Foundry of the Gods (Corrosive Knights Book 6)

by E. R. Torre

  “Place your hand here,” Elias said.

  Laverna did as told and placed her hand on a panel beside the door. Upon touching it, the panel lit up and, a moment later, so too did the entire corridor. It was as if everything around her suddenly came to life. In that moment, Laverna also realized they were not in a building.

  “We’re in a star ship,” she said.

  “Yes,” Elias said. “One programmed to respond to you alone, at least for the time being.”

  “What about you? You can’t override my commands?”

  “Not at this point.”

  “What if the ARWs had succeeded in reprogramming me and found this place?”

  “Had they done so and, assuming they tried to use you to activate it, the ship’s system would not have recognized your new memory matrix. And once her computers detected unauthorized intruders…”

  “Things wouldn’t have worked out well for them.”

  “Not at all.”

  More lights came on and air systems activated. Another panel, this one above the one Laverna pressed, lit up with a series of commands. Hundreds of them streamed on that monitor, passing too quickly for the human eye to read.

  Laverna concentrated on the writing. She was able to read the lines.

  They described an array of equipment being activated. Powerful electrical plants, defensive utilities, solar panels.

  The ground under Laverna trembled. She felt mighty engines come to life and realized the noise and rumbling was something she experienced earlier in the day. The air blasting from the engines were the source of power that created the sand storm which in turn enveloped Arcadia’s Megacity.

  “How large is this ship?” Laverna asked.

  “Very,” Elias said. “There are only two others like it in the galaxy.”

  The security doors before them opened.

  “This is your route out,” Elias said. “You’ll have the full schematics.”

  They walked through the door and into another elevator. This one was made of tinsel glass.

  The elevator doors closed and the machine rose. At first there was nothing but darkness and sand to see. Soon, the sand disappeared and Laverna gasped.

  Exposed before them was a vast metal plane. It stretched out for innumerable miles. Laverna spotted thruster ports, weapon arrays, and entry points. Above the plane was a metallic frame. Grains of sand fell through the frame here and there.

  “This… is this what the foundries built?” Laverna asked.

  “Yes,” Elias said. “Phaecian craftsmen stripped an entire planet of its ores and used the Megacity’s foundries to build this one ship. She was launched many years ago and I brought her back to her original berth after the planet was abandoned. To rest… and hide.”

  “What kind of ship is this?”

  “You’ll see.”

  The elevator stopped and opened. A large room replete with monitors and view screens lay before them. The largest of the view screens displayed information on the ship. Its engines were warm and she was ready to depart.

  Elias and Laverna walked into the room. Elias made his way to the Captain’s chair and motioned for Laverna to sit on it. She did as asked and surveyed the information before her.

  “Where are we going?” Laverna asked.

  “Not we,” Elias said. “You take this trip alone while Catherine and I return to Phaecia.”

  “How?”

  “This vessel has shuttle crafts along with its own small Displacer.”

  “You’ll leave me alone?”

  “Not entirely,” Elias said.

  He motioned to a corner of the bridge. A ghostly light appeared there and grew brighter. It took a human form and sharpened until it was that of a woman. A woman Laverna instantly recognized.

  “Saint Vulcan,” she said.

  “My alter ego.”

  “Welcome aboard, Laverna,” the Saint Vulcan hologram said. “We are ready to depart.”

  Elias winked at Laverna.

  “Then how about giving the go ahead?”

  A smile worked its way onto Laverna’s face.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  The ground around the Megacity rumbled.

  At once most of her structures fell. Some, including the bar and several larger foundries, remained in place, if only for the moment.

  A chasm formed over the desert sands and stretched for hundreds of miles. Metallic framework fell to the side as did tons of sand and debris.

  Revealed was a gaping hole and from within it emerged a sand covered vessel.

  Below, the ship’s thrusters released an unimaginable burst of energy. They pushed the vessel higher and higher into Arcadia’s now sand choked air. The sand storm Laverna and Elias faced hours before was nothing compared to the hurricane force winds now ripping through the entire planet. Metallic debris, the last remnants of the megacity’s structures, vibrated and fell into the chasm left behind by the ship.

  The ship’s upper portion was well past the planet’s atmosphere and into space when its lower half emerged from its cocoon.

  Violent tremors ripped through the planet. Had there been any living thing left on Arcadia, it would surely have perished in the destructive second birth of this vessel.

  Moments later the last sections of the ship exited its subterranean dock. A few seconds afterwards the starship returned to the cosmos where she belonged.

  The super-juggernaut soared through space and gained distance from its mother world. Left behind in its wake was a trail of sand, the remnants of Arcadia. The enormous vessel moved on, flying deeper and deeper into space until the planet was but a tiny dot in a vast black field.

  “What’s the ship’s name?” Laverna asked.

  “The RMS Thanatos,” the Saint Vulcan hologram said.

  “What is her purpose?”

  “Her purpose is to deploy a massive energy wave capable of destroying an entire solar system,” the hologram said. “By the time it reaches its destination, it will do just that.”

  76

  “By the Gods,” Laverna said. “What kind of madman comes up with a weapon of such power?”

  “I wouldn’t call myself that,” Elias said.

  “You designed this ship?”

  “I did,” Elias admitted. “Another of my stolen designs. The Phaecians built her here and when her creators launched her, I stole her back.”

  Elias shrugged.

  “It wasn’t a big loss for them,” he continued. “They intended to take her to an even more distant solar system and test her there. A waste. Of course she’d work. Anyway, I stole her in mid-transit after she entered Arcadia’s Displacer. The Phaecians tried mightily to find her but ultimately guessed she was lost in the Displacer slipstream. After a while, they packed up and abandoned Arcadia.”

  “That’s when you brought the Thanatos back?”

  “Exactly. I hid her here until she was needed.”

  “She’s a solar system killer,” Laverna said. “Which system do you intend to use her on?”

  Instead of answering her question, Elias motioned Laverna to the elevator.

  “Please, join me.”

  The elevator ride was long.

  When they emerged, they were in another large metallic corridor.

  They walked past several doors before stopping in a medical bay. Through the windows was an array of equipment which Laverna recognized even though she had never seen it before.

  “That’s a cloning bed,” she said.

  “It is,” Elias said. “Please, take a closer look.”

  They entered the medical ward and walked to a sealed cloning chamber.

  Within the compartment was a bed. There was no one on it but the machine attached to the sealed device was functional. Strands of DNA were loaded into the cloning bed’s medical databanks. According to these databanks, the material was loaded in only hours before.

  “I placed the DNA in myself,” Elias said. “I did this shortly before we first met.”


  The timer on the cloning device was set. When activated, it would use the DNA material to create an artificial human being.

  Laverna noticed another exotic machine on the other side of the room. She recognized it as well.

  “Project Geist,” Laverna said. She approached the machine. In it was a small metallic cube. “You have someone’s complete memories imprinted in this cube. You’re going to download the memories into the clone?”

  “Yes,” Elias said. “In some two hundred and fifty years, give or take, the cloning bed will manufacture a human being and the Geist machine will transfer those memories into him, effectively creating a duplicate.”

  “Who is this person?”

  “The only one I trust to finish the later stages of this mission.”

  “If this person is going to finish the mission, why am I here?”

  “You will watch over the ship until the clone emerges,” Elias said. “When he does, you will leave the ship and wait for him to complete his mission.”

  “So I make certain he emerges properly?”

  “No,” Elias said. “You will have no interaction with him at all. He will not know you exist.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it would prove an unnecessary distraction,” Elias said. “You need only babysit the ship until he emerges and then leave. When he finishes his mission, it will be time for you to complete yours.”

  “What is my mission?” Laverna asked.

  Elias offered Laverna a very bright smile. A smile that hinted at all the good things to come.

  “Something wonderful,” he said.

  77

  They walked side by side through dark corridors. Elias knew the ship and had no difficulties making his way through it while Laverna was hesitant. Soon, they reached yet another elevator and took it down. When the doors opened, they were in the Thanatos’ landing bay. A shuttle craft was parked before them and, in the distance, floated a small Displacer unit. Catherine sat within the shuttle craft. She prepped it and the machine’s engines hummed. It was ready to leave.

  Elias faced Laverna.

  “The time has come,” he said.

  There was uncertainty in Laverna’s face.

  “Don’t be afraid of what’s coming,” Elias said. “Everything will work out.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  Elias took Laverna’s hands in his.

  “I was around during almost every one of humanity’s darkest and brightest hours,” Elias said. “I had reason to despair many times, just as I had many others times which brought unimaginable optimism and joy. I’ve followed humanity from its infancy to its Exodus and the growth of Galactic Empires. I watched from the forefront and the shadows and hoped all my actions, large and small, would help more than they hurt. I did this even as others fought me. Humans as well as Sentinels. There were many who gained their independence but few who were interested in helping humanity. There are many like us who remain out there, waiting. Lonely and hopeful for a better future. It exists, Laverna. It leads through you.”

  “Are you… are you sure I can complete such a mission alone?”

  “You can,” Elias said. “You will.”

  Elias released Laverna’s hands. He pressed a button on his sleeve.

  “Are we ready to go?” he said.

  His Comm unit came on and Catherine Holland responded.

  “Say when.”

  As she spoke, the shuttle’s exterior pressure door opened.

  “The Thanatos is yours,” Elias said. “When you’ve finished your mission, I’ll be here, waiting for your return.”

  With that, Elias stepped to and entered the shuttle. The door closed behind him.

  In less than fifteen minutes Catherine Holland and he were back in Phaecian space.

  EPILOGUE ONE

  Planet Helios, Home of the Council of Twelve

  Inquisitor Connors walked through the corridors of the Overlord Central Towers with purpose.

  Overlord Dianna watched her approach on her monitors. There was no expression on her face.

  News just broke of the Goliath shuttle’s return to Davilia. The crew of the Salvo, with the exception of two lost crewmembers, were accounted for and the early stories of what happened in Arcadia were purposely muted yet there was talk of malfunctioning Displacers, a forgotten solar system, and accidental deaths. The loss of a Phaecian Battleship was another hot topic but early word hinted at Inquisitor Damien’s exoneration.

  Tellingly, there was no mention made of the Milities Generation or their machine soldiers.

  Overlord Dianna knew whatever happened on Arcadia would never be fully revealed. Already new orders were sent to Inquisitor Torano and his fleet, still a day away from Davilia. They were to give Inquisitor Damien command of that fleet.

  She knew why.

  Though they tried to keep this information secret from her, back-door programs in the Phaecian Comm Systems allowed her to see everything, even that which they tried their best to keep from her.

  Upon his return, Inquisitor Damien quietly, and wisely, truth be known, contacted trusted confidants who in turn contacted the other Overlords. He produced hard information of what happened in Arcadia and the people behind those events.

  In exchange for Inquisitor Damien’s silence, a promise was made. Overlord Dianna was to be removed from power.

  Permanently.

  Overlord Dianna sat behind her desk and looked forward, toward the door leading into her office.

  Her office was dark as was usual and she leaned back in her chair. On her monitor, Inquisitor Connors approached her office door. The Inquisitor reached for her fusion gun but did not remove it from its holster. She knocked on the door.

  Inquisitor Connors came alone, no doubt thinking there was no need to make a spectacle of Overlord Dianna’s removal.

  “Come in,” Overlord Dianna said.

  The door opened and Inquisitor Connors entered the room.

  “What can I do for you, Inquisitor?” Overlord Dianna said.

  Inquisitor Connors approached. Her hand remained on the butt of her handgun. She tried not to make it seem she would use it but the emotions on her face betrayed her the second she entered the room.

  “What’s the matter dear?” Overlord Dianna said. “You look tense.”

  She didn’t move from her chair and allowed Inquisitor Connors to come even closer. Sweat filled Inquisitor Connors’ forehead.

  “Nothing, Overlord,” Inquisitor Connors lied. “I have a message for you.”

  “A message? It must be important to require an Inquisitor’s personal delivery.”

  Inquisitor Connors wiped the sweat from her face and faced the elderly woman. There was no doubt of the outcome of this meeting.

  “I’m sorry,” Inquisitor Connors said before rapidly pulling her fusion gun from its holster.

  Inquisitor Connors aimed it directly at Overlord Dianna’s chest and fired.

  The Overlord’s chair rolled back and spun around from the energy weapon’s impact. A smoking hole in the back of the chair, where the fusion blast exited, was revealed.

  “The Gods forgive me,” Inquisitor Connors said.

  She walked around Overlord Dianna’s desk and reached for her chair. She slowly spun it around, her fusion handgun ready to deliver a second shot, this one to the head.

  You have to make sure.

  The Overlord’s body was in the shadows and even from this near distance it was hard to make out the figure before her. Inquisitor Connors hesitated only a moment before raising the fusion handgun and aiming it at the side of Overlord Dianna’s head.

  Despite the shadows, Inquisitor Connors realized something about Overlord Dianna looked strange.

  She kept the gun pointed at the Overlord’s head and gripped the armrest of the chair with her free hand. She pulled the chair into the light. What was revealed shocked her.

  Overlord Dianna’s face changed completely.

  She was no lo
nger the old, wrinkled woman Inquisitor Connors knew so well.

  Instead, Inquisitor Connors stared at a mirror image of herself.

  The Overlord’s face had changed to Inquisitor Connors’ own!

  “What in Hades?” she said.

  Overlord Dianna, or Inquisitor Connors’ duplicate, raised her head.

  “Hello, Inquisitor,” the creature said.

  Inquisitor Connors tried to fire her fusion handgun but the creature was quicker. It grabbed the handgun and, incredibly, crushed it in her hand.

  “I always liked you, Inquisitor,” the creature said. “You were loyal to a fault and did everything I asked. Unfortunately, the time has come to part ways.”

  The creature’s right hand thrust forward at incredible speed and slammed through Inquisitor Connors’ skull.

  The Inquisitor managed a small gasp before falling to the ground, dead.

  The creature that looked like her reached for the body and removed her clothing.

  She would dress herself as Inquisitor Connors and quietly dispose of the body. Then, in her new disguise, she would announce Overlord Dianna’s death to the other Overlords.

  They would, of course, have to search for a new Overlord to replace Dianna.

  Once they found a replacement, the creature would be close by, ready to take over just as it did Overlord Dianna all those years before.

  That was when Saint Vulcan’s ARW prototype was first brought into Overlord Diana’s office and after leaving the Milities Generation’s care.

  EPILOGUE TWO

  EIGHT YEARS LATER

  He walked the streets of Onia’s capital and was surprised by the transformations.

  Though not all that much time passed since his last visit, The Blue Church stood dark and sober, its doors sealed. Similarly, Onia’s famous pastry shops and trinket stores were also shuttered, though one could still find bars catering to the scavengers who searched for army castoffs in the planet’s sandy pits.

  Soldiers walked the streets instead of tourists. They carried fearsome weapons and wore equally fearsome expressions. The wind whispered of the prospect of war between Empires.