Touchstone 1 - Stray

is his rank. Squad captains are “See”. Lots of ranks and titles start with an ‘S’ sound but with just the faintest ‘z’ overtone to it. Now that I can display names (title option on) again, I see I’ve been spelling them wrong. Not an ‘s’ or ‘z’, so much as ‘ts’. ‘Tsa’, ‘Tsur’ and ‘Tsee’.
    Tsur Selkie was a slender, quite short guy who could probably do a great Clint Eastwood imitation if he had any idea who that was. All the wrong colouring and everything, but a totally ‘chipped from flint’ attitude. And I think he’s the one making most of the decisions about me. First Squad were really correct around him, though not nearly as formal as Zan, who scaled new heights of expressionlessness. He didn’t speak directly to me at all.
    This was the first serious testing of the effects of my enhancement since my health break. They started out with Zan, and I had the distinct impression that there was something about Tsur Selkie personally observing which meant they expected to get more information from watching her again. Once Zan had picked blocks up and moved them around for a while, they swapped to Maze doing the same thing. Then they very warily had Zan and Maze touching me at the same time, and using Telekinesis at the same time. I didn’t feel anything, as usual, but Tsur Selkie seemed to find something significant in it all, because he nodded and said:
    “The best analogy is an amplifying container. A limited number of talents fit into the container without any particular effect. Too many, and the container is torn. The different ‘sizes’ of the talents also appears to be relevant. Until further notice, multiple contact is forbidden absolutely. Surion, your squad will move on to testing the effects of enhancement upon each individual talent available to First. A controlled test within the Ena of that category of skills will be arranged. Namara, Twelfth Squad will cover First Squad’s previously scheduled assignments for this rotation. Briefings have been transferred to your mission file.”
    They all saluted, hand to chest. I just watched. Military equipment doesn’t salute. After he had left, closely followed by Zan, everyone relaxed and Zee surprised me by hugging me and saying: “Now I don’t have to be so anxious about accidentally killing you.”
    I was glad for once that I was so bad at talking, since my immediate reaction was a sarcastic one about irreplaceable equipment, and First Squad don’t deserve that kind of attitude from me. I was really relieved I’d been assigned to work with them, rather than Twelfth Squad. Zan I think I like, or would if she’d let me, but that Lenton guy isn’t exactly high on my list of desirable people to be around.
    It was a long afternoon. No disasters, but between them they had a lot of talents and they examined them all carefully, finding occasional strange distortions, and drawing two tentative conclusions. If they try to use a talent on me when I’m enhancing them it will be distorted in some way, though they can use their talents on me so long as they’re not enhanced by me. And the same if they try to use an Illusion talent while I’m enhancing them. They think that my supposed ability to make illusions somehow interferes with any projections they try while they’re enhanced. I’ve yet to be able to produce anything like an illusion and though Alay tried to talk me through different methods people use, I still didn’t get anywhere.
    Although they were cheerful and upbeat, First stayed relatively formal and correct and I took my cue from the way they were using their surnames and was careful to remember that they were on duty and were probably recording everything to put in reports, or being watched by who knows how many people.
    But when Zee, who had to go to medical to have her leg checked, was escorting me back to my box I took a chance to ask a few questions.
    “Twelfth Squad, what mean do First assignment? Pick which Ionoth kill?”
    “We’re assigned particular sections of the Ena to patrol, and clear them of potential threats before they have a chance to find a way into real space. Twelfth Squad will be clearing the sections we would have been working.”
    Something about the way she said it made me ask: “That not good thing?”
    She grimaced. “Twelfth is the newest of the squads, and have little practical experience in the more complex situations you can encounter in the Ena. Our assignment will be