Alien had dismissed his people from the hall after the corpses of the children had been taken away, and they had returned to their homes within the tunnels in a manner that suggested Alien didn’t need force or the heavy hand of a sec force to rule. He had ordered food to be brought to the table, and when it had arrived had bid the others to join him.
After nothing but self-heats for some while, it was a relief to have fresh food, even if the forest environment aboveground made them feel dubious about some of the vegetables. Doc also made a point of avoiding the meat, wondering if it was the kind of hawk that had attacked him.
Ryan’s point hung in the air for some time, the baron chewing thoughtfully before answering.
“I’ll tell you this,” he said finally, “for we’ve nothing to hide here. Some of us are the descendants of those who came out of the underground base. It doesn’t matter shit now, but there was a disagreement down there between those who wanted to make a new life, and those who thought there still might be a way to set up predark systems of government that could link up so-called alternative communities…least, that’s what they called them. But alternative to what? How can it be an alternative when what there was before just ain’t there anymore?”
“So they went their separate ways. Some ended up here, along with some people they’d picked up along the way. Sunchildren weren’t much of a problem, but the forest was. So when they found the tunnels and basements could be linked up, I guess it was almost second nature to get tunneling, ‘specially after living underground for so long anyways. The rest, well, guess we try to keep ourselves to ourselves, live peaceful and get richer.”
“Everyone would like that,” the Armorer interjected, “but it’s not that easy.”
“It is here,” Alien said, fixing J.B. with a friendly but rock-steady stare. “It is because we make it so.”
There was an undertone that made Ryan cast a glance in the direction of the sec men. Both Harvey and Downey were seemingly unconcerned, but the one-eyed warrior noted that both had shifted their weight as they were seated, so that it would be easier for them to reach their blasters.
Jak had also spotted that, and by instinct had moved his own body weight so that he could move with speed and reach his concealed leaf-bladed knives with ease.
Before there was any chance for tension to break the surface, Doc leaned over the table. He addressed his question to the baron, but his eyes were on Jenna as he spoke.
“The question still remains unanswered. Is there any of the poisonous old tech still on the premises, the rancid remnants of a bygone and perhaps best forgotten age? Some relic of that pernicious evil known as the Totality Concept?”
Alien scratched at his beard. “I don’t know what you mean by that, old man, but we do have some pieces that we try to get going. It’s all useful if it can be made to work.”
“Then I would be most grateful if you would let me and my companions view it at some point for interest’s sake,” Doc remarked, sitting back.
“Mebbe,” the baron answered noncommittally.
But Alien’s answer wasn’t important. Doc had already discovered what he wanted to know, and watching him the others also drew their own conclusions. Doc hadn’t idly brought up the name of the Totality Concept, the umbrella under which many government black operations had been carried out before skydark. He had spoken the name in the hopes of eliciting some kind of reaction.
The baron hadn’t recognized the name at all, and had seemed genuine in his bemusement at the use of the term. But then, Doc hadn’t been watching the baron: his eyes had been kept firmly on Jenna. And he had seen her sharp features harden as the words were spoken. The raven eyes had fixed on him, met his full on and tried to fathom his intent.
There was old tech here. Old tech related to secret government projects of the past. And maybe there was something that would link this ville to the main body of the Illuminated Ones, and the place in the north they were searching for.