Dyson's Drop (28 page)

It had to be Anneke Longshadow. Black had instantly felt better, organising his team onto catwalks in a large underground chamber Anneke would shortly be passing through.

As the ‘blind spot’ headed their way, they suppressed talk, kept radio silence and waited with bated breath.

And then fell asleep.

A man toppled from his perch, breaking his neck. The others were taken as easily as fish stunned by a river explosive.
What’s all the foss about?
wondered General Hod.

When Black woke, in chains and shackles, his field generators had been removed and his entire squad had been X-rayed from head to foot. General Hod was there to greet him, a large grin on his face. ‘Ah, Hod,’ said Black. Just the man I wanted to see.’

Hod’s grin faltered momentarily. The man was so confident. Had he miscalculated? Had he neglected something? Hod tried not to swallow, reminding himself the man in front of him was supposedly deadly. He should not underestimate this man as others had.

‘At your service,’ said Hod, injecting a convivial note into his voice. Two could play that game.

‘Not bad,’ said Black. ‘You almost managed to pull it off’

Hod scowled, displaying his lack of self-control.

‘Don’t play games, Mr Brown. Your position here is grave. And I assure you it will get worse.’

‘On the contrary, General, it is your position that is precarious. However, should you release me immediately I will endeavour to ensure you are not killed.’

Hod forced a laugh. ‘Brave words, Mr Brown. But

I have your -’

‘Ship. Yes, I know. Since I woke here, Anneke Longshadow clearly did not cause the blind spot we were tracking. The only other technology on this planet that could create a false image resides on my shuttle. Therefore you must have captured it. If I needed further proof, then your use of my name has completed the picture.’

‘Very clever. You are right. Not that it will do you any good. The punishment on Kanto for spying is death. And the manner of death is rather distressing.’ Hod saw the ghost of a smile on Brown’s lips. He was oddly unnerved by it.

‘General Hod, this is your last chance. Surrender to me, right now, or you will not live through this night.’

Hod’s face flushed with anger, though at the prisoner or at his own sudden skin-crawling cowardice, he could not tell.

‘I will have you executed immediately!’ he grunted.

‘I will not tolerate your insolence. Guards! In here!’ Silence greeted his words.

He stomped to the door of the cell. ‘Guards! Dammit, where is everyone?’

‘I imagine they’re upstairs, listening to the announcement.’

Hod frowned, feeling the stirrings of panic. ‘What announcement? What are you talking about?’

‘You have a view screen over there in the corner.

Why don’t you turn it on?’

Hod harrumphed and did as Brown suggested. Immediately, a god-like voice boomed from the speakers. The hand-held camera, carried by a news gatherer, bobbed and tilted pointing at a sky full of light and movement.

‘... declare
talima,’
the voice was saying. ‘Citizens of Kanto Kantoris, be informed that your planet is under the interdiction of the
Majoris Corporata
for crimes against humanity. Be warned, fusion devices will be used on cities that do not comply with these directives. Furthermore, all Kantorian citizens must remain surface-based. No one will be allowed to leave until notified ...’

The camera tilted further up, zooming into space as it focussed on the glittering objects floating there. Soon Hod could see, clear as day, a vast array of ships in low orbit.

He started sweating.

The great voice boomed again: ‘All citizens of the
Majoris Corporata
in captivity must be brought to the Qule spaceport for repatriation. Failure to comply with this order will result in execution of guilty parties and their extended families.’

Hod, pale and struggling to breathe, staggered back to his chair and sat down.

Black held out his handcuffed wrists. ‘Now would be a good time.’

ANNEKE kept her head down with her face grimly set, like everyone else’s. Calling attention to herself right now was the last thing she needed, es pecially since Brown had issued a planet-wide arrest warrant for her, complete with holopic, biometrics and her unique biosign.

So Anneke shuffled along with the morning work crowd, Pagin on one side and Hugar on the other, doing her best to blend in, to not be noticed. Getting noticed in Qule was usually bad for one’s health.

Forging ahead, Anneke felt a surreptitious tug on her tunic. Without looking to see who it was, she changed direction, and found herself following Pagin into a narrow street between tall buildings and two ominous-looking guard towers. Her pulse picked up as she noticed a checkpoint down the end of the road. Hugar suddenly took her arm and strolled with her, as if they were lovers, then abruptly steered her through an arched doorway to her left.

There they found an automatic scanning device. She produced her RIM credentials, displaying them to the scanner. A moment later the heavily reinforced door opened and the field that prickled her skin dropped.

They entered the Sentinel Consulate.

Once within the old stone building, a holopic appeared in the air before them, guiding them to a room divided in two by a thick wall of glass, as used in pressure tanks.

They took seats and waited. Pagin was visibly nervous and excited. The Sentinels were mythical icons of the galaxy. The thought of seeing one up close was almost more than the boy could bear. Anneke hid her smile, as did Hugar, though he kept licking his dry lips and shifting restlessly in his chair.

The lights on the other side of the glass dimmed and a huge hooded figure appeared from the gloom. An edifice like a piece of modernistic sculpture rose out of the floor. A Sentinel seated upon it like a king on his throne.

‘Is it real?’ asked Pagin in a loud whisper. Hugar shushed him.

Anneke Longshadow,’ came a voice like grating granite. ‘You are far from home.’ s are you,’ said Anneke.

‘I am Ekizer. Why are you here?’

‘I have come to ask for your help.’

‘We do not help individuals. That IS not our purpose.’

‘I do not ask help for myself, but for this world.

Nathaniel Brown, through the auspices of
Majoris Corporata,
has interdicted Kanto, as you must know. I believe he means to wage war on this world.’

‘What evidence do you have?’

‘None,’ said Anneke, slumping slightly. ‘Save that I know Brown well. He plays a dangerous game and is utterly ruthless. He wishes to punish Kanto for the wrongs of many and establish the
Corporata
as the only viable political body in the galaxy.’

‘You believe he seeks Empire?’

Anneke was startled by Ekizer’s perceptiveness. But then again, the Sentinels had been observing and policing the galaxy for over a thousand years. Just because they did not interfere in human affairs didn’t mean they did not understand them.

‘I do. And I beseech you to come to Kanto’s aid.’

‘You think Kanto deserves aid?’

‘Perhaps. Perhaps not. That isn’t for us to decide.’

‘No. It is not.’ There was a pause as if the Sentinel were considering her request, communicating with others of its kind. Finally, Ekizer said, ‘My people are on their way, Anneke Longshadow. Their journey began more than two weeks ago.’

Anneke stared. ‘How is that possible? Brown wasn’t here two weeks ago.’

‘The facts are as I state them. Fare thee well,

Anneke Longshadow.’

The light behind the glass blinked out, plunging that half of the room into a perfect darkness. As

Anneke and her companions rose to their feet, bewildered, Pagin pressed his face against the glass and peered into the dark half of the room, seeing nothing but shadows within shadows.

Avoiding detection, they trudged back through the city towards Hugar’s house, where Anneke was staying. She wondered at the words of Ekizer.

The Sentinels had already begun their journey. How could they have known? Were they seers?

Could they view the future? This added a new dimension to her understanding of the Sentinels, an understanding that had recently been deepened by her sighting of the tapestry in the Trade Commission and her analysis of the blood samples.

She now knew what the Sentinels were.

Their return journey was not without incident. They travelled via a different route, but as they entered a back street, a squad of Kantorian guards appeared at the far end, setting up a checkpoint. Anneke and Hugar changed direction, only to discover another squad doing the same behind them.

A loudspeaker crackled in the air: ‘Citizens, you are to form a line at each checkpoint. Prepare to show ID.’

While this was happening, soldiers sprinted along the street ordering shopkeepers to shut and bolt their doors.

They were boxed in.

‘Spiffie,’ said Anneke.

‘My thoughts exactly,’ said Hugar. To Pagin he said, ‘Boy, get out of here. I know you can make yourself disappear. Tell the others. Then get back here to see where they take us, if we are arrested.’

Pagin glared back at him for a moment, a stubborn look on his face.

Anneke lowered her voice. ‘Please, Pagin. If you can go, go. We will need your help later.’

The sulky look faded. Pagin nodded once and disappeared into the crowd. She did not see where he went.

He’d make a great RIM agent, thought Anneke. Then she turned business-like. ‘What will they do first?’ she asked Hugar.

‘Each Kantorian must carry the triplex - three forms of identification. It is a crime not to have your triplex on your person at all times, and just for this you may be arrested. However, in your case, with the warrant out ...’

He did not need to finish the sentence. She’d be lucky if she wasn’t shot on the spot. ‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘Is there a warrant out for you?’

‘No. As far as I know, I am in the clear.’

‘Then we must part company. Being near me would be hazardous to your health.’

‘I am a hazard myself,’ Hugar said with a smile.

While they had been talking they had moved towards one of the lines. There were so many people corralled into the narrow street it would take an hour for the

Kantorian guards to process everyone. A lot can happen in an hour, Anneke kept reminding herself Hugar added, ‘Can you escape from here?’

‘I’m not sure. I’m not fully equipped. I figured carrying a shield generator around might attract attention. Bad call, I guess.’ She looked up and down the street. ‘I do have a few tricks up my sleeve. Unfortunately, there are too many innocent bystanders here.’

‘I could create a diversion.’

‘No. The movement needs you. Leave this to me. I’m going to join that line over there. See you later.’ With that she hurried across to the other line. For the next forty-five minutes she inched forward towards the checkpoint like everybody else.

When she reached the hastily set-up bench the young Kantorian officer seated on the other side did not bother to look up.

‘Your name?’

‘Anneke Longshadow.’

‘What is your occupation?’

‘Intergalactic spy.’

The young officer sighed. ‘Very interesting. And

I’m the king of Sargonia. Papers please.’

She placed her RIM credentials on the bench. The officer looked at them and frowned. ‘What is this?’

‘My intergalactic spy ID.’

Now he was getting angry. ‘I am not to be trifled with, citizen. Please give me your triplex at -’ He stared at Anneke’s picture in the RIM datapass. Suddenly, his jaw dropped. He leapt up, knocking his chair over.

At the same time, he fumbled with his sidearm, which was strapped to his waist, so he couldn’t draw it. Sniggers came from the crowd.

Finally, he ripped the sidearm from its holster, snapping the strap holding it in place, and shakily pointed the weapon at Anneke. She moved forward and pointed out in a loud whisper that he should take the safety catch off when apprehending the galaxy’s most dangerous fugitive.

More sniggers from the crowd.

The young officer flushed, but never took his eyes off Anneke, almost as if he expected her to explode before his very eyes.

‘D-don’t m-m-move!’

‘I w-w-won’t.’

The crowd roared.

The officer called for backup. Guards rushed in, bristling guns, all pointed at Anneke.

They then cuffed her hands behind her back and marched her to the nearest guard station, where they called in their coup.

A second squad arrived, bundled her into the back of an air car, and then drove off at terrifying speed. Jammed between two hefty guards with another in the front seat next to the driver, Anneke figured she had five minutes to extricate herself.

She waited until the air car took a corner at high speed. She pretended to sway with the guards, but as they swayed back she leant forward, whipping her head back into the face of the guard on her right, crushing his nose and knocking him out. She then twisted sideways, snapping forward, head-butting the other guard. His head bounced back, slamming off the window. The blow didn’t knock him out, but stunned him long enough for Anneke to roll backwards again, raise her legs, and piston them forward into the back of the driver’s head.