by PJ McDermott
The dirigibles scattered to avoid the snipers, and two of the balloons crashed in mid-air and collapsed. Two others managed to discharge their bombs before hitting the ground. Hickory, watching through her spyglass, was shocked to see that one of the downed craft was Gareth’s. “No!” she cried. Not Gareth. Not again. She searched the smoke anxiously and saw bodies lying unmoving on the ground. As she scanned the area, another balloon touched down amongst the smoke and then immediately took off. Hickory picked out Jess scuttling towards the crashed vehicles. Her heart leaped. “Go, Jess. Find him and get the hell away from there,” she murmured.
And then her attention was drawn to the Pharlaxian main force. Sequana had seen the effect the Bikashi riflemen were having and was exhorting his supporters forward. “To the city, to the city!” he roared.
A dark shadow spread across the battlefield as the sun was eclipsed by thousands of leather wings. Vogel was the first to hear the Charakai approach. He turned around puzzled and saw the first wave swoop. A hundred screeching reptiles extended their necks and talons and plunged downwards. Desperately, Vogel shouted a warning to his men. “Watch out. The enemy is behind. Kill the birds, kill the birds!”
The Charakai folded their leathery wings and fell amongst the troops. Razor-sharp talons clawed at faces and hands in a bloody frenzy. Cruel teeth savaged necks and tore strips of flesh from unprotected areas of the body. The soldiers panicked and fired into the air and onto the ground, killing and injuring their own men as well as their attackers.
Hickory watched from the walls. The Bikashi had no hope. There were already fifty Charakai to each soldier, and though the soldiers fought like demons, they were no match. The enemy was in retreat. The remaining air-yachts resumed their barrage of the war machines. Sequana was desperately trying to rally his troops. The reptiles fed on the dead. She would allow them to have their fill and then send them away. She spied movement at the edge of the Bikashi battalion. Vogel! He and two of his men were scrambling away from the massacre. They had abandoned their guns and were running backward, swiping at the Charakai with sabers.
She swung her glass back to where she’d seen Jess and spotted her pursuing Gareth. He was making a beeline for Vogel.
Gareth stared at the ceiling but saw nothing. The cerebral inhibitors inserted his brain made him weep with agony and had also robbed him of his sight. The Bikashi surgeons had little experience in dealing with the complexities of the human nervous system, and so finding the right connections was a matter of trial and error. He should be in a theta wave, non-REM sleep for their transference protocol to be effective, but the pain kept him conscious most of the time.
In the few moments of lucidity between recovery and the next procedure, he realized they were treating him with a cocktail of psychoactive drugs and amphetamines to lower his resistance and obtain the information they needed. The fact that they kept trying was the only indication they hadn’t yet been successful. The drugs gave him vivid dreams. People and objects floated in and out of his awareness. The Teacher, wearing a crown of thorns, morphed into Jenny crying tears of blood. Sequana and Vogel transmuted into Hickory and Jess. They were angry and shouted something at him that he couldn’t quite understand.
At times, the scientists would stop feeding him the hallucinogens and try to talk him into cooperating with them, but he was obstinate, and they always put him back into this state of half-truth, half-lie.
He refused to reveal the critical information they needed, but he knew he had given them some, and it was only a matter of time before they got everything. The one constant in his nightmares was Vogel. Vogel’s questions, Vogel’s threats, Vogel’s pain, Vogel’s love, Vogel’s promises, Vogel’s torments. He hated him.
Gareth dragged himself into the present. His enemy was climbing the slope just ahead. He forced himself to move more quickly. The Teacher had done a good job healing his body and had eased the turmoil in his mind. But Gareth knew there was only one cure for his emotional and mental suffering, and the proximity to Vogel drove him on.
Jess was close. He’d told her to go away, back to the city where it was safe, but she was stubborn, too. She was still a few yards behind him, keeping up a stream of pleadings, begging him to come back. But he had seen the devil escape Hickory’s crows, and he would not stop until they came face to face. He smiled thinly, thinking about his revenge. He would kill him slowly, painfully, with his own hands. He’d have to get rid of Jess. She would interfere and try to stop him, but this was what he had to do. He wouldn’t rest until it was done.
The fiend was up ahead. Two of his minions ran alongside him, one with an arm hanging limply by his side.
The bird-reptiles had evidently given up the chase and returned to easier pickings on the battleground.
Gareth howled like a wolf on the hunt.
Vogel glanced over his shoulder and frowned. He spoke to his two companions, and they started back towards Gareth.
Gareth paused, and Jess reached his side, panting.
“What the hell are you doing?” she said. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Her face was screwed up in pain and Gareth saw her leg was bloody.
“Looks like you’re the one in trouble,” he said, nodding at her leg.
“It’s just a scratch, and I think we both have a bigger problem to worry about.”
The two Bikashi blocked their path, feet apart, swords pointed in their direction.
“No,” said Gareth, “just a temporary inconvenience.” He moved swiftly forward and lunged at the unscathed Bikashi.
“Jesus!” swore Jess. She crossed swords with the other before he had a chance to engage Gareth. The alien’s injury slowed him down a little, but he was still a powerful adversary. Jess felt forced backward by sheer brute strength. She lost her footing and fell, rolling to one side as he swung his sword down, narrowly missing her. From the ground, she swiped at his leg. Her sword caught fast in the plastisteel armor protecting his knee. She tugged to release it, her sword pulled free, and blood gushed from the wound.
The Bikashi roared and staggered back. Jess leaped nimbly to her feet, stepped to his lame side and brought her sword across his neck. His severed head rolled downhill as his body collapsed. She turned swiftly to aid Gareth but saw his opponent lying face up, eyes staring sightlessly and a bloody gash across his throat. Jess searched around and saw Gareth fifty yards ahead, on the heels of Vogel. She cursed again and began to run.
The battle was in full swing. With the Bikashi taken out of the equation and most of the war weapons destroyed, the High Reeve had given the order for the defenders to meet the rebels in the field. The soldiers poured out the gate, positioning themselves in a phalanx before the walls. A horn blew, and they marched forward to engage their enemy.
Hickory ran down a flight of stairs and jumped to the ground. This war was now reduced to a skirmish between two domestic foes. She had done what she could to even up the score. The rest was up to the Prosperine people. Her father would be happy if the Pharlaxian menace was eliminated, but even if they won the day, he would find a way to come to terms with them. The main danger had been the Bikashi presence, and that had been dealt with, except for Vogel. While he was free, he was still a threat. She had last seen him running from Gareth with Jess in hot pursuit, and that worried her. Both could end up dead. She went to the stables, saddled Titus and coaxed the animal into a fast trot.
The opposing armies faced each other. The Ezekani forces had split into three and launched a pincer movement to attack the flanks of the rebels who were advancing in a solid block. The Pharlaxian lieutenants responded by sending their cavalry to harass the arms of the pincer. Fifty mounts rode out to engage each arm, sweeping wide to attack.
Hickory found herself caught between the pincer arm and the rebel riders. She urged her mount to greater efforts and narrowly avoided being caught in the melee.
A long arrow followed her out and lodged in Titus’s hind leg. The yarrak stumbled beneath her, and
Hickory was thrown head over heels to the ground. She tucked herself into a ball and rolled forward then gained her feet. Titus struggled to rise, nickering in fear and pain. Hickory ran forward and seized the reins, rubbing the yarrak's nose in reassurance. She looked around anxiously, but there didn’t seem any immediate danger. “It’s all right, girl, you’ll be okay. Let me take a look.”
The arrow had gone through the yarrak's lower leg. As far as she could tell it had missed the tendon and the bone. She gripped the arrow shaft. Titus trembled, but Hickory snapped it off at the head and withdrew it quickly from the flesh. The beast trumpeted, and Hickory hugged her head, whispering into her ear. “It’s all done, Titus. You’re a brave girl, aren’t you?” Her mount nuzzled her hand. Hickory placed her forehead against the beast and centered her thought on one command. Home.
She watched the beast limp away in the direction of Ezekan before she continued her journey. The battle had moved on, with government troops and rebel sympathizers engaged in hand-to-hand fighting. Her best chance of finding Gareth was by avoiding the hostilities. That meant heading north and then west once she was beyond the rival armies. It took longer than she expected to bypass the more intense battles. She veered into a fruit farm, thinking it would be a shortcut and provide good cover.
She didn’t count on others having the same thought, and was startled when three rebel soldiers stepped from behind some trees and blocked her path.
“Where do you think you’re going, nauri?” said one. “You won’t escape retribution so easily.” He drew his sword and advanced towards Hickory. His companions formed a semi-circle around her.
“I won’t be so simple to kill,” said Hickory, adopting a defensive posture. Her feet and body well balanced, she pointed her sword towards the leader.
He licked his lips and glanced at his companions. “Give us your money and that fine sword and we’ll let you go.”
“Before or after you kill me?” said Hickory.
He laughed, let out a fierce yell and rushed forward, his sword raised above his head. Hickory sprang towards him and her sword sliced through his leather vest into his chest. He screamed and collapsed. Hickory regained her defensive stance. The two remaining adversaries circled her warily. Hickory’s sword swished in front of one, then the other. Her first opponent sought to attack while her back was turned, but Hickory swirled and slashed his neck, then turned to plunge her sword deep into the heart of her final opponent.
“Very impressive, Earth woman, but futile.”
A chill went through Hickory. Sequana.
The Pharlaxian leader looked down at her from the back of his yarrak. A dozen mounted guards flanked him. “I admit to making a mistake. I should have killed you when I had you imprisoned.” He shook his head. “I believe we wouldn’t have had quite so much trouble had I done so. You are responsible for the destruction of my war machines, no doubt?” His voice was bitter. “I thought so.”
He pursed his lips and sighed. “It seems Yonni-sѐr-Abelen will win the day. Our people fight valiantly, but without the Bikashi, they are no match for the Ezekani forces. It is, I fear, only a matter of time.”
Hickory looked around. The area behind her was clear of trees. She wouldn’t get very far trying to outrun them.
Sequana’s face was like flint. “I will flee to the North with my tail between my legs, yes. But only temporarily. I will be back—Balor will not be denied his victory. For you, Earth woman, this time there is no escape. Your stay on Prosperine is at an end.” He motioned to his guardsmen. “Kill her.”
The riders nudged their yarraks forward, and Hickory resumed her fighting stance. There were too many. It was a pity it had to end like this. She felt no fear, just disappointment. She hoped that Jess and Gareth would survive, and raised her sword.
“Hickory!” The cry came from above her head. “Grab the rope, quickly.” Mack leaned out over the dirigible and tossed a bomb at the cavalry. Hickory dropped her sword and grabbed hold with both hands. The balloon rose, dragging her with it. The bomb exploded in front of the leading yarraks sending the Pharlaxian riders into disarray. Hickory swayed with the blast but held on.
The pilot gunned the engines, and the balloon moved slowly away. The top branches of the trees buffeted Hickory as they flew into the orchard. Her grip on the rope loosened and she could feel her hands burn. She shouted. “Mack, I’m going to fall—pull me up or put me down, but do it now!” Mack and his copilot hauled her up, grasped hold of her jacket and heaved her over the side of the gondola. Mack knelt beside her and looked at her anxiously. “Are you okay?”
Her voice sounded far away as she answered, “Thanks to you, although I think my hearing’s gone. How did you know where to find me?”
“Titus. We saw her approach in the distance, and when she came through the gates alone and wounded, I feared the worst. I set off straight away. Titus must have come directly to Ezekan. All I had to do was follow the direction she’d come from. Luckily I was in time.”
“Lucky for me,” Hickory said, looking over the edge. Sequana and what was left of his guards were riding swiftly northwards. “Not so much for them. I wonder if we’ve seen the last of him.”
“I think the High Reeve won’t rest until he’s caught or dead. One or the other. He won’t bother us anymore,” said Mack.
“I hope you’re right. But we’ve urgent business to deal with. Do you think we might fly this craft of yours to the west? We need to find Gareth and Jess.”
“Jess?”
“Yes, I saw her bail out of her balloon and go after Gareth. They’re both chasing the Bikashi commander.”
Retribution
The blacksmith had done quality work. The short sword had been honed to the sharpness of a razor and reshaped to make the blade deeper towards the point, narrower but thicker towards the stock. It glittered blue in the light. Sabin had told him it had been tempered with crynidium and hardened in fire and would slice open chain armor. It rested comfortably in a scabbard on his back.
He knelt and searched the ground for signs of the Bikashi. The sandy soil made it easy for him to track. Vogel must have gone over the summit of the ridge up ahead. He couldn’t be far.
He had never been far away, watching over the shoulders of the scientists, eating his meals with him, taking him for daily walks around the deck, talking to him about irrelevant nonsense, telling him humorous stories of his dealings with the Bikashi High Command.
And then there were the lies—hundreds of lies. Lies about the United Planets, about the reasons why the Bikashi had been thrown out. Vogel insisted the Bikashi were a peaceful race, and posed a threat to the Agency only because of their trading skill. He asserted the Space Corps was a willing partner in the Agency agenda. He claimed Hickory was under the thrall of her father and knew the Bikashi were being maligned. He said Jess had been duped by Hickory and the Agency. Vogel had told him so many half-truths and lies, and pumped him so full of drugs, he no longer knew what to believe.
Gareth flinched. The torture they’d inflicted on him was always in his head. The alien had apologized for the pain. He didn’t want to hurt him. If only Gareth would realize the Agency were responsible. The IA had forced them into this position where their FTL drives were slower than the Aligned planets. He was sure Gareth would want to help if he only realized the truth—and he would make the pain stop. Gareth’s knowledge would only put the Bikashi on a level footing with Earth’s allies. Wasn’t that the fair and reasonable thing? Otherwise, their race was doomed to always take second place, be the slaves of the Aligned. The Agency didn’t want any competitor to their monopoly. They were morally corrupt and determined to keep their foot on the throat of the Bikashi people.
Lies, and half-truths, all designed to weaken his resistance. Some things were real. The Bikashi FTL was primitive, Cortherien and the Space Corps probably were in bed with the Agency, and anything Hickory said, Jess would believe, but could Hickory be working hand in hand with the admiral? Anythi
ng was possible.
Gareth clambered to the top of the slope. On the other side, a steep descent of loose rocks and boulders ended abruptly at a cliff face that plunged a half-mile to the rocky coast. Vogel was halfway to the cliff, following a winding path towards the edge. Where does he think he’s going to? There’s no way the Bikashi could escape unless he could fly. Gareth decided to take the short route. Ignoring the path, he headed straight down, slipping and sliding on the loose scree.
The Bikashi had almost reached the cliff edge. He looked around, as though expecting something or someone to be waiting, and spotted Gareth bearing down on him. He turned to face him, knife at the ready.
Gareth leaped the last few feet. He barreled into Vogel, and they tumbled over and down in the dust grasping at each other until they collided with a boulder and rolled apart. Vogel recovered first and struck out at Gareth with his boot. Gareth deflected the kick and grabbed his leg as it went past, sending the Bikashi to the ground and jolting his knife free. Both jumped to their feet and crouched, facing each other.
“Earthman! Why fight me? What’s the point? The Agency has won, and your kind will keep the crynidium. The Bikashi will suffer for the Aligned’s treachery for decades. Let me go on my way.” He glanced at the ground.
Gareth watched him warily. His voice was scathing. “You know what the point is, Bikashi.” He advanced a step and kicked Vogel’s knife away. You tortured me. Physically and emotionally experimented on me to the point where I thought I’d lost my sanity. “You think I will let you just walk away?” He laughed sarcastically.
“I did what I did to help my people. It was necessary. I took no pleasure from it.”
Gareth took a step to one side and began to circle Vogel. Tears tickled the corners of his eyes but he held them back. “You tried to destroy my beliefs, my friendships, and my freedom, and for what?”
