They all sat down, chatting quietly. Dane looked a little less tired now, as did Polla, and she and Trouble were talking happily about the lake and it's inhabitants. Jackie had shown up to represent Ryker's children, and a weary-looking teenage boy with shaggy black hair was there to speak for the ex-prisoners.
Mike waited until everyone had gotten settled before he spoke. "So, first of all, I want to formally thank all of the military leaders for their help with all this, and I'd like to thank the rest of you for your support and cooperation. We're not quite done with this job yet, but as things stand, here's what we need to do: Find a home or homes for every last kid who was living with Ryker, provide support and opportunities for the people he held captive, and figure out what to do with the data drive. Those are the three main things, anyway. Does anyone else have a task or question they'd like to add to that list?"
Most shook their heads no but Thranion spoke up, “I have a question, but it doesn’t have to go on the list.”
“Then what is it?” Tanrial asked, crossing her arms.
“How do we know we can trust her?” He asked, pointing to Jackie, “Didn’t she attack you guys?”
(Ooft, so I fly back home - finally -tomorrow morning but I’ll be busy today so idk how much I’ll be on. I’ll try and reply whenever I have la WiFi)
(Okay, no worries ^^ I hope your trip home goes smoothly!)
There was a brief pause as everyone glanced at Jackie. She looked at Mike almost expectantly, but his face stayed blank. "Dude," she said eventually, "Aren't you going to defend me?"
Mike shrugged. "You're an adult, you can speak for yourself. Besides, I don't really know if I can defend you with my limited knowledge of what's going on inside your brain right now."
Jackie frowned, but turned back to face the others. "Fine. Yeah, I attacked some of you last night, but….Wren and I have been talking since then. Ryker is my dad, but I've decided I value the happiness of my siblings more than I value his approval. I'm going to help Wren keep my family safe, and if that means protecting them from somebody at this table…" she narrowed her eyes. "…..I wouldn't hesitate to rearrange some teeth. But so far as I've seen, you guys are good people. So you won't have to worry about me anymore." She sat back and folded her arms.
Mike nodded. "That's good enough for me. Anybody still have objections?"
(Thanks :) )
“How do we know you aren’t working for Ryker? That this isn’t a whole big scheme to gain our approval before you attack from the inside?” Thranion asked again causing James to roll his eyes.
“Hemdez, I believe her. She doesn’t seem to be lying and her statement was valid.”
“I’m just saying, I’ve seen it before and would rather it not happen again.”
"Why should I have to prove myself?" Jackie challenged. "When all of you came storming in and attacked the people trained to protect us, when you destroyed our home and took us away from it with barely an explanation, you expected us to trust you. Right now, I'm not here for anyone but my siblings. If you think you can help us, that's great, but if you continue to act like you're the vulnerable ones in the room, I'm out. We can survive out there on our own if that's what you want."
Bernon held up his hands. "We're not trying to accuse you of anything, we promise. I'll vouch for you, personally. I think you're trustworthy."
"I do too," Mike said. "Raise your hand if you think we should trust Jackie."
“All I’m saying is, I don’t trust someone who has been following a man who has been experimenting on people for god knows how long, and then attacked three people who were trying to explain themselves to you. And now suddenly you’re on our side? Sorry, I don’t believe it.”
“Well I do,” Tanrial raised her hand and so did James.
Polla raised her hand firmly, as did Bernon, Mike, and Trouble. Rick shrugged and raised his hand as well, apparently having forgiven Jackie for their fight the night before. Dane looked a little less certain, putting his hand only halfway up. The teenage ex-prisoner, however, kept both hands on the table and glared darkly at Jackie.
Mike noticed and addressed him. "And what's your objection to her?"
The boy sat back. "About the same as his," he said, nodding at Thranion. His voice was husky and unfriendly. "I have a little more firsthand experience with her and her family. I don't trust a single one of them."
Mike sighed. "Well, it looks like you're outnumbered at the moment. I say we give her the benefit of the doubt, just for the sake of moving on with the meeting. All right? We'll keep an eye on her, but right now there's no need to get in a fight about it. Fair enough?"
Thranion looked unpleased with the outcome and kept glaring at Jackie but he nodded, “Fine. But if she puts ken toe out of line I’ll deal with her personally.”
Tanrial rolled her eyes, “Whatever, but moving on. What are we going to do with the kids? Some of them aren’t old enough to the age care of themselves so we’ll need families to look after them.”
"And I assume they'll want to stay close together," Polla added, glancing at Jackie.
Jackie nodded shortly. "Right. And most of us can earn our keep, too. Peter is a great medic, for example, and I've got plenty of practical skills if anyone wants them." She glanced at Thranion pointedly.
Mike coughed. "That's a good point. Let's think of the kids as a useful, welcome addition to whatever group they end up in, hey? I should think a small town or village would gladly accept a group of healthy, diverse young people since they'll add so much to the community as they grow up in it. It's true they'll put a strain on resources for a while, but what they give back in the long run will probably outweigh the costs. That said, does anybody just want to take the whole group back home with them, off the bat?"
James and Thranion stayed quiet for a little while, exchanging a glance before James sighed and raised his hand.
“My village is fairly close to where the Eyvn territories. We share resources so there’s no problem there. I’m sure they could find work if Thranion is willing to help on that front. I think we have enough space, if not they can double up until we do but… we could make it work… possibly.”
"Thanks, James," Mike said. "And you too, Thranion. I understand that could be a difficult and costly decision for both of you. Before we say anything final, though, does anyone else want to offer their help? Let's make sure we consider all our options here."
Dane shook his head. "I run an army, not a town. I don't think the People's Army should be taking in children."
"We'd take 'em," Trouble spoke up. "But us Southern Clans are kinda, well, clannish. Not sure the elders would be very excited about so many new faces."
"Our village would be happy to have them," Polla said. "We're small, and isolated, and surrounded by bandits, and there's not much to eat, but we've agreed that the children will always be welcome here if they choose to stay."
Jackie was silent for a few minutes, staring at her hands. "I don't think I can make that choice right away," she said quietly. "If it's all right, I want to talk it over with my family before we decide."
“That’s acceptable,” Tanrial said gently, “Deciding where you’re going to live for awhile and for some of them grow up, it’s a big choice. Talk and think it over.”
“Even if you do choose to go with Polla, there’ll always be spots for you in my village too.”
(I gotta go for a bit, not sure when I'll be back)
Jackie nodded. "Thank-you."
"Now that we've got that settled for the moment," Mike said. "Next up is the matter of the people Ryker was holding captive." He glanced at the dark-haired teenager. "What's your name?"
"Ven," the boy said.
"Ven. Is there anything you or the others in your group need right away? Have you all gotten some food and medical attention?"
Ven pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, we did. As far as I know, none of us need anything special."
"Good. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you guys don't necessarily need to stick together."
"Right. I heard them talking. Some of them want to hit the road as soon as they're strong enough. Some others did mention they wanted to look at getting jobs with you guys though, maybe as fighters or something."
Mike glanced around the room. "So is anyone hiring right now?"
(Okay, I’ll probably be gone by then but I’ll try and reply at the stop over)
“The problem is, getting humans in and out of the main city without being noticed,” Thranion rubbed t his chin, “Nost of the going jobs are there but…” He shrugged, “Finding jobs in the outer territories are harder but not impossible.”
(sounds good)
"So it's an option as long as they're careful," Mike concluded. "Who else?"
"We'll take workers too," Polla said. "If they're good with boats or carpentry. And we're always looking for people to help fend off bandits."
"We'll hire soldiers any time," Dane said. "As long as they're fit and loyal."
Trouble cast Ven an apologetic glance. "The Pikes don't take job-seekers either, sorry."
Ven shrugged. "I'll tell them. I think mostly they just want to get back to their old lives. Some of them have families they're looking for, but all of them are focused on moving forward. I was a Wanderer before I got caught–I plan go back to that life in a few days. Those of you who said you're accepting workers should probably talk to the others yourselves, since they know what they want better than I do."
“Sounds fair enough,” Tanrial shrugged, “Now, what about the data drive? Are we going to destroy it, hide it or give it to the authorities or something?”
(This will probably be the last time I’m on before Doha, see you in about seven hours)
"I don't think we should destroy it," Bernon said. "Hiding it some where might work, if we could find somewhere safe enough…but that would kind of put it back at square one, where I first found it. The people who gave it to me asked me to take it to someone who would use it to help others. They suggested the East Coast, but that area is just too dangerous these days."
"We can attest to that," Polla agreed. "The trading caravans that come through here never go further east than Vermont. If you wanna get mugged, diseased, and then marooned in a jungle of polluted sheet-metal huts, you head to the coast."
"So the data drive shouldn't be taken that way, then," Mike said. "It'll get smashed or lost or stolen. While we're on the subject, I don't suppose any of you guys have the tech and know-how to unlock the information inside the drive?"
"Not over here" Trouble said. Dane and Polla shook their heads as well.
(Sorrryyy, had some major flight delays)
"I think Ryker was one of the only people who knew how to open it," Thranion said, shrugging a shoulder, "Because I don't know how."
"Same here," James paused for a moment before looking to Jackie, "Did Ryker ever tell you how to open it? Or did he keep that information to himself?"
(np ^^)
Jackie shook her head helplessly. "I can't remember him talking about it much. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with all the big machines in the office level back home, but I'm no technology whiz." She paused, trying to think. "He shared almost everything with Eric and I, more than anyone else….but I'm pretty sure Eric was his real confidant. They worked together on Ryker's plan for decades. I just did the legwork, mostly."
Bernon looked down. "So….letting those two escape was the worst thing we could have done. All they have to do is gather up their resources and they can start scheming all over again."
"That's easier said than done, remember," Mike said. "Not only would they have to somehow rebuild the incredibly high-tech, expensive bunker we just destroyed, they'd also have to find or train people with the skills they need–skill that are very rare these days. Right now, let's not worry about that and focus on the data drive."
Bernon sighed and nodded. "Yeah, but we still don't know what to do with it. I was wondering if somebody out West would know, but going that way's a pretty risky gamble if we aren't certain about it."
At that point Rick shifted and gave a little cough. "Hey, uh, mind if I speak for a minute? I just thought of something."
Tanrial looked to Rick and nodded, "Of course, go right ahead."
"Well, so, Bernon mentioned headin' West, right? It just so happens that I might know somebody out there who could help."
Bernon brightened. "Really? Who?"
"His name's Mathias Shaubren. He's an uncle of mine, used to lived back home when I was a kid. He was kind of an outcast because he was more interested in science than in punchin' somebody else's lights out. He left to seek his fortune when I was sixteen, said he was going out to California because he heard a rumor there was some kinda intellectual stronghold there. We got letters from him sometimes, and last I heard he was doin' pretty good. I don't know if he specializes in machines like that data drive, and I can't promise that his colleagues are trustworthy, but I can vouch for him with confidence. He's a real nice, smart guy, and he might be at least a place to start."
(gtg, back in like 20 minutes)
"I guess it's the only lead we can go on," James sighed, "But that's good… I think."
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