Chronicles of a Space Mercenary

by Ronald Wintrick

  “I’m the Princess’s Top Advisor, Commander,” he replied just as viciously. “Now that it’s out in the open, I must say, I have never liked you. You do not rank the Princess, Sir, and as her Top Advisor, you do not rank me. Is that understood?”

  He had gotten real up-close as he poured out his little litany. It sounded like something he had worked on and rehearsed, real smooth. Apparently I was a thorn in his side!

  I let go of the bottle I was holding in my right hand and pulled my de-atomizer and shot him in the chest, the blue flame striking before the bottle even hit the deck, to bounce crazily and spew the purplish liquor in an arcing spray around my feet. I had done it so quickly his eyes barely had time to register and send the information to his brain before blue fire raced outward from the point of impact, erasing him as the energy wave washed through him. The few metal objects that had been part of his attire (several decorative buttons, the clasp of his belt, and the communicator that had been on his belt) fell to the floor as he and his clothing were erased around them. In his arrogance he had not been armed, if he ever went so.

  Alarms began ringing inside the shuttle, audible through the open hatch and scary in its implication. I had just assassinated the Princess’s Top Advisor, someone, I must assume, with very important connections and someone whose murderer would not be allowed to get away with it.

  Armed Alartaw began pouring out of the shuttle craft to surround me, weapons drawn and at the ready, but for the moment they were facing outwards, thinking we were under attack. Now an Officer advanced from the shuttle.

  “We registered weapons fire!” the Officer, a young (they were all physically young), confident Alartaw said, as he broke through the ring of soldiers around me and stood at attention before me, his smaller version of the same blast rifle I was carrying at the ready in his hands, the small pile of dust and metal accouterments on the floor between us. Then he looked at the de-atomizer still in my hand, which was presently hanging at my side. He put it all together.

  “You’ve killed Teartan!” It wasn’t a question.

  “And?” I demanded.

  “And nothing, Sir.” The Officer suddenly stammered. “Just . . . freedom to speak clearly, Sir.”

  “Go ahead.” I answered calmly.

  “The Princess is going to be angry, Sir. No one liked the old pompous fool, but he was her Advisor.”

  “She’ll get over it,” I growled, “or she won’t.”

  “Yes Sir.” The Officer said, a small smile crooking his lip. “Good riddance as far as I’m concerned. You know, Commander,” the Officer said quietly, but not so quietly that the soldiers around us couldn’t hear, “that the Army is behind you one hundred percent!”

  I looked the Officer squarely in the eye. I could see the light of conspiracy there. It was unmistakable no matter what color the eyes or race of alien. It was Universal. Reading alien faces had made me the gambler that I was, and I read both conspiracy and loyalty in this Officer’s eyes. The patch on his uniform shirt said his name was Naagratod. I would remember the name and the face. I was hoping I wasn’t supposed to know his first name but at the moment I was hoping a whole lot of things. Add it to the list.

  “Yes I know that.” I said, and trusting my instincts, befuddled by Harcled as they were, said; “I don’t know how this will affect things. I was only just informed of our readiness.”

  Naagrotod didn’t respond, but I had learned a lot. Suddenly I was very tired. I turned from him and walked to the gangway, but stopped and turned back, saying; “Meerla isn’t to be harmed. She’ll now do as she’s told. Things have changed.” Then I went aboard the shuttle like I owned it, and as Commander of all armed forces (I was really only stabbing in the dark here, but it felt right) I really did own it. At least until I was busted down.

  Almost none of the interior was relegated to engine or armament, to my unpracticed eye, I found as I took a tour, despite how it might look. I found and chose the largest cabin aboard, went in and lay down to sleep. The last thing I heard, somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, was a comment by one of the Troopers to another as I was going into the cabin.

  “He’s taking Teartan’s suite!”

  “He didn’t rise to his position through timidity.” The other said righteously.

  “Do you think all the stories about him are true?” Asked the first.

  “And then some, I’d guess.” Answered the second as the door closed behind me. Then I was in the bed and gone into blissful sleep, not worrying about what tomorrow would bring. Whatever it brought, it would bring, and I would be lucky to survive through it, but that was the story of my life. Like soldiers everywhere, when the opportunity for sleep presented itself, I took advantage of it.

  CHAPTER 10

  “Don’t you think you’ve overstepped your authority just a hair?” Meerla said. I opened my eyes to find her standing over me, nude once again. The doorway was wide open and I could see all the way out into the corridor.

  “Aren’t you afraid someone will see you?” I countered.

  “No.” She answered. “I don’t care. Are you going to take your clothes off or am I going to take them off for you. That could get expensive.”

  “Aren’t you afraid for your reputation, if nothing else?”

  “No, but if it eases your timid little heart we’re the only ones aboard. The shuttle is docked in your Command Ship, Oh Vaunted One.”

  “So I’m forgiven?” I asked for anyone who might be listening.

  “No you’re not!” Meerla snapped, playing her part so well I had to wonder just how deep she was into her role already. “I should have you flayed!” She snarled. “But you’re going to make it up to me, aren’t you?”

  As answer I sat up and pulled off my shirt. She ripped my pants free as fast as I got out of my shirt, her face a mask of carnal bestiality. This mission would change our relationship forever, that was obvious, I thought as she leapt, snarling, upon me. Nothing would ever be the same again.

  She tore at me and clawed and bit, but I viciously subdued and took her and soon her struggles were replaced with moans of pleasure as we worked our bodies as one, my blood dripping and smearing into the sweat of our exertions.

  What seemed hours later, when we were spent and exhausted (far longer than my human body could have performed) I got up, with a little helpful shove from Meerla (in other words she was done with me) and went and got in the shower to wash away the blood once again. When I was finished I walked back into the bedroom and still nude, found another Alartaw female standing at the ready, holding some type of communication device, reading messages to Meerla. The female, an attractive thing at that, could barely hold her face straight as she saw my startled look.

  “I thought we were alone!” I told Meerla, who was still lounging nude on the bed.

  “You’re not embarrassed, are you?” Meerla taunted and winked at the girl. “Cearba doesn’t count. Where would a girl be without her personal assistant.”

  “Then next time she can join us.” I said, no smile on my face. Meerla’s eyes hooded and Cearba looked down at the floor. A few moments, a lifetime at times like this, passed.

  “If I thought you could handle the two of us!” She said, but I smiled to let her know her pause had been more than noticeable. She didn’t smile back, though I was pretty sure I saw the barest flicker of a smile try to cross Cearba’s face, though it was gone before it arrived. Meerla didn’t notice, lucky for Cearba.

  Slowly I got dressed and buckled on my little de-atomizer. Maybe I had taken unfair advantage of the situation. Maybe Cearba was used to coming along on Meerla’s trysts and there had really been no way for her to wiggle out of bringing her along without looking out of character, but no, even though I was unfamiliar with Tanya’s sexual habits, this had her indelible mark stamped all over it. She had thought I would be annoyed when I realized that Cearba had been right outside the open door in the corridor the whole time. She had thought to win a point. That
was the way it would always be between us, lovers or not, trying to out fox one another, competition between two prime examples of our species, except, which species were we?

  Our competition aside, I looked at Meerla inquisitively a second, wishing we were telepathic so I could ask her what, if anything, she had learned, and she seemed to understand the dilemma and gave a little shrug. We were never going to be able to have moments when we could speak freely. We were both effectively on our own. Together, but alone.

  “You’d better run along and play Commander.” Meerla said, mirroring my own thoughts, but not liking the insinuation of its being a command when she knew that was what I already knew I would have to do. She smiled at me and slinked off the bed and into the shower. When I heard the water start I tuned to leave, ignoring Cearba, whose eyes were still downcast.

  I left my big blaster since I’d look like a moron carrying it around on my own Flagship, and went back out the way I had gotten in, hoping the hatchway would be in the same place, not a certainty under the circumstances. The corridor hadn’t changed, thankfully, and ended at a trans-metal wall. If it needed some special way to access it I was going to be in trouble but it opened as I approached and I went out and down the ramp to the deck of the dock in the larger ship in which we were berthed. There was only one way out so I took it, a fish swimming in his own pond. Or so I hoped.

  The corridor I entered was unlike any manufactured corridor I had ever walked. It twisted and turned, the walls were uneven, as if the corridor were fitting itself around and through the ship’s compartments, rather than the compartments being placed around it as was the norm, even dipping here and there as I walked along. It was more like a natural phenomenon than an artificial construct. I rather liked it, I thought.

  Control panels along the corridor marked where closed doors were located, though when they were closed there was no other way to know they were there except for the control panels marking them out.

  Alartaw Troopers and lesser ranked soldiers were moving about their business as I explored, casually, as if I were on Inspection. In a way I was. They all gave me a hand over their heart salute as they or I went past, or we passed one another (palm outward, elbow up and even with the hand), but didn’t seem to expect any kind of return salute and went about their business apparently none the wiser once we had passed.

  When I was beginning to despair of even finding the end of this one Level (nor had I any idea just how big this ship would turn out to be) alarm klaxons began ringing from all points. Activity exploded all around. People were running in every direction and I just stood there stupidly, hardly knowing which way to turn. Within moments I heard the pounding of a group of approaching soldiers behind me so I spun and dropped to my left knee, banging it hard on the metal floor, snatching out my little weapon at the same time. Indecision gripped me as my finger settled onto the activator; a group of Troopers were rushing down upon me with weapons drawn, aggressive looks on their faces, but the stunned look of surprise which washed over their leader’s face as he saw my weapon come up spoke clearly enough, and then I recognized who it was. As Naagrotod led them on I realized they weren’t here to kill me, but to protect me, and I held back my finger as instinct meant to finalize it. I lowered the weapon immediately, to Naagrotod’s relief, and stood up as the group surrounded me, facing outward.

  “There were more Loyalists than we thought there would be but we had surprise on our side.” Naagrotod said breathlessly. All the Troopers were breathing irregularly, more from the adrenaline rush than the running, but also obviously having run some distance to reach me before the insurrection became known.

  “Why has this begun now?” I asked. “What’s happened?”

  “The Council has ordered your arrest for the killing of Teartan Moaglaba, even though the Princess filed no complaint.” Naagrotod said. “They’re calling it High Treason. That was all our people needed. The insurrection has begun; it was either that or turn you over to the Council, and then where would we be?”

  “You’ll get no argument here,” I said, “but they acted without the Princess?”

  “The Council was unanimous. They didn’t need or ask for her approval. They must have gotten wind of the new situation.” Naagrotod smiled faintly, showing his approval of the method I was using to usurp royal authority, as if I had had any choice in the matter. But where was the Emperor and why was the Council ruling in his stead? I dared not ask.

  “I don’t want Meerla harmed.” I reiterated. “She’ll give me credibility. This way the Emperor’s lineage won’t actually be interrupted, so we may be able to bring in some of the Royalists.” I was putting a great many things together now combining the present with my ‘memories’. Was I stabbing too far in the dark here?

  Naagrotod hesitated but then plucked his com unit from his belt, but I interrupted whatever he was about to say;

  “Have her told that I’ve ordered she not be harmed if she surrenders.”

  “Yes Sir.” Naagrotod said, then gave the order. “I think it’s useless though. You know she’ll fight to the death before she surrenders. She’ll never accept dominion.”

  “We’ll see.” I said easily. She would fight if she didn’t know the score. That, if nothing else, was absolutely certain.

  The Troopers escorted me up two levels and to the Bridge before word came back over Naagrotod’s com unit from Cearba that Meerla had accepted my DE-facto coup. By then every Trooper who had proved still loyal to the Emperor had been vaporized or otherwise subdued. Meerla was the only Loyalist to surrender peaceably. The Troopers around me were gazing at me with a new awe, and that something considering how much they had already revered me. Meerla had not been expected to surrender.

  I took the Commander’s console which another Officer vacated for me so I could sit while the progress of the insurrection was mapped out on view screens around the Bridge. Nearly the entire military structure had been behind the insurrection, so we were in nearly universal control of tens of thousands of worlds (at least I had an excuse for not knowing the names of all our possessions), but Ertiga, the Imperial Capital, was still fully controlled by Loyalist forces. Loyalists, Naagrotod assured me, who would fight to the end.

  “I don’t relish the thought of destroying Ertiga.” I mused, trying to draw more information from Naagrotod, who appeared only too ready to ingratiate himself to me. After all, I am the new Emperor.

  “Well,” Naagrotod said, “the Alutia leaf the Emperor is addicted to does not grow on Ertiga. It’s possible we could blockade him into surrendering when his addiction drives him to insanity. He’ll do just about anything to get more of the drug, as you know. You’ve never been popular with the Emperor due to your policies about drugs.”

  “But of course I couldn’t stop him.” I supplied, filling in blanks. How unlike me to be against mood altering substances!

  “Which has worked out for the best. If only all of those remaining Loyalists were addicted, as well.” Naagrotod said. “Of course the Emperor never allowed any of his own personal forces the same addiction he harbors. As you know.”

  Meerla was escorted onto the Bridge, playing the part of the pissed off Princess. And maybe she wasn’t playing, I thought, as I looked into her eyes. I had just usurped her power, had I not! I smirked quickly while no one was looking to let her know how big a point I had won. She didn’t smile back. She’d been disarmed or I swear she might have gone for her weapon in that moment. Feet were shuffled about the Bridge as the tension thickened, as all waited to see what was going to be said.

  “It wasn’t personal.” I said. “The people are tired of the leadership.”

  Nobody said anything and eyes were averted. I’m sure they were thinking that Meerla would soon be Empress and powerful again and not someone to antagonize. They were right.

  “Anyway,” I went on, “you’ll be my Queen. Your father’s lineage will continue. What more could you ask for?”

  “There’s a lot more I could ask for
,” she said and shook the Trooper’s hand from her arm, where it had remained fastened while she was escorted here, “but I see you have taken matters into your own capable hands.”

  “The Council Command ship has just exited hyperspace.” One of the crewmen said. “They don’t know what has happened yet and are demanding that the Commander be transferred aboard their ship immediately.”

  “Are there insurgents aboard that ship?” I asked Naagrotod of the ship that was now displayed on the Bridge main view screen (though there were no view screens per-se, the images came and went when needed right on the trans-metal walls). The ship in question, the Council Command ship, framed by the black of space around it, looked like a giant needle with no means of propulsion, but it certainly had propulsion, because it was turning towards us, growing in size even as it turned (the direction it was oriented in fusion propulsion terms having no meaning here, as its propulsion had nothing to do with displacement of mass). It came on quickly.

  “No.” Naagrotod answered, giving me a guilty look. “They’re all handpicked Council Security Forces. There was no way to infiltrate them.”

  “Good.” I said. “I don’t want to kill anyone loyal to me.” I paused a moment to see if that seemed to clarify my wishes for Naagrotod and to add a bit of the dramatic to the scene. It did on both counts.

  “They’re demanding a response.” Said the Com Officer nervously.

  “Destroy them.” I ordered. I was assuming we could, of course. I watched carefully to ascertain which members were Weapon’s Officers but couldn’t tell because there were dozens who all turned to their stations upon my command.

  No one gave me the slightest strange look as they carried out my command to destroy the ruling council of our people. All eyes now focused onto the image of the needle ship as it continued to turn and advance on us, then, suddenly, a brilliant yellow white glow burst from us, reached out, narrowing as it crossed the intervening distance (though of course it happened like striking lightning) and struck the Council Ship amidships just as it coalesced to a single point, its point of maximum focal magnitude.