Stand or Fall (The Omega War Book 4)

by Kevin Ikenberry

  Vannix rolled her eyes. “Making sure you’re ready to find Tara Mason is one thing, Jackson. It’s a completely different thing to be dragged kicking and screaming into the prison system on Karma. Humans haven’t fared well there. No one does.”

  Rains nodded. “I get it, okay? I’ll be careful.”

  “It’s not about being careful. You must handle yourself completely differently. Putting on a tough act is something you do well, but this is going to be quite a bit different than having me drag you out of a bar theatrically. Do you remember Professor F’hnela? What would she say?”

  Rains snorted. One of the series of classes he’d had to endure at Peacemaker U amounted to acting classes which were covered under the guise of diplomacy and etiquette, but he knew what they really were at their core. Being a Peacemaker was more than being a uniformed officer. There were times a Peacemaker’s ability to act in a situation was far more important than their ability to fight. F’hnela was a MinSha Peacemaker and the lead instructor for the diplomacy classes; she’d laid down the law in their very first class.

  “You are a Peacemaker, and every single situation you will ever encounter will challenge that definition. You must be prepared for any situation, even those requiring you to play a role that is not that of Peacemaker. Your ability to play a role, and to understand the motivations of the players involved, will save your life. If you’re in a diplomatic role, you are grace and professionalism personified, even to the most despicable enemies. If you’re in an intelligence-gathering situation, you are inquisitive and direct unless that situation places you in immediate danger. If that is the case, you must set aside your badge and your responsibilities. You must become those who you intend to learn about, which is dangerous. Some of you will like the fall.”

  Rains grinned. “Don’t enjoy the fall, right?”

  Vannix smiled broadly. “You can learn something after all.”

  “Thanks, Vannix.” Rains frowned. “Your confidence in my ability is legendary.”

  “Stop it.” Vannix shook her head, a smile threatening to cross her features. Her face suddenly became serious. “I’m worried about you.”

  Her words caught him by surprise, and he knew his face showed it. “Why?”

  “While I trust your abilities, I am concerned you could easily walk away.”

  Rains shook his head. “I’m not going rogue.”

  “You were already AWOL,” Vannix replied. “All it takes is the right motivation, and you’re history.”

  “Less than one-tenth of a percent of all Peacemakers have gone rogue, Vannix.” Rains shook his head. “That’s not me.”

  “And yet you believed the Guild did not have your best interests at heart, and you went AWOL.” Vannix stepped closer to him and put a hand on his right arm just above the elbow. “I believe you have a good heart.”

  Rains looked down at the white-and-gold-furred Veetanho and smiled. “I try.”

  She replied softly. “You have to do better than that, Jackson. Trying isn’t going to cut it when you’re down in the prison. Some of the inmates are especially vicious to Humans.”

  “It’s only for three days. Less if I can get the information we need, right?”

  Vannix nodded. “You’ll be under intense scrutiny from every security officer and every collection device in the prison. They’ll collect every conversation you have, every interaction you have, and every threat you face. They’ll be watching and ready to swoop in and pull you out at a moment’s notice. You remember the emergency word?”

  “Orange.” Rains laughed. “Is this what you’re worried about? I can’t handle myself against the bad guys in the prison? I’m going to be fine.”

  “No, you’re not. And what I’m concerned about most are the conversations we won’t able to hear, the ones your own weak conscience will have with you.”

  Rains flushed. “You think I’m weak?”

  “Yes,” Vannix sighed. Her other hand came up and caught his opposite arm. “I believe in you, Jackson, and I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure you do not fail, but ultimately that’s up to you. When you started the academy, you told me you weren’t sure what you wanted. After your commissioning, you ran from the Guild to garner attention. You desperately want someone to care about you, and that’s your problem. We do care about you. I care about you, and I don’t want you to turn away from what you can be just because you don’t know what you want to be.”

  Rains blinked and felt a heaviness in his chest that hadn’t been there before. Thinking he’d never needed anyone was a fallacy. He’d lied to himself for years. He spoke, but his voice was thick with emotion. “I want to be a Peacemaker, Vannix.”

  “I believe you, Jackson.” She raised up on her toes and kissed his cheek lightly. Her nose was cool and moist against his skin. “But you’re not ready for this mission.”

  Rains shook his head as Vannix let go of his shoulders and stepped back. “The hell with that. I’m as ready as—”

  He didn’t see Vannix’s foot until it caught him squarely in the mouth. A flash of white hot pain stabbed through his defiance. He staggered backward and put a hand to his face. On his tongue was the hot, coppery taste of blood.

  “What the fuck?”

  Vannix grinned at him. “You’re ready now. You’re mad at me, and you look like a suspected terrorist and murderer who tried to attack their arresting officer. Resisting arrest is always good for scars. Unless, of course, you want me to rough you up a little more?”

  “Nah.” Rains relaxed his clenched fists and dabbed at his split lip. “I’m good.”

  Vannix grabbed her wrist restraints and clacked them open. “Last chance to back out.”

  Rains sighed and stuck out his arms. “I’m ready, Vannix.”

  “I know you are, Peacemaker Rains.” She secured his wrists snugly with the restraints. With a smile, she patted his face and turned away. Vannix opened the transport’s external hatch and quickly stepped behind him. The stench of rotten cabbage filled the air. Vannix pushed him toward the hatch. The prison was deep underground and lit by harsh external lights that nearly blinded him. Outside, there were a half dozen Lumari guards carrying stunners staring up at him.

  Here we—

  Rains didn’t finish the thought before he flew out of the hatch, propelled by Vannix’s foot. He fell a meter and a half to the dark steel decking and skidded across it. Pain erupted from his elbows, knees, and the side of his head. Through the brief explosion of stars, he tried to bounce up to his feet. Vannix was there, and she hit him in the left side of the jaw with her fist. He crumpled to the floor.

  “Get this piece of shit to Indoctrination,” Vannix growled. “And order a cleaning crew for my ship. That thing made it smell.”

  * * *

  Indoctrination and Reception did what Rains hoped they would and made him mad. The various guards and staff in the room were all aliens. There wasn’t a Human in sight. As such, the officers treated him with the same disdain Vannix had. If they were all in on this operation, they played their roles to perfection. They were better at it than he was, and it finally made Rains angry. In that anger, he found his footing. By the time they took his clothes, forced him to change into dingy orange coveralls, and removed every personal effect, the sullen confusion had dissipated entirely.

  “Get moving,” a Lumari guard rumbled and shoved him down a hallway to the initial holding area. Rains held back and dared the Lumari to push him again. When the shove came, Rains stumbled to his knees, then shot up full of pent-up rage.

  “Hands off me, motherfucker! I will end your shit!”

  The Lumari towered over him by a good half meter, making Rains look puny. “I recommend you shut your mouth before I damage it further. Learn your place.”

  Rains huffed, and the Lumari shoved him hard in the shoulder, making him stumble down the passageway toward a series of steel doors marked Initial. The rage felt good, and he almost lost himself in it. With effort, he maintained his out
ward appearance while his mind calmed and analyzed his surroundings, exactly as F’hnela had taught.

  So much for acting being total bullshit.

  For the first time, he noticed there were other prisoners around them. They pushed brooms and hauled garbage, keeping their heads down. An Oogar replaced the trash receptacles and kept a keen eye on him. So did a Cochkala pushing a large garbage cart toward the massive elevators. There were more eyes on him than he realized, and it steeled his resolve to stay firmly in character.

  The first metal door swung open, and the Lumari shoved him inside. Waiting for him was a MinSha Peacemaker with a very large rifle. She bore the rank of Chief of the Guard and was the only Peacemaker assigned to the detention facility, serving as the second in command to the warden.

  “Are you finished being an asshole, Rains?” The female MinSha asked. Her enormous ruby eyes sparkled as she looked down on him.

  “I’m just getting started,” Rains replied as clearly as he could. He thought he heard the Oogar chuckle, but Rains wasn’t sure. It could have been a grunt of exertion.

  The Lumari shoved him inside, and the metal door shut behind them. Aside from the ever-present security cameras and listening devices, he was alone with the MinSha. “You’ve always been an asshole, Jackson Rains.”

  Rains smirked. “If it isn’t Rehnah the Terrible.”

  “I’m surprised you remember me.” The MinSha’s antennae waggled in amusement.

  “Worst battle buddy I ever had.”

  “Likewise,” Rehnah replied. “I sincerely hope you know what you’re doing, Rains.”

  “That makes two of us.” Rains sighed. There was nothing else to say. As Rehnah, his roommate from his first year at Peacemaker U, opened the inner door to the prison, Rains felt a tremor in his knees.

  What the fuck am I doing?

  * * *

  Approaching the Zeha Gate

  Ares Minor System

  Jessica and Tirr huddled in the yacht’s forward intelligence compartment, awaiting the thrust core’s transition to hyperspace. With the gate master’s codex at her fingertips, Jessica instructed Lucille to infiltrate the gate’s control architecture and get every shred of information she could regarding transits in the last six months. Combined with the tracking data provided by Taal, they might have enough data to establish a pattern for Drehnayl’s forces and their logistical movements. A combat force could not operate indefinitely. Food, fuel, and ammunition were the top needs for any operation, and unless Drehnayl’s fleet was much more robust than intelligence reports suggested, they would have to refit and resupply every sixty days at a minimum. Judging by the first reports of such a fleet and their initial mission at New Persia, they were halfway through that window. They’d be looking for a planet near the outer rim to purchase or take supplies from.

  Once they boarded the thrust core, the Pendal flight crew presented Jessica with the latest intelligence from the attack on Dresden, and it confirmed her theory Drehnayl wasn’t taking supplies or plundering technology. Her aim was the simple destruction of Human colonies. That left only a few dozen planets that were sympathetic to the MinSha or tied to the Mercenary Guild. From those options, they could create a target list. There were dozens of factors to consider, but it came down to the planets that could supply Drehnayl with capable, ready forces, food and ammunition, and wouldn’t report their presence. They also ruled out the worlds with a dedicated Peacemaker presence. Once they took everything into account, fourteen worlds remained. The odds were not in their favor.

  Lucille’s voice from the overhead speaker grabbed Jessica’s attention. <>

  That’s not surprising. Jessica blinked the thought away. Drehnayl was more than a simple executioner. She’d taken her fleet of ships on a tour of the Human-held worlds and gathered intelligence for the Mercenary Guild from the very beginning. “Are there any linkages to Drehnayl’s fleet that stand out, Lucille? Any aberrations or things beyond outer rim worlds inhabited by Humans and Earth?”

  <>

  “Really?” Jessica asked, surprised. The first thought that came to mind was why they would do such a thing, but she squashed that line of thinking. It didn’t matter. They were gathering intelligence on Humans and, Peacemaker or not, she was Human. “Never mind, Lucille. You can’t locate them now, but I’m trying to figure out where they might go from here.”

  “There are too many variables,” Tirr replied. “But if I think like a mercenary commander and try to determine what targets fit my mission and my resources, I’d limit my area of operations to what I can hit effectively without risking mission incompletion.”

  Jessica chewed on her lower lip for a moment. Tirr’s thinking was in line with hers, and yet there were still too many options to make an effective decision. “Where would you go, Tirr? What target out there looks viable and has the things a mercenary commander would want for operations?”

  “I don’t know, Jessica,” Tirr replied. “I need more time to come up with a list.”

  Jessica understood but the delay would cost them the one resource they could not squander: time. “Lucille? Time to the gate?”

  <>

  “How much time do you need to upload a navigation solution once we come to a decision?”

  <> Lucille replied.

  Jessica sighed. “We have some time, Tirr.”

  “I was thinking the same thing, Jessica,” Tirr replied, “but I wonder if we are overthinking this.”

  Jessica squinted at him. “What do you mean?”

  Tirr’s antennae sagged for a moment. “I mean...well, they hit Dresden, right? What are the chances they hit the nearest Human planet? What would that be, Lucille?”

  <>

  “Of those three, which represents the best target to the MinSha?”

  <>

  Tirr grunted. “Talk about being put on the spot.”

  Jessica grinned at him. “She’s right, though. Which of those do you think?”

  Tirr activated the console’s Tri-V display, and three separate holograms appeared with text windows below them displaying information known to the Cartography Guild. “Sabine doesn’t make any sense, so I would eliminate it immediately. There’s nothing there they would want, and there are only a thousand Humans on the planet. It’s actually a moon, and no real effort would be required to take it out.”

  He let the thought die, and Jessica jostled him with an elbow. “Keep going. Tell me what you’re thinking, Tirr. It helps if we brainstorm the possible choices.”

  Tirr shrugged. It was an awkward movement of his central thorax, and given his dangling forelimbs, the movement was a caricature of a Human one. “They want to hit meaningful targets, right? Drehnayl’s mission is to eliminate Human settlements. We know the two they’ve hit so far were targets of increasing importance. They’re getting braver with each attempt, and they will start looking for richer military targets to hit. Danube is more of a vacation destination for your species; I see them hitting Victoria next.”

  Jessica shook her head. “My gut is telling me Danube is their next target. Compared to Victoria, it’s a gold mine. They’d have access to credits and F11 as well as the same equipment and gear they’d find on Victoria. Granted, they wouldn’t get as much as they would on Victoria, but if they stick to their current plan and keep attacking the closest planets, I see them hitting Danube. However, we can’t rule out their striking ano
ther planet outside this range to throw us off. That’s the most dangerous possibility. I don’t want to chase them.”

  “It is entirely possible they have a deception plan,” Tirr said. “I would.”

  Which is precisely why I brought you along. Jessica pointed at Victoria and Danube on the screen. “Danube has a population far greater than Victoria’s. I didn’t see that before. That many people, and not just Humans, may prove to be a challenge for the MinSha fleet.”

  Tirr nodded. “Perhaps it is best we look at Victoria as a mid-level target. If they succeed there, Danube and the more populated planets are certainly within the MinSha capabilities. And, if they intend to target Danube, they will have to refit and resupply before then.”

  “So, it’s Victoria or a resupply world?”

  “That’s what I believe, yes,” Tirr replied.

  Jessica cleared the Tri-V screen. “We have ninety minutes to figure out where we think Drehnayl’s fleet will resupply. Lucille? Run a query for likely resupply points for Drehnayl’s fleet. Use the Cartography Guild servers with all of the requisite clearance waivers if you have to.”

  <>

  Tirr looked at her. “How is your father?”

  “It’s a long story, Tirr.” Jessica sighed. “The Haulers were overrun at Shaw Outpost. They’ve been on the run ever since. I have no idea if he’s alive or even where he is.”

  Tirr clicked his jaw. “The Guild did not let you pursue him?”

  “This mission was deemed too important,” Jessica said. “Instead, they deputized and sent Tara Mason after him.”

  “That’s a good thing,” Tirr’s antennae vibrated in satisfaction, but when Jessica’s expression did not change, they stopped. “Isn’t it?”

  “Tara disappeared a few weeks ago. Her trail has gone cold and no one has any idea where she is, or if she’s been able to figure out where my father is.” Jessica sighed. “There’s nothing worse than not knowing anything and being unable to do anything about it.”