The Zygan Emprise: Renegade Paladins and Abyssal Redemption (28 page)

Benedict then commed the three Andarts to
come escort me back to the cottage living room and X-fanned with a
small salute. Even though still under guard, I was glad to be out
of Benedict’s sight, so I could process my thoughts and my
feelings. Walking as slowly as they’d let me, I followed my
attendants docilely out of my cell and back down the long corridor.
When we reached the cottage’s foyer once again, they instructed me
to enter an adjacent sitting room I hadn’t noted before and await
Benedict’s return. I looked at the kill setting on their guns and
obeyed, albeit with a discreet middle-finger salute.

Spud was already ensconced in the sitting
room, leaning forward in his seat, his hands resting on his knees
and gripping a handkerchief so tightly the veins stood out. He
averted his eyes when I entered, focusing intently on the crackling
flames of yet another fireplace next to his chair. He looked paler
than I had ever seen him—which, trust me, is
really
pale.

“I had heard whispers of such skills among
the Ifestians,” Spud said, stopping my “What’s wrong?” right on my
lips.

“What skills?” I asked.

“Memory access,” Spud said, his voice
cracking. “Neural manipulation …”

“You know, I had this dream …”

Spud sighed and shook his head. “Memory.”

“No!” I shouted, startling him. “It was not a
memory!” Seeing his deep distress, I added more gently, “You, uh,
had some, uh, kind of vision, too?”

He nodded. “Yes.” The pause was lingering.
Finally, he whispered, “I witnessed my mother’s murder once
again.”

For one of the few times in my life, I had
nothing to say.

* * *

I expected Matshi would join us soon, as
himself, and I was not disappointed. Only he, too, like Spud,
wasn’t quite himself. His violet skin had faded to a pale lavender,
and, instead of his usual confidence, he was radiating shame.

“We both had … visions,” I said gently,
nodding at Spud.

“Memories,” said Spud, his tone dull.

Matshi looked from one of us to the other and
then responded with only one word, “Ulenem.”

Nothing more needed to be said. We all sat
silently in front of the sizzling fire, staring at our feet, and
waited for Pallas.

Catascope 101 had taught us all to play along
with our captors until we could manage an escape. After Pallas
joined us, we would try to plan our getaway. Hopefully, he too
would be arriving soon. But, in what condition?

Worried, I would occasionally glance over at
Spud, who continued to stare at the crackling fire with an
expression of horror that seemed frozen in time. Spud had never
talked to me, or probably anyone else, about the atrocity he had
witnessed in his childhood. And I had never admitted to him that I
had stumbled on a brief summary of that event in Mingferplatoi
Library records during our training years, when I was researching
his biodata to get info that might give me an edge in our grav
combat re-match. Years before, I discovered to my shock, Spud had
observed his father walk in on his mother in the arms of her lover
and shoot her to death. Thinking of my own kid brothers, I couldn’t
begin to imagine the devastation that scene must have carved on a
little boy’s heart and mind. No wonder Spud spoke very little about
his family, even to me.

My attempts to reach out a comforting arm
were repeatedly brushed off by my partner, who would not even turn
towards me to meet my solicitous gaze. Matshi seemed somewhat more
in control of his emotions, but it was clear that his thoughts were
still with his own partner and friend. I thought I heard him mutter
the word “betrayal” at least once as he kept wringing his multiple
hands.

And I, I could not get that image of John
enveloped by the Golden Fleece out of my mind. Could my beloved
brother, whom I had so idolized throughout my relatively short
life, be a traitor to everything he preached and everything he
stood for? No, not the John I knew. But was there a John, or a part
of John, that I didn’t know …?

Our painful ruminations were soon superseded
by our growing alarm that Pallas still hadn’t returned. Had he been
hurt or killed by Benedict or his Andarts, or, worse, had he sold
out to the enemy? Finally, despite our reluctance to abandon our
companion, the three of us decided we could safely wait no longer.
We spoke quietly in Zygan, hoping not to be overheard.

“I don’t know,” Matshi insisted, shaking his
head. “He’s Sarion’s mate. Who can predict, who—” he choked on the
word—“can be swayed to the other side.”

I put my arm around his shoulders, and rubbed
his neck, adding reluctantly, “We may have to make a move without
Pallas, I’m afraid.”

Still gripping his handkerchief tightly, Spud
nodded. “I agree. I also expect that Eikhus must surely have called
in the Zygan cavalry by now, so we should be seeing a rescue
attempt well before this planet-ship nears Zyga. Our best bet is to
suss out as much of Benedict’s base as we are able so that we can
take up arms and assist our rescuers once they arrive.”

“And, once we’re secure,” I reassured Matshi,
“we can come back for Pallas. We
will
come back.”

Matshi wrung his hands for a few more
minutes, before turning to face us. “All right,” he said softly.
“Lead the way.”

I walked over and peeked out the door of the
sitting room. There was no sign of Benedict or the Andarts. I
gestured for my friends to follow. We crept through the front hall,
and, seeing that the front door was unlocked, opened it carefully.
Nothing happened. I mean the door opened and nothing happened.
Shrugging, we eased out of the house and ran back down the
cobblestone path into the field of colorful flowers. Ahead,
however, instead of the green or yellow membrane we expected, was a
grassy meadow extending in all directions to the horizon. I turned
to look behind us, and gasped when I saw that the cobblestone path
and the cottage were no longer visible. Finding a grove of trees,
we stopped to regroup.

“This is strange,” I said to the guys.
“Where’s the house?”

“Even more strange,” Matshi concurred, “Why
have the people in the house let us escape?”

“Why not?” shrugged Spud, waving an arm at
the panorama of flowers in which we were now lost. “It is not like
we are able to truly go anywhere. This is simply a more pleasant
prison.”

Unwilling to buy Spud’s assessment, I tried
to retrace our steps back to the cottage. Or where the cottage
should have been. Matshi followed me for a few yards, turning back
frequently to make sure that Spud, who had chosen to stay put, was
still in view. Despite my certainty that we were going in the right
direction, I was unable to locate either the path or the house.
Stretching for miles everywhere we looked was more meadow. Matshi
threw up his hands and returned to where Spud was standing, arms
crossed. Finally, after trying a few different routes, I trudged
back to join my companions, utterly discouraged. Spud kindly didn’t
say “I told you so”.

“There has to be a way out of here,” I said,
sighing, “without our Ergals.”

Spud brightened and slapped his forehead.
“Thank you! That’s the answer!”

Matshi and I looked at him, surprised. “How?”
we both said together. (Followed by a stereo “Jinx”.)

“Simplicity itself,” Spud smiled. “We get out
of here by using ka’vyr.”

Matshi’s puzzled expression soon gave way to
a grin. “Sure. It even makes sense.”

Spud gave Matshi a peeved look. He turned to
me. “Are we verily in a field, a glen of grass? Or are we on a
planet? Or a ship? Or somewhere else…?” He took my hand and
squeezed it for a second. “Let us find out where we truly are, and
where we are able to go.”

We all held hands and closed our eyes,
starting the breathing cycles that herald Stage 2 ka’vyr. When we
finally opened our eyes, several minutes later, we were no longer
“out to pasture”. We were standing, hands clasped, in the center of
the cavernous chamber that held the three domes.

“Very good,” Matshi said with a broad smile
as he patted Spud on the back. “Now what?”

I looked around the empty chamber, and
wondered briefly, once again, what had happened to all the spheres.
No time to investigate now. I shrugged and nodded at one of the
domes. “How about we visit our friend Fahrquardt again? If I
remember my signage, I think his office might be just up the hall
from the ship’s comm department. Maybe we can send get in there and
send out an SOS.”

Spud nodded, and we trekked back to
Fahrquardt’s dome, diffusing through the membrane into the banal
hall. Three doors down from Fahrquardt’s office, we found the suite
for the “Coordinator of Communications and Connections,” and, with
some help from Spud’s nimble fingers and Matshi’s strong kicks,
soon broke open the security system and entered the suite.

The reception area was dark and deserted. It
seemed as if the entire suite was devoid of humanoid life. All we
heard was some faint buzzing from an adjacent room, so we crept
closer to investigate.

“Anthophila?” I whispered, as Spud eased open
the door.

“Nope,” Matshi returned. “Antennae.”

Lining one wall of the adjoining room was an
enormous functioning comm network. Much of the operating equipment
stacked from floor to ceiling had displays in languages none of us
recognized, and seemed far more advanced than the machines that
populated Earth Core or Zygint Central. Geeky Ev Weaver would drool
a river over a chance to work with this machinery; but even he’d
need to spend quite a few months learning how to use it, Spud
ventured, in the uncharted manufacturing plants of M81 or M82 where
it was probably built.

Fortunately for us, we were able to identify
a holo server with comm access which looked more familiar in a far
corner of the suite. Matshi sat in front of the holo’s console and,
with all twenty-four fingers bustling, he soon sent out a dispersed
general distress call through broadband channels. If something had
happened to Eikhus, we could still be rescued if someone else
picked up our signal.

“Are you able to determine Eikhus’s contact
metrics?” asked Spud.

“Working on it,” Matshi said.

“Shh!” I whispered. “I thought I heard
something!”

Matshi rested his digits and we listened.
Nothing. I shrugged and Matshi returned to his task, with Spud and
me looking over his shoulders.

“Ha!” Matshi finally exclaimed. “Success!
I’ve got his ship and all I need to do is—”

“Move away from the console!” the gruff voice
barked.

We all looked up to see Plionarctos/Pallas.
Our greetings froze in our throats when we also saw that he was
carrying a stun gun set to kill, aimed directly at Matshi’s
head.

* * *

“Pallas!” I cried, “It’s us. Help us!” Unlike
Spud, Matshi, and me, the Megaran hadn’t had catascope training. I
prayed that Benedict had not been able to permanently turn Pallas
against us, against Zygfed.

“That’s enough.” Pallas’s tone was cold, and
I physically felt myself shiver.

“I said move away from the console, Matshi,”
the pseudo-Ursan continued. “Everybody, out of this room. Now.”

Fuming at the Megaran’s disloyalty, we
trudged single file into the reception area, which was now fully
lit and filled with Andarts and their requisite stun guns. Great.
Lights on. Hope extinguished.

The door to the hallway opened and Benedict
entered the suite, ambling towards Plionarctos with a warm
smile.

“Excellent,” he praised the Ursan. “We cannot
let their small-mindedness derail us from our plans.”

Plionarctos nodded as Benedict turned to the
Andarts and instructed them to return us to our cells.

“Traitor!” I couldn’t help my outburst.
Pallas had not only betrayed us, but Zygfed as well!

I had expected a laser burst from the
pseudo-Ursan, and was ready to duck. Instead, Plionarctos held his
stun-gun steady, and began softly, “You would join us if you could
understand. It is a better place and a better way. Freedom and
wisdom, they are worth the risk of anguish.”

I stood bewildered. Strange talk from
Plionarctos—or Pallas, for that matter. Apparently, Spud felt the
same way. He looked in the Ursan’s eyes very intently for a few
moments, and then turned away, his own eyes filling with tears.

Matshi and I looked at each other, confused,
as Benedict said to Spud, “Yes.”

“You may as well unmute,” Benedict added. “He
knows.”

Before our eyes, Plionarctos activated his
Ergal and began to unmute. His Ursan features slowly dissolved and
his massive trunk began to morph into … oh, my God! Into something
amorphous. Or, more accurately, some
one
amorphous. Nephil
Stratum.

Chapter 21

Anakalipsis

I gasped, unable to speak. Nephil Stratum!
With Benedict!

Matshi was shaking from anger, and Spud—well,
Spud didn’t look at anything but his boots.

“What did you do with Pallas?!” Matshi
exploded at Nephil Stratum. The Andart guards held his arms to keep
him from attacking.

Still aiming her gun at us, she answered with
a gentle voice. “Stunned in the Nautilus’ lavatory. I took care to
see he was not hurt.”

Matshi almost spat, his rage unabated. “Thank
you for that.”

“Why are we going to Zyga?” The question came
from Spud, whose eyes were still glued to his feet.

Nephil Stratum looked at Benedict,
waiting.

I snorted. “He still needs the Somalderis.
Maybe His Highness has it.”

Spud shook his head. His tone was bitter. “He
has
the Somalderis. We’re still alive because he needs
something else.”

Benedict sighed. “Ah, Escott, how sad that I
cannot recruit you for my organization.” He turned to us. “Yes, now
that Nephil Stratum has joined us, we are almost ready.”