The second man they revived surprisingly still smelled of fish. “I was on the beach with this big fella from out east. I just caught my first fish, a big one, flat, eyes on the top of its head, when this thing comes up out of the surf, glowing eyes. It opened up and that’s all I remember.”
“Caleb. You were with Caleb. He’s my father,” Micah told the man.
The man held out his hand. “I’m Digger. Where’s your pa?” He looked at the beds around him and didn’t see any familiar faces.
“He’s already gone up to the island,’ Micah said, wondering how her father was. She hadn’t heard from Bronwyn. Braden saw the look on her face and knew what she wanted to do, so he took over.
“You’re probably wondering where you are. Let’s go outside and I’ll show you, then we’ll get you something to eat. There’s a place right across the street.” Braden made to lead them out, but they hesitated as they weren’t wearing any clothes, only the sheet from their beds. “No one cares what you’re wearing. Let’s get you something to eat,” he chuckled as they shrugged and pulled their sheets more tightly about themselves. They walked slowly because Flounder was hard-pressed to move. His muscles had atrophied to the point that he wasn’t sure he could support his own bodyweight.
Braden and Digger supported him between them as they left the laboratory in search of food. Braden was willing to eat again, and he was good with the others not knowing that he’d gone for seconds.
Micah faced the wall as she tried to contact Bronwyn. ‘Bronwyn, do you have any information about Caleb, about my father?’
The girl answered instantly. ‘Oh, yes, I’m glad you are up. I tried to contact you earlier, but no one was there, anywhere. I was afraid that something happened,’ Bronwyn said in a rapid stream of thoughts.
‘We’ve been busy, but we did get some well-needed rest. How’s my father?’ she asked again.
‘Within heartbeats of the Med Bots working with him he came to. They removed the tube and patched him up. He’s with me now!’ she added. Micah wondered why she didn’t start with that.
‘I’m so glad. You’re on the ship?’
‘No, not at all. We’re almost to the bottom of the tunnel, so we’ll be there shortly,’ Bronwyn said happily. Micah hung her head. Everything they did to get him out of Atlantis, and now he was back. He probably thought it was necessary to come after his daughter and had browbeat Bronwyn into bringing him. That would be the father she knew. Between both of her parents, it was inevitable that stubbornness was going to be her hallmark.
‘Great, Brandt will meet you at the tunnel entrance and bring you here. Be careful, there may be more of the Gloria Bots roaming the streets. Zyena and Skirill are flying around looking for them.’
‘Oh, good! My friend is free. Zeeka is with us too, and Strider!’ Bronwyn seemed pleased with herself.
Micah was getting angrier with each heartbeat, the anger she felt when things were spinning out of control. She knew that she had little control over many matters, but in this case, asking the others to stay out of Atlantis hadn’t been too great a thing to ask. It was almost like the undersea city was becoming a vacation spot. ‘Fine,’ was the best Micah could come up with.
‘Everyone is coming down here, it seems. Bronwyn, my father, Zeeka, and even Strider. They’ll be at the tunnel entrance shortly,’ Micah said over the mindlink. Bounder jumped out of bed and trotted to Micah. Pik, Aadi, and G-War joined them. Fea stayed with Treetis, probably to keep the young ‘cat in bed, otherwise Fea would have liked to join the others.
As a group, they walked from the building and headed for the park.
A New Day
When Caleb arrived, Micah felt an incredible sense of relief. She expected him to be damaged in some way, but he wore fresh clothes and a huge smile. He looked healthy and happy. She wondered why she was so surprised. Her father had always been a tower of strength, unflappable.
Zeeka joined Skirill and Zyena in flying around Atlantis. They circled it repeatedly looking for more Gloria Bots or other threats. Mainly, they enjoyed flying where there was water over their heads and to the sides. It seemed unreal, like they were on a different world, which in a way, they were.
Caleb helped Bronwyn climb atop the King of the Aurochs, where she was always happy. She talked with him constantly when they were together. G-War joined her where she held him tightly to her, stroking his straggly fur rhythmically as the group, which included a great number of the misshapen mob, turned toward the center of the dome.
“Bronwyn, I’m curious,” Micah started. “Everyone here seems young and fresh, but then there are your friends. Where were they and how did they come to be?”
‘They are the fisherman who work on the other side of Atlantis where there’s an open area that attracts the fish. They fish for them there, tend the kelp beds, provide everything that Atlantis needs for food,’ she replied in her thought voice, which she was always more comfortable using.
“But how did they come to be? They don’t look like any of the others.”
‘Whenever something went wrong, they never killed the subjects. They gave them something to do, helped them to be productive. All life is precious here. The Security Bots were incapable of killing a human being, that’s why they only stunned us.’
It started to make sense to Micah. She wondered why they were still alive after so many encounters with the Security Bots. The ones at New Sanctuary would have been merciless in eliminating all attackers. Maybe she needed to talk with Holly about reprogramming the ones at home, make them less lethal.
In the interim, she wanted to find out more about what Bronwyn’s bunch did, so she asked them to show her.
They took the challenge as great fun, whooping and yelling in joy as they walked through the central area where Braden and Digger joined them. Flounder relaxed peacefully in the dining hall, getting a steady stream of samples from the Server Bot, which was ready to bring more of any one thing. Whatever Flounder wanted.
Braden held Micah’s hand as they walked. Caleb was at her side and everything was right with the world. That was when she worried the most, but G-War shook his head. The Hawkoids weren’t seeing anything. Aadi didn’t think there was any danger. She had a nagging feeling, but forced it down while she contacted Holly.
‘Holly, are you sure we’re safe?’
‘Yes, Master President, as safe as I can be sure of,’ he responded.
She stopped walking. Braden could see her jaw tighten. She was talking with Holly and getting angry. He could only wait to hear what they said.
‘What kind of answer is that, Holly? We’ve got this huge mob with us and no one has a functioning weapon. If a Gloria Bot shows up, we have no way to fight it. Can you have a Security Bot escort us? Maybe two?’ Micah asked.
‘Absolutely. I didn’t want to alarm anyone by driving the Security Bots around, but I have a number at my disposal. The rest were destroyed, as you know.’ Micah closed her neural implant and told the others what was coming. Most of the companions were going to be anxious with those Security Bots near, as they’d been shocked to unconsciousness by them. They only had bad memories of the metal monsters, although Braden, Pik, Aadi, and Bounder had good memories of blowing them apart, too.
The Bots showed up quickly and the mob continued on their way.
The lake was dark as the lights from above didn’t penetrate the surface, but one of the misfits nodded happily as he went to a panel near a small dock. He flipped a switch and lights appeared underwater, lighting the entire area of the lake, showing schools of fish, thick kelp, sea cucumbers, and so much more.
Bronwyn’s bunch showed the others what they did as they resumed their duties fishing, collecting kelp, and delivering it all to the processer, a system that took the raw material under the streets for distribution in all the dining facilities. Raw materials for other production were mined beneath Atlantis by Bots. The misfits never went down there. No one went down there.
So that was wh
ere Braden wanted to go, but Holly talked him out of it. The air wasn’t fit for humans to breathe. Holly assured Braden and Micah that he was monitoring all the production systems and Holly initially told them, “within acceptable parameters,” but that required a great deal of explanation that neither human had the patience for. When he reworded his answer to “everything was running like it was supposed to,” Braden and Micah accepted it without comment.
One of the misfits gave Caleb a pole and within two casts, he had a fish on. After that, it was every cast. The mob was amazed, so Caleb showed them what he was doing, demonstrating endless patience as if teaching children how to fish. Bronwyn beamed at Caleb for being so kind to her new friends.
“We’re all in this life together. Might as well make the best of it,” he told her when he turned Bronwyn’s bunch loose to try their new techniques. He leaned in to make corrections, cheer with the others whenever a fish was caught, and revel in the joy of fishing. Some might have said that fishing wasn’t about catching fish, but Caleb would call that absurd. It was always about catching fish, but if you could have fun while doing it? Then that was what made life worth living. He smiled at his daughter, and Micah smiled in return. He couldn’t wait to go back to Trent, because Mattie would be there to welcome him home.
Leaving Atlantis Behind
Micah wasn’t pleased that Holly was continuing the disciplined schedule that Gloria had established for the people of Atlantis. She and Braden both wanted to see the people become free, but that would require a great deal of guidance, and Braden and Micah were leaving and couldn’t be there to lead the new community. Their children were at New Sanctuary, and they wanted to go home.
They stayed for ten more turns, until every single person from White Beach was revived. They found them places to stay in Atlantis. None of them had bad memories of Atlantis since they’d been unconscious the entire time they’d been at the bottom of the ocean. They all agreed to stay, at least temporarily, to help the Atlanteans build a life. The tunnel to the island was opened for anyone to use. People started making daily trips upstairs to get sun, swim in the ocean, be outside. Braden put the laboratory off limits with the help of a Maintenance Bot to weld the access doors shut. Then Micah used the powers of the President to prohibit any Bots from assisting in opening the welded doors.
Braden tried one more time to find his blasters, but the underground complex was too creepy for him. He agreed with sealing it and had Holly cut the power. It would become a tomb, its secrets buried with it.
The ancients’ vehicles, the tractors that traveled on the bottom of the ocean, had a special dock on the island. The entrance to it had been hidden, but Holly quickly uncovered it and made it available to the companions.
It was on this expedition that Braden and the monkeys got into it. They taunted him, but it escalated as soon as Braden threw the first rock. He realized his mistake when monkeys appeared on every branch and started throwing whatever they had at hand. Much of it was their own feces. Braden jumped into the surf on his way back to the ship and refused to talk about it. He stayed on board the last two days while Micah and Caleb wrapped things up down below.
Ferrer and Brigitte were ecstatic to have everyone back and even noted that the heavily scarred Treetis was much calmer, even pleasant to be around. The scientists hadn’t realized that the others had left, even though they’d been told. They set up shop and would stay aboard after the others disembarked at White Beach.
“So we’re going to have to add this place to the route? Come back here often enough to make sure they are still on track?” Braden asked rhetorically.
“This falls under the President’s dominion, so yes, we shall grace them with our presence at regular intervals,” Micah said with her nose in the air. Braden elbowed her in the stomach, just enough to let her know he was serious. They watched the sunset from the balcony of the third deck in the sail. A crowd of misshapen creatures waved vigorously from the shore. With them were a number of residents formerly of White Beach and even a couple people who’d been grown in the undersea lab. Together, they made up the population of the new outpost called Atlantis.
White Beach
Holly was happy to inform them that with the tide and good weather, it would take less than a day to sail to the cove north of White Beach.
“Make it so, Holly!” Braden replied happily. The AI was happy using the ship’s communication system to carry on conversations since Braden no longer had his neural implant. The Med Lab on the Warden was not equipped for that operation, so they used the workaround. Braden was surprised that he looked forward to getting his implant reinstalled. Since they’d given in to Old Tech and with the impending revelation to all the villagers in the south, and then to everyone on Vii, he no longer forestalled any conversations about Old Tech.
He surrendered completely. Braden looked forward to riding in the hover car. He’d had fun driving the one on the Traveler and suspected he could be a menace to all the Free Traders if he was allowed to drive around at will.
“We’re not going to drive it any more than we have to,” Micah interjected. “Emergency use only. We are not going to show up at a village in a hover car and then tell them, oh by the way, there’s Old Tech, but we have it and you don’t! Put on your Free Trader hat and tell me how well you think that would go down?”
Braden made a face at his partner. “Like crap. We’d probably get stoned to death. It’d be the monkeys all over again.” She raised her eyebrows at him. “That’s why I need you by my side, lover.” He smiled to take the sting out of her rebuke. They’d get an Old Tech wagon, though, and ride in style, bring the kids, start their vacation. Maybe they could even take a short trip on the Warden, take Ax and ‘Tesh to sea, show them what it’s like to travel in style.”
“What is wrong with you?” Micah asked suddenly. “We don’t need them warped more than they are already!”
“Hey, are you going to beat him up?” Caleb asked as he watched his daughter and Braden verbally and mentally spar. He couldn’t keep up with the younger crowd.
“No!” she said angrily.
“Then come here. I need your help,” Caleb waved at them from the main deck.
“This isn’t over!” Micah declared.
“What did I do?” Braden replied, louder than intended. She tried to storm away, but he caught her before she could open the door. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her against the clear pane as he nibbled on her neck. She fought back for only a heartbeat before she leaned into him, feeling the warmth of her partner’s body. She opened her eyes to see Bronwyn staring at her curiously from the other side of the door.
“Braden,” she whispered. “Stop, please.”
“Oh, Micah, just when things were starting to get interesting,” he whined, until he saw Bronwyn, then let go and casually opened the door as if nothing was going on. Micah walked past without looking at the teenager.
Bronwyn waited until they both walked past before speaking out loud. “I need a partner to do that with,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Run!” Braden shouted and they both launched themselves down the stairs and outside. Once there, they stopped and looked at each other in shock. Bronwyn waved at them from the deck outside the galley. Braden waved back before holding his hands up.
“That’s your department,” he said as he started whistling and walking toward the well deck where Caleb was fishing. Micah looked up at Bronwyn, who smiled innocently back. Micah realized that she was less than seven turns older than the teenager. It was about that time.
‘What would the Queen think, having to share you with another, or Zeeka or any of the others? How about a ‘cat?’ Micah said in her thought voice as she ambled toward her father.
‘I’ll have to talk with her about it, but I have been giving it serious consideration,’ the girl said, sounding much more mature than her physical age suggested.
‘You do that, and we’ll revisit the issue then. You know that we wo
n’t be happy with anyone who isn’t of pure-heart and that means you’ll need a ‘cat by your side,’ Micah replied.
‘I’ve been talking with Treetis and I think we’re close to an arrangement. I hope you and Braden don’t mind. The Prince and Fealona have both expressed their approval. In any case, Caleb is waiting for you and for what he wants, I better come down, too.’ Bronwyn waved as she returned to the galley on her way to join them at the well deck.
Micah stood dumbfounded. When she was close enough to Braden and Caleb, she couldn’t contain herself. “Bronwyn, Treetis, and some young boy to be named in the future.”
Braden had no answer, so he resorted to pushing his partner’s buttons. “I know,” was all he said.
“How in the crap did you know and didn’t tell me?” She moved closer to him.
“I’m kidding. You should know me better than that. I had no idea, but it’s not quite our choice, is it? We have the entirety of the Vii’s intelligent species looking after her. I think she’ll be okay. And with that scar on Treetis’ side, everyone will know that he’s not afraid to fight.”
“Two different fights and the sun hasn’t moved a finger-width in the sky. I thought we taught you better than that!” Caleb prodded his daughter.
“Oh, please! If it were you and Mother, there would have been three fights with hair-pulling and one fish thrown during that same time,” Micah laughed. These weren’t real fights. They were passionate people who had no wish to inflict harm. There was a physical element to their relationships that kept them on their toes and fully emotionally entangled with their partners. Woe be to the person who tried to come between them.
Braden wasn’t up for more sparring. “You asked us down here for a reason.”
“Oh, yeah. Can you make those two go someplace else? They’re chasing the fish away,” Caleb begged, pleading with his daughter.
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