Overdrive (44 page)

The Templar took a
step backwards uncertainly. “No offence was intended. This is just standard
procedure. All new arrivals are to register with us and pass on their security
code.”

Logan took another
step towards the man, forcing him to retreat further. “Perhaps we should inform
the Princess this is how you treat her private guests?”

The Templar gulped
nervously. He was about to say something further when a commotion broke out at
another security booth some distance away.

All eyes turned in
that direction. It was hard to make out but it appeared that a group of Angels
and Templars were trying to subdue a small, four legged beast. Even as they
watched, one of the Angels went flying, crumpling to the ground meters away.
Some other Angels hurried up, carrying weapons that were unmistakably Afers. A
short blast enabled the attendant Angels to get to grips with their captive who
was trussed and hung upside down on a pole.

As he was raised
up, Logan and the others finally caught sight of who was making all the fuss.
It was Ram Terry.

Tarquin nudged
Asel significantly, nodding in the direction of the Holy Ram.

Taking the hint,
Asel addressed the Templar before him directly. “What is all that about?,"
he said, gesturing in the direction of Ram Terry.

The Templar looked
smug. “We have captured the head of the Shepherds my Lord. His Raminess, Ram
Terry himself.” Asel nodded, prompting the man to continue.

“When I say
captured, we didn’t actually do the capturing ourselves. He was found floating
in space and was picked up by an independent trader who had previous dealings
with ourselves. He knew we’d be interested in such a prize and sold him to a
passing Areopagite ship.” The man looked excited. “Gabriella herself has
requested him to be brought before her.”

“You mean Princess
Gabriella of course."

“Yes, yes of
course," the Templar stammered, looking around nervously.

“Tell you what,"
said Asel leaning in and whispering conspiratorially. “We’re off to see
Gabriella now. Why don’t we take him down with us? We’ve already got one
prisoner, one more is unlikely to make any difference. Besides," he said
with a wink, “the Princess wants to see the sheep and I’m sure she’ll be very
grateful to the security guard that made it all possible.”

The Templar looked
confused. With a sigh and a rolling of his eyes, Asel elaborated. “In other
words, you.”

Struggling to hide
the elation he felt, the Templar nodded seriously. “I must admit, he’s been a
bit of a security nightmare. It would solve many of our problems at once if we
had an Angel of the first hierarchy to personally escort the prisoner down to
the surface. I’ll have a word to the others but I’m sure it won’t be a
problem.”

With another short
bow, the Templar left, intercepting the group of Angels and stopping them
before they could leave the hall. After a few minutes heated discussion in
addition to many significant looks thrown in Asel’s direction, the Angels
finally relented and made their way towards Asel, Ram Terry carried between
them.

“Very smooth,"
whispered Logan in Asel’s ear.

Pretending he
hadn’t heard, Asel issued instructions, ordering Logan and Tarquin to carry the
new prisoner while Walter was left to guard a shackled Bruce.

“I have a shuttle
prepared for you," said the Templar. “It will take you down directly to
the Capital and Gabriella’s palace.”

Asel nodded and
waved his hand vaguely. “Very good." He gestured for the others to start
moving in the direction indicated by the Templar.

“My names Templar
Sev," said the man, hurrying along at Asel’s shoulder.

“What?," said
Asel, again not looking at the man.

“You said you’d
mention me to Princess Gabriella. My names Templar Sev."

“Oh yes."
Asel paused and looked down at the Templar. He smiled.

“Well, Templar
Sev. I’m sure Princess Gabriella will reward you accordingly for this service
you have done her. In fact, one could say that she will probably search you out
and reward you personally.”

Templar Sev
stopped and watched as the strange group made their way to their shuttle bay.
Strangely, the words uttered by the Angelic Lord were not in the least
reassuring. Somehow he knew, the reward offered by Gabriella would not be quite
what he expected.

◊

Pain. Tremendous
pain. She’d never known such pain before; had never known that such pain could
exist in the Universe. Closing her eyes, she tried fervently to banish the pain
and after some minutes (it could’ve been hours) was rewarded by a slight
lessening in the seemingly endless torture. Opening her eyes, she concentrated
on her surroundings. Concentration was everything here. If she lost her way
now, she could wander in Nospace for ever.

She swam through
the gray nothingness, her conscious mind barely registering the huge shapes
nearby. Below her, three massive Shiva floated serenely, seemingly unfazed by
their uncharacteristic proximity to each other. She could feel the palpable
hunger and need emanating from their minds although she felt no fear. They
weren’t here to hurt her; they’d felt her pain and come as a dog might come to
an injured master.

She swam down,
willing herself to move towards the great creature, landing lightly on the
tough fleshy surface of the nearest Shiva. She lay down, closing her eyes again
against the throbbing in her mind. Unbidden, thoughts of Felix, Ram Terry, and
Gabriella rose within her mind. She felt a spark of recognition in the Shiva
beneath her, suddenly stirring her to greater consciousness. When she imagined
Gabriella, she felt the Shiva quiver. It knew her. It had encountered her
before and knew where she was.

She formed a
thought in her mind and gave it to the Shiva.

Where?

In return, a
picture slowly formed, showing a blue and white planet with six moons.
Satisfied, she laid back, making her intentions clear to the great creature
that she rode upon.

◊

Makon palace sat
on a promontory overlooking its capital, Cabala. From the air, the palace’s
many wings looked like the legs of a spider; a spider poised to spring and
inject its venom on the hapless inhabitants of the city it controlled. Such
idle thoughts entertained Felix as he watched the palace get closer and closer
on the shuttle’s view screen. The metaphor seemed more and more appropriate as
the small ship prepared to land in one of the palaces spacious parks. Nearby,
an entrance reared up, the portcullis looking uncannily like the gaping maw of
some massive spider.

Touching down,
Gabriella made her way out of the shuttle, striding confidently down the access
ramp. Behind her, Felix was forcibly escorted by Sammael, a disheveled Knights
Captain Tynan, and two armed Angels.

Tynan was
currently less than popular with Gabriella, a fact that he knew all too well.
He glared about him, a petulant pout permanently incised on his face.
Gabriella, although quite keen on disposing of the man for the earlier debacle
aboard her ship, had reconsidered in the light of her former Captains (now
deceased) behavior. One madman had almost cost her everything. She was not
about to leave another one in orbit above her. Besides, Tynan could have his
uses. He was resourceful, cunning and slimy; traits that she admired in a man.
She didn’t really trust him though; given freedom, he was likely to go running
to Metatron, squealing to the ruler of the Areopagites about Gabriella’s less
than patriotic attempts to secure the Overdrive for herself.

Gabriella
dismissed such thoughts from her head and looked about her. Passively waiting
for her in the pristine garden were nine winged figures, their faces hidden
behind silver masks and clad identically in black and red robes emblazoned with
an apple tree – Gabriella’s symbol. They bowed low as she walked up to them.

With a start,
Felix recognized the figures. Even he, an outsider in Areopagite society had
heard of the Ten Unholy Sefiroth of the Cabala. Sammael, as their leader, had
the right to accompany Gabriella at all times.

Gamaliel,
Gamchicoth, Chaigidiel, Golab, Harab, Serap, Lilith, Sathariel, Thaumiel, and
Togarini each bowed in turn as Gabriella addressed them personally. They were
Gabriella’s personal guard; her assassin’s and some said, her children.

“Secure the palace,"
she said. “As of now, the place is locked down. No one gets in or out. You nine
will take personal command of the defenses."

The Unholy
Sefiroth all bowed again, contriving to look subservient despite their arrogance.
Satisfied, Gabriella, indicating that Sammael, Tynan and Felix should follow,
made her way through the great entrance way.

Inside, the palace
was sheer opulence as befitted a Princess of the Areopagites. The walls and
ceilings were embedded with precious jewels; silver and gold appeared
throughout, as common as more baser metals in less salubrious dwellings.
Frieze’s filled any gaps, the predominant theme being Gabriella exerting her
dominance and beauty over lesser mortals.

As they passed
through the main entrance hall and other subsidiary chambers, Angels and
Templars alike bowed low, some groveling on the floor in the presence of their
ruler. Gabriella ignored them all, quickly moving through the rooms and
corridors. Around them, Felix noticed that the décor was becoming more
utilitarian as they penetrated deeper into the palace proper.

Finally, Gabriella
stopped outside a thick metal door flanked by two heavily armed Hayyoth. Unlike
the Hayyoth on Arabot, they were not smoking, Gabriella being less than
tolerant of such aberrations in her servants.

She looked at
Felix, a smile playing across her gorgeous features. “There’s something in here
I think you’ll want to see."

“I doubt it,"
replied Felix sullenly. “Unless its a chopping block with your name on it."

“Suit yourself."
She gestured at the Hayyoth who opened the doors wide so Felix could see
within. Out of the corner of his eye, Felix could see Tynan smirking at him
knowingly. He ignored the Templar. Just as well considering that Tynan had no
idea what was going on either; his smirk intended to unsettle. If that was his
intention, it was working admirably. Felix wasn’t just unsettled, he was
downright scared.

Behind the doors,
a large chamber was revealed. Inside lay various tanks filled with a murky
liquid. Tubes and pipes connected the tanks with mysterious machinery of
incomprehensible purpose. Even to Felix whose background was engineering, the
machines remained a mystery. Curious despite himself, he cautiously walked into
the room. Before him, a tank, displayed in the most prominent position in the
room, began to clear, revealing its contents.

Felix gasped,
staggered and would have fallen were it not for Sammael walking closely behind
him. Floating within the tank and connected by various tubes, lay a figure that
Felix would have recognized anywhere.

It was Crystal.

◊

“Years past,” said
Asel conversationally, this palace was my fathers. “Before he ran off with my
mother, he made a number of additions that even Gabriella is not aware of.”

“You hope,"
said Tarquin.

Asel ignored him.
“I doubt whether this entrance way has been discovered by anyone since he
left.”

They stood before
the small stone door and looked around cautiously. Around them native trees
stood in thick groves, almost entirely concealing the stone door at the base of
the promontory. The park encompassed the entire east side of the land below
Gabriella’s palace and not being in the palace grounds itself was not even
guarded.

After gaining
access to the shuttle, they had taken it down to Cabala’s spaceport,
encountering little opposition from the Areopagite officials. Not surprising
considering Asel’s new status and the prisoner they held between them.
Requesting an AG transport, they used it to make their way to the park land. On
the way, they had released Ram Terry who spent most of the time explaining and
justifying his earlier actions. 

Although not
entirely trusting him, Logan, Tarquin, Walter and Bruce had decided that they
needed every extra bit of help they could get. Asel didn’t get a vote because
the others already knew he was a dodgy bastard.

Loaded down with
weapons, the small group had spent the best part of an hour trying to find the
concealed entrance; all the while attempting to look as inconspicuous as
possible. Hard under the circumstances considering a sheep and a gorilla
weren’t exactly commonplace on genetically intolerant Makon.

“What happens
now?” asked Tarquin.

“Simple,"
said Asel. “The door was designed to only open to those of the first Hierarchy.
All I have to do is exert my field strength and manipulate the lock within.”

They all waited
for Asel to continue. When he didn’t, Bruce decided to prompt him. “Go on then,"
he said.

Asel looked
perplexed. “I just did. Nothing happened.”