassed teenage girl when it comes to men.”

“Don’t worry about that. I would have kicked them out too.”

Zen connected a full battery to either shoulder in the small sleeves provided. Once she was undressed, she put on the specially designed panties, then joined the arms and back to the leg section before slipping her legs in. Once everything was lined up according to instructions, she slipped her arms into place. The torso slid onto a groove under the modesty level which clipped into place. After that, she hooked each side of the front torso side to the back section and connected the arms. Miriam said, “Is this right? It seems a bit loose.”

“It has to be to get it on or off. Once I have it basically in the right place, I need to power it up.”

Reaching over, Zen used the same patch on her left arm to power on the suit. Beginning at the feet, it slowly tightened as the material contracted. Miriam watched as the suit automatically shifted position to match the sensors with the muscles under Zen’s skin. When it was finished, Zen did some stretching then said, “Before you let them in, what do you think?”

“I can’t wait to see the other bits attached, but my first reaction is that it is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I know, right. I need a mirror in here.”

Miriam took a photo and showed Zen, who blushed and said, “Even with the modesty bits, it’s pretty revealing.”

Miriam smiled and said, “Girl, you look just fine. All people can see is your phenomenal muscle definition. Honestly, I’m hoping I’ll get one of these.”

“Of course you will. Better show the others in because this just gets cooler.”

Once Phil and Alistar were shown in, they made her turn in circles then touched the suit on her arm. Alistar said, “It’s spongy but very smooth. Are you sure it’s bullet-resistant?”

Zen smiled and said, “Hit me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Alistar, hit me in the stomach, or on the shoulder. Not too hard, or you’ll break your hand.”

Alistar looked shocked, so Miriam stepped forward and with a little force drove her right fist just under Zen’s ribs. The force pushed Zen back a little, but Miriam brought her hand back and held it. She said, “It was like hitting a solid wall.”

Zen said, “I felt it, but most of the reaction was more from expecting it to push me back. If we had checked the battery meter beforehand, it would now probably show that that hit as a slight gain in overall capacity. The suit spreads the force out but also collected the kinetic energy and converted it into potential energy. Some was used to amplify the signal immediately to harden the area, and if any is left it is stored for later use.”

Zen opened some of the attachments. She slipped her feet into two, and they clicked into place as boots with a textured sole. Zen reached for the helmet, and after slipping it on added the harness. The helmet had attached itself to a raised section on her shoulders, and the harness slid over the top, locking the helmet in place and giving additional support. The harness wriggled itself into position from the shoulders, and there was an audible click when it finished attaching itself. Zen added the holsters. The holsters fitted into the harness, but as they touched the side of her thigh, they seemed to slide into a locked position.

She then took out a pair of gloves which wriggled their way up her arm before locking into place. Zen had already cloned her phone to the chip in the helmet, so she touched the panel on her wrist, and the helmet unfurled and clicked into place, sealing her in. She said, “How does that look?”

Alistar just stared while Phil shook his head. Finally, he said, “That is unbelievably spooky the way it came together. I’m almost afraid to ask what’s in the box labelled, ‘Zen’s cool stuff’.”

Zen made her helmet return to its open state then took off her gloves. She reached into the box Phil mentioned and took out another pair. These were thicker and looked to have a shaped hard piece which ran along the back of the hand and onto the wrist. When Zen had it on, they could see the hard piece still allowed her the full range of motion. She said, “This is the cool bit.”

She did something with her hands, and the section along her hand and wrist went rigid and a blade extended out past her fingers. She said, “They’re like the armour and are flexible until extended. That’s on the lowest setting. The next two just extend it further out. Like the box says, ‘cool stuff’. Wes is making me a pair with Wolverine blades.”

She retracted the blades then said, “The civilian suit hasn’t got all the added armour. It does have the wicking property but doesn’t power assist.”

Phil said, “What do you mean, power assist?”

Zen said, “I haven’t activated it yet because we’re still testing the impact on the internal organs and ligaments and stuff. The best guess is the impact will be negligible at the levels we’re talking about, but this and the other prototype are capable of increasing the force applied by up to three times. If I had it on maximum, I should be able to do a high jump of almost five meters. I’ll need to train with it, but there’s a sliding scale from the base level where it’s set. At this level, it is just enough to reduce the weight of the suit to zero. It works on the other prototype. I’ve a video of the guy doing an eighteen-metre long jump.”

Alistar looked over at Phil then said, “Do you have any other colours besides black?”

- End of Episode 5 -