Web of Fire Bind-up

by Steve Voake

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he had said. ‘Can anyone here tell me what we are looking at?’

  There had been a long, somewhat uncomfortable silence and a shuffling of feet before the professor had spoken again.

  ‘No? Well perhaps I should not be surprised, for it is in truth a rather recent discovery. But it is one which you should mark well, for it may contain within it the secrets of the universe – secrets which – one day – some of you may yet begin to unravel.’

  A hush had fallen across the auditorium, and the professor had let it hang in the air for several moments before finally gazing out at the serious faces of his young students and telling them:

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at a doorway into the human brain.’

  Nine

  ‘So you’ve really got no memory at all of how you got here then?’ asked Sam as they sat huddled together, chattering excitedly about the turn of events that had led to their reunion.

  ‘No, not really,’ replied Skipper. ‘I remember having a sort of dream that I was being carried, and I was very cold, and then someone dressed me in this warm robe. The next thing I knew I was waking up here in this cave. Before all of that, the last thing I remember is you and me flying in a mosquito, trying to get you back to Earth again.’

  ‘Well that’s the weird part,’ said Sam. ‘I did get back to Earth.’

  ‘What?’ said Skipper, puzzled.

  ‘I know,’ said Sam, ‘and it gets weirder. I met up with Zip and Mump yesterday, and they told me that you and I both went missing from Aurobon four years ago.’

  ‘Four years?’ exclaimed Skipper. ‘But that’s impossible.’

  ‘That’s what I thought,’ said Sam, ‘and I wouldn’t have believed it except for the fact that they both look so much older.’

  Skipper looked at him doubtfully. ‘Are you sure about this?’

  Sam sighed. ‘Look, I know it’s hard to believe,’ he said, ‘although it’s easier for me because I can still vaguely remember my time back on Earth. Do you really not remember anything?’

  Skipper shook her head and Sam saw that she looked quite frightened. ‘No,’ she said, ‘nothing at all. None of this makes any sense to me, Sam.’

  At that moment there was a loud thwump outside the cave and they looked up to see that Zip and Mump had landed their flea in the snow outside. Sam ran across to the entrance and waved.

  ‘Hey, buddy,’ Zip called. ‘Are you OK? We were worried about you, so we followed your tracks.’

  ‘I’m fine!’ Sam shouted back. ‘But come and see who I’ve found!’

  There followed several minutes of loud whooping and laughter, with Mump and Zip doing a little celebratory dance around Skipper while she stood amused and bewildered in the middle of the cave. Later, after the excitement and emotion of their meeting had died down a little, Mump managed to get a fire going while Zip told Skipper about all the things that had happened during her absence.

  ‘That’s absolutely awful,’ said Skipper, her eyes flashing angrily as she learned of all the death and destruction that had come to Aurobon. ‘We have to hit back at them somehow.’

  ‘We’re trying,’ said Zip, ‘but the fact that they control the skies makes life very difficult for us.’

  ‘What about the wasps?’ said Skipper. ‘There must still be some left, surely.’

  ‘There’s one squadron of about twenty wasps,’ said Zip. ‘Hidden away in a secret production factory in the mountains, which is where the Resistance are based. Brindle’s been in charge of them since Firebrand got captured, but he’s grounded the lot of them. Refuses to let them fly.’

  ‘What?’ exclaimed Skipper in amazement. ‘Why?’

  ‘Robber flies,’ said Mump. ‘Meanest, nastiest things you ever saw. Soon as you get a wasp up in the air, those things just tear ’em out of the sky.’

  Skipper looked incredulous.

  ‘Surely their pilots are no match for ours?’

  ‘It’s not their pilots that are the problem,’ said Zip. ‘It’s the flies. Our wasps have got no chance against them. They’re bigger, faster, more powerful, and with a sharp proboscis that can suck the life out of any wasp in mid-air. Our dragonfly squadrons could probably have matched them, but Odoursin was well aware of that. So the first wave of robber flies descended on our dragonfly base and destroyed every single one of them before they could even take off. After that we had no chance. Their air superiority was total.’

  Sam was thoughtful for a few moments, then clicked his fingers and pointed at Zip as an idea suddenly came to him.

  ‘This factory that you mentioned up in the mountains – is it still capable of producing more wasps?’

  ‘Well, yes,’ said Zip, ‘but I don’t see what good it would do. Even if we sent up a thousand wasps, the robber flies would soon destroy them. It might take them a bit longer, but they’d still win in the end. The wasps just can’t compete against them.’

  ‘No, wait,’ said Skipper. ‘I think I know what Sam’s getting at.’ She leaned forward excitedly. ‘Go on, Sam.’

  ‘You said that Odoursin harvested the eggs of robber flies,’ Sam continued. ‘Where did he get them from?’

  Zip shrugged. ‘Earth I suppose. Same way as we got the wasp eggs.’

  ‘Well, then,’ said Sam. ‘Why don’t we go and get some too?’

  Zip pursed his lips. ‘We’ve already thought of that I’m afraid.’

  ‘So what’s the problem?’ asked Skipper. ‘We’ve got wasps haven’t we? All we need to do is find the right fabric gap, fly through it and find out where these robber flies hang out. Then we steal some of their eggs, take them back to the production factory and get the development team to convert them into aircraft. The engineering can’t be that different from what they’ve already done on wasps and dragonflies. Besides, if Odoursin’s lot can do it, then so can we.’

  ‘Yeah, but that’s not the hard part,’ said Zip. ‘The difficulty is actually getting to the fabric gap without a robber fly spotting you and ripping you to pieces. Believe me, we’ve tried many times. That’s why we’re down to our last wasp squadron. Those flies have got such sensitive tracking systems, they can detect a wasp from miles away. Brindle decided we just can’t risk any more wasps.’

  ‘But what’s the alternative?’ asked Sam. ‘Either we try and get these eggs, or we just wait around here until Odoursin’s men track us down and kill us. If I’m going to die, I’d rather do it trying to stop him. I say we risk it and go. There’s always a chance that we’ll get there before they see us. What do you think, Skipper?’

  Sam looked at Skipper for support and was surprised to see that she was shaking her head.

  ‘I don’t think we’d make it, Sam,’ she said. ‘From what Zip says about these robber flies, the chances of us getting past them in a wasp are virtually nil.’

  Sam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Surely Skipper wasn’t just going to give up without a fight?

  ‘So what are you saying then?’ he asked, unable to keep the anger and disappointment from his voice. ‘Are you saying that we should just sit here and do nothing?’

  Skipper looked at him reproachfully. ‘Sam,’ she said, ‘I think you know me better than that.’

  She turned to face Zip.

  ‘I’m saying we don’t even try to avoid them. I say we just fly out there and let them attack us.’

  Zip stared at her as if she was mad.

  ‘What on earth for?’ he asked.

  ‘Because,’ said Skipper, ‘then we can turn the situation to our advantage.’

  Sam remembered the hideous fly he had seen on the mountainside and swallowed hard.

  ‘Are you serious?’ he asked.

  Skipper looked back at him and smiled.

  ‘Trust me,’ she said. ‘Zip – how far is it from here?’

  ‘Not far,’ said Zip. ‘Maybe a couple of hours if you take the fleas. As a matter of fact, that’s where we were headed when we bumped into Sam. B
ut he insisted on coming here first.’

  ‘Yeah,’ said Mump. ‘For some reason he thought we might find something of value.’ He looked across at Skipper and grinned. ‘Can’t think why.’

  As Zip and Mump led the way toward the mouth of the cave, Skipper bumped gently against Sam with her shoulder.

  ‘Hey, you,’ she said. ‘Thanks for coming to find me.’

  ‘That’s OK,’ said Sam. ‘I thought I’d lost you there for a while.’

  ‘Well, I guess you did,’ said Skipper. ‘In fact, it sounds as though I’ve been lost for a long time.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘I just wish I could remember where.’

  Sam nodded.

  ‘These are strange times,’ he said. ‘But maybe things will become clearer when all of this is over.’

  ‘We have to make it over, first, don’t we?’ said Skipper. ‘We have to find some way of getting back at Vermia. And something tells me that’s not going to be easy.’

  ‘We’ll do it though, right?’ said Sam.

  Skipper looked at him and her eyes hardened like diamonds.

  ‘Oh yeah,’ she said. ‘Count on it.’

  They walked on a little way and then Sam turned to Skipper with a wry smile.

  ‘Hey,’ he said. ‘D’you fancy a ride on my flea?’

  ‘Well now,’ said Skipper, her smile returning as she twirled around in a perfect circle. ‘And there was me thinking the day couldn’t get any better.’

  Sam saw how her blue eyes sparkled and remembered the words that Salus had spoken:

  Find the one who is true of heart.

  He had found her, and now there was work to be done.

  Ten

  As the flea thumped gently down onto the tightly packed snow, Zip and Mump flew past them at great speed and Sam noticed that Mump was pointing at something up ahead. Sam released the jump-lever and flicked a switch which activated the zoom on his vision goggles. Immediately the evergreen forest in the distance seemed to rush towards him and he found himself looking at the delicate pine needles and cones of a single branch.

  Locating a small serrated wheel on the side of the goggles with his finger, he gradually adjusted the zoom so that he could see a slightly wider picture. He adjusted the zoom again and saw that Zip and Mump had stopped about half a mile away next to a slab of rock, half-hidden in the trees.

  ‘Do you think that’s it?’ said Sam. ‘I can’t see any sign of the factory.’

  ‘I suppose that’s the idea,’ said Skipper. ‘If it was that easy to find, then Odoursin would have found it by now.’

  ‘Good point,’ said Sam. He squeezed the jump-lever again and seconds later they landed with a soft thump next to the others.

  ‘Hello, my children,’ said Mump. ‘Welcome to Wasp World.’

  ‘I can’t see any wasps,’ said Sam.

  ‘Oh wait,’ said Mump, pretending to look around. ‘You’re right. Maybe I should just call it “World”.’

  ‘Come on, Mump,’ said Skipper. ‘Stop pratting about. I’m freezing.’

  ‘All right,’ said Mump. ‘Sorry. OK, watch. You’ll like this.’

  He put his hand against the rock and moved it around. Nothing happened.

  Zip grinned at Sam and Skipper. ‘Pretty impressive, eh?’ he said sarcastically.

  ‘I’ll get it in a minute,’ said Mump.

  ‘Not like that you won’t,’ said Zip. ‘Try it over to your left a bit. Just above that little dark patch.’

  ‘I know,’ said Mump in a slightly whiny voice. ‘Quit hassling me.’

  Zip raised his eyebrows. ‘See what I have to put up with?’

  Mump moved his hand across to the left and suddenly a line of bright blue light appeared around the outline of his fingers.

  ‘Wow,’ said Sam. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘Told you you’d like it,’ said Mump. ‘It’s a recognition device.’

  ‘At the moment it’s reading his fingerprints,’ explained Zip. ‘Next it’ll check out his eyes. As long as he continues to look as gormless as he normally does, we should be OK.’

  ‘Hey,’ said Mump. ‘I heard that.’

  Sam watched another blue light flicker across Mump’s face, and then suddenly the wall was gone. To Sam’s considerable surprise, it didn’t slide away, or wobble and then dissolve. It simply disappeared, revealing a long and brightly lit tunnel stretching away into the heart of the mountain.

  ‘Quick,’ said Zip as Mump cheerfully put his thumbs up. ‘Inside before it closes up again.’ He jumped the flea through the entrance and Sam followed, putting one foot down and stylishly slewing the back end around as he came to a halt. Zip smiled approvingly.

  ‘I see you’re getting the hang of it, then,’ he said.

  As Skipper slipped off the back, Sam leant the creature onto its side-stand and turned the ignition off, whereupon the light went out of the creature’s eyes and it sank down upon its suspension.

  ‘I love these things,’ said Skipper, patting the foam seat. ‘Where did you get them from?’

  ‘Let’s just say we borrowed them,’ said Mump. ‘From a couple ofVermian soldiers.’ He grinned. ‘I can hotwire ’em easy. Next time we’re in Vahlzi, I’ll nick you one if you like.’

  ‘Thanks, Mump,’ said Skipper. ‘That’s sweet of you.’

  Sam looked back and saw that the entrance they had come through only moments ago was now completely sealed again. Where there had been space, there was now only solid stone.

  He whistled.

  ‘How does that work, then?’

  ‘Coffee,’ said Mump. ‘Amazing what a couple of cups can do.’

  ‘Take no notice,’ said Zip. ‘It’s Chromotographic Optical Force Field Energy Emissions. Fairly new technology, actually. They analyse the colour and density of the original rock and then use a high concentration of light and energy to replace it. It means they can have something that looks and feels like the original rock, but it can be removed in a second simply by turning the power off.’

  ‘Why didn’t we have it at the airbase?’ asked Skipper.

  ‘Too new. This whole facility was developed before the war to test and develop new insect technologies. But when Vahlzi was overrun, Firebrand decided to pull out and organise the Resistance movement from here. As far as we know, Vermia isn’t even aware that the COFFEE technology exists. So this place is pretty secure. Unless you’ve got clearance, there’s no way you’re coming in. That’s why they keep the last of the wasps here, out of harm’s way. Beyond the reach of robber flies.’

  ‘Hey!’ shouted a voice suddenly. Sam turned to see five men in black boots and blue combat gear walking menacingly towards them. Each carried a machine gun.

  ‘Aww, nuts,’ said Mump. ‘Security cameras must’ve registered you as a threat.’

  ‘Get on your knees and put your hands on your head,’ barked one of them. ‘Do it NOW!’

  Sam dropped quickly to his knees and saw that the others were doing the same.

  ‘Gee, take a pill, guys,’ said Zip, waving his hands in the air. ‘Calm down, eh?’

  ‘Hands on your head!’

  His heart thudding in his chest, Sam smacked his hands on the top of his head and swallowed hard. He saw the men raise their guns and take aim, saw their hard, angry faces and thought more than anything what a waste it all was. Now they would never get a chance to make things better, to see how things turned out.

  And then, just as it seemed that the men were about to shoot, he heard a voice he recognised, echoing through the underground chamber.

  ‘Hold your fire!’ shouted the voice. Sam raised his head to see a stocky, powerfully built man in blue uniform striding towards them. He had short, close-cropped ginger hair and carried a silver topped cane in his right hand. Sam recognised him as Sergeant Brindle, a fierce training instructor who had once been in charge of aircrew training at the Vahlzian airbase. As he approached, the soldiers looked at one another and lowered their guns.

  Brindle stared at Sam
and Skipper for a few seconds as if unable to quite believe his eyes. ‘Where in the hell,’ he asked, ‘did you two spring from?’

  They followed Brindle and the soldiers down a gently sloping tunnel lit by long twists of white tubing that glowed from the roof like some sort of strange, radioactive spaghetti.

  ‘Ooh I say,’ whispered Skipper. ‘Very modern.’

  Up ahead the tunnel curved around to the left and Sam decided that whatever lay around the corner must be rather important; beams of white light spilled out on the surrounding rock and lit up the darkness as if it were a summer’s day.

  Blinking and screwing up their eyes, Sam and Skipper hurried along the last hundred metres or so of tunnel. As they turned the corner they found themselves standing at the entrance of a huge, egg-shaped cavern. Beneath the glare of powerful arc lights set into the curved stone ceiling, Sam could see the unmistakable black and yellow stripes of a dozen huge wasps, crouching on the floor of what was obviously part of the secret underground hangar. Sam was struck by what excellent condition the wasps were in. Their heads and bodies were highly polished and Sam could see the reflection of the lights shining from the black, inscrutable eyes that stared out of their smooth yellow faces.

  ‘Wow,’ said Skipper voicing Sam’s thoughts, ‘they’re in better nick than the ones we used to fly. Showroom condition.’

  Sam nodded, feeling a pang of nostalgia as he remembered the battered leather seats and the scratched, dented exoskeletons of the wasps he had once piloted.

  ‘That’s because these are straight from the egg,’ said Brindle. ‘They’ve never been flown.’

  Sam looked at all the people busily scurrying about beneath the bright lights, some carrying spanners and screwdrivers, some holding bits of circuit board and others pushing wheeled steps against the thick, stripy bodies of the wasps.

  ‘I don’t get it,’ he said. ‘What’s the point keeping them here in perfect condition if they’re never going to be used?’