by GARY DARBY
Dason examined the craft for a while more before he maneuvered the Zephyr until it was but a few meters apart with the airlock facing the other ship’s jagged rupture in its hull.
“I’m going to suit up and go over there,” he said to El’am. He pointed to the control board. “When I get in the airlock, press this control. It will turn off our grav-generator, and I can float across. Press again, and you’ll have gravity.”
He rose and hurried aft. Minutes later, he had a p-suit on and stepped into the airlock. Within seconds, the airlock completed its cycle and the outer door opened.
Gazing across at the wreck’s dark, jagged opening, Dason muttered to himself, “Easy does it and watch out for that torn metal, could be sharp enough to slice and dice you like a laser through whipped cream.”
Dason stepped out into the nebula’s wispy gas entrails and with the gentlest of nudges, pushed off. He floated across the short distance. His aim was so perfect that he passed clean between the two ripped sides and into the ship’s interior.
He stopped his glide with his suit’s micro jets, and using the bulkhead, pulled himself forward. Like the Zephyr, this part of the ship didn’t have individual compartments, but rather, one long open bay. He reached the pilot’s pod and looked inside.
He sucked in a breath between clenched teeth.
Two bodies, both frozen in the absolute cold of space, and held fast by acceleration bars, sat immobile in the pilot’s chairs. Dason didn’t have to take a second look to know what had happened to the two humans.
Whatever had ripped the ship apart had also caused an instantaneous explosive decompression of the craft and with it the sudden loss of atmosphere.
Dason leaned over the dead men and investigated the silent control panel. When the ship split open, the power transfer conduits holding the nano-filaments that brought energy to the ship’s operating systems must have severed.
However, the backup power generator was forward, and it might just hold enough residual energy to bring the nav controls to life, if but for a brief moment.
Dason found the controls for the p-generator and worked it several times before there was a slight flicker across the control panel displays.
For an instant, the screen showing the ship’s intended route flared to life, glimmered, and then died. However, it was enough. Dason had the information he needed.
He returned to the Zephyr and stripped off his p-suit before joining El’am in the pilot’s pod. Using the information he had gleaned from the doomed ship, he brought up a star chart and zeroed in on one planetary system.
Jabbing a finger at a planet-sized moon that circled a gas giant, Dason declared, “This was their destination.”
El’am peered through narrow eyelids at the hologram that displayed a red star, and several giant gas planets. Around one planet orbited several Mars-sized planetoids, a small ring system of rock and ice, plus one large Earth-sized moon.
“How long will it take for us to make the transit?”
Dason ran a hand over his mouth as he contemplated the data showing on the pilot’s console. “At hyperlight, a few hours. With what we have . . . days.”
El’am raised himself and turned to Dason. “Human Dason, these oath-breakers of yours, if this is where they have taken Elder Tor’al and the others, what will they do with them?”
Dason avoided El’am’s stare for several seconds before he took a deep breath and let his eyes meet El’am’s stern look. “In all honesty, El’am, I don’t know.”
He lowered his gaze, knowing that if the Gadions had indeed taken Tor’al prisoner that it was only because they intended to use him for some evil purpose of their own making.
Glancing up, he said, “But if, they are who I think they might be . . . Nothing good, I’m afraid.”
El’am drew his lips back almost in a snarl. “Then let us count ourselves fortunate that they have not gone far.
“For of a truth I tell you, to do harm to any Sha’anay outside the boundaries of war is one thing, but to do such to Elder Tor’al, this will cause the Sha’anay nation to rise up in vengeance.”
Dason couldn’t help but see the fierce expression on El’am’s face and hear the anger in his voice that seemed to fill the whole ship in its intensity. With a pointed question, he asked, “Why would your people be so upset if something happened to Tor’al?”
El’am turned to Dason, his eyes hard and intense. “The elder did not tell you?”
“I’m not sure,” Dason answered truthfully. “We talked of many things but not a lot about him personally.”
El’am nodded and then said, “I can see that he might not have mentioned anything to you for the elder is known as not only a fierce warrior in battle, but around the clan fire a humble man.”
Pausing, his voice grew hard. “You see, among my people to reach the level of the Seventh Sword means that you are not only a tested warrior in battle but an honored and respected wise leader among the Sha’anay as a whole.
“Not only is Elder Tor’al beloved among my people, but he is most likely the next St’ort He’scher—”
“St’ort He’scher?” Dason quickly interrupted. “What does that mean? Chief? Ruler? President?”
El’am shook his head rapidly. “No, it means . . .” He thought for several moments and then said, “Grand Elder.”
“Grand Elder,” Dason repeated.
“Yes,” El’am affirmed. “He sits as head of the Korha’pec, the council of the elders who lead their respective houses. It is they who govern the entire Sha’anay nation.
“But, it is the Grand Elder who has the last say in all things. Even if the whole Korha'pecwish one thing but if the St’ort He’scher wants another, they will accede to his demand.”
El’am’s growl was low and guttural. “To lose Elder Tor’al in battle, that we can accept. But, to lose him to treachery—that we would never accept or forgive.”
The Sha’anay novice turned sober eyes on Dason. “I tell you of another truth, human Dason Thorne, if this should happen, I fear for the consequences between your people and mine.
Dason bit down hard on his lip and turned to the control board. His mind was in free fall and he felt as if his world were imploding around him.
The Mongans had killed his uncle and forced him to flee the Alpha Prime planet without fulfilling his quest to find his missing teammates.
Now, he found himself embroiled in a Faction plot that had all the makings of opening a rift between humans and Sha’anay.
One that could well lead to interstellar war between the two civilizations.
Chapter Nine
Star date: 2443.077
The Alpha Prime Planet
Coughing in the dusky air that filled the small chamber, Star Scout Jadar Marrel finished putting a last layer of sterile gauze over the InstaHeal that covered a nasty, jagged leg laceration that had ripped flesh clear to the bone.
Inspecting his work, he said to the injured scout, “The bleeding’s stopped and that bandage I took off looked clean, so just take it easy and don’t make any sudden moves to rip out those sutures and reopen the wound.”
He laid a hand on the scout’s shoulder. “Did you get the morphinate down?”
The man’s arm covered his eyes, but he gave a weak nod. “Yes,” he replied in a muffled voice.
“Good,” Jadar replied, “it’ll help with the pain, trust me, I know.” He reached out to adjust the cocoon blanket so that it thoroughly covered the young man and propped the scout’s vest pack under his head to make him more comfortable.
He started to rise, but the scout reached out to grasp Jadar’s forearm. “Thanks, sir, for taking care of me.”
Jadar gave the youngster a soft pat in return on his shoulder. “Sure thing,” he replied. “Take it easy while I see how the rest of us are doing.”
Jadar shuffled over to where Shar Tuul leaned back against a rock wall, cradlubg one wrist. “How’s the arm?”
Shar gave him a n
od along with a crooked smile. “Okay. But, I really need to learn how to zag after I zig. ‘Course, I am getting better at putting on an InstaSplint with one hand.”
Jadar gave a light grunt. “You have to admit, what are the odds of breaking the same arm, in the same place all within a few days?”
“In my case, I would say pretty high,” Shar replied and then asked in a low voice as he glanced around, “It’s been over eighteen hours; do you think anyone heard our Search and Save call?”
Jadar surveyed the grotto’s recesses where an occasional green glow tube gave off a dim light. Except for those tending the injured, the remaining scouts lay stretched out on the hard dirt, or performed routine maintenance on weapons and equipment.
“I don’t know,” Jadar replied frankly, with a little shrug of his shoulders. “I just don’t know.”
Shar nodded. “Could be that there’s nobody left to hear the call.”
He blanched when he realized the implications of what he had just said and in a contrite voice said, “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.
“I’m sure he heard the commandwide warning, got the Zephyr out of here before the attack. He’s either safely back on some troop transport or in n-space headed for the nearest sector headquarters.”
Jadar gave him a quick wan smile but his eyes were downcast and his jaw set hard. The Mongan attack had almost taken them by surprise.
If they hadn’t gotten the frantic alert call over the planetary communications network of the impending attack, they would all have been caught out in the open under the Mongans’ brutal assault.
But had Dason heard the call? Was he able to get away in time or had the Mongans caught the Zephyr in the same attack?
Jadar felt the clutch of fear and his stomach tightened. The fear came from knowing that he had just found Dason, and now he might have lost him again, and so soon after their reunion.
“I hope you’re right,” Jadar replied. “I truly do.”
He turned away to duck his head under a low overhang and eased his way past several other scouts being tended to by their teammates. “Lieutenant Staley,” he called out in a quiet voice.
A young woman who knelt nearby turned toward him. “Over here, sir,” she answered.
Jadar went to one knee by her side and waited until she finished rewrapping a sterile bandage on a wounded scout’s lacerated head. With gentle hands, she molded the bandage so that it adhered to the wound before helping the scout slip it back into a sling.
As she turned to him, Jadar asked, “What’s the latest on your platoon?”
A small sigh escaped her lips and she motioned toward an earthen nook set off to one side. A still body, covered in a poncho lay next to another corpse who was similarly covered.
“Kirsky just died, so that makes it two dead, five injured, including Colonel Tuul,” she replied. “Counting you, we’ve got eight scouts that are good to go.”
Her face clouded up for an instant before she said, “And four missing that didn’t make it inside with the rest of us.”
“And no one has picked up any comms from Colonel Bartley or anyone else?”
The lieutenant shook her head. “No sir. The last anyone saw him, he was outside trying to get the last stragglers into the cave.”
She stopped and took a breath. “I—I think he and the rest of my platoon got caught in the blast that brought the landslide down on us, but, for now, I’m counting him as missing.”
Jadar rubbed a grimy hand across his camo pants leg and sat back on his heel. “It’s been almost a day and we haven’t heard anything, so I think it’s time we took matters in our own hands.
He settled his back against a rough boulder and slid to the ground. “As I see it, we’ve got two primary missions. First, we take care of our wounded, and second, we find a way out of here.”
Motioning to the rest of the scouts, he said, “I think we’ve done about the best we can do for our injured. Since we’ve heard nothing on the Search and Save comms, it’s time to turn our attention to getting out of here on our own.”
The young woman nodded and muttered, “I agree sir.”
Jadar turned to the mass of boulders, grit, and dirt that closed off the cave’s entrance. Standing, he took several steps to stand at the base of the pile of sharp-edged rocks with Staley alongside.
The two deliberated over how to tackle the meters-high slide. “That’s a lot of rock to move,” Jadar stated. “Especially if we have to do it by hand.”
“What if we move everyone back,” she suggested, “and use our L-guns set on disrupter level to blast it out?”
Jadar scanned the craggy ceiling where it met the cave-in and shook his head. “We’ll keep that option in our back pocket for right now. I think if we tried that we just might bring more down on us or worse, collapse the whole roof.”
He turned and gestured toward the grotto’s darkened rear section. “What did your scouts find back there?” he asked.
“It goes back about twenty meters,” she remarked, “before the ceiling lowers until it’s barely high enough to crawl through. There’s a small tunnel that keeps going, but I didn’t send anyone farther in to look.
“I’ve got two scouts stationed back there as a listening post, in case anything nasty tries to crawl out.”
“Good,” Jadar replied. “Let’s you and me go take a look see. It may be time to see where that passageway leads, might be a back door leading out of here.”
Together the two made their way to the cave’s darkened recesses. The ceiling lowered until they reached a point where they had to wriggle on their bellies. A few minutes later, they came upon the two listening-post scouts.
“Hear or see anything?” Jadar asked.
“No sir, it’s been quiet, not a sound.”
“Have you tried to go any farther in the tunnel?”
“Lieutenant Staley ordered us not to,” the other young man answered. “Just keep our vest lights aimed down the tunnel.”
“Well,” Jadar said, rubbing his hand over his gritty chin, “I think it’s time we see where this goes. It might go nowhere, or it might be our ticket out of this place.”
Jadar unclipped a light and added his to the beams that the two scouts shone into the meter-wide arched hole. He eyed the dark orifice before saying to Staley, “Can you spare two more of your scouts? If I get stuck in there, might be nice to have someone around to pull me out.”
Staley lifted a corner of her mouth. “Sure thing, sir. Give me a couple of minutes, and I’ll hustle up two for you.”
Jadar wriggled forward a little more to examine the hole, trying to determine if this might be similar to the croc-lizards’ burrow tunnels that Dason and his team had experienced. Seeing no claw marks in the rocky surface, he eased back and waited for his escorts.
A bit later, the sound of someone sliding along rock caused him to rotate his head and shoulders toward the noise.
Staley pulled herself along, followed behind by two young scouts. Staley stopped and said, “Sir, scouts Chia and Vlad. I also have a message from Colonel Tuul.”
“Thank you lieutenant,” Jadar answered. “What’s the message?”
“He says, and I’m quoting exactly, sir, ‘Just remember what happened to Alice when she stuck her head into a rabbit hole’.”
Jadar snorted in response. “Thanks, lieutenant. Please give my regards to Colonel Tuul with this message: This planet doesn’t have rabbits, quit worrying.”
He muttered under his breath, “It has much worse things waiting in holes.”
“Okay,” he then said to the small group, “listen up. You know about the croc-lizards already, and just because we don’t see any claw marks doesn’t mean that they’re not around, or that there’s not some other nasties lurking down this hole, so stay alert.”
Gesturing toward Staley, he directed, “Lieutenant, keep rotating your scouts back here. If they hear what sounds like the hissing of a giant snake, tell’em to yell for help and open fire.”
He caught Staley’s eye and said, “And LT if you have to seal this tunnel to save your team—do it! Understood?”
Staley swallowed hard and nodded. “Understood, sir.”
“Good,” Jadar replied.
Turning back to eye the tunnel opening, he said, “Give us a couple of hours to see if this goes anywhere.
“In the meantime, keep working on an escape plan that doesn’t involve blasting our way out. Like I said, we’ll save that one for when we run out of options.”
“Will do, sir,” Staley replied.
“Okay, scouts,” Jadar said to his two companions, “let’s go see if the back door is open.”
He wriggled forward through the subterranean passageway, the hole’s girth just clearing his shoulders. After several minutes, the rocky crevice widened and deepened until the three were able to crawl on all fours.
A short time later, the ceiling rose even more, and they could stand in a stooped position. As all three straightened, Jadar sniffed through his nose and said, “Smell that?”
Vlad answered Jadar’s question. “Musky scent; might be water ahead.”
“Right,” Jadar answered. “We’re near the lake, maybe there’s an outlet.”
The men trudged on, with the cave tunnel widening as they went, but also turning and twisting in a gradual descent. The fissure curved abruptly and the three came to stand in a large room whose walls glistened in their vest lights.
Jadar reached out and brought back wet fingertips. He brought the wetness to his nose. “Smells like fresh water,” he said.
“Are we under the lake?” Chia asked.
Jadar shook his head. “I don’t think so. Most likely, this is either ground seepage from the lake or we’re at the same level as the water table. My guess is it’s from the lake.”
A sudden scraping noise caused the three to whirl with weapons drawn. “Lights out, snoopers down!” Jadar directed.
In an instant, the cave’s absolute blackness surrounded the scouts. The three crouched in the darkness, each surveying the room with their infrared eyepieces.
