The Szuiltan Alliance (The Szuiltan Trilogy) (17 page)

It began as little more than a very dim star on a screen filled with much brighter stars. Slowly it grew, its reflected light shining brighter, its shape becoming more defined, a dot, a circle, a ball, and finally a planet.
Szuilta
.

"Nothing special," said Steve, turning away from the screen and flicking his eyes over the readings on the control panel before him.

"We are joining a very select band of people who have
seen
this planet, let alone landed on it, and you say it's nothing special?" said Jack, feigning shocked surprise at his friend’s comment. “You’ve grown cynical over the years.”

Steve shrugged. "I remember when we all used to look up at the night sky, watch the stars twinkling and be amazed that there were other worlds out there. That was one of the reasons I left Earth and joined the traders, all those other worlds. Now it’s just routine."

Jack looked at the screen again.
Actually
, he thought,
Steve's right. It
is
nothing special to look at. But what it contains, and the Szuiltans themselves, might well be special enough to merit the Council's closer interest.

"I miss it sometimes, you know?" said Steve suddenly.

"Miss what?"

"The stars, twinkling. You get so used to the steadiness of them out here that you forget just how fascinating it was to watch them all twinkling."

Jack smiled. "Maybe you just miss Earth?"

"I miss Sellit more than I miss Earth."
Except perhaps for Susan
, he thought.

"Spoken like a true Trader."

On the screen, features were fading into distinguishable patterns of light and shade on the surface of the planet.

Jack shook his head in disbelief.

"We must be travelling at one hell of a rate. Look how quick it's growing."

Steve glanced at the controls again.

"Our velocity readout gave up a long time ago. However fast we're going, it’s faster than the Deadly Sins' engines were ever designed to go. It must be one shit-hot tractor beam they've got on us."

So much technology
, thought Jack,
and so much of it way beyond our understanding
.

He closed his eyes and tried to relax, to gather his thoughts and prepare himself for what lay ahead. If the rumours were true and Szuilta were insinuating themselves into the conflict between Earth and Aks, their technology more or less ensured that whichever side they chose would be the victor.

"
Now
we've got it!" snapped Steve in triumph.

"Got what?" Jack jerked from his failed attempt at relaxation.

Steve waved vaguely towards the screen.

"I've been playing with the magnification, which on this shit monitoring system is no easy matter. I've finally managed to get a good one that's not fuzzy or jumping all over the place."

Jack peered at the screen. The difference wasn't much but...

"Is that the Great Sea?"

Steve smiled. "Must be. This is more interesting don't you think? At least we can make out some surface detail."

Jack leaned closer to the screen. It was still small, still swamped by the sheer enormity of space around it, but it was clear and, looking closely, it was possible to see a strange purple and grey texture that he took to be land, covering the majority of the planet. There were clouds too. He wasn't sure why, but he had not expected clouds on this alien world.

Most striking, and most puzzling, slightly off centre from their viewpoint, was the Great Sea. A roughly circular mass of grey/green liquid cautiously identified, by long distance scanning, as water. It reflected the light of Szuilta's parent star in ripples and highlights visible even from this distance.

"Amazing isn't it," said Steve, joining Jack at the screen. "Must be hundreds of miles across."

"Thousands," corrected Jack. Like every other piece of data about Szuilta it was sketchy, but there seemed general accord that its circumference should be measured in thousands of miles.

"Anyway," said Jack, turning and smiling at his friend. "I thought you weren't impressed by all this."

"That was while we couldn't see anything. This is different."

Jack laughed, he found it helped soothe his growing nervousness.

"A Trader's prerogative."

"What is?" Steve did not take his eyes from the screen.

"To change his mind."

"I haven't changed my mind. I just told you. Earlier we were too far away to see anything. And it's a
woman's
prerogative, not a Trader's. If you're going to get clichéd on me at least get it right."

Both men studied the screen, held by an almost hypnotic fascination. The world they approached held intelligent life, but no humans. The Szuiltans were the only intelligent alien lifeform ever encountered in man’s expansion through the galaxy. That one fact left them in awe of their destination, the trademark cynicism of the Traders suitably humbled by the uniqueness they now faced.

The gentle hum of the Deadly Sins' life support system filled the silence, strangely loud since they had switched the engines off, afraid that the power of the tractor beam would burn them out. Steve reached forward and adjusted the angle of the exterior monitors. The strangely sinuous movements of one of their escort ships slithered across the screen, it's huge bulk filling the view. He reduced the magnification to normal. The ship on the screen was still huge, but at least now they could see space behind it.

"You know," said Steve. "I still can't quite decide whether those things are just bigger and better versions of a ship like the Sins or whether they're something completely different."

"Alive." said Jack.

"Right. Alive."

"Maybe we'll find out when we get to Szuilta?"

Steve laughed. "I hardly think they're going to start handing out their secrets to us."

But I've got to try
, thought Jack. If there was a completely new and radical science on this planet, then the Inner Council should be aware of it.

The communicator on the main console crackled to life making Steve jump and snapping Jack out of his thoughts.

"You will listen!"

The voice was metallic, obviously artificial, and its pronunciation was, at times, strange.

"I guess whoever programmed it wasn't quite used to our language." said Steve, quickly regaining his composure.

Programmed
, thought Jack,
or taught.

"Our tractor beam is now slowing you down at a rate you should find bearable."

Even as the words were spoken, Steve found he could feel the deceleration like an intense pressure on his whole body. It did not quite hold him in his seat, but it was only with some effort that he could have stood.

"You are approaching our home planet. Your ship will be held in orbit until we are ready to receive you and your cargo on the surface. You are welcome guests to our world."

Welcome
. The word jarred in Jack's mind.

"Thank Larn we're not
un
welcome guests," said Steve as the deceleration pressure began to ease.

Thank Larn indeed
, thought Jack.
But just how long will we remain welcome?

Chapter 30

The glow of sunset suffused the Mayor's office with a blood red that made him shudder. Polarised windows removed the glare, but the light remained. His hand moved for the control that would close the blinds.

"I like it."

The words stopped his hand as effectively as any grip. Suzex liked the sunset, and the Mayor did not have the courage to defy him.

Suzex walked to the window and looked out over the rooftops of Akasian. This was the centre of the planet-wide city and the buildings looked new, well maintained. He had been in the outer suburbs. He had seen the inequality of this world, and while he had no sympathy for those who lived in the neglected slums, he felt he had more in common with them than with the rich and powerful, the beautiful and glamorous who infested the panorama that lay before him. He knew what lay in their future and the thought amused him, brought a smile to his otherwise grim features.

"We should have heard from them by now, shouldn't we?" The Mayor's voice trembled as he spoke.

Suzex turned and stared at the man sitting at the desk. This was an example of everything he despised. This man was rich and undeniably powerful in terms of influence, but he was so weak, so lacking in courage, in the traits Suzex considered important. His lack of character was pathetic. He lived his life constantly in fear of what might lie ahead.

The silence unnerved the Mayor and he spoke again, his voice still trembling.

"Has something gone wrong? Something must have gone wrong. Where are they? Why haven't they come back?"

Suzex said nothing, considering whether to calm the Mayor’s fears, deciding it wasn’t worth the effort. It was much easier to tell the truth to this snivelling example of an Aksian, even though it would mean changing his schedule, moving ahead faster than first intended.

"They're dead. That's why they haven't come back. If they were alive we would have heard by now."

The Mayor was stunned. Dead? How could they be dead? There were three of them, armed, and she had been alone, unarmed and bound.

"How can..."

"I know," said Suzex, his voice barely above a whisper but silencing the Mayor as surely as a shout. "Your men might be slack in their work but my men are not. If they had been successful, Richard would have contacted me. If something had gone wrong and he was alive, he would have found a way to let me know. We've heard nothing. They're all dead."

Mayor Lane tried to rally his thoughts, to calm himself. He was the most senior administrative officer on Aks. He dealt with problems every single day of his life, and he could solve or dismiss them as he wished. This was no different, just another problem, another hiccup of government to overcome. But it
was
different! He could not deny it to himself. He had ordered an execution. That in itself was enough to drive him to the limits of his sanity. But now, it seemed, it had all gone horribly wrong. What could he do?

"Is she dead as well, do you think?"

Suzex shrugged and turned back to the window. It was the first sensible thing the Mayor had said. Was she dead, or was she alive and perhaps plotting her revenge at that very moment? He should have known better. He had read the file on that Council bitch, seen that she was ex-Aksian Special Forces, with consistently excellent reviews from all her officers and instructors. The Council would have trained her further, sharpening her skills. He should have handled this himself. It had been a mistake to send Richard.

"She may be alive. If she is, she will almost certainly try to contact her masters."

The Mayor’s face grew ashen. He imagined Ursa, at that very moment, outside the office door, ready to charge in, the guards’ stolen weapons blazing.

"What can we do?"

"Our plans must continue. The next stage must be moved forward. I’ll leave for Szuilta immediately."

The Mayor was stunned. Suzex, leave? Without Suzex, who could he turn to for help?

"You can't go, not now."

Suzex detected the telltale whimper in the voice. The man was terrified, panicking. He was close to being pushed over the edge into complete uselessness. Suzex sighed. He wished he could just let this thing rot in its own fear and self-pity but he had the plan to consider. The Mayor, for all his general worthlessness, was important to the next stage. Without the Mayor's public support and approval, events would progress at a much slower rate and with far greater difficulty than he wished. It was still vital that he left for Szuilta, but first he must deal with this politician.

"I must go Mr Mayor."

The use of the official title was considered and deliberate. The Mayor was reminded of his position, his authority. He physically straightened in the chair.

"You hired me to do a job," continued Suzex. "And in order to carry out your wishes I need to travel directly to Szuilta and make further arrangements."

He paused.
Let that sink in
, he thought. The reaffirmation of their relative positions as employer and employee would further bolster the Mayor's flagging confidence and, hopefully, begin to reawaken that arrogant superiority that politicians in such high positions invariably had.

"I..." the Mayor's voice cracked and he coughed to clear his throat. "I'm still not sure I see why you have to leave now?"

Suzex suppressed a smile. He could hear the confidence returning. There were still doubts, still fears, but they seemed subdued behind the growing shield of the man's position as Mayor of Aks, senior administrative officer on the whole planet.

"I need to further our negotiations with the Szuiltan President. We can't delay any longer. If that Mirram bitch is alive and manages to contact her Earth masters they will probably demand your resignation, and with Leader Carlton more or less in their pocket you'll have no chance."

The Mayor nodded. Suzex was right, of course. Carlton had to be in Earth's pocket. Perhaps he was even an agent of theirs, buried deep as that Mirram was? The thought was frightening, but it might explain Carlton's insistence on this treaty being pushed through so quickly. The possibility fascinated him. Could Carlton really be an agent working for Earth? Was this whole treaty being stage-managed by the Earth Controller?

He had read the draft of the treaty before Carlton left, of course, but who could say what last minute clauses were being added at this very moment, clauses that might give Earth control of Aks? Was that the plan? To bring Aks back into the Colonial family? Back under Earth's central control, and under the control of their twisted Priesthood? He could not stand by and watch his world and his religion suppressed and bastardised by those heretics in control on Earth.

"Carlton must be stopped!" he snapped, his voice strong, adamant.

Suzex smiled openly. That political confidence was back.