Chapter 14

The first day of the free colony of Armontiriath dawned fair and clear, and the festive air in New Warsaw was if anything greater than before. The townspeople and the cavalry troops, who had spent the night in houses throughout the city, turned out to welcome the infantry of Catania. With them came James Brady, his hand heavily bandaged, and he was reunited with Mary, who took him off to their own rooms in the Great Hall.

After lunch a bright speck was seen in the sky and it swooped low over the city. Its wing-spots gleamed in the sun, and some citizens believed for a moment that a celestial visitor had come down to join their celebrations. The eog Hana circled the square and came to rest on Vera’s shoulder as she stood on the steps of the hall. Then she knew that Carolus was not far off.

A few minutes later he appeared at the head of a cavalry patrol clattering through the streets from the north. He leaped to the ground, sprang up the steps and seized Vera in a passionate embrace. Hana flew up in the air and came down to rest on Andreas’ shoulder. As he watched the pair of lovers embrace Andreas almost felt the beginnings of jealousy. He and Vera had shared so much, but now another man was the foremost in her heart and mind. But the feeling passed like a faint mist, and he thought of the one who awaited him far in the north. Or was it all a dream, a night-fantasy of a fevered brain? He felt again the sword at his side and the helmet on his head, and knew again it was no fantasy.

Carolus put Vera down at last and turned to Andreas, congratulating him on the swift finish to the war. He explained that most of his army was still a good day’s march away, but he had ridden ahead with some of the cavalry on hearing the news.

“Excellent!” said Andreas, “You are most welcome, and we need you here. Tomorrow we must all meet, as many people as we can get into the Grand Hall, and decide the future of Armontiriath. You are the last of the original elected leaders of Pod 6, so we could not have met without you.”

“I’ll be  there” promised Carolus, “though I fear it will mean a pause in the eating, drinking and celebrating that we all have to do!”

Then Vera dragged him off to join the feasting that was going on at trestle tables loaded with food and drink all round the square. A great bonfire was blazing in one corner and musicians were playing lively dance music in another. All that day and all night the festivities went on, and few folk in New Warsaw had any sleep. Even many heppers discarded their red and yellow and came out to join the fun.

The next morning it was a quieter crowd that packed into the meeting hall. Some 500 people were there – citizens of New Warsaw, colonists from further north, Catanians, soldiers of the army of Armontiriath, ex-heppers. James and Mary were there, at Andreas’ special request, with some other ex-leaders of the Totalist regime. When the hall was full Carolus climbed on to the empty stage and called for quiet.

“Fellow colonists of the planet Armontiriath” he said, “For that is its name and we shall forget all others – please listen to me for a minute. We have been freed from the tyranny of Albert Swingman and his followers mainly by the efforts of one man: Andreas dal’Nostra. I propose therefore that we elect him to be our ruler and that he become our king!”

Loud cheers greeted this proposal and cries of “King Andreas! King Andreas!” came from different parts of the hall. Andreas sprang on to the stage and held up his hand. A measure of silence fell.

“Thank you for your kindness, though I was only one of many who brought about this victory, and some of them never lived to see it. I was once by right captain of the starship Diana, but now I have no title. I have no desire to be your ruler and I will not be a king!”

The people cried out again, but he shook his head and stood silent. Carolus spoke again.

“If not king, Andreas, what title will you accept? You cannot slip back into obscurity after all that’s happened. You cannot refuse us in this.”

“Very well, if it’s the will of you all that I accept a title, I shall not be king, but prince. Call me Prince of Armontiriath.”

“Hooray! Hooray for Andreas, Prince of Armontiriath!” shouted the crowd, and he took off his dragon-helm and bowed low before going back to his seat.

“Now” went on Carolus, “we must decide other matters. What are we to do with our enemies, the Totalists, now that they have surrendered? What form of government should we have? How can we prevent another dictator from arising to dominate us?”

The hall was filled with noise and chatter as people discussed these issues, but without any sign of general agreement. At last Philip Veracourt took the stage.

“I ask our Prince to come and speak to us” he suggested, “He must advise us here we go from here.” Again Andreas came up to speak.

“Very well, I shall speak what is on my mind. What of the Totalists? There are some here who are, or were, heppers.” Brady cast down his eyes and shifted in his seat. “But that is now history, and I propose that we begin again with no memory of that history. Let us pretend that both pods landed only yesterday, and now we have a brand-new colony to develop. If we begin in peace and reconciliation, forgetting past evil deeds, then perhaps we can make Armontiriath a planet worth belonging to.

“As for government, I shall be Prince but do not intend to rule you. My task, which I take on myself and my heirs, will be to keep Armontiriath free from oppression and corruption. Any who wish to join me may do so, and ride with me, and we shall fight if need be to ensure that no more Totalism, in any disguise, arises again. I shall go north soon and build a new city called Armontirina on the Glittering Cliffs by the Silver River. Those who wish may join me there and help to build the new city.

“But as for the rest of you, how will you be governed? I won’t tell you – you must decide amongst yourselves. Just two things I will mention. A famous man once said that democracy was the worst form of government, except for all the rest. So I would suggest strongly that you adopt a democratic form of government, but sort out for yourselves how it’s going to work.

“The other thing to bear in mind is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, formed hundreds of years ago but still very relevant. I urge you to make it the keystone of your government, and I will make it the foundation of my own oversight of this world. I shall protect you from oppression and injustice, but you must be responsible for your own lives and dealings with each other. This planet is big and beautiful and full of good surprises. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of Earth, but start again in hope and freedom. I’ve spoken too long – now I’ll be quiet.”

He left the stage and there was a prolonged outburst of clapping and cheering. Others got up and spoke about their hopes and dreams for the future, and in the end it was agreed that a commission would be formed to draw up a draft constitution for the new world. After that decision the crowd began to file out of the hall to join the continuing celebrations outside.

A few days later Andreas watched as James and Mary left the city with their baby and a group of friends. They were heading eastwards, planning to go round the Inland Sea and come to new lands in the south.

“I’ll come and see you sometime” promised Andreas.

“Please do” said James, “I regret the past now, and I think it’s best if we try to start again away from other colonists. But you’ll be welcome whenever you come south.”

Mary was sitting on one of the alcohol-powered wagons that the ex-heppers were taking with them, holding her baby. She smiled at Andreas. “I’m glad we can be friends again, after so many terrible things have happened. We’ll be glad to see you whenever you come to visit.”

Andreas waved as the wagon rumbled away to the east. He noticed it bore the banner of Armontiriath, which receded to a small black speck as the wagon headed away.

The next day Andreas was riding north with a small group of friends – Vera, Carolus and half-a-dozen others from the now redundant army of Armontiriath. Yet more would follow on later. Alicia and Irma had opted to stay in New Warsaw and help to form the fledgling constitution.

They rode slowly, enjoying the countryside and chatting with the people in the farms and villages they passed. Often they came to pleasant streams and swam there, and then lay drying in the sun for a while before moving on. They had left behind weapons and armour and were dressed in lighter, brighter clothes. Only Andreas still bore Kaalkuhn in its sheath, and the black dragon-helm was wrapped up in his pack.

Northward they rode until they reached the trees of the Rift forest. They went on under their branches, and their voices, talking or laughing or singing, rang through the woods. Strange bright flowers were blooming in open glades and small animals scurried about their business.

At last they came to the south rim of the Great Rift and gazed in silence into its vast green depths. Songs and noises rang out from the trees that clung to the side of the canyon and far below the sound of the river could be faintly heard. Then they turned and rode east, keeping as close as possible to the edge as they picked their way through the trees.

They camped that night by the rim of the gorge, and Andreas sat for a while watching the moons as they spun across the sky. Nearby Vera and Carolus sat together by the edge, gazing over the dark canyon. Andreas returned to his tent, leaving them to each other’s company.

The next day they reached Diana. The great bulk of the crew module loomed over the trees from far away, and by early afternoon they stood in its shadow and stared down into the Rift. The vast pillar of the starship’s central shaft disappeared into the depths below. The burned area around the landing site was almost grown over by now, and creeping vines were starting to grope their way up the smooth metal.

Diana seemed as if she had been there for thousands of years, brooding over her final resting place. Andreas looked up to the crew module above his head. It seemed silent and dead, yet within its bulk power was still being created and machines were still alive, waiting and preserving life.

“Professor Hertberg’s still in there, isn’t he?” asked Vera, “Do you think we should get inside and wake him up?”

“No” said Andreas, “Let him sleep. He is dreaming of his great discoveries and of returning to Earth with them. That will never happen. But perhaps the day will come when we can use his knowledge here on Armontiriath. Until then, let him dream in peace.”

They rode on, leaving behind the towering bulk of the starship with its load of memories. An hour later they came to a place where Carolus suddenly swung to the left, over the brink of the chasm, and led them on to a narrow path leading downward. This was one of the paths he knew where riders might descend into the Rift. It was narrow, but safe enough for the sure-footed unicorns.

They descended all the rest of that day, moving down into the lush foliage of the deeper reaches. It grew hotter and more humid, and they were glad to arrive at the bank of the river, 3000 metres below the canyon rim. Evening was falling and they agreed to camp there beside the swift-flowing water. First the humans took off their sweaty clothes and swam in the cool rushing water, laughing and splashing each other. The unicorns joined in, leaping and prancing in the water, as happy to be there as their human companions.

The next day they rode along the southern bank for a way, before coming to a place where a simple but rugged wooden bridge spanning the raging water. It had been built by Carolus’ army when they crossed the river from the other side, and the little party soon passed over to the north bank. Then it was a long slow hot climb up another narrow path. The humans dismounted and scrambled up on foot to relieve the unicorns, and it was night by the time they reached the rim and camped again among the trees. But from there only a few days of very gentle riding brought them back to Dragon Rock.

Andreas had a feeling of returning home when he first spied the cloud-capped secret mountain in the north, and then the black finger of the castle tower stabbed the skyline. They rode in through the gates at the end of the day, and were greeted gladly by Irma and Alicia and the garrison that had remained. The fortress was rebuilt and renewed, stronger and mightier than before. Black walls and towers rose up, and flags and banners flew proudly from them to welcome the little party. A simple supper was prepared for them, and then they went to rest early, to get ready for the events of the next day.

The sun rose, and people began to rush about with last-minute preparations. Crowds gathered in the great courtyard between the gates and the central courtyard. Music and trumpets played, and then Carolus appeared on the steps of the tower, clad in the black armour of Armontiriath. A fanfare sounded again, and through the open gates came Andreas with Vera. She wore a white gown and a jewelled circlet in her hair, and to the cheers of the crowd she crossed the courtyard to wed Carolus Samalto in the sunshine under the tall black tower of Dragon Rock.

After the ceremony the festivities lasted the rest of the day. Part wedding feast, part victory celebration, they involved singing, dancing, eating and drinking. As night fell the couple slipped away and put their old clothes on again. Then, mounted on Diana and Sirius, they rode out through the gates on a long camping trip across the northern hills of Armontiriath.

“Don’t come back till you’re tired of each other’s company!” shouted Irma, and they both laughed and called back “Then we’ll never be back!” and rode away.

Andreas returned to the tower and his small high room, and there long into the night he spoke to Hans and Alicia, discussing plans for the white city of Armontirina which they would build upon the glittering cliffs.

He slept for a while, but rose again early next morning. Few people saw him slip through the gates on Orion and head north. When he reached the Silver River he paused for a little while and looked over the site for his new city, and imagined it rising white and glorious on both banks of the river, near to the cliff edge and the foaming falls. Then he turned and rode beside the river north-east and then due north.

At last the edge of the forest that cloaked the slopes of the secret mountain drew near. Beneath the first trees stood a slender figure with golden hair and silver-grey robes. The Prince of Armontiriath rode quickly towards the one who awaited his coming.

Chapter 13

Many days later, on a bright sunny morning, Andreas rode Orion, scanning the hills ahead for signs of the enemy. They would meet them soon, he felt sure, for the last army of the Totalists, driven in on every side, had retreated to this region for its final stand. James Brady led it, and he was a cunning and cautious foe, not to be underestimated.

A lot had happened since the battle of Dragon Rock. On that same day a ship had arrived from the south, captained by a fair slim man called Daniel Ferraro. He came from a group of colonists who had settled a land they called Catania, on the west coast south of the estuary of the Rift river. They had landed in Pod 5 and been disembarked by the Totalists to form part of the glorious empire of Albert Swingman.

They drifted westward to the coast, under the leadership of Philip Veracourt, one of the Pod 5 colony leaders. In their coastal enclave, cut off from the rest of the Totalist realm by a range of hills, they had settled and developed in relative peace, building ships and exploring the coast. Then they heard of the fighting to the north, and when the PSF garrison was reduced while Swingman was gathering troops to cross the Rift, they revolted swiftly and efficiently. The heppers were thrown out of Catania, and the hills were defended to protect their land from any attempt at re-conquest. And they sent a ship north to gather news and make contact with other enemies of the Totalists.

The Catanians were surprised and delighted when they heard the news of the battle of Dragon Rock. A party from the tall sailing ship “Golden Venture” came to the castle across the battlefield, amazed by the unicorns and the sight of the battered black fortress. Long into the night they traded news with Andreas and his companions, both sides delighted to have found allies in their struggle. The next morning Captain Ferraro and his people watched, slightly surprised, as the body of Albert Swingman was buried where he fell, and the grave was marked by a simple cross.

“Why do you do so much honour to your enemy and ours?” he asked.

“He’s no longer our enemy now he’s dead” replied Andreas, “And he was a great man in his way, with many fine qualities. In the end he let his lust for power overwhelm him. That has happened to many lesser men.”

They discussed the future strategy against the remaining Totalists, and the “Golden Venture” was sent back south to Catania. After a while three large ships came north, to ferry southwards part of the army of Armontiriath. Meanwhile scouting parties were sent across the Rift to find ways up to the south rim. They found little opposition, and bridgeheads were set up in the forests on the other side. Then Carolus began the task of moving a force of troops and unicorns up the three-kilometre cliffs to begin the invasion of the south. So a double attack was launched for the final destruction of Totalist power.

Andreas, with Vera returned as his second-in-command, sailed south to Catania with part of the army. They passed out of sight of the glittering cliffs and the proud black tower of Dragon Rock etched against the northern horizon. They sailed past sandy beaches and low cliffs, and then past the wide estuary of the Rift Riveer, where it reached the sea after cutting its way across the heart of the continent.

Past the estuary they came to the town of Catania, on a low hill at the end of a deep protected natural harbour. Colourful houses made of wood gave it a pleasant appearance, and beyond stretched wooded hills. To the east were shipyards, built on the banks of the little river that ran into the bay. Several ships were in the harbour, but it seemed large enough to hold a much greater number.

They docked at a wooden quay and the task of disembarking the troops and unicorns began. The latter had been curious and excited by the sea voyage, but were now eager to be ashore again. They were fidgety in consequence,, and their riders often had to soothe and comfort them as they waited to trot down the gangway. A large crowd of Catanians had gathered, fascinated by the sight of the unicorns.

Their leader, Philip Veracourt, arrived in the middle of the activity and greeted Andreas warmly. He was a vast piratical figure of a man, with red hair and a great flaming beard. Vera noticed with amusement the contrast between the two men – Philip, huge and commanding, fair-skinned and extrovert; Andreas, slim, brown and quiet. But they got on very well together, and the full story of the siege of Dragon Rock had to be told there and then, on the quayside surrounded by prancing unicorns and shouting humans.

At last the disembarkation was finished, and the cavalry rode off in column to a prepared campsite outside the town. The locals lined the road and cheered the splendid sight – the black-armoured riders with spears and shields on their mythical beasts. Philip turned to Andreas: “They are amazing creatures! However do you manage to tame them?”

“They are not tame beasts” he answered, “They are not just dumb animals, like horses. They’re as intelligent as we are, or more – they just lack speech and grasping hands. But they avalryknow them well enough.”

He stroked the side of Orion, who bent his head and rested his long sharp horn on his shoulder. “They choose to be our friends, and fight in our wars. But we would not ask them to do anything demeaning, or cruel, or against their nature. We are partners, not master and slave.”

“I understand” said Philip, “Let’s go to my house now. I have a meal and rooms ready for you – and for your unicorns.” So Andreas and Vera rode slowly up the road into the town, while Philip strode beside them and a crowd of excited citizens followed.

Very soon the new campaign against the Totalists was underway. Five hundred cavalry moved out from Catania through the hills and on to the plains, with a large force of Catanian infantry in support. They pushed steadily eastward, driving the enemy before them. From the north came Carolus with cavalry, infantry and new armed bodies of colonists. The Totalist forces withdrew steadily, as the two prongs of the attack headed southward and eastward towards the city of New Warsaw, north of the pod landing site on the inland sea.

And now the Totalists were making their final stand, on the hills west of New Warsaw. Brady had gathered all his forces, on top of a strongly defended ridge. The last battle would be a grim and bitter one, unless another way than direct assault could be found. Andreas rode back and found Vera, farther down the column of cavalry.

“What do you reckon?” he asked her. She surveyed the hill crest and then intervening slope.

“Very tricky. They’ll be well dug in at the top, and we’ll be charging uphill. We’re going to lose a lot of people attacking them there, even if we win. Any news of Carolus?”

“We just know he’s advancing southward, meeting occasional resistance. But it’ll be a few days yet before he gets here. We need to do something first. I’ll go and talk to Philip.”

He rode on past the cavalry to the van of the infantry, emerging from a track through the woods. Philip was leading them, gaudily dressed in bright armour and looking more like a pirate than ever. As Andreas rode up he hailed him gladly. “Have you caught up with the scoundrels yet?” he demanded.

Andreas pointed out the enemy positions and discussed the problem of attacking them. A map of the area was produced, and Andreas dismounted while they studied it. Vera rode up to join the impromptu council of war. At length Andreas pointed to an area on the far side of the hills. “Here” he said, “There seems to be a ridge leading up to their positions.”

“Yes, but it’s way over there, on the other side of those woods” objected Philip, “By the time we get round there they’ll have spotted us and it’ll be defended.”

“True” agreed Andreas, “But if you stay here with your infantry and some of the cavalry and look aggressive, that’ll keep their attention to the west. Meanwhile evening is coming on and I can slip away with most of the cavalry.”

“You’ll get lost in  the dark” complained Philip.

“I hope not. You wait till morning and then start an advance up the hill. Make it look good, but don’t take too many risks. I hope to get round and surprise them by then.”

Philip Veracourt was not used to taking orders from people, but he recognised the quiet authority of Andreas dal’Nostra and admired his exploits against their common enemy. So he agreed, and soon the whole Catanian army was encamped at the foot of the hill, obviously in readiness for battle in the morning. As dark fell Andreas, Vera and most of the cavalry rode quietly off south-eastward.

It soon grew dark, and the column of riders vanished into the gloom. Armontiriath’s three moons rose close together and shed some light on the countryside. Andreas tried to steer a steady course, but the broken and wooded countryside meant that the path of his army wound to and fro. Soon he found that he was letting Orion find the way – the unicorn seemed to have a sense of the lie of the country and to be confident in the direction he was going.

The long night wore on, and the line of mounted figures passed like ghosts through the woods and fields. At last Andreas called a halt in a wide open space between the trees. The moons were falling towards the west as he rode up to the top of a small knoll at the north end of the clearing. There he saw the outline of the hills to the north and west silhouetted against the stars, and just to the north the line of a ridge running up from  the east to join them. He looked carefully, and then rode back to Vera.

“We’ve made it” he said, “The ridge we want is just over there, I think. Let’s rest now and move on at dawn.”

Both humans and unicorns spread out round the clearing to rest, but no fires were lit and a rule of silence was strictly observed. Andreas did not try to rest, but leaned against a tree watching the sky to the north-west and the setting moons.

In the dim light before dawn the cavalry force formed up again, and rode from among the trees on to the open slope that led up on to the ridge. To Andreas’ right came Vera on her unicorn Diana, and to the left was the black banner of Armontiriath. Shields were unslung and spears held tightly as the black riders cantered steadily up the hill. There were no cries of alarm and in the growing light no sign of movement on the ridge.

By the time Orion reached the crest the daylight was strong and full morning had come. Andreas swung left and his soldiers followed him, riding along the ridge towards the enemy positions on the hill ahead. The track from New Warsaw to the Totalist defences ran along the ridge, but the only traffic they met was a loaded cart being hauled uphill by six men. When they saw the swift-moving black cavalry almost upon them they scattered and ran downhill, leaving the cart abandoned on  the path. The riders swept past it on either side and rode on towards the hill-top.

As they reached the crest of the hill the ground grew flatter and the speed of the advance increased. The column was now able to spread out into a wider formation, and together they surged towards the rear of the enemy positions. At last they were spotted, by small groups of pickets on guard at the rear of the Totalist position. A few arrows flew harmlessly at the advancing cavalry, and then the pickets broke and ran, and Andreas led his troops through to the top of the hill.

For a moment he paused, and gazed down to the south and west. A long curving palisade formed a defensive line between two thick clumps of trees, and the red and yellow infantry were massed behind it. Halfway up the hill was the advancing infantry of Catania, with  the rest of the cavalry hovering on its wings. Arrows were flying towards the attackers toiling up the hill, and a long and deadly fight seemed to be brewing. But Andreas stood up in his stirrups and called “Charge!” The horns answered him, and the cavalry of Armontiriath swept down on the rear of their foe.

At that moment the battle was over. The Totalist forces, taken in the rear by an unexpected charge of deadly cavalry, disintegrated in panic. Few even tried to fight – many leaped across the palisades and ran downhill to surrender to the Catanians. Most of the rest scattered in all directions. Andreas rode through a bewildered mass of ex-soldiers who scuttled frantically from his path. One stood fast and brandished a long sword, but Andreas struck him a ringing blow on the side of the head with the haft of his spear and the man fell over, stunned.

Then he was clear of the mob and slowed, looking around. A short distance away, higher up the hill, was the Totalist banner and beside it stood James Brady. Andreas quickened Orion to a canter and headed in that direction. As he approached he held his spear harmlessly upright and called out “It’s all finished, Brady! Surrender your men and let’s have peace!”

“It’s not finished yet” replied his one-time friend and colleague, “I shall play the game to the end.”

From a holster he brought out a handgun, the same weapon that had killed Commander O’Brien and Captain Nolton, and which Swingman had used at the battle of Dragon Rock. Fresh bullets were in its magazine and Brady aimed it steadily at Andreas’ chest as he sat halted only a few metres away. He felt no fear, only a kind of wonder about what was going to happen. The sheath of Kaalkuhn was slung about him, but he made no attempt to draw the sword or to protect himself with his shield.

Brady squeezed the trigger and the gun exploded in his hand. With an animal scream he fell to the ground clutching his shattered fingers. For a brief moment Andreas looked down at him, and then he pointed his spear at a soldier standing near the flagpole and indicated that he should tend his fallen leader. He thrust the point of the spear into the ground and drew his sword. Orion walked the short distance to the pole and Andreas swung the thin blue blade lightly through the air. The last banner of the Totalist army fell to the ground.

Andreas surveyed the battle. There was little fighting still going on. The soldiers of Catania were swarming over and through the undefended palisade and rounding up prisoners. The cavalry was still riding about the hill, herding the demoralised enemy into groups where they could be disarmed. Vera rode up on Diana and glanced down at Brady, still moaning on the ground.

“I see you got the bastard” she commented, “His army’s just about given up the fight.”

“Brady did that to himself” replied Andreas, “I didn’t try to harm him. The war’s over, and there will be no more fighting and no reprisals. Get the cavalry together. The Catanians can clear up here, but we need to get to New Warsaw today.” Vera saluted with her spear and rode off.

From the hilltop Andreas looked south towards the blue expanse of the Inland Sea. Not far away were the twin shapes of the great colony pods, beached on the shore where they had landed. Near them he could faintly see the black crater where the Grey Fort had stood, before the nuclear fires of Diana had blasted it. And due east from the hill where he stood was the main settlement and chief city of Armontiriath, New Warsaw, which had been the Totalists’ capital and now had to be informed that their rule was at an end.

After Philip Veracourt had reached them on the hilltop and been told of their plans, the cavalry troop left the Catanians to the task of securing the surrendered army and trotted off eastwards once more. They followed the long ridge back down to the wooded lowlands, pausing only briefly to eat some of their rations at noon. By early afternoon the city of New Warsaw was in sight, and the people of the town peered out cautiously from their houses to watch the arrival of the strange newcomers.

The city had no walls or gates and was built mainly of low wooden houses on an open plan. The cavalry of Armontiriath trotted into the town on the main road from the west, spears held upright and with the black banner flying boldly at the front. More and more of the citizns of the town crowded to the side of the road. First they were silent, then they began to talk together in low voices, an then louder. Word spread: “The Totalists are defeated – we are free! Free!”

The cheering began, only a few voices at first, and then hundreds joined the clamour. Amid shouts and cheering, joy and relief, Andreas led his riders into the central square of New Warsaw.

There stood the Grand Hall, the tallest and most splendid building in the city, built of stone and roofed with slate. It was not just the main meeting hall, but the palace and offices of the Totalist regime. The soldiers that guarded it had fled, or discarded their weapons and melted into the civilian populace. Now it was silent and empty, except for a single figure that stood at the top of the main steps just in front of the great double doors. Andreas commanded his followers to halt and rode forward alone. It was Mary Upbinder, and in her arms she held a small baby.

“Hello Mary” he said gently, “It’s been a long time.”

“Where’s James?” was the only answer she gave, “Have you killed him?”

“No. He tried to kill me, but his gun exploded. His hand is wounded, but not by me. The war is over now and we can live in peace. Don’t you believe me, Mary?”

“I don’t know what to believe!” she burst out, and began to weep. Andreas dropped his spear, and dismounting from Orion ran up the steps to put his arms around her. For a short while she rested her head on his shoulders and then stood upright, holding her child more tightly to herself.

“So is it all finished now?” she asked, “Is this finally the end of everything?”

“No” he replied, smiling at her, “It’s not the end, it’s the beginning. What happens now will be much, much greater than what’s gone before. We have a whole planet to enjoy, all of us together.”

And arm in arm he led her into the Grand Hall, and the men and women of the army and of the city followed them inside.

Chapter 12

Light came, and touched redly on the clouded peak of the secret mountain. Gradually the daylight strengthened and showed the castle of Dragon Rock and its besiegers. Rank upon rank they were assembled, all facing the black wall that stood between them and total victory. Looking down, Andreas saw the great wide breach that had been blasted in that wall and the determined band of defenders massed behind it. The red and yellow banners waved above the Totalist forces and they gave a great shout as their steady advance began.

Then Andreas raised his eyes and on the crest of the long slope to the east he saw a black speck. It grew and became a great black banner carried by a rider on a unicorn. Another rider appeared, and another, and soon the whole ridge was filled with mounted figures, sharp against the sunrise. Faint but clear came the sounds of horns blowing, and the cavalry of Armontiriath surged down the slope.

On they came, an unstoppable mass, and their sharp spears and loud horns struck terror into the hearts of the infantry of Swingman, suddenly aware of the peril in their rear. Those in the rear began to look for ways of escape, but they were hemmed in by the army between them and the castle. Many threw down their weapons and ran aimlessly hither and thither. On came the cavalry of Armontiriath, and in the van rode two figures – Vera and Carolus, battle companions and lovers, leading the charge on to the rear of the Totalist forces.

Andreas gazed for a long minute on that sight, and then turned and ran down the tower stairs. In the courtyard at the bottom some 30 riders were waiting, and there was Orion saddled and ready to go. Andreas grabbed his spear and shield and swung himself on to the unicorn’s back.

“Open the gate!” he cried, as he waved the small band forward with a sweeping motion of his spear. The castle gate was swung open and before them was the long wall with its gaping breach. Irma was leading the castle’s infantry through the breach and the twin gates of the outer wall were already being opened, with some difficulty over the rubble-strewn ground. Soon there was a wide enough gap for the riders to file through.

Between the overlapping walls Andreas urged Orion into a canter, and at the end of the outer wall he swung right into the open and his companions followed. “Armontiriath!” he yelled and Orion broke into a gallop.

The group of riders raced towards the advancing enemy, who were hesitant and unsure of what was happening in the rear. Now suddenly an unknown force riding strange beasts was assaulting them, and most of the heppers scattered out of the way. Through the first ranks rode the black cavalry, and any who stood firm against them were pierced by sharp spears and trampled by flashing hoofs. “Armontiriath!” they cried, and from the east came an answering cry “Armontiriath! Armontiriath!”

The ranks of red and yellow halted and parted, unsure and suddenly afraid. Behind the riders came ranks of black infantry, filled with new purpose and hope. They advanced against the superior numbers of their enemies, but found them loathe to fight, milling in confusion as the structure of their army disintegrated.

Through them all rode Andreas on Orion with his thirty riders, and few even tried to oppose him. One officer swung at him with his axe, trying to rally his men, but Andreas stabbed with his spear and the Totalist fell. The shaft of the spear broke in two and he flung away the remaining half.

He saw now that he had ridden through a large part of the opposing army and that before him was the motor wagon bearing the Totalist banner. On a platform behind the driver stood Swingman himself in his splendid armour, holding his great golden shield. Beside him stood James Brady. The driver was frantically trying to start the vehicle’s engine, but without success. He jumped from his seat and ran to the back of the wagon. Swingman raised his eyes and saw Andreas on Orion riding towards him. He drew a handgun from a holster and levelled it coolly at his approaching foe.

Andreas urged Orion forward. With his right hand he drew from its sheath the alien sword Kaalkuhn and its thin blue blade gleamed as he held it up. With his left hand he held his plain black shield, marked only with the gold disc and six silver stars, before his body. A shot rang out and a bullet-hole appeared in the top edge of the shield. Other shots were fired in quick succession, but none found its target. One glanced lightly from the side of his helmet but Andreas remained unscathed.

Lowering his shield he saw that his charge had brought him almost to the carriage, and that Swingman was out of ammunition.

With a snarl of frustration Swingman thrust the useless gun at Brady and picked up a long-handled battle-axe. As Andreas came alongside and halted, shield to shield, he swung it above his head and shouted “Die, you fool!” But the Sword of Night met the weapon on its down-stroke and sheared through the shaft like a scythe through straw. The axe-head flew off harmlessly and Swingman was left weaponless. He ducked his body behind the heavy gilded shield.

For a brief moment Andreas felt a great sense of pity for Swingman, despite his bitter hatred for all he stood for. He remembered the words of Aarken and saw that the Totalist leader had been just a tool, a pawn, driven by a darker power.

But he did not hesitate, and he thrust the point of his slim blue sword at the centre of the golden shield. It went through it as there were nothing there, piercing steel and cloth and flesh in the same way it cut the air. Swingman gave a terrible cry, and as Andreas withdrew the blade he fell slowly from the carriage to lie sprawled on top of his shield on the ground. Andreas looked up from the corpse to find Brady, but he had slipped down on the far side of the wagon and vanished.

Andreas gazed about him. All around the Totalist army was disintegrating, like a sandcastle when the tide comes in. What had seemed so strong and invincible was now a random collection of individuals seeking to flee or surrender or save themselves in any way they could. From Dragon Rock came all the infantry of Armontiriath led by Irma Sebastiane, and they found no serious opposition. From the east came the cavalry, and none stayed to fight them.

At last through the screaming running hordes of red and yellow came the van of the attack, mounted on beautiful long-horned unicorns. Carolus and Vera were there, and they spotted Andreas by the abandoned wagon and rode joyfully towards him.

“Hey, Andreas!” called Carolus, “We came, as we said we would. This is a great battle, isn’t it?”

“Battle?” laughed Vera, “This is no battle. The heppers can’t surrender fast enough. The fighting’s just about over now. Where’s Swingman?”

“There” said Andreas, pointing with his sword to where the body lay in its magnificent armour.

“Who killed him? Did you?” asked Vera.

“Yes. At the end I did not want to, but it had to be done. Let’s try and stop any more killing now, if we can. And find James Brady – we need to capture him, and finish off this whole business quickly.”

And so the work of the day went on. There was little more fighting, but a lot of rounding up and penning in of surrendered heppers, of chasing groups of fleeing troops across the plains and forcing them to halt, and other business of that sort. The cavalry were everywhere, and very few of the mighty army that had crossed the Rift escaped back across it.

But one of those was Brady. In the afternoon, when all the work of the day was almost over, Vera reported to Andreas that he had not been found. Andreas was standing by Orion in the makeshift command centre he had set up about a kilometre from the gate of Dragon Rock. The captured heppers were huddled on the cliff edge north of the castle, hemmed in by watchful soldiers of Armontiriath.

“Damn!” said Andreas when he heard the news, “If he escapes then our work is not yet over. We have dealt them a heavy blow, but not conquered them in this one battle. Victory is not yet certain, and Brady’s escape makes it more problematic.”

Vera nodded and rode off again to intensify the search for Brady and other fleeing Totalists.

Later, as the sun began to sink towards the western sea, Andreas rode back towards the castle gate. He looked up at the fortress, still proudly standing with its tall tower and black banners. But it had been badly battered, and the marks of the catapult bombardment and the explosive charges were clear on its fabric. The great breach was like a gaping wound in the flank of a brave animal.

“We shall set the captured heppers to work” he said to Carolus, riding by his side, “They can repair the damage they have done, and make the castle stronger and more secure than ever before.”

Carolus laughed and said he thought it was a sound idea. Even in its battered state he was impressed by the castle of Dragon Rock, which now he saw for the first time and whose siege he had helped to raise.

From the gate came Alicia, walking quickly. She had worked all day as hard as anyone, arranging treatment for the wounded of both sides and burial for the dead. Now she cam swiftly out to meet Andreas.

“Congratulations” she called out to him, “You have won a great victory, without too much bloodshed.”

“Don’t congratulate me” responded Andreas, “The success was won by our cavalry, led by Vera and Carolus here. But for them we should be dead by now.”

“It was all your plan” protested Carolus, but then he fell silent as he saw that Alicia was waiting to impart some news.

“From the tower” she reported, “a sentry, looking southwards, has spotted a sailing ship upon the sea. It is a large vessel, and coming to land in the bay south of here. Shall we send messengers to meet it?”

“Yes, we must. This is very strange. I shall go myself. Come on, Carolus, you can ride with me. No rest yet for us.”

And they turned their mounts, and with a small force of cavalry galloped along the coast to meet this new arrival.

Chapter 11

Events moved quickly after Andreas returned to Dragon Rock. No-one commented on his absence, or on his newly acquired sword and helmet. But now he understood the reason for this, and put it from his mind. Hans Olfach had arrived with his engineers and rock-cutting equipment, and plans were being drawn up for the castle on Dragon Rock. Work began on the foundations and on cutting the black basalt into square building blocks. The whole area crawled with urgent activity.

Andreas went to see Alicia in her tent one evening and showed her his design for a flag. “We need a banner and a symbol to rally our army around – what do you think?” he asked.

She studied the rough drawing. On a black background was a gold disc, with the silhouette of a flying dragon in black against the gold. Equally spaced around the central disc were six silver stars. “What does it all symbolise?” she asked.

“The gold disc is this world, Armontiriath. The dragon is its symbol. The six stars are the ones that Diana visited, including Earth’s sun and the sun here.”

“Very good, Andreas. Shall I get some banners made like this for all the companies?”

“Yes please. I’ll take some to Carolus and Vera, because I plan to go over there to see how they’re getting on.”

In a few days the black flags were ready, and one was hoisted on a tall pole over the building works at Dragon Rock. Andreas rode out with an escort of six riders and headed east. They rode steadily but with no great haste, studying the countryside that they travelled across. It was beautiful, rich and hilly and dotted with woods. Swift streams ran through green valleys and unknown creatures darted through the trees.

The flying creatures named eyes-of-God (‘eog’ for short) were plentiful and became quite tame, following the riders and settling on them or their mounts. The secret mountain was no longer in sight, and they rode on into unknown lands.

At last they came to the wooded and hilly region of Cavalry Woods, and early one morning they spotted a group of riders coming towards them. They galloped up, their unicorns tossing their horns and fanning their crests, and surrounded the travellers. Their leader, a young woman, hailed them seriously and Andreas asked to be taken to the cavalry commanders.

By mid-morning he was at the main camp, deep in the woods. Carolus and Vera were both there and greeted him warmly. Yet as they talked, He could feel a sense of reserve from them and wondered at it. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed a glance of special intimacy between them, and then he realised. Inwardly he smiled, and thought that once he might have been jealous. But since his visit to the secret mountain those days were over, and he was glad that Carolus and Vera had found each other.

They discussed the cavalry force, and Andreas was told about their training and the fact that they now had more mounts than riders. He promised to send more troops from Dragon Rock and the Rift garrisons to swell their ranks. He presented them with their black standards and told them of the battle-cry of “Armontiriath!” Then they discussed the strategy for when Swingman’s forces crossed the Rift, which they agreed could not be long delayed.

“You must lie hidden till then, and not move or be observed until the time is right” said Andreas. “How can I send you a signal? We need to be able to communicate without the heppers’ knowledge.”

“The eyes-of-God are very tame” said Vera, “and there are lots of them round here. They can be trained, I believe, to carry messages.”

She whistled, and a large pair of wings crowned with dazzling eyes flew to her and settled on her head. She laughed and placed it on her hand and held it out for Andreas to see. Others flew in circles round the three humans. Vera suddenly flung her hand in the air so that the creature flew up, and pointed to a clump of trees. The eog flew quickly to the trees, circled them and returned. “See!” she cried, “They are intelligent and loving and will serve us.”

“I believe you” said Andreas, “and I hope your cavalry can be trained as well as the eogs.”

“Come and see” offered Carolus, “Ride with us a little way and we shall give you a display.”

The three leaders rode their mounts out of the trees to the edge of the plain. In the distance was a large body of riders. Vera raised her hand and gave a loud and piercing cry. Far of the cavalry began to move, and to spread out into a broad front heading straight for them. Just to the fore rode three riders with the new black standards streaming in the wind of their onrush. Horns and eyes flashed and crests fluttered. The riders crouched low behind their shields, spears levelled at the three watchers.

On they charged, and then split into two sections, which raced past on either side. “Armontiriath!” they cried in a loud voice as they passed, and were gone, up and over the slope behind.

“Very impressive” commented Andreas, “If they scare Swingman like they just scared me, we should be OK. But you need more riders – I’ll send more troops for you to train when I get back to Dragon Rock.”

The next day Andreas rode south, with his new tame eog, Hana, perched on Orion’s head. He left strict orders for the cavalry to stay hidden, taking no chance of detection, and not to use the radio. As he rode off with his six escorts he turned in the saddle and looked back. Vera and Carolus were watching him from a small hill. As he looked, they embraced quickly and then mounted and rode back into the trees.

After a hard and steady ride the small company reached the Rift forts and Simon’s forces defending them. The forts were completed, overlooking the obvious routes that led up from below. Andreas stood on the battlements and looked out over the green misty void of the great gorge. The southern edge, just a few kilometres away, seemed silent and peaceful.

“Any news of what’s going on over there?” he asked Simon.

“We still get some people slipping across to join us. They report that all the civilians have been swept away from the neighbourhood of the Rift, and the heppers are there in force. Swingman is massing a great army to crush us it seems.”

“Yes, he must, or face failure and defeat. He will come soon, and force a crossing of the Rift.”

“We can’t stop him. There are too many places he can get across. We patrol up and down, but we can’t defend everywhere. If he wants to cross, he can do it.”

“When they cross, you must put up a good fight, but not allow yourselves to be bottled up and destroyed. When it gets too hot, withdraw north-westwards. I’ll station a garrison at the river crossing to defend it. Fall back on there, and we can make a stand before retreating to Dragon Rock. They must be drawn to follow us there in force, but not overwhelm us before we reach it.”

“I understand. I think we can do it. I just wish they would come soon.”

“So do I. Stay alert. Use the radio to keep in touch. I want the heppers to hear us, so that they know the location of Dragon Rock and realise it is our main stronghold.”

Soon Andreas was on the road back to Dragon Rock, across the open green hills that he had covered with the army. His party rode swiftly and after only a day and a half the smell of the sea came to him and he spied again the shrouded peak of the secret mountain. When he reached Dragon Rock he found the new castle almost complete.

A great black wall sealed off the whole peninsula, with a single gate. The two halves of the wall overlapped, so that the gate faced sideways and could not be attacked from in front. Catapults and fixed crossbows were being set up on the battlements. Behind rose the main castle, with a great square central tower built from the black basalt of the outcrop. It was designed to dominate the landscape and attract the attention of the Totalists.

Beneath it were dormitories, armouries and some stables for unicorns. A strong curtain wall with low towers surrounded the main keep, though to the rear it was much lower, since the sheer cliffs dropping down to the sea were reckoned adequate defence.

As the construction was almost finished, Andreas arranged to send some of the troops to Carolus and Vera to be trained as cavalry. Another force of experienced spearmen and archers was sent to defend the river crossing on the road from the Rift. Armontiriath’s summer was starting in those latitudes, and the air was getting warmer though not oppressively hot.

Andreas was relieved when the preparations were mostly completed, and still Swingman had made no move. He began to wonder if his plans were workable, or if he had been betrayed by overconfidence into sacrificing his army and his friends.

* * * * *

Days passed. Andreas moved into a small room at the top of the main tower of Dragon Rock. Rain swept across the land, and seas crashed into the bright cliffs. Then came the morning sun again, and a messenger hammering urgently on the door of his chamber. A radio message from Simon – the attack had begun. The Totalists had swarmed over the Rift in several places and fighting was heavy. Andreas sent a quick message of acknowledgement, flung on his gear, and prepared to ride south.

In half an hour he was cantering through the main gateway of the black fortress, sword at this side, helmet on his head and shield slung on the saddle. The twin gates crashed shut behind him and he urged Orion to a fast gallop. They rode all day at a punishing pace, and only rested for a few hours in the dark of the night. Before dawn Andreas was on his way again, and by mid-morning he had reached the fortified hill overlooking the river crossing.

As he reached the foot of the hill he dismounted from Orion and took up his shield. “Go back now” he told the intelligent beast, turning his head to the north-west, “Go back quickly.” The graceful unicorn looked at his rider once, and then set off rapidly back the way they had come. Andreas knew he would soon find his way back to Dragon Rock.

At the top of the hill he was met by Tanya Francini, the commander of the force guarding the river crossing. “What’s going on?” he asked.

She led him to the crest of the hill and pointed to the south. Groups of black-clad figures were moving towards the hill from the direction of the forest, and in the distance a larger body was obviously fighting a rearguard action. Beyond them was a mass of red and yellow, the hordes of Swingman who had crossed the Rift.

“The Rift forts have gone” said Tanya, “and the garrisons are retreating here. See – I have sent out a force to support them.”

Down below a large group of black spearmen and archers was crossing the river and moving quickly towards the black rearguard. They split in two, and marched to engage the enemy on both flanks of the retreating troops. Andreas hurried down the hill, passing through the palisade of sharpened stakes and the ranks of tensely waiting men and women, until he reached the riverbank. Troops were splashing back through the water, some wounded and others worn out by the hard-fought retreat. At length the last of the rearguard was on the far bank and began to cross. The Totalists halted and waited, watching them go.

Almost last to cross was Irma Sebastiane, now second-in-command of the Rift forces. One arm was broken and bound in a dirty sling. The other hand held a battered sword, and there was blood on her face. Andreas supported her as she stumbled ashore.

“There were thousands of them” she gasped, “They swarmed all over us. We fought as long as we could, but it was no good.”

“That’s OK” said Andreas gently, “Everything’s fine. Where’s Simon?”

“Dead. He was with the rearguard leaving the last fort. He cut it too fine – they chopped his little force to pieces.” She let go of Andreas and straightened up. “I’m in charge of the Rift Company now – what are your orders?”

“Get your people back to Dragon Rock as fast as you can. I know you’re all beat, but you need to get on the move as soon as possible.”

“I’d rather stay here and kill some more of the bastards.”

“Maybe. But we’ll take over now and hold them up here for a bit. I want everyone back in Dragon Rock with as few casualties as possible. We’re not going to beat them here, in the open.”

“You won’t beat them at all, Andreas. There’s too many of them. Just look.”

Andreas turned and looked across the river. To the south still more bodies of red and yellow soldiers were marching up. The whole land seemed alive with them, advancing towards his little army like a remorseless tide. It was an ominous sight. After gazing for a moment, he and Irma began to plod silently up the hill.

Once back inside the palisade, Andreas took command of the defensive force. Scouts were posted far out on both flanks to warn of enemy crossings to either side, but from the hilltop it seemed that the Totalists were massing their forces to roll over the little army that was in their way. Once he had made his few preparations there was little to do but wait. To the north-west he could see the Rift Company trudging away towards the far-off security of Dragon Rock.

After a long tense period of waiting, the heppers suddenly moved. A long rolling cry of “HEP! HEP! HEP!” signalled their advance. They poured across the river and began to climb the slope. A hail of arrows met them and the advance faltered. More topps pushed in from behind and the upward surge continued. The deadly rain of arrows left crumpled bodies on the hillside or floating in the water, but on they came.

Some reached the palisade and tried to climb over the stakes, but now the spearmen thrust with their sharp points. “Armontiriath!” they cried as they jabbed. After what seemed like hours of screaming and killing, the attack slackened. The heppers began to withdraw, pursued still by flights of arrows. The dead and wounded stayed on the hillside, and the rest retreated beyond the river. The first attack was beaten off.

All afternoon the pattern was repeated. Andreas lost count of the number of assaults. Each was repulsed, but it seemed with increasing difficulty. The heppers suffered enormous casualties, many more than his own troops, yet more enemy forces were still streaming up from the south. Time was on Swingman’s side.

At last came the word that he had been expecting – the enemy were crossing the river far out on either flank. It was time to move out, before they were outflanked and surrounded. As the last attack was flung back in bloody ruin, he gave the order to begin the withdrawal.

It was evening now and growing dark. As the weary army quickly scrambled down the northern slope, fires of green wood were lit on the crest behind the palisade. Clouds of dense smoke rolled down the hill, blotting the summit from the sight of the Totalists. When at last they advanced cautiously through the choking clouds, they found that the defenders had gone and night had come.

The retreat went on, slowly and painfully. The kilometres to Dragon Rock seemed endless. Regularly Andreas turned at bay with his little force and struck at the pursuing enemy who were getting too close. Then the slow withdrawal went on. At last came the morning when the black tower of Dragon Rock showed above the horizon. The last lap seemed longest of all to the exhausted infantry, but fresh troops came from the castle and held up the advance guard of the enemy while Andreas’ soldiers struggled through the great gate.

The remaining troops outside turned and moved smartly back to the protection of the wall. The Totalists marched in pursuit. A volley of rocks and bolts struck them from the catapults and crossbows on the wall, and they withdrew hurriedly. The last soldier passed through the gates and they slowly slammed together. The siege of Dragon Rock had begun.

All that day the heppers poured up from the south, and set up their camp before the castle on the peninsula. The ground to the horizon seemed to be filled with red and yellow, and their banners sprang up on every side. Andreas watched their growing numbers from the top of the great tower, and Alicia came and stood with him.

“So many people” she said, “coming together to kill each other. Isn’t there a better way to settle these things?”

“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a way to stop tyrants, to bring freedom and justice and overthrow the power of evil men, without fighting or killing. I don’t know what it is, and now we’re so deep into this war that there is no end in sight, until we are dead or Swingman is. Perhaps after that we can look for a better way.”

Alicia shook her head, but made no other response. Looking southward, Andreas saw an unusual object coming across the plain past the advancing hordes. It was a motorised vehicle, and he studied it closely through his binoculars as it approached. It had four large wheels and the driver sat on a low seat at the front.

Behind was an open compartment, and in it rode Albert Swingman in red and yellow armour. He carried a great gold shield and a long battle-axe, and looked in truth the mighty ruler of a great army.

“Good grief!” said Andreas, passing the binoculars to Alicia, “They must have had a job getting that wagon across the Rift. Probably had to take it apart.”

“Do you see who’s beside Swingman?” asked Alicia, handing the binoculars back to him. He looked and swore. “Brady! Sitting there beside his mighty lordship!”

The wagon came on, past all the massed troops of red and yellow, and halted just out of range of the catapults on the wall. A knot of people gathered round it, and for a while nothing happened. Then a lone figure strode towards the castle bearing a pole with a large white flag. He halted close to the great gate and cried out in a loud voice: “Ahoy! Inside the castle! My lord requests a truce and a parley! Will you come forth?”

From the battlements Irma called back: “Wait. Get out of range of my bow and I’ll see what reply you’ll get.”

So it was that in a little while the gate opened slightly, and out stepped Andreas, with Irma and a soldier who held a white flag of truce in her hand. Irma had her broken arm strapped to her body, but the other hand rested firmly on the hilt of her sheathed sword. In silence the three tramped away from the wall towards the place where the other white flag waited. Two more men had joined the herald – one was James Brady.

“Hello, Andreas” he said as they approached, “I’m glad to see you still well. It’s been a long time.”

“Yes” he responded, “A long time since you betrayed us and killed our captain. What do you have to say to us?”

“My master is merciful, and I have pleaded with him to spare you and save bloodshed. You can see our army, and you know that you are cornered now. Further resistance is quite futile – even you must have the sense to see that, Andreas. We can crush you and your little army any time we like. But my master offers you fair terms, as a sign that you have misjudged him and his plans for this world.”

“What terms?”

“If you give up this rebellion and acknowledge him as lord and ruler of the whole planet, he will not only spare your lives but give you, Andreas, the rule over this northern region beyond the Great Rift. Under him as overlord, of course.”

“Is that all?”

“Only a few other minor points need to be settled. Of course, you would disarm and disband your forces and allow units of the PSF to be stationed in key garrisons throughout the province. For the sake of peace and security, you realise.”

“I realise your offer is a fraud and a trick. Swingman hopes to gain our subjection without even fighting for it. Tell him we are free, and we will remain so. Before we call him lord we shall all die!”

“You are a fool, Andreas dal’Nostra. So, goodbye. I have done my best for you.” Brady turned on his heel and began to stride away. But Andreas said “Wait!” in a tone of such command that he was halted despite himself and turned to face his old companion once more.

“You have not yet heard my offer to Swingman, your lord and master” said Andreas in cold clear tones, “It is this: he may disband his armies and give up his claim to be overlord of anyone, and free his prisoners and give recompense to those he has harmed. Then he may live in peace and freedom, with those who freely wish to go with him, and with enough land to suit his needs.”

Brady laughed at him. “You really are mad. Swingman won’t even listen to your offer. You are like a mouse offering terms to the cat that has it cornered. Go back to your little castle, and wait there till we stamp you flat. Keep your laughable terms!”

“Then” said Andreas, and his hand gripped the hilt of Kaalkuhn, “I pronounce doom on him, on you and all his followers. He shall die, and you will despair, and they shall be scattered and broken. It will be as I have said. Farewell.”

He turned and with a gesture to his companions walked back to the castle. Brady stared long after him, before turning to report to his overlord.

“You sure told him where to get off” commented Irma on the way back, “I liked what you said at the end – I only wish it was true.”

“It is true, Irma, I wasn’t threatening but foretelling. But there are still dark times ahead.”

Together they re-entered the gate, and Andreas climbed alone to his small chamber at the top of the tower. He flung his sword and sheath on to the bed, and called softly for Hana, his eog. The little creature fluttered up from its bed of straw in the corner and settled on his shoulder, its bright wings spread out on either side.

“Come” said Andreas, “there’s work for you to do.” He sat at the table and wrote a message on a small piece of paper, using the code he had agreed with Vera. The message was simple: “They are here. Come soon and in secret. Andreas.” He tied it gently to the eog’s slender body and carried it to the roof of the tower.

As he stood in the evening sunshine with the frail creature on his hand, Andreas thought for a moment about the strange and beautiful native animals of Armontiriath. He felt a sudden deep and savage regret that humans had come and involved them in their stupid wars. Then he raised his hand – “Go to Vera” he said, and repeated it twice.

The eog spread its glorious wings and the eyes on them seemed to regard him steadily for a moment. Then it sprang into the air, and he watched it rise up smoothly and set off eastward, lit by the rays of the setting sun. It flew high over the ranks of the enemy and they paid it no heed. He watched until it disappeared from sight, a bright dot in the east, and then went below again.

That night was a time of watchful tension, but no attack was made on the besieged castle. On the mainland the campfires of the enemy could be seen scattered across the countryside, but by dawn they had mostly died down. Daylight revealed an even greater host encamped before Dragon Rock than the last sun had shown, and more were still arriving from the south-east.

Soon after dawn the first attack was launched, by a great mass of troops bearing hastily-made ladders. They were met by a hail of arrows and rocks from the wall, and the ladders were dislodged as soon as they were set up. After a fierce but fruitless struggle the Totalists withdrew again out of range.

There were no more attacks that day, and the enemy stayed out of range of the catapults in the castle. But in the afternoon the watchers in the tower saw far off in the south-east slowly moving shapes approaching. Teams of slaves were dragging great wooden machines – catapults bigger and more powerful than those upon the walls. As night fell, the great engines were being manhandled into position, out of range of anything in the castle.

With dawn the bombardment began. Great rocks were flung high over the wall to smash into the defences behind. The troops of Armontiriath took shelter in the castle or behind the wall to escape the rain of deadly stone fragments. As the enemy found the range, the rocks began to crash down on or near the battlements on top of the wall. The defenders took cover, and watched as the catapults and fixed crossbows were smashed to splinters, and pieces of the stonework were broken and flung aside.

Suddenly the rocks ceased to fall. The Totalist forces flung themselves again at the black stone barrier. Up to the battlements ran the archers, and deadly arrows fell upon the attackers. A long hard struggle took place before the battered defences, before at last the Totalists withdrew, leaving their dead at the wall’s foot. Once more the great rocks flew through the sir to crash upon the defenders’ positions.

So the long day wore on, and only at nightfall did the bombardment cease. A fitful peace reigned over Dragon Rock and the garrison rested uneasily, awaiting the next alarm. At dawn the rain of missiles began again. Greater forces of infantry were massing in front of the walls, and those within prepared for a fresh assault.

When it came it was fiercer, bloodier and longer than any before. Only in the early afternoon did the red and yellow hordes withdraw, and only by the barest margin were they kept from swarming over the wall. The bombardment began again, and the defenders withdrew into their holes and shelters.

The sun set, reddening the western sea, and the Totalist catapults ceased their onslaught. Yet a brooding menace filled the night, and Andreas sat or stood watchful on top of the castle tower, lit by a single lamp as a token of defiance to the forces of Swingman. He gazed eastward and wondered. The three moons of Armontiriath rose and shone together, lighting the landscape with an elvish sheen. The campfires of the enemy glowed and flickered, massed in ranks against this last outpost against their dominion.

The night was split by a red flash and a dull echoing boom. From below came cries of fright and surprise. Andreas gripped the stone of the battlement and stared down. He turned to a nearby soldier: “Find out what’s happened! Quick!” She turned and fled down the stairs.

After what seemed like an age, but was in fact only a few minutes, she returned with Irma close behind. Her face was grim and set. “They have crept up to the wall and set explosive charges in the night” she reported, “A whole section of the wall is breached. We are massing to defend it, but it is a very wide gap. So far all is quiet, and the enemy has not attacked.”

“No” said Andreas, “they will wait for the light, and then mean to finish us.”

He stared eastward again, watching for the first hint of dawn. It could not be long delayed now. As he watched, a brief flicker of motion caught his eye. Then it came, a flash of bright wings circling the lamp and swooping towards him. Hana the eog settled on his outstretched hand. Andreas gently removed the message for the slender body. It was not in code. In the lamplight he read it: “We are ready. Give the signal. Vera.”

Andreas handed the eog to the sentry, and it perched on her shoulder while she stroked it. He turned to Irma. “Get all the forces you can muster armed and ready. Tell the riders to prepare and be mounted in the courtyard by dawn. Let them get Orion ready for me, too. Don’t look at me like that – there’s no time to lose.”

Irma turned and ran down the stairs again. Andreas spoke to the officer commanding the tower: “Launch a red signal rocket, at once, please.” The man was startled, but immediately began to prepare the small rocket launcher. Within a few minutes the darkness was split by a tongue of fire as the rocket sprang into the sly, exploding into a brilliant red flare which briefly illuminated both the castle and the enemy forces, washing them in the colour of blood and fire.

Then it faded and darkness came again. The Totalist commanders wondered briefly what it signified, and then continued with plans for the final assault. Andreas still stood gazing eastward, waiting for the dawn of the day of decision.

Chapter 10

It was mid-afternoon on the next day when the long marching column reached the coast. To the north Andreas could still see the clouds that hung upon the slopes of the distant mountain, but he was the only one that seemed to be looking that way. Straight ahead lay the sea, bounded by a wide curving bay of tall cliffs. Andreas angled the line of march to the left, where he could see a headland jutting out into the bay.

The far end of the headland was formed by a large mass of black rock, showing up stark and clear against the blue sea beyond. The riders led the column on to the spit of land that joined the mainland to the black rock. They halted and looked north and south, along the sweeping coastline of the great bay.

They sat in their saddles and stared in wonder. On each side, but more to the north, the bay stretched, bounded by tall cliffs. But those cliffs shone and sparkled, flinging back the sun’s light in a million dazzling beams, almost blinding in their brilliance. The sight stunned the watching humans, so unreal and unearthly it seemed.

Andreas was shaken for a moment. He had come to feel he knew this planet, and that it was a second Earth, in some ways more pleasant than the original, but familiar and comfortable. But now the mysterious mountain and the glittering cliffs had shaken his sense of familiarity and he was made aware he was on an alien world. He rode to the cliff edge and gazed northwards. Far off the mountain still loomed, but he turned his eyes to the shining cliff walls nearby.

For about 30 metres from the top the rock was pure and white, like the chalk cliffs of England far away. But from there to the sea some 150 metres below the rock changed to a kind of translucent crystal, like quartz. Trapped within its surface Andreas could see veins of different colours that caught the light. Many of the veins were gold or silver, and he felt sure that the cliffs contained a vast amount of the precious metals.

Far off along the line of glittering cliffs he saw a flash of white and a cloud of spray. A river must be plunging over the cliff and into the sea, raising a billowing cloud that rose almost as high as the clifftop itself.

Andreas turned in the saddle and gave the order to make camp. The army dispersed to the tasks involved in preparing a site by a small stream, about half a kilometre back from the cliff. When Orion was unsaddled and contentedly munching sunbread leaves, Andreas left the camp and walked back along the out-thrust headland.

The sun was sinking towards the sea as he began to scramble over the blocks of black basalt. He came to the summit of the jumbled rocks and looked round on all sides. At his feet the sea hammered at the sheer sides of the black outcrop. The cliffs on either side flung back the light of the setting sun in many-coloured shards. Andreas turned to stare westwards, across the unknown ocean.

Far off a speck appeared in the sky. It grew swiftly and steadily into the figure of a flying creature, heading for the rock on which he stood. Its exact size was unguessable, but the speed with which it travelled must have been incredible. Details became clear – two great bat-like wings springing from a narrow ridged body, long neck and tail, and a small pointed head with blazing eyes. It was quite black, with no markings on its body.

It banked in the air over Andreas’ head, and headed now towards the secret mountain in the north. Andreas watched, stunned to stillness, as it shrank again to a flying speck before vanishing completely into the permanent cloud that shrouded the unseen peak.

The sun touched the western horizon and he became aware again of his surroundings. He climbed down the rocky pilevin the gathering dark and walked briskly back towards the bright glow of the many camp fires that were springing up. As he entered the camp he realised that none but he had seen the flying visitor.

At that moment he remembered what he had long forgotten – the Deep Ones of Poseidon and their words to him: “We shall give you a gift – a gift of seeing what is hidden and knowing what is secret.” Brooding on these memories he wandered through the camp until he found Alicia.

“Well?” she asked, “I can see you’ve found something. What is it?”

“I’ve discovered the place where we can defy Swingman. We can fortify the rock over there and hold it against an army. It’s ideal – we can build a wall across the narrow neck of land, and towers and battlements on the rock itself, and it will be virtually impregnable.”

“I hope you’re right, if it must come to another battle. But I don’t look forward to the prospect with joy.”

“Nor do I, believe me, Alicia. By the way, I’ve chosen a name for the castle we build – Dragon Rock.”

“Whatever you say, Andreas.”

In the morning riders were dispatched to Simon as well as Carolus and Vera, to tell tham about Dragon Rock and the plans for its defence. Hans was asked to send Hans and his ock cutter as soon as possible, so that the construction of the castle could begin. Once the messengers were gone, Andreas announced that he intended to ride north along the coast.

“Will you come with me, Alicia?” he asked, “The army can rest here without us.”

“If you want I shall come. But I don’t think there’s anything to the north that’s going to help us.”

Andreas smiled at her and went off to saddle up Orion. Soon he and Alicia were riding out of the camp with an escort of four other riders. They rode abreast, parallel to  the cliff-edge. As the sun rose higher and the camp fell behind, the air and scenery of their new world began to lift their spirits. They forgot Swingman, and the war, and the bitter hatreds, and revelled in the freedom of the green land and their swift mounts, the blue sea and the shining cliffs.

By noon they had reached the river that Andreas had seen tumbling over the cliffs from Dragon Rock. It flowed deep and swift between two low hills before flinging itself into space. A permanent soft thunder filled the air from the waterfall. The six humans sat on their unicorns on top of the southern hill and watched the shining river rushing past below.

“What shall we call this river?” asked Alicia.

“You decide.”

“Then let’s call it the Silver River. I looks so shining and fresh and free.”

“So that’s its name. And when this war is over, and we’re all free …”

“Then what, Andreas?”

“Then I’ll come back here and build a city of white stone on both sides of the Silver River, on the edge of the glittering cliffs.”

“That sounds nice. I hope we live to see it, but Swingman may have other ideas.”

“Swingman – let’s not contaminate this place with his name. It’s time for lunch.”

They had a picnic sitting on the hilltop watching the river, the waterfall and the sea. Andreas found that at last he had a little time in which to relax, and to study this strange new world in which he found himself. He pulled up a piece of the grass-like vegetation that covered the ground, which the unicorns were busily cropping. It was not grass, but it looked very similar. It reminded him of green feathers, and had a tangy aroma.

Creatures with wings flew overhead, but they were not precisely birds. Their wings seemed too small, but then he remembered the lighter gravity and higher air pressure of this world compared to Earth. This was his world now, and he would have to get used to it.

He sat up suddenly and looked north. Clear and remote the mountain stood, its head still in the everlasting clouds. Forests spread down its flanks, and he could see that the Silver River actually ran out of those woods, before turning west and plunging into the sea near where he sat. The mystery of the secret mountain suddenly gripped him, and he knew he had to solve it before he went back. He turned to Alicia, who lay flat on her back with her eyes shut.

“I’m going on now” he told her.

“Where to?” She opened her eyes and sat up. “The river’s pretty hard to cross here, and there’s nothing very interesting on the other side.”

“I’m going to the mountain.”

“What mountain? I don’t see any mountain.”

“Never mind. You go back with the others, and I’ll go on alone. Wait for me at Dragon Rock.”

Alicia shrugged, and began to get ready for her return. In a short while she and the other four riders had set off down the southern side of the hill. Andreas watched them go, and then rode down the hill on the north side, before turning to his right and following the riverbank. All through the afternoon he rode, and the river turned gradually turned to come from the north. By evening it was flowing straight from the mountain, which now loomed tall and mysterious over the landscape.

The edge of the forest was only a short distance away when Andreas halted for the night and made camp by the side of the river. He had no weapons with him, except for his broken sword, but he lay down to sleep in the open with no real fear of danger in the night. He slept well, except that in his dreams, or perhaps while half-awake, he heard strange far-off voices singing and saw the glimmer of elusive lights.

Dawn woke him, and he climbed out of his sleeping bag and plunged into the river. He swam for a while in the cool fresh running water, and then climbed out, dried and dressed. He breakfasted lightly off a nearby sunbread plant, and then gave a short whistle. Orion came trotting up briskly and stood still while Andreas re-saddled him. He swung back into the saddle and together they rode towards the eaves of the waiting forest.

As they rode in among the first trees Andreas felt clearly that he was passing a boundary, between the planet he had come to know and understand and a mysterious realm in which he was an intruder. The trees grew close to the river, leaving a narrow space in which to ride. The sunlight was dappled into shades of green and the sounds of unseen creatures came faintly from the depths of the woods. As the morning wore on he became more and more aware of being observed, though he saw no sign of any watcher. He stopped briefly for lunch in a small glade by the river, where light blue flowers on long stems filled the air with a spicy scent.

While Andreas was remounting Orion, he glimpsed out of the corner of his eye a slender figure among the trees on the far bank of the river. He looked more closely but it was gone, leaving just an impression of silvery grey clothing and long golden hair. He rode on upstream, and how he began to catch more frequent half-glimpses of the same figure moving through the trees across the steam. Orion was trotting swiftly, but the unknown one was always just ahead.

Sometimes the sound of faint snatches of song, high and haunting, mingled with the noise of the water. The path of the stream became steeper and the water ran faster, rushing over rapids and little falls. He was beginning to climb the slopes of the secret mountain.

In late afternoon he came to a wide clearing by the stream and halted. Ahead the Silver River ran down from the flank of the great mountain, and on all sides the forest stretched, green and dark and unknown. Than from the trees across the river the elusive figure appeared, standing quite still and watching him. With a shock he recognised her.

Into his mind flooded the memory of his hibernation dreams, long forgotten. She was the strange image that had haunted his mind and stood between him and a deep relationship with any other woman. Even now, though her appearance seemed utterly familiar to him, he would have found it hard to describe her in any detail. As he watched, she turned and vanished again into the trees, leaving behind the first notes of a plaintive song or call.

Andreas jumped down from the back of Orion and patted him on the nose. The unicorn immediately turned away and began to graze on the green floor of the forest glade. Andreas ran to the river. Here it splashed noisily over rocks and boulders. He leapt from rock to rock, sometimes coming down heavily into the water and soaking his legs. At last he reached the far bank.

The woods still echoed faintly to the notes of her song. He plunged into the trees in the direction in which she had vanished. There was little undergrowth and he could move quickly. Soon the river was far behind and he was only aware of the song that led him on. Through the trees he sped, ever uphill, as the day died and the half-seen figure ahead vanished and re-appeared. Remote and haunting came her song, and it seemed now the only reality in a world of dreams. The sun sank into the distant sea and bright stars began to appear in the sky.

Suddenly the trees ended, and he stumbled out on to a twilit slope that led upwards along the flank of the secret mountain. Tall above him loomed its cloudy peak, and now his eyes could see a straight climb from where he stood to the mist-shrouded summit. But nearer at hand was something that caught his attention. Not far from the tree-line rose a low mound and from the centre of its near side shone a faint glow, as of a dim light within.

He approached, and saw a narrow doorway in the side of the hill from which the gentle luminance spilled out. He took a deep breath of the evening air and began to walk steadily through that door into the hillside.

He was in a passage whose walls glowed faintly, and the floor sloped gently downwards. His boots on the floor raised no echoes and a faint sharp scent was in his nostrils. At last the passage came to an end, bringing Andreas through a narrow doorway into a large chamber. The walls glowed in swirling patches with the same soft but revealing light. The ceiling was dark with a million sharp points of light scattered across it, mimicking the stars in a cold clear night sky.

At the far end of the room stood a figure, clothed in a single flowing garment of silver-grey. Andreas walked towards it and then halted, realising it was not the fleeting shape he had pursued through the darkening woods. Bright eyes gazed at him and a voice spoke in firm quiet tones. And it spoke in English.

“Andreas dal’Nostra. Don’t be afraid. You are welcome here.”

Slowly Andreas crossed the floor of the chamber to confront the speaker. He knew at once that the other was not human, though in truth it was hard to point to any feature which was alien. His head was hooded by the garment he wore and his eyes were large and bright and keen as they gazed at Andreas.

“Who are you? What is this place? And how do you know my name, and speak my language?”

“My name is Aarken. This place is my home, and the home of my people. And we have ways of knowing things which it would be useless to try to describe. Just believe that you are expected, although we did not know you were coming. Come and sit down.”

Aarken indicated a low seat placed by the side of a pool in the floor about a metre in diameter. The liquid in the pool looked like mercury, reflecting the soft random lighting and the starry ceiling. Andreas sat and his alien host sat on another seat facing him across the pool. Strange colours chased across the surface of the liquid, and in its depths faint images seemed to lie. Andreas tried to collect his blurred wits and to ask sensible questions.

“But who exactly are you? Are you the natives of this world? And why have you hidden from us?”

“I will tell you, not everything, but enough about us for your needs. I do not need to ask you questions, for most of your story I can see in your mind. Some details I do not understand, and perhaps you will help me to do so later. For now, look in the pool.”

Andreas looked, and the pool turned black, like a window on endless space. A dot of light appeared and grew swiftly bigger. It was a galaxy, a turning spiral of billions of suns, sparkling in the blackness.

“This is our galaxy” said Aarken softly, “and long ago my people ruled it. Many, many races lived in peace for long ages.” The pool showed brief images of strange and wonderful creatures on different worlds, and of mighty ships flashing from star to star, mirroring in its bright depths the words that Aarken spoke.

“We passed beyond this galaxy to others, and some even voyaged to other universes through four-space.” The pictures in the pool were now so mind-wrenchingly weird that Andreas found it hard to watch them. Then the pool went completely black, as Aarken’s voice carried on softly.

“And then we woke, or disturbed, that which lay at the core of the universe, the nameless and dreadful power which has no dealings with the worlds of light and life. It struck at us, and we tried to fight back. But it lives on destruction, and cannot be fought by any weapons, not even the mighty sword of Tuurkaal.”

Images re-appeared in the pool, of destruction and panic, and spaceships plunging into burning suns. In the midst of this came a being, very like Aarken in looks, with a proud and noble bearing and holding a drawn sword, which shone brightly in the dark mirror.”

“Tuurkaal made a last desperate resistance, gathering all his ships and people at Crar, at the galaxy’s heart. But the dark power overwhelmed them and swallowed them up. A few of us fled with the sword and came to this planet of hiding. We wove powerful defences and the enemy never found us. Many, many times has the galaxy turned on its axis since then, and the dark power sleeps, though not deeply enough. New races have evolved to people the planets since the old races were destroyed.”

Andreas stirred and looked across at the enigmatic face of the other. “What kind of being is this dark power?” he asked, “And where did it come from?”

“It came from outside our universe, from where we know not. It is not a being – it has no thoughts, or mind, or feeling, or personality. It is just a power, a dark force that lies at the heart of all that is evil and destructive in this universe. Even while it sleeps it is very mighty. The enemies you are fighting now are in their deepest hearts influenced by this power. And so we are concerned, for we see them as agents of our enemy from whom we have long hidden.”

“What kinds of defences do you have? I saw no sign of any.”

“Our defences are mainly spells of ignorance, of not seeing or noticing what is truly there. This star and planet are overlooked by all – until you came. The mountain is seen, but not observed, by everyone – except you. Our power turns aside all curious eyes and enquiring minds – except yours. Can you tell me why that should be so?”

Andreas shifted slightly. He understood now why the others had not been interested in the secret mountain. Only he, with the gift of the Deep Ones, had penetrated the veils of ignorance that surrounded it. He described to Aarken his experiences on Poseidon.

“Indeed this is interesting” said the alien, “It explains much, and now I remember that before the Onslaught we knew a little of the beings you mention, though they remained hidden in their deep oceans. So they too survived, in their own way. And this means that you are the one who was to come to us, and for whom we have been waiting.”

“What do you mean?”

“We know – how we cannot easily explain to you – that someday a being will break through our veils of defence and reach us here. You must be that one, though I wonder at it. Your race is young, foolish, warlike and impetuous. I detect few qualities that would make you fit to be the successors of my race, the Attarni, the star lords.”

Andreas laughed. “I don’t claim to be the successor of anyone, or to be fit to be a star lord. I only came here …”

“Yes? Why did you come?”

“I was following – someone.”

Aarken stood and pointed silently. From the far end of the chamber she came, golden hair shining in the dappled light, clad in flowing silver. It was the vision he had pursued, now real and solid and enchanting. In body and face she appeared entirely human, much more so than Aarken, but there was still an unearthly magic quality about her. Andreas now realised why all the women he had met before had been good friends but nothing more.

“This is Saardu, my daughter” said Aarken, “She found you and drew you here, as was her fate. Part of that fate is to be your wife, and to found with you a line of princes.”

Andreas was staggered. “Don’t be silly – we’re not even the same species. How can we marry and have children?”

“We are masters of our own biology. Do not be surprised. We are a very old race, and things that seem marvellous to you are really very simple.”

The girl smiled at Andreas and turned to the wall of the chamber. From a hidden recess she brought something forth, and carried it to the Earthman.

“For you” she said, and her voice was soft and musical, “To guard you from harm until you overcome your enemies and come back for me.”

It was a black helmet, with an intricate crest in the shape of a black dragon along its crown. Saardu put it on his head and it fitted exactly. It was very light, but Andreas felt confident that it would protect his head from the hardest blows. They stood for a short while just looking at each other, not speaking and not touching.

Finally Aarken broke the silence. “The dragon is the symbol of this world, Armontiriath, the Planet of the Glittering Cliffs. Bear it well, to victory over your foes.”

“Thank you” said Andreas, “I have no gift to offer in exchange – except my service to you and your people.”

“You serve us by fighting against your enemies. Only one thing remains to do tonight, and then you may rest. Give me your sword.”

“Eh?” Andreas was for a moment startled, and then he unbuckled the sword belt and handed it over. The star lord drew the sword from its battered sheath and held it up. “Broken” he said, as if he had expected it to be so. He re-sheathed it and turned to the chamber wall close to the pool of visions. From another hidden recess he took something out and brought it to Andreas, leaving his old weapon behind.

It was a sword in a black sheath, with a black hilt. On the sheath were strange finely-drawn patterns engraved in silver, like the script of an unknown tongue. A long black sash held the sheath, and Aarken put it over Andreas’ head, so that the sword hung at his left side.

“Will you take this in exchange for your own sword? He asked. Andreas nodded and drew the weapon. The blade was about a metre long and very thin, and it shone with a faint blue glow. He raised his left hand to touch the blade.

“Do not touch the blade!” said Aarken, softly but quickly, “That is Kaalkuhn, the Sword of Night. There is no substance in this universe that can withstand its blade, except for its own sheath. Put it back.”

Andreas re-sheathed the shining blade and turned to face the alien lord. “Why do you give me this? I have done nothing to deserve such a gift from you.”

“Perhaps you do not deserve it – I cannot say. But we have long known that a being of a younger race would come, breaking through all our veils of secrecy and bearing a broken sword. To him we would give a woman of our race to join for ever, and the Sword of Night to bear. So we shall discharge our responsibility and others will continue the struggle against the dark power.”

Andreas stood silent, and looked from one to the other in amazement. Saardu came to him and took his hand. “Will you come back for me, when you have defeated your enemies? I shall wait at the edge of the forest.”

“Yes, I will come. And together we’ll live in the white city I’m going to build on the shining cliffs by the waterfall of the Silver River. What shall we call it?”

“Call it Armontirina, the City of the Glittering Cliffs.”

“You will not be harmed by any enemy, Andreas dal’Nostra” said Aarken suddenly, “The sword is very powerful, and you do not have the skill to unlock most of its power. But the sheath protects those who wear it, and nothing can injure the one who bears the sheath. Now you have learned all that you may, and it is time to rest.”

“I am tired” said Andreas, and indeed his whole body now began to ache with weariness. Faint music and singing filled the chamber, and he staggered slightly. Saardu held him, and then at once a host of other figures were around him, dimly seen through blurring eyes. They wove a dance around him, and their music lulled his senses. Half-led, half-carried, he was brought to a soft place and laid down. For a moment he saw Saardu smiling down at him, and then he fell into a deep sleep with no dreams.

He was awoken by sunlight and the sound of the singing of some creature. He raised his head and found he was lying on the slope of a green hill beneath the shoulder of the secret mountain. Of the entrance he had found the night before there was no sign, not of any of the people he had met. He sat up.

Before his face shone two bright dazzling eyes, which then flew off. It was a creature like a large insect or small flying mammal, with two large straight wings. On each wing was marked a bright pattern, shaped like a luminous eye. Andreas watched the eyes recede as the creature flew down towards the forest.

On the ground nearby lay his new helmet and the sword. He put them on, reflecting that last night had not, after all, been a dream. Then he began to walk down the hill, to retrace his steps back to the river, to Orion, and to the world of humans.

Chapter 9

It took three days of long forced marches to reach the forest. The Totalists pressed behind, and twice the army had to stand at bay and give them a taste of arrows and spears to make them draw back. Then the retreat continued. Hans returned in the motor trike with its trailer, bringing supplies and fresh arrows, and taking the wounded back north. Twice he made the trip, until the fuel ran low and Andreas told him to make no more journeys. As they tramped north they noticed that the towns and villages they passed were empty and abandoned. The colonists had fled towards the forest in fear of the vengeance of Swingman and his troops.

At last they reached the Diana river, and followed its banks until the eaves of the forest were again in sight. The trees of that world are beautiful, rich and green and fragrant, but Andreas would have found the sight enchanting even if the forest had been much plainer. Alicia joined him at the edge of the trees and watched the exhausted troops march into the shelter of the woods.

“We’ve found a way across” she reported, “Just follow the river and we’ll show you. A whole lot of colonists have already crossed and most of the gear. We’re just waiting for you. I’m glad you made it back, Andreas.”

Andreas grinned at her, and then turned to look back over the green hills to the dense mass of red and yellow that was moving steadily along the riverbank. “They’re close behind” he said, “Let’s get well into the trees.”

As the army disappeared into the woods Andreas, with Vera and a small party of archers, waited hidden on the edge of the forest. When the heppers approached a flight of arrows from hidden bows made them pause and come on more cautiously. Gradually they advanced, spread out on a wider front, and the defending archers retreated deeper into the trees.

So it went on through the rest of the day, with the slowly advancing Totalist forces being picked off by sudden arrows from time to time, and Andreas and his troops withdrawing before them. When darkness fell the heppers stopped, afraid of blundering about in the dark in hostile woods. Andreas withdrew more swiftly and camped with his rearguard near the river, only a mile or so above its junction with the Rift.

At dawn, Alicia came and reported that the southern rim of the Rift was now clear of people and equipment, and it was time to get the rearguard across. Just then the lookouts reported a large body of heppers marching along the bank of the river. A last flight of arrows rattled into them, and then the spacemen began a hasty retreat. The little river seemed to speed up, as if anxious to hurry to its appointment with the great gorge.

Suddenly they emerged from the trees to the edge of the Rift and saw the source of the thunder they had heard growing even louder as they came. The Diana river flung itself into space over an overhanging lip of rock, and the water fell in a wide arc to crash into the side of the gorge far below. The whole spectacle was breathtakingly beautiful, but Andreas had to ignore it and focus on the present desperate situation.

“Where’s the way across?” he demanded.

“Here – follow me” said Alicia, stepping over the cliff edge and descending a narrow track that slanted down and underneath the falling water. Andreas waved the rest of his little force to follow her, and moved back to the trees by the riverside with Vera. They both had bows and arrows, and together they waited for the approaching enemy. After a few minutes they spotted the first signs of red and yellow coming towards them. Two arrows brought loud cries and two fallen heppers, and then they sprinted to the cliff edge and hurried down the narrow track.

Under the great arch of water they scrambled, and then on, slanting downwards into the green depths of the gorge. They moved between strange trees and exotic plants, growing in profusion from the side of the Rift, and on a narrow track that was hidden from above. Andreas wondered briefly who or what had made the track, and then dismissed the thought for now. Above and behind they heard shouts, but the pursuit was slow to follow.

The noise of the falls faded slightly as the path carried them further eastwards, until they reached a point where it began to zigzag steeply towards the bottom of the gorge. Alicia waited for them there.

“What did Hans do with his vehicle?” asked Vera.

“He sent it over the cliff” replied Alicia, “It was impossible to bring it down this path, and he didn’t want the Totalists to get it.”

Andreas nodded, and followed the two women down the zigzag. It was afternoon before they reached the river which flowed fast and strong through the bottom of the canyon. A rough wooden bridge had been built there and they crossed to the other bank. Some of Alicia’s troops waited there, and as soon as the last person had crossed they began to demolish the bridge with axes. It crashed into the water and was whirled away.

From the trees on the southern shore came shouts – the pursuit was now close. Figures appeared, and were met with arrows. They halted, baffled for the moment by the rushing water and no way to cross.

The path up the north side was rougher and rockier than the other side, and night fell while they were still halfway up. They slept uncomfortably on a narrow ledge, and at dawn went on up. The heppers had managed to cross the river, and a party could be seen climbing up below them. But a few well-aimed boulders swept some away, and the rest retreated back to the river.

By later morning Andreas and his companions finally reached the top, and flung themselves on the ground among the trees on the northern rim. A large crowd was gathered there, mostly the rearguard of the army. Then Carolus came through the trees and sat on the ground beside his friend.

“Well done, Andreas. You kept them off our backs and we managed to get most of our people across the Rift.”

“But it was a defeat, none the less.”

“Yes. My father was wrong, God rest his soul. If he had listened to you we would not have been defeated like that and he would still be alive.”

“Perhaps. But on this planet he had the authority to decide for the colony, and that could not be denied. That authority now passes to you and the other surviving colony leaders from both pods. What will you do now?”

“Andreas, I consider you to be the leader of all who are opposed to Swingman. I give up all my authority to you, while this war lasts, and will follow whatever course of action you decide.”

“Great! So now I have all the responsibility for this mess. But do all the colonists feel the same?”

“I’m sure they do. But why don’t you ask them? Most of our leaders are here now, those that have escaped across the Rift.”

That evening the campfires began to burn all along the rim of the Great Rift, and in a clearing between the trees a large crowd had gathered. The officers and many of the crew of Diana were there, and the leaders of the rebel colonists had gathered there with a number of their people. A low hum of conversation filled the twilight air. Carolus stood up and moved to the centre of the ring of watching faces, close to the central fire.

“Colonists and crewmen” he said, clearly and firmly, “We have just been defeated, but have escaped complete destruction. One man saved us, and his leadership in the battle in which my father died has brought us all here. I have pledged my own allegiance to him, and trust that all of you, my companions, will also follow him in our struggle against the Totalists. Friends, I ask you to accept as your leader the captain of the starship Diana, Andreas dal’Nostra.”

Cheers and applause greeted his speech, and slowly Andreas rose and joined him by the firelight.

“Thank you for your flattering words, Carolus” he said, “But you were not rescued by one man, but by a group of men and women working together. If I am to lead you no, it is only because a single leader is needed in this crisis. And there can be no division between colonists and crewmen, because we are all equally committed to this planet, whatever its name will become.

“I will lead you for the time being, and I hope you will all accept that. If I ever become a tyrant and dictator like Swingman, then throw me out quickly. Each one of you has the responsibility to decide whom to follow and what orders are right to obey. On those terms, will you follow me in this war?”

Cries of “Yes!” and loud cheers greeted him, and then a voice cried out from the sea of firelit faces: “What shall we do now, Oh Leader?” Andreas laughed.

“Swingman will not rest until he has crossed the Rift with a strong force to destroy us completely. He cannot tolerate a free society to the north of his dictatorship and must seek to crush us. We need to prepare to receive him. We have some time, because he will have to consolidate his forces before he attempts a crossing.

“All those of you who want to fight him should join the army under my command. We will train you and arm you to fight the Totalists. I appoint Carolus Samalto as one of my commanders, alongside Alicia Melenna, Simon Trucraft and Vera Trigana. Tomorrow we will make plans to defend ourselves against Swingman and defeat him when he comes. No sleep, as well as you can, and in the morning those who wish to join the army can report in this clearing.”

Indeed the next morning a very large crowd of both men and women were assembled in the clearing, and officers and soldiers of the army set up recruiting points and began to muster them into the expanding force. Meanwhile, Andreas with his four commanders and Hans Olfach were meeting together on top of a rocky outcrop which jutted out over the Rift. Andreas spread out a map of the northern part of the continent, compiled from orbital photos, and indicated the spot where they now were.

“We must fortify this place” he said, “So that the Totalists find it hard to cross the Rift. Simon, you can be in charge here. Hans too can stay, and use his rock cutter to build fortifications for you to defend. OK?” The two men nodded in understanding.

Andreas went on: “The rest of us will head north-west towards the coast, about here. We must find a strong point that we can fortify, and await Swingman’s onslaught once he does cross the Rift. He won at Tiriana because he was ready for us and fought on his own ground. We must entice him to attack us when and where we want, and so defeat him.”

The others studied the map, and began to discuss plans and preparations for the march. They agreed it would be several days before they were ready to move. Those days passed swiftly, in seeming chaos but with order gradually appearing from the confusion.

Hans and his team used their laser stone cutter to hack off blocks of rock, which were dragged to the cliff edge and welded into place. Ramparts and battlements began to take shape, defending the narrow path up from the green depths of the Great Rift.

Squads of recruits were issued with new weapons and shields, and drilled endlessly in every clearing of the woods. Bands of colonists began to trek north, seeking new homesteads in this unknown land. The spring weather started to grow warmer and milder as the days passed.

After five days Andreas was ready to move out a force from the encampment on the edge of the gorge, to seek a more permanent defensive position. They marched away, leaving Simon with a few crewmen and many of the raw recruits to hold the cliff top. The woods to the north of the Rift were less dense and extensive than those to the south, and by noon the army had emerged from the trees on to a landscape of green plains and scattered hills. Now they headed north-west, and their progress was steady.

They halted for the night close to a river that flowed west. All around them grew clumps of a tall plant with fleshy stalks and yellow flowers. Carolus pulled up a stalk and showed it to Andreas. “See” he said, “we won’t starve up here. This we call sunbread, and it’s very good to eat. The stalk, the leaves, even the flower, are all delicious and nourishing. Go on – try it.”

Andreas chewed a piece of the stalk and found it was true. The stalk was crunchy and tangy, and when he tried a leaf it was crisp and delicate. The taste of the flower was creamy and sweet.

He was amazed. “This planet is really incredible! If only it wasn’t for Swingman and his cronies, it would be a real paradise.” Soon all the ex-spacemen were feasting on the abundant plant to the amusement of the colonists, who did not refrain from sampling it themselves.

They forded the river in the morning and continued their line of march. The long column of black-clad figures wound up and down, leaving a trail across the green valleys and over the gentle hills. Andreas marched at the front, with Vera beside him. Towards noon they both spotted movement to the right, on the top of a low hill.

Over the crest of the hill came a herd of creatures, some twenty or more. They moved swiftly down the slope and then halted, studying the mass of alien beings. One of the animals came on, slowly approaching the front of the column where Andreas and Vera stood, watching and waiting.

“My God! A unicorn!” breathed Vera. At first glance she was right – a four-legged creature the size of a horse with a single horn sprouting on top of its head. But then a closer look showed how different it was to the mythological animal. It was tail-less, with quite spindly legs and neck. Large round green eyes shone brightly in a flattish face. Behind the horn a reddish crest ran down its neck, and the furry coat was a grey-pink colour. The other creatures were of a wide variety of hues, mostly pale and with a silvery sheen to the fur.

Vera put down her weapons and shield and slowly moved towards the strange creature, until she stood gazing into its great eyes with her head tilted slightly back. She reached out and stroked the fur on its neck, speaking softly to it all the while. The unicorn seemed to listen to her, and she began to stroke its back. Then with a sudden spring she had put both hands on its back, vaulted up and was sitting astride the creature. It stood still and seemed unconcerned by the unaccustomed presence on its back. Vera spoke to it again and leaned forward, and the unicorn trotted gently up to stand in front of Andreas.

“Vera, you’re a marvel!” he exclaimed, “When did you learn to ride?”

“On Earth, when I was a girl. This animal is wonderful – it’s like it knows me and I’ve been riding it for years. Let’s try something else.”

She gave a little cry and her mount broke into a swift trot, and then a canter. Right round the motionless army she moved, swifter and swifter, until finally the unicorn was travelling at a gallop, seeming to skim the ground. Vera halted it again near Andreas, and laughed. “Look, Andreas!” she cried, “Cavalry! Now we can destroy them!”

Carolus moved forward and stood beside her. “I can ride too” he said, “Wait while I find a mount.” He walked up the hill towards the other unicorns, and one left the group and came towards him. It was a male, broad and powerful, and its coat was a metallic blue-grey in colour. Soon Carolus was mounted on his back, and he rode back towards Vera. “He needs a name” he called, “I shall call him Sirius, a bright and shining star. Come on, Vera, let’s ride!”

Together they passed swiftly over the green hills, back and forth, watched by the army of humans and the group of unicorns. When they returned, Vera dismounted and spoke to Andreas: “Why don’t you try? There are more animals over there, and they seem to love being ridden.”

Andreas shook his head. “I’ve never ridden at all” he confessed, “Spaceships are my speciality, not things with four legs.”

“We need to make saddles, stirrups and reins” said Carolus, coming up, “With those anyone could ride one of these creatures.”

They both dismounted and under Vera’s direction riding gear was quickly improvised and volunteers were chosen from among the troops. After a quick lunch Vera and Carolus went back to their unicorns and rigged them up with saddles and bridles. The creatures seemed interested but not alarmed, almost as if the humans had come especially to provide an amusing new diversion in their lives. Soon the two riders were demonstrating the ease with which their mounts could be guided and controlled. They urged Andreas to try, and carrying his riding gear he approached the herd.

He had already selected his unicorn – the only pure white one in the herd. It seemed to recognise his interest and came forward to meet him. It was a male, and its neck crest seemed taller and its horn longer than the others’. Andreas put the saddle on his back and tightened the straps. Then the bridle went on, and there was no reaction except a long scrutiny from the great round eyes.

With sudden decision Andreas put one foot in the stirrup and sprang up on the beast’s back. There he sat feeling both proud and foolish at the same time. Gently he leaned forward and patted the creature’s neck, and it trotted forward. Slowly Andreas learned to guide it with the reins, and to feel more secure on the broad back.

By evening all the unicorns of the herd had trainee riders on their backs, who were steadily growing in confidence. Andreas dismounted and led his unicorn over to Vera, where it joined her beast in cropping the grass-like vegetation.

“How’s it going, Andreas?”

“Good. I’m getting the hang, I think.”

“Fine. These creatures are marvels to ride – they make horses seem stupid and slow. Somehow there’s a kind of mental connection with their rider, I feel. Mine is an amazing animal – I’ve decided to call her Diana, and already she recognises the name.”

“Mine is called Orion” said Andreas with a smile, “I’m more used to handling machines than animals, but with him I think I can cope.” He went over to his unicorn, which looked up at his approach. Andreas took off the harness and stroked the soft white neck. He fed Orion some sunbread flowers he had picked, and the creature gazed thoughtfully at him with dark round eyes.

The next day Carolus led a group of riders away from the sprawling camp and headed north. They returned by noon, leading another unicorn herd, and so the training of new riders went on steadily. By the end of the day Vera decided to practise a charge. The riders lined up on their mounts, clutching rather nervously on to spears and shields. The hornsman blew a long note, and the whole line began to trot down the slight slope.

Faster they moved, and then reached full gallop. Andreas gripped his spear and held it pointing to the front, and leaned his body forward. He was aware of other riders close by on either side, pressed together in the headlong rush. Orion thrust out his long neck so that his horn was pointing forward in line with the spearpoint. Hooves thundered and men cried out.

At last the horn blew the halt, and the line of cavalry reined in and stopped. The men and women looked breathless, pleased and exhilarated – their mounts seemed unmoved by the frantic charge.

Vera rode up. “Not bad” she said, “for a first charge. Rather ragged, of course – you need to keep together, to form a solid wall of spearpoints. But we’ll make cavalry of you lot yet. Go and look after your beasts, and then get your dinners.” The riders dispersed, and Andreas rode over to Vera. Her eyes were blazing with excitement.

“That’s what I said we needed, Andreas – cavalry! If we can get enough mounts, we can put the fear of death into old Swingman.”

“Yes, Vera. But now we need to plan how to use it effectively. Bring Carolus and Alicia to my tent for a meeting tonight. We’ll only get one chance to surprise the Totalists with a cavalry charge, and we need to make it count.”

In the tent after dinner the four sat in a circle with the map on the ground in the centre. A lantern hung above and cast their shadows on the map as they leaned over it.

“Here we are” Andreas pointed out, “just north of the Rift forest. I shall carry on with Alicia on our original route, north-west towards the sea. I want you two, Carolus and Vera, to take enough troops to make a really effective cavalry force and head north-east. Over there is an area of woods, lakes and hills, surrounded by open country on three sides. Let’s call it Cavalry Woods.”

“What are we going to do there?” demanded Carolus.

“On the way there, spread out and round up all the unicorns you can find, and take them with you. Train all your people as cavalrymen, as thoroughly as you can. And keep your force hidden away among the woods and hills.”

“Why do we have to skulk away up there?” asked Vera, “What’s the point of dividing our forces?”

“Swingman will cross the Rift with his army – that is certain, sooner or later, and we cannot stop him. But there is no point in just driving him back across the Rift, we need to destroy him and his army completely, so that Totalism is wiped from the face of this world. So I plan to find a place to fortify strongly, and when he comes he will need to throw all his army against it. That will be the time when you can surprise him with your cavalry, and make an end of it.”

Vera nodded in understanding, and the talk turned for a while to points of detail, and to dividing up the troops and supplies. Next morning there was a lot of organising to be done before the two separate groups were able to set off. Andreas rode Orion, and took another twenty riders with him. They would be needed to communicate with the others – he did not want to use the radios for fear of being traced by the heppers. In the afternoon the camp was struck and the two forces parted company.

The days passed uneventfully as Andreas’ army marched on. The ground became flatter, with an almost imperceptible slope up towards the north. Andreas rode Orion up and down the column, gaining in confidence as time went on. On the second day after parting from Vera and Carolus they met another unicorn herd, and stopped for half a day to train more riders.

After six days they began to smell the sea, and towards evening they came to a line of low hills which marked the edge of the plain. Andreas rode ahead and Orion climbed nimbly to the crest of the gentle ridge. Alicia rode up beside him on her silver mount Aldebaran. Together they gazed out over the new land before them. To the west, where the sun was sinking towards the horizon, lay the sea, visible only as a faint glittering line. But Andreas’ eyes were drawn to the north.

He saw a mass of clouds, seeming to hang upon the horizon. Then they parted, and to his gaze a mountain appeared, high and conical. Its lower slopes were green with trees and above them its sides showed grey and purple. The topmost peak was still hidden in the clouds. It was vast, remote, mysterious yet somehow familiar to him.

“Look!” he cried to Alicia, “That mountain – it must be huge!”

“I don’t see any mountain, Andreas” she said, after scanning the north with her clear eyes and then turning away indifferently, “But what difference does it make?”

Andreas could not explain the importance of the mountain, and was bemused by the fact that she could not see what to him was so plain. Alicia trotted back down the hill to tell the army to make camp, and he stayed alone on the ridge. Until the sun set he watched the north and the vision of the strange mountain, and then he turned and went back to the camp.

Chapter 8

In the morning Andreas and his companions resumed their vigil in the loft. Carolus was with them now, and two of the spacemen were gone. The sun shone brightly into the village square, where a few busy figures could be seen going about their morning chores. After a while Andreas became aware of the sound of marching feet. The people in the square vanished as the sound grew louder. Into the square from the south marched a contingent of the PSF, uniformed in yellow and red. There were about 15 of them, armed with pikes, axes and whips and led by a tall man with a sword. They headed purposefully towards the house in which the rebels lay hidden.

Irma Sebastiane emerged from the front door and strode towards them. The squad halted, and its leader and Irma began to harangue each other. Andreas could not quite hear, but Vera’s keener ears enabled her to make out the gist of what they said.

“He’s telling her that he wants a work force of 50 men from the village to build fortifications near here to hold off rebels from the forest. She says it’s impossible. He’s threatening her. She’s telling him to get lost” she reported.

Frightened villagers were watching from the shelter of their houses. Suddenly the PSF commander gave an order, and two of his men grabbed Irma and began to tie her hands behind her. Another produced a long coiled rope with a noose at one end, and fitted it over her head. She kicked and struggled, but they dragged her towards a tall and graceful tree that stood beside the square.

“What the hell…?” exclaimed Andreas.

“Such is the justice of HEP” said Carolus grimly. Andreas jumped up and gestured to his followers to get their weapons. “Come on!” he shouted, seizing his shield and hurrying down the ladder to the ground floor.

Out of the house and across the square he ran. The rope was thrown over a branch and men were beginning to haul on it. Andreas drew his sword and raced forward, shouting “No!”

The soldiers’ heads turned towards him, and from behind he heard the flickering hiss of arrows released from the bow. Vera and the two remaining archers had opened fire. Arrows began to strike the group of heppers, and some of them crumpled and fell. The rest were dazed and confused, but one struck at Andreas with his axe as he ran up. Time was slowed, and almost lazily he evaded the blow and sank his sword into the other’s chest. His pilot’s reflexes seemed to serve him well in battle also.

He waded into the remaining bunch of soldiers, taking blows on his black rectangular shield and dealing lightning thrusts with his father’s sword. Ahead was Irma, the rope tight about her neck and pulling her from the ground. He slashed it apart with a swift stroke and turned to deal with those pulling on it.

But they did not stay to fight – they turned and fled from Andreas and his two supporting spearmen, and the deadly rain of arrows. The surviving heppers ran off between the buildings at the side of the square, but failed in their attempt to escape. The people of the village leaped out at them with knives and clubs, and none survived that brief and bloody struggle. Then the villagers ran into the square and silently knifed any wounded heppers that still lived.

There were no survivors of the squad that had marched into the village only minutes before. The leader lay dead with two arrows in him, and Irma licked his body with satisfaction as she struggled to remove the noose.

“Pigs!” she said, and then spoke to Andreas: “Thanks for your help. But this means that my people must fight now – the heppers will destroy them for this if we are not victorious.”

Andreas nodded quietly, and then gave cold clear orders to the villagers to bury the bodies and collect the weapons. Carolus came up and slapped him on the back.

“Your people can fight, I’m glad to see. I fell happier now about standing up to Swingman’s men with your lot by my side.”

Carolus then went to take charge of the villagers, organising those who volunteered to fight. Soon he had a large body of people, both male and female, issued with a variety of weapons and drawn up in the village square. The blacksmith’s shop was busy turning out spears and simple swords, and more volunteers trickled in from outlying farms with improvised weapons as news spread of the destruction of the PSF squad.

Carolus sent detachments of his new army out to protect the village from surprise attack and to report any movements, especially from the south. Andreas looked northwards and waited impatiently for the arrival of Simon and the rest of the army.

Just before nightfall word came of the approach of a force from the north, and then they came marching into the village in columns, their black armour in contrast to their smiling faces. Andreas told Simon and Vera to encamp them to the south of the village, and soon the campfires were burning brightly in that direction, and the villagers were going with gifts of food and drink for the strangers from space.

“They look tough” said Carolus to Andreas, “But why the black armour?”

“We’re spacemen, and black is our colour. If you like, say that we are in mourning for Captain Nolton, whom Swingman murdered. And perhaps it will frighten our enemies.”

“I hope you’re right. But we shall need stronger weapons than fear.”

Two days passed, and during that time more recruits came in from the surrounding country, until Carolus commanded a force of about two hundred colonists, in addition to Andreas’ army of a hundred crewmen. Then towards evening a big mass of people approaching from the east was reported. Carolus went out to meet his father who was leading a force of some three hundred colonists. Samalto senior entered the village and shook Andreas by the hand.

“Andreas dal’Nostra – I remember you, but you were a youngster, wet behind the ears, when I last saw you just a few years back. Now you’re in charge?”

“It’s fifteen years to me, and even more in real time since then. Captain Nolton is dead, so is Commander O’Brien, and James Brady is a traitor. Much has happened while you slept in your pod.”

Samalto nodded acknowledgement, and then the leaders of the rebel forces gathered in Irma’s house to plan the next stage of their campaign. It was soon agreed that they would set off in the morning southwards to Longscarp, arriving at the enemy fort by nightfall.

“Stay out of sight of the fort until it is dark” said Andreas, “and then we shall have the advantage of a surprise attack.”

The others agreed, and the meeting broke up. Andreas found Hans Olfach and his team – they had commandeered a local handcart, assembled the rocket launcher and loaded it on board. They were all pleased not to have to carry it in pieces any longer. Hans discussed with Andreas the problem of attacking a fortified position at night, and they agreed on a strategy.

At dawn Andreas marched out with his troops, the handcart in the middle. The Samaltos, father and son, led their forces out later, in a less disciplined order. Irma Sebastiane went with Andreas as a guide – she had acquired the late PSF officer’s sword, which was stuck firmly into her belt, and she fully intended to use it on her enemies.

By sunset she and Andreas with an advance scouting party were hidden in bushes at the foot of their objective. To  the left lay the village of Longscarp, a few dwellings huddled at the foot of the long slope which stretched east and west, and on top of which the fortress stood.

Andreas scanned the fort with his binoculars. The walls were wooden, and there was a tall square tower at each corner. He studied the main gate, which was closed, and then into his view came a gibbet which projected from the wall to the right of the gate. On it hung a man’s body, turning very slightly in the evening breeze.

He felt sickened. The states of Earth had long ago given up executing people in cold blood, and now this was another thing Swingman was bringing back. And not just for the most extreme crimes, but for any opposition to his rule. This must be stopped, and quickly.

Hans came up and discussed in whispers the best target for his rockets. Andreas agreed that a section of wall on the left, near a tower, seemed weakest, and then Hans crawled off to supervise the aiming of the launcher. It was dark now, except for a single dim moon. Andreas sent word to Carolus to hold back his forces until the crewmen had attacked – he did not want them fighting each other in the dark.

Then it was time to take up positions. He led his troops forward, crawling silently up the slope to lie just below the fortress wall and over to one side, out of the line of fire from below.

For a while all was still, except for a faint rustle and clink now and then from the troops lying ready. The all of the fort rose as a tall black silhouette against the starry sky, and began to seem to Andreas unclimbable and unbreachable. He felt the stirrings of doubt, but at that moment came the whoosh and flash of an ignited rocket. It struck the wall precisely, and the explosion tore the night apart with noise and light. The second rocket struck near to the first, and blew another hole in the wooden wall. The third passed through the first breach and exploded inside.

Andreas touched the soldier next to him on the arm and said “Blow!” She blew her horn, a prized possession from old Earth, and its brave note rose up above the cries of panic from within the fort. It was the signal for the rockets to stop and the army to attack.

Andreas led them up the hill, running towards the smouldering breaches in the palisade. From inside came shouts and yells, but the noises were confused and there seemed to be no real attempt to form a defence. Andreas stepped quickly through the lefthand breach, holding his shield before him. He suddenly remembered to draw his sword and ran across the inside courtyard towards a group of figures emerging from a building. To his left another building was burning where the rocket had hit it.

The fighting was brief and one-sided. Andreas and his black troops came out of the night into a state of chaos, like an ant-hill on which boiling water has been poured. The groups of men into which they charged melted and dissolved before them. Andreas quickly led a group to the ladders which went up to the catwalks along the top of the walls. Up there a small band of armed sentries was rallying and might cause problems. But the danger was soon over, once spearmen and archers assailed their positions up several ladders and seized control of the catwalks and turrets.

The Samaltos, father and son, led their colonists into the attack, and the battle turned to a slaughter. Some of the heppers escaped through a gate and ran downhill to the south, eventually succeeding in vanishing into the night. But most were trapped in the fort and alsin by the aroused colonists, seeking vengeance for their oppression and the deaths of their friends and relatives.

Andreas ordered his archers to stop firing down from the battlements, as they were quite likely to hit friends in the flickering firelight. He moved a section of his troops to the burning building and with a lot of effort they managed to put it out before the whole fort burned down.

By morning things were calmer. The small number of surviving heppers had been rounded up, and set to work digging deep trenches for the bodies of their companions. Andreas climbed to the battlements again to survey the country to the south. From the ridge the land fell away gently in rolling hills and green meadows, with small woods and occasional rivers. A beautiful and pastoral landscape, lit by the rising sun, and not one which seemed very suitable for bloody war.

Vera found him there and reported no fatal casualties in last night’s fighting, but several wounded. She had already sent the wounded away to nearby friendly villages to recover. While they were together Samalto senior climbed up to the catwalk and strode towards them.

“A great victory, my boy” he beamed, “Thanks to your rockets. Now we’ve got those heppers on the run.”

“We’ve only captured this one fortress” Andreas reminded him, “The PSF is still very strong and will not be easily defeated. There’s a long way to go before we can claim victory.”

Samalto laughed and turned away, and they all returned to the task of consolidating their forces, burying the dead and repairing the damaged fort. Andreas sent messengers to Alicia, telling her what had happened and asking for new supplies of weapons and armour. Many colonists were asking to join the ranks of his army, and Vera was kept busy vetting and training them.

Each day the black troops drilled and practised under the walls of Longscarp Fort. A large number of reinforcements had also come in from the surrounding country to join Samalto – these were mainly crudely armed with whatever came to hand. Three days after the fort’s capture Samalto held a meeting in the main hall which Andreas, Vera and Simon attended. Carolus was there, with Irma and other leaders of the colonists.

Samalto stood up and declared “It’s now time to march south, to complete the destruction of Swingman and his evil crew. We have shown here that we can crush his forces, and the people are rising to join us. At last we can free ourselves from his tyranny!”

Andreas looked doubtful and spoke quietly “I feel we should be more cautious. Our monitoring of the PSF radio links has shown that they are aware of what has happened here. They will not be taken by surprise again. It would be dangerous to march deep into their territory without knowing more about the strength of their forces.”

Samalto leaned on the table “Your caution is creditable, Captain dal’Nostra, and in space I believe you must always look out for unknown dangers. But this is not space, and I am the leader of this colony. I propose to attack now, and crush Swingman for ever. Will you join us, or stay behind?”

“Very well” said Andreas, “If you are going south, we shall come with you, though my doubts remain. But we must stand together against the power of the Totalists.”

“Good!” proclaimed Samalto, “Then we march tomorrow at dawn.”

In fact it was mid-morning before the colonists’ army got away, straggling down the slope to head southwards along the faint track. Andreas stood and watched them, waiting to give the order to send his troops marching after. Irma Sebastiane came up – she had been left in charge of the garrison at Longscarp.

“Good luck” she said, “I hope you clobber the bastards.”

“We’ll try” promised Andreas, “I hope we’ll succeed. If we don’t …”

“What then?”

“Then take your people – everyone you can – and get away northwards. Hide in the forest. In the centre there’s a deep canyon – get to the other side, if you can, and make contact with the rest of my people. That’s the only help I can give you if things go wrong.”

“I’m sure they won’t, Andreas, but thanks for the advice.”

She slapped him on the shoulder, and then Andreas turned and gestured to Vera. The horn sounded a long note, and the black army marched in column down the slope. In the centre Hans and his rocket launcher trundled along. He had found a motor tricycle in the fort, and commandeered it to pull the cart loaded with the launcher and its missiles. He waved to Andreas, proud of his motorised artillery.

It was springtime in that hemisphere, and as they marched south the air grew warmer. Each night they made camp, and more recruits came in to join Samalto’s force. Vera and Simon put their troops through extensive training exercises at the end of each day’s march. One evening Andreas was watching them when Carolus came to join him. The archers were firing at targets, and the spearmen were advancing in a solid line, shields joined and spears extended.

“Very impressive” commented Carolus, “I hope we soon find a hepper force for you to get your teeth into.”

“No sign of the enemy yet?” enquired Andreas.

“No. They’ve evacuated all their strongholds and seem to be retreating south. Perhaps they’ll run all the way to the sea.”

“Perhaps. But we don’t really know what they’re doing, do we?”

Vera joined them at that moment. “What we need is cavalry” she stated, “We’re blind as bats without an effective scouting force, and we’ve got no idea what the enemy are up to. Meanwhile, they can see every move we make from up there.”

She gestured into the sky, where the colony’s last autogyro hung high and out of reach, watching their manoeuvres. She turned to Carolus. “Did the colonists bring any horses with them?”

“No, no large animals at all. And we haven’t found any creatures bigger than a dog between the Forest and the Inland Sea. The only transport we brought in the pods was a few of those motorised trikes and the autogyros. The heppers have all those.”

“Pity. So now we’re blind and they have eyes.”

“Don’t worry!” laughed Carolus, “We don’t need eyes – we’ll just go on until they have nowhere to run, and then we’ll smash them to bits.”

“I hope you’re right” said Andreas, “Tell me, Carolus – does this planet have a name?”

“The heppers call it Swingman, after their leader. As far as we’re concerned, it has no name.”

Vera laughed. “Then we are the Army of No-Name Planet. It has a certain ring to it. But I still wish we had some cavalry.”

On the morning of the fourth day after leaving Longscarp the army entered a long valley between two low hills. At the far end of the valley the ground rose in a ridge, and the rough road they were following passed over the ridge on the way to the village of Tiriana on the other side. In the morning light they could see a mass of figures on the high ground ahead, and a flash of red and yellow. The PSF were barring their southward advance.

Carolus ran up to Andreas. “They’re up ahead!” he shouted, “The enemy! Can you see them?”

“I see them” said Andreas calmly, studying the opposing force through his binoculars.

“They’ve stopped running at last, and turned to fight. Father is attacking. Come on, get your people moving!”

“Wait” said Andreas, “We don’t know how many there are of them, or what they’re going to do. Let’s be a bit cautious.”

“Too late” commented Vera by his side, “There they go now.”

The whole mass of Samalto’s force was rushing ahead down the track, eager to get to grips with the waiting enemy. Carolus turned and ran after them to join the attack. Andreas ordered his army to march forward, but by then they were well behind the rushing colonists. The spearmen deployed in line abreast in three rows, and the archers took up positions behind, but they were still out of range of the enemy.

The colonists were spread along the road, with the leading figures nearly up to the stationary Totaist forces, when suddenly a new element appeared on the scene. On the crests of both flanking hills dark shapes appeared, which revealed themselves to be motor tricycles, armoured and enclosed. They began to roll menacingly down the slopes, and behind them appeared further ranks of red and yellow uniforms, as the PSF moved steadily down on the flanks of the colonists.

The makeshift armoured cars headed towards the startled figures in the valley, and from them came flashes and puffs of smoke. The Totalists’ remaining supply of firearms had been used to equip their attack vehicles. Men began to fall and panic started to spread.

Andreas spotted a low hill just to the left of the road, and ordered his little army to move sideways to cover its southern side. Hans and his team frantically unloaded the rocket launcher from its cart and set it up on top of the small hill. Meanwhile, the colonists were beginning to break up and flee. The armoured vehicles were halfway down the slopes on either side, and behind them came charging the yellow and red hordes of the PSF.

They cried “HEP! HEP! HEP!” as they ran, and there seemed to be thousands of them. Swingman had clearly concentrated every man he had in an attempt to crush this revolt. Many colonists had flung down their weapons and were running back along the road. A large group were heavily engaged, with Totalists attacking from three sides. The battle began to move back, leaving dead and wounded laying by the road as the slow retreat went on.

Hans Olfach’s men opened fire, and a rocket exploded close to one of the hepper vehicles. The next one reduced it to a flaming wreck. Calmly Hans changed target and continued to pick off the enemy vehicles with his rockets. The rest of Andreas’ force stood rock still at the foot of the hill, the spearmen clutching their weapons while the archers shot at any heppers who came within range.

They watched the annihilation of the colonists’ army; fleeing figures were rushing past on both sides. Ahead a band of colonists was still fighting furiously, surrounded on all sides by the red and yellow of its attackers. Briefly Andreas glimpsed the Samaltos, father and son, lashing out furiously with their weapons.

Andreas turned to Simon and said “Give me thirty spearmen – we’re going to join in.” Drawing his sword he led his little band forward. With shields linked and spears held level, they formed a wedge as they ran swiftly towards the backs of the heppers in front of them. A last-minute cry of warning alerted them to the danger, but at that moment a black wall of death thrust into the red and yellow, sending them running or falling to the ground.

Andreas saw there were only a few colonists left standing. As he burst through the surrounding attackers he could Samalto senior crumple to the ground. Andreas leapt towards him, and came face to face with a giant hepper wielding a great axe. The axe swung towards him, and he parried with his sword. It rang and the blade snapped, leaving him with just over half its length attached to the hilt. His hand was numb and he stood dazed as the enemy raised his axe for another blow. But then a spearpoint took the giant in the throat and he fell with a choking cry.

Andreas came out of his daze and saw that the red and yellow uniforms were falling back, dismayed by the ferocity of the attack on them by the black spearmen. He joined Carolus where he stood over the body of his father, gashed with many wounds. “He’s dead, Carolus” he said, laying his hand on his friend’s arm. Then he looked up, and saw that the Totalists were regrouping. A great mass of them was forming up, preparing to strike and crush the small group of spacemen and colonists exposed in front of the main army.

He shook Carolus gently, and forced him to turn away from his father’s body. “Come on” he said, “We’ve got to move now. The fight is still going on, and we need you to help us.” Carolus nodded, and together they ran back towards the black line of shields, the rest of the little force falling in behind.

When they reached the safety of the shield wall, Andreas ran halfway up the hill with Carolus and pointed out the scene of battle to him. In front, the Totalist forces were forming up menacingly. Overhead rockets hissed to detonate against the few scattered armoured cars which were left intact. To the rear the surviving colonists were fleeing back along the northward road.

“Go with them” said Andreas, “Gather as many of your people as you can and take them into the forest. My folk will be waiting where the river runs into the trees, and will guide you to the other side of the Rift. We will hold off the enemy while you escape.”

“Thanks, Andreas” said Carolus, “Take care!”

“We shall. Go now.”

Carolus ran off around the hill after his escaping comrades, followed by the small group of colonists who had been rescued from the heppers. Andreas sheathed his broken sword and climbed to the top of the hill. Hans proudly pointed out the results of his rocket barrage – all of the enemy vehicles were smashed and burning, scattered across the hills on both sides.

“Good work” commented Andreas, “How many rockets are left?”

“Just two” replied Hans. His captain pointed to the sky, where the autogyro had descended to a lower level. “Can you take that thing out for me?” he asked.

“We’ll try” responded Hans, and he turned to his assistants. Carefully they adjusted the homing mechanism on the rockets and swung the launcher barrel up into the air. Both missiles shot upwards in quick succession, and the unsuspecting aircraft was blasted into fragments over the heads of the advancing enemy.

“Great work” said Andreas, “Now destroy your launcher and head back towards the forest with your wagon. Take the wounded with you.” He left Olfach and his team to the task of smashing their launcher to pieces, hitching the wagon to the last motor trike, and heading down the north side of the hill. They filled the wagon with all the wounded they could find and bumped away up the track, overtaking the straggling remains of the colonist army.

Andreas ran down the south side of the hill again. He drew his sword, and then noticing the broken blade thrust it back into its sheath. Snatching up a spare spear, he joined Vera and Simon on the slope looking over the waiting black army. The spearmen were in a semicircle, facing outwards nearly at the foot of the hill. Above and behind them stood the archers, fingering their bows.

The red and yellow mass of the enemy was beginning to move, advancing steadily towards the hill. A large flag was being carried on a long pole – it showed a yellow sunburst on a red ground. Near the flag Andreas made out some familiar figures. One was Albert Swingman, heavily armoured with a great gilded shield. Close by stood James Brady, in PSF uniform.

Andreas spoke to Simon: “Get on the radio. Contact Alicia, and tell her what’s happened. Tell her to expect refugees heading for the forest, and to get everyone over the Rift to the other side.” Simon nodded, and ran over to where the radio was.

Andreas made his way down the slope and found a place in the front rank of spearmen, fitting his shield in between those of the soldiers on either side. The enemy was rolling forward, aiming to crush the little army on the hill into tiny pieces. As they came on their cries of “HEP! HEP! HEP!” beat on the ear.

Behind him, Andreas heard Vera giving orders to the archers. “Draw. Aim. Rapid fire!” A rain of arrows passed overhead and fell among the oncoming ranks of Totalists. Men staggered and fell, and the charge became ragged. A second volley thinned their ranks further, and the third reduced them to isolated groups and clusters.

Then they were right at the foot of the hill, nearly at the shieldwall. Andreas cried in a loud voice “Advance!” and the spearmen strode forward, thrusting their weapons into the disorganised mass in front. Indescribable chaos followed. The heppers in front died, or fell, or ran back. Those behind were still marching forward, and a confused melee took place. Into this thrust the long sharp spears of the black army, merciless and remorseless. Finally the red and yellow troops broke and fled.

Andreas called “Halt!” and then “Retire!” and his black shieldwall was back in its original position again. Nothing had changed, except for the piles of dead and wounded at the foot of the hill. After a while the Totalists regrouped and charged again, although with less enthusiasm, but were dealt with in the same way.

Andreas left his place in the shieldwall and climbed up the hill to consult with his commanders. There was blood on his spearpoint. Simon and Vera were grinning with delight, excited at the victories of their little army over the masses of Swingman. But their captain looked to left and right, and silently pointed out to them the enemy forces that were moving along the hillsides to surround them. “They’ll be all round us soon” he said, “It’s time to go.”

With a few quick commands the black army formed column of march and retreated steadily from the little hill. Behind them they left the dead and wounded of the battle of Tiriana, the burned out shells of the armoured vehicles on the hills, and the smashed ruins of the rocket launcher. Following the fleeing remains of the colonists they began the long march back north to the safety of the forest.

Chapter 7

In the morning Andreas called a conference of his company leaders – Vera, Alicia and Simon, as well as Hans Olfach. He told them all that he knew about the Totalist force heading in their direction, and they studied the map together.

“I intend to take B and C companies south to deal with this threat” stated Andreas, “Hans, you will come too and bring your rocket launcher. Alicia, you will remain here with A Company and maintain our base.”

“What do you want us to do here while you’re gone?” she asked.

“Two things – one is to develop this base camp and build up supplies of food and materials from the forest. The other is to explore the Rift, and if possible find a way to cross it. If you can, set up supply dumps on the other side, in case we have to retreat across it. While we’re gone, keep a listening watch on the radio, but don’t use it except in real emergency.”

Alicia nodded in understanding and went off to organise exploration and foraging parties. Simon and Vera began to assemble their companies for the march, and Hans checked over the parts of the rocket launcher with his team of engineers. Just after noon the contingent set off, marching in column through the woods in a south-easterly direction. After about two hours they came across the river marked on the maps, which flowed swiftly and silently through a narrow valley between the trees.

The army turned right and Andreas led the way southwest, following the open ground on the river’s left bank. At nightfall they camped by the water, and scouts were posted downstream and in the surrounding forest. Although Andreas believed that his enemies were still a good way away, he had no intention of allowing them to come upon his force without warning.

Soon after dawn the column of black-armoured troops was tramping on, through the long-stemmed grasslike vegetation beside the bright swift-flowing water. Vera had asked Andreas what they should call the river, and he suggested naming it after their ship. So the River Diana it became, and the simple act of naming a feature of the landscape seemed to make them all feel more at home on this new and unknown planet.

The little army made good time, marching briskly. They were getting used to marching on the solid ground, and their muscles were hardened by the 1¼ gravities of the starship’s recent flight, and the comparatively low gravity of this world put an extra spring in their step.

Soon after midday Andrea halted their march, and sent forward Vera and some other light-footed women to scout the riverbank ahead. He calculated that they might soon be coming close to the approaching Totalist force. Two hours later, Vera returned to tell him that his guess was right – a sizeable body of men was coming along the same bank of the river, slowly but confidently.

Andreas began to lay his plans for an ambush. Half of the archers were sent to wade across the river to the far bank and told to spread out in concealment in the trees. Simon went over to take command of this force. The rest of the army retired into the woods on the left bank. The supplies and spears were dumped far back in the forest, and the spearmen lay down behind the trees with just their swords and shields. The archers waited in hiding, their arrows stuck in the ground in front of them. All was quiet, and a tedious period of waiting began.

A scout slipped silently through the trees and whispered to Andreas “They’re coming”. From upstream came the sound of voices, laughing and talking over the gurgle of the river and the forest sounds. They came into view – a long line of men, dressed in red and yellow uniforms. There were no women among them and they all carried weapons, mainly axes and long pikes. As they passed opposite his hiding place Andreas looked for their leader. He spotted him quickly, a tall dark man sporting a red cloak and carrying a pistol at his belt. Behind him walked his aides, one carrying a portable radio.

On the far side of the river Simon gave the signal, a long sudden whistle blast. From the trees and bushes a rain of arrows flashed across the river and plunged into the marching men. Panic followed, and they stood as if stunned, except for those already on the ground with shafts sticking from their unarmoured bodies. A second hail of arrows lashed them, and they broke and ran for the shelter of the forest, away from the deadly rain.

Andreas blew his whistle and arrows showered from his side also. The Totalists stopped, hopeless and bewildered as shafts thudded into them from both sides. Andreas blew again, and then sprang up and ran forward with drawn sword as the arrows stopped and the rest of his force came out of the trees with their black shields held up before them.

It was not a battle, but a rout. Many flung down their weapons and surrendered on the spot, and others ran into the river and gave themselves up on the other side. Some fought, but their position was hopeless. Unarmoured, unprepared and unled, they could not oppose the disciplined mass that swept at them, stabbing and slashing.

Andreas saw their leader step back and draw his gun. He shouted and ran forward to distract him. The man swung the weapon round, but at the same instant Andreas slashed with his father’s sword and connected with the gun. Smashed, it fell to the ground. The Totalist ran back, picked up a fallen axe and turned at bay. The axe glanced off Andreas’ shield and his sword sank into the unprotected body. Horrified, he watched his dead enemy sink to the ground beside the river.

The battle was over in minutes. Some of the Totalists were dead or wounded, but most had surrendered unhurt. Grimly Andreas summoned one of Vera lieutenants, a young woman called Hilda Lighthill, and gave her command of a squad of 20 troops. He ordered her to take charge of the prisoners and bury the dead, and then lead them back to Waterfall Hill, where they could be guarded and put to work. Searching the enemy’s equipment, they found another radio but no more firearms. The leader’s gun was useless and Andreas tossed it into the river.

In a short while he was leading the rest of the army upriver, away from the scene of battle. None of his troops had been killed or even badly hurt, and they were elated at the successful outcome of their first battle. But Andreas was depressed, and angry with himself for being depressed, and sat for a long time that night staring into the campfire.

“What’s up, Andreas?” asked Simon, sitting down beside him late in the evening.

“I killed a man today, and I’m afraid I might get to like it too much” answered his captain slowly.

“You’ve killed lots before today” pointed out Simon.

“Yes, when I destroyed the Grey Fort or blasted shuttle Gamma, but this was sticking a sharp blade into a living body. It feels quite different.”

“I think I understand. But look, Andreas, if you want to make war you have to accept killing people as part of it. Don’t imagine it’s going to St George and the dragon stuff, or knocking over mechanical dummies. It’s killing real live people that’s involved, and if you don’t like it you’d better quit now.”

“You’re right, of course” sighed Andreas, “But I can’t quit now. I still don’t like it though.”

The next day the little army moved on upstream. Just before noon a report came back of the end of the forest. Andreas ordered a halt and went forward with the scouts. The trees stopped abruptly, and to the south a gentle green slope dotted with clumps of bushes stretched up to the horizon. The course of the river bent eastward, but to the south a thin plume of smoke rose into the air. Andreas returned to the rest of his force.

“Vera, you come with me and choose half-a-dozen good scouts to join us” he instructed, “Simon, stay here with the rest. Spread into the forest a bit, and watch out for the enemy. I’ll be back in a day or two, or I’ll send word back to you. We’ve got to make contact with the colonists and find out what’s been happening in the last two years, and just how strong the Totalists are.”

It was mid-afternoon when the little group of eight stepped out on to the open grassland. Four of the scouts were women, all proficient archers. The two men were young and vigorous, carrying spears and shields. Vera had her bow and a sword, and Andreas carried his father’s sword and a shield slung over his back. They strode off purposefully over the gently rolling landscape.

The wisp of smoke that was their target seemed to get no nearer as they marched on. The little group felt very exposed out in the open, and began to long for the forest’s friendly cover. It was almost sunset before the building came in sight – a rough farmhouse of wood and stone with a crude chimney from which a steady plume of smoke escaped. The land round about was divided into fields, some of which showed a healthy growth of crops. Andreas recognised alcoweed, from which alcohol to drive internal combustion engines could be derived, as well as other crops which were strange to him. Over to the right a robot cultivator was chugging across a new field, raising a clean straight furrow behind it. F humans there was no sign.

Andreas marched the little party up to the house. Arrows were on bows and spears tightly clutched, but he kept his sword in its sheath. He knocked firmly on the rough wooden door, but from within came no response. He knocked again and called loudly: “Open and speak to me, if you please. I know there is someone in there!”

A man’s voice, uncertain but clear, answered him from behind the door: “Who is it that knocks, and what do you want?”

“I am Andreas dal’Nostra, captain of the starship Diana. I would like to talk to you”

A bar was withdraw, and slowly the door swung inwards. In the doorway stood a middle-aged man in worn working clothes, weathered and tanned by the sun. In his hand was a long axe, which he held aggressively and suspiciously.

“You don’t look like the PSF” he said, “They went past the day before yesterday, a whole crowd of them, and I don’t know when they’ll be back.”

“Never” replied Andreas grimly, “My friends and I dealt with that band. Can I come in?”

The farmer nodded and stepped back from the doorway, lowering his axe. Vera quickly signalled her little troop to take up positions around the cottage, and followed Andreas through the door. Inside was one large room with a fire smouldering on the stone hearth at one end. The farmer’s wife and three children watched anxiously from near the fire, unsure about these two black-armoured strangers.

Andreas introduced Vera: “This is Commander Vera Trigana, who leads one of the companies of the army which we hope will help to overcome Swingman and his men.”

“I am Jan Hofmeyer, and this is my wife Clara. My sons Willi and Karl, and my daughter Sara, are over there. Sit down and tell me more about yourself and this army of yours.”

So Andreas and Vera sat on rough benches near the fire and explained the history of Diana and her crew since Swingman had seized control.

“I saw your ship” said Jan, “It was a light in the sky and a loud noise a few days back. Then the heppers came, a big band of them. They went into the forest, and we didn’t see them again.”

“Heppers?” asked Vera.

“The Human Enhancement Party – Swingman’s party. He has recruited many tough men, and the party dominates the whole colony. The PSF is its military arm – the Planetary Security Force. They hang or torture anyone who gets out of line, in the name of the glorious future of the human race.”

“Will you help us to get rid of them, then?” aske Andreas.

“Willingly” said the farmer, “Though I’m no warrior. What do you want me to do?”

“Can you take us to Carolus Samalto, or his father? I need to make contact with your leaders.”

“I can take you to Overford, and the people there will put you in touch with Samalto, I think.”

“How far is that?”

“About ten kilometres”

“Can you guide us there?”

“I will send my son Willi with you – he knows the way well. When do you want to start?”

“Now – tonight. We have no time to lose. Will you guide us, Willi?”

The blonde youngster, about 13 years old, just nodded. He left his mother and came towards the black-clad strangers. From the table he picked up a knife and thrust it into his belt. Quietly he said goodbye to his parents and putting on a rough brown cloak he led Andreas and Vera out of the little cottage.

Two of the moons were up, shining steadily on the rolling fields. The six scouts came out of the shadows at Vera’s soft command. Willi gestured and led the way, south and east into the darkness. Andreas and his seven companions fell into line behind him, and they all strode silently and swiftly ahead.

The stars shone strange and bright in that night sky. Some constellations were familiar, but oddly distorted. Others were quite new. At the north pole lay a triangle of blazing stars, one red, one blue, one yellow. But the Milky Way still smeared the sky, indifferent to the mere 50 light-years that lay between Earth and this world. The night wore on, and the kilometres passed. Twice they paused and rested, and ate and drank a little. Willi said little to any of them, but Andreas suspected that this was awe of their strangeness rather than hostility.

Dawn grew closer, and then suddenly ahead in the morning twilight they could see the shapes of low buildings, clustered together and dark. Willi led the way to one of the houses and then turned to Andreas.

“Village head lives here – Irma Sebastiane is her name. Knock on the door and she will come.”

Andreas followed his advice, while the six scouts took up positions around the house. A lamp was lit inside and a woman’s voice suddenly raised in question: “Who’s there, for God’s sake, at this time?”

“A friend” answered Andreas, “Will you open?”

The door was opened, and the lamplight shone into the eyes of those outside. Blinking, Andreas could see that it was held by a woman of about 50, with a heavy cloak slung around herself, but alert and commanding in her carriage.

“Are you the PSF?” she demanded, “We have nothing in this village for you.” Then she stared more closely at Andreas and Vera in their black armour. “No, not PSF – who are you then?”

“Captain Andreas dal’Nostra and Commander Vera Trigana of the starship Diana, madam” answered Andreas, “Let us inside – we have much to discuss.”

She opened the door wide and ushered them inside. Willi followed too. Both spacemen dropped gratefully into the crude chairs that they found inside, and laid their shields on the floor. Marching across the surface of a planet was an unusual and gruelling experience for them, and they were glad to take a rest. Then began the questions, and dawn was in the sky before they had fully explained themselves to Irma Sebastiane and she had satisfied her curiosity about them.

She suggested that the six soldiers outside should come in too, to avoid being seen in the daylight and attracting unwanted attention. They all found places to rest in her loft, after Irma had prepared a quick but tasty breakfast for her nine unexpected guests. After breakfast she outlined the situation on her world, and from what she said Andreas realised that the Totalists’ stranglehold was hard and merciless.

“They have a large number of men in arms, all dedicated to the HEP and trained to work towards physical perfection. They patrol from village to village, and stamp on any sign of revolt. Their nearest stronghold is to the south of here, at Longscarp, and it was from there that the force was sent which you defeated in the forest.”

“Do you know Carolus Samalto and his father?” asked Andreas at last, “And can you get in touch with them?”

“Yes” she replied, “I can send a runner today, and tonight they will be here. Rest now, and I will see to it. Your coming will be the spark that kindles the colony into fire, to burn up these heppers, these swine who follow Swingman.”

She spoke with passion, and Andreas knew it was deeply felt. Irma suggested that Andreas and his people remain up in the loft for the day, and rest themselves. It was better if not too many people knew of their presence, until Samalto arrived and plans could be made.

As the day passed they took turns in watching the life of the village through gaps in the eaves, but no sign of trouble or disturbance marred that day. In the evening Irma brought more food and lit lamps. Shortly after that there was a soft knock at the door, and she left them to answer it.

The door was opened and there was a brief murmur of voices. Then through the trapdoor in the loft floor came the face of Carolus Samalto, familiar to Andreas from their brief encounter some 15 subjective years ago. Carolus smiled broadly as he recognised Andreas, and the smile slipped slightly as he noticed the changes produced by those years. Then he came forward and hugged him silently, before bursting into a delighted shout.

“Andreas! You villain! How did you get to be captain?”

“A lot happened while you were asleep, Carolus. Look – you’re still young, and now I’m middle-aged. But I’m glad to see you. Where’s your father?”

“He’ll be here in a day or two. I’ve sent word to bring all our people here, all those who want to fight the heppers. Where are the rest of your men?”

“In the forest, waiting to march. Come on, let’s sit down and tell our news.”

Carolus and the two other men who had come with him sat on the floor of the loft with Andreas, Vera and the others, and the talk flowed late into the night. Andreas had to repeat his story again, while Carolus plied him with detailed questions. It grew late before Andreas could learn much from his old acquaintance.

“We had no chance” Carolus told him sadly, “The heppers had all the weapons, and they woke us a few at a time. We were sent out to farm and develop the land, always with PSF squads to watch us and keep us in line. Those who disagreed, died, or were brutally tortured. Swingman says that this world will bring forth a new humanity, perfect and efficient, which will rule all the other worlds and ultimately the Galaxy. To us it looks like the old brutality, which we had hoped was over and part of history.”

“What about you and your father, and the rest of the colony leaders?” asked Andreas.

“Mat Heering was hanged right at the start, and Constance Velmann disappeared into the Grey Fort. Julius Kaufmann was killed by a hepper bullet when he raided a supply depot with his band of rebels. My father and I have kept on the move, and the heppers haven’t caught us yet. But we can’t really fight them – they’re too well armed and organised, and there’s too many of them.”

“How many?”

“Several thousand, I think. We can’t count them all, as many stay in their strongholds and only come out in force to punish recalcitrant villages.”

“It sounds like a lot of people have suffered already.”

“Yes” said Carolus seriously. He pointed to Irma, sitting quietly on the outside of the group. “Irma’s husband, Leroy, was head of this village. Then one day argued with the heppers, and they hanged him. Now she runs the village, and works against the heppers in her own way.”

“My hate is quiet, but deep” she broke in, “And it will be satisfied, in time.”

Andreas stirred uneasily. “We have come in good time, and will use all our powers to help you. Carolus, what sort of force can you raise?”

“Several hundred, keen but poorly armed. More will join us if they see a real chance of freedom. Will you help us with your army?”

“Yes, we will strike a blow for you. I’m afraid of promising too much, till we see the true strength of the enemy, but I shall send for my troops. They are not far away, just inside the forest. Where shall we strike?”

“The main stronghold of the PSF in this region is at Longscarp. They have built a stockaded fort, which is quite secure from a frontal assault. Perhaps you have the power to breach it for us?”

“Perhaps. We shall see when we have inspected the fort.”

Andreas spoke swiftly to two of his scouts, giving them instructions to leave now and head north to the forest edge.

“Find Simon and tell him to bring both companies here to this village, as soon as he can.”

The two crewmen slipped away down the ladder, and Andreas turned back to Carolus. “Send for all the people you can raise, and muster them here. Then we shall see about attacking Longscarp.”

Carolus gave instructions to his two aides, who also disappeared down the ladder, and then silence fell. Gradually the occupants of the loft found rest, as the night grew older.

Chapter 6

Ten hours later Diana’s main engine fired and she began to fall out of her stationary orbit in a steep spiral. Andreas had filled the computer with a totally new set of programs, but he knew that much of what he was planning to do was unprecedented and unpredictable and would have to be done by instinct. At the edge of the atmosphere Diana did not plunge in like a shuttle, but lowered herself delicately, balanced on her engine’s exhaust. The atmosphere plucked at the ship, but the upper air winds could do little to disturb the three-kilometre-long interstellar craft. Diana descended steadily into an environment which she had never been designed to enter.

Andreas held the ship upright, balanced on a pillar of fire, as it fell gently over the inland sea. A slight touch on the attitude jets and it headed towards the north. The coastline came into view, and Swingman’s Grey Fort. Andreas’ fingers passed swiftly over the controls, adapting and varying the basic programs that he had fed into the computer. Still Diana fell, until the fort was only a thousand metres below her flaming exhaust. Andreas reached for the magnetic shield controls and sent a furious pulse lashing at the ground below, totally scrambling the electronics of the two remaining shuttles and rendering them unusable.

In the Grey Fort Albert Swingman had watched the descent of the star-ship through binoculars, and at first he could not understand it at all. He knew very well that Diana was not designed for planetary landings, and could see no way of bringing it down without killing everyone on board.

With a group of advisors he stood on the Fort’s tallest turret and gazed into the southern sky, where the starship’s bright fire was steadily growing closer. But suddenly his mind changed from incomprehension to total certainty. He realised all at once what the ship was doing, and the knowledge filled him with terror.

“Get away!” he screamed to his men, and turned and bolted down the ladder to the lower floors of the fortress. He grabbed his handgun in passing and ran out of the main gate. Behind him he left chaos and turmoil, as his men tried to understand his words and actions, ans some belatedly decided to follow him.

Swingman leaped into a vehicle which stood outside the main gate – it was alcohol-powered all-terrain vehicle with three balloon tyres. He ordered the driver to set off at top speed across country away from the fort. Then the magnetic pulse from Diana seized the car and flung it sideways to smash against a bush and end up upside down. The driver hung lifeless in his harness, but Swingman crawled from the wreck and looked back.

Diana was coming down. Like the spear of the vengeful goddess she balanced on a column of fire over the Grey Fort. It was almost inconceivable that a ship three kilometres long could hang in the sky like that, and Swingman watched open-mouthed as it continued to fall slowly. His gun was still in his hand, and he emptied the magazine futilely at the descending spaceship.

The tongue of fire from the exhaust began to brush the stones of the castle, and Swingman flung himself flat on the ground behind his wrecked vehicle. A wave of heat and a noise of doom rolled across the countryside and both car and bush burst into flame. Andreas had applied full thrust to the starship’s fusion drive.

When the blast of heat had passed over, Swingman raised his head and looked. Where the fort had been was a charred and smoking hole. The trees and bushes were on fire all around, and clouds of steam rose from the sea. Diana was climbing high into the sky again, heading towards the north. Swingman began to scream with rage and to beat his hands against the blackened ground.

*****

Diana rose into the sky, and then slowly began to drop again. She drifted steadily northwards, passing over the rolling hills dotted with new traces of human settlement. Andreas constantly adjusted the controls, striving to keep the ship balanced upright by means of the lateral control jets. He was relieved that the first part of his plan had worked – to destroy Swingman’s centre of power, the bulk of his weapons, and hopefully Swingman himself. He had also grounded the remaining two shuttles, so they could not be used in air attacks. All that remained was the trickiest manoeuvre of all.

The ship began to pass over the belt of forest that bordered the Great Rift, and shortly the canyon itself came into view. With precise manipulations of the jets the three-kilometre-long starship was brought to a halt, hovering over the gorge close to its southern edge, and then the descent began. Exhaust flames licked over the forest on the rim of the canyon, turning it partly to ashes, and then burned on into the depths below. The river at the foot bubbled and steamed.

Andreas throttled back and the engine module at the ship’s base crunched into the foot of the gorge. The lateral jets controlled the ship’s gentle toppling as it leaned over towards the cliff edge, finally coming to rest with the central shaft at an angle of about 10° to the vertical. The engine was stopped and silence fell.

“We’re down” announced Andreas.

An air of stunned relief filled the spaceship – few had actually believed that the impossible feat of landing their interstellar craft on a planetary surface could really be achieved. At the same time they all realised that Diana would never fly again. She and they were permanently committed to this unknown world.

After an hour it was decided that the charred forest had cooled enough, and one of the lower hatches in the crew module was opened. From this it was a drop of about 15 metres to the ground below, next to the cliff edge against which Diana leaned. A ladder was lowered and Andreas climbed down carefully. He stood among the cooling ashes and looked round.

“Come on down” he called up to Vera, “Get your troops into position and let’s get organised.”

Controlled chaos ensued for the rest of that day, as people and equipment were lowered to the ground and hastily put into some sort of order. Soon Vera had her archers practising under real gravity conditions, and a troop of spearmen were advancing with locked shields across a bare patch of ground under her critical eye. Tents and field kitchens were dispersed in the unburned woods, and teams were collecting data about the new world and its life forms.

Andreas had ordered Hans Olfach and his men to set up their rocket projector near the edge of the cliff, where it could cover the skies to the south. His precaution was justified at sunset, when the noise of an engine began to be heard. Andreas ordered all his followers into the trees, and move to stand close to the rocket launcher and its crew.

Over the trees appeared one of the autogyros which had been carried in the colony pods. It flew straight overhead, and then banked over the canyon and came back for another look at Diana and the encampment. “Get it!” ordered Andreas, “What are you waiting for?”

Hans swung the launcher round, and as the autogyro reappeared behind the bulk of Diana’s crew module he pressed the firing lever. The rocket shot forth in a cloud of smoke and flashed past the aircraft’s tail. A second rocket was loaded and launched, but the autogyro was taking evasive action and banked away out of its path. But the third rocket struck the tail and exploded, sending the little aircraft spinning out of control into the trees further along the cliff edge.

Vera led a detachment of troops into the woods in the direction of the crash, and a short while later returned with the autogyro’s crew of two as prisoners. They were bruised and shaken, but not badly hurt, although the aircraft was a write-off.

“We found these in the wreck” Vera reported, handing over a rifle and some ammunition, and two handheld radio sets. Andreas ordered that the prisoners should be kept guarded but treated decently, and that a listening watch should be kept on the radios, to try to eavesdrop on the Totalists’ plans and messages.

As evening fell and the makeshift camp began to settle down for the night, Andreas stood and looked out over the edge of the cliff into the darkening rift below. It was his first chance to really take it in, and the scale of it took his breath away. He had been to the Grand Canyon on Earth, but this was twice as deep although less than half the width. Trees and bushes clung tenaciously to the sides all the way down, so that very little bare rock could be seen. Flying creatures, similar enough to terrestrial species to be called birds, flew about beneath his feet and their cries echoed through the vertical jungle below.

Two of the world’s three moons had risen briskly above the eastern forest and showed small bright discs. As Andreas stood there, he began to feel that this world had some kind of hidden magic, a strange enchantment that seemed to be located away to the north. He shook himself to get rid of such fancies and turned back to deal with the business of the camp.

The next day saw the end of the unloading of Diana. The hatches were closed and locked from the outside by a coded combination. “That should keep Swingman’s bullies out of our ship if they come this way” muttered Andreas.

“What about Professor Hertberg?” wondered Vera.

“Let him sleep in stasis for the present. He is safe inside there. Perhaps one day we will have the time and the resources to wake him up and put his theories to the test. Who knows?”

The camp was packed up, and all the gear and supplies loaded on to people’s backs. Andreas had them drawn up in their companies on the cliff edge. He looked at them standing there, clad in black armour and holding spears and shields or bows and quivers of arrows. There were men and women there, both young and old. Some had come all the way from Earth and others had joined the crew at the various planets on the way. Many were eager to get to grips with the Totalists, but some were frightened or confused by the strange turn of events, and bewildered by the shock of leaving their familiar metal womb for the unknown experiences of an alien planet’s surface.

“My companions” said Andreas, “We are leaving Diana now, and are no longer her crew. We have become an army, and must find ourselves a base of operations. We will head west, and when we have found somewhere suitable in this forest I will take a detachment south to make contact with the colonists. I don’t know what will happen then, but I expect it will involve fighting. Most of the firearms that the Totalists took were in the Grey Fort, and will have been destroyed. So we shall fight on even terms, and I believe our training and discipline will give us the edge. That’s all. Let’s go.”

Led by A Company, in column of march, Andreas’ army plunged into the forest and headed west, slanting away from the great rift. As they passed through the woods the ‘birds’ sang and flew above their heads. Bright leaves and flowers hung from the trees, and fragrant plants grew between their trunks. It began to feel more like a holiday hike than a serious military manoeuvre, and as they marched to ad hoc army chatted, laughed and flirted.

At lunchtime they opened their ration packs, and Andreas had various samples of fruit brought to the portable testing computer. It declared them all edible and most of them nutritious, so that many of the members of the column refreshed themselves with fruit from the surrounding trees.

“This planet is too good to be true!” laughed Vera, “It’s certainly too good for Swingman.”

The march went on. Towards evening they were all becoming weary. Although the gravity was less than Earth’s, and considerably less than the acceleration of the starship which they had all recently experienced, the crew of Diana were unused to walking long distances and needed time to adjust to the effort involved. Also each member of the little army was carrying a large pack of supplies, a shield, sword and either a spear or a bow and arrows. They were all wearing lightweight armour, fabricated from the plastic interior walls of the ship and stained black, which covered their heads and bodies as well as arms and legs. All in all, Andreas’ band were happy to stop and camp for the night.

The next day the advance scouts reached a spot which Andreas decided would make a good initial base. A wide green opening in the trees was bordered on the western side by a steep slope, down which splashed a small stream. At the top of this mound was a bare rocky area, from the centre of which the stream emerged as a bubbling spring. A garrison was sent to the hilltop, which would be easily defensible from any side, and the main camp was established down in the clearing.

Tents were erected, and shelters were put up using branches and large leaves. By nightfall of the second day after leaving the ship, the army had a base. Alicia suggested a name: Waterfall Hill, and so it was known. At the foot of the hill was a wide pool, and from the northern edge the stream hurried off in the direction of the Great Rift. Most of the army had left off both armour and clothes and were bathing in the pool as the sun went down, leaving the hilltop garrison looking down enviously.

Andreas was climbing the hill to relieve Simon, when he met the latter descending with news. Together they returned to the summit. A message had been intercepted on the captured radio link, and one of the crewmen reported its gist to Andreas.

“A force of Totalist troops is heading north to sweep the forest” she said, “They’re looking for us, and are determined to deal with us before we make contact with the colonists.”

“Where are they now?”

“The signal direction is about due south of here. I don’t know the exact distance, but I think they’re just outside the start of the forest and following a river valley.”

Andreas and Simon studied the map prepared from orbital photos, and both agreed that they had located the probable river. It flowed north-east into the forest, and passed not far from their present camp before plunging into the Rift.

“I think we ought to give these characters a welcoming reception” said Andreas grimly, “We can meet them on the way up if we follow the river southwards. They want to find us – let’s make it easy for them.”

When Simon had gone down to the camp, Andreas stayed leaning on a rock for a long time, gazing over the dark woods under the alien moons and making his plans for the next few days.

Chapter 5

The goodbyes were all said, and Beta was returning to the interstellar ship in orbit. Andreas remembered taking leave of Talmo and his other Holloo friends on the shore near the giant bulk of Pod 4. He would miss them and their watery world, now named by the humans Poseidon.

After docking with Diana a nagging thought sent him to the ship’s bridge, where he switched on the main star scanner and began to study a certain section of the heavens. Soon he found the star he was seeking, the one which had drawn his attention from the surface of the planet below. He focused the scanner on it and noted the readings. As he finished, the captain floated into the control room and drifted close to him.

‘Still at work, Andreas?’ he asked ‘What are you studying?’

‘Captain, what’s our next star target?’

‘Only four were planned from Earth. From here it’s up to us to find the next target. Unfortunately the next is 31 light-years away, and doesn’t really look a very suitable spectral type. We’re in for a long haul, I’m afraid.’

‘How about this one? Look: G-type star, about 1.1 solar intensity, at a distance of 19 light-years.’

‘Let me see – there’s no such star in that sector, Andreas! We surveyed it thoroughly while you were down on Poseidon.’

Andreas drifted aside and let the captain move to the scanner controls, locked on the star. After a little while Captain Nolton grunted in surprise.

‘I’ll be damned. You’re right – it’s been staring us in the face and we never saw it. It’s by far the best target for the next stage. I’ll tell James to start setting up the course. Good work, Andreas.’

As Andreas returned to his cabin he wondered a bit about what had happened. How had the rest of the crew missed the star? And how had his attention been drawn to it? Was it connected to the Deep Ones’ strange gift of seeing what is hidden, and knowing what is secret? He had told no-one about his mysterious encounter, so now he kept his questions to himself.

******

Poseidon fell behind and the ship went into its routine for interstellar flight. Seven years passed without significant incident, and now Diana was decelerating towards its new target star, just over two years journey away. Shifts had newly changed, and Andreas was conferring with Captain Nolton in the control room.

The captain seemed to have aged greatly. Without deep-sleep the long 34 years of travel were showing in his lined face and shaky frame. Andreas and the other commanders had often tried to persuade him to take some hibernation time, but their attempts had always failed. He tried again to broach the subject.

‘How long now to our next star?’ he asked.

‘Just over two years. It’s been a long haul this time. Poseidon seems very far behind.’

‘Why don’t you go into deep-sleep until we get there? The ship almost runs itself – we’ll wake you up if there’s a crisis. You should keep yourself as fresh as possible. It’s a long way back to Earth, and a lot of travelling still to do.’

‘I shall never see Earth again. I knew that when we set out. You and the others can go back and tell them all the things we’ve seen and done. I’m the captain of Diana, and she and I will stick together as long as we can.’

‘You’re hopeless. I’ve a good mind to…’

He stopped speaking and turned as the door to the bridge swung sharply open, revealing a dark figure standing in the doorway. It was Albert Swingman, his right arm still in a sling but with his gun clutched firmly in his left hand and pointing straight at the captain. He stepped into the room and smiled grimly. Behind him stood a group of his followers, and among them Andreas was astonished to see James Brady.

‘Please don’t move’ said Swingman quietly, ‘Or touch any of the controls.’

Andreas and the other three crewmen in the room were frozen in disbelief, but the captain strode firmly towards the central control console. The gun sounded twice and he staggered back and clutched a cabinet, before sliding to the floor. Andreas was at his side in a moment, supporting his head, but the look of death was heavy on the captain’s face.

‘Andreas dal’Nostra’ he spoke clearly but slowly, ‘I appoint you Captain of this ship after me. Guard its people well…’

There was no more. Andreas laid his head gently down on the floor and stood up to face his killer. The barrel of the gun pointed straight at him now, and Swingman’s finger began to take up the pressure on the trigger.

‘No!’ shouted Brady, ‘No more shooting. You promised no killing, remember?’

‘Very well’ came the cold reply, ‘But take him away and put him to sleep quickly before I change my mind. He owes me for this arm. He’s captain now – where’s the captain’s place?’

‘Through there. Come on, Andreas.’

Two large men grabbed Andreas and expertly frogmarched him into the captain’s cabin. He had only time for a brief glance round at Captain Nolton’s personal things spread about, waiting for him to return. Then the hibernation chamber was opened and he was forced inside. The lid slammed and sleep took him.

****

He woke slowly from a series of wild and vivid dreams, which seemed full of meaning and insight. That vanished as he came fully awake and stared up at the display above his head.

Time from launch:                   37 years 207 days

            Physiological age:                  69 years 14 days

***  ALERT *** Captain’s attention to hazardous situation.

*** Message waiting ***

Briefly Andreas was puzzled by the age displayed, and then remembered that he was in the captain’s hibernation chamber. Then all his memories returned, and he realised that three years had passed since Captain Nolton’s murder and his own imprisonment in the deep-sleep coffin. “Message” he ordered, and the ship’s computed responded with the click of a recorded message. Brady’s voice filled the chamber.

“I’m sorry, Andreas. It’s a shock for you, and you will hate me for what I’ve done, but I believe it’s the right thing. Ever since we left Earth I’ve grown more convinced that we are mad, just seeding new colonies which will repeat the same mistakes and get into the same old mess as on Earth. After Swingman tried his last coup I began to study some of his ideas. He says that we must try to break out of the old mess by careful planning and making the best use of all our human resources. If that means that the more intelligent rule the lesser, then that’s the way it’s got to be.

“Now we’ve got a chance to put his ideas to the test. We can build a new world, a new breed of men to reach heights of achievement impossible in the old decadent societies of Earth. But why do I try to convince you? I know you will not agree, Andreas, because you are bound to the old inferior ways of doing things.

“We have found our planet, and landed both pods. Some of the crew have joined us, but most have not. I persuaded Swingman that it was safer and better to let you all go, and that we have no further use for Diana. We have kept the shuttles and all the useful supplies and weapons, and put all the crew into hibernation.

“We will now send the ship off at a steady 1g acceleration in the direction of the galactic core, and set the timers on your hibernation chambers to ten years. After that you can turn round and go back to Earth. There’s no point in coming back here – you can’t land and you couldn’t act against us even if you could land. Goodbye, Andreas, try not to judge us too harshly. Mary send her love.”

Andreas lay in silence for a moment, feeling the black rage boil up in his heart. The death of Captain Nolton was still vividly present in his mind, although it must lie many months in the past. He snapped out “Display Alert!”.

The computer’s voice sounded in the small chamber: “Meteorite impact in storage chamber 15 – pressure loss in chamber. All crew off-duty, so captain notified of hazardous situation.”

Andreas realised that the emergency had led to him being awoken before the programmed time. How long had they been gone from the planet?

“Time since departure from last star system?” he asked, and the computer responded “173 days”. Andreas pressed the catch which released the lid of the deep-sleep coffin and sat up. The captain’s possessions were still there, and the room had obviously not been touched while Andreas slept.

He climbed out and hurried through into the empty control room. Some equipment was missing and some was smashed, but the main controls were intact. He slammed his hand on to the power control and cut the engine off. His weight vanished and he strapped himself into a seat. Quickly, almost automatically, he went through the routine for turn-over. This was never done solo, but Andreas’ compulsion drove him to complete the manoeuvre fast and alone.

The stars swung in the view-screens until the bright spot of the sun they were leaving came into the centre of the forward screen. Then Andreas re-activated the engine and increased thrust to 1.25 gravities. Diana was going back.

His next act was to program the ship’s computer for a general awakening of the whole crew. At the same time he left instructions for them all to assemble in the main hall, and ran a check on who was still in the ship. 159 crew members were aboard – only a few were missing, and Andreas assumed they had joined the Totalists. Mary was gone too, and he felt a strange pain at her desertion, although their relationship had never developed into love. On his part, at least.  He swore briefly and then busiest himself running a check on the ship’s supplies, condition and general status until it was time to meet the others.

The main hall was crowded and a buzz of speculation filled the air. Andreas entered quietly and stepped on to the platform. As he stood and looked at them, the crew fell slowly silent. “Fellow crewmen” he said, “Please listen to this message I have received.”

He activated the recorded message from James Brady, and everyone listened in various stages of amazement and horror. When the message ended Andreas spoke again.

“A lucky accident prevented Brady’s plan from working fully. We have awoken after only six months rather than ten years, because of a minor meteor strike which caused the computer to rouse me. Now we must make certain decisions. As he died, Captain Nolton appointed me to succeed him as captain – some of you heard him do that.”

Three of the crew nodded in agreement.

“Is it your wish that I be captain, and will you follow my orders?”

Cries of approval filled the hall, as all present expressed their belief that Andreas was the one best fitted to lead them in this strange new phase of their journey.

“Thank you, my friends. Then I appoint Vera Trigana as Commander of C Shift in my place. To replace Brady I appoint his deputy, Simon Trucraft, as Commander of B Shift. Alicia Melenna remains as Commander of A Shift, as she has been since we started. I have already turned the ship around and we are decelerating. I intend to return to the world which we have just left as quickly as possible, which will be in about fifteen months.”

“Why, Andreas?” asked Alicia, “We can’t do anything there. We must return to Earth and report what’s happened.”

“No” stated Andreas firmly, “If we go back to Earth, what can they do? And even if they did send an expedition against Swingman, by the time it got there he would be firmly in control of a planetary dictatorship, and could laugh at any attempt to overthrow him. We are the only ones who can act, and act quickly. Two million of our colonists are now under Swingman’s rule, and we have a responsibility to them. And he killed Captain Nolton.”

“Andreas, you’re not talking sense” protested Alicia, “You talk about avenging the captain and rescuing the colonists from Swingman’s power, but we can’t even land on the planet. And if we could land, we have no weapons to fight with. And if we did have weapons, are we justified in killing people? War is a worse evil than dictatorship – I refuse to take any part in it.”

“I respect what you say, Alicia” said Andreas, “But we must fight Swingman. We can make weapons. I can land this ship on the planet, even if it never leaves the surface again. But our duty is clear to me – we cannot leave the colonists in the hands of Swingman and his thugs.”

“How will we fight?” asked Simon Trucraft, “I expect they have taken all the guns.”

“We must make ourselves weapons, and fight in any way we can. Now it is time to start making plans. Will the engineering officer and the commanders meet me in an hour’s time to discuss what we can do. Until then, I expect you’re all hungry, like me.”

The meeting broke up slowly as chattering groups of crew made their way to the refectory. Suddenly Andreas spotted a face he had not seen for years. “Professor Hertberg! Where have you been? I thought you had left the ship.”

“No, Andreas. I’ve been in hibernation all the time. Your general awakening got me up for the first time in years.”

“Whatever for, Professor?”

“I have accumulated enough data to confirm my new theories of space, time and gravitation. My next step is to publish them on Earth, and start work on building new apparatus. I believe we can produce space-drives which will move at thousands of times light-speed – although there’s lots of development work to be done. So I decided to hibernate until we return to Earth, and then I can put my theories to the test.”

“I’m afraid that we shall never return to Earth, Professor.”

“Never? What do you mean, never?”

“We shall land this ship on the planet, and it will never be able to take off again. We have to throw our lot in with the colonists, to fight Swingman and his bullies.”

“You’re mad! What about my research? What I have discovered can be a new beginning for the whole human race!”

“I’m afraid my responsibility is to the two million colonists we’ve left behind – your research takes second place to that, Professor.”

“This is insane! I’m going back into hibernation, and do not wake me again for any emergency!”

So saying, the professor stormed off leaving Andreas on his own. He mused that he would have offered to send the details of the professor’s findings back to Earth, but the mutineers had destroyed the maser link. Diana was truly on her own.

* * * * *

Time passed, and preparations for landing and waging war went forward. The Engineering Officer, Hans Olfach, reported that his workshops had been stripped of materials and tools. He was told to work with what he could find, and to cannibalise the ship’s interior to make weapons. He began to design an improvised rocket launcher and rockets. Vera revealed herself to be a historian and expert on antique weapons, and worked out basic designs for shields, spears, bows and arrows. She borrowed Andreas’ sword to use as a model for making more weapons to a similar pattern.

Diana slowed to a dead stop and then began to speed up again, back towards the star she had left behind while all the crew were in forced deep-sleep. As it grew brighter ahead, teams of workers cannibalised the ship’s fittings, turning them into weapons of different types. Hans Olfach and his crew were busy on their rocket launcher and a number of simple rockets.

Alicia protested to Andreas that all these weapons would be worthless against a Totalist force armed with guns from the ship’s armoury, but he dismissed her fears. “We must neutralise their guns, then” was all he said in response.

After turnover, and while the ship was steadily decelerating towards its goal, Andreas held another meeting of the whole crew.

“Fellow members of the crew of Diana, the end of her long voyage is close at hand. Soon we shall no longer be space travellers, but soldiers, fighting on a strange planet against Swingmen and his forces. You have trained hard with your new weapons, and I am confident that you will fight bravely and well for the sake of the colonists we brought here.”

Vera had spent many hours in the recreation hall, with the pool covered over, training squads of spearmen to advance as a body with their shields locked, or teaching archers the finer points of their art. She swore they would make good troops, in time. As he spoke, the men and women of Andreas’ little army listened attentively.

“So now” he continued, “I propose that you change your names to A Company, B Company and C Company. Commander Melenna will not lead troops into battle, but she will command the medical and supply side of our campaign. I myself will lead A Company. Although our numbers are small, we have a common purpose and discipline, and I’m sure we can overcome Swingman’s forces.”

Diana headed into the new system, and telescopes soon discovered the only habitable world – the second of six. As the starship drew closer, the crew began to pick out details and measure the parameters of the planet that Swingman had stolen. Gravity 0.89g, atmospheric pressure 20% higher than Earth’s, rotation period 22 hours and 16 minutes, orbital inclination 15°. Three moderate-sized moons orbited it, and the land area made up about a quarter of the total surface.

Andreas moved the ship into a polar orbit and the photographic mapping of the surface began. This soon revealed the landing site of the two pods. They lay side by side on the northern shore of an inland sea on the main continent. Andreas ordered the ship into a higher stationary orbit directly above the landing site and began a detailed study of the maps and photos.

He soon found the three shuttles, parked on the coast close to the position of the beached pods. Between the pods and the shuttles was a square building, clearly built of stone and appearing to be a fortress or castle of some kind. Andreas suspected that he was looking at the headquarters of Swingman’s Totalist dictatorship. To the north, east and west signs of human habitation could be seen, in the form of villages and other settlements scattered over the green hills and plains north of the inland sea.

A few kilometres inland from the fortress was a substantial city, clearly still under construction but the biggest centre of population on the new planet. Further north there was a wide band of forest, and in the centre the clear line of a deep rift or canyon. He asked for estimates of its depth and was told that the maximum depth was about 3,000 metres and the average width about five kilometres. The deep narrow gorge ran for hundreds of kilometres, trending westwards to reach the ocean to the northwest of the landing site. This information gave Andreas food for some serious thought.

Several hours later he was woken from sleep with the news that one of the shuttles had taken off from the planet. He propelled himself to the bridge and strapped in, watching the view transmitted on to the main screen. The shuttle was climbing steadily towards them, and was obviously aiming to intercept Diana in her stationary orbit. As the image on the screen grew they could see that beneath the belly of the shuttle was slung a makeshift cradle holding what seemed to be several rockets.

The warlike nature of this addition did not escape Andreas. He also noted that it was shuttle Gamma that was approaching, his old familiar craft.

One of the control room crew reported radio transmissions from the shuttle. Although the interstellar maser link had been smashed, the short-range radio dish was still operational. Andreas gave an order and the voice from the shuttle came clearly over the loudspeaker to the bridge, and was transmitted to the whole ship.

“Shuttle Gamma to Diana. Do you receive me?”

“We hear you” said Andreas into the microphone, “What do you have to say to us?”

“Supreme Director Swingman commands that you surrender and be transferred to the ground in this shuttle. Otherwise we shall destroy you. We have the weapons to blast your ship to bits.”

“You surrender to us, or be destroyed” replied Andreas, “Your threats are empty.”

The shuttle was closer now, less than 50 kilometres away and closing fast. Andreas’ fingers moved over the control panel, preparing the ship’s magnetic flux fields for operation. He waited for the shuttle’s inevitable reply.

“Then I must destroy you. On your own heads be it.”

“Is James Brady on board your shuttle?” asked Andreas.

“No, he’s too soft on you lot. Swingman’s kept him on the ground. Goodbye, fools!”

On the screen they could see a rocket flash away from the shuttle, and become a bright dot aimed at Diana. Andreas acted – his hands swiftly operated the controls and the magnetic shields sprang into full power.

Across the space between the ships they lashed, scrambling the electronics in the missile and swatting it aside harmlessly. The intense magnetic field was focused on the shuttle, and in an instant ruined both its electronic systems and the delicate containment fields of it snuclear fusion drive. Uncontrolled, the fusion reaction blazed forth and the shuttle vanished in a bright flash of brilliant energy.

On Diana the viewscreen darkened automatically to accommodate the intense light, and Andreas switched off the magnetic shields again. An awful silence fell. At last Andreas spoke.

“James Brady once said that we were weaponless, but I knew as he said it that he was wrong. No other ship should be in space anywhere near Diana when she has her magnetic shields deployed – they are deadly, although not designed to be used as weapons. And we have other weapons too, as Swingman will discover. Any word from below?”

“No” replied the radio operator, then suddenly: “Wait! Something down there – it’s very faint – let me track it with the dish.”

The silence in the control room was broken by a hissing sound, with the faint sound of a human voice behind it. The voice grew stronger as the operator adjusted the aerial dish and tuned in more precisely.

“Calling Diana. Calling Diana. Respond if you hear me, please. Calling Diana.”

Andreas picked up the microphone again and replied: “Diana here. Who are you?”

A pause while the radio waves travelled to the planet and a reply came back.

“Carolus Samalto speaking. I can’t talk long, before Swingman’s men pinpoint my radio and come for us. Can you help us?”

“What’s the situation down there?” asked Andreas, “Is Swingman in full control?”

“Very much so. Anyone who gets out of line is dragged off to the Grey Fort and never seen again. My father and I are trying to organise resistance, but it’s very hard. Swingman has all the weapons, and plenty of men. He’s persuaded some of the colonists to join him, and most of the rest are too frightened to oppose him. Is there any way you can help?”

“This is Andreas dal’Nostra, captain of Diana. I promise you all our aid as soon as we can get to you.”

“Andreas! I remember you – we talked together, not so long ago. Do you remember?”

“Yes. Although it’s fifteen years ago for me. Tell me, Carolus, is the Grey Fort Swingman’s centre of operation?”

“Yes, it’s his armoury, fortress and torture chamber. It needs to be destroyed.”

“I will try to do that. And I shall land this ship and join forces with you. Look for us from the north.”

“How can you land …”

The voice broke off, and then began again hastily.

“The Totalists are coming. They’ve tracked our signals. Goodbye.”

Then silence. Andreas stirred in his seat and turned to Vera.

“Are your troops fully trained?” he asked her.

“As fully as I can manage in the ship. I’ll have more chance to get them into shape on the ground.”

Andreas nodded and turned to Alicia.

“Are your supplies of food and medicines packed and ready to go?” She just nodded.

Finally Andreas addressed a question to Simon Trucraft, the third commander: “How long before it’s early morning in the longitude of the Grey Fort?”

“Fourteen hours, captain” answered that you man.

“Good. Then we have ten hours to rest ourselves, and after that we’ll be going down. Everyone get some sleep – tomorrow will be a busy day.”