The Black Guard: Book II: Evolution (Black Guard Series 2) (14 page)

"How was your introduction to civilian life?"
Wexler asked after I had sat down, three days after Hada and I arrived back at
Sasser Mountain.

"Scary, sir," I said, being truthful.

"Yes. And worse for a woman, I would think. In the
military, men and women are equal and women are frequently in positions of
authority. In civilian life, women tend to be responsible for the family—not
only having the children, but bringing them up and managing the home. Men tend
to have responsibility for business and money. And then there are the professional
differences. Civilians aren't exposed to weapons, killing, or life-and-death
decisions in their daily lives, so even small talk is difficult. And most men are
uncomfortable around a woman who they feel is more
manly
than them."

I nodded agreement, thankful to Hada's family for helping
me understand and begin to adjust to the differences.

"I have an assignment which—on the surface—is
routine; however, it has the potential to be a disaster for both the Guard and
the Jax. The universe knows we cannot always be successful, but failure is
failure, and the difficulty of the assignment doesn't matter to potential
clients."

Wexler looked away for a moment. When he looked back, he
looked tired. "It's an assignment meant for a dragon, because it will
require non-standard thinking. The question is, which one of you is best suited
to take on this challenge? You and I agree; you will each see the same problem,
but not all of you will see the same solution. And the solution will decide not
only whether we are successful, but also the number of Guard lives success will
cost. We could lose twice—the client and excessive Guard lives."

He stopped to take a small drink from a glass of wine he
had on his desk, which was unusual. Wexler did drink wine but never during an
assignment discussion. Kaffa had been the norm.

As if reading my thoughts or my eyes, he continued.
"Yes, this has been a difficult decision for me on several levels. You
dragons may all have the ability to clear your minds of distractions and see
beyond the obvious, but you are still unique individuals. While your specific
solutions are unpredictable, your approaches are somewhat predictable. Hada has
a passive approach that seeks solutions to minimize Guard exposure. Dobrin and
Tzadok take a more active approach. Dobrin seeks to find his opponent's weaknesses
to exploit, and Tzadok attempts to capitalize on the client's strengths." He
stopped for another sip of his wine while watching me and giving me time to
comment.

I said nothing but nodded my agreement. From my Wuji
workouts with each dragon—which tended to reflect their approaches to life
when at peace—I agreed with Wexler. Each worried about Guard lives;
however, I thought Dobrin and Tzadok would be more pragmatic—considering
potential deaths a necessary part of the solution. Hada, like me, felt each
loss personally, as they resulted from her decisions.

Wexler turned his glass in his hands, looking into it
before speaking. "You, on the other hand, appear to see everyone's
perspective: client, opponent, Guard, and the watching universe. That makes
your approach the most unpredictable and the least traditional." He finished
his wine and set the glass aside. "Hada is not a good choice, as excessive
Guard losses would destroy her. She takes each loss too personally. For the
same reason, you're a poor choice. Dobrin and Tzadok are better choices, as
they are more pragmatic in their thinking. But … my concern must be the Jax
first, then the Guard, and then its members. I've already delayed my decision
two days looking for the best solution. The JCC refuses to wait any longer and
wants a decision today. I'm sorry, Sapir. I've decided you will take this
assignment. I'm hoping your ability to see all sides may help you find a
reasonable solution."

I felt sorry for Wexler. He loved the Guard and thought
of it as his family, so the thought of excessive losses and damaging its reputation
must have made the last few days comparable to Captain Embry's physical ordeal.
And I should have been terrified given Wexler's heightened concern, but I
wasn't. Wexler was trying to see the future. I was a dragon who realized the
past couldn't be changed or the future seen. I could only do my best and hope
that Wexler had made the right choice. If it saved Hada, it was a risk I would
gladly take.

"Sir, what is the contract?"

Wexler shook his head and snorted amusement for the
first time. "You're right. Worrying about it isn't going to change
anything. The planet of Nizara in the Hydra Federation has three continents
that have had little to do with each other over the centuries and have evolved
in relative isolation. The northern-most continent, Norland, has a modern
space-going democracy. The other two have twenty-first century Earth technology.
The smaller continent in the south, Orland, is a Plutocracy, and a larger
continent more centrally located, Islan, is split into three Monarchies or kingdoms:
Asina, Hylana, and Jhina.

"For the past twenty years, Jhina has been at war
with Hylana. Because both of them border the kingdom of Asina and touch at only
one point for about fifty kilometers, the fighting area is limited, as is the
potential for surprises. One kingdom, they think Hylana, has recently employed a
group of professional assassins called the Angels of Death to kill the ruling
king and heir of Asina, hoping to either split the kingdom into fractions or to
enlist the new ruler's support."

"And these Angels of Death are the equivalent of
the Guard, judging by your concern," I said when he paused for questions.

He nodded. "According to what we have been told,
they are recruited as young children and trained in secret camps in the art of
stealth and killing."

"Who are we contracted to protect?"

"The king and his remaining son—two of his
sons have been killed over the past month. His wife and daughter are not in the
line of succession and therefore not considered at risk. You are here to decide
on a team. The JCC is sending the Black Panther to transport you to Nizara. It
is arriving tomorrow morning."

* * *

My only limitation had been the arrival of the Panther,
restricting my choices to Guards currently on Sasser Mountain.

"Why four senior sergeants for two teams of
twelve?" Wexler asked when I had finished my selection.

"I was thinking four teams of six, sir."

"For what reason?"

"It feels right, and it provides me
flexibility."

"And exposes more Guard …" Wexler shook his
head and gave a choked laugh. "I'm resisting the contract, so any number
seems excessive. You're right. We have accepted the contract, so let's figure
out how to make it a successful one.
May
duty guide you,
Dragon Sapir," he said, surprising me.
Take no prisoners
were his usual parting
words, which emphasized the Guard's tradition—die fighting. I took
duty
to mean saving the client with the
minimum of Guard losses—an evolution in Guard thinking.

I bowed low, acknowledging not only his seniority but
his implied order—duty was the highest priority.

* * *

When I arrived at the landing pad, two combat shuttles
were already there and in the process of loading the assembled Guards.

Lieutenant Elijah stood waiting, and bowed low as I
approached. "Sir, the senior sergeants report everyone on your list has
been accounted for, along with the equipment you requested."

"Good work, Elijah," I said, waving her to follow
me to the captain's private shuttle, which had just settled on the landing pad.
I imagined she and the sergeants had been working all night to ensure those
going had their equipment in order and to round up the additional devices I had
requested. "This will be an interesting assignment. Traditional on the
surface but challenging each of us to prove we are the Black Guard and have no
equals."

"Who are we going to teach, sir?" She appeared
more amused than concerned.

"A group called the Angels of Death, who like us
are taught their profession from a young age. And like us, professionals we
must consider extremely dangerous. We can all begin by imagining how we would
go about trying to kill Guard who were guarding a client."

"That will certainly make this an interesting
assignment, sir." Elijah nodded and remained quiet for the rest of the
flight to the Black Panther.

When we exited the shuttle, a navy lieutenant stood
waiting. He saluted when I reached the bottom of the steps. "Captain
Sapir, Colonel Ramos would like a word with you when you get time." He
looked a bit apprehensive while he awaited an answer. His colonel could be
upset with him if I didn't cooperate, and I could be nasty since I didn't owe
Ramos the time of day—the unfortunate realities of being a messenger.

"I'm available now or whenever the colonel has
time," I said, thinking the colonel might have updated information on
Nizara, and that even if he didn't, he was a senior Jax officer and deserved respect.

"He's available now, Captain. The sergeant will see
to your lieutenant and detail."

"Lead on, Lieutenant." I followed him out of
the shuttle bay.

The marine facilities were on the same level as the
shuttles, so it only took a few minutes to reach the colonel's office. The door
was open and the lieutenant waved for me to enter after looking into the room
where a short stocky man stood. His open stare turned friendly as I entered and
gave a shallow bow.

"Help yourself to something to drink and have a
seat, Captain Sapir. I'm glad for the opportunity to meet you. You have quite
the reputation for a relatively new member of the Black Guard," Romos said,
waving to the sideboard. He took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of
his desk.

"Probably because several of my assignments have
been working alongside other Jax military units."

He laughed. "To hear it told, you did their jobs
for them." His look suddenly became serious.

"We each have our specific expertise. You could for
example use army troops to board an enemy ship, but the deaths would be
disproportionally high. And you wouldn't consider the marines as having done
the army's job if you took over the responsibility, would you?"

Ramos laughed long and hard. "No, but I know a few
idiots who would think we did it for the glory." The statement sounded
reasonable, but I felt there was a deeper question there—was the Guard
seeking glory? Grandstanding?

"I doubt any of us get to pick our assignments.
It's
Yes, sir, I'm on my way, sir!
"

Ramos nodded agreement. "If the rumors are right,
The JCC … approved another New Kief-like contract. And unfortunately, you don't
have anyone to call on for support."

"I imagine they had no option in this case. If they
refused, it would be to admit the Jax have weaknesses—"

"But if you … your client gets killed …"

"Tradition." I shrugged. "The lessor of
two bad options."

Ramos nodded. "Captain Hawkins has indicated that the
JCC has directed him to remain in Nizara space. Sounds like the JCC is feeling
guilty, because I can't imagine how we can help."

"It will be comforting knowing family is orbiting
above us and there if we need you," I said, and I meant it. It meant we
weren't alone—and the cruiser had capabilities that might prove useful.

"I like you, Sapir. I suspect the Angels of Death
aren't going to like meeting the Black Guard."

* * *

I held two meetings to hear my troops' ideas for killing
Guards. Rather than a sober discussion of bad things that could happen, it
seemed like a lighthearted family get together.

"Lob a grenade-like object at the door Guard,"
Corporal Volpe said.

"No problem, catch it and lob it back," Senior
Sergeant Nadel quipped.

"Sniper." Corporal Rong said.

"No sleeping on duty, Rong. See someone with a
rifle, shoot him. They can't shoot you unless they can see you." Senior Sergeant
Mintz pointed to his eyes.

"Rocket launcher into the door to the room," Sergeant
Haber said after I suggested we stay in the room and not station anyone in the
hallway.

"Plant a motion detector in the hallway so we could
shoot our missile first," Senior Sergeant Judt said, pointing his finger
like a gun.

"Sneak by us wearing a disguise," Corporal
Uziel said smiling. "It works for us."

"We could force everyone to strip before they
enter. Our captain does," Senior Sergeant Catz said, referring to an
incident at Molova, which solicited good-natured laughs.

While the sessions appeared whimsical on the surface,
the suggestions covered a wide range of plausible methods ranging from brute
force to stealth. And underneath the lighthearted banter, they were
professionals, and each suggestion was being seriously considered.

We arrived two days later and were dropped outside the
city of Iladar, which looked like a warehouse district situated close to an
inland sea that connected the three kingdoms. We were greeted by a tall middle-aged
man dressed in a brown jacket, white pants with a red stripe, black leather
boots, and a red beret. The badge on the beret and shoulder boards identified
him as a senior officer. After scanning me, he came to attention and saluted.

"Good day, Captain Sapir. I'm Colonel Naxal,
Commander of King Zeruf's private security guard. Welcome to Iladar City. I have
arranged transportation to King Zeruf's compound. Unfortunately, we do not
allow air vehicles inside the city. We have troop carriers for your detail and
my private vehicle for us." He waved toward a white limo.

"Thank you, Colonel Naxal. I would appreciate your
assessment as to the current situation and your understanding of our
responsibilities." I hoped to get a sense of his feelings toward the
Guard. Those in charge of a monarch's security seldom liked the Guard usurping
their duties.