“I didn’t want to forget him, Cassius,” she sniveled. “I only wanted the pain to go away.”
“I know,” Cassius said. “But it never does, and it never should.”
His words made her heart sink. She realized then that she didn’t have it in her to shoot. Not him. Along with the incessant ringing, her head began pulsing with the executor vows she knew she was failing. Her foggy eyes scanned the room again to see all of the screens with her own vision projected on them. Cassius stared down his nose at her.
“It’s not too late to turn back,” she appealed, finally lowering her pistol. It was the only thing she could think of to say.
“It is for me.”
Before she had a chance to respond, she felt a pinch on the back of her neck. Her gun was stolen from behind by someone strong enough to pry it from her artificial fingers. Not Cassius. She collapsed, and he lunged to catch her before she slammed against the floor.
He cradled her head and whispered, “I will save you.” The last thing she saw before her world faded to darkness was a pair of hellish red eyes.
36
Chapter Thirty-Six—Cassius
Cassius Vale leaned against the rail of his glass-enclosed terrace, gazing out over the many tops of Edeoria’s shaft districts that filled the vast Ksa crater. He wore the stern facade of a man ready to plunge as far into the filth as necessary. His violet tunic was ironed and pulled neatly over the carbon-fiber underlay. His belt was perfectly aligned, a red-trimmed pulse-pistol holstered at his hip—his old executor sidearm retrieved from below the compound. In his right hand, he rolled his spherical holoprojector between his fingers, fixated.
Dozens of Tribunal ships shot through the atmosphere like a swarm of angry bees. For the second time in his life, Cassius watched as warships and transports bore down on Titan with enough troops to occupy the colony his family had presided over since the foundation of the Circuit.
Then his entire view was drowned in shadow. The thick atmosphere parted for a New Earth cruiser to descend. Its roaring engines flooded the scene with a blinding light that cast it as an oblong silhouette larger than any of the clouds. When they dulled, it remained hovering about halfway up the height of the Edeoria hub’s tower.
Cassius could read the name printed on the side of its plated hull. Calypso, the flagship of Tribune Nora Gressler. It flaunted the open hangar along its broadside, releasing the flood of ships ready to invade.
The cruiser itself had the appearance of a shotgun, with the stock serving to house the two primary ion drives. Auxiliary thrusters were located at the stern. Greenish illumination shone through the thin breaks in the vessels’ dense armored plating, forming a band of light around the center like a belt. A tremendous rail gun ran along the top from beneath a semitranslucent command deck.
Cassius switched on his holorecorder. He waited until the entire head of his son materialized in pixels before pausing the footage.
“You asked me once, Caleb, what it was like to fight in a war,” he said. “What it was like to kill. You never were one for fighting.” He chuckled to himself. “But you were always strong in your own way. The truth is, every kill chips away a piece of you until you don’t even blink as you pull the trigger. I’m glad you never had to, but now I must kill again. I hope you can understand why. Yours is the only forgiveness I will ever need. I love you, son.”
He took a long look at Caleb’s face as the terrace grew dim beneath the ships crowding the exterior of the terrace. He didn’t shed tears as he switched off the hologram and placed the recorder into a pouch on his belt. There was too much at stake for him to lose his composure.
Instead, taking long, graceful strides, he slowly backed out of the terrace and made his way into his personal quarters and to the lonely bed sitting in the corner.
He activated his comm-link and addressed ADIM loudly enough so that he could hear himself speak over the now-deafening rumble of ships outside. “ADIM, proceed as planned. Use any means necessary.”
“This unit is primed, Creator,” ADIM responded without a moment’s delay. “Preparing to penetrate Kalliope defenses.”
“Good—” Cassius paused as the blast of the Tribunal forces breaching his compound’s hangar made the floor shudder. “Good luck, ADIM.”
“This unit does not require luck. With the will of the Creator guiding, the odds of failure are minimal.”
“Noted.” Cassius closed his eyes and allowed himself one last grin. The transparisteel of his terrace, which had withstood centuries of the storms always raging on Titan, shattered. “ADIM… you may not be a human, but I care for you all the same. I hope you understand that.”
“This unit understands,” ADIM said. “A man can feel love for whomever he chooses. One day, when we’re done, there will be other humans worthy of your will.”
“Perhaps. But until then I have you. Goodbye, ADIM.”
“Goodbye, Creator.”
Just as Cassius switched the comm-link off, soldiers in Tribunal armor flooded his room. Emergency shutters slammed down over the terrace to preserve the balance of warm, breathable air, but it was too late to keep the invaders out. At least twenty of them stared down the holo-sights of their rifles at Cassius.
“On your knees, traitor!”
“Disarm him!” The leader of the squad signaled his men.
Cassius recognized the armor as that of a Hand. Belloth again. Right on schedule.
“I will not fight,” Cassius said calmly, showing his hands.
The butt of a rifle slammed across the side of his face. Hands grabbed at him from all over, keeping him upright until they could rip off his belt and holster. When the soldiers were done, they rolled him onto his stomach and wrenched his arms back to bind his wrists.
“I see civility is lost on the Tribune these days!” Cassius snarled and spit out a glob of blood.
One of the soldiers delivered Belloth Cassius’ belt and she began to rustle through all the pouches. When she found the holorecorder, she carefully observed it before declaring it harmless and placing it back in. She fastened the belt around her own waist and positioned Cassius’ pistol opposite hers.
“Bring him up!” Belloth ordered, and Cassius was promptly lifted onto both knees. “Check the room.” The soldiers began probing every corner, though there was little to search.
“Clear!” they pronounced one after the other.
“Send her up,” Belloth ordered and then removed her helmet.
“Belloth, I was wondering when I would get to see you again,” Cassius said, his red-stained lips lifting into a grin.
“Shut your mouth!” the soldier standing behind Cassius barked, kicking him in the gut.
Cassius reeled in pain, but he didn’t allow his grin to fade.
“I told you I’d be watching,” Belloth said. She holstered her weapon and approached Cassius. “I can’t wait to wipe that fuckin’ smile off your face!” Her fist crashed into his cheek so forcefully that it would have knocked him over had the soldiers not been there to keep him upright.
More blood oozed through Cassius’ teeth. He licked it, the tang of metal heavy on his tongue.
“Fate plays such cruel games,” he said. He thrust his head forward and growled, causing Belloth to reel away nervously before the other soldiers ripped Cassius back down. Cassius snickered at their fear. “I had hoped Benjar would come himself, but I suppose Nora will have to do.”
“I knew you were scum. Betraying the Tribune after all it has done for you!” Belloth wound up for another punch.
“Stand down, Belloth!” ordered an authoritative and matronly voice, arresting Belloth’s blow just before it made contact. “I will deal with him myself.”
Tribune Nora Gressler stood in the doorway, an elegant, formfitting white dress falling to her feet, the symbol of the Tribune printed across her torso. Her hair was pulled up into a rigid bun. Lines of golden makeup swept out from the corners of her eyes, but no volume of cosmetics could mask the
creases striating her face.
“Nora Gressler!” Cassius said. “The lovely Hand chosen to fill my shoes on the council. What a pleasure. I was just telling your own Hand here how much I had been hoping Benjar would come himself rather than send out his newest puppet.”
“Save your insults, Cassius. Do not try to deflect your lack of significance onto me.” Nora stepped forward, two rows of her own personal honor guard filing in on either side of her. The ordinary soldiers retreated to the back of the room without having to be asked.
“My lack of significance?” Cassius sneered. “Don’t be naïve. Those old bastards would do anything for another pawn. How long before they banish you to watch over some forsaken colony like they did me?”
“Forsaken? Edeoria was the jewel of this sector before we gave you control over it! The underground farms fail. Your people are displaced and dying.” She wagged her long, slender finger in his direction. “No, Cassius, it is you who has forsaken this place! And for what?”
“Jewel.” Cassius laughed. “They really did well in choosing you after my exile.”
“A self-imposed exile!” she snapped. “After all that happened, they gave you a colony to live out the rest of your pitiful life. It was you who chose never to return.”
Cassius shook his head and sighed. “There is no reason to argue with you. You occupy my colony. You storm my home. What is it that you accuse me of doing?”
Nora mustered her most regal stride and came face-to-face with him. She looked him over angrily before yanking the comm-link out of his ear and handing it to Belloth. “Next time take that off first, Hand,” she instructed in a threatening manner. “I won’t have him calling for help.”
“Forgive me, Your Eminence.” Belloth fell to one knee, bowing her head subserviently as she ran her fingers along the floor. She then stored the comm-link in the same place where she’d already put Cassius’ holorecorder.
“You know what you’ve done,” Nora stated, her back now turned to him.
“Well, of course I know everything I’ve done,” Cassius jested. His response caused her to clench her hands into fists. “I hope you don’t think I’ve simply lost my mind. I’m just wondering what it is that Benjar has come up with to get you here so swiftly.”
Nora wheeled around. “Besides neglecting your own people to the point of near genocide, you mean? Tribune Vakari has reason to believe you were behind the attacks on our freighters, and that you manipulated us into thinking you were helping a problem you caused.”
“Well, that is insane—”
“And worse, that you have fashioned some sort of twisted android capable of unearthly deeds, such as the cold-blooded murder of an executor!”
Cassius could tell he was getting to her. Her cheeks grew red even through the layer of makeup covering them, and her nose was creased with very visible lines of frustration.
“And what proof do you have of any of this to take up arms against me?” Cassius asked. “Only the words of a man who clearly has it in for me?”
“Besides the fact that the abomination emerged from your ship’s position? The arm, Cassius!” She stamped forward with such aggression that her bun grew disheveled. “We witnessed the last moment of that executor’s life as your creation spaced him. It was forged of the same technology behind the arm on the other executor you are now holding captive in this compound.” She took a breath, stepping back. “I’ll admit I, like Joran, was dubious of Benjar’s accusations, but that was before Sage arrived here. Or did you forget that we’d see and hear everything you said to her before you took her underground and cut us out?”
“No, I counted on it,” Cassius said. “In fact, I wish you could have seen as I set her free. She is quite alive, if you must know. As for ADIM, well, I won’t deny my most treasured creation. Unfortunately, you won’t have the chance to meet him.”
“You gave that abomination a name?” She turned her appalled expression toward Belloth. “Hand, have him show you to where he’s holding Agent Volus. Then take him to my ship. He will be detained on Enceladus until we decide what to do with him.”
“Yes, Your Eminence.” Belloth nodded.
Seven of the regular Tribunal soldiers circled him. One grabbed Cassius by his bindings and shoved him along. He didn’t fight it. The barrels of two pulse-rifles pressed tightly against his back as he was forced to lead them.
“Don’t let your guard down, Belloth. His legend precedes him,” Nora hissed. Cassius performed an exaggerated bow before he was shoved again.
“You heard her. Guns on him,” Belloth ordered as they moved out into the hall of holographic busts.
“It’s not far up this way,” Cassius said loudly, turning right at the first intersection.
“Just shut your mouth and lead!” Belloth snapped. “You’re a disgrace to anyone who’s ever wanted to be an executor.”
“A disgrace enough, I hope, to dissuade them.” Cassius stretched out his neck so that the ugly scar from his old implant was impossible to miss. Belloth apparently ignored what she saw.
“Is this it?” she questioned when Cassius stopped in front of a blank metal door.
“Yes,” he said.
“How does it open?”
“I need my hands.”
“Are you sure?” Belloth came around in front of Cassius and gave him a stern glare. Cassius nodded, and with a sigh Belloth signaled to one of the soldiers to unfasten the cuffs for a moment. She then lifted her pistol and pressed it against Cassius’ temple. “Try anything and I’ll blow open your skull.”
“Charming.” Cassius flashed her a smile as he stretched his sore wrists. Then he powered on his holopad and keyed the commands to make the retinal scanner flip out from the wall next to the door. “See? Easy.” Without resisting, he placed his arms behind his back to be re-cuffed.
Belloth lowered her gun. “Open it.”
Cassius placed his eye against the scanner, causing the door to open. “There you go.” He took a step back so that the soldiers could enter.
“Oh, no. You’re coming with us.” Belloth dragged him on the elevator.
All of them squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder into the dim space. Cassius could still feel guns against his back. Before long, the lift descended, and when it came to a gradual halt, he felt the barrels pressing even harder.
“Move,” Belloth demanded.
Cassius stepped out into the dark room. The only illumination was provided by six menacing red lights across the space.
“What kind of hell is this place?” Belloth mouthed as she followed.
Rows of consoles and machinery were arranged on either side of them in no real order. Once they were close enough, Cassius was able to see the surgical table placed carefully in the center of it all. Even though it was dark, he could make out Sage’s fit body lying unconscious on top of it. Closer still, and he knew the others would notice the bloody bandage around her head.
“There she is.” Belloth motioned two of her unit to check on Sage while she remained by Cassius’ side with her gun drawn. “What in the name of Earth did you do to her?”
“Set her free,” Cassius said.
“She’s got a pulse!” one of the soldiers shouted.
“Can she be moved?” Belloth asked.
“Not by any of you,” Cassius replied. Just as the words slipped through his lips, eight concise shots greeted his waiting ears. They were soft and silenced, no louder than a sudden gust of wind. The seven soldiers around the room keeled over with bullet holes in the center of their foreheads. Hand Belloth herself had been hit in the throat and lay on her back in a state of shock, blood bubbling over the wound as she struggled to speak.
“You should have stayed far away from here,” he whispered callously as he watched the color flee her face. He waited there, holding Belloth down with his foot until the twitching stopped, and her eyes glazed over. Then the ominous red lights closed in around him until three humanlike android profiles became visible.
; “Is the Creator’s will fulfilled?” they asked in unison, with emotionless voices almost exactly like ADIM’s. The androids moved closer until their dark-metal chassis were visible, also matching ADIM’s. Their faces were blank except for red eye-lenses surrounded by rings of smaller lights.
“Yes.” Cassius spun around to admire their deadly work. Then, without having to be asked, one of the androids sliced the cuffs off him with a thin laser beam.
Rubbing his bruised wrists, Cassius knelt and unfastened his belt from around Belloth’s corpse. “A shame.” He pulled it around his waist and made sure that the holorecorder was safe first. Next, he checked his pistol and ADIM’s comm-link. With all his possessions were securely back on his person, he walked over to the only console powered on in the room and began quickly swiping through commands.
Cassius glanced over his shoulder when he heard the three androids moving behind him. ADIM will understand, he assured himself before addressing them. “Are the other three in position?”
“Yes,” they responded simultaneously. “Awaiting the Creator’s command.”
When he looked back, the screen prompted him to enter a password. He closed his eyes and drew a deep, ragged breath. This old lab had to be terminated. He’d spent more years than he cared to remember working down here where he’d constructed ADIM. Risking all the work hidden here was no longer an option.
It took all his resolve, but one by one he entered the code until it was all there: 2AL3B82LE. The screen was replaced by the image of a red blip approaching what appeared to be a projection of Titan and the conduit station above it. A series of numbers shuffled over the screen until they locked at eleven minutes and seven seconds and began to count down.
“Come,” Cassius addressed the androids as he turned to make his way toward the lift. “There isn’t much time.”
The Circuit: The Complete Saga Page 25