Equilibrium Fan Fiction by Judas Austin Taking Sides 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 Another Cleric. Like I said to Partridge, about time we had some good news...even if this particular piece of news happens to be so green he'd be better off planted with something. Still, I'm not complaining; a Cleric's a Cleric after all. And while I'm on the subject of Clerics, it was a pretty big surprise meeting Chast again. At least now I know what happened to one of my yearmates. Not that it matters now, I suppose. I was also surprised that I was able to catch him with that old move. He and I were usually paired off in the Monastery to practise together-why, I've no idea, given his standard-and he never managed to defend against it there either. As Partridge said, Klondike's response summed up my reaction to Chast pretty nicely. I didn't think much of the guy even when we were in training together. More problems though; I currently have about fifty people here to feed, water and find shelter for. Some of those have lived in the Nethers before-I heard Al did it for a good few weeks-and they pretty much look after themselves and others, for which I am profoundly grateful. Out here, I don't know much more than any other New Librian. I've been in the Nethers, obviously, but I've never had to live out here. Still, if sweepers do it, how hard could it be? --John Preston, Grammaton Cleric First Class Preston grimaced. He was ravenous, and he didn't much like the feeling. He'd never missed more than one meal in his life, and he wasn't used to going twenty four hours without food. People had gone out looking, but mostly come back empty handed. Two people had managed to find a kind of fungus growing on one of the walls, and although Al had assured him it was perfectly edible, Preston had declined their offer. He looked around. He'd taken watch that night, and from the looks of it, everyone was already asleep. "You got a minute?" Partridge said. Well, almost everyone. "Sure," Preston said, biting the word off at the end. "It's not like I've anything better to do." "Thanks," his partner said, with what might possibly have been sarcasm, and perched on the edge of a wall next to him. "I've been doing a bit of thinking-" "Congratulations." Partridge narrowed his eyes. "Look, Preston, just because you're pissed off at the world is no reason to take it out on other people! As I was saying, I've been doing a bit of thinking. We need to get inside the Tetra Grammaton and...why are you looking at me like that?" "I was looking for the bump on your head," Preston answered. "Something must have hit it pretty hard to drive you this far over the edge." "I'm talking about subtlety, Preston, not out-and-out warfare. Someone sneaks in, smuggles those inside to safety, and sneaks out again." "Just like that," Preston said tonelessly. "More or less." "And...how were you planning to get into the Tetra Grammaton?" Preston demanded. "Or to put it another way, how were you planning on getting out again? There are, on average, fifty of us here, and thirty nine of those are civilians. And while I'll go with the idea that there may easily be more survivors of New Libria out there, we didn't have enough to mount a full-scale assault on Old Libria at the height of our strength, never mind now!" "There are other groups in the Nethers," Partridge said. "Neutral groups. They might be persuaded to help us." Al stared at him. "If you're thinking of the Renegades-" "I am." "-then stop thinking! Why should they help us?" "What?" Preston said. "I mean, it'd be a bloody miracle if any of them are still alive and in a position to help us! They've been out here a pretty long time, you know." "Who have?" Preston said. "They must have survived almost as many Tetra Grammaton raids as anyone here has been a part of," Partridge argued. "There's a good chance they've kept on surviving, even with the destruction of their main base." "What main base?" Preston said. "That wasn't a destruction, that was a cave-in!" Al shot back. "And if you ask me, it wasn't that either!" Preston reached for his guns, only to remember he'd given them to Partridge for safekeeping. He glanced at Klondike as Al's comment sparked off a heated argument about whether or not that cave-in had been an accident. "I suppose it's not worth asking you to find me a weapon, is it?" he said very quietly. To his surprise, the dog rolled to his feet, bounded off and returned a few seconds later with an automatic pistol in his mouth. The Cleric stared. "Uh...thanks." He took it, snapped the safety off and fired a round into one of the torches, which exploded with a very satisfactory shower of sparks. Around them, people sat upright, alarm running through like an electrical current. Partridge and Al broke off, staring. "Right," Preston said tersely. "Now that I have your attention, I was wondering if you would be kind enough to see your way to answering one or two questions? The rest of you go back to sleep!" "Like what?" Al answered, after a silence. "What the hell are you two talking about?!" Preston erupted. "Getting Jurgen out," Rossiter said. "And Halls." There was another, tighter silence. "You know, you really ought to get that looked at," Partridge told the younger Cleric. "Foot in mouth disease can be fatal." Preston held up a hand. "No, that's alright," he said, slightly coldly. "And...how were you planning to accomplish this miracle, Rossiter? Knock on the doors of the Tetra Grammaton and ask whoever opens them to pretty please let you take two of their most securely guarded prisoners?" Rossiter dropped his gaze and didn't answer. "There's a group that lives in the Nethers," Al said, with unusual diplomacy for a sweeper. "Several, actually, but the Renegades are the closest one to us." "Are they with the Resistance?" Al and Partridge exchanged glances. "I think the answer to that," Al said eventually, "is somewhere between yes and no. For the minute, let's just say that they're not with the Tetra Grammaton. They wouldn't take any active part in the struggle, but they'll help a Resistance member, if it's needed." "If they didn't join us in the fight before, what makes you think they're going to do it now?" Preston said, somewhat acerbically. "Nothing at all," Partridge answered, not very helpfully. "But one thing I know is that they were one of our main sources of weapons. The Resistance started trading with them about three years ago. Jurgen cut trade just before New Libria was formed, though; we needed everything we had for our own people." "What did these Renegades want? EC-10?" Partridge snorted. "You must be joking. Out here, the only two things that matter are food and warmth." "You worked that out all by yourself?" Al muttered, fortunately too quietly for either Cleric to hear. "Alright," Preston said. "Fine, although I don't understand why they couldn't get their own supplies. Sense offenders in Old Libria lead pretty normal lives, at least until the Tetra Grammaton catch up with them. There would have been nothing to stop them buying food at a supermarket." "Funny you should mention that," Partridge said slowly. "When Mary was still around, she was good friends with them. She did most of the negotiating, as I recall, and one time she said they mentioned something about coming from beyond Libria." "Beyond Libria?" Preston said, as though the idea was somehow foreign to him, then his jaw dropped. Of course! There had to be places, cities, things beyond the Nethers. The thought simultaneously filled and excited him. "We're not sure how true that is," Al said in a cautionary tone. "Then what are we sure of?" Al sighed. "All we know is that the Renegades were once part of a far larger group. They left for reasons best known to themselves-" "They left because Talon left and Talon left because Merston murdered her partner," a new voice cut in. Preston, Partridge and Al all turned to stare at Robbie. "How..." Partridge began. Robbie shrugged slightly. "A few weeks after I came off the dose, I needed a little time to myself. Remember that trip?" "Yes..." Preston said, in the tones of one who isn't sure they want to hear the rest of the sentence. Six weeks after Viviana's execution, Robbie had informed Preston that there was an expedition into the Nethers for the top five cadets in that particular year. "I went out to see if I could warn any sense offenders and practically walked right into a war. I didn't understand what was going on-they were speaking in some strange language-but I could tell they were angry about something. They kept on like this for about ten minutes, then one of them abruptly turned and stalked off. A few of the others followed. Most stayed behind. I was curious, so I headed off after them." "And they didn't attack you?" Partridge said. "No. I don't think they viewed me as a threat." "Do they speak Librian?" Robbie snorted. "Badly. Well, either they speak a few words or they're fluent. There doesn't seem to be any intermediate stage." "The Tetra Grammaton have tried to exterminate them several times, but they've never managed it," Al added. "Merston's group is too far away to really interest them and the Renegades have survived every single raid-usually by not being there-but on the rare occasions when they have fought the Tetra Grammaton, they've never lost." "How do you know?" Preston demanded. "They're still alive," Al said simply. There was a pause. "Let me make sure I've got this one hundred percent right," Preston said. "Partridge and I are Clerics, just like most of the people who have tried to wipe out these...Renegades. We're not on the dose, but we are friends of Jurgen who was their main source of food, only he stopped trading with them almost two months ago, leaving them to starve to death. We're now turning up to ask them to risk what remains of their lives breaking into the Tetra Grammaton...and you think they're going to be happy to see us?" "There's always a way to persuade people," Al said. "Like what?" Preston said warily. Al shrugged. "You're head of New Libria, aren't you? I imagine the Renegades are tired of hiding in derelict buildings and scrounging for food." "Joint head and what are you suggesting?" Preston demanded. "That I offer them residency?" "If that's what it takes." "We're pretty short of space as it is," Partridge said reluctantly. "Those three that turned up last night," Al said suddenly. "That's what put this crazy idea in your head, isn't it?" "What three?" Preston demanded. "They didn't attack, remember?" Partridge reminded Al. "What do you mean, attack?!" "So what does that prove?" Al demanded. "They're not crazy, they're not suicidal and that means it's pretty much a given that they're not going to be interested either!" Preston grimaced. Reaching up without looking, he grabbed Partridge in one hand, Al in the other and yanked both of them down next to him. "Are you two planning to include me in this conversation at any point in the near foreseeable future," he said acidly, "or am I going to have to blow out another torch?" Behind them, someone cleared their throat politely, bringing the discussion to an abrupt halt. Caught off guard, Preston spun to his feet, both guns already out and aimed. "Hey!" the stranger said, hands shooting up above her head. "Hey, put those away! You could hurt someone with those!" Preston hesitated. He wasn't quite sure how to answer this. "Just...calm down, okay? I'm not going to kill you." Preston and Partridge exchanged glances. "No shit," Partridge said finally. "Are you a Renegade?" Al said bluntly. The girl was silent for a long time. "No," she said finally, her voice so low the three of them had difficulty hearing it. "I'm not, and if they're the ones you're looking for, you'd best turn around and head back the way you came, and don't stop until you're as far away from here as you can get." Al glanced at Preston. "Cleric? Is she telling the truth?" There was another silence. "Yes," Preston said finally. "Some of it, anyway." The stranger bristled. "What do you mean, some of it?" "What I say," Preston said evenly. He met her gaze squarely, unmoved. "What's your name?" For a long time he thought the girl wasn't going to answer, then: "Jay." Partridge blinked. "What, is that short for something?" "Yeah," Jay said abruptly. "It's short for 'I have a last name but if anyone finds out I've told you what it is I'll be in so much shit that I don't even want to think about it'. Okay?" "Have you seen a Cleric around here?" Al said suddenly. Jay looked at Partridge, then at Preston, then at Rossiter, then at Taselli, then back at Al. "Is this some sort of trick question?" "I wasn't talking about those two. This one's about my height, good looking, black hair, brown eyes-" Jay snorted, cutting him off. "If you mean Alex Kernachan, he passed by this way two days ago. He seemed in something of a hurry." "Did you know what was going to happen to him?" Al demanded. "How could they?" Partridge said. "They've been in the Nethers, for Christ's sake!" Al shook his head. "Don't let that fool you. They know far more about what's going on than you give them credit for." "You think so?" Preston said, somewhat doubtfully. "This is the Nethers, Cleric. Knowledge is power here, and knowing how the political land lies may just keep you alive." Al glanced back at Jay. "Did you know what was going to happen?" A slight smile appeared on Jay's face. "No." Al gritted his teeth and counted to ten. "Did anyone else know what was going to happen?" "I'm not sure. They don't discuss things like that with me." "You're not being very helpful." "I'm not paid to be helpful." "You're not paid, period, not if I know Merston." "You're afraid," Preston stated suddenly. Jay raised an eyebrow. "Hello? In case you don't know, let me enlighten you. We happen to have found a way to, shall we say, even up the odds between us and the Tetra Grammaton." "The Renegades found a way," Al said flatly. "You just stole it." "I didn't say you were afraid of us, although you are." Preston glanced at the other two. "It's these Renegades, isn't it? Infighting for your people is normal, all part of life in the Nethers, but it's gotten out of hand. Merston's having to quell several small rebellions and the more she focuses on one, the more brash the others become. Your group is finally starting to come apart at the seams, and somehow the Renegades have found out about this. That's why you're so jumpy. You keep expecting them to be out here, getting closer and closer until they're ready to attack." Preston raised an eyebrow. "And I'm damn sure there's no civil strife among their ranks, is there?" Jay shook her head. "Look Cleric, I could get thrown out with a bullet in the gut just for saying you were hot or cold." "Then why stay with them?" Preston said reasonably. "Protection, of course. If the Renegades get down here..." "...you'll be the first to die?" Al said. "I'm ex-sweeper. I know how these things work. Sentries in this situation are sometimes put there to warn, or to attempt to thin the ranks of the attackers, or to serve as bait to lure them into an ambush, but one thing they're never, ever supposed to do is survive." There was a pause as this sank in. "I've got a bit of news for your guys," Al said. "The Renegades are, at last estimate, roughly eight miles away and they don't give a fuck what you do so long as you don't do it to them." "If you know them, why are you coming to us?" Jay demanded. "You must know that we're not exactly on good terms." The ex-sweeper met her gaze squarely. "Maybe we thought that some of you might like a chance to, shall we say, make amends for certain events?" "Amends?" Jay said scathingly, although she didn't quite meet their gaze. "For something that was done years ago?" "It would be the same whenever it was done, and you know it." "So...what?" the girl sneered. "You want me to fall on my knees and beg for forgiveness?" "Well, it would be a bloody good start!" Partridge said acerbically. Al shook his head. He'd thought it might come to this. "Look. Either you cooperate right now, or I'll tell Merston you've been trading magazine clips for EC-10 and extra rations on the side." Jay went ramrod straight. "That's a fucking lie!" "My boys have been supplying you," Al told her flatly. Jay's face went pale, almost grey. "I don't think anyone would be particularly happy to hear you've been redistributing such things," Al went on, the barest hint of a threat in his tones. Preston and Partridge exchanged looks. "People around here really don't take kindly to blackmail," Jay answered, very little fear showing in her tones. "It's not the only thing they don't take kindly to," Al shot back, not missing a beat. "They probably wouldn't like it if you were shot in the back by two Clerics from the Tetra Grammaton." Partridge's head snapped around. "Now wait just a minute-!" he began sharply. "So you're saying that you'll kill me if I don't talk to you," Jay said flatly, overriding him. "Well, nobody's going to hear us," Preston said impassively. Partridge shot his partner a narrow eyed look, not entirely sure which way to interpret this. Judging from the way Jay was squirming slightly, she didn't know either. "What happened to all of you?" Al said abruptly. There was a silence. "He's talking about-" Preston began. "Shut up, Preston," Al said curtly. "She knows what I'm talking about." Preston shut up, more through shock than anything. "Why should I tell you?" Jay said suddenly. "If I keep my mouth shut, I get a bullet through the face. If I don't, I get one in the gut. Either way it's hardly pleasant for me, but at least if I keep quiet, I'll get to go out quick." A bitter smile appeared on her face. "Besides, it's not done for sentries to let down their guard and give away secrets. That's what we're always told, anyway." The words had the sound of an old grievance to them. "'Not done'?" Partridge echoed. "Yeah. Like the hundred or so other things that aren't. What they mean is it's not allowed and if you do it, you're looking at either some form of corporal punishment or a slow, lingering death." Jay considered. "Or both," she added. "Bloody officers," Al muttered. "They give bloody orders and most of 'em can't find their own arse with both hands and a bloody map!" He became aware of the looks. "What? I didn't say Clerics." "We need to talk to you," Partridge told Jay, while his partner seemed intent on trying to fry Al with his eyes. "You are," Jay pointed out. "About the Renegades." Jay moistened her lips, glancing around. "Here? Talking about that kind of thing here is like singing opera in the Tetra Grammaton, Cleric!" "Then come with us," Partridge persisted. "Oh shit, did I really just say that out loud?" Preston heard him mutter under his breath. Jay stepped back and said something that neither Cleric understood word for word, but which both could tell translated into something along the lines of "You what!?" "You already said, you don't agree with Merston," Al said flatly. "There's a difference between not agreeing with someone and not caring when they send someone to kill you!" "What could they do to you?" Preston said. "You're not armed." Jay raised her eyebrows. "You don't suppose Merston's going to wait until I am, do you?" "I've heard she's insane," Partridge said conversationally. "Insane isn't the same thing as stupid, Cleric." "You know the Tetra Grammaton are nearby?" Preston said levelly. "I don't believe they're very fond of Renegades." "I'm not a Renegade," Jay said coldly. "You're dressed like one," Al said flatly. "Sweeper armour on top, Cleric uniform underneath. That's their trademark, isn't it?" "Yeah," Partridge muttered, looking at Jay's clothes with distaste. "You know, I'd heard you'd found a way to take down Clerics, but until now I'd never have believed it." "What gives you that idea?" Preston demanded. "If someone said they wanted your uniform, Preston, what would be your reaction?" Preston raised his eyebrows. "Over my dead body." "Exactly." Jay shifted position, distributing her weight slightly more evenly. "Thinking of attacking?" Preston said bluntly. "I wouldn't," Partridge added. "It's-" "-not done?" Jay said bitterly. "Look, I get that shit twenty four seven from Merston and the others and I don't want it from you people as well, alright?" "I was actually going to say that it's not particularly intelligent to attack Grammaton Clerics," Partridge said calmly. "It's done all the time." Jay hesitated, then unexpectedly grinned, teeth flashing white against her dark skin. "Fair point, I guess. Okay, Cleric. Let's move. Now, before they come looking for me." "What do you know about the Renegades?" Preston said. It was late the following night, and they'd moved at least thirty miles north, only stopping when they'd found a collection of small hovels that were in reasonably good repair. Most people were lying on the cold floor now, sleeping the dreamless sleep of utter exhaustion. Jay snorted. "More than Merston would like me to. See, most of the others never knew Talon, never even heard of her until that night. Then as soon as she left, Merston started spreading crap about her, about how she'd been the one to murder Renton, how she'd bring the Tetra Grammaton down on us." Jay snorted again. "She was right about that, but only by coincidence. And it worked out pretty nicely for her as well. Since she'd got that right, people automatically believed the rest of it." "But you didn't." Jay shook her head slowly. "I knew Talon. Not very well, but I knew her. I don't think she could have murdered Renton any more than she could have walked across the ocean. Maybe Merston can rewrite history to ease her own conscience, but I was there. I remember what happened." "What did happen?" Preston said evenly. He'd always been pretty good at questioning people, and most of them weren't as forthcoming with information as Jay. The girl grinned, an expression similar to a death's head rictus. "We were being hunted, although we didn't realise it at the time. Talon was...she was always something of an oddball. Different. But she was the one who kept the Tetra Grammaton off, who kept leading them away, who kept watch. Her and her partner. The two of them joined forces with each other simply because none of us wanted to know. Anyway, one day something happened. Christ only knows what, but it did, and we were left trying to shake the whole Tetra Grammaton off our tail. Renton was bringing up the rear, covering us, although we didn't realise that either. Merston was in front and she took out a gun, pointed it behind and shot Renton in the kneecap." There was a silence. "Maybe she was aiming for the Clerics," Preston said evenly. "We couldn't see any fucking Clerics," Jay said bitterly. "Not to shoot at. Besides, it looked like Renton was still going to make it-it's amazing how fast someone can limp when they have to, and Talon was helping her-but Merston yelled something to someone else and they put a bullet in Renton's other leg. Something about giving the Tetra Grammaton what they wanted." "She sounds dangerous," Partridge commented, to nobody in particular. Jay gave him a twisted smile that had nothing to do with real humour. "Oh, she is. Very. We never found out what happened to Renton, but I don't think the Tetra Grammaton would have been particularly nice to her. Still, according to Merston, it was a necessity." "From what I've heard so far, it was nothing but damn murder," Preston said quietly, but with unmistakable vehemence. "Yes." Jay turned the warped smile on him. "Funny how often those two coincide, isn't it, Cleric? After that, Talon didn't hang around for them to do the same thing to her. She left. I imagine she may have even given the Tetra Grammaton an anonymous tip off, that we were alone. And we were, although we didn't realise it." "How could you not realise something like that?" Preston said bitingly. Jay snorted. "Pretty easily. Talon was very good at what she did. None of us even knew anyone was nearby, much less that she was on guard. That night after she left, the Tetra Grammaton attacked in full force. Some of us escaped. Most didn't. Since Talon happens to be exceptionally good at arranging things and people to make things happen the way that suits her, a lot of people are saying she used the Tetra Grammaton in the same way." "You can't use the Tetra Grammaton," Rossiter said flatly. "It's not like a gun." "Yeah, it is. That's exactly what it is. A load of guns, in the hands of Clerics, and all Talon had to do to unleash them was tell the Council where there was an extensive stash of EC-10 and sense offenders. At least sixty of us died that night." "And the others?" Preston said crisply. "If I understand it correctly, this...Talon managed to get a substantial number of your people onto her side." "She took eight with her that night, Cleric, and the most of ours she ever had was thirty. Hardly a 'substantial number', considering there were almost three hundred of us to begin with." "That's not answering my question," Preston said. "If she was so unpopular, why would anyone follow her?" "Safety," Jay said simply. "It's amazing how much people are prepared to like you when you hold their lives in your hands." She shifted. "And, well, some of them didn't like Talon, but they didn't actively dislike her either. And we're not stupid. I imagine some had a pretty good idea of what was going on, and it didn't sit particularly well with them, what Merston did. She expected Talon would take it, because she'd put up with everything else, but she was wrong." A slight smile pulled at her mouth. "She was very wrong. I've never seen Talon lose it like that before." The smile widened to become a wolfish grin. "God, Merston was almost in tears after ten minutes, and Talon only stopped then because her voice was giving out. End result, she cracked three of Merston's ribs, broke the fingers on her left hand, grabbed every single weapon we'd managed to get and stalked out, taking a fair few of us with her. I think a lot of those just went to prove a point, but for one reason and another, they never came back. Like I said, at the end of the day they left for safety reasons." "So you're saying they went into the Nethers to be safe?" Partridge said incredulously. "Yeah." Partridge raised his eyebrows. "I don't think I'd like to see wherever you lot come from." "Why didn't you leave when you knew what was happening?" Preston wanted to know. "Because the Nethers isn't a good place to be alone in. Talon probably would survive, but she's a bloody amazing shot with those guns of hers, a lethal martial artist and if she wants to go somewhere or do something, god help anyone stupid enough to try and stand in her way." Partridge and Al both found themselves looking at Preston. "Why didn't you go?" Preston said. If he was aware of their scrutiny, he gave no outward indication. "Because I was too fucking scared, that's why!" Jay said bitterly. "I didn't want to draw Merston's attention to me-none of us did, not after that-and if someone's just snapped and broken seven or eight of someone else's bones, I didn't really want to hang around them either, not until I was sure they'd calmed down." She took a swig of water and grimaced at the bitter taste. "You were right about one thing," she added, looking straight at Al. "I was put out there to die. Merston knows damn well I'd run if I got the chance, but..." She let the sentence trail off. "You don't want to abandon the others." Jay shook her head. "It's not their fault Merston turned into a power-crazed megalomaniac and dictator." "I thought you said there was no problem with leaving," Partridge reminded her. Jay offered a cold smile. "Leaving isn't the problem, Cleric. But Merston said she'd be damned if anyone took good armour or clothes with them. You go, you go with nothing but the clothes you stand up in." She snorted. "Oh, people have done it. A group of about fifty left in the beginning, travelling at night. They met with some other group, not the Renegades and not the Resistance either." Jay's dark eyes became slightly clouded. "We thought it was the Tetra Grammaton but now, I'm not so sure. We could hear their screams from at least a mile away-sorry, did I say something wrong?" Preston had jerked involuntarily. "No. No, nothing. I just...you reminded me of something I saw in the Tetra Grammaton, that's all." Surely they wouldn't have... "Right." Jay eyed him slightly cautiously. "If you say so, Cleric. After that, none of us were particularly keen to strike out on our own. People did, in ones and twos. Most never came back." "Did any of them make it?" Preston said, more to take his mind off the memory of the bodies in that room than anything. "One group of about fifteen might have done. Merston had gotten really weird by this time. If she suspected anyone was thinking of leaving, she'd either shoot them or place them under immediate arrest. She's got a few followers, people who'll back her in everything for the sake of power and the sake of being that little bit superior to the others." Like Brandt and DuPont, Preston thought grimly, and not quite randomly. Jay continued, oblivious. "This group managed to get away, and Merston went after them herself. She only brought one back, and that one refused to say anything. I guess some of them might have made it to the Renegades, or to some other group. Maybe even your own Resistance." Preston raised his eyebrows. "And since you've committed the cardinal sin of leaving, where are you planning to go?" If Jay picked up on the sarcasm, she didn't comment. "Go? I'm not going anywhere. I've just come." She shrugged. "I don't think Talon would have me, and I suppose I don't blame her, and when Merston finds out what I've done, my life won't be worth a sweeper's arse. I'll throw in my lot with you." "Not the Renegades, then?" Partridge said, with no little sarcasm. Jay raised her eyebrows. "You can't know everything about them if you ask something like that. The Renegades are dying, Cleric. There are only about five of them left." Robbie's face took on the glazed expression of someone who is rapidly doing several mental calculations at once. "Five? Out of about thirty?" "Oh, the others aren't dead as far as we know. But food got pretty scarce, so most of them drifted off into other groups. Between leaving or starving to death...well, go on, you choose. Merston controls the sources of food for a good few miles, the Resistance controls another and the Tetra Grammaton controls the rest. Talon's still living in the Nethers-well, she would-and the four with her are there through loyalty. Jurgen was the main source of food, and since he cut trade they've been scratching around to get a few mouthfuls." "I heard the Renegades attacked your main base," Partridge said crisply. Jay blinked. "You are well-informed, Cleric. Yes. Did you also hear that it was some of us who let them in and got them out again in the hopes that they'd kill Merston for us?" "That part I missed," Partridge admitted. "No matter. It was about two years ago anyway. So." Jay yawned. "You know pretty much all about us. What brought two senior Clerics and an ex-sweeper into this section of the Nethers?" "Viett," Robbie said unexpectedly, a slight gleam in his eyes. Jay blinked in surprise, then laughed. The sound seemed to surprise her as much as it did the Clerics. "Okay, so I walked into that one," she admitted, still grinning. "But you still haven't told me why you'd risk coming all this way. I find it hard to believe you're the kind that just drops round to borrow a spare gun." "We wanted to offer you a deal," Preston said. Jay choked. "Then you're bloody lucky you didn't get as far as Merston! She always said she wouldn't trade with the Tetra Grammaton." "We're not from the Tetra Grammaton," Preston said icily. "D'you think she'd waste time in finding that out? We don't have any polygraph, any blood tests. All we'd have to go on would be your word, and from our point of view, that's not the most reliable way to go about things." Jay shrugged. "Well. I'll help you out as much as I can, but I'm not going back to put that to any of the others." She took another gulp of water. "Good," Partridge said easily. "We need your help to break into the Tetra Grammaton." Jay froze, the water halfway down her throat. "To do what? Cleric, you need help alright!" She swallowed. "Look, you guys dress like Clerics, talk like Clerics, walk like Clerics-fuck, what am I saying? You are Clerics. You'd stand far more chance getting in than I would!" "Preston's already tried," Partridge pointed out, indicating his partner. "And failed." "You didn't have to tell her that part," Preston muttered. Jay's eyes swivelled around to focus on Preston, really focus on him. The Cleric shifted slightly. He had the unnerving feeling that those dark eyes were looking right into his innermost thoughts. "You?" Jay said disbelievingly. "You're John Preston?" It was obvious from Preston's expression that he didn't quite know how to take this. Al came to his rescue. "Yes. He is." "And...that's..." Jay glanced at Partridge. "Grammaton Errol Partridge." There was a silence. "That's it," Jay said abruptly. "I'm fucked." Preston and Partridge exchanged startled glances. "Why?" Preston said eventually. Jay turned a haggard stare on him. "Why? Why is because if anybody's seen to be so much as standing with either of you, they're subject to the death penalty." Jay ran shaking hands through her hair. "You help us with this, and I can guarantee you'll never have to deal with the likes of Merston again," Partridge said bluntly. Jay hesitated. "Do I have a choice?" "Of course," Preston said, startled. "Really? So what if I said I wanted to go back to Merston and tell her I've found you?" Preston shifted his weight very slightly. "Someone could end up getting hurt." Jay smiled slightly. "'Someone' probably wouldn't be either of you, would it, Cleric Preston?" She shook her head. "From what you say, I'm dead anyway." "Will you do it?" Partridge said composedly. "Try and break in, I mean?" Jay hesitated. "I..." She glanced away, deep in thought. Partridge didn't attempt to rush her. Agreeing to what was probably going to be a suicide mission wasn't the kind of decision you could make in a few seconds, and it wasn't the kind of decision you could change your mind about, either. "Alright," Jay said finally, her voice slightly shaky. She cleared her throat and tried again. "What the fuck. Yeah. Alright."   Chapter 16 >>> more Equilibrium Fan Fiction