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It was Yago. And in that split second, Tate knew.
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CHAPTER 22
"IT'S TOD LATE."
"The Troika are sending Duncan," 2Face said. "The Meanies are sending a representative
from the Quorum, probably one of the Sentients."
Jobs didn't seem to have heard. He was kneeling on the ashy ground, peering at the spindly
little green thing.
"He's like Charlie Brown with that skinny Christmas tree," 2Face said to no one.
"Why did you tell the Meanies and the Troika about the seedling?" Violet challenged. "We
don't know anything for sure yet."
2Face ignored her. "How you doing, Billy?" she asked. The poor kid looked like he was
about to slip back into the catatonic trance they'd found him in back on the Mayflower. Or
like he was seriously ticked. 2Face's bravado faltered for a moment.
Billy didn't answer. Just looked at her unblinkingly, with his big dark eyes.
2Face sighed. "Why don't you go stand with Olga? Mrs. Gonzalez. Okay?" 2Face gave Billy
a gentle push, watched as he glared at her before walking toward Mo'Steel's mother.
Mothers know how to deal with kids like him, 2Face thought. I don't have time right now.
"Here they come now," Roger Dodger called.
"Are they Yago's?" 2Face asked suspiciously.
Anamull shrugged. "They all look the same to me."
"One is," D-Caf said. "I can tell. His name is Yago's Formidable Intellect. The others, no,
not Yago's."
2Face felt momentarily uneasy. She'd suggested one representative of the Children. Now she
counted four Meanies and two Riders approaching. The Riders rode their hoverboards; the
Meanies flew close to the ground in their blue-black suits. 2Face couldn't make out all the
details from this distance but she had no doubt every one of them was armed. They were
warriors, after all.
"Did we really need to have Riders here?" Olga grumbled.
"Obviously the Meanies think so," 2Face snapped.
The delegation of alien representatives got closer and landed about three yards from the
rough circle of Remnants. 2Face wondered if there was any way to get them to disarm for the
duration of Jobs's little show, then gave up the notion as silly.
"We hope you have come to talk and not fight," 2Face called loudly. "We asked you here to
witness an amazing discovery, one that will bring peace to us all, a discovery that will "
"What the ..."
2Face felt the ground beneath her rumble and for a split second thought. Oh, no, no. no.
please, but no pillar of flame rose beneath her feet. Watching with disbelief that became
horror that became disbelief again ... 2Face watched as Mother shook off her mooring, as
engines began to fire, as everyone around her stared or...
"No!" 2Face screamed. "No!"
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"Billy!" Olga saw his eyes roll back in his head, saw his shoulders sag, saw his knees begin
to buckle. She rushed forward and eased his deadweight to the ground. "He's fainted," she
said, and cradled his head in her lap.
"His connection to Mother, to the ship," Violet said hurriedly. "I think it's been severed!"
D-Caf grabbed Violet's arm. "Is he going to die?"
A cry of anguish prevented Violet from responding.
"No!" 2Face started for the ship.
Mo'Steel grabbed her arm, spun her around. She shrieked and struggled. "Let me go!"
"It's too late," Mo'Steel hissed right into her face. "It's too late."
Tears streaked 2Face's cheeks. "I was so stupid! I thought he wasn't a threat anymore.
Stupid!"
"Yago," Jobs whispered. And then it all became clear Part of it, anyway. He'd been tricked.
They all had. Jobs threw himself to the ground, stared hard at the seedling, then with a cry of
anguish, he ripped it from the ash. There were no roots. But it had looked so real! Felt so real.
An excellent fake.
Could Yago have accomplished this scheme by himself? Jobs gripped the phony seedling
and thought. No. Yago had had help. It had to be the Troika. He was in league with the
Troika. And the Meanies? Riders? Maybe. Maybe not. Because the stranded Meanies and
Riders were clearly angry. Though maybe even that was an act. Or maybe their people had
fooled them, like Yago had fooled Jobs.
Didn't matter. They were all well and royally screwed over.
They were stranded. Castaways. They had only a little food, a little water A few weapons.
The clothes on their backs. A few lead-lined bags, small shovels, and brushes and rope, a few
flashlights. And one another.
Jobs wasn't so sure that was even a good thing. Because there'd been a lot of blame tossed
around recently, open animosity. It had been bad enough waking aboard the Mayflower,
realizing they were a group of mourning strangers, homeless, without food or shelter,
abandoned in an alien environment. But it was worse now, yes, much worse, Jobs thought.
Because now they knew what to expect from one another and it was not always comfort and
support.
Jobs surveyed the sorry group.
2Face's rage had burned out. Or had seemed to. Jobs had no doubt it was still simmering just
under the surface. But now she sat quietly with Billy; he was still unconscious.
Noyze wept. Violet looked blank. D-Caf, Roger Dodger, and Anamull stood openmouthed,
disbelieving, staring up at the massive rising ship. Olga gripped Mo'Steel's arm, her other
hand over her mouth. Ash dusted his black hair, making him look like an old man.
Tate was on the ship. Jobs hoped she'd be all right. Too bad we interfered when she attacked
Yago, he thought. Ironic. Tate had known back then, even if she hadn't understood.
"We've got to take them out!" Anamull barked.
Mo'Steel whirled to see the four stranded Meanies and two stranded Riders slowly drawing
weapons, aiming, not shooting not yet.
Mo'Steel's mouth went dry. "Let them make the first move, 'migo," he told Anamull.
Carefully, he reached around for the crossbow strapped to his back. "Let them ..."
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Yago glared at Tate. The dull roar of Mother's engines was like sweet music to his ears.
"Not going to try to attack me?" he taunted.
Tate glared back but Yago knew she knew she was defeated.
"You can leave now," he said. A giggle escaped and Yago put a hand to his mouth in mock
embarrassment.
He stood aside as Tate walked slowly from the bridge, her eyes now downcast.
When she had gone, Yago fell to his knees with laughter.
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CHAPTER 23
SHE WOULD WAIT.
She was called Echo.
She watched and she listened. She waited.
From deep below the surface Echo and the Alpha colony observed.
Humans. Humans with a spacecraft. It was fascinating.
The spacecraft had gone. The humans had remained.
Echo wondered.
The humans were fascinating.
Echo would watch. She would wait.
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