Echoes from Yesterday: Pirates of the Badlands Series Book 4

by Sean Benjamin

  Chaos. In ten seconds, the chamber had gone from silence to near anarchy. Peers talked to and over each other. Those on Sky’s side of the aisle cheered and hugged each other. Those on the other side were noisy and angry. Many shouted at the Prime Minister, but Strickland ignored them.

  Despite the uproar and emotional mayhem around her, Sky remained focused on the two men who had just pulled off this surprising turn of events. They simply gazed at each other, an island of calm amidst the bedlam. There were no shared grins of triumph, not even smiles of satisfaction. There was simply the shared neutral expression of two men who had brought a particularly odorous task to a successful conclusion. Sky knew this whole event had been planned. She knew Raferty Hawkins had no desire to become involved in Empire domestic politics, and the government surely did not want to rely on a pirate to help advance their policies. Hawkins had to have been nearby and prepared to enter the chamber if his vote was required. If the vote had gone the way originally envisioned and the measure had passed, Hawkins would have faded away without an appearance and nobody would have been the wiser. The Prime Minister nodded slightly at Hawkins, and he returned it with a slight nod of his own. They did not move closer or engage in conversation. Sky suddenly realized the truth; the two men were allies of convenience, nothing more. These same two men had been such allies months ago with the pirate raid against the Orion secret base, and that relationship repeated itself now. They would work together if necessary, but that was all it would ever be.

  She focused on Hawkins. All he ever had were allies of convenience. Even the majority of the ship captains in his flotilla were nothing more than that. They would stay with him as long as it was profitable and the risk was acceptable. If anything changed, they would simply fade away, probably at a moment when Hawkins needed them most. No wonder Hawkins put such faith in Killian O’Hare, Shane Delacruz, Dylan Whitlock, Tactical, and Baby Doll. They were with him. No matter what, they were with him.

  Sky realized with a start that she was an ally of convenience. They had worked together in the Badlands because they had shared short-term goals. After those goals were achieved, both had move back into their own worlds. She had been with him in the Orion raid due to orders from superiors. After that mission, they each had returned to their own reality once again. Maybe because of the danger and hard fighting they had shared in Orion space and what happened afterward, Sky had thought she and Hawkins were closer than mere allies, but maybe not. Hawkins must know she was here on the Royalist side of the aisle, but he had not glanced over or seemed interested at all. More allies of convenience were not needed at this moment.

  Sky knew that most people support many grand ideals and goals, until those things required a sacrifice of some type. Then people often get quite flexible in their morality and adjust their ideals to accommodate the path of least resistance. Raferty Hawkins was not built that way. He had his ideals and standards and did not adjust them when they became inconvenient. That is what drove him and the people around him. It is also what made him such a dangerous man. He could not be bought. He could not be threatened. His enemies always figured out that the only way to deal with Hawkins was to adjust their own behavior to accommodate him or to kill him. There was no middle ground, no deal making. Hawkins was a man of high values and uncompromised principles. A man like that had a few steadfast friends and many implacable enemies. However, most people would be bystanders or allies of convenience. If the enemies ever got the upper hand, those people would still be bystanders or former allies of convenience. They could be counted on to say nice things at Hawkins’ funeral, but would never help him avoid said funeral.

  As Hawkins stood silently looking at the Prime Minister, a man approached him from the top of the aisle. Reginald Moore moved toward Hawkins from behind. Hawkins must have sensed the approach because as Moore extended his arm to grab his shoulder, Hawkins turned and stared at him. The look was icy cold and had the killing glare of a predator just before striking. Nobody would call Moore a coward. As a naval officer, he had fought for the Empire. He had seen death close up and had dealt it to others. He did not seek altercations, but did not back down from them either. But, equally, nobody would call Moore a fool either. When Hawkins’ glare settled on him, Moore’s arm froze in mid-reach. It was obvious that touching Hawkins would be a very foolish move. Moore dropped his arm to his side and the two men stared at each other. Not a word was exchanged, but none needed to be. In that instant, the two became adamant enemies. There would be plenty of time to define the boundaries of that relationship. No need to get into it now. Moore was a patient man. He turned and moved back up the aisle to his seat. Raferty Hawkins watched him go. He was a patient man also, especially when waiting for the right moment to strike.

  Only thirty seconds had passed since the Prime Minister had cast the deciding vote. The noise and shouting had subsided very little when a side door by the Prime Minister’s stand opened. Queen Alexis entered and paused just inside the room.

  “Your Majesty,” Prime Minister Strickland bowed toward her but spoke sideways into the microphone for the benefit of all members in the chamber.

  The noise instantly ceased as members heard Strickland and saw the Queen standing calmly next to the speaker’s stand. Each member stood silently and slightly bowed in her direction, and a chorus of “Your Majesty” echoed throughout the chamber.

  The Queen smiled at the assembly. “I understand you have voted to end the Empire’s participation in slavery. I congratulate each of you on this vote. This has been a complex, longstanding problem. There is still much to do in this area. You have made the promise to move the Empire away from any dealings in this horror, but now we must have a steadfast commitment to enforcing this new Act. This blight must be eradicated and, despite our current troubles, we must dedicate the resources to do it.”

  As the Queen spoke, she scanned the audience. Her eyes landed on Hawkins. She moved to the bottom of the center aisle and looked up at him two steps above her.

  “Duke of Black Hollow, it is a pleasure to see you here. You have been away from the Empire for far too long.”

  Hawkins bowed slightly toward the Queen and answered in a soft voice. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I… sometimes lose track time.”

  “There is nothing to forgive, Raferty. You have served the Empire well throughout your lifetime even while remaining outside our borders. I am so pleased you have come home, if only for a short period of time.”

  The Queen spoke in the same soft conversational voice, but the words of both of them carried to all corners of the chamber. The members shifted and glanced at each other with the use of Hawkins’ first name. The Queen knew the press in the chamber would have her words flashed around the Empire in minutes. She did nothing on a whim, and certainly not something as this. She was identifying to all that Raferty Hawkins, the new Duke of Black Hollow, was a friend and an ally. With this declaration, he was assuredly not a mere ally of convenience to the Queen. Her statements here, in front of all the peers, ensured they would know she stood with the new peer, and would be with him for the duration. To take him on was to take her on. The Queen had little official power, but to incur her wrath would be a move not to be taken lightly. Especially the wrath of this Queen.

  She stepped closer to the lone man. “I also wish to thank you for your part in the Battle of the Electra System. I understand your flotilla hammered the enemy strike carriers.”

  Hawkins bowed “Thank you for the kind words, Your Majesty, but we played a small part in the victory achieved by Admiral Levant and Royal Navy forces.”

  Queen Alexis nodded, but her smile showed she did not believe Hawkins’ downplaying of his flotilla’s part in the recent battle.

  “Have you taken the midday meal yet?” she asked.

  “No, Your Majesty.”

  “I would be pleased if you would dine with me,” she smiled her best winning smile.

  “I would be honored, Madam.”

  The Queen ex
tended her left arm. Hawkins walked down the two stair steps separating them. The Queen hooked her arm in his right arm, and they moved to the door she had entered through, and departed the chamber. Silence ruled for ten seconds, and then the chaos erupted again. This time it had nothing to do with the vote.

  Sky stared at the closed door next to the Speaker’s stand. She hadn’t seen this coming, but then nobody had. Obviously, this was all part of the same plan, but to what end? The vote was over and the issue won, but she had lost all enthusiasm for their hard won victory. She turned to Viscount Van Drucker.

  “David, what do you make of that?”

  “The Queen has a new ally, a very unusual and very dangerous ally. The same can be said for the new Duke of Black Hollow. Her remark about enforcement was interesting. Much of the slave trade moves through the Badlands. If the stories are to be believed, our pirate friend has fought slavery there for years. I wonder if he is not to receive some official or unofficial backing from the government. Supplies, money, and intelligence, that sort of thing. It would help Hawkins do some enforcing, and if it flung some mud into some Goth eyes, so much the better. The Goths would think twice about attacking a peer of the realm who has a decree of enforcement signed by the Queen of the Aurora Empire. I think they would still try to kill him, but they would think twice about it first. If nothing else, the Badlands just got more interesting.”

  “I must be losing it,” thought Sky. “The Queen’s enforcement remark as it applied to Raferty Hawkins was obvious, and I missed it completely.”

  Van Drucker broke in on Sky’s thoughts as he leaned toward her. “What is more surprising than his vote is his title. How did a pirate captain suddenly become the Duke of Black Hallow?”

  Sky shook her head. She had no answer to that intriguing question. Van Drucker shrugged. “No matter. We will learn the why and the how in the next few days. In the meantime, the Queen has provided an excellent headline for that upcoming story on Raferty Hawkins,” the media mogul whispered in a confiding tone. “The Queen’s Hammer. I really love it.”

  Sky smiled at her friend. “You know he will really hate that.”

  Van Drucker smiled back. “That will make it perfect. The only thing that would make it more perfect is if he challenged me to a pistol duel or sword fight.” His smile widened. “Do you think you could convince him to do that? It would be delicious!”

  “You want to die for your cause?”

  Van Drucker gave her a look of pity. “You poor innocent child. I have no intentions of dying for anything ever. I would merely print that the challenge had been made, and then I would apologize for the nickname and the story, while making it clear I was doing so under duress. The media being threatened by a peer of the realm. It would be another great story that would give new legs to the first one. Would you convince Hawkins to challenge me, or at least say insulting remarks about me in public?”

  Sky smiled at her friend. David Van Drucker was a media man, first, last, and always. She shook her head at him. “No, I will not even try to get him to do that. He won’t like the nickname, but he will just ignore it and you.”

  Van Drucker frowned. Being threatened was preferable to being ignored. “The publicity wouldn’t hurt. It might get him support and recruits.”

  “He likes the shadows.”

  “Too bad. But he should get used to seeing his name in print. Yes, I can envision Captain Raferty Hawkins being a media darling for a long time.” The media mogul permitted himself a very self-satisfying smile.

  Chapter 58

  The saga of the new pirate peer was the sensational media story throughout the Empire. The details of the successful Murmansk raid were leaked and added to the frenzy. The story of the wayward peer daughter had an ending. It also had a new beginning with her son as the Duke of Black Hallow. The series of reports took the attention away from the passage of Measure 200 and the war news.

  Raferty did not give interviews or answer questions. He returned to Haven Hill and waited for the tide to crest and then recede as the Empire moved on to other topics. He and his grandfather ensured Tactical was not mentioned in the story. The fact they were siblings would not help them back in the Badlands. The Queen replied to all questions with the answer that the new Duke was a close advisor on the war and never said anything beyond that. All the participants knew the story would fade soon enough and so had no desire to give more than basic information. They would do nothing to give the story more longevity.

  Skyler Mallory stayed on Zelenka for the final two days of legislative business. She followed the news stories with a grain of salt. She knew it was overblown, but that was standard operating procedure for news reporting, so she was not surprised by the attention the new Duke received. She knew the ebb and flow of the news cycle so was sure the story would end soon enough. On the final day of this legislative session, she was wrapping up paperwork in her office. A legislative assistant buzzed her.

  “Duchess, there is a call for you on channel 23. A woman who said her name was Tactical, but I am not sure I heard her correctly.”

  Sky looked up from her work in surprise. She hadn’t expected to hear from her. “That is her name. I’ll take the call.”

  She put down her pen, switched her screen to the channel, and Tactical’s image was staring at her from the monitor.

  “Tactical, how are-”

  Tactical cut in, “You’re a goddamn fool.”

  “I beg your pardon,” Sky stared at the image on the screen.

  “Are you deaf as well as stupid? You heard me. You’re a goddamn fool.”

  Sky leaned toward the screen, intrigued by this frontal assault. “How so?”

  “He has left his flotilla and came here to see you, but he won’t go the last two hundred klicks. He just won’t. Not in his makeup. You will have to travel that distance yourself. Surely, that must be obvious, but you refuse to see it through stubbornness, or maybe you are just as stupid as I think you are.”

  “He came for the vote on slavery.”

  Tactical looked exasperated. “You are joking. Tell me you’re joking, or I will be forced to kill you so you can’t have children and pass your stupidity gene on to them.”

  A moment of silence followed as Sky did not quite know how to respond. Tactical beat her to it. “God, you don’t see it, do you? You don’t know him at all. He doesn’t give a unicorn’s ass about the slavery vote. The Empire won’t enforce it, and it will just make the participants more secretive and circumspect in their dealings. Not much will really change until the Empire starts throwing people into prison for slavery profiteering. This would have to include several rich and powerful people. Not holding my breath on that one.” She paused and stared at Sky. Her voice became soft. “He came for you, but he will not come any further. You will have to travel the last two hundred kilometers.”

  Sky stood up. “I’ll be at Haven Hill in one hour.”

  “Well, praise God.” Tactical’s words dripped with sarcasm, and she was gone.

  Fifty-seven minutes later a shuttle settled on the pad at Haven Hill. Captain Skyler Mallory, Duchess of Albithor, disembarked with a bag on her shoulder. As soon as she was clear of the shuttle, it lifted, pivoted 180 degrees, and departed. Sky strode toward the house where Rafe and George waited near the door. She stopped and dropped her bag.

  “Your Ladyship,” George bowed toward her and offered his hand to take her bag.

  Sky answered the silent gesture. “Thank you, George, but I’ll carry it in.”

  “As you wish,” George replied. “I will see to the midday meal.” He turned and entered the house. The door had barely closed before Tactical emerged wearing riding clothes and carrying a packed meal.

  “Be back in two hours,” she remarked as she passed Raferty. She nodded to Sky, but did not break stride as she moved at a quick pace to the barn. Rafe and Sky watched her go and then turned to each other.

  “How is the Duke?” Sky had known the Duke of Black Hollow all her
life. The man had been a friend of her grandfather and then her father. Those three men had served in Parliament for several years and now Sky served there with the Duke. Although she and the Duke had been on different sides on some issues, notably the slave trade, they had been together on many more issues and Sky considered him a good friend, advisor, and an excellent representative in the Upper House.

  “I’m fine,” Raferty replied with a smile.

  “Not you! The real Duke.”

  “He’s sleeping now. He’s doing well. It’s a slow process so he will be around for a while.”

  Raferty now gave a slight bow in her direction. “Is concern for the Duke your reason for coming to Haven Hill, your Ladyship?”

  Sky stepped toward him. “Don’t you ladyship me! I didn’t even know you were dirtside until you strolled into the Chamber. Too busy eating with the Queen, you don’t have time for the rest of us.”

  “Or more to the point, time for you,” Raferty stated as he slowly backed up in response to her advance.

  “That too. How long are you staying here on Zelenka?”

  Raferty Hawkins smiled as he backpedaled, “As long as it takes. And how long will you be visiting Haven Hill, your Ladyship?”

  Sky returned his smile in like measure. “As long as it takes. And then some.”

  Rafe backed up until he hit the house wall next to the door and could go no further. Sky closed the gap until she was pressed against him. She kissed him. Hard. He returned the kiss with equal passion.

  Epilogue

  Admiral Kupin sat up in bed in the sickbay. She had received the news on her leg. Fortunately, a new lower leg could be grown for her when she arrived back in home space. It would take time and some pain but it was a straightforward procedure done thousands of times a year.

  What was not so straightforward were the results of her raid and the fallout from it. Casualties had been heavy. Approximately two thirds of her force had been lost. The most serious was the loss of the four strike carriers along with their commander, Admiral Theo Chuikov. The Aurora Empire had suffered the same heavy ship and crew losses and the complete destruction of the Aegis Base and some damage to Buckler, but it would be difficult to declare the raid a success by any measure.