The Madness Engine

by Paul B Spence

  "Was?"

  "I failed my last mission. I paid with my life."

  "Tell me."

  Drake sighed. The sun was sinking low, but if they walked through the night, they would be able to reach Anglin by morning. "At the end of the War, our people locked the Fallen Ancients into stasis tombs. I don't know why they didn't just kill them, but they didn't. The old stories say it was because they were too strong to destroy, but that seems improbable. I found out about a plot to open the tombs. One of our people was going to open them. Free the Ancient Enemy. I gained access to the place of the tombs and led the army in. We fought for three days. In the end, I was the only one left alive. I tried to use the Instrumentality to destroy the place, but it resisted me. As I said, it's sentient, and, I think, insane. I died trying to kill the… traitor who had gone there to open the tombs."

  "I don't think you failed."

  "I know I did," Drake replied. "I killed the traitor, but it was too late. I fought two of the Enemy here before I found you. They were of the First. They had been in the tombs and had been freed."

  "How do you know they'd been in the tombs?" Tilda asked. "Because they told you? They do lie, you know that."

  "I just assumed they were, I think. I’d never encountered ones like them before."

  "Surely not all of the Enemy were hunted down and locked away. Some must have escaped, slept the millennia away and bided their time."

  "Then what have they been waiting for?"

  "Who knows? Maybe for the stars to be right. All I know is that there's proof here that they failed. You won."

  "What proof?"

  "If they had awakened the Ancient Ones, they wouldn't need the Waypoint you told me about on this planet. They would just use the Plaza to gain access to the Courts."

  "The Plaza?"

  "The Plaza of the Worlds. It is the machine we used to create the universes. It is also the source of power for all of those Waypoints you told me about."

  "I've heard legends of the Plaza, but I didn't know anyone who knew if it had been real. You are sure?"

  "I've used it," said Tilda.

  "Hephaestus, did you know of this?" Drake asked.

  "I knew of it," Hephaestus replied. "It was lost during the War."

  "Lost, or destroyed?"

  "Lost," said Hephaestus. "If it had been destroyed, the Waypoints wouldn't work anymore."

  "So it's still around," Drake said in wonder. He was suddenly filled with a desire to find it. "You cannot connect to it anymore?"

  "No. My connection was lost during the War. Some said it removed itself to keep from being used in the conflict."

  "What do you think of what Tilda said? About me not actually failing?"

  "Her logic is sound. My link was lost during the War. It was severed by the Plaza when it choose to go silent."

  Drake suspected Hephaestus wasn’t telling him everything about that.

  "If the Enemy had been in stasis, they may still retain their links. The Enemy you fought were definitely Ancients. I was troubled by their technology, though. It was more like that used at the very end of the War. It makes sense that they simply avoided capture, rather than being recently awoken."

  "I'll be damned."

  "Evidently not," Hephaestus said.

  Drake ignored him. He would to have to go back to the place of the tombs and find out whether he had succeeded or not. He didn't want to believe that he had failed. Even without the Instrumentality, he was a formidable fighter. He must have stopped the Enemy's plans there. That made sense, in fact.

  "I wonder..."

  "What?" asked Tilda.

  "The Enemy needs someone who can unlock the tombs for them. That's why they're after my son. It was right there in front of me, and I didn't see it."

  "You son?"

  "They must think he's linked to the Instrumentality. He isn't; he wasn't old enough. Even if he was, though, it wouldn't work. It takes more than just raw power to open the tombs."

  "What does it take?"

  "Sorry, but you don't get to know that."

  She looked thoughtful. "Do you think he would turn?"

  "No, I don't," he replied. "But they won't stop trying. Luckily, he's strong and capable. I'm sure he'll be fine until I get back."

  "You have a lot of faith in him. Is he your only son?"

  Drake smiled. "That, like the other, is privileged information."

  "You still don't trust me, do you?"

  "Give it time. I'm sure we'll both get over our distrust."

  Chapter Forty

  Geoffrey woke up suddenly.

  "Easy," Deegan said. He was sitting in the chair next to the bed. "You're in Medical, and the doctors have done a great job of patching you up, but you're still in bad shape."

  "What happened?"

  "You survived your first encounter with the Enemy," Deegan replied.

  Geoffrey nodded. He remembered that much. "Is Pt'kar...?" He was afraid to ask.

  "She's alive, barely. Says you killed one of the Enemy before help came. That is a great accomplishment."

  "Thank god," Geoffrey said. He'd been sure she was dead. "Did you see what happened?"

  Deegan looked pained. "I came in at the end."

  "So you didn't see the angel?"

  "Geoffrey..."

  Geoffrey looked around as Tebrey entered his room and shut the door.

  Tebrey turned from the door and crossed his arms on his chest. He had thick medical nanotech packages on his arms, and one covered half his face. He's intimidating like that, Geoffrey thought. That's probably the idea. Geoffrey wasn't sure why Tebrey was angry, but he obviously was. Geoffrey hoped it wasn't about him. He couldn't think of anything he'd done wrong when he was on the mission, though. All things considered, he thought, he'd done fairly well.

  "I think we need to talk," said Tebrey. "Time to come clean."

  "About what?" Geoffrey asked. He could think of a dozen things he'd kept from Tebrey and the Concord about Drake, but he was trying not to.

  "Not you, Meeks," Tebrey snapped. "Well?"

  "Well, what?" Deegan asked. He sounded tired.

  "Show me."

  Deegan sighed, stood up and began taking off his shirt.

  Geoffrey still didn't know why Tebrey was angry, or why Deegan was taking off his shirt. He was also certain he'd didn't want to know. If this was some kind of ritual after killing a Theta, he'd pass. "Just for the record," Geoffrey said, "I'm not comfortable with this."

  "Shut up, Meeks."

  Deegan finished baring his upper torso, closed his eyes, and shrugged. Heavily feathered wings flared from his back. The feathers, like his hair, were in multiple shades of brown. Those wings were beautiful – and greatly confusing. A black basalt stone hung on a leather cord around his neck.

  "Happy?" Deegan asked. He obviously wasn't.

  "You were glowing, down on the surface," said Tebrey.

  "So were you," Deegan replied. "I was just using the soul fire. It is no different."

  "So you aren't a...?"

  "A being of light? No."

  "Are you Ascended?"

  "Not exactly."

  Tebrey looked as if he wanted to say something about that, but didn't. "This is your true form?"

  "Yes."

  "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "Tell you what?" Deegan said. "That I'm an angel? Sure, that would've gone over well."

  "I was going to say shapeshifter."

  "You knew some of the Aurorans were, like Emerald. Does this matter so much to you?"

  "No," Tebrey replied. "It was a surprise, that's all."

  "Did you know you could apport?"

  "Lyra thought I could. I've never done it before today."

  "Well?"

  "You're going to try to say you didn't know you could shapeshift?"

  "I couldn't say that; you'd know I was lying. I merely meant that it didn't seem like an important thing to mention."

  "Um, when you say angel, did you
mean... angel?" asked Geoffrey.

  "I suspect your ancestors saw members of my people and gave us that name," Deegan said. "I was not one of them, if that's what you're asking."

  "Cool."

  Tebrey gave him a quelling glance. "I can think of another name for your people."

  "Oh?"

  "Achenar."

  Deegan flinched. "That isn't our name. It's what the Ancients called us. The Thetas who took control of my people."

  Tebrey sighed. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

  "Not at the moment, no," said Deegan. His wings shifted away, gone in moments, and he put his shirt back on.

  "One day soon," Tebrey said, "you and I are going to have to have a long talk."

  "Not today," said Deegan.

  "Soon."

  Θ

  Lyra opened the way to the only place in Tebrey's universe that she knew well: the park where she had first arrived with Tebrey. The place still held the smell of rock dust, the plastic plants and grass still undisturbed.

  "What is this place?" asked David.

  "It's a park where Tebrey played as a child."

  "No wonder he's disturbed," David said sourly.

  Lyra laughed. "We're deep within the planet Valhalla, an icy world with a cold methane atmosphere. Tebrey came here because it was the closest these people could have to being outside. He was only five. His mother was killed not long after that, and he ended up in a military orphanage. Is it any wonder that this place would be a fond memory? The poor man doesn't have very many happy ones."

  "I didn't know," David said. "Yes, I suppose it would be better than grey corridors."

  "Come on. I'm not sure where Tebrey is right now, but Admiral Shadovsky will know. He is..." Her eyes became unfocused. "Not where I thought he would be. He's back on Dawn. You'll like that planet more, I think. Shall we?"

  At David's nod, she apported them across space to Dawn. She wasn't worried about the enemy knowing they were here. The Concord was openly at war with the Dark Ones, now.

  They appeared in Mandor's office with a faint pop of displaced air.

  "God damnit!" Mandor shouted, jumping up from his desk in surprise. "Don't you people ever knock?" His lunch was spilled on the floor.

  "Sorry, Mandor," said Lyra. "We were in a hurry."

  "I can see that," he replied as bent down and picked up his meal. He looked at it, sighed, and tossed it in the recycling bin.

  "Admiral?" Ana poked her head in from the other room. "Oh, hi, Lyra, Tebrey isn't here." She shut the door again.

  "I am sorry about startling you, Mandor. We just arrived from Aurora."

  "I'm sorry about shouting," Mandor replied. "Please have a seat. Who's your companion?"

  "This is David. David, Admiral Mandor Shadovsky."

  "I've heard a lot about you, Admiral," David said, holding out his hand.

  "Please, just Mandor – you aren't under my command," Mandor said, shaking the proffered hand. He sat back down behind his desk. "What can I do for you both?"

  "We're here to continue with Tebrey's training," said Lyra.

  "He's on a mission right now. Your man Deegan is with him."

  "Are they due back soon?"

  "Hard to say. It depends on how the mission goes. If all goes well, I would say he'll be back in a few days. If it takes longer, I can arrange transport for you."

  "If you are okay with it, we can just contact Deegan, get coordinates, and apport there."

  "Right. Almost forgot. You people like the long-distance stuff. I'd rather you wait a day or two. The mission is critical, and I don't want any attention being directed toward them. I can have you put up in a hotel until he gets back."

  "Not a problem. We wanted a bit of a chance to look around anyway."

  "You're welcome to, but you may not want to. Dawn was hit pretty hard during the battle last year. There have been serious climactic problems. It's currently cold and rainy."

  "Ah. I guess we got here just a little early."

  Mandor smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that. You could visit the Rhyrhan Consulate. I'm sure they would be pleased to meet you. The Rhyrhan remember the Mo'Ceri."

  "Really?" said David. "How is that possible?"

  "The Rhyrhan Council of the Eldest is made of Ascended Rhyrhans. They have long memories."

  "Actual Ascended? Not Ascended and reborn?"

  "The real deal," said Mandor. "There's a Rhyrhan Council Emissary here on Dawn, helping with the rebuilding of our government. Admiral Macklin is rescinding martial law this week and restoring the government. We had elections last month, and our new officials have been learning their jobs and getting ready for the change-over."

  David shook his head. "So you weren't worried about a military takeover."

  "Our people believe in our constitution."

  "Apparently your people trust the military, too. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it."

  "We make sure we don't do anything to lose that trust," Mandor said. "I admit, I was uncomfortable when Macklin first declared martial law, although because I'm the next-highest ranking officer, he discussed it with me first. I was born in the Federation, though. I have a healthy distrust of government from my time there."

  "The Federation is the government you're currently at war with?"

  "Nominally, yes. We haven't been pursuing an aggressive strategy with them. We are hunting down the ships that committed war crimes against us, and we hunt down Thetas. Otherwise, we leave them alone."

  "That's an exceptionally rational way to wage war."

  "I won't lie. Some people wanted to bomb Federation planets in retaliation, but the people of the Federation are not at fault, and their government is collapsing without us doing anything at all to them."

  "Would you mind if we speak to Ana Tebrey?" asked Lyra.

  "That's entirely up to her." He waved his hand over the com control. "Ana? Lyra would like to speak with you, if you don't mind."

  "I'll be right in."

  Ana came in carrying Amanda, Hunter at her heels.

  David stood and offered her his seat, which she accepted. She put Amanda down and let her crawl. Amanda went straight to Hunter and tugged on his paw until he lay down and let her climb on his head.

  Lyra and David both were amazed by Amanda. "I didn't know you had a daughter," Lyra said.

  "Yes, I suppose you'd left before she was born. Her name is Amanda, after Hrothgar's mother. She is six months old."

  Lyra liked Ana's accent. "Has she…?"

  "Shown any signs of being unusual?" Ana asked, a trace of mirth in her voice. "Yes. Her telepathic ability is very good. She hasn't mastered language yet, but will soon, I think. Don't get on her bad side; she's a master of empathic manipulation."

  "All babies are," said Lyra.

  "You have a child?"

  "A daughter, Kiffa. She's about your age, actually."

  "I remember Hrothgar mentioning her. I didn't realize she was your daughter." Ana paused. "I assume you're here to continue Hrothgar's training."

  Lyra nodded. "We felt it was time."

  "Past time, if you ask me. Will you be training Hunter, as well?"

  "That is entirely up to him," Lyra said. "His genetics are close enough to Tebrey's that he should have similar abilities. He hasn't been very open to talking to us, though."

  Ana met Hunters eyes, and he shrugged, shaking Amanda, who giggled and patted him with rough affection.

  Will you speak with us, Hunter? asked Lyra.

  I suppose, he thought back.

  Excellent. Did you meet David before?

  Hunter's bright green eyes scanned the auburn-haired man. No. What is he?

  You can tell I'm not human? David asked.

  Of course. You remind me a bit of Father.

  Drake?

  Yes.

  An astute assessment, David thought. I'm distantly related to him.

  How distantly?

  About a hundred thousand years.

/>   Chapter Forty-One

  The last thing Tebrey wanted to do was return to the surface of Vesuvius, much less alone, but someone needed to find out what had happened to the Engines built by the Empire. He'd argued with the captain about going back down. She'd wanted him to take a unit of marines with him, but he didn't want to risk anyone else. Besides, the marines were needed to defend the ship in case they'd missed a Theta or two.

  He had finally relented and agreed that he'd take a squad to defend the shuttle while he was in the base. He'd taken Lt. Commander Blue Horse to command the squad, because he trusted her. The marines were quiet on the trip down. They'd been inside the base when they had come in to help Tebrey carry Meeks and Pt'kar out after their fight. They knew what he was walking into.

  The shuttle touched down outside the main entrance, and the marines took up positions around the shuttle. Tebrey's armor had been too damaged to wear, so he was wearing his backup spacesuit. He felt uncomfortable with only the thinly armored shell around him; he was too accustomed to having the protection of powered armor.

  "Are you sure you don't want us to go with you, Commander?" asked Blue Horse.

  Tebrey respected the strength of character it had taken for her to ask that. He could feel her fear. The last thing she wanted to do was go back into that... abattoir, but she would go if he asked her to. She'd follow him into hell. So would the other marines. He was deeply moved by their regard, but there was no need to subject them to that again.

  "Thank you, Commander, but I'll be fine. Just keep the shuttle safe. I'll be back as soon as soon as I can."

  "Sir." Her relief was like a wave washing over him. He was glad she and Meeks had hit it off, even if he did find it odd. He wouldn't have thought the marine would be interested in a civilian. Not that Meeks really counted as a civilian anymore. He'd earned his pay. Tebrey and Deegan hadn't killed all of the Thetas themselves. Meeks had taken out one out first, and he'd stayed to defend Pt'kar when the others had shown up. Tebrey decided he was going to have to cut the young man some slack.

  Tebrey entered the base. It looked much as it had days before. The bodies were in worse condition, bloated and rotting, but nothing had been disturbed. He descended the stairs and stepped out onto the third floor. He and Deegan hadn't managed to make it this far before. The carnage wasn't as bad down here. People had been fleeing upwards when the Thetas attacked. Tebrey suspected an evacuation order had been given to the base. That would explain the ships in orbit. He wondered if any ships had gotten away before the attack.