The Regiments of Night - Brian N. Ball, ebook, CALIBRE SFF 1970s, Temp 2
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The Regiments of NightBrian N. Ball--------------------------------------------------------------------------------“THEIR CREST,” the Revived Man said, pointing to the ruins below. “THE CREST OF THE SECOND INTERPLANETARY CONFEDERATION.”In spite of the passing of centuries it had survived. Three sunbursts still glowed along one intact radiation shield, the proud emblem of the ancient Empire.“One for each of the planets they held,” said the Brigadier.“They ruined this one,” Khalia said. “See what it says about the legend.” She felt the cold edge of menace.The Brigadier read out the words with a connoisseur’s pride. “Powerful words! Listen! It’s just a line, but it’s survived for a thousand years. A promise and a threat:“The Regiments of Night shall come at the end.”--------------------------------------------------------------------------------DAW BOOKS, INC.No. 19DONALD A. WOLLHEIM, PUBLISHER1301 Avenue of the Americas New York, N. Y. 10019COPYRIGHT ©, 1972, BY BRIAN N. BALLALL RIGHTS RESERVED.COVER ART BY KELLY FREAS.PRINTED IN U.S.A.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dedication:For my daughters Jane and Amanda--------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Regiments of Night--------------------------------------------------------------------------------CHAPTER 1A dim yellow sun shimmered for moments in the space that still shook with the eerie trailing dance of the hyper-cubes. The girl tensed.“I don’t know why you bother,” Mrs. Zulkifar said over her shoulder. “One sun’s much like another. This one is quite undistinguished. I don’t think I’ll trouble to leave the ship at all.”Khalia smiled politely. “I expect you’re right,” she said.But she still looked out into the blankness, waiting for the moment of transition from the weird phenomenon of Phase, when the ship would break loose from the coils of the unreal dimensions and slip into a tenable structure of space-time.She wanted to see the sun. The Sun. And Earth.Corridors of unholy power spun before her. There was a momentary blankness beyond belief as the ship pulsated with energy.“No,” said Mrs. Zulkifar. “I don’t think I’m up to another excursion.”“Nonsense!” Brigadier Wardle said heartily. “You must come with me—I promise you won’t be disappointed! Splendid ruins down there! You can’t miss Earth!”Mrs. Zulkifar shook her handsome head. “I may take one of the other trips,” she said. “But a whole day in the weather just isn’t for me, Brigadier.”They talked on, Wardle pursuing the attractive widow with a hearty enthusiasm that had been comic during the first part of the long voyage. It bored Khalia now. She wanted to see the planet.The entire ship was invested with a disagreeable rippling of power. The sharp angles of walls and seats blurred for a tiny fraction of time.Then the moment of transition from hyperspace to the comprehensible dimensions was accomplished. Khalia looked about her.The ship was riding smoothly alongside a belt of asteroids. The passengers could look at one another and not have to hide a secret fear of the gulfs between the stellar systems. They could leave the protective couches and look at the reassuring solidity of the planets, sure that they could make an easy planetfall if they wished.Time and space had been forced aside, so that the voyagers could add one more excursion to their itinerary. Galactic center never lost a ship.Suddenly the vessel lurched; Mrs. Zulkifar yelped.“What the devil—” began Wardle.“This is not an emergency!” a smooth metallic voice said at once. “Your captain apologizes for the discomfort. A small adjustment of course was necessary to avoid a vessel in the immediate vicinity. There is no cause for alarm. Thank you!”“It’s too much!” Mrs. Zulkifar complained. “Anyway, I thought there wasn’t a captain.”The retired soldier was happy to explain. “No more, my dear—ah—Emma! It’s a polite fiction, like pretending that the food comes from real grains and vegetables and animals. Galactic Center hasn’t used a crewed ship for a couple of centuries! Why should it?”“What’s another ship doing here?” the middle-aged woman with the firm figure and exquisite clothes wanted to know. “I thought the whole planet was derelict!”“Not altogether,” said Wardle, with a gleam of excitement. “What was the ship?” he asked the humanoid handing around drinks.“The captain believes it was a private vessel, sir,” said the automaton, “It didn’t respond to signals. Of course it could be the famous Dr. Dross’s supply vessel—the archaeologist, sir, you know.”“I know,” said Wardle.“Of course, sir! Perhaps Dr. Dross is exhibiting signs of his well-known eccentricity. Maybe he buzzed us deliberately, sir!”“Why?” asked Khalia.“The Doctor is averse to visitors,” explained the robot. “But don’t let that deter you from visiting the famous ruins, miss. The Doctor is obliged, by the terms of his contract with Galactic Center, to act as host to our passengers.”It spoke with a degree of satisfaction that Khalia found repellent. It chuckled. It was a laughing little robot. Khalia had heard its poor jokes halfway across the Galaxy.Wardle was launched on a lecture. “It must have been badly-handled to make us take evasive action. I don’t like to think there’s some incompetent blasting around just as we’re coming out of Phase.”“The captain said we’re not to worry,” Mrs. Zulkifar said firmly. “He should know!”“Damn it, there isn’t a captain!” growled Wardle.Mrs. Zulkifar pointedly ignored him.“The robots take too much on themselves!” he added, but no one was listening now.Khalia was looking through the scanners at the green planet. It would not be long before the big tourist ship sent out its fleet of excursion-craft to the various local attractions.Khalia was going to Earth. She was as excited as she could ever remember. Her face was calm enough, but inwardly she was brimming with eagerness. The rest of the long, slow haul through the Galaxy had been interesting enough. There had been a succession of often bewildering new sights. None had stirred her as the thought of the ancient planet that swam greenly about its red-yellow sun. There was little to see as yet.Probably the excursion would be a disappointment. According to the guidebooks, most of the land-surface was unapproachable. The deep radiation of the Third Millennium and its Mad Wars still gnawed into the planetary crust. Nothing grew on the twin continents that straddled the globe. The Southern landmass was a fiercer waste than when the human race had invented space-time travel. Parts of what had been Europe remained green.The scanners at last began to pick out detail. Forests and lakes under drifting white cloud made the planet a welcoming place. Here and there the remains of a tower-city thrust through the clouds, still supported on thin stilts. One blue city caught her attention. It parted the white mist like a needle in wool. Would it be on the itinerary? It wasn’t.Then the city was obscured by a raging storm. Khalia flicked the scanner away. Before it moved on, she saw a tiny ship hang like a fish in the clouds. And then another.“There were two ships!” she exclaimed.“What?” said the Brigadier, all bustling energy.“I saw them—two ships! Just before I moved the scanner on. I can’t find them now.”“Couldn’t be!” said Wardle heartily. “One, yes. Not two. Maybe you saw the same ship twice. Optical illusion—aftereffect on the retina.”“Maybe I did,” said the girl.Wardle caught the tone of dissatisfaction in her voice. “There just can’t be!” he went on. “One ship, yes— that would be Dr. Dross’s vessel. He’ll need supplies from Center from time to time. But there’s no reason for another ship. Not a real ship, that is, not this sort of ship. The dig down there is the only official settlement.”He paused. “Of course, there’d be a few hoboes,” he continued. “Eccentrics. People who’ve stranded themselves deliberately years ago. The sort of people who’d come to live on Earth out of sentiment.”“It doesn’t matter,” said Khalia. She was too happy to resent his patronizing.He began to talk about the planet, quite interestingly at first. He knew an amazing amount about the oldest known planet of all. He spoiled the effect by trying to impress his circle of female listeners with his knowledge of the theories about the origin of human life. Khalia moved away when he began the familiar recital. The business of mythical accounts of a settlement by extra-Terrestrials was worn-out, tedious stuff.Yet when the ship had slipped out of the curious and frightening effect called Phase, she had become unbelievably excited. Had she been able to look at herself, she would have been deeply ashamed of the flushed cheeks, the wide open eyes, and the furious throbbing of her neck arteries. She had been totally absorbed in the moment of revelation. It hadn’t been in the least dull.She looked what she was, a young woman undergoing a profound sense of wonder at feelings she had not guessed could exist. She sensed the mystery of the ancient spinning globe, and it moved her strangely.Mrs. Zulkifar said something caustically to Wardle. The older woman regarded Khalia’s slim but well-rounded body with some dislike. Khalia knew she was talking about her.“—flaunting herself—” Khalia made out.Khalia pushed the short skirt over her legs. What made Mrs. Zulkifar such a disagreeable bitch? Khalia hoped she would not make the trip to Earth. “And I did see two ships,” she said, but under her breath. Why provoke another lecture ...
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