by Dan Decker
Once the attack was complete, the truth would go out. Joner had his hands full keeping his team in radio silence. There had been several executions in the last year of those from the fleet trying to get around the blackout order. Rend's heart went out to each of them, but he'd done nothing to stop it.
Who’s to say that the Hunwei hadn’t left spies? It seemed unlikely, but it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take. The soldiers had just wanted to know if their loved ones had survived, but order and secrecy had to be maintained.
What a mess I’m in, he thought, it isn’t even my fault. The lie had been told long before he’d ever sat in this office. His only sin was that of perpetuating it. That wouldn't matter though when the truth finally came out. He’d be just as blameworthy as Joner and Ghar Chandlir. Even once everybody knew, Rend hoped that most wouldn’t condemn him and the others involved.
He had been outraged when he’d learned the truth. How could Ghar Chandlir have been so blind to the fate of his people that he’d sent so many of their resources away when his people had needed them the most?
After Rend had calmed, he realized that Chandlir had made an impossible call and it was hard to find fault with it. If the rest of the fleet had stayed, who’s to say that they wouldn’t have been destroyed like all the others?
Rend’s first instinct had been to call the ships back, but he’d hesitated. The Hunwei had brought humanity to the brink of extinction. So many had died. His first wife, his sons, and all but one of his daughters.
Lief.
The thought that Lief was up there somewhere living his life as a slave is what kept Rend from calling off the attack. That wound would never heal.
It was unlikely that the ship that took Lief had returned to the Hunwei home world by now. Rend wasn't aware of a single Hunwei ship that could travel faster than light. While it had taken ten years for the remaining ships in the fleet to get to the Hunwei planet, it would take the Hunwei more than a thousand. It had been a mere two years since the last Hunwei ships had left and everybody but Rend had declared victory.
Faster than light travel had been his people’s one advantage and little good it had done them when the war had been entirely fought on their home world. How could a species that was so advanced in other ways lack something like that? Was it because the Hunwei could live for more than a thousand years so they just didn’t bother? What good were slaves that were lucky to live past eighty? Rend wished he knew.
He pushed the questions away. It was one of many inconsistencies with the Hunwei. There were many more questions he’d never be able to answer.
Here was Rend’s only opportunity to right this wrong. He’d never be able to find what ship his son was on or where they’d taken him, but he could ensure that any of those Hunwei ships that returned home would find their planet gone. Much the same as what they'd left to the few human survivors.
“Besides,” Rend whispered to himself. “This war isn’t over.” There had been no declaration of truce. He had a distinct feeling that the Hunwei would one day return.
“If it isn’t, why’d they leave?” Jbyte materialized as she spoke and Rend looked up from the holographic display. Her image was that of a serving girl in a tight red dress. He recognized the face but couldn’t put a name to it. An actress from before the war? The holograph bowed low, an act of respect that had been out of fashion for years.
Rend winced and wished he hadn’t. Jbyte’s sensors picked up the smallest things. She enjoyed it when she got to him. Unfortunately, if Rend ignored her, she’d do the same, and he still needed her help. For now. She was his only way of knowing what was happening with the fleet because Joner wasn’t very forthcoming and rarely answered a call.
“We’re not done until they’re all dead or they’ll haunt us forever.”
Stupid. His comment would just result in her tormenting him further. If there had been another way to continue this attack without depending on one of Deren’s cursed inventions, even if it required a lot more effort, Rend would have taken it.
Deren had never built anything that was reliable. He’d programmed that way on purpose and had called it intelligence. For Rend, Jbyte was just a terrible nuisance.
“Care to make a bet?” she asked instead of continuing the lecture she liked to give. He'd probably heard it more than thirty times during the last week alone. That had almost been enough to make him want to shut down the whole mainframe, but he couldn't do that just to spite a program. Even a particularly annoying one.
The mainframe was the last remaining hub of information. Initially, when it became apparent that humankind wasn't going to win the war against the Hunwei, the government at the time had been afraid of being sent back to the dark ages.
To ensure that didn't happen, twenty-five secret mainframes had been established throughout the world. The one hidden in the depths of the Rarbon palace was the last one remaining. In the intervening years, all the others had been destroyed. By the time they were down to the last few, too much of their technology had been lost to build anything new. It would take them years to recover everything they’d lost. It was a lucky thing that Rarbon was self-sustaining, or even the final mainframe might have been lost.
Jbyte's words were still ringing in Rend's ears. Care to make a bet? She knew Deren had been fond of those words. Her eyes narrowed, and she raised the side of her upper lip, an expression Deren had frequently worn when he’d been lost in thought.
“It’s not too late. This crime will overshadow your victory.”
Rend didn’t bother to correct her, they hadn’t won. Even Tira could see that now. When the Hunwei had left, most had celebrated. Eventually, other people began to come around to Rend's way of thinking.
“It wasn't a victory, they packed up and left.” He tried not to imagine what a baby Hunwei looked like. He looked at the clock. The attack should have begun by now.
“Get me Joner, he—” Rend stopped when he saw a flare of light coming through the open balcony doors. His office was high enough in Rarbon Palace that he could see the distant outer wall. He could just make it out. The light was outside the city wall and far enough away that he would have missed it if he hadn’t happened to be looking that direction. Had it been a missile? A bomb? Whatever it was, Rarbon's shields were continuing to hold.
It was a reminder of one more problem he still needed to deal with. He'd been ignoring Araz for too long, and the attacks were becoming more frequent. Rarbon's walls would hold a little longer. Once the Hunwei were dealt with, he could focus on Araz. Rend would sooner see the mainframe destroyed than let it fall into Araz’s hands but there wasn't much danger in that happening.
Not even the Hunwei had ever managed to get past Rarbon’s defenses for long. Araz wasn’t likely to make it past the shields anytime soon.
Perhaps it was time Rend made a trip to the outer wall to observe the enemy encampment firsthand. Tomorrow would be soon enough, once this was all over, and he had a full night of rest under his belt.
“Where’s Joner?” Rend asked.
“Not responding. If this is right, why haven’t you told your people?”
“I’ll tell them when it’s over. We have to keep our plans secure.”
“Rubbish. You know they won’t agree with you.”
Rend was saved from having to respond because Joner flashed onto the large display mounted on the wall facing his desk. Joner looked as haggard as Rend felt. Normally, he would have stopped to ask how the man was doing, but every minute they delayed was another chance for the Hunwei to realize they were under attack.
“It’s about bleeding time.” Rend approached the display. “Why haven’t you attacked yet?”
“The attack is still several hours out.” Joner didn't seem concerned by Rend’s look of alarm.
Rend struggled to keep his voice steady and had to resist gritting his teeth. “You don’t have time, Joner. Launch the Borers. The Hooneys will find you soon if they haven’t already.”
Joner shook his head. “We won’t move until we’ve completed a final analysis of the planets defenses. We have one shot at this; we need to make sure we'll succeed.”
“You're jeopardizing the plan.”
“I'll let you know when the attack commences.” Joner ended the transmission and Rend pounded the screen, enlarging a small crack that had formed before when it had received similar treatment.
“Temper, temper,” Jbyte said. “Maybe he’s having a crisis of conscience, that’s something you wouldn’t understand.”
“He’s a fool! We can put an end to the Hunwei war now.” Rend stopped before he slammed his fist into the rock wall beside the screen, he hadn’t realized he’d moved over and didn’t need a broken hand on top of everything else. He stepped out onto his balcony and looked at the city far below, he needed to clear his head.
“We can’t take the chance it’s not over.” His eyes narrowed when he noticed metallic flashes moving through the crowds far below. Would there ever be any end to the damage Deren had inflicted? It would take the rest of his life to rid the world of Deren’s mistakes.
“We’re under attack,” Jbyte said.
“Sensor’s failing? I saw the missiles earlier; it was nothing to worry about.”
“The palace has been breached.”
Rend turned. “How many? Where are they now?”
“Fifteen and they’re on the second floor. Araz’s men.”
“Why’d you let them get that far?”
“My sensors were disabled.”
“And you didn’t notice?” Rend grabbed his rifle from the closet and as an afterthought a small blaster that fit into his pocket. It wasn’t his preferred choice for a backup weapon, but it was better than nothing. Why did everything always happen at once?
Rend readied his rifle and looked at Jbyte, but Deren stood before him, frowning. Rend growled, and had taken aim before he remembered that Deren was dead. Then it was Jbyte again, smiling.
Cursed machine. “Get me General Paet.” She’d picked a bad time to taunt him.
“It’s not my fault they got in.”
Rend was having a hard time believing that. “Just get him.”
After a brief pause, Jbyte responded. “I can’t get through. Admiral Joner is blocking any attempts to communicate.”
“Try the other ships.”
“All communications are blocked.”
“Melyah take Joner! Can’t you get around it?”
“You’re the one who insisted I relinquish control of the fleet computers. Regret that yet?”
Rend didn’t answer as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his tablet and brought the holographic display to life. If she couldn’t get through, he didn’t need her any longer. He couldn’t take the risk that she was involved in the breach.
“I didn’t betray you.” Jbyte disappeared.
Rend blinked. He’d been a few steps away from imprisoning her, but hadn’t completed the process.
“Jbyte?”
No answer.
Rend brought up a status report for the mainframe server room. Once the attack had begun, the guard on the mainframe should have tripled, but instead, the display showed the room had been breached. He should have received an alert when that happened; it was just further proof of Jbyte’s instability or treachery. He didn't have time to wonder which.
“Either way, they’ve betrayed you too.” Araz’s men were targeting the hub. Was he desperate enough to destroy it?
Rend had assumed not, but maybe he was wrong. He made the adjustments necessary to lock down the mainframe but hesitated before completing the action. He was the only one that knew how to access it once it was secured.
There was no time. Araz would have known about the protective measures before penetrating the palace and would be working to disable them. So much for not being an immediate concern, he thought, something is only impossible until someone proves it can be done. Rend touched the display in the air and completed the process. He’d waited too long already. The doors forty levels below would close, the blast shields would follow, rendering them impossible to open and in minutes the oxygen would be sucked from the room, and the intruders would be dead.
When Rend looked up from his tablet, he realized that he was no longer alone. His first instinct was to raise is rifle until he recognized his guard.
“Has the palace been secured?”
They didn’t answer as they leveled their rifles at him, took him into custody, and led him out of his office.
Part Two:
Tempest of Fire
1,192 YEARS SINCE THE SEVERING
Chapter 14
As Jorad sat on a stool in the corner of the one-room guardhouse, he realized that he was glad he was in Neberan instead of Zecarani. If he'd been in Zecarani, the guards would have had a jail with a heavy locked door. The thought buoyed him up a little bit. Things could have been a lot worse; at least he had a chance of escaping this place without help.
The guardhouse had a rank smell that reminded Jorad of sweat and mildew, and he wished that the windowless holes in the walls were big enough to let in more air. The stench combined with the smoke from the fireplace made the room quite uncomfortable. Several beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead, and he could feel the moisture beginning to accumulate on his back. He frowned as he looked at the holes and had to keep from shaking his head. They were too small for him to fit through, so he’d have to use the door to make his escape.
His sword and scabbard hung on a peg near the entrance, and his stool was on the other side of the room, as far away from the door as they could put him. When Baurn had demanded that he turn over any other weapons upon arriving at the guardhouse, he had immediately given up two of his daggers but not said anything about the other two in his boots. Baurn had accepted the weapons and not looked into it further. It hadn't been long afterward when Thon, Baurn, and the other guards were relieved of duty and replaced by those on the night watch. He didn't know how long it had been since Thon and the others had rotated off duty, but he guessed they'd been gone for no more than an hour.
On their way here from the boarding house Thon had been withdrawn, but whenever he’d looked at Jorad, it was obvious to Jorad that he would be lucky to make it through the night alive. He was surprised that Thon hadn't come back yet and was expecting him to come walking through the door at any moment.
Two of the new guards had been left to keep an eye on Jorad while the others had gone to patrol the town. Jorad had bitten his tongue when the guards had gossiped about rumors of strangers in the night. Before he had left, Thon had told the new guards in detail about the fight at the Gartel boarding house. Even though it was a very one-sided account, Jorad hadn't tried to correct Thon. He didn't want to do anything that would have resulted in Thon attacking him again.
Jorad knew both of the guards that had been left to watch over him—Gorew and Lel—and they were now warming their feet by the fireplace. It was a lucky thing that the Neberan town guard was comprised of volunteers, and they couldn't afford to be picky. Of the two, Jorad figured that Lel was the weaker. He was tall, but there wasn't much to him. Jorad couldn't help but wonder how he had survived in such a rural community.
While Jorad had waited for the guards to settle down, he had considered what he might do to escape, but his thoughts had gone in circles as he dealt with his anger and frustration at the situation. Now that the guards weren’t paying close attention to him, it was time to make his move. It would be a simple matter for him to grab the daggers from his boots, but what then? He refused to entertain the idea of killing them; they were just doing their job, and even though he didn’t know either of them very well, they seemed to be decent enough. They didn’t deserve to die because of Erro’s lies.
Jorad's belly growled, and he wished that he'd eaten lunch or dinner. It was tough to formulate an escape plan on a stomach that had barely had any food in the last day. Word should have reached Adar by now of his arrest. When
it did, Adar would come to his aid and Jorad hoped to escape before that happened. Adar could sometimes be a bit heavy handed in his approach to things, and Jorad didn't want to see anybody get killed.
He was also trying to keep his thoughts off Soret, but he couldn't keep from worrying. He didn't know what more he could do to protect her from the Hunwei. Once he got out of here, Adar wouldn't be willing to wait around for him to talk to her. They'd leave immediately, perhaps without returning to the boarding house to gather their things.
He thought of Erro and found that his hands were balled into fists; he unclenched his hands and took several deep breaths. There wasn't anything he could do as long as he was here. Maybe he would get lucky and find Soret with his father. She'd been talking about convincing her parents to leave with them before Thon had interfered. He focused on this hope, thin as it was, rather than his fury at Erro. He promised himself that if he ever saw Erro again, he wasn't going to let him get away unscathed.
Gorew and Lel were passing the time by telling stories and sipping on wine. Jorad figured that this meant that they didn’t seem to regard him as a threat. Lel almost seemed to have forgotten that he was there and had been chatting on about gossip involving people that Jorad didn’t know. News of Jorad’s fight with Tere and the others must not have reached these men yet; otherwise, they would have been more cautious. So much the better for Jorad.
Gorew noticed Jorad staring at them.
“Enjoy your last evening,” Gorew said with a growl.
“Have you considered the possibility that I'm innocent?”
“You attacked Thon. Hardly the actions of an innocent man.” Gorew was shorter than Lel but about the same height as Jorad. He was a stocky fellow, but Jorad was confident he could handle the man if Lel were taken care of first.
Jorad didn't respond, and he stared at Gorew until he looked away. Jorad crossed his leg and started to pull the dagger out of his boot. His heart quickened when Gorew glanced at him again, but Gorew went back to his wine after a few moments.