by Ryk Brown
Lord Mahtize glanced down at the button tucked into the scrolling, carved into the edge of his ornate balla-wood desk, then back to the two intruders.
“Go ahead, we’ll wait.”
Lord Mahtize pressed and held the button for several seconds. After a moment, he tried it again, but still no guards came charging into his office.
“You will find that the door sensors are inoperative, as well,” the man said. “However, the sound suppression fields are fully functional, in case you were thinking about yelling for help.” The man rose from his chair, straightening his suit jacket as he reached a standing position. “As to your other question…”
“Which house?” Lord Mahtize interrupted.
“Pardon?”
“Which house sent you to kill me? Surely I deserve to know.”
“We were not sent by a ‘noble’ house of Takara,” the man assured him as he walked slowly toward him. “As to killing you, well, that need has yet to be determined.”
Lord Mahtize did his best to appear composed. “So, you’re not going to tell me who you are, or who sent you. Then, perhaps, you can enlighten me as to the purpose of your…overly dramatic visit.”
“My name is General Lucius Telles, leader of the Ghatazhak, and second in command of the Karuzari Alliance. My cohort is Lieutenant Commander Jessica Nash, chief tactical officer and head of security for the Aurora, and the first female to be accepted into the Ghatazhak. So, do not be fooled by her lovely appearance.”
“Ah,” Lord Mahtize said, nodding. “So you wish to impress me, to instill fear and respect, because of your ability to enter my offices undetected, and gain an audience with me without approval.”
“On the contrary,” the general said, “we simply wish to avoid an official record of our meeting.”
“But…”
“Your recorders have been deactivated, as well.”
“I see,” Lord Mahtize replied as he took his seat. “Now that we have established who you are, and who sent you, perhaps you would be kind enough to tell me what you want.”
General Telles and Jessica moved to the chairs across from Lord Mahtize’s desk. “We have reason to suspect the integrity of your arrangement with Mister Espan,” the general said as he waited for Jessica to take her seat.
“The integrity?”
General Telles took his seat as he thought. “A nagging thought troubles me. Is he feeding us information because he wants to help us rid his world of the Dusahn, or does he have ulterior motives?”
“You question my honor?”
General Telles chuckled. “Please, do not insult me, Mahtize.”
Lord Mahtize’s expression soured, taking umbrage at the general’s improper address. “The Mahtize family goes back to the first ships to settle this world. Takara is my home, just as it was once yours. The Dusahn are no more welcome on Takara than you are in my office.”
General Telles smiled at Lord Mahtize’s play on words. “Be that as it may, the rise in your fortunes, and in your influence in the House of Lords, has not escaped our notice.”
“Is Mahtize the only house whose fortunes have increased under Dusahn occupation?”
“No, but it is doing considerably better than the others,” the general replied.
“There is no crime in profit,” Lord Mahtize countered.
“True, but there is cause for suspicion. One who profits so well seems an unlikely candidate to work against the very regime from which one is profiting.”
“Fortune favors the bold,” Lord Mahtize stated confidently.
“Indeed it does,” General Telles agreed.
Lord Mahtize studied his two guests a moment. “You still have not told me the purpose of your visit.”
“Our purpose is to let you know that we do not fully trust you,” General Telles explained. “More importantly, we are giving you notice that betrayal…would be unwise.”
“Couldn’t you have just sent a message through Terig?” Lord Mahtize asked.
“Yes, but we felt our presence would make you understand that your location does not equal protection from the Karuzari.”
“Then you came to threaten me.”
“Take it as you wish,” General Telles stated as he rose. “Our purpose is served. I apologize for our unannounced visit, but such are the times in which we live.” General Telles looked to Jessica, offering his hand. “My dear.”
Lord Mahtize also stood, but out of decorum. He took a good look at Jessica. “You don’t say much, do you, Lieutenant Commander.”
“I’m here to do the wet work,” she replied. She winked, adding, “If needed.”
“I’m sure you won’t mind if we use your private exit,” General Telles stated.
Lord Mahtize nodded once. “As if I have a choice.”
“Good day to you, my lord,” General Telles said, mocking respect for the man.
Jessica smiled as she turned, blowing a kiss to Lord Mahtize on her way out.
Lord Mahtize stood there, watching, as they exited his office onto his private patio. He leaned to his left, peering through the window as they passed through the outer gate. Once out of sight, he immediately pressed the intercom button, to call his private secretary, but nothing happened. He pressed more buttons: his chief of security, his private chef, his main residence…and still nothing. He ran to the main entrance, but found it locked. He ran to the private entrance, the same one the general and the lieutenant commander had just exited through, but it, too, was locked. “Damn!”
“You think it will work?” Jessica asked as she strolled across the gardens of House Mahtize, arm in arm with the general.
“We shall see,” the general said. He glanced to either side, checking for onlookers. Spotting none, he slipped through the bushes, Jessica following behind him as they disappeared into the dense woods that acted as a buffer between the private gardens and the perimeter wall.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Is that it?” Deliza asked when Naralena came out with a single bag.
“A few changes of clothes and a hygiene kit. Do I need more?”
“If the Dusahn come, I can’t promise we’ll be able to bring you back,” Deliza told her.
“I had less than this last time; when Nathan swooped me out of my miserable life on Haven,” she assured her, locking the door behind her. “Besides, everything I care about is on my comm-unit.”
“About that,” Deliza said as they headed for the waiting vehicle. “Why didn’t you answer when I called?”
“You called? Oh, yes, you probably still have my old number.”
“But it was your voice mail that picked up,” Deliza told her as they climbed into the vehicle.
“I still have that number, but I use it as a buffer against…well, it’s a long, frightening story.”
“I can’t wait to hear it,” Deliza said as their vehicle started moving.
“I can’t wait to forget about it,” Naralena replied. “You know, when I heard the Aurora was fighting the Dusahn, I was certain they were just pretending that Nathan was still alive, in order to rally support. I mean, he died, didn’t he?”
“That’s a long, frightening story, as well,” Deliza replied. “One that Nathan should tell you.”
Naralena sighed as she watched the familiar buildings pass; ones that she might never see again. “You know, it devastated me when he died, but I’m sure you understand. It must have devastated you, as well.”
“Not exactly,” Deliza said a bit uneasily.
Naralena looked at her. “You knew he was alive?”
“Uh…”
“For how long?”
“There were good reasons to keep it a secret,” Deliza defended, “from everyone. Even Vladimir and Cameron didn’t know.”
“Unplug the shoreline!” Josh yelled at Dalen as he ran around the port engine nacelle, headed for the cargo ramp.
“Are the reactors hot?” Dalen yelled back.
“Loki!” Josh called over comm-sets as he ran up the ramp.
“They’re hot! Disconnect!”
A thunderous clap shook the deck beneath his feet, nearly knocking him off the ramp, as blue-white light momentarily flooded the Seiiki’s cargo bay. Josh spun around to see a Dusahn troop pod dropping into a hover, five meters off the surface, about fifty meters directly behind them, just on the other side of the blast wall that surrounded the landing pad. “DALEN! MOVE YOUR ASS!” Josh yelled as he reached for the boomer that Marcus kept in a small wall-locker next to the cargo bay door. He raised the boomer as he pressed its power button. Just as the doors on the troop pod opened, and the soldiers inside were about to jump to the ground below, the boomer reached full power, and Josh pressed the firing button. A ball of brilliant red-orange plasma leapt from the boomer’s stubby barrel, slamming into the hovering troop pod a split second later. The Dusahn soldier, leaning forward to jump, took the brunt of the blast, which burned through his torso in the blink of an eye, leaving only a bodiless head and a pair of legs to fall to the surface below. The pod tipped to one side, its hover-thrust destabilized, and fell to the surface, exploding as it hit the ground.
Dalen ducked instinctively at the sound of the explosion as he ran up the ramp.
“GO! GO! GO!” Josh exclaimed over his comm-set as he tossed the spent boomer aside. Two more flashes of light and claps of thunder as additional Dusahn Troop pods jumped in nearby.
Josh stumbled toward the forward ladder. “Man the bay gun!” he instructed Dalen.
“Got it!” Dalen replied, scrambling across the pitching deck as Josh bounded up the short ladder and disappeared through the forward hatch.
Dalen stumbled along, grabbing the walls to steady himself as the Seiiki rose quickly into the air and began moving forward. Any minute, there would be enough power to bring the inertial dampeners online but, for now, he had to concentrate on not falling out of the gaping open end of the cargo bay.
As soon as Dalen reached the starboard edge of the bay doors, he grabbed a safety harness and threw it around his waist. He quickly attached the tether to the overhead track and unlocked the gun arm.
Just as he pulled on the gun arm to deploy it, the ship’s stern swung to the right, and Dalen found himself swinging from the gun handles, his feet straight out, horizontally. His bodyweight pulled the gun into place, making a loud clunk as the overhead support arm locked into its deployed position. The ship pitched again, going nose up, and Dalen lost his grip on the gun handles, flying out the open bay doors. The tether became taut, causing him to fall to the deck. The ship nosed down, and he tumbled forward, just as the inertial dampeners began to kick in.
Dalen struggled for a moment, still on his hands and knees, trying to get his bearings. He raised his head and glanced outside as the city below swirled about while the Seiiki maneuvered wildly. The movement outside, and the lack of inertial forces inside, were more than he could handle, and his lunch came up, spewing all over the ramp.
Corporal Amund guided their vehicle through the chaotic streets of Constantatia. People were running in all directions, in desperate attempts to find safety. Vehicles abandoned all rules, doing whatever was necessary to get to their destinations while they still could. Flashes of blue-white light appeared with frightening regularity, and the air was punctuated with constant claps of thunder. Dusahn troop pods appeared over, what seemed like, every intersection. Just as they turned onto what they thought was a clear street, another pod would appear, forcing them to make another turn.
“We need someplace large enough for the Seiiki to land!” Corporal Torlak yelled from the front passenger seat.
“You must turn to the left!” Naralena insisted. “Toward the edge of the city!”
“Is there anything closer?” Corporal Amund asked as they approached the next intersection.
“Nothing!” she replied. “This part of the city is all buildings! No open spaces!”
“Hang on!” Corporal Amund warned, just before he yanked the wheel to the left.
The vehicle skidded, tipping to the right, the left wheels coming off the ground. Two flashes of light lit up the street, along with simultaneous claps of thunder. A Dusahn troop pod appeared over the intersection ahead of them, settling into a hover and opening its doors to drop four soldiers to the ground.
Deliza spun around, spotting another pod dropping in over the intersection behind them. “There’s one behind us, too!” she warned.
“Hang on!” Amund yelled as he stepped on the throttle, accelerating toward the four soldiers jumping to the ground in front of them.
Corporal Torlak pulled his sidearm and hung it out of the window, opening fire on the soldiers as they jumped from the hovering pod. His first two shots found their targets, killing both soldiers before they hit the ground. But a bump in the road caused his third and fourth shots to miss, and both soldiers made it to the ground alive.
The two soldiers immediately turned and opened fire on the approaching vehicle, their energy bolts slamming into its front end. Corporal Amund held the wheel firm as more bolts of energy slammed into them until, finally, the entire front of their vehicle came apart, and he lost control.
The vehicle slid sideways, sparks flying off what was left of its front end. With no control left of their vehicle, Corporal Amund also pulled his sidearm, blew out the forward windshield, and joined his partner in his defensive barrage.
Ghatazhak energy bolts slammed into the two Dusahn troops, shaking their bodies with each impact. A second later their vehicle slammed into the soldiers and came to a stop.
“Everyone out!” Corporal Amund ordered, climbing out of the vehicle.
Corporal Torlak climbed out the passenger side, pulled the back passenger door open for Naralena, and took up position between her and the Dusahn troops who had just dropped in a block behind them. “Four on our six! We gotta move!” he barked as he opened fire on the men approaching from behind.
Corporal Amund scanned the buildings around them, looking at their tops. “Rooftops!” he declared as he pulled the door open for Deliza. “That one! Go!”
Naralena ran around the front of the vehicle as Deliza climbed out her side, both of them racing for the building the corporal had pointed to, while the two Ghatazhak soldiers rained fire upon the enemy to their rear. More jump flashes flooded the streets, and more sounds of thunder joined the cacophony of the firefight.
“Moving!” Corporal Torlak announced as he backpedaled around the front of the vehicle, using it for cover.
Corporal Amund tucked in between the front and rear doors of the vehicle as he continued to fire at the soldiers working their way up the street behind them. “Their armor is charged!”
“That just makes it more challenging!” Torlak replied.
Deliza and Naralena reached the front entrance to the building, pausing to look back. “Behind you!” Deliza shouted in warning as she spotted more Dusahn soldiers dropping in at the next intersection.
Corporal Torlak turned around and opened fire on the soldiers dropping from the hovering troop pod, sending them diving for cover as soon as they hit the ground. He then targeted the pod above them, which he knew was not shielded, blasting away at it. The pod immediately broke apart, falling to the ground below and exploding.
It was the cover they needed to escape the crossfire. Corporal Torlak moved around behind Corpora
l Amund and opened fire toward the rear. “Go, Ams!”
“Moving!” Corporal Amund announced as he ceased fire and sprinted the few meters to join Naralena and Deliza at the doorway. “What are you doing?” he demanded.
“It’s locked!” Naralena declared.
The corporal raised his weapon and blasted the door wide open. “Not anymore!” he barked. “Find the stairs and head for the roof!” he added, turning to cover his partner’s retreat. “Torlak! Go!” he yelled as he started firing again.
Corporal Torlak turned and sprinted to the doorway, continuing inside the building after Naralena and Deliza. As soon as his cohort passed by, Corporal Amund ceased fire and stepped back through the doorway. He paused long enough to pull a small device out of his thigh pocket, activated it, and placed it on the floor just to the right of the doorway, where no one would notice it until it was too late.
Corporal Amund sprinted across the lobby floor, following the others to the stairwell in the back corner, knowing they had less than a minute before Dusahn troops would come charging through the door and find the surprise he had left for them. “Seiiki!” he called, tapping his comm-set. “New plan! Rooftop pick up!”
“Which rooftop?” Loki asked as he maneuvered the Seiiki to avoid slamming into a hovering troop pod.
“You’ll know!” Corporal Amund replied. “Just head in the direction of our comms signal!”
“Jesus!” Josh exclaimed as he bounded up the ladder, into the Seiiki’s cockpit. “Can you hold it still for at least a few seconds?”
“They’re dropping in all over the place!” Loki explained. “It’s all I can do to keep from running into them!”
“Fuck it! Ram ‘em!” Josh declared as he slid into the pilot’s seat. “My controls!”