Brolturan message and heading straight for Darien at
constant speed - we can expect to overtake it before it
reaches atmosphere.'
'Good, then it is time to get the Instrument's attention
by increasing speed.'
'It is done,' said the droid overseeing navigation, a
broad-torsoed droid called Ysher23; it had four curi-
ously slender legs and two immense arms with
interchangeable effectors.
A moment after the increase, the comm channel
livened up again.
'Heracles to Viganli - you are traversing restricted
space without authorisation! Cut your velocity at once
and power down your defences ...'
'This is Captain-Pilot Yash - I have made no threats
or hostile moves towards you but I will defend myself if
necessary .. .'
'They've targeted our stern,' said Dalqa42, the small-
est of the three droids who was overseeing the
tactical/weapons station. 'Any moment now . . .'
The bridge jolted and Kao Chih and the Voth
grabbed their consoles in reflex. Alerts flashed then sub-
sided,
'Well within shield tolerances,' said Gorol9.
'More beam and particle attacks coming,' said
Dalqa42. 'The Humans have also launched a flight of
missiles.'
The bridge and the ship shook again and again from
repeated impacts, yet there was an air of strange calm.
From the narrow viewports Kao Chih could see Darien,
a fist-sized, dark-blue and white object directly ahead
with its forest moon a dull green coin off to one side. A
few of the overhead screens showed a 3D graphic of the
harvester's shields, red spikes indicating hits, symbol
reels detailing depth of penetration and shield recovery
rates. Then there was the holotank sitting over its pro-
jection niche, displaying the relative positions of the
Viganli and the Earthsphere ship, Heracles, its beam
attacks depicted as stabbing white lines, its missiles a
curve of winking motes sweeping ahead in deflection
strike.
And through it all there was almost no talk, an eerie
peace, even though he knew that the droids had to be
sharing data via proximity transfer, but for Kao Chih
and the Voth there were only the screens.
'We're pulling away from the Heracles,' Yash said,
peering into one of the tactical screens. 'They're holding
position in high orbit but their missiles are still on
target - will these shields be enough to stop them?'
'Probably not,' said Gorol9.
'Beam turret ready for interdiction,' said Dalqa42.
'Outer optimal range now in effect, commencing pre-
emptive strike.'
Out in the murky darkness there was a tiny flare,
then another and a couple more . . .
'What is the status of the shuttle, Human Gowchee?'
said Gorol9.
'We are gaining on it,' he said, trying to ignore the
jolts and quivers of the Heracles's attacks. 'At our cur-
rent velocity we will overtake it in 5.7 minutes -
however, those Brolturan interceptors are still on course
and we will encounter them in . . . 3.8 minutes.'
'That's too much like sticking our head into a mouthful
of fangs,' said Yash. 'We should veer off and make a run
for open space.'
'There is no need for concern, Pilot Yash,' Gorol9
said. 'We have prepared for every eventuality and, after
all, we have every intention of returning your ship after
completing our mission.'
'Right . . . okay then.' The Voth rubbed his face,
nodded and was turning back to the holodisplay when
Dalqa42 said:
'Missile incoming - brace for impact!'
An instant later a crashing explosion shook the ship
and Kao Chih was thrown bodily out of his seat. Alarms
yammered and the consoles flashed with violet emer-
gency symbols as the synth voice spoke.
'Hull breach, outer hold 11, outer hold 12 . . . inner
bulkhead breach, section 32, deck 11... severe pressure
drop detected, junction 89 blast doors closing . ..'
'My ship!' Yash groaned as he picked himself up.
'What happened?' said Kao Chih, climbing back into
his seat.
'A single missile survived our beam-cannon interdic-
tion,' said Dalqa42. 'The Humans are launching no
more, since their Brolturan allies will soon be upon us.'
On a side monitor, he could see a jagged, gaping hole
in the flank of the harvester's starboard bow.
'Comforting,' the Voth said. 'Do they carry missiles
too?'
'I believe that these interceptors are Rampart
Monoclan Mark 8 Warwings,' said Gorol9. 'Rebadged
for the Star Forces of Broltura ...'
'Armed with double-twin pulse cannons, plus triple-
layer field chamber upgrades,' said Ysher23.
'And a dozen Sacred Lance missiles with integrated
expert-system guidance,' said Dalqa42.
Kao Chih looked over at Pilot Yash. 'Isn't that nice -
they have a hobby!'
Yash sniggered. Seconds later, the first Brolturan
interceptor got within range and opened fire.
The next ten minutes were like a passage through hell,
a Hell of Tearing Explosions, Kao Chih thought sardon-
ically, reserved for those who allowed themselves to he
fooled and used. The Brolturan fighters swept past in
twos and threes, hammering the Viganli with beam-
cannon volleys and, like the Heracles, discovering that the
harvester's shield could take all they could throw. Then
came the missiles, which is when the running battle really
began.
Meanwhile, the stolen shuttle had, infuriatingly, put
on more speed and pulled ahead slightly, giving it a two-
minute lead on the harvester, which was hard pressed to
keep pace.
The Brolturan interceptors began sending in wide
spreads of missiles whose inbound trajectories zig-
zagged wildly, thus reducing beam concentration on
their casings. Despite hasty modifications to the beam-
cannon strike patterns, a handful made it through and
slammed into the forward section, blew open three
holds and ripped off one of the huge emitter masts. The
bridge lurched sickeningly but everyone kept their seats
while Yash wailed in distress at the punishment his ship
was getting.
By now the Viganli had reached low orbit above
Darien yet it was continuing along a descent trajectory
with the thermosphere coming up fast.
'Jelk it, why aren't we assuming orbit?' said Yash.
'Because we're still under attack,' said Gorol9. 'And
our enemy is going to attempt a landing.'
Wild-eyed, the Voth clenched his fists. 'But Viganli
has no flight surfaces, no suspensors, and no vectored
thrust - it's a jelking cloud-harvester not a glider! You
said you were going to give me my ship back . . .'
'That was our intention, Pilot Yash, but our enemies'
intentions are otherwise.'
The missile impacts and the loss of an emitter mast
/> had degraded the shield coverage and beam-cannon
bursts were getting through to punch holes in the hull
plating. Then an interceptor, its stern wrecked by a
lucky shot from the Viganli's particle gun, came flying
in, caromed off the upper hull and smashed into the aft
superstructure. The impact threw everyone violently
back, as the lights and deck gravity died. There was a
terrifying moment of weightless motion in complete
darkness before the lighting and the gravity returned.
'Structural integrity compromised,' said the synth
alert voice. 'Hull temperature rising ... coolant system
coverage at 68 per cent and falling
'Enemy interceptors breaking off,' said Dalqa42.
'More missiles dispatched, however.'
'The shuttle,' said Gorol9. 'The Instrument, where is
it?'
'It's now in atmospheric descent,' Kao Chih said.
'Velocity falling, altitude 520 kilometres and falling,
course . . . banking towards the northern hemisphere. Is
that the location of this warpwell?'
'Yes, and of the Human colony,' said Gorol9.
'Hull temperature at 88 per cent of tolerance . . .
coolant system coverage at 51 per cent and decreas-
ing ...' said the synth alert.
'How close are those missiles?' Gorol9 said.
'First impacts in 4.7 minutes,' said Dalqa42. 'Likely
targets are port and starboard thrust engines, and bridge
superstructure. Droid survival quotient is 19 per cent,
organic crew 8 per cent. Recommend evacuation.'
'Agreed - transfer destination coordinates to escape
boat and shuttle.'
'Done,' said Ysher23.
'We must waste no time,' said Gorol9. 'I and Ysher2 5
will take your shuttle, Gowchee, while you, Pilot Yash
and Dalqa42 take the harvester's escape boat. Our pur-
suit must continue - the Instrument must be prevented
from reaching the warpwell.'
After that it was a mad scramble down to Yash's
living room, from which a trapdoor ladder led down to
the escape boat. There was a pause while the Voth
stuffed a seemingly random selection of items into a
filthy shoulder sack, then they hurried down to the boat.
Muttering incomprehensible Vothic oaths, Yash
strapped himself in, shoulder sack wedged between his
bony knees, while Kao Chih followed suit and Dalqa42
came last, closed and sealed the hatch.
Kao Chih heard a muffled crash from back in the
harvester and felt the boat shake. Then there was a clus-
ter of loud bangs and the boat lurched forward and
dropped, sudden vertigo surging in his stomach.
Without a doubt they were free of the Viganli and a
moment later he heard a cluster of servo whines, and a
sense of weight returned, then a sway to the side along
with the occasional deep buzz.
'Lift surfaces have been deployed,' said the droid
Dalqa42. 'Directional jets functioning normally, guid-
ance system nominal. Time till landing, approximately
7.5 minutes.'
Kao Chih nodded. 'Pilot Yash, is there any way to see
outside?'
'Not until we are below 4,000 meol.' The Voth glow-
ered at him. 'And do not presume to speak to me,
Human jelk! You bear responsibility for the loss of my
jelking ship!' And he turned his face away.
'Yes, you're right,' Kao Chih sighed and settled back,
converting the meol altitude in his head to roughly
2,500 feet.
The minutes crept by. The escape pod often shud-
dered and pitched from atmospheric turbulence, poor
weather according to the droid. In the fifth minute a
pinging sound came from an overhead control pad and
the Voth wordlessly reached up to press a button. Small
triangular panels slid aside on both sides of the nose,
revealing viewports - mostly they could only see the
rushing greyness of clouds but occasionally they caught
glimpses of landscape far below, mountains and valleys,
dense areas of green. Darien, he thought. At last.
'Droids Gorol9 and Ysher23 have landed ahead of
the Instrument's shuttle and have met with armed resist-
ance,' said Dalqa42 all of a sudden.
'Ahead of it?' said Kao Chih. 'How?'
'Weather conditions... wait...' Dalqa42 was silent
for a moment or two, then, 'The adversary's craft just
arrived but crashed into rock formations a short dis-
tance from the warpwell's location, a deep excavation
into a rock promontory ... Gorol9 reports that they
can sense the Instrument's presence and advises us to be
ready.'
'Ready for what?' said the Voth.
'For combat, Pilot Yash,' Dalqa42 said.
'Not my fight, droid,' said Yash.
'Those we are about to encounter will assume that it
is and act accordingly. To increase the possibility of a
successful outcome, Gorol9 and I will now trans-
pose . . .'
Kao Chih and Yash exchanged a puzzled look as the
droid fell silent, immobile. A moment or two later the
droid began to move again, surveying the boat's interior
and its occupants.
'Human Gowchee and Pilot Yash - somehow, it is
pleasing to make your acquaintance again. Now, we are
just seconds away from . ..'
The escape boat lurched upward then seemed to
swoop downwards, banking as it did so.
'Steerable canopy deployed - guidance will take us to
within five metres of the warpwell location. Prepare
yourselves for ...'
Through the small viewport Kao Chih could see a
muddled blur of landscape turning and turning beneath
them then tilting and rushing past, rushing up quite
quickly ...
'.. . a rough landing ...'
The boat swept into a gulf of shadow, an abrupt
plunge followed by a sharp swing to the right as they
slammed into something. Even as Kao Chih and Yash
cried out, the capsule pitched forward and descended by.
steady stages, landing with a bump. Scarcely waiting for
the boat to settle, the droid Gorol9 tugged on the hatcn
release and a curved section of the hull popped open. At
once Kao Chih inhaled a flow of cold, damp air laced
with smells of growing things . ..
Gorol9 helped them both out. They were at the foot
of some kind of sheer-sided excavation faced with
ribbed, composite cladding, looking up at a grey,
evening sky from which raindrops were falling. For a
second Kao Chih stood there, feeling the rain on his
face, enjoying the sensation . . .
'The Instrument is here,' said Gorol9. 'Further in ...'
The sound of weapons-fire came from a doorway at
the end of the narrow trench and the droid started
swiftly towards it. Kao Chih hesitated, until Yash took a
shiny blue beam pistol from his shoulder sack and
offered it to him.
The doorway had a set of steps leading down into an
icy chamber where golden lamps on the floor threw sharp
shadows against a wall with three doors. There were four
dark and glassy pillars here, too, and the motionless, hud-
dled shapes of dead people, seven large humanoids,
Sendrukans, he guessed. The three doors were sur-
rounded by a carving-covered wall, and without pause
the droid dived through the only door that was open.
Beyond, more bodies at the edge of an immense cir-
cular chamber with a low wall running around,
prescribing a kind of walkway. A few small lamps were
spaced along the low wall for about a quarter of its cir-
cuit, revealing to Kao Chih's eyes some of the sweeping
patterns, the symbols and the characters which were
carved into the chamber's wide stone floor. Was this
what all the deceptions, the pursuit, the destruction and
death had been for? - was this the warpwell?
More gunfire came from behind them, and Yash
brought up his plasma cannon.
'I'll hold this door - you go after our droid friend, see
he doesn't get into trouble. He owes me a ship!'
Kao Chih nodded and hastened along the walkway.
Ahead he could make out the spindly shape of Gorol9
(formerly Dalqa42) striding after a glowing blue object
that was heading towards the centre of the chamber's
stone floor. As he walked he saw that the blue thing was
a strange artefact resembling a section of a long, articu-
lated limb or tentacle. A cyborg machine. As it came to a
halt, Gorol9 extended its gait to a lope. Unthinkingly,
Kao Chih stepped over the low wall and began running
towards it, not noticing the silvery, threadlike glows that
flickered across the floor patterns in his wake.
'Fools who rush to their deaths,' said Drazuma-Ha*
in a voice which echoed sharply in the chamber, 'should
not be disappointed.'
A shaft of amber force leaped out and seized Gorol9
around its slender torso and dragged it in close. An
amber blade then hacked off the droid's legs and Kao
Chih, rage in his heart, raised the beam pistol and blazed
away.
'Even if you could get through my exquisitely
designed force shield,' Drazuma-Ha* said, 'that pathetic
weapon would scarcely dent my skin. Admit your
defeat, Human, admit the inherent weakness of your
unaugmented flesh.'
It was true - the beam pistol's bolts flared and
sparked uselessly against the blue aura. Bitterly he low-
ered the weapon, slowed to a halt and fell to his knees.
'You have nothing to admit to this maimed hybrid,
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