Kingmaker, page 21
part #1 of The Gods That Gamble Series
At the far end of the room, there was a crash - the control room door came crashing down. A uniformed Enforcer lay on top of it, unconscious.
Namira emerged and sheathed her shock baton. "Couldn't wait five minutes?"
"What took so long?"
She pointed to the south corridor of the room: twelve Enforcers, limp and unconscious, lined the wall. "Takes a while to do it quietly. Only this last one caught me." She rubbed her bruised cheek and dragged her last trophy across the hangar to join the others.
"Thought you were in trouble," Ramirez said and glanced at the smoldering hole in the hangar door. "We've left ourselves open."
"Nah." Namira set the Enforcer down. She waved over a few of Ramirez's troops to help her bind and gag them. "Made it easier. Water, armies, flow to the point of least resistance."
"At least we know where they'll be coming from."
He shouted orders at his platoon, and small squads of four or five soldiers tucked themselves behind cruisers and ketches. Two squads set their sights on the hangar door, while Namira and another Enforcer sat in the control room, within armsreach of the control panel for the moment their mutiny went spaceside.
The screeching of the alarm ceased. Boots rushed the hallway, the opposite way they rushed before.
Ramirez revved his thrusters, blue rings aflame on his back and soles. "Tits strapped, balls tight, Enforcers!" One of the squads in front of the door took flight, spreading out over the hangar, rifles aimed at the entrance.
"Lasers off, rifles on riot." Ramirez hovered ten feet above the doorway, facing his platoon. "Lock and load 'em."
Chapter 69
Maria: Captain
"One of the cooks reportedly sabotaged the oven."
"Where is he now?" Captain Halsey maneuvered a projection of the ship. He zoomed in on the kitchen, blinking red. A list of stats dotted the screen - damages, costs, estimated repair times.
"At the scene of the crime. I have a couple Enforcers interrogating him now."
"Says here the fire is still raging. Are the scanners fried?"
"Again," the lanky lieutenant said, "we are interrogating him.
The Captain nodded. "Should we be expecting any more incidents?"
"I doubt it, Captain. Probably just a spacesick kid trying to find a quick trip home."
"The inside of a jail cell is hardly home."
"In fairness, Captain, a brig is better than a bomb."
The Captain sighed. "It's shaken us all. Just make sure this isn't bigger than…"
A series of red blips flooded the screen. Hangar door breached, injuries reported. No fatalities.
"Lock it all down!"
The lieutenant tapped his ear and distributed the order. "All emergency units to the hangar. Battle ready. Code Judas." The lights flashed yellow, and the door slammed shut, red light on the lock.
Hard knocks clambered the office door.
The Captain and the lieutenant drew their pistols.
"The only thing coming through this door is blaster-fire. Do you hear me?"
A female voice shouted back: "Loud and clear, Captain." Boots slammed into the frame.
The lieutenant opened his comm again. "Gordon. Grab your squad and head for the Captain's Quarters. Judas is in the Captain's room."
The clambering stopped, replaced by rustles and urgent whispers. Bootsteps faded away.
The Captain kept his pistol aimed at the door.
Three short beeps. Blue and white fire spread across the door. An explosion followed and metal shrapnel sprayed across the office.
The rebel Enforcers stormed into the office, rifles ready.
The Captain and lieutenant opened fire. White light pulsed with each pull of the trigger. Three rebels fell, their uniforms igniting, gaping holes in their torsos. The rebels returned fire, bolts sparking. One caught the lieutenant: his knees buckled and he fell to the ground, convulsing.
The Captain ducked behind his desk. He stepped out to pepper off a few rounds, but the rebels easily dodged them. The mutineers encircled the desk.
"Surrender!" Maria walked forward with her pistol pointed at the desk.
The Captain's pistol slid across the floor. He stood up, arms in the air. "Inspector." He nodded at Maria, squinting. "I'm not sure I was expecting this."
"Captain." Maria holstered her weapon. "I'm here to inform you of our intentions."
Halsey relaxed his arms. "Was I that bad to you?"
Maria shook her head. "No, but enough of us saw our friends and family turned to ash. And we saw you, and the Council, doing nothing. By the power invested in me via the Galactic Constitution, I am commandeering six cruisers and headed for Mars to arrest Johnny King. Any Enforcer seeking justice is free to follow."
Halsey rubbed his forehead. "Maria, what you're doing isn't logical. Isn't legal—"
"It's legal. Read the Constitut—"
"It hasn't ever been done. It isn't the way it's done. The second you fly out, I will be forced to chase you."
"That's why I'm here, Captain. This is a warning. We will do everything in our power to ensure no Enforcers are harmed." She cleared her throat, and met Halsey's eye. "But spaceships don't have riot settings."
Halsey surveyed the office. Fifteen Enforcers surrounded Maria. Two dragged the unconscious lieutenant to Halsey's bed. "Fine," the Captain said. "We won't pursue."
Maria smiled. When Halsey's cold glare didn't change, her smile faded.
"If you make it the hangar." The Captain gazed past Maria, over her shoulder.
The jostle of rifles. Hard, heavy footfall. A squad of Enforcers marched down the hallway toward the mutineers.
Chapter 70
Ramirez: Hangar
Blaster fire flung from the hole in the hangar door. A swarm of bolts — shock and rubber — met them. The clinks and clanks of blasters and bolters drowned the hangar.
"Hold position!" Ramirez shouted into the comm, hovering above the hole in the hangar door. "Don't rush forward—let them come to us!"
He sweat in the heat of his helmet. Each squad had sufficient cover behind the ships and corners. The blaster fire seared the walls and wings of the cruisers. Twelve cruisers remained unscathed.
From under him, a stream of fire flew and connected with one of the cruisers a squad hid behind. Fire and smoke plumed as the metal wing shattered and flung shrapnel into the mutinous Enforcers. A boyish man clutched his leg, hands leaking red. A woman held her right eye, her blonde hair spotted with blood.
They're going to kill us. Ramirez switched his rifle to blaster-fire. He breathed in, thinking, then set it back to riot.
"Cease fire, cease fire!"
A female voice shot back: "What? Are you kidding?"
On the seas, one might let an enemy ship get full broadside to prevent fire from the rest of the fleet. "They won't try another shot like that if there's a chance of hitting their own men. Let them gain some ground as cover."
The bolters stopped. Enforcers poured in, blaster fire streaking across the hangar. A pool of Enforcers gathered below Ramirez.
"Resume fire!"
Bolters clanked, and waves of Enforcers fell, writhing, clutching their heads. Ramirez turned his jetpack off and his hulking frame shot downward.
He slammed the ground, his armor crushing the legs of an Enforcer injured by a bolter round. Swaths of men fell to his sides as he swung his massive arms. Some held their rifles or forearms up as cover, but collapsed under the weight of his armor. They fell: broken limbs bent at horrendous angles, blood leaked from dented helmets as they smacked against the floor.
A fury consumed him. His finger flicked rapidly on the trigger and bolter rounds flew into the hole the Enforcers poured out of. He holstered his rifle on his back and drew his omnisword. He flipped a switch on the hilt and the rim of the blade glowed a deep violet. As the blade swept across the body of an Enforcer, a small shimmer, a ripple, formed in front of the blade and launched the victim several yards across the hangar.
Ramirez's omnisword danced in and out of the sea of soldiers. Rows of unconscious, bleeding bodies scattered around him. He stood in a wide stance in front of the doorway, omnisword pointed menacingly at the incoming Enforcers. He faced several squads' worth of rifle barrels, yet no shots came. Soldiers rushed back and forth, processing new orders.
For now, the blaster fire had stopped.
Chapter 71
Kegan: Rescue
Kegan's pupils opened wide. His nose flared, his cheeks taut. The flames of the kitchen consumed most of his Spiritsight. Roderick, his thermal outline sprawled on the ground, pounded against the door as two other figures held their bellies in laughter.
"Cap. Ramirez. Going offline. Roderick needs rescue."
No response.
Kegan twirled his Spiritstick, electricity buzzing from its ends. He circled his finger as he marched out the door, and the three armed rebels in the room followed him.
The fire blazed in his vision — he sprinted to the kitchen in long, bouncing strides. The guard detail scurried after him.
Kegan stepped toward the two men outside the kitchen doorway. They froze, staring at his towering blue frame. Kegan spun his staff above his head, then stuck it out in front of him, narrowed at one's chin.
"Release him," Kegan said.
The furthest one leapt for him. Kegan twisted the staff to meet the man's neck: a shock arced into his spine. The first man fell, and Kegan aimed the staff at the other.
"Release him."
The soldier reached for his pistol, and Kegan whipped the staff to strike his wrist. He whipped the other end into the man's neck — choking, coughing, he fell on his ass. Kegan held the end of the staff in front of the Enforcer's face — sparks flicked his nose.
Kegan did not need to repeat himself a third time. The soldier swiped at the door and its lock turned green.
Roderick fell into the hallway, gasping, followed by plumes of smoke. He sputtered, pointed inside the kitchen. Kegan flexed his cheeks and his nose, and sensed an unconscious thermal form, the flames crawling toward it.
Kegan dived into the doorway, and emerged with Devon's body. He set him against the wall and studied his vitals with his Spiritsight.
"He's fine."
"My fault he's hurt," Roderick said.
Kegan wasn't finished. His guard detail marched into view. "Hold him down." His voice was firm, and two of the guards pressed their boots into the conscious Enforcer's shoulders.
Kegan picked up the first Enforcer he had knocked out. He dragged the man's body into the kitchen and dumped him into a corner near the door.
He walked out and towered over the restrained Enforcer. Holding out his hand, he demanded: "Access card."
"It's my bios, I swear."
"Snakeshit. You don't have access to a lock like that. Card. Now."
The Enforcer reached into his waistband and forfeited a bronze keycard.
"Should we drag 'im in, boss?"
Kegan shook his head. "Only devils delegate their sins." He pushed their boots away, hoisted the Enforcer by his neck and tossed him into the room. He swiped bronze keycard in front of the sensor: the lock turned red.
"Let's move."
Roderick, Kegan, and their guard detail marched toward the hangar. The frantic beating of fists on metal, of muffled cries for help, faded into the flames.
Chapter 72
Ramirez: Standstill
Standstill.
Ramirez braced his omnisword in front of the hangar entrance. Enforcers on both sides were frozen, rifles aimed at the other.
The heavy hum of thrusters, plodding footfall — the Enforcers outside the hangar parted; three black figures stormed forth.
Ramirez sheathed his omnisword and drew his cannon — blaster, full stream. The three new soldiers sported thick, plated armor that matched Ramirez.
"Everyone stay on riot and focus on the rank and file. I'll draw out the heavies."
"Three against one, Sarge. You sure about that? We can pepper them."
"Rifles on riot. Rank and file."
The mutineers shifted their rifles in compliance.
Ramirez boosted his thrusters and took flight. "Namira, honey. I'll need your help on this one."
Namira slipped out of the hangar office and along the wall of the entrance. Her soles emitted a soft light as they stuck to the side of hangar. A few strides later, she above the battlefield, perpendicular to the wall. She crossed her arms and studied the action, only an armsreach from the ceiling.
Dozens of Enforcers charged the hangar. White-hot blaster fire barraged the hangar — it took several breaths for spates of bolter rounds to return fire. The Enforcer's assault worked: in each squad, at least one member grasped a smoldering wound.
The three heavy infantry soared to meet Ramirez. Laser-fire streamed from the mutineer's blaster, melting the rifle of the closest one. The disarmed heavy drew his omnisword, glowing violet, and sailed, thrusters roaring.
Ramirez killed his exhaust and dropped. As the sword-bearer flew overhead, he kicked his thrusters back on and unleashed at the heavy's underside. White light consumed the heavy's torso until he managed to bring up his sword: the laser-stream parted around the blade and dissipated to the sides. His black armor flushed with a fading, orange ember.
Ramirez drew his omnisword and charged, blade burning orange. Flames swarmed outward as the scorching blade clashed with the magnetic. Ramirez heaved and swung, again, again, hammering into his enemy, blazes jetting with each blow, as if striking an anvil. The fury consumed Ramirez and his strikes labored the enemy heavy infantry—a final flourish lobbed the magnetic sword out from its bearers hands and it plummeted: the horde of Enforcers dived in every direction.
The mutineers leapt at the diversion and targeted the hole the omnisword made in the Enforcer ranks. Handfuls of soldiers hurled to the ground, half writhing, half motionless.
The orange ember in the heavy's torso gleamed. Ramirez shoved the blade into the wounded armor. Flames bursts from the tear as it pierced the armor and flesh. Stifled screams rang out from the armor. The heavy retreated his helmet, but the fire crept up his neck as new oxygen rushed in. The soldier's head went limp as the fires crisped his skin. He hovered in the air, lifeless.
The two other heavies fired full stream. Ramirez bit his lip and twirled out of the blaster fire. He grabbed the corpse of the first heavy, thrusters still burning, spun the armor in circles, then launched it at the soldier to his right. The target froze in disbelief. He managed to draw his omnisword and pulse the corpse on its back, hurling it toward a ship where a squad of mutineers sat in cover.
"Gray! Proctor! Incoming missile — scramble!"
The warning came too late. A spiral of fire collided into the ship where six mutineers hid. An explosion engulfed the ship and the soldiers. Shattered metal glittered in the sky. One squad member crawled from the wreckage, the stubs of his legs leaking a bloody trail.
Ramirez drew his cannon and braced the sword in his right hand. He shot his laser full-stream at the heavy on his left. The target drew her omnisword to shield herself. A laser-stream, beaming white, flared to his right, and Ramirez met it with his own violet blade. The three hovered in deadlock.
A blast, an eruption to the left. The heavy's omnisword plunged, followed by the hulking armor. Fire erupted across her back. Namira sailed toward the ground, perfectly poised, omniblade radiating orange. She pivoted as she approached the ground, and her soles shone purple to break her fall. The heavy-on-fire collapsed into a squad of Enforcers near the hangar entrance.
"On your own for the last one, Rammie." Namira ran along the wall and jumped into the horde of Enforcers. She brandished her blade and danced among the squads, a stream of violet traced each swing.
Ramirez gripped his sword and charged into the laser fire. The white stream pushed back, and once he felt an impasse, he cut his thrusters and dropped. He slung his cannon to his shoulder and discharged his laser-stream. The heavy swept his stream down to meet Ramirez's. A swirl of energy burst where the two ends met and white light flooded the hangar.
Ramirez thrust upward, then dropped downward, then upward again. The heavy kept lockstep with his maneuvers, the crossed streams unbroken. Ramirez chucked his omnisword. The heavy moved his head between the blade and the laser-stream. He kept his laser locked and braced his shoulder at the incoming blade. It connected, a large ripple tossed him into the wall.
The stream of white-hot light stalked him, pressed him into the wall. Ramirez poured the stream into the heavy's armor until the plate bloomed red, then orange, then white. The metal warped around the laser and ignited the soldier's skin. When the screaming stopped, Ramirez switched his cannon back to riot. The heavy lay pinned to the wall in a shallow pit, a vertical grave.
The mutineers were pressed into the corner of the hangar, near the airlock door. They were down to three dozen able-bodied fighters.
Of the Enforcers — there was no end in sight.
Chapter 73
Maria: No Other Way
The shatter of blaster-fire gnashed the air. The office walls smoldered, half-scorched. Maria hunkered behind Halsey's overturned desk, the Captain sprawled next to her. Seven mutineers, four men and three women, were dead, singed cavities bored their chests, faces, limbs.
The Enforcers fired into the office, aiming at the sides of the door. Maria waited for a head to jut out, and then shot rapid bolter fire down the hallway. Despite the desk being square to the entrance, little fire came her way. She supposed she had more the Captain to thank for that than the desk.
"How many are left?"
"At least nine, haven't got—" the woman ducked as a white beam melted the frame of the door near her head. She swirled her bolter behind her and blind-fired past the doorway. A thud followed. "Eight. Are you sure we can't use blasters?"
