Rachel didn’t want to waste any time investigating her suspicions. Once leaving the Arena, she brought Tom to the Enclave. No one had been on Sanctuary Isle longer than Orion, and if anyone would have some leads, it was him.

  Outside the entrance to the Enclave, Rachel pushed the call button. A moment later, a holographic projection of Orion’s head appeared in front of them. He looked between the both and then said, “What do you want?”

  “Rachel was interested in seeing how the newbies did with their first Titan session,” said Tom.

  Orion’s projection vanished and then, the doors opened, granting them access to the Enclave’s elevator. Tom and Rachel boarded, waiting for it to take them down. The doors opened again, and Orion waited for them at the Enclave’s entrance.

  “I don’t know why you had to come down here, I could’ve just sent you the results,” he said with his characteristic tone of annoyance.

  “I know, but I wanted to get your insight into the results,” said Rachel.

  “Yeah, whatever.” He beckoned with his finger. “This way.”

  Orion led them back to his office. He sat at his desk and brought up the results from the training session. There were no chairs for Tom and Rachel, so they had to just stand behind him—Orion didn’t want to encourage visitors down here. He brought up holographic screens around his desk, showing video recordings and status readings of the recent Titan training session.

  “My assessment is what’s on these screens. Green and Karkinos have the strongest bond, with Purple and Wyvern a close second. Yellow’s still got a way’s to go before she and Unicorn are completely sympatico, but she’s got a high natural sync score as a base, so there’s nowhere to go but up.”

  “And how are the Titans themselves? No problems after the repairs?” asked Rachel.

  Orion shook his head. “Everything’s within normal range. They may still be in a bit of shock from losing their previous pilots, but they’ll adapt quickly. They always do. And the repaired shells are in pristine condition.”

  He waved his hand to collapse the screens and spun his chair to face Rachel and Tom. “Now, how about you tell me the real reason why you came down here?”

  “What do you mean?” asked Tom.

  “I may be old, but my mind’s sharper than it’s ever been. All three of us know you didn’t need me to explain these results to you. So how about we cut the bullshit and you tell me why you’re really here?”

  “We’re interested in some history, and figured no one’s better equipped to help in that area than you,” said Rachel.

  “Uh-huh…” Orion tugged at the silver hairs of his beard. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with that interface, would it?”

  “That’s exactly what it is,” said Rachel. “I can’t quite explain what it was I saw. The memories were overwhelming.”

  “No shit, that’s centuries’ worth of information crammed into your tiny human brain all at once.” Orion jabbed a finger at Rachel. “And you’ll recall that I warned you about that.”

  “I know, you told me about Barnes,” said Rachel. “But you have to know something else. If Barnes and I saw the same sort of thing…”

  “You must remember something,” said Orion.

  Rachel drew in a breath and held it, closing her eyes. She tried to focus on something in the memory. The intensity of Raiju’s memories weighed heavily on her, but she needed to focus on something. They flashed so quickly through her mind, blurring past her vision.

  “Rach?” asked Tom, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  Rachel opened her eyes in a gasp. Disorientation clouded her mind, and she looked around to remind herself of her location. She fixed her stare on Orion and then said, “Death. That’s what I remember.”

  Orion sighed. “That’s not a helluva lot to go on.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “How about you?” she asked. “You work with the Titans, you have to know something about them.”

  “I’m a caretaker, not a confidant. I work with them in the same way a zookeeper works with the animals at the zoo,” said Orion. “Not like we crack open a few brewskis and shoot the shit after you’ve all gone to bed.”

  “How long have you been here? Really?” asked Rachel.

  “A long time.”

  She shoved his chair back against his desk, causing the contents on the surface to rattle.

  “Rachel!” shouted Tom.

  “The hell’s gotten into you?” asked Orion.

  “Enough with the cryptic bullshit,” said Rachel. “Just answer the fucking question!”

  “Take it down a notch,” said Tom.

  “Now’s not the time to take things easy,” said Rachel. “We’re kept in the dark far too damn much around here. If we’re going to change things, if we’re going to be able to do our jobs effectively, then we need to start demanding some respect.”

  “She’s right,” said Orion.

  Tom’s head snapped in Orion’s direction, looking at him with wide eyes.

  “The truth is I’ve got no idea how long I’ve been here,” said Orion. “I don’t know when I came here, where I came from, nothing. As far as I know, I’ve always been here.”

  “How’s that possible?” asked Tom. “What are you?”

  Orion shook his head. “I don’t know that, either. You’ve heard those rumors about me, right? That I’m an ex-Knight or that I’ve been around for centuries? I got no way of knowing if they’re true or not. I don’t even know if I’m human—for all I know, I could be a goddamn alien or even a fucking robot.”

  “How do you deal with something like that?” asked Rachel.

  Orion turned his chair toward his desk. He waved his hand and brought up holographic images of the five Titans. “I take it one day at a time. Keep focused on my work. The Titans are what matter most to me. Primal, simple. No worries about existential bullshit.”

  “Then what do you know?” asked Tom. “How far back can you remember?”

  “At least as far back as Barnes, and I know that I was as old then as I am now,” said Orion as he swiveled his chair back in their direction.

  “What do you remember about that time?” asked Rachel.

  “Pretty much just what I already told you. Barnes interfaced with Wyvern and went nuts. Started having nightmares, then hallucinations, talking gibberish, all of that. Until finally—”

  “He cut out his own eyes,” said Rachel.

  Orion nodded. “Right in the Sanctum.”

  “And you were around when that happened?” she asked.

  “More than that—I saw it myself. I was in the kitchen when Barnes came in and grabbed the knife. I followed him, trying to get his attention. And when I caught up to him in the Sanctum, it was just as he stabbed himself.”

  Orion closed his own eyes and put a hand up to his head. “I’ve clearly forgotten a lot of shit in my life, but I’m pretty sure that image is seared into my brain.”

  “Did he say anything?” asked Tom.

  “Just that it was all the Tribunal’s fault,” said Orion. “That’s about all I know.”

  “There’s got to be some record of it, though,” said Tom.

  Orion turned back to his desk. He brought up a new screen and a holographic keyboard appeared on his desk. Orion did a search of the records for Barnes and found his file. Once he opened it, an image of Nicholas Barnes appeared before them—both in and out of uniform. Rachel noted the dates of his tenure, then recalled her own family’s history.

  “He served with my grandfather?”

  Orion double-checked the dates himself and brought up the list of Knights active in that period. And sure enough, the Red Knight was a man of about thirty.

  “Yup, John Kim,” said Orion. “Never knew him, did you?”

  Rachel shook her head. “No, he…”

  “I remember…” said Orion, a hint of melancholy in his voice. He tried to cover it up by shifting gears. “Anyway, Barnes was about twenty when he was recruited. Only about a year in when he tried the interface.”

  “Does it say why he interfaced?” asked Tom.

  Orion scrolled through the file. There was an incident report, but when he tried to open it, an ACCESS DENIED message appeared on the monitor.

  “File’s locked,” said Orion.

  “There a way we can access it?” asked Tom.

  “Nothing I’m aware of.”

  “Hold on, he’s still alive, right?” asked Rachel. “You said he outlived his teammates.”

  Orion nodded. “Oh yeah, he’s still alive. Full of drugs and kept in a nuthouse, but he’s alive.”

  “Then maybe we can talk to him?” asked Rachel.

  “Didn’t you hear the part about the drugs and the nuthouse?” asked Orion. “He’d be in no position to talk to you. It’d just be a waste of time.”

  “It might be worth it.” Rachel looked at Tom. “If there’s a chance we could get something out of him, some sort of hint of what he saw, it might explain what I saw.”

  “I have to admit, I’m pretty curious about him pinning blame on the Tribunal,” said Tom. “What is it he believes is their fault? The idea to interface in the first place, or something more?”

  “Damned if I know,” said Orion.

  “We can’t access his records, so talking to Barnes is the only recourse we have left,” said Rachel. “He’s in an institution of some sort, do you know where it is?”

  Orion turned his attention back to the file. He went to a section labeled STATUS and found the information they wanted. “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s goddamned uncle…”

  “What is it?” asked Tom.

  “He’s in a mental institution that’s funded in part by Quantum,” said Orion. “And get this, we’ve got a friend on the inside.”

  Orion opened up the file on the New Horizon Psychiatric Home. He navigated over to the employee list and pointed at one. Rachel read the name and smiled.

  “Caleb Pierce, Head of Security.” She turned to Tom. “That settles it. Caleb can help us in to see him.”

  “Okay, let’s do it,” said Tom.

  They headed for the door, but before they could open it, Orion called out to both of them.

  “You two be careful,” he said. “Quantum had that file locked for a reason. If the Tribunal learns what you’re up to, they won’t be too happy.”