Robotech: The Freeman Chronicles
Book Four (and Five) Side Story: "The Ones They Left Behind"
By: Stan Bundy
"Out of the whirlwinds,
Out from the wreckage;
Can't make the same mistake this time.
We are the children,
The last generation;
We are the ones they left behind.
And I wonder if we are ever gonna change?
Living under the fear, till nothing else remains?"
- Tina Turner, "We Don't Need Another Hero" (From the movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome)
September 2030; Glike, Haydon IV:
"Jean, I could use your help," Janice Em asked the defacto REF ambassador to the Haydonites.
"Fire away, girl."
"You're the expert on children like mine, and I could use some advice on parenting. After all, Optera ain't the kind of place to raise the kids."
" 'In fact, it's cold as hell'?" Jean answered, completing the couplet. "Excuse me, Jan, but you're speaking in lyrics again. You just paraphrased an old Elton John song."
"Huh? Sorry. Minmei and I are supposed to go back into the studio during my layover on Tyrol, after she comes back from her honeymoon. I've been going over old space-related songs, to see if we would want to cover any of them. How did you catch it?"
"First, that line is pretty non-standard English. Second, I'm not sure if I've ever heard you something as slang as 'ain't' before."
"Well, besides my singing, I've been working on humanizing myself - incorporating less rational thought patterns, that sort of thing. The Haydonites have been a great help, seeing as they exhibit them, and Zor originally based my CPU on his study of their form of sentience. They are so much more than machines; I want to be, as well."
"Back to your original question; what kind of help do you need with the children?"
"I guess we wandered off-subject; the new thought routines must be working - perhaps too well. Anyway, there aren't any other kids their age, real of apparent, going on the Optera rehabilitation mission. And, even on Tyrol, none of the other parents will let their children play with Zor and Musi."
"Musi?"
"That's Zor's pet name for his sister. They're very mature, and that's part of the problem. They may be under three, but they look closer to six, and act their apparent age. They even tell me that they'll keep aging that way until the hit the physical equivalent of their early teens, about five or six years from now. And, what Karen told me about... ...their parents seems to back that up."
"Tell me the truth, Jan. They really are Karen's, aren't they?"
"Yes, hers by Rem. She seduced him here on Haydon IV, the night before she returned to Tyrol to confront Edwards. She gave birth to them on whatever world it found when she teleported from her near-death, and had already made up her mind to give them to Rem and me, to be the children the two of us could never have."
"Do you understand the sacrifice she made for you?" Jean couldn't help but think of her own son, Bowie, who was supposed to leave Earth soon, to bring his wife's people back to Tyrol. Having to leave him on Earth had hurt Jean more than any of the deaths and betrayals of the actual REF mission.
"To some extent. I haven't fully mastered human emotions yet; at least, not to the extent of maternal feelings."
"You knew I'm leaving for Tyrol tomorrow; why didn't you wait until I got there to bring this up?"
"First of all, I wanted to get this settled now, as to not interfere with your reunion. Secondly, the other people I need to talk to about this are going on the same trip as you, to meet your son, and their older daughter's other friends."
"Are you sure you want to ask Max and Miriya? They have their hands full with Aurora. She's practically autistic."
"Yes, but she's also the only child currently exhibiting characteristics like those of the twins, at least on a similar power level. They are roughly the same age chronologically, and will be so in physical terms within a year or so. Plus, all three are telepaths, and the twins are much more practiced at it than Aurora. Maybe all she needs is someone like herself to teach her control over her abilities, the way Karen helped the twins before the Korra'ti left."
"You seem to have your position thought out; but will they go for it?"
"We'll find out in a few minutes. I sent word for them to meet us here."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"It must have slipped my mind."
"Slipped your mind? HOW?"
"When Zor reprogrammed this body from being a remote for his ship's computer, to being a simulacrum of his dead lover, he added several unorthodox subroutines. Unless I'm in my superuser access mode, where my personality bank runs in the background or is paused, I have tendencies to be absent-minded, if not downright flighty. It's one of the few things that carried over into this identity, which Lang created 15 years ago. Rem's not had full enough recall of his ancestor's technical expertise to figure out how to modify it. It's one human trait I'd rather not have."
"Think about how much we could have learned from your 'Musica' personality, if it hadn't purged itself. So little is known about Zor's last days."
"Sometimes, I feel like she's still part of me. If the Haydonites never truly forget, then how could she have purged herself. Maybe, just maybe..."
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe, when I actually meet Bowie's wife, those memories of hers that I was programmed with will be stimulated, and start to return. I'm based off Haydonite systemry, and they CAN'T forget long-term memory; at least, not without physically removing or destroying the affected areas of their memory core. They can hide it away, but they won't lose it completely, until they run out of storage space, and that takes centuries. Meeting Musica might allow me to reopen the connections to that part of me, and I can truly be whole again."
"'Truly'?" Jean asked, noticing the hesitation in Janice's voice. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well..."
"Truly a wife for Rem, as he is a Zor clone? Truly a mother to the twins, as Musica is their ancestor? You don't need those memories for that. You are whole person now; all you need is to be yourself. It won't matter whether her memories are still there or not; what matters is your happiness. You are Janice Em, now; not a mechanical mockery of a centuries-dead Tiresian. Don't let your origins interfere with your life in the present."
A knock sounded from the apartment's wooden door; one of the Grants' few luxuries on the mechanical world. Once, these had been the quarters of an ambassador from one of the long-lost outer worlds of the Masters' conquests, and had been furnished elegantly when it had been assigned to them.
"Come in," Jean called out, knowing the visitor had to be part of the small human contingent on Haydon IV, since Haydonites lacked the physical ability to knock, and knocking was essentially only a Terran means of announcing oneself. Max and Miriya walked in, Max uncharacteristically carrying Aurora on his shoulders.
"Jean, is Janice here? She sent word for us to meet the two of you here."
"Yes, I'm here."
"What's up?"
"I don't want to impose on you, but I'm running out of options," Janice replied, slowly. "Could you two take care of Zor and Musi while Rem and I are working on Optera? They won't have anyone to play with there, and they haven't been able to fit in on Tyrol."
"Why us, Jan?" Miriya asked. "Surely there are others in a better position to help?"
"No, there aren't. Most of the adults on Tyrol are scared of them, because of their abilities, growth, and apparent connection to Karen. Besides, you have Aurora here, and she is a lot like them. If you take them in, the three will be able to play together. And, the Haydonites adore children, and won't even take their differences from human norm into consideration, except to study them unobtrusively. I'd rather have the Haydonites using the planet's sensors to watch the kids, than have my coworkers on Optera or Tyrol physically prying into their lives."
"What does Rem think of this?"
"It was originally his idea. He's been catching a lot of flak from the others, because we're the only ones given clearance to take a family to the New Praxis project, and an adopted one at that. The others can't even persuade the council to allow the children to visit, let alone stay there. Even the Praxians have been giving us the cold shoulder, because they lost the waashi when Praxis blew up. It's just not fair for the others to let the children stay with us."
"I think I understand your motives, now," Miriya replied knowingly. She had been the victim of much jealously herself in the years before the REF left Earth, from other Zentraedi who had been unable to produce offspring. "Are the children here?"
"They're with some of the Karbarran children, playing in the botanical gardens. Does that mean you'll take them in?"
"For now, at least."
"Good. This way, they'll be able to settle in with you, in a vacation environment, before actually moving in. Plus, I'll be available there in case you or they need me for something."
* * *
It was hard to say which was stranger: the reunion of families separated for a decade in a vain attempt to spare the younger generation from warfare, or the first meetings of people that, based on their genetic relationship, should have known each other, but didn't. First, there was Bowie's reunion with his parents, and the introduction of his wife and sisters-in-law to them. Though the Grants didn't notice, Janice (who had become quite the student of human behavior) could see that Allegra was as much a part of the marriage as Bowie and Musica, though apparently in a secondary position to her sister. Then, there was the clones' introduction to their "daughter" Miriya and her husband, and their first meeting with Cabell, who had become a father figure to the original Musica as well as Zor, in the dark days of the early empire.
After the pleasantries were exchanged and living arrangements made for all the refugees, they were joined by Rem, Janice and the twins, for a tour of Tiresia. The city was vastly different than the clones or the former Sentinels remembered, with over half of it rebuilt by the REF, and much of the rest still needing repairs from the damage caused by the Invid, or Edwards' attempted coup. Even so, it was Bowie and Jack Carlson (Octavia's husband) who were the most in awe of what they saw.
As they wandered the streets of old Tiresia, Musica's memories of a younger, more vibrant Tiresia began to resurface in her clones. They began recounting stories of the pre-Masters city, Musica's childhood and her early career. A couple of times, Musica was on the verge of tears; memories of her family triggered the more recent memory of her brother's last clone dying in her arms, sacrificing himself to save her life. But, even those instances paled before the effect that hit all three clones as they neared the location of Cabell's original labs, causing their simultaneous collapse into emotional wrecks. Jean, Bowie and Jack immediately went to their aid, while the others examined the area, to try to figure out what had caused such a reaction.
The location was off a major street, or what was left of it. Just meters to one side was a formerly secret entrance to the city's catacombs, torn asunder by Edwards' Inorganics. Much of the area had been torn apart by them, or the weapons that had been used to stop them. The alley itself was intact, other than the sundered door. As Jean finally got the muses calmed down, it was Janice who realized where they were, as her own memories of her previous incarnations as a construct of Zor began to break through the self-imposed barriers, thanks to the immersion into the city's history. She went over to the wall, removing a stone to reveal a niche. She reached into the gap, and pulled out an ornate wooden box, which she brought over to the others.
"What is it?" Miriya asked.
"Cabell, maybe you should be the one to explain it to him," Janice asked. "After all, you're the only one present who has seen it before, unless you count me when I was still acting as the remote body for Zor's computer."
"Then, this must be the place."
"What place?" Bowie asked.
"Many, many years ago, Zor, Musica and I were part of a conspiracy against the Robotech Masters. When the Masters discovered the plot, I was fortunate enough to be in my lab, working on the first generation of female Zentraedi, instead of being at the last meeting of the conspiracy. If I had been there, I would have died with the rest."
"What happened?" Miriya prodded. She, too, had felt that overwhelming numbness that had washed over the three muses, probably as a side effect of being their genetic daughter combined with their natural empathy. Her curiosity over what would cause such an effect was unbearable.
"There is a network of tunnels underground, connecting the Royal Hall to all points in the city. They date from the earliest origins of the city, and may have even existed in part before the city was built. In recent times, they served as my hiding place from the Invid, with Rem -"Cabell nodded at his foster son, "-as well as the storage location for the captured Invid Brain and Inorganics that T.R. Edwards later unleashed on the city. In the days before the original Tiresian emperors unified the planet, they served as shelters from attack, ways to move troops unseen, and even burial catacombs like those of Earth's ancient cities.
"But, in the time between our industrial revolution and the departure of the Robotech Masters," Cabell continued, "they were little more than curiosities. The utility departments used several major passages to lay cables and pipes, while minor passageways were all but forgotten, except by lovers meeting clandestinely, and youngsters looking for adventure. No one, not even the Masters or the maintenance people of the old Republic's civil service, had maps that showed much more than the major passages, and there were numerous secret rooms, hidden passages and exits, like the one here. Zor's passion as a boy was to explore as many of the tunnels as possible, when he wasn't continuing his education as my assistant in training. I was always afraid he'd go into one of the tunnels, and never be seen again. So, it was ironic when his childhood hobby proved invaluable to our resistance movement.
"Our group of conspirators met in a hidden room he had found in the bowels of the Royal Hall, made secure by daily checks for surveillance devices. The room had two exits - a secret one into a little-used corridor of the building, the other into the catacombs. In turn, the tunnel split into at least eight different connectors to the rest of the system, but only one of those was sufficiently big for walking, and the rest relegated to emergency dispersal use only. When the Masters' enforcers finally discovered the conspiracy, the oldest gave their lives to allow the younger members to escape to those tunnels. Once in the catacombs, the conspirators split up, taking different tunnels. However, something went wrong; probably, the enforcers gained access to the room too quickly, and the charge to blow the tunnels was set off prematurely. Only Musica and Zor made it to the main tunnels. They tried to make it to my laboratory, as I was their secondary alibi.
"In this alley, they emerged, only to run into a patrol that had heard the door open, and chose to investigate. There was a curfew that night, but Zor almost managed to convince the guards that he was on official business. It was at that moment that the patrol received word of the raid on the conspirators, and told that all curfew violators were to be treated as potential plot members, regardless of rank. Zor refused to surrender, and they tried to shoot him to wound, in order to prevent his escape. Musica did not recognize what the guards were attempting, so she threw herself in front of him when they opened fire, and was fatally wounded. In this alley, Musica died in Zor's arms."
There was a long, silent pause, then the clone Musica sat up weakly, and looked to Cabell. "What happened then?"
"The Masters took Zor in for questioning, but he had studied the equipment that they had used on him previously, and had taken means to reduce its effectiveness on him. He managed to protect me from implication, and Musica as well, claiming she had been his alibi, not one of the conspirators. Since none of the other conspirators survived, or were in good enough condition for a post-mortem brain scan, his word was all they had to go on, and it appeared to them that he was telling the truth. He was temporarily released to my custody, and given Musica's cremated remains. Maybe they thought he would lead them to other conspirators, but I was the only one left of that group, and he was not about to implicate me.
"While he was free, he set about making this box, to hold Musica's remains. The wood came from a tree that his mother had planted in the garden of his home, shortly before her death twelve years before. The gold, he salvaged from the ruins of the old Senate chamber, which the Elder Masters had blown up while the Senate was in session, making it look like the actions of Karbarran terrorists seeking to extort the secrets of fold technology from Tyrol. He made the box using tools that had been interred with an ancient craftsman, that had been recovered by an archaeologist colleague of ours from one of the underground crypts that Zor had found as a boy. When it was completed, he had Eve's robot body, now Janice, carve that niche in the wall, and we placed the remains there, on his way to the Masters' final attempt to control him."
"Then, how did Musica's genetics get into the Zentraedi, and where did her clones come from?" Bowie asked. "After all, she was cremated."
"The Masters attempted to brainwash Zor again, but he had managed to develop a device and implant it into himself that made their machines think that they were successful in reprogramming him. They then sent him out in the SDF-1 to plant the Flowers of Life for them, but instead, he conducted the planting on his own terms. After he was safely away from Tyrol, they unveiled their clone of Musica, made with samples they had taken before her cremation."
"Why did they clone her?" Jean asked.
"Musica had a quality that was unique; the only other persons I have ever met that seemed to show similar qualities are Minmei and Karen, and all of you Terrans know how effective Minmei was in your fight with the Zentraedi. Musica's voice had an almost hypnotic effect on the Zentraedi and other clones created using Protoculture, and it also had an effect on the Flowers of Life, to where the seeds would last much longer before germination if exposed to her voice. As a result, her death was totally unforseen, and a major blow to the Masters' plans. They created a single clone to replace her, who served them well, until the time of the fleet launch. It was then that they created the three of you," sweeping his arms at the muse triumvirate, "figuring rightly that, since the nature of the Flower preferred groups of three, a triad would have an exponential effect on the fleet's clones and Protoculture supplies."
"I remember her," Allegra said, standing slowly with the help of Bowie and Musica. "She was the only other person I ever saw in Muse regalia, and she was one of the old citizens that were grouped with us in the room where Bowie, Musica and Dana found us. She was so dedicated to the Masters, that she chose not to go with us when we evacuated."
"As for the Zentraedi," Cabell resumed, "I managed to get a sample from their clone, and incorporated it into the Zentraedi project. I did so with the hope that Musica's gentle nature would temper the Zentraedi programming, if not cause them to rebel. It did so, but ironically also produced the best warrior lines of the Zentraedi, male and female. I also kept a sample for Zor, but he never returned, and I lost it in a lab accident, preventing me from using it to create a clone to be Rem's companion."
The child Musica, having been set down and all but forgotten in the initial confusion, walked over to her namesake, touching the chest, then hugging the legs of Musica Grant.
"Grand-mama..."
"Is there something you should be telling us, Janice?" Bowie demanded politely, as the three clones stared at the child.
"It was bound to come out sooner or later," Janice said, her human emulation software prompting her to sigh. "As you know, Bowie, Noel Freeman is the genetic granddaughter of the original Musica, but she is also a clone of Karen Freeman, who returned to Earth with her family a few months ago."
"We met Karen, so we know that already."
"Well, Karen made love to Rem on Haydon IV, a few years ago, and these two children are the end result. So, in effect, they are descended from both Zor and Musica. Karen named them for their ancestors, in fact. Musica, Octavia, Allegra; let me formally introduce you to Musica Freeman-Rem and Zor Freeman-Rem, your great-grandchildren. Both are named for their honored ancestors, who died so that we could be free today."
"Musica..." the clone of the same name said softly, lifting her great-granddaughter into her arms. Memories flooded back to her; memories of her former self, and the deep emotions she had felt for Zor a literal lifetime before, that were little more than an echo now. "So, little one, you are the daughter I should have had, and Miriya, one of the daughter I had, but could have never foreseen. Where is Aurora? Dana talked so much about her, even if she only saw her in her dreams."
"I'm sorry, Musica; "Max replied. "We didn't think it would be a good idea to bring her along, so we left her with friends."
"What is wrong with her?" Allegra asked, having picked up on the gossip about the Sterlings' youngest daughter during the welcoming ceremonies.
"She's autistic... It's a Terran term, hard to describe in Tiresian. She doesn't always seem to be aware of her surroundings," Jean tried to explain. It was hard enough dealing with the fact that her son's wife and sisters-in-law were her best friend's mothers(?); now she had to try to explain a condition that was hard to describe in laymen's terms under the best of conditions.
"Speaking of children, where did Zor disappear to?" Rem asked his wife.
"I don't know; he was here just a second ago."
"I'm over here," Zor called from around the corner. As came back to the adults, it was clear that he was not alone. "Gramma wanted to see 'Rora, so I went back and got her."
A mixture of moans and chucles went through the adults. Max in particular was showing his trademark "Here we go again" blank stare, as he knew that his daughter had been over a mile away, and that Zor had exhibited his teleportation ability in public for the first time.
"Zor!" Janice bellowed. "How many times have I told you not to teleport in a strange place?"
"Eight times, Mama; nine if you're tellin' me again," Zor replied. "But I knew where I was going, Mama; honest. 'Rora's been talkin' to me in my head ever since we left her."
"What am I going to do with them, Jean?" Janice pleaded. "I dread thinking about what they'll be like when they reach their teens."
"That's why you asked Mir and me for help," Jean replied. "Between two sets of parents, three when you're in, we should be able to handle their aging so rapidly. We'll have them straightened out in no time."
"Don't do that," a voice said quietly.
Everyone turned towards Aurora, who was the only one who could have spoken.
"What did you say, honey?" Max asked his daughter.
"Don't change Zor; I like him like he is."
The adults looked around at each other, astonished.
"It looks like Zor has done some changing of his own," Janice said. "He and Musi really must be getting through to Aurora."
"But how much, and how deeply?" Jean replied cautiously. "And will their emotional maturation keep pace with their physical growth?"
"We'll just have to take that as it comes."
"That's the second opinion I didn't want to hear, Miriya. But it's the only solution."
* * *
April 2035:
The twins lived with the Sterlings for the next four years, from the return to Haydon IV until the return of Rem and Janice from New Praxis with the Protoculture for Jupiter and later divisions. Aurora was only six, and the twins five, but they were as physically mature as ten-year-olds, and acted even older, having tested their way into high-school level courses taught by Jean. In fact, Max and Miriya were almost glad to turn the twins back over to Rem and Janice in the summer of 2034, as Zor and Aurora had been acting strangely around the house, in a manner that Max read as mutual puppy love.
Now, nine months later, the SDF-3 was due to leave for Earth, along with the rest of the fleet built since the ship's arrival. The Sterlings were watching the live hyperspace communications feed from Tyrol, wishing one set of friends well, as they went to the aid of another. Aurora's attention was focused on the SDF-3 for another reason, much more personal. Zor and Musi were on board with their father and stepmother, and she was in contact with them on a telepathic link that they never told their parents about, but linked them to each other (as well as Aurora's sisters and nieces, and the twins' mother and aunt, but they rarely used it for that). Aurora and Musi were closer than most sisters, and used the link to talk daily about school, life and boys; especially Zor. The separation had been hard on Aurora and Zor; without the other near, each felt as if a part of their very soul was missing.
The fleet was moving to fold; all over the Local Group of star systems, fingers were crossed, and hands clasped in prayer. Aurora talked to the twins the whole way; their connection had no known range, and even worked (with effort) during folds, as evidenced the previous year by their keeping in contact during the fold to Tyrol, and five years earlier by Marie Freeman joining in the similar link between Aurora and their sister Dana.
["Zor, come back to me safe; you too, Musi."]
["I will, 'Rora."]
["Yeah, I'll beat him up if he tries to get us in trouble, like trying to teleport to Mother on Earth."]
["Hey! I'm not that crazy. The reunion can wait until after the battle."]
The announcer on the communications link noted "The ships have reached their fold positions, and will depart at any second. Godspeed, Saturn Division."
["Well, we're getting ready to go; Aurora, you need to get those parents of yours off their butts, and back to Earth."]
["I'll try, Musi; I think they're getting tired of living on a giant machine."]
["They really do need to get out more. When's the last time they had a vacation on a real wor-"]
Musica was cut off in mid-thought; something was very wrong.
[Musica? Zor??] Nothing but mental static answered her.
"NOOOO!!!" Aurora screamed in anguish, as her world came crashing down around her.
All her parents could do was hold her, not knowing what was wrong, until the report came in minutes later that the SDF-3 had failed to reach Earth. Then, they too had something to worry about.
{To be continued in Part 18 of The Freeman Chronicles}
