The Circuit, Book 1

by Rhett C. Bruno

  “Tal?” Julius whispered into the ear of his friend softly as everybody scrambled to get their bearings. It was the only noise in a room which seemed frozen in time.

  Talon said nothing. He panted like a wild beast at the end of a hunt. Bavor was slouched against the table, the side of his head split open. Blood bubbled over the area of mashed skin and splintered bone, dripping down over his still twitching eyelids.

  Talon stared at the corpse. He had seen enough dead bodies in his time to know Bavor’s time had come. He hadn’t meant to kill him, but that wasn’t what caused his initial astonishment. The Blue Death may have weakened him to the point where carrying out his job was nearly impossible, but there was still strength enough left to fight. Just that small recognition was enough to bring the slightest smile to his lips. That was until he realized exactly what he had done.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN—ADIM

  Secrets Beneath Edeoria

  The White Hand’s vertical thrusters brought it to a slow hover over Edeoria: Shaft 23, a sunken residential zone near the edge of the crater. ADIM guided it down slowly as the first of its metal jaws unfastened. Wind and dust battered the ship’s hull, but he kept it steady as it lowered into the hollow. Once through, the first entrance resealed and a second one below opened up to the contained area of Shaft 23.

  Illuminated terraces wrapped the cylindrical void with wide walkways of circulation receding back to hundreds of residential unit entrances. Each of those levels was uncharacteristically overcrowded compared to Edeoria’s usual conditions. Hammocks were slung along the railings and people huddled around haphazard shanties. These displaced citizens were an unfortunate side effect of Cassius’ plotting. He took a moment to analyze their grimy, sullen faces. It only strengthened his resolve.

  ADIM steered the ship further down and into a gutted hangar at the lowest level before another sealed shaft entrance. Cassius looked out of the viewport to see a unit of Tribunal Soldiers waiting on the surface beside a small transport. All of them wore oblong helmets with shiny black visors except for the apparent leader.

  Cassius sighed. “Make yourself scarce, ADIM. I’ll try to get rid of them,” he ordered as his ship’s engines powered down.

  “Yes, Creator. This Unit will be watching.”

  Cassius headed into the hangar, already fairly confident about why the soldiers were present. He tried practicing his most convincing smile while he waited for the White Hand’s exit to peel open.

  “Friends. What brings you to Edeoria?” he asked. He wound up settling on his usual, grim demeanor.

  “I am Hand Belloth,” the leader pronounced as she took a step forward. “We come on the behalf of Her Eminence, Tribune Gressler.” Cassius imagined that she might be pretty if her head wasn’t shaved and her nose wasn’t bent from apparently being recently broken. She spoke with an unfettered sense of self-importance. Ribbons of green and gold decorated her armor of similar coloration, the golden hands printed on her shoulders indicating that she was a Tribunal Hand. “Just standard patrol,” she continued. “The area below has been quarantined for quite some time. Her Eminence wishes to inquire why. You will allow us to survey the area.”

  The move was too bold for Nora Gressler. A Hand was far too high in position to be sent for ordinary surveillance. There were only four of them, one assigned to each member of the Tribunal Council. Where the Executors were the clandestine agents stationed around the Circuit, the Hands served directly as an extension of the Council’s will. They were advisors, commanders and diplomats, amongst other things, and answerable only to the Tribune. Cassius could sense Tribune Vakari behind her presence on Titan even though Belloth was Nora’s Hand.

  Cassius looked around. There were a few Edeorian security officers around the hangar, but they would do little in a firefight. He wasn’t even sure that they would side with him, being that the quarantined he’d imposed on the lower levels of Shaft 23 had forced thousands from their homes.

  “I will allow nothing,” Cassius responded coolly. “You can tell your masters that the area remains confined for good reason. That will have to do, Hand Belloth.”

  “It won’t.” Belloth placed her off hand on the stock of her rifle, making sure that Cassius would see. “I’m on strict orders from Tribune Gressler. You will provide access.”

  “Or what?” Cassius scowled. He returned the favor by slowly sliding his hand toward the pistol hanging from his belt. “Or you will waste more of Her Eminence’s time! What are you hiding down there anyway?” It was becoming evident that the Hand was looking for any excuse to goad Cassius into a firefight.

  Cassius went to speak, but then he heard ADIM’s voice through the com-link in his ear. “Shall this unit rob them of their lives?” He glanced from side to side, but there was no sign of the android anywhere.

  He stared at Hand Belloth and responded, “Nothing,” while shaking his head to signal ADIM not to strike. “But I doubt you and your men want to enter a district with a severe Gravitum leak. Unless you do.” He began to circle the soldiers with a spry gait. “In which case I’d be happy to send you wallowing back to your masters with the Blue Death.”

  “Gravitum leak?” Those words garnered Belloth’s attention. She took a nervous step back. “Are you sure?”

  “No. As Gerent of this colony, I want to rid these fair citizens of their homes. In fact I’m hiding a bomb down there just to kill them!” Cassius laughed heartily and placed his hand on the Hand’s slender shoulder. “Now please. I must meet with the maintenance officers to discuss the matter and I’d rather not have Tribunal soldiers scaring the color from my people’s cheeks.”

  Belloth quickly shook the hand off with a grunt and lifted her rifle in a threatening manner. “Fine. But we’ll be watching, Tribune Vale,” she grumbled crossly before signaling her men to return to their ship.

  Cassius waited until they were all inside before shouting out to the Hand just as the hatch was shutting. “Oh and do give Benjar Vakari my regards!” Then the vessel powered on and lifted off.

  He breathed a long sigh of relief once it was gone. After so many years of planning, it was too early for any drastic measures to be taken.

  “Forgive me,” the hangars head engineer apologized as he stepped out of an adjacent office. “They had Tribunal clearance codes.”

  “It is no matter. Next time send them directly to me.”

  “Yes, Your Eminence.” The engineer clasped his hands together and bowed.

  “Now open the access hatch. I must inspect the quarantined area.”

  “Are you sure it’s safe? With the leak and all?”

  “I said open it, and do refrain from questioning my motives in the future,” Cassius said, a harsh edge creeping into his voice.

  “Forgive me, Your Eminence. I hope the matter can be resolved soon. My family—” The engineer stopped, his eyes widening fearfully as Cassius’s hard expression didn’t budge. He backed away with a succession of bows before hurrying back into his quarters.

  After making sure the White Hand was locked, Cassius headed toward the back of the hangar. The handful of Edeorian guards in their shoddy, gray armor tried not to stare as he disappeared around a corner.

  “My sensors indicate that there is no Gravitum leak,” ADIM said, but the voice wasn’t directly in Cassius’ ear.

  Cassius flinched as all of a sudden a section of the wall began to move and ADIM came walking forward. His holographic camouflage had allowed him to blend in flawlessly.

  “Do refrain from doing that,” Cassius begged. He took a few lengthy breaths to steady himself before responding. “No, there is no hazard.”

  “So you are not in danger?” ADIM questioned. He positioned himself in front of the maintenance door which led down into the quarantined area. The engineer had already signaled it to open.

  “No, ADIM, but the Circuit cannot yet know what it is we are doing. We must hide the truth until the time is right.”

  “This unit understands. We must l
ie to them, to protect them from themselves.”

  “Exactly. So that we can offer a brighter future.”

  They descended the cramped stairwell, emerging into a space very much like the one above it. Only this area was completely uninhabited. It was silent, the dull buzzing of light fixtures the only sound to fill the many terraces plunging toward blackness. Three massive stilts of metal rose from the unseen bottom to the level on which they walked. They held a cylindrical casing in their center.

  “That is the same as the assembly on Earth.” ADIM expressed as he looked over the rail to see the enormity of the construction.

  “Not yet. I’d been working on it while you were infiltrating the freighters, but I had some trouble configuring the Plasmatic Drill itself. With the data you recovered, however, it shouldn’t be too hard to finish.”

  ADIM held out his hand and a projection of the drill on Earth, broken down to its smallest components, began spinning slowly above his palm. “Where are the construction units?”

  Cassius joined his creation at the edge of the precipice and stared at the hologram. “You have been very busy lately. I was hoping that we could work on it together, like we used to.”

  “As on Ennomos?” ADIM looked to his Creator and if that blank plate stretching down from his eyes could wield a smile, then Cassius imagined it would have.

  “Yes ADIM. Soon our work there will be revealed, just as I hope it will be here. Many lives will be spared if we discover Gravitum beneath Titan and prove that the Earth is expendable.”

  “This unit would be—” ADIM glanced down at his hand and then, as if mimicking Cassius from earlier, grasped him gently around the forearm. “Honored to help. Humans use that word in similar circumstances. Is this Unit’s application correct?”

  “Yes.” Cassius reached down to touch the android’s metal limb. “Yes, it is. And the honor is mine…my son.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN—TALON RAYNE

  Pawn of the Morastus’

  The tops of Talon Rayne’s feet scraped along the coarse ground as he was hauled through a tunnel somewhere in the depths of Ceres Prime. Lines of clear, sharp pain shot up his torso, and a dull ache pulled at his sides every time he breathed. The men carrying him had hardly asked him anything during their interrogation. They knew he had nothing of value to offer, but a few more cracked ribs was an easy way to get a message across.

  He tried to focus on the confusing mass of dark shapes shuffling by, but his vision was too blurry. Only when the floor transitioned to smooth metal did he know he was almost to his destination. He squeezed his eyes a few times to try and sort out his pounding head before he was uncouthly shoved into a seat. Hunched over, his bound hands resting between his legs, he looked up through a mess of tangled hair to see a familiar face.

  “Talon, Talon, Talon,” a man repeated with a sinister delectation. “After all these years you’re right back where you started.”

  Talon had to squint to get a good look at him. He was handsome, with a young face that had neither a scar nor a blemish. His primly feathered blonde hair fell down below the nape of his neck. Hungry blue eyes protruded against his typical Ceresian, pale skin.

  “Zaimur Morastus, did you really need to beat me half to death first?” Talon grumbled, licking some dried blood from his lower lip.

  “It is the only way some men learn.” Zaimur grinned and nodded, signaling the two guards flanking Talon to lower their weapons and step to the side.

  Talon didn’t know much about Zaimur personally, only that he often flaunted his riches for all of the Circuit to see. Denuded, beautiful women sat on either side of him on a plush couch, sensuously fondling the inner collar of his clothing. He wore a long, silken tunic stitched with a colorful assortment of golden yellows and blues, and with pronged pauldrons swooping up from either shoulder like crests of iron feathers.

  Even as the women caressed and petted his neck with kisses, he paid no heed. It was like they were mere props. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on Talon, his hand tenderly stroking the snout of a long-legged dog sitting by his feet. Its icy glare was also fixed on Talon. He had seen only a few dogs in his time, but never a specimen so strikingly laced with muscle. Few species of life escaped Earth besides man, and the beast was probably worth an entire mining colony to the right buyer.

  “Magda is beautiful, isn’t she?” Zaimur ran his hand over one of the dog’s pointed ears. He then planted a kiss on the top of her lean head, causing the two women on either side of him to frown slightly. “Won her from a nasty pirate out on the Vergent Cell. Bastard put up quite a fuss, but she has a tremendous appetite.” He grabbed her beneath the jaw, causing the beast to bare her unsettling fangs.

  A shiver shot down Talon’s spine. If the Morastus Prince’s reputation wasn’t exaggerated then it was very likely he could wind up as dinner if he wasn’t careful. “I’ve never seen one this close before. She’s incredible,” Talon pretended to marvel. Magda’s ravenous eyes glinted like black pearls in the light, and he couldn’t help but stare into them as he gripped the arms of his chair tighter.

  A severe look washed over Zaimur’s face. “So serious you are!” He broke into laughter and leaned back on the couch, allowing the women to continue their massaging. “I would never let her eat your tainted body. Though I have no doubt she could.”

  Talon released the gulp of air he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “If you’re not going to kill me then why am I here?”

  Zaimur leaned forward and grabbed a glass goblet out of one of his servant girl’s hand. As he brought it slowly to his lips, the cubes of ice inside rattling, the pungent aroma of real alcohol stung Talon’s nostrils. It almost made him tear up a bit.

  “Bavor may have been a slow-witted oaf,” Zaimur began in a surprisingly calm manner, “but he was as strong as a machine and ignorant enough to want for nothing. Perfectly suited for the mines. I don’t care why you killed him. I don’t care if he deserved it. He was an asset to my clan, my father’s clan, and you will make us whole again.”

  “If it’s money you want, I can take another shift, or—” Talon was cut off by Zaimur shaking his head.

  “We have enough miners. Hell, if it were up to me we’d have replaced all of you with androids if they were good for anything but looking intimidating or working bars! Damn Tribune’s cull set us back a century.” He sighed and took a sip of alcohol. “Anyway, on your way over I was thinking, ‘maybe we could throw him into the arena and see if the great Talon Rayne of my father’s memory is more than just a tall tale.’ But I fear you’re too worn to be of any use down there.”

  “He still talks about me, eh?” Talon sat up, trying to illustrate some semblance of the bravado he wielded those many years ago.

  “My father is barely a shell of his formal self, a vacant shadow waiting to die. But know that if you weren’t so highly regarded for your past services to him then you would have never left Kalliope alive.”

  “You’ll have to extend my gratitude.”

  Zaimur almost choked on his drink as he snickered. “You were once an enforcer for my father, the leader of the wealthiest clan of the Ceresian Pact. I heard why you gave it up. Was the offspring of some worthless tramp really worth sacrificing all that you’d earned?”

  “She is worth everything!” Talon roared, lurching forward before being promptly slammed back into his seat by the guards.

  “There he is. I knew he couldn’t be too far gone.” Zaimur placed his drink down with a loud clank and smiled.

  “If you hurt her!” Talon pulled on his bonds so hard that it made his wrists sting.

  “Relax. I don’t know what kind of monster you think I am to harm a child. I merely wish to offer a proposal that will end this conflict. One I believe can benefit both of us.”

  Talon let his muscles slacken. “I’m listening,” he bristled.

  “I assume you’ve heard of the attacks on at least half-a-dozen Tribunal Freighters passing through our Cell?”

&
nbsp; “Just rumors in The Elder Muse. Nobody could say for certain if it was true or who did it.”

  “That’s precisely the problem!” Zaimur got up from his seat, the women on either side of him reluctant to let him go. He walked over to a holographic map of the Circuit projected over a table nearby. “Those ships are tracked and encrypted in a way I have understood could not be broken! Yet no matter who I pay, nobody can seem to tell me where on this Ancient’s damned map the freighters were taken. Circuit Gravitum shipments are hardly enough to keep the generators up and running sufficiently in every Morastus settlement. The Tribune wants our ore and water, sure, but nowhere near as much as we need the element they control.”

  Talon’s mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion. “It sounds like you’re going to ask me to start another war,” he said.

  “War has been brewing again since the Tribune won Earth almost three decades ago, whether any of the clans want to admit it or not. But no, that’s not it.” Zaimur stopped and pointed to a location on the map along the far reaches of the Ignescent Cell. “We have discovered a small asteroid here. It is rich in iridium ore, a rare metal that will help protect our ships should it come to war. I need the Gravitum stored on a Tribunal freighter in order to set up a facility there.”

  “You want me to rob a personal transport of the Tribune?” Talon’s eyes widened, though he wasn’t sure whether it was out of excitement or dread. There was a time when he would have jumped at the chance to take on such a mission…a suicide mission in all likelihood.

  “In so many words…yes.” Zaimur whistled and the dog ran to his side.