Hellhole: Awakening (65 page)

“I knew we could count on the Commodore.” Lord Riomini looked stony but imposing in his dress army uniform. He had been cool to her since her strong reprimand, probably still shaken, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he tried to find a way back into her good graces. Maybe she would see signs of his old personality today, and she would be receptive to it. The prospect of a big victory over Adolphus had put her in a good mood.

Hallholme’s flagship set down closest to the noble reception party, and two exit ramps dropped. The distinguished Commodore walked alone down a ramp, limping as he always did from an old war injury. His silvery muttonchop sideburns looked unbrushed; his antiquated uniform appeared as worn as the man wearing it. His shoulders drooped as he marched toward the Diadem.

Though she continued to smile, Hallholme’s body language told her that he had bad news.

With a crisp salute, the old war hero said, “Eminence, I regret to inform you that I did not complete the task you gave me. I will present a full report of our operation’s failure at planet Hallholme, and I am prepared to tender my resignation.”

Alarmed, she stared at the landed warships. “Commodore—your battle group appears to be intact. Did you even engage the enemy?”

“We were about to, when General Adolphus’s alien allies destroyed all of our weapons systems. We had no way to protect ourselves. In addition to his own formidable defenses, the General has captured the ships in the Constellation fleet led by my son, whom he now holds in a prisoner-of-war camp, along with Major Bolton Crais, and thousands of loyal soldiers.”

Michella paled. Lord Riomini stepped forward. “Were you able to inflict any damage at all?”

“Many of the captured Constellation ships were disabled when we arrived, burning up in the atmosphere. Most of Adolphus’s fleet was nowhere to be seen, and I could have defeated him handily if the aliens had not struck.”

Deeply concerned, Michella said, “Commodore, shortly after your ships departed, a powerful energy surge traveled along the stringline from Candela and seriously damaged the Sonjeera stringline hub. Many ships were lost, and transportation across the Crown Jewels was disrupted.”

Hallholme gave a somber nod. “Probably the same energy they used against me. They would have seized my entire battle group if I hadn’t made a tactical withdrawal. We returned via Buktu and used special teams to destroy as much as we could. We took the rebel population of Buktu as our prisoners.”

Breathing hard beside the Diadem, Riomini said, “Eminence, I feel vindicated that I took this alien threat seriously! We must learn how to fight them, or they will defeat us. Our only connection, our only clue, is sealed within the quarantined hangar. We simply
must
break into that passenger pod and analyze the alien bodies.”

The Commodore remained at attention. “I concur, Eminence.”

Michella snapped, “That is not for either of you to decide!”

Hallholme looked down. “Indeed, it is not.” He reached into his uniform jacket, withdrew a folded sheet of paper. “In my entire career, I have never suffered a defeat of this magnitude. Because I have utterly failed you, I no longer deserve my rank. This is my letter of resignation.” He extended the letter to her.

Michella was furious about the Commodore’s defeat, but she knew that none of the lesser commanders serving in the Army of the Constellation could hold a candle to his abilities. She would be a fool to get rid of a proven war hero, even with his embarrassing “tactical withdrawal.” She needed to play up the fear of the aliens and make the populace even more terrified of an invasion.

She tore up the resignation letter in front of him. “On the contrary, Commodore Hallholme—when faced with no other acceptable options, you made the right decision and retreated, keeping these valuable warships out of enemy hands. You will regroup and fight another day.”

He looked at her silently, sadly, and then lowered his head.

She pressed him: “Do you think I can do without you in times like these? I’m still counting on you to defeat General Adolphus! Even after this misfortune, you are my best military leader. The Constellation needs your wisdom and experience. You will retain your rank and your position, and you
will
continue to serve me—that is my explicit command.”

She couldn’t understand why the Commodore did not look pleased. She was saving him from disgrace! Was the old man actually looking forward to retiring and being forgotten in his dotage? With a slight bow, he replied, “As you wish, Eminence.”

She looked long and hard at the Commodore. “I want you to work with Lord Riomini to bolster the defenses of the Crown Jewel worlds. Prepare us for every possible type of attack. I want to be ready for anything.”

“Eminence, we’ve got to open that passenger pod and analyze what’s inside!” Riomini insisted.

She whirled on him. “You idiot, as I’ve told you, the pod
is
one of their points of attack! They
want
us to open it, so that everyone on Sonjeera will be contaminated by the Xayan body inside. And once we are all possessed by alien organisms, they will sweep across the Crown Jewels—just as they must have done in the Deep Zone.”

Riomini seemed to wilt under her unrelenting glare. Commodore Hallholme, though, cleared his throat. “It is difficult to defend against something we do not understand.”

“Defend against it anyway!” Glaring, Michella stalked away. On the landing field behind her, hundreds of defeated Constellation soldiers began filing out of their landed ships.

*   *   *

Too many things were spinning out of control. Diadem Michella’s daughter had been lost to alien possession, and the entire Constellation was vulnerable. The weirdly powerful aliens that General Adolphus had awakened now threatened to overwhelm all of her planets.

Here at home, she could not forget about the two recent attempts to assassinate her. A bomb and poison! She was convinced that murderous rebel sympathizers were everywhere.…

When the Diadem returned to the palace, she fired her kitchen staff and most of the servants, and ordered that replacement personnel be brought in; Ishop Heer was responsible for vetting dozens of applicants. She didn’t know whom else she could trust.

He joined her for an evening meal, and she sat with him at an improvised dining table in her private suite. Ishop had personally watched every step of the meal’s preparation, but even so she made him taste each dish before she put it on her plate.

“You are one of the few people I can rely on,” Michella said, hearing the anxiety in her own voice. They had just finished a course of roast sonji pheasant, and were waiting while the plates were cleared and the next course was brought in from the kitchen.

“From now on, my food will be tested even more carefully than before, each item double-checked,” she said with a sigh. “The meals will probably be cold by the time I get to eat.” Michella squared her bony shoulders. “A stronger security force will accompany me on even the most trivial of outings. I will depend on you more than ever, Ishop, my good friend. You are worth so much more than one of those petty, selfish nobles. Don’t worry—I’ll see to it that you are richly rewarded.”

“You are safe with me,” he assured her, but she thought she caught a flicker in his eyes—a hint of hostility? She shivered and looked away, then felt ashamed of herself for seeing assassins and traitors everywhere! It was mere paranoia.

They continued their meal while studying an array of security screens. After Commodore Hallholme’s frightening news of the Xayan telemancy attack, and Riomini’s obsession with the alien contamination in the hangar, she now focused on a live surveillance image of the Sonjeera spaceport. Behind numerous security barriers, the resin-encased hangar formed a rounded profile against the night sky, illuminated by floodlights.

She scowled at it. “The alien presence is trapped inside there.”

“And it is neutralized,” Ishop said.

“How can we be sure?”

As they watched, the sealed hangar began to glow.

Appendix A

THE 20 CROWN JEWEL WORLDS

Aedl

Aeroc

Barassa

Cherby

Fleer

Indos

Jonn

Kappas

Klief

Machi

Marubi

Noab

Ogg

Orsini

Patel

Qiorfu

Sandusky

Sonjeera

Tanine

Vielinger

Appendix B

THE 54 DEEP ZONE PLANETS

Aimerej

Ankheny

Argyth

Astervillius

Atab Abas

Balkast

Bija’dom

Blythe System

Boj

Brevor

Brezane

Buchad

Buktu

Candela

Casagan

Cles

Cobalt

Darenthia

Ehemi

El Kuara

Enesi

Erebusal

Eviticu

Haiasi

Hallholme/Helhole

Hossetea

Karadakk

Karum and Kanes

Kirsi

Moloch

Nephilim

Nicles

Nielad

Nomolos

Ondor’s Gambit

Oshu

Osian

Qolme

Qotem

Ridgetop

Rinthi

Ronom

Salm

Setsai

Signik

Tehila

Teron

Theser

Thiop

Triol

Ueter

Umber

Vytr

Xodu

Consolidated Glossary

A
DKINS,
D
UFF—
retired sergeant in Army of the Constellation, served under Commodore Percival Hallholme during General Adolphus’s rebellion.

A
DOLPHUS,
G
ENERAL
T
IBER
M
AXIMILIAN—
leader of a failed rebellion against the Constellation, now the exiled leader on the planet Hallholme. Commonly called the General.

A
DOLPHUS,
J
ACOB—
father of Tiber Adolphus, patriarch of the Adolphus family on Qiorfu.

A
DOLPHUS,
S
TEFANO—
brother of Tiber Adolphus, now dead.

A
EROC—
one of the Crown Jewels, ruled by Lord Selik Riomini, main headquarters of the Army of the Constellation.

A
LA’RU
—
Xayan evolutionary and spiritual ascension. In translation, the Constellation word “soar” comes closest to the Xayan
ala’ru,
a word not easily expressible in other languages. Depending upon how
ala’ru
is pronounced (and to whom, and by whom), the word can mean various degrees of sacredness in the actions of the Xayan individual as he progresses toward a state of perfection and merges his psyche with those of his fellows. In its ultimate form,
ala’ru
refers to the ascension of the entire Xayan race, a word that is uttered with a great exhalation of passion, from the deepest portion of the alien soul.

A
LLYF—
one of the five preserved Xayans in the museum vault; he did not survive the long sleep.

A
NDERLOS,
E
RIK—
deputy administrator of Buktu.

A
NKOR—
launch center and spaceport on Hellhole, linked to the new DZ stringline hub.

A
NQUI,
A
NTONIA—
young Hellhole colonist, girlfriend of Devon Vence. A shadow-Xayan whose alien counterpart is Jhera.

A
RMY OF THE
C
ONSTELLATION—
space navy and ground-based military that was consolidated during Adolphus’s rebellion, commanded by Lord Selik Riomini.

A
TAB
A
BAS—
Deep Zone planet.

B
ARASSA—
Crown Jewel planet.

B
ATTLE OF
S
ONJEERA—
final space battle in General Adolphus’s first rebellion, in which he was defeated (some say tricked) by Commodore Percival Hallholme.

B
IRZH—
Xayan telemancer preserved in slickwater, lover of Jhera; became the counterpart of Devon Vence.

B
LACK
L
ORD—
nickname for Lord Selik Riomini, based on his penchant for wearing black.

B
OJ—
Deep Zone planet.

B
UKTU—
isolated Deep Zone planet, administered by Ian Walfor; cold and frozen, previously cut off from the Constellation stringline network.

B
UREAU OF
D
EEP
Z
ONE
A
FFAIRS—
government bureau administering the five territorial governors, located on Sonjeera.

C
ANDELA—
Deep Zone planet administered by Tanja Hu. Secret source of iperion for the Deap Zone rebels.

C
AREY,
L
UJAH—
leader of the Children of Amadin group on Hellhole.

C
ARON,
S
ERGEANT
A
RBIN—
trailblazer pilot for Army of the Constellation.

C
ARRINGTON,
G
AIL—
special attaché to Lord Riomini, former head of his bodyguards.

C
ARTER,
A
NDREW—
one of Sophie Vence’s line managers.

C
ELANO
G
EESE—
waterfowl native to Sonjeera.

C
HERBY—
Crown Jewel planet, original home of Franck Tello.

C
HILDREN OF
A
MADIN—
isolationist religious group from Barassa that has come to settle on Hellhole.

C
IARLI,
T
ANN—
one of the victims on Ishop Heer’s list of noble descendants.

C
IPPIQ—
one of the Original Xayans, volunteered to be emissary to Sonjeera; he was murdered by Diadem Michella.

C
LES—
Deep Zone planet.

C
LOVIS,
R
ENNY—
former Ankor site administrator, partner of Tel. He was killed in the collapse of a slickwater-filled sinkhole.