Kingmaker, page 24
part #1 of The Gods That Gamble Series
Maria snapped her fingers at him. She returned to Dia. "Very well, Communicator. Permission to enter the Clouds?"
Dia shook her head, still smiling her girlish smile. "'Fraid not. What's your business, Cap'n?"
"Need I state it?"
Dia's grin was stapled.
"I am here to question Johnny King for crimes of breaking the Commercial Cloning and Copyright Act, Conspiracy, and High Treason against the Galaxy."
"The Galaxy that consists of two planets and a colony?"
"The Galaxy that all of humanity is sworn to."
"And you're just here to…question?"
"If the questioning goes awry, I will do what I must do. But he will get his chance to say his side."
"Very well, Captain. We will escort you into the city."
What?
"Follow us." Transmission ended.
Maria looked at Ramirez. "They realize they're outgunned in the air. Figured they're better on the ground."
"Could be. Our mutiny hasn't hit the blogs yet. Maybe they think we're the first of many, and are looking to talk. Either way, an open airlock is better than blasting a hole in the dome."
"Maybe they figured that, too."
Maria gestured to the pilot and the fleet, flanked by Nexus cruisers, descended into the airlock above Cloud Three.
Chapter 78
King: Passing Time
Johnny sat on his couch. Six empty bottles of Rotgut lay around him, two in the cushions of the couch, a few rolling on the floor, and the last two on the table. King tapped at the coffee table. A projection of Francis appeared.
"Francis," King said. "Sorry, getting bored. What's the Hub look like?"
"No cyber attacks to speak of. Strange. Maybe we are as good as we thought."
"We still have Nexus' old loose cannon flying around somewhere. Keep an eye out."
"Will do." Francis' finger grew in the screen as he went to end the transmission.
"Francis—wait," Johnny spoke.
"Yes?"
"I can't…I can't get drunk. I've slammed six Rotguts, nothing."
Francis' eyes darted from side to side in rapid thought. "Sounds rough. How's your energy?"
"Fine. Still sore in the organs, but I feel myself."
"Any weird thoughts? Sudden urges?"
"What? No."
"Blood-brain barrier. Worried that the booze isn't the only thing not making its way up there. I'll have a think. Call me if you feel…off."
Johnny nodded and ended the transmission.
He stood and unzipped himself, tossing his shoes and pants to the adjacent chair. He took off his jacket, his shirt and tie, and tossed those, too. He kept his socks on as he reached down and rubbed the front of his boxers. Nothing happened after several minutes.
That damned fleet is the first of many, and they are going to tear down all you've built.
He leaned back,gripped the couch cushion, and rubbed himself with his palm. Nothing.
You could have saved her. She loved you. Some stupid, political cause over her. Is it worth it now, pretty boy? Business man?
He threw his black glasses on the table, reached under his waistband and stroked furiously. Flab, a wet noodle, failure.
Was it worth it, King?
"Fuck."
He tossed his hands through his hair and marched to his room. He grabbed a silver tin from his desk and flopped back down on the couch. The red rock was piled high as he removed the lid. He scooped his finger and shoveled the powder into his nose. After three or four doses, he set the tin down and lay on the cushions.
At first, nothing. Then, a faint warmth rose in his nostrils. It loosened his lungs, stirred his brain, made his ears hot.
He cracked his joints—neck, wrists, fingers, and then neck again.
He grabbed his blaster and held it in his left hand. Any moment the Enforcers would come could come bursting through the door.
Face and limbs flushed red, Johnny reached under his waistband with his right hand. His thumb and forefinger wrapped around a fresh stiffness.
Still, something felt off. He walked over and donned his silver jacket, no shirt, no tie. He buttoned up and returned his butt to the couch, his hand to his boxers.
Socks, jacket, and skivvies, Johnny passed the time, waiting for the Enforcers of Justice to knock on his door.
Chapter 79
Dia & Maria: Negotiation
Dia watched as four of the Enforcer ships landed. Two stayed in the air, and made no signs of descending.
She spoke to the soldier closest to her: a tall, lanky man with a jagged beard. "Sergeant Calszi, how's the perimeter?"
"Fine, fine." He sucked his teeth as he thought. Audibly. "Snipers. Thuck. Six and all surrounding. And backup's posted on the other side the of the cloud, can be here in less than—thuck—ten minutes if called."
"I don't think it'll come to that."
Thuck. "Let's hope not."
Dia turned to a woman with purple hair. She was muscular and pale. Her forehead sported two knots of mangled skin—horns, from a former life, slowly receding. "Corporal Nellie, stay with the ship and watch our six. If things turn south, I want those two pecker-crafts blasted out of the sky."
Nellie grunted.
Dia squared her hips and shoulders. "Alright," she said, turning on the comm for all three ships. "There's two ways out of this for Captain Cunt over there." The crew around her chuckled; the other two ships muted their mics. "Either she goes, unarmed, to King for a total surrender, or she and her flunkies get a one-way ticket back to the airlock."
"What's the angle, Communicator?" a voice chimed in.
"Big presence. She needs to realize the Enforcers on Mars are gone. She needs to think an army stands between her and King. We do whatever we can to scare that fleet of fuckers to staying in orbit.
"Crew Boris and Crew Vasily, leave a gunner for the ship keeping eyes sky-side. If I draw my sword, fire. Snipers, that goes for you, too."
A round of acknowledgments echoed back to Dia.
"Right." She clapped Nellie's and Calszi's shoulders. "Let's show these seabirds the warm sands of Mars. As commanded?"
"As executed, Communicator!"
———
Maria and Ramirez stepped outside the ship. She looked up at the dome — the ceiling was tens of miles above them, and it felt as wide as Cairo, unable to see it curve from where she stood. They were in a concrete clearing, encircled by high-rises and cloudscrapers.
Rifle in hand, Maria walked away from her ship. Namira walked from hers, crew in hand. Of the healed and unmaimed, thirteen joined them. All armed. Maria kept point, with Ramirez slightly behind her to the right, heavy suit on, no helmet.
"Snipers, Captain," Kegan said over the comm. His ship stayed in the air, hovering over the arena. "All around you in the surrounding buildings. Apartments. Civilians."
"I don't see any," Roderick called. He was also his ship, which carried the wounded, surveying the battle below.
"Cloaked, but just. Temperature fading from them. What tech is this? Marking your HUD, Roderick."
"If guns come out, blast those snipers."
"Civilians."
Maria chewed her tongue. She shook her head. "I have enough maimed men. I repeat, if the guns come out, blast those snipers."
"Understood," Kegan stated flatly, followed by a "10-4" from Roderick.
Maria and Ramirez stepped into the middle of the clearing. Namira kept the righthand side, hand on her omnisword.
Dia's cruisers landed in front of them. Four men each poured out of the first two, rifles stowed on their backs. Dia herself emerged, sheathed sword and holstered blaster, alongside three other men with stowed rifles.
Maria tossed her rifle onto her back. She gestured toward the rest of the men, who followed suit. She looked at Ramirez and shook her head — he kept the stock of his rifle tight against his chest.
"Great seeing you sand-side," Dia yelled against the sound of the ships. The engines whipped her hair out of its bun, a flag of blonde wisps waving in the wind.
Maria whirled her finger in the air, and the pilots on the ground killed the engines. Dia's did the same.
The two walked in front of their men, until they were a few yards apart.
"Well, then," Dia smiled, and extended her hand. She took a step forward.
Maria remained where she was.
"Even with two ships in the air and your bodyguard there with his weapon drawn, you're afraid to shake my hand?" She smiled her girlish smile. "I swear it won't shock you."
Maria spat on the ground between them. "I'm on official business from the Galactic Council. I am here to find and interrogate Johnny King. Whatever farce this is, I'm not entertaining it."
"You're going to want to ease into this, Captain," Dia said slowly.
Maria cocked an eyebrow, her jaw slacked.
"You see my ships?" Dia gestured widely behind her.
"Couple of civilian cruisers with tacked on weapons."
"What makes them so different than any one of those?" Dia pointed to the surrounding buildings. Weaving in-and-out of the cloudscrapers, countless spiraling lanes of cars sprawled the city. It was a Grid, like in Cairo. Or maybe ten grids, on top of each other.
"There's half-a-million to two million people in each Cloud, Captain. And they all know the name Johnny King. I doubt most could name the Terran President."
Ramirez stepped next to Maria. "Broad has a point."
"Bring your fleet," Dia said, "and it will mean more dead men. You won't be greeted as liberators."
"There are still Enforcers on Mars. What you're saying is meaningless."
Dia shook her head, her antagonizing smile still tacked on. "Check for yourself, Cap. I'll take you to 'em. Every Enforcer base is bought out or vacated. My organization has been sending you bunk data for months. I have to say, though, you guys buy great chairs."
Maria and Ramirez were silent.
"But," Dia lead on, "I will take you to King."
"Why's that?"
"You and your officers will meet King, unarmed, and accept the terms of our ceasefire."
Maria and Ramirez laughed. "Bold as she is daft," Ramirez said.
"As I said, I'm not entertaining this, Communicator," Maria said the last word in a sneer. "You may have let his surname get your head, but Johnny King is not an elected official. He is not the President. He does not run Mars. Your planet is a part of the Galactic Council."
"Whatever keeps you comfortable, Captain. Government, Galaxy. These aren't reality. Look around you. Mars is free. You enforce nothing here. Go back to your ship, and I will escort you out of the airlock."
"That's not going to happen. Johnny King is a terrorist, and I am taking him in. With all my men behind me."
Dia raised her eyebrow. "Just the men behind you?"
Maria froze. She'd let her tongue run.
Ramirez shouted, "Johnny King killed my friends and family. We'll blast these domes into the sands if we gotta!" He growled at Dia.
Dia's forces shifted: hands at belts and backs, hovering over their weapons.
Maria nodded at Ramirez: keep going. "Whole city's in rebellion? Maybe we should fire from orbit. Knock a hole in a Cloud! Let the sands eat you and your cretins alive."
"At ease." Maria stepped forward. "Communicator, this is the rage I am dealing with. My Sergeant here isn't the only one looking to take a bite out of King. I'm the only thing standing between this planet and a fleet of thousands of angry gaffers, hungry for blood. I am the only chance there is at a peaceful solution. Please, Communicator, for the sake of your people, let me find King."
"Again," Dia stated. Her men were still on edge, eyeing Ramirez's drawn weapon. "You can go to King, unarmed, and talk terms. Set up talks with the Council."
"Why would the Council talk to a terrorist? Get it through your thick skull. He is a king in name only."
"We don't call him a king." Dia flashed her smile. "He's more like a big dad."
"Call him what you like. We're going to go get him."
"Unarmed, with me, that's the only way, Captain." Dia flipped her hair. "Come on, don't pass up your chance to meet the Godfather of Mars."
Maria's rage boiled. "You will stand aside and let me and my men find the terrorist we are seeking."
"No, I won't, sweetie." She turned her side toward Maria, and flicked her left arm. A circular metal plate slid down her elbow and rested against the back of her hand.
A small whir behind Dia: the ships behind her adjusted their cannons.
"Stand aside, or we will hold you in contempt and place you under arrest."
Dia giggled. "You really don't understand what you're walking into, do you?"
"I understand completely. Last chance. Communicator Dia. Stand. Aside."
Dia tugged at her collar. Her officer's uniform hardened into dark-orange battle armor, plates covering the flat surfaces of every limb. Her collar rose and morphed into a helmet around her. The soldiers surrounding her followed suit.
Maria's eyes widened as the civilians transformed in front of her. Ramirez cursed in confusion, and raised his rifle.
"Sorry, bitch," Dia said. She flicked her wrist — a purple, pulsing shield extended from the plate on her hand, the circumference widening to cover half her body mass. "I've got a job to do."
Maria nodded. She slung the rifle off her back and stepped forward, followed by her Enforcers.
"Enforcers," Ramirez spoke into the comm. "Rifles on full stream."
Dia, under her helmet, flashed her relentless smile, and drew her omnisword.
Chapter 80
Kegan: For Blood
Kegan saw the shield widen around Dia. From his ketch, he started scouting. No longer detectable, his HUD marked the last known locations of the snipers.
Five in all. On five different balconies, in five different houses of five different families.
Kill twenty civilians to kill five soldiers?
"Roderick, new plan. Snipers disappeared. Can't be certain we hit them. Blast the ground, obscure the battlefield."
"Good move," Roderick replied from the comm in his ketch.
The ship beeped, it's screen flashing, indicating blaster fire from below. Kegan put five targets at the foot of the buildings and tapped the console. Five white rockets dropped from the ship, ignited in the air, and plunged into the ground. Concrete, metal disintegrated and a black dust spread across the clearing.
"Now we can't see them," Roderick said.
"Snipers lost their shot. Let's get closer. Take out the ships."
The ship's console beeped again, more frantic. The ship rocked, and a wave of heat flashed the cockpit.
"Looks like they've got the same idea."
"You have wounded. My ship is empty. I will keep them busy. Stay alive."
He rushed his ship into the cloud of smoke. Below, the Enforcers and Martian rebels were exchanging fire. He saw Namira descending upon the Martian Communicator, barraging her shield with furious sword blows. He always admired her prowess — each time the omnisword deflected off, Namira recovered instantly, turning the deflection into a graceful uppercut, or used the momentum to fling to the ground, sweeping at the Communicator's legs. Kegan smiled. True combat, with a real warrior, is the dance of an angel. He'd always considered her an angel.
Kegan tapped at the console and pulled out the pilot sticks. He maneuvered them in his hands, adjusting acceleration, then aiming down.
Another blast rocked the cockpit, and the ship's view whirled. He grasped the pilot sticks and spun, thrust, spun, thrust, until the ship was stabilized.
They were out for blood.
"Damage?"
The ship showed a diagram of itself, the missile caddy and its attached wing flashed red, as well as most of the underside of the hull.
Kegan felt for his staff on his back, tightening its strap. He twisted the thruster stick and flew past the battlefield, toward the surrounding balconies of the cloudscrapers.
He input some commands on the console, then spoke. "Execute these commands once I eject."
The console beeped in affirmation.
"Command: eject."
———
"Pretty aggressive for Snakestance," Dia shouted. Black dust and smoke clouded her vision, but her thermal detection could still pick up her opponent's movements.
Namira was quiet, calculating, but never paused. Relentless precision. Dia thrust her shield in a solid bash, and Namira tumbled with her omnisword, a violet trail spiraling. Namira regained herself as Dia rushed in, opening her shield-arm enough to deliver a straight, piercing thrust, blade glowing orange.
Namira slashed at the blade, using the momentum of the magnetized edge to jump across to Dia's unshielded side. She slashed, but Dia stepped back, her blade changing to purple. She blocked the sword with her own, and Namira's purple blade pushed her away enough to slide back and gain enough ground to raise her shield again.
The smoke and dust began to clear, and Dia switched off her thermal vision. Her HUD beeped, and she tucked and rolled, poising on her knees, shield up. A volley of blaster fire peppered her shield, small ripples shaking her arm.
The field was open wide now, the dozen-something Enforcers charged, rifles on full-stream.
Dia activated her comm. "Open fire. Ships, knock out those—"
The ground beneath her heaved, the concrete cleaved. Cracking, creaking, crashing, as metal slammed into metal. Dia whirled around — her two ships were in pieces, flames smoldering. The remains of a third ship, one of the GAF ships from the sky, were scattered amongst them.
These Enforcers were insane. "Calszi, come in. Calszi."
No response.
"Nellie, report."
No response.
Bastards.
Dia regained her footing and scouted out her opponent. Namira was slowly rising to her feet, brushing debris off of herself. Dia rushed in, blade glowing orange.
———
"Kegan!" Maria bellowed into the comm. The GAF ship was nearly disintegrated along with the other two, their fuel smoldering, melting the concrete. "Kegan, come in!"
"Here, Cap."
