Chapter 16

Rescue

“Can you see anything?” Sunbolt sounded tetchy. We couldn’t risk people spotting the glow of his hair, so even with his hood up, he didn’t get a turn at the binoculars.

“Yeah,” I said “There’s a couple of Vadram over by the main door. I don’t think they’re actual guards, but they might as well be. I don’t see a way in except past them.”

I shuffled back down below the ridge-line. “Looks like they’ve taken up housekeeping in a cave in that cliff face. They have their own shuttle, parked outside. The good news is unless they’ve been ferrying people in batches, their ship doesn’t look big enough to carry more than about twenty Vadram. I guess that’s also the bad news since even one of them was a pain in the ankle.

“The other bad news, though, between here and there, there’s about half a kilometre of bare rock, no way we’re getting over that without being spotted. Sunbolt could fly down the cliff, but for the rest of us, climbing down would be even slower than crossing the empty space.”

“A direct frontal assault would be suicide,” said Pilvi, though it’s what we were all thinking. “And give them time to kill Gravane if they’re inclined to it.”

“So, we find another way in,” said Seventhirtyfour. “It’s a cave, there could be other caves that connect to it, they wouldn’t expect us to come that way.”

“It’d take too long,” Sunbolt disagreed. “Even if there is another way it could take days to find it, and we agreed, this has to happen tonight.”

I shook my head. “I’m afraid Sunbolt is right. So, if we must use that entrance, Rescueology 101 tells us, we need to get those Vadram away from the door. We need a distraction.”

“Sabotage the shuttle?” said Pilvi, then before I could point out the flaw, “No, that might bring more of them out, not just distract the two of them.”

“Hey, Numbers, can’t you just daze them with your mind powers?”

“If he could do that, Sunbolt, he’d have done it to you long ago,” Pilvi growled.

“Guys,” I said, holding a hand up for quiet. “Look, we’re all on edge, I get that, but sniping at each other isn’t going to help. Keep all that focused that way.” I waved vaguely towards the cave. “What we need is something curious, but not threatening to pull those two away without attracting more.”

“Like a will o’ the wisp,” said Pilvi, and with a grin, she reached over and pulled down Sunbolt’s hood.

“Ha!” said Seventhirtyfour.

Sunbolt angrily pulled his hood up. “That’s idiotic. I’m your strongest, practically your only fighter, and you want me to move further away from the fight?”

“It’s genius. She’s right, a flyby from you is just the distraction we need. And you’re right, you’re the better fighter, once you get far enough away, take those two down and haul jets back. I expect we’ll be in trouble enough by then.”

I could see he wanted to disagree. But also, that he couldn’t see a better plan in the time we had.

“Fine,” he said. “But if you get yourself killed while I’m off being a wild goose chase, don’t blame me!”

“You circle around to the left. We’ll head right, the shuttle should provide us a little cover at least.”

Sunbolt nodded. “You move as soon as I draw those two away. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep them on the hook, but I’ll buy you what time I can. If they turn back, I can take them, I reckon, but it won’t be subtle.”

“Fair enough.”

# # #

I watched Sunbolt work his way back down the ridge, veering away at the bottom, then Seventhirtyfour, Pilvi and I headed the other way. We moved in silence. I don’t know what the others were preoccupied with, but for myself, I was wondering what to do once we got inside, because, obviously, I am an optimist, pining for a ceiling.

The key was going to be being quick and quiet. We couldn’t afford a fight. The three of us together might be able to take a Vadram, if it came to it, or at any rate, Pilvi and I could help Seventhirtyfour, but not quickly, and not quietly. Which drastically increased the odds that we would be fighting more than one of them.

We got as close as we dared, then hunkered down behind some rocks. The bulk of the Vadram shuttle would do most of the concealing for us, but I needed to be able to see the front doors, so I knew when it was time to move. I gestured to Pilvi and Seventhirtyfour to stay down and edged sideways to open up the angle. I kept low and fell to my stomach when I caught my first glimpse of Vadram fur. I still needed a better view, needed to see both of them. I dragged myself forward on my elbows—a technique right out of Building Infiltration class. The Vadram weren’t looking towards me. The bulk of the shuttle would keep them thinking this direction was “safe”. In theory. As long as there were no cameras—I froze. Cameras. Why hadn’t I—it was a cave, you don’t think of caves having cameras. Right?

My mouth was dry, felt like it was coated with the reddish stone dust of the plateau. I moved my head, searching for any kind of cover. If there were cameras this whole thing might already be blown. But if I could find some cover, maybe I could still save this. Nothing. A wide flat open space.

My ankle throbbed. There was nothing to do but wait. And hope.

Time stretched. My heart beat against the rock of the plateau. Then, after an eternity, I saw a flash of light off on the far side. Sunbolt.

The Vadram saw it too; one pointed and there was a brief flurry of conversation.

When the flash happened again, the Vadram pointed more urgently, took a step in the direction of the light.

Almost.

Almost.

A third flash, and this time the Vadram moved, taking off at a jog, calling something over his shoulder. His buddy called after him, and for a second, I thought he was going to stay, but instead, he pulled out a comm and chased after him.

No reinforcements appeared, which was a relief, but I had to assume that the Vadram inside the caves would be on the alert. Not ideal but at least the way to the front door was clear.

In silence, we ran. No point trying to find cover, there was none, so we just covered the ground as quickly as we could.

We made it to and through the cave mouth. I felt the tingle of a heat shield as we crossed the threshold. On the other side, the temperature rose sharply, and the air was heavy, humid, and had an odd taste. If this was the kind of environment the Vadram preferred, I had to wonder what interest they had in a cold, dry world like Nymanteles.

Inside, I’d expected to find one large cave, but instead, a tunnel descended into the rock face. It was clear some effort had been made to increase its habitability; floor and walls bore signs of having been worked to make them smoother. Lighting and network cables were pinned to the wall. In fact, it had enough of a station-y feel, I felt positively at home. And if the ceilings were high, they were at least blissfully there, one less thing to stress about after being far too long outdoors.

The tunnel branched and without hesitation, I took the left path. On the general principle that if you have to make a decision based on no information, try to at least look like you know what you’re doing.

It was becoming clear that the cave system was much bigger than we’d thought, with crisscrossing tunnels connecting wider spaces the Vadram were using as rooms. We caught occasional glimpses of one or more Vadram, but there was enough room we were able to keep out of their way. Which the optimist in me was trying hard to view positively, but it was starting to make me wonder.

I’d had visions of finding Gravane tied up in some dark corner of a cave, but this place... How were we going to even find him, let alone rescue him? We needed information, and I could only think of two ways to get it. Fortunately, we found an unattended console before we found a lone Vadram.

“Keep watch,” I said. Hopefully, there would be a map, or schematics, or something useful to give us a clue.

I was a little surprised by the Gravane logo on the welcome screen; it’s a common enough sight on consoles and pads, sure enough, but it felt weird finding it on the screen of his kidnappers.

I found the map, but my heart sank. “This place goes on for miles! Look there are barracks, kitchens, armouries, there’s a room here annotated as the cinema!”

“That’s great, Grey, but have you found the brig?” asked Pilvi.

“Not yet, I’m still looking. But what is this place? It looks more like a military base than the hideout of a group of kidnappers.”

Seventhirtyfour loomed over my shoulder. “He’s right Pilvi,” he rumbled. “The scale... It’s built for a lot more than twenty Vadram.”

Then he gasped, grabbed me and Pilvi and pulled us into the corner behind the console.

Moments later, a Vadram came into the room. He didn’t notice us, but there was no missing the fact that the console was open and running. He walked over and switched it off, looked around suspiciously.

Seventhirtyfour dipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a strip of black cloth. I caught a glint of some wiring sewn into it. The Psionic Crown. The thing Gadget Dude had lashed together all those months ago. Seventhirtyfour wrapped the cloth around his head and stood up.

The Vadram spotted him instantly, and without even a surprised look, threw himself at the Brontom.

Seventhirtyfour swayed to his left.

The Vadram sailed by, but he gave a startled growl, twisted and jumped again. Once more Seventhirtyfour effortlessly avoided the blow.

“A friend made this for me, a long time ago,” he said, continuing to avoid or block each of the Vadram’s attacks. “He told me at the time it would enhance my powers, but I thought it hadn’t worked, because I didn’t understand back then what my powers actually were. Once I knew though, I found I could use the headband for all sorts of neat tricks. Though it gives me terrible headaches if I use it too much.”

This time when he blocked, he twisted his shoulder, leaving the Vadram’s throat exposed. He used a spare hand to punch it. “From the first day we’re pulled from the pod, Brontom are trained and programmed for battle, but this is more instinctual. I call it ‘Battle Precognition’, I see exactly how you’ll attack and how to avoid it before you even try. Cool, right?”

The Vadram staggered back, clutching at his throat. “I see your friends there,” he croaked. “I have friends too; many, many, friends.” He pulled out his comm.

Seventhirtyfour knocked it out of his hand before he could call anyone. “Yes, I saw that coming too. Still, even without calling for help, we only have ninety seconds before another one arrives, so I suppose we should get on with it. Grey, Pilvi, stay behind me. Let’s see if the headband helps with one of my other abilities. Let’s see... Where’s Gravane?”

There was a visible rippling in the air, as Seventhirtyfour directed a blast of psychic energy at the Vadram. He sagged immediately afterwards. “Oh, there’s the migraine.”

The Vadram laughed. “Ha! I will tell you nothing.”

Seventhirtyfour looked over his shoulder at me. “He’s in the Control Centre. You know where it is.”

“Yes.”

“You and Pilvi get going. I can keep this guy occupied for 47 seconds after you leave, then I’ll have to take the headband off. I can keep him busy a little longer after that, but I can’t see if that’s enough time. So, go!”

The Vadram pounced again, and this time connected. But I had faith in Seventhirtyfour; even if his Battle Precognition failed, he was still a Brontom clone, and they were born as warriors.

I looked at Pilvi. “Come on!”

As we ran from the room, alarms sounded.

# # #

Pilvi and I pressed on.

While there were similarities to a station, this was a cave system, and not all my instincts were right. We had to duck back around more than one corner that I had assumed would be helpful but turned out to be full of Vadram instead. And man, I missed service ducts. Still, I had a weird sense of déjà vu when a wrong turn sent the two of us into a Hydroponics bay.

Or that’s what it looked like to me anyway. I didn’t recognise the plants growing here, they certainly weren’t the ones I’d seen on stations before, but the setup was the same; dozens of rows of planters, a complex lighting rig to provide plenty of light, and a network of irrigation tubes.

Pilvi gasped, amazed. “Grey, look at these!”

“I know, right, Hydroponics plants. I guess they’re helping with the atmosphere mix?”

“Probably, a bit anyway, but no, look at these plants, have you ever seen them before?”

I shrugged. “I’m not really a plant guy, Pilvi. What is it you’re seeing here that I’m not?”

She peered closely at them, not touching the plants, but she did rub some of the soil between her fingers, then sniffed it. “I’ve not seen them before either,” she said. “I don’t even recognise the genus. And I’ve studied plants, they’re my superpower, remember?”

“Sure but, you can’t recognise everything, right, it’s a big galaxy, with a lot of plants.”

“Shush, I’m thinking.”

I shushed. But kept a nervous eye on the door.

She took a small toolkit from her utility belt, pulled out shears and a sample bag. She looked up and down the row. “This will take too long, Grey. I think you’ll need to go on without me too. Can you get Gravane out alone?”

“I know I said I’d help with farming, but after the rescue.”

“I’m not asking you to help, but if I’m right, this may be even more important than rescuing Gravane.”

“These plants?”

“I think the Vadram may be new to this part of the galaxy,” she said. “I wondered when we didn’t recognise them earlier, but it is a big galaxy, just like you said. I’ve studied hydroponic systems up, down and sideways, though, and I’ve never seen these arrangements before.

“This looks like a first contact situation to me, with a powerful, advanced species whose instincts involve kidnapping, thuggery and secrecy. We need to know about them, they could be dangerous. Well, we know they’re dangerous, but I’m worried they might be really dangerous. And if they are, knowing things about their ecosystem could be really important.”

I cast a glance back towards the door again. “Are you saying we need to abandon Gravane?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ll take the samples I need, and then get out of here, but you still need to find Gravane. Will you be okay by yourself?”

I nodded. “Yeah, sure.” My mouth was dry, there was a gnawing worry in the pit of my stomach, and it wasn’t about the Vadram. “You be careful too, Pilvi. There’s something off about this whole situation. Get what you need and get out. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

She grinned at me. “Right back at you, Grey.” And then she set to taking her samples.

Alone, I carried on.

# # #

My problem was that the more I thought about it, the more that kidnapping seemed unlikely for the Vadram. The more we saw, the more convinced I was that the Vadram were not a bunch of space goons who had lucked onto the payday of a lifetime. They were organised, funded, well supplied. Pilvi was right, it was beginning to look to me as though the Vadram were properly dangerous and had a plan. And the idea that they had kicked off their plan by taking Gravane... No. I didn’t believe it.

The software on their consoles, Gravane being ‘kept’ in the control room... The Vadram being discovered by Gravane’s supposed girlfriend. There was a scam in the air, I could taste it, and I was fairly sure I knew who was behind it.

I slipped through an unguarded door to the control centre, ducked behind a console and had a look at who was doing the controlling here. And, yep. There we go. The person in charge of this group of hostile aliens:

Mirabor Gravane.