Deathstalker 01 - Deathstalker

screen for a moment, then reached forward and
    turned it off. The record didn't lose any of its impact, no matter how many times he watched it. Everyone who'd recorded those scenes was dead, their footage preserved by their ship's computers. He still found it hard to believe that the aliens had slaughtered the contact team so effortlessly. But he'd seen swords shatter on the alien's crimson armor, and disrupter beams ricochet, leaving the aliens unharmed. He was beginning to wonder if anything could stop them, short of another scorching.
    And these were the creatures the Empress wanted him to capture and train as shock troops.
    "I don't think we'll show this to the troops at their briefing," said Stelmach.
    "It would only upset them."
    "I've already shown it to them," said Silence. "It's my experience that informed troops last longer."
    "Then with your permission, Captain, I'll set things in order for the drop. I still have arrangements to make."
    "Do whatever you have to," said Silence. "We drop on the hour. If you're not ready by then, you can walk down."
    Stelmach nodded briefly and left the bridge. Frost sniffed.
    "That man needs more fiber in his diet. Are you sure we haven't got any more footage of the first contact?"
    "This is all that's viewable. I don't think I could stand much more. I don't think I've ever seen anything as vicious and deadly as those creatures."
    "Damn right," said Frost, grinning broadly. "I can't wait to go head-to-head with them. Been ages since I had a real challenge."
    The trouble is, Silence thought dryly, I think she means it.
    *
    The surface of Grendel was even more depressing in reality than it had been on the viewscreen. The great sea of ash stretched away in all directions, smooth and featureless and dead. There was more ash in the air, diffusing the pale crimson light of the sun, till it looked like the sky itself was bleeding. The five pinnacles from the Dauntless touched down one after the other on the specially constructed steel landing pads floating on the ash and waited just long enough for the contact team to disembark before taking off again. Captain Silence looked about him, getting the feel of the new gravity. Bit heavier than he was used to, but he could manage. The recreate built into his uniform's collar surrounded his head with a bubble of fresh air. Even if he could have breathed the vomitus mixture Grendel called air, the ash suspended in it would have blinded and choked him in seconds. He watched the departing pinnacles arrow up through the bloody skies with mixed feelings. Without them, he really was on his own.
    He looked back at his team, noting without surprise that it had already split up into its three components of marines, espers and Wampyr. They still all looked to him for orders. As though he had any better idea what to do than they did.
    Still, when in doubt, sound confident.
    "All right, pay attention! There's an elevator to take us down to the buried city attached to the underside of these rafts, courtesy of the mining equipment.
    Bad news is it'll only hold fifteen at a time, so the marines will go down first to check things out. Once they've given the okay, the Investigator will go down with the espers, and then Stelmach and his Wampyr. Weapons in hand, ladies and gentlemen. If it moves and it's not us, shoot it. You don't have to wait for my permission. And watch yourselves once we get down there. The alien technology
    can have a somewhat disquieting effect on the human mind. Just concentrate on the mission, and you should be fine. Any problems?"
    "Do you want the bad news, or the really bad news?" said Frost.
    "Give it to me straight," said Silence heavily. "What's gone wrong now?"
    "First, we've lost all contact with the Dauntless. Something in the city below is interfering with our comm systems. That's a new development since the first team was here. Which means, if we need to leave here in an emergency, we're stuffed. We can't call for help, reinforcements, or a pickup. We're stuck here till the pinnacles return at the agreed time. Which is four hours and counting.
    You might care to consider that the first team lasted a grand total of two hours and seven minutes."
    "And the really bad news?" said Silence after a moment.
    "The mining machinery's broken down. The elevator's still working, but the shaft extends only to the edge of the underground city. That leaves us with at least an hour's walk through the city before we reach the