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

by M. R. Forbes

  “And when I’m done giving them to you, then you kill me? Frag off.”

  He turned the knife, cutting the side of her neck. She clenched her teeth. It was weakening her. She could feel it. Even so, she wasn’t going to signal Trin. Not yet. If Quark was here, he was hiding, and she wanted him out in the open.

  “There are two speeds to kill with,” Koy said. “Which will it be?”

  “I can take whatever you can give,” she replied. “What did you think I might find down there?”

  Koy looked into her eyes. She could see the hesitation there. What did he know that she didn’t? Another myth that might be truer than they wanted to believe?

  “Nothing important,” Koy said. “Quark saw you with someone outside. I know you aren’t here alone. Who are you protecting, Cage? Why? Where are they?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking -”

  The ceiling above them exploded, tearing a hole in the shaft above. Trinity fell from it, the force knocking her to the side of Abbey’s position. She hit the ground hard and didn’t move.

  Abbey looked at her. What the hell?

  “Looks like we have rats in the attic,” Quark said, appearing beside the hole. He jumped into it, dropping to the floor, his battlesuit flexing as he landed next to her. “We meet again, Cage. Who’s your friend?”

  Abbey kept staring at Trin. The suit was intact, the greaves on her side only slightly bent and scored. There was no way a fall like that would be enough to kill her, and yet she was motionless.

  There was motion, though. Quarks soldiers appeared all around them, pouring out of every crack and crevice in the hangar as they lowered pass-through screens that had made them invisible to both casual observation and sensors. They were nowhere near as powerful as real cloaking systems, but in this case it had been enough.

  “If you could see the look on your face,” Quark said. “Yes, Cage. You are well and truly fragged.”

  44

  “Prepare all batteries,” Captain Davlyn said. “Arm the torpedoes. We have no idea what kind of shit we’re stepping into.”

  “Huh, you’re starting to sound like one of us,” Gant said.

  Davlyn looked over at him from the command chair, giving him a half smile. “I could be setting everything up to trick you into a false sense of security.”

  “You could be, but you aren’t,” Gant replied. “We’re going to be coming out of FTL in eighty-four seconds. Not enough time to mutiny and defend yourself.”

  “If the mysterious enemy force you keep claiming is behind the shenanigans with the Republic Council is waiting there.”

  They had both caught wind of the news that the Council was preparing an emergency session to vote on legislation that would inevitably lead the Republic to war with the Outworlds. The fact that Gant had outlined the maneuver before it had been announced had gone a long way to cementing the Captain’s current loyalty, and the loyalty of his crew. It had given him just enough doubt that he had promised not to do anything stupid now, and to wait and see what happened next before doing something stupid later.

  “If Queenie is still alive, they’ll be hunting her,” Gant said. “She’s too much of a threat for Thraven to ignore.”

  “So you say. Going all the way out here for one person? You’re more loyal than most.”

  “You have no idea. Believe me; she’s not just anybody. She may be the only one who can kill Thraven.”

  “The wizard?”

  “I told you, he isn’t a wizard. The Gift seems like magic, but it’s tech. Crazy, advanced, nano-sized tech.”

  “If it breaks the laws of science, it’s magic.”

  “FTL breaks the laws of science.”

  “That’s different.”

  “How?”

  Davlyn didn’t reply. He shifted in his seat. “Nerd, when we drop from FTL give us twenty percent thrust toward the planet, and be ready to kill it and prep the disterium drives if it’s nasty out there.”

  “Aye-”

  “Belay that order, Nerd,” Gant said, turning back to Davlyn. “I don’t think I made things clear enough. We leave with Queenie, or we don’t leave at all.”

  “No matter what we come up against out there?”

  “We stick around long enough to pick her up. Your job is to keep the ship from getting blown up before that can happen.”

  “This could be more suicidal than attacking the Brimstone.”

  “It could. But I promise it’ll be a lot more fun, too. Speaking of which.” He switched his comm. “Imp, is your squadron ready?”

  “Roger,” Bastion replied. “I’d prefer to be going down there in the Faust, but seeing as how she has a broken wing, this will have to do.”

  He was going to be piloting the High Noon’s lone shuttle down. It was a lightly armored, unarmed vessel intended to ferry officers planetside from orbit. It wasn’t a warship in any sense, which was why Bastion was behind the stick. If they were going to extract Queenie, they had to get in and out without being hit.

  Fortunately, they had two squadrons of starfighters to help back them up on the run. Phlenel was piloting one of them, and he had heard what the Hurshin was capable of after her efforts at Kell. He felt pretty good about them reaching the surface. Good enough that he wished he could go with them. Somebody had to stay and keep Davlyn in line. He had earned a little bit of trust, but not enough to let him off the leash.

  “I didn’t agree to help you in exchange for getting my crew killed,” Davlyn said. “If we have to retreat, we’re going to retreat.”

  “I’ll kill you before you have a chance to give the order,” Gant replied.

  Davlyn’s face paled. His mouth opened.

  “Want to try me?” Gant said.

  Davlyn shook his head.

  “Good. Let’s worry about it if we need to worry about it.”

  “Ten seconds, Captain,” Erlan said.

  Gant and Davlyn both fixed their gaze on the forward viewport. Right now it was nothing but a storm of blue and red gasses, the disterium around them hiding the universe beyond its bubble of containment. A few seconds later, the bubble popped, the gasses spreading away and the ship coming to rest off the planet Azure.

  Immediately, warning tones began to sound on the bridge.

  “Two unidentified starships,” Erlan said. “The UFOs match the profile of Thraven’s battleships.”

  Gant heard Lieutenant Plissian’s beak snapping for two seconds before the words started filtering through his translator. “They’re powering weapons.”

  “Full shields,” Davlyn said. “Don’t fire on them until they fire on us.” He looked at Gant. “It seems you were right about this much.”

  Gant tracked the area ahead of them through the viewport, pointing at the first of the dark battleships when he caught sight of it.

  “Have you ever seen a ship like that before?” he said.

  Davlyn stared at it. “No.”

  “Because it isn’t from around here. We should be able to stand up to them for a while. Nerd, get us in close enough for Imp to launch.”

  Gant noticed Erlan turn his eyes toward the Captain. “You’re a Reject, Nerd. Why are you looking at him?”

  “Sorry,” Erlan replied. “We’re moving in.”

  Gant heard Plissian’s beak again. Every time he did, he couldn’t help but flinch. “They’re firing on us, sir,” she said, the translator not getting it until the first round of missiles was already on its way, streaking on an intercept course with the current momentum.

  “Increase thrust,” Davlyn said. “Try to slip ahead.”

  “Already doing it, Captain,” Erlan replied.

  “You speak Rudin?” Gant asked Davlyn. It was the only way Plissian’s condition wouldn’t be a problem out here.

  “They started teaching it in the Academy four years ago, since Rudin matriculation is nearly thirty percent. It’s easy to understand once you get the hang of it, but impossible to speak.”

  The missiles
reached the impact point, detonating along the starboard shields.

  “Shields at eighty percent,” Erlan said.

  “Return fire,” Davlyn said. “Target the first one, there.” He set a marker on it, which appeared on the projected HUD at the front of the bridge.

  “Firing,” Ensign Sil said.

  A return volley of torpedoes launched from the battleship.

  “Keep it coming,” Davlyn said. “Everything we’ve got.”

  Lasers started spearing out from their batteries, invisible beams that cut the space and burned into the enemy shields. Thraven’s ships responded in kind, both of them intensifying the attack on the High Noon.

  “Try to get us a lower profile on them,” Davlyn said. “Fifteen degrees starboard.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Erlan said.

  The High Noon shifted in space, rotating and cutting over until her bow was turned closer to the enemy ships.

  “You’re slowing our pass on the planet,” Gant said. “We’re going to take more fire this way.”

  “Who’s the Captain here?” Davlyn replied. “I’ll command my own damned ship. I know what I’m doing.” His eyes scanned the projection. “Fifteen percent thrust, four degrees under. Cut the forward vector, seven degrees tilt.”

  Gant watched the viewport as Erlan carried out the directives, adjusting the ship’s course. More projectiles slammed into the shields.

  “They’re launching fighters,” Plissian said.

  “Get the mains on full,” Davlyn said. “Adjust course to head straight for the planet.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Erlan replied. The High Noon began accelerating, the thrust pushing against Gant, forcing him to grab the side of the chair. They had moved into a vector that would bring them past the enemy ships and closer to the surface than he had been hoping.

  “Nice work, Captain,” he said. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

  “Shields at sixty percent,” Erlan said.

  “Don’t be sorry yet,” Davlyn replied. “Just because we’re past them doesn’t mean the shields are going to hold. It’s still two on one.”

  “Imp,” Gant said, “Go. Go now.”

  “Roger,” Bastion said. “We’re on our way. Don’t die on me while we’re gone, freak-monkey.”

  “I didn’t know you cared.”

  “I don’t, but this tin-foil shitbox doesn’t have an FTL drive.”

  Gant smiled. “Asshole.”

  “Ditto.”

  “Sir,” Erlan said, his voice nervous. “Sensors just picked up another ship. A heavy corvette, closing in fast. She must have been cloaked.”

  “Friendly?” Davlyn asked.

  “How many times do I have to tell you, Captain,” Gant replied. “We don’t have any friends.”

  45

  “Looks like you’ve got me,” Abbey said, glaring at Quark. “Why don’t you kill me and be done with it?”

  “Let’s not be so hasty, Cage,” Quark said. “I believe the Venerant was asking you a question.”

  “Yeah, who I came with. There they are.”

  “Who is that?” Koy said. “What kind of armor is that?”

  “I found it in the complex,” Abbey lied. She might as well see if she could run with the fear she had seen. “The Seraphim were running experiments. Did you know that? Trying to alter the Gift the way Lucifer did.”

  “Yes, of course, I knew about that.” He laughed. “The peaceful Seraphim, killing one another in an effort to recreate our Gift. Creating monsters instead. You’re telling me they succeeded, at least once?”

  He moved the knife away from her. She was surrounded by soldiers armed with poisoned rounds. What was she going to be able to do?

  He approached Trin, leaning over her. “Not very sturdy, is it?” he said.

  Abbey kept waiting for Trinity to make her move. She didn’t move at all. Maybe she was more vulnerable than it had seemed. She tried to move herself. Between the poison and the Venerant’s hold, she wasn’t able to shift at all.

  Quark started laughing beside her, causing Koy to look up.

  “What’s funny?” the Venerant asked.

  The bounty hunter looked at Abbey. “It seems someone up there came to save you. I find their timing incredibly ironic.”

  “What’s going on?” Koy asked. He didn’t sound worried.

  “A Republic battleship,” Quark said. “My Riders are watching the action.”

  “Against two of our warships? Unless they have some new tech I don’t know about, they might as well self-destruct for all the good it will do them.”

  Abbey tried to move again. She was getting more agitated. More angry. Trinity had turned out to be so damn weak. How had she killed Elivee so easily? And now her Rejects were making an effort to save her.

  An effort that was going to end in failure without her help.

  She clenched her teeth, internally trying to force the Gift outward, to push back against the Venerant’s hold. She knew once she did he would stab her again, or maybe Quark’s soldiers would open fire. She would only have one split-second opportunity.

  Koy positioned himself in front of her again. “Was that all you found down there?”

  “A dumb as shit bot, yeah,” Abbey said. “I was going to ambush you with it. I thought it could survive a fall like that. I guess not.”

  Quark laughed again. “I figured you would. You’re predictable, Cage.”

  “Am I?” she asked.

  “And what about here on the Fire?” Koy said. “You came looking for something here.”

  “Why would I tell you that?”

  “I can order my ships to cease fire. Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll spare your companions.”

  “That’s the biggest line of bullshit I’ve ever heard. I tell you, you kill me, and then you kill them anyway. I’ll be too dead to know I was double-crossed.”

  “She has a point,” Quark said. “I wouldn’t believe you either.”

  “Shut up,” Koy said, looking over at Quark.

  Abbey finally managed to get her Gift to react. She could feel it flowing from her, sweeping away. She probably could have used it to break Koy’s bonds, but what good would that do her?

  “Just kill me,” she said, looking Koy in the eye. “Or are you afraid?”

  “Why should I be afraid?”

  “The Shard isn’t gone. Not completely. That’s why you should be afraid. You don’t know if you can kill me, do you?”

  “Shut up,” Koy said again, getting angry. He tightened his grip on her with the Gift, squeezing her neck hard enough that she couldn’t breathe. He let it go a moment later. “You can’t get out of this Cage. You’re surrounded by enough poison to overwhelm the Gift and knock you on your ass. But I want answers. You came here for a reason, and you were wandering around the Fire before you came down here. I want to know why.”

  She shifted her eyes to Quark. She was thinking on the fly, and she had another idea. “Lower the neckline of my suit.”

  “What for?” Koy asked. “Quark, don’t.”

  “You don’t tell me what to do,” Quark said, stepping in close to her and reaching for the edge of the demonsuit. “I’d like to take the whole thing off.”

  “Maybe later,” Abbey replied.

  Quark laughed. “You’re going to be dead later.”

  “Am I?”

  He laughed harder, grabbing the edge of the suit and pulling it down enough to reveal her Hell brand. The Light of the Shard had filled the entire thing, and it glowed brightly as it was uncovered.

  Quark and Koy both flinched at the sudden light, giving her the moment that she needed. She wiggled her fingers, activating the switch she had prepared in the Fire’s network. A loud clang followed, and the hangar’s blast doors began to slide open.

  Koy grabbed her again, his Gift coming back stronger than before, holding her tight. His eyes were filled with fear, locked onto the Hell brand and the glow rising from it.

  “Sweet tat,” Quark said
, eying it.

  Abbey couldn’t move her head. Her eyes shifted in his direction. His fingers had brushed against it. Did the interaction do anything to him, the way it had to Trin? She had been hopeful, but it didn’t seem he had changed at all.

  Koy glanced at the opening blast doors. “That was your move, Cage? Opening the hangar? Your friends aren’t going to make it to you. They aren’t going to save you.”

  She couldn’t move her mouth anymore. He was holding it, too. She could feel the Gift burning within her. She could feel it stretching away beyond the slowly moving doors.

  She didn’t need them to save her.

  Koy raised his weapon, aiming it toward the Hell brand. “Nothing more than a light show,” he said. “What Nephilim hasn’t dreamt of sinking a knife into the Shard?”

  The blade began to lower.

  Trinity shot from the ground, moving up and forward on one, strong push from her hands and feet. She hit Koy in the midsection, knocking him back.

  At the same time, the dirt and rock and stone that Abbey had been gathering outside began pouring in, a whirlwind of debris that washed into the room, overtaking the soldiers surrounding her, peppering them with wind and detritus that stole their attention and aim.

  “I’m sorry, Queenie,” Trinity said through her comm. “The fall affected the skeleton’s circuitry. It took me a minute to reboot.”

  Abbey was suddenly free, just in time to catch Quark’s hand as he moved to jab a knife of his own into her gut. She pushed his arm aside, freezing as he fired into her with the gun in his other hand, sending four poisoned bullets into her stomach. She stumbled and fell back, the pain unbearable.

  “Not so fast,” Quark said.

  The whirlwind stopped as immediately as it had started. Abbey lay on the ground. Quark walked toward her, pointing his gun at her.

  Damn it. She wasn’t going to lose like this.

  She shouted as she pushed out with the Gift once more, forcing it away from the poison, away from her body. She could feel herself beginning to die, the pain in her gut increasing. The naniates wanted to save her, to save themselves. She was in control, and she didn’t let them. The storm picked up again, one of the larger rocks whipping toward Quark’s head. He saw it at the last second, dropping below it before springing toward her. She rolled aside, kicking out and meeting his ribs, the damage absorbed by the battlesuit but the force still enough to knock him aside.