Honor the Threat (The Revelations Cycle Book 12)

by Kevin Ikenberry

  Jessica glanced down and guessed that she was about sixty meters up. She looked above her and gasped. Kurrang stared down at her from a hefty branch no more than five meters away. Ten more shimmies allowed her to reach the same branch, and she set her foot down and turned away from the canyon she’d climbed. The distance to the ground took her breath away.

  “Are you okay?”

  Jessica closed her eyes and tried a Peacemaker calming breath. Her heart rate slowed, and the anxiety of being so far above the ground ebbed. Maybe this stuff does work?

  “Yeah,” she replied. “Just takes a second to get used to the height.”

  When she opened her eyes, Kurrang was at her side. Behind him, about ten meters out on the wide, sturdy branch, was the cache. He’d pulled a corner of the active camouflage material back from the steel platform. She recognized the Besquith construction immediately.

  “Ready?”

  Jessica nodded. As Kurrang walked out on the branch, she kept her eyes on his back and followed. In the space of seconds, she was at the edge of the suspended platform and reaching for Kurrang’s outstretched hand. She stepped onto the platform and surveyed the interior of the space with a hitching sigh.

  Oh no.

  The rectangular space resembled an intergalactic shipping container, much like the one she’d stopped from illegally taking a Canavar egg to Earth more than a year before. Above her were a string of LED lights that she turned on with a touch. The far end of the platform held a small bedframe that was empty of any linens or mattress. Recessed into the headboard and footboards were shelves, one of which held a Tri-V terminal. Between her and the bed was a path among supply crates that appeared to contain a vast supply of rations and weapons. To her right, between the crates, was a workstation with two Tri-V screens mounted to a GalNet-capable computer. On closer inspection, networking cables ran from the computer to a communications panel. The panel lights were red. There was no connection to an external source, and it appeared the panel’s capabilities to communicate with its parent ship were hindered by electromagnetic interference. She glanced back to the workstation and froze. The corner of a photograph stuck out from a pile of discarded ration packs. In the shred of the visible image was the sigil of the Peacemakers, a large tree, something eerily similar to an Yggdrasil, against a bright silver background. The flag hung at an angle that seemed both recent and familiar. Jessica reached for the photo, pulled it free, and nearly dropped it as it if were heated to a thousand degrees.

  Me. Dad pinning on my Peacemaker badge.

  Fuck me.

  Jessica bit down on the inside of her lower lip for a moment and felt fresh anger rising in her chest. On the makeshift desk was a data file with her name scrawled across it in Zuul. She’d been the sniper’s target. He’d followed her across the galaxy, to this shitty little planet, to kill her. What kind of price was on her head to attract a professional like that? Aware she’d held her breath, Jessica exhaled slowly and put the pieces together in her head. She was still alive, probably thanks to the ill-timed human assault. The CASPers likely saw a hot target and fired at the sniper nest without knowing what it was or who was inside. They’d taken out the Zuul who’d been assigned to kill her, perhaps even as his crosshairs were on her skull. Jessica shivered. At the academy, candidates always joked about the likelihood of being targeted at some point in their careers. Some of them felt it was honorable to have a price put on their head. It was common practice, they said. There were even species like the Depik that were assassins for hire. When she’d pinned on that shiny platinum badge, she’d become a target.

  But by the Mercenary Guild leadership themselves?

  Everything in the container space became evidence in a flash. Everything she needed to put the puzzle together lay around her. From all appearances, the container was a specially configured Besquith combat platform used for their special operations forces. That wouldn’t have surprised her. The workstation’s interface, however, was designed for a Zuul. She tapped the text interface—it couldn’t be called a keyboard by any stretch—and the screen came to life. The language was Zuul.

  If it quacks like a duck and looks like a duck…

  “Damn,” she muttered. If ever there was a perfect time to have Lucille, it was right then and there. “I can’t get into the system.”

  Kurrang wasn’t paying attention. He’d started to work on the lid of a large, plasticene crate to her right. She glanced at it and noticed with surprise that it was marked in Standard as well as in Zuul and Besquith. Rifle, double-chamber, pulsating laser, chemical, two each.

  She looked at nearby crates. More weapons, including a handful of anti-aircraft missiles, explosives, and…Jessica sucked in a breath.

  EMP mines. She smiled as her plan came together quickly. Reilly’s mercenary forces used a hodgepodge of CASPer technology. The older ones, maybe Mk 5 and earlier, traditionally had very poor shielding to protect against a significant electromagnetic pulse. She’d lost her own grenades and weapons when she’d been ejected from the compound wall. There was enough weaponry and ammunition to mount a significant challenge to Reilly.

  “This is a really good—”

  Kurrang whirled toward the platform’s edge where they’d entered. The tarpaulin flew back and two MinSha guards jumped onto the platform, their small laser rifles pointed at the two of them. Their iridescent eyes sparkled in the bright light, and Jessica froze and exhaled in relief at the same time.

  “Murrh, right?”

  The larger of the two MinSha lowered his rifle toward the platform decking. “Peacemaker Francis. We are very happy to see you alive and well.”

  * * *

  Jessica managed to find a few edible things in the Zuul assassin’s ration packs. Seated with a small bag of beef jerky and an old package of stale chocolate candies, she looked at Murrh and shook her head. “So, Reilly has committed everything to finding the TriRusk and enslaving their children.”

  Murrh’s antennae twitched. “Yes. They’ve wrecked the compound and looted everything they can use or sell. Once they learned about the TriRusk, they became consumed with patrolling the jungle. One patrol had been out for almost 24 hours and returned this morning for more ammunition and supplies. That was the last thing we saw from our observation position. When we couldn’t find your body, we pushed outward from the compound. We saw this platform. It’s obviously not yours.”

  Jessica chewed on a piece of jerky and spoke with her mouth partially full, “No. It’s a cache for the sniper that was at the compound when the humans attacked. At least that’s what Kurrang says.”

  The TriRusk shrugged his broad shoulders almost like a human would. “Did the humans find the body? I hid it under some foliage nearby. It must have started decomposing by now.”

  Murrh twitched his head to one side. “We found the remains of a Zuul nearby. It does not fit with the design of this shelter or everything inside it.”

  Tell me something I don’t know. Jessica sighed and spoke, “What we know is that a Zuul sniper was here, and the evidence points to me as his target. As much as I want to tear this container apart and collect every piece of evidence I can, we’ve got a much larger problem. Unless we get Reilly’s command and control system jammers shut down, no one out there is going to know what the situation is down here. We have to get the word out.”

  Kurrang nodded. “There are four of us now with enough weapons to do that. We need the right opportunity.”

  Murrh raised a clawed hand and shook it gently. “It’s only a matter of time until the humans discover your city, Kurrang.”

  “I know.” Kurrang snorted. “I’m sure moving the Peacemaker caused enough vegetation displacement to be seen by the humans, too.”

  “Moving her?” Murrh asked. “Were you unable to walk yourself?”

  Jessica shook her head. “My leg was torn up. In the course of a day or so, whatever Kurrang placed on it healed the lacerations and allowed the skin to knit itself back together.”
>
  Murrh stared at Kurrang for a long moment, and the two locked eyes. The two species had been living and operating on this planet for much longer, and much closer, than Psymrr told her. Or, more incredulously, he hadn’t known at all. “Out with it, you two. What am I missing? Psymrr told me you were here doing research, Murrh. Kurrang, you haven’t acted surprised in the last two days about anything. What’s going on?”

  Murrh cocked his head to one side. “This planet is a pharmacological gold mine, Peacemaker, because it was engineered that way a long time ago by both the TriRusk and the MinSha. Our excursion here was to see whether or not the plants and compounds were flourishing, and they are. This is the fourteenth planet of the hundred targets that our colony teams have tested and certified ready for harvest. In time of war, this planet’s resources, alone, could heal millions of MinSha.”

  She turned to Kurrang. “And you’re the caretakers? Is that why you’re here?”

  Kurrang shook his head. “No. We landed here a long time ago, found the engineered ecosystem, and realized the MinSha would eventually come. We believed they would leave us alone, but we tried to be ready for them. They never ventured out of the compound, despite our best efforts to engage. Nurr took their indifference as a sign we’d been completely forgotten and could live in peace. If the MinSha, our allies, no longer cared for us then we were free.”

  “Psymrr was an imbecile,” Murrh said. “With Tirr in charge, our people at least have a chance.”

  Jessica squinted. “Tirr is in charge? What happened to Psymrr?”

  “The human commander executed him immediately after our surrender. It was highly irregular and frightened our entire colony.”

  Gods, what a fucking asshole.

  Kurrang snorted. “That could be something beneficial. If Nurr were to learn this, she might be more open to cooperation.”

  I wish I’d known all that in the beginning. It doesn’t matter, Jess. Think it through.

  Jessica shook her head. “No, she won’t. She wanted me out of your city, and you managed to get yourself banished for helping me. She’s hoping this little war will pass her by.”

  The second MinSha climbed back down from where he had been observing in the treetops. “There are enemy vehicles approaching. They are on a course for the TriRusk city.”

  Kurrang looked at Jessica. “If we ambush them and stop them in their tracks, the humans will likely attack forward and leave the compound with minimal security. We could get behind them.”

  “We have a significant advantage with the weapons in this cache,” Jessica said with a grin. The specter of her training loomed over her thoughts. “In a situation like this, though, I’m supposed to declare my authority and have all combative parties listen to me, even though they didn’t do so before. I’m supposed to keep the peace.”

  Murrh stood on his angular rear legs. “We are all supposed to do things that are expected of us, Peacemaker. The unexpected things we do set us apart.”

  Kurrang stood, as well, and looked down at her. “Your call, Jessica.”

  Jessica met the TriRusk’s eyes and knew what she had to do. She could imagine the discussion she’d have with Selector Hak-Chet when the mission was over if she made it out alive. He’d told her privately compassion and resilience were two of the traits he admired most in humans. He believed she could bring those traits to the Peacemaker Guild, if she wasn’t too busy looking for a fight. But this time, the fight had come to her, brought by her own kind. She knew they wouldn’t listen to her. The whispers filtering out of the seedy mercenary bars dragged her name through the mud as a traitor to her own race. She’d never listened to them before, and while she knew a Peacemaker’s job was to quell disturbances and settle disputes in accordance with the applicable contracts and laws, Raleigh Reilly and his mercenaries were on an all-out extermination mission. That they’d paused to slake their greed with the promise of easy money gave her all the opportunity she needed. Human or not, they were on the wrong side of a contract likely never meant to be seen or discussed. When this was over, she’d learn who the contract was with, as well as who had ordered her assassination. The mental jigsaw pieces seemed to connect—they were the same entity.

  Hiring the worst human company to mop up after the assassination of a Peacemaker, making it look like she had died in battle under honorable, and clearly normal, conditions in the performance of her job, would create some breathing room for the angry mercenaries responsible. There was no telling how high the accusations would go, but the Mercenary Guild didn’t like it when former mercenaries became Peacemakers, and they’d openly opposed human candidates for decades. Sometimes the feeling the entire galaxy stood against her was overwhelming. All she could do, all any Peacemaker could do, was handle one thing at a time.

  That means honoring the threat once and for all—human or not. Jessica stood and wiped her hands on her dark blue coveralls. “Ambush time. Let’s go. We don’t have much time to set this up.”

  Murrh picked up his laser rifle. “There’s some dangerous ground the vehicles will have to cross. Not much cover or concealment. We could hit them there.”

  “We need to bring them where we intend to inflict the most damage,” Kurrang said. “They don’t know what they’re really looking for, Peacemaker. Between me and your new poncho, they won’t know which way to go. Provide a little incentive, by means of direct fire from Murrh and Drech, and we have the advantage.”

  Murrh nodded in assent. “The humans are riding atop some of their vehicles. This is a surprisingly stupid method of movement.”

  Jessica raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

  “The Urrtam,” Murrh blurted. “They’ll attack anything exposed—they’re like the ultimate security system.”

  “They’re engineered, too?” Jessica asked.

  Kurrang nodded. “They don’t bother the TriRusk because of that. The ones that attacked you were after you, but my counterattack scared them away. That’s why you should put that hide on again, Peacemaker. At least until we can train them not to attack humans. Until then, they are our…do you call it air support?”

  “Yes.” Jessica shivered at the thought of the chicken-things attacking humans in a vicious cloud of death. But, an effective ambush kicked off by firing the most lethal weapon. This time, they wouldn’t have to fire anything. Chaos and confusion during the attack gave them the ultimate opportunity to stop the patrol in its tracks.

  Jessica pulled on her TriRusk hide poncho and turned to the weapons’ cases. Her small bag of explosives had enough room for two EMP grenades and several additional clips of laser rifle batteries. Drech appeared at the platform’s edge. “How far away are the mercenaries?”

  “Ten kilometers. They’re making slow progress, but the terrain they’re entering will allow for faster movement. We should get into position as quickly as possible,” Drech said.

  “Make sure you get more ammunition, Drech,” Murrh said as he gestured to the weapons cases. “I have a suspicion we’re going to need it.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Weqq

  Tara glanced at the waypoint indicator on her heads-up display for the hundredth time and sighed. The combat skiffs with their large wheels were capable vehicles in almost any terrain. In a jungle, though, where seeing the ground under a meter or so of vegetation was impossible, there was no effective way to steer and avoid problems. Progress had been much slower than she’d hoped. The only solace she had was that Raleigh and the main body of his almost certain attack would face the same pitfalls along the terrain to the south, if not worse. With the Satisfaction still out of commission, he’d have to resort to jumping the CASPers, which was a solid plan, but without his gun platforms and skiffs, there was a substantial loss of combat power. Raleigh wouldn’t sacrifice that, especially with his goals within reach.

  Her radio clicked to life. “Deathangel 25, Mike 77. There’s clear and fast terrain about two hundred meters ahead. All we have to
do is get the skiffs through this shit, and we’ll pick up speed.”

  Tara sighed. “Great news. How far does that terrain run?”

  “About three clicks,” Oso replied. “Recommend we offload the infantry and have them spread out for security. If it looks good, we can reload ‘em and haul ass.”

  “Affirmative, Mike 77.” Tara changed frequencies. “Titan Six, be advised you’re entering a clearing in the next hundred meters. Offload your infantry and spread the hell out to maintain security. You copy?”

  “Titan Six, roger.”

  Tara chuckled. She’d expected a dozen questions from the infantry commander. Either he’d finally gotten the message she didn’t want to talk to him, or he’d gained an understanding of movement in a combat environment and couldn’t think of any salient point to argue. Both solutions were outstanding in Tara’s eyes. She looked through her heads-up display and saw the open terrain beyond the heavy thickets. Save for the massive tree trunks every sixty to eighty meters, the foliage underneath was relatively light and not very tall. They’d be able to move easily.

  “Lucille, full sensor sweep once we cross the boundary into the open forest.”

  <>

  Mike 77 and the first skiff passed into the open area. On cue, the ten infantry soldiers atop the skiff dismounted and fell into a large, spread out line formation behind the skiff as it continued moving. She watched Oso guide his CASPer to the extreme left edge of their line formation to provide flank security. His tactics were solid as hell, and as the second skiff pushed through the thickets and into the forest, she assumed a position on the extreme right edge.