Decker's War Omnibus 1

by Eric Thomson

  Though the Garonne colony was still young, its age not yet measured in centuries, the cloister bathed in the aura of permanence that comes from very long tenancy.

  Decker knew the stones hid a door somewhere along one of the walls, but he also knew that to search for it would doom his quest before he even had the chance to speak.

  After a brief survey of his surroundings, he took up a relaxed stance three paces from a shoulder-height grille covering an opening barely big enough for a human head. He crossed his hands in the small of his back and composed himself to wait, for hours if necessary. Through deep, mindful breathing he managed to push out most of the anxiety he felt at facing one of them again, but a small kernel of terror remained.

  Visitors to the cloister had no way to summon the Sisters, no bell to ring or knocker to raise. They would become aware of his presence in their own good time, and if they decided to hear him out, the sister on duty might show a veiled face beyond the grille and demand that he state his purpose.

  Decker would wait for as long as he had to. He’d promised Marnie Takan that he would make sure her daughter didn’t fall in the militia’s hands, and though he feared the Sisterhood, he would endure being in their presence so he could fulfill his pledge.

  Outside, avian life forms chattered loudly, filling the late morning air with a discordant song never meant for human ears, but in the annex, only the sound of his own breathing troubled the deep silence. He struggled to keep it measured and calm, but the Sisters would know of his fear. Nevertheless, pride demanded that he present a stoic façade.

  Decker’s internal clock watched the minutes fly by without a change to his enforced isolation, yet he kept his posture upright and a facial expression that showed no emotions.

  He’d endured many military ceremonies where the reviewing officer had taken his own sweet time, unconcerned by troops standing in the sweltering heat. In his experience, the Sisters were equally indifferent.

  Eventually, he heard the whisper of slippers on smooth tile and a dark shape appeared behind the grille. His body tensed up into a bundle of strained muscles and taut nerves, and he struggled to keep his breathing steady, but the sister behind the wall would know.

  A high, bright voice, evoking the peal of tiny silver bells rang out.

  “What brings you to our solitude, sinner?”

  “I was sent to find a young woman whose life is in peril from the militia.”

  And then that which he feared happened. A sensation akin to fingertips passing over his brain sent a shiver of disgust down his spine. Determined to keep a brave face, he successfully restrained himself from grimacing.

  “You speak the truth, sinner,” the sister said. “What is your name?”

  “Zachary Decker, but everyone calls me Zack.”

  He knew that his real name would have eventually come out, even against his will, so there was no point in obfuscation.

  “You are a man of violence, of war...”

  “And of base physical needs,” Decker added, to forestall the sister. “I make no excuses for who I am – a simple human trying to live as best he can in a chaotic universe. The Divine Power will judge me when my time comes and weigh the good I’ve tried to do against the evil I’ve done.”

  The fingertips on the surface of his brain turned into gentle strokes.

  “Tell me, Zack Decker, if you cannot accomplish your quest to save this young woman, what is it that you choose to do?”

  He thought about the question for a few moments, aware it was a trap and then replied with a depth of feeling that not only surprised him but also the sister because the hand sifting through his soul suddenly vanished.

  “Absent anything else, all I can do is decide what it is I get done with the time God has given me.”

  “And if your time was to end now?”

  “Then I can no longer devote what I have left to those whom I pledged my help. It would suck, but dead men can’t be held to their promises.”

  He repressed the urge to make a face at the veiled woman but knew nonetheless that she’d have felt his unexpected surge of irritation at these word games. Instead, he concentrated on the image of Kari he’d been shown by her mother and projected it violently at the sister.

  “That’s who I’m looking for,” he said. “If you have any mercy for her parents, help me.”

  The woman behind the veil gasped.

  “You’re aware!”

  “Yeah. I’m one of the few men with the genetic mutation to sense when I’m being probed by an empath, so you can stop the metaphysical mumbo-jumbo.” A pause. “Reach back into my mind and you’ll know that the following is true: if Kari Takan falls into the hands of the militia, she will die after an interrogation that will leave her an empty shell. But before she dies, she will have revealed all she knows about her father’s activities in the Garonne Independence Movement, and more people will die, dozens perhaps hundreds, thousands even. I know the Sisterhood doesn’t give a flying damn about worldly affairs and recoils in horror at the casual violence of the secular galaxy, but if you truly believe in mercy, then help me.”

  “And yet if the independence movement is allowed to embark on an increasingly violent path, then thousands will die, perhaps tens of thousands. Perhaps it is best if the authorities find a way to end the rebellion now, even if it means a few lives lost, including that of Kari Takan and yours for that matter.”

  Decker snorted derisively.

  “I know the Sisterhood doesn’t see much in humanity that they consider redeemable, but I didn’t know you were that cynical. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, is that it? Trite bullshit. Your souls are no more immune from the darkness than mine is. At least I’m trying to do something about it. Reach back into my mind because I’m going to show you another truth.”

  When he felt the soft, feathery touch of the sister’s probe return, a cruel smile twisted his lips.

  “There’s an evil force at play on Garonne, one that would turn the planet into a battleground for its own purposes. I have no evidence of what those purposes are, but I know that the end result will mean devastation under the weight of a military expedition the likes of which hasn’t been seen in years. The only way to prevent this outcome is to give the colonists self-rule, and that means defeating the militia.”

  He felt the sister behind the grille recoil in horror at the images of death and devastation, culled from the memory of past wars. Decker laughed when he sensed her mental gasp of horror.

  “The needs of the many indeed. When it comes to Kari Takan, the needs of the one will help take care of the needs of all, including your cloister. You do not have enough sisters here to influence the battalion that will overrun this little oasis of hypocrisy once the rebellion turns into all-out civil war.”

  “Yeah,” he continued, “I’m a man of war, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy taking lives. If the universe were to find total peace, I’d gladly hang up my gun belt and tend to my garden, but I’m realistic enough to know that it won’t happen, not in my lifetime, not in yours, probably not in humanity’s lifetime, so spare me your empty platitudes. I don’t begrudge you a life of contemplation, but the real world won’t stop doing the dumb things it’s been doing since we hairless apes first took up a stick and beat up our neighbors. So what do you say, Sister? Will you help me?”

  Decker had so warmed to his subject that he didn’t realize the revulsion he’d felt at the woman sifting through his mind, tasting his emotions and judging his soul had been replaced by anger so pure it blazed with a white flame that burned away the sister’s mental tendrils.

  Her veiled face vanished to the sound of running feet.

  Zack sighed but composed himself to wait again. Either she’d be back with reinforcements or they were going to leave him alone until he got get tired of waiting and walked out. The Sisterhood wasn’t known for its social graces.

  However, he heard footsteps only a few minutes later, heavier than those of the sist
er who’d played voyeur in his mind. A broader, yet equally veiled face filled the grille, and a deeper, older voice rang out.

  “I’m this cloister’s Sister Superior. The sister who spoke with you acquainted me with the substance of your request. She also said you’re one of the few men aware of our abilities.”

  As there was no point in answering, Decker nodded once, waiting for the newcomer to run her fingers through his soul. To his surprise, nothing of the sort happened.

  “You frightened her badly, Zack Decker,” there was a hint of laughter in the Sister Superior’s voice, “when you pushed her out of your mind. Few of the men who are aware have that ability.”

  “Until you told me just now, I didn’t know I could do that,” he replied, “but I’ll take your word for it.”

  “It is true. If we were a breeding house, I’d ask for a sample of your gametes.”

  “To be collected in a natural way or in a laboratory?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

  The Sister Superior laughed.

  “Since the matter is not one we wish to pursue, I’ll leave that question unanswered.”

  “You’re not probing me?” He asked, changing the subject.

  “Unlike the sister who spoke with you first, I’ve gained enough wisdom to know when to use my particular ability and when to use my other senses. After looking into your eyes, I have all the answers I need.”

  “I still don’t.”

  “Then you shall. Kari Takan spent one night with us after fleeing the home of the friend she was visiting, but felt that she would put us in danger should the militia track her down and therefore left yesterday.”

  Decker bit back a pungent curse.

  “Would it have killed your sister to tell me that up front instead of going off on a debate about good and evil?”

  He felt the Sister Superior shrug.

  “Some of our younger brethren still feel the need to debate philosophy with outsiders. She is one of the more egregious examples, which is why she volunteers to take on more than her fair share as greeter. It will eventually lose its luster. Few who stand where you are will dare challenge one of us so openly.”

  “Yeah, well I’ve always been accused of having a thick skull along with a big mouth, so let the sister know that she shouldn’t take it personally.”

  “I will. And now you’ll ask me where Kari has gone. I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “I see that you’re a man who analyses things very carefully and from a deeply skeptical angle.”

  “Hah.” Zack snorted. “You’re the first who’s ever accused me of being careful. It’s usually the other way around.”

  “And yet I sense depths that you keep carefully hidden, Zack Decker, even from those closest to you. I can’t answer your question about Kari Takan because she did not tell us where she was going. All we know is that she headed down the road leading to Kaholo after leaving our grounds. Whether or not that was her destination is something you’ll have to discover for yourself.”

  “Thank you, Sister Superior.” He dipped his head briefly.

  “My best wishes accompany you on your journey. We will pray that the outcome you’ve shown my young sister does not come to pass, though I fear we shall have to become hospitallers again before peace returns to Garonne. Goodbye, Zack Decker.”

  And then he was alone again in the annex grafted to the chapter house. Outside, the avian life forms had kept up their incessant chatter but only now was he hearing them again.

  Though disappointed at the outcome of his query, he felt oddly elated by the notion that he’d developed the ability to shut empaths from his mind. How that had come about would likely remain a mystery, though Zack had the sneaking suspicion that his punishment in the Atabek’s juluk pit might somehow be involved. He’d long suspected the insects’ venom might rewire part of the human brain.

  The sun was now almost directly overhead and heat shimmered over the empty road heading into the countryside. It just so happened that the second place Kari might flee to for refuge, according to her father, was in Kaholo.

  **

  “He’s just a supporter,” Steiger told Captain Kozlev after spending an hour with the prisoner. “I don’t see any point in trying harsher methods. He might paint slogans on walls and attend meetings, but he’s not the type to be trusted with inside information. We’d be better off letting him go and then watching who he talks to.”

  Kozlev’s reptilian stare made the mercenary feel as if she were on the wrong end of a probe and she looked away rather than keep trying to find a soul in those dark eyes.

  “You have my permission to use harsher methods,” Kozlev said after an extended period of silence.

  “If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’ll pass. I’ve never been that enamored with interrogation.”

  “Then perhaps I will.” Kozlev stood up and adjusted her uniform tunic. “You’re welcome to watch.”

  Steiger understood that the invitation was really an order and her heart sank.

  On their way back to the cells, they were intercepted by the duty officer who, like his superior, was on loan from the Celeste National Guard.

  “One of the patrol cars just reported a man whose description is with the parameters we’ve issued, walking on the Kaholo road a kilometer or so short of the village limits.”

  “Did they take video?”

  “Yes, sir.” The man nodded. “I’ve got it set up for you in the analysis center.”

  Kozlev turned to Steiger.

  “Let the prisoner go and put a tail on him. We’ll try it your way and save our energies for your freelance acquaintance. Once you’re done, join me. I want your assessment on the man and how you’d go about taking him in.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, fighting to hide her relief at the reprieve she’d been granted, even though it might come at Zack Decker’s expense.

  When Steiger had carried out her orders and reported to the analysis center, Kozlev pointed at a screen that showed a large, muscular man in faded work clothes walking on the side of a country road. He carried a small pack slung over his shoulder and had the gait of someone used to doing without transport.

  “Is that your Mark Skeen?” The captain asked.

  “The hair and shape of the face are different from the image you showed me earlier, but there are enough points of resemblance that I’d say it could very well be.”

  “That’s what my analysts determined as well, except that they used three times more words.” A quick smile passed over Kozlev’s lips. “If brevity is the soul of wit, I’d say conciseness is at the heart of intelligence work, don’t you agree, Sergeant Steiger?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Why would this Skeen fellow be heading for a small farming community and not stay in Iskellian where he could lose himself among the teeming multitudes?”

  Steiger thought about it for a few moments, and then replied.

  “He’s looking for something or someone perhaps. Do we have other views of the man, possibly from this morning? Perhaps if we can retrace his steps, we might get a hint of what he’s doing. If he’s the off-world professional you believe him to be, sir, he might lead us to something interesting.”

  “Those were my thoughts as well.” Kozlev nodded with approval. “I’ve dispatched a team to shadow him. And...”

  She glanced at the lead technician, “...I believe we’re about to get a partial reconstruction of his morning.”

  “Yes, sir,” the man said. “If you look at the left screen, we’ve picked up the same face in the riverfront park, then on the Jiang Bridge and after that at several places on the Harlo Road.” A map came up on another screen with red dots appearing in a neat line from the river to Kaholo.

  “Isn’t it interesting that he seems to have taken his time to examine the south and east sides of the government precinct close-up,” Kozlev remarked. She glanced at the map and then back at the images.

&nb
sp; “What’s that?”

  “The Sisterhood of the Void has a house in that spot,” the technician replied. “The time discrepancy between his appearance on the surveillance camera to the south of the cloister and when he was seen by the patrol might be explained by his having stopped there, assuming his walking speed was constant.”

  “There’s a time discrepancy?” Kozlev went to stand behind the technician. “Show me.”

  When he had, she looked back at the map, tapping her chin with slender fingers.

  “Why would an off-world pro, a man of war, visit the Sisterhood? There’s something we’re missing here.”

  “Perhaps he’s trying to find someone who might have sought sanctuary at the cloister.”

  “A woman then,” Kozlev nodded. “The sisters would never let a man step beyond the visitor’s room.”

  She turned towards the lead intelligence analyst.

  “Weren’t you saying that Kari Takan might have been in Iskellian when we attempted to arrest her father?”

  “Yes, sir, though we’ve yet to find someone who’ll admit seeing her.”

  “Did we bring anyone in for a chat?”

  “No, sir. Not yet.”

  “What if the pro was sent to find the Takan girl because she knows about her father’s activities?” Kozlev began pacing, all the while tapping her chin. “And what if he had a list of places she might hole up, starting with the cloister, where he obviously didn’t find her, hence the hike to Kaholo?”

  “Would you like me to have the Sister Superior arrested?”

  Kozlev shook her head.

  “No point. If our man left the cloister by himself, then he didn’t find what he was looking for. We need to keep eyes on him non-stop from now on, however.”

  “I’ve just about got a drone over Kaholo,” the technician said. “Two or three more minutes and we’ll have a live feed.”

  “How long until the team gets there?”

  “Perhaps another ten minutes. They have to come in from the north to avoid alerting the target.”

  “This is it,” Kozlev said in a husky voice that betrayed a deep, primal eagerness. “We’ll get the man who queered the Takan arrest and the Takan girl. I can’t wait to have both in my interrogation room.”