The Orphaned Worlds (48 page)
‘Space–mass disruption!’ said Malachi. ‘Close-proximity hyper-space transit … very close!’
And as the bridge quivered around them, space distorted, star positions sliding outwards as a huge, incredible form emerged into solid reality directly behind Becker’s ship, staring down at it with blank stone-grey eyes.
Two hours earlier, Kao Chih was strapped into one of the padded recesses of a two-man short-range stealthed pursuit pod locked to the hull of the
Vyrk
, the Roug ship, waiting for the launch to begin. Most of the pod’s carapace was translucent, with autofilters regulating the light that passed through, the light of hyperspace. His companion, Ajegil, was calm and quiet, an experienced operative, apparently, although Kao Chih did wonder how and where a Roug would obtain this kind of experience. But his thoughts returned to brood upon the people taken prisoner by the Ezgara ship, the
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’s Duizhang as well as all the senior officers and some of the advisory elders. He did not think of himself as a traditionalist, but the abduction of these figureheads and mainstays had affected him deeply, making him wonder if he was in some way responsible. Clearly it was meant to be taken as a warning, that the Human Sept should refrain from sending anyone outside the Roug system, that they should cower in fear of stern punishment.
Punishment really only works on the defenceless
, he thought.
Or at least those who think they are defenceless
.
At last the order came, a stream of whispery Roug syllables to which Ajegil responded, then glanced round at Kao Chih with his mesh-covered eyes.
‘Human Kao Chih, prepare yourself.’
Suddenly the pod fell away from the
Vyrk
’s hull and spun several times before stabilising, the harsh hum of the reaction drive hurling them through the coiling void of hyperspace. All around walls and seas of impermanent matter rushed and flared into fleeting curtains of abraded light before swirling back to the former state. A flickering, flashing, heaving ocean of chaos through which they swung, their intercept vector leading them straight to that ship of kidnappers, itself powering on through hyperspace ahead of them.
As the pursuit pod stabilised in flight, Kao Chih caught sight of the Roug ship from beneath and ahead. This was only the second time he’d seen the
Vyrk
’s astonishing shape – the first had been only hours ago, not long after discovering the terrible truth about Silveira, that there was no prospect of intervention by Earthsphere with regard to Pyre or Darien. He had never experienced such angry despair before, not when Drazuma-Ha’s betrayal became manifest, not even while he was captive aboard the Chaurixa terrorists’ ship.
Yet the Roug Mandator Reen had promised assistance, saying that they would provide a ship appropriate to the task ahead. And when the Roug shuttle flew him and others over to the orbital Agmedra’a it was into the superior upper docks, where the sight that met his eyes gave that promise an unexpected edge. The
Vyrk
’s stern had a basic triform shape, with three clusters of reaction drive outlets jutting at the periphery. The simple lines swept forward, bulging and curving into a hull fashioned to resemble the features of an animal-like head. A blunt snout, a powerful jaw, thin lips drawn back in a snarl, and great eyes that were blank orbs staring forward. At first Kao Chih had been convinced that it had been modelled on some mythical beast from the Roug’s own far distant past. Then he realised that the eyes and the brow lent it a vaguely simian cast, and was uncertain again. The name
Vyrk
was little help, being a kind of presyllable to several similar words meaning valiant, or constant, or indomitable.
Now that bizarre visage dwindled and was lost as they sped after the Ezgara ship. Kao Chih was intensely grateful at being chosen to go on the rescue mission, and excited, especially after Mandator Reen revealed exactly how they intended to effect the rescue.
‘The pursuit craft in which you and Assessor Ajegil will travel contains a stasis-locked tesserae field generator. This field is a sub-quantal mirror image of one that will be generated aboard the
Vyrk
. When both are activated simultaneously, the generated fields extend through the subspace boundary, sense each other and join seamlessly together, creating a wormhole doorway.’
Kao Chih had been on the Roug shuttle when Reen had revealed this part of the plan, that the pursuit pod would latch onto the Ezgara’s hull, neutralise any sensors, then cut through to the interior. Once Kao Chih and Ajegil were inside, they would remove the couches and supporting frames from the pod, revealing the stasis-locked generator. Then a signal would be sent to shut off the stasis fields of both generators, activating the field generators, creating the wormhole.
‘It sound incredible, honoured patron,’ Kao Chih had said. ‘Is it similar to the warpwell Sentinel’s translocations?’
‘It was developed in an effort to emulate that function but the technology remains imperfect. Intrinsic limits restrict its usefulness over distance, while matter degradation within the generators themselves disrupts the wormhole after a brief time period. In Human terms, a little over four minutes.’
Kao Chih’s eyes had widened. ‘That is … brief.’
‘Which is why you are going, Pilot Kao Chih,’ the Roug had said. ‘The prisoners will recognise you and follow your instructions, therefore you must be confident and organised, thereby ensuring an orderly and swift evacuation.’
Confident and organised
, he thought to himself, strapped into the pod couch as the chaotic continuum of hyperspace roiled and flickered past outside.
Giving instructions
…
to the Duizhang?
He pursed his lips for a moment then shrugged. Being an adventurer meant having to face all manner of hazards, after all.
An opaque side panel displayed the parameters of their progress, one of which said that the time till intercept was less than eight minutes. Soon their field of vision was filled by the Ezgara ship, its hyperspace drive field shimmering, gently undulating as it carried the ship onwards. While Kao Chih watched, Ajegil matched velocity with the Ezgara ship then adjusted their own hyperspace field until its resonation pattern allowed the Roug pod to slip smoothly through. Dwarfed by the warship, the pod swooped in close to the underside. As it did so, Kao Chih felt four faint thuds. Ajegil was quick to explain.
‘I have dispatched four scanner probes, Human Kao Chih. They will affix themselves to the hull and survey the interior in order to discover the captives’ whereabouts.’
‘Understood, honourable Ajegil, but what about their exterior sensors and visual pickups?’
‘I have already performed relevant scans on approach,’ Ajegil said. ‘Counter-detection measures have been deployed.’
Moments later, a new schematic appeared in the opaque data panel, a 3D deck layout of the Ezgara ship’s stern. Lifeforms were white dots, mostly scattered about the decks apart from a large stationary cluster located in a secondary hold on the aft port side, not very far from where the pod already was.
‘Ah, friend Ajegil, we are practically on top of it …’ Kao Chih said, tailing off as he realised that he might have overstepped the courtesies.
‘Indeed, colleague Kao Chih,’ came the Roug’s whispery reply. ‘However, we must assume that the captives are under close guard, necessitating that we find an entry point that is nearby and in an unoccupied space.’
They quickly found eight secluded possibles, which were whittled down to two. Examining their proximity to both the hold and the patrol routes, Ajegil discarded one in favour of the other. Moments later the pod had traversed the hull to that very spot.
‘Be ready, Human Kao Chih,’ said Ajegil as the pod pressed itself against the Ezgara hull, clear carapace inwards. Once a solid seal was established, they sat back while an automatic cutter sliced an oval out of the hull. Minutes later the pod’s translucent carapace split open and by the light of slow, wriggling tendril lamps they clambered out. Then Kao Chih stood back as Ajegil swiftly removed the couch assemblies, revealing the portal device, a metallic oval encased in some clear substance. When he prodded it, Ajegil reminded him about the stasis field.
‘The apparatus is charged and ready,’ Ajegil said after checking a readout panel inside the pod shell. ‘When we have the prisoners released and brought here, I shall send the signal to the
Vyrk
, which will activate both generators and create the wormhole portal. Transfer to the
Vyrk
will then be straightforward.’ The Roug paused to consult a display on the back of his broad hand. ‘My superiors’ conjecture is that the Ezgara vessel will reach its destination in 8.6 minutes. The
Vyrk
will exit hyperspace within wormhole range 5.1 minutes after that. Therefore we must have the captives present and ready in less than 14 minutes.’
‘With respect, friend Ajegil,’ Kao Chih said as they went to the storeroom door, ‘but I feel that may be an optimistic aspiration.’
He turned and saw the Roug’s form rippling and altering into a Human one, that of an Ezgara commando in light armour. Kao Chih had already shrugged off his onepiece to reveal a formal plum-coloured suit similar to
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issue.
‘Understood, friend Kao Chih,’ Ajegil said in a more Humanlike voice as he completed his transformation. ‘But my examination of the deck layout suggests that it is achievable – depending on the degree of guard presence in the hold.’
Ajegil turned out to be wrong, but not because of the guards. A short side passage, which the layout scan suggested led through to a maintenance access, was in fact a dead end with a drink dispenser. After a hasty study of the deck layout they ventured further along and found a companionway winding down to a corridor leading to a door and an armed guard. The door was labelled Aux Hold B.
‘Returning this one,’ Ajegil said as they approached. ‘He’s just out of interrogation so he’ll give you no trouble.’
The guard gave a bored nod, punched a code into the touchpad and the door swung inwards. Ajegil prodded Kao Chih in the back, and he shuffled forward, trying to look subdued. Ajegil told the guard he was to take another out for questioning and got another nod, after which the door locked behind them.
Inside, a grille fence divided off a narrow section from the rest of the hold. Within it metal steps ascended to a walkway running round three of the walls, where four guards watched the people below, between muttering to each other. As he followed Ajegil up the steps, Kao Chih glanced at the groups of people that he knew well. Some eyes widened in recognition but nothing was said. The silence was eloquent with tension.
Aware of their regard, Kao Chih strove to shut them out as he reached the gantry ahead of Ajegil, who beckoned the guards to join him. Kao Chih’s bonds were faked; in each hand he held a single-dose injector of fast-acting narco-stun, as did Ajegil, who waited till the Ezgara guards were gathered together before speaking.
‘This one was found wandering the corridors. Who let him out?’
There was a chorus of denials at which Ajegil shook his all-too-Human head.
‘You’d better decide. When senior officers hear about it, they’ll want someone to punish …’
Punish
was Kao Chih’s cue. He fell to his knees with a groan then stabbed out at the legs of the two nearest guards. The Ezgara barely had time to react before the narco-stun hit their bloodstreams and they crumpled like disconnected puppets. Turning, he saw Ajegil standing over the prone forms of the other two while from below came a growing chatter of excitement.
‘Four point seven minutes, friend Kao Chih. You must persuade them to follow us without delay.’
Kao Chih nodded and hurried downstairs, unlatched a plastic-frame door in the fence, and came face to face with Kang Lo, the Duizhang of the
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.
‘Pilot Kao,’ he said. ‘Are you here to rescue us?’
‘Indeed so, honourable Duizhang, myself and an … ally. Please, time is precious, so if you follow my colleague he will lead you all to safety …’
Kang Lo quickly and firmly mustered all his officers and the others into an orderly line. As they hurried from the hold, faces passed Kao Chih by, many exhausted and openly fearful, others more resilient, although Tan Hua looked as blank-eyed as ever. However, there was no sign of a short-legged, long-armed Voth pilot of his acquaintance. Worried, he asked Shang Ko, one of the high administrators, who pointed to a deck-level slotted wall vent.
‘The Voth person was convinced that he could escape via the vent ducting and asked us to group near there and obscure his departure.’
‘When was this, may I ask?’
‘Just a few minutes before you arrived, Pilot Kao.’
Kang Lo was not pleased. ‘You did not think this important enough for me to know, Shang Ko?’
The administrator was suddenly nervously contrite. ‘Deepest apologies, Duizhang! We were firmly of the belief that the Voth would realise the futility of his actions and return.’ He glanced at the vent as if willing the Voth to appear.
Yash, you fool!
Kao Chih thought, then turned to Kang Lo. ‘We must leave him, honourable one. If we delay we may be seen and recaptured, or we could miss the chance to leave. Quick, we must keep up with the others!’
Cursing himself and the fatefulness of the predicament, he urged the Duizhang and the last few to hurry. At the exit, Ajegil had dealt with the guard, whose unconscious form lay stretched out against the bulkhead. The line of escapees reached the companionway and climbed energetically, apart from some of the elders, whose slowness already had them bringing up the rear. They had just reached the final stretch of corridor when Kao Chih felt a wave of vertigo and a pulse of nausea, a sure sign that the ship had dropped out of hyperspace. From further ahead came groans and a faint spattering sound – someone’s stomach had rebelled.