Ignotus

by Kevin Hardman

  “With all due respect, it is not your decision to make,” Skullcap remarked, then looked pointedly at Erlen.

  Maker followed his gaze, and then turned to the insectoid with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

  “Are you kidding?” he scoffed. “Okay, I’m going to say something that – of the people in this room – only you and I probably know: Niotans live far longer than humans.” Maker then pointed at Erlen, stating, “He’s a baby – barely out of diapers by our standards. He doesn’t get to make these decisions.”

  “Then you doom the Vacra to extinction,” Skullcap said flatly.

  The room was silent as the grim and weighty truth of the Vacran’s words sank in.

  Maker let out a deep sigh. “Look, despite everything in the past, I’m truly sorry this has happened to your people. It’s terrible and tragic on a scale I can’t really fathom, and in your position I would probably have done the same things you’ve done. In all sincerity, I’d help you if I could, but I can’t put Erlen in that kind of danger. I’m responsible for him. More to the point, this isn’t our fight.”

  “But it is,” Skullcap stressed, “because after they finish with the Vacra, the P’ngrawen will come for you next.”

  Concern was suddenly etched on the faces of Maker and his companions.

  “What do you mean?” Loyola asked.

  “I previously mentioned that the P’ngrawen want the Senu Lia,” Skullcap answered. “What I haven’t shared is that they previously had Senu Lia of their own.”

  Maker fought hard to keep his surprise from visibly showing. “When was this?”

  “Millenia ago,” Skullcap said. “The P’ngrawen used them to create terrible weapons, which were then employed to subjugate – and occasionally eradicate – other species.”

  Maker was disturbed by what he was hearing, but didn’t doubt the truth of Skullcap’s words. When Maker had previously converted a ship into a nova bomb, Erlen had been instrumental in constructing the weapon, producing elements and compounds that Maker never would have been able to procure otherwise. Thus, he had no problem believing that Niotans could be used to create a wide range of catastrophic weapons and devices.

  “Are you saying the P’ngrawen will try to conquer humanity?” he asked.

  “They’ve suggested in numerous occasions that they will extirpate your race,” Skullcap noted.

  Browing appeared shocked. “But why? We’ve never done anything to them.”

  “It’s enough that you – any one of you – has bonded with Senu Lia,” Skullcap explained. “It suggests that you may have the means to neutralize any weapons they have or might develop.”

  “So they’d wipe out humanity simply because of that?” asked Snick.

  “If they thought it would be entertaining,” Skullcap answered, “they’d wipe you out simply to avoid boredom. As it is, your connection to the Senu Lia gives them adequate reason to desire mankind’s destruction.”

  “You mean my connection,” Maker clarified.

  “However you frame it,” Skullcap stated, “it places mankind very high on the P’ngrawen’s list of targets. Make no mistake – they are coming for you.”

  Maker frowned. Skullcap could be lying, but again, Maker got the sense that he was being sincere. Still, he wasn’t eager to engage in a fight solely on Skullcap’s say-so.

  “We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” Maker finally announced, “but right now it feels premature. So, while I wish you good luck in dealing with the P’ngrawen and I pray that your empress is safely returned, there’s nothing we can do. I’m sorry.”

  Skullcap momentarily looked as though he had a comment, but remained silent. There was a sense of forlorn despair and despondency about him that was almost palpable. Even Maker felt it, and – despite the animus and hostility he had harbored against the Vacra for so long – he sympathized with their plight. Looking at the rest of the team from the Nova, he knew without asking that they all felt the same.

  “Come on,” he finally said to his colleagues. “We should leave.”

  He started walking towards the door, and felt rather than saw the others falling into step behind him. However, he hadn’t gone far before he heard Erlen voice something between a growl and a honk.

  Understanding that the sound was meant to get his attention, Maker did an immediate one-eighty, at which point he saw that the Niotan hadn’t moved. A moment later, however, Erlen began striding towards him, unexpectedly rising up on his hind legs when they were about a foot apart. Placing his forepaws on Maker’s shoulders, the Niotan looked him in the eye, then momentarily glanced at Skullcap before facing Maker again.

  And then, in a voice that was somewhat odd but slightly reminiscent of an adolescent male, Erlen said, “Maker, help.”

  It was just two words, but uttered in a way that was both a plea and a statement, as well as a command. Maker was only slightly less shocked than everyone else in the room at what he’d heard. It had always been obvious that Erlen understood human speech, and Maker had always suspected that the Niotan could articulate the requisite sounds. However, having it confirmed in this setting – and in light of what was at stake – was almost prophetic.

  Letting out a sigh, Maker stared at Skullcap for a moment and then said, “So tell me about this plan.”

  Chapter 97

  “It’s a good plan,” Skullcap announced.

  “Yeah,” Maker quipped. “If ‘good’ is synonymous with ‘stupid’ or ‘ill-advised.’”

  Skullcap made a noise that Maker interpreted as the equivalent of a harrumph, but otherwise didn’t say anything.

  They were currently in the cockpit of a Vacra shuttle, heading towards a trio of ships that had dropped out of hyperspace roughly an hour after Maker had agreed to help his long-time nemesis. Skullcap’s plan, hastily explained, had required a few tweaks in Maker’s opinion. It was still risky and unsound when viewed in even the best light, but – after the three P’ngrawen ships appeared – they simply had no more time.

  Maker took a moment to glance into the passenger compartment of the shuttle, where Erlen was lounging as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

  “Not too late to change your mind,” Maker suggested.

  Erlen’s reply was a wide-mouthed yawn, as if he were bored. Shaking his head in disbelief at the Niotan’s nonchalance, Maker turned back around and stared out the cockpit window.

  The three ships they were approaching (which had taken up positions near the edge of the solar system) had a design that was outside his experience. Frankly speaking, they all looked like random chunks of metal haphazardly thrown together. But perhaps they conformed to a pattern that wasn’t obvious to the human eye.

  “Which is our destination?” Maker asked.

  “The large one in the middle,” Skullcap answered. “That is the flagship of their ruler, Badukst.”

  “He’s here personally?”

  “Of course. He would not trust another with custody of the Senu Lia. Also, he prefers to personally torture the empress and send us the recordings, and this may be his last opportunity to do so.”

  “Sounds like a nice guy.”

  “Indeed,” Skullcap said, a hard edge to his voice.

  “I’m surprised they’re willing to just waltz in here like this, so close to the homeworld of their enemy.”

  “They have our empress, so there is little for them to fear from us.”

  Maker nodded in understanding. “I guess that makes sense.”

  “Just so you’re aware, I have requested that the P’ngrawen have the empress in the landing bay so that the exchange may be conducted as expeditiously as possible.”

  “Seems like a reasonable request.”

  “We’ll see if the P’ngrawen adopt that view,” Skullcap said.

  ***

  The rest of the flight was conducted in silence, although Maker was surprised that it was neither awkward nor uncomfortable. When they were a few minutes from entering the landing
bay of the flagship, Maker stepped into the passenger compartment of the shuttle and donned a spacesuit that had been hastily retrieved from the Nova while they were fleshing out Skullcap’s plan. By the time the Vacran set the ship down, Maker was dressed and had grabbed his rucksack, which he’d also brought along.

  “Are we ready?” Skullcap asked as he stepped out of the cockpit.

  “As ready as we’ll ever be,” Maker replied as he slung the rucksack on his back and checked his utility belt, which contained a compact emergency kit, a communicator, and a few other essentials.

  Taking that as his cue, Skullcap went to the shuttle door, opened it, and then walked out, with Maker and Erlen right behind him.

  They found themselves in an expansive landing bay. Unsurprisingly, there was a contingent of perhaps a dozen uniformed P’ngrawen standing nearby, all apparently guards and holding what Maker immediately recognized as firearms – more precisely, rifles of some sort.

  In Maker’s opinion, Planck’s description of them was fairly accurate. They had elongated snouts and skin that resembled polished wood, with a light covering of fur. They also had what appeared to be vestigial tails.

  One of the guards (presumably the captain or commander) stepped towards them.

  “I was told to expect a Vacra and a pet of some sort,” the guard captain said. “Why are there three of you?”

  “This is the creature’s handler,” Skullcap replied, motioning towards Maker. “It will only eat from his hand, so I assumed Badukst would need him.”

  “Lord Badukst,” the captain corrected acidly.

  “Of course,” Skullcap stated in acknowledgment. “I had requested that the empress be brought to the landing bay for a quick exchange. Where is she?”

  “Who are you to give commands, ghangunk?” the captain demanded. Although his translator clearly had issues finding an equivalent for the last word, Maker had no trouble recognizing that it was an insult.

  “It is the P’ngrawen who issues orders to your species,” the guard commander continued, “not the reverse. You will be taken to your twanblit female when it pleases us.”

  Without waiting for a response (or simply assuming that there would be none), the captain spent a moment eyeballing Maker.

  “Why the spacesuit?” he asked.

  “Your air is foreign to him,” Skullcap explained. “He is unable to breathe it without great difficulty.”

  It was a true statement, as one of the things that had become clear from the outset was that the P’ngrawen atmosphere was not conducive to human respiration. The guard captain, however, looked like he wanted to test that theory. Still watching Maker suspiciously, he waved over one of his fellows, who carried something akin to a three-foot metal wand.

  The newcomer waved the wand in front of Skullcap, taking it from the insectoid’s head to his foot, while at the same time looking at a small hand-held display. It didn’t take a lot of effort to recognize that this was an obvious scan for weapons. A moment later, it was Maker’s turn, and he seemingly passed as well.

  “What does the bag contain?” the captain asked, pointing at Maker’s rucksack.

  “Nourishment for the animal,” Skullcap replied. “P’ngrawen foodstuffs will be unfamiliar to him, and he may refuse to eat them initially.”

  The captain turned to the individual with the scanner and ordered, “Examine it.”

  The fellow carrying the wand waved it around the rucksack, paying careful attention to the display. Maker imagined that it was giving a readout that indicated proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and other nutrients. This was seemingly confirmed when, a moment later, the P’ngrawen with the wand made some sort of hand gesture, which seemed to indicate that all was well.

  Next it was Erlen’s turn. As was typically the case, the Niotan could not be scanned internally. This caused a momentary bit of consternation, as evidenced by a hushed conversation between the P’ngrawen with the wand and the guard captain. Afterwards, the latter stepped away for a moment while he pulled out a communicator of some sort and had a brief conference with someone unseen – presumably a superior. A few seconds later, he returned.

  He made a brief gesture that resulted in half the guards stepping back, apparently being dismissed. The remainder took up positions around Maker, Skullcap, and Erlen: two in front, one on each side, and two to the rear.

  “Now we go to your female,” the captain announced. “Come.”

  Chapter 98

  Following behind the guard captain, Maker’s group (and their escort) left the landing bay through a nearby door. At that juncture, they found themselves in a short corridor that terminated at an elevator. Everyone quickly piled in and the elevator started to rise.

  At that moment, Erlen began pawing at his nose and making odd noises, as if he were choking on something while simultaneously trying to sneeze. The Niotan’s antics were apparently irksome to some degree, prompting a question from the guard commander.

  “What’s wrong with that creature?” the captain asked.

  “I would guess that he’s having an adverse reaction to the atmosphere on your ship,” Skullcap stated. “He will adjust, but it may take time.”

  The guard commander let out something like an audible groan but said nothing. A few seconds later, the elevator came to a halt on a deck that was seemingly near the top of the ship. As they were exiting into an adjoining hallway, Erlen immediately dashed to one side and then, in a fit of coughing, regurgitated a small stream of dark green liquid.

  “Your beast is foul,” the captain noted with a look of disgust.

  “You mean your ruler’s beast is foul,” Skullcap corrected, “as he now belongs to Lord Badukst. You should share your sentiments with him.”

  The guard commander seemed taken aback by the notion. However, rather than comment, he merely resumed walking down the hallway, obviously assuming that everyone else would follow.

  ***

  They stalked through the ship in silence. There was an air about the guard captain that made it clear that conversation, whether idle or of import, was not going to be tolerated. Or perhaps the P’ngrawen were naturally a reticent species, for – as Maker noted – although they occasionally passed others in the hallways, they saw few (if any) discussions between individuals.

  Frankly speaking, it felt a bit like a death march (and – depending on the outcome – might turn out to be one, to some extent). The only break in their stride occurred when Erlen, on three more occasions, continued to spew up fluids and such, much to the dismay of their escorts.

  Ultimately, after a straight march across what felt like the length of the entire ship, the group reached their destination: a wide door with a pair of P’ngrawen guards standing to either side of it. In Maker’s estimation, since leaving the landing bay, the entire trek had taken about twenty minutes. Bearing in mind their apparent location now versus where they had started, it struck him that they were about as far as reasonably possible from their shuttle (which was probably the point).

  The guard captain moved towards the door before them, which slid open as he approached, allowing him to enter. Knowing what was expected, Maker and his two companions followed, as did the rest of the guards. Once inside, the door closed behind them; then (to no one’s great surprise) Erlen once again spat up – this time at the very foot of the door.

  Showing little worry about the Niotan, Maker took a look around and noted that they were now in an expansive room, roughly fifty by one hundred feet in size. However, it gave the impression of being larger than it actually was because it was almost completely devoid of décor. All that Maker could spy was a rack on one wall that held an array of unusual devices and implements, a cage next to it that was large enough to hold an elephant, and a large, lumpy mass in the middle of the room that might have been a piece of abstract art.

  No, not art, Maker thought as Skullcap suddenly ran towards the bulky object on the floor. The empress.

  Chapter 99

  Oddly en
ough, none of the P’ngrawen moved to stop Skullcap, allowing him to reach the empress without hindrance. Once by her side, he gently reached out, touching her head.

  The empress, who lay naked on the floor, huddled in a ball, initially flinched at his touch. But as Skullcap softly stroked the back of her head, she slowly looked up. One side of her face was plainly bruised and swollen. However, the light of recognition showed in her eyes, and she slowly rose up. As she did so, Maker noted that his initial impression from the hologram was correct: she was huge – at least twice the size of Skullcap.

  Like her face, her body also bore signs of trauma. Discolored in random spots, it showcased scabrous wounds and contusions – evidence of recent affliction – while in other places Maker noticed wicked scars and pockmarks, indicators of old injuries that had healed.

  All in all, it appeared that she had suffered greatly, and for an extended period of time. More importantly, Maker suddenly gained insight with respect to much of what he was seeing – in particular, the various tools on the wall rack. (He did note, however, that a good number of her injuries appeared near the metal collar that was around her neck, just as it was in the hologram.)

  “Child, what do you here?” the empress asked in a weak voice.

  “Mother,” Skullcap said, “I have come for you.”

  “You should not have,” she declared. “These monsters will never let me leave.”

  “They will now,” Skullcap insisted. “They wish an exchange.”

  As he finished speaking, Skullcap gestured towards Erlen, who had meandered forward towards the two Vacra.

  Upon seeing him, the empress seemed to catch her breath. Slowly, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes, she reached towards the Niotan. Gently, she stroked his back for a moment, and Erlen – apparently appreciating the gesture – turned and licked her hand.

  Drawing her arm back, the empress turned to Skullcap again. “No, undo this bargain you’ve made. The Senu Lia is a treasure. It is not meant to be associated with vile savages like – Aaaaahhh!!!!”