The Genevian Queen: The Complete Series, page 24
She felt the notable absence of Colonel Borden of the ISF. He’d been an unshakable presence since Tangel had charged Rika with taking down Nietzschea. But with New Canaan under attack, he’d taken his starcrusher and returned to the ISF’s home system, along with Admiral Carson.
“Nine months ago, we chased the fleeing remnants of a Nietzschean armada to the Sepe system,” Rika began, her gaze sweeping across the faces of those assembled. “My Marauders were newly formed, only a few weeks out of our first battle in the Hercules System, and fresh from the fight in Albany. Tangel, Field Marshal of the Scipio Alliance, had hired the Marauders to do the impossible: take back Genevia and defeat the Nietzscheans. Even she expected it to take the better part of a decade.”
She paused, a smile flitting across her lips as she considered the events since leaving Albany.
“Let’s just say that we’re a bit ahead of schedule.”
Muted laughter came from those present. The mechs and ship commanders all wore expressions of proud satisfaction, while the civilians appeared somewhat uncertain, but appreciative.
“Exactly what we do from here is what we’re here to discuss today,” Rika said. “Captain Travis’s battlegroup has already jumped out to Gerra. We’ll likely not know for a few more days how things are shaping up there, but we have to assume that the Niets will be doing the same thing in other nearby systems.”
“What if they’re retreating from all Genevian systems, burning as they go?”
The question came from Regan Harl, the newly minted minister of finance. Rika couldn’t tell if he was genuinely worried or being combative, but Barne responded before she had a chance to consider it further.
“Well, aside from the fact that it will take a year for retreat orders to filter across Old Genevia, there’s no reason for them to fall back yet. They want to create a crisis that we have to respond to here around the Genevia System.”
“Be a mighty big crisis if they burn every system in Old Genevia,” Commissioner Megan of the Genevia Federal Police said.
“And it would unite us against them once more,” Rika said. “Which is why they won’t do it. Nietzscheans are opportunists. They’ll milk everything they can out of Old Genevia before they turn and run.”
“So what is your plan, Magnus?” Leslie asked with a twinkle in her eye.
Leslie sent a wink over the Link.
“We’re still in the midst of fleet re-org,” she replied aloud. “But in two days, we’ll be ready to send aid to Burroughs, Oran, and Morres. Ten ships each, which will leave a Marauder fleet consisting of seventy-three ships in this system.”
“Stars, that’s not a lot to defend an entire system,” Commissioner Megan said in a quiet voice.
“You’re right,” Rika replied with a resolute nod. “It’s not. However, if the Niets do hit us, they’re going to do it in the outer system, most likely at Orden Station, out by where the jump gates were set up.”
“Were?” Regan Harl asked. “I hadn’t heard that they’d moved.”
“And you won’t,” Rika replied. “At least, not outside this room. The gates are all coming insystem, but we constructed decoys, a little bait to lure the Niets in.”
“What if the Niets have more jump gates?” Tremon asked, an eyebrow raised. “I know it’s unlikely, but it’s possible.”
“It is,” Rika replied with a nod. “However, the Niets won’t know that the ISF has left—at least not yet. They won’t strike where they expect the bulk of Carson’s fleet to be. That means they won’t jump deep insystem. That would see them facing a three-day flight to the closest jump point.”
“Let’s just say they have a bunch of suicidal commanders,” Regan Harl pressed. “Are we going to leave Belgium undefended?”
Rika shook her head. “No, I have a plan to keep Belgium safe, don’t worry.”
From there, the conversation moved to appropriations measures aimed both at bolstering government resources, and also at securing assets that the Nietzscheans had seized and redistributed to their own lackeys. Rika wished they didn’t have to waste time on such mundane tasks, but Tremon had impressed on her the importance of showing the populace that she cared about justice.
Four hours later, the meeting was finally wrapping up when Chief Ona called down from the Marauders’ Lance.
Rika accepted the message, and a lanky man appeared in her mind.
The captain’s voice cut out, and he glanced to his left.
He stepped back, and a woman walked into view. She was rail thin with a pinched face, but her eyes were wide and expressive.
The captain cleared his throat, shaking his head at the woman before speaking once more to Rika.
The message ended, and Rika pursed her lips.
None of the senior leadership had left the room yet, and Rika rose and leant against the table. “We’ve got a new development. It looks like the Niets are still preparing to hit Chad. If we send a force now, we can stop them.”
“Chad?” Regan Harl asked. “Of all the places.”
“It’s a place with our people on it,” Rika replied. “We’re going to defend it with extreme prejudice, show the Niets how we feel about them trashing our worlds.”
“We have thirty ships here at Belgium,” Chase said. “Which should we send?”
Rika’s gaze met Heather’s. “We’re sending the Marauders’ Lance and a destroyer escort. Captain, show the Niets what payback looks like.”
The SMI barked a laugh and rubbed her hands. “Oh with pleasure. Who’re my ground pounders gonna be?”
“Colonel Chase?” Rika quirked a smile at the method of informing Chase of his promotion. “Who would you like to send from your battalion?”
He cocked an eyebrow and then winked at her. “Well, if we’re sending the Marauders’ Lance, then it’s gonna be M Company. I’ll make sure Captain Karen is ready to roll.”
“Oh hell yeah.” Heather barked a laugh and slapped Chase on the back. “You and I are gonna have a hell of a time.”
“Chase is staying here,” Rika said. “You’re in command this time, Colonel Heather.”
“Oh ho! Colonel?” the SMI cackled. “Stars, today just keeps getting better and better.”
Rika rolled her eyes and laughed at the giddy mech. “Get out of here and make sure your ship is ready to go. Last I heard, Bondo was still working on getting the stasis shields calibrated.”
“Oh we’ll be ready.” Heather was already striding across the room and called back over her shoulder, “Trust me, the Niets are gonna wish they’d never fucked with Chad.”
A moment later, she was out of the room, and Barne shook his head, laughing quietly. “You know she’s from Chad, right?”
Rika gave the general a smile and winked. “You don’t say?”
INSYSTEM
STELLAR DATE: 06.08.8950 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: ViperTalon, approaching Babylon
REGION: Genevia System, New Genevian Alliance
“I thought you wanted to get back to Burroughs and aid in the defense of Chad,” Rajiz said as he settled into a chair in the galley, eyeing Rachella over the rim of his coffee cup.
“I did.” She nodded while buttering her toast at the counter. “But that was when I wasn’t sure if the Marauders would send aid. With their jump gates, they’ll have been there for over a week by the time we brake and boost back out on a vector for Burroughs.”
“Sure.” Rajiz shrugged. “Isn’t it your home, though? Chad?”
“No,” Rachella shook her head. “I’m actually from Genevia, on Shaya. The PLI has me working all over, and since I’m here, I need to check on a few things.”
“Wait a second,” Rajiz set his cup down. “I thought that the PLI is just a front for the resistance. If that’s the case, why do you need to run ops here? There’s nothing to resist.”
Rachella regarded him silently for a moment and then took a bite of her toast, chewing thoughtfully before answering.
“Well, the Marauders are mercs, and from what I hear, they’ve signed Genevia on to some sort of galactic war. They might need some resisting as well.”
“I highly doubt that the war is galactic,” Rajiz replied. “Humanity is barely past the edges of the Orion Arm.”
“You need to read the fine print, Captain.” She grabbed her plate and glass of orange juice, joining him at the table. “According to this Scipio Alliance we’ve bound ourselves to, humanity is in the Sagittarius and Perseus Arms as well.”
“Oh?” Rajiz frowned. “I must have glossed over that part. I mean, you’re right, it seems like a pretty big conflict, but that doesn’t really matter.”
“It doesn’t?” Rachella appeared genuinely surprised.
“No, not really. I’m told that Magnus Rika has her mandate to secure Genevia and take down Nietzschea. However, from the feeds I was reading, that’s been the Marauder’s plan all along, so this is more like an alliance of convenience—one that has kitted out their ships pretty nicely, I might add.”
“Still doesn’t mean they’re altruistic,” Rachella countered. “You’d do well to remember that. There was a reason we kept mechs on a short leash during the war.”
“A K1R once saved my entire platoon,” Rajiz replied with a languid shrug.
He wondered if Rachella and her two guards might have planned to stay in the Genevia System all alone. What is their ulterior motive?
“Sure, mechs saved a lot of us. But they were under orders and Discipline.”
“These mechs aren’t, and they’re doing pretty damn well. Makes me think we might have done things backwards during the war.”
Rachella snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous?” Rajiz leant forward. “We lost the war. Saying we shouldn’t have done things differently is ludicrous. Especially when these Marauders are stomping on the Niets over and over.”
“I don’t trust their stated reasoning, sorry,” she said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Rajiz rose and downed the rest of his coffee. “Yeah, well, I don’t trust yours. When we get to Hanging Gardens Station, you’re off my ship. Got it?”
For a moment, he thought that Rachella was going to fight him on the decision, but then she nodded.
“Yeah. Fine.”
BECKY’S BAD DAY
STELLAR DATE: 06.08.8950 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Hanging Gardens Station, Babylon
REGION: Genevia System, New Genevian Alliance
Becky stood on the station’s plas deck, a scowl etched into her delicate features as she watched the service crew connect fuel lines to her ship.
“Manual hookups,” she muttered. “Stars, where am I? The asscrack of nowhere?”
“The station’s all backed up after the fighting nearby,” Dara said from her side. “I know it’s weird to be down on commercial docks, but once we get fueled up, we’ll be gone.”
The captain of the Slyfe nodded absently as she tried to come up with what could be a safer harbor than Genevia. A modicum of worry for what her wife might be facing in the Parsons System flitted about in the back of her mind, but Becky knew that Geni could handle pretty much anything—especially with her corporate fleet to protect herself.
“I’m the one out here in danger,” she whispered.
“Pardon?” Dara asked. “What danger?”
“What danger?” Becky squeaked. “There’s danger all around us! We’re in danger central. Any one of these people passing by us could be unsavory criminals, ready to rob us or worse.”
“I do tend to like unsavory types,” Dara said with a soft sigh. “Too bad we never get to spend much time with them.”
“You need to stop thinking with your clam.” Becky threw a disapproving glance at Dara. “I don’t think we should leave the Genevia System, but I don’t want to stay here. We should get to Belgium. I hear there are going to be some state parties. I bet we could get into them.”
“Becky.” Dara’s tone was filled with disapproval. “There’s a war going on, how can you think of parties?”
“State parties,” she corrected. “Trust me, those are going to be the safest places in the system. We just need to get there and get on the list.”
“How do you propose to do that?”
“Why, Dara!” Becky placed a hand on her chest. “The same way I do everything. I unleash my charm.”
“So that’s what we’re calling it now?”
* * * * *
Kora stepped off the transport with Gary at her side. The pair shared a look as they turned to the right and began walking through the passenger terminal.
The last few weeks had been surreal, seeing the Nietzscheans defeated and New Genevia established under Rika. What was even stranger, however, was that life just seemed to go on for most people, with almost no real change.
Except there was a change. Somehow, the atmosphere seemed lighter than it had the last time she’d been through Hanging Gardens. The crowds were more vocal, people smiling at one another and small groups forming to chat.
Gary shrugged, smiling at a group who was handing out flowers, but declining to take one.
The pair reached the maglev terminal and boarded a train bound for the commercial docks, where the Jay Rig was berthed.
Kora considered that, flipping through the STC’s logs until something jumped out.
Gary let out a low whistle.
The train pulled away from the station and began to pick up speed as it followed the curve of the docking ring, shifting laterally across the great wheel to the commercial docks.
* * * * *
Rajiz watched as Rachella and her two goons—who he’d grown to like over the past few days—got ready to depart from the ship.
Something had changed in the woman’s demeanor in the prior hour. She’d sent and received a few messages, and after each one, her smile had faded a little more. Now her brow was furrowed with a deep scowl, and she seemed to be snapping at Jim and Jerry more than usual.
Initially, the plan had been for her to refuel and then return to Burroughs, but that had changed also changed. She hadn’t said what her next stop was, but Rajiz didn’t really care that much. Not having to make a trip back to Chad—especially with the Niets and Marauders fighting in the system—was a gift he wasn’t going to question.
