Zero Recall (57 page)

Through his
viewfinder, Joe watched the entry.  Nothing.  He scanned the terrain around
them for movement once more before returning his attention to the tunnel
entrance.  “
Ghosts, guys, what’s happening?
”

“He’s sitting
down,”
Flea said, sounding baffled. 
“He’s just sitting there watching
Jer’ait like a furg.”

“He knows Daviin’s
waiting for him,”
Jer’ait replied.  He was still standing in the open,
facing something inside the tunnel.

“
Bones,
”
Joe said.  “
Jer’ait, stay there and watch the prince.  Daviin,
don’t
move.”

“
I didn’t
plan on it,
” Daviin said.  “
I may be brave, but I’m not stupid.
”

“
Time for
plan B,
” Joe said.  “
Grekkon, dig us a hole into that den.  Flea, come
here.  Circle around low so he can’t see where you go.
”

“
Wait,
”
Daviin said, sounding worried.  “
Joe, what are you doing?
”

“
The four of
us are going to kill the prince while you and Jer’ait keep him distracted.
”

“
How?
”
Daviin demanded.  “
Joe, your two best assets are out here in plain sight.
”

“
I know,
”
Joe said.  “
And I’ve got the feeling that smart bastard down in that tunnel
knows it, too.  He’s not gonna move until he hears you, Daviin, so just shut
up, breathe real quiet, and keep your head low.
”

Flea met up with
them in a buzz of wings.  “
That Dhasha’s creepy.  I was staring him right in
the eyes and he never moved.
”

“
Get down the
tunnel,
” Joe said.  “
We’ll find a way to deal with him inside.
”

#

Daviin had to fight the
impulse to squirm.  His body had been tightly coiled for an attack, and now his
muscles ached where they ground against his bones.  It had been almost ninety
tics since Joe and the others had punctured the den from the other side.  He
was beginning to ease the pressure, bit by bit, when the Dhasha spoke.

“I know you’re
out there, Jreet,” the Dhasha said.  “I know you can hear me.”

Daviin froze, afraid to
breathe.

“I didn’t think
your kind cowered in the brush like worms.  I thought you prided yourselves on
killing Dhasha.”

Daviin did not
respond, but he felt his muscles tightening despite his best efforts to control
them.

“But here we
are,” the Dhasha continued.  “Me waiting.  You hiding.  You must be from Vora. 
A Welu would have the tek to attack me.”

“
Don’t let
him provoke you,
” Jer’ait said privately.

Daviin fought
down the urge to tell the Huouyt to dance on his tek
.

“It’s unfortunate, that
it’s come to this.  I’d always thought the Jreet prouder than that.  That Welu
I killed was.”

“
He knows
you’ve got a short temper,
” Jer’ait said, “
And he knows you’re Voran. 
Just ignore him while Joe sets up a distraction.
”

“
Stop
coddling me,
” Daviin growled.  “
I know what he’s doing.  Go help Joe.
”

“
I’m staying,
”
the Huouyt said.  “
If you two get into a brawl, I’m going to be here to help
you out.
”

“
Screw you,
Huouyt.  I don’t need your help.
”

“
Jreet,
”
Jer’ait said, “
You’re not seeing what I’m seeing.
”

#

“
So what the
hell is it?
”  Joe stood at the edge of an enormous pit, looking down into a
blackness that could have been an entry into Hades.  Water fell from high
above, cascading through the air and disappearing into the black without a
sound. 

Galek peered
over the edge, but he looked perplexed.

“
Come on,
”
Joe said.  “
Galek, you’ve been sulking ever since I cannibalized your PPU.
”

“
What’s
wrong?
” Jer’ait asked.

“
Nothing. 
Galek, what am I looking at?
”

“
I think it’s
a sinkhole, sir.
”

“
You think? 
Well, how deep is it?  Where’s that water going?
”

“
I don’t
know, sir.
”

Flea sighed and
jumped from Joe’s shoulder, launching himself over the edge.  A few moments
later, “
There’s a ledge at the bottom around a big pool of water.  Big
Dhasha tunnels radiating outward.  I think it’s the watering hole.  You guys
would probably be okay if you jumped off the edge, as long as you aimed for the
middle.
”

“
I can’t
swim,
” Galek said.  “
My kind are too dense.
”

“
We’ll take
the stairs,
” Joe said, nodding at the Grekkon.  Scarab backed down, giving
them a sloping path toward the bottom.

At the bottom,
Joe glanced up at the enormous black chamber that seemed to go on forever.  Out
of the blackness, water dripped past his face, spattering into a huge,
luminescent pool of water near his feet.

Surrounding the
underground lake, dug into the rippling stone edges of the sinkhole, were nine
different main shafts.  Once again, there were no slave tunnels.

As soon as they
left the Grekkon’s tunnel, they’d have no cover.  If the Dhasha caught them,
they’d be ripped apart.

“
Flea, go see
if you can figure out where we are.
”

Flea crawled out
of the Grekkon’s tunnel, scaled the sinkhole wall, and then slipped into the
nearest main shaft and began proceeding along the ceiling.

Joe and Galek waited in
the back of the Grekkon’s tunnel, squatting below the twin spearlike arms that
protruded from the front of Scarab’s body.

“
Yep,
”
the Baga said, finally.  “
I found the prince.  He’s right where we left him.
”

“
Okay,
”
Joe said, “
Stay on the prince.  Galek and I are gonna figure out a way to
kill him.
”

#

“
Ready, Flea?

Flea held
absolutely still in the shadows behind the Dhasha, his eyes fixed firmly on the
prince’s tank-sized butt.

“
Damn right
I’m ready.
”

“
Galek, are
you ready for this?
”

“
The charge
is in place, sir.
”

Over the common
channel, Phoenix’s voice once more demanded, “
Commander Zero, why is your
team stalling?  We know you’re alive.  Go in there and kill the lieutenant.
”

The Human
responded with, “
Don’t worry, Mag.  We’ll do everything in our power to see
you get that Corps Directorship.
”  Then he terminated surface contact.

“
That Takki
brooder would make a nice Dhasha casserole,
” Flea muttered.

“
She can
still hear you,
” Jer’ait said.

“
Somebody
needed to tell her eventually.  It’s cruel to let her think anybody gives a soot
what she says.
”

“
All right. 
Everyone take your positions.  Flea, go.
”

Flea began
spitting.  He landed three good hits around the back claws, but not enough to
make the prince stick.  Then he dropped from the ceiling and buzzed back toward
Joe.

Behind him, he
heard a crash, then a roar and the clatter of rocks.  Flea chanced a glance
behind him and wished he hadn’t.

The Dhasha was
closer this time, and his empty green eyes gleamed murder.  Chunks of rock
clung to the scales around the Dhasha’s back feet.  The Dhasha was catching up.

“
Joe, I hope
you’re ready.  He’s right on my ass.
”

“
Just bring
him on.
”

Flea did.  He
shot through the sinkhole, getting water on his carapace as he flew through the
trickle and on to the tunnel on the other side.  The Dhasha skirted the pool,
but lost little time regaining his speed and catching back up. 

When Flea saw
Joe standing alone in the hall up ahead, a plasma rifle trained on the Dhasha,
Flea almost fell out of the air in shock.  In a panic, he screamed, “
Joe,
get out of the way!  Run!  He’s
coming
!
”

Seeing the
massive Dhasha on his heels, the Human’s face slacked with surprise and he
turned and ran.

“
What’s going
on?
” Daviin demanded.

Flea caught up
with the Human in moments.  Instead of passing him, he slowed.  “
Joe, you
keep running.  I’ll spit on him a little bit, try to slow him down.  I—
” 
Flea’s words died in his throat when the Human started laughing and came to a
stop.  Flabbergasted, Flea turned.  They were alone in the tunnel.  He stared,
confused.

“
He ran away?
”
Flea asked, trying to figure out where the massive Dhasha had gone.

The Human was
still laughing.  He walked forward three rods, to where he had been standing
when Flea appeared in the tunnel.  He bent, then stuck his hand through the
floor, followed by his head.

Not
onto
it, but
through
it.

While Flea was
trying to comprehend that, a massive, angry roar shook the tunnels.  It sounded
close.

“
Joe, I
think—
”

“
It worked!
”
Joe shouted, straightening.  “
The sonofabitch isn’t getting out of there. 
Set it off, Galek!
”

Joe deactivated
the little device inside and the hologram fell away, leaving a huge pit marring
the center of the tunnel.  When Flea hesitantly flew overhead, he saw the
Dhasha prince in the bottom, ripping at the rock walls and floor, screaming in
fury.

“Scarab dug this?”

“Yeah,” Joe said,
watching the Dhasha struggle, “But he’ll just claw his way out if we don’t
hurry up.”  With his headcom, he said, “
What’s taking so long, Galek?!
”

“
Sorry, sir.
” 
They heard a tiny popping sound, then a roar of bubbles in the underground lake
beyond their tunnel.

“
Did it work?
”

“
Can’t tell
yet…
” Galek said.  “
Yeah.  The water-level’s going down.
”

From the pit
below, the sounds of splashes echoed up to them and the Dhasha roared again.

“Time to get the hell out
of here,” Joe told them.  “Flea, you alright?”

“Fine.  Won’t he swim
out?”

“Too dense,” Joe said. 
“He’ll suffocate.”

“I could stick him,” Flea
suggested.

“No,” Joe said.  “Let him
die.”

Joe was
answering the other grounders’ questions on the status of the prince, when a
voice called to them from above the sloshing water below.  “Joe?”

The Human
froze.  Slowly, he peered down into the pit.

“How’d he know
your name?” Flea demanded.

Joe looked like
he’d been kicked in the stomach.  “Oh Mothers.”

“Joe?”  Flea
eyed the Dhasha, then returned his gaze to the Human.  “You know him?”

“Mothers’ ghosts,”
Joe said, turning away from the pit.  “It’s Bagkhal.”

“Who?”  Flea
glanced down at the Dhasha, who was watching them with eerie calm.  “You know
him?”

The Human
ignored him.  He stared down at the Dhasha, looking stricken.

It was the
Dhasha who spoke first.  “He said they’d send you to kill me.”

Joe was
shaking.  “What?”

“Don’t fret
about freeing me, Human.  If I somehow find a way out of here before I drown,
I’ll kill you all.  My loyalties are elsewhere, now.”

“To the Vahlin,”
Joe said.  “Why?”

When the Dhasha
did not respond, Joe added softly, “Why?  You said we needed Congress.  You
were
loyal.
”

“My experiences
led me to believe that Congress was the only force that could keep my kind from
reverting to barbarism.  I was wrong.”

“He led you to a
war you can’t win,” Joe said.

The Dhasha’s
egg-shaped eyes glittered with gemlike amusement.  “This war will still be
raging nine hundred turns from now.  Even if Neskfaat is lost, the Vahlin will
live on.  His power will only grow.”

Flea stared down
at the Dhasha, confused.  “You know who the Vahlin really is.”

“Of course,”
Bagkhal said.  “Did you really think I’d bow my head to another Dhasha?”

Joe looked
stunned.  “If you knew it was the Geuji, why serve him?  What’s his purpose
here?”

“I serve him
because he has a plan that would truly bring peace.  Once and for all.  True
peace.”  Water was sloshing at the Dhasha’s knees, drawing dangerously close to
his chin. 

Joe glanced at
Flea, then back at their captive.  He looked pale, ill.  “I can’t let you out,
Bagkhal.”

“I know.  Jemria
told me I would die today.  Though I tried to fight it, I never once thought he
was wrong.”

Flea watched his Prime
narrow his eyes.  “And I’m supposed to let you die.”

Flea made a startled
wing-flutter.  “Of
course
you’re supposed to let him die.”

“That’s for…you…to
decide,” the Dhasha coughed.

“For what
purpose?” Joe demanded.  “Is this a trap?”

Bagkhal snorted
through the water quickly filling his mouth.  “A trap?  No.  It’s a test.”  He
began to choke and struggle as water began to press against his nostrils.  He
lunged awkwardly onto his back feet, his stubby hind legs giving him another
rod of breathing room.

Flea glanced
over and saw the Human’s muscles straining. 
He’s gonna let him out.
  He’d
never seen his Prime get so obviously upset before.  Almost like this Dhasha
was a…friend.  Nervously, Flea waited for the order for Scarab to drain the
water so the Dhasha could breathe.  Instead, the Human said, “A test for what?”