Jackal’s Gambit

by C A Ardron

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Jackal briefly met Jay's eyes before walking away. The teenager's face was marred by a deep scowl. As expected, the boy's encounter with Trine had changed him. He was pleased to see that instead of cowering in a corner feeling sorry for himself, Jay's reaction had become one of anger and possibly something more. There'd been no sign of defeat in those eyes, a sullen acceptance that he might not survive the night, but he hadn't given up hope.

  Jackal allowed himself a thin smile as he sauntered over to the Power Converter. Who would've thought the timid boy might actually have some backbone. He pondered how that could possibly have come about. Cobra had made no secret of his intentions, Jay knew what was waiting for him as soon as all the tests were complete. Yet the boy wasn't quivering in fear. He couldn't possibly believe he could escape without help. His line of thought brought Jackal once more to Karen and he sighed. Perhaps she had something to do with it. She'd probably left quite the impression on Jay, how could she not? There was no one else in the world quite like her.

  ‘Where have you been?’ Cobra called, looking up from the machine interface. ‘No one could find you anywhere.’

  Swallow turned to look at Jackal suspiciously.

  ‘Really?’ Jackal asked, giving the man his best sardonic leer. ‘Evidently, whoever you sent to look for me couldn't be bothered to glance over the mines.’

  Cobra made an unpleasant sound indicating his disgust. ‘Figures. Everyone hates the mines.’

  ‘There are other places I'd rather visit,’ Jackal agreed, ‘but it's expected that I show my face from time to time.’ He gestured with one hand at the metal panel with all its bright lights and buttons. ‘What was wrong with it?’

  ‘The program had reset,’ Cobra told him, sounding cross. ‘If I hadn't noticed it would've switched itself off in an hour or so.’

  Jackal blinked, very carefully feigning his lack of understanding. He'd lost quite a bit of sleep over the last few days, after secretly making copies of Cobra's schematics and studying them until his head spun.

  ‘Why would a machine of any sort turn itself off if it was reset?’

  Cobra gave him a wearied glance. ‘It's called standby, Jackal.’

  Jackal kept his face under careful control. He needed Cobra to think he didn't know very much, that way the Sarpien sorcerer wouldn't point the finger at him when things went wrong.

  ‘Could someone have sabotaged it?’ Swallow asked.

  Swallow had the soul of a spy, Jackal noted. Her first instinct was to look for intrigue. That, of course, was why she was such a dangerous adversary.

  ‘Impossible,’ Cobra was saying. ‘Only I know how to navigate this interface. This isn't like an ordinary computer, if anyone tried to tamper with the framework they'd instantly mess up the modifiers and energy relays.’

  ‘Would that make a difference?’ Jackal asked, still playing the idiot.

  Cobra looked at him in consternation. ‘Let's just say I'd notice. Everyone in the tunnels would probably notice.’

  Jackal now decided to push forwards since if he acted the fool too much it would look suspicious. ‘So if no one but you can operate it, how did this happen?’

  Cobra had turned back to the interface but Jackal had made sure to put a hard edge in his tone and the Reptile warrior stared at him in disbelief.

  ‘Are you implying,’ he asked, his voice very quiet, ‘that I have sabotaged the Power Converter myself?’

  ‘Well, it’s there,’ Jackal drawled confidently with a shrug.

  ‘I invented it!’

  As Cobra's voice echoed through the chamber, Jackal noticed Swallow's sudden calm expression. He knew then that if Cobra attacked, she would instantly come to the magician's aid.

  Jackal also noticed a couple of other things however. Firstly, that Harrier had entered the chamber and was now stood to one side, curiously watching the proceedings, but more importantly, that Mantis and Rhino had appeared at the top of the cavern steps.

  He made those two his main focus, since they were both in armour and Mantis especially, almost never wore armour in the tunnels.

  Jackal gave Cobra a brief glance. The Unician's moment of anger was forgotten. He obviously saw the significance of Mantis' appearance as well.

  The Insecta warrior rushed forwards, drawing his glistening daggers. Jackal had one single moment of surprise when he realised the assassin's lunge was not directed at him.

  In that second, several thoughts ran through his head and it felt as if time slowed down. Jackal pondered what had caused Mantis to make an open strike, and whether it was even worth interfering.

  He made his decision quickly. No matter how convenient Mantis' success might be, as general he couldn't allow his Elite to partake in such open conflict with one another.

  He nimbly leapt between Mantis and his target, his hand already clutching his medallion. His armour couldn't quite materialise fast enough, and he drew his sword before it was fully formed.

  He heard Swallow gasp in surprise, not expecting the assault and Cobra swore violently.

  ‘Not near my invention!’ He cried out in alarm.

  Jackal parried one of Mantis' daggers with his half-formed sabre and deflected the other by deftly catching his wrist.

  He yanked Mantis' arm to the side, loosing the assassin's grip on the long knife. It skidded across the cold stone floor even as Jackal spun out of Mantis' reach.

  The Insecta charged, a deep growl of anger emanating from his throat.

  Jackal stepped backwards, dodging Mantis' remaining knife with more speed than his bulk implied he had. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Swallow back away, her face astonished.

  He quickly punched Mantis in the chest to try and halt his frenzied attack and once more grabbed his wrist with that lightning-quick Canine Catch. He let himself fall backwards, pulling his opponent down into the Canine Over-Throw. Jackal brought his legs up to launch Mantis over him and a couple of metres away.

  Mantis was up immediately, the Insecta was incredibly fast. Jackal used a Dog-Roll to avoid his second rush, re-evaluating the situation.

  For whatever reason, Mantis had wanted to kill Swallow but after stopping the initial attack, Jackal had expected him to back off. Mantis seemed filled with an insane bloodlust however and Jackal realised he'd have to go a bit further to stop the assassin.

  As Mantis closed with him, Jackal swore under his breath. A one-on-one with the Insecta had not been on his list of things to do today. He had to throw out most of his normal strategy when facing the formidable Sarpien, the man was too fast and unpredictable.

  He couldn’t lose. Losing was unacceptable, it would mean his demotion and probably his death.

  Jackal surprised Mantis by momentarily switching his fighting style. He sidestepped, using the Cat-Slink. He caught Mantis’ wrist in the Canine Catch again and quickly, giving Mantis no clear shot with his remaining dagger, performed a hasty but accurate Pack Alpha. Tripping Mantis up, he spun and went down on one knee, punching him in the chest. Mantis staggered backwards but managed to land a Reptile Back-Blow directly into Jackal’s helmeted face.

  The force of the heavy punch sent Jackal reeling back, his jaw and nose stinging from the impact.

  Mantis was sent sprawling across the jagged, stone floor by a Sky-Talon to the back. Silver Harrier had quietly switched into his armour and now stood where Mantis had previously, looking at the downed warrior.

  Jackal looked at the young man in surprise. Harrier's face was calm, composed. Didn't he realise that by interfering he'd picked a side? Jackal suddenly remembered the scene in Swallow's room. He shouldn't underestimate Harrier. The silver warrior had most likely picked his moment well. Now every Sarpien in the tunnels would know his loyalty was to his general, not Cobra or Mantis, who were the two greatest contenders for leadership.

  Harrier had broken the other Sarpiens from their spots, since now that one Elite had intervened to aid the general, it would look treasonous if
they didn't step in to help.

  Cobra rushed in first, positioning himself behind Mantis and placing his small laser pistol against the assassin's back as he dragged him to his feet.

  Jackal had been fully intent on the fight and only now noticed that all of his Elite had changed into their armour.

  Cobra gestured with his head to Rhino and the big Sarpien came and wrestled Mantis, who was struggling despite the threat of getting a laser bolt in the back, to the ground. Rhino grabbed his arms and bent them behind his back.

  Jackal didn't think his status had changed too much during that fight. True, Harrier had intervened, but he'd by no means been losing.

  He strode purposefully over to his insubordinate warrior, noticing Swallow moving closer. No one spoke, Jackal also noted with satisfaction. He was the general and would decide Mantis' fate for this unprovoked attack. Their silence clearly indicated their respect for his position. He hadn't lost anything from this duel.

  Jackal glanced around the large cavern when he reached Mantis. Lord Trine was curled up at the entrance to his lair, watching, his red pupils covered by a white haze, indicating he was dozing.

  Jay looked tense, still between the two taller potentials, his gaze displaying his obvious lack of comprehension of what was happening.

  Jackal reached down and took Mantis' green Insecta medallion in one hand. As the warrior struggled, Jackal lifted it from about his neck.

  Mantis screamed in agony as his armour flared and promptly disappeared. Jackal looked down disdainfully at the still trembling man.

  ‘You can have this back when you’ve calmed down.’

  Rhino released his hold on the assassin. He wasn’t a threat to any of them without a medallion.

  ‘You can pack your things, Mantis. I don’t harbour traitors amongst my warriors,’ Jackal told him, his voice hard. He found he was suddenly furious at the Insecta's audacity. Mantis' attack had nothing to do with leadership. Never is all his years as a Sarpien had he seen a warrior attack a general simply because they'd gotten in the way. Actually, he could think of one person, but he brushed the thought aside.

  ‘He had reason, Jackal,’ Rhino objected. His body stood rigid, his fear at disagreeing with his general clear to be seen.

  Jackal turned to look at the large man slowly and removed his helmet. If anyone had been going to question him, he wouldn't have picked out Rhino. He felt an annoying trickle and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth with one gauntleted hand.

  He rose one eyebrow questioningly. ‘He had reason to attack me?’ He kept his voice calm and easy-going.

  Jackal kept the smug smile from appearing on his face when all of the Elite took a step back. They knew very well that when he spoke in that particular mild tone it meant someone was on thin ice.

  Rhino shook his head with a grimace. ‘He wasn’t attacking you, he just lost his temper.’

  ‘That's unacceptable,’ Cobra drawled. ‘There are certain rules about attacking generals, Rhino, laid down by the Emissaries themselves. If everyone attacked their leaders whenever they felt like it, we'd never get anything done.’

  Mantis stumbled to his feet, still greatly shaken by having his armour forcibly removed. ‘She’s the traitor,’ he hissed, pointing at Swallow.

  ‘What!’ Swallow's eyes narrowed, ‘you’d better have some convincing proof or I’ll-’

  ‘Quiet!’ Jackal barked.

  ‘You don’t believe him?’

  She retreated from his cold stare.

  ‘Give me your medallion,’ he ordered.

  ‘What!’

  Jackal sighed, willing himself not to wince at her penetrating voice. The scene created by Mantis had been excellent for stalling time, but now he had to play it to the end, no matter what that end might be. He just hoped he could keep it focused on Swallow and not himself. ‘Give me your medallion.’

  ‘You can’t do that!’

  ‘I’m the general, I can do whatever I want. Mantis wasn't attacking me, Swallow, not until I intercepted him anyway. He wanted you. You're welcome, by the way. If there's a traitor at all here, then you and Mantis are the main suspects. Until I’ve cleared this up I’m not giving anyone the chance of stabbing me in the back.’

  Swallow backed away from him.

  ‘Give it to him,’ Trine’s voice echoed around them.

  Jackal noticed he was not alone when he looked over at his master in surprise. Trine was now fully awake, the haziness in his pupils no longer evident. His spiked tail was twitching irritably.

  Swallow's head bowed, but she glanced resentfully at Jackal and deactivated. She took the vivid, green medallion from about her neck and handed it to him sullenly.

  Jackal took it from her and held it in the same hand as the Insecta medallion.

  ‘All right, Mantis,’ Jackal said as he turned to the scarred man. ‘I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Explain your actions.’

  ‘It's as Cobra said, Jackal,’ Mantis told him in his harsh voice. ‘There are rules that we all obey, rules that even generals will obey - or you die.’

  ‘I'm listening,’ Jackal was intrigued now, just what had Mantis found out about Swallow?

  ‘We all vie for better rank,’ Mantis continued, ‘but not at the sufferance of the whole.’

  That sentence sent alarm bells ringing through Jackal's head. It probably did for every Sarpien within earshot. The phrase, “sufferance of the whole,” had been coined by an Emissary, and everyone knew what it meant.

  ‘Go on,’ Jackal allowed, his voice dry.

  ‘I was suspicious at all the Predgarians in the battle this morning. With all the Dakkonin distracted, it should've been easy for Swallow to keep the Predgarians elsewhere. So I decided to look into it, and I found something even worse. There have been several breaches of security, mostly negligence, but with obvious purpose. It would have been three days at most, before the Dakkonin would've been in the tunnels with us.’

  Jackal's eyes widened.

  ‘I would never do that!’ Swallow denied. ‘You don't have proof of any of this!’

  Mantis started to tick points off on his fingers. ‘Southern alley left open. Northern estate cellar rigged to open again whenever anyone left. Black Market warehouse doors left unlocked. The lower mineshaft entrance has also been compromised. The lockdown hadn't sealed the door properly.’

  ‘Jackdaw, Fox and Heron say they saw Swallow in all those places,’ Rhino added.

  ‘Oh, I was wondering about that,’ Cobra spoke up.

  ‘About what?’ Jackal turned his sharp gaze to the Reptile warrior. He'd heard nothing of this until now. If Mantis was correct, then Swallow was trying to orchestrate a Dakkonin invasion. It would've likely had its desired effect, removing him and most of the Elite. If a Sarpien was found to be involved in such a plot they were heavily punished. Such a tactic would endanger their sclithe.

  ‘I caught a transmission,’ Cobra explained. ‘It was obviously Swallow but I don't know who she was talking to. Shall we just say that the plans she was laying out would've killed quite a few people? I assumed she was talking to another Sarpien. I found it strange, since you'd not mentioned any large attack plans. If you were planning a raid, I'd assumed you would've told me.’ He shrugged.

  Jackal gave Swallow a hard glare, but as he opened his mouth to order her taken to the dungeons, Mantis spoke again.

  ‘We also took a snoop through her room,’ he mentioned with no sign guilt at his actions. ‘We found some interesting things.’

  ‘Why you-’ Swallow started to rage.

  Rhino held up a large chunk of green gold and a tube of brightly glowing liquid.

  Jackal glanced at Harrier, he was staring bemusedly at the small vial. Jackal now had other suspicions however and turned his attention to Cobra briefly.

  The older Unician man held his gaze with the faintest of smiles. Glancing back Jackal saw that Harrier had caught the expression too and the three shared knowing looks.

  They'd all
had the same idea, Jackal concluded. Cobra's plan of removing Swallow from the scene had been different, more in-depth. He doubted very much Swallow had made any such communication with the Dakkonin, but with all the other evidence piling on top of her, who was going to call him a liar?

  Jackal's intent had been to plant the evidence and accuse her or something in a couple of days, after everything had quietened down. It would've been easy to blame her for the mess which was about to happen. There was no telling if Harrier's plans had been any more in-depth, but it didn't matter anymore. The culmination of the varying plots now had the desired outcome.

  ‘Why would I have green gold?’ Swallow asked, throwing a scornful glance at Mantis. ’None of this is making sense.’

  ‘Maybe you should tell us,’ Mantis purred.

  Jackal smirked. The assassin was obviously hoping to get permission to carry out her sentence.

  ‘It is customary,’ Cobra spoke up again, his voice carefully neutral, ‘to bring a piece of climersh-riisk with you when seeking an audience with another sclithe.’

  As Swallow started to sputter her denial, everything was drowned out by Trine’s angry roar.

  ‘Enough,’ he hissed. ‘Traitors are not tolerated! Cobra!’

  ‘Yes, my Lord?’

  ‘Test the machine again, I grow hungry. Imprison Swallow, I will enjoy her sacrifice later.’

  ‘I didn’t do anything!’ Swallow cried, her fear apparent.

  ‘Naturally,’ Jackal retorted, taking the glowing tube from Rhino. He shook it in her face. ‘You had MES in your room, you won’t remember anything, will you?’

  Cobra shook his head. ‘I don't know, Swallow,’ he sighed. ‘I thought you were better than this. Was our deaths really worth Memory Eradication Serum?’

  ‘I won't forget this, Cobra,’ Swallow grated as Rhino dragged her away. ‘You know I didn't make any transmission.’

  Jackal didn't glance at Cobra, he knew better than that. He did glance over at Trine though. The sclithe had once again lost interest, which was just as well. If Trine had decided to dig through Cobra's thoughts at that precise moment then the magician would have been found to be guilty. After all, if Mantis and Rhino had found compromised entrances, then surely that had to be Cobra's doing, not Swallow's.