CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“Whoa,” I said, pressing the stunner a little tighter against my leg. So far the three of them were playing it calm, but that was likely to change the minute they noticed I had a weapon in my hand. “Wouldn’t you like to at least get my report?”
Though why hadn’t they noticed? It wasn’t like the stunner was a tiny palm gun designed for concealment. And up until McKell announced himself I hadn’t even been trying to hide it.
And then I got it. They’d spotted the leads still attached to the stunner’s business end, and even if they weren’t familiar with this particular Patth model they would know that all such weapons had a mechanism for detaching those wires. The fact that I hadn’t done so told them that either the weapon had jammed or was otherwise out of juice.
“I’m sure General Kinneman will be delighted to hear it once you’re back at Icarus,” McKell said. He flicked a look at the portal hatchway behind me. “Should we be expecting company, by the way?”
And it was at that moment, at that precise time and place, when I finally realized that Selene and I did indeed no longer work for the Icarus Group.
“We did stir things up rather badly in there,” I confirmed. “We should probably think about getting out of the neighborhood.”
“All right,” McKell said, gesturing in the direction of the river. “You might as well leave that here,” he added, nodding toward my half-concealed stunner. “You’re out of power.”
I hissed out a feigned curse as the two Marines came out from behind McKell and headed toward Selene and me, their laser rifles held ready across their chests but not pointing at us. “It’s that obvious, huh?” I asked, lifting up the weapon and scowling at the attached leads still coiled beneath my hand. “Oh—yeah. These.”
And as I plucked at the leads I casually brought the stunner level with the first Marine’s chest and fired.
The camo suits were armored and presumably insulated against electrical weapons like these. But the Patth engineers had clearly taken that into account, possibly with sensors that adjusted the voltage to the resistance level of the target’s clothing and physiology. The Marine jerked and collapsed like a dropped marionette. The second Marine had rotated back on one foot to make himself a smaller target and was bringing his laser to bear when my second shot took him down as well.
I swung the stunner’s muzzle to point at McKell. His hands were still hanging empty at his sides, his expression calm and maybe even slightly amused. “Do I need to drop you, too?” I asked.
“Do you?” he countered.
I felt my eyes narrow as I studied his face. Calm, amused—it almost looked like he’d expected me to pull a fast one on his companions. “I mean do you need me to shoot you to keep Kinneman from blaming you for this?”
He shook his head. “You got the drop on all three of us, and with all the Ammei and Iykams running around the city I made the decision to surrender so that I’d be able to haul the Marines back to safety,” he said. “You said something about a report?”
“Right,” I said, keeping my stunner pointed at him but cranking my combat reflexes back from hair-trigger to wary. “The Ammei are building a stripped-down version of a launch module in the Tower. There are apparently two books that make up the instructions, one currently in the Tower, the other in the Juniper enclave.” I nodded back behind me. “Incidentally, there shouldn’t be anyone coming through anytime soon—Selene and I wrecked the extension arm grav field, and I don’t think they’re going to be able to shinny up the arm. Nask sent us in there to get that second book—”
“Nask sent you?” McKell interrupted.
I nodded. “The Ammei were holding Selene and I needed his help to get her out. That was the price.”
“Understood,” he said. “Kinneman’s going to have a fit about that. Did you get the book?”
“No,” I said. “Sorry.”
“You sure?” he asked, his eyes flicking over my combat suit.
“Trust me,” I assured him. “If I had it, I’d tell you. But after I sprung Selene, First of Three apparently figured out where we were going and sent a matched set of soldiers after us. We had to beat a hasty retreat.”
“Okay,” McKell said. “Anything else?”
“Plenty,” I said. “The portals were apparently built by, or at least operated by, a triumvirate of Ammei, Patth, and Kadolians. The Patth were the engineers, the Kadolians monitored the equipment and watched for problems, and the Ammei oversaw the system. And no, they don’t have the long arms or tentacles we’ve all been assuming. They can telepathically order the tenshes around. They’re the ones who actually push the control keys.”
“Interesting,” McKell said. “And you’re sure the Ammei aren’t the Icari?”
“Pretty sure, yeah,” I said. “They refer to the Icari as the Gold Ones, and claim they’re not on good terms with them.”
“Could just be a layered diversion.”
“True,” I said. “But someone hid the book that had the formula for the enhancement serum.”
“The stuff they wanted to pump into Selene and one of the Patth?” McKell said. “Ixil got word about that back to us.”
“Good,” I said. “Hopefully, all that’s been short-circuited now. Another reason for me to make a deal with Nask.”
“You could have come to us,” McKell said.
“It was faster to go to Nask,” I said. “Besides, would Kinneman really have committed more troops after the slaughter earlier?”
“We came in okay this time,” McKell pointed out.
“Because Huginn pulled all the Ammei in to train for an assault on Nask, and Muninn and his Iykams rained fire down on them while they were conveniently bunched up,” I countered. “Which isn’t to say we should sit down and have tea. Like you said, there are still unfriendlies roaming the streets.”
“Right,” McKell said, giving the area a quick survey. “So what now?”
“You go back to Icarus with your friends,” I said, gesturing to the unconscious Marines. “Selene and I go back to Nask.”
“Why?”
“For one thing, to report my failure to get the book,” I said. “For another, he probably wants this combat suit back.”
“That’s it?” McKell asked, his eyes hard on me.
“That’s it,” I said with all the innocent sincerity I could muster.
“Uh-huh.” He pursed his lips. “You can’t trust him, you know. He’s a Patth, and everything he does is solely for their betterment.”
“I know,” I said. “But for the moment, I think our interests overlap with his.”
“For the moment?”
“So turn it around,” I suggested. “What’s Kinneman’s attitude going to be if we come back to Icarus?”
He hissed out a breath between his teeth. “Now that he has access to Nexus Six and Imistio Tower…to be honest, I think he’ll decide he doesn’t need you anymore.” He raised his eyebrows. “Which isn’t to say he would be right.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said. “Even if he’s willing to admit he was wrong, by the time he does it may be too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted. “But First of Three is building a portal, and we have no idea what it’s for. Even without Selene or Tirano to fine-tune it he may be able to get it to work, and after what I saw from the Tower I’m guessing Kinneman won’t be able to stop him. I’m also guessing there’s an even chance the Ammei can talk the Patth Director General into some sort of deal.”
“Plus there are the Gold Ones,” Selene murmured.
“Plus there are the Gold Ones,” I agreed grimly. “The Icari. We don’t know where they went, whether they’re still around, or what plans they have for the portals and the Spiral. Selene and I need freedom of movement if we’re going to get a handle on any of that.”
“You’re not the only ones in the game, you know,” McKell pointed out.
“No, but we’re the ones who are most up to speed,” I said. “On top of that, the Gold Ones clearly have an interest in Kadolians, and as far as I know Selene’s the only one of that species who’s interacting more or less openly with the rest of the Spiral.”
“Yeah.” McKell hissed out another breath. “I don’t like it. Kinneman’s going to like it even less. But I can’t give you a good argument other than what I already said about not trusting the Patth.”
“Understood and agreed with,” I said. “Tell the good general that I was furious at you for coming after me. That should take some heat off you.”
“I’m pretty sure Ixil and I are already too far gone for that,” McKell said. “Good luck, and be careful.”
Leaning over, he got a grip on the Marines’ back collars and started pulling them along the ground. I watched until they were out of sight around a clump of bushes, then took Selene’s arm. “Come on,” I said. “Let’s go talk to Nask, and see what we can get out of him.”
“And see how deeply we’ve stepped into it this time?”
I sighed. “Yeah,” I said. “That, too.”
* * *
The battle for the Tower was apparently over. Or at least it was as over as Nask wanted it to be.
The six Iykams who’d been guarding the Alainn portal’s receiver module were still in position, still ready to fire on any visitor who didn’t have clearance. Or possibly ready to fire on anyone they just didn’t like the looks of.
Luckily for us, this time Huginn was lying on the curved hull alongside them. “Welcome back,” he called, waving off the guards as we drifted downward.
“Thanks,” I called back. “Everyone get back okay?”
“Conciliators Fearth and Uvif are unharmed,” he said. “Muninn and Circe took some superficial damage and are being treated.” His lips compressed briefly. “Four Iykams were killed, and another five badly wounded.”
I winced. Sixteen Iykams in, only seven still battle-ready. Even with the element of surprise, a better than fifty percent casualty rate. “Sorry. What about the ones the Ammei had locked away?”
“We got them out,” Huginn said. “Did you get it?”
As my father used to say, Anyone can lie. Almost anyone can evade a question. It’s the ones who can evade but make you think they answered that you have to watch out for. “I think Sub-Director Nask will be pleased,” I said. “Is he receiving?”
We were close enough now for me to see the slight narrowing of Huginn’s eyes. Maybe his father had given him the same advice. “Sure,” he said, getting to his feet. “Let’s go see him.”
He took us to the base’s medical facility. Nask was there, sitting in a recliner in front of a bank of monitors, overseeing the treatments on his wounded Expediters and Iykam soldiers. “Roarke,” he greeted me tiredly. Still only mostly recovered from his old injuries, I guessed. “Selene. Did you get what I asked you for?”
“Unfortunately, no,” I said. “First of Three was able to send some chasers after us. Even if he hadn’t, the gatekeeper on Juniper wanted an authorization code which we didn’t have.”
“What you’re saying is that you failed to keep your end of the deal,” Nask said coldly. “You promised the portal plans in exchange for Selene’s release.”
“Yes, I suppose you could say that,” I conceded. “Though, actually, it turns out that was never a viable option, since Selene told me the plans themselves were taken to the Tower. You can send in more Iykams if you want to look for them, but there was no practical way we could have found them on our own.”
“If the plans are in Imistio Tower, why were you on Juniper?”
“Because there’s a second book there,” I said. “The Icari seem to like splitting up their most important information collections.”
“This second book includes additional plans?”
“Not sure what it includes,” I admitted. “We just know it’s connected somehow with the portal plans. But as I said, we couldn’t get to that one, either.” I lifted a finger. “On the other hand, I could argue that Muninn and his team didn’t actually free Selene, either. I did that on my own, which kind of makes the whole agreement moot.”
“But you did use Patthaaunutth equipment.”
“True,” I conceded. “On the other other hand, without my coming here to warn you about Conciliator Uvif, you’d have been wide open when he returned with his army of Ammei. That could have ended very badly, especially if he’d gotten to Tirano.”
Nask looked over at Huginn. “Huginn?” he invited.
Huginn hesitated, then gave a reluctant nod. “He’s right, Sub-Director,” he said. “As far as I could tell, Conciliator Uvif was fully prepared to cooperate with the First of Three in his raid. I could stall them somewhat, but when the portal opened he would have led them in. They still might not have taken Tirano, but the confrontation would have been considerably bloodier.”
He looked at me. “I agree Roarke didn’t deliver exactly as per your agreement. But under the circumstances I think he more than justified any trust you placed in him.”
“I see.” Nask eyed him another moment, then turned back to me. “Very well. I declare the contract satisfied. Return the combat suit, and Huginn will escort you back to Nexus Six.”
“Thank you,” I said. “But I’m afraid that might be a bit awkward. Kinneman is not very happy with us at the moment.”
“Would you like me to speak with him on your behalf?” Nask asked, a hint of humor peeking out.
“That would be an interesting conversation,” I said. “Actually, I was hoping we could make another deal with you.”
“If General Kinneman chooses to waste resources by locking you away, that’s his choice and his folly,” Nask said. “As for a deal, you have nothing that I want or need.”
“What about Selene?” I asked. “Whatever the Ammei are up to, it’s clear they need both you and the Kadolians.”
“We have Tirano.”
“Who’s young and inexperienced,” I said. “Having Selene on your side gives you a lot more bargaining power.”
“There is no bargaining needed,” Nask said. “The First of Three’s goal—” He broke off. “There is no bargaining needed,” he repeated. “The Patthaaunutth will not deal further with the Ammei. Nor will I deal further with you. You may go.”
I huffed out a tired breath. I’d hoped against hope that it wouldn’t come to this, that Selene and I could make this work some other way.
But Nask had closed all the other doors. I had only one card left to play.
If I hadn’t already damned myself in Kinneman’s eyes, this would put me solidly over that line.
“Just one more minute of your time, if I may,” I said. “Huginn, back in the Tower you told me you knew we’d found something on Meima.”
“Yes,” he said, watching me closely. “You said it was an Icari document.”
“It is,” I confirmed. “As I also said, as far as I know we haven’t been able to translate any of it. But we do know what it is.”
Beside me, Selene stirred. “Gregory?” she murmured, her pupils going dark and apprehensive. “Do you really want to do this?”
“We don’t have a choice,” I said. “We can’t go back to the Icarus Group. Not with Kinneman in charge. Not if we don’t want to be charged or locked away.”
“But not this way,” she said, her pupils pleading.
“Then how?” I asked. “Kinneman and Sub-Director Nask are the only ways off Nexus Six. We have to get out of here.”
“But if Kinneman finds out—”
“We don’t let him,” I said. “Or we disappear. But before we can do anything else, we have to get off this planet.”
Selene closed her eyes briefly. “Not this way,” she said.
“Then give me another option.”
She opened her eyes. The anguish was still there, but there was also a reluctant acceptance. There was no other way, and we both knew it. “All right,” she said, almost too quietly to hear. “Do what you need to.”
I nodded and turned back to Nask. “What we found was the left-hand half of a portal directory.”
“Which portal?” Nask asked.
“As far as we could tell, all of them.”
Nask and Huginn looked at each other, their faces suddenly gone stiff and unreadable. “How do you know?” Huginn asked, turning back to me. “What does it look like?”
“Each page has a short description in what I assume is Icari script on the left-hand page,” I said. “The right-hand page has a grid of colored squares that correspond to a portal’s destination panel. But while a full-range portal’s panel is four rows of twenty indicator lights, the book’s page has four rows of ten.”
“So it’s half an address,” Huginn said. “And they’re done in red, yellow, and black?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting,” Nask said quietly. I had his attention, all right. “Where is this directory now?”
“Somewhere safe,” I said. “Kinneman may be an unimaginative tyrant, but he’s not stupid. I have no doubt it’s somewhere safe and completely inaccessible.”
“Then what is the purpose of this conversation?”
I took a careful breath. “I know where the other half is.”
* * *
There was a long pause, silence and darkness seeming to fill the room. I let it hang there for a few seconds, then waved a hand. “Perhaps we should start with some context and patterns,” I said. “We don’t know all the details, but it appears there was some kind of conflict between the Icari and Ammei that came to a head on Meima. Or maybe it was between two Ammei factions—like I said, we don’t really know. What we do know is that one of the groups got hold of the two halves of a portal directory and wanted to get them to Nexus Six.”
“To Nexus Six itself?” Nask asked. “Or to one of the other worlds accessible from the other Janus portals?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Either way, the Icari apparently found out about the plan and set up a trap to catch and strand the courier.”
“What kind of trap?”
“We’re not quite sure,” I hedged. I was flirting too closely with treason as it was without telling them that Nexus Six was Alpha’s system. “The point is that the scheme went sideways. A battle that was supposed to give the courier of one of the halves a diversion to sneak into the Meima portal to get here instead got him killed and left him buried for a few thousand years.”
“And the other half of the directory?”
“Unbeknownst to the Icari, it was already here,” I said. “It had been brought through undetected and securely tucked away while the thieves waited for the other half.”
“Which never arrived.”
I nodded. “Right.”
“Where was the first half hidden?” Huginn asked.
“No idea,” I said. “What I do know is that somewhere between, oh, fifty to seventy years ago one of the Icari stopped by, found or dug up the directory half that was hidden here, and moved it.”
“To where?”
“We’ll get to that,” I said. “Meanwhile, the visiting Icari—or Gold One, as the Ammei call them—also found out the Ammei were trying to build a portal. He didn’t want that any more than the Patth do, so he found—”
“What makes you think we don’t want the Ammei to have a portal?” Nask interrupted.
“Basically, everything you and Huginn have said and done in the last couple of days,” I told him. “I don’t know why you don’t want it, I just know you don’t. Anyway, our Gold One apparently decided hiding the book with the enhancement serum formula would be enough to stymie the project, so he did that. Then, just for completeness, he also cut off access to their silver-silk source on Alainn by wrecking that end of the portal. That forced them to cannibalize silver-silk from everywhere else it was being used around the city, which slowed down the project even more. And no, I don’t know why they had silver-silk in all those buildings, either.”
“The old defense grid,” Nask murmured.
I frowned at him. “Excuse me?”
“Nexus Six once had a defense grid,” he said. “Various buildings equipped with weapons and reinforcement shields to protect the city and the portals. Silver-silk was a key component.”
“That would have been useful to know,” Huginn said, his eyes hard on Nask.
“It was as much legend as history,” Nask said. “Even now, we’re still learning which parts of the old stories are which.”
“You might want to step up the pace,” I warned. “If First of Three is ready to start poking needles into Patth and Kadolians, they must be getting close to finishing that portal.”
“Indeed,” Nask said grimly. “Enough history. Tell us about the directory.”
“Sure,” I said. “First, here’s what I want in exchange.” I started ticking off fingers. “You get us from here to Xathru so we can pick up the Ruth and find somewhere to lie low. You provide us with two or three false IDs, both for us and for the ship, to make it harder for Kinneman to track us down. You give us a high level of access to security systems, information sources, and whatnot—doesn’t have to be the full access you Patth have, but something much better than we could get on our own. Finally, you give us everything you have on the Icari and Ammei—legends, history, golf scores, everything.”
“Including the true relationship between the Ammei, Kadolians, and Patth,” Selene added.
“Yes—that,” I agreed.
“All this in exchange for the directory?” Nask asked.
“Well, half the directory,” I reminded him. “That’s all we can get for you.”
Nask eyed me another long moment, then gave a slow nod. “Agreed,” he said. “Where is it?”
I stood up. “Come on,” I said, gesturing to the door. “Let’s go get it.”