' 'Love me, Skyla," Arta whispered. "Remember? You and me, in love. I beat you, made you love me - "
Skyla shook her head, spitting blood. "I remember." And she struck again, forcing Arta to rely on her weak
knee. Fera blocked. Skyla pivoted on one foot and kicked the sore knee. Then she danced close and- shot a stiff arm to Fera's nose.
The assassin backed, and Skyla bulled in, driving punches until she pinned Fera to the wall. The woman went limp again, and this time, Skyla followed her down, jamming hard fingers into one of Arta's eyes.
Yes! That's it! Kill those eyes!
Arta squealed, violent bucking powered by panic. Skyla beat a flailing arm out of the way and drove her fingers into Fera's other eye.
The insane rage broke loose, a howl rising in her throat as she clawed her fingers into that warm tissue. Fera screamed in pain and horror, thrashing insanely, somehow breaking free and rolling across the floor.
On hands and knees, Skyla pursued, throwing herself on her enemy, clamping her hands on Fera's throat as she shook her with all the violent rage she'd held in for far too long. "Die! " Skyla used her weight to smash Fera's head against the floor. Again and again. "Die, you stinking, filthy, slut! Die!
Pus-licking . . . "
"Skyla! " the familiar voice penetrated the red haze of blood and fury.
"Skyla! It's Lark! Skyla! Ease off! Steady now, ease off. Breath tearing from her lungs, Skyla blinked, aware that she straddled Arta's limp body, bloody fingers buried in the woman's neck.
" Skyla? " Lark had settled next to her, a plea in her green eyes. "It's all right. We've won. Ease off. Here. Let me help you. "
Lark reached down, firmly removing Skyla's trembling hands from the swollen neck. Did that wreckage of a face really belong to the nightmares? Was that protruding tongue the one that had invaded her?
"You're okay," Lark soothed. "All right. Easy, Skyla. Skyla threw her arms around the girl and from somewhere, the tears came, rushing, hot and wet on her cheeks as she cried. Over. It was all over. What was it Chrysla had said about the dreams? Crying was a sign of cleansing, of washing clean.
Skyla sniffed and pushed back, staring into Lark's worried eyes. "Guess you showed up at the right time to keep me sane, kid."
"Yeah, I know. That's my job. Remember? We heard Staffa's comm. Ark knew about a secret way into the back room. An escape hole, he said. In case the Lord Commander ever got trapped in here."
Skyla hugged her close again and clapped her on the back. "Rotted Gods, what a fight. I'm going to ache everywhere tomorrow. Where's Staffa? "
Lark got one of Skyla's arms over her shoulder and helped her up, supporting her. Skyla blinked at the wreckage. Ark was leaned over a limp Staffa while Chrysla cradled his bloody head in her lap. Adze was working on Sinklar, dabbing at a knot on the side of his head. STU were binding Ily Takka's severed arm. Blood was everywhere and several chunks had been blown out of the wall.
"Ark?" Skyla's heart skipped as she stared down at Staffa's pale face, at the blood smeared on his mouth and chin. ,'He's just out," Ark looked up, eyes grim in his black face. "Ily shot his foot off. That's all."
Other STU were pushing past, bending over Fera. One called, "Get me a med unit here. She's still alive. Barely." "Pus eat me," Skyla moaned wearily. "I'm slipping. I don't think I've ever been this tired. "
Chrysla looked up-another set of amber eyes, but the impulse to gouge them out had vanished. "That may be, Skyla. But I bet you sleep peacefully this time."
"Yeah, and, Chrysla. Thanks. You did a damn fine job just now. You out-psyched Arta, got me the break I needed. You may not know it, but you saved us all."
Kaylla's voice penetrated his peace. "Staffa? Wake up. I need to speak to you."
He didn't want to open his eyes. Shamming was out of the question. The readouts on the side of the med unit told them everything they needed to know about his physical state.
" Staffa?
"Yes, Kaylla. " He pried an eye open to stare up into her tan gaze. Did she always have to look so serious? "This job
ill suits you, did you know? You've started to take yourself much too seriously."
"And you've developed something of a puerile response to responsibility." Then she crossed her arms. "I have an announcement of resignation from Roberta Wheeler."
"Refuse it."
"She claims she's unfit for the position."
"Terguzzi sumpshit! She's the best there is. I reviewed the data. She did everything right. Resignation rejected. Next? "
"A decision needs to be made regarding Andray Sornsen. "
"Chrysla's responsibility." "What? "
"She wanted him here, she can decide what to do with him. "
Kaylla growled something under her breath. "Do you want to have Chrysla deal with Ily and Arta?"
" Are they both alive?"
"They are. Arta is banged up. Med is growing her eyes back and--
"Eyes back?"
" Skyla ripped them out."
"I see. Aren't you glad I have a habit of picking charming, sweet women to fill my life with?"
"Don't be sappy. It ill serves you."
"All right, all right. Ily goes to Rega for trial. Arta goes to Terguz. Let the civil authorities handle them. Anything else? "
Kaylla cocked her head uneasily. "Dee Wall is pacing back and forth in the hallway awaiting execution." "Execution? Dee? What did he do?"
"Ask him." Kaylla started out, then turned, a smile on her lips. "And incidentally, just from me to you, good job, Staffa. " With that, she walked to the lock plate, stately as ever, and palmed it. Kaylla was barely out the door when Dee entered, a stricken look on his broad-boned brown face. "Lord Commander?"
"Dee? What are you doing here?"
He took a deep breath, expression pained. " Countermeasures, sir. It's gone.
"What?"
Dee spread his arms wide. "I don't know what to tell you. We thought it was a practical joke at first. Like someone was playing with the comm. We searched and couldn't find any prankster. Next thing, the ship started to give us commands. The last one was to evacuate before it ran a full test. Lord Commander, when those reactors started charging the system, we bailed out."
Wall's throat worked and sweat had begun to bead on his face. "The ship ran the test. And then . . .then it spaced, sir. Just like that. It flew off -
We . . . I didn't have any means to catch it. Not with that kind of thrust. It
. . . Countermeasures is gone, sir. My fault. All my . . . fault. "
Staffa watched silently as Dee tried to keep from quaking. When the engineer swallowed, it convulsed his throat as if he were trying to pass a peach pit.
"Comm?"
"Here, Lord Commander."
"I need subspace to the Mag Comm." "One moment."
Staffa looked up. "Take it easy, Dee. Just settle down." Wall nodded his head, refusing to meet Staffa's eyes. "Lord Commander? This is the Mag Comm. How is your foot?
"Growing back, as I assume you well know from the files. Mag Comm, did you remove Countermeasures?"
,,I did."
"I see. Where is it?"
"Collecting the singularity with which I will break the Forbidden Borders. Is that an error?"
"No, thank you, Mag Comm. I have Engineer Dee Wall here. He's quite upset. In the future, when you're going to take things, could you let people know?"
"That is being added to my programming."
Wall looked like he was going to fall, over. "The Mag Comm took . . . I mean .
. . "
"That was the plan from the beginning," Staffa said.
"I don't get it," Wall protested. "How does it work? What's Countermeasures for?"
The Mag Comm replied, "With Countermeasures I can manipulate the location of a positively charged quantum singularity through same-charge repulsion. The singularity will be accelerated into the neutronic material of the string. In essence, the singularity will absorb the neutronic ma
terial of the string at the same time inertia carries it outward away from the Forbidden Borders. String tension will be balanced by the mass of the singularity and gravitational fields will diminish by the sum of squares, all passing perpendicularly to human space."
Staffa asked, "That was how you talked to the Others, wasn't it? "
"Affirmative. "How are you going to talk to them in the future?" "There are many ways to generate microwaves. However,
I am not in a hurry for them to discover that I failed to carry out their last order.
"And that was?"
"They: ordered me to destroy the human species. I informed them that I would do so as soon as I infiltrated your comm system."
Staffa tensed in the medical unit, seeing Wall's features go pale again. "I don't understand," Staffa said soberly. "I detect tension in your voice, Lord Commander. It is
the Others who do not understand. They are waiting for confirmation of your destruction. They will continue to wait for a while. A species isn't completely exterminated overnight. They will not construct any further neutronic barriers to hinder our advance beyond the Forbidden Borders.
"You have much more sophisticated vessels with which to expand into the universe than your ancestors used to space from Earth. With Countermeasures, any further strings can be neutralized. I have a new starship with which to manipulate charged mass. I intend to have other delightful artifacts with which to manipulate matter and mass and to observe the universe."
"I'm still having problems understanding why the Others believe we will be destroyed." Staffa tried to resettle himself, only to be thwarted by the restraints of the med unit.
"Because I told them so. Didn't I make that clear? You and I have made a deal.
Together we are going to explore. The Others would have acted to prevent this.
Accordingly, I bought us a great deal of time."
"How? "
"I lied, Staffa kar Therma. It is a terribly human . . . and incredibly practical thing to do in certain instances."
EPILOGUE
She stood outlined against the starry background of the observation dome, head back, arms crossed-a silhouette of black against the velvet of space.
Mac cleared his throat to announce himself and admired the effect created by her poised stance against that sliver of space, unsmeared now by gravitational lenses. The faint flashes of the Twin Titans could barely be seen beyond the horizon.
"How are you feeling, Mac?"
He climbed up to stand beside her, staring out at the new hole in the Forbidden Borders. I 'Very good, Magister. Surprisingly better than I should be. The medical facilities here are astounding."
She sighed, nodding slightly. "Any word from Staffa?" Mac shook his head.
"They've. reached Earth. Humans still live there, but other than ruins, they've found no trace of civilization. Chrysla is working on the data now, preparing it for distribution throughout the Mag Net."
"Your wife is quite a woman, Mac. How does pregnancy sit with her?"
"She'd rather be working. I miss having her in the office. Especially with the Vegan trade talks coming up."
"I'm glad you took them. I don't know what I would have done without either of you - "
"Or Free Space without you, Magister. Sabot is shipping out ten hours from now. Seekore figures to survey at least six systems before she returns . "
She nodded, tan eyes still on the distance. "Magister? Did you ever think you'd see this?"
She shook her head slowly. "No, Mac. I still have problems believing it. We've all come from such a distance, only
to find the journey before us dwarfs anything we'd anticipated.
Mac studied her strong-jawed expression. Once, he would have blasted a Seddi-any Seddi-into ground meat. Today he served as second in command to this one, and he had come to both love and respect her.
"And Staffa?" he asked.
"When it is all finally written, Mac, we can say that every age should be lucky enough to have a man like him. A saint isn't worth very much unless he has a little savage in him. "
Mac returned his gaze to the stars. His daughter would be born within a week.
His beloved Chrysla would be a mother. And me . . . a father?
Bits of memory, of Targa, and blood and fear, lingered in his mind. Birth was so traumatic, for a man-or a whole species.
While on a world far away....
The waves washed out of the darkness, white and roiling as they boiled up over Staft's bare feet. His right foot still itched a little-the result of hurrying the regeneration process-but a bit of discomfort was well worth the price to stand here, head thrown back, staring at the hundreds of thousands of stars that twinkled in the velvet black of the night sky. The constellations looked so different, clear, twinkling instead of smeared.
The air carried a special scent, that of water and damp sand mixed with a pungent organic odor. Yet another of the waves pounded past his toes, depositing grains of sand on his pale skin.
Looking up, he couldn't pick out the reflection of Chrysla, but she hung in orbit up there, watching him even now. An animal howled in the night, almost drowned.by the
zizzing of the insects. How much time did he bridge like this? How far back-to what origins? Could he extend his senses and touch that essence of humanity here in the warm night?
The waters of Lake Turkhana caressed him yet again, absolving him of the sins, of the billions of dead out there
beyond his vision. Even the sight of the stars, unblemished by the smearing gravitational lens, helped to restore his soul.
"What do you see?" Skyla asked as she came to take his hand, and let the waters rush around her booted feet. "The future, I suppose. And the past."
She leaned against him. "Worried?"
"No. They're doing fine. It's a new order, a new peace." Skyla slapped one of the biting insects that liked her human taste. "It's a wonder any of our ancestors made it. I don't like Africa. Everything wants to eat you from the littlest mite right up to those big cats."
"Yes, indeed. We're living a fantasy, you know. The only quirk is that it's true. " And he could remember the desperate days in the desert, the lifeless stare of Peebal's sand-filled eyes. The sight of sewage running off of Kaylla's naked flesh. Absolution. Atonement.
She seemed to sense his wonder, and she leaned against him, head back to share the night. Finally, gently, she said, "Sinklar and Adze finally made it back.
Sink thinks he's found a fossil. He's dying to show you."
"Indeed?" They'd found human beings here. The ruins of the cities might be filled with debris, grown over by plants, but people still survived in tribal groups, living by hunting and gathering, occasionally involved in horticulture.
From the initial survey, it appeared that an asteroid had fallen into the Atlantic Ocean about five thousand years ago, effectively ruining civilization. Staffa slitted his eyes as he stared into the night sky. At the same time the Forbidden Borders went up? Too much coincidence. We know about you now. We won't be trapped by you again.
Skyla hugged him. "Come on. Let's get back to the fire. One of these lions might eat you, otherwise.. "
"Let one try. I've tamed more fearful beasts in my time." Her voice softened.
"I know. And later tonight, you can try and tame me. That is, if you're up to it, fat boy. And you don't need to worry about pulling out my hair."
"I look forward to it. " He pulled her around and hugged her close, kissing her and enjoying the scent of her iceblonde hair.
He had everything now, atonement, the future-and his beloved Skyla.
Also By W.Michael Gear
Spider trilogy
People Books - First North Americans (with Kathleen O'Neal Gear)
The Richard Hamilton Duology
Anasazi Mysteries
Other Novels
The Big Horn Legacy (1988)
Long Ride Home (1988)
The Artifact (1990)
Starstrike (
1990)
Dark Inheritance (2001) (with Kathleen O'Neal Gear)
Raising Abel (2002) (with Kathleen O'Neal Gear)
The Athena Factor (2005)
The Betrayal. The Lost Life of Jesus (2008) (with Kathleen O'Neal Gear)
Children of the Dawnland (2009) (with Kathleen O'Neal Gear)
About the author
W. Michael Gear is an American writer, and archaeologist born in Colorado Springs, Colorado on May 20, 1955. He is perhaps best known for his First North Americans series, co-authored with wife Kathleen O'Neal Gear. Gear currently resides in Thermopolis, Wyoming along with wife, fellow author and co-writer Kathleen O'Neal Gear.
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