The Fringe Series Omnibus

by Rachel Aukes

  “I fight for the Collective, of course, while you fight for secession from the Collective. You are a criminal whose actions have cost the Collective trillions. And now, you attempt to close off Sol Base—which means all of Darios—from the Collective. Sol Base is a territory of the Collective, and I will do whatever is needed to protect all the parts from its enemies.”

  Reyne held up a hand. “We’re currently managing Sol Base with nonviolent force. That will change if you start shooting at us. Every shot you fire, you also risk shooting citizens currently in custody. Your own dromadiers are stationed on the Littorio and they, too, are here to protect Sol Base.”

  Laciam squinted then he chortled. “Conscripts.” He practically spat out the word. “You have ten minutes to surrender yourself and peacefully turn Sol Base over to the rightful authorities, or you will be fired upon.”

  “Sol Base is already with its rightful authorities. It’s with the Darions, not torrents, not dromadiers, Darions.”

  “You now have nine minutes.”

  The screen went blank.

  Immediately, Reyne heard Willas speaking behind him. He turned to see the reporter with his back to Reyne and facing cameras. Reyne stepped out of the camera fields, but he suspected at least one camera had been on him the entire time and likely still was.

  “Well, so much for negotiating,” Reyne said as Hatha stepped closer to him.

  “He didn’t say if he’d fire on the ships or on us,” Hatha said.

  “I’d lay bets he’s trying to zero in on where I’m located,” Reyne said. He turned to Sammy. “Did you make sure the Littorio and the Houston got all that?”

  “Every second you two were on with Laciam, they saw, too,” Sammy replied.

  “Marshal Reyne, a question,” Willas called out.

  Reyne waved him off, walked over to Sixx, and took a seat. “That could’ve gone better,” Sixx said.

  “Stationmaster Satine,” Willas said. “How are you going to respond to the Corps General’s ultimatum: surrender or be fired upon?”

  “I certainly hope he doesn’t fire upon Sol Base,” Hatha said. “It’s not only the bread and butter of the Collective, it’s also my home. If he destroys the docks, everyone starves. There’s no way around that.”

  As Willas and Hatha continued their discussion, Reyne spoke quietly to Sixx. “He’s not bluffing. I hate to say this, but I’m thinking we raise the white flag.”

  “You do that, and the crews of Crazy’s Coral and Blue Jay and all the other colonists who gave up their lives won’t mean a thing.” Sixx leaned forward. “Listen, we both knew it was a gamble going for Sol Base, but I think we’ve got to hold on to it. Let them bomb the docks. Then the citizens starve. We’ve still got New Sol.”

  “It’s not big enough to feed half the colonies, let alone Myr and Alluvia,” Reyne countered.

  “Like I said, let the citizens starve. We’ll figure out something for the colonies. We always do.”

  Reyne leaned back and rubbed his temples. He’d been counting on the fact that the CUF would negotiate, at least for the return of their crews and ships. Sol Base was crucial to the Collective. When it’d been hit by the blight and shipments were halted for nearly a month, the Collective had been thrown into a recession. Another month was all they needed before citizens would force Parliament to step in. Reyne hadn’t been able to buy a full week.

  He pushed back to his feet, feeling every day of his sixty-seven years.

  “Three minutes,” Sammy called out.

  Reyne approached Hatha and Willas.

  “Marshal Reyne,” Willas began. “Stationmaster Satine says she won’t surrender Darios to the Collective Unified Forces, or to what she’s called ‘bullies.’ What do you say?”

  Reyne looked at her, a bit surprised at her response. He turned to Willas. “She’s right. The Collective has become a schoolyard, and colonists are tired of getting beat up and having all their stuff stolen. I’ll defend Sol Base until my dying breath.”

  The comm screen chimed.

  “Put him on,” Reyne said, and he approached the screen. Meanwhile, he could hear Willas continuing his broadcast behind him.

  “Your time is up. This is your last chance to surrender,” Laciam said.

  “Sol Base belongs to the Darions. I can’t surrender their colony. There are lives at stake, both citizens and colonists. If you fire—”

  The screen went blank.

  Reyne spun around. “Where’d he go?”

  “He disconnected,” Sammy said.

  “Tell the ships to put their shields up.”

  “The Unity has fired their phase cannons at Sol Base,” Sammy announced.

  Willas began speaking louder into the cameras, but Reyne ignored him.

  “Where’s it going to hit?” he asked.

  Sammy started to answer, but he was cut off by a deafening sound. The ground quaked, and Reyne found himself knocked to the floor, covered by Sixx. When the vibrations stopped, Sixx helped Reyne to his feet. Dust flitted in the air, and two of the comm screens were cracked.

  “That was close,” Sixx muttered. “You okay, boss?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I can’t believe it. The Unity fired upon us! This is Willas James of DZ-Five News. I’m standing here with my crew in the Sol Base station. As you can see, the blast just missed us. There are broken screens around me and chairs knocked to the floor…”

  Reyne was impressed to see the reporter and his camera handlers on their feet and reporting so quickly after an attack. “Sammy, where’d they hit?”

  “One hit the station, obviously. At least two hit Main Street, and, oh crap, one hit the docks. It looks like an entire concourse has been taken out.”

  “No,” Hatha said, as Tully held her in place. “He can’t bomb the docks.”

  “He can and he did,” Reyne said.

  The cracked comm screen chimed.

  Reyne’s lips thinned. “Put him on screen.”

  The crack down the middle of the screen set apart the two halves of Laciam’s face, making him resemble Frankenstein’s monster. The Myrad seemed pleased with himself. “As an act of mercy, I give you one more chance. Surrender, or you will be killed.”

  Reyne glanced at Hatha, who gave him a hard look. He turned to Laciam. “Never. Sol Base belongs to the Darions.”

  “So be it,” Laciam said, and the screen went blank once again.

  Reyne turned to face the others in the room. Willas, who was still speaking rapidly into the camera, was the only one who didn’t look at him with dread.

  “I wish we were at New Sol right about now,” Sixx said drily.

  Wrist comms chimed, and Reyne noticed Willas and his entire cadre all glancing down at theirs at the same time.

  After a quick pause, Willas continued speaking, evidently still on live feed. “I’ve just been informed that we’re now cutting over to Senator Etzel at an emergency Parliament session. He will be broadcasting live, across all channels. If you don’t hear from me again, that means Sol Base has been destroyed. Take care, and stay safe, everyone.”

  As soon as the camera cut, Willas waved his hand in a circle. “Hurry and pull up the feed.”

  “I have it up,” a handler said. She turned around her camera and tapped a couple buttons, and then the feed displayed on the comm screen. Senator Etzel, perhaps the oldest of all the senators, stood at a podium in a building Reyne did not recognize. His speech was already underway.

  “… the Collective is greater than the sum of its parts. The loss of any single territory can cause irreparable damage to our way of life. If the war continues, we will lose Sol Base, if we haven’t already, and the remaining fringe stations will soon follow the same tragic path. Therefore, Parliament has called for an immediate armistice so that we may discuss options with Seda Faulk and representatives of the colonies. We have informed Corps General Laciam of our intentions, and I, along with several representatives of Parliament, will be leaving immediately to t
ravel to Darios. It is our hope that we can end this war and bring peace to the Collective.”

  Etzel stepped down from the podium, and a press secretary stepped up to take questions. Reyne looked around him, taking in the silence. “You hear that?”

  “You mean the sound of us not getting blown up?” Sixx said.

  After a moment, Hatha giggled and cupped her hands to her lips. She then turned to the reporter. “Willas James, I think you just saved all our lives.”

  Willas smiled proudly. “I just report the news.”

  “You’ll also likely get a Halston,” one of his handlers joked.

  “Still dislike reporters?” Sixx asked Reyne quietly.

  “They’re growing on me.”

  Nineteen

  The Concept of Peace

  Sol Base, Darios

  Seda landed at the Sol Base docks the morning of the meeting. Tax and Corbin stepped out of the ship first. Seda disliked all the safety precautions he’d been forced to take, but he had no other choice when the CUF wanted him dead. When Tax signaled that the area looked safe, he emerged to find Hari and Reyne waiting for him.

  He smiled, embracing each. “It’s good to see you both unharmed.”

  “We’re luckier than others were,” Reyne said.

  Seda sobered. “I saw the damage from above. How many lives were lost in the bombing?”

  “Not as many as there could’ve been. We’re still cleaning up debris, so we don’t have a hard number, but it’s looking like around eighty killed in the phase cannon blasts.”

  “Their deaths shouldn’t have happened, but if that’s what it took to get Parliament’s attention, then their sacrifice may save thousands of lives.”

  Hari motioned to the waiting vehicle. “Come. We’re meeting at the fringe station. Hatha’s hosting.”

  The group climbed into the luxury Rosten. As they rode from the space docks to the fringe station, Reyne updated Seda on details not yet covered on their daily check-ins.

  “So, the Littorio and the Houston are ready to defend Sol Base should this meeting turn to shit?

  Reyne nodded. “Both are fully crewed with conscripts who had been serving on board and backfilled with torrents who’ve served on those ships before. We have good crews. The problem is, they have to keep several major systems offline so the CUF can’t take remote control of the ships. That means communications can only be handled via wrist comms.”

  “It’s better than not having the ships at all,” Seda said. “Without them, Laciam could’ve swooped in and taken Sol Base back without bombing.”

  “I’m not so sure they made any difference,” Hari chimed in. “I think Laciam is hotheaded enough that he wanted to show off his power.”

  Seda chuckled drily. “He sounds like a younger version of Ausyar.”

  Hari nodded. “I think that’s exactly what he is, which means we will always have a delicate dance with the CUF, regardless of how today goes.”

  “We’re here,” Tax said. “That’s a lot more droms than I was expecting.”

  Seda looked out the window to see at least ten squads of dromadiers moving about the outside of the station. Darion security forces moved toward the vehicle and formed a wall between the Rosten’s occupants and the droms. Tax and Corbin stepped out to converse with the soldiers.

  “Laciam notified us he was sending them down to ensure security was in place for Etzel’s arrival,” Reyne said. “I told him one transport would be allowed to land, and he must’ve packed them in there like bunks on a frigate. Good thing we’re still in control of the docks. Otherwise, Laciam would have droms crawling all over Sol Base by now.”

  “It’s a thin line we’re walking, and anyone can see that. Laciam knows he can take Sol Base any time he wants it, but he’ll lose the docks—either by blowing them himself or by us blowing them.”

  Reyne chuckled. “Don’t tell Hatha that. If she thought we’d blow the docks, we’d be fighting her security forces as well.”

  “Oh, I’m sure Hatha sees our predicament,” Seda mused. “I’ve known her long enough to know she doesn’t miss much.”

  He stepped out of the vehicle and strode toward the station. Reyne walked alongside, and Tax, Corbin, and Hari formed a perimeter of sorts around them, encircled by the Darions. Seda had been to the fringe station dozens of times in his career, but this was the first time he’d been there since the blight was dropped on the colony. Except for a blackened, bombed section off to his left that was marked off, the station looked unchanged but felt entirely different. While there were people moving about, there were nowhere near the numbers that had been there a year before. The station lacked vibrancy. He hoped, over time, the colony would fully repopulate.

  Darions led them down the hallway to the right, and they reached a conference room Seda had often sat in for meetings with other Collective business leaders. Several people were already inside. Reyne broke off to talk with Sixx.

  Hatha looked up as the group entered. “Ah, Seda!” She walked over to greet him.

  Seda smiled and embraced her. “Hatha, it’s been far too long.”

  “It has. It shouldn’t take a war to bring you to Darios,” she said.

  He gave a slight bow. “My apologies. I’ve been a bit busy lately.”

  A clean-cut man approached, and Seda shook his hand. “Willas, I see you’ve been quite busy yourself.”

  Willas James smiled. “Just doing my job.”

  “And he’s understating, terribly so,” Hatha said. “This man and his camera crew prevented Sol Base from being utterly destroyed. I think he deserves to wear one of those torrent teardrops you each wear around your necks.”

  Willas held up his hands. “Oh, no. I’m no torrent. I report the news, and I leave it to my audience to decide what to do with the information. The number one rule in the news is that reporters don’t pick sides.”

  “Your predecessor picked a side,” Seda countered.

  “True, Lina Tao picked a side,” Willas said. “And she ended up dead because of it. As for me, I prefer to keep both my job and my life as long as possible.”

  One of Hatha’s assistants approached. “Excuse me, Stationmaster, gentlemen. Senator Etzel’s ship has landed.”

  Seda rubbed his hands together. “Then we’d better get our ducks in a row.”

  Thirty minutes later, Senator Etzel arrived with a sizable entourage. Seda recognized several senators and was glad to see Parliament at least pretending to play along. Whether they were serious about ending the war or simply biding time for a full-blown CUF invasion remained to be seen.

  “Senators,” Seda said, and he went through the formalities of greeting each one. Barrett Anders entered behind them, and Seda smiled, holding out a hand. “It’s good to see you again, Commandant.”

  Anders smirked. “It’s Corps General once again, Mr. Faulk. Commandant Laciam is taking leave, and I’m serving in his stead.”

  Senator Etzel stepped in. “Corps General Anders’s role will be made official and permanent at the next Parliamentary session. My associates and I believe Barrett Anders better encompasses our vision. While Maximus Laciam is an excellent officer, he represented the viewpoint of Senator Heid, who may not necessarily be aligned with the vision of Parliament.”

  “Excellent decision, Senator.” Ah, so the senators had already begun to roll back Heid’s decisions. His control over Parliament seemed to be coming to an end, now that the puppet master had been removed from his puppets.

  Seda motioned to Hatha. “Stationmaster Hatha Satine has graciously hosted us today, so shall we take advantage of the time and facilities she’s given us and begin?”

  The leaders sat around the large conference table, filling every seat. Hatha sat next to Seda, and he shot Reyne a glance to make sure he sat on Seda’s other side and across from Anders. Willas James stood in the corner, his camera handlers stationed at different places across the room.

  Upon seeing Willas, Etzel frowned. “I’m not comfortab
le with a reporter recording sensitive negotiations. The things we discuss may be confidential or inflammatory if portrayed in the wrong light.”

  “Understood,” Seda said. “Willas James is a Collective news reporter, so I should be the one bothered.” Etzel opened his mouth to object, but Seda continued. “Citizen James has assured me that he will not be sending a live feed to his station. He will not broadcast the story until our meeting is done today. This could be a monumental moment in Collective history. Don’t you agree that having the media record it for prosperity is a good thing?”

  Etzel pointed at James. “I need to see your story before you run it.”

  James nodded. “Everyone can see my story before I send it, but I won’t change it.”

  “I wouldn’t ask you to,” Etzel said, though it sounded like Etzel would do exactly that.

  “Shall we get down to business?” Seda asked.

  “Yes. Certainly.” Etzel clasped his hands together on the table. “I’d like to begin by stating how important each colony is to the Collective, and I will do everything in my power to deliver a positive outcome to all members, regardless of their legal status. The loss of Sol Base’s space docks would cut off food supplies for over a year while new docks are built. Hundreds of thousands of people would starve if that happened. I think we both agree that no one can afford to have Sol Base’s docks destroyed during this war. Therefore, I’m here to offer terms of peace for Darios.”

  Seda leaned forward with a slanted smile. “Senator, we’re not here to talk about Darios. We’re here to talk about the independence of all four colony planets.”

  “Perhaps it’s best we discuss Darios first. Then we can discuss each planet in turn.”

  “Or, we could begin with the cease-fire signed by Corps General Anders and myself.”

  “That agreement was developed with neither Parliament’s input nor approval,” Etzel said. “The treaty was skewed too heavily in favor of the colonies and would wreak havoc on Alluvia and Myr’s economic systems.”