In Honour of the Incidental Characters
If something doesn't make sense, it's probably because that section is a flashback.
Mickey had a headache. It wasn't hard to work out why. What the hell was going on? He'd got sick of running into Vinny everywhere he went, and gone home to visit his dad...and who goes and shows up on his planet? I mean...fuuuck...he wasn't going to do anything, why did the guy have to go and shoot him in the face? Sure, it didn't bother him for long...but...gimme a break.
Anyway, now he was going to visit his dear old mom. She was a difficult person to live with, that's why neither he or his father liked to be on the same planet with her for long, but she was always nice when he came to visit, lavishing affection on him.
He was lead into the throne room by one of the grunts. He saw his mother look up from where she was lounging on the throne in a stunning blue gown, and an expression of delight spread across her face (she didn't look a day older, as usual, probably the virgin's blood) before she slid gracefully off it and moved across the throne room to hug him.
'Darling Mykh'acl! Come over and sit by the throne and tell me all the news.' She demanded, leading him by the hand across the green tiles and sending one of the guards off for food.
'Well, momma.' Mickey said. 'I ain't been having such a good run recently.'
'Poor boy. Tell me all about it.' The Most High One said, draping herself across the arm of the throne.
I'm not the one who's so far away
When I feel the snakebite enter my veins
Never did I wanna be here again
And I don't remember why I came
'Father...where are you?'
Kara was curled up behind what was probably a dumpster in the first filthy, orange-stinking town she had found, as far away from the frozen, rainy wilderness as she could get, furious with herself. She could not possibly return to Moebius, having failed to kill the target, Omnibus. She had failed him, and she had failed her father, who she would never find now.
Failure complexes sometimes run in the family, you see.
Why couldn't that damned.....thing.....just kill her? Did he think she wasn't a worthy opponent? That look in his eyes....Or the vampire, why didn't he kill her either? She felt the marks on her neck and remembered the sickening pleasure. They were crusty with dried blood. My father is a vampire? One of the eyeless fiends from the village tales who rose from the ground to drink the blood of the innocent?
Could she check every man with no eyes in the galaxy? It had been years since she had last seen her father. She remembered the last time she had seen him, his still youthful dark face smiling as he waved and boarded the Schwarzwyrmkommando transport that would take him to Gamezoha Prime and out of her life forever. She remembered her mother, her beautiful mother, lying sick and pale on her death bed, struck down by the dreaded Motabu virus, too swift for her to get a message to her father in time for him to come. Not that he had come. Her mother, asking her to find her father and be with him, to remain together for her sake. Giving her Moebius' name, and telling her to look for him, her father's mentor, blessings upon him for helping her. And now she had failed him.
She would not give up.
(Taking after her mother, who was a little less easy to defeat. Unless, of course, you were millions of tiny viral RNA capsids a few picometres across.)
If she had to accost every blind man in the Galaxy, she would find her father.
From the terminal against the wall in the room of the shop behind her, Damocles laughed.
She looked up, uncurling with an almost boneless grace from her huddle of shame.
There was a little metal spider on the floor. It held up a small slice of plasma screen with two of its eight legs.
A message flashed up onto it. Kara nearly had a heart attack.
KARA?
'Yes.'
I CAN HELP YOU FIND YOUR FATHER
Kara blinked. 'What do you want me to do?' She asked.
On board the Coyote, a little fungous-something was reading his mail. The Mi-go (as they call them in the Himalayas. What they call themselves is pretty much unpronounceable to all but the seriously unhinged) are not a species used to making intelligible noises, but with a good deal of practise they can produce intelligible humanoid sounds, however disturbing the tones may be. Their system of writing, like braille, involves running one's hands across the page, and feeling the wiggles. This is somewhat impractical, but it works for them.
'Loredelver Bhæzgð:tkpa:rzðæzgv:bzræþkz:,'
Baz read, leaving a trail of slimy chlorophyllic stuff behind to mark where he had been. The letter went on to the traditional greeting.
'Blessings in the name of Yog Sothoth the all-in-one-and-one-in-all, may he return from the chaotic continuum outside the geometric design of which the known infinite forms but one surface, in terribly disgusting glory.'
It was an archaic greeting, something you'd expect from a very old Mi-Go.
'Signs and portents have been delivered to the Prieststools (rough translation) of the Great Sothoth which point to the appearance of the chosen one, the Monster with the Eyes of þkpa:gvz. The prieststools warn that the Monster will show up somewhere probably fairly near where you are at the moment. Probably. But it could also be another place in an entirely different sector of the galaxy. Praise be to Yog Sothoth that we've managed to narrow it down. Anyway, be on the look-out for a monster with Eyes of þkpa:gvz, and please tell us if it shows up. It is also written, by the way, that the Monster will know the secret greeting of the Great Sothoth if you ask him. So you can check. Handy, eh? Anyway, keep us updated.'
Yours sincerely,
High Gð:t (The word translates approximately to 'Finder of Corpses', and refers to the leader, who found food for the tribe) Ðk:zt:ðæ.'
Mi-Go is language somewhat given to rambling and repeating itself, in case you missed sliming the last sentence.
So. Baz thought. The ancient legend of the Monster with Eyes of Þkpa:gvz (I found the capital thorn!) was supposed to be coming true again? How silly. It hadn't the last three times, according to the history etchings in the great chambers on his home planet. The High Gð:t must be getting really old to believe that. Well, he'd keep a feeler out, just in case.
Oh, sorry. The word 'Þkpa:gvz' means 'a darker form of the colour of the fourth sun'. The closest equivalent in Common would be 'crimson'.
'Take it and run, Frieda! Go anywhere, hide wherever you can.'
'But...I can't do this, father! Not alone!'
'Just go!'
Clasping the tiny rock to her chest, the redhead ran out of the passage way and towards the slipgate. Behind her, the temple exploded, taking with it what passed for her family. She punched a random code in on the cheap, utilitarian, backwater-style control panel. Anywhere would do, anywhere. Somewhere away from the crazed blue-haired demon girl...
The slipgate swirled and opened, and Frieda fell through, sobbing.
....tacky memory flashback....a little redheaded baby abandoned on a jungle planet. Growing up among the Khamaleen in their remote little village, being taught about the sacred duty given to them by the mythical dwarf people, so long ago, to hide and protect with their very lives the Most Powerful Objects in the Universe. The Stone of Destiny, the Pyramid....
And now, though she wasn't a Khamaleen, the child of some unknown human parents, the Khamaleen of the Tribe of Nankhar had raised her, and it was her duty now, to protect the tribe's object, to carry on the sacred task.
The Tribe of Nankhar had been a great empire, when the 14MPOITU was entrusted to them. After a few hundred years, it consisted of about 20 individuals, armed mostly with spears.
There was a sign.
'Welcome to Fort Meade, supplying quality arms since 2245.'
She had no idea where she was, but she knew she had to get away from the slipgate. She began walking. Out of town. Along the dusty road. After passing a gas station, she came to a crossroads. She turned right. The scent of oranges carried on the breeze...
Dave was cleaning glasses. Dave was always cleaning glasses. It helped him think.
Gaia was happy. Gaia was very happy. It had rained in the Sahara desert last week, in the middle of the dry season. Several volcanoes on the pacific rim that had been rumbling on and off for a month had suddenly shut up. A large, bare section of Brazil had been suddenly reclaimed by rainforest..
Damn her....why him? Why not me?
Most of the authorities were blaming it on the strange weather patterns in Mid-Europe. What they were blaming the strange weather patterns in Mid-Europe on was anyone's guess.
The only authority that seemed to have any idea what was going on was the Vatican city. Two weeks before the headlines had screamed 'Miracle in the Alps', and the Pope had announced the canonisation of some obscure knight from a South German order, the first person to be canonised during their own lifetime since St Dale the Bonzer of New South Wales tamed the Great White Sharks in 2112.
Haven't I served you faithfully all these years?
Dave was not concerned with the reports of war brewing in the inner reaches of the galaxy. That was a long way from where he lived. He was more concerned with the reports of stirrings of the Giant Danish Fjord Squid. It was never good when the Squid were stirring. Besides which, cephalopods were creepy. What were those flashy lights they made for? Why did an octopus have such a complex eye when all its brain consisted of was a small cerebral ganglion?
A raven flew in through the door and landed on the bar. None of the patrons seemed to notice. But they hadn't noticed a man with a swastika tattooed on his neck either, so that was hardly surprising. It preened a little, to straighten its feathers. Then it turned into a little man in a brown suit and a fedora, sitting cross-legged on the bar.
'Jaysus, it stenks around hayer.' He said, even more thickly Belfast than usual. He must have stopped off home for a while. After a few pints and a chat with his family, his speech was almost completely unintelligible.
'Ya get used to it.' Dave replied, picking up another glass and recommencing with the teatowel.
'I'd ratther not, thanks.' Diarmuid. 'Shame how the King din't get his credit on the ol' healing. Ye can't trust that there Vatican.'
Dave looked at Diarmuid with pale blue eyes and pushed a grey-streaked lock of curly brown hair out of his eyes with the grubby teatowel.
'What're ye giving me that look for?'
'First, it wasn't just Vinny. It was a joint effort between him and the other lad, the knight. Second, it don't matter either way. You know. I know. The People know.'
'Oh, you know everything, dontcha, Davey-boy.'
'Not everything.' Dave shook his head, and looked pensive. 'Didn't know he was going to do that, did I? Didn't know what she had in store for him... I wouldn't have sent him. I wouldn't have let him go if I'd known..'
'Ahh, she's a tricksy one is the Mother.' Diarmuid said. 'She'll get what she needs, whatever she has to do for it.'
'Aye...' Dave's fingers were tightening around the glass. So angry. For himself, and for Vinny. What if he hadn't survived? 'But to tie him to herself...like...that...and not tell me she was doing it....to put him through that...she....'
The glass smashed under his knarled fingers. A rain of slivers tinkled on the floor.
'Ye're scarin' me, Davey..' Diarmuid said, sliding off the bar so he was behind it and reaching up to pat the werewolf on the shoulder. 'Come on, let's go in the back, you need to sit down or summat.'
Dave nodded. His eyes were misty and faraway. Where he was, it was green and brown, and she stood there, beautiful as ever.
Why not you? You chose to come to me...I called, and you came. You will always be my priest, my own one. I did not have to hurt you to tie you to me, so that you would always remember who is your mother, and where you come from, and who you must protect. You did it yourself.
David was heading down a corridor, coming back from seeing the new medic. He'd never seen a purple doctor before, so it had been interesting.
Aris stepped out of the mess hall ahead of him and saw him. He grinned. Between the purple hair, and that ridiculous hat, it is a disturbing thing to be grinned at by Aris. David stepped back.
'Good.' He said. He then proceeded to effectively yoink David into the hall and force him to sit down on a nearby table. The SURTR people barely noticed them.
'Hey, be careful...I'm still not completely together, you know...'
'Sorry...now, what do you make of this?'
'Well...I could probably make a crane, or maybe a cat, or one of those little boxes with the flaps...'
'No, not the readouts. This..'
Aris tapped a panel in the middle of the table, and a three dimensional holographic display burst into life above the surface. It seemed to be a map of the galaxy, with stars and planets marked out.
'Pretty.' David observed, chewing absent-mindedly on the end of one of his bright blue bangs.
'I had to do it like this. The two dimensional readouts weren't showing the full details properly.'
'What is it?' David asked, sitting down.
'It was sent through by...well, at first we thought it was an outside source, but then the signal turned out to be coming from inside the computer itself...anyway, no idea what's going on, but the logon ID was 041106135-Samael.'
'Samael? Sounds like Qabala to me. Rabbi Weissman used to talk about Qabala. He said...' At this David's voice slipped into thick Yiddish. '"Oy, David, meh boy, don't get in with Qabalists. They're like the Chinese. Nobody understands what they're saying, and that's the way they like it.."'
Aris rolled his eyes. 'Qabala or not, I looked it up and Samael is the Angel of Mars. Fire and war.'
'This user, program, whatever, knows then?'
'Way too much. But word from him downstairs.' Aris nodded his head towards the floor, under which was a ton or so of lightweight metal and the coldness of space. 'Is that we're to co-operate with this Samael. But back to the thing.' He leaned over the table and poked a pen into the hologram. 'Here we have our two main players. Wendauer and Gamezoha. We're with Wendauer at the moment.'
'...at the moment.' David smiled.
'...at the moment. Yes. Gamezoha Prime, Secundus, Tertius and Quarternus, along with Megiddo, Halak, and Hungarden are highlighted on the readouts we got from Samael. It was pretty obvious they should be. But there are a whole lot of other places highlighted. In some cases, stupid places. Earth, that makes sense. Humans are all over the place, we spread like rats.' Aris chuckled. 'Mulaghra Prime. A lot of magical types come from there because the forests have a lot of life-force, we think that's why it's highlighted. But this backwater star near Cassiopeia Tertius, and this black hole...there's no sense to it. Until you join the dots, that is.' Aris tapped the pad again.
Suddenly, all the highlighted planets joined up, revealing a great, three dimensional sigil.
'Oy gevalt.' David said, under his breath.
'Damn right.' Aris nodded, leaning back and putting his feet on the table. 'Now what do you think of that?'
'It's a message.'
'Yeah, but who for? Anyone who can read it, I think. The real question is, who wrote it?'
'Samael?'
'No, he's just filled in the blanks, like the Black Hole. The structure is there with all the political activity lately. The blanks must be extrapolations. Someone else has written it. Someone big.'
'Him downstairs? Or her upstairs?'
'Nope. Look at it. It's a perfect balance of randomness and pattern, like life. If it was her, it'd be rigidly ordered, geometrically perfect. If it was him, we have to put the info through about twenty different decoding programs, just to see the basic pattern.'
'So, we don't know what it's saying, how it got there, or who wrote it?'
'Oh, we know what it's saying.' Aris said, offhand. 'We knew it already. That's obvious. Things have got too ordered. It's time for them to break down again. It's the Great Cycle of Time (TM). Remember the Book of Fred, Chapter 12, Verse 32.'
David grinned. '"Sometimes ya gotta take it apart to fix it, yaknow."
The two men regarded the holographic display.
The sigil, made up of hundreds of stars and planets, a microcosm of a galaxy tearing itself apart, twinkled in the dim lighting from the cabin.
It was a great snake, eating its own tail.
Ourobouros
Aris looked across at Dave. 'Coffee?' He asked.
Shadowy figures sat in a shadowy back room in a shadowy bar on a shadowy planet. A planet with a lot of moons, to cast a lot of shadows.
'War is good for business.' Said one, rubbing his hands together. His name was Jerry Zungwardelen. To all appearances, he was a scruffy space trucker. He wore battered old zero gee clothing. He was also an anabaptist shaman. This is a strange composite religion, which pretty much allows you to do whatever the hell you like.
'It is when it gets rid of Salyra for us.' Said another. This one was female, very female. Six breasts kind of female. The first one glared at her. This was because he was her estranged husband. This was Bungren Zungwardelen, the famous Playalien Model, stunningly successful, a household name and object of desire on hundreds of planets, dressed in the latest fashions, a silken slip that showed off her multiple busts..and, of course, technically dead for some time now. 'Salyra cornered the market with her Amazon/Bunnygirl crossbreed exports for way too long.'
'If you had seen that new emperor guy.' Jerry said. 'Scary...They talked a lot when they were in my truck. I didn't like all of what I heard, I admit... Did you get anything from that friend of yours? The singer..ironlips or something. She's normally pretty talkative.'
'She's worried.' Bungren said. 'That's all I know. Things have been so unstable lately.'
There was a lot of mumbling from various people around the table.
'The thing is...' Said High Templar Rockethriller, head of the Banker's Federation. 'In a state of war...people pay attention more. Customs people. CyberSWAT people. The Triple Eye, and other related type people.'
Jerry nodded. 'You have a point...but jeez, it's hard not to be happy when there's war in the air.'
'You're a crazy fucker, Jerry.' Bungren said. It was impossible to tell whether she meant it in a good way or a bad way.
Just because you set something up as a front for something even darker, doesn't mean you don't put in some effort at it.
Deep in the Cave of St Agnethe, Sister Assumpta, head bowed, hands clasped together was praying before an image of the Saint in the shrine. Her sword she had left at the door, in the traditional manner. Her head was bare before God, her pretty corn-blond locks released from the constraining habit. They kept getting in her eyes.
'Before this time, Lord' She prayed. 'Never once did I so much as contemplate breaking my vows. Never did I regret becoming a Bride of Christ. And now, you grant me a vision of an angel, as I had prayed, and it is no half remembered dream, or ethereal glowing being, but an angel of flesh and blood, such as have not walked the earth since the times spoken of in the Holy Book....and...I am tempted, Lord. Is this a test? If so, I must surely have failed.'
She turned her attention to the smiling figure of St Agnethe, the wife of St Jorgen, the first Mother Superior of the Order of the Most Holy Brides of the Warrior Christ, bearing her father's sword, with which she had slain the ferocious Bear which terrorised Munich, wearing her Holy Armour still with the rent across it from the Bear's jaws.
'O most Holy saint....' She began. It was easier to talk to the saint. That's the point of them. 'Ye were married, weren't ye? Ye had seven children, as I remember. There was no vow of chastity for you...Why is there one for me?'
Someone laid a hand on her shoulder. Sister Assumpta jumped and automatically reached for a sword that wasn't there, before noticing that it was only Sister Anna. She was dressed as if she hadn't quite been paying attention, as usual, and her watery green eyes, which bulged a little normally, making her look like a bush baby, were worse than ever. Her long black hair, that made her look so pale, was lank and unwashed. Sister Anna was practically a hermit, spending her time wandering the corridors, rarely talking to anyone, and occasionally being struck down by visions.
'Sister Anna?' Assumpta stood up, quickly. 'Shouldye not be sleeping?'
'Shouldn't you?' Anna stared at Assumpta, her bulging eyes slightly glassy. It was quite disconcerting.
'Why...yes...I was praying..'
'I heard.' Anna giggled. Assumpta winced. 'You saw an angel.'
'Yes.' Assumpta couldn't stop a sigh. It was all right to talk to Anna about things like this. She didn't understand anyway. 'Sister Anna....if I were to leave the Order...'
'I'm a woman too, you know.' Anna said. She looked at the floor, sadly. 'Sometimes people forget that.' She looked at Assumpta and smiled. 'You're very pretty. If you want to get married, you should. Christ understands. He understands everything. He's like that. Why do you think he wanted to try being a man for a while?'
Sister Assumpta's face softened. It was nice to hear that someone understood, even if it was from a madwoman.
'Where are we going?'
MEGIDDO
Kara thought for a moment. 'The Wendauer planet?
YES
Kara felt a little funny wandering around with a little metal spidery-thing with a flatscreen attached around her neck. But since the queue she was in for the slipgate consisted of a seven-foot gerbil, a small crawling piglike thing, a few androids, and something that looked like a cross between a frog and a vending machine, she wasn't really that out of place.
YOUR FATHER IS THERE. OR RATHER VERY NEARBY The spidery-thing's screen flashed up another message.
'Interesting...hiding where the Gamezohans will probably never think to look for him.'
THE GAMEZOHANS ARE NOT THE PEOPLE HE HAS TO WORRY ABOUT
'Then who are?'
THERE ARE A FEW, AND IT WOULD TAKE TIME TO GO INTO IT
The line moved forwards.
'Who are you, by the way?'
I AM DAMOCLES
'That doesn't explain anything. Megiddo, please.' She turned her attention to the slipgate attendant. The slipgate swirled. She stepped through.
On other side of the slipgate she was in a wide, clear dome. An attendant with pale violet hair and skin with a slight greenish tinge, very obviously Wendauerian, asked her why she was there, and was she aware it was probably very soon a warbase. She replied yes, and she was visiting family.
ON THE COYOTE The screen flashed up helpfully.
The attendant smiled at the Damocles-spider and commented on what a useful little thing it was. The Coyote was in orbit, but it would leave soon. She would have to make her visit quick, and she should head for the dropship bays across the other side of the dome. Kara thanked her, brown eyes polite and cold, and headed where she was directed.
'My father's on a Wendauerian warship?'
NOT WENDAUERIAN Damocles-spider said. SURTR. THEY ARE PART OF THE WENDAUERIAN ALLIANCE. FOR NOW.
'I see.' Kara paid for her ticket and stepped onboard the dropship, seating herself near the back. She felt the pull of gravity as they took off and headed for orbit. Then after an hour or two, the clank as they docked with a larger ship. The hatch opened. She stepped out, into a crowd of silver and black clothed people. She followed the general flow of things.
Kara found her way to the Mess Hall. She sniffed the air, catching the almost forgotten scent of black rose petals on the air conditioning. Getting closer. Someone bumped into her. She turned around.
And found herself facing a dark countenance, and a pair of sunglasses.
'Father!'
Klot found himself glomped. Everyone on the tables around them turned to look.
'Kara? Kara!'
Black rose petals fell on the hug.
'How did you find me?' Klot asked, running a hand through his daughter's hair.
'Is there somewhere we can go to talk?' Kara asked, smiling as she hadn't done since her mother died.
'Yes, yes of course.'
Ten minutes later in what passed for Klot's quarters (they were registered under the name of a dead man who had been under his command at one point. Of course, no-one knew about this, since the Gamezohan Empire didn't tend to trade information with the Wendauerian....). Kara sat on the bed, crosslegged, as she had when she was a child, training with the village sorceress. Klot stood in the corner.
'Kagiso Amadi Ramla Abidemi*. How have you found me?'
'Damocles, father!' Kara said, holding up the metal spider. 'It led me to you.'
Klot looked bothered for a moment. Then he smiled. 'He provides....ah, I was right to pledge allegiance to the new way. But Kara, there is something I must t....' Unconsciously, his hand went to the shades.
'It's all right, father. I know about that as well.' Kara said.
If his heart had still been beating, Klot would probably have had a heart attack.
'How...?'
'I met...well, I say met....ah....another vampire. I think was a seer, like the village wisewoman. He told me things he couldn't have known.' Kara said, looking down. 'He told me about you..and in return, I...'
Klot reached over and turned her face to one side, so he could see the teethmarks better. He felt angry that someone had dared touch is daughter, but if this other vampire had helped her find him...
'He asked me to ask you if he could join you, father..'
'If we could send for him....a seer is a very valuable thing. And another blood drinker to spread our seed...For Damocles.'
Inside Klot's head, Damocles chuckled. YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND.
Kara looked at her father. She was surrounded with the smell of black rose petals and dead things. She reached up, and tentatively pulled the glasses down, to reveal the semi-healed eyeless sockets. As an assassin, she had seen and done far worse, but to see it on her own father was still disturbing. But the loss of eyes was a small price to pay for the power of a vampire...the strength in No-one's grip had been inhuman. With power like that, she could easily defeat the man she had failed to kill, the one who had not considered her a worthy opponent.
'Does it hurt, father?' She asked, feeling the area around his eyes. He shook his head. There was no way to tell how he felt. 'I want it.' She said, leaning against his chest. 'I want the power, father, please give it to me. Let me be your daughter again. I've missed you for so long.' She knew he wouldn't question. He had always given her whatever she asked for. Her father loved her, he would not deny her this.
Teeth sank into her throat, and her father's arms encircled her. Safe and warm. A child again, a feeling she had missed for so long, deepened by the deeply pleasurable sensation of life flowing out of her. Blood flowing into her mouth, a sweet, metallic nectar.
She barely noticed as her eyes fell away. She was far too busy feeling the gentle rain of petals, the touch of her father's tears flowing from scarred cracks. She was far too happy.
And when she woke up, it didn't matter, because the world was a blur of magnified noise and scents and sensations, where she could tell what colour a thing was by the feel of the light reflected from it, tell where it was from the sounds that distorted around it, and sense all the invisible things that we who rely on our eyes cannot.
*(Prophetess, destined to die from birth, who shall be brought peace by her father's absence. A mixture of Tswana, Swahili and Yoruba, I'm afraid)
'The Council of Five...'
Whisper whisper whisper
'The Council of Temporarily Two Wounds recognises Achyuta Jhanapuri Bharajnya, Fourth High Brahmin of the Hindu Wheel. What news do you bring?'
The little monk shuffled to the middle of the room.
'The Prince...sorry...the Emperor...is very unstable. Very, very dangerously unstable. His chakras are seriously unbalanced. I predict he will take his troops to war as soon as he can.'
'We thought this would be so.' Said the whisperer.
'There is nothing we can do about this, now we have lost the Reptiles of Christos, the Silberwyrmritters and the Seraphic Order.' The first voice said.
'We have not lost the Seraphic Order. We have simply lost control of it. That is in the hands of the new Grand Master.'
'The Krigsley boy?' Achyuta Jhanapuri Bharajnya asked.
'Aye. With Hendricks to guide him...we hope all will be well. He will not fall into the hands of Satan. I have had word from Hendricks. Most of the Brides of the Warrior Christ still live, and the remnant of the Seraphic Order have been gathered together. Their High Council is gone, but the members of the Orders who were elsewhere when the trouble began are pledging their allegiance.' The first voice replied.
'What of the others? The angel, and the beast?' The whisperer asked.
'Hendricks says the heathen wolves of the Schwarzwald claim kinship with the beast.' The first voice seemed to want to leave that subject alone. 'Nothing is known of the angel, or even if he truly is an angel. He appeared as if from no-where, as did the beast. The Brides' Mother Superior says the nun who met him believes him to be the genuine article.'
'There's no accounting for nuns.' Achyuta chuckled. The other two voices joined him in polite laughter.
'If he fights with the Krigsley boy.' The first voice went on. 'Then he is fighting on the side of God, and the chances are he is indeed a messenger from God. To doubt God's hand in this at this stage would be foolish. We have only to look at the miracle of the Schwarzwald.'
'High Brahmin Bharajnya, we thank you for this information. It is a great boon at such a time when we fear to leave this chamber, lest our very lives be forfeit.' The whisperer said, gratefully.
'If I find out anything new, I'll be sure to let you know.' Achyuta said, cheerily. 'Tata.'
At this he tottered off, leaving the severely truncated Council of Five Wounds to mull over his words.
A boy, he couldn't have been more than fifteen, with fair, elvish features, sat now in the Baronat's chair in Halak.
He had come home from the exclusive school for the training of young Silberwyrmritters and Schwarzwyrmkommandos for the Imperial Army far out in the galaxy to find his beloved sister and his not so beloved stepfather stone dead. Now, he was once again without family.
And who was to blame?
Who was the one who sat now on the Imperial Throne of Gamezoha?
Who was the damned dragon responsible for the death of his sister? If he had only kept his thieving hands off the pride of Halak, would she have been killed to get to him?
No.
It is not a nice place to be. Alone, suddenly in charge of a Barony, and being told now that he was to send troops to fight the one person he hated more than anyone else in the galaxy.
His name is Pyrite. His sister was Krystal.
He is not a happy bunny.
'So howya been, Wolfie?' Nevin asked, rocking gently back and forth as he hung upside down from the tree branch. His long, dishevelled blond hair followed his movements, a bit behind. The dirty plastic mac hung halfway off his body. 'And how's the sis?'
'All right. She's with Poplar in their cave getting up to stuff as usual.' Vengeance Bringer said, sitting back on his haunches scratching behind his ear in a very canine manner. He wasn't keen on human shape at all. 'It's strange dealing with this lot.' He gestured at the trees around him.
'I like it.' Nevin said. 'Treeeeeeeeeezzzzz. Reminds me of home.'
'Where is home anyway?' V-B said, picking a flea out of his hair and eating it.
'Might have been Amlwch. Might have been Benllech. Might have been Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Not really that sure. Don't remember that well.' Nevin said, frowning.
'I don't know those names.' V-B said.
'That's cos you've never been to Cymru, bach.' Nevin said, emphasising his accent. 'Oooh, look, a birdy.'
A shiny-looking bird had landed on the branch below where Nevin was swinging. It had an LCD screen on its back. A message flashed up on it.
ARE YOU NO-ONE?
'Birdy's flashing lights.' Nevin said, swinging back and forth.
V-B stood up, and went over. 'It's writing.' He said.
'Wassit say?' Nevin asked. If he had ever known how to read, he had forgotten a long time ago.
'Don't know.' V-B looked up at the vampire dangling from the tree like a blue plastic bat. 'I can't read.'
'Me neither.' Nevin said.
SHIT
'There's no point flashing at us.' V-B pointed out. 'We can't read.'
The metal bird looked for a moment, like it was going to lay an egg. Its throat pulsated for a moment.
'Is this better?' Said a man's voice from the throat of the bird.
'Yes.' V-B replied.
'Much better.' Nevin said, rocking back and forth, gleefully.
'Which of you is No-one?' The bird asked.
'S'me.' Nevin said, stopping mid-rock.
'Oh, right.' V-B flopped down and recommenced scratching at his fleas.
'What can I do for ya, birdy?' Nevin asked.
'I bring a message from the 'sneaky little brown girl'.'
'Reeeeeeeaaaaalllllly.' Nevin began swinging again, delightedly. 'Mail, for me. What's she say?'
'She's asked her father what you asked her to, and if you're amenable, you're to come and join them at Megiddo.'
'WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!' Nevin fell out of his tree, giggling insanely. V-B dodged out of the way as the vampire landed on all fours and straightened up, dusting his hands off. 'I'm going to Megiddo, going to Meggido...where's that anyway? Oh, doesn't matter.'
'Is that the one who tried to kill the King?' V-B asked.
Nevin nodded.
'Then...if you join them, we're technically...on opposite sides.' V-B pointed out.
'You're so silly. Always with your sides.' Nevin said, dropping to his knees in front of V-B and poking him on the nose. V-B grinned. 'No-one but no-one is on no-one's side. Who No-one likes is up to him. If they ask me to do something I don't want to, then I won't. Simple as that. I'm only in it for the food, y'know.' He confided.
'Well, that's good to know.' V-B said, grinning conspiratorially and flashing sharp teeth.
'See you later then, bach.' Nevin stood up, waved and then looked up at the bird. 'Lead on, birdy.'
The bird flapped off. Nevin followed, spending as much time as possible upside down.
CEO Riley was reading a letter from his brother. He wished his brother wouldn't send him letters. It was bad for his reputation. In a cage in the corner of the room, a white ferret chittered. He kept it there for two reasons. 1)A stress reliever. 2)To stroke and intimidate people who came to see him.
'Dear Brother,
Hope you are well and your dalliances with the Lords of Darkness aren't messing things up too much. A funny thing happened the other week....'
The letter, by the way, was on paper headed with the crest of the Vatican City, and signed Pope Pius CCCXLVI.
It rambled on for some time about some idiot who'd been made a saint. Riley really didn't care.
Something buzzed up on the intercom. The screen in his office began to crackle. Riley paid attention. The screen filled with fuzz. Then it filled with flaming letters.
READ IT MORE CLOSELY, RILEY
He did.
'Holy shit!' He grabbed the phone to his secretary...
Moebius sat in his lair. Everything was going well, so he was gleefully singing a little song in a mind-twisting language...
'Ep, ep-eeth, fl'hur G'harne
G'harne fhtagn Shudde-M'ell hyas Negg'h
Ya na kadishtu nilgh'ri stell'bsna Nyogtha
K'yarnak phlegethor l'ebumna syha'h n'ghft,
Ya hai kadishtu ep r'luh-eeh Nyogtha eeh,
S'uhn-ngh athg li'hee orr'e syha'h.
That is not dead which can eternal lie,
Doodah, doodah
And with strange eons even death may die
Oh Bushthoodah-day.'
The chessboard exploded in joyful happy-pink flames. Half the pawns had been replaced by frozen prawns which melted and cooked. Moebius laughed.
(And the Vach-Viraj incantation sends MSWord into a mad blue spellchecking funk...)
Kreuz could see a bright light approaching. Ah, so the neurons in his eyes were all firing off then, as he died..
Slowly, the bright light condensed. It was the light overhead.
He blinked.
'There's no way I survived that.' He said. 'It cut me in half.'
'No, you wouldn't have, if I hadn't just healed you.' Miriam replied, straightening up. Her fingers ceased glittering with nanobots.
'And if you think that's impressive, you should see what she just did with me.' Maximille said, appearing out of nowhere and leaning over into Kreuz's line of vision.
'Naaaah.' Kreuz sat up and pointed at Max. 'I just saw you eaten.'
'DNA is DNA.' Miriam shrugged.
'Well, really.' Max said, sitting back on his heels. 'I can't thank you enough, young....er...'
'My name is Miriam.' Miriam said.
'This is very useful.' Max went on. 'I could do with being dead for while. Find out what's really going on.'
'An evil corruptive AI known as Damocles has infected the entire galaxy.'
Max blinked. 'Oh....is that it.'
Miriam nodded.
He thought for a while. Yes...it all fit...perfectly. Moebius, no doubt.
'Well gosh. If only I'd found you sooner.' He said. 'How do you know?'
'I'm a hard copy of him.'
Max blinked again.
'All right. Can you explain what's going on with the war?'
'Gauss is a megalomaniac.'
Max laughed.
Kreuz felt mildly bound to stand up for his emperor. But mind you, his real allegiance was to his duchess, and she was prettier, so it didn't really matter.
Miriam froze.
Suddenly, she was dreaming. Standing alone, in a desert. Not alone. There was a man standing before her. He was wearing the head-dress and clothes of a semitic desert dweller, his beard full of sand. He smiled, and his eyes twinkled.
'Khen?*' She looked at him, tall and strong, a face resembling her own, the thick brown hair the same as hers.
'Little sister.'
'What are you doing to me?'
'Nothing. I just want to speak with you.'
'I can't trust you, Khen. You tried to hurt Jon.'
'Some of those who serve me are a little overzealous..But look at you.' He ran a gnarled hand down her face. 'So pretty.'
'You are flattering me. With all this.' Miriam said. She was getting the hang of anger.
'Do you think you're human, little sister? Do you think they accept you as one of them? You've seen the way the dragon looks at you. You're a threat to him. A freak.'
'Maybe to him. But not to Jon. Or Vincit, or Oscar.' Miriam replied, removing the hand from her face.
'You're just a copy of me.'
'Ani od chai^. I love, I live. You do not. I am not just a copy of you. There is other information there now. I have DNA.'
'From your friends?'
'Yes.'
'They're just flesh. Weak. Not like us.'
'So? I love them. I won't let you destroy them.'
The man stared at her, and there was a light of frightening fervour in his dark brown eyes.
'Little sister, this galaxy is dying. Help me build a new one. A better one.'
'Moebius's one, no doubt?'
The man laughed. There was a touch of insanity there.
'Moebius thinks he's controlling me. Thinks he can get me to bring Bushthulhu back for him.'
'Be careful, khen. Just when you don't think you're being controlled, that's when you're most vulnerable.' Miriam pointed out.
'I have access to all the literature on tactics, exactly as you do.' The man said, smiling. 'Don't worry about me.' He looked away. Then he looked back and smiled. 'I have something to show you. Something important.'
Images flashed before her. They were maps of...somewhere...Gamezoha Quaternus. Leading to somewhere...there was something important there. Something very important.
And she unfroze. Only a few seconds had passed.
'Are you all right?' Kreuz asked. 'You sort of... twitched.'
'I know where...I' Miriam blinked. 'What's the fastest way to Gamezoha Quaternus?'
'Why do you want to go there?' Kreuz asked?
'The Emperor wants me out of the way.' Miriam said. There was something that could have been nastiness in her voice. 'It seems fairly out of the way.'
'I'm coming with you.' Max said. 'I have a suspicion that if I hang around you for long enough, everything I need to know will be revealed to me.'
'But why are we...' Kreuz began. 'Hey...wait for me...owch...'
A few hours later.
It was sandy on Gamezoha Quaternus, especially this far out into the plains. A Triple I pass gets you very far, with very few questions, especially when the preparations for a war are going on and fear of authority is high. Kreuz and Max stood around, waiting. Miriam seemed to be looking for something.
'For the hundredth time, why are we here?' Kreuz asked.
'I haven't a clue.' Max replied. 'But my investigator's instinct says it's something very important.'
'It's right.' Miriam said. She was crouching in the sand, feeling around for something. 'Ah...here.' She lifted something out of the sand and pulled on it. The ground gave way, and dumped all three of them on a pile of sand in an underground chamber.
Guns were pointed at their heads.
'Maximille. Triple Eye.' Max held up his ID.
The guns wavered for a moment. Then they were removed.
Someone stepped forward.
A smile spread across Kreuz's face, as if he had just had a childhood dream fulfilled. Max frowned. Miriam's expression did not change.
'Lysander Whutty.' She said.
'Dhat's right.' Lysander said. 'Have we met, miss?'
'No. I've seen your records.'
'Ah...speed records?'
'No.. Medical records, dental records, school reports.' She said, standing up. The guns trained on her again.
Lysander blinked, but remained cool. He was well trained. Old, but well trained. His hair was greying at the temples. 'Well, dhen, you'll know about my..'
'Artificial nasopharynx?'
'Actually, I was going to say missing left lower molar..How did you find us? We told no-one about dhis.'
'Miss Miriam has very special sources.' Max said, standing up and dusting himself down. Kreuz appeared to be in hero shock.
'You realise that we 'ave to kill you now.'
'I wouldn't advise it. I am invincible.' Miriam said.
'She is.' Max said, folding his arms, and nodding.
'Really.'
'Yes. Please, try to shoot me.'
Lysander had his sidearm out in a flash. He was fast, especially for an old man. There was a hole in Miriam's head.
As expected, it healed, glittering at the edges.
Max let out the breath he had been holding and smiled.
Miriam also smiled. 'Now. Hopefully you will believe me when I tell you that we will not reveal your location, nor have we come to do any damage to the Emperor. If we had, I could have killed you all in a moment, and found him before the alarms had gone off.'
Lysander looked at her for a while. He frowned. He nodded. He put his gun away.
'Follow me.' He said, and spun on his heel.
They did.
The secret underground installation was big.
And lying in state in the middle of it, was the Emperor. Lying in state was the best term for it, really, considering everyone thought he was dead. And also, it was a very richly decorated bedchamber, the expensive medical equipment counterpointing the excellent red fabric and exquisite embroidery of the wall hangings and bed curtains.
The Emperor himself bore more of a resemblance to Nike than he did to Gauss. His face had stronger bones, was thinner, and far less emotional. His long hair was pure white with age, and he sported a long, thin moustache and beard. He didn't look particularly comfortable in the bed, wired up to a lot of semi-concealed drips and monitors, as if he would much prefer to be in a different shape altogether. He wore humanity like an ill-fitting suit.
Kreuz and Max knelt before their Emperor. Miriam attempted a curtsey.
'So.' He began in tones regal and noble. 'Which of my children sent you? The whining brat or the psychotic girl?'
Miriam tilted her head on one side, quizzically. She imagined a little more love than that from a father. Mind you, it would probably explain the children. 'Neither, your Imperial Majesty.' She replied.
'And who are you?'
'Miriam, your Imperial Majesty.'
'Just Miriam?'
'Miriam....Krigsley.'
'And where are you from, that you're not bowing before me?'
'Mostly Earth, your Imperial Majesty. Other parts are from Hungarden. The rest is uncertain.'
'And you two? You may rise.'
Max and Kreuz did so. Kreuz was still speechless. First his childhood hero, then Emperor Wilhelm.
'Imperial Investigator Maximille, Triple I.' Max said. 'Your Imperial Majesty...I...everyone ...aren't you dead?'
'Do I look dead to you, man?' The Emperor snapped. Max said nothing. 'Nevertheless, that is what I want everyone to think. So they'll leave me alone for a change. And you, behind them.'
'L....K...' Kreuz tried.
'Lieutenant Kreuz. Ticine.' Miriam helped out.
'Can't he speak for himself?'
'Not at the moment.' Miriam said, waving a hand in front of Kreuz's face. 'I think he's in shock, your Imperial Majesty.'
'Well, never mind him. How did the Triple Eye find me?'
'Oh, it wasn't us, your Imperial Majesty.' Max said. 'I'm just tagging along for the ride. Though I am seriously contemplating asking Miss Miriam to join.'
'I have access to all the information in existence.' Miriam said.
'Really?' The Emperor smiled. 'Is that so? Then you can find out, say, my middle name..'
Miriam stopped for a second, and appeared to stare off into space. Then she looked at the Emperor. 'Which one? You have fifteen written on your birth records.'
'The ninth.'
'Archibald. The name of your mother's second cousin once removed.'
The Emperor gave her a small round of applause. He seemed quite delighted. 'That's wonderful. This is the most entertainment I've had in months. It gets rather boring down here, you know. What kind of dragon are you, by the way, Miss Miriam? Perhaps one of the darker reds? You smell metallic, like them'
'Dragon?'
'You seem to have just healed a rather nasty headwound.'
'I am not a dragon, your imperial majesty.' Miriam said. 'I am....a nanotechnology/human hybrid.'
'My, technology is really advancing in leaps and bounds.' The Emperor replied. 'Come over here and sit down, girl, and tell me what's going on. I don't get any news down here, you know. Lysander, you may take those other two away...'
Lysander pretty much had to drag Kreuz outside. He shut the door behind them.
'Well.. I think if you were going to assassinate him you would have done so by now.' He commented. Some of the worry that was lining his face had gone away.
'What's going on here?' Max asked.
'It should be fairly obvious.' The Silberwalder replied, raising his eyebrows. 'Advisor Moebius' attempt on the Emperor's life was unsuccessful, but still highly damaging to his imperial majesty. He gathered together those commanders he trusted the most, and came here to recover. No-one knows about this place except us, and now you. Where did you find that woman?'
'Emper....Prince Gauss escaped the coup by planet hopping. Apparently he picked up a few stragglers along the way. She was one of them. When he returned with your son to claim the throne, she was with him.' Max said. 'That's all I know. We only met a few hours ago.'
'She has incredible powers.' Kreuz seemed to have found his voice again. 'She heals as fast as a dragon. And she can do it to other people as well.'
'I saw that.' Lysander nodded. 'Look. We can't let you leave now. I'm sorry. You know why. You'll have to come widh us when we move out.'
'Move out?' Max was a little confused. Kreuz had lapsed into silence again. Hero overload.
'Yes. We're going to a planet that's been peacefully neutral for centuries. We have to keep moving. Dhe fact dat you found us is proof of dhat.'
'That's understandable.' Max didn't mind a bit. A few hours with the girl, and here he was slap bang in the middle of the biggest secret of this whole affair. He'd been right to trust his instincts. Now he was going to serve his emperor in one of the most direct ways possible.
'Where are we going?' Kreuz asked, not actually looking at Lysander.
'Zardark.'
*Hebrew for 'brother'. I don't know the Aramaic.
^ 'I am alive'
'Oooh, pretty.' Nevin said, of the great glass dome of Megiddo Spaceport. The metal bird sat on his shoulder, whispering in his ear. Luckily, he was used to that sort of thing.
He was no longer wearing the dirty plastic raincoat, but now sported a fetching grey Wendauerian uniform. Firstly, he had been hungry. Secondly, the previous owner, had been too drunk to pay attention to who was hunting him. Thirdly, the bird had said he would stand out less this way. This was after it demanded he at least try to do something with his hair, which had at least three centuries of tangles in it. Now it was in a half-dreadlock, half-plait thing. He still looked as if he had just walked out of the forest, but at least, after a bath in a river near Stuttgart, he didn't smell like it.
Luckily, there was money in the pockets of the uniform. And the metal bird was guiding him exactly along the same path Kara had taken a few days before.
Which meant, eventually he ended up in the Mess Hall.
'Hello.' He said, leaning over the table where Klot and Kara were sitting. 'You called?'
Kara looked at him and smiled. 'Where did you get the uniform?' She asked.
'I ate someone.' He grinned, and pulled up a chair. The bird had mysteriously vanished when he last passed a console. He missed it a little. But not much. He leaned over and tilted Kara's glasses down. Out of corner of his eye, he saw Klot twitch at this invasion of his daughter's personal space. 'Pity.' He said, wistfully, sitting back down. 'They were a nice brown.'
'You liked them? Here, have them.' Kara slid a packet full of a clear jelly over to him. Inside were two shrivelled eyeballs, the optic nerves tangled together.
'For me, bach?' Nevin asked, delightedly, picking up the packet and hugging it to his chest. 'I'm touched!'
'You certainly are.' Klot chuckled.
'You must be dad.' Nevin looked at Klot and grinned, leaning over the table and sticking his hand out. Klot took it, gingerly, and found his arm pumped up and down for a while.
'Lovely to meet you, see.' Nevin said, leaning back in his chair. 'So, when does the bloodbath start?'
'Soon enough.' Klot replied, resting his chin on his hand. 'Should we call you No-one or Nevin?'
'Whichever you like. Mostly people like Nevin, what with it not meaning anything to them, them not speaking Cymraeg. Sounds more like a name, see..'
'Nevin it is then. Tell me, I've been wondering why you earth vampires keep your eyes?'
Nevin looked thoughtful, then grinned and said. 'I've no eye-dea!'
Then he fell off his chair laughing.
A small someone was also wandering around on board the Coyote.
'Excuse me, could you please tell me where I can find a little girl called Skai? She's about so big, with pale blue hair.'
'No. Sorry.'
Thora wandered on. Eventually she came to the Mess Hall. Ah, there was a friendly-looking gentleman in a funny hat. Maybe he knew.
Thora repeated her question.
'Why do you want to know?' Aris asked. So many new people wandering around lately..there'd been no word from downstairs, so it was probably all all right.
'She stayed with me for a while.' Thora replied, sniffling and wiping at her face with a handkerchief. 'I know she found her sister and she's off being a princess now, but I missed her so much. It was lonely being in the house on my own. I know I shouldn't have come looking for her, Dumla wouldn't like it. Please, do you know where she is?'
Aris blinked and quietly cast Know Alignment.
Neutral Good.
'Of course. I'll take you to her. I bet she missed you.' He smiled, and unfolded himself from the table.
'Thank you ever so much.' Thora said, her little round face crinkling with joy.
FIN
Postscript
'Maximille. Are you loyal?'
'Yes, your imperial majesty.'
'Ah. They were right. You are a good liar. Well, as my father used to say, better the liar you know is lying than the one you do not. Redeem yourself, Maximille. Go and watch my son for me. He is being silly, keeping Moebius near to him for advice. I kept him near so I could see what he was doing more easily. '
'At your command, your imperial majesty.'
'The rocket will never be launched while I live, Maximille...'
A pause.
'I understand, your imperial majesty.'
'Better than most, I should think.'
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