by Various
She could feel Kou’to staring at her. He obviously disagreed with this course of action, but of course, was too bound by his place in the chain of command to comment on it. She turned her hands over slightly in the air and tried to reassure him. ‘We will lose several ships to be certain,’ she said lowly, ‘but in return, we will crush the gue’la resistance entirely. It’s an acceptable trade.’
Kou’to swallowed bitterly, and nodded.
‘What’s happening?’ Hollett asked him.
‘Not now,’ Kou’to growled.
On the flex-screen, Kenhi’ta appeared to look at the ceiling. He wiggled the fingers of his right hand, manipulating data only he was privy to. ‘Blanket saturation of the area… redundant shock wave radii… secondary effects of thermal wash... elevated nucleotide counts. The collateral damage to the planet will be… considerable.’
Unlike the tau soldiers, who spoke in rapid, crackling bursts, the space captain’s sentences were ponderous and drawn out. There was more than enough time for Hollett to identify a word or two. He spoke to Kou’to again. ‘Damage? What damage? What the hell are you planning?’
Shadowsun turned ferociously. ‘Since you give me no other choice, Hollett-la, I am ordering my people to vaporise your defence cannon from orbit.’
Hollett went very pale. ‘But, you’ll destroy half the continent. You’ll kill everyone living there.’
‘You should be thankful then for your imminent promotion.’ She returned her attention to the flex-screen.
‘No!’ Hollett screamed. He lurched forwards, bound hands raised to strike at Shadowsun. Kou’to’s men caught him around the waist before he touched her, and threw him against the bulkhead.
Shadowsun appraised him coldly.
‘I have…’ Hollett choked. He blinked several times, shook his head, and started again. ‘There must be another way.’
To the flex-screen, Shadowsun said, ‘Stand by, kor’el.’ She turned to Hollet. ‘Provide me with another option then.’ Fleetingly, she wished that she had a member of the water caste present. Negotiations and diplomatic discussions were their speciality.
Hollett searched the floor for a moment. ‘I wasn’t lying before,’ he mumbled. ‘It would be suicide to attack the defence laser with what you’ve got here, and I can’t order them to stand down.’ He laughed sadly. ‘In fact, I can’t order anyone to do anything anymore. I’m as good as dead to them now. But if it wasn’t able to hit anything, if it couldn’t actually lock on to any of your ships as they came to get you, would that be good enough?’
Hollett took their silence as an invitation to continue.
‘The defence laser receives its targeting data from our primary communications array. It’s a separate installation, built some distance from the main colony. Fairly remote, actually. I guess because it’s staffed by a lot of psykers and astropaths. Anyway, I could take you there. Get you inside. I have retinal access to the building. You can call for retrieval, and everyone just walks away.’
‘We still intend to annex this world,’ Shadowsun snapped. ‘No amount of… co-operation… will prevent that.’
Hollett raised his chin. ‘I only care about protecting my home.’
Shadowsun looked down the length of the empty room. Outside, beyond the open hatch, the forest was filled with lengthening shadows.
Home. Images of vacant rooms and echoing hallways flitted through her mind as she suddenly wondered what would become of the ancestral estate on T’au. The thought of having to go back there and inventory her sisters’ things, alone, made her weak in the knees, but there was no one left to help her.
‘Agreed,’ she said to Hollett.
She turned to Kou’to and began speaking in her own language again. ‘Prepare the fireteams to move out as quickly as possible. We will follow the human to his people’s communications centre, secure it, and evacuate from there.’
‘Has the commander considered the possibility that this is some kind of trap?’
Together they looked at Hollett as the two tau guards jostled him down the boarding plank. ‘I think not, shas’la,’ she replied. ‘He’s not so great an actor.’
Kou’to bowed and left.
‘Sabu’ro,’ she said sternly, ‘you understand that we cannot allow our technology to fall into the enemy’s hands. The Manta will have to be destroyed. ‘
The youth looked sad. ‘Yes,’ he agreed. ‘I will ensure that the fail-safes are properly set. But, commander, once they go off, we will lose our only uplink to the fleet.’ He indicated the flex-screen still clutched in Shadowsun’s hand.
‘We will have to make do until we gain control of the human equipment. Now, prepare the detonators. There’s not much time.’
When Sabu’ro had hurried away, she lifted the display. Kenhi’ta continued to stare blankly and wiggle his fingers, waiting patiently for her to resume their conversation. ‘Kor’el, did you hear all of that?’
‘I did.’
‘Very shortly, we will fall into a communications blackout. If all goes well, you will hear from me again. However, if you do not, your orders are to take the armada and leave this system. Bypass it entirely. Do not attempt to retrieve me.’
‘Understood.’
She licked her lips before continuing. They were rough and tasted of drying blood. ‘Also, please send the following reply via graviton packet.
‘To Aun’va and all esteemed members of the Aun’t’au’retha: Previous message received and understood. Evacuation considered impossible so long as gue’la primary defence weapon remains on-line. Am leaving now to render said weapon ineffectual. Have left further instructions with Kor’el Kenhi’ta.’
She paused. You are the last of Kiru’s line, Aun’va had said.
‘Personal addendum: If I am eventually rescued from this place, you should be made aware that I am considering following my father’s example and taking the Taal Saal’Y.’
Kenhi’ta’s face suddenly became entirely focused on Shadowsun. ‘Commander,’ he said in a shocked whisper, ‘are you certain?’
‘Considering,’ she restated firmly. ‘Only considering. End recording and transmit to home system.’
‘Success in your endeavours, commander,’ Kenhi’ta breathed. He winked out of existence as Shadowsun returned the flex-screen to supple mode and rolled it up in her hands. She walked out to the top of the boarding plank. The light was strange now. To the west, the sun was setting in amber hues, but a similar, more sinister glow spanned the entire northern skyline. The fires must be truly gigantic by now, she thought. Below, her soldiers were hurrying back and forth, gathering what they needed for the journey. She saw Hollett, still under guard, sitting forlornly atop an empty supply crate. His eyes were closed, and his lips were moving. Was he praying, she wondered.
Again, she thought of the humans’ unfathomable religious beliefs, of their deific protector, of their surety in a life after death. It was ridiculous, all of it. The dead were dead, she reminded herself. Only legacies survived the end of life. That was the way of things.
The density of the forest forced them to march in a long column, Shadowsun led the way. Two drones, recovered from the downed Manta, hovered over each of her shoulders. The remaining eight had been networked together and sent ahead to act as scouts. Every once in a while, they could be heard snapping their way through branches and disturbing the local wildlife. Sabu’ro walked next to Shadowsun. He had linked his flex-screen to the drones’ optics and relayed their movements to her as often as he could find an excuse to. Behind the commander, Kou’to and ten other soldiers marched in double file. They pushed Hollett ahead of them, his hands still bound. The remaining fire warriors, divided evenly into two teams, took up the flanks.
When they were some distance away, Shadowsun called them to a halt. The sun had set, but the sky, when glimpsed through the branches, was a dim, crimson s
heet. The fire warriors crouched down amidst the underbrush while the drones circled the perimeter, ever vigilant. Sabu’ro unrolled his flex-screen, snapped it rigid, and waited for the order. With a nod from Shadowsun, the young shas’la keyed in the detonation sequence, followed a moment later by two confirmation codes.
From the north came a soft thump and a thunderous rumble as the Manta’s fusion engines were set to overload. They were too far away to see the explosion or the expanding sphere of gas and plasma that were now all that remained of the landing site. Still, Sabu’ro’s shoulders slumped slightly in despair. Shadowsun said nothing, although she sympathised. Destroying the Manta and everything in it was the tactically sound thing to do, but still, she hated to consider the loss of materiel. It seemed like such a waste.
She turned to Kou’to. ‘We’ll be continuing through the night,’ she told him, ‘so tell the men to eat now. They’ll need their strength.’
Kou’to bowed slightly. ‘Yes, commander. May I get you something as well?’
Shadowsun was staring off into the dark spaces between the trees. ‘I’m not hungry.’
Kou’to did not push the issue. He passed along the instruction to the other tau, who quietly produced silver pouches from their kits. They shook them and then tore off the top. Steam escaped into the night air and they began to heartily eat the long green noodles within. He himself removed the cap from his water flask. The container was nearly empty when he shook it, and he knew that those of the men were not much better. He tipped his head back and drank it all. It was better, he knew, to stay fully hydrated rather than weaken himself by trying to ration it.
Hollett was sitting with his back against a knotted tree trunk, his wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his eyes. Kou’to walked silently over to him, and held one of the silver pouches aloft. The human looked up at him.
‘Water,’ Kou’to said. ‘We’re going to need some soon. Is there a drinkable source en route?’
‘There are streams and pools all around here.’ Hollett gestured to the woods.
‘Sabu’ro tells me that our personal filters are insufficient to strain out all of the soil contaminants and bacteria.’
‘Oh, yes. It’ll make you very sick.’ He smiled slightly.
‘Is there a cleaner source somewhere? Answer me, and you’ll get something to eat.’
‘What are we having?’
‘Nim ko’nai.’
‘I have no idea what that is.’ Hollett thrust his chin toward Shadowsun. ‘What’s gotten into her?’ he asked.
Kou’to bristled at the audacity of the question. The personal goings-on of any tau, especially those of the commander, were of no business to a human prisoner.
‘I don’t understand, Hollett. Do you want me to strike you?’
‘Do you want to go thirsty?’ Their eyes locked. Somewhere nearby, a troupe of nocturnal tree dwellers began crooning in harmony.
Kou’to weighed the need to keep his warriors at peak performance against Shadowsun’s right to privacy. In the end, he realised that the Greater Good compelled him to answer Hollett’s initial question. It still felt like a betrayal however, no matter how logically he justified it.
‘Her sisters died’ he said tersely.
‘Oh. Up in orbit?’
‘No, they were serving elsewhere in the Empire.’
‘Serving? So, they were soldiers too? ‘
Kou’to frowned. ‘How could they choose to be otherwise?’ he asked incredulously. Then it occurred to him that Hollett, as a mere gue’la, would have no idea to what he was referring. ‘The commander and her sisters were the daughters of Kiru,’ he clarified, ‘a very powerful and well respected warrior whose lineage has shed its blood for the Greater Good since the days of the First Expansion. After he died, the three sisters took up his legacy, as was their duty.’
Hollett nodded. ‘The things we do for family,’ he muttered.
‘Water source,’ Kou’to growled.
‘What? Oh, yes. If we continue to the south-west,’ Hollett pointed off into the dark forest, ‘we should come to the Brevo river. It’s much more suitable. By daybreak, I should say. Maybe a little after.’
Kou’to tossed the silver pouch into the human’s lap. Then he turned and strode back toward Shadowsun. The commander had moved off and was standing underneath a low bough. She had detached the fusion blasters from beneath the arms of her battlesuit and leaned them up against a tree trunk. As Kou’to approached, he saw her remove a small vial from a compartment on her hip, twist off the top, and press the tiny cylinder against the side of her neck. Kou’to slowed his pace until she was finished injecting herself. He had no wish to interrupt and possibly embarrass her. She suddenly glanced over her shoulder and caught his eye. Kou’to looked sharply away.
She sniffed in the gloom. ‘Tissue rebuilder,’ she said. ‘My head is still hurting. From when my helmet imploded.’
‘Of course,’ Kou’to replied stiffly.
‘Was there something you needed?’ She returned the empty tube to its compartment.
‘The prisoner has agreed to lead us to a source of safely drinkable water.’
‘En route to our target?’
‘Yes, commander. There should be little deviation from our primary course.’
‘Good,’ she sighed. She looked up into the branches for a moment. ‘I… I appreciate you taking it upon yourself to associate with him,’ Shadowsun said at last. ‘The dishonour must weigh heavily on you, but for the time being, we need the human’s co-operation.’
Kou’to bowed. ‘I serve the Greater Good in all things,’ he said. ‘My personal feelings are of no consequence.’
‘Do you have any siblings, shas’ui?’ The suddenness and intimacy of the question took both of them by surprise.
‘Two brothers and a sister,’ Kou’to replied.
‘And a family of your own?’ Again, Shadowsun couldn’t believe that she was asking such personal questions. Where was her professional detachment?
‘Y’ana and I were partnered six years ago. She has bestowed me with four children.’
‘Well,’ Shadowsun murmured, struggling to regain control of her thoughts, ‘when we finally leave this planet, I will be certain to contact them and tell them of the good works you have performed here.’
Kou’to took that as an invitation to leave, spinning on his heel and returning to his men. As he passed near Hollett however, he froze. There was a sound on the wind, a distant whooshing that grew steadily louder.
‘Aircraft!’ Sabu’ro hissed.
With a flick of his hand, Kou’to ordered everyone to combat readiness. The fire warriors dropped their water flasks and food packs and hoisted their long pulse rifles to their chests. Glancing over, he saw that Shadowsun had reactivated her stealth field, all but vanishing into the shadows. For several moments, the sound increased somewhere in the skies above them. It reached a crescendo, and then receded into the distance.
‘Valkyries,’ Hollett whispered.
‘Searching for us?’ Kou’to replied.
‘Could be. Could be fighting the fires, but I doubt it.’
Shadowsun stepped out of the gloom next to them. ‘Get the men up, Kou’to,’ she said. ‘We’re moving on.’ She pointed angrily at Hollett. ‘Don’t let him leave your sight.’
They walked for hours, stopping only a few times to rest and even then, for scant minutes. All throughout the night, the red sky hung menacingly over them. No one spoke. A wind was at their backs, carrying with it an increasing miasma of ash and smoke. Shadowsun preoccupied herself by constantly checking and rechecking her command icons, whether they changed or not. The medicine had diminished, but didn’t entirely abate, the throbbing in her skull. The faster they neutralised the defence laser and got back to civilisation, the better.
Dawn approached, and the sky beyond the forest
canopy lightened from red to orange. Shadowsun and Hollett were the first to emerge from the trees, followed by Kou’to and Sabu’ro. The four of them stood on the edge of a grassy knoll. In the near distance, a large lake reflected the fiery sky, its waters calm. A wide, paved road stretched off towards the south, eventually vanishing into the thick forest again.
‘Well now,’ Kou’to sighed, ‘this is a place worth fighting to preserve.’
‘It’s beautiful,’ Sabu’ro nodded.
‘All except for that,’ Shadowsun said, pointing.
Lording over this scene, perched high atop a heavy, square pedestal, was a colossal statue. It depicted a human wearing an unwieldy yet intricately decorated suit of armour; birds of prey had been incorporated into his massive shoulder plates, the left hand was sheathed in talons, and carved faces stared from out of his knee guards. The figure depicted was helmetless, his head bowed. His right hand covered the face. Metre-high words were carved into the base, explaining how he was weeping with joy instead of sorrow, and that his tears, having fallen into the lake, had somehow imbued the water with supernatural properties.
It was the most ungainly thing the tau had ever seen.
‘Sweet God-Emperor,’ Hollett began muttering under his breath. ‘Forgive Your servant his sins, and remember I am just a man.’
‘What?’ Kou’to’s helmet cocked to one side.
Hollett kept this rapt gaze on the gigantic statue. ‘The Litany of Forgiveness,’ he replied.
‘Who is that supposed to be?’ Sabu’ro asked.
‘That is my saviour, the Immortal Emperor of Mankind,’ Hollett said. ‘He stood there once. Actually stood there. His footprints are preserved beneath the memorial. He came down from the heavens, and surveyed the land, and He pronounced it good.’
The three tau were silent for a moment, so confused by the reverence in Hollett’s voice that they didn’t know quite how to respond. Finally, Shadowsun tossed her long hair and snorted.
‘Your saviour had no sense of style.’
Fire burned behind the Guardsman’s eyes, but Shadowsun ignored him. ‘Is the area clear?’ she asked Sabu’ro. The young shas’la nodded after consulting his equipment, and she began to stride across the grass.