‘How long did they remain there?’
‘Weeks. I made it my business to know what my uncle knew, and what he didn’t. My sister’s moles and emissaries assisted me, for a while. But Wivartha pays better.’
‘He found them?’
‘Yes, but I managed to warn them. They had enough time to head to Samos, to what is left of the Queendom’s lands.’
‘It is a terraformed world,’ Ruben said. ‘Plenty of space to hide indefinitely.’
‘Not indefinitely. Wivartha has found them. This time he will kill every single one. And they have nowhere else to flee. That is why we must make our move now.’
‘Excuse my anger, Yux, but I will kill Wivartha.’
‘No. I have to do that. I will kill him, take control of my people, and then we can come to an agreement as how to relieve Titan from the Dishan governors.’
‘And then Malizar.’
‘And then Malizar,’ Yux repeated. ‘And what is left of his Order.’
‘I thought you said you were tasked to remove them. Has Wivartha not done that? I would have thought hunting Iástrons would be high up on his record.’
‘Oh, it was.’
‘Then he got them?’
Yux sighed. ‘Maybe not all of them.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You remember what he said, back below Crilshar? You remember what Malizar told us when you asked about the Emperor of Enustine?’
‘Emperor Abacco. Yes.’
Yux stood and began to pace. ‘Malizar’s Enusti agent attempted to reach the highest position but was blocked. His words. The Allied Moon’s man was not the Emperor. They may still be out there.’
‘Do you think?’
‘Even if we defeated my uncle and reformed what we could of the Alignment in order to liberate Titan, we risk its entire undoing by ignoring the fact that Malizar is our real enemy. And his agents are the ones we must really be fighting. Maxim, Mokrikov, Sudana: they all revealed themselves. Wivartha is an agent, but he amounts to nothing more than a pawn when compared to the others.’
Ruben sat back. ‘You know, had things gone differently, it would have been my honour to have you as an ally.’
‘But they haven’t gone differently. We are here and now.’
‘And when we deal with your uncle you will make a noble High Lord.’
‘Of that,’ he said, ‘I am not so sure.’
‘Do you have any idea who the Iástron agent could be?’
‘My intelligence regarding the newly formed Phantom Committee and its members is vague, doubtful.’ Yux gazed away. ‘But I may have an idea.’
FIFTY-THREE
ADELAIDE ABACCO STOOD watch over her soldiers, arms behind her back, gazing down through the viewing window into one of the military billets above the backward engine. It was utterly silent where she stood. But the men below were not in practise. Nor did they walk or drill or stand to attention. A pulsing rhythm flowed through the floor beneath. War had come. Upon the green world Samos, in the region of Gothandir and mountains of Teskía, they were discovered.
She closed then opened her eyes. Her husband stood before her. He smiled. Her three sons stood beside him. We are waiting. All gone now. Gone but here. With a hand over her eyes, she wept.
A high-pitched beeping parped along the corridor, originating from a console protruding from the wall. She activated the console and spoke her name. The sound of her aide, Balvyn-Rath, came through.
‘My Empress.’
‘Are they here?’
‘Barrages have penetrated the atmosphere. Samosian vessels are preparing their escape.’
‘There is no escape,’ she said. ‘It will come to battle before the end. Battle we have forestalled. No more.’
‘I agree, ma’am. But there is something else. A comm link. We have been called to.’
‘Wivartha Dishan,’ she said. It could only be him. ‘Patch it through to me here.’ She looked at the corridor tag. ‘Division seventeen. Corridor nine.’
‘At once, my Empress.’
Adelaide activated the comm portal and a screen descended from the low ceiling. She stood back, checking her reflection in the clear plastic pane. Without makeup or powder, she looked her age.
The call came through. However, it was not Wivartha Dishan, but another Crilshan who stood before her. He spoke at once. ‘They have found you.’
‘They? Who are they? Who are you?’
‘I am an ally. They are coming for you. Wivartha Dishan has found you.’
Adelaide backed up.
‘I am here to help you, Empress.’
‘How do I know I can trust you?’
‘I warned you once before.’
‘But . . . look at you.’
‘I am Crilshan, yes. But not your enemy. Here stands beside me Ruben Berenguer of Titan.’
A man stepped into view. Bent and old, it was indeed Ruben Berenguer.
‘Adelaide,’ he said softly, almost pathetic. ‘I knew your husband. I trusted him, and he me. Do as this man says now.’
‘What do I do?’
‘Fight,’ said the Crilshan. ‘Fight until you can fight no more. Do not let Wivartha Dishan take Samos. I will do all I can to help you.’
‘Who are you?’
‘They are coming for you now, my lady.’
The ground shook.
‘No,’ she said. ‘They are not coming. They are here.’
‘Then run, Adelaide. Run now! We are coming. You are not alone!’
She ran. All of her energy focused on reaching the command centre. The elevator. She had to reach the elevator. Then down to the innermost deck, and from there to the centre. They had to fight. Had to!
She did not make it far before a figure blocked her way. Her commander stood tall and took her hand. ‘We must go!’ cried Balvyn-Rath.
‘Take me to the command centre. Better yet, the bridge.’
‘You must go to your shuttle. The Achakachula has been boarded!’
‘Boarded?’
‘The crew has been told to surrender.’
‘By whom? No, wait. Send out the call. We are to fight.’
‘My Empress—’
‘The Proximans will have us all killed. Our last stand will take place here. Now do as I say!’
Balvyn-Rath echoed her command, and then urged her on to the centre of the mighty vessel. Bellows and screams and the rattle of gun and blaster-fire ricocheted through the metal halls.
‘What is left of the Enusti command is below,’ Balvyn said, blaster in hand. ‘This is the fastest way – here, through the metal works.’ They rushed into the vast, open area of the industrial unit. They stopped at an open balcony, watched the cavernous opening within which abandoned machinery moved independently. Balvyn froze.
‘What are you doing, Commander?’
He held his breath, and collapsed to the ground.
Adelaide jumped away, thumping her spine on the gallery rail. Balvyn-Rath lay still, but behind him stood five armed Crilshan soldiers. At their head, dressed in black battle armour, stood Wivartha Dishan. She could not move as he drifted close, flanked by his personal sentry. No projection this time. He held a barbed knife in his hand. With his other he took hold of her tightly, leaning her back and over the edge.
‘At last. Here we meet again,’ he said, and grasped her by the back of her neck, his cold knife stroking her face. ‘This time you will not get away.’
‘AND NEITHER WILL YOU!’
A figure emerged from the shadows, driving the bodyguards back. Adelaide fought for breath as the face of General Ruben Berenguer looked down upon them. Throwing himself forwards, he took Wivartha from his feet and over the edge of the gallery.
Adelaide breathed in, unable to fathom what had just occurred.
Before she could move, two more bodyguards were upon her, forcing her back into the wall. The other two gazed down over the rail into the metal works, before charging off to locate a way down.
Thud!
A shape charged into her captors.
Thud!
A cry.
A knife plunged into the neck of one Crilshan. The other twisted. The knife sliced through his leg, up into his neck, and down through his chest. Blood splattered over her. They fell to the floor, and the strange Crilshan from the image-link stood panting before her.
He took three deep breaths and said, ‘Stay here!’
‘No!’ she huffed, and pursued him down to the next platform.
‘I said stay up there,’ the Crilshan said.
‘Who are you to command me?’ she retorted.
He stopped and spun. ‘My name is Yux Dishan.’
Ruben Berenguer cried out with agony. Having landed on his back upon a moving platform far below, he rolled over to see Wivartha Dishan produce a blade and plunge it through his exposed arm. Ruben cringed, kicked out, knocking the Crilshan back to the edge of the stand.
It shook beneath them, hanging from thick cables, swinging in a higher portion of the vessel’s manufacturing works. Around them, sparks spat and struts swayed and battered. The drop below was so far he couldn’t see the bottom.
Ruben tore the blade from his arm, watched the blood leak down his chest, pushed himself to his knees.
A foot struck his ribs. The second drove the wind from him.
He gasped, saw the third boot, and held the knife in its path. Wivartha cried out as the blade ran through his shin, scraping bone. The Crilshan fell back, dropping from the platform with a cry. Ruben leaned over and swore as he watched Wivartha land upon another platform several metres beneath.
The old general looked to his blood-covered arm. Less serious than it looked. Experience and adrenaline assured him. He was willing to die, but only if he took Wivartha with him.
He clutched his ribs, took a deep breath, and jumped for the cable hanging nearby. He grasped the line, but lost his grip and dropped down upon the Crilshan, who cried out again, knife in hand. He landed on his back at the platform’s edge. Wivartha kneeled over him, with hands pushing down on the blade. Its edge struck Ruben’s hand – blood spattered over his face – but he held it up, both hands forcing the blade back with all the strength he had left.
‘Shall I tell you what has become of your home?’ Wivartha hissed into his ear, pleasure filling his spiteful jeer. ‘Your people are suffering, and it is all your fault.’
‘No . . .’
The blade came down.
‘You betrayed them. You gave them to me. They are mine. Just like your family.’
‘No!’
The blade slid through his fingers, touched his chest. Agony.
A beat and a thud. The blade was raised, utter disbelief covering Wivartha’s dark face.
Ruben looked down as blood trickled onto him from Wivartha’s chest. The tip of a spear now plunged through the Crilshan’s body was hoisted, Wivartha still attached. Yux Dishan raised the spear and threw it away. Wivartha turned on the spot in small steps, blood dripping from his chest, back, and mouth; and Yux regarded him, facing him dead in the eye. He reached out and pulled the dark-orbed necklace from his uncle’s neck.
‘This belongs to Ruben Berenguer.’
‘Traitor!’ Wivartha spat.
Yux nodded, and pushed his uncle down into the bottomless shaft.
FIFTY-FOUR
THE OLD EMPRESS watched and waited for Ruben Berenguer and Yux Dishan to return. A group of six Crilshan soldiers surrounded her, also waiting. She looked down at her thin, creased hands. At that moment, that instant of utter weakness, absolute helplessness, she truly felt her age. She was old. So old.
Before long, both Yux Dishan and General Berenguer appeared around the corner, escorted by a score of Crilshan soldiers. All three were taken down to the viewing block of the Achakachula. The Enusti pilots and crew members were sat bound together near the back of the room, surrounded by the Dark Race. Upon the far screen, the projected image from outside on Samos’ surface established that battle was raging on. Some vessels were burning. Blaster fire tore across the screen.
At the highest point in the room stood the leading Crilshan gubar. He descended toward the three captives. One side of his face was blackened, with hair growing on only one side of his head.
‘Descend to your knees,’ the gubar said.
Berenguer kneeled. Adelaide followed, slow and exhausted.
But Yux Dishan remained where he was. ‘Stand down, iyata ghoul. Drubano yak ir ana bishmat.’
The soldiers did not move.
‘And you are?’
‘You know who I am. My name is Yux Dishan.’
The soldiers faltered, looked to each other in uncertainty.
‘Where is the commander?’ the gubar asked.
‘My commander, my uncle, Wivartha Dishan, is dead. I am the higher authority. You will answer to me.’
The gubar stared at Berenguer, glanced once at Adelaide, and breathed out. ‘Ifra. Have you proof?’
Yux raised his bloodied sleeve and revealed a dark stain upon his wrist: a dark moon within a black triangle. ‘You know what this is, and what it tells you, yes?’
‘We are trained to respond in only one way to this symbol.’
‘Then respond.’
‘What is your order, my lord?’
Yux smiled. ‘Patch me through to every single commander. This attack will stop immediately.’
Adelaide’s heartbeat fell from her throat and down into her stomach. Was this really the monster, Yux Dishan, famed for his cruelty and brutality? She caught Berenguer’s eye as they remained on their knees.
Yux pulled the gubar to one side and for some minutes they argued quietly. Adelaide continued to watch Berenguer. He was weak. He looked old. He had submitted, relinquished his command. She saw it in his eyes. She recognised it, every time she looked in her mirror.
Yux paced the room, moving back towards them. But the gubar was not finished. He followed the High Lord and took his arm fiercely. ‘You are ending this assault?’
‘It is ended,’ Yux granted.
‘But our enemies—’
‘These are not our enemies! The real enemy is out there!’ Yux said, pointing up high.
‘Where?’
He held out his wrist. ‘Those who consider themselves my masters. The Allied Moon!’
‘Don’t speak its name!’
‘THE ORDER OF THE ALLIED MOON!’ Yux cried. ‘The Alignment is not the threat!’
The gubar stepped back. ‘What do you know of the true threat?’
‘Not enough . . . yet.’
From nearby, one of the Crilshan pilots flinched, and stood to attention. ‘Has it anything to do with the Beacon, sir?’
‘Beacon? What Beacon?’
‘The one headed right for us. Orbiting barrages have been put on code one. I informed Commander Dishan. Did he not inform you?’
‘No,’ Yux said, dismayed and confused. ‘Show me this Beacon.’
The pilot reluctantly did as he was told. A sound filled the viewing deck. Shrieks of horror impacted upon Adelaide’s mind. Her eyes stung and she clapped her hands over her ears.
‘Turn it off! Turn it off!’ she saw the leaders yell.
The pilot stopped the Beacon. Another pilot nearby raised his hand.
‘What is it?’ spoke the gubar.
Another held up his hand. Then another.
‘What is it? What’s wrong?’
‘We’ve . . . We’ve lost contact with the Azazel . . . and the Vepar.’
‘The secondary flagship’s sensors have just gone offline, captain,’ came the call from below. ‘We’ve lost the Nysrogh.’
‘And the Ipos, captain!’
‘What is going on?’ Berenguer said, rising to his feet.
Adelaide followed, and gazed up at the projection. The angle rose towards the sky. Where once it had been clear blue, now it was black as night.
Not night.
‘Hell!’
A bright light
from the projection. An explosion tore a nearby shuttle carrier to flakes of fire and metal.
‘I gave the order to cease!’ Yux cried.
‘It wasn’t us,’ a pilot called.
‘Then who?’
An object fell from the sky. Several more followed. Upon the projection wall, meteors rained down like black, hot-sodden hail. The mountainous valley burst into flame.
‘What is going on?!’
Crilshans around them were falling to their knees. Enusti crew members rose from theirs.
A planet, as large as Samos itself, bore down upon them. It was black. Utterly black.
Ruben Berenguer fell to the ground. Adelaide shook where she was. And again Yux Dishan launched himself into action.
‘Fire everything the fleet has at that thing!’ he cried. ‘My gubar, get us out of here!’
‘At once!’
‘What is that thing?’ Berenguer uttered.
‘Free my crew!’ Adelaide said, ignoring the general. ‘Only they can pilot this vessel!’
Yux nodded. ‘Do it!’
Around them, vessels and crafts were exploding as meteors rained down, the survivors lifting to the skies and leaving behind any that fell. Several Crilshan barrage-vessels collided. Chaos ascended.
Adelaide rushed to her chair in the middle of the room, activated her comm link, and spoke clearly and calmly, ‘Go! Get away from the planet surface. Flee!’
The image on the far wall was lost and Adelaide Abacco’s panicked call was broadcast as they fled:
‘Get away from here!’ it said. ‘Leave the atmosphere and make the leap! Hell is here! Hell itself has come!’
FIFTY-FIVE
‘WE SONII. WE come for Gilaxiad.’
Anna shook her head.
‘We Sonii. We come for Gilaxiad.’
She repeated it, over and over. What did it mean? Those creatures – come for Gilaxiad?
Back in her apartment, she sat on her bed once again staring out at silver night. Her black uniform lay beside her. Her thoughts were chaotic. Those creatures, alone in the dark of the cell. What were they?
‘We Sonii. We come for Gilaxiad.’
It was only because of Gordian that she had managed to get out of the Martial City. He had found her and dragged her out before anyone saw her. He did not witness those creatures in that dank cell. The Sonii? She didn’t speak a word, even when he drove her out and left her at the entrance to the underground passage.