by Kal Spriggs
***
Alannis had maintained her military pilot's license, which meant that she was able to talk her way onto one of the first shuttles down to the planet as a backup pilot.
Not that she had much to do on the descent. Chief Petty Officer Darini handled the flight without issues, but it did give her an excellent view of the planet as they descended.
Not that there was much to see. The planet was wreathed in thick storm clouds. As they broke atmosphere, the wind buffeted them about quite a bit, but the Chief Petty Officer handled the rough air currents with little difficulty.
As they broke out of the lower layer of clouds, she picked out the valley and the landing area by the coordinates they'd been given. She did feel a bit of surprise at just how little of the base was visible even from this short distance. There was no beacon and the base practically disappeared within the rough and weathered rock ridges that it sheltered in.
“Not much to see, eh?” Chief Petty Officer Darani grunted.
“Yeah,” Alannis said, “It doesn't look like much.” Just down the valley there was a large lake and she could just make out the rusting shape of a crashed vessel, half drawn up on the south shore of the lake. Apparently someone didn't get the welcome mat thrown out for them, she thought.
They swept over it and circled, and a moment later a concealed hatch opened wide, revealing a large hangar hidden below. Darani muttered something under his breath as he brought the shuttle around and then dropped it through the hatch. It was a massive door, she saw, with room for both shuttles and more to spare.
“Well,” he said, “here we are.” He gave her a shrewd look, “I'll assume you won't be headed back up with me when I leave?”
Alannis shrugged, “Well... I do have a full eight hour shift down here. I assume you're leaving as soon as you're fueled up?”
“That I am,” He shook his head, “Officers.” He said it with a grunt of humor, though, so she didn't take it bad. “Nah, ma'am, I've got it. Though if I'd known you were certified, I would have added you to the flight roster. We're short a couple pilots, so if we have to do a combat drop, we may need the assistance.”
She nodded, “As long as the Captain can spare me from communications...”
“I'm sure he can spare one lowly Ensign,” Chief Darani grinned. “Now get off my bird, ma'am, and go get some fresh air. I want to get some more stick time.”
***
“Listen up, Marines!” Ensign Ashtar Shan shouted out. “Now, the Captain in his infinite wisdom decided that you all need some fresh air.”
“Hooah!” one joker in the back called out.
“I'm glad you agree,” Ashtar smiled. “Because Leader Chuni mentioned that her Ghornath warriors haven't had anyone to train against besides each other and she would love the opportunity to undertake some force on force training.”
The grins and cheers turned into groans. “Now,” Ashtar grinned, “she's having them tune down a few of their training rounds so they won't be lethal to us mere humans, but you can expect that won't take too long. They've apparently cleared most of the wildlife out of this valley, but they warn the beasties outside that valley are extremely hostile. They apparently train in the valley pretty often so they know the terrain. That means we have until they get ready to familiarize ourselves.”
She gave a sweet smile, “Get busy Marines.”
***
Alannis wasn't really surprised when she came down the ramp and found Kandergain awaiting her. “Ma'am,” she said as politely as she could manage.
“Hello Alannis,” Kandergain said. “Walk with me a bit?”
“Sure,” Alannis said and followed the tall, blonde woman away from the shuttle.
Great, she thought, just what I wanted, to spend my free time with my brother's... well, she didn't really know what Kandergain was. She and Lucius hadn't exactly married. She knew Lucius loved her, but she didn't see how Kandergain could feel the same way. She'd left him, after all.
The mother of my niece, she thought, I suppose that sounds better than my brother’s lover or squeeze.
“So,” Kandergain asked, “how is Lucius doing?”
“Oh, great,” Alannis said. “Raising two girls on his own and trying to run a nation. You know, fun times.”
Kandergain winced at Alannis's sarcastic tone. “I had to leave,” she said. “If I hadn't, the Shadow Lords would have attacked. Even if they didn't overwhelm the Fleet he's put together, they would have weakened it enough that the Balor would.”
“I wouldn't know about that,” Alannis said. “I do know he misses you and that he's struggling to be a single parent, raising a child who wants to know where her mother is and an adopted daughter who lost her mother trying to protect your daughter.”
Kandergain gave her a shrewd look, “So... are we talking about Lucius... or you?”
Alannis flushed, “What happened between Reese and I is different!”
“He betrayed your trust,” Kandergain said. “Now, don't get me wrong, I'm hardly defending him. He worked with Admiral Mannetti and who knows what he's up to now?”
Alannis pursed her lips together, “Look, if you're about to lecture me about my son...”
“I hardly have any room to stand in that regard,” Kandergain said bitterly. “Trust me, I know that well enough. I'm not trying to be critical... I'm just asking you not to judge me.”
Alannis shrugged, but she didn't argue. Family, she thought, is always the biggest mess.
“So, is that why you wanted to talk with me?” Alannis asked. “Clear the air a bit?”
“While it was an awkward conversation that I've been meaning to have, it's not really the main reason, no,” Kandergain sighed. “Despite what you may think, I haven't been hiding out here on this paradise planet just waiting for you to show up. I just got back from... well, I won't bore you with the details.”
She sighed again, “This war that we've been fighting in the shadows has started heating up. I'm not sure what the cause is, but it's like every one of the major players is getting more desperate. The Shadow Lords, the Balor... even some of the side players are starting to make plays we never expected. And this business with the Ghornath... I think it's part of it.”
“You think the Balor or the Shadow Lords are involved?” Alannis asked. Half the crew had discussed the identity of the mystery fleet and where it had come from. The fact that the attackers had used human technology made it seem more and more likely that originated with the Shadow Lords.
“I don't know,” Kandergain said, “that itself makes me nervous. Information is the key, knowledge is power... and if this isn't from one of the known players then that means half the assumptions I've been operating under are wrong. I don't think I need to explain why that would be a bad thing.”
Alannis shook her head. Lucius had told her some about the mysterious John Mira and his prophesies or predictions. Those predictions were what Kandergain and her group seemed to operate off of, a playbook based off a long-dead precognitive who had given his life to try and prevent the destruction of the human race.
“So what do you want me to do?” Alannis asked.
“Keep your eyes open,” Kandergain said. “If you find out anything, pass it along. I'll give you some contact information, places you can drop information so that it'll get passed along to me.”
“You don't trust the ansible network either?” Alannis asked.
“I don't trust anything anymore,” Kandergain said, her gaze going distant.
“Kandergain!” a cheerful voice shouted out. A moment later another tall blonde woman rushed over. She was as tall as Kandergain, much taller than Alannis, and she was stunningly beautiful, with curly blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, and perfect features that made Alannis feel ugly and squat in comparison. Great, she thought, just the reminder I needed about why I'm single.
“Ariadne,” Kandergain said with a nod, “we have news?”
“We do,” the other woman said. “He'll be arriv
ing at Cuatl in two days.” Alannis blinked at that, the planet lay in the Quadi system, on the far side of human space. She didn't know why any information about that system would be so valuable.
“Oh, hello!” Ariadne noticed Alannis, “Sorry to interrupt.”
“Not a problem,” Alannis said, “we were just finishing up.” She looked at Kandergain, “Sister?”
Kandergain snorted, “No relation. Though the information she brings means I need to get going. Here's the list I told you about. Take care... and give Lucius my love.” She pressed a slip of paper into Alannis's hands and then hurried away.
Alannis didn't know whether to be offended or relieved. She looked at Ariadne, “Uh, shouldn't you be following her?”
“No, we just got here,” she gushed. Just about everything she did seemed to be cheerful. “It's good to be off the ship. You have no idea how stinky a Wrethe and Ghornath can get on a small shuttle.”
That was a thought that Alannis didn't want to have. She wondered why she'd have a Wrethe aboard her shuttle. Perhaps for a prisoner? For that matter, she wondered just what it was that Ariadne did for Kandergain. “Anything to do around here?” Alannis asked.
“Well,” Ariadne said, “I could give you the tour if you'd like...”
***
“So,” Ariadne said, “this is the old storage bays, it's where the Ghornath have sort of taken over.”
“Alannis!” Chuni called out as they came through the hatch. The big female Ghornath stood surrounded by a dozen or more of her fellow Ghornath. “Let me introduce you to my squad!”
“Uh, hi?” Alannis said.
She had thought that Chuni was large, but compared to most of the other Ghornath, she was actually short. Alannis felt as if she were surrounded by giants.
“Hey, Chuni, I didn't know you were back,” Ariadne said. “Rastar, did you see that Chuni was back?”
Alannis noticed that Chuni had gone still. Another Ghornath came in from the corridor. Unlike the others, Rastar wore an eye-searing floral pattern shirt. It was made up of purple, orange, and bright green and Alannis was somewhat surprised that the shirt didn't trigger seizures in everyone who saw it. She hadn't known that so much of such hideous cloth existed in all of the universe.
“Rastar, we are about to train against the human Marines,” Chuni rumbled. “You are welcome to participate.”
“Hey, yeah, that would be really great!” Rastar rumbled. He stood even taller than the other Ghornath in Chuni's squad. “I'll go get my training rounds...”
As he rushed off, Chuni looked around, “We'll be training against the humans. They fight well, so do not underestimate them. Get into your gear and ready yourself, Haramat will have readied our training rounds so that they won't accidentally kill any of our allies.”
As her squad rushed off, Alannis moved closer to Chuni, “So... who's Rastar?”
Chuni started, as if she had forgotten about Alannis's presence. “Rastar? He is a warrior, Rastar Bastaff Antor, we grew up in the same refugee camp.”
Alannis knew she wasn't imagining the shift of colors along her friend's hide. “Chuni... are you and Rastar, uh, seeing each other?”
“What?” Chuni spun and looked around as if to make certain no one had overheard. “Alannis,” she hissed, “do not say such a thing, you do not know how dangerous such words can be!”
“Why?” Alannis asked. “He seems to be working outside your chain of command. You aren't related or something, right?”
Chuni shook her head, “Rastar is Xurok, dishonored. Most of my warriors can barely stand to be in the same room as him. They will stomach training against him only because they think it will give them the opportunity to prove he is inferior.”
Alannis stared at her. It was a reminder that aliens were alien. “Chuni, what did he do that was so wrong? He seemed nice enough.”
“He didn't do anything,” Chuni said. “His father... well, it is a long story. He carries the shame of his family and without some great effort on his part, he will die as Xurok. Any children he has will carry that shame... and we Ghornath do not mate casually, it would be with the intention of raising children.”
I didn't say a thing about mating, Alannis thought to herself, but she kept her mouth shut. “It seems like you respect him, despite this dishonored thing. Why would it matter what others think?”
Chuni shook her head, “No, you do not understand. I cannot, I will not view Rastar as anything more than an acquaintance. Even to profess friendship would threaten to contaminate my honor. My duty demands more of me.”
Alannis didn't really understand. For that matter, she wasn't certain that Chuni really understood. It sounded more like she had spoken as much to convince herself as to explain it to Alannis. “Okay, sure. So you're going to have Rastar on the human side of this exercise?”
“Yes,” Chuni nodded. She grinned, “It will tip the scales a bit more back towards the human side, since they are so outnumbered. Plus, it will be good to teach my warriors some humility. He is, in fact, a magnificent fighter.”
“Will your, uh, Chigathi-Ho gain any respect for him if he defeats them?” Alannis asked.
“No,” Chuni said. “They might, as individuals, respect his accomplishments, but they will not publicly praise him. Only a truly heroic act could remove the stain to his honor, something to counter the failure of his father.”
“Trust me, I know all about that kind of thing,” Alannis muttered. She thought about her own father, who had betrayed his Emperor and tried to seize power in the Nova Roma Empire. For that matter, there were at least two copies of him running around, one of whom supported the Centauri Confederation and another who worked for Shadow Lord Imperious. His legacy had been a shadow that had prevented her from having any real friends as a child and had prevented her from having a military career as she grew older.
“Well,” she said, “I think it's bogus that your people treat him that way.”
Chuni shrugged, “It is a thing of honor. He understands it.”
“Well,” Alannis said, “if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go see if Ashtar needs any help for this fight. I happen to like underdogs... whether they understand why they are or not.”
Chuni didn't respond as Alannis walked away.
***
“Captain, thanks for meeting with me,” Kandergain said.
Daniel gave her a nod, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“We scrubbed the computers from the pirates you and Burbeg encountered. It seems they were based out of the Gamma Serpentis system, a marginally inhabitable planet called Sapphire.”
“Oh?” Daniel asked. He hadn't known there were any human colonies out that far.
“Apparently it’s a sort of trade hub out here,” Kandergain said. “From what some of your prisoners said, there's a pirate warlord who's trying to turn it into a slaver's paradise. They also mentioned it isn't he only pirate base out this way... apparently there may be another in the Akris system... or at least, no one's ever returned from there.”
“Akris?” Daniel asked, “I've never heard of it.”
“Neither had I, but Burbeg has... in his people's histories, it was one of the first systems they came to after they left their Gates of Hallidas.”
Daniel grimaced. He'd already assumed they'd have to go the Gamma Serpentis system, now it appeared they'd have to visit this other pirate system as well. “Okay,” he said, “Pirates we can deal with, I suppose. You mentioned slavers, too?”
She nodded, “I gather the Gamma Serpentis system has a large slave population. Humans, mostly, but also some Chxor, Ghornath, and even maybe some Wrethe.”
Daniel frowned, he couldn't imagine someone wanting a Wrethe slave. You have to worry about one of them ripping your face off even when they don't have a good reason, he thought. “Okay, so that precludes us opening fire and just blasting them out of space. We're short on foodstuffs anyway, we'll probably try to take on food at one of the two systems.”
“From what I gather, Sapphire is your best bet, they've got a barter economy going there. Some of the precious metals that the scavengers had might go towards that, assuming you don't mind sacrificing the prize money.”
Daniel shrugged, “I think Commander Bowder inventoried it already. So we can pull equivalent values and then replace the cost to the crew from ship's funds.” They hadn't really bothered with the ships themselves although Burbeg had said he’d take care of them. Daniel supposed they might have some value, but they'd probably just end up as pirate vessels again... and he didn't want any part in money towards those purposes.
“What will you be doing with the pirate ships?” Daniel asked.
“Oh, we have some allies who could use the firepower,” Kandergain said with a grin. “They'll be put to good use, trust me.”
Daniel shrugged, “As long as we never see them as pirate vessels again, I'm not too worried about it. The pirates?”
Kandergain smiled, “The nastiest of the lot have already been dealt with. Burbeg asked for my assistance in identifying the real monsters. Some of the others... well, we've got a serious labor shortage. We gave them the option of working their sentences off here or the noose. I can't say I'm surprised that many of them chose hard labor.”
Daniel frowned, “That's not much better than slavery, is it?”
She shrugged, “Most of the surviving pirates aren't rapists or murderers, but they still supported and enabled pirates who were. For that matter, they still robbed and stole and profited from murder and slavery. I can't say I care too much if they spend the rest of their lives in hard labor... do you?”
“No,” Daniel said after a moment of consideration, “No, I can't say that I do.”
***
In the early morning light, Alannis limped painfully towards the outer door to the base. She watched as the mixed group of Ghornath and humans trudged tiredly up the hill behind her. “Did you see the LT?” one of the Marines asked in a low voice. “She doesn't even look tired!”
Ashtar stood at the hatch and watched with sharp eyes as the rest of her platoon trudged up the hill. Alannis could tell that her friend was tired, but her pride and stubbornness kept her back straight. And the fact that her Marines forgot she wasn't a Marine Lieutenant probably doesn't hurt, either, Alannis thought with amusement. The Fleet jokes had stopped after the first training sessions aboard ship... and this exercise made most of those look like child's play.