Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

somewhat greater size of the planet. No life signs.
    The probes were just beginning to make out the shapes of the three main continents when the figures coming in suddenly became uncertain. They flickered from one extreme value to another, in impossibly wide swings, and then began to contradict one another. New visual images appeared on the viewscreen, harsh and jagged, in ugly colors and sharp angles that were subtly disturbing to the eye.
    Silence felt a headache building in his left temple, and his eyes felt as if they'd been sandpapered. And then the probes shut down and the screen went blank, and all on the bridge heaved varying sighs of relief.
    "No more signals, Captain," said Morag Tal, her fingers flying over the control panels before her. "Something was definitely affecting the probes there at the end, so that information cannot be depended on, but I think I've sorted out some useful data from the earlier transmissions."
    More acceptable images appeared on the main viewscreen, showing the three main land masses. Jagged mountain ranges crossed the great continents, large enough to be seen clearly even from so high an altitude. Much of the land masses was bare rock, with volcanic vents and a tendency to earthquakes powerful enough to reshape the coastlines at regular intervals. Zero Zero had been an unpleasant, largely uninhabited world, of no real use for colonizing, and little intrinsic
    mineral value, which was why it had been chosen for nanotech research in the first place.
    "That's all we got, Captain," said Morag Tal. "The probes lasted approximately forty-seven seconds. The information they were sending back right at the end cannot be considered reliable. The probes appeared to be… changing as the nanos worked on them. I'm not sure what they were becoming, but it sure as hell wasn't anything I recognized."
    "Understood," said Silence. "Run it all through the computers, see if they come up with any useful insights." He swiveled in his chair to look at the tall, cadaverous figure standing patiently at his side. Klaus Morrell was the new ship's esper; skeletally thin and dressed all in white, he looked rather like a ghost that hadn't been invited to any feast in a long time. He tended to crack his knuckles loudly when he was thinking, and had other habits that were even worse. The Dauntless was his sixteenth posting in three years, and Silence was beginning to suspect he knew why.
    "So," he said heavily, "you picking up anything of interest yet?"
    "If I had, I'd have told you," said Morrell. "Peculiar bloody place you've brought me to. This far out I shouldn't be picking up anything, but… I'm getting something… right on the edge of my mind. Not so much thoughts… more like the background murmur of the universe, with everyone talking at once. It makes no sense at all, and it's really very irritating. You'll have to get me a lot closer before I can be of any use, and I really wish I hadn't just said that. I would like to make it very clear that I would rather gnaw my own leg off without anesthetic than pay a personal visit to that misbegotten toilet of a world below us. Something very bad's going to happen down there."
    "Think of it as a chance to stretch your legs," said Silence easily. "You don't want to miss out on all the fun, do you?"
    "If at all possible, yes. Am I to gather from the way you're looking at me that I have already volunteered to join your landing party?"
    "Got it in one. You must have read my mind."
    "Ho ho ho. Bloody officer humor. It'll all end in tears, I know it."
    Downbelow, in one of the Dauntless's less crowded recreation areas, the man known as Carrion sat alone at a table, drinking lukewarm coffee at the end of an uninspiring meal. He could have eaten all his meals in his cabin, and would have preferred to, but Silence had ordered him to get out in public, so that the crew would have a chance to get used to him. So far, it didn't seem to be working.
    People avoided talking to Carrion unless they absolutely had to, and then treated him with cold courtesy at best. Only their respect for their Captain kept them from open insults or even attempted violence. They looked at the man in traitor's black, and saw only the Investigator who went native on the planet Unseeli, and fought beside the alien Ashrai against his own kind. Carrion; the sworn protector of Humanity who became a traitor and an outlaw because he loved an alien race more than his own honor and duty.
    And who was