A Night Without Stars

  The sun still hadn’t risen when he finally emerged out onto the murky snowscape. Bright white light was shining down from the base of the gondola, fluorescing the minute ice particles swirling idly through the air. The gloomy empty vista it exposed was even more incongruous given the entombed leviathan below his feet. He saw Kysandra, Paula, and Ry huddled together with Demitri underneath the gondola.

  Paula looked round as he walked over. ‘We may have a problem,’ she said.

  ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘The drones located the ship Anala was talking to. It’s the Pericato, a Marine ship. And it’s also got nuclear weapons on board; the drone sensors detected their radiation signature.’

  ‘Crud,’ Florian grunted.

  ‘That’s not the problem,’ Paula said.

  ‘Oh. What is?’

  ‘The drones also located the Sziu. It’s heading south-west through the Straits of Tyree. The course it’s taking will bring it to the coast due north from here – the shortest distance from us. It seems the Fallers know we’re here. My guess is they’ll bring the atom bombs ashore and try to deploy them against us.’

  Florian just managed to resist turning a full circle to try and catch whatever Faller-animal was spying on them. ‘Can the Gothora intercept them?’

  ‘No. Jymoar is further north than the Pericato.’

  ‘So what do we do?’

  ‘We’re assuming the warheads on the Pericato are short-range missiles,’ Kysandra said. ‘The government developed the Aseri missile for Operation Reclaim – solid-fuel propellant with a fifteen-kilometre range. Good for taking out urban areas with a high concentration of Fallers. Should be useful against the Sziu, providing they know its location. At the moment they clearly don’t – they’re not on an interception course.’

  ‘The drone also picked up Pericato’s radio transmissions,’ Ry said. ‘Major Danny is in command.’

  ‘You’d think he would’ve had enough of the Fallers on the Sziu by now,’ Kysandra muttered.

  ‘He wants another chance for his moment of glory, no doubt,’ Paula said. ‘Port Chana harbour wasn’t anyone’s finest hour.’

  ‘You’re going to tell him where the Sziu is?’ Florian asked.

  Even with most of her face covered by the e-m suit’s hood, Paula’s scowl was visible. ‘It’s our only option.’

  ‘I just cannot trust the Marines,’ Kysandra said. ‘Section Seven dreamt up a plan – Operation Overload – in case they ever confirmed my location. It involves bombarding me with nukes, and the Marines would carry out the attack. Giving them our location, or even a hint of it . . . That’s asking a lot.’

  ‘It would take them several days to reach us here,’ Paula said. ‘The risk is small.’

  ‘But why should we introduce any extra risks?’

  ‘Fortunately, we have another option, or at least we can come at the problem from a different angle,’ a grinning Ry said. ‘Someone else can tell Major Danny where the Sziu is; someone he’ll trust. And they won’t give us away.’

  ‘You mean your friend?’ Florian asked Ry. ‘The one in the Liberty?’

  ‘I don’t think we have a choice,’ Ry said. ‘We need to get the Sziu’s coordinates to the Pericato. And so far, Anala hasn’t seen the Sziu.’

  ‘And you trust her?’ Florian demanded.

  ‘Completely,’ Ry said. ‘But we need to do this quickly. Even if the Pericato sails to intercept Sziu right now, it’ll be touch and go if they can hit it before it reaches the coastline.’

  ‘Time,’ Kysandra said in dismay. ‘We cruised along for two hundred and fifty years, and now it’s suddenly acute. I crudding hate the irony.’

  Florian linked to the drone that was circling high above the coast and saw the Sziu steaming south-west at full speed. A weaker sensor return gave him the Marine ship behind it. Different sensors were tracking the steady radio signal of the Liberty capsule skimming the top of the atmosphere. Choice really didn’t come into it, this was simple logic. ‘For what it’s worth, my vote is to call Pilot Major Em Yulei.’

  *

  Anala stared out of the port in some crazy belief she could actually make out Ry down there somewhere.

  ‘Yeah, it’s me.’

  ‘Have you Fallen?’ she whispered.

  That wonderful chuckle of his filled her headphones. ‘No. But of course I would say that either way.’

  That easy teasing – so him. Surely no Faller could ever truly copy that?

  ‘So then why are you calling?’

  ‘Anala, I’m going to tell you why we’re here on Lukarticar.’

  ‘Why?’ she asked automatically. No one at her preflight briefing could produce a reason other than they might be seeking refuge from the Faller Apocalypse.

  ‘We’ve been looking for the Viscount. Anala, we found her!’

  ‘The Visc— No!’ That wasn’t possible. The Viscount was practically myth, just like the Warrior Angel. But she’s now very real.

  ‘It’s buried under the ice. Anala, we’re trying to recover Commonwealth technology that’ll stop the apocalypse.’

  ‘You can do that?’

  ‘We hope so. If we have enough time. So we need you to perform your mission and take out the Sziu without alerting the marines or the Fallers to where we are.’

  She stared out of the port, across the terminator where the planet was in total darkness. Beyond that line, there was no way to distinguish between the snowfields of Lukarticar and the icy waters of the Polas Sea; both were completely black, as if that portion of the world had gone missing. ‘How can the Sziu be a problem to you?’ she asked cautiously. ‘They briefed me – a proper briefing, security level one. You’re with the Warrior Angel now, and she has weapons. The greatest weapons on the planet.’

  ‘And the Fallers have atom bombs. We can’t protect the Viscount if they detonate them. Anala, the Marines have to intercept the Sziu. We know the Pericato is also carrying nuclear weapons. They have to stop the Fallers from reaching us.’

  ‘I don’t know where the Sziu is. I can’t see it.’

  ‘We can. Our sensors are tracking it, just like they’re tracking you. You can guide the Marines to it.’

  She listened numbly as he read out a string of latitude and longitude coordinates: Sziu’s speed and bearing. She so wanted to believe this was Ry, that there was hope, that the Viscount was genuine. But the other possibility was equally likely – that he had Fallen, that the location was a lie, that she’d send the Pericato on the wrong course, leaving the Fallers free to pursue the Gothora III. I don’t want to make this decision.

  ‘That location you’ve given me is on the other side of the terminator. It’s in the dark, Ry; I can’t confirm it yet. If you’re right, the Sziu will be in daylight for my next pass. I can tell the Pericato then.’

  ‘That’s too late, Anala. Major Danny has to catch them before they reach the coast. The only chance he has is if the Pericato starts after them now.’

  ‘I can’t, Ry. I can’t do that.’

  ‘This is what you’ve lived for, Anala, everything you’ve worked towards. This is your time to hit the Fallers, and hit them hard.’

  ‘I have to have confirmation. You crudding know that. You know!’

  ‘You trusted me before. Please, order the Marines to intercept the Sziu. We’re so close to the Commonwealth systems. I’ve seen the starship, and it’s magnificent! We can fly across space again, Anala, real spaceflight, not just pissing about in orbit. We can get home to the Commonwealth. Don’t let that future go. Don’t let the Fallers win!’

  ‘But I need verifiable data! And if you are Ry, you know this.’ Even if you’re not Ry, you’ll have his memories and know it.

  ‘The Fallers don’t have the technology to call a Liberty capsule. This is Commonwealth technology I’m using.’

  ‘It’s a radio signal, Ry. That proves nothing.’

  ‘What do you need, Anala? What will it take?’

  ‘I need to see the
Sziu.’

  She waited as the coastline slipped past underneath, cursing her own timidity.

  ‘Ask General Delores,’ Ry said finally.

  ‘What?’

  ‘If you don’t trust me, tell General Delores what I’ve told you. Tell her we’ve given you the Sziu’s position. She should know the truth; she has access to the highest government officials. Remember Stonal, the PSR official that interviewed me? He can confirm the Warrior Angel has been attempting to contact the prime minister. We were trying to do it through Captain Chaing. We can be trusted, I promise. Ask her. You should be in range of the coastal tracking station soon.’

  ‘Four minutes,’ she said automatically. Then she hesitated, deciding he deserved one last offering of trust. She owed him that – owed his memory if all she was talking to now was his Faller copy. ‘Ry, Adolphus himself is at Cape Ingmar.’

  ‘You are crudding kidding me!’

  A slight smile lifted her lips – that surprised indignation seemed impossible to fake; she could even see the expression on his face. A face she really missed. ‘No, I’m not. My mission is that important to them.’

  ‘Then that might make this a whole lot easier. There’s something you can say that he’ll know only comes from the Warrior Angel.’

  *

  So far, every orbit had seemed to take scant minutes. Now, of course, it took forever for the capsule to slide closer to Lamaran’s southern coast and contact with the ground station.

  ‘We have acquisition, Liberty two-six-seven-four,’ flight com’s voice came through level and calm, lush in its own professionalism. ‘Welcome back.’

  ‘Put the prime minister on,’ she replied. ‘Now.’

  ‘Please repeat, Liberty two-six-seven-four?’

  ‘Confirming request. Get the prime minister. I have a message for him.’

  It didn’t take much imagination to picture the flight centre with technicians at their consoles, trying hard not to look round, keeping their expressions neutral. Do your work. Always concentrate on the mission data, no matter what the crisis. Every minute of every day of every endless year of training hammered that home. And now this flight had come along, and nothing was the same any more.

  ‘This is Prime Minister Adolphus.’

  ‘Sir, astronaut Ry Evine has been in contact. He’s with the Warrior Angel and Paula.’ She heard it, actually heard it over the radio – a commotion in the flight centre, people calling out in shock. Delores will have them all weeding the launch pads for a decade!

  ‘Where are they?’ Adolphus asked.

  ‘They say they’ve found the Viscount, sir. And, sir, they supplied me with proof of identity. They say that their opening offer to you was to use the machine in the basement; that if you heard that, you’ll know it’s them, that this is genuine.’

  She paused, waiting without taking a breath.

  ‘That’s a yes, Major Em Yulei. Only they would know that. You were talking to the Warrior Angel’s group.’

  It took her entire willpower not to gasp in relief. ‘Sir, they gave me the coordinates for the Sziu, but I can’t confirm it visually; the location is in the nightside. They ask for the Pericato to intercept it immediately. Ry said if we wait for visual conformation, the Fallers’ atom bombs could destroy the Viscount, sir.’

  ‘Give Major Danny the Sziu’s position and bearing immediately. He is to intercept at once; authorization ZZ57AA to use maximum force. Repeat, ZZ57AA. Please confirm.’

  ‘Roger, sir. Authorization ZZ57AA.’

  ‘Do it.’

  Anala flicked switches on the communication panel and called the Pericato before it passed out of contact range.

  *

  Somewhere amid the all-engulfing dark, the Marine ship changed course and went full steam ahead. Flight com seemed to forget their standard mission format: supplying endless capsule housekeeping procedures. Instead it was Adolphus who stayed on line.

  ‘Did they say what they were doing at the Viscount?’ the prime minister asked as the capsule cleared the Lamaran coast just east of Port Chana.

  ‘No, sir. Just that it has machines that can stop the apocalypse.’

  ‘And are they all there?’

  ‘I only talked to Major Evine. He indicated he was in a group.’

  ‘I see. You are to be commended, Major Em Yulei. You have carried out your duty in the finest tradition of the Astronaut Regiment.’

  ‘Thank you, sir.’

  ‘When you orbit Lukarticar again, will you be able to see the Sziu?’

  ‘I hope so, sir.’ If it is where Ry said it is. If that was Ry. If . . .

  ‘Excellent. I need comprehensive updates, please.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘And try and find out exactly what the Warrior Angel is doing.’

  ‘I understand.’

  *

  It was another orbit that took an eternity, stretching her nerves far worse than waiting for the flight readiness exam results. The capsule seemed to crawl leisurely over the centre of Lamaran, then traversed the entire length of Nilsson Sound, which was channelling a fierce storm directly inland. She lost contact with flight com (after they’d managed to get in a final twelve minutes of systems maintenance) just as she reached the edge of the Fire Archipelago. Then it was a long communication blackout as the Liberty curved lazily above the north pole and carried on over the Eastath Ocean, skirting well to the west of Fanrith before soaring across Tonari’s fjord-notched coast – both far beyond reach of any ground station. Then finally she was over the south pole again.

  ‘So that went well,’ Ry said. ‘Our drone caught the Pericato altering course.’

  ‘Adolphus accepted your proof without question,’ she said.

  ‘Thank you, Anala. I know this was difficult for you.’

  ‘Ry, why is the Warrior Angel talking to the prime minister? And what is the machine in the basement? What’s going on?’

  ‘The negotiations were a contingency plan, that’s all, in case the Fallers win. They haven’t even started talking, not really.’

  The whole idea was crazy. I know the government has always lied, but the scale of this deception . . . Adolphus and the Warrior Angel, in secret talks! ‘Whatever,’ Anala said weakly. She checked the capsule’s orientation on the navigation panel and fired a quick burst of the reaction control thrusters, refining it. Then she aligned the sextant. ‘Ry, what’s on the Viscount that’ll defeat the Faller Apocalypse?’

  ‘I’ve seen miracles down here, Anala. Synthesizers like mini-factories. Generators that convert mass directly into energy. Everything you need to start a new industrial world.’

  ‘And weapons?’

  ‘Somewhere, yes, but Paula has a plan. She thinks she can stop the apocalypse from ever happening.’

  ‘Who’s Paula?’

  ‘She’s from the Commonwealth. That’s what happened on my mission; that’s what I saw: her arrival.’

  ‘Great Giu,’ she murmured. It was all so much to acknowledge. Right now she wished the capsule had another rocket stage attached – one she could fire and fly away from Bienvenido itself. Coasting out into the dark beyond, exploring the great gulf. Maybe finding a new world, free from the disasters afflicting dear old Bienvenido.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Nixie tubes count down to zero. She gripped the handhold tight, and peered along the sextant.

  There! Just in the daylight outside the terminator, eighty kilometres from Lukarticar’s rugged coast, a tiny white V was cutting through the rolling waves, heading purposefully south-west. Exactly where Ry had said.

  The saddest whimper escaped from her lips as she snatched the binoculars from their pocket under the sextant. It took a moment to scan, but the ship leapt into her vision. Small, little more than a tiny black fleck against the pale turquoise. But real.

  ‘I see it! Ry, I can see the Sziu.’ Professionalism took over. She checked the sextant, and made a note of the alignment, ready to relay the figures to Major
Danny.

  ‘Good to hear that, Liberty two-six-seven-four.’

  Anala gave a bitter laugh. He knew. Knew she’d doubted, but forgave her anyway. That was the real Ry all right. ‘Welcome back, Pilot Major Evine.’

  ‘Some people are crudding hard to please!’

  ‘You want an easy life in the Astronaut Regiment?’

  ‘Nah, never going to happen. Sorry I missed your Commencing Countdown party.’

  ‘I didn’t have one. This mission was put together fast.’

  ‘What? I am outraged! Every astronaut is entitled to their Commencing Countdown party.’

  ‘I’m aware why you’re disappointed.’

  ‘Weren’t you, too?’

  ‘Possibly. Now cut the unauthorized chatter; I’ve got an update to give to the Marines.’ She studied the figures she’d made.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘Ry? The Sziu is making very good time. I’m not sure the Pericato can get within range before they make landfall.’

  ‘Yeah. We have those numbers, too.’

  *

  Ry spent most of the morning sitting at the top end of compartment HGT54b, watching the sensor images coming in from the drones. One of the high-altitude craft was out over the ocean while the other was a hundred kilometres inland. Eight ge-eagles were circling the Sziu at a safe distance, providing a clear view as it battered its way through the waves. The drone sensors showed the Pericato making a valiant effort to intercept.

  ‘They’re not going to make it,’ he said when the Sziu was eight kilometres from the coast. The Pericato was twenty-two kilometres behind, and closing fast. But not fast enough.

  ‘Let’s see if we can slow the Sziu down for them,’ Paula said.

  Ry’s exovision showed him the drone altering itself. The wide, slender wings that allowed it to glide at such altitude began to contract. At the same time, Paula cut the power to its fans.

  When the wings had shrunk to half their operational size, the drone stalled. The nose tipped down and it began to fall. Still Paula kept the wing retraction going until just the tips were left, sticking out of the oval fuselage as fins, providing a degree of stability as it streaked down, rapidly reaching its terminal velocity of two hundred and seventeen kilometres per hour.