章節 55: Catching Up
The other headmen, who'd been conversing in small clusters, made their approach and entered into the circle. Once all of them were present, he opened with, "Since we'd have too many corners to cover if we continue to cast a wide net, we should downsize humanity's territorial percolation. Call back the Titans we still have patrolling irrelevant routes that no longer serve a purpose while we can, before they attract the attention of any hordes now inside the Hollow."
He sniffed, almost rubbing his knee before stopping himself. "Make no mistake, the Aud are inside the Gaiss Hollow with us now. Even if the Ancheros has completed its mission--which we can't assume--the entry to the greater eastern tunnel system is wide open."
"We could send the Anthill or Dervish of Palm," suggested the Ninth Headman.
"But that would spread the Titans further apart than is advisable. I won't apologize for sending away the Flux Monolith and Dervish's Gale," he muttered while weathering the Fourth's and In-3's united glare, "but with the Ancheros' potential to be out of the picture, humanity only has six Titans to guard it. We now have three at home here, but we could have all six."
"Won't that bring all the hordes that enter straight to the Last Light?"
He snorted at In-3's inquiry. "Yes, I'd imagine nothing but that could happen. Isn't that the outcome you wanted? Let them come to us and give us the chance to rig the coming defense in our favor?"
"I wanted that, yes, but with all the Titans and the populations of Io and Rhea still on the table."
"How unfortunate, then."
Before the two could enter a staring match or a verbal joust, Ch-4 stepped on his toes. He'd be convincing himself of falsities if he said it didn't hurt. How was she so heavy despite being so small? "We can arrange that." She stepped across the distance of their huddle and provided the same treatment to In-3. "Do we need to cover anything further? If not, I'm sure we'll all find ourselves quite occupied with our responsibilities in the coming weeks. Or days, if the Aud--hey!"
"Oh, I apologize," Eighth Headman said with a wide grin. She'd given Ch-4's toes the same treatment. "I thought we were playing a game."
With precious time expended to reign in Eighth Headman, the others returned to their high seating and performed the final vote of the current meet. Unanimous a third time, the results included Ni-6 leaving the chamber.
As the Prime Beacon's aide, he was responsible for overseeing the communications with the sitesmen of the Titans. He would inform them of the implemented changes himself.
The meet suspended at its natural conclusion, and while the majority of those present made quick routes for the exit, he settled for the shorter distance to the bench where Pa-5 sat. Beside her, Re-5 offered a respectful nod. "Sir."
"You may leave." His dismissal was nothing born of anger or indignation--though he still harbored a modicum of spite for her. He only wanted a one-on-one between him and Pa-5.
The former acting sitesman saluted, patted Pa-5's shoulder, and exchanged with her thin smiles before following the rest of the crowd. He made himself comfortable in her spot while they waited for the collection of footsteps on metal flooring to fade to the greeting space.
"How did I do?"
"I don't know why you told me you suffer when matters turn to politics. You sounded and looked as well as any of them." She wriggled her stumps over the edge of the bench. "Better, even."
"That's because most of our goals aligned in this meet. If that weren't true, they'd have torn me to shreds."
"I'm grateful they didn't. That would be a tragedy."
"Indeed." They shared a weak chuckle. "And what about you?"
"...my legs started hurting when it was time for me to speak."
"What?" He scratched his cheek.
She turned away to look up at his empty seat and still-wrecked dais. "I know you heard me."
"I'm not sure I did." He was reluctant to remind her, but if she were developing any psychological delusions about the state of her body as a coping mechanism, he needed to crush them for her sake. "You know you…don't have legs anymore, right?"
"Yes. But they hurt."
Relief, then guilt at the relief, washed across him. "It's phantom pain."
"I thought it might be. How do I make it stop?"
"I don't know if you can. It may be something else you'll have to live with."
"Really?" She hunched forward, letting her surviving hand support the weight of her head. "That's not something to look forward to."
"I'm sorry."
"No matter how many times you say that, nothing is going to change. I'm not blaming you."
"I know." He placed an arm around her shoulders. "I'm still going to. It was my responsibility to keep you safe."
"Yes, it was. But not since a year ago."
"All parents will always see their charges as something to protect."
"That must bring parents a lot of unneeded stress then."
He snorted. "You have no idea."
Pa-5 activated her harness and rose into the air. She rapped the side of it with her knuckles. "Aunt Eight told me this is a 'gravpack.'"
"A what now?"
"A gravpack."
"She made that up."
"She did," Pa-5 guessed, then agreed. They wore the beginnings of genuine smiles.
"And she still insists you call her Aunt Eight?"
"Neither of you have ever told me her name," she reminded him.
"You're right. Well, she's Lo-2."
"...that's it?"
"What did you expect? A larger number?"
"Yes. Does she seem like the kind of personality to have a small one?"
"No," he admitted, standing and sighing. They moved to follow in the footsteps of the rest of the assembly. "But that's who she is; for you, and herself."
"Did you get everything done today you wanted to?"
He frowned at the change of topic. "Odd inquiry. I could have myself wrong, but no?" He began counting off his fingers. "We activated modus operandi black--" They both shivered at its mention, "held a dialogue over the mental capabilities of the Aud, and I convinced the rest of them to call back the Titans we still have contact with--oh, you're onto something."
"Am I?"
"Yes. I intended to ask the Fifth Headman to look into the possible development of an indoor version of the railskipper network." They reached the double doors, and he pulled them open for her with his strength.
"Why that?" Befuddlement abounded, she could only stare at him with incomprehension as they crossed the threshold.
"Oh…I…noted the mechanics complex where the Nyx Breaker was being repaired was too large for personnel to move where they needed without prolonged delay."
He mentally saluted himself for the immediate reasoning that came to him; he could hardly say to her he felt reluctant to walk an extra kilometer, could he?
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票