Wrath of the Void Strider (21 page)

The lower half was a massive, plastiron canoe, complete with dual headlights, tree trunk-sized cooling pipes, and a sealed undercarriage.  Circular hatches interrupted both flanks’ midpoints, and four immense, rugged tires bore the vehicle’s weight.  Every one of the buggy’s warning placards was badly weathered, though most of its filth had been scrubbed free.  Its paint had begun to fade, to peel away in scattered patches, and spots of rust softened a few of the edges.

Its port hatchway groaned, rolled down and away, and Thamsummu stumped inside.  After a moment, a throaty grumble filled the air as the vehicle’s cabin lights glowed, and the fusion-powered engine awoke.  He emerged and said, “See?  Purrs like a thrak!”  He hopped down onto the concrete floor and wiped his hands on his denim trousers.  “That’s a classic Doovalacky.”

Zerki bit down on one side of her cheek and cast a studious glance toward Gavin.  “We’ll take it,” she said and added, “Everyone, climb aboard.  Gavin, you’re driving.”

Gavin grinned.  “I’ve been looking forward to it.”

She counted out Thamsummu’s payment and shook his hand.

D’Arro lifted the duffle, and one by one, they all hunched into the confines of the swamp buggy.  Interior lamps splashed amber light upon the vehicle’s benches, rigging, and driving controls.  It was spacious inside, with padded benches that framed a long aisle leading to the driver’s station.   At the back of the vehicle, wheeled locks held fast an assortment of engine access compartments.

Zerki closed the external hatch, and Gavin eased the swamp buggy out into the bog.  It took handily to the murky surface.  Retrieving her tablet as she sat beside Gavin in the passenger seat, Zerki called up the coordinates of the meeting place.  She transmitted them to the buggy’s navigation system.

Takeo and Valerie sat near each other as they quietly conversed.

Seated on the opposite bench, Taryn tried several times to engage D’Arro in conversation, but he had few words for her and clearly felt uncomfortable in sharing even those.  It wasn’t long before Taryn simply stared out the passenger-side window hatch.  She silently watched the everglades zipping by.  In time, they reached a well-kept private road, and Gavin followed its curves and rises.

It was well past midday before they had drawn close to their destination.  In the distance, a shabby chain fence cut a vast swath through the bog.  All along its visible face, signs in every major language group issued warnings to keep out, which penal code sections would be violated by trespassing, and that all trespassers would be shot.  Gavin drove along the border, until they happened upon a weather-beaten guard shack.  Its hydraulic barrier dipped all the way to the ground.

“Is this where he lives?” Gavin asked.

Zerki answered, “Possibly.  I can’t say for certain, but this is where he likes to meet.”  She twisted around to address Taryn and D’Arro.  “You’re on.  Takeo, take up overwatch.”

Takeo nodded and picked up a blaster rifle from the duffle.  “Where’s the rally point?”  He tapped open the passenger-side hatch.

“Back here is fine.”

With another nod, he hopped down from the buggy and vanished into the overgrowth.

Taryn grabbed a pair of ellogon rifles from the bag and tossed one to D’Arro.  She gripped the handle just inside the passenger-side hatch and seated herself halfway out the door.  D’Arro readied his weapon and took position opposite her.

Gavin slowed to a stop, some distance off, and the swamp buggy rumbled as it idled.  He looked to Zerki.  “Am I driving through the gate?”

She answered, “Only if no one raises it.”

Slowly and steadily, the buggy eased into motion.  As they drew near, the hydraulic arm suddenly swung up, and a smartly dressed ghalloom stepped into view from inside the shack.  He straightened his pinstripe suit.  “Zerki, are you in there?”

The swamp buggy slowed to a stop.  She picked up a hand microphone, switched on the loudspeaker system, and answered, “Possibly.”

“
Ga karrac
, Zerki.  You can call off your sniper and the rest of your goons.  It’s just me.”

Narrowing her gaze, Zerki released the microphone button and looked to Valerie.  “Is he telling the truth?”

Valerie closed her eyes, and after a while, nodded.  “I don’t sense any deception about extra forces, but it’s Kanlen—he’s always being deceptive about something.”

“Gavin, please do a quick sweep of our surroundings.  Look for sentry guns or other mechanicals.”

“Got it.”  He closed his eyes and reached out with his starsight.  A moment passed, and he brightened as he reported, “Just us, Captain.”

“Thanks.”  Zerki set down the handset, got to her feet and squeezed past Taryn.  She landed on the ground and approached the ghalloom.  After studying him for a moment, she looked to where she expected Takeo had positioned himself and signaled for him to return to the buggy.

The ghalloom visibly relaxed.  “
Ga laree
, that is much better.”

“Hello, Kanlen.  It’s been a while.”

“Two years?” he replied, and he smiled slightly.  “Far too long.”

Zerki flatly regarded him.  “Who’s the buyer?”

“Straight to business. 
Alee
, you haven’t changed a bit.”  He slipped his hands into his pockets.  “Perhaps you’ve heard of Gilrenk, haute-Iff’lar?”

“It doesn’t ring a bell.”

He retrieved a piece of digital paper and a decorated stylus.  “
Ga larrac
, Zerki.  He’s your buyer.  I’ve written down his address and a single-use access code, but don’t bother with direct navigation.  This is his beachfront estate, and you’ll have to drive up the coast to get there.  Use the back door.”  He pressed a thin plastic sheet into Zerki’s outstretched hand.  “Nobles today go to such great lengths to appear like they don’t care about anything, and he has an image to preserve.”

“Why even meet in person, then?  Why not just handle it all electronically?”

Kanlen shrugged dismissively.  “
Alee
, but he’s old fashioned.  He wants to meet you.  If he likes you, he’ll send over his own crew aboard his personal hauler to inspect the salvage.  If they like what they see, he’ll pay you, and that will be that.”

Zerki smiled professionally.  “Thanks.”  She produced her roll of credits and counted out several bills.  “See you around.”

“Wait,” he said as he pocketed his cash.  “
Karrac
, but I’ve got another lead, if you’re interested.”  He leaned in and whispered in her ear.  When he was finished, he pulled away and nodded.  “
Alee
, but It’s a good lead.”

She crossed her arms.  At last, she nodded and promised, “If it pans out, I’ll send you twice the normal fee.”

Takeo stepped into view and returned with Zerki to the swamp buggy.  Once everyone was inside, Gavin backed up and returned to the road.  In time, the road vanished beneath the smothering overgrowth, and he pushed across acres of swampland before reaching the coastline.

Zerki said, “You guys should grab some shuteye.  We’ve been going all day, and we still have a long way to go.”  She looked to Gavin.  “Wake me when you get tired, and we’ll trade off.”  She dimmed the interior lights and turned on the heater.

“Will do.”

Taryn, D’Arro, Valerie and Zerki curled up on the padded benches.  Takeo accessed the buggy’s internal audio player and created a list of soothing, ambient music.  He set it to shuffled loop and joined his friends in rest.  Gavin hummed along to the music as he drove the massive buggy onward, steady on its course over rocks and sand.  It bounced and rocked as it traveled.

The buggy skimmed the ocean’s surface, charging through her rolling waves.  The farther north they traveled, the more cliff-like the shoreline became and the more time they spent on the water.  While afloat, vents opened in the underbelly, and internal propellers kept the buggy moving at a steady clip.

Eventually, Gavin slowed to a stop and turned the vehicle over to his captain.

Zerki settled in and resumed their northward trek.

·· • ··

The suns had begun to set below the seaside horizon when Gilrenk, haute-Iff’lar’s seaboard estate drew nigh.  Zerki roused her companions.  Seated at the edge of a soaring cliff face, his sprawling mansion gleamed in the gathering starlight, a softly lit glassy testament to the artistic potential of brazen geometry.  A steep, narrow and gated road ran from the beach to the high parking garage, lit by hovering lamps.

“Can you take the wheel?” she asked Gavin, and he nodded in response.

The crash of waves eclipsed the rumble of the swamp buggy’s engines, as Zerki exited the vehicle and hurried to the gate at the base of the ramp.  She withdrew the piece of paper Kanlen had given her and entered the access code into the gate’s security interface.  After a moment, a cheerful recording announced something in the ghalloom native tongue, followed promptly by, “Access granted!  Please enter.”  The gate swung slowly inside just as it started to rain.

Zerki hurried back to the buggy, pulled her jacket tightly around her, and she climbed inside.  Gavin inched the vehicle forward, past the gate’s threshold and took stock of the drive’s width.  “I think we’re a little too wide,” he said, and he looked to his captain.

“Hug the wall,” she advised, and the buggy growled quietly as Gavin pressed the accelerator.  Very slowly, they made their way up the drive.  Rocks crunched and scraped the passenger side of the vehicle, and Gavin stopped hard.  Zerki said, “Just push through.  She can take it.”

Exhaling steadily, Gavin said, “Okay,” and he pushed through.  Rocks split and tumbled along the side, spilling onto the roof, and soon the path was clear.  He resumed his ponderous advance.

Taryn said, “Hey, Captain,” and Zerki turned to regard her.  “What class was that starship we saw outside of Ixion Prime?  I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“I’m not sure.  I’ve never seen anything like it, either.”

Valerie leaned forward.  “The ellogons didn’t even make a dent, and it had more firepower than either the Union or the Empire could bring to a fight.”  Drawing a deep breath, she continued, “I sensed a crew of hundreds of thousands, maybe half a million, but all their thoughts were… hollow.  It’s the only way I can think to describe it.  There wasn’t even background noise.”  She leaned back against the bench.  “Whatever they were, I’ve never encountered them before.”

Zerki asked, “Possibly an unknown alien intelligence?”

Valerie nodded.  “Probably.”

“Well that’s… terrifying,” muttered Gavin.

Zerki nodded.  “Considering what they did to the ellogons, you’re probably right.”  She faced forward.  “Anyway, I’ve already sent the external footage up the chain, and I plan to submit our Behemothylax findings as soon as Filan recovers.”

D’Arro grimly suggested, “Maybe you should tread a little lighter as long as Gavin’s working for us.”  He wore a dreadful smile.  “They might decide to pay us a visit in person if we keep submitting so much interesting information.  Just saying.”

Zerki exhaled through puffed cheeks.  “I can’t.  I have to do this.”  She stared off, listening to the sounds of the rain as it drove down upon the buggy’s heavy steel roof.  The storm grew louder, more intense.  “Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it?” challenged Takeo.  “Respectfully, Captain, I believe D’Arro has a valid concern.  Between the part we played in Perymdak’s death and direct contact with an unknown, hostile alien fleet, they’re going to start to wonder.  It’s only a matter of time before they come looking for us, and if they realize we have Gavin, it’s over.  I admire your courage, I do, but if you submit the Behemothylax findings—”

“But?” she snapped.  “There’s no ‘but!’  Thousands of people were brutally murdered because of what the ellogons did!  I won’t let that go unanswered.”

“Captain, please reconsider.”

Zerki regarded him icily. “It’s my call to make.”

“I’m just asking you to wait.  Discretion has its place.”

Clenching her teeth, she said, “Not here.  Not now.  If you don’t like it, feel free to take your leave!”

Takeo composed himself.  “Captain, I respect that it’s your decision to make.  I have said my piece and will trust you to do what you feel is right.”

Valerie regarded Zerki with concern.  “Captain, are you feeling alright?”

She took a moment to calm down.  “I’m fine.”  Her gaze drifted to Takeo.  “I’m sorry I snapped.  I shouldn’t have done that.”  She smiled serenely.  “I’ll hold off on sending in the Behemothylax findings until I can do it anonymously.”

In time, they neared the grand estate’s gated parking garage.  Two black-clad ghalloom soldiers interposed, and a third approached from outside their field of vision.  He tapped loudly on the driver’s-side hatchway with the tip of his rifle.  Zerki opened the hatch and peered out.  “You can use the garage to turn around,” he said.  “Then you have to leave.  The Glorious and Unfeeling Gilrenk, haute-Iff’lar isn’t seeing anyone tonight.”

Zerki regarded him flatly.  “He’s expecting me.”

The ghalloom narrowed his glassy eyes.  “Wait…  How did you get past the gate?”

She crossed her arms.  “I told you he was expecting me.”

He conferred with his fellow guards and jogged over to a booth, where he picked up a phone.  A moment later, he nodded and hung up.  With a conciliatory smile, he returned to the buggy and asked, “Are you Captain Zerki Ibarra of the
Sanguine Shadow
?”

“I am.”

“Please accept my apologies.”  He bowed deeply.  “Right through there,” he concluded, indicating a vast garage.  The gates rolled slowly away on their tracks, and Gavin drove forward.  With the rain behind them, now under the cover of the grand parking structure, the inside of the buggy fell deafeningly silent.

Taryn dug at her ears, trying in vain to pop them.  “Ah, they’re ringing!”

Takeo gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“Everyone ready?” Zerki asked, and her companions assured her they were.  They disembarked the swamp buggy and fell in behind their captain.  She led them up a set of marble stairs to an ornately decorated and brightly colored glass door.  It slid aside at their approach, and they crossed Gilrenk’s foyer, where they stepped into his ballroom.  Their breath tumbled forth in visible clouds.