After what seemed like an eternity of walking, the dream Tanner came upon a huge hole in the ground. Steel tracks led into the gloom. It was dark down there. Tanner gripped the blaster harder than ever, and in a slow tread, he entered the cavern of steel.
He could feel the hungering things wanting to devour him. They called to him in his sleep, pleading, promising and beseeching that he hurry it up already. They had been slumbering for too long as it was. Their ancient enemy might find them. Before that one came, they must rearm and re-train for another gigantic conflict.
As Tanner set foot into the cavern, an all-encompassing horn blasted. The ground trembled. The skies shook and the horn-noise intensified. What did it mean?
Tanner looked around wildly. Would the ground split open? Would cyborgs emerge?
“No!” Tanner shouted, bolting upright in his room on the Dark Star. Sweat drenched him. His blanket was in disarray and he clutched the heavy blaster against his chest.
Once again, the hatch buzzer sounded.
Tanner stared at it. Had the noise entered his dream? With a grunt, he set the blaster on the nightstand and went to the hatch, opening it.
Greco stood there looking worried. When the apeman saw Tanner, he stepped back, his gaze going up and down.
“What happened to you?” Greco asked. “Are you feverish?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’re soaked with sweat.”
“Bad dreams,” Tanner said.
“Those don’t make you sweat like that.”
“Forget it,” Tanner said. “What’s the problem? Why are you buzzing me?”
“Oh. You’ve been out for days.”
“What? Two whole days? Big deal. I was beat.”
“No,” Greco said, “try four and half days.”
“Come on. That’s not possible.”
“Lord Acton suggested I wake you up.”
Tanner rubbed his face. He felt worse than ever and famished, and his garments stuck to him. He hadn’t even taken them off…four and half days ago. Could that be right?
“Okay,” he said. “Let me rinse off, eat and meet you in the control room.”
Greco nodded.
“Is anything wrong?” Tanner asked.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Sure. Fine. My head is sore. Let me get some chow in my belly and I’ll start to feel better.”
***
Tanner sat down at the controls beside Greco. The apeman grinned at him. The centurion studied the sensor board.
“The Coalition fleet is moving out-system,” Tanner said. “That means they came in-system.”
Greco told him about a Coalition raider that had gone all the way into the asteroid belt. “But this is even more interesting.” The apeman tapped a control.
Tanner listened to intercepted messages going between the raider and the flagship. “I thought the Coalition encrypted everything.”
“They do.”
“But I’m hearing the actual words,” Tanner said.
“Isn’t it great?” Greco said. “For once, we have the advanced gadgets. A guy could get used to this.”
Tanner rubbed his jaw.
“You don’t like it?” Greco asked.
“Of course I do,” Tanner said. “I’m just curious. This is high-grade equipment, maybe some of the best in the Backus Cluster. How come Magnus Shelly had it lying around to sell to us?”
Greco shrugged.
“Doesn’t that strike you as a little too coincidental?”
The apeman became thoughtful. “Do you think Magnus Shelly was in this from the beginning? Is she working for Acton? That hardly seems possible. Why would Acton have boarded our old raider if he had access to better all this time? No. You’re too pessimistic. We got a break for once. Maybe we should just leave it at that.”
“Yeah,” Tanner said. “Our big break is what troubles me. We’ve never had one before. Why should we get one now? It makes me suspicious.”
“The sleep didn’t do you any good, boss.”
Tanner kept rubbing his jaw. All those bad dreams had soured his mood. “Acton did bargain with triton, more than I’ve ever heard of anyone having in one place. We should have received ten raiders like this for the amount he paid, not just one.”
“Shelly didn’t have to be in cahoots with Acton,” Greco said. “She just had to have the equipment to sell. Maybe she’d been saving some of this stuff for a long time, wondering if she’d ever find someone with the money to buy it off her.”
“Maybe I’m just being paranoid,” Tanner muttered.
He watched the Coalition fleet for a time, listening to the various exchanges. The Dark Star was a super-raider now. Yet, would that be enough against the worst scourge in the galaxy? The Old Federation had left powerful sentinels in the system while the cyborgs might have even worse defenses on and under the planetary surface. What waited for them on Planet Zero, on the last planet on the galactic rim?
Tanner brooded for half a day, finally running into Acton.
“Sleep well?” the Shand asked.
Was it Tanner’s imagination, or did Acton seem too interested in his sleep? “It felt awesome.” Tanner slapped his chest. “I’ve never felt better or more refreshed.”
“That’s odd. Your features don’t show it.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Tanner said.
“I forgot to warn you about one, hmm, strange phenomenon regarding the blaster.” Acton paused before saying, “It has an effect on one’s subconscious over time. In some people, it produces a murderous desire to kill. In others, it brings on bouts of depression. You didn’t sleep with the blaster near you, did you?”
“Nope,” Tanner said.
Acton eyed him sidelong. “I hope you’re telling me the truth.”
“You hope I’m telling you the truth,” Tanner nearly shouted. “You’re the one who’s always spinning tales or, or—”
“I see,” Acton said. “You slept with the blaster near. I should have remembered to tell you about that tiny drawback. The ancient weapon has obviously affected you. I have a theory as to the process involved. I believe it has something to do with the energy beings. Some of their essence drained into the blaster to give it a harmful aura.”
“How’s that even possible?” Tanner scoffed.
“The force field, of course,” Acton said. “That’s the obvious method. As the energy creatures attempted to breach the force field, some of their essence must have drained into the gun. You must beware of keeping the blaster around you too long at any one time. You’re wearing it even now. I don’t think you should keep it near when we enter hibernation.”
“Ha!” Tanner said. “I know your plan. You’ll swipe the blaster while we’re all asleep.”
Acton eyed him, nodding, but saying no more about the blaster.
***
Tanner hit a heavy bag, landing solid thuds with his wrapped fists. The Dark Star would have to begin dumping gravity waves soon in a stealth deceleration. He’d been doing some thinking while waiting for that.
WHAM, WHAM, he hit the bag particularly hard with two right hooks. It felt good, but if he kept it up like this, his wrists would throb later.
Tanner saw motion out of the corner of his eye. He turned. It was Patrician Ursa.
“Lady,” he called.
She paused in the hall, finally retraced her steps and peeked into the small fitness chamber—it was more a fitness closet.
“Patrician,” he said, as he began to unwrap one of his fists. “Do you…do you think a force field could contain the, ah, essence of ancient energy beings?”
She smiled. “What a quaint notion. Why would you ever think of such a thing?”
“I’ll give you one guess.”
“Ah. Yes, the Shand must have told you a tale about your blaster.”
“That’s a highly accurate guess. Do you think Acton lied to me?”
“What did he say exactly?”
Tanne
r told Ursa the story about the Innoo Flaam versus the energy beings.
“I suppose it could be true,” Ursa said. “Yet, I don’t see what that has to do with force fields and ancient essences.”
“All right,” Tanner said. “Here’s what Acton told me an hour ago.” He told her about the blaster’s ill effects upon people.
“That’s interesting,” Ursa said. “Do you feel any different since handling it?”
“Maybe,” Tanner admitted.
“But you didn’t tell the Shand that?”
“I’m sick of his smugness.”
“And sick of his always being right?” she asked.
“Maybe that too,” Tanner said with a shrug. “But it’s more than that. The meeting with the other Shand in the weapon shop showed me what they really think of us. It wasn’t an enchanting picture. The other Shand thought Acton should castrate me in order to make a more docile slave.”
Ursa nodded thoughtfully. “I’m not sure we can judge Lord Acton by human standards.”
“So we allow him to act like a tyrant against us?”
“When has he done that?”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Tanner said. “What do you call his treatment of the Lithians? He’s put controls in their minds. That’s wretched. He drugs people and fiddles with their thoughts when it suits him. I don’t trust him.”
Ursa was nodding.
“We’re about to make a vast leap through hyperspace while everyone sleeps,” Tanner said. “We’re heading all the way to the edge of the galactic rim. What’s waiting for us on Planet Zero?”
She grew thoughtful. “This is a strange voyage, very strange.” She stared at him. “You remind me of my uncle. I only had one. He was a military man and could be quite stern. He was also fun when he was in the right mood playing games with Marcus and me. Once, though, a lion slipped past our dogs. The beast was mad. It padded onto our yard as blood dripped from bloody cuts. My uncle saw it, and I saw his knees quiver with dread. He must have known what was going to happen. Very quietly, he told Marcus and me to begin walking to the house. We were to walk slowly. He would go talk to the lion in the meantime.”
“What happened?” Tanner asked.
Ursa shook her head as she looked down the corridor. “I turned and looked at the lion. It yawned then, exposing horrid teeth. I couldn’t help myself. I screamed. It was shrill and loud, and I ran as fast as my little legs could carry me. Marcus ran after me, shouting in fear.”
Ursa shivered while closing her eyes. “My uncle had a knife. He’d left his service pistol in the house so he wouldn’t accidently shoot us. That’s what he said whenever he took off his gun belt. When we saw that, Marcus and I always knew we were going to have fun.
“Naturally, the lion saw us as prey, and it bounded after us. My uncle shouted at the top of his lungs, drew his knife and charged the great cat. He fought it, Tanner. He forced the beast to turn toward him. My uncle got in the first strike, but it was his only one. The beast mauled him with its razor-sharp claws. Then, the lion bit his throat to choke him to death as great cats do to their larger prey. That’s how the servants found my uncle. The lion roared, crouched on his corpse, warning the servants to leave it with its catch. They shot the beast. I never did get to look at my uncle again.”
Ursa opened her eyes, staring at Tanner. “When you fought Lupus that’s what I saw for just a moment. Instead of thinking of you as my uncle, I saw Lupus as my protector, as my uncle. You killed Lupus just like a lion would. Now…now I think that maybe you were like my uncle, only you won the battle instead of losing it.”
“Lady,” Tanner whispered.
“We’re off to face more lions, Centurion. We might all die, but we must face the beast in order to save humanity. Don’t you see?”
“Lady,” Tanner said, stepping up, daring to take her hands in his.
She stared into his eyes as her lower lip trembled. Tanner smiled, moving instinctively closer to hug her.
“No,” she said. “You must not. We must maintain our decorum. I hope you understand.” She tore her hands from his and raced down the corridor.
Tanner watched her go. She was beautiful, and she had been hurt before. A powerful sense of protection filled Tanner. He never wanted to see Ursa hurt again. He never wanted to be the cause of any hurt to her again either. He would protect her if he could.
Slowly, Tanner unwound the other wrap. He studied the blaster, which lay on his folded shirt in the corner. Maybe he would keep the blaster hidden in his room during the hibernation. If it could truly cause him to become murderous or depressed—
Tanner shook his head ruefully. Why did nothing seem to be what it appeared to be on this trip? A feeling of unease touched him. It would soon be time to lay down for the long sleep.
***
The Dark Star left the Petrus System and reached hyperspace territory. The raider then came to an all stop.
The Coalition fleet was headed in this direction. It wasn’t on an intercept course with them, but it would be in the general area soon.
Tanner donned the special crinkly, silver fabric. It was cool to his skin. The others did likewise, including the Lithians. He’d left the blaster hidden in the engine room. If the ancient gun caused bad dreams, he didn’t want it near him during the long sleep.
Once he donned the strange garment, Tanner lay down in a special cubicle. Tubes led from it to a hibernation tank. He was going to trust the Shand, and he was going to trust that Greco’s fail saves would kick into gear if Acton tried anything while they remained in hibernation.
Trust was good. A few backups were even better.
They’d debated about racing into hyperspace at high velocity in order to travel faster through hyperspace. Maybe getting to Planet Zero faster was better. If the Coalition fleet followed them there, wouldn’t getting to the star system several days earlier prove advantageous?
That was one possibility. Acton gave them a powerful reason for forgoing that advantage. The Old Federation defensive devices in the star system might spot them more easily if they dropped out of hyperspace at speed. Those powerful devices might spot them anyway, although they were going to come out of hyperspace quite some distance from the system for just that reason.
“Stealth is our great power,” Acton said. “We must do everything we can to save it.”
“And if the Coalition beats us down to the planet?” Marcus asked.
Acton smiled strangely. “I seriously doubt they shall win that race. If the Coalition fleet shows up, they will have to fight their way to the planet. That, I think, they will not find easy.”
As a cover slid over Tanner, he hoped the Shand was right. After listening in to some of the Coalition messages, he knew those people were dead serious.
What if Acton gets up while we’re all sleep? What will he do? Those were the centurion’s last thoughts before hibernation took over.
-37-
The Dark Star slipped through hyperspace, traveling from the Petrus star to one on the edge of the galactic rim. Hours passed, days, and finally several weeks. The small raider followed the same path used long ago when the last Old Federation fleet had headed for the last stronghold of the deadly cyborgs.
Everyone aboard the modified raider hibernated. The various ship systems purred along smoothly. The computer watched until finally a time unit clicked a relay.
A hibernation unit warmed as oxygen puffed into the cubicle. The woman under the glass stirred, moving the crinkly garment she wore. Finally, she pushed up, sliding the glass open.
Particles of hibernation gases leaked into the greater compartment. It was the former insulation chamber, made bigger to allow for the two Lithians.
Ursa Varus had wakened first. She’d been a computer hacker during the war and had slipped a coded sequence into the computer to adjust her hibernation unit to her new schedule.
Ursa shivered. She hadn’t told anyone about this little hack. It was her secret. Not even Marcus knew.
She gazed at each sleeper in turn, lingering on Centurion Tanner. He was handsome, and he seemed devil-may-care much of the time. She loved that about him even as she realized he was too abrasive, too given to impulses. Still, she found him attractive. It was too bad he was a plebian in almost all his habits.
Lastly, she studied Lord Acton. I can kill him. Should I do it? She didn’t think so. They needed him. For years, she had learned all she could about Planet Zero. Most people regarded it as a legend. Oh, no, the planet was quite real and very dangerous. Would it hold weapons to help a handful of desperate patriots free their world from foreign tyranny?
Ursa dearly hoped so, as she didn’t know what else to do if this failed.
Shivering again, wanting to get back into hibernation, Ursa decided to get this over with.
She walked through silent corridors, listening to the ship’s thrum. The modifications were amazing. Even in hyperspace, they had gravity.
Ursa changed clothes in her room, picked up tools and a weapon. She hurried to what had been Lacy’s quarters. It took an hour to break in. Finally, Ursa entered the room with a gun in hand.
What had she expected, a cyborg to jump her? Yes, probably. Instead, she found what looked like a hibernation cubicle. In it lay a partly constructed cyborg.
Ursa debated about what to do. Finally, she opened the tube, and closed it even faster. The cyborg stank to high heaven. The flesh had rotted, or some of the flesh had. Could that thing ever walk and talk again? She didn’t see how.
The patrician debated again. Finally, she searched the room, finding a keyboard. After several minutes, she realized it was connected by wireless to the cyborg brain, or whatever passed for a brain in that steel cranium.
Ursa worked nonstop for two hours. She put a destruct loop in the brain. A set of code words would set the annihilating loop into action and destroy the connections. That in effect would kill the brain.
Afterward, Ursa wiped her fingers on her pants. She typed faster, attempting to erase any evidence of her tampering. If the Shand didn’t search for tampering, it shouldn’t automatically be obvious.
Star Raider Page 25
