“A mutual enemy. I’ll tell you in time... The important thing is that I managed to hide away and survive. Now that I have discovered the cause of all the changes, tranquillity has returned to me.”
“I don’t understand anything of what you’re saying.”
“For years, I waited impatiently for the explanation to something that did not seem to make sense. A monumental change to destiny was going to occur... A few months ago, just before they announced the straying of a station from the Solar System, I saw it. The change had happened. Something had caused the fate of the universe to become distorted again. Another anomaly. I realised that it was my opportunity to uncover the truth.”
“The station? Denn Bornew... did he have something to do with it?”
“At that moment, I didn’t know... First, I began by searching for small modifications; perhaps I would find something that would help me discover what had happened. It was a surprise for me to find a variation in the destiny of my faithful servant Vhemm. It was not a great change; on the contrary, the only difference was that now he was going to come across that sweet girl that he brought before me. They were not ever supposed to meet in their lives. In that moment, I doubted that it had something to do with the anomalies, but I could not simply ignore it. I had to know what had caused that change. And that helped me to find out the whole truth.”
The assassin was struggling to understand it all; the distorted expression on his face was testament to it. A few steps behind him, the girl was listening, entertained, whilst the mysterious man spoke.
“How? What does it have to do with Cora?”
“I asked myself the same thing. Who was that girl, and why would she be in a place that she shouldn’t originally have been? Could she be the cause of the anomalies? I had to make sure, so I waited, and when the day came, I asked my faithful servant to fetch her and bring her in front of me. Perhaps once I looked at her, I would understand it.”
“And did you?”
“I found out why her destiny had changed. Why she had ended up on this planet.”
“Why?” asked the girl, excited.
The assassin was on the verge of telling her off once again, but he was so overwhelmed by what The Augur was saying, that he even felt an element of relief that the girl asked.
“I will tell you, sweet girl,” said The Augur, smiling. “Stemming from the station’s straying, The Union had begun an exhaustive search in all of the systems. They did not find the station, but they did find many other things. Some of those were some ships, property of a criminal group by the name of Alpha, the group to which you belonged. Several of its hoodlums were operating within the limits of The Union, obviously in illegal routines. Those ships were confiscated, and that changed your destiny.”
“How? How did it change it?” asked the assassin.
“It’s simple, Alpha needed to replace those ships, so it sent the sweet girl, along with other people, to carry out the buying of the replacement ships on this planet. In the end, it turned out that the girl was in no way the cause of the anomalies; much rather her destiny was to have been changed because of them.”
“How fun!” said Cora, and began to applaud. “Don’t you think, Vaquero?”
Dasslak was not finding it so fun; he was still not managing to understand anything. He was now beginning to feel bothered. He needed concrete answers.
“I don’t understand it; if she doesn’t have anything to do with the anomalies, how did you find out...?” The assassin hesitated before continuing, it was as if he felt ridiculous participating in this conversation. “How did you discover whatever it is you say you discovered?”
“In the moment the girl was in front of me, her destiny changed again. When I saw it, I was surprised. She would meet with somebody special. I realised it because I was not able to see it clearly. It was a blurred shadow. It was an anomaly... That anomaly turned out to be you, Assassin.”
“Me?”
“You see, she was going to tell everything about her encounter with me, and in a few years, that would attract that shadow. It would go to her, searching for me on the request of people from The Union. I looked carefully into the girl’s destiny, and recognised somebody that I had known years ago, somebody who worked for a man named Voill Conner, the right-hand man to the third Supreme Leader of The Galactic Union. That man was the prisoner of some pirates. I did not need anything else, if the shadow was going to search for me, sent by The Union in a few years’ time, surely that prisoner would help me to speed up that time. I was right.”
“But, how?”
“I asked the girl to specifically say to that prisoner that she had found me. After telling her that, I looked back into her destiny. Once again, it had changed. I could see that my plan would work. The blurry person and the sweet girl would be standing in front of me. Just like now. What I never imagined was that I would discover that it had caused all the changes that had tormented me for years. Now I can understand it all. The destiny of this universe is looking clearer to me.”
Dasslak’s attempt to follow the conversation had left him exhausted. It was too much to absorb in an instant.
“Why do something so complicated just to meet with me?”
“I told you before. I was accustomed to knowing everything. You wouldn’t understand what it is like to look at your surroundings and find voids in the line of time. Now that I’ve met you, the majority of those voids have been filled. Those that are still there don’t bother me anymore, either. Thanks to you, I also know how to fill them in. I must meet Denn Bornew: he is the other anomaly. In the moment I am in front of him, I will go back to being the master of destiny. It’s time I came out of hiding.”
“Bornew? What’s going on here? Who is that guy, and what is he planning? He took a robot from Earth. Was that the radical change you foresaw twenty years ago?”
“Indeed. With what I learnt from you today, I can assure that his having taken that robot caused a great change, although it is still not very clear. Everything that I know of Denn Bornew I discovered a moment ago, looking into your destiny. They are the things that you will discover, but many details are missing. Bornew became a convergence not very long ago; that is what drove his actions.”
“So Bornew is a convergence. After all those crazy things you’ve talked about, it’s a relief that you’ve managed to tell me something I can understand. Perhaps Bornew lost his mind after his convergence?”
“You’ll have to find that one out yourself,” he told him, smiling. “If I carry on intervening in destiny, those people who want to kill me are going to be very angry,” he said, and laughed gently.
“Of course, the supposed mutual enemy,” said the assassin, in a sarcastic tone. “Who are we talking about?”
“About the people who were going to kill you when you were young. They tried to avoid all those changes in destiny that you ended up causing. It is the same reason why they are searching for me; I avoided my own death, changing destiny. That makes them very upset.”
“Who are you talking about? Who was going to kill me?”
“The Sentinels... I know them very well,” said The Augur, smiling. “They are in charge of preserving the line of time. They tried it several times, but for some reason they failed. They must be very angry with you.”
“But how? I’ve never met with such a group, what you say does not make any sense.”
“If nothing interferes, you will... When the second Supreme Leader died, I could not discover the reason of such a colossal modification to destiny, but the change that Bornew has triggered managed to bring me to you. Surely they too will soon discover it, and, the same as myself, you will no longer be safe anywhere. I cannot see your future clearly, perhaps because Bornew will influence it in some way, but the Sentinels will surely be coming for you.”
Dasslak was overwhelmed. He could not be sure of it, but what The Augur was saying could well be true.
“Why should I have died?”
“When one plays wit
h the course of time, strange things can happen. You did not die, and very radical changes took place, all caused by you. The second Supreme Leader of The Galactic Union was assassinated, and The Union imposed measures to avoid anything like it happening again. The Primary System forces grew as a result of that event. They began to recruit more soldiers than ever; they had to be sure to protect the safety of the next Supreme Leader. Denn Bornew would have never become a galactic soldier if it weren’t because the primary system armies expanded so much. It was the beginning of more changes. On one of his journeys, on missions of colonisation, he became a convergence. That brought him to change destiny again. Now, this is a new universe, full of mysteries. Not even I am capable of claiming what will happen.”
When everything seemed to be more confusing, the assassin was beginning to understand little by little what he was begin told. He himself had participated in those changes of which The Augur spoke. He had, by now, forgotten how it felt but, after so many years, worry was returning to manifest itself in his thoughts.
“Voill Conner’s son...” said the assassin. “You said that he was a threat; that he should never have been born. Why?”
“He should not have been born. That is also your fault. Voill Conner should have been condemned to death...”
“What?”
“...Instead of that, he had a longer life, giving him opportunity to put a son into the belly of his beloved. The boy, who originally should not have existed, did. Within him there is a being that will be a threat to millions of people. Dark times are about to come, perhaps darker than they would have been at first ... Everything that I told you... it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand it now... When the moment comes, you will understand. But... the time we have is drawing to a close and, in spite of the fact that there is a lot in your head, there is something that resonates the loudest of all. There is only one thing that really matters to you. The reason why you have been searching for me for all these years. The time to ask has come.”
In the midst of all the perplexity, the clarity of his objective returned to Dasslak. The Augur was right; in the end, he was only there for one reason.
“Where is Galo Vooras?” asked the assassin.
The Augur smiled. He had waited for that question since the very beginning.
“That is the name of a very interesting man... I am going to help you to find him. It is fair. You have searched for many decades, and it’s time that search came to an end... Originally, you were going to encounter Galo Vooras on the planet Bir Yer, within four years. But now...” The Augur opened his eyes wide, and a strange distortion appeared just in front of them whilst he looked into Dasslak’s destiny.
His peculiar laugh was heard once again in the room, the moment in which he checked the change in the assassin’s destiny.
“And?” asked the assassin, looking at him, impatient.
“Now you will not have to wait so long. You will leave for that planet, to a city named Sahar, in which you will search arduously until you find the place where he lives. You will go to wait for him there. It will not take much time, but you will feel as if you waited an eternity. In the end you will have what you wanted so much. You have searched for him for a long time, but that search is about to end. You will soon be in front of him.”
Dasslak breathed, satisfied. His mission had born fruit. The Augur had told him things that he still did not understand, but he could only think about one thing. Now that he knew where to find Galo Vooras, he did not want to waste even a second more on Ranore.
“That’s all I wanted to know... You’ll have to explain all the rest to me again, but there’ll be time enough for that. I’m going to have to take you with me.”
The assassin raised his right hand and brought it up to his shoulder with the intention of reaching his formidable sword. The Augur smiled, looking at his faithful servant with affection.
“Vhemm, you have served me well. Thank you for everything.”
Dasslak, who had already taken the handle of his sword, looked totally amazed, The Augur had predicted his intentions.
Vhemm felt a shiver run through his whole body; it was obvious that his master had just bidden farewell to him. Before he could react, the assassin unsheathed the famous blade and charged towards the poor servant, striking him right on the neck. It was not capable of offering any resistance against the edge of the legendary solidium sword.
Before the head even fell to the floor, the assassin hurled his sword forwards. He was intending to go through one of The Augur’s legs in order to leave him pinned to the stone of the platform on which he was sitting.
The Augur, however, was not going to allow himself to be captured so easily. Before the sword could strike him, and to the surprise of both the assassin and the girl, he transformed his body, becoming a type of fluid, as if he were a dense and dark cloud. The sword travelled through the strange form without causing any damage.
Moving quickly, he trickled away to the wall of the room. Dasslak took out his revolvers and began to shoot at the cloud that was already climbing up the wall, sweeping itself along with ease, meandering towards the ceiling. The assassin shot his last bullets at The Augur, but it was impossible for him to cause him any harm. The mysterious fluid crossed through the ventilation system above Dasslak’s head, and disappeared.
“What the hell was that?" asked Cora, surprised.
The assassin, without wasting time, walked up to the platform to retrieve his sword, he did not want to stay there for even a second more.
"I had heard of a man who was able to do that," said Dasslak. He did not appear all that surprised by such an incredible ability. "I didn't know The Augur was capable of doing the same thing."
"Do you mean there's someone else like him?"
"Yes, he escaped from Eria a few years ago."
“Are you referring to Eria, the infamous prison?"
"Indeed. They say that his plan was to steal a body in order to make himself stronger." Dasslak went up to the girl and began to free her from the handcuffs. "The Augur and that man must be from the same species."
"They must be invincible," said the girl, who was in awe.
“Nobody is invincible."
"I'm sorry, Vaquero, but a man who can do that can't be defeated."
"Didn't you hear what he said? He's been hiding because someone wants to kill him. A man who can't be defeated does not hide from anyone."
"Are you going to let him escape?"
Dasslak finished releasing the handcuffs. He would have loved to go after him, he was not accustomed to failure, but he knew there was nothing he could do now.
“For now yes, he's got away ... The truth is it doesn't matter. Before, when I communicated to my contractor that he was about to come over here, something had changed. He seemed certain that I would not be able to capture him... I have what I want, that's enough for me."
Dasslak began to walk quickly out of the place. His tasks were completed. He was going to communicate the information obtained, and carry on with his own personal matters. He could not wait to set course for Bir Yer.
"What are you going to do now?"
"I've finished. Now I can get out of this place. Let’s just say I don’t like it much.”
Dasslak and the girl went towards the exit. The assassin looked carefully to make sure that nobody was waiting for them. When he felt sure, he began his walk towards the market, with the girl keeping up with him.
“What are you doing?" asked Dasslak.
"Why?"
"You're free, you can go."
"You mean it, Vaquero?"
"I said I would let you go if you took me to The Augur, and you did. I always keep my word."
"What about what the Puppet Master said?" asked Cora. "He told you to kill me when you finished."
"I don't serve the Puppet Master. And I don't usually kill anybody if I'm not getting paid for it."
“What about the blue guy whose head you've just cut off, did the
y pay you for that?" It was not necessary for Dasslak to say anything; the look he shot her was enough to intimidate her. "... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Vaquero... Where are we going now?"
"You can do whatever you please... I wouldn't go back to Edmye if I were you."
“You’re not going to take me with you, Vaquero?”
“Of course not.”
“Why not, Vaquero?” she asked, and clung on to his arm trying to entice him. “I can help you. Take me with you, Vaquero. I had a lot of fun today.”
“No,” he told her, stopping and taking her by the shoulders. “Here is where we separate. Stop following me, or I’m going to have to force you to.”
Dasslak carried on walking, and the girl remained standing still, not knowing what to do. Before he got very far away, the assassin stopped.
“Come here,” he said to her. The girl, animated, hurried to catch up with him.
"You’re going to take me with you?"
"I already told you, no... About what you heard down there... Don't say anything to anyone. Do you understand?" he told her, with a threatening look in his eyes.
The girl felt somewhat disappointed, she had hoped that the famous assassin wanted to change his decision about taking her.
"I won't say anything."
"If you do say anything about this to anyone, I'm going to hunt you down, and I'm going to kill you. I believe you already know the value of my word."
Dasslak turned on his heel and carried on his way, leaving the girl behind. She stood motionless, somewhat sad, watching the most famous assassin in the galaxy grow distant as he made his way towards his ship. A few minutes later, Dasslak took off, to leave Ranore. He had obtained all the information he was looking for, and now he was on the way to meet with Galo Vooras. He had waited a long time for it.
Chapter XVII
Despondency
‘Why do you have to go away, Daddy?’ asked the little boy, crying. His father lifted him up and kissed him on the forehead. 'Don't worry, I'll be back soon', he told him, just before embarking on an important journey that would take him far from home for several weeks. The boy had begged him not to leave; he had a bad feeling, but his father ignored his pleas. The little boy was devastated after saying goodbye to his father. He had felt in his heart that he needed to prevent his leaving, but his efforts were futile. Days later, his mother came crying with the news; his father, Balen Bornew, had died in an accident. That loving and attentive man was gone forever; he would never see him again.
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