Spirit of Empire 4: Sky Knights

by Lawrence White

  “We no longer hide from them,” she said. “Maybe you should run for the gates.”

  “We’ll stand with you, M’Lady,” Galborae said. His voice rose so her fighting men could hear him. “We use special weapons that make a lot of noise. Keep tight control of your gorlacs.”

  Lady Atiana gave him a strange look, but when he dismounted and offered her his gorlac, she did not hesitate. She was up in an instant, her bow ready.

  Havlock passed the word to his troops. “The soldiers claim they fight gleasons. Let’s see how they do it. We might learn something. If we have to help, use only stunners for as long as you can. Shuttle, what’s the situation?”

  “Two gleasons are headed toward you. The others are going for the tail end of the caravan. Wait . . . uh, two more targets are headed toward you, sir. They’re well behind the first two. We’re checking to see if they’re local game. Uh . . . no, they’re gleasons, sir.”

  Melds along both sides of the road flattened themselves to the ground with ears back. Bows sung as arrows flew along the melds’ lines of sight, but the archers only knew a direction, not a distance to their targets, and there were no hits. Lady Atiana sent an arrow from her lighter bow, and to her surprise she actually hit something. The arrow stopped in mid-air, but the gleason did not materialize. Clearly, the hit had not wounded the gleason enough to make it lose its invisibility.

  But the arrow was visible to her men. Bows sang again as the gleason raced on an erratic course toward them, the men’s bows sending massive arrows after the first. The gleason materialized and fell, but it was back up in an instant despite the arrows sprouting from its body. Bows sang again.

  Galborae did not wait for archers to find the other gleason. He focused his stunner along Limam’s line of sight, backing up his aim with his helmet display, and fired. The gleason materialized and hesitated from the shock to its body, but it quickly resumed a full-scale gallop toward its intended target. Bows from that side of the column of riders sang, and some of the massive arrows hit their target. The gleason went down and did not get back up.

  Havlock had his blaster out and ready to fire when the first gleason finally fell, its body pierced by a dozen arrows.

  Riders dismounted and went to reclaim their arrows, but Havlock shouted some of the few words he had learned of the local language. “Two more come!”

  None of the melds had yet sensed the second set of gleasons. Lady Atiana looked at him in disbelief, but she readied an arrow. Dismounted riders stayed where they were, their bows ready. The moment the melds sensed gleasons, Galborae and Kratzn fired their stunners. Both gleasons materialized and fell to an onslaught of arrows.

  Blasters sounded from the back of the caravan, but they were far enough away to be muted. Lady Atiana heard the shots and looked, but she could not see anything. She rode up to Havlock and stopped with the nose of her gorlac almost touching his leg. “More?”

  He spoke softly into his microphone, then said, “No. Not for the moment.”

  She stared at him, waiting for someone to translate, but he did not wait. He held a hand out to her with a shiny golden translator pin. She stared at it, thinking it a gift. She shifted a hard gaze to him, her expression demanding explanation. He removed his helmet and pointed to his own translator, then nudged his gorlac over to her and placed the translator on her ear.

  “No more demons come for the moment.”

  He expected her jaw to drop in fright or amazement at his voice coming to her in her own language. Instead, her eyes narrowed and delved into his own as her hand went to the translator on her ear.

  “How do you know?” she asked.

  “The answer to that, M’Lady, is complicated and long. This might not be the best place for discussion.”

  Her voice, though sweet, commanded. “It’s the place we have right now. How do you know?”

  “My sky ship sees them.”

  Her hard look hardened even more. “Ships use the river, not the sky.”

  “I have come from a far land in a sky ship. My men and I are here to help you if you will let us.”

  She leaned over in her saddle, speaking words meant only for him. “I do not allow mercenaries into my city. Do you think me a fool?”

  He stayed in her face. “Your city? I thought it was King Harbig’s?”

  “He’s dead. I’m his daughter. I rule in his place.”

  Havlock felt like he’d been slapped. “You’re a queen?”

  “I am Queen Atiana,” she said, raising her voice enough for Galborae and Kratzn to hear. “I will allow the traders into the city, but not the mercenaries.”

  Kratzn dismounted and knelt on one knee before her with his head bowed, but he did not stay that way for long. “Your Majesty, I vouch for the Sky Lord and his men. We carry word from King Tennisol that he vouches for them as well.”

  She ordered him back on to his gorlac. “You have seen a sky ship?”

  “Many times.” He looked to Havlock. “This might be a good time, Sky Lord.”

  “And it might not. I don’t want to frighten everyone.”

  She heard and understood the message he inferred. “I don’t frighten easily.”

  “I see that, Your Majesty, but your men will be frightened if my sky ship comes.”

  “You can call it? Now? How?”

  Havlock spoke into his microphone for a time, got the replies he needed, then stared into her eyes. “Your Majesty, what you are about to experience will seem like magic, but I promise you it is not. I fight with weapons that are new to you, weapons that are just as real as your swords and arrows. I have come here to show you and your men how to use these new weapons. We will fight demons together, you and I. That is my promise to you. Will you trust me for just a little while as I try to prove it to you?”

  She touched the translator attached to her ear. “I have already seen your magic.”

  “No, Your Majesty. Not magic, just something new to you. If it was magic, it would only work for me, but you will learn that it works for everyone.” He took his comm unit and attached it to her translator device.

  Her hand went to her ear when she heard a voice. Her brow furrowed, but she moved her gorlac to the side of the road and stood in the stirrups. Sergeant Vitor waved to her from the rear of the caravan. She brought a hand to her brow to shade her eyes, staring long at him.

  She seemed to listen again, then she spoke. “Dismount.”

  When Vitor complied, she glanced at Havlock, then abruptly pulled her gorlac around and nudged it over to the leader of her men. She spoke to him, then pulled the translator and microphone from her ear and attached it to his ear. Her leap of understanding floored Havlock, and his brow furrowed in wonder.

  Her soldier repeated the antics with Vitor. She left the unit on his ear and rode slowly back to Havlock holding out a hand. “You have another?”

  He looked to Galborae who was also staring at her in amazement, the hint of a grin flitting across his face. He lifted proud eyes to Havlock, then removed his own translator and comm unit. He placed it on her ear saying, “Well done, Your Majesty.”

  She turned her gorlac and cantered back to the caravan, continuing for some distance. When she stopped and turned, she spoke to her man. When he spoke back to her and raised his arm, her lips thinned and she cantered back to them, her gaze locked on Havlock. He sensed correctly that she was not through with her questions.

  “This is a powerful weapon. You have not answered my question. How do you see the demons?”

  “Actually, it’s not a weapon. It’s a tool, just like a hammer or a wheel, but the ramifications are significant.”

  “No, they are awesome. Answer my question, Sky Lord.”

  “My sky ship has a captain. Ask him to speak to you.”

  She did so and blinked at the response. “He said his name is Hawke.”

  “Order him to bring the ship to you. Uh, you might want to warn your men and maybe the men standing guard on the walls.”

&nb
sp; She started to speak, then stopped and blinked. “He said more demons come, three of them.”

  “From where?”

  “Your man Vitor says he has it under control.” She looked up and waved to Vitor who was racing toward the middle of the caravan at a full gallop. He waved back, then pulled in between two wagons.

  Havlock could wait no longer. He took a spare comm unit from an equipment pouch and put it on. Vitor and Lieutenant Fogel were organizing the response to the attack coming at both sides of the caravan.

  He went to the Queen and spoke to her. “Our weapons are noisy. Remind your men. Their gorlacs will have to be trained before they’re accustomed to the noise.”

  She nodded and pulled her gorlac around, preparing to dash off, then stopped. She spoke at length into her comm unit and received a reply from her captain. She turned to Havlock with wonder in her eyes, but he held a finger up to his mouth. The frequency was busy with orders, and she understood that fighting came first.

  Havlock nudged his gorlac up to hers, and Galborae did the same on the other side. “Your Majesty,” Galborae said, “let me first say how sorry I am to hear about King Harbig. I only met him once, but he struck me as a good man and a good king.” He did not wait for her response. “The Sky Lord’s weapons consist of two separate actions, and we have taught the traders to use them. The first is a blue light that finds and wounds the demon. As you probably know, we can see the demons when they are wounded seriously enough. The second step is a weapon that throws fire on the demons. It is a powerful fire, more powerful than a sword or arrow. The best part is that it works from far away as well as from close-up. The sky knights do not use swords.”

  She heard his words, but she was engrossed in the clipped chatter in her ear from the marines and traders. Though it was a simple attack, every attack received the respect it deserved. Multiple blasters sounded in the distance, and Sergeant Vitor called Havlock.

  “All clear, Sky Lord.”

  He scowled at the title coming from his own man, then said, “Very well. The shuttle will be here in a few minutes. Any wounded?”

  “No, sir.”

  Queen Atiana stared at Havlock, waiting for the next step. He stared a question back at her. She frowned, then understood. She spoke into her own comm unit. “Hawke, are there any more demons?”

  Havlock’s mouth dropped open, but Galborae just grinned. “You might be taking lessons from her before we’re done, Sky Lord.”

  Hawke responded. “Yes, Your Majesty, but none of them are close.”

  “I would meet you, Hawke. Will you come?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “What if the demons attack? Who will be watching?”

  “Uh, I’m not the only sky ship, Your Majesty.”

  The reply visibly startled her, the first time Havlock had seen her lose her composure. She looked to the sky, but the white ship blended well into the bright sky and she did not see it until it was fairly close. Havlock, already beside her, reached a hand out to her shoulder, knowing what the sight of the ship would do to her. His touch startled her, but she soon ignored it. The ship drew all her attention as it descended at the rear of the convoy and advanced slowly toward them just a few feet above the tallest wagon.

  Havlock spoke into his comm unit to the queen’s rider who wore an identical unit. “Hold, men of Tricor. I am the Sky Lord. Heed my words. Your queen is in no danger.”

  A voice spoke back to him. “Free her or we attack.”

  He dropped his hand from her shoulder and moved his gorlac away. “See? She stays of her own free will.”

  Atiana, though fully engrossed in the shuttle, had not lost awareness of her surroundings. “I am free, Captain, though I cannot say there is no danger. Hold for now, but do not let your guard down.”

  The shuttle hovered silently above them, then floated over the heads of the queen’s guards before settling to the road just in front of the main gates, dwarfing everything in sight.

  The front ramp lowered and a marine stepped from the ship to the ground. “It’s me, Hawke,” he called, raising an arm. “You are welcome to come aboard, Your Majesty.”

  She turned to Havlock with eyes that had grown enormous. He sensed her working hard to control her fright, so he climbed down from his gorlac and held a hand up to her.

  Galborae joined him, saying, “There’s no magic here, Your Majesty. I have been inside the sky ship many times. It is safer inside the ship than out here. Demons cannot hurt the sky ship.”

  Hawke, tall, spare, red-headed, and freckled, the antithesis of a standard marine but fully armed and confident, strode from the ship, passing through the queen’s men who moved aside for him. He stopped before Havlock and saluted, saying, “Sky Lord,” then in one fluid motion he turned to Queen Atiana and went to one knee with his head bowed.

  He held that position until she spoke to him. “Stand, Captain.”

  He stood, his wide-spaced green eyes deep and welcoming and friendly. “The sky ship is my home, Your Majesty, just as these wagons are home to the traders. Be welcome to my home. I know this is all new to you and it might be too soon, but if it pleases you, I invite you and two of your men to come with me into the sky ship.”

  “I want to know how you see the demons. Must I come into the sky ship to learn how you see them?”

  Hawke looked to Havlock for help, but Havlock remained silent. Hawke was doing well enough on his own.

  “I’m afraid so, Your Majesty.” He paused, then said, “If you’ll follow me toward the ship, I want to show you something. We won’t go inside the ship, not until you’re ready.” He led her, Havlock, and Galborae back through the guards to the ramp of the ship and stopped.

  He rapped his knuckles on the boarding ramp. “As you can see, this ship is made of metal just as your swords are made of metal. I’m sorry to tell you that the similarities end there. Most of what you will see inside the ship will not make sense to you, but if you’re willing to work with us, I promise you the day will come when it does. The Sky Lord is here to help you defeat the demons, but he’s here to teach you as well.”

  She looked to Havlock, then turned and faced him squarely, really looking at him for the first time. “You are warriors. You are scholars as well?”

  “We are, Your Majesty. All of us. Part of learning is to know when there has been enough learning for one day. I think there has been more than enough for this day. My men and I are prepared to return to the sky ship as soon as the caravan is safely within your walls. We can talk more tomorrow and the next day. There’s no need for you to enter the ship.”

  She stepped closer to him, looking hard into his eyes. “We can fight the demons if we can find them. I must know how you do it.”

  She turned back toward her men and started walking. Havlock thought she was done for the day, but she surprised him. She stopped as if she’d remembered something, then lifted her hand to her ear and spoke into her comm unit.

  “Captain Termae, I’m going into the sky ship. Tell me . . . what worries you more: me going into that ship alone, or you coming with me?”

  They all heard the gruff reply. “Your Majesty, everything you do worries me.” They heard a sigh, then, “Coming.”

  Atiana turned to Havlock with a twinkle in her eyes. “He hates it when I do that. His life was much simpler when Father was alive.”

  A tight grin found its way to Havlock’s face. “I believe I know exactly how he feels, Your Majesty.”

  Termae joined them and introductions were completed, then Atiana turned to Hawke and reached a hand out. “I’m ready, Captain.”

  Hawke lifted an arm and she took it. He led her onto the lip of the ramp, then up a few steps where she paused to look around with wide eyes. When he took another step, she followed. She turned worried eyes to Captain Termae who was not at all so inclined, but knowing the choice she had given him, his lips firmed and he followed.

  Galborae stepped up beside Turmae. “I took my first step long a
go, but I have not forgotten how difficult it was.”

  Termae gritted his teeth and continued a few more steps. After that, it got easier. Sergeant Hawke gathered the delegation together and led them up a spiral stairway to the bridge.

  The first thing the newcomers saw was the screen running from one side of the room to the other. They looked down on the setting from a height equivalent to the third floor of a building.

  Atiana’s brow furrowed. “I do not remember seeing an opening.”

  “You did not, Your Majesty,” Hawke replied. “That is just one of many things you do not yet understand about this sky ship, but one day soon you will.” He pointed out the other pilot who was sitting in a seat with a helmet on. “He controls the ship with his mind. It’s a little bit like the way you meld with your animals. He knows we are here, but he is concentrating on controlling this great sky ship.”

  “It’s alive?” she asked, her lips curling in horror.

  “No, Your Majesty. The sky ship is just metal like your swords. I told you that you would discover strangeness here, but I promise you it will not remain strange forever. Can we leave it at that for today?”

  She nodded. “Show me how you see the demons.”

  “They are no more demons than we are magic,” he said. “We call them gleasons. They’re just evil creatures that live and bleed and die just like we do. For me to show you how we see them, we have to fly. It might be best if you sat down.”

  “I am accustomed to flight on my sauron,” she said. “Captain Termae is not.” She looked to him, then removed her translator/comm unit and went to his side. She spoke softly, privately. “Can you do this thing, my friend?”

  “You know how I am with heights.” She nodded solemnly and his mouth formed into a thin, hard line. “Get on with it.”

  She replaced her translator, and Hawke spoke to both of them. “Only your eyes will tell you you’re in the air. Unlike a gorlac or a sauron, there is no sensation of motion inside this sky ship. I promise you that the ship cannot fall from the sky and that you cannot fall out of it.”