Eighty-five: It's rude to keep a lady waiting

Whether it was the chiefs' acknowledgment of me or that night's spur of the moment memorial, I wasn't sure. The Boskies had started 'my lady'-ing me and deferring to me when I finally was able to exit the apartment. I received salutes and they murmured behind my back something about being willing to support a lady like that. I didn't know what I had done.

Perhaps it was the recounting of the dead. Getting all those memories and people out of my system. I felt more awake. Alive. Healthier. Lighter. I could breathe and the world was not a dark hole trying to bury me within it anymore. It was easier to think, to do and to plan.

If I walked further than I could handle and couldn't get back, there was always someone willing to carry me. If I wanted something, all I had to do was ask. I didn't ask often. These soldiers were busy enough without me ordering them about too.

Everyone had my origami animals and some soldiers even sought me out to replace ones they had misplaced or lost. From the stores, they got me a spare vest to protect me against the bullets and even a helmet. Unfortunately they didn't have trousers, underwear, bras or shoes my size. I'd survived this long without them and the last time I had worn shoes was so long ago, it was like a another era.

A letter was delivered to me. My parents telling me they were safe and amazed at the wonderful treatment the Chief was giving them. They thought they'd been in trouble first and then had been surprised when they'd been informed to prepare for a wedding. Apparently, Aylissa had started following Henry about, making him a little uncomfortable, but as Henry put it in his letter, "She's starting to grow on me. She's not as bad as I thought and not as annoying as you."

I'd take that as a compliment.

I wrote back to them that I was doing well and that the fighting could be heard from where I was. As for what I really thought about marriage with Kiran, I wrote that he was a good man as any girl could want, but I was still thinking about it. I advised Henry to let Aylissa take him out on a sightseeing tour and to give her a soft toy.

It took me a while to find the right man to give my mail to and I wondered how Kiran was doing. Was he getting enough rest?

On my way back to Kiran's apartment, because I was putting off having to deal with those pesky stairs that were still difficult with when you walk with crutches, I stopped by a building. It was where I knew some of the computers were and my fingers were itching to do something.

Someone had left a computer running and before I had thought to stop myself, I had dived in to find out what was going on at the moment. I hacked my way into higher authority accounts and watched the information flow. Checking out the firewall, I found it being attacked and launched an attack of my own, stopping it in its tracks.

"Who did that?"

"It's one of our own, right here in the Compound."

"But we're all here."

I heard voices exclaim in the distance, but was busy beefing up the firewall before the attackers launched a new offensive, ignoring another coder's desperate attempts to keep up with me. There was lots of new code I didn't recognise, but a person didn't need to be a rocket scientist to work out what those codes were. I integrated them in, making the net more cohesive and the firewall more stable. Based on the attacks the attackers had used…

A hand dropped on my shoulder.

"My Lady, you shouldn't be here," an upset and nervous soldier told me. He peered over my shoulder and made a strangled exclamation. Other footsteps clattered into the room while I turned back to finish what I had been doing. A ping highlighted an important stream of information from the enemy's network. They were going to attack the Compound while Kiran was away.

"My Lady," several voices breathed when they watched how my improved network firewall stood up to the new attacks.

"My Lady, we were told not to let you near a computer," the most senior of these nerd geek soldiers told me, "but that - that's - why did we never think of that before?"

"There's a lot of redundant code in the firewall and in some of your programs," I shrugged with a smile. "They're not redundant anymore."

"I can see that now."

"Listen," I told the gathered goggling geeks. "That's not really going to keep the enemy busy for long. You should get back to it. You," I pointed to their leader, when they all sidled reluctantly away, "stay here. How long are you planning to play the defence while the enemy keeps attacking? There's so many weaknesses and potential holes in our systems." Our systems. Was this really me talking? "You won't be able to keep it up for long. They have good people and better resources from the looks of things and those attacks are just gearing up to a big one that will probably coincide with a physical attack on the Compound. Look, they're giving us the time of the attack. We should have just enough time."

"To do what, My Lady?"

"There's banks of top of the line computers in the city not too far from here if you drive. If we get everyone working together, we can set them up as a bigger mirror network, as if the current one is just a cover for it. They'll go straight for the bigger network and all the shiny things we'll dangle in front of them and then trap them in the mirror network. Let them bumble about in there, while you go about getting the real work done. While that's happening, where's the man in charge while Kiran's gone?"

The geek went running and I smiled at the plan forming in my mind. I was going to be bait again, but this time, I didn't mind so much. This time, it was my decision and I didn't have to worry about my family. If I did this, I would be formally declaring which side of the war I had decided to stand on. It's not like I had anywhere to fall back to anyway. The Boskies were starting to feel more like family. They had their quirks and flaws, and there were some traditions in their culture that needed dealing with. Like slavery. I'd deal with those eventually. First we needed to end the war.

I explained my plan to one man and then a panel of senior officers. Unsurprisingly, they were a bit wary at first, but soon took me quite seriously when they impatiently heard what I had to say. Impatience, soon turned to patience and then excitement. They helped me streamline the plan and fill in the holes. Messages went flying. We got the green light.

The geeks returned with the stash of computers and they were super excited. I let them sort out the fine details. Once I'd given them the idea, they knew what to do. We didn't have much time, while the Compound was being psuedo-evacuated, just in case things didn't go according to plan. Fortunately Kiran's reinforcements and relief were on the way to the front, so that we could enact our plan.

"My Lady, are you sure about this?" the man in charge rubbed his red nose. Hunter, his name was. "You could get killed."

"So could you," I pointed out.

"But you're not a soldier," he pointed back.

"Everyone's got to start somewhere," I held my hands palm up, "and I'm tired of running. From the looks of their files, they've decided that I'm a traitor. I've got nowhere left to go. They catch me, I'm dead."

"We don't want you dead. Us soldiers are supposed to protect civilians like you."

"And who protects the soldiers?" I pointed and he grinned. "Kiran's done so much for me. He's saved my life countless times. It's time I did something back for him. Let's say it's a present."

Hunter chuckled and shook his head, pointing back at me.

"If I don't survive, then My Lady, it's been an honour serving with you."

"Same here," I shook his hand, hoping he didn't feel the tremble in it.

"Kiran said to tell you that you'd better be alive when he gets here," he called, shouldering his pack and strode toward a waiting vehicle.

"Then tell him he'd better not be late," I shouted back with a wave. "It's rude to keep a lady waiting."