Shadow Core - The Legacy (21 page)

“We didn't lose her!” Static answered back from across the room and then said spitefully, “She was taken from us, ripped out of this very ship by the Solarian forces.”

Nexus was beside herself with happiness at the news, but still had a task to complete. She started applying pressure to the sphere and a new data stream appeared, this time cascading down.

The stream was flowing into the white ring around her feet, and reappearing from the ring around Toby's feet, flowing upwards and enveloping him.

The streams were moving at an incredible speed, so fast that Kade could no longer tell that they were actually made up of multi coloured symbols. And just as the streams stopped Toby fell to the floor, letting out a low grunt at the impact.

Toby opened his eyes, looking around the room in a confused state, the place looked familiar to him but everything seemed blurry. He stood up, noticing Kade and Jude, an immediate smile developing across his face, but then he noticed their stunned expressions, like they had just seen a ghost or something.

He called out to them, becoming frozen in place as he heard the sound of his own youthful voice and quickly looked at his hands with a horrified expression, which only got worse as he saw that his body was not the old wreck it used to be... something was very wrong with this picture.

Toby looked around the room, his eyes growing wide as he saw Nexus and Static standing right there in front of him. Which could only mean that this wasn't real, he was in a virtual environment.

The last thing he remembered was lying in his bed as he waited for death to finally claim him.

The moment seemed to stretch into eternity, the room as quiet as the void since no-one knew exactly what to say.
The two sisters were shocked at what they were seeing. Nexus and Static were overjoyed at seeing an old friend. And Toby was furious at being brought back in front of his grandchildren, afraid that the shock could cause them to lash out at him. Or worse, that they would outright hate him.

And just then Drake appeared in the room, ready to pummel Static into the ground.

“Dammit all Static! Do you enjoy trashing probes? Do you spend your free time dreaming up new ways to destroy them?” Drake asked in anger and then noticed a new person was standing in the room with them, someone he had not seen in a long time.

Drake and Toby looked at each other and broke into a smile, Drake's anger vanishing in an instant. And then the realisation of what Static had done in his absence hit him full force.

“Smooth, idiot,” Drake said, clearly upset. “Did you two brainiacs stop to think at how Kade and Jude would feel at seeing their DEAD grandfather again?”

“So, that's Toby?” Zen asked, leaving Toby wondering about who she was and what had happened since he had last seen his former crew-mates.

Toby was standing in the middle of the room. Family to his left and friends to his right, a scene which under normal circumstances could be considered to be perfectly natural. Unfortunately, from his point of view he had been on his death bed just five minutes ago, saying his farewells to Kade as the life drained from his old body.

“Are you really...” Kade started to ask, but was unable to finish the sentence, afraid of the answer.

Toby said in a tender voice, “I will not lie to you, the person that you knew and loved is dead, I'm sorry. I never wanted you two to see me like this. It would have been better if you had never known what the Core was really capable of.”

As Toby looked at Kade and Jude's expressions of sorrow, he felt as though someone was reaching into his chest and crushing his heart. This was not what he had wanted when he asked Kade to bring his Core to the Zenith. He only wanted to complete his mission and introduce his grandchildren to his former colleagues whom he trusted implicitly. He had never wanted to cause them more pain.

Toby looked at Static and the others, incensed at what they were putting his family through.

“I trusted you! Why did you do this?” Toby asked in anger, looking Static squarely in the eyes.

“I don't understand. Isn't this what you wanted?” Static replied, confused at Toby's reaction.

Toby shouted, “Have the decades destroyed whatever sanity you had left? Why would I want to subject my grandchildren to a data extraction?” Toby screamed in rage, “Why would I want them to see me die again?”

Kade didn't know what to think.

Toby's voice, his mannerisms, indeed everything about him made her want to believe her grandfather was back in her life again, but there was no denying the fact that her grandfather was long dead.

Life and death used to be fairly simple concepts to understand. But if the Core could be used to fully recreate a person's memories, beliefs and ideals, then what did that mean for the re-created person?

Kade accepted this person was not her grandfather, and yet, at the same time, he was exactly like him. So much in fact that she could not simply reject him.  

This person had been created based on the memories contained in the core, which had come from her grandfather. The same memories which had guided her this far and given her comfort in the past. The fact that the memories had been stored artificially up to this point should not make a difference, should it? Kade wondered.  

To add to the confusion, this person had said her grandfather was dead, but had afterwards referred to her and her sister as his 'grandchildren'. So from his point of view he clearly saw them as family.

Confusing as this was for Kade, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like for him. A person waking up in front of his loved ones and knowing that he was not the one they remembered. Knowing that his mere presence would invoke memories of loss.  

Kade had no answers, and the conversation developing around her was not helping.

“What do you mean by 'die again'?” Kade asked.

“They didn't tell you?” Toby asked with a look of complete disbelief and then stared back at Static.

“They said they were going to show us what a Core was... that's it.” Jude said, still in shock.

“I'm sorry girls. I needed to complete my mission and that meant having my Core brought to this ship. The information inside it had to reach Static, but I never thought he would ever perform a Core extraction in your presence,” Toby said with a disheartened tone and then looked at Static with disappointment and said, “I trusted you.”

Kade started putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Toby didn't want them to see him again because the Core extraction was... fatal?

“I'm confused. Why is he so upset?” Zen asked.

“You didn't tell him, did you?” Drake asked Static.

“No,” Static said with a sheepish grin. “We got so caught up in the moment that I kind of... forgot that he had gone missing before we resolved the issues with Core extractions. And he ended up being reintegrated straight into this room.”

“What?” Toby asked with a stupefied look.

“A Core extraction is no longer fatal. We found a way around that issue a couple of decades ago. So no, you aren't going to die in front of your grandchildren again. And thanks for the vote of confidence by the way,” Static said sarcastically, upset at Toby's lack of faith.

Toby couldn't believe what he had just heard. It was simply too good to be true. His anger dissipating instantly, leaving behind a feeling of relief more intense than any he had ever felt before.  

He looked at his grandchildren with a smile on his lips and realised they had no idea what all the drama had been about. An explanation was in order.

“In the past, a Core extraction meant that a deceased person's memory backup was forcibly decoded. Creating a construct from the raw data, but destroying any chance at incarnating the memories again,” Drake explained before Toby could.

“That sounds barbaric. Why would you ever want to do such a thing?” Kade asked somewhat shocked.

“If a person had died while in possession of vital information, and there was no other way to access it, a Core extraction could still be performed in order to get it, though it was rarely an easy choice,” Drake said.

“So is that the technology's purpose? Sounds like something the military would dream up,” Jude said.

“No. The Core technology was originally developed for the purpose of memory augmentation. In order to help people who suffered from mental disorders. The tests proved so successful that the technology was pushed further, in attempts to allow our scientists and engineers to tap the full potential of their minds. Enhanced focus, improved visualisation, seamless machine interfacing, that kind of thing,” Static said.

“Sounds like the beginning of a horror story,” Kade commented instinctively.

“You could say that. What followed was rather horrible.” Drake frowned.

“Indeed, the technology was flawless; it was more than we could ever have hoped for. And that is where things started going horribly wrong,” Static said. “News of our achievement eventually reached all the wrong ears and conflict broke out as the powers fought for control. We resisted... and we paid dearly for it.”

“What happened?” The sisters asked in almost perfect unison.

“That's a very long story.” Toby replied before Static could get the chance to speak, knowing how he liked to ramble on. “The short version is that the Shadows were branded as terrorists by the colonial powers of the day, and then hunted down to near extinction for the knowledge they held.”

“Were you? Terrorists I mean?” Kade asked bluntly.

“No! The Shadows, regardless of what negative connotations the name may imply, were actually just a research and development division in those days. It was a collection of scientists, engineers and other highly skilled personnel,” Static said.

“There has to be more to it than that,” Jude said excitedly, wanting to know as much as possible.

“There is, but that's a story for another time,” Toby said, causing both sisters to break into a smile. It was a line they had heard many times before.

Kade couldn't help but find it strange that all the information she had managed to dig up over the years had no mention of their origins. Then again, useful information about the Shadows was sparse at the best of times, consisting mostly of assumptions, rumours and tall tales. There was so much of it that it was impossible to separate fact from fiction.

From the clues she had managed to piece together so far, it seemed likely that a Shadow colony existed somewhere. Though the scale of the population was unknown, as were their aims and objectives.   

And technology wise, if the Zenith was any indication, the Shadows were definitely above the average level set by the Solarian Union, which could explain why the Union was fielding so many ships.

All of the events leading up to this point seemed to indicate there was a power struggle between the Union and the Shadows, or at least a deep animosity. And the Zenith's presence in this system was threatening to destabilise the situation further.

Kade's gut feelings told her that there was definitely bad blood between the two sides, and she suspected that the Union was probably the colonial power which had hunted down the original Shadows. Which could also help to explain why they were committing such an overwhelming force to the inbound fleet.

The puzzle was still incomplete but Kade's promise had been fulfilled, her grandfather's core had been delivered to the Zenith as he had requested. She was a bit annoyed at the fact he had never told her what the Core was, but then again she probably wouldn't have believed him anyway. She was also happy that her suspicions had been proven wrong. Her grandfather had not put her life at risk for his own selfish desires. And she felt silly for having ever doubted his character. Though questions still remained: what was this mission that he was talking about? What would drive him to these extremes?

But the real question now was, what to do next?

Kade had achieved her goal. And while she was curious about the Shadows, the sensible thing to do would be to say her goodbyes, take her leave and go back to a simple life of smuggling. But as her career choice implied, Kade had never been particularly sensible. And she wasn't about to turn tail and run now that her 'grandfather' was up and around again.

Kade looked around the virtual environment, taking in the scene around her:

Nexus, Static, Drake and Toby were trading quips like long lost friends, without even the slightest hint of hesitation in their voices. They accepted Toby unconditionally. Something that she was still trying to come to terms with.

Jude seemed to be in heaven at the moment, probably from contemplating the potential of the Core technology. And Kade couldn't help but let out a quick chuckle at her sister's expression. Like a kid in a candy store, wide eyed, full of wonder and a hair's breadth away from starting to drool all over herself.

The one person in the group who stood out was Zen, as she was just quietly observing the wall screen showing the approaching fleet. She seemed perplexed by what she was seeing. The image on the screen zoomed out to a top down view of the solar system, showing the location of the fleet in relation to the Zenith, and Zen just stared.

Kade walked over to Zen, as everyone else seemed too busy to take notice.

“You look worried,” Kade said in a friendly voice.

“No, not worried, confused,” Zen said without taking her gaze off the screen, which was now running a simulation of the movement vectors of all known military assets in the system.

“Well, I'm scared. The Regent is a frightening ship in its own right, but seeing it in a war formation is... I don't know how to describe it,” Kade said.

“The Regent's specifications are impressive! Its main guns alone could punch a hole through a medium sized asteroid. It's certainly a force to be reckoned with, or avoided if at all possible. Add in its support fleet and that arrow strike formation and you can tell they mean business,” Zen said, though she didn't seem concerned.