Tue Jan 11, 2005 6:27 am by athena
Rutger anxiously paced the length of his cabin.
It was over an hour since the cold-eyed man had approached them at the arena. The invitation was brief, manners curt. The Daumann heir began to wring his hands and accidentally banged his shoe against a chair leg as he spun to walk another length of the lounge.
"You should relax, Rutger," suggested Tanya. She smiled slightly bemused at the young man. What was it? she asked herself. It could have been his looks, his wealth, his status. None of these interested Tanya really. Tanya was attracted to Rutger because of who he was. In a universe of scum, Rutger was one of those rare people with a genuinely good soul. Sometimes, such souls needed help, she felt.
"How can I relax, Tanya? They're late!" said Rutger. He stopped pacing and threw his arms into the air. "I'm about to attend a meeting where you suspect everyone involved will have an interest in destabilising the colonies or providing unofficial support to a separatist faction. The man who asked us to join is no doubt a cold-hearted killer. You said there will be others there. And you're asking me to relax?!" exclaimed the young man, who suddenly frowned as he glanced at Tanya's amused and unsympathetic expression.
"Well. It won't help putting yourself under this kind of pressure," said Tanya evenly. Her smile faded. "If you're to learn anything of what these people plan you have to stay calm."
"They're late, why are they late?" asked Rutger pacing again. He strode over to a desk where a silver tray carrying some glasses and a bottle containing a clear green liquid were waiting. With shaking hands, he poured himself a large drink and gulped the liquid down swiftly. Tanya stood up and walked over to him slowly when she saw Rutger pour another drink.
"Rutger. Listen to me. We're only going to listen. Nothing more. At the most, you'll be asked to donate some resources. I doubt you'll be asked for an opinion," said Tanya. She moved in closer and placed her hands on either side of Rutger's face, then gently kissed him allowing the moment to linger. "There. Better?" she asked smiling again.
The young man stood for a moment holding to her gaze.
"Much. Again?" he asked hopefully.
Tanya punched him on the arm and returned to the sofa. She was busy preparing her blaster and deftly finished clicking the pieces of her weapon together within a few heartbeats. Rutger watched her skilfully ready the gun then almost jumped when there was a loud knock at the cabin door. Tanya nodded to Rutger before sheathing the weapon under her jacket.
The Daumann heir opened the cabin door and before him stood an ordinary looking man in a dark uniform that seemed to emanate hatred and cruelty.
"Baron Daumann. Miss O'Callaghan. Please follow me," he said before turning on his heel and walking down the corridor without looking back.
Rutger nodded, glancing back at Tanya, now resuming her role as Eve his Security Director and breathed deeply as she fell in step behind.
The doors to his cabin hissed as they closed.
***
"Hold your tongue, dammit!" swore one man who was standing, he was large, balding and spat often as he spoke, much to the annoyance of those seated nearby. "We have more than enough manpower, ships, and money in this room to take over three or four systems. I reckon you're scared!" he said and pointed a pudgy finger.
The man on the receiving end of the tirade sat motionlessly for a while, staring at his aggressor with obvious malice. He raised his hands and slowly clapped them together sarcastically. The room was large and thirty people sat around a circular table that was hollow in the centre. The attendants allowed to accompany each of the delegates were each standing behind their charges. Tanya, wearing her shades, was carefully memorising the faces of everyone sat at the table.
"Lord Alric. I understand your doubts. It's a well known fact the people you represent would like nothing more than their own home systems," replied the man. "However, even if we did move in to control a number of systems and claim them for our own, how long do you think such an action would go without some retaliation? The House colonies would send more than enough ships to deal with us. Then we have nothing."
The large man sat down.
"What do you propose?" he asked sullenly.
Tanya watched as Liberty Governor Jack Mason rose from his seat and stood to address the group. She hated this man. He moved like a viper and whenever he spoke, every word seemed to drip with poison.
"I say we force the Houses to recognise a new state. We create enough trouble with the colonies that they turn all their attention inwards. Then, we rise as House of our own. House Hispania!"
This last comment drew an audible gasp and almost immediately what was only a low murmuring became shouts and exclamations. Mason seemed undeterred and was even smiling. He raised his hands for a few moments and waited for the noise to subdue.
"You are mad!" shouted Lord Alric, the jowls of his face wobbling as he angrily yelled across the room once more. His forehead was a sheen of sweat and spittle was gathering at the corners of his mouth. "House Hispania? Are we aligned with the Outcasts now? Every House will proclaim us as rebels and annihilate us with their forces!"
A number of other people murmured their agreement, Tanya noticed a few were nodding. Others said nothing. Some were even smiling. Clearly, Mason had done some preparatory work before this meeting. Making promises was easy. Keeping them was much harder.
"My friends, the Outcasts have been our allies for many years now. I have personally been working with them and now, comparing the House militaries with the Outcasts own resources, I would say the so-called rebels easily have more than enough firepower to hold not only their own home systems, but spread out and claim a number of significant independents as well!"
Mason turned to an aide sat next to him and she feverishly worked some controls. At the centre of the room, a large holographic projection of Sirius appeared. The Outcast home systems Omicron Alpha and Beta were blinking.
"Today, the Outcasts control these systems," said Mason. He pointed to the two blinking dots using a laser pen. "Tomorrow, House Hispania will control these systems!"
More shouts were heard as Tau-37, Tohoku, Sigma-19 and Omicron Theta began blinking too.
"Impossible!" shouted Alric again. "We face taking on the Zoners, Blood Dragons, GMG, BMM, IMG and at least three House militaries!"
"I agree," replied Mason coolly. "And we will win. All of you here represent some aspect of every one of those corporations or military forces. Using your own contacts, you will give the House Hispania forces detailed information on ship locations, load outs, jump patterns, patrols and of course, we will enforce the Hispania forces with whatever we can do. Tomorrow, we can carve out our own nation in space. Our own rules. Our own rewards. We will want for nothing. Food? The bio-domes of Freeport 9 in Omi Theta will supply an endless amount. Fuel? Sigma-19 and it's nebulae is the source. Raw materials? The asteroids of Tau-37. And technology? Well. I am yet to see what technology is superior to Outcast tech."
"What about the Corsairs?" said one man, Tanya didn't recognise him.
Mason didn't reply but instead smiled so coldly Rutger shivered. The Liberty Governor motioned with his hand to someone standing at the far corner of the room who as yet had said nothing. As he moved under a light, the metal face-plat that covered half of his face shone. Tanya recognised Kenji Akamoto instantly.
"The Corsairs are not to be feared and are being hunted as we speak. We have begun operations to cull their numbers. Soon they will be virtually wiped out and Omega systems free from their claws," said Kenji.
Another murmur in the hall began.
"Friends!" said Mason raising his voice powerfully above the noise. "It is time you make your decisions. Right now, my people are passing out transmitters. If you push the green button, you will be a part of House Hispania and ten million credits will be sent to your personal accounts as a gift. If you push the red button, ten million credits will be sent to your personal accounts, this buys your silence. To avoid drawing attention to so many signals at one location, you can only use the transmitters twenty klicks away from the Hawaii. I look forwards to your responses."
Someone thrust a small, matchbox-sized gadget into Rutger's hands and he quickly put it away in a jacket pocket. Rutger looked at Tanya who gave an imperceptible nod.
People were already standing and making their way out of the room when Mason spoke again.
"Friends, do not forget the next event is due to begin in a few hours; The Ring Race! Send your best pilots. We all want to be entertained."
***
Rutger and Tanya returned to their cabin. Rutger was pacing again, though this time more in thought than panic. Tanya was typing at the desk terminal concentrating.
"Tanya," began the Daumann heir. "If what we heard was true, the arrival of a new House in Sirius would cause irreversible consequences for the whole of Sirius. A new unpredictable threat would appear on the horizons of every major House. The economy would be turned into chaos and the relative peace we have now, excluding the Nomads, would be completely upset!"
Tanya murmured a reply.
"What did you say?" said Rutger moving a bit closer.
"I said, you're right," Tanya replied, still tapping at her keyboard.
"Well, what can we do about it? This is bigger than I even imagined!" said Rutger.
"Yes. It is, isn't it?"
Rutger pursed his lips in annoyance.
"I must tell my father."
Tanya looked up.
"No! You must do no such thing. You must also push the green button when we leave the Hawaii. Any other action would mean death," advised Tanya. She finished typing and pressed a button on the terminal. A small mini-disc popped out of the drive. Tanya removed it and held it up to Rutger.
"Rutger. You must take this disc and hand it over to the Rheinland authorities," she gave him the disc. "On it, are the names of everyone in that room."
He gulped.
"Including mine?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes. Yours too. Don't worry, you'll be safe. You'll be protected because you're alerting the Houses of something that could totally destroy Sirius. The fools. How Mason can even think a new House Hispania could exist is ridiculous. No-one wants another organised nation in Sirius. The galaxy is crowded enough as it is."
Tanya glanced at her watch.
"Race time," she said with a grin. "This is your chance to make good your escape. Everyone on the Hawaii will be focused on the Ring Race. I understand it's a copy of the rings based in Dublin system, near the Hood."
Rutger nodded.
"Dangerous then. Weapon platforms. Cruise speed turns. Small rings to fly through," he said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, without doubt, there will be plenty of danger. It's my opportunity to raise hell and hopefully create so much distraction you can slip away unnoticed. Alert your people. Tell them about what is happening here and hopefully a few battleship and cruisers will jump in to stop anyone else from leaving. Can you do this?"
The Daumann heir stood proudly.
"Of course! But. You must be careful. I shall be thinking about you," he said.
"Me too," Tanya replied. "I have to get ready. You should leave once all the racers have left the Hawaii and are into their first lap. Take Frauk and the boys with you," she suggested. Tanya had spent several days training the Daumann bodyguards during the flight to the Hawaii. "Good luck, Rutger."
***
Tanya wrestled with the controls of her ship and brought the nose starboard in a sharp turn. Her Eagle very-heavy fighter screamed in response as it changed direction and the whole ship shuddered as she went through another craft's slipstream. Her Eagle, dubbed Athena like her first Banshee light fighter was, cut inside a rival ship; a Rheinland-built Valkyrie and with a quick burst of her afterburners moved away.
She felt the pressure of the race. Ten laps in total. Fifty rings. And not all the rings were equally spaced or the same size. It made for some brutal flying as competitors barged each other aside for the best flight line or more often as not, barged each other because they could. Of the total twenty ships taking part, at least half had been crippled or destroyed.
Tanya steered her Eagle into a tight S-turn, banking right, left, then right again as she heard her on-board computer announce each time she passed through a ring. Debris rocketed past her cockpit bouncing harmlessly from her shields, causing the occasional flare from the impact.
Three laps to go.
"Pilots!" crackled a voice of the comms. Tanya cursed at the distraction and narrowly missed the inner edge of a ring as she dipped her fighter to pass under it. "So far, your weapons have been disabled. Now. You're all weapons hot. And furthermore, a series of weapons platforms have been activated. Good luck."
Tanya laughed. An alarm indicated a missile had locked on to her ship and she punched a button to eject a countermeasure. The missile flew to the left of her ship and exploded.
Glancing at her radar, there were at least three other ships close behind her and three ships in front. She took the next ring at speed, killed her engines at max thruster speed, smoothly engaged her cruise engines having turned to face a new heading. She could see the ship in third place in front. It was a Falcon. Judging by the colours it was probably a Bretonian vessel. Just in front of the Bretonian vessel was another ship, an Eagle. Tanya could see the ship in first place on her radar, but it was only a white square on her HUD.
Tanya took the next few rings ably and found herself right behind the Falcon, her Eagle shuddering from the constant exhaust. She wasn't close enough to pass the ship, but the comms came over loud and clear.
"So. Who's this behind me?" said a cultured Bretonian voice. "Oh. It's the Daumann girl," he continued mockingly. "And in front I have the Kusari hunter whelp."
A helmeted figure appeared in Tanya's HUD and she raced to think who the Bretonian could be speaking of. Was it Kenji?
"I am Brian Carstairs. I fly for BMM," he said, then suddenly banked his ship sharply forcing Tanya to pull back on her ship to avoid a collision. She would have to settle for fourth place for now.
The three ships flew at breakneck speed flying through a series of rings one after another until the computer announced the penultimate lap. In a moment of incredible flying, the Bretonian managed to squeeze between the inside of a ring and the Kusari ship, suddenly the Bretonian was in second place. A cold voice spoke over the comms.
It was Kenji.
"Brian?" he said over the comm.
"Yes? Annoyed at my ability to out-fly an honoured member of the Kusari elite?"
The retort was met with an unfriendly laugh.
"I want to introduce my friends," said Kenji. "E, M and P."
He fired three EMP missiles at Brian's ship in quick succession, then fired his guns adding to the mayhem. The Bretonian screamed as he realised his shields had vanished in a split second. Tanya realised that flying so close meant countermeasures were useless and she quickly decelerated knowing what was coming next. Kenji rammed the Bretonian's ship from behind crippling its engines and forced it into a doomed trajectory.
Brian Carstairs screamed as his Falcon spun out of control. Tanya winced as the scream was cut short and steered her ship past the fireball following Brain's collision with a ring.
Tanya pulled up alongside Kenji and kept her ship level with his.
"I know it's you," said Kenji on a private channel. "I saw how you avoided the explosion. A reflex pilot, Orbital Spa called you," he said coldly.
The two ships took the next few rings in parallel.
"Kenji. Why are you joining Mason's group?" asked Tanya. "It will never work. In a few hours, this part of Sirius will be surrounded by House ships. Nothing will escape alive."
The Kusari lord laughed.
"Why? Because I can hunt Corsairs! I have been given a new contract by almost every corporation, House and independent. I have access to fly in all systems and utilise all stations to hunt down those traitors. They are a dying breed. It will not be long before I completely exterminate them," he said. "And you should not try and stop me."
"Genocide is not revenge. It's insanity," said Tanya softly. Their ships banked and swerved as one. They were gaining slowly on the lead ship. "I know what they did to you was..wrong. But they have a right to live as much as the rest of the colonies."
"Then why do you think Mason's plan is mad?" snarled Kenji. "If you think the Corsairs deserve to live. Why can't House Hispania?"
Tanya sighed.
"Because Mason doesn't really care what happens, ultimately. He just wants to cause chaos. There's no good that will come of this. Only war. The Corsairs are a nuisance yes, but they would never stray beyond their home systems. What about the people the Corsairs trade with? The Zoners? The independents? Traders and merchants?"
Kenji didn't reply at first. Tanya felt hopeful she was getting through.
"Then it makes my job easier to exterminate the Corsairs. The independents will guide me to every Corsair. I will jump into their home systems and de-terraform every planet. I'll bleed their systems dry of resources. I will send their souls screaming into the abyss!" he raged, then twisted on his controls and barged into Tanya's ship, forcing her behind, their shields shimmered and crackled.
She wrestled with her controls again.
"I can't believe you really mean this. I'm sure there's something inside you that remains of the old Kenji. Please. Listen to me. What you're doing is wrong. And siding with Mason won't help!" she urged. "I'm sorry, I can't let you do this. Slaughtering innocents is not right!"
Tanya fired her guns and unloaded a barrage of missiles forcing Kenji to bank sharply to avoid being hit. He flew past a ring, outside of it, and thus, was disqualified from the race. She turned off the channel and flew on, ignoring the furious Kusari. Tanya never wanted to hurt him and hoped Kenji would reconsider.
She flew on determined to catch the lead ship. She was half-way around the last lap and saw the ship, in colours she didn't recognise, only a few rings ahead. Tanya pulled every manoeuvre she knew to gain speed, but no matter what she tried the gap remained the same. In fact, she despaired when the radar indicated the ship ahead was getting further away!
Within minutes the race was over. Tanya had to settle for second place. She opened a long-range comm to Rutger and smiled when he told her he was close to Frankfurt system.
She pulled her ship alongside the winner and waved out of the cockpit at the pilot in the rival ship. It looked like an Outcast ship, a Sabre.
"You flew well, kid. What's your name?" came a voice over the comm. It was deep, smooth. Confident.
"Eve," said Tanya. "Eve O'Callaghan. I work for Daumann," she replied. "And you?"
"Call me Trent," came the reply. "You kept up with my ship. Not bad at all. Contact me if you want a job. We're always looking for good pilots."
"We?" asked Tanya. She was sure he was smirking or something. A muffled voice echoed in the background, it was female, crisp. Urgent.
"Trent. It's Juni. Meet me on Manhattan."
"Uh-huh. See you around, Miss O'Callaghan," said Trent. "Duty calls."
Tanya watched his Sabre cruise into the distance before returning to the Hawaii. She glanced at her HUD. It wouldn't be long now before Rutger and the militaries arrived. She hoped they had done enough. Mason had to be stopped.
Or Sirius would be plunged into civil war.
***
(cont'd)
