Star Brigade: The Supremacy (SB3)

by C. C. Ekeke

  “Uarya will be betrothed to the new Magnus, as promised.”

  Kyagon nodded in approval. “My thanks, Haemekk.” His holoscreen vanished. Haemekk stood near the viewport of his office, taking in Thasque’s glittering skyline all bordered by veins of nonstop hovercar traffic.

  Internally, the Defense Minister felt more comfortable with a pulse rifle in hand hunting down his enemies than with politicking. But these games were the price of ensuring that the Ttaunz Supremacy endured—along with fending off Farooqua backwardness and overbearing Union bureaucracy.

  Once the Planetary Senate approved Gaorr as the new Maorridius Magnus, that was just the beginning of Haemekk’s plans.

  Haemekk looked away from the city skyline, punched a few codes into his desk console, and a new panorama replaced his view of Thasque. He gazed almost fondly upon a series of interconnected domed buildings pulsing softly. This compound’s potential would surely make Faroor a true force again.

  Sitting in terrain neutral to both Ttaunz and Farooqua, this facility’s existence had been disclosed to a select few Ttaunz. Even then, Haemekk alone knew its true function. He was about to contact the facility when an incoming transmission interrupted.

  Gaorr again. The boy had been pestering him all week about when he’d be named Magnus. Haemekk swallowed a curse and accepted the call as audio only. “Gaorr, now is not an opportune—”

  “Minister…” the Ttaunz blurted out. “I need your…h-help.”

  Haemekk stiffened. Gaorr sounded afraid. If he did something stupid… “What is wrong?”

  A long silence followed, almost prompting Haemekk to repeat his question, before Gaorr continued, “Please switch to visual.”

  Now Haemekk knew something was wrong. “Please” was not within orbit of Gaorr’s vocabulary. The Defense Minister did as asked…and his jaw dropped in horror.

  Gaorr stood against a clear viewport wearing only pants, a jagged knife poking the left side of his neck. The attacker holding it stood behind him—a lithe Farooqua with obsidian skin and colorful tattoos.

  Haemekk’s face twisted in fury. Ghebrekh. The view zoomed out as another voice came from off-screen.

  “Defense Minister, are you there still?”

  “Hlaess,” Haemekk answered, relieved to hear from Thasque’s governor. “What happened?”

  “Gaorr and his entourage were in a pleasure house when that thing appeared.” The governor didn’t filter his disgust. “Killed his bodyguards, took Gaorr hostage, and demanded your audience.”

  Haemekk raised his eyebrows, appalled. “It spoke words?”

  “Attempted.” Hlauss bristled, as affronted as Haemekk.

  “Why hasn’t a sniper ended him?” the Defense Minster asked.

  “Because,” Hlauss shot back, “the mongrel claims to possess an impact bomb. And a scan has indicated heavy amounts of xephrite covering his body.”

  Haemekk moved onto the next option. “Short-range transmatting?”

  The Thasque governor shook his head. “Radiation interference is blocking attempts.”

  Haemekk closed his eyes, fighting for calm. “For your sake, Governor,” he opened his eyes again, “I’ll have your throat if any widecasts catalog this.”

  Governor Hlauss gaped, clearly believing the threat. “I initiated a media blackout at the request of Gaorr’s security detail when he entered our downtown.”

  “The priority is Gaorr,” Haemekk declared calmly. “Then we disarm and kill that Farooqua.”

  “HAEMEKK!” a ragged voice interrupted. The holovid focused on the Ghebrekh. “He has a message!”

  Haemekk bristled, knowing which “he” the savage meant. “I’m listening.”

  The Ghebrekh glared at Haemekk. “No matter what you plan, Ghuj’aega will know…and will respond.

  “We could take this one…anytime.” The Farooqua dug the blade of his knife a little deeper into Gaorr’s neck, drawing a dark bead of blood at the point. Gaorr whimpered. “But Ghuj’aega didn’t want him when the brother provides such…sport.”

  Haemekk’s eyes narrowed. So Taorr still lives. How...unfortunate. “A threat?” He remained defiant. “With whom do you think you are dealing? Ghuj’aega will never win his game.”

  The Ghebrekh smiled cruelly, showing teeth. “Trust Ghuj’aega when he says the worst is yet to come.”

  At that moment, Gaorr saw something that made him shriek. Haemekk watched in matching horror from widescreen view. Four Ghebrekh appeared next to a nearby building, behind the MetroPol forces on scene—strapped with impact bombs.

  Four heatless bombs discharged at once, a bone-shaking cacophony Haemekk felt in his office. The structure’s foundations were ripped apart, chunks of debris hurtling everywhere. Gaorr and his attacker vanished under a flood of smoke, right before the holoscreen went staticky.

  “GAORR?!” Haemekk cried, only getting static. If Gaorr died, so did all his work to save Faroor. The Defense Minister immediately contacted his chief aide. “Shuttle,” he barked. “NOW!”

  Twenty macroms later, Haemekk arrived at the blast site. The moment his hovercar stopped, Haemekk jumped out before his bodyguard could stop him.

  Wreckage lay everywhere, dust and smoke blanketing the area, causing Haemekk’s eyes to water. Traffic overhead had been diverted by Thasque MetroPol. UComm officers shifted through the ruins. MediCorps officers pushed body bags into medical transports. Haemekk felt ill, realizing one of those corpses was Gaorr’s.

  “Haemekk?” a weary voice called out.

  He turned, and saw Gaorr in a corner being treated by some Ikarian MediCorp officer. The boy had cuts and welts all over his torso, plus a nasty neck gash dribbling with blood. Otherwise, he looked fine.

  The Defense Minister couldn’t remember feeling such relief. “Gaorr.” He powerwalked over. “How—” Haemekk was stopped short by the wetness running down the boy’s left pant leg, too colorless to be blood.

  “The Thasque governor’s dead,” Gaorr added. “Killed by the explosion.”

  Haemekk whirled about wildly, not trusting the settled chaos. “But that Farooqua! Where—”

  “Disappeared after the explosions.” The boy shook his head. “Told me that Taorr withstood far worse. Even captured, my brother finds a way to one-up me.”

  Haemekk stared at Gaorr in shock. He was about to reply, only to be interrupted by the aide who ran up to him frantically. “Sir, you have a priority call from Magnasterium.”

  The Defense Minister didn’t bother looking at him. “Tell them I am unavailable,” Haemekk snapped.

  The aide seemed more shaken by whoever had called. “I did. They insisted on talking now.”

  Haemekk finally turned to eye his aide. “Why?”

  His aide drew in a steadying breath before replying, “Maorridius Magnus.”

  Gaorr perked up from his stupor. “My father is…awake?” His outburst held no joy or relief.

  “That’s impossible,” Haemekk almost chuckled out, secretly praying for this to be a bad hoax.

  The aide kept his eyes locked on the Defense Minister’s. “I spoke to the Supreme leader myself.”

  For once, Haemekk ws tongue-tied. The Magnus—awake and healthy. How?

  This changed everything. He did some quick thinking, despite his rising panic. “Get him back to Magnasterium,” he said to his aide, gesturing to Gaorr. “Your life depends on it.”

  After they departed, the Defense Minister slid into the rear of his transport and accepted the call. A holoscreen popped up before him.

  The Maorridius Magnus onscreen looked gaunter than Haemekk remembered. The Galdorian blood-freeze had clearly taken a toll. But the sharp intellect in his charcoal-black eyes still burned.

  Haemekk put on his most joyful mask. “Maorridius. How wonderful to see you well!”

  The Magnus didn’t return the smile. “I wish the feeling was mutual, old friend.”

  Haemekk swallowed hard. The Magnus knew. The Defense Minister kept cool. “Your par
don?”

  Maorridius’s cold gaze never left Haemekk. “We’d best continue this conversation face to face.”

  Haemekk’s heartbeat thudded so loudly he barely heard his own thoughts. How could the Magnus have known so quickly…unless agents loyal to him were already on-site? Haemekk glanced out his transport’s side viewports and almost choked. Two TDF guards flanked both sides with pulse rifles. He was trapped.

  “Now,” the Magnus gave a stiff, civil smile, “let’s not make a scene, which I know how you hate.”

  The Defense Minister nodded mutely, broken. Maorridius Magnus ended the call, and the holoscreen winked out. He could feel his transport start up. The automatic driver had been activated, no doubt with a preprogrammed route straight to Magnasterium.

  “Minister, I am sorry,” said his aide through the transport comms. “I could not disobey—”

  “No need to apologize,” Haemekk replied, alarmed at how nauseating he sounded as his transport rose in the air. And for the first time in years, Haemekk tasted true fear.

  Chapter 33

  “Nice-looking tomb here,” Khrome commented on the dark, shimmery surroundings.

  Star Brigade, the TerraTroopers, and Mhir’ujiid arrived at the xephrite caves used for Ghebrekh’s impact bombs, the walls corrugated and glittering dark blue with xephrite. The caves they had investigated were unoccupied until this one. Marguliese, Tyris, Sgt. Fiyan, and Lt. Uyull set off to examine other pockets.

  “What do we got?” Habraum asked V’Korram. The massive Kintarian crouched on all fours, sniffing both air and ground. Habraum marveled at how V’Korram could smell anything given xephrite’s pungently tinny stink. A floating floodlight hovering above them illuminated the floors.

  “Whole cave smells of Farooqua,” reported V’Korram. “Several tribes. Mainly Gajj.”

  Liliana trailed him with scancorder in hand. “Picking up DNA traces of Gajj, Narii, Udaa, Ajjadr, and N’noa.” She wrinkled her nose at the mine’s stench also.

  Habraum nodded, hands on hips. “That makes five tribes possibly colluding with the Ghebrekh.”

  “Knew Lnorj’yrko was lying,” Mhir’ujiid snapped, clenching her fists. “Did you pick up any Quud?”

  In the poorly lit caverns, both Liliana and V’Korram shook their heads.

  “Doesn’t mean all have stayed loyal. How old are the scents?” Habraum eyed his subordinates.

  “Only several orvs old,” V’Korram stated. The Kintarian traced a clawed finger across the pebbly floor. “Larger footprints, males with tools. Smaller footprints, females and youngsters.”

  “And by the looks of it,” Khrome gestured along fresh wall depressions, “the tools they used were as expected of a primitive race.”

  Liliana strode up next to V’Korram. “In the adjacent mines, I picked up Farooqua all over them, but nothing on how they actually entered.”

  The Kintarian glanced at her and nodded. “Their scents begin and end in these mines.”

  “You’re both correct,” Khrome shouted down from high above, examining xephrite formations jutting from the wall surfaces. “My readings spotted low levels of that same energy from the skyquakes.”

  V’Korram snorted. “Makes sense why the scents are clustered around certain points.”

  “I’m detecting solid DNA traces in certain points of the mine.” Liliana, eyes on her scancorder, pointed to the corresponding hotspots, “Gajj from the west, Udaa the south, N’noa and Narii the east.” She turned to the Kintarian. “But a mix of Farooqua from the north, probably where the Ghebrekh appeared.”

  V’Korram tapped on his muzzle-like nose. “Smelling the same patterns here.”

  “Check the area for similar objects or wall patterns?” Liliana asked.

  He shrugged. “Works for me.”

  Habraum nodded. “Brilliant. Brief me on your findings.” Those two worked well together, but Habraum knew voicing that would be taken as an insult, given the mutual dislike between them.

  Byzlar did, not knowing this. “You two make a great team!”

  The Brigadiers looked up, their reactions causing Byzlar to shrink back. V’Korram’s ears flattened in warning. Liliana’s glower was less murderous, but still hostile. The pair scowled at each other, then retreated in opposite directions. Habraum’s chuckle echoed up to the mine’s cavernous ceilings and back down again.

  “What did I say?” Byzlar muttered innocently.

  At that instant, Marguliese and Tyris returned. Fiyan and Uyull followed with pulse rifles drawn.

  “No Farooqua or Ghebrekh in the other mines,” Tyris called out.

  Fiyan confirmed this with a nod. “We did keep seeing odd little pillars at certain areas of the mine.”

  Habraum turned to see a squat little pillar, whitish like marble, but streaked with dark striations in the mine’s north corner. If not pointed out, the Cerc would have missed it.

  “By the structure,” Marguliese reached the pillar in two strides, “this is roughly three millennia old.”

  “Are they emitting radiation?” Habraum asked.

  “Affirmative,” Marguliese nodded.

  “Found another one,” V’Korram called out from a far west corner.

  “Likewise,” Liliana added from the east.

  Habraum rounded on Mhir’ujiid, who watched with an odd look. “What are those pillars?”

  In the darkness, Mhir’ujiid shrugged. “Those have been around far longer than the Farooqua. Useless relics.” The Cerc wanted to believe the Farooqua, but something rang false about her answer. He exchanged quick glances with Tyris and Fiyan, catching their obvious doubt.

  Before he could push for a truer answer, Khal stepped out of the transport and shouted, “Heard some chatter of UComm frequencies. Another terrorist attack in Thasque. Eight dead, including the city-state governor. And Gaorr, Taorr’s brother, was briefly taken hostage by the Ghebrekh.”

  “Rogguts,” Habraum growled, but CT-1 couldn’t do much from here with Ghuj’aega at large.

  “We should move out.” Fiyan holstered her pulse pistols. “Anything more needed here, Nwosu?”

  “Ten more macroms,” he countered. “Tyris, there’s one more pocket ahead that we should sweep over. Uyull and Byzlar, go with him.” The Tanoeen gestured to the TerraTroopers, and they approached a narrower tunnel.

  “Habraum.”

  He turned and recoiled. Marguliese was right behind him. “Warn a lad when you do that?” he griped.

  “I did.” The Cybernarr pursed her lips. “A word.” She moved briskly to the transport’s rear. Habraum looked after her a moment, unsure of what this meant, but followed nevertheless.

  “There are concerns,” Marguliese began softly once they were away from the group, “regarding Mhir’ujiid’s duplicity.”

  Habraum sighed, already tired of this. “I’m not losing sleep over Tyris’s issues.”

  “Not just Tyris,” she countered. “Khromulus, Khal, V’Korram. And Sgt. Fiyan, of course.”

  Habraum leaned against the side of the transport in surprise, but exuded a calm veneer. “Unless it’s open insubordination, everyone’s entitled to their opinions, Maggie.”

  Marguliese drew closer, arms folded. “Have you been compromised by Mhir’ujiid’s torture?”

  Habraum didn’t need long to answer. “I won’t say it didn’t wallop me. But look at the info she’s given us on the Ghebrekh. The lass genuinely wants to help.”

  The Cybernarr fixed her eyes on Habraum, matchless in radiance even by the sparkling xephrite mines. “She has been resourceful.” Marguliese’s nearness, barely a few inches, increased. And Habraum felt a little too comfortable with that. “Yet she is hiding data, specifically regarding those stone pillars.”

  Habraum wrinkled his nose again, the cave’s stink as pungent as ever. “You cross-checked other occurrences of those structures?”

  “Affirmative.” Marguliese tossed back her long ponytail, a human fidget to stave off suspicion from non-Star Brigadiers a
bout her true nature. “At each location, Ghebrekh suicide bombers have appeared.”

  Habraum’s heart dropped. “Including the Thasque attack?”

  The Cybernarr nodded.

  He sucked his teeth heatedly. “These pillars could be a type of transmatter, or a big coincidence.”

  Marguliese arched an eyebrow. “Unlikely.”

  “I know,” Habraum finally admitted after a long, pained moment. A murderous growl followed by laughter caught his ears, Khrome pulling a prank on V’Korram.

  Marguliese’s next words drew his attention back to her. “Normally you defend your decisions more evenly. But these past few days, you have been abnormally confrontational.” The Cybernarr studied her superior officer. “Is it due to your past captivity and the Ttaunz’s bigotry, or another element?”

  The Cerc distractedly ran a gloved hand over his bald scalp. “Another element like what?”

  “Like Captain D’Urso,” Marguliese replied without pause.

  Habraum narrowed his eyes in confusion. “What’s Sam to do with this?”

  Marguliese looked around. “I understand you two have altered the parameters of your relationship.”

  Habraum stared at her. Of course Marguliese knew. She noticed every minute detail about everything. “Wow, Mags. You make it sound sexy.” He glanced about warily before whispering, “Yes, Sam and I are…something. So?” He could taste the defensiveness bubbling up his chest.

  “Intimate relations with team members can compromise decision-making,” Marguliese continued analytically as if discussing cake ingredients. “Perhaps recent quarrels or substandard sexual performances on her part have preoccupied you—”

  “No and NO.” Habraum pushed off the transport, appalled. “Those never affect my field decisions.”

  “As I assumed,” Marguliese replied without remorse. “I had to consider all probable scenarios.”

  The pair fell silent again, and Habraum refocused on the mission. “Still no energy readings, meaning Ghuj’aega’s invisible until he powers up again. We need a backup plan.”