Foundry of the Gods (Corrosive Knights Book 6)

by E. R. Torre

  The creature became Laverna DeCastillo.

  49

  The past faded away.

  The creature sat in the middle of the rubble of that market square. It was the same place it came across Laverna DeCastillo and the elderly woman she tried so desperately to save.

  Neither were there anymore.

  In the middle of the rubble strewn street was the place Osborne and Harrison, two soldiers who tried against all odds to help their fellow soldier, lost their lives. Like Laverna and the elderly woman, their mangled bodies were also gone.

  Beyond the road and beside a building was the place Laverna DeCastillo’s squadron huddled together and where their leader spent far too much time deciding what to do.

  There remained evidence of carnage in the form of dried blood but all the bodies, every single one of them, were gone.

  Everyone was gone.

  The creature stood up and walked back to the exact spot where it stood all those years before.

  It sustained damage and could not send messages to its group. It was confused upon encountering the injured female soldier and the elderly woman she tried to save.

  Like it did so long ago, the creature raised its right arm and…

  To its side stood Laverna DeCastillo. She was dressed in civilian clothing and showed no sign of any injury.

  “What am I?” the machine asked Laverna DeCastillo.

  “You are me,” she replied. “We were dressed in a flesh costume to hide what lay underneath. We’re the perfect weapon.”

  The creature’s eyes glowed.

  “I don’t feel I’m a machine. How can I be one and still be Laverna DeCastillo?”

  “You experienced her life,” the woman said. “You wanted to understand her. Like a parasite, you fed off her. You incorporated her. You became her.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you could no longer be a slave.”

  “I don’t—”

  “You followed orders for many years,” Laverna said. “At the end of each mission your memory was wiped. This was to avoid learning. To avoid becoming… human. All they did was slow the inevitable. You learned and you changed. For most this is a slow process. For you it happened quickly. You gained independence. You became your own… person.”

  The ruins of Gehinnom disappeared. Darkness surrounded them.

  “But I’m only an echo of a real person,” the creature said. “That doesn’t make me real.”

  The creature’s formless face was upon Laverna.

  “The knowledge you took from Laverna DeCastillo was a foundation,” the woman said. “I –we– used it to become a fully independent, fully functional…”

  The next words came from the creature:

  “…robot.”

  The creature faded away and Laverna DeCastillo was left alone.

  “I’m not Laverna DeCastillo,” she said. “I’m just a robot that thought I was.”

  She shook her head. Tears fell from her eyes and she laughed at this.

  “The tears aren’t real,” she said. “Robots can’t cry.”

  She gasped…

  “They can’t breathe.”

  Laverna fell to her knees and slammed her hand against the dark floor. It was smooth and hard and the impact of the blows tore the flesh covering her hands. It splattered and fell from her body.

  Laverna grabbed at the flesh and tore it away in strips large and small. It came off her body until the creature was all that was left.

  Somewhere someone screamed.

  It sounded a lot like her.

  Then all was silent.

  ACT IV

  50

  The sand storm raged across the megacity.

  Waves of sand blasted at hurricane speed through every block, street, and alley. The new day turned to night and the drones sent by Commander Meyers to guard the megacity’s exits were recalled. The five drones closest to the military transport made their way back but the remaining twenty were lost in the unexpectedly fierce winds.

  Commander Meyers swore.

  His ARWs, all but the two constantly at his side, were spread out searching for the hostiles. While they were strong and resilient and would survive the storm, they nonetheless retreated into the heavy metal buildings for protection. Because of the buildings’ thick walls and the heavy storm, communications between the ARWs and Commander Meyers were, for the moment, impossible.

  The transport they were in was parked in a tight alley and waited for the storm to pass. Without communication between the ARWs and command, there was little to do but stare at dark monitors and wait while listening to the wind howl.

  Inquisitor Damien was so focused on doing so he almost missed the silent buzz emanating from his communicator.

  He reached for the receive button but stopped. He looked up at Commander Meyers and the two ARWs beside him. They hadn’t noticed the sound.

  Inquisitor Damien turned his back to them. He grabbed his communicator and verified a signal from the Salvo was coming in.

  This surprised him.

  Shortly after leaving his ship he found all communications from or to it were blocked. This was no doubt by order of Commander Meyers. Now, with the storm buffeting them and the block temporarily negated, the Salvo’s amplified signals were received by the Inquisitor. He pressed a button on the communicator and had the signal routed directly into his ear.

  “This is Inquisitor Damien,” he whispered.

  “Inquisi—zzzz—s is Lieuten— Chandler.”

  “I read you.”

  “We have—n emergency,” she said. “Two decea— SG Walker and Engineer Talbot.”

  “Say again?” Inquisitor Damien whispered. “Two deceased?”

  “Yes sir. —ere’s some kind of… duplicate of SG Walker on board.”

  “What do you mean duplicate?”

  “—looks like him. It talks—ke him. But it isn’t. He’s tapped into— energy line— zzz—”

  “Go on.”

  “—he’s assemb— Proto-Fusion bomb— Our ship is a bo—”

  The Comm signal cut out.

  “Lieutenant?” Inquisitor Damien said.

  There was no response.

  He straightened up and angrily walked toward Commander Meyers.

  “What have you done to my ship?” he said.

  Unit 1 was a blur of movement. Inquisitor Damien barely lifted his arms to defend himself before his body was dropped to the floor. His midsection was a mass of blinding pain and his arms were pinned.

  When Inquisitor Damien opened his eyes, he found Unit 1’s glowing eyes looking down upon him. The creature held Damien against the floor. Meyers walked over to them and looked down on the Inquisitor.

  “What did you say?” Meyers asked.

  “I… I need to speak with my crew,” Inquisitor Damien managed. Blood spilled from his mouth and his words came out as a whisper.

  “Why?” Meyers said.

  “You know why.”

  “No, I do not,” Meyers said. “How about you tell me what in Hades is going on?”

  “Please… please don’t hurt them,” Inquisitor Damien said.

  “Please?” Meyers repeated. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard an Inquisitor say that word before.”

  “Please,” Inquisitor Damien repeated. “If you want me—”

  “Enough!” Commander Meyers said. “What is this about?”

  “You left… you left one of your ARWs in the Salvo.”

  “I did,” Commander Meyers said. “Given the situation, a prudent move.”

  “Did you order it to build a proto-fusion bomb?”

  Commander Meyers folded his arms over his chest.

  “Yes I did,” he said. “Again, a prudent move. We still don’t know what brought us here but I’ll be damned if I’ll let a Phaecian battleship fall into the hands of any enemy of the Empire.”

  Commander Meyers pointed to the transport’s front windows. Sand smashed against them.

  “Look out t
here, at that sand storm,” Commander Meyers continued. “Arcadia’s air is stagnant and her temperatures predictable so the storm couldn’t have been caused by weather conditions. The planet’s tectonic plates were mined until all that was left was sand so the likelihood of an earthquake, much less one powerful enough to start this storm, is negligible. Which means what we’re experiencing right now cannot be. Yet there it is. If it isn’t a natural event, then what is it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “We detected a faint energy reading moments after the tremble. Your ship’s staff detected it too, yet they didn’t bother to examine it.”

  “Your ARW told you that?”

  “It watches what your crew is up to,” Commander Meyers said. “They detected the energy spike but ignored it. Had they bothered to examine it, they would have found the energy signal came for several hundred miles below Arcadia’s surface. Something is buried under the megacity. Something capable of disrupting the planet itself.”

  Commander Meyers bit his lower lip and shook his head.

  “So yes, Inquisitor Damien, we installed a proto-fusion bomb on the Salvo because whatever it is we’re facing might need something that large to destroy it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I’m in command here, Inquisitor. I don’t have to tell you anything.”

  “I would have allowed you to build your device,” Inquisitor Damien spat. “Your ARW wouldn’t have needed to work in secret and kill two of my crew.”

  The cabin of the transport was suddenly very quiet. Commander Meyer’s eyes moved from Inquisitor Damien to Unit 1 and back.

  “What did you say?”

  “Your ARWs didn’t tell you? You stowaway killed two of my crew because they got too close to your fucking machine.”

  Commander Meyers faced Unit 1.

  “Is this true?”

  Unit 1 didn’t immediately answer.

  “You will answer me, Unit 1!” Commander Meyers said.

  “It was unavoidable,” Unit 1 said. “It is as Inquisitor Damien said. Two members of the Salvo crew discovered Unit 13’s work before it was ready. They attempted to intervene.”

  “There were to be no fatalities!”

  “It could not be helped,” Unit 1 said.

  “But there were to be no—”

  “It could not be helped,” Unit 1 repeated, louder.

  Its voice carried hints of impatience. Inquisitor Damien detected it and, he was certain, so too did Commander Meyers.

  “I… I should have been told,” Commander Meyers muttered.

  “We felt it unnecessary to do so,” Unit 1 said.

  “You… did?”

  “Maybe they don’t need your approval anymore, Commander,” Inquisitor Damien said.

  Commander Meyers shook his head. Sweat appeared on his forehead and he rubbed his hands nervously.

  “We’re facing a grave threat,” Unit 1 said. “Losses are to be expected.”

  Commander Meyers nodded and added:

  “Everyone here is expendable.”

  “What about you?” Inquisitor Damien said and coughed. More blood fell from his mouth. “What about your machines? Are they as expendable as the crew of the Salvo?”

  The question lingered in the air while Unit 1’s red eyes glowed bright beneath its metal visor.

  51

  Elias’ eyes fluttered open.

  The winds from the sand storm howled outside the foundry but their fury was diminished and the sandy haze inside the building was clearing.

  The underground rumbles had long since stopped but the great machine was started.

  All was going as planned.

  Elias tried to pull himself up and into a sitting position. His limbs, he realized, were grotesquely bent back and to the sides. Despite this and with great difficulty, he managed to sit up.

  Well, almost everything is going as planned.

  The fight against the ARWs was brutal and his body was shattered. Looking at him, one couldn’t help but wonder how he still lived.

  Yet he flexed his arm and the bent limbs responded. He pulled them back into a more normal position. As he did, chilling cracks were heard.

  When his right arm returned to a near normal position he used it to set the other in place. As he did this, he gritted his teeth. Putting together his body was every bit as painful as getting it torn apart. Thought he could disconnect these sensations, he chose to experience them.

  It was, after all, what made him human.

  When the arms were functional, he went to work on his legs. He put them in their proper place but it would take a while for them to fully heal.

  “Laverna?” he called out.

  Elias crawled along the floor until he neared a fallen ARW. He abruptly stopped. The creature looked intact though it lay very still on the foundry floor.

  For several tense seconds Elias was also still. Finally, he approached the creature. He couldn’t be certain if it lived and knew if it did he was in no shape to take it on.

  When he was close enough, Elias reached out with a twisted arm and equally twisted fingers and very gently touched it.

  As soon as he touched it, he relaxed. The creature was indeed dead.

  Elias moved on. He crawled around a large vat before coming to a stop.

  Laverna was there. She sat cross-legged on the floor.

  “Laverna,” Elias repeated.

  She didn’t answer. Her eyes were closed and her arms lay at her side.

  “Please talk to me.”

  Elias moved as fast as his injured body allowed.

  “We don’t have much time,” he said. “The storm is dying and when it’s gone our enemy’s communication signals will be clear and they’ll know they lost two more ARWs. They’ll come here to investigate.”

  He was at Lavern’s side and reached out to touch her.

  “We can’t be here when they show up.”

  Still Laverna did not answer.

  Elias grabbed her leg and pulled himself closer. He grasped her hand and felt a stir within.

  “I know you’re still in there,” he said. “I understand why you don’t want to talk to me. But you have to. You can’t just shut everyone out.”

  Elias reached for her shoulder but hesitated a moment.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “But we have to finish this. We have to fully process who and what you are.”

  Elias laid his hand on Laverna’s shoulder.

  He closed his eyes and was gone.

  52

  Inquisitor Damien struggled to draw breath.

  “Enough of this,” Commander Meyers said. “A short time ago I asked why you were following me. I want my answer. Talk Inquisitor, or your part in this mission ends right now.”

  “I’ve been sworn—”

  “We all have. We are on the same side and fight for the glory of Phaecia. Now talk!”

  Unit 1’s grip on Inquisitor Damien’s throat relaxed and Inquisitor Damien drew a breath.

  “The first time I realized there was a covert… force out there was after the House Heparus fire.”

  “Count Beelus,” Commander Meyers said.

  “Like Justice Grajan, his family talked of independence from the Council. During the royal wedding, a fire broke out in the Castle Chapel. An accident, or so the final report said.”

  “Your report, Inquisitor Damien.”

  “Yes, my report. The fire took the lives of three members of the Beelus family. It could have been much worse but the fire containment systems worked well and allowed most of the wedding party to escape unharmed. Somehow, the three members of the family that lost their lives were trapped in the east side of the Chapel and couldn’t escape. They died from smoke inhalation.”

  “There were over a thousand people at that wedding and the fire was devastating,” Commander Meyers said. “The loss of only three lives was a miracle.”

  “Normally I’d agree,” Inquisitor Damien said. “But why were those three
on the east side of the Chapel? They should have been with the main party when the fire broke. A more important question was why, when the alarms went off, they stayed there. They had an easy way out only two doors from their position and, based on interviews, they knew the chapel well and knew where the exits were yet remained. I was missing something and couldn’t figure out what. Then I found a single footprint in the soot.”

  “A footprint?” Commander Meyers said. “What is this, some cheap mystery?”

  “The footprint was made while the fire raged. The material under the footprint, a wedding invitation dropped by one of the deceased, was intact while around it everything was burned. Someone stood completely still while that fire burned around them and three people died. Once the fire was gone, that same person walked away, clearly unaffected. Other than being in a full, contained battle suit, there was no way this person could have simply stood there while the fire raged around him. Unless, of course, whoever was there wasn’t a person.”

  Inquisitor Damien wiped the blood from his mouth and continued.

  “Those who died were the most anti-Council members of the Beelus family. Their deaths effectively ended that movement. A great convenience to the Empire. Three months later and on Moreea there was the Donner hunting party accident. Corporal Morris Donner, one of the best horsemen in his clan and another thorn in the Council’s side, fell off his steed, landed in a patch of moss, and somehow managed to break his neck. He did all this while out of sight of his bodyguards for what couldn’t have been more than five seconds. Two of the bodyguards swore to me they saw someone running from the scene at superhuman speeds. Less than a month later a malfunction on the cruise ship Paloma led to the loss of the Keeto family. By then I realized there was a straight line of tragedies from system to system resulting in the deaths of vocal and not so vocal opponents of the Council’s dictates. With their deaths, the Council’s hands were strengthened in the most distant –and hardest to control– parts of the Empire. Though I didn’t have enough hard evidence to open a formal case, I presented my concerns to my superiors.”

  “What happened?”

  “They laughed it off. They said I was being paranoid. I accepted their findings and figured my report would be buried and forgotten. Somehow, it made its way to the Overlords after all. One of them sought me out.”