Amanda looked grim.
Nona asked, “How did we get you two for crew?”
“Farro got assigned. She’s one of the few Port Authority staff credentialed for Entare. She got to choose a co-pilot and she chose me.”
Nona said, “Thank you,” to Farro, who had already turned around to focus on the map and glowing weather displays in front of her. Farro’s nod was barely perceptible and certainly didn’t require an answer.
Nona watched the spaceport, the city, and the great Wall of Nexity shrink behind them. They flew over farmland, some of it open crops and some tall buildings open to today’s weather and full of layer on layer of crops. Oddly, the buildings reminded her a little of the pods from the Diamond Deep.
Irrigation streams bisected tan, red, and deep green fields with blue, and small white bridges laced the land between the streams together, like a nearly infinite crop bubble. And this, on Gyr Island, was the smaller of the two farmed areas. By far. Maybe someday she could see Lagara, where fields and vertical farms filled the land in all directions, and sea farms hugged every calm coastline.
Their itinerary included stops at each of the five farms owned by first families, including an overnight stop at the largest, First Fields, where Kyle’s family had gone after being displaced by the Next. Charlie had planned to join her, but she had called him to warn him she would be traveling with Amanda. He had promised to catch up by the time they arrived at First Fields.
She hadn’t told Amanda that Charlie would join them yet, but she planned to if a good moment for it arose.
It took two hours to get to the first place, Sunny Orchards. They flew over row upon row of trees, some already barren but others heavy with orange and red fruit. Between every row, silver tracks gleamed in the sun, and here and there she spotted robotic pickers.
They parked on a wide paved square shaded by large trees, beside a multistory yellow house with a gleaming white roof and outbuildings. The entire family of twelve came out to greet them. Nona and her crew were introduced to four generations, although they all looked about the same age except for an infant one of the women carried on a cocked hip.
Two of the men led them to a large table big enough to seat thirty or so. Platters overflowed with four different kinds of fruits. Music played from hidden speakers, something soft and sweet and very fitting to the wide grassy knoll they sat on. The fruit tasted as good as the music sounded, and a light breeze teased Nona’s hair from her forehead.
After an hour of awkward but pleasant small talk about crops and fields and a slightly too upbeat report from Amanda on the state of Manna Springs, one of the men said, “Rumor says the places we gave the invaders are already too small, and that they may want to expand out here.”
“We haven’t heard anything like that.” Amanda stood up. “But if you can find any evidence, we’d like to know.”
A different man stood up. “You should know more than us. You’re closer to the damned things.”
Amanda kept her voice calm. “They’re keeping their word about location so far. The Port is working with them to limit the number of ships that can land here, although it’s more than we want, or the Port wants. There’s only so much room, even given that the Next ships basically turn into the Wall.”
The woman who seemed to be the second man’s mate asked, “What about wars from space? We’ve been cleaning out a few of the cellars so we have a place to go if we have to.”
“And digging new ones,” the first man added.
Amanda looked concerned. “We don’t know if any of the Shining Revolution’s threats are real. Even if they are, I don’t think any fighting will get this far.”
“We heard there were bands of rangers roaming about, and that some of the teenagers have gone.”
Amanda’s face paled, and she sat down. Nona elbowed Farro. The small, dark guard stood up and asked, “Can you tell us what’s happened?”
A short, stocky man who hadn’t spoken yet said, “One of my employees had two children go missing, teenagers. A boy and a girl. In another family, the father walked away one morning and didn’t come back. He left a note on the kitchen table that said he’d return when the world was safe again.” He glanced at Amanda. “I took a picture of the note and sent a message to Jules about it, although he didn’t answer me back.”
A bit of pale pink had seeped onto Amanda’s cheeks. “When did you send my brother the note?”
“Just a few days ago. He might’ve just got it.”
Amanda looked relieved, and said, “I’m certain he’ll get back to you.”
The small interchange made Nona wonder if things between the twins were worse than she thought. Amanda seldom talked about Jules, which did suggest a problem, but she also never said anything bad.
Talk flowed back and forth across a few other topics, mostly worries about whether or not shipments would either arrive or depart, depending on the item being handled. Farro answered most of those, her voice clear and much bigger than her slight body. She didn’t give very much information except that the Port Authority still controlled the spaceport and were trying to manage traffic. At one point, Farro described it as trying to fit fifty skimmers onto a household parking spot meant for four. That seemed to get the point across.
As they left, Farro and Jean Paul followed them to the skimmer, staying far enough behind that Nona couldn’t hear their conversation. She leaned closer to Amanda. “They seem worried.”
“I think so. These are tough people. They wouldn’t come out and say so. But it’s harvest season, and they wouldn’t be reinforcing cellars unless they felt a deep fear. I don’t like the extra kids going off.”
“It doesn’t sound like it’s all kids.”
“No.” Amanda looked back over her shoulder at their hosts. “Maybe it’s just all of the gullible kids.”
Even the bigger stations like the Deep kept a defensive force. She and the Historian had talked about that once, about how being completely vulnerable was a mistake, even in times of peace. Stations kept defenses, Gunnar defended his vast fleets, but Lym only had the rangers and the Port Authority, both of which were civilian jobs with a taste of policing.
It made thinking of anything truly useful to do as an ambassador hard. It was one thing to bring down specialty supplies, but how could she help them defend Lym?
Manny had been sure she could do this, and Satyana encouraged her and even—mostly—seemed to believe in her. But if she had the tools, she hadn’t found them yet.
Amanda walked beside her, looking deep in thought, but Nona interrupted her anyway. “There’s no military force here to do much about it, is there?”
“No.”
“And not much in the way of weapons, either?”
Amanda sighed. “We should build up a military force.”
Nona forced herself to stop and think before she answered. “The military is more of a problem than a solution, at least on the Deep. Besides, isn’t it a little late?”
Jean Paul and Farro came up before Amanda could answer. They climbed into the Storm. In spite of how deeply troubled she felt, Nona looked forward to the next place, and to the one after that, where she’d see Charlie.
CHAPTER FORTY
CHARLIE
The sun had come all the way to midpoint and begun its way back down the sky toward night. Charlie and Losianna had counted every bush and tree and small animal in easy clambering distance, and Losianna had scraped her palms raw on rough rocks. Inside the cave, they’d found a long tunnel, a few switchbacks, and almost nothing else of interest. So now they stood side by side on the smooth shelf beside the skimmer, looking out over the valley.
He needed to leave soon to get to Nona, but he wasn’t quite ready to give up. Losianna still looked bored.
Maybe she was hungry as well. “Should I break out the emergency rations?”
She shook her head. “I want to know what you’re waiting for.”
The voice came from behind them. “Us, I su
spect.”
He turned to find Yi emerging from the dark mouth of the cave, followed by Chrystal and Jason.
Losianna clapped her hands together in delight and drifted inexorably toward Jason. The boredom on her face had been replaced with an inquisitive beauty. “I hoped to see you again. What’s in the cave? Did Charlie know you’d be here?”
“Why are you here?” The cool tone in Yi’s voice dragged Charlie’s attention away from Losianna’s behavior.
Charlie waved him toward the mouth of the cave, getting a little distance from the other three. “I came out to see what you found. We saw you. From the dispatch station. Gerry and me. Late last night, you all went into these caves. I figure it’s something you found that night we were all here, and that you thought was worth coming back for.”
“It’s only a place we might hide someday.”
Charlie didn’t buy that. “It’s more. Is this a back entrance to Amfi’s cave?”
“It’s really nothing,” Yi said. “I’ll take you back a little ways if you want. There are empty corridors.”
He had trained enough recruits to understand the lies that hid in half-truths. They were hiding something.
Yi, of course, wasn’t a half-trained recruit. He’d been a full-grown man and a successful businessman. He knew enough to be canny; it would be a recruit’s mistake to underestimate him.
Charlie stood as tall as he could, which made him slightly taller than Yi. “This is my home,” he said. “A place my family has spent generations protecting and restoring. Every few years we come across some grand artifact from Lym’s past. We know that Amfi and Losianna live inside an artifact from the past, although we only learned that the day we negotiated with the Next. I was distracted by more important things then. But I’ve been thinking about that place. It’s a mystery we should explore, and it seems likely that this is a separate entrance.”
Yi spoke smoothly, not missing a beat. “The caves aren’t very stable.”
“Did you find any artifacts?”
Yi had a funny way of going completely still and reminding Charlie how far from human he was from time to time. His features slackened, and he looked as if he had lost himself in some internal calculations. After a while, he seemed to tune back into the moment. “There is nothing you need to see right now, and nothing that we will use to do you any harm. You’re going to have to trust me. After we’ve mapped it, after we know more, I’ll share it with you.”
Charlie sighed heavily, frustrated. “I don’t want to argue with you. I owe you for a lot. We owe each other for a lot. But I have a right to know what’s in that cave. That’s my job.”
“I will show you some day.”
Damn it. They were too strong for him to force, but backing down stuck in his throat. He could not win a fight with these three, and with Losianna here, he could not start one. “Soon.”
Yi didn’t respond.
There was nothing to do about it, not this instant. He glanced up at the sun, noting that far below there were already shadowed places. He needed to be away from here. “Will you do me a different favor?”
“Ask me.”
“Will you check in on Amfi and Losianna every day or two? Help to keep them safe?”
“As long as we’re here. I don’t know how long that will be.”
“Do you have a skimmer? Can you take Losianna back?”
“Not near here. We ran.”
That was nearly impossible if they came all the way from Nexity. Nearly. He shivered and forced himself to stay straight and keep looking Yi in the eye. “I’ll give you a ride. But we have to go now.”
Yi looked thoughtful and went silent for a few moments. Charlie felt sure he was talking to the other soulbots—he didn’t even know how he knew, but he did. The tells had to be so subtle they worked on his subconscious. Finally, Yi focused on him again. “Yes.”
The five of them filled the skimmer so it was heavy at takeoff. The Chrystal sat beside Jason, and when she looked at Charlie there was no more than casual recognition in her eyes, the regard for someone you had been introduced to, but not the familiarity of a person you’d shared a voyage with.
This Chrystal was surely as human as the other one. No, wrong term. As alive as the other one. More, given the gruesome death of the first Chrystal. Thinking about the new world sometimes seemed like dragging his mind through mud. After he could settle the skimmer comfortably on autopilot he turned around and started talking to her, trying to decide if she and the first Chrystal were truly alike. After all, he was a ranger. He protected.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
NONA
Nona sat beside Amanda in the back of the skimmer for the third time that day. Her belly was full almost to bursting, so when Farro said, “We’re expected at dinner in an hour,” Nona groaned. They had stopped at a vegetable farm and heard the same basic stories with one added embellishment: rumors that rogue robots were haunting the farms on the farthest edges of the carefully described growing area. The food served for that talk had been advertised as snacks, but it turned out to be pies and cookies and bread and too-sweet herb teas. Yet again, Nona’s primary job had been to eat and be polite while Amanda did almost all of the talking.
Farro filled them in as they flew over field after field of ripe grains: yellow grains, white grains with a faint green tinge, tans and darker tans. “First Fields is the largest and oldest farm in Lym’s current history. It was founded four hundred and ninety-one years ago and has been owned by the same family for the entire time.” A few of the fields had already been harvested, and a few others were being harvested as they went by, the grain cut and gathered by great machines minded, once again, by robots. Farro turned around and grinned widely, her eyes full of mischief. “It’s rumored that one of the founders still lives. They say he eats almost nothing except longevity meds, and drinks almost nothing except for good red wine. Theoretically, he sits on the porch every day watching the sunset.”
They landed.
A bright young woman in a yellow dress led them to rooms, and Nona changed to the blue dress she’d met Charlie in. She made it more demure with a long, light silver sweater that fell to her knees. She knocked on Amanda’s door and found her in flowing purple pants and a green shirt that brought out the red highlights in her hair.
If the rumor about the founder was true, Nona saw no sign of him as they followed the same young woman into a huge room full of people, chairs, and humans carrying around trays of appetizers. Most of the people looked young and strong and exactly like what she expected on a farm. As usual, there was generally less augmentation than on most stations, and even her simple jewel and blue hair stood out.
After about twenty minutes of small talk and a glass of red wine, she was able to maneuver Jean Paul into a private conversation for the first time since they’d climbed into the skimmer. “Charlie may be coming here. Help me watch for him.”
Jean Paul looked surprised, pleased, and slightly disturbed, in that order. “Did he say when?”
“I don’t know. We had planned to just meet out here but now that Amanda’s along I told him to be careful. If you see him, tell him to find me? I have news, and I suspect he might.” And by inference, the news might not be for Amanda or Farro.
Jean Paul took her arm and led her even further away from anyone else. “He’s got to be careful out here. I don’t know if people should see him.”
“We know.”
“Go,” he said. “Go be an ambassador. I’ll watch out for Charlie. But he shouldn’t come until tonight, after the dinner.”
“Okay. You sound more worried than he does.”
“Charlie never sounds worried.” He turned and walked deliberately off, dismissing her.
She stared after him, frowning, and then drifted through the room, introducing herself to strangers like a good diplomat. She answered questions about the Deep and about herself, about Nexity and the Wall. Yes, she loved Lym. No, the Deep didn’t plan to send more people, no
t that she knew of. Yes, the Deep had promised to help the Next. Yes, the Deep would also keep their promises to Lym.
A different teenaged girl in a different yellow dress led them one by one into a great dining hall, with a table set for forty people or so. When it was Nona’s turn, the table was about half full. Amanda sat near the still-empty head of the table. Nona was shown to a seat exactly halfway along the long rectangle. Farro sat opposite her and down two, and Jean Paul hadn’t been led in yet. The windows lining the wall all looked out on vineyards turned golden by the setting sun.
In the seat to her right, she found a man old enough that she could make out the wrinkles that showed up on all of them after a few hundred years of youth medication. Still, he wasn’t nearly old enough to be the mythical founder. The best-dressed award went to a bright, glittery pair named Rudolph and Eriba, with skin the color of light coffee, bright green eyes, and matching shirts with the farm’s crossed-wheat logo on their breasts. They took the head and foot of the table.
A man hobbled in on a cane, partly supported by the girl in yellow. He slid carefully into the seat across from her.
She recognized him from pictures.
Kyle Glass leaned across the table and held his hand out to her. “Nona Hall. Pleased to meet you after all of this time.”
She inclined her head gently and reached across to take his hand, which was cold in hers. She let it go quickly. Charlie was planning to come here. Here. He’d been planning on talking to Kyle’s family, who had supposedly taken refuge here. He hadn’t mentioned Kyle.
Now that Kyle sat across from her, she suspected that the older man next to her might be related to him, might even be his displaced father.
Eriba clinked a fork on her glass, calling for silence. “Welcome. It’s not often we’re treated to a visit from Manna Springs. The last time Manny visited was over a decade ago. So we’re quite pleased to welcome Amanda Knight. Please stand, Amanda.”
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