The Soldier: Escape Vector

by Vaughn Heppner

  From the floor, Cade ripped out his Lupus 19 Energy Gun, burning each spaceman’s face and then burning Tarvoke in his comfy chair. The holoimage wavered as the beam speared through it. Then, Tarvoke appeared as before, totally unhurt, even though the comfortable chair he lay on burned.

  Magnus yelled for his fighting thralls to attack and subdue the Ultra. Before any of them could obey, the entire cabin and raft shook dreadfully. An enemy shell shattered an entire wall, shrapnel killing or maiming half the people within.

  Amid the mayhem, Cade slithered across the floor, reaching the door—

  Another shell smashed through the cabin, obliterating walls and killing most of the survivors of the first strike. Splinters struck Cade’s back, causing him to twist in agony. Even so, he surged up, dashing out of the destroyed cabin. A glance back over his shoulder confirmed why all this was happening:

  Five Rhune sky-rafts hovered in a line in the distance, their cannons barking yet again as flashes blazed from the muzzles.

  Without hesitation, Cade sprinted and hurled himself across the widening gap. He sailed through the air as explosions on the sky-raft behind him caught him in the blast, hurling him faster and farther. He landed on the original raft and rolled until he smashed against the outer cabin. He lay there on his stomach groaning and twisting in agony with his back afire with the splinters.

  He raised his head, looking around. The last of Tarvoke’s large rafts lifted for the heavens. Cannons there fired and destroyed one of the distant Rhune rafts. Meanwhile, pieces, people and body parts rained upon the ocean from the two destroyed vessels near Cade.

  He tried to rise and slumped back down instead.

  The four surviving Rhune rafts must have tracked the rising Tarvoke vessel. They fired, missed, fired, hit while another of their number disintegrated under the better cannon-fire of Tarvoke’s people. That didn’t last. The remaining large raft blew apart under the hail of Rhune cannon fire. Thralls and others leaped overboard, plummeting for the ocean below.

  Cade tried to understand what had just happened. Did this mean Velia De Lore was dead? Had Tarvoke and Magnus expected such an attack to occur? That seemed possible, as the two leaders had been holoimages. Why were they so confident?

  Cade began crawling for the edge of his sky-raft. It continued flying toward the surviving Rhune vessels. Was it a loss of blood, shock or something else on his part that caused his mind to waver? Cade didn’t know, because he never made it to the edge of his raft as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He was unable to toss himself overboard before the Rhunes reached him.

  Cade became halfway alert again as a skeletal Rhune in a black robe near him said, “This one. He’s still alive, and I think it’s the Ultra. That means we may survive our blunder.”

  Cade would have liked to know more, but the Rhune pulled out a wand and zapped him so he blanked out.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Dr. Halifax lay on a cot, staring up at a ceiling. His mind was and had been awhirl for hours. The Rhunes—

  The hatch to the cell opened. Halifax sat up sharply, swiveling around so his feet touched the floor.

  “Come with me,” Uldin whispered.

  Halifax grabbed his shoes, slipping them on and scrambling off the cot, trotting out of the cell into the corridor after Magister Uldin.

  “There have been several new developments,” Uldin said softly. “As a potential Rhune, I thought you should see some of this for yourself.”

  “I appreciate that,” Halifax said.

  Uldin glanced down at him. “There are many threads in play today. As mental exercise, I’m unraveling a few of the more notorious. For instance, I’m beginning to believe that Graven Tarvoke is even cleverer than I thought. That is disconcerting. I believed, through his duplicate, that I’d plumbed the depths of his intelligence. As it turns out, I was wrong.”

  “Uh…why tell me, sir?”

  “Please, Dr. Halifax, don’t feign such subservience, as it suggests you think I’m an easily duped fool. I know at heart that you’re a deceiver and schemer. That is why I believe you’ll make a good lower-level Rhune. To return to my original point, Captain Tarvoke has surely deceived us. I believed him to be on a Cyprian-fabricated sky-raft. Yet, after combing the ocean for survivors, my people failed to uncover his or Lord Magnus’s corpses. That is too odd for coincidence. Thus, I am reviving Velia De Lore.”

  “Who?” Halifax asked.

  “A mechanically turned enemy agent,” Uldin whispered. “You saw her with the Ultra on the screen.”

  Oh, Cade’s new babe. Wait, what did Uldin say? A turned enemy agent?

  “I practiced crude implantation upon her cousin in order to render her transformation less obvious. The humans on Coad never caught on. Your Marcus Cade did, however.”

  “I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “If you keep your mouth shut, you may learn enough to understand.”

  Fooled you, asshole. I know exactly what you’re saying. And you can bet I’m never becoming an emotionless freak like you Rhunes. I just have to figure out how, and I’d better do it quick.

  The doctor trotted beside Uldin as they traveled through a maze of corridors until Halifax began puffing from the exertion. Finally, Uldin halted, glancing down at him. Was there a sense of superiority in the look? Halifax kept his sweaty features carefully neutral. Uldin raised his thin right-hand palm-forward, and the door before them slid open. He stepped in. Halifax followed on his heels into a spacious white chamber, struck by harsh medical smells.

  There were several large pools or vats staggered throughout the chamber. Two thralls stood in one of the vats, submerging and lifting another person. Uldin approached the vat, reaching the edge and observing the progress.

  Halifax did a double-take as he reached the same edge. The thralls wore chrome collars, breechclouts and nothing else. Unlike Skar 192, they had no hair, just smooth shiny skin and pates. Had they lost their hair working in the vats?

  They lowered a naked beauty in and out of a liquid blue solution. Her long dark hair draped upon her like seaweed, while her proportions caused the doctor’s eyes to shine with appreciation. This was Cade’s babe all right. Why did the soldier get all the luck?

  A different black-robed Rhune stood across the vat. He had a red mark on his bald forehead and spaces between his teeth.

  “Report, Charaton,” Uldin told him.

  “She sustained grave injuries,” Charaton whispered. “She was unbreathing when picked up and might have sustained brain damage that will result in her retardation.”

  “Repair that,” Uldin said.

  “It might prove difficult, Magister.”

  Uldin studied the half-submerged woman.

  So did Halifax. Did the Rhunes truly not feel anything regarding her loveliness? On no account did he wish to forego the joy of beautiful women like her. What would be the point of living then?

  Uldin regarded Charaton. “Did her implants record all the occurrences?”

  “I will discover that during the next phase.”

  “Proceed immediately,” Uldin said.

  Charaton made a gesture. The chrome collars on the thralls brightened. The two ogre-like men stiffened and regarded the Rhune. He gave them soft orders. As their collars returned to normal, the thralls lifted the woman, waded to the edge of the vat, climbing out and carrying her to a gurney. They deposited her onto it, lifted the gurney and followed the other Rhune as he led the way.

  “Come,” Uldin said.

  Halifax trotted dutifully into other corridors and finally another chamber. There, the thralls deposited the dripping woman onto a sterile pad, gently placing her arms beside her body. The thralls backed away until they stood against a wall.

  Charaton moved a mechanical arm connected to the ceiling. On the other end of the arm was a large disc. He maneuvered the disc against the woman’s forehead. With a tap of his left foot, he caused a control panel to rise from the floor. Ch
araton began to manipulate the panel, which caused the disc to glow.

  The naked woman moaned softly.

  Halifax stood transfixed at the rise and fall of her wonderful breasts. They were perfect.

  Uldin glanced at him. “Really, Doctor, are you that base?”

  “Uh, what’s that?” asked Halifax, deciding this was for the best because it would cause Mr. Big Shot to think even less of him.

  Uldin spoke to the thralls.

  One of them dashed out of the room, returning almost immediately with a thin blanket. Uldin pointed at the woman. The thrall hurried near, draping the blanket over her nakedness, leaving her head exposed.

  “As a Rhune, you will gain freedom from your animal lusts,” Uldin told Halifax. “You will soar mentally and receive joy from pure thought.”

  Halifax nodded as he studied the woman’s face. “She’s Velia?”

  “Velia De Lore,” Uldin said.

  “She was with Cade?”

  “Do I hear jealousy in your voice?”

  “Certainly not,” Halifax said. “I’m simply gathering facts.”

  Uldin blinked, with his face unreadable. Afterward, he asked the other Rhune, “Well?”

  “There appears to have been some damage to her secondary cranial unit.”

  “Can you compensate?”

  Charaton manipulated his panel. “I’m beginning to get a reading. If you’ll examine the third screen, sir…”

  Uldin turned to the left and made a motion with his hand. A holo-screen appeared in the air before him.

  Halifax watched open-mouthed as he observed on the holo-screen what she’d seen regarding Cade on the sky-raft. Scenes flashed past as Uldin made scrolling motions with his fingers. Halifax missed much but caught the interplay as Velia bashed Cade on the back of the head. It ended with Cade choking her into unconsciousness. The soldier never did get it right with women.

  At that point, the scenes flickered off.

  “I’m sorry, Magister,” Charaton whispered. “There’s sensory blockage. It must have to do with the damage to the secondary cranial unit.”

  “Give me something,” Uldin said.

  Charaton manipulated the panel faster than before. Soon, they had audio but no visual.

  Halifax cocked his head, listening carefully as Cade and others spoke at an unnaturally rapid pace so he could only understand part of the dialogue.

  Uldin glanced at him. “It should be obvious now that we can ingest data far faster than humans. I have actually slowed the proceedings so you have a glimmer of understanding of what we’ve been doing.”

  Your crap doesn’t stink either, I bet. Halifax nodded gravely. “Is she a cyborg drudge?”

  “Be more precise,” Uldin said.

  “You remote controlled her.”

  “Only in part,” Uldin said. “Did you not see her dropping the tool onto the floor in the end?”

  “I did, I did. Did a Rhune manually control her at that point?”

  “Ah, Doctor, good, good, that is an astute question. Of course that was the case. Which means, naturally, that I already knew most of this. I find you a strange mixture. One minute you leer like a pervert. The next, you show higher intelligence. You shall greatly benefit from having your emotions removed.”

  “Uh, about that—”

  Uldin raised a hand. “You wish for death instead?”

  “No, no, I still want to be a Rhune, of course. I was just thinking—”

  “Excellent. Ah, one moment, Doctor.” Uldin inclined his head as if listening to someone unseen. “No,” he said. Then he listened longer. “I’m on my way. Prepare him.” Uldin regarded Halifax. “You’ll remain here while I attend to a small matter. Try not to get in the way.”

  “But—” Halifax said. He stopped speaking, as Uldin swiftly departed, leaving the chamber through a different hatch. The door slid shut behind him.

  Halifax scratched a cheek as he glanced back at the thralls. They stood at attention against the wall, appearing to stare nowhere. Halifax could swear he felt them secretly observing him. The doctor shrugged, focusing on Charaton manipulating a panel. An impulse moved Halifax’s feet as he stepped toward the Rhune and his panel. It was the doctor’s propensity to exact an advantage whenever he could. This seemed like the moment to attempt something, anything that could help him escape his present predicament.

  “I’m to become a Rhune,” Halifax told the other.

  The skeletal Charaton did not appear to hear, as he was absorbed with his task.

  Halifax slid a little closer and soon peered at the panel. It was like a keyboard, just more complex. The spider-thin fingers played over the panel at speed.

  “Did she love Cade?” Halifax asked.

  Charaton continued working.

  Halifax rubbed his chin, glancing sidelong at the other. “I’m to become a Rhune.”

  “I heard you the first time.”

  “Why didn’t you respond?”

  “Do not query me as if I’m your underling, as I’m superior to you.”

  “I know that,” Halifax said. “I’m only trying to understand. I’m not sure that I should become a Rhune.”

  Charaton paused in his manipulations to gaze at Halifax. “That is preposterous. The Magister has offered you the gift of a lifetime. A wise human would seize it.”

  “I realize that, but it’s the removal of my emotions that gives me pause. Is that even possible?”

  “Surgically easy,” Charaton said. “Your emotions reside in distinct areas of your brain. A few slices of a scalpel, and you shall be free of them forever.”

  Halifax tried to suppress a shiver of dread.

  “You only fear because you rely too heavily upon your emotions,” Charaton whispered in his dry voice. “They lead you into folly and buffoonery.”

  Halifax indicated the woman. “They also allow me to appreciate beauty.”

  “She is a worm, a tool in Rhune service. I am attempting to reengage her intellect and realign her brain units.”

  “What kind of units?”

  “Sensory input, mental override, heightened emotional stimulation—”

  “What does that mean?” asked Halifax.

  Charaton paused as he studied the doctor. “I’m busy. Cease interrupting my concentration, or I shall have you removed.”

  “Uldin ordered me to remain here.”

  “…Yes,” Charaton said shortly. “He also said not to get in the way. Silence, and perhaps you can learn something useful.” He continued to manipulate the panel.

  Halifax fell silent as he watched the proceedings. He thought about what he’d seen on the holo-screen. The woman had clubbed Cade from behind, weeping at the end and releasing the heavy tool. The soldier had choked her until she was unconscious, but he’d done so gently. Halifax bit his lower lip. From what he understood, the woman had dropped into the ocean and nearly drowned. There had been an air battle of some kind. Sweat slicked the doctor’s armpits. Uldin offered to turn him into a Rhune, removing his emotions and possibly inserting parts into him. Why would Uldin make such an offer? The only logical reason was that Uldin needed more Rhunes. Why would that be the case? Oh! Because too many Rhunes had perished from the killing virus. Had the virus slain almost all of them here?

  The woman moaned and twisted on the pad as her face jerked.

  “No,” Charaton whispered, tapping faster. “This is—” He straightened. “I need a recalibrater. Don’t touch anything. I’ll be right back.” The Rhune turned, striding fast, exiting through a hatch.

  Halifax stared at the closed hatch as he dragged a hand across his mouth. The woman moaned again. The doctor did not want to become a Rhune, but he didn’t want to die either. He glanced at the thralls.

  They peered directly at him this time, watching.

  Halifax looked away, and he found himself moving beside the woman. He didn’t dare look at the thralls again. Would they report him? He’d have to hope they hated the Rhunes more than they wished to
gain slave credits by snitching on him.

  “Can you hear me?” Halifax whispered to the woman.

  She stopped moaning and seemed to listen, although her eyes remained shut.

  “I’m a friend of Marcus Cade.”

  Her mouth twisted as if she tried to speak but could not.

  “Do you know Cade?” Halifax asked.

  She moaned again.

  “Cade loves you,” Halifax said in inspiration. “He deeply loves you.”

  “No…” she said. “Wife. He loves his wife.”

  Halifax’s eyebrows shot up. How had the woman learned that? The possibilities— “You must help Cade,” he whispered. “He desperately needs your help.”

  Her lips quit twisting. It seemed she listened again.

  “Do whatever you can to help Cade,” Halifax said. “He’ll love you for that and forget about his wife.”

  The hatch slid up and the Rhune Charaton stopped short. “What are you doing? Get away from her.”

  Halifax backed away. “I’m sorry,” he said. “She was choking. I-I helped her breathe.”

  Charaton glanced at the thralls. They did not respond. The Rhune raised a threatening hand. One of the thralls nodded as if reluctantly.

  The thrall is deceiving Charaton, Halifax realized with an inner shock. He waited for the threat in order to be more convincing. That was interesting.

  Charaton walked to the woman. “She’s breathing now. Therefore, step back before I lodge a protest against you to Uldin.”

  “Yes, I’m sorry,” Halifax said, bowing while backing away. “I was only trying to help.”

  “Silence,” Charaton said. He held two thin prongs and lightly tapped her forehead with them. He glanced at the panel afterward. He tapped her forehead again, put down the prongs and began manipulating the panel.

  Halifax glanced at the two thralls. They stared elsewhere. They were slaves, but they clearly had their own agenda. Somehow, he had to use that, as the doctor had a sick feeling that time was running out for him.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Cade revived by slow degrees and felt a deep sense of regret, and that he’d been totally defeated. The defeat grated against his spirit, against the core of his being. He was a soldier. A soldier fought on no matter what the odds. He’d been trapped behind enemy lines before with only a handful of comrades, cut off from friendly communications. He’d fought his way free, although he’d lost four-fifths of his command back then.