by Vowron Prime
MC gave Xikanika a scathing stare and cleared his throat. “So, how can we help, your heinie-ness?”
Nina discretely kicked his shin, politely signaling him to shut up. If the empress noticed the acidity in his voice, she certainly didn’t react to it.
“We have received a carrier pigeon—several, actually—from Thesbea, requesting immediate military aid.”
“I understand the situation between Sorath and Thesbea to be tenuous at best,” Nina responded. “I would very much like to know the circumstances that led to such a request.”
Xikanika chuckled. “Tenuous! Yes, that is one word for it. A mild one. We are not enemies, but there is no love lost between us. For the Thesbeate Council to issue such a plea must mean that whatever threat they face has brought those egomaniacs to their knees. They must believe that I have forces hidden within their borders that would spring to their aid.”
“Do you?”
Xikanika smiled coyly. “Perhaps. Perhaps not.”
“And if you did, Thesbea would condemn you for that crime even if you sent them to help,” Nina said.
“Indeed. The notes mention unending hordes of werebeasts that have attacked a handful of their cities. It appears that their local military is outnumbered, and their reinforcements will not arrive in time. From the tone of these messages, it may only be a matter of time before several key cities fall, though I must admit that is unthinkable. As much as I detest those self-righteous merchant princes, their nation is not a weak one or it would have collapsed long ago.”
Nina spoke up again. “If I understand correctly, Thesbea is the only other significant power on the continent?”
“That is correct. Lentar and Ardun are the others, though their influence pales in comparison to Sorath and Thesbea.”
“Did they give you a head count? Any details on the enemy’s tactics?” MC asked.
The empress shook her head.
“We have only vague descriptions of hordes that have eradicated entire towns, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. It seems that their walled cities have fared slightly better, though their archers are insufficient against the might of the werebeasts. The Zevan are no strangers to werebeast attacks, but for them to attack with this number, in such force…”
“They’re organized this time. The fact that they’re systematically taking out one city after another indicates that they have some sort of leader pulling the strings behind the scenes.” MC locked eyes with Nova, who nodded.
“This might be the work of the Dyn. Your gods.”
“Why would they do such a thing? I have never seen such wanton destruction before. And besides, what would the gods gain by having the werebeasts attack Zevan when they could do a far better job with their own chariots? If they do want to indoctrinate us, as you say, this seems counterproductive,” Xikanika said, nervously fidgeting in her chair.
“Unsure,” he replied. “Maybe they want to cull the population a bit. At any rate, what exactly is Thesbea asking? For someone to save their entire country? Sounds like a pretty impossible task, even for us. Even if we wanted to,” he added, despite knowing full well that Nina wouldn’t see it that way. To have an entire country in their debt would no doubt make her eyes sparkle.
“Not quite. They have requested reinforcements for a specific city that has fallen under attack—the Star citadel of Nesthein. It is their prized jewel of a city. I presume that whatever little was left of their pride prevented them from asking for more. At any rate, please do not feel obligated to assist them. In fact, it is more beneficial for Sorath if they would fall.”
“Though,” she added after a pause, “perhaps the most beneficial outcome would be to have Thesbea indebted to a mutual friend. Even I do not want to go to war with them at this time.”
“Oh? So we’re friends now, huh? That’s news to me.”
To MC’s chagrin and Nina’s relief, the empress ignored his taunt.
“Please ignore my brother. His words are his own opinion and do not represent the Resistance's stance,” she said, staring MC in the eye.
He wisely remained silent.
“We will need to deliberate upon this,” Nina continued, “though we are sincerely grateful to you for bringing this to our attention.”
While Xikanika clearly wanted to chat with Nova, the empress’s attendant made it clear that she had other engagements to attend to. After bidding them farewell, the aide led the trio back outside the castle. They were silent until they returned to MC’s manor. Though the abode’s Resistance presence wasn’t especially large, the dozen or so fighters who were stationed there made for a more than welcoming sight.
Once they’d regrouped at Sanctuary’s CIC, Nina pulled her brother off to the side.
“Magnus, let me just come out and say it. When we’re talking to foreign envoys, let alone royalty, I’m going to need you to let me handle the talking. Look, I get it. The empress is a bitch. I want to wring her neck as badly as you do, but do you have any idea how devastating your snide remarks can be? We’re incredibly vulnerable right now and the empress knows it. We need all the help we can get, so she has the upper hand in our negotiations. All it takes is a few select words to completely destroy our rapport with Sorath. Not to mention that she can just rat us out to the Legatus if she wants. The Legatus may order her around, but he's also her armor. You do realize that, right?”
“I know what’s at stake, princess. It’s just that every time I visit that damn castle, I’m reminded of...”
“All the Zevan you killed?”
MC’s eyes went wide. “When Nova told me that this was all real, I didn’t want to believe it. Because it meant I’d have to come to terms with... all of that.”
“Well, have you?”
“It’s my problem. I’ll deal with it. I’ve dealt with worse.”
I really don’t know if you have, Nina thought.
“Just make sure you rely on me—on us if you need to. We’re here for you. Always.”
“Thanks, princess. Now let’s discuss the matter at hand,” MC said, walking to the center of the room. Krar and Nova had assembled there as well.
“So? Are we going to help them?” Nina asked.
“With our current level of resources, we should be searching for more matter fabricators and consolidating our power base,” Krar posited. “If we have the manpower to spare, we should target the Dyn’s underground water contamination facility instead. Defending a Zevan country does not seem like a logical course of action to me.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate the benefit of having a large country like Thesbea in our debt,” Nina countered. “We could have an endless supply of soldiers, access to materials, opportunities to set up forward staging bases—the list goes on.”
Nova, who had been listening to the conversation in silence, finally spoke up. “Actually, there is a Dyn facility near one of the towns the Thesbeans are asking us to aid.” She activated the hologlobe, zooming in on the southern part of the Greater Jaluun continent upon which Sorath and Thesbea were situated. “We may be able to accomplish both objectives at once.”
Krar hovered closer to the globe and extended a mechanical arm. “I recognize this. It is a Qephyx antigravity research base, likely positioned there to maintain a nearby presence to the Zevan. Chances are good that they would have a matter fabricator on hand, and perhaps even a secondary power source we may be able to transport back.”
MC was liking this plan. “So we save a couple of towns, get in the good graces of one of the major powers on this planet, and snag a few alien goodies to boot. What’s not to like? Maybe we can even field-test Heimdall.”
“I would advise extreme caution around the usage of your new superweapon,” Krar said. “While targets on the ground may not be able to resist such kinetic force, the satellite itself is very vulnerable. The Legatus maintains several planet-side installations capable of striking orbital craft. The only reason he not already attacked them is because he is unawa
re of their existence. Use the mass driver only as a last resort.”
As eager as MC was to rain hell from space, Krar was right. They’d have to arm the satellites with some countermeasures or they’d be sitting ducks.
“I, uh, I think I’m gonna hang back on this one,” Nina said, clearing her throat. “I’ve had my fill of frontline combat for now. I’ll come along for the ride, but I’ll stay up in the air with Reaver until the killing’s done. Nova and I can handle the negotiations after that.”
“Agreed.” To be honest, MC didn’t want either of them anywhere near a battlefield if he could help it, so Nina’s comment made his life a whole lot simpler.
“I shall accompany you as well, Magnus,” Nova said, to everyone’s surprise. “It does not seem fair for me to hide here in safety while you risk your life.”
MC chuckled. “It’s more than fair, Nova. You’ve probably contributed more to Sanctuary’s expansion than any of us. You have every right to stay here while we grunts go out there and dish out the damage.”
But Nova shook her head, unconvinced. “Even so. If I am to be the figurehead of this Rebellion, the Zevan need to see me in person. Some mascot shown off at gatherings and political tables will not win their favor. And, I want this. I want to help you out there as much as I do in here.”
MC felt his resistance crumble. He’d always been a sucker for displays of strong willpower, and thanks to the parasite, his resistance to her wishes seemed to crumble like a sandcastle in a hurricane.
“Fine. I respect that. But you’re going to be staying inside Reaver with Nina, well away from the actual fighting, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”
He looked around at his trusted advisers. “Well, all right then! We’d better hop to it. That country’s not going to unfuck itself!”
Forty-One
The elevated platform that ringed Sanctuary’s crater had seen significant improvements. A cable car had been installed on the sloped tunnel that ran all the way to the sentry station. The station itself had greatly expanded into a three-story affair that contained bunks, a common room, and dining amenities for anyone stationed there.
The station also housed a mini-CIC that was patched into Inner Sanctuary deep within the crater’s walls. In addition, sensors and antennas had been placed all along the top of the rim. The Sanctuary complex was slowly growing, inching ever closer to a full military base. With a few alien twists, of course.
“They are not ready,” Krar commented on the trainees from his vantage high atop the sentry station’s railing.
“They’re really not,” MC agreed, leaning over the railing next to him. A Zevan soldier attempted to drop out of a hovering Reaver only to get tangled in the rope, stuck halfway down. His teammates gawked for several moments before they hauled him back up into the ship.
“But we don’t really have much of a choice, do we?” MC continued. “Opportunity waits for no one.”
Krar’s orb shuddered at the sight of a Zevan knight completely missing his target at a hundred yards. MC had learned that Krar’s shuddering gesture translated pretty well to the human analog. And that demonstration of marksmanship truly was cringeworthy.
“The Zevan are more or less expendable, though I am saddened that my own troops will have to fight alongside such incompetent soldiers.”
MC narrowed his eyes at that. “Krar? I get that you’re an alien. You guys probably don’t think anything at all like humans or Zevan do, but you gotta change that attitude. As you say, those knights may very well dictate whether the whole squad lives or dies when shit hits the fan.”
The Dyn drillmaster chewed out the poor knight, who apologized profusely for his poor display of marksmanship.
“I’m not going to try to push human ethics on you by preaching about equality and all that bullshit. But there really are many good reasons why you should give them a bit more respect. With all the resources we’re pouring into their training, they will soon cease to be expendable, even if they were before. Especially when they’re protecting your Resistance fighters’ asses. Or, orb-behinds?”
Krar actually enunciated a laugh over his speaker system. “True. Very true. I find it difficult to place a life that will live for a mere eighty years on the same level as one of us, with our many centuries of experience. Yet it is as you say. Regardless of my personal feelings, as a commander of troops, that was a shameful display. Forgive me.”
“No worries, bud,” MC said, slapping his friend’s smooth, spherical frame. “We’re all learning as we go.”
Watching the soldiers train, MC noticed one particular Dyn in full combat armor running through a tactical shoot-and-move drill. Wielding a rail rifle, he ducked and wove through the obstacle course like a dancer. Diving into a prone position, he delivered three rounds into a basketball-sized target at two hundred yards. Every shot found its mark.
He wasn’t done. Before the final target’s projection had disappeared, he’d already launched himself into a forward roll, retrieving his rail pistol to put shot after shot through the center of mass of several moving Zevan-shaped targets, shooting as he ducked and dodged.
Retrieving a shotgun placed on a table, he pulverized a dozen more virtual opponents, eliminating them with a dozen rounds. By the time he’d finished, there wasn’t a single target left.
He wrapped up by clearing each weapon to ensure that they were unloaded before handing them back to the armorer, nonchalantly walking away as if he’d just taken a stroll around the crater.
“Krar, just who the hell is that? Your Dyn boys and girls are all pretty good shots, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone—human or alien—run that course that fast. That was a SpecOps-level run ’n gun.”
“Ah yes, that would be Torneus. Having joined us only a decade ago, he is one of our most promising young upstarts. Though he lacks actual combat experience, his skill and passion for self-development are unquestionable.”
“A good soldier’s always appreciated, but how’s his leadership?” MC asked as he watched Torneus’s fellow Dyn congratulate him. A few Zevan knights even approached him to offer their praise—a first.
“He has not had many opportunities in that area, I am afraid. I think he would be an excellent commander, if mentored appropriately.”
MC knew what Krar was getting at, and he honestly didn’t mind being a coach. “Set him up as a squad leader on this op. I’ll join his team for this upcoming mission. I’ll evaluate his performance on the ground and give him some feedback.”
“Consider it done!” Krar let some glee leak into his synthesized voice.
Their conversation was interrupted by a flashing message in the corner of MC’s visor’s HUD.
“Magnus? Testing, one-two? You hear me?”
“Loud ’n clear, princess. I take it our new GPS comms system is working as expected?”
The satellites had only recently stabilized in a geosynchronous orbit. Thanks to the efforts of both Nova and Sarek, everything had gone off without a hitch. As much of a prick as Sarek was, he’d micromanaged the sats like a hawk, ensuring that any issues were caught as early as possible.
Nova answered his question. “The Eye in the Sky Network has been operating flawlessly thus far.”
“And what about Heimdall?”
“The mass driver’s status checks show all green, though I would very much like to test it.”
“Me too, Nova. Krar’s got a point, though. The Legatus is going to retaliate the instant we use that thing. Until we can better protect the satellite, we should keep it for emergencies. You think it’ll work when we need it?”
“Oh, yes! I expect no issues firing the orbital weapon.”
“Excellent. Most excellent.” MC broke out into a fit of sinister laughter. How long had it been since shit had gone so well?
“Uh, maniacal villain much, Magnus?” His dear sister had no right to ridicule him. She, too, was laughing diabolically.
“Good news, I take it?” Krar asked from
beside him.
“Oh yes. Extremely. Between our comms system, fire support from Reaver, and the troops’ new weapons and armor, I don’t know if it will matter much that their marksmanship sucks balls. Let’s go put Thesbea in our debt.”
MC and Krar faced their platoon in the middle of the lava-filled crater, observing. The pilot program’s results would largely determine how future squads would be trained. What better way to forge their mettle than by genuine combat? MC only hoped that they’d all make it back alive.
At least they looked the part, all decked out in their matte-black composite armor and faceless helmets. A freshly fueled Reaver emerged from Sanctuary’s tunnel, the din of its ducted fans roaring.
MC was reminded of another issue that had caused him no end of stress lately: training up a Dyn pilot for the gunship. To her credit, Edana had considerable piloting experience, so she’d gained proficiency at an astonishing rate. While he’d love to pilot the craft at all times, it didn’t make sense for him to be its sole operator as he moved to a more strategic role within their budding organization.
Granted, most generals tended not to take to the field in combat, but then, he was a bit of an exception. Even with all of the alien tech the Resistance had brought in, MC was still their best combat unit, and not by a small margin. An army unto himself, he’d be the most valuable member of the org even if he wasn’t their shadow leader.
Responsibility always sounded great, but in reality, all it caused was stress, gray hair, and a shorter life. At least his hair was still mostly black.
For now.
The daunting gunship landed in the middle of the steamy crater, lowering its rear ramp the instant it touched down.
“All right, you know the drill. Board!” Krar shouted.
At least the troops had mastered this maneuver, jogging into the gunship in ordered columns of two abreast. They secured their rifles next to their jumpseats, sat down, and secured themselves for the ride. Nina and Nova joined them at the last minute.
