by Mark Wandrey
Just as they were heading for the door with his company name on it, the Lumar door opened, and a figure glanced at them. It looked like any other Lumar, but was maybe 2/3 the bulk. The Lumar mercs typically only wore pants and a vest, too, their skin as tough as light armor. This one had a coat of a greenish fur and a hood partially obscuring its face. He caught a brief view of eyes looking at him, then the door closed again.
“What was that?” Alan asked.
“One of their females,” Jill said. “They never leave the barracks. I think they’re afraid of us.”
Alan nodded and followed her through their door. Though something very non-Lumar-like in the way the female had looked at him stuck with him. He decided he’d like a chance to meet one of the females.
* * * * *
Chapter 6
Vergola Assault Base—E’cop’k System
Thrills of excitement raced from the soles of Veska’s booted feet to the top of her skull. The battle had petered out with the removal of the Paku from the fight, and the captain had ordered the Gheshu further outsystem. Then…then she had allowed Veska to join her and A’kef for further discussion of how matters stood in E’cop’k.
Veska was not invited to speak, not with the captain and Rei’Shin having so much to discuss, but regardless, it was all she could do to keep the tips of her ears from trembling and revealing her delight at being in the room. Makori would howl to hear it, which added a measure of sweetness.
The actual facts of their situation were not nearly so enjoyable, but Veska had been a mercenary long enough to take joy where she could. That and her trust in her leaders kept her hopeful even when everything the captain said landed with the weight of unfortunate news.
“Any attack on their position could bring harm to the pups and end Krif’Hosh altogether.”
“They are not pups anymore,” the captain pointed out, pacing the length of her bare desk. “And they have the Human armor, you said. It makes Humans damned hard to kill. If their Human guardian takes his job as seriously as you say, I cannot conceive of a world where the Zuul version does any less to keep its occupant alive.”
“If you lead an attack, I would put my faith in that, rather than the luck of Human engineering. It has long been known that what Nillab of Insho’Ze, Fi to the Hosh aims for, she does not miss.”
“Do not flatter me and expect to end the hunt, Rei’Shin.” The captain flicked an ear dismissively, but A’kef did not move his own in apology, he only stared at her until she continued. “I have a contract.”
“You have a prior contract with the Hosh.”
“With Krif’Hosh, and that contract ended before the clan.” Her voice roughened, and she snapped her jaw, turning away from them to stare at the etching on the wall. The three Hosh, the balance of the Zuul, under the spiral symbol of Coshke. The Hosh, bearers of Coshke.
Veska’s eyes traced the familiar banner. She’d known the legend of the captain since she’d first focused her eyes on anything other than food.
Nillab of Insho’Ze, littermate to Veska’s own granddam. Nillab of Insho’Ze, who fought so ferociously a Hosh had taken notice and promoted her. Nillab of Insho’Ze, who had saved the Kal’Shin of a Hosh, losing half her jaw and a section of her skull in the process. Nillab of Insho’Ze, who had had her face reconstructed, her new teeth coated in unbreakable metal, and had completed over a hundred contracts for Krif’Hosh before retiring in glory and riches.
Nillab, who had left retirement and returned to Insho’Ze when Krif’Hosh had disappeared on a contract far across the galaxy.
Veska had done everything in her power to be worthy to train under the oldest captain in Insho’Ze, and had reveled in every second of the grueling time.
She had never seen the captain show doubt.
Until now.
“Nillab, as Rei’Shin—”
“I have accepted a contract, Rei’Shin.” The captain did not turn back to look at either of them. Tension held her ears and tail perfectly still. “Shall I dishonor Insho’Ze by breaking it?”
The silence held so long, Veska vibrated with it, saliva pooling in the back of her mouth.
“No,” A’kef said as he must, as Veska knew he would.
She thought of Rex, across the system with the Humans, and swallowed both the snarl and howl that wanted to shake straight through her. They were Zuul. They would do as they must. They would do as honor demanded. Unto the end.
* * *
Fak’l dismissed the report from his slate with a silent curse. This entire operation was bending like an over-extended limb, threatening to crack at any time. The tactical situation had been solidifying, if slowly. Now a message from the cursed Sumatozou running the gate. Fak’l reached a hand out and plucked a headset from its stand like it was a delicate flower.
“This is Master Guildsman Fak’l; connect me to the stargate.” A moment later a trumpeting voice replied, translated by his pinplants.
“Gatemaster Jobortogato here.”
“What do you mean, I can’t break the lockout?” Fak’l demanded.
“It means what I said.” The delay was only a couple of seconds. In a system as small as E’cop’k, the Lagrange points were close to the planet.
“Gatemaster,” Fak’l said, a sneer in his voice. “I put you in charge because you assured me it wouldn’t be a problem. How is it you now say it’s impossible?”
“The coding is nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Jobortogato said, and now his voice carried a slight simpering edge to it. “It’s strange, reminiscent of some of the ancient coding I’ve seen.”
“Twenty thousand years ago we allowed you to be the face of the Cartography Guild because you had some skill with computers. You broke the Dusman’s lockouts on the gates and restored commerce. In exchange, we gave the Sumatozou great riches and prestige. It was easier for us to stay back and control from behind. You were in charge in all but name.
“This is the second time you’ve let us down. You couldn’t take control of the frontier gates once more, and now you can’t do it here.”
“Master Guildsman, please—”
“Shut. Up.” The gatemaster blubbered on for as long as it took the transmission to make a round trip, then fell silent. “Let me make this perfectly clear. If you and your race are no longer capable of doing your job, you are of no use to us.” A long finger delicately stabbed the transmitter control, cutting off any reply the other had to offer. “Nothing but simpering excuses,” he said. If it weren’t for the interdiction, he would have long ago sent a communication to the guild’s headquarters. The Pushtal and Zuul didn’t know he was as trapped as they were, and he couldn’t let them know until they had control of the facility.
“Once I have the weasels under my feet, I can wrench the truth out of them of how they did this.” He cast his eyes through the window. This temporary office on the field base looked up into the planet’s sky. Frost clung to the corners of the windows. The module was nothing more than a portable unit used for operations in combat zones. It was disgustingly spartan, and he dearly missed his office on Capitol with its lush appointments and delicate luxuries.
He’d torture the secrets of the programming changes from the Zuparti, drinking wine and eating tasty treats while they screamed. Maybe those secrets would be useful in the future. Maybe guildmaster was in his future. If he could use those secrets to advance the guild’s claims against other competitors like the Merchant Guild, who knew what was possible? He needed to speak with the Zuul and Pushtal commanders. This entire operation was taking far too long.
* * * * *
Chapter 7
Classified Engineering Guild Holding—E’cop’k System
“Colonel Porter!” The room resounded with the cheers and applause of his men.
Alan stopped in his tracks, his mouth open in surprise at the cheers. He was surrounded by dozens of faces he’d only days ago feared were dead. People crowded in to slap him on the back, shake his hand, or just say hi
.
“Great to see you all,” he said over and over again.
“You gonna get us out of here, Colonel?” a private asked.
“I’m trying,” he replied.
“It’s a bloody slog,” another trooper called.
“I know,” he said. “We’ve been trying to find you the whole time.”
“I said the colonel would find us,” Jill said.
“She did,” several agreed. It was clear they hadn’t held out much hope.
“We brought two more squads, but only one of us made it.” Everyone quieted so they could hear him, and a few yelled for silence. “The Zuul ship we were aboard came under fire as soon as we arrived.”
“Zuul ship?” someone called in shock.
“Yes,” he replied, knowing this time would come. “A Zuul company, Insho’Ze, came to Earth to talk with me. Their ship disappeared at the same time you did.”
“Because we’ve been fighting them!” someone yelled, and the room descended into bedlam.
“Silence!” Alan didn’t know when Sergeant Bana had come in, but the big man’s command voice broke over the room like a tidal wave, bringing all shouts to a sudden stop. “Listen to the colonel. Fuck me dead, I never expected you men to act like a buncha bloody wankers!”
The men looked cowed, and the silence held, allowing him to continue.
“We had no idea of the situation here when we agreed to accompany Insho’Ze. For that matter, neither did they. A’kef, their commander, was just trying to find out what happened to his people, same as us.” He paused and looked around. He spotted Corporal Plesh and Private Hyll filtering into the room, which meant the kids weren’t far behind. He needed to get ahead of this and stay ahead of it. Then he saw eyes going wide as they arrived.
“Why are they here?” a trooper in the rear demanded.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Rex growled.
“We’ve been fighting and dying against Zuul since we got here.”
This time Alan saw the speaker. Corporal Edgar Pierce. He’d never liked Alan’s kids. Of course he’d made it. Alan leaned over to Jill and quickly spoke. “Where’s Dracula?” Top Sergeant Nathan “Dracula” Whitfield was the heart and soul of the noncoms in Silent Night.
“Bought it two weeks ago,” she said.
“Shit,” Alan said under his breath.
The other three young Zuul came in right behind Rex, their ears up, tails straight, and teeth showing.
“You know who they are,” Alan said loudly. “They’ve grown up around many of you.”
“They’re wearing uniforms and ranks,” someone else said.
“Because we’re part of Silent Night,” Sonya said.
“The hell you say!”
Alan felt it slipping away. In moments, the men had gone from greeting Alan like a conquering Caesar to mutinously mumbling about his kids. Then Shadow spoke.
* * *
“You went missing, and the first thing we did was join up to find you.” Shadow’s voice rumbled low, steadier than he expected it to be. “We did, and Hewers, and most of the half-grown kids you left behind. Because Silent Night is a family. Ours and yours.”
He wanted to snarl, but every beat of his heart told him he needed the people in this room. They stank of fear and mistrust, and so much anger, but underneath it and twined throughout, he smelled their desperation. The tang of longing for home and for hope.
“Newt, you tried to teach me how to ride a bike. My knees bend opposite of yours, but we figured it out. Gardner, Drake pulled a swiftie and stole your bloody surfboard. Instead of beating the piss out of him, you taught him how to use it.”
“And knocked me off it a hundred times,” Drake muttered, with the perfect balance of resentment and humor. Shadow wanted to thump him in thanks.
“Candy worked with Ripley in the sims, we all know Sonya’s the only one Dailey will tolerate for long in maintenance—to the point half of you would go to her when you needed something from him. How many of you lost to Rex in the races?”
He kept his ears from flicking, kept his eyes big. Silent Night had never been a large company, and the compound didn’t leave a lot of room for secrets or deep grudges. Mercs got it together or got out. They didn’t all love each other and sing around campfires, but Shadow knew patterns, and the ways Humans interacted were exactly that.
“We lost you, so we suited up to find you. Maybe you would have done it differently, but I don’t think so. Silent Night fights for Silent Night.”
“For Humans,” one of them muttered, and Shadow’s nose twitched. Pierce. Always had a sour tint, always chewed a little too hard. Even in Silent Night, they couldn’t all be winners.
“Some Humans collaborated with the rats.” Rex didn’t do as good a job hiding his snarl, but Shadow never would have expected differently. “You been gone during the war. Maybe you didn’t hear? Peepo and her Veetanho buddies invaded, killed a lot of people. A lot of Humans. Some of the Humans fought for her. You fighting for those collaborators, Pierce? Out here while Earth got stomped?”
Shadow twitched his tail, and Rex caught the hint. He kept the snarl in place, though.
“We came for you. With Zuul help, yes. You had the cruiser, and we needed a ride.”
Someone laughed at that. They bit the chuckle back fast enough, but some of the tension bled out of the room.
“You’re Zuul,” Candy said, but reluctantly, like he was losing what more he wanted to say.
“We are. Zuul and Silent Night. We just came from the med bay, Candy. Know why?” Shadow put some heat in his tone now, and he heard the smallest edge of a whimper in Sonya’s soft growl. “Ripley almost died, getting us to you. Drone attack, she was hit in the chest by a laser. Flop died taking fire, and Ripley kept the rest of us alive, bleeding out, until Tesfaye picked us up. Silent Night fights for Silent Night.”
“The Zuul you came with—”
“You’ve fought other Human companies on contract before.” Sonya pitched her voice to match Shadow’s tone, and Shadow admired her restraint. “Being a merc can get messy. I think you told me that, Sentinel, when I told you I was thinking about joining up.”
The big merc in the back shifted, the belligerence in his shoulders ebbing.
“We came for you, and we almost died for you. This isn’t a Zuul versus Human thing. You want to bitch about it some more, or you want to get our shit together and get the fuck out of this bunghole end of the galaxy?”
A ragged smattering of cheers met that, and Shadow slammed his hand to his chest.
“SILENT NIGHT. I’ll ask you again—you here to whine, or you here to win and GO the FUCK back HOME again?”
Bana stepped forward, putting his sergeant’s voice to full use. “What do you say, shovel heads?”
A more full-throated wave of sound met that. It wasn’t everyone, and Shadow knew everything wasn’t magically fixed, but it was a step away from the lingering taste of death in the back of his throat. There was still resentment and fear. He didn’t know what to do about that—yet.
* * *
Alan knew Shadow wanted some deeper reaction from him, but he couldn’t summon it. With nine dead mercs fresh in his mind, and the fact that they had no clear way out of the system beyond outwitting the Zuparti guildmaster, the fate of the galaxy felt very distant.
The idea of visions, no matter how deeply his youngest son held them, couldn’t outweigh their pressing needs. With the immediate situation defused, he took Shadow aside.
“You did good in there, Shadow,” he said, hating the droop in his boy’s shoulders. “And I’m not saying Bana won’t put you on some shit duties, but enough’s happened that muster…”
“I’m not making excuses for missing muster, Dad. Isgono said—”
“If you have a vision that helps us get out of this shit show, I’m all ears.” He made an effort to keep any hint of derision out of his voice—he meant it, and he wanted Shadow to know that, but fading stars and expl
oding ships were less important when he was stranded on a dwarf planet with two self-important guilds slugging it out and getting his people stuck in their mess.
“Do you know if Isgono went on one of the assault shuttles?” Alan asked. The older Zuul had a position of importance on the Paku, and if he trusted Shadow’s visions, perhaps he could put in a word with the other force of Zuul mercenaries.
“I don’t know. And if we try to make contact—”
“Half of Silent Night will forget about bikes and surfing and training you as pups, and assume you’re collaborating.” Alan scrubbed his hands over his close-cut hair and restrained a grunt of frustration. “I’m talking to the ‘guildmaster’ later this evening. The Lumar and…Aku, Jill said, were here long before all of this heated up. See if they’re up for talking to the other side. I need to tell them about you and your brothers and sisters before they find out another way. If they get hostile because you’re Zuul—”
“I got it.” Shadow held up his hands, ears swiveling in disappointment. “Been doing it my whole life,” he muttered, low enough that he likely thought Alan would miss it.
His kids always underestimated his and Dana’s ears, and the reminder of it almost made him smile. Instead he clapped Shadow on the shoulder, then pulled him forward to rest their foreheads together.
“I know you got it, son. I trust you.”
“I know, Dad.” Shadow made a noise that might have been any number of things and spun away. He watched his son go, considering. He’d always pegged Rex as the natural leader. Maybe Ripley. Both were quick to volunteer and were ready for anything. But he’d never seen them in real life or death situations until now. Rex had acted decisively and saved Ripley, yes. But just now it had been Shadow who’d stepped up and defused a potentially explosive situation. Not only that, he’d done it in a calm, logical manner.