“... Flit?”
“Yes, TO?”
“What do we do now?”
The question had spun in TO’s head since they left the old prison halls. What do they do now? Goretta was clearly not involved, and that was a relief. Mira didn’t seem involved, or at least she didn’t seem to be. The way she had handled people in the indebted center, and the way she led Goretta to revealing her lack of involvement in the matter told TO that despite how excluded she seemed, she might still have had some part in it, or at least knew more than she let on. Regardless, her actions and candor told TO that at the very least she was someone they could rely on.
So Mira and Goretta were blameless, but Tham and Vik had set this up, and others might have known. The question of who they could trust was center stage in TO’s mind, and they didn’t know how to deal with that. Did they question everyone using subtle questioning to determine who was involved, and who wasn’t? Did they leave the insurgents and figure things out on their own? If they left, what did they do after that? And what about GiDi? GiDi wouldn’t leave Pearla behind, and likely wouldn’t go with them. Was GiDi safe? Had Vik and Tham put the same failsafe in them? Worse yet, did Pearla know?
“We continue on with the plan.” Flit said after they walked in silence for several more minutes. “We need to get off Arkane; all of us. We need to make sure GiDi and Pearla get off Arkane, and don’t decide to stay behind in some self-sacrificial gesture. Even setting aside our personal wishes for their survival, they can both do a lot more living than they can if they’re dead.”
“It’s possible that Vik and Tham were the only ones involved.” Snout said. “Vik was the one who set up the chips, right? Maybe nobody else had anything to do with it.”
“Possibly.” Flit said, his ears twitching, his voice slow and thoughtful as he rolled the word around his mouth, “But we don’t know. We needed to find out about Goretta, since she’s helped us with a lot of medical issues…” They rubbed at their bad leg, frowning, “And Mira can probably help us find out who else knows, If we ask her.” They glanced back at TO, “You should ask her to find out.”
“Right.” TO said with a nod. Of the four of them, TO suspected they had spent the most time with Mira, and she expressed her trust in them. Mira could also follow the ‘subtle questioning’ plan that rolled in TO’s head far better than they themself could. “Also, we have to tell GiDi as soon as possible.” Their ears flicked down, flushing slightly as they recalled the reason for GiDi’s absence, “And, uh… When might it be best to talk to GiDi?”
“Two more days, I think.” Snout said. “Though, I’m making a guess based on previous experience, and a very rudimentary knowledge of Nagarajin biology. Last time it was about three days, but that could shift depending on Pearla.”
“Two more days,” Flit said, “Then a single day before our planned departure-”
“What?” TO stopped, their ears flicking back in panic, “Wait. That's only three days. We had an Arkanian week-”
“And you spent half that dealing with the Indebted Center.” Flit said, “We’re running out of time now.”
Three days. They’d be leaving on the fourth day. By then, everything needed to be done. They had to have the path to their ship secured, everyone ready to go, food and supplies ready, the ship ready for takeoff and prepared to withstand an attack in case Gyrini tried to stop them.
“When do the synths get here?” TO asked. The synths. More and more, the coming armada seemed so different from themself, as though synths were different species and not others who had similar genetics as them, and who went through the same training. Others, who might even be a blood relation to TO; siblings of Flit or whoever their other parent was. How strange it was that genetic relatives and former comrades could seem to be a different species, how they could be synths, and while TO was viewing themself as Chilacian more and more.
Synths apart from King Decon. Synths with unaltered brains. Chilacian.
“We’re thinking it’ll arrive the day after we leave.” Flit said. “We’re guessing, of course. We’re making the best calculations we can with the minute information we have. They could arrive earlier, or later.”
“We need to finish prepping the ship.” TO said, trying not to think of the mess that would happen if the synths arrived earlier. “We can take priority on that. What’s left to do won’t take that long, a day at most. I’ll order a refuel too.”
“Won’t that seem suspicious?” Avery asked, “I mean, doesn’t a refuel have to go through government agencies? That’s what happened when we left Heramu. If Gyrini sees a refuel ordered, won’t that tip her off that we’re planning to leave?”
“The synths are arriving.” TO said, “It makes perfect sense for us to fuel up and be ready for departure, depending on our orders.” They frowned as they considered Gyrini, as they thought of what they themself might think if they saw an order from strangely absent synths. “It might make her suspicious. Of course, no order might also make her suspicious.”
“Alright.” DH said, “That’s just a day of work, at most. We could go now and do it.”
“You need to rest first.” Snout said, “It’s been a long day, a taxing day, and it’s getting late.”
“We can rest at the ship, and get started first thing in the morning.” TO said, but Flit shook their head.
“We’re still working on clearing a path to your ship.” They said, “It’s almost clear, but not quiet. You can’t get there until they finish the tunnel.”
“So what, we just wait?” DH snapped, “We work with people we don’t know we can trust-”
Stolen novel; please report.
“You’ll probably help with the medical prep.” Snout said, “So, you’ll be working with Goretta. Avery, you’ll probably help in the kitchens, prepping food for the trip.”
“And I should go help with the tunnels.” TO said, their ears dropping slightly. They were skilled back in training, and very useful on the more dangerous missions they did for the insurgents, but they lacked particular skills to make them useful in the more mundane, practical ways.
“Actually…” Flit stopped, and turned to face TO, “Since GiDi’s… occupied.” Their ears dipped slightly, taking on the slightest shade of blue. “You could probably help by coordinating things among everyone.”
TO was just getting over the shock of their limited time when this next shock hit them. Their ears dipped, their eyes went wide, their wings fell limp over their shoulders as they muttered a quiet, “What?”
“Well, someone needs to coordinate things. That’s normally GiDi. I was doing it today but…” they shook their head, “I’m not as well known to the civilians here as you are, and I have other things to do. It’s a waste of time for me to explain my reasoning for every little thing to convince someone to do as I ask them.”
“They won’t trust me!” TO said in a voice far higher than normal, “I mean,Vik and Tham literally just-”
“Lots of civilians were looking for you while you were gone.” Flit said, “Looking for, ‘the one with the scarred wing, who helped those indebted out of Thalassa, and out of the indebted center.”
“I think your friends were applauding you as well.” Snout added. “Pearla’s artist friend, and the other one-”
“Petra?” TO said, thinking of the winged reptilian.
“Yes, her.” Snout grinned, “They’ve been raving about the two of you. You must have told them about your training too, because they’ve been talking about that.”
“What do you mean talking about our training?” DH asked.
“Mostly, they seemed to have focused on the practices of correction and repurposing, and leadership’s views about excessive interpersonal connections.” Snout said, “At any rate, half the civilians feel sympathetic.” They shrugged, “Mira said we all need therapy, right? That’s a sentiment that’s been buzzing around.”
“The point is this.” Flit said, “TO, you’ve helped indebted people in a big way, they’ve seen you helping, passing out food and water, and you have civilian friends who vouch for you. More people are going to listen to you than they will us.”
“You’ve been here longer.” TO said.
“Yes, but we’ve been out of sight.” Flit said. “And DH, while they’ve been helping medically…” They trailed off, their ears flicking slightly.
“... I’m more useful that way.” DH said. “And… TO is better at planning things, organizing… They were the one being prepared to be some kind of officer back in training! I wasn’t.”
“That’s not the same!” TO said, their ears flicking down and flushing from the high regard of their abilities. “That’s about managing synths-”
“Innovative, determined, hardworking. 09T07 seems uniquely designed to manage, teach, and guide.” Flit’s words rattled off as though they were reading from a screen, their ears taking on that impassive, cold angle they had back in training, “Subject would be best suited in some form of leadership position. Recommendation: lead role in placement, followed by a position as Officer in Training or Overseer in Training.” they turned to TO, “You have a predisposition for this kind of work. You’ll be fine.”
“But again, that’s synths-”
“You’re not training people here.” Flit finally said with a sigh, “You’re coordinating, and delegating. Most of the hard work has been done, the jobs are all listed, you just have to make sure things get done. The others will listen to you.”
Maybe they’d listen. Flit and Snout seemed so sure, but TO didn’t have their confidence. Would Vik and Tham listen to them? And how would the other civilians react when TO started telling people what to do?”
“Anyway, that’s for tomorrow.” Snout said. “For now, you need food and rest.” They shook their head, “And get up early tomorrow.” They added, “Come see us before you go anywhere else.”
“Why?” TO asked.
Snout glanced around quickly before answering, “We’re going to talk more about our plans for the next few days.”
That look, quick and careful, told TO more than their words did. Whatever it was, it was important, but they couldn’t talk about it here. “We could go to your room now?” TO offered, “And talk about it right now?”
“I promise, it can wait.” Flit said. “You’ve been through a lot today, and I need you all rested and ready tomorrow.” They glanced over the three synths, “All three of you. Understand?”
“Understood.” The three of them spoke in unison, as though they were back in training. Flit sighed and turned to Avery.
“Stay with them tonight.” They said as they jerked their head to TO and Flit, “I don’t want you near Kei for now, and I don’t think you should be alone. I don’t think you have been alone since you left that room, right?” Avery nodded. “Then stay with them for now. We’ll sort things out when we’re safe.”
TO wouldn’t have let Avery be on their own tonight anyway, not after everything that happened. It wasn’t just the recent isolation; it was Kei’s actions. Once Kei's attack settled in their mind, it seemed like part of Avery broke. It was much like how Vik’s part in the whole mess seemed to break a part of DH. TO wouldn’t say they were unaffected by the incident, but nobody had hurt them as deeply as Kei and Vik hurt Avery and DH.
“We’ll stick together.” TO said. They’d make sure that Avery and DH were alright tonight.
They’d keep their family safe.