Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

aristo you might have had access to other sources than me. So we’re both in the dark… Hold everything. I’m monitoring some unusual changes in the energy fields…” On the viewscreen, space seemed to twist and turn, and suddenly a huge planet was hanging there in space before them. It was vast, easily the size of a gas giant, but composed entirely of metals. It had no definite shape, just a conglomerate of towers and spiked and thrusting protusions. There were great geometrical shapes like bunkers studded here and there in no apparent pattern. The various metals were all different colors, some shining so brightly Daniel could look at them only briefly out of the corner of his eye. Just looking at the planet made his head hurt.
    “Wow,” said Moses quietly. “My sensors are going crazy. They can’t cope with the sheer amount of information that’s coming in. Power readings are all off the scale, on all levels. Just sitting there, it’s generating more energy than a hundred Empire factory worlds. The mass is frightening, but there’s hardly any gravity… and what there is fluctuates from place to place. A world this big should be pulling us in by now, but I’m getting nothing at all on my sensors. It must be the energy fields—“ “Never mind all that,”
    said Daniel. “Is this Shub?” “If it isn’t, I’d hate to think what it might be. There couldn’t be two anomalies like this in the Forbidden Sector; space wouldn’t stand for it. No, this has to be Shub. The level of technology alone guarantees that.” “Put us into a high orbit, Moses. Maintain a safe distance.” “Way ahead of you, as always. High orbit established. Though what a safe distance might be is anybody’s guess. Personally, I’m not getting one inch closer to that metal monstrosity than I absolutely have to. And I shouldn’t look at it directly for too long either, Daniel. If I’m reading my instruments correctly, this planet exists in more than three dimensions. I think it might be some kind of tesseract. And no, I’m not going to even try to explain that to you. Just take it from me that we have come to a very strange place.
    It’s entirely possible that the interior of this world will turn out to be much bigger than its exterior would normally suggest. Which means… if my calculations are correct, Shub’s interior could have as much sheer surface area as half the colonized worlds in the Empire put together.”
    Daniel thought about that for a while, but couldn’t visualize it. “Any life signs down there?”
    “Unlikely on Shub, but I can’t confirm one way or the other. All but my most immediate sensors are being blocked.”
    “They say nothing lives on Shub,” said Daniel slowly. “That it’s all just… machines.”
    “Wouldn’t be at all surprised,” said Moses. “This is not a human place. Humans were never meant to come here. It might not be too late, Daniel. We could still try to make a run for it.”
    “No,” said Daniel. “My father’s down there somewhere. I’m not leaving without him.”
    The entire ship shuddered suddenly. Daniel grabbed the arms of his chair to steady himself. “What the hell was that?”
    “Our discussion just became irrelevant,” said Moses. “Something has just taken control of the ship’s engines and navigation systems. I’m locked out. We’ve begun a landing course. Looks like it is too late, after all.” Daniel made himself let go of his chair’s arms, sat back, and studied the viewscreen as it showed the huge artificial planet rising to meet them. Shub seemed to grow bigger and more intricate all the time, like a flower endlessly unfolding. Details became towering machines with details of their own.
    Strange vessels orbited the planet, huge and small and in between, performing unknown tasks and errands. And still Shub grew and grew on the viewscreen, endlessly complex and unfathomable. Looking at it made Daniel’s head ache even more. He learned to look at it for only a few moments at a time, taking rests in between. The image on the viewscreen shimmered from time to time, as though even the
    sensors were affected by what they were seeing. “Calling the Heaven’s Tears,” said a new voice.
    “Respond.” “It’s coming from Shub,” Moses said quietly on their private channel. “No visual signal. You talk to them, Daniel. I don’t even want to remind them I’m here.” Daniel leaned forward in his chair and cleared his throat uncertainly.