Rise of the Defiant: Book Two of the Warpmancer Series

by Nicholas Woode-Smith

Galis – now that was another thing that was dead. Never would Danny ever see his home and empire again. It was gone, forever.

  Danny’s silent pondering was interrupted by the mechanical sliding of the door behind him. He turned to see a familiar face. The lady who stood in the doorway was curvaceous, yet muscular. She was tall and broad of shoulder. There was power in this woman. A sense of presence. She looked to be middle aged, but even in his youth, Danny doubted that he could take her in a fight. Fair or not.

  Big Momma was the current top agent of the Aegis intelligence corps. She was charismatic, friendly, cheerful and ruthless. Many things were uncertain in this world, but Danny knew that if one thing was certain – it was that messing with Big Momma seldom worked out in your favour.

  ‘Don, you’ve been sulking up here for hours. You may not be up for it, but you must goddamn pretend that you are. You are an Aegis agent now. That means faking enthusiasm.’

  Don – it was a title Danny had held back in Galis. Don Marzio – boss of the largest racketeering organization in Red Sand. That was no mean feat. Before the Xank invasion and Imperial blighting, Danny had been at the top of the food chain. Trooper governors ate out of his hand.

  Now, he was merely an agent-in-training. Well, it was a start.

  ‘Just watching the traffic,’ Danny forced a grin, ‘who could think there could be traffic jams in space? I know that the Athena sure ain’t helping.’

  Big Momma smiled, but Danny knew that she had seen through the cheap ruse.

  ‘Traffic jam or not, you need to make an appearance to at least this dinner. You’re leaving this evening. It would be impolite to just leave your cousin and friends without saying proper goodbyes,’

  Danny shook his head for no real reason. ‘I know, Big Momma, I know.’

  He paused and spoke again. ‘It’s kinda unreal, isn’t it?’

  ‘What is?’

  ‘Space. Well, us in space. Who could think that above the ground, our ground, there is a landless world of nothingness yet containing so much? Who could think that we could get there, travel there and live there. Sure, scientists have answers, but I’m no scholar. I only ask, how do we control nothingness?’

  Big Momma shrugged. ‘Void if I know. I’ve been space faring since I was a girl. Living on one planet for your entire life, that is what I can’t understand. Regardless, you are trying to distract me and I will have none of that. Come to dinner.’

  ‘Yes, yes I should go.’

  Big Momma left and Danny soon followed, but not before staring one last time on the icy globe of Nova Zarxa. A planet which he had been commanded, only a day before, to conquer.

  

  Boris had moisture in his eyes, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He took Danny in a hug reminiscent of a Mozar stampede.

  ‘We must stay in contact this time. Not like in Red Sand. You will call, right?’

  ‘There’s no Teeth of Storms to stop me this time. We’ll talk.’ Danny said it, but he didn’t mean it. He liked his cousin, but maintaining relations was just not in his nature. He would talk, but it would have to be Boris’ move. That was just who Danny was. He did not mind relationships, just the act of maintaining them.

  After finally being released from the crushing vise grip of Boris’ seemingly titanium arms, Danny moved onto the next one of his companions.

  Krena was not someone he knew well, as much as he wanted to. If he was to have a type, it would probably be Krena. The Don was used to a sea of floozies and pretty dames literally paid to like him. Krena, on the other hand, was independent, tough and gorgeous. She was a dark blonde with shoulder length hair. Her skin was pale, showing her southern hemisphere heritage. Danny had never seen her with less than her cult armour on, but predicted that her body was both supple and well-muscled.

  Danny gave her a long and intense look – even if a bit creepy – before giving her a nod of respect. She nodded back. Then he moved onto the last of his companions.

  Viper, even if pale, seemed a dark figure. He stood taller than Danny and in contrast to Danny’s tanned skin, looked to have the complexion of snow. His eyes were slanted and his dark hair was kept gelled into spikes. Viper was the quiet sniper and assassin of what once was the Grooks. A small, yet respected gang run by Boris. He was a man of few words, but strong principles. Danny had previously thought him sociopathic, but now thought differently. Viper was a decent killer, but he had integrity and an intense loyalty to both his friends and ideals. Danny was proud to call him friend.

  They both shared a nod of understanding before Danny moved off. They had all been standing in a welcoming area outside the departure zone of the small hangar. Danny knew that before he left, he would have one final person to meet.

  Ignoring Boris’ quite inappropriate weeping, Danny advanced through the wide metal frame towards the departure zone. He heard a metal thunk as the gate shut. There was no sound after that but that of his breathing. It struck Danny now that it may very well be a very long time before he saw his companions again. He was feeling a tad bit of regret.

  At the end of the tunnel of silence, Danny came to another mechanical doorway. This one was labelled ‘Departures’ in large red lettering. It opened automatically to reveal a large hangar area. Side by side, beside a small spaceship of which design Danny did not know, was the CEO of Aegis and his agent, Big Momma.

  Now that Danny thought about it, Quentin Wivern was now his boss. It felt somewhat odd having someone giving you orders. Even back in Titan City, while a member of Boris’ gang, Danny had still held a position of authority and influence over his cousin. He didn’t feel that he would be able to extend the same effect over the CEO of one of the largest human owned corporations in the galaxy. Quentin was a tall, gangly fellow with dark hair and a dark complexion. He seemed to be well-tanned but Danny doubted that it was from labouring in the outdoors. Technology did exist which could replicate a natural tan. Danny’s complexion was much more genuine.

  The CEO grinned as he approached. Usually boisterous, it was odd to see Big Momma to his side looking sullen.

  ‘Agent Marzio, I must say again how glad I am to have you on the team. Big Momma here is the best in human space, but she can’t be everywhere at once.’

  ‘It’s an honour, Mr Wivern. I have my orders and will report back in the discussed manner.’

  Quentin nodded and then indicated for Danny to enter the shuttle.

  ‘This pod will take you to the public starport. It is preprogramed, so don’t worry about flying it.’

  He fiddled with a few buttons and the door to the shuttle opened. Danny entered, but before the door closed, was stopped by the CEO, who was still smiling, good-naturedly.

  ‘I should not have to mention what will happen to you if you betray us – right, Don?’

  Danny nodded.

  ‘Good, good. I trust you will be able to independently solve this little issue of ours quickly. Farewell.’

  After the door to the shuttle closed with a metallic clang and click, Danny could not help but snort in bemusement. This was anything but a little issue.

  “Shadows are everywhere. So, if one wants to see everything, hear everything, and know everything – they must become a shadow.” – Rev Deakas, Spymaster of the Trooper Order, 3540

  Chapter 4. Underworld

  The trip to the surface was quick and quiet. The pod sailed smoothly through the air once past the atmosphere. Even the landing was calm as the pod was caught by an electromagnetic arm. The starport in Galis never had something like that. Upon exiting the pod, Danny realised that the hive which was the Nexus starport was anything but Galis. When the Galisian starport was more akin to a scrapyard with landing pads, this was more like an insect hive. Ships ranging from small to gargantuan came whizzing through every second, making Danny dizzy and disorientated.

  Danny shook himself from his daze and turned towards the exit. Aegis had setup all the necessary paperwork he would need to get through security with ease. As he appr
oached the security guard, a Trooper with a black shield badge signifying his role, a flash of his paperwork let him pass. He was in.

  Danny became more and more convinced that Nexus was an insect hive. Holes dotted hundreds of buildings, and that was only what he could see from the window. According to his locator device, he was currently in an area called a transit – a building given the sole purpose of a hallway.

  He knew where he would have to go and he was looking forward to it. Darkness was an element Danny was familiar with and he knew that this part of his mission would be relaxed, if not enjoyable. So, Danny searched his locator and then selected his destination. He set off for the slums.

  

  Finding the slums had been harder than Danny had previously thought. Unlike Titan and Galis, there were no overt shacks or tenements to mark the residences of the poor but rather a change in business practices. Due to the dangers of the outside environment, buildings on Nova Zarxa were subject to strict regulations. As such, even the poorest area still looked somewhat luxurious and sophisticated.

  The area which Danny now stood was like every area within this silver shimmering hive. Both floor and walls shone metallic silver and bright white lights trailed along the roof. Danny was sure that this area was the slums, however. His first clue was the lack of any visible Trooper patrols or any corporate presence. His second was the fact that he was propositioned by several prostitutes at least three times upon entering the structure.

  The geradite which was used to construct most of the buildings across Nexus did not rust or need painting, so there were very few signs of degradation. Instead, Danny had to look at the actions of the people. Mostly humans lived in this area, but Danny did see quite a few Grays. What both races had in common were that they looked on edge. This was not an area to feel safe. If Big Momma’s debriefing was anything to go by, Danny would also feel quite unsafe if he was not allowed to carry a gun. Luckily, Aegis did carry enough influence to give him permission to carry a sidearm. He was still not allowed to show it.

  ‘What type of society bans owning guns?’ Danny had said to Big Momma, ‘do they want everything to descend into chaos?’

  Big Momma had just laughed and replied, ‘I agree with you, but many don’t. That license will let you through most guard points, but don’t go around waving the thing.’

  Danny stood at the edge of the starting line. He could say that his mission had started upon receiving it on the Athena, but had not actually accomplished anything yet. Now he was going to attempt the first milestone of his task.

  To his left, he noticed an almost familiar sight. Flanked by a heavyset man wearing a tight leather jacket and a much thinner man smoking a cigarette was a red neon sign which read: Club Phoenix.

  If there ever was a place to find information, it was a tavern and from the sounds of raucous merry making, this was such an establishment.

  The bouncer with the leather jacket only gave him a sideways glance as Danny entered. Aegis had made sure to outfit him in the common fashion of the city so to avoid suspicion and it seemed that it worked. Only his olive skin drew any sorts of looks.

  The tavern was a lot more spacious than what it seemed on the outside. It was partitioned into various sections, with two central areas - a bar and a dance platform; very different from Galis. What was the most different, however, was the blaring music. It had no lyrics or contained any instruments that Danny recognized.

  Danny could not help but cover his ears as he approached the bar. He had to wade through a veritable sea of dancers who had no concept of personal space. One guy bumped into him and saw him covering his ears.

  ‘You don’t like Squogg Punktron?’ the dancer shouted over the music, still doing an odd dance as he nodded his head up and down and waved his arms.

  Danny shook his head.

  ‘Try the lounge,’ he shouted again, pointing towards a doorway at the end of the hall.

  Danny nodded in gratitude and waded through the ocean of cacophony.

  Upon exiting the crowd and entering the lounge, Danny could not help but feel a profound sense of relief by the fact that no music permeated through the seemingly open doorway. Only the quiet chatter of people in a variety of seats could be heard. Much more pleasant compared to ‘Squogg Punktron’.

  A bar took up the centre of the room and that is where Danny went first. He had a mission to accomplish and the sooner he started, the sooner he could get it done.

  Taking a seat at the bar, he ordered the first thing the bartender offered – a luminescent blue drink - and then waited. Danny had always been a reasonable judge of character and it was not long until a man bearing the desired character took a seat next to him. The man wore a yellow jacket with pads on the front and shoulders. He kept a thin goatee and short spiky hair. What interested Danny the most, however, was that he had slanted eyes like Viper.

  ‘There are two gangs of interest in Nexus,’ Big Momma had said, ‘the Ganru and Berrin. The former will be the easiest to recognize. Viper’s kin are a rare breed and it is even rarer to find one this far from Sekai who is not a member of the Ganru.’

  The man took a seat and Danny waited a little bit before turning to him and introducing himself.

  ‘Howdy, partner.’

  ‘What?’ the man immediately replied, a look of unenthusiastic bafflement on his face.

  Danny inwardly swore at himself and tried again.

  ‘Mick Spinner,’ he put his hand before him to shake. He received none in return.

  ‘My name is none of your damn business, black-shirt. Shove off!’

  ‘Is that anyway to greet the man who is going to pay for your drink?’

  Like magic, the man’s expression changed and he shook Danny’s hand.

  ‘Tenigawa Ruma.’

  ‘Well, Mr Ruma…’

  ‘No, Ruma is my first name, Tenigawa is my surname.’

  Well then you should have said that in the first place, Danny wanted to say. Instead he smiled.

  ‘Of course; so, Mr Tenigawa, I find myself in this establishment and city with honestly very little knowledge of how I could make a living. Captain of my crew went broke and dumped us all here, you see. Anything you’d suggest I do?’

  Tenigawa took a sip from his drink and then answered. ‘What sort of ship you on? What you do on it?’

  ‘You could call it a merchant vessel, of sorts. I…well, I was a specialist in let’s just say acquiring goods and information.’

  Tenigawa immediately turned away from Danny. ‘No jobs for you. Corporate monopoly. Sorry, I better be going.’

  Danny inwardly swore but feigned a polite nod. The man was obviously skittish – not something Danny was used to from a gangster. Well, Zona Nox had been a planet run by gangs.

  A fluke, Danny wanted to think, but the way the patrons stared at him made him doubt that. Something was going on; something which put fear into murderers and thieves alike.

  

  Danny had visited around five taverns, supposedly called clubs, before the waning of the sun. While the built-up areas lacked natural light, the walkways connecting them were mostly glass.

  His luck in each club was the same every time. Either he spotted no one of interest, or whoever he tried to converse with snubbed him and disappeared.

  From these many transits, Danny could look out onto the tundra and down onto the crystals which gave Nova Zarxa its wealth. From here, he was also capable of telling the approximate time (as the public clocks sure didn’t help). It was probably the tenth time he had crossed a walkway like this today and he could not help but notice the dark cloudy skies grow ever darker. Night had arrived and Danny could feel his weariness catching up with him.

  Finding accommodation was easy. Entire skyscrapers were devoted to hotels and rentable apartments, after all. Danny had a high budget, but he did not want to draw too much attention. He would search for modest accommodation, and thus he went to the modest hotel district.

  As he walked throu
gh the ‘Blue Guest District’ he noticed as the lights on the walls and ceilings began to wane.

  A computer or admin team must oversee controlling internal lighting, Danny mused, keeps away the fever.

  Many of the doorways that he passed possessed a screen with the same words, ‘Apologies, we are booked out. Sorry for the inconvenience,’ in a multitude of languages.

  Danny had not dwelled on it earlier, but now the fact that Nova Zarxa was playing home to a tide of refugees truly struck. He passed a line of stalls selling goods with one customer arguing with the merchant.

  ‘What in the void is this?’

  ‘Credits, it’s credits…’

  The man held a hand full of green notes – Galisian notes.

  ‘I’ve been a merchant my whole life and have never seen this. Go scam someone else, counterfeiter!’

  The man from Galis retreated like a beaten dog, bumping into Danny and apologizing hastily. As he collided, the man looked up.

  As his third or fourth ‘Sorry’ left his lips, he recognized Danny’s face.

  ‘Do...Don Marzio? Is that you?’

  Danny winced, he had not accounted for this. ‘You must have me mistaken with someone else.’

  The Galisian looked away, disappointment almost palpable. ‘Oh, you look quite like him.’

  He began walking away. ‘He might’ve been a criminal, but he did us good. We had something then in Galis, now I have nothing…’

  Danny stopped him before he could get any further. He shoved 500 credits worth of Aegis bonds into his hand and then beat a hasty retreat.

  Danny could not see the man’s expression, but he knew that he had a tear in his eye.

  

  It was around half an hour later (by Danny’s estimation, as the clocks were insane) when he found a hotel with vacancies. He booked a single bedroom at the back. It was a bit too expensive for his liking, but a bed was a bed.