“Lyza told me.”
“Lyza?” exclaimed Elaina, her attention stolen away from her charge. “How does she know about this already?”
Panthea was flippant. “Oh, you know Lyza, she’s clued in on everything that goes on around here.”
“Yes, but we just found out ourselves.”
Erin was baffled. “None of this makes any sense.”
Panthea was just beginning to pick up on the palpable vibe that something was very much askew. “Why? What is the emergency, anyway?”
“Analel’s missing,” informed Elaina, gravely.
“Missing? But I just saw her.”
Once again Erin and Elaina looked at each other, confoundedness upgraded to utter shock. Erin rounded on Panthea, desperate. “When? Where?”
Panthea was beginning to contract the anxiety in the air. “A couple of minutes ago, with Lyza. Quinn too.” She could see by two Mothers’ expressions that a more lengthy explanation was in order. “I was in the Box when you cut into my Prophecy from Stormwatch and requisitioned my help with overseeing the placement of the second raider/prisoner into a Wave Thought-induced coma for transfer into Island Guard custody.”
“Yes, I remember. Go on.”
“And then you asked me to return that metallic contraption the prisoner was being held in to a crew of haulers waiting by the docking bay.”
“Yes, yes, we know,” Erin’s impatience building, “when did you see my daughter?”
“Well, as I was bringing that contraption over to those haulers, like you asked, Lyza appeared and stopped me just before the docking bay. She told me about the emergency and how you needed me back up at Stormwatch as soon as possible. I asked her what this emergency was all about but she said she didn’t know. All she knew was that I was to drop everything and return to Stormwatch as fast as I could.
“So there I was, stuck with this contraption and nowhere to put it. My annoyance must have come through somehow because without even mentioning it Lyza offered to deliver the contraption to the haulers for me. It seemed like an adequate solution, given the circumstances. At any rate, Analel was there waiting with Quinn, a little further back but clearly together with Lyza, so her being missing couldn’t have been the emergency.” Panthea had talked herself into confusion. “What’s going on, exactly?”
Elaina, looking at Erin who was deep in thought and imagining what she must be going through, decided to take the lead, filling Panthea in on events up until that point. “A few minutes ago, while monitoring the storm, Mother Erin spotted Analel leaving the Prophecy on a mining vessel carrying those same haulers.”
“What?”
“She’s gone.”
“No!” Panthea was in utter disbelief. “They took her?”
“She seemed to be going with them voluntarily.” Elaina turned to Erin who looked like she was still holding it together, albeit with no small amount of effort. “She must have hid inside the dolly to get passed the Island Guard, clever girl.”
Panthea was riddled with guilt. “Mother Erin, I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“It’s not your fault,” Erin assured her, rejoining the conversation. “Clearly Analel had every intention of leaving without informing anyone.”
“But why? Why would she do that? Why would she leave?”
Erin had been quietly asking herself that very question ever since her daughter had begged for her trust and she’d given it, against her better judgment. Why indeed? “That’s what I’m going to find out,” she said, using her anxiety to fuel determination. Addressing Elaina, she asked, “Can you cover the rest of my watch for me?”
“Of course, don’t you worry about that. You just worry about Analel. We’ll handle things over here, won’t we Panthea?”
Panthea was more than eager to assist. “It’s the least I can do. I still can’t help but feel this is all somehow my fault.”
“Please, don’t do that to yourself,” said Erin, placing a comforting hand on Panthea’s shoulder. “If anything, I’m to blame. She tried to tell me something was happening with her. She tried, but I wouldn’t...” Pausing suddenly, she held Panthea’s gaze without flinching. It was clear she was fighting for control of her emotions. Panthea was scared to move lest the slightest jostle compromise the fragile dam of self-restraint Erin was relying upon to hold back her tears. Now was not the time for crying. She had to be focused, practical. After a moment, Erin gathered her emotions together and said to the other Mothers looking on sympathetically, “...It doesn’t matter now. What’s important is that I find her and bring her back, safe and sound.”
“And how do you plan on accomplishing that?” asked an extremely concerned Elaina.
“My daughter was Prophesying for an Academic on a mission before she left. Jonas is on that same mission. He might be able to help me. I pray that he can.”
Elaina took a step closer to Erin, hugged her, saying as much for Erin’s sake as her own, “She’s going to be fine. Annie’s a smart girl and a powerful Prophet.”
“Erin swallowed back her tears. “Thank you.” Pulling away gently from Elaina, she proceeded to the only elevator on Stormwatch level, entered, and left Elaina and Panthea with one last brave look before projecting a Wave Thought for level 129.
*****
Having just come off a Stormwatch shift, Erin knew all there was to know about who was currently Prophesying for whom, and where. On level 129 she made straight for PropS 18 and spoke to the Attending Prophets about taking over for Jonas, mid-session. Such a thing was rare and generally considered to be a far less than ideal proposition. Conjoined consciousness is a sensitive thing, one of the most sensitive things, and pulling a foreign consciousness out mid-session takes skill and training. Switching one for another in just as short a time was even more dangerous. But Erin was certainly on the level. Besides, every Prophet Mother knew her history with this particular Academic, theirs’ being the single longest Prophecy session on record, and that alone gave her unofficial, tacit authority on all Prophetic matters relating to Jonas.
It took Erin and the two Attendings a good five minutes to pull the current Prophet out.
“He’s all yours,” she said.
Erin hesitated. It had been months since she was inside his mind. Before that, it was all she knew for the better part of two whole years. Had she changed over the last three months? Had he changed?
“Mother Erin, is everything alright?”
The question brought her thoughts back to Analel. No, everything’s not alright, but she answered, “Yes, I’m ready,” and removed her Reader from her cloak before climbing into the Box.
Jonas’ Wave Card was already loaded and Erin needed next to no adjustment time to find his pattern. A single deep breath and she was inside the bridge of an Island Guard Monitor. The interior was sparse and utilitarian, designed strictly for patrol and combat. There was a Professor whom Erin recognized from when she met Jonas at the Prophecy’s docking bay many hours earlier. She’d seen him on occasion before, always at the side of the Headmaster, speaking of whom, was himself positioned in the Captain’s chair toward the back, flanked by two Students. Jonas was in the first of two pilot seats opposite the other Professor.
She watched him before alerting him to her presence, wanting the chance to see him as she’d seen him for all that time, when their entire world was no larger than a few ships and the promise of possibility filled every waking hour. The feeling was so familiar to her, watching over him like a guardian angel. But there was someone else who she should have been watching over and failed to do so. How could I have failed my own daughter like this? She couldn’t answer that question but she was determined not to ever have to ask it again.
“Jonas.”
He looked up questioningly from where he sat staring down at his instrumentation. “This isn’t Layl… Erin? Is that you?”
“Hello, Jonas.”
A simple smile came to his lips and she remembered that look. The emotions it trigge
red within her were all too familiar. The two of them remained quiet, content to allow their merged consciousness to just be, wanting to pretend the chaos surrounding them didn’t exist, if only for a moment.
“I need your help,” let in Erin, at last.
“Anything.”
“My daughter is gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean, gone?”
“She left the Prophecy on board a mining ship.”
“A what? How? No crew of haulers could possibly pull something like that off.”
“They didn’t take her. They picked her up. She was in on it somehow, planning to go with them.”
“Even so, getting passed the Storm Field with a Child Prophet stowaway is impossible, Erin. Who was on Stormwatch?”
“I was,” she chocked, but quickly regained control of herself. Her next words rushed out of her like water from a breached dam. “She begged me to let her go, said there was something she had to do and that she needed me to trust her. Creator help me... I let her go. I don’t know what I was thinking. I don’t know what to do. Jonas, please, I need you now.”
Jonas’ mind was racing. There was obviously so much going on beneath the surface here and he had to bring some of it to light before he would even know where to start. But his mind was already overloaded with problems of his own. “Of course I’ll help you. I just have to… arrrg,” he growled in frustration.
“What’s the matter?”
He didn’t want to bother her with his problems but he had little choice. She was going to be Prophesying for him now, reading his thoughts and feeding him her Sight. If they were to be an effective team she would have to be brought fully up to speed. “I’m in the middle of a bit of an emergency myself, at the moment. Have to figure out what’s going on with a Student of mine, a Student who’s very close to me. He may have gotten himself mixed up in something bad. Took off in the Mandate Race cruiser. It’s programmed to give off a unique signature and we’re tracking him now. Hopefully we can get this under control fast and then I can help you find your daughter.”
“Are you referring to the other Student with you at the Prophecy, the one who didn’t need me to organize for him a Prophet because he already had one?”
“Yes, Kelerin. How did you know?”
She ignored the question and asked another of her own. “What might he be mixed up in?”
“I still can’t believe it, but the Headmaster said he overheard him. Said he may have been conspiring with the raiders who attacked the Academy.”
“Creator, no!”
There was real fear in Erin’s voice now, Jonas could hear it resounding inside his own head. This woman had seen him through some of the most dangerous experiences of his life over the course of the Mandate Race and rarely was there inconsistency in her steadfast tone, not a flutter. But that was not the case right now. “What is it, Erin?”
“My daughter, she’s Kelerin’s Prophet!”
Silence.
“Jonas, you have to promise me you’ll keep my daughter safe. She’s not involved in this. She can’t be. I know her, Jonas, and she would never do such a thing.”
“I thought the same about Kelerin. He’s like a son to me, but the Headmaster told me he was having a hard go of it while I was away, that he wasn’t the same kid I left two years ago. He said he knew it was bad, but he never expected it to be this bad.” He shook his head, trying to make sense of it all. “I don’t know. I can’t bring myself to believe it either. The boy has no family to speak of, and then I go up and leave him for two years. I guess it’s possible. I don’t know… You left your daughter behind, too.”
“Jonas…” Her tone was a warning. The unspoken words behind it were, don’t go there, but Jonas was beyond deterrence.
“All those Academics who died… My friends, my colleagues… I don’t want to believe it but-”
“Jonas, listen to me. I don’t know your Student but I know my daughter. There’s no way she’s capable of doing what the Headmaster is suggesting. There must be another explanation. You have to promise me, Jonas. After all that I’ve done for you, all that I’ve given you - promise me you’ll protect her.”
Jonas continued flying straight, eyes locked on the circular blue mass of Osmos up ahead. A clear destination, a clearly defined goal. He was going to make that goal. At the moment, that was about all he could assure anybody of with a reasonable degree of certainty. “I don’t know what’s going on here, Erin, but I promise you this; I’m going to find out. I’m going to find out and I’m going to make it right. Somehow, I’ll make it right.
Erin’s tone changed again, this time to something more fearsome than fearful. “That’s not good enough, Jonas!”
Chapter 40: Ash
Academy Island, Osmos
Kelerin/Urmston/Analel
Come on Analel, where are you?
It looked like the end of the world from where Kelerin stood, waiting. The entire top of Academy Island was scorched earth. Whirlwinds churned up soot laden ground throwing ash into the air and turning everything a dreary charcoal gray. A massive crater was all that was left of the actual campus and where the once imposing Userus hall had stood tall and stoic now marked ground zero, the lowest central point of that hollowed out desolation.
Kelerin had perched the cruiser atop the crater’s rim and was pacing back and forth under the fuselage, alternating between looking out in disbelief at what was left of the only home he’d ever known and looking out at the sky to where a shadow of hope for his future might or might not be heading his way, that very moment.
Right then, hope was really all Kelerin had. He wasn’t at all sure the Captain succeeded in getting Analel off Caras 1. He couldn’t even say for certain whether or not Analel’s trusted friend managed to get her out of quarantine to meet up with the Captain, in the first place. Just before she broke off contact with him, she’d told him it was time for her to go. He’d assumed that meant Analel’s friend had managed to free her, but given his predicament, how much stock should he be placing in assumptions, he wondered?
For all Kelerin knew, his Prophet was in Guard custody at that very moment, informing her interrogators of exactly where they could find him. All the unknowns in the equation made a part of him want nothing more than to just run away, disappear and let the Islands and the Academy deal with their mess. Running made sense on a whole lot of levels, mostly those pertaining to self-preservation. But persevere to do what? To be what? The Academy was all Kelerin ever knew. There was no other place to go. No other person to be.
Running was a non-option, which left only fighting, and Kelerin was fine with that. He was an Academic, after all. Fighting for truth, with Whip or word, was what he was trained to do. He would fight. He would fight for the Academy and he would fight for what he was taught, even if the very paragon of that institution and of his edification turned out to be a fraud.
He knew there would be those in the Academy who would break once they found out about the Headmaster. They would be lost, their sense of purpose gone, and their ability to fight for that purpose would be gone right along with it. But Kelerin grew up in the Academy. To him it was bigger than any one individual, bigger than the stone, wood and glass reduced to the ashes under his feet. The Academy was an idea. The idea of studying the Creator’s truth embedded within every crevice of the universe. As long as there was intelligent life to ask questions and seek answers, the Academy’s spirit lived on. Besides, if he did have to pick a single individual to represent the Academy’s essence, it would be the late Professor Ren, not Headmaster Orisius.
So Kelerin’s faith was far from shattered, his ability to fight for the object of that faith never more present. But he couldn’t fight this particular battle with Wave Whip and Rippler. This was a battle of truth, not skill, and the instruments of manipulation, energy or otherwise, were useless to him at the moment. He had only one effective weapon on his side - the memories of a Child Prophet; the things Analel could show the Academy and th
e Prophecy from their shared collective experience, what happened at the Habitat between Bar-Kas and the Headmaster, this was his only chance at convincing the powers that be to believe one of their own had gone rogue and was guilty of treason, collaborating with raiders and mass murder.
Orisius was surely aware of this fact. Kelerin had to assume the Headmaster would do everything possible to keep Analel from getting to him or anyone else of consequence. Timing was everything. Whichever ship would appear first over the horizon would be the ship to decide his fate.
For now the sky remained empty. He absentmindedly kicked up a clump of ash from the ground adding even more gray matter to the overly saturated air. Waiting, his thoughts ran in circles and walking in physical circles seemed to be the only effective counter to his stress, untwining his mental knots. He was beginning another pacing loop along the well-trodden path beneath the cruiser when the distinct sound of a ship in the distance broke into his monotonous thinking/walking cycle. Peering out intently at the sky, he smiled.
It was the Miner.
The familiar ship reached the airspace of the island, slowing to approach speed and circling the cruiser from above. The ship created a mini ash storm upon its descent and Kelerin had to shield his face with his arm, although he was too late in doing so to avoid a layer of the stuff caking the inside of his mouth and throat, causing him to heave, coughing up a thick mass of black phlegm.
The engines died down and Kelerin peaked out from behind his arm and watched the back cargo door lower itself to the ground. Captain Urmston was waiting at the threshold of the ship. He began walking down the gangplank even before it touched Academy soil. The unmistakable Wollo brought up the rear to one side, Gowdy on the other. Kelerin walked out to meet the triangular formation.
“If it isn’t the genius,” Urmston called ahead before meeting Kelerin at the halfway point between the two ships.
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