He went surprisingly still and silent for a long time. “You know I’m thinking bigger than that.”
She hadn’t. Not until he said something. As usual she should have been paying more attention to him than she had been. She hadn’t noticed what he was thinking. “I’ve been busy trying to make Independent Strength strong. There’s not enough alignment. I need a single issue to keep them all together. ”
“Would that be easier if you really ran it?”
If there was a china teacup to drop, she’d have done it. “Doesn’t that have to be a leader? Or appointed by one?”
“Like the Headman position,” Gunnar said.
She suddenly realized what he was saying. Did he want the Headman position? “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You’ve always hated politics.”
“I’m thinking like you are. Interim. Until everything gets a new equilibrium.”
“How would you even get it?”
“I’m not sure I should get it.” He raised an eyebrow, looking entirely charming. A look she had learned to be wary of. He went on to say, “People might choose you.” He smiled. “And wouldn’t that be better than being Historian?”
She walked over to the bar and poured herself two fingers of the hardest rum he had. It burned like fire in her throat.
“You need time to think about it, don’t you? Weren’t we talking about distractions a few minutes ago? Set this aside for dinner—my treat—and we’ll talk about it then.”
She still felt shocked cold by the idea. “I don’t have time for distractions.”
He stood up from his desk and came over and rubbed her shoulders. “I can even do harmless distraction.”
“You’re never harmless.”
“Trust me.”
Satyana sighed and relaxed under his hands. They were big enough to cover her shoulders entirely, and they warmed her. Tension she hadn’t noticed released, slowly, like a breath out. “I can’t afford to be distracted.”
“Of course you can.”
A ping distracted them both. Gunnar walked over and picked up his slate. He immediately switched on a wall screen that both he and Satyana could see. The background picture showed stars and ships—and pieces of ships.
It hit her fast and hard, stilling her completely. A reminder of the battle for the High Sweet Home. Of the massacre of the High Sweet Home. The place this had all started. Only this time, the Next didn’t appear to be saving any hostages to turn into robotic versions of themselves, like they’d done with Yi, Jason, and Chrystal.
This time they’d simply, utterly destroyed their target.
“But who?”
As if the machine heard her question, a news message scrolled along the bottom of the screen. “Brea and Darnal Paulson’s flagship, the Free Men, has been destroyed.”
“I’ll say,” Gunnar whispered. On the screen, the ship’s pieces were far too small to be recognizable, floating away from each other in many directions. Small attack ships followed the wreckage, blowing it to even smaller pieces. Next ships. Fast, lean, and deadly accurate.
Gunnar came close to her again, and she slid her hand into the warmth of his, felt his fingers close over hers. They weren’t seeing the destruction in real time—not from so far away. That didn’t make it less visceral. After the Next did this to the High Sweet Home, they had seemed tamer, until recently, when they took Lilith’s Station down to component pieces in retribution for an attack. The total destruction of the Free Men might be retaliation for the same attack or a pre-emptive strike.
It might be a good thing, although she hated thinking that way. What were they all becoming?
The screen scroll changed. Brea and Darnal have been succeeded by Vadim and Nayli, the infamous space pirates who destroyed Chrystal Peterson after abducting her from the Diamond Deep.
“This is not good news,” Satyana said. “They’re more vicious, and not as smart.”
Gunnar returned his hands to her shoulders. “You’re right. It’s going to scare people. Brea and Darnal never killed in public; these are their public executioners taking control.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Exactly what we’re already doing,” he said. “Just this.” He squeezed her shoulders and started running his hands down her back. “And this.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHARLIE
Charlie walked toward the copse of spreading oak trees where he’d parked his skimmer. The quiet in the parking lot felt eerie. Most of the guests had probably flown themselves here and been given rooms in the big house or perhaps in the smaller outbuildings.
He walked around in that quiet, his boots crunching on hard gravel, looking from ship to ship. How did the people who came here in them felt? Were they angry and irrational, like Kyle? Were they afraid? Had they lost a child to the fighters? Had they joined in the fight that ousted Manny from Manna Springs? He’d even heard of one or two children from the farms out here who were trying to become Next.
Nothing felt balanced. A wrong step one way led into one disaster, a slight shove the other way into a different disaster. There must be a line of choices that led to something they could all live with. Lym had changed immeasurably already, but the air smelled like the soft wind before a storm.
The size of the forces bearing down on Lym felt so great that he might as well be a pebble or a leaf, or perhaps a small bird trying not to get blown away.
Cricket whuffed softly as he opened the skimmer door, and lifted her head in greeting. He waved her out and gave her a command that let her wander, although not too far. He called up Gerry on his small hand-slate. She had apparently been waiting to hear from him; her face popped up immediately. Even in the tiny image, he could tell she was upset. “There’s more trouble,” she said.
“What?”
“Rumors of a coup in Manna Springs. Not yet, but of plans for one. Enough that Bern is sending soldiers from the Port into town.”
Charlie grimaced at the confirmation. “I think that’s right. I heard rumors about that, even way out here. Do you know if Bern and the Port Commissioners want the town for themselves?”
“Could be,” she said. “But even though the merchants despise Jules for being useless, they’d prefer him over the heavy hand of the Port Authority.”
“I can’t be in two places at once.” He paced, watching for Cricket, thinking about what to tell Gerry and what to leave out. “I have bad news for you.”
Gerry raised an eyebrow, as if daring him to make her day even worse. “Really?”
“People have been disappearing. They’re just vanishing in the night or leaving in the morning and not coming back. They leave notes, or they don’t.”
“They’re joining the Shining Revolution to fight the Next.” Gerry looked off screen for a moment, adjusted something, then looked back at him. “They can’t attack Nexity. It’s too big. But the base on Entare, near Palat, is smaller. No great wall. It’s just been opened for humans.”
He stopped pacing. “Humans?”
“Well not quite. Sue got drunk the other night. She told me they’re using the new town to train people they’ve just finished turning. That it’s going to be a big gym and classroom.”
“How many? Did she know how many they’ve changed yet?”
“No.” Gerry paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t even know if she knows what she told me.”
He paced, the crunch of his hiking boots grating on his nerves.
“You look worried,” Gerry blurted out.
“I am. A lot of the people who are disappearing are from out here. Farm hands and even children. Some of the First Families’ kids, too. A few from Manna Springs, I think, but most from out here, as if someone is actively recruiting on the farms.”
“That’s tough.”
“We need to get our people back before something awful happens.”
Gerry frowned. “There isn’t any help. The Port hasn’t let anyone go except Jean Paul and Farro. Fra
nkly, I think that was to get two dissidents out of their hair. I could send you Sue and Alinnia if they’d go.”
“We can’t wait for them. Besides, I’d like to imagine that there’s someone actually rangering.”
That got a smile from Gerry.
“The Port did send Farro out with the Storm, which can get that far,” he added.
She leaned forward so her face nearly filled his small screen. “So you’re taking a single skimmer all the way to Entare to stop a fight that’s probably about to start, or maybe that has started. And this is smart, why?”
He took a deep breath. “I don’t see any other choice.”
“Don’t hero yourself to death.”
A falling meteor left a streak of white across the dark sky. “Damn it. I’m a ranger, not a leader.”
“You’re not going to fight, are you?” she asked.
Cricket came circling in from the trees, nudging him with her nose. “I hope not,” he said. “We don’t have very many fighters. The goal is to get our people. It’s outsiders who are luring them away. I’m sure of it. Rumor suggests they are Shining Revolution.” Cricket nudged him again. “Look, Gerry, Cricket smells something. You’ll send me information?”
“Sure. But wait, did you find out what your pet robots were up to?”
She meant Yi and Jason, in the cave. “I found them. They said they’re just exploring.”
“Pretty deliberate exploring, if you ask me. I saw you go there and wait, and then go back.”
“Did you see anything else interesting?”
“No one else has come or gone. I have a monitor on that site.”
“Thanks. If I get time, I’ll call you tomorrow before we leave.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“You, too. See that Sue and Alinnia will help you out there. Tell them I asked about that.”
“They help. They seem to have finally decided you aren’t going to arrest them.”
He hoped they were enjoying nights full of card games and videos, or whatever a group of three women did when they had the run of an entire station. “I’m glad. Thanks. Thanks for . . . being there.”
As soon as he hung up, Cricket head-butted him again. He looked down. Her ruff was up and she stood as tall as she could get, her nose high and her eyes focused. He knelt. “What is it?” She trembled, wanting to run or bark. “What is it, girl?”
“Me.”
He looked up to see Kyle standing across the clearing, close enough to overhear the conversation he’d just had. Charlie stood up slowly, staying in front of Cricket, signaling her to stay.
“I still have a few rangers,” Kyle said.
“Are you the one sweet-talking the kids out of here?”
The other man looked offended. “I wouldn’t. Not Amy. She’s too young.”
“The others?”
Kyle gave him a measured look. “Of course not. But I’ve been out here for a few weeks now. There are strangers around. I haven’t seen them, but I’ve heard rumor on rumor. Humans, not robots. I think they’re being hidden.”
“Being hidden?”
“I think some farm owners are helping the Revolution, hiding off-worlders. It’s a strange world, Charlie. It’s all gone wrong.”
“It has,” Charlie agreed. “Do you know which farms are helping them?”
“I think it’s either Earl’s Farm or at the Patel’s place, Flying Fields. You’d think they’d tell me, since I’m one of them. But no one out here is talking to me much. I think that’s Dad’s fault.”
Charlie stifled a laugh as he stood up. Kyle and his father played deep rivalry games between them, although either would defend the other if attacked. It made Charlie miss his own father, whom he’d lost in an accident deconstructing part of Palat years ago. “I’d have thought you supported this fight.”
“If we could win, I would. But you trained me. We can’t win against the damned robots. You saw how fast they stopped the first attack.”
“You weren’t part of that?”
Kyle kicked at the ground softly, looking down. “I told you I’m not stupid. I want them gone so bad I can’t sleep at night. I wake up screaming and sweating. I wake up angry in the middle of every night, an army of damned machines overrunning the world. They crush the mountains when I sleep.” He paused. “That doesn’t mean I’m ready to commit suicide by sticking myself in front of their guns.”
But he had killed Davis and would have killed Amfi. Everything was screwed up, and right and wrong were as clear as a heavy mountain fog in a cold winter. “Are you offering to help?”
“If you take me with you.”
Kyle’s face was too shadowed for Charlie to get a good read on his emotions. He looked like he’d lost weight, and he sounded older. Or maybe just sadder. “Can I trust you?”
“I won’t shoot your tongat.”
“Can I trust you not to turn on humans either? Or gleaners again?”
Kyle stared at him over crossed arms.
“I’ll do what I can to get you off if the murder ever does go to prosecution.”
Kyle flinched.
“But only if you don’t encourage any more of it.” It was a fair thing to ask. Kyle was losing his support anyway, and there would be no one to encourage soon.
Kyle’s nod was short and sharp. “Thanks.” He stood silently for a long moment and then blurted out a question. “Can I trust you?”
“I haven’t changed.”
Kyle stared at him for a long time. “You’re wrong.”
“Really? I’m still doing the work I’m supposed to do. We’ve been operating out of Wilding Station again.”
“I heard. What does that have to do with anything? Remember what we used to say? ‘Don’t trust anybody from the sky?’ We even meant the tourists and the scientists. We meant everybody.”
“That was before I actually knew anyone else.”
“Now you love one of them.” Kyle’s voice rose, and he sounded a little threatening. “You negotiate with spacers and robots. You won’t fight invaders. Invaders, Charlie.”
Cricket leaned into Charlie, who knelt down next to her and kept a hand around her deep chest, feeling it rise and fall as she breathed. “I still care about the same things,” he said. “And I think you do, too.”
“I care about Lym.”
“You came to see me.”
“I want a ride. To Entare. I heard you need help.”
“I do.”
“I’ll help.”
Charlie took three deep breaths. “The only way I’ll take you is if you do what I say. I’m lead on this, at least as far as rangers from Gyr Island.”
“Are you making me a ranger again?”
“Do you want to be?”
“If I have to be to get to Entare.”
It didn’t feel right to force him. But nothing felt right anymore, and he needed Kyle’s loyalty, and his rangers. “You do. And you have to tell your people to obey me.”
The two men stared at each other for a long time before Kyle looked away and only then said, “All right.”
Charlie signaled to Cricket to stand still, and held a hand out to Kyle. “Welcome aboard.”
Kyle didn’t take his hand, but he said, “Thank you. I’ll be back in the morning. I have three rangers with me.” He turned and limped away.
So few. Sue and Alinnia had told him Kyle had five left. How had he lost two more?
At least if he and Kyle stopped fighting, a piece of the world would be back in place. With luck, Manny would go back home, too. Then maybe they had a sliver of a chance to make some of the right choices.
“Cricket?” Charlie asked. “Was that really stupid of me?”
She rubbed her cheek against his right thigh.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
NONA
Nona stood impatiently on the porch near Amanda, warming her hands on a cup of chocolate stim. A cold wind had blown in and stolen the magic from the night garden. Here and there people walke
d or sat together, pulling their coats and sweaters close and tugging their hats tight to their heads. A few had been here by the time she and Amanda arrived, and the number had doubled to twenty or twenty-five. Most clutched or carried small rucksacks. Workers waiting for instruction?
Nona struggled a bit to wake up enough to think clearly. Yesterday had been long and hard, and she had heard Amanda’s door close quite late.
At the moment, Amanda stared out at the garden but didn’t seem to be actually looking at it.
“Tell me about Amy,” Nona asked her.
Amanda turned around to face Nona directly. “We’re alike. Maybe too alike. She’s a fighter and a follower all at once.”
Nona hadn’t thought of Amanda that way at all. “A fighter, sure. I don’t see you as a follower.”
“I’m the twin born two minutes later. It makes all the difference in the world. I’ve always been the one who followed Jules into sports and into trouble. He made the team captain; I was on the team. He got better grades and more opportunities, and sometimes he passed me his leftovers. The chances other people would kill for, but that he didn’t need. I never got or did anything first. I even waited for him to get married before I got married. His marriage lasted five weeks, and mine is okay.” Amanda looked down at her cup. “Jules is like a piece of me, even though he’s often the worst piece, at least lately. For example, when he decided to take on running Manna Springs, he just expected me to go. Doing what he says is like a bad habit I can’t break.”
“But you’re not doing that now.”
Amanda let out a short, wry laugh. “No, I suppose not.”
“When was the last time you saw Amy?”
“Maybe six months ago. We used to be inseparable, but that stopped when she turned sixteen. Now she’s twenty, and not dependent on me at all anymore. She’s polite. All the data I get out of her is that she’s fine, whatever that means. You’d think details were as precious as baby frogs.”
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