Eternity's End (68 page)

And
when
were they? They'd touched the ends of eternity...

Cantha and Ker'sell cried out incoherently as they struggled to bring themselves back to the present, as they all strained to focus on the waves and currents of the Flux battering past them.

Legroeder took short, sharp breaths. We're alive, he cried silently.
Alive!
For a fleeting moment, he tried to wrap his memory around the passage—the glimpse of eternity—but it was all coming apart in his mind, like a dream.

Gulping air, he took a quick look around in the net. There was still a net. But what about
Impris
? And where were they? The normal Flux, but where?

We're out! We made it through!
shouted a Narseil voice, Cantha's. The voice, and the answering cries from Palagren and Ker'sell, were almost surreal after the bizarre melding of the passage.
Find Impris!
he shouted, and his own voice sounded flat and empty of resonance, no longer reverberating against infinity.

He looked around frantically—and suddenly remembered.
Impris
had been torn from them. Destroyed in the quantum flaw.
Impris
was gone. Freem'n Deutsch gone.
No—!
Legroeder started to bellow, then choked and could not finish the cry.

The com came alive again, sputtering.
Riggers, report! Can you hear me?
It was the captain calling through a hash of static.

Legroeder drew a sharp breath. Get hold of yourself. Let's go, now; but felt himself moving in molasses.
Captain, we're here—give us a moment—
he whispered to the com.

The net was a tattered shambles, barely functional, but power was starting to flow back into it now. Had they really held it together with not much more than the force of will in the quantum flaw? Palagren was starting to reshape the net from the bow backwards, and Legroeder took up the trailing threads to strengthen the stern position.

The com crackled insistently. Captain Glenswarg's voice finally punched through.
Legroeder, report! Where are we? Where is Impris?

Legroeder began to explain that he didn't know where they were, that
Impris
had gotten separated from them. He couldn't bear to say what he knew to be the truth. Gone! Dead! Neutrinos. Nothing left; all a terrible waste.
We... got separated during the passage through the quantum flaw
...

Yes, yes—what the hell HAPPENED then? I thought my head was going to explode! I couldn't tell... I mean all of us... the whole crew was immobilized
.

Legroeder struggled to explain.
That's... going to take time to figure out, Captain. It was... God, it was like
... He could not piece together the words. It was as if his mind had stretched from one end of the universe to the other, but without getting any smarter...

All right, never mind that. Are you searching for Impris?

Searching for what—the neutrinos?
Yes, of course,
he whispered.
But try to get as much instrumentation working as you can. We can't see a lot right now
.

Palagren glanced back and stared at Legroeder with an expression full of—what? Sorrow? Sympathy? Legroeder couldn't tell. But this ship was hurtling through the mists of the Flux and there was no time to dwell on the question. They had to bring the ship under control, and find out where they were.

Another voice came on.
This is nav. My first reading puts us south of the Akeides Nebula. I think we've come out near our original prime target, in the KM/C patrol area
.

Oh, no.

Attention, everyone!
barked a Narseil voice, interrupting the nav officer. It was Agamem, with the weapons and tactics crew.
We've got a ship coming in fast, heading three-one-two- slash-three-seven. Not Impris. Not one of ours. Coming directly toward us
.

No, Legroeder thought.

Glenswarg, with the comlink still open, called at once for general quarters.
Have you got an ident on it?
he asked the tactical crew.

Negative—but I think it's Kyber—not one of ours
.

Must be KM/C, then. Dammit, put me on the fluxwave to it. Am I on?
There was some static, and then,
Kyber ship, this is Kyber-Ivan Phoenix. We've just made an emergency exit from the Deep Flux. Who are you, please. Kyber ship, Kyber ship
...

Legroeder and the other riggers were still trying to spot the other ship, but so far all they could see was swirling mist. They were moving fast; that quantum passage must have given them one hell of a kick.

I've got signs of weapons powering up,
Agamem warned.

Legroeder blinked in dismay.

He heard a shout from the bridge crew, and then Glenswarg snapping:
Flux-torpedoes incoming! Riggers, prepare for countermeasures!

Christ! Legroeder thought, still trying to locate the other ship. There it was, ahead of them. It had moved in
fast
. Three tiny twinkling lights were streaking through the Flux toward
Phoenix
. About four seconds to impact.

Riggers, hard to port!
Captain Glenswarg shouted.
Prepare to launch countermeasures... launch countermeasures!

No time for thought. Legroeder fell into a smooth motion with Palagren, Ker'sell, and Cantha. The net had returned to about half strength, and they warped it carefully, forming the ship into a stubby-winged aircraft. They banked sharply left, as a swarm of decoys shot out from the ship's stern and billowed away like swarming bees. Some clouds passed between them and the incoming torpedoes, and for several seconds, they were blind to both the enemy ship and the torpedoes.

They dove, banked right, then left again, and climbed. As they passed around a cloud bank, there were two bright flashes behind the clouds, and concussions:
thump! thump!
Legroeder glanced back and saw one remaining torpedo, streaking in a long arc toward them.
One incoming behind us!
he called out.

Hold your course,
Glenswarg said calmly. Then:
Neutrasers—fire
.

A bright streak lanced out from the tail of
Phoenix
, caught the torpedo, and destroyed it. The concussion wave shook
Phoenix
, but the riggers held tight and rode it out.

Damage report!
Glenswarg called.
Riggers, do you have the enemy in sight?

Negative,
Legroeder replied. They had lost sight of it during their evasion. They brought
Phoenix
around now and passed beneath a puff of cloud...

Mother of—
Legroeder recoiled as a dazzling white light split through the vapors far off to their right.
What the hell is that?
Legroeder squinted, shielding his eyes.
Bridge, is that more incoming fire?

He heard a lot of shouting, with Agamem's voice among them. But even as the captain replied in the negative, he saw the flash fading, and something streaking away—another ship, moving fast through the Flux.

Hell's bells. Was that ship coming out of the folds of the underflux? Legroeder felt his implants suddenly buzzing back to life.
It's IMPRIS!
Legroeder bellowed. He couldn't hear anything comprehensible from the implants, but he could feel them seeking a connection.
IMPRIS! IMPRIS! They made it through!

His heart threatened to pound out of his chest, as the other riggers and the bridge crew shouted at once. Glenswarg broke through finally.
Have you got a lock yet on the enemy ship? Are you sure that's Impris?

Yes! No—no lock. Palagren—Cantha—Ker'sell—any sign of that Kyber?

The implant link opened up, interrupting him, and he felt Deutsch at the other end of it, and he shouted silently,
(Freem'n, you're alive—are you there?)

Find me that Kyber!
demanded the captain.

Still searching,
called Palagren.

The reply from Deutsch was shaky and bewildered.
(What—? What—? Legroeder? Is that you?)

(Yes, we—)

He was interrupted by a thunderous flash across the bow of
Phoenix
. The attacking ship—a Kyber raider twice the size of
Phoenix
—had just streaked out of the clouds, moving at tremendous speed. Had it missed them? Or was it on another errand now? It was arrowing straight for
Impris
, whose riggers were almost certainly dizzy and disoriented from their passage. The link with Deutsch was flickering out, probably interference from the attacker.

Captain, I had a link with Impris, but I've lost it! We've got to warn them!
Legroeder shouted.
Impris
probably had no armament, and was certainly in no shape to deal with a surprise attack.
(Freem'n!)
he called urgently.
(Impris! If you can hear me, flee for cover!)

An instant later, Glenswarg's voice boomed out through the Flux, amplified by the net:
ATTACKING SHIP, IDENTIFY YOURSELF! YOU ARE WARNED AWAY FROM OUR COMPANION! THIS IS CAPTAIN GLENSWARG OF KYBER-IVAN PHOENIX!
He snapped to tactical,
How soon can we get a torpedo off?

We've got problems here. Not for a few minutes,
came the answer.

Legroeder drew a steady breath. Glenswarg was inviting a renewed attack on
Phoenix
with his challenge—but at the same time, he'd warned the captain and riggers of the starliner.
Impris
was already altering course, with slow, difficult movements.

Riggers, stand by for battle,
Glenswarg ordered.

The attacker, dwindling in the direction of
Impris
, answered Glenswarg's challenge with a sternward volley of torpedoes, streaking back toward
Phoenix
.

Legroeder and the Narseil hurled their ship at once into violent, evasive course changes. The Flux came alive suddenly with
DROOM, DROOM, DROOM
, the drums of a raider ship in full attack, and then the voice of the raider captain, booming through the clouds:

THIS IS HYUTU OF KM/C HUNTER! YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF A DESIGNATED HUNTING SPACE. YOU ARE INTERFERING WITH OUR MISSION, IVAN! EXPECT NO CONSIDERATION
.

Legroeder choked. Hyutu! On the com from the bridge, there was an angry outcry. The captain was shouting instructions, but Legroeder barely heard him. The name was ringing in his ears, threatening to drown out all other thought.

Hyutu...

—launch countermeasures!

Legroeder, follow!

That last was Palagren, jerking him back to the present. Legroeder struggled to keep up with the Narseil on a barrel-rolling dive.

Hyutu—the murdering—!

Legroeder, move it! What's the matter?

That bastard—Hyutu!
he sputtered, late with his rudder movement.

Palagren had to compensate.
What?

The bastard who betrayed the L.A.!

Worry about him later!
Palagren shouted.
Let's stay alive!

The Narseil was right. They were straining the net with their diving and twisting. The torpedoes were sparkling closer, turning to match their turns. The countermeasures hadn't worked—the torpedoes had adapted.
Up and left!
Legroeder snapped, suddenly seeing a way to do it.
Palagren, give me the image!

Are you s—?

Do it!

In the blink of an eye, he changed the ship to a fluttering bat, blindingly quick and maneuverable. The image helped them fly the same way—darting up, sideways, down, wings flicking in a blur. Was Weapons ever going to get a shot off at those things? The spread of torpedoes swept around, following, gaining. But the torpedoes were taking the turns a little wider than
Phoenix
.

Stabs of light went out from
Phoenix
in a machine-gun burst, catching the lead torpedo. It detonated—
thump!
—and as the others were caught by the explosion, they went off, too.
Thump! Th-kump! BM-BOOM!

Too close. The shock wave rippled through the Flux and hit
Phoenix
. The net shook and lost its hold, and the ship tumbled. The net was ablaze.
Get it out! Get the fire out!
Legroeder cried, trying to dampen the net. It wasn't a literal fire, but energy was flooding through the damaged net and the feedback pain was incredible. It slowly subsided as they damped the net down and began to reshape it; and as they regained a measure of control, the pain became more tolerable. They were skidding in a slow turn now... coming back around...

We just lost our torpedo launchers,
called a voice on the bridge.

And there was the Kyber
Hunter
, turning from
Impris
to loop back toward
Phoenix
.

Legroeder could not contain himself. Without even thinking about it, he amplified his voice and bellowed out into the Flux,
HYUTU, YOU STUPID MURDERING BASTA-A-A-RD!

Jakus Bark's blood was hot with fever, the fever of battle. The augments thrummed exhortation through his skull. The drumming that boomed through the net heightened his fever, and that of his fellow riggers. Most powerful of all, his own exultation bubbled up like a geyser of champagne, unstoppable. How long had he waited for this? How long to watch his ship belch fire and death? How long to watch KM/C triumph?

Jakus owed everything to Kilo-Mike/Carlotta. It was KM/C who had brought him from DeNoble, KM/C who beefed up his implants to make him a valued member of their forces... no longer a half-baked captive impressed into service, but a
member of the force,
who talked to the right people, and moved with the shakers and thinkers. KM/C had trusted him and put him to work undercover on Faber Eri; and when things had gone wrong there through no fault of his own, moved him right on to his next assignment. They'd put him where he belonged, in the net of a Kyber marauder. And now he had a chance to show his worth.

That Ivan interloper was hurt—it was obvious from the way she was maneuvering. Once the captain gave the word, they would put the final stake through its heart—but first they needed to complete this pass on the second ship that had come out. Find out who the hell it was.