Shades of Gray (103 page)

Hesitating briefly before it, he brought up the key and slid it through the reader again. This time, he heard the hiss of hydraulics before the door slid to one side.

The air smelled of ozone and hot metal, and huge power cables were looped across the floor and walls. Banks of control desks with screens were arranged in an octagonal arrangement all facing inward with wide passageways between them. In the center, amid the nest of cables, squatted what he had been sent to find.

“Vartra’s bones,” he whispered, staring at it.

It was organic, resembling some giant insect, all its lines flowing into each other as if it had grown in that shape. The outer surface was black with greenish tinges here and there that glowed. Fine filaments linked one area to another, webs that sparkled and shone off and on in different colors in seemingly random sequences. It topped seven feet tall and was about five wide; each of its six sides had two spindly legs extending from it onto a base framework. It looked unfinished, as if part of it was missing. He walked around it, sensing it, feeling the thinking part of it sitting there waiting for new commands. It was TeLaxaudin, there was no doubt about that.

Mindful of where he was, he returned to the door and sealed it on the inside, then put his jacket down on the nearest console.

He walked around it again, resisting the mounting compulsion to touch it, finishing his circuit before coming to a stop. Now he did reach out toward it, briefly laying a finger one of the leg struts. It felt warm, and it yielded under his fingertip, like flesh. Repulsed, he hurriedly snatched his finger away. The flashing on the webs increased, as if messages were suddenly being sent along them.

It called to him, as if by touching it, he had awakened it to his presence. A low humming began to fill the room, and his head began to ache with the effort of ignoring the imperative Annuur had planted in him. As the humming increased, so did the pressure in his mind, until he fell to his knees in agony. Against his will, his hand reached out for the front where, as he watched, the fabric of the machine was flowing and changing, forming an aperture for him.

Terror filled him as, inexorably, he was pulled closer and closer. His hand, hovering above the aperture, was sucked down onto the surface as if by a magnet. The pain in his head vanished, and he watched in horror as the skin over his wrist seemed to split, releasing a flow of silver liquid that spread over the surface before being instantly absorbed.

You wanted answers, Hunter,
said Annuur’s voice inside his head.
Those are nanites, manufactured by us to program the transformer to construct more of them. We needed you to carry them. They will multiply then be released onto M’zull, where they will continue to multiply. When that has happened, the matter transformer will self-destruct. You carried those commands within you too. The nanites will spread to every M’zullian, and when they have reached the whole population, they will activate, destroying all their racial memories. They will forget there ever was an Empire, that they wished to enslave all other species, and that they hate the Sholans. On that day, you can conquer them easily and without bloodshed, if you so wish.

His hand was suddenly released, and he fell backward onto the floor. The humming changed pitch then stopped as the aperture disappeared, flowing back into a featureless surface. He scrambled away from the machine, lifting up his wrist to examine it. All he could see was a small line of blood that vanished when he rubbed it. The flesh beneath was smooth and unmarked.

At the edges of his mind, he could feel Carrie, frantic to know where he was and that he was safe. He spared a moment to reassure her then shut off his Link.

He could hear voices in the distance and feared they had noticed the missing guards. In moments, they’d be entering this room.

“Get me out of here, Annuur,” he croaked, pulling himself shakily to his feet and leaning on the nearest console.

Use the translocator,
came the reply.

Grabbing his jacket, he fumbled in his pants pocket for the device, almost dropping it in his haste to reset and activate it. As the door slid back, he hid behind one of the consoles. A dry, leathery scent filled the room, and he heard the humming of a TeLaxaudin. The door hissed closed as its translator took over.

“Long enough you took to arrive,” it said testily, the emotion perfectly translated into the tone of voice. “Bodies have I moved elsewhere, Hunter. Come out now, it is safe.”

Kusac hesitated, weighing his need to know more against escape. Curiosity and anger won. Still clutching the reset translocator in one hand, he stood up and stepped out into the open.

“Lassimiss, I am,” the TeLaxaudin said, stalking closer to Kusac, his crimson drapery strips moving sluggishly around his spindly legs.

“You work for K’hedduk.” It wasn’t a question.

“He thinks it. Several years have I been here. To destroy them I work.” His head was turned to look at the device, ignoring Kusac.

“So you’re responsible for them having that,” he said, pointing at the device crouched beside him.

“No. His brother ruled when it found. I knew its nature. Transforms planets it does, creates life on barren worlds, repairs damaged ecologies. A weapon it is not, though they used it as one.”

Kusac stared at him, his mind reeling at the thought that this might not be a weapon after all. “You helped them destroy two of our colonies and one of their worlds!”

Lassimiss’ head turned, large eyes whirling as he focused on him properly for the first time. “They work out themselves how to use this. I not help them. Expect you I was told, with new command nanites to reprogram this unit. Destruction of them is what we wish.”

Say nothing of me or we are all lost!
came Annuur’s agonized thought.
We not know our opposition had meddled so deeply!

“I know nothing about this,” said Kusac. “I’m finished with you people for now! Whatever else you want done, forget it. I will not be your puppet any longer!”

“Have what I need,” said Lassimiss, gesturing toward the device with one slim hand. “You remain here, I know. Help I offer you in your plans to destroy them.”

Consider it you will, say that,
ordered Annuur.
Him we will deal with, but no suspicion of you must he have.

Kusac hesitated. If Annuur was being honest, there were warring factions at work here, one as ruthless as the M’zullians themselves, the other . . . Well, that remained to be seen. So far, all he knew for sure about Annuur was that he hadn’t done anything directly to harm him despite the many opportunities he’d had to do so.

“I shall consider it,” he said, activating the translocator. Again, he felt the wrenching sensation as space around him altered, sending him hurtling into darkness.

 

He materialized back in the outer cavern in the exact spot from which he’d left. Now, however, it was lit, and people were standing nearby arguing. His sudden appearance silenced them.

“He’s back,” J’korrash called out into the inner cavern.

Kaid reached him before Carrie and grabbed him by the shoulders. “What happened?” he demanded. “You just vanished, leaving only your cup on the cavern floor.”

Carrie flung herself into his arms a moment later, her mind full of relief.

“I need something for a headache,” he said, hugging her tightly. “I’ll tell you everything when I’ve had that.”

J’korrash ran off to get him something from the med stores as he walked back into the main cavern with the others.

Sipping hot maush, he told them everything he knew. “It was definitely a TeLaxaudin machine,” he said. “How they got hold of it, I don’t know.”

“Nanites programmed to eat metal could explain the destruction of the J’kirtikkian fleet,” said Kaid thoughtfully.

“The presence of such a machine on M’zull, and Annuur saying it will self-destruct, definitely supports his claim of two factions among his people and the TeLaxaudin,” said Carrie. “And it seems he is on our side.”

“I’m positive he put those nanites in me that day I fought him on K’oish’ik,” said Kusac. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think we should depend on this nanite plan. We go ahead with our own.”

“Agreed,” said Kaid. “If the M’zullians manage to turn that machine off, then none of that will happen.”

“I got the feeling they couldn’t do that,” said Kusac. “That the nanites I carried also prevented them, or anyone, from accessing the controls of the thing again. It will produce the nanites, and it will self -destruct as soon as it has enough ready and has released them. Those will replicate themselves, cutting down on the time it takes before they can destroy the transformer.”

“Do you still have that translocation device?” asked Kaid.

Kusac reached into his pocket and pulled it out, holding it in his palm for Kaid to see.

“Mind if I take a look at it? It might be damned useful to us.”

“Knock yourself out,” said Kusac, handing it to him. “Just don’t try to use it tonight. I’ll try to explain how it works tomorrow. I’m going to head back to bed. I’m exhausted, and this time, now that I’ve delivered Annuur’s package, I know I’ll be able to sleep.”

“Good idea,” said Carrie, getting up when he did.

K’hedduk stormed into his office. He’d been at a meeting on the eastern seaboard when the message about Zhalmo’s disappearance and the attack on the Palace had come in, and he had returned immediately. He was furious when he heard about and saw the carnage wreaked by the walking tank that had come with the attackers.

His staff trailed after him as he settled himself at his desk, flanked by his black-clad bodyguards. The sounds of carpenters hammering and sawing as they replaced the doors shattered by the attackers was still audible, even in here.

“Get me the people responsible for letting them into the Palace and the seraglio,” he demanded.

“They’re all dead, Majesty,” said the Head of Security.

“Then get me Keshti and his staff!”

“They’re in the sick bay, recovering from injuries or the drugs they were given. No one could’ve anticipate such a rescue, Sire,” he added hurriedly. “They had all the passwords, everything. Even the prisoners looked genuine.”

“Then fetch me any recordings of what happened,” hissed K’hedduk, balked of his prey. “I want to see for myself what the walking tank looked like!”

His aides looked at each other, reluctant to speak.

“Let me guess,” said K’hedduk sarcastically. “There are no recordings.”

“No, Majesty. But we do have several soldiers outside who saw what happened. Some from the junction, others from the Palace landing area.”

“Bring them in,” snapped K’hedduk, getting up and going around to the other side of his desk.

A sergeant marched them in briskly and stood them to attention.

“I take it you’ve questioned them, Sergeant. Summarize their information for me.”

“There were about twenty of them—eight prisoners and approximately twelve guards. Keshti met them as usual and escorted them to the seraglio. As all the guards were in battle armor, he took them down on the troop elevator.”

“And no one thought it strange that all twelve were in full armor?”

“They said no, Majesty, because the guards said they were in a hurry to leave on another mission.”

“Continue,” said K’hedduk, his voice still deceptively mild as he leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms.

“None of the soldiers on your level survived, Majesty. We can only surmise that the prisoners were also armored soldiers who, when they took the Empress, threw off their disguises.”

“Did no one try to stop them when they saw the Empress?”

“If you pardon, Majesty, they didn’t see her,” said the Sergeant uncomfortably. “All those that were seen were in full battle armor, and there was no way they could have brought an extra suit.”

“They could have left someone behind in her place. A spy.”

“Yes . . . Majesty,” admitted the Sergeant.

K’hedduk looked at his security aide. “And have you started a search for this spy?”

“No, Majesty. We didn’t think . . .”

“That is obvious! Continue,” he said, turning back to the Sergeant. “Do we know who they were, how they got hold of the
Aggressor
?”

“It could only have happened on Ch’almuth, Majesty. It’s obvious the tithe youths were, in fact, soldiers. And some of these men say there were aliens among them.”

K’hedduk frowned. “How would they know that?”

“Some of the suits were made for beings with tails, and legs different from ours, they said.”

Straightening up, K’hedduk stared at the soldiers beyond the Sergeant. “Who saw this vehicle that walked?”

Two soldiers stepped forward. “It didn’t as much walk as run and jump, Your Majesty,” said one. “It had a tail that was sharper than a knife. I saw it cut a Lieutenant in two with one swipe!”