Still Falling: Book 1: Solstice 31 Saga (13 page)

Then he realized Po was not there.

“Where's Po?” A window opened instantly showing her standing just beyond the curtain combing her hair.

“I'm here.” He heard her through the curtain. He watched her suddenly rush to braid her hair. He watched her fingers fly in well-practiced motions.

Without thinking, he said, “You can use the mirror to do that.” He realized his mistake at once when she froze. She paused only for an instant, took the leather string from her mouth and braided it into her hair for the last twenty centimeters and used it to tie off the braid.

She came through the curtain then. To distract her from the comment he asked, “Where's Olias?”

She sat on a corner of the bed and folded her hands in her lap. “He moved his cot to another room yesterday. In the 'dorm wing' I think you called it. He said you granted permission.” Her eyes darted to the mirror where Barcus could see her and he knew she could see him in the dim light of the freshly stoked fire.

“I tried not to wake you,” Barcus said.

“Can I ask another question? You don't need to answer if it is a secret,” she said, looking at her hands in her lap.

“You can always ask me questions,” Barcus said as he rose up on his elbow.

“How do some things hold the magic? Forever?” She looked at the mirror again. He realized that the reflection frightened her a little.

“Some things have magic in their nature. Like that mirror. Like the fire gives us light and heat,” he said.

“But the Keepers can create magic. They can control the wind and speak to people impossibly far away. They have ships that can fly in the sky, I've seen them. They can make light in the darkness without heat or fire. They can know things without learning them. I have seen all these things,” she stated.

Barcus had no idea where to start.

She got up and went into the other room briefly and carried back with her the four small books. She held them as if they were made of glass and fragile beyond reason. She sat them down on the bed next to him.

She picked up the smallest one, the children's book and tentatively opened it. “How does magic get into these shapes?” She was acting as if he might strike her at any moment.

The page was a simple, hand-drawn image of a small boy reaching for an apple on a tree. The page had the single word “apple” written below in formal block letters. The letter “A” was artfully highlighted.

“This says 'apple.' This is the letter called 'A.' it is the first letter of the alphabet.” He sat up closer and pointed to the stylized letter.

Po pointed to the word on the opposite page. “Bee?” The drawing was a honey bee. Simple but clear in its depiction.

“Yes. Exactly.” He looked at her eyes then. They were filling with as yet unspilled tears.

“Why would you tell me this?” Her lips trembled.

He was confused again. He always seems to step in it.

“Because I said I would tell the truth.” He didn't know what else to say.

“Other Keepers would kill me for asking this, for knowing this. It's forbidden.” She sobered.

“I told you things are going to be different.” Serious now.

That was when Barcus decided that he was going to teach her to read. Olias as well.

“You would trust me with so much power?” she whispered, incredulous, searching in his eyes.

I trust you with my life, Po
, he thought to himself and didn't know why. But “yes” was all he said. Barcus picked up the small book and handed it to her as if in ceremony. “This is your book now, Po.” She slowly took the book. Her face was a mix of wonder and fear and awe. “I am going to teach you to read. You will know all the small shapes that represent all the things in the world. It is true. It will make you more powerful than you know. It may be the greatest single gift I could ever give you.”

He wanted to reach out and touch her. They slept in the same bed, so he was sure she wouldn't draw away. But he chose not to.

“Will you teach me something?” he asked.

“What could I possibly teach you?” Po asked.

“How to make that excellent tea. It's a kind of magic as well...” They both smiled.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

M is for Magic

“Barcus was kept distracted with food and comforts as more villages burned. The Emergency Module allowed these mercenaries to create a buffer around them.”

--Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Emergency Module Digital Forensics Report. Independent Tech Analysis Team.

<<<>>>

The temperature had remained above freezing that night, and a light mist of rain did its best to eliminate the rest of the snow.

He was sitting in the gatehouse, putting on his boots after getting dressed in the fresh clothes Po had laid out. He was going over plans with Em as he did.

Po came in then with a bowl of porridge and a mug of tea.

“Yes, I am going to eat right now,” she said before he could open his mouth. She went right out. Em brought her up in his HUD. She did go out and make a large bowl for herself, with honey and something else she sprinkled in. Barcus looked down and then tasted his own. There were crushed nuts in it.

He smiled and ate as Em gave him the morning briefing. Inventories had been updated with the items Par had obtained on this run. Security status was provided with no sign of additional soldiers and expanded area of coverage. Silently Barcus wished there had been less detail regarding the collection of the corpses and their burning in a sand quarry nearby. One item was in red.

“What was the negative issue?” Barcus asked. Par replied herself.

“I believe I was seen sir.” Par allowed him a moment to ask a question if he liked before she went on. “I was only an hour outside Greenwarren when I spotted the thermal signature of two people that hid as I approached. It was just after dusk, and there may have been enough light that they may have seen me. They were not armed, and the probability that they were a threat was minimal. So I ignored them.”

“Very well. Where's Ash?”

“He is performing another salvage run to the Estate,” Par said.

“He won't be able to carry much back with him.”

“Olias has gone with him, with both horses. He plans on bringing back a wagon filled with items needed,” Em replied this time.

He laughed and had some more oatmeal.

Em interjected, “I recommend you allow them to do as they will. It will improve life in Whitehall for you and keep them busy. We have perfect weather to retrieve the STU. You and Par should go first thing in the morning after she gets unloaded. Oh, and you need to prepare Po and Olias in case they are there when Par arrives.”

“They were okay with Ash,” Barcus argued. It just hung there.

“If all goes well, you will be gone only a week at most,” Em said. “I don't know if it is too early, but the Plate is now configured for our local comm network. You could leave it with Po in case of emergencies.”

“How would I explain that?” asked Barcus

“It's in a leather bookbinder case now. Just tell her it's a magic book, and if she opens it and speaks to it, you will hear her. She doesn't need to know that we monitor them both full-time already, and it is just so we can speak to her. We will also have Ash there. He can talk to them if need be.”

“All right,” Barcus decided.

The day went by quickly. Barcus began a detailed survey via visual scans and measuring of Whitehall so he could create a 3D model that would facilitate repairs, renovations and enhanced utilization of the spaces. Lists grew as Po talked with Olias or Barcus about the kitchen garden, seeds, baskets, carts, wheelbarrows, goats, chickens, tools and hundreds of other things.

Barcus noticed a new window in the throne room list simply marked “people.” It included farmers, stone masons, carpenters, coopers, blacksmiths and even a vintner.

“Em, this is looking a little ambitious. I just wanted to be left alone, not draw attention until I can figure out what to do.”

Em's avatar walked into the room and sat down on the step that led up to the dais of the main hall.

“Barcus, what is it that you want here?”

Barcus stopped his pacing.

“We need to know what the real goals are so I can help move toward them. Survival was the initial goal. Escape and evasion. But here is the thing.” She actually waited until Barcus was looking at her. “I don't think they know we are here.” She let it sink in. “We have seen their ships. We've seen the tech they have. It's very old, but it still works. We have killed a lot of their people.”

He was scanning the many windows for clues. They all slowly faded except the local tactical map.

“If you knew there was a dangerous adversary loose in this region, what would you do?” she asked.

“Aerial search sweeps, coordinated ground searches, detailed crash site investigation.”

“What do we have instead? Coordinated Regional Genocide. I don't think these events are related at all. I also don't believe that this is the first time something like this mass killing has happened. The ruins are not all recent. Just look at The Abbey. What the hell happened here thirty years ago? A bomb went off here, and not a small one.”

“Are you saying getting the STU is too much of a risk?”

“I am saying the opposite. I don't think whoever runs this planet is watching at all.

“So I ask again. Barcus, what is it that you want here?”

He was thinking.

“Well here are some options.” She ticked off a finger. “If you decide you want to simply survive and live out your days on this planet, we are in an excellent position for that. The major downside is there would be no longevity treatments. You'd only get another 90 years or so tops before you die of old age.”

She ticked off her second finger.

“Next option: Rescue. Tougher to pull off, but if these fuckers have an automated defense grid, I'd bet they have a hyperdrive capable ship or an old school Tesla Comm Node.” Barcus was amused by her tone.

She ticked up a third finger.

“Third option: Vengeance. Find out who is responsible for killing Chen and the others and make those sons of bitches pay.” The violent undertone in her voice surprised him.

He thought for a minute before speaking.

“The next step on all of those plans would be to retrieve the STU. Even if it's just for the transportation, med bay and the fabricator,” Barcus said.

She stood and walked to him. “Look, Barcus. It's my job to keep you safe. I need to know what you are thinking to best do that.”

Just then the door opened. When Po looked in, he was just standing in the center of a room that was dimming with the coming of dusk. She looked around and all six fireplaces were burned down to beds of coals, and a chill was beginning to return.

“Olias is back.” She paused. “...with Ash.”

“I'll be there in a moment,” he said.

She averted her eyes as if she had been dismissed and backed out, closing the door.

“I want to survive first. Figure out what is going on here, and make them pay. Then maybe the rescue after. If any of it matters by then.”

His voice was harsh again. He had no idea Po overheard him. He always felt angry when he realized he was talking to himself. Yes, he knew it was an excellent computer interface. But it was not real. And Chen wrote it. Maybe that's why he felt so angry.

Chen was dead. All his friends and crewmates were dead.

How many times would that realization continue to kick him in the guts?

***

He found Olias unhitching one of the horses from the newly salvaged wagon as Po was pointing and directing Ash where to put a huge crate that was on the wagon. Barcus knew Ash could have carried the entire wagon and load if needed. At least he wasn't making them afraid.

As soon as Olias had stabled the horses and saw to their needs, he was off.

“Does that boy ever walk anywhere?”

Po smiled wistfully. “He has never had so much. A full belly twice a day is heaven to him. But three times a day, a warm, dry bed, rooms of his own and more. It's like the winter solstice feast every day for him.”

“He doesn't miss his family?” He knew this was her feeling as well.

“There is none to miss. His parents had died before he was six. His masters since then offered only work and deprivation, if not abuse and cruelty.”

Ash took another load to the kitchen, Po watching him.

“It's not alive,” she said. “Ash I mean. Not really alive. I can feel it. It's just a tool brought to life by magic. It’s not dead either because it was never alive.”

“Yes. A tool.” Barcus marveled at how perceptive she was.

“Like any tool, it's neither good nor bad, in and of itself.”

He realized she was trying to sort something out for herself. She looked up at him, one of the rare times she looked in his eyes.

“Ash is an extension of your will, isn't he? Like a woodsman's ax but more useful and more dangerous.”

“Yes,” he replied carefully.

She nodded and began to walk away.

“Po. In the morning, Pardosa will return.” She stopped and looked back.

“You know I have seen her?” Po asked him. “More than once. And she has seen me. I can feel it. That one IS alive.”

“I have to go away for a few days. I will take Pardosa with me. I'll be safe.” He watched the wrinkle appear on her brow. “I will leave Ash here to watch over you and Olias.”

She said nothing. She looked down.

“I won't be gone long.”

“Is there anything you would like us to do while you are gone, my Lord?” She was playing stiff upper lip. He could see it. “Besides eat too much, three times a day?” A smile struggled up to her eyes.

“Actually, there is. I will show you later. Let's go see what Olias is up to,” he invited.

***

Po knew where Olias had selected his rooms. They were not the largest rooms in the dorm wing, but they were nearest to the midden on that level. Barcus knocked on the door. Though Em had a monitoring window for him already, Barcus wanted to see for himself the room that Olias had been fixing up. There was already a huge pile of firewood in the hall outside his room, a whole winter’s worth. Ash had been busy.

Olias opened the door with a huge smile and a sweeping wave of his arm.

The fire was blazing. The room was very warm already, warmer than Barcus liked for himself. Olias had a single-sized bed, but it was a canopy bed with heavy drapes he could draw. He had many blankets and pillows. In front of the fire were two mismatched but comfy looking chairs. He had a small round table and three stools. All of this was on thick carpets that overlapped each other, covering the entire floor. Each wall had a trunk. One was small and the other two were large enough for Olias to hide in.

Barcus noticed there were two swords and three daggers resting on his low mantel but said nothing.

“I presume by this you have decided to stay?” Barcus tried in his common tongue.

“Oh yes. I've never had my own room or a real bed before. Thank you.” Olias said in common, translated by Em.

Suddenly Em's voice was in his head and a Tactical Map in his vision.
“We have an incoming, high altitude ship that is on a direct intercept vector with Whitehall.”

Po saw him look over his shoulder and head suddenly toward the throne room as if he had heard a sound.

“How far away is it? What is the ETA?” he asked to the empty part of the room as he arrived.

“ETA: 11 minutes 41 seconds,”
came her crisp reply

“What is its altitude?” he asked, ignoring the looks from Olias and Po.

“Barcus, if it has a bomb, you could get clear in eleven minutes.”

“Show me the trajectory since detection.” A very straight line appeared from the east. He was walking back to the main hall. “How did you detect it? Show me possible sites of origin.” The map shifted and reversed along the same vector until it fell upon a series of islands well off the eastern coast to the far south. There was a major city marked there. Cookesthrow Shoals and the city of Millsea.

He looked down and finally realized Po and Olias had followed him. He barked questions at them.

“What do you know about the East Islands? What about the city of Millsea?”

Po answered first. “They... they make boats there. Ships. For sea trade.”

Olias added, “They are very rich there.”

“What else?” Barcus gave himself only two minutes to decide whether they should run.

Po answered, “They have only one Keeper there, and all the other Keepers hate him.”

“Millsea is here.” Olias ran across the floor and stood on an irregular pattern on the floor on the far side of the room.

From where he stood now, he could see it. The floor of the hall had a map of the world marked into the artful flagstone. Em shifted the tactical overlay to the floor. The ship was moving fast directly toward the throne.

“Come!” Barcus said.

The order left no doubt it was to be obeyed.

They ran to the stables and Barcus commanded them onto the horses, bareback, and to follow him.