by Eric Thomson
“Aye, aye, sir,” the first officer replied with such immediacy that Jecks understood he’d been waiting for the order. “Up systems and best speed for Hatshepsut.”
An almost painful sense of urgency now gripped Jecks, and no doubt everyone else aboard the Void Ship. He made a point of returning to his quarters rather than stewing in the CIC or on the bridge. But that merely hid his impatience from Serenity’s crew, until, a few hours later...
“Captain, this is the bridge. We’re within hailing distance.”
“Then, by all means, see if you can rouse them from their torpor. It’s what? Past sunrise in Thebes?”
“Aye, aye. I’m transmitting on the priory frequency now.”
**
None in Aswan Trader caught more than the odd nap as the now four-masted barquentine crept out to sea, clearing the shoals surrounding the Saqqaras before turning north and resuming her journey. Every hour, on the hour, one of the Brethren turned on the shortwave radio and listened for any message from Thebes, in the vain hope of hearing encouraging news.
When Rianne took over radio watch during the hour of the wolf, while Aswan Trader slipped over a sea shimmering with a million stars now that both moons had set, she settled on a pile of sails from the mizzen mast stored beneath the taffrail. Whether they were being hunted or whether she and Horam imagined the whole thing seemed immaterial. Rianne simply wanted news from her Brethren but the airwaves remained stubbornly silent. Then, unexpectedly, the radio lit up with a familiar crackle, startling her and everyone within earshot.
“Priory, Priory, Priory, this is Serenity, do you copy?”
It was the usual message, on a loop that would continue automatically until someone on the ground answered. The only thing that changed from time to time was the Void Ship’s name. Rianne listened, growing tenser by the minute, until she realized the Thebes Priory wouldn’t or, more likely, couldn’t answer.
Yet if Serenity was close enough to risk calling the priory, it could only mean the Hegemony expedition was either gone or was hidden so well one of the Lyonesse Navy’s most advanced ships couldn’t find it. Rianne was willing to bet on the former. She raised the set and activated the transmitter function.
“Serenity, Serenity, Serenity, this is Priory Detachment aboard the Theban merchant ship Aswan Trader. Do you copy?”
Several seconds passed, then, “Priory Detachment, this is Serenity, identify yourself.”
“Two Lyonesse and two Hatshepsut Brethren on a detached mission, Sister Rianne speaking. Since you’re on this channel, does it mean the Hegemony expedition left?”
More seconds than before passed, then another voice came through the speaker.
“This is Al Jecks, the commanding officer, Sister. We met about eighteen months ago if I recall correctly. What the hell happened?”
“You recall correctly, and I wish I knew.”
“When we dropped out of FTL, we found five warships in orbit, apparently derived from old imperial designs and definitely not part of the Lyonesse Navy. We remained at the hyperlimit and observed until they went FTL outbound a few hours ago. Thebes isn’t answering our hails, though long-range scans show nothing abnormal at the priory. Power emissions are within the usual range.”
Rianne let out a bitter laugh.
“Do you have time for a long story, Captain? Because I can tell you a doozy, and I fear our Brethren probably left this star system aboard those ships against their will.”
“Give me the complete story, Sister. If I go home without every little niggling fact in my possession, HQ won’t be happy, and an unhappy HQ means less than desirable assignments once my tour in command of Serenity is over, so speak away.”
“While I do that, can you track our position? It would be helpful if you picked us up with one of your shuttles. Sailing back to Thebes in Aswan Trader will take longer than you can afford, and if something happened in Thebes, we should be there as soon as possible.”
“Will do.” Another pause. “So, what’s the story from your end?”
By this time, most off-duty crew members were within earshot of Rianne, along with Horam, Alcide, and Lilith, alerted by her unusually loud voice at this time of night, in the hours between the deepest of dark and the first spark of dawn when those aboard found sleep impossible.
Rianne recounted everything from the day Fenrir admitted trading Lyonesse medical supplies for railguns of unknown origin to their sailing out of a Saqqara Islands fjord under engine power, disguised as a four-master, the previous evening.
“Heck of a situation, Sister. Defense Force HQ will whelp a whole new sum of fears when they hear about this. Hang on.” A pause. “We picked up your transmitter’s coordinates. A shuttle will meet up with your ship in about ninety minutes, give or take. In the meantime, I’m sending another with the supplies to Thebes. My landing party officer will take charge until your arrival, if necessary.”
“Thank you, Captain. Let’s hope their transmitter is suffering from a malfunction.” But even as Rianne spoke those words, she understood they voiced a forlorn hope. If the Thebes Priory wasn’t responding, it could only be because the Lyonesse Brethren were no longer there.
“Hope is a fine thing, Sister, but realism is an even finer one. We should find out within the hour. Anything else?”
“Nothing that can’t wait until your folks pick us up.”
“In that case, Serenity, out.”
Rianne looked up at Horam, standing with Fenrir a respectful distance from her, Alcide and Lilith at their sides. The Friar, wearing a sad expression, slowly shook his head. Though the furthest thing from a pessimist, he clearly figured if Serenity’s powerful transmitter couldn’t light up the priory’s duty office, it was because there was no one left who could hear the signal.
“How will they pick you up?” Fenrir asked. “Your spacecraft can’t land on my deck.”
Rianne tucked the radio away and shrugged.
“They’ll probably take us off one by one via a rescue line while hovering above our windward side.”
“Which means by the time we touch Thebes, whatever is destined to happen will have done so.” Fenrir let out an exasperated sigh. “You lot giving us glimpses of what once was and will be at some time in the nebulous future is rather exasperating, you realize that?”
“We do. But it can’t be helped. Even the Republic of Thebes can’t go from sailing ships to faster-than-light travel in the space of a few years, not without the sort of social disruption that might destroy it.”
“So you insist.” Fenrir didn’t bother hiding his skepticism.
“Mind you,” Horam said, “recent events will likely change the timetable. Suppose the Almighty has decided on Hatshepsut as the interface between the mysterious Hegemony and our Republic of Lyonesse? In that case, you could find your fortunes changing faster than expected and perhaps faster than you might wish.”
“A pessimistic Friar. Our fortunes are changing already.”
An amused grin split Horam’s features.
“Realistic, Captain. Sure, I’m a man of the Almighty, but that doesn’t mean I’m not also a man of our galaxy. Trust me on this. Things change slowly until they change all at once. Been there, seen that. It doesn’t work out well a lot of the time.” Horam turned to Rianne. “I suggest we gather our bags and keep them on deck, ready for departure. I’ll bring one of the fabricators for Serenity, if Captain Fenrir would be kind enough to lend me a large carryall. He can see that the other two reach the priory after he docks.”
**
Just under ninety minutes later, as the first crack of dawn painted the eastern sky a delicate pink, Rianne was proved right when a sleek, unmarked aircraft appeared over the horizon behind them. It closed in and came to a hover on the ship’s windward side, aft ramp open horizontally with a boom sticking out above it. Within moments, a harness on the end of a line appeared at the boom’s tip and b
egan to descend.
Horam, gaff in hand, caught the harness when it came within reach and pulled it down.
“Lilith, you’re up first.”
The young Sister, looking composed and without fear, travel bag tightly gripped in one hand, allowed Horam to secure the harness around her. He stepped back and raised both hands above his head, the signal that the shuttle’s loadmaster could hoist her up. Then, in quick succession, he sent up Alcide and Rianne before stepping into the harness along with all his luggage.
Just before making the signal, Horam came to attention and faced Captain Fenrir.
“Permission to disembark, sir?”
“Granted. See you in Thebes.”
“Godspeed and fair sailing, Captain.”
“Good luck.”
With that, Horam raised his arms, and his feet left the deck. Moments after he vanished into the craft, its boom withdrew, the aft ramp rose, and it peeled off to port, gaining altitude before turning east, toward Thebes.
“What’s the word, Tuek?” Horam asked when the co-pilot, a Navy petty officer first class he’d known for years, stuck his head into the passenger compartment to check on them.
“The word is that you and Rianne are the only Lyonesse Brethren left on this planet. The supply shuttle landed just before we caught up with your ship. Goons in full fighting order invaded the Chapter House during compline last night, rounded up Sister Hermina and the others, tied up the local Brethren with plastic field manacles, and vanished into the night. Apparently, a Sister of the Void wearing a military uniform was among them. She pointed out the Lyonessers with unerring precision.”
A look of anguish overcame Rianne’s usual aura of tranquillity.
“That’s what we feared would happen. The people who kidnapped them likely belong to something known as the Hegemony.”
“Then it explains the five warships with that distinctly old empire design. They were in orbit when Serenity dropped out of FTL at the hyperlimit. We loitered, running silent until they left on a course for the wormhole terminus leading into the Wyvern Sector. Your Brethren must be aboard.”
Horam patted Rianne on the shoulder.
“I guess that makes you the prioress until Hermina is back or head office sends a replacement.”
She turned her head to give him a sad smile. “And it makes you the interim chief administrator.”
The big Friar let out a disconsolate sigh.
“I guess this cloud has no silver lining.” He reached into the borrowed bag and pulled out the Hegemony-made fabricator. “Here you go, Tuek, something for the analysts back home.”
— 33 —
––––––––
They landed beside the cargo shuttle an hour later, on the same spot where the previous evening, three craft set down to abduct the Lyonesse Brethren. Upon entering the Chapter House, Rianne and Horam found Serenity’s second officer, Lieutenant Gunther Voronov, along with a chief and two petty officers, all of them armed and wearing dark blue battledress uniform with Lyonesse Navy insignia. They were finishing interviews of the Hatshepsut Brethren who’d witnessed the kidnapping, so they could form as clear a picture as possible of the abductors.
The second officer stood the moment he spotted her.
“Sister Rianne. Or should I say, Prioress Rianne?”
“It doesn’t matter much right now, does it, Gunther? What did you learn?”
“Very little. Your people here lack experience with modern military equipment, so details are sparse. Two dozen were equipped with armor, helmets, and visors that hid the face. They carried firearms, but of what sort is unknown. Two more, including the apparent leader, a man, and the one who called herself a Sister of the Void, wore no armor or helmets, though both carried small arms in hip holsters. None of them wore insignia, at least not that your folks could identify.”
He reached into a tunic pocket and retrieved a strip of black plastic.
“The intruders used these quick restraints to tie them up hand and foot. Impossible to wiggle out of but easily cut with a knife or scissors. Everyone cooperated, so there were no injuries.”
“What about the shuttles?”
“No one saw them. We’re offloading your supplies right now, with the help of Friar Metrobius’ apprentice, Friar Tati. Captain Jecks wishes to speak with you as soon as you can. Sooner rather than later would be better. He’d like to reach the first subspace relay as quickly as possible so we can warn Lyonesse, and that’s over two dozen wormhole transits from here.”
“Yotai, right?” Horam asked.
“We pushed them a little further out since you left Lyonesse, all the way to Isabella, Parth, and Mykonos.”
“The Navy will need to push harder and link us in. There’s someone else roaming the wormhole network, and since they kidnapped our people, we must assume they’re not our friends. Worse yet, they found out about Lyonesse and will no doubt squeeze their captives for information.”
Voronov nodded.
“Agreed, and I’m sure HQ will make the same conclusion the moment they hear about this. But let’s put you on a link with Captain Jecks first.”
He led Rianne and Horam to the supply shuttle and installed them in the flight deck jump seats before opening a link with Serenity. Jecks’ anxious features appeared in a matter of seconds.
“My friends, what terrible news. I gather Gunther brought you up to speed?”
“He did,” Rianne replied. “As did the co-pilot of the shuttle that retrieved us from Aswan Trader. Our Brethren are in the Almighty’s hands now, but if a Sister of the Void is among them, I think they’ll be safe.”
“One thing occurs to me, Captain,” Horam interjected. “Since your shuttles are here, we should make a quick trip to Mazaber and speak with Crimple again, so we can be sure it was this Hegemony he spoke of when we visited him a few days ago. I’ll gladly go right now if you can spare the craft we came in on.”
Jecks’ eyes went over the Friar’s shoulder to where Voronov stood.
“You good with that, Gunther?”
“Can do, Skipper.”
“It’s a rough spot, so I would appreciate some muscle, but considering the circumstances, we can set down right on the beach near Crimple’s godown. A quick in-and-out, so to speak.”
As they landed on the shingle fronting Mazaber a little over an hour later, Horam questioned his sanity in volunteering for a mission on a fallen world. Why did he ever give up the ability to crisscross a planet at supersonic speeds for the maddeningly sedate pace of a sailing ship? He mentally shrugged as he unfastened his seat restraints while the bosun’s mates responsible for his security cautiously exited via the shuttle’s aft ramp, carbines at the ready.
When the petty officer in charge gave him the okay signal, Horam walked out into the last of the morning sunshine and noticed countless eyes watching them from a safe distance, wondering what devilment was now afoot.
He found Crimple at his usual spot behind the counter, frowning at the commotion. When he recognized the Friar, Crimple made a sound Horam decided was of disgust.
“I should have known one of you damned off-worlders would be back. If I believed in the Almighty and the Infinite Void, I’d damn the lot of you. I suppose being godless has its disadvantages. What now?”
“Those off-world visitors yesterday. Did they say who they were?” When Crimple made to speak, Horam added, “No negotiations, no bribes. Answer and we’ll be gone within minutes. Play stupid games with my friends and me, and I will make sure you win stupid prizes.”
Crimple studied Horam for several heartbeats before shrugging.
“Fine. They said they came from the Hegemony and didn’t look much different from the goons with you right now. Other than the one who calls himself Colonel Torma and the strange Sister of the Void, they had armor, weapons, the whole warlike getup, but no badges. They even brought Jan Keter with them bu
t didn’t offer any information, nor did I ask. A man needs to know when he should keep his curiosity in check. But Keter gave me the impression they weren’t nice people.”
Horam inclined his head.
“Thank you, Mister Crimple. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
“That’s it?” He sounded incredulous.
“You answered my question. I need nothing more. Goodbye.”
With that, Horam turned on his heels and left the godown along with his security escort. They were back in the air within minutes, leaving a city the Friar hoped never to visit again behind them.
Horam figured Hatshepsut had accidentally become the contact point between two civilizations, survivors of Dendera’s Retribution Fleet, who’d known nothing about each other until now. And the first act of the one was seizing citizens of the other against their will. A bad omen if he ever saw one.
**
“Will you be okay even though there are only two of you? I doubt your Order’s Head Abbess would assign blame if you came home with us.”
Rianne smiled at Jecks’ image on the cargo shuttle’s main flight deck display.
“Two of us born on Lyonesse, along with thirty-two born on Hatshepsut — the sixteen who were in the Chapter House last night and sixteen more serving the communities on the other islands. Yes, Horam and I will work double and triple shifts for a while, and we’ll be relying on healers whose training isn’t quite finished yet, but we’ll persevere. I would simply ask that the Lyonesse Abbey send us reinforcements as quickly as possible.”
“I’ll make sure to pass on your request the moment we’re within range of the nearest subspace relay. With any luck, the government will consider it a top priority and make sure the Navy sends out the next available Void Ship without waiting for the regular rotation.”
“Thank you. And now, Horam and I must pay President Granat a visit and inform him what happened.”
Jecks frowned.
“Will that cause you problems?”