He indicated to Raichel, who stood.
“Alana will be with me. Jake and Kaliko are one team, with Malene and Wren as the final team. There may only be six of us, but we are Edo and we will not let Riccard or the people of the Dominion down.”
Kaliko noticed that Elenore seemed to glow after being mentioned as one of the six Edo. So cute. Kaliko was very pleased to be paired up with Jake and was glad that she had been chosen as a Fist rather than to be one of the Royal Defenders. Not only might this be a good diversion for Jake for a while but it might also prove to be a very exciting one.
“We start tomorrow. Tonight we will all be measured for our uniforms and we Fists will be provided our credentials and our initial missions. Remember that we are not to reveal that we are Edo if at all possible.”
Brams looked pleased. “Thank you again, everybody. One day I may be seen as the person who finally united the Commonwealth and the Dominion but everyone in this room will know who made it possible.”
Jake Bulver and Kaliko Savina were nearing their destination for their first mission as Dominion’s Fists. A small outpost in Braklamonask, one of Citadel’s smaller cities, had recently been attacked. No organization had come forward to claim the assault but it was deemed to have been some sort of separatist terrorist incident.
They had used their new credentials to commandeer a small open-top repulsor car, with Jake in the driving seat. It felt good to feel the wind in his hair. Kaliko smiled happily as they blasted down a thoroughfare, observing civilians going about their business. Her enthusiasm and energy was infectious and for a moment he almost forgot about Thea. Almost.
Kaliko looked over at him. “I have to say Jake, these new uniforms suit you. Very dashing.” She winked at him and despite himself, he laughed.
“You don’t look as terrible as normal either,” he replied.
“Gee thanks. You have no idea how to talk to ladies,” she said, pretending to be offended.
They wore black Imperial uniforms, perfectly tailored and wrinkle-free. Besides the Imperial emblem on their lapels they also bore a red closed fist badge, a new design to signify that they were the newly announced Dominion’s Fists. They wore STL-12 laser pistols, strapped to their thighs. They turned down a street that led to the garrison and they could see how much work was required to repair the damage caused by the attack. Large construction robots were busy repairing the perimeter wall and a team of engineers were busy repairing the main gates. Inside the outpost they could see that several building had suffered considerable damage.
They slowed to a stop at a temporary barrier manned by two soldiers, one a Lieutenant. The Lieutenant approached cautiously.
“Identification?”
Kaliko passed over their ID. It read that she was Kiala Hamlid and Jake was Tomas Neintorp. The Lieutenant began studying their ID and then suddenly looked up at them and stared at their Fist badges. He hurriedly handed back their ID.
“Raise the gate, raise the gate,” he urged his companion.
As they passed through the gate Kaliko murmured to Jake. “How easy was that? And no Channeling needed.” He tried not to laugh. Kaliko was fun to be around.
They pulled up at what seemed to be the headquarters for the output and as they got out a balding Imperial officer hurried out to meet them. He snapped to attention and saluted. Jake could sense the panic and fear that the poor fellow felt.
“Relax, Captain,” said Jake, trying to sound commanding yet sympathetic at the same time. “We are here to aide in your investigation of the assault, nothing more. Please, show us around and explain what you have discovered so far.”
As the Captain led them around the base, it was clear to see that the attack had been clinical in its execution. Only the most important buildings had been targeted, and most via explosive artillery since clearly the building had blown outwards, not inwards. Loss of life had been quite significant, high double digits but since the troop dormitory had not been hit it could have been far worse. The outpost’s medical unit was full of injured men. Jake felt his resolve growing to assist Raichel on this mission. These people deserved peace and prosperity.
Jake and Kaliko stopped at points along the way and asked a question or two. Had they found any evidence identifying the attackers? No. Had they found any residual chemical traces from the artillery rounds? Yes, but the analysis had shown they were standard rounds, available widely throughout the Dominion. Were there any witnesses of the attackers? No, they attacked from considerable distance and had cleared out by the time a chariot and hover scouts had arrived at their firing point.
Jake had stretched out, Channeling energy to increase his perceptive abilities, and had felt no intended deception from the Captain, just a desire fueled by fear to fully assist the Fists however possible. They spoke to several Imperials as they went round the base, but the fear and trepidation they caused in those people and anyone nearby probably did more harm than good.
Finally they returned to the HQ.
“Thank you, Captain. I appreciate you taking time to escort us around your outpost,” said Jake.
“Of course, Sir,” he replied, “I am grateful that High Doyen Brams has seen fit to send his Fists here to witness the damage caused.”
Jake nodded, “It is our duty to protect the Dominion, Captain, from those inside and out.” Was that too corny sounding? Jake wasn’t sure. Had Kaliko winced as he said it? The Captain seemed pleased, at any rate. “Your actions post-attack are commendable, Captain. You are to be lauded.”
The man fairly brimmed with pride. “Thank you, Sir!”
The Captain escorted them to their hover and then walked alongside them as they moved towards the temporary barrier, which was already being hastily lifted by the two shock troopers. Once they’d passed the barrier the Captain stopped and turned to them.
“If I might make one request, Sir? Madam?”
“Of course, Captain. What is it?” Kaliko replied.
The Captain opened his mouth to reply but it turned into a gasp of surprise. Jake’s danger sense flared. Both he and Kaliko turned to look.
“No, wait,” cried the Captain, flinging himself onto the car and over Kaliko as gauss-accelerated ordinance began pouring in at them. Jake ducked down, drawing his laser pistol as bullets smashed into the side and windscreen of the repulsor car. He heard Kaliko cursing and a muffled cry from the Captain.
He risked a peek and saw two heavily armored humanoids standing openly in the street. The pair sported heavy gauss rifles, spitting torrents of bullets and tracers against them. Laser bolts from the barrier-stationed soldiers began splashing against their armor, doing little damage. One of the attackers turned and fired back, quickly eliminating them both, sending their bodies flying backwards. Jake managed to get a few shots off but again their armor was too thick for a laser pistol.
Kaliko finally managed to push the Captain off her.
“He’s dead,” she yelled, angrily. “Why did he do that?”
“I have no idea. Maybe chivalry isn’t dead, after all.”
Kaliko ducked as another bullet whisked past her face. She cursed. “I’m sick of this,” she said and lifted a hand. Her eyes began to glow with a pale redness.
“No, wait,” Jake urged, but it was too late. One of the attackers suddenly spun to face the other and fired his rifle point-blank into the groin area of the other, where the armor was least thick. The man crumpled to the ground and the attacker stood staring at what he’d just done. Kaliko leapt out of the car and drew on the Astrals, increasing her pace as she dashed towards the attacker. He recovered and rotated towards her but it was too late. She somersaulted, grabbed hold of his helmet and twisted as she arced through the air over him. There was a loud crack and the man collapsed as Kaliko landed gracefully on her feet.
Remind me to never upset Kaliko, Jake thought to himself as he got out of the ruined repulsor car. Kaliko ran back over. “Are you alright, Jake?”
“I’m fine, just a bit
singed.” She looked so relieved. Did she not trust his skills as an Edo? Shock troopers streamed out from the outpost towards them. Hopefully they had been too far away to see much of what of Kaliko had done with her Channeling. “Let’s go take a look at these two.”
They searched the bodies as best as they could, the advanced heavy armor limiting their efforts. They found nothing. No ID, no credit chits, no pass cards, nothing at all that would give away their identities. Whoever these men were, they had been professionals.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” said Danica Prilission to an angry Riccard Brams. “By my estimate there are fifteen people within our organization, including me, who knew about the inspection the two Edo were making in Braklamonask. Besides me there were three other senior aides who knew. Jenph Neerg, Fivos Lio and Miuri Cotliner. It’s impossible to guess who leaked the information.”
“I don’t think we’re quite at the guessing stage yet, Miss Prilission.” Brams stopped and looked at a huge portrait of Admiral Havalor that he’d had commissioned, hanging from one of his inner sanctum walls. A spotlight shone directly at it, making the painting one of the most illuminated objects in the room. “I’m just relieved that they survived the attack.” He looked at Danica.
“If our plan is to work we need to limit who knows their movements much more carefully. I want you to personally take care of this Danica. The quicker we can identify the spies in our midst the fewer Edo lives are risked.”
Danica bowed slightly, a bang of hair falling across her face alluringly as she looked at him, his stomach feeling queasy as their eyes met. Focus, thought Brams, looking away. “Of course, High Doyen,” she said. “I will inform you immediately should I narrow down our candidates.”
“Thank you,” he said, “I don’t know what I’d do without you. Arrange another session with the Doyens, it’s time to inform them about the Fists.”
“Of course, robots aren’t the best company,” slurred Val Nordin. He took another big slug of his Buderimian Twister. “And so I spend most of my time in bars, with my beautiful lady here.” He sloshed half of his drink onto the floor as he attempted to gesture at Captain Nasturn, who did her best not to scowl at him.
Too much, Val wondered? They were on the planet Binat, a bustling trade world not far from Aneev space. It hadn’t taken many bribed officials to track down some recent activity of the hijacked freighter. After a brief stop for repairs it had made its way here to Binat, and had been back again since. This meant that hopefully the Skave were still in the area.
Val’s wing mates, Senoch Gray, Dical Dimerchi and Ares Nilssen were also in the bar, doing their best to blend in. Ares, with her distinctive golden hair and dazzling green eyes had had to cover up as best as she could and so looked more like a hermit than an Edo.
Joakim Falk, the two Kos, Harper and Kaisa, and Amaeh Duranti were outside the bar, acting as observers. Flight three, Antreeba, Marten Rask, Nathan Bircheno and Karlos Tsia’ool were back on their freighter, the Mote’s Eye, protecting the ship and awaiting for the plan to come to fruition.
Val had decided to spend another hour here before moving on to the next joint, trying to spread their story of a fully-autonomous, robot controlled freighter (and thus, ripe for the picking to any interested ship thief) to as many ears as they could. Sooner or later, he hoped, the Skave would learn about their ship and decide to pay a visit. He felt confident that Flight Three would be more than up to the task of capturing a Skave. They were in an Edo battle-bond. Val had briefly wondered whether even he would be able to defeat the unit in combat, before deciding he could. The magnitude of his ego was not lost on Val but he felt confident of his abilities, even though he had not fully utilized them in a while. Defeating the Skave would require all of his skills, so he felt certain that he would soon see just how powerful he had become.
Time passed as Val kept up his play-acting. The copious quantities of absurd alcoholic beverages were real enough, but it was a trivial act to use Edo healing techniques to flush the alcohol from his system. Teynin Nasturn seemed to be struggling to put up with his shenanigans and she was almost out of patience. Nearly time to move on and give her a break, he thought.
Beings came and went, none of them showing them too much interest, as far as he could sense, and none possessed the characteristic telltale signs of being Astral-sensitive, much less a Deep user.
Val was about to signal time to move on when an incredibly strong and clear Astral vision from Marten Rask swamped his senses. It had been decided that no electronic communication between the teams would be used to help prevent detection so they were reliant on Channeling. With Marten being second only in power to Val, it made sense that it was him who sent the vision. Four humanoid presences were moving close to the freighter, and an ominously dark presence was further back. Hopefully the Skave hadn’t detected Marten’s vision pulse.
Val singled to the rest of Flight One to start moving and Channeled out to Flight Two - we move! Maybe they would all get back in time to help if needed.
The Doyens were waiting for Riccard Brams in the meeting chamber. This time there was noticeably less noise coming from within. Maybe his blasting Doyen Urnit hadn’t been such a bad thing after all. He glanced at his four new Imperial Guards, looking both intimidating and elegantly powerful in their uniforms, and comfortably anonymous. His chief aide Danica Prilission stood beside him, with another, Lorze Wost behind her. Lorze was a good man, quick to learn and eager to please. Brams hoped that he’d passed the test.
Brams nodded at one of the shock troopers guarding the double doors and the trooper opened them for him. A hush settled over the room as the first of the Imperial Royal Defenders stomped into the room, their enormous, reflective armored suit seeming to raise the brightness of the room and make it feel more confining at the same. Brams noted the stunned expressions with some satisfaction. He sat at the head of the table, all four guards flanking him completely, his aides stood further back.
Riccard took his time to look around at each Doyen, a small smile took form, impossible to restrain. Most of them couldn’t keep from staring at the imposing mirrored figures. “Gentlemen, I see you all have noticed my new guards. With all the terrorist attacks the Dominion has been suffering of late I thought it time to increase my security. My Imperial Royal Defenders will accompany me to all appointments and will show that we are still a force to be reckoned with.”
Brams paused a moment. “I have also created an executive branch of my will - the Fists of the Dominion, or Dominion’s Fists.” A few of the more inexperienced Doyens gasped, and looked about them at the other Doyens for their reactions. Brams noticed that Weststar merely cocked an eyebrow. Almost as if he already knew, Riccard thought. He hardly seemed bothered by the guards, either. So, the leak is still well and truly active and Weststar is almost definitely involved, though I still have zero proof.
Brams continued. “Numbering six in total, they have complete executive powers. Any order by them is as if I have given that order myself. They are above all security levels and are able to go anywhere, do anything with the borders of the Imperial Dominion. Their current overarching mission, beyond the simple security of the Dominion itself, is to root out the terrorists that attack our facilities in ever increasing frequency.”
He looked directly at Weststar. “Make no mistake, those responsible will be caught. Justice will be swift, and final.” Weststar impressed Brams by holding his gaze evenly. “I expect full cooperation from all of your sectors.” There was a general murmuring from the Doyens and then Weststar raised his hand. Brams tilted his head.
“High Doyen, should these new organizations not have been voted in by all of us here. After all, are we not a democracy now?”
An open challenge to Brams’ powers? Brams was surprised at Weststar’s forthrightness. He must feel in a position of power to be able to confront me so directly. Perhaps their plans are further along than I thought.
Brams stood and started walking around the table,
causing him to walk disconcertingly behind the various Doyens as he did so. The four imposing Imperial Defenders followed him closely.
“It’s not a democracy yet, Weststar, but it will be, sooner than you’d like,” growled Brams. “Whilst I am High Doyen I retain full control of the Dominion and you should all believe that those powers will be exercised to their fullest against anyone who would threaten me, threaten this process or threaten the good of the Dominion.”
Riccard came to a stop behind Weststar and placed his hands on Weststar’s shoulders. He could feel the man tense up.
“Does that answer your question, Doyen Weststar?”
“Quite,” was all the man could manage. As Riccard returned to his seat he pondered his newly acquired assertiveness with the Doyens. It was obvious that he was losing even his staunchest supporters so it was time for a new tactic - keep them passive through dominance and fear. Maybe he was becoming the next Emperor. Was this how Gallitene had started? Thinking his actions were for the greater good? He had caused the death of many Edo, too. Brams’ skin prickled.
Through the bond, Antreeba knew that Marten Rask had successfully communicated with the other two flights. Communication with Karlos Tsia’ool, the young Edo Neophyte, was much easier through the bond, since the young human knew little of Antreeba’s little-spoken language. Karlos impressed Antreeba, he had fought well during the Skave invasion of Himdel. He felt confident in the young man and bonding with him only further reinforced his respect for Tsia’ool.
Nathan Bircheno was an experienced Edo Askari and Antreeba enjoyed his company but Marten Rask was a complete mystery to Antreeba. Rask would engage in conversation when needed but there was little emotion involved. It was as if he had been stripped of most of his personality and was nothing like who he had been before his capture and torture by the Zhur Thoggu. It was as if Marten Rask was an entirely new - and incomplete - person who just inhabited the shell of his body.
The Rise of The Dominion: A Dominion War novel Page 5
