by P. S. Power
They left quickly, after Glaren promised to have the meals ready for them in forty minutes, even if it meant killing the others to get it done. They used Tim's craft to get to the staging area by the prison, only to find that nine craft were already set up, ready to go. That made sense, Tor would work the last one and they'd have enough.
That wasn't the plan though. Kolb pointed to David Derring who was near the other school students, going over how to use a force lance properly. As far as Tor could tell they'd been at it for some time. There weren't a lot of kids that needed that kind of training with them however. About twelve. The rest were fighters already. He looked for his sister, half expecting her to have run off to kill Sandra and her extended relations, but she walked over, having been watching what Davie did pretty closely.
When she got to him she seemed a bit dour, but didn't start yelling at him or anything. Really she sounded pretty reasonable, given the load of anger she had to be feeling inside. He could only find anxiety and sadness though. As he focused, clearing his mind of all distraction, the pattern was clearer. She was hiding her true feelings from him, by simply mastering them. It wasn't going to last, he didn't think, but it was a good effort. One that was better than a lot of people could manage even for a short while.
Without warning, as was becoming his habit, Cordes took over and spoke, using his mouth. It was annoying. Enough so that Tor decided to have a talk with the man about it. Later though, when no one else would be watching.
"Tiera, you mentioned something about getting a satellite locked onto some people. Would one of them happen to be Sandra Morris?"
She chuckled darkly and then shook her head at him.
"Of course. I forgot about that after I heard, being too angry for clear thinking. The device Blue gave me for that is in my room, at school, but I can track her anywhere she goes, as long as she doesn't leave low orbit of the planet. The same with her father and mother. I tried for Grandmother Gray, but I was told off a bit for it, since that's someone else's project. We could go get that, and have her dead by morning, most likely, as long as we hurry. Before they get a chance to strike again."
There was a strange silence to most of the people listening, mainly soldiers, but it was that Kolb and Thorgas were coming by to talk to him. Or at least one of them. He sort of missed Alphonse at the moment. People always focused on him when he was around, and he was so big. That made him an excellent shield. Socially speaking that was. If a fight broke out Tor would do his best to protect his friend no matter what. That went without saying.
So did the idea of finding the fugitive. It was a very hard case, since Tor actually liked the woman, but he'd also witnessed her kill someone with his own eyes. She wasn't at war at the time either, so that argument wouldn't hold. It was the one he was using for the day himself. It had been a war.
All those poor men and women on the field.
They hadn't stood a chance.
"We should track her position and watch it. We can always pick her up later, no matter how far she runs, or how deep she hides, it's the one good thing about that system. The bad thing is that anyone can find us using it, and the same things apply. We might be able to find her whole family that way however, plus anyone outside of her father's forces that seek to help her." He shrugged, but it seemed different, forced and not the natural thing he always used. "We might lose her somehow still, but that isn't going to happen. I think it's worth the risk, even if she does nothing but climb in the best transportation she can find and head for Soam. Of all of us Julie is the one that might give her shelter, but I can't see Sandra doing that. She's a girl of this land and has no clue how to make her way anywhere else. It narrows her options. Functionally she almost has to run and hide with one of the other conspirators now. Anything else would be too dangerous for her."
Everyone stood around, looking at Tiera hard, a few faces seeming worried. Probably that his sister would lash out in her anger and grief and destroy innocent people. Tor could understand that feeling himself. The girl had a temper at times. She simply nodded though, then turned away, to look at the new prison, which was still nearly featureless on the outside, but brightly colored. The main door was there however, which had been re-worked to look like black glass. You could even see through it a little.
"That was a good idea, putting the captives in front of the Palace like that. Anyone trying to hit it the same way again would risk slaughtering their own people first. That won't stop a madman of course, but that sort of thing starts to make you look bad back home, killing your own people." It clearly wasn't an answer, and it didn't seem the girl wanted to give one at the moment. Either too deep in thought, or planning to simply kill Sandra anyway and just not wanting to argue about it with him.
Cordes wasn't fooled either though.
"Tiera, I can't tell you how to act, not in any real way. I'm not the King, or our parents, just your brother. But I beg you to think before you act, and consider the greater good. I agree that we must stop this threat at this point, and that will end in the deaths of the Morris family, but we can prevent more death and destruction here. Only if you can manage to withhold your vengeance for a time however. Remember though, you're immortal. You have all the time you need to see this done correctly." This time the words didn't even sound like him at all. They were all in Royal Noram, and he sounded more like the King than Richard did most of the time. Soon he'd be referring to himself in the third person if this kept up.
Plus... It was odd, but every time Cordes spoke to his sister the man kept seeming to be on her side, more or less. Tor understood that it was time for hard choices and decisions, since a real war was upon them now, but the Ancient King seemed to think almost nothing of it. It was as if the man inside Tor's head actually understood what his sister was doing. Tor... fought for that kind of knowing, but kept failing really. Sandra wasn't his girlfriend or anything, but she'd been around and polite enough to him. Even willing to sleep with him. Her lashing out had gotten someone innocent killed, but something deep inside of him wanted to just forgive her for that.
Cordes didn't think that would work at all.
His sister turned and met his brown eyes with hers. Different genetic patterns or not, they both looked pretty close to the same, Tor thought. Worse, with her cute face and ultra short fighters haircut, the tiny girl in front of him probably looked more manly than he did right now.
"I get all the time I need, but what about Reggie? Sandra is out, free and living her life, and my friend is in her grave, rotting. A pile of bones and gore wrapped in a shroud. Why should Sandra Morris be the one to live? This whole thing started with her, and with her father. I... don't really care about the rest of her family, except that it's pretty obvious that they'll try to kill me if I leave them alive. Sandra caused this though and she deserves to die. It wasn't just the one thing, no matter what people think, or my own grief tells me. She made this all happen." The tiny frame stretched up, dressed in fighting leathers that managed to look like a child playing dress-up, since they were new and sharp looking, instead of worn and creased with use. There was a flash of resolve for a few seconds.
Cordes did the same thing though and took a single step closer to her.
"Agreed. I don't believe the woman is evil, but she made mistakes that shouldn't have happened. It's never easy to swallow pride however, and she is, if nothing else, a noble of Noram, born and bred. By custom she knows the price for her failures here and no one is going to stop you, when you move to act. At this point we're all honor and duty bound to aid you. In this moment though, you hold the key that might, possibly, unlock a rebellion and save millions of lives."
He started pacing, which wasn't really a habit of his, and the voice grew louder, clearly to allow himself to be heard by those around him. The military men, the other Knights, even the school children that were starting to move closer to them.
"My brother Timon Baker, and his Weapons Master Petra Ward, have sought to strike deep into this si
tuation, by withholding the magical healing devices from those Counties that seem to be striking against us and our King. This is a brilliant, and monstrous move. Let no one here think it otherwise. Millions will die from it." He turned to face the military men, and floated up into the air by about ten feet, so that he could be clearly seen.
For a long time it felt like, people stared at him, everyone else going silent to a point where only the rustling of gently moving bodies could be heard. The creak of shoes on dirt and the sound of ragged breathing. He could see just enough of Petra's face to notice she looked ready to kill him and Timon was totally out of view, but his field said he was relaxed about the whole thing.
"Millions of innocent children. Women that have done nothing more to harm us than taking in laundry of soldiers, so that their children can be fed in hard times. The old shop man with his wooden leg and his mangy dog... All dead. If we don't seek to end this before that happens. War is the movement, and death, of armies, not the innocent. Not in a perfect world. We can make this end though, get the devices to these places in time, but only if we act with honor, courage and fortitude. What I need to know right now, what we all need to hear, is are you with us?"
There was no reaction for a good fifteen seconds and Tor started to feel a bit awkward, but Cordes stayed in control and scanned the faces of those in front of them, eyes locking with tall men and a few women. They didn't seem to hating him at the moment, even after the announcement he'd just made.
Then he bellowed, which made Tor want to jump a bit.
"Are you with us?" The sound was deep and made his throat hurt from it.
The others all responded though, cheering. There was no sense of articulation or chanting in it, just general yelling in support, but it was enough it seemed, and Cordes spread his hands out, as if to hug someone. It was a bizarre move but when it was winding down he started to speak again.
"This is only the first visible move in the game. Today we won, and struck a blow against those that would seek to use force to rule in place of law and honor. The days to come will be as bloody, as hard, and many here might well lose their lives to protect the innocent. But I tell you this, when I lie down at night, my head and conscience will be satisfied and I will feel safe, knowing that all of you stand for what is good, and right, and will act tirelessly to see that the innocent will once again be vindicated in their trust of us!"
There was more cheering, but at least the man let him sink to the ground. Then promptly gave control back over to Tor, so that he could feel the stares of everyone around him and make up some lies as to why he did that.
Smythe marched over, a very funny look on his face then, and Kolb was very clearly hiding laughter. It had to be pretty ridiculous, all of that coming from him, didn't it?
There was no yelling though, just a somber look directed at Timon. Not Petra. Just the boy, which seemed very nearly out of place.
"I take it that those devices are still available? It might prove efficacious to have them on hand. Next time, please run such ideas past me, will you? Richard won't be pleased by this. As Tor just announced, this is both brilliant and monstrous. It pays to avoid the latter state, in general. Even in war."
Sara put a hand on Tor's back, probably because Petra was still glaring at him for letting the word out. Not that he blamed her at all. Still, did she think that it was going to stay secret forever? Wasn't it a better plan to spread the blame a bit, before people died?
The tall girl moved to him, her face looking like he was about to get a physical beating, but her words were just a bit betrayed sounding.
"Thanks a lot. Now everyone knows that I was a part of this."
He rolled his eyes and then gave a shake of the head.
"And almost no one will care. No, they'll all blame me for it. My little brother. My healing devices being withheld. Every one of those dead will be laid at my doorstep. Hurrah. At the end of this I'll be the one driven from the kingdom for my evil deeds, no matter who starts them for me." He shrugged, trying not to sound angry over it, "let's arrange for the pick-up and go over the plan. We have some food coming. I brought some coin so that people can be paid for their goods. Tim, can you procure some emergency rations, to be delivered to the city? I don't know if anyone will think it's anything more than you and I buying their good will, but right now I need all the favor from people I can gather, I think."
They all had roles to play in things, but it was General Thorgas that took the floating chest of coins from him. He assigned some man named Brown to be the quartermaster for it all and promised to have a careful account of how everything was spent.
Then they bustled about, going over how everything would be done, and at Kolb's urging, actually practicing three different pick up methods, using a group of bored soldiers and school kids that were all a little cranky seeming to stand in for the various noblemen.
On the second pass, the "nobles" rebelled suddenly, instead of running through it with best speed. It was both hilarious, and, Tor thought at least, about right.
"No, I will not be man handled! I'm an important person and my will must be obeyed! Now, see to the luggage, girl, and then provide a comfortable pillow for my Lady wife." Will Sorenson snapped his fingers twice. "Hop, hop! We don't have all day! Why are you taking so long. Someone get me a drink of wine. Now!"
The military man he was talking to didn't really like being called a girl and started to hit the boy for insolence, but stopped when Karen reminded him that the man had his own army back home. That started a lot of play acting though, and for some reason Kolb let it go on. They ran all of the plans more than once and on the last one the group of girls being escorted to David Derring's craft suddenly broke free of their escort, screaming, for no reason that Tor could tell. They didn't even call anything out, just ran away in different directions, arms flapping as they did. It was shocking at first, but a bit funny when the four military men tried to catch them, to physically place them on the craft for their own safety.
In the end the girls won though and escaped into the "city".
Glaren sent three new people with the floating trunks filled with food, all covered and on rather hastily constructed looking focus stone plates and bowls. They weren't artistic, but it just got Guide to walk over and look at them, shaking his head. Then he went away, not mentioning what he had planned at all.
The food was delivered, and the military men looked a bit envious of the fact, which got Tim to wave his arms.
"Don't worry, we have a meal coming for you too. Sorry about the delay, but we needed to get the supplies. In the mean time we have some fruit, both fresh and dried, to tide you over. I know it isn't a lot, but please bear with us." Then he popped the back on his craft, to show the crates there and turned to Tor. "You're paying for this by the way. Full retail value. I had other plans for it. Now I'll have to get more. I'd add a surcharge, but you haven't seen what happens after this if not enough food is available, and I have. At least no one is too hungry yet. I hope you have some kind of plans as far as that goes? This won't last long."
It was a pain, but he realized they kind of did have something, since the people at Lairdgren had probably been cooking and baking all night, worried about what was happening. He needed to get back there, or at least get a message to them. How that was going to happen he didn't know.
Finally he sent Tiera. After all, she wanted the device Blue had given her anyway, and she wasn't one of the drivers taking anyone else home, those positions being given to the older Instructors from the school. They had a lot of them, and a few advanced fighting students as well. Really capable and very well armed ones that kept showing up just at the right time.
He nearly smiled about it.
That done it was time to see to the others, which meant hovering right over the Palace and then landing on the street in a long line, with guards stationed along the route, ready to fight if they had to. It was almost everyone they could spare, including the kids, just to bulk up the n
umber of bodies so that it would look more impressive. They all shifted to the bright green and yellow costume, which was more comical than anything, but marked them as being Lairdgren "forces" as young as they were. Even the younger fighters did it, which made it seem more official, since a lot of them were huge and muscular.
The first thing that happened, the very first, was a clutch of about eighty people pushing through the shield all at once. Tor wasn't a math genius, but even he could tell it was about thirty more people than he'd said they could take. Especially since every single one of them had luggage.
There was a moment's hesitation on the street then, as they all mixed and mingled in their large clutch, half of them dropping their trunks and bags, since they had plentiful amounts of them. The only one that seemed half ready was the old Count Isle, and the two people with him, an older woman that seemed to be a servant, but could be his wife, if she was in disguise, and a middle aged man that stood in front of them, holding a sharp looking blade, ready to protect them all if attack came. Old or not, the Count and his people had packed light and held what they had with them. A single small bag each, the rest clearly left behind. It was brilliant of them.
"You!" Tor yelled at him, pointing rudely with a single finger, since most of these people didn't think of him as a friend anyway. "First Carriage. Go. The driver will get directions from you in the air. Everyone else... We aren't leaving the military guards, so bags or people, but if it doesn't fit, it stays. We won't have arguments over it. You were all warned about this. Next group up. No pushing, we can load faster than you can get ready. Go, go! All of these carriages will be gone in two minutes, loaded or not. The shield won't be lifted for you either, so if you don't want to risk walking the streets, I suggest you don't dither."
He frowned at the people waiting for someone to explode at him, but they roughly moved then. It took nearly fifteen minutes to get them all in place and they weren't actually abandoned, but it left piles of luggage and twenty-three people just standing there. Most of them nobles and about two thirds being second sons and daughters. So fairly high ranking people that way. That was less than kind of their families, but it was a fact of life. The Heir was always the more important one. That left a problem though, since the Royal Guards really weren't going to lift the shield at all.
