Virginia entered the tech shop, which doubled as her sleeping quarters, with a soft sigh.
The long walk from the dig site hadn’t helped her clear her thoughts. Things had gone terribly wrong, and there would surely be an inquiry. Alexei was bound to place all the blame at her feet, and if the Commodore could convince Overseer Tharks of this, Virginia would be off the station before she could file an automated protest. Screw Last Hope’s masters; the Science Wing of the Academy would be having a field day unravelling her career. There was enough evidence for them to strip her of her credentials.
She had no idea what could have triggered the warnings. There could have been something her team might have missed in the debris. Or there could have been some system connection or a sub-station behind it. Although that was very unlikely because that was obviously a doorway they had been clearing. That was why Virginia had sanctioned the use of a boring laser instead of gathering some of the miners to help her clear it by hand. Rather, she should have known better than to allow the brutes to drink while her team prepared the equipment. This meant that the incident with Nita would also be blamed on Virginia. However, in the greater scheme of things, that was nothing. The bigger issue was that her actions had triggered a station-wide emergency event. No matter what, the harm was done, and blame had to be passed.
It went against her nature to say it, but Virginia had to admit it was just bad luck and nothing more. However, there was also the problem with the shooter. If it were an AI bipedal combat mech, she could have accepted it. Even an automated turret emplacement would be acceptable. But that thing looked like a completely functioning humanoid cybernetic. It was obviously one, from its movements, accuracy and the way it shrugged damage. Not to mention that it had escaped an arc mine. That weapon was designed with the sole function of disabling combat drones. No human could survive that kind of punishment. It suddenly dawned on her; the girl from Security was dead… They were going to blame that on her as well. Virginia was sure of it. At this moment, however, she couldn’t care anymore. If she were lucky, Dr Werner would spend the rest of her life digging rocks at a labour camp, with all the charges that could be thrown her way. Instead of plunging into despair, she occupied her thoughts with far more interesting and productive questions.
The foremost one was, could she honestly say that the thing she saw was a humanoid cybernetic unit? That was too farfetched. The Third Empire didn’t have that kind of technology. There was also a ban on researching this scientific avenue. One that every human enclave worth noting had agreed on. Then again, the powers that be had agreed on banning solar bombs, but the stockpiles were growing each decade. And assuming the Empire ignored the ban and developed the necessary tech, why would they use something this valuable to guard a far-away mining complex? No, that had to be Lost Technology. Perhaps the scientific community had been wrong. Maybe the Third Empire hadn’t abandoned the complex because of the Liberation Wars, and perhaps they had done so because they had found something here. Something very dangerous. That would explain all the interior damage and the data logs Professor Kruger had found in the mainframe. By all accounts, Last Hope was far older than previously estimated.
Virginia had to contact Anton and urge him to drop everything else and focus only on the data caches’ decryption. They had to contain some vital information. Some clue as to what had happened and why. However, the archive was massive, with nearly seven exabytes of data – all encrypted and damaged. It would take months to find anything noteworthy. She could help Professor Kruger once the Commodore lifted the emergency protocol. After all, the chances of her being allowed anywhere near a dig site were zero.
Fresh pain blossomed in her abdomen when she hit the edge of the work table stuffed in the already cramped room. Too late, Virginia realised the lights hadn’t turned on and with the door behind her closed, she could not see a thing. She had allowed her thoughts to wander a bit too much.
“Cursed thing needs to be repaired again!” she hissed, then barked. “Lights!”
The fluorescent lamp flickered for a second and illuminated the six-by-six-meter room. It was in the same messy state Virginia had left it in in the morning. Stripped-down components and machinery cluttered the work table and floor. Her bed was a dishevelled pile of sheets and covers. However, there was one significant difference. The cybernetic unit was sitting on the edge and had a heavy coil pistol trained on her.
“Gha…” It was the only sound Virginia’s frozen mind could force her dried throat to produce.
“Dr Werner, it is so nice to put a face to the name.” The thing spoke in a soft voice with a slight accent that reminded her of Alexei.
It stood up from the messy bed and gently kicked the desk chair in her direction. The small wheels rolled soundlessly on the metallic floor. With a slight flick of the gun, the thing motioned for her to sit. Without protesting, Virginia obeyed, her mind finally remembering how her body was supposed to function. She triggered her feed with a controlled blink.
< OP#N*(+_F33D%$D@#$$&9: ERRRRR++ >
It was completely scrambled. Virginia had no lifeline and no way to call for help, not without having her head turned into a fine mist.
“Don’t bother, doctor,” the figure returned to the edge of the bed and took a small handheld device, which she couldn’t place at all.
She felt the tendrils of panic worm their way through her mind. The way the construct talked and moved meant only one thing. There was a self-aware rogue AI housed inside it. They were doomed. Not just her and the people who inhabited this miserable piece of junk but the entire sector of the UR.
“Interesting, isn’t it? I would love to tell you how it works, but I don’t think I could. The one who made it was a genius.” The cybernetic construct took one of the artefacts she had found in section 11 a month ago and waved it around as if it was just junk. “I take it you are not a physician.”
“Be careful with that! It is priceless!” Virginia snapped, forgetting for a moment that her life was in danger.
The figure froze and looked at the item in its hand. Warm laughter emitted from its helmet-shaped head, destroying her theory that it was a machine.
“Priceless? Expensive, maybe, but not priceless. It is a bloody broken Mark 3’s heat vent with a part of the extension mechanism attached to it,” the man, Virginia, was almost sure of it now, and the way he threw the item on the floor. This was a person. “I should know. I’ve repaired the damned thing over a dozen times.”
He locked the gun to his hip and leaned on the edge of the table just an arm’s length from her. Virginia knew he didn’t need a gun to kill her, and it terrified her.
“You look like someone who knows a thing or two about all this,” he spread out his arms, indicating all the items, artefacts and relics piled in her room. “And since the good folks at Security will be busy chasing shadows for the next few hours, I had a fascinating idea.”
He placed his hands around the helmet and, while removing it, spoke.
“Let’s have a chat.”
The man Virginia was looking at was far younger than she had expected. But she knew from personal experience that looks could be deceiving. With access to proper gene treatment, anyone could look young, and many members of high society did. The man standing in front of her could look like someone in their late teens, but he had the way of speaking and mannerisms of an old soldier. For all she knew, he could be in his late sixties or seventies.
Because of that and the fact he was flesh and bone, every theory that she might have come up with to explain his presence in the collapsed section was invalidated. However, his combat armour was of an old design devised from the two badly fragmented suits the archaeologists had found on Jacinta II and Arda-Sigli. And those were kept hidden from the public, meaning that it was impossible for the one he wore to be a simple replica. Virginia was also very interested in the device he used to jam her feed implant. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. And the artefact he had so unceremoniously discarded, he claimed to know what it was and how it worked. It had taken her days just to figure out that the mechanism was a micro-magnetic ejection system of sorts.
“A chat… That sounds lovely,” Virginia managed to squeeze the words through her dried mouth.
“You, doctor Werner, are a very practical woman,” the man gave her a charming smile and stared at her. “But I guess that’s a benefit of age and not a character trait you were born with.”
The way his amber eyes moved and the pupils contracted, he had seen the concealed scars from the treatments she had done. It wasn’t done with the use of some ocular implant, at least none Virginia was aware of. The eyes were so delicate and organic-like, which meant genetic modification. Gene mods were far too expensive, time-consuming and could improve the human body just so far. In contrast, cybernetic augmentation was cheaper, fast and offered far greater results. Or perhaps she had been right the first time; he had to be a really well-designed and built artificial humanoid cybernetic unit. This man didn’t just wear Lost Tech; he was Lost Tech. But that would mean that he pre-dated The Third Terran Empire by a margin of centuries. And Virginia would claim insanity before she believed that to be true.
“My apologies, doctor. I didn’t mean to stare,” the construct lowered its head. Obviously, it had misinterpreted her facial expression. “Rejuvenation therapy is way out of my skill set. You see, my talents lean more toward the practical orientation.”
It removed a foldable auto-syringe from a pouch on its belt and toyed with it. The item’s design was bare and stripped to its basics. Virginia couldn’t help but observe that, unlike the ones she had seen at Doctor Saiko’s clinic, this one favoured functionality rather than the patient’s comfort. It was closer to a prehistoric push needle than something a trained medical professional would use.
“It is a nice change not to force a conversation,” the thing said, perfectly imitating human emotion, yet it didn’t return the auto-syringe to its container.
That was a warning if Virginia had ever seen one. As long as she complied with its wishes, the cybernetic wouldn’t use it on her. Virginia was painfully aware that whatever was loaded in the injector would make her life a lot more unpleasant than it needed to be.
“What is that you want to know… Ugh, I am sorry, I don’t know what to call you,” Virginia said in a shaky but polite voice.
“Helix would do fine for now,” the man smiled at her. “I probably know the answer, but I have to ask. You aren’t ordained by any chance, are you?”
She blinked a few times, trying to grasp the word’s meaning before shaking her head. “I’m sorry.”
“Let’s start with something simple, then. Tell me about the Liberation War.”
That was an odd topic. But the way this Helix had asked made it clear it didn’t know about the greatest conflict in human history in the last three centuries. This tiny bit of information only gave further credibility to her theory that this was not a man but a Lost Technology construct.
“The Liberation Wars started in the year 627 because the….” The thing raised its hand and stopped her.
“Doctor Werner, don’t bother with the details or the dates, for that matter. Just the cliff notes, please.”
“Very well, Helix.” Virginia saw it shake its head in a show of disappointment. It amazed her how well the emotions emulator was working.
“The Liberation Wars mark the end of the Third Terran Empire. As a result, the United Republics, the Khanate of Monika the Conqueror and the Jericho Consortium formed. They are the three major powers that share sixty percent of the former Empire’s territory. There are also a hundred smaller nations, unions and pirate-occupied worlds, but those are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.”
She tried to read his reaction, but Helix kept his face neutral. “You could label this conflict as a form of civil war, brought by the over-oppressive regime of the Empire and its technological decline forced by its ideological suppression of the religious sects, who were leading the scientific world….”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“That’s enough, Doctor. I’m more than aware to know how a civil war is fought and won.” It scratched its head and looked at her for a moment while preparing another question. “I’m really curious to know more about this Third Terran Empire. But first, another question. What of the Xith?”
An involuntary shiver passed through Virginia at the mention of the name. This was a question she hadn’t expected. Everyone preferred to forget that the genocidal arachnids existed. And the way it asked, she got the impression that Helix was more interested in them than it wished to appear. Virginia chose her words carefully. All she knew about them was what the propaganda feeds told her.
“There are occasional Xith raids into the outer fringes of the Cygnus Spur. But that’s on the other side of human-controlled space. The only thing we have to worry about are pirates employing Xith mercenaries or the rare Xith pirate vessel.”
Helix’s expression told her that the construct wasn’t satisfied with her answer. Fearful for her life Virginia added quickly.
“Ever since the time of the Third Empire, humanity has followed a strict isolationist policy. Apart from some criminal elements, very few people have had peaceful contact with other species.”
“It all goes back to this Empire of yours, doesn’t it?” It spoke while examining the fabric of the skirt buried under the pile of mechanical components on the table. “I think it’s about time you tell me more about it.”
“That is a rather large topic. Could you narrow it down?” She ventured, refusing to admit she felt ashamed of the state of her quarters. Instead, she tried to figure out what it was the cybernetic really wanted to know.
“Very well.” It stood up from the table’s edge and began roaming from the items lying around. “Capital world, when it was formed, how long it existed, span, etc.”
“I understand,” Virginia closed her eyes, gathering all the knowledge she had, which was somewhat difficult with the scrambled errors she was getting from her implant.
“From what we know…”
“From what you know? That is a very interesting way of starting a history lesson, doctor,” Helix picked up a broken circuit board and began examining it. Most likely looking for spare parts, she thought.
“A lot of knowledge was lost during the Liberation Wars, and even more was purged by the Empire before that. So yes, from what we know, is the best way I can answer your question,” Virginia raised her voice, getting tired of feeling impotent.
Again, Helix surprised her by lowering its head in apology and motioned for her to continue.
“At present, only scattered holdings of the Third Terran Empire remain, but they are so far removed from what they used to be that any knowledge they may possess can be discarded. All we know is that a conflict erupted some six hundred and fifty years ago, resulting in the creation of the Third Terran Empire. Although some scholars debate if that should be pushed back to seven hundred-”
“Doctor, cliff notes,” Helix dropped the circuit board and picked up a disassembled recorder.
Virginia took a deep breath and continued. “The Empire was formed around the world of Lekaar II, later renamed to Terra Secundus-”
“Terra Secundus?” This time Helix did look at her, and there was some strange emotion in its eyes. This caught her by surprise. Was it worry or dread? Was it a programmed response? Was this thing completely autonomous, or did it follow some intricate logic pattern?
“Yes. All we know about Terra Prime is that it was destroyed. Its coordinates, along with all information of the Sol System, were erased from all records just before the formation of the Empire. There isn’t even a description left to give us an idea of what to look for,” Virginia narrowed her eyes as Helix’s face twisted for a moment.
“Via Sankteco, mi salutos vin en la mondo ekster.” The whispered phrase was barely audible, but she heard it, and her eyes snapped wide open.
Virginia had heard something similar before. Hell, she was sure she could remember it if she had it written down. She rocked her brain, forcing it to work at a speed it hadn’t in years.
“That’s Unue!” She exclaimed as Virginia recalled the pass-phrase that had them stuck for months before Professor Kruger’s efforts paid off and they unlocked the mainframe’s archive. “You… You can speak Unue! You can speak the original language! That’s why your accent is so similar to Alexei’s!”
“Doctor Werner, can you calm down, or do you want me to help with that?” Virginia’s excitement evaporated as she saw the needle emerge from the auto-syringe in Helix’s hand. “Tell me more about this Alexei fellow.”
“Commodore Alexei Neverok,” the archaeologist saw a shadow of anger pass over the thing’s face as she mentioned the name. “He… He… Sorry, my throat is dry.”
Strangely enough, Helix walked to the filtration unit attached to the wall beside her bed and poured the gathered recycled moisture into the detachable hardened plastic cup. As with most of the resources needed for continued inhabitation of the complex, water was used, re-used and gathered from all sources. The fact that it knew what the unit was meant that Helix knew its purpose and was versed in using it. But the idea that a cybernetic unit as complex as the one standing in front of her would be used as a basic server droid was laughable.
“Thank you,” she took the cup and let the liquid slide down her parched throat. Virginia hadn’t used it just as an excuse to hide what she had noticed.
“Thank you. Alexei is native to the Beliar Cluster.” This time there was no reaction from Helix. Had she stumbled on some sort of command phrase? “He is from Vergonis, to be more precise. The local dialect there is the closest we have left to Unue. We know this because of the laser-etched signs uncovered during an expansion of the planet’s spaceport. They were similar to a popular funeral phrase, though its meaning is unknown even to the local populace.”
He urged her to continue. “Don’t worry, Doctor, I’m not going to judge your ability to speak. All I want is information.”
“You must understand, we are talking about centuries of restrictions and repression. Under the rule of the Empire, Vergonis suffered several purges and forced resettlements….”
Helix tapped the auto-syringe and gave her a meaningful look.
“Right. Short and to the point,” Virginia forced a smile on her face, but based on the cybernetic’s reaction, she had failed. “It should be something like this: Lasanktu ne'zorgas primartir; tcio, kion livolas, estasklavo.”
“You are a lucky woman, Doctor Werner. If it were Lucifer and not me chatting with you, he would have immolated you for blasphemy against the Church of the Third Hell.” The thing chuckled and shook its head as if to shake the smile off its artificial face.
Virginia jumped from the chair and drooped on her knees before the thing. Helix was no longer a danger to her. It was a source of so much knowledge that she didn’t care if it killed her as long as some of it was shared with her first. “I beg of you! Tell me! Tell me what it means! Tell me about this Church!”
Helix grabbed her by the neck and pressed her against the floor. Its grip tightened just enough to trigger a fresh wave of fear. It had the desired effect as Virginia came back to her senses.
“Do not be mistaken, Doctor,” the lack of emotion in Helix’s voice and the hardness in its gaze were terrifying. “This is not a friendly chat. This is an interrogation. So far, I’ve been polite because I thought you were a reasonable woman.”
“Short answers this time. I don’t care about theory or thoughts. Do you understand?” Virginia nodded, feeling the battle unit’s weight on her body.
“Good. The Holy Terran Empire, what happened to it?”
“Gone… Reason is… unknown… Precursor of the Third Terran Empire…” Virginia could barely squeeze the words out.
“When? From current date.”
“Seven to… ten… ugh… centuries ago.” She had difficulty processing his questions and their meaning. The fear was too great for her mind to work properly.
“Where are we?”
“Min…ning… complex… Last Hope…”
“Do you have access to restricted areas?”
“To… some… argh…” Virginia felt pain in her neck.
“Final question. Is there a physician or an active medical unit on this complex?”
“Yes… Doctor Saik… o… Has… lab…”
The pressure was gone, allowing oxygen and blood to flow through Virginia’s body as intended. She should have kept her cool around Helix, a lesson to be learned for next time, should there be a next time. It took her a few moments to get her breathing back in order and nearly a minute until Virginia was brave enough to stand from the ground.
Sombrely she sat back on the chair. Her green lab uniform was a mess; however, Virginia was too scared to fix it. Instead, she decided to keep her hands on her knees. It was the universal pose of a scolded child. Demeaning as it was, it was the only one she knew that wouldn’t antagonise the thing further. No, she had been wrong. He was a human, after all. In that horrible moment when he had a hold of her, she had felt his warmth, the tightening of his muscles as she tried to pry his arm away.
Although, she had to admit that being pushed by a strong man wasn’t the worst thing to have happened to her. When was the last time she… Her right hand snapped to the side of her neck. The area was painful to the touch and not because of his grip. Virginia could feel the small puncture wound on her ebony flesh with the tip of her finger. Helix had injected her with some sort of drug.
“What did you do?” She gathered the courage to ask.
“You do not need to worry about it. As long as you take me to the medical lab, you will be fine.” There was a small green vial between its fingers, held out in a way that she could clearly see it.
“Why?”
“It is simple, Doctor Werner. The two of us are going for a walk, and I’ll need you as relaxed and submissive as you can be.”
----------------------------------------
Donovan’s mood had swung so much that he didn’t know how he was supposed to feel anymore. First, the Overseer drilled him a new one because the cargo shuttles were forbidden from docking or leaving the complex. The man cared only about his damned schedule and didn’t even want to hear a word the Chief had to say. Then that bastard Neverok had roasted his nuts. But no, that wasn’t enough. The pile of shit that was devouring Donovan was not done with him. A damned-to-hell Knight Protector was coming to Last Hope. And not just some low-ranked one, but the bloody Alexandra von Eisstahl. Only the Council could order that mad dog around, and even they could hardly hold her accountable for her actions. Donovan would be glad to find himself in front of a firing squad instead of facing any punishment she might think of if she got a whiff of what was going on.
He remembered the bitch from his days in the Academy. The Chief was in the last year of his training programme when the woman joined as a fresh cadet. Before anyone knew what was happening, von Eisstahl was causing ripples. Abusing the power of her noble lineage and arresting fellow cadets and instructors left and right. Somehow Donovan had managed to keep out of her sight and graduate without drawing any attention to himself or his patrons. His grades at the Academy had given him the privilege to dictate where he would be stationed. He could have become a Knight-neophyte or joined Task Force 36, something the syndicate financing him had expected. Insisted on, actually. Too bad for them that Donovan understood what it meant to be their pawn. He knew what he had to do when he saw the open position on Last Hope.
Where others saw the mining complex as an end to their career, Chief Rex saw the protection of the deep pockets of Overseer Tharks. Bloody hell, the man had members of the Council dance at the palm of his hand. Because of this, Donovan had some moral qualms about following the order to arrest the Overseer. Sure, there was little love between them, but he knew better than to bite the hand feeding him. On the other hand, he preferred to keep his skin intact. One way or another, Donovan knew he was screwed.
Feeling the pressure getting to him, the Chief rubbed his eyes when his feed link came to life.
“Chief, do you copy? There’s been development.”
Immediately Donovan disconnected the link and snapped his fingers, demanding the portable comms console the man next to him carried. It was heavily encrypted, and not even the Commodore’s agents could break into its feed remotely. This, of course, made the item highly illegal, and as Donovan connected the hard link cable to the port hidden behind his right ear, he made a mental note to toss the thing in the smelter before the Knight Protector’s ship docked with the station.
“Report, Felix.”
“Uhm… There was a drop in the link. Let me just make sure….”
“There was no problem with the connection, King. Report or stay off of the feed.” Donovan hissed through clenched teeth. Usually, the man’s observant nature was a benefit, spotting Alexei’s taps in an instant. However, right now, it was a problem the Chief didn’t want to deal with.
“Right… Uhm, sorry… Right.” The operator stuttered before composing himself. “I have a lock on Zoë… I mean, Officer Kurtz. She contacted me a moment ago, so I dispatched Team 9. They were the closest ones, Chief. They’re on their way to section 01-…uhm… 24… I guess. The place doesn’t have a designation and, according to the map, it’s outside of the station. But….”
Donovan glanced at the command pad on the far wall while Felix continued his babbling, pondering if he should stop the cargo platform and return to section 01. Despite the snail-pace they were going at, he wasn’t sure if the platform’s worn-down mechanisms could handle the strain of suddenly changing direction. The last thing he wanted was to brick the damned thing. With the lockdown in place, it was the only functioning connection that led out of the restricted area Security used. Technically, the Science Department’s quarters were there as well, but that was only so that Donovan and his people could keep a closer eye on the eggheads.
“That’ll be all, King! I’ll contact them personally.” The Chief barked, having made up his mind.
It would take Kodiak’s group about an hour or two to get the girl back to the medical unit, which gave him enough time to sort out the Overseer problem. Quickly he switched the device’s channel and issued his order as soon as a link was established with Team 9’s feed.
“Kodiak, bring Kurtz to medical. No one but Dr Saiko is to come near her until I get there.”
“Yes, Ch-” Donovan switched the connection again. The comms console in his hand was losing charge fast, and he had one more order to give.
“Gad, have your team link with Team 9. Once they’ve secured Officer Kurtz, you hunt the bastard who created this mess. Vent his corpse and return to Rust Town. And Gad, stay off the feed. You were never there.”
The feed cracked with static for a fraction of a second before the silky voice of Renata Gad whispered the two words Donovan wanted to hear.
“Yes, boss.”
----------------------------------------