The Night's Dawn Trilogy (292 page)

The other two marines froze in terror Then one vomited.

“Close it!”
Murphy gagged. “For Christ’s sake, get out and close it.” His eyes were hot and sticky with fluid, some of it red. His foot
hit something, and he half tripped flinging himself at the gap. He landed flat on the dead marine and rolled forwards. Figures
were running around at the far end of the corridor, confused movements blurring together. White fire enveloped his ankle.

“Does it hurt? We can help.”

“No, fuck you!” He flopped onto an elbow and aimed the pistol back through the door, firing wildly. Pain from his ankle was
making his hand shake violently. Noxious smoke sizzled up in front of him.

Then hands were gripping his shoulders, pulling him back along the floor. Bullish shouts all around him. The distinctive thud
of a Bradfield slammed against his ears, louder than thunder in the close confines of the corridor. A marine in full combat
armour was standing above him, firing the heavy-calibre weapon into the courtroom. Another suited marine was pulling the corpse
clear of the door.

Murphy’s neural nanonics started to come back on-line. Medical programs established axon blocks. The courtroom door slid shut,
locks engaging with a
clunk
. A fire extinguisher squirted thick white gas against Murphy’s smouldering dress uniform trousers. He flopped down onto the
corridor floor, too stunned to say anything for a while. When he looked around he could see three people he recognized from
the court, all of them ashen-faced and stupefied, slumped against the walls. The marines were tending to two of them. That
was when Murphy realized the corridor floor was smeared with blood. Spent cartridge cases from his pistol rolled around.

He was dragged further away from the courtroom door, allowing the marine squad to set up two tripod-mounted Bradfields, pointing
right at the grey reinforced silicon.

“Hold still,” a woman in a doctor’s field uniform told him. She began to cut his trousers away; a male nurse was holding a
medical nanonic package ready.

“Did any of them get out?” Murphy asked weakly. People were tramping up and down the corridor, paying no attention to him.

“I don’t know,” the doctor said.

“Fuck it, find out!”

She gave him a calculating look.

“Please?”

One of the marines was called over. “The other doors are all closed,” he told Murphy. “We got a few people out, but the possessed
are safely locked up in there. Every exit is sealed tight. The captain is waiting for a CNIS team to advise him what to do
next.”

“A few people?” Murphy asked. “A few people got out?”

“Yeah. Some of the lawyers, the judge, court staff, five marines. We’re proud of the fight you put up, sir, you and the others.
It could have been a lot worse.”

“And the rest?”

The marine turned his blank shell helmet towards the

door. “Sorry, sir.”

•  •  •

The roar of the machine gun ended, leaving only the screams and whimpers to fester through the darkened courtroom. Maynard
Khanna could hear his own feeble groans contributing to the morass of distress. There was little he could do to prevent it,
the tiniest movement sent sickening spires of pain leaping into his skull. A gout of white fire had struck him seconds into
the conflict, wrapping around his leg like a blazing serpent, felling him immediately. His temple had struck one of the seats,
dazing him badly. After that, all the noise and flaring light swarmed around him, somehow managing to leave him isolated from
the fray.

Now the white fire had gone, leaving him alone with its terrible legacy. The flesh from his leg had melted off. But his bones
had remained intact, perfectly white. He could see his skeletal foot twitching next to his real one, its tiny bones fitting
together like a medical text.

The splintered remnants of the dock were burning with unnatural brightness, throwing capering shadows on the wall. Maynard
turned his head, crying out as red stars gave way to an ominous darkness. When he flushed the involuntary tears from his eyes
he could see the heavy door at the back of the court was shut.

They hadn’t got out!

He took a few breaths, momentarily puzzled by what he was doing in the dark, the waves of pain seemed to prevent his thoughts
from flowing. The screams had died, along with every other sound except for the sharp crackling of the flames. Footsteps crunched
through the debris. Three dark figures loomed above him; humanoid perhaps, but any lingering facet of humanity had been bred
out generations ago.

The whispers began, slithering up from a bottomless pit

to comfort him with the sincerity of a two-timing lover.

Then came the real pain.

•  •  •

Dr Gilmore studied the datavised image he was receiving direct from Marine Captain Rhodri Peyton’s eyes. He was standing in
the middle of a marine squad which was strung out along one of the corridors leading to maximum security court three. Their
machine guns and Bradfields were deployed to cover the engineering officers who were gingerly applying sensor pads to the
door.

When Dr Gilmore attempted to access the officers’ processor blocks there was no response. The units were too close to the
possessed inside the courtroom. “Have they made any attempt to break out?” he asked.

“No, sir,” Rhodri Peyton datavised. His eyes flicked to brown scorch lines on the walls just outside the door.“Those marks
were caused when Lieutenant Hewlett was engaging them. There’s been nothing since then. We’ve got them trapped, all right.”

Gilmore accessed Trafalgar’s central computer and requested a blueprint of the courtroom. There were no service tunnels nearby,
and the air-ducts weren’t large enough for anyone to crawl down. It was a maximum security court after all. Unfortunately
it wasn’t the kind of security designed with the possessed in mind. He knew it would only be a matter of time before they
got out. Then there really would be hell to pay.

“Have you confirmed the number of people in the courtroom?”

“We’re missing twelve people, sir. But we know at least four of those are dead, and the others sustained some injuries. And
Hewlett claims he terminated one of the possessed, Randall.”

“I see. That means we now have a minimum of eleven possessed to contend with. That much energistic potential is extremely
dangerous.”

“This whole area is sealed, sir, and I’ve got a squad covering each door.”

“I’m sure you have, Captain. One moment.” He datavised the First Admiral and gave him a brief summary. “I have to advise we
don’t send the marines in. Given the size of the courtroom and the number of possessed, I’d estimate marine casualties of
at least fifty per cent.”

“Agreed,” the First Admiral datavised back. “The marines don’t go in. But are you certain everyone in there is now possessed?”

“I think it’s an inevitable conclusion, sir. This whole legal business was quite obviously just a ploy by Couteur to gain
a foothold here. That many possessed represent a significant threat. My guess is that they may simply try to tunnel their
way out; I expect they’ll be able to dissolve the rock around them. They must be neutralized as swiftly as possible. We can
always acquire further individuals to continue my team’s research.”“Dr Gilmore, I’d remind you that my staff captain is in
there, along with a number of civilians. We must make at least one attempt to subdue them. You’ve had weeks to research this
energistic ability, you must be able to suggest something.”

“There is one possibility, sir. I accessed Thakrar’s report; he used decompression against the possessed when they tried to
storm the
Villeneuve’s Revenge.”

“To kill them.”

“Yes. But it does indicate a weakness. I was going to recommend that we vent the courtroom’s atmosphere. That way we wouldn’t
have to risk opening one of the doors to fire any sort of weapon in there. However, we could try gas against them first. They
can force matter into new shapes, but I think altering a molecular structure would probably be beyond them. It needn’t even
be a chemical weapon, we could simply increase the nitrogen ratio until they black out. Once they’ve been immobilized, they
could be placed into zero-tau.”

“How would you know if a gas assault worked? They destroyed the sensors, we can’t see in.”

“There are a number of electronic systems remaining in the courtroom; if the possessed do succumb to the gas those systems
should come back on line. But whatever we do, Admiral, we will have to open the door at some stage to confirm their condition.”

“Very well, try the gas first. We owe Maynard and the

others that much.”

•  •  •

“We’re not going to have much time to get out,” Jacqueline Couteur said.

Perez, who had come into Maynard Khanna’s body a few minutes earlier, was struggling to keep his thoughts flowing lucidly
under a torrent of pain firing in from every part of his new frame. He managed to focus on some of the most badly damaged
zones, seeing the blood dry up and torn discoloured flesh return to a more healthy aspect.
“Mama
, what did you do to this guy?”“Taught him not to be so stubborn,” Jacqueline said emotionlessly.

He winced as he raised himself up onto his elbows. Despite his most ardent wishes, his damaged leg felt as if fire-worms were
burrowing through it. He could
imagine
it whole and perfect, and even see the image forming around reality, but that wasn’t quite enough to make it so. “Okay, so
now what?” He glanced around. It was not the most auspicious of environments to welcome him back. Bodies were straddling the
court’s wrecked fittings, small orange fires gnawed hungrily at various jagged chunks of composite, and hatred was beaming
through each of the doors like an emotive X ray.

“Not much,” she admitted. “But we have to look for some kind of advantage. We’re at the very centre of the Confederation’s
resistance to us. There must be something we can do to help Capone and the others. I had hoped we could locate their nuclear
weapons. The destruction of this base would be a significant blow to the Confederation.”

“Forget that; those marines were good,” Lennart said grudgingly. He was standing in front of the judge’s bench, one hand pulling
on his chin as he gazed intently at the floor. “You know, there’s some kind of room or corridor about twenty metres straight
down.” The tiling started to flow away from his feet in fast ripples, exposing the naked rock below. “It won’t take long if
we break this rock together.”

“Maybe,” Jacqueline said. “But they’ll know we’re doing it. Gilmore will have surrounded us with sensors by now.”

“What then?” asked one of the others they’d brought back. “For Christ’s sake, we can’t stay in here and wait for the Confederation
Marines to bust down the door. I’ve only just returned. I’m not giving this body up after only ten minutes. I couldn’t stand
that.”

“Christ?” Jacqueline queried bitingly.

“You might have to anyway,” Perez said. “We all might wind up back there in the beyond.”“Oh, why?” Jacqueline asked.

“This Khanna knows of an ambush the Confederation Navy is planning against Capone. He is confident they will destroy the Organization
fleet. Without Capone to crack new star systems open, we’re going to be stalled. Khanna is convinced the quarantine will prevent
possession from spreading to any new worlds.”

“Then we must tell Capone,” Jacqueline said. “All of us together must shout this news into the beyond.”

“Fine,” Nena said. “Do that. But what about us? How are we going to get out of here?”

“That is a secondary concern for us now.”

“Not for me it bloody well isn’t.”

When Jacqueline scowled at her, she saw beads of sweat pricking the woman’s brow. Nena was swaying slightly, too. Some of
the others looked as if they were exhausted, their eyes glazing over. Even Jacqueline was aware her body had grown heavier
than before. She sniffed the air suspiciously, finding it contaminated with the slightly clammy ozone taint of air-conditioning.

“What exactly is the navy planning to do to Capone?” she asked.

“They know he’s going to attack Toi-Hoi. They’re going to hide a fleet at Tranquillity, and intercept him when they know he’s
on the way.”

“We must remember that,” Jacqueline said firmly, fixing each of them in turn with a compelling stare. “Capone must be told.
Get through to him.” She ignored everything else but the wish that the air in the courtroom was pure and fresh, blown down
straight from some virgin mountain range. She could smell a weak scent of pine.

One of the possessed sat down heavily. The others were all panting.

“What’s happening?” someone asked.

“Radiation, I expect,” Jacqueline said. “They’re probably bombarding us with gamma rays so they don’t have to come in to deal
with us.”
“Blast a door open,” Lennart said. “Charge them. A few of us might get through.”

“Good idea,” Jacqueline said.

He pointed a finger at the door behind the judge’s bench, its tip wavering about drunkenly. A weak crackle of white fire licked
out. It managed to stain the door with a splatter of soot, but nothing more. “Help me. Come on, together!”

Jacqueline closed her eyes, imagining all the clean air in the courtroom gathering around her and her alone. A light breeze
ruffled her suit.

“I don’t want to go back,” Perez wailed. “Not there!”

“You must,” Jacqueline said. Her breathing was easier now. “Capone will find you a body. He’ll welcome you. I envy you for
that.”

Two more of the possessed toppled over. Lennart sagged to his knees, hands clutching at his throat.

“The navy must never know what we discovered,” Jacqueline said thickly.

Perez looked up at her, too weak to plead. It wouldn’t

have been any use, he realized, not against that mind tone.

•  •  •

The shaped electron explosive charge sliced clean through the courtroom door with a lightning-bolt flash. There was very little
blowback against the marine squad crouched fifteen metres away down the corridor. Captain Peyton yelled “Go!” at the same
time as the charge was triggered. His armour suit’s communications block was switched to audio, just in case the possessed
were still active.