Shattered Alliance

by Benjamin Wallace

  “That doesn’t look like a choice worth making.”

  “It’s an option at the very least. And sometimes that’s all anyone is looking for. It’s going to change everything. And maybe it’s about time.”

  “Oh, there’s a surprise. The criminal doesn’t like the good guys.”

  “You really think you’re the good guys? You and people like Thurgood? The Alliance may not have an army anymore, but they’ve proven you don’t need one to wage war.”

  “We’ve spread prosperity throughout the galaxy. We’ve raised the standard of living of every world that’s joined.”

  “And there’s pizza everywhere,” she said.

  “What?”

  “The Alliance has infected every culture it’s made contact with.”

  “Infected? That’s what you call sharing technology and understanding and culture and—?”

  “Is that the company line? Is that what Thurgood Industries calls it?”

  “I’m sorry if I seem thrown off. I’m not used to a criminal accusing me of being a horrible person.”

  “Do you really think you’re any better than me? Do you think your actions are any less selfish because what you do is deemed respectable?”

  “I’m on the side of what’s right.”

  “You do what you’re told is right by the people who get to decide what’s right.”

  “No. No.” Cason shook his head and reconfirmed his convictions. He’d heard these arguments before as well. “You’re not going to convince me that putting an end to want was a bad thing.”

  “You think the Alliance ended want? There’s plenty of want. You just don’t see it because it’s no longer a tangible thing. You think it’s over because someone can print all the sandwiches they can eat? A person can’t be happy being handed everything. And for the first time in many of their lives, they are about to be given a real opportunity to decide what they think is right.”

  “Even if it’s wrong?” Cason asked.

  “Who’s to say?”

  “Based on how they introduced themselves, I’m going to say they aren’t really contenders for the title of the Good Guys.”

  “There are two sides to every story,” Priscilla said. “You never really know.”

  “Where do you see the gray area here? It’s not a lack of perspective on my part. I know that luring a ship with hundreds of crew members to their doom isn’t what good people do.”

  She shrugged, and it was the most aggravating shrug he had ever seen. “I’m not going to rush to judge just yet. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.”

  Cason turned back to face the growing sun and trudged on. He was happy to finish the journey in silence.

  18

  The Rox Tolgath shifted his weight. He had been leaning against the wall for too long and could feel his leg going to sleep.

  The king continued reading the charges, and the list was considerable. Most of the crimes were tangential crimes related to the harem offense. Apparently soiling the royal sheets and not having them cleaned after was as grievous a crime as soiling the royal harem itself. A scribe sat in the back of the royal box filling out new scrolls as fast as he could, but he couldn’t keep up with the king. If Jondak didn’t have a scroll to read from, he made the violations up on the spot.

  The Rox Tolgath had grown weary of standing close to the half hour mark. The Earthman, however, stood defiantly rigid in the center of the arena as if each charge was a physical force brought against him.

  The captain had stopped protesting each individual claim after the first ten minutes and took the rest in stride. He seemed as surprised as the audience when the king finally came to the end of the list.

  “Does the accused have anything to say in his defense?” the king asked.

  Antarius stood defiantly still.

  Malbourne stood and studied the man. His composure was something to be admired. To look so many false accusations in the face and still hold his temper—he was a man to be reckoned with.

  The king waited impatiently for a short moment. “Does the accused have anything to say in his defense?” the king asked again.

  The man in the arena was a statue, staring with stone cold eyes and a granite expression at the king.

  “Very well,” Jondak said. “If the defendant—”

  “What?” Antarius shouted.

  “What?” Jondak asked.

  “You were saying something?” Antarius asked. “I was… my mind was somewhere else.”

  “I asked if you had anything to say in your defense.”

  “To what?” The captain looked to the crowd for help but found none.

  “The litany of crimes the court just read,” Jondak said. “Weren’t you listening?”

  “Okay, this is… this is embarrassing. I can do this thing where I sleep standing up. It came in really handy at the academy. I must have drifted off.”

  “The crimes you are accused of carry the penalty of death.” Jondak savored the word death.

  “Seriously?” Antarius asked. “For breaking out of my cell?”

  Jondak snapped. “For breaking into and desecrating the royal harem!”

  “Oh, right,” Antarius said, and then added, “Several times.”

  The Rox Tolgath allowed himself a smile as the king screamed in frustration and slammed the final scroll to the ground. He would be tearing the hair from his scalp if his head wasn’t covered in weird scales instead. “Does the accused have anything to say in his defense?”

  “I certainly do. You’ll answer for the deaths of Johnson and Sargsyan. Oh, and Ingman. And my ship!”

  “You insolent dolgrath. You are in no position to threaten anyone. You are the one on trial here.”

  “The trial is a mockery of justice.” Antarius took his plea for fairness to the crowd. “I should be allowed to face my accuser.”

  “Oh, it will be my pleasure to introduce you.” Jondak moved back to his seat and signaled to an elaborately dressed Shandoran just outside the royal box. “Games Master.”

  The man nodded and began shouting instructions. The crowd settled into a silence formed of kept breaths, but their excitement could be felt in the air. Their attention turned toward a crash that came from somewhere in the bowels of the arena. Another crash was followed by a scream, and the prisoner turned toward the noise.

  Large wooden gates at the far end of the arena shook. Sand fell from a giant crossbar that kept the doors sealed. Another crash sounded like a dozen rifles firing as boards cracked and splintered.

  A small group of Shandorans worked to dislodge the brace, but every crash sent the jittery group scrambling back.

  “What kind of foul trick is this?” Antarius shouted.

  “No trick, Captain. You wanted to meet your accuser.”

  The small group finally found the courage to grab the bar and began to lift. But before it was free of the door, the brace splintered and the gates exploded, crushing the Shandorans behind them. A wave of dust formed and raced across the arena. Somewhere in that dust was the vague form of a man that was too large to be a man and too hairy to smell respectable. The shadow raced through the dust cloud and burst into the arena with a roar.

  “What is this madness?”

  “This is your Accuser, Captain. He will mete out justice.”

  The beast was barely a man. It stood eight feet tall and measured four feet across a very broad and bare chest. Its face was a picture of rage and seething hate. Teeth that were in desperate need of a cleaning poked out from a drooling snarl under flared nostrils that would have looked much better if they had been attached to a nose. The beast had but a single eye that focused on his prey across the arena. It was armed with a metal shield and a heavy club that could crush Antarius’s skull with little effort.

  It was enough to give any man pause. Even the Rox Tolgath felt a tinge of fear for the Earthian. With little discretion, he stepped toward the king and demanded the monarch’s attention. “Your highne
ss, this man cannot die.”

  The king waved his ally away and the Rox Tolgath forced his way closer to the ruler. He shouted now. “Thurgood cannot die. His is too valuable an asset for this nonsense.”

  “Relax, my friend,” the king hissed. “I assure you he won’t die. We’re just going to have some fun with him.” The king turned back to the condemned man. “Are you ready to be judged?”

  “This isn’t justice,” Thurgood said. “This is barbarism or it’s barbarianism. I’m not sure which is right, but it’s definitely one of those!”

  “The court disagrees,” the king said, and nodded at the beast.

  The giant roared and began stomping its way toward the condemned.

  Antarius scowled. “If this was a court of honor, I would be allowed to defend myself.”

  “Wait!” the king said, and held up his hand.

  The cyclops was obviously confused as it stopped and looked to its ruler.

  The crowd was just as confused. They were impatient for blood and equally puzzled that there was going to be a delay in the murder.

  Jondak leaned forward in his royal seat and studied the Earthian. He rubbed his chin and mused. “That is an interesting idea. It could make things more sporting. What did you have in mind?”

  “A weapon,” Antarius said.

  “Obviously,” Jondak spat. “What sort of weapon?”

  “I was picturing some kind of rocket launcher.”

  “No,” Jondak said.

  “A heavy blaster then,” Thurgood said.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “A batallion droid?”

  “I grow tired of this,” Jondak said.

  A royal aide brushed past the Rox Tolgath and whispered excitedly in the king’s ear.

  The king found whatever the aide had said intriguing. He stood and addressed the crowd. “I’ve just had an interesting idea.”

  “What is it?” the captain asked. “Did that guy like my rocket launcher idea?”

  The king leaned forward and said distinctly, ”Shukarigi.”

  The crowd erupted at the sound of the word. They had been crazed before, but now they were all but hitting one another with excitement.

  Malbourne saw the look of confusion on Antarius’s face and knew that he probably wore a similar expression.

  “All right, I’ll bite,” the captain said. “What is a Shukarigi?”

  The king smiled. “The Shukarigi is a formidable weapon of Shandoran legend. In the stories we have told through our history, the Shukarigi has brought down opponents of tremendous size. Mon’dhorn the Wise defeated a giant with the Shukarigi. Yal’dhihi the Fortunate stopped a rampaging dolgrath with nothing more than a Shukarigi and the help of the gods. And Pon’dhat the Uninvited slaughtered an entire wedding party with only a Shukarigi and a very, very sharp stick. It has been wielded by some of our history’s greatest heroes, and I will offer it to you if you but ask.”

  “Hell yeah, I want Shukarigi!” Antarius shouted, unable to contain his excitement. He eyed up the cyclops pacing the outer ring of the arena and began to shout threats at the beast. “You’re going to get it now, I’m getting—”

  The small stone landed at his feet with a plifff in the sand. It wasn’t large enough to make a thump or thud. Antarius stared at it and sighed. “…a Shukarigi.”

  Jondak could not contain his laughter, and the audience joined him in pointing and mocking the condemned man as he bent to pick up the rock.

  “You’re playing a dangerous game, Jondak,” Malbourne said.

  “You’re like a nursing mother, Malbourne,” the king said. “He’ll be fine.”

  Encouraged by the crowd, the cyclops roared and raced across the arena. The beast held the massive club aloft, ready to crush the Earthman’s head in a single blow.

  The Rox Tolgath watched as the captain stood his ground despite the size and aggression presented by the monstrous Accuser. It was either foolishness or bravery. The line between the two was thin and mattered little in the end. But the captain’s actions exhibited more courage than the Rox Tolgath expected from an Earthian of privileged birth.

  At the last moment, Thurgood rolled to one side. The cyclops brought the cudgel down. It landed deep in the dirt with a hollow thud the spectators could feel roll through their stomachs.

  The captain followed through the roll and sprang back to his feet just as the Accuser turned to face his nimble prey.

  The captain drew back his arm and screamed, “Shukarigi!” The Earth man let loose the stone and the audience watched breathlessly as the rock flew straight and true toward the cyclops’s single eye.

  The Accuser’s eye widened in horror as it realized the projectile’s target. The monstrosity raised its shield in a reflexive move, and the Shukarigi fell harmlessly to the arena floor and landed with another plifff.

  The captain watched it settle in the dirt and sighed. “Dammit.”

  The Accuser covered the short distance to his prey with two strides. He seized the Shukarigiless man in one massive hand and began to beat him with the other. Any attempts Thurgood made to stop the assault were weak and laughable. The crowd roared with approval as the beating went on unabated.

  The Rox Tolgath watched the prisoner go limp at the hands of the beast and strode forward next to the king. “Stop this.”

  “He’s fine.”

  “He cannot die.”

  But the beating continued. The Accuser picked up the captain by a single leg and hurled him across the arena. He hit the dirt and slid until the arena wall stopped him. The cyclops worked the crowd for a moment before heading back toward the victim.

  “You will put a stop to this now!” Malbourne sniped.

  “How dare you. I am the King of Shandor.” Jondak sneered. “Not you. This is my planet and I say who lives or dies. It would serve you well to remember that.”

  “You are putting our treaty at risk, your majesty,” Malbourne said.

  “You can shove your treaty up your ass. If you people even have such things.”

  “Very well,” Malbourne said. In his wisdom, the emperor demanded patience. And tolerance. But only to a point. And that point had been reached. Part of the Rox Tolgath was relieved it had come to this. “Seize them.”

  Several of the Rox Tolgath’s soldiers dropped into the royal box from the surrounding stands. Jondak’s royal guards tried to react but were quickly overwhelmed by the armored troopers. Several still insisted on resisting and were dealt with quickly and violently.

  “What is this?” Jondak squealed as his world came under attack.

  Malbourne addressed his Lictor. “Save the Earthian.”

  The man in the black armor nodded and leapt over the arena wall and into the ring.

  The Accuser had been watching the ruckus in the royal box and saw the man in black enter the arena. The monster turned to face this unannounced threat, club and shield back in hand, and growled at the approaching figure.

  The man in black stopped several feet short of the beast and spoke. The voice was raw and brutal. It was painful to hear, so the Lictor was brief. “Don’t try it.”

  The Accuser looked to the king.

  “Kill him!” Jondak shouted. “Kill them both!”

  The Accuser raised the club to strike and the Lictor reacted. There was a glint of light, and a cloud of dust rose from the arena floor. The man was suddenly behind the cyclops with a blade in his hand.

  The Accuser screamed in agony and collapsed to its knees. Blood from the cyclops’s legs turned the dirt to mud as the arteries emptied their contents.

  The man in the black armor turned to face the monster. But the beast was no longer a threat. It had dropped its club and was using the last of its strength to hold itself off the ground.

  The Lictor raised his sword and delivered the killing blow, to the horror of the crowd. They had come for death, but they wanted it on their terms. The cyclops fell to the ground, dead, and the Gloarn’Kahl went silent.

&nbs
p; For a moment, the king was too angry to speak. He shook with rage as he watched the blood pool around the body of his champion. He turned to scream at Malbourne, but the curse never reached his lips.

  The Rox Tolgath drove the knife into the king’s left lung, and he watched the ruler’s face move from anger to anguish as he twisted the blade.

  Jondak, son of Jondal, King of Shandor, Herald of Hymon, Dargon of Hyrole and Priest of the Grand Temple of Konjac, died quickly with a confused look on his face and fell to the floor of the royal box of the Gloarn’Kahl.

  The audience had watched it all happen, and they were slow to accept the reality. Just before it dawned on them that they really should do something, the Rox Tolgath’s men arrived in force. The emperor’s troops filled the stands of the ancient arena, and men in faceless armor filtered through the stadium to create a presence that was clearly not to be trifled with.

  Malbourne turned to the crowd and addressed them all. “Shandor, your king is dead. Your home world is now a member of the glorious Righteous Empire. Your king was duplicitous. He was not a man of honor. The Emperor is, and welcomes you to your new place of power in the galaxy. We are your rulers now. And you’re not going to like it.” Malbourne smiled and looked to the sky.

  The crowd followed his gaze. Above the planet, in the dimming sky, pulses of light began to twinkle. The momentary beauty turned to horror as these pulses rained down fire on the city of Kartoka. The world around the Shandorans turned to hell as the emperor’s fleet began to eliminate strategic targets across the planet.

  19

  By the time Cason and Priscilla reached the outskirts of Kartoka, much of the capital city was either exploding or on fire.

  Orbital artillery was removing buildings from the city’s tax rolls at a rapid pace as the enemy fleet fired from space. Plasma blasts screamed as they burned through the upper atmosphere and erased fortifications on the ground.

  Shandorans fled in all directions. Some made for their homes while others raced for the palace. Mob encountered mob in the narrow streets, and the citizens screamed in frustration as they realized there was no place to run. Everything was chaos.