by Skyler Grant
"You were smart. Hanging back, letting others paint the biggest target on their back. That is the Rena I remember. Now you're number one with your vulnerable bits hanging out like you're one of your dancers," Quinn said.
"When one of these jokers wins they're going to make a lot of noise about restoring order, and my ever-so-precious head is going to wind up on a spike. It's that or I steal their prize from them," Rena said.
"Gunning your way through them for a throne you have no interest in?"
"Damned either way. Anyway, I don't have your crown, but I know who does. I can help you get it. The real question is what can you possibly do for me?" Rena asked.
It was a good question. They hadn't exactly been friends. Being interested in a woman years ago wasn't a close bond. Still, she had a lot to offer. Ships, resources, and information.
Quinn said, "I've got two planets that aren't a part of the Imperium and aren't ever going to be. The Queen of Thieves has no dreams of being Empress. If you don’t want living, breathing, targets prepared to take a bullet for you in front of you for the rest of your life, I promise you that you could do worse," Quinn said.
This wasn't the plan, not at all. It didn't mean it wasn't worth trying.
"It doesn't work that way. You know that. You can't just up and move a whole criminal empire," Rena said bitterly.
"You want an option? I just gave you one. I know you'll be giving up a lot. How much is that oh-so-precious head of yours worth?" Quinn asked.
"Any of your people want to go straight, they'll have the chance. If not, we're a whole new frontier. Or at least a really old frontier. There are fortunes to be made," Dela said.
"And the catch?" Rena asked.
"There is an army of super-advanced mages about to invade the Imperium right through our front yard," Quinn said.
It was better to frank, Rena would find out anyways.
"Well, thank you for your utterly terrible option," Rena said.
The lights flickered. Around the room there were purple cracks appearing, seemingly in space itself. Where they intersected a body, that person began to scream. With a second flare the room was suddenly filled with aliens. They looked a bit as if someone had decided to cross a horse with a cockroach, thick bulky rifles held in spindly arms.
They opened fire. When a shot was fired into the crowd it sent body parts flying, with people in a straight line being torn apart.
Quinn dove behind a couch at the same time as Dela and Rena were doing the same.
"Well, these guys I don't recognize," Rena said.
Rena's bodyguards had also found cover and were firing on the aliens. Each alien was able to take several shots before going down, but go down they did. Unfortunately more purple cracks were blossoming—more reinforcements were already inbound.
One wasn't an alien. At least, not entirely. Quinn recognized her from the briefing aboard Joline's flagship.
"That is Lexi Ch'Kai. You made a nasty enemy," Quinn said.
"I've never met the woman," Rena said.
"Those aren't Ch'Kai. They're Ardoka. They create beautiful operas, because they're sensitive to sound," Dela said.
Quinn really needed to take Dela on more missions. While an ass-kicker like Kara would be awfully welcome right about now, knowledge had its place.
"Turn up the noise," Rena shouted at the top of her lungs.
It was an automated command. The lights instantly began to flash, pulsing painfully as the volume of the music tripled.
The Ardoka's whinnied in pain, several of their next shots going wide and splashing against walls as the guests of the club continued to run for the exits.
"With me," Rena said, firing off a few shots towards Lexi before reaching a seemingly blank section of wall. With a press of her palm against it, a panel slid aside, revealing a room that looked to be half-elevator, half-bedroom.
The chaise exploded behind them as they lunged through the gap. The door slid back into place. As the elevator began to move Rena wasted no time, aiming her gun at Quinn's head.
"They're not with us," Quinn said.
"Really?" Rena said. "You show up and my goddamned club gets invaded by aliens?"
"Coincidence is a bit high," Dela said.
"You're taking her side?" Quinn asked.
"Just running the numbers and looking at the facts. We're not working with them, she's not working with them, but their timing is too much of a coincidence," Dela said.
Rena cursed under her breath and dropped her gun. "Optima Three Eight Wendigo Green. Blank the slate and close the books."
"Authorization recognized. Starting the fire sale," came a pleasant voice from the walls.
"I shut down the internal sensor net and erased the systems. If you're not working with them, they've been watching me for awhile—and made their move now because of two high priority targets in one place," Rena said.
Now she was all business, a lot more the Rena that Quinn remembered.
"We're not a high priority target," Dela said.
"Run the numbers and never sleep again at night," Rena said with a feral grin.
"We can give you a ride off-world," Quinn said.
"Got my own ride and my business isn't done. Don't know if I'm taking you up on your offer. I'll let you know when I've done some killing. Kam Roush has the crown," Rena said.
At least the trip wasn't wasted, assuming they could get off-world alive.
9
The elevator opened into a far tamer club on the surface. Both inside and on the streets beyond there were no signs of any panic. Everybody still seemed to be going about their business as if somewhere people weren't being blown up by alien invaders.
Rena barely spared them a backwards glance as she slipped off into the crowd.
Quinn hit his comm.
"Hi Captain!" Melody answered perkily.
"We found Rena, but we've got a tiny bit of an alien invasion problem. Get everyone back to the ship and get us ready for launch," Quinn said.
"Wow. Okay, I'll call them home," Melody said.
Another voice cut in. "Aliens? Tell me more," Kalisa said.
"They're called the Ardoka. The Empire conquered them a few centuries back," Dela said.
Quinn and Dela hurried through the streets, pausing every so often to check the direction. The problem with being in one massive market was that everything looked alike. Everywhere was new wares and new shoppers, and you'd swear you'd seen a shop before, when really you were just seeing the same goods hanging in different windows.
Quinn's comm chirped.
"Hurry, I found their ship. If they’re playing nice it’s for an objective, not out of necessity. They can scorch this place," Kalisa said.
That clearly wasn't good news. If they'd taken things slow at first it was likely because they wanted to make sure they got their primary targets, rather than lose them in the confusion of a more widespread assault. If they decided they weren't going to get what they came for with a more targeted approach, they might well hope to get them with collateral damage. Meaning, take out the whole planet.
Quinn and Dela moved to a full sprint.
By the time they reached the Centauri Bliss Kara was standing on the ramp with a heavy rifle in her hands. Her armor had several recent rents, she'd been through a fight.
"They came after you?" Quinn asked.
"All of us. You're the last back. Few injuries, nobody dead. They sent three squads after Jinx.”
Kara was already closing the hatch as Quinn left the hold, heading for the cockpit.
Quinn found Kalisa in the copilot's seat and he settled in beside her.
"Have they hit the ship?" Quinn asked.
"We weren't their goal, and when you informed me of who they were I looked them up in your database and arranged appropriate defenses against their technology," Kalisa said.
"You can do that?"
"I am a five-rune Chaos mage, and one of the greatest minds in the galaxy. Yes, I can do t
hings," Kalisa said curtly. "That won't apply once we lift. I might be able to block their teleportation technology, but their vessel has energy cannons ready for a planetary bombardment. I won't be stopping those."
The aliens would be having trouble pin-pointing them on the surface now, there was too much noise. That wouldn't apply once they lifted, and if they were hunting the Centauri Bliss they'd have a clean shot. Of course, they also had the runic sphere.
Quinn hit the ship-wide comm. "We're all aboard, but there are hostiles in orbit. We need you on the orb, Jinx."
"I figured. I'm ready. We just going to leave these people to die though?" Jinx asked.
Quinn didn't like the idea, but he wasn't sure what they could do about it. Even with the few weapons that Kalisa had installed, they were a far cry from a battlecruiser.
"Even if Joline had the ships to spare I don't think she'd be willing to lose them to defend a planet of criminals," Tamara called over the comm.
"Despite what movies would tell you, hacking alien computer systems isn't easy. I'm out," Mara said.
There wasn't anything they could do. There shouldn't be anything they could do, but the thought of abandoning this world left Quinn deeply unsettled. It wasn't just wanting to do the right thing—although he did. They were the Clan of Thieves, and these people were thieves. The reputation of the Centauri Bliss was just the stuff of holos in the Core, like faked movies and false heroes, but saving this world would change that. It would make them real to all the people here.
Quinn looked over to Kalisa who was relaxed in the copilot’s seat and looking entirely too calm and at ease.
"If anyone here can save this planet it’s you," Quinn said.
"Or Tourmaline. That woman is far more dangerous than you've realized," Kalisa said mildly. "But while I'd enjoy a little bloodshed it might be risky, even for me."
Quinn hit a comm channel. "Tamara, I need you on the bridge. Now."
Kalisa arched a brow. "You're actually going through with it? Consider me impressed."
"I'm going through with something. We shouldn't run, not from this."
"You needed me?" Tamara asked, poking her head in.
"I trust my gut enough to risk myself, but not this whole family. I don't know why, but my instincts are screaming at me that this is a turning point. This is a planet of thieves and if Jinx walks off and leaves them to die, it will resonate." Quinn focused intently on Tamara. "I want to risk our lives for this. Do you agree?"
It was a first really. Tamara ran the family, but Quinn ran the ship. It was an agreement they'd settled on early. It was a sign of just how much Quinn had come to trust her judgment that he was asking her opinion.
Tamara couldn't hide her surprise, but she was too much the professional for it to linger long. "You're starting to buy into my vision, aren't you? I wouldn't have thought it that critical, but I trust your judgment."
Quinn looked back to Kalisa. "What would you need to take out that ship?"
"I'd need to get access to their engines. Chaos magic could drive them out of control, but I'll burn a lot of power and there is a magical element to their technology. I'll need our deadliest fighters to watch my back. Tourmaline, Kara, Mara, Vess."
"And Jinx. I don't care about it being the right thing to do. The only reason I'm agreeing is what it will do for her legend. I know she isn't ready. Tourmaline can keep her alive," Tamara said.
"I still don't have a reason to do it. And before you offer me a place in your family, be assured I'm not actually that interested in any of you," Kalisa said, dripping with sarcasm.
"Too bad, because that is exactly what I'm offering, if Tamara agrees. I don't know if the Imperium survives what is coming, but our family, and our clan, might. We'll be stronger with you," Quinn said.
Tamara focused a long stare on Quinn before tilting her head silently.
Kalisa said, "I think you're right. I think the clans will win, and your Imperium will burn. When I joined you I thought my apprentice might change that, but she isn't ready. You need a lot from me, but you've got nothing to offer."
Jinx had arrived at the cockpit behind Tamara. She said, "You're right, I'm not ready yet. But you're also wrong, we've got something to trade." Quinn had no idea how long she'd been standing there.
"What brought you here?" Kalisa asked, her eyes alert with interest. "You weren't called."
"This conversation matters. Our decisions here matter," Jinx said firmly.
"The grand designs of magic as glimpsed by a mage of Order. How curious you saw it first," Kalisa said, with a glance at Quinn.
"Blood, mingling. Magic working its way backward. I don't have to make Quinn an Order mage. It’s happening on its own because of our child," Jinx said.
"There must have been mundane and magical pregnancies before," Kalisa mused. "But perhaps not with a runed mage. The Emperor I remember was a loyal man. Interesting but ..."
"So I wonder what would happen if you made him a Chaos mage?" Jinx said, watching Kalisa carefully.
Kalisa let out a breathless laugh. "An experiment to mingle the lines wrought upon your own husband and the father of your child? Oh, my apprentice. How special you are."
Quinn didn't love the sound of just how excited Kalisa was to have him become a science experiment, or how willing Jinx seemed to be to make him one. He also didn't love the fact that the same instincts telling him not to leave this world defenseless were shouting at him to accept this offer.
"But then your loyalty is absolute. You're one of us and a member of this family," Quinn said.
Kalisa tapped her fingers on her bare thigh. "I cannot promise you that, not truly. I am a creature of Chaos and at my best I am ... unreliable. However, to see this experiment play out ..."
"Then we have an understanding," Tamara said, glancing between everyone.
"We do. Gather the others. We've a war to bring," Kalisa said.
10
The Ardoka dreadnought was a massive affair. The Imperium only had a few ships capable of large-scale planetary devastation. They had never been afraid to exterminate a species, but they preferred to conquer them. The real question was how the Ardoka had built and hidden such a thing away without the Imperium knowing about it.
It was less a mystery why they hadn't yet created widespread panic by arriving in this system. Every traffic control program guiding incoming and orbiting craft was quietly routing vessels around it, concealing the ship’s identity.
It was a testament to just how completely Kalisa was also integrated in the Imperium's network that she'd been able to find them so quickly. With the runic sphere the Centauri Bliss was able to jump in right atop one of the primary weapon charging conduits of the dreadnought. The disruption from the weapon would hide them from the ship’s close-range sensors.
The strike team, led by Kalisa, made their way aboard. Keeping things quiet, the goal was to make it to the engines unseen.
On board the Centauri Bliss Quinn kept the pilot seat, while Dela took over as copilot. It was important they each keep careful watch on the sensors. If they were discovered, or the planet below was threatened, they'd need to know in an instant.
"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. They're in there fighting and dying, and we're here sitting behind the controls," Dela said.
"Nobody is fighting, and if they're dying we'll have words," Quinn said.
"You know what I mean."
Quinn did, it was the curse of the pilot. Delivering good people into hostile situations, then having to sit and wait. It was important work, and required skill. The docking maneuver after the runic sphere had brought them close needed to be done in seconds, and a mistake would have alerted the Ardoka to their presence.
"Soon you'll have your chance. Dela, killing machine. Or whatever kind of upgrades Kalisa gives you," Quinn said.
"I'll probably still be flying the damned ship because I'm good at it—” She stopped. “I'm detecting a power build-up. Main cannons."
"Anything less than full power, we hold," Quinn said.
They weren't helpless. Their weapons stood no chance of destroying the ship, but if they hit a conduit of a charged weapon they could disable it. That energy would have to go somewhere, likely feeding into the other conduits. At anything less than full power it would be an annoyance, at full power there was a chance of it bringing down the whole system—if the designers hadn't accounted for that. That there wasn’t some kind of failsafe to safely vent that power.
Taking any kind of action would also alert the Ardoka to their presence however. It would imperil the strike team, and quite possibly lead to their own deaths. Without Jinx aboard they had no way to use the runic sphere to make a quick exit. If the weapons systems weren't disabled, they'd be in for a rough time of it.
The main guns of the Ardoka ship fired.
Quinn switched his sensor view over to the planet. They'd hit a secondary starport, the one that handled most of the docking for the market authority. The military didn't have much of a presence here, and police for obvious reasons were a minor presence. Still, theft was discouraged, and the market had a sizable force to help discourage it. Well, not anymore.
The guns were already charging again.
Quinn hit a comm to the strike team. "They went loud. They're hitting the starports first. Probably want to maximize casualties by preventing anyone from getting away."
It took several long seconds to get any sort of response. Mara's clipped tones replied. "That may be our fault. We had to go loud ourselves. We're almost to the engines."
The guns fired again. When not fully charging they could cycle chambers, allowing multiple weaker blasts in place of the single large one. Another spaceport on the surface was obliterated.
The next minutes saw the destruction of a dozen more. Those ships that managed to get into space were not being fired upon. The Ardoka dreadnought was making no effort to prevent them from getting to the system’s Runestone.
