Death to the Imperium (Imperium Cicernus) (9 page)

“You
see,” Janzley said. “I told you. This thing is my own project. I’ve repaired it
with parts from other ships.”

Alyce
stared at the ship. It was certainly a horrendous sight. No one in their right
mind would want to buy such a vessel—unless they needed it for a special
reason. Alyce smiled. It was just right for their needs.

“We’ll
take it,” she said.

“Twenty
thousand credits, plus your Beetle craft?”

Alyce
nodded. “Agreed.”

She
handed Janzley the credit bar, as well as the access key for the Beetle. Then she
shook hands with Janzley, squirming slightly at the moistness of its paws. The
Stolnite thought she must be stupid for spending so much money on such a
worthless craft. Janzley had only kept it in a state of repair because he had
won it in a game of Heartless. When you get something for free—either by
stealing it or winning it in a card game—you are guaranteed a profit, even if
only a small one.

He
pointed upwards. “There’s a hole in the cave roof. You’ll be able to pilot the
ship through it—if you’re careful.”

“What
kind of drive does it use?” Alyce said.

“A
phase drive,” Janzley said, pointing a finger proudly.

“Great,”
Alyce turned to Alyce and Tekka. “We can also use the wormhole network; I have
full authorisation. Come on. Let’s get moving.”

They
navigated their way through piles of obsolete and broken machinery, climbing
over engines and androids on their way to the ship. The thing looked even worse
up close. The signs of repair were even more obvious, and the whole thing
looked like something a cosmic hobo would ride around in. In short, it was
exactly what they needed.

Alyce
led them inside the ship through the creaking entrance hatch. It was quite
small inside, but there were two levels. On the bottom level were two tiny
rooms each containing two bunks, as well as the engine room. A narrow ladder
led up to the top level, which contained the miniscule flight deck and a small
kitchen. It was so tight in there that Glitz had to duck his head when passing
through into the flight deck. They all stood amidst the ship’s controls.

“Well,
this is cosy,” Alyce said.

“Can
you explain what all this is about?” Glitz said. “I mean, presuming you haven’t
just lost it, I’m guessing there must be a reason for this. So why a scrap
ship?”

“The
scout ship that entered the vicinity of Chaos was destroyed very quickly,” the Captain
replied. “This suggests that the hostile forces may have some kind of threat
detection technology. Perhaps they can detect the presence of weaponry, or
maybe they respond to the serial numbers of Imperium ships. In either case,
this ship wouldn’t register as a threat.”

“Very
neat,” Tekka said. “But suppose that they simply destroy
every
ship that
approaches them, regardless of its intention?”

Alyce
nodded slowly. “I’ve considered that. And it’s a possibility. But we have to
take that chance.” She paused. “Before we go to Chaos, we’ll stop off at a
nearby planet to change our clothes. It contravenes Navy regulations, but it
might give us greater chances of survival. If we’re captured we can pretend to
be some wandering bohemians roaming the galaxy.”

Glitz
glanced at Tekka, unable to resist a smirk. He couldn’t imagine a less likely
bohemian than Tekka.

“Is
something funny?” Alyce said sternly.

“Listen,
lady,” Glitz said, his temper rising, “don’t think you can talk to me like one
of your sycophantic underlings. I was a cadet in the army before you were even
born.”

“And
thrown out before I was born, too,” Alyce retorted.

Glitz
scowled. “What’s to stop us blasting you off into space, commandeering this
ship, and flying away to some far off galaxy?”

Alyce
pulled out a blaster from her holster. “You aren’t holding a ZK-88.”

Glitz
pretended to glower at her, but he felt his anger turning into quite a
different passion at the sight of Alyce holding the gun, aiming it at him with
such an intense look of ferocity.

“You
win this time,” Glitz said, and she lowered the blaster.

“Let’s
just get off this rock,” Doland said.

Without
saying a word, Tekka stepped up to the controls and began to operate them. His
hands moved deftly over the switches and buttons; within a few seconds, the
engine began to roar, and the ship started to ascend. With careful precision,
Tekka piloted the ship through the gap in the cave roof, and took them higher
into the sky. They passed through the planet’s atmosphere with ease, and the
artificial gravity—thankfully—kicked in.

“Well,
I’m going to get some sleep,” Glitz said.

“Same
here,” Doland said.

On
Doland’s suggestion, they moved one of the mattresses from the second room into
the first, so the three men could share a room. Glitz didn’t like the idea. For
one thing, the rooms were tiny. Also, he didn’t like the fact that Alyce got
her own room. Surely it would only increase her sense of superiority? But in
the end he agreed with Doland, mostly because he was too tired to argue.

Once
they had moved the mattress, Glitz lied down. There were no sheets—not even a
pillow—but he was so tired that he fell asleep almost instantly. Doland lied
awake for a while, feeling a little sorry for himself.
How have I ended up
here?
he thought glumly.
How did I go from being the best salesman on
Opus to being a convict on a mission of certain death?
Finally, the
disturbing thoughts eased, and he managed to get to sleep.

A
few hours later, when Alyce had already gone to bed, Tekka retired to bed and
lied awake in silence. He had never slept much, even when he was a child. Somehow,
he didn’t seem to need as much sleep as ordinary people. He stayed awake all
night, listening to the sound of the engines.

They
were now very close to their destination. Alyce and Tekka had navigated the
ship towards the Farron system, which was a popular shopping destination for
wealthy space tourists. They landed on a parking asteroid, and one of the
robots took their ship away for temporary storage. The group then took the
shuttle to one of the planets in the Farron system, which was called Clothes
Direct. Glitz grimaced as the shuttle took them to the planet. He hated
shopping, especially on tacky planets like that one. What kind of name for a
planet was “Clothes Direct”? As the shuttle took them closer, Glitz could see
Tekka staring grimly out of the window.

“You
don’t like shopping either, eh?” Glitz said.

Tekka
shook his head. “I hardly see the purpose of such an activity. Shopping is a pursuit
which steals the hours, dulls the mind, and empties the wallet.”

“Too
bad it’s necessary,” Alyce said, slightly amused by Tekka’s poetic epigram.
“Like I said, wearing our Imperial uniforms to Chaos is too risky. We need to
change into something less… official.”

Doland
raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know… I quite like a bit of shopping.”

Tekka
frowned at him. Eventually, the shuttle landed, and they got off on Clothes
Direct. The entire planet, which was around a quarter of the size of Homeworld,
was covered by one large super-mall. They entered the mall through the nearest
entrance. A series of guided transport pods stood empty, waiting to be used.
Alyce approached one of the information terminals and glanced at the directory
of stores on the adjacent screen.

“Right,”
she said, tapping her pocket. “This place is huge, so keep your communicators
on you at all times.”

Glitz
instinctively felt the pocket of his uniform. The communicator was slipped into
a purpose-made pouch. The last thing he wanted was to be stranded on the
wretched planet.

“Can
we make this quick?” he said.

“I’ll
do my best,” Alyce replied.

She
selected one of the stores—which was called “Sullivan’s”—from the directory,
and the option blinked yellow. The guided pod opened, and the four of them
climbed inside. It was comfortable and roomy, and the seats were upholstered
luxuriously. The guided pod, which had a vidscreen in place of a window, played
advertisements as it flew them to their destination. They arrived, and stepped
out of the pod. Glitz looked around. The store was stylishly decorated, with
smart wooden floors, black mirrored walls, and bright directional lights that
seemed to give everything sharp definition.

“Been
here before?” Doland said.

Alyce
nodded. “Once, when I was a little girl. I was going through a rebellious
phase.”

Glitz
frowned. What did she mean by
rebellious
? What was rebellious about
visiting a clothes store? He looked around again, making a closer examination
of the clothes that were hanging on nearby racks. Everything seemed to be
black… and made of leather… Glitz started to have a bad feeling about the
place. Then he looked up at the logo that was glowing on one of the black walls.
The word “Sullivan’s” was printed in red text beneath a large purple eye.

“For
the love of space!” Glitz said. “This is a Proteist shop!”

“That’s
right,” Alyce said, grinning. “Why? Not embarrassed are you?”

“Why
would you even bring us here?”

“Simple.
We need a good cover story in case we get captured by the enemy forces. What
better disguise could we wish for? We’ll tell them that we’re just a bunch of
Proteists—we’ve bought a rundown ship and we were looking for a quiet spot in
the galaxy to practise our… religion.”

Tekka
nodded. “It is a good idea.” But Glitz could tell by his expression that the
idea was distasteful to him.

“Fine,”
Glitz said, shrugging. “Let’s get kitted up.”

There
was nothing particularly scandalous or embarrassing about the actual clothes
worn by Proteists—members of the religion had a predilection for black leather,
but a lot of non-Proteists also wore such clothing. The main embarrassment for
Glitz was to be inside a Proteist shop. He moved around quickly, as customers
dressed in black roamed around, picking out garments. He didn’t spend too long
choosing his outfit; he was eager to get out of Sullivan’s as quickly as
possible. Settling on a black leather jacket, a pair of black jeans, and some
plain boots, he took them over to the checkout and waited for the others. They
seemed to take forever. When they finally arrived, Alyce paid for all of the
clothes with an Imperium-issued credit bar.

They
then went into the customer changing area. Glitz entered one of the booths and
got changed into his new clothes, placing his Imperial uniform into the
incineration chute as Alyce had instructed. When he had changed, he glanced at
his reflection. He had to admit that he looked pretty good. His usual choice of
clothing was limited to brown work trousers and a Vellorm jacket, but the
leather suited him surprisingly well. He stepped out of the booth and waited
for the others.

Tekka
emerged next, wearing an all-black leather suit, along with black Cyclone
shoes. The suit was an excellent fit, but he looked rather uncomfortable. He
usually wore loose-fitting, comfortable clothes. Then Doland came out, wearing
an ostentatious jacket with encrusted gems. It looked far too big for him, and
the overall effect was pretty ridiculous.

Then
Alyce stepped out of the changing rooms, and Glitz was speechless. She looked
amazing. She was wearing a fitted leather jacket, along with a black leather
skirt and a tight black blouse. The black material clung tightly to her skin
and emphasised her shapely breasts. For a moment, Glitz just stared at her.

“You
look… nice,” he said.

Alyce
smiled condescendingly. “Thank you. Now, let me make one thing clear. Although
we’re pretending to be Proteists, there’s to be no funny business on the ship. Don’t
go trying anything on. We’re all professionals.” She glanced at Tekka, who
still looked uncomfortable in his new costume. “That includes you, Tekka. I
know how much men like leather, but don’t go coming on to me. It’s against
regulations.”

She
was obviously trying to embarrass him, but Tekka simply stared at her with a
cold aspect and stony face. Alyce shrugged and walked over to the guided pods,
and searched for the shuttle bay in the planet’s directory.

“She
looks so hot,” Doland murmured longingly, with a hint of hopelessness in his
voice. He knew that he would never be able to attract a woman like Alyce
Wickham.

“Yeah,
she does,” Glitz admitted, staring at Alyce, feeling a familiar stirring of
passion. He glanced at Tekka, who was staring at the floor, seemingly immune to
Alyce’s charms. “What do you think?” he said, nodding to Alyce.

“She
looks fine,” Tekka said perfunctorily. “A very convincing Proteist.”

Glitz
rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but come on. Look at her. You’ve got to admit that
she’s beautiful.”

Tekka
paused, frowning slightly. He had never really appreciated the concept of
beauty. He understood the principle—that an aesthetically-pleasing object was
supposed to provoke some kind of emotional reaction—but he had never felt such
a reaction himself.

Doland
frowned. “You’re not… I mean… you do
like
women, right? You aren’t…” He
tailed off, staring at Tekka.

“If
you are asking whether I am a homosexual, then no. I am not,” Tekka replied
simply.

“So…
have you ever had a girlfriend?”

Tekka
nodded. “Yes. In fact, I was married.”

Glitz
was suddenly intrigued. The old adage that said there was someone for everyone
really seemed to be true. Visions flashed before his mind of a female version
of Tekka, another cold and analytical genius. “Really? What was her name?”

“Her
name was Nim.” For a second, Glitz was sure that a flash of sadness passed over
Tekka’s features, but before he could press him any further, Alyce spoke again.

“Come
on, you three. Back to the shuttle.”

***

They
returned to their scrapyard ship, which Alyce had decided to christen the
Wreck
,
due to its origin and appearance. The journey to the planet Chaos had been
estimated by Tekka as a three-week flight. Alyce and Glitz were mainly in
charge of the flight computer, with occasional help from Tekka. There was very
little Doland could do to help. He found it ironic that he had been asked to go
along on the mission. Their escape from Malus had been almost entirely thanks to
Tekka; Glitz and Doland had played simple parts in the plan. Tekka had been the
mastermind. And now, because of Tekka’s genius, they were all being forced to
travel to the planet Chaos to face an unknown enemy. Doland didn’t have any
skills that would be useful to the mission. He was a salesman, and he had
entered such an occupation because it was easy. He hadn’t wanted to become a
doctor or an engineer—those jobs were too difficult. He hadn’t paid much
attention in school, and he knew very little about basic physics, let alone
astronavigation. Now his ignorance might cost him his very life.

The
men tried to let Alyce have her own space during the flight, but somehow Glitz
and Alyce couldn’t help getting on each other’s nerves. When he was ten years
old and a pupil at the local Primary School, Glitz had formed a strong rivalry
with a girl in his class called Dia Foley. He had done everything in his power
to annoy her, and Dia had told the teacher about every little thing he did
wrong. The pair hated each other, and yet at the same time they felt bound
together by the angry passion. Oddly, his relationship with Alyce seemed to be
rather the same. Although she irritated him, he couldn’t find it in himself to
hate her. The more annoying she became, the more attractive she also seemed to
become.

Although
Alyce was not prepared to admit it to herself, she had similar feelings towards
Glitz. The man was handsome, rugged, sarcastic and selfish. And she found him irresistible.
Somehow, the fact that she knew a relationship with him was virtually
impossible made her even more annoyed by his actions. Little things he did—like
snoring loudly from the other room, or picking faults with her course
correction—infuriated and exasperated her beyond belief. She couldn’t wait to
finish the mission and get away from the man, but a tiny, unacknowledged part
of her wished that the mission would never end. But such a feeling was
inappropriate for a captain of the Navy, and so she pushed it to the back of
her mind, suppressing the idea.

After
a long journey, and several arguments, the
Wreck
had finally entered the
vicinity of space known as the Badlands. This was a part of the galaxy that was
still largely unoccupied. A few pioneering explorers, such as the legendary
Dorian Night, had visited many of the local planets, but no significant settlement
had ever been carried out.

“We’re
in the far reaches of the Paradonian Sector,” Alyce explained. “We’re close to
the planet.”

It
took only a few minutes for her to locate the planet. Alyce brought up an image
of the world on the main scanner. The picture was fuzzy and unclear, but they
could see a dull sphere, broken by a chasm of fire. Doland shuddered at the
sight of the forbidding world, thinking of General Blaize’s comments about the
planet Chaos—that it was a world populated by vicious wild animals, and ravaged
by fierce meteorological phenomena.

“I
don’t believe it,” Alyce said quietly, staring at the scanner.

She
had been prepared to meet almost anything when they arrived at the planet. She
had braced herself to encounter at least one hostile ship, perhaps of a
terrible unknown alien race. But she had not expected to see… that.

“What?”
Doland said, staring at the picture. All he could see was the planet. “What is
it? What are you looking at?”

Tekka
was smiling slightly; he had obviously noticed the same thing as Alyce.

“What?”
Doland looked confused, looking from Alyce to Tekka.

“Nothing,”
Alyce said.

Doland
shared a bewildered glance with Glitz. They felt almost like Tekka and Alyce
were enjoying a private joke at their expense. What were the pair so surprised
about?

“Oh,
use your brain,” Tekka said. “The First Naval Lord explained that the planet
Chaos was being orbited by a mysterious ship. So where is it?”

Glitz
finally understood what they were driving at, and felt a little annoyed with
himself for being so slow. Of course. They had been expected to be greeted by
an enemy ship; that was the whole reason for obtaining the scrapyard ship and
the Proteist disguises. But not even a single satellite was orbiting the
planet.

“Perhaps
the ship landed on the planet…” Doland pointed out.

Tekka
shook his head. “I scanned. There are no large energy signals on the planet,
which means no ships. I can, however, detect some advanced machinery—I am not
yet sure of its purpose.”

Glitz
turned to Alyce. “So what’s the plan now?”

Alyce
frowned, thinking for a few moments. “We will land on the planet, as per the
mission brief. Of course, we will find that part of the plan a lot easier now
the ship has apparently deserted Chaos. We will try to find any clues or
important data. We still need to find out who the ship belonged to, and what
they wanted. Our mission is the same. We should just have fewer obstacles now.”