The Heaven System
Outbound Lane
SS Yardbird

“Watch the bow planes,” said Boz Grabow as the Yardbird pulled onto the Heaven System’s outbound traffic lane. The rustbucket vessel was stocked with cheap beer, baddick stalks, and bolla frogs to supplement the ReddyPak rations that were crammed in the stores locker. Boz, Yssk and Nexbo had repaired the major systems and welded several innocuous-looking modules to various points along the length of the vessel and its single engine well. “Is the ring still clamped down?”

“Yessss, and holding nicely,” answered the Thrynn at the engineering station. He was looking out the rear window where the reinforced aluminum ring was attached to the Yardbird. “It iss intact—and the structural integrity isss adequate to keep it that way.”

Leghk Sector
Nid Berry World

The dark lightning sensed the presence of sentient viruses roving across its domain. Enraged by the intrusion, it set out cautiously through the low grassy hills to seek out and eliminate the insidious growths. The G’Nunk watched on mid-range scanners as it moved like a floating cloud of liquid, casting an unnatural luminesence beneath it. “Send the signal to the ambush parties,” said Dozelord Gannuzo from his command chair in the lead terrain rover. The dozelord checked to make sure the Regepple was on station, hovering five kilometers overhead.

“The parties have checked in, dozelord,” said the driver. The dark lightning was barreling into a three-pronged ambush. G’Nunk—losers from the baptism arena—had been implanted with the potent snouts of psychic blasters. Three made up each of the ambush teams. Gannuzo was clawing at his armrests in gleeful anticipation. “Dozelord! Groups two and three report contact!”

“Let fury rise!” shouted the dozelord, unable to contain himself. “Tell them to prick at that stupendous beast!” The order wasn’t necessary. Four kilometers away, six G’Nunk could feel the heavy touch of the dark lightning as it reached into their minds. Terrified at the sensation, the G’Nunk lashed out with their own clumsy minds, channeling fear and hatred through the blaster transplants. The dark lightning struck back with a wave of intense rage, virtually melting the minds that had dared attack it. “Order the other ambush groups to move in!”

Thoss World
Vs’Kssh Citadel

The subterranean water works were cavernous tunnels made of ancient brick arches that brought the citadel’s rain runoff back to the steaming jungle swamps that surrounded the city. Senator HvHuss and Grssn waded through the waist-deep water, making their way to the edge of the city. “The globe artifact is cryptic,” said the senator. “It gives a set of coordinatess, but they match nothing—no syssstems in known sspace. Nothing in the Cloud region.” The only clue is a string of Human words. “‘From the the stellar nexus,’” Hvhuss said, pulling himself up onto a ledge at the side of the channel, “‘...of hill-bound sssea, the path to truth’—and then it givess coordinates that point to empty space.” Just ahead, at the intersection of three tunnels, a ladder led out of the water and into an underground room that held a cache of emergency supplies. There would be a brief period in which to plan, and then they would move on.

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Next: “Artifact”

If you haven’t read Dune, it would behoove you to pick up a copy. And Dune Messiah. And Children of Dune. And Heretics of Dune. The flavor of this saga seems to reach the heart and soul of science fiction. Everything from Star Wars to the story at the beginning of the Sega Starflight manual has some rooting in Frank Herbert’s Dune chronicles. If you can get over bursts of “M’Lord” and “Sire” dialogue, it’s some of the best stuff out there. Right up there with H&C.

Hilsfar & Company: Did we mention Chapterhouse: Dune?
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