Once the door opened it was immediately clear, through telltale semi-closed eyes and ruffled hair, that the Commander had not found it necessary to wake up to greet the inspector. Someone very clearly had just dragged him out of bed.
Captain Mayne looked at the half-open collar and dirty boots of the man and her gray eyes flared in a face that was otherwise as blank as her tone.
“Good morning, Commander Rossis.”
“To you, Captain…”
“Mayne.”
No reaction to the name from Rossis, total indifference. Julia forced herself to silence.
“You have to forgive me if I have kept you waiting, I was indisposed yesterday evening and…”
Julia raised her eyebrows, with a great show of concern.
“Oh? Would you like me to come with you to the base infirmary?”
The wrinkles on the older man’s face – he must have been in his sixties – doubled with his worried expression. The Captain could feel that her interlocutor had stopped breathing for a moment, caught by surprise.
“No, no. I am well now. No need.”
“Excellent. I would still like to visit the medical section of the base. It seems like it was the most damaged by the fire three years ago, was it not?”
Rossis scoffed.
“I don’t remember the details of the damage, I seem to remember something of the sort from the Technical Report of the Engineering Department, right after the event.”
“Yes, I have read it and that is what it says. Perhaps the Engineering Department will be able to provide more details.”
With a deliberate and calculated pause, Julia averted her eyes for a moment, only to bring them back up and pin the Commander to the wall with her stare.
“And yet I am surprised you would not remember. 3 years are not a very long time, and 19 dead in an accident… too many.”
Rossis puffs up, goes red, raises an offended voice.
“I haven’t lost any of my men!”
No reaction on the girl’s face.
“Really? Interesting.”
And the Commander starts sweating with fear.
Captain Mayne smiled again.
“I believe I will examine my room now.”
In the following days, the dark profile of the inspector became a silent and disquieting presence haunting OB26. Julia was quick, elusive and sharp as a sword.
Despite declaring her intentions to Rossis, three days passed before she knocked at the door of Director Rian, of the Engineering Department. He was curiously young for his position, but apparently much more professional than his Commander. Julia felt she owed him a warning.
“Director, before we start our conversation, I want you to know that it will be recorded for our files.”
The man nodded gravely, and she went on.
“I have read you landed this position after the fire. I have also studied the current security procedures. Did you write them?”
The young director pursued his lips and narrowed his eyes.
“Yes and no.”
“They are perfect. Had they been applied at the time of the fire, there would have been no casualties. And yet I find myself with 19 dead and a shadowy report. I want the truth.”
A sigh.
“The current procedures, besides some small updates, had been elaborated by Director Evy with my contribution, before the fire. At the time Commander Rossis refused to ask for the equipment we needed to implement them. After the fire, out of fear that Evy could reveal what had happened, Rossis had her transferred and appointed me to be the Director – I was young, inexperienced and malleable. I would guess this was his wager. What matters is that Director Evy bartered her silence with the adoption of the current procedures and the equipment we needed to make them effective.”
“Very interesting. Is there anything else I should know?”
The Director shook his head, smiled ruefully.
“Not that I know. I have already said enough for Rossis to ask for my head.”
Captain Mayne smiled dryly.
“Don’t worry about that. My files are private, and I believe that in the near future the Commander will have other occupations rather than thinking of transferring you. After all, you have only confirmed what I was already thinking.”
Under a violet sky heavy with clouds, sunset was an intense orange stripe on the horizon. Only one visit now remained, the last one, to give her the time to build up her courage. The medical section was located at a distance from the center of the base: about ten dorm modules, a hangar with a large aerovehicle and three electrocarts, and the camp hospital.
Julia clenched her fists, as to banish the ghosts which were haunting the place and her imagination. Horrible visions of flames and death, heavy like blows in the stomach, and happy memories once deliberately forgotten now returning, like knives in the back.
No visible trace remained of the fire. The grass had grown back rapidly, and the base had been eager to rebuild and bury what had happened, even if in the earth and in more hidden places wounds difficult to heal still remained.
Captain Mayne ignored the hospital and the dorms, heading towards the hangar with slow strides. The place was gray and cold and the pilot, a woman with freckles and copper hair, stared at Julia for a long moment before speaking.
“You want to know what happened the day of the fire, am I right?”
“I know you took part in the evacuation maneuvers in that occasion.”
“You have consulted the logs with great care.”
“Not so the Commander, I know. You weren’t transferred because Rossis didn’t notice that you were not covering your usual role that day. I want the details.”
“I was with the Landmines Department at the time. But that day I was replacing a navigator who was ill.”
“Go on.”
“This hangar didn’t exist at the time. It was built when the new security procedures were implemented.”
“I want to know what happened.”
The pilot closed her eyes.
“I don’t know how the fire started. I was on the aerovehicle. It was soon clear we would have to evacuate the base, we received the order.”
Julia’s gray eyes were nailed on the face of her interlocutor.
“At the time we only had one hangar, in the military zone. Medics were running over to take the wounded to the hospital.”
A small pause, then the pilot started speaking again, the voice hazy with recalled memories.
“Some doctors boarded the aerovehicles because they were accompanying the wounded. The vehicle I had been assigned to was the last to fly – all the military had been evacuated, and we still had space, at least some.”
“But you left the doctors behind.”
Captain Mayne’s voice was low, icy, and powerful in her deep rage. The pilot’s red hair fell over her face as she stared at the floor.
“They were boarding when Rossis called screaming we were departing late. He ordered us to respect the procedure. He said a civilian aerovehicle would come for the non-military personnel of the base. We left them there, positive someone would pick them up. But there was no dedicated aerovehicle, and nobody went. Initially Rossis even declared the base completely evacuated, but he hadn’t taken the external personnel into consideration.”
Julia’s stare was now piercing the pilot completely, staring at a distant and undefined spot in the void, lost in a battle with tears which were not supposed to come out.
Her voice croaked like nails on a mirror.
“Your deposition has been formally acknowledged.”
XI
Cleo was smiling, her face lit by a joy deeply connected to a profound affection.
“So, how are you?”
Julia sniffed.
“I’m fine, the feeling I can’t fully breathe is a nuisance, but doctors say it’s just a cold and nothing serious.”
“Enough to earn you two days of rest,
though.”
Captain Mayne clumsily wiped her teary eyes with her fingers.
“They say I’ll be well soon and that this kind of infection was very common before the Cataclysm…”
Cleo giggled, shaking her curls.
“You are something… all good in the front lines, you return from an inspection and you feel ill…”
A pause, then her tone dropped a couple of octaves.
“By the way, are you going to tell me what you found out? You won’t be able to elude my questions forever.”
Julia made an even unhappier face, if possible, compared to her cold-caused teary-eyed look, but her sister pressed on, implacable.
“What did you find?”
“The security procedures were a disaster, and have been changed. The commander inexperienced and shallow.”
“Is he still in his place?”
“Yes.”
“What did you write in your report?”
Julia pulls out of her pocket a copy of a brief document, written in a slow, tired writing as if every letter had cost a superhuman effort. At the foot of the paper, the Imperial Moon.
Despite a generalized poor performance in terms of protocol and discipline, we favorably welcome the changes made in the field of security and safety procedures.
Commander Rossis is CURRENTLY capable of performing in his role.
“Congratulations, a masterpiece in diplomacy.”
“Cleo…”
“No, I’m serious. CURRENTLY… Insinuating on the future with a hint at the past. You were right. This was the only victory you could achieve.”
“I’m sorry Cleo, I…”
“It’s not your fault. They forced you to a choice. Them or the Empire. The past or the future. You chose the future, how could I blame you?”
Julia found herself whispering.
“I chose the future for both of us.”
Cleo finally smiled at her, albeit a sad smile.
“I know.”
Captain Mayne was lying in bed, awake, eyes wide open on the darkness of the room. She felt her sister entering the room, despite her pace was soft and her back to the door. She didn’t move.
“Julia?”
Cleo kept on whispering, ignoring the silence.
“I’m sorry I was harsh earlier on. You risk so much… and that was ungrateful of me.”
Julia turned around to look at her, softened, and shook her head.
“You were right though. I have betrayed the memory of our parents, giving up on retribution out of convenience.”
“You haven’t given up entirely, though. Your choice of words with ‘currently’ will not go unnoticed.”
“Good.”
“For a moment I almost feared you had forgiven him.”
“Never.”
Cleo studied her for a moment, struck by the intensity of the statement. Julia continued.
“I found out I have forgiven Marcus, for his good intentions. But I will never be able to forgive the shallowness, arrogance and sad little slyness of Rossis.”
“I’m sorry. I should never have vented my frustration on you. They framed you in this horrible thing, and who knows what they wanted to prove or accomplish.”
Julia twisted her mouth.
“Their power.”
Once again the unexpected, unlikely sound of the videophone, ignored at its first ring – two heads turning towards the object, incredulity mixed with suspicion on their faces.
Captain Mayne pulls herself together and answers, anticipating with a dry gesture of her hand the automatic acceptance of the urgent call.
“Captain Mayne?”
The unknown figure of a woman dressed in Imperial white appeared on the screen. Julia saluted mechanically, only the briefest crease on her forehead betraying concentration and surprise.
“Captain, I am Counselor Alpha Genos. I had a chance to speak with Secretary Marcus about you and your career. I would like to discuss this with you in person. Say, in an hour at my residence? I will send you the coordinates.”
Julia barely sketched a bow of approval, followed by Cleo’s anxious stare.
“Be careful – Counselors are the eyes, ears and hands of the Emperor.”
Julia nodded, opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted again by a second ring before she could speak a word.
“Julia?”
Marcus’s face had erupted on screen, his regular features somehow frozen in a bittersweet expression, between happiness and anguish.
“Secretary, is there a problem?”
He smiled.
“No, if not for the fact that I have been sent to the sidelines again for the assignment of your next task. I believe you will no longer be under the jurisdiction of my department fairly soon.”
“They are transferring me?”
“They are promoting you. In a specific sector of which I know nothing. I figure Alpha Genos will give you the details.”
Captain Mayne suddenly found herself at loss of words at the perspective of losing a friend.
“Secretary, I…”
Marcus smiled at her once again.
“Don’t worry, we will still be able to see each other. But I won’t be able to help where they will be sending you.”
“Thank you, Marcus.”
The Secretary answered with an unexpected gesture – he winked.
“Go, listen to what they have to tell you… and be careful.”
The house of Counselor Genos was equal to Marcus’ villa in size and magnificence, yet bore a completely different style. The Secretary’s house welcomed guests with the warm colors of wood and elegant carpets, while the rooms of House Genos were rigorously white, translucent where possible, furniture in darkened iron or black wood.
“Welcome, Champion of the Empire.”
Gaze fixed on Julia, the host was waiting for her sitting nestled in a deep armchair in a small reception room. She pointed at a free seat with an elegant and commanding gesture of her hand.
“Do not be surprised by the title. We have been following your career since the beginning, and even if your Advanced Corps training grades were not excellent, your results are considerable.”
Julia acknowledged the blow in silence, sitting on an armchair and crossing her ankles, her face blank.
“Gathering data for the Department of Knowledge was satisfactory, but the Council has fully appreciated that your recent military successes are exceptional.”
Captain Mayne offered the Counselor a courteous smile, just to repay the lie. That was when something extremely light brushed against Julia’s leg, who lowered her eyes for a second to observe the animal that was rubbing its head against her boot. She peered in the unfathomable green eyes of the creature with a mixed sense of fascination and suspicion.
“That is Khoral, my cat. It’s a pet. I can get you one, if you like.”
The shift to an informal tone was not lost to the Captain.
“I fear that I would not be able to take care of him.”
Genos smiled, a flash of teeth and shrewd eyes.
“I see you are also a responsible person. The Council really was incredibly well-disposed on your promotion.”
Julia relaxed, returning the smile and accepting the game. The small talk was over. The Counselor went on, speaking slowly, articulating very precisely syllables and words.
“You have been chosen to be part of an extremely special corps, under the direct control of the Emperor.”
Julia controlled the reactions of surprise of her body, but not of her pupils, which widened ever so slightly. Genos was still speaking, savoring the sound of her own voice.
“It’s an honor we offer to very few.”
The answer was icy.
“What are we talking about?”
“To become a fully recognized BMU, Captain Mayne. A special BioMec unit.”
Heart slows down, time pauses for a moment on the last C
uttered by Genos, accelerates again suddenly with the inclination of the Counselor’s head as she waits for an answer, without suppressing entirely a satisfied smile from her face.
“What do you mean? I know nothing about cybernetic medicine.”
“I mean that you are a living weapon, Captain. Every portion of your personality has been forged in an aptitude to war. And now you will be able to become the perfect weapon.”
Julia stared at her, puzzled.
“I don’t have all the technical details, but I know we can implant magnetic shields with neural activation, synthetic adrenaline fountains, structural enhancement to ligaments and muscles. What takes some time is the titanium skeleton.”
Counselor Genos was by now absorbed by the martial power she was evoking, staring dreamily in space more than looking at her interlocutor, who was now shamelessly gaping at her.
Her voice interrupted the soliloquy.
“You would make a machine out of me?”
Alpha Genos jumped, suddenly shocked.
“Oh no, no. Machines are stupid. We can use synaptic accelerators, but we won’t touch the brain itself. We wouldn’t choose our best personalities if it were so.”
Julia was staring at the floor, he hands squeezed between her knees. The Counselor closed her speech with a falsely light tone.
“And there is another thing. The repairing nanomachines prevent the aging process.”
The Captain slowly looked up.
“How much time does the surgery take?”
“Three months, to awaken complete with everything I mentioned.”
“And you accepted?”
“Since when does the Empire accept a no as an answer? I would have paid dearly the price of a refusal.”
Cleo placed her elbows on the desk, shoving away the books she was studying and taking her head in her hands. Julia walked slowly towards her, delicately placing a hand on her shoulder.
Julia Dream Page 12
