Free Death to the Imperium (Imperium Cicernus) by James McGovern Page B

hiding place on his old freighter. Once, on a visit
to Vortan, he had picked up nearly three hundred illegal blasters in addition
to his official cargo of fortified wheat and marchgrain. On that occasion, he
had not only hidden the weapons in his secret compartments beneath the floor,
but also in the walls behind the maintenance panels. He knew everything there
was to know about hiding things on a ship. That was why he noticed that one of
the wall panels had been replaced. A huge sheet of metal wall had clearly been
lifted from its place, as there were metal shavings on the floor, which must
have been scraped off by the movement. The wall had obviously been replaced.
But why had the wall been removed? What was hidden behind there? Suddenly,
there was a clang. The sound had come from behind the metal sheet.
    “I
don’t like this,” Glitz said.
    Without
warning, there was the sound of a laser being fired. The metal sheet, propelled
by the power of the energy blast, hurtled across the room—Glitz dodged out of
the way, narrowly avoiding the white-hot steel. Five men were standing in the
alcove that had been covered by the metal sheet. They were wearing Marine
uniforms. And they were pointing their weapons at Glitz and Tekka. Two of them
were carrying assault rifles, and the other three had energy weapons.
    “Put
down your weapons,” one of the Marines carrying a rifle said.
    Glitz
sighed, but he wasn’t about to argue with an Imperial Marine. They both slowly
dropped to the ground and placed their guns on the floor. Then they stood up
slowly, holding their arms above their heads.
    “Kick
them away!”
    They
did as the Marine said, and one of the other soldiers picked up the weapons.
Glitz stared at the men, still in a state of shock. What were Imperial Marines
doing on the abandoned ship? And why had they been hiding behind the wall
panel? There seemed to be only one possible solution—that it had been an
ambush. But why would the Imperium go to so much trouble to recapture some
absconded prisoners?
    “Deactivate
them!”
    Glitz
turned to Tekka. “Deactivate? What does he mean?”
    To
answer Glitz’s question, the three Marines carrying energy weapons pointed them
directly at the three fugitives. Without even a slight hesitation, they fired
their guns. Glitz, Tekka and Doland collapsed to the floor.
    “Now
bring them.”

Chapter Eight
    Lightworld
    Volori
System
    Glitz
awoke to the sound of dripping water. The noise of the droplets echoed and
reverberated. It sounded like it was falling from a great height, before
splashing against a rocky surface. He opened his eyes, and winced in pain. He
had a splitting headache. He began to examine his surroundings. He was lying
inside a huge cage, along with Tekka and Doland. Although it was dimly lit
outside the cave, he could make out huge walls of craggy rock on every side.
They were in some sort of cave. He stood up and approached the edge of the cage.
With a jolt, he realised that the cave floor was almost thirty metres below
them; the cage was hanging by a metal chain, suspended in the air. Light was
streaming down from a hole in the rock about a mile above them.
    “Wake
up,” Glitz said, nudging Doland and Tekka. “Wake up, both of you.”
    Doland
stirred and sat up, wiping his eyes tiredly. Tekka’s eyes flitted open. Most
people, on awakening, require a few seconds to adjust to their surroundings and
clear their mind. Tekka, however, leapt to his feet immediately, taking in
their predicament with sharp, alert eyes.
    “This
is most unpleasant,” he concluded.
    “You
know this place?” Glitz said.
    Tekka
nodded. “I have never been here before, but I believe we are inside the
catacombs of Lightworld.”
    Doland
swallowed. “Lightworld? Lightworld as in the seat of the Imperial Navy?”
    “Of
course,” Tekka said, somewhat impatiently. “Examine the rocks on either side of
our cage. Notice the purple flecks that seem to sparkle inside the grey stone.
The