by M. D. Cooper
“Go, you idiots!” Cami called out. “My armor’s sealing it up.”
“Stay with her,” Korin ordered Rumsey as Bart and Friz rushed down the hall toward him.
He checked around the corner once more, and then the three Adders moved toward the doors at the end of the hall that led to the landing pad.
Korin cracked one open and peered out to see two Kurgise guards escorting Lady Marion to the shuttle. He didn’t hesitate and fired a shot into the back of one of the enemies.
The man didn’t fall, but spun to see three Adders with weapons trained on him.
“Guns on the ground!” Korin screamed.
“Shoot them!” Marion yelled, but one of the guards was already dropping his rifle. The other followed a second later.
Korin walked toward Lady Marion, a grin on his face. “Well my lady, it seems as though the Adders have bested Kurgise yet again.”
Maybe this was worth it. It better have been.
“Pirate scum,” Marion spat. “The council is going to destroy your new canton leader!”
“Right,” Korin snorted. “I’m on pins and needles.”
“Stand down!” a voice thundered through the air, and bright lights shone down on Korin and the rooftop landing pad.
He looked up to see a shuttle, accompanied by a dozen fighters, slowing to a stop over the Kurgise mansion.
The voice from above came again. “By the order of Lady Armis, stand down. Lady Marion has claimed sanctuary with Draus, and we will see it given.”
Friz lowered his rifle and glanced at Korin. “Fuckin’ Draus, always ruining the party.”
SANCTUARY
STELLAR DATE: 02.04.8512 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Lady Marion’s mansion
REGION: Canton Kurgise, Persia, Midditerra System
Armis stepped out of the shuttle and walked toward Marion, who stood smirking at the Adder pirates.
Stupid woman…you were seconds away from capture and stars knows what else.
“Marion, come with me.” Armis grabbed the leader of Canton Kurgise’s arm. “We must go.”
Marion turned on Armis, her golden eyes gleaming in the night. “Leave? But you’re here. I’ve claimed sanctuary.”
“To gain sanctuary, you have to come to my canton,” Armis said, refraining from berating Marion for not knowing council law.
“We wanted you alive, Marion,” one of the Adders said, his voice a low growl. “But whether you’re dead or alive, Kurgise is ours now. Adder and MDF ships are surrounding Kurgise stations and strongholds as we speak.”
“No!” Marion shouted, spinning to face Armis. “Is that true?”
Armis nodded. “It was a coordinated assault that started minutes after the attack here. It was only through dumb luck that I was nearby and able to answer your call for sanctuary.”
“That metal bitch!” Marion shrieked. “She can’t do this. She—”
“Marion, shut up,” Armis ordered. “Get on the shuttle. You can’t solve anything, standing on your roof and raving like a crazy woman.”
Marion’s mouth hung open for a moment before snapping shut. She shot the Blackadder pirates one final cold look, and stormed past Armis toward the shuttle. Armis gave the two pirates a final look, as well.
Although…they aren’t really pirates.
From what her HUD told her, both of the men on the rooftop were native to Persia. They’d been born on this planet, lived hard—dare she even say, miserable—lives until they found a place in the Blackadder.
Armis still remembered when it had been Revenence Canton—technically, it still was. But once Jace took over, he had insisted that it simply be called ‘the Blackadder’.
They were well rid of that scum, though, even if it seemed that Katrina was worse.
“Remember,” she called out to the two men. “The survivors are prisoners of war. You may not sell them as slaves or treat them unfairly until the council has met to review this matter.”
“Go on then.” The man who had spoken before waved her off. “Take the Lady of Nothing and get gone.”
Armis sighed and turned, walking toward her shuttle. The whole way, her back felt itchy, and she wanted to run, but knew she had to maintain her decorum.
Making a habit of this.
She had to trust that the pirates wouldn’t shoot, not with her fighters hovering overhead.
Of course, she’d be a fool to assume that there were no heavy weapons aimed at her ships. For the Adders to take the mansion in a matter of minutes, they would have rails or more in the surrounding forest.
That they had managed to get this close before launching the assault meant only one thing: Katrina’s tech was in play, here.
Armis made it to shuttle unscathed, and met Marion’s eyes.
“You could take them,” the unseated canton leader said. “They only have a half-dozen rail emplacements in the woods.”
“And they have a cruiser overhead,” Armis added. “No, I don’t think I’ll go down in a blaze of glory with you. I would prefer you to shut up and let me think. We have to do something about Katrina fast. She’s getting out of hand.”
“Well, yes, that much is obvious. You have—”
“Marion,” Armis said putting a hand to her forehead. “What part of ‘shut up’ don’t you understand?”
Marion shot her a cold look but didn’t speak further, as the shuttle lifted off and climbed through the skies until it reached its cruising altitude.
“We’re out of range of their ground weapons,” the shuttle pilot called back.
Armis didn’t think that the Adders would have shot at a Draus shuttle. That being said, it was nice to be far, far away from their guns.
They passed over the Revenence Estate, and then the western coast of the continent. Armis felt relief wash over her as the dark surface of the ocean filled the horizon.
There were many powers on Persia, and in the Midditerra system at large, but one thing had been true for generations.
Draus controlled the sea.
Not only that, but her submarine drones were able to provide direct protection for her shuttle.
With her level of worry suitably diminished, Armis looked again at Marion—who was quietly fuming—and asked, “What did you do?”
“Me?” Marion asked, outrage clear in her tone of voice. “Why do you think that I did something? We’ve seen what Katrina can do, she doesn’t need provocation.”
“She also doesn’t need the added distraction of governing everything herself. She’s making examples and taking out the defiant. You’re not worth making an example of—not after what she did to Troan and Wills.”
“Gee, thanks, Armis. You’re such a delight.”
Armis shrugged. “I’m trying to keep this star system from tearing itself apart. Now. What did you do?”
“Accuse all you want.” Marion folded her arms across her chest. “I didn’t do anything.”
“OK, thanks for equivocating. So one of your allies did something. Who was it? Urdant? Illyra? Kruger?”
Marion’s eyes widened a millimeter, and Armis knew she’d found the one.
Kruger.
“Ever the profiteer.” Armis shook her head. “Did he steal a bauble for you that Katrina will want?”
“Not for me, directly,” Marion equivocated. “But it will help, that’s for sure.”
“Spit it out, already.”
“He worked out a deal to take ownership of the Verisimilitude.”
“From…who is the first mate on that ship…Leon?” Armis asked after looking it up. She’d kept extensive records of every Blackadder ship—as much as she was able to, at least. Jace had never run a particularly organized establishment.
“Yeah.” Marion nodded, a wicked smile on her lips. “Kruger is going to use it and some merchant ships to bolster the outer system defenses, while Admiral Gunter takes a force insystem and captures Farsa.”
“That would be fantastic. If Katrina were on Fars
a.”
Armis let the words fall and watched as a look of confusion came over Marion.
“Where is she?”
“Last I heard, on her way to Nesella station. I suppose this explains why.”
“Shit!” Marion swore. “She’ll ruin everything.”
“That’s been her modus operandi for the past week and a half. Why change now?”
“Still, maybe Gunter will be able to take her out while she’s in the outer system.”
Armis nodded. It was possible. Of course, that would put Admiral Gunter in control of the MDF. He was certainly preferable to Katrina, but not her first choice by a long shot.
“Well, we know one thing, at least,” Armis said, giving Marion a level stare.
“What is that?”
“Katrina wasn’t afraid to wipe you out for supposed collaboration with Kruger, who may or may not have even been actively working against her. She’s even more ruthless than I thought.”
“Bitch,” Marion muttered again. “We have to stop her.”
Armis agreed. They did, and she was starting to form an idea as to how they’d pull it off.
ONE SMALL JUMP
STELLAR DATE: 02.05.8512 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: BWSS Nova Star
REGION: Interstellar space near the Midditerra System
“All fleet elements are assembled and in jump formation, Admiral Pierson,” the Fleet Coordination Officer announced from his station on the Nova Star’s bridge.
“Very good, Lieutenant,” Pierson replied with a small nod. “Instruct all ships to proceed with the jump.”
“Yes, Admiral,” The FCO replied, and bent to his task. Though the coordination officer ensured all the ships had received Pierson’s orders, it was really the fleet NSAI that ensured the ships were on the correct vectors and ready to jump.
This final leg of the journey would take just one day, and when they arrived on the edge of the Midditerra system, they would strike hard and fast at the outer defenses, then move insystem. Their ultimate destination would be determined by intel they’d get after their arrival, but Pierson’s money was on Farsa Station.
That’s where power was held in Midditerra. If not there, then it would be on Persia, the planet below.
The leading elements of the Bollam’s World fleet, under the command of Admiral Dalia, began to transition into the dark layer: a division of destroyers and light cruisers that would take out any defenses and kick off long-range kill shots aimed at known stationary defenses in the system.
Though the division was small—only four hundred and thirty destroyers, and seventy-four light cruisers—it would be more than enough to secure a beachhead for the rest of the fleet.
The rest of the feet was moving at a slower velocity, and though they would jump in just a few minutes, they would not arrive until more than twelve hours later.
By then, Admiral Dalia should have current intel that would guide their next actions.
It was a risky play; Pierson could be jumping the bulk of the fleet into a trap. But he had faith in Dalia that either she would clear the way, or get a warning to him if things went terribly wrong.
Even if that was the case, he was hopeful that the delay in the two-prong assault would make MDF buy Dalia’s feint, and give him an advantage he could exploit.
Only time would tell.
Attempting to take a star system with only four thousand ships was an incredible gamble. Then again, the BWSF wasn’t worried about taking and holding the Midditerra System. They just wanted the Streamer Woman and her ship.
She’d better be there, or a lot of us are going to die for nothing, Pierson thought as the last of Dalia’s ships disappeared into the void.
ASSIGNATION
STELLAR DATE: 02.05.8512 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Verisimilitude
REGION: Nesella Station, Regula, Midditerra System
“What a mess,” Odis shook his head as he led Katrina through the Verisimilitude. “Bloody pirates fought to the end. Even against their own people.”
“I think they knew what was coming to traitors,” Katrina replied as they stepped over debris strewn across a corridor.
Odis turned to gaze at Katrina, cocking an eyebrow as he did. “Well, technically the Adders who sided with you are the traitors, aren’t they?”
Katrina laughed at the MDF colonel, earning a head shake from the man.
Despite his sour attitude, he spoke his mind and didn’t hold back. Katrina appreciated that as more and more sycophants seemed to come out of the bulkheads as the days went on.
“Those sorts of things are fluid,” Katrina said when her laughter died down. “Especially in a canton like the Adders’. Respect and fealty go to the strong. It’s not that much different than the military; the rules for getting to the top are just different.”
Odis snorted. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
They reached a lift, and Katrina decided that the risk was small enough to allow herself to get into the enclosed space with Odis. When the doors closed, he turned to her, and she had to resist tensing up.
“What are you going to do with Kruger?” Odis asked. “Is he getting the axe, as well?”
“I don’t think so.” Katrina shook her head. “He was under the control of his AI. Someone either botched the buffers on the implantation, or they did it to him on purpose.”
“Fuckin’ AIs,” Odis swore. “Anyone who lets one of those things inside their head is an idiot.”
“I’ve known a few who weren’t,” Katrina replied. “There are a lot of good AIs out there.”
“Sure, good AIs abound. I have good friends, too. Doesn’t mean I want them sharing skull space with me—especially when they can turn me into a meat puppet, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Katrina nodded as the lift doors opened. “I get that.”
Odis walked out first, striding down the corridor toward the bridge, but Katrina didn’t budge.
There, standing in the passageway, was Admiral Gunter, gun in his mouth. The look of horror that twisted his visage as he looked at her caused Katrina to take a step back.
Then he pulled the trigger, blowing the back of his head off.
But it wasn’t his head blowing apart, spraying brains across the bulkhead.
It was Juasa’s.
Her eyes were filled with a mixture of pity and remorse as she held the gun in her mouth. As though she were judging Katrina and finding her wanting.
“No…” Katrina whispered, closing her eyes. “That’s not what happened.”
“What was that?” Odis asked, and Katrina opened her eyes once more to see the colonel standing in the corridor where Juasa had been, a look of concern mixed with annoyance on his face.
“Nothing,” Katrina replied as she strode out of the lift. “I was just talking with someone else.”
“OK, bridge is this way.”
Katrina knew the layout of the ship—she’d studied it before the attack—but followed Odis without comment, trying to come to grips with what she’d seen.
It wasn’t the first time the image of Juasa’s death had flashed before her eyes. It was there every time she tried to sleep. But never like that. Never accusing her.
And mixed with Gunter? What in the stars was that about? Was it because the man had preferred to die than follow her?
No. He blew the back of his head off so I couldn’t keep tapping his implants and learn what else he had planned. The man was just protecting his own interests.
In one light, it was honorable. Or maybe not. He could also have just been taking the coward’s way out.
She shook her head to clear the thoughts away, as she and Odis walked onto the bridge to find Norm lounging in the captain’s chair.
“Lady Katrina,” he said with a grin, rising slowly. “We tried not to ding her up too much. Most of what went down was cosmetic.”
“You did good, Norm. Both of you,” she nodded to Odis. “A ship like the ‘T
ude has no place in Kruger’s hands.”
“Shouldn’t be in the Adders’ hands, either,” Odis muttered.
“Why’s that, soldier-boy?” Norm said, turning to face Odis. “What’s wrong with the Adders having our own ship back?”
Odis gave Norm a disdainful look. “Maybe because pirates prowling around other systems with cruisers is bad for business, attracts the wrong kind of attention. But mostly because it was the MDF that took the ship, not you.”
Norm took a step toward Odis. “I lost good people securing that dock so you didn’t have a hundred guns up your ass.”
“I lost good people, too,” Odis growled, his voice low and menacing. “But that’s what a real military does. We understand that going in.”
“Oh? A ‘real military’? You get in, what, one or two stand-up fights a century? The Adders are fighting every week. You guys are fucking comedians compared to us.”
Katrina folded her arms across her chest as she regarded the two men. “You guys done yet? If you whip your dicks out, I can measure them, if you’d like. I’m not getting ‘em hard first, though. That’s on you.”
Odis shot Katrina a look of revulsion, while Norm’s face showed shock for a minute, before he burst out laughing. The MDF colonel didn’t join in, but his ire faded a touch.
“I need force cohesion,” Katrina said, once Norm got himself under control. “That starts with you two getting along. Neither could have pulled this off without the other. Sam was instrumental, as well. But if I take the Adders’ flagship and turn it over to the MDF, we’re going to have a repeat of what we just went through.” She looked to Odis as she finished the statement. “Understood?”
Odis nodded, and she could see that he did understand.
“Good. Remember, we could be just days away from an attack by one of our neighbors, or even from Bollam’s World.”
“Bollam’s? Really?” Norm asked.
“It’s possible.” Odis glanced at the pirate. “Especially if they want our new, illustrious leader badly enough.”
“They want my ship,” Katrina replied. “We’re alike in that respect.”