Justin Kemppainen - The Legend of Ivan

He was upstart, arrogant, and I only listened to a few pieces of what he had to say. Since I was a victim during the incident at Dei Lucrii XVII as much as the station itself, he focused his efforts on asking questions about Cain. It appeared my aggressive Archivist brother had overplayed his hand.

Onnels didn’t even mention my murder of Dana, and the vestige of her in my thoughts almost seemed sullen because of it. However, as Archivists, our natural and murderous reaction to one another is well enough known for certain leeway to be granted. At least, it is when we direct aggression only to each other.

Assaulting an entire station full of civilians was not quite as forgivable, and the GSA was digging to find out who hired Cain and why. I was glad to hear it; if Cain would be on the run, my life could calm somewhat.

Even with Onnels’ good news, I could not shake Ivan’s tale from my thoughts. Never before had I clung to any assignment, and I still held no disappointment regarding the results. The discovery of Ivan and the truth behind his tale provided exhilaration beyond measure; it became my greatest achievement as an Archivist. Yet, something about it, some emotional reaction I remained unable to comprehend kept my mind preoccupied.

Even with a galaxy filled with people, entertainment of all shapes and sizes, and uncountable sights to see, I had nothing to do but think. Part of me wished for a new assignment, something to take my mind away from this old search, but a greater part knew nothing could match it. I wondered if this was how Traverian Grey felt, an obsession or longing darkening his remaining days.

Dana’s vestige tittered in my thoughts, amused at my unending consternation. I blamed her influence above anything else. I could not determine if my systems, no matter how long I dug through the programming, had been compromised by her initial intrusion. They appeared undisturbed, but I knew it equally possible they were altered along with my own memory to mask the changes.

Still Dana’s ghost laughed as I sifted through her memories, trying in vain to find some answer as to why my mind abandoned rationality. I felt sorrow on Ivan’s behalf. His tale, his fallen love, and his constant reminder of the despair with every mention of his legend…

I returned to Dei Lucrii XVII, seeking the advice of the man who hopefully still considered me a friend. The station personnel regarded me with a wary attitude, not overly-assured I wouldn’t bring more trouble upon their heads. As a result, I hovered outside, waiting on docking approval for hours. Numerous individuals who knew me on the station, including my still good friend the librarian, raised several varieties of hell when they discovered my plight. Administration had no choice but to allow my entrance.

Marqyni met me with a broad grin and a bone-crushing hug when I came inside. “Sid! Thank goodness you’re okay!” He pounded me on the back. “When that madman attacked the very station, I thought we were all done for!”

I didn’t say much while he half-dragged me back to his library. He rattled on for a few moments about the thrill and excitement of the Cassander’s presence in system. He spoke for quite a while before realizing I had hardly responded.

“Sid, you’re rather quiet. Is there something wrong?”

I explained how I couldn’t shake the Ivan story from my mind.

“You’ve done it? You found him?” Marqyni grabbed my shoulders. “Why didn’t you say so? This is wonderful news! We have to celebrate. Come now, let’s get down to the bazaar and toast to this amazing accomplishment!”

His enthusiasm faded when he saw the lightly pained expression on my face. “Sid, what is it?”

Shaking my head, I told him about Dana, Cain, and Ivan’s last tale. Through the course of the story, the exhilaration slowly faded from his face, replaced by a troubled expression.

“It really wasn’t his hand which caused the devastation.” Marqyni blew out a sigh. “Amazing how these things can snowball, but I don’t understand why you’re so worked up over it.”

“Neither do I,” I replied.

The librarian rubbed his round chin. “No, not like that. What I mean is; why are you so concerned about feeling something? The story you heard is a tragedy of galactic proportions. Even you, as an Archivist, still retain emotional regard.” He waved his hands back and forth, laughing. “Sorry, not to express this like a children’s morality vid.” He broke into song. “ Eeeeveryone has feeeeeelings, even Godlike machiiiines… ” He trailed off, grinning at me.

I cracked a smile.

“There we are!” Marqyni clapped his hands. “Even robots can cry!”

“All right, enough,” I chuckled, trying to hold a scowl. “I understand emotional attachment, but why can’t I forget about this job? It’s done, finished. I’ve succeeded in finding out everything about Ivan. No one was hurt along the way,” I almost felt Dana’s vestige scowling in my thoughts, “but still something feels off .”

The librarian set a hand on my shoulder. “Very well. Let’s see if we can’t dissect that hyper-intelligent brain of yours. First—”

“Exactly what I was thinking.” A voice came from the open office door, and Marqyni’s eyes went wide. A bolt of fear jammed into my chest, as I recognized the voice without a moment’s thought.

I turned. Cain, in all his metallic and overpowered glory, stood in the doorway. “No escape this time, Sid.”

Clenching a fist, I checked over my subsystems. Green lights across the board. “How… how did you get here? You’re wanted in half of—”

“If you even think about going for your intercom to call security, you fat bastard,” Cain interrupted, “I’ll break you and whoever shows up into kindling.” Marqyni froze, half-reaching to his communicator. “And you,” Cain grinned at me, that same eerie and malevolent expression, “it would seem you can smuggle anything these days.”

Grimacing, I replied, “So what, you dismantled yourself and packed everything into crates?”

“Something like that, yes.” He waved a hand. “But how I got here is less important than why I returned. My employer would like to speak with you. Against his better judgment, he’s requested I not pound you into tiny pieces, though I’d very much like to and will if given a reason.”

A thought struck, and I scanned him. The energy weapons were stripped out. One cargo scan would have easily revealed the firepower he normally brought, so his employer had to have made him go without. Cain had nothing but brute strength on his side, but I realized it remained enough. My teeth clenched; even without weaponry, I stood little chance.

Let’s show him something. I blinked, hearing a clear voice in my mind. I diverted attention only to hear the ghost of Dana skittering away. Tiny laughter echoed not as a product of my imagination but something real.

“It’s over Cain,” I said, stalling and firing up the intrusion software. I wondered if I could maybe trap him in one of the library files. “I found Ivan. He doesn’t know anything about the Garden. It wasn’t him who did it.” My intrusion bounced off his locked down systems; it appeared he wouldn’t be dumb enough to fall for the same ploy again.

Cain continued grinning, as much for my failure as other reasons. “Oh, really? I find it amazing how much I and my employer don’t care about the silly incident. There are bigger fish than a destroyed planet, my friend.”

“What?” I asked, startled. I couldn’t conceive of an avenue of inquiry not relating to the Garden’s destruction. It was everything to the galaxy.

He won’t see it coming. Another whisper trickled in my thoughts, and I tried without success to shove the voice away.