The Ascendant Stars - Michael Cobley [100]
KAO CHIH
Out of a stretched dream of cloudy faces he drifted up to wakefulness, prompted by voices, the Shyntanil attendants’ voices. There seemed to be undertones of what passed for excitement among that desiccated species.
‘ … a moonshard against … them? The Ghost Gods? – a hard thing to dare … ’
‘The Highest has commanded it – their interference is disrupting His plans.’
‘But this cause we must make with the Suneye machineries – brings hazard … ’
‘Yah, hazard for them! You know how Old Irontooth thinks. Once the Ghost Gods’ refuge is smashed, the Suneyes will be … blinded! … ’
The deck lurched slightly, then more severely as a grating alarm sounded.
‘What is?’
‘Battle call! – Battle!’
The Shyntanil attendants rushed off as the cryptship quivered from external attacks. Kao Chih suddenly realised that his drug vials had not been replenished. But when he peered at them he saw that both were still about a quarter full and he could feel the body-drowse coming on again – just as a massive impact somewhere sent a violent shock through the deck, slamming Kao Chih’s framework sideways in its recess. Something snapped … and his left arm came free, at least enough to move it across his chest.
Fighting the rising languor, he knew he might not have long before he was overwhelmed by what was already in his veins. So he reached over and loosened the strap on his right arm then proceeded to extract the needle from his left arm and carefully scraped the needle tip against the dirt-streaked metal framework, trying to stop it up with dust and grime. He then stabbed the tip against the frame to crush or bend it, and gingerly re-inserted it. By now he was yawning and struggling to keep his eyelids from drooping but he managed to repeat the process with the other side, refasten his right arm strap and adjust the left one to hold the arm up before letting himself relax. Despite the shaking and jolting it was the easiest thing to close his eyes and drift off …
He awoke to a silence broken by the sibilance of breathing sleepers. His senses felt sharper, as did his mind. The vials looked almost full yet there was no numbness. Releasing his arms, he retracted the needles and saw a gummy buildup around the tips. That was when he realised that the occupant opposite had been replaced – with a Human. He was a brown-skinned man and the torn remnants of his outer garments suggested a uniform of some kind, dark blue. Drugged, he hung there, immobile, insensible.
Kao Chih lost no time in tackling his restraints, unscrewing, unclamping and unfastening himself from head to toe. On stepping out of the framework the first thing he saw was the other Humans held captive and comatose in the neighbouring recesses, as well as one further along to either side. Stunned, he observed the mix of genders and the variety of characteristics before he noticed something else, a faint clicking and rattling. Tracing it to some way along the passage, he crept nervously towards it, edging slowly up to where he could peer round into one particular recess …
A thin, white-haired, wrinkle-faced elderly man was trying to loosen one of the arm straps. He paused and glanced up.
‘Good day,’ he said. ‘Would you know how often our gracious hosts make their rounds?’
Taken aback slightly, Kao Chih said, ‘Every eight hours … I think … ’
‘Good. In the meantime could I trouble you for some assistance?’
‘I would be most happy to oblige,’ he said, quickly stepping up to tend to the various restraints. Moments later he helped the old man out of the recess then gave a respectful bow.
‘My name is Kao Chih, pilot and emissary.’
‘Are you, indeed? – I seem to recall mention of a Kao Chih being involved in an incident on Darien, something about an antique drone trying to gain entry to an old Forerunner installation … ’
Kao Chih stared.