Star Crusades Nexus: Book 03 - Heroes of Helios (25 page)

Teresa had expected a gunfight, and this request was something of a surprise.

“Join you for what?”

“Well, these situations can be very delicate. It might be useful to have you there.”

More like if it goes wrong, I can be accidentally eliminated.

One of the larger four ducted fan aircraft swept down low and hovered a half meter from the ground and to the side of Vigilis. He jumped up with surprising speed and dexterity. As he moved, Teresa spotted the flash of a carbine length weapon under his flowing robes. It instantly reminded her of what was at stake, and also that she had to be careful.

“Well?” he asked.

There was no time to hesitate, and she lifted herself up to the machine. One of the Animosh reached out with a black-gloved hand to assist, but she ignored it and stepped on board. There were no seats, just a series of vertical pillars with clamps fitted on their fronts. Teresa stepped toward it, and a pair of mag clamps locked her in place. Then they were in the air and climbing rapidly. A cloud of the smaller one-manned vehicles closed around them like a small swarm, and they were off. The speed was well over a hundred kilometers an hour, and she could feel the wind blasting her. Only the thinly armored cowl on the front deflected the air as they pushed on. She looked past the cowl and to their target, a line of tall structures that were coming closer and closer to her. Only then did she allow herself hope that if there were survivors, Jack would be among them.

* * *

The view from the twenty-fifth floor was impressive, and for the briefest of moments, Jack looked out feeling nothing but awe. The Zathee district was far less impressive in terms of architecture when compared to the rest of the planet, but it more than made up for it with the volume of buildings and their industrial style. It was like they were on another world. The smaller buildings and towers appeared more like military fortifications and storage sites than habitable areas. He wasn’t looking out from a window. On this level there were a small number of balconies built out of the same hard material as the rest of the building. He waited outside for a few more seconds before Wictred called over to him.

“Jack, come on, three more levels.”

He looked back one last time at the alien world and the thousands of Zathee he could see moving about like gray ants. Land cars, transports, and other vehicles made their way along dust-covered roads, and aircraft flew overhead, but never directly over the Zathee district itself. Jack stepped back inside and onto the wide staircase that was substantial enough they could move up with all three in a line. The levels were widely spaced apart, and it took another two minutes to reach the level Salene had indicated. Unlike every other level, this one seemed deserted. There were two completely open shafts leading down to the ground level so that the passages on this floor looked like a massive ‘H’ shape. Doorways filled the passages, and there must have been room for at least thirty large apartments on this one floor alone. The two shapes were very wide, and as Jack examined them, he suspected an aircraft could probably descend through them.

“Well?” he asked impatiently.

Salene moved into the middle of the larger central passageway that was almost ten meters wide and ran the full length of the structure. To the right were six doorways, each sealed and big enough for a vehicle to drive through, assuming it was on that level already. She looked at her small device and walked to the second doorway. Unlike the others, this was in the poorest condition, and the marks of rot around the corners suggested it was uninhabited. She reached within two meters, it hissed open, and a cloud of gray emptied out and filled the passageway. By the time it had cleared, a dozen Helion men were stood there, each wearing dull gray tunics and clothes to cover their faces. The shortest of them, an overweight Helion with a crossed pair of bandoliers, approached Salene and said a single word before spitting on her feet.

“Watch it!” snapped Jack, and in one action both he and Wictred raised their carbines, taking aim at the group.

“V'Caani!” called out Salene, raising the object to show them all.

It was strange for Jack and Wictred. The Helions were evidently doing their best to be threatening, but there was something about them that just didn’t work. Jack looked lean and quick, while the Helions looked soft, almost nervous. He looked to his friend and noticed a similar confused expression on his face. The shorter man walked over to Salene and examined the object. It didn’t take long, just enough for him to hold it and roll it about in his hand. He then returned it and walked back through the doorway and into the cloud. Salene threw Jack a smile and walked in after him.

“Go,” he called out to his friend. In seconds, they were inside and with her.

The interior of the level looked tiny to start with, but as the cloud started to dissipate, it moved aside to reveal a half dozen sparsely decorated rooms. There was no art to speak of; just functional storage units and a half dozen people lounging around on a strange collection of seats. At the end of the room were two Helions who looked slightly different to the rest. They waited as if protecting the wall behind them. Neither appeared to carry weapons, but they stood completely still and watched Salene, Jack, and Wictred with emotionless eyes. The shorter Helion moved up to them and spoke quietly. Neither looked at him, but one lifted a device to his mouth and spoke.

“Where are we?” asked Jack.

Salene threw her head back to him and leaned close to his ear. She looked almost excited at the prospect of where they were.

“We’re close to V'Caani,” she said, her mouth almost trembling with the words.

Jack watched her but couldn’t hide the feeling she was hiding something from them. Her father was dead, yet she had been single-minded in her pursuit of this person. He looked to the others there, noticing every single one of them was watching the three with suspicion clearly showing on their partially covered faces.

“Yeah, I heard you before. Who is this V'Caani?”

Salene smiled.

“You’ll see.”

A gentle hiss came from the two men, and then a section of the wall lifted up almost a meter. Part of the floor dropped down to reveal a narrow series of steps. One of the guards nodded for them to enter. Salene went first, not even questioning the Helion and as before, Jack followed right behind. Unlike Salene, he was armed and had his carbine lifted and ready for trouble. Wictred moved into the doorframe area and then stopped. He turned around and looked about the room. Dozens of eyes studied the overgrown marine with barely concealed interest.

“Yeah?”

None replied, and he simply laughed at them, and moved after Jack. The door hissed behind them, shutting with a thud. It was much darker in this part of the building and no bigger than a normal sized apartment. It was empty other than for a long table that ran through the middle.

“What now?”
 
Wictred asked.

The room shook, and Jack lost his footing and stumbled into Wictred. He held his friend steady until he regained his position. This continued for nearly twenty seconds before the shaking slowed and then stopped. The table squeaked gently and then moved aside, revealing another doorway that led underneath. All of them looked at this opening with surprise.

“Uh, I’m not going down there until you tell us something. Where the hell are we, and who is V'Caani?”

Salene considered moving forward, but Wictred blocked her path.

“Something else as well. Why don’t these Zathee understand us?”

Jack nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, you’re not telling us something.”

She tried to move past them, but Wictred’s grip was too firm.

“Okay, listen. V'Caani is the name we have on Helios for the leadership of the Underground.”

“What the hell is the Underground, and why do you want to see him?”

She closed her eyes and then lifted the small circular device to her face.

“In here are the codes and access information for our entire defense grid.”

Wictred leaned back with a confused look about him.

“You would give this to rebels? Why?”

She depressed the unit, and its lights faded before she returned it to inside her clothing.

“My father has worked for equality with the Zathee for years, but it has never come about. This is the only way it will be resolved.”

Wictred moved closer to the passageway and looked down. Salene thought it was a signal, but this time Jack grabbed her. She tried to struggle but was no match for either Jack or Wictred.

“That was your father. What does this all mean for you?”

Her face became flat, almost featureless. She answered, but her tone was devoid of emotion.

“I will finish what my father started. The Zathee won the last war for us on Helios. They deserve their reward.”

She wriggled free and moved past Jack and to the passageway. Jack chased after her, but she was too quick and moved into the blackness with the two marines hot on her heels. They would have crashed into her if it were not for the pair of large Helions pulling them away. Wictred moved to strike the one but froze upon seeing the face of an oversized Helion warrior. Like him, it was taller, stronger build, and the epitome of a synthetic warrior. A little further inside the pitch-black room was a figure bathed in hard light and shadows. He was a scrawny old Helion, with loose clothing and a robe tied about his neck. He lacked his left eye, yet appeared inquisitive, even aggressive as they approached.

“My friends from Earth. Welcome.”

“Earth?” answered Jack in surprise.

“Of course. You thought we learned your language in a few of your months?”

The Helion smiled with a crooked expression. Jack and Wictred looked at each other in a mixture of surprise and confusion. The Helion’s accent was thick and betrayed lack of practice with their language. Even so, his voice was clear enough for both to understand without repetition. Wictred spoke first, pointing at the guards.

“Who are they?”

He nodded slowly.

“Yes, I thought they would interest you.’

He said no more for a moment and simply looked at them both. It wasn’t easy to tell exactly what he was thinking, due to the muscular differences in the faces of Helions and humans.

“The science of biomechanics has been outlawed on Helios since our first war with them over a thousand years ago.”

He walked toward the two of them who both watched with stony-faced expressions.

“There is a Rift here that leads directly to one of your moons that you call Titan. Before we warred with the machines, we explored thousands of Rifts together and left research machines behind to study the millions of worlds that sustain life.”

He took another step closer.

“Yours is one of many, yet you are one of the few to have also experienced the synthetic warriors of the enemy.”

He nodded at his two comrades and then looked back at Jack and Wictred.

“There are few left now. My people hunt and persecute any synthetics or their descendants, just the same as they hunt us Zathee for being impure.”

Wictred didn’t appear to be listening and was busy examining the two synthetics. They were similar but had as many differences as Jack had from the Helions. They appeared to show as much interest in him as he had in them.

“Why the hatred for the Zathee?” asked Jack.

The Helion smiled.

“That is the right question, my young friend, but first I need to see this information.”

He beckoned for Salene to approach. She reached inside her jacket and withdrew the small circular device. He looked at it curiously as if he expected it to do something of note. She squeezed it gently and it clicked. Jack felt a shiver through his body and for a second suspected treachery. A blue haze grew about it and then expanded to show a slowly rotating three-dimensional model of the most developed parts of Helios. It was remarkably detailed and included walkways, landing platforms, and structures of all shapes and sizes. As they examined it, an additional series of red and green layers appeared over the top to mark something else. The Helion man nodded.

“Yes, this is good,” he said so that Jack and the others might understand him.

He extended out his hand, and Salene placed the device into his hand. With a gentle tap, it switched off, and the colored lights disappeared, leaving it no more than an inanimate sphere. He turned and placed the unit into the wall behind him.