it a priority to find out.” His anger was bleeding though.
“What are you planning?” Concern was hinting in her voice.
“I don't know, just do it,” Barcus barked at Em.
The tactical display became transparent as they resumed a stealthy pace toward the point called The Abbey. They walked for almost the entire night in a creek that flowed shallow now but had indications it flowed fast and hard in the spring.
The beast with no name shadowed the survivors a half a kilometer into the forest on the north side the entire night. There was no need to get any closer. BUGs fed info back to Em, who was driving the suit herself via remote.
It wasn't long before the adrenaline crash finally came. Barcus slept deeply for the second night in a row. Em kept the ride smooth. As Barcus slept, Em closed the windows that followed Po and Olias but left their icons on the tactical to show that they had gotten safely to the eastern village. She didn't show how the southern portion of the village eventually burned to the foundations. She didn't show what Po told the elders of that village. She didn't show that Trackers were dispatched that found the story to be true. They also found the tracks of the “Faceless Beast” and followed them back to an overlook above their own village.
Em had the suit turn to climb into the mountains to lose the Trackers. These Trackers were good. It took the beast much longer to evade them than he thought. It eventually required some chasm leaps and waterfall drops and river runs to lose them. They were brave and relentless.
They didn't follow the spider tracks. Em didn't know if they simply didn't recognize them or if their bravery only went so far.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Abbey
“This is where the data shows that Em began to know far more than she conveyed. The hostile environment module has complex higher functions. It sorted and used the data at an amazing rate.”
--Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Emergency Module Digital Forensics Report. Independent Tech Analysis Team.
<<<>>>
After Barcus had waked, they stopped by a long, narrow scenic lake.
Barcus decided that he’d had enough power bars and set up a camp kitchen to make some real food. “Real” may have been the wrong term. He still used survival rations but kicked it up a notch. He decided on eggs with onions and cheese with potatoes, toast, fruit, coffee and orange juice.
Em supplied the water, already boiling hot, and soon Barcus was perched on a camp stool eating a hearty breakfast overlooking a beautiful lake.
Em's image had not been in evidence this morning until Barcus asked her, “Did Po and Olias make out okay?”
She seemed to walk from behind a rock as she said, “Yes. They were welcomed and taken in immediately. Po, by the inn keeper’s wife, Olias by the blacksmith. Olias was apparently already a blacksmith apprentice. Bringing the horses was a really good idea.”
“For some reason, neither of them mentioned you. I will keep an eye on them. It will be useful. I have learned several things already.”
“Oh, like what?”
“There is a complex caste system in place here. What you do, how you act, your entire role in society is based on your place in that system. There are many 'ladders' in the system as well. I hope to refine my understanding of it as time passes. This was not evident in that first small, remote, forest village we encountered.”
“Why could she understand me?”
“Standard English is known as the High Tongue here. Only the highest castes use it. Not everyone speaks it, but they all recognize it. The lower castes don't speak it at all. The language they are using is a derivation of English which has become so colloquial and accented that it bears little resemblance to English and is quite difficult to understand.”
Their conversation paused a moment.
“Do you understand them yet?”
“I'm getting close. In a few more days, I will have a basic
“What are you planning?” Concern was hinting in her voice.
“I don't know, just do it,” Barcus barked at Em.
The tactical display became transparent as they resumed a stealthy pace toward the point called The Abbey. They walked for almost the entire night in a creek that flowed shallow now but had indications it flowed fast and hard in the spring.
The beast with no name shadowed the survivors a half a kilometer into the forest on the north side the entire night. There was no need to get any closer. BUGs fed info back to Em, who was driving the suit herself via remote.
It wasn't long before the adrenaline crash finally came. Barcus slept deeply for the second night in a row. Em kept the ride smooth. As Barcus slept, Em closed the windows that followed Po and Olias but left their icons on the tactical to show that they had gotten safely to the eastern village. She didn't show how the southern portion of the village eventually burned to the foundations. She didn't show what Po told the elders of that village. She didn't show that Trackers were dispatched that found the story to be true. They also found the tracks of the “Faceless Beast” and followed them back to an overlook above their own village.
Em had the suit turn to climb into the mountains to lose the Trackers. These Trackers were good. It took the beast much longer to evade them than he thought. It eventually required some chasm leaps and waterfall drops and river runs to lose them. They were brave and relentless.
They didn't follow the spider tracks. Em didn't know if they simply didn't recognize them or if their bravery only went so far.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Abbey
“This is where the data shows that Em began to know far more than she conveyed. The hostile environment module has complex higher functions. It sorted and used the data at an amazing rate.”
--Solstice 31 Incident Investigation Testimony Transcript: Emergency Module Digital Forensics Report. Independent Tech Analysis Team.
<<<>>>
After Barcus had waked, they stopped by a long, narrow scenic lake.
Barcus decided that he’d had enough power bars and set up a camp kitchen to make some real food. “Real” may have been the wrong term. He still used survival rations but kicked it up a notch. He decided on eggs with onions and cheese with potatoes, toast, fruit, coffee and orange juice.
Em supplied the water, already boiling hot, and soon Barcus was perched on a camp stool eating a hearty breakfast overlooking a beautiful lake.
Em's image had not been in evidence this morning until Barcus asked her, “Did Po and Olias make out okay?”
She seemed to walk from behind a rock as she said, “Yes. They were welcomed and taken in immediately. Po, by the inn keeper’s wife, Olias by the blacksmith. Olias was apparently already a blacksmith apprentice. Bringing the horses was a really good idea.”
“For some reason, neither of them mentioned you. I will keep an eye on them. It will be useful. I have learned several things already.”
“Oh, like what?”
“There is a complex caste system in place here. What you do, how you act, your entire role in society is based on your place in that system. There are many 'ladders' in the system as well. I hope to refine my understanding of it as time passes. This was not evident in that first small, remote, forest village we encountered.”
“Why could she understand me?”
“Standard English is known as the High Tongue here. Only the highest castes use it. Not everyone speaks it, but they all recognize it. The lower castes don't speak it at all. The language they are using is a derivation of English which has become so colloquial and accented that it bears little resemblance to English and is quite difficult to understand.”
Their conversation paused a moment.
“Do you understand them yet?”
“I'm getting close. In a few more days, I will have a basic
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