Chapter 3:
Titans
They returned to the motel room to rest, they hadn't slept in twenty-six hours, and the fatigue caught up with them. The following day they awoke and headed out to locate Sören at his home. Martin had talked her out of fleeing the planet. She had visited the tower where he lived the previous day but wasn't allowed to enter. Martin was determined to force the issue if needed.
They traveled to the luxury towers located in the city's center. They entered the building and asked the front desk to see Sören. The woman called him, and he agreed to meet with them. They entered the gold-trimmed elevator.
"I'm surprised you took off your helmet; getting used to the cold?" Martin said.
"Do you know how it feels when this starts getting cold?" She pointed to her face. "Besides, it apparently makes me look more intimidating to humans."
Martin chuckled, "The only thing intimidating about you is your height."
She smiled at his remark as the elevator came to a stop.
They exited the elevator and were welcomed into the lavish penthouse apartment. They waited by the front door as the maid walked to find him; the front room was a prominent, wide-open, inviting place. White Marble floors, modern artworks, marble statues, a koi fish pond, and a giant piano all laid in front of them. Martin thought it was a little too extravagant to be on a frontier world.
"What is that awful sound? Velpia asked quietly, commenting on the music.
"Mozart, Piano Concerto Number twenty-three," Martin replied without hesitation.
Martin stepped forward to a statue of a large muscular bearded man holding a three-headed dog behind his back.
"Humans have some imagination," Velpia commented.
"It's a replica of an ancient greek statue. The mighty Heracles, the greatest hero in the greek world, holding back Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld," He replied; she wandered to the other statues around the room. Martin remained at the Cerberus statue; that name had taken a new meaning in his mind.
"Ancient humans sure liked their nudity," she commented, seemingly enthralled by the statues.
"It was their way of projecting power; they displayed their heroes in the perfect human condition to scare off their rivals."
"Were their enemies scared of penis'? She joked.
After a few moments, a well-dressed man, clothed in a black and white suit, entered the room. The man had slicked-back, jet-black hair and was clean-shaven. Everything about the man gave Martin the impression of a rich, pampered lifestyle.
"I see at least someone appreciates humanity's past." The man approached the both of them and shook their hands.
"Sören Köhler, I am told you wished to speak with me?" He smiled as he took a few steps back.
"We were looking into the planet's red sand issue and happened across your name. Care to explain?" Velpia bluntly stated. Sören was unphased by the bluntness of the question.
"Dreadful business, I assure you it isn't what it seems."
"Care to explain?" Martin responded. The man turned around, walked to a small table, and poured himself a drink.
"No, I don't make it a habit of explaining my dealings with mercenaries." He took a sip from his glass.
"Then why meet with us at all?" She questioned. He smiled and looked at Martin.
"Miss the chance to meet the infamous Martin Winters?" He approached him as Martin's demeanor changed. "Yes, you thought you'd go unnoticed." The man shook his head slightly. "We can rarely outrun our past, and what a tale yours is."
Martin lowered his hand over his thigh, ready just in case. "This isn't about me. We have a job to do. If you don't help us, we will be on our way."
"It is very much about you." He backed away from the pair and walked to the large windows that lined the room's perimeter.
"I find myself envious of you, Mr. Winters. Very few of us can leave their mark on history, and fewer yet, can fight against our fate, and here you are, a betrayed and condemned man still fighting. One of the last Titans of humanity." Soren paused for another taste of his drink.
Within the short silence, they heard footsteps approaching from the other room. Martin turned his attention to the sounds.
"Dallas!"
Velpia cried as the two quickly withdrew their weapons at him.
"I see that you are already acquainted." Dallas stood there with his hands at his side smiling. Martin stared into his eyes, noticing the large scar that covered half his face, no doubt from the gunshot. "How?" he demanded.
"The miracle of modern medicine," Soren responded, turning back toward them.
"I couldn't waste all the time and money my father put into you gentlemen." Martin turned his weapon towards Soren, angry. He felt as if he was being toyed with. "What did you say?"
Soren laughed as he walked closer to the group. "I think it's time to tell you the whole story." Velpia edged closer to Martin and whispered, "Martin, we have them right now; let's finish this and go home." He thought for a few moments, his weapon still raised to Soren. His mind was conflicted between the job and his curiosity. He decided to hear him out and lowered his gun but turned on the transmitter he had gotten on Omega.
"What are you doing?" Velpia said in a quiet panic. Martin took a deep breath and put his hand gently on her rifle. "I need this." he quietly responded. She was a little annoyed but relented. "You owe me." She replied.
"My father found you both in an abandoned vault on Earth. You were part of an experiment to study the long-term effects of cryogenic stasis; however, the experiment was abandoned once the public found out they were using prisoners against their will." Soren paused and took a seat on a chair. He put his drink down on a glass table next to him.
"If the experiment was stopped, why weren't we awakened?" Martin asked; Soren had his full attention.
"Many were, but after losing half the subjects attempting to wake them up, they decided to leave the rest."
"Eventually, they declared the project over, told the public they awakened everyone with minimal losses, sealed the rest, and forgot about them." Soren continued, "My father found the vault and smuggled the survivors off-world to the Mars colony. He prepared your bodies for your eventual awakening. Some of your DNA was scrambled from the sloppy work the researchers had done; we spent years piecing you back together. Once we discovered who you were, my father invested heavily in bringing you back stronger than ever.
"I don't see the reason why." Martin paused momentarily; he saw Soren's face change to a more neutral expression.
"My father was obsessed with history and humanity; he saw the First Contact War and feared for humanity's future; He believed we were growing too soft. You and Dallas were his solution; both of you experienced much in your time and hoped to convince you to help him."
Martin shook his head, "This doesn't make any sense, Dallas; you told me Cerberus brought us back."
"He didn't lie." Soren bluntly replied. "It was called Project Titan; Cerberus wanted to conduct more research on creating a better soldier for humanity, and my father got to bring a few broken pieces of history to life."
"So, what do you want from me?" Martin asked.
"You have something we need. Information." Dallas lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. "No, not here; there will be no violence here!" Soren demanded. He stood up and approached Martin.
"I am stuck in a challenging position. You are my father's life work, a gift to humanity, and his legacy, but you were tampered with. I need the information locked inside your head."
"You mean Cerberus needs it." Velpia stepped in between them, staring down at him. Soren looked up at her, smiled, and backed off. "Interesting choice of companion. Did she tell you how she murdered -"
Velpia, infuriated, confronted Soren, "- Now you listen here, asshole!" He began to laugh as she stood up to him face-to-face. Martin quickly grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away. "We need to leave." He slowly pulled her away from Soren and towards the door.
"Mr. Winters, we will see each other again soon."
They returned to the elevator before he let go. "Why didn't we run them? We had them!" Martin sank into the elevator's corner, holding on to the railings. His mind was a rush of conflicted feelings.
"No, we didn't. We were being watched; I doubt he would let us waltz right in there without a way to deal with us." he paused, rubbing his face.
"Even if we had taken them all down, we would still have to explain all this to the police, and all we have is the word of a gang member."
"So now what?" She asked, frustrated.
"We need evidence, and we need to be careful about it. We need to find this gang's base of operations."
"What about Dallas and Soren?" Martin looked over at her, and she noticed his concerned look.
"We will have to watch our backs."
They headed out of the building and returned to their vehicle outside. Velpia put on her helmet as they climbed in. Martin started the buggy and pulled away.
"Where are we headed?" she asked.
"I need a drink," he responded.
They traveled to the bar close to their room, ordered drinks, and seated themselves in the back corner. The bar was busy but calm, the perfect place to converse without anyone overhearing.
She noticed he was deep in thought, staring at his drink, occasionally taking a sip. Velpia was also concerned about the amount of information Soren had on her. She was surprised that Martin hadn't yet asked about what happened on Palaven. They must have been keeping an eye on him for some time.
"I don't like this; everything is repeating itself." She commented. He was slow to respond, taking another gulp of his drink.
"Yeah." his simple response concerned her. She didn't know what to make of their discussion, but she was more concerned with his next possible move.
"So, you want to talk about what happened?" she asked gingerly. Martin sighed, took a few extra gulps of his drink, and started nodding.
"Ever wake up one day to discover why you were alive because someone was obsessed with some glorified version of your shitty life?"
"No, I can't say I have, but if I did, I'd probably want them dead." She said while smiling.
"Well, that's about as far as I've gotten." He paused to take another drink from his glass. "I'm tired of being someone else's pawn." He finished off his drink and rubbed the side of his head.
Velpia looked over Martin to see another Turian in full combat kit talking to the bartender, pointing at them.
"Martin, we got trouble headed our way." He clenched his fist and forced his eyes shut, frustrated at the day's events. "Can I not get a moment of peace?"
The male Turian approached their table and locked eyes with Velpia. He was tall and had a darker complexion than her. He also had an elaborate white paint scheme on his face.
"Velpia Palitis, I am Spectre Luciso Acagatus. I need you to come with me for questioning. We can do this one of two ways." Velpia looked at Martin, still clutching his head, then back to the Spectre. The Spectre took her lack of response as a refusal and reached to grab her but was stopped by Martin's hand.
He had a firm grip on his forearm, and Martin pulled the Spectre toward him, forcing him to catch himself on the table. Velpia's eye widened as she saw the indignation on his face.
"I am having an awful day Spectre; I suggest you take your bullshit somewhere else before I reenact the Cretaceous extinction on your ass!" Luciso tried pulling his arm away, but Martin's grip was firm. He pressed his head against Martin's
"Human, I'll give you three seconds to let go of me." The two stared into each other's eyes.
"You hit three, and I'll tear your mandibles off your fucking face." Luciso flexed his mandibles as if disturbed by the thought. It was obvious to Velpia that these two weren't backing down. "One, Two," Martin slowly gripped his glass with his left hand. "Three - " He quickly smashed the glass against the face of the Turian, forcing him to recoil and stumble backward.
"Go, Run!" Martin ordered to Velpia. He stood up and grabbed the Spectre, slamming his face into the bar. Velpia quickly sprang up from the table and bolted out of the bar to the car. She climbed in to see Martin fly out the bar's front window. He crashed to the ground. "Fucking space magic assholes!" He slowly stood up as he signaled to her to leave.
Luciso walked out of the bar with a determined look. The bar's patrons rushed outside to see the fight. Martin shook off the fall and walked towards Luciso. They stopped about six feet from each other.
"I'll give you one last chance to leave, human. This doesn't concern you!" Martin laughed and shook his head. He began to grin from cheek to cheek. "You think I'm scared of you?" He replied.
"In case you don't know what I am, I'm a Spectre, and I am authorized by the council to use deathly force at my discretion!" Luciso yelled. Martin noticed his hand hover over his pistol on his thigh; he knew he was in trouble. The civilians were directly behind him; if Martin fired his handgun, he would most definitely over-penetrate his target and injure someone.
"One, Two -" Martin leaped forward as his mind went into slow motion. He grabbed the gun coming up toward him in one quick action, drew his own, and put it up against the bottom of Spectre's chin. He stumbled backward, with Martin keeping his position of dominance. The patrons moved out of the way as the two made contact with the wall.
Martin pressed the gun harder against his chin. Luciso, knowing he had been bested, begrudgingly dropped his weapon. He breathed heavily through his nose and clenched his fangs.
"Now I'm only going to say this once, leave; if I see you again, I'll follow through with my threats."
Martin let go of Luciso but kept his pistol pointed to him, even as he climbed into the buggy. Velpia quickly sped them away.