[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

sub-ordinates considered of import.
Ericson, the Magistrate Division administrator, spoke last, in his
characteristic colorless monotone. "At the request of Baron Cobalt, I
dispatched a recon party to Redoubt
Papa."
Baron Sharpe stirred in his armchair, his high fore-head furrowing a bit as he
ransacked his memory. "Re-doubt Papa?" he murmured. "Where is that again?"
Ericson answered blandly, "Washington Hole, my Lord Baron."
Sharpe nodded distractedly. "And why did you send a recon party there?"
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...%20Outlander%2005%20-%20Parallax
%20Red.html (51 of 210) [12/28/2004 3:54:57 PM]
James Axler - Parallax Red
"To honor a request made by your brother baron in
Cobaltville." Ericson softened his clipped speech pat-tern, hoping he sounded
unctuous.
"To search for the renegades who used a gateway to kidnap a member of Baron
Cobalt's Trust. Quite the outrage."
Baron Sharpe flipped a diffident hand through the air. Impatiently he said,
"Yes, yes, now I recall. Some-thing about a renegade Mag who humiliated Baron
Co-balt beyond his ability to endure. Pompous fool. So?"
"The party I dispatched should have returned by now. They are nearly a half
day overdue."
"And that's bad?"
Ericson lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "Merely dis-quieting at this juncture,
my Lord."
Baron Sharpe narrowed his eyes. "Why do you think they have yet to return?"
Ericson cleared his throat. "I can only speculate on the possibilities."
"You have the floor speculate to your heart's con-tent."
"They encountered mechanical difficulty with their conveyance."
"Which was?"
"A Sandcat. Or they encountered a difficulty that they could not cope with."
The baron sighed. "And which do you feel is the most likely?"
"I cannot say, my Lord. Due to the extremely high rad count in the vicinity of
Redoubt
Papa, it is impos-sible to establish radio contact with them."
Baron Sharpe steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "And you are hesitant to
send out another party of Mags to ascertain their fates."
"Just so, my Lord."
Page 40
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Baron Sharpe turned his head toward the hearth. "Crawler!"
The doomie slowly raised his head from the cushion. "My Lord Baron?"
"Can you sniff the dooms of the team of Magistrates dispatched to Washington
Hole?
Will they return?"
Crawler's eyes widened, his lips peeling back from discolored teeth. He
shivered, moaned softly, clutched at his brow. Ericson had witnessed the
mutie's perfor-mance before, as if invisible antennae sprouted from his psyche
and quested for answers to the baron's ques-tions. He thought it was a sham,
but a very good piece of improvised theater on the part of the doom-sniffer.
Blinking his eyes rapidly, Crawler stared around as if he expected to see some
place
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...%20Outlander%2005%20-%20Parallax
%20Red.html (52 of 210) [12/28/2004 3:54:57 PM]
James Axler - Parallax Red other than the parlor. In a strained, aspirated
voice, he whispered, "Colors. Red and black, black and red. Red for joy, black
for death. Those you seek have crossed over.
They are happy, they are at peace. Black. Red. Black."
Crawler lowered his hand from his brow, closed his eyes drowsily, then placed
his head back down on the pillow.
The mutie's pronouncement stunted conversation in the room for a long tick of
time.
Baron Sharpe broke it with a laugh and an expansive gesture. "There you have
it, Ericson. I hope your curiosity has been satis-fied. Now, if there is no
more pressing business "
"With all due respect," Ericson interjected, "if my Magistrates are dead,
there are far more questions than answers. Washington Hole is not inhabited.
My men were well armed and outfitted. Who or what could have killed them?"
Baron Sharpe's lips pursed in petulant disapproval. "You doubt the words of my
high counselor?"
Ericson shook his head vehemently. "By no means, my Lord Baron. But you must
consider the full impli-cations of his own words six of your Magistrates, your
servitors, your soldiers, have met their deaths in your own territory. Such an
incident cannot be allowed to lie without a thorough investigation."
The baron's eyes glinted hard with suspicion. Eric-son continued hastily, "If
they were murdered, then it is an affront to your authority. Think of the
terrible precedent if we do not apprehend the malefactors. We must undertake
swift action. Simply command me, and I shall dispatch another team forthwith."
Baron Sharpe sat silently, then a wintry smile drifted over his face. He
bounded to his feet, long fringes swishing. "That you shall, Ericson. I
command you to dispatch another team, this time by air. And I shall go with
you."
"You, my Lord?" Ericson's voice was a faint, shocked whisper.
"Me and my Crawler. Neither one of us gets out very much, you know."
The members of the Trust knew that, and they stared disconcertedly at their
lord.
Barons, by tradition, al-most never left their aeries atop the Administrative
Monoliths.
Once a year, they visited a subterranean in-stallation in New Mexico for
infusions of fresh genetic material, harvested from healthy humans. They
trav-eled by mat-trans, not by Deathbird or Sandcat. They couldn't have
reacted with more incredulity to his pro-nouncement had the baron declared his
intent of nam-ing an outlander child as his heir.
Kowper, the senior archivist, said uncertainly, "My Lord, you must take into
account the dangers."
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...%20Outlander%2005%20-%20Parallax
%20Red.html (53 of 210) [12/28/2004 3:54:57 PM]
Page 41
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
James Axler - Parallax Red
"That's why Crawler will be with us." A boyish grin of enthusiasm and
anticipation stretched the baron's lips. "An adventure. I've heard about them,
but never dreamed I'd go on one."
"My Lord," intoned Tobak, "Washington Hole is a hellzone."
Baron Sharpe flung his arms wide, the fringes dan-gling from the sleeves
dancing. "I
cannot die anymore. I've crossed back." He turned to Crawler. "Isn't that
right, Crawler old boy?"
The mutie raised his head from the pillow. "As right as anything in this
world, my Lord
Baron."
Gazing at Ericson, he asked, "What other baron can make that claim? Prepare
three of your Deathbirds. Pick your men, arm them heavily. We leave
immedi-ately."
Ericson began to voice a heated protest, then shifted his eyes toward the
hearth rug.
Crawler stared over the ruffled edge of the pillow, an insolent, triumphant
smile creasing his face. Realizing the lethal set of events that could be set
in motion if he spoke his mind, Ericson swallowed his objection.
Baron Sharpe swung his right arm out from the shoulder in a fringe-whirling
circle, then stabbed a fin-ger directly at Ericson's face. "Let's take care of
busi-ness."
Chapter 8
Lakesh faced Brigid across the top of his small desk in his spartan office and
tried desperately to think of a way to deflect her anger. He knew very little
about women in general, and worse, Brigid knew it, too.
"Believe me, dearest Brigid," he said, trying his best to sound warm notes of
reasoned sympathy, "Rouch overstated her reasons for being here."
"And what about your reasons for bringing her here?" she snapped, a steel edge
in her voice.
Lakesh sighed and massaged the deep grooves in his forehead with gnarled
knuckles. '
'Would you not agree that above all else, we must consider the future? What we
would term as true humanity is an endangered spe-cies. The population of
hybrids expands as we dimin-ish. The ville-bred are raised to be servants,
vassals, dray animals, and we cannot factor them into an equa-tion dealing
with the future of humankind."
"Whether I disagree or agree is beside the point," replied Brigid. "You should
have consulted us about your plan to improve the breed, to turn Cerberus into
a colony rather than a sanctuary."
"Why should I have?" he demanded.
file:///C|/2590%20Sci-Fi%20and%20Fantasy%20...%20Outlander%2005%20-%20Parallax
%20Red.html (54 of 210) [12/28/2004 3:54:57 PM]
James Axler - Parallax Red [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]