Echoes of Faith - Short Story
Rain poured in droves in New Boston, neon lights reflecting off of the faux cobble on the street. Jonas shook the rain off of his coat once more time, noticing two men glare at his Imperial emblem on his shoulder. He forced himself to not take notice and knocked on the door again, fist rapping against wood sounding like gunshots in the quiet of the night aside from the drill of the rain on tin roofs. The door came open and Jonas nearly fell inside as he tried to lean against the door away from the rain. He shook his coat off outside the door and folded it neatly across his arm. The room was a well-lit front room, inside a brick fireplace blazed with synthetic fire, electric coils providing heat. Quietly, he reached out with the Warp, but nothing was out of the usual in the apartment. “Sir?” Jonas realized he had been standing in the doorway, lost in his own thoughts. “Yes, sorry.” The woman handed him a warm cup of tea and sat next to her husband, who stood eyes forward on the couch adjacent to her. The rest of the story played out like a thousand others he’d seen as an Imperial Inspector. Missing child. No clue where they could have gone. Barely missing a few hours with no worry had turned into panic as the night had grown darker. The only strange thing was why they needed one of the Emperor’s Elite in touch with the Warp itself to investigate a missing child before the proper authorities. “So, why me?” The woman did not miss a beat, “We don’t trust the local authorities.” Jonas peeked an eyebrow up, but did not respond. “Many are not the most enthusiastic about the Imperator.” Jonas leaned forward, “The most enthusiastic?” “Well, you know,” she picked at the edge of her thumb, “It is New Boston. People talk. My husband and I are more prominent members of the local governing board, as you well know.” Jonas leaned forward, “What?” The man sighed and slapped his knee, “I told you he would have no clue.” The woman wiped her hand on her leg, “They really don’t tell you anything, do they?” “The Imperator trusts that his subjects can normally resolve these conflicts on their own. Yours is obviously a unique circumstance.” He could still hear the call coming through his pager nearly two hours ago, waking him from a deep sleep in his cramped apartment in the Imperial Complex of New Boston. “I suppose not everyone has the luxury of ringing an Inspector.” “No, they don’t,” with a gesture and a slight smile Jonas replied, “but here I am.” “Please, find him soon, he’s probably cold and wet.” “I will.”
The robotic voice in the style of a British butler chirped into Jonas ear the minute he left the townhome, “You realize that it would be much more efficient to utilize your Warp bending to ensure the truthfulness of the statements expressed by the Mayor and her husband.” Jonas pinched the roof of his nose and twirled his cane in front of him, while he waited under the stand for the next streetcar, “Obviously, but unlike you Y78R, some people do not think logically.” The voice paused, Jonas knew it wasn’t really thinking, more like sorting through a few thousand potential neural network layers and balancing weights to produce the best likely response, but he still enjoyed to picture Y78R pausing thoughtfully, “You mean they would notice you bending the Warp and that they would take offense to the suggestion they could be lying.” “Exactly,” Jonas slunk back further into the stand as a passing car swerved to splash water onto him, which he narrowly blocked with his coat, while they threw an anti-Imperial slur over their shoulder, “Tin Can!” “It would be easier to avoid being harassed by the locals if you removed the emblem from your coat.” Jonas fingered the crisp Imperial Emblem emblazoned on his jacket, “Absolutely not.” “Surely, you realize Imperial Regulations on a world in crisis are much more lenient than the previous Imperial Library station you were located at. No one would object to you removing it while you pursued this operation, especially given the recent unrest in New Boston.” “Not the point,” he stared straight ahead, drawn backwards to a memory, “I earned this, no one gets to take it from me.” “That is certainly true, unless, of course, we are referencing a superior Imperial Warlock, who could,” Jonas sighed. “At any rate, it would have been prudent to engage me in the conversation, as several facts did not add up.” Jonas nodded, “How does the child of two of the most surveilled and guarded people in New Boston just sneak out in the middle of the night?” “Indeed.” “And why was his rain coat still hung up when we walked in.” “I missed that one.” “Downside of not having eyes, I suppose.” “Well, no need to rub it in.” “No corporeal body to rub it in.” “That’s just rude.” Jonas shrugged as he walked onto the bus, mostly empty but he felt the tension in the air as thick as jam as he walked down the aisle, eyes turning to his imperial logo. Tossing his cane over his legs he, allowed himself to take the full back four seats and closed his eyes.
The bus pinged as it rang the last stop on its route. Jonas blinked his eyes open, barely fifteen minutes, but he would take any minutes. Though, the memories that flooded through his head whenever his eyes shut didn’t shut off because he slept on a bus. Jonas stepped off the bus into a huddle of close buildings. In the near distance, he could see New Boston University. He flicked a discarded protest sign from earlier in the day out of his way with his cane, moving with a confidence no one else emulated. Several drunk students stumbled past, until one noticed his patch. This set crossed the street. He pushed past a line of people waiting outside a bar, the music still blaring even at this hour. Y78R’s voice was crystal clear in his ear, even with the music, “We’re in a university district.” Jonas spoke in his mind, the feeling still as eerie as when he did it for the first time years ago, “People’s Liberation run this town, they operate mainly in academic areas. If anyone’s seen the kid, then they would know.” Jonas pushed to the bulky doorman by the door, “And you think this is the best way of approaching.” “I’m not going through the backdoor.” The doorman blocked him from going through, eyes flicking briefly over his Imperial coat and the cane. “No weapons allowed.” Jonas flipped his coat back, a couple in the line behind him flinched back. “Not a weapon on me.” “The cane?” “You have something against disabilities.” “Could trip someone.” Jonas raised an eyebrow and leaned in, “Is that so?” The doorman did not move. Jonas pushed past him. At first he felt the doorman want to stand fast, but he could feel the weight of the protests of the day before and instead he sighed and gave in. Jonas heard him mutter from behind, “Please don’t cause trouble in my bar.” “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jonas said, letting his cane clack against the floor beside him.
The floor stuck to Jonas’s boots and it felt like he might rip up a floorboard every time he lifted his leg up to take another step. Soon, he didn’t even bother moving his cane ahead of him and just tucked it under his shoulder, into a small holster at his belt, where it retracted into itself. Students, dissidents, and rough people parted like a wave around him, conversations silencing until his sphere of influence passed, where they restarted as though they had switched off by his presence. Jonas saw who he was looking for in the edge of the room. Ve saw him coming, flicking his slicked down hair out of his face with a tattooed hand. Unfortunately, Ve had picked a table at the corner of the room and filled it with as many women as he could fit into it, all laughing at his cheap jokes as expensive liquor was spread around the table. Jonas’s mouth quirked into a smile as he tried to shove the women out of the round booth. One of them cursed him as she pulled her heels back on. He started to get out of the booth, but found a cane shoving him back into the booth. As he fell backwards, Jonas slid in opposite and used his cane to lock that side of the booth off. Y78R chirped in his ear, “That action was fairly noticeable, I can see several attendees taking notice of you, even more so now.” Jonas shrugged in response as Ve looked at him across from the table. “Good to see you, Jonas,” the man cracked a crooked smile. “I won’t say the same, Ve,” Jonas replied. A server walked over, but Jonas waved her off. “That woman is staying within hearing distance,” Y78R recited. Not a problem, won’t be here long, Jonas responded non-verbally. Ve ran a hand through his hair, letting his green eyes pierce Jonas, “So, I take it this is not a social call.” “No, got a missing kid.” “Haven’t seen or heard of it.” “You haven’t even seen who I am talking about.” “I stay clear of missing kids.” “I’m sure you do,” Jonas said. “I don’t appreciate your tone, at any rate, am I being detained.” “You’ll leave when I say you can.” “I know my rights,” Ve pointed at his own chest, before waggling a finger to Jonas, “Besides, I know as well as everyone else Imperials can’t carry guns anymore.” He leaned back in the booth, “Shit, you can’t even carry a stunner anymore.” “Got something even better, he reached into his jacket. As he pulled his hand out Y78R informed him the bouncer and several attendees were eying him closely and were indicating aggressive gestures. Jonas ignored him, tossing several gold coins onto the table towards Ve. Ve’s eyes widened and as though the table opened into a garbage can, they were swallowed into pockets unseen. “The kid?” Jonas pulled a fresh picture from his pocket and laid it across the table. “Mayor May’s kid?” Ve sucked through his teeth, “Shit, I could probably find you a lead, but I might need some spending budget to get to it along with a couple of days.” Jonas ground his teeth together, hand gripping where his missing crackwhip would have been. Y78R chimed in, “You have exceeded the Imperial token of appreciation allowance you were given, any further tokens will have to be from your own wages. Well aware, thank you. He tossed another couple of silver on the table which Ve absorbed. “Someone saw the kid at the playground down by the waterfront on 7th and 16th. He’s probably still there.” “Thanks,” Jonas said sliding out of the booth. The waterfront was barely a twenty minute walk from the university district and the rain had finally abated. “That was unusual of you to offer more tokens of appreciation,” Y78R spoke in his mind as he walked down a quiet and cool street. “You know as much as I do how badly I need to get off of this planet.” “I don’t believe I do.” “This post is a mockery. Holding an Imperial Wizard to the same standards as the local police. They sent me here as a joke.” “And bribing locals will remove you?” “I just need one favorable letter.” “Ah,” Y78R paused, “like from a Mayor.” “Exactly.” The only sounds were the slosh of water from his boots as he walked down the street and his cane clicking on the ground ahead, playground coming into sight.
It didn’t take long to spot the kid. He was swinging alone on the swing set. The chains creaking and ringing through the entire park. “This doesn’t feel right,” Jonas grumbled. “A lost child at a park,” Y78R questioned. “Look at the kid, this was too easy.” “Children aren’t known for their ability to escape easily and this is a park, children are known to enjoy parks.” “They’re known to enjoy parks in the night?” Jonas squinted, “Where’s his rain coat?” Y78R paused as it processed, “He appears to be missing his coat.” “How many kids escape the house without a rain coat in the middle of the night in the pouring rain and then ride a thirty minute bus across town?” “That is,” Y78R paused as it calculated, “unlikely. You could inform local authorities and they would arrive to detain the child until they could return it to its parents.” Jonas could already hear the guffaws as they rubbed it in his face they got the child before an Imperial Wizard, “Forget it, just keep an eye out.” Jonas approached the child carefully, as he got within reaching distance, his arms out at his side he spoke, “Hey, kid, it’s time to go home.” The kid looked up and hopped off the swing putting a hand up for Jonas to take. He was totally dry, his clothes barely dirtied by the dirt at the park. Jonas began to walk back toward the road, thinking through the quickest cab to call to bring him back home, when he noticed headlights coming down the park drive. “Sir, there’s a car coming down the drive,” Y78R spoke, “the odds of another family coming to play at a park past curfew in a People’s Liberation section of town after a protest event is roughly one in ten thousand.” Jonas stopped and the kid looked up at him, “We’re going to have to be quiet, alright? So I can get you back to your Mom and Dad.” “My Mom and Dad said they would come get me later.” “This is a setup,” Jonas and Y78R spoke at the same time. He was tempted to toss the kid and flee, but he did not know who was coming. Liberation or not, he was not going to leave a kid. The car pulled around the bend and three men in People’s Liberation Army leather jackets, red star emblazoned on them walked towards Jonas, followed closely by a man and woman holding a camera and microphone, wearing the People’s Liberation Army’s star on their flannel coats. He recognized the man and the woman from the bar earlier, the couple watching Ve’s table. Immediately, the man and the woman shoved the microphone and camera into his face, Jonas could barely register what they were saying as the light from the camera flashed into his face, “Sir, what are you doing meeting with this minor in the park at this hour?” “Isn’t that the missing Mayor’s kid?” A voice yelled from behind. “The woman began exclaiming that this was the kid and further interrogating him to louder jeers from the men. [1]
 [1] “This is not good,” Y78R spoke in Jonas’ ear. “Well aware,” Jonas replied, he took a step backwards and saw the men begin moving to cut him off, the water now to Jonas’ back. Jonas reached out and felt the Warp coalesce around him, he pulled its fiber and began to direct it. “Sir, you may not wish to do that, the closeness of the water -” Jonas ignored him and directed it towards the newscaster. She stopped as though she were choking. The man looked to her, and she began to speak, “My name is Yennifer, I am a close associate of the People’s Liberation Army. I am aware this man is not here to harm this child and that he was hired to find this child under false pretenses. Our intent was to stoke anti-Imperial sentiment to further our cause and promote sympathy.” The others stopped speaking, Jonas let himself smile, the camera’s recording was still live. Then, he felt the Warp slip from beneath him. Oh, no. “The water, sir. The water interferes with the ability to use the Warp to truth-tell,” Y78R finished. Unbidden, Jonas felt himself begin to speak, “I had no intent to return this child directly to the Mayor and her husband. I was going to transport him to the nearest Imperial facility to be used as leverage for my own gain and to suppress them as I felt they were probable Liberation sympathizers.” The quiet lasted a single moment. The Liberation thugs were quick, Jonas gave them that. He felt the one closest to him grab his left arm, the kid running behind the camera crew and reporter. The other two grinned, as the camera crew lowered their camera and began to back up. Not good at all, Jonas thought. “You’re going to have to come with us,” the thug said gripping his arm hard enough to make Jonas’s arm start to go numb. “I predict a less than ten percent chance of you returning unharmed should you proceed with these men,” Y78R spoke, “and a high-likelihood they will ransom you and your reputation shall slip further.” Yeah, I figured those odds too. “Get the cripple in the car,” the tallest man next to the camera crew said, “and move the kid out of the way,” the camera crew and kid moved to the side as Jonas began to get jockeyed towards the car. “Who said I was crippled?” Jonas said, snapping his cane across the man holding him’s left knee. He heard the snap as he moved, carrying his momentum into the next thug, shoving him down toward the ground. He saw the knife appear in the man’s hand a second before he cracked down on it with the cane, the man howling in pain. He turned to the last man, standing back from the car, as he pulled a small revolver from his jacket pocket. Damn, but I miss being able to carry a weapon. He heard the gunshot crack and felt a pressure in his left shoulder, he threw the cane like a javelin catching the man in the chest, knocking him to the ground, as he threw himself into the car. The key was in the ignition, engine still running. As the man stood back up and fired, Jonas threw the car into reverse, tires skidding against the wet asphalt. “Sir!” Y78R cried into his ear. Jonas ignored him, cranking on the wheel as the car flew. “Sir!” Y78R began again, Jonas continuing to ignore him. Gunshots cracked against the windshield of the car, pouring in wind and cold night air. On the main road, horns blared as Jonas threw the car into forward and flew along the street. Blocks ahead, he let his breath out, shoulder beginning to ache, blood soaking his clothes. “Sir,” Y78R started, Jonas looked back instinctively to see who was speaking and noticed the kid in the backseat, shivering, “The child is in the vehicle.” Jonas let out a sigh. He could practically see the route back to the Imperial station on planet. The kid looked at him, shivering from fear and cold. “Let’s get you home,” Jonas said, as he turned to drive to the Mayor’s house, “and have a conversation with your parents.”