The great ships of war
Lie silent in the hangar,
Dreaming of murder.
The mist rising from the lake drifted wraith-like across its surface. As Karil watched from the window, a doe appeared out of the mist, wading alertly along the shoreline. She glanced about, ears twitching, and bent down to drink. Suddenly she jerked up her head, stood stone-still for an instant, and bounded into the forest. Karil heard a door slam and saw Terry lugging a hay-bale across the yard toward the stables. She was dressed in space-attire and a parka, and her hair was in braids. She saw him, waved gaily, and went on into the stables.
Loris stirred and sat up, the covers falling away from her small brown breasts.
"How did you sleep?" Karil asked.
"I woke up once or twice," she said. "Noises in the woods. You slept like a baby."
"It took me a while to get used to it," Karil told her, “But after a while it was just like home. I used to hear lions and hyenas from my room." He watched the mirrored image of the sun rising above the trees, sweeping away the mist. "I could get to like it here, I think."
"You don't know what you want," Loris snorted.
The door opened a crack and Terry stuck her head in. "Can I come in? I brought you some orange juice. Imported at great expense all the way from Nova One."
"Come on in," Loris said.
Terry brought a glass of juice to Karil at the window. Her hand lingered on his chest for a moment. Then she brought the other glass to Loris and sat on the edge of the bed.
"How did you find sleeping in Earth-normal?" she asked. "It took me forever to adapt."
"I fall asleep quickly, but I'm not a sound sleeper," Loris said. "Too much Security training, I think. Always listening for strange noises, and you've got some weird ones here. I'm a little stiff this morning."
"We can't have that," Terry said. "You're our pilot today. Turn over."
Loris set down her glass and flipped over. Terry peeled the covers down the length of her body and began to massage her back.
"Loris, you're in fantastic shape."
"I have to be. You've got a nice touch."
"Comes from growing up in a mining community. Massage is a skill that everybody learns."
Terry's small white hands caressed and kneaded Loris. The latter stretched like Isfahan and turned her face toward Karil. A faint smile played about the corners of her mouth.
"How soon are we leaving?" she asked.
"Very soon. You just have time for a shower and a quick breakfast. Charles is probably wondering what's keeping us."
"Too bad," Loris said.
"Yes," Terry said simply. "I'd better go."
"Thank you," Loris said as Terry hopped off her body. "That helped a lot." She rolled over on her back and stretched languidly. There was a moment's hesitation, the atmosphere crackling with tension. Terry trotted over to Karil and kissed him warmly.
"You'd better hurry. I'll see you downstairs." She left.
Loris leaped to her feet and tossed off the rest of her orange juice. "I'll say one thing for you, Karil," she said. "You've got good taste in women." She turned and headed for the shower.
Karil turned and gazed out the window, his mind whirling.
***
The tiny shuttle named Orville dropped from Nova Terra toward the blood-red clouds of Titan. Karil was wearing a Council Guard's uniform, a bulky needle-gun strapped to his thigh. Beside him, in the uniform of a Council Pilot, Loris was at the controls, and behind, flanked by Terry and Jay, Kelley was the image of a Titanic Council member accompanied by aide and secretary.
They plunged into the clouds and for a moment Saturn was still visible, darkly, through a hydrocarbon mist, and then both it and the sun were blotted out. The darkness was Tartarean indeed, except when flashes of lightning rent the clouds, revealing great crimson thunderheads like mountain ranges all about them. Outside the ship, the temperature was three hundred below, Karil read, and steady. Below them was an icy crust, covering a planet-wide ocean. The ship fell through an icy methane rain. If Venus was Hell, then Titan was Hell frozen over.
Loris kept her eyes glued to the screen, where radio-echo revealed the contours of the surface below. They sped over the icy plains and seas of methane slush, their faces gaunt in the cabin light reflected off the red mist outside.
"There the Titan gods lay buried under the darkness and the mist," Karil quoted.
Kelley's laugh boomed. "An unpleasant, mouldy place, and even the gods loathe it."
Loris grinned. "Don't tell me Karil has finally met...Jesus, Professor, what the hell is that?"
"I guess that's the wall of bronze that Hesiod was talking about," Kelley told her. "There is no escape; Poseidon has fitted brazen doors and the walls enclose the whole."
Some heat-source in the canyon below--perhaps the methane furnaces of the smelters and factories on the valley floor--had boiled off clear ammonia vapour and hydrogen gas from the slush, and there was a kilometre-wide bubble of transparent, if smoggy, atmosphere beneath the lowering crimson clouds. Great banks of artificial lights illuminated the scene. Along the edge of one precipice, towering over the robots and crawlers on the canyon floor, stretched a vast, many-storied citadel. It reminded Karil of Lhasa in Tibet, but it was not beautiful. The colours were infernal and the walls, dotted with illuminated windows, seemed indeed to be made of brass. It was Satanic, chthonic, and awful.
"This is restricted territory," a voice rang in their ears. "Access is limited to authorized persons on official business. Please identify."
"This is Charles Kelley of the Titanic Council. I await voice-print confirmation."
After a moment, a different voice replied in a more conciliatory manner. "Your identity is confirmed. Welcome to Titan Works, Professor Kelley. If we had known of your intention to visit..."
"...it wouldn't have been a surprise inspection. I assume this is Warden Jann speaking."
"Yes, Councilman. I'll meet you at the landing-pad. Your pilot has already received the landing signal."
The ship touched down on the broad, flat roof of the structure, and a pad lowered them into the hangar. Panels closed over them and the hangar was pressurized with breathable atmosphere. Warden Jann and a handful of guards met them in a fancy reception room. Jay immediately strode to the comm-station, plugged in his pad, and punched in a code. "No messages have been sent, Professor," he said. "Communications are now shut down."
"Councilman," Warden Jann said. "Surely there is no need for such secrecy..."
"Of course there is. Now, please show us this facility."
The interior of the mining complex was not so bleak and dismal as the hellscape outside; they could have been beneath the surface of any planet. The party toured the residential, engineering, and computer sections, the warden explaining in detail, Kelley making the occasional noncommittal remark, then descended to the prison level. Karil lost track of the locks and guard stations they passed through, the cellblocks and cafeterias, workshops and exercise domes, the last pleasant with trees and running water, but artificially lit and somehow depressing. Finally, they were in the Warden's well-appointed office.
"Perhaps some refreshments before you leave," the warden said, reaching for a button on his desk.
"Perhaps later, when we have finished our tour."
"I assure you, Councilman, you've seen everything. Unless you'd like to descend into the mines. Normally, only robots..."
"I'd like to see Subterranean Level Seven," Kelley said.
The warden did not flinch, but he smiled a little too quickly. "I'm afraid there are only six subterranean levels," he said. "I can show you the plans."
Kelley glanced at Karil and the latter drew his needle-gun.
"Warden Jann," Kelley said patiently, "we know about Level Seven. We know there are prisoners being held there without benefit of trial. If you have any hope of leniency from the Council, you'd be wise to co-operate with this investigation. Any attempt to interfere will go very hard with you indeed."
"But..."
"Al-Zubair will not be able to protect you. You'd be foolish to rely on him."
The warden had begun to sweat despite the air-conditioning. "Professor Kelley, I assure you..."
"Very well. Officer, place this man under arrest. Terry, will you contact Titan City and tell them we'll be arriving with our prisoner in a few minutes? Warden, as your last official act, will you please send for your assistant and inform him that he is in charge? Or will I have to do it?"
The warden was thinking quickly. He had a small army of guards at his disposal, but there was little chance of them detaining a member of the Council on his orders. Kelley's manner implied that at least some of the authorities knew he was there and why. He could have no illusions about al-Zubair going out of his way to protect him.
"All right," he said finally. "I'll show you."
"Excellent," Kelley said. "You've done a good job here. I'm sure, with my recommendation, the Council will be inclined to be lenient. After all, you were only following al-Zubair’s orders, were you not?"
"That is true, Sir."
"If you co-operate, you may even be detained in Titan City, instead of here below."
Faced with the possibility of confinement in his own prison, the warden leaped to co-operate. He touched a sensor somewhere under his desk and a wall-panel slid open behind him. They followed him down a short corridor to an elevator and, Karil's weapon always on the warden, descended into the mountain. The doors opened on a dimly lit passageway. An unkempt middle-aged man in prison-garb was coming toward them. At the sight of Kelley, his eyes grew wide with fear, and he fell to his knees. He bowed to the ground as if to royalty and remained in that position, trembling.
"Forgive me, Councillor," he said. "I'm only a trusty."
"Never mind that," said Kelley. "I want you to show me the prisoners here."
"At once, Councillor." The trusty ran to a nearby room and returned with a set of power-keys. He went before them down the corridor, punching open one cell after another. As if in a dream, Karil followed the group from cell to cell, more horrified with each sight.
An elderly man sat slumped in a corner like a bundle of rags, staring at them uncomprehendingly. A younger man began to weep and threw himself at Kelley's feet. Kelley picked him up and turned him over to Terry, who did her best to comfort him. A young woman was chained to a bed in another cell, her naked body covered with welts.
In a flash, Kelley reached out and snagged Loris' wrist as she started for the trusty, who shrank back from her, throwing up his hands for protection.
"Leave him alone," Kelley told her. "Take the warden back to the front room and call the prison hospital. Tell them to send down a medical team for these people, starting with this girl." His eyes met the warden’s, and the latter dropped his gaze.
"And you..." Kelley said, turning to the trusty.
"Don't let her kill me, Councillor!"
"She won't kill you. Though I might let her kill al-Zubair. Now, show me the rest of the prisoners."
A gaunt, hollow-eyed Shagrug turned to look at Karil as he stepped into his cell. A broad grin, spoiled by a few missing teeth, broke out on his face.
"Jesus, Stillborn," he croaked. "It took you long enough!" He started toward him and collapsed, crumpling to the floor.
Loris found Karil bending over him. She checked his vital signs with an appearance of expertise. In a moment, Kelley entered, in a rage.
"Al-Zubair is nowhere to be found," he said. "My God, is this Shagrug? I hardly recognize him." He turned to the guard behind him. "I want all these people taken to the sick-bay. Except this one. Take him to Titan City Hospital. He's a Council witness and I want him guarded well. Karil and Loris, come with me."
They followed him down the corridor. "Terry," he said, poking his head into a cell where she was attending to a prisoner, "I've been in touch with the Council. Al-Zubair is missing, but they've given us full co-operation. You're in charge here. I've given orders that Shagrug is to be taken up to the city. The council wants to speak to him as soon as he's able to speak to them. We're going to Tethys."
"Yes, Charles," she said, but she looked worried.
Both Karil and Loris had to run to keep up with his lengthy stride. They took the elevator to the warden's office, where a young man, apparently the warden’s assistant, was giving orders over the comm.
"Get me a police cruiser," Kelley said as he passed. "A fast one. We're joining the fleet."
They raced to the landing pad, where a sleek, spare ship was waiting for them. They piled in and were strapping themselves into their couches even as it lifted from the pad. It shot upward through the clouds, burst into space, and fell toward Saturn. Loris watched the pilot with admiration.
In a few minutes, they could see a fleet of Titanic police-cruisers ahead of them, speeding in a long arc to intercept Tethys orbit. Saturn grew visibly as they plummeted through the half-million-kilometre empty zone between Titan and Rhea, crossed the latter's orbit, and that of Dione, and fell into parallel with Tethys.
Saturn was only 300,000 kilometres away, a great bent bow of light with its half-lit rings a thin arrow aimed at the sun. The bands of clouds racing about it, appearing around the limb and plunging into darkness at the terminator, were clearly visible. Mimas raced its shadow across the equator and Enceladus hung off to one side, its icy surface sparkling in the pale sunlight.
Below them now, Ithaca Canyon snaked across the surface of Tethys nearly from pole to pole. In admirably precise formation, the fleet of ships dropped into it and the icy walls rose about them.
"You have entered a restricted zone," said a robotic voice over the comm. "Please identify..."
"Christ! Professor, I need the comm," said Loris.
"Go ahead."
"Attention, robots," she said. "There are human beings aboard these ships. Following any self-destruct commands will endanger human lives. Do you understand?"
"Yes, we understand. Please identify..."
"Councilman Charles Kelley. I countermand any orders of Councilman al-Zubair by order of the Titanic Council. Please prepare for inspection."
"Yes, Councilman Kelley."
That took care of the robots, but were there human beings? Had al-Zubair fled to this place? Would they be fired upon? It seemed a lonely and fit place for a space-battle--a glacial wasteland, cold and airless.
Precisely where Atalanta had indicated, there was a cavern
hollowed out of the cliff-face, hidden from orbital view by the overhang of the precipice. Karil's heart was pounding in his ears as, one by one, supported on a cushion of thrust, the ships drifted inside and settled to the surface.
A great hangar door blazed in the ships' lights. The cavern was silent and deserted--eerily so--and the call for surrender received no response. Above them was a gantry-house, computers winking at them through the thick quartz ports, but there was not a soul within.
"We're going in," Kelley said.
The orders were relayed by his pilot and dozens of suited figures poured from the ships, armed with portable laser-cannons and side-arms.
"You don't have to come," Kelley said as he unstrapped and fastened on his helmet. "You've done your share of risking your lives, I think."
"Are you kidding?" Loris said.
In a moment, they were moon-hopping across the cavern floor in their suits, following Kelley with drawn lasers. As Tethys was tiny and almost entirely made of ice, each step was many meters long. Several squads had already--dangerously but necessarily--cycled through the tiny personnel lock at the base of the hangar doors. The atmosphere was strange--the stark lighting, the ceiling lost in blackness, the great doors dwarfing the tiny figures before it, Karil's breath roaring in his ears in the separate world of the suit. It brought back memories of commando raids on Mars.
The voice of the officer in charge, first into the lock, echoed in his suit. "The area is searched and secured. There is no one here, Councilman. Only robots. Big mistake on their part, leaving them behind. We’ve had the robots defuse the explosive charges, which means we have their ships.”
"Good work, Captain."
They passed through the lock and emerged into a vast chamber hollowed out of the ice. Robots wheeled and trundled to and fro, welding-lasers blazed and sparked, steel plates were lifted and carried overhead by enormous track-cranes in the ceiling. There were several ships under construction, others almost completed. They sat in a row down the length of the cavern, dwarfing the troops to Lilliputian status as they moved in their shadows.
Karil read aloud the names on the bows of the nearly completed ships as he passed beneath them: "Zill Allah--Shadow of God. Al-Mansur--The Victorious. Dhammavijaya. That's a Hindi word, I think."
"You're right," Loris said. "It means Victory of Righteousness. What's this?"
Two ships were missing. Their names were inscribed on the empty cradles. One was in ancient Nordic script, and the other in Greek.
"Mjolnir," Kelley said. "Thor’s Hammer. And Khalkeos Akmon. The Brazen Anvil. Judging by its position among the others, I'd say it was the flagship. It looks like our quarry has escaped."
***
Shagrug was awake and sitting up in bed, surrounded by nurses and guards. The room was palatial, with a window overlooking Nova Two, but Shagrug was not in a good mood.
"There you are," he said as Karil and Loris entered the room. "Am I glad to see you guys! They won’t tell me a damn thing around here. How's Atty?"
"Atty's fine," Loris said.
"Where is she? Can you get her on that thing?" He waved a weak hand toward the room console.
"She's in Saturn orbit. I imagine she's got an ear out for us. You want to talk to her?"
"I thought she was here, in the city. What did you do? Hide her?"
"You might say that. We had to sneak into the Saturn system."
"Smart girl. No, I'd better not talk to her and give away her position. Leave her there till I can go and get her in person. Just as long as she's safe..."
"Don't worry. Hey, leave that alone. You need nourishment."
A nurse jumped up and slapped his hand. Karil got the impression it was not the first time it had happened.
"It itches. And I need food, not a lot of tubes stuck in my arm."
"Shut up and lie back," Loris snapped. "You're lucky to be alive, you ungrateful sonofabitch."
"I love you too, Loris."
"Professor Kelley," the nurse said as he entered the room, "I must tell you that this is the most difficult patient..."
"Oh, piss off," Shagrug told her. "Professor, I guess I have you to thank for my freedom. Such as it is." He glared at the nurse.
"You'll be out of here soon," Kelley said. "You seem to be in good shape for someone who was nearly starved to death."
"I had resources to draw on." Shagrug patted his now-slim body. "I'm all right. How’s the girl?"
"The girl?"
"The one in the cell next to mine. She was just somebody who overheard something she wasn't supposed to, you know. She had no idea why she was in that hellhole. I could hear what the trusty was doing to her."
"She'll be all right, physically," Kelley said. "Judging by the reports I heard on the way back from Tethys, she'll recover from her wounds. She'll even be pretty again. But she'll probably have nightmares for years."
"Have you got that sonofabitch?"
"The trusty?"
"He's just a half-wit animal. I mean al-Zubair."
"He's gone. There's a ship missing from his yard."
"That figures. He's probably on his way to Earth. They'll be happy to get their hands on that ship of his. I only got a glimpse of it before the lights went out, but it looked like a mean mother-fucker."
"Galilean Security's been alerted," Loris said. "And every Free Trader in the system's looking for him too. Johanna's dead, Shag. And Anais."
"Oh, Jesus, I'm sorry, Lor. Is he responsible for that too?"
"He didn't pull the trigger, but he's responsible. And Khadijha."
"What? Did you say Khadijha?"
"That's what I said. But I dealt with her."
"Good for you."
"It's a long story," Kelley said. "I haven't heard all of it myself. Right now, are you up to speaking to the Council?"
"Why? Do they want my opinion of the vacation resort on Titan? Sure, bring on my public. But let me fix my face first."
"It would take a sledge-hammer to fix your face," Loris said. Shagrug cackled gleefully.
Kelley left the room and returned a moment later with technicians and equipment. When it was set up, he punched in a code and the room began to shimmer. The wall faded and suddenly they were looking at a long, curved table that seemed to stretch from one side of the bed, around the foot, to the other. A dozen figures were sitting before a panoramic view of Saturn. Two chairs were empty.
"Are your witnesses ready, Councilman Kelley?"
"Yes, they are."
"The Council calls Ali Karil Stilbon, and the free-traders known as Loris and...Shagrug, in the matter of Charles Kelley versus Marwan al-Zubair, absent and whereabouts unknown. Do you testify of your own free will?"
"I do."
"I do."
"Damn right."
"The phrase is: I do."
"What are we? Man and wife? I do. I do."
Loris testified dryly, with the air of someone who had spoken to councils before. Shagrug spoke somewhat more colourfully and listened to Karil's and Loris' stories with amazement. Several times the Council had to reprimand him for outbursts of indignation. Karil had to give him credit--he was not the slightest bit impressed by the authority present. As for Karil himself, he felt intimidated as he recognized, one by one, some of the most famous scholars, scientists, tycoons, and statesmen in the system--it really was a council of titans. In the end, their decision was unanimous, though one or two looked uncomfortable as they voted.
"The Titanic Council summons Marwan al-Zubair to appear and show cause why he should not be charged with the crimes of kidnapping, illegal detention, piracy, and murder. It further requests any administration or authority in the solar system to detain said Marwan al-Zubair when found, pursuant to arrest by the Titanic Council. The Council thanks these witnesses for their co-operation and requests that Captain Shagrug make his ship's records available as evidence."
"The hell I will."
"Please speak up, Captain. The Council cannot hear you."
"If I may speak..." the Professor began.
"The Council recognizes Professor Kelley."
"Thank you. Captain Shagrug is under medical care. As soon as he is able to travel, I will undertake to reunite him with his ship and will accept responsibility for seeing that the Council has the information it needs in this matter. I'm sure the Council recognizes the confidentiality of an independent ship's records and the captain’s privilege to keep his log inviolable. I'm equally sure that, in the interest of justice, the captain will allow those portions of the record that pertain to this matter to be revealed."
"Is this acceptable to you, Captain?"
"Okay," Shagrug sighed. "He can have what he needs. Just to make sure that sonofa..."
"Thank you, Captain," the Council spokeswoman said. "This sitting is adjourned."
The projection shimmered and faded. The technicians began dismantling the equipment.
"They'll never catch him." Shagrug said. "He's halfway to Earth by now."