Chapter Fifteen

2000 Hours, August 03, 2555 (Military Calendar)

Marine Camp Rory

Tabah Region, Planet Leka, Katami System

'I'm their what?'

Cobb was seated in what passed for a mess hall at Camp Rory, the remains of a late meal before him, as Garza relayed what he had learned from the seven girls since their arrival to the Spartan, who had listened with rapt attention until the latest piece of information reached his ears.

'You're their leader,' Garza said. 'Or commander, or master, or lord. I'm not fully certain, not right now, but the word they're using seems to cover a broad spectrum of roles that now belong to you.'

It had come as a surprise when the girls knelt before Cobb and offered up their swords, apparently some local custom that signified defeat, but that paled in comparison to when he had started to head into the camp and they sprang to their feet and made to follow him in. Garza had tried to make sense of it but his translation software was lacking, so Cobb made the decision to let them into camp anyway.

At the very least they would be the UNSC's first prisoners of war and, with some coaxing, provide actionable intelligence for their upcoming operations in the area. To that end, Garza had spent much of the past four hours working with them to refine his software. At least, once they got it across to the girls to stay with him.

The moment Cobb had started walking away they stood up and followed him, much like they had Snow White, or Lord Ether to use his real name, and between a series of hand gestures and half-translated words they understood he wanted them to stay with Garza.

'I'm their leader?' Cobb repeated.

He glanced past Garza to the girls as they sat clustered together in an isolated part of the camp, staring wide eyed at everything going on around them. The eldest girl, the one that had challenged Cobb, was sat on one side of the cluster, and the second eldest girl was on the other. Then came some twins with local flowers weaved into mirrored braids, then the smallest and youngest three right in the middle.

One had a leather bound tome open in her lap and was scribbling in it, staring around more intently than the others, and Cobb quickly realised she was drawing or sketching everything around her. Garza caught where his attention was and waved his concerns away.

'Don't worry about it,' he said. 'She's the artist in the group. Actually, she had a few sketches of you in her book already.'

'Really?' Cobb said.

'Yes,' Garza said. 'Quite the likeness, too.'

He brought up an image on his data pad and showed it to Cobb, and he saw a pencil sketch of a monstrous figure replete with spikes and horns and claws and a nasty looking dagger that was dripping blood.

'Something tells me Snow White and these seven were tracking us for a while,' Cobb said as he examined the picture before passing the data pad back.

'Somebody was bound to,' Garza said. 'What are you going to do about the girls?'

'Well, technically speaking, they surrendered to us,' Cobb said. 'That makes them prisoners of war, and thus we have to abide by the UNSC's rules regarding them, which is probably a better deal than what our people would get, and are getting.'

'Yeah,' Garza said darkly, but then he shook his head and added, 'But how we treat our captives is what sets us apart.'

Cobb nodded in agreement. 'We'll get them back.'

It was Garza's turn to nod his head and he carried on with his explanation as to who or what the girls were, as best he could tell according to his translations. They were some sort of holy order of monks or more likely paladins, charted by the local church to seek out beings that were deemed to be heretical and eliminate them.

The rest of the time they served to mark the person they followed as a skilled fighter, as leadership of their holy order could only be attained via defeating the current holder of the title in single combat. But, if they died of natural causes or were deemed to have died under less than honourable circumstances as had been the case with Lord Ether, it fell to the senior member of the group to assume that role.

Seeing as he had defeated her, that now meant Cobb was the leader of this holy order of young girls.

Once word got out it was going to provide much amusement to the Marines, Cobb knew, and he hoped they were smart enough to keep any comments to themselves. But then he remembered they were Marines, which probably meant he wouldn't be so lucky.

Cobb groaned and buried his head in his hands, looking up a moment later through his fingers as Chavez came and sat down next to Garza.

'I've set up one of the spare tunnels for them,' he said. 'We've put some spare bedding and clothing in, too, to supplement whatever they've got. You know, up close, I never realised just how young they all are. Did Humbert really sleep with them all?'

'As best as Sato could determine,' Cobb said. 'It's hard to tell the individual blobs apart on thermal, but he took at least one to bed with him each night.'

'Damn,' Chavez said. 'Do we know how old they are?'

'According to the local calendar, the youngest is fourteen and the oldest is eighteen,' Garza said. 'By ours, they're between fifteen and nineteen.'

'Damn,' Chavez said again. 'That's still messed up.'

Cobb hummed in agreement as he placed his hands on the table, though his thoughts were drifting to their food situation. An extra seven mouths to feed meant it would be around the 15th or 16th when they ran out, well before they could expect UNSC reinforcements. All it really meant was that their plans to raid the nearby towns and villages would have to be put into place earlier than expected.

'Let's put TRASH PANDA into play tomorrow,' Cobb said. 'Might as well, now that the enemy knows we're here and there's more people wanting food. Garza, think you could talk to the girls and see if they know where large stores are?'

'Sure,' Garza said. 'They've been surprisingly forthcoming with their information.'

'Really?' Cobb said.

He shifted his gaze to the seven girls again and saw they hadn't moved, and were always letting their gazes drift back to him every few seconds as they talked quietly amongst themselves and looked around Camp Rory. To say they were prisoners of war, a position they had willingly put themselves into no less, he had expected to hear about some reluctance to share information about their home. Either that, or they were feeding Garza false information in an effort to undermine the UNSC's position.

'Really,' Garza said. 'It's strange.'

'That's one word for it,' Cobb said. 'But so long as they're being helpful.'

'Do we know their names yet?' Chavez asked. 'I don't think we can keep calling them 'the girls' much longer.'

'We do,' Garza said. 'And I'm a little disheartened you haven't asked for them yet.'

'You didn't start with their names, either,' Cobb said.

Garza shrugged in response to that but scrolled to the part of his dossier on the girls that contained their names, as best he could determine, doing his best to wrap his tongue around the local dialect and Cobb and Chavez did their best to remember his pronunciation whilst matching names to faces.

'No last names?' Cobb said.

'None that I could determine,' Garza said. 'Maybe this place doesn't have them, or they're avoiding telling us for some reason. Could be they're the daughters of important people.'

'It's not like we're planning to ransom them back or anything,' Chavez said.

'They might not know that,' Cobb said. 'After all, they killed or captured everyone in Camp Murphy for no discernible reason. Who knows what's going on in their heads.'

'True that, sir,' Chavez said. 'So what are we going to do with them?'

'Well, they are prisoners of war,' Cobb said. 'Technically. So, we just have to abide by UNSC Code of Conduct until such a time they can be released back to their home nation.'

'Understood,' Chavez said.

He stood and moved to where his NCOs were clustered, the four of them examining a map of the mountain and discussing various ways to obstruct anyone looking to climb it, passing along Cobb's instructions towards Camp Rory's newest inhabitants and the news that Operation TRASH PANDA would begin tomorrow.

'I suppose you'll want me to continue working with them on my translation software,' Garza said.

'I do,' Cobb said. 'And see if you can make any headway with the spoken component, too. It'd be nice to eavesdrop on conversations as well.'

'Doing my best on that front,' Garza said. 'But without an AI it's slow going.'

'I'm sure you'll manage,' Cobb said. 'Humanity was able to translate languages without computer support for millennia, so it is possible.'

'I know,' Garza said, rolling his eyes, before perking up again to say, 'That Efla girl already knows some English, surprisingly, and so does one of the twins. Zwo, I think.'

Cobb's brows shot up on hearing that and he said, 'They've been talking with some of the captured civilians.'

'That would be my guess,' Garza said. 'If they could tell you where they are, would you...'

But he trailed off when Cobb started shaking his head. They had enough to worry about without adding in a rescue mission for a select handful of captured civilians, the location of which might not even be accurate any more. A despondent expression played across Garza's face for a brief moment before he scooped up his data pad and stood.

'I guess I'll get back to work, then,' he said.

'No, leave it for tonight,' Cobb said. It was past eight o'clock and easy to see the girls had gone through a lot today and were drained, most of them sporting listless looks. 'Let them get some rest, then pick up where you left off in the morning.'

Garza hesitated for a moment, caught up in his excitement at finally having a chance to put his skills as a xenolinguist to good use, but as a general rule it was never wise for civilians to ignore the words of a Spartan so he nodded and said, 'Sure thing.'

He headed off towards his part of the camp and left Cobb alone, who finished off the cold remains of his meal and stood himself to walk over to the girls who all jerked their heads up, as though snapping to attention in the presence of a superior officer.

Cobb just motioned for them to follow him and led everyone to the cave Chavez had readied for them, pulling back the canvas sheeting covering the entrance to reveal seven bedrolls arranged in a row of three and a row of four, two small electric lamps and a heater present that were switched on to beat back the darkness and dampness of the cave in an attempt to make it seem more homely than it really was, and a selection of fresh clothes the Marines had donated.

The eldest girl, Saria, carried the data pad Garza had provided them so they were able to communicate and Cobb held his hand out for it. She offered it up without resistance and all seven watched and waited as Cobb typed up his message, explaining everything, and then it was his turn to wait as they wrote a response.

'Which one of us will staying you tonight?'

'None. All of you are staying in here tonight.'

'But we are yours. It is tradition for union to be complete.'

'Union to be complete?'

'We are yours.'

As good as Garza was, and as advanced as the software he used was, a mere four hours was not nearly enough to create a perfectly working translation patch that could convert English to Lekian, and vice versa. Some words would undoubtedly have context dependent meanings, or relied on a certain inflection, meaning there really was no way of knowing for sure that the messages being passed between the two parties were accurate. There would also be certain words in both languages that had no counterpart in the other.

Cobb had to wonder what union meant in this context and part of him whished he was wearing his helmet, knowing the onboard systems of the MJOLNIR armour would have brought up almost every meaning of the word in some attempt to help. At its core, union was another way of saying two or more things were joined. At least, in English.

Again, Cobb had to remind himself that Garza's work wasn't yet complete. He still had a long way to go until he or anyone else could be confident the translations were accurate.

'The seven of you are to sleep in here,' Cobb wrote on the data pad. 'I have my own quarters. There are fresh clothes and water, and if you need anything else just ask for help. There will be some Marines on night watch.'

He handed the data pad back to Saria who read it out loud to the rest, and they seemed to get it. The girl with the sketchpad, Efla?, nodded sleepily and made for one of the beddings with the other youngest, Megumi or something to that effect, following close behind.

Cobb nodded a goodnight to them all and left their quarters, heading towards his own. It wasn't all that different from theirs, the only real difference being a power source for a portable computer he used to keep a log of the day's activities. He could have just as easily written it using his MJOLNIR armour via the neural lace but Cobb was out of his protective garb for the moment, as he was for most nights when not on deployment beyond the wire.

Though the suit could be worn for extended periods it still felt good to take it off now and then, to let his skin breathe properly, and it gave him a chance to get a proper wash. That, and once the enemy relocated to their vicinity and began operations against them he would be wearing the suit until reinforcements arrived. It made little sense for him to be out of his armour if they launched a surprise attack, and seeing as how they lacked the usual technicians and armour bays it took the Marines almost an hour to get him suited up.

A milk run, Cobb thought darkly to himself as he opened up a fresh document and started to write about his encounter with the Chivalric Holy Order of Maidens. Another part of him wondered how his superiors would react to it.

2033 Hours, 15 Erntemon, 1065 (Fifth Age of the Empire)

Marine Camp Rory

Tabah Region, Planet Leka, Katami System

Within seconds of putting their heads on the bedding, Efla and Megumi were fast asleep without first bothering to take off their outerwear, and Hannya moved to rectify that. They groaned and grumbled at being woken up but did as instructed, starting the process of removing the outer layers of their armour and stacking them in neat piles by the foot of their beds.

Ost and the twins did the same a few minutes later, all of them moving with the same lethargy that spoke volumes of how the day's events had drained them, physically and emotionally. Eventually Saria followed their example and disrobed herself until she was in her undergarments, all seven of them sitting in quiet reflection as everything that had happened today began sinking in.

It seemed so surreal that only thirteen hours ago they had been setting off from their encampment to climb High Krag again in search of the Spor-Ten, all of them in high spirits despite lingering headaches after consuming just a little bit too much wine the night before.

Now here they were, servants of the Spor-Ten and duly bound by their vows to serve them, or him as they had eventually found out, until such a time as he passed away or was defeated in honourable combat by another though Saria had her doubts either would happen for a good, long time.

The Spor-Ten looked younger than Lord Ather and with a healthier complexion, to say nothing of how quickly he could move. She thought back to the reports out of Marlton and how the Spor-Ten had managed to seemingly travel great distances in almost no time at all, unbelievable at the time but after today Saria knew it was the truth.

She fought back a wave of revulsion at the prospect, knowing that in turn it meant she and the Order would be forced to share a bed with him for an equally long time, though she couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't opted to have one of them join him in his own quarters, so as to consummate his marriage with at least one of them.

Ather had done so, taking the then-sixteen year old Saria to his bed on the first night he held command of the Order and working his way through the rest over the next several weeks barring Megumi and Efla, as they were both held to be underage at the time. In a way she envied them for it, because by the time they were old enough both had fallen in love Ather just as he had fallen for them.

Her own first time had been at the hands of Lord Bowes, the previous commander of the Order before Ather had defeated him, and though it and the subsequent times hadn't been unpleasant experiences, neither had they been all that enjoyable. Lord Bowes seemed more concerned with satiating his own gratification than ensuring his partner was just as satisfied, and quite often Saria found herself feeling disappointed afterwards which was a sentiment shared by Hannya and the others.

That had changed with Ather and was part of the reason why they had all fallen in love with him, because he had taken the time to learn their weak spots and how best to exploit them so they were just as breathless afterwards as him. He had also made it a point to let them indulge in their hobbies and pastimes wherever possible, encouraged it even, which was something Bowes hadn't. So long as they did as asked, when asked, he couldn't care less what they did.

Saria glanced to her left where Hannya was, sitting with a sleepy eyed Megumi in her lap and working a brush through the younger girl's jet black hair to remove all the various knots and tangles it contained. She felt a twinge of envy towards her too, knowing she had been the last one out of them all to spend the night with Ather.

She even chided herself for having too much to drink. If she hadn't, then it might well have been her with Ather on his final night. But if she had then Hannya would be the one feeling envious of her, or whoever it might have been.

A soft sigh that could just as easily have been a yawn slipped past Saria's lips as she drew her knees up to hug them, staring blankly at the cave wall opposite her. A few moments later Efla came over, biting her bottom lip, and Saria knew what she wanted. Whenever Lord Ather was absent, the youngest of the Order would always flock to the oldest for comfort much like a child sought out an older sibling, which in a sense Saria and Hannya were to the rest.

'Come here,' she said, laying her legs flat again and holding her arms out to Efla who needed no further prompting, climbing into Saria's lap like Megumi had with Hannya though without a brush. Her brown hair was perpetually curly, no matter how many times it was combed.

'We'll be okay,' Efla asked quietly as Saria's arms closed around her and drew the young girl close. 'Won't we?'

'Of course we will,' Saria said. 'They haven't done anything bad to us, have they?'

'No,' Efla said, but then she followed it up with, 'Not yet, anyway.'

'If they meant to hurt us they would have done so already,' Saria said, gesturing around them at the cave and its furnishings. 'Why would they provide us such a nice place to sleep if they were going to mistreat us?'

'I dunno,' Efla said with a shrug, mumbling a little. 'They're still barbarians, aren't they?'

In truth, the actions of the Spor-Ten and the people under him were perplexing. Food and water had been provided for them all without prompting or asking for something in return, and all they had been forced to do was work with the sole civilian amongst them so as to produce a means of communicating more properly between the two groups.

Then, they had given them a place to sleep that was both warm and comfortable with spare clothing that had to be donated from the soldiers though their word for them, roughly translated, meant from the sea which made no sense whatsoever.

Whatever they called themselves, they went about their business in a professional looking manner and had a clear chain of command which was followed. All the tales Saria had heard of barbarians painted them as, well, barbarians, savage people with little in the way of manners or courtesy who treated their prisoners as playthings, killing them for sport when they didn't use them to satisfy a physical urge.

If these people were barbarians, then they were the most civilised ones Saria had yet encountered, though as they were also the only set of barbarians she had met it meant the bar was pretty low in that regard.

'We'll be okay,' she said though it fell on deaf ears, Efla having fallen asleep in her arms.

She moaned again when Saria woke her up but this quickly stopped when she climbed into the waiting bedding, pulling it closed, and was asleep almost the instant her eyes closed. Along from her Megumi had done the same, though with the added caveat of undoing all of Hannya's hard work by getting her hair all tangled again as she slept.

Ene, Zwo and Ost were still up and talking quietly amongst themselves but it wasn't to last, as one by one they all turned in and disappeared inside their bedding. When it was just the two of them left, Hannya offered a tired smile Saria's way before joining the others in sleep, scooting as close to Megumi as she could in case the younger girl started crying out in the night.

Saria wriggled into her bedding and worked the strange closing mechanism, a series of metal teeth that opened and closed according to which way she moved another lump of metal, until it felt like she was inside a soft cocoon with just her face uncovered.

For the next few minutes she dwelled on how the actions she had seen from the Spor-Ten and his soldiers differed from those Lord Ather and Emperor Orlon had expected, then closed her eyes and went to sleep.