Tanner shoved off the Dark Star. As he did, weightlessness took over. He drifted toward the “sled”.
Various metal boxes had been bolted to the disc. Tanner had no idea what they held.
The centurion floated until his gloved hands grasped a bar. He pulled himself onto the sled. Acton’s mirrored visor glanced his way, going up and down. Otherwise, there was no communication between them.
Tanner looked around. He saw lines attached to the Lithians’ spacesuits and a line for him. Finding it difficult to do with his gloves, he finally managed to hook himself to the sled. Afterward, he waited.
The waiting took too long, so Tanner began looking around. He spied the star field behind them. That was home. That was Remus. Go long enough up the spiral arm and one would reach Manhome—Earth. Had Acton really traveled that far to get here?
Tanner studied the stars. It was strange, this star system was filled with deadly devices, but he didn’t see any of them from here.
Motion caught his eye. He glanced at the Dark Star. The sled had floated so he could spy the main port window. Greco waved to him from inside.
Tanner felt a keen sense of loneliness. He raised his right arm, waving back. Would he ever see Greco again? Would he ever get back into the Dark Star? Would he return and pick up his quest to kiss Ursa Varus. She was a patrician. He was a plebian.
“What’s that matter when boys meets girl?” Tanner snorted to himself. Who was he kidding? Sometimes, that meant everything.
The sled lurched under him. Grabbing one of the bars harder than ever, Tanner looked at the Shand. Acton stood at the central control, tapping. Tanner looked at the Dark Star. They had moved farther away from it. Acton’s crazy sled worked after all. Now, could it get them down onto Planet Zero?
They drifted slowly, leaving the raider behind. As they moved, Tanner sidled toward the edge. He looked down at the dusty planet. It had few clouds, wispy white forms. Most of the world looked yellowish and bleak. There were touches of blue, the few lakes. Somewhere down in that mass was the monstrous terraforming plant. Acton had never gotten around to telling them who had built it and when. For that matter, the Shand hadn’t told them the true story about the wandering gas giant outside the system. Tanner bet Acton knew how those things had happened. The Shand said he was being honest, but he wasn’t telling them all his secrets. Maybe he’d left out some key tidbits about Phazes and Web Minds.
Tanner shook his head. He shouldn’t worry about that now. He should enjoy this. He floated down toward the planet of destiny. Would he survive the fall? Would the nuclear-tipped missiles rain down while he was exploring underground?
Despite his best efforts, Tanner shivered. This was different than facing Coalition soldiers. It was different than hunting down Keg and other ruffians as a bounty hunter. This was grand. It was impossible and it was terrifying rather than exciting.
Tanner chuckled suddenly. He knew how to overcome his fear. He would force himself to accept the mission. He would decide to fight like a warrior, a centurion. He would live or die, but he would do it courageously. He would laugh at death and danger.
As Tanner told himself these things, the disc continued its steady descent toward the surface. This was unlike the plunge onto Avernus. Nothing went by fast.
I can take time to enjoy the ride.
Tanner grinned inside his helmet. He was doing it. He was getting into this. He had a weapon made to kill Phazes. He would find these galaxy invaders and—
The disc shuddered. Tanner felt the vibration in his hands. He looked at Acton. The Shand blew backward, his boots leaving the deck as he headed upward. The leash snapped tight, and that yanked Acton back down toward the deck.
Reacting without thinking, Tanner leaped for the alien. His own line played out, and it was longer than Acton’s. He reached the Shand, caught him and helped absorb some of the blow as the two of them struck the central column.
Tanner managed to grasp a bar. So did Acton. At that point, the sled began to plummet toward the distant surface far below.
-46-
Tanner felt the slightest tug of gravity. He didn’t believe it was his imagination. The disc went down, although there was nothing yet to let him see that. Maybe it was his old space-strike training kicking in.
This isn’t going to be anything like the dive down onto Avernus.
Faster than he could believe, the disc would begin to wobble from air resistance. Then, it would tumble end over end. Soon after that, they would spin. Likely, the blood would rush out of his head, rendering him unconscious. He wouldn’t realize they’d failed. He’d just—
Do something, damnit! You’re paralyzed with fear or indecision. What good is that?
Tanner reached down, grabbing Acton by the shoulders. He shook the Shand. When nothing happened, he shook the Shand harder. He would make Acton’s head rattle back and forth in the helmet.
Suddenly, with a start, Acton reached up. Had the Shand been unconscious? Had the sailing up, down and hitting hard done that? Since they were keeping communication silence, Tanner didn’t dare ask.
Acton clawed his way up the control column. He stood there, tapping, searching the screen and tapping more.
How long until we begin heating up? Tanner wondered. Would the orbital sensors pick them up then? Would that be enough to cause a few nukes to drop or would a laser platform take them out?
Tanner watched the Shand work frantically. It wound Tanner up inside, and he didn’t see how that was going to help him. Why should he spend his last few minutes in life fretting? Maybe he should think about all the wonderful times in his life. He should—
The gravity sled wobbled.
“It’s beginning,” Tanner told himself. He found himself gripping a bar with all his strength. With an act of will, he let go. Shuffling his boots, he worked to the edge.
The disc wobbled worse than before.
Motion at the corner of his eye caused Tanner to turn all the way around. A Lithian stumbled. The big man staggered backward. Had he lost his balance? The disc wobbled again, violently. That pitched the Lithian upward.
Tanner had grabbed a bar before the same thing happened to him.
Gravity must have taken hold of their craft. They’d fallen far enough now to reach the slightest wind resistance. The Lithian shot outward and then down. At that point, his safety line snapped, the end disappearing as it slithered over the edge.
Tanner frowned. That didn’t seem right. He felt bad for the big fellow, certainly, but they were all dead, right? This was the end. They had failed because the sled had proven a bust.
Why did the Lithian fall like that? We’re both falling at the same velocity, aren’t we? Yet, the giant plunged over the edge.
It finally struck the centurion. They weren’t falling at the same velocity. That meant Acton had brought the gravity sled under control, or at least partial control.
The Lithian—
Tanner leaned over, searching. The Lithian had almost become a dot. He could see the giant’s flailing limbs.
If the sled is working, that means the Lithian need not have died.
The realization brought a pang of grief for the Lithian. Was it the one who had bumped his head on the corridor ceiling what seemed like a lifetime ago now? With the grief came another shock. Would a sensor pick up his falling body? Acton had said before some sensors could pick up a flesh and blood creature doing a planet dive. If that was true—
“We may all be dead and just don’t know it yet,” Tanner muttered.
He breathed sharply through his nostrils. He used his bar, gripping hand-over-hand to the center control column. He tapped Acton on the shoulder.
The Shand turned a mirrored visor to him.
Tanner pointed where the Lithian used to be. Acton turned that way, staring for a time. Finally, the Shand regarded him, moving the helmet up and down. Afterward, Acton hunched over the controls, manipulating them with a will.
Tanner still hung on. At the begi
nning, it had been dark around them, with the world spreading out in a hazy curvature. Now, the darkness had begun to lighten. The centurion could no longer see the curve of the planet. Instead, a vast dusky field spread from one end of the horizon to the other.
They were coming down onto Planet Zero. After all this time, he was doing it. Now, finally, fear, worry and the other accompanying emotions fought for his attention. Tanner struggled to compose himself. It was harder than it should be.
He studied the boxes bolted onto the gravity sled. One of them must hold whatever it was that Acton hoped to use against a Phaze.
Could they kill a thing that took centuries to cross between galaxies? It seemed incredible. What did the Phaze eat during all that time? How did it sustain itself? Or did the act of passage occur in some sort of timeless stasis?
Tanner gave a humorless chuckle and fixed his thoughts on the mission. He stood there, enduring, as the Shand guided the gravity sled onto the last planet in their galaxy.
***
What seemed a long, long time later, the gravity sled gently lowered toward toy-like mountains. This was like riding a slow-moving elevator. The dark of space had long ago departed. Now, a blazing orange color filled the sky. Greco had mentioned the phenomenon a few days ago.
Tiny rusty particles filled the air. They gave the world the orange color. Remus’s sky used to look like this during certain sunsets. Here, the entire sky was a blaze of gold and orange. It seemed right, somehow.
Tanner looked everywhere. The sky was devoid of clouds. High above them, the Dark Star waited. How many times would the others orbit Planet Zero before they learned whether he and Acton had won or lost?
For the hundredth time, Tanner studied the approaching mountains. They were bare. Not a single blade of grass grew on Planet Zero, at least, none that he had seen. He saw dust devils, rust-colored grit swirling across a lifeless landscape.
How long ago had it been since the Old Federation had walked on the planet’s surface? Despite himself, despite the grimness of the mission and the craziness of the situation, Tanner grinned. This was stunning.
Then, the gravity sled shifted with a lurch. It began moving faster, but to the left this time instead of straight down.
Tanner kept his eyes on the nearest mountain. They were circling it. Then he saw the hole. It wasn’t just a large hole. It was as big as the mountain. The hole could have swallowed a small town. How far down did it go?
Tanner moaned involuntarily. He wasn’t proud of it, but he had seen the tracks. They were large, like train tracks, and gleamed silvery in the orange light.
The gravity sled no longer slid to the side. It was over the giant hole. Worse, to Tanner’s horror, the disc began dropping again. It did so faster than before, although it wasn’t quite plunging. Without a doubt, they headed straight down for the hole.
Are we going to go into it?
Tanner looked up as the last Lithian tore at the buckles of his helmet. The man-creature seemed frantic. The centurion glanced at Acton. The Shand motioned with his gloved hand, making the move of drawing a gun and firing at the Lithian.
Was that right, though?
Acton repeated the gesture more urgently than before.
Tanner would have to dig into his spacesuit to get his blaster. Not only did he not want to kill the Lithian. He didn’t want to open himself to the elements yet.
The blue-skinned Lithian succeeded. He tore off the helmet and roared at Acton. Tanner could hear the sound through his helmet. The creature’s skin shined, literally shined, as if alight.
The Shand watched the Lithian closely and ducked. The helmet whizzed past the lean Acton, to sail over the edge of the disc and curve down toward the hole.
The Lithian roared again. It was a lonesome cry, filled with poignancy. Grabbing its safety line, the Lithian tore it free. Then, it lurched toward the boxes. With a fixed gaze, the Lithian went for the nearest one.
The gravity sled tilted to one side. That threw Tanner, catching him by surprise. His helmet conked against a bar. Fortunately, he had padding in the helmet. He flailed and grabbed a bar, barely did it in time.
The sled flipped in the other direction. Was Acton trying to catapult the Lithian off the sled? Tanner managed to look up. The blue giant clung to a bar, bawling in terror.
Tanner looked over. Acton didn’t pay him the slightest heed. The Shand had hooked himself to the control column. With his gloved fingers, he manipulated the panel.
The gravity sled straightened and plunged down. Tanner felt his boots and then his body lifting from the disc. Looking over, the saw the same had happened to the Lithian. The giant clung on grimly even as huge tears streamed from his eyes.
Abruptly, the disc slowed and seemed to wobble. Were they losing power? No. The wobbling stopped. They continued down under power.
Tanner held onto the bar even as he studied the Lithian. The blue giant clung to his bar. He no longer wept nor did his skin shine like before. Still, he eyed the nearest box with almost total fixation. A glance in Acton’s direction showed Tanner the Shand watched his creature.
What was going on with the Lithian?
For the next little while, each of them maintained the same pose. Finally, though, the Lithian dared to loosen his grip. He began working toward the box.
Tanner held on tight.
Abruptly, the gravity sled tilted. The Lithian bawled like a calf, a loud and dreadful sound unlike any sound Tanner had ever heard the Lithians make.
At that point, the sled dropped faster than ever. Sparks flew from the control column and smoke billowed. The craft wobbled violently because it was anything but aerodynamic. The Lithian cried out, tears flying once more.
Acton worked the controls desperately—
Once more, the wobbling quit, the gravity sled began floating and they entered the giant hole.
We did it. We’ve reached Planet Zero. Now, we’re going underground to hunt the energy beings and to kill the cyborgs waiting under the earth for us.
-47-
Clack Urbis plotted in his mind.
The germ of the idea had begun some time ago. He had risked himself several times on this assignment. Entering the Doom Star had been the greatest dare, and it gave him nominal control over the greatest starship in the Backus Cluster. Certainly, the Doom Star was greater than any warship in Coalition service.
He sat in the command webbing in the center of the vast vessel. It was several kilometers in diameter, stocked with awesome weaponry. On the screen, the dusty planet showed its bleakness.
That was the target. After the search teams had studied the ship’s records these past days, everyone agreed the cyborgs had landed there.
Clack glanced at the bridge crew. Many had come from the Bela Kun. He trusted those the most, but he wasn’t sure yet that they would…
Dare I even say the word to myself? Mutiny. Not mutiny against the Coalition or social unity, but mutiny against the monster in charge of the expeditionary fleet.
Clack had brought an interrogation team with him on the sly, sure that Admiral “Hatchet” hadn’t noticed. His team would help him convince the others. The true resister would be the commodore, one of the admiral’s henchmen who had joined the ship party. The commodore controlled the security team of hard-eyed combat veterans.
The Doom Star was vast. Clack had come across to it with seventy-three people. Most were technicians, experts in their field. It helped that Old Federation ways were similar to Coalition warship methods.
“I’ve detected another cluster of mines, sir,” weapons said. It was the same weapons man as had been aboard the Bela Kun.
“Did you give these mines the coded signal yet?” Clack asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Did the mines respond?”
“All but one, sir. That one’s protocol seems to be off.”
“Shoot it.”
Weapons nervously licked his lips. “Uh…”
“You have a comment you
wish to make?” Clack said.
“I’m not sure firing on the mine would be wise, sir. That might begin a chain-reaction among the other mines.”
“Oh. Yes. Well, keep working on the protocol code. We’re not going to stop now.”
“Yes, sir,” weapons said.
Clack studied the main screen. They had passed the last outer system gas giant. None of the orbital laser platforms there had fired upon the Doom Star. No moon turret had washed them with radar. Each had responded to the Old Federation codes to stand down.
It had been the second thing the search parties had looked for. The first had been ship controls.
Now, the Doom Star zoomed through the system at a fantastic velocity. It had left the other ships far behind on the edge of the system. Admiral “Hatchet” played it safe. She had decided on the maneuver quite some time ago. Clack had already decided how to play this part of it. The Doom Star would continue to plow through the system, deactivating the various weapons platforms and turrets.
None of the sensor people had found the Dark Star yet. In spite of that, Clack still believed they were here. His people had spotted the orbital missiles circling the last planet. They had discovered sensor devices among the missiles. And to add to—
“Sir,” sensors said. “I’m picking up an anomaly on the planet.”
Clack sat up. “On the planet, is that what you said?”
“Yes, sir,” sensors said.
“Tell me. What is it?”
“A metallic object, sir,” sensors said. “This is unbelievable. I’ve never seen sensor readings like this. I do believe I’m detecting three life-forms on the object.”
“On the planet?” Clack said.
“Oh!” sensors said in surprise.
“What now?”
“They’re gone, sir. The object and the life forms have vanished from my board.”
“Was there a malfunction in your equipment?”
“No, sir. They’re just gone.”
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