The Legend of Ivan (27 page)

Dreger's initial capture was kept quiet as well. Only vague pieces about GSA pursuit and bravery against a well-known, unnamed slave trader received tiny blips in the waters of Hanatar's destruction. There was nothing about a cargo ship full of people nearly smashing into an asteroid.

As per usual, dozens of times my mind was lost to the pursuit of other topics. However, a sharper focus seemed to be present, tangents more relatable to the focus of my search:

A historical catalogue of whistle-blowers and witnesses, successful and/or killed for their dedication. Various instances of forced labor and its degree of social acceptance. More recent uptake of kidnapping vacationers and tourists. Thousands of cities on hundreds of worlds with reported missing bankers, laborers, researchers. Even a tour group from Atropos Garden went missing and was later rescued by GSA forces.

I searched files on the incident on the Garden, and little aside from speculation existed on the subject. I even recognized images on the nets, similar to those gleaned from Dana's mind, of the reforming world. Much of it was discarded as fabrication, and general consensus was not that the planet was destroyed: only the colony.

How little they knew.

Much rumbling existed in the Ivan enthusiasts. Several corporations seemed to be regaining interest in the subject, and public contracts for information regarding him had been renewed. Hundreds more stories floated about, an absurdity of gossip sprinkled with the tiny motes of truth.

I resisted the temptation for self-congratulatory egotism in seeing if anything related back to myself and continued to search through Dreger and slave colony reports.

"You're bloody-damn right seventeen! I thought I'd completely lost you! How can you..." As my friend the librarian chattered about how concerned, angry, terrified, and uncertain he was, I checked my systems.

The subroutine for my internal alarms and the external port for Marqyni's wake-up were both disabled. As I checked them over, I felt the tiniest trickle of laughter in my mind, and ghostly fingerprints dotted the landscape of my programming.

As I sought the source, I felt a tiny foreign presence skittering away, fading into subsystems. As I perused it, a small measure of shock came to me as I realized it was the hidden vestige of Dana, capable of more influence than I had thought. It seemed she decided to assist my search by extending it, or she was simply trying to kill me. I tried to seek her out, but the essence, whatever it was and could do, was gone.

"...and Great Alexandria only knows what your employers would do to me if they thought I ever endangered your existence. You're worth umpteen billion; I'm just an eccentric librarian!"

"Relax, Marqyni, I'm fine," I said. "It was a glitch, nothing more."

"That was a
hell
of a glitch! Archivists have lost their minds at forty-five minutes, even with fail-safes!"

I hadn't told the librarian about Dana. Shame of brutality, coveting some information, whatever the reason, I omitted that piece of the story. This also meant I didn't reveal what I knew about the damage to Atropos Garden. "I'm all right, please relax," I said. It felt wrong to leave him out of the loop, but some things seemed best kept private. A measure of guilt returned to my thoughts for both her demise and oddly still for Cain's appearance at the Class 4 shipyard.

Marqyni scowled. "You're going to be the death of me, Sid. Mark my words."

A sliver of concern seeped into my mind as his statement echoed my troubled thoughts. I tried to push it aside. "The concern of lesser mortals is always touching, my friend."

The librarian smirked and gave a short laugh. He wagged a finger at me. "Don't toy with me, Sid. The Gods are nothing without the mortals to serve them."

He seemed to calm somewhat, but I could still see the tension in his body. "I'm sorry to have concerned you, but I'm quite all right."

This was the honest truth. Far from the normal overheating delirium from too-long searching, I felt excellent, refreshed even. Dana's memories didn't give me her precise age, and the jumbled files hadn't yet provided a frame of reference. However, I'd have guessed she'd been no more than a year old as an Archivist. Her programming and systems were marvelous in their improvements over my own.

"Tell me," I said, changing subjects. "Did you come across anything helpful?"

My friend shook his head. "I'm afraid I didn't, Sid. Many of the records from the trial are still sealed, citing galactic security."

Something about Ivan as a government spy using the pinnacle of fighter technology rang in my mind. "Maybe Grey was right..." I said softly.

"About the OLGA nonsense?" Marqyni said in a skeptical tone. "I don't know, a ship? Seems a little farfetched, doesn't it? I'd wager the name appeared somewhere along the line and means nothing. Well, maybe it's the codename of the project, but what of all the other references? Wasn't it a cutting torch in one? I doubt Garden researchers were working on labor tools."

More pieces fell into place. I said, excitement in my tone, "Grey's the only one we've found who heard about the slave colony incident. He knew about it not because of some report or something but because he knew about the colony itself."

Marqyni swept a gesture. "Didn't he say the colony was destroyed?"

Grinning, I replied. "Most definitely, but I doubt even he believed it. What happened to all of those freed people? There must of been what, thousands?"

"They likely returned to their homes. What else would there be?"

"But no news of their return?" I ticked off on my fingers. "Transients, working class, the infirm and ashamed. Maybe even a few that became institutionalized. Think about it, there was almost no mention about
any
returning forced labor captives. Only a few people actually returned to their lives."

"Your meaning?" the librarian asked.

"There was nothing to suggest an influx of thousands of rescued refugees. Don't you think the GSA would have gotten the story spewed all over everywhere?"

I interrupted. "Grey worships Ivan now. If he knew exactly where the subject of his admiration was hiding out, do you think he'd be forthcoming with details?"

"Then why tell you anything?"

"He realized how close I was getting." I rubbed my chin. "He probably figured I wasn't the only one either. Maybe he thinks of me as a lesser threat."

Marqyni wagged a finger. "I'm not so sure, Sid. There are a few too many assumptions there."

I favored him with a condescending expression. "Traverian Grey was at the very heart of the last Ivan hunt, where the only cooperation was a result of persistence from Lorric Bren. The questions from years ago are still unanswered. Sure, half of everyone isn't certain if Ivan exists now with so much myth floating around, but the sheer possibility of what could be found makes Ivan this glorious prize. I know it, and Grey knows it. Cain knows it, Da-" I shook my head, forgetting myself for a moment. "How many others may know, may be looking? The Ivan search is blazing hot once again, and Grey knows this."

Marqyni didn't appear convinced. "Still..."

"Why else would Grey mention something not able to be verified? How would he have knowledge of something which neither of us in an hour of digging can find the slightest hints of?" I grinned. "He knew."

My friend opened and shut his mouth several times. Finally, he shook his head and gave a bow. "I live only to serve, good master."

"I might have to break my promise to the Penitent Children of Ivan and go back." I put on my hat. "Or I suppose I can contact Grey and see if he's in a more amiable mood. Or I can scour the asteroid field for a few weeks." I gave a wry smile. "I'll find it eventually."

Marqyni chuckled. "Good luck, my friend. Come back and let me know how it turns out."

We shook hands, and I departed the library.

Through the station and into Minerva once more, I strapped in and ran preflight. As I warmed up the console, a message popped into my system. It was labeled, "TG."

Shaking my head, I played the message.

The aged voice of Silas/Traverian Grey played through the speakers of my vessel as I continued to prepare for departure:

"Well, it was quite a visit we had there, Archivist. By this time, I'm sure you've figured me out and further figured out about the area where you can find my good little
deity
." There were hints of a snide tone. "Unless of course you're not as smart as I thought you were. Either way, I sent a message off, warning Ivan that folks like you would be coming his way very soon. Oh, I'm sure he'll be surprised to hear from me after so long, but that's not important."

"Since I've seen a few of the
other
types of people Ivan's attracted, I want you to be in the lead. Attached are the coordinates and flexible flight path through the asteroid field. Fifteen years ago, if I had cared about anything but myself and you threatened it, I'd have blasted you to bits and scattered your remains across half the known universe. However, it's up to
him
to decide how to deal with you. I admit I enjoyed our conversation, and I think there's enough human left in you to do the right thing. Don't disappoint me Archivist. I'd sure hate to ruin my retirement by having to hunt your ass down."

The message ended, and I smirked. "This should save some time," I murmured, pulling Minerva out of the stall and into the docking bay.

I did as he asked. There was a garbled noise of static for a moment, and I hovered only a few meters away from the exit of the station. All in and outbound traffic appeared to have stopped.

"....Siiiiiiiiiiiid. Siddy-boy. Why don't you come out and plaaaaay?"

The voice coming through my intercom was familiar, and its presence here in unknown fashion sent an icy chill through my veins. Through the narrow docking bay entrance, I could see stars outside but no other vessels save a few hovering transports stopped and waiting.

I cut out the continued taunting and transmitted to the control center. "Where is Cain? Is he outside? What vessel is he in?"

A fearful voice came back. "Gunship. Frye-class with six unmanned drone fighters. Oh dear God."

I felt and heard nothing, but through my screens I saw the station shudder under an impact. I switched the channel back to Cain's transmission.

"You see, you love this place ever so much." I had the distinct impression he was grinning, "so I'll just go ahead and light it up, piece by piece, until you surrender and fly your little self on out here."

I didn't respond.

"Siiiiiid," he continued in his sing-song tone. "I know you can hear me. At least say something, or I'll see if I can dig out your fat bastard friend's library with a few more missiles. Now, is it near to the outer hull or toward the middle? I can't quite remember, so I suppose I'll just have to keep smashing until I find it. Very well, let's try-"

"Hello, Cain," I spoke through clenched teeth. I remembered all too keenly what Marqyni said not half an hour ago about me being the death of him. I was not eager for his statement to be prophecy.

"Sid! Oh, my boy; it's good to hear your voice. I missed you so much when you slipped away on that station. Oh goodness gracious, I was worried about you when you vanished; I had to tear the whole station apart looking!"

I drew in a sharp breath, hoping Cain didn't cause too much damage and wondering if Lorric went unscathed.

"The fight in the bar... Ooh, you missed a good time, you did. I always love it when the pathetic monkeys try to pretend they're not worthless."

My mind desperately searched for some kind of solution to the problem. Minerva's weapons were present as not much more than a formality, only mild damage potential to other vessels, especially those of a larger size. Dei Lucrii had a defense grid, but Cain could tie it up, harassing with his drones while bombarding the station. Minerva was fast, likely fast enough to escape, but Cain knew it.