NIGHTFALL PREVIEW

FICTION SHORT

BY PETER NEALEN

Here’s a short preview of something Peter’s been working on. For those who like hulking armor, heavy weapons, and the dangers that come in a man’s belief.

THE CURSE OF KNOWLEDGE

Jun Rath stepped through the portal as the massive doors ground open, the enormous gears making the stone beneath his feet vibrate. The Imperial basilica on Gedisan had stood like a pillar of adamant on the promontory above the Maroon Sea for nearly two local centuries, though it looked as if it had been there since Man had first set foot on the planet.

That is the way with the Empire. More an upstart than they want anyone to believe, yet they build as if they have always been here. He was careful to keep his thoughts from his face.

That need for his expression of bland diplomacy became even more evident as he stepped through the portal and saw the hulking forms waiting for him. His heart raced as he consciously smoothed his features and slowed his movements even more.

The figures of the Paladins would have been over two meters tall even out of their armor, but all of these men were in full plate, the adaptive coatings shifting from the drab colors of combat camouflage to garrison gloss black, a hunched carrion bird traced in silver on their pauldrons. All but one wore their helmets, their eyes hidden behind lenses which seemed to faintly glow a sullen red.

The Sons of Corinius. It could be worse.

He suppressed a shiver. Yes, it certainly could be worse. It could be the Knights Encarmine or the Order of the Jaguar. There was a good chance that the Sons would not allow him to leave the basilica alive, but even then, there would be a possibility that he could live on in service, perhaps even finding a way to escape. The other two orders would doubtless kill him summarily if they found out what he knew.

Standing a tier above the other Paladins, the sole helmetless figure watched him enter. Rath kept his gait smooth, trying not to show that he’d been surprised by the Paladins’ presence. He’d hoped to speak to one of the Imperial Survey officers, and begin to sound out whether it would be more lucrative to contract with the Empire, seek out one of the frontier factions that might have interest in what he’d found, or simply stay silent.

The way the Paladins were watching him made him start to think that perhaps silence simply was the best avenue after all, even without inquiring.

“You requested a meeting with an Imperial Survey official.” The Paladin Lord’s voice was a low, bass rumble. “The radiation patterns still read on your ship’s hull suggest that you came from the rimward reaches.”

Rath cursed silently. They knew. At least, they knew something, which was more than he wanted, at least until he could feel out what his discoveries meant.

“Yes, I did come from the frontier.” There was no point in denying it at that point. “My work often takes me out that way. There may well be technologies to be discovered or new trade opportunities to be found. Is that not the realm of a Free Trader?” He realized he was becoming defensive, and fought to control himself. “There is no Imperial law against it.”

The Paladins simply watched him, the Paladin Lord’s expression unchanged, blank, unreadable. He simply held out a massive, gauntleted hand, his power armor adding nearly twice the bulk of his own limb. “We would see the recordings you brought for the Imperial Survey.”

Any thought of protesting was immediately dismissed. The Paladins were The Eternal’s right hand. No one who defied them could pretend to be a loyal citizen of the Empire, even if they let him live.

It was no secret to Rath that any of the armored superhumans in the room could be on him before he could blink. In those close quarters, they wouldn’t even bother with the powerguns at their sides. The combat knives—adamantine ceramic blades with monomolecular edges, that were nearly short swords to any normal human—would suffice. He’d never even know what had happened.

Touching the control of his wristcomp, he brought up the holo display, the planets of the unnamed system, cataloged by the Questor VII’s computer with a random alphanumeric, springing into glowing life in the center of the hall. The Questor VII’s track traced through the system, passing by the gas giants to the central, terrestrial world, which then grew to dominate the display.

“What caught our attention was what appears to be technological debris in orbit,” he explained. “I wished to consult with the Imperial Survey before asserting salvage rights.” Which wasn’t the whole truth, but he knew better than to tell that to The Eternal’s most powerful warriors.

All eyes seemed focused on the holograph, where not only the wrecked ships and stations in orbit were highlighted, but also the wasteland of the planet below, which had apparently been subjected to a massive orbital bombardment.

One which had to have lasted for years.

“Brother Bosko.” The Paladin Lord didn’t look at any of the statuesque black figures around the room, and none of them moved, but after a moment, a rarified, stentorian voice boomed through an external mic.

“There is no signal recorded, Lord. Nor is there any evidence in the data stream of tampering.”

Rath felt a chill run through him. While he hadn’t tampered with the record—he wasn’t sure why he would—he hadn’t expected the Paladins to be able to read the whole data stream just by looking at the holograph. They were more capable than even he had suspected, and far more dangerous for it. What else do they know?

The Paladin Lord’s pale eyes pinned him. “You detected no signal at any time after you entered the system?”

“No, my lord,” Rath answered, unable to keep some degree of nervousness out of his voice. “Should I have? Do you know this system.”

The big man nodded gravely. “I know it well. I also know why it is under Imperial Interdict.” Icy fingers closed around Rath’s heart, and he forgot to breathe for a moment. Violating an Imperial Interdict was an immediate death sentence for himself, his crew, and any of his associates he might have communicated with since the violation.

He never was going to leave the basilica alive.

“It would seem, however, that the satellite broadcasting the Writ has been destroyed. You are fortunate that you did not detect it, Trader Rath.” The Paladin Lord brought his helmet around to hold it in both gauntleted hands. “While you did not know of the Interdict, however, you and your ship are now commandeered in the name of the Empire. You will spend the rest of your life in The Eternal’s service.” If anything, those pale eyes grew ever so slightly colder. “Be thankful that your blundering has resulted in so lenient a sentence.” He looked around at the armored supermen lining the hall. “Come, brothers. We depart for the Sudil-Mu system immediately. Let us see what threat has crawled out of the tomb on that benighted world.”