Armorum Fidei Chapter 15
Ratsy was making a deal in the lower levels of Narthi when the alarms began to ring. Discordant blares, rising in tone and volume. They rang in the corridors and enginariums, they resounded in the steering rooms and armouries, they echoed down narrow corridors and into crawlspaces between grinding axles. The noise was everywhere and all knew what it meant, though knowing and accepting were two different things.
"Is that a false alarm?" Rundas asked, a whip-cord thin greaseman, who spent his life lubricating axle joints.
"Gotta be," Salias muttered, a prim machinist who had delusions of joining the Enginseers someday but whose grey hair proclaimed such chances had passed her by long ago.
Ratsy had met the pair to trade coin for the Good Stuff. It had been going so well, his range of customers expanding into new areas bringing the wealth he had dreamed of for so long. By his reckoning he would soon have enough coin to buy his way to a better life, though his exact plans had yet to crystallise. The last thing he needed was an alert in the middle of a sale, but it seemed reality cared nothing for his opinions. Under his feet the rattling of the deck increased, engines picking up more speed as Narthi tried to get away from something. That was a bad sign, Train-cities generally didn't go faster than a walking pace and pushing the wheels too hard was unwise, they must really be in trouble.
"We're picking up speed," Ratsy uttered, "This is real... the Far Strangers have come."
"No, can't be," Rundas yelped in terror, "No, the Star Wraiths haven't been seen in years. "
Salias however snapped, "Wake up, it's happening. It's Them."
Ratsy turned and began to move along the narrow crawlspace they were meeting in as he called, "Come on, we don't want to be caught down here during an alert."
The other two followed and Ratsy led them along the cramped gantry towards a hatch. Whirring machinery growled as they passed and Salias' sleeve brushed a piston as she hissed, "Damnation, that grease is gonna stain."
"That's the least of your worries," Ratsy snapped irately, "Get a move on!"
Hurriedly they ducked under the hatch and into a more open space. A broad corridor running between two giant axles, eternally turning in their fixtures. Here ragged groups of men and women ran by, all clinging to their totems with the desperate grips of terrified souls. Ratsy touched his own talismans and hoped they would be sufficient, if the Far Strangers broke into Narthi's wards they could be the only things keeping his soul from being consumed by aliens.
"I can't be seen down here," Salias muttered.
"None of us can," Ratsy hissed, "Rundas, got anywhere we can hide till it's over?"
"I don't…" Rundas stammered.
"If we get caught dealing you'll be punished too," Ratsy snapped, "The Enginseers will chuck us all into the cold."
Rundas gulped then hurriedly turned and led them away. They pushed past the racing crowd, all seemingly determined to get somewhere. Ratsy was worried too, for his soul and his stash. He felt he should be in his quarters, keeping his product safe but he'd been caught far from his home compartment, getting back in the midst of an alert would take ages, and draw the wrong kind of attention. All he could do was wait it out here and trust the defenders of Narthi would keep them safe.
Rundas was pushing aside a man hauling a heavy bag of tools when suddenly he stumbled, everyone did. Ratsy felt the strangest sense of pressure between his ears, feeling that the air was greasy and heavy in his nose. He'd never felt like this before and didn't know where it came from. Then he saw a strange blue glow spreading everywhere. On every metal surface wisps of glowing blue corposant arose, dancing like flames but cold. Ratsy couldn't help but reach out a hand and a spark of blue lightning leapt from the metal to his finger, or was it his finger to the metal. It didn't hurt, that was strange, it felt cool and fluid, like water dripping off his hand. Then suddenly his ears popped and the flames evaporated, leaving nothing behind save an odd vacancy in the senses.
"Ghost wisps," Rundas muttered, "A sign, a terrible sign."
"Saint Karyl's Fire," Salias corrected, "It heralds an attack is upon us."
Ratsy frowned as he said, "What's that sound?"
A faint banging was coming from high above and Salias gulped, "The guns, the guns are firing. They're here."
Rundas' eyes went wide and he suddenly pushed his way to a thick door. Ratsy followed him through and found themselves in a bare metal antechamber, with discarded tools piled up in corners and open vents set randomly in the walls. One wall held a wide doorframe, but the door itself was missing and through it cold air blew, along with daylight and faint flashes of guns high above. Ratsy wrapped his arms about himself and gasped, "Where are we?"
Rundas moved along the wall and said, "Access way, lets us get out to the undercarriage to grease hard to reach places. Normally it's sealed tight but that door fell off a few decades ago and nobody bothers to fix it. Nobody comes in here unless they have to, we should be safe until it blows over."
Salias looked perturbed as she muttered, "Hasn't been an attack in years, why today?"
"No telling," Rundas growled, "The Far Strangers come and go as they will."
Ratsy's teeth wanted to chatter in the cold as he pressed, "Will the guns keep them away?"
"Always have before," Rundas explained, "Been through a half dozen raids in my time, they come they pick off a few defenders from the walls, then they leave."
Salias shook her head and said, "Not always, I hear sometimes a train-city falls and they take all within."
"Small cities," Rundas argued, "Younger cities, no more than a kilometre or two long. Narthi is old, we can survive anything."
Ratsy suspected Rundas was trying to persuade himself more than anyone. He worried that the aliens would prove more powerful than ever before and touched his talismans, by chance his fingers fell on his Aquila and he hoped there was some true power in the eagle, if it would keep the Outsiders away he'd say whatever the eagle-preachers wanted to hear. Perhaps luck was with him for at that moment the guns fell silent and Narthi's engines reduced speed, dropping the noise level significantly.
"You see," Rundas proclaimed with a grin, "We drove them off, just as I said."
But Salias frowned as she spat, "What's that smell?"
Ratsy smelt it too, a rank cloying aroma wafting in through the open door. It was vile and repulsive, like spoilt milk and he gagged as he turned to the open door. Thus he was the first to see the intruders climbing inside. Over the lintel came a bevvy of ghost-white forms. They were low to the metal, moving on all fours like a beast. Their skin was made of waxy-scales and they had lashing tails. Their heads were pointed, with a snout and a forked tongue sticking through sharp teeth and their eyes were black without irises. A strange harness was strapped to their chest, holding a rotating mechanism upon their backs.
"Them…" Ratsy breathed in horror, "Them!" The other two turned to look and their jaws dropped in horror at the sight. Rundas drew in a breath to scream but before he could let out a whimper one of the intruders rotated its barrel and ejected a tiny white ball. It struck Rundas in the chest and unfolded, becoming a small worm. Ratsy barely had time to blink before it shot upward, crawling over Rundas' neck and jaw to dive into his mouth. The man collapsed, gagging and clawing at his throat. It had been so fast Ratsy could barely follow what happened and he stood dumbfounded as more creatures crawled over the edges of the broken door.
He was shocked out of his stupor as Salias ran past, diving for an opening in the wall. She didn't head to the heavy door, which would take precious seconds to heave open but an exposed airduct. Ratsy didn't know where it led but anywhere was better than here and he followed suit a second later, chased by hissing snarls from behind. Together the pair wriggled through the cramped opening, barely a metre long and emerged into a pounding machine room, lined by pumping pistons.
"Help me!" Salias yelled over the banging roar. She was wrestling with a large cabinet and Ratsy grabbed hold to help tip it over. The box fell over the vent with a crash that was lost in the ringing noise and he yelled, "Was it the Outsiders?"
"I can't hear…" Salias cried, "Then caught on, Them? I don't… maybe… whatever they are, we have to warn someone. That attack on the roof was a feint; they aren't coming from above but below!"
"Screw that," Ratsy spat, "I'm getting out of here!"
Salias drew in a breath but suddenly a shifting shadow made them both look upwards. Ratsy's guts dropped as he saw the strange creatures pouring from another vent, oozing through an opening he would have sworn was too small for them to get through. The waxy creatures may not be the Far Strangers but they were working for them and had found the fleeing pair with ease. Salias lifted her charms in terror but that didn't stop them from shooting one of those white orbs at her.
Ratsy however didn't wait to watch, he was already halfway down the room, running for his life. He dashed between pounding pistons, inches from being crushed but caring nothing for that as he fled. No thoughts remained in his head save flight, the animal instinct to run clawing up his spine. He put his head down and sprinted faster than he ever had in his life, arms and legs pumping as spikes of agony shot up his shins. His lungs rasped and his heart hammered but he pushed through, the adrenaline of terror lending him speed.
Ratsy came to the end of the row and dove right, headed for a door. He didn't dare to look behind and see how close the aliens were, lest it slow him down. All he knew was he had to get away, that was all that mattered. He dove through and ran across another room, taking him away from the pounding pistons until he reached the opposite door and heaved on the locking wheel, pleading for speed to any spirit that would listen. To his surprise the door unlocked smoothly, yet he wasn't half as shocked as when it yawned open to reveal Rundas beyond.
"Whaa…" Ratsy gasped but the thin man's arms shot out and grabbed him hard about the shoulders. The boy fought to break free, but though Rundas may be thin he was strong and held firm.
"Let me go!" Ratsy yelled in terror.
But Rundas' eyes looked dreamy as he said, "It's all good, all good you hear."
"Let go of me!" Ratsy screamed but was roughly turned about by strong hands only to see Salias walking smoothly towards him, that same dreamy look in her eye.
"Can't you hear the music?" she breathed as she drifted nearer, "It's wonderful, no more doubt, no more choice, only beautiful obedience and unity."
"No!" Ratsy yelled, "Don't do whatever you're planning to do!"
Rundas' grip tightened as he said, "You'll see, you'll all see soon."
One of the strange creatures emerged from behind Salias and Ratsy wriggled and fought to break free but Rundas' grip was iron and the boy was helpless. Terror made his heart thunder and his breath was rasping but nothing could do was enough to get away, he was doomed and that knowledge filled him with cold dread. Even as he watched the gaping barrel atop its back turned to face him, then with a soft pop it fired. Ratsy felt a wet impact on his chest and visceral revulsion filled him, mixed with raw terror of what was to come. He tried to clamp his jaw shut but with startling speed something shot up his neck and crawled over his chin. Its strength was amazing and it forced itself into his mouth, prising teeth apart with unearthly force. Ratsy barely had time to gargle a cry of revulsion before it dove down his throat and then his mind was overcome with alien noises as the Song of the Psybrids burrowed into his soul.
