Kaine's Retribution

by D. M. Pruden

  He caught Pavlovich’s eyes with his own and nodded. Kaine pressed the final number in the sequence and emptied his lungs.

  A klaxon screamed, and red lights set into the ceiling flashed in time with it. Confused, Malkovich and his men looked about for the cause of the alert. Then, with no further warning, the outer rail gun doors slid open. The air in the chamber raced with hurricane force to escape into space.

  Hayden leaned over and gripped the console, hoping his good arm had the required strength.

  The Rangers were blown off of their feet by the decompression wind. One by one, their screams of terror were cut short as they were pushed out into the void.

  Hayden searched for Pavlovich.

  The captain lay on the deck, one hand gripping a strut. Malkovich clung to his leg and threatened to pull him loose. Appearing like he wanted to save his foe, Pavlovich tried to reach down to help his cousin.

  Malkovich’s grasp slipped. With a faint scream in the thinning air, he too was dragged across the deck and flung out into the icy grip of space.

  Eardrums burst and bleeding, lungs burning and vision fading, Hayden pulled himself up the console. His hands freezing, he located the button to close the doors and repressurize the bay.

  As the sound of the pumps grew loud enough to overcome the ringing in his ears, he remembered Stella and Cora. Through bleary eyes, he looked for them, praying they had not been blown out with the others.

  Not far from where they fell, he saw them. Cora’s android arms were wrapped around Stella’s legs, and her own feet were wedged between two exposed conduit pipes.

  His joy at the sight of them was soon replaced by the recollection of them being shot. Hayden dropped from the panel and limped to the women.

  Reaching Stella first, he searched for any sign that she lived. When he discovered her pulse, he hugged her briefly before checking on Cora.

  “I’m still here, Lieutenant,” she said weakly. “This synth is toast, but I’ll be fine once I upload back to the ship.”

  Tears in his eyes, he hugged the android and whispered his thanks.

  A loud groan came from Pavlovich. Hayden looked back to see him on his back, arms and legs outstretched, one hand still gripping the strut that saved his life.

  “I mean it this time, Kaine. I never want to do that again.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Goodbye

  IN SILENCE, HAYDEN and Stella, their wounds treated, surveyed the bodies arrayed before them. Arranged in tidy rows, each draped with a UEF flag, were sixteen men and women who had died during the previous twenty hours.

  The remains of hundreds of others still floated, unretrievable, amid the drifting debris of the massacre.

  Pavlovich kneeled over Gunney. Hayden was surprised at how peaceful the old cyborg appeared in death. It was as if the warrior had finally found a home for himself in its embrace.

  Next to him lay Cesar Malkovich. Hayden had taken the initiative to recover all the bodies he could locate with his small ship. The general’s had been among the first he sought out. He felt it was the least he could do for Pavlovich.

  The captain had betrayed no outward sign of regret, but Hayden knew from Stella how much the man was affected by the loss of so many, including his cousin.

  Standing at respectful attention were the remains of Scimitar’s crew and Malkovich’s rebels.

  With the death of Malkovich, the soldiers under his command had no leader. The general had, for some unfathomable reason, made no provision for his passing. All of his lieutenants had been on the ships of his destroyed fleet. Hayden wasn’t sure if the oversight was due to arrogance on Malkovich’s part or a delusion that Scimitar would make him invincible.

  His highest-ranking officer still alive had immediately ordered her troops to surrender. Perhaps she’d heard reports of what Stella did aboard the dreadnought, or maybe she’d had enough of war and wished to wash her hands of a bloody conflict that had lasted for years.

  Pavlovich moved from Gunney’s body to that of his cousin. Hayden thought he saw a slight smile peek out from beneath the bushy beard, even as tears ran unchecked down his cheek. He allowed the captain a moment to grieve in private and say his final goodbyes. Then he moved closer and placed a supportive hand on the big man’s shoulder.

  “He hated losing,” said Pavlovich. “Even when we were children, he would sulk for days after I gave him a beating.”

  “You fought often?”

  He looked up, eyes glistening. “Most of the time we were fast friends, getting into mischief together. It wasn’t until we got older that we began to butt heads. I eventually stopped going to visit him, because every time I did it ended in a disagreement or an all-out donnybrook.”

  “Do you know what changed between you?”

  Pavlovich let out a mirthless chuckle. “I did; I joined the academy, and that immediately put pressure on him to keep up. The experience was harder on him than me. He watched me advance and outpace him at everything. I really wanted it, while he was there to prove he was still my equal. He resented me for that.”

  He placed a fatherly hand on Hayden’s shoulder. “Everyone has regrets and wants to make amends for past failings. When we came here, I wanted to reconcile with Cesar.”

  He sighed and took another lingering look at Malkovich’s corpse before he led Hayden back to where Stella and the rest of the crew waited.

  After the funeral rites were performed and the bodies committed to space, Pavlovich invited Hayden and Stella to join him in the conference room with Cora.

  He placed an unopened bottle of single malt whisky on the table and pushed it toward Kaine.

  Surprised, Hayden looked to Stella before, embarrassed, he smiled and slid it back to the captain.

  Pavlovich grunted. “It looks like I’m commanding a ship full of teetotallers.”

  He pulled the cork and poured himself a healthy portion. After savouring the amber fluid, he looked back up at the others, and his expression softened. “Of course, I am assuming you all wish to stay.”

  “What happens next, if we do?” asked Stella. “Do you still intend to make your fortune with the FTL? If you do, I am out.”

  Hayden smiled at her. “I’m afraid I’m with her.”

  She returned his smile and squeezed his hand.

  “Hmph. How about you, Cora?”

  “I’m undecided, sir. I’m part of Scimitar, and I don’t think that can ever change, but...”

  “But you enjoyed having a body again and are thinking you might be able to go with Kaine and Stella. Am I right?”

  “I’m sorry, but yes.”

  He nodded and leaned forward to put down his empty glass. “I’m not surprised. To answer you, Stella, I no longer have any commercial plans for the FTL tech. Kaine was right.”

  “I was? What about?”

  “You asked a question along the lines of: What if the rest of the empire has degenerated into something like this system...or worse? I’ve been thinking a lot about that.”

  “And what have you concluded?” asked Stella.

  The captain smiled as he shifted in his chair. He extracted something from his back pocket and put it on the table.

  “What’s that?” asked Hayden as he inspected the object.

  “Cora?” said Pavlovich.

  “It appears to be the missing component from the cynosure device, if your description of it to me was accurate.”

  “That it is.”

  Stella picked it up. “Did you always know where it was hidden?”

  Pavlovich poured himself another drink. “No, I never had a clue of where to look.”

  “Then where did you find it?” asked Hayden.

  “I found it inside my command chair on the bridge.”

  “What the hell made you think to look there?”

  “Well, the idea came to me when I was on Kovacs’s ship. I remembered joking that one of the few remaining parts of Scimitar that was factory-installed is my chair. While everyth
ing was being put back together after our encounter with Kovacs, I disassembled it and found this.”

  “You had it all this time and didn’t say anything?”

  He shrugged.

  “So now what?” said Stella. “Do you intend to recover the device and complete it? Now, instead of growing obscenely wealthy, you’ve changed your mind and want to rule over everything?”

  Pavlovich frowned. “That was Cesar’s plan, not mine.”

  Hayden studied the captain’s expression. There was something mischievous about it. He turned to Stella and raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “Oh, he’s definitely enjoying this,” she said.

  Pavlovich grinned and placed his meaty palms on the table. “Okay, full disclosure time. Let me make my pitch before you all decide I’m a power-hungry megalomaniac like everyone else we’ve come across. Agreed?”

  Both Hayden and Stella nodded.

  “Cora, how about you?”

  “I’m not going anywhere just yet, Cap’n.”

  “Good.” He downed the remains of his second drink. “I think we are all in agreement that the Malliac are the most significant threat the human race has ever faced, particularly since we are now without any form of FTL capability?”

  “We sent our messengers to Earth a decade ago,” said Stella. “They’ve had time to prepare. Look at some of the innovative technology that was developed here.”

  Hayden’s cheeks warmed as his anger rose. “This system was warned. Instead of uniting and preparing for invasion, they chose to play king of the hill.”

  “I agree with Kaine. I think what we’ve encountered here is likely replaying itself across the remnant of the Confederacy. While our people have been fighting like starving dogs over scraps, the Malliac have advanced. Who knows how many of our outer colonies they have already overrun?”

  “We four in this room have the unique perspective of having faced them,” said Cora. “We know first-hand how formidable they are and how vulnerable humanity is to them, but to everyone else, they are just a story.”

  Pavlovich nodded. “And as time passes without incident or reminder, the sense of danger fades, and other, more immediate concerns take priority.”

  “So what are you proposing?” said Hayden.

  “If our species is to be saved, what’s left of the empire is not capable of doing it. The cynosure has to be located, and who or whatever it points at will have the means to defend humanity. That is our only shot, and we are the only ones who can make it happen.”

  “Us?” said Stella. “In case you didn’t notice, this ship lacks a full crew. I have serious doubts that most of those remaining will have much stomach for more adventures under your command. I’m not sure I do.”

  “Besides,” said Cora, “there is still one other missing component before the cynosure can be accessed.”

  “How about you, Kaine? Do you agree with the ladies?”

  Hayden looked to Stella, feeling himself blush. “I’d like to hear the plan, although they raise some important impediments.”

  Pavlovich grinned, seeming satisfied. “Kovacs told me where the last component is. Now that we have refined erganium, it is within easy reach. As far as the crew,” he shrugged, “I threw out some feelers among Cesar’s people, and I believe some can be persuaded to join in a fight for something more significant than revenge.”

  He turned to face Hayden directly, a twinkle in his eye. “Of course, the chances of that would increase dramatically if the pitch comes from the Hero of Mu Arae.”

  Hayden pushed back in his chair, shocked. “Me? What are you...?”

  “You know, Kaine, for a man raised to be a politician, you know squat about the concept of spin. The people in this room are the only ones who are aware of how things really went down, and your recollection is negatively distorted. With the right presentation, you can end up looking like a damned messiah to everyone else. At least, that’s how I described you to the prospective recruits. It’s going over very well, by the way.”

  Hayden shook his head. “You are certifiable.”

  “But I am not wrong. What do you say, Kaine? Do you want a shot at redeeming yourself?”

  The captain offered him the chance he’d dreamed of for years, though not to undo what had happened—he now accepted its necessity. Rather, Pavlovich presented Hayden with the opportunity to change how he perceived himself, perhaps even to redeem his own soul.

  Butterflies fluttered in his guts as he looked to Stella. She smiled and nodded, giving him the answer he needed.

  “I’m in.”

  ***

  Hayden Kaine stood on the bridge of Scimitar, watching the striped surface of the gas giant Elgar fade into the distance.

  The recruits had integrated well with the remaining old crew, and two weeks of shakedown and training were now complete. The ship was en route to the outer system to make its FTL jump.

  Stella sat in her acceleration couch, chatting with one of the new bridge officers.

  Hayden glanced to the tactical officer’s alcove. He was finally used to seeing it occupied by the young woman who’d been appointed gunnery officer. Over time, he believed he would stop thinking of it as Gunney’s spot, though he knew he would never forget the old cyborg.

  At the sound of thumping, he turned to watch Pavlovich fiddling with his command chair.

  “Is something wrong, Captain?”

  “What?” He looked up. “Oh, this damned thing doesn’t feel right. And it squeaks when I move.”

  Hayden grinned. “Maybe we can get one of Cora’s new engineering techs to take a look at it, though I’m not sure it is the thing that is squeaking.”

  “Hardy-har. Make ready to activate the FTL drive, XO.”

  “Aye-aye, sir.”

  Hayden took one final look at the receding solar system. He hoped the next one they visited had fared better over the past decade.

  One thing he knew for certain was that the Malliac were on their way, and he intended to be there to greet them.

  Kaine’s Reparation (Shattered Empire Book 3)

  Human civilization is in chaos. With the collapse of the interstellar jump network the empire’s scattered worlds are in no position to defend themselves from the encroaching Malliac horde.

  Hayden Kaine faces a terrible dilemma. He’s discovered a means to repel the invaders, but its use comes with a terrible cost.

  Can he doom humanity to servitude in order to save it?

  Find out in this gripping Sci-Fi adventure.

  The Mars Ascendant Series:

  The Ares Weapon

  Mother of Mars

  Child of Mars

  Legacy of Mars

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  D.M.(Doug) Pruden worked for 35 years in the petroleum industry as a geophysicist. For most of his life he has been plagued with stories banging around inside his head that demanded to be let out into the world. He currently spends his time as an empty nester in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his long suffering wife of 36 years. When he isn’t writing science fiction stories, he likes to spend his time playing with his granddaughters and working on improving his golf handicap.

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