Peacemaker (The Revelations Cycle Book 6)

by Kevin Ikenberry

  Qamm paused. Eliminating Kenos went well above defrauding the Dream World Consortium’s contracts and their own individual contracts with the colonies employing them. “You’re proposing we attack and grab as much as we can and flee? I’d rather slowly defraud unknowing colonists than a galactic Consortium.”

  “The payout would be greater, Qamm.”

  It would be by at least 20 million credits. Money wasn’t a motivator in her world. Money would only help her run. The Veetanho would disavow her. Spending the rest of her life looking over a shoulder, even with a lot of money in her pockets, wasn’t an option. “This isn’t about money, Leeto. You can run anonymously for the rest of your life. I cannot.”

  Leeto laughed, making her seethe. “You forget how big this galaxy is, Qamm. Even your species can hide from each other in distant worlds.”

  “I don’t want to hide in the distant worlds!” Qamm barked. “Skimming on a contract is one thing, Leeto. You’re talking a complete breach, not to mention murder.”

  “It’s not murder if it’s a horrendous accident, Qamm. Without their surveillance system, we can stage an attack to be anything we want.”

  Leeto’s words stole her breath. As maniacal as it seemed, the Sidar was right. All she had to do was insure that Leeto or his forces pulled the trigger on Kenos. She could retain her honor and the credits. “You’re proposing we wait until the Administrator lands? Your forces are much closer, are they not?”

  “We are repositioning further to the west. I believe we were imaged by the Peacemaker’s ship,” Leeto said. “A few kilometers distance and better cover should be enough displacement. I imagine, though, they’ll be too busy cleaning up whatever happened to notice.”

  Qamm’s subconscious mind clicked over from doubt and self preservation to the task at hand. Her worries fell aside as she considered the dual-pronged attack. “Will you be able to commit the Selroth to the river and the aquifers?”

  “Undoubtedly,” Leeto said. “The bigger question is can you commit the GenSha? They’re not terribly bright, but will they attack across open ground?”

  “Of course not. They’re not humans,” Qamm said. “We’ll escort them into the fight. With enough infantry, they’ll provide a solid distraction to allow your forces to cross in from the west. Timing is critical.”

  “Do not worry about timing, Qamm. Deliver your artillery and follow the plan. We will kill two targets with one strike.”

  The line clicked off, and Qamm stared at the console for a solid 30 seconds before nodding to herself. There was no way Leeto would stick to his own plan. She considered his actions and decided there were a few possibilities. Leeto was no fool. He’d likely pin any action directly against Kenos on her forces. Nulling out the ability to target the Cochkala administrator would be easy enough—like most administrators, Kenos wore pinplants. Her communications specialists could identify their isolated frequency pattern, and she could feed that to her weapons. Easy.

  The other two possibilities were more troubling. Leeto and the Selroth could double cross her forces by getting to the lower levels of the Altar mines before them, if the aquifer network could be opened and not risk flooding the mine. The Peacemaker would know there was a subterranean avenue of approach and would defend it. Depending on the damage, and what weapons the Selroth used, their bounty could be contaminated not to mention harder to extract. Time would be of the essence, and the more time they spent removing what they hoped to find, the shorter their escape window would be. Lastly, Leeto could easily fail to get the Altar defense to commit to his attack. Their superior stand-off weaponry would decimate the GenSha attack and leave her forces vulnerable. Without any air support, her best plan was to use her own indigenous artillery to soften the Altar defenses. The minute she opened fire, though, they’d be able to counter it and lay waste to the GenSha infantry heavy forces.

  Qamm cued the video footage from her drone gunships on the night attack. In the infrared band, she clearly noted the positions of the tanks on the four corners of the colony complex. Should they remain in place, targeting such defined points would be easy. All that mattered was the right type of round, the right fuse, and the right impact point on the weaker top armor.

  It could be done. Qamm hated herself for thinking it, for even considering a plan that would lead to the death of an administrator and a breach of contract. Kenos wanted them to eliminate the Altar and pocket a hefty sum, but he’d clearly hidden his agenda. The Selroth believed the tunnels hid something of tremendous value. Kenos and his Consortium had brought in the Altar to mine it. Whatever it was, the Altar believed it best left alone. Their inability to bring it up ruled out the obvious, F11. Altar tended to believe that precious metals and crystals belonged to the dirt they lay inside, but they would extract it in their slow, almost religious method and sell it. No, what lay beneath the surface was something they knew to be problematic and valuable.

  With that thought, Qamm called for a council of war and set about planning the defeat of all their collective enemies at once.

  * * * * *

  Chapter Nineteen

  Something licked her face. In the funk of a throbbing headache and the semi-peacefulness of where she lay, Jessica first thought it was a cat. Mittens, maybe. Or was it Squeak? The one that loved to sleep in the bathroom sink or the one that shit all over her bedroom? She couldn’t remember. The lick came again, and she roused enough to stick a hand out and touch something warm and scaly.

  Fuck!

  Jessica woke and shook off whatever it was with flailing arms and legs. The thing squealed, flew across the cockpit section, and disappeared into the shadows. Her light had fallen over, but still lit half the space. She crawled through the detritus and shit along the curved wall and reached the light. The side of her head throbbed, and she pressed a hand against it, feeling for swelling or blood. There was neither. Her earpiece was missing, though, and she snatched the light from the mess on the floor of the cockpit and swung it around. Whatever had licked her was gone or simply hiding in the shadows. A slight, acrid haze filled the upper portion of the cockpit and turned the directed light from her flashlight into a beam of sorts. For the first time, realized the Raknar’s cockpit doors were closed and she sucked in a panicked breath. The total darkness of the cockpit closed in around her, so she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.

  The scent in the cockpit no longer nauseated her, which was good considering she sat in who-knew-what among torn bundles of cables and other trash. Across the way, three meters farther around, a blinking red light caught her eye. She moved slowly toward it, recognizing her earpiece. As her fingertips closed around it, a clang from behind startled her a split second before fresh, moist air rushed into the confined space. The cockpit door opened fully against the bright Araf sunlight. She could see a CASPer’s arm holding it up. A silhouetted figure climbed up the arm and stepped into the space.

  “Jess?” Hex asked.

  “Down here,” she said and stood slowly. Hands raised to block the bright white light, she stepped toward him. “What happened?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. What happened?”

  Hex’s face contorted as a shadow’s movement caught his eye and he looked past her into the open door. He frowned and lowered his eyes to hers. “Let me check your head. Looks like you whacked it pretty well.”

  As he leaned closer, she whispered, “Where’s Taemin?”

  “Right behind you,” Hex mouthed.

  Shit. Jessica winced as Hex prodded her head. “You can stop, Hex. I’m okay.”

  “I’m delighted to hear that,” Taemin spoke from behind her. She made no effort to turn and face him. “Your mission is complete, Peacemaker.”

  Jessica shook her head. “You’ve said that before.”

  “The Altar brood numbers slightly more than seven thousand, well outside the approved range. I’ve taken the liberty of letting the administrator know. He will be here in the morning to investigate. I’ll
be disconnecting the slaved power supplies with your deputies’ assistance.”

  Jessica spun and faced him. Balancing was difficult, but she raised herself up to her full height and stared at him. “Over my dead body, Taemin.”

  “Your duties are over, Peacemaker.” He stressed the word with utter condescension. Jessica curled her fingers into fists but did not move forward. “Though I doubt you’ll have that title by the end of this abysmal mission.”

  Jessica squared her shoulders to him and ignored the pulsing throb in her head. “Those power cables run the incubators below ground. Disconnecting them will kill the Altar brood.”

  “To end this conflict, I will unplug them all right now. The Altar are in violation of their contract.” Taemin smiled at her, and it made her blood run cold.

  Jessica stepped forward. “This mission is over when I say it is, Taemin. Your position as a mediator grants you some leeway, but you crossed the line. Nobody unplugs that brood while I’m still standing. I don’t give a damn about you, the Consortium, or my own Guild. That brood gets a chance to live. The Altar have scraped by on a planet that did not meet the contract documents’ guarantees. The Dream World program, at least on Araf, is null and void.”

  “And your degree in judicial affairs tells you that? Oh, wait. You’re a failed mercenary the Peacemaker Guild took pity on, aren’t you? Your first assignment was busting your own ex-husband, was it not? Could you have chosen an easier mission?” Taemin snorted and shook his head. “No matter. I’ve also sent a message to your Guild. I’m afraid I cannot recommend you for a commission.”

  Her earpiece vibrated in her palm. She instinctively put it into her right ear without taking her eyes from Taemin. Lucille’s voice came over the frequency immediately. <>

  Jessica’s anger smoldered rather than burned. The brief shot of calm from Lucille’s transmission washed over her, but she made no move. “Fine. Tell them what you want, Taemin. We aren’t leaving this location. We will defend the Altar colony at all costs. Until my Guild comes to take my powers and authority in person, I remain a Peacemaker. That means you do exactly what I say, is that clear?”

  The Caroon’s brow furrowed. “Of course, Peacemaker. What would you like me to do?”

  Go fuck yourself.

  She snorted but did not smile. “Get out of this Raknar and stay out of it. You are also banned from the tunnel system and will remain under guard at all times.”

  “I hardly think that’s—”

  Jessica raised a finger and pointed at his face, knowing it would anger him. “You threatened 7,000 lives, Taemin. Remember? You would unplug them to end this conflict? That’s a threat. You will do exactly what I say, is that clear?”

  A ripple of fury crossed his normally passive face. “Perfectly, Peacemaker Francis. Though, in my professional opinion, you are making a terrible mistake.”

  “Opinions are like assholes, Taemin. Everybody has one. Get out of this Raknar. This is officially Peacemaker property, and you are not welcome.”

  Taemin nodded solemnly, and she saw the hidden laughter on his face as easily as if her flashlight pointed it out. The little bastard thought he knew everything. Well, he didn’t, and she decided it was high time he understood that. She’d had more than enough. “By your leave, Peacemaker.”

  Get out. She couldn’t make herself say it, yet. There would be a time to give the Mediator what wrath she could muster, but it needed to wait. She knew her face didn’t betray her thoughts. She’d mastered the effect of a direct, burning stare as well as her mother wielded it. The Mediator turned and made his way to the cockpit opening. Jessica watched him all the way out the door and down the CASPer’s legs before she turned to Hex.

  The younger man looked around the cockpit, poorly concealing a smile on his face. She waited until Taemin was gone before she asked, “What are you smiling about?”

  “It’s about time the real Bulldog showed up.” Hex grinned. “You find anything in here?”

  “Maybe,” Jessica said. She could feel the damned chipset in her pocket calling to her. His words similarly resonated. It was time to be herself and not a tactical robot. The Peacemaker Guild didn’t need any more of them, after all. “Help me get back up to the systems console. Where’s the fire?”

  “On the hull. A couple of spots. I have the remaining CASPers from Alpha Team putting them out right now,” Hex said. “Tara and Kirkland have command of the defense.”

  “What happened?” Jessica moved to the control console and climbed as she’d done before to reach the systems station. “Did Kei take out the server system?”

  “Yeah,” Hex sighed. “But something happened with her CASPer. In order to trip convincingly, she disengaged the safeties. The railgun shit the bed, we think. It fired and took out the system, but the damned thing fried her electrical system, and the engine exploded. Took out a huge chunk of the colony’s east side.”

  “Holy shit,” Jessica blinked. Through the shock, she compartmentalized the loss easily. There would be time to honor absent companions and consider what happened to her as a lesson learned. “What was the damage, besides Kei?”

  The jovial look on Hex’s face faded. “We lost Angels Three and Four along with Kei. They were outside their suits helping feed the loading illusion when Kei’s suit detonated. Angel Five has a concussion, but is mission capable.”

  “I need their names, Hex,” she said, “for my report and my conscience, as much as yours.”

  “I’ll get them.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Klatk lost 82 Altar and more than 200 were wounded.”

  Gods. Jessica shook her head. “All of that from a CASPer detonation? Are we sure there wasn’t some anti-tampering device in the complex?”

  “Maybe. We just don’t know. The hydrogen fuel kit technically has the power profile matching the explosion, but I’ve never seen one fail on a CASPer because of a simple fall.”

  “Me either,” Jessica said. She stepped onto the control console and prepared to scramble up. “Have you checked all of them?”

  “Working on that now,” Hex said. “Tara is checking them out.”

  Jessica sighed. Now was as good a time as any. “How did she do?”

  “Checking the CASPers?”

  “In the fight, Hex.”

  He shrugged. “Fine, as far as I could tell. Do you know something I don’t? What happened to her old unit?”

  “We know what happened to her old unit, Hex. Death On Tracks was overrun by Jivool on Essex Five. They were outnumbered five-to-one. What we don’t know is why Tara and her platoon ran.”

  “No,” Hex said. He met her eyes. “She’s squared away. Tara says her platoon never dropped. What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. Her tanks are literally the cornerstones of our defense, Jessica. They’re not going anywhere.”

  Jessica climbed atop the control console and reached up to the shattered remains of the systems console. “Hand me my light, will you?”

  “She’s not going to run, Bulldog.”

  “I heard you the first time, Hex. We don’t know that she won’t run. You met her hours after the last mission ended, and you ended up here because of Hak-Chet. I realize he may have seen something in her, too, and as much as she’s done so far, her history stands against her. I will not suffer deserters.”

  “She didn’t desert,” Hex said with a sigh. “I know she won’t let us down when those bastards come back.”

  “Everyone fights when they’re behind a wall, Hex. Your father taught you that much. We haven’t seen a real attack or anything approaching the real strength of those we’re facing. You and I both know it’s coming.”

  “What are you looking for?” His question changed the subject, but not her mind. Tara and her crewmen performed well, which was good. The last
thing Jessica had time for was watching her friends instead of her enemies. Being a mercenary taught her that.

  “An active power line or a way to find one,” she replied. Nothing in the panel appeared operational, yet her eyes drifted up to the board of rectangular chipsets. “Lost cause. There’s nothing live in here any—”

  A single LED bulb the size of the half-moon on her pinkie fingernail winked to dull purple life on the chipset panel. Jessica froze.

  “What is it?”

  Jessica realized she was holding her breath and forced it out of her lungs. Had she imagined the flash? She forced her eyes to remain open. Tears threatened to well up from the strain as the light blinked again. “Got something, I think.”

  “What is it?”

  “Not a clue, but there’s power. That’s a start.” She looked over her shoulder. “You have a spare combat slate in your CASPer?”

  “Yeah, what do you need?”

  She smiled. “Lucille.”

  Hex shook his head. “I’ll have to download her.”

  “No, you don’t have to. She’s already there.”

  Hex put a hand to his forehead. “I am such an idiot.”

  Jessica smiled. “Why?”

  He chuckled. “I thought I heard her when those flyers came in. I should’ve put two and two together. Let me go get that slate. You need anything else?”

  Standing still, her leg muscles tense from the effort of holding her position, she realized how sore she was. You got any CASPer candy?” In training, CASPer pilots tended to eat analgesics such as acetaminophen like candy, and the name stuck.

  “Always,” Hex said. “Be right back.”

  Jessica looked up into the console at the chipset board. She could reach the bottom of the board with the rectangular chips. The dusty, black chips looked very much like the one in her pocket with her father’s name scratched on the surface. Jessica reached up and grasped one by the edges and pulled it out of the board. A shower of dust fell into her face, and she closed her eyes and tried not to sneeze. As she wiped her face with the left sleeve of her coveralls, she could clearly see a second purple light in the space where the chip had been. She slipped the chip into the opposite thigh pocket and looked up again, trying to make sense of the mess of cabling she found. Dusman numerical figures were the only markings visible. The ports were numbered, which helped, but without any written description she would never be able to decipher them on her own.