"They're unstoppable," she whispered.
"Something stopped them before," Cal said.
"We don't know that. Maybe they just decided to take a nap."
"I recommend we stay hidden and wait until they leave. Perhaps then, the force-field will lift."
"We can't do that. There's the opportunity of a life-time out there. And besides, we don't know that we'll be able to leave once they go. I bet they have the technology to get us out of here."
"It's a bad idea," Cal said.
"I know. But I'm doing it anyway."
"Business as usual then."
Nova rolled her eyes. "Yes. Time to move."
"In the middle of the night?"
"The longer we take, the more weapons they'll have, the more prepared they'll be. We have to stop them now."
"That's if they don't kill you on sight," Cal said.
"Yes."
"Well, be safe, I suppose."
Nova changed out of her sandy clothes and put on a black singlet, tough trousers with many pockets and her thick trench-coat. She slid her knife into a sheath on the left side of her belt and her gun into the holster on her right.
"How do I look for an ambassador of the human race?" she said.
"Embarrassing," Cal said.
"Hilarious. Monitor the situation. If things get bad, run the simulations. If there's a chance to save me, do that. If there's not, then get yourselves out of here. Tell the guys at the Maw what happened."
"Confirmed."
She strode to the storage bay and climbed out onto the sand. Her spine tingled; what would it feel like to be compressed into the size of a tiny cube? She shook the thought away, there was no point dwelling on that because if it happened, she wouldn't have time to worry about it.
The desert was just as she'd left it except that the glow from the red moon was gone.
What would she say to the Ancients? Assuming she managed to get hold of the gun and talk before they turned her into dust. What if they couldn't understand her and shot her on sight? Or what if they responded to her taking their gun by destroying the nearest human colony.
She clenched her teeth. There was no reason for the meeting to go badly. She just had to keep calm and be reasonable, but the logical thoughts didn't stop her stomach from twisting into knots.
For whatever reason, she'd been left with this job and she'd be damned if she turned away now. As much as it should have been Doctor Codon in her place, she was glad it was her. The chance to have first contact came once in a million lifetimes.
She got to the top of the hill that looked down on the Ancients and lay on her stomach. She dragged herself to the lip and looked down.
Broken remnants of the Confederacy ships spread around her. The Ancients continued to work on their ship, they looked even bigger than they had on Crusader's front screen and Nova's throat closed over. She couldn't do it, she couldn't. She had to.
Her legs quaked as she stood and scurried down the hill to the nearest Confederacy ship. She ducked behind it and held her breath, nothing happened. She edged to the end of the ship and then darted to the next ship, and the next, all the way to the last line of fallen vehicles before the Ancients.
She took a deep breath. The black-hole cannon and the compression gun leaned against each other just a few yards away while the rest of the Ancients worked on the ship.
Sweat trickled down Nova's back and clung to her shirt. She stepped out from behind the ship and strode toward the weapons with hands held out to either side, palms up. Each breath scraped in her dry throat.
Two yards to the gun, one—
The nearest Ancient glanced up and froze he shouted and all the Ancients jumped to their feet and scurried toward Nova. They surrounded her in a chattering circle, weapons aimed at her chest.
Nova's heart hammered against her ribs but she kept her back straight. "I come in peace."
The lead Ancient shoved to the front of the crowd.
"I come in peace."
The Ancients stared down at her. They sounded like a swarm of beetles as they spoke to each other, buzzing and clicking.
"A human? What is a human doing here?" the lead Ancient said.
Nova blinked and faltered. "I can understand you."
The Ancient waved its insect-like hand. "You haven't answered my question."
"I—er—this planet is part of the Human Confederacy," she said.
"The humans claim to own part of this galaxy?" the Ancient said. "The parasitic human race dares?"
"We—we've been expanding for some time now. I wish to ensure that you will not harm the human colonies," Nova said. Her blood turned to ice but she had to finish what she'd started. She may not care for many humans, but she'd be damned if she didn't try to stop the total annihilation of human life, if that's what the Ancients had planned.
"Why not?" it said.
Nova's thoughts stumbled over the question. It was so simple and yet so layered with meanings, possibilities. "We have as much right to live and be free as you."
"I don't think so," the Ancient said. "We have fought too hard, for too long to be usurped by the likes of you."
The alien held up its clawed fist. The armor on its wrist clicked open to reveal a gun-like barrel that pointed at Nova. A handful of Ancients advanced toward Nova, similar weapons aimed at her. Their feet sunk onto the sand and left a trail of holes. They spoke to each other in their foreign language.
Nova's mouth dropped open. The careful negotiations she'd gone over in her head were over before she'd started.
Nova backed away from the closing circle. Her eyes flicked left and right. She couldn't outrun their weapons and her plasma pistol would do nothing against their armor. That left her with just one option, the one she'd planned for but had hoped she wouldn't have to use.
She darted left and dived toward the compression rife. An Ancient snatched for her and its armored forearm scraped across her shoulder. It tore through her cloak, her shirt, and into her flesh. Burning pain shot through her arm and blood sprayed out in an arc behind her.
She dodged away from the Ancient and held her injured arm close to her chest. The sand to her right exploded in a flash of red. Smoke poured from a pool of melted sand.
She stumbled away from the explosion, but it threw her away from the rifle and toward the cube that had once been a tree. Her boot caught on the cube and she tripped, sprawled into the sand.
Chittering voices sounded behind her.
She shoved herself upright and lunged for the rifle. She snatched it mid-air and spun so that she landed with her back on the sand and the compression rifle aimed behind her, at the Ancients.
Her arms and shoulders strained under the weight of the gun but she held firm.
The Ancients skidded to a stop and stood in a rough semi-circle around her. Their shiny helmets hid any emotion they might have had.
The biggest Ancient sauntered forward and pointed its weapon at Nova's head. "Goodbye human."
Nova looked down the scope of the rifle and aimed so that the armored figure filled up the whole targeting area.
She clenched her teeth, readied her shoulder for the kickback, and pressed the trigger.
She'd squeezed her eyes shut against the inevitable pain but it never came. She opened one eye and then the other.
Nova frowned and squeezed the trigger again. This time she watched the gun, but nothing happened. There was no sudden burst of light, and the creature didn't collapse into itself.
A new sound broke through Nova's confusion. Loud clicking; it sounded like laughter.
She looked up from the gun and saw the armored creatures laughing. If she'd ever wanted to see terrifying aliens reduced to a joke it would have been this. But the joke was on her.
The lead Ancient lunged at Nova and snatched the rifle out of her hands.
"After all our time fighting the Zions, and the Plims, and all the other pretenders, we worked out the species lock," it said.
Nov
a's heart clenched. "I—"
The Ancient lifted its fist and a blast of light shot out. It slammed into Nova and knocked her limp body across the sand.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Nova's head pounded and lights danced behind her eyelids. Voices muttered somewhere to her right but the ringing in her ears blocked the words. The stench of musty dirt surrounded her as if she'd stumbled into a cupboard which hadn't been opened for centuries.
Fragments came back to her; she'd confronted the Ancients and they'd shot her. Was she dead? Her heart kicked up faster at the thought. No, she couldn't be.
There were voices.
She forced her eyelids to open. The brief flash of light was all she needed. She was back in the tunnels, in a small room. She'd caught a glimpse of two Ancients near the door.
The ringing in her ears quietened.
"You have to get the information out of her. Remember what happened last time?"
"We were nearly wiped out."
"We can't afford to let that happen again. If they're the dominant species then they're the biggest threat. We have to know everything we can about them."
"What if she refuses to talk?"
"Do whatever it takes. Do you understand? I don't care if you have to tear this planet apart – we need to know what they can do so we're ready. I refuse to be forced to hide underground a second time."
"I'll make sure she talks."
"Good. And do it now. They might already be on their way. We need any advantage we can get."
"I'll get it done."
Footsteps faded away. Something grated, like stone on stone. Nova flicked her eyes open again to see an Ancient slide a thick stone door across the entrance. Purple lights glowed from the walls, casting an ominous glow over the creature's black armor.
"Time to talk," the creature said, as it turned on Nova.
Even the helmet couldn't hide the intensity of the creature's gaze. She felt intelligence, cunning, annoyance, and curiosity, pouring from the Ancient.
She forgot her aching head and bruised body. There was just her and the Ancient.
It strode to the far wall and pulled down a small pistol. Wires and lights sprouted out of it. Nova had never seen anything like it.
She struggled to her feet. If the creature was going to kill her, she'd die standing. She pushed her back against the furthest corner, the rough stone scraping down her skin, and scanned every inch of the room for a way out. The only exit was through the passage, blocked by the solid stone door. Her breaths came hard and fast and her legs twitched to get going, to move, but to where? She needed time to think.
"What's your name?" Nova said.
"You'd never be able to pronounce my real name. For our short time together you may call me Tobius. It means torturer in your most primitive language."
"How can I understand you now? I couldn't before."
"We updated your mind-chip. Primitive technology."
"How about—"
"Enough!"
Tobius lunged across the room and slammed his armored hand into Nova's cheek. Her head snapped sideways, her body sprawling onto the floor.
Pain tore through her face like fire, engulfing her cheek and temple. The stinging agony brought tears to her eyes.
"How far have the humans spread?"
"Screw you," Nova said. She pushed herself upright, her arms and legs shaking.
"I'd like to see you try." Tobius took three long steps forward and snatched Nova's neck in his hand. His fingers wrapped around her throat and squeezed.
Nova's heart roared into overdrive. She couldn't breathe and blood pounded in her temples.
"How far have you spread?" Tobius said in a venomous whisper.
Nova clenched her teeth and refused to answer but she couldn't help thinking of the outer planets, the solar systems. It was just like the time Tanguin had told her not to think of a pink elephant.
Damned elephant.
"You're a long way from home."
Nova's heart jerked. He could see her thoughts, she had to think of something else, something pointless. But the mention of home sent her thoughts straight to her childhood on Tabryn. She hadn't thought of Tabryn as home for a very long time, not since she'd found The Jagged Maw.
"The Jagged Maw," Tobius said, plucking more information from her head. "What is it? A military base?"
Tobius' grip tightened around her throat.
Nova squeezed her eyes shut. Stars danced at the edges of her vision as she struggled to stay conscious. She couldn't listen to him, couldn't let him win. She focused on an image of a cloud; the fluffy white form floated in a blue sky. Nova floated next to it, both of them blown along on a warm summer's day. Tobius spoke but his voice was carried away by the wind.
"I don't have time for your games."
His grip loosened about her throat and she drew in a great gasp of air. She relished in the sudden burst of oxygen, until pain exploded inside her head. She screamed and her eyes flew open.
Tobius pointed the gun at her head and it felt as if every neuron in her brain had simultaneously exploded. Her brain burned and she wanted to tear out her hair so that she could get to her skull and rip it open. Anything to release the agony.
Something writhed inside her head, as if worms convulsed between her ears; each of them burrowed through her skull and pushed against her head. Her brain pulsated, trying to get free of her skull.
She clutched her head with both hands. She screamed but she couldn't hear it. Stars flashed in front of her eyes, the rest was darkness and pain. Her body collapsed to the ground, she writhed and kicked. Her fingers scraped across her head and left bloody claw-marks.
She wrenched her eyes open.
Thousands of spiders, the size of golf balls, poured out of the walls and crawled across the floor on hairy legs. They swarmed across the ground like a living wave, straight at her.
She rolled away from them but they kept coming. She cast around for anything she could use; her gun was no good against a swarm of spiders and she had nothing else. She struggled to her knees; if she could just get to her feet she could stomp them to death.
She strained but her legs couldn't hold her weight.
The spiders latched onto her arms and legs and climbed. Their hairy legs brushed over her as more of them clambered up her limbs. Her legs became writhing masses of brown bodies that climbed higher.
She flicked her arms, sending a handful of spiders flying through the air. She brushed at her body but as two spiders went flying, four more climbed onto her. They scurried across her abdomen, up her chest, to her throat. She swatted at them but the dodged around her hands and reached her face.
She clenched her mouth shut but they forced it open and climbed inside. They burrowed into her ears. She gasped for air as they pushed deeper down her throat.
She would not be killed by spiders. She forced her hand away from her head and reached for the pistol at her waist. Just one squeeze and it would all go away. The pain in her head would disappear and she wouldn't be able to feel the spiders crawling down her throat.
Her fingers clasped around the pistol; her hand shook with the effort.
"I don't think so," Tobius said.
Nova blinked and the spiders were gone. She swiped at her clothes but there was nothing there. Her chest heaved and she curled up into a ball on the ground.
She blinked a few times, her vision blurred by salty tears.
"I will do it again unless you tell me what I want to know."
Nova stiffened.
"I can promise you the pain will be ten times worse the next time."
"No."
"How much technology do you humans have?"
She tried not to think, to keep her mind blank, but her brain was still heaving from the recent turmoil.
"Five... Four..."
Nova involuntarily flinched.
"Technology."
The word brought a barrage of associated images. Nova's memories soared back over ever
ything she'd seen. The Confederacy ships, contraband weapons, and the troops. She tried to stop herself but once the mental floodgates were open she couldn't close them again. Everything she knew came pouring out as a stream of conscious images.
"Still barely more than parasites," Tobius said, when she'd run out of memories. There was a note of relief in his voice.
"Who, who are you?" Nova whispered. Her dry voice scraped over her throat like sandpaper.
"We're the Ancients. Your gods," Tobius said. "But you already knew that."
Pain throbbed behind Nova's eyes. Had she just sentenced all of humanity to die? She couldn't do that; she had to be strong. But the pain had been so bad. It was a red cloud in her recollection, a bad place where she didn't dare go again.
"How did you survive the shock-wave?"
Nova clenched her jaw. She refused to think about Codon's ship and his new shield. She pictured Cal. He floated around Crusader's storage bay. It wasn't the most imaginative image but it was all she could do.
"Didn't you learn last time?" Tobius said.
She pushed her jaw forward and stared straight at him.
"This weapon will do things to you that you can't even imagine."
A part of Nova screamed at her to give in. She couldn't withstand another blast from that gun. She'd be pushed over the precipice and sent into madness. There was no escaping it. She clenched her teeth and continued to visualize Cal, zooming around Crusader.
"I call it the time-vortex. If nothing else it will be an interesting way for you to die. What you've given is enough for us to be ready. We won't be trapped here, not again."
Tobius clicked a few dials on his weapon and aimed it at Nova. She met his eyes and the gun fired.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
If Nova thought she knew pain before, it was nothing compared to the agony coursing through her now. Fiery pain engulfed her head then spread into the nerves that ran down her spine.
Images flew past her on all sides as she soared through a tunnel of hallucinations. All of history played out around her. Tiny bacteria multiplied, growing and dividing until they grew into creatures with legs and eyes. Next to them, mountains thrust up out of oceans and were then worn down by storms until they crumbled back into the seas.
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