Adamant Spirits, page 131
“Motherfucker,” Molly said in a quiet, intense voice. She sat up straight, almost vibrating. “No wonder.”
I straightened too, looking over her shoulder. Whatever caused my khara such distress, I hoped it was a problem I could punch.
A floating display showed an interwoven chain of data of which I understood hardly anything. There were names, there were ID numbers, a timeline…. I couldn’t make sense of it.
Molly’s fingers danced with the data, pushing it this way and that until various bits lined up. The result must have made sense to her. “Got you.”
“Got who?” I asked, shaking my head at the incomprehensible lists of data. Molly grinned, twisted around to kiss me on the lips, and then explained.
“It’s the booking system for the studios. All of it’s meant to go through Allison, so most of it’s booked by Tulla—but look, Studio Two gets booked in these long slots, like six hours, and if we line up those with the time of the thefts….”
I saw it now. Room bookings, the thefts, fence “failures” all on a timeline. And, yes, looked at together they fitted like a glove.
“So, who’s booking the studio?”
Molly smiled. “Allison, it looks like, for her weather reports. But that’s bullshit, right? Her reports aren’t that long, and you saw how annoyed she was about Studio Two being booked out.”
“Yes. So if that’s not her…”
We finished the sentence together: “… it has to be someone with access to her system.”
Neither of us needed to speak his name. Harmon. Close enough to Allison to get her codes, desperate to keep his place close to her, and he always did massive recording blocks for his poetry shows.
“Soul of the Void, this is unfair,” I grumbled, lifting Molly from my lap and standing. She wriggled delightfully until I set her down. “I wish more than anything I could stay here with you, but there is no time to lose. If we can prove his guilt, we can keep him out of the way when the Prytheen attack. I do not want him free to sabotage our defenses.”
And with that, I rushed from the room, seeking Studio Two.
The shouting led me there. Allison wasn’t shouting, she spoke clear and direct. Harmon, though, Harmon bellowed wildly, impossible for my grasp of human language to follow. Both fell silent as we rounded the corner, turning to look at us.
“Excuse me,” I said as I walked toward the doorway. Harmon snorted and crossed his arms. A grin plucked at my lips and I didn’t slow down.
Harmon was big for a human. He was used to shoving people aside easily, but that had been before he met the Prytheen. Not even bothering to push him out of the way, I walked through the door.
It’s a credit to his bravery that Harmon didn’t stand aside. It’s less flattering to his intelligence, though. Big as he was, he weighed less than I did and more of his weight was fat. My chest struck his, and he bounced back, tumbling to the floor and shouting at me.
I tuned him out, ignored Allison’s questions too, and searched the room. There wasn’t much in it, just a desk with an audio editor program floating above it, a swivel chair that sagged to one side, and a shelf of books. I ignored them all, focusing on the soundproofed walls.
There. A panel didn’t quite match up with its neighbors, and it came away freely when I pulled at its edge. The cavity behind it was like a miniature treasure trove, and the humans gasped as I tugged it out into view. Loops of cable, some tools, a datastore….
“He’s been trading them to the Prytheen,” Molly explained to Allison. Other humans were gathering now, angry murmurs breaking out, and I heard the nerves in Harmon’s voice as he tried to twist the truth and escape blame.
“Preposterous. I have done nothing of the sort,” he blustered. “I didn’t know that hiding place was there, but he had no trouble finding it. It’s probably his stash of stolen goods, which he trades to his own people.”
“Right,” Molly said, and I could imagine her eye roll without needing to look. “Karnac’s not been here long enough to be the ghost, and some of that stuff went missing months before he arrived. What, were you holding out for a better price for the datastore?”
“How dare you accuse me, young lady,” Harmon began, volume rising with each word. He got no further before I crossed the studio and grabbed him by the throat. He spluttered and choked and fel silent.
“Prytheen gems and jewelry,” I said, holding up a padded box in my free hand. “He’s been selling to your enemies, Allison.”
“Not…true…” Harmon choked out. Molly and Allison looked inside the jewelry case and gasped at what they saw. Allison turned to glare at him, and he slumped in my grip.
“Did it…for you,” he tried now. I shook my head and let go of him, wiping my hand clean on the padded wall. Harmon sucked a deep breath in before continuing, his voice a little rougher now. “Allison, you must believe me, I did it for you. Once Vindar is in charge, it will be much easier for us if we help him. And he will win, with or without us.”
“Oh?” Allison’s sweet voice dripped venom. “And here I thought you were an honorable man, a brave soul—but, no, you’re happy enough to sell us out for gems and for a chance to be, what, a court poet to the new Alpha? I suppose I can see that, but it’s a disappointment.”
“I have risked everything for you.”
“You didn’t have the guts to talk to me about this first. You knew I’d say no, so you didn’t ask. Don’t hide behind that feeble excuse.”
Molly cleared her throat and interjected. “This is all important, but it isn’t urgent. Right now our biggest issue is that Vindar will be here sooner or later, and we need to prepare. So what can you tell us, Harmon?”
The big human glared around at us, but he knew we’d caught him. He looked down, collapsing in on himself as he admitted defeat. “Fine. They have at least a dozen warriors, not counting Vindar himself. All well-armed. And they’ll be here with the storm. Look, let me go and I’ll speak on our behalf. They want a working vid broadcasting system, that’s all, they’d rather not hurt any of you—of us.”
“How did you fool me about the storms?” Allison demanded.
“Oh, that. Darling, you made it too easy for me to find your passwords, and I cobbled together a program that would alter the data you get from the other colony pods. Rather clever, I thought.”
Allison took one step forward and slapped him. The hard crack of her skin on his filled the studio and Harmon’s head rocked back, a red palm print rising on his cheek.
“We could have died,” she hissed, too angry to shout. “Two of us almost did. All so your alien friends would have a storm to attack under?”
“I….” Harmon swallowed and tried again. “I wanted to keep things off balance, and I had no way of knowing how strong the storm would be. Look, look, we can work something out here, I know the Alpha….”
His sniveling desperation made my fists itch. Worse was the fact that he’d committed this treason without caring about the people who’d be hurt. He could have killed Molly and didn’t care. Harmon was still talking, but I didn’t hear him over the sound of my pulse thumping in my ears.
“Enough,” I growled. My fist caught Harmon under the chin, lifting him off his feet. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. “His worthless words won’t help us. We must prepare to fight.”
Molly
We wouldn’t have long. Allison, ignoring the tampered data and working with what she saw for herself, estimated that the storm would hit in just a couple of hours, and Karnac thought the attack would come on the leading edge of that.
“They will watch the broadcast, so we can bring them in early,” he said. “As soon as there’s any change to the programming, any warning to the Joint Colony, they will attack at once. But if we change nothing, they’ll wait till the storm hits and try to take us out before we can raise the alarm.”
“Why do they even care about us?” Zeng Ru asked. Handsome, rugged, muscular, he looked like the action hero to save us all. Unlike some of his fans, he knew the difference between an actor and the real thing well enough that the coming fight terrified him. “I mean they don’t need the station, they can just hit the colony, right?”
Alf chuckled and shook his head. “There is a reason that revolutions target the radio stations, the TV stations. Think of all the Prytheen down there, some of whom might support a change in leadership. If they can broadcast from here, their numbers grow—and with them, their chances of winning.”
Zeng nodded unhappily, and we went to work. Dragging heavy equipment to every door and window, we left only a few usable. That meant that we only needed to defend those, but it also trapped us. Well, running away into the storm would kill us, anyway.
Not that going up against a pack of Prytheen warriors was much safer.
Allison had more grim news: since its last maintenance cycle, someone had disassembled our sole laser rifle. Someone—and it had better be Harmon, because if there was a second traitor we were fucked—had pulled it all apart and removed several vital components. Nothing that we couldn’t replace with a bit of effort, but we didn’t have time. Even unconscious and locked up, Harmon fucked with us.
“Karnac,” I said, trying to think of anything to better our odds, “Is your blaster in working order?”
Confused by the question, he frowned adorably. Just watching him brought me hope, or something more. We were together, which meant that we’d get through this, something inside me said.
“It is,” he said, “but you know that it can’t hold a charge on this damned planet, do you not?”
“Yes, I know, but I have an idea about that.” I grinned and his frown just deepened. “What’s its power draw when firing?”
“I do not know in human units,” he said, then grinned. “High. Do you think you can get it to work?”
“Sort of, maybe, if I hurry.” I held out my hand for the blaster, only for him to bring my hand to his lips and kiss it instead.
“Then let us go,” he said. “We’re more likely to get it done if we work together.”
An hour later we stood behind a barricade, watching the storm approach. Heavy snowflakes battered against the window before us, and the icy wind whistled around the station. They’d be here soon, if they weren’t already creeping up by stealth….
That kind of thinking does no one any favors, I told myself sternly, gripping my weapon and keeping my eyes on the approach. The blaster was heavy, too heavy for me, but if it worked, I’d forgive its weight. Cabling ran from it to the ceiling, limiting my movement but drawing power from the station.
Everyone else gave us a wide berth, looks of horror and fear on their faces when they stared at the frankengun. Their caution was justified—Karnac and I had only had time for the shortest of tests, and who knew what firing it at power would do?
“There,” Michiko called, pointing with her left hand, her right holding a sledgehammer. I wasn’t convinced it was a great choice, but it had the advantage that if she connected, her opponent would know it.
The shadows in the snow that she pointed to meant nothing to me, but as we watched, they became clearer. A pack of Prytheen walked out of the storm, a dozen of them led by an older warrior. Not that I was about to discount him as a threat because of his age: he carried himself with the grim, determined stride of someone who knew exactly how dangerous he was.
“I’m up,” Karnac said behind me. “With luck, I may settle this on my own.”
I turned to embrace him, my heart aching already. If he went out that door, I might never hold him again, might never feel his skin on mine.
If he stayed, though, he wouldn’t be the man I loved. “Be as safe as you can, and come back to me, khara.”
The last word slipped out without me thinking about it, but now that I’d spoken it, there was no going back. It felt right, a perfect description of our feelings for each other.
It had a hell of an effect on Karnac, too. He swept me up into his arms, swung me around, kissed me firmly on the lips. His golden eyes gleamed, and neither of us was breathing normally when he put me down.
“You mean that, khara?” he asked, half-exultant, half-suspicious. Well, I couldn’t blame him, not after how long it had taken for me to come around and accept the truth. I nodded, kissed him again, and stepped back.
“I do. And once you come back safe and sound, we’ll talk about our future.”
I’d swear I felt the rush of joy that went through him when I said that.
“Then I shall return swiftly,” he told me, striding to the door and out into the cold. I turned back to the window and watched Karnac walk down to meet his fellow Prytheen.
“Good to give a man something to come back for,” Allison said. “Nicely done.”
I gave her the finger, blushing. Somehow it hadn’t registered that every one of my colleagues was watching our exchange. “Shut up or I’ll test the blaster on you.”
“Ooh, I see the grumpy Prytheen is rubbing off on you,” Allison replied, unmoved by my threat. I met her gaze, and she winked, subtly inclining her head to the rest of the crew. All of them watched me with amusement. The tension in the air lightened just a touch, and I turned my attention back to the outside.
So I’m a tool to raise morale, I thought. Fair enough, if it worked. We might need it.
Our conversation was cut short by a bark from Amy’s companion labrador. She’d been in charge of monitoring the radio—Karnac had gone out with a microphone, so we could hear what was going on.
“Vindar,” Karnac’s voice came through loud and clear. “I hope you are well and your pack has fed. This is Silver Band territory, and you are welcome as long as you come in peace.”
Vindar’s voice was old, tired. “We are well, and there is good hunting. I hope you and yours have too? If not, we have food enough to offer. Come join us.”
They spoke GalTrade, thank goodness. Presumably making sure we could all understand what was going on.
“We have plenty of food, Vindar, though you seem to be hunting our territory,” Karnac replied. “Come join us, and we can hunt this land together.”
Definitely a ritual exchange. Were they offering each other the chance to surrender without losing face? With thirteen Prytheen they not only outnumbered us, but only Karnac was up to fighting one of them on an even footing.
Vindar sighed heavily. Looking at him, he seemed old though not weak, a grizzled veteran of a thousand battles who might have slowed down but was no easy target for the younger warriors. A little shorter than Karnac, a little broader, he wore knives everywhere and silvery bands around his right arm.
“You know I cannot accept,” Vindar said. “And you know that your pack is too small to fight mine. Join us, feast with us, and no one here need die.”
Karnac snorted at that. “You underestimate us, I think. Even if we cannot stop you, we will weaken you. Without the element of surprise, Auric will tear you apart.”
“Karnac, I do not know you. I do not know your humans. But I can count. Perhaps it’s true that you can hurt our chances; none of you will live to see your triumph. Do not throw your life, and the life of your khara, away on a hopeless cause.”
“All you need to do is stop the attack, walk away if you will not join.” Karnac refused to back down or show weakness, and I hoped he knew what he was doing.
“I cannot. Auric defied the Council of Alphas, stood against his brothers and sisters of the Silver Band to protect the humans. He is a traitor, he cannot lead us, and I will remove him.”
“Attacking the humans was wrong. Auric stood up for our honor when he defended them.” Karnac’s blunt words made Vindar wince. “I can do no less, especially when my khara is amongst them.”
“Then there is nothing more to say.” Vindar sounded disappointed by that.
“There is one more thing. If we must settle our differences by combat, let it be between the two of us. No need for others to die.”
“Agreed,” Vindar said, and leaped.
I’d expected something more formal, maybe with seconds or at dawn or something. Prytheen dueling wasn’t like that, or at least it wasn’t between these two. Vindar’s knives sliced through empty space as Karnac jumped out of the way, rolling to his feet and drawing his sword.
Just in time to parry one of the daggers Vindar threw at him. The other sliced into Karnac’s left arm before spinning off into the snow. Vindar already had another pair of blades in his hands, closing on Karnac before he recovered.
I covered my mouth and wished I could look away. The two were well matched, swift and smooth and brutal, and my heart stopped each time they closed for a flurry of cuts. The ringing of blade on blade came through the transmitter loud and clear, each exchange making me wince as I tried to match sound to action.
“As you can see, Karnac has the edge in speed, but Vindar’s experience is telling,” Allison’s voice caught my attention with the name of my khara, and I turned to see her standing next to the barricade, a camera drone focused on her, Tulla riding on its back. A second drone watched through the window, recording the fight itself.
“Ooh, that swing from Karnac nearly turned the tide. I think…YES, Vindar’s bleeding, that cut will slow him down a bit.”
I guess we all have our own ways of coping, I thought as I turned back to watch and tuned her out. Vindar was bleeding, but so was Karnac, blood staining the snow around them. My heart pounding, I resisted the urge to open fire on Vindar. My mate wouldn’t forgive me if I stole his kill, and the rest of the Prytheen would rightly see it as a reason to attack.
But I’d never forgive myself if I let Karnac die. I shifted my grip on the blaster as I watched Vindar dart forward, blades flashing. Karnac stepped back with the beautiful precision of a dancer—but just too slow to avoid a cut to the face. I yelped in terror, watching Vindar press his advantage. He couldn’t quite catch my mate a killing blow, but each cut slowed him down, made the next easier.
