by PP Corcoran
A resounding thud reached the passenger cabin and Harvik’s lips pursed in a thin smile as out of the corner of his eye he noticed his bodyman Tanak tighten the straps holding him secure in his seat. Unlike the larger fleet vessels, smaller ships, like the shuttle, had nothing in the way of active shielding to deflect the pieces of debris the little ship was forced to fly through as it descended toward the surface.
After a few moments, the shuttle was free of the debris field and dropped into the atmosphere. Harvik took the relative peace and quiet of the last few minutes of the flight to gather his thoughts for what he fully expected to be a lively discussion with the Claviger.
#
As Harvik was shown into the presence of Claviger Telos, he could hardly fail to note the presence of Neras standing resolutely by his right shoulder. Harvik chose to ignore the Kem Tak officer who, by all rights, should have bowed his head as a mark of respect to the presence of the Lord of a House. His failing to do so only reinforced in Harvik’s mind the growing contempt he was feeling toward members of the Kem Tak in general and Neras in particular.
Halting a few steps short of the chair the Claviger was sat upon, Harvik gave a short, sharp bowing of his head, chin barely touching his chest, the minimum required to show deference to one more senior than himself, if only by position and not birth. If Claviger Telos noticed the implied slight, his face hid it well
“My lord. It is indeed good to see you came through the battle unscathed,” said Telos in a friendly, concerned tone. His opening statement was not what Harvik had expected. Anger, perhaps. Annoyance, most certainly. Concern for his well-being was… unexpected. Harvik reminded himself the man seated before him was a politician and as such, nothing he said was as it seemed. The navy man decided to let Telos play more of his hand and reveal his true game plan.
“I am unharmed, Claviger, though the same cannot be said for some under my command.”
A look of concern crossed Telos’ smooth features, and Harvik found it hard to tell if it was a true reaction to deaths of so many naval personnel or if it was, as Harvik suspected, a look practiced until perfection. Harvik plumped for the second. The older K’Tai realized Telos only had room in his heart for Telos. The dead and wounded of Harvik’s command were nothing more than a footnote in his rise to an even more powerful and influential position.
“It is a sad fact that some must fall for the continued glory of the Imperium, my Lord. A sad truth that we, leaders of warriors both, must bear the burden of hard decisions.”
Harvik forced himself to swallow the bile rising in his throat at the Claviger’s comment. Telos’ only experience of leadership had been to command units of overzealous Kem Tak as they ‘fought’ unarmed women and children. Hero of the Battle of Gozan, indeed! After their last meeting, Harvik had made a point of consulting the records to find out more about the Claviger and why Harvik’s bodyman Tanak had reacted with such revulsion to hearing of the Claviger’s involvement in the battle.
What Harvik had learned made the bodyman’s reaction completely understandable. Gozan was a reasonably wealthy planet at the edge of K’Tai Imperium space, bordering with the Sarakan Conglomerate. Being a border planet, Gozan was controlled by a Marzban, a term which equated roughly as Guardian of the Edge. In the case of Gozan, the Marzban was an overbearing, puffed-up political appointee whose house, it was rumored, had been a strong supporter of Devisee Sidal’s ongoing struggle against the secessionists. To recoup the financial contributions his house had made to the Devisee’s war chest, the Marzban had imposed heavy, near impossible to pay taxes on the local population, turning what was once a reasonably wealthy people into near paupers. A perfect breeding ground for rebellion. Sensing an opportunity, the secessionists had reached out to some of the leading families. News of these approaches had made its way to the ears of the Marzban, who had reacted with draconian measures. All public meetings of over three people were deemed illegal, punishable with immediate arrest and lengthy prison sentences. When the head of one influential family protested, the Marzban had not only the head of the family arrested, but the entire family, citing treason. The family lands and valuables were, by some vagary and hazy interpretation of a Marzban’s powers, deemed forfeit and ceded into the protection of the Marzban.
Within hours the first street protests began. Normal men and women were outraged at the treatment of someone they saw as one of their own. The Marzban ordered the police on to the streets. For the first couple of days, the police contained the disgruntled protesters. The Marzban, however, was reportedly dissatisfied by the lack of arrests. He felt the only way to nip what he saw as an affront to Imperial power was to act against those he believed were responsible for protests. In his mind, that was the heads of the leading families, whom he believed had fallen under the spell of the secessionists, and their actions were therefore treasonable.
Gozan, being a border planet, had a permanent fleet presence. The Sarakan Conglomerate were not seen as a threat to the Imperium, and with the fleet required in ever growing numbers elsewhere, there was only a single cruiser and a flotilla of frigates and destroyers in the system. What there was, however, was a Kem Tak Intervention Battalion under the command of one Commander Telos. When the Marzban requested support in putting down what he described as a secessionist uprising, Commander Telos acted decisively.
Within hours of the Marzban’s call the entire battalion, with Telos at its head, combat dropped directly into the middle of the largest protest, a gathering of some 7500 in the main square of Gozan’s capital city. At first the crowd was cowed by the sight of assault shuttles disgorging white armored Kem Tak soldiers. Then the wariness turned to joy. Word spread that the Gerent had sent the Kem Tak to force the Marzban to listen to their legitimate grievances. The joy turned to anger as Telos’ voice had come over the square’s public-address system, ordering them to disperse.
At this point the records Harvik read became confused. Telos claimed his men had been fired upon by secessionists in the crowd and his men had been forced to return fire in self-defense. Whatever the truth, 600 heavily armed Kem Tak soldiers, backed up by a dozen assault shuttles, laid waste to every living soul in the square. The final count put the death toll at 4863. No weapons were recovered from the dead. According to Telos’ after-action report, backed up by other officers of his battalion, what weapons there had been were spirited away by secessionist supporters.
In the growing bitter war against the secessionists the Gerent, or more likely Devisee Sidal, held the actions taken by Telos as the defining way to deal with anyone suspected of supporting the secessionists. The Marzban of Gozan was rewarded by a promotion, while Telos was given the personal thanks of the Gerent and appointed the Claviger of Agate.
The sharp clapping of Telos’ hands coming together brought Harvik’s mind back into the room and focused on the situation at hand.
Telos canted his head over his right shoulder as he spoke. “A chair for Lord Harvik!”
Neras’ eyes remained fixed on Harvik while his finger discreetly tapped a control on his belt beside his ever-present Hadak. Immediately a side door opened and a human female half-walked, half-stumbled into the room, struggling to carry an ornate velvet-backed chair. What at one time might have been fine, expensive clothing was now torn in several places, and through the tears Harvik could plainly make out numerous welts and contusions which covered her skin like a rash. The woman flung terrified glances behind her at the Kem Tak soldier who entered the room behind her, halting just inside the door. At his side hung a pain stick, and his hand rested on it casually.
As the human female came closer to where the Claviger and Harvik were, she cast her eyes to the floor, studiously refusing to look up. Placing the seat beside Harvik, she retraced her steps, walking backwards, her eyes never leaving the polished floor. Reaching the pain stick-armed Kem Tak she hesitated momentarily, perhaps confused by what to do next. Her hesitation was enough for the Kem Tak soldier to bare his teeth, a low
growl emitting from his throat as his hand, larger than her head, flashed out and back handed her across the mouth. The female let out a painful shriek at the powerful hit, which flung her head sideways to impact with a dull thump against the solid door frame. Her unconscious form slumped to the floor in a heap. The soldier unceremoniously reached down and grabbed the nearest limb, dragging her back through the door, which closed with a gentle snick behind him.
The shocked expression on Harvik’s face at what he had just witnessed must have been obvious to Telos and Neras, for the Kem Tak commander spoke for the first time.
“My apologies, Lord Harvik, for that clumsy display. With Claviger Telos’ kind permission, I sought to impress you with the progress already being made by the re-education camps that have only recently begun the necessary steps to prepare the human population for their impending integration into a more civilized society such as ours. Unfortunately, progress is still limited.”
Harvik could hardly speak, so shocked was he at the treatment of the human female. Through the fog of growing anger, he fixed on two words Neras had spoken, “Civilized society?” He repeated through gritted teeth.
The pandering Neras interpreted Harvik’s statement as leave to explain. “Yes, my lord, civilized society.” Neras’ voice warmed to the subject. “My studies of the historic integration of the Sona and the Valan have led me to the conclusion that we must first break the humans’ spirit before molding them, like clay, into something which can find its proper place in our society. Of course, the adults among the population may require some culling to remove the troublemakers as an example to others, but I have high hopes for the children. They will make excellent household staff and, in time, we will breed out the seeds of this rebellious nature.”
Neras’ calm, logical explanation of how his mistreatment of the human female fitted into his long-term plans for the remainder of the human population in general were abhorrent to Harvik. For a warrior who lived his life by the near religious code of Rig to listen to a man who counted himself among the staunchest defenders of that code shook Harvik to the core.
One of the bedrock principles of Rig was that a defeated enemy became the property of the victor to do with as they pleased. In centuries past, both the Sona and the Valan were conquered by the Imperium and their populations sold into slavery. Nothing about this went against the teachings of Rig. However, both these races had no concept of space flight when the Imperium absorbed them. The Sona had barely discovered the wheel, while the Valan were only experimenting with the concept of farming. Humanity, however, were a very different proposition, Harvik thought. In the past century or so, the Imperium had many clashes with other spacefaring nations, most notably with the Yaranl and the Bozon. These conflicts concluded with each side holding a sizable number of prisoners of war who, by negotiation, were returned to their respective governments. What Telos, with obvious approval from Devisee Sidal, proposed for the humans was a life of destitute slavery. Something Harvik, who had spent hours poring over humanity’s history and culture to better understand his forthcoming enemy, knew would be completely unacceptable to those who governed the League.
The old warrior looked from Neras to Claviger Telos, seeing the look of righteousness on Neras’ face reflected in that of Telos. Harvik realized both men believed firmly they were following the teachings of Rig to the letter, and damn the consequences, for they were on the moral high ground. Nevertheless, Harvik saw it as his duty to point out the likely repercussions of their plan.
Harvik took a breath, fighting to keep any argumentative tone from his voice. “Claviger, I would ask you reconsider the decision regarding the human civilian population.”
Neras’ jaw fell open. Someone, even of Lord Harvik’s esteemed position, dared to question the Claviger? Before he uttered a protest, Telos held up a hand to forestall him. Instead, Telos locked eyes with Harvik, and the older K’Tai saw cold, unyielding steel in them. No matter the logic of any argument Harvik put forward, the Claviger would not be swayed.
“My lord. The fate of the humans is not your concern. My instructions come direct from Devisee Sidal on this matter. The humans are to be taught a lesson. And that lesson must be made clear to them in the bluntest of ways. The K’Tai Imperium allows their precious League to exist on our sufferance alone.”
Telos leaned forward in his chair, one thick finger pointed directly at Harvik as his voice took on the coldness of his eyes. “And I intend Agate to be an example of the overwhelming power of the Imperium.”
The room descended into a frigid silence. Harvik’s eyes held the unblinking gaze of Telos, neither man willing to be the first to back down. Perhaps Telos realized the older warrior was longer in the tooth at the game, or maybe he just got bored, for he waved a dismissive hand and his face broke into a semi-serious scowl as he let out a gentle snort. “Let us not dwell on matters which are beyond both our control, my lord, when we have more pressing concerns.”
For his part Harvik gave a curt nod of agreement. Indeed, it will be better to move on before my temper gets the better of me. Clearing his throat, Harvik began his report.
“The attack by the League naval forces, though it resulted in the destruction of our major shipping facility, and the loss or damage to a number of our vessels is, in the longer strategic view, nothing more than an irritation…”
“An irritation!” blustered Neras. “How are we meant to meet the quota of Redlazore we have promised to deliver to the Devisee without the docking and transfer facilities which Hermes provided? Never mind the loss of the merchantmen. Those bulk carriers were the only ones available for the entire quadrant!”
Harvik tried to control his surprise at that morsel of news. When he had been planning the operation to take Agate, he dismissed the lack of troop transports as a simple matter of logistics which he and his staff would overcome. To hear the issue of non-availability extended to ships of the merchant fleet came as a major surprise, for the Imperium’s merchant fleet was renowned throughout the known galaxy as the largest and most diverse. Harvik did not have time to ponder on what had changed; he dealt in the here and now. A partial solution came to him.
“It may be possible, with a small amount of internal alterations, to adapt the cargo bays and the space freed up by the disembarking of Lady Kara’s Black Legion, to utilize the troop transports to carry refined Redlazore. The transports are only being employed in a support role now the Legion has secured facilities on the planet’s surface and those roles, I believe, could be entirely transferred to surface bases. I would need to confirm this with Lady Kara, but I do not foresee any major issues.”
A small smile broke Telos’ hard features. “An elegant if not perfect solution, my lord. Commander Neras has already compiled a report for the Devisee detailing the events leading to the loss of Hermes Station.” Harvik noticed a crocodile smile spread across Neras’ face.
“Indeed, Claviger,” said Harvik, his tone steady and cool. “The commander is to be congratulated on his efficiency.” Neras’ smile became, if possible, more devious. “I must have words with my own staff who, even with their years of naval experience, are still compiling my own after-action report.” Harvik allowed a glint to enter his eye which wiped the smile from Neras’ face. “I shall endeavor to speak to them about their tardiness in its completion.”
The exchange between Harvik and the Kem Tak officer was not lost on Telos, who intervened before his aide could rise to the bait. “It is for that very expertise that I have requested your counsel, my lord.” His mollifying tone didn’t fool Harvik for a second. “What steps have you decided would be prudent to prevent any further incursions?”
Harvik had been waiting for the conversation to turn to this very subject, so his answer was well prepared, though perhaps not what the Claviger had been expecting. “Claviger. Prior to commencement of this operation I, and my staff, pored over this very problem and presented our analysis to Devisee Sidal in person. An analysis which he, as a fo
rmer naval officer himself…” Harvik gave Neras a pointed look, one which brought a flush of anger to the Kem Tak officer’s grim features. “By restricting our operations to within the Agate system, and not striking at the League bases from which this attack, and no doubt further attacks, will be launched, we are leaving ourselves at a distinct disadvantage. I have no doubt I have sufficient forces to hold the system against any major assault by League naval units. However, if they chose to employ their cruisers and fast attack carriers, as they did in yesterday’s raid, then they play to their strengths and our weaknesses. My heavier units simply do not have the speed to catch them and my lighter units, such as my own light cruisers and destroyers, would be outgunned and easy prey for them.”
Telos had never been a navy man, as you could tell by the look of confusion on his face. “But what about your maneuver yesterday, which saw you able to ambush the humans?”
The older K’Tai shrugged his shoulders. “Sheer blind luck, Claviger. I had no way of knowing when or where the humans would decide to strike. I did, however, know they would come. In war, as in everything else in life, some things just cannot be predicted. Yesterday Rig decided to smile on me, and I was fortunate enough to recognize his help. We badly hurt the human carriers. If my staff’s estimates of their fighter losses are anywhere close to the mark, then I very much doubt they can exert any influence in upcoming raids until they have replenished those losses. Those losses themselves, though, tell us something very important about the League commander.” Harvik’s face hardened before he continued. “He was willing to make a cold, brutal decision to sacrifice the lives of those fighters’ crews to save his carriers so they could fight another day. Only a true leader, one who knows this was not a one-off raid but the beginning of a much longer conflict, would have made that decision.” Harvik let out a sigh as he sat back into his comfortable seat. “And that, Claviger, that prospect of a much longer conflict than the one on which we had counted, is going to influence our own future tactics.”