War in the Fringe - Chris J Pike
Page 53
Alice sounded more than a little worried, and Grayson left her to her work as the handmaiden led him into a large dining room. There were guards standing at all four corners armed with rifles slung from their shoulders, their right hands clasping the hilts of their sheathed swords.
At the long banquet table, Mei already sat with her hands folded into her lap. Her intelligent eyes held a simmering fury as they followed Grayson’s movements into the room.
He bowed, though not deeply, only going through the motions to appease her. The handmaiden walked toward the empress, her feet shuffling now that she was in the room with Mei. She poured a cup of tea for the empress and placed a bowl of sugar on the table. Only then did Mei gesture to the chair on the opposite side of the table.
“Sit, and we shall continue our negotiations.”
“I’ll stand, if it’s all the same, until Commander Maureen joins us.”
Mei’s face twitched and hardened as her chin lifted. “She is unnecessary. Her presence would be redundant.”
Grayson drew a deep breath. “Until I see the commander, the negotiations are off.”
The empress’s nose flared, and her eyes widened. “I’ve never been spoken to so. If you were from Battia….”
“I’m not. If you could please have the commander brought to the dining room, I’d appreciate it, Empress Mei.”
The handmaiden returned to the table with a plate of biscuits, but Mei waved her off impatiently. The old woman scampered away, her hands shaking.
“You leave me no choice.” The empress rose from her seat, her thick and luscious robes brushing the floor in a way that made her appear to hover. She walked to Grayson and tucked her hands into the sleeves of her robes.
He braced himself for whatever it was Mei was about to tell him.
A moment later, a door on his left opened, and Maureen was tossed inside. She hit the ground with a dull thud and slid like nothing more than a rag doll.
Grayson rushed to her side and bent over, checking for a pulse. It was present, but weak. He rolled her over to see that her face was bruised, and her mouth was bleeding from where teeth had been removed.
Cosmetic, he thought. It was nothing that the facilities on the Polis Fury couldn’t fix, but it still infuriated him.
Maureen expelled a breath and gazed up at him with dull eyes. “I didn’t…anything….”
Grayson stood up, fists clenched at his sides as he faced the empress. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“She had a weapon. She attacked one of our guards. We had to show her and Silstrand what happens to people who break our rules.”
“He came from my closet…he attacked me first,” Maureen wheezed, and then her eyes closed tightly as a wracking cough tore through her.
It was all Grayson had to hear to be spurred on. While the empress might’ve thought he was speechless, he contacted the Polis Fury.
Grayson took a step forward, looming over the empress, who shrugged as though nothing of consequence had occurred.
“You’ll see why we can’t sign a treaty with those who don’t abide by our laws,” she sniffed.
“What law did she break?” he asked, trying to buy time before the strikes rained down.
“She looked into my eyes,” the empress said without emotion. “It is death for a woman to look into my eyes.”
“And me?” Grayson wished his glare alone could kill the empress, but he knew that if he took one step closer, the four guards in the room would fire the rifles they were now aiming at him.
A sinister smile slide onto the empress’s lips. “You have spirit; you speak like a real man, not a simpering worm. Perhaps with your seed, I will finally bear a son.”
Mei raised her eyebrows and gave Grayson an approving look that made him feel like a slab of meat. “Your virility makes you much more appealing than most male partners, Colonel Grayson. I will have you moved to my chambers so that we can begin.”
Over my dead body. He tried not to shudder. “This is your last warning, Empress. Sign the treaty and allow me and the commander to leave, or this will be your last night on that sparkly throne of yours.”
The empress didn’t reply, and the pair stared at one another, until suddenly, an explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet, and the empress’s eyes widened.
The empress was yelling something at her guards—one of whom was standing at the window, staring outside.
Alice announced.
Seconds later, another blast shook the ground, this one louder and more violent.
“No!” the empress cried out.
“Too late, Mei. It’s over. You’re about to see your palace fall. Surrender now and end this.”
Empress Mei stared at Grayson with wide eyes, then laughed maniacally. “This city has stood for a thousand years! It’ll never fall. My family line will always rule within these walls. You and your Silstrand Alliance won’t put an end to that, I’ll see to it.”
She motioned to her guards, and they approached Grayson, weapons leveled at his chest.
“Make no mistake.” His voice was stern. “Those of you who stand with the empress will fall with her. Those who put down their weapons may have a better future; one where you aren’t controlled and brainwashed to follow an elite and corrupt tyrant.”
“Tyrant?” Mei whispered venomously. “Tyrant!”
A silver-tipped hairstick suddenly appeared in her hand, darting out from the sleeve of her robe. With a scream, the empress charged Grayson, but he easily caught her wrist and flipped her over onto her back.
She groaned and grabbed her head as Grayson bent over her.
“I’m afraid, Your Royal Highness, that you’re under arrest.”
Mei sneered up at him as a black figure leapt from high above in the rafters.
Grayson turned just in time to receive a blow to the head and then a pulse blast to the chest that sent him sliding back.
“Take him to my quarters. I still want to play with him,” the empress said as her guards helped her up.
Grayson rose to one knee, struggling to stand as the guards rushed him.
Rather than fight, he decided to bide his time and go with them. His only worry was Maureen, still lying defenseless—and apparently forgotten—on the floor. He feared what might happen to her if she was left alone with Mei—a ruthless coward, if ever he saw one.
As he was pushed out the door, he turned and saw the old handmaiden standing with her back pressed against the wall.
“Take care of Maureen,” he begged her. “She’s de
fenseless as a child right now. Please.” Grayson didn’t know if the frightened woman would listen to him, but it was all the time he had before he was pushed out into the corridor.
One of the guards shoved his weapon into Grayson’s back, and he continued along without complaint.
Alice crowed with delight.
His HUD lit up with the squad’s positions, and he saw that one would reach his passageway before long.
“You might want to check further down the corridor,” Grayson suggested to the guards surrounding him. “My troops will be here momentarily, and I’d really like them not to blow off my head.”
The guards at the front of the line exchanged worried glances, and their movements slowed. Seconds later, a door down the hall exploded, and figures rushed into the corridor, shots lancing out through the smoke.
Grayson dropped and grabbed the rifle from one of the fallen Battians, rolled behind him for cover, and fired on one of the guards who was aiming at him. The weapon barked in his hand, and the guard’s head exploded.
Grayson rose and brushed himself off. “Took you long enough, Sergeant.”
“Got here as soon as we could, Colonel.”
“Status?”
“Platoon two is securing the entrance. Three is hitting the power plant to shut down the shields. Four is hitting their barracks. The rest of one is spread out in here looking for you and the empress.”
“Then follow me,” Grayson said. “We need her removed from the palace, plus Commander Maureen needs immediate medical attention.” Then, to Alice,
While one fireteam checked over the fallen guards, the others followed Grayson back into the dining room.
A weight fell off him as he saw that Maureen was still there, appearing undisturbed and still breathing.
Of Mei and her handmaiden, however, there was no sign.
Nothing’s ever easy, is it?
FAMILY SQUABBLE
STELLAR DATE: 12.21.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: The Hyperion Hotel, New Roma, Dante
REGION: Dante Velorum System, Fringe
Dammit! It’s her. My sister.
As soon as he looked into her eyes, Paul was transported to the last time he had seen Kylie in the old family homestead. Peter and the brothers had been spending more time traveling the stars, but they always came back home to life on their homeworld.
A simple place, where everyone had been happy. Everything there had been easier then.
Married and on his own, Paul had gotten the message he feared the most.
Kylie was leaving.
He’d raced over from the cottage Janice had helped to make their own. He didn’t bother to knock as he flung the door open and ran inside.
“Kylie!” he hollered. He had so many questions and wanted to know if Father was right.
Could Kylie really be leaving them?
She stepped out of her bedroom, eyes bright, cheeks glossy. Only eighteen years old, but with enough spirit for a hundred, her brown hair was cut short to her shoulders. In a simple dress made for a simple farmgirl, she held a leather suitcase in one hand. Sticking out of the front flap of the backpack clutched in her other hand, Paul could see a stuffed, old, ratty, pink pig.
Such a child to be making such a life-altering decision.
“So, it is true?” Paul said, trying to shake the feeling that there wasn’t enough air in the room.
“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” Kylie tried to walk past him, but he stepped in front of her.
“Why?” he begged, and his heart cried. “Why would you leave the family to join Silstrand’s military? Of all the god-forsaken things for you to join….”
“You’re too much like Father. You’ll never understand.” Kylie shook her head, looking like a petulant child.
“You know what they’ll make you do? Military-grade nano, maybe an AI; you might as well kick Father on your way out.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Paul! I’m not going to do those things. I’m going to the academy to become a pilot and get to travel, to see the stars. Do my own thing for a while. It’s not like I’ve changed.”
Paul nodded, knowing that to be true. “I can’t disagree with you there. You’re spoiled. You’re used to getting your way, our charmed little sister, and this is what you do to us? Abandon Father? Our message? What about the message?”
“The message about AIs and what they will do to us? Have you really listened to him lately? I can’t stay here and pretend that I believe! I can’t spread the message, Paul. I’d die inside if that happened. It’s just fear and hysteria.”
“We need you. You can’t just walk out. You’re a Rhoads. We stick together!”
“I’m sorry, Paul. I love you and David, Momma, and Father too, but I can’t live this life. The Rhoads name used to mean help, aid and love. Now it just means fear and anger. I need something else—somewhere else.”
Kylie pushed past him, and this time, Paul let her go. He stared after her wondering where they had gone wrong.
Where had he gone wrong?
“Father would’ve given you the world.”
“I don’t want the world given to me, Paul. I want to go out there and seize it. I’m not like you, but you’re still my brother. I love you, even if you can’t see that.”
Paul shook his head. “You break Mom’s heart like this, and we’re no longer family. Do you understand? We’re nothing if you walk out the door.”
Her lip quivered, and her eyes glistened with tears, but she walked out the door anyway, and Paul would never forget her willingness to leave.
And he’d never forgive himself for what he’d said.
CHECKMATE
STELLAR DATE: 12.21.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: The Immortal One’s Palace, Banglad, Battia
REGION: Hanoi System (independent)
The platoon leaders had all checked in, their primary objectives secured.
There were still several pockets of resistance, but once Alice had breached the outer defenses, it became abundantly clear that the empress ruled more with fear than actual force of arms.
Grayson agreed with Alice’s assessment. If the defenders could see that their cause was hopeless, it would go a long way to getting them to surrender.
So long as they could actually capture Mei. He worried that the wily woman had already escaped somehow. The idea of hunting for her across the planet was not appealing.
He was standing outside the front of the main building, watching Maureen get loaded onto one of the dropships, as Alice provided the updates.
“Any change in her condition, and I want to hear about it,” Grayson instructed the field medics.
“Yes, sir,” the chief in charge replied. “We’ll have her in a medtube in thirty minutes, tops.”
“Good.” Grayson nodded as the assault ship’s hatch closed and it lifted off.
Alice crowed.
Grayson reached the throne room and approached the dais, then proceeded to walk around it, looking for any sort of hidden trigger or access panel.
Sure enough, there was a panel cleverly hidden in the armrest of the throne. There was a row of buttons, and he pushed the first, triggering the same color change Mei had earlier when she’d first tried to cow Grayson and Maureen.
He supposed it must impress the locals, enforcing the illusion that she was something other than a mere mortal.
While investigating the armrest, he hit a button that slid open a panel behind the tapestries.
Waiting wasn’t an option. Now that Grayson was properly armed with a rifle, he wasn’t worried about what Mei and her sword-wielding guards could do.
He wasn’t slowing down until she was in his custody.
The lift reached the bottom, and Grayson released a pair of microdrones to survey the wide passage ahead. They didn’t spot any traps, and there were no signs of Mei or her guards.
He stepped into the hall, and a red light came on over his head.
“Show yourself, Mei. I promise I won’t hurt you, if you come willingly.” Grayson crept down the hall, keeping his head on a swivel as he passed pillars holding what must have been priceless artifacts.
Grayson came to the end of the corridor and stepped into a wide room with a raised platform at its center. Two ornamental dragon heads sat behind the dais, and between them hung the seal of the great house of Maji.