Chapter 28SEBASTIAN

Sebastian sat idly in a chair in his room at Hawk Aviation, gazing fondly out the window at the avian drones clustered outside. A few favorites would fly up to his window now and again, and he had a supply of Vivian-approved morsels on hand for precisely such situations.

The heiress had retained him both as a veterinarian (although his knowledge of animal biology, though still of some use, was both slightly outdated and somewhat inapplicable to the machines used by Hawk) and as part of a PR campaign. She was starting to push the idea of becoming a Trust, and his charisma and newsroom experience were invaluable in helping her network. Obviously, there were still some political obstacles to overcome: ultimately, Grey would need unanimous approval from the four other Trusts to become an undisputed fifth Trust, and while Helio Corps — and by extension, given Helio’s relationship with Meridian, possibly Hyperbotics as well — seemed likely enough, EvoS and Omni seemed near-impossible. How do you get your enemies to like you? Sebastian had never quite figured that one out. It wasn’t his style to manipulate or coerce, but hopefully Grey could do so — she seemed to possess the wherewithal for hard-line negotiation. But given her history with Magnus…and given pretty much everyone’s history with Omni, never mind the rumors of some kind of threat in the works over there…

A knock sounded on the door.

“Come in,” he said.

It was Grey. She swept into the room majestically, clad in iridescent white with a shimmering rainbow visor.

Grey sat down on his bed. The heiress had sought his counsel often since he had joined Hawk Aviation — even sometimes just bouncing things off of him that he couldn’t possibly have useful input on. She liked him, he surmised. No doubt the girl was lonely. And so was he. They had both lost family members…and were developing quite the bond.

“Tell me, Sebastian,” she said. Sebastian took a sip from his glass of water and prepared for a discussion of avian physiology or perhaps her latest political moves. “About your daughter.”

He narrowly avoided a spit take and swallowed hard. Grey had never asked about something so personal. How did she even…?

“You’ve done some research, it seems,” he said. He hadn’t so much as mentioned Rose.

Grey nodded curtly. She leaned back slightly and took off her helmet, revealing long flowing hair and a scarred — though not hideously so — face. There were several deep gashes down her left cheek. Sebastian knew why. The same reason she had prosthetic limbs. It was shocking that she had taken off her helmet, though — Grey NEVER did that. He could see her leg trembling slightly. Grey never showed nerves, either.

Fair enough. If she was willing to open up, so was he. He didn’t mind, truth be told. Losing Rose was sad, but more mysterious than traumatic, and he was an old man who had long come to terms with the way of the world. Grey’s PTSD no doubt reached levels he could not even comprehend.

“She…Rose was an engineer. Brilliant. Connected with machines like yeh wouldn’t believe. She was the sweetest girl. Loved animals, just like her dad.”

He went on in this vein for a few minutes, then concluded with the abrupt end of her tale — her capture and disappearance in the aftermath of the Trust war.

Grey raised an eyebrow. “And no one’s heard from Omni on this?”

“They aren’t exactly forthcomin’ about what goes on in there.”

Grey nodded. It seemed like Helio’s problem might be her problem, too.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, reaching over to touch his arm.

“You…remind me of her, sometimes.” Sebastian felt himself turn slightly pink. “Smart, determined.”

Vivian looked like she was about to say something, then turned her head away abruptly. Perhaps she was overwhelmed. Grey sighed and stood up, starting to put her helmet back on.

“Thank you for sharing, Sebastian. It’s…” she broke off and simply nodded slowly, then slid her helmet over her face, cutting off any further words.

As if transformed by the presence of her visor, Grey was suddenly all business again.

“Actually, I had a question for you, Sebastian. I’ve…recently come into some interesting information. A couple of EvoS folks have some dirt on their employer, and they’ve approached me to…negotiate. Any thoughts on how to proceed? I defer to you on all things regarding the presentation of news.”

“Certainly-” he said, but was cut off by the interruption of a smoke detector’s high whine.

Grey looked as puzzled as he did. A fire…?

The two rose quickly and hustled downstairs to investigate.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Chapter 29

VECTOR

I am reborn amid the poisonous shadows of my Father’s sanctum. He has given me life, and now has given me power, raw and writhing, in need of a conduit.

I feel the microscopic life-forms swim through my blood. The sensation overwhelms me at first.

“Wear this suit,” says Father. “It will help you control your gift.”

I don the suit, and the sensation is dulled. I can wield it now…

Father has told me of our goals, but I had not realized I would play such a major part. I know that now, implicitly. Such is my power. I long to spread my gift, to sow chaos. The microbes in my tainted blood beg for it.

A dark cloud will follow in my path. Let the world be cleansed by it.

Father nods. We are ready.

“A moment,” I say. My voice booms forth like a thunderclap, reverberating and warping as the microbes modify the sound wave.

“Yes, Hector?” says Father.

Hector, he has named me. Like the hero of Troy several millennia prior. I know this somehow. Father has made sure I know many things. Hector fell to Achilles. I have no intent to be bested.

“No, Father,” I say. “That name does not suit me.”

I pause. I am the bringer of death, of plague, of darkness. I grab a metal railing next to me and rip off a chunk, molding it in my powerful hands, releasing a stream of particles to eat at the steel. It yields into a large makeshift weapon.

Father smiles and gently takes it from me, casting aside my handiwork.

“Here,” he says. He rummages a moment, then hands me a large axe. It feels good in my hands, I must admit. I feel power coursing through it. I charge it with my energies, my poison flowing through its keen edge. The radamantium tarnishes to a bitter black.

“Death,” I say. Father raises an eyebrow. I nod at the weapon. “The Black Death.”

I know what Father is thinking in that moment. Such is our connection. “You can’t name yourself Death,” he is thinking.

I can if I want to. But I don’t. I am not death. Death speaks through me, and through its namesake in my hands. I bring its sweet release to this troubled world.

I look at Father and tell him my name. Not Hector.

“Vector.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Chapter 30

MERIDIAN

Across town, Meridian felt the disturbance. This was nothing GAIA had warned of, but his heightened metaphysical senses picked up some sort of…something…(evil?)…emanating from the Omni facility, like a cloud of gas in a bottle threatening to pop the cork.

Perhaps Helio’s warning had some truth to it after all. He would notify Helio of his sensory perceptions. Brynn, as well — perhaps it was time to recall the troops from their training.

The automaton immediately began transmission.