The Sanctum of the Sphere: The Benevolence Archives, Vol. 2

by Luther M. Siler

“The signal will let them home in on us,” Brazel said.

  “That is my intention,” Remember responded. “As it happens, we are travelling to them.”

  Grond and Brazel sat up straighter in their seats.

  “I’m not sure I like that idea,” Grond said.

  Remember scraped a long fingernail over the top of the statue, which opened up and unfolded its arms again.

  “If I were to touch this now,” she said, “it would allow me a connection directly to the Benevolence. They use these to communicate with each other as well as with their underlings who are not themselves part of the Benevolence. That is how this particular statue has been tuned. It is set to communicate with only a few individuals, and not as a general-purpose communicator. I admit I am very curious to see who it is tuned for.”

  “It brought the Benevolence to two different planets and to Roashan as well,” Asper said. “It is certainly communicating with someone.”

  “But only once in force,” Remember said. “And once, truly, not at all. Those were mercenaries who attacked Roashan, not Benevolence. The battle would have been much harder otherwise.”

  “How do you know all of this?” Asper asked.

  “It is my privilege to know many things,” Remember replied, “and my job.”

  “I think the phrase you used last time was Learn to live with ambiguity,” Brazel said.

  Remember merely nodded.

  “Are you going to try and use the device?” Asper asked.

  “I am considering it,” Remember replied. “But not now. We have other things to discuss first.” She activated a button at her seat and the holoprojector on the table came alive, showing a map of the galaxy. A portion of the map was tinged blue in color: Benevolence space.

  “Here is our current location,” she said, and a yellow spot began glowing brightly on the map.

  “We’re … wait. So we are near Khkk.” Brazel said.

  “We are,” Remember confirmed. “The Noble Opposition has certain interests on Khkk. So do the Benevolence. And so, as it happens, do I. The Benevolence are finally looking to make a move into ogrespace, and they have chosen Khkk as their starting point. They must be stopped.”

  “I think it’s time that we got paid and left now,” Brazel said. “I lost my ship and right now I don’t know where my family is. We got hired to do a simple snatch-and-deliver job and now you’re talking about stopping the Benevolence. At least two of those words don’t belong in the same sentence together, especially when you’re involving me.”

  The gnome stood up.

  “Come on, Grond. We’re leaving.”

  Grond didn’t move.

  “We, uh, don’t really have anywhere to go, Brazel. Or any way to get there.”

  “Bullshit. Remember’s really proud of throwing around how wealthy she is. Fuck the pay. I want a ship,” Brazel said. “And enough fuel to get me the hell away from whatever the hell insane-ass plan you’re putting together. I’m done with this. The rest of you can go get killed on your own time. We’re leaving, and if we have to steal something to do it we’re going to.”

  Remember raised an eye. Haakoro snored.

  “And you can keep that asshole away from me for the rest of forever, too,” he snarled. “I ever see him again, I’m putting holes in him.”

  “I have something to show you,” Remember said, standing up. “Come with me.” She turned and left the room, not waiting for the gnome to agree.

  Brazel glared at Grond.

  “What?”

  “You know I hate it when people cut off a rant.”

  “And that’s my fault?”

  “I need someone to glare at,” Brazel pouted. “You’re nearby.”

  “Something makes me think she’s probably not waiting out there,” Grond said. “We may as well go with her.”

  Brazel swore under his breath and followed Remember out the door.

  “Go with them,” Asper said. “I’ll stay here with Haakoro.”

  “Not sure if I should thank you or argue with you,” Grond said. “But somebody ought to keep Braze from doing anything too stupid.” He left as well, heading after his partner.

  The door sliding open woke Rhundi up from a fitful, wary sleep. She rolled onto her side, glaring disdainfully as Barren and K’Shorr walked into the room.

  “I bet you like the old-style doors better,” she said. “No way to dramatically kick open a slider.”

  “Shut up,” K’Shorr said.

  “And if I say ‘make me’?”

  “I’ll rip your jaw off.” But you haven’t yet, she thought. She moved her gaze from the ogre, who had had to duck to get into the room, to the elf. He threw a pair of cheap-looking electrorestraints at her and waited while she put them on.

  “What can I do for you, Barren?”

  “I am actually not sure what you can do for me, Rhundi,” he replied. “It seems that I am having to do everything for myself lately. Wipe out the Malevolence’s weapon dealers on Khkk. Wipe out the Malevolence themselves, when they come running to defend their friends. And the … precious little bonus of finally being able to even the scales with you and the halfogre on top of everything else. I am having a splendid time.”

  “Glad to see you happy,” she said. “You look a little worse for wear from the last time I saw you, honestly.” Which was a taunt, but was also true. K’Shorr looked as dangerous as ever, but Barren looked ill and thin compared to the last time she’d laid eyes on him, and he hadn’t been in good shape then either. His beard and hair was unkempt and poorly groomed, his clothes ill-fitting and somewhat threadbare.

  “Soon to be rectified,” he said. “Come with us, please.”

  Rhundi stood up, stretching her limbs and gesturing for Barren to lead the way. The giant ogre followed behind her as Barren walked to the ship’s bridge. She spent the walk carefully examining the layout of the ship. It seemed a perfectly ordinary design for a capital ship, if a bit ragged and poorly maintained. Barren had clearly acquired the ship used.

  I bet I could find my way around in here without much trouble, she thought. The design was fairly standardized. If the builders had offered much in the way of customization the original owners hadn’t had the money to pay for much of it. She didn’t see nearly as many people as she would have expected for a ship of this size, either. As she walked, she quietly stretched her arms and legs, working feeling back into them that had been lost in several hours of lying on hard metal.

  They passed through a common crew area on the way to the bridge. The mercenaries who had failed to impress her earlier failed to impress her again as their captain walked through their space. Not a one stood or saluted. At one point Barren actually slowed down as someone walked in front of him. No discipline, she thought. Means no devotion either. This crew wasn’t going to be too helpful in the event of actual trouble unless they saw the money that they stood to earn beforehand.

  Eventually they reached the bridge, which was no more impressive than the rest of the boat had been. The holoscreen stretching across the front of the bridge was practically staticky, and Rhundi thought she could see some spots where it was actually losing the image from the ground. They were in orbit around an orange-red planetoid, mostly land mass with a scattering of blue veins in between the continents, wet areas too small to call oceans. Whatever this rock was, it was exceptionally dry. There was only a skeleton crew on the bridge, probably the bare minimum needed to keep the ship aloft.

  So, what’s happening here? she thought. Is this budget? Can’t afford a crew? Or can he just not keep people with him? The Barren she’d known would never have put up with any of this. Everything about his operation was shabby. He’d gone terribly downhill. It was a wonder K’Shorr was still with him.

  “So what are we looking at?” she asked.

  “You don’t recognize it?” Barren said.

  “You may recall the bit where I asked what it was,” Rhundi replied. “And I didn’t say Oh, that’s where I grew up
, or something similar.”

  K’Shorr growled, his eyes glowing red. Barren only smiled.

  “A small foolishness, I admit,” he answered. “Welcome to Khkk. If you wait long enough, you may be here to watch it die.”

  “Melodramatic,” she said. “I thought you guys wanted them working for you?”

  Barren shrugged, still smiling sardonically. “I don’t especially care, to tell the truth. I am trying to lure your Malevolence friends here so that they can be destroyed. I suspect my plan has worked. What the Benevolence does with the place afterward is up to them. The war was never more than a distraction.”

  “And what’s your reward for all this?”

  For a moment, Barren didn’t say anything. His shoulders slumped, and he let out a sigh.

  “I may … return home.”

  “Home. Got it,” Rhundi said. A moment later, she finished picking the lock on her electrorestraints.

  “Gotta go now,” she said.

  She spun on one heel and slammed her bound hands into K’Shorr’s groin, simultaneously twisting and snapping open the restraints. The electric charge triggered, a safeguard that was supposed to immobilize the wearer so that he or she could be recaptured.

  Unfortunately for K’Shorr, the electric charge went directly into him instead. Somewhat more fortunately, the restraints were set to “gnome” and not to “ogre.” The big brute shrieked, a higher-pitched sound than any adult male ogre ought to have been able to make, and hit the floor in a heap. Rhundi jumped over him, kicking him in the face in the process, and fled.

  Twenty-Five

  Remember did not say a single word as she led Brazel and Grond most of the way across what was proving to be an impressively large ship. A fair portion of the trip was by a lift, and Grond was shifting his weight awkwardly from foot to foot and fidgeting with his clothes as a reaction to the angry, silent atmosphere. Brazel simply glared, and Remember acted as if neither of them was there at all.

  Eventually, they reached the ship’s main hangar bay. Remember stopped outside, turning to the two of them and finally speaking.

  “I have three things to show you,” she said. “The first is in here.” She placed her hand on a recessed panel and a door slid open.

  Grond’s eyes tripled in size and his jaw dropped open.

  “It’s … it’s beautiful,” he said.

  “You may take what you feel you may need,” Remember said.

  Grond rushed inside. Brazel stayed put.

  “This is the second time you’ve effectively bribed my partner, you know,” he said curtly. “The first time it was books. This is even less fair.”

  Remember had let them into the armory. The room was clean and white, lit with soft, warm light like an expensive suite in Rhundi’s resort. That was where the similarities ended, however, as the room was lined with shelves and wall racks, every centimeter of which was covered with weapons: blades, blunt weapons, energy and projectile weapons, and explosives. Oh, so many explosives, from grenades to missile launchers and everything in between. Brazel could hear Grond cackling as the halfogre explored the collection.

  “No one said I had to be fair,” Remember responded. “And I mean that literally. No one has ever said that to me. And you are correct. You have earned your pay, and the Noble Opposition is in no real position to pay you at the moment.”

  “I’ll take your weapons,” Brazel said. “But don’t expect me to thank you for it.”

  Remember merely nodded, and Brazel followed Grond into the armory. It was nearly twenty minutes before the halfogre agreed to leave, carrying enough weaponry to make even him strain under the weight. Brazel wore a simple bandolier with a few small guns attached, and a few more things concealed under his clothes.

  “Now what?” the gnome asked.

  “The next decision is yours alone to make,” Remember said, and led them into the actual hangar.

  “Pick one,” she said.

  This time, Brazel’s eyes widened. There were easily fifty ships of every type and description in the bay, ranging from larger, bulkier cargo transports to smaller one-or two-man fighters to genuine warships.

  “So which two are sized for gnomes?” he said.

  “My technicians will retrofit any ship you like,” she said. “The cockpit or the bridge can be rebuilt to your satisfaction. It should take no more than a day.”

  “Any ship I want, huh?” he said.

  “Any ship you want,” she replied.

  “I don’t suppose the Nameless is hiding in a corner somewhere.”

  Remember did not respond. Brazel looked at Grond for a long moment, then walked out into the hangar to explore. Grond waited, following his partner at a distance. The gnome took his time, pausing before several of the ships before seeming to select one, stopping in front of it and staring at it for a few minutes.

  Grond examined the ship. Its basic outlines were those of a cargo ship: perhaps seventy-five meters long, with a snub-nosed cockpit to the front rather than to the side as the Nameless’ had been. The body of the ship swept back from there to a long, rectangular storage bay, followed by the engines, which looked impressive. The main airlock and the storage bay cargo door both opened from the port side. It looked both faster and leaner than the Nameless had been, with a bit more space to boot.

  That wasn’t the biggest upgrade, though: this ship had a ton more weaponry. The Nameless had been able to scrap when necessary but was never meant to be a fighter. This one, on the other hand, was clearly designed as a battleship despite the large amount of room for cargo. Maybe a troop transport originally, he thought, but designed to insert warriors and vehicles into hot zones, meaning that it needed armament. No doubt the shields were a vast improvement over the Nameless’ as well.

  “I don’t know if I like the paint job,” Grond said. The ship was styled in wild swaths of red and gold, with the occasional silver or black highlight. He’d never seen anything quite like it.

  “Stands out, don’t she?” Brazel said. “Too flamboyant for a smuggler’s ship. But we can fix that.”

  “More easily than you think,” Remember said. Brazel started visibly at her voice. Neither he nor Grond had heard her approach them. “The colors are actually part of the identity package. The ship can alter them on command. You can cloak yourself from visual scans as well. The ship is virtually invisible in space if you make it black.”

  “I like it,” Brazel answered. “I want to see the inside.”

  “The ship will open for you,” Remember said. Brazel walked to the side cargo door and placed his hand on a reader. The bay doors opened up slowly, revealing the boat’s interior. He disappeared inside.

  “Your engineers are gonna ogre-size my parts of the thing too, right?” Grond said.

  “This particular ship actually has a copilot’s seat in the cockpit,” Remember said. “I will make certain they are sized appropriately, and I will have your quarters adjusted as well. It should take no more than an hour.”

  “What about the AI?”

  Remember raised an eyebrow. “Military-grade. Most of the ship is former Benevolence technology, actually. Nonetheless, I suspect you will find the AI … inadequate to your needs.” Then, smiling: “It is easily enough replaced.”

  “That’s good to know,” Grond said.

  They waited in silence until Brazel finally exited the ship.

  “It’ll do,” he said.

  “That’s all?” Grond said. “It’ll do?”

  “Go pick a bunk and find someplace to stow your new toys,” Brazel said. “We’re leaving as soon as we can get this thing fueled up and the pilot and copilot seats swapped out. I can make do with my quarters without their techs screwing with them. Asper can stay or come with us. It’s up to xir. Haakoro is Remember’s problem now.”

  He crossed his arms and glared at Remember, who did not return the look. “How quick can your people finish this up?”

  “You are too hasty,” Remember said. “I said I had
three things to show you. This is but the second. You may find yourself reconsidering once you see the third. The ship is yours. I have already signaled my crew to begin work. They should be here in a moment if you wish to oversee them. I suggest, however, that you come with me.”

  “Just let me drop the guns off,” Grond said. They really were starting to get heavy.

  Cameras, Rhundi thought as she fled down a corridor. If this were her boat they’d be everywhere, and there would be a few nanoclouds stored in strategic locations for when she needed them. But this wasn’t her boat, and she didn’t think Barren had been terribly careful about upkeep.

  No point worrying about whether she was wrong or not. If they found her, she’d need to fight, and if they didn’t find her, she’d probably have to fight sooner or later anyway.

  So: first, distance. Second, weapon.

  Or a hiding spot. That would do too. She looked around. These types of ships tended to come with their own cleaning systems. ‘Bots, little ones, that … there.

  A grate, floor-height, that would be just about the right size to let a cleaner ‘bot move throughout the ship. Or a gnome, if that gnome didn’t have a problem with small spaces. Perfect.

  Rhundi pulled the grate open, taking a moment to marvel at her luck that it didn’t lock when the ‘bots weren’t using it, and crawled inside, easing the grate closed behind her. One problem: The ‘bots weren’t going to need light to see, so once she got more than a few meters into the system, she was going to be blind. That was still a lot better than being loose in the corridors, though. She felt vibrations as large feet–more than a couple of pairs, it sounded like–stomped down the hallway past her. Good. They’d figure out where she’d gone sooner or later, but she had plenty of time to wreak havoc between now and then.

  She reached a T. She took a moment and stayed still, listening and smelling in both directions. One of them smelled slightly more strongly of cleaning fluids than the other. She went that way, crawling on her hands and knees, hoping that the passageway didn’t narrow any further. She kept moving deeper, making a few more turns, always heading toward the scent of cleaning products.

  There was a buzzing, clattering sound from in front of her. She froze. A few moments later, a pair of red lights appeared in her field of vision.