“Hand Maddox over to us or we devastate your spaceport. We will devastate all the places you consider important.”

  Would more attack vessels arrive in the star system and head for Gath? Why had Leviathan waited so long to send any vessels into the Heydell Cloud? Why had Leviathan picked this star system in the Heydell Cloud? Did Leviathan avoid this region due to the vortexes, gravitational distortions, and other spatial anomalies?

  Maddox pondered these things as he drove with his hands gripped on the steering wheel.

  He didn’t believe those things frightened Leviathan. There must be something else about the Heydell Cloud that did.

  He stiffened at the sudden realization. For just a moment, he imagined a Yon Soth in the subterranean depths of the planet. Was it a coincidence that the oldsters of the Honey Man society called themselves Old Ones? Did the name reveal a hidden Yon Soth identity on Gath?

  If there was a Yon Soth here, it must be slumbering. Maybe its dreams had activated the evil of the Yun mind fusion.

  If that were the case, would he, Maddox, have to kill this one too?

  Star Watch had always slain a Yon Soth when they found one. Star Watch treated the dreaded Yon Soths as if they were black widow spiders. Humanity had a history of stamping out any poisonous insect, arachnid or snake. One didn’t show a rattlesnake mercy, he exterminated it. There was something about poisonous creatures that humanity found loathsome.

  Yon Soths weren’t poisonous in the chemical sense, but in the mental or spiritual thrust of their intellect. Were they enemies of the Creator? Were they akin to biblical devils?

  Maddox shook his head. He didn’t know. He was no theologian.

  “Meta, Jewel,” he whispered, “I’m doing the best I can.”

  This one was hard because he had so many hands against him and only one true friend, Dravek. Would the clone help to the same extent as Galyan, Valerie or even Ludendorff?

  Maddox didn’t know the answer.

  He drove knowing his destiny waited at the weapon site. Live or die, no, live. He had to succeed and grab the weapon. He had to defeat all comers even if that meant Ophir.

  Maddox licked his lips as he stared out of the windshield at the desert. They’d gone sixteen kilometers. The ancient site was fast approaching.

  Maddox sensed the stirring of the mind fusion. It quested like an idiot child that didn’t know what to do yet, missing what it attempted to grab.

  Because of that, the caravan continued its thrust to the ancient weapon site.

  Radiation was in the air, but the radiation didn’t come from the site. Radiation came from an ancient scar, Mara had said, an ancient battle scar. What type of battle had been fought on Gath? Had it been some kind of space-borne conflict? Was that because a Yon Soth lived here? Had Leviathan once attempted to destroy a Yon Soth the way Star Watch did to protect itself?

  Maddox sighed.

  “You want me to spell you for a bit?” Dravek asked.

  “What?” Maddox said. “Oh. I’m fine. I’m awake.”

  “What do you think we’re going to find at the weapon site?”

  “I haven’t the foggiest.” Maddox glanced at Dravek. “What do you think of Mara?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let me try it again. What do you think of her?”

  Dravek shrugged. “She’s pretty.”

  “She could be useful to a man who wanted to become a pirate, trader or star rover.”

  “A telepath for a partner?” asked Dravek. “Is that what you’re suggesting for me?”

  It was Maddox’s turn to shrug.

  “She’d be reading my mind all the time,” Dravek said. “She’d know what I’m thinking. Whenever I looked at another girl, she’d be upset.”

  “Learn how to shield your mind. Learn how to think differently. Marry her.”

  “Marry her?” Dravek asked, surprised. “You’re infatuated with the ancient custom. Me? I don’t have all your memories. I know you love Meta. And I know you want to protect Jewel. But you never stay at home. You’re always off and running. Do you ever wonder why that is?”

  “I have an itch to explore,” Maddox said.

  “Oh yeah, an itch,” said Dravek. “You ever think it might be something else?”

  “Maybe it was something I inherited from my dad.”

  “Oh, so you like your dad now, is that it?”

  “Yes,” Maddox said in a clipped voice. Once, such a thought would have been anathema to him. But he had learned to respect his father. It was more than that. He’d learned to love the memory of his father, the man who’d sacrificed his life for his mother and him. He hadn’t forgotten about the Emperor of the New Men. He hadn’t forgotten about the other bastards who had helped kill his father. He was going to get some payback against them one of these days. Maybe, if he got out of this, he should make the payback sooner rather than later. His missions and adventures were getting hairier and more outrageous, not easier with time.

  Another kilometer ticked by.

  Maddox thought about that, and he decided— “Hey, see if you can wake those two sluggards again. We might need all the firepower we can get.”

  Dravek got up, moving to a prone Gricks and Hern as the van continued across the alien desert.

  -58-

  “It’s no good,” Dravek said. “Their cheeks are red, I’ve slapped them so much. And I’ve shaken them so much I’m afraid I’m going to rattle the brains out of their heads. Whatever has them sleeping must have switched them into hibernation mode.”

  Maddox sat up suddenly at the wheel. The first glimmer of dawn-light peeked over the horizon and struck the windshield, showing an agonizingly bright sun.

  He slipped on his desert goggles. He’d have to put on the polarizers next. They’d make him look like some alien insect with a forward thrusting eyepiece. Once the full sunlight hit, though, he’d need the protection even behind the polarized windshield.

  What would it be like outside once the sun was shining high in the sky? Why was the sun like this mid-world and not like that at the poles? The answer must have to do with angles, deflection and other space mechanics, and the elevation of the Polar Regions.

  However, Maddox hadn’t sat up because of the sunlight. Instead, his intuitive sense had pinged loud and clear. It told him they’d better wake up those two no matter how hard it might be. They were going to need every man they could get.

  “Take the wheel,” Maddox said. “I’m going to switch places with you.”

  Dravek moved over and slid past Maddox into the driver’s seat.

  Maddox went back, deciding to start with Hern, the tougher of the two.

  Maddox concentrated. And as he’d done in the desert to protect Dravek from the attacking mind fusion, he clutched Hern’s head. He thought at Hern—Wake up, you bastard. If you ever wanted to show the universe how tough you are, now’s the time.

  As Maddox expended whatever he possessed, he leaned low and whispered into one of the man’s ears, “Wake up, Hern. This is the fight of your life. If you can’t snap out of it, I’m leaving you behind. This is the moment where every man must carry his own weight. Can you carry yours?”

  Hern grunted as his eyes opened.

  Maddox kept his hands on Hern’s head, staring into his eyes. There was a glimmer of recognition.

  “Wake up,” Maddox said. “This is it. Are you going to serve Legion Culain? Or are you a coward who’s going to run? Do you want your balls snipped off? Is that what you’re telling me? If not, then wake up and fight.”

  Hern grunted again and raised his arms. He tried to push off Maddox’s hands but lacked the strength.

  Maddox removed his hands.

  “What’s happening?” Hern said. “Why are you so close to me? Where is this place? The last thing I remember… The dirigible went down.”

  “Steady now, Primus. I picked you. I want you to fight on my team. Do you understand?”

  Hern struggled up to a sitting position, leaning against the seat and touched his forehead. “My head hurts. Everything’s splotchy and blurry. Why is that?”

  “Drink some water. Eat. Try to stay awake and I’ll explain after I wake up Gricks.”

  Sliding over, Maddox started a similar procedure with Gricks. It took longer and it took more furious whispering. Maybe Maddox didn’t have the same force as before. Perhaps the usage of his mental strength was draining it.

  Despite that, as he clutched Gricks’ head, Maddox tried to pour his force of will into the man. “Wake up. We need you, Gricks. You said you wanted a second chance. This is your second chance to fight to the end. I need another shooter. I need a man to watch my back. Centurion Gricks, wake the hell up.”

  Gricks opened his eyes as he whimpered. That wasn’t a good sign. Then Gricks stared at Maddox. “What happened? Have the Honey Men captured us again?”

  “Sit up, Centurion. Listen to your orders.”

  Gricks struggled to a sitting position.

  Maddox told him to get some water and grub.

  Gricks did, as the items were beside him. He chowed down, glancing at Hern.

  “Listen up,” Maddox said. “We’re in the desert in Indian country. Things are moving fast and hairy. We’re almost to the ancient weapon site. When we reach it, you’re coming with me locked and loaded. You also need to don desert gear. We’re going to go underground. You probably know, Gricks, what that means because you listened to Eddings. By the way, what happened to Eddings?”

  “He didn’t want to leave his bed, sir,” Gricks said. “I tried to get him up and join me. He refused.”

  “We’ll remember him fondly because he gave us warning of what to expect out here. Because of him, we may have a chance. So, he died a man.”

  “A man?” Hern asked with scorn.

  Maddox pointed a finger in Hern’s face. “Did you hear what I just said? That’s how you’ll address Eddings if you speak about him.”

  What did Hern see in Maddox’s eyes, in the cast of his jaw? Whatever it was, Hern said, “You’re the captain. You’re in charge.”

  “Don’t forget it,” Maddox said.

  “So, what’s going on again?” Hern asked.

  Maddox outlined the situation as best as he understood it, even as the sun rose over the horizon.

  “Two more kilometers and we’re there,” Dravek said from the front.

  Hern climbed onto a row seat and saw the other balloon-tired vehicles. He looked at Maddox.

  “We landed in the desert,” Maddox said. “We've had to kill a lot of Metamorphs since we got here. They have someone with some kind of mind-control power. He’s the one who put you two to sleep.”

  “You’re kidding,” Hern said.

  “I woke you up,” Maddox said. “If I hadn’t done that, we’d have had to leave you behind. You would have probably woken up tied to a board with a feeding tube shoved down your throat, feast meat in a Metamorph’s larder. If you want to show your gratitude for what I did, fight like crazy when I tell you. Don’t turn on me. We live or die as a team. Do you hear?”

  “I ain’t no traitor,” Hern said. “Yeah, I get it. You saw us through. I’ll do the same for you.”

  Something on Gricks’ face hardened. It reminded Maddox of the centurion he’d first seen when the Eye of Helion had put them on this godforsaken planet.

  “Second chance,” Gricks said. “I want a second chance to prove myself.”

  “That’s what I want to hear,” Maddox said, “because I want a man who’s tough and going to fight.”

  “I’ll fight.” Gricks paused. “I’m going to fight, because I don’t care if I die. I’m also going to take down every mother-loving bastard there is that did this to me.”

  “The Honey Men here are our allies for now.”

  Gricks shook his head. “I don’t care about them. The universe—it’s a dark universe, Captain. I intend to make everyone in it pay, except for those who help me.”

  “What I hear is fighting spirit,” Maddox said. “You two ready for this?”

  Maddox got two yeses.

  “How much farther to the site?” Maddox asked.

  “Half a kilometer,” Dravek said.

  “All right, gear up you two. Pick your weapons and then overload. We’re going to need a lot of firepower. There’s a lot of killing ahead of us. There’s something here we need. If we’re going to make it, if we’re going to survive this desert madness, this is the moment to do it.”

  “What in the hell is that?” Dravek asked, staring out of the windshield.

  They all peered forward, and all saw the vast sinkhole ahead.

  -59-

  Ophir parked his van and the others parked beside his. The sun had begun to climb over the horizon. It was decidedly bright, the rays already beginning to heat up the landscape and making weird chromatic colors bounce off the sand, at least bounce off some of the particles of it.

  The van doors opened. Maddox led his team. The other van doors opened, and it was the few men, together with Mara and Ophir. They hadn’t been able to wake any of the others in their vans.

  They all looked like humanoid insects with their polarizers and desert gear. They turned around so the blazing sun and giant sinkhole were behind them.

  “The Metamorphs are waking up all around us,” Mara said. “I’m referring to those that establish the mind fusion link. I don’t think we can leave as easily as we got in. Even though they’re waking up, I don’t believe they fully comprehend our intentions yet.”

  “We’re here,” Maddox said. “I see a giant sinkhole ahead of us, a great big hole down into the depths. Now what happens?”

  “There may be a way down,” Mara said. “It’s nearby.”

  “You sense it?” Maddox asked.

  Mara nodded.

  “Well, Gallant Ophir,” Maddox said. “Let’s follow your talent, shall we?”

  “Agreed,” Ophir said.

  Armed with assault rifles, machine guns and grenades, they marched toward the giant sinkhole. It had to be at least a kilometer in diameter and was perfectly round as if made by a monstrous stamping machine. It sank out of sight.

  As Maddox approached, a feeling of vertigo struck. What would cause such that? He wasn’t afraid of heights. Even so, the others must have felt it too because they began to stagger.

  “My head hurts worse than ever,” Hern complained. “What’s going on?”

  “The mind fusion is awakening, beginning to perceive we’re here with bad intentions,” Mara said. “The first stirring of their working against us has started. Come, I know now the way to get down.”

  The smallest and physically weakest of them marched in her desert boots, crunching sand. Rainbow colors glittered around Mara as the sun continued to climb into the sky.

  They all felt the dreadfully growing heat.

  Maddox hurried until he was even with Mara. “You’re sure about this?”

  “I’m not sure about anything, but I want to live, and I think this is the only way to do it. We’ve got to grab what they want and bargain with it for our lives.”

  Maddox had a grim sense that was going to be the thrust of it.

  They reached the edge of the great hole. Mara tugged at a rock formation—what seemed like one. Some of the rock moved as if it was heavy cloth. She began to pull a camouflage tarp that hid a sky raft.

  “We’re supposed to get on that contraption and descend into the sinkhole?” Ophir asked.

  “That would be my advice,” Mara said hoarsely as she kept tugging at the heavy tarp.

  “I agree with that,” Maddox said. “Let’s get this unveiled so we can do it pronto.”

  The rest of them helped unroll the tarp and shove it to the side. Afterward, they dragged their heavy equipment aboard. With themselves, there was barely room enough for everything.

  “This is spaceliner tech. I know how to fly this.” Dravek went to the controls and began to flip switches.

  In moments, the engine purred and anti-gravity repellers kicked in. The raft lifted off the sandy ground.

  Maddox wondered if the sky raft might be the way to reach the thousands of kilometers they needed to the North Pole. They’d have to do it at night. Otherwise, the sun would cook them.

  Dravek guided the raft over the giant sinkhole. Immediately, the engine complained with a sharp whine and the raft sank fast, sliding hard to the left.

  One of the men cried out. It wasn’t Gricks, Hern or Maddox. It was one of the Honey Men.

  Dravek slowed the descent and righted the raft, bringing the engine back to its purr. It was dark in here. The men who had them turned on their flashlights, shining them into the gloom. They shined it down. No one saw the bottom. Maddox liked this even less than before. Even so, at a steady pace, Dravek took them lower and lower.

  Although weaker than before, the mind-fusion force started pressuring Maddox. What was it doing to the others?

  Hern cried out, clutching his forehead. One of the Honey Men closed his eyes as it threatening to slump asleep.

  “Stay close to Mara and me,” Maddox said. “We’re your only hope.”

  The others huddled around Mara and Maddox for protection.

  Maddox felt increasing pressure. He stretched his arms over those nearest him. That increased the throb against him. He gritted his teeth, determined to reach the bottom with his crew.

  The entire time, the sky raft lowered meter-by-meter, heading down the ancient opening.

  At a certain point, the mind-fusion attack slackened.

  “The mind fusion doesn’t like this place,” Mara said.

  “Can you tell why?” Maddox asked.

  “The mind fusion fears it, and there’s something else I can’t comprehend.”

  The slackening mind assault was a boon. Maddox would take it, even if it meant entering the lair of something worse.

  What had created this vast shaft into the depths? The smooth sides added to the feeling that some giant stamping machine had created the hole in the past. Might this have once been an ancient seabed? Had a vast, alien aquatic race inhabited that ancient ocean?