Michael Cobley - Humanity's Fire book 1

by Seeds of Earth

of the bleak dread had ebbed as the hours had dragged

  by, aided by a small voice of hope insisting that they had

  to be keeping him alive for a reason.

  Up on the next floor he was led straight through a

  dark open door into a small, wedge-shaped room lit by

  a long console of screens and displays. Several large,

  indistinct figures were gathered on either side of a high-

  backed chair on a swivel pedestal. Kao Chih was

  alternately dragged and pushed over to the chair then

  made to kneel, close enough to hear an odd-sounding

  dialogue. There were two voices deep in conversation,

  except that one of them seemed to have a whispery

  echo. Then the chair turned.

  A pair of reddened, piercing eyes regarded him from

  the hollow-cheeked face of a Henkayan who Kao Chih

  took to be Munaak. Lenscups protected those eyes,

  magnifying their appearance, while puckered cicatrices

  criss-crossed the hairless scalp. The Henkayan wore

  long black robes marked with symbols in pure white,

  and Kao Chih almost failed to realise that he was miss-

  ing both right-side arms. But the upper shoulder had

  something else attached to it - a head.

  'This is the Human creature we reluctantly brought

  under our protection,' Munaak said in a smooth, rich

  voice, and as he did so the head muttered and whis-

  pered, quickly repeating the sentence but mingling its

  phrases while the shrivelled eyes stayed tightly shut.

  'Does it meet your requirements?'

  Over Munaak's shoulder, something moved on one of

  the screens, a shadowy cowled form against a dim back-

  ground, shelves, racks, yellow light gleaming on glass

  and chrome objects.

  'My ... my requirements call for many, but you have

  only one.' The hooded figure's voice sounded vaguely

  metallic and blurred. 'Was this one alone?'

  'It was travelling with a Roug but we killed it rather

  than let some biter vermin gain a commodity . . .'

  'A Roug?' The shadowy figure leaned back. 'An old

  race with strange abilities - might they not pursue, seek

  redress?'

  Munaak made a derisive sound. 'An old race, but

  weak and without allies - they will not venture this far.

  Now, you know the price so will you pay?'

  The cowl inclined. 'I will enable the fund transfer

  now and arrange collection of the specimen in three

  odas.'

  The screen blanked and was replaced by swirling blue

  patterns. Munaak regarded Kao Chih for a moment

  with his large, gleaming, unwinking eyes then switched

  his gaze to the two guards.

  'Take our specimen down to the vehicle bay,' he said,

  with the head whispering disjointedly. 'Lock it in the

  storeroom, and no delays for any reason!'

  Kao Chih kept his head bowed and his mouth shut as

  the Henkayan guards roughly and swiftly dragged him

  out of the room. He had learned early on the value of

  silence and now all he could do was hold to both his

  sanity and a few shreds of hope.

  But now my fate rests on my value as merchandise of

  some kind, he thought bitterly. We were foolish to come

  here so rashly - where there are no laws the weak

  become property.

  Neither of his escorts said anything as they hurried

  him down a steep stairway in which the gravity plating

  was decidedly uneven. Soon they arrived at a heavy,

  moulded pressure door that swung sideways to admit

  them to a gloomy parking bay with curved walls. A

  pathway of spongy, grubby gravplates led along one of

  the walls, between the reinforced struts, to what looked

  like a rectangular box with a window. The brawny

  Tekik opened a door in its side, paused to snap another

  restraint around Kao Chih's ankles, then thrust him

  inside. He gave the cluttered interior a brief look and

  stepped back, but before the door closed the scrawny

  Grol poked his head round.

  'Human scum going to new owner,' he sneered. 'Soon

  wish he was back with good Henkayan friends - we not

  scientists!'

  He let out a burst of cackling that stopped abruptly

  when a large hand grabbed him by the throat and

  yanked him back out. The door slammed, a locking

  click, squabbling voices receding, the pressure door

  closed with a soft clank and the hiss of the seal. Silence.

  Kao Chih squirmed onto his back in the darkness

  and managed to get into a seated position, leaning

  against the wall. Feeling drained and shivering a little,

  he tried to take stock of his surroundings. A faint blue

  radiance came from a small console set into the grimy

  window's lower right corner and as his eyes grew

  accustomed a few details became apparent. Dozens of

  small objects, parts maybe, were scattered over most

  of the floor, and the air stank of degraded machine

  oil. Cupboards gaped, revealing rolls of some mysteri-

  ous material and heaps of tools, wires, junk. A large

  metallic cylinder, a lubricant tank perhaps, was fixed

  to the wall, above a few rows of indistinct tools on

  hooks...

  'Are they gone?' said a voice.

  Kao Chih caught his breath in surprise, senses sud-

  denly alert.

  'Who's there?' he muttered. 'Where are you?'

  'First look out of the window and see if either of

  those cretins is standing guard.'

  Guessing that the hidden speaker might be a survivor

  from Avriqui's household, Kao Chih struggled to his feet

  and shuffled over to the window.

  'No one there,' he said, peering out. 'Must have gone

  back in . . .'

  'Good - one less obstacle to overcome.'

  Pale, bleached light bloomed in the small room and

  Kao Chih turned to see the wall cylinder flicker like a

  display with a bad feed. Then, in an instant, it went

  from a two-metre drum-like fixture with flat ends to a

  somewhat dumb-bell-shaped object about a metre tall.

  The meagre light from microfield projectors showed up

  the scratched and battered casing as it drifted over to the

  window.

  'Nice trick,' Kao Chih said slowly. It was a sentient

  mech of unusual config, yet there was something famil-

  iar .. .

  'Camouflage projection,' the mech said. 'It has its

  uses, now and then.'

  Recognition dawned. 'I've seen you before, at that

  market in the big corridor where ...' He faltered, vividly

  recalling Tumakri's last moments.

  'The Roug who was killed yesterday was your

  friend?'

  'Friend and travelling companion,' Kao Chih said.

  'And you are a Human.' The machine paused. 'Your

  race is most uncommon in these sectors, yet greatly dis-

  liked.'

  'So it seems,' he said. 'Were you an associate of Rup

  Avriqui?'

  'You speak in the past tense so I assume that the vile

  Munaak has taken his life, and now he's looking for a

  buyer for you . . .'

  'He's found one, a scientist of some kind.'

  'Ah, a viv
isector in other words.' The mech's

  microfields showed a glittery diffraction pattern for a

  brief moment. 'Now I shall be most honest with you -

  although I knew Avriqui slightly I could not be consid-

  ered his associate. However, when your Roug friend was

  ambushed and killed on Nibril Concourse I was nearby

  and chased off those Gomedran scavengers. Even with a

  bolt in his head he was still conscious enough to urge me

  to take certain items from his garment while repeating a

  name over and over, saying I had to find this person,

  Gow-Chee. This is you, correct?'

  'Indeed, yes,' Kao Chih said, hardly daring to hope.

  'You may call me Drazuma-Ha*, although my full

  name involves audio frequencies your species is

  unequipped to hear.'

  The last syllable of the mech's name sounded like a

  strange metallic chime, but he made no mention of it

  and gave a short, formal bow.

  'I am very pleased to meet you, Drazuma-Ha*. Now

  that you have found me, are you prepared to help me

  escape?'

  'I would be more than happy to help you flee this

  moron-infested junkheap altogether if you take me

  along with you.'

  A number of questions came to the forefront of Kao

  Chih's thoughts - why did the mech want to leave and

  where was it heading, among others - but none seemed

  urgent.

  'That would be most acceptable - could you begin by

  removing these bonds?'

  Microfields extended tendril-like from the mech's

  upper and lower bulbs, there were faint clipping sounds

  and Kao Chih's ankles, knees and wrists were free.

  'My sincerest thanks,' he said, trying to ignore the

  uncomfortable needling of returning circulation. 'What

  plan do you have for leaving this place? Will we have to

  fight our way out?'

  'That is one possible route,' said the mech Drazuma-

  Ha*. 'However, I did think that leaving by the bay doors

  in one of Avriqui's lugosivators would be less hazardous

  to life, limb and circuitry.'

  Kao Chih's eyes widened. 'Like the odd cart that

  Tumakri and I rode in? Are they fit for hard-vacuum

  travel?'

  'Barely,' the mech said. 'Well, we only need to get

  from here to a general maintenance lock, near the

  Secondary Docking Lacuna, which it should manage

  adequately.'

  'There is a small problem,' Kao Chih said. 'Rup

  Avriqui was to provide a hyperspace course dataset for

  the next stage of our journey, which he was supposed to

  join us on. It must still be in his system somewhere ...

  would you be able to access it from here, perhaps?'

  The mech was silent for a moment, its aura display-

  ing strings of geometric symbols that pulsed with a soft,

  pearly glow then vanished.

  'These controls,' the mech said, pointing a microfield

  extensor at the small window console, 'are not linked to

  the hold's higher data functions. I will have to go up

  into the hold itself and hope to find a terminal nearby

  without encountering any of Munaak's thugs.' The

  machine glided over to the door, which clicked and

  swung open. 'Wait here, and please don't make any

  loud noises.' It left the storeroom, crossed to the pres-

  sure door, which opened and closed behind it.

  Kao Chih gazed around him, looking for something

  he could improvise as a weapon, and came up with a

  long-shafted autoauger and a good, solid panel sledge.

  That took about five minutes. Fifteen nail-biting minutes

  later the pressure door opened again and Drazuma-Ha'

  re-entered the garage hold.

  'Do you have the course data?' Kao Chih said, emerg-

  ing from the storeroom.

  'I do but time is against us - I had to stun one of the

  guards, which means he'll be missed before long. Quick

  climb up to those stalls while I open their shutters. And

  you may as well leave the low-tech arsenal behind.'

  Kao Chih shrugged, tossed the autoauger but decidec

  to hold on to the sledge. Then he stepped gingerly of

  the gravplate walkway, grabbed one of a series of teth-

  ered handholds and pulled himself along in zero-gee

  over to a now-open alcove in which a lugosivator of a

  cheerful blue colour was anchored. As he drew near, its

  windowed cowling popped open and Drazuma-Ha *'s

  voice came from the storeroom.

  'You'd better get in now, Gow-Chee - it seems we

  will have to depart in a hurry.'

  Once he was inside, the little vehicle shuddered and

  leaped out of its recess, sealing itself as it swung towards

  the ribbed bay doors. Kao Chih, thrust sideways by

  abrupt acceleration, held on to the seat while panicky

  questions crowded his thoughts - where was the mech,

  how did you steer this thing, and what if he hit some-

  thing?

  There was a thud from above, and looking up he saw

  the metre-long shape of Drazuma-Ha* lying on top of

  the cart, its microfields extended in a web that gripped

  the cart's upper casing.

  'No need for anxiety, Gow-Chee. A brief journey

  along this side of the station and we shall be back inside

  and on our way to your ship.'

  The bay doors concertinaed open and the flash-

  frozen atmosphere burst all about them in a glittering

  cloud as they flew out. For one breathtaking moment it

  was as if they were hurtling through a miniature galaxy,

  past swirls, clusters and ripples of tiny gleaming pin-

  points. Then the cart slewed round as braking thrusters

  flared and off they sped.

  The exterior of Blacknest Station was an accurate

  reflection of its inner disarray, a maze of spars and

  cables, conduit bundles, blobs of vacglue moulded into

  handholds, bulging (and frequently damaged) nets of

  trash, old pinhole leaks fantastically bearded with spiny

  icicles. Improvised bucketseat funiculars provided safe

  crossings while a horde of drones, probes and bots of

  every size darted about on mysterious errands.

  Drazuma-Ha* seemed to be steering the cart in the same

  direction as a couple of diamond-shaped bots bearing a

  red smiling moon symbol, and minutes later they were

  sharing the filthy, battered drum of a maintenance lock.

  There was a chorus of grinding, scraping noises as it

  turned, flashes of bright light, the loud hiss of repres-

  surisation, and the lock swung open to reveal a

  cluttered, narrow workshop and a surprised Bargalil

  botmaster, its stocky, hexapedal form draped with tool

  belts and pouches of spare parts.

  'Thank you for the use of your lock, good sir,'

  Drazuma-Ha* told it as Kao Chih clambered out of the

  cart. 'Please accept this excellent, deluxe-model mini-

  loader as a token of our gratitude.'

  Then they dashed out of the workshop, leaving

  behind the pleased yet confused Bargalil, his gaze

  moving from abandoned cart to empty doorway and

  back.

  'We must be as quick as we can without arousi
ng

  suspicion,' said the mech as a lateral slot opened in its

  upper section and a bundle of objects protruded - the

  boarding passes, dock ID, Tumakri's credit stems and

  hard cash. 'At the gate, be polite and calm, and if the

  new attendants ask for additional payment pay it with-

  out argument. Tell them that I am travelling with you -

  if they ask for more details, say that I am your con-

  tracted technical support adviser. If they aren't aware of

  how vital commercial confidentiality is to a place like

  Blacknest I shall be more than happy to enlighten them.'

  In the event, their passage through boarding control

  went smoothly, and Kao Chih had to pay only a fairly

  small amount to meet the 'one-off staff surcharge'. He

  felt almost giddy with relief as they reached the other

  side of the gates and hurried down towards the vari-

  ously sized portals. Following a glowing telltale on the

  dock ID, they had just reached one of the medium oval

  exits when the mech paused abruptly, and glancing back

  Kao Chih saw the gate officials angrily gesturing at two

  bulky drones who were pushing their way past the desk.

  The next thing he knew, Drazuma-Ha* had bodily

  lifted him with pressor fields that held him against the

  mech's casing, arms and legs held straight and immobile.

  'My sincerest apologies, Gow-Chee, but speed is of

  the essence!'

  Kao Chih let out a wordless sound of surprise as the

  mech launched itself up the docking duct, swooping and

  dodging around other passengers.

  'Is there something you'd like to tell me, Drazuma-

  Ha?' he said loudly as they slowed to edge past a family

  of reptilian Naszbur.

  'I shall explain it all,' the mech said. 'Once we are

  aboard and safely under way. Do not be alarmed, how-

  ever - my predicament is no cause for concern over my

  integrity.'

  Nice of you to let me know, Kao Chih thought as

  they reached a circular door which detected his dock ID

  and opened like a flower, leaves sliding aside.

  Then they were in the flexible transfer tube, dimly lit

  by a few glostrips and the docking lacuna's own floods,

  filtered through the tube's opaque membrane. Released

  from the mech's pressors, Kao Chih kicked and hand-

  steered himself along to the Castellan's airlock, a sight

  he'd thought he would never see again. He brought the