Sky reached over and laid her hand on top of his.
‘We’re all hoping. And I think that if something bad had happened, you’d have felt it. I don’t know why I think that, but I feel sure… and anyway, the cat felt something, too!’
The group rested as best they could in the damp, dim tunnel. Although very tired, Arthur found it hard to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes and was about to drop off, he suddenly felt the need to open them again. Vijay also seemed to be having trouble. They nodded to each other but didn’t say anything. Vijay, who had looked after the computers on board the Horizon, never seemed to say much. He usually kept himself to himself, and Arthur had noticed that it was in those times he looked especially sad. He had asked him about it once, and Vijay had replied that he missed his wife and daughter back on Earth and thought about them a lot. When Arthur asked why he hadn’t gone back with the others, he had told him that he couldn’t return to Earth because he didn’t feel it was right to abandon the crew. He felt sure that his wife would understand.
Arthur rolled on to his side and started to watch a number of Argon soldiers playing a game they called Kerrenga. It was an impossible game, which several times he had tried to play with Finna; she’d taken great delight in soundly beating him every time. One of the fighters noticed him watching and said something to the others in the group. Several of them then beckoned for him to come over and join in. Unsure quite what to do, Arthur looked at the others in his group, but they all had their eyes closed. Even Vijay seemed to have fallen asleep. Still feeling restless, he got up and nervously joined the Andarrans.
‘Welcome, Keeper,’ said a large Andarran fighter with a scar running down the side of his face. The others laughed.
‘I am Char. I’ve been told that you have been watching us play, is this so?’
‘Um, yes,’ said Arthur, unsure what he ought to say.
‘Then be seated, Keeper. Join us. Perhaps you would like to try your luck while we wait for the first sun?’
‘My name is Arthur,’ said Arthur, sitting down opposite Char.
‘We know who you are: the Keeper who can call the President of Tresk his friend. Funny, you don’t look much how I imagine a Keeper would look.’ The others in the group smirked. ‘Still, I have heard that the Arnac convey powers on those who possess them. Perhaps it is the Arnac that make you special, Keeper. What do you think?’
‘I think that I have never said that I’m special. Excuse me,’ answered Arthur, sensing hostility and making as if to get up.
‘Come come, there was no harm intended – just a little light banter amongst brothers in arms,’ said Char, sounding far from sincere. ‘Stay and play with us, and we’ll while the time away together.’
Feeling as though he would be letting the others down, and not wanting to lose face for them or himself, Arthur stayed.
‘Good. Then let us begin,’ said Char, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Arthur. ‘Luca, give the Keeper one of the Karras,’ he instructed the fighter sitting next to Arthur. Luca handed him a small metallic object.
‘Do you know how to use it?’ She asked.
‘Yes, I place it here, I think?’ Arthur answered, placing the Karras on the side of his temple. The device fixed itself in position.
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘you can turn it on by touching it.’
Luca smiled at him and touched the Karras on the side of her temple. Arthur did the same. Immediately a grid appeared in front of him. It was like a semi-transparent three-dimensional maze, constructed on many levels.
‘Do you know how to play?’
‘I’ve tried a few times, but no, not really.’
‘The idea is simple. Each competitor will appear as two symbols at different points on the grid. Inside the grid will be a series of mazes. Each player will have their own maze, which they must defend by trying to outwit challengers, and at the same time they have to make it through the other challengers’ mazes before engaging in combat to claim their symbol. You are both defender and attacker simultaneously. An opponent who has captured another player’s symbols will lose his bounty if defeated in battle.’
Luca looked at him inquisitively to see if he had understood what she had just told him. Despite having played a few times, Arthur still hadn’t figured out how he was supposed to defend his own maze from attack whilst going on the attack and finding his way through other mazes, all at the same time. It seemed like the game required him to split his thoughts.
‘You must learn to relax your mind, Keeper, trust that you know what to do,’ she said, as if sensing he was having trouble getting his head around it.
Arthur nodded and thanked her.
Char, still watching him, leaned forward.
‘Are you ready, Keeper?’
‘Yes, I think so,’ replied Arthur, feeling that it was likely a big mistake he was making. He already felt that Char had it in for him. But it was too late: everyone had already activated their devices, and the three-dimensional map in front of him lit up with symbols of the players and markers to show where they were moving to and from. Arthur stared at the virtual map and froze. It seemed that everyone wanted to be the first to capture his sign. Within seconds he was having to defend his maze from seven attackers, and no matter how fast he tried to think about blocking his maze or rerouting it, which he was allowed to do, they just stormed through. It was all over very quickly. He never saw the virtual sword-like weapon that slayed him as he tried to defend his sign.
‘I thought that perhaps you would be a more worthy adversary, Keeper,’ grinned Char, very pleased with himself.
‘Don’t push him, Char, he’s never played before by the looks of it,’ said Luca, who was busy defending her sign from one of the other competitors whilst at the same time challenging another for her sign. Arthur sat quietly and watched, amazed and mystified as to how it was possible to do both at the same time.
During the second game they played, Arthur performed little better, although he had finally begun to understand how to was possible to split his mind into attack and defence mode at the same time. Char, as in the first round, won the second. Arthur, disappointed with himself, had to listen as several of the Argon soldiers began to mock him and ask whether people from Earth were as intelligent as they’d thought.
‘Come now,’ said Char. ‘We can’t assume all Earthlings are equal. Indeed, we can’t assume that he isn’t just playing with us for his own amusement. What say you, Keeper?’
Arthur glanced at him in surprise and frowned.
‘No – I am not playing with you.’
‘But of course, a clever Keeper such as yourself is bound to say something like that, is he not?’ asked Char, raising his arms up to the others sitting around them. They replied with nods and various comments.
‘I am really not playing with you,’ said Arthur again.
‘Nonsense, Keeper! Come, let us wager your Arnac and play for something more valuable than just empty words.’
‘But I don’t understand – I told you that I’m not playing with you. Why would I want to risk losing the Arnac just to prove I’m no good at this game?’
‘He speaks fairly,’ said Luca.
‘His words are hollow and those of a coward!’ said Char, irritated at being questioned in this way by one of his own soldiers. ‘Legend has it that the Arnac will not abandon their Keeper – is that not so, Keeper? If you are truly their master, then you cannot lose and so be parted from them.’
Arthur listened with increasing apprehension to what Char was saying.
‘So this is not about whether I was telling the truth that I cannot play; you want to see if you can win the Artefacts for yourself?’
Char grinned.
‘I see,’ said Arthur. ‘Why should I do that?’
Char’s pale eyes burned as he stared at him.
‘Because tomorrow y
our friends are going to need our help to stay alive when the attack on the base begins,’ he said in a low growl.
There was no hiding the threat Char was making. Arthur was shocked. He looked at the rest of his group asleep nearby, unaware of the threats that were being made against their safety.
‘And what if I win?’ asked Arthur.
‘If you win?’ said Char, clearly surprised by the question. He thought for a moment and then laughed. ‘If you win, then you will have my rifle!’
‘And my friends?’
‘Your friends will be protected, you have my word.’
The fighters around him reacted with shocked surprise.
‘Hush, calm yourselves – there is no fighter on Andarra that has me for the taking. Do we have an agreement?’ He asked, grinning.
‘Yes,’ said Arthur, feeling as though he hadn’t any choice but to agree.
‘Then, Keeper, this game is between you and me. Let us begin,’ he said, touching the device on the side of his head. Arthur did the same. A new three-dimensional arena appeared before his eyes. Now there were only two signs displayed. Arthur watched Char entering the outer area of his maze. As he did so, he began to feel the connection between himself and the maze strengthen, as though it was responding to his thoughts. Arthur found he could suddenly block the direction Char was going just by willing it. His slightest thought caused the maze to change. Several of the Andarrans who were watching reacted in surprise. Again Arthur blocked him, and then again, and again.
‘He is learning,’ he heard one of the fighters whisper.
Becoming more confident in his defence, Arthur started to move through Char’s maze. At first he made little progress and Char was able to easily block him at will. However, as Char became more exasperated that he hadn’t gained the quick victory he’d expected, Arthur sensed things were beginning to go his way. Corner by corner, passage by passage, he progressed from walking to being able to run through the maze, avoiding what Char threw at him. At the same time, in defence, Arthur managed to wall off the entire area around his symbol except for the one open path which the rules stipulated had to be somewhere, but in this case it was too far away for Char to reach.
‘Look!’ He heard someone gasp as he reached the inner part of Char’s maze. Arthur had managed to slip past a closing wall and, at the last moment, had faked to turn left, causing Char to block him to the left, while instead he had spun round and run right. Suddenly, there in front of him was Char’s symbol. By the side of the symbol, a large sword-like object lay in an open box. Arthur bent down and picked it up. Without a sound, Char had moved up behind him, and if it hadn’t been for the reflection in the sword, Arthur would have lost his head for sure. Instead, Arthur ducked and swung the sword round, straight into Char’s chest.
‘Zhut panasahar!’ shouted Char angrily, ripping the Karras from the side of his head and throwing it down the tunnel.
Terrified by his reaction, Arthur held his breath, wondering what was going to happen next. Everyone had been so sure that Char would win that now they didn’t know what to do. They all looked shocked. No one uttered a word. Char sneered at him, as though killing him for real might make up for not having killed him in the game.
‘Here, Keeper!’ He said, barely able to contain himself. ‘Take your prize and go!’ Char picked up his rifle and all but threw it directly at Arthur. Leaving the rifle on the floor where it landed, Arthur stood up.
‘I don’t want your rifle, Char, I have my own. We had a deal – my friends are not to be harmed.’
Without waiting for an answer, Arthur turned and walked back to his group. He was trying to look casual, but in truth every fibre of his body was shaking. He wasn’t sure what he’d just done, but whatever it was, he knew he hadn’t had a choice.
Using his pack for a pillow, Arthur lay down and stared at the roof of the tunnel. He went over everything that had happened. It had never occurred to him that anyone but the Solarians might want to take the Arnac. He felt annoyed with himself for being so naive. He thought about the game and how, out of nowhere, he had suddenly understood how to play it and win. The Arnac must have helped him, like Char said they would.
But if Char had really believed what he’d said, then surely he wouldn’t have suggested playing him in the first place.
He wondered, too, if Char had meant his threat about leaving the others unprotected during the coming attack. Even though he had won, he was far from sure that Char would keep his word. Also, he couldn’t decide whether to tell the Major about it – and possibly get himself into more trouble.
Arthur was woken by Yan at the beginning of the fifth hour. He was the last to wake, and as he sat up Margot handed him a bowl of the green porridge stuff.
‘Mmm, yummy sludge again,’ joked Margo, ‘but oh, how we’ve all come to love it!’
Arthur saw the Major having what looked like a serious discussion with Captain Schmidt. He immediately recalled what had happened with Char. Seeing him staring, the Major called him over.
‘I had an interesting talk with Sorin this morning,’ he said when Arthur had joined them. ’He told me that the Commander of the Fourth Detachment of the Argon brigade had personally requested to be attached to our group for the assault today on the Rybok base. Do you know anything about this?’
Arthur looked puzzled – he had never heard of this detachment. Then a sharp thought hit him.
‘Char?’ He asked.
‘Yes, the very Char who is head of the Fourth Detachment. So you do know something about this?’
‘Now I do,’ said Arthur, and he immediately recounted what had happened last night when everyone was asleep: the game, the threat, the challenge to get the Arnac and the promise to protect them.
Both the Major and the Captain were visibly concerned by what Arthur told them.
‘I didn’t feel as though I had a choice,’ said Arthur, after a long pause in which no one said anything.
‘You did what you had to do, lad. If you hadn’t agreed to play, then things might be far worse for us. For now, though, we’re going to have to watch our backs and hope that this Char has, at the very least, a sense of honour. Captain, I suggest that you inform Yan of the situation and make sure that you are both positioned behind this Fourth Detachment, and more specifically behind this Char character. But whatever you do, don’t shoot any of them unless you absolutely have to, or our situation here on Andarra will become very complicated indeed!’
‘Yes, Major,’ Captain Schmidt replied, and walked off to talk to Yan.
‘Don’t worry, lad, you did the right thing. Do you know the expression about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? I think it applies rather well in this situation,’ said the Major, and he patted Arthur on the back.
‘Let’s get ready to move.’
At the sixth hour, the fighters formed up and moved out. There was a heavy feeling of tension in the air. It had been many years since the last full-scale assault on a Solarian base on Andarra. As the Major had said would happen, the Fourth Detachment, under the command of Char, formed up alongside the group from Earth. Arthur exchanged smiles with Luca but chose not to look at Char.
‘Who is she?’ asked Sky, seeing Arthur smile at Luca. ‘Do you know her?’
‘Yes, I met them last night.’
‘Last night?’
‘Yes, when you were sleeping. I played Kerrenga with them.’
‘Oh,’ said Sky. ‘Fun, was it?’ She added, sounding irked.
‘Fun? No, not fun at all. I’ll tell you about it later.’
‘As you wish,’ she replied icily.
Finally they branched off from the main tunnel they had been travelling along for so long, heading for the exit, which lay at the end of a much narrower, steeper secondary tunnel. This was heavily fortified with fixed plasma cannons as well as fighting units who were pe
rmanently stationed there. The columns of fighters were marshalled and split into four groups. Arthur watched as one of them moved out ahead of the others.
‘That is the Zahar sniper detachment,’ said Luca, who had formed up next to him again. ‘They will move silently and quickly into position and cover our approach to Rybok.’
‘Fascinating,’ commented Sky curtly.
Luca looked at her curiously. Arthur also cast her a questioning glance.
‘Okay, listen up,’ called out the Major. ‘We are going to be part of Three Group. Whilst the other two groups will hit the Solarians hard from the front and side, we’ll slip around the back, where there is some decent mountain cover, and find our way in. Arthur and Sky, stay with me. Captain, Yan, you have your orders. Margot, Vijay, you’ll buddy up and watch each other’s backs. Any questions? Fine, then we all know what we’re doing.’
Not long afterwards, Three Group slipped out of the tunnel and into the early morning. The sky was still dark behind a thick mass of rain-clouds. Arthur pulled up the hood on his jacket and put on his night vision glasses as the rain began to fall heavily.
‘Hello, anyone want to spare a thought for me?’ called out the cat, trying to be heard over the noise of the rain.
Arthur looked down at the cat, who was already soaking. Stopping for a moment, he knelt down to let the cat into his pack and then followed the others up a rugged slope, keeping as much as possible to the edges of the sheer rock faces so as not to be seen out in the open. The rain was showing no signs of letting up as Char led the group into position. Impromptu rivers of runoff were already turning into waterfalls and cascading down the sides of the surrounding mountains.
Arthur and the Andarran Rescue Page 4