Merkiaari Wars: 01 - Hard Duty

by Mark E. Cooper

  “Mister Martell, forgive the manner in which you were brought here,” Yi Zhang said. Beside him walked another man. His brother. Eric had his picture in his database. Both men were wearing high-collared business suits that befitted their corporate status. “Unavoidable I’m afraid. There have been developments.”

  Eric glanced at Zhang’s outstretched hand but didn’t take it. He would need his hands if this went sour. “Zhang,” he said with a slight nod, “and this is?”

  Zhang lowered his hand. “I think you already know, but in case I overestimated you, may I introduce Daniel King? Daniel, this is the man I told you about, Eric Martell.”

  King didn’t offer to shake. “You have a novel way of gaining my attention, Martell. Your free sample certainly did.”

  Eric relaxed a little; this didn’t feel like a prelude to an attack. “I’ve found it quicker and it usually works. I like to do my groundwork before meeting clients and getting down to the practical applications of what I can offer.”

  King didn’t smile. “President Thurston’s secret police are watching your suite. They have it wired.”

  Eric shrugged. “I know.”

  Secret Police indeed. King was trying to portray himself as a patriot fighting the good fight against a despot. Eric managed not to laugh. It was amazing really, how many of these people used the same rhetoric when justifying themselves. He had heard it all hundreds of times before. He was beginning to wonder if they had read the same terrorism manual, because they all seemed to be using it for their bullshit.

  King blinked. “You know?”

  “Of course. No need for concern, there’s nothing for them to find there. Everything I need is in my head.” He tapped his temple with a finger. He didn’t tell them that he had found their surveillance as well as the government’s gear. “All they have is my underwear and spare uniforms.”

  A splutter of laughter burst out of Zhang. He turned to his brother. “See what I mean?”

  King nodded. “The two million will hit your account in...” he checked his wristcomp. “About twenty minutes. Come inside to wait. You have the means to check our deposit here?”

  Eric nodded, patting the pocket containing his wands.

  So, no attempt to disarm him and they would definitely assume he was armed. He would have in their place. The mention of the money clinched it. He was in the door... more or less.

  King lead off and Eric followed. Behind him, car doors opened and eight men brought up the rear. Eric targeted each one, but did nothing outwardly offensive. It was precautionary only. He would do nothing to halt progress. He had gained some ground, but he wasn’t in yet.

  Zhang led them into an empty office, not his own Eric noticed and wondered why not. Maybe all his employees weren’t in the loop. Eric glanced around as King took one of two swivel chairs near the desk. Zhang headed for the autochef. Eric turned as two of the escort entered the room and closed the door. Before it closed fully and they blocked any approach to it, Eric saw the other six men arraying themselves along the corridor outside. Not very trusting, he thought with an internal grin.

  Eric didn’t seat himself, but did take a coffee from Zhang when it was offered. He grimaced at the taste. He detested decaf. “Assuming the transfer goes ahead without problems, what do you envision my role will be?”

  King turned his chair and looked up at Eric. “I’ll assume you know the situation here so won’t waste time reiterating. Normally I wouldn’t be meeting with a recruit like this, but your unorthodox approach appealed to me. You’re no ordinary recruit and I don’t expect you’ll need that gun under your arm. I have plenty of trigger pullers. I want you on my team devising strategy.”

  Eric nodded; smart man to be thinking along those lines. It was exactly what he wanted King to think, but he hadn’t needed to guide the man. It being his own idea should bolster King’s trust in him and give better access to what he needed. If they had just recruited him as plain soldier, he could have been posted as a guard at the arse end of nowhere and unable to learn what he needed.

  “You are fortunate,” King went on. “Your plan worked so well that it occurred to people I trust that you might be an operative working for our enemy. President Thurston isn’t above using InSec for his own ends despite his so precious constitution.”

  Eric took note of King’s sneering condemnation of his President. There was something personal there; it wasn’t all politics, and Eric wondered what it was about, but King was still talking.

  “... our base of operations. I won’t tell you where you’ll be working, and you will have no access to that information even while there. If you have objections?”

  Eric shook his head. It was perfect. King wanted him to work on planning more raids from a secret location as a security measure, but he was a Viper. He could be deaf and blind and dropped anywhere on the planet and he would know where he was seconds later. He was only a thought away from a secure satellite link anywhere in the system. His designers would never have missed such a basic necessity. Many of his systems used the link. TacNet didn’t actually need to use it—unit to unit links could be and often were used—but TacNet could use satellites to increase range when they were available. Sensors used them for keeping track of friendly and enemy units on the battlefield, and for navigation. Calling in air support without them could be a pain. The point was, King could call it a secret base all he wanted, but as soon as Eric arrived, he would know where it was and so would the marines. He would see to that. The Freedom Movement had just taken a huge step toward their extinction, and Eric a step toward heading home again.

  He was pleased.

  The time came and he went through the motions of verifying payment. He couldn’t care less about the money and wanted to get going, but he had to play his part. A mercenary wouldn’t overlook it, so he dutifully used a wand to check his balance. Two million had been deposited a few minutes earlier and he nodded to King.

  “It’s there. When do you need me to be ready?”

  King raised an eyebrow. “I thought you understood. You will leave from here directly, and no you can’t go back to your hotel.”

  “Don’t you trust me?” Eric said.

  “Of course not. You will be escorted by my men at all times until you reach our base. Once there, you can move about, but not before then, and we won’t let you leave without escort for any reason.”

  Eric shrugged. “I agreed to a contract for the duration of hostilities. Hope you don’t mind if I make that duration short.”

  King smiled this time. “I like your confidence. You get to leave when we have won, not before.”

  “Understood. I estimate three to six months,” Eric said. “But that depends on resources and your willingness to cooperate with me and use them as I direct. I don’t need to take command or expect to, but I do need your fighters to at least consider what I say.”

  “They will do what I tell them,” King said coldly, his eyes suddenly hard. “You will have access to our logistics data, and I expect you to evaluate what we can and can’t do with what we have. I want ideas. If you have a way to increase our capability, I want to know about it immediately. You will be my advisor as far as my people are concerned. Advisor only. They won’t take orders from you.”

  Eric shrugged. King was a paranoid bastard. “Okay by me. I’ll need a way to talk to you, unless you’re coming with?”

  “No. I can’t be away from the capital right now. I’ll give you a number where you can reach me or someone I trust.”

  “Fine.”

  King stood and prepared to leave. He spoke with Zhang a moment before leaving the room. The eight man security team did not follow.

  “Well,” Zhang said and clapped his hands together cheerily. “I have transportation all arranged for you. Your... watchdogs? They will take over from here. Good luck to you.”

  Eric nodded to him and followed his keepers out of the office. They led him outside and into the compound toward one of the transports he had
seen earlier. He climbed into the cargo bay of the nearest when told to, and sat on one of the crates. His watchdogs climbed in to join him, and moments later the transport lifted off. He didn’t know his destination, but using a satellite link he followed along and plotted a few points of interest. A minute into the journey he decided they were heading for the spaceport. He guessed they would be taking a shuttle somewhere. No matter.

  He closed his eyes and leaned back pretending to sleep.

  * * *

  4~Sanctuary

  Planet Harmony, Shan System

  “Do you see him?” Tahar whispered, his black-tufted ears stood erect and alert atop his grey furred head.

  Shima tried to penetrate the gloom beneath the trees and find what her father had seen, but the shadows were too deep, and her eyes blurred with the distance. She silently cursed them for not being as keen as his. Sometimes she felt like clawing them out of her head. At least then she wouldn’t see the disappointment on her father’s face every time he looked at her. She knew where the Shkai’ra stood. It was a warm and peaceful presence within her mind, very different to the fierce glow that was her father. The breeze suddenly shifted in her favour, teasing her with the Shkai’ra’s scent. Her claws slid from their sheaths and dug into the moist soil beneath her paws. A frustrated growl rumbled deep in her chest.

  “Do you not see him even this close?”

  She wanted to howl in despair at the pity she heard in his voice. “I feel him my father… I almost see him,” she lied. She knew which sub-species it had to be. There were a great many of the Lesser Shkai’ra at Sanctuary East. She doubted it could be one of the much rarer black tailed variants of the species. “A Lesser Shkai’ra. A big one, yes?”

  Tahar’s ears flattened in distress at her lies. “No. He’s black tailed—barely adult and very small.”

  He was disappointed in her. She could feel it. The pain that caused her was worse than anything else she could think of. Her father was the best hunter and tracker in her family. Chailen, her younger sib, might grow to be as good, but she was barely adult. It was too soon to be certain.

  “I…” she began, but she couldn’t finish her apology. She lowered her head almost to the ground in shame.

  Her father pretended not to see a reason for shame. “Come. I will take you closer so that you might see.”

  He crept forward still on four paws like a shadow, then froze with his right forefoot raised. His ears pricked and swivelled, listening for danger hidden in the dense undergrowth. The sun was lowering in the sky, deepening the shadows and heralding the arrival of Sanctuary East’s night hunters. His whiskers drew down and his nose twitched as he scented his quarry. Shima waited motionless, less than two paces behind him. The breeze shifted and she caught the scent of the Shkai’ra again. It was calm and unaware of them.

  Tahar eased his paw to the ground, and with his head low between powerful shoulders, crept toward his quarry. Left forefoot, right hind foot and pause. Right forefoot, left hind foot and pause again. Shima mirrored her father’s movements and was concentrating on him to such an extent that she failed to notice when her sight finally resolved the Shkai’ra.

  Tahar stopped and looked back at her in question.

  She was so close to the beast that one pounce would have been enough to take it down. The Shkai’ra was a young male, barely old enough to forage for himself. Although his fangs rivalled hers, his other weapons were still undeveloped. Two knife-sharp horns presaged an impressive rack that would eventually grace his proud head.

  “He’s beautiful,” she whispered almost inaudibly, and Tahar flicked his ears in agreement.

  The Shkai’ra froze in mid-chew and Shima held her breath. It raised its head warily, looking for the source of its unease, but Tahar’s pelt was a mottled shadow, and Shima took after him in her looks if not in her abilities. It failed to see them. The Shkai’ra used his wickedly sharp hooves to dig for more roots and went happily back to his chewing.

  Shima took one more step and slowly raised herself onto her hind legs. She could almost reach out and touch him now. One more step and she reached forward. The Shkai’ra turned to look back and froze. The moment stretched out into an eternity. She stared into those innocent eyes in wonder, feeling connected to her ancestors as never before. It was so easy to think of herself as one of those primitive hunters. She would have known nothing of the wider world back then. She would have known nothing of engineering, or genetic farming methods—known nothing of history or philosophy. Her only concern would be the wellbeing of the clan and her people, her only task to hunt for food and protect her clan.

  The moment passed.

  She felt the barest of touches on her outstretched paw and then the Shkai’ra was gone in a blur of speed. She would never forget that moment or the feel of its hide as long as she lived. She watched it race into the trees until she lost it to poor vision. She could still sense it running blindly away from her—still scent its fear on the breeze. There was nothing wrong with her other senses. It was only her eyes that made her a cripple among her people.

  The Shkai’ra was long gone when Tahar stood tall once more and led Shima back to their camp. She looked back once but the wonderful beast was lost to her. She could no longer even sense it. She and her father were its natural enemy. It didn’t know it was safe from them. Sanctuary East was a preserve. The Shkai’ra weren’t the only species to need such a place, but they were the most endangered.

  “We must leave before the sun sets,” Tahar said when they reached camp.

  “I know,” she said. “I’m sorry I lied. I wanted you to look at me like you do at Chailen… I’m sorry.”

  She ducked her head, looking at the ground and not at him. She was tired of seeing the disappointment on his face, but his anger would be worse. She busied herself tidying their supplies. They would be ready when it was time to begin the long walk out of Sanctuary East and back to the world. She retrieved her harness and slipped it on. It’s weight felt odd after so long wearing nothing but her pelt.

  “You are my first cub,” Tahar said softly from close behind her. “I love you no less than Chailen.”

  She forced herself not to turn. “Chailen is special. You should love her more.”

  Tahar sighed. “Look at me. Please look at me. I can’t keep talking to your tail.”

  Her jaw dropped open in amusement and her ears quivered of their own accord. He used to say that when she was very small.

  “Stop trying to make me laugh.”

  “Laughter is good.”

  Tahar led her to the fallen tree they had been using as a table. Visitors to Sanctuary East were encouraged to take only the minimum of supplies into the preserve. Harming the animals was against the purpose of the preserve, and bringing technology other than an emergency beacon was discouraged. It was a matter of pride among those who came here to bring only what their ancestors had used.

  Tahar sat upon the fallen tree beside her. “I am proud of you, Shima, so very proud. So what if you cannot hunt like the great Jasha? I cannot either, nor could anyone if you believe the stories. We are no longer hunters, Shima. We are beyond such things now. Hunting is not important any longer.” He mimed grasping something and throwing it away. “It’s a hobby, nothing more. You and Chailen are the future; I am the past as much as hunting is.”

  “Don’t say that! You are great, everyone knows it.”

  He snorted. “A great fool for not teaching you better. You have surpassed me in all that matters, Shima. You make me proud to be your father, but you don’t see it, do you?”

  “I see disappointment when you look at me.”

  Tahar’s eyes widened and his ears flattened. “I have never felt that. I have been angry on occasion, amused quite often, but never disappointed. Never disappointed, Shima.” In a hushed voice he said, “What you see is my guilt, not disappointment.”

  “I don’t understand. You’re not disappointed that I lied—that I cannot hunt?”

&nb
sp; “That you felt you needed to lie is my failure not yours. You can hunt well enough. You don’t need eyes for that, but as I said before, it doesn’t matter.”

  She could hunt after a fashion. The Harmonies were strong in her, and her nose and ears were very keen. Not much of a compensation for her poor sight, but it was better than nothing.

  “Your mother wanted cubs very much.”

  “I know—”

  “Hush. You don’t know this. She could never tell you, and I… well, I’m telling you now. When your mother and I were first mated, we worked together.”

  “I know this,” Shima protested again. “You and she were system controllers up at the new station.”

  “Hool Station, yes. I know that’s what you were told. We did not work there, Shima.”

  “But everyone knows.”

  Tahar flicked his ears in agreement. “Everyone knows because that’s what we told them.”

  “You lied to everyone?”

  “Not everyone. My father knew, and so did Elder Harman. It was Harman who asked my father to bring Nidra and me to him.”

  “I don’t understand. What has this to do with Chailen and me?”

  “It was a time when our people believed that we would re-build the Great Harmony among the stars. We had succeeded at so much in such a short time. So why not? Our scientists were discovering new things almost at every turn. It was a wonderful time. After the war, Child of Harmony became more than ever a special place to us. It proved we could leave our homeworld and survive.”

  Tahar looked around at the trees. “Harmony is old, Shima. All planets are of course, but it feels old. Do you understand?”

  Shima flicked her ears affirmatively. “Everything is known, every place has been found—”

  “And explored, yes. Child of Harmony feels different. The gravity is wrong, the air a little too thick. The sun looks too big… do you understand what I’m saying?”