by E. R. Torre
“Who?”
Inquisitor Damien’s eyes flickered and his mouth closed. Unit 1’s hand again tightened around the Inquisitor’s throat.
“Ok,” Inquisitor Damien said. “It was… it was Overlord Dianna.”
Commander Meyer’s jaw dropped. He turned away from Inquisitor Damien while furiously thinking about this revelation. Finally, he let out a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Inquisitor Damien managed.
Commander Meyers leaned against the transport’s dashboard and shook his head.
“Who do you think ordered us on all these missions?”
It was Inquisitor Damien’s turn to be shocked.
“That’s right,” Commander Meyers said. “We answer to Overlord Dianna. Just as the last three generations of Commanders before me.”
“Three… generations?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re Milities Generation?” Inquisitor Damien gasped. “I thought you were a myth.”
“Most myths contain some elements of truth,” Commander Meyers said. “For generations my ancestors performed the tasks no one else in the Empire was willing -or capable- of doing. The first generations were composed of human soldiers. The last three generations, including my own, you see before you. Ever since the ARWs were assigned to us, we’ve answered to Overlord Dianna without question. It would appear she’s played us. One against the other.”
“Why?”
“Because you aren’t the only one to suspect our group exists. If we were to be exposed, it would be very bad for us and far worse for Overlord Dianna.”
Commander Meyers walked back to the monitors.
“She fears this yet we continue to be an asset. How does one keep an asset on their toes yet also plan for the eventuality of our exposure? By having someone tail us. Close but never too close. Your presence keeps me sharp and forces me to execute my missions with the greatest of care. If I were to fail any given mission and find the Salvo and her fearsome weapons aimed my way, I would never let you capture me alive. In that scenario, the Milities Generation are either blown to pieces by the Salvo’s guns or our own self-destruct mechanisms and no one will know Overlord Dianna’s role in the taskforce. Simply ingenious.”
“More than you realized,” Inquisitor Damien said. “On Davilia, Overlord Dianna used me to get to Justice Grajan. She knew I’d tell him of what I found regarding his wife’s assassination and that I suspected ARWs were behind the act. Grajan knew of you and he got the message. He told me he’d follow Overlord Dianna’s dictates. Clearly he feared the ARWs would kill more of his family.”
“Does your crew know?”
Inquisitor Damien didn’t say.
“I bet they don’t,” Commander Meyers said. “And I bet you saved the evidence you’ve collected on me in your own personal computer. Overlord Dianna told you to, didn’t she? Am I correct, Inquisitor?”
Inquisitor Damien wouldn’t say but the look on his face revealed all.
“She provided herself another way to tie up loose ends should she needed to,” Commander Meyers said. “I’ll bet she knows all your personal codes and if something were to happen to you, she’d get all that information you gathered. If she needed to, she could even replace it with her own information. Information that may point to others in the Council being behind the Milities Generation.”
“If she’s that smart, then she had to know that by sending us to Arcadia together we might talk,” Inquisitor Damien said.
“Which means we were never meant to return to the Empire,” Commander Meyers said. “Not alive anyway. Inquisitor Torano and his ships reach Davilia in another day and a half. I suspect they won’t welcome us with open arms should we be fortunate enough to return.”
Commander Meyers laid his hand on Unit 1’s shoulder and said: “Release him.”
Unit 1 let Inquisitor Damien go.
“At least we have another day and a half,” Commander Meyers said.
“That’s if we finish our business here in that time and it doesn’t finish us,” Inquisitor Damien said. “But say we do make it back before Inquisitor Torano. If Overlord Dianna has written us off, why would she welcome you back into the fold? For that matter, why would you want to return knowing she’s working against you?”
“She’ll take us back,” Commander Meyers said. “We’re important to her and we will come to an understanding.”
“How?”
Commander Meyers’ eyes drifted away from Inquisitor Damien and were upon Unit 1. The edges of his lips twitched.
“Unit 1 is the first ARW the Phaecian Empire ever made, a recreation of the prototype my grandfather stole many years before.”
“Stole from whom?”
“Guess.”
“The Epsillons?”
“In a matter of speaking,” Commander Meyers said. “Tell me, Inquisitor, what do you know about Saint Vulcan?”
“As much as most, I imagine,” Inquisitor Damien said. “She was the Epsillon Empire’s most brilliant mind. She created the central computer systems used there and… and here. She branched out into the military and developed weapons the Epsillon forces use to this day. Is she the one that created the ARW prototype?”
“We’ll get to that in a moment,” Commander Meyers said. “Do you know what became of Saint Vulcan?”
“Some fifty years ago her home planet of Pomos was infected by a virulent virus, likely another weapon she was developing and which was accidentally released,” Inquisitor Damien said. “The virus was highly contagious. It made people crazy. They attacked and killed anyone they ran into. It took less than a day before the planet was under quarantine. Saint Vulcan ordered her fleet of vessels to Pomos under the guise of aiding the planet and evacuating the uninfected. Once the ships arrived, she took control of them. She fired every weapon in every vessel’s cargo hold and incinerated Pomos and everyone on it, including herself. Some think she did this to protect the Empire for she knew the virus had no cure and if even one of the infected were to make it to a ship there was a risk the infection could spread to other planets.”
“She was right about that,” Commander Meyers said. “But Saint Vulcan didn’t infected her planet. We did.”
53
Inquisitor Damien was stunned by Commander Meyer’s admission and didn’t know what to say.
The sound of the howling wind filled the void. Then, Commander Meyers spoke.
“The Epsillon and Phaecian flotillas, the backbones of our fleets, have been in Erebus for over a hundred years. They are there to deter our Empires from all-out war yet we’ve been fighting a war, a covert war, for quite some time now. This war is hidden from the public. It is a war fought mostly through the Milities Generation.”
Commander Meyers frowned.
“During the years my grandfather led our group, his focus was Saint Vulcan,” he continued. “Her research was far more sophisticated than anything anyone had come up with before or, truth to tell, since. The Council of Twelve, including a much younger Overlord Dianna, knew it was a matter of time before Saint Vulcan and her people designed weapons we stood no chance of fighting against. We had to stop her.”
“My Grandfather’s Milities were given near unlimited funds to gather intelligence on her operation. In their dream scenario, they hoped to captured her and bring her to Phaecia where she’d be forced to create for us instead of them. But by that point she and her group were holed up in Pomos and the security systems for that planet were second to none. He tried to get to her or her researchers but every attempt was rebuffed or met disastrous failure. My grandfather was forced to devise alternate plans. One day, he got very lucky. He picked up a stray transmission from Pomos to a cruiser. The encryption used in the signal was good, but not so good he couldn’t decipher it. Through that message one of her secret transport systems was revealed. Several ships were on that list and my grandfather searched through the targets available to him before focusing on one in particular. It would be his only
shot, he knew, for once he acted Saint Vulcan would know agents from Phaecia had picked up on these routes. His hope was the ship carried a jackpot in tech. They made plans and, after setting up an ambush, he and his Milities soldiers captured the vessel. For six weeks he and his group fled Saint Vulcan’s forces, jumping from Displacer to Displacer before finally making it to Phaecian territory. It was only then, when they were safe, they were finally able to examine the cargo they stole. Within the ship was a formidable weapon. An ARW prototype.”
Commander Meyers rubbed his hands together.
“It was taken back to a secret base and complete schematics of it were created. They allowed us to build Units 1 through 16.”
“A standard platoon,” Inquisitor Damien said.
“The Milities used these newly created ARWs in secret missions just as surely as the Epsillons used theirs. In time your leaders realized there was a very real possibility these creatures could be the catalyst to start an all-out war. The ARWs can destroy entire cities and if we, or our Epsillon rivals, managed to smuggle one or more into a Capital City, there would be mass casualties. So our leaders reached out to each other and set up meetings. They talked of many things and, after a while, came to an agreement regarding the ARWs. We would build no more and keep ours far from the Erebus border. The Epsillons agreed to do the same.”
“My grandfather was at the last of those meetings, the one that yielded the Davos Agreement,” Commander Meyers continued. “So too was Saint Vulcan. He saw her from a distance and even though the meeting room they were in was packed with hundreds of diplomats, she saw him. Shortly before he left on his final mission, he told me of that brief encounter. I was just a boy but I remember every word he said. He told me how Saint Vulcan stared at him from across the hall. How her eyes didn’t leave him. She knew who he was. She knew what he had done. That stare shook him to his bones and haunted him through the rest of his life.”
Commander Meyers involuntarily shook.
“After seeing Saint Vulcan, my grandfather was more determined than ever to neutralize her. He spent the next six or so years working with the ARWs while simultaneously plotting the means of eliminating Saint Vulcan. He worked tirelessly on plans but, in the end, none would work. Then, one day, the answer was given to him. It came from the very same ARW prototype he stole from Saint Vulcan.”
“What?”
“The creature was heavily restrained and held in a small cell yet somehow absorbed knowledge from its surroundings,” Commander Meyers said. “It had little love for its creator and knew of her planet and its defensive systems. It offered my grandfather the means to break through them and eliminate her without pointing a finger at the Phaecian Empire.”
“How?”
“Its plan started with the creation of an artificial virus that spreads among humans at epidemic levels. A virus which can be broken down into a thousand inert and harmless pieces and therefore easily smuggled through Pomos’ security systems. Once all the components for that one virus molecule were on Pomos, they were to be put together and released to the population. All that was needed was one person planet side to do this. One person willing to sacrifice his life. The plan took years to implement. Three years to create the virus and five years to get the components into Pomos. When all was ready, it was time for the sacrificial lamb to go there and build the virus before infecting himself with it. My Grandfather volunteered for this job.”
“By the Gods,” Inquisitor Damien said.
“Everything worked as planned and the virus spread,” Commander Meyers said. “But it proved even more potent than we thought. Almost immediately there was a fear it might spread to other worlds. Saint Vulcan realized this too and, to her credit, did the only thing she could to stop it. She killed herself and everyone else on Pomos.”
“You’re saying we wiped out an entire world and her population to kill just one person?”
“The price was incredibly high,” Commander Meyers said. “But with Saint Vulcan gone, the Epsillon Empire no longer had the technological advantage over us. We’ve held a solid truce ever since.”
Inquisitor Damien shook his head. The thought of all those deaths sickened him.
“What… what happened to the ARW prototype?”
“I’m not sure,” Commander Meyers said. “After my Grandfather’s sacrifice, my father took over the Milities Generation and shortly thereafter the prototype was taken from his charge. He told me it was sent to Helios and the Gods alone know what became of it after that.”
Commander Meyers paused and cleared his throat.
“I want you to understand me, Inquisitor Damien,” he said. “I want you to understand the lengths my family and I have gone for Phaecia. Overlord Dianna may think she’s maneuvered us into self-immolation but if there’s one thing my family does well, its fight. We will return to Davilia, Inquisitor. And from there we’ll—”
Commander Meyers didn’t finish his thoughts. Outside, the sand storm was dying and the Comm systems were again receiving information. An alert sounded on a console.
“Two more of our ARWs are lost,” Commander Meyers said. His voice was a whisper. “But we have the hostile’s last location. We’re also detecting…”
Commander Meyers’ nerves settled.
“Two motion traces,” he said. “Targets are in sight.”
Commander Meyers faced Unit 1.
“Get us to them,” he said. “Quickly.”
54
Commander Meyer’s shuttle craft hovered high in the air over the foundry while the military transport approached its enormous entry doors. The transport parked but no one exited the vehicle.
The sand storm that built up so quickly was mostly gone. Sunlight poked through the drifting sand remnants.
The transport’s fusion cannons emerged from the vehicle and were aimed at the foundry. The Goliath Shuttle, too, had its weapons exposed and were also aimed at the building.
The eight ARWs spread throughout the city appeared and converged upon the foundry and transport. Their slick black metallic bodies glinted in the emerging sun.
On board the transport, Commander Meyers examined the readouts.
Inquisitor Damien stood back, his posture crooked and dried blood staining both his trench coat and face. He too stared at the monitors while Unit 1 stood a few feet away from him.
The military transport and the Shuttle were in place and the ARWs were outside the foundry. Commander Meyers bit his lower lip. He watched the monitors for any sign of movement.
Long seconds passed and Inquisitor Damien wondered why no action was taken. He then noticed the sweat on Commander Meyer’s forehead and realized the man was gripped with indecision. As if to prove the point, the Commander said:
“What do you think, Unit 1?”
“Send drones into the foundry,” the creature immediately replied.
“But we lost so many—”
“Send them.”
Commander Meyers wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Of course,” he said. “Better to lose drones than ARWs. How many should I send?”
“All of them.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Inquisitor Damien said. “Can we afford to lose—”
“Send them all,” Unit 1 repeated.
The ARW’s statements were no longer suggestions.
Commander Meyers pressed a series of buttons and several monitors lit up. Each represented an individual drone’s view. The machines moved from their housing within the transport and into the air before flying across the street and past the foundry’s door. Once inside the building they spread out and offered multiple views of its interior.
“There,” Commander Meyers said and pointed at one of the monitors.
One of the drones discovered an ARW body. At the sight of it, Commander Meyers’ already grim mood darkened.
“It’s ash,” Inquisitor Damien said. “Just like the one we found in the alley.”
Another drone found the seco
nd ARW body. In contrast to the first, it appeared intact.
“What happened to that one?” Inquisitor Damien asked.
“How would I know?” Commander Meyers barked.
The other drones completed their trips through the foundry. They found no signs of anyone within.
“Whoever they were, they’re gone,” Commander Meyers said. “What now?”
“We investigate,” Unit 1 said.
Unit 1 didn’t wait for Commander Meyers’ orders. It stepped past Inquisitor Damien and walked to the transport’s rear hatch. The remaining ARW followed Unit 1 and also abandoned the Commander’s side. Meyers hurried after them. Security locks were disengaged and the rear hatch opened.
“Wait!” Commander Meyers said.
He reached his ARW soldiers just as the transport’s rear hatch locked into place. A swirl of sand blew into the transport and the ARWs stepped out.
Commander Meyers found Inquisitor Damien at his side. It was the first time since arriving at Arcadia that the Inquisitor was this close to him.
“Looks like they’re doing things their way,” Inquisitor Damien whispered to Commander Meyers.
If the Commander heard his words, he ignored them.
The two followed the ARWs out.
Unit 1 and its companions stood in the drifting sands and faced the foundry’s opening. Commander Meyers cautiously followed while Inquisitor Damien walked behind him.
Around the group everything was eerily quiet.
Commander Meyers pulled his computer tablet from his jacket pocket.
On its monitor appeared images from the drones. Nothing new was detected since they entered the foundry.
Unit 1’s eyes glowed and two of the ARWs stepped back. They stood guard by the Military Transport.
“What are you doing?” Meyers asked his squad.
Unit 1 ignored the question. Its head swiveled to the side and the red lights behind its metal faceplate glowed. Eight ARWs, including Unit 1, moved toward the foundry door. As they did, fearsome weapons emerged from within their arms.