The IX (19 page)

While Lex issued instructions to his bugler, Searc whistled directions to a runner.

Once he’d finished, Lex asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Me? I’m going to support my man Duncan, up on the mound. He’s got a bow, so we’ll be quite safe.”
And hopefully I’ll get in a cut or two for good measure!

Before Lex could object, Searc sprinted away to join his fellow clansman on the crown of the hill.

“Do you see anything through those binoculars, Duncan?”

“I do, Searc, but not where you’d think. Take a gander over there.”

Searc stared in the direction his friend indicated and noticed an odd shimmer in the air. At first, Searc thought they had run into an ambush. Then he realized the distortion was huge, and missing the usual sparks of hot red lightning normally given off by Horde devils. Puzzled, he looked closer.

Then it struck him. “I think I’ve just found his royal ass-wipe. It seems the captain brought one of those invisible shield thingies with him. You know, they were talking about them back at the city? Pity he neglected to tell
us
about it. Let me go and give Lex the good news. Oh, and Duncan? Stay sharp for any surprises, and don’t go getting yourself caught in the shite with no way out.” Searc punched his man on the arm and ran back down the hillock.

As he closed on Lex, the soldier turned toward him with a puzzled look on his face. Searc grinned and beckoned furiously.

Lex stood in his stirrups and smiled. Then he shrugged, as if expressing his bewilderment at Searc’s behavior.

Searc was about to call out when he noticed Lex was lifting higher than usual in his saddle. A loud report boomed forth, followed immediately by a multitude of other shots as the opening volley from the ambush blasted out. Corresponding explosions began to tear the advancing Horde apart.

Lex kept rising, a look of shock on his face. He fell out of his saddle, and many of his men stopped firing.

“Ware the enemy, you fools!” Searc screamed. “Your captain was hidden in the rocks all along. You finish off the monsters; I’ll take care of the young officer.”

Lex hit the deck and rolled onto his back, coughing blood.

Dropping to his knees beside him, Searc could see an expanding stain soaking through the dark blue of Lex’s tunic, right above his heart. Unbelievably, Lex smiled, reached out, and fixed him with a gaze that gripped him to the core.

“Don’t move, laddie,” Searc said, “let me . . .”

It was too late. Lex’s gaze shifted. Moving through Searc, it expanded on into infinity, and vanished.

Searc lowered his fellow warrior’s head to the floor. Cold fury burned through him.
The bastard! Does he think us naïve?

Picking up his axe, Searc Calhoun went in search of monsters . . . of the backstabbing variety.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Eggshells

Mac concluded his report, met the gaze of everyone sitting along the high table, and walked back to his seat on the bottom tier, satisfied he had covered every point.

Saul opened the floor. “Questions?”

Professor Ephraim Miller launched straight in. “Lieutenant, you’re absolutely positive the spliced components worked? You were completely invisible to the Horde until the moment you dropped the shields?”

“Yes, that’s correct. The stealth technology already incorporated within our armor bends light around the wearer, masking us to plain sight. It also includes a thermal compensator to match that of the surrounding environment, thereby reducing our heat signatures. The addition of null-energy generates a field that masks our presence completely. We still need to test exactly what our safety parameters are, but it will save us having to tiptoe around all the time.”

“And you experienced no adverse affects?”

“As long as we stayed within one hundred yards of the emitter, none whatsoever. On the one or two occasions we strayed a little further, we noticed the Horde were able to sense something. They couldn’t pinpoint us, but it did make them edgy. Overall? I think we’ve got something to play with. Also, their reactions gave me the idea about how our friends out there detect us.”

Saul cut in. “What do you mean?”

“Well, they don’t have eyes or ears . . . in the mundane sense. So how do they actually perceive us?”

“We’ve known for some time they feed on the bio-electrical energy we generate,” Saul replied. “They must home in on that somehow.”

Mac nodded. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but after today, I’m wondering if there’s more to it than that.”

“In what way?”

“Well, after we dropped the shields, they recognized the presence of humans instantly. But the first targets they attacked were Diving Hawk’s people. They were the only ones besides us who were outside the skimmers. White Bear’s party joined in as the fighting began. My team seemed to rattle them. I got the feeling our armor confused their ability to sense us in some way. It wasn’t until we began firing that they knew for certain an enemy was close by. It’s my strong opinion they reacted to the concentrated presence of iron. It’s an inert metal. How on earth could an esoteric being do that?”

The governing body stared at each other, lost for words.

Ephraim rejoined the conversation. “Would you be willing to help me carry out a few experiments? I’ve got an idea about that aspect I’d like to test.”

“Certainly. What did you have in mind?”

“I’ll tell you more once I’ve got the portable units up and running. I know Commander Cameron needs you for the spaceport mission, but this particular development may help refine our strategy.”

“How long do you envisage that taking, Ephraim?” Saul asked. “I’d like to crack on with our plans as soon as possible.”

“Only four or five days, Sir. A week at the most. In light of the intelligence Lieutenant McDonald collected, I’m loath to rush things.”

“I agree,” Mac added, “especially as we still have to consider the implications of what Andy Webb witnessed from his sniper position on the wall.”

Saul looked across to his second-in-command. “What about it? You’ve had a chance to interview Specialist Webb in person and go through the data with him.”

“I’ve got to admit, it has an alarming ring of truth to it,” Mohammed replied. “The ANS-1X system digitally records everything its operator witnesses. I’ve been through the footage repeatedly, and had various facets explained to me in detail by Andy himself. Although we couldn’t record exactly which Horde entities were congregated on the mountainside, they were definitely there. Watching us. Assessing us. Adopting alternatives to try and counter the new obstacles presented to them. If that’s not evidence of a hierarchy, I don’t know what is.”

Mohammed noticed Mac was eager to speak. “Lieutenant? You want to add something?”

“Yes, thank you.” Mac got to his feet. “Sorry to interrupt, but I feel it necessary to stress something here. Don’t forget what my team and I do. Although we’re very good at removing
problems
, we don’t just kill. We’re trained to keep our heads when the shit is flying around us thick and fast. We keep our focus. We observe. There is no doubt the Horde are petrified of iron. Look at the way they reacted the first time they encountered it. Two little bullets, you said. And they fled. Not only that, they then did something unheard of, and kept their heads down for two months. Until we turned up, that is.

“I don’t think they responded so much to our arrival as to the presence of the iron we possessed. They know what it can do. What it means. And yet, look how they acted yesterday. It’s anathema to them, but they still attempted to take us down. Yet not in the usual
let’s just charge right in and swarm them
kind of way. Oh no. They did something else they’ve never done before. They laid in wait, muting their energy fields in an attempt to avoid detection. They set deliberate ambushes. They even tried to rush us from several different directions at once. Both missions encountered similar tactics. New tactics.”

“They were being directed,” Mohammed stated. “Told what to do, and when.”

“Exactly. Which leads me back to my earlier suspicions. How do they see us? How do they see each other, for that matter? And communicate? Because you can bet the command post they positioned on Boleni Heights didn’t use mobile phones to text each other the latest battle updates.”

“Mobile what?” Ephraim asked, confused by the term.

“A rechargeable handheld communication device from the twenty-first century,” Mohammed explained. “In use until twenty-one seventy-seven. That’s when the first generation micro-com implants, powered by the body’s own electrical field came out.” He paused, directing his next question back to Mac. “What are you suggesting?”

“Simply this. The motto of the SBS is ‘by strength and guile.’ One of our basic combat tenets is ‘be prepared.’ Despite the apparent breakthroughs we’ve achieved, we can’t afford to rest on our laurels. After the Ardenese ran into these monsters, they were surprised again and again by their tenacity. We know the Horde is strong. We mustn’t forget how cunning they are, either. It’s obvious
they’re
prepared, and so must we be. Until we know for sure what they can do, we’ve got to walk on eggshells. So far, there’s only one definite to emerge from all this. The iron works. Let’s base any plans we make on that.”

Mohammed nodded. “A sound premise. Ephraim? How are you progressing on that?”

“Very well, actually. While I’ve been working on the adaptation of the null-point energy, my deputy has achieved some remarkable results.” He searched through the people seated below. “Brent? Would you care to elaborate what you’ve accomplished?”

Brent Wyatt, an engineer by trade from the year 2202, and a member of the eighth intake, got to his feet. Flicking through his notes on a handheld pad, he said, “Okay. First, something you already know. Iron works.” He grinned and nodded at Mac. “It works so well we now know less than half a gram of the stuff will destroy your average ogre. A little bit less will still shred their essence enough to trigger self-immolation.”

“And how do you know this?” Mohammed asked.

“Because yesterday several Native American braves assisted us with a little experiment. We issued them arrows without heads. Half of the shafts were dipped in molten metal with a fifty-fifty mix, the other in a smaller amount of pure iron. Doing so reduced range and penetration, but they weren’t firing at solid objects. The only requirement was that they break the Horde’s esoteric thresholds. They did that just fine.”

“I see. For those of us who aren’t so technical, what will this mean?”

“It means we have a head start. We’ve established two viable sites for iron ore extraction. The nearest deposits are thirty-five miles away in the Erásan Mountains. Records indicate its poor quality, but it’ll do until we can get the flyers into commission. We’ll need those other craft, because by far the richest veins are located a hundred and twenty miles out into the Abyssal Plain. That’s going to take a little time, so we have to make the best use of what we already have. We’ve adapted the replicators to fashion replacement arrowheads and bullets out of Ardenese crystal. Once we’ve smelted down our existing supply of steel, we can coat the new tips in a strong enough solution to ensure they get the job done. A proper weight-to-balance ratio will be restored, so accuracy won’t suffer.”

Mohammed deferred the decision to Saul.

The commander ruminated for a moment. “I like it. But do we have enough to get by on?” He glanced across to Mac. “Won’t that reduce your ability to operate?”

Mac shrugged. “Not necessarily. We’re fortunate in that the vortex bringing us here scooped large portions of the rig through with us. Not only was the platform itself made of steel, but it was protected by several rings of .50 robot cannons. Fourteen, to be exact.”

“And how many arrived here?”

“Five. Each of them has a double box of ten thousand rounds. I asked Shannon to deploy a system above the site of each gate. That leaves one spare. All those rounds and scrap metal will make a mighty fine source to supplement our existing stock until we can start manufacturing our own bullets. I’ve already spoken with Brent about your replication technology, and how you need a base template to work with. While that’s great for solving our short-term deficit, we need to think long-term, and establish our ability to replenish supplies on a source entirely separate from the Architect.”

“What do you envisage?”

“We manufacture our own bullets. It’s fortunate that the vast majority of our weapons take nine millimeter rounds. The G40s, 420s, and the Sig Sauer p230s. Even if we create basic handheld casts and molds, we can produce in excess of three hundred units a day. More than enough for our needs. That leaves the heavy duty and specialized stuff—the shotgun cartridges, the .338 magnum sniper rounds, the 7.62s for the AK-48-GMR assault rifles—to the finesse of Ardenese technology. And the .50 cannon shells, of course. We’ll need a massive amount of those to ensure we can maintain the devastating cover they provide.”

Saul shifted his attention back to Brent. “How viable is all this?”

“Very, Sir. Mac and his team have kindly loaned us an example of each weapon and its corresponding bullet. The Architect is scanning their specifications into the matrix as we speak. Obviously, with power reserves as they are, we can’t go into full-scale production. However, if we’re willing to make some sacrifices, we can divert a limited supply of energy on a temporary basis, and ensure everyone gets a handgun and a few magazines of ammo. For personal protection, of course. Then we’ll switch templates for the production of three basic forge-casts. Each will be capable of producing jacket casings and bullet heads. Once we’ve built up a reserve, we’ll delete the program and do things the old fashioned way. By hand.”

The mood within the chamber improved considerably.

Saul beamed. “This is good news, and will definitely help us out with our current problem.” He craned his neck to get a better look at Marcus who was sitting quietly at the back of the auditorium, listening attentively. “Marcus, you and your men have been familiarizing yourselves with the wall. You told me yesterday you’d noticed something odd. Would you please share that with us?”