Legacy of the Argus

by E. R. Torre

  They all saw it, on the Cygnusa and the Prototype’s planetoid.

  The arrival of another world.

  Her surface was covered in hexagonal metallic structures not unlike those on the machine world. They were part of the planetary Displacer system and allowed the planet to be transported here.

  “Look,” Nox said. “Below the metal structures!”

  They all saw it. Familiar land masses and oceans.

  “By the Gods,” B’taav said, his voice barely contained by the emotions pouring from it. “It’s…it’s—”

  “Homeworld,” Cer said.

  “Time to start calling her by her proper name,” Nox said. “Earth.”

  97

  She emerged from the shimmering lights of the interdimensional corridor, a world thought lost and destroyed.

  Poisoned by years of purposeful neglect, her oceans were acid and her surface irradiated.

  She bore the scars of years of fighting and the attempts of an ancient alien race to devour her.

  She should have been dead, destroyed by a solar system killer.

  “The Thanatos wasn’t sent to destroy Earth?” Becky Waters asked.

  “It was sent to destroy what was left of the Locust Plague,” Vulcan said. “The energy blast it created was used by the machines hidden under Earth’s surface to power the interdimensional corridor.”

  “You planned this along,” Becky Waters said. She faced Paul Spradlin. “You knew?”

  “I did, but I didn’t think it was possible…” Spradlin stuttered. A tear ran down his youthful face. “Vulcan, you found a place where Earth could be moved to. A place that was similar enough to the Solar System. A place where it would fit.”

  The metallic structures covering Earth compressed. Some disappeared under the ground while others rose up into space and broke away from the planet. These structures flew to the machine world.

  “There were three Sentinels originally sent by the Locust Plague to investigate Earth,” Vulcan said. “I was One of Three. General Spradlin received the nano-probes of what was left of Two of Three. Three of Three threw himself into a volcano. He did not perish. His nano-probes penetrated the Earth’s crust and built machines unlike any other. His machines readied Earth for this day.”

  As she spoke, Earth took its place in orbit around the Elician sun and began her rotation.

  “One world exchanged for another,” Vulcan said.

  “By the Gods, even her new moon is like Earth’s,” Becky Waters said.

  “The tides will be unaffected. Though this system’s sun is smaller and Earth’s orbit is nearer, she will receive the same amount of heat and light. It’s as if she never left the Solar System.”

  Aboard the Cygnusa Lieutenant Sanders turned from her computer monitor.

  “I’m detecting a starship, Sir,” she said. “She was on the Earth’s surface. She’s climbing into orbit.”

  The communicator came alive and on the main view-screen once again appeared the image of Laverna DeCastillo.

  “Saint Vulcan brought Earth back for you,” she said. “Consider it a gift and, if you are so inclined, a small restitution for her sins.”

  98

  Laverna DeCastillo’s ship flew into the remains of the Prototype’s planetoid and landed beside the Xendos.

  “I hope you’re still watching us, Cygnusa,” Becky Waters said.

  “We are,” Raven replied.

  A small door on the side of the craft opened and the being that called herself Laverna DeCastillo exited the craft. She waited while another figure emerged from the ship.

  This figure had a humanoid shape but neither clothing nor an outer skin. It had a glass body which looked very much like Vulcan’s. Its internal lights, however, were far brighter.

  “Is that who I think it is?” Paul Spradlin said.

  “I… I feel his presence,” Vulcan said. “Yes, Paul. That is my last remaining companion. Three of Three.”

  Laverna DeCastillo and Three of Three walked into the shielded area.

  Laverna DeCastillo momentarily paused before the remains of the Prototype while Three of Three continued forward. He leaned down before Saint Vulcan and spoke.

  “It is done, One of Three.”

  Vulcan stirred and, with great effort, tried to raise her hand. The being gently took Vulcan’s hand in his.

  “Thank you,” Vulcan said.

  “You are hurt,” Three of Three said.

  “Yes.”

  Three of Three released his grip and laid both hands on Vulcan’s shoulders.

  Laverna DeCastillo approached the group. There was sadness on her very human looking face.

  “Do not be sad, Laverna,” Saint Vulcan said.

  “I lose both a father and grandfather on the same day,” she said.

  “But gain a companion and a world of your own,” Saint Vulcan said. “You now have the freedom to explore the entire universe. How I envy you, Laverna DeCastillo.”

  Saint Vulcan faced Spradlin and Becky Waters.

  “Goodbye Paul Spradlin,” she said. “Goodbye Becky Waters. Goodbye everyone. Please take good… take good care… of this… gift…”

  The dim lights within Vulcan’s body moved toward Three of Three’s hands. The lights penetrated his hands and body. When the last of them were inside him, Vulcan’s head dropped and her body darkened to ash.

  Three of Three rose. He walked past Spradlin and Becky Waters and, for a moment, paused.

  “Please treat Earth with kindness,” he said before returning to his ship and disappearing within.

  Laverna DeCastillo approached Becky Waters and Paul Spradlin.

  “The shield Vulcan put in place cannot be sustained much longer,” she said. “Put your helmets on.”

  Becky Waters and Paul Spradlin did so. Once secured, Laverna DeCastillo nodded.

  “Goodbye,” she said. “Perhaps our paths will cross again sometime.”

  Laverna DeCastillo approached her ship and, as she did, the shield that held the atmosphere disappeared. Laverna DeCastillo entered the craft and its outer door closed.

  Lights flickered along the ship’s side. It gently lifted and flew away, its destination the machine world.

  Becky Waters and Paul Spradlin returned to the Xendos and, as they boarded her, realized the Prototype’s planetoid was crumbling fast.

  “Vulcan kept it together just long enough for us to see her,” Spradlin said.

  The Xendos left the planetoid. By the time it reached the Cygnusa, what remained of the massive structure was in pieces and floating away.

  A day passed, then another.

  Saint Vulcan’s machine world remained in place in orbit near Earth while Three of Three’s machines continued working on her surface. Earth’s oceans changed, turning from a sludge brown into a bright blue. Snow caps appeared at the planet’s poles and clouds filled the skies while gently floating along jet streams.

  In the Cygnusa’s forward lounge and throughout the ship, scavengers and crew watched the terraformation and cleansing of Earth with great curiosity.

  Nox and Catherine Holland disappeared for long stretches of time and, when they emerged, the Mechanic’s usually harsh features were much softened. At one point Becky Waters was surprised to see her friend actually laugh.

  “Love cures all,” she said.

  Nox waved her off.

  “I’m still the unhappy fuck I’ve always been,” she said, though her words weren’t entirely convincing. “By the way, where’s B’taav and Cer?”

  “They’ve been spending almost as much time in their quarters as you two have in yours,” Becky said.

  “Ah love,” Catherine Holland said.

  “What are your plans?” Becky Waters asked Nox.

  “Don’t know,” Nox said. “I suppose the first thing I need to do is figure out this new reality.”

  “You’ll get there,” Becky said. “This is a start, not an end.”

  “Do they need Mechanics around the
se parts?” Nox asked.

  “You mean Independents?” Catherine Holland said. “The term Mechanic hasn’t existed since well before the Exodus.”

  “That term is about to experience a resurgence,” Nox said.

  She reached for Catherine Holland’s hand and, with bright smiles on their faces, headed back to their quarters.

  B’taav and Cer, too, watched Earth’s rebirth. They joined Dave Maddox, Becky Waters, Paul Spradlin, and, now and again, Raven in the Cygnusa’s bridge or the ship’s lounges. They had plenty of time to answer his many questions.

  The scavengers that required medical attention recovered and a pleasant mood settled over the ship.

  Time was on everyone’s hands.

  On the third day Lieutenant Sanders received another update from the Wake.

  “Lieutenant Daniels is pleased to report the Wake’s thrusters are fully functional,” she told Raven. “He’s been reading our reports and wants to know what’s going on with Homeworld.”

  “Tell him to stop asking so many questions and come see for himself,” Raven said. “What about the Displacer?”

  “She’s still—”

  Lieutenant Sanders closed her mouth. A smile appeared on her face.

  “Sir, a new update. The Displacer is active!”

  Within the bridge of the Cygnusa, and soon enough throughout the entire ship, a joyous roar was heard.

  99

  That night they gathered in the Cygnusa’s conference room and sat around its large, spherical table.

  A window at the far end of the room looked out at Earth and Saint Vulcan’s machine world.

  “I brought everyone together because we need to talk about what happens now,” Raven told them. “Specifically, my report to the Council. What do I tell them?”

  “The truth,” Spradlin said. “As much as you’re comfortable saying.”

  “What about your identities?” Raven said. “If word gets out as to who you are and where some of you are from, there won’t be a planet distant enough to hide yourselves.”

  “Already taken care of,” Becky Waters said.

  “What?”

  “I’ve found, and appropriated, four identities. A few minor changes and we have established histories within the Empires. All we have to do is disappear into the scavenger crowds and no one will be the wiser. Provided, of course, you let us.”

  “What about you, Becky?” Raven said. “Not to be blunt, but your look is… unique.”

  “Your Doctors tell me that with some surgery these machine parts can be hidden and I can look as normal as everyone else.”

  “I kind of like the way you look right now,” Paul Spradlin said.

  “Then get a real good look because it won’t last much longer.”

  Cer felt a vibration coming from her communication device. She read off its screen and a smile appeared on her face.

  “What is it?” Raven asked.

  “Despite my fugitive status, I still have contacts on Helios,” she said. “Once the Displacer was reactivated, I asked Lieutenant Daniels to make some inquiries to my friends. He just got their answers.”

  “What did you…?” Raven started.

  “I asked about your sons,” Cer said. “They’re safe and healthy and looking forward to your return home.”

  Raven sat back in his chair. The agony of not knowing what happened to his sons following the attacks around Helios dissolved in that moment.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “We should be the ones thanking you,” Cer replied.

  “Agreed,” Spradlin said. “All of you.”

  Dave Maddox rose from his chair and walked to the window.

  “But there remains one more mystery,” he said.

  “What?” B’taav asked.

  Before Maddox could get his answer, an urgent message came from the bridge.

  “Yes Lieutenant Sanders?” Raven said.

  “Sir, the distress signal! It’s back!”

  “We’ll be right there,” Raven said and got out of his chair.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Spradlin said. “He pointed out the window. Take a look.”

  It appeared in the distance, a vessel almost as large as the Prototype’s planetoid.

  She was long and cylindrical and very ancient.

  “By the Gods,” Cer said. She recognized the vessel’s shape from descriptions found in the Holy Texts. “The third ark.”

  The massive ship entered Earth’s orbit as the last of Three of Three’s machines finished their cleansing terraformation. Those machines flew from Earth to Vulcan’s machine world and, once they settled down on that world’s surface, the machine world started spinning.

  Moments later Saint Vulcan’s machine world slowly flew off into the darkness of outer space. Soon, she was nothing more than a tiny white dot.

  Then nothing at all.

  “Goodbye, Saint Vulcan,” Spradlin said.

  “What’s in the third ark?” B’taav asked.

  “The animals and plants,” Spradlin said. “Every one of them we could save.”

  100

  In the bridge of the Cygnusa, Cer, B’taav, Becky Waters, Paul Spradlin, Catherine Holland, Nox, and Dave Maddox stared out the main view-screen and at the planet Earth.

  The Xendos and the few scavenger crafts left on the Cygnusa were sent to the third ark to explore and assess all she carried.

  The vessel’s cryogenic units remained functional and, as Paul Spradlin said, they were filled with Earth’s flora and fauna. There were cargo vessels on board the ark capable of transporting the cryogenic units and their cargo down to Earth.

  In a short amount of time, groups of scavengers and officers began transporting and replanting the vegetation on Earth. The soil, now fertile, accepted the seeds and plants and trees would soon sprout and take root. Shortly afterwards the animals, fish, and insects would join them.

  Raven entered the bridge from the elevator.

  “Have you heard the latest news?” he said. “The Prototype and his ships scared the leaders of Epsillon and Phaecia so much they decided it was time to put aside their differences and actually talk.”

  “It’s always best when leaders do,” Becky Waters said.

  They watched as ships departed the third ark and made their way down to Earth.

  “The scavengers are doing a great job,” Raven said. “It occurs to me the scavengers on both the Cygnusa and Wake could make a good life for themselves here, caring for this world.”

  “It’s far better than sorting through trash,” Dave Maddox said.

  “Sounds like another of Vulcan’s grand schemes came to fruition,” Paul Spradlin said while eyeing Catherine Holland.

  “I’m sure it was,” Catherine Holland noted.

  She laid her head on Nox’s shoulder and the two watched in wonder as their planet spun.

  Cer grabbed B’taav’s hand and a quiet settled over the bridge.

  They watched the movement of the ships and admired all that was accomplished and wondered, if only a little, what was in store.

  In time the forests and animals returned to Earth and the long lost planet again teemed with possibilities.

  This world where humanity emerged from, this world humanity ravaged and abandoned, was returned to them.

  A paradise lost was now a paradise regained.

  THE END