Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

safety. The Ashrai have no love for Humanity. Still… it will be interesting to speak with a Deathstalker again."
    The communication shut off abruptly, and that was it. Lewis shut down the comm panels, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the others.
    "That was one seriously spooky voice," said Brett. "Sent chills up and down my spine."
    "A mouse in a bad temper could put the wind up you," said Jesamine. "But still… Lewis, are you sure this Carrion is human?"
    Lewis shrugged. "He was. But he went through the Madness Maze, and he's lived alone with the Ashrai for two centuries. He's hardly going to sound like the guy next door, is he? I'm more concerned about landing safely. Oz?"
    "Still here. Still underappreciated," said the AI. "It might interest you to know that the sensors have suddenly started working again, and no, I don't know how or why. I've pinpointed Base Thirteen, and the clearing's location. The Hereward has quite excellent navigation systems. I could put this ship down on a single credit piece, and give you change."
    "How far is the clearing from the base?" said Rose.
    "Oh, walking distance, easy. Do you all good to get some healthy exercise, after being cooped up in here. No obvious dangers. I mean, apart from the Ashrai. The sensors can't seem to make head nor tail of what they are, apart from uncomfortably large. And there's lots of them, everywhere. No obvious natural hazards… nothing much except trees, actually. So, what do you think, Lewis? Do we go for it?"
    "Take us down, Oz," said Lewis.
    "Yes, sir!" said the AI enthusiastically. "Down to Unseeli! On, to death or glory! A Deathstalker has come to parlay!"
    "We're all going to die," said Brett.
    The Hereward dived into the planet's atmosphere, plunging down through the heavy cloud layers, and threaded an expert path between the tops of the tallest trees. It was a short and surprisingly smooth trip, and Oz set them down expertly in the designated clearing. He was almost unbearably cocky about it until Lewis threatened to rip out his voice circuits, and then he sulked. Lewis tried running the sensors again, and the limited data scrolling across the viewscreen seemed straightforward enough. He still made the others wait till he'd finished before he allowed them to disembark. There had to be some reason why even Lionstone's Empire had never colonized Unseeli.
    In the end, there was nothing left but to shrug uneasily several times and insist on being first out of the airlock. He stepped out into the Ashrai world, his hands conspicuously away from his weapons, half braced for some unknown blow or attack, but it never came. The air was still and hot, and had a sharp smoky scent to it. Silence lay across the clearing like some heavy enveloping blanket, as though someone was listening. But Lewis hardly noticed any of it, because all he could look at was the trees. They filled his eyes and his mind; the huge glowing metal trees of Unseeli. They stretched away in all directions, farther than the eye could follow, and soared up into the clouds high above. Magnificent trees of unburnished metal, that had never known leaf or bud. Gold and silver and brass, verdant and azure, shining bright and clean, with needle-sharp branches thrusting out from smooth and perfectly circular trunks. So many towering metal trees, like nails hammered into the planet by God himself. In Lionstone's day they had been mined and processed almost to extinction, but the forest was restored in its entirety by the blessed Owen. Or so it was said.
    One by one, the rest of the crew of the Hereward disembarked. Rose had to drag Brett out. For a while they all stood close together, awed and numbed by what they saw and felt. There was a strange, fresh energy to this world, a vitality that stirred the blood and called to ancient instincts. A primal strength and vigor that was very different from the tamer, more civilized worlds of the Empire. This was not a safe place. Anything could happen here. It felt like being present at the dawn of Creation, when all the worlds were new. It felt… like coming home.
    They all had some kind of smile on their faces, even Rose, though she would have been hard pressed to say why. They might have stood there forever, but as always Jesamine was the first to break away. She stepped slowly forward, her head cocked slightly to one side.
    "Listen… I can hear… can you hear that? What is that?"
    Lewis frowned, moving forward to join her. "I hear…