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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The setup was perfect for a combination prison break and star-thriller hostage exchange. As such, I subconsciously expected it to be dramatic and complicated.

It turned out to be neither. Hat Man waved a hand at Huginn and his friends, waved the same pattern at Selene, then took a step back away from the door. I waited a couple of seconds, then tentatively beckoned to Huginn. “I guess that’s it,” I said. “He’s been talking about companions since we arrived. I’m assuming you’re them.”

“Not sure why you’d think that,” Huginn said, watching the aliens warily as he walked through the doorway, the Iykams close behind. “Or why they’d think that.”

“I’m just arguing from results,” I said. Two of the Iykams, I noted, were also watching the aliens as they followed Huginn. The third was watching me. “You’ve been locked up here, what, five days? Six? I can’t see them releasing you to anyone except a good friend.”

“A good friend?” Huginn echoed, looking Selene up and down as he stopped in front of us. “I didn’t know the Ammei had any friends.”

I frowned at him. “You know these aliens?”

“I know of them, anyway.” Huginn nodded toward the corridor behind me. “Can we table this discussion until we’re free and clear?”

“Good idea.” I turned and started back down the hallway, Selene at my side.

I got three steps before our window of opportunity slammed shut. I caught a glimpse of movement on the spiral ramp, and suddenly six more armed guards came tromping into view. They lined up, three by three, and came to a halt at the end of the hallway.

Their lightning guns, I noted, were still slung over their shoulders. Under the circumstances, that wasn’t much comfort.

I looked at Hat Man. He and his three guards were just standing there, but Hat Man himself was talking rapid-fire in a low voice. “So much for that,” I muttered. “You see a comm or phone? Or is he talking to himself?”

“The comm’s in his hat, I think,” Huginn said. “Any idea what he’s saying, Selene?”

“Not really,” she said. “I heard the word companions again, and I think he also said honor and arrived. But I don’t know how they fit together.”

“I can think of a couple of ways,” Huginn said grimly. “None of them good. Shall we keep walking and see if they try to stop us?”

“Selene?” I prompted.

“I don’t see why not,” she said. “All they can do is block our path.”

“Or shoot us,” Huginn said. “Let’s give it a go.”

We made it another three steps before Hat Man, putting on a burst of speed, skittered past us and came to an abrupt halt right in our path. He spun to face us and bit out a few words.

“I think he wants us to stop,” I offered.

“Yes, I get that feeling,” Huginn agreed. He looked pointedly at my holstered plasmic. “Nice weapon. EarthGuard Marine issue, if I’m not mistaken. They actually let you keep it?”

“I’m a friend of Selene’s, remember?” I said. As far as I could tell, the newcomers at the far end hadn’t reacted at all to our movement or Hat Man’s. “I also haven’t been waving it around, like I’m guessing your friends did.”

“Touché,” Huginn said, looking back at the three Iykams. “Though to be fair it wasn’t so much waving as it was cautiously keeping hold of.”

“Sure,” I said. “‘Cautious’ is the word I always associate with Iykams. What do you know about these Ammei?”

“Not much,” he said. “They live in four tight-knit enclaves, isolated or at the edges of small cities. They supposedly survive by scratch-farming their land and selling exotic fruits and vegetables to their neighbors.”

“Given this group is living in the middle of a ring of portals, I’m guessing they can come up with plenty of exotics. All that access to different soils and climates, you know.”

Huginn’s lips compressed briefly. Maybe he’d been hoping I hadn’t figured out that the mounds out there were portals. “Anyway, they’re listed in the Patth alien registry, which is why I know the name,” he said. “Other than what I just told you, I don’t think anyone knows much about them.”

“And has probably cared even less.” I nodded toward Hat Man. “Until now.”

Huginn hissed softly. “Until now,” he conceded. “So when and where did the Icarus Group find this new Janus portal of theirs?”

“You’re behind the times,” I told him, throwing a bit of smugness into my voice to try to cover up my reaction to his question. Just as I’d assumed Huginn had come through the restored Alainn portal, so he was also assuming Selene and I had come through another Gemini dyad to one of the other portals in the ring.

Which meant he didn’t know this was Alpha’s planet. More important, he didn’t know we’d brought the big full-range portal down from its orbit.

And that fact presented us with a huge advantage. If we needed to run, our exit was outside any restraint cordon the Ammei would ever think to set up. They could stack the portal ring three guards deep, and all Selene and I had to do was get out of town and to the river and we were as good as gone.

Unfortunately, that same fact also carried a terrible risk. If Huginn figured out the truth then not only was Alpha in danger but so was Firefall, which had been the Patth’s own full-range portal before the Icarus Group swooped in and snatched it away from them.

Worse, if the Patth could commandeer Firefall and also figure out Icarus’s address, everything we and the Icarus Group had worked for would fall apart in front of our faces. Probably accompanied by a whole lot of spilled blood on all sides.

“We’re not the Icarus Group anymore,” I continued even as that horrifying scenario played across my mind. “We’re the Alien Portal Agency now.”

“Interesting,” Huginn said, frowning. “So Kinneman’s officially taken over?”

I felt my stomach tighten. How the hell did the Patth know that? “Who?” I asked innocently.

Huginn gave a little snort. “Yes, I forgot how little they tell you. Kinneman, General Josiah Leland, has been positioning himself for the past year or so to take over the Icarus Group. Among his other selling points is the name change you just mentioned.”

“Well, if that’s all he’s got planned, we should be all right,” I said, wondering if I dared ask if Patth intel included anything about my father’s place in the new command structure.

I resisted the temptation. If the Patth didn’t already know he was aboard, best to leave it that way.

“Unfortunately, it’s not,” Huginn said. “I think you’re going to be as unhappy as we are to see Admiral Sir Graym-Barker go.”

“You liked him that much?”

Liked him?” Huginn shrugged. “Not particularly. But we knew him, and that’s important in a game like this.” He smiled knowingly. “Also my theory as to why you always seem to make sure Sub-Director Nask comes out of your interactions with a little something to make him look good to the Director General.”

“You’re reading way too much into it,” I said, picking my words carefully. He was absolutely right about known opponents, and the last thing I wanted was for Huginn or the Patth Director General to wonder if Nask was losing his focus. “My sole concern is the Icarus Group and the Commonwealth. Sub-Director Nask’s sole concern is the Patth. It just so happens that it’s not a zero-sum game.”

“Always nice when that happens. Ah—here we go.”

I nodded. At the end of the hallway a newcomer had appeared, walking slowly down the ramp toward us. He was shorter and thinner than the other Ammei we’d seen, and his armadillo armor seemed darker and dimmer. He was wearing the most elaborate hat yet, and I had the odd sense that its weight was bothering him. A pair of ferrets accompanied him, walking slowly to either side as if making sure they didn’t outrun him. He passed between the lines of guards and hobbled his way to a spot midway between them and us.

I sighed, bracing myself for more alien speak. I just hoped Selene would be able to get more from this one than just a word or two—

“I greet you, travelers,” the alien called, his heavily accented but fully understandable English echoing off the tunnel walls. “I am the Fourth of Three. In the name of the First of Three, I welcome you to Nexus Six and Imistio Tower.”

* * *

In that first rush of disbelief that this creature was actually speaking English, I completely missed the glaring mathematical oddity in his greeting. It took another second for it to rear up and slap me in the face.

Fourth of Three?

I looked at Selene, wondering if she’d spotted the strange math, too.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. Her pupils, which had shown a familiar wary calm, had suddenly changed to a mix of surprise and disbelief, tinged with something I could only interpret as horror. I looked back at the alien, then back at Selene, trying to figure out what had startled her that badly.

“Fourth of Three?” Huginn murmured. “Someone’s math is off.”

“It’s the schools these days,” I said, my focus still on Selene. The horror had faded somewhat, along with whatever shock had precipitated that reaction. But the disbelief remained.

“No doubt,” Huginn said, oblivious to the silent drama taking place in Selene’s emotions. “I’m thinking the other one—First of Three—sounds like a title. Maybe Fourth of Three is likewise, except it’s an honorary post?”

“Could be,” I said. Selene’s pupils were rapidly returning to their original wariness, and I needed to get back to work on the immediate situation. “He also looks like he’s waiting for an answer.”

“Agreed,” Huginn said. “You or me?” He nodded toward Selene. “Or Selene?”

“Or Selene,” I agreed. “You game?”

She took a careful breath. Still a little shaken up, I could tell, but there was fresh determination in her pupils. “Yes,” she said.

She faced Fourth of Three and drew herself up to her full height. “I greet you in turn, Fourth of Three,” she called. “I am Selene of the Kadolians. These are Roarke and Huginn of the humans, and their escorts of the Iykams. We thank you for your greeting.”

“You are most welcome, Selene of the Kadolians,” Fourth of Three said. “Come. Second of Three awaits you.”

He turned and started walking back toward the ramp. I took Selene’s arm and started to follow—

And twitched to a sudden halt as one of Big Hat’s three guards slashed his lightning gun warningly in front of me. “What the hell?” I bit out.

“Second of Three does not welcome Roarke and Huginn of the humans,” Fourth of Three said. He’d turned back and was staring at us from beneath the brim of his hat. “Third of Three will welcome them.”

“I don’t think so,” I growled. I pushed away the lightning gun still hovering in front of my chest and started forward. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the two ferrets at Second of Three’s feet suddenly come to life, arching their backs warningly—

And I again jerked to a stop, this time by Huginn’s grip on my arm. “Steady, Roarke,” he warned quietly. “Unless you’re ready to take on nine armed Ammei, your best move is to back off.”

Every cell in my body was screaming for me to yank out my plasmic and start shooting. But Huginn was right. If the Ammei wanted to kill us there were lots of easier ways for them to do it.

Besides, Selene was in their line of fire.

“He’s right, Gregory,” Selene said, holding out a cautioning hand of her own. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

I took a deep breath. “Sure,” I said. “But if you need me, just…I don’t know. If you need me just scream or something.”

“I’ll be fine,” she repeated. Her pupils took on a hint of amusement. “And I really don’t scream very well.”

“Try high opera, then,” Huginn offered. “It’s close enough. Just relax, listen to what they say, and see what you can learn.”

“I will.” The amusement in her pupils faded and was replaced by concern. “You be careful.”

“We’ll be fine.” I threw a look over my shoulder at the silent Iykams. “Assuming Huginn can sit on his minions.”

“I’m sure he will,” Selene said. “I’ll see you later.”

“Right,” I said. “Fruit and bird?”

“Fruit and bird,” she confirmed. Turning, she resumed walking toward the waiting Ammei. “Fourth of Three?” I called. “What about us?”

“Third of Three will welcome you,” the alien called back.

“Great,” I said. “When?”

“Soon.” He waited until Selene reached him, then turned and led her back up the ramp. The six armed aliens fell into step beside them, and then they were gone.

As my father used to say, Sometimes there are no words for a given situation. Make sure you save a few good expletives for times like that. I unloaded a quiet but heartfelt curse, then added another one just to round out the session. “Well, we’re back to six-to-five odds,” I pointed out to Huginn. “That sound any better?”

“Better, but still stupid,” he said. “Like she said, she’ll be fine. Didn’t you see how they marched out?”

“Yeah,” I growled. “Surrounding her like a prisoner.”

“Surrounding her like an honor guard,” Huginn said with exaggerated patience. “Remember what she said about hearing the word honor?”

I thought back to the guard configuration. Huginn could be right about that, I had to admit. “It’s also the way soldiers march with high-ranking prisoners.”

“She’ll be fine,” Huginn said. “You’re a real worrier, aren’t you? What was that fruit and bird bit?”

“Private joke,” I told him. It wasn’t, of course—preset security codes were never a joke. But I had no intention of reading him into our system. “Did you see the ferrets’ reaction when I started toward Fourth of Three?”

“They acted like guard dogs,” he said, nodding. “Very small guard dogs, but they may have some serious teeth tucked away in there. You probably don’t want to find out for sure.”

“Probably not,” I said. “Still, a single good kick ought to be all it takes.”

“Bearing in mind we’re talking a single good kick apiece,” he warned. “You get a mob of them together and you’d be hard-pressed to stay on top of it. What exactly was she reacting so hard against?”

I looked sideways at him. “You can read Kadolian expressions?”

“No, but I can read yours,” he said. “So?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Something back there just poked at a nerve. No idea what it was.”

“Interesting,” he said. “You’ll have to ask her about it later.”

I snorted. “I can ask,” I told him. “Doesn’t mean she’ll necessarily answer. There are things she doesn’t like to talk about.”

“Be persuasive,” he said. “By the way, you never told me where you found the Janus portal you used to get here.”

He would keep bugging me until I gave him something, I knew. Fortunately, I’d had time to come up with an answer. “We didn’t,” I told him, mentally crossing my fingers. “We just flew here.”

The brief widening of his eyes was all the proof I needed that my bluff had worked. However long he and his team had been poking around before the Ammei caught them, it hadn’t been long enough for them to do the star scans that would give them some idea of Nexus Six’s location. “You flew here?”

“Yes,” I said. Technically, of course, that wasn’t even a lie, Selene and I had flown here. Just not very far, and mostly straight down. “And no, I’m not going to tell you where we are.”

“No, of course not,” Huginn said, looking troubled.

As well he should. The very nature of portal travel limited the size of any army or weaponry someone might try to bring through. We’d seen that firsthand with the technical and logistic hoops Kinneman had had to go through just to get a simple bioprobe and a couple of grav-beam generators from the inside of Icarus to the outside of Alpha.

But if Nexus Six was close enough to civilization for us to have come here by starship, Kinneman could whistle up a few EarthGuard warships and kick the Patth back to their secret homeworlds before they could even bring a decent defense force to bear. Huginn clearly knew that, and even now he would be sifting through the ramifications.

Of course, if the Patth called my bluff and stuck around long enough for some decent sky analysis they’d quickly realize we weren’t anywhere near the Spiral, let alone within an easy flight of civilization.

At which point Huginn would probably be very annoyed with me. But I’d cross that bridge when I got there. Right now, worrying about Selene was a full-time job.

We’d been standing there for ten minutes, Huginn likely wrapped in thoughts of imminent Patth disaster, me wondering how fast I could draw and shoot if that became necessary, when the wait finally came to an end.

It came in the form of two Ammei coming down the ramp and walking toward us. The first had the same dulled scales and walking tentativeness as Fourth of Three, characteristics I’d tentatively marked as signs of age, and was wearing an even fancier hat. The other Amme was walking beside and a little behind him, but I could tell he was deliberately matching the other’s pace. He also had shinier scales and no hat at all. Pacing them were four more ferrets, again maintaining the same slow gait as the Ammei.

The older Amme took a few steps down the hallway and spoke in a quiet voice. The younger one twitched his fingers and drew himself up. “I greet you, travelers,” he said in much better English than Fourth of Three. “I am Rozhuhu. I speak the words of the Third of Three. In the name of the First of Three, I welcome you to Nexus Six and Imistio Tower.”

“Thank you,” I said. “We would like to join Selene of the Kadolians now.”

Third of Three spoke again. “Selene of the Kadolians is currently examining the locales of power and authority,” Rozhuhu translated. “You shall examine the rest, so as to prepare her for proper comfort.”

I frowned at Huginn. “Her proper comfort?”

“They hold her in high esteem,” he reminded me quietly. “Important people always come with an entourage. That seems to be us.”

“I guess so.” I turned back to the two Ammei. “We would be pleased to prepare her comfort. Please show us what we may do to serve Selene of the Kadolians.”

Third of Three spoke. “Excellent,” Rozhuhu said. “The Third of Three approves.”

“A question before we begin,” Huginn said, pointing to the ferrets. “Your animals. Roarke of the humans is concerned that they might be dangerous.”

“They seemed prepared to attack us earlier,” I added. I wasn’t all that concerned, but Huginn was clearly probing for information and I was willing to look nervous if it helped back him up.

“You need have no fear,” Rozhuhu said. “Tenshes are fully tamed.”

“Are you sure?” I pressed. “There’ve been plenty of human pets which, while appearing to be just as tame, have suddenly gone wild.”

“You need have no fear,” Rozhuhu repeated. “We will begin here, where the food for the Tower and its personnel is stored.”

I scowled. So much for finding out what role the animals played in Ammei society. And meanwhile Selene was still way the hell off somewhere.

Still, I had wondered what kind of floor plan this place had. This was our chance to start filling in that map.



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