If it ever is.
A chorus of assent came from those not too wounded to evacuate. Hiding might not be daring or glorious, but her people knew Perdition better than the mercs. It would take forever to search them all out, and maybe in the meantime, she could come up with a plan. From the moment the mercs jumped out of the transport, she’d known this day was coming—that there would be a time when they invaded.
They picked the perfect time to strike. Everyone’s got a hangover.
“They’re running like rats,” one of the mercs said.
“Don’t let them get away.” She didn’t recognize the voice.
But it’s definitely not Vost.
The merc Peacemaker was older than the one Ike had restored, banged up around the edges and with weapons that whirred and whined when they fired. Still enough to do us in. Across the way, she spotted Tam and Martine with rifles. They’d flipped a couple of tables in the common room and were creating a cross fire, permitting other people to escape. There were more weapons locked up in the armory, but only she and Tam had the code to retrieve them. There were also more acid carbines and the remainder of the poison grenades.
Have to get to them.
Leaving the Peacemaker to hold the room, she sprinted across and slid beneath a barrage of laser fire into the hall beyond. She skidded several meters on her knees and bounded to her feet, pushing to full speed. Calypso was outside the armory, kicking with all of her might. She had ten or twelve men with her. When she glimpsed Dred, she stood back with a huff of relief.
“Thank, Mary. I’ve rallied a few of the boys, but they need guns and whatever else you have stockpiled. This is not the time to hold back.”
“I know.” Quickly, she keyed in the code and darted into the storage room and tossed weapons out for Calypso to distribute.
The booms and rat-a-tat-tat from the common room told her that the Peacemaker was still intact, still firing. If they were lucky, the two mechs would take each other out, leaving the mercs in a position of vulnerability. They still have weapons and armor. Dred would feel better if they weren’t scrambling to regroup, but maybe all hope wasn’t lost just yet. We can play cat and mouse all through the territory. I just hope the men armed only with shivs have the sense to stay hidden. If there was no chance of winning a fight, there was no shame in avoiding it.
After she emptied the armory, she led the run back to the common room and returned just in time to see her Peacemaker fly back. One of its arms was missing, the one with the Shredder on it, and a big hole gaped in the center of its chest. Still, the mech fired a powerful laser burst; the heat made the other droid’s chest plating burn red-hot.
“Get to cover,” she called out. “Then let’s disable the Peacemaker. If they take ours out first, we’re done.”
Dred moved first, drawing the attention of the mercs who were bunkered down behind their mech. She took a couple of glancing shots, and the resultant burn lanced straight through her nerves to numbness. But the diversion allowed her people to charge in behind her and flip more tables. Calypso popped up and nailed the merc Peacemaker with the carbine. The acid pellets were strong enough to eat through metal, softening the droid for their Peacemaker’s next shot.
“I need some of you to focus on the mercs. Try to keep them pinned down.”
“Happy to help, love.” Jael appeared on the other side of the common room, and she had never been more relieved. He had Tam and Martine with him, so she signaled for them to fan out and create a cone of fire to pin the mercs down.
“I wondered when you’d visit,” she shouted to Vost. “How’s your armor by the way? It was looking ragged the last time I saw you.”
The only answer to her words came in the form of a volley of laser fire. It scorched the table she was hiding behind until the metal glowed red, and the hole appeared in the center. Dred slid along to the other side. Maybe trash talk is a bad idea. Two more acid pellets hit the enemy Peacemaker, then her unit followed with a barrage. With Jael and company keeping the mercs contained, she dove for the Shredder and rolled to the next overturned table. She banged hard on some fallen chairs, and the clatter drew the other droid’s attention.
This is gonna hurt.
As the Peacemaker targeted her and cycled to weapons hot, she raised up on her knees and opened fire with the Shredder. It was awkward, and it cut her fingers since it wasn’t a weapon meant to be operated by hand, but the heavy ballistic rounds tore through the other Peacemaker’s softened armor plating. Calypso and the others added laser fire as blood dripped from Dred’s sliced fingers, and she didn’t let up until all her ammo was gone. The bot staggered back, then went boom in a shrapnel explosion of armor plating and cascading orange sparks. Their own mech was in a hell of a mess, barely able to trudge forward, but it still had one functional weapon.
“Broke your toy,” she called to the mercs. “Come on in, and we’ll talk about it.”
Most likely, she wasn’t supposed to be able to overhear their conversation, but thanks to Jael, her hearing had improved. Her gaze met his across the common room and his slight inclination of the head told her he was eavesdropping, too. She ducked down and cocked her head, wryly amused.
“We don’t know what kind of defenses they have inside the barricades.” That was the voice she hadn’t recognized before, the one who said, Don’t let them get away.
“Or how many.”
“We should push,” Vost said. “They’re disorganized and at a tactical disadvantage. We heard her call a retreat.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. She might’ve moved the support staff out of the line of fire. For all we know, she’s got military training.”
“Someone does,” Vost admitted. “Her traps and ambushes have been top-notch.”
Dred stifled a smirk. If she kept quiet long enough, the mercs would talk themselves out of the attack. Seems like I’ve made them wary of me. That felt like an accomplishment.
The other man went on, “And they took out our Peacemaker. That was supposed to be our free pass to burn this place down. Unless you want all of us to die, maybe we should scour the facility for more of them.”
“They’ll burn the armor off us again,” someone else said. “And there are no more replacements on the transport. I’m not fighting these savages in my shirtsleeves.”
“I still can’t breathe right from whatever they put in those grenades.” To Dred’s ears, the soldier sounded worried. “The medical droid can’t fix it, either.”
There was a silence, as if Vost was weighing the best course of action. To goad him, Dred called, “I’m getting bored in here. Are you coming to play with me or not?”
Vost shouted back, “Another time. This was just a trial run. The next time, I’ll bring special gifts to remember me by.”
Shit. If he finds and recovers more Peacemaker units, we’re done. Ours is just about busted, and I don’t know if anyone can fix it with Ike gone.
For the sake of those who had her back, Dred infused her tone with more confidence than she felt. “Things haven’t turned out like you expected, have they, Vost? I guarantee that will continue. In fact, it’ll only get worse. See, you’re fighting people with nothing to lose and a lifetime of experience at surviving despite all odds. Your men already want to go home. As more of them die, it’ll only get worse.”
Vost didn’t reply to her, but his voice buzzed with tension. “Move out.”
Dred lowered her head, resting her brow against the cool underside of the table. Footsteps sounded behind her, and she recognized Jael’s tread before his warm hand dropped to her shoulder. Can’t believe I held them off Dread Queen–style. She was too drained to feel like celebrating, however, because if the mercs had pushed, they would’ve found fifteen poorly equipped men and women, easily killed, easily overcome.
What the hell’s going to happen next time?
3
4
A Shadow Falls
“That was some of the most bullshit cowardice I’ve ever seen,” Martine snarled.
Jael agreed with her. Considering their advantages, if he had been leading that group, he’d have rolled in and finished the job. “No doubt, bright eyes. They used the Peacemaker to soften us up, then bailed without losing a single man.”
The common room was an abattoir. So many Queenslanders had been mowed down, aliens and humans alike. A number of them were moaning and weeping, lying in puddles of blood. Dred gazed about at the wreckage with an expression so open and broken that he wanted to caution her against showing that much vulnerability. While she trusted Tam and Martine, hopefully him and Calypso, he didn’t know the other men that well.
“We have to rebuild as fast as we can,” she said tiredly. “Mop this place up and deal with the wounded.”
“The mercs have a medical droid,” Jael murmured.
Tam shot him a curious look, as if wondering how he knew. No point in explaining, no benefit, either. Dred shook her head.
“It wouldn’t be able to help them.”
“Then I’ll take care of triage if you get started on cleanup.” Jael produced a knife and knelt beside a man whose guts were spilling out of his body.
“I’m sorry.”
But the Queenslander just closed his eyes, turning his face to the side. Jael had done this before, on other battlefields, usually at his commander’s behest, like he was a monster, not a person, and it didn’t trouble him to cut human losses. I don’t know your name or your story. The knife went in clean, and the man gasped out a last breath. Raising his head, Jael signaled to Calypso and her men to haul away the body.
But he wasn’t prepared to find Brahm among the mortally wounded. The Ithtorian wheezed for breath, his chitin cracked in half a dozen places. Added to the injury he’d already sustained, he had no chance of recovery. His talons flexed, stirring the ichor spilled from his sides. The smell carried Jael straight back to Ithiss-Tor, until his gut churned with revulsion. It shouldn’t be me. Someone else should—
“Jael?” Brahm rasped out.
“I’m here.”
“Death . . . is a funny thing. Sometimes . . . people die bravely. Honorably. Other times . . . they just die.”
He had no idea what to say. “That’s true.”
“I’m so . . . sorry Ali died . . . for nothing.”
“I doubt she would agree.”
“I’m ready. Do it. Up through my neck, beneath the mandible.”
Jael readied his knife, but it was harder than he’d expected. I tried to murder the father, and now I am killing his son. He opened and closed his fingers on the haft several times—and only the pained noise the Ithtorian made drove him forward in the end. As instructed, he sank the blade deep, lodging it in Brahm’s brain. The alien shuddered and fell still beneath Jael’s hands. Ithtorians enjoyed natural longevity, so this felt like a crime rather than a mercy killing. Guilt swept over him as he recalled his initial response to Brahm, the instinctive prejudice he couldn’t control.
It shouldn’t have been me to send you to your rest.
But he couldn’t stay there forever. There were too many other men who needed the kindness of a quick death. So Jael carried on with a blade until all the dying were dead. Then he joined the others in removing corpses to the chute.
Seems as if that’s all we’ve done lately.
Cook came into the common room at some point thereafter and he stood, staring at the sea of red spilled on the battered floor. He spun in a slow circle, gauging the damage to tables and chairs, then he strode toward Dred, who was standing next to Jael. It took all he had not to reach for her, not to wrap an arm around her shoulder and stroke his hands down her back, when he could see she was on her last legs.
When he spoke, because he did so rarely, the chef’s voice sounded rusty. “We cannot continue this way. How do you intend to fix this?”
Dred pushed out a sigh. “I don’t know.”
A flicker in the other man’s eyes made Jael uneasy. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so honest, but she couldn’t be the Dread Queen every minute of every day. These men needed to stop being such lazy bastards. If more of them fought, we wouldn’t have lost so many today. But given the lack of weapons that could hurt an armored merc—or a Peacemaker—they couldn’t have done more than die, like the ones caught in the initial onslaught.
Cook just nodded and signaled for the sanitation crew to bring out the mops. Little by little, Queenslanders came out of hiding. Jael set a number of them on rebuilding the broken barricade, though everyone knew at this point how little protection it offered against a mech. The mercs would be slowed by it, however, maybe long enough for Queensland to prepare.
Her eyes shadowed, Dred sent runners to search for those who had fled when she called the retreat. With the mercs still a threat, despite what she’d said before, she couldn’t risk an announcement on station comms, where the enemy could overhear. It might spur another attack.
Soon after the scouts left, the aliens came out of hiding to help with the damage control. Katur and Keelah oversaw repairs to furniture, patching things as well as could be expected, given limited supplies and resources. By the time the common room was set to rights, it was obvious there had been a hard-fought battle. Even the flooring was permanently dented and scarred, marred with bloodstains that no amount of scrubbing could wash away.
As Jael stretched, the Dread Queen beckoned. “We need an emergency council meeting. This way.”
She led them all to the training room. A quick glance identified Keelah, Katur, Calypso, Martine, and Tam as the ones invited to this planning session, whatever it might entail. The resistance had managed to kill a few mercs, damage some armor, liberate a few supplies, and steal some guns. Compared to what the mercs had done in one strike? Laughable. Jael didn’t see how this could end well.
“How many did we lose?” Dred asked Tam quietly.
“I’m still counting, and I think some of the men might be in hiding on the upper levels. But . . . it looks like we’re down by half.”
Dred sucked in a sharp breath, and that time, Jael couldn’t prevent himself from stepping up behind her. He was beyond gratified when she leaned, not so anyone else would notice, but it felt like a silent message. Yes, I do need you at my back. Don’t let go. Maybe that was wishful thinking, and he should be beaten for such notions in the middle of a crisis. But it was a rare, incredible feeling.
Nobody’s ever needed me before.
“What’s your plan?” Katur asked.
“I wish I had one. The mercs are planning to look for more Peacemakers before they come back. Ours won’t last through another firefight.”
Jael wished he could offer to tear them apart with his bare hands, but Einar was gone, and he didn’t have the same strength, speed, or healing as before. He didn’t regret saving Dred’s life, but he didn’t much like the limits on his capacity. Caution had never been part of his battle strategy, and it was strange, suddenly having to think about risking injuries too severe to heal.
“There are five on station,” Katur said.
“You took an inventory?” Calypso asked.
Keelah nodded. “It’s wise to know what dangers exist, even if you can avoid them.”
“I don’t suppose you marked the locations?” Tam wanted to know.
“In fact, I did.”
“That’s the best news I’ve had all week,” Dred said. “Tell me.”
Katur elaborated and drew a map, but he cautioned, “Three of these units, I don’t think the mercs can reach. They’re behind turrets and force fields, and I haven’t been able to bypass them.”
“He’s a good hacker,” Keelah said uneasily.
“If he can get them, we’re done,” Martine muttered.
“That might be good fo
r us,” Jael put in. “If they can’t reach them, they can’t send them against us.”
Calypso frowned. “Unless Vost figures out a way around the station defenses. I wouldn’t have suspected he could acquire his own Peacemaker so fast.”
“We can’t underestimate him,” Dred agreed.
Keelah rubbed her chin. “Ali tried to hack a few of the stations, but the algorithms were too complex to manage it without specialized tech.”
Tam paced, five steps away, five steps back. Since the spymaster didn’t usually give away such insights regarding his mood, Jael reckoned he must be pretty agitated. “I’ve calculated the odds. Queensland can’t survive another attack like that. If we don’t resolve this, we’ll end up hiding in isolated pockets, easily wiped out. I can steal parts from two of the Peacemakers, provided I can get to them before Vost, but—”
“We no longer have the numbers to defeat the mercs,” Dred said.
“Not without better armor and weapons.” Jael didn’t like being the bearer of bad news, but there was no point in ignoring reality.
“Tam, can you hack the Peacemakers instead of disabling them?” Keelah asked.
The spymaster shook his head. “Would that I could, but my expertise lies elsewhere.”
Ike probably could have. But that thought didn’t help.
“How is it that Vost can do it but not you? I thought you were a genius.” Martine seemed disappointed.
“I suspect he has special equipment to aid him. I have . . . very little.” The admission appeared to hurt Tam, as if he loathed confessing to being ill prepared.
Apparently not enough to crack station defenses, thank Mary. But the Peacemaker operating systems would be considerably less complex. Bad news for us since he can manage with the gear he brought with him.
“Well, we can’t just sit here, licking our wounds and waiting for them to slaughter us.” Jael restrained the urge to punch something. “What now?”