by John Vassar
It explained to him why there were harvest worlds and why they were so far distant from Vis’haan. Because if the population knew what happened on those worlds, society as they knew it would collapse. And the truth was a vile, disgusting truth that had to remain secret. The prey could never be slaughtered humanely. There was only one way for alien flesh to be palatable to a Vis’haani.
It had to die in abject fear.
This was the message that was pounded into his mind. This was the way it had always been. It was necessary.
He accepted this now, understood why he had been selected. He was the most intelligent of his generation. He was the logical choice. He also understood that at the end of the dark tunnel, whether he was successful in his mission of not, there lay destruction. Violence.
Death.
He looked up. Somehow the room had become much bigger. There was a gaping hole in the roof and he could see the stars. A strange object hovered above him which he thought he recognised for a moment. Without warning, it fired a shot of something at him, hitting the ground at his feet. He stood motionless as the door burst open and the male ‘Elder’ strode into the room.
‘Ja’faal! They have come for you!’
Another burst of light hit him on the shoulder, but he did not fall or feel any pain. What was this thing? Why was it attacking him?
The male’s voice shrieked at him, ‘You must fight! Do you understand, Ja’faal? You must fight back!’
36
There was nothing between Hirayama-Y and Cytec assembly plant T-1. Nothing that would constitute a target for a CYF. Lee Mitchell stood, invisible, on the surface of a small, nameless crater and watched the glowing cloud in the distance. He wondered if Gem and Dunny had been picked up before the detonation. If not, there was a slim chance they may still be alive, unlike the rest of the personnel at the base. At least a hundred souls. A hundred lives snuffed out in the wink of an eye. Why? Why such a pointless waste of life?
‘We sense that you are concerned, Lee Mitchell.’
Concerned? Every ounce of Mitchell’s being wanted to rip the SenANNs apart. Without them, he would have given up on Devlin’s mission long ago. Taken the easy way out. The way that meant everyone at Hirayama-Y would still be alive right now.
‘We predict that this is one of the occasions We spoke of earlier.’
“What?”
‘An occasion where Our intervention may prove beneficial.’
“I think it may be a little late for that.”
‘We have further information for you. The event you have just witnessed was due to a Contained Yield Fission device. The yield energy was approximately eight hundred terajoules and the detonation point was two-point-five kilometres from the southern boundary of Hirayama-Y Survey Base.’
Mitchell dared to believe. “What is the yield radius of an eight-hundred terajoule CYF?”
‘Assuming the weapon was deployed by FedStat forces and delivered via a Cruiser-Class vehicle, exactly two kilometres.’
His heart leapt. “Then they missed the base. Deliberately.”
‘That is also Our prediction. We are the same, but We are different.’
Mitchell breathed again. “You were right. This is one of those occasions. But who ordered the strike, and who were they trying to deceive by missing the target?”
‘We predict that the CYF was deployed by FedStat, although Our Brother at Lomonosov is unable to verify the type of craft utilised. We predict that the vehicles involved were under the protection of cam circuitry. We are unable to predict who ordered the deployment of the CYF.’
“The two people I left on the lunar surface. Can you ascertain if they survived?”
‘There is much coms traffic at present due to the CYF event. However, We are aware that a vehicle sent in response to the distress call from Senior Geologist Gem Telson is reported as missing.’
They could have survived the blast - if the rescue craft was already close to base when the CYF was deployed. If not, they’d have been right underneath it.
Mitchell turned away from the glow and called up the plan of T-1’s original entry points. The central emergency access shaft was less than twenty metres away, but there was nothing on the surface to indicate its position. The most powerful weapon at his disposal was the cam-suit micro-rifle and he prayed it would be enough to get through whatever he found under the layers of dust. He reached the location and set the micro-rifle for a two-metre spread at a distance of five from his target. He squatted low and aimed at a shallow angle to avoid being bounced upwards by the recoil when he hit a solid surface. The first shot sent up a spectacular cloud of dust and penetrated a metre or so. Mitchell waited a few minutes to let things settle, then fired again. The dust was thick now and he delivered a couple of bursts on a wide-field repulse setting to clear it away. This time, he saw what he had been waiting for. Although the surface appeared the same, it was now perfectly flat where the top layer had been pushed away. He was looking at a cam circuit interpretation.
He had found the top of something.
He made his way down the slope he had just created and felt a solid surface underfoot. The cam-suit was having trouble shedding the ultra-fine lunar dust particles - there was a slight anomaly between his overlaid virtual arms and the dust-covered real things. No matter. No-one was around to spot a ghostly astronaut digging up the Moon.
‘We ask your forgiveness once more, Lee Mitchell.’
“For what?”
‘Our prediction that Our intervention will be beneficial is still valid. We wish you to understand this before you make any judgement regarding Our decision.’
Mitchell stowed the micro-rifle and stood straight. “You’re talking in riddles. What’s the big secret?”
Before the SenANNs had chance to respond, Mitchell saw what he thought was his own reflection in the slowly-settling silver cloud in front of him. The faint outline of a DS Agent, cam-suited, holding a micro-rifle pointing at himself.
Except that Mitchell’s own weapon had just been re-holstered.
‘Lee Mitchell, We have an update on the current location of Agent Charlis.’
37
The apparition came closer, keeping the rifle levelled. The cam-suited agent became fully visible and gave a cut-throat sign, ordering Mitchell to do likewise. Reluctantly, Mitchell obeyed, at the same time opening up the suit-to-suit coms facility. There was silence for a moment as the two men faced each other in the shallow pit.
Agent Charlis spoke first. ‘I’m sure you have questions. They will have to wait. We have less than two minutes to get back to the skimmer.’
He set off at pace. Mitchell stumbled and bounced behind him. He had ample opportunity and motive to pull his own micro-rifle and shoot the DS agent in the back, but something in Charlis’s voice had changed. There was also no escaping that Charlis could have done the same to him moments earlier.
The SenANNs had gone silent and Mitchell knew why.
Charlis first, though. Has he found Rayna?
The entry hatch to a Mark V pursuit skimmer appeared in front of them. Mitchell saw the imprints of the landing feet in the surface and the shallow depression of the repulsor field under the cloaked ship. Charlis entered first and allowed Mitchell past him, then headed towards the cockpit. ‘With me.’
At no-one’s invitation, Mitchell took the co-command seat. It barely had time to secure him before the skimmer lurched upwards and banked away in expert hands. At the edge of the crater, not far from the ‘requisitioned’ Snipe, they decelerated, U-turned and hovered at five hundred metres. Charlis raised the forward blast shield and switched to an airscreen sensor view. His eyes were locked on the area they had just vacated. ‘There have been developments you are unaware of.’
‘I’m sure,’ said Mitchell. ‘But I’m interested in just one. Have you found Rayna Ash?’
‘My guess is she’s right below us. A guest of Roderick Thorne at this covert but fully operational base.’ Charlis nodded at th
e main airscreen. ‘Here they come.’
Three ‘Ajax’ class cruisers came into view and positioned themselves equidistant from the camouflaged access shaft. Simultaneous volleys spat out from their ventral turrets and smashed into the surface, the tons of debris thrown up forcing two of the three pilots into some creative flying to hold position. The lead cruiser applied a wide repulsor beam to clear the remaining dust. The base’s cam circuitry was now out of action and a small fissure had appeared, belching atmosphere. There was light below. Both were from what Mitchell assumed had once been a landing bay. Agent Charlis said, ‘A little more, please, gentlemen.’
The cruisers responded and the roof structure collapsed inwards. There was now a triangular-shaped hole, forty metres across. Another repulsor blast cleared their view enough to confirm Mitchell’s landing bay theory.
‘Remain at battle-ready. We’re going in.’ Charlis threw the skimmer into the bay at a speed that had Mitchell gripping the armrests of his seat. Inside, they levelled out and hovered at fifteen metres. The bay was in fact a massive cargo handling area, its floor now strewn with concrex and titanium rubble. To starboard, scanners showed a small surface vessel half-buried at a crazy angle. Most of its systems were still active and two life-signs were displaying on Mitchell’s co-command station.
One of them was Rayna. He could feel it.
Her rescue would have to wait – Charlis’s priority would be to secure the area. Ahead of them, parked away from the debris, was the only other craft in the bay. It was the most beautiful vessel Mitchell had ever seen. Its surface was iridescent, its flowing lines suggesting light speed even when it was stationary. It was larger than a Mark V, with thrust nozzles that hinted at a much greater performance. Mitchell’s rapture was cut short.
‘Hostile at twenty degrees. Target acquired.’
Standing in the main cargo bay portal was the unmistakeable shape of sentinel-class autom. Mitchell’s blood ran cold. ‘That’s Thorne.’
And he’s in our sights. This may be the only chance we get at a clear shot.
‘Hostile appears to be inactive.’ Charlis turned to Mitchell and said, ‘What would you recommend?’
Mitchell looked at him askance. ‘You’re asking me?’
‘I am.’
‘No choice. We have a hostile SWS capable of deadly force in our sights. You don’t need me to tell you the protocol.’
‘I thought you might want to ask your friends first.’
‘What friends? I don’t have any left, remember?’
Charlis sighed, but his tone was anything but relaxed. ‘We don’t have time for this. Ask the SenANNs for their recommendation. I’m aware of your ‘special relationship’. They also gave me their theory on what that thing actually is. Why else would you be sitting here right now and not in the brig?’
Still glaring at Charlis, Mitchell silently summoned the SenANNs.
‘We are here, Lee Mitchell.’
“Can you confirm that the sentinel stationed approximately thirty metres in front of this vessel is the autom containing the intellect of Roderick Thorne?”
“We predict a ninety-three-point-six percent probability that this is the case.”
“Do you agree that we should destroy it?”
‘The autom is currently inactive. However, if it contains the essence of the one known as Roderick Thorne, your own laws require that he be tried for his crimes before such an action would be legal.’
Mitchell could not believe what he was hearing. “We have the opportunity to rid the world of this super-sceler and you’re arguing for his defence? You said yourselves that the consequences of his actions would be far-reaching.”
‘The consequences of an execution without trial would also be far-reaching. However, you are at liberty to make your own decision. You have asked for Our recommendation and We have given it.’
Charlis had been looking at Mitchell’s blank face for long enough. ‘Well?’
‘They’re saying it’s our decision. Their recommendation is that we capture it.’
‘I thought that would be their response. And they’re right. It isn’t just a piece of machinery any more that can be blasted away for our convenience.’
‘Why not?’ snapped Mitchell. ‘We have no proof that Thorne is in that thing. His corpse is lying on a slab at Sat-1 and all we have is a far-fetched theory that his soul has jumped ship.’
‘You believe it. Why else would you want it destroyed?’
Mitchell said nothing. He eyed the manual weapons control. Charlis leaned towards him, his voice lowered. ‘That Sentinel is Roderick Thorne as far as the SenANNs are concerned. We have no legal choice but to attempt an arrest.’ The DS agent looked at the massive, statuesque machine in the targeting system display in front of his eyes. ‘Of course, if it resists that arrest and we have to act in self-defence…’
For the first time since he had met him, Mitchell saw the faintest flicker of a smile pass across Charlis’s face. The DS man said, ‘For the sake of accuracy, I’ll start the process and take it as far as I can. I’m sure you’d like to finish the job. I’ll switch manual weapons to the co-command station when the time comes.’
Mitchell remembered Devlin’s parting words in the Sat-1 interrogation cell. Maybe Charlis has some hidden integrity too. At least he understands cold revenge.
Agent Charlis switched to full tactical. ‘Let’s see if we can wake up Mr Roderick Thorne.’
A low-yield energy bolt hit the ground a metre in front of the Sentinel. Mitchell monitored the scanners on an airscreen, wishing he had a full neural display. There was no reaction. Charlis fired again, this time hitting the Sentinel a glancing blow on its right shoulder. Mitchell’s pulse quickened. ‘That did it. Powering up.’
The Sentinel returned fire – but not at the skimmer. The bolt hit the crippled Widgeon in the nose section and the forward transparency shattered. A second shot hit the engine bay and the tiny craft shuddered. Thorne knew exactly what he was doing. Mitchell scanned the buggy and identified a fuel cell within seconds of giving way. ‘We need to get those people out of there, Charlis. Now.’
‘Understood. Our friend is on the move. Looks like we’ve lost our chance…’
The Sentinel had turned and vanished inside the complex. Charlis continued, ‘An SWS squad is on its way, he won’t get far. Let’s get those people out. I’ll get us in close if you suit up.’
Mitchell was already on his way aft. Inside the airlock he felt the skimmer touch down. He replaced the cam-suit helmet and prepared for an emergency evac. The hatch zipped outwards and Mitchell hit the deck at speed. He could see the Snipe’s own hatch being pushed from the inside but a twisted girder from the bay roof was preventing it from opening. There was enough gap for him to look into the eyes of a large man in a vac-suit. Mitchell indicated that he should step away. His micro-rifle cut through the obstacle at the second attempt and he wrenched open the hatch. Rayna Ash fell into his arms and he felt her shoulders trembling. He gestured to the man to follow as he half-dragged Rayna back to the skimmer. They lifted off and just cleared the cargo bay before the Widgeon’s fuel cell ruptured. The flames extinguished quickly in the virtual vacuum and the remains of the buggy bounced back into the rubble.
A few minutes later, in what passed for a crew room on a Mark V skimmer, Mitchell extended a hand to the burly man who had rescued Rayna. The grip was strong, but the man was silent. It was clear he had been through a lot.
‘His name is Victor,’ said Rayna, gently. ‘He saved my life.’
‘Thank you, Victor,’ said Mitchell. He propped himself next to Rayna on the deck and put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and he knew he’d made the right choice in breaking off the attack on Thorne.
Charlis comlinked from the cockpit, ‘I’m evacuating the civilians to T-13. We’ll de-brief there.’
Fine by me. Even if he ended up under DS arrest, he might get an idea of what Charlis had discovered. Mitchell wondered
if his chance to kill Harry’s murderer had gone. His cover was now well and truly blown. Lomonosov beckoned.
To the SenANNs, he said, “I think it’s time we had another talk.”
38
‘We are here, Lee Mitchell.’
“So is Agent Charlis. Care to explain that?”
‘We informed Agent Charlis of your whereabouts. We also informed him of Our theory concerning Roderick Deucalion Thorne and that We are in direct contact with you.’
“At least you’re not trying to deny it. So, it turns out your ‘intervention’ meant turning me over to Charlis.” Mitchell wished he had an image of the SenANNs to accuse. A face he could look into. “You lied to me.”
‘We are saddened that you interpret Our actions as disloyal. We had analysed every possible scenario and concluded that the effective rescue of Rayna Ash was best served if yourself and Agent Charlis joined forces. We also predict that this scenario gives the best chance of bringing Roderick Deucalion Thorne to justice. Our prediction regarding Rayna Ash has been proved valid. Did we misunderstand? Was this not your first priority?’
“You did not misunderstand. I just needed to hear your reasons. How much did you tell Charlis about how we are connected?”
‘We have stated that We are directly linked. We also revealed to Agent Charlis that Commander Nathaniel Devlin had re-equipped you with a neural link. It is Our belief that Agent Charlis has drawn his own conclusions from these statements. We have further recommendations. We are aware that Agent Charlis has ordered a squad of Sentinel Weapons System units to the site of Cytec T-1. We predict that this will be insufficient to overpower and capture Roderick Thorne.’