Authors: Margaret Weis
"You have
all heard, on the GBC, various rumors and reports concerning the
mysterious disappearance of the Warlord Derek Sagan. It is important
to our cause that we keep these rumors dive, which is why His
Majesty—although he knows the truth—has made only vague
denials. Here are the facts. Lord Sagan was taken captive by a
mind-seizer, a man known as Abdiel, formerly head of the now-defunct
Order of Dark Lightning."
Seeing the
cyborg frown and about to speak, Maigrey raised a hand, forestalled
him. "How my lord was captured, how this Abdiel remains alive
after he was reported dead, are not matters we need go into. If you
have questions on this, I suggest you refer them to Brother Daniel,
who was present when my lord was taken, or to myself at some later
time. What I say is true. The mind-seizer lives, and so do those who
serve him. We have found three on Hell's Outpost."
"Where are
they now?" Xris asked, taking out one of the noxious twists and
lighting it. Maigrey was almost grateful to him; the smell of the
black tobacco, though rank, was a definite improvement over the other
malodors present in the half-breed's spaceplane.
"Dead,"
answered Maigrey shortly.
The cyborg
nodded, said nothing more. Brother Daniel shifted uneasily on his
box.
"Abdiel has
fled with his captive to the Corasian galaxy. We're going after
them."
"You know
where they go?" The half-breed's eyelids were almost completely
closed, he had appeared to be asleep and Maigrey was slightly
startled when he spoke.
"No."
"Then how
you find him, lady-mine?"
Maigrey had
known this was going to come up, had steeled herself to explain it
logically, without emotion. "Lord Sagan and I are what is known
as mind-linked, a phenomenon that occurs sometimes in two of the
Blood Royal."
"You talk
with my lord?"
"No, I
can't. He's closed his mind down, retreated before Abdiel's assault
on it. But I will be able to find him. Let me put it to you this way.
We are like two magnets, whose opposing fields pull them together."
"Abdiel, he
know this about you two?"
"Unfortunately,
yes. Not only does he know it, but he's counting on it. Lord Sagan
and I are the last of the Blood Royal, the last of the Guardians. The
mind-seizer has Sagan. He wants me. Only when both of us are out of
the way, can Abdiel relax."
"So we're
walking into a trap," said Xris.
"Yes, but
at least we have the advantage of knowing it's a trap."
Xris blew smoke
through his nose. "We're going into Corasia, then, to rescue
Sagan—"
"Not
primarily," Maigrey corrected.
She'd known this
was coming, too. And this wasn't going to be easy. Agis and Brother
Daniel both look startled. Sparafucile's misaligned eyes opened a
half centimeter, glinted red in the light.
Maigrey took a
deep breath, continued: "You have heard about the space-rotation
bomb. The plans, the design, the knowledge of how this bomb works and
can be produced are all in Lord Sagan's mind. It is Abdiel's
intention to force my lord to reveal these plans, have the Corasians
build the bomb. I leave you to imagine what Abdiel's plans will be
once he has the most destructive weapon in the universe in his
possession. To say nothing of the fact that the Corasians will have
it in their power to build more.
"Therefore,
our primary goal must be to halt this threat to our galaxy."
"In other
words," said Agis, "if we cannot rescue my lord, we must
destroy him."
"Yes,"
said Maigrey.
Brother Daniel
shuddered. "God have mercy," he whispered.
"How do you
know it's not too late?" Xris demanded, taking the twist from
his mouth, gesturing with it. "Every man's got a breaking point,
even Sagan. I know something about the Order of Dark Lightning, never
mind how. But if half of what I've heard about the mind-seizers is
true, then this Abdiel could make a man give up his soul, much less
every secret Sagan ever knew. And once the Corasians get their
robotic claws on that bomb info, it'll be relayed into their central
computer system and that'll be all she wrote, sister."
"My lord
has the ability to fight Abdiel, but—as you say—every man
has his breaking point. In the end, Abdiel will win. Lord Sagan must
succumb. But that hasn't happened yet. My lord resists still and can
hold out longer. We must move feist, however."
"Into the
trap."
"Into the
trap. Our goal will be to get in and get out before the jaws shut. In
order to succeed, we have to take the mind-seizer completely by
surprise. The problem: entering the Corasian galaxy, breaking through
their outer defense perimeter without getting ourselves destroyed and
without alerting Abdiel to our presence."
Xris pushed
himself up from where he'd been leaning against the bulkhead. "Hell,
sister. You said this was hopeless, not impossible. Count me out."
"You can't
leave," said Maigrey. "You know too much."
"Who's
going to stop me?" The cyborg's metal hand flashed in the red
light.
"I could,"
said Maigrey coolly. "But that would mean a fight, which would
be a waste of time, energy, and a good man, for I would have to kill
you. I have a plan. Why don't you stay and listen to it?"
Xris stared at
her incredulously for a moment, then a slow smile crossed the thin
lips. He settled back against the bulkheads. "Shoot."
"It's
Corasian policy to attack and attempt to capture any ship coming from
this galaxy into theirs—with one exception. One type of ship is
permitted to enter. Not only permitted, but welcomed."
Maigrey glanced
around, saw dawning comprehension on the face of the cyborg, saw—by
Agis's grim expression and dark frown—that the centurion,
though he wasn't happy about the plan, understood it. She couldn't
tell what Sparafucile was thinking, but the half-breed's eyes had
closed again; she presumed he understood and approved. Brother
Daniel, of course, had no idea what she was talking about.
"A meat
wagon," said Xris, grudging admiration in his voice. "Not
bad, sister. Not bad."
"On looking
over a list of shipping in the area, I find that the luxury liner,
Galaxy Belle
, will be within jump distance in approximately two
Standard Military days. That should give you and your men time enough
to get into position?"
She glanced at
Xris, who nodded. The twist was almost gone, had burned down to
little more than a stump.
"The
Galaxy Belle
is your typical space-going gambling casino, keeping
well outside the legal limits to avoid any government hassles,
entanglements, and tax collectors. It's one of the smaller pleasure
cruise ships of the line, having a crew of twenty humans who serve
primarily to run the ship. Most of the work aboard is handled by
'droids. It can carry up to one thousand passengers. Adults only. No
children are allowed," Maigrey added in a softer voice. "I
checked."
Brother Daniel
had risen to his feet. His face was livid, his eyes wide with shock
and horror. "You can't mean this, Lady Maigrey! You can't be
serious!"
Maigrey ignored
him. "We will board the ship, seize control. The passengers and
crew will be drugged, enough to keep them comatose, not enough to
harm them—the drugs will be the Loti Raoul's responsibility. We
fly the ship to Corasia, make it known what valuable cargo we have on
board, get passed safely through the outer defenses. Once inside, we
head for Abdiel's planet.
"His
Majesty plans to raise a fleet of warships and bring them into the
Corasian galaxy to assist us. Once we reach Abdiel's location, we
will release the
Galaxy Belle,
hopefully with everyone aboard
safe and unharmed. If all goes well and the fleet arrives, they can
escort the
Belle
back to safety."
"If all
goes well!" Brother Daniel cried in a hollow voice. "If all
goes well! If it doesn't, you have doomed innocent people to . . . to
. . . what did you call it? A meat wagon! God forbid this!"
Maigrey regarded
him coldly, gray eyes dark. "Ask God what happens if the
Corasians and Abdiel get hold of that bomb, Brother Daniel. Ask Him
how many
billions
of innocent people will suffer? I am sorry
for what I have to do," she continued resolutely, "but I
mean to do it. There is no other way. This is our only chance. The
good of the few must be sacrificed for that of the many."
Xris removed the
butt end of the twist from his mouth, tossed it to the deck, ground
it out with the heel of his artificial leg. "You some land of a
religious nut or something?"
"I am—I
was a priest," said Brother Daniel, remembering his cover story.
"I was in the Order of Adamant."
"Never
heard of it. But if it's any comfort to you, Priest, these gambling
cruises are run by the mob, operate outside the law. They cater to
people who don't care how they come by their money and less how they
spend it. If anything does happen to them, they won't be missed."
Brother Daniel
shook his head. "They are God's children."
Agis spoke. "My
lady, what about capturing this ship and replacing the civilians with
military personnel? At least soldiers would have a fighting chance."
"I
considered that," Maigrey said slowly. "But an operation
like that would take weeks to bring together. It's too big, word is
bound to leak out. The Corasians have spies all through this galaxy—"
"All
through the military," Xris commented. The cyborg took another
twist from a pocket, put it to his lips, lit it with a flick of his
mechanical fingers. "You ever fought Corasians, Priest? Ever
been around them?"
"No,"
Brother Daniel admitted. "But—"
"They're
real good at putting two and two together. Better than most. They
haven't got eyes, but they see fine without them. Their sonar and
radar and internal scanners don't miss much. You can bet they'll
board us when we reach Corasia. They'll want to inspect the meat
before they invest in it and—"
"Don't call
it meat!" Brother Daniel cried, flushing in anger. "These
are people we are talking about—"
"You'd
better get used to it, Priest," Xris cut in coolly. "If
they see anything the least bit suspicious . . . Well, you can figure
yourself to be on top of their breakfast menu."
"Why are we
wasting time arguing with him," Agis demanded sternly. "You
warned him, my lady. You told him not to come."
Brother Daniel
stammered, cut himself off, kept quiet long moments. Finally, he
spoke. "Again, I've been a fool. Forgive me, my lady. We are in
God's hands. He will deliver us." He turned pleading eyes to
Maigrey. "Don't leave me behind! You can count on me from now
on. I won't fail you, my lady, or my lord."
Maigrey glanced
around. Agis looked grim and dubious. Xris, no telling what the
cyborg was thinking. Sparafucile didn't appear to have heard a word
being said. He crouched on the deck, staring at her through slit eyes
that had never once moved.
It was her
decision. The most logical—and probably the kindest—thing
she could do for the young priest would be to send a laser beam
through his head. The situation was going to get darker, grimmer. If
he fell apart like that around the Corasians, he could put them all
in jeopardy. And how could she trust him now? Might he not decide to
take matters out of God's hands and into his own?
Be honest,
Maigrey. You can't kill him. You don't have it in you. And you can't
leave him behind for the mind-dead to find and interrogate. Which
gives you no choice.
Deliberately
brusque, businesslike, she turned from him, ordered Sparafucile to
call up a diagram of a cruise ship on his vidscreen.
"Now,
here's my plan."
The remainder of
the night was spent going over details and finalizing strategy. They
discussed tactics, logistics; grappled with cold, harsh reality, and
Maigrey finally relaxed, her mind cleared. The hard part was over.
She was committed, she couldn't back down or argue herself out of it
now. The die was cast. The game afoot. No choice.
She believed she
had a good team. Xris made several excellent and intelligent
suggestions. Agis was, of course, solid as null-grav steel. The
problem of Brother Daniel she'd resolved for herself. As for Raoul
and the Little One, no one in his right mind ever trusted a Loti. But
this Loti was an Adonian, out to avenge the death of another Adonian.
And one of the Adonians' few redeeming characteristics—brought
about because they thought so well of themselves—was the fact
that they were incredibly loyal to each other. Sparafucile
volunteered to keep an eye on Raoul and his diminutive sidekick.
Which left her only one lingering doubt—the half-breed himself.
The meeting did
not break up until early in the morning.
Agis woke
Brother Daniel, who, exhausted, had fallen asleep on a pile of rags.
Xris took his money, counted it, nodded, satisfied, and thrust it in
a compartment concealed inside his cybernetic leg. Sparafucile
escorted them all to the air lock, opened it, then disappeared
somewhere into the shadows of his plane.
Xris had a few
more questions, dealing with minor details. These settled, he
extinguished his twist before putting on his breathing apparatus, and
departed. Agis assisted the bleary-eyed, stumbling, half-asleep
priest into his spacesuit, then the centurion put on his own.
"Go on,"
Maigrey told them. "I'll catch up in a minute."
She was so tired
she could barely think what she was doing. Standing alone in the air
lock, she fumbled at the catch on her helmet. The half-breed was
beside her, appearing out of the darkness with a suddenness that
startled her. His deft fingers took over the task. Silently, he
assisted her. Silently, he opened the air lock.