by Rachel Aukes
“Good work, Chaser Fields,” Reyne said. “You have my word. Colonists are safe.”
“Call me Shauna,” she said. “I guess since I just committed mutiny against my captain, I no longer have that title.”
Reyne glanced at Sammy. “Send this comm screen number to Corll’s wrist comm.” He turned back to Shauna. “Pull my comm screen code so you can reach me. Send me your wrist comm code. That way, we no longer have to go through a middle man.”
He heard Corll moan, and he wondered what had happened to the commandant.
Reyne continued. “Notify me as soon as you have both ships fully under your control. I’ll then apprise you of next steps.”
Shauna nodded. “I will.”
The screen went blank.
“The destroyer’s stopped firing,” Sammy said.
“That means something’s happening on board,” Reyne said. “How are the specters looking?”
“Not great,” Sammy said. “Winter Wind and Razor’s Edge are the only two who haven’t taken a hit. The others are still in the field, but some are showing structural damage.”
“Get the transports in the air. As soon as that destroyer stands down, get the damaged specters out of there, starting with the ones most at risk of breaking apart. If they can’t fly out on their own, get a transport out there to pick up their crew.”
The comm screen chimed, and Reyne tapped it to see Shauna’s face.
“The Littorio is fully under colonist control,” she said. “Captain Singh of the Houston willingly surrenders his ship and crew in exchange for their safety.”
“The safety of his crew is promised as long as they do as instructed. They are to leave their weapons on the ship and take transports down to the docks. There, they will be met by Darion security forces. Citizens will be processed into a holding facility. We have housing available for all colonists who voluntarily refuse their CUF service.”
“How about us on board the Littorio, Marshal? Our transports are dead, and we only have enough air for four days.”
“I’m sending transports up to you. Same deal goes to your crew. You and I will debrief after you land. I’ve got something for you to get that warship back online and a couple thousand extra crew members—that is, if you want to use it to stand up against the CUF.”
She grinned. “Of course I do. See you on the ground.”
Reyne sighed. The operation could’ve gone sideways in so many different ways, though he knew hundreds of lives were lost.
“You haven’t won,” the dromadier said. “This was just one battle. You can’t beat us. We have the ships and the guns and the money to keep them coming at you.”
Reyne looked at the young man, who he realized represented the CUF’s mindset pretty well. Confident, intelligent, but naïve.
“Perhaps,” Reyne said. “But you’re lacking the one thing the fringe has through and through. Resilience.”
Seventeen
Chess Games
Nova Colony within the Space Coast asteroid belt
Seda stepped out of the airlock along with his guards, Tax and Corbin, to find Critch waiting for him in a flight suit, with only his face shield open.
“You’re late,” Critch said.
“I’ve been busy coordinating activities,” Seda said, pulling off his own helmet. “There’s more negotiating and hand-holding involved in running a war than I ever imagined.”
Critch grunted. “I’m glad you’re handling that end, but if you’d delayed much longer, you would’ve found half of the CUF armada lined up along the Coast, ready to welcome you into a prison cell.”
“I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that, assuming our guest in our own prison cells is alive and well.”
“He’s alive,” Critch said. “I’ve got a ride leaving in ten minutes to bring me to Terra. Try not to kill him until I get back.”
“Trust me, he’s worth far more to us alive. He started the war; I’m planning on using him to help end it.”
Critch chuckled and patted Seda’s shoulder. “Good luck with that.” He motioned to the woman standing by him. “This is Layla. She’ll show you around and take care of you while you’re here. You can trust her with your life.”
With that, Critch closed his face shield, stepped around Seda into the airlock, and disappeared behind the closing door.
“So, you’re Seda Faulk,” Layla mused. “I’m impressed. You’re even more handsome in person.”
He looked at her. She wore a dress, if it could even be called that. Her boots covered more skin than the band of tight clothing around her torso. He could imagine that Critch’s warped sense of humor had found hiring a prostitute for Seda funny.
“Thank you, I suppose.” He gestured to the pair of men at his back. “This is Tax, and this is Corbin. They go wherever I go.”
“Mm,” she said. “Hello, fellas. I want to go wherever you go, too.” She turned back to Seda. “So where would you like to go first?”
“I’m sure I can find my way around. Can you point me in the right direction to where the prisoners are kept?”
She grabbed his right arm and looped her hand through, tugging them closer together. He noticed his men tense, but neither pulled her away from him.
She grinned. “I’ll do you one better. I’ll show you.”
Her brow furrowed, and she squeezed his arm. “Synthetic?”
He nodded. “I lost it just below the shoulder.”
She cocked her head. “It fits you nicely.” Then, she gently pulled him forward. As she led him through the wide tunnel, he noticed people watching him. He’d been hidden away for so long, the sudden attention was almost unnerving.
“Wow,” Layla began. “This might be the first time they aren’t looking at me.” She shrugged. “It’s not every day people see our fearless leader.”
“I’m not the only leader, and I can assure you, I’m certainly not fearless.”
She turned them down a slightly smaller tunnel. Seda had the sensation that they were descending, but that was more dependent on where the electromagnetic gravity system was placed than from what was up or down.
“Doesn’t matter what you think. You’re the guy who signed the cease-fire. And, even more important, Critch seems to listen to you.”
“I don’t believe Critch listens to anyone.”
She shrugged. “Critch practically owns Nova Colony. Just about everyone here, myself included, works for him. He wouldn’t have gotten that far if he wasn’t a bit hardheaded. But I’ve seen him do what you asked, even if he wasn’t happy about it.”
“I’ve never seen him happy about anything,” Seda said.
She gave a small smile. “I heard he used to be happy, a long time ago. But I guess that’s what the Collective does to a colonist over time.”
She turned, and the next tunnel definitely gave the feeling that they were descending into the bowels of the asteroid. The stone walls were rougher, and there were fewer lights and people.
“You said you work for Critch. What do you do?” Seda asked.
Corbin snickered behind him.
“I work at the Uneven Bar,” Layla said, unbothered.
“Ah, so you’re a… bartender?”
Corbin snickered louder.
She looked up at him with a sideways smile. “I think we both know I’m not a bartender.”
He stumbled awkwardly. “Of course. Sorry I asked.”
“It’s honest work.” She pulled away and stopped. “Listen, if you’d rather have someone else—”
“No,” Seda cut in. “You’re fine. It’s just—”
Her brows rose. “That you’re not used to talking when you’re with a whore?”
“No, it’s not that.” He frowned. As president of several companies, he’d always had to worry about public relations. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met one.”
She laughed. “Oh, I’m sure you have. You just didn’t know it.”
“Yeah,” Corbin said behind him.
“He’s met a few.”
She smiled as she looped her hand through his arm again, and they continued their walk.
Even though he was Terran and had spent plenty of time in its underground tunnels, he was thoroughly lost in the asteroid. He found Layla’s warm closeness comforting. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been touched by a woman.
“We’re here,” Layla said. She unhooked herself from Seda and led the way to a dead-end tunnel lined with cells. Three guards sat at equal intervals. She kept walking until they reached the very last cell.
This one had a much smaller window than the others, and a guard sat just outside the door. The guard stood as they approached. “Hey, Layla. How’re you doing?”
“Doing good, Drew,” she said. “Though, we’d all be doing better if that guy in there wasn’t breathing.”
Seda glanced down at her to see her scowling.
“I wanted to slice his neck, but Critch wouldn’t let me.”
He frowned. “You know him?”
“Rumor is he killed Captain Heid. She was the one who came to our rescue when the CUF tried to suffocate us, so he has a bundle of enemies around here.” She turned back to the guard. “Hey, Drew, Seda’s here to chat with the prisoner.”
“Sure.” The man, easily in his fifties, turned around and entered a passcode on the keypad near the door. It unlocked and then opened outward.
Layla remained by the door. Seda stepped inside, with Tax at his side. Corbin stood in the open doorway. Seda would’ve preferred to speak with Heid alone, but he knew his guards would never allow him to take such a risk.
Gabriel Heid pushed off the bed and to his feet.
“Ah, if Aeronaut hasn’t just chosen to grace me with his presence.” Heid then took in Seda’s protectors. “I’m surprised to see you without Mechanic. Did one of my people kill her?”
Seda’s gaze narrowed. Heid was purposely using Founder names, likely to throw off the guards. What Heid didn’t realize was that Tax and Corbin knew all of Seda’s secrets already, and he was hoping Layla wouldn’t become a wild card. “Hari is alive and well. She’s on her way back from Darios.” He lifted a brow. “Oh. Haven’t you heard? We’ve retaken Sol Base.”
Any hint of humor drained from Heid’s face before he recomposed himself. “Impressive feat. I had not expected you to focus your efforts there after the population had been wiped out. It seemed an unnecessary use of your limited resources.”
Seda took a step closer. “I admit, you lined up your moves nicely. You understand the size of the CUF armada and what it’s capable of—and not capable of. You took Ice Port and Sol Base out of the picture early with hard strikes. But you spread the Forces too thin by having them simultaneously take Devil Town and Rebus Station while still monitoring Sol Base.”
Heid shrugged. “I had to move quickly or else risk losing favor in Parliament. If Parliament fails, everything fails.” Heid began to pace slowly back and forth. “You see, the Collective has grown too diverse to function as a cohesive unit. Like an old forest, it’s become stagnant. In as much as a forest fire helps life thrive after the fire, the Collective needs a fire of its own to reset so that it may grow better than before.”
Seda guffawed. “Don’t pretend that you’re doing this for the benefit of the Collective. Diversity isn’t the Collective’s problem. It’s your problem. Even with all the games you played through the Founders, there have become too many variables for you to manage. You need the forest fire so you can control everything again.”
“You talk like I’m trying to destroy the colonies.”
“The numbers speak for themselves. How many tens of thousands of colonists have you killed so far?”
Heid waved him off. “I do not dislike the colonies. After all, they’re crucial for the Collective to thrive. Myr and Alluvia have barely enough resources to support themselves, let alone expansion.”
Seda’s gaze tightened on the prisoner. “If that’s the case, why did you not guide Parliament to recognize the colonies as equal states within the Collective?”
“It wouldn’t work. Two citizen worlds bring a perfect balance, like ying and yang, to the Collective—equal in all ways. If the colonies were allowed the same status, the Collective would no longer be two worlds working collaboratively but instead two worlds at odds against the four newcomers. Simple mathematics shows that everything would fall out of balance. If the four colonies took the majority in Parliament, all the history and progress made to date would be halted, as the newcomers lack the political understanding and history that comes from generations of progress. At best, there’d be political deadlock; at worst, there’d be new wars. Every outcome would result in the fall of the Collective.”
Seda sneered. “You’ll get to keep your precious balance between two worlds, because soon, the colonies will have their independence. They’ll form their own government structures however they see fit, and the Collective will need to negotiate trade with them.”
Heid paused and faced Seda. “You haven’t won the war yet. You may have Sol Base, but it will be a short-lived victory. We both know the CUF has larger cannons.”
Seda held up a finger. “Ah, but you can’t take Sol Base by force. That’s why you used the blight the first time. You can’t risk damaging the docks or else you’ll have no way of transporting all that food Alluvia and Myr need to survive. So, now the CUF is forced to try to gain Sol Base back using dromadiers on the ground, and colonists outnumber them a hundred to one. You no longer have a brief war.”
“The longer the war lasts, the greater the damage on both sides,” Heid cautioned.
“Citizens will quickly lose the taste for war when their bellies are empty,” Seda said. “More important, now that we have you, they’ll lose their appetites even faster.”
“You misjudge my value if you believe taking me brings you closer to independence.”
“I do believe that,” Seda said. “True, we needed Sol Base to make Myr and Alluvia cry out for peace. But taking you away from the game table leaves Laciam floundering and Etzel in charge of Parliament. From what I hear, Etzel desires peace more than anything, perhaps more than holding the Collective together.”
Heid glared.
Seda lowered his chin. “Check and mate.”
Heid took a step closer. “First, you betrayed the Founders. Then, you betrayed the Collective. If the Collective falls, you are responsible for all that’s lost.”
Seda’s expression grew harder. “I’ll gladly take that responsibility.”
Heid cocked his head. “Mariner died as a result of your betrayal. Do you know how she died?”
Inside, Seda seethed, but he’d known Heid would take a hit at his heart and was prepared for it. “No. My wife died because you killed her. Just as your daughter died because you killed her. Neither of their deaths served a greater good, nor did they right a wrong. Their deaths only served to nurture your own psychosis.”
Seda turned, then paused. “And the Collective is falling because of your actions. You are responsible for that.”
“I exist to help the Collective!” Heid yelled.
Seda left the cell, knowing his guards would protect him should Heid try to attack from behind. To Seda’s surprise, Heid didn’t attack, and the door closed, keeping the prisoner within his cell.
Seda took a breath, finding some amount of satisfaction in making Heid lose his temper. He gave each of his guards a thankful nod before turning to Layla.
She was leaning against the wall, cleaning her fingernails with a long, narrow blade.
He frowned, looking at her outfit. “Where’d that come from?”
Her lips curved upward. “You really want to know?”
He clamped his mouth shut.
“So… did you get what you need from him?”
“I needed to see him alive and feel confident that he’ll stay that way, so the answer is yes.”
“Where to now?” Layla asked.
“Now, we see ab
out turning a warship away from the Coast.” He held out his arm for her to loop her hand through. She slid the knife into her boot and placed her hand around his elbow.
“I like the sound of that.”
The Unity reached the edge of the Space Coast five hours later. By then, Seda had dispatched every civilian ship in a fifty-sector radius to fly out to meet the warship. Each of the civilian ships sent messages that they flew under flags of truce. Even so, it was a gamble Seda did not like taking.
When Seda had proposed his plan to all the civilian captains, every single one had volunteered to travel out to the Unity, even though their ships had no weapons of their own. Their job was to give the CUF a peaceful show of resistance, i.e., if the CUF was going to bomb Nova Colony, they’d need to bomb over one hundred white flag-flying civilian ships as well.
Seda stood in Nova Colony’s command room, which he’d learned was actually Critch’s command room, connected to Critch’s residence, where Seda would be staying. He watched the blips form up on the screen along the outside edge of the asteroid belt. Blue for all the civilian ships, red for the Unity, two frigates, and six destroyers.
He was about to have the tech ping the warship when he noticed something. He pointed at a yellow dot. “Whose ship is that?”
“Yellow is usually either humanitarian or press access.” The tech tapped it and scrolled through its details. “Yup. Press. It belongs to DZ-Five News.”
Seda stared at it for a moment, rubbing his chin. He could think of only two reasons why the news would be on hand for a military operation. Either the CUF had leaked information to have the operation broadcast, or some reporter had sniffed out a story and tagged along.
He lowered his hand. “Ping them.”
The tech looked back. “You want me to ping DZ-Five? They report Collective news, not ours.”
“Remember Lina Tao? They’re not all brainwashed by the Collective. Now, ping that ship.”
The tech seemed dubious but sent a ping to the ship, anyway.