The Silence Within (The Young Ancients: Tiera) (37 page)

Sam spoke, having not left his post by the door, an explosive weapon still trained on the fallen form of White.

"I... Agree with Karen and Alice. We have to stop these people and we can't take any more risks. This one, White... I nearly started fighting with you when you moved, to protect
her
and I
knew
she was bad. If the rest can bring anything like that to the fight at all, or look like people we know, then what else can we do?" The worst part there, for Tiera at least, was that she knew he was right. They all were.

But Tor was her
brother
. There had to be something that could be done. Some way to make it so that he'd be spared.

"The others, at least this one and Blue, Cordes Blue I mean, they both had those sets from childhood right? The Rhetistics that put a full mind in place? Tor is different, he has a personality too. Maybe he can fight it? I..." What she was doing was busily grasping at straws.

Doris however regarded her peacefully and after a few moments of deep thought, agreed.

"I cannot assure that, but it seems our best hope there. Tor is a formidable person, for one so young. He dedicated himself to his chosen task and in doing so has learned great control over his own being. Cordes, the version inside him, is much older however. About five hundred years. To think that he has no influence would be foolish, but perhaps we can do something to..." She faltered, which wasn't like her at all. Her face locked into place, looking like a slightly rounder version of white. Not as pretty, but so close that it didn't matter as far as most people went, if she wished to push things with them.

 Tiera nodded.

"I know. I can see it. I just can't do it. I
have
to try and save him, even if it's stupid and gets me killed."

It was Alice that changed everything, back in control of herself suddenly.

"Well, right now we need to do some things. First we need to see if Julie lives. The place to do that is in the Antarctic. I believe, if we are careful that we can take Cordes Blue without issue. That won't work if all the Blue's are against us however. Either way, we can use their equipment to find her. Let's get Digs to set a course and sequester the body. I don't wish to frighten the crew."

Havar nodded.

"We should also assure Crewman Smith that he doesn't have to turn the craft off yet. Tiera set him the task of making certain the ship wasn't taken."

That got Alice Orange to give a very fierce looking grin.

"
Excellent
. Very good thinking."

They had to fix things and hide the body in a floating box, made to look more like a casket than something with treasure in it. It was plain and looked like raw pine, made with no decorations at all. There was a seam that showed where the lid was, but nothing else.

It didn't take long to find the right spot, only about fifteen minutes, and another twenty to descend on the icy place at the bottom of the world.

The first time Tiera had seen it, the thing had looked wrong, like it didn't fit, but now that she'd seen other things with similar construction, she got the idea. It was made of seamless metal, assembled slowly over a long time, but super strong and durable, as well as being highly insulated, so that they didn't lose much heat to the elements. A kind of metallic foam, was how it had been explained to her by Blue three. It was gray at the moment, but looked different depending on the light. It was a bit dark out right now.

The full craft they were in was far too large to fit in the entry dock, which was in the side of the artificial mountain the Blue's lived in, so Tiera waved at Alice with an idea.

"We can use my Fast Craft to go over. We'll need an air lock..." That, even though she'd been to the moon, was about the end of what she knew in that regard. Luckily Alice had a plan for it already, so that part didn't take long.

It involved a very large, and empty room at the back of the vehicle, one with plain flooring and a high ceiling. There were even lines on the ground to tell her where to set her craft up and then where to float it around, in case they had other such things in there. It was very efficient seeming and not a thing that Tiera would have ever bothered to dream up at all.

The dead clone was loaded into the back, by Karen and Havar, who didn't need to be asked to do it, and for some reason they all climbed in when it was time for them to leave. Not Wendy, who opted to stay on the bigger craft, feeling more than a little worked up already, but Smith, who'd held his hand on the wall in the hallway, ready to end them all, he got in and looked frightened, but determined to do what he could, no matter how little, or much, that was.

His boss, Alice, didn't stop him either, so Tiera didn't mention it.

No one even said anything when Sam passed the slightly older man that looked a lot like himself a force lance either. They both glanced at Havar, but he didn't even blink about it.

Aunt Alice shook her head, instead of giving concrete orders.

"We don't know what we'll find. If we need to fight, do it. If it seems like we're losing, then the fighters will stand and buy time for Sam, Doris and Smith to run. Someone has to make certain they see to ending this, if we fail."

It was actually a very good point, wasn't it? They were already in the docking section of the fake metal mountain, and unlike last time the open gap closed behind them, the outer room warming enough that when she got out, her breath wasn't showing in the air. It certainly made it all much more pleasant.

 She took the vehicle all the way down, leaving the casket in the back to float along behind Karen, who had the control for it on her. Doris moved directly to the main control panel and spoke with an even tone that sounded a lot less like an invasion than what Tiera had been planning to use. It was the smarter thing to do, but she was a bit worked up from the fight still. Ready to do more if she had to.

"Hello, within. This is Doris, of command section two. We have several visitors from Noram, as well as Alice Orange. May we come to visit?" It sounded polite enough that the wall didn't keep them out this time, a door simply forming to the right of them almost instantly, a panel in the blue-gray expanse simply sliding to the side.

That led to a little room that was hard to fit everyone
and
the box into, but with a bit of careful arranging they managed it. Then it felt like they were falling briefly. Moving downward, at a bit less than the speed of falling.

 When the door opened they were met by Blue Four. She was the youngest, and being a clone, looked like all the others, exactly, except that she was smaller. The Blues all went by
she,
except for Cordes, and they did look like decently attractive, if less than busty, women. They weren't though. They were hermaphrodites, which meant they had both genders, not just one.

They also all had the personality of a throw rug, but weren't hard to get along with, just flat and emotionless for the most part. Again, except Cordes, who was just a bit... off.

Four bowed however, getting one back from everyone, including Orange. She was the Noram Ambassador after all, so she knew the tricks now. She'd taken time to learn them when she'd been visiting.

"Greetings. I am Blue Four. May I inquire as to the reason for your arrival here?" It had that same bluntness that all but Cordes used. It was expected, so Tiera moved forward and put a hand out to touch her arm.

"Hello Four. We have some serious things to discuss. We'll need to talk to all of you about it, if possible. I also have a communications device for you, back on the new ship. You'll like that, I think. Space worthy and decently quick. It would be most efficient to explain to all of you at once, if possible?" She made the effort to speak clearly and logically, since all of the people they were meeting with did.

"I will enquire. Perhaps refreshments? I can have the processor make almost anything you wish."

It was true, but also a waste of energy, which meant she was trying to follow Noram guest rules, rather than the ones the Antarctic normally held to.

"Not needed, thank you. We recently dined."

"Very good. One moment."

If it had been anyone else, Tiera would have expected a trap to be sprung and still stood in the hallway they were left in with a level of alertness that she normally reserved for being actively attacked. Karen and Havar did better, and the Ancients looked nearly at home, just chatting lightly in some language that she didn't know, but no doubt Blue would. It had some similarities to Noram standard, but wasn't.

Sam worked himself into a meditative state, and she followed along, trying to be perceptive of the flow around her, the fields and information coming in.

Only Smith seemed really nervous then, but the man was very far from home and it wasn't that strange for him to seem that way, was it? He was fighting his very genetic pattern to do what he was, and so far, winning. It took more courage than most ever showed and more than that, he had to do it over and again, each day. Like the others in the program with him. Even the merchant and noble types were taking a risk, going into the unknown.

She was thinking that when Four came back with the others, and gestured for them to follow into a side room that had chairs and a table. It was a very blue space, everything decorated that way, from the table top itself, to its legs, the chairs and every surface around them. The only variation was that some of the shades were slightly different from the others, so that you didn't go mad from it. Just nearly.

 It took work to get the box in, but a few minutes later they were all settled, Cynthia Blue regarding them all blankly, her nose covered with just enough freckles, all very light, to break up her otherwise pale skin.

"You have information for us?"

Alice stood, and nodded, smiling a bit.

"Correct. There is a massive attempt to take over the planet, one which includes the mass extinction of humanity, which is happening right now. We know that Cordes is instrumental, and believe that Gray is also involved. We have the body of a Julie White clone with us, that holds a Cordes Rhetistic set. The head is caved in, but you should be able to tell enough to assure yourself of the validity of the claim. Right now we need to take your Cordes in, and possibly kill him."

Tiera waited for the fight to start, or at least something like that to happen, instead Blue just regarded the version of her that was Cordes and nodded. Then she turned back to Orange and made a very atypical sidelong glance at Doris.

 "Understood. Naturally the assumption will be that since I put the Cordes Rhetistics in place, I might be involved in the rest of it? If this is the actual situation. First, we should examine the evidence you bring. Cordes, please go to the holding chamber, until that is finished? Then we can hold a civilized conversation about the whole thing and see what might be done about it, whatever it actually is."

Cordes stood, but reached into her pocket, the slight swell of hip giving the heavy blue fabric enough of a bulge to hide what he pulled from it. It wasn't a standard weapon at all, looking like a thin crystalline plate about the size of Tiera's palm, instead.

He looked at Blue directly, smiling and seeming a little too pleased, given everything.

"No. I think it's time for me to leave instead. Thanks for all the help, Cynthia, but all good things, and all that." Hefting the tiny card he waved it a bit. "This is a bioactive film covered high yield explosive. If I drop this, or die while holding it, it will create a blast so large that none of you will survive it. Not even with your rather brilliant shields." Then he winked once. "Or you might, but-"

Sam followed, and after about three heartbeats, never even bothering to look surprised by the turn of events, Doris did too. That was the plan after all. If it looked like they were losing, those three were to run away and the rest of them were to stay and buy them time. To that end, Tiera carefully moved in front of the still open doorway.

"Cynthia, can you open the doors for my craft?" She managed to sound like she wasn't about to die, which was a good thing. She did sound a bit like she was going to rip Cordes a new hole, somewhere in his body, but the situation was tense and that, anger, even rage, was her main fallback position in life.

Changes aside, you had to go with what you knew, didn't you?

"Open the bay doors, seal after three pass. Then lock the facility. Cordes may not leave." That seemed to mean something to the bomb holding Blue.

At least she made a sound that seemed like she was gargling for a half moment.

"Do you think that matters? If I die, another will take my place. A thousand more at need. You can't stop me. It's too late for that. All you can do is die. The only choice you have is to go gracefully, or screaming against it." Then she sneered, derisively, which was the wrong thing to do, to Tiera's way of thinking.

She attacked. It was an very different thing than anyone would have expected from her, no doubt, since she leaped on the woman and grabbed her arm, pulling not on the metallic looking crystal, in it's very shiny silver color, but on her thumb, breaking it almost instantly.

No one else moved to help, but after staring for a second Havar pulled something from his jacket and closed with them.

"We can take her arm with a cutter and not kill her, can't we? Then heal her?"

Tiera didn't really know, but grunted a single word anyway as the Blue started to fight back, slapping at her shield and almost getting away several times. It seemed that she didn't want that to happen at any rate.

"Now." If she were wrong, they had to hope the others could get the word out and not die in the blast. The Baron didn't hesitate, taking her hand instead of the whole thing.

Tiera was holding it and it still tried to move, clutching at the device, but not with any strength at all. After she pried the explosive free, she tossed the thing across the room, only to see that Karen was already healing the woman. Cordes.

With the hand off.

That made sense, if they were going to end up killing her anyway. She was very tempted to do all the limbs, but they needed to have her cooperation at some point, and doing that would make it a little hard to get. At least Tiera wouldn't have told someone anything if they'd done that to her, so had to figure Cordes wouldn't either.

She pulled out her Truth amulet and put it around Cynthia Blue's neck first. After all, if she were guilty, they had to know about it fast.

"What did you know about this? Be detailed and do not lie."

The cream and yellow glow surrounded her perfectly, and the woman spoke without hesitation.

"Over two thousand-five hundred years ago, Cordes came and asked me to help him store his memories, fearing that he might be of diminishing capacity mentally. That turned out to be the case. I first created the copy, as requested, then developed a technique to implant large Rhetistical sets in place, in a young mind. That hadn't been feasible before, but utilizing several disparate technologies, I can now manage. Occasionally I would add these sets to individuals as they were born in different locations around the world. Normally those in impoverished conditions, so that the Cordes mentality could improve the lot of those around them. It was as he requested."

The story was a very long one, but the underpinnings were clear. The man had set Blue up, knowing what to say and do so that she'd thought he was being selfless, and that the project had both merit and value to the world. It was kept secret as well, but that wasn't hard, since, as she clearly stated, until recently, most of the others hadn't been communicating regularly.

Cordes Blue made a face and glanced at her healed stump.

"And then eighty years ago a little clone was hatched right
here
, and mommy put my big bad brain, right in her little darling, never giving her a chance to be anything else. Then I used every opportunity I could find to spread myself far and wide. I made an agreement with Gray long ago, and we've worked closely, having similar goals now. It doesn't matter what you know, because you can't find us all. You can't stop us." There was a wink that seemed smarmy and nearly got the woman punched by Tiera then, and did have Blue Two take a single step forward.

She wasn't angry, but had something in her hand anyway. A needle.

"You used our facilities for your plan? You used
us
in an attempt to destroy humanity? That cannot be allowed." She walked to him and gave the Blue in front of her the shot, her eyes misting a bit as she did.

Tiera was a bit amazed by it. She knew it wasn't a thing to make Cordes talk, since she already was, or do anything good in particular, because what would that be? Pain medication? No, this was either something that killed, or that would really hurt.

It was the tears, from Cynthia, Two and Four. Tiera had actually thought they didn't have that kind of emotion at all, but it seemed they could show grief.

Cordes smiled and shook her head.

"You think this means anything? Weren't you listening? Nothing you do-" Then, instantly, she fell to the left and stopped doing anything at all. No talking, or breathing, not even a twitch was left. She fell from her blue chair, in the blue room, having never really been Blue at all.

Orange made a face, but at the fallen form, not the others.

"Too bad, we might have gotten a bit more from her. Well, let's see to this then, and connect with the ship. We aren't done. We came to find Julie, and if the rest of you can function, we could use help with that. Then... We need a plan. A very good one, because I fear that Cordes there was right and we are at a
very
serious disadvantage here. The best we may manage is to take everyone out, leaving nothing for our enemies." She sounded dark about it, and as if that actually made sense.

Tiera felt it, sure, but she knew it was wrong. It was better to have some kind of world left than nothing, even if they weren't in it. She didn't say that, because she was more than willing to change her mind and being willing to do that might be all they had as leverage against the others.

Four stood, tears still streaming down her pale cheeks for her now dead sister, but she nodded at Alice and left the room at a jog. That
probably
meant something, but it could have simply been that she needed to be sick. It wasn't that, since she returned a few minutes later, holding a small screen that had a white blinking light on it. One that showed a position, overlaid on a map.

"She remains in Soam, in her main city there. Maya. This will lead you to her, or at least to the bio-signs that match hers. I shall begin a cataloging and tracking of the historical data on the rest of the immortal population."

Tiera nodded, then gave the woman a hug, after she passed the pad off.

"Right after you and Two are cleared."

They weren't, thankfully, part of it at all. Two had more information than Four did, but it wasn't anything important, just observations that seemed different about Cordes, now that she knew that there was something going on. Trips that had made sense at the time, but could have been more complicated, things like that.

They were all very sad, Tiera realized, but they didn't let their loss paralyze them, working through it instead, trying to make up for whatever they saw as their part in the whole mess. It was touching, but Tiera had to make herself be sensitive to their feelings, not really caring at the moment. That was wrong of her, she knew.

Tor was exactly the same as Cordes Blue. Less controlled by the Ancient King, perhaps, but more dangerous, if he was handled wrong. Like the others, she didn't really think they could do anything to stop him at all. Much less save him. They hadn't been able to safely remove Rhetistics at all yet. Not
ever
. Those that had tried, always perished in the attempt.

Alice filled them in on that as they stood in the blue room, trying to figure out what to do next.

Karen sighed and shook her head.

"We need to talk to everyone and make sure they aren't part of this. If we find those that are... We kill them. We need to be better about getting information from them too, even if it is just ranting and lording their victories over us. Anything we can find out might make a difference. I... How can we fight the Ancients? How can we win? Can we at all?"

Cynthia looked at Karen and then spoke with no inflection or facial expression.

"Yes. This is a clever operation, but so far you've encountered two versions of the man, and defeated him both times. They are not without flaws. We all have them. The important thing now is for each of us to stay on plan and not deviate, unless required by new circumstances." There was no hedging to the words, even though there was no real plan yet. What could they do?

Alice looked at Havar directly.

"Black next then. My brother. He respects men more than women, so it will be most effective for you and Sam to approach him. The women may go, but I think that will work better than Tiera speaking." She looked at the younger woman and blinked very slowly, as if it had meaning. She didn't really get it, but tried to pay attention to her field, reading her as she finished the statement. She tapped along as she did it, as if agitated.

"Listen Tiera, I want you to go and watch them, but not speak, unless spoken too. He might remember you from before, or he may not, either way..."

The field said something very different though.
Listen, I want you to remember
.

Like she didn't always?

Then, as if things were simply done, they left, flying out in Tiera's other Fast Craft. It was her Timon one, so slower, but larger, which was good, since it was going to be a long trip.

Alice surprised them all then.

"Back to Noram first. We need Green and then Brown first. They might be used in this, but won't mean to be. Like Blue. Then Lyn Red, I think."

Karen didn't make a face but did look a bit less than perfectly with the program.

"Why tell Blue that we were going to Tellerand then? She was cleared..."

Tiera answered, knowing that one herself. Green had told her.

"We need supplies, and to regroup. Black is probably with us as well, but he still needs to be handled carefully, from what I've seen. This is very dangerous and every single place we go, we're being watched. Perhaps all of us. I don't know if the sensors can hear us inside here, I don't think so, but outside, anywhere, even in a house... We have to just figure that's going to be heard."

The nifty thing about growing up a noble that both Karen and Havar had that Tiera had totally missed out on, was the natural and pervasive knowledge that there were spies
everywhere
. Both of them simply understood it the second the words where said and stopped talking, just in case.

That wouldn't work either, but it was a real start.

Alice agreed, and then sat back, reclining her seat to take a nap, since it was going to be twelve hours or more from where they were, given everything.

"That, plus I need to check on my crew and make certain they aren't readying for war without me. It wouldn't do to simply leave them at loose ends, being as new as they all are. I haven't even gotten the people from Austra yet."

Those were all good points, weren't they? Besides, Tiera really had to find a way to do something about Tor, and the current plan gave her more time for that. So far there was nothing at all that she could think of, but maybe Timon, or one of the others, would be able to?

If nothing else it was a chance for him. She wasn't just going to let them kill him, unless there was no other way. If that happened, well, then she'd have to do it herself, most likely. Tiera was the only one that could get close enough. Maybe at least. She'd failed Regina, and that was partly his fault, but not totally. Especially not if Cordes had made it happen, trying to weaken her.

Had he been responsible for the changes made to Timon too?

She didn't know. But she had to find out.

Then, really, she knew, the whole thing suddenly coming very clear to her, she didn't, did she? What she needed was a way to save Tor, and the rest... well, that would have to wait. She could save him, and then blame him for the rest of his life, if it turned out to all be him.

Of course that all meant she had to survive. That... Well, with something to do like save the world, she was a bit more interested in that, for the time being. It may not last, and she was ready to go out in a blaze of heroic glory, of course, but for now it was enough to keep her interest.

 "Can we stop by the Capital first? I need to let Timon know about all this, or..."

Alice shook her head, emphatically, then relented a little.