by JR Handley
After snarling his reply through his voice box, Ledatic slumped back into his chair, as deflated as he was when they walked in.
The sound of Lance unsheathing his long, curved sword caused everyone in the room to jump. Placing the black, razor sharp blade on the Hardit’s neck, Lance smiled.
“Very well. I’ve always wondered what a hairless Hardit would look like. Maybe I’ll give you a shave before I cut you in half, snout to tail?”
Basil stepped forward and placed a hand on Lance’s arm.
“At ease, Captain, let us give him one last chance to live and put his scientific prowess to use for the betterment of all species,” Basil said as he turned toward the wide-eyed Hardit. “Ledatic, the White Knights are embroiled in a civil war and have abandoned many of their star systems. The Hardits started a rebellion against all sentient non-Hardits, against the nefnast, under the leadership of Supreme Commander Tawfiq of the New Order. Tawfiq embraces a policy of forced sterilization and neutering of Hardits so they might become Janissaries in her army, enslaving any Hardit she sees as unworthy. You can die, pointlessly. Or, you can help us, and by extension, save those Hardits who want to live – provided they’re not Janissaries. Think this through.”
When he’d said his piece, Basil waited. Lance’s sword now rested on the Hardit’s shoulder. Depending on what the furry monkey said next, Lance would break his promise of a shave and remove the Hardit’s head.
“I will do it. I will do this thing, in consideration for my species being afforded the opportunity to live,” said Ledatic. “Though, when the White Knights return, I will have my revenge.”
Lance smashed the metallic pommel of his sword on Ledatic’s forehead, causing the Hardit to yelp. It wasn’t at full strength, as this would have caved in his skull.
“Revenge? Strike this from your mind! Things are different now. The old ways of treating human laborers are done,” said Lance as he paced in front of Ledatic. “Your research was all we needed, and we have it. You are being given the chance to help us further that research into species-specific variations, improving the lives of those who serve under Field Marshal Marchewka.”
Basil crouched down and looked Ledatic in the eyes as Lance continued walking.
“Know this, Ledatic, I spared you today. I know under the rage and scars that you have a scientific mind. In this way, we are the same. Do your job, treat those around you fairly, and I promise you the solitude you crave and the tools to create technology we could only dream of before.”
“I… I understand,” said Ledatic.
Lance could feel the conviction in the Hardit’s voice. Basil’s even tone and empathy had cut deeper than his sword ever could have. Knowing this, Lance sheathed it before continuing.
“Now that you’re onboard, what would the timeline be?”
Ledatic sucked in a deep breath and hissed it out of his snout while he thought.
“The autonomous process I invented would speed growth cycles drastically. A habdisk could be reaped of its food within thirty calendar days and likely be able to feed a regiment,” said Ledatic. An iota of pride crept into his voice as he continued. “I also developed an autonomous preservation technique. This would allow for the building of stockpiles – if we all even live that long under human leadership.”
Basil looked to Lance and smiled before turning to Ledatic to ask questions. It was all highly technical, but Lance gleaned they were talking about making food capable of consumption in void environments. It became clear, if Basil could build the machinery, the food issue would soon solve itself.
Without saying a word, Lance hurried away, punching information into his Aimee to update Marchewka.
— Chapter 38 —
Late Morning, Post-Revival Day 3
Brig Interrogation Room, Level 9, Beta City, Serendine
Beta City Integrated Command
Lance sat at his desk, taking deep breaths after travelling back from the brig, when Xena pinged his Aimee with a message from Field Marshal Marchewka. Expecting a joyous message regarding the food situation being resolved, Lance groaned when he saw it was an order requesting his presence back in interrogation. Marchewka’s message indicated it was vital to learn as much as possible from the stowaway Human Legion Marine, Sashala Kraevoi. With Nhlappo en route from Detroit City, any additional intelligence about her forces would be essential.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Lance began retracing his steps to the brig. This time, he saw if he could do it without his Aimee. As he descended the three levels to the brig, Lance mentally reviewed what he sought to gather from the captured female Marine. His mind wandered as he walked.
Marchewka seems to be convinced the Legion’s the answer. I know he’s leaning that way. But how can we really know? This Marine might be the key to learning more. Frakk me, if we remain with the White Knights, I’d only have to worry about being a sergeant again.
Once Lance got through the guards from Yankee Company, he walked into the interrogation room and was instantly struck by the sheer tininess of the female Marine in front of him. Marchewka’s hulking presence startled him as well. The field marshal hadn’t indicated he would be attending.
Looking beyond the red-furred Jotun, Lance studied the chained Marine. She looked to be barely over five foot, though the official records Xena had found listed her at five foot four inches and 135 pounds. Her curly, black hair was long, and wrapped in some sort of weird bulbous style on the back of her skull. Lance had grown accustomed to females with shorter, campaign-ready hair. Her neatly bundled hair revealed a small piece of her left earlobe was missing, evidence of her combat experience. If anything, this only increased her beauty in Lance’s eyes.
She glared at them both from the slick metal chair she was restrained in. It was amusing watching her head swivel back and forth, as if she couldn’t determine if she should glare at him or at Marchewka. A hint of a grin crept into the corner of Lance’s mouth.
“If you’re going to kill me, get it over with. No need to draw it out. You could torture me, but I don’t know anything anyway, so you might as well get on with it. I’ll not beg, if that’s what you want.”
Sashala’s rant caused Marchewka to make a strange growling sound. Lance knew from his exposure to Colonel GG that this was a Jotun approximation of the human laugh. Most Marines didn’t even think the Jotuns were physiologically capable of mirth, as they seemed to be perpetually displeased and businesslike.
“Crècheling, if we wanted you dead, we would have simply turned off power to the habdisk you were stowed away in. I admire your spirit, so I will tolerate this one incident of disobedience. Tell me, do these Human Legion overlords rely on executions to enforce discipline as we once did?”
The look on Sashala’s face told Lance she wasn’t sure who she was talking to. Seeing a Jotun, she likely thought the White Knights had found her and would punish her for defecting to the Legion.
“I don’t know, I was only in the Legion long enough to get stranded on your tiny island. When we realized we were abandoned, we attempted to get to a habdisk to ice ourselves and wait. I was the only one who survived. Hardits and bad piloting got my friends. As soon as I awoke, I was here in your city being roughhoused by your Marines.”
“Yes, crècheling, we cannot be too careful about unexpected icers hiding in habdisks. Know this, if your loyalty is to the Legion then you are in no immediate danger from us – for now. Tell me more of how you came to be here,” said Marchewka.
The Jotun stepped back to give Sashala space to speak and to put her at ease. Sashala told them of her revival in Detroit in the middle of a rebellion she didn’t understand and how she fought with the Human Resistance against the Hardits. She recounted the return of Major Arun McEwan and how he’d led them in their quest for vengeance against the New Order. Finally, she began explaining how the Resistance joined the Human Legion and fought back during their Tranquility Campaign.
During a pause, Lance tapped his Aimee to ensure X
ena was compiling this information and cross referencing it against known facts.
“I was part of Phase Guinshrike. It was one moving piece of the Beta City Retrieval Raid. While our forces converged and raided for supplies, we flew in a Stork overhead. We left the shuttle doors open and allowed ourselves to be targeted. When we took fire, it allowed us to pinpoint Hardit missile batteries and kill the frakkers.”
“While bold, this does not seem tactically sound. I assume this method led to your misfortune?” asked Marchewka.
Sashala’s eyes went from Marchewka to the polycrete floor in front of her. Lance knew that stare. It was the look of someone recalling a fresh, painful memory. While many years had passed during her freeze, to her, it would have felt like the events happened the day before.
“The Stork we were in banked hard and fast. Vanderman fell out the side. I… I watched him fall. We landed to see if he could be saved, and we lost good Marines in the attempt. By the time I made it here, I was the only one left. I iced myself and waited.”
Marchewka was either impressed, or thinking. Either way, the room fell to silence with the occasional clinking of Sashala’s chains. Pushing a button on his Aimee, a tiny holo-display of Nhlappo projected from it in front of the Jotun.
“This woman, Field Marshal Nhlappo, we are currently in negotiations with her and this Human Legion. What do you know of this human and the group she leads?” said Marchewka.
Sashala studied the display before replying, and a look of confusion raised one of her dark brown eyebrows. “Field Marshal Nhlappo? I know that a Lieutenant Nhlappo was once a tough and feared training sergeant who sent many Marine cadets into the drudgery of Aux life. I guess she was promoted? I do know she has a special relationship with the head of the Legion, so if she says she is speaking for him, then I’d believe her.”
“What is the goal of the Human Legion?” said Marchewka.
“All I know about the larger war outside of the Tranquility System is that the Legion sought to build strength while claiming to be waiting out the end of the White Knight civil war. It’s obvious this was a guise for building the strength to rebel later,” replied Sashala.
When Sashala finished speaking, Marchewka pointed a long finger toward one of the Yankee Company guards. Sashala’s shackles remotely deactivated and fell to her sides. She rubbed her reddened wrists as she stood and stretched.
“Thank you, Marine,” said Marchewka, “you were most helpful. You are no doubt anxious to find a new home. As of now, you’re a part of my old regiment. Captain, make arrangements for her to join you. We will need to establish an updated TO&E very soon.”
Lance stood for a few seconds examining Sashala move and stretch when a Jotun hand lightly smacked him in the back of the head.
“Captain?” said Marchewka.
“Uh, sorry, Field Marshal. It’ll be done!”
Lance’s rank still hadn’t sunk in with him. After all, it had only been a couple days. A grunting chuckle from Sashala unnerved him even more. Looking to redeem himself, he took charge.
“Marine Kraevoi, what kind of skills and training do you have? I could use more combat experienced NCOs and officers to bring my green Marines up to speed.”
In a flourish of speed and agility, Sashala brought herself inches from Lance causing him to step back defensively.
“I could put that sword of yours to good use, Captain. I’m handy with blades. If you need a close combat instructor, I could–”
An urgent alarm from Lance’s Aimee cut her off. Looking down, he saw a message from Xena indicating two Storks were incoming. They bore the identifiers of New Detroit and the Human Legion. Lance confirmed her request to come in through the room speakers.
Sirs, two Storks are en route. I’ve pulled data from the onboard AI, and the three Storks were attacked by their own people on take-off. One was destroyed and another damaged. No word on whether Field Marshal Nhlappo survived, though a human female calling herself Field Marshal Spartika sent a message to the shuttles indicating the death of Nhlappo. All records indicate a successful coup against this Nhlappo by Spartika. I estimate their arrival in 30 minutes.
“You,” Lance said as he pointed to one of the Yankee Company guards, “escort Kraevoi and get her settled in.”
Without saying another word, Marchewka and Lance half-jogged to prepare for the arriving Storks. As they moved, the entire base scrambled around them to finish their assigned tasks. As he struggled to maintain speed with Marchewka, Lance’s mind raced.
I wonder if Nhlappo survived? I wanted to meet the woman who had the nerve to promote herself to field marshal and stand toe-to-toe with Marchewka.
— Chapter 39 —
Early Afternoon, Post-Revival Day 3
Hangar Bay 23 Charlie, Beta City, Serendine
Beta City Integrated Command
Sweat beaded off Lance’s forehead as he double checked all the needed preparations Marchewka had tasked him with. Every detail needed to be perfect. This was especially important to his Jotun commander.
Confirming every NCO and the remaining officers were en route to Hangar Bay 24 Delta, which would serve as a de facto command center, he had First Sergeant Thorn finalize the security detail. Wanting to have all bases covered, he sent Basil a note via Xena requesting he stand by in the command center with Ledatic in tow.
Looking his best uniform over one last time, he donned his specialized web vest. He adjusted his sword and pistol, then informed Thorn he was on his way to Hangar Bay 23 Charlie, where Xena had informed him the Storks would be arriving.
Lance ran as fast as he could, until he entered the sprawling hangar bay. The smell of hydraulic fluid and grease filled his lungs as he gasped for air. Slowing to a brisk walk, he took his position in front of the assembled troops. Giving his Marines a glance, he saw they were standing at attention in perfect alignment with weapons glistening and freshly cleaned.
The Storks had likely chosen Hangar Bay 13 Charlie because it was on the southernmost exterior portion of the volcanic mountain that formed what became Beta City. The topography would help them be undetectable by the Hardits occupying Levels 1 through 3. According to their onboard AIs, they would be executing a silent glide maneuver as they approached to minimize noise. The Storks weren’t gliders, and they weren’t designed for silent running. But a skilled pilot could make the laws of physics work for them, if only briefly.
The lack of a rumbling noise, a distinctive sound to Marines used to being carried about in Storks, was disconcerting. While Lance could see the assembled Marines were standing perfectly still, their helmets moving revealed their nervousness, as they relied on the only sense they had to indicate the impending shuttles. Lance said a silent prayer that the Marines from Whiskey Company weren’t trigger happy.
Turning his own blue eyes to the Tranquility sky, he thought about the upcoming meeting. Lance guessed Marchewka would play hardball, but the reality was that the stragglers of Beta City needed reinforcements or allies if they were to have any chance of surviving. There were always the Sangurians and the cryopods beneath them, but that was a long shot. For all their sakes, this encounter had to go well.
— Chapter 40 —
Early Afternoon, Post-Revival Day 3
Commander’s Stork, Approaching Beta City
New Detroit Regional Army Commander in Exile
Nhlappo sat hunched over, blankly staring at the tablet in front of her as the Stork erratically charted a path toward Beta City. Deciding that she had to do something, anything to be proactive, she instructed her aide to try reaching out again to the Human Legion outposts that secured the Tranquility System. Nhlappo wasn’t hopeful her message would get through.
When the Hardits had launched a surprise ground attack at New Detroit, and in orbit, they had jammed communications. There had been a vicious fight near the planet, and the Jotun destroyer, Indomitable, had sacrificed itself to hold back the Hardit spacecraft. The two other Legion ships, Beowulf and Leviath
an, groaned under the weight of their precious cargo: Marine Cryo-pods that had escaped the initial attack. They were slowly powering away for the long journey to join the Legion’s forces making a stand at the Khallini system.
She prayed her sons, Romulus and Remus, were safely aboard. She had no way of knowing if they lived or died. Nhlappo had done more than watch the ships grow smaller every night, she had tasked her tech genius, Tizer, with combating the communications blackout. So far, he had added a simple AI thread to the standard comms software to find a way through the blackout.
Nhlappo almost dropped her Digi-Sheet to the Stork’s metal floor when she saw the missile battery on Metius, the smaller of the two moons, acknowledged her comms. The comms link in her ear crackled to life.
“Field Marshal Nhlappo, send it,” the Metius comms officer said through static.
“There has been a mutiny here, led by my former XO, Spartika. Multiple attempts were made on my life. The mutineers believe me to be dead. We have located Marine forces in Beta City and are en route. Acknowledge?”
After a momentary pause, and more static, the comms officer responded.
“We are with you, Field Marshal. I shall spread the word and rebuff all accounts of your death.”
Nhlappo let out a sigh of relief. With a line to the outside world, her thoughts drifted to her sons. As if reading her mind through the static, the Metius comms officer came back through her speaker.
“Shall I retry linking Beowulf and Leviathan?” asked the Comms Officer.
The flicker of hope warming her heart would have to suffice. Over a million mouths were starving at New Detroit, a million souls who would soon learn the black depths of Spartika’s corrupt heart, if Nhlappo failed to quash this insurrection. She would permit nothing to distract her from this meeting, not even her sons.
