A Deepness in the Sky Part 44

FIFTY-FOUR.

The news companies had had the last laugh after all. So what if Accord Security had blacked out Mom's getting off the daggercraft? Within minutes, she was on Southland territory-and the local news services were more than willing to show Victory Smith and every person in her entourage. For a few minutes, the cameras were so close that she could see the inner expression of the General's eating hands. Mom looked as calm and military as ever. . .but for a few minutes Victory Lighthill felt more like a small child than a lieutenant in the Intelligence Service. This was as bad as the morning Gokna had died. Mom, why are you taking this risk? Mom, why are you taking this risk? But Viki knew the answer to that. The General was no longer essential to the great counterlurk that she and Daddy had created; now she could help those she had put in greatest peril. But Viki knew the answer to that. The General was no longer essential to the great counterlurk that she and Daddy had created; now she could help those she had put in greatest peril.

The NCO Club was crowded with cobbers who normally would have been on sleep shift or at other amus.e.m.e.nts. It was the closest place they could come to being back on the job. And for once "the job" was clearly the most important thing any cobber could be doing.

Victory drifted among the arcade games, discreetly signaled her people that things were cool. Finally, she hopped on a perch next to Brent. Her brother had not taken off his game helmet. His hands were in constant motion across the games console. She tapped him on a shoulder. "Mom will be talking any second now," she said softly.

"I know," was all Brent said. "Critter nine sees our op, but it still is fooled. It thinks the problem is local."

Viki almost grabbed her brother's helmet off his head. d.a.m.n. I mightas well be deaf and blind. d.a.m.n. I mightas well be deaf and blind. Instead, she took a telephone from her jacket and poked out a number. "Hi, Daddy? Mom has started talking." Instead, she took a telephone from her jacket and poked out a number. "Hi, Daddy? Mom has started talking."

The speech was short. It was good. It blocked the threat from the South. And so what? And so what? Going down there was still too much of a risk. On the displays over the fizz bar, Viki could see the General handing her formal offer to Tim to pa.s.s out to Parliament. Maybe that end of things would work out. Maybe the trip was worth it. Several minutes pa.s.sed. The cameras at Parliament Hall scanned back and forth across growing tumult. Mom had departed the platform with Uncle Hrunk. A scruffy little cobber in dark clothes approached them. Going down there was still too much of a risk. On the displays over the fizz bar, Viki could see the General handing her formal offer to Tim to pa.s.s out to Parliament. Maybe that end of things would work out. Maybe the trip was worth it. Several minutes pa.s.sed. The cameras at Parliament Hall scanned back and forth across growing tumult. Mom had departed the platform with Uncle Hrunk. A scruffy little cobber in dark clothes approached them. Pedure. Pedure. They were arguing. . . . They were arguing. . . .

And suddenly none of it mattered anymore. Brent shrugged against her. "Bad news," he said, still not pulling the game display off his head. "I've lost them all. Even our old friend."

Lighthill jumped off her game perch and signaled the team. Her gesture could have been a shrill whistle for the effect it had. Her team was on its feet, saddled up with panniers, and all headed for the door. Brent pulled up his game hat and hustled out just ahead of Lighthill.

Behind them, she saw curious glances, but most of the club's clientele were too stuck on the television to pay them much attention.

Her team had bounced down two stories before the attack alarums started screaming.

"What do you mean, we've lost ziphead support? Was the fiber cut?" Trinli had somehow found all the fibers?

"N-no, sir. At least I don't think so." Podcorporal Marli was competent enough, but he was no Kal Omo. "We can still ping through, but the control channels don't respond. Sir. . .it's as though somebody just took the zips offline."

"Hm. Yes." This could be another Trinli surprise, or maybe there was a traitor in the Attic. Either way. . .Nau looked across the room at Ezr Vinh. The Peddler's eyes were glazed with pain. There were important secrets behind those eyes, but Vinh was as tough as any that he and Ritser had interrogated to death. It would take time or some special lever to get real information out of him. Time they didn't have. He turned back to Marli. "Can I still talk to Ritser?"

"I think so. We've got fiber to the laser station on the outside." He tapped hesitantly at the console. Nau suppressed the impulse to rage at his clumsiness. But without ziphead support, everything was clumsy. We mightas well be Qeng Ho. We mightas well be Qeng Ho.

Marli grinned suddenly. "Our session link to the Invisible Hand Invisible Hand is still active, sir! I just keyed audio to your collar mike." is still active, sir! I just keyed audio to your collar mike."

"Very good.. . .Ritser! I don't know how much you've got of this, but-" Nau gave a quick rehash of the debacle, finishing with: "I'll be out of touch for the next few hundred seconds; I'm evacuating to L1-A. The bottom-line question: Without our zipheads, can you still prosecute the ground operation?"

It would be at least ten seconds before an answer came back on that. Nau glanced at his second surviving guard. "Ciret, get Tung and the ziphead. We're going to L1-A."

From the a.r.s.enal vault, they would have direct power of life and death over everyone in L1 s.p.a.ce, with no intervening automation. Nau opened the cabinet behind him and touched a control. A section of the parquet floor slid aside, revealing a tunnel hatch. The tunnel went directly through Diamond One to the a.r.s.enal vault, and it had never been automated with localizers or cut with cross tunnels. The security locks at both ends were keyed to his thumbprint. He touched the reader. The tiny access light stayed red. How could Trinli sabotage that? How could Trinli sabotage that? Nau forced down panic, and tried the thumb pad again. Still red. Again. The light shifted reluctantly to pa.s.s-green, and the hatch beneath the floor rotated to unlocked position. The software must be correlating on his blood pressure, concluding he was under coercion. Nau forced down panic, and tried the thumb pad again. Still red. Again. The light shifted reluctantly to pa.s.s-green, and the hatch beneath the floor rotated to unlocked position. The software must be correlating on his blood pressure, concluding he was under coercion. We could still be balked at the other end. We could still be balked at the other end. He keyed his thumbprint for the far lock. It took two tries, but that one finally showed pa.s.s-green, too. He keyed his thumbprint for the far lock. It took two tries, but that one finally showed pa.s.s-green, too.

Ciret and Tung were back, pushing Ali Lin ahead of them. "You're breaking the rules," the old man scolded them. "We should walk, walk, like this, with our feet on the floor." Ali's face was a mix of irritation and puzzlement. Zipheads never liked to be taken off their Focused task. Very likely, weeding the Podmaster's garden had been as important in Ali's mind as the most delicate gene-splicing. Now suddenly he was being forced indoors and all the fake-gravity etiquette of his park was being ignored. like this, with our feet on the floor." Ali's face was a mix of irritation and puzzlement. Zipheads never liked to be taken off their Focused task. Very likely, weeding the Podmaster's garden had been as important in Ali's mind as the most delicate gene-splicing. Now suddenly he was being forced indoors and all the fake-gravity etiquette of his park was being ignored.

"Just stand still, and keep quiet. Ciret, unlatch Vinh. We're taking him, too."

Ali stood still, his feet planted firmly on the tacky floor. But he did not remain silent. He stared past Nau with a typical far gaze, and just went on complaining. "You're ruining everything, can't you see?"

Abruptly, Ritser Brughel's voice filled the room. "Sir, the situation here is under control. The Hand' Hand' s zipheads are still online. We won't really need the high-latency services till after the nukes have fallen. Phuong says that short-term, we may be better off without L1. Just before they dropped out, some of Reynolt's units were getting very erratic. Here's the attack schedule. Southmost gets burned in seven hundred seconds. Soon after that, the s zipheads are still online. We won't really need the high-latency services till after the nukes have fallen. Phuong says that short-term, we may be better off without L1. Just before they dropped out, some of Reynolt's units were getting very erratic. Here's the attack schedule. Southmost gets burned in seven hundred seconds. Soon after that, the Hand Hand will be overflying the Accord's antimissile fields. We'll scrag them ourselves-" will be overflying the Accord's antimissile fields. We'll scrag them ourselves-"

Brughel's reply was turning into a report, the usual fate of long-distance conversation. Lin had quieted. Nau felt a coolness on his back, the sunlight fading. A cloud? He turned-and saw that for once, a ziphead's far gaze was meaningful. Tung stepped around Lin to look out the den's lake-facing windows. "Pus," the guard said, softly.

"Ritser! We have more problems. I'll get back to you."

The voice from the Invisible Hand Invisible Hand blathered on, but now no one was listening. blathered on, but now no one was listening.

Like some undine of Balacrean myth, the waters of North Paw had slowly gathered themselves, rising and spreading from Ali Lin's carefully designed sh.o.r.e. "Sunlight" wavered through the million tonnes of water that billowed over them. Even without controls, the park lake should have stayed approximately in place. But the enemy had left the lakebed servos running in rhythm. . .and the sea had quietly oscillated into catastrophe.

Nau dived for the tunnel hatch. He braced himself and pulled on the ma.s.sive security cover. The wall of water touched the lodge. The building groaned and the windows shattered before a mountain of water moving implacably at something more than a meter per second.

And the wall of water became a thousand arms seeking through the breaking wall, swarming chill around his body, tearing him away from the hatch. Screams and shouts, quickly drowned, and for a moment Nau was completely submerged. The only sound was the rumbling crumbling of his lodge as it was torn to rubble. He had a last glimpse of his den, his burl-surfaced desk, the marble fireplace. Then the slow tsunami broke out the far wall and Nau was lifted up and up in the swirl.

Still submerged, lungs burning. The water was numbing cold. Nau twisted, trying to make sense of the blurs he could see. The clearest view was downward. He saw the green of the forest behind the lodge. Nau swam down, toward the air.

He broke free, sending threads of water skittering ahead of the main surface, and launching himself into the open s.p.a.ce beyond. For a second or two, Nau floated alone, drifting just fast enough to stay ahead of the flying sea. The air was filled with a sound Nau had never imagined, an oleaginous rumble, the sound of a million tonnes of water turning, spreading, falling. The surge had hit the cavern's roof, and now the sea was coming down, and he beneath it. In the forest below, the b.u.t.terflies had for once stopped their song. They huddled in ma.s.sive cl.u.s.ters in the largest groteselms. But far away, something something was in the air. Tiny dots hovered near the side of the towering sea. The winged kittens! They seemed not the least frightened of it-but then Qiwi claimed they were an old sky breed. He saw one splash into the side of the undine. It was gone for a moment, and then emerged, and dived in again. The d.a.m.n cats might be just agile enough to survive. was in the air. Tiny dots hovered near the side of the towering sea. The winged kittens! They seemed not the least frightened of it-but then Qiwi claimed they were an old sky breed. He saw one splash into the side of the undine. It was gone for a moment, and then emerged, and dived in again. The d.a.m.n cats might be just agile enough to survive.

He turned again and looked back through the water, into the park's sunlight. It glittered golden on rubble, on human figures trapped like flies in amber. The others were paddling his way, some weakly, some with emphatic force. Marli dove into the air. An instant later Tung breached the water wall, then Ciret with Ali Lin in his arms. Good man! Good man!

There was one more figure, Ezr Vinh. The Peddler came half out of the water, about ten meters from the rest of them. He was dazed and choking, but more awake than he had seemed during the interrogation. He looked down upon the treetops they were falling toward, and made a sound that might have been a laugh. "You're trapped, Podmaster. Pham Nuwen has outsmarted you."

"Pham who who ?" ?"

The Peddler squinted at him, seemed to realize that he had let slip information that he had been dying to protect. Nau waved at Marli. "Fetch him here."

But Marli had nothing to bounce against. Vinh splashed against the water, drawing himself back within-to drown, but out of their reach.

Marli turned, firing his wire gun into the forest and propelling himself back toward the falling water. Nau could see Ezr Vinh silhouetted in the sunlight, flailing weakly, but now several meters deep in the water.

The treetops were brushing up around them. Marli looked around wildly. "We have to get out of the way, sir!"

"Just kill him then." Nau was already grabbing at the treetops. Above him, Marli fired several short bursts. The flying wire was designed to tear and mangle flesh; its range in water was almost zero. But Marli was lucky. A haze of red bloomed around the Peddler's body.

And then there was no more time. Nau pulled himself from branch to branch, diving through the open s.p.a.ces beneath the forest canopy. All around was the sound of breaking tree limbs as the water pushed through the groteselms and oleenfirn, a sound that conjured fire and wetness all at once. The water wall shredded into a million fractal fingers, twisting, reeling, merging. It touched the edge of a b.u.t.terfly horde, and there was an instant of piping song, louder than Nau had ever heard-and then the cl.u.s.ter was swallowed.

Marli boosted ahead of him, and turned. "The water is between us and the general entrance, sir."

Trapped,just as the Peddler said.

The four of them moved along the groundwort, parallel to the wall of the park. Above them, the roof of water came lower and lower, well past the forest crown and still descending. The sunlight was a glow from all directions, through dozens of meters of water. There had only been so much water in the lake. There would be enormous air pockets throughout the park-but they had not been lucky. Their s.p.a.ce was a not-so-large cave, water on four sides of them.

Ali Lin had to be dragged from branch to branch. He seemed fascinated by the undine, and totally oblivious of the danger.

Maybe. . ."Ali!" Nau said sharply.

Ali Lin turned toward him. But he wasn't frowning at the interruption; he was smiling. smiling. "My park, it's ruined. But I see something better now, something no one has ever done. We can make a true micrograv lake, bubbles and droplets trading in and out for dominance. There are animals and plants I could-" "My park, it's ruined. But I see something better now, something no one has ever done. We can make a true micrograv lake, bubbles and droplets trading in and out for dominance. There are animals and plants I could-"

"Ali. Yes! You'll build a better park, I promise. Now. I have to know, is there any way we can get out of the park-without drowning first?"

Thank goodness the ziphead could see an upside to this. Ali's central interests had been frustrated again and again in the last few hundred seconds. Normally, ziphead loyalty was unbreakable, but if they thought you were getting between them and their specialty. . .After a moment, Ali shrugged and said, "Of course. There's a sluiceway behind that boulder. I never welded it shut."

Marli dived for the rock. A sluiceway here? Without his huds, Nau didn't know. But there were dozens of them opening into the park, the channels they'd used to bring the ice down from the surface.

"The zip's right, sir! And the open codes work."

Nau and the others moved around the rock, looked into the hole that Marli had uncovered. Meantime, the walls of their cave of air-their bubble-were moving. In another thirty seconds, this would be under water too. Marli looked across at Nau, and some of the triumph leaked out of his expression. "Sir, we'll be safe from the water in there, but-"

"But there's nowhere to go from there. Right. I know." The channel would end in a sealed hatch, with vacuum beyond that. It was a dead end.

A slowly curling stalact.i.te of water splashed across Nau's head, forcing him to crouch beside Marli. The lowering mound of water retreated, and for a moment their ceiling rose. Step by step, I've lost almost everything. Step by step, I've lost almost everything. Unbelievable. And suddenly Tomas knew that Ezr Vinh's blurted claim must be true. Pham Trinli was not Zamle Eng; that had been a convenient lie, tailored for Tomas Nau. All these years, his greatest hero-and therefore the deadliest possible enemy-had been within arm's reach. Trinli Unbelievable. And suddenly Tomas knew that Ezr Vinh's blurted claim must be true. Pham Trinli was not Zamle Eng; that had been a convenient lie, tailored for Tomas Nau. All these years, his greatest hero-and therefore the deadliest possible enemy-had been within arm's reach. Trinli was was Pham Nuwen. For the first time since childhood, Nau was gripped by paralyzing fear. Pham Nuwen. For the first time since childhood, Nau was gripped by paralyzing fear.

But even Pham Nuwen had had his flaws, his abiding moral weakness. I've studied the man's career all my life, taking the good parts for my own.As much as anyone, I know his flaws. And I know how to use them. I've studied the man's career all my life, taking the good parts for my own.As much as anyone, I know his flaws. And I know how to use them. He looked at the others, cataloguing them and their equipment: an old man that Qiwi loved, some comm gear, some weapons, and some gunmen. It would be enough. He looked at the others, cataloguing them and their equipment: an old man that Qiwi loved, some comm gear, some weapons, and some gunmen. It would be enough.

"Ali, isn't there a fiber headpoint at the outer end of these sluices? Ali!"

The ziphead turned away from his inspection of the ceiling's undulation. "Yes, yes. We needed careful coordination when we brought down the ice."

He waved Marli into the sluiceway. "It's okay. This will work fine." One by one, they slipped through the narrow entrance. Around them, the bottom of the bubble broke free of the ground. Now there was half a meter of water covering the ground, and it was rising. Tung and Ali Lin came through in a shower of water. Ciret dived through last, and slammed the hatch shut behind them. A few dozen liters of undine came in too, now just a mess of spilled water. But on the other side of the hatch, they could hear the sea piling deep.

Nau turned to Marli, who was shining his comm laser as a diffuse light. "Let's hike up to the headpoint, Corporal. Ali Lin is going to help me make a phone call."

Pham Nuwen had come close to winning, but Nau still had a mind and the ability to reach out and manipulate others. As they coasted up the sluiceway, he thought on just what he should say to Qiwi Lin Lisolet.

General Smith retired from the speaker's perch. The information on Tim Downing's cards had been distributed to the Elected, and now five hundred heads were thinking over the deal. Hrunkner Unnerby stood in the shadows behind the perch and wondered. Smith had made another miracle. In a just world it would surely work. So what would Pedure invent to counter this?

Smith stepped back until she was even with him. "Come with me, Sergeant. I saw someone I've been wanting to talk to for a long time." There would be a vote called later in the day. Before that there could well be follow-up questions for the General. There was plenty of time for political maneuver. He and Downing followed the General to the far end of the proscenium, blocking the exit. A scruffy cobber in extravagant leggings was coming toward them. Pedure. The years had not been kind to her-or maybe the stories about the attempted a.s.sa.s.sinations were true. She made to sidle around Victory Smith, but the General stepped into her path.

Smith smiled at her. "h.e.l.lo, Cobblie Killer. So nice to meet you in person."

The other hissed. "Yes. And if you don't move from my path, I will be very pleased to kill you." The words were heavily accented, but the tiny knife on her hand was clear enough.

Smith stretched her arms sideways, an extravagant shrug that would catch notice all across the hall. "In front of all these people, Honored Pedure? I don't think so. You're-"

Smith hesitated, raised a pair of hands to her head, and seemed to listen. To her telephone?

Pedure just stared, her entire aspect full of suspicion. Pedure was a small female with galled chitin, and gestures that were just a bit too quick. A totally untrustworthy picture. She must be so used to killing from afar that personal charm and facility with language were long-discarded talents. She was out of her element here, managing things directly. It made Unnerby just a shade more confident.

Something buzzed in Pedure's jacket. Her little knife disappeared and she grabbed her phone. For a moment, the two spy chiefs looked like old friends, communing with their memories.

"No!"Pedure spasmed; her voice was a scream. She grabbed the phone with her eating hands, all but stuffed it into her maw. "Not here! Not now!" The fact that they were a sudden spectacle did not seem to matter to her.

General Smith turned toward Unnerby. "Everyone's schemes just went down the toilet, Sergeant. Three ice-launched missiles are coming our way. We've got about seven minutes." For an instant, Unnerby's gaze caught on the dome above them. It was a thousand feet underground, proof against tactical fission bombs. But he knew the Kindred fleet had progressed to much bigger things. A triple launch would most likely be a deep-penetration strike. Even so. . . I helped design this place. I helped design this place.There were stairs nearby, access to much deeper places. He reached for one of Smith's arms. "Please, General. Follow me." They started back across the proscenium.

Villains and good guys, Unnerby had seen courage and cowardice among them all. Pedure. . .well, Honored Pedure was almost twitching with panic. She twisted this way and that in little hops, screaming Tiefic into her telephone. Abruptly she stopped and turned back to Smith. Terror warred with incredulous surprise. "The missiles. They're yours yours ! You-" With a shriek, she launched herself toward Smith's back, her knife a silver extension of her longest arm. ! You-" With a shriek, she launched herself toward Smith's back, her knife a silver extension of her longest arm.

Unnerby slipped between them before Smith could even turn. He gave Honored Pedure the hard of his shoulders, sending her flying off the stage. Around them everything was confused. Pedure's people swarmed up from the floor, and were met by Smith's combateers swinging down from the visitors' gallery. Shock spread across the hall as cobbers lifted their heads from their readers and noticed just who was fighting. Then from high at the back there was a scream. "Look! The network news! The Accord has launched missiles on us!"

Unnerby led the combateers and his General out a side entrance. They raced down stairs toward the hidden shafts that dropped to the security core. Seven minutes to live? Maybe. But suddenly Hrunkner's heart soared free. What was left was so simple, just as it had been with Victory long ago. Life and death, a few good troops, and a few minutes to decide it all.

FIFTY-FIVE.

Belga Underville was senior in the Command and Control Center. That really didn't count for much; Underville was Domestic Intelligence. What happened here could change her job forever, but she was out of this chain of command, just a link to civil defense and the King's household forces. Belga watched Elno Coldhaven, the shiny new Director of External Intelligence, the acting CO of the center. Coldhaven knew the firestorm of failures that had ended the career of his predecessor. He knew that Rachner Thract was no dummy and probably no traitor. And now Elno had the same job, and the chief was out of the country. He was operating very much without a safety net. More than once in last few days he had taken Underville aside and earnestly asked her advice. She suspected that this had been the chief's reason for having her stay down here rather than return to Princeton.

The CCC was more than a mile inside the promontory headrock of Lands Command, beneath the old Royal Deepness. A decade ago, the Center had been a huge thing, dozens of intelligence techs with the funny little CRT displays of the era. Behind them had been gla.s.sed-in meeting rooms and oversight bridges for the presiding officers. But year by year, computer systems and networks improved. Now Accord Intelligence had better eyes and ears and automation, and the CCC itself was scarcely bigger than a conference room. A quiet, strange conference room of outward-sitting perches. The air was fresh, always lightly moving; bright lighting left no shadows. There were data displays, but now the simplest ones were twelve-color-capable. And there were still technicians, but each of them managed a thousand nodes scattered across the continent and into the near-s.p.a.ce recon system. Indirectly, each had hundreds of specialists available for interpretation. Eight technicians, four field-rank officers, a commanding officer. Those were all that need be physically present.

The center screen showed the chief being introduced to Parliament. It was the same commercial feed that the rest of the world saw-External Intelligence had decided not to try to sneak special video into Parliament Hall. One of the techs was working with freeze-frames from the video. He popped up a composite of a dozen snippets, fiddled with the lighting. A scruffy-looking character appeared on the screen, the details of her dark clothing vague. Beside Belga, General Coldhaven said softly, "Good. That's a positive identification. Ol' Pedure herself.. . .She can't very well act when her own head is on the line."

Underville listened with half her attention. There was so much going on.. . .The General's speech was even more a shock than seeing Pedure. When Smith made the hostage offer, several of the technicians looked from their work, their eating hands frozen in their maws. "G.o.d!" she heard Elno Coldhaven mutter.

"Yeah," Belga whispered back. "But if they go for it, we might have a way out."

"If they pick the King as hostage. But if they want General Smith-" If Smith had to stay down South, things would get very complicated, especially for Elno Coldhaven. Coldhaven couldn't quite conceal his stark discomfort. So this is news to him, too. So this is news to him, too.

"We can manage," said Kred Dugway, the Director of Air Defense. Dugway was the only other general officer present. The AD director had been one of poor Thract's biggest critics, and Elno Coldhaven's former superior. And Dugway seemed to think he was still Elno's boss.

In the video from Southland, General Smith had climbed down from the speaker's perch. She handed her formal proposal to Tim Downing. The camera followed Smith offstage. "She's headed for Pedure!"

Dugway chuckled. "Now, this this will be interesting." will be interesting."

"d.a.m.n." The camera had turned back to watch Major Downing hand out copies of the General's proposal.

"Can you give me anything on the chief? Does she still have audio?"

"Sorry, sir. No."

Attention colors lit the Air Defense displays. The technician hunched down, hissed something over his voice link. Then, "Sir, I don't understand quite what is happening, but-"

Dugway jabbed a hand at the composite situation map of Southland. "Those are launches!"

Yes. Even Belga recognized the coding. Crosses marked the estimated launch sites. "A launch of three. Not Not Southland-based; those are from ice subs. They could be-" They couldn't be anything but Kindred. Accord and Kindred were the only nations with missile-launching ice-tunnelers. Southland-based; those are from ice subs. They could be-" They couldn't be anything but Kindred. Accord and Kindred were the only nations with missile-launching ice-tunnelers.