The Queen's Hammer

by Sean Benjamin

  “You didn’t help yourself any with your attitude. People understand when you say you have a job to do or a mission to complete. But when you start talking about a holy crusade and doing God’s work, these same people start looking at each other and drawing conclusions. Two of the conclusions are that you can’t be reasoned with and, sooner or later, you’re going to do something stupid. Your people just don’t want that to happen in their neighborhood. Let’s face it, you’ve been cast out.”

  Hawkins waved his hand lazily at the man behind Yossian. “How did you get stuck with babysitting this refugee? Did you lose a bet, or are you persona non grata, too?”

  The standing man stared down at him as Yossian silently seethed. The Commodore spoke through clenched teeth. “The likes of you can hardly judge me or my goals.”

  “Sure, I can,” Rafe replied with a helpful tone to his voice. “I can spot your kind from half way across the quadrant. You’re an insignificant little guard dog with nobody to bite. You’re making it up as you go along now that your war is over ‘cause you still want to be relevant.” Hawkins lowered his voice to a confidential tone. “The thing with guard dogs is that no matter how good they are, people are always a little embarrassed they have them. Also, the people are never friendly with the dogs and have no compunction about getting rid of them if a change in situation allows it. In fact, they are happy if the dogs aren’t required at all.” Hawkins smiled at Yossian as the two men continued to tilt toward each other over the table. “That’s the main reason you’re out here. You are no longer wanted at home and have become an embarrassment to the local folks. Hell, they even invented a rank to give you just to get you out the door.” Hawkins gave a flick with his left hand at Yossian’s attire. “Spiffy uniform. Design it yourself or did your Mom make it for you?”

  Both women laughed, adding to the buildup of the toxic atmosphere in the room. Yossian’s eyes narrowed, and he consciously regulated his breathing as he tried to calm himself. He lowered his head like a bull about to charge and regarded the pirate from under his dark, bushy eyebrows. He wanted to come across the table and beat on Hawkins with his fists. Had wanted to for the last minute. Rafe could sense the struggle going on inside the man. He was close to doing it regardless of the consequences. Just a little more goading. Rafe knew the rising anger was almost at a boiling point. He smiled at him. “Don’t go rabid. A rabid guard dog is even worse. Have to put him down. Or ship him out of town to, say, the Badlands.”

  “A rabid dog that didn’t even fight in the war does all his snarling after the killing is over,” piped Baby Doll as she tried to push Yossian.

  Yossian had to hear Baby Doll but gave no indication. He was focused on Hawkins. Raferty gave him his best smart-ass smile. Yossian made his decision and was leaning forward to rise from his seat when the man behind him put a hand on his shoulder.

  “Sir, perhaps, we should leave to discuss options,” the man spoke with quiet dignity but never took his eyes off Hawkins. Rafe got the distinct feeling one of the options to be discussed would be to ambush the pirates out in the street.

  Yossian visibly made the effort to control himself. He took two deep breaths and relaxed. He talked without turning around. “Yes, you are right. Best to remain focused on our main task here.” He rose up slowly so as not to be regarded as a threat. The three pirates stood in response. Yossian stepped around his chair and stopped behind it as he turned back to Hawkins. “I was hoping you would assist me in locating Terrant. I know Delacruz has been a part of your force for a long time and you would not surrender him, but Terrant is a recent addition. If you had helped me with her, I would have forgotten about Delacruz, but it is apparent in the short time she has been here, she has wormed her way into your confidence. So be it.

  “I am not that disappointed in the results of this meeting. I had thought you might be a reasonable man but, after hearing stories about you, I knew the odds were against it. You are a zealot for your cause and will do anything to advance it.”

  “As opposed to, say, you?” Hawkins was amazed Yossian would say that. Crazy people don’t know they’re crazy and zealots don’t know they’re zealots.

  “I support a righteous, just cause.”

  “Wow, I bet you’re the first fanatic to ever say that.”

  The two parties stared at each other as the door behind Hawkins’ group opened. Destiny Flores moved to the edge of the table once again and stood between the two groups.

  She faced Yossian first. “Your group will be escorted back to your shuttle and your shuttle will be watched until it departs. Please exit through-.”

  Yossian regarded her with contempt. “I will do as I please, woman!” He spoke with authority while not making any move toward the door. He was content to stare down at Destiny while ensuring he did not present a threat. Now that he had reined himself in, he was acutely aware of the rifles at each end of the room.

  “No,” Destiny replied in an even voice. “You will not do as you please.” She turned to the three men on the high platform at one end of the room. “Pope!” she said in a commanding voice that always surprised those hearing it for the first time. One of the men nodded and spoke into a voice mike against his throat.

  The two groups stared at each other for twenty seconds and then a knock came at the door used by Destiny. The door then opened, a man stepped in and moved beside Destiny. He was of average height and weight, brown hair, brown eyes, medium build, no identifying marks or scars, and wearing nondescript clothing. Pope was completely forgettable. If you saw him on the street, you would not remember him ten seconds later. He was a man who had the ability to fade into a crowd even if there was no crowd.

  The fact that he was not memorable did not upset Pope in the least. To the contrary, he used it to great effect. He was Destiny’s top security and enforcement leader. He had solved many difficult problems with nobody being able to recall whether they had actually seen him on the scene at the time. One could judge how seriously Destiny Flores took any situation by who she sent to handle it. If that person was Shelby Pope, Destiny was very serious about the given situation, and it would be an excellent idea to see things from her point of view.

  Destiny talked without taking her eyes off Yossian. “Mister Pope, there seems to be a disagreement as to Commodore Yossian’s course of action upon departing this room. His party is to be escorted from here directly to his shuttle with no stops. Also, ensure his two men pretending to be businessmen in the main bar and the man and woman in the café across the street depart with him. Take as many people as you need. If there is any resistance, you will do whatever is required to carry out my wishes.”

  “Of course,” Pope answered softly and fell silent as he calmly watched the two men before him.

  Yossian stared at Destiny. She stared back. “Didn’t think we would see your people covering you? I’ve been at this game for a long time, and I’m much better at it than you are.” She slightly tilted her head to her left at Pope. “And so is he.”

  Yossian’s view now shifted to Pope, and Pope stared back at him benignly. It was clear Yossian was calculating what he would do once he got outside this room. Destiny had indeed been at this game for a long time, and she saw his mind churning through possibilities. “I caution you as to any rash action. Mister Pope will kill you so goddamn fast the devil will be spinning you over a roasting pit before you figure out what happened.” Although her demeanor reflected calmness, it was a measure of Destiny’s considerable anger that she resorted to an expletive, a rare occurrence for her. She spoke one last time to Commodore Thaddeus Yossian. “My building, my town, my planet. Don’t make me prove it, as I will be more than happy to do that.” She turned and departed out her door.

  Pope raised his left hand toward the door behind Yossian in an invitation to move out. Yossian regarded him for a second and then turned to the door, opened it, and departed. His man followed him, and Pope followed the two of them.

  Tactical spoke for the first t
ime. “I really hope he tries something on Pope. Would solve all our problems.” The other two nodded.

  Baby Doll said hopefully, “I assume we are going to the Inner Sanctum. I could use a beer.”

  They adjourned to the private bar deep within Destiny’s where only a few lucky people had standing invitations to visit. Destiny was already there, standing behind the short bar. She had just finished opening four beers now lined up on the counter top. Each pirate grabbed one, and Destiny took the survivor. The party moved to one of the tables near the bar. After taking seats, Destiny lifted her bottle toward Rafe as she talked to him. “Thought you had him there for a second.” She had been behind the wall with the three riflemen.

  Raferty shook his head. “Me too. Thought he was going to come over the table for sure.” If Yossian had come across the table, he would have been dead in an instant. His companion could testify to his own people as to the circumstances of Yossian’s death and that would have been the end of it. Hawkins shook his head at the near miss and then turned to Tactical. “Any plans for him?”

  Tactical gave a slight smile. “Got one great idea but need Destiny’s help.”

  “Anything I can do,” Destiny answered quickly.

  Tactical outlined her plan to an attentive audience. Hawkins smiled at the conclusion. “Risky.”

  Tactical shrugged slightly. “No way we can take them in a straight up fight. We’ll continue to focus on their leader. I think we have the weak link there.”

  Baby Doll leaned back in her chair as she considered the plan. “Lots of moving parts. We can get everyone together for a onetime deal but no way we can do a repeat.” She turned to Destiny. “Think we can get the planet support we need for this?”

  Destiny thought for a moment. “They do owe you a favor for the Hansom gang, and nobody cried when Little Mo went missing. Also, I hear the Commonwealth people have not exactly been the best-behaved liberty parties that have ever been around here. I understand they tend to act as if they’re in charge, and the rest of us are here to do their bidding.”

  Hawkins said, “Not the first group to win a war and think they are the baddest warriors ever, and everyone else must pay homage to them.”

  Destiny nodded and continued. “I think I can swing what you want. I’ll call in the favors and point out that having the defense manned and ready actually protects the planet, so the pirates are really doing us a favor by giving us a heads up.”

  “Think you can sell that?”

  Destiny shook her head. “No, but it sounds good, and they will see the practicality of it.” She smiled now. “I’ll make sure they don’t shoot at you.”

  Tactical agreed. “Good idea. Tell them to shoot at the big ship.”

  Baby Doll drank her beer. “One meeting down. One to go.” She looked at her watch. “Killian should be landing about now.”

  O’Hare, along with Corsair’s death squad, had done some scouting on foot in the city of Baseline. That death squad had a simple mission for their first time out. O’Hare would lead them to see how well their training was progressing. They were using a shuttle belonging to Destiny and would be returning to Destiny’s roof landing pad at any time.

  Destiny said, “I’ll get a message when the shuttle is about to land.”

  At that moment, her comm box chimed. She read the text and smiled. “Excellent timing. O’Hare is landing on the roof.”

  Hawkins walked toward the bar. “She’ll want a drink.”

  Chapter 28

  Blue Squadron approached Lorelei at battle stations. Dietrich didn’t expect trouble, but it was best to take precautions. He stood next to Admiral Hochstadt in the back of the flag bridge.

  “Ships in orbit?” he asked sensors.

  “Thirty-three, sir,” came the immediate reply. “Five are identified as warships and none are pirate ships. The Commonwealth squadron is on the edge of sensors departing.”

  “Very well.” Dietrich gave the rote reply. He spoke over the command net to his squadron. “We’ll do a standard orbit with divisions in trail.”

  His squadron would divide into two identical parts with a battlecruiser heading each. The second division would fall in behind the first division while in orbit. This provided mutual support while allowing for room to maneuver. Dietrich concludes his orders with one last command. “All ships will go to modified general quarters for the duration of our time here.” He received acknowledgments from all ships and turned to Hochstadt. “The Commonwealth squadron being here may account for lack of pirate ships. Predator may be hiding nearby even if none of the others are around. They also could be off doing something.”

  “Do you think Hawkins is not even here but just did this to distract us?” Hochstadt asked.

  Dietrich shook his head. “Distracting one squadron hardly seems worth it, and our patrol area is being covered by other ships while we are here. I think he is down there regardless of where his ship is. No idea who is with him, but he’s there.” He paused in thought and then continued. “His ships are doing something. Perhaps routine raiding, but I suspect more than that. Predator would be here unless something not routine required her presence elsewhere.” He looked directly at Hochstadt. “I think it is very possible Hawkins will tell you himself. If he does, it means you can’t do anything about it.”

  The Goth contingent arrived on time at Destiny’s. Eight officers, led by Admiral of the Fleet Cynthia Hochstadt walked into the main entrance. Destiny Flores stood in the middle of the lobby and nodded to the party. Admiral Hochstadt nodded in return and evaluated her hostess as she moved toward her.

  Hochstadt had to admit the briefing on Destiny Flores did not seem to fit the woman, at least not the part of her being a threat. Destiny was of middle age but it would be difficult to put a number to that. She was small and slim and was dressed in practical attire of no particular style. Her hair was worn straight and parted in the middle to curve down each side of her face. She had on no jewelry but did wear old fashioned, wire-rimmed glasses and, at this particular moment, a warm smile. Destiny extended her hand and Admiral Hochstadt took it to complete the handshake.

  “Welcome to Destiny’s, Admiral.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Flores.”

  “Please, call me Destiny.”

  “Thank you, Destiny. I have heard many fine things about your establishment. It is a pleasure to finally see it in person.”

  “Thank you, Admiral. I hope you enjoy the visit.” Destiny held up her right arm to gesture at double doors five steps away. “Please, this way.”

  She led the way to the doors and opened one to allow the Goth party to file into a large conference room. After the last officer had entered, she let the door quietly close and went about her business. As the door shut, two large men who had been lingering off to the side of the lobby now stepped forward to take positions in front of the doors to ensure the meeting inside remained private.

  The Goths entered the large, rectangular room. Polished wood flooring gave the room a certain elegance, but white walls with no windows marked this as a room for business, not for gala events. The walls were barren except for two large rectangular metal screens, one high up on the opposite wall from the entrance doors and the second high on the wall to the officers’ right. These screens allow the flow of hot or cool air to keep the room at an appropriate temperature. There was a single door in the opposite wall near the right corner. The furniture consisted of one long table running along the opposite wall. Six chairs were positioned on each side of the table. Behind the six chairs on the near side of the table were two rows of five comfortable padded chairs each. It was clear the pirates would seat on the far side of the table near the wall and Admiral Hochstadt and some members of her party would sit on the near side. The remainder of the Goth party would sit in the two rows of chairs behind their commander. There were pitchers of water with glasses on the conference table and on a small table behind the two rows of chairs. A stack of papers rested at Hawkins’ presumed seat at t
he table. Hochstadt took all this in at a glance and immediately dismissed it as her attention was drawn to the small party standing beyond the far side of the conference table under the ventilation screen.

  Raferty Hawkins stood just behind the center of the table. He was accompanied by five women, four near him and one at the end of the table. Two of the women beside him on his left wore Zeke uniforms. Although Hochstadt knew a small Royal Navy squadron had returned to the Badlands, she had not expected any Royal Navy officers to be here. It signaled a close relationship between the Royal Navy and the new Duke of Black Hallow. One of the officers was a Royal Navy captain. She would be the commander of the Aurora squadron. Now it occurred to Hochstadt that there had been no Royal Navy ships in orbit and that meant they were off on other business without these two officers. Royal Navy and Pirate Flotilla One ships cooperating with each other and none of them here at Lorelei. Not good.

  Of course, she did not know the two Zeke officers by name, but she did recognize the two other women near Hawkins on his right. Tactical and Baby Doll. The fifth and last woman was alone at the left end of the table, already seated with her two feet up on the table and crossed at the ankles. Hochstadt knew her too. Killian O’Hare relaxed in her chair with her thumbs hooked in her belt as she watched the approaching Goths with no expression on her face. Her jaw moved slowly and rhythmically. She was chewing gum. Hochstadt loathed her on sight. The Goth Admiral immediately noted the absence of Shane Delacruz. That, coupled with lack of pirate vessels and Royal Navy ships in the vicinity, did not bode well for someone. It was very possible that someone was her.