by Rowan Bishop
However, Akyra had already snapped back into commander mode, tracking assets—enemy and friendly—on her own tapper. “What? It’s my job to risk my life. You of all people should know that. My job is protecting that fucking cube.”
“Okay. And my job is to protect you.”
“Better get to it then. I need a weapon.” With that Akyra leaped off the second-story roof of the barracks.
The Titans froze in surprise, their jaws dropped. Levi added, “What the fuck?”
Just then, Clarx burst up the last set of stairs to the roof, panting and heaving so preposterously he could barely stay on his feet. Raemus, Akino, and Levi turned around to the clamor.
“Captain Raemus?” Poor Clarx, short on breath, could barely talk. “Where’s… where’s Captain Roux?”
Raemus thumbed over the edge of the roof, smiling.
Clarx’s put his hands on his knees and looked down, trying desperately to get oxygen after his long sprint to the barracks. “Shit.”
Akino said, “Heck of a commander you have there. Should I throw you off the roof after her?”
Without the energy to lift his head, Clarx managed to wave off the suggestion with a few fingers. He turned, hobbled back to the stairs, and attempted to go down again just when six Banshees in full red body armor, including helmets and weapons, banged into him one by one as they came up to the roof, almost taking him off his feet. The last one up shouted through her helmet, “Clarx, get your damn gear on or you’re gonna get hurt!”
Raemus turned back to look over the roof, where Akyra had landed. She was gone, of course, already inside coordinating the defense of her contract and her career. The arachnoid-drones scrambled through the avenues toward them, the thundering sounds of gunfire growing closer.
They’d be on top of Akyra in less than a minute.
“Shit,” he said silently to himself as he realized that the chances of the spiderbots seriously hurting anyone escalated dramatically if the Banshees fought back too hard. Which is what seemed about to happen.
His brain was designed not to underestimate anyone, but he’d done so with Akyra. He’d never known any modern human willing to risk its own life for a the sake of honor. That was a quality humanity lost a thousand years ago, he thought. I hadn’t even fed it into my calculations.
Raemus’ brain instantly computed the boundless possible outcomes of this engagement—as the first six arachnoid-drones tumbled around the corner in a startling cacophony of metallic clattering.
Without a word to Akino or Levi, Raemus spread his arms and leapt from the roof. By the time he landed atop the first arachnoid-drone, fully primed to rip it apart with his bare hands, his eyes had completely blackened.
Chapter Seven
Ask anyone who’s ever had big plans. Love wastes no time mucking them up.
Stories Of My Beloved, by His Eminence Raemus Kolach Petrus
Stealing the Bio-Teck cube was an insane gamble. But it worked. Nobody outside Raemus’ chosen few knew he was behind the raid—not even half of the Titans.
In the darkness of the early morning hour, Raemus locked the rear cargo hatch of a Raptor that now held the Bio-Teck cube and powered its enviro-controls. He stepped around the rear corner, waving “all clear” to the pilot.
The pilot engaged the thrusters and began take-off operations. Nothing too hasty. Just a routine scout mission in the aftermath of a base assault. Nothing to draw unwanted attention.
The big question eating at Raemus was: did Bin Ar-Drezar, his mentor for years who knew him better than anyone, suspect this double-cross?
If he did, Bin Ar-Drezar wouldn’t risk an immediate fight. Not within the base perimeter. That would cost way too many lives, very possibly his own.
There was no precedence for eliminating a rogue Titan commander, but surely the best way was from a great distance. It made sense Bin Ar-Drezar would let him get off base. Then kill him.
Raemus needed to use this to this advantage because, truth be told, he had no desire to stick around. He needed to escape Bin Ar-Drezar’s intelligence network quickly. And that meant getting all the way to Pergamon, a green lush region a thousand kilometers to the north.
Before Raemus made his escape, he needed to get the one thing he didn’t want to leave without. That is, the one person. Question was, how?
Akino interrupted Raemus’ thoughts. “Got confirmation our man in Pergamon has arrived. He’ll be ready for the cube long before it gets there.”
Raemus nodded. Good, things are going mostly as planned.
Akino added, raising his voice against the increasing roar of the Raptor’s engines, “Sir, let’s just order the cube destroyed.”
“No. We need it, Akino. Never underestimate the leverage potential of something you hate.” Raemus turned to Akino in the dim blue light of the thrusters as they revved up. He waved Akino away from the blast area toward an area they could better hear each other. “I assure you, Akino, if there’s something in this galaxy you hate so much, then someone will feel compelled to have it. I need that cube as leverage.”
“To who?”
“Don’t know yet. Xerxus maybe?”
“If you say so. Let me just go on record that I want it disintegrated in front of my own eyes.”
Raemus clapped him on the shoulder. “You still might get that chance. If that’s what I decide, it’s all yours.”
“It disgusts me.”
“I know, Akino. We need to contact Xerxus first. He’s the unknown variable.”
“I pray to The Almighty you’re right about our chances with him.”
“Having a common enemy doesn’t guarantee anything. I wish it did.”
“But then—”
“But then we have to try. Bin Ar-Drezar will have a lot of weapons at his disposal once Captain Roux’s superiors figure out the delivery was botched.”
“And how long for that?”
“Depends. Depends on how honest Captain Roux is with them. Depends on how honest Ar-Drezar is with them. Believe me, brother, a little dishonesty might be best course of action for everyone involved. No one will want to admit they’ve lost a Bio-Teck cube. For our part, the best way to keep the ruse going is playing along with the Banshees. If Captain Roux goes hunting for her lost parcel—as I suspect she might—then we go with her. We stall her long enough, and in the process we keep up the facade that we’re doing our job protecting her.”
“Even if Bin Ar-Drezar’s onto us?”
“I suspect already he is. But I also suspect he’ll let us get as far away from him before making any moves. Patience is his best trait.”
“And the one trait he could never teach you.”
Raemus laughed. “To each his own. That’s why I keep you around, brother.”
Akino laughed with him, for he had far less patience than Raemus.
As he watched the Raptor, now the most valuable asset within countless lightyears, lift away from the tarmac and begin its long journey to Pergamon, he smiled. Everything about his life was changing. And for once, he felt like he did the right thing.
I must find a way to stay near Akyra, he thought, watching the Raptor’s blue glowing thrusters fade into the dark sky. She doesn’t know anything about this region. And heaven forbid she actually picks up the cube’s trail and makes her way to Pergamon. She may be a solid commander, but Xerxus—no matter who’s side he ends up on—will make her whole team disappear. We can’t let her go out there on her own.
“So we continue rolling as their escort?” Akino asked as the Raptor’s distant rumble made way for the early morning silence. “Just like before?”
“Just like before. Except this time, it’s going to be a hell of a ride.”
“Captain? One question. What happens to the Banshees once we reach Pergamon and the cube?”
“I don’t know yet, Akino. I really don’t know.”
Perhaps if I explain everything to her, she’ll understand why I did this. Perhaps if she sees that I’m capab
le of giving all of myself for a greater cause, she’ll see that I have some humanity, too. Perhaps enough humanity to be worthy of her forgiveness.
Chapter Eight
If you choose to pray, then ask for justice. The Almighty will always answer such prayers if you are patient enough.
Your God, Your Galaxy: A Manual for Children, Church of Nova Sol
Akyra assembled a leaders' meeting in the busted up remains of their barracks. The mood was very low, and the usual banter of these determined, headstrong women had vanished.
Each showed their frustration in their own way. Rayeley Thomsen, Alpha Squad Leader, had her boots on the table, rocking back in her folding chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose until it was red. Emilia Peeters, Bravo Squad Leader, was eating large amounts of snack sticks from her gear sack. Valarae Klipssen, who outranked everyone on the team but Akyra, paced the length of the battered room, hands on her hips. Jexica Crane, sniper team leader, anxiously scrolled her tapper for any tidbits she could dig up on Xerxus—or the planet’s other infidel groups who might be so competent at ruining their lives.
“I want everyone in this room,” Akyra continued, “to know this team did everything in its power to stop last night’s raid.”
Valarae stopped pacing directly across from Akyra. “Thanks, captain. So how come you look like the only one in the room who doesn’t believe that?”
Akyra leaned back, glanced at Rayeley, then tried her own luck at messaging the bridge of her nose. “It’s my job to worry, Val.” She even tried faking a smile. “Sent on a mission way more hazardous than we were equipped to handle. Two girls in the base hospital. Gayla isn’t even allowed to check in on them. Religious Oversight has a delivery stolen from under their noses, and I don’t see anyone taking the fall but me.”
“You mean us,” Emilia cut in.
No, I mean me. Trust me.
Valarae stepped up to the table and leaned on her knuckles. “If I may ask, captain, what’s the chain of command saying?”
Akyra reached over and grabbed a cluster of snack sticks right from Emilia’s hand. “That’s where it gets really weird. Colonel Weir in orbit hasn’t said shit.”
“Nothing?”
“Well, no. Actually, he said to sit tight.”
Everyone laughed. Gayla, medical specialist, added, “Why does everyone say that? That’s the opposite of our job.”
Akyra shrugged her shoulders. “Let the investigation begin.”
Rayeley rocked her chair forward, banging the legs on the floor, making everyone jump. “Well, fuck all this. I was really counting on getting laid.”
No one agreed out loud, but the laughter suggested everyone in the room agreed with Rayeley. If just a little.
Akyra allowed the silence that followed to continue. It was a good enough place to let the meeting fizzle. Normally, she ended every leaders’ meeting with positive feedback and a recap, but she was too fed up.
She walked to the hole in the wall where the arachnoids had first blasted in, running a finger over the edge of the hole where the building material had melted and hardened into smooth, shiny globs. Here Raemus had begun swinging a stunned arachnoid with his hands, clubbing others across the courtyard with it. Shirt half-ripped off, roaring with anger, eyes blackened, smashing these formidable robots without even a weapon. Quite a sight.
Except that once Akino and Levi joined him, their enthusiasm prevented any Banshees within the barracks getting a good shot. Rayeley and her Alpha Squad on the roof did the most damage.
Three dozen spiderbots crash their way into a church bankrolled military outpost? An outpost fortified by a company of damn Titans? For fuck’s sake, what kind of insurgency is this Xerxus guy running on this planet?
Think, Little Miss Roux. Think!
Akyra turned back to the table where all the most important people in her life were waiting for her to say something. Instead, she grunted and kicked a trashcan across the room that banged on the opposite wall. “I’m not buying this.”
Everyone in the room froze. Valarae asked, “Buying what?”
Akyra moved back to the table, flattening her palms on it, looking everyone in the eye in turn as she continued. “Our Titan escort is late, and we get hit by a high-tech ambush? Bio-Teck Labs can’t accept a delivery we’ve come halfway across the galaxy with, and we get put up for the night in barracks that are basically defenseless? Arachnoids get all the way inside this outpost, snatch our bread-and-butter, and they get out?”
“Captain, what’s going through that brain of yours?”
“Probably the same thing going through the brain of everyone in this room. That this whole thing stinks.” Akyra rubbed a thumb against her temple. “And what stinks worse is every time someone says this is the work of local insurgents, I get this stabbing pain in the side of my head—because this seems a lot more complicated than a group of infidels who want to throw rocks at The Church.”
Emilia shoved a handful of snack sticks in her mouth before mumbling, “Then… who’s behind it?”
“Well, I don’t fuckin’ know, Emilia. Galaxy’s a big place.”
Just then, the headset resting around Akyra’s neck beeped. Her tapper displayed, “INCOMING: CAPT RAEMUS.”
She open the channel. “Hi, handsome.” She smiled at all her girls at the table before walking a few steps away for privacy.
“How are you?” Raemus' voice was strong and determined, an instant comfort given the confusing situation.
“Shitty. How are you?”
“On my way back to my barracks from the hospital.”
Akyra spun around, raising her voice for all to hear. “You went to the hospital? How’s my girls? Did you see them?”
Gayla was instantly on her feet, moving to Akyra’s side.
“I took my own medic,” Raemus said, “because things are a bit tense around here. Your soldiers are going to be okay.”
“They’re going to be okay,” Akyra repeated for her team’s benefit.
“They’re not great. They’re heavily sedated, Akyra. But brain scans show no damage.”
“Okay.” Akyra took a deep breath and waved off Gayla. “Good news. Finally, some good news.”
“Are you okay?”
“For now.”
“I need to see you, Akyra.”
“I know. I’d like to see you too, Raemus. It’s just… I’ve got a lot to deal with. This damn snatch and grab is going to land on my head in a bad way.”
“Have you considered going after it?”
“What, the Bio-Teck cube? Yeah, kinda. Except I’m also under orders to stay within Zebra.”
“Listen, I need to cut this short. But just think, if you did go outside the base to chase this thing down, it might help to have a guy around who knows the locals.”
“You offering, Raemus?”
“Call me back soon. Pretend you’re asking about your soldiers in the hospital.”
Akyra looked around the room, then lowered her voice. “Copy.”
“Talk soon.”
As Akyra reached to her tapper to disconnect the link, the screen flashed that someone was trying to cut in on the comm. The system would flash green if it was someone lower in rank than her current caller, red if it was higher rank. Right then, it was flashing red. “INCOMING: BIN AR-DREZAR, R.O.”
She rubbed her fingers over the screen for a moment before answering. “This is Akyra Roux, your excellence.”
“Yes, good morning, captain. Forgive my intrusion after such a terrible night. I won’t keep you. But… unfortunately we noticed you were online just now with Captain Raemus, using encryption.”
“Okay, yes.”
Encryption? No, I didn’t know that.
“I’m so sorry to say, but you are ordered to cease all communication with Captain Raemus… immediately.”
Akyra was on the other side of the barrack room by now, completely shielding her words. “What’s the problem, if I may ask, your excellence?”
&nbs
p; “No, I’m terrible sorry. This is a church matter.”
“I work for The Church.”
“You are sub-contracted by The Church. Even that is tenuous. So no, as this catastrophe is investigated, you will not be speaking to Captain Raemus or any of his company. You understand your position, I’m sure. Indiscretions will not look favorably in your file. And I’ve read your file.”
Which means he must know everything about me, right down to my genetic flaws.
A mess of emotions and memories came rushing into her gut. Her legs quickly felt weak. Something else about Bin Ar-Drezar’s words hit home.
Catastrophe. He said, catastrophe.
Because that’s exactly what’s happened on this damn planet. Everything I’ve been fighting to achieve, everything all my hard work represents, will be ruined if I blow this contract.
Catastrophe.
Not again. I will not lose my dreams again to failure—just like rejection from the breeding program. If I return to the High Orbit Anchorage with a failed contract, my career will be over. Not to mention for everyone on my team, too.
Unless, of course, I get it back. But how? Where do I even start?
Akyra knew in her heart where to start. She’d start by staying alongside Raemus, find this Xerxus fucker, and get back what was stolen from her.
“Sorry what’s that, your excellence? You cut out on that last part.”
What if… What if she disobeyed her orders, took Raemus’ crazy suggestion, and went out to recover the fucking cube herself?
In that instant, she chose her path. She knew it was the only way to protect her career—and ultimately protect her wounded heart.
She’d not even heard the last thing Bin Ar-Drezar said.
Instead, she simply said, “You needn’t worry about me or my team, your excellence.” She looked over to the table of women eagerly wanting to know what was going on. She added, loud enough for them all to hear, “We’ll just… sit tight.”
Chapter Nine
The unifying geographic feature of Minora’s equatorial region is the vast valley desert, known as Zebra Pitch. For a thousand kilometers, its parallel ridges rise from the ruddy, iron oxide rich seabed. Exposed edges of the uplifted valley’s edge have eroded into a slickrock wilderness of massive domes, cliffs, and, where erosion has exposed the ancient ocean floor, striking enclaves of black igneous rock spiraling majestically into the sky.