Stepping through the filter field that screened the entrance, he was faced with an impressive array of death-dealing instruments. They gleamed from the racks and cases; they were sleek and sinister and beautiful and deadly.
"May I help you, sir?" asked a little man with squinty eyes.
"Where are your combustion weapons?"
"Ah!" he said, rubbing his palms together. "A sportsman or a collector?"
"Both."
"This way, please." He led them to the rear of the shop and placed himself behind a counter. "Now, then. Where does your interest lie? Handguns? Rifles? Shotguns? Automatics?"
"The last two."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I want an autoshotgun," Dalt said tersely. "Double-barreled with continuous feed."
"I'm afraid we only have one model along that line."
"I know. Ibizan makes it."
The man nodded and searched under the counter. He pulled out a shiny black case, placed it before him, and opened it.
Dalt inspected it briefly. "That's it. You have waist canisters for the feed?"
"Of course. The Ibizan is nonejecting, so you'll have to use disintegrating cases, you know."
"I know. Now. I want you to take this down to the workshop and cut the barrel off"—he drew a line with his finger—"right about here."
"Sir, you must be joking!" the little man said with visible shock, his eyes widening and losing their perpetual squint. But he could see by Dalt's expression that no joke was intended. He spoke petulantly. "I'm afraid I must see proof of credit before I deface such a fine weapon."
Dalt fished out a thin alloy disk and handed it over. The gunsmith pressed the disk into a notch in the counter and the image of Mordirak appeared in the hologram box beside it, accompanied by the number 1. Mordirak had first-class credit anywhere in Occupied Space.
With a sigh, the man handed back the disk, hefted the weapon, and took it into the enclosed workshop section.
("Your knowledge of weaponry is impressive.") A holdover from my game-hunting days. Remember them?
("I remember disapproving of them.")
Well, combustion weapons are still in demand by "sportsmen" who find their sense of masculinity cheated by the lack of recoil in energy weapons.
("And just what is this Ibizan supposed to do for you?")
You'll see.
The gunsmith reappeared with the foreshortened weapon.
"You have a target range, I presume," Dalt said. "Yes. On the lower level."
"Good. Fill the feeder with number-eight end-over-end cylindrical shot and we'll try her out."
The man winced and complied.
The target range was elaborate and currently set up with moving, bounding models of Kamedon deer. Sensors within the models rated the marksman's performance on a flashing screen at the firing line that could read "Miss," "Kill," "Wounded," and variations. The firing line was cleared as Dalt hooked the feeder canister to his waist and fed the string of shells into the chambers. Flicking the safety off, he held the weapon against his chest with the barrels pointing downrange and began walking.
"Left barrel," he said, and pulled the trigger. The Ibizan jerked in his hands; the cannonlike roar was swallowed by the sound dampers but the muzzle flash was a good twenty centimeters in length, and one of the leaping targets was torn in half. "Right barrel," was faintly heard, with similar results. Then a flip of a switch and, "Automatic." The prolonged roar that issued from the rapidly alternating barrels taxed the sound dampers to their limit and when the noise stopped, every target hung in tatters. The indicator screen flashed solid red on and off in confusion.
"What could you possibly want to hunt with a weapon like that?" the little gunsmith asked, glancing from Dalt to the Ibizan to the ruined range.
A smug but irresistible reply came to mind. "God."
"You wanted to see me about something?" Petrical asked.
"Yes. I have good reason to believe—please don't ask me why—that the next assault will be a big one and will be directed against Fed Central itself. I want you to outfit these flitters with heavy-duty blasters and pick some of your best marksmen to man five of them. I'll take the sixth."
An amused expression crept over Petrical's face. "And just what do you plan to do with them?"
"We're going through the passage when it opens up," Dalt replied. "Maybe we can end these attacks once and for all."
Amusement was abruptly replaced by consternation. "Oh no, you're not! You're too valuable to risk on a suicide mission!"
"Unfortunately, I'm the only one who can do what must be done," Dalt said with a glare, "and since when do you dictate what I may and may not do."
But Petrical had been involved in too many verbal brawls on the floor of the General Council to be easily intimidated, even by The Healer. "I'll tell you what I will do, and that's have no part in helping you get yourself killed!"
"Mr. Petrical," Dalt said in a low voice, "do I have to outfit my own flitter and go through alone?"
Petrical opened his mouth for a quick reply and then closed it. He knew when he was outflanked. With the new General Council arriving for the emergency session, all that was needed to bring the walls tumbling down upon his head was news that he had let The Healer take the war to the enemy alone—with no backup from the Federation Defense Force.
"But the probes were your idea. ..."
"The probes have been rendered obsolete by new information. The only solution is to go through."
"Well then, let me send a bigger force."
"No." Dalt shook his head. "If these six flitters can't do the job, then six hundred wouldn't make any difference."
"All right." Petrical grunted with exasperation. "I'll get the armorers down here and start asking for volunteers."
Dalt's smile was genuine. "Thanks. And don't delay—we may not have much time. Oh, and have an alarm system set up here in the hangar to notify us the minute a vortex is sighted. We'll live in and around the flitters until the attack comes. I'll brief your men on what to expect and what to do."
Petrical nodded with obvious reluctance.
("Why haven't I been consulted on any of this?") Pard asked indignantly as Dalt returned to his quarters.
Because I already know your answer.
("I'm sure you do. It's all insanity and I want no part of it!")
You don't have much choice.
("Be reasonable!")
Pard, this is something we must do.
("Why?") The voice in his head was angry. ("To live up to your legend?")
In a way, yes. You and I are the only ones who can beat her.
("You're sure of that?")
Aren't you? Pard did not reply and Dalt felt a sudden chill. Answer me: Are you afraid of this Kali creature?
("Yes.")
Why should you be? You defeated her at every turn when we were battling the horrors.
("That was different. There was no direct contact there. We were merely fighting the residue of her influence, a sort of resonating circuit of afterimages. We've only come into direct contact with her once ... on the beach on Clutch. And you know what happened there.")
Yeah, Dalt replied slowly. We were blasted apart.