11. The Lies of Faith
Khaldorn Murino’s head hurt, he was a warrior, not a scientist. But this Amarrian apparently knew more about this virus than anyone, and the Amarrians were trying to kill her. Damn they were an arrogant species. And if it was indeed a cure for Vitoc. Hell, it was still killing people. A cure that kills . . .
Some two dozen systems earlier, he had opened a channel to command, asking his commanders to please review the attached intelligence he had intercepted. He asked that they consider enlisting the doctor’s aid, and reminded them that if the Amarrians found her first they would simply execute her. He ended the transmission by asking for orders.
He received them almost instantly. Arm your ship well and track her down.
Setting his ship’s navigation system, he turned her to the City of God. Perhaps that was where the doctor had meant when she mentioned a place of importance in Amarrian history. That was definitely one place to look. He had a suspicion about one other system, but first things first.
His ship traveled the lanes without incident, finding little or no activity in these backworld systems. Gate after gate jumped him deeper into the steller reaches, and he pondered the Sect of the Warden. Their plan was madness, and yet also profoundly compassionate despite that they had exceeded the bounds of morality. He tried to let the ship’s gel soothe away his nerves, and felt worse as the jumps continued to the City of God.
He often woke in night sweats. The faces of the Matari slaves haunted his sleep, the faces of brothers and sisters who were unlucky enough to be the ones whose cargo walls failed when the Amarrian slave transport evaporated under the onslaught of his weapons.
The factions were merging and evolving as well, and he had been given notice. He might be moved within the Matari factions as befitted his status and experience.
Mar Cin had notified him that he would join him in his journey in a few hours, and as they traveled, despite the great distances between them and the crisis at hand, they chatted about all the things Matari talked of – of brothers and sisters and ceremonies and who was dating whom. All talk that took their minds off the crisis in which all the peoples of Mew Eden had been encased.
Leaving the City of God, Khaldorn Murino set his navigation waypoint to Ezzara. He had hoped she might be here, but scans of the system proved otherwise. In confidence, he told Mar Cin that he hoped other Amarrians were in Ezzara too so that he could relieve some of his nervousness. Mar Cin had agreed, and said he was altering course to Ezzara.
The comms chatter answered his plea. The Amarrians were indeed coming to Ezzara. The man named Daison Kador from the Ministry was on his way, inciting Amarrians to join him in his effort to retrieve the traitor.
Thankfully, Commander Zoolkhan had authorised his actions and had given him a free hand to hunt. As the gate dropped him into Ezzara, his ship’s sensors came online. A few moments and the scan was complete. He had located Jesra, but only one Amarrian – Daison Kador.
“Stay away from here, Amarrian, or suffer death! We have her and her ship.” The voice, Murino guessed, must be Jesra’s, of the Sect of the Warden.
He opened a comm-interlink. She accepted. “Matari, what purpose these actions of yours?”
“The doctor trespassed here, and we will not tolerate an Amarr on sacred soil.” The vindictiveness and finality in her voice left nothing for him to negotiate.
His vessel ship warped to the location of the ships, including the doctor’s frigate. He hoped she was not onboard the terrorist ship, hostage. “She is coming with me Matari, if you are fit to call yourself that, unleashing this plague upon innocents.”
“We have all that we wanted. You may have the ship and its package.”
It seemed the woman was about to disconnect, so he spoke again to keep her occupied. He needed to know where the doctor was, his scans continuing. “I cannot understand such an action, even if the cause is just.”
Simply, “The savior of the people is often a murderer in the eyes of others.”
His ship ended its warp as Jesra was warping away, heading from her vector out of the system toward Vard and Amamake. A scan showed that the doctor was onboard. He followed, cursing his ship to move faster. Where was that Amarrian, Daison Kador?
He locked her ship as they came out of warp almost simultaneously, but he hesitated. Could he fire on brethren? She also had the doctor aboard, and a wrongly calculated strike would kill them both. As he struggled with this, his ship following Jesra’s, another ship appeared in the gel HUD – Daison Kador.
Immediately, an authoritarian voice came over the standard local comm channel. “Be gone from this system Matari. I will handle it from here.”
“Amarrian, leave this system, you will handle nothing.”
A short pause, then laughter. “Do not suppose to order me about. I am here to collect the doctor and any doses she may left.”
His ship continued to follow the terrorist frigate, which had turned away from the gate because Kador had appeared there, blocking her escape. Taking an angular vector, she scooted down toward him now, perhaps knowing he would not fire because of her hostage.
He had to act fast. “You aim to kill the one person who might be able to save us from this disease. Such ignorance I cannot comprehend.”
Nothing in reply, but the Amarrian took a direct line of sight with the terrorist frigate. Afterburners kicked in, and Murino saw the Amarrian frigate hurtle towards Jesra.
“What is this? A Degraded attempting to escape through the gate!! Die as you deserve to!”
The man was mad! He was going to open fire. “Amarrian!”
Jesra replied, possibly to buy a few moments for her ship to begin warp. Murino tried to turn into the line of sight between the Amarrian and the terrorist frigate, too slowly. “The doctor is aboard. Do not fire or she will die too Amarri!”
“So . . she is aboard. All the better.”
“Amarrian, do not fire upon that vessel, I will warn you only once.” Murino had attempted auto-lock, but the Amarrian’s frigate seemed to be equipped with jammers.
“They will both die.”
Khaldorn Murino heard and saw the laser fire from Kador’s ship scorching across the distance between the man’s ship and Jesra. Several shots, all beams of light that pierced the darkness of space to tear holes into the escaping frigate. Murino could only watch the beams, barely perceptible in the gel, destroy any last hope to save the doctor.
“Both dead. Good.”
The terrorist frigate vaporized, and he scanned the debris. Nothing survived. Wait . . . a pod. So, Jesra had escaped. Scans showed nothing of the doctor.
Seeing Daison Kador’s ship moving away, and a warp field forming, he spun his ship about to follow. The man would not escape. He would die today! Moments passed, and he fell from warp in orbit around Ezzara VI. The doctors ship still sat in orbit, and his prey had come to claim it. The targeting solution came quickly despite jamming, Matar appearing to seek this man’s death as well. Murino opened fire. “Damn you Amarri!”
“Foolish Matari. My fellow Amarrians are on their way.”
He could hear his blood rushing by his ears, and his fingers continued to punch the command to fire his projectiles. They will not save you.
As the Amarrian’s ship came apart, “All for the Empire!”
In all his days he had never thought to be so incised, so furious that even as the pod appeared he continued to fire. He had killed many, but today he saw nothing of reason or logic and let his faith in Matar carry him through. Not if I have my way Amarri. “For Matar!”
Mar Cin appeared on his scanner, thankfully, and he felt a sudden calm through his body and gel. Another ship appeared . . . the Paratwa, RageChild. Even her strange presence did not seem to upset the quiet that invaded his thoughts. The debris of the Amarrian ship floated by as he orbited the doctor’s abandoned vessel, even the pod’s debris had vaporized under his weapon’s fire.
All for Matar.