Part 8 (1/2)
”Please don't fire,” one of the men said. He had a ruddy nose and star-baked skin that almost matched his red robes.
”Surprise inspection,” Arakaki barked, as if that were all the explanation necessary. Arakaki kept her weapon in the general direction of the acolytes. With their signatures logged, it would require minimal aiming to wipe them all out with a single mental command or pull of her finger.
”Where are your supplies?” she asked.
”We don't have anything of use to you,” another one said. The one who had answered had no hair. He wore a plain yellow robe.
”Show me what you have. I want to know how you survive out here.”
”In here,” said the bald man in the yellow robe.
Arakaki chomped down on the sliver in her mouth and followed. Her finger was relaxed near the trigger of her PAW, and her thoughts remained close to the fire control in her link.
They led her to another dismal rock room. She carefully squatted and followed them through a pulled Konuan grille. More grilles were still in place above and below, but the grilles in the other four directions had been pulled out.
”Here are many of our supplies,” the man said. ”Of course, we have some equipment deployed around. Solar cells and some photosynthesis modules are over our heads, on the top of the ridge.”
The man indicated a waist-high pile of packs and equipment. Arakaki looked things over, still keeping one eye on the pilgrims.
She found a PSG stunner, three grenades, and two large projectile weapons. She saw clips for some other handheld projectile weapons. There were food wrappers and some half-empty backpacks. She counted eight of the backpacks.
”Where did you get that stuff?”
”That's what little we have left of our equipment.”
A metal sphere attracted her attention. At first she thought it was a grenade, but it was too large. She reached out to pick it up. As her hand approached, a small handle extended for her to grasp. It was lighter than a grenade.
So it has power...but it doesn't offer my link any services. So what the h.e.l.l is it? ”What's this?” Arakaki demanded.
”I don't know,” the man said.
She put it within her pack without taking her attention from her weapon. ”I saw your packs in the other room. These aren't yours. Those weapons are varied. Also not yours. Some of them are new. Obtained since Holtzclaw interviewed you before.”
”The UED leader? I thought he decided to leave us alone. We've had various members join us from all over the frontier. No deserters from the UED, though.”
”Then where are they? Answer my questions or else. We've tolerated you for a long time. You don't want to be on our bad side. You know we have artillery covering this site. We can send a present your way anytime we want.”
”We've lost some pilgrims. The planet can be cruel. Also, some strangers came by from time to time. They were violent. It wasn't our intention. But we have to defend ourselves.”
”You men? You keep the pistols under your robes?”
The men were silent for a moment. ”Yes, we have pistols. But usually we let the Konuan handle troublemakers.”
Troublemakers...like me. Like the UED soldiers who have died?
She made a point of aligning her weapon at the head of the man who spoke. ”You're on its side, then,” she said. ”You help it kill us.”
”Only the ones who come in here and threaten us directly. Please just leave.”
”The Konuan protected us,” another said.
Another of the men winced as he said it.
That must be true. Or is he wincing because he knows that guy's a buckle bulb?
”You confuse protection with predation,” she said. ”Why hasn't it eaten you?”
”We respect it. We learn from it.”
”It is smart,” Arakaki said. ”Real smart. But why would it teach you anything?”
”If you want to see it, we can show you.”
Arakaki's face tightened. ”What do you mean, show me?”
”The Konuan. We can show you. You can meet it. See for yourself. Leave your weapons, pledge yourself to it, and it will spare you.”
”Like it spared the owner of that stunner there? Or the owner of that sugar kit?”
”They didn't give up their weapons. They were a threat. It easily dispatched them.”
”Finally, something I believe. Okay, show me where I can meet it, then take off.”
”If you try to harm it-”
”I'll take my chances. Now hurry up,” Arakaki said.
The bald man in the robe nodded a.s.sent and walked off. Arakaki stepped away from the others, then turned to follow.
The man led her through a patch of blackvines. Arakaki scanned the sluggishly moving tendrils of the plants for concealed danger. Her eyes and her weapon didn't note anything amiss.
Beyond the blackvines, they came to a dirty old tunnel.
This could be Trilisk, Arakaki thought. But this isn't very deep.
She knew that under the square chambers of the Konuan, which were stacked atop each other haphazardly, the Trilisk tunnels ran from building to building. The UED soldiers had not figured out why the Trilisks had built the tunnels, though some thought it was to spy on the Konuan or conduct experiments on them without being seen.
Arakaki smelled the monster.
This guy knows what he's talking about. The monster has been here. No doubt they've been sacrificing people to it all along. That's why it left them alive. Until there are no people left.
They came to a large square room. It was a dead end at the moment, with its grilles intact.
It can still attack from any direction, and it can run if it senses an ambush. If the monster ever runs from anything.
A huge bowl in the center of the room held some bones.