“Okay, not much farther to go,” I said, pushing up the path slowly. As we approached, I noticed that the statue was carved out of wood. It was a man standing profile and looking over the wintery vista. Far in the white haze, I could make out a river in the distance.
“Stop the Mauler here,” Luther directed. We were about thirty meters from the statue and another sixty meters from the black cave entrance. “Xena, stay with the vehicle,” Luther ordered.
“Roger, and what are your orders if I’m approached by these nomads while you’re away?” she asked.
“Contact us immediately, but keep the doors locked and don’t allow them to see you until we’ve had a chance to explain the reason why you’re with us. These nomads don’t like androids, especially ones that work for Sylass. You have the exact body armor they do,” Luther said.
“Understood,” Xena replied as we exited the vehicle. I put on my helmet as I clambered down the tank tracks and onto the ground.
No sooner had we taken a few steps than a red laser dot appeared on my chest. “Luther,” I said.
“Don’t move,” he ordered.
“Hands up!” a voice called out in the distance. I peered into the trees with my helmet and switched to infrared. Above the entrance I saw at least four snipers in white cloaks aiming down on us.
One of them cupped his hands together. “Take twenty steps forward, all of you!” he ordered. We all looked at Luther. He nodded slowly, and we complied.
“That’s far enough! Now listen up! Buried underneath your feet is eight kilos of TNT. If you move or do anything besides listen to my commands, I’ll blow you the fuck off this mountain without a second thought. Are we clear?” the sniper asked.
“Understood!” Luther shouted.
“Now, state your name and business!” the sniper said.
Luther looked up at the statue before responding. He slumped his head for a moment. Leo turned toward me slowly. “That stature, it’s my father,” he muttered. My eyes widened. I didn’t recognize the Warden without his helmet.
The statue was a powerful, more human rendition of the Warden. There were little indications that he was part Mave. It showcased a barrel-chested man who wore a cape and plated armor, like something a medieval knight might wear. His eyes gazed out into the distance and his head and face were covered in scars. Somehow, the woodwork displayed a man that was both reflective and admirable. His hands were on his hips.
Luther looked back up at the snipers. “I am the Engineer,” he said. He pointed at the statue. “This man was a brother to me... and I know he’s been a father to you,” he added.
I shifted toward Leo. His eyes were glossed over as he stared up at the statue. He closed them and bit his lip, taking in a deep breath before looking away.
The snipers looked at one another. I could tell they were talking it over. “Don’t move. We’re sending someone down,” one of them said in a thick Russian accent.
After a minute of waiting, a man in a gray fur coat emerged from the cave. He had a well-manicured gray beard and wavy white hair pulled into a ponytail. He was at least fifty years old. He had a refined look. His long, chiseled face and piercing eyes exuded intelligence and skepticism. As he neared to within thirty paces, I noticed that his eyes were a vibrant, almost unnatural green.
He held his stare at Luther. “I never imagined this day would come. How did you find us?” he said in an Australian accent. His voice sounded like he was surprised.
“The ears and eyes of the Legion stretch far beyond this place,” Luther said.
“Interesting,” the man replied.
“And you are?” Luther asked.
The man glanced at the Warden’s statue. “They used to call me Roman the Raider, but you can just call me Roman,” he said.
Luther took a step forward. “A pillager?” he asked.
Roman raised his eyebrows. “That was many years ago, but that life is no more. We live here, high in the mountain and away from the turmoil below,” he said.
“That’s not what we heard. It’s my understanding you had a run-in with the machines recently. We’re here to help,” Luther said.
Roman crossed his arms, staring at Luther for a few moments. He lowered his eyebrows.
“Hm.” He outstretched his hand and waved us toward him. “Forgive my manners. Please come inside. Let us discuss the present situation without the cold and wind. I can assure you my men won’t harm your vehicle, but we’ll need to collect your weapons,” he said.
Luther turned and met eyes with each one of us briefly. He nodded.
Two grizzled armed guards in fur clothing walked up behind Roman. They were carrying a large metal crate. One of them opened it. “Place all your weapons in the container. Swords, guns, knives. I don’t care if it’s a slingshot. It goes in there,” one of them ordered. He patted down each one of us as we put our weapons inside.
One of them groped me right under my ass. “Watch it, fucker!” I stabbed my finger in his face. Luther lunged forward and blasted him in the chest with a vicious punch that toppled him end over end several times through the snow.
The guard’s gun flung in the air and smacked against a tree.
“Oh no,” I mumbled. I reacted out of instinct, not considering that Luther would do the same. There was a moment when everyone froze and stared at Luther in disbelief. I thought the guy he hit was dead, but he was moving slowly and calling out in agony. It sounded like he was struggling to breathe. The snipers and the other guard pointed their weapons at Luther.
“No! Don’t,” Roman ordered, slowly bringing down the guard’s gun barrel beside him with his hand.
Roman waved off the snipers as he walked over to the guard that groped me. He stood over him. “I saw what you did. Get up,” he ordered. The guard slowly stood. He appeared confused, panning around like he didn’t know where he was.
“Doran, you made a terrible decision,” Roman said, pointing at me. The guard scratched his head, cautiously shifting his eyes toward me. “Your actions were not only an embarrassment and inappropriate, but what if this situation would have escalated? Your mistake could have caused a war between our people and the Legion. Thousands of lives could have been lost,” he said.
Doran shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, boss. I just... I didn’t think and—”
Suddenly, his body jolted as several silenced gunshots pelted his torso and head, riddling him as plumes of blood wisped into the air and splattered the white ground behind him.
“Damn,” I muttered, covering my mouth. I looked up at the snipers as they reloaded their weapons.
Doran’s lifeless body collapsed into the snow. Roman turned toward us and smiled. “Now, that won’t happen again. I assure you,” he said. None of us said a word as we followed Roman into the cave.
I felt Neona beside me. She leaned in. “You gotta admit: it felt good seeing that creep get blasted, huh?” she asked.
“Not really,” I replied.
“Even just a tiny bit?” she asked, pinching her thumb and index finger together.
I didn’t respond. Luther’s punch was punishment enough, and he likely suffered some broken bones from it. Killing him was taking it too far.
Neona looked at me with her faint, reflective white pupils. They reminded me of headlights hitting a cat’s eyes at night. “I killed a man once for touching me like that. It felt good,” she said, lowering her voice. I wasn’t sure why she was bringing this up now. Everything about her seemed off and it made me feel a bit unsettled that she was with us on this mission.
She held her stare at me. It must have been obvious to her that I was confused by her behavior. “You think I’m different now. You sense the change? I’ve seen the way you look at me,” she muttered. This wasn’t the time or the place to bring this up. We stopped and allowed the group to gain some distance on us.
“I’m concerned, Neona,” I said.
She arched an eyebrow. “Is that why you were so quick to kill me in fro
nt of the Architect? You weren’t concerned then,” she said. I wasn’t sure she remembered that part.
“You would have done the same in my shoes. I thought you were gone,” I said.
“No, but you know who is gone? The Architect, and that’s all that matters, but for more than one reason. Killing that bitch did me a personal favor,” she said, pointing at her chest.
“Huh?” I asked.
“Her Mave drones died with her, and the only man I ever loved was turned into one of those, things. It was imperative that I end his existence as a beast. Now, it is done.” She smiled, her reflective eyes drifting off to some faraway place.
“Vic, Neona!” Luther shouted over his shoulder. I nodded at her as we caught up, recalling the story about her losing her love. Admittedly, with everything that had transpired, I hadn’t thought about what happened to her boyfriend, but I gathered that despite this personal victory, sadness still weighed heavily on her heart. Maybe it wasn’t the remnants of the Mave nanobots that were causing her to act strange after all. Perhaps it was reeling from the realization that he was gone forever. Maybe she held on to a glimmer of hope that if the Architect was destroyed, he could be saved.
We entered the tall cave opening. The top of it must of have been about twice my height. There was a makeshift fortification made of welded-together car doors, steel beams, and barb wire that blocked off the entrance, leaving only a single metal door with a hatch in the middle. The guard opened the door.
I heard something behind us. I turned around and noticed two of the snipers had descended from above. They walked over to Doran’s corpse and lifted him up. They carried him to the other side near the edge of the mountain and heaved him over the edge like he was bag of garbage.
The snipers walked back to their post. I noticed that one of them was wearing a hooded cloak. His face was in shadow and difficult to make out, but I noticed one of his eyes had a red glow to it. He saw me staring at him and I turned away.
“Vic,” Luther said.
“On the way,” I said, bringing up the rear as I entered the hatch.
“What’s wrong?” he muttered.
“Ah, I’ll tell ya later,” I replied. The interior of the cave opened up into a large oval rock room that was a light tan in color. From one side to the other, it was at least fifty meters. Snow covered the first few meters of the rock floor, then tapered off. It was packed down tight from hundreds of footsteps.
There were several guards standing throughout the room, illuminated by torches placed on the wall. They were armed with an assortment of weapons. I noticed one with a mohawk, and he was carrying a massive chain-gun-type weapon.
These men weren’t unlike the Legion’s soldiers, but they had a tribal look about them. Most had neck and face tattoos along with bracelets that displayed various animal claws.
Roman turned and looked at Luther. He narrowed his eyes. The wind whistled through the steel gate. “You know, the Warden was the last person anyone would have expected to mount an offensive against the Architect,” Roman said, meeting eyes with each of us.
“Especially for us. The Warden sent his own Mave against us. He killed untold numbers of Legion,” Neona blurted out. Luther and Leo whipped their heads toward her.
Roman slumped his head. He started walking forward down a narrow passageway with us in tow. “This way.” He grabbed a torch from the wall as three guards covered our rear.
“I cannot deny what you say, young knight. The Warden committed horrible acts against your people, against many people in this region, but this was before his redemption. This place is a symbol that anyone can sink to the darkest depths but emerge and rise to the highest summit. Nearly every man in this place has done terrible things—murderers, rapists—but, the Warden showed us that we aren’t bound by the sins of the past. We must take hold of it and push through the darkness until we find our own peace,” he said, leading the way.
My heart raced as I thought about the possibility that these people might discover Luther killed their Warden. They seemed to idolize him. Roman stopped, putting the torch closer to his face so we could see him. “Roman the Raider, that’s what they called me. I used to lead raiding parties for years. I killed... many innocents. My men admired my savagery. Many of them feared me. Now, they respect my redemption as I respect theirs.”
Roman turned away from us and continued down the path. “Our sniper with the red eye. I saw you staring at him,” Roman said. I knew he was talking to me.
“Uh... yeah. I noticed him,” I replied.
Roman paused for a few moments, stepping over a small gap in the rocks. “No one knows his real name, but we call him Kodiak,” he said.
“That name means ‘an island.’ I’ve heard of him before,” Neona said.
“Yes, he’s well known, a legend north of this region. He was kidnapped from his parents at a young age and experimented on by the Russian military. Much of his body is machine. He’s over a hundred years old and still kicking, one of the only relics I know from the old world—other than you,” Roman said, glancing over his shoulder at Luther.
Neona looked at me and grinned. “I know another,” she mumbled.
“We don’t know how much longer Kodiak will be around, but for now, he’s still our best sniper,” Roman said.
“Good for you,” Neona whispered.
“The reason I bring up Kodiak is that he’s one of the most feared assassins in this land. There was a faction of troops north of here, and they called themselves the Ghosts of the Red Army. They considered themselves remnants of the old Russian military. They had a bounty on Kodiak’s head. They say he racked up nearly two hundred kills against them. Years later, the Warden found him wandering the frozen tundra alone. He convinced him to come here and start a new life,” Roman explained.
No one said a word for a moment. “And why was he killing so many of them?” Leo asked.
Roman sighed. “Revenge, hatred, I’m not sure. I’m only left to assume anything to do with the Russian military might anger him, considering his past. The point is, we accept all walks of life here. If the Warden was able to conquer the demons the Architect unleashed on him, we all have a chance,” he said.
The narrow hall opened up into a large barracks area with hundreds of bunks. There was little uniformity to the setup, considering the cave’s erratic terrain, but it was clear this was the main living quarters.
I noticed a few injured troops resting on their bunks and wrapped in bandages and thick clothing. Roman took a few steps in front of us as Luther followed.
Roman looked up at Luther while he stood profile to him. There was a very small stream running between the two leaders as they stood in the middle of the expansive cave. The water between them appeared to be crystal clear. I imagined this provided the nomad soldiers with constant fresh water.
“Most of our army is out in the field. We’re preparing for a war, Engineer. You mentioned rumors of our conflict with machines, but I’ll have you know, it’s not the Mave,” Roman said.
“I’m aware of that,” Luther said confidently.
“And how do you know that for certain?” Roman replied, arching an eyebrow.
“Because I drove my sword through the Architect’s skull weeks ago. I watched her die closer than I am to you now,” he replied.
Roman stared at Luther, confused for a few moments. His mouth dropped. “It is true. That’s why we’ve noticed decreased activity in their movements. Oh, thank the gods!” he shouted.
“No, thank all those that died to make sure the Architect would fall. We’ve suffered for years under her cowardly attacks,” Neona said.
“Well, yes, yes of course. Thank you all. Praise the Legion. We shall have a great feast. I know what to do. We have mountain goats that we’ll slaughter in the name of the Legion. This calls for a celebration!” he shouted.
“Guess they do have goats,” I mumbled.
“Save the animals, Roman, I’m not here to make you bend the knee o
r celebrate our victory. I’m here to speak to you about the enemy you’re at war with,” Luther said.
Roman’s excitement seemed to dissipate quickly. “Then you’re aware our Warden was murdered by the androids or Reclamation?” he asked.
Luther paused. “I mourned his loss,” he replied. Leo shifted his eyes toward Luther and held his stare.
Roman stepped over the stream between them. “Let me speak plainly,” he said, lowering his voice.
“By all means,” Luther said, crossing his arms.
Roman shook his head. “What is it that you want from me?” he asked.
“Weeks ago, we were betrayed by the androids of the Reclamation. They stole our DNA to fuel their human experimentation,” Luther replied.
Roman shook his head slowly. “We were also baited into Sylass’s DNA trap. He claimed he could provide medical aid. That’s how this war started between us. We discovered their agenda and the following day the Warden was assassinated,” he said.
Luther glanced back toward us, then faced Roman. “We have a specialized plan in place. Our scouts recovered one of the Reclamation’s inoperative androids after your initial attack against them. We have some of the best technicians in the region. We’ve reprogrammed this machine to allow us to disrupt their security system temporarily. It’s on our side,” he said.
I was quite impressed and somewhat surprised at how Luther was able to quickly come up with a cover story about Xena and marry it to our plan.
“Engineer, if you’re here to form an alliance with us, you’ve waited until the last minute. It could be less than an hour before we begin,” Roman said.
“What?” Luther demanded.
“We’re preparing our second assault. If you want to help them, see General Haik immediately on the eastern approach. I’ll let him know you’re coming,” he confirmed. He turned toward one of his guards. “Get in contact with General Haik, now!” he ordered.
Luther turned toward us. “Let’s go!” He waved us toward the exit as one of the guards escorted us back to the cave entrance.
“So much for having to sweet-talk them into an alliance,” Leo said as we stormed through the narrow passageway.
The Reclamation and the Lioness Page 20