Trust
Zelia couldn’t understand half the text that was scrolling on the viewscreen. Some was in Low Gothic, but the majority was in binaric with the odd passage in bizarre glyphs that she had never even seen before.
Beside her, Mekki had his haptic connectors attached to the cogitator’s access ports, his free hand darting from one control panel to another.
‘Have you found something?’ she asked.
He didn’t answer. She reached out to touch his arm but he snatched his hand away as if scolded.
‘I-I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I just want to help.’
The Martian went back to his work, and Zelia glanced at Grimm, who was still scrabbling at the door to the Cognis chamber.
‘I don’t think they’re going to let you in,’ she told the mechanical hound.
It ignored her too.
Zelia sighed, before finally recognising a word on the screen. ‘Transmitter? Mekki, why are you trying to access a transmitter?’
‘We need to get away from here,’ he replied. ‘It is not safe.’
‘Because of Quigox?’
‘Because of everything.’
She’d never heard him sounding so worried. ‘Can you be a little more precise?’
Mekki looked up at her. ‘I do not trust them, Zelia Lor. Not Quigox. Not Nalos. And definitely not Inquisitor Jeremias.’
‘But he rescued us from the Orks. He saved us.’
‘Only after firing on the Profiteer.’
‘They shot first. We saw that.’
‘We saw what Jeremias wanted us to see. Do you really believe Captain Amity would betray us? That Flegan-Pala would betray us?’
‘They abandoned us on Weald.’
Mekki turned back to the displays. ‘Flegan-Pala went to protect the Diadem. Captain Amity was injured.’
Zelia shook her head. ‘I don’t know what to think. Jeremias seems pretty convinced she’s guilty. And then there’s all that stuff about the slaves…’
‘The past can be manipulated,’ Mekki said, before slamming his hand onto the input device in frustration. ‘No!’
Zelia couldn’t risk touching him again. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘There is not enough power to contact the ship.’
‘You’re trying to contact the Profiteer.’
Mekki twisted his haptic implants in the ports, opening and closing files quicker than Zelia could read them.
‘I need to talk to Flegan-Pala,’ he said. ‘To hear what really happened.’
‘If he tells you the truth…’
‘I will know if he is lying,’ Mekki insisted. He flicked a switch and a map of the metropolis appeared on the screen.
‘What have you found?’
He pointed at a large building on the map. ‘That is a vox-tower. It should have enough power to transmit a message to the Profiteer.’
‘If they’re in range.’
‘They will be,’ Mekki said. ‘Flegan-Pala will be looking for me. He will be looking for us all. We need to warn him about Inquisitor Jeremias.’
‘That he’s trying to find them?’
Mekki nodded, pulling his implants clear of the ports.
‘But what if Jeremias is right, Mekki? What if Amity and Fleapit have been conspiring against us?’
He turned to face her, his expression grave. ‘You cannot trust an inquisitor.’
‘Even one that stopped you being arrested?’
‘If he did, it was only because I serve a purpose. And when that purpose is fulfilled…’
He left the sentence hanging.
Zelia shook her head. ‘I don’t know, Mekki. We’ve been under a lot of pressure. It’s no wonder you’re feeling paranoid.’
‘It is not paranoia,’ he insisted. ‘I know inquisitors of old.’
Zelia’s pulse quickened. ‘You mean…?’
He nodded. ‘From before your mother took me in, yes.’
This was it, Zelia thought. Mekki was finally going to tell her what had happened to him all those years ago. He was going to tell her why he left Mars.
‘Mekki, what Quigox said… about the Cult…’
The Martian glanced at Grimm. ‘Not here. But I will explain, I promise.’
‘On the way to the vox-tower?’
‘You will come with me then?’
‘Come on,’ she said, creeping over to the front door. If they did this, not only would they be leaving Talen behind, they’d also be crossing an inquisitor. Either would be bad, but Mekki was her friend, and he needed her.
Grimm never even noticed them leave.