Perhaps if I read a page or two, I could make a better decision.
I shook my head to cast away the insidious thoughts. The noise of the battle came rushing back. I looked back across the plateau, beyond Man-dragore's upright, burning corpse and the sprawled body of Malahite. The last few pockets of fighting were playing out, and the great tiled platform was littered with dead and debris. Both carrier vehicles were ablaze. The saruthi had gone, taking even their corpses with them. It seemed to me the Gudrunites had overwhelmed the troopers by sheer numbers. Few figures were still standing, and I could see none of my companions.
His regal cloak torn and his face bloodied, Oberon Glaw strode towards me, a laspistol clenched in his right hand.
'Throw that down, Glaw. It's over.'
'For you, yes.' He raised the weapon. A munitions canister on one of the burning carriers ignited and blew the armoured vehicle apart in a stunning conflagration. Flung out by the blast, broken armour plating and sections of track whizzed through the air like missiles. A chunk of trans-axle impaled Lord Glaw through the back of the head. He fell without a sound.
I grabbed a piece of smoking hull plate, and scooped the Necroteuch up on it. I would heed no more of its soft enticements. I let it slide off the makeshift scoop into Mandragore's upright corpse, so that it fell down through the open neck of the blazing armour into the furnace of the torso.
The flames turned red, then darker still. The blaze grew more intense. Something without a mouth screamed.
I limped away from the pyre. Malahite was alive and awake, calling out, 'Locke, please! Please!' in a hoarse voice.
Across the plateau, one of the naval speeders lifted into the air. Gorgone Locke was at the controls, with Dazzo slumped in the seat beside him. In moments, the racing speeder was disappearing over the ragged peaks, away from the plateau, towards the endless beach.
Midas, Bequin, Aemos and Lowink had survived the ordeal and the battle, though all had minor injuries. Two dozen Gudrunites were also still alive, including Jeruss.
Aemos wanted to see to my wound, but I had bound it tight to stanch the flow of blood and I wanted to waste no more time.
'I think it would be prudent to get out of here/ I told them.
Fischig lay on a makeshift stretcher. The saruthi weapon that had obliterated Twane had cost him an arm and half of his face. Mercifully, he was unconscious. Two Gudrunites bore him up.
'It pains me to say this, but we're taking him too/ I told Midas and Jeruss, indicating the collapsed Malahite.
Are you sure?' Betancore asked.
'The Inquisition will want to plunder his brain/
Our ragged, battered party left the dark uplands and retraced our steps to the hazy levels of the beach. The booming had increased in volume and frequency and the sky was growing dark.
'It is as if/ said Aemos ominously, 'this place is coming to an end/
'We don't want to be here when that happens/1 said.
From the beach, we could see the two Imperial frigates and the merchantman had departed. A wind, thick with an afterburn of ammonia, was picking up. Their vacuum suits more or less intact, Midas and Lowink went ahead to recover the gun-cutter.
My vox link crackled. Maxilla's voice suddenly sang out.
'Eisenhorn? For pity's sake, are you there? Are you there? Three ships just left, moving right past me! Conditions are worsening. I cannot stay here much longer. Respond! Please respond!'
'Maxilla! This is Eisenhorn! Can you hear me? We need you to move in and pick us up. We have injuries… Fischig and several others. This whole environment may be collapsing. Repeat, I need you to move the Essene in to my location and pick us up!'
A moment or two of static. Then his answer.
'As you instruct, Gregor, but it's not going to be easy. Say again, what did you say about Fischig?'
'He's hurt, Maxilla! Come and get us!'
'Hurry!' Bequin shouted over my shoulder. We don't want to be here any more!'
More static. Tell Alizebeth, I agree with that! Ha!'
The echoes, delays and dislocations were catching up with themselves. The wrongness was righting itself and, I thought with irony, that made things no better for us.
