Thus Falls the Shadow

by Martin Swinford

  “Watch your fucking hands, freak!” Bex snarled.

  “Shut the fuck up, bitch!” The words were accompanied by a shove in the back and Bex staggered forward with a curse.

  “Down the steps, move!”

  We trooped down the steps. Our captors walked behind us but I reckoned there were about six. For a moment I was able to catch Rilk’s eye and give a barely perceptible shake of my head. I didn’t want him doing anything stupid. The arena looked less impressive at ground level, just rubble and dirt with additional crowd debris. As we walked, I noticed that the light was fading and by the time we got to the end the twilight had returned.

  “Hey boss.” the hard voice said. “We found these sniffing around. You want us to shoot them now or save ‘em ‘til later?”

  “Thank you Dak, but I think I’d like to talk to them first.”

  He was sitting on a chair that was set up on the open area in front of the stage. The guards shoved us into a line in front of him and then stepped back. I risked a glance and saw that my guess was right, four men, two women, all armed. They wore camo space fatigues and body armour and had that extremely competent air of trained killers. I shuddered slightly and turned back to their leader.

  This close he didn’t seem as impressive, just an average guy really, pale skin, clipped dark hair, wearing clean but well-used space fatigues. Until you looked in his eyes. Then you realised there was nothing average about him at all. Those pupils were a dark well you fell into, and from which you may never escape. His eyes flicked over us and back to the man he had called Dak.

  “Just the four of them?”

  “Yeah. We found them by the tunnel. Must have got past the Kwa outside.”

  “Were they armed?”

  “Just the two men.”

  “Show me!” He held out his hand and Dak walked past me and offered up my shotgun and Rilk’s automatic. Our host examined them each in turn and then placed the shotgun on the floor. He ejected the clip from the pistol, checked it and then jacked it home.

  “Nice gun,” he said, pointing it at Rilk. “I think it must be yours.”

  Rilk nodded. “You guessed right.”

  “No guess. This is the weapon of a man of death. A man such as you. I can see it. Violence walks with you. It is in your shadow, it is a halo around your head. What is your name?”

  “Rilk.”

  “Rilk.” He nodded. “And the shotgun is yours,” he continued, looking at me. “And you are?”

  “Will,” I replied.

  “Will,” he repeated the name as if tasting it in his mouth. “The shotgun suits you. It is a weapon of passion, and you are a man of desire, always searching for something, never content with what you find.”

  I said nothing. His eyes held me in their sway.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Bex stepped forward, eyes blazing. “You’re a fucking murderer and ...” She got no further. Dak stepped up and slammed the butt of his gun in her stomach, sending her folding to the floor with a cry of pain.

  “Show some respect, bitch,” he growled as he stood over, gun raised for another blow.

  “Steady Dak.” The voice remained calm. “Is that any way to treat a guest?” Dak threw him a black look but then stepped back.

  “Forgive my head of security,” the voice continued. “He takes a very robust approach to his duties. Have I done something to anger you, my dear?”

  “Your thugs murdered her brother,” Rilk said, “on Zestrade.”

  “Ah! Zestrade.” He looked at Bex retching on the floor. “That was...unfortunate. My children were just supposed to find the spy who would betray our location. I never intended for things to get out of hand.”

  I felt that “out of hand” was a poor description of the murder of hundreds of men, women and children but thought better of saying so.

  “And what of you, my brother,” he said to Drd in Kwa. “Why do you join with the aliens who enslaved your people?” Drd didn’t reply, just stared back as his eyes faded slowly from pale blue to deep red. For a moment my attention was caught by a noise in the distance, the hoot of a Kwa descending into a screech, shouting and then the unmistakeable crack of gunfire.

  “Boss?” Dak inclined his head back towards the tunnel.

  “Yes, go check it out.”

  “You’ll be ok here?”

  The man laughed and waggled Rilk’s gun. “I know it’s been a while,” he said. “But I think I can still look after myself.”

  Dak suddenly grinned and with a jerk of his head led his group back towards the tunnel.

  “So who are you?” I asked, breaking the silence.

  “You mean you don’t know?” he replied.

  “Actually,” replied Rilk. “I think I do. I recognise your face from a long time ago. There was a captain, when I first signed on, and a name: ‘Calno’”

  He smiled. “A name from the past, but it will suffice.”

  “So that’s the ‘who’,” I said. “How about why?”

  “Why?” Calno raised an eyebrow.

  “Why all this? Why the speech, the crusade, the massacre at Zestrade, the whole fucking thing?”

  “You think you could understand my motives?”

  “I think they’re all too obvious.”

  “Really?” That sardonic smile again.

  “Yes! Power and greed! Same as every other megalomaniac in this arsehole of a system!” I was surprised at my own vehemence.

  “Really? That’s what you think?”

  “Yes.”

  Suddenly he leapt to his feet and in two quick steps he was in my face, with the muzzle of Rilk’s gun pressed against my forehead. His eyes stared into mine, but I saw something more than violence there.

  “Power and greed, yes?” he whispered. “They are a tempting pair, it is true. But let me ask this: if that is what you really think, then why are you here?”

  I swallowed and said nothing.

  “You are searching for more,” he continued. “Some meaning in what you rightly describe as an ‘arsehole of a system’. Am I right?”

  I nodded. He stepped back and lowered the gun.

  “I was once as you think, but no longer. I may not have known it but I was searching for something more. I found it here.” He lifted a hand and gestured around him. “Doesn’t look like much does it? The ruins of a once great civilisation? But there is power here, a dark and hideous power, but real nonetheless. I came here and realised the truth. To live, to truly live, you must have faith, faith in something bigger than yourself, a higher power. The Kwa had that and it sustained them in cooperation and peace for thousands of years. And it was stolen by Humans, who lost their faith long before they reached the Kwa system, who brought only greed and their desire only to possess, who came to steal and rob, whose civilisation is a virus, whose existence is a stain. A stain that must be wiped clean!”

  More than violence indeed. I had looked into his eyes and seen the madness in his soul.

  Twenty-Five

  THE STACCATO SOUND of gunfire echoed across the ruins.

  “That was closer!”

  I could hear the worry in his voice. Rilk was a brave man but it takes more than bravery to stand, unarmed, with your back to a gun battle. Calno seemed unconcerned.

  “They’ll not get past Dak,” he said with a shake of his head. Suddenly he rounded on Rilk.

  “Not friends of yours, are they?” Calno jammed the gun under Rilk’s chin, shoving his head backwards. “After all,” he continued, “it would be pretty stupid to come in here with no back up, now wouldn’t it. Should I believe you’re that stupid Rilk?”

  “You better fucking believe it!” The laugh sounded like it had been torn out of Bex with a hook. “He’s the dumbest sonovabitch you’re ever gonna meet.” She pulled herself to her knees but then bent over again as she was wracked by another fit of coughing.

  The gunfire came again, definitely closer this time. Calno stepped back and gestured with the pistol.
r />   “Turn around,” he ordered, “nice and slow!”

  We did as he asked, Rilk reaching down and pulling Bex to her feet. For a moment Calno said nothing, but I heard a slight movement and then the click of my shotgun as he chambered a round.

  “Walk,” he instructed.

  We started walking. I risked a glance over my shoulder. Calno had the pistol in his right hand, my shotgun in his left and a calm expression on his face. On my left Rilk tried to help Bex, but she pulled away angrily, and stamped onwards, head down and muttering darkly. Beyond her I could hear the patter of Drd’s feet on the stony ground. We passed broken pillars and ruined walls and all the time the sound of gunfire was getting closer, weirdly distorted as it echoed from the tunnel ahead, mixed in with the sounds of shouts and screams. Then came the sound of running feet and Dak burst from the tunnel entrance, practically falling down the steps toward us. He almost made it to the bottom before there was a burst of shots from the mouth of the tunnel. Dak screamed, arching backwards as the bullets smashed into him, and crumpled to the floor at the foot of the steps.

  For a moment all was silent and then a figure stepped from the tunnel. She had a smudge across her face and her combats were stained and torn, but her emerald eyes were aflame as she smiled down at us.

  “Martha!” Bex sounded overjoyed. But Martha didn’t respond. She had eyes only for Calno and I realised we were in trouble.

  “Calno,” she said. “I’ve found you at last.” She took a step forward and her crew started to appear. I recognised white-haired Hans and the huge bulk of Guy as they fanned out either side with guns trained.

  “Stay back, Martha,” warned Calno. “I’ve got your friends covered.”

  Martha laughed. “You’ve really got the wrong idea, haven’t you?” She stepped forward down the first step. “Go ahead and kill them.”

  “What the fuck?” shouted Bex.

  “Shut it!” Calno jammed the shotgun into the girl’s back without taking his eyes off Martha. “You’re bluffing,” he snarled.

  “Really?” Martha took another step. “How about I kill them for you, just to make point, hmm?” She took another step, lifting her automatic. “But where shall I start? Him?” She pointed the gun at Rilk. “My ex-lover who left me for a man? Or maybe the fuck who seduced him away from me?” The barrel swung in my direction. “How about the whiny spacer trash who just annoys the fuck out of me?”

  Bex just stared, as the tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Tell you what,” Martha continued, “seeing as how you love the furry little fuckers sooooo much, let’s start with the freak!”

  The noise was shockingly loud as the bullets tore into Drd and threw him backwards. Forgetting the guns behind and in front I dashed to his side, pressing my hands to the neat holes in his chest and stomach. He was still alive, I could feel his chest move as he fought for breath, but I could also feel the blood bubbling up between my fingers and I knew that he didn’t have long.

  “Should have stayed on the ship,” I muttered.

  Drd’s eyes flashed through red the purple before returning to pale blue. For a second, he struggled to speak but the whistle died in his throat.

  “It’s ok,” I said, “I’m here.”

  Again, he tried to speak and I bent closer to hear. With a last convulsive jerk, he lifted his head and spoke directly into my ear.

  “Prp frtttd brdpd rittrd!”

  His head slumped back and I watched as all the colour vanished from his eyes and his small form grew still beneath my hands.

  “You murderous bitch! I’ll kill you for this!” I was half way to my feet when I felt the cold metal of the shotgun pressed against my head.

  “What did he say?” asked Calno.

  “What does it matter?” I replied.

  The gun pressed harder.

  “Tell me!”

  “He said...” I paused and struggled to swallow. “He said ‘There is madness in the soul of humans’.”

  Calno nodded.

  “You were wise my brother,” he said to Drd’s unmoving body. “Rest well on this, the planet of your race, and sleep in the knowledge that you will be avenged.”

  “Avenged?” sneered Martha. “Cut the crap and throw your guns down!”

  “You have slain one of the Kwa, here in their birthplace. You have called down a curse that will follow you to your doom!”

  “Believe what the fuck you like,” Martha replied. “Guns down and no one else has to die.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “Honey, I don’t care if you believe me or not. I’ve just got a message to deliver.”

  “A message?”

  “Yeah, from your boss!”

  The pressure disappeared as Calno moved the gun away from my head.

  “I have no boss,” he said.

  “Yeah, well you sure did have and he wants to speak to you real bad. Now, put the guns down.”

  Calno thought for a moment.

  “First tell me how you found me.”

  Martha nodded slowly. “OK,” she said. “I don’t see the harm in that.” She waggled her gun in the direction of Bex. “Tracker in the jacket I gave her. They all have one. The girl told me they were after the guy behind the massacre at Zestrade and I realised it must be you.”

  “So it was just luck then?” asked Rilk.

  “Not really.” Martha shook her head slightly. “We picked you up at Zestrade and followed you to Kwa 7. Of course, when you called in and said you had a job for us that was a real bonus. Made a tidy bit of extra cash too, but also it made it easy for us to find where you were going.”

  “So where’s the rest of the crew?” asked Rilk.

  Martha scowled. “Back in the tunnels, and they aint coming out. His bastards ambushed us good and they knew the terrain. We lost some good people.”

  “I’m sorry,” Calno said simply, “but if you bring death, you will find death.” Without saying more, he slowly reached down and placed the guns on the ground.

  “Finally!” Martha stepped forward. “Rilk honey? Step aside, Will, get over there with him. You too Bex.”

  “You didn’t mean the stuff you said, did you?” Bex asked.

  “Course not honey.” Martha smiled, but only with her mouth. I noticed she hadn’t allowed us to pick up our guns.

  Calno stood at the centre a ring of firearms, yet somehow, he still looked like he was in charge.

  “The message, Martha?” he asked.

  Martha said nothing, just took a small object from a pouch, placed it on the floor, clicked a button, and stepped back. Immediately a figure appeared in the air above the unit, a small, three-armed figure, sitting regally in a beautifully upholstered chair.

  “Hello Calno,” said The Duke. “It’s been too long.”

  Calno said nothing.

  “Too long,” The Duke repeated. “Yet you have done much in that time. You have fulfilled your mission and more, but things are getting out of hand. It is time to come home.”

  Calno looked up at the dust that filled the sky.

  “I am not your man,” he said. “I am no longer anybody’s man. I am not a man at all. Yes, in the beginning I followed your plan, raising a rebellion to plague your competitors, a little war that would divert their attention while you nibbled away the edges of their empires like the rodent you are. But then I came here!”

  His eyes dropped from the sky above and the full force of his gaze fell upon The Duke.

  “Here!” he repeated. “This place of power, of birth and of rebirth. Here I saw the truth and was reborn as the messenger to the true children of Kwa. The system must be cleansed and my children will be the fire that burns away the stain of humanity.”

  The Duke leaned forward in his chair.

  “I haven’t got time to listen to your quasi-religious ranting,” he said. “You were my best man Calno, and you could be again. You just need to get away from that crazy place and remember who you are. Come back to me!”


  “Never!”

  “You know there’s only one alternative!”

  “You think killing me will stop this?” Calno smiled, and there was nothing other than genuine pleasure in his face. “Try it. This genie is out of the bottle. My children are out there fighting for their worlds. Killing me will just create a martyr for their jihad. Thousands more will join their crusade, sweeping out across the system. Every planet, every moon, every station will fall to them until you and everyone like you is wiped away like the grime that you are.”

  “You’re crazy,” scoffed The Duke. “You’re a lunatic howling at the moons!”

  “To you, yes,” he replied calmly. “But to those who hear my call, I am the light that leads them from darkness, I am the centre about which they revolve, I am their father and they are my children. I have promised them their birth-right, and whether you kill me or not, they will reclaim it.”

  The Duke’s face changed from scornful to scowling.

  “Enough!’ he barked. “Martha, I leave it to you to clean up this mess. Meet me back here, and if you want a bonus, bring me a souvenir.”

  “Anything in particular?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” the Duke sneered. “Bring me his head!”

  The holo unit clicked off.

  “What did he mean clean up?” My words dropped into the pause like tiny grenades.

  Rilk stared at Martha who shrugged.

  “Clean up,” Rilk said, “means to leave nothing behind.”

  “You mean...”

  “Yes, she has to kill us.”

  “Martha?” Bex looked again to the woman she had idolised.

  “Sorry honey,” she said. “But, I gotta stick to the first rule.”

  “First rule?” I asked.

  “It’s a mercenary thing,” Rilk explained. “Once you take the contract, you’ve got to follow it through.”

  “You been bought, you stay bought!” agreed Martha. “Otherwise no one going to trust you.”

  “And no one would ever hire you,” Rilk concluded.