Ammonite Planets (Omnibus): Ammonite Galaxy #1-3 (46 page)

What they must never know was that the bulk of the space station had been saved from annihilation. This was now a new orbital station, built from scratch by the rebels. They would spend the next few days changing the distribution until it became unrecognizable. The Kwaide International Orbital Platform had just been born, in synchronous orbit with the base camp in the northern hemisphere. And any Sellite ship wanting to dock here would have to pay docking fees, a welcome tithe for the New Kwaide exchequer.

She shook her head, trying to clear it of these extraneous thoughts. She had to concentrate – there were still many things to do. With a broad smile she joined the cheers and backslapping of the rest of her group for a moment, and then turned her attention back to the console. They still had to help the two space traders back into dock.

SIX SKIDDED TO a stop beside Diva’s group, and took in the situation with grave dismay. There had been some very heavy fighting around them. Diva had managed to claim one of the small hills and her group had been surrounded on all sides by the opposing forces. They were struggling to defend their position, and the rebels were being cut down, one by one. It was a disaster.

With a ferocious cry, and without considering for a moment, Six hurled himself into the fray. The sycophants did not expect anybody to try to force a way in from outside, and his initial impetus led him to the base of the hill easily. He could see Diva above him, close now, her ornate dagger flashing in the early morning sunlight as the chill light of dawn broke over the black peak. Six took a deep breath and then launched himself up the hill, battling through the fighting bodies until at last he reached a panting Diva. She reached down with her spare hand and pulled him up level with her.

“What in Sacras are you doing here, nomus?”

Six positioned himself back to back with her, and they both began to ward off the attackers.

“I told you I would have your back!” he said, between parries. “And I keep my word.”

He could hear the grating of Diva’s white teeth as she struggled to reply. “I need nobody’s help, no-name,” she gasped. “We are managing perfectly well without you.”

Six disarmed an assailant with a complicated twist of his sword, knocking him out with a neat blow from the back of the handle to the Kwaidian’s chin. The man fell heavily, bringing down two more of the sycophants who had nearly reached Diva’s position. Six slipped and had to grab at Diva to stop himself being pulled down.

“Can’t you keep your hands to yourself?” the girl snapped.

“I was only trying to stay upright!” Six protested.

“Well stay upright without grabbing at me!” she told him.

“Oh excuse
me
, your one-upfulness, did a grubby no-name dare to touch your royal personage?”

Diva slashed savagely at an sycophant who had ventured too close. “I might have known you would come waltzing in here at the last minute, spoiling everything, Six.”

“Well, I like that!” He turned slightly to treat the back of her head to a glare. “If that is all the thanks I get, I might just leave!”

Diva looked askance at him. “Walking out might be harder than walking in,” she pointed out.

“True. It looks like you are going to have to put up with me.”

“Oh, very well. Just don’t go snatching at me anymore.” Diva turned back to her side of the battle, so Six couldn’t see the half smile which crossed her face.

“I do
not
snatch!” Six grit his teeth. “I was merely trying to keep upright.”

“I bet you tell that to all your girls!”

“I don’t have any girls!”

“You know, I can’t think why, but that doesn’t surprise me in the least.”

“I don’t see you with any men!”

Diva gave the ghost of a laugh. “Men!” she echoed. “There aren’t any men around this benighted planet. Elders, sycophants and no-names! Bah! As if Divina Senate Magmus of Coriolis could ever be associated with any of
them
!”

Six went still. “Never?” he asked, in a casual tone.

“Of course not.” Diva gave a toss of her head. “As if!”

“Then you will have to look elsewhere,” he said. “If you can find anybody willing to put up with your numbship’s airs and graces, that is.”

“They should be so lucky.” Diva took another giant slice at an attacker, who ducked just in time, and the momentum of the unconnected blow nearly took Six’s head off.

“Hey! Mind what you’re doing – you nearly decapitated me.” he grumbled, and the moment was past. They were far too busy after that for more conversation. Six found the casual words Diva had uttered echoing lazily around in his head. ‘As if Divina Senate Magmus of Coriolis could ever be associated with any of
them
’!

Of course she couldn’t. Diva was a thoroughbred Coriolan aristocrat. There was no way she would consider an alliance with a tainted untouchable from Kwaide, even after all that she had gone through. If there were any such pretenders, he thought harshly, they would be well advised to drop their pretensions and settle for some other girl. Any other girl. That would be the most sensible advice he could give them. Definitely. There would be no point allowing them to foster false hopes. No. It would be much better – if there
were
anybody contemplating admitting how they felt – to tell them to forget the whole thing, bury their feelings under a surface of friendship, and abdicate in favour of some more appropriate – because virtually anybody would be more appropriate – person. By the time he had come to the end of this train of thought he had worked himself into such a fury for some unknown reason that he flung himself on the next sycophant who confronted him with his bare hands. He felt an imperious need to throttle someone.

Diva knew from the chill air on her back that he was no longer immediately behind her. She half-turned to see if he needed any help, and was just in time to parry the attack of one of the sycophants in the Elder army.

“You nearly got yourself killed doing that!” she screamed at Six, as the boy gave a final shake to the sycophant, and regretfully let him go.

“No need to exaggerate, Diva,” he told her. “I was just seeing if you were awake.”

“You were within an ace of being spitted!”

“Sorry. My hands got itchy.”

“Itchy! What do you mean, itchy? Where do you think we are – in the middle of a training exercise with Cimma?”

“Yeah, yeah – whatever.”

That only fanned the flames. “If you insist on coming over here to watch my back the least you could do is watch it!”

“All right! Keep your hair on! It was only a moment’s lapsus.”

Diva rolled her eyes up towards Lumina. “Men!” she sighed. “You lot can’t seem to concentrate on one thing for more than a couple of moments at a time.”

“Hang on a minute – I was only gone for a second or two.”

“But you
were
gone. I can’t see why you moseyed over here in the first place!”

“Oh, pardon me, milady – I was only trying to help!”

“Well don’t,” snapped an unrepentant Diva. “Nobody asked for your help, Kwaidian!”

“Fine by me!” Six glowered at her and retook his position at her back. “As soon as we have got rid of these attackers I will remove my sorry presence from your royal huffiness and get back to my own group.”

“You do that!”

“I will!”

HALF AN HOUR later the fighting was becoming less intense around the hill, although there were only five left of Diva’s initial group. Six was just about to congratulate himself on having successfully repelled the attack when he spotted a sycophant knife-slinger out of the corner of his eye. He swiveled round immediately. Knife-slingers were few and far between – it was an ancient art, which had been losing adepts in recent years. Rumour had it that an expert knife-slinger could bury his shaft in anybody he liked up to a distance of forty meters.

He realized straight away that the objective was Diva. The man was taking careful aim, and his arm was already in the convoluted winding up process which imparted the deadly impetus to the weapon. There was no time. Without thinking he threw his weight backwards, knocking Diva to the ground as he did and toppling after her. He thought he heard the faint swish of air being cut in two by a blade and then there was a dull thud as the knife buried itself in his arm, just beneath the right shoulder. He found himself suddenly breathless.

“AARRGH!” Diva cried, struggling to get out from under the dead weight which was pinning her down. “Get off me Six! I thought I told you not to go grappling me about!”

Six smiled to himself behind gritted teeth, but found himself unable to reply. His arm was useless and a deep black pain was beginning to radiate through him.

“Get off me, I say!” And she gave another bout of futile struggles.

“Would if I could!” Six managed to get out, waves of sickness sweeping through him.

“
Valhai
Diva!
Valhai
Diva!” The rest of her group converged on her position. The knife-slinger had put away his sling and, together with the rest of the enemy forces, vanished into the sun. They were safe for the time being.

“First Six put himself in the way of the knife,” her second in command gabbled. “It was meant for you, for sure. He saved your life, Valhai Diva!” They managed to pull Six off her, and she saw the shaft of a knife protruding from his arm. She felt suddenly dizzy and slightly sick.

“Get him to the aid centre,” she instructed. “Quickly, boneheads – can’t you see that he is injured?”

They hastened to place Six on one of the wooden pallets used to ferry the injured from the battle field to the aid centre. Diva looked down at the Kwaidian face. Six had fallen unconscious, and the pain had been wiped off his face. He looked innocent, and incredibly vulnerable. She brushed some mud off his face with one hand.

“So you did have my back, after all, nomus,” she told the still figure. Then she quoted something Six had said to her before. ‘When facing a backswamper it is better not to be alone.’ She looked down at the unaware figure. “Thank you.”

THE FIRST PERSON Six saw sitting beside his bed was Grace. Her eyes brightened as she saw he was awake, and she told him not to try to talk. She held up both hands and touched her fingers to his, and then began to explain to him what had happened.

“But you will be fine,” she told him. “The knife cut into the bone, but missed the tendons and ligaments, which is apparently a good thing, as the bone was easy to reinforce. Vion says it could have been much worse. You were very lucky that he had been transported over to help with the wounded. You will be up and about in a week or two.”

“Diva?” Six croaked.

“… Is fine. She will be here soon. She always comes to have lunch her with you. They are all very busy. You, of course, are a great hero, for saving
Valhai
Diva!”

Six made a deprecating gesture.

“No, really – they have invented a medal for valour, and called it the ‘First Six award for bravery’!”

Six stared at her, and then gave an unbelieving grin.

“It is considered a very great honour to be awarded it, I can assure you!” Grace informed him with some severity.

Six broke out laughing and then stopped abruptly as a sharp twinge of pain shot down and up his arm.

“They even want to call this city after you,” Grace told him. “They are only waiting to see what name you choose.”

“Name?” he said weakly.

“All the refugees are taking names,” she explained. “You remember that I asked my trainee pilots to choose names, to avoid confusion? Well, now Cimma has organized a department of identity, and everyone in the camps can change their number to a name by charter if they want.”

“No.”

“No, what?” she asked.

“I don’t want a name,” he said. “I am 31245.56, and that is the way I shall stay. Tell them to call their city whatever they want. I was born a no-name, and I shall always be one. Giving me a few letters isn’t going to change who I am.” He fell back, exhausted by the effort of such a long speech.

NEXT TIME HE woke he found Diva sitting with him.

“About time you woke up,” she said.

“Nice to see you too, your worshipfulness.”

Diva looked away. “urrm vurrm uch,” she mumbled.

“I’m sorry?”

“I SAID, thank you very much!”

“No! The great Diva saying thank you? What happened? Did Cesis fall into Cian? Did the heavenly triangle fail?”

“There’s no need to make a fuss about it.”