by Joel Babbitt
The suit had, however, done its job well. Even though he had landed right next to the explosion, Brutian was only missing one leg at the knee, one foot, and his right arm, which had been ripped off along with the chaingun. He was still alive, for now, but clearly disabled.
Putting his rifle down, Alexander thought for a moment, then deciding, he put his pack down and started digging out his medical gear. With a grim look on his face, the old veteran of several wars and his companion began extracting Brutian out of the shattered shell of his former armor so they could put tourniquets on his bleeding and blasted extremities. They’d get to the collapsed lung shortly. They were in no hurry.
They had won, but not completely. Not yet, anyway.
* * *
Weapons Sergeant Thompson stood flexing his considerable muscles nervously under hairless dark skin that shone with sweat. He knew the colonel had worked with the Solkin Overlords extensively in the past, but just because he’d danced with fire before didn’t mean he wouldn’t get burned this time. He’d not fetched the colonel yet again just to see him be executed by the solkin. Scowling, the large, stern sergeant flexed his hands that sat empty in the small of his back; the colonel had insisted that none of them bring weapons for this meeting—something that went against all his instincts.
Beside Sergeant Thompson on one side stood the small contingent of yazri, Sergeant Hobbs scowling at them to stay still while their hunt master and employer met with the solkin. On the other side stood their resident survivalist Jack Wolf, the Jaxan human called Specialist Alphabet, and the three-bodied trillo known as Specialist Ya-da-na.
Captain Washington wasn’t fit for duty. She’d be fine with time, but for now Rianna Firstwave was staying with her at the local hospital—which got her away from the deep probing of the Solkin Overlords. The colonel didn’t know of anything that he had to hide from the solkin, largely thanks to a complex wipe and restore protocol Marik’s key employees all maintained, but Rianna did, though she’d only told him that she couldn’t meet with the solkin and he’d taken her at her word.
Walking forward beside the repulsor-gurney that carried the semi-conscious broken form of their nemesis Titus Brutian, Colonel Alexander and Jim Ryker could sense the arrogance and indignation that emanated from Tor Chu-Ral, High Justicar of the Rae Liam Dominion and the solkin overlord who now stood on his gilded anti-grav platform in front of Principay Colony’s command tower. Bowing their heads in submission and opening hands to show that they carried no weapon, Alexander and Ryker knelt on the ground on either side of the repulsor-gurney as the High Justicar took notice and sensed their purpose.
The High Justicar ceased communicating with the one remaining solkin commander who had not been killed in the nuclear blast at the bunker. The few remaining paradroid suppressors who acted as an ad-hoc honor guard for the High Justicar parted as his gilded platform glided forward so he could observe with his eyes what he had already divined telepathically.
“Colonel Marshal Alexander… and Commander Titus Brutian, I see,” the High Justicar spat the words out like darts, his psychic energies inadvertently lashing everyone in the area, causing all but Alexander to wince in pain. He seemed to ignore Ryker, as if he was not important to this conversation. To Alexander’s surprise, the High Justicar did not then probe his mind, but instead he spoke again.
“We have the evidence of Titus Brutian’s trading in illicit war technologies, and we have dealt with those here in this meager colony,” the High Justicar said, opening his arms, “that supported this fool and his unsanctioned activities.”
They both knew what that meant—the paradroid suppressors had burned well over a hundred people, all key supporters of the regime.
“Though the Stellar Corp representative known as Joshua Langdon did not reveal his sources of these illicit technologies before he detonated the explosive, I am sure that once Titus Brutian is restored to a stable condition that he will reveal all. In the mean time, for their clear enabling role in this great injustice I revoke Stellar Corp’s charter on this planet and seize all of its assets. You have done well, Colonel Alexander,” the High Justicar said, a feeling of reluctant approbation washing over the assembled team. “You may go.”
“High Justicar,” Jim Ryker said, surprising the solkin overlord by simply speaking in his presence, and by not departing immediately. “Marik Corp, who was wronged by Stellar Corp and Principay Colony, requests the charge of administering the seized Stellar Corp assets on this planet.”
High Justicar Tor Chu-Ral turned back to face Ryker, looking down at him from his gilded, floating platform.
Alexander could see that the High Justicar was inconvenienced by Ryker, a human he had not charged with any task, addressing him. “High Justicar,” Alexander diverted the solkin’s attention. “Stellar Corp was at the root of the recent attacks on our assets. As such, by Solkin Dominion law the aggrieved party can be awarded stewardship of their assets—if such were the High Justicar’s supernal will.”
Alexander waited patiently. Ryker hadn’t dealt with solkin before, but he was savvy enough to figure out that the High Justicar wasn’t pleased with him. He decided to stay silent.
The High Justicar thought for a moment, likely consulting the genius neural matrix on his corsair before answering. Finally, their patience was rewarded.
“The value of their existing contracts is in excess of the value of the destroyed cargo ship, hover ferry, and the several employees they killed,” Tor Chu-Ral stated.
“Yes, High Justicar,” Colonel Alexander pressed before Ryker could speak. “However, these assets must be administered, if they are to produce the tribute you have come to expect from them. Surely, you would prefer the smallest disruption in operations as these contracts and business units transfer to… someone. Marik Corp is the only entity on the planet that can guarantee such a transition will not impact the amount of tribute. As we are his agents and speak for him,” Alexander said, pointing with an open hand at Ryker, “Marik himself personally guarantees the same level of tribute this next period as was provided this past period.”
The High Justicar thought for a moment more. He knew that the Camallay Unity Government had a spending problem, hiring far too many administrators and bureaucrats and frittering away money on poorly managed projects and excessive public benefits for their short-lived residents. No, the CUG would not be an optimal choice to administer Stellar Corp’s former assets. None of the provincial governments were truly autonomous enough to consider either, despite Timmok Province’s efforts to become so, and no other corporation on the planet had the type of financial backing that Marik Corp could bring to the equation.
If he would have thought of it himself, the idea that Colonel Alexander—and this other human—presented would have been the immediate and obvious choice. As it was, Tor Chu-Ral hesitated, reluctant to acknowledge that these lowly humans had come up with the right course of action. The one human was, however, a former Dominion Colonel, and so Tor Chu-Ral thought that perhaps he should be acknowledged as having gained some level of intelligence in their service. Finally, then, he grimaced and nodded.
“So be it,” the High Justicar pronounced. “Ownership of all of Stellar Corp’s assets on Camallay is hereby transferred to Marik Corp, with the condition that the next tribute shall not be one credit less.”
“Yes, High Justicar,” Colonel Alexander said, both he and Ryker bowing and moving backward.
Once the pair was safely on their way back to join the rest of his group some hundred paces away, Jim Ryker pressed a button and Titus Brutian’s heart suddenly stopped beating, before the solkin could interrogate him with their deep mind-probing.
The knowledge of where Brutian had gotten all of the illicit items, as well as which human and kiz’zit corporations were involved in their manufacture, was no longer Brutian’s to confess.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Colonel Alexander hadn’t come to the eastern continent to form a new governm
ent, but here, in Principay’s northern command bunker’s vehicle garage, against a backdrop of several armored vehicles and a few ultra-light tanks, he had facilitated just that.
Colonel Alexander of Marik Corp, Colonel Conrad Baker of Terra Alta Colony, Lord Tan-Jik of the Mon-Jikkik Yazri Clan, and First Citizen Jane Shattershield of the Far Point Colonies had sat as equals around the large, round table their people had brought out from the bunker’s command center. It had been a long week; a week full of debate, heated discussions, and eventually compromises that had led to this moment. Power sharing had been the primary concern, of course, as was always the case when forming a government, but the status and responsibility for the rebuilding of the ruins of Principay Colony were equally hotly debated topics.
Conrad Baker of Terra Alta had mostly maintained the same perspective he’d always had, which was that Principay was a distant place, and that Terra Alta didn’t need to meddle with the other colonies. Tan-Jik of the Mon-Jikkik was amenable enough to helping rebuild and joining together in ‘one over-clan’ as he called it, but the Mon-Jikkik lived a primitive existence and had very few resources. Jane Shattershield of Far Point had already lost an entire shipment of military gear to Principay and was demanding war reparations from the beleaguered people of Principay, and the democratic structure of Far Point’s government left her uncomfortable committing her people to any overarching government structure without ratifying it before an Assembly of the People.
In the end, they had done what politicians throughout history had always done; they had compromised and come up with a workable solution. Though they hadn’t started out to change the world, in the end they all knew that this ‘workable solution’ would have far reaching ramifications that none of them could fully foresee.
They had formed the Camallay Confederation, or Camco, as Alexander had quipped, and the name had immediately stuck. Soon, throughout the eastern continent, word reached all the colonies that they were uniting under a single banner.
Many worried that the Camallay Unity Government on the western continent would object, and indeed they did, sending representatives to try to persuade, then failing that to cajole, then eventually threatening the four leaders. In the end, however, the CUG knew that they were mostly insolvent and could barely contain the Timmok Province Separatists, much less come clear across the ocean and put down a new government in lands that they had no representatives in and no legitimate claim. The CUG delegation ended up sidelined, though they were offered an embassy in the ruins of Principay, which they reluctantly accepted.
The question of sovereignty was resolved in the name of their government; a confederacy leaves its component states separate and sovereign. Borders between the colonies were firmly established, where they had been loosely defined before, so that land disputes in the future might not erupt, though there was quite a bit of ungoverned land, especially in the eastern steppes. And as for a chief executive, they chose to give such a position mostly coordinating powers rather than executive powers and decided on a rotating schedule between the leaders of the different colonies, changing each year.
The question of what to do with Principay was resolved by making it the capital city of the new Camallay Confederation, and giving Terra Alta, Far Point, and the Mon-Jikkik responsibility for rebuilding each of the three portions of Principay. Marik saw this as a great opportunity to invest, and so backed the Mon-Jikkik by committing to provide much of the materials and skilled oversight for the rebuilding of East Principay, which was the Mon-Jikkik’s portion.
And what did Marik Corp get out of all of this? Exclusive contracts, dedicated facilities for their operations in each of the colonies and in the new capital of Principay, and a ‘special relationship’ clause in the new Articles of Confederation. It was more than Marik had sought, but he had come to expect great things out of this team.
* * *
Though Colonel Alexander had talked with Marik himself twice during the negotiations, as he switched on the deep-space dimmer they’d rigged up to the conference room in the bunker, it was the first time that the rest of the company had seen Marik since they’d left Prexlar. Even there, at the headquarters, it was a rarity. Marik personally owned and controlled operations on almost every planet in both the Rae Liam Dominion and the neighboring Bright Star Dominion; operations worth trillions of credits in revenue. He was a very busy man.
So, when he had asked to meet with the whole team, they knew it was important. The boss didn’t typically give pep-talks, he was usually all business. And now, as the upper half of his body came up on the holo-projector in the center of the room, everyone could see that he was a man with specific things he wanted to accomplish in this meeting. They all immediately quieted down.
“My marauders,” Marik addressed the group by what was essentially their unit name. “I want you to know how proud everyone here at headquarters is of what you’ve accomplished. It was no small feat determining who was responsible for the sinking of the MCS Venture, the attack on Taysom Island’s Port Operations, and the sinking of the MCS Glenda. But through all the adversity you persevered.”
The various members of Marik’s Marauders stood straighter at the mention of their accomplishments.
“Not only did you accomplish all that I sent you there to accomplish, but with a little help from a deep cover agent I sent there ahead of your group, you managed to accomplish far more than that; you eliminated our largest competitor on-planet and in so doing made safe the planet for our corporation and our partners.”
Everyone looked around, looking for the deep-cover agent he mentioned; everyone, that is, except for Colonel Alexander, Jim Ryker, and his sister Rianna Firstwave.
“Rianna, please stand,” Marik’s hologram paused as Rianna stood. “Congratulations on your first deep-cover assignment. You performed magnificently.”
“So, being black-listed by Marik was just a ploy?” Shannon Washington blurted out.
Rianna just looked back at Shannon with an innocent smile.
“It was all a ruse to ensure Principay would take her in,” Marik confided in the group. “She never lost my full faith and confidence.”
With all the negotiations and rebuilding, Colonel Alexander hadn’t had the opportunity to ask Rianna the one question that still burned within him. “How did you know it was Principay, supported by Stellar Corp?”
Surprising them both, Jim Ryker spoke up. “You didn’t rob that bank, did you? I bet you were tracing money transactions, and that’s how you found out.”
“Everyone leaves digital fingerprints,” Rianna smiled. “The bank in Timmok Province was the weakest link in the transaction chain between Principay and Stellar Corp.”
“Each of you put your lives on the line for this company,” Marik continued. “And as such, I’ve ordered all of you put on veteran status in Marik’s Marauders, with the appropriate pay increase as well. And Jim and Rianna, oh and Mister Wolf, I’ve added the bonus to your pay as well.”
The various military and yazri hooted, high-fived, and generally voiced their approval while Jim Ryker and his sister just smiled.
“As for my previous veterans; Colonel Alexander and Captain Washington,” Marik continued, “you’ll see a bump in your next paycheck. But don’t get too comfortable with all that extra money; once things are stable there on Camallay I have a new assignment for Marik’s Marauders out in the Bright Star Dominion.”
Alexander’s face was stoic behind his neatly trimmed salt-and-pepper beard as he nodded his understanding. “We’ll be ready, sir,” was all he said.
“I know you will be. Marik out.” And with that, his hologram faded.
* * *
It had already been a month now since the fall of Principay and the solkin intervention. A new government had been formed, an aid structure had been put in place to help the people of Principay until reconstruction could begin in earnest, and temporary power for critical facilities had been restored.
Considering their
work here done, Alexander and his people were anxious to leave, and so when the star freighter MSS Danzigger came out of the sky to land in Principay’s central clearing to collect them, they eagerly joined the helperbots in the unloading effort. Captain Oo-Nu-Ado of the Danzigger had brought much needed military-grade replicators and enough rare earths and other minerals that weren’t readily available to give Principay a jump-start on reconstruction of their power and information infrastructure. The unit of specialists Captain Oo-Nu-Ado brought with the gear was comprised mostly of construction types, but with them had come a pair of yazri families who would serve as principal liaisons to the Mon-Jikkik and a handful of business management and political types to help ensure the implementation of the ‘special relationship’ that Marik Corp had with the Camallay Confederation.
As soon as all of them were disembarked, Marik’s Marauders were cleared to load, and Captain Shannon Washington drove them all like mules in her desire to get off planet. She was about as staid a person as it gets, but they were on their way home and everyone was feeling it.
On the loading ramp to the cargo bay, Colonel Alexander and Jim Ryker stood watching the crew load. The four yazri were now down to two; Sergeant Hobbs and Gunner had both decided to stay on with Marik’s Marauders, but Priest felt the pull of the Creator calling him to preach to the Mon-Jikkik, while Soar, now known as Cheetah, had met a young yazri female and fallen head over heels for her. The two had been joined before her clan’s life tree, where he now served as a warrior.
Cheetah was not the only one to find love there on Camallay. Completely unexpected by all who knew the quiet, brooding warrior, Weapons Sergeant Thompson had taken it upon himself to help Alyssa’s two older daughters, small as they were, to cope with the huge changes in their lives. He’d read them stories, brought them food, and had personally worked on restoring power and services to their house after his normal workday was done. He and Alyssa Firstwave, who had dropped the surname of Brutian with his death, had grown close in this past month and, when the time came, Alyssa and her three daughters had decided to leave Principay Colony with all of its bad memories behind, much to Sergeant Thompson’s delight.
