Superior Beings

by Nick Walters

  Peri hadn’t even bothered trying to escape. What was the point?

  Savage aliens on board, savage aliens below, and a certain-death drop in between.

  Peri braced her legs as they went into another dive, the Valethske screaming and howling above her. Her hands were cuffed either side of a vertical metal support stanchion, so she could only stop herself from falling by bracing her legs against the floor and pushing her body against the shell of the little ship. Her limbs ached so much she was dying to rest but she couldn’t sit on the floor; hell, she couldn’t even see the floor. Bits of equipment, boxes, weapons cases, circuit boards, dust and detritus - even the odd bone, she was alarmed to see

  - littered the area beneath the flight deck where they had tethered her like livestock. She had a limited view of the flight deck, of Valethske intent on the shuttle controls and viewscreens. If she stretched her arms right out in front of her and turned her head to the wall she could look through a triangular vent and catch glimpses of the planet’s surface, every inch of it sprawling with teeming masses of mutated Gardeners.

  The ship shuddered like someone shivering in their sleep as it discharged its arsenal of weaponry - all of it, as far as Peri could tell - down on to the moiling plant-life. The Valethske shrieked as they vented their anger. The ship bottomed and began to climb again, sending Peri’s innards swinging about inside her. Then they began to level out, and the Valethske became quiet, except for the occasional shriek and burst of weapon fire.

  Peri stretched out her arms, leaned back and looked out of the vent - and saw a mountain rising from the sickly greens and browns of the ravaged Garden. It took her a while to realise that it was the Valethske ship. Sitting on three bulbous tubular engines, like bloated, blackened cigars, the main body swept upwards in tides of jagged metal to a blunt nose-cone. It looked strikingly like the head of a Valethske, upturned to bay at an invisible moon. Its rust-coloured surface was pitted and scarred -it certainly looked as if it had been dragging its ass across the galaxy for centuries.

  Centuries... Peri gripped on to the stanchion, hearing the jangle of her cuffs as if from across a great gulf of distance. That damn ship had been her home for a hundred years. The memories of a century of cold, dead sleep would gradually thaw through and infest her mind. She knew that it would haunt her dreams for years to come, perhaps for ever.

  The Valethske began to yelp commands - she heard them running about on the flight deck above her.

  Hell, ‘for ever’ in her case might only mean a couple of hours. Or minutes. She stared at the Valethske ship, summoning up all her anger. It was big, ugly, bristling with weapons and it damn well didn’t belong here, in such a paradise, thought Peri.

  Then she caught sight of the mutated Gardeners swarming around its engines, climbing up the superstructure, moving across the metal surface like a swarm of bugs. Well, used to be a paradise. Though if her theory was right, if the Valethske had never come here, the Garden would never have changed.

  Would never have had to make itself ugly to repel ugliness.

  Battle ye not with monsters lest ye become a monster, the Doctor had once said to her, revelling in the fact that all he did was battle monsters and avoided turning into one, so far. Well, it had happened to the Garden - it had turned itself into a whole horde of monsters. Maybe when the Valethske left, it would slowly change back into paradise again, as sure as spring followed winter. But Peri doubted she’d live to see that happy day.

  They were now so near the Valethske ship that its bulk obscured the triangular vent, so Peri slumped against the wall, trying to disentangle her feet from a coil of greasy cable that was trying to wrap itself around her leg. Suddenly she was plunged into darkness, then deep red blood-like light. Tremendous metal clanging sounds shook the shuttle and as Peri was thrown about among the detritus she realised they must be landing somewhere within the mountainous mass of the Valethske ship.

  Landing quickly and not worrying about the paintwork. After a few minutes of this tumult they came to a halt, and the normal lighting of the shuttle resumed, which still left Peri ensconced in shadow below the flight-deck.

  Footsteps clanged along the deck above her and she looked up in time to see a long black-uniformed body ease itself down beside her. Flayoun. Without a word he removed her cuffs and hauled her bodily on to the deck, then out through the hatch into the Valethske ship. Its sights and smells were depressingly familiar, and once again Peri felt that she’d never escape from the Valethske.

  She was marched along the earth-floored passageways in the midst of the shuttle crew, who kept cackling and prodding her, making her stumble in the dust. She was convinced they were taking her to be frozen again so she was surprised when they all piled into a lift that took them rattling and juddering up through the innards of the ship. The Valethske had become quiet, snorting occasionally, their tails swishing slowly. Through the wire walls of the lift Peri glimpsed the hellish interior of the ship.

  ‘Hey, where are we going?’

  The only answer she got was a cuff around the head that made her ears sing. She decided she’d stay quiet until she knew the score. Her legs started trembling uncontrollably as she fought to ward off a mounting sense of fear.

  The lift stopped with a jolt and Flayoun shoved Peri out into a passageway floored, for once, with metal. This led to a set of massive double doors flanked by two Valethske who saluted at their approach. The metal doors - which were inlaid with bas-relief figures of Valethske, Peri noticed - slid back with a hiss of hydraulics and Peri was shoved through them into -

  She gasped. This must be the centre of things.

  She was in a circular chamber of gleaming metal, a striking contrast to the stink and squalor of the rest of the ship. For a start the place had a relatively clean smell, a tang of machine oil and incense. The far side was dominated by an enormous backlit mural framed between two mighty pillars of granite-like stone. It was as breathtakingly detailed as the stained glass windows she’d seen in Bath Abbey on a childhood trip to England. Around the edges, various scenes of battle and bloodshed were illustrated but Peri’s eyes were drawn to the central image, which depicted a winged creature picked out in dark purples and blues. Its slanted red eyes seemed to burn with helpless malevolence as it was held down by three Valethske, their naked bodies shards of brown, red and white, their faces twisted with hatred. A fourth stood over them, clad in flowing golden robes, its hand extended, palm upward, to reveal the dripping heart of the fallen creature.

  It was so vivid that Peri was struck dumb for a few seconds until she got a shove between the shoulder-blades that sent her stumbling across the shining metal floor of the chamber.

  Through a daze she noticed gigantic buttresses, Valethske working at banks of equipment between them. There were incense-burners in the pillars framing the mural, from which pale smoke curled.

  Then she was hauled to her feet and thrust towards the centre of the chamber, where a single Valethske stood, intent upon a circular screen which, though it couldn’t compete with the lurid mural, was still pretty huge. It was split up unto segments like at spoked wheel, and each segment showed a different scene telling essentially the same story: Valethske battling the thorned, spiky Gardeners, either outside in the autumnal Garden or on the skirt of the ship itself.

  The shuttle crew shuffled nervously towards the lone Valethske, who had not yet acknowledged their presence.

  Flayoun stepped forward. ‘Vale Commander, we have returned.’ His gruff voice was low, his tail between his legs.

  The Vale Commander remained fixed on the screen. ‘And?’

  Flayoun licked his lips nervously. Peri glimpsed fear in his yellow-green eyes. ‘We can confirm that the whole planet is overrun with these plant-creatures.’

  ‘Did you find their point of origin?’

  Flayoun shook his head. ‘No, Vale Commander.’ He looked down at Peri, narrowing his eyes at her. ‘But we have brought you - a gift.’

  Peri was
thrust down on to the metal floor. So this was it.

  She put every ounce of defiance into her stare as the Vale Commander turned to look at her. She noticed that its black uniform was decorated with insignia of red and gold.

  ‘Ah!’ it said. ‘You have found one of the escaped prey. Very good.’ It began to walk over to her, eyeing her up and down.

  Peri struggled in Flayoun’s grip. She knew there was nowhere to run, but she wasn’t going down without a fight. Flayoun grabbed both of Peri’s hands and hauled them above her head, making her cry out with pain. She heard the hunter’s voice, sibilant and hoarse in her ear.

  ‘It is fine and fit, Commander Kikker. It has climbed from the interior of this world. Feel its muscles.’

  Peri realised with disgust that she was being displayed like a rack of lamb. She twisted and struggled as Kikker, drooling at the mouth, reached down and pinched her thigh. Her cheeks burned with shame at her own powerlessness. ‘Hey, get off, fox-face!’ she yelled.

  Kikker bellowed with laughter, sending spittle flying into Peri’s face. ‘A spirited one! I can’t wait to savour it - but we have more pressing problems, hunter Flayoun.’

  Peri gasped with relief as Flayoun let go of her hands and she dropped to her knees, rubbing her aching muscles and wiping her face. She didn’t know how much more of this abuse she could take. Dully, she watched Kikker’s boots tap up and down on the shining metal floor, heard his voice growling from somewhere above her.

  ‘These plant-creatures are overrunning the ship. Many hunters have fallen. They will soon overcome us through sheer weight of numbers. We will make a strategic withdrawal and sterilise the planet from orbit. Then we will use the Doctor’s TARDIS to travel beneath the surface and confront the Gods.’

  ‘A cunning plan, Vale Commander!’ roared Flayoun.

  Mention of the Doctor brought Peri to her feet. ‘The Doctor’s alive?’

  ‘He rests in the long sleep, a mere tool awaiting use.’ Kikker turned away. ‘Recall all hunters. Begin preparations for launch.

  And revive the Doctor.’

  There was a flurry of activity at the periphery of the chamber.

  ‘Chain it up over there,’ said Kikker, pointing to the stone pillars that flanked the mural. ‘I want it near, so at the moment of triumph I can at last taste meat again.’

  ‘Why not take a bite out of me now?’ said Peri. ‘I go past my sell-by date in a few hours.’

  Kikker bore down on her. There was madness in his eyes.

  Madness - and hunger. ‘I have forsworn living flesh until the successful conclusion of the Great Mission,’ he said in a low growl, almost a purr. ‘That conclusion is now at hand. Very soon I will kill you, and suck the marrow from your bones.’

  As threats went, it was pretty nasty, and entirely within Kikker’s power to carry out, but it still sounded faintly ridiculous to Peri. She had no idea what all this guff about Gods was. She looked at the mural. The winged red-eyed thing looked like a fallen angel. Was that what all this was about? Some sort of jihad? Kikker certainly had the slightly crazed eyes of the religious zealot -there had been a lot of them about, the summer before Peri had gone to Lanzarote, proselytising from the TV and summer festivals. Then she remembered Aline.

  They’re all dead. With a flash of intuition, she realised what the woman had meant.

  ‘Hey!’ cried Peri, as Kikker was about to turn away. She could hear the hunters growling behind her, and tensed. ‘So you’re on a quest to find your Gods, yeah?’

  Kikker turned back, looking surprised that she had spoken again. ‘That is so. We have spent centuries searching.’

  And hunting and killing people like Athon, Taiana, Lornay... Peri closed her eyes briefly. Gotta keep it together. ‘Well, I’ve got news for you, Reynard. I have it on good authority that they’re dead.’

  Kikker snorted in amusement. ‘What can you possibly know about the Khorlthochloi, the ancient Gods, the ebon ones?’ He flicked a hand at her, dismissing her. ‘Tether it, Flayoun, and if it speaks again, snap off its jawbone.’

  Peri clamped her mouth shut and Flayoun dragged her over to the pillar to the right of the mural. There was a metal ring embedded within the stone, to which he manacled her with brisk efficiency. As he strode away she saw that the smooth mottled-grey surface was splashed with old, dark stains. Bloodstains.

  A curl of smoke reached down to her and her head swam as the incense crept up her nose and into her mouth. She dared not cough and watched Kikker and the others through stinging tears, realising how close she’d come to being butchered on the spot. Valethske weren’t the sort of creatures you could taunt and get away with. It was only because she was certain she was going to die that she’d done it. She was Peri Brown and she was gonna die as Peri Brown, not some whimpering lump of meat.

  She watched the hunters file out of the control chamber, all except Flayoun, who stood beside Kikker.

  At least she’d get a grandstand view of the ‘sterilisation’ of the planet. From the way Kikker had said it Peri knew it meant the end for the beautiful Garden-world.

  She tried to work up some grief, but she couldn’t. Despite everything she felt a sense of excitement fluttering inside her.

  The Doctor was alive! They were thawing him out! And they were gonna use the TARDIS to get inside the planet - surely this was her chance for escape. Peri felt a sense of power building up below her and watched the screen as the ship began to lift off.

  Curiously, she felt no sense of acceleration.

  She saw one of the technicians - a smaller, slimmer Valethske than Flayoun and the hunters - scurry over to Kikker. They talked for a few moments and then Kikker exploded in fury, flinging the hapless technician across the control chamber with one flick of his muscular arm. She heard him bellow the Doctor’s name.

  Then he caught sight of her and stormed over, gripping her face in a gloved paw. ‘The Doctor is not in the long sleep!

  Where is he? Answer me, prey!’

  Peri shook her head, alarmed at this new development. ‘I don’t know!’

  ‘Vale Commander!’ called Flayoun. He was bending down, listening to the cowed, terrified technician. ‘There is more -

  the time machine is gone, and Technician Ruvis is dead.’

  Kikker looked as if he was going to explode, and then a sly expression stole over his long face. ‘Who took the Doctor to the long sleep?’

  Flayoun thought for a while. ‘Hunt Marshal Veek!’

  Kikker slammed his hands together. ‘You spoke of her heresy -I should have listened.’ He waved his hand at the receding view of the planet. ‘This cursed attack distracted me.

  So Veek has taken the Doctor and his TARDIS and robbed the Valethske of the secret of time travel.’

  Peri could hardly believe what she was hearing. The Doctor wouldn’t abandon her, she knew it. She remembered the Hunt Marshal, her cruel eyes. It was obvious what had happened -

  Veek had taken the Doctor and the TARDIS and gone, for whatever reason. Peri sank down on the cold metal floor, tired, terrified, and feeling more alone than she ever had before.

  Aline knew she was dying, but somehow it didn’t seem to matter. She had touched the minds of the Khorlthochloi, one of the most ancient and mysterious species the galaxy had ever seen. No one knew anything about them - until now.

  Now Aline knew everything. Coming to the Garden once more seemed part of her greater destiny, however much the Doctor might scoff at such a concept. She knew what the Khorlthochloi had looked like, as they bestrode the stars thousands of years ago. She knew what they had aspired to, what they had become. And she knew where they were now...

  Her only regret was that she wasn’t going to live long enough to publish. She knew more than enough to write the definitive work on the shepherds of our galaxy. But ‘The Khorlthochloi Revealed’ by Dr Aline Vehlmann would never see light of day.

  She lay with her head on the Doctor’s lap, his hands encircling hers. Although she felt weak, s
he was drawing strength from his proximity. There was so much she wanted to say, but she didn’t know where to begin.

  ‘Doctor... the Khorlthochloi...’

  ‘Shh,’ said the Doctor. ‘Let’s get you back to the TARDIS.’

  ‘It’s here? Where’s Peri?’

  ‘That’s who we came down here to look for,’ said the Doctor, glancing up at someone standing just behind Aline’s field of vision.

  Then she remembered. ‘Doctor - I saw Peri!’

  He leaned closer. ‘When? Where?’

  Aline struggled to remember. ‘It was shortly after I...’ She sighed. Everything that had happened after the strand had engulfed her was a daze. ‘I can’t recall exactly, but she was here. I think. It could have been a hallucination.’

  The Doctor frowned down at her. ‘Aline, what happened to you?’

  She struggled to find the words to express her experience, her second Encounter. ‘I’ve made contact.’

  ‘Contact?’

  ‘We are wasting time!’ came a gruff voice from behind her.

  Aline sat up to see a Valethske towering over her. So the hunters had tracked them down to the Garden. She struggled to stand, fear enervating her. ‘Doctor!’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said the Doctor, helping her to her feet. ‘This one’s a friend, in the loosest possible definition of the word. Her name’s Veek. Oh, put the knife away, will you?’

  The Valethske narrowed its eyes and snarled at the Doctor.

  It was the closest Aline had ever been to one of the creatures.

  It was huge and looked savagely powerful. It was holding a needle-sharp knife that caught the green phosphorescence.

  Its ears twitched and it slid the weapon away, turning its gaze to Aline. There seemed to be no intelligence in its eyes, its green-yellow irises and slitted pupils, just hunger and a kind of insane, sneering glee. How had the Doctor befriended it - and why? It looked ready to kill them both in an instant.