Legacy of the Argus

by E. R. Torre

  “How did you—?” he said. “These memories are yours! What is this structure?”

  “I don’t know… I saw it as we were… as we were…”

  B’taav noticed the extreme pain reflected on Becky Waters’ face.

  “You need to wake up,” she managed. “You need to get out.”

  “If I do, Nox dies,” B’taav said.

  “Things have… things have changed,” Becky Waters said. “You need to return… return to us.”

  She reached out.

  “Come.”

  B’taav took her hand and, in that moment, the hurricane winds and the rising metallic structures faded away.

  As he emerged from the nano-probe dreams, he had one final vision. He saw Elias Vulcan in the mountains of Arizona. He was dressed in filthy animal skins.

  “The story isn’t over,” Vulcan said. “Not yet.”

  82

  B’taav awoke with a blinding headache and severe weakness throughout his body.

  He gasped for air while his eyes adjusted to the light. He was in a bed within the Xendos’ small medical station.

  Lying next to him was Nox.

  She looked bad. Her eyes were sunken in and her body, so fit and strong only days before, was thin and frail. She looked far worse than the last time he saw her…

  …when?

  B’taav couldn’t remember. Was it a few hours ago? A day? Weeks?

  He held her right hand in his left and knew he couldn’t let go. The nano-probe visions and memories, even now, were pulling him back in.

  With great difficulty, he turned away from Nox and found Becky Waters sitting in a chair next to his cot. Her metal and flesh hand was on his bare shoulder. Her face, that which was flesh, was covered in sweat. It took considerable effort for her to release her grip of B’taav.

  “I saw…” B’taav began and stopped. “I saw you and Spradlin together in a forest of… Siberia? Did… did he know you were pregnant?”

  Becky Waters’ silver eyes shined.

  “I kept that from him,” she said. “Years later, when I returned, I was much older and my son was grown and… on his own. General Spradlin took me back. He didn’t ask what I’d been doing all those years. He probably knew.”

  She raised her scarred and half-metal arms.

  “A couple of years later there was another incident, only this time instead of Samantha, I was the one that should have died,” she said. “Spradlin wouldn’t let me. He gave me a transfusion and I wound up carrying some of his nano-probes. They keep me alive while surgeons turned me into… this.”

  “Why aren’t Spradlin’s nano-probes doing the same to you as they are to Nox?”

  “My dose was small. Nox was swimming in the damn things.”

  “You still love him,” B’taav said.

  “That’s irrelevant. What’s left of Spradlin is a ghost machine that’s trying to kill Nox. The only way to save her is by getting rid of him.”

  “She can’t do it,” B’taav said. “Not even with my help.”

  “I had a feeling…” Becky Waters said and stopped. “In the short time I was in there, I sensed things as well. Your love for Inquisitor Cer.”

  “That’s why you wanted me to get out,” B’taav said. “You wanted to tell me about Cer. About the… the Cygnusa. Inquisitor Raven.”

  “You needed to know.”

  “We’ll figure this out,” B’taav said. “We’ll save Inquisitor Cer and we will find a way to fix Nox.”

  His words came slowly. He was slipping back into Nox’s memories.

  “Help Cer,” B’taav said. “Make sure Inquisitor Raven doesn’t… doesn’t harm her.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Becky Waters said.

  With that, B’taav’s eyes closed and he was back in the nano-probe dream world.

  Becky Waters got to her feet. Her metallic eyes moved from B’taav and to the medical station’s window. Not so very long ago the view past the window was one of darkness and stars.

  Now, looking through that window Becky Waters saw the landing bay of the Cygnusa. A ring of heavily armed soldiers surrounded the Xendos.

  Becky Waters stepped out of the medical station and into a hallway.

  She heard the footsteps of Phaecian soldiers as they approached.

  By the time they reached the corridor and moved to the medical station, Becky Waters was nowhere to be found.

  83

  Inquisitor Raven exited the elevator and walked across the Cygnusa’s landing bay.

  He arrived at the line of soldiers surrounding the Xendos. Scavengers and officers alike watched with great curiosity while three members of the Cygnusa’s medical staff waited nearby. The soldiers saluted Inquisitor Raven but he was so focused on the vessel he did not return the courtesy.

  Inquisitor Raven took a moment to admire the very old ship. Despite her age, she looked like she could continue flying for many years to come.

  A group of soldiers led by Sergeant Robbins emerged from the Xendos. They escorted a single prisoner, Inquisitor Cer, from the ship. Her wrists were held together by energy bands.

  Upon seeing her, Inquisitor Raven felt his breath catch in his throat. A primal rage threatened to envelop him and he had to force himself not to lunge at her.

  The group stopped before Inquisitor Raven. Inquisitor Cer bowed and said:

  “Inquisitor Raven.”

  Despite his anger, Raven returned her bow with his own.

  “Inquisitor Cer, as part of Overlord Octo’s retinue, you have been charged with the crimes he admitted to, including treason against the Phaecian Empire. We will have a trial to determine your guilt in this matter. The maximum penalty for these crimes is public execution. Do you understand this, Inquisitor Cer?”

  “I do.”

  “Do you wish to offer any words?”

  “I will refrain from any formal comments until trial,” Inquisitor Cer said.

  “Do you wish to offer a plea?”

  “I plead innocent. My actions in the Longshore Shipping Lanes—”

  Inquisitor Raven slapped Inquisitor Cer across her cheek and she fell back against the Security Guards.

  The scavengers around the landing bay, those who only moments before looked so warmly at Inquisitor Raven, were stunned by his action. Some gasped. Others shook their heads. Inquisitor Raven noticed their reactions but at that moment didn’t give a damn how he looked.

  “You will answer only those questions I ask,” Inquisitor Raven growled.

  The Security Guards pushed Inquisitor Cer back to a standing position. A red welt appeared on the side of her face.

  “My apologies, Inquisitor.”

  Inquisitor Raven adjusted his jacket and allowed himself a moment to calm down before speaking.

  “All right,” he said. “Take Inquisitor Cer to—”

  “Inquisitor Raven, may I say something?” Inquisitor Cer said. “Please?”

  “Make it brief.”

  “I learned only recently of the punishment the false Overlord, Emeritus, inflicted upon you for your failure to capture me. It pains me that my actions were used to justify this punishment. You have no reason to believe me, but if I knew this would happen, I would have voluntarily turned myself over to you at the Longshore Space Lanes.”

  Inquisitor Raven felt the anger bubbling up again.

  Had Inquisitor Cer turned herself in, Inquisitor Raven knew, the Reverie might have acted. The Cygnusa, Xendos, and everyone aboard these ships might well be dead.

  “I know you don’t believe me,” Inquisitor Cer continued. “But my words are sincere and my record speaks of my honesty.”

  “Is… is there anything else you wish to add?”

  “Only that I’m not your enemy,” Inquisitor Cer said. “We have been drawn together by another’s designs. You’ve no doubt heard the distress signal. I suspect you are as curious to investigate it as I am.”

  Inquisitor Cer paused for a moment. Inquisitor Raven no longer was focused
on her words.

  “Perhaps that’s a conversation for another time,” she concluded.

  Inquisitor Raven faced Sergeant Robbins.

  “Take Inquisitor Cer to the security cells. Once we determined there is no further external threat from her or her vessel, we will convene a court and try her before the Gods and Empire.”

  Inquisitor Raven focused on Inquisitor Cer one final time and said:

  “The Gods help you.”

  They took Inquisitor Cer away, leaving Inquisitor Raven before the Xendos.

  “There were others aboard the ship,” Sergeant Robbins said.

  “Who?”

  “In the ship’s medical station we found an Epsillon Independent we identified as B’taav.”

  “I’ve heard of him,” Inquisitor Raven said.

  “He is unresponsive as is a woman in the cot next to his. We were unable to identify her. We found no record of her in our databases.”

  “You tried genetic coding?”

  “We haven’t been able to take samples yet. Inquisitor Cer warned us the two were infected by a foreign agent and needed to be kept in close proximity. They’re…”

  “Yes?”

  “They’re holding hands, sir,” Sergeant Robbins said. “Inquisitor Cer said they need to stay that way. That by touching her the Independent is somehow keeping the woman alive.”

  “You believe this?”

  “Considering all the things we’ve witnessed so far, I’m ready to believe just about anything.”

  Incredibly, a smile appeared on Inquisitor Raven’s face.

  “You have a point,” he said.

  “Regardless, Inquisitor Cer’s files do suggest, as she stated, a history of honesty. If she says these two need to be kept together, I’m more than willing to keep them that way.”

  “What does Doctor Ascelepius have to say?”

  “He’s run some examinations from afar. We could keep them in the Xendos but he feels they’d be better served if they were moved to our Medical Bay.”

  “Can they be safely transferred while still holding hands?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then do so.”

  “Yes sir. There is one other passenger on board. An unknown female. It’s best you see her yourself, sir.”

  They found her in a storage chamber.

  She sat cross-legged on the floor, her head hung low. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. Her arms were exposed, revealing flesh and metal parts. There were three Security Guards watching her, their weapons drawn.

  “Is she alive?” Inquisitor Raven asked.

  “We’ve detected a shallow pulse,” Sergeant Robbins said.

  “The prosthetic devices,” Inquisitor Raven said. “Surely you can trace them to whoever did that job on her.”

  “We can’t find any records of equipment like this. We didn’t get a chance to ask Inquisitor Cer about her. At least not yet.”

  “Do so,” Inquisitor Raven said.

  He was fascinated by this metal human hybrid and approached her.

  “Sir, you may want to keep a safe distance.”

  Inquisitor Raven ignored Sergeant Robbins’ words. He bent down and reached out. He grabbed the woman’s head and pushed it up until he had a good look at her face. She was pretty once. But now, the scars, torn flesh, and the metal underneath created a grisly portrait.

  He released her and got to his feet.

  “Secure her and take her to the medical bay as well,” he said.

  84

  Inquisitor Raven was in deep thought within his dark quarters when he realized there was someone else in the room.

  When she arrived he could not know as one moment the room was empty and the next she was there.

  Inquisitor Raven considered reaching for his communicator and activating its emergency signal. He didn’t. For the intruder to get this far into his vessel and make her way into his personal quarters without setting off any alarms suggested calling for help would accomplish little. Instead, Inquisitor Raven examined the figure.

  He recognized her. She was the machine/human hybrid found on the Xendos. Her eyes were open, revealing silver spheres. They betrayed no emotions.

  “Hello there, Inquisitor Raven,” she said.

  “Who are you?”

  “My name is Becky Waters. I doubt that means anything at all to you.”

  “What are you?”

  “That’s a story for another time.”

  “What do you want with me, Becky Waters?”

  “To talk.”

  “About?”

  A ghostly smile appeared on the woman’s face.

  “I’m wondering just what the fuck you’re doing.”

  “I don’t know what—”

  “The trial of Inquisitor Cer,” Becky Waters said. “You’re in the middle of a Godsdamned apocalypse and you decided this was the best time to have a show trial?”

  “I live by the Empire’s laws and this will not be a show trial,” Inquisitor Raven said.

  “Who’s the judge? You? Are you an impartial man, Inquisitor?”

  “Do you suggest I ignore the laws of our lands? The laws which ensure we don’t descend into anarchy?”

  Becky Waters shrugged. She noted the portrait of Inquisitor Raven, his wife, and children.

  “You’re hurting. You lost someone dear to you and you’re angry. Understandably so. You’re looking for someone to blame for that pain. You need to realize what you’re doing, Inquisitor.”

  “Or else?”

  Becky Waters shook her head.

  “I suppose if I wanted I could threaten you. Hades, I could have done any number of things to cripple your ship before coming here. I could have done plenty of other things to force you to do my bidding in exchange for the safety of your crew and the scavengers. Or I could say fuck all that and kill you here and now.”

  Inquisitor Raven suddenly moved. He pulled open a drawer and reached for the fusion gun within. Before he could point the weapon at Becky Waters, she was at his side and took the weapon from him.

  “Never understood people’s fascination with guns,” Becky Waters said. “Makes me wonder why the fuck I enlisted in the first place.”

  Becky Waters turned the gun around and pointed its barrel at the floor.

  “Saw a guy in blue and red do this in a movie once,” she said.

  Becky Waters gripped the weapon tight, squeezing it until its metal body collapsed. She then tossed the twisted metal on the desk.

  “You could take my presence as a threat but I’m only here to talk. I’m here to tell you something no one else around here dares to.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Inquisitor Raven, you might be hardheaded about religion and honor and all that shit, but it’s served you well and you strike me as a good man. I know the events of the last few days have shaken you. You’re grasping at whatever you can to get things to make sense again. You may not admit it, but we both know you’re using Inquisitor Cer and this trial as some kind of cure all. But it won’t fix anything for you, Inquisitor. Not the way you hope. The human race faces extinction and Inquisitor Cer, like her or not, is an asset.”

  “She defied the rules.”

  “By the Gods, Inquisitor Raven, you very well know the order to capture Inquisitor Cer came from a homicidal machine. When you failed that task, the punishment you received came from that same fucking machine. The person you thought was Overlord Emeritus has an agenda as far removed from the Phaecian Empire, your precious religion, and humanity as can be yet you still follow the creature’s dictates. Why?”

  “Because…” Inquisitor Raven began. He thought about it and a frown appeared on his forehead. Anger built up inside him and, after drawing a sharp breath, he slammed his hand against his desk.

  “Inquisitor Cer was responsible for my wife’s death!” he yelled.

  “So its revenge,” Becky Waters said.

  Becky Waters reached for Inquisitor Raven’s family por
trait. She laid it down before him.

  “Is that what your wife would have wanted?”

  Inquisitor Raven was quiet for several seconds.

  “You’re right,” Inquisitor Raven said. “I’ve devoted my life to Church and Empire. I’ve followed each Overlord’s dictates and done what was asked of me. I’ve devoted my life to it and it’s what kept me on the path. It’s what made me… human.”

  Inquisitor Raven laid his hands on the desk and closed his eyes.

  “You’ve had your say Becky Waters, and I’ve listened. Now leave.”

  The machine-woman nodded.

  “The Holy Texts say emotion and haste are like a blindness. One that destroys wisdom.”

  The words stung.

  Inquisitor Raven opened his eyes and turned to face Becky Waters.

  She was no longer there.

  “Sir, you may want to stay a safe distance,” Sergeant Robbins said.

  Inquisitor Raven blinked.

  He was inside the Xendos and one of her storage rooms. His hand was on the human and machine hybrid woman.

  He just pushed her head up. He did this so he could see her face.

  Inquisitor Raven released the woman and rubbed his hand. He fought off a wave of nausea before straightening up.

  “Sir, are you…?” Sergeant Robbins said.

  “I’m fine.”

  Inquisitor Raven walked past his guards and stopped.

  “Secure her and take her to the medical bay as well but don’t… don’t touch her,” he said. “She’s to be quarantined.”

  85

  The Council of Six were randomly drawn from the Cygnusa’s remaining highest ranking officers.

  They convened in the battleship’s main conference room. The room had a large table at its rear around which sat the Council. Before them was a small table and chair in which Inquisitor Cer sat. The galley, filled with both officers and scavengers, were behind her. Well-armed soldiers were stationed between the galley and Inquisitor Cer. They were there to make sure the trial proceeded without delay or outburst.

  In a matter of a little over an hour the Council and galley heard the evidence against the Inquisitor. They heard of her association with the disgraced Overlord Octo’s entourage and how she escaped the Longshore Shipping Lanes.