Sunlord (27 page)

Ashian moved around the back of the crates, keeping
in the shadows as he circled around in an attempt to cut off the
robot. He moved as quickly as stealth allowed, breaking into a
sprint whenever the way seemed clear. As he ran he kept looking up
over the stacks, watching the robot head for the wide door.

And then it was gone.

Ashian cursed silently as the crate disappeared from
sight around the corner of the unloading tube leading to the
storage bays. His adrenalin strengthened limbs worked beyond
exhaustion to keep him moving towards the door despite the bile
taste of defeat in the pit of his belly.

Abruptly running out of cover Ashian dropped to his
knees, the open expanse of grey metal flooring before him flooded
in light and activity. There was no way he could get around and
past those robots.

As his pulse slowed he felt his muscles stiffen with
inactivity, knowing if he stopped they would cramp and he would
have to rest. With a great heave of effort Ashian levered himself
to his feet, his eyes wandering along the wall above his head.

His gaze caught on the circular tubelike opening just
a metre higher than his head. It looked as if a plate had fallen
away and teeth like projections around the edge of the hole had
hooked onto some sort of plastic material that came through from
the other side.

Ashian saw it immediately as some sort of breather
pipe that linked the docking bay and the cargo ship. Looking
further, he noticed several more similar such holes spaced at
regular intervals further along the wall. Sure enough, there seemed
to be a faint breeze flowing from the hole, confirming his theory
that they were air ducts.

If he could climb through it he may be able to free
his friends before they were stacked in some deep storage bay and
buried alive. He was about to reach up and grasp the lip of the
duct when alarm bells rung in his mind. Surely Avatar would take
more care in protecting her craft from infiltration, and if Shaun
was correct, the computer would sure to be watching.

He pulled his arm back into his chest as if it had
been scolded, crouching lower in the shadows. His eyes worked until
his vision clouded with strain, but still he could not
disconcertion any sort of searchlight or security beams.

His quick, agile currach mind worked on the problem.
A moment later a thought struck. He unslung the small leather pack
that hung from one shoulder and rooted about for a second before
extracting the makeshift telescope given to him by Shaun. It could
see what he could not, reasoned Ashian, and thus it may see
Avatar's eyes where he did not.

He brought the narrow instrument up to his eye,
squinting through the small aperture that glowed faintly in the
shadows. Again he was amazed at the powerful tool as even the
darkest of corners were shown as clear as day. He saw his previous
shelter, which he had previously thought to be in deep cover, now
seemed out in the open. A chill stole over his heart as he thought
that if Avatar had such vision it would be an easy matter to
capture him - he must have escaped detection so far by pure luck.
He made a mental note in the back of his head that next time he
would have to check more thoroughly before settling in to rest.

Knowing he had precious little time the currach swept
his gaze around the cargo hold and was stunned to learn that the
entire door was crisscrossed by what seemed like thin beams of
light. When he took the telescope away, they were invisible, but
now he saw any movement through them would cause detection.

He breathed deeply, realising that he had been
holding his breath in shock. He had come so very close to stumbling
into them!

He shook his head to clear it then turned his
attention to the air chute above his head. After considerable
examination he was at last satisfied he could slip through the
metre wide diameter hole without tripping any alarms.

Tucking the telescope back into his pouch he jumped
up to grasp the lip of the hole in the wall. He pulled himself up
with trembling effort, teeth gritted in determination to keep
moving.

* * *

Capac breathed a heavy sigh of relief as a crack of
light shone down upon his face and blessedly fresh air flowed into
the stuffy interior of the crate. Mere words could not describe the
jubilation he felt to see Ashian's small comical face appear at the
lip, peering in with concerned intensity.

Capac stood, grimacing as the thick oil pulled
viscously at his limbs.

"About time," he grumbled.

Ashian crouched low, his eyes moving constantly.

"It's not safe here," he whispered harshly. He
swallowed, mouth parched dry. "Quickly, follow me."

They wasted little time in leaping from the crate.
Capac reached into the interior and scooped out a generous handful
of grease before closing the lid once again.

"You'll need some more of this," the warrior muttered
as he slapped the fresh grease to Ashian's side. "Most of your old
stuff has come off - you must have been busy."

Ashian noted with mild surprise that most of his
chest and back gleamed bare flesh, undoubtably lost whilst crawling
on his belly through the stacks of crates. He applied the
camouflage quickly and with little wasted movements as he informed
his companions what had happened. "They'll be back soon. Follow me,
and keep low."

Capac was surprised at the command in Ashian's voice,
the self-assurance seeming out of character. But he willingly
followed Ashian's led for it seemed the currach knew what he was
doing, whilst Capac was but a newcomer to the scene.

They were angled though a maze of towering metal
boxes until they found themselves crouching behind a large tube
running vertically from floor to ceiling, Ashian pausing to spy
through his telescope. The metal at their backs vibrated slightly,
making enough noise to cloak their voices.

"Someone close?" whispered Capac, sensing Ashian's
uncertainty.

Ashian nodded and replied in a voice so low it was a
bare murmur. "We have to get past that droid if we are to get into
the tunnels I came from."

"Droid? Where?"

Ashian wordlessly passed him the telescope and
instructed him where to look. Capac gasped as he saw a twelve foot
high security robot constructed of a framework of metal bars filled
only partly by driving motors, leaving the man-shaped machine
looking somewhat like a stripped back dragster. Atop its shoulders
its head was an unblemished dome of black glass. What staggered
Capac was the fact that the robot had been concealed in the
shadows, and without the telescope would have been practically
invisible. Capac examined the telescope's seemingly magical
properties and handed it back to Ashian impressed with the
currach's resourcefulness.

"And the tube?" whispered Capac.

Ashian gestured with a motion. "The droid has moved
in front of it."

Myshia had taken the telescope and studied the scene.
"Do you think its onto us? Standing in front of the grill like that
may mean its suspicious."

Ashian saw the wisdom in her words. Even though the
robot was stationary and looked lifeless it had probably spotted
some evidence of Ashian's passing.

"Maybe it's just curious," returned Ashian.
"Hopefully it hasn't alerted more guards...it may think its nothing
out of the ordinary, but worth keeping an eye on."

"Either way, we've got a problem." Capac was silent
from a minute. "We need to distract its attention."

"How?"

Capac shook his head. "I'm thinking... Myshia, have
you still got those three flares Shaun made? We could plant one in
a crate and set it off."

"That's great," countered Ashian in a critical
whisper. "But then we'll have all the guards alerted. We might as
well leap up and slap them around."

"No, if we set it up so it looks like something in
the crate exploded, it may buy us the time we need. While their
trying to figure out what went off, we'll be long gone."

Ashian thought for a moment. It seemed appropriate
they he make the decision for he had brought them thus far. "Okay
then - it's the only thing I can think of. Who will plant the
flare?"

"I'll go," put in Capac abruptly. "I've needed a
chance to stretch my legs ever since I got out of that cursed
box."

Ashian looked dubious for a moment, then finally
agreed. He passed over the telescope.

"Take this, it will be useful. Remember that what
seems like dark to your eyes may be wide open to Avatar's
sight."

Capac listened briefly as Ashian told of his
experience with the security beams and how to avoid them. He took
one of the small cylindrical homemade flares from Myshia and slunk
off behind them.

Ashian sank back against the large vertical pipe that
still hummed with activity and allowed his muscles to relax
marginally. "I'm not cut out for this."

Myshia did not return the grim smile Ashian offered.
Instead she seemed detached, her gaze focused on the air before
her. She suddenly turned to him, her eyes ablaze.

"We must aid him," she said, a waver of concern
behind the firm tone. "He's hurt. Bad."

Ashian looked around, startled. "Who? What are you
talking about Myshia?"

Myshia shook her head. Her voice conveyed power and
presence, her shoulders braced squarely and her head tilted with
assertiveness.

"It's Shaun," she said severely, as if Ashian should
have known. "He's been captured."

"Captured? Myshia, how, where?"

"I feel it...like a ripple through my brain. Water -
going under..."

As quickly as it had come, the presence in her tone
vanished, leaving her eyes blank for a minute. Ashian shook her by
the shoulders gently, calling her name, casting sidelong glances at
the shadows where the droid stood. He looked around for Capac, but
he had long since disappeared into the shadows. It seemed Myshia
was sick - maybe something in the stale sticky tasting Sunlord air
that they breathed had upset her.

Whatever it was, she was now baggage. She seemed
withdrawn into herself, yet at the same time retaining a little of
that powerful confidence that had shown itself a moment before.

Ashian was no medicine man. It could be anything that
had made Myshia delirious.

(Doubt lay in the back of his mind for her words did
not suggest irrationality; rather they rang of command. They
sounded like the words of a seer.)

Ashian suddenly felt afraid to touch her, holding
back his hands as if contact would cause a spark. Forcing
rationality Ashian cast aside this impulse and reached around her
back, aiding her. It seemed to be that touch that brought her back
down like earthing a charged sphere. She was now once again a
mortal living on the mortal plane.

"I felt something," she murmured, her face flushed.
She pulled herself together with Ashian's comforting words.

"We have to move away from here."

Myshia immediately was afraid. Wild thoughts ran
through her mind, reflected in the quick movements of her eyes. She
had tried to suppress the feeling, but the vision had just come
despite the barriers she had erected, and this time it had taken a
hold of her soul like a rag doll.

"Don't say anything to the village," she heard
herself say. "Tell only the Elder...he knows what to do."

They had no room for further comment. The air ripped
suddenly, erupted with a hissing crackle of explosives, a bright
flash and a thick cloud of smoke filling the entire room.

Startled beyond words and acting only by instinct
Ashian leapt to his feet with Myshia quickly following his lead. A
screech met their ears as smoke alarms erupted. They ran with wide
loping steps, leaping over pipes, machinery and manholes flashing
past under their feet. Ashian saw out of the corner of his eye the
lumbering contraption of steel move, a deadly array of weaponry
armed and at the ready.

"Wait for Capac!" Myshia screamed. The hole Ashian
had aimed for was ahead, somewhere, he knew, hidden by the thick
foul black smoke.

Panting, retching, Myshia hauled onto Ashian's hand
until he stopped.

Ashian pulled against her. "No time!"

Myshia shook her head. "The robot's found Capac. I
know it."

Ashian was about to retort, but the command in his
voice stopped him. The alarm siren and chaos around him rang the
very thoughts from his head.

"He'll meet us in the duct," urged Ashian.

But Myshia had already withdrawn her bow and notched
an arrow into it. In seconds she disappeared into the smoke.

"But how will you know..." Ashian's words were lost
on thin air. "...where to find him." He knew blundering through the
dense smoke would be fruitless - they would end up bumping into a
guard quicker than they would find Capac.

The plan had been for Capac to meet them in the pipe,
not to rescue him. He should have gotten clear before the flare
triggered. Knowing the sickening fear that something had gone
terribly wrong Ashian bolted into a run after Myshia's shadowy
back, just managing to keep her silhouette in view. He found his
hand straying unconsciously to his belt as he ran, tracing the
curves of the pistol at his side. He pulled his hand away with a
realising jerk - he would not kill.

Myshia had led them straight to the cybernetic guard.
Through the slowly dissipating smoke it was a giant towering like a
tree over their heads. With a start Ashian realised the small
shadow it had pinned in the corner was Capac.

Myshia's bow pulled taut, and she let the arrow fly.
The clothyard shaft whizzed through the air and smacked into the
guard's head.

The robot wobbled slightly as if its neck was on
springy suspension. The arrow glanced away and the droid turned to
raised its tree trunk like arm. Embedded about the perimeter was an
array of automatic machine guns.