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Chapter 23: Democracy at Work

Kat’s POV

I wasn’t sure how Marcy would react to that. I was blind when it came to people I liked, so I had no idea whether or not she was asking me because she felt the same way, or if she just wanted to get the denial out of the way. I suspected the latter.

All of those thoughts, which ran through my head in the space of two seconds, melted when I felt Marcy repaying me for the tackle-hug I’d given her last night.

When I regained my senses, Marcy was laughing, lying on top of me, arms wrapped around my midsection, using my chest as a pillow.

“H-, Hello,” I managed, “How may I help you?”

Marcy chuckled again, looking up to meet my gaze. “Oh,” she teased, “I don’t know. Maybe become a more comfortable mattress?”

I felt my face split into a grin. “Well,” I said with my best mix of sarcasm and temptation, “I can’t do that… However,” I leaned up a bit, wiggling my right arm free to tilt up Marcy’s chin a bit, “I think this will do.” I leaned in, and our lips met. This was certainly better than the first time. This time, we were both ready, and there was no pent up stress in what we did. I’m sure that we both knew that this might be problematic later, but just then I didn’t care, and it didn’t seem like Marcy did either.

We were still at it, eyes closed, when I heard the flap of the tent open.

“Oh,” Dave’s voice came, and we broke apart, Marcy rolling away and both of us sitting up, “Sorry. I hate to interrupt, I really do, but there’s an emergency senate meeting to discuss what happened on the rescue mission.”

“What?” I was confused. I’d assumed if anything bad had happened, Marcy would’ve told me. Then again, she’d been too tired last night, and… Otherwise occupied this morning.

“Sorry,” Dave said, “I forgot you didn’t know. Penny turned on us.”

“No way,” I denied, Penny had been the one to assure me it wasn’t all bad to have unconventional methods, that my natural style could still work around here, “How could she?”

“I don’t know,” Dave was as grim as I’d ever seen him, and I’d seen him in battle against the monster army that couldn’t die, “But she killed Jake. She stabbed him in the back and ran, so now we need to figure this out.”

“She was our head scout,” I said, worry building up, “She knows way too much…”

“We should get to the senate,” Dave seemed to be thinking the same thing as me, but he didn’t say it.

I looked back over to Marcy, wondering when we’d next have the chance to just talk.

“Marcy,” Dave said, “You should strap on your sword and get to the debriefing with the others. Amy’s overseeing it.”

Marcy seemed reassured by this, standing and slinging her spatha over her back so the hilt peeked over her right shoulder, then tightening it.

She walked to the flap, looked back, said, “Good luck, guys.” And then she was gone.

Dave and I headed to the senate house in silence. Neither of us wanted to think about this. Penny had been with the legion longer than either of us, and we’d been here four years. Her skills and powers had gotten her appointed head scout, which was a command equal to centurion these days. Neither of us wanted to think about what this meant. And, naturally, that meant I couldn’t think about anything else.

If she was a traitor, then Albion knew nearly everything he’d ever need. If she was a traitor, then that meant any number of the scouting reports could be false. And, worst of all, if she was a traitor, then who else might be? Who else might’ve been planted here? How long had they been here? Everyone was now a suspect.

We arrived at the house and took our seats, Reyna and Frank calling the room to order as soon as the last senator from the fourth was seated. The assembly was definitely a surprise. Everyone was dressed only in their purple shirt and jeans. Not a toga to be seen.

“Thank you for convening on such short notice,” Reyna spoke with her usual air of authority, but now she seemed more worried than I’d ever seen her before.

“As you probably already know,” Frank said, “We’re here to discuss the betrayal of Penny Abandonato, who killed Jake Donato and left the rest of her team and the rescued captives behind during the recent mission to get our recruits out of the enemy camp.”

There were some mixed mumbles and responses to this from around the house, then one of the first’s senators, Jen, stood and asked, “How do we know that’s what happened? What proof is there?”

“The wound,” Dave stood, “It was too small to have been made by any of the swords that our pursuers were using. Only her dagger could have cut to that depth and still be delivered with enough force to do the damage it did.”

“How do we know that she wasn’t captured?” Mike, the straggler from the forth, asked, “It’s possible that they caught her and took the dagger, isn’t it?”

“I knew her,” said Joe, the other senator from the fourth, “She’d have slit her own throat before she got captured. She screwed us, and you know it.”

From there, the room was in a state of hopeless argument until Reyna shouted for order over the din.

“Enough!” She called, “It doesn’t matter now whether she’s a traitor or not. The fact is, she is with the enemy, and we must assume that, by one method or another, they will learn, or already have learned, anything and everything she knows. Meaning we must recall all scouts in the field and modify any plans she was aware of. There is also the matter of appointing a new head scout. We have selected Amy Craig of the third cohort for the position.”

“Impossible,” I piped up, “I fully believe Amy would be capable of doing the job, but she’s already centurion of the third. Nobody can hold both those ranks.”

“True,” Frank stood up now, “That is why Reyna and I have chosen you as the new centurion.”

I sat there, shocked. Then I said, “No way, I’m barely fit to be a political leader! And there are mixed feeling about my, ah, none-godly heritage. They won’t follow me!”

“I realize this is a big reasonability,” Reyna said, trying to calm me, “And I am sorry to place it on you in the middle of a war, but we agreed you were the most fit leader among you cohort to take Amy’s if we give her this new assignment.”

I realized it was useless to fight this. Reyna’s word on officer replacement had always been final.

After some debate on how to move forward, it was agreed that the military officers should decide how to handle the situation from here in a way that held less debate. It was going to take some getting used to, decisions like that including me past wishing Dave and Amy luck. The meeting was over, and the senate adjourned.

Description
Chapter 23: Democracy at Work

Kat’s POV

I wasn’t sure how Marcy would react to that. I was blind when it came to people I liked, so I had no idea whether or not she was asking me because she felt the same way, or if she just wanted to get the denial out of the way. I suspected the latter.

All of those thoughts, which ran through my head in the space of two seconds, melted when I felt Marcy repaying me for the tackle-hug I’d given her last night.

When I regained my senses, Marcy was laughing, lying on top of me, arms wrapped around my midsection, using my chest as a pillow.

“H-, Hello,” I managed, “How may I help you?”

Marcy chuckled again, looking up to meet my gaze. “Oh,” she teased, “I don’t know. Maybe become a more comfortable mattress?”

I felt my face split into a grin. “Well,” I said with my best mix of sarcasm and temptation, “I can’t do that… However,” I leaned up a bit, wiggling my right arm free to tilt up Marcy’s chin a bit, “I think this will do.” I leaned in, and our lips met. This was certainly better than the first time. This time, we were both ready, and there was no pent up stress in what we did. I’m sure that we both knew that this might be problematic later, but just then I didn’t care, and it didn’t seem like Marcy did either.

We were still at it, eyes closed, when I heard the flap of the tent open.

“Oh,” Dave’s voice came, and we broke apart, Marcy rolling away and both of us sitting up, “Sorry. I hate to interrupt, I really do, but there’s an emergency senate meeting to discuss what happened on the rescue mission.”

“What?” I was confused. I’d assumed if anything bad had happened, Marcy would’ve told me. Then again, she’d been too tired last night, and… Otherwise occupied this morning.

“Sorry,” Dave said, “I forgot you didn’t know. Penny turned on us.”

“No way,” I denied, Penny had been the one to assure me it wasn’t all bad to have unconventional methods, that my natural style could still work around here, “How could she?”

“I don’t know,” Dave was as grim as I’d ever seen him, and I’d seen him in battle against the monster army that couldn’t die, “But she killed Jake. She stabbed him in the back and ran, so now we need to figure this out.”

“She was our head scout,” I said, worry building up, “She knows way too much…”

“We should get to the senate,” Dave seemed to be thinking the same thing as me, but he didn’t say it.

I looked back over to Marcy, wondering when we’d next have the chance to just talk.

“Marcy,” Dave said, “You should strap on your sword and get to the debriefing with the others. Amy’s overseeing it.”

Marcy seemed reassured by this, standing and slinging her spatha over her back so the hilt peeked over her right shoulder, then tightening it.

She walked to the flap, looked back, said, “Good luck, guys.” And then she was gone.

Dave and I headed to the senate house in silence. Neither of us wanted to think about this. Penny had been with the legion longer than either of us, and we’d been here four years. Her skills and powers had gotten her appointed head scout, which was a command equal to centurion these days. Neither of us wanted to think about what this meant. And, naturally, that meant I couldn’t think about anything else.

If she was a traitor, then Albion knew nearly everything he’d ever need. If she was a traitor, then that meant any number of the scouting reports could be false. And, worst of all, if she was a traitor, then who else might be? Who else might’ve been planted here? How long had they been here? Everyone was now a suspect.

We arrived at the house and took our seats, Reyna and Frank calling the room to order as soon as the last senator from the fourth was seated. The assembly was definitely a surprise. Everyone was dressed only in their purple shirt and jeans. Not a toga to be seen.

“Thank you for convening on such short notice,” Reyna spoke with her usual air of authority, but now she seemed more worried than I’d ever seen her before.

“As you probably already know,” Frank said, “We’re here to discuss the betrayal of Penny Abandonato, who killed Jake Donato and left the rest of her team and the rescued captives behind during the recent mission to get our recruits out of the enemy camp.”

There were some mixed mumbles and responses to this from around the house, then one of the first’s senators, Jen, stood and asked, “How do we know that’s what happened? What proof is there?”

“The wound,” Dave stood, “It was too small to have been made by any of the swords that our pursuers were using. Only her dagger could have cut to that depth and still be delivered with enough force to do the damage it did.”

“How do we know that she wasn’t captured?” Mike, the straggler from the forth, asked, “It’s possible that they caught her and took the dagger, isn’t it?”

“I knew her,” said Joe, the other senator from the fourth, “She’d have slit her own throat before she got captured. She screwed us, and you know it.”

From there, the room was in a state of hopeless argument until Reyna shouted for order over the din.

“Enough!” She called, “It doesn’t matter now whether she’s a traitor or not. The fact is, she is with the enemy, and we must assume that, by one method or another, they will learn, or already have learned, anything and everything she knows. Meaning we must recall all scouts in the field and modify any plans she was aware of. There is also the matter of appointing a new head scout. We have selected Amy Craig of the third cohort for the position.”

“Impossible,” I piped up, “I fully believe Amy would be capable of doing the job, but she’s already centurion of the third. Nobody can hold both those ranks.”

“True,” Frank stood up now, “That is why Reyna and I have chosen you as the new centurion.”

I sat there, shocked. Then I said, “No way, I’m barely fit to be a political leader! And there are mixed feeling about my, ah, none-godly heritage. They won’t follow me!”

“I realize this is a big reasonability,” Reyna said, trying to calm me, “And I am sorry to place it on you in the middle of a war, but we agreed you were the most fit leader among you cohort to take Amy’s if we give her this new assignment.”

I realized it was useless to fight this. Reyna’s word on officer replacement had always been final.

After some debate on how to move forward, it was agreed that the military officers should decide how to handle the situation from here in a way that held less debate. It was going to take some getting used to, decisions like that including me past wishing Dave and Amy luck. The meeting was over, and the senate adjourned.