by John Walker
“All the actions you just mentioned brought us plenty of information and advantages. I’m not sure anyone will argue with those results.”
“We can’t have men like you flying around doing whatever they please!”
“Why? Because we might get something done while you… do whatever you do?”
“Your disrespect is part of the problem!”
“Do something to earn my respect,” Griel replied, “get out there and fight. Put your bodies on the line. Until then, I’d say I’ve done more for this war effort than you have. And I’m certainly planning on doing more.”
“Not if—”
“Yes,” Griel interrupted, “I heard you the first time. But here’s the thing you don’t know. Yes, the council is frustrated with me. They find my attitude annoying. They would also appreciate it if I’d toe the line better. But privately, they applaud my efforts. Most of them believe you should be more like me rather than vice versa.”
“This is preposterous.”
Griel shrugged. “Call it what you like. The truth is in front of you. And if this is all you wanted, I’m returning to my ship. Which will remain in my possession for the foreseeable future.” He leaned on the desk. “General Trev, I appreciate what you did for us out there. You stepped up and followed my lead. Don’t get bent out of shape. We won.”
“I wish you could see how narrow that was. We lost men. You realize that?”
“Yes. And I’m not happy about it. But if you recall, that’s war. Sometimes, we lose ships, equipment, people. We deal with the fact and move on, hoping to be better prepared for the next conflict.”
“Are you really this arrogant? You genuinely think they’re going to side with you over me?”
“I know it for a fact.” Griel backed away. “So you might as well put your efforts somewhere else.”
“Why? How do you have them wrapped around your finger?”
Griel narrowed his eyes. “My family provides tremendous support to the government. Not only financial, but influential. Those council members you’re hoping to turn? My father got them elected. Most of them, at least. I helped too. And the people in charge of resources? Also us. It’s not just the money. It’s who we know.
“I practically own these starships. Do I have to walk a line? Yes. I can’t do whatever I want. But I have a lot more latitude than you do. Which is why I can make such a promise. And why you should just accept it and move on.” Griel moved to the door. “Is there anything else we need to discuss or are we done?”
Trev stood. “You know people are working to get rid of you.”
“They have for years. I’m still just fine. By the way, don’t think I’m in love with this. I’m doing what I have to do.”
“Getting revenge?”
“Defending my home.”
“I wonder if you know the difference.” Trev tilted his head. “I wonder if you care enough to figure it out.”
“How about you save the lectures for people who aren’t getting things done? I’ve studied warfare along with Prytin nature. I’ve drawn incredible performances from my people. That includes my intelligence liaison, if you’re curious.” Griel turned away. “Speaking of, I’ve got an appointment I don’t want to miss. Good luck with the council.”
“You can’t hide behind your influence forever,” Trev spoke in a low, menacing tone. “Eventually, your charade will end.”
“Pity you don’t listen to anyone but yourself. You would’ve heard why you shouldn’t be pushing me out.” Griel smiled. “But then that’s not the point of a general, right? You need complete control or there’s no point. Goodbye, Trev.” He left, passing through the scrutiny of the door guards.
The doors closed behind him without another word. At least he didn’t have me arrested. Though that might still be on the table. Until he boarded a shuttle for the Brekka, he didn’t feel safe aboard Trev’s vessel.
Maybe I am missing something, Griel thought. There must be something I’m doing wrong if every military commander I encounter has some problem with me. Most of them complained about his arrogance. His methods came second unless they held a high rank. Though the council tends to appreciate my efforts.
Griel believed victory came from crushing the enemy. The half measures Trev sought in protecting the Rhulin colony made no sense. If we can win, we should. This wasn’t a case of holding back an entire fleet. We had even numbers, and they were content to hold them there. Which made less sense.
After all, the Kahl could’ve called in additional support. Just because they acted a specific way many times didn’t necessarily mean they would continue to do so. Renz chasing after the pilgrimage proved the point. Why send a high-ranking man such as the Lord Marshal’s son if they weren’t changing tactics?
We have to be ready for something big. Griel entered the hangar, though he remained tense. His shuttle loomed ahead. Security forces stood all around. Some of them stared at him. Every set of eyes made him sweat a little more. Despite that, he kept his pace even. It took some will not to jog. This is ridiculous. He’s not going to do something so overt.
Griel made the ramp, finally picking up the pace. Authen leaned against the wall just inside, staring at his device. He didn’t bother to look up but did offer a wave.
“Get us out of here,” Griel muttered, “what’re you doing back here anyway?”
“I thought you’d be a lot longer. Their pilot’s an old friend of mine. He was coming down for a chat.”
“Well, you’ll have to do that another time. Right now, we need to go. Pretty much immediately.”
Authen sighed. “Come on… did you offend this general too?”
“You make it sound like I do this all the time!”
“Um…” Authen tilted his head.
“Okay, maybe I do, but that doesn’t mean we can hang around here.” Griel headed for the cockpit. “So let’s take off. Right now.”
“I’m on it.” Authen shoved past him, dropping into his seat. He tapped the comm. “Hey, sorry Shaler. We won’t be able to get together this time. Stay in touch though. We’ll have another chance.”
“Leaving so soon?” The woman’s voice made her sound young. Griel lifted a brow. “I looked forward to continuing our talk from Station Altegra.”
“Can’t forget that,” Authen chuckled, “but yeah, I’m afraid so. I’ll write you. Bye.” He switched over. “Tower control, we need clearance to take off, over.”
Griel waited until they launched, tapping his foot. They were a good halfway to the Brekka before he finally broke the silence. “Well?”
“What?”
“Are you going to tell me about Shaler?”
“No.”
Griel laughed. “That was…direct.”
“Nothing to tell.”
“Station Altegra?”
“Oh.” Authen shrugged. “She and I got on well. That’s all. I figure… you know, someday…”
“Yeah…?”
“When the war’s over, I thought we might hook up. She’s the pilot of the general’s personal battleship, though, so I don’t think she’ll be free for a while. Even after the hostilities end. If they do in our lifetime.”
Griel patted his arm. “I think they will.”
“Not at the current rate. The Kahl… I swear, they seem to have an endless supply of ships.”
“But not people,” Griel pointed out. “Eventually, they’ll run out. Or their own will rise up against them. How long can you send a population to die for a senseless war before they revolt?”
“Maybe we’ll have the answer to that question before too much longer.”
Griel nodded. “I hope so, Authen.” He turned his attention to getting Niva back. “We’ve got a flight ahead of us. Back to the Flotilla.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Getting sidetracked won’t be good for them.”
“Don’t worry. She’s resourceful. All of them were.” Griel leaned back in his seat. Am I trying to convince him or myself? They
hadn’t received another message. No more communications. I hope that doesn’t mean anything other than downed transmitters and faulty equipment.
Still, he figured if Niva was alive, she would’ve reached out again. I need to keep the faith. Only when we see some wreckage, find some bodies, will I believe she’s gone. Until then, nothing would stop them from finding out. We’re free to move about the universe again. Time to use that right.
Before someone like Trev found a way to leash him.
***
Renz paced on the bridge before the viewscreen. He thought they’d already have the data they were after or at least useful prisoners. A few of the pirates had surrendered on the station. Had he known they were common rabble, he wouldn’t have brought them aboard. Security forces had hauled them in.
Most of the pirates proved desperate, begging for their lives. Kivda insisted on keeping them alive for the time being. He wanted them properly interrogated. Many modules of the Flotilla had been destroyed. The main structure remained intact, though all systems were offline, which meant exploring it required full environmental suits.
A team scoured the place for whatever the Prytins wanted while multiple groups patrolled the planet. They chased a shuttle down there, one their scans told them came from the Triton. Vhel warned that it might’ve been taken by pirates desperate for escape. Renz didn’t buy it.
Those are the real prisoners we need. I’m sure of it. Renz paced over to Inda, leaning over her shoulder. She tensed up at his approach but didn’t move. At least she knows how to master her feelings. After his encounter with her, he figured she’d be far more timid. He sensed little more than defiance in her so close.
“Have you picked up anything from our ground forces?” Renz asked. “Any communications or even a sign they might be close to finding those fugitives?”
“Not yet,” Inda replied, “they are about to explore the crash site.”
“The shuttle crashed?”
Inda nodded. “Hit hard enough to leave a crater but is somehow intact. Which is a good indication that the people who piloted it survived. They are using a similar technology as we do for troop transports. A method to save the passengers providing the shields and inertial dampeners are functional.”
“Kivda!” Renz turned, “if they’re about to explore the shuttle, I want to see. Put their in-helm cameras on the viewscreen.” He stepped away from Inda, noting how quickly she relaxed. I did a real number on her. Perhaps she should’ve simply gone along with what I wanted.
She could’ve benefitted from his attention. He hadn’t taken a lover in such a way but some of his peers had. Those men and women shot up in rank, taking positions with greater ease. Renz believed the trick was ensuring such people were worthy of advancement. Hence why he made the decision to proposition Inda.
Kivda had been right about her. Her work tended to be excellent. Even her mistakes were recoverable. Pushing her through the ranks wouldn’t have raised any attention at all. If she wanted such a thing. They’d been interrupted before he could make any sort of offer. Such a shame too. I think she would’ve been fun.
“There they are,” Kivda announced. “They’re performing scans of the area to ensure it’s safe.”
“Why so tentative?” Renz asked. “What’s the problem?”
“First,” Kivda explained, “because some of our squads have experienced trouble down there already. Second, we have no idea what those fools did their own ship. If they abandoned it or are dead, I want to make sure we take the necessary precautions.”
“What trouble?” Renz rubbed his eyes. “Why was I not informed?”
“Locals,” Kivda said. “Nothing to be concerned about. They took down some of the men in one of our scouting patrols. The ground commander assures me they have that part under control, but I’m still weeding through the report. You know how it goes. We get to a brand-new place and occasionally find some difficult natives.”
“I’ll leave that to you.” Renz returned his attention to the screen.
Four squares appeared, each with a different angle of the downed shuttle. Smoke rose from the ground around it, singed foliage still smoldering. Bits of debris glowed red in other smaller holes. The shuttle must’ve lost bits of armor. Renz had to admit, the thing looked mostly intact to him.
I wonder if a talented engineer might get it flying again.
“Hm.” Kivda joined him. “Looks like the reactor’s still online. That’s interesting.” He stepped over to the nearest console, leaning close as he spoke. “Get me a full scan of the system settings. Find out what’s offline. I’m thinking life support must’ve died. Possibly helm, though we want to be sure.”
“What’s all that matter?” Renz asked. “Shouldn’t we be looking for clues to the whereabouts of the occupants? That’s all we really care about… isn’t it?”
“I want to know why they abandoned it,” Kivda replied. “How bad off is it? That will indicate how safe it is to go aboard. After all, they may have set the thing to explode or some other ridiculous Prytin nonsense. You and I both know they have no qualms about setting explosive traps for our men.”
Scan data filled the left screen. Elevated radiation levels appeared to be the biggest threat. Which probably came from the molten metal in the pits. Renz wanted forensic information. Anything to go on. Without it, they could’ve gone in any direction. Delays allowed them to dig in.
“What’re we waiting for?” Renz asked. He moved closer to Kivda, lowering his voice. “Are we genuinely of the belief they had time to do anything nefarious?”
Kivda nodded. “Yes, they had plenty.” He spoke into the comm, “Steer clear of the ship. Look for tracks. Some sign of passage. Not all of them walked away from that without some kind of wound for their trouble. Scan for blood samples… something.”
The lower left camera zoomed in on the back of the shuttle, showing the inside. A couple helmets littered the floor along with some other pieces of armor. Otherwise, the back appeared to be clear. They could see all the way to the cockpit from that angle. Though even Renz had to agree. Something seemed off.
“Okay, I understand now,” Renz said. “Perhaps we should initiate ordnance removal procedures?”
Kivda nodded. “Agreed. Squad, I’m sending you a countdown. You have that long to finish your forensic sweep before retreating to a safe distance. I’m setting that at…” He paused. “Well, I’m giving you waypoints. Get to those coordinates on my mark.”
“How big will the blast radius be?” Renz asked.
Inda replied, “Showing on the map, sir.” An image of the area appeared. A red ring superimposed over it, doubling the impact point of the shuttle.
Surely, their reactor isn’t so powerful! Renz didn’t doubt the figure. He merely found it surprising. Such a small vessel. Either that’s due to inefficiency or they have the makings of some fine bombs there. Why haven’t they implemented such weaponry? Maybe they had and were saving them for a special occasion.
Hitting our territory.
Renz swallowed hard as his heart beat faster. He found it difficult to believe the Prytins wouldn’t have already tried something with reactor bombs of that magnitude. Not that they didn’t have deadly ordnance they could deploy. But this type of attack left behind the lingering effects of deadly radiation.
They could turn our colonies into wastelands. When the Kahl hit territories, they tended to use conventional means. Beam weapons for the most part. The only hazardous waste left behind came from whatever materials were destroyed in the process. We could occupy our conquests.
His father often spoke of expanding their borders at the conclusion of the Crusade. He wanted to see the Kahl people spread out again. Renz saw the extent of their empire from the past. He recognized how much they achieved, how many places they touched. Their temples were in the least known parts of the galaxy.
Which gave him some hope of their right as rulers. No, not that. Conquerors. Destroyers. We do not rule the other cultures.
They are meant to fall. One by one, they’re going down until we are the only ones left standing. I would like to see the data we’ve collected. Find out if that’s how we were in the past as well.
“It’s going up!” Kivda shouted. “Get out of there! Move to the waypoints immediately!”
The cameras on the screen turned into a blur of activity. Inda switched them to an aerial view of their transponder signatures. They each ran in a separate direction, their blips moving swiftly. Whatever happened in the last few moments must’ve come on suddenly. But why? None of them tampered with the shuttle.
“How’s it going up?” Renz asked. “What happened?”
“There’s a trigger,” Kivda explained, “two, in fact. Looking at the data, one appears to be in the cockpit. Going for the logs or whatever other data we might’ve extracted would have set it off. The second appears to be deep scans. One of our people attempted to access the same data from afar. Then I saw this build-up.”
As he finished, the shuttle exploded. All the blips but one made it out of the danger zone. The one that lingered was gone. Vaporized by the explosion. comm chatter filled the air, shuttle pilots calling in the explosion. The survivors contacted them about their status as well. They were checking for injuries.
“Did we get anything from the area?” Renz asked. “Something to go on?”
“Tracks,” Kivda replied. “There’s a path forward.” He huffed. “The Prytin really are too good at their tricks.”
“Always have been,” Renz said. “But they don’t have such things to waste anymore. I suspect they hoped to do more damage with that than they did. One soldier’s life, while tragic, is hardly enough to give us pause in our pursuit of them. Get our people on that path and double their number.”
“I agree.” Kivda nodded. “We have no idea how many made it off that thing, unfortunately. They destroyed all the means of finding out as well. Nevertheless, we know we can advance without too much concern. Any other schemes will be easier to contend with by far.”
