The Soldier: Escape Vector

by Vaughn Heppner

  Halifax tried to shift his position, but he could not. Fear of heights had frozen him. He peered around until his breath caught in his throat. He saw the Descartes parked in the annex. That allowed him a little motion as he craned his neck. Would you look at that! Various cables, massive boxes and elongating ladders were either attached, leaned against or supplied power to tools in the hands of collared ogre-men working on the ex-scout. Descartes’s intactness amazed him.

  “I can’t believe it,” Halifax said. “The back section is whole again.”

  “I know.”

  Halifax looked up at Uldin. “How could you fix it so quickly?”

  “Are you aware of nano-technology?”

  “A little. Aren’t they tiny, tiny robots?”

  “Indeed,” Uldin said. “The nanites refabricated the broken hull and fixed the slagged areas of the Intersplit engine.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Are you deliberately testing my patience?”

  Since they were much lower to hangar-deck level, Halifax was able to climb to his feet and face the haughty Rhune. He bowed his head, putting contrition into his voice. Give him what he wants so he drops his guard. “I’m sorry, Magister. That wasn’t my intent. It’s simply that I’m overjoyed to find the Descartes in one piece.”

  “You surprise me, Doctor. I would not think a person like you would rejoice at our confiscating your ship for our own use. Are you emotionally attached to the vessel, perhaps, so you’re happy it’s intact?”

  “Uh, why would you show me the ship if you’re not going to give it back to me?”

  “Surprisingly, that is an astute question. I am showing you this for a reason. You will aid us in our departure, and you will do so in the…the Descartes, you call it?”

  Is he serious? “How will I aid you in your grand enterprise?”

  “By piloting your vessel according to my precise specifications,” Uldin said.

  A worm of worry bored into Halifax’s heart. These nightmare Rhunes would leave little to chance. In other words, how would they make sure he obeyed their orders if he was alone on the Descartes?

  The doctor cleared his throat, raising his chin. “Magister, where I come from, a good deed ensures another good deed. What I mean is that you healed me, putting me in your debt. As a matter of honor, I’ve adhered to such moral codes since birth. Therefore, I’ll gladly aid you, strictly following your orders as I pilot the Descartes.”

  “Excellent news,” Uldin said. “Thus, you won’t balk when we insert an obedience chip into you to ensure precise service.”

  “Such talk saddens me, Magister. I’m a man of honor, needing no coercion in such things. You saved my life. I would rather die than besmirch your goodness by doing you a bad turn. I ask you to allow me to aid you freely so we both keep our karma clean.”

  “Your quaint notions are meaningless to me,” Uldin said. “Have you seen enough then?”

  “I-I don’t know. I have no way to gauge that.”

  “Logically stated,” Uldin said. “I will repair your deficiency in part, as your knowledge will expedite matters.”

  The Rhune moved a finger.

  The lift rose abruptly, catching Halifax by surprise. He stumbled and dropped to the floor, sitting with an oomph. The rising lift picked up speed, causing the doctor’s gut to knot and worry to renew. Was Uldin taking him to an operating theater to they could insert an obedience chip into his brain? He shivered with dread. This was getting worse and worse. He looked up, seeing a high landing near the ceiling.

  How do I get out of this? What can I do? Think, Doctor, think. If this demon gives you half a chance, act before they turn you into a zombie.

  In moments, the lift parked beside a metal tongue that led to an open archway and corridor. Uldin walked past the sitting doctor, heading for the arch. The Rhune paused, turning to him.

  “Are you coming?”

  Trembling, terrified and outraged this could be happening to him, Halifax crawled off the lift onto the tongue of metal. He crawled after Uldin and only climbed to his feet once walls surrounded him.

  “That was undignified to say the least,” Uldin commented. “But survival is more important than dignity, is that not so?”

  Halifax nodded.

  “That is a Rhune concept,” Uldin said.

  If Halifax had a gun, he would have emptied it into the smug bastard.

  They kept walking, turned in the corridor and came upon a closed hatch.

  Is this it? I hope this isn’t it.

  Uldin made a motion. The hatch slid open. The two walked into a large chamber. A trembling Halifax glanced around and breathed easier, as there were no operating tables or surgeons. At the far end was a large screen on the wall. Underneath was a bank of controls.

  “Number Three Sky-Raft, Control Chamber,” Uldin said as he walked to the screen.

  Halifax followed and was startled as Cade behind some kind of controls appeared on the screen. Behind the soldier was a beautiful woman with a torn bloody blouse. She watched Cade with a serene but rather wicked, sleepy smile.

  Uldin glanced at him.

  Halifax held himself perfectly still as he maintained a poker face.

  “Oh, come, come, Doctor, as a man of honor you’re not going to pretend that you don’t know the Ultra, are you?”

  Halifax immediately smiled. “Do you mean Marcus Cade?”

  “Let me guess,” Uldin said, tapping his chin. “He’s Centurion Grade, is he not?”

  Halifax failed to hide his surprise. “How the hell did you know that?”

  “Breadth of knowledge should suffice for an answer,” Uldin said. “Your fellow traveler has pirated Number Three Sky-Raft. The personnel must have become careless to allow that. I warned them of the Ultra’s deadliness, but clearly, they did not prepare sufficiently. It is a small thing. Since they proved unequal to the task, we are better off with them dead.”

  “Are you speaking about Rhunes or fighting thralls?”

  Uldin regarded Halifax. “Your ignorance leads you to ask stupid questions. I weary of those in a metaphysical sense. Refrain from asking me further questions, as I will tell you what you need to know. Marcus Cade races to us. Yet, I dislike his freedom of motion, as he could prove troublesome to a slight degree. I have already given the orders concerning that. You see, Doctor, he, more than you, is important to my dealings with Tarvoke. I could make a double of Cade, I suppose, but that would entail delay. It is imperative that we leave as soon as possible. It is strange, but if I believed in such a thing as an Ultimate Deity, I would think He has aided us with your appearance on Coad. Instead, I’m a realist. Chance has played us a random hand, this time in our favor. This chance I’m grasping with both hands, as people used to say.”

  Look at that. Cade has defeated Rhunes and stolen a sky-raft. From what Halifax had seen so far, defeating Rhunes should have been impossible. But if anyone could, it would be the damned soldier. Halifax studied Cade, his stiff and determined features.

  “You’re itchy with curiosity,” Uldin said. “It literally exudes from you. Know that Tarvoke was correct in attempting to destroy your vessel. He failed. Now, it is my turn to make a move upon the board. I will not make a half-stroke as Tarvoke did. I will succeed in the great task, and the universe shall know…”

  Uldin snapped his fingers. The images on the screen vanished. “I don’t believe in fate. I don’t believe in luck. What could have brought you here, I wonder. Perhaps I did not ask you deeply enough earlier. Look into my eyes, Doctor. I wish to know what happened before you entered the vortex. Why were you in the Vellani Rift in the first place, hmm?”

  Halifax tried to look away but failed as a force compelled him. What’s he doing to me? No, I will not obey. I will…not…

  Halifax stared into Uldin’s expanding eyes. Like before, the orbs grew to enormous size. The doctor felt drowsy as he began to speak about what had happened on the water moon Ember in the Sestos System with Tarragon Down.r />
  ***

  Halifax groaned in dismay, his head pounding and his eyes watering from the bright overhead light. He lay on a hard floor—

  No! He did it again. I can’t believe this.

  The doctor laid his right arm over his eyes, the darkness bringing him a little relief from the pain. Uldin had asked probing questions, and despite himself, Halifax had answered as well as he could. For some reason, it felt as if this interrogation had gone quicker than before.

  How does he do it? I’m supposed to be immune to hypnotism. I hate him and his freakish strength of will.

  Halifax took a deeper breath. Railing against fate wasn’t going to help. His best asset was his mind. His intelligence training might have kicked in then. He took another deep breath, realizing he needed to think fast, or he was going to become a mental zombie and help the nightmare Rhunes.

  Okay. Look. The Magister poses as a wizard, but claims to despise luck, fate or anything else that might touch upon magic.

  Halifax shook his head. He didn’t know how that helped him. Cade was coming, a passenger aboard a sky-raft. He had a woman with him. Who was she? A looker, that was for sure.

  Halifax stiffened as he heard the click of approaching heels. He debated if he should move or pretend to be asleep. The footsteps halted near his head.

  “Are you still out?” Uldin asked.

  He knows you’re awake. So he asked, “Why do my eyes hurt so much?”

  “It’s a byproduct of the process. The pain will pass.”

  “Are you suggesting the flood of knowledge is painful to my eyes as it passes through them?”

  “That would be poetic license. I’m not fond of such an imprecise use of the language. No, the pain is due to your resistance. Many feel nothing, as they succumb easily.”

  “Why do I feel as if you’re lying?”

  There was silence.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Halifax asked.

  “Indeed,” Uldin said in a quiet cold voice.

  Halifax removed his arm to see the Rhune standing beside him. Rule One: don’t act like a victim. Lying here like one makes you seem like one. The doctor groaned as he sat up with his eyes closed. He felt the floor with his palms and pushed up. He was light-headed—

  “No, no, Doctor. Now isn’t a good time to faint.”

  Uldin gripped one of Halifax’s elbows, steadying him. Halifax half-panicked and pulled his arm away. The Rhune released him. Halifax staggered until he bumped against a wall. He leaned against it, gaining strength. Opening his eyes—pain erupted as blackness threatened his consciousness.

  “Enough,” Uldin said, touching the doctor’s forehead.

  What’s he doing?

  Heat flooded as the pain and mental numbness dissipated. Uldin removed his fingers. Halifax pushed off the wall, blinking, touching his forehead. It wasn’t hot, but it didn’t hurt anymore. Surprisingly, his stomach growled. He wanted a ham sandwich and a cold beer, maybe two.

  “Magister, can I ask what you’re doing to me at these times?”

  “It should be obvious. I’m accelerating your bodily healing processes. It isn’t magic, although it is helpful.”

  “That was how you knit my collarbone before?”

  “Let us be precise. I accelerated the process. Your body did the actual knitting. It’s why you became ravenous and parched. Your body desires protein in particular, but always needs more water after such quick repair.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  Uldin dipped his head. “I am a Rhune. It is synonymous with amazing, I admit.”

  Halifax cocked his head. What has gotten into him? Use your mind. It’s all you have left.

  “Uh, sir, you didn’t exhibit much humor before, much emotion at all. Yet now, you’re almost giddy.”

  “You have a Class Three intellect indeed. Did I not say so in the beginning? You perceive correctly on both issues, although I would not use the word giddy. Rather, I marvel in a deeply intellectual way. An ancient plan appears to have succeeded. I went to check your ship, your Nion XT Navigator in particular. There, I learned that it did the trick for us. It lured you into the Vellani Rift and chose the correct vortex. You are not here by chance at all, but the culmination of what I call a space seed.”

  “What? I don’t understand.”

  “You told me about an arms dealer, one named Tarragon Down of Sestos III. He must have claimed the space seed for his own and it warped his thinking. I suspect he dealt with the one the seed had originally penetrated.”

  Halifax must have shown his surprise.

  “I’ve never seen such a space seed,” Uldin said. “But I’ve read about them and always wondered if they truly existed. This proves they did, or one did, at least. Now, now, Doctor, let’s remove that dumbfounded look of idiocy from your face, as it doesn’t suit you in the least. One of my predecessors—an individual who went mad because of his heightened genius—found clues in the alien script…” Uldin paused, clearing his throat before continuing. “My predecessor found clues concerning an ancient object, an amplified technological item long ago set adrift in your space-time continuum. He believed the space seed’s purpose was to warp the mind of those it reached, causing them to desire the rift and a particular vortex. It’s quite possible this seed meant to draw one with an Intersplit engine to the pocket universe.”

  “An alien seed?” asked Halifax.

  “No, no, not a living thing, but a technological object with strange properties. As I said, my predecessor had an active imagination and could decipher some of the alien script—” Uldin sighed. “Never mind about the script or the aliens. My predecessor made fantastic leaps in certain areas concerning Rhune improvement and refinement. For instance, can you guess my age?”

  “A well-preserved seventy,” Halifax said.

  “Not even close. I’m over four hundred years old.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  “I’m proof it is possible. Still, that isn’t the issue. You’ve settled my mind. The ancient seed not only existed in the end, but it worked, fulfilling its duty. According to my predecessor, the seed would have been shaped like a tiny globe showing representations of stars and nebulae. In any case, fate has played positively no part in all this. Rather, all comes together due to Rhune mastery and understanding. Your space-time continuum will be the test case for the next step in our Master Plan. Later, once we rule your continuum, I suppose my descendants shall use the pocket universe as a way-station to travel to other dimensions.”

  Keep him talking. “You’re planning to conquer my space-time?”

  “Not personally, of course, but the Rhunes in general will. We are the superior life form. Before you object, I should ask if you feel any remorse for the lesser hominids that Homo sapiens replaced on the prehistoric Earth.”

  Halifax blinked several times in lieu of answering.

  “There has been a change in the timetable, however,” Uldin said. “These new developments demand an accelerated approach. If one space seed existed, there may be others in closer proximity. But such factors need not concern you specifically. We no longer have the time to insert an obedience chip into you.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s no problem. I’m still beholden to you personally. Tell me what you need—”

  “Listen to me,” Uldin said, interrupting. “I am well aware you consider yourself an agile intelligence agent, a case officer. You despise my ability to control your will and force answers. Your idea about karma was a false front to attempt to fool me.” Uldin raised a hand. “Do not interrupt me. I plan to appeal to your dedicated self-interest. In other words, I’m about to apply the carrot and stick and see which is more effective. With fighting thralls, the stick is the only process they understand. Which do you prefer, Doctor?”

  “Uh…since you put it like that…the carrot, of course. I should let you know that I react violently against the stick. It has never worked on me. But the carrot—what is in it for me?”

  “I off
er you two choices. One, you may become a Rhune.”

  Halifax’s eyes widened. “Like you?”

  “Not in the slightest,” Uldin said. “I am the Magister, the Supreme Rhune. You shall become a lesser Rhune, but one just the same.”

  “Uh, wait. How do I become a Rhune?”

  “That is unimportant at present. You will learn at the proper time.”

  “Okay… What’s the second choice?”

  Uldin said nothing.

  “I, uh, take it there is no second choice other than death.”

  “Correct,” Uldin said.

  You’re one smug son-of-a-bitch. Halifax bowed his head. “I’d much prefer to become a Rhune.”

  “I thought as much. You will begin the transformation after you do your duty to the collective.”

  “You mean after I trick Tarvoke?”

  “No, after you trick Marcus Cade and through him Tarvoke. If Cade operates as expected as an Ultra, he will be like a coiled spring, filled with great tension. It is easier to maneuver him through deception—well, you need not know the exact procedure. It is enough that you do your part.”

  “You’re asking me to betray my friend? Cade is my friend, you know?”

  Uldin said nothing.

  Halifax turned away, feigning indecision until he finally nodded slowly. “Okay…I hate to do this, but if it’s the only way to escape death…”

  Uldin still did not respond.

  Halifax faced him.

  “Do you think that is sufficient?” Uldin asked.

  “Beg pardon?”

  “Do you think I’m deceived by your ham-handed ploy?”

  Keep thinking I’m an idiot, big shot. “I guess not,” the doctor muttered.

  “Come, let’s go.”

  With slumped shoulders, Halifax walked ahead of Uldin as they started for the lift. This was bad, really bad, and unless he could come up with a miracle, he was going to spend the rest of his miserable life with the nightmarish Rhunes.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The sky-raft sped through the cloudless sky eighty meters above the ocean. There was no way to change course as of yet. Cade had tried several times but failed, finally heading outside to rethink his options.