Morgan's Return (27 page)

Partridge put his hand over Eastly's and squeezed. "We have to do it, Brent."

Frowning, Eastly chewed his bottom lip, then nodded. Morgan hid her sigh of relief.

"I can't say the prospect pleases me, any more than I imagine it pleases you," Partridge said. "But like I said before, sometimes the Universe doesn't give you much choice." He eased himself to his feet. "As it happens, I have something which might assist you in rescuing your crew."

***

P
artridge walked across the hallway and into his circular office, talking as he went. "This is more of my grandmother's records. She acquired the oldest maps she could lay her hands on, haunted the deceased estate sales and so on."

He pulled a wooden box away from the wall and opened the lid. "I don't show these to anybody." He knelt, leaning over the contents.

Ravindra hoped he'd made the right decision. Killing these two and taking the sub would have been the cleanest, the easiest. Morgan was too trusting, and he thought she felt sorry for these two men. He still couldn't get used to the idea that they'd actually have… sex… with each other. The very thought revolted him. To each his own. It certainly explained a number of aspects of their behavior. However… if they could provide a way into the Temple, then he was honor-bound to help them if he could.

"Is this where you found out about the wall carvings? The statues?" Morgan asked.

Partridge looked up at her. "No. That was from that fragment of picture. It came from another sale." He rifled through a pile of documents, each carefully sealed in a protective coating. No musty smell, no chance of further damage.

"Ah. This is it." He rocked back on his heels, brandishing a folio.

Eastly took the document from him and unfolded it, while Partridge clambered to his feet. "Wow. This is old," the secretary said, his eyes wide.

Had the paper not been encased, it would have disintegrated. The folds in the protective film matched the creases of the original paper, and all the material where the creases had been, were gone. Partridge cleared space on his desk so Eastly could lay the map out.

Morgan gazed down at it. "Have you scanned this? Had an IS fill in the gaps?"

Partridge shook his head. "Absolutely not. And it's not too bad. Just extrapolate a little where the folds were."

"What do you think?" Ravindra asked her. She would have scanned the document already, processed the content.

"It's very old." She pointed. "This is the sea level, here. According to the Geological Survey for the planet, the last time the sea was so low was about fifteen hundred years ago."

"Yes. Ushas's population was well and truly entrenched by then. The Temple was already old," Partridge said.

"They built a temple on an island? Why?" Morgan asked.

Partridge's grin was cynical. "The same reason they always build temples in inaccessible places. Keep the priestesses separate from the riff-raff. And, of course, it was easier to defend."

"So your Temple was a fortification?" Ravindra asked.

"It wasn't all sweetness and light here," Partridge explained. "The Temple and its priestesses are on top now, but in the past there were wars between factions. In fact, part of the reason they're on top now is because they were isolated. An epidemic five hundred years ago killed off many men. That, and the wars. The women had to take over, and pretty soon they realized they liked the job."

"Then all they had to do was fit all of that into the myth of the Goddess. All men are created equal, but women are better." Bitterness dripped from Eastly's words.

"Oh, yes," Morgan said. "I can see it now. The Goddess has come to smite the non-believers. My mother was into something like that. Especially after I was born."

Ravindra eyed her, noting the brief twist of her lips. She'd never mentioned anything like that.

"Anyway, getting back to the task at hand, you realize this isn't a sea gate?" Morgan asked.

"What?" Partridge stepped back to the table and pointed at a feature. "What's this, then?"

Morgan shook her head. "The sea level was much lower. This is just a normal wharf, maybe in a cave. Now, it will be well below the surface."

"Yes," Eastly said, "so accessible by a sub."

Ravindra shared a look with her. This was stupid. Did the man think they could sail up and knock on the door? "But they must know about this place. It is a weakness."

"They do," Morgan said. "Where's a screen?"

Eastly lifted a display from the tabletop. Morgan projected an image of the temple's layout, and superimposed the ancient map, adjusting the scale to fit.

"See?" Using a simple circle on the screen, she pointed as she talked. "Here's the old wharf, and yes, in 3D you can see it's in a cave, now flooded."

"But there might be gates, hatches. Like you found in the laboratory." Partridge said.

"The laboratory was something else. Old, with great technology and a computer system I didn't have time to learn about." Morgan frowned. "I don't know about you, but I felt that place had been left, just in case they had to come back. Using atomic fuel cells, the systems could keep going almost indefinitely. It was designed to be hidden but not to be impenetrable. This is something else. Even if there are still passages and gates, they'll be locked." She shook her head again. "I don't know."

Eastly and Partridge looked like they'd lost their mother. Ravindra grinned. They gave up too easily. "So this place is marked? On the current layout?" he asked.

"Yep." Morgan reverted to 3D, so he could see the whole temple island.

The island itself was a mountain top, without doubt a long extinct volcano, rising from the sea floor above the waves. Impassible basalt cliffs towered out of the sea all around the shoreline. The temple rose out of what had been the cone, with a tall, white minaret rising at the center, the focal point of the establishment. On the schematic a landing pad had been constructed next to the buildings, large enough to take a small transport. Hangars carved from the rock would hold other vehicles, such as patrol craft and skimmers. By air was probably the main way in and out for people. A long wharf at sea level led to a passage into the mountain, which would probably be used for supplies or waste removal. A guard post stood on either side of the gate, and sensors ringed the sea cliffs. Guard posts also lined the cliffs surrounding the cone. Not an easy place to penetrate. If they had time, perhaps they could do something with the sea-going transport that used the front gate.

"Where is this ancient sea gate?" Ravindra asked.

"Here." The pointer glowed. "The cells are here." Morgan moved the pointer up a level and along a passage.

"How could we get from the cavern into the cell complex?"

She grinned. "It's actually not much different from the laboratory. There's a flooded lift shaft. At least, I think it would be. See this vertical passage? It's shown as unused."

Ravindra had to agree her argument made sense. "This one won't have a lift cable, though."

"Ah, but we can arrange that. Solid cord, fired into the wall." She mimed aiming a weapon and pressing the trigger.

"But they'll have security systems," Eastly said.

Ravindra chuckled. "We have a Supertech."

Another trip in a submarine. The very thought made Ravindra shudder. But, realistically, what were the options? Steal a ship, bluff their way into the fortress, rescue the prisoners and get them out? The odds were impossible. The odds weren't good with the sub, either, but at least it all happened in the lower parts of the island.

"So. Let's assume we can get them out, past the guards and the security." He raised an eyebrow.

Morgan nodded. "They rely on system-based security. There are sensors in the cells, recording activity. I can replay old footage, make them think the prisoners are still there."

Yes, she'd done something similar before. "And we hope the guards don't appear while we're there."

She shrugged. "It's a risk. What isn't?"

"How do we get everyone back to the ship?" Ravindra glanced at Eastly. "And can the sub carry so many people?"

"We can squeeze in eight people for a short trip," Eastly said.

"A train passes by here, going to the spaceport. If we can get onto that—" Morgan said.

Ravindra snapped his hand across in a cutting motion. "They're waiting for us on the spaceport. No. If we get them out, we have to get off the planet fast. Which means stealing a ship. Can you tell if there is a ship on the island?"

"Not from here."

Damn
. It was a risk, but surely there would be some sort of vehicle there, in such an isolated location. They were all staring at him, waiting for him to speak.

"It is a calculated gamble," Ravindra said. "If it doesn't pay off, we'll think again. There will be six of us, combat trained and physically more than a match for the guards. They certainly won't be expecting a prison escape and Morgan can shut down any system safeguards."

Partridge's eyes grew wider as Ravindra spoke. "What about us?" he squeaked.

"Do either of you have any combat experience?" He gazed from Eastly to Partridge, who exchanged a nervous glance.

"We all have to do a year of national service," Eastly said. "So we can both handle an automatic weapon. But that was a long time ago."

"If you want to leave the planet, you'll have to be prepared to fight," Ravindra said.

Eastly pressed his lips together. Fear leeched off him, so thick Ravindra could almost taste it. Partridge's Adam's apple bobbed but his jaw jutted. "We'll do what we have to."

Chapter 24
 

T
he data from Intel was waiting for Makasa when he reached his borrowed office on the battleship
Maximus
, en route for the Ushas area. He sank into his hover chair, which assumed the contours he preferred, drifting at a set height above the floor.

"Tell me the results," Makasa said to the IS.

"
Enquiries have been conducted about the ship
Vulsaur
and the crew thereof. There is no record of these people on Coromandel, their claimed planet of origin
."

What a surprise. He hadn't expected there would have been.

"
The ship
Vulsaur
was originally named
Curlew."

Makasa nearly tipped out of the chair. The servos whirred, struggling to keep it upright. "What?"

"
It arrived at Iniciara under the name and specification for
Curlew
."
The data appeared on the screen.
"As you can see, this is the same specification as the original
Curlew
which was
—"

"Yes, yes, lost past Calisto's Veil two years ago." If any doubt had lingered that the woman Biel had seen was Morgan Selwood, it was gone. Where had she been? Where had she picked up these people, and why was she back? And why had she not come to him?

"
That's not all, Admiral
."

Makasa waved a hand. "Go on."

"
The ship
Curlew
left Iniciara on this date."
Data appeared on the screen
. "And the ship
Vulsaur
arrived at Torreno on this date
."

Makasa's jaw sagged. Shaking his head, he said, "But that's impossible." He frowned, irritated. They must have made a mistake. "It can't be the same ship. Granted this
Vulsaur
is a fast yacht but even the fastest military ships need twice the time to cover that distance."

The IS's voice never changed. "
I'm to tell you that data has been checked and triple checked, Admiral. This is the same ship
."

Makasa drifted the hover chair closer to his desk and propped his chin on his fist. "The only way that's possible is if
Vulsaur
has an incredible shift drive. Something revolutionary."

A tremor ran through his nerves.
Curlew
had had a revolutionary shift drive. The techs had been delighted with their efforts. Morgan was running an operational test when the ship had disappeared without a trace. Presumably the shift drive had failed, but what if it hadn't failed? What if these people she was with had stolen the technology? His stomach lurched. What if
Morgan
had stolen the technology? The very thought made him ill. He'd kept her alive when others wanted to cull her. Was this his reward? In a way, it made sense. What a gift to turn over to an enemy.

Makasa massaged his forehead with his fingertips. And yet. He prided himself on his instinct. Something very strange was happening under his nose. Selwood reappears with a revolutionary shift drive. Cruickshank behaves out of character, and heads for Ushas. Wait a second.

"Was
Curlew
at Iniciara at the same time as Commander Cruickshank?" he asked the IS.