Kingmaker, page 25
part #1 of The Gods That Gamble Series
"What the hell, Keg?"
"Ship was busted. Put it use."
"Where are you?"
"On balconies." A rustling, a swing, a thump. "Bashing snipers."
In the distance she saw his blue figure pole-vault between two balconies. Once landed, he swung wildly at the invisible snipers, then vaulted to the next.
"You're insane, Snowborn. Give them hell."
"We're charging, Cap'n!" Ramirez shouted, patting her on the back as he and a dozen others plowed forward into the smoke.
"Don't let up," Maria shouted. "Roderick, cover us until we get into the rough patches for cover."
The Enforcers rushed as Roderick's ship unleashed a barrage of white fire. The bolts littered the ground: the handful of remaining rebels ran backward, toward the flames of the wreckage, the molten fuel.
———
Dia leapt across a fissure, kicked off a chunk of raised concrete, and sprinted at Namira. The swordslinger leaned against a rock, holding her head, sifting through the debris. As she closed in, Dia slowed to a walk. The woman was unarmed, searching for her sword.
"Come on," Namira said as Dia approached. "You're not going to kill someone unarmed are you?"
"Why not?"
"Swordslinger honor. Civility!"
Dia laughed. "You were trained in a school. I survived in the Pits."
Dia bucked: she tossed the edge of her shield into Namira's chest. It's purple edge rippled and Namira went flying, rolling on the ground. She clutched her belly, gasping for breath.
Dia was no longer smiling. She approached the woman and towered over her. She raised her sword and plunged, the orange blade igniting the woman's stomach. Her skin and clothes blackened and flames erupted from underneath, burning her from the inside out. She screamed and she screamed.
The Communicator watched until every inch of her torso turned black. Her opponent lay, charred, twisted, and disarmed.
Disarmed, but defeated.
———
All five down. Kegan swung his staff onto his back and inspected his last opponent. The unconscious rebel was still invisible, and Kegan tapped around on the body until he found the neck. A helmet. He tried to pull it off, to no use. Eventually, he cradled the rebel's neck and lifted up, twisting his hands for leverage, his thumbs placed under the chin and —
Pop. The rebel's face appeared, helmet receding into his armor.
Kegan flared his Spiritsight: the man was entirely visible now, waves of heat emanating from the neck. The rebel was slick with sweat.
Simple concept: tight suit, no detection, but the soldiers had to take the heat. No wonder they were knocked unconscious so easily.
He set his sight on the battlefield, and yelled in horror.
The Communicator stood over Namira, watching as flames engulfed her. His thermal vision, involuntarily, heightened and his nostrils flared. He slung the staff of his back and vaulted off the balcony.
"Roderick, the rebel commander. Shield. Blast her."
"Aye, aye. Have her in my—"
Silence.
Kegan looked upward. From a balcony to his right, on a building unmarked on his HUD, the faint light of laserfire dimmed.
Roderick's ship hovered in the sky, a simmering hole in the cockpit window.
A direct hit. By a sniper he didn't find.
Kegan traced the heat of the bolt back to a window. He yelled in fury, detached the staff into two halves and plunged them into the wall of the cloudscraper, one after the other, and scaled the building. He popped up from the underside of the balcony and swung and swung.
He connected, and heard a thump. A crack in the helmet — a faint heat signature rose. Still flaring in his thermal vision, he leapt on top of the sniper and plunged the staff-halves into his skull.
He went dizzy, until nearly every heat signature — the sun, the heating of the buildings, the reflecting light — was at the forefront, overwhelming him. He stumbled on the balcony, and leaned against the rail.
Calm yourself.
Whet the snake's cunning, but blunt its fangs.
He focused on his breathing, one breath, two. One, breath, two. The blurry blue and white, the hazy orange and red, slowly receded. One breath, two. The shapes of buildings broke into the foreground, he saw the orange-and-red heat of his hand dissipate, and his blue skin simmer into view. The heat died down, and the light of the world returned.
Two dead friends. But many more alive.
He reconnected the two halves of his staff and drove it into the concrete, vaulting off the balcony. There was still a battle. There was still a war.
Chapter 81
Jack & Nexus: Keep Them Safe
Top of Kingmaker Tower, Cloud One
The black dome that topped Kingmaker Tower absorbed the fading sunlight. Where all the other windows and metal surfaces of the cloudscrapers shone with glare, the black dome remained a constant dark.
Staring out from the dome, from inside the top of the tower, was a silver-suited Jack and orange-and-blue clad Nexus, hands clasped behind his back in parade rest.
"Ever think this is worth it?" Nexus said.
Jack's eyes squinted behind his black glasses. "Of course it's worth it. It's freedom. We keep them safer than they ever have been under Terran control. Remember earlier this year when the Monsters of the Sewers roamed the streets? We fixed this planet. We keep people safe."
Nexus said, "Hard to keep them safe by starting a war."
Jack clenched his fist. Then, he took a deep breath. Patience. His fist relaxed. "You're right." He placed a hand on Nexus' shoulder. "We keep them safe by winning it."
Nexus smiled. "Speaking of." He pointed to a screen flashing on the window. Through the dashcam of a taxi on the Grid, they saw smoke rising from behind an apartment complex on Cloud Three.
"Back up is near?"
"On my orders."
"It's too close to the civilians. Let them gain some ground toward the business district, it's been evacuated."
"That's letting them get mighty close to the gates of Cloud One."
Jack shook his head. "I'd rather lose buildings than people. They still have two gates between us and them. They're trapped in the domes."
"What if they blast a hole in the airlock?"
"Nonsense. They aren't trying to kill every Martian, just us."
Nexus breathed deeply. "Don't underestimate them."
Chapter 82
Dia & Maria: Fish in a Barrel
Dia dived behind a pile of wreckage. The ground was angled, and she lost her footing and tumbled. She rolled and rolled and finally came to a stop. The rest of her soldiers, ten in total, were crouched behind various pieces of debris. The remnants of the ship crash had sunk the ground, and they were now looking upward from a pit. A volley of laser-fire streamed over the pit.
"Fuck. Tuck in, aim up. Don't let them surround us." She pressed her comm: "Backup — now!"
A voice came in. "Orders are to draw them to the business district. Too many civilians."
"We're fucking surrounded! Get us out now!"
A silence. Several moments.
An Enforcer appeared on the edge of the pit. Dia drew her bolter and fired three shots. The rest of her rebels turned their rifles and blasted him. The Enforcer fell, but two more came up to replace him. They were prone, and they peered out over the ledge, just far enough to drop two grenades. The cylinders tumbled down and stopped at group of rebels. Blue fire — the rebels scattered, but two remained on the ground, their legs engulfed.
"Hey!" Dia shouted into the comm. "We are getting slaughtered! I don't give a shit about winning, just get us out of here."
From her left, another explosion of blue fire. Two more from her right. Her soldiers were retreating from every angle, grouping more and more toward the middle.
"Spread back out, shoot! Shoot! Don't gather up."
Her words went unheeded as more and more grenades rolled down the sides of the pit. The Enforcers were now kneeling, aiming their rifles and firing full-stream. Fish in a barrel.
"Communicator Dia," her comm spoke. "Nexus overrode the order, on the way."
"ETA?"
"Still at the RZ. Ten minutes."
We'll be dead in ten minutes.
"As fast as you can, Captain."
She tucked herself behind her shield and fired her bolter at the surrounding Enforcers.
———
Maria rushed to join the Enforcers circling the pit. Ramirez was a few paces to the side, shouting orders.
Maria pushed between two soldiers and looked down at the carnage. The rebels, including Dia, were hunched in the middle of the pit, large pieces of debris covering them. Each time they peeked out, or a foot or elbow protruded, the Enforcers fired. A volley of laughter usually followed.
"Hold fire," Maria said calmly. She raised her voice. "Communicator Dia. You're under arrest for obstruction of justice, treason, and terrorism. You and your men can surrender now, and I can promise you as much mercy as the law allows." Her voice echoed throughout the pit. None of the rebels moved. "You have thirty seconds to make a decision, or we execute you all where you lie."
Ten seconds passed.
Maria said, "Everyone, prep a 'nade."
Twenty seconds.
"Communicator, c'mon. What's it going to be? Death in a concrete pit? Or life in an Earth prison?"
The rubble shifted. The Enforcers braced for action.
Dia stepped into view, helmet receded into her uniform. Her blonde hair was speckled black and red. She tossed her shield into the rubble, and stuck her sword into the ground. The rebels crawled out from their hiding spaces. Five left over in all. They laid their weapons next to Dia's sword, and raised their hands in the air, their battle armor reverted into their uniforms.
Maria circled her hand in the air. "Round 'em up, boys. And get that armor from them."
———
A few minutes later, the Enforcers marched Dia and her five men toward the Terran ships. Naked, covered in blood and black debris, their hands were bound behind their backs, clasped together by electro-magnetic cuffs. The Enforcers carried the rebel uniforms over their shoulders.
Some paces away, Kegan knelt beside a charred corpse. A tear dripped from his swollen red eye. He made circle from his head, left shoulder, naval, right shoulder — the Sign of the Ghost. He then swirled two fingers from his head to his chest, the shape of an S — the Sign of the Snake.
Bootsteps to his right. Maria came to join him. "She was one of the bravest people I ever knew."
Kegan nodded. "She fought like an angel."
Maria smiled.
He picked up her omnisword on the ground beside her and placed it on top of Namira's body. Her skin was blackened, but the fire had stopped near her neckline. Her face was still visible: twisted mouth, horror frozen on her pristine skin and jet-black hair.
More bootsteps. Another Enforcer marched up to them, carrying a large, folded blanket. "As ordered, sir."
Kegan saluted at the man and spread the blanket out. He gently lifted Namira's body and lay it on the sheet. Bits of skin, brittle bone, flaked off as he carried her, and he walked over and picked each piece of her up and returned them next to the blanket. He wrapped Namira up, and carried her to the ship, cradled in his arms. Maria walked beside him.
"Captain, mind if I say a few words before we head out?"
In front of them, Ramirez was marching the prisoners aboard one of the five remaining ships. Roderick's ketch had landed, and he stood outside of it, leaning on a crutch, his entire chest wrapped in bandaging and SproutSleeve material. Kegan nodded at Roderick, who gave a salute with his left hand. His right arm hung limp.
"Sure, Keg—" Maria's comm beeped. Six rebel ships were approaching. "No time." She shouted into the comm: "Kegan — take all the wounded into Roderick's ship. When we pass the airlock, you guys get out of orbit. All the able-bodied soldiers, get into my ship, on the double. Ramirez, set the rest of the fleet on auto pilot." Ramirez ran ahead, shouting programming instructions.
Kegan raced toward Roderick, Namira wrapped and cradled in his arms.
Chapter 83
Jack & Nexus: Airlock
Kingmaker Tower
"Her last transmission said she was forced to surrender. I think they have her, Director."
Nexus and Jack stood side-by-side, watching a feed of the NIS ships race toward the Terrans. They were in the air, thrusters blasting, and the NIS ships swooped upward to engage.
The leading Enforcer ship came to several hundred feet away from the airlock at the top of the dome. Its cannons pointed straight, glowing a menacing yellow. The other Enforcer ships—three ketches and a cruiser—surrounded it, cannons pointed at the NIS fleet.
"Hold fire," Nexus spoke into the comm. He looked over at Jack. "Looks like they want out."
Jack stroked his chin. "Do you think they'd blast the airlock? Condemn all these civilians to Bloodboil?"
Nexus shook his head. "I don't know. But they're probably pissed and unpredictable."
Jack looked at Nexus. "What do you think we should do?"
"I'd say shoot, but we don't know which one has our men. Well, hell, they'll be executed by the Terrans anyway. After they torture them…"
"If we fire, that airlock is good as busted. Let them leave. We'll regroup. Evacuate all the civilians into one of the Clouds and everything else can be fair game. Our tech surprised them. I think we've delayed the invasion."
Nexus nodded and spoke into his comm. "Disengage. Releasing the airlock. Let them go. Start evacuation of all citizens into Cloud Five. As commanded?"
"As executed, Director."
The NIS ships lowered their turrets. The airlock twisted, its doors sliding open.
The cannons of the Terran ships cooled, the two cruisers flew into the airlock. Once the two ships departed, they split formation: one ascended toward the atmosphere, the other swung a hard thrust westward.
The three remaining Terran ketches reengaged their cannons, and flashes of white light swarmed the feed. The NIS ships fired back, but two were already spiraling toward the ground.
"What the fuck?" Nexus bellowed. "Engage, engage. Dammit."
Jack opened another screen on the reflective surface of the dome. The lead Terran cruiser, alone, was poised over the top of Cloud One's airlock, cannons glowing.
"Think we've taught the dog a new trick," Jack said. He thought to himself: there's no way they'll blast a hole in the dome. The Galactic Council wouldn't send an envoy to murder civilians. "Don't open it," he ordered. "They're bluffing."
Nexus cursed. "We took them out, but they got us, too."
"How close is another squad of ships?"
Nexus looked over at Jack's feed. "Probably longer than their patience can take."
"Send them. They're bluffing."
Nexus gave the order. The cannons of the Terran ship shifted, taunting.
Jack bit his lip. "Roll up the shutters. We'll lose sight of the orbit, so send ships outside to be our eyes."
———
Outside Cloud One, the ground trembled. Metal plates emerged from the ground all around the circumference of the Cloud and scaled the outside of the clear dome, stacking tightly on one another.
Several bursts of white light: the Terran cruiser cannons fired.
And fired.
And fired.
The airlock's metal melted and seeped into the dome. The shutters finished stacking: a large, gaping hole remained at the top of the dome.
The Terran cruiser descended into the city as a gust of wind stirred the sands of Mars.
Chapter 84
Kegan: Warrior
GAF Cruiser
"We're close to the fleet," Roderick said. He was standing up, leaning against the doorway, away from the console, letting the autopilot fly.
Kegan knelt, running his fingers over an empty ammunition case: it was solid steel and long enough to fit an average person. He dipped his fingers into the palm of his other hand, where rested a mixture of kitchen wine, oil, and grease. His makeshift paste was deep red, and he made O's and S's of various sizes along the length of the case. "Sure we should head there?" he said, not looking up from his work.
Roderick shook his head. "I want to hang, but we're hauling an infirmary. Most SproutSleeves got another day or two for them to be any good.
"Let's not be useless."
Roderick pushed himself from the wall. "Yeah. Let's be recon. Watch the fleet, watch the city from a distance. Computer will only have radar, no eyes, being disconnected from the Ness."
"That's fine. Let's not be useless." Kegan continued painting the ammunition case. He was focused on the lid now, a final large O encircling two opposing swirled lines, like a double helix. He drew a line running laterally across its center.
Roderick input some commands into the console. The ship had descended back toward the city, heading a safe but viewable distance from the Clouds. He walked over and looked at the symbols on the case. "What do these mean, Keg?"
Kegan inhaled and, for a small moment, choked on his breath. "It's. A symbol. The circle is the Ghost who guides us, the Snowborn. These are the Snakes, who challenges us. This," he ran a finger over the dividing line in the middle, "is the passing between this world and the Other."
"Why do you do it? We usually download their image to our screens, say goodbye, and shoot them into space. This is all…weird."
Kegan glared at Roderick. "This is how you bury a warrior. Now, help me."
Roderick grabbed one end with his left arm while Kegan grabbed the other. They carried the case out into the center of the ship, placed it on the airlock, and opened it.
The rest of the Enforcers came into the room, following their curiosity. Kegan gently lay Namira's wrapped body into the case, and then sealed it. The Enforcers circled the casket.
"Candles?" Kegan asked.
The Enforcers looked around. One stepped out and said, "Flares?"
Kegan chewed his tongue, then nodded. Four flares were brought, and Kegan struck them and leaned them against each corner of the casket. Wisps of smoke wafted over Namira's resting place, and soft blue light encompassed her.
