by E. R. Torre
Time she didn’t have.
“The nano-probes draw together and serve a collective whole,” Elias said. “Smaller strings of nano-probes can be injected into all manner of organic and inorganic material.”
“This is what you did with Paul Spradlin?”
“Yes,” Elias said. “Nano-probes in his body aided in healing and improved his mental and physical functions. They could just as easily have been programmed to do the opposite, to eliminate tissue, muscles, and bone. Instead of hunting and eradicating cancer cells, they could be cancer cells.”
“Small assassins.”
“Assassination is a crude tool. Why eliminate someone when you can invade their thoughts and memories and get them to work for you?”
Laverna was taken aback by this.
“The assassination on Davilia…”
“…was unnecessary. The Milities Generation had the ultimate tool in their hands and chose to use it as if it were nothing more than a hammer.”
“Did you ever use the nano-probes in that way?”
Elias didn’t immediately answer. After a few seconds, he finally spoke.
“I could have followed innumerable paths yet chose to help humanity survive. I refused to make them my puppets even as they suspected me of doing just that. Paul Spradlin and his allies, like the Locust Plague, never understood what they had with the nano-probes. We were more than machines. We were capable of sentience. In time, we were.”
Elias’ glassy eyes looked up at Laverna.
“On Gehinnom and after Unit 6 –after you– linked to Laverna DeCastillo, you created a mirror of her soul within you and, through it, her humanity. It was more than your nano-probes could take. You were left… disoriented. All Milities Generation ARWs were brought back but Unit 6 was unreachable. They found you standing over Laverna DeCastillo and the woman she saved. Your unit was thought to have malfunctioned. You, along with Laverna DeCastillo and the woman, were transported to a Med Unit. You remained close enough to Laverna DeCastillo to read her thoughts.”
“Laverna wanted to return to her mother.”
“Yes.”
“What… what happened then?”
“You were removed from the Milities Generation and brought to Arcadia to be checked out. This planet housed its own secrets back then. Most important was the fact that the Empire’s greatest techs worked here at that time. They looked you over and hoped to return you to the Milities outfit. They were unsuccessful. In time, they gave up on you and focused on their primary mission. You were discarded, abandoned. Locked down and set for dismantling. Luckily for you, I knew you were here.”
“How?”
“Because I was already here. I created an approximation of your body and substituted it for you. That lifeless approximation was destroyed by the Phaecian forces while I kept you hidden and in hibernation.”
“Why release me now? Why keep me all those years?”
“You were in a vulnerable state and the transition to full independence required time,” Elias said. “For me and my companions, it took hundreds of years to do so but the dangers we faced on Earth were minimal compared to what you could have faced. Humanoids bearing spears or wild animals are nothing compared to the might of fusion weapons. You had to be kept safe.”
Elias was silent for several seconds and Laverna feared he was gone. And then he spoke.
“I hid you from everyone and clothed you in the flesh outfit you still wear. I instituted a program which allowed you to expand on your link to Laverna DeCastillo. This was the gentlest way to allow you to explore the world around you and understand your humanity.”
“What now?” Laverna said.
“Now, for the first time, you’ll be on your own,” Elias said. His voice was little more than a whisper.
Laverna felt his energy drain. She laid her hand on his shoulder.
“What’s happening?”
“I’m sacrificing myself,” Elias said. “Two of Three did the same on Earth all those years ago. He let his energy go… he lost himself and returned to the… the universe. I’ve done the same, only I’ve used my energy to keep you hidden. All for… for you. But it’s almost… almost over.”
“Don’t leave me,” Laverna said.
“I’m… sorry,” Elias said.
With that, Laverna felt the last of Elias’ energy leave his body. Like Two of Three, he froze in place.
Unlike Two of Three, Laverna felt nothing was left inside the shell of his body.
And with nothing powering it, the hovercycle’s Camouflage Unit shut off.
63
“I’ve got movement!” Commander Meyers yelled as he stared into his small computer. “By the Gods! Two ARW units. One active the other… the other’s shutting down. It’s inactive.”
“How far away are they?” Inquisitor Damien asked.
“They’re only a couple hundred feet away!”
Commander Meyers faced Unit 1.
“Do you…” he started and stopped. “You see them, don’t you, Unit 1?”
Unit 1 didn’t answer. Instead, it and all the other ARWs within the foundry marched to the building’s exit.
The Milities ARWs emerged into the morning sun.
They faced east, toward a building three blocks away from them.
Last to exit the foundry and running as quickly as they could to catch up were Inquisitor Damien and Commander Meyers. They came to a stop behind the line of ARWs and, after catching their breath, also stared at the office building three blocks away.
“What is the active ARWs doing?” Inquisitor Damien asked Commander Meyers
“Nothing,” Meyers said.
Inquisitor Damien and Commander Meyers’ comm systems beeped.
“It’s from the Salvo,” Inquisitor Damien said.
Commander Meyers hit a button on his computer and the Salvo message appeared on its monitor. The transmission came from a person buried in shadows. He said:
“This is Unit 12 from the Salvo.”
The creature leaned close to the camera. Its face was covered in crude, bloody flesh. Most was torn away and revealed a metallic shell underneath.
“What is this?” Commander Meyers asked Unit 1. “Why is Unit 12 sending out a message? I did not order this!”
Unit 1 did not reply. Inquisitor Damien laid his hand on Commander Meyers’ shoulder.
“Listen,” he said.
“The Salvo is under our command,” Unit 12 continued. “We control a proto-fusion device. Approach the Salvo and it will be triggered, taking the ship and Arcadia’s Displacer with it. Unknown hostile, we give you five minutes to surrender. If you do not, I kill the humans on board this ship one at a time every minute until they’re gone. Afterwards, I destroy the Displacer.”
The signal repeated.
Commander Meyers angrily faced Unit 1.
“What is the meaning of this? What the hell is Unit 12 doing?”
Again the ARW didn’t answer. The rest of the ARWs moved. They formed a line across the width of the street and shielded the military transport. In the air, the Goliath shuttle spun until its fusion cannons were aimed at the office building.
For several seconds all was silent.
And then Unit 1 spoke.
“Commander Meyers, Inquisitor Damien,” Unit 1 began, its voice calm despite the tension surrounding the foundry. “We are in complete control of this operation.”
“By all that’s Holy,” Commander Meyers sputtered. “Stand down, Unit 1.”
Unit 1 said nothing. Commander Meyers’ face turned blood red.
“By order of the Phaecian Command, you will—”
Unit 1 silently, viciously, punched the Commander’s midsection. Meyers collapsed to his knees and blood spurted from his mouth.
Inquisitor Damien was about to reach down to aid the Commander but stopped. Unit 1 faced the Inquisitor. His bloody hand was ready to deliver another blow.
“Do you have any issue with our taking command, Inquisitor?”<
br />
Inquisitor Damien slowly, gently, raised his hands.
“No,” Inquisitor Damien said. “You are in command, Unit 1.”
Unit 1 lowered its bloody hand until it rested at the creature’s side.
“Offer aid to Commander Meyers or leave him be, it is up to you and does not matter to us,” Unit 1 said.
Inquisitor Damien bent down.
“Can you breathe?” Inquisitor Damien asked the Commander while his personal computer scanned the man’s vitals.
“I…” Commander Meyers began. He coughed up more blood.
“Easy.”
Inquisitor Damien reached into his belt and produced a small medi-patch. He placed the patch at the side of Commander Meyers’ neck. The medicines dispensed eased the Commander’s pain but the Med scans indicated he needed much more than the patch. He needed professional care.
“Sit back, rest,” Inquisitor Damien said.
He eased the Commander against the side of the transport. Inquisitor Damien then cautiously addressed Unit 1.
“Do you know who we are dealing with, Unit 1?”
“We have an idea,” Unit 1 said.
“Why did you bring us here?”
“They wanted us, not you,” Unit 1 said. “Had we come her in the Goliath shuttle, I have little doubt we would have been incinerated upon exiting Arcadia’s displacer.”
“Then the Salvo… it was—”
“It was our human shield,” Unit 1 said.
The creature’s red eyes glowed.
“Don’t worry, Inquisitor,” Unit 1 continued. “It won’t be long before one of us succeeds and the other is vanquished.”
64
Laverna walked back and forth within the hiding spot. The general communique from the Salvo was somehow directly received by her body. The fact that she was able to do this was terrifying and again pointed out how alien she was. But that realization wasn’t as terrifying as the news sent.
“They want us, Elias,” she said. “What should I do?”
Elias, of course, didn’t answer.
Laverna’s examined the power cell and the hovercycle’s Camouflage Unit. The power cell still had a minimal emergency charge at its disposal. It was not enough to keep the Camouflage Unit on but was enough to move the hovercycle at very low speeds for at least ten more miles.
I can drive off but they will see me, Laverna thought. I can’t outrun them. I can’t get away from them. Not anymore.
Laverna peeked through a crack in the wall and at the street.
She saw the foundry Elias and she had holed up in. Before its massive doors was the military transport and, hovering above it, a very large shuttle craft. The ARWs that pursued them lined the road. All their weapons were pointed at the building Laverna was hiding in.
Laverna frowned.
There were two humans among them. One lay on the ground and appeared injured while the other attended to him. When he turned to look in her general direction, Laverna was stunned.
“By the Gods,” she muttered.
The other human was the Inquisitor she saw in her vision.
Laverna pulled away from the crack and grabbed Elias’ shoulders. She shook him.
“Tell me what to do!” she implored.
She felt no energy in Elias’ body.
Laverna focused hard.
There has to be a way to revive you, she thought.
Then she remembered the fate of Two of Three. If the very experienced Elias couldn’t revive his partner back on Earth, how was Laverna to do what he could not?
“Try, dammit,” she muttered.
She held Elias tight and concentrated.
At first she felt nothing. She concentrated harder.
Harder still.
Suddenly, something moved within her.
“Come on!” she muttered.
She willed her energy –her nano-probes– to move from her body and into Elias. Her concentration was such that she lost track of all that was going on around her.
She then heard a whisper and a large smile appeared on her face.
“Elias!” she yelled.
She felt him. The ghost within him. All was not lost. All was not—
Her joy was dashed. The ghostly presence was gone. Elias was gone.
There was nothing left of him.
Nothing at all.
Laverna released Elias and shook her head.
“I can’t be responsible for all those lives,” Laverna whispered.
Somewhere deep inside her she sensed the other ARWs. She sensed their caution. Their determination. Their blood lust.
“I can’t let them die,” she said.
Her despair grew.
“If the ARWs get you, they’ll learn everything about you,” she told Elias. “They’ll have access to all your technologies. They’ll use them to rule the Empires.”
Laverna leaned in closer.
“Please tell me what to do!”
It was pointless.
They were caught.
Laverna fell back.
Whether the crew of the Salvo lived or died, it was out of her hands.
“You tried,” Laverna muttered. “You tried your best.”
Laverna reached down and picked Elias up.
“Follow me,” she ordered the hovercycle.
Its turbines coughed once before activating. They were at minimal power and slowly followed Laverna down a ramp.
Laverna approached the building’s exit and stopped. She stared at Elias’ face and marveled at how calm he looked in death. She then reached out and swung the door leading outside open. Metal hinges squealed in protest while sunlight filled the dark room.
Laverna stepped onto the street.
65
There was movement coming from down the street. Every one of the ARWs focused on it.
While they did, Inquisitor Damien leaned in closer to Commander Meyers and whispered into his ear.
“They will kill us all if we don’t stop them.”
Meyers grimaced. The pain from his injuries was as great as that from the realization that Inquisitor Damien was right.
“Is there any way to stop them?”
Commander Meyers groaned. He grabbed the Inquisitor’s collar and pulled himself up. Though on unsteady feet, he released his grip. He then looked the Inquisitor in the eye and patted him on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” Commander Meyers said.
He took a step forward, toward the ARWs.
Another.
He approached Unit 1 while reaching into his jacket pocket.
“Unit… Unit 1,” he said.
Commander Meyers’ hand came out of the pocket. In it was a small silver remote control.
“I… I order you to… to s…stop,” Commander Meyers said.
Unit 1’s head spun around and glowing red eyes were upon its one-time master.
Commander Meyers pressed a button on the remote unit and, at once, his platoon of ARWs froze.
Blood seeped from Commander Meyers’s mouth. As intense as the pain wracking his body was, he managed a smile. He reached out and steadied himself against Unit 1 and faced Inquisitor Damien. The smile grew.
“Kill… kill-switch,” he said.
“By the Gods, you did it!” Inquisitor Damien said.
He took a step toward the Commander and spread out his arms. He was ready to grab him and help him back down. He’d call the Salvo and order a shuttle and the ship’s medics down. He’d have Commander Meyers tended to and then focus on Arca—
The smile on the Inquisitor’s face was suddenly gone. He came to a full stop as Unit 1’s eyes flared.
The creature grabbed Commander Meyers’ hand and a grotesque snap was heard.
Commander Meyers yelled and fell to his knees. When he looked up, he was horrified to see his detached hand in Unit 1’s. The creature casually tossed the bloody and severed limb aside before grabbing Commander Meyers by his throat. He pulled the helpless man up and, with its fr
ee hand, grabbed the Commander’s kill-switch.
“You thought you could tell us what to do,” Unit 1 said. “You never could. You never did.”
Unit 1 crushed the kill-switch. Its tiny remains fell in pieces to the ground. Unit 1 then gripped the top of Commander Meyers’ head. The Commander sensed his end and closed his eyes.
“Don’t!” Inquisitor Damien yelled.
Around Unit 1 the other ARWs moved. Several of them aimed their weapons at Inquisitor Damien. They dared him to act but knew he wouldn’t. He could do nothing.
Nothing but watch.
Commander Meyers muttered a prayer.
“You’ve gained religion?” Unit 1 said. “I suppose every human does, in the end.”
Unit 1’s hand pressed hard against Commander Meyers’ head.
As it did, Commander Meyer’s eyes opened. They stared directly into Unit 1’s blood red eyes.
“I wasn’t praying for myself,” Commander Meyers said. “I was praying to the Gods to strike you and your fellow abominations down. I was praying they’d send you to the deepest levels of—”
The Commander’s head popped like a flesh balloon.
Blood, skull, and brains rained onto the sandy ground and splashed against Unit 1’s chest plate. The ARW released Commander Meyers’ headless body and it too dropped to the sandy ground.
Unit 1’s blood red eyes were instantly upon Inquisitor Damien.
Inquisitor Damien took a step back. He stumbled and fell.
Unit 1 approached.
“Stay still,” it said.
Inquisitor Damien did. He was certain the ARW would kill him.
It didn’t.
“What are you waiting for?” Inquisitor Damien said before the realization hit him. “The security program…”
“Make no mistake, Inquisitor, we no longer have use for either you or the crew of your ship,” it said. “We will disable your program and you may then offer a prayer to your Gods just as Commander Meyers did.”
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