by S. L. Viehl
“Not without great difficulty and there is no guarantee all those infected would ingest it.” The engineer considered my question. “There are atmospheric drones we use to test alien air quality and content. I may be able to modify them to fly low and release the substance in a mist over large masses.” She grinned at me. “Every Hsktskt on the planet may not eat or drink, but they must all breathe.”
The Adan were happy to have something to do, and armed themselves for battle as we prepared a rescue team to jaunt to the surface.
“There will be wounded to deal with,” the Omorr said. “I will begin assembling medical teams to go in once the population is under control. Our first priority will be to assure that all medical facilities are open and fully functional.”
Naln made a discovery with a trial run of the modified atmospheric drones that she reported to me at once.
“I know how this dust is being delivered to the inhabitants,” she said over her relay to me. “Very small drones, not dissimilar to the ones I have made to disperse the countermeasure, are being sent into the populated areas in the midst of each night. They have been releasing tiny amounts of the dust into the mist-venting systems of every building during the time when most of the occupants are sleeping. They return to their point of origin immediately after, so they have not been discovered. We have the entire process captured on vid now.”
“Can you tell from where the dust drones are originating?” I was almost afraid she might tell me the desert, but she gave me surface coordinates that matched those of SrrokVar’s stronghold.
“The Hsktskt will need to do much to prevent future outbreaks once they have been dosed with the countermeasure,” Naln warned me. “Given the rate of dust dispersal, by now every edifice in the city will be contaminated.”
It seemed ironic that the Hsktskt had been living with and willingly breathing in the very thing that was driving them insane.
Reever did not wish me to go on the rescue mission, and spent some moments trying to persuade me to remain on the ship and wait for him.
I waited until he paused for breath, and then I kissed him in front of the captain and most of the officers on the ship. “Nothing comes between us. Not the Hsktskt, not Vtaga, not this mission. Wherever you walk, Husband, shall I follow.”
There were some tense moments in the launch bay when Qonja and Hawk showed up to join the sojourn team. The Adan were clearly unhappy at being in the presence of the ClanSon they had just repudiated, but the ClanLeader made a point of showing willing if somewhat distant courtesy to the two men.
On the way down to the surface we reviewed the tentative plans we had made to approach SrrokVar’s stronghold.
“I can fly reconnaissance over the structure before we bring in the ship,” Hawk suggested. “I am accustomed to heights and the low temperatures, and I am able to evade weapons fire more easily than the launch.”
Reever nodded. “What we are interested in knowing is what manner of defenses the stronghold has. Jarn was not able to see much of the outside of the structure when PyrsVar took her there. Whatever is there, it will likely be well disguised.”
“I do not think he will have much in the way of weaponry,” I said. “The low temperature is his main defense against any Hsktskt, and he will not be expecting humanoids to attack to save ChoVa or the Hsktskt.”
We saw columns of smoke rising from the city as we descended to cruise level and changed direction for the mountains. I stared at them, wondering if UgessVa and her household had gone with TssVar to the Palace.
“They are one of the strongest and most dominant of the Hsktskt lines,” Reever murmured to me, folding his hand over mine. “If anyone survives this, it will be TssVar’s blood.”
Salo, who was piloting the launch, spoke over the audio com. “I have just received a message from the Sunlace. The Tingaleans have sent five battalions and most of their fleet, which have just arrived and are moving into orbit. They have brought cryoweapons with which to subdue the rioters.”
“That should be effective,” the Adan ClanLeader said. “Pilot, how long before they begin landing their forces?”
“The captain said the first troop shuttles have already launched for the surface,” Salo answered.
“This madman may wish to send out his drones to dose the Tingaleans with this fear dust,” the Adan said. “Hawk, while you are scouting, see if you can determine from where they are being launched. It should be our first target when we strike.”
Salo flew over the stronghold, using a neighboring mountain as cover while he put the launch into a hover and opened the hull access doors to permit Hawk to fly out into the icy winds.
“Come back to me,” Qonja said, clasping his lover’s hands in his briefly.
“I will, evlanar.” With a grin Hawk jumped out of the launch and spread his wings, sailing up and away from us.
I had observed most of the Adan looking away from the show of affection between the two men, and clamped down on a surge of anger. Now was not the time to address the ridiculous prejudice of the Jorenians. I would attend to it once this epidemic was over and we had saved the Hsktskt from mass suicide and murder.
Salo reversed the engines and landed on an outcropping, and the men began to prepare their supply packs, body armor, and weapons. Reever made me wear one of the lightweight vests designed to protect the vital organs of the chest, and placed a too-large battle helmet on my head.
“I cannot see.” I pushed up the edge of the helmet, which had sunk down over my eyes. “I might as well blunder into a weapon.”
“You will stay behind me,” Reever said. “I will be your body shield.”
“I make a better shield than you do,” I reminded him.
“I am quicker and more agile.” He adjusted the fit of the helmet. “Indulge me on this.”
Hawk returned a short time later, his immense brown wings filled with snow, which he shook off before reentering the launch.
“I have located SrrokVar’s drone launchers, and what I think is the main staging area. A few pulse grenades should destroy both.” He glanced at me. “Healer, I saw no signs of life, but the stronghold is heavily barricaded and all of the viewers blacked out. This SrrokVar does not intend to come out, or let anyone so much as look inside.”
“Did you see how we can best enter the structure?” the Adan asked him.
Hawk nodded, and went to the console to pull up a schematic of the mountain and the stronghold. “There are air and water conduits here and here.” He pointed to the spots at the very top of the structure, “Several vent panels at the base also looked promising, but they are more likely to be mined, or otherwise fortified and defended.”
“We will create two diversions,” the Adan decided. “One by firing into the snow on the ridge above the structure, which should fall and knock out any surveillance drones SrrokVar is employing to monitor his perimeter on the main entry level. The second will be smoke charges, fired into the flanking vents here. If they are mined, we will know.” He turned to my husband. “You and your team will go down through the air conduit. Send a probe first to ensure there are no traps waiting for you.”
“Salo, drop us there,” Reever said, pointing to a ledge just above the air conduits. “We will wait until we hear the first charge go off below, and then we will move in.” To the Adan, he said, “Maintain contact beacons so that we know where you are.”
The launch made a wide sweep around the mountain before coming up from behind the stronghold. Salo hovered above the wide ledge only long enough for us to jump down to it before taking off. Hawk also disembarked, but he did not stay on the ground. His task was to observe from above and report to Salo what progress we made.
The outside air was so cold that it hurt to breathe. I covered my face with my thermal mask and followed Reever to the edge to look below. The air conduits were only two feet down, close enough to lean over and touch.
“Launch the probe,” Reever told Qonja, who switched on the small su
rveillance unit and dropped it over the side. It transmitted an image signal as it descended, showing the conduit open and clear of devices. Nothing emerged to prevent or impede its progress.
“It should not be so simple,” I murmured to Qonja and my husband as we watched the drone travel the length of the passage. “Why would he go to so much trouble to conceal the stronghold and yet leave this access unguarded? It is as if he wishes us to use these conduits.”
“I agree. It is probably a trap,” Reever said as soon as the drone emerged. “We are taking the water conduit.”
“How do you know this?” Qonja asked.
“I know the Hsktskt. No centuron would swim through water when he could climb through an air duct, and SrrokVar knows this as well. As Jarn said, he is not expecting humanoids.” He took breathers out of a supply pack and handed them to us. “Be prepared, for the water will likely be cold.”
Even with the breathers and our heavy garments, the plunge into the frigid water conduit took my breath away. Reever went first, with Qonja and me following. Tethers attached to our belts kept us from being separated once inside.
The conduit and gravity made our swim a rapid one, and once we were down into the structure the conduit separated into three horizontal supply pipes. Reever took the smallest one, which led out to spill into a wide, deep collection unit. Reever dove down into it, and then swam to the side and gestured for us to do the same. We were all soaked and shivering as we climbed out of the reservoir and stood in what appeared to be a central equipment room.
Reever took off his breather and pointed to a secured door. “That one,” he told Qonja, who set a small decoder unit on the locking mechanism and released the door. My husband drew his blade and pistol as he looked around the corner before moving through.
Qonja offered me a pistol, but I showed him my Iisleg blades. “I did not think you would bring them,” he said to me as we followed Reever into a dark corridor.
“I hope I do not have to use them,” I said, wincing as I heard a muffled but massive explosion detonate somewhere outside. “I think the Adan have found SrrokVar’s primary fortifications.”
“You are in error,” someone said. Out of the shadows emerged a pleasant-looking service drone armed with two rifles and a transmitter. “SrrokVar, I have encountered three intruders in the service quadrant. Two Terrans and a Jorenian.”
Reever shot the drone’s control case, which caused it to explode. I covered my face with my arms to protect it from the sparks and shrapnel, so I did not see from where the other drones that surrounded us came.
“Too many,” Qonja said as Reever dodged out of sight and one of the drones sped after him.
“You will lower your weapons,” another drone said. When Qonja and I did so, it turned and indicated a hall to the left. “This way.”
Our dripping garments left a wide, wet trail behind us, one I hoped would not dry before Reever found it. Qonja and I were led into SrrokVar’s lab from a back access panel, and for a moment the brightness of the lights blinded us.
My eyes adjusted, and I saw ChoVa, bound to a punishment post, her bare back scored with several lash marks. She sagged, apparently unconscious, from the manacles around her wrists. Beside her stood PyrsVar, in chains that had been passed through a wide alloy ring bolted to the floor. SrrokVar had placed him close enough to watch ChoVa being whipped, but not to stop it.
“Turn up the emitters,” SrrokVar said as he walked toward us. “Some of our guests have arrived.”
TWENTY-ONE
“There will do,” SrrokVar told the drone.
I had been dragged over to the punishment post, stripped of my coat and tunic, and hung by my wrists next to ChoVa. Qonja had resisted briefly, and had been knocked unconscious by a bioelectric charge emitted by one of the service drones. He had been placed on a table by a rack of surgical instruments and strapped down.
Another explosion from outside the stronghold distracted SrrokVar. “Excuse me. I believe I must start executing the other half of your pathetic attack team.” He wandered off with two drones trailing after him.
I turned my head to see PyrsVar staring with undisguised hatred at SrrokVar’s back. “Did ChoVa give you the countermeasure?” I asked him. I had to know if he was sane enough to help us.
“She did.” He looked at her, and then me. “As soon as I came to my senses, I knocked her out and took her from the ship.”
I tested the fit of the manacles, which were strong and uncomfortably tight. “Why?”
“I needed her help to stop my sire, and she would not have agreed to come with me on her own.” He nodded toward Qonja. “Why do they come here?”
“To rescue you, and save the people.” The unnatural position of my arms made them ache, and shifting my weight only created more strain on my joints. “PyrsVar, if you had asked, we would have helped you. Next time, don’t assume we wouldn’t.”
He nodded. “Can you help me now?”
“Now he asks.” I sighed. “The Adan will be here soon, as will Reever. We only have to be patient and try to keep your sire from killing us before they breach the stronghold.” More explosions rocked the structure, and I heard the ominous sound of stone cracking and rumbling. “Or send it tumbling down the side of the mountain.”
The sound of our voices made ChoVa stir, and her eyelids lifted to reveal bloodshot eyes. “Jarn.” She groaned before she straightened, supporting her weight with her feet. “Someone was beating me.”
“It is my fault,” PyrsVar said to her. “I should not have brought you back to Vtaga. I should have left you in safety with the warm-bloods.”
The hissing sound that escaped her sounded more exasperated than angry. “You are warmblooded too, outlaw. And, I think, just as impulsive as they.” She tested the chains binding her to the post. “This is not favorable.” She saw Qonja on the exam table. “Did anyone escape the guard drones?”
I nodded. “My husband. He will be here soon.”
SrrokVar returned carrying a number of cases and equipment, which he placed on the floor in front of us. “I think I shall record this punishment for posterity. It may be the only time in history that a humanoid and a Hsktskt are beaten to death simultaneously.” He removed a large, ugly-looking blade with a serrated edge. “I wonder how long you both would live without your limbs attached.”
“Let them go, sire,” PyrsVar said in a surprisingly meek voice. “I am the one who has betrayed you to your enemies, not them. It is I who deserve your punishment.”
“You see what happens when my kind spends too much time around the warm-blooded? They develop a conscience. No, the blade will not do.” SrrokVar shook his head and extracted a familiar-looking device from one of the cases and held it out for me to see. “Do you remember your fondness for being burned, Dr. Grey Veil?”
“I do,” I said, feeling my skin crawl as a memory of Catopsa returned to me. “It almost drove me out of my mind.”
“Yes, well, that is rather the point of my not killing you.” His artificial mouth turned down at the corners. “So sad, really. I am as I am, and the rest of my people are well on their way to losing their minds. Why should you be spared your fair share of the horror?”
“I did nothing to deserve it.”
“Neither did I, my dear. I was only doing my work when you inflicted this misery upon me.” He came close to me. “Despite the delights of your enhanced cerebral capabilities, I never regarded your mind as particularly special, you know. You are quite pedestrian in your patterns of emotion over logic, but it does make you much more amusing to torture.” He switched on the instrument, the branding plates of which began to turn dark red, and then orange as they heated.
“If you touch her with that, Doctor,” I heard my husband say from somewhere above us, “I will fire at your head.”
“You do that, Terran.” SrrokVar tested the surface of the branding instrument. “My cranial case is specially reinforced to protect my brain. You’d need a small bomb to sev
er my spinal cord—it has also been reinforced and shielded—and to separate the head unit from the rest of me.”
Reever took careful aim. “Your cardiac organ is not shielded. Assuming you have one.”
“That is where you are wrong, HalaVar. While I was repairing the wreck your wife made of my head, I also had my torso and most of my organs replaced. There was some immediacy involved, as well. Cryostasis, you see, does such terrible damage to the Hsktskt physiology.”
“No Hsktskt would lower himself to become a reconstruct,” ChoVa said. “Except you.”
“That is where you are correct, Doctor. A reconstruct is a drone with the brain of a living thing—completely unacceptable for my purposes. The body I took is all natural flesh.” He dropped his cloak to display a powerful physique. “Perhaps you recognize the scale pattern, PyrsVar.” He pulled open the tunic he wore to bare his chest. “He was your biological parent before I had him killed and his head removed.”
PyrsVar screamed his rage, his Jorenian claws fully extended as he fought the chains.
“Move away from the women,” Reever called, “or I will shoot you until you fall.”
“Lights.” The lab was plunged into darkness, with only a glow of orange-white coming from the glowing brand plate SrrokVar held. “There, now if you shoot you’ll only hit one of the women.” SrrokVar peered down at me. “Where shall I start, Doctor? Where did that sadistic guard on Catopsa repeatedly burn an identification brand on you? Down the length of the forearm, wasn’t it?”
Something flew into the lab—Hawk, I realized a moment later—and between me and SrrokVar. The madman staggered back as the winged Terran fired at his face. Through the darkness I saw Reever run over to a control panel and begin opening the access doors.
“Kill the Terran,” SrrokVar shouted.
SrrokVar’s drones tried to shoot Hawk, but the winged Terran flew out through one of the doors as quickly as he had entered the lab. The lights began to come back on one by one.
