by Power, P. S.
"Good. I have work to do here and so do half the others. We're here if you need us though. The builders whose fighting groups are going are on the craft, so we should be fine. Everyone in my crew is a first year." She shrugged, and a couple of the others did too. All builders, from the clothing.
The Headmaster clapped at them all then.
"Very well, back to studies then! A word, Lord Baker?" The man didn't sound angry, but he came up to talk, followed by Kolb and an old woman that Timon was almost certain would be Doris.
When they were all in, the older looking man bowed again.
"Congratulations on your promotion. Now, how long do you think this expedition will last? I do need to write a report about this."
Timon had no clue, but instead of saying so, stared at the man for a bit, trying to work it all out.
"I might need Kolb and Doris for a while. The rest are mainly just coming for the trip. If it gets dangerous, they might help, but so far Soam is actually the safest place to be on the planet. The fear however is that Gray won't let that last. We're going to locate the Ancient in charge there and see if we can find out what's being planned. I figure that we can send the others home in a few days? Really, they don't need to go, except that, naturally, they do." It was clear to him, and everyone else just seemed to accept it, except Trice.
"They do?"
There was a clearing of the throat and then Kolb spoke, his voice deep and slightly pensive.
"A force that sits unused for too long becomes stale. Change, even temporary or occasional change, keeps people sharp." There was a bit of a glance on the trailing end of it that seemed to tell Trice that it was so obviously what Tim had meant that she should have known it already.
Which she actually did.
It was only that she didn't think Timon would know it, not having had those kinds of classes in school yet. It was a valid enough point, if neglecting the fact that he could figure things out, on occasion.
"So, call it three days unless something actually happens, for the main group. We'll keep in touch daily. Or you can contact us, if any parents wonder where their children are."
The old man, who was slightly stooped looking, bowed a bit again and then climbed out the door, dropping lightly to the hard stones a few feet down. There was almost no sound from the move, which gave a bit of lie to the idea that he was just a school master, if anyone was paying attention. Sloppy of him, really.
Then he got in contact with Gerent. From the sound of it, all the excited people were chatting away merrily on the other craft right then. Timon was glad that he didn't have to be over there, himself.
"Follow along. We'll head due South for the first three hours, at about half speed."
That was mainly so that they didn't get lost. The whole trip would take about five to get there, going that slow, but he was going to set down in a random location, picked between hours three and five. It would make it harder for Gray and Cordes to get people in place to attack fast enough.
Five minutes later they were in the air, with Gerent about ten miles away to the East. That way they wouldn't accidently hit each other if something happened. The others sat in the back, about twenty feet behind him, but spoke loudly enough for him to hear easily.
It was Kolb that spoke first.
"I got word that Julie was holding up in the caves, near the North West coastal region. We can be there in a few hours. I'd like to set down in a different location and then use decoys, so that we aren't spotted getting into place." The man had a map, in the leather case that he'd carried with him. It was a tube, about four feet high.
Doris sat quietly, and after listening to Trice and Kolb for a while, finally moved. To sit next to Timon at the controls. The seat she took was a soft cream color and seemed to be made of soft leather with a lot of padding underneath. She smiled peacefully as she nearly melted into place.
"So, Timon Baker. I've been meaning to seek you out for a discussion. Would now be a good time for you?" Her voice was serene.
His wasn't too different still either.
"I'm not going anywhere, so yes. What can I do for you?"
"Torrance Baker made changes to your emotional processing abilities. I was wondering if you could explain, from your own view point, how this has altered your reactions to stimuli?"
He felt a very faint flash of annoyance, since it was one of his least favorite topics, but after a while he glanced at the woman, and noticed her pearl colored hair. It fit with being elderly, well enough, but was also a sign of something else. That she was controlling her looks by force of will, he thought.
"About as would be expected, I guess. I haven't really changed what I've been doing, to the best of my knowledge, I just feel bad about it after the fact. I really don't know what Tor was going for, if it wasn't Cordes suggesting it in order to change how I'd react. He said something to that effect to me. Cordes, I mean. The version inside Tor's mind?"
The woman looked at him for a very long time. Well past when it would have been uncomfortable for most people, but Timon didn't go on. It was all he had to say about things, unless she had questions.
"He spoke to you openly? That's very interesting. It shouldn't have that large of an influence on you then, in the short run. It was always a risk, leaving you without a sense of guilt. Green suggested to me that you should feel about half of what most do, in that regard. It will be enough I think. I doubt that Tor can comprehend a person making logical choices that still preserve the greater good. Cordes can, which means that he's likely using that idea to control your brother. Or was. Do you have any idea how much control he's assumed over Tor at this point?" It wasn't leading, she really seemed interested in knowing.
Timon just didn't know at all.
"I haven't been around him a lot. There was that bit of trouble with Remy Seventeen, so I had to stay in space for a while. I just got back yesterday."
That earned a slow nod.
"I'd heard. What plans do you have, to protect yourself? Have you accepted death then? Most would have stayed off world, given such a threat."
He blinked, but realized that she just hadn't heard yet.
"I killed Remy Seventeen earlier today. Green and Orange are going to dump the remains into the sun. Or, I guess toss them in, from a long way off. Just to make sure. It's not functional now however."
That got the woman to sit up suddenly, and stare at him.
"You stopped a Remy? By yourself? No army, or use of nuclear weapons? Kolb!" She jumped up and started to chatter at the other Ancient in a rapid fire fashion that sounded strange and not like any language he knew. It was a bit like Noram Standard and Austran, but also not really. It had a lot of irregular words, and the tenses didn't line up exactly right all the time.
Then, rather than ask him about what had happened, Kolb contacted Green, who was in orbit already, seeing to the task at hand. He at least didn't doubt what was going on.
"This particular Remy is gone. It's an elegant solution really. A viral mimic, that surrounds each cell of the being in a shielded space, preventing useful functioning. There's no sense or reading of life at all. Alice and I are going to sling-shot it in about fifteen minutes." That seemed to mean something to the other Ancients at least.
Doris sounded slightly awed suddenly.
"So, this was a magical construct? Built by Timon Baker?"
That got Burks to clear his throat before answering.
"Totally."
"Not you, or Torrance Baker?"
"Not at all. As far as I know, the idea came from Timon alone. Tim?"
That wasn't exactly true, so he confessed to it, in case it was important later.
"Monroe helped, by explaining how the Remy all functioned."
Doris clapped, several times, like a school girl. Then she moved to sit back up front with him and touched his right shoulder gently. It didn't trigger his shield, but it still felt a bit creepy.
"Marvelous. That's a real accomplishment. There have
been well armed and armored armies that couldn't manage it, in the past."
He'd heard things like that, but it was a trick, not a fight, that had let him win. Timon didn't explain that however, since it was so clear that even trying to would be insulting.
Mercifully they just chattered quietly for a while, sitting at a table behind them, munching on fruit and some rolls. Trice played hostess, lacking anything else to do. When Kolb pointed to the map with a single finger, touching the paper with a soft thump, Timon tapped the sigil on his communications device, and got in touch with Gerent.
"Due East, all the way to the coast line. Full speed!" Then he raced off, without explaining the plan to anyone. The others went on alert, looking out the windows suddenly, but he just laughed a little.
"We're going to park under the water off the coast and use night fall as cover from satellites. Then we can move into place and see if we can find Julie. Unless you want to try something else?" He looked back at Kolb. The bald and scarred faced man shook his head.
"No, that's as good a plan as any, and better than most. It won't really fool anyone, not if they're watching, but if there's even a chance of throwing them off, we have to take it."
It still took a bit to get things all together and he had to land and physically go to Gerent's craft to reconfigure it for under water work. It couldn't go very deep, but doing that let him pick up his friend Mags, which was worth doing for no other reason than having her around.
He had one thought, which he didn't share until hours later, after they ate a small meal, sitting about twenty feet under water, as night fell.
"So, what we need to do is leave under cover of darkness. If Mags is willing to help us out, we can leave this craft here, and take her Space Ship over to find White." Timon had felt it on her when he went over to help Gerent, but the others acted impressed. Especially Kolb.
"You have a Space Ship? How did that happen?"
The large and slightly homely girl blushed.
"Um, Tor gave it to me. For helping his brother. He didn't have any other Fast Carriages at the time, so..."
She glanced at Timon, and then hunched her shoulders a bit.
"I don't know if I'm allowed to have it. Tiera said I shouldn't tell anyone."
He looked at her and shrugged.
"I can see that. Still, you do have it and if you're willing that means we can be on the other side of the continent and back before light. Then... Well, we should take out the satellite system and put up our own in its place, don't you think?" He managed to sound playful, but Kolb rolled his eyes and snorted at him.
Rudely, if the truth were going to be known.
"Oh? That's easier said than done. Do you know what it would take to get a system like that up, much less removing the one that's already in place?"
"Nope." Timon stood up to stretch and then took a few deep breaths. The air coming in was cool, since it was getting dark out and was as close to winter as it got in this part of the world. "Or, well, I mean, I don't know what it will take to disrupt the current system, but I have some satellites ready. They'll take pictures and all that. It really isn't as good as what the others have, but it will be ours, which will be a nice change, I think."
Then he had to explain what he meant.
It took some time, but by true dark, they were ready to go.
Chapter ten
The timing couldn't have been more perfect if Timon had been holding a sigil down to make it happen himself. The very instant they hit the far coast, the western reaches of the mighty Soam continent, the world turned to light. Not in a good way either.
"Mags! Go up! Up!" He screamed it, even though he couldn't hear anything other than his own voice. It was a nuclear device. It didn't seem any bigger than the one that he'd outran before, and this ship was faster than his, so it could work, if the girl at the helm would just pull the damned control up.
Diving toward her he got there just in time for her to react, doing what he'd told her to. They went straight into the air, the world buffeting them gently as it moved away. That was the space distortion wave, Timon thought, since they were too far away for it to be moving matter anymore. Not that he knew that for certain, but after a minute he was as sure as he could be while contemplating throwing up. Not that he ever got sick like that, but the attack had come so suddenly it was either planned for them, or they were just in the worst possible place, at the worst time ever.
It was Kolb that surged to the front then, who ordered Mags to rotate the craft so that they could see out. The blasts came in waves, each looking like a growing white hot spark on the dark world below them. One set off in Soam, the other off the West coast of Afrak, which was just visible to the far right. First there was one right next to the land. Then, after the water had been pushed away, Tim understood, able to feel the action, even from space, two more explosions came in both places, about two miles out, and then three, placed twice that distance away. It was almost pretty, in a bright and rapidly hidden way.
"The water is making clouds to conceal it. The rest of the blasts." If there were more, which Timon didn't know for sure. He thought he could sense that however. "Fuck."
It was a hard word, and lacked any feeling, but no one else seemed to notice.
Trice seemed baffled, if only for a few seconds. She got the meaning fast enough though. It was basic physics.
"What... A giant wave? They only used one device off of West Noram... This will be huge."
Doris shook her head however.
"No, my wager is that it's three, or four of them. This was discussed... A long time ago. The waves will be destructive, probably killing ten times the number of people the bombs would have, but the true devastation will come in what happens later. The Earth will slow from the initial blasts, but speed on the wave, shortening the day by the slightest of fractions. This will change the climate over time however, causing famine for some years. Water shortages. Untold death."
The lady panicked, as uncharacteristic as that probably was. Timon saw it happen, since her flesh relaxed and the wrinkles left suddenly. It was dramatic, and she changed color in mere moments, to a soft pearl sheen. Then she began to breathe faster, which was being matched, if a bit more gruffly, by Kolb. That they, both Ancient beings that had seen almost everything at one time or another, were doing things like that had to mean it was worse than he thought it would be.
For once in his life, not knowing enough seemed to be a blessing.
"How long before all this happens? The waves." Timon spoke gently, keeping his mind still. One of them had to hold it all together after all. Mags was in shock and Trice was so white she could play Tiera in a school play. That or a ghost.
No one answered, so Tim shook Kolb by the arm sharply enough that his shield kicked on, throwing the hand away painfully.
"Get it together! We need to know time scales, now."
"Right. About six hours for the wave, maybe half that. The rest, well... that will start in a few weeks. Right now the big danger is to the land masses. Afrak... That crazy bitch hit her own home? Her people aren't ready to face this kind of thing. She made certain of it."
No one spoke for a bit, which had a frozen and still component to it, like they just didn't have a plan to cope with this kind of thing, Ancient or not. Timon grabbed his communications device. Then he froze. Who could do anything about this at all? The answer he got wasn't a fun one, since he didn't really understand it, but it was simple enough. He could.
Not easily. Not alone. It wouldn't help the people that drowned under the waves either, but the energy of the world could be held on its current course, if he hurried and got enough help... Which wasn't possible, he realized. If every person on the planet had been a builder, they could have worked as one, possibly, and changed this. As it was, he was one man. A boy. And nothing he did would stop the waves from coming. The rest, the damage to the world, would come as well. He was thinking too big for the moment, and if he kept trying to do that nothing
would get done at all.
"So move the people?" He whispered the words and knew it wasn't going to be enough. He tried to get in touch with Alice anyway. In case she was willing to help. She was the one with a fleet of fast ships that could hold a lot of people.
"Orange, go."
No words came out. It took so long that she had to speak again, her voice slightly amused.
"This is Alice Orange, who called?"
Timon took a shuddering breath and forced words out, hoping he'd say something close to correct.
"Timon Baker. Alice... The others, the Ancients... They set off..."
He expected Kolb to talk then and explain, but it was Doris that leapt forward, yelling.
"It's a nuclear cascade. In... I see three locations. South America, Africa and now Australia. Alice... They've killed us all. That crazy renegade twat and her dead friends have done it!" She did not sound happy about it, and Alice at least responded with a question, if not the right one.
"Who is this?"
"Doris! We're in geo-stat orbit right now, watching. We'll check the other side of the world. This is... The devastation... Why? Why?"
It was pretty clear that they'd gotten about all the good they were going to out of her, so Timon forced himself to take back over as both Kolb and Trice were busily getting in touch with people on their own devices. After about ten seconds, Timon just started barking orders, knowing that half of them were stupid, and not caring anymore.
"Alice, we need to get all our ships to Austra. Kolb!" He was on with Brown after all, who was clearly already up on what had happened in his part of the world. "We're sending the ships in. Get the Austrans in the affected areas ready to move out. We won't have enough room for everyone... Damn... Mags, get us to the Ranford. I have some things there. We'll drop shields with flight rigs too. Denno... we'll need him to put orders out over your system as to how to use them."
Kolb didn't hesitate to start that going and neither, it sounded like, did Orange. Mags however just sat, not moving.
