Nona laughed. Her cup was empty, but she didn’t want to get up and spoil the moment. “That’s pretty precious.” Charlie had told her a long story about frogs once, and how they’d been one of the harder species to re-establish. Although just last night there had been a frog symphony, and she’d left a window open so they could serenade her to sleep. Another impossible thing that a planet offered—the songs of animals. “You know,” Nona mused, “Your story reminds me a little bit of my relationship with Satyana. She’s not my mom, but she helped my mom raise me, and she was always telling me what to do and how to be. I fought her on the principle of it, and I used to try to hide things from her all the time. Not important things, just anything.”
“That sounds like how it is with me and Amy.”
“Then there’s hope. Satyana and I get along all right these days.”
“Good. Can I get you more stim?”
“Sure.”
Amanda got up and took her cup. As Nona sat quietly, watching the strangers in the garden, a hum caught her attention. She realized she’d been hearing the sound for several minutes and that it was growing louder. It belonged to a small ship with vine-like designs carved into its stubby wings. As it landed on the yard beyond the trees and the sun-dulled paths, she made out a name. The Wilding Rose. Pretty.
Four people disembarked. They came up to the porch, greeting Amanda with hugs and kisses, and exclamations of happiness.
When they turned, Nona recognized the woman she’d met out on the spaceport grounds the day she arrived, the one from Earl’s Farm. Amica, with the blue-green eyes and dark hair and, this time, without two children in tow.
Nona extended a hand. “Pleased to see you again.”
Amica smiled. “Yes. And I you. I’m particularly pleased to see you in my cousin’s company.”
The two women did look quite alike.
“They’re going with us,” Amanda said.
“Good. We can use four more hands.”
“Oh no,” Amanda said, a gleam in her eye. “More than four. Everyone you see down there is coming with us.”
Nona’s eyes widened and she started counting. “All of you?”
“We’re family out here on the farms. It’s our people who have gone missing. We will find them.”
In spite of the fact that the support elevated her spirits, Nona immediately tried counting heads. They weren’t—hopefully—going into battle. It was more like a mission of mercy, and they’d need space in the ship to bring people back. She hadn’t counted, but the Storm couldn’t hold any more than fifty people. Maybe less.
It touched her that so many wanted to help, but it wouldn’t work. “Thank you. I’ll go tell Charlie to expect more.”
“Good idea,” Amanda said. “We’ll be ready in half an hour.”
“Okay.”
She found Charlie in the Storm, near the front of the third compartment. He sat talking quietly with Jean Paul. His hair looked slightly unkempt. He looked up as she came in and offered her a small wave in greeting. “Good morning.”
The two men had stopped talking when she came on, and she felt awkward standing there in the aisle taking up their time. “We have help.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Amanda called up a bunch of people from the farms. I guess she did that last night. They’re coming with us.”
Charlie and Jean Paul looked at each other. “In the Storm?” Charlie asked.
“Yes.”
Jean Paul frowned. “We’ll be over-full.”
Charlie glanced down between the seats, as if counting. “Tell her we’ll take her and fifteen people. She can choose.”
“She might not listen to me.”
“I’ll tell her if I have to.”
Nona frowned. They’d be leaving a lot of people behind. She looked around for the tongat and failed to find her. “Are you taking Cricket?”
“I left her with a vet she’s seen before. He roves between the farms, and he was here today. Entare’s a tough spot for a critter with fur.”
She felt awkward, a little unsure whether or not he wanted her there at that moment. But she’d promised to bring Amanda back more information. “Do we have a plan yet?”
“Gerry has been working her butt off to get us information. She says two shiploads of new Next left for Next’s Reach a week ago. Rumor has it that they weren’t even made here—they’re some of the people they made into uploads on the ships on the way in, ready to go on to advanced classes about how to be robots.” He smiled. “This is where they’re going to teach them.”
Nona could imagine it. Rows on rows of robots in lines learning from full-sized Jhailing Jims. Chrystal had told her stories of her own lessons. “So Next’s Reach should be called Next University.”
He smiled. “Something like that. Gerry’s theory is that the Shining Revolution is planning on killing the freshly made Next as a way to discourage other people.”
Nona had to fight to stay calm. Like Chrystal. Damned revolutionaries. It did make fractured sense. But it also meant they were trying to kill people who had just given up their humanity in a risky bid for eternal life, and won. “We have to stop them.”
“It’s going to be dangerous.” He took her hand. “You knew that.”
“Yes.”
At least he wasn’t stupid enough to suggest she stay back here where it was safe. He and Jean Paul exchanged a look full of secrets and confirmation. They acted like an old married couple sometimes. Charlie looked up and said, “I have to tell you something.”
“Okay.”
“Kyle is coming with us.”
Surely he knew she wouldn’t be happy about this. The man who had killed Davis. “Really. With us?”
Charlie gave a long look that requested clemency. “He and I had a talk last night.”
She swallowed a reply. It wasn’t her decision; she had to trust Charlie. He and Kyle had known each other for years, like she and Chrystal had. There were nuances here that she couldn’t possibly understand. “Okay.”
His smile made her little lighter. He was right about it all except perhaps Kyle; they just had to go forward. Maybe Lym needed something like the Council to help with decisions. Except they wouldn’t work fast enough to command a battle. Humans were so messy. “I think they’ll be ready to load people soon.”
“I suspect. I’ll be here when you get back. Tell her fifteen. No more.” He took her hand as if trying to squeeze any pain out of the clear dismissal, and she gave him a quick, chaste kiss and wound her way back out of the ship. He might be difficult, but he was honest. She loved it that he didn’t play games like Gunnar seemed to play with Satyana.
Nona intercepted Amanda about halfway to the Storm, with at least forty people in tow. She turned and got close enough to whisper, “There isn’t room for everyone.”
Amanda looked grim. “I’ll talk to Charlie.”
Charlie and Jean Paul met them outside. He immediately said, “I can’t take so many.”
Amanda looked him directly in the eye. “They all want to come. We can’t take another war, and we want to stop it.” The people with her crowded around. They were all stocky and strong, mostly middle-aged and a few younger. They had weapons on their belts and canteens, and bags that might be full of food.
Charlie appeared to be examining them. “We need room to bring people back, and the farms need you all.”
Amica stepped forward. “We can’t just stay here and do nothing,” she said. “We only want to help.”
“It’s going to be dangerous,” he said. “We might all die.”
A man in the back almost shouted, “We’re probably going to die anyway.”
“I’m only taking fifteen, or no one goes.” He glanced at Amanda, “Can you sort them out?”
For a moment she thought they weren’t going to listen to him, but then a few people started throwing out ideas for who went and who stayed. Charlie gestured Nona in with him, and took her to the front. Along the way, s
he passed Kyle and two other rangers, all of them in uniforms. He gave her a brief nod, and she returned it, but they didn’t speak to each other.
Charlie sat her next to him, behind the pilot seats where Farro and Jean Paul sat. He went back toward the door, presumably to gather in the fifteen who would come. She lay back and closed her eyes as the people boarded. What would Satyana think of her going to war? Was she going to war against Gunnar?
Amanda settled into the seat beside her, and Charlie climbed past to take the window seat. He spoke softly. “It’s a seven-hour flight. We’re flying west, so it will barely be afternoon when we get there. Take my advice and rest.” He immediately pillowed his head on a spare coat, leaning against the window.
Nona wasn’t tired. She sat and worried about the flight and the mission and about Gunnar and his ships, which mystified her and made her angry at the same time. He had haunted her ever since she decided to go out into the world and do things. He’d been there on the small station Satwa when the Next first came in from the Ring. Now he was on Lym. He might as well be following her. An old man struggling to keep far more power than he needed. How did Satyana stand him?
The thought turned her attention to Charlie, now snoring quietly. She stared at the lines of his jaw, the way his lashes lay dark against his cheek. A fine man, easy to understand, easy to respect.
She just had to keep him alive.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
YI
Firelight played across Amfi’s wrinkled features and Losianna’s smooth ones, making both women look softer than either of them sounded at the moment. “I can’t take you into the caves,” Yi said. “Not yet.”
Losianna poked at the fire angrily, her stick shoving hot coals this way and that and sending sparks cracking into the air. “I don’t have to go all of the way if it’s dangerous. But let me get as far as I can, even if I’m not as capable as you are.”
They weren’t strong enough. Their bones broke, their ankles twisted, they died if they hit their heads. How could he keep them safe? Both women seemed to take deep offense at being refused, as if he were hiding something of theirs from them.
“It’s part of our home,” Amfi said.
“No. The places we’re going are far away.”
Losianna glared at him. “They’re connected.”
“The stream that runs in the front of the cave is connected to the sea.”
They both glared at him, two sets of accusing, defiant eyes.
Perhaps he was getting worse at handling humans, although to be fair it had never been his strongest point, not even when he was human. It didn’t matter: he wasn’t going to show this place to anyone until he understood it better. Everything about it felt dangerous. He spoke as slowly as he could manage. “I know you don’t know us very well. But you can trust us. We will be able to talk about what we’ve found someday; we’ll have to. But we have reasons.”
Amfi gave him a long look, and eventually her features softened a tiny bit. Not much. “Is it history? We know the caves may be as old as the wars. Before all this business with the Next started, Davis spent a lot of time exploring them. He even figured out they might have been built by robots.”
“Why did you think that?”
“Davis told me that after the last time he went. He said didn’t think humans could make anything so well.” She smiled softly. “I think he was still guessing. After all, it had to be a shared place.” She waved her hand around the firelit front room. “This was built for humans.”
He didn’t tell her how flawed her logic was. The room they sat in right now could have built or changed long after the alcoves full of starships. “Soon,” he said. “Next time we go, we’ll take some pictures.”
Losianna didn’t look at all softer. “Take us next time?”
If Yi were human, he’d be letting out a long sigh of exasperation. “We’re not going today. We need to check on our family. After we get back and spend a little more time making sure it’s safe, we can share more with you.”
Losianna contented herself with glaring at him and Amfi returned to poking at the fire, sending small sparks dancing up toward the roof.
Jason and Chrystal both spoke into his head at once. Really? We’re going home! You didn’t tell us that!
Chrystal added, Why?
We do need to share this with someone. Not humans.
Jason said, So soon?
We can’t make the Jhailings angry.
Chrystal’s tone was only barely teasing. Are you currying favor with our overlords?
He ignored her silent comment. Do you need anything to get ready?
We’re ready.
One of the advantages of being in a robotic body. In the moments during which they had the conversation, Amfi looked up at him, ready to tell him, “We can manage for a few days.”
“Good,” he said. “Keep your doors locked. We’ll ring when we get back.”
“Do all three of you have to go?” Losianna asked.
Yi considered.
Jason cut off any chance for a family conversation by speaking out loud. “I can stay.”
Losianna looked pleased.
“All right.” It was a good enough decision. He worried a little about Losianna’s obvious attraction to Jason and filed away the need for a future conversation with him on the topic. Protect these two, he said to Jason. And leave the other end of the cave for now. We’ll get back there.
Jason looked irritated but said, I will.
“I’ll lead you to the door.” Amfi did, and before she shut the heavy door behind them, said, “Be careful. Check on Manny for me?”
“We will.”
“And come back. Call it an old woman’s instinct. But I am very curious about the secrets you’re hiding.” She cocked her head. “Are you safe in the dark?”
“We can see in it.”
Amfi waved and shut the door behind them.
It felt good to be outside, where it smelled like waterfall and the night birds had started waking up and calling back and forth to each other. He jogged off, Chrystal moving easily behind him.
They reached the skimmer just as the sun cracked the eastern edge of the sky open. Hey, it’s safe, he said as soon as they spotted the vehicle nestled under trees.
You were worried?
Of course.
Do you worry about everything? Chrystal teased him, Still?
Isn’t that why you picked me? To keep your family safe?
That worked.
Hey!
I’m teasing. I love you.
I love you.
They didn’t say so often enough. It mattered, even now. More now. That was a great run.
Get in and fly. She tossed her dark hair and gave him a lightly smoky look. Very un-robotic. Still, it made him slightly wistful. Was she pretending to human feelings or just teasing him? Or did she still feel more deeply than he did?
They flew wide of Manna Springs. Yi brought them in on the Nexity edge of the spaceport. During their final approach, a Jhailing pinged him. Meet us in the Mixing Zone.
All right.
While he parked, he set a piece of himself to reviewing the memory shots he’d made of the cave. He put together a stream of them, although he left out the last things they had seen. The endless rows of beds and medical machinery bothered him deeply. He wouldn’t hide them from the Next, but he didn’t want to talk about them yet.
The Jhailing met him and Chrystal at the open gate to the Zone and led them into the Hall of Choosing, where Katherine worked. We’re meeting here because it’s handy and we need a private room.
Okay.
As they walked through the sterile corridors, they occasionally passed small groups of humans being led by soulbots or by machine-like Next. Almost all the human faces showed fear and longing and curiosity, although the measures of each differed greatly.
Inside of the private room, he found a Colorima, Katherine, Manny, and Yi Two. A surprising group. The Colorima and the
Jhailing had chosen simple silvery bodies with basic humanoid forms. Probably for Manny’s sake.
“What’s up?” Chrystal asked out loud.
The Colorima spoke. “We have multiple topics. The first involves Manna Springs and Manny. There are calls for his return and for the removal of the twins. In addition, the Port appears to be considering taking over the town.”
“That’s not acceptable,” Yi said.
“We swore to stay out of human politics. That’s why we invited Manny to this meeting. We’ve verified the Port is supporting the impending attack against us at Next’s Reach, and we must not have them in control here.”
“What do you mean by supporting?” Yi asked.
“Space-to-ground ships aren’t approved to land at the base there, but they’re allowing it. That’s support of a kind.”
“Then you have to take the spaceport and the city,” Chrystal pointed out. “If you take the port alone, Manna Springs will rise up, and if you take Manna Springs, the Port will have an excuse to attack you.”
The Colorima grew serious. “To take both would require force so hard it would bring more war to us. So we have chosen to help Manny. To do that with an unseen hand will be . . . possible.”
Manny looked profoundly uncomfortable, tapping one foot from time to time and fidgeting. If he wasn’t on board with this plan, what would he do? Yi was suddenly glad they’d left Jason in the cave. So that’s one hard thing, he said to the Jhailing and the Colorima. What’s the other? Because I have one, too.
The Colorima smiled. Not as good as a laugh. “So here’s the second problem. The planned attack near Next’s Reach is about to start. We have to decide whether or not to go in force. If we go, we will have to kill all of the attackers.”
Yi and Chrystal shared a quick glance. “No!” Chrystal practically screamed in his head. He could even see it on her face: panic and fear. “Nona’s there!”
Calm, he whispered in her head. Calm.
Her features fell into a softer look, but she stared hard at the Colorima, as if glaring at her could cause her to change her mind.
Manny’s face screwed taut with anger and frustration. He didn’t speak even though he looked like he had words pent up inside of his mouth and his hands gripped the edge of his seat tightly. He smelled of stress. Yi could imagine what it must feel like to be the only human in a room full of robots talking about killing your friends.
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