Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain (20 page)

“Nikira, we
need you in number three mess hall.”

“On my
way.”

Sarjan shifted
while he waited, a little ill at ease alone in the presence of a
being he was becoming more and more convinced was a creator. To his
relief, Nikira arrived after just a couple of minutes, tugging at
her uniform and tidying her hair. He explained the situation and
the plan, and at the end of his discourse she smiled at
Drevarin.

“I’m glad you
thought of that, Lord,” she said. “I’d have suggested it myself if
I’d been here.”

“Good,”
Drevarin replied. “Then we just need Retribution’s exact
location.”

Sarjan keyed
the com-unit again, this time connecting with the bridge.
“Lieutenant, give me Retribution’s position.”

“She’s two
hundred yards off our port flank, sir, trying to get closer.”

Sarjan faced
Drevarin and gestured to his left. “That way.”

Drevarin
dismissed the floating vision, rose and held out his hand to
Nikira, who hesitated for only a moment before taking it. They
vanished, and Sarjan left the mess hall, heading for the
bridge.

Nikira reeled a
little as the warm light released her, steadied by Drevarin’s hold
on her hand. Apparently he only needed an approximate position to
Move to, and everything else came about naturally, ensuring he did
not end up as part of a wall, floor or furniture item. Not that it
would have been a problem, since he could pass through solid
matter. She cast the light god a nervous smile before glancing
around at the officers who manned the bridge, who ignored them.

Drevarin said,
“They cannot hear or see us. Who is the commander?”

She pointed at
a stocky man with pale blond crew cut and a leathery face whom she
recognised as Commander Balen. He stood beside one of the consoles,
glaring at the monitor atop it.

“Why the blazes
are they avoiding us?” he muttered.

“Perhaps
Commander Sarjan isn’t in charge anymore, sir,” Donavan, Nikira’s
former second in command, suggested.

“Either that,
or he’s turned as treasonous as Nikira.”

Drevarin
gestured. “Sleep.”

The commander
slumped to the floor, and the officers gaped at him for several
thunderstruck seconds, then Donavan rose and went over to squat
beside him and shake his shoulder. The men swung to stare at
Nikira, two jumping up in alarm, which told her that Drevarin had
released her from the light shield.

“He’s all
right,” she informed them. “He’s just asleep.”

Donavan rose,
his expression stunned. “What the… Commander! How the hell did you
get here?”

“I had
help.”

Donavan glanced
around, as did the other officers. “He’s here?”

Nikira smiled.
“No, not Bane; Drevarin. You remember him, right?”

“Who could
forget? It’s good to see you, Commander, and in one piece,
too.”

“The feeling’s
mutual. It’s good to be back.”

“So what are
you doing here? How did you get away from that idiot, Predoran?
Last we heard, you vanished from the execution room. Neat trick,
that.”

“Again, I had
help.”

“From the dra…
Bane?” Donavan enquired.

“That time,
yes.”

“That must have
been bloody amazing. I’d love to have seen the looks on their
faces, especially Predoran. He was just looking for a scapegoat,
charging you with treason. Hell, if you were guilty, we all were. I
lodged a complaint with high command, trying to at least get you a
trial, but the governor rushed through your conviction before they
could act.”

“I appreciate
that, Donavan.”

“We were all on
your side, Commander. We still are. So were some of the other
stealth ship commanders. So, if you want your ship back, we’re with
you. Just say the word.”

Nikira wanted
to hug him. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say; that’s why I’m
here.”

“I’m guessing
the tar’merin’s not using any dark power at the moment, and that’s
why we can’t find him, right?”

“Yes.”

“We figured,
and we weren’t looking all that hard. The obstechs wouldn’t have
told Balen even if they’d found him. We didn’t tell Balen he could
do that, although if he’d studied the data recordings he’d have
known. Sarjan did a good job of evading us, too. I take it he’s on
board with the whole tar’merin thing?”

“Yes,” Nikira
replied. “Bane saved him and his crew from one of the dra’voren,
who was destroying Miraculous. He saved our world from four
dra’voren, one of which almost killed him. I’ll ask Sarjan to send
over the reports and recordings. They’re pretty amazing.”

“Predoran’s not
going to take our defection lying down, Commander. Apparently he’s
furious at the loss of Miraculous.”

“I know, but if
he sends warships after us, they’ll never find us.”

“We found you,”
Donavan said. “I guess Sarjan forgot to switch his beacon off.”

“Yes, he was a
bit busy after the dra’voren almost destroyed his ship.”

Donavan glanced
around at the rest of the officers. “So what are we going to be
doing?”

“Well, Sarjan
hasn’t agreed to help Bane any more than he already has, and if he
doesn’t, Bane will release his ship. I’m not sure what his plans
are, but I’m hoping he’ll ask us to take him on his journey when he
continues to wherever he’s going. We’ll explore deeper into the
Wastes than a stealth ship has ever gone before, and I bet we’ll
see the most amazing things. Plus we’ll be able to learn more about
Bane, and the creators. And we’ll be perfectly safe with him to
protect us.”

“Okay, there’s
just one problem,” Donavan said. “What about our families? Some of
the crew might not be willing to abandon them and vanish into the
Wastes for who knows how long. Do you know how long it’ll
take?”

“No, but this
won’t be a normal mission, so they might be allowed to bring their
families, or, if not, they can stay behind. I only need enough
crewmen to run the ship.”

“Will we be
destroying dra’voren?” the navigation officer asked.

Nikira
hesitated. “I don’t think so, since we now know the shredder
doesn’t destroy them. I say we do whatever Bane needs us to do, but
mostly provide him with safe, fast transport so he can reach his
destination and carry out his mission, which is to free an enslaved
creator from a dra’voren. That’s the ultimate mission for a stealth
ship.”

Several men
nodded, most looking excited while a few appeared a little
uncertain. Donavan said, “What about when we come back? We might be
arrested and charged with treason, like you were.”

She shook her
head. “I doubt it. We’ll have some mind-blowing info, and lots of
amazing recordings of the things we encounter out there. But even
if the authorities still accuse us, we have powerful allies, who, I
believe, will help us if we help them.” She looked at the spot
where Drevarin had been a few minutes earlier. “Am I right,
Lord?”

He appeared,
leaning against a console, making the men start again. “You are. No
harm will come to your crewmen or their families. Sherinias will be
delighted to see to it.”

Donavan stared
at him for several thunderstruck seconds, as did the rest of the
bridge crew, then he turned to Nikira again. “There might be some
who don’t like the idea, Commander.”

“Then we’ll
drop them off somewhere safe. I have a feeling a lot of things are
going to change in Bayona very soon, and we’re going to be on the
right side when they do.”

“Okay then.
We’re all with you, and I reckon most of the crew will be willing
to go on your little expedition, too.”

“Good. Predoran
gave the order to hunt Bane, didn’t he?” At Donavan’s nod, she
said, “All right, lock Commander Balen in a cabin. We’ll drop him
off with anyone else who wants to leave.”

Two men picked
up the comatose commander and carried him into the lift, and the
doors slid shut behind them.

An officer
glanced up at Donavan. “Sir, the warships are firing on
Miraculous.”

Nikira looked
at the main screen, where four missiles streaked towards
Miraculous, leaving trails of smoke that were almost invisible in
Cloud World’s mists. The missiles hit the stealth ship just behind
her aft generators, and balls of fire blossomed from her hull.

Nikira
muttered, “What the hell?”

The deep
thunder of the explosions reached them a split second later, and
Retribution rocked in the shockwave. Miraculous’ bow dipped, and it
veered as it fell, smoke and flames pouring from the holes in its
hull. Nikira held her breath as it plunged into the clouds,
dispersing them somewhat. Its bow struck the diamond sand and
ploughed into it, digging a furrow as the forward momentum gained
by the ship’s fall carried it for several yards, then it stopped
and its stern sank onto the sand. A moment later, a translucent
blue-white sheath of light spread over Miraculous’ hull, just
before another four missiles exploded against it with no effect on
the stealth ship. The explosions swept away all the clouds in the
area, however, stripping several silver trees of their misty
foliage.

“Is Kayos
protecting them?” she asked Drevarin, since she did not think he
would be able to do so from so far away.

He nodded. “He
was in the gazebo.”

Nikira looked
at the screen again. Black smoke poured from Miraculous’ vents, and
she wondered how many of Sarjan’s surviving crewmen had been killed
or injured.

Donavan shot
her a guilty look. “Two frigates are out of range of Miraculous’
scanners. They have orders to shoot her down if we can’t capture
Bane. Looks like they’ve decided we’ve been at it long enough.”

“And you were
relaying the scanner info.”

“Yes,
Commander.”

Nikira shook
her head in horrified disbelief. Predoran was either insane or
desperate, or both, but two could play at that game, and she had an
unassailable advantage. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to
remind her crew of just how invulnerable a ship was with a creator
aboard to protect it. “Load missiles and set course for the
frigates.”

“But…” Donavan
glanced at Drevarin. “Yes, Commander.”

Bane jerked
awake as a massive boom shook the ship, and air rushed into the
cabin, then was sucked out again, making his hearing go dull.
Beside him, Mirra woke with a gasp. The ship’s engines’ soft hum
rose to a discordant drone, and the cabin tilted, forcing him to
grab her as she rolled off the bed.

The engines’
drone rose to a blood-chilling howl, and he experienced a sickening
sensation of falling. The movement ended with a grating rumble, and
the ship shuddered again. Bane enfolded Mirra in his arms as they
were flung across the room. He hit the wall with a grunt, banging
his head, the air punched from his lungs. The ship’s frame groaned
under a mammoth strain, and distant bangs, booms and crashes came
from its bowels. The floor levelled off as more explosions made the
vessel quiver, and smoke billowed in through the air vents.

Bane shook his
throbbing head to dispel the dazedness that clogged his mind and
the stars that flashed in his eyes. Mirra freed herself from his
arms and sat up, her expression anguished.

He gave her a
reassuring nod. “I am all right.”

“No you are
not.” She frowned and clasped his face, and his headache vanished.
“What were you thinking, trying to protect me?”

He raised his
brows at the unexpected rebuke. “You are welcome.”

“Oh, Bane, you
are a lummox. You know I do not need protection.”

He sat up. “So
I should use you as a cushion, rather, hmmm?”

“That would be
better than getting hurt trying to protect me when you know I
cannot be harmed.”

“You make it
very difficult for me to be a hero.”

She smiled and
patted his cheek. “You are always my hero.”

“Odd, I feel a
bit redundant.”

“You are a
twerp, too.”

“I think I
should trade you in for a wife who appreciates my foolish attempts
to protect her.”

“I do
appreciate them.”

“You have an
odd way of showing it.”

She leant
forward to kiss him. “Thank you for saving me.”

“That is
better. I shall require far more gratitude later, though.”

She snorted.
“Are you going to find out what has happened, and if the others are
all right?”

He rose to his
feet and helped her up. “I am pretty sure this is the work of
idiotic humans, attacking the ship. Now I will have to fix the damn
thing again.”

Bane reached
for his trousers on the bedside table and pulled them on while
Mirra donned her dress, envying her the speed with which she was
able to slip on the simple garment. His apparel was a lot more
complex, and when she was dressed she helped him button his shirt
and tunic and lace his boots. He would have left the cloak, but
Mirra clipped it on, standing on tip-toe to finger comb his hair.
He submitted to it rather impatiently, amused by her concern for
his appearance. Clearly she did not want him looking like he had
just been dragged out of bed, even in an emergency.

When at last
she seemed satisfied, he took her hand. “Come on.”

Pungent smoke
fouled the air in the corridor, and alarms whooped in distant
areas. Bane went to Mithran’s door, just down the passage, and it
opened to reveal his father sitting on the bed in his undershorts,
clasping his head. Mirra hurried to his side to heal him, and he
cast her a grateful smile as the lump on his temple subsided.

Grem trotted
in, looking relieved when he found Bane and Mithran unharmed. “I’ll
check on the others.” He vanished out of the door again.

Mithran rose
and donned his clothes. “What happened?”

“Some fools
attacked the ship, I think,” Bane replied. “I am sure Kayos,
Sherinias and Drevarin have the situation well in hand, but I am on
my way to find out.”