Kusac swung round to look at the small Cabbaran. “What do you suggest?” he asked after a moment.
“Not designed for all-out attack like this. Divide troops, make three attacks to force way in, makes AI spread thin, easier to gain access to house. Keeps attention on defenses not attacking us.”
He glanced at Kaid.
Do you trust him or not? sent his sword-brother.
“Unity, show me plans for the house,” he said. As they came up on the large screen, he and Kaid studied them.
“Jerenn, take Noolgoi, Manesh, and Cheelar with you. You’ll be Team Two. Tirak, you’ll be Team Three with Mrowbay, Banner and Jurrel, Kaid and T’Chebbi with you. With me in Team One will be Carrie, M’Nar, Rezac, Jo, Garras, and Annuur and his sept. Unity, land us outside the house. Team One’s target will be the front door. Team Two, your target is the patio door on the west wall. Team Three, your targets are the large windows in the east wall. You,” he snarled, drawing an arc with his sword that took in everyone in the council hall, “remember this isn’t over yet. Unity, take us to where Shaidan is.”
CHAPTER 12
Ghioass, mountain safe house
“HUNTER cub!” The translator rendered the voice from a series of melodic hums and clicks into Sholan. “Hunter cub! Come close.”
The sound was coming from the wall opposite him, by the door. Shaidan got up and went over to it. “Who is it?” he asked quietly.
“Giyarishis I am. Watching you I was till the Isolationists kidnapped me.”
“Kuvaa told me about you. Why were you spying on me?” he asked.
“You would disappear from Prime’s world where I was watching you. Was tasked to find out why.”
“I have no idea how that happened!” he snarled back. “Leave me alone!”
“No! Escape we have to. Together. House here has security system watching us, disable it I can if free.”
“So it makes sense to talk about it while the house can watch and hear us,” said Shaidan sarcastically. “I think I’ll pass for now.” He headed back to his bed and lay down again, resting his throbbing head on the pillow.
What the TeLaxaudin had said, though, got him thinking. If he was being watched by a security system, it must be like Unity in that it allowed interaction with it from nodes placed throughout the house. If, as everyone seemed to think, he could disappear from sight every now and then, then if he could work out what it was he was doing, he could do it here and get the AI thinking he’d escaped. While they all went mad looking for him, he could maybe evade them and really escape.
One way he could have been “missing” from the Prime world was when he was actually with Unity on the AI’s world, which was this world. But he couldn’t reach out with his mind to Unity here as there seemed to be some kind of barrier up that he couldn’t penetrate. Was there any other way he could seem to disappear?
Visit me, little one, said a voice in his mind. You know the way. Your father and Kaid have used my doorway before now. Look inside to find it.
Vartra! He called out mentally, but Vartra was gone. Now he had to go and look through his papa’s memories and find out what to do.
He closed his eyes and trying to ignore the pounding of his head, turning his thoughts inward. Eventually, he found a memory of a wooden door with two trees carved on it, one on either side of the triple spiral of the Brotherhood. In the center of the spiral was a blue-white crystal.
Making his breathing slower and gentler, he imagined the door in front of him. When it became so real he could see the grain of the wood, he reached out to touch the crystal. There was a flare of light from it, and the door opened.
Ahead of him was a peaceful woodland scene. He was on a grassy pathway that led to a clearing not far away. As he began to take hesitant steps down the path, he saw a cottage with a thatched roof. To one side was a lean-to where a forge had been built. A curl of smoke came from its chimney, letting him know that someone was at home.
Shaidan walked into the clearing and, seeing no one in the forge, went to the cottage door. He hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand to knock. As he did so, the door opened and there stood Vartra.
“Well done, Shaidan! I don’t know of any other cub who could have come here so easily. Welcome to my home.” Vartra held the door ajar and stood aside for him to enter.
Shaidan stepped into the small living room. It was simply decorated, with a wooden table in the middle and chairs set round it.
Vartra pulled out a chair for him and waited while he sat down, then took the one next to him.
“I know it’s pretty frightening being captured by these aliens, especially when they are hitting you, but you have to keep on being brave for a while longer, Shaidan,” said Vartra gently. “What you need to do now is let them believe you’ve died. If they think you’re dead, they may stop monitoring you, which will leave you free to escape from that room.”
“How do I play dead so as they’ll believe it?” asked Shaidan.
“You can do this by triggering your Valtegan side and the healing trance that was explained to you by General Kezule. Once you’re in that trance, because it slows down everything in your system so that you hardly even seem to be breathing, they’ll think you’re dead.”
Shaidan frowned. “I don’t remember how to access that part of me.”
“Everything you need to know is inside your mind, youngling, either from your papa or from Brother Jerenn. Just reach and you’ll find it. Now it’s time for you to go back to your realm.” Vartra got up, placing a hand on Shaidan’s shoulder.
“But aren’t you going to help me?” the cub asked plaintively, looking up at him.
“I have helped you, and I’ll wake you from your Valtegan healing trance when they wrongly decide you are no longer alive. You can do the rest on your own, you know. Just look inside yourself . . .” The voice seemed to echo inside his head as he opened his eyes and found himself back in the room that was his prison.
This time, when he reached inside, he was looking for his Valtegan heritage. Finding it, he began to allow himself to sink into the deep healing trance that was near death.
Kusac and his troops materialized a few hundred yards from the safe house. It was a square building, with defensive walls fronting the roof area. A driveway led to the front door and parked in it was an aircar.
“Head out,” Kusac said quietly into his throat mic to the other two team leaders as he and his team took up offensive positions behind the aircar but facing the front door. “M’Nar, get that door down.”
“Aye, sir,” M’Nar said, bracing himself before opening fire. Moments later, the door was gone—only to reform again almost immediately.
“Nanites,” said Annuur succinctly. “House made with them, can reconfigure walls, everything. Likely controlled by house AI which is limited in capability. Stretch its resources, we need to do, which is why we attack at three points.”
From the roof, enemy fire rained down at them, making them keep their heads down.
“Keep targeting the door,” said Kusac. “Controlled short bursts. Inform the others, Garras, to keep pounding their entry point when it tries to reform. Rezac, I want grenades up on the roof. Take those shooters out. If you can get a shot, Jerenn, take it.”
“Aye, Captain,” said Jerenn, sighting on the rooftop.
“Copy that,” Rezac said, moving to the rear of the vehicle to get a better line of sight on the roof. The grenade launcher arced a grenade into the air. It came down right on target with a satisfying crump and cloud of debris. A second one followed, and the shooting from the roof stopped abruptly.
Meanwhile, the door again disintegrated in a shower of sparks and flakes of what looked like metal, only to reform within moments. Kusac found it surreal watching the particles form streams of liquid metal which ran together before flowing back to become the doorway.
When the door reformed the third time it was blown apart, there was noticeably less of it. Instead of reaching to the top lintel, it stopped a good foot below.
“Ah,” said Annuur. “Now we seeing that other sites doing equal damage. Soon the door will not reform.”
“Hold your fire, M’Nar. Rezac, lob a grenade there,” Kusac said.
Crouched down, Rezac moved up to the front of the aircar to throw one. This time, the hole left was larger, taking out some of the brick-and-mortar construction around the doorway.
“And another,” Kusac ordered.
When the smoke and dust cleared, they could see that only the first two feet were able to reform—it was easily low enough for them to step over.
“Jerenn, keep guard out here, just in case anyone tries to escape us. M’Nar, take point,” Kusac said, getting cautiously to his feet. The rest of his team fell in behind him as he made his way to what remained of the front door.
“Teams Two and Three are inside,” said Garras quietly as they stepped over the remains of the door.
“Take it nice and slow,” said Kusac, looking past M’Nar to see the open doorway at the end of the pillared entry hall. “Rezac, Jo, check the room to our left.”
Without a sound they peeled off from the team and went to the doorway. The door was closed, but Jo and Rezac, as well as Kusac, knew the room was empty. Still, Jo stood to one side as Rezac kicked the door open. “Empty,” said Jo giving the room a quick once over before they rejoined the team.
By the time they reached the main hall, the other two teams had rejoined them. There they kept close to the west wall, seeking protection from the balcony above. No sooner had they stepped into the hall than they were hit from above by laser fire. Backing off, Kusac signaled to Rezac and Noolgoi to fire grenades up into both balconies.
Under cover of this attack, Kusac led them at a run under the east balcony. A small staircase there gave access to the floor above. Laser fire blasted down the stairs at them but was promptly stopped by M’Nar and Noolgoi with their machine guns. With those two taking point, they took the stairs two at a time, gaining the landing, then turning right into the passageway there.
Zaimiss was angry. “How they find us?” he demanded. “We left no traces!”
“House is telling us the Hunter cub is dead,” interrupted Sivaar. “I need escort to go check on him.”
“Go!” hummed Zaimiss angrily, mandibles clicking and eyes swirling as he regarded his Cabbaran colleague. “If dead, turn off security node for it and other captive. Maybe our defenses come back online! One can hope!”
Sivaar trotted off between two U’Churians, heading along the passageway to the western bedrooms where Shaidan and Giyarishis were being kept. The two U’Churians went in front of him. Rapid gunfire could be heard coming from the southern corridor.
“Hurry,” said Sivaar, butting the legs of the U’Churian in front of him with his head. “We must not get caught by these intruders!”
The door unlocked, Sivaar entered while the two U’Churians kept guard outside. He scampered over to the bed where Shaidan lay sprawled. A cursory exam yielded no discernible pulse and breathing, To all intents and purposes, his patient was dead.
With a sigh, Sivaar covered the body with the blanket and turned to his escort. “We be leaving now,” he said. “Cub is dead from the head injury.”
Once out of the room, he used the node to contact the house AI. “Turn off surveillance of this room and the next. Hunter cub patient is dead,” he said before leaving the area as fast as he could.
“Shaidan.” The voice was insistent and familiar. “Wake up, Shaidan. They’ve turned off the node outside your room and left the door unlocked.”
Shaidan stirred, not wanting to come out of the warm and comforting place he was in. He needed to be there while his concussion healed.
“Wake, youngling. Your papa is not far away.” The voice was very insistent.
He mrred in his sleep, stretching, and finally cracked his eyes open. Over him stood Vartra.
“I said I would wake you,” the Entity said. “They think you’re dead and have turned off the monitoring node outside your room. This means you can release the TeLaxaudin next door if you wish. Be careful whatever you do. There are many armed people about, some defending this house, ready to shoot at even you.”
Sitting up, Shaidan yawned and nodded, hearing the gunfire. “Be careful, lots of shooting.” Suddenly he realized what Vartra had said. “Papa’s here?” he said, looking up, but the Entity had gone.
Getting to his feet, he staggered toward the door. His head still hurt dreadfully, but at least even the short time spent in the deep healing trance had stopped him from feeling nauseous.
The gunfire sounded nearby but not too close. Softly, he padded to the room next to him and stopped at the door there. It was locked but with a conventional lock. Reaching up into his hair, he managed to pull free the sliver of metal that Unity had given him. Praying that it wouldn’t break, he inserted it into the lock and began to carefully jiggle it. After a minute or two, the lock snicked open. Putting the transceiver back into one of his braids, he opened the door. M’Nar would be pleased to know his teachings had proved useful.
Giyarishis stood there waiting for him.
“They treated you pretty bad, too,” said Shaidan, taking in the bruises and cuts on the TeLaxaudin’s face and arms.
“It will heal. I hear weapons’ fire. Is rescue imminent?”
“I don’t know. I do know there are lots of U’Churians here fighting my papa.”
“Then let us aid them,” said Giyarishis. “We need to be able to access the house AI and subvert it.”
“They turned off the node outside our rooms,” he said, pointing to a small box-shaped object mounted low on the wall between the two rooms.
“Ah, a physical node! I can do something with that!” Giyarishis scuttled over to the node and began examining it. On him, it was at a comfortable waist height. “If I can get into it,” he muttered.
Sighing, Shaidan reached up into his braid, and pulled out the transceiver. “Try this,” he said. “It isn’t strong, so don’t break it. We may need it.”
Giyarishis’ eyes spun as he focused in on the sliver of metal. “A transceiver,” he said, looking up at him, eyes swirling again. “Now who would that connect you with? Not that it would work in here at the moment.”
“It doesn’t matter, I just want it back,” he mumbled as Giyarishis began attacking the small nodule.
The lid came off easily. After all, thought Shaidan, it wasn’t designed to be tamper proof because who in this house would tamper with it?
“Should be diagnostic screen installed,” said Giyarishis to himself. “If so, can reprogram this node to do something more useful to us.”
Shaidan looked over his shoulder as the other poked and prodded at various parts of the electronics in the box, then jumped back in shock as a holographic screen suddenly appeared.
“Aha! Now can I be helping us!”
The doorway opposite them suddenly dissolved, becoming a solid wall as the house began to respond to their presence.
“Shoot it out,” ordered Kusac gesturing the others to back down the stairs a short way.
A short pulse of bullets, followed by a second one, and the hole in the wall was low enough to step over. “Noolgoi, you’re last through in case it reforms,” ordered Kusac as his team began stepping through the gap, straight into the path of fire from two U’Churians.
Pushing Carrie back, Kusac flung himself against the wall and peered through the gap, leaving room for his people to retreat. The gun battle was furious for as long as it took M’Nar to spray the end of the corridor with his projectiles. The silence that fell was filled with a moan as Rezac, limping from a wounded leg, pushed his way back through the wall, carrying Jo. She wa
s bleeding heavily from a wound in her side.
“She’s bad,” he said, looking at Kusac. “It pierced her armor. We’ll stay here, you go on.”
Kusac looked at the other’s face, pinched and pale round the nose with pain, and nodded briefly, reaching out to grasp his shoulder. Mind linked as Leskas, he knew that Rezac and Jo were both experiencing each other’s pain as well as their own. Unspoken by him and Rezac was the knowledge that if Jo died, so would Rezac.
“Mrowbay,” he began.
“On it, Captain,” said the other, leading Rezac to one side and helping him lay Jo down before reaching into his first aid satchel.
“Manesh, Cheelar, protect them,” he ordered before pushing through the wall and following M’Nar cautiously down the hallway.
Ahead of them, a tide of silver flowed across the floor, gaining height as it traveled, trying to form a wall in front of them. A quick burst of fire from M’Nar scattered it, but not before they could see that the nanites were having problems.
“Looks like we’re wearing them down,” whispered M’Nar as he carefully approached the end of the corridor.
A blast of energy met them as the U’Churian on the other side opened fire.
“Stop firing and think about this,” Annuur called out as he trotted forward to where Kusac was. “This not your battle. Ours it is, with the TeLaxaudin and Cabbarans of the Isolationists. Lay down your weapons. Do not die for them like your colleagues.”
A fusillade of shots followed his speech. Annuur looked up at Kusac and wrinkled his long, mobile nose. “I tried,” he said. “Kill them we must.”
Kusac nodded at M’Nar. “Try to leave one alive long enough for us to question about Shaidan,” he said quietly.
“Yes, boss,” said M’Nar before peering round the corner and taking aim.
A yowl of pain followed his short burst of fire, and with that, Kusac ran round the corner, flinging himself into the space between two pillars. He was closely followed by Garras.
Circle's End Page 46