Джек Макдевитт - Cryptic - The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt

“ Of course. I had no choice, Doctor. ”

“ Kaminsky, answer up. ” There were voices in the background. McCarver told somebody to please shut up.

I opened a channel. “I’m here, Paul.”

“ What’s going on out there? You didn’t really do what George says, did you? ”

Damn. I wanted to tell him I wished he could see what I had seen. That he had an obligation to take action. I’d have done that with someone less intimidating. “Truth is, Paul, I’m watching one of them go down now, and I don’t know that I’ve ever felt better about anything. The sons of bitches got exactly—.”

He broke in with a string of expletives. It was the first time I’d heard him use profane language. Then: “ I don’t much care how you feel, Art. Turn the damned thing around and come back. Now . ”

I stared out at the dirigible running directly ahead. George was taking us across the tail, putting us on her left side so I could get a clear shot. “I can’t do that, Paul.”

“ Then I’ll do it for you. George, are you listening? ”

“ Yes, I am, Dr. McCarver. ”

“ Bring the lander back. ”

I put my hand on the disable switch. “He’s not in a position to comply, Paul.”

“ Why not? ”

“ He’s already shut me down once, Doctor. ”

“ Damn it, Art. You want to get yourself killed? ”

We drew alongside the tail. We were down a bit, halfway between the horizontal fin and the lower vertical fin. I aimed at the rudder. “ I have to go, Paul. I’ll talk to you later. ”

McCarver hesitated, trying to control his rage. While he did, I broke the link and burned the rudder. Sizzle. Instant results. The dirigible began to lose its heading. I fired again, took off the lower vertical. Then I cut a hole in the gasbag and it started down.

“ They’re talking to one another, ” said George.

“Let’s hear it.”

“ —Lost buoyancy…Altitude—. ”

“ —Somebody out there—. ”

“ What happened to you? ”

“ —Not sure—. Flying wheel—. ”

“ —Say again—. ”

“ —No gasbag—. ”

I took out a third airship and then switched over to the fleet’s frequency. “The Messenger of the Almighty is among you,” I said. “Stop the killing.” I would have preferred to use maybe Avenger . Or Destroyer . But I couldn’t think of equivalent terms.

“ Please repeat, ” came the response. “ Who is this? ”

“The Messenger of the Almighty.”

“ The Almighty needs a radio? Who are you? ”

“Stop the killing,” I said.

No answer.

Something exploded in the third dirigible. Fire broke out amidships. I’d hit something sensitive. It began to drop more quickly and finally went fluttering into the dark. Nobody was going to survive that one, and I felt guilty.

“ Doesn’t matter, does it? ” said George. “ They’re just as dead. Their blood is on your hands. ”

“They don’t have blood.”

“ Humans are only literal when they’re ashamed of something. ”

I let the other two go. Take the message back, you bastards. Tell your bosses the free ride is over. There’s a wild card in the deck now.

“ You’re quite melodramatic, ” said George.

“I feel melodramatic.”

“ Good. Can we return now to the Sheldrake ? ”

“No,” I said. “We’re going to look around some more.”

Several hundred Noks had been lined up in the city square, herded together like animals. They were of all ages and both sexes. Females carried infants; toddlers clutched the hands of relatives, unaware what was happening; one elderly Nok was on crutches.

I moved among them, and among the invading soldiers, wearingthe lightbender, recording everything. You could see the terror in the victims’ eyes, which had turned gold. And in the way they held the young ones. In the desperation of the males. Here and there, a soldier tried to help, whispered a word of commiseration. It will be quick. Occasionally they were repaid by a kick, sometimes by the victims, once or twice by their officers.

When they’d finished a sweep of the houses, the troops had lined up about eight hundred of the occupants. The officers reported results to the commander. So many fled into the woods. Several killed resisting. Three soldiers dead. Eight injured.

The Noks all looked alike. I knew male from female, tall from short. The marks of age were easy enough to make out. But distinguishing individuals, for a human, was impossible.

The square was surrounded by wooden buildings. Several were burning, providing a hellish backlight. There were a few trees in the square, some benches, and a playground. A library stood on one side of the street. They’d touched that off too.

I got close-ups of mothers and their kids, of Noks dragged out of their homes, others beaten to their knees for objecting to being killed. I relayed everything live to the Sheldrake . Take a look at this, McCarver. This is what you’re tolerating. What happened to the reputation of that other guy who stood by and washed his hands of murder?

The commander barked an order, and the soldiers faced their prisoners. Some of the victims were wailing, pleading for their lives, and the lives of their children.

It was enough. I put the imager away, took out the laser and aimed it at the commander.

“ Art. ” George’s voice. “ At least use the tensor. Don’t kill him. ”

I was too far away for the tensor. Anyhow, it was hard to feel sympathy. I pulled the trigger and the narrow red beam blinked on. The Nok commander had raised one arm, ready to give the order to fire. The beam took the arm off.

He screamed and went to his knees. And I put him away.

Two or three of his junior officers rushed to his assistance. I hit one of those, too. Confusion broke out. Soldiers swung their rifles toward the empty windows of the buildings overlooking the square. An officer, who might have seen the laser, looked my way and started jabbering to one of his comrades.

I switched to the tensor and took him out.

“ I’ll have to report this, you know, ” said the AI.

That was the last thing I cared about at the moment. “Stop whining, George.” Two or three were coming my way. One fired off a shot from a sidearm and the bullet slammed into a bench. I hit the deck.

“ You’re going to get yourself killed. ”

Two or three more shots came a bit too close.

Picking them off was easy. Duck soup. They kept coming and pretty soon I had a pile spread out in front of me. Somebody lobbed a bomb but they had no idea where I was.

Nevertheless, I moved. Got out to an area lit up by the fires. Where my invisibility counted for something. And I put a few more out of action.

I wasn’t enjoying myself anymore. Truth is, I’d seen that the individual soldiers, some of them, had been sympathetic of the townspeople. It was the officers I wanted to nail.

They carried off their dead commander. Someone else was trying to reorganize the execution. He was tall, even for a Nok, and he’d done something to his mask to give himself an especially cruel look. A new kind of cosmetic surgery, maybe. “Get on with it,” he said. “Let’s get it done.” He raised a pistol. “On my command.”

I didn’t like him, so I switched back to the laser and ended his career, too. I should tell you that I’m one of those people who’s spent a lifetime being very polite, and who is careful not to harm animals that get in the way. But I had no regrets taking the Nok officers out of play.