The Lost (The Maauro Chronicles Book 3)

by Edward McKeown

  “Stardust, we’re landing in City Alpha,” I relayed. “It looks like it was attacked in the last year. Standby.”

  “We’ve got you covered from up here,” Olivia’s voice called. “Main laser warmed up and ready.”

  “Roger that,” I said, privately doubting that even our improved laser would do much at this range and through this much cloud. Still it was comforting to think someone was watching.

  I circled, bled off some more airspeed, then went into hover over what had been a parking lot some long time ago. The pavement was cracked and trees poked through much of it. But here was a large enough area where only tall grasses projected through. I slowly dropped us down, realizing that it was even more broken than I’d thought. Fortunately none of the landing gear went into any of the abundance of holes.

  “Any landing you can walk away from,” I quoted. Maauro just shook her head. She went to a locker and drew her armspac, and I pulled out a triple-auto carbine. I added raingear to my haul. Maauro was indifferent to weather.

  I opened the bomber’s weapons bay, which doubled as airlock. I had to squat as the clearance under the bomber was only a meter and half. Still, it kept the rain off. Maauro walked out into the rain and, grumbling, I followed. It was a cold drizzle, my helmet kept it off my head but I had to raise the visor to see better. My hands projecting through the poncho sleeves were immediately wet, though I had shooting gloves on.

  We stood, looking in a circle. The towers of the original city actually disappeared into the clouds above. No light showed there and many of the towers were mere skeletons of their former glory, with all their windows out and their interiors long ravaged by the elements. Still, they stood, even after centuries of abandonment, and they looked none the less strong for that broad march of time. None had collapsed or tilted. Some further to the center of the city and perhaps better shielded from the elements, still boasted glass, or whatever strong clear material it was.

  But we turned ourselves toward the smaller, more recent habitations that been built by the last inhabitants. These were shattered to the point where it was hard to say what they had originally looked like. Walls of tumbled stone, burnt wood, mixed with some of the ancient buildings that had been put back into use but with more crude materials.

  “Maauro?”

  “Beam gun fire, some evidence of high explosives and then something large rammed or otherwise attacked these structures. It is as if they were pulled down by cranes or wrecking balls.”

  We walked forward side by side. Maauro with her armspac aimed to the left while I covered the right. We marched down the destroyed roads until we came to the first skeletons. White bone lay scattered about a field, whether by scavengers or the original attacker we could not tell. Seddonese were a humanoid species, the skulls looked depressingly similar.

  “A lot of these,” I said, quietly, “were children, from the size of the skulls. Oh God, this must have been a schoolyard!”

  “Yes,” Maauro said, her face and voice distant.

  “Son of a bitch,” I muttered.

  We walked on. There were more bodies. I saw no weapons, no sign of a battle, only a slaughter.

  Maauro and I inspected artifacts from the destroyed town. The objects were of cunning make, but the metals were of simple steels or basic alloys.

  “Interesting,” Maauro said. “This confirms a society that has at least recovered into the early industrial age.”

  I looked around, the rain was coming down in sheets and it was hard to see any distance. “Is there anything more to be gained by remaining here?”

  She placed a hand on my arm. “No, we should go. It is time to look for the living. But we have learned something valuable. The Seddonese have a living enemy and it is hunting them. Its technology is equal to ours. The beam fire I have seen here could have come from any land fortress of your people. Even one of my creators land vehicles could have used it as secondary armament. What form this enemy has taken is yet to be determined.”

  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said.

  We returned to the Sinner II and stowed our weapons and gear. I reported developments to Stardust and we lifted off, heading northward to the area where we knew there were people and power generation.

  The land below was shrouded in clouds and rain. Our instruments probed through but found only empty lands. We passed what might have been a battlefield, with signs of chemical explosions cratering the ground as if from artillery.

  We broke into clear sky. The land ahead lay flat, crisscrossed by small rivers and the broken remnants of highways running through forests of dark-green trees that had a silvery and reflective tone to their foliage. Somehow the site of the open ground cheered me and I increased our speed.

  “No sign of combat below,” Maauro said. “Nothing has tracked us.”

  “We are coming up on the southernmost point of power generation,” I said. “ETA five minutes at present speed.”

  “Let’s not head directly at it,” Maauro said. “Lower and slower. Unless we see some evidence of danger, we should land and reconnoiter, then make contact.”

  I rubbed my hand over my face. “Well it’s what we came for. If we are going to find Maximillian and the others we’ll need some local help. It’s a big planet.”

  We scanned and dropped altitude until we were flying nape of the earth. I popped up over one hill to see a town. Again it was new construction huddling near a series of the sky towers. These however went only a few hundred feet above. The new construction was lower, but it still showed the longing of a people to move back into the sky. Even the more recent construction had an ethereal quality to it. In the distance I could see the skyline of a major city in the distance.

  I switched into hover as Maauro studied the town through eyes that were superior to the Sinner II’s instruments. “There are lines of fortifications in front of this town, Wrik. I believe I see entrenched artillery of a primitive sort.”

  “Sounds like we are in front of a main line of resistance,” I said. “They’re expecting whatever danger it is, from the same vector we are approaching from. Not good.”

  “Agreed. Let us circle around this town and head for the city beyond. We can land behind that city. We will present a less threatening aspect on foot.”

  I flew Sinner II around the foothills, well away from the town, then headed north until we could see a city split by a large river. We circled behind it, avoiding the occasional buildings and villages around it which seemed abandoned.

  Once we were well past the city, we turned back to approach it, following a road back toward the city, until we saw what looked like a column of refugees. Then I cut over the woods until we could continue south, parallel to the road but out of sight if not earshot. Finally I could see, on the horizon, the great city with the river running through it.

  “The fortified town was about ten miles past this city,” I said. “I think we should land well short of it. They might not be looking for something hostile coming from this direction but I wouldn’t want to bank on it.”

  Maauro nodded. “We should land here. It is as close as we can get without being seen in the air.

  I called up to Stardust. Dusko located a nearby clearing. He had to do so quickly as Stardust’s orbit was taking them away from us. I ordered Dusko to bring Stardust into geosynch orbit on the next pass, then I dropped the bomber into the clearing. The grass was wet from recent rains and fortunately did not catch fire.

  “The question becomes do we travel armed or not?” I asked of Maauro.

  “My thought is that you carry a sidearm,” she said. “Our greatest advantage should it come to any combat, is that no one will likely realize what I am, or have any remote idea of my capabilities, even if they do. The armspac and carbine could cause some frightened trooper to take a shot at us. Our best hope is to meet a patrol with a sensible officer who takes us u
p the chain of command rapidly.”

  “I agree. Our safety here is going to be based on being underestimated, in your case, or being taken for friendly humans.”

  “Carry a homing tracker set for the Sinner,” Maauro said, “should we become separated.”

  I nodded, then drew a holstered laser pistol from the locker, leaving the larger carbine behind. I tossed Maauro a jacket and pulled out one for myself. It would be cool outside. She wouldn’t need the jacket, but it might seem odd for a small, slender female to be walking around in a form-fitting bodysuit in the cold. Canteens and small packs with food and toiletries had been readied before we left the starship. I opened the bomb-bay hatch and we dropped into the wet grass, and edged out from under the bomber. Then I resealed and code-locked the hatches.

  We stood next to Sinner II for a few seconds, taking in the smell of the forest, the wet ground and grass, some of which smoldered from our landing. Maauro stomped out any patches that looked like they had the potential to burn on. A breeze tugged at us, but it wasn’t strong and came in irregular surges. Trees rustled. They looked like a mix of pines, though the branches seemed dusted with silver. Red fruit hung from something that looked like a smooth-boled oak. The sight reminded me of the Christmas trees of my childhood.

  We walked on, heading for the road. I had no need of my compass with Maauro leading. We walked through thigh high blue-green grass, which my moisture-proof pants shed easily, though it did strike a chill through me. Water beaded on Maauro’s legs. Her chassis was textured to look like fabric but water didn’t quite react to it the same way. I made a mental note to mention it to her.

  As we passed under the trees, I put on a soft cap to keep dripping water off my head. I’d left the helmet behind, not wanting to look too much like a soldier.

  Something rustled in the undergrowth. I put a hand on my pistol.

  “Small animal, fleeing,” Maauro said, not breaking stride.

  The ground was soft and spongy, which gave Maauro more trouble than it did me. She kept sinking into the soil, looking annoyed at each step. Finally, we reached the open area near the road to her evident relief. Nothing was in sight as we came out of the forest. As we stepped out to examine the asphalt road, Maauro shook first one leg and then the other at such speed that they blurred, dirt and moisture were flung off. Fortunately I was far enough away that none hit me. The sight was so peculiar, and so reminiscent of a dog drying itself that I simply could not stop myself from bursting into laughter.

  Maauro gave me a hurt look and I walked over to her, putting an arm around her and struggling to bury my mirth. “I’m sorry,” I fought down a grin. “Really, honestly, I shouldn’t have laughed. Sorry.”

  She gave me a dubious look. “I suppose it did look funny.”

  I wiped the grin away. “Just unexpected. Forget about it. Remember I’m descended from monkeys. It’s amazing we ever got out of the trees.”

  “Well, not literally monkeys,” she said.

  “You don’t know that much about my family,” I joked, surprised at myself for doing so. I never mentioned my family, even to Maauro, who knew who I really was. I realized there was some relief in that.

  Her serious look told me that she realized the significance of this. This was one of those secret places, the unique bridges between only the two of us. It was the place where my love for her lived.

  She placed her right hand over the one I rested on her arm and smiled gently at me.

  “Let’s go find some Seddonese,” I said.

  She nodded. We both turned to the south and began walking down the sun-warmed asphalt road. “Isn’t it ironic,” I said, after we’d gone a kilometer. “We came here at many times the speed of light, flew around the atmosphere at supersonic speed. Here we are hoofing it down the road at foot speed.”

  “You could hop on my back,” she offered. “Even carrying you I can run at highway speed.”

  “Thanks, I’ll pass on the windburn. Besides if someone saw us…”

  “I would guard against that, but perhaps as you say it is safer to proceed thus. When we bring Stardust down I can assemble the cargo mule, or we could ride on one of the crab-robots.”

  “If wishes were horses beggars would ride,” I quoted.

  We walked on in companionable silence. I took off my jacket and tied it around my waist. The sun was climbing in the sky and the heat reflected back off the road. Maauro noticed and unzipped her jacket.

  Ten minutes later, Maauro raised an arm. “It looks like another refugee column, coming this way. There’s a small military escort of an armored car preceding it.”

  “Well might as well wait for them here.”

  “Wrik, I think you should handle the contact. I will speak as little as I must and avoid attention as I can.”

  I nodded. Now I could see the column as they came on. We waited in the center of the road. The armored car leading the marching civilians was camouflaged in gray and dark green. It had a long engine compartment and a small turret atop it. I could see some helmeted men in back standing and staring at us. The car accelerated on its six wheels and advanced on us, pulling up only twenty meters away. A Seddonese stood in the turret and shouted something at us. We walked forward. I held my hands well away from my pistol.

  “Hello,” I called back, wondering if there was any chance I would be understood. “We’re humans from the Confederacy.”

  The Seddonese stared at me with its large purple eyes. Four more dismounted from the back of the vehicle. They held their weapons level, but their demeanor was more curious then hostile.

  “They have seen humans before,” Maauro said, softly. “No panic, they almost seem unsurprised to see us.”

  I nodded, keeping my hands open and level. The office said something. It sounded almost familiar.

  We looked at each other. I took a deep breath and said. “Bexlaw.”

  The officer started and the men looked at each other in excitement, babbling to each other. The officer recovered himself first and snapped orders to the men who fell silent immediately. The officer in the turret gave me a long searching look. “Bexlaw,” he repeated.

  “Bexlaw,” I agreed, at least we had one word in common.

  He turned to the soldiers and told them something. One, a sergeant, I guessed waved us forward with one hand. We came around past the foul-smelling machine and climbed onto the back of the open metal compartment in back of it.

  One of the soldiers looked surprised when Maauro got on and the machine sank under her weight. I didn’t like the look the officer gave both of us at that moment. He said something to the sergeant-type and two of the soldiers got off, evidently demoted to infantry and told to wait for the column. We drove off with the two guards sitting opposite us on the hard bench seats. The officer was on a set of headphones of what looked like a crude radio, speaking urgently.

  We drove back and edged around the refugee column. The road was full of Seddonese, some carrying parcels. Many of the Seddonese were accompanied by carts pulled by four-legged animals of varying sizes, small wheeled vehicles and some by Seddonese themselves. They glanced at us with curiosity and many pointed, especially among the subdued-looking children. I longed to be able to ask questions but there was no present way.

  The column wended its way for hundred of meters, brought up at the rear by another armored car and a squad of troopers. Once clear of the column our vehicle sped up. The road ahead was empty and we made good time. Soon, I could see tents and smoke arising from campfires. We drove into a good size military encampment on the edge of the city. Looking around, it was obvious that, while this was one of the ancient cities and still largely abandoned, it had been resettled for a long while and boasted a sizeable population. Here there had been less new construction. It seemed more effort had been expended in moving back into the ancient buildings. Some had been refurbished and reoccupied. Vehic
les, both self-propelled and animal-drawn bustled, about. Seddonese were on foot all over the place. Most were soldiers. I did not see any humans, but again the people’s lack of reaction told me that we were not the first they had seen.

  The car rolled up to a prestigious building surrounded by soldiers and military vehicles. We pulled up and the guards jumped out. Maauro and I followed. I winced as the vehicle’s shocks showed her weight, though she tried to minimize it by getting off slowly. The officer climbed out of the vehicle jumping down next to me.

  We looked each other over. He wore a dark-green uniform with braid on it but it was suppressed in color, unlike many of the more colorful soldiers bustling about. It made sense. The inside of the armored car must have been a greasy and dirty place as the uniform was well-soiled. A revolver rode on his hip. The helmet he wore was of what looked like a soft, thick leather. He was shorter than I was, with dark-green skin that looked like it had the texture of velvet, only a few shades lighter than his uniform. The face was nearly triangular and hairless and with the large purple eyes lent him a somewhat feminine look. Seeing a live Seddonese this close was very different from examining a desiccated and autopsied corpse.

  The officer pointed at my sidearm, holstered on my hip and held out his hand. I slowly unbelted the weapon and handed it to him. He made a curious hand gesture and something like a bow, perhaps a gesture of conciliation and respect.

  He nodded and pointed to the stairs, waving invitingly with his other hand. The two guards he brought fell in behind us and he commandeered another soldier who was passing by with a rifle slung on his back. The new soldier stared at us, said something to me. I raised my hands in non-comprehension; he seemed to understand the gesture.

  The officer said one word, “Bexlaw.”

  The new soldier sucked in his breath and fell in with the others. At the officer’s urging we quickly headed up the stairs. The Seddonese guards closed up, watching us warily over weapons that they kept handy, but did not point at us. They’d clearly not realized anything about Maauro’s nature. While there were two guards on me, only the new guard trailed her, his triangular bayonet pointed skyward. It wouldn’t even have scratched the pigment of her outer casing.