Through Shades of Blue

"This isn't exactly helping me sleep." Cola said to herself taking a rest from reading the Journal.

"But I 'spose it's given me more idea of what the map shows." She took a swig at her ever-present glass of water and returned to the book.

---*---

We raced along the passageways spraying bolter-fire as we ran. We turned the last but one turning before we would reach our entrance point and were knocked off our feet by the force of an explosion rocking the hulk. Ahead of us the corridor seemed blocked with fallen debris.

Spiron's voice came over the link. "I hope Buck Herbert doesn't mind, but I've used his guns." He sounded a little shaken. "I caught the bugs testing the ship-to-ship tether we set up.

"The bad news is that the tether is gone now. The two pieces of good news are firstly that I hit a good five or ten bugs with the shot.

"The other good news is that, as there is no tether, the nearest exit to the outside will do you! 'Cause you're all free-walking to TB"

I didn't like that sound of that one bit. I looked and I could see Kurl thought the same.

"I don't like the sound of that one bit." He said.

"It's easy," Vestock said, slapping him on the back, "I do it all the time."

"But you are insane." Kurl finished. No one disagreed.

"The nearest spacelock is straight up from where you are stood." Spiron's voice came. "I suggest you get a move on as I can detect a large movement of bugs in your direction."

"Detects them now." Vestock said under his breath, "Where were his scanners when we were merrily floating in this direction?"

"Come on." I said, "Up!" I searched around and pointed at a ladder just back down the hallway. I was up the ladder on the next deck, helping Bov up through the hatch when I heard firing from below. "Hurry up!" Vestock screamed, "They're coming!" I yanked at Bov and he fell up. I looked down and could see that Vestock and Kurl were otherwise engaged and not attempting to climb the ladder yet. Was I the only one to have brought grenades?

I pushed my head and one arm down through the hatch, quickly scanned from one side to another and threw an incendiary towards the nearest bug. As the flames, fuelled from oxygenated jelly in the grenade, burst onto the bug I reached my arm to Vestock. He and Kurl got up just in time - a bug's claw followed Kurl's last foot and Vestock fired indiscriminately down the hole, screaming blue murder as he did.

Bov had located the spacelock and had the inner doors open before we reached him.

"Tether together." He said as he stepped into the chamber. We shut the inner hatch behind us and then opened the outside door only to be greeted by a grinning bug face. Bov screamed and let rip with his bolter. He jumped out after the bug corpse and I could see him spin round in mid-void and start to pepper the ship surrounding the spacelock with bolter-fire. Vestock jumped after him and, as we were all tethered together, Kurl and I followed.

Vestock hit his rockets hard and pulled the three of us straight out into the void. I couldn't see TB anywhere! We must be on the other side of the hulk to our own ship.

I realised that Bov wasn't tethered to the rest of us. He was still hanging there loosing bolter file at the hulk and the shapes crawling on it. The bugs seemed to have realised that we were leaving with their pear, because the all seemed to have left the inside of the ship and were congregated as close to us as they could.

I realised that they were actually climbing on top of each other - sure enough the pile was rising higher and higher off the hulk and closing on Bov. His bolter faltered and stopped. He was out of ammo. I could see him fumble at his belt for grenades. He flipped two at the growing pile of bugs, causing some casualties but not doing more than denting their numbers.

Suddenly a bolt of white energy passed by barely inches from my head. A massive plasma shot hit the bugs and suddenly there was pieces of bug everywhere.

A satisfied grunt came over the link "Now get on board." Spiron said.

Behind us was TB, it has never looked so beautiful in its ugliness.

---*---

Cola stopped and grabbed another swig of water. She turned the page to the next chapter and returned to reading.

"Spiron informed us of a request he'd received from a client he'd worked for before who wished a pick up"

She read of Herbert's first meeting with the figure of Lord Fader. She shivered when he described his robes and their contents. As she read of the casualties and Herbert's tears her eyes watered in sympathy.

"I don't think I like that man." She said aloud. "Now I understand the bit I read last week about Lord Fader." She turned to the next chapter, the second half of which she remembered reading earlier. The first half, however, was new to her.

---*---

I wasn't sure I wanted to meet the man who'd orchestrated the massacre of a planet but it seemed I had no choice.

"Debriefing now, campers!" Spiron's voice came loudly and clearly over my implants. I headed for the briefing room and actually turned up last.

Lord Fader stood just behind Spiron; the crew sat in a semicircle opposite.

"Right, now we're all here. Lord Fader has some words he'd like to say." Spiron said, standing aside from the robed figure.

Fader stepped forward; he held his hands behind himself.

"I wished to see the crew that has risked so much for my cause." He rasped. The steely gaze of his mask scanned over us all. "I recognise the sacrifice of your crewmember in securing the Platinum Pear for me." I could see that Bov was about to say something, I put my hand on his shoulder from behind and he settled. I didn't think that this character was the sort that remonstrations would impress.

"I hope you believe me when I tell you that I didn't know of the Pear's power and attraction to these life forms. However, in retrospect this makes certain writings, the writings that led me to the Pear in the first place, much clearer.

"I have deposited a large remuneration in the ship's coffers.

"I ask two things of you in return.

"Firstly that you keep these two matters to yourselves. Both the Pear and the planet whose destruction you have just witnessed." There was a rumble from Bov and Vestock shifted uneasily in his seat.

"Secondly. I have reason to believe that there are a number of metallic plants along the same lines at the Pear. Each with a similar, but different, fascination for a particular species- KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED." I didn't laugh. It wasn't a pun.

He stepped towards us and stood in front of me.

"Young Buck," He said looking down at me, "I hear you took command of the away team and disobeyed your captain's orders." I cowered.

"That only continues to be commendable whilst it continues to benefit your crew and patron.

"I will be keeping an eye on your career, young Rodgers."

I grunted an affirmative sounding reply. Luckily he didn't push me for anything more complex and turned away and strode off; Spiron at his heels like a small dog following it's master.

I shivered.

"You only got away with it because we got his precious pear, you know." Bov said to me quietly. I nodded. I wasn't ready to speak yet, my mouth was dry and my heart was beating an acid house rhythm in my chest.

Spiron returned before we'd had a chance to go our separate ways.

"We'll be dropping Lord Fader off shortly." He said sitting down in his usual chair. "Some more business before we continue.

"Bov; whilst you are the most qualified to take over from your brother I don't really have anyone to replace you in the gunner's chair." Bov grunted an affirmative. Spiron turned to Vestock. "I'm afraid you'll have to double your duties and manage Engineering as well as Navigation." He turned to me, "However I'd like Buck Herbert here to help you out in Engineering. He may not know an EPS conduit from his elbow - but he's competent. If a little unused to taking orders."

I was quiet. I wasn't sure if I was being chastised or promoted.

"Off you go. We'll be translating for Rillion in about fifteen minutes and I'd like you all safe when we do." He turned and strode out.

Bov whistled a toneless tune of about five notes, over and over again.

I stood up, shaking my head.

"It's not a good idea to get Fader's attention, Herbert." Bov said as I left.

In the safety of my cabin I breathed a deep breath of relief. I wanted to go for as long as possible without speaking near Lord Fader. I checked with the ship and it explained that we could be at Rillion in one simple translation. So Fader should be off the ship within the day. I could tell that he spoke English because it was not translated by my implants. I heard straight, plain words, from the horse's mouth, so to speak, when he spoke. He must suspect that he and I were the same species. But there are so many conanoid life forms he wouldn't be sure until I spoke.

Something came to mind. "Ship, has Lord Fader been in the autodoc at any stage?" The ship listed three occurrences, the first of which was two years ago and was prolonged because his species was not on file.

Funny thing that; his species not being on file when it should have been, and my species being on file when it shouldn't have.

I needed to calm myself. I pulled the map out of my pocket and opened it out.

Home.

Suddenly I realised that, no matter how strong homesickness got, I would be best off staying far way from home whilst we were associated with 'Lord Fader'.

"Sorry Malcolm." I said to myself. "You'll have to stay homesick for a while longer."

I folded the map up. Funny how these people makes maps so difficult to fold. It's only a few folds in a piece of paper, but it never seems to work right. I sighed. I'd got it wrong again - the picture of the red herring and the rabbit was outermost! I tried again and got it right.

The pre-translation alarm went off and I triggered my inertial dampers,

"Clunk-Click" I thought out loud.