Wanderer

Chapter 3

3

Tarkus sat where he was, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. Sister Marshat was standing now, glaring down at him as she shifted her weight, her hands curled into fists. Kaira stared at the two of them, and realised she needed to try and save the situation.

“Wait!” She said. “Please, you don’t understand! He’s made a total mess of explaining things!”

“I don’t see how explaining why you want those demon-spawned devices could possibly make me consider helping you!” snapped sister Marshat, now glaring at Kaira.

“We aren’t looking to buy the devices! We already have them. Or I do. They’re in me! It’s only because of Tarkus they haven’t managed to kill me yet. We want to find someone who sells them so we can find out how to deactivate them. If we don’t… if we don’t then they’re going to kill me. And soon.”

The old woman stood there for a few seconds more, chest heaving and eyes still burning. Then she closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath which she let out equally carefully. She sank back in her chair and faced Kaira.

“You’re right, my dear,” she said. “He did make a mess of explaining it. If what you say is true then it changes everything. If it’s true.”

She bowed her head again for a few moments, then lifted it and spoke again, this time apparently focusing on thin air.

“We need the emergency kit. Quickly.”

A few seconds later the side door opened once more, and the same man entered as before. This time he was carrying a portable medical device. Kaira noticed two others remaining inside the door, but still clearly visible. A man and a woman, both in their thirties, and both holding serious looking guns. Very serious looking guns.

“Guns? Here?” she said.

“I think I told you before,” said Tarkus. “The Church believes in peace, but where necessary it will defend that peace with force. For example if someone comes in and forgets to give the context when asking for particularly nasty illegal goods.”

Sister Marshat smiled grimly at that, but didn’t say anything. She stood up, took the scanner from the young man, and stepped towards Kaira. Then she stopped suddenly.

“My apologies, my dear. All this has given me quite a shock and I forgot my manners. Would you consent to being scanned? Not that I would doubt your word on what has happened to you normally, but this is a very serious matter.”

“Of course. Go ahead. Do you know what you’re looking for?”

“Unfortunately, yes. We have come across this once before. In that case we were too late. The person had just been killed by the devices. We were trying to find out the cause of their demise. Luckily we took a scan within fifteen minutes of their death. Even then most of the devices had already disappeared. Just enough remained for us to detect them.”

“I don’t suppose you know of any way to disable them then?” asked Tarkus.

“No. I’m afraid we don’t.”

“Damn. Well it was worth asking.”

“Please stand up, my dear,” sister Marshat said to Kaira.

Kaira did, and sister Marshat started to pass the scanner around her, so close it almost touched at times. She could feel tingling sensations within her body as the scanner did its work, but it wasn’t painful.

Sister Marshat’s face gave no indication of what the results were. She must have carried on scanning for two, maybe three minutes before finally turning the scanner off and giving it to the young man. She signalled him away, and when he left Kaira noticed the two armed guards were now absent again.

“I’m so sorry my dear,” sister Marshat said. “You’re telling the truth. You are infested with those infernal devices. Though these seem to be in a strange state. Activated, but moving slowly. Almost sluggishly.”

“It’s all I’ve been able to do,” said Tarkus. “She’s been hooked up to the med unit in my ship for five and a half days even to manage that. These devices are clever. They seem to be designed to work no matter what gets in their way, until they’re deactivated at least. They even bind to the subject’s DNA when they’re first injected. I tested taking them away from Kaira’s DNA and placing them in someone else’s. They self-destructed almost immediately, but I couldn’t find a way to use that to terminate the devices within her.”

“What?” said Kaira. “The only other person’s DNA you have is yours! Did you inject them into yourself?”

“No! I’m not that stupid. I used them on some blood samples from me. I tried a lot of different things while you were knocked out. I have some damn good medical equipment on the Glimmer. Just not good enough.”

“So you plan to find whoever sells these damned things and hope they’ll also have the off switch for sale?” asked sister Marshat.

“I’m sure they will. Plenty of people would inject these into an enemy and let nature take its course as some form of t*****e or punishment, but there will also be those who use it because they want to control someone. The victims have to believe there’s a cure or they’d simply refuse to do anything.”

Sister Marshat settled back into her chair, a grim look on her face.

“There is one man who sells these devices,” she said. “One that we know of, at least. We tracked him down when we investigated the death of that poor victim. We’ve never made a move against him, though it was tempting at times. Our position here is not secure to say the least. Tipping off the authorities about that seller might lead to us being forced out rather than him.”

“You’re letting that danger fester to save yourselves? That doesn’t sound like the Church!”

Sister Marshat speared Tarkus with a glare.

“Nothing of the sort!” she snapped. “By being here we are able to help hundreds of people a year. If we exposed him then most likely someone else would take his place within a few months, and we would no longer be here to help all those others who needed it. It’s not a choice we make lightly, but it is one we have made. And not to save ourselves.”

Tarkus spread his hands and lowered his voice.

“I’m sorry. I should have known better. These devices… the thought of them makes me angry, even without what has happened to Kaira.”

The old woman smiled back at Tarkus.

“We feel the same. They are an abomination, along with slave collars and every other device designed to completely remove someone’s free will. Guns and other weapons can do the same, but you have a chance to dodge, to escape, because no one can stay focused on captives all the time. With devices like these, there is no respite. If we could we would track them to their source and destroy it once and for all.

“But the Church does not wield such power. That’s probably for the best… with such power comes far too many temptations to step off the devout path. Just for a few moments is always the excuse. But the path is always much, much harder to find again than it is to leave. Anyway, enough of that. You are on a strict timeline. Let me send you the details you need.”

“He doesn’t sound the sort of person it’s easy to get to see,” said Tarkus.

“You’d think so, but he seems to like hiding in plain sight. Passing himself off as an honest dealer. As far as that means anything around here. He has the usual levels of security all the merchants have, nothing extravagant. Getting to see him shouldn’t be a problem.

“Getting him to give you what you need… that could be a lot harder. You might have to purchase the devices as well. I suspect if it became known that he was selling the antidote to any who had the money it would stop the devices being such an effective deterrent… and would probably mean he soon ended up on the wrong end of his own merchandise.”

“If that’s necessary we’ll buy them and destroy them,” said Tarkus.

“Very well. We’ll tell you who he is and where to find him. There’s no more help we can give you than that.”

“Thank you. It’s all we’ll need, and without that help I don’t know we could have found him in time for… in time.”

Kaira tried not to wince at the reminder of how little time she had left.

“Be careful,” said sister Marshat. “He has access to a vast range of lethal devices.”

“We will. And if things get messy then the two of us will be on our way soon enough,” Tarkus said. “No one will know you were involved. The Church still has to find ways to keep existing here, and you’re not exactly in a strong position right now.”

Sister Marshat smiled.

“No, you are right there. We’re tolerated at the moment. If we intervene too much, or too obviously, we might have to go underground again, which limits what we are able to do for people.”

“Underground again?” asked Kaira.

“Yes, my dear. Again. Truth be told, much of what we do now is still handled that way. And I have no doubt that something will force us back underground in the future, maybe something we do or maybe just a shift in the power balance. For the moment we are able to achieve more and have a visible presence, so we take advantage while it lasts.”

“It must be dangerous. Especially when you have to go fully underground.”

“It is, but we know that before taking on such postings. The desire to help others outweighs the risks. Now, I would offer you more refreshments, but from what the med scanner showed and you told me your time is severely limited. Instead I’ll give you the details you need and send you on your way with our heartfelt best wishes.

“I don’t know how you ended in this position, and it’s none of my business, but I hope you are able to find a way out. If you do, if it’s possible, please remember us and try to pass on what you learn. To any branch of the Church. They will understand the importance of the information and make sure it is distributed.”

“Definitely!” replied Kaira. “I never had any idea devices like this existed. They’re horrific! Anything I can do to save other people from going through this I’ll do.”

“You have a good heart, my dear. But first concentrate on saving yourself. Saving the universe is a lot to take on in one go. It’s best to take things one step at a time.”

Kaira chuckled and shook her head.

“I’m not the one out there trying to save people,” she said. Then she nodded towards Tarkus. “Ask Tarkus. He’s starting off with saving me, but I think he’ll work his way up to saving the universe.”

Tarkus’s face darkened.

“Not a chance! Trust me, you save the universe once it will just end up needing saving again, and everyone will expect you to keep stepping up. You’ve only got to look at the history of Jess and the Wanderer to see that.”

“There is truth in that,” said sister Marshat. “But equally, groups of people set about saving themselves after Jess made the ultimate sacrifice. He dealt with the Taint and the Limited, but even he couldn’t do everything. That’s one of the core doctrines of the Church. None of us can fix everything all by ourselves, but with kindness and consideration for fellow beings we can become a force which is capable of fixing anything.

“Anyway, enough of that! If you get me talking on the subject we could be here for days. I’ve sent the information you need to your datapad. Go now. Go with our blessing, and I sincerely hope you find what you’re looking for in time.”

Less than a minute later Kaira and Tarkus were out of the doors and heading back down the alley-like corridor. Kaira was fighting hard not to let her hopes get up too far, but she couldn’t help feeling things looked promising.

Though the scale of the next task was particularly difficult… persuading a weapons dealer trading in some of the most horrific and illegal weaponry available to sell them a cure for one of those weapons. She glanced at Tarkus, and realised she had confidence in him pulling it off.

Whatever had been thrown at him he’d risen to the occasion. If he could do it one more time then she could stop being such a drag on him. And, of course, she might have a lifespan measured in more than a handful of weeks… or days. That would definitely be an improvement!