Untitled (15 page)

Xaphans …

"Fine then, Sygillis," he said, his tongue badly wanting to add a title. "Again, the Sisters are most agitated about this launch to shore and will leave you no quarter."

"Why, Captain … are you worried about me? Worried I'll be killed?"

"Actually, yes, I am. We've come all this way, we're here at last. We might as well do this successfully. And my definition of successful in this case is that everybody returns to the ship alive after it's done."

"You will be there to protect me."

Davage noted the irony of it. "True. However, the Sisters are tired and a little trigger-happy. If you give them any provocation, any at all, it's lights out for you."

"Does that distress you?"

Davage rubbed his forehead. "You know, I think it does, actually. I've had very little sleep in the past week, I've been yelled at by just about every Sister within earshot, my first officer wanted to take me to the gym and beat me up, and I've had my life threatened, by you, more times than I can recall. I will hate to see the culmination of all that effort lying dead, brain-scrambled on the planet surface."

Sygillis laughed. "You are a humorous man, Captain. You make me laugh. I find I like that. I find I like to laugh. I have laughed more with you than I have in my entire life. I suppose that is worth letting you live. Hmmm, was that a threat, do you think?"

"Sort of. So, when the laughs stop, that's when the dying starts, is that it?"

"Probably, and besides, how are we to become lovers if I kill you?"

"We're not going to cover this ground again, are we?"

"We are, sir. I've seen the future; it's going to happen, so why fight it? I'm not. In fact, I'm ready to begin immediately if you are."

"There's nothing to fight. We are not going to become lovers."

Sygillis laughed again. "As you like, sir," she said, bowing. She approached Davage and looked up at him; she was so short. "So that we may take a further bold step in becoming lovers, I will comply with your procedures."

She cleared her throat. "I will not release my Shadow tech in the horizontal. I will confine it to the vertical. I will not combine the Shadow tech into a solid mass. I will not breathe life into the Shadow tech. I will not Waft, I will not Sign, I will not Point, and I will not Devine …"

"You just made a rhyme. Was that intentional?"

Sygillis laughed again. "You see … that's why you get to live. You are so funny."

Davage straightened her cloak and noted to himself that she looked spectacular in the black Hospitaler bodysuit. "You seem fine now. Better than fine, actually, you seem—good. Are you sure you need to do this?"

"The Shadow tech must be released. Previously, I did not know how to deal with the situation, and it was overwhelming me. But with your help, Captain, I am better able to control it for now. Still, if it is not released soon, I will die."

"Well then, everything is prepared. Shall we to the surface?"

She began walking to the door, and Davage noticed something. She wasn't wearing any shoes.

"You appear to be missing your shoes."

Sygillis looked at him. "I'll not be wearing shoes."

"The ground will be rocky. You will need adequate footwear."

"I will never wear anything on my feet again."

"Your feet are still healing. You'll hurt them on the planet surface. A practical pair of shoes …"

"No! I'll wear no shoes. You may carry me if you wish."

Davage stared at her for a moment.

"Captain, may I call you Davage?"

"Of course."

"Davage, I don't want to wear any shoes. The pain from the Dora, it was more than I could endure. The memory of it is most unpleasant. I should feel more at ease, for the time being, without any. Please …." She noted Davage's over-sized Falloon boots. "You appear to be wearing enough for the both of us."

Davage thought about it for a moment.

"All right, then. I shall carry you on the planet surface. But please, let us proceed."

They exited into the hallway. Kilos was waiting, along with several other Marines. As they walked, Kilos moved in behind Sygillis, her hand on her SK, her large brown eyes fixed on the back of Sygillis's head.

After a few intersections, Sygillis suddenly stopped, turned, and faced the much taller Kilos.

"Boo!" she said laughing.

Kilos, in shock, drew her weapon as Sygillis laughed. Kilos's eyes flared with anger.

Davage waved her down. "At ease, Lieutenant."

Slowly, Kilos holstered her SK. "That—that wasn't funny."

Sygillis looked at Davage. "No?"

"Possibly later, much later, it will be funny, but not at the moment," Davage said.

She looked confused.

"I'll explain it to you when we get back, all right? Now, let's look to the matter at hand. Let us go down and unload some Shadow tech."

They entered the Ripcar Bay and mounted one—ripcar number 4, in this case.

A ripcar was a thin, arrowhead-shaped vehicle used for both planetary and low-orbit actions. Noisy, fussy, and clanking, it was built to be fast, maneuverable, and rugged. As such, the crew compartment was little more than a slight hollow scooped out of the back of the car. The entire crew area was preserved in a containment field, but to the novice, sitting in a precarious hollow atop this bucking, snorting bronco could be a gut-wrenching task. He recalled Demona of Ryel, who was otherwise a courageous woman, was terrified of it.

Davage wondered how Sygillis will do.

Happily, she sprung aboard, Davage again noticing the tight-fitting bodysuit she was wearing.

Kilos, not afraid of the ripcar, but not a great fan either, climbed into the back.

Davage, eschewing the small, insignificant seat, preferred to stand while flying.

He expertly engaged the controls, and in a few moments, the containment field hummed to life. He then rammed the stick forward and the ripcar lurched out of the bay with a clank into open space, the
Seeker
quickly falling away.

* * * * *

The surface of Seetac 2 was every bit as arid and unpleasant as Davage had made it out to be—hot, well above 100 degrees, rocky, and lonely in its lack of obvious life.

Davage jumped down out of the ripcar and carried Sygillis. The ground was laced with volcanic rock; her bare feet would be cut to ribbons.

Kilos jumped down, still eyeing her with an angry note. That "Boo!" thing had put a massive shock into her.

Carrying Sygillis, Davage found a sandy bit of ground about a hundred yards from the ripcar and set her down.

She looked around, sweating. "This will do. Please stand back a bit." She threw off her blue shawl, once again glorious in her black bodysuit.

Davage and Kilos backed up. She still had her gun hand on her SK. Davage jabbed her in the ribs. "Will you get your hand off your damn pistol?" he snarled quietly.

"Not a chance," she snapped back.

"You're embarrassing me, and at this range, if she wanted to kill us, there isn't much we could do about it anyway."

"I don't care!"

Davage looked around. Far off in the distance, just within the edge of normal sight, he could see the Sisters, about twenty of them, spaced out evenly, forming a ring around them. He imagined they must be sweating buckets in this heat.

"Davage," Sygillis called out. "I am ready to begin."

Davage tipped his hat to her. "Let it fly."

"So … `Davage,' is it?" Kilos asked curtly. "When the hell did that happen?"

"Quiet," he said.

She raised her slender, pale arms into the air, threw her head back, and knocked her fists together.

Nothing happened at first. Then, Davage noticed a black webbing of sorts forming between her fingers. Obviously, creating Shadow tech was a slow process.

Then, like a blast from a cannon, a massive gout of black, twisting material shot into the hot air. The blast kept going up and up until it was thousands of feet high, a raging, twisting streamer of black.

It was a little unsettling looking at it, like a great black cyclone. Davage, even a distance away, could feel his hairs standing on end. The power she was releasing was incredible. The brass buttons on Kilos's Marine uniform began to jump and spark.

At about four thousand feet, the shaft of Shadow tech flattened out and began forming an ugly black cloud of soot that was rapidly descending.

Two minutes, three minutes, four minutes, still she was awash in Shadow tech. Davage could only glimpse her occasionally, her head and torso mostly cloaked in black material. He Sighted her just to make sure she wasn't up to anything. She just stood there, swaying slightly, a look of infinite relief etched on her face. Davage couldn't help but admire her power, the forces she commanded.

Soot from the black cloud came down and settled in dark sheets.

Finally, after ten minutes she stopped and put her arms down. Davage and Kilos were filthy from the soot. Davage noted with some humor that the distant Sisters were also filthy—he guessed, since they weren't killing her, that it was nothing but soot. Sygillis, however, was as clean and pale as ever.

She turned to Davage and picked up her shawl. "Thank you, sir. I am finished. It is all right now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am clear."

"Feel better?"

"I do. Thank you."

He picked her up and carried her back to the ripcar.

"I am sorry about the soot. Since the Sisters will not let me control it, it will fall where it falls." She gently brushed it off of his face and made a little spit-curl with the bangs of his dark blue hair.

"It's quite all right."

The ripcar was filthy. Davage set Sygillis down, and he and Kilos cleaned the interior as best they could. Finally, they got in and Davage hauled it into the sky.

Sygillis appeared to be enjoying the ride. With abandon, she looked around and peered over the side.

"Show me," she said finally.

"Pardon?"

"You are the famous Captain Davage, yes?"

He looked at her.

"Your friend, Princess Marilith, goes on and on about your skills as a pilot. It seems to both enrage and fascinate her. Show me; make this vehicle do something interesting."

Davage smiled and reached for the throttle.

"Captain Davage," Kilos said in a tart voice. "May I remind you that we are due back aboard
Seeker
immediately so that we may plot solution for our next destination?"

Sygillis stared at Davage.

"Lieutenant," Davage said to Kilos, "you are far too young to be so damn old."

He cranked the throttle and sent the ripcar in a massive series of rolls, slides, and loops. Sygillis leaned back and shrieked with delight, laughing and clapping the whole time.

How different, he mused, from some of the other guests he'd had in it. Demona of Ryel hated the ripcar, was convinced she was going to fall out and white knuckled even in slow, straight flight. Black Hats are truly fearless.

When they got back aboard the ship, Kilos grabbed Davage by his shirt. "Every damn chance you get to play in that damn car, you …" she said before turning green and getting sick in the corner.

On their way back to her quarters, Sygillis was chattering with excitement. "That was exhilarating, Davage, truly remarkable. When can we do it again?"

"I am not certain, I suppose the next time you are in need to discharge your Shadow tech we could have another go. How long do you think that will be?"

"Oh, about a week or so,"

"Fine."

They reached her quarters and went in.

The room was completely cleaned and repaired. The bed was made, and a bowl of food, cheeses, and fruits sat on the table. "I ordered your quarters repaired whilst we were on the surface."

She sat down at the table and grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl.

"Sygillis," Davage said. "I must say that I am very pleased by your performance on the surface. You kept your word, you complied with our wishes, and that was a very spectacular display. Most impressive."

She smiled at him and took a bite from her piece of fruit.

"Did you like that? I was hoping to impress you."

"The change in you since just yesterday is, well, remarkable. I cannot tell, at this point, whether you are attempting to lull me into a contented state so that you may more easily kill me or …"

She laughed. "Davage—Dav, if I may please call you that, on the planet surface I could have killed you and your lieutenant in so many different ways. The thought really didn't cross my mind. Like I said, you make me laugh, you engage me in interesting conversation, I find I enjoy your company, and I think you have pretty eyes. And best of all, we have unfinished business together."

"Back to that again. You are incorrect. We have un-begun business. Business that never was and never will be."

"Tell me honestly that you have not thought about it … that the prospect does not intrigue you?"

"This is pointless."

"Please answer the question."

"I have not thought about it. The prospect does not intrigue me."

She looked at him with a skeptical eye. "I find it interesting that you are choosing to lie to me right now, Captain. I can tell when you are lying. Debating a Black Hat who has learned to use her tongue has its disadvantages."

"Are you seeking to annoy me with a pointless topic, or does the prospect of becoming my lover actually intrigue you?"

"Yes and very much yes. I enjoy talking you in circles, I enjoy making you blush, and I look greatly forward to becoming your lover. Remember, I have seen the future, so it's just a matter of time. The sooner the better."

"Really … some bizarre alternative future, no doubt."

"There is no such thing. The future is the future."

"That's not what we say in League society."

"Then you know nothing in League society."

She took her blue shawl off. "Make your eyes glow again for me."

He headed for the door. "Sygillis, really," he said, indignant.

She smiled, feeling victorious. "She was right," she said.

"Who was?"

"Marilith. You are a wonderful pilot. I was very impressed with your skill. I am very impressed with you in general. I am glad I didn't kill you earlier."