Born of Sand (Tales of a Dying Star Book 5)

by Kristoph, David

  Instead of bowing reverently to her, the guard shook his head. "A star-cursed shade pops up now, of all times, with dozens of them bearing down on us..." He pointed a finger at her. "It doesn't matter now. I don't have even one man to spare, let alone five. Manning the turrets. The ships'll be here any minute."

  Kari took a deep breath. "I am a glorious shade of the Emperor. This is the completion of a years-long mission. The intelligence provided by my target, and the value on his life..."

  "Don't care about your mission." Two uniformed men ran past him in the background, shouting orders. "None of it matters now. You've wasted your time, darling."

  Darling? She bristled. "My rank gives me purview of priority. The man down here has critical information about the attack."

  "Shit on your rank. Bring him up yourself," he said, ending the comms.

  She stared at the screen. Shades were among the most revered members of the Emperor's personified will. Had the entire Empire lost its mind? She hadn't been gone that long. Kari glanced through the window at Mira, still trying to calm the prisoner. I'm going to have to do it all myself.

  On the wall hung ten wrist-clamps, perfect for what she needed. Her eyes drifted back to the terminal. The urge to send a message to her family was strong, to let them know she was okay and nearly complete. After, she decided, grabbing two wrist-clamps and tucking them into her belt. Soon she would have all the time in the world.

  She switched back over to the local gaoler functions and opened all the cells. The sound of metal groaning echoed down the hall. Kari punched in another code to lock the escape passage--which made a hollow thunk in the opposite direction--and left the gaoler's office.

  Mira still stood in the open door by the first cell, arguing with the prisoner. "We had a duty," he was pleading. "I was following orders."

  Geral rounded the corner from down the hall. Kari relaxed her body, allowing him to get close. He pointed. "Two of the pilots back there are dead. Malnourished, left alone for days, looks like. Farrow's got another pair, but they're delirious, so we may need to cuff 'em before we go."

  "This one's not right either," Mira said. "Keeps begging me..."

  Kari casually pulled out her knife and gestured toward the tunnel. "I think they know we're here. I heard the locks to the tunnel barricade clamp down."

  "Shit," Geral said. "I'll take a look."

  Geral moved to step past.

  I am the blade.

  Kari slashed across his throat. He blinked as red curtained down his neck and chest, then made a gargling noise and fell to his knees. Before he'd hit the ground, Kari jumped to Mira, who still crouched at the cell bars. With her free hand Kari ripped Mira's rifle off her shoulder and pressed an ejection button on the side. The power clip clattered to the floor.

  The yank of the strap pulled Mira to her feet. Kari wrapped her left arm around Mira's neck and pulled her close to breathe into her ear. "You will not die today. Just don't interfere. Nod if you understand."

  Kari couldn't see her face, but the woman's head bobbed up and down.

  Keeping the knife at her throat, Kari pulled the pistol from Mira's belt and ejected its power clip too, tossing them to the floor. She pulled one of the wrist clamps from her belt just as she heard footsteps around the corner. "Not a sound," she whispered to Mira before throwing her into the empty second cell.

  "Farrow?" Kari asked, stepping up to the hallway corner.

  "We need something to bind them," he said, just around the edge. "To be safe. I don't know if they..."

  He rounded the corner. Kari lunged.

  She pivoted on her bad leg to bring her right foot down on Farrow's knee, buckling him instantly. He moved his rifle with instinct, but she had grabbed the barrel and pushed it toward the ceiling. Two blasts fired off. Jets of heat shot out of the barrel's ventilation holes, searing her hand. She pulled back with a scream while punching the side of his head with her knife hand. He recoiled from the blow and let go of the gun enough for her to slash the strap. The gun fell to the floor. A boot to his back knocked him the rest of the way down.

  The motion had brought her forward, at the intersection of the two halls. The prisoners Farrow had brought stood a short distance away, ragged and pathetic. Kari pulled her pistol. They raised their arms to surrender but she was already firing, bursts of two, striking flesh and stone and metal. The two prisoners collapsed to the ground.

  With them down, Kari fell onto the dazed Farrow and planted the pistol against the back of his head.

  He realized who it was. "Kari... what..." He turned and tried to blink away his confusion.

  With one hand she pulled both of his arms back and fastened the wrist clamps around them with a snap. She tightened the metal wire between the two until Farrow groaned with pain.

  "I didn't know..." said the prisoner in the first cell. Through the bars Kari saw Mira huddled in the second, back to the wall, weeping quietly while staring at Geral's twitching body.

  "Everyone listen to me," Kari commanded. "We're going to take the lift to the surface, where you'll be turned over to the peacekeepers."

  Farrow twisted to look up at her. "Kari? Why are you doing this?"

  "I want you both alive," she said, "so let's keep it nice and peaceful. No sudden movements."

  Anger flared in his eyes. "Do you expect them to forgive how many you've killed? A shitting Praetari assassin, her shitting slate suddenly wiped shitting clean? Kari, don't do this!"

  With a sigh of finality, Kari said, "I expect them to let me leave this terrible planet."

  Not trusting enough to leave him out there, Kari pulled Farrow to his feet and led him into the office. She reinitiated comms to the palace guard station. He didn't accept the transmission, so she pressed to button to leave a recorded message. "This is glorious shade Sandrakari. I am bringing two prisoners up the lift. Do not shoot us when we come."

  Farrow stared at her. The widening in his eyes, the understanding and shock and despair, was nearly enough to make Kari regret it all.

  With a pistol to his head, she forced Farrow back into the hallway. His gaze fell onto Geral's body and stayed there.

  Kari nodded toward Mira. "You're going to come with us. I'm letting you live, so take the gift for what it is. Do you still understand?" Mira indicated that she did. She got to her feet and took a tentative step forward.

  "I didn't know," said the prisoner in the cell. "How could I have known Alard was the Admiral's son?"

  Everything stopped.

  "What did you say?" Kari asked.

  "He had a gun," he mumbled, still curled in a protective ball. "I had to shoot him. It was self defense."

  Kari felt a tingling in her skin and face, her senses going numb. She shoved Farrow into the second cell then limped into the first. "Who had a gun?"

  "My co-pilot. He aimed it at me. No choice..."

  She knelt. "Who? Say his name again."

  The prisoner looked all around, unwilling to meet her eyes. "My name is Hyken..."

  She grabbed his collar and shook. "His name, not yours!"

  "My co-pilot. Alard."

  Alard.

  A chill went up Kari's spine. No. Alard isn't on Praetar, he's on his first tour, probably defending the Exodus Fleet with father. "Liar."

  The ground and walls suddenly trembled. Dust rained down from the ceiling. An explosion above, followed by a smaller one. The attack was beginning, whatever it was.

  "I had to shoot him," Hyken said. "He was a traitor, one of the Children of Saria."

  Kari didn't remember unsheathing her knife, but it was in her hand and pressing against the prisoner's throat. "Liar! My brother wasn't a traitor, he was as innocent as they come. And he's not on Praetar. He's a pilot, specializing in low gravity flight."

  A droplet of red ran down Hyken's neck. He rolled his eyes to try to look as the ground shuddered again. "Stationed in orbit over Praetar, enforcing the planetary blockade. Shooting down the freighters trying to escape. He saw the
dead bodies and disobeyed our orders..."

  In the next cell, Mira gasped. "Shooting down the freighters...?"

  "Where is he?" Kari asked.

  "I told you. I shot him!" He moaned. "Ohh, I didn't want to. I didn't. Had no choice, a traitor..."

  Kari shook him, careless that his head smashed into the stone floor behind. "Stop lying. Stop lying. My brother was not a traitor."

  "...reported him, but they didn't come in time..."

  "Don't fucking say that!" She felt blind with rage, a fire roaring in her stomach and chest. He was wrong. Alard was the most innocent of them all, more than Sandrakari or Pavani or Beth. The best of us. She put the knife away and pushed the pistol against Hyken's temple. "Tell me my brother's okay."

  Hyken trembled beneath her. "Your... your brother? You're the daughter of Admiral Acteon?"

  "Tell me he's fine. Tell me my brother is alive."

  Farrow made a sound in the next cell. She stole a glance over. He sat on the floor, dumbstruck.

  Mira stood, both hands covering her mouth. "The freighters..."

  Kari shoved Hyken with the pistol. "Tell me!" The fire within her roared higher, flickering against her throat. Her finger tightened on the trigger, ready to silence him if he spoke another lie.

  Hyken's mouth opened. "I killed him."

  A pistol rang out, but it was not Kari's.

  The furnace within her chest flickered and spread, now on the outside, running down the skin of her back. Pain accompanied it, dull but insistent. She lowered her gun as the sensation spread. I've been shot. She twisted around.

  Mira stood in the hall over Geral's body, a pistol in her hand. "I... didn't hesitate," Mira said, arms trembling violently. "You taught me not to hesitate."

  Kari's leg gave out. She fell, smashing her temple against the cold floor. Streaks of light ran across her vision.

  "I killed him," murmured Hyken a few feet away. "I was supposed to help him, and I killed him instead."

  Farrow left his cell and ran to Mira. "Untie me. Get the key."

  Mira dropped the pistol as her trembling intensified.

  "Mira, get the key. It's in the office. We need to go."

  She stumbled away.

  The leader of the Freemen swung his eyes into the cell. Kari met his gaze. Years of emotion passed between them. Camaraderie and lust, struggle and trust. And now betrayal. Accusal. I just want to go home.

  Mira returned a moment later, a scanning device in her hand. She aimed and Farrow's wrist clamps fell to the floor. "What did he mean, planetary blockade..."

  Farrow waved off her question and looked at the ceiling, where the pulse of heavy laserfire sounded. "Those are anti-aircraft guns. Big. Did Hob attack early? Are those our Freemen?"

  Kari laid sideways on the ground. Stop. I have to take you upstairs, she tried to say, but no words came out. I have to turn you in. Once I do, I can go home. Just then it felt right to lay on the ground, not moving. Resting. Though she could feel something wet soaking her clothes.

  Hyken came into view. "I just want to go home," he said.

  "Me too," Kari muttered.

  He looked down at her with pity.

  Farrow grabbed Hyken's arm. "We'll sort you out later. Come on. We need to leave." He allowed himself to be pulled along.

  Through the adjacent window, Kari could see Farrow's shape in the gaoler's office, hunched over the computer terminal. Several new screens flickered on the wall, showing views from exterior security cameras. After a moment he disappeared, feet echoing down the hallway. Mira stood at the corner, watching Kari, tears running down her face. Then she was gone too.

  They're going upstairs. Where they're supposed to go. Whatever raid was occurring on the palace couldn't have been strong. The peacekeepers would see Farrow and capture him. She'd completed her mission. And she'd saved someone, too. Mira.

  "I just want to go home," she whispered to the floor.

  She could see the rows of screens on the wall in the gaoler's office. One showed a view of the sky, with green lasers streaking upward. A ship appeared, long and massive, impossibly huge in the sky. The camera zoomed in on the hull until words came into view. Printed in large, blocky letters.

  Olitau.

  My father's ship, Kari thought with a smile. The flagship of the Exodus Fleet. Part of her knew it couldn't be real. That the ship was escorting the Fleet to the Tyran system at that moment, that there was no way the ship would have stopped in orbit above Praetar. She didn't let that part of her mind win. My mission is complete, and my father has come for me.

  The thought felt better than the truth.

  It was cold on the floor. She curled up, knowing she had completed her mission. That extraction had come. Her father was the Admiral, and wouldn't leave his daughter to die alone on a foreign planet.

  Take me home, father. I'm ready to go home.

  She closed her eyes and went there.

  Epilogue

  Farrow, Mira, and the rescued prisoner crammed into the lift at the end of the hallway as another explosion rocked the Governor's Palace. He selected the ground floor from a list of destinations and smashed the enter button with a fist.

  The lift shuddered and began to climb.

  It was wrong, all shitting wrong. Hob shouldn't have attacked for another day, when they had time to bring the pilots back. They only had one, and he still mumbled and pleaded, but that would still be a great victory. Another Riverhawk providing air support, worth fifty men on the ground. At the very least he would have kept the Melisao aircraft busy. As things stood, Hob was the only one at Victory Base who would fly.

  As if to underscore the thought, the muted sound of aircraft passed somewhere above, followed by the low booms of explosions. A second pass occurred a moment later, without the blasts. Hob, chased by peacekeepers?

  He should have waited. It would all go to waste now, all their planning and preparation. Hopefully we can win without the extra aircraft.

  "Do you know what you're doing?" Mira asked.

  "I don't know shit." It was the truth, more or less. If they could get to the ground floor they might be able to escape somewhere in all the chaos. He hoped there would be chaos, since there weren't any guards down in the cells and an obvious battle above.

  Unless there weren't any guards because it was all a trap. A trap set by her.

  His pulse raced at the thought, his hands trembling.

  It would have been ridiculous an hour before. He'd seen Kari kill dozens of men with a ruthlessness and fervor beyond sanity. Even the occasional Melisao. And apparently it had all been a mask, designed to fool them all. Designed to fool me. And fool him it had.

  She was a shitting shade the whole shitting time.

  He pushed the thoughts aside, because if he focused on them too long he would surely falter. All they could do was travel to the surface and hope for the best. She was probably the one to lock the tunnel, too, forcing us this way.

  No. Not now. Later. Three deep breaths and the calm returned, and he gripped it like a vice.

  He eyed their prisoner again. He was due for execution in a few days, so his loyalty to the other Melisao couldn't have been high, but his sanity... he continued mumbling and looking around the lift car with wild eyes, as if not believing what he saw. It might have been better to just leave him behind, to not take the risk at all.

  And he might be crucial, no matter how lost his mind. If fighting in the city drew into a prolonged battle, then getting back to Victory Base and throwing another Riverhawk in the sky was worth the chance. Even if he did nothing but fly erratically and distract the peacekeepers it would be worth his life.

  Mira began weeping, silent at first but devolving into rapid wheezing. When Farrow met her eyes she said, "Did she... did I..."

  "No," he said. "Not now."

  "But I killed--"

  "Later." He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing with just enough force to jolt some sense into her. "Focus. A time for cunning now, a tim
e for tears later."

  "Blockade," she said. "That's what Hyken claimed he enforced, shooting down freighters."

  Hyken cowered at hearing his name.

  Farrow sighed. "There will be a time to discuss that later as well." And a time to repent for the lies I've told.

  She nodded. Moisture continued welling in her eyes nonetheless.

  The lift car made a banging noise and rocked to a stop. The car doors began opening, and a split second later the outer doors as well. Farrow readied his rifle. "Follow my lead. Our goal is to escape, not attack, so no stray shots if we can help it."

  A wide room opened before them, with a glass ceiling a hundred feet overhead. Half the panes on the wall and roof had shattered, making the room look like a crystal minefield. Farrow knew it as the palace entrance hall, though he'd only ever seen it from the outside.

  It was also empty.

  Eighty feet away, outside the massive entrance doors, two roof-mounted laser turrets raked at the morning sky from the guard station. Hob must still be alive, he thought. Distant explosions sounded, though he couldn't make out which direction. They'll be attacking from the desert, to the north and to the south. If they stuck with the coordination of the plan, if not the timing.

  "This way," Farrow said, leading them away from the entrance, along the side of the room, hugging an interior wall made of shiny metal and decorated with oil paintings. Paintings displaying scenes of the Melisao victory over the Praetari monarchy years ago. He resisted the urge to rip them down, fire a salvo across the canvas and watch the paint surface burn and sizzle away. Soon enough, if we can return in time.

  They reached the side of the room, where a window on the outer wall had blown open. He used his rifle to clear away the extra shards before stepping up and over. The others followed a few steps behind, huddling to the ground next to him.

  They were in a side street adjacent to the main plaza, from where the guard turrets continued shooting at the twilight sky. He could hear the aircraft more clearly then, but kept his eyes on the ground. An alley, twenty feet away. They'd need to run through the open to reach it. He made eye contact with all the others to ensure they knew the plan, then grabbed the crazy prisoner--Hyken--and sprinted across the rough street.