by Mark Wandrey
“There are at least five more effective ways to harvest it,” Niss said, leaning his shell against the Aku next to him. “We have no use for credits.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure out something,” Sonya murmured, dropping her jaw slightly when Ripley elbowed her.
“You have listened every time we have shared our knowledge, Shadow, which is something new to us. We like Humans and you. Yes, we agree to this plan. As for the stargate, as some of you may know, we were the ones who locked it at the Zuparti’s direction. We are happy to unlock it and operate the facility.” His great rocky head moved upward as if focused on the stargate. “We are most eager to go there and see more of its workings after all we have learned. Fascinating.”
Shadow nodded and hoped the Aku would at least fix the thing before they got too curious and took it apart. “That’s settled then,” he said. “Tucker? Bana? Anderle?”
“Some of the mercs might have rolled off when we got home,” Bana said, shrugging, “but they would have to be triple idiots to do it now. I’m too old to go to another company, and I like the idea of being rich. In.”
Anderle and Tucker nodded, smiling.
“I care less about being rich,” Tucker said. “I followed your dad. I watched you kids grow up and knew something special was happening. I thought it would be Rex one day…”
“We all did.” Shadow lowered his head for a moment and swallowed back a soft sound of grief.
“But the more I hear about your leadership during a desperate fight, the more I realize I missed it. I hadn’t realized Alan was taking more time with you, not to try to push you along, but to grow the seeds of a commander. Rex was a natural warrior. You, lad, are a natural leader.”
“He told me as much,” Bana admitted. “He planned to make you a corporal after the contract. Despite your being late for muster.” Bana managed a glower, but there was no heat to it.
Shadow looked between his siblings, each of whom nodded with clear affection.
“Silent Night is yours,” Tucker said. “I’ll continue to follow its leader.”
“Good.” Shadow stood and faced the two Pushtal guarded by Ulan. They had followed the conversation closely, with nary a hiss or spit to reveal their reactions. Shadow took a steadying breath and committed to the riskiest part of his plan. “Why did you attack us?”
The slightly larger one blinked, not expecting the question. “We were ordered to.”
He waited, silence blanketing the room, until the second one twitched and lashed his tail.
“Meesh said we were being cheated, that we would be paid nothing at all. Our clan is barely holding together—this agreement with the Vergola was our last and best hope.”
“We didn’t know about the agreement between Vergola and Zuparti.” The first Pushtal’s ears flattened to the side, and he snarled. “We should have supported Skeesh when he said he wanted to overthrow Meesh months ago.”
“Meesh was awful,” the second agreed, speaking so low Shadow wasn’t sure he was meant to hear it.
“How do you determine a new clan leader?” he asked, pricking his ears forward politely.
“Fight,” the first one answered promptly.
“To the death,” the second added helpfully.
“My siblings and I each took part in killing the one we thought was the leader. He had an eyepatch. That was Meesh, right?”
They both nodded, neither seeming remotely upset by the news. Shadow rather hoped they’d seen it.
“What were the Vergola paying you?”
“Meesh never gave all the details,” the first one to speak said. “We know the Vergola paid our bill with the Merchants Guild for equipment, about 200,000 credits. We think the contract was for that much again.” The other shrugged.
The number of credits was so small compared to what they were sitting on top of, Shadow had to fight back a sudden upswell of amusement. No need to get smug, and no need to do anything that would bring another wave of Pushtal clamoring for their part.
“The station at Klbood is yours as well, right?” More nods. “This is what I propose. We killed your clan leader, and as such we are in charge.”
“That’s not—” the first to speak started.
“Silence. Hear me out,” Shadow snapped, and they fell silent. “We are in charge; however, we will assign leadership to you two. Guild minimum is 500,000 credits for a garrison contract, with at least 100 troopers. Say we pay you…triple, and add a rider providing for contract of future work, with potential for bonuses.”
“We aren’t a merc race anymore,” the second said, glaring fiercely.
“We can still execute a contract.” Shadow twitched an ear. “We’ll need you to repair and staff your station in Klbood better, but we’ll provide equipment for this as well, as long as it’s in writing that the Engineering Guild has access in perpetuity. What would you say?”
“Triple?” they said together, an unmistakable gleam coming to their eyes.
“We could discuss increases over time as we evaluate your loyalty and efficacy. You’re fierce fighters and have been poorly treated. We could do worse.” They were both glancing at each other, eyes narrowed as they considered. “I’ve heard the Pushtal want their merc status back. This is a step in the right direction. We won’t mention your involvement here in the mess between the Vergola and Zuparti.”
These Pushtal knew the secret of Astatine-222 and E’cop’k. Shadow’s alliance was far too new and under-armed to let them go. Nor could he execute them—the Zuul wouldn’t see the honor in it, and the rest of the Pushtal clan, a single hyperspace jump away, would likely come looking before Shadow had any backup in place. This option was cheaper, and better for his conscience, besides.
“The contract is good, though we aren’t mercenaries?”
“We’re a guild now, too, don’t forget.” Something electric passed through the room at that. “And an ancient clan of the Zuul. Our contract will hold without anyone else’s approval. That, and our word is our bond.”
“Triple,” the first said, hope threading his tone. “With potential for more. And we guard?”
“One more thing,” Shadow said, and now his jaw dropped into a grin.
Both drooped, waiting for the shoe to drop.
“I want that Raknar.”
They jumped over each other to agree.
Behind him, Drake howled in triumph.
The Pushtal were taken out to talk with the rest of their kind, and Drake slapped Shadow on the back. “Brother, you’re brilliant!”
“I’m not entirely sure this will work,” Sonya said, scratching her bandages.
“Neither am I,” admitted Shadow. “But by setting up two of them as clan leaders, it’ll cause enough confusion that maybe, just maybe, they’ll work it out. Their stupid ‘fight for control’ is likely what caused their downfall. The strongest is seldom the smartest.”
“Even then, the strongest can never trust subordinates,” Veska agreed.
“The Mercenary Guild won’t like this,” Anderle pointed out. “The cats are persona non grata, as far as I understand.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Shadow assured her. An Aku came in, and Niss gestured him to Shadow. He scanned the report and let out a low noise between his teeth. “They have the inventory,” he said.
“What do we have?” Drake asked.
“Just under a thousand tons of Astatine-222.”
“What’s that worth?” Bana wondered.
“We aren’t sure,” Captain I’kik said from space. “But we can estimate, based on how much is in each hyperspace buffer and cableway. About a million credits.”
“Per ton?” Shadow asked.
“Per kilogram,” I’kik said, teeth shinning.
“Oof dah,” Bana said, echoing himself.
“Fuck me dead,” Drake replied with even more enthusiasm.
“The Zuparti aren’t going to just walk away from a trillion credits,” Ripley warned.
“Oh.” Niss rocked slightly to the side. “We can increase by 200% at least, with minor changes. The Zuparti moved mines long before they were tapped because they were wasteful.”
“This one dwarf planet has been supplying all the Astatine-222 for the entire galaxy, forever.” Shadow wished his mouth could whistle, but he restrained himself to a shrug instead. “So yeah, they aren’t going to let us just...keep it.”
Tension returned to the room. All the money in the galaxy wouldn’t help if they couldn’t defend it. Shadow shook his head and smiled.
“We’re going to need backup.”
* * * * *
Epilogue
The Paku had been gone a month, departing only hours after Niss ordered the stargate to cease interdicting the system. Shadow had sent it, along with Teef and Uufek, both of whom had ridden out the conflict on Paku. With A’kef dead, and Nillab’s report to share, Teef had gone along as a witness and to make formal the joining of Insho’Ze and Krif’Hosh, Uufek to speak for them to the K’lak, and hopefully, the Hosh. If the Hosh or the K’lak believed they were Krif’Hosh, the Zuul would be their best bet for understanding and support.
Since their first stop was Klbood, Paku also took the new leaders of Valiant Rage clan and a group of their troopers. He wasn’t sure how it would all turn out. He did know they were now in good enough shape that should the Pushtal overthrow their new leadership and come to E’cop’k with a plan to take it, they wouldn’t succeed easily.
Gheshu still needed repairs, but it should be more than functional enough to stand off the kind of crap ships the Pushtal had on their ragged station.
Shadow had built a set of routines over the month that almost kept him patient. Every day he sent a message to the gate to see if they had any new activity. Every day he listened calmly as the Aku in charge told him no. Jobortogato, the former Sumatozou gatemaster, had been retained as a helper for the Aku. He wasn’t happy with his new arrangement, but Niss had found multiple records detailing Jobortogato’s criminal behavior, which helped keep him in his place.
Every day he met with Niss and learned something new about Astatine-222 and its production, and he met with Yanow and learned something new about the Lumar. Every day he understood a little more about how rich they all would be if they pulled this off. The credits that would flow to the Zuul, and the credits that could flow to Earth. He believed if he could link this all with the fledgling Terran Federation, something bigger than all of them was possible. If. So many ifs.
Every day he waited for something to go wrong. Every day they rebuilt the base a little more, and things remained quiet.
Until the day Sonya’s voice came urgently across the comm, and he ran to the command center, Niss and Yanow in tow after their daily meeting.
“They just started appearing at the emergence point,” Ripley said and pointed to the Tri-V.
A dizzying array of ships appeared on the radar, each one varying in size, but all alike in one fundamental way—their firepower would overwhelm the new alliance Shadow and his siblings had built.
The waves of images on the radar threatened to overwhelm him. There were at least 100 ships between them and the gate. For a single moment, Shadow allowed himself to pretend the Winged Hussars had arrived. One of the Four Horsemen would be able to come to an agreement with a partially Earth-based mercenary company that had welcomed other races—that was practically their own story.
He gave himself only that moment, and then met Sonya’s eyes and jerked his chin. She nodded in reply and scanned for activity on the communication bands. Their odds might be slim, but they had plenty to bargain with, and barring that, they’d fight to the last shred of hide any Zuul, Human, Pushtal, or Aku had.
“I have comms in the clear,” Sonya said after a moment, her ears pricked sharply forward.
“Let’s hear it,” he replied, bracing himself for threats and demands.
“This is Hrkef, Kal’Shin of Vo’Hosh. I am joined by Calrik, Kal’Shin of Cho’Hosh. Shadow, Kal’Shin of Krif’Hosh, we have heard your call, and the other Hosh answer. Welcome back. We are whole again.”
Night Song called, and the other Songs answered. The words erased all anxiety, and Shadow felt joy wash through every part of his body. The comms carried the sounds of Zuul howling their welcome from the distant ships, and the four siblings joined their voices.
The Songs were reunited.
The galaxy would sing.
# # # # #
Glossary
Characters:
Silent Night—light assault Human Mercenary Company
Anderle, Jill – Captain, Second Company Commander
Bana, Jose – Sergeant, Second Squad
Bates, John – Sergeant, First Squad
Candy, Forrest – Second Company
Chelsey, Sara – Corporal, Second Company
Dailey, Connor – Mechanic
Dyffid, Len – Private, Second Squad
Gardner, Eric – Second Company
Gibbs, Tony – Private, First Squad
Hewers, Jack – Private, First Squad
Hyll, Roger – Private, Second Squad
Newt, Edison – Second Company
Paulson, Kai – Private, Second Squad
Pierce, Andy – Second Company
Plesh, Tanya – Corporal, Second Squad
Porter, Alan – Colonel, Commanding Officer and owner
Porter, Dana – Captain, Logistics Officer
Porter, Drake – Private, Second Squad
Porter, Rex – Private, Second Squad
Porter, Ripley – Private, Second Squad
Porter, Shadow – Private, Second Squad
Porter, Sonya – Private, Second Squad
Prendergast, Dick “Flop” – Phoenix pilot
Salerson, Drew – Corporal, First Squad
Sauger, Tenny – Second Company
Tanner, Jody – Chief Physician
Tesafaye, Yonas – Captain, Wasp dropship Pilot, 2nd company
Tucker, Ethan – Captain, XO, commander first squad
ZMS Paku—Eshtoo class Zuul mercenary cruiser
A’kef – Rei’shin, clan Insho’Ze
I’kik – Captain, clan Insho’Ze
Isgono – Sei, Cho’Hosh
Kuru – mercenary, clan Insho’Ze
Makori – mercenary, clan Insho’Ze
Teef – Business representative, clan Insho’Ze
Uufek – Attaché from the K’lak
Veska, mercenary, clan Insho’Ze
Zuul Terminology:
Afu – clan. Clans are linked to worlds. If a clan relocates to a new planet, their clan name will change accordingly. Members of the same clan share a scent
Chi – Uncaste, no particular path or career
Es’Ufu – higher caste
Fi – soldier caste, usually a mercenary
Introductions – Because Zuul have been part of the Galactic Union so long, and have spread widely across the galaxy, they have a detailed way to place each other. Zuul are often described to each other by caste, sex, planet of origin, clan name, and then each of their scent markers. They historically do not bother to share this information with aliens, who tend to get at most a clan name.
Ja – original home world of the Zuul
Kal’Shin – the clan leader
K’lak – mercenary governing body of the Zuul
Kobo Ask’sha – formal greeting from Zuul to Zuul, usually after a long absence or in a more formal setting
Rei’Shin –the tactical/mercenary leader of a clan; non-mercenary clans will have a Rei’Shin focused on strategy and tactics for the clan, not mercenary contracts
Scent markers – the scent of every Zuul is definable and important across many of their cultures. They will verbally share their base and defining scents when distance makes a mor
e traditional greeting improbable. Defining scent markers are the Pek, and there are three levels, each with its own descriptor based on the smell itself:
A’at – first scent: Joat, Hoat, K’hoat, P’koat, Woat, Zoat
Mi’f – second scent: Jaf, Haf, K’af, P’kaf, Waf, Zaf
Sha’l – third scent: Jal, Hal, K’al, P’kal, Wal, Zal
Every Zuul has another scent as well, but there is no name for it—they are unique to individuals, like Human fingerprints. They can be identified by Zuul noses, but are not written about.
# # # # #
About Mark Wandrey
Living life as a full time RV traveler with his wife Joy, Mark Wandrey is a bestselling author who has been creating new worlds since he was old enough to write. A three-time Dragon Award finalist, Mark has written dozens of books and short stories, and is working on more all the time. A prolific world builder, he created the wildly popular Four Horsemen Universe, as well as the Earth Song series, and Turning Point, a zombie apocalypse series. His favorite medium is Military Sci-fi but he’s always up to a new challenge.
Find his books on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wandrey/e/B00914T11A/.
Sign up on his mailing list and get free stuff and updates! http://www.worldmaker.us/news-flash-sign-up-page/
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About Marisa Wolf
Marisa Wolf has lived in three very distinct regions of the United States of America (New England, the South, and Texas), visited 48 of the 50 states, and is aiming for the last two. With a career in education and a lifelong obsession with science fiction and fantasy, she is attempting to balance reading as many books as humanly possible while also finishing all those stories in her head. Clumsiest black belt you’ll ever meet. Currently roaming the country with her husband and two absurdly spoiled rescue dogs.
