Michael Cobley - Humanity's Fire book 1

by Seeds of Earth

came forward to greet them.

  'Major Karlsson,' he said in a surprisingly deep voice.

  'My name is Carolian -1 am Ambassador Horst's secre-

  tary. The desk said that you wish to speak with the

  ambassador on an urgent matter.'

  'That is so,' Theo said. 'It concerns the events at Port

  Gagarin yesterday.'

  'I see.' The man Carolian took out a small grey pad

  which he studied for a moment. 'Our sensors say none

  of you is armed but one of you is carrying a digitact of

  some kind.'

  Theo put his hand on Barney's shoulder.

  'My associate, Mr Macrae, has a device containing

  new information about the attack which the president is

  keen for the ambassador to see.'

  'Very well, I will see if he is ready to receive you.'

  Carolian left by a side door then reappeared moments

  later to beckon them in. Theo led the way and was ush-

  ered through to a well-lit kitchen/breakfast bar where

  the ambassador sat at the table, playing chess with a

  ghost.

  'It's a hologram,' Macrae murmured. 'Supposed to be

  his dead daughter.'

  The translucent figure was of an attractive young

  woman, early twenties perhaps, with long brown hair,

  wearing a many-coloured flowery shift over patterned

  blue trousers. Theo knew the background from news

  reports and Pyatkov's briefings, which said that Horst's

  daughter had died a couple of years ago, yet the sight

  made the hairs on his neck prickle.

  'Good day, gentlemen,' Horst said, rising to face

  Theo. He was wearing a calf-length house-gown of

  some olive green material, fastened loosely with a yellow

  sash. 'Major Karlsson, yes? The president's adviser . . .'

  The two men shook hands. Horst's grip was firm,

  dry and steady, yet Theo got the impression that there

  was some concealed frailty to the man.

  'My thanks for agreeing to see us, Ambassador. These

  are my colleagues, Mr Macrae and Mr McGrain.'

  More handshakes. Rory had blinked on hearing his

  surname and his wide-eyed stare flicked between the

  ambassador and the opaque hologram. Come on, Rory,

  Theo thought. Don't let me down, lad.

  'And this is my daughter, Rosa.'

  The hologram girl smiled at the three men, who gave

  brief, nervous bows. Theo glanced at Macrae, but he

  seemed unruffled so he tried to appear unconcerned

  himself.

  'So, Major,' Horst went on. 'You have more informa-

  tion regarding yesterday's horrific events, information so

  urgent that it could not wait till my return to

  Hammergard.'

  'Exactly so, sir - we have a recording of what hap-

  pened.'

  A look of unease passed across Horst's face. 'A

  recording? Is it from the Brolturans?'

  Theo shook his head. 'Another source, Ambassador.

  May we show it to you?'

  For a moment the ambassador was silent, his eyes

  glancing sideways for a moment before he gave a sigh

  and nodded.

  'Very well, Major, do you require any equipment?'

  Theo turned to Barney, who already had his displayer

  in hand. 'Um, would it be okay to use the ambassador's

  vee screen?'

  'Certainly,'said Horst.

  Macrae produced a coil of tendril-thin cable, hooked

  up the displayer to the vee screen, fingered the screen

  controls, and moments later was ready. But Horst made

  him wait while he spoke with the hologram.

  'I'm sorry, Rosa, dear, but I have some work to attend

  to. Can we continue our game later?'

  'Of course, Daddy - I'll remember where all the

  pieces are.'

  As fondnesses were murmured, Theo exchanged baf-

  fled looks with Barney and Rory. Then the hologram

  winked out and Horst slipped a flat, octagonal unit into

  the pocket of his house-gown, put away the chess set

  and turned back to the others.

  'Proceed.'

  Barney pointed the black rod remote and the record-

  ing played out silently as before. Barney paused it as

  before, pointing out the number of Ezgara commandos

  before and after the assassination. When it was over,

  Horst sat there looking stunned, even a little shrunken

  in the baggy folds of his gown. But then he stared off to

  one side, frowning, lips moving, shaking his head

  slightly as if having a private conversation ...

  His AI implant, Theo realised. That's what he's lis-

  tening to . . .

  'Ambassador . . .' he began.

  'Ah, yes, Major, yes . . .' Horst put finger and thumb

  to the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezing shut as if in dis-

  comfort. 'How confident are you of this information's

  provenance?'

  'My colleague, Mr Macrae, is the one who obtained

  it,' and at Theo's prompting Barney told the ambassador

  how and why the recording had come to be made. By

  the end, Horst's expression was weary but grim.

  'This is very serious,' he said. 'I would be the first to

  admit that the Hegemony has in the past employed

  questionable methods in pursuit of its interests, but to

  do this, and to their closest ally?'

  'It looks like a justification for a military intervention.'

  Theo said. 'But if anything they've stayed their hand.'

  'Darien Colony would be in upheaval now if

  Sundstrom had not manoeuvred us into looking bad to

  the media.' Horst stared down at his hands. 'If I'd

  known about this before I would have deployed the

  marines sooner and in greater numbers.'

  'Can this be done now, Ambassador?' said Theo.

  'Yes -1 have a subspace comset in my luggage . ..' He

  paused and looked to one side. 'It's all right, Harry, I

  know what I'm doing.' As he got to his feet his attention

  came back to Theo. 'It's through in the stowaway -1'll

  just...'

  The door flew open and the secretary Carolian

  rushed in, clearly upset.

  'The news channel, Ambassador! It's about you . . I

  Quickly, Horst reached for the vee screen's keypad

  control and thumbed it on. Up came the Darienwave

  news channel with one of the regular presenters, Oxana

  Rugov, and with Horst's face in an upper corner box.

  '... just to recap on Our breaking story, the Brolturan

  delegation has issued a statement accusing Earthsphere

  Ambassador Robert Horst of planning and ordering the

  terrorist attack at Port Gagarin yesterday, resulting in

  the murder of Diakon-Commodore Reskothyr and four

  others on his staff. The statement goes on to claim pos-

  session of damning evidence, eyewitness accounts and a

  testament given by a DVC soldier who Ambassador

  Horst allegedly tried to recruit.

  'Shortly after the release of this statement, a commu-

  nication was received by all media outlets from

  Father-Admiral Dyrosha, commander of the Brolturan

  vessel Purifier. It says, quite simply, that a Decree of

  Arrest has been issued, naming the ambassador and

  demanding that he present himself to airborne units

  which h
ave been sent forth to detain him ...'

  Horst staggered back from the screen and dropped

  into a chair at the table, looking pale.

  'It's preposterous ... outrageous!... I had nothing to

  do with . . .'

  'Ambassador, you've got to get to safety,' Theo said.

  'Can you call the Heracles and get them to send a shut-

  tle to pick you up?'

  'Yes, I can,' Horst said, getting to his feet. 'I'll get my

  comset. . .'

  'I'm sorry, Ambassador,' said Carolian. 'But you and

  your visitors will have to remain here until the arrest

  detachments arrive.' ..

  The slender secretary, poised and composed, was

  holding a handgun with a strange oval barrel sporting

  curved flanges along its sides.

  'Carolian,' said Horst. 'What the hell are you doing?'

  'Following orders, sir, which means that you will

  have to follow mine.'

  Everyone froze. Theo cursed the demented bad luck

  of Horst having a Hegemony agent on his staff, even

  though it was only to be expected . . . and then he

  realised that Rory wasn't in the room. Now he glimpsed

  movement along the short passage that connected the

  kitchen with an adjacent room, probably a formal

  dining room. Carolian hadn't noticed Rory's absence

  yet, so a diversion was called for.

  'You're walking a razor's edge, you know,' Theo said.

  'The captain of the Heracles won't permit this and

  Sundstrom will put all military units on high alert.'

  'Don't be ridiculous, Major,' Carolian said. 'The

  Purifier outguns the Heracles by roughly ten-to-one - if

  Captain Velazquez tries to interfere he will be fired upon

  and you'll be dredging pieces of his ship out of the ocean

  for months to come. As for any forces under Sundstrom's

  command . . . well, they don't present any kind of serious

  threat, I can assure you ...'

  And that was when Rory's left hand slammed

  Carolian's head into the wall while his right shoved the

  secretary's gun hand up at the ceiling as it went off. A

  bright barb of energy punched through the plaster and

  woodwork, causing a spray of dust and splinters, while

  Rory tore the weapon from Carolian's fingers and then

  punched him to the ground. Leaning over the moaning,

  bloody-nosed secretary, he said, 'How's that fur a seri-

  ous threat, matey?'

  'Well done, Rory!' said Theo. 'How . . .'

  'Ah was over at that window in the corner when he

  came in, and I could see a gun in his back pocket and I

  thinks, well now, whit's this all about, so when he pulled

  it out I hopped up and through that wee delivery hatch

  smart as ye like. Came round the other side and nabbed

  him.'

  'Excellent. You and Barney get him tied up.

  Ambassador, let's dig out this comset of yours.'

  But when it was unearthed from a large, wheeled

  trunk the device turned out to be dead. The power cells

  registered full but nothing was being activated.

  'But I used it this morning to speak with Velazquez,'

  Hoist said.

  'Your secretary must have disabled it soon after,'

  Theo said. 'Advance preparation - he couldn't have

  known that we were coming or what we had to show

  you.'

  'So he knew that Kuros was planning my arrest,'

  Horst said slowly, then glanced sideways. 'They are?

  Thank you, Harry . . . Major, it's not safe here. Those

  Brolturan fliers will soon be here.'

  'Then we need transport,' Theo said, trying not to

  think about the AI as he took out his comm and called

  Alexei, who was still down at the entrance with his

  brother.

  'Yes, Major?'

  'Alexei - Brolturan troops are on their way here to

  arrest the ambassador so I need you and Nikolai to head

  back to the zeplin and tell Gunnar to cast off, fly over

  and pick us up from one of the residencies - we'll be the

  ones on the roof, waving.'

  'We're on our way, Major.'

  Theo closed his comm and turned to Horst. 'Time to

  go, Ambassador.'

  From the viewing balcony outside, a stairway curved

  up to a railed-in sunbathing deck on the roof. The view

  of the thundering Gangradur Falls in the rosy late after-

  noon light was breathtaking but all eyes were fixed in

  the other direction, towards the guesthouse's mooring

  grove and the sparkling grey expanse of Loch Morwen

  beyond.

  Theo had been racking his brain to think of some-

  where safe to hide both Horst and themselves. Then as

  the bulbous, boxy shape of Gunnar's zeplin rose over

  the treetops he realised that there was one place which

  was perfect and took out his comm, hoping that he

  would be able to get through.

  42

  GREG

  Greg was on his way back from having sent provisions

  down to the well chamber with Chel (who had recently

  arrived by zeplin) when his comm. chimed. Seeing who it

  was, he grinned and quickly answered.

  'Uncle Theo, good to hear from you. How are you

  today?'

  'I'm well enough, lad. Listen, would it be all right to

  impose myself and a few friends upon you just for

  tonight? We'll be up and away early tomorrow.'

  'Aye, that shouldn't be a problem, Uncle. When can

  we expect you?'

  'We're coming in by zeplin so we'll be with you in

  about half an hour. Oh, and there's no need to tell the

  station warden - our pilot is going to let us down on

  that grassy stretch behind the ruins. Can't thank you

  enough for your help - you're a good lad. Right, be

  seeing you.'

  As the line went dead Greg lowered the comm and

  stared, half-annoyed, half-amused at having been unable

  to get a word in.

  He's almost a force of nature is Uncle Theo. What

  must he have been like when he was youngerl

  At the site huts he quickly checked the state of the rec

  room then looked in on the stores to see what bedding

  was available. He also stopped at his own hut to assess

  how much work he had to cover later on, then put on a

  heavier jacket and went back outside.

  Dusk was his favourite time of the day he decided as

  he strolled through the darkening ruins. Dawn could be

  very special if it was bright and dry - a rainy dawn felt

  as if the world's burden was being reluctantly dragged

  into the daytime. Whereas dusk looked great whatever

  the weather, be it cloudless skies or overcast, clement or

  a downpour. A few times he had been out and about at

  sundown with mist or fog creeping down from the dense

  forest slopes, and every time it was a splendidly Gothic

  experience.

  Now, in the fading, grainy light, the surfaces of

  ancient broken walls and columns were beginning to

  grow dark and foreboding, the stonework looking

  increasingly eroded and time-worn, until the night

  finally claimed them, turning them into black shapes,

  silently looming. Then, as the sun's last glimmer sank
/>   away, leaving only a dwindling radiance on the hori

  zon, Greg heard the hum of approaching engines. A

  minute later he saw the faint edges of a light beam

  wavering along the cliffs that led east from Giant's

  Shoulder. After that it wasn't long before the bulky mass

  of a zeplin nosed up over the natural ramparts of the

  promontory, a solitary spotlight probing the gloom.

  As it descended, engines idling, Greg ran over,

  exchanging a wave with the pilot in his glowing cockpit.

  When it got to about ten feet off the ground it paused,

  hovering, while a rope ladder was flung out of a side

  hatch and several figures climbed down. By his own

  torch Greg recognised Uncle Theo and Rory but not the

  other three, one of whom was dressed in what seemed to

  be an elaborate dressing gown. Greg went over to greet

  them, but before he could even say hello, Theo had a

  hand on his shoulder and was steering him back

  towards the huts.

  'Good to see you, boy. I hope you didn't let anyone

  know we were coming.'

  Behind them, the zeplin was gaining height and turn-

  ing south to head over the ridge.

  'Didn't tell a soul, Uncle. So, what's all this about?'

  By the meagre torchlight he saw Theo's craggy fea-

  tures crease into what his mother once called his

  'devil-may-care' smile, which was usually a sign of trou-

  ble ahead.

  'Ach, well, it's quite a tale,' his uncle said. 'One that

  should be told with a glass of the fair dram in hand.'

  'I believe that I can unearth a bottle of

  Glenmarra . . .'

  'Good man! Always prepared for guests, that's what

  I like.'

  But when they reached Greg's hut, Poul, one of the

  interns, was waiting for him.

  'Poul, what's the problem?'

  'Not sure, Mr Cameron, but a weird message came

  through to our hut terminal from the university, warn-

  ing us that those Brolturans are sending troops here to

  search for the missing ambassador.'

  'What?' Greg said. 'To search for who?'

  Poul shrugged. 'Seems that the Brolturans are accus-

  ing the Earth ambassador of being involved in all the

  bombings and that assassination. It's been all over tha

  vee-news since this afternoon.'

  'Aye, well I've not had the vee on all day, Poul - too