The Ice Warrior

Chapter 17

Upon leaving the maintenance room, Silv had a strange impression that something was wrong. Long ago, Rose had taught her that, in the past, there was a thing called intuition, and she was pretty sure that was what she was experiencing the moment the door shut behind her.

When Silv was younger, Rose had told her all about the strange sense that to Silv, who had grown up surrounded by technology, sounded like a funny story her grandma made up.

"Once upon a time, when the world held more beauty and color on its surface, we depended on ourselves to survive. We were not guided by technology but by our instincts and intuition." Rose said.

"What is intuition?" Silv asked.

"It is a feeling you get, that you can't explain, that has no physical cause, but that tells you something is amiss. It usually happens when you are in trouble or when the five senses you rely on are unable to tell you all that you need to know." Rose said.

At the time, Silv had no idea what Rose was talking about, but as they headed toward the central room, she was finally able to understand.

There was a feeling deep down in her stomach that she couldn't explain, but that told her that something was wrong.

Her fears were soon interrupted by the security system's blinking lights since they had reached the door they were supposed to go through without her conscious awareness of passing the small hallway that separated the maintenance room from the main hub.

It was clear that was not the right time for distractions and strange feelings, yet Silv couldn't fully escape the sense of dread that spread through her whole body.

Luckily for her, Arthur's programming was flawless, so he stepped forward, hologram in place, allowing the system to scan him.

"State your name and rank," the automated voice stated.

"Rose Firstborn, captain," Arthur answered, perfectly replicating Rose's voice.

The system hummed for a few seconds, which felt like an eternity to Silv before the green light appeared above the door.

"Access granted," the system said.

As the automatic doors moved aside, Silv thought that it was a bit too easy.

Having in mind the terrible secret that she had uncovered about the Government, it stood to reason that the security would be on the highest alert, even if they thought she was dead.

Also, the fact that they didn't limit access to her grandmother, to the woman who Silv was bound to contact, made no sense. Even though she was a captain, it was only logical for them to keep a closer eye on all Silv's relative, in the off chance that she was still alive.

Unless...

"We need to leave. This is a trap." Silv said.

Before Arthur had the chance to react in any way, the dull twinkling lights that surrounded them just moments before, became painfully bright. Figures started emerging from the walls surrounding them with weapons raised.

"Put your weapon down," a familiar voice said.

Denis. It was the one person she never wished to see again. Especially because she fell right into his trap.

She didn't obey immediately as her mind tried to catch up with what was going on.

What gave her some comfort in her darkest hour was the fact that at least Wir Eis and Rose were safe.

Although Silv knew that her grandmother would have wanted her to activate the emergency protocol, she decided against it. There were too many soldiers present, and there was no way for them to fight their way through, even if all four of them joined forces.

"Do what he says, my dear," she suddenly heard Rose say.

The shock of seeing her grandmother on the enemy side hit her so hard that her gun slid through her fingers even before she made a conscious decision to surrender.

As the gun clanked to the ground, Silv finally managed to process what seeing her grandmother at that moment meant.

"No..." Silv said, utterly defeated.

As her heart was breaking, Silv noticed that Rose had already cuffed her alien friend with the strongest magnetic cuffs they had, and she was furious. Mostly she was angry at herself for not seeing the truth, for putting her friend in harm's way.

"Why, grandma?" Silv couldn't help but ask.

"Silly girl, how can you even ask me that? For the Government, of course. The Government is just. The Government is fair. It protects us, and we are all the same." Rose recited the Government's motto with utter dedication.

As she did so, the other pawns of the government joined in the chant, and Silv could feel chills running down her spine. It came as a shock to her that she had never before noticed how creepy it sounded when they said the Government's motto like that, like robots.

In the course of her life, Silv had said it many times, but only once she was on the outside, looking in did she realize that it sounded as if their brains were altered, programmed to function a certain way that suited the Government.

"They'll kill me, grandma. Don't you care? I thought you loved me." Silv said.

"Of course I love you, my dear, and they won't kill you. It was all one big misunderstanding. They will take you to the holding cell, unharmed. I promise." Rose said.

"Then what?" Silv asked.

"Reprogramming of your brainwaves, of course. They will help you realize the error of your ways and remember the true path to well-being." Rose said.

"What about Wir Eis?" Silv asked.

"I am sure they'll find some use for your friend. If not, he will be disposed of, naturally. We have no place for useless beings in our society." Rose said.

"Rose you can't do that! You saw what they did to others, you can't let the same happen to him!" Silv yelled at Rose.

"I'll make sure he's disposed of as efficiently as possible. Take her away." Rose said.

Two strong hands started leading Silv away but not before she heard a small snippet of conversation between Rose and her superior.

"Nicely done, captain," he said.

"Thank you, sir. I delivered the girl as promised. Aren't you sorry now that you doubted me?" Rose asked.

"I was wrong. You'll be awarded for what you did," he said.

That was all Silv managed to hear before she was dragged through one of the walls and into a dark corridor from whose gloomy nature she concluded that they were approaching the holding cells.

Only her and Wir Eis were led down that path since Arthur was just another painful part of Rose's betrayal. After all, Silv grew up with Arthur's all reaching presence, she saw him as more than an AI. She saw him as a friend. That was another thing that made the situation so much worse, unbearable even.

As she slumped down on the metallic bed, Silv felt utterly dejected and resigned to accept her fate.