Movement in the security videos caught my attention. A troop transport landed near the base’s main entrance and another platoon of soldiers poured out.
The soldiers in the atrium sprang into action. They stacked in single-file lines outside of each hallway. At some unseen signal, they simultaneously lowered the visors on their combat helmets. Two seconds later, every single soldier in the atrium shimmered and disappeared.
Holy shit, Kos had perfected the personal camouflage on their combat armor and now Quint benefited from their prototypes. Rumors had been rampant for years but I’d never seen any proof.
Ari and I shared an incredulous look before the fire doors in front of us slammed closed. Ari was obviously still linked to the security system that controlled the doors.
“Bar the door!” she shouted.
Five soldiers picked up a long metal beam and wedged it into the hooks that had been welded to the back of the doors. Once they were clear, a dozen soldiers heaved the makeshift barricade forward into the door. It wouldn’t hold forever, but it would slow down the Quint Confederacy soldiers.
“Fall back!” Ari commanded. She motioned Stella and her nurses ahead of the soldiers.
Once most of the soldiers had cleared out, I rounded on Valentin. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me that the prototype armor had active camouflage?” I hissed, trying to keep my voice down.
Valentin scowled. “I had hoped my fleet would arrive and make the point moot. It took us two decades to perfect that technology; I’m not used to just telling everyone I meet about it.”
Anger turned my vision red. I took a deep breath before I throttled him. “Any other secrets I should know about before I risk my people defending your ass from a host of Quint soldiers?”
His jaw clenched, but he said, “Even with the camouflage active, the armor shows up in thermal views, including thermal vision augments.”
Once again, movement pulled my attention back to the security video. In the atrium, the doors to all three hallways opened at once but none of the soldiers showed up on the video. It was creepy as hell.
Ari did a final sweep of the area. “Time to go,” she said.
I turned to her. “The soldiers show up on thermal. Find every soldier with augments.”
She nodded, then we jogged for the next barricade. We’d barely made it when a deafening explosion echoed down the hallway. The Quint soldiers were not wasting any time, the bastards.
The small stream of civilians had frozen in place. “MOVE!” I shouted. “Get to the tunnel now!”
They broke and ran, but they weren’t trampling each other, so I let them run. We needed them in the tunnel ten minutes ago. The stream slowed until only the occasional straggler hurried through.
“I want everyone out of the barracks and every civilian in the tunnel in the next two minutes!” Ari shouted at her troops. “Lorenzo and Montgomery, take a team each and make it happen!” Two soldiers saluted, gathered three more soldiers each, then headed for the residential section at a run.
The remaining soldiers shoved additional shielding across the hallway. Overall, this blockade was smaller. The lower half looked like hull shielding again, but most of the height was achieved by using overlapping riot shields. They would deflect some distance shots, but once the Quint soldiers closed on us they would offer less protection.
Ari kept a squad of eight with us and sent everyone else, including Stella and her nurses, to wait in the tunnel. We would hold here until everyone was out of the barracks, then retreat down the hallway until we were safely behind the tunnel’s blast door.
I tried to send Valentin into safety, but he smiled grimly at me and planted himself behind the barricade. I had three point five million reasons to keep him safe, but I didn’t have an electroshock pistol. Short of knocking him out, he wasn’t moving.
I couched down beside him where I had a clear shot at the door through a gap in the riot shields. I did a final check of my plasma rifle, then settled down to wait. The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness. I focused on breathing and blocked out the fidgeting soldiers around me.
Ari crouched down on the other side of me and tilted her head. “They’re coming,” she said quietly. “You should head to the tunnel.”
“Did you really think that would work?” I asked.
“No, but I had to try,” she said. “He’s not leaving, either?”
“No,” Valentin said at the same time I said, “Apparently not.”
Ari shook her head at us but didn’t argue. She turned to the gathered soldiers and shouted, “We will hold this line until Lorenzo and Montgomery return! Do not let me down! Do not let your Queen down!”
Our soldiers roared their assent.
“The Quint soldiers will seem invisible, but trust your spotter. If your spotter is blind, then suppressive fire is the name of the game. Now let’s show these assholes who they’re fucking with!”
The soldiers roared again.
Then there was no time for talking. The fire doors ten meters in front of us burst open and stayed that way, wedged open by part of our own damn barricade from the market. So much for shooting fish in a barrel.
The barricade crept toward us, pushed by invisible hands.
I listened as the spotters started giving targets and our soldiers opened fire. The plasma pistol in Valentin’s hands spat pulses as he aimed at invisible targets. Ari moved up and down the line, giving orders. The nearest spotter said, “Center, ten cm left of the high point.”
I fired off two quick rounds and red mist sprayed out from a still invisible body. I couldn’t even tell what I’d hit, but Quint reacted with a wall of plasma fire.
“Down,” Ari yelled. Pulses tore into the riot shields above us and left behind the acrid stench of hot metal. A couple of pulses punched through and a Coalition soldier screamed.
What I wouldn’t give to be able to use a bucket of grenades right now. But in an enclosed area like this, I’d be just as likely to take out my own soldiers. The Quint troops must’ve decided the same thing.
The world narrowed. Shoot. Duck. Reposition. Repeat.
We missed more often than we hit, and the Quint barricade crept steadily closer. A pulse clipped the top of my left shoulder, centimeters from my face. I repositioned again, but there was nowhere to go. In minutes we’d be overrun.
“The barracks are clear! Team one, fall back and support! Team two, suppressive fire!” Ari shouted over the noise of battle.
Half of our soldiers disengaged and ran bent over toward the tunnel entrance while the rest of us put enough pulses in the air to keep the Quint troops from firing at them. I was down to a single extra magazine for my rifle. I slammed it home and prayed it would be enough.
“Team two, fall back! Stay low against the wall,” Ari said.
“But—” a male voice started.
“That’s an order, soldier!”
The soldiers ran for the tunnel. Ari, Valentin, and I swept the Quint barricade with plasma fire. Pulses whistled overhead from behind as our teams in the tunnel shot at the Quint soldiers over our heads.
Ari pulled two grenades.
“Planning to go down in a blaze of glory?” I asked.
“They’re smoke. When I toss them, grab a shield, hold it behind you, and run like hell.” She cut me off before I could protest. “I’ll be right beside you. Valentin, you’re in front of us. Stay close to the wall so our soldiers don’t shoot you.”
She pulled the pin and tossed the first grenade over the barricade. Thick white smoke billowed up. She pulled the pin of the second grenade and tossed it a meter toward the tunnel entrance. More smoke billowed until I could barely see.
Plasma pulses still flew overhead. We moved to the edge of the barricade, grabbed a riot shield each, and ran for the tunnel door. Twenty meters had never seemed so far.
Valentin looked back to check on us, and Ari yelled at him, “Run faster, asshole! I’m not dying because of you.”
A puls
e grazed me just below my existing thigh wound and stars exploded in my vision. I gritted my teeth and forged on. Four meters from the tunnel entrance, Ari went down. “Leave me!” she shouted.
I swung my shield around and backtracked two steps. Valentin turned and shot over our heads as I pulled Ari to her feet. I would not leave my best friend to be murdered by the soldiers I’d called down upon us.
Her left calf was a mangled mess. I looped my right arm through the middle shield handle and wrapped it around her back, then pulled her left arm over my shoulder and half-carried her. My right leg burned with the heat of the sun, but we hobbled for the tunnel entrance.
Valentin started to come back for us, but I waved him off. He retreated toward the tunnel door, shooting over Ari’s shoulder. Plasma fire sparked and sizzled all around us. From our front, Coalition soldiers laid down suppressive fire as they tried to avoid us while shooting targets they couldn’t see. Behind us, the Quint soldiers did their best to kill us before we made it to safety.
Ari and I were just a meter away from the door when white-hot pain blasted through my back and out my left side. Numbness immediately followed. I didn’t need to look to know it was a devastating wound.
Someone shouted, but the world was strangely muted. I summoned the last of my reserves and heaved us through the door opening, then collapsed. I took Ari down with me. I didn’t feel the impact, but I did hear the reassuring sound of the heavy blast doors closing. I breathed out a sigh of relief. The Quint soldiers would need a mountain of explosives to make it through. My people would be long gone by then.
Someone rolled me over and tore off my shirt. Stella’s face appeared above me, wan and wavy. I blinked as her lips moved. She rolled me onto my right side and clamped something hard and heavy around my left side that burned like acid and compressed my chest. I tried to wiggle away, but my body failed to respond to my commands.
I blinked, and I was on a stretcher, being carried by two soldiers. Valentin scowled down at me and said something I didn’t catch. My side hurt. Breathing hurt. Everything hurt.
Another blink and the white walls of medical blinded me. Were we still in Arx? Had we failed after all?
Ari leaned over me. Her face was too pale, and her mouth was pinched the way that it did when she was unspeakably upset. She radiated pure, ferocious determination. “Do. Not. Die,” she commanded. “I forbid it.” She continued but her voice faded out as my vision edged in black.
I blinked, but this time my eyelids were too heavy to open.
14
After a week in a med chamber, I was ready to escape—a week in a med chamber was an eon. I’d been unconscious for most of it and only remembered brief snatches of time.
The auto-doc had done its job well. I’d woken up yesterday nearly healed. Despite my protests, Stella had put me under for another day, but that ended now.
I needed out.
Ari had given me brief updates in the short periods I had been awake. Her leg had healed in less than a day—a day she had been awake and working—but she had deflected my questions with an admonishment to rest. And I couldn’t wrangle the rest of the information out of her if I remained trapped in medical.
“Twelve more hours would do you good,” Stella grumbled from the other side of the clear med chamber hood. “You nearly died a few days ago. If I hadn’t had the trauma-doc, you would’ve.” She scowled as she scrolled through my medical diagnostics.
I doubted she could find anything in the report that would prevent me from escaping. Truth be told, I felt awesome. Both my thigh and side were completely healed, covered over in smooth skin without even a scar as a reminder.
Stella sighed in defeat. “If I let you out, I want your word that you won’t lift anything heavier than a kilogram for the next three days.” I started to protest and she cut me off. “I will knock you out again if I have to,” she said with a deadly serious gleam in her eye.
I knew when to accept gracious defeat. “I won’t lift anything heavier than a kilogram for three days,” I promised.
“Okay, get up, shower, and get dressed while I find Ari. She’ll be keeping you honest,” she said. She motioned toward the back of the room. “Shower’s the door on the right.”
I nodded meekly. Beneath the scowls and grumbles, Stella was too pale, her face drawn. According to Ari, she’d been up constantly the first few days, monitoring my condition and tweaking the auto-doc’s settings. As soon as I’d seen her face, I’d known just how close to death I’d skated.
Stella left. The med chamber hood swung open, and I sat up with a grimace. Despite the electrical stimulation the chamber used to prevent muscle atrophy, I felt stiff and sore.
I swung my legs over the side and eased up to standing. I expected my right thigh to hurt, but other than the faint tremble of unused muscles, I felt great. It was going to be really hard to remember my promise, which was probably why Stella decided to attach Ari to my side.
A glance around revealed a dozen other med chambers, all thankfully empty. We were aboard Asray, the Rogue Coalition’s only city-ship. The Coalition had started on this ship, back before we took over Trigon Three and Arx. It was our largest ship and the one with the best medical unit.
Now that I was up, I needed to see how much damage we’d taken, but first, I needed to get rid of the chemical and ozone stench from the med chamber. The smell clung to my skin and hair, reminding me of my previous stints in medical. I grabbed my clothes and headed for the tiny attached shower.
Ari was waiting for me when I stepped out of the bathroom. “I see Stella wasn’t joking about assigning me a babysitter,” I said without heat. I smiled and pulled her into a hug. “I’m just glad I’m here for you to babysit.”
She squeezed me tight. “Thanks for coming back for me. It was stupid and reckless, but I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” I said. I let her go and stepped back to eye her leg. “How’s the calf?” I asked.
“It’s healed. Thank the stars Asray has multiple med chambers. We made use of them, though you were the worst, by far.”
“I know you’ve been holding out on me. Catch me up while we walk,” I said. “I need to stretch my legs.”
We left medical and turned right toward the heart of the ship and the midship port exit. I knew that Asray remained berthed in the emergency hangar. Now I needed to see Arx for myself.
“As you know, by the time we made it to the ships, the Kos fleet had arrived,” Ari said. “We went ahead and put our injured in Asray’s med chambers, just in case we needed to evacuate anyway. We had more than a dozen injured, but no casualties. You were by far the worst and too unstable to move back to Arx, so Stella and I stayed with you.” She shook her head. “It could have been so much worse.”
“Did Quint fight or run once Kos showed up?”
“They couldn’t run because their stardrives weren’t recharged. They fought, but for once Kos seemed prepared. All four Quint ships were destroyed.” Ari’s smile was sharp.
“Any Quint survivors?”
Her smile dimmed slightly. “An emergency shuttle tunneled away from Deroga before the Kos fighters could catch it. We assume Commander Adams was on board.”
I frowned. Of course that cowardly little bastard would leave his soldiers to die while he escaped. I would have to deal with him soon or he’d be back to cause more trouble.
“What about Kos losses? Did Valentin survive?” I asked.
“The Kos fleet lost five fighters, but their main ships took only minor damage. And yes, Valentin survived unharmed,” Ari said. “He left a couple of days ago with his last remaining ship.”
Relief that he was alive warred with disappointment that he had departed without a word. I tried not to let the disappointment show, but Ari wasn’t my best friend for nothing.
“He stayed until we were sure you would survive, but then he had to get back to his Empire,” she said gently. “You would’ve done the same thing if you’d been gone that lo
ng.”
I nodded in acknowledgment. “Did his advisors respond before he ran home and destroyed our chance at more money?”
Ari’s eyes twinkled. “Yes, your little note netted us another five million credits. I bet they were furious when Valentin showed up just a few days later, looking no worse for wear.”
I smiled as I imagined the advisors’ reactions. Hopefully, Valentin was paying attention to who looked especially surprised or disgruntled.
“Has Quint declared war on us?”
“No, not yet,” she said. “According to the news reports, Kos is giving them hell in the Phoenix sector. That seems to be keeping them busy for now.”
“Let’s hope they stay busy until they forget about us,” I said. “Anything else?”
“The bulk of the Kos battle fleet stayed for twenty-four hours and then left. We’re still picking up flickers on our sensors—they seem to be quietly patrolling the area. After everyone cleared out, we swept the entire compound with thermal imaging—every nook and cranny, every maintenance tunnel, everything. We didn’t find any traps.”
“How are repairs going? Are our defenses back online?”
“That’s the other thing. Replacement turrets showed up before we even ordered them. And food and supplies keep arriving from Valentin.”
Warmth warred with pride. Why was he sending supplies when all he owed me was credits? Unless, of course, he didn’t plan to pay up, in which case I’d make him reassess that unfortunate decision.
“What’s the general sentiment?” I asked.
“The civilians think you’re a hero for getting us food,” she said. “The soldiers think you’re a hero for refusing to hide in safety when we were under attack. Spirits are generally very high.”
I breathed out a silent sigh of relief. My people were safe for now. Everything else could be figured out later.
Stella and I waited in the open-sided indoor transport while Ari put Asray into standby. “Thank you for saving my life,” I said to Stella. “I know I’m a difficult patient, but I really do appreciate everything you do.”
The Queen's Gambit Page 11
