The Haunted Galaxy: Chapter 16
The battle at the Guidance Beacon was fairly chaotic. This was the first time the Corps had faced such a large force in this kind of open battle. White blamed this for the disorganized tactics of the Corps, though she couldn't help thinking that Gold's absence might have a part in it too.
The battle would have been lost from the beginning if it were not for their speed. Even as strong as their armor was, it was questionable whether they could have held up had all the Nadirites been able to converge on them. However, White and Red were far faster than any of the Nadirites and the two of them (with Green, who had gone invisible at the beginning of the fight) were able to run interference for Blue, Black, and Silver who were somewhat slower.
There was one other thing in their favor--that was the fact that the target-lock feature only worked with the strange new weapon the Nadirites used. If it could have been done with the Photon Disrupters, the battle would have been over quickly. As it was, things were bad enough. The peculiar bomb-like projectiles were impossible to dodge once a target-lock had been achieved--the only way to get rid of them was to cause them to detonate against something else, as White had discovered earlier.
“What in the Cosmos are those weapons, anyway?” asked Red. He had just used one of his energy stars to detonate one that had been headed his way. His energy stars were proving singularly useful in that regard.
“Not sure,” answered Blue. “Green, do you have data? Do you know what they are? And would they be able to hurt us if they made contact?”
“Sir--I mean, Blue--I've been analyzing the concussive force released when they detonate and based on that I think it is likely that even a direct hit would do little actual damage. However, there's no way to be certain and I would assume that multiple hits could build up a force powerful enough to hurt us even through the protection of our armor.”
“Fortunately, not many of them have those weapons--we've got to take out as many of them as we can.”
“On it,” answered Black, somersaulting forward and, with one swipe of the blades on her armor, smashing one of the weapons in the hands of the Nadirite who held it.
White shook her head. They weren't doing terrible, but she still wasn't hopeful about the outcome of the battle.
Blue was hanging back, as usual. White assumed she was trying to pick up any helpful information using the sensors in her armor. Though she might also have been trying to plan things out as the acting leader, though under the circumstances there wasn't much even Gold could have done to plan this battle.
The bulk of the fighting was being done by Silver and Black. The blades in Black's armor were the quickest and most efficient way of dealing with the power suits and the weapons of the footsoldiers. Silver, on the other hand, was plowing through the Nadirites like a juggernaut. His brute strength and skill, augmented by his armor, made him more than a match even for the power suits.
At least, to a certain extent. Something seemed wrong. The way the power suits moved was abnormal--there was a strange, fluid, smoothness to their movements. And though Silver was able to plow through them and throw them aside with relative ease, he didn't seem to be able to do them any actual harm. Black was having better success with achieving actual damage, but even that wasn't as much as it should have been. All of which was very familiar and meant one thing.
“Blue, what kind of readings are you picking up?” she asked. “We seem to be having the same problem as before--we can't actually hurt them.”
“I was afraid of that. It's Moreland's Intersect again. Erybus is using it to augment the power of the suits.”
Green spoke. “But, there are far more power suits here than there were when we fought them before and they are spread over a much larger area. Since Erybus doesn't have full access to Moreland's Intersect, he shouldn't be able to use so much of its power.”
“I'm not sure,” Blue admitted. “Something about the readings is different than before. Maybe somehow Erybus has increased his power.”
The bulk of the fighting was being done by Silver. He plowed through the Nadirites without pause. His brute strength and pugilistic skill, augmented by his armor, made him more than a match for any of the Nadirites. At least, until four of the power suits jumped him simultaneously and managed to drag him down.
“You've got to get them off,” Blue ordered.
White and Red were already on their way before she ordered. White still wasn't positive that the power suits would be able to hurt Silver, but she also knew that even Silver wasn't strong enough to get free without help and they couldn't afford to be down a fighter at this point.
White shot at full speed into one of the power suits, while Red teleported in on the other side and, firing a few energy stars to confuse the enemy, attempted to knock one of the other power suits off by brute strength.
The enemy that White had struck hadn't been prepared for the attack and flew wide at the impact. But even as White was circling back to attack the next, the one she had knocked loose was already back in his place.
Red was having his own share of trouble. Brute strength was not his strong point. With an ordinary antagonist, he could still have won easily, but the Nadirite power suit seemingly matched his power and for a moment they wrestled without either seeming to have the upper hand.
Until Black flipped across the field and drove both her blades into the energy pack at the back of the power suit. Without his power source, the Nadirite's suit went dead and he was effectively a prisoner in his own suit.
At the same moment, on the other side, White had thrown one of the power suits clear again and this time followed up to keep him away.
And then Silver shook himself and pushing out from the ground, threw the two remaining power suits off and then plowed forward again.
White moved out and then shook her head. They were stronger than the Nadirites, but the numbers were just too far off. It had taken five of them to fight four of the power suits, and there were dozens on the field. And if any of the foot soldiers had managed to score a hit while they had been occupied...
“Does anyone have a visual on Erybus?” Blue's voice seemed more tense than usual. "I've got his signature--I know he's here somewhere. If we can take him out, that should take most of the life out of his soldiers.”
“I'm taking a high position,” answered Green. “Yes, I believe I have located him.”
White had also monetarily taken a high position in order to escape a power suit. The suits could fly, but not as quickly or as high as she could. And from her position, she saw the same thing Green had. On the far side of the battlefield, a very small craft had landed. There was a number of soldiers stationed around it, but in an empty space directly in front of it stood a man dressed in black.
“If we want to get to him, we'll have to fight our way through this entire army.”
“Not if we take to the skies.”
“But if we're airborne, we're a much easier target,” Black pointed out.
“We'll just have to do our best to dodge.”
The four members of the Corps still on the ground rose together. For a few minutes, the battle continued in the air, as the Nadirite power suits rose also. But even with Moreland's Intersect augmenting their power, they were no match for the Corps in a sky battle. One or two of the suits were taken down and the rest dropped away, giving up the battle. There was an instant or two of respite, in which the Corps had the sky to themselves. And then a pulse of light blasted across the sky, about fifty yards in front of them.
“What was that?” asked Red, stopping short in amazement.
“Dive. Now. Head for Erybus.” Blue didn't even bother answering the question.
In the heat of the battle, they had forgotten Erybus's boast that he had ships in the air as well. White saw them now. There were only two of them. They weren't full-sized ships, like the one the Corps had attacked earlier. They were small enough that they could come close in, within the planet's atmosphere, but still big enough to carry powerful weapons--powerful enough to cause them problems.
If that blast had hit them, it would have hurt. But it hadn't hit.
It hadn't hit.
White's head was pounding. There was something here. Something didn't make sense about the Nadirites' actions. That had been a warning shot. But why fire a warning shot when they could possibly have taken them out? Yet again, the Nadirites seemed to be playing with them. Before she had thought it might be because one of them was working with the Nadirites. But even if one of them were, it would be easy enough in the tide of battle for that one to distance themselves from the other and avoid the Nadirite attack. No, it was something else. Something...
“Of course.” She spoke out loud, more out of sudden surprise than anything else. “That's the only answer.”
“What is?” asked Blue sharply.
“Erybus wants to capture us alive.”
“What?” Blue, Black, and Red spoke almost together.
“Everything... everything from the beginning to now... it all points to that. That's why Erybus has been playing such a long game and holding back so much. He doesn't want to destroy us--he wants us alive.”
“Why?”
“I'm not sure. Maybe in hopes of getting information out of us if he captures us?”
“But we don't know anything,” Red pointed out.
“Speak for yourself,” answered Black.
“We wouldn't have a significant amount of intel that would interest Erybus,” White admitted. “Maybe it's for propaganda purposes? It would be a big deal for the Nadirites if they managed to capture the Corps.”
That was as far as the conversation got, for by that point they had reached the point where Erybus stood. White's intention had been to head straight for him, hoping to come in as a surprise and catch him off guard. But as she shot downward, she ran into some kind of barrier which threw her aside. As she landed, she noted what she had failed to notice before--a slight distortion in the air around Erybus and his ship which indicated a shield of some kind. And then she saw something else.
Erybus was standing with his arms folded together so that his hands were hidden in the sleeves of his robe--one of his familiar attitudes. That didn't surprise her. What surprised her was the thing next to him. On the ground beside him, a small table had been set up and on it stood a strange object--a half sphere of translucent blue with a clear cylindrical stem sticking out of the top. A number of chrome dials and terminals were mounted on it. She knew exactly what it was--the Nth Dimensional Holo-Cube. Of course, she quickly corrected herself, she had no way of being sure this was the same NDHC they had encountered before--the one that had mysteriously disappeared from the Wanderer and then briefly reappeared in +(1)d--the one that she knew had to have been taken by one of the Corps. All NDHCs looked basically the same. And yet--for Erybus to have one--here--now... Of course, he was probably using it to augment his powers. Blue had said that Erybus's signature was different than before and his power seemed greater. But was it just a coincidence that it happened to be a NDHC that he was using?
“Greetings, Corps,” Erybus said as the Corps landed together in front of his shield. As always, he seemed perfectly calm. “I was wondering how long it would take you to try that. In fact, you are somewhat behind the schedule I predicted.”
“Even that shield can't protect you forever,” Red exclaimed.
“No. This universe offers no permanent protection except one--death. And that is now open to us all.”
“You still seem confident,” remarked Blue impassively.
“Of course. You have come to me as I knew you would.” Erybus bowed slightly. “I believe you have already encountered one of my ships in the air. You know how powerful they are--with weapons that can even destroy your armor. And now--” he smiled blandly-- “you are standing directly in their sights.”
“You can't be certain that even your ships' weapons will hurt us,” Blue pointed out. “Besides, it should be possible for us to breach your shield and get to you before your ships fire.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not. But then there is this.” Erybus withdrew his hands from his sleeves and placed one on top of the NDHC. “I am sure that you are aware of this device is--a machine capable of calculating and manipulating the untapped energies of nonspatial dimensions. Combine that with Moreland's Intersect, which I possess, and you have a source of almost infinite power--power to match even the fabled power of the Corps. If you force me, I will use that combined power to unleash a wave of destruction which will annihilate this entire section of the planet.”
“Killing yourself and your men as well us.”
“Exactly.” Erybus nodded with a smile. “You understand me. That is the irony of the situation. Your Code prevents you from forcing my hand--you are not willing to kill me or my men or even to let us kill ourselves--because you worship life. But we worship death, which is why we are more than willing to sacrifice ourselves and you as well if it is necessary.”
For an instant, the Corps remained motionless. White knew how fanatical the Nadirites could be, but she still wasn't positive that Erybus wasn't bluffing. Would he really be willing to kill himself and wipe out his entire army merely in order to destroy the Corps? Or was this another of his mind-games?
“And what if we aren't going to be guided by the Code?” asked Blue, in an expressionless voice. “I know that kind of destruction would hurt you, but we can't be sure it would hurt us. Our armor is stronger than you think. And maintaining the honor and legacy of the Corps was Gold's ideal, not mine.”
“If I believed you meant that, I think the war would be over, for you would be ready to join us. But I know you do not. I am sure you still think that you can win this battle by some kind of trick. But tricks are my business, not yours. Like so.” He snapped his fingers.
When the Corps landed in front of Erybus, the other Nadirite soldiers had moved back, giving them an open space. But now, as if from nowhere, six soldiers appeared, each holding a Photon Disrupter, trained on a different member of the Corps--including one pointing at empty space where White assumed Green was, though he was still invisible. Erybus must have used Moreland's Intersect to teleport them into position.
“I believe we all know by this point that a Photon Disrupter can bypass the defense of your armor,” remarked Erybus, folding his hands again. “And you should realize exactly what would happen if you receive a direct hit in the chest. It would mean death, and death in one of its less pleasant forms. And it will come if you move an inch from where you stand now--if any of you move.”
White drew her breath. If she moved quickly, could she disarm all of the soldiers before they fired? It was possible, but the odds were against it.
“So what do you want us to do?” asked Blue.
“I really don't care. Care and concern are merely phantasms which we foster in order to create the illusion of reality. In this case, as in all cases, your actions will not, can not alter the final results. Surrender and become my prisoners--fight and let disrupted photons tear your body apart--or be blasted to Oblivion by my power--in any case, it means the end of the Corps and I will have achieved what I was commissioned to do.” He paused and added, “Death or life means nothing to me, for life and death are ultimately only different names or phases of the same reality, but in this case, it is also true in a more prosaic, or practical sense--since if I fail in the mission I was given, my superiors in the Nadirites will have me executed. In both a literal and a metaphysical sense, I have nothing to lose in this situation. You, on the other hand, stand to lose everything, no matter what choice you make. You are exactly where I have always wanted you--alone and unaided...”
At that exact moment, a great many things happened almost simultaneously. “Who said they're alone? Did you forget about us Mobile Battle Units? This is Colonel Arrn, reporting for duty.” A loud, somewhat arrogant voice echoed across the battlefield. It sounded like Colonel Arrn's voice and yet somehow not quite, but White didn't have time to analyze it very far. Instinctively, everyone looked up. Somewhere in the sky, there was a flash of bright light and against it could be seen for a moment the large, humanoid shape of a MBU.
“Oh, yeah, this is going to be awesome! MECHAAAAAAAA!” shouted another voice, rather closer. That was unmistakably General Kenton's voice.
The next instant, something smashed into the Nadirite ship which had hovered above Erybus, sending it spinning sideways.
For a moment, all the Nadirites froze. White could tell they were unnerved, though at the time she didn't know that many of them had already seen the power of the MBUs in previous battles. But the fact that they were momentarily distracted gave her the chance she needed. Taking a deep breath, she shot in a backward arc, knocking the seven soldiers with the Photon Disrupters in every direction.
For a few seconds, there was chaos on the battlefield--more than usual--while in the sky above, the mech and the two Nadirite ships engaged in some kind of bizarre dogfight. Though White had knocked aside the Nadirites who had held them cornered, they were right in the middle of the entire Nadirite army, and things were sticky for a minute--enough that she didn't have much time to think. But she couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be only one MBU.
The next instant, all the Nadirites scattered from around the Corps as the MBU dropped to the ground beside them. Except that when it landed it because obvious that it wasn't one of General Kenton's MBUs or even a MBU at all. It was a loose conglomeration of dissimilar metal, including a small spaceship morphed into a more humanoid shape, mashed up with other random metal.
And then from the side of--well, whatever it was--a figure dropped to land beside the Corps.
“Sorry I'm late,” said Gold.
White looked at him in amazement. “Where--who--” but there was no time for further conversation.
The strange metal contraption was plowing its way around the field, carving a path of chaos and destruction wherever it went. And then over all the other noise, they heard a familiar chuckle. “Heh, heh, this is pretty fun. I should, you know, try being a good guy more often.”
Red glanced around, bewildered. “So--what--the mechs--mech--that was just Maxwell and you?”
Gold nodded and glanced at Blue. “I assume I have you to thank for that General Kenton impression?”
“I figured out what you were doing, and it seemed like a good touch to add. I knew the instant I heard Colonel Arrn's voice that it was you. You and your dad may have similar voices, but not enough to fool me.”
“It fooled the Nadirites, which is all that matters. It bought us some time. And Maxwell should provide a distraction, giving us a little more time.” Gold spoke in a quick, low voice. “We have to take out Erybus but to do that, we've got to bypass the Nadirites tracking system.” Apparently, Gold had a good grasp on what was going on. “Green, you've got to block them.”
“Sir--I've been trying, but since I haven't been able to determine how they are tracking us in the first place...”
“Green, I need you to think. Somehow, they are tracking us. It's not a perfect system, but it works. Is there any way that's possible? You may think it's unlikely, you may think there's no way they're doing it, but is there any way it's possible?”
There was a slight pause, and then Green answered in a new voice. “Well, yes, there is one thing. The crystals embedded in our armor--which connect to the Matrix--would produce an energy signature of a certain kind. But the odds of their finding the exact frequency needed to tune in to that signature are about sixteen and a half trillion to one. Because--” Green sounded as if he were about to launch into a long, scientific explanation, but Gold cut him off.
“If they were doing that, could you block them?”
“Yes, that would be relatively simple.”
“Then do it. White, we've got to get that NDHC away from him before he decides to carry through with his threat. Erybus is a danger, but without that, he'll be a manageable danger.”
“But his shield--”
“You can bypass his shield by phasing to +(.5)d. I know you can't phase back quickly enough to attack, but you should be able to use your armor to phase the NDHC to you, which will get it out of Erybus's hands.”
White glanced at Gold. Clearly, he had been doing a lot of hard thinking. She had never considered trying something like that before, but given the way her armor worked, it should be possible. “But if I'm in +(.5)d, he'll still be able to see me.”
“That's why we'll provide a distraction. Phase, now.”
“Right.” She took a deep breath and forced herself plusward along the fourth-dimensional axis. From +(.5)d, the whole world seemed wraithlike and unreal, while she knew that she looked the same way to those around her.
Gold was still moving quickly and with decision. “Green, do you have that scrambler set up?”
“Sir, it is functional. If that was the way they were targeting us, they will now be unable.”
“Blue, are you picking up any readings I need to know about? Does Erybus have any other little surprises to spring on us?”
“Not that I can see,” she answered in an emotionless voice. If she was upset at Gold taking back leadership in the battle, she wasn't showing it. “But I can't guarantee what he'll do next.”
“Got it. Silver, phase off your armor and give me your warriorsphere.” Silver obediently shed his armor and handed Gold the metallic sphere from off the chain at his neck. “Eo, come,” Gold called out and Silver vanished. Gold then spun and handed the sphere to Red. “Give it about thirty seconds, and then teleport through Erybus's shield and take Silver with you. Provide cover for White.”
“Right. Got it.” Red nodded.
“Black, you and me and Blue will keep the rest of these Nadirites back, keep them from interfering.”
“Right-O, chief.”
“If nothing else of interest comes along, anyway,” added Blue, in her old, laconic manner.
“Now! Go!”
Ever since Gold and Maxwell had appeared, Erybus had seemed a little uneasy. Clearly, for once the Corps had managed to catch him by surprise--the addition of these two new allies was not in his calculations. And it had probably taken him a little longer to figure out exactly what was going on--at first, he had assumably believed that General Kenton and his squad really were on the scene. At any rate, he had not made any move to interfere, probably waiting for further developments.
And then Red ran up to the side of his shield and teleported to the inside. The instant he was in, he threw Silver's warriorsphere, and shouted: “Eo! Silver! Away!” And then the next moment, he had teleported sideways and fired an energy star at the Nadirite commander. The sphere rolled to a point directly in front of Erybus and then Silver appeared and sprang towards Erybus also.
And that provided the cover White needed. While she remained in +(.5)d, Erybus's shield meant nothing to her, and she passed through it easily. If Erybus had been watching, he would have seen her coming towards him like some kind of phantom, like the ghost of the Haunted Galaxy. But with Red and Silver almost on top of him, he had no thought to spare for watching for ghosts. She moved swiftly forward until she was directly on top of the NDHC. She had never tried something exactly like this before, but Gold was right that it ought to work. In theory. Almost (but not quite) closing her eyes in concentration, she forced her armor to reach minusward to =(0)d and grasped the NDHC.
Erybus had deflected Red's attack with his hands. (As before, the apparatus he wore over his hands glowed bluish-silver, indicating the power of Moreland's Intersect.) He turned to meet Silver's advance but something, probably more instinct than reason or observation, made him turn suddenly and reach for the NDHC--at the same exact moment that White grasped it.
For just a moment, both Erybus and White held the device--and then with a snap, it collapsed, scattering pieces in every direction. It was a delicate instrument, not built for the stress of war, much less the stress of being pulled in two different directions. As it collapsed, the shield around Erybus flickered and vanished.
Erybus had frozen just for a second when the NDHC collapsed. Obviously, this was the last thing he had expected. And in that second, the Corps was all around him.
He moved sideways, one hand raised as if to attack Silver. But the Corps had learned something in their previous battle with him. Black jumped to Silver's side and with a swipe of her blades managed to counteract the shock wave which Erybus had released. At the same moment, Red teleported to his other side, while Gold and Blue moved forward. Green and White (who had phased back to =(0)d) came in from overhead. Erybus's power (through his approximation of Moreland's Intersect) was great, but since it was concentrated in his hands and he had only two hands, the Corps had him at a severe disadvantage.
He sent a shock wave towards Red, but Red simply teleported out of its way and managed to get almost up to him. At the same time, Green dropped down on him from above.
Erybus moved backwards, so that his back was directly against his ship, and struck his hands together as hard as he could, creating a pulse of vibration that sent Green, Red, and Silver (who were closest to him) stumbling backwards. They were pushed back, but uninjured.
Gold moved forward, perfectly calm. “Your trump card is gone, one of your ships is down, your troops are disorganized, and now all seven of us--and Maxwell--are here. Even with your power, you can't hope to win against all of us, so I think you would be wisest to surrender.”
Erybus was breathing heavily. Throughout all his interactions with the Corps up to this point, he had maintained a nearly perfect veneer of calm urbanity. Now, for the first time, he seemed to show genuine emotion. “Didn't I tell you that to me life and death, victory and defeat, were all as one? The end... the beginning... success... failure... existence... extinction... before the face of Oblivion, all the things of this world grow strangely dim. That reality is my last trick.” With a motion so fast the Corps could hardly follow it, he pulled a small gun from inside his robe and fired it over his shoulder at the ship behind him. The shot went straight through the fuel core.
The Corps barely had time to brace themselves, as the air was rocked by an explosion which showered hot shrapnel in every direction. The ship must have used an unusually volatile fuel and the sudden impact caused a temporary inferno of white-hot fire. The Corps had been thrown backwards by the explosion and even from that distance and through the protection of their armor, they could feel the heat of that fire.
And then, it was over and there was nothing but wisps of black smoke rising skyward.
“Well,” said Gold, landing on the ground, “I guess that ends that.”
White landed beside him. She realized now that Erybus had been telling the truth when he said that death and life meant nothing to him, especially if he failed in his plan. “May the Creator have mercy on his soul,” she said, quietly, more by instinct than thought.
With Erybus gone, the battle was essentially over. A few of the Nadirite soldiers kept up the fight, but not very many and with the seven members of the Corps and Maxwell--and without Erybus's protection--they weren't much of a problem. Actually, when all was said and done there were a lot fewer soldiers on the field than White had thought originally. Either some had run away during the battle, or she had miscalculated the number due to stress, or Erybus had actually somehow used Moreland's Intersect to mess with their perception and make it appear that his army was bigger than it actually was.
Ending the battle itself was relatively simple. Dealing with it after it was ended was a little more messy. Lacking any other option, the Corps turned the station for the Guidance Beacon into an impromptu prison for the remaining Nadirites, as well as a hospital for those who had been seriously injured in the battle.
It was several hours later when that part of the business was taken care of and the seven members of the Corps, now without their armor, stood together in the center of the battlefield. This was White's first chance to see Gold in person since he returned. She could tell something about him was different. He seemed more composed and calm, more like she remembered him from the time when she first joined the Corps. But there was something else, something at the back of his manner which she couldn't place. Something almost... smug? No, that wasn't quite it, but something... as if he knew something the rest of them didn't.
“So, will someone please tell me why Maxwell is with us?” asked Black, glancing at Maxwell, who, along with his mechog, were standing at the foot of his makeshift MBU a yard or two away. “Whatever street cred I had left is pretty much gone after fighting along side him today.”
“We negotiated,” answered Gold.
“I mean, I couldn't, you know, let the Nadirites kill you. Because I'm going to kill you. After I, you know, intimidate you.”
“Maxwell. Those two weeks I promised you...”
“Yeah?”
“They start now.”
“Right. And after that, you'll come looking for me?”
“Maybe.” Gold smiled grimly. “But if you're heading into Draxmore's territory, I may just let you go. The authorities in Draxmore aren't as efficient as we are when it comes to catching criminals like you, but they're a lot more efficient at dealing with them once they catch them.”
Maxwell brushed his hair back from his forehead. “It's, you know, great to know that you care, Gold.” He and his mechog rose up into the air together and he jumped into the cockpit of his MBU which, as he did, morphed back into the shape of a spaceship. “Hey, intimidate you later, guys.” The next instant, he was off.
Gold continued smiling, slightly less grimly.
“How did you find him in the first place?” asked Red.
“Put a tracer on his mechog. I told him that I did. I'm just wondering whether he's going to think to remove it now.” Gold turned around and looked at Blue. “By the way, I'd like my jacket back.”
She shrugged it off and tossed it to him. “It didn't fit very well anyway. I'll have to give it some time before I try it on again.”
“I'll be looking forward to it.”
White somehow felt better, just seeing Gold in his jacket again. And she was glad that the fracture in the Corps had been healed, at least temporarily. Blue might not still be completely satisfied with Gold's leadership, but even she couldn't deny that he had proved his skill by engineering their victory.
“So what's the plan now, chief?” asked Black.
“Unfortunately, we're still no closer to completing our objective--reactivating the Guidance Beacon. But with Erybus gone, it should be a simple matter to fly back to Centauri City and pick up the supplies we need--as well as sending a message to the Prefect to update him on what's going on. We'll also need some patrol ships out here to pick up all these Nadirite captives, since we don't have that kind of space on The Crystallair. Maybe once they're properly arrested, we'll get some information from them, since there are still some unexplained aspects of Erybus's plans. But I think everything else is cleared up now.”
White didn't think everything else was cleared up at all. There were still so many unanswered questions about everything that had happened during the mission. Erybus's death might have rendered some of them irrelevant, but it definitely hadn't answered them. But Gold didn't give her the chance to object.
“But before we do that, we'd better go back to Altayra Rex and update the Sages about what's going on.”
“If we are going to leave the Nadirites here while we return to Centauri City, we had better ask the Sages to send some kind of guards out here,” Blue pointed out. “This isn't a secure location. Even if they can't do much, it should be better than nothing.”
“Yeah, something like that,” Gold agreed. “Right now, let's get back to the ship.”
White would very much have liked to talk to Gold seriously. She had more or less put together what must have happened after Gold had left them the day before, but she couldn't make sense of everything. And there was that strange note to his attitude, which she couldn't understand.
But Gold had taken the job of piloting the ship and with the rest of the Corps gathered in the control cabin, a private conversation was impossible. She sat at the side of the cabin, vaguely listening to the others talk about the battle and the possibility of repairing the Guidance Beacon. She had a strange feeling of anti-climax. They had defeated the Nadirites. Maxwell was out of their way for the time being. Their mission was almost over. But there were still so many unanswered questions. Why had Erybus chosen to sabotage the Guidance Beacon in the first place? If he was merely trying to capture the Corps, why had he chosen the Altayra System as the place for his ambush? How had the Nadirites managed to keep up with the Corps so easily? And where had the NDHC come from? While some of the things didn't really matter now, since the Nadirites had been defeated, some of them still bothered her. And some of them might still matter.
It was a matter of minutes before The Crystallair reached Altayra Rex. Leaving the ship in orbit, the seven of them went down in armor, as they had done the last time.
“Just one thing,” Gold said, as they descended. “Leave all the talking to me. This is official business.”
“Interrupting formal conversations is one of my private hobbies, but if that's an order, I guess I can't argue.” Blue seemed to have gotten her sarcasm back.
And then the Corps landed inside the courtyard where they had met the Sages before, the courtyard bordered by the royal palace, the government building, and the tower white form of the Temple of Ice. As they landed, they all phased off their armor.
Red looked around hopefully, obviously looking for any sign of Princess Valencia. She was not present, but Zortan and Rothmar stood as if waiting for them.
“I see you have returned,” remarked Zortan with a slight bow. “Have you made any progress with your mission?”
“Our mission. Yeah.” Gold moved forward, moving with complete self-confidence. “Our mission was to reactivate the Guidance Beacon, but of course you know that it got mixed up with the Nadirites, and we've spent more of our time here fighting the Nadirites than working on the Guidance Beacon. Funny thing about the Nadirites, though. Ever since we came to this system, there's been something weird about them. They knew things they shouldn't have known and did things they should have been able to do. Somehow, Erybus was always one step ahead of us.”
He moved as if pacing, turning away from the two Sages, who stood watching him. “It was almost as if someone were giving them information, as if someone were giving them inside information about us and our actions. I wondered about it for a long time.” He threw this casually over her shoulder. “And then, earlier, I had a little conversation with someone. And that's when I learned what was really going on--who was betraying the Corps to the Nadirites.”
He swung around suddenly and faced the Sages. “It was the two of you--Zortan--Rothmar--you were the ones helping the Nadirites all this time.”
For just an instant, everyone froze. That was the last thing anybody expected. White's mind was racing and the back of her head was tingling as she tried to make sense of it. She knew Gold too well by this time and there was something about his attitude, his stance--was he--bluffing? He had to be. There was no way he was right. Zortan and Rothmar didn't possess the knowledge to betray the Corps if they wanted to. But surely Gold would never try a bluff this audacious when dealing with men like the Sages. He could cause an international incident...
And then Rothmar let out a savage snarl. “So the freak talked, did he? I'll fix him this time.”
Zortan pinched the bridge of his nose and then spoke in a rapid staccato. “Altayra is a sovereign power. What alliances she may have formed with other powers, such as the Nadirites, is no concern of yours. I did not understand that your government had sent you here to regulate our international policies.”
Gold smiled with one side of his mouth and crossed his arms. “Hmm,” he remarked noncommittally.
And then another voice broke the silence. “Do you really mean--all this time--everything we've gone through--everything--all those years--all of it--do you really mean it was all a lie?” The voice was so strange and broken, that it took White a minute to identify it.
But the next instant, Green had sprung forward to confront the Sages, his hands shaking convulsively. “Was it really all a lie?” he repeated, his usually calm voice charged with emotion. “You really betrayed me?”
“Freak! You betrayed us.” Rothmar's face was dark with anger.
Zortan seemed equally angry, though his expression was more composed. “You of all people know why we have done what we have done.”
“Of course it's true.” Green seemed to be speaking more to himself. “That's the only way the Nadirites could have figured out the exact frequency needed to track us. But why--”
“You know why.” Zortan clenched his fists. “The power we need--the Nadirites could provide it. The power of Moreland's Intersect, it could have solved everything. They offered us ultimate power.”
“And ultimate despair,” returned Green, pushing his hat back. His voice was rising in intensity, but for once stayed level in pitch. For a moment, he seemed much older than usual. “Have you two really gone so mad that you thought you could bring about life by making an alliance with those who worship death? Even if Erybus could have helped us, do you think he would keep any promises he made? Do you think that such a future, a future with Altayra allied with the Nadirites, would be what anybody wants? Don't you see that it would be far worse even than things as they are?”
Rothmar growled. “How dare you lecture us? We made you what you are. Without us, you would be nothing.”
“Yes, you made me what I am.” He turned to Zortan. “I never liked you, Zortan. I never respected you, even if you were like a father to me. But I did believe you. I accepted everything, I let you make me into your tool, because I believed you--because I believed in the cause for which you worked. Everything I want through because of you, everything I did because of you--all those years--and then betraying my own friends--I did it because of our cause. And then--then you just throw it all away--you betrayed me and the Altayra system--to the Nadirites...” Green seemed so overpowered with emotion that he couldn't speak. Then, suddenly, his hands stopped shaking. “Hold that,” he ordered, pulling off his hat and thrusting it into Black's hands. The next instant, he had phased on his armor and ran at the two sages, vanishing as he did.
“That trick can't save you this time,” said Zortan and, from inside his robe, he produced one of the strange Nadirite weapons. “Or have you forgotten that you taught us the exact frequency to lock onto your armor?”
“Yes,” answered Green's voice, “but that also means I know exactly how to jam your tracer. Even a tool can work both ways, you know.” The next instant, the weapon had been wrenched from his hand and smashed against a similar weapon which Rothmar had drawn in the intervening time.
“I have no idea what's going on,” said Black, shaking her head, “but this looks fun. Can I join?”
Gold shook his head. “This is Green's fight. Besides, you have to hold his hat.”
White felt nearly as confused as Black. Clearly, there was far more to Green than any of them had realized. Still, she forced herself to ignore all that for the moment and concentrate on the fight unfolding before them. Green, generally speaking, wasn't much a fighter, but with his armor, two mere men shouldn't prove any problem for him. In fact, White found it odd that the Sages managed to put up as much of a fight as they did. She wouldn't have thought of them as being physically strong men, especially. Still, since their antagonist could fly, had super-human strength, and was invisible, even their best was doomed to failure.
Blue spoke in a laconic voice but with a subcurrent of urgency. “Are you going to stop him? He's going to break the Code. Just so you know.”
White caught Blue's concern. Green wasn't holding back. And with the Sages having no protection, it was only a matter of time...
Gold was smiling and he shook his head. “You don't understand yet, do you? They're ghosts. And it's no crime to murder a ghost.”
The next instant, it happened--happened too quickly for White to feel any alarm or revulsion. Green became visible and smashed point blank into Rothmar, knocking him against the stone bench where Valencia had been sitting on their first meeting--as he did, there was a crash and the man the collapsed--the man collapsed, sending shards of metal and bits of wire in a shower to the ground as what had once appeared to be a man fell to literal pieces. Green spun around and grabbed Zortan and in an instant the process was repeated and there was nothing left off the two Sages aside from a mass of broken machinery and torn cloth. As Zortan collapsed, Green grasped one piece of metal in his hand and spoke into it. “I don't know if you can hear me or not, Zortan,” he said, his voice calm and cold, “but I just want you to know that if we ever meet again, I will personally make sure that you are held responsible. For everything. A lot has changed since those days when you molded me into your tool. Now I have friends.” With one final motion, he crushed the device in his hands and then phased off his armor. He walked back to rejoin the Corps. Taking back his hat from Black, he carefully put it back on his head. He kept talking as if finishing the sentence, though in his more ordinary voice. “Friends who are probably going to court-martial me for treason, but friends nonetheless.”
“Nobody's going to court-martial anyone,” said Gold calmly. “I'm not sure any of our actions over the last week would bear too close an inspection.”
Red was staring blankly at what was left of the Sages. “Do you mean--the Sages--they were robots?”
“Androids, technically. Robots containing synthi-organic components.” Green adjusted his hat. “They're not the only robots you've met in Altayra. There were a couple of others--the guard that brought us here that first morning, and the one who guided us in Hath'ellah, and that servant, Alexse.” He glanced at Gold. “You've figured out everything, haven't you.” He said it as a statement.
Gold nodded. “Not everything, but a lot of it. After I talked to Maxwell, most of it was pretty clear. I just had to make a few tests to make sure I was right. But there are still some points you need to fill in.”
“Would you fill the rest of us in too?” asked Black. “Right now, I'm as clueless as Red is usually.”
Green adjusted his hat again and then turned to face all of them. There was a certain note of determination in his face. But also a little embarrassment. “Right. All of you deserve an explanation. And an apology. I should have told you everything from the beginning. And I shouldn't have given the information I did to Zortan. But I never dreamed the Sages would throw in with the Nadirites. I think they really did finally go insane.”
“How can a robot go insane?” asked Red.
“Well, they weren't exactly robots.” Green shook his head. “This is going to be hard to explain. I guess it will be simpler if I start at the beginning. And to do that, you'll have to meet the ruler of Altayra.”
“We've already met Princess Valencia,” Red objected.
“You need to meet the real ruler of Altayra,” Green replied. And then he turned around and walked across the courtyard, towards the long stairway which led up to the Temple of Ice.
To be continued...
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