by P. S. Power
He saw the world differently. It was all so clear to him. So focused and plain as to what was going on.
To him, she was the strongest person he knew. Even more than Kolb, who was strong, but old and tired, and so tied into being one thing that he'd long ago exhausted the use of it. Unlike Tor, he actually liked her, as a person.
To him though Trice wasn't just duty, but fear and pain too.
Ali was that as well, but strength and compassion at the same time.
Alphonse was virtue, even for all the mistakes he'd made trying to find love.
And Tor...
Was a god.
It was why he envied him, and feared that he'd always live in his shadow. Which, she knew, not being him, was silly. Tor was no better than Timon was. True, Tor was possibly the best builder ever, but there was more to life than that. The reason that he was as good as he was, she knew, was that he wasn't much else at all.
Timon was a person.
And, in the end, so was she. Which meant that she could shake this current envelope of thought off and move on, if she wanted. Laughing a bit she actually smiled and shook her head.
Then she put her hand on her older brother's slight shoulder, and shook just a bit.
"Tor. Tor! Come back to the surface. People need you. There's real work to be done, and what you were doing is done. Now you're just sitting there, being lazy. People need you to help them..." She got ready to say it for a while, but his eyes snapped open, and he tried to stand.
"Wha-" It was a throaty croak, which got him handed a healing amulet, some water from Alphonse who ran to his side, and a hug from Ali.
She might not love Tor, but she'd been willing to die by his side. In part because he was the only thing that left her feeling even a little safe in life.
Tiera smiled.
"There we go. So, you two both actually lived, and as far as I can tell, Cordes is gone? From inside Tor at least. In time for my date, and everything. Perfect. So..." She paused and tried to think about what she'd have wanted to know, if she'd just woken up like that, after three months. More than that really.
For a second she wanted to freeze, but then she sighed and shook her head. Someone had to let them know and doing it slowly, when they weren't in deep trance states, wasn't going to help. There was no better time to pull the bandage off than as soon as possible.
"Right. So... Gerent let your weapon loose Timon, which did its job, and most of the old Ancients are dead. The good ones, the ones on our side, attacked the Others to hold them in place, while they all died. We can't go back to the Earth. The Moon colony is going well, and they named me Queen. That's probably a mistake, but it works for now. We don't have half the bowing and scraping of Noram though. I think we're up to about five thousand people already? More are coming, but it will take time.
"The Earth... Well, that isn't much different. We need to get aid into place, and there have been some really big storms as the climate shifts, thanks to the damage the Ancients did. That's about all though."
There was a moment when the world seemed to go silent, and Timon, still vastly deep into his own mind, turned to her. The power of his attention made her rock back a step, as if pushed. His eyes were normal looking, and perfectly clear. It was just that he was focusing on her so totally that she felt it.
When he spoke his voice was still a bit rough.
"This isn't done. Cordes... Blue put hundreds of copies into others. Regular people, that will still be alive, all over the world. They should die, eventually, if they don't find a way to live. He may attack through that mechanism."
It was a point, and one that she hadn't thought of at all, even though she'd known about it. After all, she was thinking about immortals, not regular people. They didn't count, right? Except, naturally, they really did. They, the real people of the world, was what all of this had been about. That they mattered was why she and her family had been fighting.
Trice moved in and hugged Timon, getting one back, but then stood up and looked at Tor, who stared at her a bit.
"Also... Timon figured out how to make some of us into Ancients. Immortal, like you are?"
As if she had to explain that last bit. Tiera didn't let her eyes roll though, and just waited for Tor to react.
He didn't really, not for a long while. She felt a wave of his attention going around the room, and it took a bit, as he followed each field, examining it carefully.
"Oh." He didn't sound happy, or sad. Just like he understood.
Timon grinned, which wasn't real, and barely made his field change at all. There was no flare of happiness first, or joy, just a few neurons firing, making his mouth move. His eyes too. It was a trick though, no matter what it looked like.
"There are others. Sheri Bonner. Karina. The kids in our family. I'm planning to get the others, Todd and Terlee, when the death field dies down. Their people too, if they want. Taler, he said no. That one life is enough for him. I understand that. In a way he was always the wisest of us, I think." There was a bit of hesitation, and he went on, sounding a little dark. That part was subtle, but more real. "William Smythe, of Westend, too. In case Cordes won, in what we were doing, and Tiera failed to kill you. He has another device that will kill immortals. All he had to do was get them all in one place and finish it. I felt that it would be safer for the rest of us if he'd have to kill himself too, in order to get that done."
Tor stared for a very long time, and his next words seemed... Normal. As if he was regular old Tor. It was a lie though, since his field was so tightly unified it was scary.
"Great... So you managed to make the person that hates me worst in all the world immortal? Or, I guess that might be Dorgal Sorvee. Did you do him, too?" There was a pause and a cloud passed over his eyes. "Lyn... You said she died? How is he? They just got married."
No one knew that, but a call came in, from Sara, wanting to dock with them.
That, they all felt, was a great time for Tor and Timon to go and get showers and maybe some sleep. They'd been awake, after a fashion, for months. It took a bit of work, and Kolb got her to help set things up. He worked the speed controls, while she went to the back and opened the wall so that Sara's little ship could get in and settle. She did it perfectly this time, having had a lot of practice over the last months.
Tiera wasn't really a bitch, so the first thing she did, was speak. The blonde woman, who was dressed in a nice, but practical looking merchant's outfit, all in tan, that looked to have a jacket and skirt even though it was all magic, came out with a man that looked to be in his early twenties or so and had nice black hair and smooth skin. He looked a little soft, and was shorter than she was, but that didn't mean she couldn't find him interesting at all.
"Sara? Tor and Timon woke up. It worked. They're both resting now, but I thought you'd want to know? I think Tor is in Ali's room, right next to Alison and Eloise?"
The woman didn't say anything at all, and just started running, full speed. Tiera called out after her, since the trip was a long one, on foot.
"Use your Tor-shoes!"
Whether she was heard or not, she didn't know.
The man, who was Smythe's assistant, she thought, stood looking up at her a bit. There was more professionalism to his gaze than lust, which was a bit disheartening really, but she'd live.
"So, you came to report to your boss? I'll warn you now, I'm making you suffer through dinner at least, and if I can get you interested enough, that sex you mentioned. I'm not trying to be a whiner, but things have been really boring here, and you kind of did promise." Or at least mention that that was why he was coming.
The man grinned and bowed.
"Your Highness." Then he looked at the door, which was probably telling. "I did, indeed come to report. As for the rest of the evening, well..." He seemed suddenly happy at least. "That's at least as good of a reason to show up. I also have some papers, from King Richard?"
They walked, since it was pretty clear that the man was going to b
e there for a while, since Sara had vanished and might well stay that way for a while.
The only bizarre thing, really, was that Ridley asked to see Trice, so he could report. She kept her shock to herself and got the woman out of Timon's room, taking her place for a few moments while the other two spoke in the hallway.
Then the rest of the night went along as planned. By her. It was nice and Ridley Dens, no matter what else he might be, which, she understood, was probably a spy for Trice, which would mean for the King as well given her sense of duty, was good in bed.
Very much so.
In fact, he had to stay the night, since Sara wasn't leaving Tor, so Tiera took advantage of that and got him interested in her twice. It was fun, and only left the review from Space Fleet to handle before they left. True, they could have gone back to Harmony and dropped people off, but as things worked out, the others all felt that staying was a fine option too.
Timon managed to get everyone out into the hangar, dressed in something a bit nicer than student browns.
"I mean, after all, Tiera, you're the Queen of the Moon. I'm sorry about that, by the way. If I'd been around properly I would have set up some kind of group to do the work. That's what I'd actually intended, so that no one would have the whole thing dropped on them like this. Well, we can fix that on Mars. For the time being however, I'm the Noram ambassador to the colony. I should probably get in touch with Richard, that being the case. Can we get a good deal on aid supplies?"
She made a slightly bemused face and looked down at him. He was still growing, but not as fast as she had. That probably made things easier for him, really. He'd transformed his clothing into a nice black velvet outfit that looked ready to go to a court function. Trice was in a light colored but very fine dress, and stood next to him, since that was her place for the event. Alphonse had to be there, being the point of the whole thing and dressed in the Royal colors of Noram.
Tiera glanced over and smiled up at him. Then snapped her fingers.
"I need some royal colors too. I haven't been thinking of anything like that."
The tall Prince looked at her, lovingly, she realized. It wasn't exactly correct, if they were family, but they weren't really, were they? Enough though, so she winked and turned away as he spoke.
"It does make getting dressed for things like this easier. I always know what to wear. It saves time." He meant it to be funny, and everyone chuckled a little bit.
Tor was there, also in black, but he made that look plain, so that he wouldn't overshadow anyone. Kolb was standing there too, but well back, since, as he let them know, more than once, if he and Alice were too close, for too long, they'd fight. Even though they liked each other. It was just a thing that happened, that neither could help. He also assured them that it would be fine, if they kept some distance between them. Fifty feet or so.
Ali was actually piloting the ship, and little Alison wasn't brought out yet. It wasn't really needed after all, and waving a baby around wasn't that interesting to most people.
They expected a lot of people, and the craft that came in, a regular Tor built one, seemed large enough for twenty or so, if they packed in close. When they started to get off however, it was a lot less than that. Gerent came first, looking pleased to see everyone, but behind him there were only two people.
A man and a woman, and neither one of them was Alice Orange. Not even the littlest bit.
Gerent waved at them.
"I was told that there was a change of plans and that you only wanted these two? I hope we can bring the others over later. I don't want to impose, but we sort of promised them a chance to view your new ship, Tiera. A lot of them are really excited to see it. There's been talk of missions to other planets and even stars, soon. If we can get one of them, I mean." He bowed suddenly, with his hands to his sides, but going low. "Sorry, I mean your Majesty."
She waved at him abstractly, with her left hand, going for her weapon with her right. "No need for titles or honorifics, since we're family. If I'm the Queen that makes you something royal sounding or other, doesn't it? Being my brother and all that. Why not step aside for now though Gerent? We need to deal with this first I think."
She moved then, to the side, and pointed her little wand, stripping the two Ancients in front of her of their shields. Tiera wasn't the only one to get the basic idea though, and everyone in the room, except Gerent, had a weapon out. All pointed at the man, who was a tall boy really, and the woman that looked exactly like her own mother. At least once the disguise amulet was dropped. Tiera did that with a flicker of intent, but it was clear that several others had already gotten the idea.
Gray and Cordes. Come visiting and everything.
It was the man that spoke, waving first to Kolb, of all people.
"Kolby! Tor!" Then looking around, he fixed on Tiera and bowed. "And the Little Bitch! You got big, didn't you. So nice to see you all." He sounded happy enough about it all.
Like he really was coming for a visit.
She, personally, was about to kill both of the Others that stood before them, wondering if they were the leaders of the whole thing or just the ones that had managed to survive somehow. They were both dressed in black, and Gray had orange stripes on her sleeves, showing that she was a Captain in Space Fleet. It was probably not real, since Orange would have noticed her, one would have thought, if they ever met. She could scent familiar people and even immortals, so it would be hard to hide that from her. There weren't that many Captains after all.
Cordes, who to Tiera looked like Mitchell, had a single teal stripe, on his cuffs, meaning he was pretty low ranking. It explained how they'd lived at least, being off planet and probably refusing to go back, once they realized that all the Others there had died.
Gray scrambled for something in her side pocket, which turned out to be a pale white capsule. Not gray at all. She started to squeeze it, when Cordes pulled something large and lumpy from his own pocket and pointed it at the side of her head. It made a very loud sound, and blood sprayed away from him as the Gray Ancient fell down, seeming dead. A few more loud noises were made, just for good measure, making the small and familiar looking woman's head, collapse.
He held the thing up, with two fingers, and waved it a little bit for Kolb to see.
"Amazing, isn't it? I used the three-dimensional printer on the Ranford to make it. No one else realized what it was. Gray thought it was an affectation for some reason. Then, she was never that good at violence really." He looked at the little white capsule and smiled, his face looking too familiar by far, for her taste. "You'll want to get rid of that. It's pretty nasty stuff. Lara wanted to make sure that you all died, for killing us all. She had a few hundred daughters that died when you set things off, Gerent."
Tor stared, his face looking hard.
"Terek?"
Mitchell the Cordes nodded slowly. "That's me. I'm sorry about tricking you like that Tor. I had to make certain that the version of me in your head wasn't corrupted. The Larval were, as you know. I wouldn't have set them after you, if I didn't know they couldn't control themselves better than that. They were supposed to push you into becoming, well, what you did. So I guess it worked, after a fashion? I enjoyed our talks though, over the years. I know that I was most glad to find out that the version of me in you wasn't evil. There was always that chance. I had to take out more than one that was, in the last few years. Apparently, I can be an asshole. Who knew?" The words were playful, and meant to sound like her brother, Tiera thought.
Stepping closer, Kolb looked down at Lara and picked the capsule up, carefully. Then he stood and looked at Cordes. Hard.
"So, are you claiming you were on our side the whole time? Some kind of double agent? It might have been nice if you'd have let us know about that first, wouldn't it?"
The boy that Tiera had known as Mitchell, who was, if she had it right, both Cordes in mind and body, having a five hundred year old copy of the original man inside of himself, shook his head. He need
ed a haircut, she thought. Then she would soon too. It might not be that bad though, since the new Timon shields probably wouldn't let your hair be pulled, being far enough away from the head to stop that.
He looked at Kolb, his little brother, and just seemed sad.
"No. It was all me, Kolby. I did all of this. And it worked. I can't believe it, but I won. It took so long to put together and so many false tries. I can't even tell you about them all, since I don't know. Thousands of me, working for hundreds of years, but now it's done. Finally." He glanced at everyone else, and got that they seemed baffled at least.
That probably meant he was only half crazy, but he didn't bother explaining anything either.
Tiera nodded, and so did Timon.
She was just faking it, acting as if she understood, but Tim spoke as if he was reading from a book.
"Your goal was never to kill humanity. Just the Ancients. The old ones at least. You pushed us all into responding, so that we'd make that happen? Everything bad that's happened has your mark on it..."
Mitchell smiled, seeming a lot happier than he normally had at weapons practice.
"Exactly Tim. It was always about saving the world. Gray wasn't the only threat, just the one I thought you could all survive. In a few hundred years it would have been Brown, or Green... and everyone always undersold him. He had a hundred things in that basement of his that could have destroyed the entire world, and his mind was going, and had been for a long time. He couldn't even just kill himself, thanks to his Rhetistics. But he and the others could let themselves die, for the good of the whole. One last noble stand to keep the world from being destroyed at the last second." He spread his hands, old style weapon still in the right one. It gleamed a little in the bright magical lights of the hangar.
Then, as if it made any sense at all, he bowed to them all again, one by one.
Then knelt on the ground, laying his head low, touching the deck, raising only a tiny bit to speak.
"I apologize from the bottom of my heart, for all I've done to you. Tor, it was I who set the Larval on you, no one else. No matter what it seems like. That was always my fault. Or, a Cordes, at any rate. Timon... I told the Larval to set up taking you, to influence Tor into drastic action. Your torture and pain was all my fault. I should have found a better way. I didn't know that it would be as bad for you as it was, but that doesn't excuse the action. And Tiera..." He stopped, and sighed then shook his head. "I didn't make Sandra kill your Regina. That one I didn't do at all, but I could have stopped it, and didn't act, even knowing that a girl would die, since it would have given me away at the time."