Faulke cursed and flung the ships engines into reverse, the splinter ship slewed violently sideways sending Lydia slipping past him and crashing into the instrument panel. The engines screamed wildly as Faulke struggled with the rearing machine trying to stop it crashing into the object in front of them. He reached forward, grabbed Lydia with one hand and lifted her up and threw her back into the seat behind him.
Having bought the ship under control Faulke blew the air through his cheeks and sat back. 'It looks like we are expected.'
Directly in in front of them hung a battered bullet nosed ship. Down one side it bore the remnants of an old blast mark, its blackened outer skin had peeled off revealing the inner skin of dull oxidised red metal beneath. None-the-less with its armoury of heavy guns hung on its short stubby wings it made for an intimidating sight.
'An Alamut corsair cruiser waiting for us just outside the Extensivity. If they'd been any closer we'd have smashed right into them.' Faulke made some minor adjustments to the controls and then swung round, 'Are you alright?'
Lydia rubbed her shoulder, nodded and turned her attention to the cruiser. The ship in front of them had its protective shields up making it impossible to see who was piloting it.
The halo on Faulke's console crackled and burned into a blue haze, gradually a hooded head materialised from the ether, 'Death to the intruders! Death to all those who dare to come uninvited to Alamut. Shoot them down!'
Lydia grabbed Faulke's shoulder, 'Faulke!'
Faulke held his hand up and pushed a finger against his lips signifying her silence.
Lydia drew her breath, her heart thumped like a trapped bird in her chest. They'd come this far only to face this. Perhaps the Commander had been right all along, the risks were too high. Had the Nergalrhod deserted her now the temple project had begun. Had she led Faulke on a fool's mission? Fearful of what was to come she watched the giant cannon and waited for them to explode into action.
'Ah, I should have known. You have a Gelon on board, otherwise you would not have guessed my intentions,' the voice, rich and resonant adopted a tone of resignation. The hooded head swayed a little, then two plump hands came into view and pulled down the cowl to revealed a wide beaming face with a high forehead, bald accept for a small tuft of grey hair. The eyes of a middle aged man, streaked with laugher lines sparkled merrily at them from the ship opposite. The head leaned forward and scrutinised them. 'So which one of you is the Gelon?' Then it exploded into laughter.
Lydia pushed her head past Faulke so she could clearly see the halo, 'You said you were going to shoot us down. Why would you do that?'
'Young lady, I had the fortune to be trained at the Academy of Classical Arts of Katurn, famed throughout Outremer for the artists it has produced. I aspired to be a budding thespian like those before me but after three years I was told I did not have the physique to grace to theatres of Outremer. Can you imagine?' The figure leant back and patted its substantive stomach. 'Yet you were taken in, imagine what the audiences are missing? It appears your Gelon was somewhat harder to convince.'
'From what I hear the Alamut pirates don't normally give out warnings. They shoot down the defenceless without mercy.' Lydia jabbed her finger at the halo.
'So they say, but what would I know of such things. After my rejection at the school I took orders and have since offered my services to those that require solace and guidance in these difficult times.' The face made dog eyes to elicit her sympathy.
'You're a priest?' Lydia was doubtful, 'In a ship like that?'
'Running a protection racket on the pilgrims travelling out to Vanderium I shouldn't wonder.' Remarked Faulke sourly.
'The church has many callings my Gelon friend, if pilgrims are prepared to donate handsomely to religious causes for their peace of mind during their pilgrimage then that should be their concern not yours. They have their God, just as you have yours.' He smiled warmly at them and ran his fingers lightly through his tuft of hair. 'But let us not get off on the wrong foot shall we? I am Father Rytt, sent by the Halout to welcome you and guide you on the first part of your visit. You will be Faulke of Geron and the human girl Lydia.'
'The Halout knew we we're coming?' Lydia was sure the Commander would have kept their trip secret.
'He foresaw your coming, he is a great visionary and sees many things others do not.' Father Rytt waved his hand mysteriously in front of them. 'We are honoured to have the Prophet of the Nergalrhod visit us. The C these days is full of little else, apart from speculation as to the location of the human fleet and the progress of the Swarm.'
Lydia found herself warming to the man behind the halo image before them, their reception at Alamut could have been worse, so much worse. The man before them appeared to be sincere and from what he was saying at least they now knew the Old Man of the Mountains actually existed.
The humour drained slowly from Rytt's face. 'It is not sensible to come to Alumat without an invitation from the Halout, he does not like surprises. Since those that have to ask are always refused then I can perhaps see your logic. But it was a foolish thing to do. For what I have seen out here...' He looked down and away before lifting his head. His tone lightened. 'I'd like to invite you to stay with me and my companions for a short time. Our ship is not luxurious but will offer a little more space than yours while I guide you on your way. Please join us.'
Father Rytt was more jovial in the flesh than he'd appeared on the screen. Small and rotund, he beamed happily as they both steeped through the airlock and he bowed so low Lydia could see all of the top of his balding head. Then he enthusiastically shook Faulke's oversized hand then gently kissed Lydia's forehead like a long lost benefactor.
'Ah beauty and the beast.' He winked at them both. 'Come and join us, we have a crew of three including myself. Can I ask that while you are here you extend us the courtesy of not looking in any cupboards or rifling through anything you should not?' He stood on tiptoe until Lydia could see his sandaled feet appear from under his robe as he reached up and touched Faulke's forehead. 'If you know what I mean?'
Faulke placed his hand on the priests head until it almost enveloped it. 'May I ask the arrangement be reciprocal?'
'Ahhh my canny friend, I see you don't miss much.' The priest patted Faulke on the back and padded off down the corridor, 'this way.'
Lydia shot Faulke a puzzled look. 'What was that all about?'
'Our little friend is a Hy,' Faulke observed.
'A Hy?'
'A genetic hybrid Lydia, produced to order, probably by the Halout. They are hugely expensive to create, they have all the qualities their creators can afford, taken from genetic stocks from races across the universe. He has some mind reading capabilities probably stolen from Gelon genetic banks and I should think many other skills besides that we are not even aware of.'
'He looks harmless enough.'
Faulke swung around and bent down close to Lydia. 'Do not be deceived Lydia, he is a dangerous man. Ignore his persona, it is designed to deceive you. He an Issi, an assassin who carries out the will of the Halout. All his crew on this ship will be the same, vicious, fearless and devoid of guilt. They carry out the bidding of the Halout without question, kill and maim with disregard. Treat them with respect while we are here. They could turn on us at any moment.'
'They also have exceptionally good hearing,' laughed the voice from down the corridor. 'Don't worry we will not harm you, we have specific instructions.'
The Alamut cruiser, although not large, appeared to be a labyrinth of shadowy candle lit passageways cluttered with boxes, barrels and cages containing strange animals that stared wide eyed at them as they passed. Lydia stuck close to Faulke, she could pick out the compact figure of Father Rytt scuttling along like an agitated beetle in front of them, his leather shod feet slapping noisily along the metal floor. Every now and then he turned back and ushered them on, 'Come on, time is short, we must be away soon.'
The corridor opened up into a large dimly lit room filled wall to wall with coloured specimens jars crammed with a multitude of the twisted bodies of odd looking misshaped creatures. At its centre stood a large refectory table, crowned with an elaborate wax heavy candle holder and two long benches to seat diners. At their entrance a wiry young boy, sitting in a recess at the far end of the room turned to look at them.
'This is S'aark my novice.' Rytt introduced them. 'He's under a vow of silence, so makes for very bad company. '
The boy, his face half hidden in shadow nodded to them, then turned away to study a thin halo emanating from the table behind him.
'Ah and this is V'ereel our pilot. V'ereel, our guests Faulke and Lydia.' Father Rytt turned to the young woman who had just entered the room.
The woman, tall and elegant, attired in a single multicoated robe that gently fluoresced under the sallow light stood looking at Lydia. On her forehead she bore an image of a single eye that appeared to flicker this way and that before finally settling on Lydia. She ignored Faulke and walked up to Lydia and took her hands in hers.
Lydia instantly went to pull away but then found herself drawn into the piercing gaze of the violet eye that bore into her. It felt as if her whole soul was unfurling in front of her. Slowly she relaxed and let the eye take her into itself.
Faulke sprang forward, Father Rytt moved himself quickly to stop him interfering. 'She'll not be harmed Faulke, V'ereel is a seer, she cannot read minds but she has a sense of what is to come.'
V'ereel dropped her head until it was close to Lydia's and whispered to her. 'I believe.' Then gently released her hands and turned to the Priest. 'I'll attend to their ship.'
Rytt stood, hands clasped together and watched her go. Then he motioned them to the table. 'Please sit. I'll prepare some food. V'ereel will put your ship under tow and take us over to the Blind Side and from there I will direct you on your onward journey.'
As she and Faulke sat down, Lydia was able to take in the room they were in. It was circular, heavy wooden beams rose around the crypt like room like the skeletal bones of a dead man's hand and ran their tortured path up the jar laden walls to support a substantive stained glass ceiling. Looking up Lydia gasped, the stained glass contained the image of a garlanded head of a young woman, one that she had seen very recently. The features were without doubt the same as the statue she'd found in the temple on Ax. It was an image of the Nergalrhod.
'Who is she?' She pointed to the ceiling.
'Yes our window. It's impressive isn't it. Her image is found on our planet, she's called Nathoral. A priestess figure here on Alamut, she is known as the bringer of gifts.'
Lydia leaned forward, it had to be the Nergalrhod. Could it be that she was known here as well? If so she felt that perhaps there was something in the trip. Was it a sign that she was here on the very ship that the Halout had sent. 'She's worshipped here?'
'No-one believes like they used to Lydia, she has a small following here on Alamut, her image can be found in old places of worship. Over time people have lost their connections with these ancient gods. The pilgrims that travel to Vanderium don't go to worship gods, as they would have you believe, they go to see the spectacle of the giant halo spheres and spend their time dancing, drinking, whoring and thieving.' Father disappeared behind a screen. 'I can do you decent Vlax ale and my own Quilter stew if that is amenable, most people tell me it's excellent and that's not because they think I'll slit their throats if they don't.'
He re-appeared with a tray laden with leather cups and bowls of steaming food accompanied by large chunks of corn bread and laid them in the table in front of them. As she picked up the bowl Lydia could feel the tremor of the ship run through her body as they got under way.
'Good we are moving. Not too long now, eat up and while you do you can tell an old priest your confessions if you feel you'd like to.' Father Rytt wrapped his fingers together expectantly and smiled benevolently at them.
'We've come to see the Halout on a personal matter Father.' Lydia cautiously supped the warm ale and peered over the rim to see his reaction.
Rytt dipped his bread in his stew. 'Of course this is between you and him, not a silly old man like me.'
'I didn't mean it like that Father Rytt.'
'Your god then, can you tell me about her? We have seen the halo of you at the temple and heard much more speculation besides, but over the C. You know how it all becomes so confused when the C gets hold of such stories.'
'The Nergalrhod has asked me to make this trip, to speak to the Halout. I am just doing her bidding.'
'And so you should Lydia, and so you should.' He looked up at the figure above them. 'Look at her, so compassionate, yet so powerful, like the old gods used to be. If she were to ask me to do something for her then I would not be able to resist.'
'Where are you taking us Father?' Faulke's voice held an earnestness that could not hide his concern that they were on an Issi ship.
'To the Blind Side and then on to the planet's surface. Here,' he waved his hand over the candelabra at the centre of the table, 'look above you.'
Above them the stained glass window wavered and dissipated revealing the space beyond. Lydia realised they were on the edge of a long Asteroid belt of drifting rocks. Long lines of thin grey ships nestled amongst the turning stones.
Immediately Faulke was up on his feet gazing up at the ships above them.
'The Blind Side, home to the fleet. Away from inquisitive eyes.' Father Rytt leant back, his robe falling open for just a moment revealing a heavy blaster strapped to his chest, he quickly pulled it back.
Faulke estimated there were between four to five hundred ships hidden in the belt. Each ship was torq shaped, gunmetal grey, with a heavy gun and pulse engine at its apex. An odd light effect from a distant sun made them hard to pick out against the blank canvass of space and jumble of asteroids around them. The design was unique, unfamiliar to him. They were compact, smaller than the ship they stood in. On closer inspection they appeared fast, lightweight and maneuverable, just the sort of thing the Princes of Outremer would build. But together, so many, if equipped with the right firepower could be enough to overwhelm Earths fleet or the fleet on any planet Faulke had ever encountered. He gasped. 'The fleets of Outremer, gathered here!'
'I think not Faulke. This is the Alamut fleet.'
Faulk turned to the priest with an incredulous look on his face. 'That is not possible, this fleet would have taken hundreds of years to create with the resources available to Alamut. And the technology is way beyond Alamut's capabilities, just look at this ship, it's a fossil by comparison.'
Rytt drew himself up. 'All paid for by trade in Lexium which the planet is rich in, sold discretely on the bull markets of Outremer so as not too attract the attention of any untoward eyes. The design was created from an amalgamation of plans of ships captured by Alamut raiders over the years and improved upon exponentially by our engineers and built covertly over many moons on the planet surface. You can see now why the Halout does not welcome visitors.'
Faulke, head tilted far back span on his heels to study the ships as they raced past. 'How capable are they?'
'They are as quick and nimble as they appear. Each has a destructive power greater than one of the human star cruisers.'
Faulke turned on the shorter man his expression full of anger. 'Why did you not help the allies in the wars?'
'You should ask the Old Man that Faulke, not me. I suspect he does not hold the sort of allegiances you assume. He sits in the middle, not for one side or the other.'
'But we were being slaughtered. All our pain and misery, he could have stopped it all.'
'At the time, as it is now, many did not believe he even existed so he was not called upon to help. But was he such a fool not to involve Alamut? The war was not his concern. After all who actually won - truly Faulke in the end all were losers.'
'And if Outremer and the other alien forces had won what price would they extracted from Earth and the colonies,' observed Lydia, 'one like Commander Waite Kidd's?'
'Exactly,' Father Rytt concurred, 'what price would you have made the humans pay Faulke if it had been your choice?'
Faulke reflected upon his feelings at the time. If it had been his choice the humans would have paid dearly for what they had done. The priest was right. What was done was done and it did not help with the crisis they were all now facing. 'And what of the kingdoms of Outremer? Are they not aware of the Swarms advance and what the defeat of the human fleet could mean? The war will come to them eventually and destruction of Outremer will then be a certainty. They cannot defeat the Swarm alone. They must unite with their old adversary's -the humans.'
'The princes of Outremer squabble amongst themselves, they remain fixated upon two things, the wealth of each other and the fact that they were on the losing side in the war with the humans.' Father Rytt rolled his eyes in frustration. 'If they are not plotting to grab each other's planet kingdoms then they are fixated upon taking their revenge on Earth. Do not expect to see them at your side.'
'What do they think of the fleet here?' Faulke speculated. 'With a fleet like this you could overwhelm the whole of Outremer, they would be powerless against such a force.'
'What do they think?' Rytt gulped down his ale. 'They do not know of the fleet here and will not until the Halout decides to show his hand.'
'And what will that hand look like?' Faulke lent forward his eyes glistening.
'You must ask the Halout that. I for one could not tell you, he holds his cards too close to his chest.'
'You've shown us all this presumably with his agreement. What is the Old Man like? Yesterday he did not exist to us, we all believed him to be a myth.'
'I couldn't I say, I've never met him. He stays in his derelict fortress down on the planets surface. I won't be going down with you. Faulke, Lydia you should know this. Anyone who goes down to the fortress never comes back. You have seen the fleet here but will never leave the planet's surface to tell anyone else. When you return to your ship to go down to the planet you will find that V'ereel has disabled your communication systems.' He swilled around the dregs of his cup, swallowed its contents and placed it in front of Lydia. 'The Halout wonders what brings you here, Prophet of the God. Hopefully not to judge him. Either way he will take no risks.'
The room had chilled. Lydia pulled her jacket around her, 'I'll tell him when I see him.'
'Well my dear, our little prophet, we must soon part our ways.' Father Rytt took Lydia's hands in his and looked closely at her golden fingernails and the sharp metallic flecks in the irises of her eyes before adding. 'Curiouser and curiouser.'