Counselor tya-5

by P. S. Power

  Later. Right now it was dinner time.

  It was rude really, for him to have a separate meal set up like he did, but with hundreds of guests, it would be needed. The table in the new dining room that Collette had formed out of the back of the kitchen space for ease of service for the over taxed staff, was small. Not tiny, but just big enough for about ten people.

  His mother sat in the seat of the hostess, playing the part because Ali, brave as she was, had the job for the main table in the other room. Tor just wore his work uniform, hoping it wasn't tacky. Laurali looked really nice, younger than normal Tor thought. Almost like his sister Terlee. Tiera was off to the left and Timon was to the right.

  He'd wonder where his dad was, but he sat at the main table for him as place holder. All these rules were strange to him, but it did seem to be working out. No one could feel that his own father being sent in was less than proper, could they? If they did, Tor decided not to care.

  No one else was really there yet, though Collette followed them in. Tor stopped until everyone looked up. Lyn smiled widely, Tor watched her closely, not wanting her to feel uneasy, so he noticed her freeze suddenly as she looked at the table. At first Tor though it was about Weasel, who did cut a fine figure in his suit, even though it wasn't exactly a normal fashion for the Capital or anything. But then the girl took a step forward.

  “Lara?” She said loud enough that everyone looked at her. Her voice was young sounding, timid, but different. Not as shy, but slightly… scared.

  His mother just gave a small partial bow, seated. After all, Lyn was just a girl and not noble at all.

  “I'm Laurali, are you Lyn?”

  The girl froze then looked around half panicked, only to find Tor staring at her hard.

  “This is Lara Gray's daughter. My mother Laurali Green Baker. Burks Green is her father, my grandfather, as I think you know? You probably have, haven’t you? We look just alike, I here.” Tor lightly touched her pattern and wanted to shake his head. He was such a moron sometime.

  “Mother, this is Lyn Cooper. For lack of a better way of putting it, our sister.”

  An Ancient.

  Like they were. Tor took a deep breath and let it out when his field slipped over Tim, his little brother. Him too? God, was it everyone?

  Now it was Tor's turn to panic. The world couldn't take too many people that just wouldn't die. He reviewed in his mind and nodded. He couldn't tell with his littlest brothers and sisters, but the rest were normal. Thank the universe. He looked at Lyn and smiled.

  “I don't know which color though. Red or Blue? I think I've met the rest, mainly.”

  The voice that came from behind him was his own, just a bit deeper, Tor turned, which was hard to do at the moment and saw that not only were Burks and Denno there, but his uncle Dan.

  Denno stepped forward and grinned slightly.

  “Red. This is your sister Lyn Red. The Ancient of Vagus.”

  Of course she was.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  “Well.” Tor didn't let it bug him. After all, he had absolutely no context for this at all did he? She'd lied…

  Nope.

  He'd never asked. Or checked. It wasn’t a normal question to ask when meeting someone, was it?

  She'd even asked if she could call him brother, hadn't she? It made sense now at least.

  “Let's all have a seat then. So, just to shorthand this, um, Lyn, looking to get married? Dorgal's a good sort, after a fashion. You've met, good enough looking an all that. So, what do you think?” Collette was wide eyed, standing in the door alone still. He waved her in and motioned she should shut the door.

  So it was a mess with Lyn after all.

  Good to know.

  She looked around, like she wanted to run. It was a little skittish if it was just about Dorgal's proposal. Her eyes went still after a minute though and she blew a bit breath out at him and shook her head.

  “No… I don't want to be rude, but I'm probably going to be fighting with my family for the next two hundred years over this as it is. Not fair to drag some innocent into this. I would have liked to at least finish learning to be a builder though. It's not covered in the treaty.” She spun and looked at the men behind her, Green Brown and Uncle Dan.

  “It's not. I checked. For about a hundred years. I checked. I can do this. Vagus can.” Then she suddenly looked ready to fight her way out of the room.

  Even clutching a force lance in her left hand. Tor hadn't noticed it before at all. It had to have come there when he was distracted by her being… Her.

  “Calm Lyn. No one’s going to mention anything to anyone outside this room. Right Denno? Burks?” His voice had gone, cheery, Tor noticed. Happy.

  That or insane. Either worked.

  “For now, let's get a seat and see to dinner. As for the marriage proposal, um Collette, could you send word to the Sorvee's that Lyn has to decline, because…” Tor looked around the room. Nothing came to mind at all.

  Gah.

  It was Tiera who came up with something.

  “Why not tell them she's the Ancient of Austra, and might have to have a fight with her family for a few hundred years? Given this crowd, everyone will believe it and it's not like it's a secret or anything. Most people just don't care here, do they? Though catching an Ancient like that would be a good deal for this man, Dougal?” She looked at Collette.

  “Dorgal.” She corrected gently.

  “Then he can accept or not, based on that, if you want. Um, Lyn. If you don't want to say no, then just dump the real reasons on him. They’re so crazy he'd have to accept it. Probably without hurt feelings.”

  Collette chuckled and put her hands on her hips, something Tor had never seen her do before.

  “We haven't gotten a real answer from Lyn Cooper yet. If you want to get married, I need to present things differently than if you don't. Even if you can't for the reasons you said, wanting too is a real point. If you aren't willing, I can just lie and save face for him somehow. Say you have someone else or something.” There was no toe tapping, the pretty blond was too cultured for that, but it was implied. Strongly.

  Lyn looked down, then sat when Tor pulled a chair for her. It had a nice dark brown shiny wood look to it, with a soft red cushion. It hadn't a few seconds before, but he changed it when he touched the chair. It got her to laugh.

  “Oh… Alright then. Please tell him that I'd love to marry, but as the leader of the largest land on the planet, we may need to relocate back there, at least part time. If he still wants to. I'll understand if he doesn't of course. I know it's a bit of a sudden change.”

  Collette's eyes went wide.

  “Wonderful! I'll go do that right now then, shall I?” She didn't wait to be excused, just turning and leaving without a pause, strained smile on her lips.

  Oh, right, room full of Ancients. That would do it.

  “Sit, please, everyone. I think we have enough room. I don't know how we're supposed to get food, but we'll figure something out.” He strode to the top of the table and sat next to his mother.

  “Does everyone know everyone else?” He looked around and saw Dan shake his head no, still smiling.

  It was his house, so his job.

  “OK, Burks Green, who's the Green man of legend,” looking at Weasel and Tiera he shrugged.

  “Grandpa to you two and me. Um, he's also me, as you might be able to see. We'll go into that later. Over there we have Dan Green, our Uncle and ma’s brother.”

  Tor nodded to Denno, gesturing with a closed hand and giving a seated bow as the man found a seat for himself, near the end of the table. The poison seat again. Poor guy probably thought it was his place or something.

  “Denno Brown, the Ancient of Austra, roughly your Uncle. Your Aunt Lyn here you should both know. Tim, I want you to work with her for the next few months on building. She's good. But then you know that don't you. Met already and all that?” He sighed.

  “Next to me, is Laurali Green Baker. My
mother. Also Gray as you see, but her own person too, I hope. Oh, um Ma?” Tor dropped into home speech.

  “Grand-da didn't tell you, but your natural mother is the leader of Afrak, and still alive. Also an insane man-hating old bat that is, essentially you, like I'm Green, only you two are closer I think. Watch the whole crazy thing will you? I'm not really kidding there or I wouldn't be this blunt. Nearly started a war with weapons master Kolb when we were there.”

  Oops, he hadn't meant to do that, talk in ways that others couldn't understand. No one said anything though.

  “The charming and intelligent young lady to my right is Tiera Green Baker. Also like we are Ancient genes and all that and this man is Builder Timon Green Baker, know as Weasel. Also as we all are. Only by feel I'd guess he's a son of the gray line. The first I think, if Lara was honest in what she told me. That will have to be checked though. Seems right.”

  “What!” Laurali had been a little quiet until then but suddenly she roused, a bit angry seeming.

  “Yeah, your mothers alive and really hates all men, beyond reason too. Not kind and considerate like you are at all.” Tor said quickly, knowing that wasn't the topic at all.

  “As to the other part, about Tim, well, Burks, Lyn, if you'd check his field? You too Tiera. We'll wait for you to do that.”

  The Ancients both walked over to him and touched him, one at a time, then checked each other and then Tim again. Tiera sighed and walked around the table.

  “I don't know how to do this…”

  Blinking Tor explained it to her. It was probably a little subtle for her if she hadn't been practicing, but he didn't mention that. She tried and then sat back down.

  “I think I can tell it's him, but that's about all. He has about five other fields on I think?” She shrugged. Tor checked and nodded.

  “That's right. Well we can practice a bit if you want. I know you want to take maths at school, but having an extra skill never hurts. I need to get back to that too. Math I mean. Oddly it keeps kind of coming up as something needed.”

  “Now, before we go on, why don't we see about getting some food?”

  Without going anywhere it started coming, almost immediately. There literally couldn't be any way for people to listen in the walls, could there? Unless Collette had build in listening holes or something? She was a spy after all.

  He'd forgotten that part of things. Oh well.

  It did get them good service, no matter how it worked.

  They checked for poison but it was a lot more cozy than the palace, everyone just pulling a poison detector and using it openly when the food came. It was a family meal after all. They just didn't know who had access to the food, so they checked.

  He let everyone finish before talking about anything. Not even asking Lyn what she was doing in Noram. That was obvious to him, at least in part. She was going to school and learning to be a builder. A freaking great one at that. As far as he was concerned, she was going to keep doing that too. At least until she finished. If Burks had a problem with it, Tor would just build his own school and hire all the Lairdgren personnel away. That or go to Vagus and help her learn himself.

  It was Denno that spoke first looking around the table for a while to get everyone’s attention.

  “The summit is in a week and we all have to go. All of us. It's very important. I guess we should get you all up to speed first, but we can start that in a day or two. Right now every Austran spy in Noram is on the way here and should begin reporting tomorrow. Tor and his people will check them out and if they aren't insane murderers, send them home. I don't really expect you'll find anything. The most telling thing will be how many don't show up.” He spread his hands, then touched his face, thinking.

  “If they don't, that doesn't mean guilt of course, they could be dead, missed their flight or simply hiding, since they fell in love and don't want to go back. Noram… has its charms, after all.”

  Like trees, but Tor didn't mention that. Austra was nice.

  Except the parts he'd seen of course. But that still left hope for the rest of it.

  “Sorry Denno. I can do the part with the Austrans, but I won't let my family go off to some summit of Ancients without knowing what it is and why we should be there.” Tor held up his right hand as the man started to speak.

  “OK, I get that I can't stop them either, if they choose to go, but I won't go myself without more information. You've been dodgy about all this to the extreme. First you tried to force this summit and now you want us, some of us literally kids, and the rest, like Mother and Uncle Dan must just about seem like that to someone like you, to go to this thing?” Tor tilted his head and looked around the room, and did a mental count, feeling slow and tired suddenly.

  “Heh, you're trying to control a vote, aren't you? Like how they do things in Austra? Do the Ancients vote on stuff Burks? Lyn?” He glanced at them both and got a nod from Lyn at least.

  “That's right Tor. I don't know if that's the plan, but we do vote on everything. If you might be able to back up what you want in a few thousand years, you get a vote, so that's everyone at the table. This would be about half the Ancients in the world right now, unless the Blues all come. I… Cindy Blue and I don't get along.”

  Denno spread his hands and smiled towards the girl.

  “Let by-gones be by-gones? She's bringing her kids too and that will give us a solid voting bloc. This is important…” He leaned in and whispered.

  “Three groups are coming Lyn. Three. One is clearly Four-ten. The others aren't… anything I've seen before. Blue either. We need to work together and we… We need to put the treaty in abeyance. Austra can't stop them, not alone. Cynthia promised to do everything she could, but…” The good looking man shook his head, making his now short hair shake a little.

  “Fuck Brown… I'll need to see the specs of course. I… Vagus can't help. We don't have anything, thanks to Blue, unless you want to fight them on horseback. If we have to fight.”

  Lairdgren shrugged, “you know the math as well as I do. Most groups willing to travel across the void are going to be hostile if they find a resource rich planet on the other side and have to have planned for it. We know for a fact that the Four-ten were designed to do just that. They shouldn't be here.”

  Tor had to tilt his head and then raised his right hand again.

  “Um, three what? From which void? The one at the bottom of the universe? What is the Forten?” He waited then, Denno sighing, as if Tor was stupid but telling him that would be bad. That was true of course, especially if the man wanted his vote on something.

  “Space fleets. We don't know if they're coming to invade or not, um, from the sky?” He glanced around the table as if they wouldn't get it until both Tiera and Laurali snorted derisively.

  “We know what space is, continue.” Laurie showed pretty good restraint for her, not yelling at the man at all. Not that she yelled a lot, but Lara Gray probably would have. It was a real point. Something was different there, but they were the same person? Maybe…

  Tor just didn’t know, the instructions, the built in ones, must be different somehow. Not totally?

  Denno explained.

  “The Four-ten were the fleet we sent out to colonize other worlds, just in case we didn't make it here. That seemed… More possible than not back then to tell the truth. We don't know who the others are. It could be anything. Aliens even. That… Might even be likely. The technologies used are all different at least. We don't even have a real space program any more. Blue has a tiny one, just enough to service the moon base and Austra launches satellites, but that's about it.”

  Goody.

  Tor raised an eyebrow. A single one. Something he’d never managed before.

  “Well, at least that's more interesting than just wanting to take over the world, but why not tell us this before? Why a Larval army? What the heck is with that?”

  Denno looked down and blushed. Tor doubted it was real.

  “Would you believe me i
f I said we needed the troops just in case we have to fight? The Larval aren't perfect, but they're the best we have. One Larval is, or at least was, about equal to one of the Four-ten. Except they may be coming back with centuries of changes to their system. They were an adaptive group. Huge, violent and able to survive almost anything.”

  Ah.

  “I see, and we have how long before they get here?” Tor couldn't build anything yet. Lyn could, and the Lairdgren group. He glanced at his brother and sister. Come to that, there were others that could be called in. His mind raced so fast he nearly missed what Denno said.

  “Inside nineteen years. We need to hurry.” He sounded scared.

  Right. Ancients lived for ever. Nineteen years was probably like a few weeks to him practically. It was the length of his whole life so far though. Tor nodded anyway. At least they had a little time to try and figure things out. If nothing else, they could just fly out to meet them and do battle there. When he said that out loud Denno had to smother a laugh. Burks just looked sad and Lyn…

  Agreed with him.

  “We can do that. It's a bigger project than it sounds like Tor, but given time, I think we can. We need space capable vehicles and the speeds have to be improved a lot. Tens of thousands of times minimum. The speed of light or better. Using an organic model, like the fast craft you made, will that work?” She asked this as if he'd know.

  Silly.

  “Possibly. We can try, that's for certain. I need to learn more though.” He wanted to shrug.

  More to the point he wanted to go climb into bed and sleep for a week. This was all crazy talk, wasn't it? Who had aliens coming to chat and possibly take their stuff? Some of them weren't even aliens though were they. Maybe none of them. For all he knew Denno was just lying about the whole thing. Burks could be too, but if it was just a trick, getting the whole group together for a summit seemed a little spotty.