Hellhole Inferno (2 page)

“The General's independent stringline network gives him a strategic advantage that we cannot overcome. Now that he has secretly laid down those alternate iperion paths, the DZ no longer needs the Constellation. And because his rebels are fanatically independent, they are willing to sever every one of the old lines binding them to Sonjeera if they feel threatened. We know the General will do it, cutting the entire Deep Zone loose from the Constellation. He's already cut his own direct stringline to Hellhole.”

That was how Adolphus had stranded the first Constellation retaliatory fleet—commanded by Percival's son Escobar. The General had left the fleet adrift in empty space, and then he had seized all those ships, taking thousands of soldiers prisoner—including Escobar. “It's an ancient tactic, an army blowing bridges to deny the enemy vital access across rivers or canyons. For General Adolphus, those canyons are many light-years wide. If we attack him directly, he will do it without hesitation, and then we'll never be able to get him.”

Both Riomini and the Diadem listened, but they appeared bored. “That is old news, Commodore,” the Black Lord said with a quirk of a smug smile. “You're not aware of what has changed. That is why we summoned you.”

Michella couldn't contain her excitement. “We have a route into the Deep Zone—one the General will not suspect.”

Riomini reached out to touch the hovering image of an insignificant Deep Zone speck at the edge of the frontier network. It glowed when he selected it. “This is how you will achieve victory. Tehila.”

Percival was familiar with the names of all Deep Zone worlds, but knew little about this one.

Michella explained. “When the General declared independence for all the frontier worlds, by fiat, he did so without the knowledge, cooperation—or
desire
—of many Deep Zone worlds. When he embroiled them in this unnecessary war, not every planet was pleased to be part of it. In fact, most of them were shocked.”

Riomini's mouth twisted in a cruel grin. “Theser was certainly shocked when I demonstrated the consequences of their unwise choice.” The Black Lord had led a punitive assault that turned Theser into a smoldering, uninhabited rock.

Percival still didn't understand. “How does Tehila factor into this? What is its significance?”

The Diadem said, “Tehila's planetary administrator, Karlo Reming, never had any desire to leave the Constellation, and now he wishes to come back into our protective embrace. He and his people want our forgiveness.”

Percival raised his eyebrows, was unconvinced. “All of his people want that?”

“Enough of them,” said Riomini. “Administrator Reming is about to stage a purge to get rid of any Adolphus loyalists. Then he will seize and secure the stringlines, both the path to Sonjeera as well as their connection into the Deep Zone network. Through him, we will have a back door right to the General's doorstep.”

Michella's papery lips formed a terse smile. “The way will be wide open for you, Commodore. Your fleet is almost ready. Take those ships to Tehila, secure the planet, and establish a beachhead from which to swoop down on the General. Crush planet Hallholme just like the asteroid that struck centuries ago.”

Upon hearing the new option, Percival felt an unfamiliar hope. “That will give me a chance to rescue my son, along with the other prisoners the General is holding.” He suddenly remembered. “And your daughter, too, Eminence. I will do everything in my power to see that Keana is returned safely to you.”

Michella gave an unconcerned wave. “Defeating General Adolphus and restoring order throughout the Deep Zone is your primary goal, Commodore. Naturally, I love my daughter, but she is an adult and she went to that awful planet of her own free will. Now she's been possessed by one of those hideous aliens.” The old woman shuddered visibly. “I doubt there is a cure for it, so I have to consider her already lost. They are casualties of war—my daughter, your son. A price we have to pay.”

Riomini spoke up, as if wanting to make certain he was included. He shook his head. “And my poor grandniece with her two boys, left fatherless when we lost Escobar.”

“Escobar is still alive,” Percival said pointedly, “as far as I know.”

“Yes, let us hope he is,” Michella added without any apparent sincerity. “For now, begin planning your military operation. Move your ships from Aeroc and stage them at the Sonjeera hub. Be ready to move as soon as Administrator Reming has taken over Tehila and opened the door for us.”

 

2

In the empty conference room, General Tiber Adolphus paced in front of a reinforced window, gazing out at the rugged landscape. His dark eyes were perpetually serious, his black hair neatly trimmed out of military fastidiousness. The square-jawed man had accepted a new uniform, deep-blue with golden general's stars on the collar—a garment copied from the one he'd worn during the first rebellion. His beloved Sophie Vence had tracked down the original jacket from a collector, but that one was a historical artifact. This facsimile fit him well and suited his purposes, reinforcing his role.

After the previous night's smoke storm, fragments of trees and alien shrubs lay strewn around the grounds of his headquarters estate, which he had fondly—and ironically—named Elba, after ancient Napoleon's home in exile. Even with the political turmoil across the Deep Zone, the smoke storm reminded him that local crises could still cause significant damage, and this planet was neither a kind nor a gentle place.

Two men in coveralls worked hard to restore the area around the General's mansion, loading debris into a motorized garbage bin. The sky remained a greenish yellow, still unsettled from the storm. After more than a decade on Hellhole, Adolphus had learned to recognize the various sky colors and conditions. Though his extensive network of weather satellites monitored the storm fronts, he could often tell on his own when and how the capricious weather would change. The General never took anything for granted. He was always learning, always alert.

Behind him, Adolphus heard a familiar stirring, shuffling noise, and he turned as two of the planet's original inhabitants—Encix and Lodo—entered the conference room. They remained beside the long table, since none of his chairs could accommodate the aliens' bulky sluglike abdomens, though they had humanoid upper bodies.

Though the Xayans were ostensibly his allies here on Hellhole, he remained tight-lipped, suppressing his anger toward the two Originals. They had kept tremendous, dangerous secrets from him—involving a threat that could obliterate this entire planet. The scope of what they had hidden held extraordinary repercussions for him and for the entire Deep Zone.

Encix and Lodo remained silent while the General continued to look out the window, pondering how he should confront them and demand answers. He was certain the aliens still had more to reveal.

A groundcar rumbled up outside and discharged its passenger, a tall, shapely woman with shoulder-length auburn hair: Keana Duchenet, arriving for the scheduled meeting. The Diadem's daughter looked outwardly unchanged, but she shared her consciousness with a resurrected alien personality, Uroa, whom she had awakened from the slickwater pools. Keana was only one of many hundreds of converts who had taken on alien lives and memories. Together, Keana-Uroa was one of the most powerful of the “shadow-Xayans,” possessing high telemancy skills.

Though he was frustrated with the aliens and their unknown agenda, General Adolphus needed every possible ally in order to face enemies from all sides. But he also needed to trust these strange creatures if they were to fight side by side to protect this planet.

Ever since the Deep Zone had broken away from the corrupt Constellation, General Adolphus had commanded a motley army of cast-off humans. They manned patched-together warships from the old rebellion, as well as hundreds of newer vessels seized during the Constellation's failed attacks. In addition to his traditional tactics, Adolphus made use of Xayan telemancy, which had enabled him to defeat Commodore Percival Hallholme.

Yet he had hardly been able to celebrate after the Commodore fled back to Sonjeera in disgrace. Despite their help, he now knew the aliens did not share the same goal as he, and Adolphus realized he had never really
commanded
them at all. For the Xayans, this was no more than a coalition of convenience, a means by which they could achieve their evolutionary and spiritual “ascension,” their racial destiny called
ala'ru.

Summoning his force of will, though he did not know how effective it would be against the implacable Xayans, the General turned from the window to face the two unusual visitors. “You failed to tell me that you had another terrible enemy of your own. You kept that information from me, even though you've known for some time that the Ro-Xayans are out there, and that they still want to destroy you. You could have warned me, warned Candela. We could have saved many of those people before the asteroid impact.”

Encix said in a flat voice that masked any recognizable emotion, “If we had achieved
ala'ru
before they found us, it would not have mattered.”

“After the Ro-Xayans destroyed Candela, you told me they also bombarded this planet with an asteroid centuries ago.” He felt his skin grow hot. “You didn't consider that information relevant?”

Lodo sounded just slightly contrite. “We have revealed everything to you now, General Tiber Adolphus. We are certain the Ro-Xayans are aware that we survived their first attempt to exterminate us, and they will surely come back to finish annihilating our species.”

Encix added with greater urgency, “Our only hope is to achieve
ala'ru
before it is too late! All the more reason for us to convert more of your people, awaken more Xayan lives from the slickwater pools, and increase the collective power of our telemancy.”

Adolphus clenched his jaw. “I am no longer certain I can trust you.”

The hidden enemy, the Ro-Xayans, were a splinter faction of the alien race that swore to prevent the wondrous evolutionary ascension toward which most Xayans strove. The rogue faction had wrecked their home planet and nearly wiped out their own race rather than let their rivals win. Such a betrayal angered Adolphus—especially now that his human colonists were caught in the middle of an ancient feud he could neither prevent nor understand—but he also resented that Encix and Lodo had not been forthright.

Keana-Uroa was ushered into the conference room by a member of the General's staff. The Diadem's daughter stood straight-backed, a far cry from the naïve and giddy noblewoman who had first come here to Hellhole without a clue about how to take care of herself. Now, she wasted no time with pleasantries, showing the power of her human personality as well as the alien who jointly inhabited her mind. “We must seize every possible defense, General. This planet will be caught in a vise between the Army of the Constellation and the Ro-Xayans, two enemies who wish to see our complete destruction.”

He turned to her, keeping the hard edge in his voice. “My defensive planning is hamstrung when my allies withhold vital information from me. The Xayan presence in your mind understands about the Ro-Xayans—I know it. Tell me what you know.
All
of it. Otherwise I have no way of properly preparing.”

He wished Sophie could be here to advise him, because she gave such wise counsel, and he enjoyed her company—but she was at Slickwater Springs, tending to the only other surviving Original alien, Tryn, who had been seriously injured in the backlash of a telemancy attack before the destruction of Candela.

More aloof than angry, Encix said, “We are not required to share all information with you.”

“
I
require it.” He could not penetrate the alien's large, black eyes, nor could he crack her unreadable expression. “When you asked, I agreed to help support your race's goal to achieve
ala'ru
. I allowed willing human volunteers to immerse themselves in slickwater to reawaken your race. You should be helping me protect this planet, but instead you exposed us all to an even greater threat.”

The two Originals remained inscrutable, and the frustrated General turned to the Diadem's daughter. Keana nodded, said, “I anticipated why you wanted me here. Yes, I have spoken with Uroa in my mind, debated him, and finally convinced him. Even I didn't know the broad strokes until now, but I forced my companion to reveal some of what he knows.” She glanced at the two Original aliens; Encix seemed angry with her, but Keana apparently didn't care about that. She focused on Adolphus. “Weeks ago, when Cristoph de Carre and I were in the museum vault, Lodo abruptly destroyed an artifact stored there, a telemancy enhancer. At the time, he refused to explain why he did that, but now I know he wanted to make sure the object wouldn't attract the Ro-Xayans.”

“That effort failed,” Lodo said. “The shadow-Xayans had already used too much telemancy, and it could not be hidden. When Tryn and her seed colony unleashed their burst of telemancy to destroy the Constellation stringline hub, she attracted the Ro-Xayans directly to Candela. It was a shout they could not ignore.”

“And you see what happened!” Encix said, sounding oddly shrill. “Two asteroids smashed into Candela, destroying everything there.” Her voice became more urgent. “Therefore, we
must
achieve
ala'ru
before the same thing happens to this planet.”

Adolphus scowled. “My people live here. I would rather prevent it from happening at all.”

Keana closed her eyes and heaved a long, deep sigh before she journeyed into her inner realms. “I will learn what I can, General.”

*   *   *

A bubble of stillness formed around Keana as she blocked off distractions inside the Elba conference room. She sensed reluctance from her internal companion Uroa, but she was persistent and forceful, and he finally surrendered to her pressure, clearing a mental pathway so she could see facets of his life and thoughts that had previously been unavailable to her.