Empires in Ruin
Page 23
“Which will definitely work on a different warship,” said Eastwood.
“The generator software we extracted from the Aeklu created codes which were also recognized by the Verumol.”
“I didn’t know that,” said Eastwood. He opened his mouth again, like he was about to launch into speculation on Lavorix security protocols.
Recker lifted a hand to stop him. “Later, please.”
“The topside hatch it is, sir.”
“Lieutenant Burner, order the platoon to the forward airlock.”
“Yes, sir. Sergeant Shadar is already requesting a channel.”
Recker frowned. “Speak to him.”
“Unvak is dead, sir,” said Burner a few seconds later. “He just dropped down when we exited the mode 3. Corporal Hendrix is attempting to revive him, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen.”
“Damn,” said Recker. He lowered his head. “What about the others?”
“No casualties except Unvak, sir.”
“We can’t hold the mission,” said Recker. He took a deep breath. “Order the squads to the forward airlock,” he repeated.
“Sergeant Shadar acknowledges, sir.”
The death of Unvak was a hard blow, coming as it did so unexpectedly. It also raised questions about the short- and longer-term effects of whatever aura it was that surrounded the Gorgadar.
Having come so far, Recker was not about to give up. He guided the Vengeance up the sloping flank of the Gorgadar and then piloted it above the upper armour. From this vantage, the warship’s broad beam was apparent, as was the gentle port-to-starboard curve of its topside. Towards the nose, the hull beam narrowed in two abrupt steps and the frontmost section of the plating was flat, unlike the rest of the spaceship.
No external weaponry broke the clean lines, though the spaceship still exuded a menace that went beyond any physical appearance. Recker wondered if the Gorgadar’s creators had somehow imbued the vessel with their own cruelty in the same way as they had the Aeklu.
“Find me a hatch,” he said.
“I’m scanning the midsection, six thousand metres from the nose, sir, said Burner. “Found something!”
“That’s an entrance, right enough,” said Aston. “The access panel is visible.”
Recker dropped the Vengeance onto the Gorgadar’s upper armour, at the top of the curve.
“We’re all going,” he said. “I’ve set the Vengeance on autopilot. If necessary, I can send it a return to base command and it’ll fly back to Earth.”
Picking up his gauss rifle, Recker patted his leg pocket unconsciously, to be sure it still contained spare booster needles. Then, he exited the bridge and dashed for the forward airlock along with his crew.
Fitting everyone into the airlock was a tight and Recker found himself pushed up against one of the side walls. When the inner door was closed, he ordered Sergeant Shadar to open the boarding ramp.
“Ramp opening,” Shadar confirmed.
The air rushed out and the temperature fell rapidly. Too late, Recker wondered if the hull of the Vengeance had been protecting everyone from the worst effects of the energy which killed Unvak. No one died and the soldiers descended the ramp at speed. When it was his turn, Recker followed into another example of the universe’s wonder.
Light from the nearby star was filtered by the Gorgadar’s energy shield and was even further muted by an intermingled fog of darkness which somehow coexisted with the sun’s glare. Whenever Recker tried to focus on this darkness, it eluded him, remaining forever in his periphery.
Other business came first and Recker hurried towards the entrance hatch, using the gravity fields in his boots to keep him planted. The soldiers gathered nearby, leaving him room to approach.
“I’m sorry about Unvak,” said Recker, crouching next to Shadar at the access panel.
“As am I, Captain Recker.”
The grief in the Daklan’s face was naked and it caught Recker unawares, though perhaps it shouldn’t have done so.
“No one will be forgotten, Sergeant.”
Recker touched the access panel and nothing happened. Prepared for that outcome, he ordered his suit computer to interface and then sent his command codes across the link. A slab of metal dropped soundlessly into the hull and steps emerged from the inner wall of the shaft.
“Just like the Aeklu,” said Recker.
The need for progress spurred him on and he climbed to the platform below, where he located an airlift door. Without waiting, he summoned the car without being asked to enter any command codes. By the time the door opened, most of the soldiers were already on the platform with him.
The lift was in darkness and Recker turned on his helmet torch. “In,” he ordered.
Nobody wanted to be left outside and the platoon squeezed into the car. Behind their visors, the expressions of the soldiers were uniformly severe – wide eyes and bared teeth.
“What’s the plan, sir?” asked Private Raimi.
“This is the Gorgadar and we’re going to steal it, Private.”
“The Lavorix should have remembered to lock up, huh?”
The man’s tone was light, but Recker wasn’t fooled. Everyone was on edge, him included.
“What’re we going to find when the lift door opens?” asked Private Gantry.
“Dead Lavorix,” said Recker.
The lift stopped and the door opened into a dark corridor. Immediately, Recker noticed the background thrum of propulsion, different to anything he’d heard before. The air was a little above freezing and carried the same scents as the Aeklu – musty age, as well as something unpleasant and hard to identify.
A corpse lay outside, dressed in the near-black material of ultra-fine links worn by the Lavorix. Directing the beam of his torch around, Recker spotted other bodies. He stooped and, without sympathy, grabbed the helmet of the dead alien and turned it so he could see into its visor.
“Shit, look at that,” said Corporal Montero.
The skin of the Lavorix had darkened from its usual pale green-white and had shrivelled tightly about the creature’s skull, revealing its sunken cheekbones and narrow forehead. Sharp teeth had yellowed and the gums holding them had vanished completely.
“Come on,” said Recker, rising and heading along the corridor. “I hope these bastards rot in hell.”
The journey to the bridge was straightforward and Recker only took a single wrong turn when the interior layout of the Gorgadar varied from that of the Aeklu. Many Lavorix crowded the passages, all of them desiccated in the same way. Recker felt no sympathy for his enemy, though he couldn’t revel in their deaths.
Located at the top of twenty steps, the bridge door was closed. Sergeant Vance wanted to take additional care, but Recker was in no mood for delays. He entered the command codes and the blast door opened onto the bridge.
“Just like the Aeklu’s,” he said. “Except with the original hardware and the original crew still in place.”
Recker ordered his own crew to find themselves a station so they could begin poking around.
“Sergeant Vance, I’d be grateful if you could remove these bodies. I don’t care where you put them.”
“Yes, sir,” said Vance, motioning for the soldiers nearby to get started.
“We’ve been here before,” Recker said to his crew. “Time to learn.”
A Lavorix dressed like all the others faced the command console and Recker dragged it onto the floor. He felt like kicking the corpse and with an effort he refrained. Instead, he dropped into the seat, noticing that the covering – a material which might have once been leather – was cracked and split, like it had also been affected by whatever had killed the Lavorix.
The command console readily accepted Recker’s codes and a prompt appeared on the central screen in Lavorix script. Recker’s translation software had been updated using data from the Vengeance, allowing him to read the text.
Gorgadar>
After a few seconds of experimen
tation, he was able to give his other crew members sign-in access.
“It’s been a long road to here, folks,” he said. “And I don’t know what lies ahead. One thing I’m sure of, is that I want this spaceship. We’re going to find the Ixidar and we’re going to destroy it.”
“I’ll check the battle network, sir,” said Larson. “If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to track the enemy position.” She went silent. “Oh crap.”
Recker knew instinctively he was about to hear something terrible.
“The Ancidium is coming,” she said.
“How?” asked Eastwood. “It’s the Lavorix’s home world, isn’t it?”
“Apparently not, Lieutenant. Not if it’s coming for us.”
It felt to Recker as if everything had been building to this – that his every hard-fought victory had brought him to this moment. No despair came and no fear. Instead, he felt emptiness and that was worse than anything.
“The Lavorix started this and we’re going to finish it,” he said. “Whatever it takes.”
As ever, the hardest person to fool was himself, but Recker knew he couldn’t let the reality of this war grind him down. The Gorgadar was a tool and he was damn well going to figure out how to use it. When the Ancidium came, it would face the most powerful of its Laws.
Win or lose, Recker would fight.
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