In Nadir's Shadow

by E. J. Heijnis

  Anisim controlled himself. "Yes, sir. The processors were sending the same shutdown command to the shield for every instruction they got. It was all translated into "turn off". All I did was reset the unit and it cleared."

  Miron wasn't ready to celebrate. "How did this happen?"

  The answer obviously bothered Anisim. He fidgeted before he spoke. "Somebody did it on purpose. It's impossible to happen by accident. Somebody took our shield down." He looked at Miron, bewildered. "Who would do that?"

  "We have one certified lunatic on the loose, and he's crazy enough to commit murder."

  "Maybe he wants us to turn back," Anisim suggested, his tone questioning his own suggestion.

  "Maybe." Nazar had disabled the shield, and killed Ludmila when she'd been about to restore it. Assuming he hadn't defected to the floaters―something that had only ever happened in rumors―his actions were probably not intended to destroy the ship, or harm the Commonwealth. Then why compromise defenses? Could he be acting under orders from the Core Guild? The organization answered to no one but the Supreme Commanders, but their mandate was simply to train core operators and find more efficient ways to generate power with the cores. If Nazar pursued some personal goal, it would be impossible to make sense of his actions. If not, then he had to believe he was acting in the Commonwealth's best interests. "It has to be the mission," Miron said. "He doesn't want to kill us all, he just wants us to abort. Anisim, if you wanted to force us to abandon our mission, how would you do it?"

  "Kill the shield," the engineer said without thought. "The book says, avoid confrontation and seek friendly space if we lose our shield."

  "And if that didn't work?"

  Anisim looked up at the overhead for a long moment. "Weapons. You don't need weapons to run away."

  "Now take a minute to think about this. How would you sabotage the weapons systems?"

  Anisim squirmed. "I don't like this, sir. I'm not a traitor."

  A long-forgotten memory flashed through Miron's mind, of his six-year old son trying to avoid answering a question, even though they'd both known Yekim knew the answer. He held up his hand. "I know you're not. I'm so sure of it that I'm willing to ask you that question, because I know you would never actually do something like that. But someone on this ship would. I need your help to figure out what he'll do next, so we have a chance to catch him. The ship is too big. He can hide anywhere. We won't find him before we arrive and we'll have to fight. What if he commits sabotage then?"

  Anisim stared at the floor. "You can't turn off all the weapons just like that. But you wouldn't have to. You can't shoot without aiming. I would sabotage the fire control system."

  "Where?"

  He shrugged. "I could do it in half a dozen places. Hardest to find would be here, like he did with the shield."

  "Tell me all the locations." His finger twitched. "Borya, you need to hear this."

  Borya was not convinced, but he did have Gervasi assign two fleet hands to each of the potential sabotage targets, except the one Miron and Anisim would cover. They stood inside an equipment locker within the Detection compartment, with the door at a crack so they could watch the bulky mass of conduits and displays that made up the accessible part of the echo locator system. Without the ability to send out distortion pulses and interpret the resulting echoes, the ship would be virtually blind.

  He hoped Nazar would try his luck here. This time, he'd have the upper hand, and he wouldn't let the core chief get away. The frustration and stress of the past weeks ached for an outlet, and he saw no need to restrain himself now. Nazar had brought horror and suffering to the Tenacious. No explanation or belief could justify that.

  Behind him, Anisim let out a quiet snore. Miron smiled and didn't wake him. Now that the crew would be able to rest and the Engineers could make repairs without interference, the Tenacious would have a chance after all. Once the fight was won, they would retrieve the PRISM cores from Nadir and head back to Commonwealth territory. There, the Gervasis and Esfirs could be dealt with appropriately. He'd been right to press on; everyone would see that now. He looked most forward to mending his relationship with Borya. Though the Ship Master had been out of line, Miron was prepared to forgive, considering the circumstances

  He sucked in air with a sudden breath. Adrenaline rode a painful wave through his body. He'd fallen asleep. If Nazar had come and gone...!

  He moved his head to scan the area through the small crack. A panel on the machinery was loose at one corner. Had it been that way before? He ground his teeth. Anisim would have to check if the device was still working, risking Nazar seeing him and realizing they were waiting for him.

  A breathless voice inside his ear said, "We got him. Deck seven."

  He jabbed Anisim with his elbow, eliciting a startled grunt. "They caught him. Come on."

  The core chief had taken a severe beating. Both eyes had swelled to slits, and blood leaked from a cut on his brow and from his mouth. Someone had broken all his fingers, and three of his teeth lay on the floor in red puddles.

  The damage made his expression unreadable as he hung between the two fleet guards that had caught him. Borya and Gervasi had already arrived, and Chief Zakhar came up from the other side as Miron and Anisim approached. The Ship Master loomed over Nazar as he questioned him. Miron caught the traitor's mumbled response: "Yes."

  Borya trembled. "Why?"

  Nazar attempted a smile. "You don't know anything about the enemy. You fear them, and their silly illusions. Your fear doesn't let you see the truth. They are more frightened of us. Because of what we do to their young. You know about that. The Guild knows." He turned his head to look at Miron. "So does he. You know how we power this ship. Do you know what happens when they board us? They come to the core chamber, to see if they can help their infants. But they can't. They never can. But they stay, and keep trying. And all the while, they are watching their young ones suffer. It tortures them. They can bear danger, and death, and loss, but not that. It is the only thing we do that hurts them. I have run this core for sixteen years. Courageous, Magnificent, and now Tenacious. Every day, I made the enemy pay. And now, one ship, alone, so deep in floater space? A core shouldn't be wasted on this idiocy! " He raised a mangled hand at Miron. "You would throw it away! You would sacrifice the ship! I thought you knew! That's why you gave up those lives at Wicked Sisters. To protect the titans. The cores. That's all that matters! You think you can win by destroying ships, and taking planets? This is how you win! You make them despair!"

  Borya looked down and nodded. "I see." He glanced back at Miron, then back to Nazar. "You are crazy, but that won't help you. You talk about despair. How much, to make somebody walk out an airlock? How much suffering, to choose an end like that?"

  He seized Nazar's collar and started walking, the core chief stumbling to keep up. Gervasi, Zakhar, and the two fleet guards came along. Miron and Anisim followed. Borya turned a corner, hiding him from sight momentarily. Nazar gave a shout, followed by sounds of struggling, and Miron hurried to catch up.

  Once he passed the corner, he saw Nazar fighting to break Borya's grip. The Ship Master had stopped before a pressure door. Horror closed iron hands around his chest as he realized what Borya intended, but he said nothing. The murderous core chief had earned this end.

  "Open it."

  Nazar redoubled his struggle while Gervasi unlocked the interior door of the airlock. "No! Please! Not like this!"

  Borya grabbed the core chief's ruined face with both hands and stared into it. "Yes. Like this. You're going to feel every second of it." He gave Nazar a firm shove, sending him flying into the airlock. He hadn't gotten back to his feet when the door slid shut.

  Borya waved Gervasi aside and put his hand on the control pad. Nazar's face appeared in the porthole, screaming. Borya met his battered stare as the warning buzz sounded. With a hiss of air, the pressurization mechanism activated.

  They watched Nazar die as the air drained from the airlock and vacuum w
recked his body. It took longer than Miron had expected. After the core chief had gone still, Borya used the mechanical arm inside the pressure chamber to guide the corpse through the outer door. It disappeared immediately, vaporized by the forces of the distortion field.

  Borya repressurized the airlock, then turned to the others. "Now we can get back to work."

  Chapter Twelve

  Shura guided her aircraft between two tall buildings, catching a glimpse of stunned faces as she passed within a few feet of the transparent wall. Up ahead, her community complex appeared from behind a bulbous wrack processing tank.

  Despite the evacuation order, she refused to assume she would be ignored altogether. She aimed her craft at the roof, circling once to get her bearings before landing next to the rooftop access door. Leaving the engines to idle, she got out. The storm had followed her to the Districts, and wind chilled her scalp as she headed for the door. She slapped the entry button and the door slid open with a squeal of disuse, revealing a gaping stairwell leading down into the building. After a moment's hesitation, she dug into her pocket and took out a stimulant tablet. The pill dissolved on her tongue with a metallic sweetness that faded into a soapy aftertaste. As a warm rush of energy spread through her limbs and burned the fog from her brain, she took the stun gun from her pocket, put it in her belt behind her back, and entered the complex.

  She ran down the stairs as quickly as she dared, glancing out the stairwell windows facing the courtyard. Children and parents crowded the space, exercising and playing games like on any other day. The floaters were hours away, and these people had no idea.

  When the next level came into view, she saw the tall man in auditor's uniform standing outside Dorei's door. She was going too fast to stop, and the man turned her way as she stumbled into the corridor. A stunner appeared in his hands. "Don't move. Dash one-two-one, you are being detained for acting against the best interests of the Commonwealth. If you do not obey my commands, I will use violence to subdue you. Do you understand?"

  She swallowed, terror and panic swirling in her gut. "Yes."

  "Put your hands up and slowly move towards me."

  She shuffled forward, her thoughts screaming chaos. Though the auditor had twice her weight, though she couldn't make a single move without being shot, resolve burned white-hot in her mind: she would not be a prisoner. He wouldn't take her now.

  "Stop there."

  She halted a few feet from the auditor.

  "Turn around and put your hands behind your back."

  As she began to turn and lowered her arms, she heard the clatter of his restraints. An image flashed in her mind: his hands, both occupied, eyes cast down―

  Without a conscious thought, she ripped the stun gun from her belt, spun as she went down to one knee, and shot him in the stomach. As he doubled over, restraints in hand, she shot him again.

  After taking his weapon, she hammered on the door and mauled the buzzer with her other hand. "Dorei!" she shouted. "It's Shura! Open the door!"

  No answer. She left her finger on the buzzer this time. "Dorei! I swear, I'm just here for my son. You need to open the door right now."

  "Go away! They said not to let you in!"

  Of course they did. Who knew what they had told people about her? No one she encountered would be on her side. She let go of the buzzer and lowered her voice so others listening in wouldn't hear. "Tell them I threatened you. They'll believe you." It would become the truth if Dorei didn't cooperate. The unconscious auditor was bound to have some method of door lock override tool on him. "Please. I'm just here to take my son. Then you'll never see either of us again."

  She bit her lip as the silence stretched. Finally, the door slid open. Kirill rushed out and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Aman!"

  She crouched and embraced him. "Hey, cub! It's great to see you! I'm very proud of you, for being so good while I was gone." She didn't give a shit whether it was true or not.

  "What did you do?" Dorei said, staring at the felled auditor.

  Shura turned to her. "Dorei, listen to me carefully. Forget about all this, because it doesn't matter anymore. The floaters are coming. They're in the system, right now. They're fighting, and we're losing. They'll land in a few hours. Most of the auditors are already being evacuated. Probably all the important people. If you want a shot at getting out, you need to leave now."

  Dorei's expression made it clear she questioned Shura's sanity. "Floaters? That's impossible. They couldn't―"

  "Believe what you want," Shura interrupted. "I just repaid your favor. Good luck."

  Kirill clung to her hand with desperate strength as they ran back the way she'd come. By the time she reached her aircraft, her lungs burned with exertion, and Kirill panted in her wake. He fit into the back seat with room to spare. She tightened the straps around his tiny chest as far as they would go and hoped the ride would be smooth.

  Before she got in, she looked up at the sky. A massive front of dark clouds slowly covered the city. Lightning blossomed within, followed by the rolling crash of thunder. In the last patch of clear blue to the south, a different kind of lightning sparked. Even in daylight, she could make out tiny shapes moving in chaos. One erupted in a brilliant flash.

  She took her seat, hands trembling. The pressure threatened to paralyze her, the cost of failing now too great to consider without being overwhelmed. She clung to her sense of purpose: before anything else, they had to get off Marshal. She closed the door, secured her harness, and took off.

  She had noted down some of the evacuation site coordinates she'd intercepted and entered them into the navigation system. It guided her due east and south, offering repeated warnings about restricted airspace she chose to ignore. Allowing the vehicle's computer to take control, she looked over her shoulder and summoned a wide smile for Kirill. His golden complexion had turned pale, but he seemed calm. "How are you doing, Kiri?"

  "Okay," he said.

  "Smiley still with you?"

  He nodded.

  "When we land, you're going to have to be brave again, okay? Just like you've been doing. If I tell you to run, you have to run. Can you do that?"

  He leaned forward in his seat. "Smiley says I shouldn't leave you!"

  She fought a surge of frustration. Why had she mentioned him in the first place? "Smiley isn't your mother. You have to trust me. I know you're scared, but it's going to be all right as long as you do what I tell you. Okay?"

  He nodded, but wouldn't meet her eyes. She faced forward and stifled a curse. Of all the times for Smiley to get contrary.

  A soft buzz in her ear. "All citizens, this is an emergency alert. Marshal has come under attack. Out of an abundance of caution, all non-combat personnel are ordered to report to the nearest evacuation site for temporary relocation off-planet. Evacuation site locations are accessible from your Personal Data Display. Tube cars will be available to transport you. Bring no possessions except what you can carry on your person. You will be returned to your home as soon as the enemy has been destroyed."

  "Now they tell us," she muttered.

  Ahead, the cityscape yielded to a sprawling dirt lot surrounding an industrial facility. Six boxy spaceships waited in the empty space, each surrounded by a handful of tiny figures. Two law enforcement vehicles sat off to the side, drawing a surge of fear. She shook it off. They wouldn't still be looking for her after the general announcement.

  "Hold on, cub," she said, and guided her aircraft down. She aimed for a spot far from the Auditor vehicles, and not too close to the ships and their guards. As soon as her craft settled on its supports, she killed the engines and opened the door. She lifted Kirill out of his seat and put him down before opening the cargo compartment and seizing her bag. "Okay, Kiri. You see those black ships over there? That's where we're going. We're going to walk fast and I need you to keep up, okay? Come on." She set out at a steady trot, allowing Kirill to keep pace.

  Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. O
ne of the orbital lift tethers twisted in a slow, serpentine motion, parts snapping off as it steadily bent towards the ground. She'd never seen one so much as sway in the wind.

  A blast of air made her stumble, pelting her with dirt. Using her hands to shield Kirill's eyes, she tried to find the source. The whine of protesting engines rose above the wind noise, then wound down. An Auditor's aircraft blocked her way.

  As soon as she recognized the vehicle, she knew who was inside. Koldan leaped down from the craft, landing in a puff of dust and striding towards her. She reached for the stunner in her belt. Before her hand could close on the grip, her entire body tingled sharply. Her limbs locked up and she hit the ground like a deflated ball.

  "You should have stayed outside the Districts," Koldan said as he approached, holstering his weapon. "At least you would have been free. But I knew you'd come back for your son. You should have left him. He was never supposed to live."

  Her body refused to move. Koldan crouched by her side and looked at Kirill. "Boy! Come here. If you don't do as I say, I will hurt you. Do you understand?"

  "Run, Kiri!" Shura screamed. "Run to the ships! Go!"

  Koldan glanced at her. "You know I'm not going to let him go."

  And even if he had, Kirill wouldn't go. He stood rooted to the ground, his soft features frozen in shock and terror.

  A vast shadow spilled over the clouds overhead, followed by a massive shape slicing silently through the grey shroud. The spaceship rolled as it descended, impossibly fast, its prow boiling with orange flame and fire bleeding from gashes and craters all over the hull. Chunks broke off to tumble away. As it passed, a deafening crack assaulted her eardrums, so loud she felt them vibrate. The ship slipped out of sight behind the auditor's aircraft.

  "Don't worry," Koldan said as he took out his restraints. "You'll be evacuated. Your son, too. You will both face justice when the enemy is beaten."

  "Kiri, please just run!"