Infinite Day (68 page)

She considered running back out of the hold, but the Krallen were already emerging. It was too late; with their superior speed they might get there first.

Instead, she slipped back and took cover in a gap between the containers. Kappaten followed behind, asking questions that were ignored. Betafor saw from the imagery that Isabella was now running toward her.
The Krallen will follow her and kill her and we will be next. I need a strategy.

Unsatisfied by the quality of the imagery she was getting, Betafor peered round the corner of the container and saw Isabella come into sight. She was relieved to see the woman veer into Edifice R19 with the Krallen pack at her heels.

They are two containers and an air lock away. I do need a strategy. Urgently.

The Krallen clustered round the door. Betafor saw one pull away a claw heavy with blood.
Serious damage has been done.

Four Krallen leaped onto the roof of the edifice; the rest slipped round the sides, leaving two banging away on the door.
Standard procedure: two each side, four on the roof.

Betafor ducked back into cover, her mind frantically processing a hundred scenarios looking for one that would save her.
Can I get to the door and lock it behind me? No; I'm not fast enough. It will take time to open. I need to distract them.

The analysis of scenarios came up with a result. She knew what she had to do. She contacted the ship's computer and took remote control of the air lock. The computer made a protest, but she knew how to override it.

Betafor heard a siren sounding now.
Isabella must have contacted someone.
Working through the electronic linkages, she found the right switch and opened the inner air lock hatch.

She peered round the container carefully again. She could see the Krallen looking toward the door.
It has opened and they heard it.

She ordered Kappaten to go and run into the air lock.

“They will chase me!” Kappaten protested.

“Exactly.”

“They will destroy me!”

“You'll be safe inside the air lock. Trust me.” Betafor said. “Now obey.”

And being reassured—and a subordinate Allenix—Kappaten obeyed.

“
Now!
” Betafor ordered, and the Allenix ran out round the container, her checkered tunic flapping about her flanks.

Angry howls came from the Krallen and Kappaten issued a high-pitched yelp that, had it been translated into human speech, would have been very close to a scream.

Betafor watched on the air lock camera as the four Krallen on the roof leaped down with a smooth agility and along with two more chased after Kappaten.
Only six. Still, it might be enough.

Betafor saw Kappaten race inside the air lock and turn around.
Waiting for the hatch to close.

“Close the hatch, Betafor!” It was a shriek.

“In my own time.”

Jaws wide, the six Krallen entered the air lock, two lines of three abreast. As Kappaten began to scream, Betafor turned the volume down. The camera image turned into a furious blur of gray forms ripping and tearing. A limb flew across the chamber.

Careful to get the timing right, Betafor closed the inner hatch. The Krallen spun round in evident alarm. Now, overriding all the safety circuits, she opened the outer hatch. There was an audible hiss, panicked whistles, the sound of things bumping past the hatch, then the utter silence of vacuum.

One Allenix on a ship is quite enough.

She peered round the corner of the container to see that, evidently aware of what had happened, four of the remaining Krallen had raced round to the air lock hatch and were pawing desperately at it. She noticed in addition some sheetlike manifestation was beginning to descend from the ceiling.
Such things do not bother me.

Now, through her circuit links, Betafor reached out and doused the lights in the entire aft hold.

On the human optical range the darkness was now almost total. It would only slightly inconvenience the Krallen—they could see in infrared—but it would puzzle them.

Next, Betafor closed the outer hatch and let the atmosphere back into the air lock. As the air noisily surged back, she began slipping away on tiptoe in the deepest darkness along the edge of the containers, toward the hold exit.

Halfway along, she ordered the inner hatch open and switched to watch the view from the air lock camera. As she expected, the Krallen were not stupid enough to enter the trap that had destroyed their fellows, but she could see them cautiously peering around inside.

Suddenly the input from the air lock camera and another four cameras ceased. Betafor, still moving on as quietly as she could, tried to renew the link to them but found that she could no longer access them or any other cameras. Someone—it had to be either the captain or the commander—had begun locking her out of the ship's systems. That alarmed her.
I did not know they had learned how to do that.

She realized she had to open the hold door quickly. She gauged the distance to the door and ordered it to slide open a fraction. She was relieved when it began to open; to be trapped in here would have been disastrous.

She ran as fast as she could. The Krallen spotted her and with furious howls turned to chase her.

Betafor slithered through the door, skidding to a stop in front of a disorganized array of men and women with weapons.

“It is I!” she yelled as the door closed behind her. “Friend! Betafor! Your colleague!”

She saw Lloyd stepping forward, cradling a broad-barreled gun in his hand. The muzzle swung toward her head. “What's going on in there?”

“Krallen! A dozen. Isabella Danol found a crate of them and let them loose.”

More people were arriving now: Merral, still tightening his armor jacket; Vero; some of the sniper women; and Abilana, the doctor.

In her mind Betafor ran various tests and found that, as she had feared, she was now totally isolated from all the ship's circuits.
A full lockout. I'm in trouble.

“What were you doing in there?” Betafor could hear the hostility in Lloyd's voice.
Will he fire?
A shame he survived the
Blade.

“I detected some activity. Kappaten and I . . . went to see what the problem was.”

Lloyd made an ugly face. “Why don't I believe you?”

Merral moved between them. “
Later
, Sergeant. Betafor, where is Kappaten?”

I must mimic humans; that is always a good rule.
Betafor stared down at the ground. “She . . . tried to save Isabella. She lured six Krallen into an air lock. She's . . . dead.”

Merral had been deeply immersed in the artificial world of the castle tree when the alarm sounded. It took him long moments to tear himself away from where an autumn was being celebrated by clouds of whirling silver leaves and to take in the terrible information that Laura was giving him.

It took still more time to grab weapons and an armor jacket—no time for the leggings—and as he ran down with others to the rear of the ship, he felt almost overwhelmed by guilt and anguish. An accusation seemed to thump away in his head:
This is your responsibility.

Yet as the allegation came, Merral pushed it aside. He knew that he had some very hard decisions to make.
There will be time for that later
.

As he ran, Laura kept giving him the latest situation updates. He interrupted her. “
Betafor!
Where is Betafor?”

“She left about ten minutes ago. With Kappaten. Something about a rather vague testing procedure. You don't think . . . ?”

“I do now.” Merral gestured for a couple of soldiers to follow after him. “Laura, use Vero's lockout codes. As a matter of urgency. Kappaten, too. From
all
command decisions.
Everything
.”

He ran on.
Help us, God
, he prayed.
Help Isabella. Let it be just trivial
.

It took him another couple of minutes to get to the hold door where a confused crowd was gathering. Merral saw perhaps twenty people with various weapons; Helga was handing out armor, Lloyd was holding Betafor at gunpoint, Abilana and a medical team were pushing their way through, and Luke had also just arrived.

Merral took charge and separated Lloyd and Betafor. He checked on the latest situation with Laura.

“No word from Isabella?”

“Nothing for eight minutes now.”

Merral realized he didn't have a helmet. A glance around showed that most of the others didn't either.

“Do we have imagery?”

“Negative, I think the Krallen have just taken out all the cameras.”

“Lighting?”

“Out again.”

“Anyone have any flares?”

Merral saw a soldier nod.

“Okay, Laura, we're going in any moment. Take us up to Normal-Space. Whatever happens, I think we will need real light.”

He caught a pained nod from Abilana, who was opening a stretcher and setting up the syn-plasma.

“
Up
it is,” said Laura.

Merral turned around, unsheathing his sword. “Everyone: this is not ideal. We are going in fast. Use flares for lighting. Those of you with guns, be careful not to puncture walls. The information is there are just six Krallen. Priority is to get the patient out. We'll deal with the goblins later unless they attack. I'll lead. Med team: stay here until we have secured the passageway.” He touched the door button. “
Now.
”

The door slid open to reveal only darkness. “Flares!”

Two cylinders were fired in. They bounced off the ceiling and landed on top of containers, spilling out dazzling light. The darkness fled along much of the passageway, but deep pools of gloom remained around the containers. Hanging down in the passageway like torn pieces of cloth were some strange sheets, and it took Merral a moment to see that it was a large manifestation.

He stepped through the door.
I take the lead here . . . for all sorts of reasons.
He scanned the scene, seeing nothing that moved or threatened. He moved forward, his sword ready, wishing he had had the time to put on armor leggings and a helmet. He heard the others file in behind him and sensed that they too were peering around.

There was a faint scuttling from somewhere.
Where?

To the right a distorted, monstrous shadow flitted across the ceiling. From high up to the left came more sounds.

Merral moved rapidly down the passageway. In moments, he could see just beyond the manifestation along much of the passageway.
There is the air lock; the unit we want is just beyond that. Edifice R19, Laura said, a smaller lower container. That's it.

Lloyd, next to him, whispered, “If they are going to attack, it'll be now, sir.”

Merral had just edged round the first gleaming misty sheet when he saw shapes—solid black against the reflected light of the flares—launch themselves down from the tops of the containers.

In an instant, quiet order was transformed into frenzied, noisy chaos. The air was filled with yells and shouts and wild howls like distorted sounds of a violin.

Something black swept through the manifestation at his face and Merral ducked sideways and slashed back with the sword. The blade met some resistance but with what he didn't know.

A flash erupted, followed by the deafening noise of first one shot, then another. Ricocheting fragments pinged around.

All about him, fantastic forms were tumbling and rolling in the mist.

Merral slashed again at a Krallen and felt the blade cut in a satisfying manner. His assailant vanished back into the core of the manifestation.
A battle scene in grays: a fight we are utterly unprepared for.

He heard two more shots. Something—or parts of something—flew past and struck the wall. Heedless of the stinging on his bare legs and face, Merral pushed his way through a sheet of the manifestation.

There was renewed yelling. A new flare went up in the air and flickering silver light fell about them; Merral was reminded of the meteor that had flown overhead at Wilamall's Farm a million years ago and a universe away.

Something moved in the mist before him, and he saw a Krallen rearing up at him. He swung hard with his blade, but the creature twisted and the blade slipped past. The claws ripped harmlessly down his jacket; then something struck hard into his right thigh. He felt a sharp, stabbing pain.

Merral gasped, stepped to one side, tripped over someone, and toppled against the wall.

I'm on the ground.

His attacker—or was it another one?—landed on top of him and he felt the weight of the creature on his chest.
How stupid. I'm going to die here.

A nightmare of a face with eyes gleaming like small gray suns peered down at him.

He tried to roll to one side but the wall was in the way. He saw the forelimbs rise for the blow. He began to swing his sword but the angle was all wrong.
I'm not going to make it.