The Gardens of Nibiru (The Ember War Saga Book 5) (12 page)

“You’ve seen my kind before? Are you certain?” Steuben asked with such force that he nearly shouted.

“Let go of me, you brute! Of course I know what you look like. One of you collaborated with me on my great work. What is your problem and when did the kadanu let you join their ranks? I should—” She fell to the ground as Steuben released her without warning or ceremony.

Steuben turned his head to Hale, his mouth agape and eyes wide, and said, “Hale…I may not be the last.”

****

Hale stood next to a cloaked Cortaro on the opposite side of the tent from where Lilith sat, her knees pulled against her chest. Yarrow crouched beside her, using his thick corpsman’s gauntlet to examine the young woman.

“She doesn’t know,” Hale said, his voice box deactivated to keep Lilith from understanding him. “She doesn’t know what the Toth really do to anyone that they take to Mentiq’s city. They’re consumed—I’m certain of it—but I’m not sure how to break that to her.”

“The transport will return in the morning,” Cortaro said. “We can take that into the city, figure things out from there.”

“Whoever these kadanu are, they’re expecting at least her to be there…” Hale tapped his fingers against his gauntlet in contemplation.

Yarrow came over to the two and turned off his voice box with a click.

“She’s remarkably healthy,” Yarrow said. “Blood work reads like an Olympic athlete. She’s been asking about her brother, the kid we saw earlier. Seems he wasn’t taking the idea of her leaving forever ‘to be exalted’ very well. I didn’t spill the beans. Weird thing, she figured out how to use my scanners.” He lifted his gauntlet slightly. “Asked to see an EKG reading of herself.”

“I guess we’re not dealing with some simple peasant,” Cortaro said.

“All right, let me try something.” Hale turned his voice box back on and walked over to Lilith. He offered a hand and helped her to her feet. “Does the village have a leader? Someone I can speak to?”

“Elder Idadu. He’s been the high priest since before I was born. Why do you ask, kadanu?”

“Hale. My name is Hale. What is a kadanu?”

“Is your inhibitor damaged?” She reached for Hale’s face and ran her fingers down the back of his neck. She jerked her hand away. “Where is it?”

“Take me to Elder Idadu. I’ll convince him and you that I’m really from Earth,” Hale said.

“I’m…starting to believe you,” she said. “But what about my brother?”

“Kid already double-backed to the village, sir. Lot more activity going on in the square. If she’s a part of the festivities, I bet she needs to get back sooner rather than later,”
Bailey said through Hale’s earpiece.

“He went back. Take me to the village and show me where I can find the elder,” Hale said.

“The ceremony isn’t meant for kadanu, or whatever you are. Your presence will disturb our harmony,” she said.

“Not a problem.” Hale activated his cloak.

When the cave materialized around her, Stacey found Malal in its humanoid shape. The Ancient held the faceplate, absently turning it over again and again.

“I’m told apologies are in order,” Malal said. “My outburst caused you some disquiet.”

“Are you apologizing?” Stacey asked as she walked up to the force field between the two.

Malal threw the mask at her with a lightning-fast flick of its wrists. The red plate embedded against the force field, then slid through. It fell to the ground at Stacey’s feet.

“Gods do not apologize to insects,” Malal said.

“Do gods want to ever get out of this place?” Stacey put a hand on her hip. “The Qa’Resh say they can dump your cell into the center of the gas giant. They do that and it will be a very…very long time before there’s even a chance someone would ever find you again. Sure won’t be the Xaros if they overrun the galaxy.”

“You have my attention,” Malal said.

“Can you help us beat the Xaros?”

Malal stepped toward the force field and cocked its head at Stacey.

“What price are you willing to pay?” One side of its mouth pulled into a grin.

“You’ve been around for a while. Maybe when you were in Yarrow’s head you might have gleaned how far humanity’s willing to go to keep our species on the right side of extinction,” she said.

“You want me to fix your Crucible, don’t you?”

Stacey felt the blood drain from her face. How did it know that?

“You can’t beat the Xaros’ numbers,” Malal said. “Not when they can create a never-ending supply of drones to grind you all into oblivion. No, you want to strike at the heart. The master’s world. A worthy gambit, but not without difficulties.”

“All the Crucibles but the one we control are linked to each other. We’ve seen them send reinforcements though the gates with little to no warning. If we could tap into that network, we could send a strike force to the approaching megastructure. Do something other than just sit on our hands and wait for the next Xaros maniple to attack. We have an omnium reactor…but we don’t know how to complete our Crucible.”

“A double-edged sword. Your link to the master’s world is their link to you.”

“One step at a time.” Stacey crossed her arms.

“You’ve never broken the Xaros communication network, have you?”

“Never. We have no idea how the drones communicate with each other. Past attempts to capture and examine drones have failed. The drones disintegrate once they’re compromised.”

Malal turned around and lifted a hand. A wire diagram of the incomplete Crucible appeared in the air. Volumes of text in writing Stacey didn’t recognize scrolled behind the image so fast it almost blurred.

“They’re tapping into the same dimension we used for communication,” Malal said with a huff. “Times change but the laws of physics remain the same. I can do as you ask, but I will need my laboratory.”

“On Anthalas?”

“No, that was a prison. My peers destroyed much of my work when they left me behind, but not all of it. I suspected they’d turn on me and took precautions.” Malal’s face morphed into the back of his head to look at Stacey. “You must take me to my lab. The technology I need to complete your Crucible is there, as well as other useful items.”

“Such as?”

“Millions of years, insect. I’ve been waiting millions of years to make my escape and catch up with those that left me to rot. My lab holds the key to your salvation and to my revenge. I will retrieve both from the lab and then you will pay me for my services.” Dark pools formed in Malal’s eye sockets.

Stacey felt like a giant hand was squeezing her chest as the ancient intelligence stared at her.

“What do you want?” she asked.

She listened as Malal named his price. She nodded along, feeling like she was making a deal with the devil himself. Then she accepted his terms.

Hale, cloaked, walked behind Lilith as she led him through the woods.

“You sure about this, sir? Going in alone?”
Standish asked through the IR. He and Steuben were a few yards behind Hale. They’d followed Hale and Lilith since they left the tent, cloaked the entire time. As far as the girl knew, only Hale was with her.

“You two will wait outside the village in case things go south. The snipers haven’t seen anything in the way of guards. I’ll be fine,” Hale said quietly.

“What was that?” Lilith looked around.

“This forest is lovely,” Hale said. “Just like home.”

“Where is home, on Earth? Are you Sumerian, Assyrian…Xia?”

“American.”

“Never heard of it. Is it a mighty kingdom?”

“Once. One city survived the Xaros, and it is a ghost of what it used to be.”

“Curious. What is that device you had on your back? The long one with the handle.”

“That’s my rifle. What do you use to defend yourself in the village?”

Lilith stopped at a fork in the path. Lights from the village glowed through branches and Hale heard music from flutes and drums.

“Defend ourselves from what? Mentiq keeps the krayt away from the village. Weapons are both forbidden and useless. Why would anyone risk missing exaltation by endangering their lives with such things as your ‘rifle’?”

“Sir…these people are meat, aren’t they?”
Standish asked.
“They’re born and bred to feed the Toth. They have no idea what’s happening to them.”

“If Valdar finds out about this, he’ll insist on taking them all back to Earth with us,”
Steuben said.

“Oh, that’ll be easy. What with the two
Naga
-class dreadnoughts in orbit and who knows how many fighters Mentiq’s got in his city. I think we burned through all our luck getting the Dotok off Takeni, don’t you?”

“I don’t believe in luck. I believe in a plan violently executed,”
Steuben said.

“Well?” Lilith asked. She turned around slowly, her arms wide. “Are you still here?”

“Yes. Show me where I can find Idadu,” Hale said.

“Come with me.” Lilith stepped off the path and onto a narrow roadway made of fired clay bricks. The buildings were white and smooth. Every window shutter was wide open and Hale saw shadows moving within most of the rooms.

“That is the college.” She pointed to the many storied, long buildings at the far edge of the village. “That’s where we all study to fulfill Lord Mentiq’s calling. I finished my dissertation a few months ago. That’s why I’m being rewarded tomorrow,” she said. Her voice was level, not filled with the enthusiasm Hale expected from someone about to complete a life’s goal.

“What do you study?” Hale asked.

“Artificial intelligence. I cracked the source code on an ancient artifact. Lord Mentiq’s priests used this knowledge to better leverage the artifact and find new jump solutions to distant worlds. They said my work will bring in dozens of new species to the Lord’s dominion,” she said.

“This artifact, does it look like a needle made from light?” Hale asked.

“It’s locked away in Mentiq’s temple, but that is the description I’ve read, yes.” Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know this?”

She worked on the code that hacked Ibarra’s probe,
Hale thought.
And there must be another Alliance probe on the island. I wonder why that wasn’t mentioned before we got here.

“I’ve seen an artifact like that on Earth. I’ll explain more later. The elder, where is he?” Hale asked.

Lilith crossed her arms. She looked to a small building adjacent to a path leading into tightly packed trees where brightly colored ribbons were strung between the branches.

“He’ll be there, the meditation hall, once the ceremony is over. I’ll be with him, me and the two other anointed,” she said.

“That’s it? Just you four?”

“Why? What’re you planning?”

“To talk to him. I don’t want to panic the entire village just yet.”

“That Earth remains will be a surprise,” Lilith said. “We are scientists, scholars. New information won’t send us into hysterics.”

“Boy is she in for a surprise,”
Standish said.

“I’m excited to learn more before I go to the temple. I’m sure Lord Mentiq will welcome your ‘American kingdom,’” she said.

A woman called Lilith’s name from the edge of the town square.

“I must go.” She started to walk off, but Hale grabbed her by the elbow.

“Keep this secret, please. I’ll explain everything once you come to the meditation hall,” Hale said.

Lilith tugged at Hale’s grip.

“Whatever you want, kadanu. I’ll play along with your foolish test.”

Hale let her go and watched as she made her way into the square. Villagers, all in the same tunics, surrounded her and placed garlands of rainbow-colored flowers around her neck. All looked immensely happy for Lilith, and Hale felt a knot grow in his stomach.

“Think she’s going to narc on us, sir?” Standish asked.

“I doubt it. She seems convinced the exaltation thing is going to happen for her tomorrow. She isn’t as convinced that we’re really from Earth. Steuben, I’d appreciate your opinion,” Hale said.

“There is an animal on your planet. Docile, covered in fuzz and known for their weak nature. The name escapes me,” Steuben said.

“Sheep. They’re called sheep,” Hale said.

“Yes. These people are sheep, bred for slaughter and to be servants to any authority figure they encounter. Do not expect them to fight. They don’t even know how,” Steuben said. “When you speak with this elder, you must ask about my people. Are they truly here?”

“Don’t worry…we’ll get to that,” Hale said. An icon on his visor flashed red. His cloak was losing power. “I swear the battery life is getting less and less with each charge. Let’s get to the mediation hall and out of sight.”

****

Insects chirped in the darkness. Rohen rolled onto his back and watched a bat-like creature swoop between trees.

“Can’t believe it,” Bailey said as she looked through her sniper scope. “Bunch of long-lost humans having a party and we’re not invited. ‘Need you two to stand over watch,’” she mimicked a low Mexican accent. ‘Report anything unusual over the IR net.’ Yeah, like any of this is usual.” She smacked her gum.

“You think we can just show up? That one we grabbed didn’t seem real happy about seeing us.” Rohen put his hand in a pouch and took out the coin he got from Admiral Garrett. He turned it over in the moonlight, examining every facet.

That he got the coin from the admiral for rescuing him on Ceres was a lie. He wasn’t even a gleam in Ibarra’s eye back then. But the admiral had given him the coin once he’d agreed to this mission. The admiral had said something to him…words that missed his ears every time he tried to remember the event.

“Speaking of you boys’ favorite new damsel in distress,” Bailey nestled closer to her rifle, “she’s coming up on that stage with a few others.”

Rohen rolled over and looked through his scope. The stage in the center of the town square was decorated with garlands of flowers. Three villagers sat on the stage, each with a necklace of red petals around their necks and a wooden bowl in their laps.

Villagers formed a procession at the base of the stage, then they came up the stairs one at a time. Each put little folds of paper into one of the bowls, then moved off stage.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Bailey asked.

“I don’t see them talking…Lilith looks a bit confused. The other two oldies are smiling like there’s no tomorrow.” Rohen zoomed in on Lilith and saw writing on one of the open slips. “They’re supposed to go see Mentiq tomorrow, right? Maybe they’re supposed to deliver messages to the dead.”

“Not dead, that’s not what they think. They think they’ve all gone to paradise.” Bailey shivered. “What a mind job. Poor bunch of buggers don’t know what’s really happening to them.”

“You think cows on those old ranches knew where they were heading? Or were they too busy thinking, ‘Hey, free food and that human keeps the wolves away. This is great,’” Rohen said.

“You’d think if a cow was smart enough to figure out it was going to be dinner it would do something about its situation.” Bailey took a bite of beef jerky from her pouch, sniffed it, then tossed it into the forest.

“That’s not real meat—you know that.” Rohen shifted his scope over to a table covered in fruits and piles of cooked grains. Villagers who’d dropped slips with Lilith and the two others sat at the feast tables, but didn’t touch the food.

“I know it’s fake. Just…sometimes I’m glad the entire Navy’s on a plant-based diet made up of processed beans and stuff. Not sure I can ever touch real meat again after this,” Bailey said.

“Chickens ain’t people,” Rohen said.

“Yeah, and some’d say proccies ain’t people. Doesn’t mean it would be right to give them all to the Toth.” Bailey put her gum on top of her scope and took a sip of water from a tube running off her back.

“You one of those people? That think proccies aren’t real?”

“Nope. Egan, Yarrow. Fine blokes. I’d never know they got squirted out of a tube unless they told me. What about you?”

“We all serve a purpose,” Rohen said. “I’m from California. Grew up on a farm growing medicinals. How different is what I remember from what the proccies have stuffed in their heads?” He didn’t care for the lies, but if the mission went south and the team were compromised by the Toth…they had to know the right lies to get Rohen to his objective. The memory of the farm felt real enough, but the fire burning in the back of his mind was an absolute truth.

“Don’t know. Don’t care. You’re a good shot and you pick up a lot of slack on the team.” She punched his shoulder. “I’ll teach you how to drink once we’re on shore leave.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Rohen gave her a half smile, knowing that he’d never live that long, no matter what he did.

****

The meditation hall had raised wooden floors that creaked under Hale’s weighty steps. Thin terraced shelves ran along the walls. Rows of tiny candles filled the shelves, each in a small metal cup emblazoned with the picture of a human—mostly elderly but there were a few in the prime of life. His eyes lingered on pictures of children the longest. All had a look of euphoria to their countenance.

Hale brushed his fingers through a flame and felt no heat.
Hologram,
he thought.

A portrait on the wall showed a seated man, long gray hair and beard flowing down a well-muscled bare chest, a length of gleaming white cloth wrapped around his waist and thighs.

“Why do so many human depictions of deity look like this?” Steuben asked.

“These people are descended from one of the first civilizations on Earth. Their idea of God is an original. Lots of religious traditions match, or at least rhyme, with what came out of ancient Mesopotamia,” Hale said. “I wonder where they got this image for Mentiq. Did they come up with it on their or own or is this what he wants them to think he looks like?”

“Bet it’s a lot easier for someone to be excited to go chill out of eternity with Grandpa and not a brain floating in a fish tank,” Standish said. “Can I carve a
Gott Mit Uns
tag on it, sir? Please?” He held up his gauntlet, his Ka-Bar unsheathed.

“Let’s not desecrate their holy of holies before we get them on our side,” Hale said.

“What about after that?”

“No.”

Standish’s blade snapped back into the sheath.

“Got four heading to your location, sir,”
Bailey said.
“Our girl, two elderly women and the master of ceremonies. All the rest of the civilians are heading home.”