Ammonite Planets (Omnibus): Ammonite Galaxy #1-3

by Gillian Andrews

  Arcan darkened. “Was he not accompanied by security?”

  “YES! But he expressed a desire to see one of the vimpic rooms in person, and you know, only one person at a time can fit into those rooms, so the bodyguards stayed outside.” She gave a sniff. “And then they got worried because he didn’t come out. You see there are two doors on the vimpics, and the other door was standing open, so he must have got confused, and let himself out of the other. Then we think he must have got lost, and … well … nobody can find him now.”

  Arcan found it rather suspicious that the vimpic rooms should have been the place where Mandalon 50 got lost. He knew that the vimpics were almost the exclusive prerogative of Atheron, and the teaching house. Combined with the fact that Atheron was not here, he thought he might know who had been responsible for the disappearance of Mandalon 50. He found himself swelling up uncontrollably, feeling something very like the rage which seemed to characterize Diva and Six. It was time, he decided, to show the Sellites just what sort of a person they were harbouring in their midst!

  “I will find Mandalon 50 for you,” he promised the expectant group. “I just hope that it will not be too late.”

  Aracely was shaking with dismay. “Please hurry!” she told Arcan. “You know how important that boy is!”

  Arcan had to agree. It was because of the boy that he had decided to give the Sellites another thousand years on Valhai. He liked the young ruler’s firm grasp on essentials, and knew that he would rather see Mandalon as head of Sell than any other Sellite. He shimmered to Aracely.

  “I will do my best,” he told her, and then vanished, taking care to take the visitor’s video camera with him. The visitor had proved invaluable on more than one occasion, and might come in handy now, he thought.

  THEY WENT STRAIGHT down to the Valhai Voting Dome. The University was only a matter of metres from the entrance, and they both knew from past experience that the area under the Valhai Voting Dome was the prerogative of Atheron. If he were anywhere, Arcan was sure, he would be somewhere in the labyrinth of tunnels and rooms that the head of the educational skyrise now took to be his domain.

  Arcan materialized outside the warren of tunnels, and asked the visitor to go first, in case Atheron was expecting him to follow, and had decided to use Mandalon to trap him. Since Atheron had no knowledge of the visitor, and its sphere, he was at a disadvantage, and they decided to make full use of it.

  So the little machine made its way silently along the dark corridors, followed by Arcan, who was keeping just close enough to be in visual contact. He knew that if the machine suddenly cloaked, they would have reached their destination.

  First, they went to the room where Atheron had made the orange compound, but there was no sign of either Atheron or Mandalon 50. All the canisters had vanished, too, so perhaps Atheron had shipped them out. They checked the first room out carefully, and then began to look further afield.

  The area under the Valhai Voting Dome was huge and claustrophobic. It had clearly been built at the time of the First Valhai Votation, and left empty since then. That was over a thousand years ago now, and it looked as if nobody except Atheron had bothered to use the passageways since. They were completely dark and coated with particulates which had seeped in through the generations. If the young boy had been let loose down here on his own he would be terrified. Not only that, thought Arcan, but he would be in grave danger. The air supply was very thin. He presumed that at one time air had been pumped into these corridors and dark rooms automatically, but most of the machinery had clearly seized up, and there were few places where the air would be breathable for a Sellite. Atheron had fixed the pumps in the area where he worked, but the rest were in a deplorable state.

  They worked their way slowly and carefully around the passageways, trying to work systematically to avoid missing any nooks and crannies which could hide a small boy. At first there was nothing, but then, after about an hour of searching, they had their first stroke of luck. The sphere suddenly vanished in front of Arcan, and he immediately shrank himself down to an insignificant size. There were footsteps in front of him, and Atheron walked carefully past, lighting his own way with a laser lantern, and taking great care not to slip on the rock.

  They waited until he disappeared from view, and then Arcan asked the visitor if it had seen the direction the Sellite had appeared from.

  “Yes, I think so. He came from the left tunnel.”

  “Then that is where we will find the boy!” They continued their journey, now being extra careful to examine any possible places where the boy might be.

  IN THE END it was just as well that they had taken that precaution, but another hour had passed before they stumbled upon him. Even though they were looking for him, they very nearly didn’t see him. He was hidden in a crevice between two rooms, and unconscious. They examined him carefully, and saw that his leg was trapped under a jumble of metallic joists and realized that he would need to be dug out of his predicament. He was unconscious, and Arcan thought that he had probably been drugged.

  “What do you want to do?” asked the visitor. “Are you going to transport him out?”

  “No. I think that I will have to bring effectives in and have him dug out,” said Arcan. “I don’t really want to transport him out if he has any damage in that leg – I could make things worse for him. And I think the authorities ought to see where he was found.”

  “Yes. They might think that we have made the whole thing up otherwise, I agree.”

  SO ARCAN WENT back to the waiting group and explained that he had found the boy. There was a smattering of applause, and then worried looks as they heard that he appeared to have damaged a leg. They quickly gave orders for Vion 48 to accompany a reduced group of guards down to the boy’s position. Vion 48 would administer whatever medication might be necessary while the boy was rescued from his difficult situation. Arcan agreed to transport extra air into the tunnel while the operation was being carried out.

  One of the group asked Arcan if he had seen signs of anybody else being down in the passageways, and the orthogel entity denied seeing anybody. It seemed pointless to blame Atheron when the only proof against him would be Arcan’s own word. He knew that the head of the education house would deny any involvement. It simply wouldn’t be worth it. They would have to wait and see what the boy himself remembered, and if the boy was unaware what had happened to him, then Arcan would take it upon himself to let him know. Arcan was darker than usual and he saw Aracely looking at him curiously. That girl was quite as sharp as her brother, he realized.

  Once they got back to the tunnel, the burly guards discussed the best way to extract the boy, while Vion 48 gently did what he could to lessen the young leader’s pain. The boy had regained consciousness while Arcan had been absent, and was talking, but without making much sense. Vion 48, Aracely’s father, looked concerned.

  “It is almost as if he has been drugged,” he told Arcan. “I can find no sign of a head injury, yet he is incoherent, and confused. We can’t rule out foul play here. Are you sure that you saw no-one in the tunnels?”

  Arcan didn’t answer, and after a few seconds’ scrutiny the man turned back to his patient.

  Finally, the examination was over, and the doctor signaled the waiting guards to begin removing the beams that were pinning the boy down.

  “As far as I can tell from here, he will be all right. The leg is probably fractured, certainly very badly bruised. This whole thing is most unusual. I think you may know more than you are saying.”

  “If I did, there would be a reason for that.”

  “I daresay. Well, you will know your own business best.”

  Arcan shimmered, and the two of them waited patiently while the guards carefully removed each beam to release Mandalon 50. At last the boy was free, and Vion 48 bent to examine him more thoroughly.

  “Yes, the leg is broken. I wonder if you would mind taking him to my house?”

  “I only know the ground floor of
the medical house,” Arcan said apologetically.

  “Hmm.” The doctor shot him a look from under well-populated eyebrows. “I guessed you might. That will be fine. I can treat this leg there and then get him up to my floor in the ortholift. Just wait until I get that leg immobilized.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a slightly curved splint, placing it firmly over the trouble and tying it tightly with a bandage.

  “There. Ready now,” he said. “You have been extremely lucky, young man. If it weren’t for the orthogel entity nobody would have found you for days, and you would have been long dead by then.” He gave a brief nod to Arcan, and he and his patient vanished.

  Arcan returned the guards and then transported himself and the visitor to the 21st floor of the 256th skyrise. There was much to talk about.

  IT WAS NOT until three days later that Arcan was called into Mandalon’s rooms. The young ruler was sitting up on a couch, and looking infinitely better than he had the last time Arcan had seen him.

  “I believe I am indebted to you, Arcan.”

  “You owe me, yes,” said Arcan, remembering Six’s words when they first met. Then he caught sight of the Sellite leader’s look of surprise. “Is that not correct?”

  The boy grinned. “No. It is exactly correct. I just … did not expect you to say it. You may be sure that I will remember.”

  Arcan looked around, and saw that they were completely alone. “You want to talk to me in private?” he asked.

  Mandalon 50 nodded. “I wanted to know if you had seen … anybody when you were down there in the tunnels. I spoke to Vion 48 and he told me that he thought that you might have done, but that the impression he had was that you would only tell me, and that you would only tell me in private.”

  Arcan pulsed. “He was right. You do not remember anything?”

  The boy shook his head. “I was in the vimpic room, and then I was being taken out of the tunnel. I have no idea whatsoever what happened to me. The only thing I am absolutely sure of is that I didn’t get from one place to the other on my own two feet, whatever anybody may say.”

  “I don’t think you did. But I can’t prove it.”

  “You don’t need to prove it. I would simply like to know what you saw.”

  “I saw Atheron walking away from the place where we found you.”

  The boy was silent for three long seconds. “And you are sure?”

  “That I saw Atheron? Yes. That he was responsible for your accident. That too.”

  “Yes. So am I. I thought you would give me his name.”

  “You know he might be trying to kill you?”

  “I …” Mandalon looked at Arcan, as if trying to decide whether to trust him or not. Eventually, he went on. “I think that he was probably responsible for my father’s death. I have always thought so.”

  “I understood that to be an accident.”

  “It was, yet I find myself wondering if it was a contrived accident. I have been at some pains recently to keep myself away from Atheron, but the invitation to visit the vimpic room was not made by him. I believed him to be safely quite a long way away, or I should never have entered.”

  “He intends to run Sell himself?”

  “Oh, definitely. It was only the way the meeting last year backfired on him which put a stop to his plans. But it will be difficult to ensure that he doesn’t get his way.”

  “You will have to be very careful.”

  “I know. I have people around me I can trust, and things will be easier next year, after the Second Valhai Votation. After that, many of our laws will have been changed for good – at least for another thousand years. That will discourage people from trying to snatch the power here. I think I will be safe after that.”

  “Then you need to keep yourself safe until then?”

  Mandalon nodded. “There is nothing we can do at the moment. Atheron has friends in high places, and until we have irrefutable proof I can bring no case against him. I believe him to be building a small army around him – dissatisfied Elders from Kwaide, together with a sprinkling of Coriolans, Sellites and Xianthans, but I must wait.”

  “You are brave.”

  Mandalon smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate that comment very much.”

  “But you want something from me?”

  Mandalon nodded. “Yes, I do. I know that you sometimes give your friends orthogel bracelets, so that they can call you if necessary?”

  Arcan nodded. He could see where this was going now.

  “—I would like you to give me one, just until the Second Valhai Votation. Then, if anything happens to me, I can call you.”

  “That will only be successful if he gives you enough time to call me.”

  “True. But I would sleep a little more easily at night knowing that you could find me anywhere he might take me.”

  “Very well. What would you like me to give you?”

  “Nothing that can be seen. It must be something hidden from everybody else.”

  A tiny piece of orthogel detached itself from Arcan, and covered the base of the nail of the little finger on Mandalon’s right hand. It was transparent, and impossible to detect.

  “If you need me, bite or knock hard against it, three times,” said Arcan. “I will come immediately.”

  “I am glad that we have become allies,” said the boy.

  “Yes. I am not fond of Atheron either.” Arcan flickered and then disappeared, leaving Mandalon alone on his couch, pensive.

  Chapter 11

  WHEN THE DONOR Headquarters on Xiantha finally rolled into view the following day, it turned out to be an imposing building which reared out of the Great Plain, a modern anachronism in the semi-desert, almost like a mirage.

  They left their canths to forage on the outside of the installations, and walked up to the solid doors, which opened for them automatically to pass inside. There were, after all, signs of technology on the planet. They must be running a generator to keep the place at this low temperature, too. Six gave a whistle. They had certainly not been expecting this show of luxury here.

  A small woman came forward to greet them. “Valhai Diva,” she said, inclining her head, “this is indeed a great honour for us.”

  “You know who I am!”

  The woman looked shocked. “Of course I do. You are the only living Valhai to ever visit our installations. How could I not know who you are? You and your friends are most welcome here, and I am at your disposal.”

  “I was hoping to see what has happened to my … err—”

  “Your progeny, I understand. If you would come with me …?”

  Grace pulled back. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d rather stay here while Diva and Six go to see some of the children. I would like to talk to the director, if that could be arranged.”

  The woman bowed again. “Certainly.” She waved an arm towards a luxurious couch. “If you would like to take a seat, he will be with you shortly. I will tell him that you have requested his presence.”

  “My name is—”

  “—We know exactly who each of you is,” she said. “Your fame has preceded you.”

  “Told you so!” whispered Six.

  “Shh! Are you staying with me, or going with Diva?”

  Six gave a sigh. “I promised I would go with Diva. Will you be all right?”

  Grace smiled at him. “Of course. You go with Diva. We will see each other later on.”

  “Fine. Take care.”

  “As if anything could ever happen on this idyllic planet!”

  Six shook his head. She didn’t know much. “Never call the wind when Kwaide is looking to Lumina,” he muttered.

  “What?”

  “Never mind.”

  “OK. See you later!”

  Six lifted and lowered his head to say goodbye, and turned to follow Diva, who was already disappearing with the small woman along a long corridor to their left.

  DIVA AND SIX soon found themselves in a clinically sterile room filled with magmite f
urniture and rexelene containers and test tubes. They looked around with interest. The whole facility seemed in opposition to the rest of the planet, colourless amidst the splash of vividness which was Xiantha.

  “Valhai Diva!” An old man with hideous teeth scuttled forward, and touched hands with her. “What an honour! Xiantha has waited so long for one of the Valhai to visit! You grace our day and bring colour to this laboratory.”

  “I wanted to find out what happened to my … my progeny,” she said, using the word the woman had used.

  “Naturally. When we heard that you had come to Xiantha we assumed that you would wish to see some of them. The vehicle is ready and waiting for you. If you would like to come this way?”

  Six and Diva exchanged glances, and then fell in behind the man. He led them at a slow and deliberate pace in and out of the magmite, along several passages, and up to a large chamber, containing five objects which looked rather like sleds. The man indicated the nearest of these, and waited to hand Diva into it, escorting her to a seat which was fixed to the sled. Then he repeated the gesture for Six.

  “What makes this thing go?” asked Six in a suspicious tone.

  The old man, who had told them that he was the head physician on the donor program, and had introduced himself as the man who contrived children, smiled. “They are the only ones of their kind on Xiantha,” he said. “They were imported specially from Sell itself!”

  “And are powered by …?”

  “They are called magsleds, but they work on a combination of helium chamber, slight magnetic levitation, and hover capabilities. Here near the north pole, where the magnetic field is so strong, and the field lines nearly vertical, we only use magnetic levitation. In the lowlands we need the full hovercraft facilities, since magnetic levitation doesn’t apply. We still use magnetism for steering, though.” The old man spread his arms. “The Sellites developed them for us centuries ago, after the last big flare from Almagest, and I am afraid we do not really know how they work. They need little maintenance, and only a small amount of fuel. It is almost magic.”