Kienan met Silence's opening attack with his own strike, and with such extreme
force that sparks flew off of their swords. Kienan whipped out his Midare-Giri
and swiped at Silence, nicking him in the stomach.
"First blood's mine," Kienan said.
Silence followed up by swiping at Kienan's back, slicing lightly into his
spine. Kienan winced as he felt the blade sear into his flesh. He grimaced and
swept Silence off of his feet with a low kick.
He drove his sword down, aiming for his head. Silence rolled away, running
towards the Nighthawk, moored so close by. Kienan rushed after him. Silence
leapt up onto one of the Nighthawk's attitude thrusters and backflipped into
the air, falling back to the deck with a kick that struck Kienan hard in the
chest. Kienan rolled with the force of the blow as he bit back the pain.
He drew himself up to his feet, wiping his red-gloved hand over his lips. He
looked at the back of his glove. Dark red stains.
"I guess we're even, then," Kienan muttered, raising his sword again.
They attacked each other, their swords shrieking as they struck the other,
again and again. Kienan knew this was only killing time--despite all, he and
Silence were equals more or less in a swordfight, but Kienan didn't care. He
had to keep Silence busy while Mao returned to the ship. Despite his relationship
with Kienan, Mao wouldnt look kindly on Kienan murdering his bodyguard.
Besides, despite himself, Kienan didnt want this dance to end just yet.
Silence presented a challenge, and one Kienan was eager to match himself
against.
Silence's blade flashed by his shoulder, and a thin line of blood drew itself
along his shoulder. Kienan responded by slashing a line down his chest, a
deeper cut than Silence's, but not enough to kill.
Not yet.
Valcuria balanced the small display on her lap, reading map coordinates with a
cool, detached eye.
From Tartarus, into Khephren space, she thought, the display drawing a red line
through the star-map. Then through Galactic Core--that'll be the real
challenge. Once I'm past that . . .
"I hope youre not busy," Pirate Red said, entering the room as
though it were an act of aggression in and of itself. "You've got a lot of
explaining to do, lady. The only way I wont start anything over that incident
at Kienan's ship."
Valcuria pressed a button, and the display switched to a wire-frame schematic.
"I certainly have," Valcuria said. "I'm almost finished with the
final design of the droid fighter. Look." She proffered the display to
Red, who looked at it cautiously.
"Not what I expected," Red said. "Doesnt look much like a
fighter."
"It doesnt have to," Valcuria said. "Your fighter designs are
too bound to older ideas. This design works equally well in the atmosphere and
space, has unparalleled maneuverability, and can be mass-produced easily."
"Weapons?" Red asked.
"Missiles, phased pulse guns, and one crystal pulse laser," Valcuria
said. "Enough to take on a small destroyer."
"We go after more than small destroyers, Valcuria," Red said.
"I know that," Valcuria said. "That's why their strategic
program will follow the Chroan's combat directives--swarm, overwhelm, and
destroy. If we can produce enough fighters, we will have the firepower to
disable or destroy most ships in space."
"Better," Red said. "How do you propose to test the
design?"
"I'm going to build a modified version--one that will accommodate me. I
will test it myself."
"And if you're destroyed?"
"Then obviously, it's a flawed design."
"Mmm," Red said. "I like someone who stands behind their
product. But I still have questions about what you were doing with Kienan
Ademetria's gang."
"I dont know who Kienan Ademetria is, Pirate Red," Valcuria said.
"If youre insinuating something--"
"Insinuating? No," Red sneered. "Flat out accusing is more like
it. We know all about you Valcuira. Or more accurately, what you used to be.
Youre like Kienan's girls."
"And what if I am?" Valcuria said.
"That's why I suspect a double-cross," Red said coolly. "Blood
is thicker than water."
"I don't bleed."
"The point still stands," Red said, setting the display down on a
nearby work-table. "I'm watching you like a hawk, as of now. And if you do
double-cross us, no force in the stars is gonna save you."
"Is this what's known as motivating your workforce?" Valcuria said.
"Take is as you like it," Red said, walking to the door.
Valcuria watched her leave. Slowly, rage boiled into her face. Accursed human,
she thought ruefully. As if you could even get close to me unless I allowed it.
You can watch me all you like. And my Ironmaidens will be watching you as well.
On that you can be certain.
So short-sighted, Red. You only want the droid brain because it's cheap and
easily replicable, like the fighter shells. You cant conceive of what I'm
planning to do. Your limited thug brain couldnt comprehend that this is only
the first step of my plan.
She turned back to the display, picking it up and looking back at the star-map.
Just the first step, she thought.
Kienan jammed his body between Silence's chest and shoulder, shoving him
against the hull of the Nighthawk. He heard a soft tearing sound and knew that
he'd snapped Silence's shoulder, that his favored arm was as good as useless to
him now.
Silence switched hands, his left arm hanging limp by his side. He changed
stances, using sword thrusts instead of the graceful sword arcs he had been
using.
"Come on, Silence," Kienan said, dodging his attacks as if Silence
were in slow motion. "I know you've got way more than this. This is your
chance to finally shut me up, finish me off? Dont you want it? Or are you too
scared and hurt to go for it?"
That got his attention. Silence caught him across the chest with a sword arc,
cutting into his vest and his flesh. Kienan tore off the rest of his vest and
wrapped it around his hand quickly. When Silence came around again he caught
his sword in the wrapped up hand, and snatched Silence's own sword away from
him.
Kienan smiled and threw Silence's sword away from the site of battle.
"Hand to hand," he said. "Better this way for you."
Silence threw a pair of kicks towards Kienan, but Kienan was too fast for him,
and they glanced off of his crossed arms. Kienan followed up by kicking harder
into Silence's other leg.
"A fourth Marionette," Mirage repeated, pressing a series of buttons.
There was a hiss of hydraulics as the last of the locks holding Kienan's prize
in her frozen block slid into place. "I can't believe it."
"I met her," Vain said. "She calls herself Valcuria. I couldnt
believe the things she was saying, either. Like we're some sort of new lifeform
or something. I probably should have blown her out of the stars, but I figured
it was just idle talk. Then those blasted pirates attacked and I lost
her."
"Any idea which pirate guild it was?" Mirage asked, checking the rest
of the systems.
"Conscience said it was the Misericord," Vain began. "One of
Pirate Red's ships."
"Pirate Red," Mirage said. "Kienan said something about her
once, didnt he? Something about her being a small-time operator on the
Frontier?"
"If she's this far into space, that's obviously changed," Vain said.
"That or there was something here that she wanted really bad."
"Maybe it was something she wanted back," Mirage said, following Vain
out of the hold. The door double-sealed behind them.
"You think Valcuria and Red are working together?" Vain asked.
"It does seem awfully convenient--them being in the same place and
all," Mirage said. "I think we had best let Kienan know about
this."
"Where is he anyway?" Vain asked. "He wouldn't stay out this
late, not even for the Blue Dragons."
Silence snagged Kienan by his braid and kicked him hard in the spine. Had
Kienan not been expecting the kick, his spine would have snapped like a twig.
As it was, the pain was explosive, shooting through him as though he'd just
grabbed a live electrical wire.
Still and all, Kienan felt alive, just as he had during the fights on Kuran for
the Midare-Giri. He had been the first human to win the tournaments, much less
survive the first round of combat.
The Midare-Giri was as old as the galaxy. Apparently, it was started by an
ancient race called the Hakaiden, who kidnapped other races and forced them to
battle each other to the death. The Midare-Giri itself was one of the last
known Hakaiden artifacts.
The Hakaiden had been gone for millennia, but the older races had adopted the
custom, and had used the blade as a prize. Once a royal sport in the higher
galactic courts, it had slowly passed down into the underground.
Where it had found Kienan.
Unlike most of the past Midare-Giri champions, Kienan had suffered very little
in the way of scarring or damage from his time in the battle pit. Most
champions at least had a limb missing by the time they won.
The only scar Kienan ever bore from his time in the battlefields was the
crossed scars on his back. The rest he had incurred later, when he had become
the master assassin he was today.
The newest batch would come from this battle with Silence. Silence drew out his
knife, which Kienan, angry at Silence's refusal to fight him hand to hand used
the Midare-Giri to snap the blade in half.
"I told you," Kienan said. He whipped out a fist and cuffed Silence
in the side of the head. "Hand to hand, you bastard."
Silence stopped for a second, snapping his shoulder back into place, and struck
a ready stance.
"Better," Kienan said, easing into his own stance. Silence led in
with a spinning punch, only to be blocked by Kienan, who threw a punch so hard,
Silence's jaw shattered like glass. Kienan drove his knee into Silence's groin,
then struck him twice with his hands, in rapid succession.
Silence spun and fell to the ground, blood seeping through the fabric of his
uniform.
"How long until we dock with Temjin?" Mao asked the pilot.
"Twenty seconds," the pilot replied. "We'll have to use docking
bay three. The main bay seems to be occupied at the moment."
"I can imagine," Mao said. "Have you been able to make any kind
of contact with anyone on the ship?"
"Apart from the repeating signal Kienan sent five minutes ago, nothing
active, sir," the pilot replied.
"Hm," Mao said. His mind was convulsing as he turned over the various
worst-case scenarios in his mind. I'm half surprised Kienan hasnt destroyed
the Temjin. I'm sort of hoping he hasnt--it's a brand new ship.
I have enough trouble explaining some of Kienan's . . .overzealousness . . .to
the elders. Hopefuly, Kienan will be discreet enough to allow me to keep this
matter in my own house.
I should have suspected Korin would try something like this. Eever since I
suggested that Kienan cement his place with the Blue Dragon Tong by a marriage
to my daughter, she has wished nothing but his death once he turned her down.
That's always been the problem with Korin, he thought. Pride. Obviously, she's
willing to sell me out to get her revenge on Kienan. Someone like that, even
one who is blood must be dealt with as harshly as possible.
Mao pondered the anger within him. If Korin is very lucky, Kienan has already
dealt with her. Death by his hands would be a kindness compared to the fate I
have in mind for you, my dear daughter.
"It's been fun," Kienan began, pulling out his knife and walking
towards Silence. "But to be honest, you really stopped being any fun five
minutes ago."
Silence, in too much pain to even move, could only pitifully hold himself up on
the palms of his hands.
"But it's OK, really," Kienan said. "I just thought of a new
game. I'll tell you what it is . . .even though I know you cant hear me. You
see, I'm going to cut a piece of you off, little by little, until you
scream."
Slience tried to get to his feet, but Kienan smashed his boot into his back and
Silence crumpled under the strike.
"Now I know--you can't scream either," Kienan said. "But I've
heard that some animals that dont have vocal chords can scream. I'm sort of curious
if the same happens to you?"
Before Kienan could begin, a laser shot sparked off of the hull of the
Nighthawk, just past his face. Kienan turned slowly to see Korin, blood caked
on her face, gun pointed right at his chest.
"Korin," Kienan said, nary a hint of surprise creeping into his
voice. "Have you had your nose done?"
"I tried to do this as delicately as I could," Korin said, readying
the gun for a second shot. "I removed Mao, so he couldn't protect you. I
used every resource to give you a fair death."
"Happy to disappoint you," Kienan said. "If I thought for a
second you could actually shoot me, Id have dealt with that little pea-shooter
of yours five seconds ago."
"Maybe I've learned how to shoot since then," Korin said.
"If that were the case, Id have been dead long before I could have
contacted Mao and brought him back," Kienan said, stomping Silence's back
once more. He looked down at him, then hoisted him onto his shoulders. He
shoved Silence forward, his weight tumbling towards Korin. Korin tried to
back-step, but ended up landing on her rear end and dropping the gun. Silence's
unconscious body thudded to the deck as Korin tried to grab the gun and get up.
She got unsteadily to her feet as Kienan walked towards her, silently, the slightest
hint of a smile on his face.
"I'll shoot," she said, trying to sound commanding.
"Go ahead," Kienan said, getting closer. "I dont really have to
do anything, you know. I was just keeping you busy until Mao got back."
Korin raised the gun, but Kienan grabbed it and slapped her in the face in one
fluid motion. Korin went screaming and sprawled out toward the deck again.
Kienan raised the gun slowly, inspecting it. Then he shrugged and pointed
towards Korin.
"KIENAN!" Mao's voice barked. Kienan immediately flipped the safety
catch on the gun. Mao walked into the landing bay, flanked by a cadre of
guards. He immediately moved between Kienan and Korin. "That will be quite
enough."
"Speak of the devil," Kienan said. He looked at Mao. "They're
all yours. I didnt kill either of them. But I think the both of them could use
a lesson in fealty. I'll leave it to you."
"I noticed you didn't blow up the ship or anything." Mao said.
"Thank you."
"It looked new," Kienan said. "Besides. I was busy. If you'll excuse
me, Mao, I have a job to get started on."
"Of course," Mao said, waving him away. "I wish you success as
always."
Kienan walked to the Nighthawk, pressing a series of buttons on the cockpit. A
hatch slid down and Kienan quickly slid into his flight suit. He clamped the
helmet down and sat in the pilot chair. Motors and hydraulics whirred and
hissed as he was raised into the cockpit. The hatch sealed below him. He hit a
set of switches above his head. The on-board computer hummed to life, and he felt
the throb of his engines.
He watched Mao and the guards clear out of the bay as the large space doors
opened. He released the magnetic landing claws and felt the ship floating free
in zero gravity. He gently used the maneuvering thrusters to position himself
and slowly flew out of the ship's docking bay.
Once he was clear of the Temjin, he loaded the data crystal into his ship's
computer and used the communicator to contact the Silhouette. Vaina nd Mirage's
image snapped onscreen.
"Ladies," Kienan said. "We have a job. I'm uploading to you
now."
He watched as Vain and Mirage both glanced at the data, absorbing it in the
same time it took a human mind to look at a road sign. One of the advantages of
having a brain that moves six times as fast.
He saw their faces cloud.
"What is it?" Kienan asked.
"We've had a little trouble why you were gone," Vain said. "And
from the looks of this data, it seems to be related to it."
"All right," Kienan said. "I'm activating Space Drive right now.
Meet me at the edge of the system. I'll see you in an hour."
Vain nodded and the channel closed. Now he was curious. It wasn't often jobs
found him before he found them, but he didnt mind having his curiosity piqued.
It would just make the job that much more interesting.
Silence's head rolled onto the deck. Korin watched in horror, almost not
believing what she was seeing. Mao looked on impassively. He hated that he was
put in this position, and had only come to this conclusion after an hour's
worth of thought on the trip back.
"Silence knew the cost of his betrayal," Mao said. "But you,
Korin. You present a problem. Honor prevents me from doing hard against my own
house. My servants may be punished any way I see fit, but my family I am bonded
to suffer."
Korin was being held in place by two of the armored guards Mao had brought with
him back to the ship. Her body, already sore, was feeling crushed between their
massive forms.
"But you must still be punished--this is not in dispute," Mao said.
"And so I have judged. You are to be taken from this place. Your family is
dead to you, Korin. You are no longer my daughter, and you are no longer a
member of the Blue Dragon Tong."
Korin relaxed. That didnt seem so bad.
"You will be taken back to Kuran, with nothing but the clothes on your
back. As Kuran is one of the most hostile places imaginable to live, I dont
imagine someone like you--a spoiled child--will survive long alone. You will no
doubt survive even less long when you discover the bounty that will be placed
upon your head once you leave here."
"Father," she said. "Dont do this."
"You have left me no choice," Mao said. "You were willing to
betray your father and his house for the sake of petty vengeance. This is the
one infraction I cannot brook. And so you must live with what you risked for
Kienan, and what it has cost you. Take her away. I dont want to look at her
anymore."
The guards took her away, but Mao stopped the once more.
"Korin," he said. "Remember--in a wager, no one remembers the
losers."
The guards then dragged her out of the chamber.
"What do you think?" Red asked Kilana.
Kiana studied the schematics of the droid fighter shell. They were alone on the
bridge of the Misericord, in low Space Drive. "It's interesting stuff. A
whole new design paradigm, certainly. It meets our needs better than we could
have expected. And it's ugly as hell, too."
"Beggars cant be choosers," Red said. She felt the ship shudder a
little as it negotiated the eddies of compressed space. "When we're making
money hand over fist, we can build a fleet of beautiful and deadly ships. In
the meantime, though, we'll have to make do with this. Can we build her
prototype?"
"Easily enough," Kilana said.
"She's willing to give us a demonstration of how it works, even willing to
pilot the prototype frame," Red said.
"Determined, isnt she?" Kilana said.
"I want you to build something into the frame," Red said. "This
little tantrum she threw when we found Kienan's ship makes me more convinced
that ever she's planning something."
"I'm convinced she is," Kilana said. "I checked her access
records. She's been looking at starmaps quite a bit lately."
"Starmaps?" Red asked. "Show me?"
Kilana put her hands into the control yoke and the viewscreen came to life.
"Core space," Red said. "What could she want at Galactic
Core?"
"I dont think it's the Core she wants," Kilana said. "You know
as well as I do what's just at the edge of Core space."
Red sat back in her chair, a smile slowly creeping over her face. "Chroan
space. Makes sense Queen Calculator would want to go there. It's got to be a
kind of Mecca for her."
"Yup," Kilana said. "Eever since the UEF and the allied empires
shut down the Chroan and set up Galactic Core, they've quarantined that whole
sector of space."
"Why?" Red asked.
"Well, some UEF scientists found out that the base technology for the
Chroan technology was ancient Earth tech," Kilana said, bringing up some
historical records on the viewscreen. "So they went digging through as
many old records as they could to find a shutoff code. Once they did every
Chroan ship, fighter, drone, base, turned off--just like that."
"So?" Red asked. "They self-destructed. It's a dead sector of
space."
"They didnt self-destruct," Kilana said, bringing up more records.
"That's what UEF told everyone, but at least 30 million Chroan ships of
various sizes and classes survived. Most of them are still floating in that
sector of space like ghost ships. Some they destroy from time to time, on the
pretense of cleaning up space junk. Some ships and pieces of ships got carted
back to research labs so the major empires could study the technology."
"Which brings us back to the droid brain," Red said. "It's based
on Chroan technology. But why would Valcuria want it? She's not Chroan, wasn't
even created when the war went down. What's in it for her?"
"I'm still working on that," Kilana said. "But she's really
over-protective of the droid brain. And I'm virtually convinced that once she
gives us the droid fighters, we'll get forced out of the picture."
"The hell we will," Red said. "I'll smash her control circuits
myself before I let that happen."
"Well, that's great, sis," Kilana said, shutting down the display.
The ship rumbled and wobbled slightly. "Have you forgot her Ironmaidens?"
"Not at all," Red said. "I just had an idea that might aolve a
lot of our problems in a very nice and neat fashion. If Kienan Ademetria's been
sicced on us, and Valcuria's planning to double-cross us . . .maybe we can play
both of them against each other. Deal ourselves out of the game."
"Well," Kilana said. "She did kind of mastermind the heist of
the droid brain from the Archangel. All any records salvaged from the ship
would show is her Ironmaidens stealing the droid brain."
"But they'd show the pirate rakes attacking the convoy," Red said.
"No one uses ships like ours. Kienan's too smart to miss something obvious
like that"
"Well," Kilana said. "Any real records would show that. But I
can doctor up some records--replace our rakes with some nondescript old
warships that any local gang could use. Maybe we should arrange to have the
records we want found to be found?"
Pirate Red smiled. "Why Kilana, that's so devious, I wish I'd thought of
it."
