He looked down at his glass, to give her a chance to leave with dignity, but when he looked up again she was still there, staring at him coldly.
"I can feel your distress," she said evenly. "No matter where I am. Ever since our experiences on the ghostworld Unseeli, you and I have been… linked, in some strange way. Not quite telepathy, but close. I chose to disregard it, as did you. We didn't want to be taken for espers. But then we entered the Madness Maze on the Wolfling World, and the link has become stronger. Unavoidable. If I concentrate, I can feel what you're feeling, sense what you're thinking. And sometimes it comes whether I concentrate or not. It's really very annoying. For an Imperial officer, your mind is extremely disorganized. Your feelings are as undisciplined as your thoughts, and my mouth is currently full of the taste of whatever garbage that is you're drinking. It has to stop."
"I can't feel you," said Silence. "But then I wouldn't, would I? You're an Investigator. You don't have any feelings."
"My mind is disciplined," Frost said calmly. "Unlike yours. Is that why you're trying so hard to climb into a bottle and drown?"
Silence glared at her. "In case it has escaped your attention, Investigator, the Dauntless is carrying us back to inform the Empress that not only was our mission shot to hell, not only is her lover and Warrior Prime dead and cold, but also a major rebellion complete with an army of reawakened augmented men is in the offing. She is not going to be pleased with us. Not at all. If we're lucky, she'll just kill us both on the spot. But we haven't been particularly lucky so far, have we, Investigator?"
"So why are we going back?" said Frost.
The words hung in the air between them, refusing to let Silence ignore them. He looked into his glass, but it had no answer for him. He sighed heavily, and made himself meet the Investigator's cold blue eyes.
"Because it's my duty. I may have screwed up everything else in my life, but I still know my duty. The Empress must be warned. I swore an oath upon my honor to serve and protect the Empire to the last drop of my blood, and I still believe in that, irrespective of whoever happens to be sitting on the Iron Throne. The Empire is worth preserving, for all its many faults. All the alternatives are worse; from barbarism and mass starvation on a thousand worlds if the system breaks down, to all kinds of petty dictatorships if the Empress's authority is broken. The rebellion is a threat to civilization itself. I don't even want to think of what might happen if those damned AIs on Shub seized the opportunity to attack while we were preoccupied with a rebellion. And what about the aliens? You saw that thing on Unseeli, with its half-living ship. Lionstone must be warned and made to understand the urgency of the threat. She won't want to believe me, so she'll order a mind probe; and she'll believe that. Whether she wants to or not. So I'm going back because I have to. But you don't have to, Investigator."
He took a long drink. His throat was dry. Frost shook her head. "I have to go back, too. The Empire trained me to be an Investigator, and I don't know how to be anything else. And I wouldn't want to, even if I could. I like being what I am. It's direct and uncomplicated. But only the Empire has any use for an Investigator. So I'm going back, and hope that between now and then something happens to get us off the hook."
"And if nothing does?" said Silence. "If I did run, afterward… would you come with me, Frost?"
"No. I can't. I have to be what they made me." She looked at him for a long moment. "I can warn the Empress. It doesn't need both of us. And it certainly doesn't make any sense for both of us to die."
"I can't do that, Frost. I couldn't leave you to face the storm alone."
"I'd leave you, if I could."
"I know that." Silence smiled at her and wasn't bothered that she didn't smile back. She was an Investigator. And though she was supposed to be nothing more than a cold, calculating killing machine, Silence thought he understood her, even in the things she didn't—or couldn't—say. He didn't need the link for that.
"How's Stelmach?" he said finally. It was as good a way to change the subject as any. Frost snorted.
"Still sulking, because we had to leave his precious alien pet behind on the Wolfling World. Apparently, he only learned to control the Grendel alien by accident and isn't at all sure he can re-create his success again with another subject. Still, you can be sure he's already got some story worked out, to make him look good and us very bad."
"Undoubtably," said Silence. "I swear he was closer to that bloody alien than he ever was to anything human. Mind you, if I'd been christened with the name Valiant and only ended up as a Security Officer, I'd be hard to get along with, too. Whatever report he turns in, you can be sure his main motive will be to stab us in the back."
"Of course. That's what Security Officers are for."
"The point being, that he'll be more interested in looking out for his own interests than in convincing Lionstone of the rebel threat. Just another reason why I have to go back. Dammit."
"We could always kill him," said Frost. "Hard to stab anybody in the back from inside a coffin."
Silence thought about it. "No. It would only complicate things further. He doesn't know enough to really hurt us. He doesn't know about the link."
They'd never told anyone. The link wasn't esp, as far as they could tell, but it wouldn't prevent the Empire treating them as espers, if word ever got out. And espers were second-class citizens, little better than a clone. Certainly it would be the end of their careers as Captain and Investigator. They'd end up as lab animals, specimens to be quarantined, studied, and quite probably vivisected. So they never told anyone.
"Have you heard anything from your daughter recently?" said Frost.
Silence shook his head. His daughter Diana was an esper. She'd been with them when everything went to hell on Unseeli. She'd gone through a lot—enough to break anyone else. But she was his daughter, after all. Diana survived and emerged stronger than she had been before. Strong enough that when they returned to Golgotha from the Unseeli mission, she jumped ship and disappeared into the clone and esper underground. Silence hadn't seen her since or received any word from her. He was glad of that. He would have hated having to turn her in. Diana was his daughter, his only child, and he loved her deeply; but he knew his duty. Which was probably why she'd had the sense not to contact him.
He hoped she was well and happy.
"What's happening with the crew?" he said finally, changing the subject yet again. "Anyone giving you any trouble?"
"They wouldn't dare," said Frost. "A few of them tried giving me the cold shoulder, so I slapped them around a bit, to teach them some manners. They'll be fine, once they get out of the Infirmary. In the meantime everyone else is being very polite and obedient, as long as I'm around. I don't know what they're griping about. So we lost a few people. Sometimes that's part of the job."
"But we lost an entire away team," said Silence. "And all the Wampyr."
"Trust me, Captain. No one gives a damn about the Wampyr."
"But they were the last battle-trained adjusted men in the Empire."
"That's like saying they were the last cockroaches. Everyone on this ship is glad they're gone."
"They were still my men," said Silence. "I was responsible for them. And I just stood there and watched as the Hadenmen led them away."
"There was nothing you could have done. We were outnumbered."
"They'll be dead by now. Cut apart to see what makes them tick; pieces in neatly labeled jars in some Hadenman laboratory."
"Best place for them," said Frost. "I never trusted them."
"They fought beside us," said Silence. "And most of them died doing it. Doesn't that mean anything to you? No, of course it doesn't. I was forgetting. You're an Investigator. All you've ever cared about is killing the enemy. And God I wish I was like you."
He lifted his glass, but it was empty. He reached for the bottle, and Frost put a hand on his arm.
"Please. Don't."
They looked at each other for a long moment, and then a ch
ime sounded suddenly in their ears. Silence raised an eyebrow. It had been some time since anyone had contacted him on the command channel. He activated his comm implant and paused a moment to be sure his voice was calm and steady.
"This is the Captain."
"Bridge here, Captain. Communications Officer. I think you and the Investigator had better come up to the bridge immediately."
Silence frowned. There was something in the man's voice. Something more than concern. "What's the problem?"
"We've had a signal come in, Captain. I think you're going to want to hear this for yourself."
Definitely something in the voice. Something had shaken the Comm Officer right down to his socks. Which was why he'd come running to his Captain. Silence smiled grimly. "All right, I'm on my way. Go to Yellow Alert and prepare all battle stations. Captain out." He broke contact and looked thoughtfully at the Investigator. "Must be something really unusual, or dangerous, if they want both of us on the bridge. Could be an alien contact."
Frost stood up and pulled at her uniform here and there, to ensure everything was as it should be. "I told you something would come up, Captain. Something always does."
"That's what worries me," said Silence. "The way my luck's been going, this could turn out to be something really nasty."
"Good, something." said Frost. "Maybe I'll get the chance to kill something."
Some twenty minutes later. Captain Silence and the Investigator strode onto the bridge of the Dauntless, and headed straight for the Communications station. Silence had taken an emergency purge and was feeling very sober. He also felt like he'd just run a twenty-mile marathon. His legs were shaking, and so were his hands when he forgot to clench them into fists. He'd shaved and climbed into a fresh uniform, but he still felt like death warmed up and allowed to congeal. He bent over the Communications station and studied the board. Nothing seemed obviously wrong. The Comm Officer leaned away a little, and Silence realized his breath must still be really foul. Tough. He made himself concentrate on what the Communications Officer was saying.
"We dropped out of hyperspace just inside the Rim, so we could reestablish contact with the Empire. Our signals still won't cross the Darkvoid. Since comm signals travel through hyperspace it shouldn't be possible for anything to interfere with them, but that's the Darkvoid for you. Anyway, the minute we reappeared in normal space, my station began operating normally again. And the first thing we picked up was a signal in emergency code. No visual, just a voice. It's from the Empire Base on Gehenna. I looked it up. It's an unpopulated world, right out on the far edge of the Empire. Nasty place, by all accounts. The single Base is a scientific research lab, with 107 personnel. They're calling for help. The emergency code they're using is top priority. I think we actually have to be at war with something to use a higher code. Officially, standing orders say we're supposed to head straight back to Golgotha, to report in person on the outcome of our mission, but I thought you ought to hear this, in case you wanted to override."
"Quite right," said Silence. "Let me hear the signal."
He listened intently to the whispering voice coming from the Comm station. It was barely audible, despite everything the Comm Officer could do to boost the signal. Silence looked at Frost, who was frowning thoughtfully, but she just shook her head. Silence turned back to the Comm Officer. "What do the computers make of it?"
"Not a lot, Captain. It's a beacon, repeating a recorded message over and over. The only clear parts are the origin of the signal and the plea for help. We've tried contacting the Base directly, but there's no reply."
"If it's a beacon, how long has it been sending?" said Frost. "And why hasn't anyone else picked it up?"
"Unknown, Investigator. But the signal is very weak, and this is the Rim, after all. Strange things happen out here. Perhaps we only picked it up because we're right out on the Rim, too. What are your orders, Captain?"
Silence looked at Frost again. "We should ignore this. Go straight to Golgotha. The beacon could have been repeating its message for ages. Whatever happened on Gehenna, it's probably over by now."
"Of course, Captain," Frost said solemnly. "But those people could still need our help, and we are the only ship out here."
"Precisely," said Silence. "Our duty is clear. Helmsman, set a course for Gehenna. Investigator, we'll discuss this further in private. Second in Command, let me know when we get there. Otherwise, I don't wish to be disturbed."
His Second sniffed audibly, contempt clear in the sound. Frost spun on him, her hand dropping to her sword, but Silence stopped her with a hand on her arm. He strode over to the command chair, gripped the Second by the throat with one hand, and lifted him effortlessly out of the chair. The Second's eyes bulged, and his tongue protruded from his mouth. He scrabbled at Silence's hold with both hands, but couldn't budge it. He drew his disrupter, and Silence slapped it out of his hand. The gun skidded across the floor until Frost stepped on it. The rest of the bridge crew took in the look on her face, and sat very still at their stations. Silence let go of his Second's throat, and he dropped back into the command chair, gasping for breath. Silence leaned forward so his face was right before the Second's, and locked eyes with him.
"You show disrespect for my rank again, boy, and I'll fire you out of one of the torpedo tubes in your underwear. Now, get on with your business and leave me to mine. Is that clear? Good. I'm glad we had this little talk. Feel free to come to me again if you need anything else explained to you."
He turned and left the bridge, Frost falling in beside him. As he passed the Communications station, the Comm Officer murmured, "Good to have you back, Captain." Silence had to hide a smile. The door slid shut behind him, and Silence let out his breath in a long sigh. He stopped and leaned back against the corridor bulkhead. His head ached sickly, and his hands were shaking again.
"I need a drink," he said tiredly.
"No you don't," said Frost.
"Look, who's hangover is this, anyway?"
"You didn't need any help hauling the Second out of his chair," said Frost calmly. "And with only one hand, too. I'm impressed."
"So am I," said Silence. He pushed himself away from the bulkhead and strode off down the corridor. Frost fell in beside him again, and they didn't say any more until they were safely back in the Captain's quarters. It was no secret that the Security Officer had the whole ship bugged from stem to stern. Silence debugged his quarters on a regular basis, and since he had access to better tech than Stelmach, he was just about keeping ahead. Silence sank into his favorite seat, and Frost pulled up a chair opposite. Silence looked thoughtfully at the half-empty wine bottle and then looked away. Maybe later.
"So, Investigator, it would seem our short time in the Madness Maze changed us more than we realized. For a moment there, the Second seemed to weigh nothing at all. I could have ripped him apart with my bare hands. And part of me wanted to."
"I wonder if I'll get stronger, too," said Frost. "Or perhaps there are other surprises in store for me. I wonder what we might have become, if we'd made it all the way through the Maze…"
"You can always ask the rebels, if we ever get another bash at them. They made it all the way through."
"Either way, I think this is something else we should keep strictly to ourselves, Captain."
"I couldn't agree more, Investigator. Let us talk of safer things. What do you think could have happened on Gehenna, that their only call for help was a voice in an automated beacon? Under normal conditions, all they had to do was call on an open channel, and an Empire starcruiser would have been there within hours. That's standard, no matter where in the Empire you are. Of course, we are right out on the Rim, but even so… Could it be the first rebel attack?"
"I doubt it, Captain. First, they don't look anywhere near organized enough to mount a major attack. Secondly, I don't think they've got the resources to mount anything major yet. And thirdly… I've got a bad feeling about this. To take out a planetary Base so quickly and so thor
oughly that they only had time to fire off a beacon would require weaponry of immense power. Perhaps greater power than either the rebels or the Empire could muster."
"So what are we talking about here? The Hadenmen? Shub?"
"Perhaps. But I can't help thinking the last time a Base fell silent, we ended up on Unseeli."
"Where we discovered a crashed alien starship of a technology unknown to the Empire and quite possibly superior to anything we have, and a Base full of dead people." Silence scowled thoughtfully. "You think it could be those aliens again?"
"Could be," said Frost. She smiled briefly. "And I'm just in the mood to kick some alien ass."
"I've never known you when you weren't, Investigator. Personally, I'm just glad of a good excuse to put off our return to Golgotha. Possible alien attack is one of the few acceptable excuses we could come up with. But I have to say, I don't like the idea of our losing another planetary Base. It leaves us vulnerable to all kinds of things. And there's always the chance this is some kind of trap, designed to pull in unsuspecting ships."
"Then, we'd better get there first," said Frost. "We are, after all, expendable."
"You speak for yourself," said Silence.
The Dauntless dropped out of hyperspace and settled into orbit around the planet Gehenna, the world of eternal fires. It burned like a blazing coal in the dark; continent-wide flames leaping and flaring but never dying down. Long ago something set light to the surface of the planet, and through some kind of chain reaction the fire had spread till it covered all the world. The poles had melted and the oceans had evaporated, and all that remained was the flames. The surface burned, consuming itself slowly but inexorably. There was evidence that Gehenna had once been inhabited by an alien civilization, but no trace remained of the aliens or their works. Only a handful of strange stone bunkers, huge and impressive but utterly empty, buried deep in the bedrock, away from the all-consuming fires. If they had any secrets, they remained a mystery. No one knew what had happened to the alien civilization: whether they were destroyed by some outside force, or whether they did it to themselves. Whether the fire came first, or was just an aftereffect of whatever destroyed an entire species so thoroughly that not even a hint remained of what they might have been.