Terminus Shift (Targon Tales - Sethran Book 2)

by Chris Reher

  “What? But…”

  “Your smuggling days are done, dear. There is greater work for all of us.” He gestured at the door to the hall. “Return to your ship. When we get to the keyhole you will demonstrate your abilities and take us through."

  Seth nudged Ciela toward the exit, hoping she’d keep any further protest to herself.

  “Mister Kada,” Pacoby called as the door opened.

  Seth turned back.

  “You will observe com silence from here on. There will be no communication of any kind from your ship other than to this one.” His bland, expressionless face revealed nothing of his suspicion for his newest recruits but Seth felt it coming from the man in waves. He doubted that someone like Pacoby could ever fully trust anyone.

  * * *

  “Come look at this.”

  Seth rolled off the lounger and padded into the cockpit when Ciela’s call roused him from his study of Killian’s musings about subspace. It was putting him to sleep anyway. He propped his hands on the top frame of the doorway and stretched his body. “Are we there?”

  “Yes, look.” She gestured at the screens.

  As he watched she honed the Dutchman’s external sensors onto a small spot on the planet now not far ahead of them. Seth glanced over the other monitors to see Pacoby’s small fleet still in loose formation around them. So enticingly in weapons range and utterly out of reach. There had been no chance to send a message to Air Command when Pacoby finally revealed their destination as Taancerum. By Commonwealth rules of conduct the planet was off limits to the military now but both Pacoby and Sebasta were fair game outside the planet’s air space. It didn’t matter. Pacoby’s people still monitored them closely and he had no doubt that any message packet sent to Air Command would simply end up with the mission aborted and the Dutchman in a lot of tiny pieces.

  Likely, Seth thought, Air Command was already well aware of something brewing on Taancerum. That it involved a new breed of Delphian was probably not common knowledge.

  He had not been surprised by Pacoby’s demand that Ciela lead the way through the keyhole. She proved herself easily, taking the jump ahead of the others to allow them to follow in her wake without using their own resources. Now, six hours later, Taancerum had come into visual range.

  “Any sign of the Hajsa yet?”

  “Yes, Sebasta’s on approach.”

  “Is that Daos?” Seth pointed up at the main screen which now showed a broad valley surrounded by bare-faced mountains, some identified as having volcanic activity. Streams and rivers flowed from those ranges into the plain where ragged patches of green seemed to have attracted settlement. A scattering of windowless stone blocks typical of the planet’s building traditions followed the rivers without any definite order to shape them into towns.

  Above it all rose the Union-built pyramid. As if it tried to compete with the mountains around them, the solar-paneled colossus loomed out of all proportion to its surroundings. And yet, its five blank and featureless slopes resembled the bare rock of the cliffs guarding the valley, seeming to belong there. A sprawl of outbuildings and aircraft hangars reached out from its base, all of it covered and protected against Taancerum’s poisonous air.

  “It’s a fortress.”

  Seth gripped the back of the pilot benches and vaulted into his seat. “From what I’ve read, it was never designed to be a fortress,” he said, broadening the scope of his sensors. “Looks like the festivities are about to start.”

  Besides Pacoby’s detail, two Arawaj delegations loyal to Sebasta cruised the sector and now approached the planet. Several ships belonging to Shri-Lan already patrolled the air space above the Daos valley, rudely questioning each new arrival. Seth and Ciela listened silently to conversations no doubt designed to impress upon the visitors who was in charge here. Like the core group of the Arawaj, there were those among the Shri-Lan opposed to the alliance, preferring to use Arawaj only when it suited them.

  “There are so many of them!” Ciela said when they had locked into a synchronous orbit to await orders, sounding a lot less confident than she had back on Tadonna. “What can we possibly do here?”

  Seth propped his bare foot onto the edge of the com console. “The situation at the air field is going to cause a lot of confusion. It’ll help us get to your friends.”

  “You’re joking with me. If that air field blows my friends are either blowing with it or Sebasta will turn tail if it happens before he gets there. We don’t stand a chance against the Hajsa.”

  “He’s going to leave the Hajsa in orbit.” Seth beckoned her to take a closer look at the image of the pyramid. “Look up there, the level below the apex. Those are docking ports on that terrace. Small craft. I’m betting that everyone that counts in this little party will be meeting up there, not on the air field. Pacoby can light all the fireworks he wants, it won’t do much to the people up there.”

  “So you think the trade will happen anyway?”

  “I don’t know. Pacoby was right when he said that the Shri-Lan won’t be interested in dealing with Arawaj internal problems. They could send Sebasta on his way if things get ugly. They might even just take the spanners and let him leave with his life if he’s lucky.”

  “If they feel attacked, the Shri-Lan are going to murder every Arawaj they can get their hands on. Pacoby must know that.”

  “He does.” Seth pointed to the foot of the pyramid. “He’s counting on everyone’s attention on the north hangar or on the Shri-Lan commanders at the top, giving him a chance to get away.”

  “A small chance.”

  “That’s his way.” Seth shrugged. “He’ll be ready to launch the moment this goes down, whatever the outcome. I hope to get to him before he does.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been chasing him for years. This is my chance.” He grinned. “Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting you’re one of them.”

  “What are you thinking, Kada!”

  He shrugged. “Pacoby needs to be eliminated. If you forget for a moment who you were told to be and think about what he does, you can see that, too.” He watched the stubborn expression on her face for a few moments. “Ah, there,” he teased. “You know I’m right. You just won’t admit it.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Fine. He’s a monster. But he’s our monster.”

  “Monsters are best kept on leashes if you want to use them as a weapon. He has none.” On the way out here, Seth had debated with himself the wisdom of showing Ciela examples of the recent works of Pacoby’s group, likely a far nastier collection than anything she would have been told about him. In the end he decided against it. She had lost her adopted family, her friends, her home. Only the Arawaj remained as any sort of base for her. He’d leave it to the Delphians to restore her sense of family. They would even let her keep her distrust of the Commonwealth as she adapted and found her own purpose.

  And yet, he wanted to convince her, shake some sense into her as she clung to her Arawaj upbringing. Seth himself had no illusions about the Commonwealth or the means employed by Air Command to achieve their objectives. He had witnessed their shortcuts and compromises and had done his part to frustrate their efforts when he could get away with it. He supposed that, in a way, made him a rebel, too. He sympathized with the smaller factions and their fear of Commonwealth expansion. But nothing would ever justify, to him, the means by which Shri-Lan and Arawaj operated.

  “I’m not turning on my own people,” she said. “Don’t ask me that.”

  “They are not your people. Certainly not Pacoby.”

  “What do you know?” she said angrily and jumped out of her seat.

  He followed her into the main cabin where she whipped around to face him. “Is it not enough that I agreed to go to Delphi?” She pointed at her head. “I understand perfectly that we need to be removed from… from all of this. I got that completely when I saw what’s left of my home. I will go freely and I will ask the others to if we find them. What
does that tell you?”

  “Tells me that you don’t really want to do this. Any of this. You’ve spent your life in some fantasy, pretending what you do doesn’t harm anyone. It does. Every gun you deliver harms somebody. Every fighter you smuggle past Air Command harms somebody. You damn well know it but it’s not you with the finger on the trigger.”

  “It’s the only way to stop the Commonwealth.”

  “Stop living your damn life worrying about the Commonwealth! What have they drummed into your head on Tadonna? This is your life, Ciela. Your life and an immeasurable talent and you’re using it to blow up bridges. Wake up!” Seth stopped himself, suddenly aware that he had never shouted at anyone like this. He had many passions but he rarely lost his temper. This was new. Even in the worst despair, he usually managed to keep his composure, something he had learned long ago from his Delphian friends.

  Ciela only glared back at him, apparently not daunted by a little shouting. “Maybe it’s you who’s wasting his life chasing after rebels. For every one you hunt down, three more get recruited.”

  “Into Shri-Lan.”

  “Doesn’t make your calling any nobler than mine.”

  “Calling? Is that what you call this? People are going to die down there. Shri-Lan, Arawaj, civilians. Not in some battle. Just going about their business. That is your calling?”

  “It’s what…” She halted, searching for words. “You have no…” She stopped again and raised her hands in some unfinished gesture. “I don’t know, Seth. I don’t know who I am anymore. Or even what I am. I just want to find Miko and Luanie and Deely. I want to go home and there is no home for me. There never has been.” Her eyes shone with the depth of her emotions and unspilled tears. “I don’t know what to do, Seth!”

  Seth felt that familiar punch in the weak spot that invariably led him to capitulate when seeing a woman in despair. Those tears were his fault at a time when he needed her to keep her spine straight. He ground his teeth, telling himself that she would not get to him, knowing she already had. And then he watched himself reach out to touch her arms. “Ciela…”

  She let him draw her closer.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said all that. You will have a home, I’ve promised you. And if we find Miko and the others, they will, too. But I need to be able to trust you. I need you to hold together. Pacoby is a fox and he’ll know if you’re not on your game. Forget what I said. It doesn’t matter.”

  She shook her head. “It does matter.” She looked up. “You matter.”

  His eyes travelled to her lips and no force in this universe could stop him from bending to touch them with his own. He kissed her softly, feeling whatever distance there was between him and this rebel vanish into nothing.

  Her eyes were still on his when he pulled back. “Don’t stop,” she said.

  He drew her close to kiss her again, holding nothing back when he felt her body press against his own. The minutes drifted away and there was nothing here now except the woman in his arms and the hands touching him as if they had always done so.

  “Ciela…” he whispered finally, nearly swaying on his feet. He cradled her head in his hands and leaned his forehead against hers. “This isn’t—”

  She pulled his hand from her face until it rested on her breast. “Don’t. Stop.”

  He succumbed, utterly and completely. The lounger waited only a few steps away. A frantic tussle to shed unwanted clothing and then her skin touched his in a way that seemed meant to be. He drew whimpers from her that soon grew into moans of pleasure in answer to his touch. Her cries urged him on and he gave himself up to her embrace, certain now that the craving that had hounded him for days now had not been one-sided.

  Ages passed before time resumed and he became aware of their surroundings. He smiled when she moved to sprawl over him, not in any hurry to leave their tangled blankets.

  “You gave that up far too easily,” she said, touching her lips to his chest.

  “Yeah. I’m weak.”

  “Not that I’ve noticed.” She gave him a lewd grin, but then closed her eyes and arched her back when he ran his fingers along the thin line of hair growing along her spine.

  “You know,” he said, watching her face. “On Delphi the young people choose a teacher, a mentor, to learn all about things going on in the bedroom.”

  “Uh huh,” she said, only half-listening.

  “That’s because they can join their minds and things get complicated. I imagine that can get pretty… interesting.”

  She opened her eyes. “You think I need a teacher?”

  “Gods, no. But you’ve missed out on some amazing Delphian tricks growing up on your own.”

  “Maybe.” She watched her finger trace the faint scar on his chest, suddenly very somber. “I’m sorry I got so blubbery, earlier. I’m tougher than that. I just…”

  He tilted her face to kiss her softly. “Don’t. I understand. You’ve got to deal with this and I won’t keep pushing you. I’ve had my chance to do my job and turn you over to Air Command. I have no right now to tell you what to do. You’ll figure out where and what you want to be. In your own time.”

  She just nodded.

  He sat up and put his feet on the floor. “And in case you haven’t noticed I’m stuck out here, anyway. The only way back to civilization is through a keyhole I can’t open. Sometimes I think I must be crazy to get myself into things like this.”

  She draped herself over his shoulders to nuzzle his ear, feeling so good against the skin of his back that he decided that perhaps getting out of bed was not entirely necessary right now.

  A squawk from the com console put an end to that notion. “Damn…” Seth mumbled and leaned back to slap at the com panel above the bed. “What?” he snapped.

  “Time to head down. The Hajsa is in orbit. Fall in behind us and wait for co-ords.”

  “Now?” Seth swatted at Ciela’s hand when it wandered a little too close to where it probably shouldn’t be right now.

  “Are you too busy for this?” came the peevish reply.

  Seth winked at Ciela. “Never too busy for you.”

  * * *

  The Daos pyramid was even more impressive upon approach than from a distance. Seth, like some of the other cruisers forming part of the tribute payable to the Shri-Lan, circled the valley to get a closer look. He tiled the overhead screens to give them a panoramic view of the entire valley. Next to the edifice, the attendant outbuildings and nearby settlements seemed like scattered toys in the bleak landscape. The massive solar collectors on all five faces of the pyramid gave the impression that it was made entirely of glass, currently reflecting an orange sky in its facets. One of the upper levels featured a broad terrace from which several umbilicals extended toward two small landing platforms on each side of the pyramid. Two cruisers were already locked on, one of them impressive enough to belong to the Brothers. If so, the only thing still missing was Sebasta and his cargo.

  “How did they ever build this thing out here?” Ciela wondered.

  “Modules. The whole pyramid is a stack of interchangeable pieces, all transported fully assembled. Like a three-dimensional puzzle. All shipped in from Magra, I suppose. Maybe Pelion.”

  “And those? Don’t they have windows here?” She indicated the buildings used by the local population. Unlike the homes in the valley, these lined up in precise rows, many of them near the flight decks on two sides of the pyramid. They, too, had flat roofs and sloped walls but showed only solid, unadorned surfaces on the outside.

  “Those walls are translucent,” Seth said, recalling his earlier study of the planet and its history. “Made from a type of sediment here. Clever, but far too expensive to export. Light enters but you can’t see through the walls. I don’t suppose there is much to look at outside, so they don’t bother with windows.”

  “Yeah, looks kinda dreary here,” she said. “A little sad.”

  “I’m sure the Taancers are quite happy here. You don’t see them off
-planet very much.” He pulled up an image of a small bi-ped resembling Prime species in principle but covered in miniscule scales ranging from green to pink along their double-ridged backs. Instead of a nose, two short tubes drooped from either side of their faces. “Used to be amphibian but things dried up here quite a bit after some disaster with the volcanoes a million or so turns around the sun ago. Now they’re land-based. They breathe mainly nitrogen, like us, but the air has very little oxygen and just enough chlorine to drop you in about ten minutes.”

  “No wonder they have scales still. Do we need to carry tanks?”

  “No, the whole installation is enclosed. At least the places where we’re supposed to be.”

  “The Shri-Lan may not want us to debark at all,” she pointed out. “Not much trust between them and Arawaj.”

  “That is true.” Seth changed the display to show an overlay of control tower instructions highlighting the docks and flight paths. “Dutchman Pacoby Three,” he transmitted. “Requesting permit.”

  “And these people don’t mind the Shri-Lan here? Seems odd.”

  Seth nodded. “I don’t think anyone really knows what goes on here. Guess we’ll find out.” He shifted his attention to the landing maneuvers. “Damn! Son of a Rhuwac was wrong.”

  “Huh? Who? How?”

  “Pacoby. They’re making us land on both air fields, among their own ships. To make sure we don’t cause trouble, I guess.” He hovered over the northern deck, seeing three of the Arawaj visitors settle among the Shri-Lan. Like the smaller terminal on the west side, a short tunnel connected it to the bottom level of the pyramid.

  “So how is he going to destroy it?”

  “He’ll destroy whichever one he’s not docked to. And that means us. You know how you hacked into the Dutchman to look around the other day?”

  She blushed. “You weren’t supposed to notice that.”

  “The Dutchman did. So you know your way around. Quick. Disable the Eill class clamps on the locks. Corrupt the program.”