Chap 20 review responses are in my forums as normal.

Chapter Twenty-One: Et Non Conbureretur

On his eighth birthday, and the fourth since his mom became Pythia, Jakob Moreau woke not to his mother, or to Delia, the acolyte who had been his companion since his mother became Pythia. No, it was to the gentle shaking of his shoulders by Auntie Taylor.

He forced his eyes open blearily–morning was never good. "What is it? Is it a school day?"

"Sorry, kiddo. No school today. I've laid out some clothes, you need to get dressed."

"Where's Delia, or mom?"

"Waiting for you. Come on, it's important."

Jakob understood his mom was important. He didn't really have a firm grasp on the whys or hows, but he definitely understood the what. His friends' parents didn't have their own army of guards like he and mom did, and they didn't live in an ancient palace with farms and priests and the trees. The voice in the trees told him that he and his mom were special, and that made bad people jealous.

Like that time Anhur received a polysim rig that he'd wanted so bad, but was refused. For a day or two, he thought he hated Anhur for having what he wanted, but the Trees told him he didn't hate Anhur, he was just sad he didn't get the gift he wanted.

It was like that. Mother had something other people wanted, but they didn't have the voice in the trees to set them right, so they just stayed mad.

Taylor left his room. He used his ensuite bathroom, brushed his teeth and combed his hair, and then looked for the day's outfit.

The clothes Taylor laid out for him were so zag, like he was playing dress up or something. He pulled on the thick, heavy pants and tightened the weird belt around his waist, then pulled on the even heavier shirt. He could feel little bits of hard things in them. He had trouble getting his socks under the cuffs of the pants and thought he should put them on first, next time. Then the really zag-looking boots that sealed into the pants legs. They made him taller.

"You ready?" Auntie called from just outside his door.

"Yeah!"

In the light of his room, he saw that she wore the same thing he did, only bigger for her taller frame. She was only thirteen years older than him, and he thought Auntie was the prettiest, most zag-tastic woman in the world. She didn't treat him like some nogness or kid, but like a person.

She was still a lot taller than him, but he knew he'd catch up to her eventually. She knelt down in front of him and looked him over. "Nice, you did the belt right and everything," she said.

"The shirt is weird."

"It's an omniviron shirt," she said. "You can go into space in it if you needed."

"Really? That's so zag!"

"Really. Alright, Jakob. So, here's the deal. You know we've all been busy lately, right?"

"Yeah. Tim's mom was really scared the other day."

"Right. So, bad things are happening in the world. We don't think it's safe to stay on earth any more for you or your mom. So we're going to be leaving the planet."

At first, he felt a surge of excitement at the idea, but then a strange dread crept into his mind. "But what about the trees? They told me I was supposed to be their keeper!"

He didn't quite understand why Auntie went so still. Her face blanked for a moment, as if she weren't really even there anymore. She recovered a second later. "The trees have stood for twenty thousand years. They'll be okay if you go on a trip with your mom. Come on!"

She led him out of his room, and he was surprised to find five wardens waiting, all in the same heavy, sparkling black clothing that he and Auntie wore. Once they left the Pythian Palace in the predawn darkness, Jakob blinked back surprise at the inferno that lit up the northern horizon. That's not where the sun rose, was it?

"What happened?"

Taylor seemed to debate a moment before answering. "A hostile bot managed to hijack a defense orbital platform and took a few pot-shots at the surface."

"I didn't feel anything, though."

"That's because the palace was shielded. It's over for now, though."

The wardens fell in around he and Auntie. They wore their plasma batons, but also what looked like plasma pistols. They looked like soldiers going to war, and now that he thought of it, so did he and Auntie.

They didn't go toward the Mound or the golden trees, but instead toward the garages where the Church kept its various vehicles. It was there that he saw his mother's shoulder-length black hair, now with a little gray. The wardens and other church personnel towered over her. "Mom!"

He pushed past Auntie to give his mom a hug, and she hugged him right back, kissing his head. "Oh, my baby boy is growing up so fast," she said. "Are you ready to go on a trip?"

"Where are we going?"

"Right now? To Hawa. And from there? We're going to another world!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because we didn't know for sure when it would work out. Come on!"

Aunty Taylor and the other wardens fell in around he and his mom as they entered an atmo transport. He was surprised to see Tim and his family, and Anhur and several others from the Vates habitats. Anhur smiled shyly, but Tim waved so hard he bumped into his dad.

They all sat, and in moments the transport lifted. Through a narrow window, he saw other transports lifting off too, dozens of them.

"Who's going to be left to take care of the trees?"

"Don't worry, darling, we have thousands of the faithful who are staying behind," mom said.

"But…but…"

He paused when Aunty touched his shoulder. "It'll be okay, Jakob. Telos is with us; she's guiding us."

He never understood what people meant by that. He heard it a lot. Mom said it to other people all the time. He knew Telos was his god, and he knew that god watched them sometimes. Maybe like in a sim? But didn't quite grasp what she actually did, since even he knew things were getting harder. If she were watching, why wasn't she helping too? He'd much rather listen to the trees.

Still, it was hard to think about it too much because…just wow! The transports were fast. They pushed him back into his seat as they rocketed up into the night, traveling so fast they seemed to be racing the dawn and even winning.

When he looked out the little window, though, he frowned when he saw lines of fire falling away from them. The destruction looked more wide-spread than just pot-shots.

Aunty was talking quietly with mom, a hand to her ear as she listened to something on a sim rig. He'd heard somewhere that people used to have sims in their heads, but that just seemed silly. The AI Virus could get in and zag-up your brains! Now they used rigs like the slim one that aunty wore over her right ear, hidden under her hair. He liked how it curled there.

"Brace, brace, brace!"

Aunty leaned back, and then reached across Jakob's chest as the transport suddenly dove, dropping so quick his stomach flipped. People all around the cabin cried or screamed in fear, or prayed loudly to Telos to protect them. Some people were making the wing symbol that he saw Mom make all the time.

Outside the window, he saw a bright flash of light that made the transport shudder violently. The craft dove again, and then suddenly shot up so hard that the people in the side and rear-facing seats were thrown against their safety webbing with pained cries. Vomit spilled in wild arcs as the craft spun, turned upside down, and then dove again.

The smell made his own stomach heave, and there went breakfast! Right in Aunty's face!

"I'm sorry!" He wailed.

She just kept holding him back as it seemed like the whole world had gone insane.

Abruptly, it ended. The craft steadied. Tim huddled between his parents crying; he was the first to throw up and it set off a chain reaction.

Aunty had a sanitary wipe out already and was wiping her face, and then handed another to him and his mom. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"For what? That was terrifying," Taylor said. "I almost threw up myself."

"What happened?"

She glanced at his mom, but Mom was busy whispering into her own sim rig. Probably giving people orders. He knew that the adults didn't like telling him things. He and Tim talked about it all the time; how the grownups kept secrets. It's not like it was a secret that things were getting worse. He saw sim feeds that slipped through parental filters all the time that showed schools closing, riots and people screaming about food and stuff.

He could see it on Aunty Taylor's face now; sometimes her face just went blank. Like she was lost in her thoughts or trying to decide something. When she finally answered, though, it surprised him.

"There's a group of people that wants to hurt us," she admitted.

"What? Why?"

"We're not sure," she admitted. "We just avoided an attack. It was scary, Jakob. But we thought it might happen, and I made sure to have some armed aircraft standing by. We're safe for now, but it's going to be dangerous. I need you to be strong, okay?"

"Are these people why we're leaving?"

"They're certainly a part of it." She continued to wipe bits of vomit off. Seeing that his mom was so busy, she then grabbed another wipe from some hidden pouch and offered it to him. "You're a special young man, kiddo. Stay with me, and we'll get through this together."

~~Revelation~~

~~Revelation~~

He must have slept. The transports moved so fast that it was still pre-dawn when they reached the Hawa space elevator. He could see the column rising into the heavens, and the actual anchor itself was already blazing with the reflected sunlight that hadn't reached the surface yet. In fact, as they climbed out of the transports, he could look up to see the sunlight crawling down the vast tether, like a sword plunging toward the earth. It was beautiful and frightening at the same time.

More wardens were waiting for them at the terminal, thousands of them. They were dressed just like he and Taylor, and were all heavily armed. They all bowed as Mom led the line of people from the Vates. But there were other transports already there from other places. People Jakob had never seen, but who either wore the vestments of priests and priestesses, or bore the necklaces that had the little Telos pendants on them.

One of the Wardens rushed up to Aunty's side. The man glanced briefly at Jakob, but didn't stop. "Someone alerted Solar command. A frigate is in-bound, ETA 12 hours. Loyalists have disabled the defense platforms. Supply car has already been loaded, personnel transport coming."

"Did we secure the template fabber?"

"Yes, ma'm."

Aunty looked around at the huge crowd of people. "How long can we hold them at the defense points?"

"I don't know, ma'am. They're taking fire, but their faith is strong."

"As long as their shields are strong, too, we'll keep going."

Thousands of people were moving into the space elevator. "I'm hungry," he realized. After all, he lost his breakfast in flight. "Will there be something to eat?"

"Not for a while, sorry," Aunty said. "Come on."

The Hawa space elevator car held everyone. It was so big it could have lifted the entire Pythian Palace. If he'd read more, he'd know that the Hawa elevator was the second of the three primary equatorial space elevators built, and was thousands of years old. Over the centuries its systems had been rebuilt, replaced and improved so much there wasn't a component in it more than a century old.

He took his seat, again between Mom and Aunty. Thousands of other faithful were shepherded quickly into more seats by the wardens, while still more formed a cordon to keep any non-faithful away.

"This must be costing a lot," he muttered.

"You have no idea," Aunty said with a sharp laugh. "We've sold every piece of property the church owned around the world, liquidated most of our accounts and sold priceless artifacts, and we're still in debt for this."

"But why?"

"It's important that we leave," Taylor said. "For the future. The church of Telos has to survive, and we're not sure we can do it here on Earth."

There were so many people. Thousands and thousands. The wardens were urging the crowds to move quicker. They were waving them to specific areas, filling up all the seats of the massive car. It reminded him of the Sabbat Day services, when the faithful came shuffling in to hear mom talk. They came from all around the world, just like they were now.

But this time, they were scared. He could see it on their faces. The bad guys, whoever they were, made people scared. The AI Virus and the bots that went crazy and started just killing people–it all made people scared. It made him scared.

Aunty took his hand. She didn't say anything, but he appreciated it.

Mom was talking into her rig, constantly. Or listening. Giving orders. She was the lead general of this whole army, in a way.

Somehow, finally, the flow of people slowed and halted. Even as the last were putting on safety webbing, the huge doors began to close like the jaws of some giant beast. He'd read the tale of Kratos, Atreus and the Serpent, and it felt just like that. As if he were being swallowed by an ancient world serpent.

His stomach tingled. He didn't actually feel anything, but through the narrow ports he could see movement as the giant loader car with thousands upon thousands of faithful shot upward. Suddenly spears of light shot through the vast chamber. Jakob was facing just the right way so be able to see as the new sunlight shot through the narrow port windows as they cleared the horizon.

He'd never been so high in his life.

"Aunty," he finally said, speaking soft so as not to distract his mom while she was working. "Why is the government coming for us?"

Taylor didn't ask how he knew. She saw him listening when the warden reported to her. She leaned over to him, and said, "We're stealing their newest ship."

He gaped. "But…stealing is bad! It's a sin, isn't it?"

"It is. And they're very upset with us. I could make the argument of a starving man stealing bread, but instead we'll just say this. Sometimes to survive, you must take from another. It ceases to be a question of right, or wrong, and more them vs. us. Telos herself probably wouldn't be very happy about it, but I think she'd be more unhappy with the necessity than the act itself. Things are bad, and they're going to get worse."

"But how do you know?"

"Because things always get worse before they get better. It's the nature of things."

The trip would take three hours. The novelty wore off after about twenty minutes. Most of the way through, though, Aunty heard something on her rig that made her face go blank again. "Stay put, okay, Jakob?"

"Okay."

She undid her harness and stepped around him to kneel really close to Mom. He strained to listen, but Aunty was good at whispering low enough he couldn't hear. But he knew it wasn't good because of how mom's face went blank too.

After that, Jakob watched with a growing unease as Taylor began walking around the cabin to the various warden teams. He knew she was the head warden, despite being only thirteen years older than him. He knew that she was special, in the same way mom was. She just seemed to know everything, and always knew what to do.

And he realized, then and there, that he didn't really know who she was. Not really.

"Mom, who is Taylor?"

The question seemed to pull mom out of her silent worry. "What was that, love?"

"Taylor. Who is she? Really? Why is she so important?"

She stared at him for a long time, enough to make him squirm, but finally she answered. "Do you remember your Sabbat-day school lessons? About the Trinity?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Tell me."

Mom did that, alot. Asking him to prove he knew something. "The body of Telos was shattered in three as the holy spirit ascended. The Oliphant, the Vakee and the mortal."

"Olympian, and Vanir," mom corrected. "Ancient gods from long ago. And do you remember Telos' mortal name?"

"Hmm…" He didn't. That wasn't really the part of the story he was interested in.

She patted his hand. "When you remember, you'll understand," she said. A thought occurred to her. "Until then, I need to ask a favor of you."

She pulled a small leather satchel up from below her bodice–it hung on a leather strap around her neck. She opened the small pouch to reveal a pair of golden acorns. Taking one, she placed it in Jakob's hands. He stared, fascinated, because he could hear the voice from the trees echoing in the acorn. "These came from the trees?"

"They did," his mom confirmed. "They're why we knew it was time to take this trip. Telos herself guides our steps. I want you to hold on to that one for me, okay? If we're separated for any reason, you can use yours to guide me to you. They're holy, do you see?"

He nodded, wide-eyed.

She smiled as she slipped her own back into its pouch, and from there back under her bodice. Leaning down, she kissed his head and hugged him.

Throughout the cabin, Wardens were quietly leaving their seats and asking the faithful to switch, so that all the seats toward the main doors were occupied strictly by wardens.

"The bad guys are waiting for us, aren't they?" Jakob really didn't understand until he asked the question.

His mom took his hand, but didn't say anything. He could tell she was listening to someone over her rig. Overhead, a warning light came on to alert them to the end of the long ride. Through the port window, he could see a curving blue-gray haze reflecting sunlight, and in the distance bright dots that were probably ships or satellites.

All of the wardens–maybe a thousand–all stood and began forming up around the door. Taylor was among them, and she had a plasma pistol in her hand. Others had rifles. The faithful began to understand something bad was about to happen.

Mother stood, and when she spoke into her rig her voice carried through the cabin. "My brothers, my sisters, stand strong. The enemies of Telos infiltrated the anchor and are waiting for us. We aren't without allies, but hardship awaits. Please move away from the doors until a way is cleared, and when it is cleared, run. My brothers, sisters, run! Carry your children, and be prepared to run."

The doors opened with a mechanical roar. The moment the seam in the middle parted, lances of fire began blasting into the cabin. The faithful screamed and ducked. Mom grabbed Jakob and pulled him to the floor. Overhead, the cabin walls blinked as shielding blocked the blasts from penetrating the hull.

He glanced up, looking for Aunty, and there she was in the middle of the fight. She didn't look scared, and stood at the forefront firing her pistols. Behind, he saw figures in tech armor and even a few warbots firing in at them with terrifying weapons.

One of the wardens was hit; their suit flared brightly. Three more blasts struck and with the last the warden spun away, missing a large part of their chest. Jakob stared, barely comprehending the violation of the woman's body. How could something like that be real?

But then something happened that he didn't think anyone was expecting. The enemy fire slowed as an old, withered figure moved right into the battle. He walked with a staff and had a cowled robe that hid his face, though Jakob could see a bit of beard. Mom looked up and hissed in shock. "Al-Khidr!"

The old man came to a halt, and the enemy seemed so shocked that they just stopped firing for a moment. He threw his robe down, revealing an ancient, yet somehow still strong body. Pale skin with a strange mark curled up around his torso to his balding head. He looked like a gnarled, ancient tree. He dropped his staff and drew two massive, jagged swords on chains from behind his back.

"Get ready to run," Mom whispered.

"Who is that?"

"Telos' father. Lord Kratos himself comes to save us!"

"But…but…really?"

The enemy overcame their shock. And Lord Kratos, if that was really him, overcame the enemy.

It just didn't fit into Jakob's reality. He didn't understand what kind of plasma the swords used when they caught fire and suddenly started whipping through the enemy on long chains. Where were the power sources? The swords cut through the armor, and even the shields, as the wiry old man launched himself with a mighty roar at the enemy. He drew their weapon's fire to himself sufficiently to allow the surviving wardens to begin gathering the faithful.

"Go! Go!"

The faithful ran. They screamed and they ran and the wardens defended them against the enemy. They ran out of the elevator car and into a vast, empty atrium that held only death and the enemy. And an ancient god of war that whipped through them with impossible burning swords.

Because they were among the first to load, Jakob realized he and his mom would be among the last to leave. Still, they moved, ducking low as occasional plasma or laser blasts continued to shoot into the crowd. He jumped in shock as one of the blasts hit Tim's dad. Tim screamed and his mother cried, but his dad just fell like a toy bot that lost power. His head was gone, and blood was squirting across the floor.

He left his mother's arms and grabbed his friend. "Tim, come on! Come on!"

Tim's mom was screaming. "Timos! Oh Telos, they killed him!"

Just like Jakob did for Tim, mom took the screaming woman in her arms. "I know, Hanie! I know! Telos has him now. For your son's sake, we need to go!"

They went, half-running while Aunty Taylor and the Wardens fought an unknown army with an ancient god wielding flaming swords on chains. Abruptly a giant tank rolled into the atrium. He saw it before mom did, but his scream was lost in the roar of its weapon. The blast struck the wall behind them and sent Tim, Jakob and their moms flying to the ground along with hundreds more.

He looked up, ears ringing, and saw Lord Kratos flying through the air with impossible power, both arms over his head and the flaming swords burning through the air in massive flares. The tank had the shimmer of shields, but somehow when the swords came down, the shield collapsed. But then something else happened.

The swords shattered; they exploded with such power that Lord Kratos was tossed aside like a toy and the entire anchor shifted so violently everyone was thrown from their feet. In the chaos that followed, Wardens left the combat and rushed into the crowds of faithful to get them moving. Strong arms grabbed him and lifted him up, while still others grabbed mother and Tim and his mom.

"Come on!" He looked up and saw Aunty bleeding. Her expression was blank again, but her nostrils were flaring and her eyes were moist.

Thousands ran ahead of them, and he lost sight of his Mom just because of the crowds. He thought she was ahead of him, but he couldn't be sure. Finally, they reached the boarding portal, and the sheer density overcame their rush, slowing them down. Behind them, the wardens formed a cordon. Jakob saw them placing shield generators at the mouth of the tunnel.

They were so far back.

Suddenly Taylor stopped him. Her arms wrapped around his chest and held him tight. "No," she whispered, but not to him.

He looked where she did, and though he could just barely see the hint of the front of the ship they were loading onto, in the space beyond one of the distant dots had grown brighter. Much brighter.

"Aunty?" he whispered.

"Oh Jakob," she said as she held him. "I'm so sorry."

The world disappeared in a flash of impossible light. He screamed in pain and terror as gravity itself failed and bitter cold like a giant hand slapping him burned his skin for just a second before it went numb and fuzzy. He spun so fast he threw up again, even though he had nothing in his stomach.

And yet, somehow, Taylor held onto him. He didn't understand the flashing colors spinning around him, until somehow the spin slowed. "I've got you," she said to him, though her voice now sounded far away. Nestled within her arms, he saw a giant, silver space ship drifting away with part of a shattered loading arm still attached, while the city-sized space anchor rocked atop the elevator tether.

"Mom," he breathed.

Taylor, though, was using her rig. "This is the Saint. Is the Pythia aboard?"

Somehow, he heard the response. "Pythia is aboard. Frigate within firing range, more fire incoming. Status?"

"We're non-viable. Go, get the Pythia to safety."

"But what about…"

"Taylor! Jakob! Where's my son?"

"Mom, I'm here!"

Taylor held him closer. "Tina, we're outside the anchor. Our suits are protecting us, but we aren't going to make it. You have to go!"

"What future do I have without my son, Taylor?"

"He was never going with you, Tina. I realized this morning. He's been chosen. The trees don't talk to him in visions. Tell her, Jakob. What the trees told you?"

"I mean…they said I was to be their keeper, but not without mom! She never said anything about mom being gone!"

Far away, now, the silvery ship detached itself from the broken loading arm and began moving away from the anchor. "She speaks to you?"

"Yeah, all the time. She tells me things. Helps me know how I should feel, or what to do. It's just the trees."

"No. Oh Telos, no, it's not the trees, Jakob. Love. It's Telos herself! It's her spirit. You're the new Pythia. I thought…but it was you. Always you."

"I'll stay with him, Tina," Auntie Taylor said. "I promise you. He'll never be alone."

"I love you, Jakob. From the moment I first saw you, you were my miracle. The best of your father, and best I could ever hope to be. I love you so much. I'll never forget you."

"Mom!" He couldn't talk. His eyes burned and he wanted to fight, but Taylor held him so tight. "Mom, wait!"

The ship couldn't wait, though. Streaks of fire just like the one that blasted him into space were coming, and the ship couldn't wait. It burned hard, and thin darts of light shot out from it at the approaching missiles. He watched as it pulled away, dwindling until it became just another star, until he couldn't even see that.

"She's gone," he whispered. "My mother's gone."

"I know." Taylor's voice sounded ragged. "We're not safe yet, Jakob. We need to get back to the anchor. Hold my hand, okay?"

He did so, holding on tight, while Taylor reached for her plasma baton with her other hand. She spun him around. "Hang on, like when I used to give you rides."

He did just that, climbing onto her back with his arms around her neck. Their mutual environmental shields hissed against each other, until they merged. With her hands free, she reached for her plasma baton, adjusted its switch, and then pointed it away and turned it on.

It provided a low, constant thrust. At first, it didn't seem to be doing anything, but eventually he could see how they were moving toward the anchor.

"Are you hurt?" she asked him.

"I don't think so. Or it's numb. Won't the bad guys be waiting for us?"

"One crisis at a time."

They got closer and closer to the massive anchor, until its own gravity started to pull them. This close, they could see various airlocks and ports for ship docking. Taylor aimed them at one of the field-controlled orbital ports.

He didn't realize how fast they were going until the port entrance began to zoom right toward them. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and hung on as they shot through the static field keeping the air in, and bounced across the floor. Their suit shields cushioned them a little, but it still hurt.

He scrambled quickly to his feet, only to stumble back in shock.

The old man was there–the god with the swords. His arms and hands looked terribly burned, his bearded face raw and flushed red. He was coated in blood. Behind him, Taylor scrambled to her feet.

"Dad!" she said. "Your swords!"

"It was inevitable," the old man said in a deep, grinding voice. "We both knew I weakened my connection with them ages ago, and so they were no longer truly even mine." The gods' eyes looked a lot like Taylor's. "Boy. Are you hurt?"

"No…no sir."

Something hit Jakob, then. Like a brick. He turned to stare at Taylor. "You called him 'dad'."

"Old habits," she said. She looked at the old man. "She talks to him. He's to keep the trees."

"The trees cannot remain in the open," the old man said. "The dark times are coming."

"Then we'll hide them, like we did during the Amzed Revolution. For as long as we need to. Dad, she talked to him. She hasn't spoken to anyone directly in six thousand years. He was meant to stay."

"This is your choice?"

She shrugged. "I wanted to get away too. But he'll need me. I'm not going to leave him, not now."

Jakob found himself panting. "Saint. Your warden name is saint. You're Saint Taylor."

"And someday, you'll be Pythia Jakob. But right now, we need to get back to earth. You have a ride, right, dad?"

"Yes." He held up his burned hands. Even as Jakob watched, he could see the terrible burns healing. "You will need to pilot for now, but we must be quick. The Cognitae still hunt us, and will until I am able to…correct their course."

"Then let's go."

She held his hand as the three of them jogged through the hanger. A god, a saint, and Jakob Moreau. He wondered if he was special too.