I shot up, standing tall. I looked down at Xena’s data core. “Hold on. Please tell me you didn’t accept their offer,” I said.
“Why not? Of course I did. Many of those androids have training equivalent to a doctor. Almost half of our physicians were killed by the Mave. We needed aid more than ever after the battle. There were dozens of severe leg and foot injuries from all the running in panic. And I didn’t know if the Architect might have released some sort of airborne virus in her dying breath. I had no idea, but I wanted to be sure,” he explained.
“Where’s Leo?” I asked. I could feel my heart pounding.
“He’s probably still asleep. He needed the rest. Vic, tell me what the hell is going on,” Luther replied.
“He doesn’t know that you asked the androids for medical aid, does he?” I asked rhetorically.
“No, probably not,” he replied.
I crossed my arms. “What exactly did the androids do? What kind of medical care or tests did they perform?” I asked.
Luther looked at the floor. “I ordered them to check the air quality for any anomalies and the population for any signs of infection. They worked around the clock with the doctors we had left and—”
“Did they take blood samples?” I asked.
“Yes, of course. I wanted to be sure there wasn’t something new our scanners could detect,” he replied.
“Fuck!” I yelled. I put my hands on my head as I paced back and forth. “Luther, listen to me very carefully. When we went to negotiate with the androids, we uncovered a disturbing revelation. They formed an alliance with the Warden’s nomads, and yes, they were human.”
Confused, he tilted his head at me. “The Warden had an alliance with these androids?”
I sighed. “Yes, but there’s a reason I’m telling you this first.”
Luther turned his back on me and crossed his arm. “Just lay it on me. Don’t hold back.”
“Those androids came to an agreement with the Warden’s nomads. They promised to provide medical care in exchange for this alliance. But instead, they stole their DNA and used it for their own medical research—clones. These clones are part of ongoing testing so that they can someday recreate their previous owners. The nomads discovered this, and it started a war with the androids,” I explained.
Luther tightened his fists. He paused for several seconds as he looked around the room. “The androids took the nomads’ blood samples, and now, they have ours. That’s basically what you’re telling me?” he asked.
I hesitated. “More than likely. The larger the population of genetic diversity, supposedly the better for their cloning research. They’re obsessed with the bond they had with their previous owners and these clones are dying at their expense while they perfect their research. It was never about the betterment of humanity for them; it was always a selfish motivation.”
Luther turned his head toward me slowly. “And you and Leo brought them here, to our home, knowing this?” he asked, raising his voice slightly.
My chest sunk as he lasered me with the single green eye staring through his mask. “I had to do something drastic. We received the transmission that the Legion was under siege, but we couldn’t make out the details. Luther, please, the Mave’s assault limited our communications with the Legion. Leo and I took a gamble. We took control of Sylass, their leader. Xena was able to hijack their entire colony using this data core,” I explained, holding out the device.
“Damn!” Luther shouted, smashing his fist into the ice wall. Chunks of ice ejected into the room as I stared a million miles away in silence.
He faced me. “This goes against everything we stand for—manipulation at the expense of mankind to benefit any machine is blasphemy. No sooner do we stop the Architect than we invite more of these abominations into our home.” He breathed heavily. I could tell he was doing everything in his power to contain his anger. “Night’s watch,” Luther said, pressing in his earpiece. “Come in. Good. Listen to me. Wake up every knight immediately and have him muster in the recruit training barracks. Now!” he demanded.
He stormed toward the exit. “Luther,” I said, stopping him in his tracks.
He paused for a moment, then faced me. “You and Leo should have told me about the android cloning research, Victoria. That was a mistake,” he said.
“I know that! It wasn’t my intention to keep it from you, but this place was a madhouse. I didn’t even know if we’d survive the Mave. I was delirious from exhaustion, Luther. I barely remember making it back to my quarters. And you took off in a hurry, remember?” I asked.
“There were Legion matters that required my attention. People are frightened and injured, Victoria, crying at my feet and unable to move back into their own homes. They were begging me to tell them where their family members were. I have a tunnel full of the answers they seek, corpses of their loved ones. I had a job to do. That’s why I left,” he replied.
I looked down. “I don’t pretend to understand what you’ve been through, but what I do know is you have the ability to operate much longer than the rest of us. Your nanobots suspend your exhaustion. I’ve seen it in action. The events leading up to the Architect’s death were extremely taxing for me, mentally and physically. I’m not making an excuse, but I want you to know I’m only human. My body, my mind, failed me and that’s why I failed the Legion,” I explained.
Luther stepped forward slowly. He paused, closing his eyes before staring down at me. “All I know is those androids saw a window of opportunity and seized it. Now, we must do the same and destroy their research. I don’t want to talk about this anymore until the knights arrive. I want you to be at the meeting and ready to answer questions. Is that understood?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“We’ll need to know more from you about these androids,” he said, turning away.
“Luther, we’re in disarray, still recovering from the Mave assault. We just ended a war,” I said.
“And these androids started another,” he replied before walking away.
I PUT ON MY UNIFORM and fastened my leather belt. It felt loose. I’d likely lost weight in the last couple of days. I wasn’t hungry. I held my sword in my hand, staring down at it. The image of Luther brutally killing the Architect entered my mind. Shivers went up my spine as I thought about how gruesome her death was.
I slipped my sword through the loop on my belt as I stepped into the hall. Leo was leaning against the wall next to my room. “Hey,” I said. He stared through me for a few moments without saying a word.
“Just before I left the entrance to get sleep, I saw the androids leaving the Legion. Now I’m hearing they didn’t leave until much later?” he asked.
“Luther called them back at some point,” I replied. He shook his head slowly.
“Leo, Victoria! The meeting is starting!” a deep male voice shouted from down the corridor. I peered around Leo and noticed four knights huddled around Luther about thirty paces down the hall. Renheart had his arm in a sling. The other knights appeared exhausted and were covered in bandages, mostly on their arms.
In twenty-four hours, our knights had been reduced to less than half of our already critically low numbers. These men were older to begin with and it was clear we weren’t ready for any offensive against the androids. Not yet.
Leo held his stare at me for a moment before turning toward his fellow knights. He walked off with me in tow. As we approached, the knights seemed to look at me. They seemed to scrutinize my approach like I had committed an awful crime.
Luther crossed his arms as the knights spread out, allowing me and Leo to enter their ranks. “Knight Recruit Belic, I have informed our remaining knights of the information you provided about the androids,” Luther said.
I bit my lip and panned around. Knight Renheart was standing beside me. He slowly shuffled his feet in my direction. He took a long look at Leo, then glanced at me. “I’d like to know why this information wasn’t the first thing out of your mouths when y
ou arrived,” he said.
I stared at Renheart. “The Legion was under siege when we arrived, sir. The first thing out of my mouth was ordering those androids to slaughter the Mave at the southern entrance, which they did. Thousands of those things were massacred only meters away from our population.”
Luther looked at me. “No one here is denying the androids assisted in the Legion’s liberation. The Architect took a risk when she moved her forces outside to flank our population. This exposed them your freighters’ gunfire. It’s highly unlikely the Legion would have survived if it weren’t for your and Knight Leo’s actions in commandeering their leader, Sylass. But that’s not our point.”
Leo looked around at his fellow knights. “It all happened so fast. We went from not knowing the details of the initial Mave attack to arriving to witness a massive horde at our gates. From there, the Mave seemed to take precedence over the androids’ cloning ambitions.”
Luther nodded. “Let me be clear. Neither of you have committed a crime. However, that’s not to say we’re not disappointed. Going forward, we need to ensure that information of such importance is passed to leadership in order to prevent mistakes, despite the intensity of the situation,” Luther said.
Leo’s eyes widened as he stood up tall. “Prevent mistakes?” Leo repeated as he took in a deep breath. He glanced over at me for a moment. I got the feeling he had a bone to pick.
“My lord, permission to speak freely,” he requested. His tone sounded like there wasn’t an option.
Luther seem relaxed despite Leo’s somewhat aggressive tone. “Go on,” he replied.
“If the discussion is taking this course, I would like to comment on the decision to leave Knight Recruit Belic here when we negotiated with the androids,” Leo said.
Luther took a giant step toward Leo. “You think I’ve forgotten that you disobeyed my orders and took Knight Recruit Belic with you? That is punishable by law.”
Leo stared up at Luther as he towered over him. “And despite my disobedience, I’m bringing it up because I knew it was the right thing to do. Recruit Belic is our only pilot, and if it weren’t for me tricking her into coming with me, the Legion would have fallen. Who else would have been able to fly those freighters back full of android combatants to save the Legion? Belic had the experience and luckily the resources with Xena that were needed to accomplish this mission. You were going to send Knight Renheart in her stead, and I believe this was because... of your personal relationship with Recruit Belic,” Leo said.
Luther turned his head away. The dramatic overhead light above us in the otherwise dark tunnel gave his mask a menacingly sinister appearance. He looked at me for a moment, then began to circle the group, tucking his hand under his chin.
“Knight Leo, just because things seem a certain way doesn’t mean they are. You’re young and it’s easy to assume I would want to protect the woman I love at all costs. And let me be clear: I do love this woman,” he said with authority, pointing at me. Admittedly, his unwavering confirmation to his men gave me chills even though Leo and I were being reprimanded. “She’s the only woman in the world who knew me before all this madness.” He stopped beside Leo, looking into his eyes.
“Yes, sire, I understand—”
Luther pointed his finger up, silencing Leo. “But it’s also very petty and enormously irresponsible of me to risk the safety of all my people, of humanity even, for the woman I love. How am I any different from the Legion commoner? Any man who lost his wife? Or a woman who lost her daughter? We are the Legion; we move forward without the ones we love,” Luther said, holding his stare at Leo.
Leo seemed to be collecting his thoughts before he responded. “Sire, but isn’t it possible your relationship affected your choice, subconsciously?” Leo asked.
Luther pointed at Leo. “No. It’s not. Every decision I make when it pertains to the Legion is a conscious one. Let me ask you something since we’re speaking freely. Do you think your sacrifice is unique to the rest of ours?” Luther asked.
Leo raised his eyebrows. “What sacrifice do you speak of, sire?”
“For all intents and purposes, you handled your father’s death well. Perhaps too well. You turned a blind eye for the good of the Legion. I commend you for this. But I believe this might have wounded you more than his actual death. Look how you’re holding me accountable without any evidence,” Luther said, raising his voice.
Leo shook his head. “That’s not it. I—”
“Let me finish, Knight Leo. Your accusation is groundless. I believe the death of your father made you distraught, paranoid that I won’t hold myself to the same standard you set in putting the Legion first, but let me say this: I’ve given up the woman I loved once for my people, and I’d do it again. I’d give my life a thousand times over if I could save the Legion, and I know you’d do the same, Leo. But we must not turn inward on ourselves. Despite the tragedy, we must be the shining example to others. It’s our duty. I know your heart is true, but you must allow yourself to grieve for your father,” Luther said as he squeezed Leo’s shoulder.
In that moment, it seemed Luther’s knights felt a sense of empathy for Leo. Luther and Leo had been through such a dramatic rollercoaster with each other. Who could possibly relate? I couldn’t, even my and Luther’s situation was less complicated.
Leo looked over at me. I gulped as tears trickled down his face onto his black overcoat. I imagined them as waves crashing against the shores of reality. The man was in a dark place I wouldn’t want to venture. Deep down, we, Leo included, knew Luther was telling the truth.
A part of me wanted to believe Luther was protecting me by not sending me to the android colony, but in his mind, I simply wasn’t the right choice. He admitted he was willing to give me up for his people, and I believed him. It seemed odd, but I also loved him for it.
It was uncomfortable to admit, but I felt in that moment I grew as a person. For the first time, I felt the good of the Legion truly superseded my love for Luther. Leo’s assumption about Luther putting his personal relationship first wasn’t true, but he wasn’t wrong about me. I marched those androids into the Legion after the Architect to save Luther first and the people second. It was clear to me now no matter how I rationalized it before.
Much of my life, I was so focused on finding someone to replace the emptiness I felt in my soul that it created tunnel vision. When I found Luther, he became my world and I was willing to do anything to get him back, but as Leo stood in front of me, accepting his reality, it was time I accepted mine.
“Leo,” I said.
He turned his head toward me slowly. As humiliating as this would be for most people, I gathered he took that as a learning experience. His face exuded strength and confidence despite being covered in tears.
Luther and his knights stared at me. “Victoria? You have something to say?” he asked.
I flexed my calves and clenched my fists. “I do. Yes. Leo, I think there are things in life that happen that are unexplainable. Fate seems too cliché, but it’s difficult to deny some things. This is one of those times. Luther wasn’t putting his personal relationship above the Legion, but I was. When you questioned my actions for marching the androids against the Mave instead of protecting our population, you were right, and I was wrong. My priority was finding him first, not because of his importance to the people, but because of his importance... to me,” I admitted.
I sighed in relief. Renheart faced Luther and mumbled something.
I took a step toward Leo. “So even though you were wrong about Luther, you were right about me, and you’ve forced me to come to the realization that I have a lot of room to grow, not just as a future knight, but as a person.”
Renheart shuffled toward me. He met eyes with me and Leo. “Look, I hate to cut this self-growth intervention short, but we really need to know what sort of defenses the androids have around their base.”
I glanced at Leo. “I didn’t notice any outer defenses. They have strike te
ams that respond to intrusions,” I said.
“What sort of weaponry do our freighters have?” Luther asked.
“No ordinance, only laser turrets,” I replied.
“Can they penetrate their ship’s hull?” Luther asked.
“Doubtful,” I responded.
Renheart glanced back at Luther, then stared at Leo. “Is there any way we can get inside it?”
A tall, bald knight shook his head. I vaguely remembered him from before. He was one of the older knights Luther reinstated to service. I could tell he wanted to say something. “Were any of you paying attention to those androids while they were here? We will be cut to shreds. They have hundreds of highly trained soldiers and we have a handful of knights, most of which are injured, along with several soldiers. We don’t have the numbers. It’s as simple as that,” he said, staring at Renheart.
“We will have the numbers. I’ve got young men that are ready to volunteer,” Renheart said. The knights began to bicker among themselves.
Luther raised his hand. “Silence. It makes no sense for the Legion to combat this threat alone. Recruit Belic told me the Warden’s nomads attacked the androids after the discovery of their cloning research. I see the potential of an alliance.”
“That’s only part of the story. Much of the reason the nomads attacked the androids was because their Warden was killed. The nomads believe the machines did it,” Leo said. Everyone glanced toward Luther.
“That’s perfect. The nomads don’t know we’re responsible for the Warden’s death, do they? It’s our word against the androids, and the nomads already distrust them to begin with,” Renheart said, shrugging.
“The problem is the androids did their own investigation. They know my father was killed by a plasma sword. If they’re somehow able to convince the nomads of this truth, it could be a problem,” Leo explained.
Luther panned around the room, meeting eyes with all of us briefly. “Noted. Does anyone else have something to add?” Luther asked.
The Reclamation and the Lioness Page 14
