The Dark Ascent

by Walter H Hunt

  After arriving in Zor'a System, Jackie had arranged for Elar and Ch'en'ya to go to Sanctuary by shuttle. Dan had put Fair Damsel in at the merchanter port, and Jackie had arranged her own transport to the surface. At the High Nest, T'te'e had greeted her warmly, expressing the hope that she might remain for the next convening of the Council of Eleven; then she had found her way to her own residence, and found herself alone for the first time in months.

  It didn't last long. As she sat in a comfortable armchair in the house's contemplation chamber, the house told her that someone had arrived at the entryway and was asking to see her.

  She touched the controller of the house comp, easily in reach of the armchair, and displayed a view of the entryway. A single rashk, clad in a garish orange robe, stood with both pairs of arms folded in front of him.

  "M'm'e'e Sha'kan," she said to herself. "What are you doing here?"

  She thought about refusing him or making him wait, but her curiosity was too great. She signaled to the house to admit him and made her way to the front part of the residence to receive him.

  "se Gyaryu'har," M'm'e'e said, when she came into the front anteroom. "Glad is M'm'e'e, you to see, by the Three. That you safe are, glad M'm'e'e is."

  "May the Three shine upon your waters," Jackie replied formally.

  M'm'e'e's arms waved expressively. "Our own culture have you studied. May your scales moist remain, we say would, but know do I not, whether this expression you offend could, ha ha ha."

  "No offense. May I offer you refreshment?" She gestured to a sitting-room through an archway. M'm'e'e located a low settee capable of supporting him, and Jackie sat in a carved wooden chair nearby.

  "Hospitality appreciated is. M'm'e'e does not refreshment require, information only."

  "What sort of information?"

  "Hesya met by Admiral Laperriere was, not correct?"

  The directness of his inquiry caught Jackie somewhat by surprise; but she took a few breaths before answering.

  "Come now, M'm'e'e Sha'kan. That's not how the game is played. 'Take and give, give and take.' A very wise person told me that."

  "se Gyaryu'har certainly correct is, ha ha ha," M'm'e'e replied. He waved his upper arms for a moment, then folded both across his chest and leaned back in the settee. "To hear one's own word from another's mouth, curiously amusing is.

  "Perhaps M'm'e'e explain should, why he to Zor'a come has."

  "That would be a good start."

  "Study and research," he said. "Your admonition to Laura Ibarra received was. Deduced, did M'm'e'e, you thought him Hesya HeGa'u to be. Time and research taken has it, to learn identity of this Hesya. This information not in Sol System available was; a long swim from there only, found could it be.

  "Thus here has M'm'e'e come, legends to study. In your wake has M'm'e'e come. A different legend do you follow now, friend Jackie, Gyaryu'har."

  "Sound reasoning," Jackie acknowledged. "But why are you here, visiting me?"

  "To M'm'e'e news came, that you returned to zor home-world had. A social call appropriate was, think you not?"

  "I'm honored."

  "Honored, perhaps—pleased, not. Hesya HeGa'u, M'm'e'e is not." His arms moved rhythmically for a few moments. "Still believe you M'm'e'e, servant of Army of Sunset, to be?"

  "No, I guess not." She settled herself in the chair. I'd probably know, or the gyaryu would, she thought. "I suppose I owe you an apology, but it was too strong a coincidence, given what I'd learned. I assumed that you were behind the request for me to bring the gyaryu to New Chicago."

  "Indeed yes," M'm'e'e said. "Understandings are, why friend Jackie conclusion might reach. M'm'e'e, Hesya is not."

  "And Zor'a isn't Shr'e'a, either."

  "Stated purpose was and still valid is: Use sword could you, train Sensitives to."

  "The only problem with that scenario is that the gyaryu can't do that." A gentle breeze passed through an eleven-tone windchime outside, as if confirming her remark.

  "Cannot Sensitives make," M'm'e'e said—more a comment than a question. "Yet you it a Sensitive made."

  "Not exactly. My . . . abilities derive from a peculiar set of circumstances, only some of which have to do with the sword. It isn't a matter of just grasping the hilt."

  "Explaining, might Gyaryu'har?" He shifted his body forward on the settee, as if eager for the answer. "A matter of, what might be it?"

  "The High Nest and the gyaryu both tested me. I passed. I'm not really interested in discussing the details."

  "'Interested' or forbidden, wonders M'm'e'e."

  "Keep wondering."

  "Offense to give, meant M'm'e'e not."

  "And none taken. Perhaps we can discuss something else."

  "Legends, perhaps," M'm'e'e said. His lower arms folded, then moved rhythmically, one over the other, then folded again. "A new one, Gyaryu'har now following is," he added. "seLi'e'Yan, pre-Unification, thinkings of M'm'e'e suggest."

  Well informed, Jackie thought to herself.

  "I'm not sure what legend I'm following at this point. Certainly I'm being pointed toward that one, though. But I didn't let the sword be taken from Shr'e'a. He tried—"

  "Hesya. At Josephson."

  "That's right. He tried to take it there: He played his best card. While he showed me the city of Shr'e'a, bone-tiled towers and all, his brother attacked me, in the form of a crewmember of Fair Damsel. It wasn't the first time it had been tried, but this time I fundamentally put a stop to it.

  "In fact, Shrnu'u's—Sharnu's—attacks are what put me on to the earlier form of the legend in the first place."

  "Connection does M'm'e'e not make."

  "Let me clarify it for you, then. You know how I obtained the gyaryu, M'm'e'e Sha'kan: In keeping with The Legend of Qu'u, and the plans of the High Nest, I went to Center—to the Plain of Despite—and Stone presented me with it. Then he let me escape—helped me escape, in fact, giving me a way to travel all the way back to Zor'a.

  "Now, here's the part I didn't understand: If I was following the Qu'u legend, and Stone was supposed to represent Shrnu'u HeGa'u, then why did he give me back the sword without a fight? And why would he then attack me to get it back? There had to be something else. Someone else. I followed some earlier lines of speculation to learn that, in earlier versions of zor legend, Sharnu was one of two. Hesya was the other one. The legend was revised."

  "After Unification, revised was. But who this did, and why?"

  Jackie shrugged; she knew the answer, but she wasn't ready to tell M'm'e'e that she'd heard it from Qu'u personally.

  "In any case, my understanding of the older legend played directly into Hesya's hands. You see, at Josephson I had a talk with him directly: with Hesya—with Stone."

  "Talked, did you."

  "We were at Shr'e'a. It all made sense—in fact, it's interesting that he arranged this little scene after I learned about the older legend, so it could make sense."

  "Stone a manipulator is. Of humans, of zor."

  "And of vuhls," she said. "Whatever part they have to play in this game, I believe that he's manipulated them as well."

  "Assuredly?"

  "He . . . showed me. Seems that they've killed their Great Queen and replaced her with another one. They thought they had us beat, but now they've got a fight on their hands.

  "And they've got something new to worry about: someone they call the Destroyer. The impression I received is that they're petrified."

  "Friend Jackie, Destroyer is?"

  "No. The Destroyer is yet to come." Maybe sooner than I think, she thought, as an image of Ch'en'ya came to mind.

  "A zor, Destroyer will be, think you?"

  "I don't know. No zor would've guessed that esHu'ur would have been human. Who the hell knows what the vuhls think."

  "A rashk will it unlikely be, by the Three, ha ha ha."

  "No, I expect it won't be a rashk." She smiled, not sure whether M'm'e'e could read the expression. "I don't think even I think of r
ashk as 'destroyer' types."

  "Not even M'm'e'e Sha'kan?"

  "No. Not even you, M'm'e'e Sha'kan. In the final analysis I don't bear any ill will toward you, or toward the Solar Empire, even in view of all that's happened in the last several months."

  "To be hoped it is, that Jackie a friend to M'm'e'e Sha'kan and also to the Solar Empire is, and remains."

  "I hope I might also consider you a friend."

  "Most certainly yes!"

  "Then I'd like to ask you, as a friend, for your help with something. I would've approached you about it eventually, but since you're here, it seems like a good time to bring it up."

  "How may M'm'e'e Sha'kan of assistance be?"

  "It's in connection with your original objective regarding the sword. I can't train Sensitives, but Sanctuary can, and in the coming months and years the Empire is going to need them to deal with everything the vuhls can throw at us. In addition to defending the fleet against attacks like we saw at Josephson, Sensitives will have to be able to recognize enemies in disguise such as we saw at Cicero.

  "I discussed this plan with Master Byar, and he has agreed to make the facilities at Sanctuary available to non-zor Sensitives-in-training. With Admiral Hsien's permission, I've invited several Sensitives presently under his command to come here to Zor'a and begin the process. If they're able to succeed, they can become teachers."

  "How M'm'e'e help can?"

  "As you understand the significance of the zor legends more than most, it would be a great help if you would advocate this program to His Majesty's Government. I realize that many people in the Empire don't believe in the commitment of the People in this war—this is a way that we can truly work together."

  "Heard this also, has M'm'e'e Sha'kan. But the depth of the ocean from the surface be easily measured cannot. Help will M'm'e'e, both human and zor friends."

  "Thank you. That should shut up even old Hansie Sharpe," she added, smiling.

  "Sharpe?" M'm'e'e sat forward again. "Sharpe, Sir Johannes Xavier, means friend Jackie, Gyaryu'har?"

  "Yes, that's right. He's a courtier, a minor aristocrat. I met him on Cle'eru."

  "The same, then," M'm'e'e said. His lower arms moved, while his upper arms hung loosely. "Gyaryu'har liked him not?"

  "I've only met him a few times—what do you mean, 'liked'?"

  "Killed was he. Three-threes of days past, a shuttle from SeaTac to Honolulu malfunction suffered—aboard was he. Surprised is M'm'e'e, that heard of this have you not."

  "No." Poor bastard, she thought. "I mean, I wasn't a close friend—why would I hear of it?"

  "Inquiries being made are, by Office of Envoy. Interested in this crash are they, particularly in death of Sharpe."

  "Was it suspicious? Why would the Envoy's Office be interested?"

  "Many thinkings has M'm'e'e had; no answer to this question to find. Knows he not."

  "Was he the only—celebrity—on board?"

  "Shuttle only half-full was. Tourists, bureaucrats, courtiers— and Sir Johannes Xavier Sharpe. Why crashed, wishes to know Envoy's Office. Why of interest, curious is M'm'e'e."

  The question bothered her even after the rashk spymaster left. A shuttle crash hundreds of light-years away, even one happening close to the Imperial residence in the Hawaiian Islands, wasn't something that would normally attract the attention of the High Nest. Since it hadn't reached her ears through official channels, the investigation had to be at an extremely high level.

  "I would have preferred to make this flight on my own," High Lord Sa'a said, gazing out the window of the aircar from her perch. "But se T't'e'e and the rest of the High Nest do not wish to have me fly halfway around the globe. Security risk, they say. Who would attack the High Lord?"

  "An esGa'uYe," Jackie answered. She sat opposite, in a seat that had altered to accommodate the gyaryu. "It would be more difficult for me to protect you if you flew on your own."

  "I am unaccustomed to having you present to protect me."

  "I hope to remedy that." Jackie knew that Sa'a hadn't intended to be hurtful, but the comment stung.

  "What is more, si Sergei did not feel it to be his responsibility to personally protect my honored father hi'i Ke'erl. It was beyond his capacity in any case."

  "Our flight is different now."

  "Is it?" Sa'a's wings rose in some wing-pattern Jackie did not recognize. "The last part of my honored father's life was a flight which he undertook alone. He did not suffer from naGa'Sse, the Sensitive's blindness, which had been the curse of his own honored father: Quite the opposite—he saw far too much, far too well. This flight is now mine. Believe me, se Jackie: You do not wish to see what I see."

  "Do you question my bravery, or my loyalty?"

  "I ask eight thousand pardons if I have touched your honor. I did not intend to do so. There are just some things from which I would shield you."

  "Like the Plane of Sleep, for instance."

  "And now you question my judgment?"

  "Regarding that flight, I do. With all respect," she added, as Sa'a's wings moved into a posture of slight affront. "I realize the exigencies of the situation, and that you could not wait for me to be present. The Eight Winds blew us apart and I was unable to stand by you . . . though I would have advised against it in any case."

  "We needed to know what si S'reth had to tell us."

  "And the esGa'uYe as well."

  "se Byar had little trouble dispatching him."

  "I have the greatest respect for Master Byar, hi Sa'a," Jackie replied, "but I'm beginning to believe that no esGa'uYe can be slain that easily unless he intends to be. The gyaryu might be able to terminate a servant of the Deceiver, but I wouldn't even be sure of that.

  "By risking your life on the Plane of Sleep you placed both se Byar and myself in danger of becoming idju, had something happened to you."

  "I will not stay in my esTle'e and feed berries to S'r'can'u, se Jackie. I am a warrior and I will take the warrior's part."

  Jackie had no answer for this, but instead looked out the window at the clouds dappled by the orange sun of Antares.

  "You did not accompany me on this flight to take me to task, se Jackie, or to demonstrate your loyalty to my person. Why have you chosen to visit Sharia'a?"

  "I think I may be looking for the same thing you are: anything that will give me a clue as to what's coming. Hesya took me to Shr'e'a to try and get me to give him the gyaryu—I'd like to see the city in person. I've actually seen it twice, both times as Shr'e'a—first during Owen Garrett's Dsen'yen'ch'a, and second, during the battle at Josephson.

  "Maybe we can combine what we've learned to get some idea of what our enemies plan: either the aliens we're at war with . . . or the real enemies, Stone and his crew.

  "He told me that the vuhls were afraid of the coming of someone called the Destroyer. It was a myth among them, and now it's become more than a myth—it's becoming real."

  "As esHu'ur did many turns ago, when he was embodied in si Marais."

  "Right. The previous Great Queen was impaled because she didn't believe in it, but the new Great Queen certainly does."

  "This was in the vision that the esGa'uYe Stone gave to you," Sa'a said, her wings rising to a position of guard. "How do you know that it is true?"

  "As far as I can tell, he's never lied to me." Jackie thought about it, pyramiding her fingers. "No, I think he's told me the truth each time we've met—never all of the truth, and never quite what I thought was true, but he's never lied.

  "It's almost as if he has a set of marching orders. For a century he's been trying to nudge humans and zor in a certain direction; esLi alone knows how long he's been doing the same thing with the vuhls."

  "You are basing your Inner Peace and your honor on this assumption. Your actions are directed by the conjecture that a servant of esGa'u, that Hesya HeGa'u—the One Who Weaves—is telling you the truth."

  "It seems so," Jackie agreed.

  "This is madness, but I can offer
no alternative."

  The two fell silent for a time, each lost in her own thoughts,

  "I had a visit from M'm'e'e Sha'kan," Jackie said at last.

  "The rashk spy master." Sa'a did not add anything to her comment, but her wings conveyed dislike, or even disgust. "What did he want of you?"

  "He wanted to know about Hesya." She described their conversation: M'm'e'e's questions about the legend of Shr'e'a, the vuhls' fear of the Destroyer, and finally, the information about the destruction of the SeaTac shuttle and the death of Hansie Sharpe.

  "Why is the High Nest taking an interest in the crash?"

  Sa'a's wings were extended in slight amusement. "Perhaps I owe you a few eights of pardons, se Jackie," the High Lord continued. "I criticize your decision to trust your instincts—and then must inform you that the High Nest is listening to se Mya'ar's instincts. He sensed the gyu'u of an esGa'uYe on Oahu, and then sensed the hand of esGa'u when the shuttle was inbound later that day."

  "When it crashed."

  "Yes."

  "What about Hansie Sharpe? M'm'e'e Sha'kan seemed to focus in on his presence on that shuttle, and his death. I'd run into him a few times . . . on Cle'eru, and then at a reception just before I left for Dieron—"

  "Some of the persons in this room are not human: they are servants of the Deceiver."

  It was Sergei's voice, or the memory of it, that she heard. "The first time was before the Fair Damsel went to Crossover and someone was waiting for me. The second time was before I went to Dieron—"

  "And you encountered Shrnu'u HeGa'u there. Could this Sharpe person have been a servant of esGa'u?"

  "Hansie?" She thought about him—a mousy little man, pretentious and bigoted. Poor old Hansie: She'd taken a look at the vid of the crash.

  The gyu'u of an esGa'uYe: a talon of the Lord of Despite. Maybe Hansie was a servant of esGa'u—but hadn't he had a couple of opportunities to kill her before she'd gotten the sword?

  Of course, Stone had wanted her to get the sword at the time, so maybe he had been under orders to leave her alone . . . Then why kill Hansie?

  "No," she finally said. "It's a puzzle-piece that doesn't fit. I don't have an answer."