The Ascendant Stars - Michael Cobley [53]
Theo had been troubled by this. After returning from space, he had heard from one of the surviving Diehards about what the Hegemony ambassador had done to Greg during that brief incarceration, how he had been dosed with some offworld drug which loosened his tongue and turned him into a docile servant. Luckily, after Greg’s rescue, the Uvovo Chel had used strange forest roots to clean the drug out of his system. And after hearing Jofik’s account Theo started to wonder if the same thing had been done to Vashutkin. While speculating, he also found himself imagining the very worst possibility, that Greg’s body was lying among the jagged rocks at the base of Giant’s Shoulder.
Then yesterday came the news that the Forerunner platform down in the Hall of Discourse had apparently reactivated itself, and a grim anxiety had sent him straight there. Jofik had gone with him, insisting that if communication with Nivyesta was possible then perhaps they could find out if Greg had actually made it safely to the moon. Once he was there, he found himself in a dialogue with a voice claiming to be that of the Zyradin entity (Theo had heard the tale of Robert Horst’s appearance, mortally wounded, carrying the Zyradin container). Although it was less a dialogue than the bodiless being delivering a set of coordinates and the command that the Tygran ship be sent to pick up Greg at a specific time the next day.
And that was today, which was also the day of the assault on the northern Spiral garrisons. Theo had persuaded Lieutenant Gideon to let him tag along and had looked forward to hearing the news of Greg’s safe retrieval via the Tygran’s field commset.
Instead here he was, bound and hooded, being wheeled into the wild to be shot in some secluded spot. He doubted very much that they were going to keep him prisoner.
Sorry, Greg, sorry, Rory, I should have been more careful. Sorry, Solvjeg, looks like I’ll not be coming home with my shield after all …
Roughly ten minutes later Strogalev ordered a halt then told the other man to get Theo out of the wheelbarrow. After some clumsy manhandling he ended up sitting on damp, lumpy ground with his back against what felt like a tree trunk. The hood came off and he saw that they were slightly upslope from a shallow stream, and deep within dense forest. The humid dimness was relieved by the profuse clumps of glowing roots or insects clinging to trees and webs of vines, while the coin-shaped leaves of a nearby nighteye plant gave off a pale, milky radiance. Some creature high up in the canopy uttered a soft whooping call and insects swooped and spun, creaked and hummed.
Strogalev was standing beside the nameless mumbling man, showing him how to use a long-barrelled handgun. Seeing how difficult this was proving, Theo decided to do some stress-testing.
‘So what am I having for my last meal?’ he said. ‘Baro steak would be nice, maybe washed down with some Black Mountainside ale, eh?’
Strogalev gave him a dark look but continued trying to get the other man to understand his instructions.
Theo shrugged. ‘Hey, well. Condemned man, he is supposed to be allowed a final request, you know … ’
No response.
‘How about a pipe? Do you have a pipe and some tobacco? Or even a cigarette would do.’
Nothing.
‘Well, do you have some pen and paper? – I said, do you have any
Strogalev’s head snapped round, fury in his face.
‘I heard you! And no, there is no pipes or cigarettes or pen or paper so shut your mouth!’
‘Shame, that. I really want to make up my last will … ’
‘Okay, okay, now I’m going to shut you up!’ Strogalev gestured at the other man, who was holding the gun in both hands. ‘Do it now – shoot him dead.’
The other man, who was wearing only a shirt and trousers, stumbled forward, waxy face slack, the eyes full of confusion, outstretched hands holding the gun. The mouth worked, muttering, ‘Kill him, shoot him, pull the trigger, just pull it, fire the gun, shoot him.’ Then he slowed, the arms lowering, the mouth gaping in a soundless cry, eyes spilling tears as he began shaking his head.