Debbi manipulated the black rock between her fingers. "It's tannis. What's to tell?"
"Tell me where it came from?"
"How would I know—" Debbi stopped. Her brow wrinkled as she regarded the shard almost suspiciously. "North? The edge of the Glass Wastes."
Martool nodded with satisfaction.
Debbi seemed lost in thought now, staring at the stone. She rubbed her thumb along its sleek, inky surface. The tannis had a faint purple sheen and changed shape under her touch as if it was putty instead of steel hard rock. Slowly, the lump of rock lengthened and thinned into a knifelike shard that glowed with violent energy.
Ross and Fareel craned their necks, watching with animated interest. Stew stared with calm concern. Ringo leaned impatiently against the wall.
Ross asked Martool, "Did you charge that tannis?"
"No," the shaman answered. "She is doing it. She is connected to the tannis now."
Ross said, "So it's like blacklining? I've seen Reapers do that."
Martool replied, "No. This is natural. The planet has made her one of its own. She is one of its guardians. And, in time, she will take my place."
Debbi looked up, embarrassed she had forgotten the others. "Sorry. What were you saying?"
Martool reached into the bag again and brought out another small chunk of tannis. She handed it to Debbi. The human took it and instantly grimaced as if she smelled something vile.
"Ungh." Debbi turned her head. "Ghost rock."
Martool nodded again. "Yes. There is the slightest vein of the dead rock inside that piece. You can sense it now."
Debbi rubbed her forehead, slightly nauseated. "Great. So what? Now I'm allergic to ghost rock?"
"No. With time, it will not cause you discomfort. But you will still be insulted by its presence. And you will fight to destroy it."
For the first time Debbi seemed to notice that she had reshaped the first tannis chunk into a dagger shard. She held it stiffly in her open palm where it continued to glow purple like a dying ember. After a long silent moment, she looked painfully at Martool. "How is this possible? What am I?"
"The planet has brought you back. It has granted you powers that will allow you to meet your responsibilities."
"But I was dead. I don't remember it, but everyone says I was. If I came back, then I'm just like those things that walked out of the graveyard. Just like Quantrill."
Ross started to speak, but Martool now waved him to silence. The shaman moved closer, but wisely, didn't touch Debbi. The anouk said with a strong voice from her younger days, "You are nothing like those things. You are not like Quantrill. He is dead. You are alive."
"So I wasn't really dead? Was I just stunned? Or in some kind of suspended animation?"
"No. You were dead. You were gone. But you are back now. Not just among the living. You are alive."
Debbi backed up against the wall and slid down into a tight squat. She looked at her hands as if they belonged to someone else. She stared at both the glowing tannis shard and the ghost rock-infested piece. Even though she was afraid of what might happen, she couldn't stop herself from trying again. She massaged the infected stone between her fingers with wary expectation. When nothing happened, her expectation turned to dismay and frustration. Debbi placed the shard in her coat pocket and took the lump in both hands. She rubbed the rock between her hands vigorously enough to start a fire. She glared angrily at the unyielding black stone.
Debbi asked Martool, "What's wrong with it? It's not working now."
"Ghost rock," the shaman replied. "It destroys our connection with the tannis. That is why it must be eradicated."
Debbi returned her attention to the rock. Her eyes poured over the glassy facets. The surface of the tannis was so clean and pure. The color was deep and flawless. Her consciousness drifted over the surface and suddenly dove far beneath it. The stone was all around her even as she felt its hard texture under her fingers. It should have been simple to move it. She could visualize herself pushing the stone with her finger and making grooves in it, shaping it to her own design. But the fabric of the rock refused to yield, as she knew it should. It was like pushing against water, folding itself back around her, returning to its own shape.
Debbi saw the corruption that lay across her connection to the stone. It was even darker than the black tannis, but it was a darkness that transcended color. She moved towards it. It smelled of rot, loss, and disappointment. And it moved. It twisted and writhed like an eel pulled from the water and tossed dying on a pier. Tortured. Hopeless.
The desperation spread out before her. It seemed endless, piled one on the next beyond counting. All the despondent and lonely deaths, all the hungry anger and viciousness, trapped in this single vein of ghost rock and spreading through the planet. She felt it digging to the surface, breaking through with its load of fear and loathing, like some horrible fungus slowly rotting a ripe apple. But more, it was reaching across the entire system. Reaching out and grasping, pulling the innocent into its unending and unrelenting maw.
In that infinite instance, Debbi sensed numberless horrible personalities. Among the crowd, she touched a presence that used to be Coltrane. And she felt Captain Marat lost in the morass. Debbi almost smiled at the memory of his end despite her fear. And then she detected Quantrill in the distance. He was so extraordinarily bitter and necrotic she could smell his stench. She was overcome by an extraordinary hatred and outrage. Still, her terror was stronger and she struggled to stay clear of his sinister location.
However, beyond Quantrill's signature was another presence she did not know. It was almost alluring in its loathsome magnificence.
Suddenly Debbi was staring into Martool's frightened eyes.
The shaman was shaking the woman's head between her gnarled, clawed hands. "Debbi! Stop it!"
Debbi blinked. She could still smell the rot in her nostrils. She felt Martool wrench the shard of ghost rock tainted tannis from her clutching hand and hurl it across the room. It impacted the wall inches from Ringo's head. The kid only turned with disinterest to look at the stone as it ricocheted across the floor.
A worried Stew instinctively started for Debbi until Ross waved him off. Stew hesitated, and then grudgingly stepped back. The two Rangers watched as Martool released her grip on Debbi's face.
The anouk exhaled with relief. "You are too impetuous by far. You shouldn't explore certain places. Certainly not now, and perhaps never."
"What did I just see?" Debbi asked. Inside this homey room surrounded by her friends, everything seemed normal again. Yet beyond this room was a world where fear and horror thrived and waited and dreamed of overwhelming this planet. It was powerful and all consuming. It was dedicated and remorseless. It was destined to conquer. And ghost rock was that corruption made real. Everything Martool had told her at Castle Rock that day in that sacred room was true.
Martool said, "You have seen the spirits of the restless dead and those they serve. They are arrayed against the living."
Debbi stared at Martool then her eyes widened with confusion. "How can we fight that?"
Martool said, "I knew you went too far. You saw too much."
"The whole planet is rotten," Debbi muttered.
"No," the shaman answered. "It is getting worse, but it isn't hopeless."
"I saw it. I smelled it. It doesn't have an end."
Martool nodded. "If you only see the decay, then yes. But you have to see the healthy side as well. As corruption can grow, so can the other. Look around. With your eyes. See these people here. Fareel. Me. Your fellow Rangers. They are all fighting the rot, as you call it. It isn't going to be easy. But it isn't hopeless. You yourself have brought more into the fight, perhaps without your knowledge. Even before the planet made you one of its own, you were part of the struggle. You are well on the way. You faced your fear. You faced your death. And now you must face what is worse than fear or death."
There was a knock at the door that caused everyone to jump.
Ross angrily pulled the door open to reveal Miss Etta with a tray heavily laden with food. The force of Ross's response startled her.
"Am I interrupting anything?" The landlady stared innocently into the room.
Ross took the tray without a word and started to close the door with his foot.
McDuff slipped in low along the floor. The cat bolted across the room and leapt into Debbi's lap. She didn't react. McDuff arched the top of his head against her downturned face. The cat then flopped onto his side, paws in the air. He wriggled luxuriantly against Debbi's thighs, expecting his usual vigorous chin scratching. He was soon aggressively relaxed and his heavy purr was audible to everyone.
Debbi slowly put her arms around the animal and embraced him. She lifted the seemingly boneless cat and buried her face in his furry side. She scratched the cat under chin sparking torrents of satisfied purrs. Debbi opened her eyes and looked at the cat with a slight smile.
Miss Etta shoved the door open and leaned in. "I'm sorry. I'll take him out."
Debbi held up her head. "That's okay. He can stay."
The landlady glanced around at the Rangers and anouks. She paused sternly at Fareel in a silent warning. "Fine. As long as he's no trouble." Miss Etta lingered hopefully in the threshold. "I guess I'll just go then." Ross closed the door in her face.
Debbi stroked the warm, vibrating cat as she looked about the room. Her eyes rested on each of the figures standing around her. Martool stared back at her. Fareel tried to appear bold, but was clearly wary of the human woman. Ringo inspected his fingernails. Stew smiled in support, but his blue eyes showed nothing but worry. Ross stood with his arms crossed. On the surface he seemed his usual assured self, but his face was etched with confusion and even fear. The troubled emotion that showed on him caused her to smile in reassurance.
"Okay," Debbi said, desperate to wrench things back to normal for the sake of everyone in the room. "I guess dead or alive doesn't matter. I learn on the job like usual. It's time to get to work. What matters is that we wipe out Quantrill."
"No!" Martool and Ross thundered at the same time. The shaman and the Ranger exchanged surprised glances then turned back to Debbi.
Debbi laughed, kissed McDuff on the top of his head, and set the cat aside where he curled up with a paw over his eyes.
"What's the problem?" Debbi asked Martool. "I thought I was supposed to fight evil creatures like him. Isn't that my new job description?"
"Don't be disrespectful," Martool scolded. "You obviously don't know enough about your new self. Your emotions are raw. You are not prepared. Didn't you see the vastness of the enemy? With time you will learn what I tried to tell you at Castle Rock." The anouk balled a quivering fist. "Sometimes you cannot fight with this." She opened her hand. "It will take time."
Debbi stood up. "The enemy is big. But for any big job, you break it down into tasks and get going. The first task is stomping Quantrill. I want him off my planet and I want him off now."
Ross shook his head with his typical superior attitude. "For God's sake! Hold your horses, Dallas. I just pulled your ass out of a coffin. Let's take some time and get yourself together."
Debbi replied, "You hold your horses, Ross. There'll be plenty of time once that monster is gone. Better to get it done now. Let's take the fight to him. You want him out there playing on his terms?"
Ross looked at Martool for support, a strange sight to everyone in the room. "Talk to her, willya?"
Martool said evenly, "Your captain is correct. You are not ready for such a dangerous and strenuous effort."
"Not ready? I just came back from the dead! I won't get more ready." Debbi rubbed her hands together. "No. He's got to go. Now."
Ross pointed at her. "Just settle down. Seems to me, I still give the orders in this outfit."
Debbi said, "The way I hear it, you basically gave up command so you could camp by the Sanitarium."
Ross swiveled his angry glare on Stew like a tank turret. The fair-haired Ranger blushed.
"Uh. just bringing her up to speed," Stew stammered. "And you're right, Ross." He turned to Debbi. "He's right. Just relax for awhile. You've been through a lot."
The woman Ranger folded her hands over her chest in the classic death pose. "I've been relaxing, Stew. Now I'm ready to get up and move around." She flexed her shoulders and bones cracked.
"Stop this!" Martool exclaimed. "You are being foolish. You are too important to act so childishly. This is no longer about you. You belong to the planet!"
"Seems to me," Debbi pointedly mimicked Ross's words, "that wiping out Quantrill would be just what the planet ordered. You said yourself he was part of the corruption. I say we squeeze him till he pops."
Martool said, "Perhaps you misunderstand your position. Just because you returned from the dead, doesn't mean you can't die again."
Debbi grinned. "Maybe I'll just come back then too."
Ross snapped, "And maybe you won't. You've been given an opportunity that nobody ever gets. You've gotten a second chance. Don't waste it."
She said soberly, "I don't want to waste it. I want to use it. I've got a purpose and destroying Quantrill is part of it. When did you turn so fraidy?"
There was a strained silence until Ross said quietly, "I'm just tired of burying people I care about."
Debbi touched him on the arm. "Okay. Next time I'll bury you."
Ross shook his head with an exasperated and disappointed sigh.
She caught his eye with an admission that her levity was out of place. "I know what you're saying. But I'm only doing the job you taught me. If we don't do it, who will?"
"I'm sick of the job."
"Too bad. Quantrill's on us. He's our responsibility. So is Temptation. After we get him and put things in order, maybe we can talk about doing something else."
Debbi and Ross stared at each other. Martool waited silently.
Ross exhaled. "Yeah, you're right. Let's do it."
Martool dropped her head in dismay.
Debbi slapped Ross on the arm. "Great." She turned to Stew. "You in?"
"Of course."
"Ringo?"
The kid shrugged. "All right. But let's hurry up. I need to wake up soon and get to work."
Chapter 9
Lithia had begun to regret sending Thomas to be eaten months ago. As always, decisions spawned by the desire for personal satisfaction don't make for good management policy. Her efforts to rebuild Temptation were creating endless days dealing with mountains of paperwork. And it was actually "paper" work in some cases as this pathetic town used paper, and reused it, because of the collapse of their technology grid. Her requests to the HI Directors for an assistant had been met with delays. She knew they wanted to see miraculous results before they committed any further resources to the Banshee exile.
Only the Colonial Ranger foot-dragging kept her from moving forward. But she was working on that and she felt it would soon turn in her favor.
Her sources told her that the local Rangers were beginning to accept the continued absence of Captain Ross. This meant they would soon look to the future and a new command structure, one that would be easy to control. The former priest was the prime candidate. Stew would have to make a decision. She had managed to have a small cache of black guns transported to the surface so she could hand them out to the Rangers when the agreement was signed. It was good business to show the contractee the benefit of the contract immediately and earn instant goodwill. Then once she could demonstrate to the Board that the Temptation Rangers were safely in her pocket, she would have all the resources she needed.
Lithia had no doubt it would all fall into place. But it needed to happen soon because she was exhausted from doing menial administrative work. She had no idea what it took to construct a reactor and she didn't care. She needed a staff to handle those mundane items. She was a big picture person. And the big picture was that she would soon run this town.
It was that thought alone that kept her going through the
long days and nights while the horrific winds blew through the cracks in her office walls. She had paid out of her own pocket account for laborers to repair the Hellstromme Industries office, but they had done a poor job. Eventually, this entire facility would have to be leveled and a new structure erected that would demonstrate to Temptation that HI was in charge. In fact, the location of the current Colonial Ranger headquarters would be a perfect spot to build.
Lithia smiled at the thought. Or at least the corners of her mouth quivered upward slightly.
The viewer on her desk buzzed to life and up popped a holo from the security camera at the front door. She saw the top of a dark hat and a long black duster blowing out behind. The person looked up at the camera.
It was Captain Ross.
Lithia dispatched one of her automatons to let Ross in. She watched him enter and proceed through the building. He walked with a purposeful stride. She could read people and she didn't like what she was reading from him.
Finally the door to her office opened and the veteran Ranger swept in. He took up a position in the middle of the room, one hip cocked, thumbs hooked in his gun belt.
"I hear you're looking for me," he said brusquely.
Lithia smiled innocently as if taken aback. "Captain Ross, I presume." She stood and extended her hand to a chair. "Please, sit. Can I offer you something to drink? I have real coffee."
"Didn't come for breakfast."
"You have me at a disadvantage, Captain. I was under the impression that you had resigned your command. I have been dealing with the Ranger named Stew. And we had made excellent progress toward cooperation in rebuilding Temptation."
"Now you're dealing with me."
"Very well. Stew and I had a number of matters under consideration. Let me call up the files."
Ross shook his head. "Look, let's cut through the crap. There's only one matter under consideration. I won't have you coming to Temptation with a pocket full of Hellstromme money and trying to buy up this town. I know your kind."
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