Chapter 7

One day we will have to confront the hard truth that to save ourselves, we were willing to throw our little girls into bloody battles with monsters.

-Unknown US Congresswoman

--0--

As the old saying goes, an army marches on its stomach, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the military supplied us with a great selection of donuts. While watching munching on an apple fritter, I could tell the others who entered the room were amused at the pile of pastries sitting in front of us. Both my mother and Aunt Audrey joined us with a small collection of their own.

I was surprised that one of the people who had joined us was Colonel Peters. At first, I thought he had better things to do, but then he probably wanted to ask questions directly to those who were involved.

The second was a Captain whom I had not met, but from the little badge on his shoulder told me he was a Spartan. Obviously, this was the person the military flew in from Boston this morning.

Poor Emma looked surprised and a little concerned when suddenly the Director of the DPA and a three-star General joined us through teleconferencing.

Director Julia Henley smiled, "Hello, fellow Valkyries, it's good to see you all well. Archangel, it's been a while. Your work with the latest ceramics has been inspiring; we are getting positive feedback from the field."

"Thank you, Director, I will pass that on to my team," my mother replied.

"Chirurgeon it's good to see you too, send me a message when you have some time. There are a few things that just came up that I'd like to get your feedback on."

"Sure thing Minerva," Aunt Audrey gave her a lazy salute.

The Director of the DPA rolled her eyes then smiled at the three younger women, which of course, included me.

"Emma, I heard you did well yesterday, and thank you for being a good senior to your younger charges. Both of Kimberly's parents haven’t stopped saying good things about you."

My new friend turned as red as her hair and squeaked, "Thank you, ma'am, but I couldn’t have done it without Kára's help."

The Director nodded to me, then said, "Good morning Alice, I'm glad to see you arrived safely."

"Yes, ma'am, and good morning to you too," Quicksilver replied with a grin.

Turning back to me, I could tell my appearance must have come as quite a shock to the Director of the DPA. It's one thing to be told what happened; it's another thing to see it with your own eyes.

"Kára, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you for helping yesterday. Considering the circumstances for you to step up and fight leaves me in awe."

Embarrassed at the praise, I looked down but felt Alice reach for my hand and gave it a squeeze. Letting go of a breath I didn’t know I was holding, I said, "I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing."

"I would have expected nothing less of one of my Valkyries or from someone from your illustrious family," the Director said proudly. "I would like to speak to you and your mother once we have finished with the debriefing. Some decisions need to be made sooner than later."

"Yes, ma'am." I nodded, looking at my mother, who also agreed.

"Sorry, General Brandenburg."

The middle-aged three-star general of the U.S. Army North waved away the Director's concerns. "Its fine, Julia," he said with a laugh, "I too would want to know how my people are doing. I also want to personally thank you, Emma and Kára, for a job well done. Along with your two juniors, the four of you saved a lot of lives yesterday. We as a country cannot thank you, girls, enough for what you do."

He then passed it off to Colonel Peters, who had been sitting there patiently with the unknown Captain.

"Let me do a quick introduction, my name is Colonel Stephen Peters, and the gentlemen sitting next to me is Captain Jason Wells. The Captain is here to help."

With that, the Captain touched a key on his laptop and began. Emma looked a bit nervous, but then her initial AAR had been with a Lieutenant. I knew from Maggie that speaking with whoever commanded the base wasn’t that unusual but also to have the head of the DPA and a three-star at the meeting would be a novel experience.

Emma confirmed that she and the others were sent to the city for a 'Meet and Greet.' Mostly, they would walk around town, do a little shopping, maybe sign a few autographs. It's something that Valkyries usually do once a month. For the girls to be walking around town at the same time as an incursion occurred was both somewhat serendipitous.

The Captain knew his stuff, asking Emma the same questions three different ways. The fight between the Troll and the three girls was discussed, and the reports two younger girls had written were also read aloud.

I could see that the Director wasn’t particularly pleased that the youngest of the three had been hurt. I knew things were going to change. People like her and my mother were now finally in charge of the program and would make sure that everything was done to keep the Valkyries safe.

"Thank you, Emma," the Captain gave her a friendly smile. "We only needed some more detail about the initial encounters and the junior's reaction."

He typed on his keyboard for a moment finishing whatever notes he had been taking before looking towards the others for confirmation. "Thank you for your time."

She nodded but still seemed to hesitate.

Directory Henley then said, "Go home, Emma, spend some time with your parents. If we need you, we'll let you know."

"Ok." She then surprised me by leaning over for a hug and whispered. "You sure you're not in trouble."

I laughed and patted her on the back. "I'm fine. I'll text you when I'm done."

"Don’t worry; you'll most likely be seeing more of Kára," my mom leaned over and said.

"Oh, that’s right," Emma said with a bright smile then gave a nervous wave to everyone as she left the room.

As soon as she closed the door, I started to shake. Why would it all come back now? I thought I had been good trying to hold it together but apparently not. My mother, seeing my distress, quickly rose from her chair and came to my side.

"It's all right," she whispered, drawing me into a hug.

The rest of the room thankfully whispered among themselves.

Reaching up, I wiped the tears from my eyes. Embarrassed, I said, "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about, Henry," Colonel Peters assured me.

"Kára." I smiled at my mother in the way of thanks then shrugged. "Call me Kára. It's too confusing otherwise."

"Alright."

"Kára," the Director began. "You have nothing to apologize for. It is we who should be apologizing, realizing that you still haven’t come to grip with what happened to you yesterday. If you need more time, we can hold off until you're ready."

"Thank you, but I think it's better to do it now," I replied.

"Like the others," Colonel Peters started, "I want to thank you as well for stepping up when anyone else would have faltered. We have spoken on several occasions, Kára, and I always thought you have a good head on your shoulders. With the help of your mother, I'm sure whatever obstacles that lay ahead, you will successfully overcome. And if you need anything from my command, please let me know."

The Captain then gave me a respectful nod, and with the approval of the group, hit a button on his computer. An image appeared on the large screen in the back of the room of a massive black eight-foot-tall creature as it emerged from the rubble of the drug store.

This was the best video, although from what I watched on the news, at least two others had their phones ready for some unknown reason instead of running to a shelter.

"Where should I start?"

"Wherever you think best," the Captain said.

"When my cousin died," I looked to my mom, who then squeezed my hand. "I didn’t take it very well. Since then, I have been dressing up in her clothing every day after school. Mags called it being a Mini-me."

The Captain only confirmed the identity of Maggie before I continued. "Mom and I, well, let's say it was time for both of us to move forward. So yesterday, I went out for the last time dressed like that."

The Director looked sympathetic, but the military men in the room were hard to read. However, no one looked disgusted. With a sigh, I continued with me stepping off the bus downtown.

"After I got something to drink, I stopped by my favorite book store," I turned to my mom and said, "Did you know that Dale's Library is closing, the one on Sam Adam’s Drive."

"Oh, that’s a shame you both loved that store."

"Yea, anyway, one second, I was thinking of the 'going out of business sale,' and the next moment, a blue woman dressed in Garderobes of black and gold appeared before me."

Everyone but mom and Audrey was startled at the statement. The Captain frowned then asked. "This blue woman, can you describe her?"

I gave the best description I could, which didn’t seem to please anyone in the room.

"Has any other Valkyrie ever reported such a meeting," questioned the General.

"No, sir," the Director responded.

He made a worried frown then waved for me to continue. I then explained that she kissed me on the forehead after apologizing then my world turned to pain.

"I was told by my mom that she didn’t remember what happened when she first manifested."

"I don’t think there have been any reports of anyone having any memories of the actual event."

"I was having lunch with my sister in the cafeteria at school when I first manifested," Alice supplied. "One second, I was wearing my school uniform the next I was in my Garderobes."

The others confirmed the same.

The General then asked, "And your." He paused for a second, appearing uncomfortable. "Your change, from the report I read its total?"

I nodded a little embarrassed. However, there was nothing I could do about it, and it wasn't an invalid question considering the circumstances. Unfortunately, my aunt confirmed once again that I was a healthy young woman.

Yay, me.

"Next thing I knew, I suddenly reappeared in the streets as the Brute started smashing things."

The video continued with me running by on the right side of the screen, bounding over a car, and then bouncing off a wall before slamming my spear into the ugly thing. The troll didn’t seem particularly pleased. As I spun and moved around my opponent, the Captain hit the space bar after I effortlessly dodged one vicious blow.

"Advanced combat precog," he confirmed rather than asked.

"Nice," Alice whistled next to me.

I kept the rest of the skill to myself. Both my mom and aunt recommended that I didn’t go into too much detail. I saw the threads, and although I could read them very far, I knew it was a wise decision. The military was both comfortable and familiar with this skill already more might cause problems.

The Captain then asked me more about the fight, much like he did with Emma, and later commented that he wished every Valkyrie remembered what she was taught.

"Her cousin taught her well," my mom laughed.

"She taught you had to use a spear?" Alice sounded confused.

"Oh, no, not really that was all me, but everything else, yea."

"I take it from Quicksilver's comment that Kára skill with her weapon is highly unusual?"

The Director confirmed what I already knew that all Valkyries were all skilled with their weapons, but only with practice did they become truly proficient.

"Was she the one who taught you how to use the Milnet-4?" The Colonel asked, joining the conversation for the first time.

"Yes, Sir."

"So, you played around with a real one?" the Captain chimed. "Was there a reason for it?"

"Other than it was cool," I replied, and then looked down embarrassed at the light laughs around me. "Well, I thought it might make my cosplay more realistic."

"Cosplay?"

"Ahh, well, I used to dress up as a Valkyrie when I was younger, General."

"I see."

He probably didn’t, but I didn’t say anything. Considering how my own grandparents often acted, I knew old prejudices die hard, but still, it was nice to see that he had an open mind.

"I remember." Alice chirped. "You were very cute dressed up as Black Rain."

Rolling my eyes, I continued, "It also helped Mags learn what she needed to know too. I have a stack of index cards in my room I used to test her with."

"So, that’s why you knew how to attack the Brute?"

"Yes, Captain." I didn't bother to mention the books and other training material under my bed and in my closet. I figured I would need it soon.

"That’s why we were so confused, General. We were wondering how one of our veteran Valkyries ended up in the city without us knowing." Colonel Peters explained,

The General nodded. "No harm, Stephen. I think we were very fortunate that Kára was able to use that knowledge as well as she did. I wasn’t kidding young lady; you and the other girls saved a lot of lives."

"Thank you, sir." I tried not to make a face at the young lady's comment.

The Captain continued, with another video of me suddenly appearing from the sky or as Alice whispered, 'Death from above.'

"Nice job keeping the Alpha from approaching the car," she commented, leaning forward to get a better look at the screen.

Aunt Audrey noted, "Nice clean strike through the mouth with the others."

"I agree, damn things always took a little more killing," the Director commented with a sigh.

My mom gave a soft laugh as we waited for the older Valkyries, and previous ones continue their commentary.

"I feel sorry for her friend," Alice mumbled.

"You mean Amy?" I nodded. "Yea, she wasn’t too happy with her."

It took the General to get us back on track, which was pretty funny. The Captain then asked questions about Emma and my fight with the Seps. I could see approval in the Director's eyes.

"So it was you who suggested the search pattern?" She asked.

"It seemed the right thing to do; we were still close enough to support one another in case one of us got in trouble."

"Miss Kingston wanted to give you all the credit."

"She just doesn’t want to do the paperwork." I smiled.

The brought a chuckle from the group. The rest of my tale went quicker; however, I could see that there were a few things that were still troubling them.

"The story that's running in the news that you were still able to manifest after the incursion is there some truth to it?" The Director asked.

I looked at my mother. She nodded, and suddenly I was wearing my full Garderobes.

--0--

"Well, you're definitely your mother's child." The Director, the DPA, let out a chuckle. With the meeting finished, the men left the room leaving only Valkyries.

"I wasn’t that bad." My mom objected.

"Yes, you were." Aunt Audrey laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. "Poor Stephen, did you see his face when you manifested?"

Colonel Peters did look a little upset.

"The Captain didn’t even raise an eyebrow." Alice nodded.

"Well, he is a Spartan." My mom shrugged then smiled at me.

"Am I in trouble?" Although they told me I wasn't, it was still something that concerned me.

With a sigh, the Director put her hands in front of her. "No, Kára, you have done nothing wrong. Can't say the military was happy you knew how to use the Larry, but they will get over it. I spoke to my boss this morning, who had spoken to the President last night. I don’t see any problems with what you decided, Sarah."

"The President!" I squeaked, really?

"We got a call from him when you appeared on the news wanting to know about the new Valkyrie." She smiled.

Well crap, I wanted to curl up into a ball.

"It's going to kind of hard to hide your look, Kára. I mean, you got that whole rocking elf chick thing going for you."

Rolling my eyes, I grumbled. "Thanks, Alice, and what did you decide, mom?"

"It's up to you, sweetheart." She said. "I refuse to say that you're not my child; however, I know that we also have to consider your feelings. If you want to tell your friends what happened, you can do that. On the other hand, if you want us to tell everyone that Henry moved in with my mother, that is fine as well. We can also say nothing. It's none of anyone's business, and your still a minor."

My Aunt laughed. "Oh, please, Sarah, it's going to come out eventually. Kára can't exactly blend in."

"That’s true, Audrey," the Director admitted. "However, I will not allow this situation to become a media circus. The General agrees and frankly doesn’t care what we do either way."

"As long as Kára available for deployment," worried my mother. "Why should he care."

The Director just nodded sadly.

"People are still going to freak, you know."

"As the old saying goes, Audrey, there's no cure for stupidity. I think Sarah's correct. Let her daughter decide."

"Can we not say anything?" I looked around, then shrugged. I knew enough that this was going to make front-page news, but I really didn’t want to deal with it right now. "We talked about me switching schools. I think that will help."

Alice grinned. "And will make Emma happy."

"At least the current President has shown concern for the well-being of the girls at every opportunity. Can't say that for the last one," Audrey grumbled.

"Ahh, what about identification and the like? I mean, I can't exactly have my student ID say, Henry Squire."

"Don’t worry, sweetheart, that’s something easily changed," my mom assured me.

"Do I have to remain on base?"

"Absolutely, not." The Director said. "Do what you need to do. Let the adults take care of the rest."

Well, one less thing I have to worry about, but still, I real meal sounded good, but I was still annoyed that I couldn’t locate my purse.

Authors Note: Stay home too many aren't. Those that can't be safe, stay well.