Today’s story is Part Two of "To Catch the Lightning" by Royce Day, which will soon be available in Armoured Fox Press' upcoming Swordmasters anthology, edited by Tarl Hoch Previously in Part One, Swordmaster Becca Blacksailor arrived in the Gerwart port of Klippenhaven, along with her lieutenant, Feyd, on a mission to escort the defecting gerwart scientist, Scholar Mond-Gaffer, and the prototype of his mysterious invention, aboard a waiting Mother Country freighter. But delays and a run in with Gerwart's State Security has ended with Feyd's death, and leaves Becca as the sole protector of the scientist and the freighter's crew.... Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.

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You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.

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I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,

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and Today’s story is Part Two of

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"To Catch the Lightning"

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by Royce Day, which will soon be available in Armoured Fox Press' upcoming Swordmasters anthology,

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edited by Tarl Hoch

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Previously in Part One,

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Swordmaster Becca Blacksailor arrived in the Gerwart port

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of Klippenhaven,

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along with her lieutenant, Feyd,

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on a mission to escort the defecting gerwart scientist, Scholar Mond-Gaffer,

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and the prototype of his mysterious invention,

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aboard a waiting Mother Country freighter.

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But delays and a run in with Gerwart's State Security

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has ended with Feyd's death,

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and leaves Becca as the sole protector of the scientist

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and the freighter's crew.

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“To Catch the Lightning” by Royce Day Helpful paws carried her lieutenant inside while she stood on the swaying deck as Windskimmer raced out of the harbor,

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Feyd’s blood dripping from her paws.

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The surgeon would do their best, she was sure,

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but she knew Feyd was dead before she laid him down on the deck.

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Becca growled deep in her throat,

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ears flicked back,

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claws digging into her palm pads as they drew into fists.

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She shoved open the hatch leading down into the cargo hold.

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There she found Mond-Gaffer,

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still clutching his satchel,

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anxiously checking his oh so precious crate for damage.

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The leather satchel dropped to the deck, papers spilling everywhere as Becca grabbed Mond-Gaffer by the shoulder and spun him around,

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pinning him against the crate with her claws at his throat.

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“Bist du verrückt!” he choked,

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eyes bulging, toes scrabbling for purchase on the steel deck as Becca held him there.

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“What are you doing!”

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“I just lost one of the best subordinates I’ve ever trained, Scholar,

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because you made us wait a bloody hour to retrieve that precious crate of yours.

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If we’d just left it behind

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we could have escorted you aboard the ship and sailed off, with Gerwart

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State Security none the wiser.

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What by the Mother Goddess’ Cold and Dark hell

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is in that thing that’s so damned important that

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it cost Feyd’s life,

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and the lives of nine of your countrymen?”

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She let go of him abruptly, and Mond-Gaffer dropped down to his knees,

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choking and gasping.

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When he’d regained his breath,

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he stood and said,

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“I am sorry. I am truly sorry, Swordmaster Blacksailor.

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I did not wish any of your people to be hurt.”

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The scholar retrieved a crowbar hanging from a tool rack by the bulkhead

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and started trying to pry open the crate.

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After watching him struggle with it for a minute,

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Becca sighed and took it from his paws to peel back the wooden boards

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and reveal the prize within.

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The side of the crate crashed to the deck,

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revealing a pile of equipment so random

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that Becca was hard pressed to identify it all.

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Most prominent was a crank,

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which was connected to a large iron drum

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by a heavy roller chain.

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From the center of the drum

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a pair of copper wires emerged,

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leading a series of lead containers the size of bread boxes,

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all wired together and stinking of sulphuric acid.

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“What in the name of the Mother Goddess?”

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Becca asked, reaching out to touch one of the wires. “Ach!

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Do not touch it!” Mond-Gaffer cried out, slapping her paw away from the contraption.

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At her annoyed growl, he explained,

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“It has been several days, but the batteries should still have a significant charge from the last test.

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You could have gotten a severe shock! Like being struck by lightning!”

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“But what does all of this do?” Becca demanded.

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“It is a galvanic generator,”

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Mond-Gaffer explained.

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He opened the side of the drum, revealing several blocks of the copper wire attached to an axle,

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surrounded by several more blocks of dull gray metal

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mounted to the inside curve of the drum.

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“When the copper wires are turning,

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they are moving through the magnetic field created by the large magnets on the inner rim.

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Doing so generates an electrical charge, like the static you feel sometimes when your tail brushes against a rug,

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which travels through the wires to the batteries,

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those metal boxes,

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which store the charge.”

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“Lightning in a box?”

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Becca asked, eyebrow raised.

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“That is an acceptable metaphor,”

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Mond-Gaffer agreed.

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“So, once you’ve generated and stored this lightning,

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what do you do with it?”

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she said sharply.

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“The electricity, once it is stored, can be released again,”

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the scholar explained eagerly.

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“Use a little bit of it,

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you can send signals along a wire.

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Wrap the wires into a coil,

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and the heat generated can be used to heat up a home in the winter,

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without the need for wood stoves,

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gas, or steam heating.

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Better still, you can turn a wheel with it!”

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“Turn a wheel?” “Yes,

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yes!” Mond-Gaffer exclaimed, growing more excited.

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“Wheels of a train, powered by electricity over wires,

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eliminating the need for big steam engines.

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It could even be used to turn the propellers of a ship like this one, directly,

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much more efficiently,

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without losing energy in the mechanical transfer from steam engine to piston to crank, and so on.

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Someday, when the battery storage becomes more efficient,

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it might even power carts for long distances,

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so they no longer need dangerous steam engines that might explode in the streets.”

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It was the potential of this new technology that was exciting Mond-Gaffer,

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and had also excited the Gerwart government ministries that had funded his research,

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Becca realized swiftly.

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What she was looking at right now

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was almost useless,

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just an expensive scientific toy.

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Whatever utility it might have in the future,

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she doubted she’d live to see it.

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But she suspected

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when that change came,

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it would affect the entire world.

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“Swordmaster!” a voice called from the hatchway.

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Becca turned to see one of Windskimmer’s crew,

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waving to her anxiously.

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“The captain requests you meet her on the bridge.”

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“What’s the problem?”

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Becca called back.

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“It looks like there’s a ship approaching.”

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“Cold and Dark,” Becca cursed.

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She waggled a fingerclaw at the scholar.

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“You stay here, and keep this generator safe.”

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“Yes, swordmaster,”

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Mond-Gaffer replied as he kneeled down to start collecting his scattered papers.

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Becca rushed up the ladder and to the bridge, where the captain waited for her.

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“We’ve got a cutter coming from behind,”

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she told Becca, handing over a pair of field glasses.

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Becca raised them to her eyes, spotting a small revenue cutter, probably powered by a steam turbine,

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chuffing its way toward Windskimmer.

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It was perhaps two miles behind them now in the dark,

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only visible due to the prodigious amount of sparks rising from its smokestack,

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hinting at how desperately it wanted to catch up to the larger vessel.

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“I take it we can’t outrun them?”

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Becca asked. The older vixen nodded grimly.

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“Windskimmer is fast for a cargo ship,

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but only in comparison to similar vessels.

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That cutter has a smaller draft and a big engine for its size.

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They’ll catch up, unless we get very lucky and can lose them in the darkness.”

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“If you can’t, how long before they intercept us?”

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“Perhaps forty-five minutes.”

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The captain rubbed her muzzle. “I know what

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importance the Ministry of Intelligence placed on this mission, swordmaster, but my crew are sailors, not warriors.

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We deliberately didn’t bring weapons along for this voyage, to avoid arousing suspicions if we were stopped for inspection.

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Do you think you can defend my ship if it’s intercepted?”

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Becca cocked her ears forward,

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looking at the captain carefully,

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“If I can’t, what would your actions

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be?” “Dump that blasted crate overboard,

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then do the same to that damned ‘wartie scholar after we give him a lifejacket.

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If we’re lucky, they’ll be satisfied with that and end the chase.”

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“I doubt we’ll be that lucky,”

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Becca replied. She flexed her sword paw,

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the fur turning brown with Feyd’s blood.

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“I will defend you with my life,

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if the Mother Goddess deems it necessary.”

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“I will pray to the Mother for your success then,”

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the captain replied.

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Becca returned to the cargo hold briefly to check on Mond-Gaffer.

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The scholar was sitting on an overturned bucket by his crate of equipment,

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forlornly looking through his papers as he stuffed them back into his satchel.

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“Swordmaster Blacksailor,”

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he greeted quietly.

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“What news do you bring?”

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“We’ve got a Gerwart revenue cutter coming up from behind,”

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Becca told him. “It’ll intercept us in about thirty minutes.

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I have no doubt in my mind that its crew intends to board us.”

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“So,” Mond-Gaffer said bleakly,

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“all of this effort,

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all of this blood, was for nothing.”

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“I will defend this ship,

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and you,” Becca tried to reassure him.

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“How many soldiers might be on that cutter, swordmaster?”

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She shrugged. “Boat that size, perhaps ten.”

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“You and your lieutenant were able to take on that many on the dock,

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but you had the element of surprise,”

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Mond-Gaffer said. “Now you intend to attack them by yourself, when they are prepared?”

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“I know my duty,” she replied evenly.

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“Perhaps I should surrender myself to them.

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If the captain sets me in a lifeboat, perhaps

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picking me up will be enough for them,”

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Mond-Gaffer said. Becca winced,

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remembering the captain’s similar suggestion of just dumping the scholar overboard.

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“We won’t let it come to that.”

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She gestured ironically to the generator in its crate.

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“Though it’s a pity you can’t use that to zap that cutter with a lightning

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bolt. That would certainly get them off our tail.”

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“Projected electricity without wires makes it nearly uncontrollable.

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It would indeed be like lightning.

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You wouldn’t know where it would hit,”

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Mond-Gaffer said. “You would have to be almost right on top of your opponent to…”

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His brow furrowed suddenly.

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Then his expression brightened into something hopeful.

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“Swordmaster, do you still have that sword-stick?”

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“Yes,” she replied. “Feyd… Feyd

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would have put it back in my cabin when he retrieved my true sword.

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sword.” “Bring it to me, schnell, quickly!” he demanded.

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Becca watched as the revenue cutter came up alongside Windskimmer,

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counting bodies. There were four unarmed foxen who were obviously sailors.

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Crowded along the cutter’s port railing

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were a half-dozen constables in the uniform of the Klippenhaffen Port Authority,

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obviously drafted to help the four black-uniformed State Sec goons

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standing among them.

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Ten potential combatants in all,

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on a crowded deck,

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the four State Sec agents armed with pistols, not bulky rifles this time,

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and the constables with their truncheons.

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A workable problem,

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assuming she was able to keep her footing on the swaying deck.

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If she fell, Becca realized, they could just pile atop her until she was safely disabled,

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and then board Windskimmer at their leisure.

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One of the State Sec agents raised a bullhorn to his muzzle

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and shouted in a heavy accent, “Mother

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Country vessel! You are illegally transporting a Gerwart citizen vanted for crimes against ze state! Ve vill board

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you, to impound your vessel und arrest you for aiding a fugitive, und suspicion of espionage.”

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Right on cue, the hatch opened

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and a sailor roughly shoved Mond-Gaffer out onto the deck,

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the scholar’s paws bound behind his back,

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the captain following them both.

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“You cannot do this!”

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the scholar shouted. “You promised me sanctuary!”

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“This was a mistake from the start.

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You aren’t worth the lives of my crew,”

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the captain replied, loud enough for the cutter’s crew to hear over the waves.

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She gestured to the State Sec agent.

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“Hold on! We’ll lower him to you.”

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“We vill still haf to board you,”

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the State Sec agent shouted

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as Mond-Gaffer began struggling wildly in the sailor’s grip.

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“No! I won’t go back,” he shouted, twisting free and falling against Becca.

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Becca stumbled, letting out a loud cry as she fell backward over the railing,

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right down onto the crowd of ‘warties.

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Then she let out another,

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very real cry of pain as she landed on two constables,

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the heavy metal battery hastily strapped to her lower back

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digging into her spine.

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Fortunately, she was able to roll to her feet, using the momentum of the battery to her advantage.

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One of the constables she’d landed on was unconscious,

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the second groaning and curled up into a fetal ball of pain.

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That’s two, she thought.

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She popped the release on the swordstick, sending the sheath flying into the chest of a State Sec agent,

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knocking them over the railing and into the water.

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Three. “Stop her!” one of the remaining agents shouted.

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Then he took a step back

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as he saw the sparks running along the length of Becca’s blade,

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the wires hastily wrapped with the shredded remains of a rubberized sea coat

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running from the blade to the battery.

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She gripped the non-conducting wooden handle of the sword-stick tightly,

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her grip on the wet wooden deck steady thanks to the rubber foot-protectors

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Mond-Gaffer had insisted she wear,

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so she wouldn’t be accidentally grounded and shock herself.

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Becca swatted aside a constable who tried to rush her,

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the ‘wartie vixen suddenly dropping and convulsing

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as the flat of Becca’s blade touched her sea

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-soaked uniform. Four.

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Then another agent raised his pistol

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and she dodged behind the cutter’s wheelhouse,

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grabbing the edge of its roof with one paw and hauling herself up as the whole crowd tried to circle around and catch her.

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She slid along the wet roof,

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blade held high, and dropped behind them,

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stunning two more constables before they could turn and react.

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Five. Six. Then the fourth agent spotted her,

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and she ran him through with her blade, sparks arcing along the deep belly wound,

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filling the air with the smell of cauterized flesh.

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Seven. One constable left,

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and three of the State Sec agents.

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A bullet zinged past her,

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and Becca turned and rolled again, slamming into the knees of an agent

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and sending him tumbling against one of his remaining comrades.

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She plunged the sword

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deep into their stacked bodies, then cursed as she tried to pull it free,

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the edge of the blade catching on a rib.

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“Halt!” someone shouted, and Becca turned to see the remaining State Sec agent pointing a pistol

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right at her chest,

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the last constable standing slightly behind them.

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Becca raised her paws,

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the damned wire running from the battery to her stuck sword leaving her effectively leashed

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and unable to dodge. “You vill

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surrender yourself

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—you vill all surrender yourselves,”

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the agent shouted up to the Windskimmer’s crew.

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“You vill be returned to Gerwart to be questioned,

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tried, and executed as sp—.”

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The constable, who had been listening to this rant without noticeable emotion,

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raised his truncheon

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and brought it down smartly between the male’s ears, dropping the agent to the deck,

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unconscious. “Never liked those black-uniformed Security bastards,” the constable said mildly in Gerwart

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as Becca succeeded in finally pulling her blade free.

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“You won’t get into trouble with your superiors over this?” she asked in the same language.

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“It was a horrible massacre,”

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the constable said without notable fear.

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“Sharpshooters on the enemy vessel gunned down all the State Sec agents before we could react.

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We were lucky to escape with our lives.”

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He looked down at one of his fellow officers who was rising to her feet shakily,

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along with the others.

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“Speaking of which,

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are my people going to be all right?”

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“Shocked badly, perhaps some minor burns, but not quite dead,”

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Becca replied. The constable nodded in satisfaction.

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“Good,” he said. “I knew it was going to be trouble when that State Sec officer started waving his credentials and demanded we come with them to chase you down.”

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The cutter’s captain emerged from the wheelhouse,

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where she had stayed under cover with her small crew during the fight.

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“Is it over?” she asked.

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“Looks that way,”

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the constable replied laconically.

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“Good. Help me roll these State Security idiots over the side.

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I don’t like them bleeding all over my deck.”

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The constable nodded,

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and started to heave the bodies of the agents over the side with the help of the cutter’s crew.

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“Keep at least one of their pistols,” Becca advised,

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“so you can shoot some holes in the wheelhouse to show how the agents were gunned down.”

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The captain looked sour at the thought of her boat being so mutilated,

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but nodded in agreement.

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“And who are you?” she asked.

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“You’re no sailor.”

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“Swordmaster Beccalian Blacksailor,

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at the service of the Mother Country Countesses,” she said,

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giving the captain a little

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bow. “A swordmaster?” the captain asked.

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“In this day and age?”

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Becca smiled ironically, holding up her bloody,

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sparking blade in salute.

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“We keep up with the times.”

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After a minor argument,

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Becca succeeded in persuading the cutter’s captain to douse her coal bunker with seawater,

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to provide a reasonable excuse as to why she didn’t attempt to further pursuit.

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After that Becca yanked the wires leading from the battery to her sword blade loose,

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rendering it safe enough to sheath on her belt.

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Then she scrambled up a rope to the Windskimmer’s deck,

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whereupon the cargo ship steamed into the dark night,

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to the safety of the open sea.

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“Strange,” Mond-Gaffer said to Becca as they leaned on the railing,

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while the ship’s alcohol fueled steam engines kept its paddle wheels turning.

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“I had always been taught that the Mother Country, and its archaic swordmasters , was hopelessly backward.

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Yet you took to your electrified weapon as if it was completely natural.”

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Becca rubbed her aching lower back,

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where the edges of the heavy battery had dug in.

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“Not completely natural, but I understand your point,”

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she replied. “Swordmasters are taught to adapt.

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If we’re too rigid in our thinking, then we might not be able to cope when an enemy springs a surprise on us.”

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The scholar nodded.

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“My country, perhaps it is growing too rigid, as you say.

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I showed the government my galvanic generator,

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told them how it could be used to power trains,

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heat homes, transmit information.

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They said they wanted electrified fences and electrified floors for security,

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electrified chairs to torture and execute criminals.”

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He shuddered, tail floofing out in suppressed fear.

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“It was then I knew that I had to leave.

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Gerwart has been

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changing, changing for years, growing more…more

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hard. I fear that a war may be coming.

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The people in Gerwart who might speak out against it are too fearful to raise their voices.

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They can only engage in small rebellions,

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like the constable on that revenue cutter,

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and hope the noses of State Security do not sniff in their direction.”

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“I hope there won’t be a war,”

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Becca told him. “I don’t wish to kill any more of your people.”

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“Not my people now,”

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Mond-Gaffer said sadly.

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He looked up at the stars, winking in the moonless night.

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“Sometimes I wonder

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if there are other foxen, or people like foxen, on other worlds,

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circling other suns,

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and if they have troubles the same as we.”

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“I was taught that the Mother Goddess tried many times before she was satisfied with the shape of the world,

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its plants, its animals, and finally the foxen.

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That’s why we find the bones of creatures so different than what can be seen today,

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hidden in the rocks,”

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Becca told him. “Perhaps she practiced on other worlds as well.

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Maybe she had more experience,

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and made them better than us.”

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“A terrifying thought,”

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Mond-Gaffer said bleakly.

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“I would not care to be judged by such perfect people.”

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“Not perfect, just different,”

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Becca said. “Like the MC and Gerwart are different.”

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“Not too different,” Mond-Gaffer countered.

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“We both laugh, love,

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cry, and fear. Perhaps if we can both see that, it will be enough to keep those who speak of war at bay.”

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“We can only hope,”

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Becca agreed. The End

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This was “To Catch the Lightning”

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by Royce Day, read for you by Khaki,

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your faithful fireside companion.

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You can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,

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or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

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Thank you for listening

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to The Voice of Dog