Diplomat’s Apprentice: Diplomat’s Apprentice Book 1

It was suppose to be a routine final exam. Even with the addition of an extra team member, they couldn’t have expected things to go so badly, so quickly.

Diplomat’s Apprentice – 

The ground shook underfoot with enough violence that the small group of academy cadets exchanged worried glances as they waited in a massive hangar. It would soon be their turn to grab one of the heavy ground vehicles they would use during their final field exercise. A faint rumbling could be felt more than heard, and a moment later, the ground shook again, the vibrations even stronger this time.

“I hope they’re right about this being minor tectonics,” Bran fretted. The group’s quietest member had grown up nearby and knew more about tectonics than the others. “If I was home, we’d be getting ready to evacuate with this much activity.”

“They wouldn’t hold the exercise if they thought there’d be any problems.” Deri, the lone female in this group, was usually the most practical and optimistic. “Or they’d have moved it to a different location.”

Nonetheless, all three checked their readouts, still anticipating the instructors would call off the exercise any moment. From across the hangar, they saw the concern on the faces of the instructors as they sent yet another vehicle into the wilderness outside the building.

For the cadets assembled, this exercise would be the capstone to their training, only one week before their much-awaited graduation from the prestigious Mythrys Academy. Groups of three or four went out at timed intervals, ensuring there was enough distance between each team that they were temporarily on their own. They had been flown to this facility earlier that morning, which placed them less than a day out by ground transportation from their final objective. This trio had been excitedly watching other groups head out before them, talking strategy among themselves. Now they were nervous as the earth shook again, this time even more violently.

The rocky terrain of one of the more remote wilderness areas on the planet showed outside the large hangar door. While Mythrys had a relatively hot, dry climate, this area was more temperate and had more than the average planetary precipitation. A small forest was in the distance, and broad swathes of low-growing grasses covered the ground closer by. The area was also tectonically active, which generated the group’s quiet concern. Then a noise off to one side of the hangar caused them to turn and stare in surprise.

A short, sturdily built young woman hurried through a side door of the huge half-open structure where the remaining teams prepared to leave. She wore the same gray jumpsuit and carried the same gear as the other cadets. With her helmet tucked under one arm, her short bronze curls and cheerful, rounded face made her look more like a freshman in her late teens than a candidate for graduation in a week. She strode across the wide hangar with a bouncy, energetic step, grinning broadly.

“Hey, sorry I’m late!” she called to the group.

“Anwyn!” Deri called. “Come all this way to see us off?”

“No, Deri, going with you.” 

“You’re not on the list,” one of the men protested.

“Sure I am.” She flashed another infectious grin. “Take a look.”

Reflexively, all three of the group flicked their gazes to their headset readouts. The group leader, a young man named Rhys, frowned in consternation.

“Your name wasn’t there earlier,” he complained. “How did you do that?”

Anwyn cheerfully replied, “It was an oversight. It got fixed about an hour ago. I’m just glad to be teamed up with all of you.”

Rhys was still frowning. “I’m not. We had a good group already. You aren’t even a military track student. This isn’t a graduation requirement for you.”

“No, but I’m a military minor. All interspace pilot candidates are. And there’s still room in the group.”

“Just don’t do anything to mess this up.” Rhys was still annoyed.

“Unlikely! It’s important to me too, you know.” She smiled as she approached him. They had been friends since childhood and closer friends from their first days at the academy. Unfortunately, their friendship included his knowledge that Anwyn tended to act first and think later far too often.

At a shout from one of the military faculty near the bay’s open end, the group and Anwyn went to stow their gear in their assigned massive tracked and armored vehicle, colloquially nicknamed a cat. These vehicles easily held five to six people, plus a spacious rear for storing gear. Tall enough that passengers could walk inside them, they were comfortable for long-term travel and more useful over rough terrain than the standard planetary transport.

The instructor did a double-take when she saw Anwyn, glanced at the tablet she held, then looked up again, frowned, and shrugged. She wasn’t going to argue with the somehow changed student list. While they stowed their gear, the instructor reviewed their final instructions.

“Green Team Three, your goal is to rescue the ‘hostages’ at the observatory. To do this, you will need to link up with the other groups out there and form a plan. If you can’t link up with all the groups, find as many as possible and adjust your plans accordingly. Your comms will tell you when you are close enough to another group to signal them safely. Otherwise, maintain comm silence from the time you exit this hangar. Remember, the ‘enemy’ could be anywhere, not only near or inside the observatory.”

She slapped the side of the vehicle to let them know they were approved to leave. “Remember, no grandstanding, no solo adventures.” She specifically looked at Anwyn as she said that. “This is a team exercise, and your team is part of a much larger group. Work together, stay safe, and come back with the hostages.” Then she smiled as Rhys, their driver, gunned the engine. “Good luck!”

As they headed out, Deri turned to Anwyn. “How did you do it? I know you weren’t included in this exercise when they announced the teams. Did your uncle pull some strings?” Although she had done her best not to use family influence while at the academy, it was common knowledge that Anwyn’s great-aunt was the current planetary ruler, and her uncle, who had helped raise her, was expected to take over that role.

“Absolutely not! He doesn’t even know I’m here yet.”

“Well, then how?” Deri persisted.

A faint smile accompanied Anwyn’s offhand reply. “Oh, I discussed it with the Commandant. It’s about time military minors did this exercise as well. He eventually agreed. I guess I’m sort of a trial case?”

“You’re going to get us all in trouble,” Rhys growled from the driver’s seat.

“It’s a bit late to worry about that now.” Bran was quiet, but the rest considered him perhaps the most reliable of the group. He was listened to, although he preferred to eschew a true leadership role. 

“Let’s make for the river crossing here.” He pointed at a section of the screen across the front of the vehicle that mimicked their helmet readouts. A small green dot indicated their position. A distant, larger red one indicated their final target, the observatory.

“Here.” Deri the peacemaker pulled out a thermos and poured cups of warm liquid. “Have some saffah while we’re deciding on our plans.” The rest of the group gratefully grabbed the mugs of the hot herbal brew favored by most Mythri.

The group traveled for a few hours from their starting point, discussing strategy again and keeping an eye on their screens in case they were close enough to meet with another group. They ate the prepacked food available for their lunch. It was far from gourmet but provided the calories and nutrition needed to keep going. They speculated on what other teams they might meet up with along the way. All the while, repeated tremors left them with a growing concern that there was more tectonic activity in the area than the faculty and administration had counted on for this exercise.

Without warning, the next tremor suddenly threw them all sideways as their cat slid off the path they were following, threatening to tip the vehicle. Rhys struggled to control the skid, fighting the heavy vehicle to a stop a few meters from the trail. Deri emitted a sharp exclamation as her mug of warm saffah spilled onto her legs, although the resistant fabric protected them from the heat. Everyone sat white-knuckled as the cat settled to a stop. They stared at each other in shock, then checked their readouts, again looking for the word to return to base.

“Thank Merlin!” Deri murmured. “I thought we were going to tip over!”

“Still not canceled!” Bran trembled as he sat staring at the screens.

“Nice job of controlling that skid!” Anwyn called from her rear seat, her eyes wide with concern. “Can you get us back on the trail?”

Rhys nodded, although his hands shook. He focused on getting the cat moving toward their distant goal, still anticipating being recalled at any moment. There was no communication from the faculty, so they continued as the mild tectonic activity became more frequent.

Bran kept an eye on the screen that showed their current progress and eventual target. About an hour later, he noticed another small green dot a short distance ahead. “I think there’s another team nearby.”

“Are we within comm distance?” Deri asked.

“It looks like it.” Bran checked the readouts again. “Let’s give it a try.”

Bran tried signaling and received an almost immediate response. “It’s Green Two. They left before us, and they’re ready to link up.”

Within five minutes, they caught up with the team and realized right away why the Green Two team had paused. The constant tectonic activity had caused a rockfall that blocked their forward progress. They stopped beside the other cat and got out to meet with the Green Two team.

A Green Two team member named David spoke first. “We’re not sure what to do. We keep hoping we’ll hear a recall. We’ve also been checking different directions to see if we can go around the rockfall or if we need to backtrack.”

“Where’s the rest of your team?” Anwyn asked.

“Bethan and Sherrin went to check out the conditions in that valley.” David pointed off to his right.

Suddenly, a cadet ran toward them down a hill to their right. “There’s a way around this if we follow that small valley,” she shouted, pointing back over her shoulder.

“Okay, Bethan,” David called. “We’ll give it a try. Stay put, and I’ll pick you up on the way.”

“Are you sure they haven’t recalled us?” Bran wondered as yet another strong tremor hit. “These episodes keep getting worse.”

Everyone checked their readouts again, but nothing had changed. “No recall yet.” Rhys sighed.

“Then I guess we try the valley Bethan and Sherrin found.” Anwyn swung into the back of Green Three’s vehicle.

David got behind the controls of Green Two’s cat and took the lead, catching up with Bethan, who hopped into the front passenger side. Rhys started Green Three’s cat and followed them up a slight hill into a narrow valley, bordered on one side by cliffs and sloping hills on the other. The third member of Green Two was halfway down the valley waving them forward. They had hoped the earth-shaking was over but felt more tremors as they drove. Rhys did his best to avoid loose piles of rock that almost seemed like they were moving.

“I don’t like this,” Rhys muttered. “Bran, you grew up not far from here. Is this much activity normal?”

“Not really. I’m getting worried. We should have been recalled by now.”

They followed Green Two’s cat despite their misgivings, leaving enough distance between them to provide a safety margin in case of sudden stops while keeping them in sight. In a short while, Green Two picked up Sherrin, who had scouted the trail ahead. They continued for a few minutes when suddenly all their helmet visors lit up simultaneously with a communication from base.

“We’re being recalled.” Anwyn’s disappointment was evident in her voice. “I went through all that trouble to get here for nothing.”

“Well, I for one am glad,” Bran responded. “We could be in real trouble out here. They can reschedule or relocate this exercise, and we’ll all be safer.”

As he spoke, the earth shook far more fiercely than before. With a roar louder than thunder, the center of the valley in front of them split. A crevasse opened between them and Green Two’s cat, zigzagging diagonally across the valley’s floor. One end raced toward their vehicle as the other headed for Green Two. Their vehicle echoed with shouts as Rhys hit the brakes, then drove backward away from the rapidly growing gap as fast as the cat would go in reverse.

The other vehicle was much closer to where the crevasse had opened. Green Three team watched on their front screen as it slewed sideways, dangerously out of control. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the roaring and grinding sounds ceased, the crevasse stabilized, and Green Two’s cat remained on solid ground. 

Then, with a final rumble, a huge mound of earth and rocks slid down the side of the valley. It caught Green Two’s cat in its flow, bringing it nearly to the edge of the crevasse. They watched in shock as it continued to slide, as if in slow motion, until it tipped sideways and finally slipped over the edge. As it passed from their immediate view, the comm unit in their cat conveyed the shouts and a scream of agony from Green Two, deep in the crevasse.

It seems the teams are getting a little more training than they bargained for. Find out what happens next on January 8th when Diplomat’s Apprentice Book 1 is released. Until then head over to Amazon and pre-order it today.