Kingmaker, page 28
part #1 of The Gods That Gamble Series
"Once we get Nexus, we can discuss what we need to do."
Scout peered at the base of the tower. King couldn't see what she was seeing. She motioned forward, and the Harbingers thrust their jetpacks, soaring toward Kingmaker Tower.
"What's happening?"
Scout said nothing.
A small light twinkled at the base of the tower. It sailed, a shooting star in the midst of the black dust.
The star slammed into the middle of Kingmaker tower, waves of fire—of orange and blue and red—surged from its crashsite.
Another star shot into the side of the tower.
And another.
King watched the bombardment, as the missiles cascaded into his Tower. He lay frozen in Scout's arms.
My legacy, he thought. My power.
A sudden jolt shocked his veins. "Scout. Francis. Where is he?"
"I don't know who that is."
Johnny scratched his neck.
The Tower creaked and moaned. Smoke billowed from its wound.
Francis. Johnny thought. Francis can fix this. He can fix—
The Tower leaned. A shift at the base of the injury, like a bone setting itself in place. It crumbled forward.
Another flash from below. Three more missiles rushed into the open wound. Three blasts spurted forth on the opposite side of the injury.
The Tower corrected itself, finally sat upright, and then crumbled.
It fell straight down, on top of itself. It poured inward. For every ounce of its own weight it consumed, its destruction flared outward. As each foot of the mile-high building sank to the ground, the shadow of smoke crushed, smashed, and shattered outward.
The entire Cloud was awash in black ash.
Faint teal lights emerged. The Harbingers buzzed toward them, carrying Nexus and Jack. Nexus was swiftly elbowing the armor of his Harbinger, but only succeeded in hurting himself. Jack pried at the grip of his captor, until he saw King.
Johnny waved his hand, and gave a thumbs up.
"What the hell?" Nexus yelled.
"It's Scout." Johnny jabbed a thumb behind him.
"What?"
"Nexus." Scout smiled. "Let's get somewhere safe."
And they dived into the black ash, as if diving into the ocean.
The colossus of Mars lay in ruins, and the wealth of the city with it.
The Clouds would despair. The Earth would cheer. The Sewers would rustle.
The beacon of power, the beacon of terror, the beacon of order, now lay fallen.
And nothing beside remained.
Chapter 92
King: This Day Forward
Cloud Six, Sewers
Johnny and Jack laid against the walls of the Sewer entrance, the Harbingers keeping guard.
"Scout." Nexus hugged her in her thick, crimson armor. She lifted her facemask, revealing her soft face and her blackened eye. She gripped him as tightly as she could without hurting him.
He touched her cheek. "Your scar. It's gone."
"I'll explain everything, Director," she said. "I promise."
Johnny lay against the wall, staring straight ahead. Jack smacked his shoulder. "Back where we started, huh?"
Johnny stared at the rushing sludge water of the Sewer, his jaw clenched, his eyes vacant.
"We'll find Ramir. Francis, too. Maybe our new friends here can help us, too."
Before Johnny's eyes, the Tower was still crumbling. The city lay in ruins. The fleet might as well have descended upon the planet.
Was it for nothing, Francis? Decades of work.
"King," Nexus said. "We need to get working on a ground game. There's a new fight to fight."
We left our families for this. We gave our lives for this. Was it for nothing, Francis?
"Hey, boss."
Every sin, justified, committed in the name of a greater good.
"Johnny."
He saw her face again. He smelled the scent of the mountains, the sweat and dirt of her. He saw the stars sparkling behind her. He felt a missing weight on his ring finger.
"Johnny."
His vision cleared, back to reality. Back to the sewer. Scout's face was near his, her black eye staring at him. "Are you in there?"
Somewhere, Johnny could hear Francis' voice. He knew what he would say: "So, now we have nothing. But we've had nothing before. And look what we've done."
Johnny shook his head. "Sorry," he said, and stood up.
The city, the planet, held together as long as Kingmaker did. Likewise, his crew, as anxious, frantic as he was, were struggling to keep themselves together.
King straightened his lapels. They needed him. They needed orders. "We're going to need a base."
Jack nodded. "Several hideouts I can think of."
"And a source of income."
"Drugs are the blood of the Sewers," Nexus said.
"Then you have your first assignment," King said.
Nexus and Jack huddled together and murmured plans.
Scout walked over to King. "I owe you for trying to save me."
"You've paid me back with a rescue of your own. Besides, you seem to do better without my help."
She smiled. "True." She chewed her tongue. "Thanks for taking care of Nexus."
He patted her armored shoulder.
Her black eye widened, and scoured her surroundings hurriedly. Her eye darted back and forth and Scout remained still, focusing. After a moment, she returned, and looked Johnny in the eye. "Listen, anything I can do to help."
King studied her face, noting the incident, but said nothing. "Find Francis, and Ramir. That'd be a good start."
She nodded.
King walked to the edge of the Sewer. The green river flowed, rushing water echoing throughout the basin.
The fire and the chaos was above him. Any society needs its foundations stable, and the pillars of Mars were cracking.
We have lost everything, he thought. Soon the Sewers will rise to the surface. Guns will take the streets again.
A second thought: it's finally begun. This war has begun.
My war.
And finally: no empire strikes its right hand. No prince attacks another in unity. There are no sister planets.
May the pundits argue. May the Council debate. The people knew. The Galaxy knew.
From this day forward, Mars was free.
Epilogue
Cairo, War Room
President-elect Garcia-Zumer stood at the end of the round table. Seated in attendance was Admiral of the Galactic Armed Forces, Cedric Patterson, his large mustache furled to the sides. Across from him was Arbiter DeWaller. Seated at the helm was Alabastra Paige Zuckerberg.
"I've received word, Albie," DeWaller said, "that your daughter has landed on Mars in an attempt to arrest Johnny King."
"Maria?" Alabastra said. "She's in the vanguard?"
DeWaller shook his head. "She's using her constitutional authority as a Nose to apprehend him herself."
"She led a bloody mutiny on the Ness," the Admiral said. "Nearly all that followed her got killed."
"Killed?" Alabastra said.
"Punishment for mutiny is death," the Admiral said.
"Where does that leave my Maria?"
The Admiral looked at the Arbiter.
"I made a…deal…with the Admiral," DeWaller said. "If she brings King to the Fleet, we'll pardon her. If she fails, then she'll be executed as a traitor."
Alabastra looked down at her hands. "I see."
DeWaller cleared his throat. The Admiral groaned and tapped a screen on his wrist. A projection appeared in the center of the table.
A black onyx tower stood tall. Seconds later, a rocket propelled into its side, followed by several more.
Alabastra witnessed the destruction of Kingmaker Tower and smiled.
"She didn't apprehend King," the Admiral said.
"But crippled him, definitely," DeWaller clarified. "So, she still has time to bring him to us."
Garcia-Zumer loomed over the table. "Forget your games. She will no longer be alone. Admiral, prepare my ship, and tell the Fleet to descend upon the Clouds."
"That is an act of war. We need the Council's—"
"Fuck the Council," Garcia-Zumer said. "How many more bombs do we need before we call it a damned war? Give the order."
"It can't be secret," DeWaller said. "The people will have to know."
Garcia-Zumer stood at parade-rest, staring out the window overlooking the island of the Galactic Capital. "Then let them know."
———
A slow rumbling rocked the streets of Cairo. The Nile Lake lapped the shores in larger and larger waves. A creaking began, a groaning, the sound of rubble, like a stone being rolled away from a tomb.
The Guardian Sphinx moved. Its right hand, the pedestal of the Sun, descended. It gripped the hilt of the sword on its hip, and slid it from its scabbard. It held the blade high into the air, pointing to the heavens, to space, to declare its intent.
On the blade, three words burned for the citizens to see: Justice. Never Glory.
Now, for the first time, the people of Earth knew. They were at war.
The Gods That Gamble, Volume II
DECEMBER 2019
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J T Sharp, Kingmaker
