Alabaster Noon

by Chris Kennedy

  She put her hands up and turned to meet her fate.

  * * *

  MGS Begalt, Approaching Orbit, Earth, Sol System

  “Thanks, Murdock,” Jim said as they reached a hatch. There were a pair of dead Besquith, both shot cleanly through the head. Mika stood next to them, admiring her own handiwork.

  “You got it kid,” Murdock said. “I still think you are nuts.” Murdock’s other associates were also there. Like him, they were all old, but they all looked dangerous.

  The other Raknar drivers trotted eagerly past them to other docking points, led onward by silent callings. “You guys have a ship?”

  “Yeah,” Murdock said. “It’s docked to this tub. We used it as cover. Long story.”

  “We were going to steal this thing, actually,” Greenstein said, and winked.

  “You can have it after we leave, if you want. But if the ship you brought is faster, I’d use it to clear the area. We’re going to be making a mess.”

  The hatch opened toward Jim, and he saw Splunk waiting for him. The docking ring on the other side was clearly a Raknar’s hatch.

  “Hey, buddy!” he said. Splunk leaped into his arms.

  “I missed you, “

  “I missed you, too,” Jim said. Splunk looked at the older mercs and gave them a nod.

  “She’s a lot more than just a critter, isn’t she?” Murdock asked.

  “Oh, without a doubt,” Jim said. “If we live through this, I’ll buy you a beer.”

  “Not a Coke?”

  “Times change,” Jim said, and hurried through the hatch.

  “Must hurry, “

  “Right,” Jim said. The internal structure of the Raknar made it hard to hurry, but he did the best he could. In just a few seconds, he pulled the armored hatch at the heart of the mecha closed, and the system’s magnetic locks engaged. “Cast us free while I get set up,” he said.

  Splunk started activating systems as fast as she could. He only looked up as she jumped onto her platform and reached out for his pinplants. “Kick ass time,” he said.

  “Akee!” They both said and were joined.

  * * *

  The six Raknar pushed away from the transport as gently as they could and didn’t damage it too badly. Jim/Splunk noticed there was a Maki frigate docked, and he guessed it was the ship Murdock had mentioned.

  He/She used Zha Akee to set up their positions and evaluate the enemy. He/She noted with some annoyance that their heavy weapons were gone, which would limit their ability to attack the heavier enemy ships. That needed to be remedied. The Maki frigate undocked from the transport and started to maneuver away. He considered using it, then changed his mind, noting it as friendly.

  “Mia/Sandy, Darrel/Peanut, use the transport. Cindy/Ryft, Seamus/Dante, and Shawn/Shadow, come with us.”

  Jim/Splunk activated their thrusters and accelerated at 50 Gs toward the nearest enemy cruiser, with the ones they’d specified following along. Meanwhile Mia/Sandy and Darrel/Peanut rammed their arms into the transport on opposite sides and fired their engines, radically altering the transport’s course.

  Jim/Splunk and the other three Raknar raced toward their chosen target. The cruiser’s crew saw the 30-meter-tall mecha coming toward them and fired their weapons. Missiles were swatted down with anti-missile lasers and armor sloughed off the energy beams fired at them. The Raknar spun in space and braked, though they didn’t come to a complete stop—the four 1,000-ton Raknar slammed fusion-torch-powered-feet first into the side of the cruiser, ripping its superstructure apart.

  Once embedded in the cruiser, the four went to work. It only took a few seconds to get what they wanted. When the Raknar emerged, they were now armed with the lasers from the hapless cruiser. The Raknars seamlessly integrated the weapons into their own systems. The new armament wasn’t ideal, but it would suffice. The cruiser’s shield generators were integrated as well.

  The other two Raknar, Darrel/Peanut and Mia/Sandy, finished ramming the transport into a battlecruiser and flew to rejoin the other four. More and more fire came from the now-panicking fleet as they realized what was in their midst. The two were armed as well, and Jim/Splunk handed Darrel/Peanut what had been a 5-terawatt particle accelerator barbette, the cruiser’s main weapon.

  “We thought you’d like this,” Jim/Splunk said.

  “You know it,” Darrell/Peanut said. They took the weapon and merged it into their Raknar’s arm. The result was a limb far too long to be functional on the ground, but since they were in space, it didn’t matter. The remaining shield generators were likewise incorporated.

  In Zha Akee, Jim/Splunk saw the new ships arrive while Darrel/Peanut and Mia/Sandy finished integrating the offensive and defensive parts from the cruiser. Jump riders dropped off the new ships and seemed to disappear, only to reappear as they rammed the enemy ships. The new ships could not immediately be quantified, nor their strange invisibility capabilities, so they were logged away for future analysis.

  The enemy fleet was now trapped between advancing friendly forces and the waves of invisible suicide attacks. Jim/Splunk saw a delicious opportunity as it appeared the enemy had forgotten about them.

  “Okay,” Jim/Splunk said, sharing target data via Zha Akee. “Let’s kill them all.” All six ripped free from the now-gutted hulk of the former cruiser and rode plumes of fusion power toward the nearest battleship.

  * * *

  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  Nigel reached the hospital but didn’t see anyone there. Whoever had shot at the shuttle must have left, which had saved his or her life. While he hadn’t wanted the shuttle unleashing mass destruction on the building, he had no problem ending some asshole’s life with a few well-place MAC rounds.

  “Movement! East along the road!” Corporal Taheri commed, blasting off down Rua Vicente de Sousa. Nigel and rest of the squad followed.

  “What have you got?” Nigel asked as he covered half the block in a bound.

  “Men with rifles,” Taheri commed. “They turned left at the next intersection.”

  “Heading to…the roof,” Alexis called. If she’d sounded winded before, she was now totally spent.

  “She’s heading to the rooftops!” Nigel exclaimed. “Bounce and look for movement.”

  “Got her!” Taheri, who was still in the lead, said. “On the left! I’m on it!”

  Nigel spun left. Halfway up the block, he saw Alexis—the love of his life—with her hands up as men poured onto the roof with her. The first one stopped and raised a rifle at her, and Nigel was transported back in time to Planet Moorhouse, where he had been a handful of seconds too late to save his sister, and she had died in his arms.

  His stomach roiled. There was no way he could get there in time; it was going to happen all over again.

  “No!” he screamed, and he opened his jumpjets to full, knowing he would be too late.

  * * *

  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  So, this is where it ends, Alexis thought as the man flipped off the safety on the laser rifle. After all the space battles she’d been in, all the races and ships’ crews who’d tried their level best to kill her, she was going to die at the hands of Humans in Rio Fucking de Janeiro. Life didn’t make sense sometimes.

  “Kill the bitch!” a man yelled from the access as he climbed out. His hands were wrapped in bloody rags, and blood was smeared across the nametag “Lucas” on the right side of his chest. “Do it now!”

  “Sorry, Senhorita,” the man with the rifle said as his finger tightened on the trigger.

  Before he could complete the motion, a thousand pounds of man and steel slammed down onto him and continued through the roof to the floor below, leaving a massive hole, and throwing everyone on the roof off their feet.

  As the Varangian Guard struggled to get up, a second CASPer landed on the roof, more gently, but with murderous intent. Its sword blade out, it cut one man in half lengthwise as it landed, then sliced horizontally to cut another man
in half. The last man—the one with the bloody hands—the CASPer picked up and threw over the side of the building. The man’s screams ended as he was impaled on the metal bars surrounding the establishment.

  The pilot turned the mech toward Alexis as two additional CASPers landed—gently—on the roof, and she could see the stylized Huma bird logo on the CASPer, along with the number “1.” The canopy opened, and Nigel jumped from the mech before it had opened all the way. He stumbled as he landed, then raced over to her and caught her up in his arms.

  “I was afraid I had lost you,” he said, sobbing.

  “Easy,” she said. “I’m hurt.”

  He put her back down, gently, tenderly, but she found she couldn’t let go of him. It just felt too good to be in his arms again. Even if it hurt. A lot. “I’m sorry,” he replied, his face going red, “It’s just—”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Alexis said, cutting him off with a smile. “It’s nothing a medkit or two can’t fix.” She waved to the hole in the roof. “I’m just glad you made it here in time.”

  “Yes,” Nigel said, smiling in return. “It appears Corporal Taheri was a little…overzealous in his landing, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  CIC, EMS Shadowfax, Sol Emergence Point

  “I have new ships arriving in the emergence area!” the TacCom exclaimed.

  “Whose are they?” Elizabeth asked. “They can’t be ours.”

  “I don’t know, ma’am. They aren’t like anything I’ve ever seen before. There’s one thing I can tell you, though, there are a lot of them. It’s a full fleet. There are several ships that are battleship-sized, a number of battlecruisers and cruisers, and then smaller supporting cruisers and destroyers. Wait, my system has a match. They are…Goltar? I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Goltar before.”

  “I know what they are,” Sansar said from behind Elizabeth. “They are one of the members of the Merc Guild Council. They are an ancient race, but one I thought acted with honor at my tribunal.”

  “Did they vote to convict you?”

  Sansar looked at the deck, unable to meet Elizabeth’s eyes. “Well, yes, they did…but we did do the things we were accused of. He did seem sorry about it, though.”

  “If they voted against you, then they are in the Merc Guild’s pocket, and they are here to help the Merc Guild. I can’t think of any reason they’d be here to help us, can you?”

  Sansar shook her head.

  “They’re moving,” the TacCom noted. “They’ve taken a heading that will have them crossing between our fleet and the Merc Guild’s. Looks like they are going to try to save them.”

  “Let’s try to finish off the ones we have quickly,” Elizabeth said, “then we can reorient on the newcomers. Message to the fleet: Move forward with all haste to engage and destroy the Merc Guild fleet. Full speed ahead.”

  “Ma’am,” Tesk’l, her comms officer said, “we’re being hailed by the new fleet…and you’re never going to guess who is in charge. I have a channel open for you.”

  Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Station calling the Human mercenary fleet, this is Captain Elizabeth Stacy.”

  The Tri-V monitor lit up to show a four-armed being wearing a dark brown, hooded robe. His face was hard to see within the folds, although Elizabeth caught flashes of all three of his independently-tracking eyes. “Greetings, Captain Stacy,” the figure said in a harsh whisper. “I am Peacemaker Tab’bel. By the authority of the High Council of the Peacemaker Guild and Honored Guild Master Rsach, you are hereby ordered to cease all hostilities with the Merc Guild immediately.”

  Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but the figure held up a hand. “One of my fellow Peacemakers is communicating this to the head of the Merc Guild fleet, as well. This war has gone on long enough, and we are stopping it.”

  * * *

  Merc Guild Detention Facility, Ubatuba, Brazil, Earth

  “Hold them!” Buddha cried out as half a squad of CASPers went up in a titanic ball of fire. The Tortantulas kept trying to flank, and every time the Cavaliers threw them back there were fewer Cavaliers left to fight.

  “First Sergeant!” Captain Wolf called.

  “Captain?”

  “Sector Two, on your left. Five seconds, go!”

  Buddha examined the battlespace and instantly saw what she meant. Captain Wolf had started with nearly 40 CASPers under her command. She had nine left and was just to the east of Sector Two, directly behind the Tortantula who seemed unaware. She was outnumbered five to one.

  “Captain,” he started to complain.

  “First Sergeant,” she roared. “Carry out your duty!”

  “Ma’am,” Buddha said, a catch in his voice.

  “Lead the charge, Buddha.” Her remaining command burst out of the crumbling building, screaming on their PA systems and spraying every weapon they had, then fell upon the Tortantula. Buddha had a fleeting image of Captain Wolf impaling a Flatar with her arm blade before a pair of huge Tortantula tore her suit in half.

  “You heard the captain,” he said over his squadnet. “Go! Go! Go!”

  Buddha had gathered six CASPers of his own, all that remained of Bravo Company after Alvarado was cut down by a trio of Besquith. He’d fallen in a pile of their guts and blood, making them pay for his life with their own. This was it; they were down to the end.

  His men burst through the last of the perimeter defenses of the detention facility, two more of his troopers going down to the Zuul. Every one of them had yellow indicators on their ammo supply as they neutralized the defenses nearest them.

  The last five members of Cartwright’s Cavaliers exploded through the wall into the detention facility. The Zuul guards opened up with small arms, and Buddha’s men swept them aside with arm-mounted weapons and CASPer-sized sidearms. Buddha himself was down to his arm blade.

  A laser seared into his left forearm, and he spun, impaling the gunman. The Zuul howled and bit ineffectively at the CASPer. Buddha slammed the alien against the floor and crushed his head with a boot. All around him the fighting came to a halt as the last alien died.

  “Lynch, Partlow,” he said to two of his survivors. “Stay here and hold the way in.”

  “Roger that,” Partlow said. Both men were injured and running on pure guts and CASPer candy. They wouldn’t stop.

  “You two come with me,” he ordered the other two remaining troopers.

  Buddha led the mangled remains of his command through the armored gate, now unguarded, and into the largest building on the premises. Inside, a thousand eyes—their owners held in large cages with no humanitarian comforts—turned to look at the three beaten, burned, and exhausted troopers. It was completely silent.

  “We’re Cartwright’s Cavaliers, and we’re here to rescue you.”

  The arena exploded in a cacophony of cheers, and he had to yell over his PA to be heard.

  “We don’t have time for celebration. The next room over is an armory. There are dead Zuul outside. Get every weapon you can; there will be enemy reinforcements here any minute.”

  Faces full of elation changed to ones of seriousness. Quickly, despite the dozens of units present, the mercs organized and blazed into motion. Buddha sighed. At least their last stand wouldn’t be a slaughter.

  “First Sergeant,” Partlow called from their entrance point.

  Buddha checked the battlespace and saw dozens of Tortantula arrayed outside, ready to attack. “Go ahead, Private.”

  “The spiders just stopped. They were about to attack, then they just stopped.”

  What in the name of Ku is going on now? Buddha noticed his orbital comms was flashing for attention. He’d been too busy trying to survive to notice. He listened to the message.

  “I am Peacemaker Tab’bel. By the authority of the High Council of the Peacemaker Guild and Honored Guild Master Rsach, you are hereby ordered to cease all hostilities with the Merc Guild immediately
.”

  “The spiders must have gotten the same message,” Lynch said. “What does it mean?”

  “It means we stand down. Fire only if fired upon. It looks like, at least for now, the war is over.”

  * * *

  CIC, EMS Revenge, Solar System

  Nigel and Alexis entered the CIC to a round of applause. Nigel supported Alexis, who was looking a little pale after her multiple ordeals, although they had at least found her a uniform to wear and had treated her cuts.

  Nigel smiled. “Look who I found. Apparently, she decided to sit out the war in a swanky hospital.” He shook his head. “Here we are, fighting and dying, and she decides to take a vacation.” He sighed. “Women.”

  The CIC watch crew—all men—chuckled.

  Revenge had been climbing clear of orbit to rendezvous with the Hussars’ fleet. Nigel had already explained some of the last three weeks’ happenings to Alexis. She was of mixed feelings—proud her Hussars had managed to repel the attack on New Warsaw, but horrified at the losses they’d suffered. Nigel watched her while she stared at the Tri-V where the battle still raged. Can she recognize her own ship? Sure, she can.

  “Any station! Any station!” a young girl’s voice said over the radio, interrupting the discussion. “This is Sunshine. Peepo is getting away!”

  “What? What was that?” Nigel asked. “Find out what that person just said!”

  “Station calling, this is the Earth Mercenary Ship Revenge,” the communications tech said. “Say again your last.”

  “Revenge, this is Sunshine. Peepo just lifted off from the headquarters facility and is getting away!”

  “Who is Sunshine?” Nigel asked.

  “Must be a codename for someone,” the tech said, “but I don’t show it on my list.”