“Easily.” Hojae swooped the older man up, into his lower arms. Hubard held tight to his instrument, and the mineral samples. The old man whimpered slightly in pain as his ankle was jostled around, grimacing as he tried to keep his discomfort to himself.
Cierra leapt into the role of leader, in Yareck’s absence. It seemed to come naturally to her. “Cherish, take point, and cover us until we get clear. Hubard, don’t lose those samples!”
Before Theo could say anything, Cherish bounded out of the cargo hold with the Josti behind her. Cierra grabbed Theo by one arm, and pulled him with her. He barely had time to catch his balance, before they stumbled out of the cargo hold, into the night.
“Just shut up, and do what I say!” She barked at him, as they followed the others.
Theo found himself in the middle of a firefight, as the Carbonari cell made its way across the clearing towards the rocks. He tried to watch Cherish, as she fired one controlled laser hit after another at the advancing line of militiamen. The line stopped when a gunner tried to advance on his own. He was burnt in half immediately. Theo heard the militia commander scream an order, as the line reformed.
“The rocks! We’re almost at the rocks!” Cierra rushed forward, just as Theo stumbled on a slick patch of mud. He smashed into the ground, cheek first. He gasped for breath, as the wind was knocked out of him. Cierra helped him get up from the muddy ground, and urged him forward.
In horror, Theo watched as an attack ship soared over the little green delivery lift ship. It zoomed upwards, and dropped something. This time, the bomb scored a direct hit, and the delivery ship erupted in a ball of fire. Theo could feel the heat on his face. His lungs cried out in protest, while he gasped for a full breath of air.
Cierra was unfazed by the explosion. “Keep moving, unless you want to end up the same!”
Somehow, they made it over the rocks to find the hovercraft still in place. It was a newer model. Theo recognized the make, and knew that it was built for speed. Although he was a farmer from Relisse, he managed to keep up with the track races that appeared on the videos.
The water was choppy, from the wind and the concussions of the recent explosions. The rest of the group didn’t seem to have any issues navigating their way onto the craft. Theo’s foot slid off the edge when he tried to board. His shin banged into the side of the hovercraft. He tried to blink back the pain, which made his eyes water. He would deal with his injuries later.
With one eye on the rocks behind them, Cierra waited until Hubard and Theo were strapped into the couches. Once they were secure, she took her place in the driver’s seat. Cierra fired up the ducted fans, and waited until the screen in front of her was green. She yelled at Cherish over the roar of the engine. “Get in! It won’t take long for those jokers to call in a strike on this location. I can see them up there!”
“Me, too!” Cherish yelled back. She aimed her laser at one specific location and fired. “Now they have one less.” With one wide leap, she landed inside the hovercraft.
As Cherish strapped herself to the couch, Cierra accelerated hard, and headed out over the sea, keeping close to the shore. Cierra shouted over the roar of the rotors to Hojae. “How’s Hubard?”
“He’ll be fine. Ankle’s swollen, but we can fix it later.”
“Did you save those samples?” Cierra wanted desperately to glance back and see for herself, but she needed to focus on steering.
Hubard yelled up at her. He had to strain to keep his words from being lost in the wind. “I lost one, but you’ll never believe what I saw happen!”
“Oh, yeah? What was that?”
“One of the laser shots from the militia hit the mineral I dropped. It didn’t even scorch it! I watched as it glowed, and absorbed all the energy from the strike. It was amazing!”
“What’s the big deal? Infintium will do the same thing.” Cierra braced herself as a particularly nasty wave rushed at them from their left side.
Hubard’s excitement made him even louder. He shook his head at her, even though she wasn’t looking at him. “It was only a small sample. It takes a whole five-foot shield of infintium to deflect a quantum laser strike. A piece of infintium that size would be vaporized by a laser hit. The mineral sample wasn’t even affected.”
Cierra grunted, and didn’t say anything else. Theo could tell she wasn’t impressed. Her mind was too focused on piloting. He watched as she continued to fly over the water. The waves still rocked the speeding hovercraft, but much less so than a boat of the same size.
Every now and then, Theo looked up to see if there was any activity in the sky. He didn’t think they stood much of a chance if an attack ship spotted them. The hovercraft had a small profile, but the militia would certainly have access to technology that could track them. The sooner they were out of the open, the better.
About an hour later, a small, rocky island appeared in front of them. Cierra steered away from it, as she increased their speed. For a second, Theo thought she was going to leave it behind. Then, she turned sharply, and headed into a recessed cove inside a small rock lagoon. The hovercraft glided into the space easily. It was clearly not the group’s first time to seek refuge in that location.
“I hope the others pieced together what happened, from the radio chatter. I wasn’t about to contact them, and let the CRM triangulate our position. They’re getting better at that sort of thing.” Cierra chewed her bottom lip worriedly.
She brought the hovercraft to rest on the beach, and killed the ducted fans. Theo felt the skirt around the hovercraft deflate, as it came to rest on its legs. Cierra hopped out, and looked around. She nodded and turned to the passengers. “The others are here. It’s safe to leave.”
By the time Theo stepped outside, there were three other black-clad figures standing next to the hovercraft. Two of them checked Hubard’s ankle, and helped him walk. Theo kept his wounded shin to himself. He didn’t like showing weakness around strangers.
Eventually, Theo was introduced to the rest of the Carbonari cell. The average-sized, but stocky, man close to his age was Makram. He had watched over things in Cierra’s absence. Next to him was Irane. Theo pegged him at around sixteen standard years, but he wasn’t certain. In the rear was a robot, known as Rix. By the way the older man gave them instructions, Theo had the impression that Irane and Rix worked for Hubard.
“We listened to the open emergency services channel, and heard everything.” Makram spoke softly to Cierra.
“Did you hear any of our names mentioned?” Her voice was calm, but Theo could see the worry in her eyes.
“No, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what they were talking about. Too bad about Yareck. He was a good leader. How did it happen?”
Cierra rubbed her forehead with her hands. “It was an air strike, according to Hojae. I didn’t see it take place, and I was too busy running to look for body parts. Hojae said it was from the attack ship. It strafed us before dropping a bomb.”
“You kicked the shit out of the CRM boys. The emergency channel was screaming for help all night. They really need to train those bumpkins better.” Makram playfully punched her arm. He was trying to make her feel better, but the truth was they would all feel Yareck’s loss.
“You can thank Cherish for that. No one shoots like she does.”
Makram noticed Theo had been watching them carefully. He looked Theo up and down. “So, who do we have here?”
“Theo, Remi’s brother.” Cierra recounted Theo’s version of what happened, at the souk grounds with Garth.
Makram nodded thoughtfully. “Heard something about that on the channel, too. Did you see some kind of crazy mob on the ground when you took off? The channel mentioned it. Seems someone pissed off the wrong group of cutpurses.”
“Wasn’t me.” Theo lied through his teeth. They may have helped him escape, but he still didn’t trust Cierra’s group of friends.
Makram narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything. There was a small fire inside a sea ca
ve. The group sat around it. “Why don’t you come join us? It’s chilly. You’ll get sick if you don’t stay warm.”
Theo didn’t answer, but he took a tentative step towards the fire. He didn’t want to give Makram the satisfaction of being right, but the warmth was too tempting.
“So, what are we going to do about the raid tomorrow? Yareck was crucial to us getting inside that CRM post.” Makram sat down on some large rocks near Cierra. He leaned his head into his hands, and rubbed his temples.
Cierra sat quietly for a few moments. Even in the flickering light of the fire, Theo could tell the wheels in her head were turning. Her eyes landed on him, and a satisfactory smile began to form. He was starting to learn that whenever Cierra came up with a plan, it tended to go poorly for him. Even before she spoke, Theo knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “You’ll do. We can use you to get inside. You’re not exactly Yareck’s build and height, but they’ll never notice.”
Theo’s eyes widened with incredulity. “What are you talking about, woman? I need to get back home, and you need to pay me for the damn deposit on that delivery ship. It was blown up! The rental company might come after me for damages, and I’m not going down for something that’s your fault. My family shouldn’t have to suffer because you and Remi want to play revolutionaries!”
“You want to let the Yasta and their puppet master the emperor continue to rule over us? Do you have any idea what we’re doing here?” Cierra stood up, and jabbed her finger into his chest.
Theo swatted her hand away. “Actually, I don’t. I know my brother is mixed up in treason with some crazy people and that’s it. The emperor doesn’t bother me, and those Yasta monks aren’t my problem.”
Makram cut into the conversation. He was still seated, but his voice was like acid. “Wait till they show up, and burn your farm. Then you’ll think different. You ever wonder why they seem so invincible? It’s because the emperor lets them train on anyone he doesn’t like. I’ve known entire towns where they were unleashed on the locals. Nothing survived. Nothing bigger than a rat ever survives, once they get involved. How do you think they’ll feel when it comes out that you helped us?”
“Oh, is that it? This is that how you expect to get me to join your worthy cause? By threatening me? Seems to me you’re no better than the emperor.” Theo spat on the ground at Makram’s feet.
Cierra spun on Makram, and hushed her voice before addressing Theo again. “Let me handle this. Theo, I thought you loved your brother. Don’t you think there’s a reason he would be involved with us?”
“I think some crazy off-world woman got him mixed up in things he doesn’t need. Look at you. You sit here and whine about the emperor and conspiracy, while my mother is forced to take care of your children.”
“Don’t forget, those are your nephews that you’re throwing in my face. I know very well where my children are, and I also know that the best way for me to take care of them is to make sure they have a decent world to grow up in.” Cierra held her head up high.
Waving his hand dismissively, Theo fueled the argument. “Oh, don’t get me started. A decent world? Do you know what used to be decent before you came along? My brother! Remi was a decent, hard-working man who loved the CRM. He pissed off the wrong people, and was tossed out. Seems to me like he hit his lowest point, after hooking up with you. Then he gets you pregnant. Now he’s forced to haul ore around the system just to support your ass, while you play dangerous revolutionary!”
Theo spun around, and marched away from the fire. Screw staying warm. He would rather take his chances than be near her. He went to the entrance of the sea cave, and looked into the night sky. Both moons were high overhead. One of them was his home world, to which he longed to return. What must Mari be thinking by now? What would she have told the kids to calm their worries, and put them to sleep? Theo gritted his teeth in frustration.
Dammit! He’d known better than to get mixed up in anything that involved Remi and his crazy wife. Now he was in trouble with the CRM. It might have started as a local issue he could talk his way out of, but now things were well beyond that. Holy Mother, the empire might be mixed up in it. He wanted nothing to do with those damned Yasta monks. Theo looked at the sand beneath his boots, and felt the cold ocean mist in his face. Most important of all, what would he tell Mari, when he finally made it back to her? She thought he hung the stars. The thought of seeing disappointment in her eyes made him feel sick.
“Theo, we need to talk.” Cierra’s voice was softer now, quieter. It made him even angrier.
“About what? You got me involved in this mess, and now I want out. Do you realize what you’ve done to your husband’s family?” The anger in his voice broke into sorrow, as Mari’s face popped into his mind.
“I know this isn’t as important to you as it is to your brother. Look, just go along with us, and we’ll see you’re paid for all the trouble you’ve had to endure. I promise. We have one uniform to get into that post, and you’ll fit into it.” Her green eyes looked up at him with such genuine imploring that, for a moment, Theo couldn’t find any words.
He kicked himself for even considering helping her. “I’m already 400 argents in the hole from that deposit. Figure in another 400 to settle the damages out of court, another 400 to bribe the magistrate, and that puts me at 1200. Do you think you can match that?”
Cierra’s eyes lit up. “We can double it. 2400 argents, if you do the extra job for us.”
“Where do you plan on finding that kind of money? To me it looks like all you have is a bunch of renegades and a slick hovercraft.” Theo scoffed, and glanced around the small cave.
“The Carbonari has resources that you can only dream about. I can authorize the funds if it’s an emergency. We need you to impersonate a CRM sentry tomorrow night.”
Theo mulled over her offer. For that kind of money, he could afford a lot. Maybe replace the old harvester, and buy the lot next to him that had better drainage. It certainly was tempting. “Alright, so where’s the money? When do I get to see it?”
“Do the job, and I’ll hand it to you right away.”
“And how do I get back home?” He didn’t want to leave anything up to chance. Plans had a way of going awry with this lot.
“That part you’ll have to do on your own. I can get you forged ID papers that will pass the CRM’s scan. We can drop you off at Herbertville. The rest will be up to you.”
He nodded slowly to himself. He could probably manage that if he had to. “What does this job involve?”
“We’re going into a CRM post, and appropriate some guns and ammo. All you need to do is pretend to be a sentry. No shooting, no noise. We load up and leave. You get paid, and are on your merry way.”
Theo couldn’t help himself from making another jab at her. “Except that your Remi’s wife, and I still have to deal with the both of you.”
“Can’t help that.” Cierra sighed, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
Theo turned, and looked at the moons. He thought about the sea, his parents, and the produce he needed to plant for next season. The imperial government left them alone on Relisse because everyone paid their taxes, and didn’t cause trouble. Why would they even suspect him? He had always kept his head down. There was no reason for them to think he was involved in anything illicit.
“Okay. I’ll do it, but you have to pay me immediately after the job is done, or I’ll go to the nearest magistrate and spill everything. Do we have a deal?”
“I think we can manage.” The smile unfurled to its full length, along Cierra’s lips. She shook her head, and rolled her eyes before going back to the others.
Theo wasn’t sure if he had made the right decision, but how else did he plan to get back to Relisse? Surrender to the CRM? ‘Pardon me officer, but I’m the wanted criminal who shot up an entire landing party of militiamen, as they tried to capture my gang. Oh, those cutthroat thugs at the souk? We took them out for you. Be sure to deduct th
eir lives from my sentence.’ Nope, not an option. Better to play along with Cierra’s group, and hope for the best. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Theo immediately shuddered, and wished that he hadn’t had that thought.
Cierra reappeared with two hand lasers. She handed him one. “I have the impression you don’t know how to shoot with one of these. Am I right?”
Theo felt the weight of the weapon in his hand. He had to admit, he didn’t exactly hate the way it felt. “Never held one until right now. I have grandad’s old laser rifle, but it’s too heavy to use with much effectiveness. We use impact guns back on the farm. They’re reliable, and you don’t have to drain a month’s power supply to use one.”
“This is one of the new models, with an extended battery life. It will fire constantly for an hour, on a single charge.”
“I thought you said all you needed me to do is pretend to be a sentry.” He raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously.
“It’s just in case of a worst-case scenario, little brother.” Theo winced, as she called him by the nickname Remi used to tease him with. Hearing it from his Cierra made him feel weird.
Cierra found a spot, where the cave’s wall ran close to the surf. It seemed like a secure spot to learn how to use a hand laser. She wasn’t worried about the beam tracking into the night sky—the newer versions didn’t have the same problems as the older ones. A target that was in range would still light up quickly once the beam found it. Then the target would burn.
“That’s it. Concentrate your aim. Now, pull the trigger, and then release. Remember to use short bursts, to conserve power.” Cierra helped Theo adjust his grip and modify his stance.
Something had been gnawing at Theo. He figured he might as well ask around now that he had her away from the group. “So, that guy Yareck. What made him so special? Everyone seems to be depressed that he’s gone.”
“He was a good leader and commander. Yareck was the right kind of person to have, on a squad like ours. I’ll miss him. No, use both hands to steady you aim, one-handed shooting at this distance is for the cinema videos.” She placed one hand over his, and adjusted his stance again.
The Relissarium Wars Omnibus Page 4