Stars & Empire 2: 10 More Galactic Tales (Stars & Empire Box Set Collection)

by Jay Allan

  “Speak so I can understand you,” she said. “Centauri or mainvoice will do.”

  Before she could react, he grasped her wrist to turn her forearm outward. She winced when he stabbed her with a small tool and then released her again.

  “What was that for?” she said, rubbing her arm.

  “Not a lot of Humans in these parts,” Arter said. “Your people are looking for an MIA soldier. Little pilot girl. Sound familiar?”

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. She watched the Caspian enter the sample he had taken from her into his scanner. An expensive scanner of the sort that could save lives. She glared at Arter. “That’s the kind of equipment I’m talking about.”

  They ignored her until the Caspian tapped the display. “Yes, that’s her.” He reached out and tugged the scarf from her head to reveal her tousled red hair before activating a small device on his chest to take some video of her. His leader stepped outside the scope of the recorder. “Done,” the Caspian said after working with his equipment. “Sent.”

  “You’re lucky Air Command wants you back, girl,” Arter said. “Seems they don’t want to talk to the likes of us until they know you’re alive. Where’s the other one?”

  “Dead by this evening if you don’t listen to me and find us more to work with,” Nova said. “At least get us a scrubber so we can have clean water. Let us take the children out. Air Command will take care of them.”

  The two rebels turned away.

  “Dammit, I’m talking to you, Centauri!” she snapped.

  The hulking rebel leader turned back, moving very slowly. His huge fist reached out to wrap around her neck. He tightened it. “We are a little busy, Human. And I’m not in the mood to be shouted at by a Union soldier. Do you get that or do I have to snap your scrawny neck?”

  She did not take her eyes from his, nor did she struggle to get out of his iron grip. After a thoughtful silence, he let her go with a small shove.

  When he turned away again he waved at some of his men. “Get them a scrubber and get whoever is left in this dump to find some food.” Impatiently, he snatched the scanner from the Caspian’s hands and thrust it at Nova before stomping to the exit. “None of the civilians are to leave. Get this place cleaned up!”

  Nova slumped against the wall, coughing and clutching her prize to her chest. Her knees suddenly seemed awfully wobbly.

  Djari came to wrap an arm around her waist to hold her up. “That is either the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen or the bravest. Or maybe a bit of both.” He pulled the computer from her hands and gave it to one of the medics who immediately hurried away with it.

  “Stupidest.”

  They looked up when Coria, his Bellac colleague, approached. “The last time someone annoyed them they took five of us outside. They’re still out there, unburied.” She scowled at Nova. “I told you not to play Air Command soldier around here. You’ll get us all killed.”

  Nova pulled out of Djari’s loose embrace. “What I got you is a scanner and clean water. If things don’t improve soon we’ll have dysentery to deal with as well.” She turned to Djari. “Centauri have a weak spot. You can tell by the color of their eyes what’s going on, if you pay attention. You probably noticed that with Reko and some of the other Centauri here. Their eyes stop glowing when they’re sick or very tired and they can get really pale, almost grey. But when they’re upset or angry they go dark and the way they reflect light shifts. Takes a while to recognize but once you see it, it’s clear. From what I heard the same is true for Delphians except their eyes don’t glow. Never seen one close enough to check that out, though.” She glanced at Coria. “This Arter’s eyes didn’t change the whole time. He’s all bluster and that seems to be working for him.”

  Djari chuckled. “I think I could learn much from you, Sunshine.”

  Coria barked a short laugh.

  Nova stepped very close to the woman. “You could, too,” she said, keeping her voice barely above a whisper, tightly controlled to avoid the hissing sound that could draw attention as much as a shout. “See that Bellac rebel by the far window? And the one coming this way? Their rifles aren’t charged. That means they either don’t know what they’re doing, which makes them dangerous because their side arms likely work just fine, or the Shri-Lan here are out of ammunition, which is just as interesting. Something else you should notice is that none of them are patrolling the hallway to the latrines, likely because they just don’t want to. That tells me that they’re a little short on discipline here. Also both dangerous and useful. Perhaps you could quit sniping at me and start paying a little attention to our options here. Sitting around and waiting for rescue isn’t likely to work out too well for us. So let’s damn well remember we’re on the same side!”

  Coria glared at Nova for an interminable moment as if working on some sort of retort. In the end, she simply gave Djari a long, meaningful look and stalked away.

  Nova sighed and shook her head. “She doesn’t get it.”

  “We all cope in our own ways, Nova,” Djari said. “She’s afraid. Everyone is. She’ll come around. Hey, breakfast is served. Today’s menu is a lovely clotted rice paste with at least three pieces of dried fruit. Accompanied by a cup of hot water that has once been in the same room with a tea leaf. My treat.”

  “Sounds lovely. I’ll be there in a bit.” Nova left him to hurry to the injured rebel whose bullets they had stolen yesterday evening. The woman was still dealing with her broken arm and had been left behind by her compatriots.

  Nova knelt beside her pallet and checked the bruise on the woman’s face. “How’s the head,” she said softly.

  The Bellac groaned. “Like someone’s hit me with a rock. Now that I think of it, that’s probably what happened.”

  Nova gambled. “Arter said to get on your feet quick. I told him you’re not going anywhere with that arm. He’s got to chew on that.”

  “Thanks. Not much in the mood for getting shot at right now. Damn Air Command had a convoy of grunts brought in from Rim Station. Some General’s taken over. Looks like there might be a ceasefire unless Arter gets in a mood. Which is likely.”

  This news gave Nova some hope. General Ausan led Air Command operations on Bellac and was not someone who would allow a siege to go on for long. “You think Arter’s going to get desperate?”

  “Don’t know him that well.”

  Nova glanced around, trying to recall the name that the Caspian had used earlier. She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone. “Heard the furface say that Stoyan’s outfit going to hit tonight.”

  “Good, about time. This is a lot of blood to give up for a damn prison. Pe Khoja better be worth all this. As diversions go, this is the biggest foul-up I could ever imagine.”

  “Can’t imagine they’d leave a prison unguarded.”

  The woman made a scoffing sound. “Moshon ridge is hardly a prison.”

  Nova patted her shoulder. “You get some rest. I’ll send something to eat.” The garrison at the ridge was just a holding area for captured rebels and local sympathizers. They were sorted, many of them let go, some turned over to Bellac authorities. If someone important was among them, perhaps unknown to Air Command, it would certainly be the place to hit before he or she was transferred to Siolet’s far more fortified prison. She rose and hurried to where some of the workers sat around a shared bowl of food. She tugged on Djari’s sleeve to pull him away from the others. Startled, he scooped up a plate of the rice mash and followed her to a less crowded spot.

  “A private dinner,” he said. “I like that.” He handed her the plate when they had settled into their corner.

  “We need to find out more about these rebels,” she said, keeping her voice low. She ate quickly to avoid tasting the meal.

  “What do you mean?”

  “They must have supplies, food, equipment.” She peered around him to ensure that no one was listening. A few of the guards had watched her talk with the rebel but now resumed thei
r listless pacing along the perimeter of the hall. “I wonder if you can get some of the kids to scout around,” she said, meaning the young Bellacs that were sent outside to fetch water and burn soiled bandages and other refuse. “Some of the slum rats are pretty savvy, from what I’ve seen. I’m sure that the Shri-Lan are hoarding supplies for their leaders and whoever they feel is more important than this rabble.”

  He raised both eyebrows in surprise and with a hint of amusement. “You want us to steal from the rebels to help the rebels?”

  She grinned. “Yeah. Though I need to get my hands on a transmitter. If they’re talking to Command about the hostages, they will have stopped jamming com traffic. I’m guessing they’re using the relays on the tether.” She tapped the small metal triangle at her temple. “I can probably use this to get into their system and from there to Command.”

  “Sounds dangerous. Can I look?” He leaned closer to her and brushed a strand of her hair out of the way to study the device. Nova’s first impulse was to shrink back but there was something wonderfully pleasant about his presence. Perhaps it was this special trait that made him such a skillful healer in the almost complete absence of any real training. She held still, drawing comfort from his closeness without bothering to explore why she felt that way. It had been a long time since someone had touched her this gently.

  “Amazing,” he said, so close to her ear that she felt the hair at her nape rise. “To think that this small interface can let you steer entire spaceships as you wish. It’s almost magical.” He drew away. “But then a brain is a magical thing, isn’t it?”

  She exhaled a little shakily and just nodded.

  “Why don’t you just use that as a transmitter? Or a sort of homing beacon, anyway? There must be a way to track you with it.”

  “There is, but using these to transmit directly is too easily tapped. We’d be spotted by rebels at once. It’s why we rarely use them wirelessly. But I can embed my ID code into a message using their transmitter and they won’t know it’s me.”

  “Why are you so set on sending a message? They must know where we are. They just have to figure out a way to get us while we’re still alive.”

  “I overheard some things. All of this might just be a diversion to draw local Air Command troops here.”

  “Why?”

  She pulled on her lower lip, thinking about that. “Just a feeling, really.” She nudged his arm. “So do you think you can find us someone to look around? Nothing more. I’m not looking to get anyone into trouble. I just need to contact Command.”

  He nodded. “There’s a delinquent or two that wouldn’t mind sneaking around a bit. I think they’ve found the trick of getting around the Rhuwacs.” He nudged his plate around on the floor. “I wish there was a way to get some of these other people out of here. Your friend Reko is not going to make it much longer and that Bellac with the chest wound won’t either. They only have one lung.”

  “I’m sure someone’s negotiating something. The explosions have stopped now.”

  “You have a lot of confidence in your people.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Do you really think they care about a few civilians out here? For all we know, we’re the only ones left.”

  “They’ll worry about the outcome of not doing anything. As long as we’re not yet allied with Bellac, the Union is going do all they can to avoid more casualties.”

  He smiled sadly. “That’s it? Politics? And once Bellac has handed the planet over to you, would you walk away from these things? The rebels aren’t going to leave us alone. Will you still be here?”

  “Of course we will. We’ll have a big stake in this place.”

  “The jumpsite.”

  “Well, yes.”

  “But not the people.”

  “Of course the people,” Nova said, puzzled by his response. “We have bases wherever rebels are trying to take over. We’ll keep the garrisons here on Bellac to protect you. And we’re putting a monitoring station near the jumpsite to keep rebels out of your airspace.”

  “Wouldn’t be necessary, would it, if there were no rebels.”

  “Now you sound like Coria.”

  He shrugged. “She has a point. You’re only here because of the jumpsite. Those make it possible for your Union to expand, to travel to new places, to set up new trade. It’s commercial. It’s about wealth. And now so are the Shri-Lan.”

  “If they had any sort of organization they’d set up their own trade instead of trying to steal from others. There are other competitors of the Commonwealth and things work just fine with them.”

  “They’re as tainted by rebels, criminals and pirates as your own groups are.”

  She frowned. “Who have you been listening to, my poet farmer friend? That’s rebel propaganda you’re getting into now.”

  “Is it?” He smiled. “And I thought I figured that all out by myself.” He shook his head. “You control the jumpsites and that makes you very powerful. It’s bound to create wars where us local poets get caught in the crossfire.”

  Nova nodded. He was right, of course. A stable jumpsite inside a solar system meant relatively short jaunts through real space before reaching the sub-space entry point, a most valuable convenience for any planet. These sites were understood to belong to local sentient populations, if there were any. But, once discovered, they were quickly invited to join the Commonwealth to form trading partnerships.

  Bellac Tau’s jumpsite led directly to the busy Magran sub-sector which had not just one but several other sites opening important points within Trans-Targon, including Targon itself, the hub of their military network.

  The Union’s Air Command had not been an especially necessary organization until some of the locals rebelled against newly imposed rules and the changes that alien newcomers brought. Rebel groups merged into factions that slowly grew into a sizable opposition. Certainly, by now the Shri-Lan were no longer truly rebels although lesser, mainly harmless other offshoots existed on almost all planets.

  Over time, the powerful Shri-Lan had become an enemy force without a home planet and made up of any species that opposed Union presence. Funded through extortion, piracy and illegal trade in slaves, drugs, and weapons, they had established large territories not only on remote planets outside Union interests but also on vital worlds such as Magra and Pelion. Bellac had been in their sights when the Union finally escalated their negotiations for control of the planet.

  And so pilots like Nova patrolled jumpsites and valuable installations, escorted transports, hunted down rebels, and defended settlements against enemy attacks. It had never occurred to her to question the rightness of doing any of this. The rebels were her job; their extinction her priority.

  “It’s the way we have to live now,” she said. “Maybe we’ll all have peace someday.”

  “At what price?” He pointed toward the untidy rows of pallets crowding the hall. “Look around, Lieutenant. Most of those people were maimed by your soldiers. Or got caught by missile strikes while trying to flee. Collateral damage is all we are.”

  Nova was surprised by the anger that had finally cracked the surface of his outward serenity. He had seen enough, done too much these past few days to hang on to his optimism and it pained her to see him in this state. She had to admit to herself that she had come to rely on him to infuse her with some of his tranquility.

  “I don’t pretend to understand all of it,” she said softly. “And sometimes I wish we weren’t so heavy-handed. But look. The Shri-Lan are using your people like shields; we often display our uniforms even when camouflage seems a lot more sensible. They recruit children and species barely able to comprehend what they’re fighting for; we train our troops to treat our enemies humanely. We don’t hold dying people hostage. We—” Nova interrupted herself with a sudden and peculiar awareness that her own words sounded like so much propaganda. She thought about Captain Beryl, as cruel and cold-blooded as any rebel. About Captain Dakad, quick to order the ‘
mitigation’ of his downed pilot. Djari was right to worry about all of them being mitigated. “Maybe we’re not so noble, but given a choice I know on what side I stand.”

  “Do you have to be on any side?”

  Nova hesitated. This was the second time someone had asked her to think about that. Only a day or two ago Reko had assumed that she would leave Air Command at some point. Was it really that simple? “You’d have me stand by and do nothing? If I can help to defeat the Shri-Lan, why wouldn’t I?”

  He began to say something, paused, and then shrugged. “I suppose that makes sense. You’re a warrior, Lieutenant Sunshine.”

  She smiled back at him, glad that he seemed willing to put this subject aside. “I am. And this warrior needs to stop being a nurse and get back to soldiering. Just don’t tell Coria.”

  Chapter Five

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Nova whispered. “It’ll be safer here for you.”

  Night and silence had fallen over the hall, interrupted only by the occasional moan from the injured and the murmurs of their guardians. A fan whirred somewhere in an attempt to stir the stifling and fetid air. Things had improved a little today with the arrival of another scanner and a handful of decon wands. More disinfectant was not to be found but they had received enough soap and fresh water to improve sanitation.

  “I am,” Djari said. “I’ll be your lookout.”

  She retied the scarf around her head and then gently nudged Reko’s legs to retrieve some of their concussion bullets. She transferred them to the pockets of the baggy trousers that now hid her own combat armor beneath it. Reko stirred with a groan but did not wake. She murmured soothingly and stroked his stubbled cheek. His fever had grown alarmingly and his wound was hot and swollen. They had tried to cool him down but there was little more than water for that. Nova thought of all the wonderful medical equipment available even out here, at the garrison near the other end of town, that would have him up on his feet and firing off his lame jokes within hours. Right now, it might as well be on the next planet.