Thirty minutes later, the train slid to a noiseless stop.
Hope peered over the top of the train, watching as the humans emerged. They seemed far more cheerful than the batch she’d seen emerge at Headquarters Plaza, no doubt owing to the fact that this group had completed its workday. She watched, and waited, as everyone left the train and station. Just when she wondered if Porthos had teleported back to Headquarters without notice, he emerged from the train. Hope floated above him as the next batch of passengers queued up to board the train.
Porthos put his hands in his pockets and walked lazily through the village, nodding at the confused humans who wondered why Mr. Sebastian might be there. He seemed to walk in a random pattern, but Hope realized he was moving in an indirect path toward a target.
The edge of the village. The forest. Where every member of the Alliance began any trip to Headquarters Island. She swallowed. Had she made a mistake and allowed a trickle of Energy free to attract the Hunter here? But that didn’t make sense. Why go through the effort to ride the train here rather than teleport to check out a possible Energy burst?
Nothing made sense.
Porthos looked as if he was talking to himself, moving his lips, looking at the forest, then back at the train, then started moving his fingers as if counting. He then began walking back toward the train, eyes distant and clearly deep in thought.
He thinks we’re coming from the human settlement and he’s trying to figure out how long it will take us to get to Headquarters if we take the monorail. It would give us a chance to move a large number of Alliance to Headquarters without detection.
She nodded her head in a sign of respect to the Hunter. He was thinking, something she’d not seen in quantity from the Aliomenti. He’d considered the Alliance immersion in human society as evidence they’d enter the Island in that fashion and even use their transport system. Clever.
Wrong. But clever.
She returned her thoughts to the larger concern. Porthos had touched the palm reader and the gel. She had to get that gel off him and out of his skin. A thought formed. She floated to the top of the rear train car, ensuring that Porthos entered that car alone, and waited until the train started before implementing her improvised plan. Thankfully, she’d already transformed her physical appearance prior to her arrival. Porthos hadn’t seen her true form in person, though she suspected his research prior to the attack on her home nearly two centuries earlier had emblazoned the face of Will Stark’s wife in his mind. He wouldn’t recognize the dark-haired, brown-eyed woman as the same person.
Recognition would doom her upcoming efforts to remove the gel from his system.
She expanded the nanoskeleton to provide private workspace atop the monorail train. She opened her purse and formed small slivers of her nano swarm into small towels, approximately ten inches per side. She folded the towels, dropped them into her purse, and slid the strap back over her shoulder. She checked her clothing to ensure she fit in with the other human commuters and then jumped from the top of the train.
She landed on the divider between the cars and peered into the cabin. Porthos sat by himself, leaning back against the headrest, with his eyes closed. She dipped down below the glass opening in the door and removed the nanoskeleton. She took a deep breath and stood slowly, peering inside.
His eyes remained closed.
Hope opened the door and entered the car.
The door to slammed shut behind her and she jumped.
Porthos’ eyes snapped open and he sat up, staring at her. His eyes took her in from head to toe, and a lascivious smile curled his lip.
She forced herself not to shudder in disgust. “Sorry,” she said. She sat down in the seat and looked out the window. She could feel his eyes still on her.
A few moments later she turned her head to look at her hands. She turned her palms away and then back, frowning, and rubbed them. Her frown deepened. “Disgusting,” she muttered. “I hope I don’t get sick.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out one of the “towels” and began to “wipe” her hands clean, allowing relief to cover her face. “Much, much better,” she muttered.
She allowed herself to “recognize” his stare and turned with caution to face him. “Sorry,” she said, allowing a sheepish tone to creep into her voice. “Am I bothering you?”
His eyes lit up in a manner that made her uncomfortable. “Not at all, my dear, not at all.” He paused. “I heard you mentioning getting sick? Is there an illness circulating that I’m unaware of?”
She smiled. “There’s always something, isn’t there? No, I was just thinking as I got on the train the other day about all of the hands touching those scanners.”
He frowned. “What about them?”
“Well… some people are sick. Some cough or sneeze on their hands. Some go to the restroom and don’t wash their hands. And… well, not all of them take the time to clean their hands before they… well, you know. They touch the scanner and get on the train. And then I touch the scanner and everything that might be left behind.”
His lip curled. “That is a truly disgusting line of thinking.” He paused, and she noted that his eyes flicked down to his hands. I’m touching human germs, he thought. He took no care to shelter his thoughts, thinking her incapable of hearing. She struggled to keep her face straight. He nodded. “What was the thing you used on your hands?”
“Oh, the towel? I just started bringing them with me to clean my hands after getting on the train.” Patience, she told herself. I must remain patient.
Porthos nodded. “Do you think those towels would clean these hands?” He held them up and wriggled his fingers, winking at her.
She forced herself to smile. “I’m sure that your hands don’t need cleaning.”
He sighed. “I do keep myself fully cleansed, my dear. Alas, as you’ve noted, not everyone does.” He paused a moment. “Do you, by chance, have more of those towels available?”
Success. “Let me check.” She opened her purse and made a show of rummaging around. “As it turns out, I do have extras. Would you like one?” Not too pushy, she hoped.
He nodded. “I would.” He held out his hand.
She pulled out one of the towels and handed it to him, careful not to touch his skin. But he clasped her hand as he took the towel. His eyes flickered for just a moment, as if he remembered something, but the look quickly faded. “Thank you, my dear.”
“My pleasure,” she replied, and she sat back in her seat.
It was an effort in concentration. She sent nanos from the towel into his hand and through the rest of his body, looking for any trace of the gel, and extracting it back to the towel. Porthos finished wiping his hands off. “I do feel a deeper sense of cleanliness than before.” He paused. “What shall I do with this?”
She’d been trying to figure out how to get the towel back without offending, and he’d offered it to her. Luck favored her this day. She turned back toward him “You can hand it back to me. I have to take care of mine as well. It won’t be any trouble to do the same for yours.”
She reached to take the towel, but he held on as she pulled. “Tell me your name.”
“Phoebe,” she replied. It was the name she’d long used with her current look.
“Phoebe,” he said, swirling the name like a fine wine. “A lovely name. I thank you for sharing your insight and… accessories.” He paused. “I look forward to seeing you around Headquarters. What department do you work in?”
She was caught off guard, a rare occurrence, but she’d avoided listening to his thoughts while standing so close for fear of losing control of her Shield. And she had no obvious department name in mind. She tried changing topics, letting her eyes go wide as her hand went to her mouth. “Oh my goodness. I thought… but it couldn’t be… you’re really… you’re Mr. Sebastian, aren’t you? I’m so sorry, sir, I shouldn’t be in this car, and—”
He laughed. “My dear, I’ve enjoyed your company a great deal. It�
�s no bother at all. I—”
The train slowed to a halt as he spoke, and his face turned serious. “I’m sorry to cut this short, Phoebe. Busy day. Lots of important plans to develop. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
And with that, he walked out of the train, leaving her behind.
The cool, fresh outdoor air swirled into the cabin as a stony expression covered her face. “Oh, you’ll see me around all right,” she muttered.
She waited until she was certain nobody looked into the car—she’d been the only passenger in the car with Porthos—snapped her nanoskeleton around her body and went invisible. Only then did she take a deep breath, noting the nervous perspiration. She shook herself before flying from the car and straight up in to the air, taking care to set a slow pace. Once she’d reached two hundred feet in the air, she set off for the forest outside the human village.
She couldn’t wait for the train this time.
Twenty minutes later, she stood on the spongy grass in the forest, refusing the temptation to recharge with the trees grown old even after the Cataclysm destroyed so many. A tap on the remote brought the sphere before her, and she stepped aboard. This was the only place on the Island she felt safe, and she used the sphere for sleeping and to allow herself moments of peace in, what was for her, the most hostile place in the world.
She finally let her Shield drop as she discarded her “purse” on the floor of the cabin and set a course into the sky. A moment later, she’d reached Will on the communicator.
“It’s me. I’ve got the palm scanners set up and ready to go.” She hesitated. “But Porthos touched the scanner. I think I took care of the problem. But if any of that gel remains in his system? We’re going to have a huge, huge problem.”
VI
Twenty-four hours later.
SHE’D NEVER BEFORE VISITED HEADQUARTERS Islands, and as the immense black marble building rose above the horizon she took a deep breath, awed at the sheer size. Her work Outside had been elsewhere. Though she’d studied floor plans and the layout of the Island, study did little to prepare her for the reality. She found herself grudgingly impressed at the Aliomenti. They’d lost everything in the tsunami generated during the Cataclysm—many others had as well, of course—and yet had rebuilt the entire infrastructure of the Island in just a few short years. She grimaced at the idea that the impressive speed had come at the expense of humans unknowingly acting as slaves at the command of the Aliomenti.
She’d originally planned to enter the Island via the uninhabited forests beyond the human settlements to the east. Hope’s run-in with Porthos the previous day proved they could no longer assume the Aliomenti would stay away from the human settlements. Porthos’ actions strongly suggested the Aliomenti expected an invasion, and suspected they’d arrive from the east. It wouldn’t shock her to learn the Aliomenti stood guard and watched the forests.
She’d adapted her approach to the new reality.
Rather than passing over Headquarters and continuing along to the northeastern shore, she slowed the craft to a halt above the mammoth Headquarters building. There was something appropriate about that, she decided. Hope had started her mission the day before at the human village, initiating the first defensive movement of the war. Ashley’s mission amounted to the first offensive, and it seemed more appropriate to drop in atop Aliomenti Headquarters. Hers remained a stealth attack. If she did her job well, they’d never know she’d been there until it was too late.
She checked the pouch she wore at her waist for the supplies she’d need. With everything confirmed, she established and tested her Energy Shield before surrounding herself with a protective nanoskeleton. The nanos gave her many Energy-like options, including invisibility, without the risk of attracting attention. It would all be for naught if her Energy leaked out under the nose of Porthos.
Convinced she’d stopped all Energy leaks, she pulled out the Energy Eater, a device she’d helped develop many years ago. It didn’t “eat” Energy, of course; instead, it scrambled the frequency of Energy in the area, rendering it inoperable and undetectable. The effect mimicked consuming all Energy in an enclosed space, though, and the name had stuck. She activated the device and ensured nothing remained. She waited five minutes longer than usual before moving. After Hope’s encounter with Porthos the day before, she wouldn’t take the slightest chance.
She glanced at the remote on her arm. Worn further up the forearm than a standard watch or bracelet, the remote gave her full control of the craft. The buttons weren’t labeled; the remote used combinations of buttons to trigger the five remote options. Lock. Unlock. Summon. Return. Self-Destruct.
If all went well, she’d only use the first two options.
If she found herself drained of Energy and needing a quick escape, she’d Summon the craft to her side. The GPS chip in the remote provided the craft the necessary guidance.
If she knew all hope was lost, she could Return the craft to its point of origin. If the ship arrived at the Cavern without her, her friends would know she’d been lost, dead or captured.
If she feared imminent death and believed the craft might be captured and used by the enemy, she’d hit the Self-Destruct option. No one would ever know she’d been lost.
Well, most would never know. They’d figure it out eventually.
She tapped the remote and the exterior walls turned permeable. She used the nanos to float out of the sphere and nestled upon the flat roof of the Headquarters building. The marble radiated heat, and she instinctively hopped up and down before realizing she could still float. She glanced in the direction of the sphere. Normally, she’d send the sphere up into the canopy of the tallest trees on the Island. It was a precautionary measure to ensure nobody walked into an invisible aircraft. Given her current parking spot, she decided it wasn’t necessary. In the event she needed to activate the Summon feature, she wanted the sphere as close as possible.
She elevated herself two additional feet above the roof before flying over the edge.
Ashley stifled a scream. She’d gone from solid terrain a few feet beneath her feet to gaping quantities of air between her feet and the ground hundreds of feet below. She knew she wouldn’t fall, but the sudden transition took her breath away. It was the primary reason she’d never enjoyed Energy or nano-driven flight, preferring to handle travel inside a sphere when teleportation options were limited. She descended slowly, sucking in air to stabilize her nerves, and finally came to a stop fifteen feet above the concrete Headquarters plaza. The monorail station loomed before her, the humans’ equivalent of her sphere, whisking them around the Island to the places they frequented.
She floated down and hovered above the human crowds mingling on the plaza, ignoring the slew of emotions and thoughts avalanching her way. Without access to their dormant telepathic skills, humans rarely understood that thoughts projected out from their minds as if shouted. For someone like Ashley, the noise level overwhelmed. Members of the Alliance practiced quieting the volume of thoughts; the most skilled were all but silent. Fil’s late wife, Sarah, was one of the few able to achieve total telepathic silence.
Telepathy worked much like the sense of hearing. Though human ears detected all manner of sounds, mental filters ensured conscious awareness of only the most critical. She focused on thoughts she expected for her target, and after several minutes, her mind pulled those thoughts from the cacophony inside her head. She wondered, idly, if the Hunter Porthos felt a similar overwhelm when confronted with dozens or hundreds of Energy users. She suspected he found the mental overload taxing. But she had little time for thoughts of Porthos now. Her target’s thoughts grew louder, and she soon spotted the man in the light green uniform. The color designated Bernard as a member of the IT department, the smallest and most secretive human employment opportunity on the Island. She watched him as he meandered through the plaza toward the Headquarters entry, acknowledging a few coworkers but remaining generally aloof and apart. The Aliomenti targeted men like Bernard
for their IT department. Naturally introverted and shy, Bernard would happily work among the machines, without the need for collegial association with others. While the existence of IT itself wasn’t secretive, the specific nature of the work—and the location—were. The Aliomenti relied upon those machines to maintain their wealth and manage the operation of their far-flung banking empire in a world of fully digitized currency. They’d never allow a social encounter to bring the wrong people into the all-important computing environment.
Ashley knew her way around such environments, though. And more critically, she knew how to take advantage of such access.
As Bernard walked, she followed, floating above him as he moved inside the mammoth building. The change in temperature startled, a cool, brisk breeze replacing the warm outdoor air. The sound of chatter amplified, sound waves reflected by walls and flooring rather than scattering into the wider world. Ashley tuned out the additional noise as workers switched from social banter to work chatter, discussing business investments, political intrigue, and the Aliomenti influence in both arenas. She watched as Bernard carefully stayed away from the crowds flowing to the dozen elevator banks, noted that he skillfully let the others skip ahead into the waiting cars, until he remained alone.
Bernard moved toward an isolated bank of elevators, ignoring the “Out of Order” posted to discourage his fellow humans from visiting. Bernard nodded at the guard and held his identification card in front of the call button, murmuring small talk at the man identified as Rand by the name badge affixed to his shirt. The call button glowed green rather than the usual dull orange. Bernard pressed the button, and seconds later the doors opened. Ashley floated above Bernard as both moved inside the elevator car. She pressed herself against the roof of the car as the doors closed, calming herself to prevent any loud breathing. They’d made the nanoskeletons invisible, but the occupants still carried mass and made noises. She had to be careful.
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