Red Knight

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07/30/2006 10:ed Knight: A Star Frontiers Novel, All Chapters

Page 1ttp://www.xmission.com/~layne/book/All.html

Table of Contents

RED KNIGHT

a STAR FRONTIERS Novel

by Layne K. Saltern

Preface

The Red Knight! Holder of one of the most coveted positions among Sathar agents. Known among the ranks as one of only three Sathar

Knights!

Unnatural echoes gurgled through the shady curves of the Sathar base. Slime oozed from every facet of the throne room as the Red Knight

entered and reverently kneeled.

A platform rotated with the gushy churning of gears, revealing what, in the dark, could only be identified as a man-sized slithering form. Gray

mists billowed with a hiss on either side of it.

"Report on your planned conferenssse strike!" came an inhuman lisp.

"All is as planned, your Excellency."

The creature paused, then croaked, "Good."

"You wished to cover other matters?"

"Doesss the name. . .Kro'khan Zek'et mean anything to you?"

"No, your Excellency."

"It ssshould. The Gray Knight remembersss him well, for it wasss he that almossst sssingle-handedly dessstroyed the Gray Knight'sss 'DoomProject.'"

The Red Knight bowed his head to hide an expression of contempt for his fellow Knight. He managed to keep it out of his voice. "The Gray

Knight lives. If it was he that fell, why does he not settle this?"

"The Gray Knight's forssseful methodsss have already failed againssst this man. But perhapsss a sssubtle attack of ssskill and cunning, sssuch

as is your ssspecialty, would have more sssuccesss."

"You flatter me." The Red Knight lowered his head in outward humility, but smiled underneath with pride and confidence.

"Mossst importantly, Zek'et will be attending the sssame conferenssse you are already planning to hit."

"How convenient."

"Do not fail me, as the Gray Knight did!"

The Red Knight rose to his full height.

"I never fail."

Chapter 1

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Day 1, Queema City, Clarion Planet Surface, White Light Star System

My Vrusk sungoggles eyed me back from my militia skimmer's rear-view scanner. I glanced to the left and right where vehicles with body

curves smooth as liquid fell further and further behind. Queema didn't have magnetic speed regulators to keep me at a safe speed. Good thing

A flashing orange call beeped on my wrist chronocom. Toxica's Human face filled its tiny view panel. She was wearing a bright blue Clarion

Militia uniform similar to mine. It was hard to see her; she must have been calling from a dark area.

"I've got things set up, Kro'khan. Where are you?"

"Heading east on Vehicle Expressway NN-2-7."

"All right. I've got you located. Exit through Berge-Corner Tube and take the back way to the Mekk Engineering Center."

"How's the situation there?"

"Difficult. Groc's men have taken control of the Center's security systems and are holding about twenty ground police hostage. They don't kno

yet that I've managed to scan their actions and gain partial control of their security systems from a next-door section of the complex. You're

going to enter secretly through the supply office door in Delta Alley. I'll see you get in without any trouble."

Groc. A fat ameboid Dralasite. Lately he had turned to merchandising stolen technology. But he wasn't going to pull of this heist!

I stashed my skimmer one street over from Delta Alley and crept on all eight legs to the entrance. The concrete streets were adorned with

luminous graffiti, junked vehicles and various plant growths. . .but no people.

A reddish metal door waited before me. I couldn't see any handles or controls, but the door opened anyhow. I stepped inside, into an unlit

corridor. The door slid shut behind me, completing the darkness.

No locks. No alarms. It looked like Toxica had kept her promise.

I traded my sungoggles for a pair of infra-red goggles. I didn't want to give away my position by using a light source.

Around me stood four square walls, two more doors and a shielded ventilator shaft.

Toxica returned to my chronocom. "I see you. Take the ventilator shaft. I couldn't neutralize the security behind the doors."

My whisper bounced off the corridor walls. "Could you direct me to the building's center ventilator once I'm crawling the shafts?"

"No problem."

I got the ventilator panel open with some difficulty. Mechanics isn't my specialty. For what seemed like twenty minutes I pulled myself throu

a horrid maze of branching wind tunnels.

By the time I reached the central ventilator room, it felt so good to be out of the tubes that I took a minute just to stretch out. But having

recuperated, I realized there was no time to lose.

After strapping on a breathing mask, I pulled my envirokit from my backpack and began sloshing together carefully measured proportions of

the right chemicals. I needed a paralytic knock-out gas potent enough to penetrate the entire building but harmless enough not to permanently

harm any of the hostages. The central ventilator would do perfectly for distributing the finished product.

Toxica appeared again on my wrist. "Kro'khan, I think Groc's men have discovered you. Three armed Yazirians are heading your way from th

hallway west of the ventilator room."

Armed? Me too.

I couldn't risk damaging the ventilation machinery in battle, so I darted out into the hall--into their faces! I took the initiative, eliminating one

the Yazirians with the squeal of a sonic stunner blast and ducking into hard cover within a branching passage.

I could see the remaining two multi-colored Yazirian shapes advancing in my infra-red view. The colors seemed a little hotter than normal. T

two weren't shooting yet. They were probably waiting for me to come out.

So I did.

I fired, missed, and dodged a return blast. They were using laser pistols. Another blast bit a hole in the wall by my left shoulder.

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I yanked myself back into full cover--avoiding two more fiery bolts. Time for a doze grenade. . .no, a tangler. (I didn't want Groc's men puttin

on gas masks yet.)

My head and arm came out from cover. The aim and timing with the grenade were perfect. Webbing splattered upon the two men, trapping th

like insects on opposite sides of the hallway. One of them had managed to fire once, but the tangler explosion had entirely spoiled his aim.

There was really no time to lose now!

I sprinted to the central ventilation system and unleashed the chemical mixture.

Now I had to go where the action really was. . .to see if the gas had worked on Groc and his men.

Perfect. Hostages and thugs alike carpeted the well-lit M.E.C. control room with their unconscious bodies.

But then I turned.

Groc himself glared hatefully at me through the glossy viewplate of his gas mask. His laser rifle followed my every move with equal hate.

I fingered my belt. Could I draw my stunner in time?

The Dralasite hissed like a punctured groundcar tire. "She's set on full power. Say goodbye, bug!"

Concentrate on the gun, my mind screamed, only the gun! Dive and twist. . .now!

The almighty laser bolt exploded into my back. I felt myself being thrown like a rock, skipping on the surface of a pond.

Groc hadn't noticed the silver flash of my belt's albedo screen--hadn't noticed how it had deflected the blast.

He was heading for a rear exit.

Time to descend by a window, cut him off outside. . .

Groc ran and ran through alley after alley, his laser rifle swinging left and right in his rubbery arms with each step. Too bad Dralasites don't r

very fast.

He dashed into a narrow pass between two plastic buildings, his escape too hasty for him to notice a dully reflective splotch of something on

cracked pavement. The chubby ameboid hit the splotch and yanked to a halt, both feet cemented to the ground.

"Hey! What in--"

I stepped out from around the next corner, my arms folded and one antenna raised higher than the other. "That's collicite, an adhesive often us

in tangler grenades. Not a difficult chemical to fabricate."

"You fool!" he screamed, gripping his rifle. "I'll vaporize your ashes!"

"Assuming you can shoot faster than I can."

An energy bolt's shrill echo richocheted through the empty city alleys.

I usually don't take chances like that.

Chapter 2

Day 3, Clarion Space Station, White Light Star System

I couldn't understand it.

The briefing summons that had arrived at my apartment was not from the Clarion Militia but from Star Law.

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Star Law had no direct connection with the militia, but was instead an actual branch of the United Planetary Federation. The UPF was formed

about 60 years ago to fight the threat of Sathar invasion. From there it grew into the largest interstellar military body in the sector. Star Law

sprouted from the UPF in an attempt to control the growing threat of piracy and other crime on an interplanetary level.

The fact that my next assignment was coming from Star Law made me wonder ifitwere something interplanetary as well.

At Star Law's local branch office I found myself briskly escorted into an office filled with military medals and holograms. An ancient Vrusk

with cracked green features rose at my entrance and coughed twice.

"Midshipman. . .Kro'khan Zek'et--of the Clarion Militia," said the man, almost as though he were making sure he had the name right.

"Yes, sir."

The man was covered with military decorations. I looked more closely at his gray uniform. Unless I was mistaken, this man was a member of

the UPF's military branch, and not a Star Law agent at all.

He smiled with age-ripened good nature. "You're probably wondering why Star Law brought you here."

"The thought crossed my mind."

"Well, it's quite simple, really. We want you to be present at a private UPF conference to be held on the planet Pale. It seems the Clarion Mil

owes us a favor, so they have agreed to grant your absense. . .should you accept."

Pale? That's in the Truane's Star system, at the opposite corner of the sector. "Could I ask the purpose of my presence?"

"We value your insight. I think that will become even more clear when you see the purpose of the conference. I can't say anything more at thi

time."

Vrusk have an acute ability to comprehend the meaning behind another's words. That ability was telling me this man wasn't being forthright

about something.

But he seemed like a nice guy, and I'm sure he meant me no harm.

"I accept your offer."

It sounded harmless enough.

Chapter 3

Day 15, Space Fortress Gollwin, Prenglar Star System

Halfway there, I thought. A passenger liner had brought me from White Light to Prenglar, the hub of the Frontier, where I was too meet the

other conference members and proceed to Truane's Star.

The interior of Gollwin's docking section was dark, lit only by the stars beyond the curved plastiglass walls. An orange and white sign glowed

ahead, directing me to the docking bay where the next ship would be departing.

Because most docking areas are located in the center of space stations, they do not benefit from the centrifugal force that provides the station

with artificial gravity. I floated forward, grasping the corridor's hand-holds to fight my weightlessness. The passage to the starship was lined o

both sides with a row of twinkling white lights, no larger than the distant stars.

Another Vrusk, a few meters ahead, was heading for the same ship, so I called out. "Good evening, sir!"

An unfortunate mistake. She turned but said nothing.

"Hello, ma'am," I corrected myself.

She waited without expression for me to continue.

"I'm uh. . .Kro'khan Zek'et, ma'am. Midshipman of the Clarion Royal Militia."

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No response.

"You're going to the conference?"

"That should be obvious." Having offered me the courtesy of that winter chill, she turned away and continued towards the ship's entry hatch.

"Friendly girl." The voice startled me. I turned to see a pale green Vrusk with a UPF uniform and red corrective goggles. He extended a hand

"I'm Commodore Kel'krich Tulk'n, representing Strike Force NOVA."

I returned his greeting.

He nodded toward the female Vrusk. "That's Lieutenant Katrina Z'ungheure. She's here to make a record of everything we do and say at the

conference. I don't know why, but the UPF feels it needs to catalogue everything. Come on. I'll introduce you to the others."

The other passengers were already waiting as we boarded the UPF starship Cavalier. I could see two Humans, a Yazirian and another Vrusk.

Without warning, a Dralasite leapt from the shadows, his laser rifle trained on the entire crowd. "No one goes anywhere!" he growled.

I stiffened, one hand waiting near my holstered laser pistol.

Commodore Tulk'n laughed. The others went about their business without giving the agressor any notice.

"Let me first introduce you first to Lieutenant Voar Tung, security division," said Tulk'n as he walked toward the Dralasite. "Most people hav

hard time understanding his sense of humor. Lieutenant Tung, this is Kro'khan Zek'et."

The Dralasite set aside his weapon and smiled.

Tulk'n passed to the more decorated of the two Humans. "This is Admiral Jac Zhelk, the director of the conference."

Admiral Zhelk offered a solid handshake.

"To make the flight more pleasant, Commodore Zap Xid'kit will be our astrogator for this voyage," joked Tulk'n, designating the other Vrusk

Commodore Xid'kit's mandibles turned into a stiff frown. Obviously, he did not appreciate Commodore Tulk'n's spritely manner.

"This good Yazirian is Rear Admiral Venta Krenny."

The Yazirian looked to the floor beside him as he said, "How you doing?"

"And last of all," concluded Tulk'n as he indicated the remaining Human, "Space Commander Luc Thibaut."

The Space Commander half-nodded but said nothing. From the moment I stepped aboard, his mouth had seemed frozen into a sour frown.

Maybe that was just the way his face was formed.

"Welcome aboard, Kro'khan," said Admiral Zhelk. "Space on the ship is limited, so we'll have to do some sharing of quarters until we arrive a

Pale. You'll be bunking with Commodore Tulk'n and Commodore Xid'kit."

Tulk'n and I were already in the ship's cramped turbolift when the Admiral called out his final pre-flight announcement.

"Takeoff procedure will begin in two hours."

Chapter 4Day 20, Aboard UPFS Cavalier, Prenglar Star System

A starship accelerating at a rate of one gee takes about five days to reach hyperspace jump speed.

The jump takes less than a second.

If the starship's astrogator has already completed the necessary days of tedious charting, any number of jumps may be performed while at that

speed. However, once the pilot wishes to make a stop, the ship must spend another five days decelerating.

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Since the start of our journey, Commodore Xid'kit had been up to his elbows in astrogation work. He looked up from the personal computer

terminal on the table in our quarters. It looked like he needed a break.

"Interesting reading?" he asked.

I set down the palm-pad I had been studying. "I thought I'd take the chance to brush up on some sociology."

He grimaced. "Sounds about as interesting as what I'm doing."

"Actually, I find it intriguing. There's an article here on the behavior patterns of the Sathar. One of the reasons no live Sathar has ever been tak

into captivity is their refusal to surrender in battle. There have even been times when they've avoided capture by self-destructing disabled shipwith a drive overload program."

"Drive overload program?" The commodore found the subject more interesting than he would have thought.

"According to the astrophysicist, Dr. Douglas Niles, 'A ship will destroy itself if its computer is programmed to activate the atomic drives at f

power without releasing any thrust. The heat and pressure produced in the engine reaction chambers build to the point where the engine

housings cannot hold together. The disintegration of the housing releases an explosion that has exactly the same effect as a nuclear bomb.'"

"Eesh," said the commodore, shivering dramatically.

On the fifth day of acceleration I ventured into the ship's recreation area. Space Commander Luc Thibaut sat strapped to a padded couch. On

table before him, a collection of multicolor spheres were laid out in a careful configuration.

The Human didn't look up as I walked over.

"That's a nice set of chameleon spheres," I said. "Isn't a two-player game more fun than solitaire?"

He still wouldn't look up at me, so I squatted to his level. His eyes darted toward me only briefly. His shoulders rose, and then dropped with a

sudden exhale.

"I think we've already been introduced," I continued. "I'm Kro'khan."

He mumbled something.

"What was that?" I asked, extending an antenna to hear him better.

"You'd better strap yourself down before we jump," he said. At least, that's what I think he said. He spoke so softly.

"Hey, Kro'khan!" The voice came from behind me. It was unmistakably Tulk'n. "I thought I might find you here. Looks like we're about to

jump. Let's go get anchored."

Tulk'n noticed the game Thibaut was playing. "Cool spheres," he said.

Thibaut glared and put them away.

Tulk'n and I found our way to the observation dome and strapped ourselves into a couple of cold plastic seats. The plastiglass dome spanned

above us, showing us the expanse of diamond stars beyond.

As the space jump began, it felt like a warm wave of water was coursing through my insides, making me weightless. The stars beyond the dom

spiraled and twisted, soon disappearing althogether. The shapes of the room softened like jelly, becoming distorted and then turning violently

inside-out. I screamed in spite of myself, but my voice made no sound.

Then without warning I felt myself slapped back into my body. The shapes of the room had restored themselves. In fact, everything was as it

was before. . .except the stars.

We were now several light years away from our position mere seconds before.

I don't think I'll ever get used to jumping through hyperspace.

Chapter 5

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Day 24, Aboard UPFS Cavalier, Truane's Star System

We had almost decelerated to the point where we could land on the planet. This was about the first time Commodores Xid'kit and Tulk'n were

both gone at the same time. I was taking advantage of having the room to myself, lounging in my bed.

Someone entered, but it wasn't either of the commodores.

"Katrina. . .ur, Lieutenant Z'ungheure," I stammered, pulling a bathrobe around my shoulders.

"Katrina is fine," she said. Her tone had thawed considerably since the last time I spoke with her.

I realized my robe was inside-out, so I changed it hastily. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Oh, I'm sorry if I caught you at a bad--"

"No." I didn't mean to cut her off. "It's--it's fine. What can I help you with?"

I looked at her directly for the first time. She was wearing a shimmering pink jumpsuit with matching headband and wristbands. The pink

brought some nice color out of her dark facial features.

"It's just something routine, Mister Zek'et."

"Kro'khan will do just fine," I said, returning her courtesy.

"Very well, Kro'khan. I need to get some more personal data on the conference attendees. If you could just answer a few questions. . ."

"My pleasure," I said, smiling. "Have a seat."

Her questions were ordinary. At each response she carefully made notes with a hand-held information pad.

"Your place of birth?" This was probably the tenth question.

"Terledrom."

That brought a hint of sparkle to her eyes. She set down her pad. "You're from Terledrom?"

"Yeah." My response showed I didn't think there was anything special about it.

"You've lost the accent," she noted. "But I wondered."

"Well, then, let me guess. You must be from Ken'zah Kit in the Kaken Kar system."

This both surprised and amused her. "How didyou know that?"

"It's not difficult. The dark blue exoskeleton. The high cheeks."

She started to smile, but then brought the conversation to an end. "Okay, I'd better be going."

She got up and almost left, but stopped to ask one more thing.

"Kro'khan, can you speak the local Terledrom language?"

The language was rarely used, and even so only among Terledrom natives. Most Terledrom citizens looked down on it as something used onlby the uneducated, so I hesitated before answering.

"I've had some exposure to it."

"I don't want to trouble you, but I have some Terledrom poetry that I haven't been able to translate. I was wondering if on your free time. . ."

"I'd be happy to translate it for you."

"I really appreciate that," she said. With that she left the room.

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I barely noticed the half hour pass before Commodore Xid'kit came back.

"Commodore," I said, "did Lieutenant Z'ungheure stop you to ask about personal information for her file?"

"No. Why would she do that?"

"Oh, no reason," I said.

After the commodore had returned to his computer terminal, I leaned back, putting my arms behind my head and smiling.

Chapter 6

Day 25, Tarkcenterr City, Pale Planet Surface, Truane's Star System

Kel'krich Tulk'n and I were last to leave the landed starship. Whitish smoke from the ship's atomic drives cloaked the unloading ramp. The

ship's hull had been rubbed to a cherry red by the atmospheric friction. It gently dulled to pink, and then to silvery gray.

Faint peach clouds were floating beneath a glimmering orange-yellow sun in the citrus yellow sky. It all looked so tranquil, although the clou

were gathering for a storm.

It wasn't until we reached the bottom of the unloading ramp that I took a good look at the starport. It was empty. A euclidean plane of cracked

stained concrete stretched out as far as I could see in every direction. There were a few sparse buildings, shriveled, collapsed and blackened, lplastic toys melted in a fire. The only structure still in operation was a small monorail terminal that connected to a transparent monorail tube.

"What happened here?" I asked.

Tulk'n wasn't his grinning self, but had fallen to a far graver tone. "The Sathar happened. Pale was the first planet to fall in the First Sathar W

sixty years ago. Tarkcenterr was hit about the hardest. Most of the Pale citizens fled to New Pale, which was no more than an outpost planet

back then. Some fled as far as Gran Quivera. A lot of people have moved back to Pale, but they don't come to Tarkcenterr." He paused for a

moment of silence. "I don't think they want to remember."

Chapter 7

Conference Day 1, Tarkcenterr City, Pale Planet Surface, Truane's Star system

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A day/night cycle on Pale lasts 55 standard Federation hours, with time measured from 0:00 to 54:59. 27:30 lands in about the middle of the

daylight period.

To facilitate my record I am now changing to Pale days, with this being day 1.

I have attempted to sketch a simple map of the UPF base in which the conference was being held. The building was heavily armored with air-

tight, radiation-proof walls.

I sat alone in my room and considered that the meetings wouldn't start until the next day. I considered using the time to study some more

sociology, but gave up that idea pretty quickly. Without thinking about what I was doing, I reached into my backpack and pulled out a readin

pad, in which Katrina had entered a large number of Terledrom poems.

As I began translating, I contemplated how silly the poetry seemed, all about emotions. Not a note of logic in it.

Commodore Tulk'n entered without knocking.

I tried to hide the pad, but that only piqued his curiosity. "What is this?" he asked. And looking it over, he added, "Do you know what this is

This is some of the best Terledrom poetry."

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"I'm translating it," I explained, trying to be patient.

"Can I get a copy of your translations? I love this stuff."

I was not enthused. "If you want."

After Tulk'n left, I hid the pad under my backpack in a desk drawer and locked the drawer.

I needed some air.

The outside evening breeze carried the sweet scent of falling night and gathering rain clouds. Some kind of unseen animal or insect was chirp

a strange tune.

I wandered to the monorail terminal and considered that about the only place to go was the nearby starport. The terminal was empty. A numb

of monorail cars sat motionless, collecting dust.

Then I noticed that one of the cars was missing. Unusual, I thought.Maybe someone else decided to visit the starport.

But when I got to the starport, there was no one there. The only thing waiting for me was the Cavalier, sleeping in the darkness.

Why did the UPF bring me here? I wondered. Maybe time would give me a clue.

I took in a deep breath of the fresh night, and found myself creating an image of Katrina in my mind. She seemed quite nice, and you couldn't

say she wasn't attractive--

I stopped rigid. Had I seen a dark form lurking in the inky shadows beneath the Cavalier? My compound eyes tried to pierce through the

darkness to get a better look.

Minutes passed. Nothing. I finally decided that my eyes must have been playing tricks on me.

It was late, and the first meeting of the conference would take place at an early hour in the morning.

Chapter 8

The warmth inside the base felt pleasant after my excursion.

No sooner had I re-entered the base than a beep sounded on my chronocom. Katrina's face filled the tiny view panel.

"I thought you would be sleeping," I said.

"I'm not used to these 55 hour days yet," she explained. "I was wondering if you hadn't forgotten me."

"For the poetry? I'm working on it."

Her face lit up. "Wonderful! I'll let you go then." She assumed a brief expression of discouragement. "I still can't sleep."

She closed the communication, and I returned to my quarters. Once there, I asked myself, What am I doing here? I stepped right out again an

entered the bullet shaped monorail car that travels through 200 meters of underground tunnel to the part of the base where Katrina was stayin

I invited Katrina to get something to eat. Half to my surprise, she accepted.

But I found the flat walls of the dining area to be too boring.

"You know, Katrina, there's a better place we could go eat. I discovered it today."

I led the way through the hall and into the Space Gardens. Blue light flooded a tranquil scene of bushes and flowers, ranging in hue from past

blue and pink to bright yellow. The air seemed to be filled with just a hint of spice. A shallow pool of dark blue water shimmered at our feet.

The dome-shaped ceiling was transparent, giving us a view of the many stars in the black firmament.

I pointed up at the sky. "That star is your home system, and the one right next to it is Fromeltar, where I come from. Have you ever been there

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"

"No," she admitted, her eyes hypnotized by the pool.

"I could show you around, if you ever want to go there," I offered.

"I'd like that," she said. I couldn't take my eyes off her soft smile.

"I've almost finished translating your poetry," I said, changing the subject.

"What do you think of it?"

"I don't know. I haven't read much of that type of stuff before."

"I love it," she said. "When it's written in a planet's local language, it's so much more personal and sincere. It comes from the heart."

"Katrina?" I said, and hesitated.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever. . .considered seriously--"

"How's the weather in here?" Tulk'n barged into the gardens. "I thought I saw you two come this way."

"We're trying out the food," I said, voicing the first thing that came to my mind. "It's not too bad."

He laughed his patented laugh. "Not too bad? It's awful." He sat himself on the other side of Katrina and kept talking.

"Oh, wow," I interjected. "Look at the time. We've got an early meeting tomorrow." I got up to leave.

"See you tomorrow, Kro'khan," said Tulk'n.

I looked behind me as the garden door slid shut. Katrina and Tulk'n were still talking. . .or at least Tulk'n was still talking.

She must be a more patient listener than I am, I told myself.

I lay in my bed for about an hour, unable to sleep.

As a last resort, I pulled out Katrina's pad of poetry and started reading it. Not translating, just reading.

I still couldn't sleep.

Chapter 9

Conference Day 2

They sat spaced about the glossy conference room table as I entered. From left to right: Thibaut, Krenny, Xid'kit, Tulk'n, and then Katrina.

Admiral Zhelk stood with military rigidity at the head of the table. The only one not at the table was Zhelk's bodyguard, Voar Tung, who stoo

with his laser rifle near the door.

I pulled a chair into the narrow space between Katrina and Commodore Tulk'n. "Sorry I'm late."

My apology went ignored.

"Welcome to the 24th annual Pale Conference," said the Admiral. "Lieutenant Z'ungheure has prepared a micro-reader device for each of you

the device's memory, you will find a personalized agenda describing each meeting to be held, and stating which each of you is to attend. The

entire conference has been scheduled for five Pale days, or 275 hours."

At Zhelk's signal, Tung passed a hand-held computer device to each person at the table. I glanced at mine and saw a list of antendees:

Admiral Jac Zhelk -- Administrator

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Rear Admiral Venta Krenny -- Representatvie of Task Force Cassidine

Commodore Kel'krich Tulk'n -- Representative of Strike Force NOVA

Commodore Zap Xid'kit -- Representative of Task Force Prenglar

Space Commander Luc Thibaut -- Department of Non-Attached Warships

Lieutenant Voar Tung -- Security

Liuetenant Katrina Z'ungheure -- Record Keeping

Clarion Midshipman Kro'khan Zek'et

It seemed bizarre that I was the only one listed without a function. I wasn't sure whether to be curious or embarassed.

A red line appeared at the top of my device's viewscreen. The line slowly dropped, covering the screen with a blanket of flat crimson. I

wondered if I had pressed a wrong key somehow, but then I saw that everyone's micro-reader was doing to same thing.

Bold black letters appeared on the blood-like background: "Enter the Red Knight."

"What does--" I had barely opened my mouth when it was shut again. Blinding light seared throught the window. The room rocked in the wak

of an explosion as a sound like thunder deafened our ears.

Blackness followed.

Chapter 10

The blackness was in my own head.

At length, when I gathered the strength to open my eyes, I found the conference room intact as before. A persistent ringing sound squealed

through my head.

The blast had stunned us all, but my anti-shock implant allowed me to be the first to recover. Katrina lay motionless by my side. I searched

frantically for her life signs. . .and found them.

I pulled myself up onto a chair and saw that some of the others were beginning to stir.

Then I saw the red glow on my toxy-rad gauge.

"Radiation," I rasped through a weakened voice box. "That was a nuclear blast!"

Admiral Zhelk rolled onto his hands and knees, coughing. "Tung, activate the base's radiation shield!"

"But we'll be trapped!" whined Krenny. "We'll be trapped in here."

"Where do you want us to go?" barked Tulk'n, void of empathy.

"Everyone, calm down," ordered Zhelk as he pulled his body into a sitting position. "We're going to get through this. Start by searching every

inch of this place! Find out what happened, and who did it!"

Tulk'n was quick to volunteer. "Katrina and I will check out the section of the base near the library."

I was about to object when Xid'kit cut me off. "Kro'khan, you and I could check the sick bay and medical supply room."

"Good," agreed Zhelk. "Thibaut, Krenny, check the power and comm centers."

Thibaut complied, wearing his usual frown.

The sick bay was shaken up, but mostly undamaged. Xid'kit searched through a number of cabinets while I looked under the beds.

"Zap, have you ever been married?"

The question caught him cold, and he gave me a weird look. "No," he replied flatly. "This job requires all of my attention."

"I know exactly what you're saying," I replied. "But I was wondering. What if your partner were in the same field you were in. Could that

work?"

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"You're asking the wrong person," said Xid'kit as he examined the light fixtures. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just thinking."

Xid'kit turned from his work to look at me. "That's an interesting subject, but I think there are more important things to worry about right now

"Oh, of course," I said, snapping back into reality. "I'll go check the supply room."

I passed through the door and could hear Xid'kit behind me. "How did you get in there? I thought they kept that room locked."

All about me, machines were blinking and clicking. Something buzzed to life, causing the entire room to vibrate. The vibrations made me diz

and my legs couldn't support me any more.

"Zap!" I managed to yelp, before collapsing into a pile.

The buzzing stopped just as Commodore Xid'kit appeared at the door.

Chapter 11

Pain.

Weakness.

I found myself in some bed. Every muscle ached from overwork.

I became aware of a presence. . .someone standing near the bed. I puzzled over who it could be, and decided it must be Katrina.

My vision cleared. It wasn't Katrina.

The Dralasite, Voar Tung, noticed me try to get up. He placed a gentle pseudopod on my shoulder, settling me back into the bed. My back

screamed at me for trying to move.

"Where. . .Katrina?" I mouthed.

"She's in her quarters at the other side of the base," he said.

"Was she here before?"

"Try to stay calm, Kro'khan. You've been in a serious accident. You need to rest."

"Accident?"

"In the medical supply room. There was a malfunction with some experimental equipment. We're not sure what effect it has had on your body

but Commodore Xid'kit is working night and day to find out."

"I feel dizzy. . ." I complained.

That was the last thing I remembered.

When I woke up again the room was dark. Voar Tung was sitting, asleep, in a chair next to my bed. I watched his ameboid flesh ooze like thic

jelly as it relaxed.

He awoke with a whisper. "Kro'khan?"

"I slept into the night," I remarked.

A smile warmed his bulbous head. "Actually, you slept into the night of the next day."

"Why am I so weak?" I asked.

"Zap has been researching that," he explained. "The equipment that misfired was part of an experimental project whose purpose was to

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biochemically modify physical strength and reaction speed. I'm afraid this has affected the cell structure in your body adversely, cutting your

strength to about half of what it used to be.

"But there's hope," he continued. "Zap says there are periodic fluctuations in your state. Sometimes your strength level rises almost to normal

Your condition may be temporary. . .or at least curable. In the meantime, we can provide you with a number of devices to help you get around

Almost as an afterthought, I remembered the events that occurred on the day of my accident. "Lieutenant, the explosion. What happened?"

The Dralasite hesitated. "The explosion was a nuclear blast that came from outside. The base is equipped with radiation armor and has been

sealed off. We'll be safe until things settle down."

"When is help coming?"

"You need to rest," he said, avoiding my question.

"Lieutenant, I need to know."

He waited a long time, weighing the decision to go on or not. "I guess you would have found out about this sooner or later. None of our

communication equipment is working. It looks like sabotage."

"So someone set that explosion to keep us here."

"It's too soon to jump to conclusions. But at the same time, we all need to be careful until we find out what's going on."

It was obvious, despite Voar's reassurance. Something bad was happening.

And for the first time in my life, I couldn't do a single thing about it.

Chapter 12

Conference Day 4

With the help of my robot walker I ventured into the Space Gardens and sat myself upon a bench. I couldn't see the sky now, due to the

radiation shielding.

Something was missing.

Realizing what it was, I activated my chronocom.

Katrina answered. "What is it?"

"I haven't seen you for a while."

"Yeah. You've been ill."

"I'm up and around now. In fact, I'm calling you from the gardens. Care to join me?"

Someone else was trying to contact me on my chronocom. Couldn't they learn better timing?

"I'd like to," she said, "but I've really got a lot to do."

"Really? What kind of things?"

She blew out a mouthful of air, then breathed it all back in. "Someone has to make a full record of the damages incurred to the base."

"Have you done a record of the sickbay yet?" I asked, using the first thing I could come up with.

She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead. "Not yet."

"Well I could help you there. I'm already quite familiar with that area."

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Someone was trying to cut in on my chronocom again. They would have to wait!

"If you want to," she said. Her tone was reminiscent of the frosty personality I encountered in Prenglar.

"Where do we meet?"

"I'll be working in the library tonight at about 32:00."

"Then it's a date!" I said.

Her voice almost dropped to a whisper. "Good luck getting better, Kro'khan."

She closed communication.

For the third time, someone tried to call me on my chronocom. They waited, I told myself.I might as well answer.

It was Commodore Xid'kit. His face looked flushed. Very flushed.

"Are you all right?" I asked with immediate concern.

"Kro'khan. I used a portable computer to download the Cavalier's flight data before we arrived on the planet. I've been using it to astrogate ou

return course, but I found something I think you should look at. Do you remember what you were telling me during the voya--"

Before he could finish the last sentence, his image spun out of the chronocom view panel. All I could see was a wall and some of the floor. I

heard a sharp grunt, and then the connection went dead.

I jumped up, not realizing that I didn't need my walker, and raced to Xid'kit's room.

His personal computer had been melted into a solidified puddle by some sort of energy weapon. The commodore himself lay motionless on th

floor.

He was still holding an empty hypodermic sprayer. I opened it and smelled. Telol.

Apparent suicide.

Apparent.

Chapter 13Five hours later, everyone had grouped around me in the sick bay. Xid'kit lay motionless on a medical cot in front of me.

Voar Tung watched with something between reverence and sadness. Thibaut refused to give anyone the courtesy of eye contact. Katrina, Tulk

Zhelk and Krenny followed my every word, intent on finding answers.

"You're moving without your walker," remarked the admiral.

"The level of my muscular response has been fluctuating since the accident," I explained. "But my condition seems to gradually stabilizing w

time."

"What have you found out about Commodore Xid'kit?"

That was my cue. "I have successfully placed him in a freeze field. Any major medical center should be able to clear the toxins from his bodand revive him."

"So he overdosed on Telol?" asked Krenny.

"My guess is that someone wanted this to look like an attempted suicide. It's well known that Commodore Xid'kit has medical training, and th

he had in his possession a substantial supply of telol, as well as other drugs.

"What I find of interest is the way in which the drug was administered. It takes considerable medical knowledge to properly inject telol for us

as a truth serum. I have examined the injection point on the commodore's arm, and it's obvious to me that whoever used the hyposprayer had

advanced medical skill.

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"But a second look at the body reveals some things that are much more puzzling. Notice these bruises on his left wrist and right upper arm. A

blood dating test has confirmed that these bruises were inflicted at approximately the same time that the hyposprayer was used. This discolori

on the back of Commodore Xid'kit's neck was caused by electrical trauma. . .possibly a stunstick."

Admiral Zhelk's face hardened with every word. "So you're saying someone attacked him?"

"Someone trained both in medicine and the martial arts."

I turned to see how the others were reacting. My eyes fell immediately upon Katrina. Tulk'n had his arm around her, and she seemed to be

burying her head in his shoulder.

I felt a wave of numbness wash my body.

"Kro'khan!" Voar's voice was distant.

Only too late did I realize that my weakened condition was back. I collapsed into the solid arms of the Dralasite.

"My. . .walker. . ." I mumbled.

"We'll get it," he reassured. "You're going back to bed."

Chapter 14

My dark little room was so confining! And so much more so from the viewpoint of my bed.

I looked at my chronocom to see the time again: 27:42.

That meant I had been reading Katrina's poetry for nearly and hour. Verse after verse lamented the loss of eternal love.

Katrina was right. This stuff did come from the heart. Too much.

I got up to increase the lighting, not noticing that I didn't need my walker to do it.

27:58.

Admiral Zhelk called me on his chronocom.

"Kro'khan, how are you feeling?"

"Much better. Thank you."

He paused. "Kro'khan, we'll be holding a meeting to discuss our current situation, and what our options are. Only a few of us will be in the

meeting, but I'd like you to be there. . .if you can."

"Okay," I replied, flatly.

"Good. It's very important that we get together and organize. We'll see you tonight in the conference room at 32 hundred hours. Zhelk out."

I turned in my bed, unable to find a comfortable position. Then I remembered that 32:00 was when Katrina and I were supposed to meet. I

returned to my chronocom.

"Admiral Zhelk, I'm sorry about this, but I just realized I can't make it to the meeting tonight."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sorry. You'll have to get by without me."

It wasn't my fault. He should have chosen a better time.

I got up and removed my ever shining militia uniform, replacing it with a much more comfortable pullover. I took a good look at myself in a

full-length mirror. The matte black pullover looked loose and casual, maybe even sloppy. But I was a guest here. I could wear what I wanted.

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I paced until 31:45 sharp.

Then I trotted past the bushes in the main area until I got to the tunnel. Two small bubblecars were waiting at the tunnel entrance. One would

take me to the section of the base where Katrina would be waiting for me.

I really needed to see her again.

Interlude 1

Had Kro'khan stopped and looked back at the last moment, he might have noticed something stir in the shadows. That something--or rather

someone--padded out of the dark and, without a sound, into the communications room.

After firmly securing the inner door lock and drawing his blaster, he inserted a small card into the subspace radio transmitter. The device cam

to life, unscrambling its own curcuits.

The dark figure spoke in a confident whisper. "I offer you my most humble salutations, your Excellency." The Red Knight's humility was abo

as genuine as a hologram, only less convincing.

"Your report," hissed the reply, after a transmission delay.

"Already begun, and proceeding as planned."

"And Zek'et?"

"The claims to his skill seem to sprout more from rumor than reality. I have handicapped him, and he should be of no threat."

"You haven't killed him?"

"I let him live for now because he makes my work more interesting. . .and because I have something special planned. I have discovered his

weakness, and now I have full power to defeat him in the most painful way possible."

Chapter 15

The tunnel was formed of transparent plastiglass, making visible the planet's black soil through which it traveled. It was all whizzing past me

a blur. The bubblecar's single rail hissed with its compressed gas propellant.

I called ahead on my chronocom. "Hey, Katrina. I was just on my way over."

She made no sign of acknowledgement. In fact, she seemed very concerned. "My door won't open," she said.

"It's probably just a malfun--"

"I feel dizzy," she moaned, drooping her head.

I pushed the bubblecar to bullet speed. "Katrina! Listen to me! I'm coming right over! Just hold on!"

The bubblecar stopped and I was in the air, sprinting to Katrina's door.

I triggered the opening mechanism. No response.

I pushed and tugged on the door. It wouldn't budge.

I slammed my full weight against it, doing more damage to my shoulder than to the door.

"Open, you stupid thing!" I cursed. "Katrina! Can you hear me?"

Then I stopped. I looked at my toxy-rad gauge.

It was glowing red!

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"Katrina! There's a strong radiation leak in there! We've got to get the door open! Can you. . ."

I couldn't finish the sentence. I fumbled for my blaster, succeeding only in dropping it to the floor. My head swam in a rippling blur. The colo

of everything about me seemed to darken to a powerful red hue. I turned wildly in every direction, trying to get my bearings, but all I could se

now was the color red.

Red. I threw out a fist and struck the door.

Red! I slammed myself into the door.

RED! I blacked out.

Chapter 16

Where was I?

My vision cleared, and I could see that I was in the back of a bubblecar.

I could hear voices.

The first was Katrina's. She was out of breath. "Oh, Kel'krich. I'm so glad you got to us in time."

Then Tulk'n. "That was really close, Kate. The radiation armor in your room was leaking pretty badly."

"Why is this happening?"

"Kate, I don't want to scare you, but it looks like someone is purposely trying to harm us. Your door's computer lock was obviously rigged, an

that leak was probably intentional as well. And on top of that, I have no idea what happened to your door before I got there. The thing had

almost caved in, as though a Cybodragon had kicked it!"

"A what?"

"Never mind. I assume you haven't heard about what happened to Krenny. He was in his room alone when the lights went out. He swears he

heard someone step out of his closet and laugh. Maybe he imagined the whole thing, but it sure gave him the fright of his life. You know how

jumpy he is."

"Do you really think someone is trying to kill us?"

"I don't know, but you'd better stay on our side of the base from now on."

There was a difficult silence. It sounded like someone was crying.

"Listen to me, Kate," assured Tulk'n. "It's going to be all right."

Cold unconsciousness was kind enough to reclaim me.

Chapter 17

I entered the dining area with my robotic walker.

Thibaut glared at me, then turned back to his table where Krenny was keeping him company. Krenny was wearing a few light bandages.

At another table Tulk'n and Katrina were eating and talking. I noticed with sickening detail how closely they were seated together.

I avoided both groups and ate alone.

I would have gone back out altogether, but it looked like Katrina was getting up to leave.

"Don't forget what you promised," she said.

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Tulk'n nodded and watched her step out the dining area door. Then he stood up and walked in my direction.

I glared at the hand he slapped onto my shoulder. I couldn't taste my food.

"Look at Thibaut and Krenny over there," he whispered. "It's almost like they've got a secret club or something." He sat down. I refused to loo

at him. His whisper dropped a few decibels. "Just between you and me, I think they're up to something." He pounded his fist on the table in

mocking fashion and said, "Our secret meeting will now come to order."

I wasn't amused.

"That's a nice pullover," he continued. "Got tired of the uniform, huh?"

"What's wrong with it?" I barked.

He pulled back. "Hey, I'm just trying to have a friendly conversation. You're not too talkative tonight."

"I've got a lot on my mind," I said, still avoiding him with my eyes.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. This whole crisis has me worried to."

"Does it?" I demanded, finally turning to look at him. "Or are you more concerned about chasing after Katrina?"

"What are you talking about? If I hadn't come over, you and she would both be dead right now!"

"My congratulations," I muttered as I turned back away.

"You don't seem to get it, do you? There's someone out there trying to exterminate us. For all we know, Icould be his next target."

He pushed away the table and left without another word.

My eyes burned as they followed his exit, and my mind repeated the same unspoken truth:

I hope you are.

Chapter 18

I couldn't sleep.

I never could unless I was really sick.

Why was I here? I surely wasn't accomplishing anything.

What was I after? No. Why couldn't I get what I was after? Why did Kel'krich Tulk'n have to come to this conference?

What was the matter with me?

I heard a distant thump, or crashing sound, followed by what must have been a blaster discharge! Two more blasts followed.

"Not now!" I moaned.

Time passed. Maybe it was nothing.

My door slid open, and I instinctively gripped the handle of my laser pistol. It was Admiral Zhelk and his bodyguard.

"Sorry to wake you," said Zhelk unapologetically.

"I wasn't sleeping."

"Commodore Tulk'n has been shot."

I felt a flash flood of about every emotion and didn't quite know how to feel.

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Chapter 19

Shot, but only wounded. That was a relief of some kind. . .I guess.

Everyone was in the sick bay when I entered. It was still the middle of the night. Someone had already given him first aid, but it was up to m

to give him real medical attention.

A laser had apparently grazed his left shoulder, charring his exoskeleton.

"It doesn't look too bad," I said.

"You can be sure I chased him off the minute he showed up," said Tulk'n. "I'm not letting any psychopath catch me unprepared!"

"Either that, or he may be toying with you," I said. "Did you get a look at him?"

"No. I was just going to bed when someone broke my window and shot in at me. I rolled under my bed and fired back a couple times, but he

ran off." Tulk'n looked me square in the eyes, almost accusingly. "Strange he should pick me."

"Could Commodore Tulk'n and I speak in private for a moment?" I asked.

We waited for the others to leave.

Tulk'n was the first to speak. "This is the last time I get in an argument with you."

"I had nothing to do with this."

He thought it over. "Ibelieve you, but will the others? Thibaut and Krenny saw us fighting in the dining area last night, and you yourself said

that whoever gave Zap his overdose was a trained medic."

"Maybe someone's trying to frame me?" I suggested.

"Are you going to do something about it?"

"Looks like I'll have to. I wish I had never come here."

"Running away isn't an option."

"I didn't say anything about running away."

"Kro'khan, you and I have got to find this guy and stop him."

"Yeah, whatever." I didn't like the "you and I" part.

I was on my way out the door when I bumped into Katrina. She was carrying a carefully wrapped package.

"Is Kel'krich in there?" she asked.

"Yes, but he's going to be all right. He doesn't need anything."

"I just wanted to see him. He asked me to come."

"Suit yourself," I replied, brushing past her like a storm wind.

Chapter 20

I brooded past Tulk'n's room, avoiding the large chunks of glass across the hallway. Why hadn't someone cleaned that up?

His door was unlocked.

Everything in the room was overturned, just like my mind. Two laser scars blackened the wall directly above the smashed window. I smiled

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when I considered how badly Tulk'n had missed his target.

I saw myself in a full length mirror. I flipped out a blaster and aimed it at the second "me." He was sloppily dressed in a casual black pullover

He looked angry and confused.

"You scum!" I growled.

Maybe it hadbeen I who had shot Tulk'n. The idea was forbiddenly delicious.

"Kro'khan?"

I turned and saw Admrial Zhelk. I quickly returned my pistol to its holster.

"Admiral, I was just examining the scene of the attack."

"Uh-huh. I have a favor to ask."

"Well, ask."

"I sent officers Krenny and Thibaut outside in insulated suits to scout the area around us. Since I don't know what's out there, I decided to sen

Lieutenant Tung with them as extra security." He looked over my lack of uniform. "I can't command you, since you're not a UPF officer, but

a favor, could you watch my back while I look into repairing the comm systems? I think it's safer if we increase our numbers."

I took a deep breath. "Sure. Might as well."

Chapter 21

Conference Day 5

It was late in the afternoon. Admiral Zhelk and I had been in the communications room since early morning.

The admiral was examining the subspace radio with a techkit. "I'm sure the scrambling of our comm systems was deliberate. Otherwise, I wo

have it straightened out by now."

"I need something to study," I said. "I'll be right back."

Tulk'n had been out of the sick bay and moving around for seven hours now.

I had intended to get some reading material from my room, but I paused outside Tulk'n's smashed window instead.

He was whispering into his chronocom. "At 40 hundred hours tonight. . .just outside the library. . .all right."

I didn't have to wonder with whom he was talking.

I returned to the communications room.

"I thought you were getting something to study," said the admiral.

"Changed my mind."

At 40:00 Zhelk was still working on the subspace radio.

I rubbed my face and winced. "Admiral, I. . .I'm starting not to feel so good. I don't think I can stay here anymore."

He looked me over. Concern softened his steely eyes. "That's all right. Lieutenant Tung should be back soon. Go get some rest."

I staggered out the door with my walker. Once I was out of the admiral's view, I set the walker aside and found myself running for the tunnel.

didn't want to make any noise, so I went through the tunnel on foot instead of using a bubblecar.

I emerged at the other end and took cover in the bushes. (The radiation leak in Katrina's room had already been repaired.)

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There they were: Tulk'n and Katrina! They were sitting on a bench, each in the other's arms.

Why was I making myself watch this?

Tulk'n was saying something. I trained my ears and began recognizing his lines. He was reciting the same poetry I had let him see. The poetry

had been translating.

Katrina seemed hypnotized by the moment. Tulk'n leaned closer, approaching his head to hers. He kissed her, slowly, then more passionately

I gripped my laser pistol, searching for a way to stop this, for a way to win Katrina back.

"Kro'khan!!!" The call on my chronocom spoiled my hiding place.

Tulk'n and Katrina both turned in my direction.

"Kro'khan?" said Katrina. She was furious. "What are you doing here?"

I tried to filter the two of them out of my mind by focusing on my chronocom. Zhelk was calling me, and he was badly hurt!

"Kro'khan!" he said through heaving gasps. "Someone in the bushes. A laser. . ." His eyes froze in place.

I ran--like the madman I was--all the way back through the tunnel.

I could hear Tulk'n and Katrina behind me, calling out: "Kro'khan! Kro'khan!"

Stop saying that name!

I got to the other side of the tunnel. Admiral Zhelk was lying on the floor. He was completely motionless. A closer look showed why. There w

a black, charred pit where his chest should have been.

He was dead. And I couldn't save him.

I wasn't there to save him.

Tulk'n showed up and ran to the bushes across the area. He seemed to be looking for something.

Katrina started to scream.

My whole world of consciousness closed onto the dead man below me, the man I had let die. He couldn't be revived. Not with a missing ches

He was gone, and it was my fault!

My tears mixed with his blood as I collapsed onto the body. My mind screamed, echoing the same thing again and again: HOW COULD I

HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?

Interlude 2

The Red Knight's fingers trembled with ecstasy as they opened subspace communication.

"This is again your servant, your Excellency!"

"Report."

"Kro'khan Zek'et can impede us no longer! I have broken him! And the work I have come here to do shall continue without difficulty!"

He could not have been more wrong.

Chapter 22

The plump gray form of Voar Tung was sitting next to me, looking into my face. "Are you all right?"

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"I'm all right," I mumbled.

His observation was keen. "You're not all right."

"I'm all right."

"No, you're not all right."

I looked away.

"Are you going to vomit again?"

"I just. . .I'm not thinking clearly. My head is all black and heavy inside." I wasn't sure if he could understand my mumbling.

"The accident that weakened you has also drained much of the fluid from your body. This has affected your brain. That's why your head is

unclear, and you find it hard to concentrate. Here, I got this for you." He put in my hands a crystal cylinder of clear liquid. "You need to get

your moisture back. Just sip it. Don't drink it all at once."

I sipped it dry.

"What would you think about washing up a little?" Admiral Zhelk's blood was still on my hands and face.

I stood up like a zombie, and I took two steps.

"No," said Voar with a correcting pseudopod. His smile was warm enough to evaporate my embarassment. "The shower is this way."

The warm water felt good. It cleansed every member of my body, washing me clean as a baby.

"You'll need to wear this." Voar had gone to the trouble of finding my militia uniform. "Your other clothing has too much blood on it."

The uniform fit me perfectly, just like it had before.

Voar walked alongside me, supporting me in my weakened state. "Now that you're cleaned up, I think you need to lie down a while."

We entered my room.

I sat down on my bed and clumsily took my pillow. Voar snatched it from my hands, laid me down and carefully placed the pillow beneath m

head.

"Try to sleep," he whispered, and silently he vanished, outing the light and closing the door.

I slumbered without thought or movement.

I sensed the door open. Voar's soft Dralasite hands placed a cold, wet cloth on my forehead. The door closed again.

I slept.

When I woke up, the cloth on my head was stiff and dry. I removed it and got to my feet. The other "me" was waiting in the mirror. He was n

clean, and dressed in a blue uniform that seemed to glow. His face and body glowed with equal radiance.

My chronocom told me it was morning, the morning of the sixth conference day.

I walked out to find Voar.

Chapter 23

Conference Day 6

They sat on opposite sides of the conference room table: Rear Admiral Krenny and Space Commander Thibaut to one side, Commodore Tulk

and Lieutenant Z'ungheure to the other. The glossy table mirrored their images in paler colors.

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I stood before them with Voar.

"Lieutenant Tung and I have called you all together so that we can organize ourselves against this man who calls himself the Red Knight. Unt

now, the Red Knight has been feeding on our disunity, and he will continue to do so, so long as this continues. We must work together now.

Does anyone have any ideas for a plan of action?"

Thibaut spoke with a tone as sweet as sulfuric acid. "Maybe we'd feel more willing to cooperate if someone with any authority were trying to

run things."

"Commander, it isn't my intention to run things," I responded politely.

But if I was not offended, Commodore Tulk'n was. "What are you trying to pull, Thibaut? Finally someone with the guts to get something

organized comes along, and you're here trying to disunify us all the more. Who's side are you on? That's a question I've been asking myself

quite a bit lately. I hear you broke off from Krenny and Tung last night, and that you came back to the base alone. . .at about the same time

Admiral Zhelk happenedto be murdered!"

"Please!" I called out, holding both hands forward. I was neither seen nor heard.

Krenny took Thibaut's side. "Tulk'n, you have no right to go around making accusations like that! Why don't you just knock off talking about

things you know nothing about?"

Lieutenant Z'ungheure joined in. "Tell me one thing he said that he doesn't know about!"

This wasn't going to work.

Something else would have to.

Only Voar noticed me leave the room.

Chapter 24

The Space Gardens.

Not much in the gardens had changed since the time I first came here. The center pool rippled before my eyes. I watched each wrinkle glide

across the surface of the water, distorting the reflection of the bushes around it. The air still smelled as sweet as before, just as cool, just as

moist.

I don't remember how long I had been sitting there when Voar entered. His heavy footsteps brought me to full alert.

"Hello Voar." I knew it was he, so I didn't bother turning around.

"You okay?"

My voice was as sedated as the pool. "Yes. I just came here to think things out."

"I won't disturb you then."

"No," I said. "Stick around."

He stepped through the vegetation and sat down. "I'm sorry the others won't cooperate."

"That's not your fault, Voar. We're all under a lot of pressure. I can't blame them."

"It appears you've been under a lot of pressure, yourself."

"Why do you say that?"

"You're different now. Your voice has softened, and there's always some distant, unfocused look in your eyes."

"Admiral Zhelk trusted me to protect him in your absence," I explained. "I wasn't even around when he needed me."

"That's in the past now. Sometimes things happen and you can't change them. What matters is the future."

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"That may be so, but I can't stop thinking about it. I'm indebted to justice now. And I'm prepared to pay with more own life to set things

straight."

"You're worth more to this universe alive than dead, my friend. As long as you're alive, you can still change. You can still help."

I said nothing.

"So, where do we start?"

"Huh?" I said.

"Where do we start looking for the Red Knight?"

"Oh." I considered the question. "We'll need to backtrack. Everywhere he's attacked. There must be evidence we've missed. We can start whe

Admiral Zhelk was shot."

"Should I get your walker?"

"I haven't needed it for a while. I should be all right."

In fact, when we arose to begin hunting the Red Knight, I realized how long it had been since I had really felt this good!

Chapter 25The scene hadn't changed much, except for the absence of the admiral's body.

"I haven't been able to do a detailed examination of the body yet," I said. "But it's quite obvious he was hit with a high powered energy beam,

probably a laser."

"Look at these marks in the wall," said Voar. The south wall had been nearly melted through to the dining area. "His attacker missed four

times."

"This shows he was shot at from the north."

"From behind these bushes maybe?"

"Very possible. I remember Commodore Tulk'n searching these bushes when we first found the admiral's corpse. He must have noticed the sathing."

Voar pointed to the black soil from which the bushes sprouted. "Look. This section of dirt is softer than the rest."

"Like it's been disturbed and smoothed over," I remarked. My fingers dug into the soil, probing underneath. When my hand came back out, it

was holding a tiny silver disk.

"Looks like a mechanical gear," said Voar. "But there's no telling how long it's been there."

"Actually, with an envirokit there is. Metal like this corrodes over time when placed in steady contact with the chemicals present in the soil. I

can tell you just from looking at it that it hasn't been buried here for more than a couple days."

A high pitched scream cut our conversation short. The screaming continued, varying in tone to convey different levels of suffering.

"That's coming from the dining area!" exclaimed Voar.

Two seconds got us to the nearest door: locked!

"Step back!" ordered Voar. He aimed his laser rifle at the door and with one shot reduced it to melting slag. The air steamed with the heat of t

laser bolt.

The dining area was empty except for a Yazirian form: Venta Krenny. . .or what was left of him. An ankle had been twisted up to a pointed ea

His arms were crossed impossibly beneath his upper back. The back was disjointed in several places.

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Voar cringed and looked away.

"Twisted like a pretzel," I muttered.

I drew my pistol and darted from table to table, looking for anything.

The others were pounding on the remaining doors. Voar released the inner lock and let them in.

Tulk'n spoke first, or rather yelled. "I demand a meeting right now!"

"Talk here," snorted Thibaut through a twisted mask of hate. "We're not going anywhere!"

"Tell us what you know about this, Thibaut!" said Tulk'n, his voice seared with accusation. "You two have been talking a lot lately. Did he le

something he wasn't supposed to know?"

I couldn't tell if the Human was going to blow into rage or tears. Either one would have been violent.

The Vrusk continued. "This is too much for coincidence if you ask me!"

"Tulk'n, don't!" I ordered.

Thibaut left the room in a storm.

Tulk'n started to follow, but I caught his arm.

"Tulk'n, we can't attack each other like this."

He yanked his arm free. "I'm not trusting anybody. Not until we have this Red Knight in a cage. Why don't you do something useful and find

out who the Red Knight is?"

My eyes hit his like steel.

"I intend to."

Chapter 26

"I'm going to have to examine the body." I opened a backpack full of medical equipment.

Voar followed my cue. "Kro'khan needs to be alone for this. Let's give him some space."

"Sure," said Tulk'n. "Kro'khan, I'm sorry I lost my cool. A dead body does funny things to a guy, especially one so. . ." He finished the senten

with a grimace. He casually sought the arm of Lieutenant Z'ungheure, but she fended off his gesture.

"Kro'khan, is there anything I can do to help you here?" she asked.

"Thanks for the offer," I replied, "but this won't be pretty."

"It doesn't bother me. I'd just rather stay here." Her voice trembled only slightly.

"Voar," I said, "take Lieutenant Z'ungheure with you."

Finally alone, I uncovered the Yazirian corpse. As a medic I've studied countless corpses, but I had never seen one twisted in such bizarrefashion. I tried not to let it bug me.

I pulled out a blade to perform a brief autopsy, but the second I touched his flesh I yanked my hand away.

"He's cold," I said aloud. He felt like meat from a freezer. I checked his temperature: eight degrees celsius! I looked around. There were a

number of refrigeration units where the body could easily have been stored. The bottom line was that Krenny was killed long before the screa

we heard.

I began looking into the refrigeration units. One of them had a big empty space, large enough to hold Krenny's body. Yazirian hairs were stuc

to the inner walls. Also in the unit was a small audio playback device hidden in a fist-sized golden sack.

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The sack looked familiar. Yes, it was the same sack that held the chameleon spheres Thibaut had been using during the flight!

Ice gripped my joints as I realized that someone was watching me through the slightest crack in the south door.

I looked at the golden sack. "Thibaut?" I said.

I ducked instinctively, dodging a laser bolt fired from behind the south door. By the time I reached the door, a dark form was already fleeing

around the hallway corner to the west.

I chased after the attacker as fast as my eight legs would take me--which is pretty fast!

Not this time. You won't get away from me this time!

The pursuit continued, but every time I turned a corner I just missed seeing who it was that I was chasing.

Finally, I got to the entrance of the underground tunnel. One of the bubblecars was missing. I could hear it racing away in the distance.

A jumped into the second bubblecar and floored the accelerator. The tunnel walls whizzed past in a white blur.

I stopped to catch my breath at the tunnel's end. I had him trapped now. There were no other exits in this section of the base.

I glanced at the shiny black pistol in my fist and set it to full power.

The lights in the main room had been dimmed to a weak amber, incapable of pentrating the watery shadows cast by the bushes. The darkness

could be an advantage to both of us!

I crawled below the soft cover of a bush and counted the possible places my target could have gone. There were only three. Either he had

entered Lieutenant Z'ungheure's old room or the library, or he was still in the main room, hiding in the bushes like myself.

The library doors were easily accessible by going from bush to bush. Entering Z'ungheure's old room would require crossing a few meters of

open floor--giving up my cover. I decided to try the library.

Using the stealth training I had gained as an environmentalist, I crawled closer and closer to the library doors. I listened through the doors rath

than opening them. All I could hear was the hum of climate control.

Something clicked and hissed to the west. Whomever I was following was getting away in one of the bubblecars!

I charged at full speed for the other bubblecar, and once again I was shooting like a projectile through the tunnel. The other car was well ahea

of me now, but I would make up for it.

My eyes nearly exploded! The other bubblecar had somehow switched tracks and was heading directly for me on my rail! I jumped out, missi

the collision by only microseconds! The momentum of my body threw me without mercy through several meters of hard tunnel. With every

tumble I could hear echoes from the explosion that the two cars had caused.

By the time I could pull myself up, I could both feel and smell fire. The platic of the tube groaned, cracked and then caved in behind me.

I fell to my knees, which no longer had the strength to support me. No! Not a weakness attack now!

My toxy-rad gauge lit up the dark tunnel with a red glow. I could hear a computer voice saying: "Radiation leak detected in transport tunnel.

Sealing off tunnel to prevent contamination." The cave-in behind me had fractured the tunnel's radiation shielding.

The tunnel seemed to spin, going from black to white. . .to red. It was happening again! Everything about me turned to a deep shade of red--

until I could see nothing but the color.

I made a last desperate attempt to get up. I was running and running, praying not to lose my balance. The color flooded my environment.

Red. It felt like I was running faster than I ever had.

Red! I hit against something hard.

Black. . .

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Chapter 27

Now I'll get to see what the afterlife is like, I told myself.

Voices were speaking.

But I recognized the voices. I wasn't dead.

Katrina: What happened to him?

Voar: I don't know, but he's still alive.

Kel'krich: What could have caused the explosion in the tunnel?

Voar: It smells like Tornadium D-19.

Kel'krich: Whatever it was, it seems to have knocked Kro'khan right through the tunnel's radiation seal. Look at it. It's been hammered worse

than Katrina's door.

Voar: We'll have to block off the tunnel with something else so we don't all get radiation poisoning.

Katrina: I think we've got some insulation material in the supply room.

Kel'krich: I'll take care of it. Has anyone seen Thibaut?

When I came to full consciousness, I saw that someone had carried me to the conference room. Voar was dressing my wounds.

"He got away," I said.

"Who?"

"I don't know. Someone tried to attack me, but I wasn't able to keep up with him. I thought it might be Thibaut, but I've never seen a Human

run that fast."

"It's amazing what anyone can do when their life is threatened," noted Voar.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Lieutenant Z'ungheure was sitting with her back against a wall, and she wasn't making a sound.

Commodore Tulk'n walked in. "There was a good supply of insulation in the store room. I've got the tunnel entrance all patched up. What do

do now?"

"We stay put," said Voar. "The conference room has only one entrance and is well shielded. If we stay here together, the Red Knight will hav

a much harder time taking us by surprise."

The lights went out, perfectly synchronized with the word "surprise." We stood for several seconds in silence and darkness, until Voar lit a fla

beam. I lit one as well. In the faint yellow light, I could see that all four of us were still there. The flash beams created shadows that distorted

faces of Voar, Tulk'n and Z'ungheure--giving them all an evil appearance.

"He's playing with us," said Z'ungheure in a flat, eerie voice.

My toxy-rad gauge began to glow again, but this time it wasn't red. A blue light meant that oxygen levels were dropping!

"Someone is sucking the air out of this room," I said.

Tulk'n grabbed my wrist to see the gauge for himself. "It's the Red Knight. He's trying to smoke us out."

Voar proposed the only solution. "There are oxygen generators and paralamps in the storage room, but that's at the opposite corner of the base

I'll go look for them if someone will come along to watch my back."

Lieutenant Z'ungheure clung to my arm. "Kro'khan, stay here with me."

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I was about to open my mouth when Tulk'n interjected, "I can stay here with Katrina."

Voar looked at the three of us, huddled together like magnets. His voice was mellow and understanding. "That's okay. You three stay here. I

won't be long."

"Hold on," I said, pulling myself away from Z'ungheure and Tulk'n. "I'm going with you. There's no telling what might be out there."

I handed my flash beam to Tulk'n and joined Voar outside the conference room. Each footstep echoed in the dark hallway as we made our wa

for the storage area.

Chapter 28

Voar's narrow flash beam rolled like a strobe light in the base's main area. The Red Knight could be waiting anywhere. In the bushes. In the

dining area. In the communication or power control rooms. Even in the storage room!

If the Red Knight were hiding somewhere, our flash beam would alert him to our presence. Of course, if he were using an infrared vision

device, he wouldn't even need the flash beam to detect us. I cursed myself for not having brought my own infrared goggles along.

The storage room door stood before us. We had made it this far!

The first thing that hit us was a repulsive rotting smell. Grains of dust floated in Voar's flash beam as he scanned the area.

"The paralamps are to the right," Voar whispered. "Let's get this place lit up."

It was only seconds before we had two lamps glowing at full power. They cast harsh black shadows over piles of equipment in every directio

We both lost our breath when we looked up and saw Thibaut!

He was scowling at us from a noose of wire. His eyes had lost their moisture and were glazed over. A line of dried blood drizzled from the

corner of his mouth all the way down his broken neck. The rotting smell was no longer a mystery.

Voar stepped slowly towards the body, but didn't notice a glistening strand of tripwire--

A man-sized plate of spikes shot from the wall, but I hit Voar first in a mid-air tackle. The plate sliced past and bit deep into the opposite wa

We hit the floor. My ankle was bleeding. It stung like fire.

"Those spikes were poisoned," I said. I doused the wound with some antitoxin from my medkit. The antitoxin sizzled into a white foam.

Voar had to search for his voice. "Aw--Are you all right?"

"It's just a nick."

"Kro'khan. . .I would have. . .been skewered by that thing! You just saved my life!"

"Subtract it from the number I've killed by letting the Red Knight live this long."

"Something was written on his chest."

"Huh?"

Voar pointed at Thibaut's body, which had been knocked down in the struggle. Someone had used a fine point laser scalpel to burn a messageinto the Human's flesh.

"What is it?" asked Voar.

"The Red Knight is trying his hand at poetry."

You were wrong. The Red Knight is not Thibaut.

By now I have nothing to hide.

For the first time, the armored base saved you,

But the second one comes from inside.

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"The second one what?" said Voar.

"Nuclear explosion," I responded. "Lieutenant, get Commodore Xid'kit's body from the sickbay. Take Lieutenant Z'ungheure with you, if you

can find her, and get as far away from this base as possible. Now!"

"What about Commodore Tulk'n?"

"You won't be able to find him."

Chapter 29

In the power control room, Kel'krich Tulk'n was busily tapping away at on of the computer terminals.

I stepped from the shadows. In my arms sat a full-size sonic devastator which glared at the Vrusk, warning him not to flinch. "You never told

me you were a computer expert," I said.

Tulk'n faced me with a smile. His eyes pierced through me from behind his red-rimmed goggles. "Kro'khan, my friend. I wasn't expecting yo

I just dropped in see why the heating unit wasn't working."

"Get away from the terminal," I said. "It all stops here."

"What are you talking about?"

"Where should I begin? How about how you sneaked aboard the Cavalier and caused it to self-destruct? I saw you at the ship the evening we

arrived, but I didn't know it was you at the time. You activated a program that fired up the Cavalier's atomic engines at full power without an

release. That's what caused the nuclear explosion the next morning.

"Zap Xid'kit had copied several files from the starship's computer so that he could continue his astrogation work. When he found your self-

destruct program among them, he tried to tell me. We had had a conversation on the same subject during the voyage here. But you found out

what Zap was doing and tried to kill him before he could blow your cover."

Tulk'n shook his head. "Kro'khan, you're overworked, and you're recovering from a bad accident. Why don't we go somewhere where you can

get some help? I was attacked as well. Don't you remember?"

"That was a pathetic setup. Why was your shoulder only slightly scathed? You shot yourself with a low power blast, perhaps using your full

length mirror to reflect the shot back to your shoulder. That way, it wouldn't look like a point-blank wound. You smashed your own windowand fired two fake return shots. The story you gave always bothered me because you said that your attacker broke your window from the outs

It that were so, why would most of the glass have been out in the hallway?

"The next day you purposely let me know about your late night meeting with Katrina. Your plan was to draw me away from Admiral Zhelk s

that you could kill him."

"How could I kill him if I was with you and Katrina at the time?" demanded Tulk'n.

"You set up a remotely controlled laser in the bushes. As soon as we arrived at the scene of the admiral's death, you ran over to dismantle it.

Voar and I searched the soil beneath the bushes and found a gear that was left from the laser's mounting device."

"Then you tried to frame Thibaut by openly making accusations and by planting his chameleon spheres in the refrigeration unit where you sto

Krenny's body. If the spheres were placed to convince me of Thibaut's guilt, then it had to be you. You were the only one that saw me watchi

Thibaut play with the spheres, and therefore the only one who knew that Iknew he had them.

"At first I thought it might have been Thibaut that I was chasing outside the dining area. But that possibility was ruled out when I saw how fa

you were running. Vrusk can move much faster than Humans. Had it been Thibaut I was chasing, I would have caught up with him.

"But the part of the whole thing that concerns me most is the manner in which the Cavalier was destroyed. The only program I know of that

does what you did was designed by the Sathar !"

Kel'krich wasn't smiling anymore, but his stone eyes were still locked on mine. "Congratulations, Kro'khan. But you're too late. I've already

the base's nuclear power generators to blow a crater on the face of this planet. But don't worry, my friend. I did leave myself enough time. . .to

killyou!"

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My face had never been so rigid. "I've put an end to more Sathar agents than I could count. One more won't make any difference."

Tulk'n took a step forward. "For too long, I've kept my true talents hidden. Go ahead, Kro'khan. Fire your weapon. Find out who I really am!

I should have

Red Knight

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