Mech 3: The Empress (28 page)

Shut up, or discipline will be applied,
Ornth admonished him.

We are going to be killed! Run from them, or they will trample us!

No, I think not,
Ornth replied.
Standing still has done us well so far.

So saying, Ornth turned their head and looked over their shoulder. There, behind them, were more of these strange robots.

Is this some kind of migration?
Garth asked.

I’m not sure. But I’m certain this qualifies as an unusual event. Therefore, it is what I’ve been seeking.

What?

We shall speak with them. I request your assistance and advice in communication.

Garth was speechless for a second. He watched as Ornth pulled a tiny lantern from his kit and flicked it on. He raised it overhead, using Garth’s own treacherous, skinny arm to do so. He waved it back and forth, signaling the passing army of machines.

How could this be? Garth wondered. How could he have been saddled by a Tulk who was suicidal? It was bad enough to be ridden, to have one’s body suborned by a hostile creature. But to have it lead one into danger, and then court it openly…this was too much.

Garth’s mind broke. He screamed, he wailed, and he gibbered inside his own mind.

#

A signal went out, passed from mech to mech via a broadcast system that used very low power. Only mechs within a short distance could pick it up from background radiation and make sense of it.

Sixty-Two learned from the signal that somewhere behind him something had gone wrong. He did not know what it was, as the message was only a tiny blip of radio, and was non-descriptive. It could have been a malfunction. A mech could have stepped into a hole and broken a leg strut. Or, they could have been spotted by aircraft or ground vehicles, despite all their precautions.

Cursing internally, Sixty-Two halted his own headlong rush. He ordered his mechs to press ahead, to move across the road as planned en masse. He would go back alone to investigate once the army had passed by into the safety of the deeper forests. Wondering why the gods of fate hated him so, he turned and made his way through a rushing horde of mechs.

He passed under the gloomy shadows of the suntrees back toward the Queen’s Highway. The road was deathly still when he arrived. The birds, insects and even the ground-screamers had fallen silent. The wildlife had been terrified by the event, no doubt, which was beyond their experience. When faced with the unknown on Ignis Glace, creatures tended to fall silent and hide.

When Sixty-Two reached the edge of the suntrees and poked his head out of the foliage, he looked first to the left, then to the right, back toward Lavender City. He saw nothing amiss. There were no broken down mechs, flailing on the cobbles. There were no aircraft in the sky, looking for them.

He turned his head on buzzing servos and looked again. Then his orbs fell upon an unexpected and distinctive sight.

A lone figure stood less than a hundred yards distant in the middle of the road. He held aloft a small glowing light on a thin, flailing arm. He stared right at Sixty-Two, and seeing that he had been noticed, he slowly allowed the arm to relax and droop back down to his side, where it flapped oddly.

Sixty-Two stared at this strange individual for a moment. He did not seem armed, nor did he seem to be frightened—not exactly. The man stared back, with a burning gaze that was no more human than the stare of a mech. The man twitched as he stood, giving tiny spasms that made his cheeks, fingers and even his bare toes jump and quiver.

“Who are you, human?” Sixty-Two asked.

“I’m Ornth,” said the strange, thin man. “I object to being referred to as ‘human’. I would judge that I’m less human than you are, mechanical man.”

#

Nina and her hundred knights rode hard all night long along the Queen’s Highway. They eventually reached a point that was distinctive, where reports had come of mech movements. The evidence was abundant. There were broken cobbles, twisted bolts lying on the roadway, and a thousand damaged suntree fronds. The mechs had been here, very recently, and they’d crossed the highway.

“What could be their purpose?” Hans asked at her side. “They’ve robbed no one. They’ve moved with unusual stealth and speed.”

“They are going somewhere,” Nina said. “This must be a deep strike. They seek to do us some great harm, of that I’m certain. They know we don’t have air support any longer. Every ship has gone up to meet the aliens when they arrive. They sense our weakness, and are seeking to take full advantage.”

“But where are they headed? Could they be circling around Lavender City to invade it?”

Nina laughed. “I don’t think they are that bold. We have gun emplacements there and thousands of armed militia would muster within an hour. Even if they disabled every perrupter on the planet, they could not win that battle with their current numbers.”

“Then I do not understand. There is nothing but groves of suntrees for many miles.”

Nina nodded, wheeling her mount in one direction, then another as she surveyed the landscape. She found a single item of interest among the many cracked cobbles. She dismounted and picked it up.

“What’s that?” Hans asked.

“A hand-light. It still glows—and over here, I see a single discarded sandal. But there is no blood. How odd.”

“Someone was here?” Hans asked. “Someone encountered the mechs?”

Nina’s mind flashed ahead, jumping to a hundred conclusions. Like her father, she could see things others could not. Like her mother, she was not a trusting soul.

“Someone met the mechs here,” she said. “It only makes sense. They must be working with humans.”

“How could that be?”

Nina stared at Old Hans, but did not see him. She turned back to the evidence and walked over the land carefully. She’d hunted big game in these forests a hundred times, and tracking the mechs was far easier than tracking a wild beast. “There’s no blood. There’s only a signal light, and a lost sandal. The man was not trampled out of hand. He was not slaughtered, nor was he ignored. The mechs have never treated someone in this fashion before. He was either taken by the mechs, or he’s fled somehow.”

“It seems like a stretch, milady.”

“Yes, I would agree, but there must be some reason why they came here. Why did they meet this person who signaled them at this precise moment? I don’t believe in fate or coincidence. I believe in careful planning, contrivance and deceit.”

“As you say, Baroness. What do we do now?”

“We gather our forces, and we follow them. When we find them, with luck, we will destroy them all this time.”

Nina and her knights followed the trail into the forest carefully, lest they be ambushed by the mechs, who outnumbered them at this point. She knew they would have to proceed cautiously, never making contact with the mechs, but never losing their trail. When she had all her forces together, then they would make their strike. She hoped it would be the final, fatal blow to the rebellion. After all she’d heard from Aldo, she’d begun to fear she might need her forces to defend her world against the invading aliens. Aldo seemed to believe they might make it past the Nexus space forces and make planetfall. In such a situation, she would be the sole defensive organization of any real size on this side of the planet.

As she rode, she worried about what the enemy was up to. They had to have a goal, but she had no inkling of what it might be. The evidence that they were working with humans was extremely disturbing. Could this mech rebellion have been orchestrated by a Twilighter? If so, it was treachery of an entirely new order. It was one thing to sell out one’s neighbor for advantage, but to sell out one’s own species—the very thought was monstrous to her.

Nina’s mind reeled with possibilities as she pressed deeper into the somber forests. As they moved closer to Nightside, the suntrees grew thicker and taller so they could reach up and drink in the distant, life-giving light. With every mile, the land grew cooler and darker. She didn’t like this side of the planet, finding the desert sunshine of Sunside infinitely preferable to the regions of permanent shadow. But she was determined to follow this trail wherever it may lead.

Nineteen

Aldo had convinced himself that the Nexus officials had done what they could to protect the planet in orbit. Next, he sought out Duchess Embrak. If the space forces failed, there must be a backup plan to stop the imminent invasion. The available ground forces on Ignis Glace were under the control of the nobility, and the Duchess was the closest thing they had to a Queen on this world.

After making some discreet inquiries, he made an appearance at the lady’s sumptuous apartments atop the
Opulence.
An historic location in Lavender City, the structure had once been a watchtower and a defensive fortification, built so large and tall that it peeped up over the rim of the canyon itself. But over the years, after improvements in colonial technology and the deployment of observation satellites, the watchtower had fallen into disuse. It had recently been converted into a fine hotel. The
Opulence
catered to the richest of lords and ladies, of which Duchess Embrak ranked very highly indeed.

There was an army of interceptors, of course, to keep riff-raff away from the Duchess. Aldo expected that, and dealt with them smoothly. He simply entered the lobby and accosted the first person he met who wore the reddish-brown livery of House Embrak.

“Could you be a good fellow and inform the Duchess I’ve arrived?” he asked.

The man blinked at him. His quick, bird-like eyes looked Aldo up and down very quickly. Apparently, he didn’t like what he saw, because he pursed his lips into a tiny red bud and shook his head. “I’m sorry, the Duchess isn’t hiring this month. Perhaps you should make your inquiries elsewhere.”

Aldo drew himself up and endeavored to look as snooty as possible. He did this rather well, as it came naturally to him. “The Duchess has given me her invitation. I’ve just come from the Nexus Capitol, where gentlemen are treated with decorum.”

“Oh,” the servant said, looking alarmed. “I see. You were on the ship? The Duchess has spoken with you?”

“I’ve said as much. I will wait here, in the lobby. If she is ready for my company, I shall accompany her wherever she desires.”

“I see,” the servant said again. His tongue darted in and out of his small, tight mouth and he appeared more flustered than ever. He was about to make another comment, but thought the better of it and retreated toward the elevators.

Aldo watched him scuttle off with amusement. He then located the softest settee in the lobby and settled himself down upon the red velvet.

A familiar voice caused his head to turn minutes later. “There you are, Aldo,” Duchess Embrak said. “I must say, this is a surprise.”

The servant was in her wake, his eyes all but popping from his head. Duchess Embrak was not the forgiving sort. Aldo estimated that the servant’s job was probably in his hands. At one suggestion from him, Aldo could probably break the man’s contract. But that wasn’t how refined people behaved in these situations. So, he rose and brushed his lips over the Duchess’ white hand, ignoring her stooge.

“Perhaps you can show me something of your hotel, or the town itself?” he suggested.

She eyed him. An amused smile played upon her lips. “You took my invitation quite literally.”

Aldo feigned surprise. “Should I have done otherwise? I’m sorry, I’m new to your world and your customs. On Neu Schweitz, invitations are always given in earnest.”

“Naturally. Please, come this way.”

The Duchess walked toward the entrance to an indoor garden area. She flicked her fingers at her frightened servant and he vanished with surprising speed. Aldo followed her and soon they walked abreast among lilacs and daffodils.

“How do such flowers stay alive in permanent shadow?” he asked.

The Duchess indicated the ceiling, which glowed with purplish light. “They consume energy from artificial sources, I’m afraid.”

“They are real flowers, though? Varieties from Old Earth? I see a rose bush here. Are those yellow tea roses? I’m shocked.”

“We aren’t as backward as you may have been led to believe. When the trade ships come, we give them raw metals, materials we have in abundance on Ignis Glace. In turn, they provide us with rare goods such as these plants.”

“I’m impressed with the wealth your planet must have to offer. I hadn’t thought a world so far from the major trade routes—well, never mind that.”

“Yes, let’s drop all pretenses. Why have come to meet with me, Aldo Moreno?”

Aldo smiled. Duchess Embrak stared back icily. Seeing her expression, Aldo shifted his planned coy response toward honesty, as he could see this woman was not going to be easily misled.

“Two reasons, Your Grace,” he said. “I wanted to talk to you of your world’s inadequate defenses.”

“And secondly?”

“I wished to enjoy your refined company again.”

The Duchess’ eyes flashed dangerously. Aldo knew he’d made an error, but he was uncertain what it might be.

“I was under the impression, sir, that you have occupied yourself with Baroness Droad.”

“Ah,” Aldo said, feeling a trifle hot in the face, “I have met with her as well, it’s true. I understood she was in charge of a large ground force in Twilight.”

The Duchess inclined her head. “That’s the only reason? Not because she is young, pretty and vivacious?”

“Is she? I’d not noticed.”

The Duchess snorted quietly. She paused for several long seconds, considering her options. “Very well,” she said at last. “I will allow you to pay your attentions to me now.”

She held out her elbow, which Aldo took in both of his hands. Together they walked slowly through the gardens and discussed flowers, space forces and alien capacities for destruction.

For once, Aldo was not certain of the intentions of his consort. For him, this was an unfamiliar situation. As a consummate schemer and general rogue, he’d not often met his female match, not even in high society. But the Duchess was something of a mystery to him. He did not understand why she had warmed up to him suddenly, even when she clearly knew he’d recently bedded Nina.