Again the radio crackled, and again one of the Naga pilots exchanged weird, cooing messages. Now she could see that from the sides of the dome, a long tube protruded, perhaps a mile in length, and it was into this tube that they now headed. Powerful lights illuminated the passage as they traveled along it. At the end they came to a set of massive, steel doors. A further set of door closed behind them and slowly the water was drained from the lock. With a great clang, the craft settled on the concrete floor and the gates before them rolled back.
Within a few moments the hatch opened and the pilots were joined by another two Naga who, to Katie’s eyes, looked exactly like the pilots. They hissed and cooed at her, ran their tubular tongues over her and sang trilling songs to each other. Then they grabbed her and dragged her from the craft. One of the newcomers produced a large, black leather neckband with a heavy chain attached and buckled it around her neck. They then dragged her away, out of the docking bay toward an open-topped truck that seemed to hover on some kid of magnetic field.
The creatures walked fast with their great, lumbering gait and Katie had to run to keep up, but even as she ran they yanked on the chain, making her stumble and fall to her knees. They would then trill and sing, and she wondered, in her growing rage and hatred, whether this was their version of laughter.
They arrived at the truck and one of the Naga picked her up and threw her in the back. They took off and she lay back, trembling, struggling in her mind to hold on to logic and reason. She felt herself slipping into a paralysis of despair. But she knew she could not allow herself to do that. The words of the Valhaan guard came back to her, Be brave, Die well… If nothing else, if she had nothing else to hold onto, at least she would hold on to that. She would die well, and dying well meant dying in the process of trying to escape.
They moved through streets with massive stone building towering above them. Great, lumbering saurians, some ten foot tall, swarmed the streets, spilling among huge, steel vehicles, in and out of the edifices, some climbing up the faces of the building to enter and exit through window-like holes in the walls. Above her, the sky was the transparent ceiling of the dome, with its filthy, murky green glow, holding the city in a perpetual, pea-soup twilight.
They came, bye and bye, to a great piazza. At the centre of the esplanade was a pyramid resembling more the Mayan, staggered structures than the Egyptian ones. They entered by way of an opening at ground level and came at last to a halt outside an iron gate. Here she was handed over, with more cooing and hissing, to a brace of Naga guards who led her down stone steps to a small, dingy cell. There she was thrown in and the iron grate slammed closed and locked behind her.
She spent half an hour sobbing, sometimes wailing, and calling on whatever gods there were out there to tell her why; why they were doing this to her. What had she done to deserve it? Eventually the fit passed and she lay in silence, looking through the iron bars at the stone passage outside. And that was when she made her decision, her commitment.
She was going to die, as the Valhaan guard had said. She was going to die that very day. But she was going to die escaping, and she would take as many Naga with her as she could before she went down.
Seven
There was only one guard. He wandered by every fifteen minutes or so. Each time he did he would pause and look in at her, whistling his strange blackbird tune and flicking his tongue at her. The third time he paused a little longer, holding onto the bars and sniffing at her. A sudden violent rage welled up inside her and without thinking she lashed out at him with her mind, visualizing herself smashing his head in with the samurai sword she kept hanging on the wall in her apartment.
To her astonishment the Naga guard screeched and took a step back. He stood staring at her and moved away. Her mind reeled. Inspiration flooded in. She closed her eyes, focused on the guard and ordered him, “Come back!”
She heard his steps falter. Then the great, lumbering footfalls and he was there again, staring at her.
She held his eye. “Open the door.” She visualized him turning the key in the lock and swinging open the door. She placed that short, mental movie in his mind. Without hesitation he unlocked the door and stepped in. He was now standing over her where she sat on the floor, trilling and whistling, and flicking his obscene tongue. Like the pilots and the guards who had collected her from the shuttle, he too wore a sash-like belt with some kind of weapon suspended. She focused her mind and ordered him, “Show me…”
He blinked his ophidian eyes and seemed to sway. She visualized him directing the weapon at the cell door. She stood as he unfastened it. It was like an ultra-modern automatic. He flipped a switch, directed it at the cell door and pulled the trigger. The air seemed to shimmer and the lock shattered.
The shot seemed to shake him out of his trance state, because he hissed like a snake and spun to face her. But it was too little too late. She grabbed the barrel of the blaster, levered it down and round with her right hand and pressed the trigger with her left. His chest exploded and what was left of him was hurled against the cell wall, leaving the weapon in her hands. She surveyed the mess on the wall and looked down at the corpse on the floor. She gave a lopsided smile, “Love what you’ve done with the place.”
Then she was out in the corridor. Her mind was spinning. Her plan was simple and had a 0.01% chance of success: find a pilot and make him take her back to either the Valhaan ship or Earth. As far as she could see she had two immediate problems. First, they all looked the same so how the hell would she know if one was a pilot? Two, get to a ship without being blasted into the next universe.
As silently as she was able she ran to the end of the corridor, where the stone steps climbed to the street level above. She peered up, but saw nothing. Then, not knowing exactly why, she probed with her mind, palpating the area above as though her consciousness were an invisible hand. She found the other guard there. She moved swiftly and quietly up the steps to the door. It was not locked. She turned the handle and stepped through. The guard was there, staring at her.
It was impossible to tell from his face what was going on in his mind. It was utterly expressionless. But she raised the weapon and pointed it at him, and with her mind planted the idea that he unhook his own blaster and drop it to the floor. This he did. So far so good, she thought. Now she needed transport back to the docking bay, and from there a pilot and a ship. She could feel her mind growing tired, but forced herself to focus. The effort was draining her. She created the image of one of their hover-trucks in her mind and placed it in his. He let out a long, trilling whistle and thrashed his tail. She focused harder, saw him driving, back towards the docking bay. He lumbered along the passage, out towards the piazza.
As they came to the exit she saw he was heading for a kind of parking lot where half a dozen of their hover-vehicles sat connected by cables to some kind of power supply. Four of them were open topped, but two had covered cabs. The Naga stopped and stared at her. She pointed at one of the covered vehicles and prodded him with the blaster. He understood and clambered in. She got in beside him. She braced herself against the wall and focused on his mind.
“Drive to the docking bay…”
She conjured up the image of the docking bay where she had arrived and transmitted it to him. He trilled a sad song and they took off. She kept the blaster trained on him. Her mind felt like a wet rag.
They moved through the swarming masses of grotesque reptiles, under the ugly, green light of the ocean above. She thought she recognized the route, but it was hard to tell for sure. She probed his mind to see if she could detect any falsehood or lies, but again, it was hard to tell, because his language, his thinking, his perception of reality itself was so alien to hers. And then suddenly she knew where they were. She recognized the road and the entrance to the docking bay.
All the while until then she had been focusing on one, single issue. How to get there, and how to make sure the prison guard was not taking her to some other place. But now she was here,
she had no idea what to do next.
The guard pulled into a lot just outside the building. She could see a crowd of Naga by the entrance. They were all wearing side arms so she figured they were soldiers of some kind. The guard was staring at her. She locked onto his eyes and reached deep inside herself for reserves of strength. She conveyed to him the image of himself taking her, like she was a prisoner, through the crowd and into the docking bay, marching her toward a ship and dragging her onboard.
All the while, beneath the surface level of her thoughts, she was wondering what the hell she would do then. But she knew there was only one answer to that. She would cross that bridge when she came to it. The Naga opened the door and climbed out. She felt her hands close on the weapon. He lumbered round the vehicle and pulled open the door, then yanked her out. She slipped the weapon and her sweatshirt. Gripping her arm like a vice he dragged her with him toward the entrance to the building. A thousand thoughts sped through her mind. Had Tsor-Vaal conveyed to her some amazing power during their bonding? Did the Naga have minds that were so simple and primitive they were easy to manipulate? Both? Or was she actually being dragged to another prison cell?
They pushed through the crowd and moved into the hangar-like building. The Naga guard stopped and scanned the area. He spied a ship over to the left and started dragging her toward it. A thud of excitement kicked in her chest. She could barely believe she was pulling this off. It just wasn’t possible for it to be that simple. Something was going to go wrong. It had to.
She realized too late what she was doing, just as his steps faltered and he turned to look at her, as if he was seeing her for the first time. Her flood of unguarded disbelief had washed right into his mind and he had woken out of the trance she had induced in him. He blinked and his vertical pupils narrowed to slits. He took a step back, away from her, reaching for a blaster that wasn’t there. She knew she had just a couple of seconds. He was still struggling with his own mind, trying to make sense of how and why he was here.
She pulled the gun and blew his head off. The blast echoed around the huge, cavernous hall. All around her Naga turned to stare. There must have been a hundred of them. God alone knew how many had weapons. She raised the blaster and let off a volley of shots at random, wherever she saw a crowd or a cluster. Then she turned and ran, dodging and weaving, heading for the ship.
Suddenly the vast chamber was alive with an insane echo of trills and wails and song. It was like feeding time at the parrot house in the zoo, only at a million decibels of sound. She was nearly at the shuttle. It was maybe eight or ten yards off. Behind her the trilling stopped and there was a barrage of shots. Without thinking she hurled herself to the ground and rolled. The shots exploded around her and she was scrambling to her feet again and running.
She reached the hull. Two blasts struck it in rapid succession and she was around and behind it. The hatch was open. She glanced up at the cockpit and saw a Naga staring down at her. Three bounds had her at the door and scrambling up the steps. She burst in and saw who she assumed to be the pilot and the copilot standing, training blasters on her. She didn’t hesitate. She knew she was going to die anyway. She pulled the trigger and blew away the one she guessed was the copilot. And as she did it she blasted the other with her mind. She dropped an atom bomb of thought into his brain and he staggered back two steps.
Then she grabbed him by the scruff of his mental neck and said, “Close the hatch!”
She closed her eyes and saw, clearly and vividly, how the hatch was closing, cutting off all the soldiers outside.
Then a mule kicked her in the head and everything went black.
Eight
They came for him after about half an hour, Votan-Vaal and four men with weapons. Tsor-Vaal stood as they entered, and faced the captain. He said, “Let me go, let me find the Earth woman. Let me die with her.”
Votan-Vaal spat at his feet. “You disgust me. To risk the lives of your comrades for a human animal. Osheen send you to hell! Indeed I will let you die. You will be cast into the void like a piece of trash! Seize him! Take him to the loading bay!”
The grabbed him by the arms and marched to the very bay where Katie had been taken just half an hour before. As they went crew members fell in with them, forming an impromptu procession, following to witness the execution of their most beloved officer. There was silence, both vocal and mental, as all those present kept their thoughts to themselves.
The bay doors hissed open and they marched in. Votan-Vaal snapped, “Take him to the airlock!”
Tsor-Vaal was dragged to a large metal hatch, striped in black and yellow. Even with their minds closed, Tsor-Vaal could sense his guards unease. They did not want to do what they were doing. He stopped, yanked his arms free, and turned to face Votan-Vaal. He was astonished to see the entire crew assembled behind him. What did it mean? Did it mean that they all felt betrayed by him, and had come to watch his death with satisfaction? Or did it mean something else?
There was a commotion at the door and he saw Eika, closely followed by Sorka and Fiana. They ran to Votan-Vaal and curtseyed to him. “Captain, it is the tradition. May we bid our master farewell before his death?”
Votan-Vaal leered at them, but when he spoke he was watching Tsor-Vaal.
“You may, pretty creatures. And it will please you, Tsor-Vaal, to know that after you are gone your maidens will be taken care of by none other than the Captain himself…”
The words hung on the air, heavy with meaning. Fiana approached him first, embraced and kissed him. Then Sorka and last of all Eika. She placed her arms about his waist and holding him tight she kissed his cheek. He felt something hard slip into his waistband, beneath his belt. She mind-whispered. “It is a Valhaan blade. Die well, Master, but if you fight, I believe others will come to your side.”
She turned and the three of them hurried back to the door. Votan-Vaal snarled, “Cast him out!”
The men hesitated. It was all Tsor-Vaal needed. He pulled the blade from his waistband and bellowed.
“Stop! Enough! We may be buccaneers and raiders, but this execution is a barbaric offence to our honor! We are above all Valhaans! We have our codes and we do not murder our own people! We do not cause needless suffering to our own, as you do to your maidens and servants! We do not rip apart those who are bonded, as you did to me and my woman! Your reign of terror on this ship is finished, Votan-Vaal!”
A stunned silence fell on the docking bay. Each man and woman there abhorred mutiny, as all space travelers do. For it is the greatest peril any ship can face. Yet every man and woman there knew that what Tsor-Vaal said was the truth. Each longed for Votan-Vaal’s reign to end, and each longed to serve under the well-beloved Tsor-Vaal, whom all knew to be noble, courageous and fair. Sensing their uncertainty he spoke again.
“Fear not, there shall be no mutiny on this ship. I challenge you Captain, before the crew, to single combat with Valhaan long swords. If you win, cast my lifeless body to the void. If I win, then I shall serve the crew as captain of this ship, and the crew shall serve me as their captain!”
All their minds opened and there was universal assent. All eyes turned to the captain. His lip curled. “Be damned, your long swords!”
He raised his blaster, but by the time he had pulled the trigger Tsor-Vaal had sprung forward and rolled across the floor. The shot went wide and the commander leapt like a wild cat, seizing the captain’s wrist and driving the Valhaan blade deep into his heart.
Votan-Vaal gaped down at his wound, then looked into Tsor-Vaal’s eyes. In his mind he said, “I honor you, Tsor-Vaal, you were a greater Valhaan than I…”
Tsor-Vaal said, “I call on Osheen to take your soul to Valhaa, to feast there with the great warriors of old.”
The crew joined their minds and called on Osheen, and Votan-Vaal passed from them forever.
Then Tsor-Vaal turned to his crew and cried out with his war voice, “We are Valhaans! We are warriors, feared by the entire galaxy! We do not
run from a fight! My bond has been stolen from me by Naga scum! What shall we do?” He stared at them, and each of them felt he looked deep into their souls. He knotted his belly, hardened his sinews and his blue eyes blazed with the fire of ice. “Shall we cower and run from them with our tails between our legs, like curs? Shall we whimper and beg like Skarab snakes?” He paused, seeing the fire smoldering in their eyes, and then he roared, “Or shall we cry ‘War!’ And rain bloody terror and chaos on their heads, like the Valhaan warriors that we are? Let us show these Naga lizards why the Valhaans are feared from Earth to distant Atlan!”
Tsor-Vaal stormed onto the bridge followed by the bridge crew. He snapped, “Battle stations!”
The general order went out and Gunnar-Vaal said, “Your bond was not taken to the Naga flagship, Captain. The fleet sailed to the Pleiades. The shuttle set a course for Saturn. The Naga have a base on Enceladus.”
Tsor-Vaal said, “So the base is undefended. Helm, set a course for Enceladus. Gunnar.Vaal, can you get us through the ice?”
“Yes, Captain. We can burn a whole in the ice with the laser canons. It will freeze again almost instantly, but it will give us a few seconds to plunge through.”
“Good. How do we get out again? We cannot use lasers under water, it refracts the light. We will have to use an electron beam to super-heat the water and blast a hole in the crust, like a volcano. We can ride the surge of hot water out to the surface.”
“See to it.” He turned to the communications officer. “Can you locate their base on Enceladus?”
“I have done it already, Captain. I have given the data to the helm.”
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