did on Nikira’s ship.” Bane
indicated the blank green scanner screen. “The dark beings you saw
in the city were not all demons. Many, probably most, were droges,
condemned spirits granted the power to form a body by their master,
a dark god. They look just like people, as do the demons.”
“Why are you
telling me this?”
“I am trying to
help you, Sarjan. We are on the same side, whether you believe it
or not.”
“Are there
fiends aboard my ship?”
Bane inclined
his head. “Probably, but droges are more common in a world that is
inhabited by dark gods.”
“Could you...
get rid of them?”
“Certainly.” He
glanced at the back of the room, where a contech dived behind a
console. Making a casual gesture, Bane muttered, “ Thorack
nadure .”
The man
shrieked as his droge form was rescinded. A few wisps of grey smoke
rose from behind the console, and the crewman’s yells stopped,
leaving a deathly hush. The rest of the men shrank back, and two
drew their weapons, then thought better of it and holstered them
again. Sarjan strode around the console and searched in vain for
his crewman before looking up at Bane.
“He was a
droge,” Bane said.
“He was a
damned good contech. He’s worked on this ship for years. Why would
he do that?”
“They long to
practise their debauchery and evil amongst the living, and they are
the minions of the dark god who gave them their body. They are
spies, or instigators, who go amongst the people to spread lies and
dissent, or they commit heinous acts that their sponsor enjoys
watching.”
Bane shrugged
again. “I am not an authority on droges, since I have never granted
a condemned soul a form, nor do I employ them. Mostly, they are
given base forms, that have no feeling, and they try to earn a
better body that can feel pleasure by committing terrible deeds
that please their master. Dark gods seldom grant this, since they
enjoy their minions’ misery just as much as they do the pain of the
innocent people who suffer at their hands. Still, the false
promises drive the droges, although they also enjoy inflicting
torture. What they have is a parody of life, but far better than
being trapped in the Land of the Dead, so they do whatever they
must to earn a droge form.”
“Why would he
live and work as one of us? He did nothing evil.”
“That you know
of. What he did in his private time is anyone’s guess.”
Sarjan looked
around at the rest of the contechs. “Was he the only one here?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll believe
you if you find me another droge, but this time don’t kill him. I
want to examine him.”
“Then you will
believe I am not a dra’voren?”
“No, then I’ll
believe he was a droge.”
Bane smiled.
“You are a hard man to convince. This is a waste of my time, but I
will do it in the interest of fostering better relations. Droges
are far stronger than men, so when I capture him, you will have to
find a way to restrain him, or your people will be injured. Your
weapons will not harm him, although the ones that use blue light
will do some damage. And I did not kill anyone, Sarjan. He was
already dead.”
“All these men
underwent physical examinations before they could become crewmen.
Is a droge body exactly like a mortal one?”
“No, but you
will find that another droge helped them; one who was the examiner,
or perhaps a demon possessed the examiner in order for the droges
to pass the test.”
Sarjan swore
and swung away, going to the door, where he turned. “Will you do it
now?”
Bane followed
him, the contechs sidling away as he passed. Sarjan’s interest in
droges seemed to have distracted him from his fear, and he strode
down the corridor to a sizeable a mess hall, judging by all the
tables and chairs in it. He activated a com-link beside the door
and summoned his complement of soldiers, who arrived after a couple
of minutes, about a hundred of them.
Bane cast his
eyes over them and shook his head. “These are all men.
indicated the blank green scanner screen. “The dark beings you saw
in the city were not all demons. Many, probably most, were droges,
condemned spirits granted the power to form a body by their master,
a dark god. They look just like people, as do the demons.”
“Why are you
telling me this?”
“I am trying to
help you, Sarjan. We are on the same side, whether you believe it
or not.”
“Are there
fiends aboard my ship?”
Bane inclined
his head. “Probably, but droges are more common in a world that is
inhabited by dark gods.”
“Could you...
get rid of them?”
“Certainly.” He
glanced at the back of the room, where a contech dived behind a
console. Making a casual gesture, Bane muttered, “ Thorack
nadure .”
The man
shrieked as his droge form was rescinded. A few wisps of grey smoke
rose from behind the console, and the crewman’s yells stopped,
leaving a deathly hush. The rest of the men shrank back, and two
drew their weapons, then thought better of it and holstered them
again. Sarjan strode around the console and searched in vain for
his crewman before looking up at Bane.
“He was a
droge,” Bane said.
“He was a
damned good contech. He’s worked on this ship for years. Why would
he do that?”
“They long to
practise their debauchery and evil amongst the living, and they are
the minions of the dark god who gave them their body. They are
spies, or instigators, who go amongst the people to spread lies and
dissent, or they commit heinous acts that their sponsor enjoys
watching.”
Bane shrugged
again. “I am not an authority on droges, since I have never granted
a condemned soul a form, nor do I employ them. Mostly, they are
given base forms, that have no feeling, and they try to earn a
better body that can feel pleasure by committing terrible deeds
that please their master. Dark gods seldom grant this, since they
enjoy their minions’ misery just as much as they do the pain of the
innocent people who suffer at their hands. Still, the false
promises drive the droges, although they also enjoy inflicting
torture. What they have is a parody of life, but far better than
being trapped in the Land of the Dead, so they do whatever they
must to earn a droge form.”
“Why would he
live and work as one of us? He did nothing evil.”
“That you know
of. What he did in his private time is anyone’s guess.”
Sarjan looked
around at the rest of the contechs. “Was he the only one here?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll believe
you if you find me another droge, but this time don’t kill him. I
want to examine him.”
“Then you will
believe I am not a dra’voren?”
“No, then I’ll
believe he was a droge.”
Bane smiled.
“You are a hard man to convince. This is a waste of my time, but I
will do it in the interest of fostering better relations. Droges
are far stronger than men, so when I capture him, you will have to
find a way to restrain him, or your people will be injured. Your
weapons will not harm him, although the ones that use blue light
will do some damage. And I did not kill anyone, Sarjan. He was
already dead.”
“All these men
underwent physical examinations before they could become crewmen.
Is a droge body exactly like a mortal one?”
“No, but you
will find that another droge helped them; one who was the examiner,
or perhaps a demon possessed the examiner in order for the droges
to pass the test.”
Sarjan swore
and swung away, going to the door, where he turned. “Will you do it
now?”
Bane followed
him, the contechs sidling away as he passed. Sarjan’s interest in
droges seemed to have distracted him from his fear, and he strode
down the corridor to a sizeable a mess hall, judging by all the
tables and chairs in it. He activated a com-link beside the door
and summoned his complement of soldiers, who arrived after a couple
of minutes, about a hundred of them.
Bane cast his
eyes over them and shook his head. “These are all men.
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