The platoon spread out in a “V” formation behind the two cyborgs, with First Squad—also known as the Space Force—to the left, and Second Squad—the Ground Force—to the right. The arid ground rolled gently in their direction of travel, making an above-ground ambush unlikely, although an ambush from below was definitely possible and something they’d briefed. He could see several of the giant T’Chillen in the area around them, and his jaw dropped open in awe. Although he’d known—mentally—that they grew to over 20 feet long, seeing the 600-pound monsters was still somewhat overwhelming.
He shook his head, forcing himself to look away from the aliens pacing them two hundred yards away and saw several of the troops had stopped to gawk.
“Dammit! Get back in formation!” Master Chief yelled, also noticing them. The troopers hurried to get back into their positions, but Calvin could see them still trying to sneak glances at the giant creatures.
Calvin smiled as he caught himself doing it, too. It was hard not to.
Then he thought about what it would be like to be on the receiving end of a T’Chillen charge and shuddered, hoping it didn’t come to that. As big as the snakes were…he shuddered again. It would be hard to stop, short of the liberal application of high explosives. He didn’t want to find out what it looked like.
The entrance to the city was easy to see, and it appeared the T’Chillen were guiding them toward it, although that had been their destination from the start. A large hole, 30 feet across, had been dug into a small hillock, which a large, black structure had been raised over, probably to keep the rain out.
The black rock appeared to be obsidian, or something like it, and it had been polished and had runes cut into it. Tichp had given the Terrans a translation matrix, which had been uploaded into their implants, and Calvin could see it read, “Trissek. Home of the Master Race,” from several hundred yards away.
“You see what it says up at the entrance?” Master Chief asked quietly as he moved closer.
“Yeah,” Calvin replied. “Nothing like having a race of Nazi snakes.”
“Still think this’ll go well?”
“Nope. But I’m not sure we have any choice at this point. At least we know where two of the laser rifles are.” He nodded toward the entranceway, where two of the biggest T’Chillen they’d seen so far waited on a column on either side of the doorway. Both came down from their perches as the Terrans approached and slid forward to meet them, their hoods flaring slightly, making them look like massively oversized cobras.
“Circle the wagons,” Master Chief commed, and the two ends of the “V” pulled in toward each other, making the formation into a circle around Calvin, Night, Farhome, and Master Chief.
“Have I ever told you I hate snakes?” Farhome asked with a giggle as the T’Chillen drew closer. “All slimy and slithery. Yuck.”
“It’s gonna be a bitch taking those rifles from them if they don’t want to give them up,” Night muttered quietly.
“I know,” Calvin said. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
The T’Chillen stopped about 20 feet away from Dantone, with enough space between them so they wouldn’t get in each other’s way. The laser rifles looked like toys in their tentacle-like hands. “Who are you?” one of them asked. “You do not look like anyone who has been here before.”
“We’d like to speak to your leader, War Leader Sangh Khushk,” Calvin said, stepping forward.
One of the T’Chillen slithered a little closer and stared down at Calvin, causing all the troops to step back slightly, readying their weapons. Calvin knew, looking up at the snake, if it chose to strike him, anything they did would probably be too late to save him—the T’Chillen was big enough to bite him in half. While the giant snake’s teeth might not be able to penetrate the armor of his suit, Calvin was still going to get pretty mangled in the process.
“And why would War Leader Khushk want to speak to you?” A drip fell from his fangs and hissed as it melted the small plant it fell on.
“I bring a message from Administrator Yorch,” Calvin said.
“Follow me,” the T’Chillen said. It spun and, along with the other guard, proceeded back toward the entryway into the city.
“Uh, sir,” Night said as the platoon moved forward to follow, “I’m reminded of a story my mother read to me when I was little. There’s a line that stayed with me—very few mongooses, no matter how wise they may be, will follow a cobra into its hole.”
“I’m aware of the story,” Calvin said, “and it’s not my intention to follow them into the hole.”
Master Chief cocked his head. “Hey, sir, how about we kill these two, take their rifles, and call it a day? We could make eight more copies of them in the replicator and give them to Yorch. Ten laser rifles, as nice as you please. Problem solved.”
“And if they have non-sequential serial numbers or some other way of tracking them?”
“Then we’d be screwed.”
“Yeah. We would.”
The T’Chillen led them to the structure, and one of them entered the hole without stopping, while the other waved them to follow with his rifle.
Calvin stopped at the mouth of the hole, his hand raised in a fist. Everyone behind him stopped as Calvin looked into the hole. He couldn’t see very far into it, but the passageway appeared to remain wide as it descended into the darkness. His sensors showed it was ten degrees warmer in the hole than outside, which was already hotter than he liked.
“Why are you stopping?” the remaining T’Chillen asked.
“How about if you ask the War Leader to come up here?” Calvin asked. “I’m not comfortable going into the city.”
The T’Chillen began making a noise Calvin’s implants translated as laughing. “The War Leader come to meet with emissaries from another race? That will never happen. If you want to meet with him, you will do so in the throne room.”
“Would now be a good time to kill these two and take their laser rifles?” Night commed.
“And how would we find the other eight we need?”
“Eventually they’d have to send out the troops, and some of them should be holding them?”
“Holding them…and firing them at us?”
“Well, yes sir, probably. It might be better than having them firing them at us while we’re in the hole.”
“No doubt…but we can’t guarantee they’d ever bring them out to use on us. I suspect we’ll find most—if not all—of the other laser rifles close to the War Leader.”
“That is, unfortunately, probably true. So it looks like we’re going in the hole after all?”
“Yeah. I think we’ll have to.”
“Awesome.”
* * *
“Dantone, you and Weinert have point again,” Master Chief commed as Calvin started forward.
“After me, sir,” Dantone said, squeezing past Calvin to enter the cave first.
“And me,” Weinert said from Calvin’s other side as he followed the massive cyborg into the hole.
“And I better not catch any of you knuckleheads who haven’t dialed your grenade launchers down,” Master Chief added. “We’ll be underground, and I don’t want to get caught up in someone’s fireball of death, got it?”
As Calvin followed Weinert into the hole, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye as a couple of the Space Force troopers dialed their grenade launchers down. When he didn’t think anyone was looking, he pushed his down several settings, too, as he realized Master Chief was right—in the close confines underground, any blast could be channeled back at you, and the surrounding terrain might focus any blast in unpredictable—and possibly unwanted—ways.
Although the tunnel was very dimly lit—especially compared to the harsh sunlight outside—Calvin was able to use the suit’s low-light capabilities to enhance his vision and could see a long way in the gloom.
The passageway sloped down at a gentle angle, going deeper and deeper, and passages began jutting off on both sides
. Master Chief had the troopers close up so they could better support each other and wouldn’t get cut off as easily in an ambush.
“You see that?” Night asked as they passed by some air shafts.
“The vents?” Calvin asked.
“Well, sort of. There were rooms up those air shafts, with a lot of heat signatures inside them. If I were a betting man, that’s where they have their garrisoned troops, ready to respond. Far enough from the surface to keep from getting caught up in a blast or collapse, but close enough to support the troopers there at a moment's notice.”
“Suppose that’s where the laser rifles are?”
“No, I think you’re right; they’re probably used for the defense of their leader.”
Calvin nodded. “So we continue on.”
The passageway opened up into a large cavern after another hundred yards, where a variety of shops had been set up. Smaller—comparatively speaking—T’Chillen rested on pillars as they hawked their wares. Everything from food to gifts was represented. Even though the T’Chillen didn’t wear a lot of clothes, there were also a number of adornments for sale. The temperature in the room was higher than the passageway into it, and the coolers on Calvin’s suit shifted into a higher gear.
He glanced at one of the vendors, then turned his head with a shudder. The shop sold food, apparently, as a variety of animals—some whole, some cut into pieces—were displayed. A number of the parts for sale looked identical to the T’Chillen they were following, and Calvin realized they were probably cannibals, at least to some extent. Happily, they exited the cavern shortly after and didn’t go by another food vendor, although they did pass through a few more caverns, some of which were enormous in size.
After about 20 minutes of walking, passageways began extending from the main passage with increased frequency, and the number of T’Chillen moving about rose dramatically. The aliens watched the Terrans passing through with apparent curiosity, although whether that was just general inquisitiveness or they wanted to try a bite of Terran, Calvin didn’t know. One licked his suit, and it left behind scoring on the armor.
“Hey, guard!” he finally called as the T’Chillen pressed ever closer to them. “Can you keep them back?”
The lead T’Chillen turned. “Are you scared of them?”
“No,” Calvin said, trying to sound tough and sure of himself. “They’re getting too close, and I don’t want any…misunderstandings. Our journey will be easier if we aren’t forced to defend ourselves.”
The T’Chillen bobbed its head once, then began calling for the locals to stay back. Apparently they were used to listening to commands; they drew back from the Terrans, and the group was allowed to walk along unimpeded.
After another five minutes, they arrived at the entrance to a large chamber. “Wait here,” one of the guards said. “I will announce you.”
The massive T’Chillen slithered through the opening and shouted, “Emissaries from Ambassador Yorch approach!” His voice was amplified somehow, as it seemed to echo throughout the space on the other side.
The T’Chillen stuck his head back through and said, “You may enter.”
Calvin led the group through the opening and into an enormous cavern nearly as big as a football field. The walls on all sides were covered in paintings of battle and martial displays. Four sets of pedestals lined both sides of the cavern, with a 30-foot gap in the center, which led to a raised dais. On top of this sat two additional pedestals, with one slightly higher than the other. The two T’Chillen on the dais were the largest Calvin had seen yet, with the bigger approaching nearly 30 feet in length.
The other pedestals in the cavern were mostly full, with other T’Chillen on the floor; many of the aliens hissed as the Terrans walked through their ranks toward the platform at the end. The T’Chillen guard led them forward, ignoring the responses of the creatures, although Calvin found it harder to do so. All of them were at least 20 feet long, large enough to kill him in a bite or two, and appeared to have some antipathy for him, despite never having seen him before. Of course, that could be because they didn’t like Administrator Yorch, and the Terrans had been announced as his emissaries; Calvin could certainly see how that may have been possible. If he’d treated the T’Chillen like he’d treated the Terrans, it was easy to see why they might not be well liked.
The guard stopped at the last row of pedestals, about 35 feet in front of the dais, and held out an arm to halt the Terrans.
“What…are these little things?” asked the smaller of the two T’Chillen on the platform.
“We are Terrans,” Calvin said with a bow, “and a few Kuji, here on a mission from Ambassador Yorch in the Klahr System.” He paused as the majority of the T’Chillen hissed again. Yep, they definitely don’t like him. “We’re here on a mission of some importance to us.”
“What is your name, Terran?” asked the larger of the two.
“I’m Lieutenant Commander Shawn Hobbs, and I bring greetings to you from our leader, President Katrina Nehru.” Better to associate with a different leader.
“I am War Leader Sangh Khushk of Clan Aphu,” the bigger T’Chillen said, “and this is War Leader Consort Nasreen Bajwa. I do not know of your people, but I know if you come from Yorch, you will not find friends here.”
“We are no more his friends than you are,” Calvin said. “We only come here—”
“Because you want to take away the laser rifles he gave us,” Khushk interrupted.
“How did you—”
“How did I know?” Khushk interrupted again. “Because you are not the first people he has sent to ask for them back. Did he tell you we ate the last party he sent?”
“Uh…no he did not.”
“Not surprising,” Bajwa said. “He is a slimy little thing with no honor.”
“In that we are in agreement,” Calvin said. “We would like nothing more than to conclude negotiations with you and get as far away from him as possible.”
“That assumes you have something to negotiate with,” Khushk replied. “I do not see how that is so. You are here, outnumbered, and out of reach of your people in the air or in space. All I see is a little snack for some of our elite warriors.”
“There’s no doubt you could kill us all,” Calvin replied. “However, I’d ask you if it would be worth the cost to you. There’s no doubt in my mind, for example, if you order your people to attack us, you personally will certainly perish in the fighting that follows.”
The war leader made a motion and a door opened behind him. Eight large T’Chillen slithered through it and took up stations to either side of him.
“You were right about the lasers,” Night muttered behind Calvin.
Calvin nodded once; all eight were armed with laser rifles.
“And now?” Khushk asked. “Do you still think you could kill me?”
“Without a doubt,” Calvin said. “Our weapons are far more powerful than anything you’ve ever seen.”
The war leader unwound himself from the pedestal and slid forward to the edge of the platform. The additional guards behind him moved forward as well, and Calvin found it hard to hold his ground with every fiber of his body screaming run!
“I would like to see these new weapons in action,” Khushk said, “because I do not believe you.” He nodded to the weapon Calvin was holding. “If that is the weapon, it does not look any bigger or more powerful than the ones my guards have.”
“This is indeed one of the new weapons,” Calvin said. “If you’ll give us the laser weapons you have, we’ll be happy to go up to the surface with you and show them to you.”
“Yes,” Khushk said. “I would very much like a demonstration. Follow me.”
With that, he went around the Terrans and proceeded up the aisle toward the back of the chamber.
“What are you waiting for?” one of the guards asked. “The war leader told you to follow him. Go!”
Something in the way the guard said it triggered Calvin’s fight or
flight response again, and everything in his body said he ought to run. He looked around the cavern quickly and saw everyone—including all the T’Chillen—was looking at him, waiting for his response. The one thing he didn’t see, however, was a way out, other than the one the war leader was quickly leaving through.
“Let’s go,” he said with a sigh as he turned to follow Khushk.
* * *
Underground Tunnels, Trissek, Valex
“Are you sure it was a good idea to mention we had new and more powerful weapons?” Night asked as they followed the war leader through the tunnels.
“No, I’m pretty sure it was a horrible idea,” Calvin replied. “Unfortunately it was the only thing I could think of.”
“I don’t see this turning out well.”
“Me neither.”
Night switched to the platoon frequency. “Be alert. Both the boss and I have a feeling this isn’t going to go well. When things go south, light up the ones with the lasers first. The liberal application of explosives is authorized, but try not to bring the roof down on us. Any questions?”
There weren’t any, and Calvin risked a glance over his shoulder. He could see the fear he felt in his heart reflected in the eyes of his troopers, and he mentally shook his head, steeling himself. He wasn’t going to die thousands of years before his time on some faraway planet. Not today, anyway.
The sense of resolve fled quickly as the war leader led them into a chamber almost as big as the one they’d left. The walls were roughhewn and scarred with a variety of laser burns and smoke. Khushk waved a hand at the open area. “There is no need to go up above; we have our own field of battle right here. Pick your best warrior to battle one of mine.”
“Will my warrior be able to use all our weapons?”
A Gulf in Time Page 15
