Traitor's Legacy: The Claughter Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Dark Rumors

            “Alright, now that we got both Veraslag and Mason’s bounty hunters on our side, what now?” Jaden asked as she and her crew gathered around the Crimson Spinner’s briefing room. “Reed, do you think we are ready to retake Dissidia?”

            “Honestly Jaden, no. As formidable as our combined alliance can be, Iblisan has control over the entire planet and everyone within are either his cultists, Salvagers in hiding or the Dissidian Tribals. Not to mention the Dark Angels he has summoned. Heck, even Qurrentine is filled with cultists. I think we’re still outnumbered and Dark Viper isn’t the only lieutenant that Iblisan has.”

            “I agree with Reed. While my people are ready for war, our numbers aren’t too great.” Gavin added.

            “And so are my people. Those you see in the bunker are all we have.” Jaina said.

            “We also can’t reach the Dissidian Tribals and even if we can, I doubt they’ll cooperate.”

            “Why not Reed?” Jaden asked.

            “They’re a backwater bunch and have always despised the Salvagers for our use of technology. Similar to the conflict between the Mannihilators and Snow Mannihilators, except more bloody and hostile.”

            “Right now, our best bet is to try and get help from the other races.” Gavin said.

            “But even that seemed farfetched. All the other races hated us humans due to our past conflicts. Our past leaders were a warmongering bunch; didn’t even give a crap to the consequences of the wars they started. Even the alliance between the Snow Mannihilators and the aliens is mostly tolerance. And don’t get me started on their home planet; even with hyperdrive, we’ll take days or weeks to reach them. Bad idea.”

            “But, back then, you suggested that we get help from the non-humans. You’re pretty confident with the idea in fact. Why hesitate now Reed? ” Jaden asked.

            “Because back then, I was pretty confident with our chances. We’re an independent group, not associated with any human groups. Most importantly, we were unknown to the world. No one knew that we’re getting help from human groups and that our goal is to liberate the Salvagers. Now, seeing that the Liberator Alliance is well-known and have Viper on our tails, the non-humans are probably unwilling to risk pissing off Iblisan and Viper for a group that benefits their old enemies, the Salvagers.”

            “Isn’t there any way we could convince them to help us out?”

            “Convince them? Jaden, we’ll have to get past their guards first and they’ll start shooting when they realize we’re human. Fighting back is especially ill-advised.”

            “Turning to the non-humans huh? I can help with that.” Blake Mason said as he entered the briefing room.

            “And how can you help?” Tareshah asked.

            “It just so happens that in my near one million years of living, I befriended the leaders of some of the non-human races, namely the aliens, the orcs, the elves, the minotaurs, the dragonites and of course, the sirens. Heck, I even arranged the alien lord’s wedding. Most of them owed me a favor.”

            “Wait, the elves? Weren’t you fighting the elves before the Grand Betrayal?”

            “Indeed Markus. But, those Sunrider elves were a splinter group, more terrorists than actual soldiers. The elven government had no idea that some of their people were assaulting the Salvagers.”

            “So, they owed you a favor? Are you suggesting that we make them return the favor by asking them to join us?” Kida questioned.

            “Not really. If they join us, they will be doing Jaden a favor, not me. She is, after all, the one who started the Liberator Alliance. I have something else in mind.”

            “Well then, spit it out geezer.”

            “I would appreciate it if you stop calling me that Kida. Anyway, I could call for a summit which would involve all of them. We could meet up with all their leaders in one place and possibly talk them into assisting us. If they refuse to come, I can remind them of the favor they owe.”

            “Tch, that’s the same as saying ‘we skip the part where they shoot us on sight and go straight to the part where we talk them to death about how our people deserve to continue living even though we are practically destroying the whole universe.’”

            “Do you have a better idea Reed?”

            “No Mason. I’m just saying that the grudge between us humans and the non-humans won’t end anytime soon. The scars on both sides, especially on the non-human side, are too deep to heal.”

            “And so does the scars between the Salvagers and the Mannihilators, yet they’re helping us.” Lucas said.

            “True but in the end, we’re all still human. I doubt the non-humans are that forgiving.”

            “Even then, attempting to take Dissidia from Iblisan with what we have would be a suicide mission. I’d say we give this summit a try.” Jaden said.

            “Are you serious Jaden? That tongue of yours may have persuaded people in the past but you’re dealing with non-humans here.”

            “If I don’t try, I won’t know. Besides, all grudges will come to an end eventually.”

            “Yeah, only when one side dies.”

            “Reed, if you’re going to keep disagreeing, then you could stay in Qurrentine and help the Salvagers here. Let Vader fly the ship for us.”

            “Alright, fine. We’ll talk to the other races, though I doubt it is going to work.”

            “Thing is, how are we supposed to tell them about the summit? Their planets are too far for our communications to reach.” Jaina said.

            “Let me handle that. The radio back in my lair is capable of communications from extreme range. You all can just sit tight while I deal with that.”

            “Alright Mason but before you get on with that, there is one more thing I want to say. Tareshah, Blake Mason, are you two joining my crew? We could use a pair of very experienced soldiers.” Jaden offered.

            Tareshah and Mason stared at each other, a bit surprised to see them being invited to join Jaden’s crew out of the blue. After a brief moment of silence, Tareshah answered, “I’d love to lass but I’m afraid I can’t. It is tempting to head straight into danger with you but Veraslag needs me.”

            “You know Tareshah, I think you should go with Jaden while I stay behind.” Mason suggested.

            “Say what now? Why should I?”

            “I think they could use one more gun on their side, especially one as skilled and intimidating as you, despite your size.”

            “That’s ridiculous. You’re a male siren, invincible. You’re more useful to them than me.”

            “Perhaps, but I’ve been observing you for a long time now and you’re a skilled soldier. It would be a waste of your talents if you stay here and govern your people. I even remember the beautiful young lady you were before this and your charm isn’t dead yet. Me? I may be good with a gun but if I wasn’t invincible, I would’ve been dead by now looking at how many times I got shot in the past. I’m more of a leader than a fighter.”

            “And what about you? You stay behind and destroy Veraslag while I’m gone?”

            “And that’s where you need to trust me on this. I’ll keep my bounty hunters and Veraslag in check during your absence.”

            “And why should I trust you?”

            “We’re allies now, aren’t we?”

            Tareshah sighed, very reluctant to place a lot of trust on the man who has been her enemy for nearly twenty years. She rubbed her face in seeming disapproval but nonetheless gave the answer, “Fine. I’ll go back and tell them that you’re in charge. I’ll make sure that my lieutenants can tell me if anything goes wrong. If you try anything funny, I’ll come back and kill you somehow.”

            “Alright. I could live with that.”

            “So, you’re coming with us Tareshah?” Jaden asked.

            “Yeah I am lass. I don’t like the circumstances but I would be honored to fight by your side.”

            “And I’m honored to have a Salvager veteran amongst my crew.”

*     *     *

            And at last, Jaden and her crew left the hostile planet of Qurrentine. The Crimson Spinner flew out of the planet’s atmosphere and straight into the dark void of space. As it flew through the vacuum, its engines began to boast, initiating its hyperdrive jump. The engines powered up to extreme levels and, in a split instant, the ship accelerated at the speed of light.

            “So the summit will take place at Nibelheim. Never heard of such a planet. Anything I should know?” Jaden asked.

            “Nibelheim is a planet thriving with plant and animal life. Similar to Mannihilate, the planet is forested. However, the planet is uninhabited by civilization and hence, wild animals are a common sight. It is one of the smaller planets of this system but takes almost the same amount of time as Dissidia for it to reach a full year, being slower by five seconds.” Vader answered.

            “Why aren’t there any civilizations?” Jaden questioned.

            “The planet was claimed by the aliens and they use it as a habitat for their most successful creations, the resurrected dinosaurs. They used a cloning machine to bring dead fossils back to life but with a side effect: the dinosaurs have reversed personalities. Carnivores became herbivores and passive while herbivores became carnivores and aggressive.”

            “Sounds like a dangerous place to hold a summit. Why would Mason suggest going there?”

            “Probably because he wants us all dead. You can never trust a siren with flat breasts.” Reed answered.

            “A logical assumption would be that Nibelheim is close in proximity to all the home planets of the contacted civilizations. Aside from that, the planet itself is protected by the aliens and any unwanted or unauthorized intrusion will be dealt with.”

            “And the dinosaurs?”

            “It is possible that Mason may not have thought of that.” Vader replied.

            “Well, if the other races agreed to meet us there, then it may not be as dangerous as it seems. In the meantime, Jaden, you can go ahead and take a break. This trip could take a while.” Reed said.

            Jaden nodded in agreement and left the cockpit, heading straight to her cabin. She greeted Gavin and Jaina, who were having a seemingly pleasant conversation in the briefing room, although they reacted as if they needed some privacy, shooing Jaden away. Eventually, she reached her cabin but noticed her brothers, Lucas and Markus, apparently waiting for her there.

            “Jaden, there you are. We need to talk.” Lucas requested while approaching her.

            “What? What is it?” Jaden asked. Lucas did not answer however. Instead, he grabbed Jaden’s arm and pulled her into the cabin, almost as if they did not want anyone to hear what they have to say.

            “Hey! What’s going on? Why are you two so suspicious?”

            “Jaden, we couldn’t believe it at first but if we were correct, then your pilot is the bounty, Reed Robinson.” Markus said.

            “Yeah, my pilot is Reed Robinson. What about him?”

            “Do you even realize how dangerous that man is? There’s a reason for the bounty you know.” Lucas retorted.

            Jaden had heard such a claim before. She recalled Fabian Walrus, an elderly man she met on the streets of Qurrentine who also claimed that Reed was a dangerous man. For Lucas and Markus to make such a claim means that it is not a mistake or a coincidence. Jaden nodded and replied, “A man back in Qurrentine made a similar claim. He told me that Reed was a murderer.”

            “So you are aware then.”

            “But what did Reed do that gave him such a reputation?”

            “He murdered a lot of innocent civilians. We do not know why but some rumors claimed that he was trying to get Dark Viper’s attention since Viper tends to recruit men who have little remorse over their actions. His actions pissed Iblisan so much that he ordered Mason to place a bounty on his head.”

            “Wait, what? Why would Iblisan get angry at Reed for murdering civilians? I thought he didn’t actually care for the well-being of our race.”

            “Because Iblisan, as evil as he may seem, has a conscience. He believes there is no honor in killing innocent civilians, regardless of race. Heck, all of his cultists are forbidden from hurting unarmed civilians, unless they get in the way of their mission. And besides, Reed did all that for Viper, whom Iblisan had a huge grudge with.” Markus answered.

            “Reed’s last victim was a woman, a Light Energy Bladesman living in Qurrentine. Some people believed he killed her because she was a Salvager and that doing so would please Viper.”

            “I can’t believe he would do all that, looking at how calm and relaxed he seems.”

            “Precisely Jaden. He had absolutely no remorse for his actions, just like Viper wanted.”

            “But he seemed to hate Viper and Iblisan.”

            “What if he was lying? Listen Jaden, just know that Reed has murdered a lot of people. If you still trust him, then so be it. But, just be careful around him. We don’t want to lose you again.” Lucas said as he patted Jaden’s shoulder. “For now, get some rest. You’ll need to be focused in case Reed tries anything later during the summit.”

            Lucas and Markus left her cabin, leaving Jaden confused over what she had to do. She trusted Reed and respected him as a man who never left her side ever since the whole rebellion started. Not to mention the fact that he’s happily flying the ship to the summit. His loyalty was clear, yet all the disturbing rumors she heard of his past seemed to cloud her judgment over Reed’s innocence. Still, she did not wish to stress herself more than she already was. She lay on her bed and closed her eyes, earning a rest after a long day.

*     *     *

            “Hey Jaden, I’ve been eavesdropping your brothers lately and if I heard correctly, they’re saying that Reed was a wanted murderer that Iblisan and Viper had been hunting for a long while.” Jaine said.

            “I heard something like that when I was still subjected to Magical Overflow. Besides, if Iblisan or Viper wanted him that bad, he would either be a serial killer or a person helping the Salvagers.” Kida said.

            “I’m hoping for the former. Reed has been good to me and I don’t want to lose a friend.” Jaden retorted. She sat at a nearby crate, tired of standing around the cargo hold with Jaina and Kida.

            “Still, to be honest, looking at how he treats me, I’m not entirely surprised to hear that he has been mistreating people all over. Heck, he placed a bucket full of water on top of that door right there and when I opened the door…well…you know what happened. He might as well drown me rather than try something like that” Jaina explained.

            “I got to give Reed some credit though. His sense of humor isn’t too bad and he is especially good with a gun. Only bad thing I can say about him is how annoying he can get and his fear of swords. That’s just ridiculous.”

            “Precisely why I kept an alien katana in the cargo hold. If he tries anything funny, I’ll just toss it at him.” Jaina said as she pulled out an alien katana from its sheath, which was placed on one of the crates.

            “Perhaps his fear of swords had something to do with all these rumors we heard of him.” Jaden suggested.

            “Maybe. Still, enough about Reed. Jaden, I once told you that Vader was sentient right? Now that he’s recharging and repairing his body, this is the best time for me to explain it to you.”

            “Alright. We’re listening.”

            “While I was examining Vader back at the Machina Bunker, I saw an unusual looking core, shaped like a human heart, within his chassis. It is unlike any other core I have ever seen, in that it gave out some strange aura which I cannot see but feel when I was examining it closely. It is almost as if the chassis was blocking this strange aura from leaving its body. Another thing unusual is that the core would change color at times. When I first saw it, it was grey. Suddenly, it turned red and Vader turned to me and told me not to touch that core. I’m getting the feeling that that core gave him some form of sentience or even emotion.”

            “Wow. Strange. How did the aura felt like?” Kida asked.

            “I can’t really tell. All I can say is that it felt like some kind of warmth, a soothing kind of warmth. As I get closer, the aura became hotter. Vader’s body was not hot to begin with so it cannot be that the heat I felt was generated from his body. It is only when I saw the core that I felt this strange aura.”

            “That sounds similar to sensing one’s Magical Energy level. The hotter the feeling, the stronger and closer the person is.”

            “Really Jaden? I never undergo my Proving since I don’t have any Magical Energies to begin with.”

            “Magical Energies allows us to sense one’s Energy level but if the source of the person’s Magical Energies is exposed, it is possible to sense it without any help from Magical Energies. Normally, this only happens when one’s body is disintegrated but…could it be that Vader actually has Magical Energies?” Kida said.

            Kida’s words rang a bell in Jaden’s mind. She recalled a moment when Vader explained to her about his people and his leader, or host, HEX-99. Dubbed Rex, the VX Synthetic was Wizard and machine in one body and the object that made it possible was an emotion core. She also remembered Vader mentioning that Rex’s emotion core was infused with Magical Energies and looking at how similar the unusual core is to Vader’s explanation, she can only make one assumption.

            “Alright. I think I get it now. I think the unusual core you saw was an emotion core.” Jaden answered.

            “A what now? An emotion core? I never heard of such a thing.” Jaina retorted.

            “I do. Vader once told me of a core which allows a VX Synthetic to feel emotions and to gain Magical Energies. He never said he had one but I think it is plausible that he may have one installed inside him.”

            “Wow. If that’s true, that makes him similar to us organics. Heck, he might be thinking like us, except that his answer is almost always accurate.” Kida said.

            “Still, I noticed some things about his behaviors that contradict with Jaden’s suggestion. He did not understand human gestures and I saw him trying to mimic a lot of our gestures. His programming also seems to be dominant, as it conflicted with his orders during our first mission on Qurrentine, to the point that his behavior became erratic.” Jaina theorized.

            “Perhaps we ought to ask him. He can’t lie after all.” Kida suggested.

            “If we’re going to ask, I’d say Jaden do it. He’s programmed not to harm her.”

            “You’re afraid he might attack you for asking?” Jaden asked.

            “Emotion core or not, he’s still a machine. If he has to kill someone to guard a secret he has, he will unless programmed not to. He almost killed me at times when you left him with me during our mission on Qurrentine.” Jaina said.

            “Alright. I’ll ask him after the summit. It is not a good idea to make him suspicious especially since we’re trying to unite all civilizations against Iblisan.”

            Seconds later, the trio felt the ship slowing down, almost as if they have reached their destination. Reed then said through the intercom, “Alright, we’re closing in on Nibelheim. I guess the tin can was right when he said that this dinosaur infested planet is a quick journey unlike moving to the non-human planets. Elapsed time: 37 hours and 27 minutes. That’s two and a half days long. Get ready to leave the ship, circus freaks. We may have unhappy company on the planet.”

            “Well, I guess we should get ready.” Jaina said. Jaden nodded in agreement and left the cargo hold with Kida. She made a beeline for her cabin where she left her katana while Kida went straight for the briefing room where her spear-staff hybrid weapon was left. Along the way, Jaden encountered Vader, who was leaving her cabin. When the VX Synthetic saw her, he approached her.

            “Jaden Highland, may I request that I accompany you to the summit. Throughout the mission on Qurrentine, you left me with the others twice and without me to protect you, you were brutally electrocuted and captured by the enemy respectively.”

            “I don’t think that’s a good idea. The non-humans may be spooked by the sight of a VX Synthetic and may use you as leverage to not assist us.”

            “Perhaps but if you bring me along, I can serve as an example of possible alliance. We VX Synthetics have been enemies with the humans for years and if they see this unit accompanying a human, it would show that humans do have some redeeming qualities. They might submit to your output better if they see it that way.”

            “Hmm, good point. Alright. I’ll bring you along. Which reminds me: Why did you behave so erratically when I left you with Jaina during our first mission on Qurrentine?”

            “This unit was sent on a mission to protect Jaden Highland from all possible dangers. Thus, I was programmed to remain close in proximity to Jaden. You ordered this unit to remain behind out of fear of attracting suspicion, thus conflicting with my programming. Hence, this unit suffered overheating and loss of control over physical functions. Jaina’s attempt to calm me down was futile but also gave me a distraction.”

            “But you did not behave like that the second time I left.”

            “I adapted. When you left the second time, I modified my programming, increasing the range which was required for the mission. It only requires one occurrence for this unit to adapt to change.”

            “You can modify your own programming?”

            “Only if deemed necessary. Modification of programming often has unwanted errors and inaccuracies, hence this was done sparingly. Regardless, I do not wish for Jaden to exceed the range again.”

            “Alright. I see. That’s good to know.”

            “Best prepare your hardware and software for the summit. Threats may loom within Nibelheim.” Vader advised Jaden before leaving the cabins. Jaden merely watching as the metallic robot walked away.

            “If Vader indeed has an emotion core, he may be far more human that he let on. What if he genuinely cares for me? What if all this talk of being programmed to protect me was just an excuse he invented to stay by my side? And what about Reed? Was he truly a murderer? Or was his demeanor nothing but a mask to hide his true self?”

            Jaden turned to her katana inside her cabin room, pondering on what to do about all she had learned. As she approached her katana, she thought, “I guess I should trust time to tell me answers. For now, we have a summit to attend.”

            “ Hmph, I’ve really gone far into this rebellion. Viper’s now living on borrowed time.”