by Gini Koch
“But—” Jeff started.
Put up the paw. He stopped. “Let her finish, Jeff.”
Jamie beamed at me. “Thank you, Mommy.” She turned to Jeff. “Just because we’re little doesn’t mean we can’t do things. If we don’t help, then you can’t win, and if you don’t win, then everything dies.”
“Well, just this solar system,” Jeff said. He winced. “Not that this is what we want.”
“And all the people in it,” I felt compelled to add. “Which currently includes us.”
“Not just here,” Jamie said. “Everything will die. Sooner than it should, I mean.”
Strongly doubted Denise was teaching death and dying courses to the kids, and knew they weren’t in Sidwell’s curriculum until higher grades. There was no way in hell that ACE or Lilith had been handing out this kind of information to Jamie. Naomi, on the other hand, might have, and Algar was a definite possibility. But regardless of the source, one thing was accurate. “She’s right, Jeff. Every Power That Be has been telling me this, in one way or another. We have to do whatever we can to save this system.”
“But that was you, me, the others. Not the kids.”
“The kids are on this trip for a reason. Everyone is on this trip for a reason. Every person has a role. Some of those roles aren’t clear. Some are more important than others. But everyone has their part in all of this. Our kids included. You and Christopher had to grow up at ten. At least this is our children’s choice, not a choice forced upon them.”
Speaking of people whose roles I wasn’t clear on, Vance and Alicia came in. Both were wearing communicators. Hacker International was having a field day making us into the crew of the Enterprise.
“There you are,” Vance said. “The bridge got a panicked call that you, Jeff, and Kristie were missing. Alicia and I got assigned to the least likely places you’d be hiding.”
“Score one for us,” Alicia said.
Vance tapped his communicator. “Found them, they’re fine. They’ll be back soon, I’m sure. Just tell everyone to carry on with whatever while the King and Queen are having a meeting of state.”
“He’s good,” Jeff said to me.
Alicia cocked her head. “What are we interrupting?”
What the hell. Gave them the fast Recap Girl Update. When I was done, both of them looked impressed but not worried. “So, since you guys are here, you want to add in your thoughts?”
Alicia didn’t answer. She came over and knelt next to Charlie. “I think it’s time we tell them. They need to know. It will help, I promise.”
“I guess,” Charlie said truculently.
Alicia put her arm around him. “A few days before Jeff’s speech I was driving to work. I was stopped at a light, the light turned green, I looked, no one coming. So I started across the intersection. Out of nowhere, an SUV careened down the street at a very high speed, heading right for me. It was going to T-bone me, on my side. And I had nowhere to go, it was all happening too fast for me to brake or floor it or anything else.”
She hugged Charlie. “But then that SUV flew up and over my car, while my car and I got moved into a safe parking place a block away. The SUV crashed into a pole, but no one in the car was hurt. The driver was drunk, at eight in the morning, so when the police heard him say that his car was flying, they didn’t believe him.”
“That doesn’t mean it was Charlie,” Jeff said hopefully.
Alicia and I exchanged the “men” look. “Right before the cars moved, I heard someone say, ‘Don’t worry, Auntie Alicia, I got you,’ and then the accident that probably would have killed me was miraculously avoided. I talked to Charlie about it once we were up here in space, privately. He begged me not to tell anyone.” Her expression went hard. “Because he was afraid that he’d get in trouble. For saving my life.”
Knelt down and hugged Charlie, Alicia, and Jamie as my music changed to “Help The Children” by MC Hammer. “I’m so proud of you guys. Your sister told you what was happening, didn’t she?”
“I did,” Jamie admitted.
“Good. Protectors gotta protect. It’s our thing. Your father understands that, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.”
“Jeff,” Alicia said, looking up at him, “your son is already a Field agent. You just haven’t acknowledged it.”
Jeff heaved a sigh, knelt down, and joined the group hug. “You’re right. And . . . I can’t ask anyone to be less than they are. My children especially.”
“The love in the room is great, isn’t it?” Vance said to Kristie. “Think it’s going to save the day or are we just singing kumbaya?”
“I think Code Name: First Children is going to be a great spinoff series, that’s what I think.”
“Kristie . . .”
“Heh. Gotcha. Again. Man, are you easy to bait.”
“You’re hilarious.” We stopped hugging and everyone stood up. Well, now I knew why Alicia was with us. Vance’s turn to man up and prove why he’d been dragged along. “Vance, do you have anything to add, suggest, or say regarding what’s going on?”
He shrugged. “I was your enemy once. So were a lot of people. Kristie blackmailed you to get on the team.”
“Hey,” she said.
“Oh, it’s true, we’re all past it, and stop acting shocked that we all remember. Anyway, Vance, go on.”
“I just think that you’ve got a good track record for turning people who were against you to your side. Guy and I always say that anyone who bets against you is an idiot. You’ll always find a way to win. I think you’ve found the way—you’re just afraid to trust that Cradus has the same ability you do, and afraid to go with what you know you have to do, because it’s your kids that will be involved.”
“But they’ve been involved before,” Kristie said. “A lot.”
“They have,” Jeff said with a sigh.
“By the way,” Vance said, “have you looked at the solar system recently?”
“How recently?”
“I haven’t, really,” Jeff said. “I was pulled here quickly and I didn’t really pay attention to anything much other than the fact that ACE was taking me somewhere.”
“Well, it’s boring waiting while everyone else is doing something,” Vance said. “By now, Denise is out of ideas for what to do to keep the children from their own form of mutiny. So she’s asked the rest of the adults who have nothing to do for ideas. I suggested that the kids work on puzzles. Mother made some. They completed them fast, enjoyed it, and wanted more. So,” he shrugged, “the kids worked on the next puzzles they could find.”
“Link up,” Jeff said. We all did and he raced us to the Observation Lounge and my music changed to “Where Do the Children Play?” by Cat Stevens. “What the hell?”
One of the inner planets had been put back together.
We stared at it for a long moment. “Vance, thank you. I now know why you came along. And I know what to do. But first, a question. What’s holding the planet together? Puzzles interlock. Blown-up planets probably don’t.”
“The other kids,” Jamie said. “It’s not hard once Charlie moved everything and Wasim explained how gravity works.”
“Is that draining energy we’re going to need?”
“No, Mommy,” Jamie said patiently. “It’s not hard because things are floating.”
“Super. Does that mean that we can put something inside that puzzle?”
“Sure. It’ll be fun.”
“Great. Then I have our plan. Jeff, you’re in charge of calming down the other parents. Vance, you help him with that. Alicia, can you stay with the kids? I’d like to have as many adults who can help without interfering improperly with them.”
“You got it. Amy’s already on board, I think, and I’m sure Denise will be. Doreen and Irving might be an issue.”
“Irving’s in,” Doreen said fr
om behind us. “I gave him no choice. And Kitty, by now it should go without saying, but I get why I have to say it. Bottom line—whatever the situation is, I’m helping you.”
“That’s awesome.” Looked at her expression. “You know something you’re not telling.”
She grinned. “I was listening outside the doorway earlier and heard that you were trying to figure out why certain people were brought along on this trip. And I know why I’m here.” She patted her stomach. “I’m carrying a conduit.”
CHAPTER 108
“AS ALWAYS,” JEFF SAID, once we had everyone advised and had handled any arguments or whining, “I hate this plan.”
Shocking no one, Christopher was the last to approve the plan and he only did because Amy and Doreen both snarled at him. Becky had apparently already been working on her mother telepathically, and all the adults who’d been with Vance had witnessed the kids doing their Space Puzzle, so most of them took less convincing than those who’d been on the planets.
“Good. Then it’s likely to work. And I don’t know why you’re whining—you’re actually not going to be in life-threatening danger for this one.”
“Yes, that’s such a comfort.” Jeff’s sarcasm knob was definitely turned to eleven.
My plan was multifaceted, but a good part of it relied on Mahin and Abigail being able to bind the planet puzzle together so that it could actually hit the sun. So it wasn’t just the kids I was risking. Go me. Of course, I was risking, too, as were others. It was the highest-stakes game imaginable, really.
“How sure are you?” Jeff asked. Did not need him doubting me right now.
“A Matter of Trust” by Billy Joel came on my airwaves. “Do you trust me?”
Jeff sighed and hugged me. “Yes, I do. And no one has any better ideas. And we all know we’re just about out of time.”
We’d left several of our people on the planets—Tim, Reader, Wheatles, and Grentix were still on Helix Noblora and Adam, Kevin, Hamlin, MJO, Naveed, Len, Kyle, and Gadhavi were still on Helix Rime. We needed all the A-Cs, so we had to leave the humans, but they were all armed and felt that the situation was more than under control. We’d been advised that Len and Kyle were bonding with Telzor, which was nice, MJO was making Roanach and Clorence feel happily important, and Kevin, Adam, and the others had everything else well in hand. Besides, they still had the Peregrines, our Super Rabbits, the Most Weasels, Bellie, and Ginger hanging out—no one on Helix Rime was going to give them any trouble.
Those who I needed for the Plan were back on the Distant Voyager in the Observation Lounge, so we had a clear view of the system.
Jamie had Doreen sit on the floor so the kids could sit in a circle around her. “Dianne says that she wants you to be sure that you spell her name with two Ns, Auntie Doreen,” Jamie said as she led Doreen to her spot. My music changed to “Roxanne” by the Police.
“Huh. Dianne, not Roxanne?”
Jamie smiled at me and went to Alicia. “Auntie Alicia needs to sit back-to-back with Auntie Doreen.”
So that was how the kids had known Alicia was in danger. Laughed softly. “Alicia, does Tim know?”
Alicia grinned as she sat down. “Not yet. I haven’t had time to tell him. I was going to do it after Jeff’s speech and then, well, it didn’t seem right to share it on Cradus—because we both know Tim would have freaked out and not let me do anything—and we haven’t had any time otherwise.”
“Yeah, there were a lot of ‘do it after Jeff’s speech’ plans going around. I guess you don’t have to struggle with the name.”
“Nope. I like it. Besides, it’s Tim’s grandmother’s name.”
Decided that Jamie had earned being in charge of this part of the Plan. “Jamie-Kat, you get everyone situated. I need to talk to Uncle Chuckie for a second.” She beamed at me and proudly started moving people into position. Went to Chuckie and pulled him aside. “Do it now,” I said quietly.
“Do what now?” He looked legitimately confused.
“Propose. Take Nathalie somewhere on this ship and ask her to marry you. Now. Before we know if we’re going to live or die or succeed or fail.”
“Kitty, it’s not the right time.”
Rolled my eyes. “Ten extra seconds of boldness and we’d have been married since that Vegas trip. You were bold enough to ask Naomi to marry you before the world ended. Be bold now. Trust me. This is the right girl. Just . . . don’t make her wait to know she’s the right girl any longer.”
“I thought you wanted me here, doing important things.”
“I do. Don’t take the time to have sex or anything. Just propose and then get back here. Or would you rather go into the center of a sun?”
He laughed. “You’re right. This, especially compared to that, is not a scary thing at all.”
He sauntered over to where Nathalie was, spoke to her quietly, took her elbow, and led her out of the room.
Trotted back to what I was seriously now thinking of as the Summoning Circle. Jamie had placed everyone where she wanted them so that everyone would have equal access to the two pregnant women. As had happened during Operation Assassination, when Doreen was pregnant with Ezra, figured the kids were accessing those in utero to create some kind of Hybrid Super Kids Powers Activation. Also figured that if I asked Jamie how this was being achieved the answer would make every adult more than uncomfortable, so kept my yap shut.
Each kid was in an adult’s lap, so Sean was with Claudia, Ross with Lorraine, Ezra with Irving, Patrick with Serene, and Becky with Amy. Because I needed his father and he was the youngest, JR was in Doreen’s lap. Jamie was in Lizzie’s lap.
Lizzie wasn’t the only nonhybrid involved, either. Raymond was in Denise’s lap and Rachel was, interestingly enough, in Alicia’s. Wondered, not for the first time, if Kevin and Denise had A-C blood in them, or if they were just so damned charismatic that it was its own superpower. Still had no bet either way.
Charlie was in Jeff’s lap, situated so that he had a clear view of the window. We’d arranged the other adults so that his view wouldn’t be blocked.
Abigail and Mahin were stationed at the window. Gower, White, Jeremy, Jennifer, Siler, Rahmi, and Rhee were standing by, when, not if, the girls needed to get energy and power from them. Tito was on hand just in case, and I’d assigned Buchanan to be on guard in this room, versus following me. Under the circumstances, he hadn’t argued about it. Much.
“Remember, I’ll tell Uncle Jerry to give the signal. Don’t start until he tells you to, because that could cause a lot of problems.”
“We promise, Mommy,” Jamie said cheerfully. The kids all looked excited and the adults all looked worried and/or grim. So, as I’d expected.
My music changed to “God Give Me Strength” by Elvis Costello. Which was Algar’s way of telling me to step on it. Took Jamie’s hand in mine. Are you sure you can leave her safely?
ACE is sure, Kitty. Jamie will be fine. Jamie is strong and the other children will ensure that Jamie does not fall asleep as others do when ACE or Lilith leave them.
Then let’s do this thing.
ACE left Jamie and filtered into me. Having both ACE and Lilith inside of me was beyond anything I’d experienced before, but it wouldn’t last for long. Welcome back, ACE.
Jamie leaned against Lizzie, who kissed her head. “It’s all okay, Mommy,” Jamie said. “You do your part and I’ll do mine.”
Bent and kissed her head. “That’s my big little girl.” Kissed Lizzie’s head, too. “And my bigger big girl.” Jeff and Charlie were next to the girls, so I kissed Charlie’s head. “Be safe, my little man.” Kissed Jeff on the lips. “And my big man.”
“Meddler.” He didn’t say it like it was a bad thing.
“You disapprove?”
“Hell no. I was going to have that talk with him, you just beat me to it.” He took my hand in his. “Promi
se me that you’ll be safe.”
“I promise that I’ll do my best, Jeff. That’s all I can promise.”
He squeezed my hand. “And that’s always been enough. See you on the other side, baby.”
On to the next stage of my setup, before I delayed any longer. “Great. My team, with me, please.” Headed out, with Christopher, Kristie, Butler, Mossy, and Wruck.
We went to the cargo hold. Christopher, Butler, and Kristie made sure that everything other than the vat with the Anti-Mother in it was tightly tied down. Wruck shifted into a form that was hella strong and moved the container next to the part of the ship that would open and lower when the hold was opened.
Put my hand on the vat. You’re sure?
Yes, the Anti-Mother said. But, I do have one request.
What?
I’d like a different name. A name that you like, that means something good, and something good to you.
Had no idea what name to pick. My music changed to “Lucinda” by The Knack. It was fitting. How about Lucinda? That’s my mother-in-law’s name. She’s lovely, makes the best brownies in the galaxy, and loves her entire extended family and all their friends. And she and I started out as antagonists but now we love each other. A lot.
I love it! Thank you. We will not disappoint you or betray your trust.
And I won’t betray yours, either. Had to say it, now, before we were all committed. You know, if this doesn’t work, or doesn’t work as we’re all hoping, the sun will go supernova and you’ll die.
No. I will live in everything. That is what Cradus showed me—how I can be more than I ever imagined, no matter what happens next. And this is why your enemies become your friends—you warned me before you knew if I could be trusted. Because you care.
I do. Time to stop stalling. Good luck and let’s go save the solar system and thereby save the galaxy.
Nodded to the others, but before we rolled, Chuckie and Nathalie arrived. Nathalie was glowing and she had a very large diamond on her left ring finger. Chuckie was very good at determining what kind of ring each woman actually wanted.