The Empress

Twenty

Sixty-Two had managed to reach the border regions of Nightside, but his relief was short-lived. He ordered his group to halt and reorganize, sending out scouts in every direction. The scouts that backtracked in the direction they had recently come from returned with highly disturbing news.

“Lizett, they follow us. We did not slip through Twilight unseen.”

The skald popped up from the skin sack where he resided still on Lizett’s broad back. “We are pursued?”

“Yes,” Sixty-Two said.

“That’s awful,” Lizett said. “Must we kill them all now?”

Sixty-Two thought about it. “There do not seem to be many of them. They are following us at a distance. I would think that means they are waiting for a future moment to attack. We are either running into their greater force, or they are waiting for more troops to catch up. In either case, our relative strength is at an excellent ratio now.”

“We should forget about those behind us and press ahead,” the skald urged.

Sixty-Two flicked his orbs to the odd man. Not for the first time, he wondered why he’d tolerated his presence for so long. Perhaps it was because he was interesting. After working with half-bright mechs for so long, a real mysterious human was stimulating.

“Why do you care where we go, Ornth?” Sixty-Two asked the man in the sack.

“There is a lost place, not far from here.”

“Farther out-you mean deeper into Nightside?”

“Yes.”

“And you want us to take you there? You can’t survive the central region of Nightside, you know. Your lungs will freeze when you take in a breath.”

“We don’t have to go that far.”

“And what do you expect to find?”

“That which has been forgotten.”

Sixty-Two shook his head in bemusement. As he watched, Lizett absently fed the man bits of edible fungus she’d brought along from Twilight for the purpose of his sustenance. The human was wrapped in cloth now, covering most of his face except for those odd, piercing eyes. Lizett had picked up scraps and oddments for her pet on her own initiative. He’d even seen her methodically clean filth from the sack with her grippers.

“We’re going to attack,” he said at last, coming to a decision. “I’ll relay the command to my captains. We’ll turn on these men who follow us, and ambush them. It is unfortunate, but I really don’t see that we have any other choice.”

Lizett didn’t argue with his decision. The man riding on her back likewise said nothing. He only nibbled bits of fungus and stared at Sixty-Two with strange, burning eyes.

Nina was aroused by a heavy hand on her shoulder. She lurched awake and half-drew her power-sword before she recognized who it was.

“Hans? What’s wrong?” she demanded in a whisper.

“The mechs, milady,” he said quietly. “We’ve spotted one of their scouts.”

She climbed to her feet and pulled her on clothes. Hans tried not to look at her bare form, but she didn’t care if he did. A commander in the field couldn’t afford to worry about such things.

“How close?”

“Close enough to count our numbers.”

“Who saw the enemy?”

“I did, milady.”

She looked at him. “Why didn’t you fire? Couldn’t you have brought it down?”

“Probably not. But I didn’t want to try in any case. The mechs have built-in radio. There is virtually zero chance to destroy one before it reports to base.”

Nina nodded. “Of course. You did the right thing. Now, they don’t know we saw them. This does little to change things, however. They will come back in strength soon.”

Old Hans hesitated. “You think they will attack?”

“Yes. Immediately.”

“Why are you so certain? After all these days of running, I’d thought perhaps-”

Nina shook her head. “I’ve come to know this mech who apes a man and leads the rebellion. He thinks in a manner similar to us. And he does think, never doubt it. He has a cunning mind, fully-functional inside a mech’s body. He’ll attack because we are weak now, and we are trailing him, threatening him.”

“I’ll sound the alarm, Baroness. Every man will stand at arms.”

Hans lifted a signal whistle to his mouth. Nina’s quick hand stopped him.

“You will do no such thing,” she said. “We are going to run, not fight.”

The old knight nodded, relieved. He did not question her bravery. Fighting a thousand mechs with a hundred men was not brave-it was suicide.

They broke camp as quickly as possible, leaving behind much of their equipment in the process. There was no time to pack and store it. They simply mounted up with whatever they could carry, and less than ten minutes later the camp was deserted.

Fleeing southward on their buzzing mounts, they felt the freezing winds buffeting their insulated suits and their panting breath steamed their goggles.

Nina felt like a coward, but she told herself sternly it was better to win a fight than it was to stand and die hopelessly. Still, fleeing in the face of the mech that she’d so wanted to destroy for months was hard on her. She hoped never to have to do so again.

Less than half an hour later, Sixty-Two stood in the midst of the human encampment. He walked from tent to tent, but found nothing of great interest. He did learn the name of his pursuer: Baroness Nina Droad.

This did nothing to comfort him. He’d monitored her rise through the nobility of late via the net. The Ruling Council of Lords seemed to favor her. On Ignis Glace, such favor was worth much. They’d given her an army and a purpose: to hunt down and exterminate Sixty-Two and his rebel gang of treacherous mechs. At least, that was how the online articles described the situation.

Lizett approached him as he stood in her command tent, examining what few documents and bits of equipment they’d left behind.

“This place is great!” she said.

He swung his orbs to her in surprise. “What is so enviable about it?”

Lizett showed him the man she’d kept riding upon her back for so long. He was no longer imprisoned in a skin sack. Now, he stood beside her in a dark suit of insulated material. Frosted goggles clung to his face, and he began picking up articles in the tent, examining each as if it were an alien artifact.

“See? I’ve found spare clothes and foodstuffs. Ornth surely won’t die now. Doesn’t he look splendid in a man’s suit?”

“He is a man.”

Lizett pouted. “He doesn’t think so. I don’t think so, either.”

“Listen, Lizett,” Sixty-Two began hesitantly. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about Ornth. I think it may be best we leave him here. The humans will return, and as he is a civilian, they will no doubt care for him.”

Lizett stopped fussing over Ornth and turned her full attention to Sixty-Two. “What? You can’t do that! He’s mine. They’ll know we left him, and they’ll kill him for sure.”

Sixty-Two shook his head. “I doubt that. He seems very adept at survival.”

“They will return soon,” Ornth said, speaking up for the first time.

“What do you know of the matter?”

“They will come, in great numbers. They will come to destroy your forces. Insanity, really. In the very face of an enemy greater than any of you-your absurd species still insists on mutual destruction.”

“How do you know this?” Sixty-Two demanded.

For an answer, Ornth opened a computer scroll and stretched it out. “The signal has been disconnected, of course. But by working with the cached files, I was able to display the last thing the enemy commander was looking at.”

The screen displayed a disposition of forces. Three major groups were prominent. One was the small group Baroness Droad personally commanded. A much larger unit sat at Droad House. A third large contingent, however, was very close to their position and appeared to be moving to join up with the Baroness.

“You see?” Ornth asked. “They’ve pulled back in order to group with a larger force.”

Sixty-Two studied the evidence with growing apprehension. “What do you suggest we do then?”

“March deeper into Nightside.”

“What lies there for us? Will they not pursue?”

“I’m not sure. What I know is unknown. What I-”

“Don’t even try to tell me some nonsense about unknowable wonders,” Sixty-Two interrupted angrily. “Just tell me why I should listen to you and march into the cold and dark.”

“There should be a place-a sanctuary. You can hide there.”

“A sanctuary? Out in Nightside? There are no major structures that I know of.”

“It is not a structure, exactly. There is an entrance to an underground region.”

“Ah,” Sixty-Two said. “Now, we are getting somewhere. What is in this cave you describe? And how do you know about it?”

“I’m not sure what will be there, as I’ve said. Records are vague on those issues.”

“Records? What kind of records do you have? Files, images?”

“Neither,” Ornth said, smiling with half his face. “Nothing like that. My people keep our records entirely within our minds. When we commune with others of our own species, we do it very thoroughly, in effect downloading our experiences to one another over an intense period. It was from another of my kind I learned of this sanctuary. But the records-the memories, as you would call them-are hazy. They have been relayed several times over many centuries.”

Sixty-Two snorted loudly. “You expect me to march to a place that you have only a ghostly memory of? The memory from another of your supposed kind that is centuries old?”

Ornth made a sweeping gesture, indicating the computer scroll and all that was depicted upon it. “You have clear choices.”

Sixty-Two fell silent. He did not like any of the choices he could identify. He could fight the human forces, but even if he won his army would surely be decimated. He could flee into the dark in a random direction, hoping to elude them. Or he could follow the mad mind of this person, who claimed to be something more alien than any mech.

By the time he’d made his choice, Ornth was already riding comfortably again in Lizett’s sack. Sixty-Two found this mildly annoying. How had they both felt so sure which option he would choose?

Marching hard, he led his mechs into the silent, frozen darkness that was Nightside. Every pounding step of their metal feet crushed ancient crystalline structures, snowflakes that had fallen and lain undisturbed for centuries.

Aldo rode uncomfortably at the head of Duchess Embrak’s army. The troops of House Embrak wore livery of deep purple over riding suits of black leather. The Duchess did not accept boisterous recruits. Tall and saturnine, they were grim professionals. Every laser pistol was polished until it shone, and every one of their mounts glided over the ground at precisely the same altitude.

He was not used to these flying one-man contraptions which the Twilighters were so proud of. He’d ridden a few living horses on Neu Schweitz, but had no experience with these small flying machines. He found they bent his legs into a painful shape and left his hips aching after hours in the saddle. He had to admit however, for the purpose of crossing rugged terrain they were very effective. They could climb a mountain, glide over a river or weave their way through a forest with equal efficiency, and they never seemed to break down or run out of power.

Aldo suspected the men he led were amused by his lack of skill aboard one of their mounts, which they’d been trained to ride since childhood. Surely, he looked like an oaf to them. Annoyed by these thoughts, he tried to put them out of his mind. He was in command, whether he or anyone else believed he deserved the honor. He had to make the best of it.

The second day after the army turned their backs to the sun and left the Queen’s Highway, they ran into Baroness Droad’s smaller force which fled toward them out of Nightside. Aldo knew from the mapping scrolls they would meet them soon, the Nexus people had helpfully updated his computers to show Nina’s location. Unfortunately, the maps did not show if the mechs were in close pursuit or not.

The two groups met at the border of Nightside, along the banks of a river that permanently flowed with slush. Just cold enough to freeze when still, the water was kept primarily in a liquid state by the motion of the river. Chunks of ice floated everywhere in its flood and the shores were frosted with a dirty glaze.

Nina’s forces pulled up on the far shore and halted. Aldo waved to them. He glanced to either side, and saw that none of his men joined him in waving. They did not call out or in any way greet their allies. Aldo frowned at them. He didn’t really like Twilighters all that much, and these House Embrak knights were positively stuffy.

On the far shore, only a single figure lifted a gauntlet to return his salute. Aldo squinted and thought to make out the bulky form of Old Hans, the knight that forever shadowed the Baroness. Aldo smiled at him. At least there was one sane man in the bunch.

A single rider detached from the Droad force and slid out over the rushing, freezing river. Aldo figured it had to be Nina herself. The old knight Hans followed her. Aldo glanced from side to side at his captains.

“I take it I’m expected to ride out to meet her? Is this some kind of custom?”

One of the captains, a tall gent with a jaw like a mech, nodded briefly.

Aldo sighed and urged his mount forward. He didn’t like taking it out over water. It tended to bob and shiver when over a moving surface, as the repellers weren’t given an even platform to push against. The sensation against one’s buttocks was one of slipping and bouncing, and he found it disconcerting. Still, he pressed forward and noticed the Captain he’d spoken to had followed him. He would greet Nina as decorum required and merge her army into his. He felt there was little time to waste. He wanted this entire force to return to their station in Twilight, ready for the aliens who were sure to arrive shortly.

“Baroness Droad!” he shouted when they neared one another in the deep blue half-light. “I’m glad you’ve survived your campaign.”

“I’m still here,” Nina said, “no matter what your plans might have been in that regard.”

Aldo slowed his mount and turned it, as it wanted to slip downstream with the water. The others seemed to have no such troubles. By some means not obvious to Aldo, they kept their mounts perfectly poised over the rushing river.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” he said, leaning over the saddle and wanting to curse at his revving mount. “But the important thing is that we’ve found you. We must gather our forces into a single group. I don’t think we should camp here, I think we should get moving.”

“I agree fully.”

“Good! If we press hard, we can return to the Queen’s Highway before we need to camp again. Please bring your forces to the sunward side of the river and we’ll form up together. Another hard day’s riding will return us to Lavender City.”

“On that point, we have a disagreement,” Nina said quietly.

“What?” asked Aldo, not sure he’d heard properly. “Do you wish to camp then, or…?”

“Not at all. I require you to bring your forces across the river to the Nightside. We will march immediately nightward and attack the enemy upon making contact.”

Aldo’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “I don’t understand. I was led to believe I was commanding a relief force.”

“You are commanding my reinforcements,” Nina said, “and I thank you for bringing them in a timely manner.”

Aldo looked to his side where the Embrak captain watched the exchange with dark eyes. “Captain? What are your orders?”

“I am to follow you, lord.”

“And upon meeting the forces of House Droad?”

The man shrugged heavy shoulders. “The Duchess said it was to be a joint command. You and the Baroness must agree.”

Great, thought Aldo. He turned to Nina and contrived his best smile. “You are looking wild, lovely and capable today, Baroness.”

He could tell right away, this tactic did not work. At his words, her face went from cold to hostile.

“You refuse to follow my command?” she asked.

“Ah-Baroness, surely we could discuss matters privately-perhaps in a tent. I understand you lost yours-”

He got no further with his words. The Baroness drew her power-sword and let it flare into life like a torch. It ran with crimson plasmas, the light of which reflected from the slush-crusted river under them.

“In your tent? I find your suggestions insulting. As you will not relinquish command, I challenge you for the right to lead this army.”

“Challenge me?”

“To a duel, man!” she cried over her shoulder. She had wheeled her mount, and as he watched she rode it a short distance upriver.

Aldo did not quail at the thought of a duel. But to fight this fiery young woman-that was not his purpose. He did not fear to do so. In a way, he was elated. It was difficult to hold back. He wanted to shout out his acceptance of this challenge. Her attitude had angered him.

“What are the terms? Who will be our seconds? We must have an arbiter at least.”

She turned and threw back her head with a shout of unkind laughter, which rang out over the noise of the river. “Idiot! This is not Neu Schweitz. Defend yourself!”

With that, she bent over the steering yoke and charged. Her blade was held high for a downward stroke.

Aldo realized she already had him at a disadvantage. She had moved upstream and wheeled in order to charge downstream. The water would carry her mount toward him with a greater velocity than he could muster, even if he could properly control it.

He struggled to align his mount with hers and to drag out his blade at the same time. There was a fury in this girl, and he’d never started a swordfight feeling quite this unmanned. She howled as she came close, and he barely managed to engage her flashing blade, such was the speed and power of the attack.

Aldo parried in quinte, but had to duck under her blade as it slid, rasping over his blade and his head. In a flash, she was past and both were wheeling for another pass. Only his speed and expertise with the blade had saved him. He saw in her eyes a momentary flash of surprise. He realized this woman had meant to take his head clean off in a stroke. She’d felt sure she could take him easily.

Angered, he advanced at a controlled pace. This entire affair was a setup. He saw that now. She’d waited to meet him beside this river. She had planned to ride out and meet him above the frosty flood in order to ensure an easy victory.

Nina was a much better master of her mount than Aldo. She dodged to his left, then drove in against his unarmed side. She darted forward to attack him broadside. He tossed his weapon from one hand to the other, and brought his sword up left-handed to meet hers. They came close and their blades flashed and rang. This form of fighting was the most alarming variety. Aldo felt far from comfortable with it. There was no way to retreat when sitting on a mount, short of pitching off into the freezing waters.

“You are a mad woman, you know that?” he called to her.

“Stop defending and fight!”

“Are you so anxious to die?”

For a short moment, he saw her expression shift when she heard his confident words. She did not show fear, but she was puzzled. No doubt, she had expected him to be an easy opponent to defeat. Both fell back, breathing hard and circling their mounts.

“It is you who shall end your life in this frozen river today,” Nina said.

“And why is that? This is no dispute over command. You are in a lathering fury. I can only think of one reason. Perhaps you misunderstood the nature of our relationship.”

Now, her eyes darkened again. She lifted her blade again. “I misunderstood nothing.”

“Ah-ha! Yes, you expected me to be your consort on a more permanent basis, is that it? I apologize, if you’ve fallen in love with me. I’m very sorry to disappoint. But no woman possesses Aldo Moreno’s heart for long.”

Nina hissed at him. It was not a pleasant sound. Aldo grimaced. When courting newly-met females, he always knew what to say. In these situations, however, his words habitually failed him.

“I’m not in love with you, imbecile.”

“Then why are you trying to kill me?”

“You are a tool of the Duchess. She has done everything possible to thwart me, including preventing me from avenging my brother’s death this day. I’ll not turn away from these mechs. I’m going to run them down into Nightside, no matter what. If you wish to relent and follow my lead, I shall spare your life now.”

“Very generous, I’m sure,” Aldo said. “But I believe we are in the midst of a duel, and the matter has yet to be decided.”

He lifted his sword again, and touched the uppermost stud to cause it to flare with new life. Nina nodded and approached again, her blade held high to attack.

By this time, however, Aldo had analyzed her style and moves. They were effective, but relatively simplistic and repetitive. He did not think any less of her for this, as she was young and inexperienced.

As she came in, he feinted low, and when she parried he beat aside her blade and thrust. He did not aim for her thigh or abdomen, however, as these were defended. He stabbed his blade into her mount. The tip penetrated the hard metal case and jolted the mechanism inside. The vehicle bucked and heeled over. With a whoop, Baroness Droad dropped her sword and fell into the slushy flow.

Old Hans and Aldo both rushed forward to save her. Aldo, being much closer, reached the spot first. He reached down and grabbed a small gloved hand that reached above the surface. When he hauled her up, he could not help but allow himself a small smirk.

“Looks like you’ve dropped your blade, Baroness,” he said in a breezy fashion.

Her eyes were shocked and wide due to the cold, but a fury still burned there. She moved then, and Aldo was provided with a shock of his own. She pulled on his arm, and used it to lever forward her other hand. In the other hand was another sword.

Aldo immediately cursed at himself. He’d forgotten that she always carried twin blades, hers and her brother’s. The blade was dark, as the power had automatically shut off upon contact with liquid. Even without power, it was a deadly weapon. He twisted, off-balance, in an attempt to ward off the second sword. The black metal moved and plunged.

It did not pierce him, but rather fatally injured his mount, exactly as he’d done to hers. A moment later, they were both in the river.

It was Old Hans who dragged them both out like two cats from a barrel. Carrying them with arms extended to either side, he guided his mount expertly with only touches of his knees.

“If you don’t mind, good lord and lady, I would ask that you contain yourselves until we reach dry land.”

Glaring and speechless with shock and anger, the two said nothing. Less than a minute passed before they were dropped on the shoreline where they shivered and crawled to their feet. They swayed and dripped, half-frozen. Aldo felt fatigue creep over him. He wondered how long he could have survived in water so cold. Even in his riding suit, he felt sure he would have perished in minutes.

“Shall we call it a draw?” Aldo asked.

Nina shook her head. Silvery droplets flew everywhere over the muddy shore.

“Bow to me, or die. That is how this will end.”

“Baroness,” Old Hans interjected, “permission to speak, milady?”

Nina glanced at him, but then turned her eyes back to Aldo, where they remained fixed. “Speak if you must.”

“This disagreement is unnecessary, and wasteful.”

“Wrong on both counts, good Hans,” Nina said, pointing the tip of her dripping sword at Aldo. “This man is a snake, and I mean to reduce his length.”

Hans cleared his throat and waved back the excited throng of men who’d gathered around to quietly wager on the outcome. They retreated reluctantly.

“Listen,” Hans said. “I have an idea what this is about. You should focus your anger where it is best deserved.”

“Explain yourself.”

“The true snake here is the Duchess.”

Nina scoffed loudly. “I’m sure she plied him with drink and strapped him to the bed. Afterward, she felt so ashamed she gave him command of her army.”

“Not exactly,” Hans said. “But listen, Baroness. Have you not noticed the Duchess holds you in contempt?”

“I’m not blind.”

“But do you know why?”

Finally, Nina turned her full attention to him. “No,” she said. “I suppose she just doesn’t like Droads.”

“Exactly. And that habit started with your father.”

Here, Aldo groaned aloud. Again, another enemy uncovered. How many good reasons did Lucas Droad have for not returning to his homeworld? Aldo had to face facts, he told himself. He’d been duped into accepting this mission by a wily man.

The others glanced at Aldo. When he did not see fit to explain his response, they ignored him.

“She disliked my father?” the Baroness asked Hans.

“She was in love with him-once. Then he took up with that mother of yours. The Duchess never got over it. She never forgave your mother, your father-nor you yourself.”

Nina nodded, seeing the logic of it.

Aldo heaved a sigh. “Your father is another form of snake, girl. I curse him here and now for saddling me with so many of his women. He set me up for this horrid moment!”

“My father is no snake!”

Aldo raised his hands. “I misspoke, I apologize. He simply is-a difficult one to lay hands upon, let us say. I was once his bodyguard, don’t forget. I know him fairly well.”

Nina licked her lips, which were turning blue. “I do not wish Duchess Embrak to get the best of any of us. You are right, good Hans. I have been manipulated, as has Aldo, to some degree.”

“I’m sorry for any hard feelings,” Aldo said. “I’m quite simply trying to save your planet. A much greater threat than these mechs will soon fall upon us from the skies. We must set aside our conflicts and gather all our strength for that moment. The survivors can sort out past injustices afterward, should they still feel it worthwhile.”

“Are they truly as dangerous as all that?”

“Absolutely.”

“Do you fear them?”

Aldo hesitated. “Not exactly. But then, I have long since made my peace with death.”

Nina looked at him oddly as she rubbed rime from her hair. “All right. Will you make me a bargain? March with me for three nights. If we do not meet the enemy and vanquish them in that time, we will return to Twilight and await these terrible aliens.”

Aldo considered. He knew that she commanded not just these one hundred knights, but thousands more besides that sat at Droad House. If he didn’t agree, she might well summon those troops, with or without the Council’s blessing. He suspected, in fact, that was exactly her plan.

“I agree,” he said, extending a gloved hand.

They touched gloves, and sheathed their weapons. The avid onlookers who loosely encircled them cursed and passed money among themselves. The Baroness took only the time required to retrieve her sword from the bottom of the river before the army conjoined and rode sunward.