After seven weeks of travel, armed pickets began to appear again at the jump gates. We were stopped twice, endured inspections and hard questioning. I asked several trader captains about that. Their hints implied what I suspected. We passed Lokhar worlds now, and tigers were busy choosing sides for what appeared to be a brewing civil war.
On the ninth week after our encounter with Senior Razor Dagon, we neared Horus. Then, we finally had a breakthrough in a critical area.
I shot pool with Dmitri. Let me rephrase that. I stood beside the pool table with a stick in hand, watching Dmitri school me on the game.
Ella walked through the hatch. Crack. Dmitri shot, and I heard another billiard ball drop into a pocket. I’d hoped her appearance might have disrupted his concentration. No such luck.
“Ella,” Dmitri said, as he walked around the table.
“Dmitri,” she said, before giving me a significant glance.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“We’re a day out from the second to last jump gate,” she said.
“Uh-huh,” I said, watching Dmitri sink another ball.
“N7 finally hacked a planetary data core,” she said.
“What?” I asked. “The packet didn’t self-erase?”
“No,” she said.
I put up my pool stick. That finally got Dmitri’s attention.
“Where are you going?” he asked, looking up.
“Didn’t you hear Ella?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“Two more jumps and we’re at Horus.”
“We already know that,” Dmitri said, shrugging. “That still gives us plenty of time to finish the game.”
“Not me,” I said. “N7 finally hacked a data core. It’s time to plan.”
“After the game, yes?” Dmitri asked.
“Go,” I told Ella, making shooing motions. She raised an eyebrow. I made urgent shooing motions.
Finally, she headed out of the hatch. I followed as Dmitri cracked another billiard ball.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“I’m tired of watching him win all the time.”
Ella rolled her eyes and continued down the corridor. “Humanity’s future is at stake, and you’re worried about losing another game of pool?”
The way she put it, that sounded childish. Just once, though, I would have liked to beat Dmitri.
Ten minutes later, I stood with Ella in the chart room. N7 had hacked something called A Jade League Catalog of Planets and Customs. In essence, we googled the information from a hijacked alien computer core.
If some are wondering why, after eight years ,we had so little interstellar information on the Jade League, the answer was simple. In many ways, the Lokhars ran the league just as the Soviets had run the Russian Empire called the USSR. In those days, good maps had been the next thing to state secrets. We’d been having a bear of a time getting real data on the inner Lokhar worlds.
Ella and I used separate readers, ingesting the information. Twenty minutes later, N7 showed up. Our android began to sped-read files.
We discovered a few interesting facts about Horus and its star system. It possessed a G-class star with a single planet. There were no asteroids, meteors, comets, nothing, just the planet and its star. Despite its being a swamp world, the planet had desert poles with huge cracks in the rocky surface. Hot oceans separated the poles from the central continent. There, life thrived in marshy abundance. Steam rose constantly and thick fogs drifted everywhere. A high mountain range provided the living area for the Lokhars. In that region grew giant trees and large predatory snakes.
The compendium didn’t say why Purple Tamika had chosen Horus as their shrine planet. I would have dearly liked to know. A single short entry suggested the Shi-Feng used Horus as a training center.
I set down my reader. Hadn’t Doctor Sant told me no one spoke about the Shi-Feng? Why did this data chip have information about them then? Shrugging, I stretched my back and continued reading.
The planet lacked mineral resources, manufacturing centers and did not appear to produce art of any kind. So what good was it?
“Maybe it used to be a prison planet,” Ella said. “Long ago, the elders of Purple Tamika were exiled on the mountains. They rose up and came back to win the empire. Hence, they turned Horus into a shrine planet.”
“Maybe,” I said.
“I have a different theory,” N7 said. “The planet appears to have religious significance.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
N7 tapped his reader. “I just read about an ancient Forerunner city. Eons ago, it sank into the world ocean.”
“Ah,” Ella said. “It appears they have an Atlantis myth. This is interesting.”
“Pardon?” N7 asked her.
“Forget about Atlantis,” I said. “What about this sunken city?”
N7 blinked twice before continuing. “Purple Tamika excavates the underwater city. Yet the procedure is perilous. Water monsters constantly attack the submarines. Underwater volcanoes spew hot mud and ash on the finds. Still the priests search through the watery ruins for clues to the First Ones.”
“Okay,” I said, “Horus appears to be a religious shrine planet. I seem to recall Shah Claath talking about a shrine planet before.”
“You refer to the Sigma Draconis system,” N7 said. “Shah Claath and his brethren wanted something from the planetary shrine. That is why we attacked the Planetary Defense Station.”
“That’s old news,” I said. “I want to know where this Hall of Honor is located. Have you found out yet?”
N7 pointed at a screen chart. It showed the small habitable area on the central mountain plateau. “The hall lies in the city of Zelambre,” he said. “It is the largest metropolitan center on Horus, complete with a spaceport.”
“Give me a magnification of Zelambre,” I said.
N7 did, showing us a dismal place. Mist drifted over wide canals crisscrossing a city built of log cabins, log palaces and log stadiums. Big motorized dugout canoes traversed the waterways as they used to in Venice, Italy.
“Seems primitive for a spacefaring race,” I said.
“Since Purple Tamika could presumably build any type of city they desired,” Ella said, “we can surmise they raised Zelambre this way for a reason.”
“Sure,” I said. “It’s still primitive.”
“That might make sense for a religious center,” she said.
“No,” I said. “The Forerunner city is underwater in the ocean, not perched in the mountains. Zelambre houses the Hall of Honor. That’s not religious.”
“Maybe the two are related,” Ella said. “Maybe honor is part of their religion.”
“Whatever,” I said. “In the end, it doesn’t matter for our strike. What are their orbital defenses like? Have you found anything about that?”
“The compendium did not specify the planetary defenses,” N7 said.
With my elbows on a table, I bent my head, rubbing my temples. “It’s strange when you think about it. We’ve come all this way to hit them in the heart, and the planet turns out to be a primitive place stuck in a swamp.”
“It is Purple Tamika’s origin point,” N7 said. “Clearly, they wish to preserve it in its original state.”
“Well, parts of it are primitive,” I said. “The oceanography shows us they’re willing to use modern technology to search the ancient city.”
“That is an astute observation,” N7 said.
“Yeah,” I said. “Well, it looks like we’ll have to wait to make our final plans until we see how well they guard the planet.”
“Another three days should bring us to Horus,” Ella said.
I stared at the orbital shot of the log city. It must have been taken on one of the rare clear days. Clouds normally covered every inch of the planet. It was strange. The Emperor brought a crusading armada against the poisoned Earth. Many hundreds of light years away, we readied to strike a primitive swamp world.
&nb
sp; If we won here, could we get back home in time to stop the Emperor? I had no idea. I just knew I was going to try with everything I had.
***
That sleep period on my cot, I wondered just how sacred these shrine planets were to the Lokhars and to the other Jade League members. The aliens had formed their league to halt the depredations of the Jelk Corporation. The league races protected the artifacts. I’d been with Claath when he attacked a shrine planet at the Sigma Draconis system. The Jelk fixation on the planetary shrine had helped to give us assault troopers time to make our play for freedom.
The historical Vikings had struck at Christian monasteries in the Dark Ages. Among the Christian princes and kings of England, France and Germany, such places were held in reverence. The Viking raids against the Church had shocked the Christians of that era. Since the Vikings had originally been pagans, worshiping Odin and Thor, they hadn’t given a fig about insulting God or Christ.
How would the Jade League races react to our attack against the Purple Tamika Hall of Honor? Would it outrage the Lokhars? Would it outrage other aliens to such an extent that they would unite even more vigorously against humanity?
I had no idea. If we were lucky, the Lokhars would guard their Hall of Honor with as much force as the medieval Christians had originally guarded the monasteries, which was to say, not at all.
We were the Star Vikings, and we planned to hit Purple Tamika where it hurt the most.
-25-
Coming out of the Horus jump gate, we found ourselves half a million kilometers from the planet.
A picket ship twice the size of the Achilles hidden in the belly of the Peru moved leisurely toward us.
“His particle beam cannons are activating,” Ella told me.
“Hail the ship,” I said.
Ella did so, finally saying, “He wants to know why we’re here.”
“Can you put the speaker on the screen?”
“He won’t agree to that,” Ella told me, “says it is against Horus custom.”
“Tell him we’re gem traders. We had a good season of trade. In order to show our appreciation, we are going to place our three best gems in the planetary shrine.”
Ella relayed the message. Putting a forefinger onto her earbud, she listened to his reply. Finally, she told me, “He likes your story, Commander. The particle beam cannons have gone offline. We’re to proceed to the planet.”
“Is he giving us an escort?” I asked.
“Negative, Commander. I imagine he trusts us.”
I eyed Ella, wondering if that was supposed to be a barb. In any case, the Peru headed for the planet.
It soon became apparent that many spaceships orbited Horus, more than we’d expected.
“I’m counting three hundred spacecraft all told,” Ella said.
“Are they all military vessels?” I asked.
“No. Traders, what I take to be yachts, system craft, escort vehicles and a few large battle cruisers and carriers.”
I exhaled sharply, watching the screen, studying the strange world. The desert poles with their visible cracks reminded me of the old Martian canals. There weren’t any on the Red Planet, but in the good old days, people thought Mars did have canals. Some of the oldest pictures showing the planet had them, with artists having penciled them in.
Now, I viewed a world that seemed to have a massive drainage system. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
For the next several hours, the Peru headed for Horus.
Ella began picking out the orbitals. They were ugly constructs with heavy armor and big plasma cannons. The Lokhar meant to protect this world.
Soon enough, the largest space station hailed us. The operator gave us a flight schedule to bring us into low orbit. Horus might have old-fashioned log cities, but there was nothing ancient or decrepit about the planetary defenses.
Too soon, the Peru braked. In another three hours, we would be in orbit.
“Do you still think we can do this?” Ella asked me.
“It doesn’t matter what I think. We’re going to try.”
Ella nodded.
I stood. “I’m going to get ready.”
“Good luck, Commander,” she said.
Nodding tersely, I stalked off the bridge.
***
As such things went, the Peru was a small trader, well able to land on a gravity surface.
Ella asked the space station commander for permission to land at Zelambre’s spaceport. The operator told her we would have to wait several days. Health inspectors would have to board the ship first and clear us.
By now, we knew regular Lokhar customs and had expected this. Fortunately, we had ten stealth pods. They were military grade insertion devices stolen from Sanakaht. Made for bigger and heavier Lokhar maniples, it gave each arban enough space to bring their DZ9 air-cycles.
The Peru orbited Horus five times before Zoe brought the Achilles out of the transport’s belly. The patrol boat’s sides showed Lokhar lettering. The vessel’s computer held Purple Tamika codes from Sanakaht. We’d been saving that, along with a trick I’d learned in hyperspace from Shah Claath.
The two ships orbited side by side in order to show one radar signature. Finally, zero hour approached. It was night in swampy Zelambre, with first light still hours away.
One by one, we maneuvered the stealth pods out of the Peru’s cargo hold and into space. In low orbit over Horus, Star Vikings using thruster packs glided their air-cycles into the drop pods.
Soon, it was my turn. I secured my DZ9 to a rack and then settled into one myself. I wore my symbiotic skin and carried my Bahnkouv along with a Lokhar machine gun and a satchel of sonic grenades.
N7, in his cyber-armor, sat webbed in at the drop pod’s controls.
“Ready, Commander?” the android asked me.
“What does Zoe say?” I asked.
“Everyone is in position, Commander.”
My gut tightened into a tiny ball, squeezing harder and harder. Man, I had to go to the head and take a piss. My stomach seethed, and I found myself trembling with anticipation. I had a bitter surprise for the tigers. Not only would we act like Star Vikings, but the worst sort of vandals, which seemed just in a way.
The word came from an old German tribe called Vandals. In the bad old days of the failing Roman Empire, they had raided the borders. Eventually, the Vandals crossed into Spain and forded the Strait of Gibraltar into North Africa. There, they marched on the Roman city of Carthage. They took it, and became the worst sort of pirates—the Vikings of their age. Anyway, a day came when their greatest king, a man named Gaiseric, sailed upon Rome and sacked it. His warriors looted in such a thorough and savage fashion that people coined the phrase, “Looting like Vandals.” In time, the word vandal came to mean “wanton destruction.”
I planned on some wanton destruction down on Horus but for a tactical reason. Maybe future generations would curse me, but I didn’t care. I wanted to save humanity, and for that, I would do just about anything. I didn’t give a damn if the Horus tigers had to pay for what other Lokhars had done to Earth. They should have left us alone. That’s all I care say about that.
“Let’s do this,” I told N7. “Let’s show the Purple Lokhars that payback is a bitch.”
***
The stealth drop reminded me of my days with the Jelk Corporation in one particular. We couldn’t see a thing going in.
With cold jets of propulsion so we didn’t give ourselves away with a heat signature, the black drop pod maneuvered for the atmosphere. Internal anti-gravity chutes whined inside the pod. The plunging sensation reminded me of Great America as a kid. I’d ridden the Drop Zone hundreds of times. The ride had gone straight up. Then, it released, and you dropped straight down. Maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad in the pod if I could have seen outside.
Around me, assault troopers groaned. Others clenched their teeth. We fell and fell toward Horus. Time lost meaning. The plunge seemed to go on forever. Then
, with a lurch, the dropping sensation departed. We floated, and the high whining inside the pod ceased.
A ragged cheer went up from the troopers.
“Has anyone spotted us?” I asked N7.
“No radar has touched the outer surface,” he said, with his face pressed against the view plate.
That brought another cheer.
The minutes ticked by. Finally, N7 said, “Landing in thirty seconds. As desired, we’re headed for a vast body of water.”
I waited, and the stealth pod struck the surface. That caused the entire structure to tremble. One air-cycle fell out of its restraints and hit the deck with a crash and raining of parts.
The entire compartment surged upward as if carried by a huge swell.
“There are waves,” N7 said needlessly. “The sides will blow away in three, two, one…”
A sudden shudder caused the sides of the stealth pod to explode outward. I watched one big piece tumble end over end. One hundred meters away, it struck the dark waters with a splash.
At the same time, a wave rolled into our compartment, soaking three troopers.
“Get on your cycles!” I shouted. “Start them up. Get airborne.”
I yanked the release cord and guided my DZ9 in a controlled descent onto the sloshing deck. The entire pod had already begun to sink. More waves rolled toward us. With a jump, I crashed onto the saddle. My thumb pushed the starter. Nothing happened. Around me, other cycles sputtered into mechanical life.
The waves seemed to get bigger and faster the longer we were in the water.
I shoved my thumb against the starter and told the cycle some choice words. That must have done it. My air-mount hummed with sound. I twisted the throttle and the machine rose just in time to avoid the wave.
Unfortunately, two troopers failed to do what the rest of us had. The wave catapulted a DZ9 over the deck and into the soup. It plopped out of sight, sinking. The other cycle slid for the edge but the trooper grabbed it. Using steroid-68 strength magnified by her symbiotic armor, she stopped the machine from reaching the ocean. Straddling the bike, she started it and rose into the air.
The arban leader shouted orders. An air-cycle dipped low, and the stranded trooper climbed aboard as a passenger.
Star Viking (Extinction Wars Book 3) Page 24