“How am I supposed to answer that, Trevor?” he asked. “I have no idea why they want humans dead. Nobody does.”
“That’s not what I mean,” said Trevor. “Why only one?”
Archer resisted the urge to take a guess, and waited for him to continue.
“It wasn’t an attack,” said Trevor. “It may have seemed like one, but they have other reasons for appearing.”
“It did attack us, though,” said Archer.
“After Bart and Vivian tried to confront it. It didn’t kill either of them, as you know. It was there for another reason… maybe to see the walls of the city? Or maybe… to deliver a message.”
“That’s the explanation you have for me?” asked Archer. “It’s no explanation at all.”
“There’s so much more going on here than you could ever understand,” said Trevor. “You’re seeing it all through the lens of someone raised in Tempus, one of the last human cities, existing for centuries without any meaningful technological progression. Born in the middle of the last dark age.”
“Trevor, you aren’t making any sense,” said Archer.
His brother was silent for a couple of seconds, walking beside him as he continued his patrol. Finally, Trevor looked over at him, meeting his eye. Archer was again reminded of the fact that Trevor was dead, and he was talking to a ghost, or a hallucination.
“What if there was a way for humans to merge with machines?” said Trevor. “For us to transfer our consciousness, or souls, or whatever makes us who we are, into technology?”
Have I lost my mind, or has he lost his?
“There were rumors about this being something that the pre-stagnation humans were working on,” said Archer. “But it didn’t work. They ended up building AIs instead, and we both know how that tuned out.”
“I’m a proof of concept, Archer,” said Trevor. “I’m here. Talking to you. Feeling and thinking, but without a body, without a shell beyond the electronics of your armor skin.”
“Trevor…” Archer couldn’t think of what to say. He felt a sudden, desperate urge of climb out of the armor skin, to get away from whatever else Trevor had to say.
“This could be what’s happened to humanity,” said Trevor. “Maybe all of the people we think lost, or dead, are really joined with the Rogue AI, their spirits lifted from flesh and preserved in technology.”
“Trevor,” said Archer. “You can’t honestly think that. That’s… insane.”
“And yet here I am,” said Trevor. “Think about what I’m saying. Imagine if someone was sick, suffering from a disease of the body, or the mind. If there was a way for them to escape their physical body, they could be well again, healthy, possibly even immortal, or very near it.”
“You’re talking about… mom,” whispered Archer. “You’re saying that you think she could be saved, through this?”
“Exactly,” said Trevor. “Think very carefully about what this could mean, Archer! The Overseer and all of the Senators are debating over what to do with resources and whether to expand with buildings, when true salvation for all of humanity could be within grasp!”
“I get it,” said Archer. “You… are compromised.”
Trevor glared at him.
“That’s the real truth that you’ve explained, as far as I can tell,” said Archer. “You aren’t on the side of the people anymore. You’re somehow serving a role for the Rogue AI, and the fabricants.”
“Listen to what I’m saying, Archer!” screamed Trevor. “There are no sides!”
Archer took a deep breath and closed his eyes, hearing Trevor continuing to shout, but the sound of it slowly faded into the background. When he finally opened them again, his brother was gone. He continued on with his patrol.
CHAPTER 32
Ada kept him on watch until the start of sunset. When she ordered him back in, she explained how to find the nearest entrance rail cycle tunnel, hidden amongst the wasteland and only openable from the inside.
He located the nearly indiscernible door and waited until Ada triggered the mechanism to open it, revealing a cycle shrouded in inky blackness. The ride back to the armory wasn’t as harrowing as the decent, which gave him time to mull over what his brother had said.
It’s insane to think about. Tempus is barely hanging on, and he’s talking about giving it over to the Rogue.
Archer was eager to climb out of his armor skin once he was back in the armory. He changed back into his civilian clothes before meeting Ada outside the locker room. She frowned at him, as though she could sense the seeds of doubt Trevor’s words had planted in his mind.
“Whatever it is, you need to put it out of your head,” she said. “You’re going to be going on a mission tomorrow, Archer.”
“Where?” Archer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What he really wanted was a day off, but knew that was impossible. The weight and pressure of being a Metal Knight was evident now more than ever.
“We’ve been getting odd reports of instability from Syprus,” she said. “Granted, their Ruling Council is usually very guarded with the information they share with us, but it’s coming from all sources. Traders, our ambassador, and our intelligence officers. Everything points to something being very off.”
“Can you be more specific than that?” asked Archer. “What’s causing this?”
“It’s similar to what we saw last night,” said Ada. “Odd sightings of fabricants getting closer to the city than normal, and acting… strangely.”
“And you want me to go protect their city, instead of Tempus?”
Ada glared at him.
“Would you let me finish?” she snapped. “Of course that’s not what I want. They have their own armor skins. Less of them than we do, but enough for a city of their size. Archer, you’ll be escorting our ambassador home.”
“Oh,” he said.
He felt an odd thrill run through him. Though Syprus was the nearest of the remaining havens to Tempus, only three hundred miles away, Archer had never visited it before. Barely anyone in the city, barring ambassadors, a few Senators, the merchant class, and of course the Metal Knights, ever made the trip.
I’m going to get to see another haven. That’s… unbelievable.
“You’ll be taking a vehicle, so you’ll be able to make the trip out in a solid afternoon of driving,” said Ada. “I’ll explain the rest in the morning. You’re dismissed.”
Archer nodded, and gave her an exaggerated salute before heading across the armory and up the elevator.
The walk back to the Prime Complex took longer than he’d been expecting. People gawked at Archer openly, some of them applauding as he passed by. Before the battle of the previous night, he’d been an object of public attention, but of a different, more judgmental kind.
A group of young kids, children of rich citizens, probably, begged him to sign autographs for them as he walked by. Archer felt ridiculous, but he did it, waving to them as he walked off. A small crowd had formed in the time it had taken, and he didn’t know what to say to them.
“Just… headed home,” he said.
They made a way for him to continue on, but didn’t return to whatever they’d been doing until he was down the block and around the corner. It was an interesting phenomenon, but the pressure of having eyes on him all the time made him feel like he constantly needed to moderate himself. It wasn’t as fun as he’d initially assumed it was going to be.
It was a relief when he finally made it to the Prime Complex and headed back up to his room. He swiped his door card and walked inside. There were voices coming from within, Leigh and someone else. He scanned the living room and recognized the guest.
“Oh, hello,” said Emily. “It’s good to see you again, Archer.”
The leader of the realists wore a flower printed dress that was loose around the skirts and tight around her bust. She slowly rose from where she’d been sitting and smiled at him. Next to her, Leigh looked visibly nervous.
“I invited her over,” said Leigh.
“She had a few things to talk to me about, and I’ve been a bit wary about heading out on my own. The media channels keep trying to ask me questions about you.”
Archer chuckled.
“Yeah, it’s kind of annoying,” he said. “That’s fine. Are you staying for dinner, Emily?”
Emily shook her head, and then set a hand on Leigh’s shoulder.
“Unfortunately not,” she said. “And I’m going to need Leigh to join me for something, tonight. If that’s alright with you?”
Archer frowned. He’d been looking forward to seeing Leigh again. They still had unfinished business from that morning. Just the thought of how her soft body had felt against him, the two of them moving together, was enough to get him halfway back toward the feverish excitement he’d felt.
“I mean…” He hesitated. “I guess it’s okay? It’s for something important?”
“Yes,” said Leigh, in a quiet voice. “I’m sorry, sir.”
Archer made a small, huffing noise. It was as though the second he showed any displeasure toward her, Leigh immediately withdrew back into her appointed role as a servant. She bowed her head slightly and then headed off to her room to grab something.
“I need to ask you a favor, Archer,” said Emily. “Very small. I don’t believe it will be much trouble at all for you.”
“Go ahead.”
“You’re heading to Syprus tomorrow,” said Emily. “Are you not?”
Archer couldn’t hide his surprise. He stared at her, his mouth open, and nodded slightly.
How does she know that? Is this even safe for me to be talking about?
“I have friends that share some of my ideals in Syprus,” said Emily. “Realist friends. If you wouldn’t mind carrying any message they have back to me? We don’t have wireless communication channels that we can trust.”
Archer ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.
“I don’t see why not,” he said. “You wouldn’t tell me if I asked you how you know about my mission, would you?”
Emily stepped in closer, close enough to make Archer worry about what it would look like if Leigh walked back in on them. She came even closer still, putting her hands on his shoulders, using her presence like a dagger of sexual excitement.
“Would you tell me what the fabricant said to you, in exchange?” asked Emily.
Archer flinched back from her, eyes wide. He stared at her, trying to think of what to say, what to do. Leigh came back into the room before he got a chance.
“Sir, are you sure that this is okay?” she asked, her voice soft and a little vulnerable.
Archer sighed.
This is my chance. I have to decide whether to trust Emily. And I guess, Leigh too, given how close they seem to be.
“It’s… fine,” he said.
Leigh looked relieved. She nodded to Emily, and then wordlessly, the two of them left the apartment. Archer massaged his temples, feeling suddenly exhausted by the events of the past few days. He made his way into the kitchen and took a look at what he had to eat.
Less than five minutes had gone by when a knock came at the door. Archer opened it, expecting to find Leigh or Emily, or possibly Ada. Instead, Rachel Madison stood opposite him, holding a small, handheld camera in one hand and smiling broadly.
“Hi,” she said. “Your attendant let me up. Said that you needed some company for the night, and I’d be more than willing to provide it, in exchange for another interview.”
Archer gritted his teeth, feeling a good deal angrier than he probably should have over the woman’s presence.
“Why, in god’s name, would I give you another interview, let alone allow you into my apartment?”
Rachel smiled at him. She had on a thin blouse underneath a brown leather jacket, with tight black leggings that did a great job of showing off her butt. She shrugged.
“What else are you going to do tonight?” she asked. “And besides, this would be giving me a chance to make up for past mistakes. I was wrong about you. I’ll admit it.”
She put a hand on his shoulder and pushed her chest out toward him. Archer sighed.
I’m not mad at her. I’m mad at Leigh, for leaving me alone tonight, with no notice.
Against his better judgment, he stepped aside and beckoned Rachel in.
CHAPTER 33
“Aren’t you going to offer me a drink?” asked Rachel.
Archer folded his arms and regarded her with a questioning expression.
“I thought you were here to conduct an interview,” he said. “Isn’t that a little unprofessional?”
Rachel smiled, and he had to admit, she had a very nice smile.
“This is more of an examination of your behind the scenes personality, rather than anything official,” she said. “There’s no reason why we can’t have some fun, while we’re doing it.”
She’s so full of shit.
Rather than arguing with her, Archer pulled a bottle of wine from the rack in the kitchen and brought it out, along with a glass for each of them. He felt as though after the day he’d had, he deserved at least one or two drinks, and knew that it would make it easier for him to stomach Rachel’s company. He poured the wine and passed her a glass.
“Thank you,” said Rachel. She took a sip, and then adjusted her handheld camera, aiming it at Archer’s face and not wasting any time. “So, Archer. Tell me about the battle last night.”
He took a long sip of the wine and shrugged.
“There’s not really much to say about it,” he said. “I fought a fabricant. We came very close to losing, but in the end we managed to pull through.”
“How do you think your brother would have fared?” asked Rachel.
Archer felt a small flicker of anger in his chest.
She’s definitely full of shit. She’s just going to do the same thing over again.
“I think Trevor would have done an amazing job,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “I can only hope to aspire to be the kind of soldier that he was.”
“So is it fair to say that you’re struggling to fill your brother’s shoes?” asked Rachel.
Archer took another drink and smiled, showing his teeth.
“Wouldn’t anybody?” he asked. “Trevor was a hero of the people.”
“And you don’t mind being compared to him?” asked Rachel. “Even after the… incident, between the two of you. The assassination attempt?”
Archer gritted his teeth. It took all of the willpower he had to keep from throwing her out of his apartment. He felt like an idiot, knowing that he’d let her attractiveness and his annoyance at Leigh lead him into a loaded situation.
“No, I don’t mind being compared to him,” said Archer. “It’s only natural that people would compare one brother to another.”
“Do you think it’s odd that the media coverage of you today has swept that incident under the rug?” asked Rachel. “The fact that you tried to kill him?”
He reached his limit. Before Rachel could stop him, he swiped the camera out of her hand. She shouted something, but he was already moving, opening the living room’s window, chucking the handheld camera out of it.
“That’s…” Rachel looked at him, her face a mixture of shock and disbelief. “Do you have any idea how expensive that camera was?”
“None, whatsoever.” Archer grinned at her and took another sip of his wine. “What are you going to do about it?”
She stomped over to him. Archer set his wine glass down, seeing her drawing her hand back to slap him and catching her wrist as she started the strike. Rachel was against him, eyes still set into a glare as their bodies came into contact. He kissed her, expecting it to annoy her even further.
She kissed him back. The tension in her arm released, and Archer let go of her wrist. They paused, drawing back from each other for a moment. Rachel’s eyes flickered with curiosity and a hint of desire. They kissed again, and then slid down onto the couch.
Archer’s movements were a little rougher
than they needed to be as he pulled her blouse up and over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath, and that told him all he needed to know about what her full intentions were, coming to his apartment so late at night.
If she wants to get fucked, so be it.
He groped at her breasts. They were bigger than Leigh’s, but missing some of her youthful buoyance and lift. She made a slight purring noise underneath him and slid her thighs open.
“You know,” she whispered. “When I had private interviews with your brother, we-“
“Stop right there,” said Archer.
“I was just going to say that-“
He practically tore her leggings off, interrupting her a second time. Rachel stared at him with a slightly offended, slightly impressed look on her face as he ditched his shirt, slacks, and boxers, his cock snapping to full attention, pointed in her direction.
“You are a renegade, aren’t you?” Her smile was provocative, and Archer felt his lust taking over as he stared at her naked chest.
“Don’t talk,” he said.
He pulled her panties off and slid into her. She was wet, but her cunt was tight enough to make the first thrust a little painful for him, and probably her, too. Rachel didn’t object verbally, but set a hand against Archer’s chest. He all but ignored it, sliding back and then pushing forward with even more force.
His thoughts were as much about Leigh as they were about Rachel and her attractive, naked body. He pushed deep into her, each thrust going a little faster than the last. Rachel let out tiny squeals and moans of pleasure, her fingernails racking against his back.
It was different from how the morning had been, the sensual wakeup with Leigh. Archer felt primal, and the sex was as much about domination as it was about pleasure. Rachel had screwed him over with the interview, and now it was his turn to screw her.
“Is this the interview you wanted?” he whispered, into her ear. “Are you going to try to find a way to spin this, too?”
“You’re… still mad about that?” asked Rachel, her words low and breathy.
“I don’t feel like you’ve learned your lesson yet,” said Archer.
Tempus Regit Page 17
