Saturday, 21 March 2572 CE

Blackfeather was still apprehensive when she arrived at Harmony Lodge. She’d been met at the airport by a staff car driven by a young man who introduced himself as Lieutenant Charles Powell, Colonel Cortin’s aide, though he looked too young to drive, much less be an Enforcement officer. He’d helped with her luggage, then driven her silently but efficiently to the Palace Complex, gotten her through the formalities of a temporary pass, and brought her to the Lodge’s main entrance, near the front of the estate.

Servants approached as Powell opened the door for her and helped her out of the car. “They’ll take your luggage to your room, Miss Blackfeather,” he said. “Her Excellency and Captain Odeon are waiting in her office; I’m to escort you to them immediately.”

“I would prefer to clean up first.”

“Sorry, Miss Blackfeather,” Powell said, not sounding at all regretful. “Her Excellency was most specific; if you will come this way, please.”

Young or not, Blackfeather thought, he had the false-polite presumption of an Enforcement veteran. Still, what else could she expect from an Inquisitor’s lackey? “Very well, Lieutenant, take me to Her Excellency.”

Moments later, Powell showed her into a large office with Cortin seated behind the desk and a tall, grim-looking scar-faced man who had to be Captain Odeon standing to Cortin’s left at a stiff parade-rest.

Cortin rose as the reporter entered. “Thank you for coming here first, Miss Blackfeather. While I’m sure you would have preferred to bathe and have a brief rest before meeting my team, we have a compelling reason to’ve asked you here. Captain Odeon assures me it will take only seconds, then Lieutenant Powell will show you to your room.”

Despite her irritation, Blackfeather was intrigued. “What reason, Your Excellency?”

It was Odeon who answered. “Something your . . . patron . . . wanted me to do. You don’t remember that you were there when he . . . made it possible for me, but you’ll remember once it’s done. It won’t hurt at all, and it’ll only take a few seconds, as Colonel Cortin said. It’d be easier on me if you make eye contact, but that isn’t really necessary.”

Although Blackfeather normally had no interest in making anything easy for an Enforcement killer, there was something in Odeon’s expression that made her waver; she stared into his pale blue eyes.

The promised seconds later, she collapsed in shock, to be caught by strong arms. Larry was Shayan, and he’d had her under compulsions to do things she never would have dreamed of on her own, and he’d done things to her body that were horrible, and she’d enjoyed them and what he’d done with his changes, and oh dear God the horror he’d done to the man who’d helped her in spite of what had been done to him and “Sis!” she heard Cortin snap.

“I am here, Colonel,” a soft voice said. “Miss Blackfeather?” A pause. “Miss Blackfeather?”

“Go ’way.”

“I am a medic. With your permission, I can give you something for shock. Otherwise, I can treat you only with warmth and quiet.”

Drugs were bad . . . but the horror of these sudden disclosures was worse. “Do what you think best,” she managed.

An immediate needleprick startled her; the quick blackness that followed came as a distinct relief.

Cortin watched Pritchett carry the reporter out, Chang accompanying them, then she turned to Odeon. He looked tired and a little shaken, but nowhere near as bad as he had after Shayan’s “lesson”. “Are you all right, Mike?”

“I will be, after a nap.” Odeon rubbed his temples. “He said the operation would be nothing compared to the lesson, and he was right but it was rough enough. I don’t have the kind of strength he does.”

“You’re a human, not a fallen angel,” Cortin said drily. “I was thinking about emotionally, though you don’t look quite as wound up as you have been.”

“Not quite,” Odeon admitted. “I do feel a bit more human, now I’ve made some constructive use of what he put me through. My studies are helping, too, but . . .” He shook his head. “I’m not back to normal, no.”

“Close enough for unity? I’m still convinced that’s what you need.”

Odeon thought for a moment, then shook his head again. “No, I don’t think so. I’d like it, but I’m still afraid of touching you. Give me another day or two of Tangerine and studies, though, and I think I’ll be okay.”

Cortin looked at him curiously. “Really? A kitten and studying the place our ancestors fled from seem like odd therapy. On the other hand, I’m not about to argue with anything that works.”

“Truth to tell, I’m surprised how much the studies, especially, do help.” Odeon rubbed the scar across his lips, unsure of himself. “I’m just scratching the surface, of course can’t do much else with nothing but comm intercepts and what’s left of the records the Founders kept but even this early, I’m starting to develop respect for the Imperials. Maybe a little bit of liking, too.”

Cortin’s expression became quizzical. “That’s pretty fast, isn’t it? Especially for you?”

“Faster than I’d expect, yeah.” Odeon paused, frowning. “I’m not even as upset as I was yesterday about the Protector maybe coming from there.”

Cortin grinned. “I’d be looking forward to contact instead of it scaring me if I could believe that; at least then I’d know for sure it couldn’t possibly be me. And the Empire’d be less likely to attack us if one of their own became our ruler. Did those ambiguous prophecies Ivan mentioned say anything about the Protector’s relationship to the Great King?”

“Nothing I could make any sense out of, though Ivan might be able to. Unfortunately for me; fortunately for him Shayan never touched his mind, so I won’t be able to check with him till he gets back from Archangel. As for the Empire attacking us ” Odeon smiled briefly, “I don’t think I’d waste time worrying about it. They’ve got a whole new Sector full of non-humans to cope with, as of three years ago; I can’t see them wasting resources on a mere dozen planets.”

“If Ivan’s right, we’ll find out soon enough, and frankly, that’s a subject I’d rather avoid as long as possible. What’s the verdict on Miss Blackfeather?”

“About what he said,” Odeon replied. “She’s in shock right now, but I got the feeling she’s pretty resilient; she should be settled down in a few hours. And she’s basically a good person; outside his compulsions, she hasn’t committed more than the normal venial sins. She’s confessed them, too, as of just before her flight left New Rome, and been forgiven. By him, but as he pointed out to me, the sacrament’s validity doesn’t depend on the priest.”

“And acts committed under compulsion are chargeable to the compellor, not the compelled. Other than that?”

“I think I could get to like her. She’s intelligent, honest, and given the chance I think she’d have a decent sense of humor. No more devout than usual, which is hardly surprising considering her patron; if anything, I’m surprised she’s as devout as she is. After the shock she just got, she may even be willing to listen to us about the Protector.”

“And be Sealed, become part of His staff?”

“I’d bet so. Probably not immediately, though I think we should let her attend services.”

Cortin frowned briefly, then nodded. “If Sis agrees. I’m not sure how Blackfeather will react with her background, though. She can’t possibly be used to public nudity, much less anything like the Protector’s celebration.”

“She was Shayan’s mistress,” Odeon said drily. “He’s taken her to Hell, though only his palace we might both be surprised what she’s seen. And she’s adaptable.”

Blackfeather wasn’t feeling particularly adaptable when she woke from Chang’s drug; she was still too shaken by what she’d found out when Odeon had released the compulsions that had held her for so long. It was a relief to find a woman sitting beside her bed and almost a relief that the woman wore Enforcement gray, with a medic’s specialty badge. “You’re the one who gave me the shot?” she asked as she sat up.

“I am. Medic-Lieutenant Eleanor Chang, otherwise called Piety or Sis. I regret that your welcome to our home was so traumatic, though the drug should have helped. We have waited lunch, in case you cared to join us.”

To Blackfeather’s astonishment, the medic’s words made her realize she was hungry and the idea of eating with Enforcement troopers was more attractive than not. After what Odeon had suffered to help her, she was willing to believe there might really be more than talk to their motto of “We Serve, to Protect”. She might not manage to feel protected just yet, but at least she no longer felt threatened. “Do I have time to clean up a bit, Lieutenant?”

“Of course. Colonel Cortin has asked me to apologize for her earlier insistence on meeting you immediately, and hopes you will understand and forgive her.”

“Let’s just say I’ll withhold judgement until I find out more. Though . . . I can’t deny I’m grateful to Captain Odeon.”

“He is a good man, Miss Blackfeather, a priest of both Jeshua and the Protector. He is also, though he would probably laugh at the term, a wise man. He is, however, deeply troubled by the Hell-King’s touch, so if he should seem wary of you, please realize it is nothing at all personal.”

“I think I can manage that,” Blackfeather said. She went into the bathroom to take care of her needs, then emerged to dress. When she was done, Chang led her to the dining room where she was astonished to find three young children munching on cookies, and an apologetic-looking Colonel of Enforcement.

“They were hungry,” Cortin said. “I’m afraid I’m not as strict as I should be but they did want to see you. Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Blackfeather said. She’d never been all that fond of children; on the other hand, she did know they were humanity’s future, and fewer than a replacement number, here in the Systems, were being born. “They aren’t yours, I know; more company?”

“Not exactly.” Cortin studied the reporter. “If I give you some background information, will you treat it as confidential until I say you can publish it? That should be less than a week.”

“Of course!”

“I’ll brief you while we’re eating, then.”

When the meal was over, Blackfeather was full, but scarcely aware of what she’d eaten. Taken as a whole Cortin’s revelations, even delivered in the unemotional tone of what she’d called it, a briefing, were a shock. Blackfeather had anticipated or guessed at parts, which along with her training helped her conceal that shock, but didn’t lessen it. Especially since she remembered that Larry had expected and intended her to become part of the Protector’s staff, opposing him.

She didn’t want to go into that right now, though. A nice safe neutral topic would be better . . . if she could think of one, and something touching her ankle provided the perfect subject when she bent down to pick up the tiny culprit. “Children, and now a kitten not at all what I expected when I got your invitation, Excellency.”

“More normal and civilized, right?” Cortin smiled. “I’m not offended, Miss Blackfeather, so you needn’t look defensive. Until recently, I was careful to conceal such things; a reputation can be most useful to an Inquisitor. Since the situation’s changed, I can let the truth be known.” She grimaced. “And since I’ve found out myself what the truth is, which was a shock at times.”

“I can sympathize,” Blackfeather said with feeling. “All these years I’ve thought I was free . . .”

“And I thought I was immune to love free in a different way. But I’m glad I was wrong.” Cortin looked around the table at her Family, smiling. “In my admittedly biased opinion, you won’t find a better group of people in the entire Kingdom Systems, and I couldn’t be more delighted that they adopted me. I’m sorry Mike had to break your conditioning so abruptly, but I hope that having it broken will let you enjoy your stay here.”

“It’ll make it possible, at least,” Blackfeather said. “What I’m sorry about is what he had to go through to help me.”

“I was simply doing my duty, Miss Blackfeather,” Odeon said, startling her. “I had no choice, and given the same circumstances, I’d have to try doing it again. Though I’m not sure I’d be able to, a second time.”

“Since I don’t think I could have done it the first time,” Blackfeather said, “I certainly couldn’t fault you for that! And duty or not, I am grateful, and I feel I owe you a debt.”

“No debt,” Odeon said. “You don’t owe me us any more than you owe anyone else you write about. All we ask for is objective observation and reporting, in spite of the fact that most of us are Enforcement.”

“My word on it,” Blackfeather said. “I can’t promise favorable reports, but they’ll be as honest as I can make them.”

Monday afternoon, 23 March 2572

Cortin grinned as Odeon entered her room and took one of the armchairs, his lap immediately occupied by the kitten who’d become his almost-inseparable companion whenever he was available. “I know it’s a day earlier than the deadline I gave you, but ”

Odeon chuckled. “I’m fine, Joanie, between Tanj here and the studying.” He rubbed the kitten’s ears, smiling at her loud purr. “She’s a little darling, and I’m almost afraid to say I’m really enjoying my research, as much as I got teased for it in school. I don’t think that’s what you called me in for, though.”

“To find out exactly how you’re doing, yes; the details of your research, no. And I hadn’t expected you to bring your little friend along.”

“Who brought her? I can’t keep her away! Don’t worry, though, she won’t interfere.”

“And just how do you know that?”

“A trip to the New Eden in the wee hours this morning, when I started feeling interested for the first time since Shayan worked on me. If I recall my explorations here correctly, you were with Chuck and Dave, Sis and Betty with the other two, and I didn’t want to wake anyone. I also didn’t want to take Tanj, but you know what a sucker I am even worse than you, where kids and animals are concerned. So she went along, in my pocket. She watched, the first couple of times, then went to sleep. A pillow on the floor, if you’re curious.”

“Not primarily about that,” Cortin said. “May I be nosy and ask how many you enjoyed?”

Uncharacteristically, Odeon flushed. “Uh I can’t match you, but all the ladies who were awake. You know what it’s like when you’ve been dry for a while.”

“I sure do.” Cortin tried to look stern, but failed miserably and gave up, grinning instead. “I should chew you out for not waking me, Captain. I assume, however, that you’re back to normal and willing to demonstrate?”

“Willing and eager, Excellency.”

Both of them were far more relaxed when they dressed for dinner, though Tangerine meowed plaintively at Odeon and tried to climb his trouser leg. He shrugged, grinning at Cortin, and sat down. “Part of her routine this time of day, I’m afraid,” he apologized as the kitten jumped to his shoulder and began nibbling at his earlobe.

“Has you pretty well trained, doesn’t she?” Cortin said, chuckling.

“Uh-huh.” Odeon dug into a pocket, unwrapped and handed the kitten a piece of something Cortin couldn’t identify but Tangerine obviously could; she hopped down to his lap with a sound halfway between a purr and a growl, eating her treat. Odeon let her finish, then put her on the floor. “I’m cleared for the convent defense, then.”

Cortin nodded. “You are. I just wish I were, too.”

The following evening, Cortin went to Odeon’s room shortly before supper. “Mike, got a minute?”

“Any time. What’s up?”

“Not that, this close to supper will you and Sis be holding services this evening?”

“Of course. Are you going to bring Blackfeather?”

Cortin hesitated. “I don’t know,” she said at last. “She’ll have to be exposed to it sooner or later, but I’m not sure an evening before the team goes into combat is the right time. If she reacts badly to either the nudity or the ceremony itself, it might make things harder on them.”

“She’s going in too,” Odeon pointed out.

Cortin grimaced. “I know, blast it! She can and I can’t so you tell me which would be less damaging.”

“In your place, I’d brief her, then let her decide whether she thinks she can accept it as a religious function.” Odeon grinned. “As I may’ve said, I don’t think anyone who’s spent time in Hell is going to be shocked by anything as mild as that my only hesitation is about how she’ll react otherwise.”

“Understood. All right, that’s what I’ll do.”

In spite of Cortin’s briefing, Blackfeather had trouble at first accepting a nude man and woman as real priests conducting a real religious rite. That changed quickly, though, in large part because of the Family’s obvious acceptance of precisely that, and their equally-obvious devotion to the Protector. She didn’t yet, anyway share that devotion, and if it hadn’t been for Larry’s certainty that the Protector was real, she thought it unlikely she’d have believed what was going on was an act of worship.

But Larry no, she chided herself; she ought to start thinking of him by his real name Shayan was certain of the Protector’s existence and imminent arrival. Or . . . Blackfeather looked sharply at Cortin. Her lover hadn’t said it in so many words, but now that she thought back, he’d certainly given the impression that Cortin was the Protector!

Even though it had seemed pointless at the time, Blackfeather now found herself wishing she’d paid more attention to prophecies of the Final Coming. Nothing she could remember from them said Cortin couldn’t be the Protector instead of simply the Herald, which was disconcerting enough. A lot of things, in fact, pointed to it, now that she began to analyze everything she’d heard and read about Cortin and her unprecedented, rapid rise from being a curiosity as the only female Enforcement officer to High King’s Inquisitor and Archduchess not to mention her tumbling of some of Enforcement’s strictest regulations, such as Special Ops’ lack of close family, not only with impunity but with the backing of all the Sovereigns. And working for drastic changes in the social and religious systems with divine sanction that became obvious every time she said Mass.

Cortin wasn’t reacting the way Blackfeather would expect from a divine incarnation, though. Desire for revenge after rape and maiming was a human thing the Protector should be beyond. So was becoming an Inquisitor, nothing like Jeshua’s forgiveness of His enemies and His gentle nature. Still, she thougt, there was precedent, if you went back to the First Testament; she’d never been comfortable with things like the innocent Job being tormented simply as a demonstration to Shayan, or the she-bears being sent to kill forty-two children whose only offense had been to tease Elisha about being bald. Cortin at least confined the punitive parts of her Inquisitorial attentions to criminals, and her truthsense let her be certain who those criminals actually were.