Vargas listened intently, his gaze sharp as Giolio continued, his voice low and conspiratorial.
"I'm not saying I know everyone involved," Giolio began, shifting nervously, "but I picked up on some things while I was lurking around. The scientists kept mentioning these... robots. Advanced ones, engineered specifically to dig through the ice and get to those null pylons buried out there in the frozen wastelands. Something about retrieving them, studying them. They were talking like it was some big, secret operation. And from what I gathered, people high up are pulling the strings."
Vargas's eyes narrowed. "High up? You're saying government officials?"
Giolio shrugged, raising his cuffed hands defensively. "I don't know who exactly, but that's the vibe I got. The scientists were talking in hushed tones, scared, like someone was keeping tabs on them. All I can tell you is, this is bigger than just this facility. I overheard some of them say it could 'change the future of the universe,' but that's as much as I caught."
"Bold words, the universe is huge" Vargas muttered, frowning as he processed the information.
"Look, I told you, that's all I know!" Giolio protested. "If I'd known more, I'd have sold that information to the highest bidder and been out of here by now."
Vargas looked at him, his face unreadable. Temperatures on Triton I could reach -233 degrees celsius, even robots would freeze almost immediately out there without special protection. For someone to go to such lengths to unearth them, taking the time to develop illegal technology, suggested they had a purpose beyond mere study. He didn't know yet if the operation was Federation-sanctioned or the work of rogue interests, but the stakes were clearly high.
"Interesting," Vargas said finally, his mind racing with possibilities. "Seems you've unwittingly found yourself in the middle of something that's bound to get messy."
Giolio gulped, looking less cocky and more anxious by the second. "So... does this mean you're letting me go?"
"Not so fast, I still got a couple more questions for you".Vargas crossed his arms, his gaze hardening as he narrowed his eyes at Giolio. "Have you met Sebastian Beirut before today?"
Giolio's face twisted with confusion and nervous laughter. "No, no! Why would I? I don't go around chatting with Investigators, especially not him!" he exclaimed, trying to seem casual. "Why are you asking?"
Vargas leaned forward, his voice low. "Beirut's currently under investigation for connections to illegal alien tech trades. You're an alien, and the Federation doesn't exactly look the other way when aliens deal with their tech. Given how conveniently you showed up here, I'm wondering if there is more to the story".
Giolio's hands tightened against the cuffs, his eyes darting away. "I swear, I haven't met him! I don't know anything about Beirut's dealings with alien tech. That's got nothing to do with me. And the message to come here, I already told you it was a burner account." he said quickly, swallowing hard.
Vargas stared at him in silence, letting the tension linger. Giolio's story was shaky, and Vargas could sense the desperation behind it. But the account name was odd and amateurish, almost too absurd to be real. He knew Giolio was likely telling the truth, at least about not knowing who'd hired him.
"Anyway, that we have dealt with that let's get back on topic. Did you hear any mention of human Nulls, no interest in bringing one in for studying or anything like that".
Giolio shook his head. "Nope. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see a need for using living nulls. They're nothing compared to the pylons, and it's not like they can survive out there. Plus if they're using advanced technology null could probably mess with it, not help."
"Fine," Vargas muttered. "But the moment you remember anything else, you tell me."
"Will do, will do," Giolio replied, raising his cuffed hands in mock surrender. "You'll be the first to know, Detective."
Vargas leaned back, still trying to piece together the web forming in front of him. It felt like there was more to this than just mining for dormant power. Something—or someone—seemed to be at the center of it all. And what did the null girl have to do with any of this? He knew Giolio's conclusion was correct.
Suddenly, a thought struck Vargas like a lightning bolt. He paused, then smacked his forehead in frustration, his realization crashing over him. He had been so caught up in weaving together threads of conspiracy, plotting hidden connections, that he had missed the most obvious explanation.
"What's wrong?" Giolio asked, watching Vargas's reaction curiously.
Vargas took a deep breath, trying to steady his sudden embarrassment. "The null girl," he muttered, almost laughing at himself. "I've been running in circles, suspecting her involvement in some grand scheme, when she's probably just… a civilian. Someone who happened to cross paths with me at the wrong time."
He shook his head, frustrated with himself. "Nulls are incredibly rare, but in a population of over a billion people there is bound to be a couple here and there. She was just living here and purely by coincidence there happened to be null pylons on this planet".
Giolio looked on with confusion,"uh…".
"I let my own assumptions and suspicions cloud my judgment, thinking everything was just one big conspiracy, but I failed to account for coincidences. I really should take a break after this", Vargas chuckled to himself.
I most likely simply checked the wrong areas of the city, or perhaps she doesn't even live in the city.
Vargas turned to Giolio, "You're an enchanter. You have any skills in divination?".
Giolio shrugged, looking a bit unimpressed with himself. "I know the basics. Just enough to get by. Nothing flashy or strong—can't track much more than someone's last location."
"That's all I need," Vargas said, a glint of determination in his eyes. "Since Nulls can't be directly located through divination, we'll have to go the roundabout way. Try to divine the last person she spoke to, then track them down. That'll lead us back to her."
Giolio grumbled but eventually nodded, muttering under his breath. "Can you uncuff me, I need my hands for this", he requested, displaying his cuffed hands at Vargas.
Vargas pressed his thumb on the biometric scanner on the handcuffs, and immediately they released their locks freeing Giolio' wrists.
Giolio winced as he rubbed his wrists, finally freed from the handcuffs. He flexed his fingers, massaging the soreness from the metal's pressure. "Much better. So, you got any photos or something of the girl? Or at least some stuff that belongs to her?"
Vargas, still keeping a close watch on his prisoner, took a moment to scroll through his data tablet. The screen flickered briefly before he found what he was looking for—a picture of the girl Ralo had sent to him. The image wasn't high quality, but it was enough to give Giolio an idea of who they were dealing with.
"Here," Vargas said, showing the picture to Giolio. "This is the girl. I got this from a team mate."
Giolio squinted at the image, inspecting it for a moment. "Damn, she's pretty. If she wasn't a null I would definitely ask her out, heh heh".
"You don't even have compatible genitals with humans, and stay focused", Vargas reminded, sternly.
"Right," Giolio continued, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "So, you want me to track down whoever she talked to? Easy enough. But I'll need some stuff to do the ritual— salt and four candles should do since this is pretty simple."
Giolio's request for salt and candles took Vargas by surprise, but he didn't argue. Vargas was a mentalist, not an enchanter so he had no right to argue about the specific prerequisites for a divination ritual. He gathered the items Giolio asked for, setting them up on the table in front of the picture. The room fell silent, the only sound the faint hum of the lighting system above them.
Giolio took his time arranging the salt into a precise pattern, forming a circular boundary around the picture of the girl. He placed the candles at even intervals, the flames beginning to cast soft shadows that stretched across the walls. Vargas observed him closely, but said nothing.
When the setup was complete, Giolio nodded, his expression shifting into one of serious focus. "Alright, let's get this over with," he muttered under his breath, closing his eyes.
He flared his aura in an impressive display—nothing too extreme, but enough to make Vargas keenly aware of the energy swirling around the room. The air seemed to thicken, and a slight chill crept through the space. Vargas could almost feel the weight of something else pressing in, something darker and harder to define.
Giolio's hand hovered over the picture for a moment before he spoke, his voice low and steady. "Who was the last person she spoke to? Who was the last person she spoke to? Who... was the last person... she spoke to?"
With each repetition of the question, the candles flickered in time with his words, as though they were reacting to his ritual. The air became heavier, and Vargas's instincts screamed that something was off—there was something unnatural about the way the room felt. He tried to ignore the growing unease gnawing at him, but it was hard to shake the feeling that they were tampering with something they didn't fully understand.
Giolio's breathing slowed, and his hands began to move, as if guided by an unseen force. His fingers swirled through the salt, tracing patterns with unnatural precision. His head tilted slightly, as if listening to a whisper only he could hear. The marks he drew seemed to grow in complexity, a strange and cryptic design that sent a shiver down Vargas's spine.
Vargas couldn't help but focus on the drawing as it formed—an image of an old woman, wrinkled and gentle-faced. There was something eerie about the way she looked, almost lifelike in her simplicity. But it wasn't just her face that struck Vargas. It was the way she seemed... organic. Unmistakably real, despite being the product of Giolio's strange ritual. The image appeared almost photorealistic, as if it were a ghost, frozen in time.
Giolio's hands stopped moving. The candles flickered one last time before going out altogether, plunging the room into an unsettling darkness. Giolio's eyes snapped open, revealing the exhaustion that had overtaken him during the ritual. He wiped his brow and let out a shaky breath, as though he'd been holding his breath for far too long.
"Done," he said quietly, his voice a little shaky. "The address... It's not far. She stays... 21st Tower, Unit 17. It's an old building near the outskirts. You'll find her there."
Vargas looked at Giolio, his expression unreadable as he processed the information.
"F*ck, I hate doing this occult crap, could've just used a camera", Giolio complained, hugging his body, and exhaling heavily.
Divination and clairvoyance rituals required a person to peer through the divine realm in order to access the information they sought. It was a dimension of evil where demons called home, and the old gods held absolute dominion over. Most of these gods were sealed away during the War of Heaven, but their influence still persists.
Giolio leaned back, shaking off the exhaustion from the ritual, but Vargas wasn't ready to let him off the hook just yet. "You're sure about this? No funny business?"
Giolio nodded, though his face showed traces of his earlier nervousness. "Yeah, I'm sure. It's all I got, man. I've got no reason to lie to you now, do I?"
Vargas studied him for a moment longer before finally nodding. The address was a lead, and it was not too far away from where they were.
"Alright," Vargas muttered under his breath. "We'll check it out. Get yourself together, Giolio. You still have your shapechanger, correct?"
Giolio's expression flickered between fear and resignation, but he said nothing, simply sitting back in the chair, clearly relieved that Vargas had taken the information seriously.
As Vargas turned to leave the room, the faintest hint of unease still lingered in the air, as though something unseen was watching them. The puzzle was beginning to take shape, but Vargas had the sinking feeling that they were only scratching the surface of the larger conspiracy.