The Legend of Ivan (31 page)

Though massive, strong, and quick to aggression, Ivan's temperament softened with Olga's influence. And so they grew together, fondness forming over the course of many years. Ivan's aggressive nature all but disappeared by seeing her smile and hearing her endless rationality.

He vowed to keep her safe through everything she did: to provide his life, blood, toil, sweat, and anything else he had to make sure she was happy and satisfied. Driven by ambition, she worked without ceasing at every goal she made. Even so, there never lay a moment she couldn't spare for her favorite giant.

Olga's steadfast determination in some ways made her careless. When she entered a university, she conducted research at a blinding pace. An accident took her hand.

"I did everything I could," Ivan said with a sad smile. "I saved every credit from every job I could find. I remained talented at the less delicate arts, and I was able to get enough together to afford a prosthetic."

But Olga's temperament did not soften from the accident. "They were not of the highest quality, but the better ones were a hundred times the cost. She went through one every few months, it seemed." Ivan threw back his head and laughed. "When I asked what she wanted me to do with the old ones, she said, 'It makes no difference to me, Ivan. Sell them for scrap metal, decorate your ship,' but I decided upon something different."

Ivan had them melted down and used in the materials for his various possessions. He even managed to have some of it added surgically to the augmentations he received. He said it was so, when she was wrapped up in research and he in raising funds for her, they could always be together.

"She said to me, 'Ivan, you are a hopeless, idiotic, bumbling fool of a romantic, and I would never have you any other way.'"

Out of her ambition-shortened education, she was hired by the research colony at Atropos Garden. The project was veiled in secrecy, a dim hope for the government to find influence in the galaxy which was slipping away from them. It was one of the Galactic Central Government's many avenues of interest, under-funded with low expectations. Olga's life's work became a realm of study Ivan and most everyone else in the galaxy knew next to nothing about.

The two couldn't have been happier with it.

So they each worked. Olga conducted her research, and Ivan fluttered about the galaxy in various labors. Most of his time was spent in mining and construction, but Ivan relished the occasional prize fight or local bounty. A skilled pilot even before augmentations, he carved a small piece of reputation for valor in a few battles, including the rebellions of Caldonis and New Prague.

Save for base, simple needs, his money went to her requirements and as a meager supplement to her research. They saw each other as often as possible, unable to stay away too long.

"When I was on the station and saved that man, my injuries were severe." Ivan covered his face with a hand. "She took the first transport to come to me. The ship she used was taken by the slaver people under Mister Hanatar and that bastard Barian Dreger. She was brought to this place, what the freed slaves now call Vapaus Colony."

Ivan's procedure took weeks to complete, and some unidentified botch evidently sent him screaming from the operating room. "My strength was increased tenfold, but my memory gives only brief flashes of what happened. Frightened faces, broken equipment. I remember one thing above all, one thought in my mind all those weeks: 'Olga, where is my Olga?'"

When the horrid feeling of grinding glass in his muscles and bones faded to a dull roar, Ivan set about the seedier end of dealings. His newfound strength and agility made mercenary work all the easier.

Money poured in and disappeared in the search for his stolen wife. He engaged in safari hunts for entitled connoisseurs of large trophies, bigger bounties, and any other contract for skilled muscle which didn't involve too much illegal activity. During this time, his legend built, but there was nothing yet big enough to catapult everything he was into the limelight.

"My reflexes as a pilot were unmatched, and no task was too difficult," Ivan said. "I made considerable money, and I refused to believe she was killed."

News reports of the transport's disappearance gave no strong indication of whether or not the passengers were captured or dead. The odds were equal, but through money and quiet whisperings, he discovered the mere possibility of Olga being taken to a slave colony. Further yet, the vessel was attacked in an area near to Hanatar's operations.

Ivan's reputation exploded within the galaxy's more sordid population, and he managed to gain the trust of Damien Pintz with skull-cracking and piloting skills. The weasel of a man brought Ivan into the fold, providing all of the information Ivan requested with barely a hint of hesitation. "I liked Damien, but he was a simple-minded man living only for the approval of someone very bad," Ivan said.

A shipment, Ivan had grit his teeth at the callous reference to kidnapped people, of laborers was indeed gathered from a transport bearing the callsign and signature Ivan provided. Damien was all too happy to track it down. It was confirmed: the vessel from which Olga and the other travelers were taken had been incorporated into Hanatar's smuggling fleet. This, of course, was after the captives had been taken to the slave colony.

"Still, it was not certain she was still alive. It was possible she died during the capture of the transport. Or," he winced, "being removed due to lacking productivity. I unfortunately learned of the ways the laborers were treated. I could barely restrain my rage, but I knew Olga. Even with infirmity, she was a survivor, and she knew I would be coming for her."

As the tale progressed, Ivan's tone deepened into a mixture of distant happiness and crippling sorrow. His massive form appeared wreathed in a long-set despair, but he still seemed to remember his wife with profound clarity and devotion. "Already three years went by before I started working for Damien. Nearly another year passed before I found out the little bit about the transport. I became frustrated, and I took a risk to speed things along."

Carefully, in his spare time, he took to sabotaging the business from within. Anonymous tips led the GSA to startling victories over the Hanatar Empire, and this included the capture of Barian Dreger. "I was hiding nearby, my ship powered down to mask my signals. He cut loose the cargo, the people inside, and tried to run." He clenched a fist. "The authorities chasing him gave no heed to those about to die, and I couldn't allow it to crash with even the slightest chance my Olga was on board. Even more, I could not allow the deaths of so many innocents. She would not have wanted that."

One scan of the manifest, its true contents masked by security within Ivan's authority to bypass, revealed a shipment of miners. Knowing the training regimen and recalling Olga's small stature and infirmity, he knew she wouldn't be on it. "Besides," he added, "if she was taken somewhere else, it would have been done long before then."

Ivan released the slaves in an action unbeknownst to the GSA, who pressured Dreger into betraying allegiances. With Ivan continuing to supply a steady stream of tips, they started to slip the noose around Hanatar's neck.

"I couldn't believe the luck which brought me straight to my enemy's door. Working directly for Hanatar provided such opportunity." Ivan gave a grim smile, rubbing his fist and remembering the anger long-buried. "When he asked me to find the leak in his organization, I knew my time had come."

GSA custody was a circumvention joke for someone of Ivan's skill. He snatched the subject of his great enmity and dragged information out of him, including the coordinates of the fabled slave colony. "It was not enough for me; they had to pay," Ivan said with measures of regret. "I do not like the person I became then. I was too driven by anger."

The rest of it was easy. Hanatar stood no chance of stopping Ivan. His fate was sealed, and the arrest would certainly stick. However, Ivan was not yet finished. He sabotaged every avenue of escape for Hanatar. He frightened off the defense lawyers and disposed of anyone threatening the prosecution, witnesses, judges, and arresting officers. He continued to peck away at the foundations of Hanatar's empire, sewing fear and dissent throughout. Finally, he personally assaulted the slaver colony and shattered that avenue of Hanatar's business.

It took weeks to sort through the refugees and set up a rudimentary system of governing for the former slaves. Months were spent ferrying many of them to worlds where they could contact family and return to their lives. Finally, records of hundreds of slaves were scoured for any sign of his beloved Olga.

After ensuring the security of the newly christened Vapaus Colony, Ivan departed to find his wife. He tracked her to the client Veger Montgomery.

"I wanted very badly to kill this man, and I discovered he frequented the casino near Old Earth." Ivan clenched a huge fist.

The connections blazed in my mind. Not a heist at all: a rescue. Gregor Wilhelm, the proprietor, hadn't any real clue as to why Ivan came there. My suspicion, the off sensation I noted from his story in the way Ivan seemed to ramble through the halls, was confirmed. Ivan
was
looking for something, some
one
.

"Olga's skills were in many ways unique among the labor population." Ivan said. "Her injury and stature did not lend themselves to mining or extensive cleaning work, but they quickly found out how brilliant she was. Numbers, research, figuring out and building simple machines, discovering patterns. They realized she could accomplish probability calculation in her sleep." Ivan scowled. "They put her up for auction as a new variety of servant they called 'The Gambler's Delight.' I knew the second I discovered her title exactly what Olga would think of it."

He was correct. Olga, though some of her fire became tempered by the brutal training procedure of her captors, considered the child's level of calculation to be a complete waste of her talent. She said as much to her new owner on a number of occasions, but he disagreed when she managed to net him numerous hundreds of thousands in profit.

"I retrieved my wife, and she did two things when we drew out of the reach of danger. She slapped me." Ivan laughed. "She slapped me and said, 'What took you so long you great oaf?' Then, we embraced, back together after too long apart."

I felt the slightest tug of emotion in my chest, surprised at its presence and quickly shoving it aside as Ivan continued.

"We spent some time together, then, freed from the burdens we held. The happiest months of my life passed as I had her, uninterrupted for so long." He let out a long sigh. "As much as I'd like to say it was her endless ambition which led us back to reality, I too grew restless after a while."

Olga asked Galactic Central if she would be allowed to return to her research. As Atropos Garden experienced no advancement in her absence, they agreed. This time, however, Ivan's work and funding provided much more opportunity for Olga. The sources and trusts he gained from his years as a mercenary made finding research materials a breeze.

Ivan limited his time away, only a few jobs and a small amount of harassment on Hanatar. At least, until he destroyed the attack cruiser at Orkanis. "I was familiar with the ship, its design flaws and previous battle damage. It was easy prey, especially after the beating it took before reaching the planet. After that," Ivan stroked his chin, "I was finished with the vengeance business, so I returned to more simple jobs."

As Ivan's career relaxed into a slower pace, Olga's research cranked up to feverish tempo. Working no less than ten to twelve hours at a time, her experiments began to show real progress.

"It took me many years to discover what it was she was trying to do there. It was well beyond me and hooded in the darkest secrecy." Ivan gave a bitter laugh. "They seemed to spend more money on the tight security and non-disclosure than they did on the actual facility. It was only a couple of years ago I was able to describe what happened to another man of science."

Ivan shrugged at my surprised expression. "When the stories faded away and no one was quite sure if I was real, I went out every now and then. Anyway," he cleared his throat, "this man I spoke to scoffed and laughed at me. He said, 'Molecular dissolution is impossible on anything but the tiniest scale. The entire field of study is an impractical, pseudo-scientific realm no better than the foolish notion of alchemy and transmuting lead to gold.' From what I could tell, most everyone except my Olga and her team thought as much."

Science well understood the process of breaking things down, at least on a small scale. Putting particles together to fabricate, replicate, or even transport one substance to another location had been a research dead-end. "It sounds as such a simple thing," Ivan said, "but the uses are infinite. Teleporting: no longer is there a great need for the millions of ground to atmosphere or ship to ship shuttles. Fabrication: food, clothing, necessities and luxuries at the push of a button."

However, the research was difficult. They could manage small things: a few particles of certain molecules. However, most everything they did was unstable and prone to collapse.

Ivan squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He hesitated before continuing. "I remember there was one time when she came home burning with excitement over her work. She could not tell me about it, but she said there was a breakthrough." He took a deep breath, clenching a fist at his mouth. "Two weeks later, she, the world, and everything on it died."

It started as a twinkle, a blue wreath of energy at the experiment site of the facility, which connected through a long tramway to the personnel offices and dormitories. Ivan had gone off-world for a time to check on the well-being of the established and hiding Vapaus Colony. Olga's work had been all-consuming, so Ivan took the opportunity to see how his freed slaves were faring.

He returned in time to see it happen, less than one hour before the end.

"She forbade me from landing, saying there was some kind of malfunction which needed to be resolved." Real tears formed in Ivan's eyes. "It was I who should have been protecting her. Not the other way around."