Revelations- Rain of Fire

by R. E. Graham

  “You haven’t told me poosh!” Hern said as he brought a small knife to hold up in front of the bounty Hunter. “But you will.”

  “I…have orders to speak with Mikhail,” Carlo said mustering what little strength his battered body could draw up.

  Hern, however, was not in a great mood. His face twisted into a rage and he stabbed down as hard as he could with the knife and impaled it into the other man's leg. He screamed in agony but could do little more than rock in his chair.

  Sensing a presence behind him, Hern turned around to see that Mikhail was watching them both.

  “This piece of poosh said that he was supposed to deliver a message to you.”

  The pirate lord stood utterly silent as the bounty Hunter looked up to him. There was no sympathy within Mikhail as he stared at Carlo in his beaten condition.

  “Like he said…I have a message.”

  “Speak,” the pirate lord said with a low growl in his voice.

  “If you abandon Onyx and go home there…won’t be anymore hits out on you,” the assassin said as he struggled to keep his head up.

  Mikhail opened his mouth to speak but closed it as he looked up at the ceiling. The bounty Hunter got the distinct impression that this conversation was not at all going the way he would have liked.

  “Look, it was just a job. It…wasn’t personal.”

  "" Just a job," hmm?" the pirate lord asked as he brought his eyes to lock with the prisoner.

  “Was it just a job when you shot and killed my men?”

  Carlo glanced from Mikhail to Hern, who just stood there with his own arms crossed.

  The pirate lord noticed a cart off to the side that had been wheeled into the room, probably by Hernando when he first began the interrogation process. On top of the cart were all sorts of sharp or cutting instruments. No doubt the head bodyguard was looking to intimidate the bounty Hunter.

  On a lower shelf of the cart, a handle stuck out that got Mikhail's attention. He strolled over and pulled the handle free and discovered an intense looking ax head fixed to the other end of it.

  Carlo's eyes grew very wide as he watched the pirate lord admire the brutal weapon. While it was a small ax, it certainly was not something the bounty Hunter wanted his most recent target to be hefting in their hand while he was all tied up.

  “Lo…look, I’m sorry about how this turned out.”

  Hern figured he knew how things were about to turn and scoffed. “It’s a bit late for that fella.”

  Mikhail gripped the handle tightly in his right hand. Strangely, it felt like it was meant just for him. He took another moment to study the small ax before he slowly looked over at the bound man at the center of the room. His eyes were soulless and his voice devoid of any emotion.

  “Give yourself over to your fury!” the voice whispered into his ear. “He tried to kill you. Tried to kill Rhonda!”

  As the pirate lord took a step forward, the prisoner tried to scurry away, but his legs were also bound to the chair. "Hey now. I'll tell you whatever you want to know" Carlo begged. He turned his head back to the head bodyguard. "It was Redbeard. He sprung me from jail."

  The name of the other pirate lord sort of brought Mikhail out of his daze. “Redbeard?”

  “Ye…yeah. He got me out and hired me to come for you.”

  Gripping the handle even tighter Mikhail brought the ax back up.

  “I’ll work for you. I’ll go and kill Redbeard…”

  The bounty Hunter wasn't able to Finish his sentence as the pirate lord swung and cut deep into the other man's neck. He hacked away again and again until the head was free, and it rolled to the floor. Blood was everywhere, but Hern and Mikhail were unphased.

  Taking the ax, the pirate lord wiped the blood off of it and onto Carlo's pants. He then took the weapon and tucked it into his belt.

  “I want his head saved. Throw the rest of him into the garbage,” Mikhail said as he looked over to his old shipmate.

  “Yes, Lord,” Hern replied somberly.

  At that moment his respect, or maybe fear, for Lord Onyx grew a great deal. Gone was the man he once knew. This Mikhail was something different.

  Unbeknown to either of the two men was the dark creature that lurked in the corner of the room. Greed grinned devilishly at Mikhail and his rage.

  Chapter 12

  Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Day: 26

  Outer Rim Colonial Alliance Space

  Planet: Ko’Bac

  Location: Onyx Headquarters

  Major Daena Wer along with her new recruits and fellow mech pilots were all called to a gathering inside the hangar. The other key personnel of the Onyx headquarters, captains from the docked fleet, and more were all brought together for something, but only rumors swirled as to what.

  The hours after the attack on her Lord’s life had been hectic, but now things had calmed down. She had used the experience to help her come up with some new deployment options and planned to discuss them with Lord Mikhail when the time was right.

  With so many people called together in the hangar, Toni’s leg bounced up and down. Despite nearly all of WarMechs being repaired back to standby status he and his technicians had a lot of work to complete.

  Skarr, who was sitting beside Major Wer, made eye contact with the master tech. Toni did not look very happy to have one of his best people now palling around with the pilots, but he had little choice in the matter. Lord Onyx had reassigned the young man without very much explanation.

  The air in the hangar began to feel very warm with all of the people close together and breathing. Skarr looked around at all the faces of the other Onyx pirates. Some who knew who he was glared at him, jealous of his promotion to pilot, while others nodded approvingly. Mech pilots were already held to a different standard, but that was even truer out in the Outer Rim Colonial Alliance.

  An exceptional pilot could be worth their weight in gold seeing as how they were difficult to come by. The fact that Lord Tarvus had been so quick to select new pilots angered others as they too wanted an opportunity but had been overlooked. While Skarr was turning out to be a solid recruit, he hadn’t been with Onyx very long.

  As the creaky door of the hangar swung open the members in the room got quiet. Lord Onyx stepped in with Hern and Dirk directly behind him. The two men stepped off to the side while Mikhail walked straight into the middle of the gathering. Some didn’t notice right away, but as he got closer many took note of the dingy white object in his hand.

  Each step he took the ax tucked into his belt bounced and made a distinct clicking sound. The pirate lord stopped beside one of his loader trucks and slammed down a skull. You could hear the sound of a pin drop as the entire room got intensely still.

  “This right here is what’s left of the man who attacked me yesterday,” Mikhail said pointing angrily.

  Skarr took a moment to analyze the faces across from him and saw that they all were intently listening to their Lord. It was as if you could feel the palpable fear in the hangar.

  “Before I lopped his fraggin’ head off, this bastard told me that he was hired by Redbeard.”

  Some of the attendees began to murmur and whisper while Deimos visibly stiffened. Mikhail spotted the change in his closest captain and made a mental note to speak with him later on.

  The room got quiet again as the pirate lord continued to speak. “I spent last night thinking about what my response was going to be, and I have made my decision. We are going to war!”

  Instantly some of those gathered erupted in anger. Captain Marcos of the Gally, the freighter that survived the fighting on Destiny, stood up. “Lord, we cannot do this!”

  “And why not?” Mikhail asked viciously. “We were attacked.”

  “No, you were attacked!” spat another crewmember of one of the transports.

  Hern kept looking out into the crowd watching for anyone to attempt to draw a weapon. He was not about to allow anyone to have a chance to harm Mikhail again.

  “My c
rew and I are not about to be engaged in another conflict for you,” Marcos said as his first mate stood to back his captain up.

  The pirate lord pointed at Captain Marcos and spoke with such bitterness that everyone else became silent. “I will not have anyone in my organization that will not serve me.”

  “Then you’ll have to throw us out too,” Captain Anthony of the Kilroy said as he raised his hand. “I lost fifteen men in the fight against the Lawman. My ship barely made it back to Ko’Bac!”

  Many others chanted in agreement.

  Mikhail lowered his arm and looked around the room. Here was his moment to either bring together Onyx fully under his leadership or for everything to fall apart. He knew that the other pirates in his realm that were spread about on other worlds would obey if he could convince everyone in this hangar to fall in line. The pirate lord was quickly discovering that being in charge of his people was more than just being the captain of a ship, he had to demand respect from those who knew him as the man before he was a lord.

  “I will make this simple. Anyone who wishes to leave, you are free to go. However, your ships and your gear are mine.”

  That enraged the disputing captains all the more.

  “You don’t own my ship,” Marcos said as he took a step forward. He thrust his thumb back at his chest. “I own my ship free and clear.”

  The pirate lord raised his head then turned to the angered pirate captain. “When I became lord of Onyx, all of you became my subjects.”

  “Ha, you act like you are a king or somethin’,” Anthony teased. “You are just some duster off of Destiny. You’re a nobody.”

  “Make an example of him,” the voice said into Mikhail’s ear.

  The pirate lord wiped his scruffy beard with his right hand, and he nodded to himself. He drew his pistol and shot three times into Captain Anthony's chest. Everyone that stood or sat around him jumped and scuffled back as the man crumpled to the ground. While some watched the pool of blood growing around the dead man, one of the other pirates from across the hangar drew his pistol but was blasted in the head by Hern.

  Many of those in the room now were cautious to make a wrong move, and most decided to listen than cause a scene.

  A small trail of smoke drifted from the barrel of Mikhail’s pistol. He held the handgun at a low angle but kept it easily visible for everyone present.

  “Anyone who will not serve is free to go. However, your ships and your mechs are mine. I reward those who serve me with opportunity and with property.”

  No one in the room seemed to take him up on the offer. Even Captain Marcos was tight-lipped. Mikhail looked around the room making eye contact with many of the men and women of Onyx.

  "I promised you wealth, and I mean to fulfill my words. Stand by me and you will have more than you can imagine. But get in my way, and I will shoot you down."

  Hern and Dirk continued eyeing the other pirates, but no one was anxious to get shot. Daena was unsure of how she felt about all of this. While she was indeed very appreciative for the Lord's trust in her leadership, she did not sign up to become like property herself. Skarr, on the other hand, was extremely confident in serving Lord Onyx, and at that moment decided that he was going to do whatever it took to help the man who finally gave him a chance at being a pilot.

  "We are going to go and track down Redbeard, and then I am going to personally kill him as payback for sending a damned assassin to kill me in my home," Mikhail said making it clear how he felt about Ko'Bac now. He raised his voice so that everyone would hear him very clearly. "And when I do, all of Ruby will become mine, and I will reward everyone involved in the operation with thousands of cuso."

  That certainly got many of the attendee’s attention. Each had different wages depending on the role they filled in the organization, but many never saw more than a couple hundred throughout an entire cycle. To receive even a thousand was a tremendous gift, let alone thousands.

  Skarr jumped to his feet and stood tall. "I am with you, Lord."

  Mikhail nodded to the young man with a stern look.

  One by one more and more men and women stood and proclaimed their loyalty. Deimos sat in his metal chair making up his mind. He eventually rose up too when he realized that Mikhail was staring right at him. Gyy, the comm's officer for the Midnight, was standing behind Deimos and was getting very anxious of everyone who was excited to unite under the pirate lord. He tried to blend in, but Hern, in particular, took notice of his behavior.

  “Tonight, we celebrate that Redbeard’s assassin failed. Tomorrow we begin our plans to take from him everything!”

  The hangar erupted in a roar that could be heard from a great distance. Mikhail grinned widely knowing, that at least for now, Onyx was in the palm of his hand.

  Chapter 13

  Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Day: 26

  Outer Rim Colonial Alliance Space

  Planet: Ko’Bac

  Location: Onyx Headquarters

  The celebrations spilled out of the typical locales of the mess hall and onsite bar to the grounds around the warehouse too. Almost all of the men and women of Onyx drank and partied. Lord Onyx had returned to see the Duchess, which was something that Gyy Deeds made sure of before he snuck back to the Midnight.

  He opened the door for the navigation room and checked inside if he was alone. Not seeing anyone he hastily shut the door after checking the hall for any witnesses. The comm’s officer locked the door and quietly stepped over to the communication terminal.

  His fingers nervously danced across the keyboard as he typed in the emergency signal he had been instructed to use just in case of this situation. He accessed a program that he entered an encryption code so that the communication was somewhat protected.

  As the signal was connected, the terminal's screen showed a counter tracking the seconds the call was made, counting down from sixty seconds. The call had such a short length as to not cause an alarm in the ship's communications log for an unauthorized signal. Besides, there wasn't much time before he would be missed by the celebration outside.

  “Come on, come on…” he muttered under his breath.

  Finally, there was a confirmation on the other end of the signal and a green light shown on the screen.

  “Speak,” the low rumbling voice said tiredly.

  “Lord Redbeard, I have some very bad news that I knew you would want to hear immediately.”

  “This had better be important Gyy. It’s three in the morning here.”

  The comm’s officer got a little closer to the console as to keep his voice down. “Earlier today a bounty Hunter attacked Lord Mikhail.”

  “Okay,” Redbeard said not wanting to give away if he had been the one responsible in case someone else was listening in.

  “Thing is, he failed.”

  Lord Ruby did not respond, but Gyy imagined he would have looked very flustered at the disturbing update.

  “It gets worse though. I guess he spilled the truth and Mikhail knows you’re linked to the assassination attempt.”

  Redbeard’s voice got very intimidating, even just through the speaker of the terminal. “Now you listen closely scrub. I need to know exactly what his next move is going to be.”

  “Lord, he’s coming for you.”

  The signal again got very quiet. No doubt Redbeard was contemplating his own next step if Lord Onyx was prepared to attack him.

  “Ha, let him try. I am surrounded by a fortress. He’ll never even make it to the surface.”

  Gyy's palms were nervously sweating. "Lord, may I request a transfer off of the Midnight? The thing is…um, Lord Mikhail seems like a ruthless man and I fear he will discover I am…" the comm's officer was interrupted by a deafening bang.

  He looked down to see his clothing was quickly becoming stained by his own blood.

  “What was that?” Redbeard asked. “Gyy? Are you there?”

  The comm’s officer struggled to turn around to find Deimos standing in the doorway. His large muscu
lar body took up nearly the entire frame.

  Gyy stumbled and fell to the ground and died within a few moments as his body lost consciousness from the substantial blood loss.

  Lord Ruby remained on the call but stayed quiet, waiting for whoever was in the room to speak.

  Captain Deimos walked up to the dying man with his gun still aimed at him, just in case. He too remained silent unsure of what to say. His heart beat quickly within his chest as he thought of how things were spiraling out of control.

  Not being able to stand the dead silence any longer Redbeard spoke up first. “Mikhail is that you?”

  Deimos stepped up to the console and saw that the signal was nearly out of time. “Val, I’m sure he told you,” he said referencing the now dead spy.

  “Your Lord will fail if he thinks he can kill me.”

  "Val, you need to be careful. He has incredible luck, and he has an insatiable bloodlust."

  Redbeard chuckled at the idea that someone like Mikhail could be any threat to the extremely powerful leader of Ruby. “Let him try little brother. Let him try.”

  Deimos reached over and pressed the button to end the signal. He looked back at Gyy and quickly came up with a story to explain how he discovered the comm's officer was an informant for Redbeard. Things in Onyx were shaking up, and he needed to be certain that he was on the positive side of things.

  He would never admit it out loud, but Mikhail's actions did cause him a bit of worry. The way he brutally handled things was barbaric, yet it captivated the other pirates. Yondo had been so very different. In fact, he had never heard of a pirate behaving in such a manner. But if a war was brewing between the Five Skulls, he needed to make a decision as to which side he was going to be on.

  Either the lord that he swore allegiance to or his own flesh and blood. No matter which he chose he risked losing everything in the end. One thing was for sure, Mikhail wasn't going to allow the attempt on his life to go unpunished. That was for certain.

  Back on Frost, Redbeard laid his head down on the pillow. Beside him in the bed was a woman covered with a silky white sheet. Her exposed shoulder rotated as she rolled over to check on her husband.