Chapter 15
September 2020
As the wind was blowing through her hair, Dawn couldn't help letting out a burst of laughter. The joy she felt within her was simply too great to contain, ensuring she didn't even try. Closing her eyes for a moment she concentrated fully on the feeling of the wind, only opening them again when she estimated they had almost reached the woods.
Guiding the horse onto a path leading deeper into those woods, she had already come to the conclusion that the reports were right, but still wanted to do a bit more. Although slowing down a bit to compensate for the treacherous underground, Dawn still noticed how smoothly the horse was moving over the twisting path. Nothing seemed to bother it, no turn was missed, no obstacle was too difficult. Obviously a well trained horse.
But the most important thing was how even after doing things like this for several hours, the horse still didn't show the slightest sign of fatigue. Almost as if she had mounted it mere minutes ago. Exactly as it was supposed to.
And to think this horse was only second generation. It was simply incredible what her people had achieved to get this far. When the sun suddenly broke through an opening in the canopy, Dawn was reminded of the rest of the world and took a quick look at her watch. With a sigh she realized it was time to return, it had been fun to get away from her usual busy lifestyle for a moment, but everything came to an end, both the good and the bad.
It was just that she was getting a bit fed up with everything now. Running a business empire of this size simply wasn't what she'd been trained for. Sure, so far everything was going alright. But how long would that last? Oh, who cared anyway? For a couple of minutes, she allowed the rhythmic motion of the horse drive all thoughts from her head.
Leaving the woods, she sped up again until she reached the village where she then slowed the animal down to a walk. There was no need for hurrying here, and it allowed her a good look at the people who considered her their ruler.
In her own opinion, she was a pretty benevolent leader, although she realized an outsider might believe otherwise. Every order she gave was carried out, and unless they had a good argument nobody would even consider opposing her wishes. Not out of fear, not even out of love, but simply out of duty.
The duty that had been placed upon this village, and several of the neighboring ones all those years ago. Amazing how much influence something as inane as a prophecy could have. Without that prophecy, these people might have joined the world centuries ago. Instead, they had barely changed since the Dark Ages, using the most primitive of tools available and all the while waiting for her.
Well no, she admitted to herself while returning the greetings from a couple of playing children, that wasn't entirely fair. They hadn't used a lot of modern technology, but it hadn't been quite as bad as she made it out either. The villagers had simply never needed any of the modern appliances people people in the western world took for granted.
It was an easier life, a life that meant it was hard to take anything away. A life that had been made more difficult by the rare attacks of those who knew about the existence of the prophecies, but feared their contents. The Terakans. Just thinking about those murdering bastards made Dawn tighten her grip on the reins.
For the past year they hadn't dared to show themselves in France, and even their missions in the neighboring countries had lessened. They weren't gone though, she could feel it in her blood. She was certain that a number of them were at this very moment trying to prepare a mission against her.
It made sense, as she was probably the greatest threat to them in the entire world. Not that she would be deterred by their assassination attempts. In fact, it made everything easier for her as there simply was no need for her to go search them out. The Terakans would be killed. All of them would die, sooner or later. And once their precious Order would fall, she could pay more attention to other matters.
"Dawn," someone called from her right, and stopping her horse she looked over to see who it was.
"Edward," she returned with a smile as she spotted the Englishman.
As the man responsible for the safety of the village he was one of the few people she trusted almost unconditionally. In itself the village wasn't much more than the home of a fair number of her people, but it was also the path to the Manor. And if Edward did his job right, there would never be any need to test the defenses that had been installed there.
Not that he was always happy about having to live in a village of French people, but his past was one that made him very suitable for this work. Originally a member of the British Army, Edward had joined the Watchers after a demon had killed one of his friends. The Watchers weren't stupid and had immediately made use of his extensive talent where it came to defense.
Under Edward's supervision, the defenses of the Watchers' most important buildings and storage places had been improved to a level where it would be nearly impossible for anyone to survive attacking them. And while he had been satisfied with that job, as he knew that his work would protect humanity as a whole, Dawn hadn't needed long to discover his weak spot.
Edward was out for revenge, it was that plain and simple. But what he hadn't been aware of was that the Watchers would never let him have that revenge. His friend had been killed by a member of the Order and, as she knew all too well, the Watchers wouldn't go against them. All that had been needed for him to join her service was to point that out, and the fact that she, or rather Noir, hunted them actively.
Well, that and giving him the still living assassin who'd carried out the actual assassination of his friend.
The only thing she wasn't sure about concerning that situation was who had cried harder; the assassin as he was slowly tortured to death by Edward, or the Council as they found out she'd taken one of their most precious people.
"Do you have a moment?"
"Sure," Dawn replied, "how are things progressing here?"
"Not as fast as I'd like. This village in itself is rather secure, but it still lacks that shielded connection to the Manor I was promised."
Nodding in understanding, Dawn answered the unspoken question. "It won't be long now. From what I've seen these last couple of days, the builders are making good progress. They're almost done digging in the mountains and after that it should go a lot faster. Soon you'll have everything you've been waiting for."
Edward sighed, having heard the same words for months now. "Oh, I never doubted that, but until I get that the Manor is still vulnerable."
"Exactly how vulnerable is it? You can already communicate with the Manor, can't you?"
"Yes, I can communicate with the Manor and like I said, the village is pretty secure in itself. There are sensors all around the village, we've got a bunch of people checking all the monitors. Some gun emplacements, the usual. There's still a lot to do though. While the center of the village will be hard to reach, a lot of damage can still be done to the outlying houses. But the radios we now have," he shrugged, "well they might be encrypted, but they can still be jammed pretty easily."
The most annoying thing about talking to people who didn't know that she was Noir was how they always assumed that all information about the fighting part needed to be dumbed down. On the other hand, there was no need for him to tell her what the different types of sensors were for. And if he wanted to think of her as silly, she might as well ask another question. "Why don't you use walls? Wouldn't they help as well?"
Another deep sigh came from the man. "No, I don't need walls. They're worse than useless in this day and age. They might protect the village from some attacks, but if the Terakans or even a modern army would attack there wouldn't be much they could do. What I can do is create a complete network of sensors, automated guns, and mines."
Hold on a minute there, he wanted to lay mines in her village? "Mines?"
"Don't worry," Edward said, barely constraining himself from rolling his eyes. "They'll be dual safety mines, they'll need to be activated before they can even be triggered. No accidents should occur, especially if everyone keeps to the rules I'll set up."
"Somehow I'm not entirely convinced of that."
"Hey, Noir wants this place to be so secure that nothing gets through it," Edward said while raising his hands in the air.
"I know that," Dawn answered a bit peeved.
"Then you should trust me as much as our boss does. The mines aren't there to repel an infantry attack, they'll be the last line of defense against things that can shake off the rest. You know, like tanks, demons, and other things that need a nice big explosion to be taken out?"
Sometimes he went too far with talking down at her like this. Of course, the only reason he figured he'd get away with it was because he hadn't been hired by her, or so he thought, but directly by Noir. Which in his mind put him at the same level in the hierarchy as Dawn. Except… he also knew she was Noir's official spokesperson, and when she used that cover to convey her orders Edward was more than polite.
Well, he was simply a very complicated man, and as he was way better at the whole defense thing than she was she would simply have to learn to live with it. "You do realize that not every demon can be taken out with that, don't you?"
Rolling his eyes at what he probably thought of as another stupid comment, Edward answered that he did and already had other defenses installed for when that was needed.
"Alright. I'm sure you know what you're doing. Is there anything you need that isn't already here?"
"The connection. Other than that, no. Everything I need is already stored in the valley."
"Good, once you get that, how long will it take to finish up completely?"
"I don't know yet, that depends on a number of things. Some people will have to be relocated because their houses are simply too far away to be adequately protected. New housing for them needs to be built, they'll want to take their stuff, all that sort of nonsense."
Well, if that was the thing taking the most time, she suddenly thought of something. "Don't worry about the people, I'm wondering though. Your changes, they will affect the appearance of the village right?"
"Of course it will, I'm rebuilding parts of it remember?" Why did he have to act like she was stupid?
"I know, just remember that it shouldn't stand out."
This time when Edward looked at her it was with obvious scorn in his eyes. "Do I look stupid? Do I look like I don't know my job? Why don't you go play with your money and leave the fighting to the professionals. If your opinion is required, I'm sure Noir will contact you."
Dawn's eyes widened in shock. Wow, she'd been thoroughly snubbed by her own underling. Something like that hadn't happened in… well never actually. It was such a rare occurrence that she wasn't even sure what to do with it. No, she knew what to do, or rather not to do. Punishing someone for speaking up like that was the move of the villain in a bad movie.
"How kind of you to say that," she therefore smiled back at him. "I don't know what I would've done without your good council."
Edward didn't answer, so she continued. "No, I won't apologize for my question. While I'm sure you know what you're doing with these defenses, you're not the only one who's concerned about these people either."
Even Edward had to concede that point. "You are correct. Your question just hit a sore spot, that's all. I did think it over though, and a complete plan has already been send to Noir so that she can take a look as well."
Well, it couldn't have been send long ago, otherwise she'd have known about it already. "Good. While we're being nice to each other again, I'll repeat my earlier question. Is there anything you need that you don't have right now?"
"There is another way for safe communication with the Manor," Edward brought up after considering her words. "And the only thing I'd need for that is your help in getting Noir to approve it."
Dawn wasn't a hundred percent sure what he was talking about, but just in the case those ninety-nine percent were right… "No."
"It works perfectly, when I was with the Watchers Council I had access to mages, witches and everything. Nobody was ever able to-"
"I said no."
Edward shook his head, obviously despairing at such a short-sighted behavior. And intellectually, Dawn knew that it was a weakness. Her constant refusal to use magic had a number of negative side-effects, but she simply couldn't do it. No matter how much harder it made everyone's job.
The disapproving way Edward looked at her, drove this home once more, but this was one subject she wouldn't budge on. "I'm sorry, but this is one thing where Noir and I are in complete agreement."
"But why? Magic is just another tool, a different one than a hammer or even a gun, but a tool nonetheless."
Just another tool. With her mind flashing to that fateful Halloween and the months immediately after it, it was simply impossible for Dawn to see it like that. She didn't like how she thought about magic, it constituted an obvious weakness in her behavior, but she wasn't strong enough to change it either. So, closing her eyes she simply shook her head. "No."
"Think about it at least, will you? If I had access to mages, witches, and the like I would be able to increase the strength of these defenses tenfold."
"Alright," Dawn conceded, granting Edward his wish but already knowing what her decision would be. "There are some things I still need to take care of myself, so I'll say goodbye."
"Right. I'll see you later then," the obviously disappointed man told her.
Spurring on the horse, Dawn was once again on her way to the Manor. This time though, she kept an eye out for the defenses that had already been installed by Edward. She hadn't spent a lot of time here lately, which meant that she'd had only a passing familiarity with the man's original plans. And now it seemed even those had only been provisional. But why did he always come back to the magic thing?
He was good enough to be able to defend everything with mundane tools, just look at what he'd done for the Manor. So why would he keep asking for magic help?
Because the only people who'd attack the Manor were capable of using magic themselves. No, she shook her head in a desperate effort to rid herself of those traitorous thoughts. Even the Terakans could be defeated without magic, she'd done so time after time, and if they'd ever try to attack anyway they'd find out what it meant to face sufficiently advanced technology. After all, that was indistinguishable from magic.
Technology was therefore enough to protect her interests here. And besides, the only thing Edward really needed the magic for was the communication to the Manor. For which there was a better alternative than unreliable magic. Once the whole setup was the way she'd been promised, a far more reliable system would be in place.
Still, despite his constant nagging, Edward was one of the best in his chosen field. In fact, he was so good that Dawn wouldn't want to try to penetrate something that was protected by his designs. Around here she knew where he'd put everything, and even then it was sometimes very hard to spot the defenses he'd put in place.
As she'd finally left the village, and reached the path through the woods that would lead to the valley containing the Manor, she allowed the horse to gallop again. The rolling movement of the horse's muscles was a pleasurable one and reminded her of the first time she'd actually ridden a horse. Well, the first time in this world anyway.
Naturally it had been for a mission, if her memory served it had been the second mission after leaving LA, and back then she'd still taken the occasional risk. Nothing really dangerous, although in hindsight she knew they had been stupid, but risks nonetheless.
That target had been in Arizona, near Phoenix in fact, and, for some ridiculous reason she didn't even want to think about, she had chosen to use a horse to get around. The mission itself hadn't proven very difficult as the target hadn't figured out the importance of his former teammate's death. But she'd come riding up to the target as if she was starring in some kind of failed western, only barely refraining from trying to scalp him.
No, Dawn corrected herself, she had been stupid perhaps but she hadn't been gone that far either. The man might not have died an easy death, but at least she had made him suffer for a purpose and not because she wanted to play a little Indian girl.
Still, it had been foolish, and when the pain in her ass had prevented her from sitting down comfortably for the next couple of days it had shown her exactly how stupid she'd been. Which had been a good thing, because if she'd still taken risks that big when she'd gone after Finn…
Well, suffice it to say it wouldn't have been pretty.
Not that anything about that situation had been pretty. Taking a deep breath of the fresh air she thought about the information she'd gathered since that day. At that time the team hunting her had been under the command of a Jonas Mansfield. As she had already discovered during the mission, he was far from a nice guy and more than willing to sacrifice anyone to achieve his goal.
Exactly how far he'd go had been a surprise though, and probably the reason he'd been removed from command while she'd still been recovering from her wounds. The man had been one sick puppy. Not only had he put spells on his subordinates, or rather had someone else put them there, to protect them from various evils. He'd also put them under his direct control.
Every order he gave them was to be obeyed to the letter, although sufficient free will had been left to allow for personal input. Which was probably what happened with the Bennings woman. Mansfield hadn't ordered her not to do certain things, and as he'd sacrificed her she had taken advantage of those things.
Loosening the wrong arm, so that Dawn would know something was wrong.
Disabling the security cameras, taking off her radio, ensuring the explosives wouldn't be triggered when Dawn entered the room.
Everything could be explained by Mansfield's unclear orders. Of course, during his last weeks there, Mansfield had ensured that nobody else would try something like that.
Being responsible for the death of most of your family wasn't something anyone liked. Especially if it was your friends who'd been ordered to carry out that duty. And they dared call her a monster.
Not that she was a nice person, there was no point in lying to herself about that, but she would never have gone that far. Or at least not if it wasn't necessary. And his superiors had obviously agreed with her, although they'd been far too lenient. Exactly what Mansfield's punishment had been before he'd been reinstated to head the team hunting her was unclear. But it wasn't enough.
The only thing good enough for someone like him was death. Really? She reprimanded herself, if that was the case why hadn't she killed him then? For years Dawn had known where he was, and used that knowledge to make his personal life a tiny bit harder. She should have killed him, but she didn't want to. Not only had she by now figured out most of his reactions, but there was that other thing as well.
How many damned secret organizations did this world have anyway? Dawn mentally cursed. As if the whole supernatural stuff hadn't been enough to mess up her life, someone had actually decided to put that whole genetic mess into the mix as well.
A deep sigh came from her, until she noticed that while thinking about all that she'd actually reached her favorite spot. This was it, the place where all those years ago she'd had her first look at this world's Manor. Where she had debated whether it would be safe to continue or not, where she had made the first move to accept her destiny.
Halting the horse, Dawn took her time to examine the Manor. No longer was it the barely standing ruin from those days. Since then it had been restored to its former glory, and beyond.
At first glance the Manor looked like it probably did when the original inhabitants had still lived there. A solid building that had just the right amount of elegance and class to portray that someone important lived there. Only the white color didn't quite mesh with the original plans, but that didn't matter because most people believed that was the only color the Romans actually used. As if.
Snorting at that thought, Dawn decided against trying to explain that to her people again, and instead looked over the rest of the estate. No longer were there any ruins in sight. Everything, from the pond she'd used to clean her wounds after that fateful confrontation with the Terakan to the arena where a group of men and women was training at this very moment, had been restored.
Despite the fact that an attempt had been made to let everything look as much as it originally did, changes had been made. While someone who was new might not even notice anything, to her and the others who had seen the valley before Edward arrived, the changes were clearly visible.
And the defenses were extensive. Radar stations were dispersed throughout the mountains, but aside from several outposts, the actual defenses were here. Everything Edward had been able to think of, from manually operated and automated turrets, to other obvious deathtraps, and even SAM batteries hidden in their bunkers. There was more of course, so much that nothing short of a ballistic missile should be able to reach the Manor intact. And even that would undoubtedly be solved sooner or later.
The defenses were important as they protected the things that really mattered. The information stored within the Manor was far too important for her to lose. But the problems that could be caused if they fell in the wrong hands were even worse. A backup was available at a location only known to her and two others though, meaning that if anyone would manage to get through she was more than willing to trigger the self-destruct.
But the added defenses weren't the only change here, the entire estate had been brought into the twenty-first century. Technology was rampant, but the lessons from the Pulse had been taken to heart. If the Manor was ever hit by an EMP, there wouldn't be the total loss that had proven so disastrous for the United States.
Yes, in her not so humble opinion this was probably the safest place in the world right now. And it should be, because in more ways than one it was also the most important.
Aside from the prophecies that were kept here, it was also the place from where her Soldats would spread across the world. A number of them had already taken positions of importance all across the world, and more would soon follow.
Every day she gained more followers, people who were fed up with the world as it was now. People who wanted to be able to live in a world free of trouble, and who didn't mind the fact that they had to dirty their hands to create that world. Strength through conflict, wasn't that something Xander once mentioned? Something to do with that Babylon series he liked to watch?
No matter, she shook of the bittersweet memory of the boy she'd loved, it was the truth. Certainly in this case, where conflict was the only way forward.
So far it seemed that the Terakans didn't have any idea of the magnitude of her plans, but no doubt that would one day change. And once that happened she would be ready for them.
Once again the horse was spurred on, and she quickly made her way down the slope until she finally reached the vineyard. Her vineyard. Unlike any of the other yards she owned, this one was important. Not because the wine it produced was any better than that from the others, that wouldn't happen for some years, but because it was this one. Sentimental perhaps, but Dawn figured she was allowed some leeway in that regard.
She slowed the horse down when they reached the vineyard, so that she could enjoy the trip through it. For years she had feared the possibility that this place might exist, a fear that she now found hard to understand. Taking a deep breath she savored the smell of the fresh earth and the plants that took their sustenance from it. The sound of birds above her, and the warmth from the sun's powerful rays, added to the experience, almost making her feel as if she was on vacation.
Vacation, a short laugh escaped her mouth thinking of something as mundane as that. When had her last vacation been? It was probably before Buffy and her mother had died, but she couldn't quite place the timing. Not that it was important in any way, these days she recharged herself by going here.
Of course, the reason for the recharging influenced what she did once she'd arrived. This time she'd come here mostly because she'd gotten fed up with the meetings and other boring things that came with the life of a businesswoman. As a consequence she had spend most of this week training her body, doing some rock climbing, and now even a bit of horse-riding.
Had she come here to recuperate after a mission, a larger portion of her time would have been spend doing non-physical things. Chief among which would always be the prophecies, and other clues that had been left behind.
Every time she looked through them she seemed to gain a new insight on how they could be interpreted. And while those insights might not always be useful, the fact that she still wasn't sure about the meaning of the more obscure references pulled her back to them time after time.
The prophecies of light and darkness. Couldn't they at least have come up with an original name? She realized there was more to the prophecies than their names, and that was what she needed to focus on, but still…
It had been a while since she'd last looked at them though, so it might not be a bad idea to spend the evening doing so. In the library, with a nice glass of wine, sitting not far from the fireplace.
Yes, she felt the smile creep on her face, that was a good idea. Having made up her mind, Dawn started steering the horse towards the stable next to the small pasture that had been set up for the horses. There was a plan for a bigger one, but more immediate concerns had been given priority. Until then there was only a limited number of horses that could be kept in the valley itself, and the rest were spread out over several other locations.
"How did he perform?" Jean-Pierre asked once she arrived, his eyes already scanning the horse for any signs of problems.
Sliding off the horse, she handed the reins to him before answering. "Excellent, better than I'd expected actually. I didn't think the second generation would be able to keep up such a speed this long."
"Well, from what I understand endurance was the main goal for this generation."
"Goals don't mean anything," Dawn said while stretching to loosen her muscles, "endurance was the main goal for the first generation as well, but in the end we had to kill most of them because they could hardly handle walking."
Jean-Pierre flinched at those words, undoubtedly remembering having to help with that duty. The boy loved horses, and being barely out of his teens he had not yet managed to attain the emotional distance that was required for performing duties like that. Still, he rallied magnificently and visibly shut the memory away. He then handed her a bottle of water before turning back to the horse. "The third generation is coming along very well too."
That was nice to know, so far all her information on those had been from reports and those things always lacked a personal touch. "That's good to hear. Have you noticed anything of the enhanced speed they're supposed to be capable of?"
"Some, but not much." That was too bad, but as she'd just told the boy, you can't expect everything to go right the first time.
"Well, I'm sure you'll take good care of them."
"Thank you, milady." Jean-Pierre hesitated for a moment, before he turned sorrowful eyes to her and finally asked the question Dawn had been expecting for the past three years. "Should we really do this?"
"Yes."
"But why? Some of them suffer so much," Jean-Pierre nearly sobbed.
She knew that, there were always a few that suffered, but it was the many that counted. "It's all done to improve the species."
"Why?" he asked again. "Horses are more than capable of doing what needs to be done."
"At the moment perhaps, but as genetic improvements in humans become more common the animals around them need to adjust as well. Especially once the second and third generation of enhanced humans start making their appearance."
From Jean-Pierre's expression it was obvious he didn't understand. But there was no way for her to explain it more clearly. Humanity was changing itself, and why shouldn't they do the same to those animals that were the most useful to them? Livestock was slowly being improved, and so should the animals people worked with.
And it wasn't as if this kind of thing was new anyway, genetic research had always been tested on animals first. Not horses perhaps, but the mice and apes hadn't had a chance to complain either. But then again, like Jean-Pierre was doing now, those laboratory animals had had their defenders.
Saying all this wouldn't be of any help though, so Dawn simply looked at the boy until he lowered his eyes. He would do as she wanted, no question about it, but she suddenly thought of something that might help him live with it. "Have you ever thought of space travel?"
"What?" The question clearly caught him off guard, and Jean-Pierre didn't know what to do.
"Traveling to other worlds. The usual things that gets mentioned in science-fiction."
"I've thought about it, who hasn't?"
Well, she hadn't but then again, she wasn't exactly a normal case anyway. "If humanity goes to colonize other planets, they will want to bring animals with them. Maybe because they want to feel like some kind of pioneer on a horse, or for some other strange reason, but they will take them."
"You mean they'll want to bring along the horses on their ship? That wouldn't work, the ship would have to be huge for something like that to work."
"There are more reasons why it wouldn't work, and it's doubtful the first groups would bring any animals with them anyway. After a while though, fertilized eggs will be taken along. But now imagine, if those animals were the same way they are now, how could they live there? The environment would be difficult, the local plants would probably be inedible, there are a thousand things that would make it difficult for them to survive."
"And doing this research will help in that regard," Jean-Pierre breathed in sudden understanding.
"Exactly." Making a bit of a show of watching the sun that was only barely peeking over the mountains, Dawn made an end to this conversation. "I have to go now. I'll be back tomorrow for another ride though."
"Of course, have a good day," Jean-Pierre greeted.
Walking the remaining distance to the Manor, Dawn thought about the lie she'd just told the boy. Oh, one day humanity might actually make a play for the stars, but the people in charge always kept postponing it. And the last thing she wanted right now was to let them go anyway. It was simply too dangerous if you considered the way demons might spread across the galaxy.
No, until the situation on earth had been contained, something like that simply wasn't possible. Now, back to other business. Was there anything she still needed to do today, or could she spend the rest of the day working on the prophecies? She needed to see if there were any important messages, but if that was the case she'd be told anyway.
Ah yes, she needed to check on the geothermal generator. That was almost finished, and a good thing too as it would make the Manor entirely independent of the outside world. Using the lava pit underneath the Manor as a power source hadn't been her idea, but it was a good one. And with the spring that fed the lake there was enough water to ensure the binary power plant would be able to supply the energy they needed for the foreseeable future.
Not to mention that it was a lot better than her original plan which consisted of a combination of wind and solar power, two energy sources that didn't require some kind of fuel that would need to be brought to the valley. There had also been mention of using some kind of hydro power, but the people who knew more about this than she did had eventually decided on a geothermal plant.
But while checking on the progress made on it was important, there was something else that needed to be done first. There were some reports that she had to look over today, no matter how much she detested that. Why was it that undertaking fewer missions led to an increase in paperwork? Alright, if she hadn't insisted on a small airport being build nearby it wouldn't be necessary, but why did people start complaining once it was almost finished? Didn't they realize that should have been done before the building started?
X.X.X
The hallways of Manticore were silent, just the way Elizabeth Renfro liked them. Looking at her watch she considered how far along 452's mission would have progressed now. Even if the transgenic had walked she should have reached Seattle by now, meaning that it wouldn't be long before Eyes Only was taken care of.
It was a shame, a man with that kind of resources and drive would have been very useful, especially as he seemed to be quite intelligent. Unfortunately he wasn't intelligent enough to stop when he should, ensuring that he was slowly becoming a danger to the project.
To her it was obvious what had happened, somewhere during her time outside 452 must have come into contact with the man. The how and why wasn't important, and she'd thought about them often enough that she simply dismissed those questions from her mind. Once they knew about each other they started working together, an obvious move and one that was backed up by the evidence she'd gathered from Lydecker before he deserted.
Another difficult man, that Lydecker, but with his obvious betrayal only hours ago she should receive permission to take him out any time now. That wasn't what she was supposed to focus on right now though, Renfro admonished herself. The link between Eyes Only and 452 was what mattered right now.
During the time they worked together, human nature had come into play, maybe helped by the periods that 452 went into heat, and the two of them had fallen in love. Bah, if that hadn't happened her life would have been a lot easier than it was right now. Of course, she had her own part in creating this situation, but hindsight was twenty-twenty.
Taking apart the X-5 who called herself Tinga might not have been the best move she could have made, but she'd been so disappointed when the results had come in that she'd lost some of her perspective. Yes, this job was an interesting one and in the decade she'd worked for the Committee she'd enjoyed life a lot. But during the times she went back to her native Europe she had been shown things that made it clear how far behind the United States had fallen.
Genetic engineering in Europe had been improved so much during these last years that Manticore was actually starting to lose its head start. In fact, the only reason they hadn't was because Summers and her people were loath to mix human and animal DNA. She wasn't entirely sure why, in her opinion the advantages far outweighed the problems it caused, but that's how it was.
Shaking her head in wonder at the strange way some people thought, Renfro turned a corner before focusing her mind back on Eyes Only. He was the problem right now and, until she received confirmation from 494 that 452 had successfully administered the retrovirus, she would consider him her main priority.
At least the Committee had never figured out that Lydecker had turned because she'd killed one of his kids. If that had happened, they might have actually replaced her, or worse. And that wasn't something she would have liked. Not after it had taken all these years to actually get where she needed to go.
The fact that the DNA samples had been lost before she'd had a chance to test all of them was bad enough. But to have actually been removed before she had been able to test the remaining transgenics as well would have been far worse. Not that it was easy to do those tests at the moment. The Committee was paying far too much attention to Manticore right now, ensuring she couldn't do anything without having a good reason.
Having reached the medical facility, she went inside to have a look at the X-7 lying there. The little girl had done a good job, first by ensuring that 452 had been taken when she and her friends had broken into the base, and later by providing the excuse she needed for an extensive test on that same 452. Of course, shooting 452 had also ensured that Eyes Only now believed the X-5 was dead, ensuring his current behavior.
Repressing the urge to wrinkle her nose at the smells coming from the dying child, she leaned closer and stroked the girl's wrinkly face. Yes, she had a feeling that 452 was exactly what she'd been looking for, her personal holy grail. There wasn't a lot that could explain why 452 didn't suffer from progeria, and the thing she was looking for was at the top of her list.
Of course, the lack of progeria didn't necessarily mean anything. There was another copy of 452 running around, X-5 453, but she was currently out on assignment and therefore wouldn't be available for testing anytime soon. Still, there was always the hope that she'd finally found the one.
Something bothered her about the situation though, and had done so ever since she'd been sent here to look for this supposedly perfect being. How could anything like this have happened? Sure, the actual changes in the genetics weren't that hard if you considered that Sandeman would have had unrestricted access. But how come nobody noticed that one of the transgenics walking around was different?
Surely they must have done extensive tests before, or had they actually been stupid enough not to verify their results? Thinking that as they knew exactly what DNA the tiny soldier was created from, and the soldier looked good, they didn't need to verify that the DNA they had on file was actually the one that had gone into the soldier.
They couldn't have been that stupid, could they? On the other hand, if she considered the new ridiculous breeding program that she had been forced to introduce she didn't doubt that there actually were members of the Committee who were that stupid. Once again Renfro shook her head, before turning away from the X-7.
Walking out of the medical facility, she once again tried to contain her anger at that stupid order. She had explained time after time that taking DNA samples from the living transgenics and using that as a base would be far more precise and eventually more cost-effective, but those fools hadn't listened. Well, they would learn once the first of those children was born, nine months from now.
Not that it mattered to her, Renfro thought as she continued the walk to her office. If everything went the way she wanted it to, she would be long gone by then. Far out of the reach of the Committee and back among the people she belonged with. No longer would she be serving two masters.
Back under the direct guidance of the most important person in the world. Once again protecting the world from those filthy Terakans.
By now she'd reached her office and she stepped inside. There were things she still needed to take care of, things important to the Committee. And while doing so she couldn't afford any distractions like thoughts of annoying reporters and genetic wonders.
Only barely had she started to do so however, when a knock on her door tore her attention away from her work. "Come in."
And in stepped the man she wanted to see most. The one she'd ordered to test 452's DNA, and judging by the folder he was carrying that's what he was here about. "Results on the DNA workup you ordered on 452."
Her heart was in her throat, but Renfro knew she couldn't show any of it. The man's report would go to the Committee, and it wouldn't do if that report showed a reaction that was far out of proportion to the simple question it was supposed to answer. "Did you find anything to explain why there's no progeria?"
"Maybe you better take a look," he answered while handing her the file.
Opening it up she immediately recognized what it meant. Her quest was complete, she had found the one she'd been looking for. The doctor said something about not having seen anything like it before, but she had. Well, not the technical terms and the DNA profile itself, but she'd read about it. Once, in what was then still technically a ruin but had later turned into one of the most impressive buildings she'd ever visited.
Renfro was certain, 452 was the woman she was looking for. And her ticket out of here. With difficulty she raised her eyes from the riveting sight of the file that detailed some of the changes Sandeman had made. "Does anyone else know about this?"
"No, ma'am."
Excellent. "Let's keep it that way," Renfro told the man and grabbing her gun she shot him. The fate of this entire facility had just become meaningless to her. Once 452 had been brought back she'd leave this country and never look back. But first it was time to report her success.
Taking her cellphone she dialed a number from memory. That number would connect her to someone who'd pass the message on to someone who'd do the same until it finally reached the person it was intended for.
Moments after she dialing the number, the call was answered and she could report. "C'est Renfro."
X.X.X
As always when she was going through the prophecies, time went a lot faster than Dawn thought it did and so it was that while outside the sun was already starting to rise, she was still working on them. Theories entered her mind and were quickly dismissed, possible solutions for problems were considered, most of which would be dismissed in a later evaluation, and as always she tried to make sense of it all. Looking at the various screens lining the information center she tried to bring this part of the prophecy into order.
Going by date was useless, not only because several of the shorter premonitions lacked a date, but also because they hadn't been predicted in order. In some cases, Dawn thought sulkily, not even within the same prophecy. Of course, just because she understood some of the events that were predicted didn't mean that she was suddenly able to understand them all.
One of the things she really couldn't stand was how there seemed to be several time lines. If she understood the prophecies correctly, they implied that there had been a possibility that Buffy and her mother hadn't died. Or, she corrected herself after looking at the relevant text, at least not at that time. All in all, these different time lines didn't make her job any easier, especially when you considered that some of those forks had happened centuries ago.
Over the centuries the villagers had done their best to collect all the information they could, but it had been nearly impossible for them to actually check the prophecies for relevance. Which meant that she had several hundred pages of text, only some of which were in the least bit relevant to her current situation.
So, one of the few ways in which she'd ordered the prophecies, or rather had several other people order them, was through their connections to each other. Some were easy, like the prophecies of light and darkness, but others were harder to identify that way.
A very annoying example of that was the story of the world-traveler. While there had been a number of references to this person, she couldn't place them in a larger context. Did the world-traveler exist in this time line? Or in one of the others? The text described this traveler as someone who dreamed about different worlds and actually went there. But how, why, and who weren't exactly stated.
A deep sigh emanated from her mouth. Here she was, one of the most influential people on the Earth, having set up her own personal kingdom and planning on extending it in every possible direction, and using technology that was beyond the dreams of people not even twenty years ago. But also trying to figure out the ramblings of a bunch of crazy people who'd written some ridiculous words nine centuries ago.
And none of that technology was of any use in that regard. Nothing the IT people had come up with would actually help her in understanding these texts. There were other nice things they'd come up with, like the way they had redesigned their equipment so that it would be hardened against another EMP or that Internet3 thing that the geeks were raving about.
Why did they need a data-rate like that anyway? Wouldn't the Internet2 everyone else was using be sufficient? All it needed to do was transmit data, and there wasn't that much of it. Of course, that was only looking at the short-term applications of this technology while its actual purpose was long-term. Not that she believed her offices needed something more than the current standard which already measured its speed in terms of the number of times the pre-Pulse Library of Congress could be transmitted in a single minute.
However, her people wanted to play with it and she had no doubt that her marketing people would be able to sell it. Especially if the IT people could make true on their promises that it would be protected from suffering the same fate as the Internet had in 2009.
The disruption of the Internet caused by the sudden breakdown of so many routers, servers, and whatnot had brought a large portion of the worldwide infrastructure to a halt. It wasn't long before the unaffected parts had once again been able to operate relatively smoothly, but the data loss it had caused was enormous.
Or at least that's what she gathered from her IT people. She wasn't too bad where it came to computers, but most of what she knew was about using them, and not the underlying infrastructure which she had never really needed to know about.
It didn't really matter anyway, this whole infrastructure that she was setting up now would have to last for centuries and not only for the current time. While Dawn had no doubt that even the technology her people only dreamed about now would some day become outdated, she also realized that all the steps in between would have to be carried out as well.
Turning her mind back to the prophecies she wondered what people would think of them. How would it be if she allowed any of the information in this center to get outside of the valley? At the moment there was no danger of that happening, there was a complete ban of taking any information out of the valley, either in tangible or electronic form. She even went so far as to ensure that none of the computers any of this information was stored on could be reached from another.
And she hadn't taken any halfway measures by using virtual private networks either. No, these computers were completely separated from the outside world and the defenses around them were better than anywhere else on the world. Only a bare handful of people had actual access to them, and they were all people she trusted with her life. Nobody else even knew where the prophecies were stored.
The sudden sound of her phone startled Dawn out of her thoughts, and she quickly grabbed the headset and enabled the virtual interface. Now this was a nice technology, too bad it only worked on such a short distance or she could use it during her missions. "Yes?"
"We've just received a communique," the avatar of her personal attendant said.
Jacques interrupting her because of a message? There were only three messages for which she allowed him to disturb her while she was down here. "From who?"
"Elizabeth." Elizabeth? Renfro, her mind immediately supplied, a quick command displayed the relevant data next to Jacques. The woman had been send to infiltrate Manticore years ago, but quickly scanning the file showed Dawn that Elizabeth had indeed been been getting closer to her goal.
"What did she have to say?"
A smile broke out on Jacques' face, telling her that it was indeed good news. "Elizabeth has found her."
"Her? It was a woman then? Which one?"
"The conversation was short, and she never mentioned it. She will come here soon with the transgenic."
"Excellent, prepare for her arrival." Increasing the transparency of the interface Dawn looked at one of the monitors, briefly skimming the prophecy that had given her the idea for the name of the project she was about to initiate. "Start with the preparations for operation Phoenix."
A flash of pain seemed to show in Jacques' eyes, but she'd probably imagined it as the virtual reality software wasn't capable of showing that yet. The pain was audible in his voice though. "As you wish."
"Thank you."
Disconnecting the call, Dawn once again read the part of the prophecy that she had a good idea about what it meant. "Through fire, freedom will be gained," she quoted into the silence of the room. Yes, the meaning of that seemed to be so clear. And that's how it remained until hours later when she was informed that doctor Elizabeth Renfro had been killed, and a raging fire in the Manticore facility had freed the transgenics there.
Leaving her once again without any more information about the transgenic she'd been looking for.
Post-fic comments: Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget about the feedback.
Vega12, Bob-from-Accounting, MaxS452, thanks for your feedback. I hope this chapter cleared at least some of your questions up. I really appreciate your comments. Of course, you only had hints here about the prophecies, but it won't be long before you actually get to read one. And MaxS452, you're right. Backstory is probably a better name than flashback.
On another note, I've uploaded new versions of the first 8 chapters. The story they tell is still the same, but some of the details have changed a little. It's therefore not necessary to read it again (unless you want to of course).