Deathstalker Rebellion (13 page)

“Yeah,” said Silence. “Right. That sounds like Security.”

“You’d better hope I’m right, Captain,” Stelmach said stiffly. “Whatever happened here, it’s over. The attackers are long gone. These security files could be the only records of what actually happened here.”

“We’ll applaud later,” said Frost. “Get on with it.”

Stelmach sniffed loudly, just to let them know his feelings were hurt, and then he and Cross made the last few connections. The information in the security files downloaded di
rectly through their comm implants so that visions from the past played directly on the inside of their helmets. They were patchy and incomplete, flashes of sight and sound, a swift succession of scenes from throughout the Base, but taken together the story they told was clear enough. Of what happened the day the aliens came to Gehenna Base.

They were insects, of all shapes and sizes. Spiders and bugs and praying mantises and yard-long centipedes, scuttling and crawling in an endless tide. They varied in size from less than an inch to bigger than human, and everything in between. Horrid combinations of dull carapaces and shimmering wings, too many legs and eyes, and all of them moving incredibly quickly in sudden darting movements. They snapped and stung and tore at human victims with clawed limbs. Some had clacking mandibles big and strong enough to rip a man’s head from his shoulders with an ease that was almost obscene.

Silence’s skin crawled with instinctive reaction. There was something awful and unnatural about insects that big. That organized. He watched with mounting horror as the insects swarmed through the Base, crawling over all the surfaces, running along the walls and ceiling, jumping up and dropping down on the Base personnel, biting and tearing without pause or mercy. Blood splashed everywhere, and the smaller insects licked it up. Disrupters and cold steel took their toll on the invaders, but there were so many insects, thousands of them, and they never stopped coming. And men and women died from poisoned bites and stings or lay shuddering on the floor while smaller insects burrowed in their flesh. Huge bugs like living armor tore human limbs away with horrid ease and waved them like dripping banners. People screamed and fought and died, and still the insects pressed on.

“Interesting,” said Frost quietly. “I’ve never seen so many apparently different and unconnected species acting together. Could be a mass consciousness, a gestalt or group mind. Or maybe they’re all drones, following orders from some hidden and protected queen. I can’t be more certain without specimens to examine. But I’ll tell you one thing for sure, Captain. Those big bugs aren’t natural. Insects don’t get that large. Body structure won’t allow it. Which implies they were genetically engineered, constructed and adapted for various functions. Maybe all of them were. Which in turn
suggests a level of biotechnology well in advance of anything we have.”

“How can you be so calm?” said Cross angrily. “Those bastards slaughtered men and women and tore them apart, and you sound as though this was nothing more than a training session!”

“All part of the job,” said Frost.

“Damn you, those were real men and women!”

“She knows that,” said Silence. “But she’s an Investigator. She’s seen worse. Now, be quiet and watch the records.”

“I think this new file shows the beginning,” said Stelmach. “It’s the last intact one.”

The Base’s force Screen shut down suddenly, for no reason anyone in the Base could understand. Which was supposed to be impossible. The personnel weren’t too worried—at first. The Base had been designed to protect them from the heat of the fires, even without the Screen. And then the insects came, cracking the Base open like an eggshell to get at the unprotected flesh within. The Base called for help with increasing desperation, but the comm systems were useless. Jammed. Which was also supposed to be impossible.

Finally, one by one, the cameras stopped recording as the insects discovered and destroyed them. And after that, there was only darkness.

The control room surroundings reappeared on the insides of everyone’s helmets as the security file came to an end, and they all stood quietly for a long moment.

“There was a pattern to the invasion,” said Frost. “The larger insects broke things, the medium range attacked people and investigated human tech, and the smaller ones cleaned up after them, sucking up blood, carrying away machinery, and eating the fallen, whether human or insect.”

Silence closed his eyes, but he could still see the images of men and women screaming, struggling helplessly, or crying out for help that never came. He was glad he’d seen only glimpses of the carnage. He didn’t think he could have stood seeing the horror of it in real time. He opened his eyes and breathed deeply to clear his head. He had to be cool and centered if he was to have his revenge on the bugs.

“They were specialized by function.” Frost was still speaking, and Silence made himself pay attention. “Designed for specific purposes. But what did they want here?”

“What aliens always want,” said Stelmach. “To destroy humanity.”

Silence swallowed hard, his mouth dry. “It isn’t usually that simple, Stelmach. We know what happened here, but not why. And without the why, we can’t hope to predict what they’ll do next. They could be anywhere inside the Empire by now. There has to be a reason for all this destruction and slaughter. Investigator, you said the insects appeared to have been designed for specific tasks in this assault. That implies there was an aim to be achieved, an end to be reached.”

“Yes,” said Frost. “Almost certainly. I get the impression they were after information, as much as anything. They certainly seemed to pay special attention to the computer records. People were mostly killed or attacked when they got in the way or tried to interfere with the search. I think they were looking for something.”

“What could they have wanted here?” said Cross. “Gehenna is the farthest planet in this sector of the Empire. There’s nothing beyond here but the Darkvoid.”

“And they couldn’t have come this far through the Empire without being noticed,” said Stelmach. “So they must have come from … outside the Empire.”

“Nothing lives in the Darkvoid,” said Frost. “Apart from the traitors on Haden.”

“Then, maybe they came from the other side of the Darkvoid,” said Silence slowly. “And this was the first human outpost they discovered. But why just attack? We always try to communicate first. If only to find out what we’re getting into. Did the Base have something the aliens wanted? Something they knew the Base personnel wouldn’t give up voluntarily?”

“I think we’re reaching a bit here,” said Cross.

“Of course we are,” said Frost. “It’s all we’ve got. Now, unless you’ve got something useful to say, shut the hell up. We’re thinking. So they took tech apart, killed people in search of something. Information. What did they want to know that we wouldn’t tell them?”

“Weaknesses,” said Stelmach. “Defense stations, weaponry, secrets …”

“The location of homeworld!” said Silence. “Destroy Golgotha, and the whole Empire would be crippled!” A shudder ran through Silence as his thoughts raced ahead of him.
“You thought this was a trap, Investigator, but it isn’t. It’s a decoy intended to keep us occupied here while the aliens head for Golgotha! Heads up, everyone. We’re leaving.”

“Oh, come on,” said Cross. “This is really reaching.”

“No,” said Frost. “It feels right. It’s what I’d do.”

“But what about the missing personnel?” said Cross. “What if they’re being kept somewhere here on Gehenna? If we go chasing off after a theory, they could die here! What if we’re wrong about this?”

“Then, we’re wrong,” said Frost. “Now, shut up and move. Homeworld must be protected, at all costs. No wonder you keep being transferred, Cross. You talk too much.”

“We are leaving, people!” said Silence. “Investigator, lead the way. Cross and Stelmach, stick with me. Marines, bring up the rear. If anything moves, shoot it. We don’t have any friends here anymore.”

And so they made their way back out of the Base, breasting the endless sprinkler rain like swimmers in a race. It was hard to run in the heavy, clumsy hard suits, but they did it anyway. There was no telling what kind of advance the aliens had on them. The attack on the Base couldn’t have happened long ago. What was left of the human bodies hadn’t had time to corrupt much. That meant a few days at most. So everything depended now on what kind of stardrive the alien ship had, and whether it was the equal of the
Dauntless
’s new drive. The
Dauntless
was supposed to be the fastest thing in the Empire, but Silence and Frost knew something the others didn’t. The amazing new stardrive was based on a drive Silence and Frost found in the alien ship crash-landed on the planet Unseeli. Which meant there was no telling how fast the new alien ship might be. Especially, one that had apparently crossed the Darkvoid from one side to the other; something no Empire ship had ever dared attempt.

Usually, the Empire found aliens and made decisions about their future. The aliens could join the Empire, be subjugated, or die. No other choices were available. This time, something had found the Empire. And all Silence could do was hope the
Dauntless
got back to Golgotha in time to give a warning. Before the aliens arrived and started making decisions about humanity.

* * *

The
Dauntless
dropped out of hyperspace and plunged into orbit around Golgotha, all weapons systems charged and ready, and immediately began broadcasting warnings on all channels. Sensors raked the darkness for signs of the alien ship, and only then discovered that the homeworld’s defenses were in a complete shambles. The
Dauntless
homed in on the main starport, only to find everyone was shouting at everyone else, and no one was listening. Cross ran through all the comm channels, but the chaos had spread even to the most restricted emergency channels.

“What the hell is going on down there?” said Silence. “Did the alien ship beat us here?”

“No sign of anything on the sensors,” said Frost immediately. “But that’s not all that’s missing. There are supposed to be six starcruisers constantly on patrol, orbiting Golgotha, as the Empire’s last line of defense. I can’t find a trace of any of them.”

Silence looked across at the comm station. “Cross, are our warnings getting through?”

“Impossible to say, Captain, The channels are such a mess that priority’s a joke.”

“Let me try,” said Stelmach, moving in beside Cross. “I have access to security channels that most people don’t know about.”

“Go ahead,” said Silence. “Frost, use the long-range sensors. Get me some pictures of what’s going on down there.”

Frost grunted something, preoccupied with her instruments, but after a moment the viewscreen suddenly flickered into life. The starport and its landing pads had been systematically destroyed. Smoke rose up from blazing buildings, and broken starships lay scattered across the broken pads like so much shattered crockery. The steelglass control tower was cracked like a jigsaw, and everywhere fires blazed out of control. Emergency services were doing what they could, but things had obviously got out of their control long ago. There were bodies everywhere, and Silence had no doubt there were many more he couldn’t see.

“The alien ship got here about six hours ago,” said Stelmach. “Launched an attack while the control tower was still trying to identify it. It blew up the ships on the pads and then made dozens of strafing runs, raking the port and the city with energy weapons of an unfamiliar type. Force fields and Screens were no protection. They either failed or the en
ergy weapons blew them aside. Known casualties are in the hundreds of thousands. As yet the Empress is in no danger; she’s safe in the Imperial Palace, deep below the surface. We can only hope the aliens don’t know she’s there.”

“This is insane!” said Silence. “How could one ship have done so much damage unchallenged?”

“It appears the aliens got a lucky break,” said Cross. “As far as I can make out, the rebel underground launched some kind of sabotage attack only a few hours before the alien ship arrived. They then made their escape on a Hadenman ship. The six starcruisers took off after it. Security were busy chasing their own tails trying to sort out the extent of the sabotage, and got caught napping.”

“It wasn’t security’s fault!” Stelmach said quickly. “The rebels crashed nearly all of the computer defenses. We were helpless.”

“Forget about laying the blame and get me some information I can use,” said Silence. “Where’s the alien ship now?”

“On the far side of the planet,” said Frost. “It’s on its way back here. Two, three minutes tops, depending on whether it stops to blow something else up.”

“What are you going to do, Captain?” said Cross.

“Blow it to shit,” said Silence.

“No,” said Frost immediately. “Normally, I’d agree with you, Captain, but for now we need answers more than revenge. We have to know more about them, where they come from. If this ship really did cross the Darkvoid to find us, who knows what else might be following them? We need prisoners to interrogate and the ship as intact as possible, to study.”

“Any other restrictions you want to lay on me?” said Silence.

“There’s also the case of the missing Base personnel,” said Cross stubbornly. “If they’re being held on the alien ship …”

“Then they’re expendable,” said Silence. “I’ll save them if I can, but I’m not making any promises. Same to you, Investigator. Stopping the attack comes first. Homeworld must be protected. And if it comes to blowing the alien ship apart rather than letting it escape, that ship is dead.”

“Understood,” said Frost. “You’d have made a good Investigator, Captain.”

“Thanks a whole bunch,” said Silence. “Cross, where is it?”

“It’s coming,” said Cross. “Should be in visual range any time now.”

“Red Alert,” said Silence. “All shields up, everyone to their battle stations. Power up all weapons and tie in fire-control systems. Cross, download our log so far, along with any other useful information concerning the aliens and what happened at Gehenna Base, and launch the files in an emergency buoy. If anything should happen to us, the information can be retrieved later by whoever survives this mess.”