"You were just going to use me?"
"Yes, I confess, but everything is different now. I want to stop the Colonisers with your help, but only if you decide to. You're my friend, I would like for us to do this together. The humans deserve to be saved. You’ve verified it for yourself; you've known good people in this place. I feel that you could be the only salvation for the human race. I hope you can forgive me."
"After being with a person for a long time, I am capable of deciphering whether or not they are telling the truth; I am convinced that you are not lying to me, Denn. When you came searching for me, you were not doing so to save me, and now that I think of it, there was no reason for you to be concerned for me. I understand everything you did... Now you say that we are friends, and that is the only thing that matters to me. I have nothing to forgive."
Denn felt an enormous sense of happiness. He felt a genuine affection for his robot friend, and now that he had confessed the truth, he felt calmer.
"Thank you, C0, I'm glad you're not angry. I'm going to tell you the whole thing... everything I know. But now there is something that you must know immediately. At some point, the Colonisers were on this planet... I have something that perhaps you might want to read," he said to him, anxious, and handed him the diary that he had found weeks earlier. "We found this note book which belonged to one of them. Read it, you might find it interesting.”
“But, Denn, can we really afford to not worry?”
“Everything will be okay, C0."
An alert on his eye device interrupted the conversation. It was a message from Senlar, he was telling him to meet with him and Neil in the surveillance centre in the fort, before dinner with everybody else, as was the norm. 'There's something we need to see', said one part of the message.
"I'll see you at dinner time, C0," he said to his friend, who usually joined them in the tradition, "I'm going to meet with Senlar now."
"I'll go for Wallace and Olyr," said the robot. "He told me to fetch him before going to dinner."
Denn left without wasting time, anxious to find out why they were calling him. Perhaps Neil had proof of the robots' plans, or maybe Senlar had decided to take them to the place he had found.
Denn arrived at the indicated place and knocked on the door. 'Come in', he heard. It was a place set out to serve as a surveillance centre, with holographic screens that displayed the signal from the cameras positioned around the wall, in addition to controlling the systems they had been implementing in the fort. Inside were Senlar and Neil.
"I'm here."
"Neil says he wants to show us something," said Senlar.
Denn looked at them inquisitively, he wanted to work out what was happening. However, the expressions on their faces did not tell him anything. Senlar was looking very serious, and Neil was showing his particular face of anger.
"I was already getting impatient, Bornew," said Neil. "There’s something I can’t wait to try."
"What thing?" asked Denn.
"It's about those animals that look like giant wolves. I want to test something out."
"What are you talking about, Neil?" intervened Senlar.
"We know that those animals are highly resistant," began Neil, "right? When they are shot at with a laser pistol, which would normally be capable of causing a huge amount of pain in any animal, the only thing it actually achieves is enraging them. It requires many shots to shoo them away."
"Yes, that is true," said Senlar, without understanding where Neil was going with this. “What is your point?"
"None," replied Neil, "I'm only remembering facts. Those turrets that we installed at the entrance, they're surely not capable of doing great harm to those animals either, or are they?"
"You want to test the turrets on those wolves?" asked Denn, and he pointed to the holographic image that was displaying the images from the camera on the entrance, showing the animals that, as usual, were approaching the fort, attracted by the aroma of the dinner that was about to be served in the dining hall.
"Something like that." Senlar and Denn began to look disconcerted; what Neil was saying did not seem to be making sense. They were definitely confused. "... It's just that those enormous animals make me think... How dangerous are they really? That is to say, they always come and stop by the walls. They're surely wishing to come in and try our dinner."
"I don't understand, Neil," said Senlar, pointedly, “what does that matter? Those wolves are not capable of jumping the walls."
"That is true," said Neil, and he walked up to the controls of the Surveillance Centre and began to type a few commands into the screens.
“What are you doing?" asked Senlar, startled.
"You two took the leadership. Denn above me, even when I was the Second in Station, even when I'm an earthling... someone superior. When I heard what Bornew said about having hijacked S4-07, I thought that if I told everyone about it, I would be able to get him out of my way, but getting rid of Bornew wouldn’t have got me anywhere; you would still be here, Senlar. So I reconsidered."
"What are you doing?" asked Denn, nervous at seeing the strange tone the conversation had taken.
"I'm resetting the system to open the doors to the fort. I want the wolves to come in."
Senlar got him off the controls immediately.
"What's the matter with you?!" he yelled at him. But Neil had already finished manipulating the systems. The holographic image was proof of that. The doors began to open, and the wolves began to approach.
"How do I close them?" asked Senlar in desperation. Denn rushed up to the screens, trying to help him.
"Don't bother," said Neil in a dark tone, "you're not going to be able to close them. We are about to discover whether these turrets are capable of scaring away those wolves, or whether it will only manage to annoy them."
Senlar and Denn did not have time to think about anything, they watched on powerlessly at the images. The soldiers controlling the turrets, shocked at seeing the enormous animals enter the fort, fired their weapons. The rays hit the target, right on the head of the first beast, who emitted a shocking roar; the only thing it managed to do was anger it. The animal came running into the fort, and its pack, of some fifteen strong, followed it inside. The soldiers turned around to shoot at the wolves that were now inside. One moment later, chaos erupted.
“What have you done?" cried Senlar as he watched the horrible images.
Neil came up to him from behind, and took hold of him, putting a knife to his throat. He had been so quick that Senlar had no time to react.
"Yes, I'll reconsider it," said Neil. "That would not have been of any use to me. But this... This will serve me for getting rid of both of you."
With dizzying movement, he cut Senlar's throat from one side to the other. An instant later, he dropped the knife and took a few steps backwards.
Denn looked in horror as his friend held his throat, trying to stop the blood that was flowing out profusely. Senlar fell to his knees, and Denn lunged forward towards him, in order to catch him.
"Don't move," Denn said to him, and laid him down on the floor. "Help!" he cried desperately, at seeing his friend dying. "Help! Please!"
Denn shouted another time, and another after that. He begged for help for his friend, but nobody would answer his pleas; the large beasts that Neil had invited in destroyed everything in their passage. The screams were heard in the night, announcing the terror. In the fort, the fight for survival had begun.
Chapter XIV
The Augur
The Augur was a mysterious man. A peculiarity of the universe. Nobody dared guess how it came about; one convergence after another. The Augur was the man of a million memories, or at least that's what they called him. Nobody knew where he came from, or who he was before. He seemed human, but, was he? Probably not. The man was even older than The Union. There were even those who said that he came from the other end of the galaxy, although nobody was sure of that. Many thought that he knew everything, whilst others w
ould say that he was nothing more than a charlatan. Some did not even believe that he existed. But The Augur was real. He had been living in Ranore.
"He's here?"
"Yes, Vaquero."
Dasslak closed the door to his ship, and sat the girl back in the same place as before.
"Look me in the eyes. Don't lie to me. Is The Augur here in Ranore?"
"He was here. It was here that I saw him, when I came to the planet on the Puppet Master's orders. I swear, Vaquero.”
"What is it you were doing here?"
"The Puppet Master sent me along with another person...Dali... We came to buy some space ships."
"And what does that have to do with The Augur?"
"Nothing, Vaquero. Whilst the idiot Dali was closing the deal, I took a walk through the city, and ended up meeting someone who took me to The Augur. It was fate, I suppose."
"Tell me." The assassin drew up the little stool, put it in front of her, and sat down, looking at her fixedly. "How did you find him?"
"I was at the market. I usually feel curiosity for strange things, and there are many strange things there... A guy with blue skin approached me. He was very strange, Vaquero... He asked if I'd like to have an unforgettable experience." The girl began to regain her confidence. Once again her daring smile returned to her face. "Obviously I told him yes; I like adventures. One time, when I was ten, I..."
"Don't get distracted!" scolded the assassin. "Carry on with the story."
"The one about the blue guy, or the one I was starting?"
"I’ll have to scan your brain," he threatened.
“Wait, wait, Vaquero... The blue guy... He took me to a place where The Augur was waiting for me. He was even stranger than the blue guy. He made a prediction for me.”
“In what part of Ranore?”
“In Kesk, Vaquero.”
The assassin hesitated.
“It’s useless lying to buy time. You’re not going to be able to escape.”
“I’m not lying, Vaquero. I can take you to The Augur.”
“You’re not lying...?” he asked her, and looked at her fixedly, trying to decipher her mind. “Then, it’s just a coincidence that we’re on Ranore, precisely in Kesk? It can’t be that you’re wanting to buy time?”
“We’re in Kesk?” asked the girl. She did not know, up until that moment, in which city the assassin had landed. “It’s destiny, Vaquero, I’m certain. What you’re looking for is here. You promised you would let me go if I helped you, right? Well then, I’m going to help you.”
“Seems like you’re not as ready to die as you said...” Dasslak paused a moment; he was almost certain that the girl was not lying, he had perfected the art over the years; even so, he needed to know more before he did anything. Depending on what the girl told him, he would decide whether it was safer for him to perform the scan on her brain. “... Where did you see him? What was he like? Tell me.”
“It was an old house... It was in one of the rooms that I saw The Augur, Vaquero. He is a tall man, with long hair down to his back. Old and thin; his face... looks like that of an ill man. His eyes... something funny happens with his eyes... Sometimes they look like strange... clouds.... At first he looked surprised, and a moment later he was very smiley.”
“What was it he told you?”
“He said that he knew I liked adventures, and that as I was such a sweet girl he was going to help me have one. He was very friendly with me. Better than you, Vaquero...” she told him, smiling. “...He said that on the way to Brass, at the station belonging to some pirates, I’d see a man, a prisoner. There, I would have to present myself to him and tell him that I’d found him.”
“Found him? Who?”
“Him, The Augur. He told me I would be able to say it to anyone I wanted, but that it was especially important that I said it to that man. According to him, somebody was going to be looking for him, and it was necessary that I helped him a little.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“Not much. He was happy to have spoken with me. When he finished speaking with me, he ordered the blue guy to accompany me to the door. That was all. I thought the whole thing had been ridiculous. I’ve heard many people talk of The Augur. They all say he’s a fraud, so I didn’t give him much importance.”
Dasslak was intrigued. It was a strange story.
“But it happened... right...? When you were on the way back to Brass, did you meet with that man The Augur spoke of?”
“Yes, at some pirates’ station, just as The Augur said. We stopped to supply one of our ships, and when I was walking towards one of the taverns, I saw him. A man was being dragged along by the arms, by some space pirates. I realised immediately that it was him... I felt so excited, Vaquero,” said the girl, with an expression of enthusiasm, “what The Augur said was true. I stood myself in front of them so that they would stop. I looked at the man, and I said to him: ‘My name is Cora, and I found the Augur’. The bandits were quiet for a moment, and then they burst out laughing. A second later they moved me out of their way; but the man they were taking ... I could see the expression on his face; he believed me.”
“What happened with the man?"
"Before we left the station, I heard that he tried to escape. The man managed to lock himself up in a room, but after a while they got in and killed him... That's when I went back to thinking that The Augur was just a fraud. His prediction hadn't caused me to have any adventure."
It dawned on Dasslak.
“That man must have been the person who sent the message to Voill”, he thought out loud.
“Eh? What message, Vaquero? And who’s Voill?"
"That's not important. The man you spoke with here in Ranore definitely is The Augur..."
"You already knew?"
"No, but I'm certain that it's him. All those who have met him tell similar stories... Tell me where he is." Dasslak made a few movement's with his hands which were captured by the advanced device in his eyes, and moved his arm to put his wristband in front of the girl, from which was projected a three-dimensional image of a map of the city.
"Are you not going to scan my brain any more, Vaquero?"
"If you take me to where he is, there won't be any need for it."
"And then you'll let me go? I have to be sure."
"I'm not letting you go anywhere until I get what I want. I don't have time for games anymore; take me to where The Augur is, right now."
Cora mulled it over for a moment before deciding; her best opportunity was too cooperate with Dasslak. Perhaps he would leave her in peace after getting what he wanted, and if he didn't, at least she would have a bit of time to try and escape. She stretched out her finger and pointed out the place on the holographic image of the map of Kesk.
“All right, as soon as I talk with my contractor, we’ll get out of here,” assured the assassin.
He secured her to her seat, and went away to his ship's cabin in order to speak with Yavar Aflir. After finishing, he took off in his ship to take it to a hangar that was closer to the place where Cora had pointed out to him. He landed, and without wasting time, came out of the ship with the girl.
"Go ahead, take me there," he said to her, and they began on their way.
Cora still had her hands tied; Dasslak was walking alongside her, keeping a hold of her left arm. Few people noticed the assassin; it was a very crowded city, especially in the market they were going through. The fact that somebody was bringing a girl prisoner was not at all significant on a slave-trading planet. All the nobles of the area would do the same thing. It was common to see slaves carrying their masters in carriages through the streets of their cities.
Along the whole way, it was common to see as the poor servants were flogged by their owners, reminding the assassin of why he had decided to leave there years earlier. It wasn't that he felt compassion for them; he always thought that the weak were destined to be trampled; it was rather more the case that what he could not abide were those
repugnant nobles that would parade around all over the place.
They walked for a few minutes, through the noisy market, until they reached the location they were searching for.
“It’s here,” said the girl, pointing out the entrance to a building in the middle of the market.
Dasslak looked both ways, searching in the crowd for anything suspicious, but it did not seem that anybody was paying attention to them. He pushed the door, and it opened. That was suspicious. The place was abandoned, in the middle of the market, just where it was the most profitable to have a shop. He scanned the interior from outside, and after a moment, he decided to go in.
“You first,” said the assassin to the girl, who went in showing no apparent fear. Dasslak followed her inside next, closing the door after himself.
The conditions within were deplorable, the type of place that ought not to exist in a city like that, in which business was so fruitful. Inside, there was nothing more than dirty, empty rooms. By the looks of it, it seemed like it had been abandoned for years. The girl took him to the final room, in which, she said, she had met The Augur, but exactly as the assassin imagined, there was nobody there.
“He was here... I swear, Vaquero,” said the girl, pretty frightened.
“Well there’s nobody here now. And it looks like there hasn’t been for a long time.”
“Please, Vaquero, you have to believe me. This is where he was,” she said, her face a picture of desperation.
“I can almost always be sure when someone is lying to me, but with you... with you, I don’t know what to think.”
“I’m not lying, Vaquero. The Augur may have left by now, but perhaps there’s something here that can help you to find him.”
“Stand in that corner,” said the assassin to the girl.
“What for?” asked the girl, somewhat nervous. “What are you going to do?”
“Are you afraid? I just want to make sure you don’t try to escape whilst I check this place over. Stand there and don’t move.”
Dasslak looked carefully in every corner, trying to find something, without luck; there was absolutely nothing there. The girl was looking scared, wishing for the assassin to find something. If he did not, she would be in trouble. Suddenly, a noise alerted them. It was the front door; somebody had opened it.
Convergence: Genesis Page 20