The train moved slower with the additional weight, not only from the giant robot hanging onto the last car, but with all the policemen onboard, too.

In the engine compartment, Rip glanced ahead, his new eyesight providing an excellent view of the tracks despite the dim light.

Absently, he pulled up the list of messages on his implant he had been ignoring. One in particular made him smile.

[You have reached Tier 2. +10 bonus all stats.]

Very nice.

He pulled up his status screen and read off the latest information regarding his levels.

[You are a Tier 2.19 Battle Rogue Technologist.]

[Skill: Airship Pilot, 1.10]

[Skill: Detect Traps, 1.10]

[Skill: Vampiric Speed (Boon), 1.11]

[Skill: Train Conductor, 1.12]

[Skill: Night Vision (Boon), 1.14]

[Skill: Lock Picking, 1.40]

[Skill: Disarm Traps, 1.43]

[Skill: Mechanical Discernment, 1.44]

[Skill: Stealth, 1.56]

[Skill: Weaponry, 2.15]

[Skill: General Combat, 2.34]

As near as he could figure, the math continued to work out the way he thought it did. New skills offered a bigger bonus on the Tier level, while skill points were divided in half. So, for every new skill point he earned, he progressed one-half point in his Tier, but for every new skill learned, he got two points.

His progress felt good, although he still worried about skills he was unlikely to use much, [Airship Pilot] in particular. For the life of him, he doubted he would be able to raise that one very often.

And once they were done here, he also doubted he would get many opportunities to use [Train Conductor].

But he set aside those thoughts and turned his attention back to the present.

The Verez sisters sat on the floor of the engine compartment. Blair leaned up against the wall, between the girls and Rip. No one looked at anyone else; they all seemed lost in their own thoughts.

So Rip turned his attention back to the tracks. He could see the way ahead without difficulty, thanks to Liza’s boon.

“What’s it like to serve in your military, Sergeant?”

His thoughts interrupted, he turned back to the Verez sisters. Hilda had asked him the question, drawing the eyes of the other two women.

“That’s a broad question . . .”

“Do women serve alongside the men? Here in our world, if you wish to engage in combat, at least officially, then you have to join a Venture Society. We came to Ethinium because it has the best.”

“Ah. Well, that explains what you two are doing here in England. I mean, Umbria.”

“Yes. Lord Sharp graciously offered to sponsor us when he visited Budapest last year. That is why we serve on his team. So, do women fight in your army?”

“Yes, they do.”

Both sisters smiled.

Liza said, “What kind of skills do they use in combat?”

“Well, uh . . . we’re different in that regard. Our skills are innate. But we do have advanced technology, and that allows women to participate in battle much the same as men. It’s all equal footing online. My last posting was in cyberspace.”

All three stared at him with blank expressions.

He cleared his throat.

“That’s sort of like another world . . . controlled by electricity . . . where you can have a body that is separate from your real body back in the real world. Sort of like puppets? And, we have battles there. It’s . . . kinda hard to explain.”

Hilda said, “So, women . . . they fight in this electric puppet theater?”

“Yes. One of my best soldiers was a woman. Physical characteristics don’t matter in cyberspace so much as your mind. And she was great.”

He drifted off, thinking about Maloney. He wondered if he would ever have the opportunity to collect on the drinks she owed him.

The sisters shared a knowing look.

Liza said, “She was your lover?”

Blair shifted the weight on her feet, uneasily. Liza and Hilda smiled at her.

“Ha. No. But she served under me. She was a good soldier.”

Changing the subject, Blair said, “How are the nobles set up in your military? They serve as officers, I suppose.”

Rip noticed she was engaging in the conversation despite her disdain for the vampires. But maybe she just really wanted to steer things away from women in his past.

He said, “The United States doesn’t have classes, officially. We might say someone is ‘low class’ if they’re poor or act like jerks. But they’re not really in a class as you understand it.”

“Then how do you decide who will serve as your officers?”

“We use college degrees. All officers must have one. That’s a big delineation between officers and the enlisted ranks.”

“Ah. So you don’t have a degree, then, as a sergeant.”

“Actually, I do. I started taking online classes shortly after I enlisted, right out of high school. I earned my bachelor’s online in History, from Texas A&M Corpus Christi. One of the advantages of enlisting is the GI Bill, which pays for all tuition. If I re-up, I was thinking about going through OCS, but . . . Well, let’s just say all plans for my future career in the US Army are on hold at the moment.”

The women furrowed their brows, slowly digesting his comments.

Blair said, “Online in History?”

“Yes. Uh . . . getting a degree online means you don’t have to physically be present at the university. It’s all done over the internet. Um . . . with electricity.”

“I’m having trouble comprehending all these things you seem to do, without actually being there.”

“Oh. Well, you have the telegraph, right? And telephones?”

All three nodded.

“So, one’s voice can be heard or a message passed across long distances, right? In real time. This is sort of the same thing.”

Blair looked doubtful.

Rip decided he really needed a better way to explain the internet.

He turned back to the windshield and gazed out through the darkness.

[Night Vision has increased.]

[You have gained 1 point in Night Vision.]

Maybe I’ll just walk outside every night and try to keep raising that one up.

In the far distance, he noticed a slightly brighter pinpoint of light, marking the end of the tunnel.

“I think we’re coming to an exit.”

Blair moved to stand beside him and squinted through the dark. By now, she too could see the approaching light, gradually growing larger.

She stepped over the sisters’ legs and opened the doors to the first car.

“We’re approaching the end of the tunnel. Pass it along.”