The Silence Within (The Young Ancients: Tiera)

by P. S. Power

  The man seemed really eager for her not to get angry however, which was strange, after all, while she was upset, and probably would be after this for days, longer if it was an attack, she wasn't going around pounding the ground or ripping at her hair, was she? She didn't even glare at anyone. Finally she motioned to Ken, when the man came to her for the fifth time inside seven hours.

  "I'm not getting his meaning here, Ken. They're clearly working right along, and with good speed, should I order food and drink for them or... Oh, restrooms! Forgot that." That, she had on her, a magical one. It wasn't a thing she'd ever used, but it had been free at the time, and now, suddenly useful. They all used it, looking much happier after, at least in set of shoulders.

  It even took Ken a few minutes of talking with the man to get it all.

  "Food and water would be good too, and sleep soon. It's just that back home, in Austra, people would be pestering them for results already. It takes time and they can't rush it, but most don't care that much about reality, especially when there's a story to get on the air."

  Oh. It made a lot of sense. Austrans were like that. She'd seen it.

  "I see. Please let him know that we stand ready to assist them only, and aren't here to hover or second guess their work. I'll see to housing... No, they can sleep in my craft. It actually makes a nice little house inside, if you do it right. I'd put them in my place, but it's filled with the women and children of this area, in case a second attack came. I won't turn them out into danger."

  That got the same man, called Bradley Peterson, of all things, to come and set some minds at ease then.

  "We know it wasn't any normal kind of attack. There are human remains in this ash, enough that there were bodies, three of them at least, and possibly more, all male. From the reconstruction to date, it seems that one of them was standing at it, about waist height when it exploded. Powerful but the stone and earth walls of the sub dwelling they were in contained it and sent most of it up. This was a mistake. A stupid one too. Chemtrex is highly unstable until it sets. Then you can run a tank over it, and nothing will happen, unless you hit it with an electric current. Then it goes. Early in the procedure however? A good sneeze may well have done it. That doesn't answer why they were doing it, and we most certainly won't be able to, lacking data. We might have good likenesses of the men from their genetic readings however. That's part of what's taking so long right now. We generally make a hundred passes on each sample, then use the averaged data to prevent things from skewing as much as possible. It won't be a perfect likeness, but it's good."

  Tiera looked at Ken and nodded.

  "Ah. That's a lot more impressive than what I thought you were doing, which was just going to be telling us what kind of missile it was. That's Austran though isn't it? Chemtrex? So someone had information that was either from there, or close enough that it didn't matter?"

  Blue probably had it, since she kept all the information about the whole planet she could find. It was her job. The task that she'd taken on for the world was to collect all the information and keep it safe, in case it was ever needed. That way, no matter what happened, it would always be there for the future.

  Except, as Cordes Blue had pointed out to Tiera on the moon, information wasn't enough in most cases, and you never had the time to build a complete industrial base in an emergency, which meant having all that data was really a bit... less than it seemed. Helpful if you could use it, but the treaty prevented that, in most cases. Though it was suspended at the moment, because of the things that were coming from space.

  None of the Blues had thought that sounded right either, that there were three incoming fleets. It was probably a trick, or a way to allow some old tech to be used that would do something that most of them wouldn't like, if they knew about it.

  The whole group of Austrans turned to look at her, afraid suddenly, except Ken, who cleared his throat.

  "That's the most likely case. Of course the fact that it was botched might mean anything from some of our people being here and having an allergy attack, to some of yours trying to test the explosive without total information as to what was supposed to happen. I'd like to point out that these Austrans aren't the kind that make that sort of thing, they just examine it and stop those that might be experimenting in their living rooms." Young looking or not. Ex-spy or not, the boy moved in front of the explosives team, to guard them with his rather small body.

  Tiera shrugged. It was a horrible habit that she was picking up, and not something that a Countess should be doing, she didn't think.

  "We have Truth amulets if people are afraid that I was accusing them. I wasn't. We just need to run this down, no matter where it takes us. If we can." Most of the amulets were off being used, but Tiera had hers still, if the people desired the use of one for comfort.

  It took a bit to find someone that could do it, but she asked for food to be brought in, and set up her craft for the people doing the work, which caused her to have to form it into a rather strange, very long and thin shape, so that it could be on the road near the blast site. It took a bit for the gear to be moved inside, since part of it was still being used, even as they moved it, which meant it had to be carried with utmost care. She didn't try to help this time, or do anything, but get those standing around to move away, since going to their own homes would be safe enough, unless someone else was busily making something similar in their own dwelling.

  "We can test for that, if you... I don't know the laws here on that. But if we take a scanner up, we can test the whole city in a few hours, and locate any air born particles. From there we can pinpoint where their highest concentration is." Bradley Peterson looked at Ken then and included his other people. "How do I explain rights violations? At home we couldn't do it without a warrant, but here, I don't know..."

  Tiera actually got the idea, she thought, and looked around as the people that had been standing around all day started to dissipate. Most either back to their own homes, or in a few cases, staying with their neighbors, since their houses had burned down.

  "In this case you'd need the permission of the local ruler, I think, if they knew what you were doing at all. It isn't a thing that we can do, so there are no laws or rules against it. It doesn't matter here. If you will do it, I'll endorse it. Thank you."

  Then Ken had to explain that it was basically the same thing as a warrant, her saying that, except it couldn't be overturned in court. That lost her, but the rest of them got it, so she decided that she'd help them settle instead of learning all the differences in their legal systems that day. The food came, which was very plain, considering these people were guests of a Countess, but they seemed impressed anyway with the bread, meat and vegetables. For some reason they seemed a bit shocked that they were given wine with it, but there was also a nice berry juice that was locally made. She checked it all for poison, which was a thing that Ken noticed, and didn't mention to the others at all.

  Then they picked rooms, each getting their own, and she moved to settle in the first one, so that if attack came, she could meet it first. That was actually a real problem, on two fronts. The first was that her guards, who needed to sleep too, quietly insisted that they be in the front rooms, to guard her, because it was their job and all that. The other was that the Austrans thought they were being held prisoner for some reason.

  That led to a discussion about coming and going, if they wanted. It wasn't a problem, and she pointed out that they could wander the city when they were staying on in a few days, if they wished, or even go that night. She didn't have guards for them of course and if anything happened to them, she'd look pretty bad. It made sense to her, but she wasn't certain they really believed her. Still, they got rooms and didn't come out after a bit, so she was able to get some rest herself.

  In the morning there were more guards around, all in green with light blue trim and funny round hats on their heads with chin straps to keep them on, as well as black leather half boots. These men and women, who were of
varying ages, went door to door asking questions with the Truth devices. No one knew anything really.

  She however, as well as all the other school kids, needed to get back to their duties, since this didn't seem like a real emergency, but just a mishap. A scary one, but nothing that would keep her there. She had people for that now and they actually seemed to be doing pretty well.

  She called Clemance, to keep him in the loop, and explained it all, then asked if he'd be available to come to the site, so that she could introduce Ken and the others. That way, when they showed up at the door, they'd be let in as they should be.

  "I'll be there directly, Countess Baker." The voice was calm about it, and it was still dark out. In fact the Austrans were just starting to stir, because buzzing things had been going off, forcing them awake to check their findings. One of them, a woman, stumbled out and looked at her tiredly, yawning and stretching. She'd already cleaned up a bit, since the rooms they had did contain small showers, but no baths, due to size constraints. Then, as if remembering something, she bowed, blushing as she did, though she still got it right, going low.

  Tiera returned it, and waved to her.

  "We should have food coming. I need to get back to school, but my Butler is coming to make certain you all have what you need, and for introductions. Do you know how long you'll be staying? I should call Denno and make sure he lets your people know what's going on..." The other woman looked at her and smiled, but didn't speak yet, so she did that directly, talking to Brown no more than a few minutes later.

  "So, they're staying on for a bit of vacationing here. I'll arrange for them to have a communications device, so they can get in touch with you at all times. They should at least go to the Capital for a tour, and see some other things. Am I missing anything?" Denno was always good for things like that.

  "Hmmm... Well, they have families, of course, so I should get word to them. I can't think of anything else at the moment, but when it comes up, I'll be in touch. This is a nice mystery, isn't it? I'll have my people here analyze the data as well. Perhaps we can figure a few things out?"

  "Great. Anything you can do. I want to know why anyone would be doing that here. Well, I know why, so do you. They were going to attack something and were residual rebellion forces, or working for them, most likely. They may have even been working directly for Count Morris."

  The woman looked questioning, but didn't interject anything at all, just standing in her tan jump suit, which had numbers on it instead of names. Some people like that worked in Denno's house. If she had the right idea, it marked them openly as his personal guard.

  When the conversation was winding down she just handed the activated device to her, "you probably need to report or whatever. I'll be outside."

  It took longer than she liked, getting everything in place, and while the others were getting back to school, she was going to be late. It would probably mean being punished for it too, Countess or not. Kolb really didn't seem to care about things like that. The other instructors might, except Doris, who wouldn't punish her at all, just suggest she keep up with her work, which she tried to do standing there on the street, at the early morning light showed people walking back to their homes.

  After taking the Austrans up to search for more explosive, and then making sure they were settled at her home, she ended up getting back to the school at about one in the afternoon. It couldn't be helped, but she didn't think that would matter much.

  She turned out directly to the practice square and warmed up, did her exercises and started working, planning to go until the meal break. Kolb didn't beat her for it, or suggest she spend her time scrubbing the stones on her next off day. Instead he put her to working with some other first year students, ones that she'd seen before but didn't know really.

  Kolb waved at each of the others however, his face grim and hard.

  "Nic, Bannor, Elie and Tiera. Now you know each other. Nic, I want you to work sword with each, since that's your skill set, Bannor will do grappling, and Elie, if you'd help them all with knife work. After that, I'd like all of you to work against Tiera full force. There's a lesson here that I need you to pay attention to, do you understand? All of you."

  It wasn't hard to see. The others had clearly been practicing for years and were very good at what they were showing her. Nic was a first year, and only fourteen, but with a light blade the tall boy was at least the equal of all but the top instructors there, and they were some of the best in the land. Elie was nearly as good with a knife, and Bannor, who was already huge and strong for a kid, dominated them all in grappling so easily that it was practically a joke.

  Nic looked at her and then shook his head.

  "Yeah, so we all know this one now, don't we. I've seen you practice, and this is going to hurt." He took a deep breath and they went at it with swords, using practice wands, but still, his skill was much better than hers, so he was right, it hurt. But she also won, not five minutes in, the other boy laying on the ground, weakly grinning as he gasped, bleeding in several places.

  She waved for him to get up and keep going, since that was the task, but on the third time he went to the ground, he couldn't make himself.

  "I think I have a broken hand." It was clutched to his chest, so she decided not to push it overly. After all, it was their first practice together.

  Elie's knife skill fell apart at full speed. Tiera hadn't counted on that, because her ability, which wasn't half of the other girls at all, stayed about the same. She also gave up more easily than Nic had, which was bad for a fighter. She wasn't bleeding or broken at all, but a little pain set her to moaning.

  Bannor at least didn't do that, and instead tried to grimly hang on, even after she broke his right arm and they slammed each other into the ground several times. No, what happened there was that he went into a combat rage, which sent everyone else running off. That made it a lot tougher, since he apparently got a good boost of strength from it, and while he didn't have a clear disorientation aura, he managed a nice direct effect power blast that knocked her back several times. It was a bit like one of Tor's force lances.

  That went on for about twenty minutes, and the boy finally stopped, seeming befuddled, during one of the breaks in what they were doing. They were both on their feet, but she noticed it as she was about to move back in, so managed to stop.

  "Out of it now? Let's use the healing amulet. I hear that people end up with awful headaches after things like that, otherwise." They were a bit slow too, befuddled and prone to slipping back into the things. She had to get the device for him, the large young man's eyes clearing after a while, and a pop coming from his right arm.

  He started to bow, but Kolb walked over and waved for the others to come too, stopping the action.

  "So, Tiera, what did you learn from this?"

  "Well, they're all much better than I am in technical skill. I think that was what you wanted me to get for my part?" She thought she had part of what the others were supposed to get too, but telling people they were wimps was not going to go over well at all. She wanted to avoid doing that, unless it was also the point. Bannor wasn't that however, was he?

  "Nic?" Kolb moved on smoothly, not making an issue of her words, thankfully. His head was shining in the sun, because he'd been working with some people too, before he'd come over.

  "I suppose I could say that I'm a delicate little girl, but that would just look wrong right now wouldn't it? Also, it's clear I need to round out my skills. I was taught sword and single stick, along with boxing. Bannor showed how useful that would be for me against him at least." He grinned easily and nodded to each of them in turn.

  Elie sighed.

  "The same for me, except... I just fold under pain. I don't know what to do about it, I always have. I try not to, but..."

  That actually got a considering look from the Head Instructor. After a moment he spoke, his voice nearly pleasant. "Some can't. That just means you need to avoid it. Greater skill in a wider range, as we
ll as more full work, to help you push that level back over time. Knowing what to fix is a good start on doing it. I expect the work to be put in however."

  Then he looked at Bannor, who was about the same size he was, but broader across the shoulders. Since he was probably fourteen like most first years, that meant he'd end up being huge.

  "Bannor?" He looked at him blankly, just waiting for the young man to say something. After a bit he shook his head.

  "I... Forgive my loss of control. I shamed myself..."

  Tiera looked up at him, catching his eye, since he was looking down at the time.

  "Did you? Isn't the point of combat rage to help you out in a dangerous situation? We were working full force, and actually hurting each other already. It gave you an edge, but that isn't cheating under those conditions. If I wanted you out of it I would have stuck a healing amulet on your back, or Kolb would have. Now, it's a good idea to control that, but it wasn't a shameful thing. I mean, I don't think so at any rate." She meant it but the boy blew air out, making his cheeks puff cutely. It didn't make him seem bright, but the way his lips protruded a bit was endearing. His hair was too long though. Not girl length, but not a proper fighters cut either.

  Kolb chuckled a bit.

  "Correct. Now, Tiera is normally in the early classes, but comes here often in the later part of the day. I'd like all of you to work together as often as possible when that happens. Repeat what you did today, but actually attempt to teach the others your areas of expertise instead of just using your skills. Now, go find other partners for the rest of the session, unless you have a class."

  That was interesting, because they all did. They only came in for about two hours a day after all. Then, she was sort of on the fighting track, wasn't she? That, and maths. She needed to do more with economics too, clearly. That being part of her new job. She mentioned it to Kolb, who nodded.

  "I'll set that up. A book and a test on it? Like you did before?"