Continues from here.
Eric:
"I see." He pauses. "My cousin, a preacher, told me I should talk to you. I'm the chief of police here. My duty is to maintain order. Now granted, I am not fond of the Hunt. And ordinarily I would not have become police chief except I expect the Status Board is becoming worried about people like you, and is therefore giving a higher priority to competence over Status, but still, my job is maintain order. In other words, one could say, I should arrest you. Since I'm confident you have backup if you're half as elite as you claim to be, and its probably armed with military weapons while my backup has a ten millimeter pistol, I won't try and embarrass myself."
He breathes in and out gustily.
"Do you see what I'm saying?"
Me:
"I see your point, so let me answer with a question. You serve the law, but what and who does the law serve? My answer would be justice. And I came here hoping yours would be the same answer...
I know that your intelligent and an experienced officer with instincts to read a situation, so I 'm guessing that you've already guessed yourself that there will come a day when the regime orders to do something that does not simply entail keeping order. On that day you will either choose to do what they say and have to live with it the rest of your life, or you will disobey that order and become a 'criminal' yourself.
What type of regime makes decent men into criminals?" I open the fanny pack and pull out a sheaf of papers. "Here's a list of people who have been arrested with in this city for crimes they didn't commit, some of them under the previous chief, and a number of whom have been executed without trials. Here's a list of people who have been victims of the Hunt with in the previous five years. If you'll notice, the suicide rate is markedly higher than the average. And here is part of the dossier the regime keeps on you." I hand him the last three pages. "The faithfulness with which you've executed your office and your accomplishments, such as stopping those terrorists in Kansas, has kept you out of the 'politically unreliable' category and a prison cell, but just barely. That is the reality of the system and that's the system we're trying to change. We aren't terrorists, the regime is."
"I have a more utilitarian concept of things. I suppress the worst elements of society, and allow the decent to survive. Justice is a fine and noble thing, but I'm in the mess, and if at the end of the day I feel I've kept the boat floating, and not lost too many innocent passengers over the side to the crocs in the river, I tell myself I done good. And then I go home."
He nods.
"You're telling me what I've guessed. Yeah, my bosses don't like me. I'm too good at the job, and they are a bunch of flaming cowards who never saw a gunfight they couldn't 'more properly administer from inside a tank' on the other side of town. In the end, they may get me, but hey, that's life. Eventually you lose."
He spreads his hands out.
"I've talked with a bunch of people over the years. Some of them were like you. Sincere. Compassionate. A lot of the terrorist nutjobs were just that nutjobs who wanted to kill someone just because, and they made up an excuse and called it their ideology. I don't think thats you. But even so, what happens come the Revolution. What happens when we have tank battles in teh street between gov't forces and your rebels? I don't think its going to be better than this. I think its going to be worse."
Eric
"I understand that you do the best that you can with what you have. A thinking man couldn't fault you for it. But if we give up everything we are in order to survive, is there anything worth saving?
And one might ask the victims of the Hunt and the people who've been dragged off in the middle of the night whether this is better, or at least the ones who are still alive. What if it was one of your family members? Would you help us then? Or what of the ones forced to become Hunters? Children who are encouraged to become psychopaths. It's likely that more than a few of the terrorists you've faced were bread by all of this.
Let's say that we were tactically stupid enough to draw out regime forces in a direct fight, in the middle of a crowded city. People die in the battle and in the mop up operation. There are likely to be purges and roundups which follow. So, all in all, a few thousand to a few million die. And then things return to what they were. The regime is capable of far worse on a paranoid whim and have exacted far higher tolls while they've been in power. Another twenty years and the number of people loss to the hunt or the countless crackdowns would dwarf that number. And at least with our price comes the chance of freedom, however fleeting.
If we're all going to lose, then we might as well bet the farm, and our odds would be far better if everyone stood. And it's not like it hasn't been done before. This used to be a land where those things, "land of the free and home of the brave," where patriots bled as free men, rather than live as slaves. As for me, ad tyrannus, semper adversus, or, to tyranny, ever defiant. I submit to a just authority and bend my knee to one God. As to the rest, they can have my fist or my cold corpse."
"Ok, I'll work with you, but I have conditions. One, any operation that is likely to be violent, in other words, anything that is more than a church service, or a courier run, that goes through my area has to be cleared by me first. I get veto rights on ops in my area. Two, you go and read some more history, because revolutions tend to create monsters, and conditions worsen after revolutions, even successful ones, often drastically. Its happened the other way, but things getting worse is the way to bet. So, I want to load the dice in our favor by having you learn about the pitfalls before you steer us into one."
He leans back onto his bench.
"Do we have a deal?"
Eric
"Should I start with Edmund Burke's 'Reflections on the Revolution in France' or Lord Acton's 'The History of Freedom in Antiquity'? I know my history and I believe we're in agreement. I'm training leaders, as much as rebels. So, yes, we have a deal. But we work as equals, agreeing on what needs to be done together."
He blinks.
"O. K. Perhaps we have our Washington or Cincinattus."
He takes your list of political prisoners, and thinks a bit.
"If you could stage an attack on the southern end of Grimstooth Prison, and cave in the wall, I could arrange to have some of these 'apparently' in there, but elsewhere. So they 'die'. The rooms are currently empty, and you'd have to collapse the last two rooms, but not more than the fifth room to provide the cover story."
Eric
"This isn't something you do in a pinch, unless you're desperate. It takes time to plan.
I'll have to figure out where do we put them all. I don't have have safehouses or other secured locations prepared. We're also trying to keep off the regime's radar right now. If I don't lay down the proper cover beforehand, they may sniff both you and me out, which won't do anyone any good. It's a chess game and we're playing a gambit right now.
So, give me a few days to see what I can put together. I'll be contact. Oh, and after you commit those names to memory, burn the documents, and then dispose of the ashes in a river or something. Make sure no one but you sees them."
"Well I thought that was why you were giving me those names. You wanted to do something about them. No, its not desperate. I think...yeah, one of these is scheduled to be executed in six weeks. The rest are on indefinite hold....means we can hold them for life."
He shrugs.
"Up to you. Get back to me on what you want to do."
He stands up, and wanders off like he was taking a casual stroll.
Eric
OOC: I took some time of for some personal business and then we had a friend staying with us. Sorry for the long break.
"It's desperate to do it *without a plan*. But we can't leave them languishing." We leave through the Twilight and get back to base.
To Magius: "You have better contacts. Try and find me someone with demolitions experience who can pull off that type of precision. You have two weeks to do it."
To Pendragon: "I want you to plan this operation and then, once you're done, come back to me with what you have." Out of the entire group, she is the best soldier I have and, I suspect, a natural leader. I want her to reclaim the throne of Britain, but baby steps first.
I haven't done much with my intelligence credentials and the supposed deep cover mission (post here), but here I have an opportunity. "Avi, I want you to put in a transfer for those political prisoners I wanted to free (the preacher and the guy who locked himself in the police station; post here) to the target area and then insert the names and IDs our group members as prisoners at that prison, with the appropriate information of how we were caught. I then want you to produce the proper records authorizing a 'deniable operation' being run by me, under my intelligence agent identity, intended to look like a terrorist bombing, but is meant to neutralize dissidents without it being traced back to the regime or having them become martyrs."
Eric, um, you busy, or did you just happen to miss my post?
OOC: Oops. I saw it, meant to get back to it later, didn't.
IC: Once back at the base, you tell Magius, and he nods.
"I know just the fellow. He did a demo for me before. I had to break in to a basement of an old house which was spell warded beyond my skill to open, and hardened to conventional damage, but without damaging the books inside. He got dust all over the books."
Avi replies "Wait one...two...project finished."
Pendragon looks skeptical, but her leadership training and boot camp kicks in, and she nods thoughtfully. She leaves and begins to bury herself in books. You see her over the next week either in a book, or holding sketch pads, or urgently asking questions.
She comes to you at the end of the two weeks with a very detailed plan with abundant information ranging from satellite photos to IR satellite photos to traffic patterns on all the major escape routes to a full papier mache model of the prison.
You get to meet in a Waffle House a wizened old man minus three fingers courtesy of Magius.
"Call me Jack. I've been blowing up things since I was five, and I rigged a soda can bomb for my kindergarten teacher who didnm't believe I could. I'm very expensive because I'm older than sixty-five, and bombers who surive that long are good and lucky. But your buddy here helped me dissappear one time in a way I didn't believe possible. He tells me its magic, but we all know thats garbage. So, I'll work for you even though I don't know you. But, you'd better be able to write six figures or you're wasting my time."
Pendragon:
"Good. Since you planned this mission, you're in charge of training. Take the rest of the team, have them memorize that plan cover to cover, and then start building full scale floor layouts for training."
I assume it took about a week for Magius to set up the meeting. I've had Avi neutralize any surveillance gear in the area before the meeting. I'm also careful to keep my volume down and to only talk when no one is near.
Jack:
"That's doable." I jot down a note--$75,000 up front and $75,000 upon successful completion--and pass it to him. "You would receive the first portion in one week's time, upon our next meeting. We'll provide the materials, all military grade. As you'll be working with others, I expect that you'll be training with us as well, since everyone needs to be on the same page.
But let's just say everything goes as planned and the money changes hands. I imagine a good portion of it will go to keeping yourself out of trouble, no? In which case, you'll never get an opportunity to spend all that much of it. So, what if I could give you something better than money? A status free identity? A secure sanctuary? Your health? Get rid of the arthritis, stop the creaking in your joints, give you your fingers back, give you 20/10 vision, or even add fifty years to your life? Would that secure your services, long term?
Of course I know that your reaction is to scoff, but after seeing what Magius did, you know that saying such things aren't possible has little meaning at this point. And you you know I wouldn't be offering these things if I couldn't do them."
Jack takes the sheet of paper, and nods in approval.
"Sir, I can't shoot for anything. I carry, but my last trainer gave up in disgust,a nd just told me to shove the derringer into someone's chest, and pull both triggers, and then run. I can't run that well either, well, not that far anyways. I can run a bit, but then my lungs fold up on me. So, I can train with you, but I'm not climbing any walls, or doing push-ups. What I can do is blow up pretty much whatever you need blown."
He listens to your pitch with a tolerant smile.
"You almost sound serious. Okay, son. Work your mojo. Show me its for real, and I'll work for you for room and board which means food, explosives, and a cot to lay my head."
He leans back a bit and smiles a bit more broadly.
Magius laughs.
"Just how do you think all the men in that little police station were sleeping when you and I went in there, stole your file, and walked out."
"You bribed them? I don't know."
"They were snoring, Jack. Some guy had fallen down in the hallway, and was snoring like a buzzsaw. It was a sleep spell, and a pretty good one too to nail a whole police station."
Jack shrugs not having a good arguement, but not buying it either.
"Ok, then let's arrange for a demonstration." I pull out the PDA. "Avi, give me a secure line to Moonlight's [Cynthia; details of her codename in this post] phone."
I reluctant to use names or give out descriptive details, even over a secure line, thus my circumspect way of speaking, "Please bring our little healer, in the appropriate packaging [meaning a bag, so no one sees it], by your personal means of travel to where we are. You might also want to avoid public exposure."
Turning back to Jack, "We'll only have to wait a few minutes. I suggest we finish our meals."
Once she arrives, I take the bag, turn to Jack, and say, "I'm going to the bathroom. Wait five minutes and follow me in." To Cynthia and Magius, "Stay here and keep an eye on things."
I go into the bathroom, close one of stalls, figuring that's the best way to kill time without looking suspicious. Once Jack comes in, I leave the stall, take the medbox out of the bag, and lock the bathroom door.
"We'll have to do something that people won't notice when we leave. Let's say, fix your vision, get rid of arthritis, fix any organ damage/disease you might have, and increase your lung capacity. Now, you'll need to sit down and remain reasonably still while this thing gets to work. Don't worry, I've used it myself."
OOC: I'm not trying to force the story along, but I figure it would be a bit agonizing if I stopped for a response and it took four to six posts to get to this point.
Jack's eyes bug out as he looks at the floating metal box.
"Um."
"This will not hurt, sir."
"I guess."
"Excellent." The docbox says with a very good bedside manner as Jack sweats, and then cables spin out of it, and it begins to work with a flashing of arms. Jack jerks back, but this doesn't bother the medbox. Its reactions are so much faster than a human that a human could quite literally dance, and still be operated on.
"Smoothing joints complete, infusing calcium into cells. Trimming telomeres in bone joint cells infusion is complete. Full process will take several minutes."
A flimsy arm goes down his throat and he jerks.
"Repariring tuburcular scar damage to lungs. Infusing general antidote to latent tuberculosis into system."
By this time, Jack doesn't even twitch when one of the arms pierces his eye, and then his other eye.
"Eye adjustments complete. Sedative administered as patient was entering emotionally traumautic induced shock. Other organs optimized and basic repair finished."
"Operation complete." The medbox withdraws its arms, and backs up into its bag, and shuts down.
Jack's eyes flutter, and he draws a deep breath, and then he stands and starts doing an Irish jig with Moonlight.
"Woohooo! I feel great! I can see clearly, better really, I think. It doesn't hurt to move my knees, and I can breathe a full breath. I'm in. I'm In! But, I have to tell ya', I'm starving."
"I think tonight calls for a bit of celebration. Moonlight, if you would take Jack back to base via the short route, Magius and I will be along soon after. After that, Jack, we'll discuss what we need you for."
Its a big party that night.
Jack tells all sorts of 'well it might be true' stories about misadventures, and running from the cops. Underneath, you can tell he's a bit overawed by the obvious presence of magic as Gabriel lights the torches by will and magic, and Pendragon demonstrates her durability by doing a sword demo where she has a kendo stick and her opponents have live steel.
Your dop's ghost sits just out at the outer edge of the party, and he is joined by some other spirits.
Cynthia invites you to dance with her.
Avi knows an absolutely huge collection of songs.
Magius provides the food courtesy of his magic.
Things go well.
In that old junkyard, for a moment, the world spins the way its supposed too instead of the way the Daemons in charge of the Earth have been destroying it and the people who live in it.
OOC: Sorry about being so slow in posting. I'll post my answer later today.
"Ok, all, you have permission to sleep till noon. Then mission training begins in earnest."
Pendragon will have her hands full for the day getting everyone through the details of the plan and building the training course. Jack, of course, I'm going to need to take aside, explain his role, and restore those three missing fingers.
"For this mission, you'll be the one handling explosives, but after that, your going to be their instructor in explosives and demolitions. I need you to teach them what you know. Please don't hold anything back, as their lives may well depend on what you teach them. Now, I believe Pendragon has vital need of you."
I take Magius aside and show him some references I found in his books to the prophecy about Arthur:
The throne of Britain shall become an iniquity to the nation, and a reproach to the people, ere Arthur returns. But, when Avallon shall rise again in Llyonesse, and Thamesis reverse its course, then also shall Arthur take up the kingship of his nation once more.
--Aneirin, The Black Book of Aneirin (ca. 643 AD)
The Britons believe yet that Arthur is still alive, and dwelleth in Avalun with the fairest of all elves, and the Britons ever yet expect when Arthur shall return. Was never the man born, of ever any lady chosen, that knoweth of the sooth, to say more of Arthur. But whilom was a sage hight Merlin, he said with words--his sayings were sooth--that an Arthur should yet come to help the English.
--Layamon, Brut (ca. 1190 AD)
Yet some men say in many part of England that King Arthur is not dead, but had by the will of our Lord Jesu into another place; and men say that he shall come again, and shall win the Holy Cross. I will not say: here in this world he changed his life. And many men say that there is written upon his tomb this verse: Hic jacet Arthurus, rex quondam, rex futurus (Here lies Arthur, king once and king to be).
--Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur (ca. 1469 AD)
"Now, looking at those passages, I'm thinking the prophecy is figurative, meaning that someone in the line of Arthur is prophesied to arise. The only person that we know of is Pendragon. She's very much alive and rightfully carries Excalibur. But either way, it would seem that for the prophecy to be fulfilled, Avalon must be found. Eventually, I'm going to reveal this to her and I'm going to send both of you to Britain to fulfill the prophecy and raise a resistance there. Aside from training, I need you to read up and prepare for this in anyway possible. Right now, however, I need to know more about her and her background."
OOC: I figure you're up to the rafters with work, so feel free to reply whenever you want.
Magius blinks.
"You do not think small, do you?" He pauses and rubs his hair as he thinks. "Okay, I've heard of some of this. And I have a book with some speculation on where Lyonesses is. I'm not sure how much is complete tripe, tho'. Its written by a non-magician."
He is aggreable to the plan.
Jack accepts the notion of new fingers with delight, but then stops.
"My friend, wait until after this mission....or...I hate to say it, but maybe not at all. See. There's muscle memory. I'm used to working without them now. I'd have to retrain, and I think memory of certain actions is held in the actual hands that do them. I'd be having dumb fingers right before a tricky job."
Cynthia comes to you with a book, and a thoughtful expression on her face. She sits down on your desktop, and leans back.
"I was reading through one of Magius' books because a thought struck me. What is Lilith in this world? Lilith is the mother of the were-kind? This world has enough magic to have were, but evidently they don't exist here except for magicians with animal skin cloaks. And..."
She flashes her fangs triumphantly.
"I found this."
This is a medieval sketch of a cave claiming to be in Persia, and said to be the prison of Lilith.
To Jack:
"I can see that, certainly. You're the expert, so I defer to you."
To Magius:
"After you develop the world's first FTL drive, run a couple of multi-national companies, and have a brush with a super-intelligence, thinking small isn't all that appealing anymore..." I crack a smile. "But on a serious note, what do you know about her? Where did you find her?"
To Cynthia:
"Fascinating. Assuming that the location is accurate, do you want to go at freeing her? We can't do much right now, but I'm behind you a hundred and ten percent if you want to make a go for it. The only thing I worry about is what she is in this world, like you said. If we we free her, do we have ally or an enemy?"
"You misunderstand. Lyonesse is a land of magic. Its one of the ancient islands that used to dot the Earth back in the days of High Magic. Then it, and others faded from the Earth. You and I are talking about bringing it back into this reality."
He pauses, and you can see the furious excitement in his eyes.
"There are supposed to be ancient treasures, armors, shields, magic rings...we bring back Lyonesse, and the Daemons in Sydney are going to tremble in fear."
-------------
"How could she be anything but an ally? She's the mother of the were!" Cynthia replies energetically, leaning forward. "I thought I'd just jump into Twilight, and go check it out. Do a little recon,a nd be back in time to cook you a rabbit, I'll catch for dinner."
Eric
I grab Magius's shoulder. "Whatever we may find at Avalon, it's about the people; we need people willing to fight and people willing to lead to them. All the weaponry in the world is otherwise useless.
I know that you're excited and there's definitely a good reason for it, but this is about Pendragon and this is about the world. Imagine her taking the crown of Britain and restoring the Isle of the Mighty to it's rightful glory. Now imagine Britain playing a role as a beacon to the rest of the world.
She's already less angry and more purposeful in her actions. She's becoming a leader and I think she could take her rightful place as a queen...
But just between you and me, I'm excited to. I hope the Lady of the Lake will at least lend me a kickass sword."
______________________
"The same way I could be cynical hack writer in your world and pacifist in this one. Despite the fact we're the same person, we're also different people, born to different lives, who made different choices. In my world, Lilith was a man-hating, child-murdering demoness, according to Jewish myth, though she probably never exited there at all. We can't be sure what she is in this one.
We also can't be sure that the Council aren't watching that place as well. It may be a trap. And magic, even through the Twilight, may attract attention. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." I rub her cheek. "So let's be cautious. I'll send my ghost dop. He can move around with little suspicion and ghosts can see things we can't. Other than Magius, he's the best one to do this type of reconnaissance." I suddenly realize that I might have a solution to my Avalon problem. I quickly explain about finding Avalon, without going into all the details about the prophecy, wanting to preserve some of Pendragon's privacy. I wave Magius over and explain to him that we could recruit some willing ghosts to search for magical traces of Avalon. "A place that magical has to have left some whiff of magic around. And we already have a place to look. Aneirin said, 'when Avallon shall rise again in Llyonesse, and Thamesis reverse its course,' which could mean off the cost of England, near the river Thames. I'll send my ghost dop and have him round up as much help as possible. We could split the group. Have a few check out Lilith's prison, come back to us with what they find, and then have the rest go search for traces of Avalon." If they agree, then I contact my dop and see what he can do.
Magius smiles with his eyes glowing.
"You know, I almost believe we can bring back the Age of High Magic when magi and knights openly served great kings and queens. That'd be something."
Its the most joyful you've ever seen him. Before, he'd been living to put an end to an evil. Now he has a glimpse of a good.
Your dop agrees to search out the cave, and to recruit some ghosts.
"Well actually, I already have a few recruited. You saw them at the party. Its a more quiet, still thing, being dead and ghostly, but I asked myself what would you, my living counterpart do? It was obvious, you were recruiting help. So I found some ghosts, and I have to say the party was great advertisement to them. For us, its like a warm fire being around the living who are enjoying each other's company." He smiles calmly at you as he does most things.
And then he's gone.
Several hours later, a ghost walks through your door, and tries to communicate something to you, but he can't talk. Its not your dop.
PT
"Did you find the cave? Did something happen there? Are they trapped? Were they ambushed?" I ask this as I look for something to write on and something to write with--paper, chalkboard, whatever--writing down the alphabet and numbers 1 through 10.
"Now, just point at what you want to spell out. It'll be a little slow, but take your time and figure out what you want to say."
"No."
"Don't Know. Aren't they back yet?"
"Don't know."
"Don't Know!!!!!!"
"I went to Lyonesse. Smelled major mojo down in the mouth of the Thames. Really weird shark came after me. Not sure it could do anything, but I ran."
Eric
"Sorry, didn't know which group you were with. I thought something might have happened when you couldn't talk. No, they aren't back yet. I'll give them a bit of time. Anyway, I think we have stuff to discuss." I ask Magius to come with the book and see if we can correlate the location with the author's speculation. I'll wait twelve hours and then send Cynthia to contact the CO and the other four churches in the area to pray for several archangels to find and, if need be, free them.
After a lot of brain sweat, and what if this, and what about that...you think the author's second favorite location and the location of the 'really weird shark' match.
Your dop is not back. Neither are the angels.
And then suddenly there is a foul rush of wind through the room you're in, choking smoke, and malice, and then its gone as Magius barks a word that makes the building rock on its foundations.
You hear shouts from outside, and can feel a 'pressure' where Magius is standing. The smoke is making it very hard to breathe, and the ghost is whimpering in pain.
Eric
I find any cloth I can, wet it, and put it to my mouth, securing with whatever is closest to keep my hands free. I pull a small notebook out of my, in which is written lists a verses organized by reference. I look under the category "Holy Spirit/God's Spirit," referring to instances where God sent his Spirit onto someplace or someone. I find the nearest Bible, and begin shouting out each of the passages, one by one, into the many dozens--OT and NT--[OOC: for a savings of space and time, I'm not listing them all] stopping every so often to say, "I invoke the Most High, in authority of Christ Jesus, whose Spirit is in the place, to bind and silence you in your own prison." I find a sharp edge, slice my thumb, and write the names of God--most of them being descriptions of his attributes--with my blood; EL, ELOHIM, EL SHADDAI, ADONAI, YHWH, JEHOVAH, JEHOVAH-JIREH, JEHOVAH-ROPHE, JEHOVAH-NISSI, JEHOVAH-M'KADDESH, JEHOVAH ELOHIM, JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU, JEHOVAH-ROHI, JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH, JEHOVAH-SABAOTH, SHEPHERD, JUDGE, EL ELYON, ABHIR, TSEMACH, KADOSH, STONE, EYALUTH, TSADDIQ, EL-OLAM, EL-BERITH, SHAPHAT, EL ROI, KANNA, PALET, YESHA, GAOL, MAGEN, STONE, EYALUTH, TSADDIQ, EL-OLAM, EL-BERITH, EL-GIBHOR, ZUR, MELEKH, FATHER, THE FIRST AND LAST, KURIOS, DESPOTES, THEOS, I AM, THEOTES, HUPSISTOS, SOTER, LOGOS, PANTOKRATOR, Y'SHUA, CHRIST, MESHIACH, LOGOS, SOPHIA, ABBA, FAHTHER.
Finished scrawling and speaking, hoarse and my thumb throbbing, I begin speaking the names of the Jesus and the Holy Spirit:
Jesus - Shepherd of the Sheep; Master; King of kings; Lord of lords; Daystar, Deliverer, Advocate, Second Adam, Ancient of Days, Branch, Chief Cornerstone, Immanuel, First Born, Head of the Body, Physician, Rock, Root of Jesse, Stone, Potentate; Chief Apostle; Great High Priest; Author and Finisher; Lamb of God; Lamb Slain before the Foundation of the World; Lord God Almighty.
Holy Spirit - Counselor; Comforter; Baptizer; Advocate; Strengthener; Sanctifier; Spirit of Christ; Seven-Fold Spirit; Spirit of Truth; Spirit of Grace; Spirit of Mercy; Spirit of God; Spirit of Holiness; Spirit of Life.
"I declare, in the name of Christ Jesus, that the Spirit of God is in this place and that you shall be bound and silenced in your own prison. With the authority of Christ Jesus, you shall hold Lilith prisoner no longer."
Uh...
If you're busy, then disregard this.
You feel a twist and power fills the room driving the wind out in a spill of radiant light that makes everything glow.
And then you feel it...twisted.
Your miracle worked...sort-of.
Eric
I catch my breath for a brief moment, hopeful that the protections of the holy ground continue to protect us from the Council, worried that it might not be enough, frustrated with my own failure at not having a contingency, and angry at this malicious spirit who could ruin everything that we're doing. I decide to focus on my anger and channel into my next prayer. I look to Magius with a look of "use whatever you have," and then take my still bleeding thumb and drawing seven signs of the cross, each with another name of Christ over it, as I look down at my notes for other verses to speak out. I decide on my next prayer and pick seven verses in a careful structure that will aid it.
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:11-13)
"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed." (John 3:19-20)
"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" (John 8:12)
"He said to them, 'Where is your faith?' And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, 'Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?'" (Luke 8:25)
"And they were all amazed and said to one another, 'What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!'" (Luke 4:36)
"And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And it came out that very hour." (Acts 16:18)
"And demons also came out of many, crying, 'You are the Son of God!' But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ." (Luke 4:41)
"In the name of Christ, I command you to cease and reveal your identity!"
OOC: Sorry for making these things so complicated.
Dark laughter fills the room, soft, but filling you with unease.
"Thank you, David Marcoe. You have freed me, and bound my voice, and then freed me again. I am Lilith, queen of the dead. Adam, then Moses, and then Solomon imprisoned me as I escaped. Now, you have your doppleganger, your shadow self, he is but little harmed, and will repair."
She pauses.
"I do most humbly apologize for giving this one harm, but I had been locked in a cave for well over a thousand years. You can understand that I was desperate. Tell me what gift I may give you to assuage your anger."
PT
I have my Bible opened to John 3 and looking down, I silently read the words "For God so loved world, he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life..." I realize how I will answer her.
"I sent my other to you for the sake of my wife, who is your descendant. You see, in the world that she came from, you were forgiven and you had many descendants. They are a beautiful and fierce people who were proud to have called you their mother.
Let give you another gift. I offer you eternal life. I offer you God's forgiveness. He bled and died for your sins. He loves you. In love I offer you his gift. You need but take it. And if he will not hear your prayer, he will hear mine. I promise to intercede on your behalf and will find others to do the same.
Please do not be offended, for I offer it sincerely."
I pray to God that I have done the right thing.
"I am not offended, David. However, I have things to do, and I note that we have both drawn the attention of the current rulers of this world. I shall hide myself from them, and I suggest you too look to your defenses as they hunt for you."
She pauses.
"I do not know whether I wish to be redeemed. I do not know you have the authority to offer it. What I do know is that I am the Queen of the Dead. I shall grant your Other and your few friends in the deathlands their freedom as a courtesy, but I am back, and the dead adn the living shall know it."
There is a sudden absence.
Eric
I cringe at what I've just done, but then, for just a moment, I smile a bit in hope. She just granted a mercy and acted in a way most would not think possible. Also, she's about to cause a hell of a lot trouble for the Council. That I can be reasonably sure of. But that isn't important now.
After we lost the CO cell in Colorado, the cell near us thought it prudent to lay down a holy ground like ours, using the notes I have supplied. We struck agreement that if one of us was compromised, we could hide at the other's home base.
Magius: "Grab Pendragon and Jack and start loading everything vital; anything that can't be replaced or that might give the Council a leg up if they find it. Use any spells possible to speed up the work. If you can't move it, blow it the hell up and make sure that isn't anything identifiable. If there are any files left, I already placed thermite charges on the cabinets.
Whatever happens, keep Pendragon alive. If the rest of us are about to die, you cut and run and you do not look back! Understand?"
Avi: "I want to know who and what is coming. I want you call them back to a position isolated from civilians and then call in an air strike on their position. Make it look like someone high up in the Protectives did it. I then want you to plant communications between them and the army implicating them in a joint conspiracy to overthrow the regime and indicating that the Magehunters have been stowing away mages to help in the effort. Don't make it too obvious."
Everyone outside: "The regime's coming. The holy ground's protections should protect us for a while, but we're not sticking around for a protracted siege. Everyone grab a rifle and as many mags as you can fit in tac vest, along with those anti-aircraft shoulder launchers. Jack and Pendragon, go with Magius and he'll tell you what to do.
Kamikaze: "Take this Bible and these seven stones and draw a sign of the cross on each stone with this lamb's blood [we saved and refrigerated some of it] while reading these verses [Psalm 17:8-9, 57:1, 63:6-8, 18:2-3, 32:6-7, 119:114-115; 2 Samuel 22:2-3--seven verses, perfect number; each one refers to God's protection or concealment]. Bury one stone at each of the alters and pray that any attack directed at us will be redirected and land where it can do no harm to anyone."
Gabriel: "If anything is coming from the air, blast it with shoulder-fired missile. If anything storms in here on the ground, well, do what you do."
Monnlight: [Throw here a Bible] Read these verses [the same ones I handed to Kamikaze] while standing on top of the spacecraft and pray that for blessing of invisibility to the enemy if we move it through the twilight. I'll draw seven crosses on its side while you do that." I hold up my thumb. "Then read these verses [Matthew 19:26; Mark 9:23, 10:27, 14:36; Hebrews 11:5; Acts 8:39; Exodus 14:15-16--seven verses, all referring to God taking people to other places] and I'll draw crosses on your feet and palms, your arm and head, for the tefillin, and one over your heart, for the law of God [seven crosses in total]. We'll both pray for God's assistance so that you can get all this stuff through the Twilight."
I should have both revolvers and my machine pistol on me.
I'll get back to this tommorrow hopefully.
Eric
Magius nods,and hustles off to do what you said. Soon you hear shouting outside as he gets things lined up.
Avi replies...
"They are already in an isolated position...targetting....fiction created....weapons free....fiction verified. Impact in thirty seconds."
You step outside, and see everyone looking up to the east. Streaks of fire are lancing down the night sky.
"Impact of Orbital Launched Kinetic Energy weapons in ten, nine, eight..."
Seconds later a bright flash of light fills the horizon.
"Groundshock in twenty-five seconds." Avi says. "Energy released between one hundred and one hundred fifteen kilotonnes in strike." It says pedantically.
Eric
"Well, that works... Just make sure they don't use them against us, Avi."
I hustle outside. I imagine it won't exactly be the biggest quake ever, but I would rather not be indoors when it happens.
"Everyone, brace yourselves. We're about to get a bit of a shake..."
Once that's all over, I do what I was going to do before.