L Modesitt - Empress of Eternity

Surprisingly, Bernyt didn?t jolt him when he described The Twenty?s efforts to destroy or open the station by the dropping of material from orbit…and the heat and the results.

He did get another series of jolts when he mentioned the manifestation of the keeper as a projection of the Bridge systems…that was the best he could do, because there was no other way to explain how the systems interfaced…but he wasn?t certain he was making any sense.

"How did you get here? The station is on the south side of the canal."

"The Bridge systems…they curved the canal out of time…"

Another jolt. "Likely story. Try again."

"…can?t," he gasped. "Can?t…how we got to Hururia…how the Bridge blew the Ruche dome…"

The jolt following those words brought blackness down on him.

When he regained consciousness, his face was damp.

"Do you want to try again?"

"You…can kill me…with that…won?t change anything…no other way to get here. No boats. The wheeler…buried in sand…"

Pain coursed through every nerve in Eltyn?s body, and, again, blackness swamped him.

When he slowly struggled through grogginess, a slow thought crept through his mind. Was there that much difference between the methods of TechOversight and those of The Twenty? Except he still had his mind. So far.

"Try again."

"I told you. The Bridge systems told us…" Behind the pain, he kept telling himself that the keeper was only part of the systems.

From that point on, he wasn?t even certain what he was saying.

Then, abruptly…another darkness swept over him, and the pain ended.

Duhyle and Helkyria-and all the others in the station-ended up waiting hours, although Duhyle doubted that any time had elapsed outside the station, not that he had any way of telling. The outside monitor screens showed the same image as they had ever since he and Helkyria had triggered the synchronizer. Helkyria had gone down to the lower level to go over the assault plans with the two officers, while Duhyle had fashioned a chest harness for the grenades, placed the grenades in it, and considered how best to use his makeshift weapons. While he knew they would explode as designed, how much damage they would do inside the refurbished antique Aesyr warship was another question entirely.

For all the time he had pondered, he wasn?t certain he?d accomplished all that much when he finally stood and eased his way down the ramp, far enough that he could hear Helkyria.

"…and remember…the control center for the Hammer has to be located directly behind the bridge on that behemoth. We can?t get there directly. At the single point the Bridge can touch the ship and we can cross, the only hatch open is one a level down and twenty yards aft of the ship?s bridge. We?ll have to fight our way from there. Subcaptain Symra and the spec-ops team will take the hatch and hold it, and Captain Valakyr?s troopers will spread and secure the superstructure, especially the ship?s bridge and area just aft…" When Helkyria had gone over the rest of the plan, she looked to the two junior officers. "Form up your techs and troopers. The keeper will return when we?re ready."

Duhyle hoped that was so, but how would they know?

"How do you know we can trust this…keeper, Commander?" asked Symra.

"I don?t," replied Helkyria. "The probabilities favor trust, but they?re far from absolute. I don?t see any other options. Do you?"

"No, ser."

Duhyle slipped back up the ramp and waited for Helkyria in the large main-floor chamber. When she returned from the lower level, he asked, "Are they more settled?"

"As settled as they can be."

"If the Bridge is out of time-or out of this event-point," asked Duhyle, "why can?t the keeper just have it open inside the Aesyr ship?"

"There?s a layer of something that?s similar to the stone of the canal in the armor of the ship. That?s why it survived so long. I?d guess that the Bridge, even if it exists out of what we call time, can?t penetrate anything that?s existed for a long time, either, like a mountain." She paused, then went on. "If we?re actually out of time, or suspended where time doesn?t exist, that will give us the advantage of surprise."

"Because we?ll appear sooner than Baeldura would expect?"

"That?s the hope."

The two looked at one another, waiting, when the silvery radiance began to build, almost directly before Helkyria.

"Tell Symra and Valakyr to muster everyone for action. Then have the two of them join us."

Duhyle hurried to the ramp and down to the lower level.

The two officers jumped up from the bench where they had been sitting.

"The commander said to muster your forces and then join her on the main level." Duhyle immediately turned and strode, at not quite a run, back up to rejoin Helkyria.

Behind him, Valakyr ordered, "Stand by for deployment!"

Duhyle supposed that was as good a command as any, and better than "Be ready to go through a stone door of an ancient canal station into the hatch of a slightly less ancient warcraft."

When he reached the main level, Helkyria was listening to the keeper.

The keeper stood less than a yard from the scient-commander…ready to move againstthe Aesyr?

Before we go any farther, I'd like a few words with you, Keeper. Privately. Helkyria stepped forward.

We can do that. A silvery curtain flowed from somewhere around the two women.

"How did she do that?" murmured Symra, as she hurried up on Duhyle?s right. "Why now?"

"She?s bargaining for knowledge," Duhyle said in a low voice. "That?s my guess. The keeper isn?t in our time, and we?re fighting her battle as much as our own. The commander wants some payback, and all that?s possible is knowledge."

"Let?s hope it?s worth it," murmured the subcaptain.

Neither of them mentioned that the knowledge would be useless if Helkyria did not survive the attack on the Aesyr warship.

After a time-and Duhyle wondered what time was when people were out of time and whether they aged-the silvery curtain vanished.

Helkyria stepped back and pointed to the space where the southern door of the station had always opened. "Spec-ops, forward!"

Symra strode down the yard or so of the upper ramp and stood at one side. Duhyle moved back to the bottom of the ramp leading to the upper level, then halted as the seven remaining spec-ops techs positioned themselves directly behind the southern door of the station.

Once the spec-ops techs stood ready, the first of the security troopers moved up the lower ramp to form a tight column that doubled back on itself and then ran down the ramp to the lower level. Captain Valakyr stationed herself behind the first three troopers.

The keeper looked at Helkyria. Are you ready?

We're ready.

Surprisingly, the keeper moved across the main chamber to where Duhyle stood. She extended her hand. In it was the tiniest sprig of greenery. When all else fails against the Aesyrleader, affix this to your last grenade before you throw it. The grenade itself may not suffice, butthe mistletoe will not fail.

Mistletoe…how could that help? Duhyle did not voice the question, but accepted the sprig. Anyone who controlled the canal…or the Bifrost Bridge, as she had termed it…might know more than he did.

You think you are blind and slow compared to all the others, she went on. You will seewhat they do not. A sweet smile followed.

Duhyle felt that sadness lay behind her expression, or perhaps a lifetime or an eternity of sadness. He fingered the green sprig, barely the size of his thumb, realizing as he did that his fingers did not actually touch the greenery, as if an invisible shield surrounded it. There was more to that greenery than met the eye. But why had she given it to him?