Spears of the Sun (Star Sojourner Book 3) (20 page)

One of the Guards laughed and threw a rock at him. He shrieked as it bounced off his side, and scurried into a small cave in the cliff wall.

I breathed again and ducked under the hull to the main hatch as a Guard switched off the alarms. But he shouted something in Vermaktese and pointed at me. I was in deep shadows and I doubted that he saw more than movement.

I tried to leap the wire, but in the heavy gravity I came down on it and tripped the alarms again. Lights flashed on, speakers wailed, but by then I was behind the ship. I scrambled up the side of the cliff, with gravity and the loose shale trying to drag me back down, and threw myself into a narrow cave in the sandstone wall. Something scratched the rock beside me, nipped my hand, and squeezed out the entrance.

I scraped my arms and knees as I pulled myself around to face the opening, my weapon pointed, and heard my own heavy breathing.

The captain strode to the base of the cliff, flanked by his Guards, and muttered something. There were perhaps a hundred caves of varying sizes, the result of erosion. In the night shadows cast by the moon, I saw the captain look around. He sniffed into an empty cave, then kicked a rock and waved toward the cliff in a gesture of dismissal. I watched him turn back to the camp, followed by his Guards. I think he assumed that another animal had tripped the wire.

My heart returned to its normal rhythm and I rested my cheek on the cold stone. The narrow cave acted as a blanket that held in my body heat as I waited for the Guards to turn in for the night.

An hour or so later, I squeezed out of the cave to the sound of snoring, and avoided brittle shrubbery and slabs of rocks as I started toward the ship.

What was that sound? I paused. A whoosh of great wings. Something swooped down from the night sky. A native bird? A predator? I drew my stingler.

Jules!
Morth sent.
It's the Shayl. It's Drackin! He's seen you.

Drackin!

I flattened against the rock wall as he landed with a sweep of wings, like some gargoyle from hell in the ruddy light of the moon. He'd been part of the ship's crew!

He hissed and I half expected flames to shoot from his mouth as I pulled out my stingler. He leaped at me with claws extended and swiped the weapon from my hand with a massive forepaw that sent it spinning. I scrambled to my feet against the heavy gravity and threw myself on top of the weapon. Drackin lunged at me. I rolled and fired and drove my legs against his chest. He grunted as he landed beside me, and snatched the stingler from my extended hand between hooked teeth. I reached for it, but he crunched the weapon in his powerful jaws. He snarled and clutched his chest as smoke rose from a hole beneath his ribs.

I rolled away as he lifted a foreleg to strike at me, and got to my hands and knees. His foreleg slammed the ground and raised dust. I backed away as he tried to crawl toward me. His wings fluttered and crumpled around him. Dark blood pumped out from his chest. His jaws spasmed on the broken stingler and a pool of blood spread out beneath his head. It's a terrible thing to watch any being give up his life. I wanted to comfort this enemy of mine, but I knew he would just try to take me with him.

Then he was still.

The Vermakt Guards still slept, unaware of the death struggle on the other side of the ship.

I approached Drackin carefully, pulling in long breaths of the oxygen-poor air, and pried the stingler from his clamped jaws. The weapon was ruined.

I went to a cave and threw it inside. In ten thousand years from now, some archeologist might uncover it and conclude it was a relic from some long-forgotten religion. On a quicker note, when the Guards found Drackin's body, perhaps they would conclude that a predator with acid for saliva had chewed a hole into his chest.

The ground was cold beneath me as I slumped down with my hands on my knees, and lowered my head to recuperate from the effort of the fight. I felt Drackin's kwaii struggle to free itself from his body. For some, it's like squeezing out of a tight shoe. I gave him my stock kwaii speech, used on a Lost Vegas tag from Earth who'd tried to shoot my hovair out of the sky, but lost the dogfight. And again when Chancey shattered Zorga's helmet at the stable.

See you in the next life, brother,
I sent.
The geth state is pleasant, and there's no pain. You will reincarnate on some planet. Probably not your homeworld, but that's in the hands of

Great –

He blocked me out. His was a race of loners who only came together to mate. He hadn't asked for quarter, and wanted none.

I got up, feeling worn out, and made my way silently back to the main hatch. Come hell or high water, I would get aboard that damned ship! But then what? Without a weapon?
Play it by ear
, I told myself.
Remember the cards will fall.

I climbed the ladder to the hatch. It was unlocked! I opened it, slipped inside, and softly closed it.

To say the interior was opulent was an understatement. The dark entranceway was lit by rows of miniature lights that bordered a thick-piled white rug. Gravity adjusters purred as they maintained Fartherland's lighter force. I leaned against a padded column and took deep breaths of perfumed air that felt like the right mixture for Terrans and Vermakts alike. Rowdinth's followers must have contributed hard-earned creds so their lord and master could cruise the galaxy in such extravagance.

Donations or taxes?
I wondered as I padded across the rug and opened a gold-filigreed door to a lounge of plush chairs and marble tables.

I paused to risk a light tel probe and touched Shannon's mind. Her fear assaulted me like the convulsive beats of a heart in distress.

“I'm coming, lass,” I whispered, though she wasn't a sensitive, then blocked out her intense emotions to keep my focus.

I entered a porcelain galley, with sous chef units, including one that read TERRAN FOOD DRINKS MEDICATIONS. That was for the scientists.

Turn right,
my instincts urged.
Morth?
I sent,
can you guide me to her?

You are on course, Jewels, for your purposes.

OK. Thanks.

As I opened the door to a dark storeroom, I heard someone inside draw in a quick breath. “Shannon?” I whispered.

No answer. But I heard her sob.

My eyes adjusted to the pale glow of a single bulb and I saw her. She sat on the floor, leaning against a post, with her hands tied behind her.

“Shannon. What did they do to you?” I went to her. “It's
me,
Jules.”

“Oh.
Jules!
Is it really
you,
lad?” She cried. “Talk low,” I warned and took her face in my hands.

“Pray heaven, I thought ye be a banshee come to tell me o' me death.”

“No.” I kissed her forehead, then wiped her tears on an edge of my sweater. “What did they do to you? Are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “Just frightened to me bones.”

“It's over, lass. It's over.” I kissed her head and smiled. “I've come to rescue you.” I got up and went to the porthole to stare out. Just the cliff side and the caves.

“Aye. But who's going to rescue
you
?”

“As soon as I get those ropes off you, we're out of here. I've got a pod hidden…” The ropes were too tight to loosen by hand.

I looked around the dark room. “I need a knife.” There were boxes and canisters tied down, and a laundry basket next to a sink. I opened a service door. It just led to the utility ducts.

“Dammit. Something sharp!”

“Hurry, lad. I've got to pee.”

“What?”

“I didn't want to wet meself!”

“Oh. There's nothing
here
.” I opened the storeroom door a crack and peered into the empty galley.

“Where are ye going?” she whispered on a note of desperation.

“A knife!”

“Hurry. I'm about to pee meself anyway.”

I slipped into the galley, rummaged through a drawer of utensils, found a serrated steak knife and hurried back to Shannon. “I got it.”

Voices!

“Uh, oh.”

Was that Rowdinth shouting?

I cut through the ropes quickly and went to listen behind the door. “Pee in the sink!” I whispered.

A door to the galley slammed open. I heard quick footsteps click on the bare floor.

“They will pay for this insult to me and to my fellow Vermakts!” Rowdinth shouted as he strode into the galley. “There can be no compromise with the degenerate government of Alpha!”

“But General,” that was Lennie, the younger scientist, “my father and I have to test the weapon before you use it on the Sol System. It might still need tweaking. In fact,
this
solar system would be ideal for the test.”

“Why do you disobey my orders?” Rowdinth screamed. “High treason is punishable by death!”

“Shut up, Lennie.” That would be his father George.

“Providence has chosen me for a great mission,” Rowdinth shouted as he paused by the storeroom door. “My people will never again be the underclass of the worlds.”

The leader of the Vermakt people was a real one-note vis. Did he ever talk about anything else but his great mission? Did he ever wonder if a fresh uniform was waiting for him on the laundry room rack? I hoped not.

“Shannon,” I whispered and pointed to the post.

She hurried back to it buttoning her pants and sat down with her hands behind her. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the closed door.

I quietly backed away from it.

“They will learn the consequences of their futile attempts to deceive me. I am my people's messiah.” The storeroom door rattled as he pounded on it. “I alone have been given the mission to raise the Vermakt race to their exalted place as the leaders of the worlds.”

Yada. Yada, I thought.

More pounding on the door. “Never again will my people suffer ignominies because of the degenerate criminals of Alpha.”

I wondered if he were trying to convince the two scientists or himself.

“Yes, General Rowdinth,” George said softly. “I understand your pain, my lord.”

“My pain is beyond anyone's understanding, especially a Terran who eats rats! I will destroy this ship, and everyone on it, including myself, before I suffer the insults of those miscreants on Alpha any further.”

“The weapon is ready, General Rowdinth,” George replied. “You are free to use it however and whenever you deem it appropriate.”

Well, there goes the hoax theory,
I thought.

The storeroom door suddenly flew open and Shannon was bathed in light from the galley.

I flattened against the wall behind the door and breathed quietly through parted lips.

“We will see,” Rowdinth said to Shannon from the other side of the door, “if your government will destroy a ship with three Terrans on board.”

Make that four,
I thought.

He slammed the door shut.

Even in the pale light of the single bulb, I saw Shannon shaking.

The footsteps faded toward the lounge.

“I will have my revenge!” I heard Rowdinth howl.

I shook my head. He sounded like a caricature of himself. A windup tyrant. How did the pragmatic, industrious Vermakt people ever make this lunatic their leader?

Shannon was shaking badly as she stood up. She clung to me. I hugged her and rubbed her back.

“There must be another hatch,” I said, “even if it's just an emergency exit. If we can make it back to the pod, I'll call in the coordinates and let the fleet blow this ship all over space.”

A general quarters alarm suddenly sounded.

I bit my lip. I didn't want to tell Shannon that Rowdinth was calling his Guards to their battle stations as he prepared for liftoff and an encounter with the fleet.

“He's about to leave the planet, now isn't he?” she asked.

I nodded. “By the time we find the emergency hatch, his Guards will be swarming all over the ship.

As though on cue, the engines whined to life.

We sat down and held onto the post as the ship lifted and the darkness of night was replaced by the star-strewn infinite blackness of deep space.

There goes plan A,
I thought, and wished I had a backup plan B.

“Agent Hatch, this is Commander Ca Prez.”

Joe went to
Sojourner's
cabin and picked up the mic. “Yes, Commander, this is Agent Hatch.”

“Did Jules leave
Sojourner
yet? I've been awaiting his arrival.”

“You mean he hasn't arrived yet? He should have been there two hours ago!”

“Did you receive a distress call from the pod?” she asked.

“No. That dumb –“ Joe glanced around. Chancey, Doctor Stone, and Huff had followed him into the cabin. “I can tell you where he is, Commander. He's on some planet in this system where Rowdinth landed his ship.”

“Why would he choose to do that?” she asked.

“Why indeed.” Joe glanced at Chancey, who threw up his hands in a gesture of futility. “He's attempting to rescue the Terran woman,” Joe told her, “before we engage General Rowdinth.”

Chancey shook his head.

“I should have
known
that was his plan.” Joe hit a fist on the control board.

Doctor Stone sat down in the co-pilot's chair. “Would the military destroy Rowdinth's ship with Doctor Rammis on board?”

Joe glanced up at Chancey.

“What would you do, Doctor,” Chancey said tightly, “if the general was on his way to destroy Earth?”

Huff sat on his haunches. He whined and swung his head from side to side. “My Jules Terran friend,” he murmured miserably.

“I'd try to negotiate,” Doctor Stone told Chancey.

“Doctor Stone,” Commander Ca Prez called from the radio, “we have attempted to negotiate with General Rowdinth. He is completely unreasonable. Doctor Chang and Alpha's psychiatric team have concluded that he's undergone a psychotic break with reality.”

“Commander Ca Prez,” Joe said, “the fourth planet of this star system is an Earth-type world capable of supporting Terran and Vermakt life. I'd suspect that if Rowdinth's ship made planetfall, that's where you'll find them.” He let out a breath. “All of them.”

“We've already probed that planet,” Ca Prez answered, “and discovered the general's landing site. But his ship is gone. We believe he's heading toward your solar system.”

Joe heard her hiss out a breath.

“I'm sorry to have to tell you this,” she said, “but we believe he's given up his scheme to acquire the gold bullion and intends to take revenge on your homeworld.”

Doctor Stone looked pale as she gripped the edge of the control panel.

“Still sound like a hoax?” Chancey asked her. “Let me sit there, Doctor.”

She stood up unsteadily, a stricken expression on her drawn face.

Chancey sat down and flipped a switch on the control panel.

“Chancey,” Joe said, “prepare the ship for a jump to – “

“Sol System,” Chancey interrupted. “I'm on it, Joe.”

“Commander Ca Prez,” Joe said, “I assume the fleet is bound for the Sol System as well?”

“As soon as all ships are in formation, we will make the jump.”

“Has W-CIA contacted you with orders?” Joe asked her.

“We have been cleared to attack and destroy the general's ship upon visual contact.”

Joe sat back in the chair and saw Chancey stare at him. A bleakness of soul numbed the pain of knowing that Jules, and possibly Shannon, too, would be among the dead. More likely, the missing. What would he tell his granddaughter? That her father had sacrificed his life to try to save Earth? Little comfort to a seven-year-old who asked about her dad on a regular basis. “The damn fool!” he muttered.

“If he's on Rowdinth's ship,” Doctor Stone said, “he must be Rowdinth's prisoner too.”

“God only knows,” Joe responded, “what he must be.”

“He's a loose cannon, is what he is,” Chancey said.

“Ten Lords,” Huff whispered, “keep my loose cannon Terran friend well and I will never ask for any other ever thing again.”