The Legend of Ivan (32 page)

The malfunction turned into a problem. "She checked in later on using the communicator in her office. She seemed more nervous and scared. I didn't know what was going on, but she made me swear again I would not come down to the planet."

As Ivan watched from orbit, the crackling wreath of energy exploded into a luminescent opaque. The field expanded at a rapid speed, appearing to dissolve everything it touched.

"You see, the evacuation and transport vessels were located a distance away. None of the pilots knew what was happening until the field rushed toward them. I saw those people, through my sensors, running to their ships seconds before they were enveloped." Ivan was breathing hard, despair across his face. "I should have gone down and took her away! I didn't know what was happening!"

The obliterating field raced across the landscape, only moments away from enveloping the offices and dormitory wing. Ivan saw it moving, saw Olga's face upon the screen. A tear slid down her cheek, and she spoke.

"Ivan... I... I love you."

"Olga!
Olga no!
"

Ivan watched as the field smashed into the facility. Olga cried out his name one last time before the transmission cut out. "
Ivan!
"

She was gone.

******

Ivan held his silence for quite a long time, and I did not interrupt it. When he finally spoke, his tone was heavy, filled with regret.

"The planet dissolved, and I could do nothing." Ivan stared at the table, an expression of grief consuming his features. "It was over so quickly, but I remember each second as a lifetime. I didn't even notice the other ship until after it was over. Then, like a fool, I ran."

The Cassander: I remembered the images taken by the vessel's sensors and locked away in its archives. The voice they recorded from the planetary transmission wasn't a scream of anger. It was a cry of sorrow.

"Do you know how or why it happened?" I asked.

Ivan shook his head. "No one does. The only person, people, who knew about it were Olga and her team. The records, her brilliance, her grace and beauty... all destroyed."

One incident: one misinterpretation of a woman crying out a name, and Ivan became the terror of a galaxy. His entire story came as a surprise, and for once I possessed no idea of how to interpret or categorize it. Every piece of my search, everything related to this one moment, the pinnacle of Ivan's fame. "It wasn't your fault." The words tumbled out of my mouth, and a part of me was surprised by my expression of sympathy.

Ivan looked up, eyes red and watery. "Yes, I know. Even had I come out of orbit and tried a rescue, I only would have gotten myself killed alongside her." He gave a choked laugh. "Had I been on the world already, I couldn't have torn her away from it anyways. The problem burst into crisis and catastrophe not slowly but all at once. From then, it was over in minutes."

It was difficult to believe; this was all there was to the amazing, legendary Ivan. With his catalogue of deeds laid bare, the one thing which granted him fame was not even remotely of his doing.

I decided there was nothing to be gained by bothering Ivan any further. This long search of mine was concluded, and Ivan would not be able to provide me, Galactic Central, or any corporation with the data they sought. His fame, his legend, was the product of a massive, terrible misunderstanding.

Every flicker of sadness, punctuated by the quiet despair I saw in his eyes at the end of his story, was a brief and terrible reminder of his departed wife. Every time he heard his name mentioned as a product of myth, Olga had to have been the only thing he could think of.

"I'm sorry," I said, again surprised by the sympathy. The emotional malfunction continued to flail around, and Ivan's tragic story did little to ease it.

Ivan gave a sad smile. "It would seem your long search ends in disappointment. I fear I have nothing to give to you or your employers. No information: no bundle of impressive technology."

Hesitating for a moment of consideration, I shook my head. "Not at all," I said. "My task was to find you and the truth behind the endless parade of stories." I swept a gesture at Ivan. "Daedra-Tech will be disappointed to see no concrete advantage to my success. However, both professionally and as a matter of my own personal curiosity, I'm more than satisfied with the conclusion." This was the utter truth. My obsession was fulfilled; I had succeeded. The end result may have been unexpected, but the accomplishment was no less grand in my mind.

"I am very glad to have been of assistance," Ivan said with a slight bow.

Nodding, I stood. "It's time I departed, though your security officer probably doesn't realize the coordinates to this place are embedded within my memory. Erasing them from Minerva won't do too much."

Ivan laughed. "You better not mention it to him, or he will try very hard to make sure you don't leave."

"You're not concerned about me returning or revealing your secret here?"

"Hmmm, not so much, no." Ivan shrugged. "There is no advantage or profit for you that I can see, assuming your employer and others believe it as well. Even more," he paused, appraising me, "I see you as a good man, Archivist Sid. Even if there was a small amount for you to gain from doing so, I don't believe you would betray our trust."

Though I couldn't be entirely certain without proper circumstances, I suspected he was right, and it was yet another odd realization which didn't even seem motivated by my tumultuous emotional state. I realized I liked Ivan and further I discovered I didn't want to see anything terrible happen to him.

We stood and moved over to the door, which opened upon approach. The stern features of the acting governor glared at me from outside. "Are you finished?" Bethel asked.

Ignoring the question, I turned back to Ivan and extended a hand. "It has been a great pleasure to have sought, found, and spoken to you, Afanasi Sergeyevich Lukyanov."

The enormous man tossed back his head and laughed. He threw his massive arms around me in a crushing, one-sided hug. "Oh, my good and dear friend. Call me Ivan!"

Archivist Sid

Assignment:

Seeking information regarding the truth and whereabouts of Ivan.

Location:

Vapaus Colony

Report:

Spoke with the man known as Ivan. Discovered true nature of Atropos Incident.

Probability
:

99%

Summary:

Ivan was not responsible and has no knowledge regarding the concrete how or why of the incident. A GCG researcher by the name of Olga [Lukyanov?] may have been responsible, but she and her team were killed. Nothing more can be gained from Ivan.

Chapter 14: Demise

Ivan's tale continued to weigh heavily upon my mind as I went through the motions of wrapping up the long search.

I hardly paid attention when Minerva slid out of the asteroid field and away into the night. The long flight to the Daedra-Tech research station, a monstrosity of engineering near the core, passed in the blink of an eye. My meeting with the Senior Manager of the company was a shambling affair of anger and yelling on his part.

Even as I provided proof by displaying vids recorded with my prosthetic eye, the Senior Manager remained upset. Disappointed, the company was, by the end result. Even so, they abandoned the avenue of inquiry and agreed, upon my recommendation, to leave Ivan and Vapaus Colony alone. Ivan was correct; there was no profit to be had in disturbing them.

After receiving my payment, I was sent on my way pending any new assignments, and my pondering did not cease. My next stop was the Cassander and efforts to mitigate the charges of state secret theft among other things. Daedra managed to smooth things over and handle the trickier pieces even before I'd even met with Ivan, so dealing with Captain Onnels once the job was finished became a formality.

He was upstart, arrogant, and I only listened to a few pieces of what he had to say. Since I was a victim during the incident at Dei Lucrii XVII as much as the station itself, he focused his efforts on asking questions about Cain. It appeared my aggressive Archivist brother had overplayed his hand.

Onnels didn't even mention my murder of Dana, and the vestige of her in my thoughts almost seemed sullen because of it. However, as Archivists, our natural and murderous reaction to one another is well enough known for certain leeway to be granted. At least, it is when we direct aggression only to each other.

Assaulting an entire station full of civilians was not quite as forgivable, and the GSA was digging to find out who hired Cain and why. I was glad to hear it; if Cain would be on the run, my life could calm somewhat.

Even with Onnels' good news, I could not shake Ivan's tale from my thoughts. Never before had I clung to any assignment, and I still held no disappointment regarding the results. The discovery of Ivan and the truth behind his tale provided exhilaration beyond measure; it became my greatest achievement as an Archivist. Yet, something about it, some emotional reaction I remained unable to comprehend kept my mind preoccupied.

Even with a galaxy filled with people, entertainment of all shapes and sizes, and uncountable sights to see, I had nothing to do but think. Part of me wished for a new assignment, something to take my mind away from this old search, but a greater part knew nothing could match it. I wondered if this was how Traverian Grey felt, an obsession or longing darkening his remaining days.

Dana's vestige tittered in my thoughts, amused at my unending consternation. I blamed her influence above anything else. I could not determine if my systems, no matter how long I dug through the programming, had been compromised by her initial intrusion. They appeared undisturbed, but I knew it equally possible they were altered along with my own memory to mask the changes.

Still Dana's ghost laughed as I sifted through her memories, trying in vain to find some answer as to why my mind abandoned rationality. I felt sorrow on Ivan's behalf. His tale, his fallen love, and his constant reminder of the despair with every mention of his legend...

I returned to Dei Lucrii XVII, seeking the advice of the man who hopefully still considered me a friend. The station personnel regarded me with a wary attitude, not overly-assured I wouldn't bring more trouble upon their heads. As a result, I hovered outside, waiting on docking approval for hours. Numerous individuals who knew me on the station, including my still good friend the librarian, raised several varieties of hell when they discovered my plight. Administration had no choice but to allow my entrance.

Marqyni met me with a broad grin and a bone-crushing hug when I came inside. "Sid! Thank goodness you're okay!" He pounded me on the back. "When that madman attacked the very station, I thought we were all done for!"

I didn't say much while he half-dragged me back to his library. He rattled on for a few moments about the thrill and excitement of the Cassander's presence in system. He spoke for quite a while before realizing I had hardly responded.

"Sid, you're rather quiet. Is there something wrong?"

I explained how I couldn't shake the Ivan story from my mind.

"You've done it? You found him?" Marqyni grabbed my shoulders. "Why didn't you say so? This is wonderful news! We have to celebrate. Come now, let's get down to the bazaar and toast to this amazing accomplishment!"

His enthusiasm faded when he saw the lightly pained expression on my face. "Sid, what is it?"

Shaking my head, I told him about Dana, Cain, and Ivan's last tale. Through the course of the story, the exhilaration slowly faded from his face, replaced by a troubled expression.

"It really
wasn't
his hand which caused the devastation." Marqyni blew out a sigh. "Amazing how these things can snowball, but I don't understand why you're so worked up over it."

"Neither do I," I replied.

The librarian rubbed his round chin. "No, not like that. What I mean is; why are you so concerned about feeling something? The story you heard is a tragedy of galactic proportions. Even you, as an Archivist, still retain emotional regard." He waved his hands back and forth, laughing. "Sorry, not to express this like a children's morality vid." He broke into song. "
Eeeeveryone has feeeeeelings, even Godlike machiiiines...
" He trailed off, grinning at me.

I cracked a smile.

"There we are!" Marqyni clapped his hands. "Even robots can cry!"

"All right, enough," I chuckled, trying to hold a scowl. "I understand emotional attachment, but why can't I forget about this job? It's done, finished. I've succeeded in finding out everything about Ivan. No one was hurt along the way," I almost felt Dana's vestige scowling in my thoughts, "but still something feels
off
."

The librarian set a hand on my shoulder. "Very well. Let's see if we can't dissect that hyper-intelligent brain of yours. First-"

"Exactly what I was thinking." A voice came from the open office door, and Marqyni's eyes went wide. A bolt of fear jammed into my chest, as I recognized the voice without a moment's thought.

I turned. Cain, in all his metallic and overpowered glory, stood in the doorway. "No escape this time, Sid."

Clenching a fist, I checked over my subsystems. Green lights across the board. "How... how did you get here? You're wanted in half of-"

"If you even think about going for your intercom to call security, you fat bastard," Cain interrupted, "I'll break you and whoever shows up into kindling." Marqyni froze, half-reaching to his communicator. "And you," Cain grinned at me, that same eerie and malevolent expression, "it would seem you can smuggle anything these days."

Grimacing, I replied, "So what, you dismantled yourself and packed everything into crates?"

"Something like that, yes." He waved a hand. "But how I got here is less important than why I returned. My employer would like to speak with you. Against his better judgment, he's requested I not pound you into tiny pieces, though I'd very much like to and will if given a reason."