“Sarha, kill the bastard,” he ordered.
Five masers fired at the hellhawk. It rolled quickly and accelerated at seven gees, trying to break free from the energy strike.
Joshua fired another five combat wasps, programming them for defence minefield deployment. Their drives flared briefly, and submunitions swarmed out, forming a wide protective cluster around Lalarin-MG. If the hellhawk was serious about attacking a target outside a gravity field, its strategy would be to swallow in as close as possible, under a kilometre usually, and fire off a combat wasp salvo. Unless the target had an extensive array of SD lasers, some submunitions were bound to get through. The minefield ought to act as a temporary deterrence.
The hellhawk swallowed away.
“Syrinx, where the hell did it go?” Joshua asked.
“Standing off, two thousand kilometres.”
Oenone used the link with Lady Mac ’s flight computer to datavise the coordinate over. Sensors locked on, showing the hellhawk holding station.
“They’ve got very strange ideas about tactics,” Joshua said. “Oski, how much longer?”
“Half an hour at least, Captain. I’ve identified probable storage areas for the almanac; none of them are active.”
“Joshua, I’m not sure the cylinder can take another attack like that,” Ione said. The serjeant mediating with Baulona-PWM and Quantook-LOU had been flung to its knees when the first chunk of shrapnel punctured the cylinder shell. A small fireball had erupted out of a tower barely a hundred yards away. The plaza shook violently as the tower disintegrated, showering the area with smoking fragments of metal and burning vegetation. When she scanned round, she saw a dozen violet contrails crisscrossing through the air, molecules fluorescing from the gamma laser shots. Two had burned holes through the Sleeping God effigy. Her sensors hurriedly tracked along the axial gantry, but it hadn’t been hit.
An automated truck trundled across the plaza, heading for the wrecked tower. Air was wailing as it was sucked down through the puncture hole. Hydraulic arms unfolded from the rear of the truck, carrying a thick metal plate. It was lowered over the hole, clanging into place. Thick brown sludge was sprayed out of a nozzle, smothering the plate. It solidified quickly, completing the seal.
“The Mosdva attack again,” Baulona-PWM said.
Ione thought the breeder was going to strike Quantook-LOU.
“They didn’t,” she said quickly. “That was a human ship. It’s from a dominion we are not allied with. The Lady Macbeth has fought it off.”
“Do humans have dominions?” Quantook-LOU asked. “You did not tell us this.”
“We didn’t expect them to be here.”
“Why are they here? Why have they attacked us?”
“They do not agree that Tyrathca and Mosdva should be given the faster-than-light drive. We must complete this agreement and recover the data. Then they will be unable to prevent the exchange.”
“My family is working hard,” Baulona-PWM said. “We keep our agreement with you, allowing you to mediate.”
“And we will keep the agreement that you will be unharmed. Come now, we were deciding the message that is to be sent to other diskcity dominions.” She switched back to the general communication link. “You have to get us more time.”
“We’ll see to it,” Syrinx assured her. “Joshua, hold the fort here.”
“Acknowledged.” Lady Mac ’s gravitonic distortion detectors showed him the voidhawk opening a wormhole interstice.
Oenone emerged fifty kilometres from the Stryla. Syrinx was expecting the hellhawk to fire its lasers at them straight away. That it didn’t, she took as an encouraging sign.
I’m here to talk,she said.
And I’m here to survive,etchells replied. We know you’re here to find something you can use against us. I won’t let that happen.
Nothing will be used against you. We are trying to resolve this to everyone’s benefit.
I lack your optimism.
The hellhawk launched two combat wasps.
Oenone immediately swallowed out, emerging from a terminus on the opposite side of the hellhawk from the combat wasps, twenty kilometres away. It fired ten lasers at the other’s polyp hull.
Etchells swallowed away. He emerged a hundred metres above one of the diskcity’s heat radiator cones. Oenone emerged just behind him. He’d expected that. His maser cannon fired on the voidhawk. It darted down behind the silvery cone, then curved round to shoot at Etchells.
The hellhawk accelerated at eight gees, tearing along a valley of cylindrical radiator towers. Kiera let out a muted yell of surprise and pain as she was squashed back into her acceleration couch.
“Give me fire control,” Etchells told her. “You can’t program the combat wasps for this scenario. I can.”
“That would make me nothing,” she said. “No deal. Fly us out of this.”
“Fuck you.” He abandoned the secondary manipulation of the distortion field, which countered the acceleration. Kiera groaned as the full eight gees rammed her down into the couch. She began channelling her energistic power to strengthen her body. Lasers raked across his hull, and Etchells looped round a glass spiral turret, pulling twelve gees. The radiator mechanisms were a constant leaden smear to his optical senses, he was navigating by distortion field sense alone. And going too fast: the valley end was a sharp turn, almost a right angle. He swooped up above the peaks, decelerating madly as he turned. For a moment the two starships were in direct line of sight. Lasers and masers slashed across the gulf. Then Etchells dived back down into a deep gully of vertical mirror-surface dissipaters.
Oenone matched the manoeuvre and fired again. Etchells flicked from side to side, accelerating and decelerating in wild bursts. His own masers fired back. The energy beams ripped long gashes across the cliffs of dissipaters as both starships twirled and rolled. Magenta effluvium percolated out, clotting the whole valley.
Etchells shot out of the smog blizzard with cyclonic eddies rolling away from his hull. He swung round a splayed clump of black pentangular pillars, then used a mushroom-like industrial refinery to slalom again.
The way Syrinx’s hands dug into the acceleration couch padding was nothing to do with the appalling gee forces washing across the bridge. The image of the craggy diskcity surface hurtling past mere metres away was shining directly into her brain. Her eyes were tight shut from reflex, and it wasn’t the slightest use. There was no escape. Oenone ’s steady determination as it pursued the hellhawk prevented any censure. To doubt her love now would be selfish betrayal. She fought her own fear to bestow trust and pride.
On the other side of the bridge, Oxley was emitting a constant low moan of dismay without ever needing to draw breath.
Its resolve weakens, Oenone claimed buoyantly. It is slowing to turn now. We will catch it soon.
Yes. There was absolutely nothing in the tactical programs she could use to help this situation. If they rose above the artificial valleys, the hellhawk would be able to fire combat wasps straight at them. They couldn’t fire back down, one errant submunition would slaughter thousands of Mosdva. So the chase continued, which was ultimately to their advantage. It prevented the hellhawk from firing on Lalarin-MG. At a terrible cost to her nerves.
Another wormhole terminus opened a hundred kilometres above them.
Hello Etchells,rocio said.
You?etchells exclaimed in shock. Shoot the shit chasing me, they’ve found something here that’ll wipe us out.
The Mindori fired three lasers at a glass cone heat exchanger a couple of kilometres ahead of Etchells. The mechanism detonated, shattering into crystalline splinters spinning inside a writhing gas cloud. Etchells screamed his fury into the affinity band and accelerated at seventeen gees, desperately trying to rise above the lethal kinetic debris. Irradiated gas streaked over the hellhawk’s polyp. Energistic power flared, warding off the crystals with a ragged shield of white fire. Etchells’s barrel rolled up away from the bloating indigo nimbus.
Oenone had a few extra seconds before collision. It pulled up fast, skirting the boundary of the whirling crystals. The Stryla was only thirty kilometres ahead of it. Oenone ’s targeting radar locked on to the hellhawk. Then the electronic sensors warned Syrinx that the Mindori was targeting their hull.
Don’t shoot,rocio warned.
Kill them,etchells demanded.
Syrinx aimed five lasers at the Mindori .
Etchells also targeted the other hellhawk with three masers. Kill them now,he said.
I won’t shoot if you don’t,rocio said to syrinx. two of his lasers were aligned on the Stryla.At least find out why we’ve come here first.
So tell us,syrinx said.
Jed and Beth were pressed against the port in the bridge, gazing in veneration at the xenoc artefact spread out below the hellhawk. There weren’t many details, it was so dark, but the rim was close enough to see a silhouette of enticing geometries in the backscatter of red light. Gerald Skibbow was sitting on the acceleration couch behind the weapons console, Loren Skibbow studying the tactical displays keenly, watching the voidhawk and hellhawk rising fast from the darkside.
Traitor,etchells spat, pushing his shaky anger behind the word.
To what, exactly?rocio asked. What’s your crusade, Etchells? What do you care about other than yourself?
I’m trying to stop these people from flinging us all back into the beyond. Maybe you’re all for that.
Don’t be absurd.
Then for fuck’s sake help us wipe out that cylinder. Whatever they’ve come here for, it’s in there.
There’s no weapon in there,syrinx said. I’ve already told you that.
Maybe I’ll take a look later,rocio said.
Shithead,etchells raged. I’ll blow you to fucking pieces if you don’t help wipe out that voidhawk.
And that’s why I’m here.
What? What are you fucking talking about?
Rocio enjoyed the irritation and confusion Etchells was emitting. Death,he said. You’re very keen to see others die, aren’t you. You never gave Pran Soo a chance.
You’ve got to be shitting me. You came after me because of her?
And Kiera. I’ve got someone on board who would like to see our ex-leader.
Kiera is on board?syrinx asked.
Yes,rocio said.
Listen you half-wit dickbrain, we’re on the same side,etchells said. I know the hellhawks have found another supply of nutrient fluid. That’s brilliant. We’re free of doing any fighting for people like Capone and Kiera. That’s what I want.
You were Kiera’s number-one cheerleader. You’re still doing what she wants even with the blackmail removed.
I was looking out for me. Just like you were doing for yourself. We had different methods, but we want the same thing for ourselves. That’s why you’ve got to help us. Together we can beat those Confederation ships and destroy the cylinder.
Then what?
Then whatever we want, of course.
You don’t really think we’d let you share our nutrient supply, do you? After what you’ve done.
You’re starting to piss me off.
Jed and Beth saw the monstrous bird rise into view through the port, a jet-black shadow against the ruddy darkness of the umbra. Malevolent eyes gleamed scarlet, looking straight in at them. They backed away from the port together. To one side of the bird was another shadow, an elongated oval.
“Gerald,” Jed said nervously. “Mate, there’s things out there.”
“Yes,” he said. “The Oenone and the Mindori . Isn’t it wonderful?” He sniffed, wiping moisture from his sunken bloodshot eyes. His voice became high again: Loren’s. “She’s there. And there’s nowhere for the bitch to run anymore.”
Jed and Beth gave each other a defeated look. Gerald was activating a lot of systems on the console.
“What are you doing?” Rocio asked.
“Bringing the remaining generators on line,” Gerald answered. “You can route their power into the lasers. Kill it with one shot.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
“YES IT IS!” Gerald cried. “Don’t you try to back out now.” He clutched the edge of the console, blinking in confusion.
“Gerald?” Beth pleaded tremulously. “Please, Gerald, don’t do anything rash.”
Loren’s face flicked up over Gerald’s tortured expression. “Gerald’s fine. Just fine. Don’t you worry.”
Beth started sobbing, clutching at Jed. His arms went round her as he stared miserably at the mad figure hunched over the console. When Skibbow had just been bonkers it’d been bad enough. This new demented combination was hell’s own gatekeeper.
Loren ignored the two kids. “Rocio. Ask the voidhawk to help. It’s to their advantage. We don’t want any mistakes now.”
“Very well.” There was an edge of worry in the voice. I have a proposition,he said to syrinx, on singular engagement.
Go ahead.
I have no quarrel with you, nor do I care about your mission. Etchells and Kiera threaten both of us.
Then why did you stop us from firing at them?
Because I need to capture Kiera alive. The father and mother of the body she possesses are on board. Unfortunately, they have fire authority over my combat wasps. My energistic power can disable the missiles, but the Skibbows would be able to detect my intent. There is no way of telling how they’d react; they are not a stable combination. They could choose to kamikaze; in which case I’m not sure if I could block their commands to the warheads in time.
I see. What do you suggest?
From this range, my lasers are quite capable of killing the Stryla ’s central organ cluster in one shot. Etchells will be flung back into the beyond, and Kiera will be left intact. I will dock, and the Skibbows can deal with her.
So what do you want us to do?
Nothing. Do not interfere when I shoot. That’s all I ask.
What about Kiera’s control over the Stryla ’s combat wasps?
A second laser strike will eliminate the combat wasps in their launch cradles. I can be fast. She will not have time to launch or detonate them.
You hope.
Can you provide an alternative?
Etchells spoke into the general affinity band: Rocio, I can see you’ve powered up your weapon pod generators. Know this, Kiera and I have rigged my combat wasps. Any energy beam strike against me or my life-support module will result in every warhead blowing simultaneously. Both of you are well inside the lethal blast radius.
All right,rocio said. We’ve all been real smart and blocked each other. Nobody can win now, so why don’t we all just back off?
No,syrinx said. If either of you accelerate away or attempt to open a wormhole interstice, I will fire. I will not give you the freedom to return to the cylinder.
So just what the hell are we supposed to do now?rocio demanded.
We are negotiating for the cylinder to be evacuated,syrinx said. When all the Tyrathca have left, I will permit the three of us to retreat simultaneously. Not before. You will not slaughter innocent entities to appease your paranoia.
For fuck’s sake,etchells said. Rocio, join me, we’ll blow this voidhawk to shit and stop them getting the weapon.
There is no weapon,syrinx insisted.
I’ll tell you something, Etchells,rocio said. If it comes to a choice, I’m with Captain Syrinx.
Shithead traitor! You’d better pray their weapon works and pray real hard, because if it doesn’t I will personally track you down past the end of the universe.
You won’t have to chase me anywhere.
Syrinx looked over at Ruben and pouted her lips. “Maybe we should just let them go at it.”
“Nice thought. I wonder what the Mosdva dominions are making of all this.”
“As long as they don’t start shooting at us, I don’t care.”
“We’re getting something,” Oski announced. “It’s not the full almanac, but I’m accessing fil
es with colony planet locations; they’re linked to star map references.”
“Can you access their star map files?” Syrinx asked.
“Loading a questor now,” Oski said. “Stand by.”
Syrinx and Oenone waited eagerly as the information began to trickle across the communication link. The first maps the questors accessed showed unknown starfields, but the third has a portion of the Orion Nebula covering a quarter of the picture. Oenone matched the image to the navigational plot of the nebula it had made on the voyage to Mastrit-PJ, instinctively correlating the Tyrathca coordinate formula into its own astronomical reference frame. More star maps followed, allowing the voidhawk to expand and refine the coordinate grid, correlating with recognizable star patterns. After eight minutes it could visualize a globe of space five thousand light-years across, centred on Mastrit-PJ. Tyrathca designations tagged the constellations.
Syrinx’s thoughts flowed through the mental construct, filled with quiet pride as she absorbed the detailed configuration.
It was easy, Oenone said modestly.
You handled it superbly,she said. That needs to be said.
Thank you.
Syrinx made an effort to compress her sadness. But you do realize we probably won’t get to go there.
I understand. We need to keep the hellhawks at bay.
I’m so sorry. I know how much you wanted to go.
So did you. We must not be selfish, though. There is more at stake than our feelings. And we have explored further than anyone else.
Oh yes!
Joshua will do well.
I know.amusement lifted her spirits. A year ago I wouldn’t have been saying that.
It is not just you who has changed.
You always did like him, didn’t you?
He was what you feared to become. Your envy became disdain. You should never be scared of what you are, Syrinx. I will always love you.
And I you.she sighed contentedly. “joshua, swantic-li found the Sleeping God at an F-class star three hundred and twenty light years from here. Coordinates coming over.” She ordered the bridge processors to datavise the file over to Lady Mac ’s flight computer.
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