Ravens of Eternity

176 Crusader’s Shadow

The dark, smoky room was filled with shadows in every corner. The only light inside came from the active terminal on a large obsidian desk. Its screen was currently occupied by a shadowy silhouette of a man, though he was scrambled and highly obscured regardless.

And when the scrambled man spoke, his voice was also deeply masked and digitally altered.

“So Anatol,” said the scrambled man, “how’s the family doing lately? I heard your children have been pretty busy these past few weeks, making their mark on the Federation. I keep seeing and hearing mention of them all over the ‘Casts.”

Seated in front of the terminal was an old man in his 60s, his face obscured by the shadows all around the room.

He smiled proudly at the mention of his children.

“They’ve been doing absolutely wonderful,” he replied. “Thanks for asking. And I’m glad you noticed their efforts. They’re so dedicated to our message and our values that they’ve been working themselves to the bone.”

“Be sure to send them my regards. Especially to those who’re stationed on Gaea. What they’re doing to spread the word is truly necessary. Some are even works of art, in my humble opinion.”

“They’ll be glad to hear that. I’ll be sure to pass your praise along.”

The old man nodded solemnly, then produced an old classic-looking pipe. He shoved purple flower petals into the hole on top, slipped its mouthpiece between his lips, then pressed a button on its side with his thumb.

.....

The ceramics inside heated up until the pipe’s oven glowed, which cooked the purple petals to a rich brown. At the same time, the old man inhaled the vapors that were produced, and drew them deep into his lungs.

He exhaled the vapors as the flower’s intoxicants numbed his senses and induced a temporary joy in his mind and body.

“All of the... materials we’ve been collecting and gathering and pooling together is finally paying off,” said Anatol. “The children’s hard work is helping their Father’s goals come to fruition. I can’t ask for more than that in terms of family. They truly are dutiful...”

The two reflected in silence for a few moments, before the scrambled man spoke again.

“How long has it been since you started?” he said. “It feels like years now.”

“Decades,” said Anatol. “It’s been decades. Thirty-three years, two months, nine weeks, and four cycles to be exact.”

The scrambled man chuckled, but the audio distortion made him sound like something far from human.

“Your precision always surprises me,” he said. “More than that, I can’t believe it’s been that long. It feels as though it was only yesterday that we were at the academy together.”

Anatol nodded with a grin.

“Unfortunately we’re not that young anymore,” he replied. “And our pact has only grown older with time.”

“Stronger, too,” added the scrambled man.

“Without a doubt. Neither of us would’ve ever achieved what we have without the other. And now here we are, each of us with our own troublesome youngsters to teach, to mold. Both our families have come a long way since then. I can’t wait to see what the next thirty years will bring us.”

Anatol took another drag off his pipe, and awarded himself generously for praising his own family.

“Oh, by the way,” said the scrambled man, “are they enjoying the gifts I sent them? I went through quite a lot of trouble to send them over.”

“Don’t you worry, they’re enjoying them a great deal,” Anatol replied. “So much so that some have been practicing using them until they’re downright exhausted and unable to move, hah. My favorite – you know her – she’s become my ace. And don’t worry – they know that their doting uncle cares enough about them to send them such great toys.”

The scrambled man sighed deeply, which fluctuated oddly thanks to the masking.

“Sometimes, I’m seriously jealous of your dedication,” he said. “And how much you’ve instilled them into your children. It’s a far cry from what I’m doing with my own. Some just... won’t listen at all. I end up wanting to put them in solitary just to teach them a lesson.”

“Ah, that won’t do,” replied Anatol. “You’ve got to treat them with respect. Firm respect, but respect nonetheless. Tell you what, send me your most troublesome ones, and I’ll set them straight.”

“I might just have to do that.”

“Are you gonna want them back?”

The scrambled man laughed heartily, but before he could respond, the door behind Anatol opened with a SWISH. Light from the hallway outside spilled into the room, but only for a moment.

A feminine figure slipped into the room quickly, and the door closed behind her with a SCHWA. She quickly went to Anatol’s side, fell down on one knee, and bowed her head with absolute respect.

“Father,” she said. “Sorry for interrupting your call. But I was instructed to come see you the moment I arrived.”

Anatol quickly brightened up, and increased the room’s light through his DI. Its darkness faded as bright white lights lit up the room slowly.

“No, you’re not interrupting at all,” said Anatol. “You’re right on time. Stand up, stand up.”

The girl, Mia Grenn, deceased Federation Cadet and Prophet of Gaea stood up at the command of her Father. Her slim, beautiful face became illuminated by the lights around her.

“H-how’s this possible?” stammered the scrambled man. “She was among the confirmed dead! I saw the reports with my own eyes!”

“How rude,” said Mia.

“And it’s impossible to clone a synthetic!” continued the scrambled man. “There are hardware and software safeguards to prevent it!”

“Who said she was a clone?” said Anatol. “This Mia is an updated version, with cleaner, more advanced genetics.”

“Exactly,” added Mia. “The one that died was an inferior version of me, and her stupidity was what got her killed so quickly.”

Anatol laughed heartily at his daughter’s words.

“Now now,” he said. “No need to be so harsh on yourself. Your past versions of you will always be inferior to future versions of you. That’s the nature of iteration, of our evolution. Or at least, that’s the hope anyway.”

“I see,” replied Mia. “I’ll make sure to do better with my next version, then.”

“Anyway, nevermind the lessons for now. Tell us how your most recent excursion went.”

Mia nodded, clasped her wrist behind her, then stood at ease next to her father.

“My team went in as you ordered, Father,” she began. “We went into the building under cover of night, and did everything absolutely perfectly. No-one even knew we were there.”

“And you left my letter for the Dean?” asked Anatol, to which Mia nodded resolutely.

“Give us the details,” said the scrambled man.

~

A hopper with black-tinted windows cruised slowly and silently down a tight and dark alleyway. It stopped and powered down just after they passed a secure side door set into a building along the alleyway.

A number of them hopped out and kept an eye on all directions. While everyone else kept watch, one of them scanned the door with a hand-held intrusion device. Once he had disseminated the door’s security, he pulled out a datapad from a side pouch and began to hack into the door’s mechanisms.

With a few code rewrites, he was able to disable the alarm and open the door.

The others quickly snuck inside the building with hardly a word. They passed through darkened hallways quickly and quietly, and made their way to the elevators. All of them quickly rode one all the way to the top floor, where they were greeted by a large utilitarian foyer.

This too was barely lit, and they could just make out the shadows of benches and paintings along the walls. On the other side of the elevator doors was a set of secure double doors. Though they were simple locked glass, there were a number of security features installed on them – multiple locks, sensors, and alarm pitfalls.

The hacker went over to it, performed the same things as before – scanned it with a device, then intruded on its security through a datapad. This door took far longer to get into than the side entrance, but they still got through with little problems.

Each of the security features that protected the door shut down one by one by one, to their great satisfaction. One of the team patted him on the shoulder to congratulate him.

The doors opened up to a large laboratory with multiple testing stations, measuring devices, and airtight refrigerated cabinets. Behind every single one of the floor-to-ceiling cabinets were vials filled with blood.

There were hundreds, if not thousands of them. Each one was marked with various numbers and letters. Very rarely were they labeled with a first name, such as “Johann” or “Tali”. None had a surname.

All of them quickly went to the vials and looked among the many racks and shelves, in search of the right one. Eventually, one of the Prophets found what they were all looking for.

She quickly opened a cabinet and grabbed a single vial of blood. The Prophet pulled a secure capsule from one of her pockets, slid the vial into it securely, then closed it shut before stowing it.

Then she pulled out a small datapad storage chip, and placed it in the spot where the vial used to be.

All of them quickly left the building as fast as they could the exact same way they came. Except, once they were back down at the lobby, each one attached a satchel to the walls and activated them.

Lights on the satchels began to blink and beep, even as the Prophets ran back out to their hopper. They didn’t hesitate to zip off into the dark streets even as they closed the hopper’s doors behind them.

It was only moments later when their satchels erupted with a grand BOOM, and blew open the building’s first floor wide open. Their explosions tore through the foyer, burst open every door, and singed every surface in sight.

~

After relaying her report, Mia reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a secure capsule. She opened it up gently, took out the vial of blood, and handed it over to her father with care.

“Great work, Mia,” he told her. “You’re truly the best of all my children. Honestly, you’re the only one I can always count on, no matter what.”

The girl beamed with pride at his words, and felt it swell up inside her. Nothing made her feel more fulfilled than praise and adulation from her father. Her eyes began to mist up and turn red, but she held back the powerful urge to cry.

Showing too much emotion was unbecoming of a Prophet.

“Thank you, father,” she said. “I hope I can be of further use to the Grand Mission.”

Anatol took a puff of his pipe, then leaned back as he looked at Mia. She had certainly grown much since her last version’s death at the academy. Her competence, loyalty, and resourcefulness increased dramatically with his newest tweaks.

And she had become his best pilot to boot.

“What would you say to a reward, hm?” he said. “You definitely deserve one.”

Mia was immediately shocked, and her mouth gaped with surprise.

“N-no father,” she stammered. “Your thanks is more than enough.”

“Oho,” he replied. “If only that were actually true. No, this time I think you’re ready. Ready to head out, to build your own operation, to lead your own branch of the family.”

Anatol took one last puff off his pipe before he set it down. Then he looked straight into Mia’s clear blue eyes, which was brimming with pride, and close to tears.

“The words of the Prophets of Gaea need to be spread,” he told her. “And I want you to help me spread that word. To that effect, I hereby gift you with the title of Crusader. With this, you have the freedom to make a real impact on the people of the Federation.”

Overwhelmed by her father’s gift, Mia straightened her back immediately, squared her shoulders, and lowered her head before her father.

“I’m greatly honored and humbled by your gift, father,” she said. “As a Crusader, I vow to spread your word, and the words of the Prophets. I shall do so until the death of this body, and even the next.”

“Good, good,” said Anatol. “Now, I want you to head out and begin your conversions. Give them your word, and send me their blood. I urge you to start somewhere small and quiet and far from the core worlds, where no-one can interrupt you.”

.....

“Yes, Father. Should I bring Darius with me again?”

“No, he isn’t quite ready yet. Bring Callie instead. She’s far more capable than Darius can ever be.”