by I G Hulme
He felt Angelique’s hands pulling him up to his feet, and they fled down the narrow gap between the generator stacks, running blindly through the fog.
“We need to get up to the crew-decks!” gasped Angelique in panic as they stumbled along the rows of towering machinery. “The auxiliary airlock is on B-deck — that ship will have had to dock there! Do you think it’s a search and rescue team from the Defiance?”
“Just keep going!” urged Ryann, glancing back fearfully over his shoulder. He strained his ears, but he couldn’t hear any more sounds from the Spiner above the chaos of alarms.
They came out of the generator stacks on the far side of the drive room. With a glimmer of hope, Ryann spotted the elevator entrance a little way off, and beyond it the stairs.
He went to step out into the open space but then stopped, grabbing Angelique and pulling her back into the shadows of the machinery.
An orange warning light flashed rhythmically above them, lighting up the swirling gases, and as Ryann watched in horror a dark shadow passed in front of it, a silhouette of a slender metal limb. Angelique went to speak and he pressed his hand over her mouth, pulling her down into a crouch. She followed his gaze upwards and he felt her stiffen in his arms.
There, almost directly above them stalked the nightmarish machine. The slow movements of its limbs instilled a terrible feeling of horror in them as it hung upside-down, picking its way through the tangle of pipes.
And all the time, that sinister clicking emanated from within, an insidious sound that threatened to drive Ryann into madness.
They held their breath as the grotesque creature paused momentarily, scanning this way and that through the fog with its cluster of eyes. And then it moved on, continuing its ponderous tread across the roof unable to find its prey in the swirling gas.
Angelique turned to Ryann in abject terror as the Spiner disappeared off into the fog. Ryann went to make a move, but Angelique resisted, paralysed in fear. He practically dragged her out from their hiding place, crouching low, heading for the steps as quickly as he dared.
They got no more than half-way across the open space, before a sudden boom echoed throughout the hall, and Ryann pulled up short. High above them he saw another light flash out as the elevator platform began to descend slowly towards them.
Ryann looked this way and that in disbelief. He took a step towards the elevator gantry, and then stopped again, turning back towards the cover of the generator towers.
But it was no use. Before they could even move a mechanical cry split the air and Angelique screamed, letting go of Ryann’s hand and falling backwards. She scrambled away from him, staring transfixed at the ceiling. All Ryann could do was look on as the silhouette of the Spiner’s outstretched limbs descended down towards them. There was a whine of servos as the creature lowered itself upon a steel hawser like some monstrous spider.
And then suddenly it was down, towering over Angelique as she lay prone upon the floor. She screamed again as the Spiner’s limbs reached out above her. Ryann stood only a few metres away: he could see the scarred metal plates of the Spiner’s body, and the two appendages beneath its red optics which twitched and groped like prehensile mandibles.
There was a whipping sound and a crash as the steel hawser snaked down to the floor, and then a high-pitched screech of a winch as it retracted the cable back into its body.
A burst of gunfire made Ryann jump as Angelique, still sprawled out on the floor, emptied her clip into the creature’s face at point-blank range. Shots sparked and flashed all over its metal body, but the Spiner didn’t even flinch. It merely raised its two front limbs higher over Angelique’s prone form, ready to bring them crashing down upon her.
And still Ryann couldn’t move. He felt instinctively for his rifle, then remembered he no longer had it. Time had seemed to slow as he waited impotently for the Spiner to strike. And then a slender appendage slid forward from beneath the creature’s dark body, like a spider’s venomous sting. A glow began to form at its tip, and with horror Ryann saw that it was the laser cutter, the deadly beam which had sliced the crew to pieces. He took a step forward, his heart in his mouth, expecting at any moment to see that terrible explosion of light.
But it never came.
The Spiner remained motionless, swaying slightly as it loomed over Angelique, its legs poised ready to strike.
“Ryann,” he heard Angelique breathe in terror. She was paralysed in fear, her arm still raised up over her head in a vain effort to ward off the coming blow.
Each second seemed to take an age to pass, and still the creature didn’t move.
Then, just when Ryann thought that he could take no more, there was a loud crash behind him and he thought his heart would give out.
He span around, just in time to see the elevator gates sliding open, the flashing orange light casting an eerie glow and making it hard to see through the swirling gases.
From out of the gloom stepped a group of dark figures, twelve ghostly silhouettes, each one dressed in the heavy ceramic plates of thermal armour. The bulky suits made these tall figures seem all the more formidable, and each of them wore respirator helmets of an unfamiliar design, the black glass of their visors glinting in the flashing lights.
Ryann wanted to call out, to warn these figures or plead for help. But he was unable speak. All he could do was look between the Spiner and the group, waiting fearfully for either to make a move, but it was as though time itself had ceased.
And then one of the figures began to move, striding purposefully towards Ryann. He was a mountain of a man, a full head taller than the others, and as he approached he reached up, pulling off his helmet.
Ryann watched transfixed. The man behind the visor was perhaps in his early fifties, his face was heavily-scarred and his close-cropped hair was greying. But it was his skin that was striking — a deep silver-black that reflected the light as though it were covered in diamonds. Ryann had seen others with a similar colouration, colonists born and living off-world in the Borallium fields beyond the Edge Systems. The constant exposure to this particular radiation gave the inhabitants a striking sheen to their skin that sparkled like crystal.
With a deliberate stride, he walked straight past Ryann, his gaze never wavering. To Ryann’s utter amazement, the great man stopped beside Angelique, then bent slowly forwards, extending his hand out to her. At no point did he even acknowledge the terrifying shape of the Spiner looming over them, and the creature itself remained motionless. After a moment’s hesitation, Angelique took the man’s outstretched hand, and he pulled her effortlessly up to her feet. She staggered away from the Spiner in fear, backing into Ryann’s arms, and the pair clung to each other shivering as their adrenaline began to ebb away.
The big man casually took out an object from a pouch at his chest, his eyes never leaving Ryann. The device looked like some small transmitter, with a readout and several buttons. He held it up and keyed in a sequence.
There was a loud screech of metal, as though the Spiner had suddenly been released from a spell, and its front legs crashed down into the floor where Angelique had lain only moments before.
The tall man appraised Ryann for a moment longer, then his mouth curled into a faint smile and he laid a gloved hand gently upon the Spiner’s metal body.
“So,” he began, and his voice was deep and resonant. “It would seem that you have been playing with our pet.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
JEAN-BAPTISTE GRANDE
“This, this machine is yours?” stuttered Ryann in disbelief. “Have you any idea what it’s done here?”
“She does have quite a bite on her doesn’t she?” said the big man with a grin, his gaze never leaving Ryann.“But don’t worry, I have no fight with you. You are not the ones that stole our ship. By the looks of it you’re in need of some rescuing yourselves.”
“The Ibis is your ship?” asked Ryann in confusion, but the big man ignored him.
“You are Grayell Wade
’s boy right?” he continued. His accent was thick, but Ryann struggled to place it. “We came to New Eden, thankful to be taken in when the aliens were almost upon us. Your father saved my people, and for that we are in his debt.
“But they wanted to disable our ship. Our whole life is the Ibis. Nobody takes our ship. So we fought back.”
“What have you done to the refugees in New Eden?” cut in Angelique. Her voice still shook, but there was a tone of anger creeping into it. “There are over a thousand people on those ships, what have you done to them?”
Jean-Baptiste turned to appraise her in silence for a moment then gave a wry smile.
“When we took over from those frightened old men and women, we just wanted peace until the aliens had passed by. We locked the leaders up — those that had tried to fight us. But we didn’t harm them — that’s not our way, and any of my crew that took advantage were punished properly.
“But they escaped and took our ship. And there is no greater law to break than ship-stealing where we come from. They took off from New Eden and left us with nothing but a couple of little Flyers. So, I sent out one of my crew with a gift for the ship-stealers. And it seems that they got it.” He patted the Spiner once again and then paused, as though measuring his words carefully.
“Though, our boy never returned to us — I guess there’s a story to tell there — one in which you play a part judging by the state of that little ship docked outside.” Jean-Baptiste looked first to Ryann and then Angelique, holding them in his dark gaze. He had an otherworldly, almost hypnotic stare, and Ryann found the big man’s mood impossible to judge.
“Did you kill him?” asked the big man.
Ryann shook his head nervously, scanning the faces of the rest of Grande’s crew as they approached: they were all rugged veterans, with faces that looked as though they could have been carved from granite.
“The Lumina got him,” replied Angelique. “Out in the wreck-field, off Langstromm’s Point.”
“The biggest ship I’ve ever seen,” added Ryann, edging backwards a little as Grande’s companions came closer, gazing silently upon them. “It almost got us too — if it’s still there you wouldn’t have missed it.”
Jean-Baptiste Grande didn’t reply. He continued to appraise them, silent and impassive, staring deep into Ryann’s eyes as though he could read his mind.
“The beating your ship took,” he said at last. “The aliens didn’t do that to you.”
“Your friend fired on us, unprovoked,” retorted Angelique angrily. “We were running from him when that Luminal appeared.”
The big man smiled at Angelique’s outburst, but didn’t reply. Then he turned abruptly, striding back towards the elevator.
“Bring them up to the bridge, we’ll take them back with us to New Eden,” he called to his crew, and two of them stepped forwards, grabbing Ryann and Angelique, pushing them roughly after their leader.
“People, you know your stations, you know your jobs! We have our ship back! Let’s get her up and running again!” called Grande as he strode between the group. As he passed one of them he casually tossed over the Spiner’s control device. “Astor, here!” he grunted. “Get your girl cleaned up and check her over — she did a great job.”
To Ryann’s surprise he realised that Astor was a woman, as rugged-faced and fearsome as the others. Her hair was close-cropped and she bore a deep scar down one side of her head that ran all the way across her cheek.
“Ain’t no Inlander taking our ship while I draw a breath,” muttered the woman in a hoarse and rasping voice. She stared mistrustfully at Ryann and Angelique as they were herded past.
“That’s the truth,” called Jean-Baptiste over his shoulder as he ducked into the elevator. “No-one messes with my Astor — Queen of the Ibis!” He turned, giving Ryann a wide grin as they were pushed into the elevator beside him. “Queen of the Ibis.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
RETURN TO NEW EDEN
Ryann and Angelique followed the imposing figure of Jean-Baptiste Grande all the way back up to the bridge, flanked by a small group of his crew. Ryann was almost delirious with fatigue now, and he and Angelique barely had the strength left to drag their legs up the last flights of steps.
By the time they reached the bridge they were utterly exhausted. As they stepped through the hatchway, Ryann stumbled, bumping into a crewman who was coming the other way. To Ryann’s shock he saw that the man was dragging a bodybag.
“What you did to the crew from New Eden was barbaric.”
Angelique’s voice at Ryann’s side was filled with loathing.
Jean-Baptiste stopped, turning around and appraising her with his heavy-lidded eyes; he had such a sense of detachment, it was as though a part of him were absent.
“They got what they deserved for stealing our ship,” he said flatly, then turned back, making his way to the panoramic window that ran the length of the bridge. The rest of the room was busy with his crew as they tried to get the engines back online. “They would have done better to steal the Flyers — but we had them guarded too well. They tried to get all their crew away from New Eden — they had heard stories of my people — they thought that we were going to eat them alive.” He turned and gave Angelique a wide grin, baring his his teeth.
“We don’t care for Inlanders,” he muttered at last, looking back out into space. “But we are not cannibals. We just wanted to fix our jump drives and then we would be on our way.”
“But, surely you must see that disabling your ship was for everyone’s safety?” cut in Ryann. “If the Lumina find you then everyone in New Eden is at risk.”
Jean-Baptiste looked unimpressed.
“The aliens have gone now, they passed us by,” he said. “They won’t be interested in the Ibis. We will head back to New Eden to pick up the rest of our people and fix our jump drives. Then we will leave as we always said we would, and there will have been no need for this killing.”
He turned to one of his crew.
“How is our ship? Can you fix her?” he asked. The woman nodded as she worked.
“Anatoly destroyed the heat-distributers with the Patroller as you instructed. The engines overheated and went into emergency shutdown. We’re bringing them back online now; as long as we don’t push them too hard we’ll be fine.”
“Good, good,” muttered Grande. “Take us back to New Eden.”
“And the Inlander’s ship?” asked the woman, looking mistrustfully towards Ryann and Angelique.
“We don’t need it, it will only strain the Ibis’ engines,” replied Jean-Baptiste, turning back to the window. “Cut it free.”
Ryann felt as though he had been punched in the stomach at the thought of losing the Raven.
“Please, wait!” he exclaimed, taking a step towards the big man. “That’s our ship — it’s all we have!”
“I am sorry Ryann Wade,” replied Jean-Baptiste. “But I cannot risk the extra strain on our drives.”
“But, you don’t understand! You’ve just told us how much your ship means to you, and now you’re taking ours away from us!”
Grande paused a moment, seeming to consider Ryann’s plea. After some time he gave a long sigh.
“We have restored power to one of the ships from New Eden that had been disabled — the Serena — that is how we managed to follow the Ibis this far,” he said. “When we have repaired the Ibis and left New Eden to search for the rest of our people, then you may have the Serena. Take it as a token of our gratitude to your father for rescuing us from the aliens.”
Ryann went to protest, but Jean-Baptiste held up his hand.
“Until then, I am sorry but you must both remain in New Eden — Roache, take them back to my quarters and see that their wounds are treated and they are fed. Keep two guards on them at all times.”
The crewman at Ryann’s shoulder nodded, pushing him towards the hatchway at the far end of the bridge.
Ryann walked in a daze. He couldn’t believe that
after everything he and Angelique had been through in the last few hours they would still end up losing their beloved ship.
“They’ve got the drives online.”
Through his sorrow Ryann heard Angelique’s voice filled with urgency. He glanced over to her.
She was right, he could feel the throb of the Ibis’ engines resonating through the ship in a deep, subterranean rumble. A realisation suddenly struck him, and he stopped, turning back to Jean-Baptiste in horror.
“You can’t power the ship with the main drives!” he called out across the bridge. Grande looked up from a conversation with one of his crew.
“The Lumina will see your ship!” he called desperately, shrugging off Roache’s rough hands as the man went to pull him back. “Didn’t you hear what we said before? I told you, there was a Luminal battleship anchored off the wreck-field only a matter of hours ago!”
“We haven’t seen any ship but yours Ryann Wade,” muttered the big man. “There are no aliens left here, they have moved on with the fighting — we would be of no concern to them.”
“They were right here!” shouted Ryann furiously. He tried to pull against the guards, but he was too weak. “Who the hell do you think took out your pilot in that Patroller, and then torched my ship dammit?”
Jean-Baptiste walked slowly over to where Ryann strained to break free from the guards’ grip.
“I cannot tell you who killed my pilot, I was not there,” began Grande, towering over Ryann. “But I have no reason to trust your words. If we were not in debt to your father then I would not be so hospitable to you Ryann Wade. But my patience has limits, and I would advise you not to test them.”
He nodded curtly to the guards and they dragged Ryann away, still protesting vehemently.
By the time they reached Grande’s quarters, Ryann felt beaten. His last remaining energy had left him now and he slumped down on a chair in a bleak silence.
As Grande had ordered, he and Angelique were treated well enough, and after a while one of the crew came to attend to their minor injuries and put a fresh dressing upon Angelique’s forehead.