wouldn’t be on it. “Besides,” he added, “if she was taken somewhere else, it would have been done long before then.”
Ivan released the slaves in an action unbeknownst to the GSA, who pressured Dreger into betraying allegiances. With Ivan continuing to supply a steady stream of tips, they started to slip the noose around Hanatar’s neck.
“I couldn’t believe the luck which brought me straight to my enemy’s door. Working directly for Hanatar provided such opportunity.” Ivan gave a grim smile, rubbing his fist and remembering the anger long-buried. “When he asked me to find the leak in his organization, I knew my time had come.”
GSA custody was a circumvention joke for someone of Ivan’s skill. He snatched the subject of his great enmity and dragged information out of him, including the coordinates of the fabled slave colony. “It was not enough for me; they had to pay,” Ivan said with measures of regret. “I do not like the person I became then. I was too driven by anger.”
The rest of it was easy. Hanatar stood no chance of stopping Ivan. His fate was sealed, and the arrest would certainly stick. However, Ivan was not yet finished. He sabotaged every avenue of escape for Hanatar. He frightened off the defense lawyers and disposed of anyone threatening the prosecution, witnesses, judges, and arresting officers. He continued to peck away at the foundations of Hanatar’s empire, sewing fear and dissent throughout. Finally, he personally assaulted the slaver colony and shattered that avenue of Hanatar’s business.
It took weeks to sort through the refugees and set up a rudimentary system of governing for the former slaves. Months were spent ferrying many of them to worlds where they could contact family and return to their lives. Finally, records of hundreds of slaves were scoured for any sign of his beloved Olga.
After ensuring the security of the newly christened Vapaus Colony, Ivan departed to find his wife. He tracked her to the client Veger Montgomery.
“I wanted very badly to kill this man, and I discovered he frequented the casino near Old Earth.” Ivan clenched a huge fist.
The connections blazed in my mind. Not a heist at all: a rescue. Gregor Wilhelm, the proprietor, hadn’t any real clue as to why Ivan came there. My suspicion, the off sensation I noted from his story in the way Ivan seemed to ramble through the halls, was confirmed. Ivan
“Olga’s skills were in many ways unique among the labor population.” Ivan said. “Her injury and stature did not lend themselves to mining or extensive cleaning work, but they quickly found out how brilliant she was. Numbers, research, figuring out and building simple machines, discovering patterns. They realized she could accomplish probability calculation in her sleep.” Ivan scowled. “They put her up for auction as a new variety of servant they called ‘The Gambler’s Delight.’ I knew the second I discovered her title exactly what Olga would think of it.”
He was correct. Olga, though some of her fire became tempered by the brutal training procedure of her captors, considered the child’s level of calculation to be a complete waste of her talent. She said as much to her new owner on a number of occasions, but he disagreed when she managed to net him numerous hundreds of thousands in profit.
“I retrieved my wife, and she did two things when we drew out of the reach of danger. She slapped me.” Ivan laughed. “She slapped me and said, ‘What took you so long you great oaf?’ Then, we embraced, back together after too long apart.”
I felt the slightest tug of emotion in my chest, surprised at its presence and quickly shoving it aside as Ivan continued.
“We spent some time together, then, freed from the burdens we held. The happiest months of my life passed as I had her, uninterrupted for so long.” He let out a long sigh. “As much as I’d like to say it was her endless ambition which led us back to reality, I too grew restless after a while.”
Olga asked Galactic Central if she would be allowed to return to her research. As Atropos Garden experienced no advancement in her absence, they agreed. This time, however, Ivan’s work and funding provided much more opportunity for Olga. The sources and trusts he gained from his years as a mercenary made finding research materials a breeze.
Ivan limited his time away, only a few jobs and a small amount of harassment on Hanatar. At least, until he destroyed the attack cruiser at Orkanis. “I was familiar with the ship, its design flaws and previous battle damage. It was easy prey, especially after the beating it took before reaching the planet. After that,” Ivan stroked his chin, “I was finished with the vengeance business, so I returned to more simple jobs.”
As Ivan’s career relaxed into a slower pace, Olga’s research cranked up to feverish tempo. Working no less than ten to twelve hours at a time, her experiments began to show real progress.
“It took me many years to discover what it was she was trying to do there. It was well beyond me and hooded in the darkest secrecy.” Ivan gave a bitter laugh. “They seemed to spend more money on the tight security and non-disclosure than they did on the actual facility. It was only a couple of years ago I was able to describe what happened to another man of science.”
Ivan shrugged at my surprised expression. “When the stories faded away and no one was quite sure if I was real, I went out every now and then. Anyway,” he cleared his throat, “this man I spoke to scoffed and laughed at me. He said, ‘Molecular dissolution is impossible on anything but the tiniest scale. The entire field of study is an impractical, pseudo-scientific realm no better than the foolish notion of alchemy and transmuting lead to gold.’ From what I could tell, most everyone except my Olga and her team thought as much.”
Science well understood the process of breaking things down, at least on a small scale. Putting particles together to fabricate, replicate, or even transport one substance to another location had been a research dead-end. “It sounds as such a simple thing,” Ivan said, “but the uses are infinite. Teleporting: no longer is there a great need for the millions of ground to atmosphere or ship to ship shuttles. Fabrication: food, clothing, necessities and luxuries at the push of a button.”
However, the research was difficult. They could manage small things: a few particles of certain molecules. However, most everything they did was unstable and prone to collapse.
Ivan squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He hesitated before continuing. “I remember there was one time when she came home burning with excitement over her work. She could not tell me about it, but she said there was a breakthrough.” He took a deep breath, clenching a fist at his mouth. “Two weeks later, she, the world, and everything on it died.”
It started as a twinkle, a blue wreath of energy at the experiment site of the facility, which connected through a long tramway to the personnel offices and dormitories. Ivan had gone off-world for a time to check on the well-being of the established and hiding Vapaus Colony. Olga’s work had been all-consuming, so Ivan took the opportunity to see how his freed slaves were faring.
He returned in time to see it happen, less than one hour before the end.
“She forbade me from landing, saying there was some kind of malfunction which needed to be resolved.” Real tears formed in Ivan’s eyes. “It was I who should have been protecting her. Not the other way around.”
The malfunction turned into a problem. “She checked in later on using the communicator in her office. She seemed more nervous and scared. I didn’t know what was going on, but she made me swear again I would not come down to the planet.”
As Ivan watched from orbit, the crackling wreath of energy exploded into a luminescent opaque. The field expanded at a rapid speed, appearing to dissolve everything it touched.
“You see, the evacuation and transport vessels were located a distance away. None of the pilots knew what was happening until the field rushed toward them. I saw those people, through my sensors, running to their ships seconds before they were enveloped.” Ivan was breathing hard, despair across his face. “I should have gone down and took her away! I didn’t know what was happening!”
The obliterating field raced across the landscape, only moments away from enveloping the offices and dormitory wing. Ivan saw it moving, saw Olga’s face upon the screen. A tear slid down her cheek, and she spoke.
“Ivan… I… I love you.”
“Olga!
Ivan watched as the field smashed into the facility. Olga cried out his name one last time before the transmission cut out. “
