A couple of days later found Mordecai staring hard at the gray wall that was rising smoothly right before his eyes, seeming to grow right out of the ground itself. In reality he had created a psyken robot that had charged the molecules of densified cement that he was using to construct the shelters.
The robot, yet another construct of psyken and biomagnetic energy, then plotted a path for the charged particles to follow by building a magnetic framework based on the blueprints Mordecai had loaded into its memory. Forming a magnetic pole at the top of the structure-to-be, the robot made use of the attraction between opposite poles to draw the cement upwards. The process was somewhat slower than using pure psyken, but much, much faster than using standard building techniques.
Using such robots as well as other psyken constructs and building techniques, it had taken the determined man in black only two short months to procure the land and build the eight safe havens currently scattered across the face of North America. Havens that were strong enough to resist even the most concerted Brotherhood attack!
Those eight, plus this ninth he was currently building just south of Anchorage, would serve as shelters. Shelters for not only members of the Assembly, the name Avalon had given to the group of women he had rescued from the Brotherhood breeding facility, but for any other survivors of nations being subsumed by the Brotherhood as well. According to the latest lone gunman reports, that number was steadily climbing.
That was the reasoning behind building the havens away from population centers: to keep them out of sight of the urban-dependent Brotherhood. The Anchorage facility was being built out in the middle of the wilderness even as the middle of October slipped by and chill weather was beginning to settle all over the continent. The other shelters were similarly remote, though fully furnished and equipped with full facilities and power, as well as remote telecommunication arrays.
Hopefully they would be both strong enough and equipped enough to do what they were constructed for: protect the innocent from the rage of the Brotherhood thwarted in their design to dominate the world. 'Not to mention protecting the survivors of the battles that'll be soon launched in the counter-offensive against the Armageddon Project!' Mordecai thought as he nodded in satisfaction, his eyes tracking the wall as it rose to completion. At the top, the robot signaled the end of its task with a mental 'beep'.
Activating the last robot in the prefab construction set he assembled for each haven site, he set it to its task of growing the final wall of the 'barn', the largest building in the haven complex, which acted as a general storage area. It also housed a nuclear bomb shelter in its foundation.
The densified concrete, created by using psyken to bring the individual concrete molecules several orders of magnitude closer together, was strong enough to resist even a nearby nuclear detonation. It was also close to the density of lead, providing protection from radiation as well.
As the robot, a shimmering mass of light-bending substance about the size of a man's head, began its task of charging the concrete particles, sitting in a metal trough at the wall's base in a thick, gray slurry, Mordecai felt a light telepathic touch on his mind. Instead of his shields slamming into place, however, he continued to work, unconcerned.
It was the prearranged signal the other lone gunmen had decided to use to alert the big man to their approach, along with a set time to the opening of a teleportal. He glanced over his shoulder and casually watched as such a portal irised into view, opening wide enough to let a slender, dark-skinned woman step out. She was dressed in the customary black of the lone gunmen, her features a ravishing vision of Native American beauty, shoulder length hair knotted into a practical braid that lay over her shoulder.
"Raven," he greeted with a nod. "Come to make sure that I'm not disturbing any native burial sites?"
"Very funny, Mordecai," the willowy yet fulsome hardwire replied in a low, powerful voice, a ghost of a smile playing on her sensuous lips. "Just count yourself lucky my people decided this whole affair was a good idea after all. Or you'd have to contend not only with the Brotherhood, but with several tribes of very pissed off West Coast First Peoples!"
"So you keep telling me." Mordecai turned to completely face his comrade, his expression intent. "How's Calgary?"
Raven's flawless face darkened.
"A hornet's nest, my friend," she grimly replied, shaking her head. Out of the five lone gunmen now in the prairie city, she had been the quickest to side with Mordecai and Avalon's plan to unite the psionics of the rebellious fourteen nations against the Brotherhood.
Raven had also been one of the few that had seen the logic in actually forming Avalon as an effective fighting force against the trained ranks of Brotherhood movers and burners, which would be a vital element to the psionic world-at-large, if real war erupted between the nations and the Brotherhood. If this suddenly went from a cold war to a very hot one, they needed people in the trenches. And, thanks to an uncaring Mother Nature, there just weren't enough lone gunmen around to fill the role!
As an ally, Raven now worked against Katengaur, who was strongly advocating an all-out assault on the Brotherhood worldwide. But going against the headstrong hardwire was a task not for the meek or the weak of will! Good thing Raven was neither. She had what it took to stand up to the highly dangerous German hardwire, a feat that would not see a few men, psionic or otherwise, quite dead.
The powerful Native American hardwire quickly discovered that it had been Sonja that had leaked the situation in Calgary to Katengaur. And now she found herself facing the both of them, Katengaur easily swaying the less than forceful Dane to her cause. Not the best situation to find oneself in, considering that Brillman, the only male on the team, and Coyote both were still undecided as to which side to choose. So Raven was getting no help from them.
"Katengaur and Sonja continue to escalate their attacks, despite anything I say to the contrary." The beautiful hardwire frowned, her brow crinkled thoughtfully. "The city is quickly dissolving into that war zone that we feared it might. Both are running along the edge of breaking the Shield themselves, the Normals already quite suspicious of the increase in strange events in their city."
"Burn them to ash," Mordecai grated heavily, his eyes burning with barely restrained rage. Other than that, his face wore its customarily cool expression. "I should 'port to Calgary and burn the both of them out myself, for putting the Shield at risk like that!"
Raven chuckled softly, crossing her arms beneath her generous but firm breasts.
"Out of anybody, Mordecai, you'd be the one with the power to do it," she noted. "And, though I had to admit advocating an aggressive stance towards one of our own, I think it might be the only way to stop her."
Mordecai nodded, sighing under his breath.
"That's what I'm afraid of." He shook his head and turned to watch the wall grow past the halfway point to its peak. "Lone gunmen against lone gunmen. Who would've thought it would come to that? But, it's a step I'm willing to take to protect the Shield."
"Katengaur, of course, will try to give birth to her spleen when I tell her she might have you positioned against her." Raven's smile was easy as she imagined the sight. Mordecai chuckled softly, feeling the tension ease slightly with Raven's humor.
"That I would like to see." Then he sobered. "Regardless, I should be back in Calgary within a day or so. Then I can take a much more active role in persuading our erstwhile comrades that they should cease and desist their activities before the Brotherhood drops the bomb."
Raven nodded in acknowledgement as she began to gather energy out of the already cool air to form a teleportal.
"That's good news. I'll touch base with you then, at Camelot. See you shortly." With a flare of light, she winked out of sight, the teleportal snapping her instantly back to the besieged city. That left Mordecai frowning thoughtfully in her wake.
"Interesting news?" a woman's voice called out and, his frown fading as he pushed it off his face, Mordecai turned to see a slender woman in Avalon's now familiar blue utility overalls and turtleneck, step out from the small Quonset hut serving as a construction office. The young woman quickly made her way over to where Mordecai was standing.
Pretty, dark haired and in her late 20's, she was Kristal Carstairs, a former member of the Alliance and part of the Skipjack's crew. She also held the somewhat dubious post of Avalon Telecommunication's CIO, or Chief Information Officer. She was working hand in hand with Mordecai to complete the construction of the safe havens.
Along with all the former members of the Alliance, which included Linnea Kastin, Avalon Telecommunications Chief Financial Officer, she had opted almost instantly to join the Avalon nation to begin the fight against the Brotherhood. She now had the pleasure of working side by side with Avalon's most powerful ally, the Black Knight, putting his proposals and suggestions into action.
"From a certain point of view," the man in black replied with a thoughtful frown. "That was Raven bringing news of Calgary."
Part of Mordecai's alliance with Avalon was the condition that Camelot, Avalon's firebase in Calgary, would also serve as a touch point for any of Mordecai's lone gunmen colleagues who wanted to work with the big man. Kristal, placed highly in the ranks of the new independent nation, was, of course, well aware of that. Hearing that they had been visited by one of the more powerful of the hardwires currently in Calgary, Kristal immediately sobered.
"Is it getting bad?" she asked quietly. The big psionic shrugged.
"Depends on your definition of bad. I just hope I don't have to go down there and bang some heads to make things settle down before they breach the Shield." With an almost physical shake, he pushed the dark thoughts into the back of his mind and put a thin smile on his handsome face. "But, enough of that. What news of the haven's completion?"
Seeing Mordecai's effort to not think about his rebellious comrades, Kristal forced a smile on her own face and proceeded to give her report.
"Well, the final landscaping has been done to cover up our modifications of the site so that they're no longer visible via satellite," she reported in an efficient yet cheerful alto, smiling at the big man that was making the world safe from the Brotherhood the Alliance fought against for so long.
"Excellent," Mordecai replied with a nod of satisfaction, looking down into Kristal's pretty face and sparkling brown eyes. "Have you ever thought about doing this for a living? You seem pretty good at it."
"What? Being your foreman?" Kristal laughed softly. "Only if I get you for my boss!" She reached out to give Mordecai a gentle squeeze on the arm, glad that the earlier moment of tension had passed.
"Yeah, right." Mordecai chuckled wryly. "Only the lucky few get the tyrant as a boss!"
Grimacing, Kristal gave him a quick punch in the arm. Mordecai snorted a soft laugh.
"And what, exactly, was that for?"
"For judging yourself too harshly," Kristal replied, a stern expression on her face. "It's like what Tabitha said: you've got more power than any other psionic on the planet and only you can save Humanity from its offspring. If this has made you somewhat demanding on how we perform, I think it's something we can certainly live with!"
She reached out to squeeze his arm once more, this time leaving her hand there as she looked into his eyes.
"We would all follow you to the end, Mordecai. You must know that by now. You've given us hope again, our lives back. If that's what it means to be a tyrant, we could only be so lucky to be ruled by one!"
"Okay, okay!" Mordecai held up his hands as if to ward her off. "You're going to make me blush. Which would hurt my reputation as a tough guy. But I appreciate how you feel. Thanks for the vote of confidence; I'll do whatever I can to make it all happen." He pasted another smile on.
"Any time, boss!" Kristal said with a sunny smile of her own in return along with one last squeeze before she let go. "I guess it's time we start moving the gear into the buildings?"
Mordecai nodded in confirmation, his smile fading as he turned back to the business at hand.
"That it is. As soon as the gear is moved in, we'll jump out of here to Calgary."
"Right. I'm on it!" the slender young woman replied with a cheery wave and was off running, leaving Mordecai behind. He watched her go, a frown reappearing on his face.
Already they were relying heavily on the big psionic, making him a cornerstone of both their offensive and defensive strategies. Which was fine, for as long as he was around. But, what would they do if he were gone? Pondering that, Mordecai returned to his task. Hopefully they wouldn't need to find that answer any time soon!
It was later that afternoon that, with the buildings and the grounds of the haven complex completed, Mordecai's small construction team of Kristal, Linnea, Jackie Opus, a perky blonde and Zera Winters, an intense brunette, gathered in front of the main building, a low, one story ranch-style house. It could hold up to twenty people in its spacious quarters.
"Looks like Frostbite is complete," Mordecai indicated as he glanced down at his final checklist. Looking back up at the team, he smiled in satisfaction. "Good work, people. According to Tabitha, we've eight members of the Assembly that have chosen Frostbite as their safe haven. As soon as I jump you back to Camelot, I'll be jumping them in here. Shortly afterwards, I'll join you back at base and we'll begin the next stage of the transfer. Okay? All set for jump out?"
"All set," Linnea confirmed and the others nodded, duffel bags filled with their personal gear slung over their shoulders.
"Okay. See you at home," Mordecai said and snapped open a portal. Instantly the four young women winked out of existence and the man in black opened a channel to Tabitha.
- Tabitha, Frostbite is now online. Has the Assembly been gathered and briefed? -
- Affirmative, Mordecai. Final destinations have been studied and confirmed. We're ready for the jump-ins whenever you are, - the Avalon telepath answered almost instantly.
- Very good. Stand by! - He disconnected briefly to connect up with Lisa. – Are we all set here, Lisa? -
- Clean as a whistle, Mordecai. Frostbite is ready for occupation and the translocation corridors are free of obstacles, - the familiar husky voice replied and Mordecai nodded as he disconnected with the gatekeeper to reconnect with Tabitha.
- Final confirmation of the site's readiness has been received, Tabitha. Send the patterns of the Assembly members bound for Frostbite now. - An instant later the eight patterns arrived in his mind and, using them to lock in on the eight women that would be living at Frostbite, Mordecai snapped open a portal and pulled them through.
As soon as the eight winked into existence, their worldly belongings in bags slung over their shoulders by straps, Mordecai smiled at them as he connected back to Tabitha to report.
- Jump in was uneventful and successful, - he indicated with a nod. – As soon as I have them squared away, I'm jumping out to Camelot. -
- Copy that, - Tabitha replied smartly. – Link to me as soon as you arrive in Calgary. -
- Copy and out. - Turning to the eight women who, in turn, smiled broadly with anticipation at him, Mordecai bowed slightly at the waist.
"Welcome to Frostbite, ladies. I hope you'll make yourselves right at home!"
****