The Decade Worlds

by Patrick McClafferty

  “The atmosphere is oxygen, nitrogen and very little carbon dioxide. Very close to Earth normal. Initial analysis indicates no residual radiation, and no chemical or biological hazards to humans. The temperature is, however, several degrees below freezing and the windchill is dangerous.”

  “Anything in the electromagnetic spectrum?”

  “Negative.”

  “Lifesigns?”

  “More than I can comfortably count Gareth, from microscopic to large carnivores.”

  Gareth sighed. “Take her up over the clouds and find us a clear area where we can set down.”

  Although they felt nothing inside, outside they could see that they were rocketing through the heavy clouds. The shuttle broke out of the clouds into a brilliant blue sun, banked and began to descend.

  Mairi stared out of the view screen. “It’s all dead.” She whispered.

  Glancing down Gareth saw that she was right. High up on the side of an imposing mountain a crumbling castle perched, while in the valley below Gareth could make out the vague remnants of weed-choked roads and decaying stone bridges. “Set us down just south of the castle, in the large flat area, if you please Shyrrik.” The descent straightened and the shuttle dropped lightly in the middle of the selected site.

  “Sensors indicate a wide range of flora and fauna,” Shyrrik murmured, “but there is no sign of recent civilization. As before, the air is free of all substances harmful to humans. From the surrounding plants, I would judge that this was a garden at one time. There are several different species of birds and rodents visible and many insects. There is one moderate predator, I believe it is a terrestrial brown bear, or ursus arctosone, eleven hundred meters to the north. Respiration and heartbeat indicate that it is hibernating. The current temperature is three degrees Celsius.”

  Gareth grinned. “Sounds like a nice day. Lower the ramp please, Shyrrik.” He said, rising and belting on his weapon. The ramp lowered and the marines spread out, weapons up and eyes alert. The air had a crisp chill to it, and Gareth caught the tang of hemlock and pine. A common sparrow sat unafraid on a tree limb just above his head and sang. From this vantage Gareth could see the faint remains of a long winding road that led up to the castle from the valley below.

  Mairi, her own rifle slung over her shoulder, came up beside him. “What happened here?” She asked curiously. “This looks like it was a thriving civilization.”

  Gareth shook his head. “I have no idea, but we may find answers in the castle.” He made a curt gesture and two marines took up flanking positions with him and his daughter, while the third stood beside the open shuttle ramp.

  The fosse before the moldering granite castle walls was nothing more than a shallow ditch now, but Gareth could see where there had been sharpened iron stakes driven into the rich soil and lining the fosse. Both the massive wooden gate and the iron portcullis had long since fallen to dust. Gareth thought it a testament to the builders that the sixty meter high, ten meter thick castle walls made of interlocking granite blocks still stood unscathed by the ravages of time. Their footsteps echoed as they walked across the empty courtyard to the next set of arches that once held doors. The temperature in the long high-ceilinged main hall dropped several degrees, and the dim light from high window openings cast gloomy shadows across the room. At the end of the room on a raised stone dais sat a clear crystal sarcophagus. A full three meters long, the casket was occupied.

  Mairi touched the coffin with a finger, her eyes wide. “How did they do this?” She asked in wonder.

  “I have no idea,” Gareth replied soberly, “but look at the occupant. He’s not human.” The surprisingly well-preserved corpse was two and a half meters tall, and wore full, if strangely shaped armor. A wicked hooked weapon, similar to the medieval lochaber ax lay on his chest, but it was the face and head that drew Gareth. The man’s nose was massive, almost a bony beak and rose in a ridge from the tip of the nose, up the forehead and over the crown of the head. The forehead ridge and bony eyebrow ridges were adorned with gold decorations. “Shyrrik, will you please take a look at this?” In moments the silver sphere was floating at his side. “Can you analyze this body through the crystal?”

  The sphere hummed for several moments. “Yes. Preliminary analysis is complete. As you might have guessed this man is not human. As you may not have guessed, he was murdered.”

  Chapter 9

  THE USS MAINE

  “What??” Gareth took an involuntary step back from the coffin, and at his motion the marines raised their rifles, looking about nervously. “Stand easy.” He sighed. “What happened Shyrrik, and is whatever killed him still dangerous?”

  “He was killed by a specially engineered pathogen. This pathogen is still active in the atmosphere, but I never considered it because it is harmless to humans and terrestrial stock.”

  Gareth frowned down on the corpse, staring at the cunningly wrought gold-work embellishing the head ridge. “Tell me, Shyrrik,” he asked, a terrible sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach, “Is this a metal rich planet?”

  “Oh, my yes! This world is richer by far than Eldenworld ever was.”

  Gareth felt like throwing up, and catching his thought Mairi paled. “They killed them all.” He muttered darkly. “The humans of Eldenworld brewed up a plague and released it on this world, just so they could have all the riches for themselves. They even had the forethought to terraform the world with flora and fauna from Eldenworld. After a time, all the inhabitants, all the lifeforms in general would have been killed, and the humans could return to their prize—but they never did. It was all for nothing. In six or seven centuries this race could have become starfarers themselves. What the humans did was pure and simple genocide.” A great anger was building inside him. “I need to get outside and clear my head.” He growled. Mairi took his arm and led him back outside.

  “What will you do?” She asked, when Gareth had finally cooled down enough to talk.

  “I think I found a home for the dwarves.” He grinned wryly. “They like metal, jewels, gold and all manner of material possessions.” He rubbed his jaw. “I think, however, that this time I will keep ten percent for myself…” he paused, “…or perhaps fifteen.”

  Mairi blinked. “I know how much the dwarves can mine. We studied dwarven economics in school, and that’s a fabulous amount of wealth for one man.”

  “I will use that money to fund a police force that will make sure this sort of thing never happens again.” He turned to look at the castle behind him. “I believe I’ll make this whole castle a shrine. Unless they are repairing it, this castle, and its lonely occupant, will be left alone. What is the name of this place, Shyrrik?” He asked the globe floating at his side.

  “This is Slaxoles, Gareth.”

  The dust was still rising when they returned through the gateway at The Yeugate. A quick two-hour survey had discovered that empty castles and walled villages lay scattered across Slaxoles. They discovered two small seas that were really no more than very wide rivers winding sinuously in and out of tall mountains. One larger body of water, the size of the earthly Mediterranean, sat in the far north, and appeared to be fresh water.

  Gareth frowned at the settling dust as the small combat shuttle settled on the tarmac. “What’s this?”

  “Ell informs me that there was a rather significant earthquake an hour ago. Nobody was seriously hurt, but there was some damage to structures.”

  “How about the rest of Oseothan?”

  “The same is generally true, although a tidal surge caused damage to the harbor.”

  Gareth slumped. “I suppose that it was to be expected.” He glanced at Sergeant Yong. “My daughter and I will be going to our rooms to clean up, and then we will be going to dinner. You and your marines are welcome to join us if you will.”

  The young marine NCO flushed slightly. “It would be an honor, Sir.”

  Gareth shook his head. “We will meet you in the restaurant in an hour.”

&nb
sp; “In an hour. Aye, aye, Sir.” She almost saluted.

  “You’re off duty, Mei. You can relax a little.”

  The Sergeant looked as if she were actually considering his suggestion, the edge of her lips twitching in an almost-smile. “I’ll bear that in mind… Sir.” Gareth spun on his heel and stormed off, muttering something about Jarheads. Behind his back Mairi gave Sergeant Yong a slow wink, before she left after her father.

  Gareth sat sipping his Bordeaux from a fat-bodied wine glass, ignoring his meal as he stared into space.

  “You should eat.” Mairi insisted. “You still have significant weight to recover.” He sighed, and began picking at his spaghetti. “You miss mother, don’t you?” Mairi’s eyes were unreadable.

  “I guess I do. In a sense I’ve lost both of my partners, but I suppose I should have seen this coming.”

  His daughter frowned. “How so?”

  “Since I met Chiu the level of violence we’ve had to deal with has been increasing. Chiu is a sweet sensitive girl when you get right down to it, and the violence and the death was just too much for her.” He gave Mairi a long look. “Before Chiu met me, she had a partner named Maggie Xun. She and Maggie were riding when Maggie’s horse threw her. Maggie died in Chiu’s arms, and after that she fell apart for a long time. Then she met me.” He looked up with a crooked smile. “It has been a charnel house since then, peaking when I ran across Lothar. Chiu was beginning to warm up to Lyndra when she died, and Lothar almost killed me a couple of times. Now she has said enough is enough. She may surprise me, and be waiting to go off in the USS Maine to visit new worlds, but I suspect not.” He shrugged and emptied his wine glass, which automatically refilled itself, and took another unenthusiastic bite of his dinner. He looked up as three marines, dressed in mufti, approached their table. Mairi watched her father put his mask back on while he buried his feelings deep.

  “I hope we’re not interrupting.” Mei Yong murmured in a shy voice. The two other marines were hiding behind her back.

  “Not at all, Mei.” Gareth chuckled sardonically. “I was just drinking more wine than I should, and getting maudlin.”

  The marines pulled up chairs. “Will we be going out again soon?” Mei asked, a small glass of white wine appearing before her.

  “Tomorrow, in all likelihood.” Gareth replied. “If I can find my crew and my marines.” He smiled at the young woman. “It will be a long trip this time; probably six months to a year. You’ve done enough. You can sit this one out.”

  Sergeant Yong’s eyes went hard. “I’ve already spoken with Staff Sergeant Xianliang. He has family in Molva, and is in no rush for an extended trip. I would like to go, and besides I owe you.”

  Gareth gave her a hard look, thinking about the many times he’d said that very thing to Athena. “You know what the traditional reward for doing a good job is, don’t you?” He asked in a voice as dry as dust. The young woman nodded, her smug self-confident look cracking, just a little. “Fine; welcome aboard,” he continued. “Just get with the Sergeant Major and let him know.”

  A slow smile split the Sergeant’s face as she stood and looked over Gareth’s shoulder to the table behind him. “I told you he would let me go, Sergeant Major.” She said in a conversational voice. She sat back down looking… satisfied.

  Gareth glared at the Sergeant and his daughter, who had seen the table full of marines behind him for the full meal. “I’ve been had.” Gareth grumbled.

  Gareth sat at the small table in the kitchen, sipping his coffee. He’d put a clean, black, special ops uniform back on, because it fitted his mood, if nothing else, and it was comfortable. He could hear his daughter in her room, packing her bag. “Tell me about the Frigate we are going to be shipping out on.” He murmured to Ell.

  “Originally designed as a Heavy Frigate, the Shark Class warship you will be taking has had more than half of its weapons removed to make room for better intelligence gathering and cloaking suites. This still leaves you with heavy beam weapons, the new generation FTL missiles and point defense weapons. You will have a crew of sixty, plus another two dozen marines. The ship itself could handle almost three times that number.”

  “Is she set for a long voyage?”

  “Fuel tanks are filled, and all systems are fully charged.” Ell paused for a long moment. “Since you said this would be named the USS Maine, I added an American flag to the hull, and a shoulder flash to your uniform, and the clothing of all the crew and marines, although technically only you and your daughter are actually Americans.

  Gareth chuckled as he touched the shoulder flash, wondering what the founding fathers of the United States would think of this turn of history. “How big is the frigate?”

  “Two hundred meters, give or take a centimeter.”

  Gareth took his cup of coffee and walked to the window, where he stood biting his lip as he looked down on the meadow and tarmac that stretched before the gateway. “Can we set the ship down out there?”

  “I’ll ask Shyrrik.” Ell said quickly. Gareth waited. “She says that you are lucky. Most starships are not designed for atmospheric entry, let alone landing. The Shark class frigate is capable of both. She said that she can land it here, barely.”

  Gareth smiled. “Good. How are the evacuations going?”

  “Surprisingly well. marine patrols are traveling around the world via transportation pods, passing along the word and pointing people in the right direction.”

  “So, I can be gone many months without the world falling to pieces?”

  “We can handle things for a few months. For your information, the first pods of elves have arrived in Xolia. They are so pleased with their new home that they are planning on building a statue of you in the city center; slightly stylized, of course, to look more elfin.”

  “Of course.” Gareth agreed, trying not to laugh. “Can you tell me who will be traveling with me today, besides Mairi?”

  Ell laughed. “The same as yesterday. The Sergeant Major and twenty other marines, along with your crew will be waiting for your return.”

  Gareth could feel the tension in his stomach. “I suppose we should be going. I’ll be taking the shuttle to Puborg to retrieve either or both of the Senators. Have the marines received their inoculation?”

  “Yes Gareth. All the marines have received inoculations.”

  “Let’s go see if Mother is coming.” Mairi said, very close to his ear.

  Gareth had a small vindictive smile on his face as he had the shuttle settle on the wide front yard of the Manor House. He and Mairi, flanked by the marines were half way down the long walk to the house when Tenzig bolted out the front door, his face livid. “Get that thing out of my front…” He stopped suddenly when he saw Gareth and the marines walking down the front path, expressions of inexorable resolve on their faces. He let out a small squeak of fear and bolted for the house, just as Gareth made a small motion to one of the marines, who caught the fleeing butler before he ever reached the front door. Gareth took a deep breath and, pushing the door open, stepped in.

  Several small traveling bags were stacked in the hallway, but other than that the house seemed empty. “Hello the house!!” He called out loudly. Three maids materialized as if by magic, took one look at the guests in the front hall and bolted. He could hear their excited voices calling. Kiang and Shaw Sai-Bo appeared almost immediately at the head of a long winding staircase, and somewhere inside him, Gareth’s spirits fell.

  “Hello son.” Kiang said softly as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Shaw by his side.

  “Chiu?” Gareth asked hopefully, glancing up the stairs. Shaw gave her head a slow shake, and Gareth frowned. “She couldn’t even come down to see me off?”

  Shaw sighed. “She was… distraught.”

  There was a hiss of annoyance at his side, and Mairi stepped toward the stairs. “Here we are going off to the stars to solve the world’s problems, and she’s upstairs crying into her pillow.” The young woman growled. “I’ll give
her something to be distraught about.” She spat, putting her foot on the first stair as she flexed her right hand.

  Gareth caught his daughter’s arm. “What good would it do if you went up there and hit her?” He asked in a level voice. He could see the muscles stand out in Mairi’s jaw.

  “It would me feel better, at any rate.” Her smile was savage.

  Kiang laughed. “She really does have your winning ways, my friend.” He speculated, addressing Gareth.

  “Unfortunately.” Gareth agreed with a sad smile. He made a motion to the marines, and the thin butler sagged from their grip, gasping. He seemed to be having some trouble catching his breath, and Gareth gave an apologetic shrug to Shaw. “Your butler couldn’t find our name in your appointment book. We had to remind him.”

  Shaw glared at Tenzig. “You will pack your bags and leave here today. When we get back I expect to see your father answer the door. If not, you will never find a job on this world, and will probably spend the rest of your life cleaning fish on the other side of the world.” She turned blazing eyes on Gareth. “There are oceans on this world, aren’t there?”

  Gareth smiled. “Several large ones, Mother. If not, the world of Vurean is mostly water. The ogres living there are always…” his grin was diabolical, “hungry for good help.”

  She turned back to the shaking, white faced butler. “Are you still here?” The butler shot out of the room, and Shaw took Gareth’s arm. “I am so sorry about Chiu. I tried speaking with her, but it was pointless. She did, however, promise to watch the store while we are away.”

  Gareth swallowed the bleak mood that was welling up inside him, but then he was more than familiar with bleak moods. “If you would, tell Chiu that there is a Staff Sergeant Xianliang overseeing the local marines. He’s a good man and she can rely on him for support if she needs it. I would recommend three or four marines actually remain here as guards, and go with her when she travels.”