“Part of being a leader means you need to work with even those who don’t like you. Do you think everyone always agreed with my parents, or me?”
“But that was different, you—”
Vanessa rounded on him. “How was it different? Because we were under the water and couldn’t go anywhere?”
Jared shrugged. “Well. Yeah.”
“We still had disagreements, and not everyone agreed with the way I handled everything. George didn’t give me any grief, but there were others who…well, let’s just say they didn’t survive. I did what I had to do to keep Razael happy and my people safe. That meant working with the literal devil himself to ensure we made it.”
“All right, all right. I get it. It’s just hard. I grew up with a bully much like him, and now that I can defend myself, I hate taking a beating, verbal or otherwise, for no reason.”
“I know it’s difficult to stomach, but that’s part of being a leader. Unless George does something to hurt someone or put anyone in danger, I have to stand between the two of you in public. George has spent a few weeks trying to get others to see things the way he does. I don’t think he’ll succeed, but if I show complete trust to you at the expense of him…” Vanessa lifted a shoulder in sympathy, a sly smile painted on her face.
“It will further erode trust in you and give him a platform to stand on. I get it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Jared sighed. Being a leader wasn’t easy and he had a long way to go before he’d call himself one.
“Nor should you. I’ve dealt with him for a decade and know how obstinate he can be. If we work together and you don’t let him rile you up, we can present a unified front to everyone, and it will cut his legs out from under him, giving him no ammunition to make people doubt us.”
“You’re much better at this sort of thing than me.”
“Jared, I’ve been doing it for years. Up until a couple months ago, you had only yourself and previous to that your parents. Becoming a leader requires you to change the way you think about people. You have to get to know and understand them.”
“Thanks, Vanessa. I thought this talk was going to be much worse, but I needed to hear it. Even as a part of me rails against ignoring George, I get your positioning.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. I’m going to go check on Elle.” She stopped halfway out the door. “And Jared?”
“Yes?”
“If there’s ever something like this you need to talk through, you can come to me about it. I know you usually talk with Scarlet, but I’m here to listen if you want.”
Jared gave her a warm smile and promised he would let her know. Feeling much better and relieved the conversation hadn’t spiraled out of control, Jared had no trouble entering a meditative state.
He activated Clear Mind, and his awareness blossomed into infinite possibilities. It was such a different way of looking at the world and understanding his surroundings; it continually amazed him. A random thought floated by, about the fight hours earlier and his failure to use Clear Mind during the scuffle. He needed to make this second nature so that it was his default action whenever a difficult situation presented itself.
Though the ability hadn’t activated, the events of the day had turned out well enough. He’d had the foresight to take weapons and battery packs while depositing all the robot parts far away from them. If they managed to learn the secrets of the robot technology, then perhaps they didn’t need to defeat them at all. Jared’s people could just take control.
Wait. If we can take control of them…
The thoughts spilled forth like a gushing river, and his excitement grew. If they took over the robots, they could, in theory, take over all the drop ships, and the cities wouldn’t know. They’d load onto the drop ships and make it onto a floating city without being detected.
There was much to think on, but for starters, they could get to the cities quickly, quietly, and without fear of automated defenses triggering. Their flying companions could meet them after they’d taken control of the city, or at least anything that might shoot them down. They’d want to bring some of their companions in the drop ships, but how many was the question. The only person who had a companion confined to the ground at the moment was Elle.
“Hey, Scarlet, I had an idea.”
“Yes?”
“If the cities don’t find the stash of robots and we can get Pete to study it, we might gain a major advantage. It may take a while, but if he can figure out how to control the robots, then we have a free ticket to the cities aboard the drop ships.”
“That could work?”
“It all depends on Pete. If he can figure out how to reprogram them, it should be possible. Obviously, we don’t want to fully rely on it for our plans, but it would be awesome and could save lives.”
“We can check on the robots we hid after we are certain the cities have abandoned the area.”
“That’s what I was thinking. Maybe we can scout the area tomorrow to see what it looks like. Did you let your brothers know there could be a lot of drop ships incoming?”
“I will try to reach them, but they may be out of range. They understand the danger, and I gave them clear instructions not to engage.”
“That’s the problem. It might not be possible to avoid them. It really depends on what they send to find out what happened to their ship. I don’t know how they alert their home base about threats either. Do they send a video? Is it verbal communication?”
Jared sighed. She could probably pick up on his emotional state, but there wasn’t much he could do to mask the worry from her. There was just so much they didn’t know about the cities. He wished there was a way to infiltrate one and gather more intelligence.
What defenses do they have? How big are their armies? How many ships do they have? Why haven’t we seen any humans?
Questions upon questions only led to more questions. As far as it concerned him, the information about the cities was a black hole, and they had no credible intel aside from watching two poor saps turn into a pink mist. No trial, no explanation, just a swift end and turned into a cloud of blood. If they figured out the technology, then maybe he could make a solo scouting mission and figure out what they faced.
If Pete managed to figure out the tech, they could lure a bunch of ships to one location and capture them. Once captured, they’d learn to fly them, how the communications system worked, and then use them to infiltrate the cities.
While Jared knew how some of the controls on the ship worked, there’s no way he’d get to a city in one piece, let alone land the thing. He would need to practice flying the ship, or Pete needed to figure out how to instruct the ship to fly back on its own, like it had with the other explorers aboard.
What if the ships are from different cities and we split our fighting force?
Exasperated, Jared cut off his ability and stood. There were so many variables; it was impossible for him to settle on one path. In time, that path might become clearer, but for now he’d continue the one he’d set weeks earlier: Get everyone bonded.
Not all the dragons wanted to bond right away, but at least many of them had said yes. Maybe the others would come around after they saw how important it was to grow stronger. None of Scarlet’s brothers needed a size increase, but they could increase their defenses, perform some Remodeling, and upgrade their fire-breathing. Malsour was so close to his final evolution of flames that the nanites would give him the push he needed.
Stretching, Jared walked into the common area and set all his weapons on the table. With nothing better to do, he started field stripping and cleaning them again. His Colt only needed a light wipe down since he hadn’t fired it in the earlier confrontation. The phase pistols similarly only needed a light dust-off. In reality they probably didn’t need any cleaning, but he found the actions surprisingly therapeutic.
Vanessa also came over to watch him strip and clean everything. After he’d finished with his Colt, she picked it up and copied his every move.
He’d made an involuntary move to snatch the weapon from her hands but he’d checked himself. If he couldn’t trust Vanessa to handle the weapon, then he had no right trusting her with other people’s lives and the management of their small colony.
Jared set the phase rifle in front of him and examined every inch of the weapon. It had a scope on it, but it wasn’t a normal optical scope. Instead, it was a digital one, that had a glowing red reticle inside. Interestingly, it automatically turned on and off, so there must’ve been a sensor on it. A touch pad on the side of the scope allowed him to zoom in and out, alter the reticle, and change its color.
It was shorter than the automatic weapons he’d seen as a child, but not by much. That’s where the similarity stopped. Instead of all the moving parts, chambers, magazine holder, and thumb safety, the rifle had a single sleek body. The only moving part was the battery back that slotted into the center of the rifle, directly under the scope. The handgrip sported the same rubber-like material as the pistols.
Jared really wished he knew what it was, because it never accumulated dirt and grime, and no matter if it was wet or dry, his grip was always sure. Thinking back to his battle in the tunnels, waiting for Scarlet, he wished he’d had similar grips on his knives. Losing one of his daggers inside the eye of the massive praying mantis creature could’ve been the end of him. If he’d had grips like the ones he now held, he’d have held on to his weapon.
Again, more questions and no answers. There was no end to them lately and nothing he could do to resolve them. Only time would reveal them. Time and getting to a city to explore the technologies the robots had created. For all Jared knew, they had the technology to fix the earth, but didn’t want to give up their thrones.
Sick to his stomach at the idea, Jared retired to his room for the night. Tomorrow, he’d try to get more training in and make sure Carla and Elle were on the right track for development.
Jared woke the next morning feeling refreshed. He’d slept for almost twelve hours, yet he had assigned no nanites to keep him in that slumber. It spoke to the events of the previous day and how much they’d taxed him physically and mentally. Jared found Carla already working on her meditation, and his entrance did nothing to disturb her.
Not wanting to intrude, he went to look for Vanessa and Elle. He found them in the dining room next door with a dozen other members of their small colony. It looked like they’d brought things up from their rooms to hang out all day. Jared didn’t blame them. If he didn’t have his meditation exercises, he’d get bored too.
“Hey, Elle.” Jared beckoned her over to a quieter part of the room. “I’d like to go over some of your training while we have the time, if that’s okay, Vanessa?”
“Of course, please help my sister. Can I listen in? Eventually I’ll be in the same position, and it might help to hear it.”
Jared agreed and in fact announced it to the room. Everyone crowded around them. Elle didn’t like all the attention, but she relented when Kitty lay against her back, creating a buffer between them.
“If you want to listen, please be quiet. If you must talk, use your touch telepathy. What I’ve got to say is too important for distractions.”
Jared explained things in the same manner he had with Carla, only he went further with Elle and dissected everything as best as he could. It was a tricky balance to maintain. While Elle had had nanites for almost a decade and had actively used them, she didn’t really understand them. The lesson lasted for hours. The session was just as valuable to him as he better learned how to teach everyone about the technology. He briefly wondered if this is what it was like for Scarlet to break things down for him. It was probably even worse for her because there was a bigger gap between Jared’s mind and Scarlet’s than there was between his and Elle’s.
It turned out Elle was a very quick study after she grasped the fundamentals, and in no time at all she dove into her body, exploring the nanites. Jared remained by her side, practicing his own meditations with Clear Mind and answering any questions Elle had while exploring. Before he’d unlocked his mind, there was no way he’d have been able to maintain his meditative trance and answer Elle. Now it was easy, and he had no difficulty responding to her bombardment of questions.
Her understanding was of a more instinctual nature than a real understanding from a biological and scientific standpoint, but she got the gist of it, and that was all that mattered in the end.
“Vanessa, do you know where we can get our hands on school books? I don’t remember seeing any at the school house unless they’re locked away somewhere. The ones I saw in the hall didn’t look like textbooks.”
“They should be at the school, but many parents taught their kids at home.”
“I think we should try to find some for Elle. While she understands all of this to a degree, it’s more of a feeling for her than anything else. To do more advanced things, like directing the nanites to enhance only certain portions of her body or heal specific areas, she’ll need to understand things from an educated point of view.”
“I’ll teach her what I know.”
“Yes, we can all teach her as much as we are able, but I’m not a teacher and, no offense, you were only a teenager when you went into the water. I think we need to have real educational material, or a teacher. I suppose no one here has experience?”
“No teachers. They all died years ago.”
Mentally adding it to a running list of needs, Jared stood and stretched while Elle worked.
“Let’s give her some space for now. She’ll be at this for a while. If she has any more questions and I’m not here, please try to remember them, and I’ll do my best to answer when I come back. I’d like to make rounds to check on everyone else. It’s been half a day, and everyone being cooped up is liable to cause restlessness.”
Thoughts of George ran through his mind, and Jared shook his head. Even after his conversation with Vanessa, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the guy was bad news. A part of Jared he didn’t like secretly wished George had been one of those who’d died in the blast that killed Razael. At least then Jared wouldn’t need to contend with the man.
Everything seemed calm as he wandered, finding people arranged in casual groups, talking.
Approaching the medical area, he heard Casey before he saw him. The man sounded like he was having a conflict with himself, but Jared couldn’t hear what he said. Jared paused at the threshold of the room, a bewildered expression on his face.
“Uh, Casey?”
More grumbling ensued.
“Ahem, Casey?” Jared tried again, but louder.
“Huh? Oh hey, I’ll be right there.”
A loud clatter—followed by cursing—announced Casey’s arrival with an armload of items.
“What are you doing?” The corners of Jared’s lips quirked upward as he looked at the flustered Casey.
“Organizing.”
Apparently, it should’ve been obvious to Jared, but it looked like an explosion had detonated in the room, scattering medical supplies everywhere.
“I see.”
Jared’s eyes roved the piles of bandages and the random piles of junk heaped haphazardly across the floor. “Don’t you usually make things neater when you organize? What exactly are you organizing, anyway?”
“Well, it will get better.” Casey sounded annoyed. “I’m putting everything into more convenient places. I’ve been at this for a month now, and I have a good idea what everyone needs to treat common injuries so I’m making sure everything I need is easily accessible without taking out half the supplies from the closet.” Casey pointed to the makeshift closet door sitting slightly ajar. It was mostly empty, with only their more valuable medical supplies sitting inside.
The boosters occupied one of the highest shelves, keeping them safe and out of reach for some. He stared at the boosters for a time, marveling at how lucky he’d been to find them before the cities blew up the facility.
“Do you want me to help with anything?” Jared turned away from the liquid elixirs and raised an eyebrow.
“No. Nope, I got it. You’ll just get in the way, and then I won’t know where everything is. The whole point of this reorganization is to speed things up, and if I’ve got to search for items, then it was pointless.”
“All right. Well, if you need anything, just let me know.”
“Yeah, okay.” Casey waved him away. “Oh, wait. I actually could use some stuff next time you go back to the colony. I wish I’d thought of it sooner, but we had a hospital there. I doubt any of the medical supplies survived the years, but the old doctor kept a shelf of textbooks in his office. At least, that’s what I assumed they were.” Casey scratched his head as he tried to remember. “I only saw it one time in passing. I—” Casey’s cheeks flushed, and Casey looked away. “Let’s just say I was in the hospital for a dumb reason, and my brother insisted he give me a tour after. He hadn’t finished his medical training under the doctor yet, but he knew so much more than me. If he’d survived, we’d have all the medical expertise we could want.”
“Hey, man, don’t be so hard on yourself. We do the best with what we have, and you’re doing a great job here. Your brother would be proud of you.”
Casey looked away and cleared his throat. It seemed like a universal response from men who didn’t want to be caught crying in front of anyone. Jared respectfully excused himself and promised to look for some of the textbooks next time they went into town.
Jared then made his way over to Johan’s room and their armory. He entered, announcing his presence as he did. “Johan?”
Jared walked farther into the room and nearly tripped, stumbling on something. Looking down, he drew back startled. “Johan?” Jared crouched next to the man, shaking him. He lay on the floor, a half-disassembled rifle on the table beside him. He moved over to Johan’s head and nudged him again. His hands came away slick with blood.
Radioactive Revolution: A Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic Adventure Page 11