Space Assassins: The Complete Series 1-5, page 70
“We can’t jump?” one man said.
“We’re trapped!” a short, sword-wielding woman replied. “The Council of Twenty is attacking Drommus!”
They all realized what that would mean. If the Council actually did attempt to take out the planet’s defenses, it would all go up in a massive blast, themselves included. But Hozark didn’t think that was what was happening. The blocking spells were the first hint.
“If they wanted to attack, they wouldn’t have blocked escape. Less ships to fight is an easier battle,” he announced to the surprisingly quiet pirate forces.
“Hang on,” a young pirate said, peering out the window. “Not all of those are Council ships. I see some Tslavar mercenaries as well.”
This drew a loud chorus of angry slurs against the green-skinned muscle for hire. Of course the pirates had run up against them. It was only expected that raiding, pillaging, thieving types would occasionally clash in the pursuit of a prize.
But this was different. This time, the green bastards had been brought on as hired help to do the Council’s dirty work.
“Mercenaries means an invasion,” a man said.
“No, it means they’re going to try to take out any ship that tries to flee. Blast them out of the sky.”
“I am afraid you are both incorrect,” Hozark said.
“Oh yeah? What do you know about it?” the man asked, with just a hint of menace to his voice.
Someone was behind all of this, and seeing Wampeh was pretty unusual. Maybe these strangers had something to do with this.
“I know they are not attacking Drommus,” Hozark said. “And I know they are not destroying these ships. At least, not yet.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because, if you would just look out the windows you would see that while you’ve been arguing amongst yourselves, they have launched boarding craft.”
A look of shock was universal on all the pirates’ faces as they verified what the Wampeh was saying.
“And if you look carefully,” he added, “you will see they are coming right for us.”
Suddenly, the fight amongst themselves was backburnered, if not outright extinguished.
“What do we do?”
It was not remotely what Hozark had come here to do, but all of their fates were now intertwined, and Happizano’s rescue would have to wait. There was no rescuing anyone if they were all captured or dead, after all.
“We form into teams and repel the boarders,” Hozark shouted out in his best pirate roar. “This is what we do. Close quarters, no prisoners, and no magic. That puts the Council at a disadvantage. They can’t cast against us. Not in here. So fight like your lives depended on it. Because they bloody well do!”
The men and women roared in unison and quickly put aside their previous fight to join forces as they geared up for a new one. One against their common enemy.
“Nice speech,” Demelza said. “You know, you might have a calling as a pirate, if you ever decide to retire from the order.”
Hozark chuckled. “But, of course, no one ever retires from the order.”
The boarding ships pursued the fleeing pirate craft as it did its best to prevent them from latching onto its hull. Once that happened, they would breach and be inside in seconds. The longer they could hold them off, the better positioned and prepared the pirate crew could make themselves.
“Look at the markings on the Tslavar ships,” Demelza said when she got a good look at them out of the nearby window. “Their markings are obliterated. These Tslavars are not flying under any known colors.”
“A secret force, then,” Hozark mused. “Suddenly, I find myself wondering if this is not all related to young Happizano after all.”
“But would the Council come all the way to Drommus just for a child? It seems so unlike them.”
“It is. But the Council activities we have seen of late have been anything but normal.”
“Agreed. But another question then springs to mind.”
“I believe I know where you are going with this,” Hozark said. “If they are here for Happizano, how could they have known where he was? Even if he had slipped up and told Darvin who he was, that man wouldn’t have a clue as to who his father was, or what his value is to the Council.”
“So we are back to the question. How could they have known where he was?” Demelza wondered. “Yes, he stands out somewhat, and perhaps if someone knew he was missing––”
“We will need to figure this out later, Demelza,” Hozark said as the roar of a boarding party reached their ears. “We have company.” He turned to the pirate group at his side. “They’re coming! Swords and blades at the ready. Remember, this is what we do!”
The pirates refrained from their cheers. The time for pep talks was over. It was now time for bloodshed.
A few stun spells shot harmlessly down the corridor but hit no one and fizzled out against the far bulkhead. As soon as their forces were in close proximity, no magic whatsoever could be used.
“Here they come,” Hozark said. “Ready, everyone!”
The Tslavar boarding party was prepared for this battle. They all wore practical garments, reinforced against blades instead of magic. And they carried shorter than usual weapons, all the better to fight in these close quarters.
Unusually, though, was the Council goon advancing with them. He wasn’t one of the Twenty, but he was definitely a power user. The one who had tested the defenses with those stun spells, no doubt.
They were prepared for the fight in space, or on the ground, it seemed. Not a good sign at all.
Throughout the ship, more and more boarders breached and began their attack. The fighting quickly grew to a fever-pitch as blood flowed freely within Captain Darvin’s compromised vessel.
Outside of the ship, the residents of Drommus had come to a similar conclusion as the pirates aboard the ship. Namely, that the Council was up to something, and they all had to fight together to stop them.
Especially as none of them particularly wanted to die in a fiery ball of death if the fail-safe on Drommus triggered, denying the Council of that world, but at the cost of all their lives.
The space battle was fierce, with pirate craft engaging Tslavar and Council ships alike. And unlike the fighting within Darvin’s craft, magic was very much in use outside of the ship.
It was a swarm of confusion and death out there, and in the black of space, where there is no up or down, the conflict seemed even more chaotic. No one was fighting on the same plane. What was left for one ship was down for another, and up for yet another.
It was mayhem. Unorchestrated chaos. And it was only getting worse.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Hozark and Demelza were fighting in an environment they were amply skilled for, but tended to avoid at all costs.
Wampeh Ghalian were loners. Silent, solitary killers. Melees were not their engagement of choice. There were simply too many variables. Too many things that could go horribly wrong, and not because of any intentional act, but because of the chaos of dozens, hundreds, or more people fighting in close proximity.
It was the type of situation where even the most skilled fighter could fall from an errant blade.
In an open environment, at least they could draw upon their myriad killing spells to create space around themselves and shift the tide of battle. But within the confines of a ship, all of that magic had to be withheld.
Hozark and Demelza both were feeling the frustration of being unable to unleash the force to end this engagement, despite their training. No one observing them work their way through the enemy would have known that both were actively restraining themselves from using that power.
But they had training aplenty, in more techniques of death and mayhem than those attacking them knew combined, and it was those other forms of combat they were using today.
Hozark had snatched up a sword from a fallen man and was now swinging it with skill as he and Demelza plowed through the boarders. His vespus blade was still safely on his back, where he wished to keep it sheathed until it was absolutely needed.
A glowing blue blade in a Ghalian’s hand would be something of note, and he wished to go unnoted. At least, as long as he could.
Demelza was working her way through the Tslavar mercenaries at his side, the two Ghalian instinctively protecting each other’s flanks as they battled.
She was putting on an impressive demonstration of sword and dagger play with the fine set that Master Orkut had lent to her for her quest to help his friend. If Visla Jinnik was in need of assistance, despite her significant skills, she would need all of the advantages she could get, and the master swordsmith had just the thing.
“The boy,” Hozark said to her as he ran his sword deep into the chest of a particularly stocky Tslavar invader. “This battle will go on for some time. We must retrieve him.”
Demelza spun, her blades ringing off the cudgel that had just come flying toward her head. With the sword locking up the attacker’s weapon, she was free to slip the dagger in her other hand in between both his armor plating and his ribs.
The Tslavar let out a pained groan, then fell as she expertly twisted the blade, sending its point on its deadly way, piercing his heart. She pulled it free immediately, spinning back to block another attacker. As she did, Hozark liberated the man’s neck of his head.
“A persistent lot,” she noted.
“Indeed,” he replied, watching the continuous flow of mercenaries pushing against the pirate defenders. “And well-armed. But these men and women are handling themselves admirably, and we have work to do. Happizano was taken this way.”
Hozark did not need to say anything more. Demelza was immediately behind him as he moved, expertly slicing where others slashed, parrying and dodging where others swung wildly.
The pair did all they could to avoid further engagement, opting for a speedy course rather than the bloody one. Yes, they could drop a sizable amount of Tslavars on the way if they wanted, but the delay could prove far, far too costly.
The path of least resistance saw them rushing through row after row of pirates, the swarthy men ready for action, forming a rear guard to protect their captain and the control center of the ship.
They may have seemed to be standing around with nothing to do, but all of them had their weapons ready and their eyes and ears alert. It was a boarding attack, but they were not the ones carrying it out, and they knew full well that at any moment a section of the hull could part, allowing the enemy to drop down into the midst.
“We need a dozen reinforcements near the galley area,” Hozark said as he and Demelza pushed through the ranks. “Don't just stand there. Twelve of you, get moving.”
“We’re supposed to stay here. Captain’s orders.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hozark said, slipping into full pirate brogue. Minus the ‘arr,’ of course. “If this ship falls because you lot ignored the bastards ransacking the deck and killing your friends, all in favor of standing in an empty corridor in case something might happen, I’m sure Captain Darvin’ll be very interested to hear of your decision.”
A look of doubt flashed in the men’s eyes. Fear of displeasing the captain was deeply ingrained, and they had just been expertly placed between a rock and a hard place. All it required was a little push to help them to the logical decision.
“Oh, fer fuck’s sake. Fine. Look. I’ll go tell him personally, okay? Just hurry yer asses up and get out there. This is on me. If he wants to take it out on anyone, it’ll not be you,” Hozark said, walking through the last line of defenses before the command center, heading right for the door.
It was all bluff and bluster, but it was working, though it shouldn’t have. He wasn’t a member of Captain Darvin’s crew. He was just one of the other pirates who was suddenly fighting their common enemy. And yet, with a firm, confident, authoritative tone, Hozark knew he could sway just about anyone.
Act as if it’s a given that others will do as you say, and quite often they will.
“You heard him. They need our help,” one of the men who had been on the fence said, his decision finally made for him.
There were leaders, and there were followers. And once the followers started falling in line, critical mass was quickly achieved.
“Let’s go, lads!” another said, rushing off without a further thought, his short sword held at the ready.
More than twelve wound up racing to join the fray, but that actually didn’t much matter. Hozark had simply picked a number that would be enough to make an impact, but not so high that it would appear as if he was trying to thin their ranks.
“Come on, you,” he said to Demelza as they reached the door to command. “We’ve gotta go tell the captain where I sent the others and what’s going on in ’is ship.”
“Right behind you,” she said in her best pirate growl.
This was the moment of truth. When they would see if their bluff worked all the way or if they would have to slay the pirates who would ultimately be fighting the Council invaders.
It was something they desperately wanted to avoid. All they wanted was to retrieve the boy. And the more pirates they could leave standing to continue fighting the Tslavars at their backs, the better.
The guards had seen what had just gone down, and watched their comrades hurry off at the command of this stranger. But the laws of the herd were strong, and they too seemed to fall in line with the group mentality.
Hozark smiled to himself when the men stepped aside and let him pass. Whatever they had to face inside the command center, it would be done in private.
And when he and Demelza were done, they would most definitely be leaving with the visla’s son back in their possession.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he walked into the chamber with Demelza at his back. She turned immediately, shutting the door behind them and quietly casting muting spells to silence any shouts of warning or alarm that might come from within.
They were going to get Happizano back, and while they would prefer to leave the pirates standing to fight the Council threat, they would do whatever was required. And that might be bloody.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Hozark and Demelza, in the middle of a pirate-versus-Council battle, and clad as pirates as they were, entered the command center without much of a fuss being raised.
In fact, given the chaos of the current battle swirling both outside and inside the ship, their presence was not all that odd at all.
“What the hell’s going on out there?” the captain yelled out. “I’ve been trying to get a godsdamned sitrep for the last five minutes!”
The half dozen of the captain’s personal guards tried to look calm as the man railed on, but they knew how he could be when riled up. Fortunately, his line of questioning wasn’t directed at them.
Hozark realized he was talking to the newcomers.
“It’s a fucking mess, is what’s going on,” the Wampeh replied with a piratey growl. “Most recent was the group that boarded through the galley. It’s been a bloody fight, but it looks like we’re holding our own.”
The captain smiled, but without any real joy behind it. He’d take whatever good news he could get, but this conflict was far, far from over.
Seated behind Captain Darvin was a young, violet-skinned boy, staring silently at the ground. He looked terrified, and though no magic was being used to hold him there, he seemed glued in place.
“What’s with the kid?” Hozark asked. “Seems kinda quiet for being in the middle of all of this.”
Darvin grabbed Hap by the scruff of his shirt and hauled him roughly to his feet.
“The little bastard tried to use a stun spell on me. Can you fucking believe that? On my own fucking ship?”
“The balls on that one,” Hozark agreed.
“Ha. They haven’t even dropped yet. And lucky for me, probably.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because,” the captain said, pulling back Hap’s shirt to reveal the slender, golden control collar around his neck, “this little shit actually has some power in him. And he tried to use it against me. Against me!”
“Incredible,” Hozark said, glancing at Hap.
The boy’s bloodshot eyes spoke volumes about his treatment at the hands of the pirates since he’d been captured, and Hozark felt the anger inside himself growing. It was an unusual sensation for him, as he almost never had an emotional reaction to any of the myriad situations he had found himself in over the years.
But this boy had been mistreated. Mistreated and made into a slave. And that simply would not do.
“So, what’s the plan for the little scamp?” he asked.
“I’ve been trying to offload him on Drommus, but there were no takers. But when I mentioned he might have some power, one of the crews that fly with some of Visla Ravik’s Tslavars when they’re not out on Council business said that he’s been rounding up any kind of power he can find. I thought maybe this kid might be of interest to him.”
“So you contacted him? Is that why these ships are here? A Council double-cross?”
“Nah, I wish it was so simple. I was about to try to reach that Ravik character when one of my old friends let me in on a little secret.”
“A secret?”
“Yeah. Ravik isn’t the one really in charge. He’s just another visla’s bitch. A guy named Maktan.”
“I’ve heard the name,” Hozark said, flashing a glance at Demelza. “But I heard he was always a pretty benign one. For the Council, that is.”
“Well, looks can be deceiving. That bastard’s neck-deep in dirty shit across a dozen systems, apparently. Lots of blood on his hands. And the crazy bastard actually tried to catch one of the Ghalian masters. Can you believe that? Fucking madness, that is.”
“You’re right about that,” Hozark agreed. “And this little bastard is going to him next?”
“If he pays. And if we survive.”
Another glance and Demelza took over the conversation, shifting to the business of the attack at hand while Hozark walked over as if to get a better look at the young boy.
