| |
MILA
Not a soul stirs along the windswept streets of this place, once so colorful and vibrant. Beyond the usual desolation, there is something else hidden, waiting. A shroud of death hangs over the enclave of Fiori. A long trail of steam huffs from my mouth. Ghofaun and Oksana are two steps behind, hunched and forlorn. Trailing us, the squad of Creed clumps and thumps along without a word. Other than the fading tracks in the snow, there has been no further sign of Husniya or Zaldov, the Creed soldier who had resolved to care for her.
I shake my head with a grunt. “Hey, Oksana. What are the chances Husniya is still alive after being left alone with that death bot of yours?”
“The girl is safer with him than with us,” the Gracile replies.
“Oh? How do you figure?” I glance at Ghofaun who meets my stare but remains silent.
“I told you. Zaldov is special.”
“You’re going to have to elaborate,” I say, trudging along.
Oksana gives a sigh an exasperated parent might give a question-asking toddler. “He’s not like any Creed you’ve ever known. Not even like these few, which are still highly advanced, I might add. He’s also equipped with a tracking beacon I can follow to assist in locating him.” She turns to the Creed behind her. “What is Zaldov’s location at present?”
“Zaldov. Location.” The nearest Creed soldier processes the information. “Northern Fiori enclave. Half kilometer radius of certainty.”
“See? They’re around here somewhere.”
“Half kilometer certainty? That’s not necessarily exact.”
She shrugs. “It’s something.”
“Okay, I’m game. So, what else makes him special?”
“He’s been modified.”
I slow, turning. Typical elitist responses. Why does she have to be so difficult? “If I’m going to have to pry the answers from you, forget I said anything.” I shake my head, turning forward again.
“Zaldov is unique because I fed him knowledge personally. Developed him myself to remind me of Nikolaj.”
“Oh,” I say. “I thought he looked familiar. You made him look like Nikolaj too, didn’t you?”
There’s a hint of sadness in the Gracile’s face. “He is not Nikolaj, of course, but he does have my mate’s loyalty—his strongest trait.”
“I see, and you did this yourself?”
She gives a curt nod. “I have had an interest in cybernetics for a long time. That, combined with my advanced training in quantum biology, helped me to understand how to better engineer these Creed to be superior to any that came before them, to make than more ... human.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” I say, tucking my chin into my collar.
“It is a good thing. Though a machine, Zaldov’s AI becomes more human every day. The irony is he’s a better person than all of us. You’ll see.”
“If you say so.” I shake my head again. “Seems unnatural to me, but I guess I’ll give it—uh—him a pass. For now.”
We cross the empty market, which is unusually quiet and empty this time of day. Where is everybody?
A lone man appears from nowhere, bustles past, and tries to disappear just as quickly.
“Hey, friend? What’s the rush? Where is everybody?” I call after him.
“Ripper attack. They came last evening from the direction of Vel, while the market was still open. The guard couldn’t hold them off. Nobody wants to be out here anymore. Too dangerous,” he says, evidently not wanting to stop and talk.
“C’mon. Let’s get back to base and hope Husniya beat us there,” I say.
Oksana’s pace slows, her brow knitted as she surveys the rubble of a fallen lillipad.
“What is it?” I ask.
“This was HAP One. I used to spend a great deal of time in this one ... with my friends.”
There’s no question the Gracile’s wounds run deep. She turns to me, her eyes wet.
“I know you think of me as a typical cloud-dweller, haughty and entitled. But to have your whole world, everything you’ve ever known, literally come crashing down. To be one of the last of your kind in a world of chaos and fear and then find out one of your own is attempting to pervert what all Graciles worked so hard to perfect ... It’s not an easy pill to swallow.”
We are not the same, Graciles and Robusts, but we share the loneliness of Etyom. I reach out and touch her arm. “Hey look, I don’t know what lies ahead, but we’ll face it together. All right?”
She nods and wipes her face, the tears forming small icy trails on her perfectly sculpted cheekbones.
I motion to the hidden tunnel under the wreckage of the Forgotten Jewel. “I’m going to take Ghofaun and go make contact with Opor. You can come, but your Creed will need to wait outside. I don’t want to spook my people. Their experience with the Creed is less than favorable.”
“I understand,” Oksana says.
We march ahead through the ruins of the Jewel to the hidden entrance, an earthen ramp covered by rotting planks of wood descending into the dark.
“In there?” Oksana asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “Come on.”
She mutters something about Robusts under her breath.
After her little speech? Really? You can take the Gracile out of the clouds ...
Pushing the planks aside, I step into the trench and start down. A silhouette waits in the shadows.
“Who’s that? Identify yourself.”
“It is I, Zaldov. I was asked to wait here by Husniya.”
Zaldov. Never thought I’d be happy to see a Creed. “Is she inside?”
“She is. I ensured her safety as promised.”
“Uh, yeah. Okay. I mean, thank you.”
“I was my pleasure to be of assistance,” Zaldov says, his movements a host of little clicks and whirrs.
Oksana greets Zaldov with a smile and touch. “Hold here on standby. Only activate upon my remote command.”
“Copy direct,” Zaldov says, turning to the Creed with us. “Standby until remote activation.”
Their postures all relax simultaneously.
Ahead, at the end of the dank tunnel, the heavy steel doors await. Ghofaun steps forward and knocks in the practiced manner. After a time, the door opens and we are met by Jape, who is still manning the door. A quick greeting and we’re in, the door bolting behind us. At the far end of the dimly lit cavern-like room, Giahi steps from the command center doorway.
“So you retrieved the girl, but where’s that Musul you can’t help yourself over?”
I can’t do this right now. “Where’s Bilgi?”
Giahi stands unmoving, arms crossed.
“Giahi, where is Bilgi?” I say, my heart pounding.
“Bilgi was sick. You saw it.”
“Was? You act like he’s dead. He had a little fever.” I step forward, unzipping my jacket.
“He was showing signs of the plague, Mila. I sent him away. Who’s with you?” He motions to Oksana.
“No, hang on a second.” I hold my hands up. “You don’t breeze over that. Where is he?”
“Did you bring another Gracile here?”
“Giahi, I swear, you better not have done something to Bilgi. Answer me.”
“I told you. I sent him away. He was going to infect all of us.”
Mos enters from the hall off to my right. His shirt is soaked; sweat glistens on his heavily muscled arms. He’s been working on something. “Mila, is everyone okay? Did you find Faruq?”
“Hey, Mos. We’re okay. Just hang on a second. Where’s Bilgi, Giahi?”
Mos sighs. “He looked terrible, Mila. Everyone in command agreed he could have had the plague. We had to send him away.”
My heart sinks. I look to Ghofaun, then back to Giahi. “Where did you send him? Tell me.”
Giahi shrugs. “Zopat. To the clinic.”
“The clinic? Giahi, that’s where people go to die,” I almost shout.
“He was old and sickly anyway. It was just a matter of time.”
A lightning bolt of hate courses through me. That little troll.
Mos moves to intercept me. “Hang on, Mila. It’s not going to help for us to fight amongst ourselves.”
“Yeah, well it might make me feel better.” I grit my teeth. Bilgi is gone. Cast out. What in creation do we do now? “Is Yuri here?”
Mos shakes his head. “You know how he is. We haven’t seen him in days.”
“What I want to know,” Giahi interrupts, arms still crossed, “is why you brought a Gracile here again. That’s a breach of our code.”
“She’s an ally. How is it a breach of our code?”
Giahi laughs. “An ally? You mean like the last Gracile you brought to us? The one who almost jeopardized our whole operation? Should I count the ways Graciles have wronged us?”
Oksana rocks her weight onto one leg, a hand on her hip.
“Giahi, I’ve got this. Thank you,” Mos says, his brow stern.
Giahi scoffs. “That’s all fine and good. But someone needs to keep Bilgi’s little loose cannon in check. Most of us don’t care to die for nothing just yet.”
I swear upon the grave of my brother ...
Mos gives my shoulder a squeeze, his attention still turned on Giahi. “I said I’ve got it.”
Giahi shrugs and turns. “Sure, Mos. Sure you do,” he says, and disappears into the dusty confines of the command center.
Mos forces a smile for me. “Don’t listen to him. It’s going to be okay. We’ll send people to Zopat to make sure Bilgi is taken care of.” He tosses his head at Oksana with a wink. “You going to introduce me, or what?”
“Uh, oh, yeah,” I say, trying to clear my tangled thoughts. “Mos, this is Oksana. She knew Demitri, back before everything. She wants to help.”
“Oksana.” Mos extends a meaty hand. “The pleasure is all mine.”
“Hello,” Oksana says, staring at the offered hand. “What’s that for?”
“Robusts shake hands in greeting. You guys don’t do this?”
“Ah no, I’m afraid not.” Oksana nervously wipes her hands on her jacket. “Doesn’t that promote the transfer of germs?”
Mos lowers his hand and lets loose a good-natured chuckle. “I suppose it does. What do Graciles do instead? I’m always open to new things.” He winks.
“Oh?” Oksana laughs nervously.
Mos, big for a Robust, is still a good bit shorter than Oksana, but he makes up for it by being more than twice as broad. That charmer has her so disarmed she’s actually flashing a brilliant smile at him now. Good grief, I don’t have time for this.
“Mos, a word?” I say, grabbing the Kahangan by the arm and pulling him from his eye-batting conversation with the Gracile. “Ghofaun, you too.”
“Mila,” Mos says, turning from Oksana. “Where did you find her? She’s incredible.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s not an accident. She’s engineered to look like that. Quit acting like a teenager. I need you to get your head right.”
“Okay, yeah, sorry. What’s up?” he says, his demeanor sobering.
“What’s up?” Don’t roll your eyes, Mila. “After we tried to rescue him, Faruq lost his mind and threatened our lives. It broke Husniya and it nearly broke me too. Now Bilgi has been sent away, and we learned Vedmak in Demitri’s body may be making a play to claim the nuclear weapon cache in Vel—and you wanna know what’s up?”
Mos motions for me to stop. “Wait, what?”
“It’s true,” Ghofaun says. “We are caught up in a most unfortunate turn of events.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m telling you, lughead.” I jab Mos in the chest. “Things are all messed up. So, I need you to stop fooling around.”
“Yeah, whatever you need, Mila. You know that.”
“Where’s Husniya?” I ask.
“Resting, I think. She was all out of sorts.” Mos rubs his chin. “I don’t like that she came by herself.”
“Look, I know. I tried to stop her. It wasn’t going to work.”
“The situation with her brother had a profound effect, no doubt,” Ghofaun says.
“Yeah, I don’t understand. Why would Faruq—” Mos starts.
“I can’t even deal with that right now. We need to focus on the real problem here. Vedmak and the nuclear threat in Vel. He’ll wipe us all out. He thinks he’s the bringer of the apocalypse.”
“The threat Vel conceals is unsurpassed,” Ghofaun says. “Even without Bilgi’s guidance, we need to act with all haste.”
“I’m with you,” Mos says. “In my absence, Kahanga is safe under the supervision of my sister, Ayodele. What do you need from me?”
I sigh. “I need you, Mos. You and Ghofaun. Now more than ever, I need your support.”
He places a heavy hand on my shoulder. “You shall have it.”
“How do you want to do this?” Ghofaun asks, fingering the Kukri blade tucked in his belt.
I inhale a deep breath of the musty underground air, the scent earthy and ancient. “We don’t know what’s going on in Vel. The last I heard was a message from Gil saying bad things were happening and that he needed my help.”
“Okay, so we move on Vel with a sizable force,” Mos says.
“Yes, logic would dictate. But we’ll have to move fast and be discreet—two things we will not be afforded with a large group,” I add.
“That, and Giahi will oppose our utilizing most of our people for this,” Ghofaun says. “We don’t need his approval, but there are those who are loyal to him. It will waste time trying to negotiate.”
Mos and Ghofaun eye me expectantly. I glance at perfect Oksana, who’s now fruitlessly trying to brush the grime from her jacket.
“There’s something I need to know,” Oksana says without looking up. The three of us turn, waiting. She glances at us. “Are you planning to kill Demitri? If so, a single bullet to the brain would end all of this. Demitri, Vedmak, as well as whatever madness he’s attempting.”
None of us respond. For the first time, I realize the terrible high stakes in this lethal game of cat-and-mouse. The easy path will require the killing of my Gracile friend in order to stop his demon.
I swallow hard. “I don’t know if I can pursue that course.”
Oksana gives a knowing look. “Then I will need to work on a suitable alternative.”
“Such as?”
“Trust me, it’s much more complicated than I can explain to you here. Suffice it to say using Husniya’s DNA, I’ll try to isolate the protein she and Demitri share. If I can do that, there may be a way to cure it and, in the process, slam the door on Vedmak, shutting him out of Demitri’s mind—this time for good.”
“Is that possible?” I ask.
“Entirely,” she replies. “But that will mean your mission is a rescue mission of sorts. I’ll need you to bring Demitri here.”
“Okay.” I look at my friends. “Handpick fifteen of our best. Anyone but Giahi. Get them fed and geared up. This is going to be a hard push. That plus the three of us gives us almost twenty good fighters.”
“And Husniya?” Ghofaun says.
“No.” I wave him off. “She’s been through enough already. Let her rest and assist Oksana with—”
“Now you’re trying to cut me out?” Husniya says, entering from the long hallway next to command. She’s geared up, her Mosin rifle propped over her shoulder. “This is my fight as much as yours. Demitri was my friend too.”
“Husniya—”
“No,” she says, pinching her eyes shut and tapping on her forehead, the way Demitri used to when trying to block out Vedmak. “No, you don’t understand what I’m trying to do. You haven’t understood for years.”
Everyone stares at the girl, unsure of her meaning. Her face turns three shades of crimson. “Stop staring at me.”
“Husniya, please listen. You’ve been under a lot of stress. Maybe you should—”
“This conversation is over and you aren’t going to treat me like a baby anymore.” She taps her forehead, harder now. “I’m ready to go. Will you all be coming or not?”
This is more than teenage angst. Margarida. That was the name of her voice. The soothing presence Husniya referred to as her childhood friend. She’s not gone. Husniya is fighting Margarida’s attempts to pacify her.
I take a deep breath and offer as gentle an expression as I can muster. “Of course we’re coming, Hus.”
“Good.” She looks to Oksana. “And I’m going to need Zaldov.”
What’s with her and the Geminoid? The scowl on her face tells me she’s not asking. Oksana shrugs. “He can go. At any rate, he’s sworn to protect you.”
“Good, it’s settled,” Husniya announces. “When are we leaving?”
How did she walk in here and start barking orders? I look the teen over; her countenance wavers, her composure a thing of glass. The others wait for me to answer. Even the chatter from the radio room grows quiet.
“Mos, Ghofaun. Get our people ready.” I lift my chin. “We all leave for Vel in the morning.”
