Jack looked down on Hawk Ridge from just out of visual range from the ground. The

  ship was surrounded by a cloudscape, but the sensors cut through that. He glanced at

  his passengers.

  Aviras had been onboard before, and seemed to like his own chair. Matty hadn’t but

  she shared the counselor seat with her dragon and hugged him around his long neck.

  June and Mister Warner had seen the bridge on television enough that they were

  familiar with it and the computer controls so they were more interested in the city

  below, and their own goals. Boim Russ, a thin, blond girl in what Jack would

  consider peasant clothes, looked at everything like it was a dream that would vanish.

  Jack put on his grin. It was time to offload his passengers and take Mister Warner

  south to his goblins. That should be a good distraction from the work he would have

  to do later.

  He hoped Josie had been able to find and buy the building they needed. That would

  complete stage one pretty fast.

  “Officers Fox and Numera have been located,” said the machine. The screen pinged

  the two walking toward what looked like the Adventurers’ Hall.

  “Enterprise, call Josie,” said Jack.

  He paused at the wince that Matilda and her dragon gave him, but stealing a ship was

  not something he wanted them to do unless they had to other than helping his sister

  out.

  He didn’t mind June walking the distance between cities.

  “I’m here, Jack,” said Josie. “Any news?”

  “I have your scalawags, Mister Warner, and Miss Russ onboard,” said Jack. “I’m

  getting ready to put them down on the ground. Any preference?”

  “Put them down at the Hall,” said Josie. “I’m dropping by there to pay the board

  posting fee. Harp wants to talk to Mister Warner before he leaves.”

  Mister Warner shook his head slightly. He just wanted to do the quest and leave now

  that he was sure things were going okay. He didn’t want his old comrade to see him

  as old as he was now.

  “I’ll drop them all off,” said Jack. He grinned at his predecessor. “Mister Warner

  loves the idea.”

  “He does not,” said Warner. “But let’s get this over with.”

  “All right,” said Josie. “I’m glad that is decided. Endwright is going to let us rent the

  second building. It’s going to be a long haul from the House to it. I’m thinking about

  buying up some of the nearby buildings and turning them into places for the Amazons

  to live close by while they are working.”

  “Got it,” said Jack. “You might have a district of people that we are taking back from

  the Montrose if you buy up enough land.”

  “The only other solution I can think of is a train line through town,” said Josie. “I

  don’t know if the Duke will go for something like that through his center of

  operations.”

  “I can see where that might be a problem,” said Jack. “Let me put everyone down on

  the ground, Mister Warner can see Harp, then we’ll get together with Jane and have

  some kind of call on how we want to handle what we can. June’s quest is complete

  so we’re just waiting on her callback. I asked her to look after Miss Russ until we

  know something, one way or the other.”

  “I still have my third quest,” said Warner.

  “We’ll fit it in between your visit with your friend, and talking to Jane,” said Jack.

  “The Enterprise can get anywhere on the planet almost instantly without the main

  drive going, so we have time.”

  “All right,” said the former champion of order.

  “Matilda, could I talk to you for a second in the ready room,” said Jack. He waved for

  her to follow him.

  He walked to the replicator and asked for a piece of paper and a pen. He went to his

  desk. He wrote out a quick note and folded it up as Matilda examined the room. She

  smiled at the picture of her and the other girls, and Josie changing into Shazam. She

  settled into the visitor’s chair.

  “I want you to give this to Josie,” said Jack. “I think the test is still on. Don’t tell

  June. I could be wrong, but we might be in the middle of a secret test. So act normal,

  keep your eyes open.”

  “Act normal?,” asked Matilda.

  “Act like you aren’t being watched for a character flaw,” said Jack. “I could be

  wrong, but we still have two and a half days before the deadline of the test. Maybe

  you and Aviras went off script when you stole the Enterprise. Maybe that was taken

  in account. We won’t know until they give Juni her score.”

  “So we keep an eye on Juni?,” said Matilda.

  “And Russ,” said Jack. “Maybe Juni was given a poison pill. Again we won’t know

  until something goes wrong.”

  “We thought we were rescuing Russ, but what if she was really the problem all

  along?,” asked Matilda.

  “Sounds convoluted when you put it like that,” said Jack. “Just keep an eye out and

  see how things go. Don’t let Juni get into trouble using her watch for her own ends.”

  “I will try,” said Matilda. “I will have to ask Aviras to help me a little. I don’t think

  I can watch the both of them all the time.”

  “Just don’t let Juni know,” said Jack. “She will be on her best behavior if she thinks

  the Society is watching her every move.”

  “I understand,” said Matilda. “I will do my best.”

  “All right,” said Jack. “Let me get you to the ground so you can take your

  punishment. Don’t let Juni put her share on you and Aviras.”

  “I definitely will not allow that,” said Matilda.

  “Good,” said Jack. “Let’s get started so we can get things done.”

  He stood and gestured her toward the door. She looked at the shelf of knick-knacks,

  pausing at the shield with its stripes and star in the center. The look of wanting to ask

  about the things crossed her face.

  “I will talk to you about them when we have time,” said Jack. “They are all fictional,

  so they don’t have any of the attributes their counterparts have, but I wanted

  something to spruce up the wall.”

  “All right,” said Matilda. She smiled at him. Then she put on her serious face. She

  still had to be responsible. “I will look after things.”

  “One day, the Enterprise will be yours,” said Jack. “I want you to be able to do a good

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  job with it.”

  Matilda looked around as she stepped out onto the bridge. She held up her hands to

  encompass the whole room.

  “All of this?,” asked Matilda.

  “But you will have to take care of it, and keep up repairs so she will last you until

  your children’s children if you have children,” said Jack.

  “It’s a responsibility,” said Matilda.

  “Like keeping your dragon out of trouble,” said Jack. He smiled.

  “Aviras is excellent,” said Matilda. “He will be a good first mate when I can sail the

  skies.”

  The dragon looked like he was beaming in his chair. He seemed to mouth the word

  excellent as he pulled himself straighter.

  “He is a good dragon,” said Jack. He grinned. “Now go down to Transporter Room

  One, and I’ll drop you off. Mister Warner, get Josie to call when you are done with

  your visit.”

  He ushered them off the bridge with both hands. He waved at them as the lift doors

  closed.

  “Enterprise, run scan on Boim Russ,” said Jack. “Put the results on the main screen.

  Compare to base line humans.”

  “Affirmative,” said the machine. A second later, an outline with a list of differences

  appeared the screen.

  “So definitely not human,” said Jack. “Not a frog. Maybe not an elf. What do you

  think, Enterprise?”

  “Unknown,” said Enterprise. “No record of life form in memory.”

  “We need to hook you up with a library so you can have a real base of knowledge,”

  said Jack. “I will work on that when I try to get the internet connection for the girls.

  I have a feeling that we are seeing the Society’s real test. What do they want June to

  do other than finding this girl?”

  “Unknown,” said the machine.

  “I expect this girl to turn into some kind of monster,” said Jack. “I think I need to

  figure something out in case she goes rogue.”

  He sat down in his chair and considered the schematic on the main screen. He hoped

  Josie came up with something that saved the situation with some kind of genius idea.

  He thought about the other Boim Russes that had come up on the model. Was there

  a connection? Is that something he should check on? Should June have checked on

  the other individuals?

  Could he run a scan to find anyone with the same layout in a city full of humans?

  “Enterprise, can you use this to find any other similar lifeform on the ground?,” said

  Jack.

  “Affirmative,” said the machine. It shrank the schematic to an inset in the corner. The

  continent replaced the bigger picture. Diamond pings lit up. They stayed where

  they were, moving just enough to be active as if walking across their cities.

  “So we have six other demihumans walking around, going about their day,” said

  Jack. “We have one hanging out with my sister and the others. We need more

  information. I wonder if I have one of those clairvoyant characters on my watch that

  lets me read someone’s character in an instant.”

  The machine held its own counsel. It didn’t make command decisions, it executed

  them.

  “All right,” said Jack. “We can’t do anything about this until we learn something. It’s

  her move. Either she is a traumatized waif that we rescued from being cut to pieces

  and used for spare parts, or she is some kind of monster, or she is both. We will have

  to give her the benefit of the doubt until she does something. Can you give me a

  visual on any of the other Russes.”

  The mapping moved to the inset above the life sign diagram. The main screen

  closed down on a village in the middle of nowhere. A woman walked down a road

  with a basket in her arms. She glanced around as if aware that someone was watching

  her. She looked up at the sky with a frown.

  “Can we talk with her?,” asked Jack.

  “Will have to shift position,” said Enterprise.

  “Go ahead,” said Jack. “Maybe this one will give us some information about what

  is going on.”

  The Enterprise took a few seconds to shift position to drop down so the woman could

  see it, and Jack could talk to her through the outer speakers. She looked aghast

  at the giant silver bird above her.

  “Boim Russ?,” said Jack, after being assured the speakers were on. “Can we talk?”

  “You have me at a disadvantage,” said Russ. She put down the basket to look

  up at the Enterprise with a shading hand.

  “I’ll come down and talk to you,” said Jack. “Hold on.”

  He made sure the speakers were off. He didn’t want her to know he was setting up a

  dead man’s switch.

  “If it looks like I am being mind controlled, stun her with the phasers,” said Jack.

  “Affirmative,” said the machine.

  “I’m going to go down and talk to this lady,” said Jack. “Keep an eye out and run

  security for us. Then we have to get back to Hawk Ridge to pick up Mister Warner.”

  “Affirmative,” said the machine.

  Jack went down to Transporter Room One and beamed down to the surface. Russ

  blinked at his sparkling appearance on the ground.

  “My name is Jack,” said Jack. He grinned at her. “I have some questions, and I am

  hoping you can help me.”

  “What kind of questions?,” said Russ. Her face closed up. She knew something was

  up, but not what exactly.

  “How many versions of you are there stands out,” said Jack. “Then there is the fact

  that you look the same as the girl my sister rescued and is looking out for in the south.

  And there is the fact that you aren’t baseline human, but you don’t look like an elf

  either. So I have a lot of questions, and since my sister is undergoing a test of

  character where I can’t ask the other you what is going on, I thought I would ask you

  when I saw that you look exactly the same and are using the same name.”

  “How do you know any of this?,” said Russ. Fear and anger warred on her face.

  “I’m the champion of order,” said Jack. “One of them anyway. So I dug some of this

  up. No one knows your secret yet, but my partner will find out as soon as she starts

  looking. You want to tell me what’s going on? It will establish some good will and

  make it easier to look after the other you.”

  “You want to look after the other me?,” said Russ.

  “The Society wanted the other you rescued,” said Jack. “So they put June on it. So we

  are looking after her at least until June gets certified. Maybe longer if she wants to

  stay with us. On the other hand, I don’t want something dangerous loose in my city

  and Josie will tear her apart if there is danger to her Ducklings. Anything you can tell

  me will help with any of this. Then you can go back to doing what you are doing

  without a problem.”

  “I could kill you with my mind right now,” said Russ. “Your partner will never know

  what happened.”

  Jack laughed. He tried to hold it in, but it exploded outwards in a small gale. He

  coughed to a stop after a minute. Russ frowned at him.

  “My partner not only would know what happened, she will rip you apart,” said Jack.

  “She is the most dangerous person on this planet at this moment. All of your other

  bodies would follow in a second. I understand you want to keep secrets. I keep secrets

  myself. Just don’t start with threats. Let’s keep everything friendly and I will work

  out a deal with you.”

  “What kind of deal?,” said Russ. She didn’t keep the suspicion off her face.

  “What can you tell me about all this?,” said Jack. “I will keep as much of it as hidden

  as I can barring what I have to tell Josie, and Elaine. Obviously, I can’t tell June

  anything until after the test, and I don’t think she needs to know. As I said, we are

  looking after your other seventh, and we are going to keep doing that as much as we

  can as long as she’s not some kind of hidden menace that needs to be put down.”

  “So you know how many of us there are?,” said Russ. “I guess I shouldn’t be

  surprised. Do you want to talk here on the road?”

  Jack looked around. He could see people walking off the road. Some of them were

  looking at them talking on the road.

  “Let’s walk,” said Jack. He picked up the basket. “We can talk while we go.”

  “An alchemist created us,” said Russ. She frowned at Jack carrying her supplies on

  his shoulder. “He wanted a harem to fulfil his needs. He didn’t quite understand what

  he was doing. So instead of wives, he created daughters who had to be raised to be

  wives. He died of old age before his plan could work out. And then we scattered from

  our birthplace.”

  “The extra organs?,” asked Jack.

  “They let us do things,” said Russ. “I don’t think you need to know what things.”

  “I imagine some kind of power, maybe with some chemical component,” said Jack.

  “Maybe some kind of telepathy but that didn’t work because your sister was locked

  in a cabinet and you aren’t on your way to rescue her.”

  “What does a champion of order do?,” asked Russ, ignoring his questions.

  “We solve problems for the Robby Reed Appreciation Society, fix the unfixable, help

  the helpless, destroy evil,” said Jack. “The usual things that people do.”

  “The usual things?,” said Russ. “I doubt it.”

  “If your sister reveals any of this, that’s up to her,” said Jack. “Your secret is safe

  with me.”

  “You’ll keep her safe?,” said Russ.

  “You have my word that I will keep your origin secret, but the fact that there are

  multiple yous is already known,” said Jack. “We just put it down to different people

  with the same name, and not one person being copied.”

  “Why are you talking to me instead of burning me for being a witch?,” asked Russ.

  “I like to talk,” said Jack. He grinned at her. “It makes me feel like I care.”

  “All right,” said Russ. “This is my lane here.”

  “I am going to look after the other you,” said Jack. “Do you have something you want

  to tell her?”

  “I will talk to her tonight,” said Russ. “Thank you for carrying my groceries.”

  “Okay,” said Jack. He put the basket down. He triggered his com band. “Enterprise?

  Beam me up.”

  He faded away in a cloud of blue sparks.