The Ascendant Stars

by Cobley, Michael

  ‘So I gather,’ Gideon said. ‘And is this warpwell likewise the last of its kind?’

  ‘The Sentinel of the well told me that Hegemony scholars have discovered the dead remains of several others throughout their territory,’ Weynl said. ‘But ours does appear to be the only functioning example yet found.’

  ‘The major described it as the front door of a prison,’ Gideon said. ‘If all that you’ve said about the Knight creature is true, do we know if it has tried to break down that door?’

  ‘Been wondering that myself,’ Theo said.

  All eyes were on Weynl, who seemed to consider the Tygran’s question for a second or two before speaking.

  ‘It fills me with sorrow to have to say yes, it has succeeded in unlocking the well. Six days ago, before dawn on the day after Gregory Cameron was sent to Segrana, every Listener and sensitive Uvovo on Umara was aware of the very moment when the well was opened. Certain bearers of wisdom estimate that it would take between three and five days for the unlocking to travel all the way to the imprisoning depths, and perhaps the same for the enemy to make its ascent.’

  Theo was stunned. Gideon frowned and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. Ian Cameron picked up his beaker of water and drank it off in a single swallow. Solvjeg seemed the only one unsurprised, her face still serious, her eyes more intense.

  ‘So, to summarise,’ Gideon said, ‘the Hegemony and/or the Brolturans are due to arrive here soon in the shape of an undoubtedly substantial battle fleet with the intention of pacifying the colony while deterring any moves from the likes of the Imisil. At the same time, a portal into hyperspace will shortly – maybe today, maybe in four days’ time – disgorge an alien fleet of unknown size, unknown combat abilities and unknown intent.’

  The Uvovo looked sombre. ‘Captain, you should expect them to number in the many thousands and for them to fight any who oppose them with a relentless fury.’

  ‘Well, now,’ Theo said to Gideon. ‘Always handy to know these things, eh?’

  Then Solvjeg leaned forward. ‘Then we should mount a joint attack on Giant’s Shoulder, your people, ours and the Spiral renegades … ’

  ‘As I’ve already explained,’ Gideon said, ‘without the Brolturan flyers we would have no airborne force and without that … ’

  ‘Except that we have aircraft,’ Solvjeg said. ‘When we liberated Hammergard, we also liberated North-East Fields.’

  ‘Ah, zeplins,’ Theo said. ‘How many, sister?’

  ‘Seven, perhaps eight – our engineers were hard at work on another when we left.’

  The Tygran captain’s brow was furrowed with thought.

  ‘What kind of passenger capacities do they have?’

  ‘Average is a dozen each,’ said Ian Cameron.

  ‘It would be a high-risk operation,’ Gideon said. ‘Casualties would very likely exceed fifty per cent, but a slim chance exists. If my heavy-weapons team can take control of that defence battery, that would swing the odds in our favour. However, that doesn’t address the problem of how to close the warpwell and stop this Legion from escaping … could we demolish it with explosives, Listener?’

  ‘It was constructed by the great Ancients, Captain Gideon,’ the Uvovo said. ‘I doubt that it would be so easily … ’

  He broke off at the sound of a commotion outside. Then the door swung open and a young, red-furred Uvovo stumbled in, half-restrained by a Human sentry.

  ‘Listener, Listener! – you must come to the Hall of Discourse!’

  Theo gestured at the guard, who released the animated Uvovo.

  ‘Why are you interrupting us, Ajinos?’ Weynl said. ‘What is this about?’

  ‘The Seer,’ the young Uvovo said. ‘He is in the Hall … and he speaks with Segrana!’

  ‘Chel?’ Theo said as he stood. ‘Chel’s here?’

  ‘We must go,’ said Listener Weynl, slipping down and hurrying to the door. ‘Immediately.’

  Minutes later they entered the Hall of Discourse. Normally half-lit by the multicoloured glassy panels dotted across the tall, curved walls, now a column of shining white radiance rose from the Forerunner platform, sending light into every corner. A figure knelt at the centre of it, one small hand held out, palm upwards. As he approached Theo could see that Chel’s lips were moving, and closer still he could make out the Uvovo’s voice, quietly muttering responses as part of a conversation with another voice, deep and muted. At that point, Chel got to his feet and faced his audience.

  ‘Captain Gideon,’ he said. ‘My apologies for disappearing in the middle of the attack, but neither I nor my companion were entirely in our right minds. I had to get us both to the nearby daughter-forest or risk losing our selves completely.’

  ‘So, you and Rory,’ Theo said, ‘you were both enslaved by that creature, this Knight … are you okay now? Are you free of its control? – is Rory?’

  Chel took off the thin shift he wore, revealing shaven patches in his body fur, on arms, chest and neck. The bare skin showed healing wounds like regularly spaced holes and incisions.

  ‘Rory was semi-conscious when we reached the forest,’ Chel said. ‘He had to be helped into a vudron for the healing sleep, which has to run its course without interruption. It worked well for me – my body was able to reject the pain implants and begin healing its wounds. I am completely free of the Knight’s enslavement. Rory I am unsure of – when I left he was still in the dream and I could not tell if his implants had been expelled.’

  ‘You certainly seem more composed than at our last encounter,’ said Gideon. ‘Forgive my cautious nature, but is there any way for us to verify this?’

  Listener Weynl was outraged. ‘He is the Seer of Segrana and he stands in the pureness of the Ancients!’

  A bright thread of light appeared in the radiance next to Chel, blurred, glowing knots pulsing up and down its length.

  ‘The Seer Cheluvahar has been made free of the enemy’s devices,’ said a deep, almost gruff voice. ‘I am the Zyradin. I speak for Segrana.’

  Weynl raised his hands. ‘Zyradin of the Ancients, we know your name. We have learned that the warpwell has been opened. Have any of the Legion monsters survived the long ages of their imprisonment, and how long before they reach us?’

  ‘Many have survived and the first of them will emerge in little more than two days’ time.’

  There was a long moment of silence filled with the dread of anticipation. Just then, Theo knew that there was only one course open to them. He glanced over at his sister and nodded sombrely.

  ‘Looks like we attack,’ he said.

  ‘It appears so,’ said Gideon.

  ‘But to succeed we must find a way into the warpwell chamber,’ said Weynl, looking up at Chel. ‘Can the Zyradin use the Forerunners’ ancient devices to transport a bomb into the chamber?’

  Chel shook his head. ‘The Legion Knight has placed interference machines throughout the chamber. These, combined with the disruptive effects of the activated warpwell, make such a ploy impossible. Other tactics must be considered.’

  ‘You will need someone capable of getting past the Legion Knight’s machines by subterfuge. There is one such, still resting and healing in the daughter-forest to the north.’

  ‘Rory?’ Theo said. ‘You mean, he’s not having those implants removed? You get to be free of them but he doesn’t?’ Theo found himself getting angry. ‘Was this planned? Did you arrange this, Chel?’

  ‘Theodor, I promise you that I did not … ’

  ‘Segrana saw what was needed and acted accordingly,’ said the deep voice of the Zyradin. ‘Your friend will still be able to interact with the Legion Knight’s devices but the implants can no longer hurt or control him.’

  ‘It’s still unfair,’ said Theo. ‘You did not even ask him.’

  ‘If the Legion of Avatars breaks through to this world, they will ask nothing of anyone when they begin their slaughter.’

  ‘We should go and contact Hammergard,’ said Ian Cameron
. ‘Have the Spiralist renegade leader ready to talk with you, to agree on a plan of attack.’

  ‘You’ll have to use the shortwave now,’ Gideon said. ‘I shall join you shortly.’

  Theo watched them leave the hall, frowning.

  ‘We are assuming a lot, you know,’ he said. ‘That Rory will agree to play this part. That he can actually get past the mech security and down to the well chamber, and if he does, what then? What can he do to close it down?’

  ‘Ordinary weapons and explosives cannot harm the warpwell or disturb its functions,’ said the Zyradin. ‘A thermonuclear apparatus might affect the surface material and suspend its processes but only for a short time … ’

  ‘Such weapons are neither available nor advisable,’ said Chel, as if continuing the Zyradin’s sentence. ‘What is required is a space-fold occluder, which will close up and lock the well, keeping us safe from one threat, at least.’

  ‘The device will be delivered to this place at this time tomorrow.’

  The bright, pulsing thread then thinned and faded into the surrounding milky radiance.

  ‘The mystical Zyradin departs,’ said Listener Weynl.

  ‘Meanwhile, we have to go and devise an insane plan of attack,’ Theo said to Chel. ‘I expect that you’ve been given a task too.’

  Chel smiled and raised his right hand, palm outward. Theo’s eyes widened – a number of shining blue motes, perhaps a dozen or a score, wandered over and through the flesh of the Uvovo’s hand. The skin glowed as they moved beneath it.

  ‘Throughout the valleys and forests of Umara,’ Chel said, ‘the song of Segrana sings softly, in the fields, the trees, the streams and the soil, and in the burrows and roothouses of our ancestors. With this gift I can awaken the powers of that song … ’

  As they watched, the Seer’s form brightened, the details of his face blurring, merging then fading into the flowing radiance which itself then grew faint, a tenuous tracery of glimmer hanging over the patterns of the stone platform. Till there was only a silver shimmer which melted away to nothing.

  Listener Weynl sighed, a weary sound, and sat on the flagstones before the raised circular platform.

  ‘We’ll need to put together lists of volunteers, weapons and supplies,’ Gideon said.

  ‘I’ll have Alexei Firmanov help you with that,’ Theo said. ‘While I’m away.’

  The Tygran frowned. ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘To persuade Varstrand to fly me north to the daughter-forest,’ he said. ‘A good friend is going to need a ride home.’

  GREG

  In the blackness of space the ship spun, helpless and crippled. It was turning end over end with a certain grace while also rotating about its longitudinal axis. External lights and landing indicators flickered erratically and vapour leaks left strange, fading spirals of frozen crystals in the vessel’s wake.

  A Hegemony ship, a heavy assault implementer called the Ivwa-Kagoy, was tracking it on its course away from the Human colony world. The pursuit was also leading away from the fighting but the Hegemony captain was confident that the mighty carrier, Baqrith-Zo, was quite capable of obliterating a pair of Imisil scouts. This Human vessel, however, was a different matter. It matched the configuration of an Ezgara ship yet it had been fighting alongside the Imisil when the Hegemony carrier group exited hyperspace near the system’s periphery. There had been rumours of an Ezgara regiment turning renegade and the Father-Admiral urgently needed to know if there were any other similar rogue vessels in the stellar vicinity. His orders were clear – capture and interrogate.

  Standing at his elevated command console, the Sendrukan captain surveyed projected screens full of scan data on the Human vessel. The sensors had detected some forty-seven lifesigns, whereas the Ivwa-Kagoy’s complement came to twenty-five.

  But Humans are like children next to us, the captain thought. My crew should be able to overcome them without difficulty. However, Ezgara prisoners may present a problem. A degree of caution and subterfuge is required.

  He was consulting with the ship’s machine intelligence and his own mind-companion when visual updates streamed across his command screens. Minor explosions aboard the Ezgara vessel had expelled some lesser debris, hull armour, outer bulkhead fragments, components, cabling, and white clouds of escape gases. There was also a larger object that looked to have been partially dislodged from its fastenings – one of the screens showed it swinging out from a shallow recess on the Ezgara vessel’s underside, still attached. Then something gave way and the object, now visible as a small shuttle pod, was flung outwards by the still-spinning ship. One sensor cluster tracked its slow tumbling progress for a moment or two; the expert system observed the erratic misfiring of its attitude thrusters, noted the absence of lifeforms aboard and demoted its monitoring priority.

  So when one of the shuttle pod’s port thrusters fired in longer bursts, sending it into a tighter, faster spin, the sensors’ expert system failed to register it as a problem. Until it came out of its spin on a fast intercept trajectory, all thrusters on full burn, driving it towards the Hegemony ship. Collision alarms started yammering on the bridge and the machine mind advised the captain and his officers to retreat to the midsection.

  But with only a few seconds to react, they had only begun moving to the exits when the shuttle crashed nose first into the viewport. Armoured glass barriers shattered under the impact, layers of hull around it bent and split, and the shuttle’s blunt prow burst through into the bridge. Suddenly there was the shriek of escaping atmosphere, and emergency facemasks popped out of their wall niches. But the force of depressurisation dragged the captain towards the smashed-in viewport, just as it dislodged the shuttle and propelled it back out.

  Followed by the suffocated, flash-frozen bodies of the captain and his officers.

  On board the Starfire, Greg turned to Lieutenant Malachi Ash and said, ‘That came off very well, I think.’

  ‘I’ll be happier when the ship’s in our hands,’ said Ash. ‘The next part will not be pretty and could go badly wrong if they decide to rig the drives to self-destruct.’

  It took twenty minutes to manoeuvre alongside the Hegemony vessel, which was still heading along its original course even though the thrust drive had been shut down. The Starfire’s attitudinal jets were functioning but that was about all – the hyperdrive was half-slagged and most of the generators were blown, which meant that the weaponry could be neither powered nor aimed. Greg just hoped that this hijacking didn’t result in two wrecked ships.

  Greg’s experience of close-quarter combat was nearly nonexistent so Ash made him stay with the rearguard, watching over the medical team and the ammo bearers. The Tygran energy weapons were keyed back to non-lethal settings to avoid damaging vital systems. In addition, some carried weighted clubs, daggers and tanglers. Malachi had been aboard this class of Hegemony warship before, and once a beachhead was established around the lateral airlock he was quick to move against the engineering section with the greater part of his troops. A smaller force was sent to secure the aft armoury.

  Most of the fighting was over in less than an hour. The injuries were terrible yet the medic, Lieutenant Valerius, remained calm throughout, his tense manner matching his apparently tireless ability to deal with patient after patient. Gashes were pincerwired, burns were dermasprayed, beam- or blade-severed extremities were tagged and stored in a stasiscase while the wounds were coated in isolation gel then hardshelled. By the end the tally had reached two dead (and swiftly jettisoned out of the nearest airlock), five walking wounded and three stretcher cases.

  Everyone looked bruised and battered and physically drained. Close-quarters and hand-to-hand combat against adversaries who were two, sometimes three feet taller (and correspondingly brawnier) was taxing, even with two- or three-to-one odds. This difference in scale was reflected in the ship’s interior. On his way to engineering, where Ash had set up his command post, Greg noticed the height and width of the passageways and doors,
the oddly oppressive gold and grey colour scheme, and elaborate bas-relief mouldings that covered the upper half of every bulkhead.

  Two of Ash’s men were dragging a dead Sendrukan out into the corridor by the feet as Greg arrived. Past the entrance to the engineering deck, the ornamentation was impressively overbearing, more bas-relief mouldings, several life-size silver statues mounted at head height in the corners, each demonstrating a different preindustrial technical skill. Immense consoles dominated the room with a large, complex one occupying half the floor and butting against a wide window broken into hexagonal segments. Cabling sprouted from various open panels on the big console, where a group of Tygran techs worked, watched over by Ash.

  ‘Ah, Mr Cameron, good of you to join us,’ Ash said. ‘As you can see, we are in the process of rerouting bridge functions down here – in fact the Sendrukans had nearly accomplished it when we so rudely interrupted them. Luckily, Second Senior Instrumentationalist Panabec here has agreed to help us.’

  A Sendrukan stood nearby, cuffed and shackled, towering over his two armed guards. His dark blue uniform was torn at one shoulder and his broad face bore a glumly stoic look. Greg wondered at the wisdom of taking advice from an enemy prisoner until one of the Tygran techs turned and nodded to Ash.

  ‘That’s the AI cores wiped, sir,’ he said. ‘Including the backup. The interface module is fully spliced into their matrix hub and we’re ready to bring the Starfire copy online.’

  ‘Have all precautions been taken?’ Ash said.

  ‘They have, sir.’

  ‘Good – carry on.’ Ash smiled at Greg. ‘Panabec assures me that AI transitioning is a straightforward procedure. If it’s not, he’ll be joining the rest of the prisoners in the hold.’

  Before he finished, the tiny emitters all along the top of the line of big consoles winked on, flickered, and three large holoscreens appeared above them, angled downwards. Smaller ones appeared at other secondary workstations around the deck. Ash nodded.