DS02 Night of the Dragonstar (21 page)

“No question about it. We have Professor Labate tracking it with all available gear down at the observatory, but wherever it’s going is purely academic now.”

“And it looks as though radio contact will continue to be jammed,” Rheinhardt said. “Christ, we can’t even tell them that we tried everything we could to help.”

“All those people on board,” Bertholde said. “And Colonel Kemp is among them. I wonder if they realize what’s happening to them.”

“I doubt if they could miss it,” Alvarez said. “The gee forces when those engines first kicked in must have been impressive.” The chairman shook his head sadly and cleared his throat. “Well, I know we could sit here and feel sorry for ourselves all day, but let’s remember that the whole world is watching us now, and that we have an obligation to tell them what has happened. We have to prepare a statement for the media, so let’s get going.”

No one spoke for a moment. The people around the table tried not to look into one another’s eyes, not to see the hopelessness there.

“Doesn’t anyone have any suggestions?” Alvarez asked.

“Yes, I have one.” Kolenkhov smiled sadly. “As far as the Dragonstar is concerned, I think we should tell the world to kiss it goodbye.”

* * *

“You’d better tell Colonel Kemp to come here,” Mishima Takamura said to one of his assistants.

He had managed to coax some of his instruments, including the shortwave transponder equipment, back on-line. Somebody had strung some emergency lights around the ruins of the temple, and the scene had more the look of a late-night archeological dig than the refugee camp it was. The array of salvaged laboratory equipment seemed oddly out of place.

Seismic sensors were picking up a new series of vibrations in the hull. In fact, Mishima’s ears were already beginning to detect a low-frequency thrumming. There were several monitors propped up in the debris
—
two of them giving number-crunching readout displays, the other with a dead-lens camera view of the stars and the distant Earth and Sun beyond the curve of the hull.

“Yes, Doctor?” Kemp’s voice cut into his thoughts, and he turned to see the short, handsome man standing there at the threshold of some cleared rubble as though waiting to enter an office. The colonel’s dress uniform was tattered and covered with dust. He sported an amateurish bandage about his left thigh and looked as though he should be posing for an American Revolutionary War painting.

“Something’s happening again,” Mishima said. “I don’t like this one bit.”

“Could things get any worse?” Kemp asked. “What do you mean?”

Mishima explained to him the resonances he was picking up and pointed to the indications that it was getting stronger.

“Any idea what it means?” Kemp asked.

“Not really.”

Kemp slowly shook his head. “You know, I’ve been thinking
—
maybe we should try to break back into the crew section. Wouldn’t it be possible to overcome the alien controls? Maybe we could turn this ship around and get ourselves back to Earth.”

Mishima Takamura laughed lightly. “No offense, Colonel, but that doesn’t sound very likely to me.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for one thing, I doubt if we could break in there, unless the ship wanted us to, and second, we’re not magicians, we’re scientists.”

Kemp seemed a bit irked by his reply. “Meaning?”

Mishima shrugged. “Simply that none of us could figure out very much of the alien technology before, so what makes you think we could now?”

“I always thought necessity was the mother of invention,” the Colonel said. “I’m sorry, Doctor, I’m just not the type to give up so easily.”

“That’s a very admirable trait,” Mishima said. “But I’m afraid I’m simply fresh out of ideas. Why don’t we
—”

Mishima did, not finish the sentence. The low-frequency humming grew unbearably loud in an instant, and there was a monstrous sound that filled the enclosed atmosphere like a thunderclap. It sounded like a gigantic dynamo kicking in. The hull and everything in the interior seemed to convulse very slightly. One quick pulsing sensation, and that was all.

Looking quickly to the video monitor, Mishima saw the Earth, Sun, and stars smear across the screen in long lines of white light, followed by a spectacular redshift
—
beautiful streamers, like fireworks, that trailed across the screen.

And then everything was gone.

Kemp, Mishima, and a few others stared at the monitor, which now reflected a blackness so deep and complete that its only rival might be the feelings of desperation in all their hearts.

“Oh, no,” Mishima said.

“Was that what I think it was?” Colonel Kemp asked.’

“If you thought it was a redshift, then the answer is yes,” Mishima said.

“Good Christ! You mean we’ve reached the speed of light? So quickly?”

Mishima pointed to the screen and shook his head slowly. “No, I don’t think that’s quite it.”

“What do you mean?” Kemp sat down on a slab of fallen stone. There was a flatness in his voice that indicated he didn’t really care anymore, that he was simply asking his questions automatically.

“Look, do you see anything on the screen?”

“No,” Kemp said.

“Well, theoretically we should be seeing something called a star bow, but it’s not there. Nothing’s there.”

“So what you’re saying is that we’re going faster than light? Hyperspace, and all that business?”

“And all that business. Yes,” said Takamura.

Kemp rubbed his mouth nervously. “My God, you mean it’s really possible? I just can’t believe it.”

Takamura shrugged as he stood up and started pacing about the area, running his hands through his dark hair, refusing to look again at the monitor. “Who knows? I may be way off base, but I have a feeling we’re traveling FTL.”

Kemp laughed nervously. “Some physicist you are! Working on feelings.”

Mishima spread his hands in defeat. “What else is left to us?”

“Is there any way to know where we’re headed, or how long it’ll take to get there?” Kemp stood up and looked at Mishima.

Mishima shook his head and took a seat with an exaggerated display of weariness. “Not with the little bit of gear we have here. No, I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything.”

This seemed to irritate Kemp, and he too began pacing. “Damn it, there’s got to be something we can do. I feel so helpless.”

“That’s because we are,” Mishima said.

“No, there are things we have to do.” Kemp looked at the black screen and shook his head. “God, I still can’t believe this.”

Mishima looked at him. “Do you have any ideas?” Kemp stopped pacing and looked out into the air for an instant, gathering his thoughts, focusing in on the answer to Mishima’s question.

“Yes, I’ve got a few. First, I think we should attempt to make contact with the Saurians again. They haven’t tried to attack us since the riot, and besides, they’re our only allies in this thing
—
we’re all in it together.”

Mishima nodded calmly. “Yes, I guess we are. Go on.”

Kemp brightened, and his voice gained strength and conviction as he continued. “Secondly, we have to consolidate our forces, gather up all the fragments that are scattered around the ship ...”

“The others are converging on the ruins. Should we go there, or should they all come here?”

“I don’t know yet. Wouldn’t that depend on how we get along with the Saurians?” Kemp was staring down the wrecked, fissure-laden steps to the boulevard below the temple. The Saurian city lay shrouded in the darkness of evening. What thoughts were going on within the reptilian minds of Hakarrh?

“Yes, I guess it would,” Mishima said.

“I’m going to ask Kate Ennis if she still wants to contact the Saurians,” Kemp said.

“You’re going to need somebody new to go with her. We lost
Corporal Potlack, remember?”

Kemp nodded. “I know. I’ve already decided to go with her myself.”

Mishima was surprised. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

The colonel smiled grimly. “No, but I think it’s what has to be done, so I’m going to do it. We certainly can’t just sit here and do nothing, can we?”

”No, I suppose not,” Mishima said. Kemp had the right idea. The worst thing they could do was fall into a self-indulgent trap, feeling sorry for themselves.

“All right, then, Doctor. I’m going to round up Kate Ennis and be off. See if you can contact Captain Coopersmith, Bob Jakes, and Dr. Lindstrom. Tell them what we’re about, and that it’s imperative that we all join together on this thing.”

Mishima nodded. “You’re right. It occurs to me that none of the other parties may even be aware of what’s happened. They have no way of knowing we’ve made the jump into hyperspace.”

“Well, I don’t think everyone should know about it yet,” Kemp said, turning to leave. “I’ll talk to you later, Doctor. I want to get started with the Saurians at dawn.”

“All right, Colonel. But you’re going to need a change of clothes before you get going. Let me see if I can scrounge up some coveralls.”

“Oh, yes, I suppose that would be a good idea. Thank you.”

Mishima signaled for one of his assistants, sending him off to find something more functional for Kemp to wear. He also directed Dr. Horton, who had become his communications specialist under duress, to try contacting the various outposts of humanity still scattered about the Dragonstar.

As Kemp went off toward one of the supply trunks his people had managed to drag out of the lab, Mishima Takamura allowed himself to reassess his feelings about the man. Sure, he was an egocentric bastard, and sure, he had a hell of a time seeing anyone else’s point of view, and yes, he damn well had a bad habit of talking to everybody as though they were his subordinate officers, but underneath all that, Mishima was learning to see his good qualities too. Perhaps it wasn’t going to be necessary to continue the hostilities, though Mishima wasn’t wild about the idea of taking orders from Kemp all the time.

When he saw the colonel reemerge, wearing the standard IASA coveralls and an LS helmet, he hardly recognized him. He looked formidable enough, except for the pant legs being rolled up because they were too long. Mishima wanted to smile, because from a distance, Kemp reminded him of a young boy dressing up in his father’s clothes.

He hoped the Saurians would not find him so humorous.

* * *

Zabriskie leaned out of the cab of the ornithopter, staring at him with a glazed expression. She was obviously fatigued, but Ian needed her to finish this operation. They had managed to squeeze three of the survey camp staff into the ’thopter’s belly compartment, plus the fourth man in the shotgun seat. It would be a bit of a lift problem, but not enough to worry about. There were always some margins for error, Ian told himself.

“Good luck, Zabriskie,” he shouted. “Hurry back, and don’t forget about the homing beacon.”

The pilot nodded and gave him the old thumbs-up signal. Then she pulled back on the controls, and the birdlike craft leaped skyward with all the grace of gooney-bird. Ian watched it rise up into the darkness, its searchlights boring through the night.

Turning to Becky and Murphy, he smiled weakly. “And then there were three.”

“How much longer are we going to be out here, Captain?” Murphy asked. He didn’t look pleased that he had missed the flight out. In fact, Ian thought he looked quite ill.

“About another hour or so and we’ll be on the ’thopter ourselves,” he told the trooper. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

“I’m not worried,” Murphy said. “And it’s not that I’m questioning your judgment, Captain. But I’m just wondering if we should be hanging around the camp with all this fresh meat around. Pretty soon everything’s going to be coming back, I figure.”

“That’s why we set up the homing beacon,” Becky said, pointing to the small electronic pack on her belt. “If we have to get out of here, the beacon will give the ’thopter our position.”

“I hope so,” Murphy said. “I’ve sure had enough of this duty.” He flipped on the infrared scope of his weapon and walked back to his post. In the darkness, you could hear the rustling of fronds and the scampering tread of clawed feet as the scavengers slowly returned to their interrupted feast.

ARRIVING AT
the ruins was a cause for celebration, and Mikaela was as ready to party as any of her passengers. Everyone scrambled out of the OTV hatches as soon as the caravan lurched to a stop within the walls of the ruins. Mikaela was impressed by the tangle of vines and undergrowth visible in the combined swaths of their searchlights. The ruins were overrun with wild foliage, and the night was thick with the sounds of predators and their prey. It was a dark symphony of screams and bellows, paeans to the triumph of the kill, the agony of capture.

High atop the decaying stone pyramid, Mikaela could see the torchlights of Lieutenant Barkham’s group. They were all waving and urging her group upward. In the darkness, it was not an easy climb, but they made it willingly, glad to be free of the stifling confines of the Omni Terrain Vehicles. Mikaela thought it felt good just to be stretching out her muscles.

It would still be several hours before the Illuminator began to glow again, before the preserve was once more filled with artificial day. How she longed for it to be light! She had pushed herself through the longest night of her life, and now it was almost over. Just take this pyramid one crumbling stone step at a time and you’ll make it, she told herself. The feeling of exhilaration at being free of the OTV passed quickly, and fatigue lurked on the threshold of her mind. A little bit farther and she could rest. She could hear the voices of the ’thopter party up above, cheering encouragement.

Finally she reached the last riser, the final step, and there were hands reaching out to her, pulling her up. A large, burly character with a thick beard stood in the center of the waiting group. He wore a flight suit with the name Barkham on it, but his features were hidden in the shadows. He smiled.

“Hi, I’m Daniel Barkham. I guess I’ve kind of been in charge here. I’ve heard a lot about you, Dr. Lindstrom. Nice to meet you.”

Mikaela shook his hand and smiled. They exchanged pleasantries and began to help the stragglers up the face of the pyramid. When they had all gained the top, Mikaela’s group was invited into the center of the platform that formed the top of the ancient building. Equipment and gear had been arranged in a large circle. Lanterns and flashlights cast a warm glow on everyone’s faces. It reminded her of a camping trip or a group vacation, especially when she noticed how cheery everyone seemed to be.

Lieutenant Barkham approached Mikaela and invited her to take a seat next to a white-haired, heavyset man who looked familiar. “I think you two know each other,” said the pilot.

“Dr. Lindstrom, I presume,” said Bob Jakes with a smile. “Glad to see you could make our little party.”

Mikaela had hardly recognized him in the dim light, with the beginnings of a beard disguising his face. “Are you all right, Dr. Jakes?” she asked, seeing his wrapped ankle.

“What, this? It’s nothing. I can walk if I need to. Did you have any trouble getting here?”

She smiled. “Compared to the climb up, the jungle was a piece of cake.”

“I know, but at least there won’t be any hungry critters wandering up here in the middle of the night.” Jakes laughed easily.

For a moment neither of them spoke, and the silence was awkward between them. Jakes’s expression changed to something more serious. “Did Barkham tell you that we just heard from the colonel?”

Her heart jumped at his words. “No, is he all right?”

“Yes, he’s fine. They’re holding on to a fort outside the control section of the ship, but they haven’t seen any sign of the Saurians in a long time. Phineas is planning to go down and try to make peace with them.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

Jakes shrugged. “Who knows? If they’re suffering from some kind of radiation sickness or madness, I don’t think talking is going to do much good.”

“Our tests indicated that not every species was being affected the same way. Perhaps it was true with the Saurians.” Mikaela had a brief image of Phineas approaching the Saurians in a truce meeting when suddenly they all pounced upon him like wolves.

“Well,” Jakes said, “I hope you’re right. At any rate, Phineas thinks that it’s a hell of a lot safer to be garrisoned behind the Saurian Barrier than to be marooned out here in the preserve.”

“He’s certainly right about that,” Mikaela said.

“Then it’s a good idea to try to make contact with them
—
it’s something that must be done.”

Jakes coughed, and nodded emphatically. “That’s what we all figured. They’re going to head down as soon as it starts to get light. Pretty soon now.”

“What about Coopersmith?”

Jakes informed her that he would be coming in on the next ’thopter run, and that they had only lost one man during the night.

Someone handed her a cup of hot R-ration soup, and she lifted the steaming container to her lips. It was the first food she’d had since yesterday, and her stomach growled as the aroma of freeze-dried chicken noodle soup reached her nose. It tasted wonderful.

Looking at her watch, Mikaela estimated perhaps one more hour until daylight. She was so thankful to be safe, and so glad to know that Phineas had survived, that she didn’t care about all the bad things that were still happening. She knew that if they all hung together, they would make it. No matter what the problems might be, she knew they could overcome them. She tried not to think about the Dragonstar’s engines firing, sending them off to god knows where
—
that was a problem for the physicists and the IASA engineers. They would come up with something to bail them out.

* * *

“Do you see anything?” Kemp asked as he approached a sentry on the barricades. The trooper was looking through a high-powered scope down the steps of the temple and panning across the boulevard.

“Not a thing, Colonel,” said the sentry. “I started sweeping the area ever since daylight started, and I can’t see a single one of them. I don’t know what happened to them. They must all be hiding from us.”

Phineas shook his head. “I don’t know, soldier. That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“Are you still going down there, sir?”

Phineas nodded. “That’s right, we’ve got to try to make contact with those guys.”

“I heard everybody talking about it, sir, and I’d like to volunteer to go with you ... if you think you might need the company, sir.”

Phineas looked at the young man’s name stenciled on his breast pocket. CAVOLI, it said in block letters. “All right, Cavoli,” Phineas said. “I would appreciate that. Meet me at the top of the steps in ten minutes.”

“Yes, sir,” Cavoli said. “Thank you, sir.”

Saluting him crisply, Phineas smiled and shook the man’s hand, then headed back to get Kate Ennis and their gear.

Kate was standing with Dr. Takamura, listening to his instructions on how to use the portable radio. She turned as Phineas approached and blinked her huge, almond-shaped eyes at him. Kate could be an incredible charmer when she wanted to be, and he could see that Takamura was obviously falling for her.

Not that he could blame the dashing young scientist. Kate Ennis had eyes that lived a life of their own—they had a way of looking at you and making you feel special. Plus the woman had brains and courage and conviction. There wasn’t much left out of the package, and Phineas had to admit that he had been having his own feelings of attraction for her. If he didn’t already have a very satisfying relationship with Mikaela, he would definitely be in the running for Kate.

“Are we ready, Phineas?” she asked as she saw him approach.

Looking up at the Illuminator, Phineas nodded. “Yes. It’s getting light enough to see what we’re about now. I’ve got another volunteer, so let’s get on with it.”

“Good luck, Colonel,” Takamura said, shaking his hand.

“Thank you, Doctor. I think we’re going to need it this time.”

Phineas guided Kate back to the edge of the barricade by the great set of temple steps. Cavoli was waiting for them, wearing a full complement of battle gear. His LS helmet visor was flipped down, and he certainly did cut a menacing figure.

“Any sign of them?” Kemp asked as they started down the steps.

“Not a trace,” Cavoli said. “What do you think happened to them?”

“I haven’t the foggiest, but that’s what we’re going to find out, I hope.”

They descended the steps in relative silence. It was a somewhat treacherous journey because of the cracks and faults in the stone steps. Several wide fissures yawned up at them, but were easily avoided. When they reached the bottom of the steps and faced up the wide boulevard toward the mercantile center and the public parks, Phineas could not miss the utter quiet of the place.

The area seemed totally deserted. To the left of the boulevard lay the promontory where the priest-class Saurians resided.

Pointing up to the rock face and the switchback steps cut into them, Phineas said, “All right, I suppose we should check those out first. If any of them are at all disposed to talk, it would be their philosopher-kings and not their roustabouts.”

Kate smiled, and Cavoli just nodded silently. They all walked quickly toward the staircase that led upward to the living quarters of the priests. It was a grueling climb, and Phineas wished that he had kept to his exercise program a bit more stringently as they continued the ascent. Kate and Cavoli didn’t seem to be having much trouble, however, so Phineas decided that he had better just tough it out instead of calling for a rest break.

“My God,” Kate said. “This is higher than it looks.”

They had reached the first of many landings that led off to several residences. Looking south and east, you could see the sprawl of the Saurian city in all its oddness
—
the open parks, the wide streets, the colored tents and spindly towers. And beyond it all, still shrouded in a steamy morning mist, the Barrier itself. It looked formidable even from the distance of more than twenty kilometers.

Cavoli and Phineas moved ahead, looking through the entrances of several residences and finding them deserted. This was not unusual, since the lower dwellings were of lower-echelon priests, and they would certainly be out on rounds at this early hour. Phineas wondered if higher rank had higher privilege in terms of when you woke up in the morning. He certainly hoped so.

They continued to ascend toward the top and had reached the second to the last level when Cavoli paused to look down over the landscape with his flip-down telegoggles.

“Oh my God!”

“What is it?” Kate asked. “What’s the matter?”

“I just found out where everybody is,” the trooper said. He unhooked the telescopic goggles from his visor and handed them to Phineas. “Take a look, Colonel
—
down there to the far left. Follow the Barrier off past the second park.”

Listening to the whir of the goggles’ auto-focusing, Phineas slowly panned along the Barrier. Beyond the tree-filled park he could see a huge mob of Saurians milling about in the streets and along the elevated ramps that led up to the Barrier. There were entire battalions of warrior-class Saurians surging about on top of the Barrier, and the guard towers, which were spaced evenly along the great wall, were bristling with Saurian archers.

The cause of all this activity could be seen a bit farther down the line. Good God! thought Phineas.

Maybe it was the initial series of tremors when the Dragonstar’s engines kicked in. Or perhaps the series of vibrations and resonance factors that had pulsed through the hull had caused the problem. There was no way of knowing. But as Kemp peered through the telegoggles he knew that he was watching what must be the most primal, most terrible nightmare of all Saurians, no matter what their class
—
a break in the Barrier.

No wonder they had abandoned their siege on the temple steps, thought Phineas. Somebody had sounded the alarm, and now they were an scurrying about the Barrier like rats.

As he watched the activity more closely, he could see that there were several teams of workers trying desperately to repair the damage
—
a great rending fault that had shifted the very foundation of the Barrier, twisting it so that it actually fell in upon itself.

To compound this problem, Phineas could see that the warriors were having their hands and claws full
—
several large carnivores had already noticed the break in the Barrier. A very large Therodon of some kind was out there, attracting plenty of attention. It pranced and roared, occasionally running toward the opening to the wall as though taunting the Saurians, who fired squaves and arrows at it with little or no effect. It seemed to Phineas that the big meateater was not terribly serious about trying to get through the gap in the wall. He looked as though he could, but he seemed to be merely playing for the moment.

A far more serious problem for the Saurians was a pack of Saurian-sized carnivores that looked like a lean-legged, astonishingly quick version of Tyrannosaurus. There must have been seven or eight of them scampering about the rift in the Barrier, and even while Phineas watched, one of these rapacious little killers slipped through and began ripping and tearing at workers on a section of scaffolding. The warriors brought it down with a volley of arrows and spears, but not until the beast looked like a porcupine. If a whole pack of them ever got through, there would be wholesale slaughter.