Tiny Hearts of Steel - Chapter 15

As always, this is a fan fiction. Events depicted here are not canon, though perhaps they could be.

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Memory transcription subject: Liral, "Hazelnut", med student and insurrectionist

Date [standardized human time]: December 31, 2136

"Thank your friends in the Roller Union for their support, Gabon" I said, flicking my ears at my father on the other end of the connection. "Waldhexe was able to make a clean escape.

"It was our pleasure, Hazelnut. The Kolshans have been awful for business. What's the first rule I taught you?"

"Don't mess with the union!"

"Roller power!" my father raised a closed paw with a laugh.

"Roller power! Alright, I need to get going."

"Take care of yourself, Hazelnut."

"You too, Gabon." The screen went blank as my father closed the connection. I took a sip of my drink while reviewing the updates that I was getting about the resistance.

Pican's attack on the Exterminator branch office changed the whole equation. Not only was the office almost completely destroyed, but Waldhexe had escaped completely unbothered. We didn't even need to do a propaganda release, since the mainstream media kept showing the attack on loop. Our network traffic was threatening to shut down the servers. Recruitment skyrocketed, and it was very difficult for me to keep up with.

My human partner, Bernays had a dozen other humans vetting the applicants using a dizzying array of tools that I couldn't understand. Everything was examined, from employment history to social media posts, and even Swift Pair profiles. If accepted, the applicant would be given the contact information for their new cell leader. Hundreds of applicants were rejected, but thousands found a place. The cell system prevented me from knowing the real identity of more than six individuals, but I did know that my own network had six layers under me.

Another sip, and I started clearing my head for my next call with the "Arboreals". Right on cue Swift Pair chimed a new connection request. I opened it, seeing the leader of the Arboreals, a black furred dossur with a nasty scar across his left eye and a voice that made me shiver in all the worst ways. "Punctual as always, Argan"

"Of course, Hazelnut. I'm pleased to report that the operation was a success."

"So I heard."

"You know, we could have taken more if we had a second Rolagon."

"It would have complicated the planning. How were your losses?"

"Non-existent."

"Good. Well done. We should probably have your group lay low for a while. Asset Walnut suggests that Skittergrad's going to be hot for a bit."

"Agreed. Exterminators are thick as bluemoss around here. I saw at least four different office badges."

"Then go to ground, but keep your ears open"

"You got it, Hazelnut." Argan closed the connection, and I felt myself slump just a little in my seat. Someday I would be comfortable with the crime lord, but not today.

Another sip, and I got ready for my next call...

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Memory transcription subject: Narini, "Pecan"

I glanced over at Waldhexe as Ulrich, Sawil, and Gear-Father Ritti gave the tank a going over, guided virtually by Tanks4Tanking in his office back on Earth. It was honestly like the four of them were speaking a secret language that the rest of us didn't have in our translators.

I looked back at my own screen, where the old human waited patiently. "Sorry, Colonel. I admit I am becoming increasingly distracted."

"Miss Pecan, I am attempting to instill lessons learned through centuries of human warfare in a single afternoon. You are, to use an American term, drinking from a fire hose." Colonel Harold Alexander seemed perfectly relaxed as he spoke. His eyes radiated a feeling of perfect control and so far, he had been a complete gentleman towards me. "Perhaps it would be better to put aside all the theory for a bit, and do some more practical analysis of your own performance? Maybe then some of the theory will slot into place for you."

"Your patience with me is appreciated."

"Very well, let us begin with your first engagement in the woods." We replayed the recordings from Waldhexe's data center, and the human brought me through the encounter. He praised me for ordering the exterminators to halt while they were still some distance from my tank, but at the same time suggested that maybe using the main battery against an unarmored exterminator van was a waste. Still, once I explained that I did for the shock value, he smiled, referring back to something that would be a recuring theme. "It occurs to me that you have never had any formal psychology training, yet you seem to use the discipline well."

"My father was foreign minister. He taught me how to read emotional tells, and what they meant, and how to use them to my advantage."

"Ah, a diplomat and politician. That explains some things." The colonel smiled, the tuft of fur between his mouth and nose twitching slightly. "Would it surprise you to learn that politics, business, and military affairs all follow the same general rules?"

"That is somewhat shocking."

"Indeed. Actually, that gives me mind to send you a text."

My pad chimed as a file was received. I looked at the title incredulously. "The Art of War?" That humans would consider war and destruction an art form was revealing to their inner nature.

"Indeed. There was a brilliant Chinese chap some twenty-six hundred earth years ago who wrote considerably about such things. It will be useful in more than one aspect of your campaign. Let us read together, and I can explain each verse as we go..."