by R. E. Graham
The Captain walked backward per the guiding of the Onyx pirate pulling at him but what he observed alighted him more than any of them knew. Right there, he knew that Yondo was much weaker than he let on. At that moment, he knew he would be able to avenge his fallen shipmate when the time was right.
Chapter 35
Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Rotation: 3
Outer Rim Colonial Alliance Space
Planet: Dusk
Location: Crest, inside Five Skulls compound
Deimos escorted the Captain back to the holding room. Mikhail maintained a stern outward appearance, but inside he was excited that his plan was coming together.
I’m that much closer to you again my love…
The door slid open as the Opal guards stood watch.
Mikhail walked inside and winked at Rhonda. He turned back around to Deimos who waited just outside.
“You have some brass Captain, I’ll give you that.”
Hern looked to the female rifleman but wasn't sure what was going on. The Onyx pirate nodded to one of the guards out of view, and the door slid shut.
“What in the void happened?” Rhonda asked excitedly. “I’m guessing we are getting help?”
The Captain nodded as he sat in one of the chairs up against the back wall of the small dull room. “Yep. Yondo has agreed to join together.”
“In exchange for what?” the gunner asked as he crossed his arms. “Ain’t no way that man is helpin’ for nothin’ cheap.”
"I told him that we would serve him and Onyx afterward."
“Jax won’t be thrilled,” Rhonda said as she too took a seat.
“We will all have to get used to things changing,” Mikhail retorted. “But we at least now will have a chance.”
The door surprisingly unlocked and opened revealing an annoyed looking Yondo. He scowled at the guard on his right before he stepped into the room.
Each of the visiting pirates stood up, but Mikhail was the first to greet him. "Lord." The word flowed easily enough from his lips, but he felt dirty afterward.
Soon enough…
Yondo inspected both of the other pirates but didn’t seem too impressed. “Meh. Anyway Mik, you have some gall coming in here making demands.”
“No demands Lord, just want to payback the Republic for hurting us.”
“Revenge is a dangerous business to be involved in,” Yondo warned as he tapped his boot on the hard floor. “But I was bloodied by them as well, and I’d like to get a jab in.”
Rhonda noticed the pirate lord’s right hand moving back and forth as if he was twitching or nervous. She made sure to make a mental note of it to bring up later when they were back aboard the Only Hope.
“When are you lookin’ to arrive on Destiny?” Yondo asked as he eyed the Captain.
“As soon as your men are ready,” Mikhail replied confidently.
Lord Horsh smacked his lips while in thought, and he looked to the ceiling. "I can have five ships there in five rotations."
The Captain nodded at the acceptable timeframe. “Then we’ll be there. We didn’t get an exact count on how many WarMechs were deployed when they attacked our town, but I imagine it was quite a few.”
“An attack like this…will require many assets to be arranged. Don’t you worry, we’ll be bringin’ the heat.” Yondo looked at Mikhail as if he was trying to read his face all over again.
Men like the pirate lord were the sort that always sized everyone up as to find how they could be manipulated for their needs. It was not a trait that the Captain enjoyed being in the company of. But right now, this lowlife was the only one volunteering firepower to take out the Inquisitor and his forces.
Mikhail remembered a story his father used to tell him of dealing with evil men, but right now he felt it was the only way to have even a chance of saving his family.
“I recommend sending ships like the fleet you used to escort us.”
The suggestion from the Captain immediately enraged the pirate lord. "Don't think you can order me about. You work for me now, and I will be callin' the shots!" he said as he puffed out his chest and pointed his shaking finger at the other man.
Instead of reacting violently, Mikhail tried to sound as diplomatic as he could manage. “My apologies Lord, I only thought it would be wise not alert the Lawman of our approaching ships so that he would fall into your trap.”
Yondo relished at the sight of Mikhail holding his own fury back. “Yeah…yeah,” he said as he gloated to himself. “That’s what we’ll do alright. Sneak right up on the bastard and strike them before they even see it comin’.”
Hern felt extremely uncomfortable with the conversation and looked uneasy. Lord Horsh noticed and got upset. “What are you lookin’ at you fraggin’ idiot?!”
Mikhail hopped in between the men and held his hands up as the gunner got very angry. "Sorry Lord, he is an oaf and not very bright. But he is good to have in a shootout."
“Well, keep him on his leash.” Yondo spun about and headed for the door. “Be there in five rotations Mik. If you try and run, you are as good as dead.”
The Captain stood up to his full height. “I will be there. Bring your best, we will need it.”
The gunner turned to his captain when the door slid shut. “I was about to…”
Mikhail cut him off instantly. “You were going to do nothin’! He is the only one who has agreed to help us, and you will not jeopardize this because of your pride.”
“At least I ain’t kissin’ his rump!” Hern countered.
Rhonda started to speak, but Mikhail held his hand up to her. "You will do as I order Hernando, or you and I can resolve it with irons."
The gunner smirked at the threat. “You know damned well I would beat you in a dual.”
“Maybe, but I’d still kill you before I died,” Mikhail said as he stepped up right into his shipmate’s face. He stared as hard as he could into the other man’s eyes and obviously wasn’t going to back down.
Finally, Hern held up his hands and relented. “Fine, do what you want. But I think this is dumb.”
“What would you suggest to get back at the Lawman then?” Rhonda asked as she crossed her arms at Hern’s stupidity.
Try as he might, Hern couldn’t think of an alternative. “Well…ya know…somethin’ else. Dammit, anythin’ else!”
“Right,” she said as she shook her head.
Mikhail checked his wrist timekeeper and saw that they only had a few more hours before Nina would take the ship off of Dusk.
“Hope they let us out soon…”
Chapter 36
Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Rotation: 3
Corre Republic Space
Prefecture: Siimon
Planet: Destiny
Location: Aboard the Silverbolt
Over a week had passed since the Inquisitor led the raid on the pirate's town of Largo. When the Republic ship's had first hid in the canyon after the attack, they could see the smoke billowing from the remains. The trails of smoke had finally subsided as the fires burned themselves out leaving just the beautiful cloudy sky to admire.
Cyrus had grown impatient and headed back to the makeshift brig to interrogate Mrs. Tarvus further. Something was out of place, the Only Hope should have returned by now. Two guards still stood watch outside the door, but they looked shocked to see the Inquisitor.
“Stand aside,” he ordered.
The younger looking man on the left cleared his throat nervously. “Um…sir.”
“What is it trooper?” Cyrus asked as he stopped his advancement.
“The um…prisoner isn’t inside.”
"They escaped?!" In a flash the Inquisitor rushed forward and waved his hand over the door panel. He was shocked to see the young boy cowering in the corner of the room crying, but Mrs. Tarvus was nowhere to be seen.
He spun on his heel and got very close to the first guard. “Where is she?”
“I’m sorry sir, one of the officers came and took her…”
/> “What do you mean “took her”?” he asked demanding an answer.
The guard backed up and visibly was scared of the Inquisitor. “I don’t exactly know where, but it…it was probably to the bunks.”
Cyrus stormed off in a hurry and ran for the hallway where the various shock trooper sleeping stations were located. As he closed in, he began to hear a scream shriek through the corridors. He ran even faster and finally arrived at the source of the sound.
Each of the four men inside the bunk room was thoroughly enraged at the sight of the Inquisitor as he filled the doorway with righteous fury.
Leesa's clothes were torn, and she had bruises all over her body and one on her face.
Cyrus clenched his fists tightly and slowly walked forward. One of the men held his hands up peacefully. “It’s not what it looks like…” the man was interrupted by the Inquisitor’s gloved fist bashing his face in. He tumbled backward into one of the bunks hard.
The knuckles of the gloves the inquisitors were issued were specially crafted to have segments of metal that were grooved to connect together when formed into a fist. It made each impact hurt a whole lot more than a bare fist ever could.
Two of the other troopers ran at the Inquisitor. Cyrus spun and kicked the one on the side of the head, sending him twisting to the floor. The other tried to punch the Lawman but had his attack blocked then taking a swift left hook to his jaw. Cyrus kicked out as hard as he could which sent the man flying backward into a different bunk. He bounced off the metal frame and crumpled to the ground.
The last soldier looked genuinely angry. “You would side with this outlaw over your own men?”
Cyrus glared. “You are not one of my men. You are an animal.”
That set the trooper off, and he darted forward. He tried to catch the Inquisitor in the chest, but Cyrus was much too fast for him. He deflected his attacker's arms then pounded both of his ears with his opened hands. The trooper stumbled back then was rewarded with his own spin kick to the head knocking him unconscious.
Still pissed, Cyrus took his time walking to each man and breaking their right arms at the elbow. The men cried out in agony, but Cyrus stood over them victorious. “Be glad I didn’t take your lives. No one comes near her or the boy.”
He turned to the trembling woman who had fallen to the floor. Without another word, he extended his hand to her and held it waiting for her to accept. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes but wasn't sure who was worse, the men who were in the process of raping her or the man who had ordered the deaths of her entire town.
She eventually reached out to accept the Inquisitor's hand, and he helped her to her feet. A crowd of troopers began to build as more and more rushed to the scene from the commotion of screams and whines. They looked on, stunned by what they saw as several of the troopers struggled to stand as they cradled their shattered arms.
“I sincerely apologize for this,” Cyrus said as he scanned Mrs. Tarvus’ injuries. He looked at the crowd of shocked men. “If anyone touches her again, I will kill whoever is responsible without hesitation.”
Tribune Aries pushed his way through the crowd and wasn’t thrilled to see four of his troopers clearly whooped by the Lawman. “What happened here?” he asked trying to take the scene in.
“These men were caught trying to rape a prisoner.”
The Tribune's eyes now were burning with contempt for his troopers. He looked to his right to one of the fireteam leaders. "Take these men away and see to their injuries. Afterward, have them brought to my office."
“Yessir,” the tall fireteam leader said as he motioned for several others to help him get the injured up and out of the area.
Cyrus led Leesa out of the room and back towards the brig. While the guards’ faces were hidden behind their helmets faceplate, their body language clearly showed they were surprised by the sight of the woman and the Inquisitor.
“If anyone comes near her again, I will execute them. We don’t handle prisoners like this!” Cyrus growled.
One of the guards got the door and Leesa rushed inside. Coral started to get up when his mother wrapped him in her arms. She began to weep as the door slid shut again.
Ten minutes later Cyrus returned with a change of clothes in his hands. “I’m…I’m sorry for what happened to you.”
Leesa kept her back toward the door and still was crying. The Inquisitor placed the folded clothes on the counter to his left, and he exited the room leaving the two Tarvus' to deal with the trauma.
Cyrus stomped down the hallway and passed by the bridge. He didn’t wait for authorization before he barged into the Tribune’s office. The military man stood by a projection screen built into the wall that displayed camera footage of the canyon outside the ship.
Despite the time between the incident and now, the Inquisitor was still visibly fuming. “What was that?”
“I won’t be able to justify the acts of my men,” Aries said as he remained facing the screen with his arms clasped behind his back.
“You’re damned right you won’t be able to. Is it normal for your troopers to engage in illegal activity?” Cyrus asked sarcastically.
He had been on plenty of missions and seen plenty of horrible acts. Any world controlled by humankind meant it had suffered a wide range of terrible sins throughout its history. In his eyes the universe was black and white. There was right, and there was wrong. While many others saw matters in life in different shades of gray, he simply did not.
The Tribune turned to face the Inquisitor, and his face was like stone. "The men will be punished extensively for their poor choice."
“”Poor choice”? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Inquisitor, while I would not say that their advance towards the woman was desirable, I also can’t say that it wasn’t to be expected.”
Cyrus was dumbstruck by the statement. Aries said it so freely that it was as if he had seen it hundreds of times before.
“I feel we need to clarify this because I can’t imagine that you are in any way approving of their actions. Those men were about to rape a citizen of the Republic.”
Aries clearly didn't see an issue with it. "She is a prisoner in a classified operation. Currently, she is in military custody which means that she is under my jurisdiction. I will look the other way for the way you treated my men because of the heat of the moment…"
“I don’t understand,” Cyrus said as he lifted his arms as if trying to grasp the conversation.
"It should be fairly clear. My men have been on numerous tactical operations without any downtime. They probably needed to blow off some steam."
“And raping a woman is optional?”
“If it means that my men will obey orders once their urges are met, yes.”
Okay, I’ve heard enough…
"I am going to make this extremely crystal clear only once," Cyrus began as he held his right index finger up. "I am in charge of this operation. Any prisoners are under my jurisdiction and are protected as citizens with rights unless I say otherwise. We are men, and we will act honorably. If another of your soldiers step out of line like that again, they will go on trial."
It was Aries’ turn to be awestruck. “You can’t be serious…sir,” he said as he caught himself.
"Oh, I'm dead serious. The remainder of this mission will be carried out with the utmost professionalism, or someone will be answering to me. Get your men in line Tribune."
The military officer tugged at his uniform then took a quick deep breath. “Understood, sir.”
Shaking his head in disgust, the Inquisitor stormed out of the office. Aries stood for a moment listening to the gentle hum of the engine humming from deep within the Carina before he turned back to the screen to watch the clouds go by.
Chapter 37
Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Rotation: 3
Outer Rim Colonial Alliance Space
Planet: Dusk
Location: Aboard the Only Hope
After getting their
personal firearms back, Mikhail and the others finally returned to their ship and were anxious to get to work. They walked up the loading ramp as Nina and Jax waited for their arrival.
“How’d it go Cap?” the overrider asked as he toyed with a hand tool.
"We are getting the help we needed," the Captain said as he took a deep breath. The smell of oil and grease brought back pleasant memories of the ship and its crew. That is until he thought of Jaymes again when he saw Poli off on the other side of the cargo bay.
He avoided making eye contact and turned his body so that he positioned himself looking back outside.
“Rhonda, get everyone together in fifteen minutes. We need to go over our plan before we take off.”
“Yessir,” she said as she quickly went to find the others.
Mikhail went to the bathroom and washed his face in the sink. Water dripped off his beard and fell to the floor as he stood up straight. He took a towel off the top of the stack and wiped his face. For a moment he studied his appearance in the mirror. He noticed that overall, he looked tired.
I look awful. At least I don’t feel so bad. I just need to get Leesa and Coral back. Then we can leave this life behind us.
“I should have listened to Lees…” he muttered softly to himself.
He threw the towel aggressively to the floor and went back to the hangar bay. Everyone had assembled together and were murmuring to one another as they turned their attention to him while he descended the stairs.
For whatever reason, seeing them all looking at him with so much pain in their eyes tugged at his heart.
I have to show them strength, or they will never go along with this.
Riko stood on the edge of the group as he leaned up against a steel beam. He truly looked terrible.
The loss of his family is hitting him very hard. I’ve never seen him like this.
The Captain glanced at Poli to try and read her body posture. She still appeared to carry internal agony, but he would need her technical skills in the battle to come.