by M. D. Cooper
“Wait.” Kora turned to face the captain directly. “I thought you just said the Niets hated Genevian mechs.”
“Well, I didn’t say that exactly, but I imagine a lot do. Either way, they used our own mechs against us in the war, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did it again. There’s still that planet in the Melburn System. People say it’s been cleaned out, but I think a lot of mechs are still there.”
“Shit,” Kora muttered. “Rika will be interested in that.”
“So what are you worried about specifically?” Rajiz asked. “The Marauder mechs have been altered. The chips won’t work on them.”
The detective drew in a deep breath and rolled her shoulders in a slow stretch. “That’s true, but what if they use one on a human close to Rika?”
Avi blinked, her expression turning from haughty to grave. “You’re thinking assassination.”
Kora only nodded. “I need to relay this to Leslie.”
CORONATED
STELLAR DATE: 06.09.8950 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Royal Palace, Mount Genevia, Belgium
REGION: Genevia System, New Genevian Alliance
The ceremony had been blessedly short. It consisted of her reciting an oath of office that was similar to the one the presidents used to swear, and then Tremon placed a small circlet on her head.
As much as Rika wanted to consider it a foolish bit of pomp and ceremony, the feeds were alight with the pride her people had in having a warrior queen, someone who would bravely lead the charge against the Nietzscheans.
There was some grumbling, but Niki assured her that those not in favor of having a queen were a distinct minority.
After shaking more hands than she ever had in her life—most prepared to use their left, though a few still surprised by the gun-arm on her right—she’d retreated to a balcony to gather her thoughts.
“Queen Rika,” a voice said from behind, and Rika turned to see a slender, dark-haired woman walk onto the balcony, left hand extended to clasp hers.
Her HUD gave the woman’s name, and Rika extended her hand. “Becky, captain of the Slyfe.” They shook. “How nice to see you here. Thank you for getting us the news from Gerra so quickly.”
Becky’s eyes grew cloudy. “I’m just sorry it wasn’t better news. I can’t believe what the Niets did there! I knew they were savages, but attacking innocent civilians like that….”
Rika withdrew her hand. “Well, we saw worse in the war—though not by much. The Niets hate to lose.”
“Yeah…I’ve noticed. Even after you beat them here, they tried to steal that ship.”
Rika gave a mental snort.
“Well, the Marauders’ Lance is quite the ship. I can see why they’d want it back.”
“It’s big, sure, but it’s really not that good in a fight, is it? Just a large target that’s hard to move around the battlespace. That’s why I like my Slyfe, it’s quick and nimble.”
“The Niets like to make big ships,” Rika shrugged. “Just like their Harriets and the Fury Lance. Then, later on, they realize they’re not that practical, and focus on their smaller cruisers and destroyers.”
Becky nodded as though she had a solid understanding of fleet strategy and tactics—which Rika very much doubted the woman did. She seemed to just fly around, living off money given to her by her wife.
She wondered what it would be like to have no worries, no stress, not a care in the world other than where you’d dock next.
Rika tried to imagine what that would be like, but couldn’t begin to fathom it. Still, the idea seemed enticing, even if it were just something to try for a while.
“…the hull was this amazing iridescent blue, it was so beautiful. Too bad warships can’t be pretty like that.”
Rika suppressed a laugh. “Well, it’s hard to be stealthy when your entire ship is glowing.”
“Maybe they’d think you were so sure you’d win any conflict that no one would even take a shot…like those brightly colored frogs.”
Rika laughed.
“Please,” Becky whispered, her carefully crafted look of benign interest cracking. “They’re making me do this. I’m so sorry.”
“Who?” Rika hissed, anger causing her cheeks to flush.
“The PLI…Rachella. She said you took her sister and she wants her back.”
Rika glanced around the balcony, scanning the area beyond the doors to see if anyone else was nearby. Stars, Kelly, where are you?
“How many are there?”
“Please, they put something in my head, it hurts so much when I don’t do what they want.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Rika took a step forward and reached around Becky, placing her hand on the back of the woman’s neck.
As she was delivering a passel of nano, the captain of the Slyfe jammed the heel of her hand under Rika’s chin. There were tears in her eyes, and she mouthed, ‘Sorry’.
Then Rika’s entire world turned into pain.
* * * * *
Silva sent a laugh.
wer before the message had even been sent.
Rika and Niki’s signals had dropped off the network.
A second later, every member of the queen’s guard was on alert, with Silva, Kelly, and Keli moving toward Rika’s last known position.
Leslie joined in on the Guard’s combat net.
Kelly sent an affirmative as she and Silva closed on the exit to the balcony where Rika had last been seen. She was three strides away when something slammed into her and knocked her to the side.
She rolled to her feet and squared off against a massive man who didn’t hesitate to fling himself at her once more. There wasn’t room to bring her GNR to bear, so she grabbed her pulse pistol, jamming it between them, and squeezed the trigger a half-dozen times.
The man shuddered and groaned, but didn’t release his hold. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Silva was also grappling with an opponent, and another—a tall woman with a menacing glower on her brow—was closing in.
The man was punching her in the face with one hand while the other was clamped around her neck. Neither tactic was doing more than annoy her, and she thrust her arm into the air and swung her elbows down on the man’s forehead. There was a sickening crunch and he staggered back before falling to the ground.
“Gross,” Keli commented as she raced past, Kelly right on her heels.
“Rika!” Both mechs called out as they saw their queen slumped over the railing, another woman at her feet.
“I’m OK,” Rika said in a weak voice. “Bitch fired an EM burst right into my face.”
“Shit, Rika!” Leslie cried out as she swept onto the balcony, her jet black form barely visible in the day’s fading light. “Who—”
“Becky,” Rika said, pushing the figure at her feet over. “Niki shut her down and disabled her D-chip. She’s not a threat anymore.”
“Kelly killed baddies, and mine is going to need a cruiser-sized dose of pain meds when he wakes up,” Silva said as she walked onto the balcony.
“Mine’s going to need a new head,” Keli said with a laugh as she glanced back out into the ballroom where the regular guard—mostly consisting of rebel forces from Gary’s platoon at the Refuge—moved the guests back.
“Palace is locked down,” Leslie said. “If Rachella and Belfas are here, we’ll find them.”
“Oh we’ll find them, all right,” Rika said as she straightened. “They can share a cell with Arla. Stars, it’s like these people want the Niets back in here. Who do they think is going to fight against them if the mechs are gone?”
“Rika!” Tremon burst onto the balcony with his personal guards, Yakob and Gloria a step behind. “Core, you’re alright…what—?”
“More of Arla’s people,” Rika said. “Party’s over, we need to examine the rest of the guests for Discipline chips, and get our survivors checked over and locked down.”
“Oh crap,” Leslie muttered. “The Overwatch just picked up dozens of ships in low orbit making for our position.”
“Military?” Rika asked.
“No,” Leslie shook her head. “Civvies.”
IT’S A TRAP
STELLAR DATE: 06.09.8950 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: GMS Asora, near Orden Station
REGION: Genevia System, New Genevian Alliance
“Glad you decided to slum it with us again, Captain?” Chief Ashley asked as Vargo settled into his chair on the Asora’s bridge.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked, a brow raised quizzically.
She shrugged. “I dunno, what with you really being an admiral and all, I thought you’d want to be back with the brass.”
Vargo snorted. “It’s inevitable, but I want to stave it off as long as I can.”
“Inevitable that you’ll be back with the brass?”
“Yeah.” He let out a long-suffering sigh. “I always reset, try to get back to the bottom where things actually get done, but sooner or later, I end up in charge of stuff. I was an admiral in the war, then I got out and ended up a governor, of all things. That was waaaay too much responsibility, so I got out and signed onto the Marauders as a shuttle pilot. Next thing you know, I’m running a destroyer and now a whole fleet division.”
“Don’t forget that little bit of time where you were magnus of all Genevia.” Ashley gave a saucy wink.
“Worst ten minutes of my life,” Vargo muttered. “Can you imagine what would have happened if Rika had died just then?”
“Died?” The chief barked a laugh. “You were all in the Royal Palace…or estate, whatever it is. What could have happened to Rika?”
“Who knows…choked on a pretzel, had a chandelier fall on her head, anything.”
“There were pretzels?”
“No, but there should have been. Would have made that whole dog and pony show a thousand times better.”
Ashley laughed. “Stars, when they were assigning ships, I got the best one. I—oh shit, we’ve got company.”
Vargo sat up and nodded as the forward holo filled with Nietzschean ships. “Rika called it. The Niets are sore losers.”
“Must be ships from at least six systems out there,” Ashley said. “Over four hundred.”
“A lot of destroyers and patrol boats,” Vargo commented.
The ships were over an AU away, and as soon as they jumped, they began to spread out, making for a number of outsystem stations and moons.
Vargo had expected that. The Niets knew—or they’d better, by this point—that going toe-to-toe with the Marauders would only end in defeat. However, the enemy still had numbers on their side, and the Genevia System was filled with targets they could strike. Vargo’s goal was to bog the enemy down and ensure that they didn’t get into the inner system.
His fleet consisted of twenty-three vessels, four of which were cruisers, while the rest were destroyers. Each one was a Marauder stasis ship, though further insystem, at the outer edge of the Outer Asteroid Belt lay another fleet consisting of Nietzschean ships that had been constructed at the shipyards in Genevia and crewed by former GAF personnel.
On the far side of the system, another Marauder fleet waited; Vargo wondered if they were getting a visit from the Niets as well.
He sent out orders to the ships in his fleet, most of which were already in position, protecting the targets he expected the Niets to go after.
Rather than waiting for the enemy to come to them, he ordered his ships to charge the enemy, closing the gap and hammering the Niets, keeping the approaching craft from turning and braking.
The call came in from the New Paula, a cruiser protecting a large station named Orden. Following in the wake of Scarborough, Orden was a major trade center, and also contained several refineries that processed specialized ores for the Capeton shipyards.
“Oh for fuck’s sakes,” Vargo muttered.
“Captain,” Vargo groaned softly before reaching out to Captain Buggsie.
Buggsie sent a laugh over the connection.
Vargo had no idea what that meant, but decided not to press for details.
* * * * *
If Piper had been the type to sing, he would have belted out a joyous tune as he sailed high over Belgium in command of a ship, a vessel of his own, fast, powerful, and carrying hundreds of attack drones.
Staying in geosync over Mount Genevia, his ship—the aptly named Overwatch—kept close watch on the Royal Palace and surrounding terrain. The mountain sat at the head of a long valley. It was a lone peak flanked by two craggy ridgelines, both of which rose higher than Genevia, protecting it from inclement weather.
The mountain for which the alliance was named didn’t rise above the tree line, and the dense forests that lined its slopes were of some concern to Piper, as it was difficult to see what lay beneath them.
Though the mountain was covered in sensors, many had been destroyed by the recent fighting, and a careful enemy could work their way up to the peak without being spotted.
Leslie had both drones and some of the newly minted Genevian regulars patrolling the slopes, but the AI didn’t trust either. Both could be fooled. So he watched like a hawk, waiting for a sign that the Niets were going to take advantage of the opportunity to take out Rika and much of the New Genevian leadership.
