Eddie
"Ain't No Party, without my Byzan Girls
Ain't no party without Byzaaan Giiirls
Ain't No Party, Ain't No Party
AIiiin't No Paaarty!~"
Eddie tapped the wheel of the Explorer as he hummed with the music. One benefit of a civilian truck over the military model was that no one felt the need to take out the radio, which broke the endless tedium of driving through fields, forests, and muddy mess of trails they had the nerve to call roads. Next to him sat Lady Catelyn Stark, who appeared to be fiercely trying to tune out the music. Their guest of honor was helpful enough; she and her accompanying escort of knights had provided a carefully plotted roadmap that would carry them south while avoiding awkward encounters with enemies of the Starks, and with the efficiency of their vehicles, the time estimate of the trip was shaved down from a journey that would take weeks to a mere several days.
Though their guests were proving to be a tough crowd, once the initial awe passed over, there came the complaints. A few times, they had to stop due to motion sickness until Doc got fed up and gave them all a healthy amount of motion pills to ease their stomachs. Lady Catelyn refused to ride within the creature comforts of the Journeyman and insisted on riding the Explorer. She was surprisingly uncurious about them; any questions she asked were on practical matters, and any attempts at conversation were blunted with stiff responses. Eddie got the message that she was unhappy with the current arrangement and decided not to press the issue. It was better they got to King Renly's turf in silence than unintentionally offending.
"All right, that's enough, Selina Kerry," Eddie said, turning off the music. "Who wants their playlist on the radio?"
"I could go for some Rudy Rocket," Lance said. "He's perfect for a road trip."
"God no," Daisy protested. "That old-time rock is for grandpa freight haulers. I got some DJ BE EAZY tracks saved up."
"You did not just say you listen to BE EAZY…"
"What's wrong with BE EAZY? Best Nomad rapper in Solar."
"He's the only Nomad rapper in the universe," Lance said. "For good reason. That shits for humans, no alien shit Daisy I'm serious."
"Since you kids can't get along, you just lost your chance," Eddie said. "Rock, what do you have for the class?"
"I, uh, got a Mika playlist."
"Mika?" Eddie said. "Hell yeah, buddy, put it on."
Rock smiled as he tapped his MoCom, and a cheery, upbeat electronic song followed by the high-pitched voice of Mika joining the chorus. The chaotic symphony of foreign noise seemed to break the stoic mood of Lady Stark, who whipped her head toward the radio.
"What is that noise?" She spoke.
"It's music," Eddie said. "I doubt this style has reached Westeros. Maybe when your people invent computers."
"Gods spare us that." Catelyn huffed. "This babbling is not even in your language."
"It's Japanese," Eddie said. "Very rude to call it babble, miss."
Lady Stark raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She adjusted in her seat and sighed, looking back out of the window.
"Normally, this is the part where you ask, 'Are we there yet?'" Eddie said.
"What?" Catelyn said. Glancing back, annoyed at the interruption of her thoughts.
"If you're bored, we can stop," Eddie said. "We're making good progress today, and thanks to your directions, we're ahead of schedule."
He tapped a few commands, bringing up a map they were moving through the west, giving the capital city of King's Landing a wide berth. While they were not participating in the Stark's war with the forces of House Lannister, traveling onto their land with a dignitary of their enemy would be a poor first introduction. They were en route to a town called Bitterbridge, where, according to reports, King Renly was gathered with a sizable army.
"I am not bored," Catelyn retorted firmly. "The sooner we arrive, the better. Your vehicle is comfortable enough to rest in."
"That almost sounds like a compliment. I'll be sure to pass it on to Starman Motors."
"Again, with your japes,' she said. "You are more suited to be a fool than a warrior."
"What can I say? It relaxes me. Anyone who doesn't have a sense of humor is too wound up; a little levity keeps you sharp."
"That is not the way of a true knight," Catelyn said flatly.
Eddie was about to respond when there was a sudden click on the dashboard.
"Traveler-1, come in."
Eddie tapped his earpiece but kept the audio on within the vehicle. Lady Stark had little trust in him, so as a show of goodwill, he let her listen in on his conversations with his people.
"Go for Traveler-1," Eddie said. "What's up?"
"Boss wanted to let you know that Chatty picked up a signal it's weak but close."
Eddie's demeanor shifted in an instant as he stood upright in his seat.
"How close?"
"About 200 klicks of our current location."
Eddie pulled up a map, doing mental calculations and observing their surroundings from the map before nodding.
"All right, detour time," he said. "Get a drone up and survey that area. Let's get moving people."
The Explorer bounced as he turned suddenly, leaving the back road, he turned onto a patch of farm left abandoned by the smoking husk of a house in the distance. He could see the Journeyman roaring through the mud as a drone raced into the air from a launch tube, accelerating away. Lady Stark gripped the seat tightly as she held on.
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Temporary delay," Eddie said. "We've detected some of our people. Going to assess their situation and see if they need rescue."
"How far are these klicks?" she asked.
"A few hundred miles," Eddie said, not feeling like explaining. "Our vehicles are fast, Lady Stark it will be a brief delay."
To her credit, Lady Stark merely furrowed her brow as she settled into her seat, smoothing out her dress as she tried to remain calm.
"Very well. Do your duty, Ser Martinez."
Eddie gave Lady Stark a polite nod as he focused on driving and began tearing through information. He was thankful that scientific drones had long range and were fast they would arrive long before they did, which gave him time to collect information. Chatty, a signals expert, was already closing in on the signal like a hunting dog with a lack of any interference or transmissions, it made her job easy as the drone raced over open fields and roads. After an agonizing hour of waiting, there was good news from Chatty, who sent a live feed.
"We got 'em, Boss," she said over the radio. "Hills to the east, there's a small encampment."
Eddie glanced at the footage, slowing down the Explorer to give him time to focus as he watched. It was a true medieval camp in every sense of the word there was a picket fence of carved spikes of wood surrounding several tents and groups of men sitting around campfires with horses scattered around. There were a few women and children among them moving between tents, mostly working while banners were displayed everywhere.
"Chatty, get a closeup on the banners."
The drone's camera peered in for a closer look, revealing a symbol of a red hand holding a sword with blood dripping off the edge. Eddie glanced up at Lady Stark.
"Are you familiar with this House?"
"That is not the sigil of a House," Catelyn said. "A sellsword company, no doubt. This far south, they are no doubt Lannister men look for the yellow lion. Sellswords will carry their banner with them.'
"You catch that, Chatty?" Eddie said.
"Sure Boss. Give me a second…Yeah, there's one."
On cue, the camera shifted over, showing the banner of a fierce lion against red, Lady Stark scowled at the view of it.
"If your people are captured by Lannister men, they are in grave danger. They have no honor nor decency."
"I am sure they're just the worst," Eddie said half mindedly. "Chatty, any signs of the source of the signal?"
"Just a second, there's a lot of foot traffic, and this thing isn't exactly built like a military model. Let's see…Yeah, I got it central tent by the big wagon its there."
"Too small for a raft or shuttle," Eddie murmured. "They must have people in there. Okay, Chat, try to get as close as you can to that tent and see what you can pick up."
Chatty wordlessly complied, flying the drone closer, its camera straining to catch anything. Shadows were moving within the tent, but it wasn't easy to make out anything. Chatty flew at a low angle, almost enough to be audible, but it gave just enough of a view. A man wearing a dirty apron covered in brown filth was walking out of the tent, wiping blood off a handkerchief.
The man was walking out, and behind him, a wooden post could be seen with a man in a jumpsuit tied to it.
"Boss, I'm getting audio," Chatty said. "Standby."
There was the gentle howl of wind and the whine of the drone's engines as it kept afloat the apron man walked over to a man in armor who was attending to a horse.
"A queer lot they are, m'lord," Apron said. "They just say again and again that they are here to study animals and plants."
"A lie to protect themselves, no doubt. Have they yielded any information about the fallen castle?" The knight spoke with a sneering tone.
"No, m'lord, they merely say it carried no weapons. And they insist that it is a peaceful ship."
"A ship? Madness, more lies. Very well, we have our orders; you may torture one to death, and if they still refuse to yield information, we send them off to Harrenhal. I am tired of this foolish hunt; Lannister gold is not worth wasting away chasing madmen. Let the Mountain deal with these mummers."
Apron nodded. "I'll be done by the morrow, m'lord. You can count on it."
Eddie leaned back in his seat and let out a long and heavy sigh.
"Guess that settles that," he said. "All right, crew, we're in it now. We move into walking distance just outside observability and move in on the camp. We do this quiet, get to the tent, get our people out, and haul ass to Bitterbridge."
"You plan to fight?" Lady Stark spoke up. "That camp is at least a hundred men."
"Yep," Eddie said. "Bad odds for them."
"Spare me the bravado, ser." She spoke. "You would risk the death of those hostages. It is dangerous, but perhaps I can negotiate-"
"They're torturing civilians," Eddie said. "I'm sorry, Lady Stark, but my priorities are clear: we do this now, our way."
"You are only twelve men," Catelyn said. "I do sympathize with you; my daughters are held captive by these monsters. But you would be overwhelmed."
"I appreciate your concern, Lady Stark," Eddie said. "But leave the tactical stuff to me, ma'am."
The drive to their chosen assembly area was a tense silence. The joking, music, and calm chatter came to a swift end, replaced by quick words and the click of weapons being checked and prepped. Equipment being tucked into place, Eddie multitasked as he drove, snapping on his helmet and looking over his gear. They rolled to a stop in a patch of forest just beyond the hills out of view as the contractors slowly filed out of their vehicles.
"Gather up, crew," Eddie said. "I'm leading a five-man formation into the camp. Lance, Daisy, Doc, and Cobra, I want you four with me. Rock take up a sniper position from the Journeyman and provide overwatch. The rest of you will provide security to watch our guests and the vehicles if we need you, I'll call. Fireteam, we will be going in quiet, snap chameleon straps over your gear, and we will go low and slow."
"Policy on local opposition, sir?" Rock asked.
"Expendable," Eddie said. "Lady Stark says they're mercs, no one of rank or importance. If they get in our way, we put them down otherwise, focus on evasion."
"Yes, sir!"
As his team assembled their gear, they produced equipment boxes within; there were long strips of grey material, some they clipped to their combat gear that covered and obscured most of their body, and thinner strips were wrapped around their weapons. Eddie quickly assembled his wrappings before he approached Lady Stark, who was speaking with her escort of knights, explaining the situation.
"Lady Stark, please remain here with your men," Eddie said. 'Some of my men will remain to protect you. You are going to hear a lot of noise. So, I ask that you keep your heads down and stay out of the way for your safety. Understood?"
"Then you have made up your mind. May the Warrior give you strength, Ser Martinez."
"Appreciated," Eddie said. "Now for a little trick."
Eddie tapped a button attached to his glove, clicking it twice, which caused the strips of chameleon straps to come alive. From Lady Stark and her men's perspective, what had once been a man covered in grey cloth had transformed into a ghostly transparent shape difficult for the naked eye to see save for subtle movements and gaps where the straps did not cover. Lady Stark's eyes widened, and her men tensed, suddenly bracing themselves.
"Seven hells man…" A knight said. "More of your machinery?"
"Indeed, I'll tell you all about it when I come back. See you soon."
Eddie began walking away, followed by four other phantoms slowly drifting into the darkness of the hill, the only sign they were there being the sound of their footsteps and the grass parting with each step until they became shadows drifting through the darkness.