Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [103]
"It would appear so. But for what reason, and in what way, and by whom-those are unanswered questions."
"You said they were a nemesis. What made you call them that?" asked Kes. Greta Kale answered, indicating the torn sleeves of her uniform. "They were grabbing at us, clawing us as they began to emerge from the walls. If they hadn't still been stuck in that gelatinous mess, they could've ripped us apart."
"There was one more thing the hologram said." Kes looked around the group, as though uncertain whether to purvey this part of the message. "It said that if there were none of their kind to watch over the Tokath, then whoever had come into the chamber should stay here. It would be the only place that was safe."
And hearing that portentous statement, the group surveyed the now crowded room with apprehensive eyes.
When the ground began to fall, Jal Sittik felt a momentary consternation. were the Federations mounting some kind of offensive? Had they formulated a plan to take him by surprise? But the anxiety quickly changed to a premonition of triumph: the Federations had simply been flushed from their lair by the incessant pounding from his weapons. Now it was just a matter of picking them off as they emerged.
"Stand ready!" he called to his men, who were already poised, weapons lifted, anticipating the battle. The ground, he realized, was sinking in a circular pattern, in four triangular wedges that eventually formed ramps, up which, Sittik presumed, the Federations would rush in their desperate and headlong dash for freedom.
The four wedges settled onto the floor of the underground cavern, and Sittik tensed, waiting for the war whoop he presumed would announce the charge of the doomed Federations.
But there was only silence. Puffs of dust rose from the wedges of earth and suffused the stifling air of the planet. Sittik was aware once more of the annoying insects, who had suddenly swarmed around them again, nipping and stinging in a frenzy. Did they sense the impending battle? were they trying to become part of it? Sittik had a sense that all the forces of nature were joining him in this epic encounter.
Where then, were the Federations? Did they think he was so stupid that he would have his men venture down into what could only be a trap? He shook his head in disbelief, savoring the quiver of the ornaments in his hair. "Come out, Federations," he bellowed confidently. "If you surrender your death will be swift and painless." He listened carefully, but there was no answering call, and he began to grow impatient. His moment of glory was being postponed by these stubborn foes. He nodded toward his men to fire into the pit, and the air was laced with the sound of their weapons. After a few minutes, he gave the signal to cease. Dust now rose in heavy clouds from the pit, and Sittik waved the acrid mist from his face, peering downward to see what effect the weapons burst had had. He thought he detected, through the dust, a bit of movement at the bottom of the pit. It had worked! They were coming forth to assure his triumph. Tonight he would sit at the Maje's right hand... would watch Kosla parade before him, hoping for his notice... would feel the supple curves of her flesh beneath his lips.
Now there was definitely a figure coming from the pit. Rising from it. Rising?
Confusion clawed at Sittik's mind. There was something perplexing about the situation. Granted, it was difficult to see clearly through the cloud of dust raised by their weapons, but the figure he saw didn't seem to be climbing the ramps-as he would have thought the Federations must-but was rather ascending through the air. Had they developed a new technology which allowed them to fly like insects? He had never heard any intelligence which suggested the interlopers had such an ability. And yet, here they were (for there were now more of them visible in the dust cloud), most definitely rising from the pit, closer and closer, a growing band of them hovering, inspecting the assembled Kazon troops in silent assessment.