Kill the Queen! (Chaos of the Covenant Book 4)

by M. R. Forbes

  Thraven sat up in the Font. “What?” he said out loud. He wanted to speak to them directly but knew he couldn’t. The storms that surrounded the crater made direct communications difficult, or the Venerants wouldn’t have sent a recording in the first place.

  “Your Eminence, Honorant Ibsen is dead,” Koy said. “Half of his forces are dead with him. The entire camp was being overrun until we arrived. We were almost overrun ourselves. As I’m certain you know, the infected are resistant to the power of the Gift.” He moved aside and motioned to the man standing with them.

  “This is Colonel Quark,” Elivee said. “He was sent by Don Pallimo on behalf of the Crescent Haulers to help us take care of Cage. He and his soldiers are the only reason we have anything left on Azure to track her with.”

  “A pleasure,” Quark said. “The Don sends his regards and appreciation for the tip, General.”

  “We thought you might want to see one of the infected, Gloritant,” Koy said.

  Quark leaned down and lifted one of them up. It was headless. Bent and twisted. He picked up the head next, holding it with the body. It had been a long time since Thraven had seen one of the infected, and those had been Nephilim, not Seraphs. He hadn’t realized their counterparts had ever experimented with the Blood of the Shard. Then again, it made sense that they too would want to be able to control it without being killed by it.

  It was too bad they had failed where Lucifer had succeeded. Things would have been much, much different.

  “We can’t be sure the infected haven’t killed Cage,” Elivee said. “The entrance to the facility was damaged during the fighting, and we’re still working on clearing a path through. We’re being cautious, as we don’t know how many more of the Seraphim might still be inside. We are fairly certain there is no other way out, so if Cage is still alive in there, we’ll be sure to cross paths at some point.”

  “And then we’ll take care of her,” Quark said. “Don Pallimo requests that she be returned to him, in as many pieces as required to bring her down.”

  “We look forward to hearing your reply, your Eminence,” Koy said.

  The projection vanished. Thraven immediately rose from the Font, noticing how Honorant Lu’s eyes dropped to his missing genitals as he did.

  “Eyes up, Honorant,” Thraven said. “Or you will lose them.”

  Lu looked up. Thraven could see him start to shake in fear of reprisal. He pointed to a robe beside the Honorant.

  “Bring it over,” he said.

  Lu grabbed the robe and brought it to him, making a point to close his eyes before bowing his head.

  “There’s no shame in being what you are,” Thraven said, taking the robe. “Only a lesser intelligence would judge someone on the outcome of a mutilation over their actions.”

  “Yes, Gloritant. My apologies, Gloritant.”

  “I will record a response for the Venerants,” Thraven said.

  “Of course, your Eminence.”

  Lu backed away, looking up again. He picked up the projector and set it to record.

  “Colonel Quark. I appreciate your intervention on behalf of my incompetent subordinate, and I’m grateful for the Don’s participation. Of course, when Cage is dead her corpse is yours to use however you wish. I have no need of her flesh, only her expiration.” He reached up absently, putting his fingers on his neck. “As you have apparently proven yourself quite capable, please accept the services of both my Venerants and the remains of my forces to track down Cage as you see fit.

  “Elivee, Koy, you are to report to Colonel Quark and follow his orders until either you or Cage are dead. And I’m certain she’s still alive. The infected are mindless killing and feeding machines, but she’s a predator, and should be treated as such.”

  Thraven nodded slightly, and Lu stopped the recording.

  “Since you’ve already disturbed me, do we have any news from Earth?”

  “Yes, Gloritant. We received a short communication from Evolent Ruche two hours ago. Captain Mann is still alive. He broke into the Tridium tri-towers and escaped with a cache of data from their secure server.”

  Thraven could feel the anger building at this news. “Link me to Evolent Ruche,” he said.

  “Of course, Gloritant,” Lu replied.

  He entered a few commands on the comm projector. Within ten seconds, Evolent Ruche was being projected into the room. The Evolent dropped to his knee at the sight of the Font, bowing his head to Thraven.

  “Gloritant,” he said. “I take it you received my message.”

  “What data was taken?” Thraven asked.

  Ruche stood. “Your Eminence, we are still trying to determine what was copied. Captain Mann had less than a minute in the room before security forces arrived.”

  “How did he get there in the first place? You were supposed to have taken care of him.”

  He lifted his hand toward the projection. Immediately, Ruche fell back to his knees.

  “My apologies, Gloritant,” Ruche said weakly. “I informed you that Mann had escaped. He wasn’t at the tri-towers alone. He had a woman with him.”

  “A woman?”

  “We believe she’s an Ophanim, your Eminence. I’ve seen the recordings from security at the towers. Captain Mann went through the canopy of a gunship, killed the pilot, and flew it to safety.”

  “They gave him the Blood?” Thraven said, letting Ruche go.

  “It seems that way,” Ruche replied.

  Thraven started to laugh. “Oh, Olus. You will never fail to surprise me.” He shook his head, amused. “Of all the Lessers, you and Cage are the one truly worthy adversaries.”

  “Gloritant?” Ruche said.

  “I don’t need to tell you to find him. What I do need is to know what data they might have. Tridium has been a staunch ally of ours for many years, and that server contains a treasure of valuable, confidential information. It was supposed to be unbreakable.” He paused, shaking his head again. He had never guessed a Blooded Killshot would be the one to try to break it. “We need to draw him out. To force his hand before he can do too much damage with what he’s learned.”

  “It’s likely he’s already transmitted some of the data,” Ruche said. “He has had hours already.”

  “Perhaps. But he’ll be looking for a way to disrupt my control over the Council. As long as we maintain our hold there, whatever else he tries to do will ultimately be too little to stop us.”

  “I’ll send Children to keep an eye on our newest political allies,” Ruche said. “If Mann tries to move on any of them, we’ll know it.”

  “Very good. He’ll be able to fight the Children more capably with the Gift. This is of the utmost importance, so draw on whatever resources you need.”

  “Yes, Gloritant. It will be done. How do you propose I bring him into the open on our terms?”

  Thraven hesitated for a moment. There was one card he had been holding onto for the right time. Was this the right time?

  He decided it was.

  “Hayley Cage,” he said.

  “Lieutenant Cage’s daughter?” Ruche said, confused. “What about her?”

  “Killshot’s loyalties are tenuous at best when it comes to his survival. But he’ll go out of his way to protect Cage’s offspring.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she has tactical value. If Cage loses her daughter, she’ll become nothing more than a mindless killing beast. In terms of Mann’s counter-insurgency, she might as well be dead.”

  “Then we should just kill the little demon.”

  “Don’t be stupid. She’s bait to lure Mann in. She needs to be alive until he isn’t.”

  “You’re sure he’ll go for it?”

  “There’s only one way to know for certain, and we’ve lost nothing if he doesn’t.”

  “I’ll pick her up myself. Cage broke my nose. I wouldn’t mind scaring the shit out of her kid.”

  “I need you close to the Council. Send a unit of loyalists from Homeworld Securit
y.”

  “As you command, Gloritant.”

  Thraven motioned to Lu, who disconnected the link. He didn’t favor using children this way, even Cage’s child, but his options were limited.

  “Is that all?” he asked.

  “There is one more report, Gloritant,” Honorant Lu said. “From Venerant Bashir.”

  “Bashir?” Thraven said. “Put it on.”

  Honorant Lu switched the projection. This time, a tall woman in an elaborate dress appeared in front of him.

  “All honor to you, Gloritant,” she said. “I bring good news from the Outworlds. We have finalized our integration with the Governance, and have successfully gained the necessary votes to enact defensive framework changes to our benefit. Already, we are presenting documents that will blame the Republic for the attack on Anvil, and set in motion a redistribution of Outworld military forces to the Fringe in preparation for a complete declaration of war. We expect that the Republic will be prepared to respond in kind. Loyalist forces are already being reassigned toward the rear guard, a process which we expect will consume the next several weeks. This also aligns with your previously stated goals for bringing armed conflict to the galaxy, and for the preservation of the assets deemed essential once the Gate is completed. I am pleased to report that we are on schedule, and anticipate no resistance to the larger goals.”

  Thraven felt his lips parting in a smile.The Outworld Governance had been much easier to manipulate than the Republic Council. The individually governed planets had a built-in tendency only to see what was best for themselves, and playing those interests off one another was a simple and effective means to control them. The right promises to the right people guaranteed a positive outcome, even if the Lessers weren’t smart enough to see how they were being fooled.

  Within a few weeks time, he would have fleets on both sides of the equation coming together in clashes that would help thin the potential resistance and misdirect both sides’ attention to one another instead of to him. When the full brunt of the Nephilim forces came to bear, the weakened militaries of both nations would crumble beneath the onslaught.

  It was as he believed. Cage could be a problem. Mann could be a problem. They were each too small to slow the momentum he had built.

  No power in the galaxy could stop what he had started. Nothing in the universe could overcome the Promise of the Father and the glory of the Great Return.

  17

  Gant was on the Brimstone when his comm beeped. He had been called over to help finish patching up the primary life support systems, repaired using parts they had salvaged from one of the other captured ships. It was his first time on the vessel since Kett had taken over, and he knew the General intended to ship him back off the moment the systems were tested and confirmed operational.

  That was fine with him. He had an escape to finish planning.

  The primary challenge in getting the Rejects away from Kett’s army was getting the Rejects assembled in one place. Bastion and Phlenel were stuck on the Raptor, Benhil, and Pik on the Sparhawk, Erlan and himself on the Hailstorm, and Ruby, Jequn, and Dak here. Kett had done it intentionally to keep them apart so that they couldn’t collaborate. What the General didn’t realize was that every time he called Gant over to one of the ships for one repair or another, he gave him the opportunity to frag with the comm systems. He didn’t need to be at the root module to insert the directives allowing for a segregated private channel only the Rejects could communicate on. All he needed was access somewhere.

  And there was a comm node in the life support module right below the exchange catalysts.

  Added to the fact that he was the only individual with advanced engineering expertise in the ragtag militia, and he had inadvertently been given free reign to do pretty much whatever he damn well pleased.

  He loved it when that happened.

  “Gant,” Ruby said a moment later, on the regular ship-wide channel. “Are you still on board?”

  “Affirmative, Ruby,” Gant replied. “What do you, or rather, what does the General need?”

  He had managed to get five minutes alone with her during the shuttle ride from the Hailstorm to the Brimstone, during which she had described how pleased Kett had been to find that they had a synth in their cadre. He had turned her into a glorified personal assistant, keeping her at his beck and call at all hours, never allowing her to be away from his quarters. He hadn’t tried to use her for sex - he was way too distraught over Charmeine for that - but he used her for other menial tasks. She had fetched his meals, sent his uniforms out for cleansing, recorded all of his meetings with his officers, and had even been ordered to wash his back in the cleanser, entering it with him fully-clothed. If she were human, it would have been dehumanizing to be treated the way Kett was treating her. Since she wasn’t? She said she didn’t have an opinion on the subject, but Gant wasn’t so sure. Synth or not, she wanted Queenie back, too.

  “This is about what I need, Gant,” she said, switching over to the newly created private channel. “I just spoke to Captain Mann.”

  “And?”

  “He passed along some information he wants me to deliver to Kett. Apparently, Tridium Heavy Industries is intimately connected with Thraven and the Nephilim, and they’ve already started construction on an Elysium Gate.”

  “What?” Gant said. “How can they be doing something like that right under the Republic’s nose?”

  “I’ll give you three guesses on that, but the first two don’t count. Anyway, he’s got reason to believe Tridium is putting the Gate together somewhere near Avalon. He doesn’t know if it’s a ground base or a space station, but he said he had seen enough to be pretty certain something was happening there.”

  “Defenses?”

  “Some mercenary outfit I’ve never heard of before. Blackstar?”

  “I don’t know it.”

  “Me neither. I need to deliver the intel to Kett, but I’d like you to come with me.”

  “What for? I’m hardly the General’s favorite anthropomorphic humanoid.”

  “Because I’m a machine. He sees me more like a pleasure bot than a military asset. He’s more likely to take the information seriously if you corroborate its validity. I asked Dak and Jequn to come, too.”

  “And that isn’t going to put Kett on the defensive?”

  “He’s a General; he shouldn’t be nervous around four subordinates.”

  “He’s not a General, he’s a traitor to the Republic, just like the rest of us. And, I’m certainly not his subordinate. I do what he asks for everyone my repairs affect, not for him.”

  “I’ve spent enough time around him to know his ego is as fragile as an egg since he lost his wife. In other circumstances it might be endearingly sad. In the middle of a war for the fate of the galaxy?”

  “Okay, okay. Roger. I’m on my way. Where are you?”

  “Outside the General’s quarters.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  “Thank you.”

  Gant closed the link and then tightened the last few screws of the access panel he had been working behind. He hopped down from a makeshift stool and moved out into the adjacent room, where the local terminal sat. He turned on the primary systems, listening carefully as he heard the soft hiss and thump of the change-over. The Brimstone had been spitting out less oxygen than was ideal, but that would be fixed within the hour. Maybe better air would help Kett stop being such an asshole?

  He doubted it.

  He headed up to the General’s quarters, which had formerly belonged to both Ursan Gall and Abbey. Dak and Jequn were waiting nearby.

  “Gant,” Dak said, smiling at the sight of him. “It’s been a while.”

  “Dak. Jequn.” He spread his hands. “Well? Where’s Ruby?”

  “The General called her in,” Jequn said.

  “Does he know you’re here?”

  “Yes. He wanted to speak with her alone.”

  “Of course, he did. Has your father always
been like this?”

  Jequn shook her head. “No. I think he got too comfortable on Azure, and now losing Charmeine? I loved her too, but I know she would have wanted us to push the fight, not run from it. He’s afraid.”

  “Of losing you, maybe.”

  “You wouldn’t know it by the way he’s been treating me. He’s cast me aside as best he can.”

  “You remind him of her. He’ll-”

  “Gant!” Ruby’s voice cut in through their private channel. It was panicked. “Help!”

  “Ruby?” Gant said. “What’s going on?”

  “He’s shutting me down for reform-”

  “Shit,” Gant said, looking at the others. “We need to get in there. He’s resetting her.”

  “What?” Jequn said. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “We’ll figure it out later.” Gant approached the door. “Dak can you give me a lift?”

  Dak put out his hands. Gant climbed onto them, and the Trover lifted him so he could reach the door controls more easily. He quickly unscrewed the front of the panel and pulled it out, adjusting the wiring behind. It took twenty seconds, and the door slid open.

  Gant jumped down, rushing into the room. All of the soft furniture had been removed, replaced with a desk and hard metal chairs, turned from a retreat into another office. Kett was sitting at his desk. Ruby was facing them, her uniform half-off and a line running from the General’s terminal to her back. Her eyes were big.

  “General,” Gant said. “Wait.”

  Kett looked up. His eyes were red. His face was tired. “Nobody gave you permission to enter, Ensign,” he said.

  “We need her,” Gant said. “If you reset her systems we’ll lose our connection to Captain Mann.”

  “Captain Mann is a traitor, wanted by the Republic for terrorism,” Kett replied. “He murdered eight Council members, along with a pretty large list of VIPs.”

  Gant almost laughed at that statement. “You can’t be stupid enough to believe that.”

  “Excuse me?” Kett said. He stood up, circling the desk.

  At least the statement had gotten him to abandon the terminal.