Siege of Praetar (Tales of a Dying Star Book 1)

by David Kristoph

  Her thumbs rested behind her belt, and her brown coat swished around her knees as she walked. Where the Station’s customers had parted for Akonai, they practically leapt out of Kari’s way.

  She took the chair that was fetched for Akonai, slouching into it with an arm over the back. She looked around the room with green eyes, bored, as if trying to decide if she would rather be gambling or drinking. For all the sweat on Bruno’s face his mouth was dry as dust. He drank deeply from a cup of yellow liquid on the table. “Care for anything, Kari? Stingwater, food, plourine...”

  She took the cup from his hand and emptied it in one swallow. Her voice was rough like sand, at odds with her petite frame. “Tell me what you need Bruno. There is a boy I must find and do terrible things to.”

  That could have meant a target, or one of Bruno’s prostitutes. He wasn’t sure. “A man named Lenir may need to die.”

  “He is a Melisao.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “Yes, the foreman of a factory.”

  “A Melisao death requires a Melisao price.”

  “Of course,” he said, waving a hand. “Whatever you need is yours.”

  She was silent, and for a moment Bruno thought she would refuse. She rarely took jobs against blue-eyed targets. Finally she nodded.

  He told her everything he knew about Lenir: his age, physical description, the factory he oversaw. Loddac gave her the location of his home. Kari didn’t write anything down. She simply listened, nodded, and remembered. She had a flawless memory, especially for every favor she’d done for Bruno. “This is the fifth job this month,” she said, looking at the table of food.

  “I wouldn’t need you if everyone obeyed me.”

  She examined an oyster between her fingers before tossing it back onto the table. “How soon?”

  “Not immediately. Perhaps a day. I will know for certain tomorrow night.”

  A knife was suddenly in Kari’s hand, and she speared a roasted leg of meat. With deft skill she cut away everything from the bone, letting the fatty meat fall back to the table until only the bone remained. She cracked it in half and sucked the marrow from one piece, then the other, before dropping them to the table.

  “Is there anything else?” She twirled the knife between her fingers. Her gaze was fixed on the floor with calculated disinterest. Bruno knew she was waiting to see if anyone would challenge her weapon.

  “No,” he said, eying the knife, “that was all.”

  The knife disappeared with a flourish, and she strode down from the platform. Loddac hopped out of her way. From the workers in the corner she selected a bare-chested man who was well-muscled, leading him from the room by his belt. Loddac watched her with a look of lust or respect, but she only made Bruno feel uncomfortable. He disliked relying on her. “Lenir had better make his delivery,” he announced to the platform.

  Chapter 12

  Dok proved correct; the freighter was ready the next day. Civilians were told, the word spread, and by mid-afternoon a line of dirty passengers snaked through Bruno’s chamber. Their clothes were unfitting, hanging loosely over shriveled frames. Yellow dust caked their hair. But they were happy and hopeful, many for the first time in their life.

  Bruno watched them with the solemness of the Praetari kings of old. He barely touched his food. Lenir had made no delivery, and with every passing moment Bruno’s doubt grew. He began to second-guess his decisions. If he sent Kari that evening it would be another day before Lenir was replaced, and at least another more before Bruno could find out if the new foreman was malleable to his demands. If he’d killed Lenir yesterday the whole process would be farther along, and he would be closer to having the parts he needed. But now he needed to wait.

  He found himself staring at the bay doors that covered the wall to his left. He didn’t know how sympathetic Akonai would be, but he suspected not very. The man was as cold and hard as steel. His demands were very specific. If Bruno could not deliver he would find someone who could, and whatever happened to the Lord of the Station would not be good.

  “I ought to hire more guards,” he mumbled, shifting his weight in the chair. A few of the passengers glanced up, but quickly looked away. Good guards were difficult to find. Most Praetari were as scrawny as this lot, wasting away from the Empire’s food rationing. Strength was rare, and men were sent into the mines as soon as they could swing a pick. Bruno was forced to select boys, training them from an early age. Children were more obedient, especially when taught to rely on the Station for food and safety. But they required years to grow and train, and time was a resource Bruno lacked.

  He could send recruiters into the mines. Working for Bruno was less dangerous than waiting for a mineshaft to collapse. Or he could march to the factory with his full force and take the parts he needed, foreman be damned. He would have the full amount required then, instead of waiting for a few shipments at a time.

  But he dismissed the thoughts as quickly as they surfaced. Bruno had chosen his emblem with care. The massive desert snakes didn’t slither in the open sand, where they were vulnerable to larger predators. They dug holes and burrowed, waiting for their prey to wander by. Man did not care to disturb a snake’s burrow so long as it remained there. But if the snake killed a child, or wandered into the city, it could no longer be tolerated.

  Bribing peacekeepers and skimming electroid parts could be ignored, but direct threats to their factories and mines could not. Bruno would not give the Empire reason to seek him out.

  Kari arrived before nightfall. Dok giggled and stared at the assassin, whose vest revealed the tops of her breasts. She sidled up next to the him and arched her back in a stretch, sticking her chest out. She liked to tease the witless engineer.

  Bruno offered her food, but she shook her head. “Do I have the job?”

  There was no point in delaying any longer. Bruno nodded. “Tonight, as soon as possible. It must look like an accident.”

  “He would be at home tonight.”

  “I would assume so.”

  She hesitated. “I had hoped to do it tomorrow. An accident at the factory would be easier to stage.”

  “Consider it a challenge, then.”

  “I don’t care to be challenged. I care to be paid.”

  “And you will,” Bruno said. Was she acting strange, or was it his imagination? Money was always an afterthought to the job itself. “I’ll pay you extra upon completion, if you are concerned.”

  “I will be paid up-front,” she said. “This job is more dangerous. The man is watched by peacekeepers at all times.”

  The insistence in her voice alarmed Bruno. He’d never doubted her abilities, but just then he wondered if the job was too difficult.

  But another day could not be wasted; the foreman must die that night.

  He pulled the square accounting device from his pocket and typed Kari’s account with his thumbs. He entered some more numbers, and the device clicked and hummed. “It’s done.”

  Kari pulled her own device from her coat’s inner pocket. She stared at it a few moments before looking back up. “That is only half.”

  “You will receive the other half upon completion.” She was definitely nervous. Something was wrong. “Half up-front is more than fair. I do not understand why you would need the full amount now, unless you mean to cheat me.”

  Her face hardened and she waved a hand dismissively. “No, this is adequate. The Melisao will die tonight.”

  Just then Kotra jogged past the line of passengers and into the room. “Lord Bruno, a cart just arrived out back.”

  Bruno leaned forward. “From the factory?”

  “It’s got the markings.”

  He turned to Kari and said, “Wait here. I may not need you after all.”

  She looked uncomfortable again. Probably wondering if I’ll want my money returned. But that wasn’t a concern just then. He didn’t even care that the guards at the gate had once again failed to notify him of a visitor. If the shipment had arrived hi
s problems would quickly dwindle.

  He even smiled. Things were falling into place.

  Outside the passenger crates were still being unloaded from the workshop. The freighter stood ready, its engines idling. Behind it rolled a huge cart, backing toward them slowly. It moved on six wheels, each as tall as a man, grooved along the outside for better traction in the dirt. On the side of its rectangle chassis was a symbol, the identification of Lenir’s factory.

  Dok muttered to himself, “The parts, we need them, need to work...” He was frantic now that the shipment had finally arrived.

  Bruno ignored him. The cart halted, rocking back and forth on its wheels. The engine hissed and then was quiet. A door opened on the front, and Lenir himself hopped down into the dirt. He took a nervous look around the courtyard.

  Bruno greeted him warmly. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come! You see? I told you it was possible, if you were properly motivated.”

  Lenir still looked afraid, as if he would be attacked.

  “Put your guns away,” Bruno said to the guards, “Lenir here is our business partner now.” Rief and Kotra slung their weapons over their shoulders, but the foreman remained tense.

  “The wheels are wrong,” Dok said, “we need the shipment, we need the parts…”

  Lenir eyed the engineer warily.

  “Calm down Dok, you’ll get the parts soon,” Bruno said. He turned to the foreman. “Don’t mind him. You brought everything?”

  “We need the parts. Not enough parts, the wheels are wrong…”

  “I brought them all,” Lenir said. He gazed around the courtyard, stopping on Kotra and Rief, and the cluster of guards standing by the freighter. He looked up to the roof, where two more guards stood watching the men below.

  If he wanted to stay scared, that was fine by Bruno. Some men refuse to see what’s right in front of them.

  “Bruno, I need the parts…”

  “Yes Dok, the parts are here. They’ll be in your workshop in a few minutes.”

  “No Bruno, the wheels…”

  The engineer was annoying him. “What are you waiting for, foreman? Unload it before Dok has a seizure.”

  Lenir went around the cart to the front, climbing inside. It should have just been a button to open the cart’s storage bay but he stayed there several moments. Dok was yelling louder now, and Bruno started to walk to the front to see what was taking so long.

  Everything went to chaos.

  The cart’s rear door banged open; explosions rocked the courtyard. There was a stabbing pain in Bruno’s his ear. Suddenly he couldn’t see anything. He realized he was on the ground, and pushed himself back to his feet. The world was silent, muted. Men in white uniforms emerged from the cart two at a time. Guns were wrapped around their arms, and wherever they pointed green beams streaked across the courtyard. One peacekeeper aimed at Bruno, but another grabbed his arm and shook his head. They turned away and ran to the wall, taking cover behind the passenger crates.

  Bruno’s head rang, vaguely aware of his guards returning fire. The men on the roof forced the peacekeepers to take cover. There were four more guards behind the freighter, shooting from what safety they could find. He saw Rief, back by the door to the main chamber. It looked like he was screaming at Bruno, but he couldn’t be sure.

  He forced one leg to move, then another. Soon he was running, or as close to a run as he could manage. He stepped around a body with a smoking hole in his chest. Kotra. He didn’t slow. The beams flew past his head, and his legs moved on their own.

  His ears began to recover as he reached Rief at the door. He fired his weapons back into the courtyard while he yelled. “...get going! We need to get inside, Bruno!”

  Bruno ran past him into the central chamber.

  Everything inside was a mess. The passengers waiting to board the freighter were all still there. Some tried to flee, and others huddled against the wall with their hands over their ears. Children screamed and cried as more explosions rocked the building. A crowd of passengers piled around the front door, but it was shut and barred with steel bolts.

  A woman holding an infant ran to Bruno but he shoved her to the floor in his rush to get to the platform. He bent to his chair and tapped a code into the keypad on the armrest. It took three tries with his hands shaking. Finally the armrest opened upward, revealing a gun within. It didn’t snake around his arm like a peacekeeper’s, and was outdated by two decades, but it would fire green beams the same as the rest. He hadn’t used it in years, but it gave him some illusion of safety.

  The chair was too exposed, so he fell behind the massive table of food. Dok was there, covering his ears and muttering to himself. “I told you, the wheels were wrong, not heavy enough for all the metal, I told you.”

  “Dok, I need you to go to your workshop.”

  “No parts, needed the parts…”

  “Go to your workshop and turn them on, Dok.”

  The engineer rolled on the floor mumbling until Bruno grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. Dok stared up with innocent eyes. “Dok, listen to me. It’s very important that you go to the workshop. Turn them on, all of them that are functional. Even the ones that aren’t ready. Then open the big doors. Okay Dok?”

  “Turn… them on…”

  “Yes, all of them.”

  “All the rowbits.”

  “And then open the doors, Dok.”

  He nodded to Bruno and scrambled away, still nodding all the way into the workshop. Bruno watched him go, and then turned to the warehouse door. Akonai would be unhappy if they lost any, but he didn’t have any choice. It sounded like the peacekeepers would be inside any moment.

  A knife was suddenly at his neck, pushing against the fat. “Open the front door.”

  Bruno rolled his eyes without moving his head, anxious of the knife. Had it cut him, or was the blade just cold? “Kari.”

  “Open the door, Bruno.” There was nothing lazy about her voice now; it held the fervency of fear. “Or I’ll give you a red, wet smile.”

  A tickle moved down his neck. He was definitely bleeding. He stared into her eyes, and in a flash of insight realized why she wanted her payment up-front. “You knew they were coming. You knew the Station would be attacked.”

  She pushed the knife harder against his neck. “Open the damn door, Bruno!”

  “I need to get to my chair.”

  She removed the knife. He pulled a rag from his pocket and dabbed at his neck; it came back red. Not a lot, but enough to make him moan. Until Kari planted a boot between his shoulders, pushing him forward.

  He crawled the rest of the way to the chair, typing another code into the keypad. There were three echoing clunk sounds as the steel bars retracted. The front door swung open, pushing away some of the passengers around it. Several darted out, but no more than that, because suddenly there were screams from the hall. The doorway flashed green and then the cries went silent.

  The rest ran from the door, scattering in all directions in the chamber. Bruno watched with horror as peacekeepers poured into the room. There was no cover so they spread out along the wall, searching for targets. The scrambling passengers confused them, and a few were shot, but most of the Melisao held their fire. One of the peacekeepers pointed a white gloved finger toward the platform.

  “Shit,” Kari said. She searched around for another exit, but Bruno’s guards were falling back into the chamber from the courtyard, shooting over their shoulders as they fled. Rief and Loddac reached the platform and jumped behind the table. Another explosion shook the Station. Glass from the ceiling fell in huge chunks, shattering on the table and the ground around them.

  “Three more peacekeepers in the courtyard,” said Loddac, breathing heavily.

  “I counted four,” said Rief. “There was one climbing to the roof.”

  Two more of Bruno’s men reached the platform, taking cover and returning fire. The peacekeepers were at the courtyard entrance.

  “Four, then. P
lus the…” Loddac counted, “...twelve already in here. There’s only five of us, six if you count her.”

  But Kari was already on her feet and darting away from them. She reached the wall behind the platform and leapt, grabbing a handhold seven feet off the ground. She pulled herself up in one smooth motion, placing her feet where her hands had been and leaping again. She climbed like that, half clawing half jumping, until she reached the open windows of the ceiling. There was already someone there, looking down into the room, and after a quick blur of motion he fell. Glass and half-eaten food flew in all directions as the peacekeeper smashed into the table. Blood oozed from his neck, which opened like a hinge.

  “Fifteen peacekeepers, now,” Loddac said. “Bruno, what do we do?”

  Everyone was looking at him. Rief and Loddac, his two most loyal guards, and two others he didn’t recognize. The peacekeepers from the courtyard were inside, moving along the wall to join the others by the front door. A thought came to him. If they could reach the courtyard, they could take Lenir’s cart. If there weren’t more peacekeepers on their way. He wasn’t sure where they would go, but just then it seemed their only choice.

  His mouth was opening to give the order when a noise stopped him. Unseen gears creaked and groaned after years of sleep. The peacekeepers ceased their fire. Every eye in the room, Melisao and Praetari, turned to watch the massive bay door open. It was slow, but everyone froze in place. Rust drifted to the floor as the door clinked upward, until it finally stopped. The wall was now a square of darkness, the contents of the warehouse hidden within.

  Dok, you wonderful bastard.

  For a long moment nothing happened. Everyone waited in silence. The few civilians near the door backed away slowly. Bruno held his breath.

  Then they came, a row of ten metal soldiers walking into the light. The electroids were vaguely human-shaped, with thick arms and legs connected to a square torso. They were headless, the computers in their torso possessing all the sensory function. They marched in unison, weapons held in front of them, the sound of their steps echoing off the walls. Dok only had enough guns for half of them, but the rest held metal clubs. Another row emerged from the warehouse, and then a third.