Tani's Destiny (Hearts of ICARUS Book 2) (35 page)

“Agreed,” Marbic said, adding a laser rifle to the three hand lasers, knife belt, and bag of grenades he’d already strapped on.  They’d never had grenades before taking them from the Nomen’s armory, but he’d immediately become quite fond of them.  Steel grabbed two pouches of
shuriken
off the table and stuffed them into his pockets to tie on later.  He’d gotten pretty good with the deadly little disks with Tani’s help. 
Tani
, he thought.  They owed her so much. 

“We’ll get her back,” Marbic said softly.  Steel nodded, then left the armory.  He nodded at the line of stone-faced men waiting their turn to arm themselves.

“Once you’re armed, shift and fly to the
Stray
,” Steel announced loudly enough for everyone to hear.  “She takes off in ten minutes, with or without you.”  He looked around at the nods, then shifted and flew away with Marbic beside him.

Ten minutes later, the
Stray,
stuffed with every single adult male of the Khun, lifted off the ground and turned toward the mine.

“How long?” Steel asked.

“Ten minutes tops,” Khurda said.  “That’s a good thing since flying at this speed with this much weight for any longer than that would burn out the engines.”

“I don’t care, so long as we get there in time to save Tani,” Steel said.

“Agreed,” Khurda replied, then nudged the throttle just a bit.  “Where shall I put down?”

“In the black grove,” Steel said.  Khurda nodded, then checked his screens for the precise location and entered the data into the system.

“You and Astra?” Steel asked, trying to distract himself while they waited.

“Yes,” Khurda replied.  “Do you object?”

“No my friend,” Steel said, smiling.  “My only question is what took you so long?  I was beginning to think the two of you would never get together.”

Khurda smiled sheepishly.  “That obvious, huh?”

“Tani saw it the first time she met you, when Astra was in the hibernation tank.”

“Well, Tani’s special,” Khurda said.  “She sees things the rest of us don’t.”

“Yes, she does,” Steel agreed, wondering how he could have forgotten that for even a moment.  He cleared his throat.  “I’m happy for you both, Khurda.”

Khurda dipped his head, checked his screens, then said as casually as he could, “Will you mend things with Tani?”

Steel looked at Khurda for a long moment, realizing that Astra must have spoken to him.  “I certainly intend to try.  First, I must get her back from the Nomen.”

“Yes,” Khurda agreed.

“I’ve been blind about Naran, haven’t I?”

“Always,” Khurda agreed. 

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“We did, Steel,” Khurda said.  “Many times.  You refused to listen.”

“I’m sorry, Khurda,” he said, acknowledging the truth of Khurda’s statement.  “It’s not much, I know.”

“It’s enough, my friend,” Khurda said, turning to meet Steel’s eyes for a moment.  “It’s not a crime to believe in someone.  Even I never imagined him capable of the deeds currently laid at his feet.”  Steel nodded his thanks for the understanding and Khurda turned his attention back to his screens.  “The landing’s going to be a tad rough.”

“Use the comm to tell everyone to get ready.  I’m heading for the main hatch.”

“I won’t be far behind you,” Khurda promised.  Steel nodded, then turned and left the control room.

***

The moment the
Stray
set down Steel shoved the hatch open and jumped out.  He moved away, waiting impatiently for the rest of the men to join him, even though what he really wanted to do was fly into the mine compound and kill every Nomen that got in his way until he found Tani. 

By the time Marbic and Khurda joined him, he’d given some thought to what he wanted to do.  “There are only about thirty Nomen left, as far as we know,” he began.  “We out number them and, for a change, we out gun them too.  But that doesn’t make us invincible and we can’t afford to lose anyone, so try not to get killed.  There are enough of us to take them on three and four at a time, so let’s take advantage of that.  Don’t forget the lessons that Tani has taught us all, especially the most important one.  You remember that one, don’t you Marbic?”

“Absolutely,” Marbic said, grinning.  “Few creatures live long without a head.  The Nomen included.”  A low chuckle ran through the men, relaxing them just a little.  It was enough.

“What if we run into Naran?” Khurda asked.

“If he has something to tell us about where Tani is, we’ll listen,” Steel said behind clenched teeth.  “Otherwise, he is no longer Khun, but one with the Nomen, and should be treated as such.”  There was a low, quiet murmur of approval that saddened Steel, though it no longer surprised him.  He’d done a much worse job of leading his people than he’d imagined. 

He turned around and led the way up to the observation post at the top of the hill overlooking the compound.  He looked down in time to see four Nomen carrying a portable hibernation pod between them enter the mine.  He knew with absolute certainty that Tani was in that pod. 

Without wasting another moment he shifted and spread his wings, but stopped when Marbic put a hand on his arm and said, “Wait!”  He looked down at his friend impatiently.

“Their ship is gone,” Marbic said.  Steel looked over to the small pad where the Nomen kept their ship and saw that it was, indeed gone.  He wasn’t sure what that meant, but after giving it a few moments of thought, he decided it didn’t matter.  He shrugged, then jumped up, his wings pushing hard against the air as he fought for a little altitude.  He coasted down to the nearly deserted compound, shifted again and drew his weapons.  He waited just long enough for another hundred or so of his men to join him, then he led the first ever attack of the Khun against the Nomen.

The men were so angry by the time the attack began that it took but a few short minutes to find and kill the twenty one remaining Nomen, not counting the four that had gone into the mine.  They’d expected to find half a dozen more, but since Brutus was also missing, they assumed they were all in the ship.  Steel let his men take care of the Nomen while he waited outside the mine entrance in his
mahrac
form for the four he’d seen enter.  When they came out, he grabbed the last of the four with his enormous claws, lifting him up and away from the group.  His men made short work of the other three, then Marbic shifted into his human form and Steel dropped the Nomen on the ground in front of him.

“Controller, stop movement,” Marbic commanded, and the Nomen froze midway between the ground and standing.  The men who watched were shocked, even though Tani had told them this was possible.  Steel landed and shifted behind the Nomen.

“Controller, stand.”  The Nomen obediently stood.

“Controller, state the location of Princess Tanjelia.”

“Princess Tanjelia is located in the ore chamber,” the Nomen replied in a flat voice.  Steel turned and started walking toward the mine.

“Steel, no, wait!” Khurda called.  He stopped and turned around, frowning. 

“Controller, list security measures in place for the ore chamber.”

“If the door is opened by unauthorized personnel, the ore chamber will be flooded with Vartrex nerve gas.”

“Controller, list all individuals who can safely open the door,” Khurda ordered.

“Foreman Brutus.”

“Controller, are there gas masks or any other device in the vicinity capable of protecting the user against Vartrex gas?”

“No.”

“Controller, how long will it take the nerve gas to kill a human?” Steel asked quietly

“Two minutes.”

“I can have her out of there in less than a minute,” Steel said, then started to turn away again.  Khurda placed a staying hand on his arm.  “Controller, explain what you know about the effects of the nerve gas,” he said.

“The gas will burn its way into the body through the skin,” the Nomen said.  “Dizziness, confusion and nausea will follow.  Senses will cease to function.  Muscles will lock up, paralysis will set in, consciousness will be lost and brain death will occur.  Physical death follows shortly thereafter.”

“Controller,” Marbic said, “is there an antidote?”

“No.”

The flat delivery of that single word silenced everyone for long seconds.  Khurda broke the silence.  “Your
mahrac
form will last a little longer than a human’s, but it will still kill you, and there is no cure,” he said to Steel.  “You
will
die.”

Steel looked at Khurda, then Marbic, and then he looked around at his men who’d all gathered around now that the remaining Nomen were dead.  “How many times must Tani Dracon offer up her life for the Khun?” he asked loudly enough for everyone to hear.  “She faced two Nomen, unarmed, to save Astra.  Without her expertise and skills, our men and women would still be enslaved here, in this compound.  She healed Astra, Naran, Ruya, and Dirk.  She taught us battle skills that we would not have otherwise learned.  She leapt in front of me, taking a shot that should have been mine, and lived only because of Wily’s magic.  She summoned her parents, the Royal Princes of Jasan, and an ICARUS ship, to aid us.  And she allowed herself to be tranquilized by a madman in order to save Dirk’s life, knowing that in doing so she would end up with one of these controllers in her own brain.  She did all of this and more for the Khun, and what has she received in return? 

“I have insulted her, and hurt her, at every turn with my foul temper and refusal to accept the truth about a man I believed to be a friend.  She does not deserve to lose her life because I am a blind fool.  I owe her this.  The Khun owe her this.”  Steel’s voice softened, vibrating with emotion as he said, “But more importantly than all of that, I love her.  I
am
going in there to get her, and I will kill anyone who tries to stop me.” 

Steel looked around, surprised when every single one of his men bowed to him.  He nodded deeply in return, pleased that they agreed with him.  At least he’d made one right decision as king.

“In
mahrac
form, you’ll be able to withstand the gas longer than in human form,” Khurda said, giving in to the inevitable.

“I’ll go in, shift at the door, enter the ore chamber and drag the pod out,” Steel said. 

“As soon as you exit the mine we’ll remove Tani from the pod so she can try to heal you,” Marbic said.  Steel heard the doubt in Marbic’s voice, and understood that it was unlikely that even Tani would be able to save him from the effects of the nerve gas.  He’d already accepted that he was going to die.  But in doing so, he would save Tani.  That was a good enough reason for him.

He looked at Khurda, then Marbic, and nodded to each of them. “I leave the care of the Khun in both of your hands,” he said.  “Rule together, and more wisely than I have done.”  He smiled faintly at their surprise, then added, “You might want to ask this controller addled Nomen where Brutus is, and why the ship isn’t here.”  Then he reached up and plucked Wily off of his shoulder and offered him to Marbic, who held one hand out for the tiny wyvern.  “Watch over Wily, Marbic.  Tani would be devastated if anything happened to him.”

“I will,” Marbic said tightly, but was unable to say more.  Wily sat on his palm staring up at Steel with sad eyes.

“You can’t go with me, little guy,” Steel said.  “Watch over Tani for me.”  Wily mewled softly and nodded once.  Steel turned around and headed for the mine entrance.  Khurda followed and stopped him before he entered. 

“Steel, wait,” he said.  Steel stopped again and looked at his friend impatiently.

“Take off some of those weapons,” he said.  “Lighten your load.”  Steel nodded and began unbuckling the belts holding the lasers.  “Don’t try holding your breath,” Khurda said as he helped with the guns.  “It’ll just slow you down, and it won’t help.  The gas is absorbed into your body through your pores.”

Steel nodded, dropped his gun belt, and clapped his friend on the shoulder.  Khurda opened his mouth, then closed it.  There were no words to express his feelings.  Instead, he just nodded, then watched Steel turn around and enter the mine.

The moment Steel stepped into the dark, cold confines of the mine, a shiver of dread ran through him.  This was the first time he’d entered a mine since he was nine years old, and he hated it.  He hated the low ceilings, the dim light, the smell of cold earth and desperation.  He’d sworn years ago that he’d never willingly enter a mine again, but breaking that promise now didn’t trouble him.  He’d brave a thousand mines for Tani.

He followed the tunnel straight in for about twenty feet, then turned right.  This mine had been less than a year old when it was abandoned, and though he’d been a small child, he’d worked in it beside his father and his friends.  So, when he came to a wide area with three tunnels leading out of it, he entered the one on the right without a pause and hurried down the tunnel about twenty yards until he came to a very wide door. 

There was nothing special about the door other than its width.  It wasn’t fortified, extra heavy, or made of metal, nor did it have locks on it.  It was kept open during operation hours so that the Khun could bring the metal here to be stored in large heavy cylinders.  The cylinders were too heavy for any three men to lift, so there was no real concern that anyone would steal them.  The nerve gas was meant to prevent outsiders from stealing the metal.