by P. S. Power
"Yes, dear. As are you. I think that it's rather a sign that something is wrong. Julie, what is it? Do you fear us so?"
White... Laughed. It wasn't something that fit, being too manly by far. Tiera got it, and finally, it seemed so did Orange. She moved quickly, a single blow lashing out faster than Tiera could follow, which, amazingly, White dodged by throwing herself backwards before it happened. It was still close and the fight didn't last long, even with the pearl colored woman showing far more ability than Tiera would have dreamed. She seemed to know what was coming and acted before it was launched.
Still, Orange was faster, stronger and in the end the superior fighter. She knocked Julie out with a few sharp blows and then looked at the rest of the room.
"We'll need a brig. Is she working against us? Why?"
It was Doris that answered, her voice calm and not showing any worry over the fight at all.
"That's an unknown. She feels wrong however and has been working to subject the rest of you since she came aboard. She also doesn't fear the Baron here, which should be the case. I can't work out why Julie would try to do that, in particular. If asked I would have said that she was one of the more avid supporters of this program."
Tiera moved over and took the woman under the arms. White was larger than she was, but she dragged her to the corner of the room and formed what seemed like a thick glass box around her there, to keep her in. Then, as an afterthought, she made certain it had air flowing both in and out. She had a sudden urge to just send her off into space, but held back, since they needed to chat with her first.
"She's likely a clone of White, not Julie herself. The mind inside her is Cordes however. I can't say for certain, but it seems to be the same one that Tor and Cordes Blue have..." That worried her, a thing that overwhelmed her own fear suddenly. "Gray, or at least a clone with a Gray mind, told me once that she was planning to wipe out everyone, except for clones of the Ancients, trying to make a perfect world or something. There were a few lines in there that sounded like she was talking about bringing back the dead too."
That got a grunt from Alice and an angry look that seemed half ready to go on a killing spree. Tiera could feel that herself, but tried to keep the rage in. She was so angry at the moment, but didn't know why. That had been her life for a long time, so she had coping skills for it at least. Casting around as hard as she could, she fought for silence within her mind again. It was a struggle, but helped a bit.
Alice moved and hit the table top, hard enough it made a powerful thump, though it didn't move at all.
"Damn them!" Her accent was suddenly a lot thicker than it had been, and she hit the thing several more times in frustration, her eyes getting huge. "They have no right to do this! We're only now getting the world back, and they want to kill us all off? Cordes is behind this, I don't doubt. Even dead the bastard can't let well enough alone, can he?" She glared at the waking form of White, who didn't stand, or even sit yet, just groaning a little over in her new home. "So, we need to strike, find out who's working with him, who he's infected with his warped mind, and kill them all. Before they can do whatever it is they have planned."
That got Tiera to move toward her, both understanding the sense of her solution, and agreeing with it, and ready to fight, right then, if she had to.
"Except that Tor is one of them and I won't let you do that. We have to find some other way." Which started a whole lot of different reactions from the room suddenly.
Karen started to cry, if silently, and Havar looked just a little too vindicated for the situation. Sam had a weapon in his hand, and Doris was holding very still, watching Orange closely. That last one made sense, because it was clear she was about to attack, and it had been Tiera that was telling her what to do.
Instead she gritted her teeth hard, making powerful jaw muscles stand up on either side and exhaled in a long hiss. It made her sound like an angry cat, but she didn't lash out at anyone at all.
"I understand Tiera. I'll try to think of another way for your brother." It was a remarkable concession, but Karen sobbed a bit, wet tracks going down her cheeks already.
After a moment of silence, the room refocusing on her, she shook her head. It was one of the most forlorn things Tiera had ever seen. The move of a person truly defeated.
"We can't though, can we? He isn't just some Ancient, or only a good fighter, he's Tor. He's The Builder. Perhaps one of the greatest that has ever lived already, and he's only twenty. Every moment we wait he gets more powerful and we have less and less that we can do to stop him. We can't take him prisoner. I don't mean we shouldn't, I mean we can't. He'd fight us on that, or run, and in either way he's better than we are. I'm not even certain we can kill him really. Maybe if he disarmed and lost his shield, but if it was all out, and he had just what he normally does on him? No."
That got a dark laugh from the new cell on the far side of the chamber, the black glasslike floor and walls gleaming, but coldly now that the mood had changed.
"Ah, a bit of a wrinkle in the plan then?" Julie spoke warmly, but not in the same voice she'd used before at all. "It's more than that you know. You can't stop us. I planned this out for over two thousand years, setting every piece in place perfectly, readying the day. Everything had gone well, within what I expected as well. Everything. I'd ask you to join up, but I don't think so. Not now. You aren't going to change your minds." She sighed, and then chuckled again, seeming almost pleasant and conversational. "No worries, you won't be totally lost. We've recorded all of you, you know. Blue saw to that. The fact is that you can't win, and never could."
There was a pause, one that seemed to take forever to Tiera, as she watched the woman reach down, her knees bending, to touch the floor. At first she didn't get it, but Sam did, and he yelled suddenly.
"Off! Off!" It was panicked, and an odd way of communicating it, but Tiera got it anyway.
She dropped into a focused state, not having a choice, and ran at full speed toward the glass wall she'd put up, making it drop just before she smacked into it. Cordes White was still bending down, which was slower than running, but she didn't have near the same distance to travel either, so it was a real race. The woman looked up, her incredibly lovely face smiling at her, the ice blue eyes twinkling.
The soft hand touched the floor, well before the distance Tiera had to travel was covered, but nothing happened for a moment. Just as the impulse started to go out, into the ship, seeking the amulet to turn the whole thing off and kill them all, there was a crunch, as White collided with her shield, which was an hard as stone compared to her delicate flesh.
Then they fought, which ended a few moments later, with another sickening crush, as White had her head caved in by Orange. The woman stood back and looked at the scene, not moving at all.
White was dead. Probably even past saving with a healing amulet, since the back of her head was truly caved in, bits of gray matter showing from under the blood. Tiera was on the ground, and had been under Julie, trying to keep her from touching anything, while getting ready to do something similar to that herself, if she could.
Teamwork was a good thing, so she didn't feel bad about it, over all.
"Crap. Fucking, total, unbelievable crap! Well, a little flaw in our plan then, if all the clones are willing to die in order to see this done." Alice looked at Doris and seemed ready to lay waste to anyone that got in her way.
Sam spoke, having not left his post by the door, an explosive weapon still trained on the fallen form of White.
"I... Agree with Karen and Alice. We have to stop these people and we can't take any more risks. This one, White... I nearly started fighting with you when you moved, to protect her and I knew she was bad. If the rest can bring anything like that to the fight at all, or look like people we know, then what else can we do?" The worst part there, for Tiera at least, was that she knew he was right. They all were.
But Tor was her brother. There had to be something that could be done. Some way to make it so
that he'd be spared.
"The others, at least this one and Blue, Cordes Blue I mean, they both had those sets from childhood right? The Rhetistics that put a full mind in place? Tor is different, he has a personality too. Maybe he can fight it? I..." What she was doing was busily grasping at straws.
Doris however regarded her peacefully and after a few moments of deep thought, agreed.
"I cannot assure that, but it seems our best hope there. Tor is a formidable person, for one so young. He dedicated himself to his chosen task and in doing so has learned great control over his own being. Cordes, the version inside him, is much older however. About five hundred years. To think that he has no influence would be foolish, but perhaps we can do something to..." She faltered, which wasn't like her at all. Her face locked into place, looking like a slightly rounder version of white. Not as pretty, but so close that it didn't matter as far as most people went, if she wished to push things with them.
Tiera nodded.
"I know. I can see it. I just can't do it. I have to try and save him, even if it's stupid and gets me killed."
It was Alice that changed everything, back in control of herself suddenly.
"Well, right now we need to do some things. First we need to see if Julie lives. The place to do that is in the Antarctic. I believe, if we are careful that we can take Cordes Blue without issue. That won't work if all the Blue's are against us however. Either way, we can use their equipment to find her. Let's get Digs to set a course and sequester the body. I don't wish to frighten the crew."
Havar nodded.
"We should also assure Crewman Smith that he doesn't have to turn the craft off yet. Tiera set him the task of making certain the ship wasn't taken."
That got Alice Orange to give a very fierce looking grin.
"Excellent. Very good thinking."
They had to fix things and hide the body in a floating box, made to look more like a casket than something with treasure in it. It was plain and looked like raw pine, made with no decorations at all. There was a seam that showed where the lid was, but nothing else.
It didn't take long to find the right spot, only about fifteen minutes, and another twenty to descend on the icy place at the bottom of the world.
The first time Tiera had seen it, the thing had looked wrong, like it didn't fit, but now that she'd seen other things with similar construction, she got the idea. It was made of seamless metal, assembled slowly over a long time, but super strong and durable, as well as being highly insulated, so that they didn't lose much heat to the elements. A kind of metallic foam, was how it had been explained to her by Blue three. It was gray at the moment, but looked different depending on the light. It was a bit dark out right now.
The full craft they were in was far too large to fit in the entry dock, which was in the side of the artificial mountain the Blue's lived in, so Tiera waved at Alice with an idea.
"We can use my Fast Craft to go over. We'll need an air lock..." That, even though she'd been to the moon, was about the end of what she knew in that regard. Luckily Alice had a plan for it already, so that part didn't take long.
It involved a very large, and empty room at the back of the vehicle, one with plain flooring and a high ceiling. There were even lines on the ground to tell her where to set her craft up and then where to float it around, in case they had other such things in there. It was very efficient seeming and not a thing that Tiera would have ever bothered to dream up at all.
The dead clone was loaded into the back, by Karen and Havar, who didn't need to be asked to do it, and for some reason they all climbed in when it was time for them to leave. Not Wendy, who opted to stay on the bigger craft, feeling more than a little worked up already, but Smith, who'd held his hand on the wall in the hallway, ready to end them all, he got in and looked frightened, but determined to do what he could, no matter how little, or much, that was.
His boss, Alice, didn't stop him either, so Tiera didn't mention it.
No one even said anything when Sam passed the slightly older man that looked a lot like himself a force lance either. They both glanced at Havar, but he didn't even blink about it.
Aunt Alice shook her head, instead of giving concrete orders.
"We don't know what we'll find. If we need to fight, do it. If it seems like we're losing, then the fighters will stand and buy time for Sam, Doris and Smith to run. Someone has to make certain they see to ending this, if we fail."
It was actually a very good point, wasn't it? They were already in the docking section of the fake metal mountain, and unlike last time the open gap closed behind them, the outer room warming enough that when she got out, her breath wasn't showing in the air. It certainly made it all much more pleasant.
She took the vehicle all the way down, leaving the casket in the back to float along behind Karen, who had the control for it on her. Doris moved directly to the main control panel and spoke with an even tone that sounded a lot less like an invasion than what Tiera had been planning to use. It was the smarter thing to do, but she was a bit worked up from the fight still. Ready to do more if she had to.
"Hello, within. This is Doris, of command section two. We have several visitors from Noram, as well as Alice Orange. May we come to visit?" It sounded polite enough that the wall didn't keep them out this time, a door simply forming to the right of them almost instantly, a panel in the blue-gray expanse simply sliding to the side.
That led to a little room that was hard to fit everyone and the box into, but with a bit of careful arranging they managed it. Then it felt like they were falling briefly. Moving downward, at a bit less than the speed of falling.
When the door opened they were met by Blue Four. She was the youngest, and being a clone, looked like all the others, exactly, except that she was smaller. The Blues all went by she, except for Cordes, and they did look like decently attractive, if less than busty, women. They weren't though. They were hermaphrodites, which meant they had both genders, not just one.
They also all had the personality of a throw rug, but weren't hard to get along with, just flat and emotionless for the most part. Again, except Cordes, who was just a bit... off.
Four bowed however, getting one back from everyone, including Orange. She was the Noram Ambassador after all, so she knew the tricks now. She'd taken time to learn them when she'd been visiting.
"Greetings. I am Blue Four. May I inquire as to the reason for your arrival here?" It had that same bluntness that all but Cordes used. It was expected, so Tiera moved forward and put a hand out to touch her arm.
"Hello Four. We have some serious things to discuss. We'll need to talk to all of you about it, if possible. I also have a communications device for you, back on the new ship. You'll like that, I think. Space worthy and decently quick. It would be most efficient to explain to all of you at once, if possible?" She made the effort to speak clearly and logically, since all of the people they were meeting with did.
"I will enquire. Perhaps refreshments? I can have the processor make almost anything you wish."
It was true, but also a waste of energy, which meant she was trying to follow Noram guest rules, rather than the ones the Antarctic normally held to.
"Not needed, thank you. We recently dined."
"Very good. One moment."
If it had been anyone else, Tiera would have expected a trap to be sprung and still stood in the hallway they were left in with a level of alertness that she normally reserved for being actively attacked. Karen and Havar did better, and the Ancients looked nearly at home, just chatting lightly in some language that she didn't know, but no doubt Blue would. It had some similarities to Noram standard, but wasn't.
Sam worked himself into a meditative state, and she followed along, trying to be perceptive of the flow around her, the fields and information coming in.
Only Smith seemed really nervous then, but the man was very far from home and it wasn't that strange for him to seem that way, was it? He was fighting his very genet
ic pattern to do what he was, and so far, winning. It took more courage than most ever showed and more than that, he had to do it over and again, each day. Like the others in the program with him. Even the merchant and noble types were taking a risk, going into the unknown.
She was thinking that when Four came back with the others, and gestured for them to follow into a side room that had chairs and a table. It was a very blue space, everything decorated that way, from the table top itself, to its legs, the chairs and every surface around them. The only variation was that some of the shades were slightly different from the others, so that you didn't go mad from it. Just nearly.
It took work to get the box in, but a few minutes later they were all settled, Cynthia Blue regarding them all blankly, her nose covered with just enough freckles, all very light, to break up her otherwise pale skin.
"You have information for us?"
Alice stood, and nodded, smiling a bit.
"Correct. There is a massive attempt to take over the planet, one which includes the mass extinction of humanity, which is happening right now. We know that Cordes is instrumental, and believe that Gray is also involved. We have the body of a Julie White clone with us, that holds a Cordes Rhetistic set. The head is caved in, but you should be able to tell enough to assure yourself of the validity of the claim. Right now we need to take your Cordes in, and possibly kill him."
Tiera waited for the fight to start, or at least something like that to happen, instead Blue just regarded the version of her that was Cordes and nodded. Then she turned back to Orange and made a very atypical sidelong glance at Doris.
"Understood. Naturally the assumption will be that since I put the Cordes Rhetistics in place, I might be involved in the rest of it? If this is the actual situation. First, we should examine the evidence you bring. Cordes, please go to the holding chamber, until that is finished? Then we can hold a civilized conversation about the whole thing and see what might be done about it, whatever it actually is."
Cordes stood, but reached into her pocket, the slight swell of hip giving the heavy blue fabric enough of a bulge to hide what he pulled from it. It wasn't a standard weapon at all, looking like a thin crystalline plate about the size of Tiera's palm, instead.