The fight in his quarters was cramped compared to the cavernous volume of the bridge, and he found this fight much more to his liking. With room to work, Alexander went about making himself a deadly nuisance to the rebels. His first target was a Chem rebel threatening Nazeera. He approached from behind, slashing at the back of the warrior’s neck as he passed. The wound, though it drew a fountain of blood, was not immediately fatal. At least not until Nazeera took advantage of the warrior’s understandable distraction to plunge her blade into his breast.
In the Chem civil war’s greatest arena Alexander perfected his former desperate experiment. He used the huge space of the bridge to carefully plan his leaps and sight his targets. The thrust of his powerful legs far outdistanced the Chem jets. With each pass he slashed at rebels, and it was not long before they were all too aware of him. No rebel could engage one of the loyal Chem without hasty glances behind or to the side to ensure that they were not targeted by the devilish Human in purple and black. Several times during the melee he crashed into opponents, but his greater strength and prodigious mass always won out in those encounters. He would grapple with his opponent, not allowing them to use their jet boots at close quarters to maneuver. He discarded the sword because one free hand allowed him more control, adopting a method of attack that was at once swift, furious and brutal. He ignored any semblance of defense, trusting rather to the excellent Chem armor he wore on Pantrixnia. With his free hand he grappled his adversary by their own armor and plunged his knife into their body again and again until there was no more resistance. The huge blade created gaping debilitating wounds and it did not take long for the fight to end.
The tactic did have its drawbacks. His latest combat ended on such a note, and now he found himself devoid of momentum. In the center of the bridge’s cavernous volume he spun slowly through the clouds of blood droplets still locked with his latest victim. A rebel sought to take advantage of his motionless state and zipped behind him. Alexander grappled the corpse of his victim and flung it at his assailant. The disjointed corpse got tangled up with the rebel, slowing his advance, and imparted just enough time to Alexander for a loyalist to reach him. The helpful warrior steadied Alexander and jetted him towards a bulkhead. Alexander called out his thanks and the warrior returned to his business. Upon reaching the bulkhead Alexander did not forget his former assailant. He planted his boots firmly on the metal thrust back towards the rebel. The Chem was just disentangling himself from the corpse when Alexander caught him by surprise, dragging the edge of his knife across the exposed neck. The blade bit deeply, springing a fatal fountain of vibrant blue blood. The rebel clutched frantically at the wound, but to no avail. In a slow and agonizing moment he began a slow cartwheel across the bridge, still locked with the already cool form of his comrade.
The fighting was still heavy as more rebels docked with the Kuntok’s bridge, and loyal reinforcements arrived from other portions of the ship. He had no idea how the battle was progressing elsewhere; he couldn’t even claim to know how they fared on the bridge. He caught fleeting glimpses of Nazeera and Nazar, but that was all. Back and forth he flew in the deadly dance. After a short time, he felt so proficient was he that he no longer thought about the maneuvering; he just picked his targets and planned his attacks accordingly.
Alexander tuned out most of the melee around him, ignoring the shouts and screams of the combatants, but one sound caught his ear. It was the hissing of the laser torches as they cut their way through the Kuntok’s skin. He looked down, between his legs, just as he finished his rotation to land. It was something of a trick to time his landing so as to hit squarely on his feet, and he’d mastered the maneuver by necessity, but without jets it was impossible to alter his landing spot. Wherever he aimed was where he landed. Alexander’s widening eyes following the hiss of the docking torch to his inevitable landing. The curving bulkhead of smooth metal suddenly sprouted sparks. The circular patch of bulkhead spun free of the shuttle docking ring just in time for Alexander to float right through the hole. He plunged from the bright cavern of the bridge into the dim interior of a small metal capsule crammed with ten eager rebel warriors. They were equally as surprised as he was, but unlike Alexander they has no advanced warning of his arrival. Still, it didn’t take long for them to recognize the hulking figure. He didn’t wait to explain his mistake but slashed, kicked, punched, and bit blindly at every piece of Chem he saw. The boarders were, at best, unprepared for the appearance of this demon amongst them. Every violent movement caught a Chem warrior, and courageous though they were the Chem had no response. Those who were able vacated the capsule to the relative safety of the melee as quickly as they could, and so in the space of a moment Alexander found himself alone in the capsule with four Chem who were either dead or too badly wounded to care about escape. Alexander cleared the capsule of them, thrusting their bodies into the bridges swarming melee. The battle in the capsule suddenly over Alexander steadied himself and caught his breath. As he rested he watched the melee through the hole in the bulkhead. The rebel forces seemed to be taking the worst of things now. Apparently the boarders were unsuccessful on other parts of the ship, as fresh Chem were arriving to reinforce Nazeera’s bridge forces. Alexander watched, looking for a time and a place when he might be useful. He found Nazeera almost directly below him, fighting alongside Nazar. He continued to watch from overhead, a deadly guardian angel ready to shoot out of his lair upon any who dared threaten her. The fight flared to its original intensity briefly, as the forces of Bureel realized the hopelessness of their cause. Nazeera led the closing of the ring on the remainder of the rebels. There were no calls for quarter. Alexander watched anxiously as the desperate fury of the rebels took its toll on the loyal Chem. Nazeera became engaged by two rebels at once, and even though she quickly dispatched the first, the second took the opportunity to work to her rear. She could not turn quickly enough to meet the new attacker, and though Nazar called out a warning he could not reach her. It was just such an occurrence that Alexander waited for. He propelled himself with all of his strength at the attacker. He did not attempt a slash or stab this time, but instead tackled the Chem using the full force of his mass. His momentum carried them both crashing to the deck. The Chem grunted with pain as Alexander landed atop him, but the man was already plunging his knife into the vitals of the warrior. When he finally halted the Chem’s torso was in tatters. Blood floated all around him. Nazeera looked down at him, pride on her face. All of a sudden there was a heavy rumbling followed by a rush of air. Nazeera’s expression turned to one of horror. Some of the few remaining rebels made it back to their pod and its departure left a meter wide hole open to space. Air gushed out of the bridge. The Chem turned to point their jet boots against the current. Corpses thumped out of the hole with the torrent of air.
Alexander was swept off the floor and carried unerringly towards the open portal. There was nothing for him to grab and no way to stop himself. He spread his arms to try and catch the edges of the hole, but he knew that it was a futile act. Then Nazeera’s sharp nails dug into his armor at the shoulders. She threw her legs under his arms and he could see the jets pulsing with all their might. Slowly she brought Alexander to a halt. Nazar rushed to her aide and in a moment they had Alexander under control. They moved him slowly to a bridge rail allowing him to grab a hold of it.
“Alright, I’ve got it,” Alexander breathed in thanks. “I always knew I needed a strong woman. I obviously chose the right one.”
“You had better say that,” she said simply. The battle for the bridge of the Kuntok was over.
CHAPTER 5
“It looks as though all hell had broken loose in the Chem Empire,” Admiral Augesburcke said to the assembled members of CODOTS. Several of the group, Dr. Hashimoto and Dr. Koto among them, were with the Admiral in the Iowa’s conference room. The rest of the members were on Terra and their presence was transmitted over the conference room’s large visiplate. “Slightly more than twenty-four hours after
our agreement with the Chem civil war broke out in the empire. At the moment, we have no way of knowing which way the battle is going, but it appears that Bureel, a member of the Assemblage, is using the peace initiative of Nazeera to justify a coup.”
“Admiral, isn’t Bureel the Chem of the Assemblage with whom Alexander has had some friction?”
“Yes, we’ve rather a thick dossier on him from Alexander,” Augesburcke replied. “There is somewhat more to it, as Bureel is also the husband of Nazeera. She is not only the Armada Commander with whom Alexander dealt, but the most powerful member of the Triumvirate. She also happens to be the Chem with whom Alexander has had extensive dealings, both officially and unofficially on Chem prior to his exile to Pantrixnia. Bureel, by Alexander’s account, is an ambitious schemer. His marriage to Nazeera was arranged, against the consent of Nazeera. It paid her father’s debt to Bureel’s father, but otherwise she gains nothing from the relationship. Bureel, on the other hand, gained lands, wealth, a title and a seat in the Assemblage. Now he’s making a throw for something bigger, and he’s using the relationship that’s grown between Alexander and Nazeera as a tool. Alexander is right in the middle of all of this again. It makes for a dynamic situation to say the least.”
“Where is Alexander now?”
Augesburcke shrugged and said, “We do not know. He transferred over to the Kuntok twenty-four hours ago. I sent a message to him since then, confirming his appointment as Ambassador to Chem. I am certain he did not expect anything of this nature occurring, especially so quickly. It was my impression when he left that he considered his mission almost complete. His intention was to pursue his duel with Bureel and pursue his relationship with Nazeera.”
A babble of discordant discussion emanated from the visiplate. Several members questioned the Admiral simultaneously, but nothing coherent reached the Iowa. Finally, a representative from Terra spoke for the council members. Faizah Sadat was an attractive and forceful woman. Her views were well known by all the members of CODOTS. This was due to her proclivity for self expression rather than any transparency of intention. She was, for all that, extraordinarily intelligent and capable. She projected the entire force of her personality across the visiplate to Admiral Augesburcke when she addressed him. “Admiral, it sounds to me as if Alexander has been rather rashly pursuing his own agenda on the side. Certainly his courting of this Nazeera can be seen as nothing short of provocative. As to his challenge, while it may be a point of honor to the Chem, it is nothing less than adolescent foolishness to me. It looks as though Alexander at the very least is partially to blame for pushing this Bureel into rebellion. Why was none of this brought before the council before now? We could have censured Alexander.”
Augesburcke chuckled. “You want to censure Alexander, that would be interesting. Ms. Sadat we brought Alexander on board as a figurehead with power to negotiate with the Chem. We had nothing to lose. The figurehead turned into a true commander. We all underestimated him, and I’ll remind you that ninety percent of the strategy which has gained us an empire was his. He’ll take counsel, and listen, but he made up his own mind on every point as far as this affair, pardon the expression, is concerned. I admit there’s more to this than just business, especially to Alexander, but put in his situation I’m not about to critique him for actions of his which occurred during his incarceration by the Chem.”
“That does nothing to justify what I see as two irresponsible actions on Alexander’s part, Admiral,” Sadat told him. “I can see no point in pursuing this challenge towards Bureel, even if nothing could be done about his compromising behavior previous to that. We should have prevented him from naming that as a precondition, and I daresay naming him as Ambassador to Chem aggravated matters.”
Augesburcke’s swarthy complexion turned bright red with obvious irritation and bit his tongue. Koto rescued him from a biting retort. The psychologist said, “Your interpretations are subject to a lack of understanding of the Chem, Ms. Sadat. The Chem are a people driven by a very strict code of honor. From our information the challenges were made publicly, whatever their original source and Alexander could do no less than address them so. To have ignored them would have invited doubt on the part of the Chem. That doubt could very possibly have negated the significant amount of respect the Chem formed for Alexander. Without that respect no negotiation would have been possible. You can call Alexander’s behavior under enormous stress irrational, boastful, whatever you want, but you have to recall his reasoning behind it all. Alexander realized amazingly quickly that he must portray Humans as they should be, not necessarily as they are. The Chem had to be made to respect Humankind as a possible adversary. Alexander wasn’t trying to get the Chem to like him. He wanted them to respect and, if possible, fear him to the extent that conflict was avoidable. He was remarkably successful at this, as the results indicate.”
“Really Doctor Koto, I think you read too much into the man’s character,” Sadat replied. “I see a very arrogant and extraordinarily lucky man. He may be good at explaining his intentions after the fact, but I doubt his prescience.”
“You seem to know a great deal about this man without having actually met him, Ms. Sadat,” Augesburcke said bitterly. “I don’t know that I can recall a greater lack of appreciation for so great a debt.”
“I do not blind myself with thanks, Admiral, if that is what you mean.” Sadat told him.
“That is precisely not what I mean, Ms. Sadat,” Augesburcke told her vehemently. “I see no more point in debating the merits and intentions of Alexander. He has been nothing less than open and self sacrificing with us. As far as his qualifications as Ambassador to Chem I can think of no one, even yourself Ms. Sadat, who is more qualified. I will stack his intuition up against anybody here, and I mean anybody. For the time being we will have to trust that intuition. We shall continue to try and contact Alexander and get a clearer picture of what is happening in the Chem Empire. I shall keep you all informed.”
“What is our response to be to this new political upheaval in Chem?” Sadat asked.
“We’ll see what Alexander comes up with,” Augesburcke replied. “I don’t know that we have enough information to do otherwise.”
“You are going to leave a policy decision to this Alexander?”
“Does that bother you Ms. Sadat?” Augesburcke returned. “You did not seem so agitated when we gave him carte blanche against the Chem Armada.”
“That was a military decision, of which I claim no expertise,” she answered. “It was also, if I understand the situation correctly, a last desperate attempt to avoid a confrontation between our own hastily assembled fleet and the Chem Armada. The fact that our gambit worked is still amazement to me. I consider it due to luck, and the extreme bluster of Alexander. I consider neither quality sufficient for official negotiation, and I think my opinion is borne out by the events occurring in Chem at this time.”
“So am I to understand that you hold Alexander accountable for the Chem civil war?” Augesburcke smiled. “That is giving him even more credit than I believe he deserves. I think the Chem themselves would be more than willing to shoulder the majority of responsibility themselves, and from what I’ve seen of them they don’t take well to meddling. What do you say, Doctor Koto, you are our resident psychologist? Ms. Sadat and I have dominated the floor too much.”
“From all indications our best course of action is a passive one,” Koto replied. “Our initial reaction, however, should not be strict neutrality but rather support for the loyalist Chem under Nazeera. The reasoning is obvious—Bureel has called for a renewal of the war against Terra. Certainly it is to our advantage to support the people who are not calling for our annihilation! There is no chance of diplomacy with Bureel’s rebels. They base their entire platform on military expansion, and we are the first on their hit list. This situation doesn’t call for a psychologist Admiral.”
“I think you are reading too much into Bureel’s posturing,” Sadat retorted. “Certa
inly he’s going to try and distance himself from Nazeera and therefore distance himself from her policies. However, that’s a far cry from Bureel actually coming to blows with us.”
“If we’re not to believe his public statements then what are we to base our policy on,” Dr. Koto replied, obviously surprised.
“Strict neutrality,” she told them all. “This is a Chem matter; we should not interfere.”
Augesburcke pounded the table with his meaty fist, interjecting, “So we’re supposed to tell the people we just made peace with to go to Hell? That’s fine policy, I must say.”
“You asked my diplomatic opinion,” Sadat said, unphased at the Admiral’s disdain.
The Admiral shook his head and tugged at his mustache, a clear sign of his irritation. “Our peace initiative is based on Alexander’s negotiations with Nazeera, who has a more pragmatic approach to other civilizations than Bureel—that’s clear for anyone to see. Everything we’ve intercepted from Bureel and his followers indicates a very aggressive policy based upon expansion and conquest. We would be a vulnerable target to Chem aggression under Bureel. It is not only likely but certain that Terra would be their first area of interest. We were the catalyst for the civil war, and Bureel would very likely attempt to redress a point of his propaganda. The results of this civil war will have a direct affect on the new Terran Empire.”
Hashimoto then added, “If the rebel forces of Bureel do gain control of the Chem Empire and attack Terra we have a greater problem than our initial encounter. Initially we had the full support of the Scythian’s. That made an enormous logistic difference. I doubt that we shall have that capability this time. The Scythian’s are a conquered people, and I doubt whether they can be coerced into the same effort which they gave as a free empire.”
Alexander Galaxus: The Complete Alexander Galaxus Trilogy Page 37
