Behind me, millions of monstrous bees are on the verge of slaughtering their apprehensive Queen. On the far horizon, millions of fossilized machines form the one of the most dangerous armed forces in the known universe. The lot of us have been here almost a week. Two armies staring at each other across a desert of rust and sand. Waiting.
Vaso's the first to spot the warp tunnel unfurling outside the atmosphere. I didn't know who Hoag would send, but I knew they'd send someone. Of course they'd send someone. To put things right. To put things the way they need to be. Hmph.
The radiation signature is... Petar's? Ha. Yes, unmistakably Petar's. This is perfect. I couldn't ask for a more appropriate choice. Wonder if he'll surprise me, if he'll come talk to me first. No, there he goes, straight to the middle of the machine camp instead. Off to play the good diplomat. Shouldn't be long now.
"Vaso, can you handle the swarm on your own?" I ask.
He looks up at the sun, judging its strength and distance. "Hmmm. Yes sir. Should have the clout to keep them in line. For a short while. Just try not to agitate them more than they already are."
"No promises. Sybilla, you're with me. Lets go."
She jumps at the sound of her name. She's been distracted for the last day. The talks we've had over the last few days have been overwhelming for her. "What? Where?"
"To parley. With them."
"I'm not sure if I can do it. What you want. Even if everything you've told me is... true," her brow furrows as her temper challenges her timidity, "it still goes against... I mean... I know what you said, but I just don't think I have it in me."
"I think you'll surprise yourself." I take her arm and all but drag her toward the sandy tract. As we start, Petar and one of the machines break off from the opposite side. It takes over an hour for us to walk the open distance separating the two armies, to meet in the middle.
Petar's robot companion towers over the rest of us. Four comically long limbs holding up the massive face of a mechanical lion. It's built of shiny brass clockwork and mirrored glass, all swathed in reams of white cotton. It's gigantic! Its paws alone are three times my size! What a magnificent machine! "I-am-a-Maws-Holloway-self-propelled-command-unit, head-of-these-assembled-military-units-of-Planet-M."
I let Sybilla introduce herself. Except Sybilla doesn't introduce herself. She's struck silent, amazed at the size and grandeur of the lion.
"You-are-not-Genovefa."
I elbow her hard, and she snaps out of bewilderment. "Oh! No, no, sir, I'm not. I am Sybilla Buzz of the, uh, the Volsci Swarm." After a moment, she adds, "I'm new."
I put my hands behind my back and clear my throat. "Maws-Holloway, I'll be negotiating on Sybilla's behalf. Do you know me?"
"Affirmative, we-recognize-the-wizard-general-red-hand. For-this-program-initialization, we-have-designated-a-wizard-senator-from-your-own..."
"He damn well knows who I am!" Petar barks, marching right up to me. There's that stubborn arrogance I remember. Of him and all his kind. "What are you doing here? And what are you doing with a sybillian swarm?"
"I found them on Volsci. The bees had completely overwhelmed the population. This is all that's left."
"Volsci?"
"The monitoring station you established just outside machine space. I wasn't expecting to find it neglected."
"Him...?" Sybilla whispers through gritted teeth. I give her a quick nod, but her attention's not on me. Her focus is entirely on Petar.
I don't think Petar even notices. Or cares. "What were you doing in that backwater system?"
"Vaso and I went to gather intellegence on the boy's progress. To find out if he was still here or if he'd moved on. We almost got cut down."
"And I assume you learned our super wizard champion isn't here anymore?"
"That's correct. From the observational data available, I figure he left Planet M right after defeating M. Headed out to planet Genovefa, no doubt. Her swarm's lost confidence in her. As I predicted. They've already splintered off, forming separate colonies." I look up at the lion and ask, "Maws-Holloway, if you're here representing your pyramid gods, does that mean Emperor M didn't survive the tournament?"
"Our-divine-mainframes, the-Pyramids-of-Ka, have-been-destroyed. Emperor-designated-M-has-been-cast-down-for-his-part-in-the-blasphemous-crime. Our-machine-populance-is-system-prioritizing-its-resources, and-are-currently-rebuilding-in-wake-of-these-losses."
"You have my condolences, Maws-Holloway. Emperor M was a fierce leader. He had my respect, on and off the field."
As much as he wants to explode at me, Petar manages to keep his voice level. I doubt this conversation would be nearly as calm in private. "Do you have any idea how this looks? We aren't at war anymore. The tournament is supposed to prevent this exact sort of conflict from flaring up again. You can't just go around dropping armies on the home planets of the universe's seven super-races."
"Sure I can. The Red Hand can do anything. That's why we started it."
Petar grabs my arm and pulls me close. "This isn't what we talked about," he says in a low voice. His face is painted over with frustration. He feels betrayed and doesn't understand why. Would he recognise that look if he could see it on himself? The same look I had, when my own victory was rewarded with exile.
No. No, not exactly the same. This close, I can see it. In his eye. An edge of searing green behind the pupil. Brightening up just as he risks losing everything.
I push him away. "No, this isn't what you talked about."
He rubs a hand over his head while looking me over. Might even be honestly looking me over for the first time. And not recognizing a single thing he's seeing. How could he; I am so far removed from his ilk. I walk a world where words still have immutable meaning.
In the end, he shakes his head and calls up to the lion, "Machine!"
Maws-Holloway tilts his head-body to stare down at Petar. If the metal were capable, I'd swear it was crinkling its nose at him.
"This stubborn man does not represent the will of my government. He's in exile from Hoag, from thehome of the Super Wizards From Space. He's a disgrace to us, and we do not condone his actions."
"Another on the altar, then?" I ask.
He doesn't bother answering. It's enough of an answer in of itself. So be it.
I address the lion, and I try not to sound too complaisant. "Maws-Holloway, if I may... the Red Hand hasn't come to Planet M with ill intentions. We've attacked no cities. We've harmed no citizens. We've made no aggressive actions since arriving."
"Affirmative. You-have-acted-in-good-faith."
"Your race only joined the cosmic tournament in hopes of aquiring a new power source. To generate more of the blue electricity that preserves life on Planet M. On Sybilla's behalf, I propose an alliance: join my Red Hand, help me finish my mission, and I'll give you what you need."
The lion's gears are turning in his head. Literally. I can hear them clicking as he considers my proposal. Petar, on the other hand, looks incredulous. "Wait, are you serious?"
"I am."
"Then... you're not invading?"
"No, of course not."
"But you came here in force."
"I didn't expect to find monster bees on Volsci. But when I did, I couldn't just abandon them." Sybilla's fist are tight balls. Her arms are tense and tremoring. All that nervousness is gone. She's a cable pulled taunt. "I'm out here making allies, not enemies."
"You wasted days staring across this rusty field at each other! You could have sent over your proposal at any time. You could have resolved this yourselves. If this wasn't meant to be a transgression, then I didn't have to travel all the way out here to mediate... anything at all. What was the point of this?"
"You were, Petar."
He doesn't get it. He's just confusing himself, trying to suss out what my angle is. To understand what I said
Then he realises what I said. He stares at me. In shock. His face goes pale.
Sybilla makes a vibrating growl. The sort of vicious sound you can feel in your abdomen. He makes a short yipping and scampers back from her, throwing his hands up in front of him. Daylight flattens out into a protective shield.
A blur of vertical metal above. The lion slams a foot down on him. The ground rattles and Petar's bashed to the ground. Pinned under a massive paw.
He claws at the great weight, one arm barely free. May as well be scratching at an anvil.
He bunches up white-hot fusion. A ball of heat and light in his palm. The air crackles like paper on fire. He slaps it against the metal surface. Thunder crashes, The desert sand instantly fuses to brittle brown glass.
But the force washes over the rest of us without effect.
Sybilla climbs onto his prone form, her deformed shape a series of black angles moving with insect menace. "You're the one?" she snarls, "You're the one that came to Volsci? You're my szolar god? You're the sztarsz and heavensz we were promiszed? You taught usz? You taszked usz? You LEFT usz?"
Only his head and one arm free. Makes an effort of it anyway. Another deafening thundercrack as he throws stellar fire at Sybilla's carapace.
Nothing. She doesn't even notice. That's when the pleading starts. "Machine, please! Please! Let me go! This monster's going to KILL me!"
"I'm-not-a-tool. I-have-a-name." The heavy paw presses down harder. "And-you-will-feed-our-preservation-batteries-for-many-space-cycles."
Sybilla's grabs Petar's head with one outsized hand. His skull creaks in her strong wide grip. "MonszzZzter? You did thiZZzz! You were szZupposZed to be there! You were zZuppozZed to watch uzZZ! YOU DID THIZZ TO ME!"
He looks at me with a coward's look. Fear dribbling out of him, from his eyes and from his mouth. A hand stretches out...
Oh. Oh damn it, he's going to call out to me! "Sybilla! Now! Do it now!"
Sybilla's long sharp fingers plunge at his jaw. His cry's choked off. His mouth's slashed open. She grabs hold. And tears.
Oily blood pools up. He gurgles and he spits and he sobs.
She's slow letting him go. She stands up. Shivering. The storm of fury having crashed and been released. "I... oh godsz, I didn't think. You told me and you warned me, and sztill, when I szaw him and heard him, I just..."
Maws-Hollaway lifts his paw. "Is-the-senator-wizard-fatally-damaged?"
I kneel down to examine Petar. Hands cover his ruined jaw. Unintelligible whimpering. Black fluids staining his uniform. So far, far from the safe comfort of handshakes and politics and posturing. "He's only wounded. He's lucky to be alive, though he won't say so himself."
"This-is-acceptable. Sybilla-Buzz, on-behalf-of-the-motortheocracy-of-Planet-M, I-formally-renew-our-alliance."
"..."
She's in shock. First time, I see it a lot. I stand up and take her shaking hand. She looks at me but doesn't see me. I speak slowly, trying to draw her back to the now. I need her to keep it together. "Shh. Look at me. It's all right."
Her hand tightens under mine. I can feel the wet muscle in her fist. She can't bring herself to look at it. Her voice trembles when she finally speaks. "I didn't believe it'd come so easzily."
"I know. It gets simpler. Trust me."
A compartment opens in the back of the lion's head and a dull grey radar dish rises into the air. "Our-long-range-systems-tracked-your-super-wizard-champion-when-he-departed-Planet-M. We've-calculated-his-trajectory-and-are-ninety-one-point-five-percent-certain-of-his-destination. We-can-have-our-forces-mobilized-for-long-distance-excursion-within-the-day." I can't repress a smile. Only a day! Despite all the damage their civilization's just gone through, the machine efficiency has only improved since I last encountered it. The things we'll accomplish together.
"Thank you, Maws-Hollaway. With Planet M at our side, the Red Hand is assured swift and certain victory. But we won't need the tracking. We're not going after the boy. He's not our mission objective." I look down at poor, broken Petar. "He never was.
"We're going to Hoag."