Echoes of Esharam

by Robert Davies

  “It is a Kez’Erel character. The Searchers’ written language is built on a complex system of associative symbolism, rather than alpha-numeric characters. Obviously, the Merchants coded this so that any Kez soldier could read and navigate through the various menus, if needed. I would assume they have done so to enable the mercenaries to monitor surveillance cameras, which should not be surprising when we remember security is the very reason the Kez’Erel are here.”

  “You know how to read this stuff?” he asked.

  “Better than most, I suppose. We studied their language when I was a student, but I never believed it would be for any good reason. Obviously, my professors knew more than I.”

  He pointed to the other console displays. “Can you call up the camera feeds and transfer them to my display?”

  Hesset found the links as the video for each of the complex’s cameras blinked to life before them. As Rantara knew they would be, remaining Kez soldiers were busy at the lift doors where two soldiers finished installing what could only have been explosives on either side of the elevator. Rantara looked closely at the image, but she had something else in mind.

  “Scroll through the rest of the cameras.”

  In moments, the images revealed no others remained alive throughout the complex except an even twelve soldiers in the lower levels of the central chamber—two attending to the explosives outside the elevator doors and the long hallway, plus ten more positioned at various points throughout the library and its sub-stations. They looked a while longer until Hesset noticed a nearly imperceptible movement in the shadows at the far end of the main corridor.

  “There is another, and only meters from our exit point at the bottom of the utility shaft.”

  Rantara saw it, too.

  “Well, they were at least smart enough to leave one to guard against another rear attack this time.”

  “One soldier won’t be able to stop us,” Norris observed, “but he can warn the others and make life miserable for the run down that long hallway. Isn’t that exactly what they want? A kill zone with no way out?”

  “It is,” Rantara answered, “so it’s essential to eliminate this one before he can call for help. But we still have the advantage because this corridor is circular; their weapons are straight line only.”

  She looked at once to Theriani.

  “If you wouldn’t mind?”

  “I make it too silent,” she replied with a grin; “he cannot know until there will be no time to remain for him, only.”

  Rantara returned to the console.

  “They’re expecting us to arrive in that lift, but we can’t risk damaging it when the explosives detonate. I’d prefer to send down six or seven grenades on timers, but there’d be nothing left. Darrien will be in no shape to climb that ladder when his memories are gone, so we need the elevator intact.”

  Norris looked, too, but their limitations were obvious.

  “Other than the lift, there’s only the vertical shaft—we can’t hit them from two sides this time.”

  “Yes, and that makes it necessary for us to have help. You and Hesset will stay here and use the security system to tell us where they are and when they’re moving. Theriani and I will go down through the shaft and get as close as we can before we attack. Unless something changes dramatically, the remaining Kez soldiers will die by the very trap they’re setting for us.”

  Hesset continued scrolling through more of the translated menus, reading quickly as she brushed away the dust from her seldom-used Kez’Erel language skills. While Rantara and Theriani completed their equipment and ammunition checks, Hesset discovered the lock mechanisms for the entire complex could be accessed from their location. When she looked closer, there was more; hidden inside file packages were open protocols for master system administration and control.

  “Darrien, look at this,” she said, pointing to a series of characters that seemed to Norris like Cyrillic scribbles made by a drunken man.

  “What are we seeing here?” he asked.

  “This command sequence was never coded with restricted access. You should be able to open or lock almost any hatch.”

  He knew what it meant.

  “When Onallin and Theriani start kicking down their door, they won’t be able to manipulate the cameras or the locks?”

  “Precisely,” she replied. “Once you enable this console as the master, they will be locked out and unable to override your commands.”

  Rantara looked on with a grin.

  “The Merchants obviously believed reputation and fear alone would be enough to discourage outsiders on a remote station where nobody goes, but all they’ve done is set the Kez up to die; I don’t think they were prepared for any of this and Settis knew it.”

  Hesset nodded with a knowing smile and said, “Qural and Professor Tindas knew it, too, or we would not have been sent out here alone.”

  “I’ve fought them before,” Rantara continued, “but always at considerable range; they hate a battle in confined spaces, and this one is getting worse for them by the minute.”

  Theriani looked, too, but another question remained unanswered.

  “All the times since we get in, nowhere we seeing any Merchants. They still hiding, but where?”

  “Let us see,” Hesset replied, tapping her console until the camera menu returned.

  Image after image, only the empty rooms and corridors came into view. Returning to the main camera menu, she worked through the sequences until at last, she found it.

  “Wait,” she said, “there’s another camera network.”

  “Where?” Rantara asked over Hesset’s shoulder.

  “The library itself! We did not notice before, but there are several cameras at a lower level; a big, spherical chamber.”

  “That’s the archive,” Norris said with a grin. “Settis worked inside that chamber—it’s where they keep the stored memories.”

  The display gave them their first view of a circular hallway surrounding the giant sphere, and with it, an image of four or five Kez mercenaries, seemingly unconcerned for the carnage that had been delivered far above. The remaining soldiers, brandishing their particle weapons, scuttled confidently about on their spindly legs.

  An open area led to the archway and beyond it, a massive, triangular door. Hesset selected the appropriate command and the camera view switched at once to the interior, dimly lit by the winking status displays of each memory storage array. Nearby, four Merchant technicians worked furiously at their consoles, but their purpose was unclear. Suddenly, the second display to Hesset’s left blinked to life, and from it, a lone Searcher looked squarely into a remote camera and said, “Norris.”

  Hesset looked to the others in astonished disbelief until the figure spoke again.

  “It is surprising, to say the least, that you would have found your way here, all these years later.”

  Norris heard the voice and recognized it immediately, gifted yet again by the memories Settis had given him through the Transceptor.

  “Eru Toa,” he replied. “If you liked this surprise, stick around; we’ve got more coming your way.”

  “You are obviously referring to the archive, but your clumsy attempts to steal my property will not be rewarded today; Kol and Embree have sent you on a useless journey, I’m afraid.”

  Norris smiled and leaned close to the display.

  “Have a look at your complex and all the dead assholes you hired to guard it.”

  Unimpressed, Toa looked away and said, “You have only cost me a handful of Kez’Erel soldiers; the needless clutter you and your friends have caused will be cleared away and this facility will look no different in a few days’ time than it did when you arrived. I cannot say the same for you, unfortunately.”

  “We’ll have to see about that,” said Norris, nodding to Rantara and Theriani.

  “Why waste the lives of your colleagues?” Toa continued. “You can see from the video my soldiers have prepared the elevator for their arrival; if
the Khorran and Revallan females persist, they will be blown into pieces.”

  Norris grinned at the display.

  “They’d still like to try, if it’s all the same to you.”

  “They will fail—you must see that now!”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “If that is what you wish…”

  The display went dark. Rantara and Theriani found the hatch as Norris keyed in three successive lock release codes. Within, the narrow shaft—a tube of connected, meter-long segments—fell away before them, completely dark and filled with stale, musty air. With their light amplification screens, they quickly found the segmented borders that made for a crude ladder and the silent descent began. Above, Norris and Hesset watched the camera nearest the exit beneath a raised grating that was the circular corridor’s floor, and only a short walk from it, the lone Kez’Erel mercenary, patrolling as a rear guard to warn the other soldiers and it was clear they feared attack from a secondary access.

  “Wait a moment, Darrien,” said Hesset as she leaned close to examine the console.

  Norris echoed her words into his comm unit.

  “Hold up for a second, Onallin.”

  “What’s wrong?” she answered.

  “The lone mercenary’s purpose is unclear,” Hesset said. “Why would they leave a guard, unless there is another way down?”

  “Maybe they’re just paranoid,” Norris replied. “Settis would’ve seen another access and I’m telling you, there isn’t one. Maybe he’s a backup in case the explosives don’t work?”

  “Are you certain there’s no other way down?” Rantara asked.

  “Absolutely,” Norris replied with a nod.

  “Then we move forward with the plan.”

  “Understood.”

  “We still need to get this one closer to the library chamber,” Hesset said; “when you open that hatch, he will surely hear and react.”

  “I know,” Norris replied. “He’s been walking around in the same circle since we got here.”

  Moments later, they were down and Rantara called in.

  “We’re at the lower hatchway,” she whispered.

  “Stand by,” Norris replied. “That guard is still too close; he’ll hear it when I release the locks, but we’re working on a solution.”

  “We’ll hold here,” she replied.

  As they spoke, Hesset saw in her mind a better way.

  “If we sent the elevator down to draw their attention, the others would alert the guard to join them. It won’t solve the problem of those explosive devices, but it might be enough to draw this last soldier away.”

  Norris looked and propped his chin in an open hand, running through the scenario in his mind. At last, he pointed toward the monitor display.

  “What if we set it to stop at the next level up? They’ll know it’s moving immediately, but unless it gets all the way to the lowest floor and opens, maybe the explosives won’t detonate?”

  Hesset smiled and nodded.

  “Onallin, we are going to stop the elevator one level above. When it does, the Kez’Erel will see it on the indicators and hopefully move closer to investigate, including the lone guard outside your hatchway.”

  “Let us know when he’s clear,” Rantara answered; “we’re ready to go.”

  With a peck of his finger, Norris sent the lift on its way. Immediately, they saw the soldiers moving quickly away from the doors to avoid the blast zone. A few seconds later, the lift stopped on the floor above and the mercenaries trailed back to the doors, slowly but with enough curiosity to tell Norris the deception was successful. Almost on cue, the lone guard abandoned the far end of the corridor, moving quickly to join the others and the distraction was complete. In seconds, Theriani was through, climbing silently up from the hatch to the corridor’s floor plates.

  There was no sound accompanying the video feeds, but Hesset and Norris watched her move with amazing speed, closing on the lone soldier as he called out to his comrades. At last, the guard must have sensed movement, but even as he began to turn, she was on him. Like so many who had fallen to Theriani’s lethal skills before, the guard’s bulbous head tilted suddenly to one side as he stumbled to the right, collapsing slowly to the floor. They watched a geyser of his blood, pouring out through a gaping slice her blade opened in the final, terrifying moment of his life. He hadn’t cried out or made a struggle. Instead, he simply went limp and rolled onto his side.

  Theriani wasted no time, signaling for Rantara to join her. Around the curved hallway beyond, the mercenaries were gathered in a group at a safe distance, watching upward at the elevator’s blinking indicator and waiting for an arrival they would never see. Norris and Hesset watched, too, mesmerized by the precision and deadly resolve they saw in the movements of two more skilled in their art than any other. With a nod, they thumbed and hurled their last plasma grenades, waiting as the little devices bounced along until they were out of sight. At once, the near-side camera went blank in the blinding flash of the grenades as they each detonated. Three of the mercenaries who lingered too close were down, killed in an instant, while the others scrambled to get clear, only to run headlong into Theriani and Rantara’s trap. Firing in steady bursts, they walked slowly and calmly toward the Kez’Erel until their magazines had gone empty. Without a thought, Rantara tossed her empty rifle aside and moved close to inspect, looking up toward the camera with a satisfied grin when it was clear there were no survivors.

  Hesset looked at the explosives, still attached to the walls of the elevator exit.

  “Onallin, can you disable those charges?”

  She looked and said, “Yes—just a moment.”

  Each device had been fitted with a simple proximity fuse and activation switch, but two flicks of her thumb rendered them useless.

  “Done,” she said. “Now we can move on to the library chamber.”

  “The remaining soldiers, plus four Merchants are directly below you, but we can see in the cameras the Kez are moving.”

  “Moving, where?”

  “They’re heading for the library chamber,” Norris said; “repositioning, maybe to use the cover of those computer consoles and make a stand.”

  Rantara nodded and smiled.

  “Good; that chamber is exactly where I need them, Darrien.”

  Norris and Hesset selected different camera views, but each showed the same result.

  “Why do you want them all inside that room?”

  “They’ll be confined and easy to reach, but there are other benefits.”

  “Such as?”

  “I’ll explain later; just leave them alone for the moment; I need them inside the library with the Merchants.”

  Norris smiled and said, “Consider it done.”

  They waited as the soldiers filed quickly into the library, fanning out as Norris suspected to take up firing positions. The vast array of storage devices and access consoles made for good cover, but none of it seemed to worry Rantara. When the last Kez mercenary cleared the entry, an unseen command likely sent from Toa moved the heavy door and it closed with a loud thud. Norris scanned quickly for a lockout code, but there was nothing. Hesset searched through her display in tandem, only to find no override; Toa’s people were insulated from Rantara’s deadly power.

  “Onallin,” said Norris quickly, “They’re all inside, but our favorite little Searcher has sealed the hatch behind them and we don’t have the control codes; he’s locked us out.”

  “They’re not going anywhere,” Rantara replied, “but you need to find the codes as soon as possible; if Toa had the command, it should be in your system.”

  “We’re on it,” Norris answered, and Hesset went to work on her console to find and isolate the command structure. On a hunch, she tried the standard release code but it did no good.

  “It is not working, Darrien,” she said; “I hoped Toa’s override wouldn’t affect this interface, but he knows where we are and how to isolate that door’s code from our system’
s command menu.”

  “Damn it!” Norris snarled, “Those codes are the only ones I can’t see in Settis’ memories.”

  Hesset held up a hand as she ran quickly through a series of secondary menus, stopping at one coded in the Kez language.

  “Here,” she said. “This is a maintenance file, but I may be able to open a pathway to the root control menu.”

  She pecked at the interface quickly, but Norris’ patience was wearing thin.

  “That miserable runt, he knew all along they’d be safe inside the array chamber.”

  “Wait,” Hesset declared suddenly, “I can navigate through the maintenance files without difficulty, but the last firewall requires administrative access I don’t have.”

  “Hold on a second,” Norris smiled and said, leaning over to tap a sequence into her interface.”

  “Settis?” Hesset asked.

  “Yep. It won’t open that door directly, but it should get you into the root file structure. Settis rarely used it, but it always worked.”

  “It’s still going to take time to find the counter-commands to defeat that override,” Hesset cautioned.

  “I understand,” he replied, “but can you do it, right?” he asked.

  “I think so; I can see the command structure in Kez’Erel characters, but I must begin at the root menu to find the pathway; this will not be easy, Darrien.”

  “Do your best,” he answered, but suddenly, the display nearby lit up once more; it was Toa again.

  “You see, Norris? All you have done is waste time and kill a handful of Kez’Erel soldiers; you cannot access the library because I alone possess the release code.”

  Norris said nothing as Hesset busied herself with the search, plodding through each release code sequence.

  “It is useless to continue with this,” Toa said. “I’m sure you can see in your monitors my soldiers are waiting inside the chamber with their weapons trained on the door. You can’t defeat my lockout, but even if you could, they would kill your Khorran female immediately; you will have accomplished nothing!”