by Chris Reher
“Can we see her? Please.”
“What can you possibly want with one such as she? Your people’s understanding of the sciences is far greater than hers. We need her more than you do.”
“She is a friend,” Tychon said “We are concerned. We want to help.”
The Caspian hesitated. He wrung his hands around his staff as he seemed to consider Tychon’s request. But then something behind the two visitors caught his attention and his eyes widened in surprise. Both Tychon and Seth turned to see what approached.
“Crap,” Seth said under his breath.
A dozen or more people, male and female and mostly Centauri, had loosened themselves from the dank shadows of the sanctuary and approached from all sides, silently and heavily armed. Walking toward them from the entrance was a woman carrying a data unit in her hands. Her short black hair was streaked with purple and silver dyes. “Tychon,” she said, sounding amused. “Major Tychon, Vanguard officer under Colonel Dom Everett, UCB Targon.” She looked up from the display to smile at Tychon. “Have I got that right?”
He snarled and said nothing.
“Just because we are isolated here on Ath Kier does not mean that our surveillance systems are merely decorative. Or did you fail to notice them? Is it too dark in here?” She turned to Seth. “You, however, were not recognized, whatever you are.” She grasped his long braid and snatched the wig from his head. The Caspian priest gasped audibly when Seth’s black strands fell over his forehead. “But unless you’re ill with something, Centauri, your core temperature is a little hot for a Delphian.”
He smiled and shrugged as if caught stealing a pastry from the dinner tray. They were searched and relieved of their guns and communicators.
“Let’s drop them off the cliff and be done with this,” one of the rebels said. “Them and the Bellac traitor. The vent eels will love the treat.”
“The Bellac has sought sanctuary with my sect,” the priest said to the woman. “Do what you want with these spies. Outside. This temple is for those who come to find peace.”
“Sadly, your comrades don’t agree, Rebel,” Tychon said.
“Rebel to you, perhaps, but we here work to bring peace to our people, just as your own clergy does, Delphi. All wars are evil, no matter whose beliefs you hold.”
The rebel leader regarded the priest with cold eyes. “We’ll let Ros Talac decide the Bellac’s fate when he arrives.” She turned to Tychon. “We have a long list of grievances against you, Major. You’ve been hounding us for years. The Shri-Lan will celebrate when you’ve been purged from existence. You don’t mind if we invite the others to watch you die, do you?”
Tychon’s eyes were on the walls and deep-set windows of the stone temple as they were led along a damp corridor and down into the lower levels. Aikhor’s murky daylight faded entirely and now only a few and widely-spaced lamps helped them forward. He felt the air move in the direction they were going, indicating open windows, if not doors, to the temple. He shook his head in a minute gesture when he saw Seth studying the distance between himself and the nearest of their guards. There were too many of them, and too heavily armed.
They were marched into a small room near the end of a corridor, apparently some sort of storage. Barrels and boxes were stacked along the walls but most of the space was lost in the gloom. Tychon was relieved when one of the rebels lobbed Seth’s torch at him.
“Here,” she said. “Let it not be said that we’re without compassion. This might keep the pets from chewing your feet.” She slammed the door and they were left alone.
Tychon looked around the room before facing Seth, wondering about the measure of the man. Surely, as a former Prime Staff member, he was well-trained and experienced and not likely to crumble in this situation. Physically, he seemed as fit as any Union agent. But he had a quick tongue and a belligerent nature that may well prove dangerous to both of them.
Seth raised his hands. “Yes, don’t say it. I should have known better than to take a Vanguard officer in here. Not my fault you’re so damn recognizable, though.”
Tychon walked to a small window, little more than an air shaft, set into the deep wall. “Covert operations are generally not our mission.” He tried the door into the corridor. “A percussion charge would work nicely on this. But the one I had seems to be missing all of a sudden.”
Seth hitched a hip onto one of the crates. He peered at the stone floor. “What do you think she meant with ‘pets’?”
“Will they be able to find your plane?”
“Doubt it. At least not quickly. That airfield is busy. I didn’t bring the remote com with me, so they won’t know which one is mine.”
Tychon nodded. “Then we’d better get back there fast.”
Seth pointed at the locked door. “After you, Major.”
“They have to come back sooner or later. Look around for something useful. I can’t see a damn thing down here.”
Seth smirked and hopped off his crate. “Probably a good thing. That bug in the corner looks hungry.”
Tychon turned to see a creature scuttling along the stone wall. It seemed to be an insect, carrying a ridged black and green carapace, but it was likely the largest beetle he had ever seen. Indeed, he had known people who kept smaller pets than this. It sported two long mandibles on one end and what might be a stinger on the other. “Let’s not assume that thing is non-poisonous,” he said.
“Sounds sensible.” Seth began to peer into boxes and along some of the shelving. “Mostly food stuffs. None of it terribly appetizing. Maybe to our friend there.” He jumped back with a curse when another one scurried from behind some jars.
“Let’s see if we can take that shelf apart. Those metal uprights look fairly sharp.” Tychon grasped the corner of the shelf to give it an experimental tug. He halted when something caught his attention. “Did you hear that?’
“No. What?”
Tychon frowned. A headache had begun with a jab and now radiated from his temple around the side of his head. He closed his eyes for a moment and then it had passed. “Nothing,” he said. “Imagining things.”
They worked without speaking for a while and managed to pry some of the supports from one of the shelves lining the walls. Tychon continued to feel some odd presence intruding upon his thoughts. It was faint, no more than a feeling that there was something to be remembered or some task left undone.
Seth hefted the metal bar in his hand and feinted about the room. “En garde!” he exclaimed. “Now if everyone’s guns quit working we’d be almost dangerous.” He whirled and stabbed the bar to the floor, impaling one of the pets. It made an unpleasant hissing sound as it died.
Tychon sat on a crate and lowered his head into his hands.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“Head hurts,” Tychon said. “Gravity getting to me, too. Don’t shout.”
Both of them looked up when they heard a sound by the door. It first seemed like the scrabbling of another insect but then the bolt was pulled back and the door opened. They raised their makeshift weapons to greet whatever was coming at them.
“Acie!” Seth exclaimed when the small Bellac slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. She wore a stained pair of coveralls but otherwise did not look very much imprisoned. “This is a little unexpected.”
She ran across the room and flung her arms around his waist. “You’re here! You made it!”
He took her head into his hands and kissed her forehead. “Well, for what it’s worth. Not sure how we’ll leave again, though.”
“Nar Tosh told me that the others had taken you down here. He left my door unlocked. I’m thinking he wants me to leave.” She giggled and then squinted at Seth. “What happened to your eyes?”
“So cold down here that I’m turning blue. Speaking of which, meet Tychon. We forgot to disguise him, too. He’d make a fine Rhuwac.”
She peered at Tychon from the safety of Seth’s arms. “Air Command guy,” she said. “That’s
Nova’s boyfriend, isn’t it? What’s he doing here? His people broke my spectrometer on Phi. No way can I afford another. Did Nova make it back from Dannakor?”
Tychon rubbed his hand over his face. “Look, can we get out of here now? Obviously, the Bellac knows her way around this little chapel. Maybe we can chat about your beakers later?”
Seth looked at Acie and soundlessly mouthed “Delphian”, as if that explained Tychon’s curt request.
Acie nodded. “Yes, we don’t have much time. They’ve sent for their boss. He’s somewhere in Kiertown so it won’t be long before he gets here. He’s a mean one.” She went to the door and along the way nudged one of the insects out of her way with her foot. “Shoo, beastie! We’ll go down the hall this way. There is a passage down into the ravine from there. Leads to the outside of the wall. Take that torch with you. We’ll get Vincent on the way.”
“Ravine? You mean that bottomless pit of putrid fog that runs through this valley? And why is Vincent here?”
“He came to get me out of that pinch I was in with the Shri-Lan. That didn’t work out so well. I’m not leaving without him. And it’s not bottomless. It’s just smelly. Sulfur pits down there. And dead things. And things that eat them. Bring your sticks.”
Tychon sighed. What was wrong with these people? His head throbbed and what they said seemed to make little sense.
Seth explained. “They don’t have graveyards here. Too much stone. So they chuck the corpses over the edge. And us, if we don’t get moving.”
Acie inspected the hallway outside and then gestured for them to follow. She sped ahead of them, white braids bouncing with every step. The floor under their feet was slippery and the men moved more cautiously until she stopped by another door. “He’s in here. But this door needs a key. Vincent!” she added in a loud whisper.
They heard someone move on the other side. “Acie?”
“I’m here. Seth is, too.”
Tychon examined the lock on the wooden door and then wedged his metal bar under the crude latch. Seth also leaned on the lever until the entire faceplate of the lock came away from the door with a dull clank. They froze and listened for anyone that might have heard.
Acie pulled the door open and they quickly stepped into the monk’s cell beyond. They found a Human elder whose broad smile rearranged the deep furrows in his face when he embraced the Bellac woman. “Acie! Child, I was so worried! And hello, Sethran! It’s been a few years.”
Tychon rolled his eyes at Seth. This old man was Acie’s guardian? And why did these people constantly have to hug each other? Did no one here understand their peril?
“He’s wickedly efficient with a gun,” Seth assured him. “And more protective of her than a grush cat is of her babies.”
“We have to keep moving,” Tychon replied. “Someone is bound to come looking for us soon.”
The Human squinted at Tychon while he stepped into a pair of worn boots. Acie handed him a long, rough-spun vest. “Who do we have here? A Delphian! And by his bearing a warrior. A rare combination among those folks. That would make you a Union agent, seeing how none of you will have dealings with the likes of us.”
“You have a good eye, Elder Brother,” Tychon said and turned to open the door by a fraction to peer into the hallway.
“This is none other than Nova’s mate,” Acie said to Vincent. “The famed and feared Tychon of Delphi. His squad totally ruined Phi for us. But now it seems that he’s finally fallen into rebel hands.” She giggled. “Isn’t it just utterly twisted to have two of Nova’s lovers here together like this?”
Tychon’s back stiffened and he turned very slowly to glower at Seth. After a long, breathless moment during which Acie’s smile faded to nothing he said, “You didn’t find it necessary to share that bit of news?”
Seth reached over and yanked one of Acie’s tangled braids. “You know, sometimes you’re a little loose in the general lip-area.”
“Uh.” She grimaced. “Oops. Why didn’t you tell him?”
Seth shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now, does it?” His question was for Tychon. “Was a long time ago.”
Tychon regarded the Centauri wordlessly. He found it hard to imagine that Nova would take up with this rogue. There were some physical similarities between the two men; their height and long-limbed build had made it easy for Seth to pass as a Delphian. Their genetic link, although unexplained, was undeniable. But, he thought, that’s where the comparison ended. What did Nova see in this man? Once again, he felt confounded by the complexities of Human emotion, reminded again that, as well as he thought he knew Nova, there was much more to learn.
He winced when he reminded himself that standing around here and speculating about her past relationships was probably not the way to get out of this place and on his way to finding her. There were four of them now here behind enemy lines. The woman little more than a civilian and the old rebel not looking any less frail. And not a single gun between them. He hefted the metal bar in his hand, feeling exceptionally underequipped for escaping a rebel hold.
“Yes! Five years, I think,” Acie said quickly. She looked nervously from Seth to the makeshift weapon in Tychon’s hands. “That’s a long time, isn’t it?”
Tychon turned back to the door. “Let’s get out of this place now,” he said. “Acie, lead the way. Quickly.” He herded them into the hall, alert to sounds in the distance.
The Bellac woman darted past him, followed by Vincent who, despite his apparent age, moved with agility and speed. Seth fell into step beside him as they hurried along the dimly-lit stone passage.
“In here.” Acie had stopped beside a low arch from which a narrow tunnel led somewhat downhill. “Goes to the outside. They dump garbage down this way. Don’t worry about the jazzies. They don’t bite unless they’re hungry.”
“Jazzies?” Seth said, ducking into the tunnel. Both he and Tychon had to stoop to fit into the small space. Something crunched under his boot and hissed. “Never mind.”
They moved quickly downhill, mindful of the slimy ground and whatever it was that dripped from the ceiling. Soon a gust of air moved over their heads, bringing with it a smell of sulfur and offal that became stronger until it blasted their faces as they stepped outside. The opening of the tunnel was swathed in yellowish fog. Above them hung a heavy, hinged grate held to the ceiling with a lever.
Tychon grasped Acie’s arm to stop her from moving forward. “Stop,” he said. “Wait.”
They paused and watched the dense clouds move past them until a strengthening breeze pushed them aside.
Seth whistled. “Good call, Major.”
Only a few steps in front of them lay the massive ravine that dissected the island, sloping downward at a dangerous angle into dense fog. The decline was strewn with jagged boulders and a scattering of what looked disconcertingly like bones.
Seth looked upward for something recognizable above them. The temple behind the massive wall reached high into the cloudy sky and only a few dimly-lit windows peered through the mist. “I think the front of the sanctuary is that way. It faces toward the town.”
“Wait,” Acie said, her hand over her nose to ward off the smell. “Let’s close this exit up.”
Seth looked up at the grate. “Yeah, that’ll slow them down by about a minute.”
She shook her head as if amazed by his simple-mindedness. “The gate opens outward. Get your rod behind that rock over there and see if you can pry it free. Then just drop the gate and wedge the rock between it and that boulder.”
“I vote we put Acie in charge,” Seth said. Vincent and Tychon lowered the gate while he put the rock in place.
“All right, let’s move.” Tychon nodded toward the ledge snaking between the ancient wall and the side of the chasm. He pulled his sleeve over his hand to cover his mouth and nose. “What a stench!”
“I’m going to throw up,” Acie moaned.
Vincent removed his vest and tore his shirt into strips which he handed around to th
e others. Once they had fastened the cloth around their faces it was a little easier to breathe and Acie’s impulse to give up her breakfast seemed less urgent.
Tychon walked at the rear of their small column, keeping his eyes on his feet, but his mind was elsewhere. Something kept nagging at him. Had he forgotten something? He used his rod to push one of those nasty beetles out of his way and over the drop-off. “What?”
Seth, just ahead of him, turned. “What what?”
“Did you call me?”
“Why would I?”
Tychon frowned. “Someone called me.”
“No one’s said anything. Makes it easier not to taste the crap in the air.” He coughed into his sleeve to muffle the sound.
Tychon looked back over his shoulder. “Let’s try to move faster. I want to get off this planet. Something isn’t right. Doesn’t feel right.”
Seth raised an eyebrow. “A lot of things aren’t right. But since when do Delphians go by feelings?” He turned when they heard shouts behind them and above. A bright light shone overhead, stabbing into the fog. “I think someone noticed we left the premises,” he said. “Hurry, Acie. Pick it up.”
“Keep to the wall,” Tychon said. “They won’t take hovers down here. Too risky with all these rocks. Move faster.”
They clung to the cliff wall, alternately looking down at the uneven ground and out into the fog where the beams of the searchlights continued to probe. Aikhor’s heavy gravity hindered their progress as much as did their desire not to have to gulp the foul air.
“They’ll be waiting for us up ahead at the end of the wall,” Seth said.
Tychon nodded. “Yes, we’re not so important that they’d bother coming down this way. Into this mess.”
“You don’t know Ros Talac, then. He’s the worst of a bad lot.”
“We’ve had to deal with his group a few times. He’s a—” Tychon clutched his head and stumbled forward when a deep, stabbing pain drilled into his brain. He groaned loudly and slumped against the stone wall.
“Tychon?” he heard someone say. It might have been Vincent. “What’s wrong with him?”