The Sac'a'rith (33 page)

“Thanks. I don’t expect I will ever be out this way again, but if I am I might drop in and fix a few more things,” I said.

“Well, officially we do not exist, and you were never here,” he said.

“Understood,” I said.

After I got on the hauler, one of the guards stopped me and said, “I don’t recognize you.”

I showed him the ID that the government had issued me with on our last mission. “I think you will find that in order.”

He scanned the ID and said, “Special Agent Felix? Who did you upset badly enough to get sent out here?”

“I have been out here a long time, and I am looking forward to getting home. I am sure you understand,” I said.

“Yeah, fine. There are some spare bunks below the galley. It will be a few days before we reach any place you can get a lift from, so make yourself comfortable,” he said.

I was stuck on that hauler another five days, which seemed more like a hundred and five. My ID listed me as a special agent, but I did not have a good history to back up the ID. I was sure if I spent some time reviewing my file I could learn it, but I did not want to risk getting caught. The last thing I needed was for them to question my ID when I was so far from help.

Once I was safely off the ship, I headed to a secure terminal and pulled up my record. I was surprised to find my special agent ID was tied to my real identity. After some more digging, I saw that I had been assigned with Zah’rak, Crivreen, and a Ragnar to something called a delta force under one Special Agent Byron. That meant that Zah’rak and Crivreen were all right.

Now, the question I needed to answer was: do I rush back to rejoin the team, or fade away? The road they were on was very dangerous, far more dangerous than I was comfortable with. I shut down the terminal and made sure it erased all traces of my query. Then I went for a drink; this would take some thought.

“Zah’rak, what should we do?” asked Crivreen.

“Still no answer from the station?” I asked.

“No, Zah’rak. It is completely dead,” said Agent Byron.

“Why do I get the feeling this is a trap?” I asked.

“It well may be, but our female magus is on that station. I am sure of it,” said Ragnar.

I looked at the screens and wondered. I knew that Narcion had left me in charge, but I did not feel at all ready to lead this group. They were waiting on me to tell them our next move, so I had to think of something. I decided I needed to buy more time to think. “Byron, have we got anything back from your team yet?”

“I’m not sure. Let me check,” he said and went off.

“Ragnar, is there anything to be gained by boarding that hauler?” I asked.

“With respect to our current mission? No,” he said.

“But there could be supplies there, and other things that we could use or sell,” said Crivreen.

“We have plenty of money and can always get Byron to buy us supplies in a pinch,” I said. “Does she know we are here?”

“I can’t say. I can only barely detect her at this distance. I doubt if she has the power to detect us, but whoever is helping her may well be able to,” said Ragnar.

“Crivreen, fly us close to the station, but keep as low a profile as you can. Get in as near as possible, but watch for any automated defenses,” I said.

“For what purpose?” asked Agent Byron as he came back up onto the bridge.

“I can’t see unless we get closer,” I said. “Did you find anything?”

“Yes. Two days ago, Felix used his ID to hitch a ride on a supply ship, clear across the sector,” said Agent Byron.

“Felix?” yelled Crivreen. “He is all right?”

“It appears so,” said Agent Byron.

“Oh, man! That’s great!” exclaimed Crivreen.

“What about Narcion?” I asked.

“Felix is traveling alone right now,” said Byron.

“Can we reach him?” I asked.

“No, we will have to wait until he gets to a station, but I have sent some agents to pick him up,” said Byron.

“Oh, he won’t like that,” said Crivreen.

“Well, he will either go with them of his own free will or turn in his ID. I do not intend to arrest him, if that is your concern,” said Agent Byron.

“He will head to ground if he thinks there is legal trouble,” said Crivreen.

“That might cost us a lead on Narcion,” said Ragnar.

“Can you tail him without him knowing?” I asked.

“Yes, but if he slips away, it could be a while before we catch him again,” said Agent Byron.

“It’s less risky than spooking him right now. After we are finished here, we can go after him,” I said.

“Okay, I will tell my men to hold back for now,” he said.

We were finally close enough to the station for me to start sensing things. “Any signs of automated defenses yet?”

“No, nothing. The station is still completely dead,” said Crivreen.

“Keep us as close as you can, then, and orbit the station,” I said as I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. Reaching out with Sight, I was able to see into the station. Everywhere I looked I saw corpses of men and women lying where they had fallen in combat. Some of them were behind barriers, others were in the open, but they all had weapons drawn and had taken some serious injuries before dying.

As I swept through the station I saw something odd. It was deep in the station, just about out of my visual field. “Something is alive over there,” I said. “Crivreen, bring us as close as you can to the center of mass.”

“Okay,” he said.

“What is it?” asked Agent Byron.

“Everyone on the station that I can see is dead, but there is fighting near the heart of the station. I cannot quite make out what is happening,” I said, as I opened my eyes and brought my senses back into the ship.

“If pressed, the station’s troops would fall back to the central core and lock it down. They will be enveloped in many layers of shields and have enough power and supplies to last a long time in there,” said Agent Byron.

“I would wager, whatever that magus wants, she could expect to find it in that core,” said Ragnar.

“Agreed, but that is a good sign. There are no ships in the region, and she is actively fighting here. That means we can trap her,” said Agent Byron.

“What about the hauler?” I asked.

“Once we get onto the station, we can use the weapons there to destroy it,” said Agent Byron.

“What are you proposing?” I asked.

“The four of us board the station. You three provide a distraction by going after the magus, and I will take control of the station’s defenses. Once I have that control I can send the sentries to help you, destroy that hauler, and communicate with the core,” he said.

“It is awfully dangerous for you to try it alone,” I said.

“One man can slip by unseen where four would be easily noticed. Remember, I am not human; I have other means of entry and movement. It is unlikely that whoever is behind these attacks knows I am working with you; they would only expect the three of you to act. When they see all of you, they will not be looking for me. Besides, I will be safe in your fancy armor,” he said.

What would Narcion do?
I wondered to myself. He often split up teams, but would he send this agent off alone? “Ragnar, Crivreen: any suggestions?”

After they had indicated they had no better ideas, I said, “All right, we will try it your way; but if you get in trouble, bail out. We can pick you up as long as you keep the armor with you for us to track,” I said. “Crivreen, can you hide this ship?”

“Yeah, we can land the Night Wisp on the outside of the station and use the magnetic clamps to hold it in place. Once there and powered down, it will be virtually undetectable. We can just float over to a window and teleport in.”

Agent Byron gathered his armor and swords into a pack and then headed to the airlock. We followed him down and before I could speak, he said, “Once I am safely on board I will contact you. Until then, good luck!” He entered the airlock without donning a space suit of any kind and hit the cycle button.

We watched through the window as his body twisted and changed shape. His skin shifted to an iridescent black, and two large wings extended from his back. By the time the outer door opened he looked very much like a gigantic black butterfly. The interior lighting from the airlock showed a multicolored sheen through the skin on his back, but soon he was outside the door and faded from our sight.

“I would have never guessed how beautiful those creatures are,” said Crivreen.

“I would venture we are among the very few who have seen one with our own eyes,” I said. “Crivreen, dock us as you suggested and then let’s suit up and head over.”

As Crivreen returned to the bridge, I looked out the airlock and wondered what it would be like to fly free like that.
What did space feel like?
I wondered. Was there wind? Were there sounds we could not hear? How did they talk to each other? How did they find each other in the vastness that was outer space?

A slight jolt in the craft jarred me from my musings as Crivreen attached the Night Wisp to the station. I donned my armor, gathered my weapons and said to Ragnar, “Well, can you do any neat butterfly transformations?”

He chuckled. “I’m afraid not. It’s a shame, as it would be quite useful just now.” He checked his own equipment and, as Crivreen approached, he said, “There is a problem with Crivreen’s plan.”

“What’s that?” asked Crivreen.

“I can’t teleport,” said Ragnar.

“But you’re a magus!” said Crivreen.

“Yes, but not all magi can teleport,” said Ragnar.

“Of course they can!” said Crivreen.

“Look, we can deal with that debate later. For the present, Crivreen and I will teleport on board, and Crivreen will get one of the airlocks working and let you on,” I said.

“Sure, that will work. And once we get back, I’ll teach you how to teleport; it’s easy!” said Crivreen.

Ragnar just shook his head and looked outside. “So there is really no air out there at all?”

“None. Think about climbing a mountain; the air gets thinner as you go up, right?” asked Crivreen.

“Yes. I suppose we are pretty high up, then,” he said.

“That is one way of looking at it. The armor you wear has plenty of air, and even a small jetpack in case you drift away from the station, but we will use a tether so you don’t have to worry about that,” said Crivreen.

“Oh, he probably has not experienced microgravity yet, either,” I said.

“Well, I have a little. Crivreen simulated lower gravity in the cargo bay so that I could start to learn to operate in it. I think I will be very grateful for the tether,” he said.

“Once we are on the station, the artificial gravity will take over and things will be more normal. At least as normal as it gets for us,” said Crivreen.

We all made one final check of our gear and moved into the airlock. Once inside I linked a tether between the three of us. Normally we would not bother, but as this was Ragnar’s first trip outside it seemed prudent.

As we exited the airlock and floated down to the station below us, I said, “How are you doing, Ragnar?”

“Exiting that airlock was a bit disorientating, and I feel a little queasy, but I think I will be all right,” he said.

“Crivreen, find us an airlock,” I said.

Finding an airlock proved to be harder than expected, as all the ones we came across had their windows covered. Without line-of-sight we could not teleport. “Now what?” I asked.

“We’ll have to get in the old-fashioned way,” said Crivreen. He then moved over to the most recent airlock we had found and began to disassemble the exterior control panel. “Get comfortable; this is a military-grade lock, so it might take a while to get in.”

“How are you getting on, Ragnar?” I asked again.

“Well, it helps if keep my eyes on the, um, ground? Station?” he said.

“You said you wanted a change. Is this enough for you?” I asked.

“Let me see: I am freely floating an untold distance from any ground, where there is no air, and getting ready to fight an undead army in a port of call which is also freely floating, with nothing holding it up. Yes, I would say it is enough,” he said.

“Okay, we are in!” called out Crivreen.

“I thought you said that would take a while?” I asked.

“Yes, well: it turns out that our IDs unlock the door,” he said.

“So are you saying we have been searching all this time for an airlock with unblocked windows for no good reason?” I asked.

Just then he opened the door, said, “Follow me,” and entered the airlock.

As I stood in the airlock I could feel Zah’rak, Crivreen, and Ragnar watching. It felt odd and a little embarrassing to take on my natural form with people watching, but I did not want to waste any time. If the men at the core felt that the station was lost, they would destroy it. That would mean our only clue to the ringleader behind these attacks would be killed, and very likely us too along with the rest.

Once the airlock had finished cycling, I leapt into space and allowed myself to drift on the gravity currents around the Night Wisp. They moved the ship and attached it to the station just as Crivreen had suggested, and it was a good plan. It would be virtually invisible there in the sensor shadow of the station.

I wanted to wait until they made their move before attempting to board the station myself, so I glided around their landing site and silently followed them while they searched for an airlock. I was not sure why they rejected several of them, but eventually they found one they liked and went in.

I flew around to the other side of the station and entered through a service hatch that only automated attendants would normally use. Once inside, I resumed my human form and donned the armor Zah’rak had provided. It amazed me how perfectly it adjusted itself to my frame, and I wondered if I could continue to wear it in my native form.

As I slung my swords over my back I wondered again if there was a better way to carry them. If I had to draw them quickly from my back, it would be nearly impossible to do without exposing my entire body to my attackers. It would seem more sensible to have them at the belt, but that was where both of my blasters were holstered. I decided to leave them on my back, as right now I’d much rather be able to quickly draw my blasters than make some concession for my swords, but it was a problem I planned to solve.