by Dan Worth
‘Following the collapse of the Arkari, my own people, ignorant of the real reason for their civil war, began to forge our own interstellar realm in the power vacuum that had emerged. We spread outwards from our home-world across this volume of space, reaching peaks of technological sophistication that only the Arkari have so far managed to reach in recent years. For several thousand years we forged alliances and vast trading networks with other races and our society became a melting pot of cultures and peoples, much like your Commonwealth today but on a far grander scale. We grew rich, idle, decadent and depraved, until the Shapers came for us too. They were to be our nemesis, sent to punish us for our sin.’
‘But you survived. Your civilisation didn’t collapse did it?’
‘Not entirely. The Shapers were too hasty. In our case they infected us, turned some of our people against us, as they had the Arkari, in an attempt to foment civil war, then they attacked us directly with what ancient vessels they could muster. But they struck too early with their fleets and their forces were too few in number. Perhaps they underestimated our resolve. We managed to hold them off, for a time. It was time enough for us to enforce drastic measures in order to deal with them.’
‘Drastic measures?’
‘Yes. Up to this point we had roamed freely and unprotected amongst the other races that existed here at that time. Much like the Commonwealth, our race mingled with others. We believed that it was from these other races that the Shapers managed to infiltrate us. They were certainly successful in enslaving most of them, save for the Esacir whose isolation in their space borne cities protected them. In the end, we banished all alien life forms from our systems, and vowed only to make direct contact with other forms of life whilst protected by devices such as the one I inhabit now. Within it, I am entirely shielded from the outside world, seeing, hearing, smelling and tasting through secure systems that cannot be compromised.’
‘What happened to the other races?’
‘They were annihilated. In an act of desperation we bombarded their worlds with anti-matter devices and exterminated them. The Shapers themselves attempted to lay siege to our systems, but without their allies and without any means to infect us they could not sustain the effort. After a number of decisive engagements they eventually gave up when it was clear that they could not subdue us and they slunk back to the core, back to their blasted cinders of worlds where they have remained until relatively recently.’
‘You wiped out entire species!?’
‘Yes. It is not something we are proud of, but it had to be done. Remember that they were no longer the free people that they had once been. They were no more than puppets. The Shapers did terrible things to them, twisted them, used them, fused them with their arcane machinery. What we did was regrettable as we could not save them, but we felt that we had little choice. This episode forms the cornerstone of our beliefs. We seek to absolve ourselves of the sins we were forced to commit in order to prevent other greater crimes and our own destruction. The sarcophagi we inhabit are our holy vestments which keep us pure when we go out amongst the other races. They are our armour and our punishment. For five hundred millennia we have meted out this penance upon ourselves so that our gods may forgive us for what we had to do and so we may keep ourselves pure. In order to preserve our liberty, we have been forced to forgo many freedoms.’
‘Now there’s an interesting irony. You turned yourselves into a bunch of fascists.’
‘No! What we did was for our own protection, not some perverted sense of racial purity. Perhaps others of my kind have misinterpreted such doctrine since, but it was the only way that we could survive! It was necessary. By adhering to our strict code of beliefs, we have prevented the Shapers from infiltrating our society for hundreds of thousands of years. Following our pyrrhic victory, when our cities and habitats lay in ruins, when our skies were blackened by ash, our people were quick to realise that this was the only way, the only way that we could rebuild and prosper! A mass of conversions to the new faith followed and we have adhered to our beliefs ever since.’
‘And those who don’t?’
The Speaker seemed to bridle further at that. ‘They are… taught the error of their mistake. If they will not conform, then they are confined. There is a particular world for them, where not even other Nahabe may tread.’
‘I see…’
‘Captain, this is not some kind of Gulag. We do not kill, torture or punish them in any other way. They are free to live their lives there as they would anywhere with the caveat that they may not move off-world. As long as they do not seek to pollute others with their lack of belief, they remain free.’
‘I see.’
‘It is better than the alternatives. We must not let our guard down again or it will be our undoing.’
‘A number of your people seem to think that the human race is heading the same way. I’ve seen your evangelists around, preaching hellfire and damnation, attempting to save our souls.’
‘Yes. Although they may seem a little extreme, they are attempting to help you. They are doing the gods’ work, or so they believe.’
‘Help us? But if your people are as sophisticated and as powerful as you say, why don’t you just intervene directly? Send us ships and weapons, instead of all this cloak and dagger stuff. I mean seriously, what hope have the Hidden Hand got against ancient alien races?’
The sarcophagus floated towards Isaacs. The whorls on its surface shimmered in the light.
‘It is not as… simple as that. We are isolationist for a very good reason. It is our defence, enshrined in holy writ. We have grown used to managing our own affairs and not interfering in those of others. Your Commonwealth is rotten to the core. Shaper agents move amongst the higher echelons of your government and little is done. What resources your government have committed to fighting this menace are insufficient, and even now are being undermined by agents of that very enemy! Believe me, there are many of us who would like a more direct approach, myself included. But the time is not yet right, and co-operation with the Commonwealth would expose us to far too much risk. If we were to act directly it would compromise our intelligence networks. For the moment we observe.’
‘How can you be sure of this?’
‘We have considerable intelligence resources. This outfit is one of them. Let me give you an example. Does the name Bennett sound familiar?’
‘Yeah. The Sirius Syndicate’s man in Achernar. He’s the slimy bastard who tried to extort money from me. I gather he tried to have me tailed.’
‘Very good. Were you aware that Bennett was working for the Shapers?’
‘Shit! You’re kidding?’
‘We were aware of links between the Sirius Syndicate and a number of individuals within the Commonwealth government and armed forces. At first we suspected the usual corruption/bribery/blackmail scenarios, but it became clear that the Syndicate was actually taking orders from certain individuals, and not the other way around. These were not bought politicians, but rather the reverse. The order to have you followed came from Admiral Morgan, one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We believed Morgan to be a Shaper agent. If they knew that Anna Favreaux was working for us, giving you an incentive to track her down would, theoretically, give them the opportunity to follow you to her and locate this hidden base for them. Whether the Sirius Syndicate are aware of who they are ultimately working for is unknown, however in the past week we intercepted and assassinated around a dozen of their people in this system, all recent arrivals. Laurence Spinetti’s death by our hands at the Labyrinth eliminated the most direct threat to your safety, but it will have alerted his people all across this volume
‘Oh my god…’ Isaacs muttered.
‘Yes, it is the kind of knowledge that makes one hope for some sort of divine intervention. Interestingly it seems that a carrier also followed you here, and has attempted to track you. I believe you are familiar with the Churchill?’’
‘Yeah. I did some work for Admiral Chen,
just before I got myself into this mess. Don’t tell me she’s a Shaper agent too.’
‘We don’t think so. The Churchill is currently attached to Special Operations Command and as such is subject to rigorous security. We are not sure what it is doing here in Hadar, or why it is tracking you. Perhaps they suspect you. In any case, the Churchill does not come under the command of Admiral Morgan.’
Isaacs was struck with a sense of foreboding.
‘Anna told me about a possible Shaper vessel in this system,’ he said
‘Yes. On the moon of Rhyolite,’ Chen replied.
‘The Admiral in charge of the operation, who does he answer to?’
‘Your suspicions are correct Captain. Yes. Admiral Cox however does indeed answer to Admiral Morgan, though he himself is not under the direct control of the Shapers, merely his own blind ambition and pig-headed ignorance.’
‘That thing has to be destroyed.’
‘We intend to. That is why I brought you here: To see if you wanted to join us. I felt that you deserved to know the whole story before you made up your mind, but I see that might not be difficult.’
‘I still have my doubts. Working for a theocracy isn’t exactly what I had in mind.’
‘That’s a little extreme. We are democratic. Captain, you and I have the same goal. I know about what the Shapers did to you. Anna told me enough. I know how much you hate them, even if until yesterday you didn’t know who to hate. Now you know who it truly was that captured you and killed your comrades. You know what one of those ships is capable of.’
‘Yeah. You got that right. Jesus, all those years I wanted answers…’
‘And now you want revenge?’
‘Damn right I do.’
‘Then you’ll join us?’
‘Fuck it. Yes, alright.’
‘Excellent. We will upgrade your ship with suitable weapon systems, free of charge of course. We are planning to commence our attack on Rhyolite tomorrow morning, Commonwealth standard, and of course we need all the pilots we can get. It should catch the garrison off guard and it will pre-empt the arrival of the Navy’s heavy lifters by several hours. It seems that they intend to take the ship off planet to their naval base in the system for secure study. The operation will doubtless be heavily guarded so we must act now before the defensive ships arrive. The briefing will at oh-four-hundred, Commonwealth standard.’
‘Just one thing.’
‘Yes?’
‘How do I know you aren’t a Shaper agent? How do I know that I can trust you?’
The Speaker was silent for a moment as if in contemplation.
‘Very good, Captain. Very good indeed,’ it said finally. ‘You have exactly the right mindset. Here.’ A manipulator arm reached inside a hitherto invisible compartment within the sarcophagus and produced one of the scanning devices that Isaacs had been subjected to in the docking bay the previous day. The Speaker tossed it to him. ‘Go ahead. Use it on me.’
‘Couldn’t you just block it? You said yourself, that suit of yours is entirely secure.’
‘Yes. I did,’ The Speaker said. It floated close in front of him. From the tone of the synthetic voice, it sounded even more impressed.
At that moment the sarcophagus cracked open. The panels that made up its shell began to part along invisible seams, slotting and folding back on themselves to reveal the creature within. It was vaguely humanoid. A pale, slender body was topped with a heavy, fluted, hairless skull and large intelligent eyes. Long, apelike arms and double-kneed legs were folded up around it, whilst both the creature’s bony hands and prehensile toes were laid across the instruments that surrounded and cocooned it. It was naked save for a few scraps of clothing and filigree skullcap of electronics that caressed that graceful cranium.
‘Go ahead,’ said The Speaker, the synthetic voice almost hiding the quiet alien murmur of its vocal cords. Isaacs scanned it, with a negative result.
‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I’m honoured. I thought you said you never let others see you without your suits...’
‘Captain, if I thought for a moment that you were infected you would be dead already. I am prepared to make exceptions, occasionally. I believe that one gains more trust from showing one’s true face and from demonstrating that you trust others. My religion is important to me, but I am not inflexible. Others of my kind regard me as somewhat unorthodox due to my extended contact with aliens. They believe I am over-familiar. I would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself.’
‘I will.’
‘Of course I could have rigged the device to give a false result…’
‘I trust you,’ Isaacs replied, almost bowled over by a display of humour from the creature as well as its unexpected gesture. He had never heard of a Nahabe ever showing itself to anyone but their own kind. He realised that until now his brain had simply regarded the ominous sarcophagi as their physical bodies. He had never imagined that inside those slabs of metal could be people so remarkably similar to his own.
‘Good,’ said The Speaker quietly. ‘Welcome to the Hidden Hand.’
Isaacs shut the door behind him and found Maria waiting patiently for him outside.
‘So how did it go?’ she asked.
‘He’s… not what I expected,’ said Isaacs hesitantly.
‘No. No he isn’t. You know half the time I’d swear he was human from the things he says. Makes a change from all those silent coffins huh?’
‘You can say that again.’
‘You know some of us reckon that’s why he was given this assignment. I think his own people are a bit embarrassed by him. You might say he’s something of a liberal, from their point of view.’
‘Hmm, in that case I’d hate to meet the hardliners. Anyway, he certainly likes to talk. I think I heard more from him in there than I have from the rest of his entire species put together.’
Maria chuckled. ‘Did he show himself to you?’
‘Yeah.’
‘That’s good. It means that they regard you as one of them. I take you signed up.’
‘I did. What the hell, I figured it was payback time. Now I know what the hell is going on around here.’
She nodded. ‘That’s pretty much how the rest of us feel, welcome aboard. So now you know the truth… I take it you’re coming with us tomorrow?’
‘Yep. The Speaker said I’d get my ship kitted out before then.’
‘Makes sense. Alright, you wanna follow me down to the hangar deck? Perhaps you’d like to go shopping?’
‘Alright, let’s go.’
She started to walk away, then stopped and turned back to face him. ‘Just one thing,’ she said. ‘What kind of idiot freelancer buys a ship so expensive he can’t afford any weapons for it?’
‘Ah well, it looked nice in the dry dock and it has one of those new high performance jump engines, and it makes orbit much faster than other ships in its class. Besides I figured the speed would get me out of most tight spots. I was saving up for weapons but…’
‘Typical. Your wife leaves you, so what do you do? You compensate.’
‘Hey, it was a business purchase! It’s not like I had a mid-life crisis or anything.’
‘Well whatever it is, it ain’t much good in a fight. I don’t care how nice the bodywork is. So follow me, and let’s make sure that shiny flying dick of yours is actually some use.’
Chapter 22
‘Where are Cor and O’Reilly now?’ The face of Admiral Morgan glowered from the screen in Cox’s office.
‘We have them in custody, Cox replied. ‘They’ve been confined to their quarters in the accommodation block, under guard. Frankly, I was wondering what to do with them next.’
‘Charge them, of course.’
‘I’m not sure that we can. They might work for us, but they’re civilians. As such, we can’t subject them to military justice, you know that.’
‘They’ve caused untold damage to this project. Question them further. I want to know their motives behind t
his act of sabotage. Then have them shipped back to Earth on the next military transport out of that place. I wish to speak to them myself.’
‘Sir?’
‘I want to know if Haines instructed them to perform this act. We have had our suspicions about his motives for some time now. The old man is losing his grip, some say. He’s becoming paranoid and delusional. The pressure is finally getting to him, I hear. Others say he’s been turned by the Arkari to work for them, and who knows what their agendas are? If Cor and O’Reilly are suitably forthcoming, I might consider dropping the charges.’
‘Sir, if I may. Although O’Reilly’s act was one of vandalism, both she and Professor Cor expressed what I believed to be genuine concerns about the origins of this ship.’
‘Based on nothing more than what Haines and the Arkari have told them. I’ve said it before: the Arkari have repeatedly treated us in a high handed, dare I say, patronising fashion. They have withheld technology from us that could have spared us much bloodshed in our wars with the Empire. They think they have our best interests at heart, I say they’re afraid. They may be our allies, but they’ve never really trusted us.’
‘Yes sir. I’ve always seen this project as an opportunity for us all. If what you say about Haines is true...’
‘Based on classified intelligence, it is. Why do you think he has one of his attack dogs sitting above you right now?’
‘Admiral Chen? I wondered what she was doing here. She span me some story about looking for some ship, a freelance trader vessel.’
‘She did? Don’t believe a word of it, I bet it’s a smoke screen. Haines probably sent her here to keep an eye on you. She’s knows Cor and O’Reilly alright. So don’t give her anything. Keep her at arm’s length and report to me on her movements.’
‘Sir.’
‘There may be hard times ahead, Charlie. You really can’t trust anyone these days. This god damn corruption scandal has everyone shook up back home. You know how many high ranking military could go down with this?’
