The Chief Recon Officer approached and clicked his boots together, saluting.
"Permission to report, sir?"
I propped myself up on my elbows and, shielding my eyes with my hand, looked at his chest.
"Go ahead..." I said with a sigh and flopped back onto the ground.
"A Rider is moving toward headquarters. Count — one. Horse..."
I cut off his monotonous speech.
"Let him come." I got up and looked at the field. I focused. "I summon one Soldier. Infantry. Fort guard."
A Soldier appeared, chambered a round, saluted, and marched toward headquarters.
Sighing, I picked up the tablet from the ground and followed him, approaching the hum of the generators.
(If you think about it... Protection, even like this... Creepy, but better than no protection at all. And do I even need protection here? I'll have to find out.)
I approached the noisy fort.
"Turn off all the generators!" I shouted through the noise.
A ringing silence fell, pressing on my ears. The Engineers kept working: sawing and processing wood, adjusting antennas, sitting at laptops, filling HESCO.
"All Engineers — disappear."
The Engineers froze for a second — and dissolved into the air.
Silence...
It felt like stepping into a dead military fort. Not a soul. Except for the Soldier standing at the entrance.
I sat down by the lake next to the massive Eurocubes. I watched the water, where hoses were floating.
Muffled hoofbeats echoed across the ground.
I turned around.
A man was riding there, in a light cloak with a coat of arms, a sword in his hand. His face was hidden by a gray hood.
I watched with curiosity. (So that's who I could've been if I'd chosen the "mighty sword." It was a little scary seeing the bare blade. But my heart quickly calmed down — I knew that at any moment I could summon the Abrams, which wouldn't leave a dry spot from the Rider.)
The Rider dismounted and, nearly falling into the moat, began examining the fort in amazement.
I got up and walked toward him.
"Hi," I said awkwardly.
The Rider turned and pulled back his hood.
Golden hair, tied in a short bun, and a face with a scar above his eye were revealed from under the fabric.
He started saying something in a language I didn't understand.
I was taken aback.
(So I don't know the language either... Makes sense.)
"Do I have a translator?" I shouted into the void.
A Soldier materialized out of thin air next to me and looked at the Rider. The Soldier said something in the unknown language.
The Rider's eyebrows rose in surprise. He walked over and carefully peered under the Soldier's helmet, then started saying something.
"He's asking: 'Summoning magic?'" the Soldier turned to me and translated his words.
I nodded. (And I thought to myself: "They can talk in the local language too. Where from?")
The Rider curiously examined the Soldier, shifted his gaze to me, and started chattering rapidly.
The Soldier-translator monotonously translated after him:
"This plain belongs to Duke Yanski Malevych. Prohibited: building, stationing troops of any kind. From living beings to non-living. Prohibited: destroying forests, draining reservoirs, excavating land. Strictly forbidden to use any of this for creating camps or siege structures."
The Rider exhaled heavily.
I thought about it. (Basically, I broke everything he said in just three hours.)
The Rider continued examining the fort: touching, feeling, poking with his sword, performing various manipulations.
And the Soldier fell silent after finishing the translation and didn't move.
I looked at the Rider and thought. (They probably won't just freeze construction because the project didn't get a tender.)
"And what are the consequences of this?" I asked, addressing the Rider. The Soldier translated.
The Rider shook the dirt off his sword and looked me in the eyes. It was hard to hold eye contact — the sun was shining brightly behind him.
I squinted, trying to see his face and emotions.
"Where did you come from? Interesting clothes, summoning unusual spirits? Who are they? And what can they do?" The Rider approached the Soldier, who was monotonously translating without moving.
I watched his actions: how he examined the Translator from all sides.
("Where did I come from?" — a strange question, and I can't really bring myself to answer it.)
I glanced at my black shirt, picked up the white tie, examining it. (Indeed, strange clothes for their world... But for an artist in a typical company, I look pretty plain.)
I looked at the Soldier with a head full of thoughts. (And who are they? Spirits? I don't even know that myself.)
"Are you a spirit?" I asked the Translator uncertainly.
"Soldier-function," he cut off briefly, not moving an inch.
The Rider stood waiting for an answer, twirling his sword in his hand and staring intently at me and the Soldier.
(What should I answer?)
I glanced at the moat and the razor wire, as if trying to find the answer to this difficult question: "Where did I come from?" (Maybe he'll let it slide and won't notice?)
"This is a spirit-function, not dangerous..." I glanced at the XM-7 hanging behind his back. "Only if I order it."
The Soldier translated monotonously.
The Rider raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Silence.
The ringing in my ears had stopped, and I could feel the breeze quietly sweeping through the moat and tangling in the barbed wire.
"Okay, the number of these spirits you can summon. Their power. How long would it take to dismantle all of this?" The Rider swept his sword, pointing at the fort, the wire, the pump, and the Eurocubes. The Soldier translated monotonously.
Oh.
It felt like I woke up, even though I hadn't been asleep. My mind felt clearer.
(Dismantle? That would be quick, I think... But wait. Why? If I take it apart, I probably won't feel safe in a town. And honestly — I like these creepy Soldiers in full gear. In green khaki, with heavy Kevlar helmets, night vision goggles, headsets. In modular vests and combat boots. With XM-7 rifles and SIG Sauer M18 pistols.)
The Rider slowly walked around the fort, holding his horse's reins. And I kept thinking.
(I don't want war. But I don't want to live quietly in a town either. Maybe it has its own vibe there. But since I chose this ability, I should use it.)
"Can we negotiate?" I shouted, distracting the Rider from studying the "wondrous" fort.
The Soldier translated immediately.
The Rider froze in thought.