Partner

This is a month, or so, after the last one. The only teller in this is a bit about Mik's last dream and when it happened so I figured I'd be nice and point it out.

It came to me while at work... by the time I got home I was sitting on the edge of my seat, as I'm sure Mik was.

I was never really certain how this came about. I know that by the start of the sequel it had happened, but wasn't certain how or when. So I was quite pleased with this.

I'm also pleased that I managed to keep most of it within the norm of... debating? Maybe. I've never debated before in my life.

Read, review and enjoy






“The following videos and images are meant for adult audiences only, it is asked that if you have children in the room, that you ask them to leave, or change the channel now. We will give you a moment here…” the anchor woman shifted uncomfortably.

Her name was Ell and she was new. Which was why she was doing the controversial report. It could either make or break her career. The topic?

Sidhe.

Ell cleared her throat and turned over one of the papers before her. She folded her hands in her lap and looked up at the camera with a very serious face, “Three days ago the following video was taken from a spy drone flying over the capital of Valease, viewer discretion is not advised, because it is hardly deemed appropriate for the most hardened criminals. While the violence and … despicable act is a terrible thing to behold, it can only be said that the people need to see this, they need to know what is going on.”

The video began and Mik had to look away. Being part of it, when he had been caught up in Paw’s nightmares, there had still be that part of him that could deny what was happening. The footage was of a Sidhe, obviously not armed, protecting a young female. A young female people. The policing force took their time in taking him down, taunting him by killing the girl first, and then him.

Paw’s hand found his and squeezed.

“Disturbing, graphic. This news team went to the world wide web to find out if this was a single incident. It is not, it was not and it will not be the last time a Sidhe is tormented in such a way. These images are just a few of the disturbing images that were passed by the censors.”

Not tame by far. It was rare that the censors interfered with newscasts. Most censors preferred to leave the newscasts to themselves, give the people their dose of violence and craziness while making the job of the censors seem necessary. Remind the people that what they watched television for was not violence and rape and murder but to get away from the real world.

“The viewers may be wondering what the censors… black marked,” Ell spoke quietly, in an even tone, “images of Sidhe children, sold into slavery after being tortured to draw out adults. These children are used for medical tests, military tests and even as prostitutes. One month ago a lone woman, who had sold herself to men of Valease for forty years, killed her husband, fed his heart to his friends, then killed her daughter and then herself. What could drive a person to do this to her family you ask?

“Nothing. She was not people. She was Sidhe, and her daughter was a half-breed. Half people, half Sidhe, the man had, apparently, turned to the daughter for pleasure one night when he found himself bored of his wife.”

Ell paused. Mik could almost hear the startled, horrified gasp.

His phone rang. Paw handed it over without making eye contact and Mik answered it, standing from the couch and making his way to the kitchen.

“Hullo?”

“You watching the newscast?”

“Emergency broadcast to every room in the building,” Mik muttered.

“In the entire nation,” Koln responded.

“What? They can’t just override the emergency broadcast system for Sidhe, the people will revolt. It. It’s meant for when the president dies, when bombs are going off over head. Not…” Mik stopped, considered, and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Jay owns the fucking company doesn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“And this is allowed?”

“Military does not interfere with newscasts. When they told everyone that we were using criminals for medical testing we allowed them to do so.”

“Because it wasn’t real.”

“Eh… Mik. This is the military. You really think we’re going to execute bastards who deserve to die slow, painful fucking deaths? No.”

“Right,” Mik turned back to the television to find Ell speaking to another anchor about her research, how she had contacted the military for the drone footage and they had, as they were supposed to, handed it over without any problems, “Anything specific I should know?”

“Eh. Just pay attention.”

“Yes. Exactly what both of us wants. He’s finally sleeping so let’s bombard him with graphic images of torture.”

He heard the click that meant that Koln had hung up and he cursed before crossing the living room and taking his seat beside Paw once more.

“What bibliography?”

“Tells her sources, where they came from, where her facts are from.”

“But anonymous people…”

“Are listed as unattainable sources. They’ve a right to privacy but at the same time they must hold something open for contact. Always the military or journalism people can find the sources at all times. Normal people would not be able to track down the source and destroy their name or property.”

“Ah.”

“Now, with us we have the country’s top Sidhe expert, Alsheen Nort.”

“Nort has stupid name.”

“I know. No wonder he’s… pissy.”

“Thank you for having me Ell,” Nort appeared, splitting the screen in half.

“And on the other side, Valease’s Public Minister. Sholt Misuan. Misuan?”

“Good evening Ell,” Misuan appeared, this time the screen split into four sections. Three of the people and one that flashed facts.

“The first question that is on everyone’s minds is. How could this happen?” Ell asked both men.

“Well,” Nort began, “I must admit that our military has had similar interactions with the Sidhe, forty or fifty years ago. It was not the right thing to do and if we could communicate with the Sidhe then we would apologise. All that we could do was purchase the lands that this happened upon and set it aside for the Sidhe who lived there.”

“No way.” Paw and Mik said at the same time.

“The … government has purchased land for the purpose of Sidhe staying on it?” Ell said in disbelief.

“Call it. A guilty conscience. As you well know, the last consensus of Sidhe numbers that was done by the government has said that there is likely under twenty thousand Sidhe still alive. They are well below the proper population, without intervention, without our help, they could go extinct. It does not help that every day the Valeasans are killing tens or even hundreds of Sidhe.”

“If we were killing tens of Sidhe a day they would be extinct already, by your count,” Misuan interrupted Nort, “The Valeasan consensus clearly states that there are closer to a hundred thousand Sidhe, well above the population line. There are species amongst your southern border with a lower population. Perhaps the government should waste what precious little money they already have on those species.”

“The Sidhe are a sentient race and we are killing them. Their deaths are on our hands,” Nort responded, “Your own military is seeking to prove that there is intelligent life out in space when there is intelligent life here on our planet and all you can do is kill them. Why search for more sentient races when you are killing the one you have met? So you have a new target?”

“This is not about our policies.”

“I would argue that it is,” Ell cut in suddenly, “Does the Valeasan government have nothing at all to say about the incident? They shot one of their own people, an underage girl fourteen times before she stopped moving.”

“That was-”

“Fourteen times, Misuan,” Ell cut him off with all the viciousness of a woman with a child of her own at home, “how can your government look the other way when that little girl was shot fourteen times before she stopped moving. If it was about getting her away from the Sidhe, why was she shot? Why not just the Sidhe?”

“If you would let me-”

“The Sidhe in the footage that I saw was not any kind of threat to that girl,” Ell responded with a calmer tone, “He was protecting her from the police and the police killed her to torture him. Why is it that the Valeasan government can cry for blood-”

“Now just a minute-”

“When one of our soldiers threw a puppy off a cliff but when your own police force, the men who are paid to protect your people and your children, murder an innocent girl and her protector you look the other way. Why is that?”

Even Nort looked shocked at how Ell had interrupted Misuan.

“Paw likes her,” Paw chuckled, “You. You will listen until I am finished speaking.” he waved his finger at an imaginary foe.

“Well, I can hardly speak for my government-”

“Then speak for yourself, freedom of speech is still free in your country, is it not?” Nort responded.

Both taking a stance against the Valeasan government and their treatment of Sidhe, presenting a united front. Military and journalism.

It had happened perhaps once before, that Mik could recall.

“The Sidhe are not sentient. Our tests have concluded that they are incapable of functioning in our society.”

“Since when does being able to function in our society make a person sentient or not?” Nort interrupted, “our prisons are filled with young men and women who are incapable of functioning in our society, do you really want to label them at the same level as animals? Does that give us the right to use them as we please? To kill them and eat their flesh? Use their bones in computer chips shipped all over the world?”

“You buy those chips.”

“How were we to know that those chips contained Sidhe bone when your own companies have been ordered not to give out any disclosure as to what makes them work? Your country has stock piles of Sidhe bone, the poachers who go out, how many of them are truly poaching? How many of those men that we hear about, going into the woods and slaughtering Sidhe, how many of those men are military sanctioned hunters?”

“Valease never has and never will sanction the hunting of Sidhe.”

“Why not?” Ell asked, “You see them as nothing more than animals.”

“They are dangerous predators. To send men after them would be to send men to their deaths, relations from history have shown us as much.”

“Have you tried in anyway at all, to communicate with them?”

“Why would we try? They would do nothing more than fling feecal matter at us.”

“Why yes,” Ell responded, “Because image after image after image,” as she spoke several images flashed of those rare photos taken of Sidhe in the wild, “Show us uncivilized, uncaring, predatory like beasts with dim intelligence who are incapable of speech.”

“Are you being sarcastic, Ell?” Misuan managed to keep his voice steady as he spoke.

“Of course I am being sarcastic,” Ell responded, “these images are not of bad creatures, or of beings who have no knowledge of who or what they are or where they are.”

“There is no proof.”

“How about this one. An older carved statue of a Sidhe, found in Ba en Mofvanse, in what was left of the city of the gods, of a Sidhe and a people standing side by side. The Sidhe is holding a book, the people lounging at the Sidhe’s feet.”

“Myth and magic, next you will tell me the gods are real.”

“To many people, the gods are real. How about this one. Illuva choosing the Sidhe over the people. Or this other. A Sidhe who wandered into a preschool and drew such stunning images on the concrete of the parking lot using only chalk. They have lived for millennia, along side us, surviving it all and through it all keeping us in our place when we tried to harm them.”

“Then why not do it now? If they are so smart, why are they not killing us now?”

“Just over a month ago a group of Sidhe did just that,” Nort interrupted, “Now, we have no footage of this. What we have are the aftermath images, taken by your own men then delivered to us in a bid to get us on your side in the slaughtering of Sidhe.”

“So our government knew about this?” Ell interrupted Nort.

“Yes. It is unfortunate, but because it is in another country and does not involve our actual people there is nothing we can do about it. To declare war would mean using weapons that would kill more Sidhe than people. To try to bring the Sidhe out of the nation would be expensive, the taxes would either have to go up or a few very rich people would have to invest in us.”

“Tell me, Nort,” Ell murmured, “does the military have any interaction with the Sidhe?”

Nort’s lips pressed into a firm line. Misuan leapt on the chance.

“Come, now Nort, does your country not have freedom of speech any longer?”

A hand, one finger, went to Nort’s ear.

“Oh gods no,” Mik murmured.

“Wha-”

“Galt’s talking to him.”

“Nort? I ask again,” Ell said, buying time, realising what was going on, “does the military have any interaction with the Sidhe.”

“I apologise, Ell. I can tell you, and the people, that the government has funded a small program in hopes of communicating with the Sidhe. I also ask that you not ask specifics about this program as, at this time, the government has nothing to report.”

“Oh, sweet baby Whisper, did Nort…” Paw squeaked.

“He did.” Mik responded.

His phone rang. Mik ignored it for a long moment before giving up and answering the phone.

“Hullo?”

“Bring him in. We’re being called in, now,” Koln snapped.

“We need warning-”

“Mik, the others aren’t getting a call. Pack him up. Now.”



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