Hinn Ch. 47-50

The elevator reached the first basement level and the five of them started walking around the security choke point. Tomaz waved to someone watching through the one way glass. As they approached the metal doors, the locks buzzed letting them past.

"How would we get something like high explosives onto the plane?"

"A question for a question. Can we get someone appropriately authorized to meet us at the plane to physically go through all the equipment we bring with us?"

"Yes, we can get that for an additional fee -- some of the upper crust got regulations set up we can leverage."

"What do they use for such curbside searches?"

"At the local airport, I'm not positive. In any of the major cities -- New York, LA, Atlanta, that kind -- they'd bring a box truck full of sensors. Does it matter?"

"If it is all handled locally, then it will be easy for Ray or I to handle. If data is sent elsewhere to be handled and decisions made there, it would be harder. It wouldn't be insurmountable if we don't know their procedures, but if we know ahead of time we will be able to plan appropriately to counter. We might need some of Mac's time, for that matter."

"If ya need me, just ask. Turns out I owe ya both more'n I figgered I did."

"Thank you, Mac. If need be, we will, but it might be easier just to affect the locals minds."

"You can control minds?" Annya asked, shocked.

"Hinn learned long ago how to affect human minds. Not all Hinn treated other mortals as sentient, unfortunately, but much like how modern human medicine has leveraged the results and records of prior atrocities we use those abusive Hinn's techniques while preventing collateral damage. There are many options that were discovered, from altering what is perceived by humans, to altering the reality that is perceived, to removing thoughts, inserting thoughts, requiring the human to come up with answers that satisfy them, and many others. In short? Yes, Hinn can control human minds to different degrees depending on need. For myself, and from what I have seen from Ray, it is not something that is a normal event but it certainly an option at need."

Walking into the dojo, Tauriz led them to the side, off of the main mats even as she kicked off her flats. "Tomaz, please suit up while we continue this conversation."

Nodding, he toed off his shoes before walking over to a display cabinet and pulled open a large drawer in the base. As the conversation continued, he unfolded a bulky pair of chaps and stepped into them before fastening the attached belt and suspenders. Next out were a pair of chunky sleeves that fastened with Velcro straps across his chest and back. A stiff looking short poncho followed, draping it over his shoulders before fastening more Velcro under the front flap that snugged it around him and caught the front flap. Finally a thick helmet with a full-face one-way lexan mask strapped on under his chin and tied into the poncho atop either shoulder. All together, it took Tomaz less than two minutes to fully armor up, minus boots or gloves.

As Tomaz dressed in the armor, Tauriz turned back to Annya and said, "Humans can perform many similar feats, frankly. They would have a more difficult time using something like what they would be used to against Hinn or Jann, but Jinn are not significantly different than humans, mentally. Betty, does that help?"

"Yes, quite a bit. Unless there are changes, we'll be renting an updated and reconfigured Boeing 737 variant. It will allow us to have a pair of three-person flight crews on hand in a shift-and-shift alternation, and once they set up the plane for flight they won't be walking through the passenger space. They have their own bunkroom, galley and bath. There's a moderately sized cargo space available to the passengers which is at the back of the plane. This will be a good place to work on things you don't want seen anytime other than during takeoff or landing. There's also a sleeping section with eight single-sized bunk beds, a small but functional galley, two toilets and one full restroom with a shower, and first class commercial style seating for forty eight.

It'll arrive here late tonight and we'll plan on everyone leaving here around 11 AM. That will get us to the airport by 11:20 or so. The security measures will likely take an hour or so, depending on what Ray and Tauriz can do. We'll likely be in flight before one. Flight time is less than an hour, and the 737 model I'm looking at is rated to be able to land at the regional airport there as long as we don't load it too heavily. Land around 2, getting Ray on the next step of the trip by 2:30. The boat rental we'll use to get Ray to the island is half an hour from the airport, the boat trip should take less than an hour. Sundown is 6:54 tomorrow night. Ray will have a couple hours slack, not counting the time it will take him to climb to the indicated peak. Could be a bit of a tough hike, a thousand feet horizontally and over two thousand vertical."

"Impressive work, Betty, thank you! Do they have ground facilities there if there's any problems with the plane?"

"No, there aren't, but the company that rents the plane has a guarantee that they'll either get it fixed or get a replacement aircraft within eight hours, as long as they can land."

"I think Ray may have me give the plane magical preventative maintenance when we board it, then."

"That would be useful but I haven't been planning for that kind of beneficial effect."

"Probably wise to plan for normal capabilities, Betty. Is there anything else you need for now?"

"Nope! I'll get this finalized and then start working on polishing the plans for ground transport for Tomaz' teams."

"See about air transport too, Betty. A large helicopter. Ideally they'd be given ground position right next to the plane at the airport and have a crew on hand by the time we arrive."

Fully armored, Tomaz stepped back over. "That would be an excellent option, Tauriz. We'll need to leave a couple two-person teams in Lake Placid for a little bit, too, both to retrieve Ray when he's done and assuming no problems in the interim, and also to provide a couple additional points to triangulate from if needed."

"I'll see what I can wrangle, folks. I can't guarantee an eight passenger helicopter will be available up there, or that we'd be able to get one in place in time, but I'll give it my best shot."

Stepping up to the mat, Tauriz bowed to it before stepping on. "Please let me know the status of the helicopter by three PM today, Betty. We may need to encourage reality a little."

"Will do, Tauriz."

Tomaz had a short club, a meter long steel rod, and a two-meter long fiberglass staff he laid down on the mat to one side. "Please wrap your hands, Tauriz, we don't want you to come to harm."

"It will not be a problem, Tomaz. I can't punch hard enough to damage my hands -- Hinn are built differently than humans."

Nodding, he raised his left arm. "OK, then, when you're ready please take a human-strength punch at my forearm for comparison."

"Very well," Tauriz replied, stepping up and striking. A thud was heard, and Tomaz' arm rocked back a couple inches. "OK, ready for a Jann-strength punch to the same spot?"

"Please."

Tauriz used the same striking motion, keeping it close to the same speed of delivery to minimize Tomaz' surprise. When her fist struck, the noise was much sharper, and Tomaz took a step back to recover his balance.

"Ouch. I've been hit with a slug that didn't hit that hard. The plates are undamaged, but I felt that. I'm sure I'd really be feeling it the next day after a few of those punches."

"If you require it after the action, we can heal up that kind of injury. Please just ask."

"That will help a lot, thank you Tauriz."

"It is simple self-interest. We intend to maintain you and your troopers to be in your best shape as much as we can arrange."

Annya asked, "So, if that was human and Jann, what's a normal Hinn strength punch look like?"

"I won't demonstrate it fully, but I'll show you this. Hold still please, Tomaz, I'm not going to hit you or cause you any damage."

"Alright," he replied, tensing.

She stepped up and took a grip on the bottom of the armored poncho. She smoothly lifted him up until her arm was straight up over her head and his feet were dangling more than a yard off the ground. "We Hinn are rather stronger than any of the other mortals. A well-trained Hinn, such as myself, may struggle on par with most angelics, if magic is not a factor."

Leaning away from him for balance, she slowly swung her arm down, keeping her elbow locked straight. She paused and kept him off the ground with her arm almost parallel with the ground for a breath or two before lowering him the rest of the way. "If need be, Hinn can move multiple tons of material assuming they can get an appropriate grip. Precisely how many tons depends on their training and condition."

"And reaction time?" Annya asked.

Tauriz turned and grinned at Annya. Suddenly Tauriz gasped and whipped her head to the left, causing everyone to look in the same direction. A split second later, she said, "we are rather quick," from immediately behind Annya. Startled, Annya glowed red for a split second before catching her breath and turning around to face Tauriz.

"Apparently you have some magical abilities, Annya. I will not ask questions, but know I am curious if you ever wished to discuss them more. I'm assuming you can't talk about them at this point, and that's fine."

Blushing, Annya thanked her. "Assuming I could, I probably would."

"Fair enough. My apologies for startling you so severely."

"No apology required, I was being nosy after all."

"Learning more about your world as your knowledge expands is not nosy, it is sensible. But, anyways. Betty, anything else you need from me at this point?"

"Nope. I'll get back to you by three with a status update," she said as she started to walk out of the dojo.

"Thanks, Betty. Jennifer, Annya, you have joint questions?"

"We do, both short term for Ray's visit tomorrow and longer term for the building. On Ray's trip, how much gear of what type or types do you expect him to wish to carry with him?"

"He's already said he was planning on carrying communications and location providing electronics. I suspect he'll bring a light pack with other gear -- a meal, some water, a knife, some climbing gear, matches, that kind of thing. I don't think he was planning on weapons, armor or medical gear."

"OK, we have a good selection of that kind of gear on hand requested by personnel rolling up under Jessica and Tomaz already. We shouldn't have a problem providing a goodly amount of variety to choose from for him. Annya, you're working on those chunks of electronics, right?"

"Yes. I should have everything we need by dinner tonight, plus a backup."

Tauriz nodded, "Great. Anything other questions you need answered for the trip?"

"No, I don't think so. Next topic. Longer term, what kind of sensor suite were you thinking of for the building?"

"As much as can easily and safely be handled."

"Do you want it hidden?"

"As much as practical, when everything is completed. For the short term, I would rather have as much coverage as possible, with all the sensors visible. If need be, we can ask Mac if he would be willing to help process all the data as it happens. Definitely include multiple audio sensors, those were helpful before with Mac's help."

Jennifer and Annya nodded, looking thoughtful. "OK, full spectrum coverage first, conceal later, we can work with that," Annya mused. "Mac, you OK with this plan?"

"Yep, that'd be fine. We need ta talk how you want me ta alert ya later, tho'."

"Works for me. Jennifer, let's plan on the bigger package we worked up earlier. We'll get the big units up at speed with a larger team, then we'll bring on a couple of the better installers, get them on NDA for their time here, and have them work it full time to finish everything up."

"OK, we can do that. Tauriz, we'll need to expend just over twenty-two million for all the pieces. It'll take about a week or two to get all of them here, but some should start arriving within two days once we send payment. We'll then expend another two to three million to hire a vetted team in for about a week to get the bulk of those pieces installed, tuned and synched with the rest of the gear. We'll offer a longer-term contract to the best two to four of the installers to finish some of the more finicky gear and conceal what we can. Once we get to that point we'll be able to figure out how much that final polish will cost."

"There is more than a hundred million left in the operating account we gave you access to, isn't there?"

"Yes, just shy of a hundred fifty million, but I've learned to keep the primaries up to date so there aren't any surprises for them later when they wish to do something and there aren't enough funds on hand."

"Fair enough. I am now aware of it, and I shall get it to Ray's attention as well."

"Thanks."

"Of course! If neither Ray nor I are available and something urgent comes up like this, please don't hesitate to rope in Ousha in our place. She will get us up to speed as well."

"OK, we can do that. Might want to add her to the contract formally, then."

"If you prefer, we can certainly do so."

"Again, it's just something we've made our best-practice."

"Write up a contract update and Ray will sign it later tonight or early tomorrow. Anything else, ladies? Tomaz?"

Tomaz nodded and asked, "Might you be able to transport the strike team to Ray if needed?"

"Depending on what the Jann have done, it is possible. I will keep you updated as I learn about their defenses."

Tomaz nodded again as he started to strip the armor off. "Having alternatives is a positive, I'm not convinced the helicopter is a good thing to use when hunting magic-using creatures as strong as you've indicated. Jann simply throwing spears in the rotors would be bad news, and that's before magic comes into play."

"Good point, especially as we suspect the Jann to have made preparations for interruptions from external forces."

"From your description, and without malice, might they be so tied up in the moment that they don't preplan?" Tomaz asked.

"I suppose it might be possible," Tauriz replied, "but I feel that is making overly optimistic assumptions. If we plan for coordination actions and they do not occur, I think we lose little. If we do not plan, and they coordinate, we risk losing much."

"A fair point, I'm just still trying to get my head around Jann mentalities. The better our teams understand them, the less likely they'll get surprised too badly and will be better able to react intelligently."

"I do not think it was a poor question, I just prefer to plan defensive and, for that matter, offensive actions as much as practical before they are needed. We haven't had time to practice our skills together extensively yet. Ray and I believe we have a reasonable appreciation of your folks' capabilities, but for no fault of your own you have little comprehension of ours, nor the other factors we are currently aware of."

"That tends to make me itch."

"It is not a situation I prefer, I agree. I wonder if we cannot have some form of accelerated dreamtime we could use to practice together before we go. I suspect it would be possible a few different ways, but I will need Ray to complete his current tasking before I can be certain."

"Fair enough, and assuming you're able to describe any potential detrimental effects we'd be willing to learn more and probably join in as much as makes sense."

"It is not something we have discussed before, but it may make significant sense tonight. It mostly depends on when Ray is able to complete his current task."

"If this is inappropriate, please let me know, but -- what is Ray doing?"

"That is not an inappropriate question at all. I welcome your questions, and will do my best to give you meaningful answers. Unfortunately I cannot go into details except to say it will likely be a significant force multiplier for our side. By that I mean there will be more magical options available to us. We are honestly uncertain as to how much of a difference there may be, but I suspect there will be rather more changes than less."

"Will you and Ray be able to get a handle on these options before tomorrow?"

"We believe so, or else we would be delaying this in order to better prepare the team as a whole."

"Good answer. Speaking of preparation, can you generate those medical devices we'd discussed?"

"Certainly. We should discuss this with the personnel you intend to utilize such devices, however. Unless you ladies have any further questions?"

"No, I think we've got enough to do for now," Jennifer said.

Tucking the last of the armor back into storage, Tomaz closed the drawer. "I know a couple of my team were up and discussing a wish list of medical capabilities."

"Wonderful! Let us go join them and see what we can provide."

Heading down the second elevator, Tauriz called Ousha and asked her to call the conference room and see if there were other questions or concerns.

The doors opened into a bustling mayhem of carpentry as Skepsi was setting up its barracks. Heading into the noise, Tomaz lead Tauriz to a door and knocked. A short blond opened the door. On seeing Tomaz, he waved them both in, closing it behind them, cutting off the great bulk of the construction noise.

"Hello, you must be Tauriz," he said. "I'm Len. That's Jessica over there, then Kat and Tony. We're the front line medics on this deployment."

"Hello, folks. Yes, I am Tauriz Aoud. I understand from Tomaz here that you have a wishlist of medical capabilities?"

"We were talking about the possibilities, yes," Kat said, smiling. "The whiteboard has our thoughts." On the whiteboard, capabilities were listed such as stopping internal and external blood loss, regenerating blood volume, regulating blood pressure, and so forth. The whole list took two columns the height of the whiteboard, each entry made from small but legible handwriting.

"That is a long list you folks have put together. I think many of these may fall into broader categories, however, which may assist in reducing the numbers of specialty devices.

"One -- resetting a body to the normal human range. This would address thermal problems such as hypothermia or heat prostration as well as other issues like blood loss, oxygenation, or restoring circulation, respiration, or consciousness. This would be something that's applied to bare skin, preferably to the head or torso. It would maintain those conditions as long as it remains in contact. I would suggest a strong adhesive, perhaps some form of tape.

"Two -- removing external materials like toxins, shrapnel, radiological threats, or chemicals beyond normal human baselines. This would typically be applied to a wound, but if the problem is something that the body transports rapidly like certain chemicals, you may need to apply several to key points such as the six major surface arteries -- carotid, femoral, brachial.

"Three -- repairing integrity issues such as broken bones, open wounds, or damaged organs. This would be along the same lines as the coin I demonstrated to Tomaz earlier today, only a stronger effect -- not just closing open wounds but addressing internal damage issues as well. It would need to be applied after the first two were either in place or recently used.

"Four -- Pain reduction. Apply the device to a patient's temple and pain will drop by some preset percentage. That way your patients will still be aware of the damage but won't be overwhelmed by it. If you prefer, we might pick two or three common percentages and make them visibly and tactilely distinguishable. This would not require any of the prior three, technically, although I would suspect that you might wish to apply them in any situation where any of those three are required.