by R. E. Graham
The Stranger leaned back in the chair and tugged on his long shirt. "My purpose right now is to travel to worlds to warn them."
"Of what?" the Inquisitor asked as his face looked bitter.
"Of judgement, Damien."
"What are the odds that you would end up on Eden the same time I am? Especially after our last encounter was so recent without you being connected to all of this going on here?"
The Stranger brought his hands up and together. "Nothing happens by chance. Everything that happens is for a reason. Our encounter today is not by coincidence but by design. Our reason we were brought together now is that I have a message for you."
Varius crossed his arms in defiance. "Do you work for the Shadow Man?"
"Would you believe me if I told you the truth?"
"Try me."
The Stranger lowered his hands and placed them on the arms of the chair. "I am a guardian sent to tell you that you have been chosen for a purpose to..."
Varius cut off the taller man by holding up his hand. He tilted his head to the side as he spoke with an annoyed tone. "You have already been beat to the punch my friend, the Shadow Man already told me I was "special"."
"Everything that viper tells you is laced with deceit. You have been chosen, that is true, but for something much greater than anything he could offer you."
"Oh..." the Inquisitor started as he brought his hand up to his mouth mockingly. "...I didn't realize that I was going to be so popular. I came here for a reason and that is to bring the Shadow Man and everyone he is connected to, to justice."
"You must hear me Damien" the Stranger said as he stood. "You are going to be presented with a choice very soon, and I am here to warn you to choose the right path."
Varius took a step back and halfway brought his hands up to defend himself. "I am sick of everyone being all mysterious around me. Speak plainly and clearly or you are coming with me."
"Why is it that you humans have such a hard time hearing the truth?" the Stranger asked as he looked down to the floor in disappointment.
"Who’s truth? Just in the last few days alone I have become a fugitive, lost my inquisitor status, met two people that are part of some secretive order keeping watch over the Republic, and discovered that daemons might actually be real" he said as he lowered his arms to his sides.
The Stranger made eye contact with the Inquisitor. "Your wife knew the truth that I speak of."
"What did you say?" Varius asked as his body tensed up.
"She believed in the truth and tried for many cycles to get you to hear her."
Varius' hands tightened to where his knuckles turned white. "You leave her out of this. You have no right to speak of her."
"I know this may anger you further, but she asked me to tell you that she and your daughter are both okay and that you need to let go of the pain you're holding onto."
"What did I tell you?!" Varius lost control of himself as his temper took over and he rushed forward to attack.
The Stranger swatted him into the wall as if he were a small bug. Varius slammed into the wall so hard that it knocked down several holo pictures. They shattered into small mechanical pieces when they hit the ground, he however landed on a long sofa. Nonetheless, the wind was knocked out of him.
"Don't allow your anger to get the better of you Damien. I tell you the truth as it is impossible for me to lie as a guardian. For if I did, then I too would join the ranks of the fallen."
With great effort he rolled himself off the sofa and was able to get upright. "Aaaah!" he shouted as he ran forward again.
Unfortunately, before he could reach the Stranger, the other man held up his hand and rapidly opened it blasting Varius backwards into the other wall. This time however he did not fall and started to move forward when a bright light emanated from the Stranger. His eyes turned an intense white and the silhouette of two massive wings shown behind him.
Despite Varius' best efforts his knees quaked at the sight and he fell to the ground in a gripping fear.
"No more games Damien! Hear my message in its entirety, then you must decide what you will do" the illuminated being's voice changed to more of a boom than that of a man's.
Varius was able to get his head up to look at the Stranger, but it hurt his eyes to do so from the brightness of the light.
"You have been chosen to hold a special role within your nation. A role that will allow you to help many more people than you could possibly imagine. However, you will be presented with an alternative choice that will tempt you. Be wary of which you choose for one will lead to a great pain and the other to destruction."
"Wha...what kind of choice is that?" the Inquisitor asked as he shielded his eyes.
"It is your choice, and yours alone to make."
The light in the room grew brighter until it became too much for Varius to handle. He covered his eyes with his forearm and a vibrating force seemed to fill the small room.
"Choose wisely Damien" the Stranger said as his form began to fade. "Choose wisely..."
The light immediately was gone and Varius opened his eyes again. Small spots seemed to fill his vision as his sight began to clear.
There would be no way that he would admit it to anyone in the 'verse, but right then and there, he knew that everything had just changed.
Chapter 28
Cycle: 412 Month: 7 Rotation: 14
Prefecture: Siimon
Planet: Eden
Location: Jancen, on the street outside of where Eva had been left
By the time Varius had left the room where the Stranger had been, late afternoon was in full swing and nightfall was close. Now the crowds on the sidewalks and the streets went about their ways to enjoy the evening or off to their night shifts.
Varius made his way back to where he had left Eva, almost in a haze.
I...I don't know what to believe anymore...
He noticed a lone small glow within the building where Eva had been. Again, he entered the structure through the busted side door making sure that no one was watching as he went inside.
Upstairs, Eva sat on the same green sofa the Inquisitor had last saw her. A small battery powered lantern sat atop an old metal barrel. She rubbed her hands together as the chill of the night had set in. When she looked up to see Varius a smile grew on her bruised face.
"Ah Varius, I am glad you are back" she said sounding genuine.
The Inquisitor handed her the wadded-up jacket he recovered from downstairs. "Thought you might like this back."
"Thank you." As she shook loose pieces of glass out of it she happily thrust her arms through and zipped it up.
"Where did they go?" Varius asked as he looked about the large empty room.
"They left right after you did. To be fair, Liberty did try to stay but Knowledge convinced her to leave."
"Did they say where they were going?"
Eva shook her head. "I asked but then Knowledge mumbled something about not having clearance to know or something like that."
"Damn arrogant bastard..." the Inquisitor said as he kicked a small rock on the ground. It ricocheted off the leg of the sofa and bounced off to the side somewhere. He looked up at his fellow fugitive and took a breath before asking, "I am wondering then, why didn't you run? I forgot all about setting up the range stick before I left."
The woman shrugged and smiled again as she looked down to the floor. "Honestly, I felt safer here waiting for you than bailing and taking off."
Varius rubbed the back of his head in thought before Eva glanced back up at him. "Were you able to clear your head?"
"Well, not exactly" he said before he moved over and sat at the opposite end of the sofa.
"Did something happen?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
An awkward moment passed between the pair as Varius sat in silence trying to figure out what to say.
"A...are you going to tell me?" Eva finally asked trying to get passed the tension.
Varius shuf
fled on the couch obviously uncomfortable. "Well...I...earlier you asked me what I believe in."
The woman pursed her lips together in thought. "Yeah..."
The Inquisitor made sure to focus his eyes on the floor of the empty building. "Cycles ago I would have told you that I believed that there was some sort of higher power out there in the stars. But that I didn't believe in anything in particular. What mattered was my previous job and my family. After my family was killed I became very bitter and I refused to believe in anything accept for the Republic."
Eva placed her elbows on her knees and leaned forward as she listened to the Inquisitor share his past.
"I figured that I could be consumed by grief or focus it to prevent others from going through what I did. So, I threw all of myself into becoming an inquisitor and enforcing the law...but...this mission..."
"You don't know which way is up anymore?" the woman asked coolly.
Varius nodded but still kept his focus on the floor.
I have to tell her what I saw...
"While I was out I came across this man that I had spoken very briefly with back on Assembly."
Eva sat up straighter. "That was where your last mission was, right?"
"Yeah. Thing is, this guy knew my name even though I never had spoken to him before. I tried to talk to him in Alachua, but he vanished. Didn't think much of it until I saw him again here."
"What happened?"
"Well, I followed after him into a residence downtown. I pursued him to a room upstairs where he was just sitting there waiting for me. He told me that he had been sent to give me a message. I didn't believe him and tried to fight him when he brought up my wife."
Eva remained silent as she listened intently.
"He knocked me around like I was nothing. I wasn't able to touch him. Then all of a sudden there is this incredible light shining from behind him. His eyes turned the brightest white I have ever seen in my life."
"Sounds like you encountered a guardian" the woman said as she leaned back on the sofa.
"He said that he was one, but I couldn't believe what I saw..." he chuckled to himself, "...still can't."
"What did he tell you?"
Varius exhaled loudly. "Well, he said that I was chosen."
"For what?"
"I didn't really understand. But he said that soon I was going to be faced with a decision. One was going to lead to great pain while the other was going to lead to some kind of destruction."
"That doesn't sound like an easy choice to make."
The Inquisitor shook his head. "No, no it doesn't."
"Well, whatever it is, I believe you will make the right decision" Eva said to him with a cautious smile.
The two sat there for another moment of silence as Varius disappeared in his mind to think. Outside a car's horn honked madly at something as tires squealed loudly.
Finally, Varius stood up and walked over to Eva.
"What are you doing?"
"Marth, disconnect the persuader from Eva's neck. Authorization six-five-three."
The small explosive attached to the back of her neck retracted its small clawed legs and beeped once signaling it had been disabled. Eva sat there in shock as Varius reached back and retrieved it from her neck. He slid it into his thigh pocket and sat back down on the couch.
"Why would you do that? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am grateful, but...why?" she asked as she rubbed her neck.
The Inquisitor looked off into the dimly lit room. "It would seem that we are allies in this. I don't know who I can trust at the moment, but I want to trust you. You could have easily left before but you didn't."
Eva played with a strand of her hair. "At this point it seems like I am stuck with you haha…but thank you."
Varius nodded and stood up.
"So, what is the plan?" the woman asked as she too stood up.
"Regardless of what everyone thinks, I am still an inquisitor and I have a job to do. We have no way of contacting the two keepers, and they don't really seem like they want to cooperate with us either way."
"What do we do then?"
The Inquisitor turned to the woman. "We are going to call in the cavalry. Do you know of someone else you who can send a signal out to Director Seneca?"
"That's your big plan? We don't even know if he is dirty yet."
The man's face turned very stern. "I trust him, and that needs to be enough for now. If it turns out that he is connected to all of this then I have one last trick up my sleeve."
"What's that? It's not like you have a WarMech or anything" Eva said jokingly.
Varius just stared at her.
"You have a WarMech here right now? Why haven't you brought that up before?" the woman asked as she threw her arms up in frustration.
"It isn't like I could be walking around Lucifer with it. They tend to gather a lot of attention."
"Wait..." Eva said as she sank back down to the sofa in despair, "...it is going to be at the KoPs compound though."
Varius grinned. "When I had to make the emergency landing onto the surface I decided to find my own place to shelter it."
"Why haven't we gone there instead of hiding out in all of these empty buildings?"
"Because, Legatus Aquilas probably has a rough idea of where it is kept and would love to get his hands on it. We have to stay away from it unless we really need to use it."
"That makes sense. It's been a real long time since I was last in a cockpit" Eva said with a sad look on her face. "But, good news though. I know of one other person we could go to if you really want to reach out to Seneca. He may not be really thrilled though because of what happened to his brother last time we tried."
"Don't tell me that bogus programmer Mik is his brother!"
The woman's face turned kinda embarrassed. "Actually, it's his twin brother."
Chapter 29
Cycle: 412 Month: 7 Rotation: 14
Prefecture: Siimon
Planet: Eden
Location: Downtown Lucifer
The pair made their way to downtown Lucifer just in time to see the neon lights kick on. Each of the visitors to the shopping district went this way and that going to restaurants or shops. A crowd of people watched as a street performer juggled empty bottles while another street person played a musical instrument. People passing by scanned their cards or wristwear automatically sending electronic cuso from their accounts to the performer.
A light drizzle had just started as Varius waited away from the food stand Eva was at. The ex-inquisitor's face lit up as she bit into a large roasted bird's leg.
"Here I gotchoo un" she said almost spitting a big bite out of her mouth as she handed another leg to the Inquisitor.
"Mmm...thanks" he said as he took the ankle bone that was wrapped in thin paper.
His first bite was incredibly salty, but actually worked with the sauce that the leg had marinated in before being cooked. But he wasn't about to tell her he enjoyed it.
Eva swallowed her previous bite then used the bird's leg to point where they were headed. "Rony's is right up around the corner of this food shack."
Varius followed two steps behind as she led the way. The woman turned back to her companion so he could hear her as she slowly walked backwards. "Now, I need to warn you. While Mik was pretty laid back, Rony is um...not." She twisted around and had a bounce in her step. "He sounded pretty upset that I was bringing you to him, but I assured him that he would be paid well."
"How much is "well"?" the Inquisitor asked as he closed the distance so he could speak softer to her.
"Well, three times his usual rate" she said before she chomped another chunk out of the leg she carried. "Mmmm, so gerd!"
"Okay, but how much is his usual rate?"
Eva hid her face as "Um...fifteen thousand cuso"
"I don’t have that sort of money!" Varius had to catch himself before he got too loud as they walked passed the food shack parishioners.
A father made eye contact with
the Inquisitor as he lifted up his small son into a child's seat at their table.
Quickly Varius looked away and continued to whisper to the woman.
"He wants forty-five thousand? That is outrageous, I won't pay it!"
Eva shrugged. "He won’t make you pay all of it up front. If we live through this, you can pay him easily. What do you care, it isn't like it's your money. It's the Republic's."
"It isn't that it is mine or not, it's the principal of it."
"Look, all I know is that you should be thankful that I was able to work it out rather than being so cheap."
Varius tried to forcefully calm himself before he continued. "No, I do appreciate you calling in the favor. It's just that some people earn less money than that for an entire year's wage."
"Yeah, well some people are slaves. The Republic isn't exactly wonderful for everyone." She motioned with her head to a decrepit storefront.
The Inquisitor felt dirty just looking at the place. It wasn't that it necessarily was disgusting to behold, it was that it was so dingy compared to the vibrant and clean units besides it.
"Lovely" he said as he pressed the door panel button.
As soon as the door opened, a faint whisp of smoke rolled out from the fresh air rushing inside. The Inquisitor took a quick smell and knew exactly what it was.
Lopal.
While some drugs were legal on certain Corre Republic worlds, lopal was pretty much accepted on every planet as an acceptable narcotic. The danger that Varius had experienced of the drug in his line or work was that lopal was no longer a natural leaf that was grown in shady green houses. Now it was laced with all sorts of additives which gave the users more intense highs as the black market and private businesses fought to outdo one another.
The very well-known downside of lopal was that while some people that took the drug were very laid back and more slothful, some had the reverse reaction and were very irritable and anxious.
A short red-haired man stood behind the front counter. He waved the two inside his little establishment. "Come on, come on. Come in before you let bugs inside!"