Goddess of the Moon (Young Ancients: Tiera) (32 page)

"You'll
need to have nearly one hundred percent coverage as for artificial gravity as
well. It just occurred to me when you said that. Well, the ships have it, so
you can make a copy of that on the way there, by separating the field out and making
improvements. Then get the others to help with copies. Or have Sam do the work.
That's up to you. Some water purification, holding and pumping will be needed,
too. I believe that the workers there so far have been building for several
hours a day, then living on the ship that took them there. From the sounds of
things, your current plans are a bit further reaching than that? I have to say,
I enjoy the sound of it. If you have a good restaurant and some shops, I might
even take a tour there myself in a few months. Perhaps Bonita, and a few others
could go as well?"

Tiera
got the idea, but had another one at the same time. She snapped her fingers.

"Brilliant,
we need an inn too. Plus houses. I also want to put in a giant forest garden
and some things like that. We'll have to see though. I don't want to promise
anything, just to find that all the High Servants have run off and are hiding
when we get there."

Her
roommate looked embarrassed about that part of things, but Burks stepped in and
patted her large shoulder, reaching up a bit to get it done.

"Don't
worry too much. Reports say that several of them are actually doing rather
heroic work there. Even in this situation there are things, and people, to be
proud of."

She
nodded, but was red in the face. After a bit more patting, the Count turned to
leave.

"Oh,
Tiera, I hate to bother you with this, but would it be possible for you to room
with Maris on the way there? A few of the others have been worried that she
might be stressed, if people weren't looking out for her." The words had a
strange tone to them, and she couldn't read it at all.

Finally,
after ten seconds of trying to work it all out, she just asked, rude or not.

"I
know you're trying to tell me something, but I'm missing it. Is she a danger?
Or
in
danger? Has someone been abusing her already? Ali? Sheri?
I..."

The
man laughed, but it sounded tired, if heartfelt.

"No,
no, nothing like that. It's simply that she's focused on you as her master at
the moment, and that's a positive thing, over all. The longer she stays with
you, in close quarters, the less likely it is that someone else will come and
simply be able to order her away. I would have thought that young Sheri would
be the one, given how much time they've spent together, but Remy believes that
Maris views her as your slave as well, so it still comes back to you."

"Slavery
is wrong." She crossed her arms, which got a simple eyebrow raised in
return.

"True.
She also doesn't get a choice in the matter. The best we can do for her is put
her with a person that won't take too much advantage of her. One that will see
to her well being and not let others harm her for sport. As for Sheri, well,
have you considered that you might have a connection there that should be
explored? I'm not normally up on these things, but if I can see it, coming only
occasionally into contact with you both, then perhaps it's worth looking
into?"

Then,
turning on his heel rather artfully, he left, closing the door behind him.

Almost
as if people were just taking turns annoying her, Gerent called.

Thankfully,
that was just to chat, which was actually nice. It wasn't until halfway through
that they even mentioned the trip they were taking.

That
part was interesting, since if she'd heard it before, she didn't know about it.

He
sounded shy, when it came up.

"Oh,
yeah. Um, Collette and I are moving there, so I'm going up to make sure it's
all right?"

"Oh?
That's good then. I was thinking about that someday myself. Hey, you can help
me set up the gardens and forests there? They'll need to be inside, but we can
make lights for it, I think." They chatted about that as if it were
perfectly normal then. Making plans for projects in space and on the Moon
itself? What else would anyone be doing, correct?

She
nearly made herself laugh, and he did, when she told him about what she was
thinking.

That
lasted until she had to run to meditation, which, Doris assured her, would be
the last one for the week, since they were all leaving in the morning.

"That
will be interesting, for my students. Will we be meeting in the commons
here?"

Tiera
winked, which was faked up, since she was so deep everything she did was.

"That's
right. Just after breakfast? We need to be to the Space Training center here by
noon, but I gather the rule is for everyone to get places early and wait,
rather than anyone waiting on us."

"Wise.
We'll be there." Then she went back to meditating, not bothering to move
at all.

Tiera
hardly slept that night. It wasn't nerves, exactly, as much as the constant
stream of people contacting her for last minute advice. As if she knew what
they needed? Except, well, she
did
, after a fashion. Clothing amulets,
the new style Timon shields, grooming supplies, and of course, clean sand. She
wasn't bringing any, but Prince Alphonse had made arrangements for about eight
tons of the stuff to be taken with them.

Originally
that had been four, but she'd had him double it. She might have to eat
reprocessed waste, eventually, and it really would be fine when it happened,
but she didn't want to do it sooner than was needed, did she?

That
was wimpy of her, but she decided to embrace the idea. After all, it wasn't
expensive to bring it with them. That had been a problem when she'd travel with
Cynthia Blue and her children there. Everything was weighed and judged to the
gram. If it couldn't do ten things and be as light as a feather, it didn't go.
Thanks to the Tor ships though, they could take nearly as much weight as the
things would hold, and it wasn't a problem. Heat buildup
was
, but not
mass. So extra sand was no big deal.

Really,
they could use the human waste with her new build. She'd tested it, but hadn't
shown anyone yet, since she wanted something to play with on the trip.

That
didn't make
food
, so, stinking, rotting bits and feces would work just
fine for it. She didn't care if her table cloth was made of that stuff, as long
as lunch wasn't. That probably meant she was a picky eater, she guessed.

The
morning came early, and she went for a run and a last work out, since she
didn't know what would be possible for the weeks after that. True, she wouldn't
instantly get weak or anything, but it was best to stay ready, when she had the
chance. That meant she had to eat in her room, having just a bit of dried
fruit, since she didn't want to set up a food device. That would take hauling
in some dirt and then taking it out again... Besides, she needed to do
something with the bit of food since leaving even dried things behind could
lead to mice or other vermin getting into the room.

So
it was, at about nine in the morning, that she moved outside and set up her
Fast Craft, making it large enough that she could seat everyone for the five
mile trip. Remy had managed to convince Dean Hardgrove that, as an Instructor,
he should get a room himself. It probably didn't take much wheedling, since it
really did go with the job. Sure, the being hadn't been hired at any point, but
he'd been doing the job pretty well, while not being paid. Even the new people
liked him well enough. He was a bit hard, true, but that was mainly in
insisting on accuracy and best speed, at least from the beginners. Other than
her
.
She took a real drubbing every day or so, with Kolb and Karen being given about
the same.

The
craft was a plain gray that day, and looked a bit like a small version of a
space craft, since she wasn't feeling all that much like decorating at the
moment. She'd taken time to wash up really well, so she wouldn't be a problem
that way, but other than waiting she didn't know what the next few days would
bring at all.

People
started to show up about ten minutes after she set up, leaving the side door
open. A girl she didn't really know, except in passing from the fighters
section, popped her head in and smiled, looking a little tentative. Her short
brown hair gave her away though, along with the clothing bag she was carrying.
It seemed to be a real one.

"Hello!
Is this the conveyance to the training base?"

"Yep.
Go ahead and get a seat in the back. It's how we'll load and unload for this
mission. Keep your bag near you and make sure everyone else does please? Once
we get there, I don't know how long we'll have to unload, so we need to be
ready to do it fast."

"Got
it. You can count on me." She seemed pretty happy about that, and called
out what people were supposed to do when the next people came too. The first
few were fighters, but the meditation students came in too, listened to the
instructions, and even though it meant sitting next to unfamiliar people, they
did it, holding themselves calm the whole time. More or less. These were the
top five students from that section, but their ages varied a lot, from a girl
that was a true woman, who had graduated from the school, but still attended
lessons, to a boy that was no older than Tiera was.

It
made a big difference in how they all seemed. There was simply a stillness to
them that regular people didn't have most of the time.

Doris
and Kolb weren't the last ones in at all, but did account for their own people.
That left Tiera counting for the rest. Sheri and Ali were the last ones in, but
had six large cases with them. Their own gear too, so Tiera pointed at that,
only to have Maris explain.

"Oh,
we're bringing rocks. To eat?" Because that sounded right, didn't it?

"It
never hurts to have extra." Tiera didn't let herself smile, looking at
them all, just standing with her hands behind her back and feet spread, ship
fashion.

Then
she spoke so that everyone would hear her.

"For
the first part of this trip, while we're on the ship, everyone is required to
wear student browns. This is so that the crew can recognize us instantly. That
will change at the colony, no doubt, but from this point until then, it's the
standard wear." She was making that up, but it made sense to her. More,
everyone knew what that was here and could make their clothing amulets look
that way. Everyone did it, before she could even go on, including Maris, Kolb
and Doris. She nodded once.

Then
she continued.

"When
we get into place, there may or may not be someone needing to leave or land
that we can't see. We need to set down and move to the side as fast as
possible. The people in the front will get off first, and so on. If someone is
slow with their bags or needs help, then use your best teamwork for it. When we
get to the base, I'd like everyone to make a point of memorizing the names and
faces of everyone on the trip with us. On the ship, expect to be assigned
tasks. That will be at the discretion of the Captain. We'll leave from here in
one minute, stand ready to disembark."

She
was proud of that last word. She thought it was the last one at any rate.
Dashing to the door she got it shut and then ran to the controls. She took off
before her behind was even totally in the seat and looked around carefully as
she flew into place. There was an empty spot, surrounded by a glowing river and
a wall. The river was striped, deep green and orange. It looked
horrible
,
but was easy to see, even during the day.

She
started toward the spot.

"Ready
to move!"

Then,
as soon as she got into place, she started yelling.

"Go,
go! We have one minute, make sure to clear the landing area!" It took
longer than that, but everyone ran off, carrying their bags, or in a few cases
letting those follow along, a hand on them for extra control. Otherwise they
could be a little sloppy about where they went. She was, technically, the last
person off, but did it at a run too, turning the whole craft off as she ran to
join everyone else, who were standing in lines off to the left.

They
didn't look military really, but it was efficient enough.

Her
family was there, and came out of one of the nice and very large buildings, all
of them walking quickly, though it was Terry and Tenet in the lead, along with
her older brother, Taller. Except, of course,
that
wasn't right at all.
When they got a bit closer, she noticed who it was and had to grin. It was
Douglas, her father. He wasn't much taller at all, but he looked both younger
and a good bit cuter than he used to. Apparently he'd worked out Karen's
healing amulet trick too.

Sam
still hadn't, though he'd used it enough that each training day left him a bit
better looking too. He just didn't bother to hold it for hours on end. No one
normal would, would they? The boy might have been average looking, but he
wasn't vain at all, it seemed. Of course she hadn't really ever thought of her
father in that way before either. It hit her that he might just have looked
like that, when he was younger. That seemed about right, actually.