by Scott Moon
Too bad I will need to get rid of it. When he had lost his pursuers, he scaled a steep cliff, checked to be certain he had at least three escape routes, and looked for ways to disable the tracking systems. Even if he succeeded, he wouldn’t trust the gift. There might not be ships in orbit around Crashdown for global positioning servers and he might have total control over the unit, but stealing such a miracle of Earth Fleet technology was too good to be true.
He didn’t like too good to be true. On Crashdown, things that looked helpful or beautiful were murderous.
The following days took Kin on a tour of harsh mountain region. He located Rickson and Ogre skulking around the Earth Fleet ships. Dax, Clavender, and the remaining Ror-Rea warriors were near Stone Forest, which was unfortunate. He wanted to contact Clavender and her father. The proximity of Earth Fleet surveillance units would make contacting the Ror-Rea princess difficult.
He spent two days watching the Mazz Imperial Army. Ships arrived with new legions of soldiers in SKIN armor and a dozen Battle Wheels. Earth Fleet managed reinforcements as well, new ships and old ships. So far as Kin could tell, Admiral Westwood remained in command of the older ships. By scrolling through combat mission logs of his FSPAA-IIA, including the warning orders, Kin realized that the new armada was commanded by a legend in Earth Fleet.
Admiral Andros Cort Shield was at least one hundred years old. Kin remembered his name from his first day of training in the Fleet. Long before the decision to destroy Hellsbreach became a reality, Andros Cort Shield was a rising power in the Earth Fleet and Earth Government. Kin had seen pictures of the man, grand portraits displayed on buildings and carried during parades. One thing confused Kin. The only major hiccup in Mike Eagle’s career had come when he ran afoul of Admiral Shield. Why would they be working together now?
Kin thought back on the scene.
“Admiral, someday you will need a soldier who can do things no one else can,” Eagle had said.
Shield looked at the other young troopers standing around the map exercise. “You mistake my appreciation for boldness with my intolerance for arrogance.”
Kin felt a deepening pit in his stomach at the memory. Andros Cort Shield was a man with a dark reputation. He won battles. His political enemies became his friends or quit public life. Some troopers believed that Shield contracted assassins to take out anyone who flirted with any of his mistresses and had killed a man for touching his wife. Andros Cort Shield, A. C. Shield to some, never seemed to age. Or lose.
Kin thought about Eagle’s performance on Hellsbreach. Like most things the man did, it was solid. He took care of his troopers and won more engagements than he lost. The man hadn’t done anything for Kin on Hellsbreach, but he hadn’t done anything to hurt him either.
Droon started following Kin.
Kin-rol-an-da!
Not wanting to talk to the Reaper, he avoided Droon and his weird menagerie of Clingers, Crashdown wolves, and Reaper followers. Each time he saw the monstrous little army, it was smaller. He understood the reason but didn’t want to think about it.
Where Droon went, the over-sized Reaper with the innards of a Slomn serpent-man followed.
I am protecting you from it! Come to me, Kin-rol-an-da!
Once, and once only, Kin attempted to circle behind the Burning One, as Droon seemed to call it. The monster turned on Kin with frightening quickness. The speed of his new armor allowed him to escape, but it was much closer to a deadly tie than he expected and several times Kin had been certain he miscalculated. Death at the hands of Reaper was not on his bucket list. Getting smoked by a Reaper-Slomn was also something he wanted to avoid.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Amnesty
“KIN Roland, you have one hour to contact me at this location,” Major Mike Eagle broadcast.
Kin watched the Earth Fleet units from a position on the edge of the Ror-Rea camp. Last night, he had slept in the protection of Dax and Clavender, not that he had advertised his whereabouts. The sensation of being fully rested felt strange and energizing, like he had ingested some kind of stimulant. Major Eagle paced at the entrance to Stone Forest. Kin remembered how Clavender had fled from Droon inside of the place and nearly been devoured.
He could have contacted Eagle an hour earlier but was enjoying his latest victory and wanted to savor the moment. The FSPAA-IIA might have broadcast to Eagle, but if it had, then Eagle was a much better actor than any trooper Kin had ever met. The proud officer meticulously groomed his reputation as someone who could not be rattled or agitated. Right now, he was acting more like Admiral Westwood on a bad day.
“You are cruel to tease the Earth Fleet officer like this,” Clavender said as she sat beside him in his hiding place.
“The only reason this is working is because of the temporary treaty between Earth Fleet and your father. If they sent teams through this part of the coastland or turned their sensors on us, they would find me. This isn’t like the mountains, where I can hide behind tons of rock.”
Clavender listened but said nothing. There were days when Droon’s venom still affected her. “My father may not be able to honor his treaty with Earth Fleet. The High Lords ask for things he expects to receive from your people. There will be war unless we return to the Ror-Rea. And even then, there will be war.”
“Then why go?” Kin asked.
She looked at him, stealing his breath with the beauty of her face, form, and eyes. “There will be less war if we return home. My father is tired. I think he wants the civil strife resolved, even if it is his downfall.”
“I like your father. He was a real bastard when we first met, but I like bastards,” Kin said.
Clavender nodded toward the Earth Fleet units around Stone Forest. “They have Rebecca and her second in command.”
“Dogface,” Kin said. “That guy's an asshole, but he has stayed right beside her. I have to give him credit for that.” He looked at Rebecca’s stoic expression. She was thinner, starved of proper nutrition, no matter what kind of nutrients her Mech had pumped into her system. She’d been fighting too hard, for too long.
“Bastards and assholes,” Clavender said. “Are these the categories you place your friends within?”
Kin shook his head, hiding a smile. It was good to be around the winged princess. “I need to talk to them,” Kin said.
“It is what is best for your people.” Clavender stood.
“Wish me luck.” Kin moved forward, alert for danger, wishing his time with Clavender’s people could be longer.
Clavender hesitated. “I care for you as much as I can for any of your kind. You are important to all the things that will happen here. Worlds depend on your decisions and your actions.”
Kin looked over his shoulder, then turned to face her. “What should I do, Clavender?”
She stared at Stone Forest. “My father has sent an escort. The people of the Ror-Rea honor you. Do not disappoint us.”
Ten winged warriors approached. He recognized Ceana but not the others. As far as he could tell, there was a representative from each of the High Lords.
“We stand beside you, Kin Roland,” Ceana said.
“That is the best news I’ve heard all day,” Kin said.
Ceana and the other warriors of the Ror-Rea insisted on remaining airborne, which meant they swooped down, circling Kin with their black wings. When they ran out of lift, they moved to higher ground, such as it was in the foothills, and leapt again into the air, fighting for altitude and repeating the process. They glided in pairs around Kin with incredible wingspans and silent efficiency.
Major Eagle waited in front of his troopers. “Why are their wings black for battle?”
Kin glanced at his magnificent honor guards. “As much as they have fought during the last few weeks, they might not be able to change back to their colors of peace.”
Eagle grunted. “I would say that is ridiculous if it didn’t describe my entire adult life.” He motioned for Kin to come closer. “And yours.”<
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“That’s about as close as you are going to get to me,” Kin said, thinking of the override command.
“We are here to parley, Kin. Stealing armor you stole from me wouldn’t be a great way to start.”
“What are we doing here, Major?”
“You must wait for my boss.”
“A. C. Shield?” Kin asked.
Eagle laughed without much humor. “I see you have been snooping through the FSPAA-IIA logs. Good thing I didn’t leave any embarrassing pictures of your mother in there.”
Kin clenched his jaw. The only time they had fought as non-commissioned officers had been during a mom-bashing exchange after a training exercise. Kin was as inoculated against personal insults as any trooper, but Eagle had caught him off guard and they banged each other up before MPs separated them.
“So much for starting on a positive note,” Kin said.
“I was trying to lighten the mood. And save face. Do you realize what kind of shit is coming down on me because you took that armor?”
“You had to know I would never fall for the I’ll give you free armor and weapons trick.”
Eagle shook his head. “I was hoping.”
“I want to talk to Rebecca alone. Why is she wearing restraints?” He stared past Eagle toward Rebecca. Behind her, Stone Forest towered like an ancient miracle. Earth Fleet squads patrolled the area. Frequent airships zoomed above Ceana and his companions, who repeatedly launched themselves from the highest spires of Stone Forest. Two squadrons of Shock Troopers held strategic points between here and the new Earth Fleet ships. The Mech units didn’t seem to have changed as much as the FSPAA-IIA, but they looked formidable. To his eye, they might have been brainless robots with no remorse. Rebecca’s Brigade had been the best of their kind; smarter, braver, and friends to the people of Crater Town.
“She was convicted, along with her followers, of being absent without leave and disobeying their lawful commander in the face of battle,” Eagle said.
Either of which can earn a death sentence, Kin thought.
“You might be able to help her.”
“On what terms?”
“That is for the admiral to decide.”
“Oh, good. Westwood owes me a favor.”
Major Eagle laughed. His units went on high alert as Admiral Andros Cort Shield arrived in a motorcade of heavy tracked vehicles.
He was taller than Kin remembered, and a lot younger. Gene manipulation wasn’t illegal for the most powerful people in the universe. Or he took one hell of a vitamin cocktail. His uniform was both plain and elaborate. Admiral Westwood wore an FSPAA unit whenever he left his ship. Shield wore a light commander’s unit that would serve well enough in hand-to-hand combat against an assassin but wouldn’t last long during a planetary assault.
There were no battle badges on the chest plate, only an Awards and Commendations Data Plate, or ACDP, that could be activated to display all of his campaign ribbons and awards if necessary. The ACDP plate was only worn by troopers with too many awards to display without engraving them on every exterior surface of their armor.
“So this is the legendary Kin Roland,” Admiral Shield said without preamble.
“Sir,” Kin said.
Eagle shot him a look.
What do you want me to do? Throw myself on the ground and beg for mercy?
Kin pulled his gaze away from Eagle just in time to see Shield lunge toward him. The light armor he wore was nimble and quick. He deactivated Kin’s new armor with a touch and a command.
“There,” Shield said. “Now we can talk.”
“It is my duty to inform the admiral that Roland can drop his armor without assistance,” Eagle said. “It might seem like wild paranoia, but the admiral should not discount the possibility that Roland could still escape.”
Shield looked from Kin, to Eagle, and back to Kin. “Surely he couldn’t get out of his armor and escape your elite troopers,” Shield said.
“At this point, Admiral, anything is possible,” Eagle said.
“Agreed.” Admiral Shield surveyed the area, visually marking the location of each Earth Fleet unit and those of the Ror-Rea. When he seemed satisfied, he motioned to one of his staff officers. The woman, also an admiral, moved toward the line of heavily armored tracked vehicles and gave commands. A moment later, Laura and the rest of Crater Town were escorted from the tanks by military police officers in their distinctive black and white armor.
“I wanted you to see that your friends are safe and well cared for,” Shield said. “Major Eagle, assign a team to help Kin Roland out of that armor.”
Kin fought back a surge of emotion, barely noticing as the new armor was taken away. Every man, woman, and child he had protected — and who had survived recent events — looked at him. They were cleaner and better fed than they had ever been. They wore new, well-fitting clothing and good boots. Laura looked annoyed and wary, but the others shifted uneasily as though they were certain all of their recent comfort was about to be taken away.
Kin thought it probably was. Shield knew what would get his attention, if not his cooperation. Who are you kidding?
“You have done well by them for the last ten years,” Shield said.
Kin kept his eyes on Laura, hoping for a clue.
“Walk with me, Kin. Major Eagle, I need complete privacy. See to it that all listening devices are jammed. Give me a fifty-meter perimeter and get those damned Wingers out of my face.”
“Permission to engage the Wingers,” Eagle asked.
“No,” Kin said. “I’ll tell them to fall back.” He motioned for Ceana and the others to stay on the spires of Stone Forest.
“Very good, Roland. We may be able to work this out after all,” Shield said. He walked for a time without speaking, looking at Kin several times without revealing his thoughts.
“What do you want?” Kin asked.
“A simple thank you would suffice,” Shield said.
Kin stopped and faced the admiral. He was as far from Ceana and the others as he wanted to be. “You helped Rebecca’s pirates.”
“Not precisely. I made sure they didn’t get blown out of space. My agents, and those of the Mazz Emperor, tailed them through several systems.”
Kin watched Shield closely.
“The Emperor, do you trust him?”
“Nearly as much as I trust you.”
Shield laughed. He looked toward Eagle and the others. “I advise you not to cause me to laugh. My guard dogs will think something is wrong. To them, it will look like I am signaling for help.”
“Good to know.” He resisted the force of Shield’s personality. Despite his distrust of the man, his defenses began to erode.
“I doubt the Emperor is the same eternal being that the Mazz have been seeking for ten thousand years,” Shield said.
“Doubt or know?” Kin asked.
Shield didn’t answer.
“Don’t use the people of Crater Town as pawns,” Kin said.
Shield nodded. “What about Rebecca and the Wingers? Can I use them?”
“You could try.”
Shield watched Crashdown clouds race across the sky, his profile seeming noble to Kin, who hadn’t encountered this kind of leader in a long time. Grand as the leader of Earth Fleet was, he remained small and insignificant compared to the panoramic view of Crashdown. In one direction were the ruins of Crater Town and the coast. Mountains towered into the sky in every other scene. Kin longed for the wormhole opening in the sky above. The planet felt diminished without it.
“When we get back to the others, I will offer you and Lieutenant Rebecca Lacroix amnesty and a conditional pardon. Hers will be a full pardon based on her heroic efforts during recent events. I cannot do the same for you. I am sure you understand.”
Kin turned away from the admiral, but carefully so as not to encourage the man to follow his gaze. Droon was howling in the foothills. Something was chasing him, creating the very disturbing sound of a Reaper in fear. Kin wonde
red what would happen if Droon’s band of Reapers, Clingers, and Crashdown wolves tore into the flatlands around Stone Forest.
“Roland, pay attention,” Shield said.
“Hmm. Oh, you are still here.”
The joke was a mistake. Admiral Andros Cort Shield hadn’t been mocked in about eighty years.
“I don’t care about Lacroix or the people of Crater Town. Push me, and you will find out what I mean.”
Kin made his face calm, unblemished by emotion, intent, or weakness. “You have my complete attention, Admiral. I am at your mercy. Maybe I could make things difficult for you, but that is not my intent.”
“Good.” He paused. “When I offer you amnesty, you will think about it. Then you will accept it and swear a new oath of service to Earth Fleet and Earth Government.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I am sending you back to Hellsbreach.”
Kin was ready and replied almost before Shield finished the sentence. “That won’t work unless you can get all of the Reapers back onto their home world.”
“That has always been the best place for them. If you want to be philosophical, they probably prefer life on that terrible planet.”
Kin tried not to laugh and mostly succeeded. “It is an argument humans have made a few times throughout history.”
“Which does not keep it from being true.” He squinted at Kin. “What did the Mazz Emperor tell you?”
“Enough.”
“Remember that the Mazz are known for lies and treachery,” Shield said.
Kin shrugged, not wanting to compare Mazz politics to Earth politics. He had almost gotten his friends killed once by making Shield angry.
“Let’s get this done,” Kin said.
“Remember your role in this,” Shield said.
Kin walked slightly behind and to the left of Shield as was expected of a subordinate in Earth Fleet.
During the short conversation, several efficient officers had used Fleet engineers to erect a pavilion of sorts. The multi-purpose canvas served as camouflage from aerial or orbital reconnaissance. Shield’s armored vehicles moved into a defensive perimeter as scores of Earth Fleet officials gathered for the open-air ceremony.