In Service of the Queen
by Davina Lee
An alternative future of women and their adventures
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Author's Note
The previous chapter was a mixed bag of good news and bad. The good news is, Friend Cosette is back in Empyrea City and apparently organizing the resistance. The bad news is, Tiara's still deported and the queen is beating the drums of war.
With the help of Empyrea's librarian and an undisclosed source of scientific knowledge, La Rรฉsistance has uncovered the plans for a beam weapon that appears to mount on a dirigible. Cosette and Vivienne have asked Adelaide to get close to Group Captain Thorne (the woman who always hits on Adelaide at the cafรฉ) in hopes of finding out more.
Needless to say, Friend Adelaide is less than excited about this idea, and at the end of the chapter, she turned and walked out.
This chapter picks up a couple days later.
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Chapter 16: Resistance is a Duty
Empyrea City Rail Hub, Downtown Empyrea City
Adelaide stood on the local service side of the station with her shoulders slumped. She peered down the track. A trolley car rumbled along, getting closer, but was still several dozen meters away. Adelaide shifted her lunch pail from her right hand to her left.
From the other direction, the horn of a train blew: two long, one short, and another long. A sleek locomotive approached at a speed nearly twice that of the lumbering trolley. Adelaide turned around to face the long distance service side of the platform, watching it coming in. The sound of the train's squealing brakes filled the air, echoing around the station.
As Adelaide turned back to the trolley service side, a pair of Safety Services officers were walking over. Adelaide dashed her hand in her pocket to find her ID, but the women walked past Adelaide before stopping.
"This trolley's out of service," said one of the officers, speaking up to be heard over the noise of the approaching train. "You'll have to wait for the next one."
"Step back," said the other woman in the pair, scanning the gathered crowd of passengers. "Make some room, friends."
"Next trolley will be here in twenty minutes," said the first safety officer. "Just a minor delay."
People began to move back.
Adelaide muttered under her breath, but her words were lost to the sustained squeal of the locomotive's brakes. When the train came to a complete stop, Adelaide turned her attention to it again.
"Step back, friends," said the safety officer. "Make some room."
Adelaide watched as the first doors opened on the coach cars behind the locomotive. A woman in the uniform of Empyrea's Self-Defense ground forces stepped out. She placed a wooden stool on the ground next to the coach car exit. Behind her emerged a woman in medical scrubs. She was holding an IV bottle in her hand. And behind her came another woman in Self-Defense Forces combat uniform. She was bearing one end of a litter.
As the woman holding the other end of litter was stepping off the stool and onto the ground, Adelaide settled her eyes on the woman lying on the litter. Her one eye not covered by the bandage around her head was closed. Her arm was wrapped in a sling and held to her chest. Her other arm lay straight at her side with the sleeve rolled up. There was a tube running from that arm to the IV bag being held by the first woman off the train.
"Step back, friends," said the safety officer.
Adelaide stumbled backward, but did not avert her eyes. She watched the woman on the litter being taken across the platform and loaded onto the waiting trolley. When the woman disappeared from view, Adelaide turned back to the train coach. Another woman on a similar litter was being unloaded. Her uniform was torn and bloodstained. She blinked her eyes a few times and then closed them. Adelaide watched her being taken onto the trolley.
A third woman emerged the coach. She was being borne out on a litter as well. As Adelaide looked down the line on the long-distance rail side, similar scenes were taking place at each of the coach car doors. All of them were being carried to the waiting trolley.
Adelaide's lip began to quiver. She bit down and turned on her heel. Adelaide faced toward the street and began walking.
Exiting the station, she passed by several news bulletins. On each one was a headline of: Sisterly Love in Innsbruck and a photograph of smiling children with their mothers.
Adelaide quickened her pace.
* * *
Friend Beatrice's Girls' Cave, fifteen minutes later
Adelaide stood slouched with her head laid on Beatrice's shoulder. Adelaide shook as she sobbed.
"I didn't know where else to come," said Adelaide, sniffling.
After a moment, she picked her head up, wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, and said it again, this time facing Beatrice, in full view of her gaze.
"Friend Adelaide," said Beatrice, holding out her hand. "You're always welcome here."
"Sorry I'm such a mess," said Adelaide, wiping under her nose.
Beatrice held up a finger, wandered off, and came back with a box of tissues.
"Thank you," said Adelaide, pulling one from the box to wipe her nose.
Adelaide wadded the tissue in her left hand. With her right, she held her hand flat. Holding the back of her fingers toward Beatrice, Adelaide touched her chin and pulled her hand away in an arc.
Beatrice stepped in and wrapped Adelaide in an embrace. She didn't let go for some time. When she did, Beatrice simply took Adelaide's hand and led her to the closest of the two sofas. "Have a seat, friend."
As Adelaide plopped down, Beatrice rubbed Adelaide's shoulder briefly before turning to walk toward the countertop that served as her kitchen. Beatrice poured a glass of water from the pitcher and brought it back to Adelaide. Adelaide drank half of it in one go.
After taking a deep breath, Adelaide turned to Beatrice. "It was horrible," said Adelaide. "At the train station. It was horrible."
Beatrice sat beside Adelaide and reached out to rest her hand on Adelaide's arm.
"They were bringing out wounded from the Self-Defense Forces. They were being transferred from the train to the trolley. Probably to take them to the hospital, I don't know. I don't know where they came from, either."
Beatrice waited while Adelaide took another sip of water.
"The first one caught me by surprise. A woman, I think she was a nurse, came down the steps of the coach with an IV bag. Then came the litter bearer, and finally the wounded woman being carried out. I think she was asleep or drugged. Her eyes were closed. I didn't really think about it at the time.
"She was bandaged and her arm was in a sling. But there wasn't any blood. It wasn't until the next woman came out that I saw blood. Her uniform was in tatters and there were blood stains on her bandages. I don't know what happened to her."
Beatrice gave Adelaide's arm a gentle squeeze.
"I was still kind of taking it in at that point," continued Adelaide, "trying to assess what was going on. And then I looked up. All down the line of coaches, it was the same thing. Women were being carried out on litters and loaded into the trolley. I don't know how many the trolley holds, but I assume they filled it. I'm sure they filled it. Safety Services had commandeered the whole car. Told us to wait for the next one. That's when I decided to walk.
"And you know what the worst part was? As I'm walking out of the station, all I see all around me are these news bulletins. They're taped to sign posts, support columns. Everywhere, they're everywhere. And every single one of them says, Sisterly Love in Innsbruck.
"I don't know if the women being transferred from the train were coming from Innsbruck, but if they were, it certainly didn't look like there was any kind of sisterly love going on there to me."
Adelaide hitched a sob. Beatrice opened her arms and pulled Adelaide to her chest.
"Rest, friend," said Beatrice. "You're safe here. Rest and I'll watch over you."
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