Chapter Thirty-Six

Pushing Forward

Colby crept up the dune on his hands and knees; the voices coming from the other side were clearly audible on the clear night air. Laughter came floating over the top as he lay on his stomach and wriggled up to peer over the very top of the sand.

There were no uniforms on display amongst the men and women below, but the weapons and modified grav cars below matched the Falling Waters Clan agents he had seen on Ember’s Hearth and then here on the Sand.

The camp was small; about fifteen people wandered between the half-dozen tents. The tents were thick, sand-colored canvas numbers that sat low against the base of the dunes, the flaps pinned back to let out the hot air trapped inside. The sun had only just gone down an hour ago, and the air was just starting to drop to a comfortable temperature.

Lines ran from the grav cars to lights on long poles jabbed into the sand. The light showed the crew setting up for the night, complete with a meal cooking off to one side. A shower block was being put up on one side, and four soldiers carrying a large water tank from the back of the one and only grav truck over to sit beside the small pump already waiting in the sand.

They would start patrols in another hour, but for the moment, everyone was busy. All hands needed to get set up for the night, all except two. The last pair of soldiers stood on the top of the large metal cage that sat in the bed of the grav truck. Inside it, the four captives stood and sat around. One of them was injured, blood seeping from a stomach wound. They had a bit of clothing pressed against the wound, the only medical aid they had been given.

Their captors weren’t worried; none of the prisoners were very likely to make it till morning. Once the interrogations started, it would only be a matter of time until they were all killed.

That was this group's usual approach. Sec and he had found three bodies dumped in the sand only this morning.

The shower block collapsed, and the water tank was knocked over, spilling onto the sand as the grav car slammed into it, the malfunctioning thruster still firing.

Everyone ran over to try and save the water, and Colby slipped down the dune, letting the loose sand carry him quickly and quietly down into the shadow of one of the tents.

The lights and horns started blaring on the other grav cars. One suddenly fired up and went flying up the side of the dune before suddenly cutting out again as it got to the ridge and slowly slid down the other side.

In the chaos, none of the soldiers noticed the grav truck slowly drifting away and around the base of the next dune. Not until one of the captives yelled out for help. There was a scuffle inside, but a pair of soldiers ran over and pulled a woman out before the others could silence her.

So, that confirmed they had a plant on the inside.

Colby slipped under the back wall of the tent and got ready, peering out from the darkness inside.

Let’s fucking go!

Colby emerged from the tent at a sprint, leaping onto the nearest soldier’s back and snapping his neck before kicking off the falling body. He sailed through the air, his tail whipping out and slamming into the nearest woman’s neck. She dropped, gurgling as Colby’s feet hit the sand again. He raised one gauntlet, firing point-blank into the third soldier between him and the next tent.

The man died instantly as the laser cut through his heart. The flash of the laser was hidden by every light in the camp, overloading at the same time, exploding with a blinding flash.

A horrified face stared at Colby, frozen in shock as they were emerging from the tent he was barreling towards. The mouth opened to yell, but Colby dove, slamming into his chest and pushing them both back into the shadows as his tail whipped around, stabbing the soldier repeatedly as they fell back. The intended yell emerged as a whispered gasp before the man died.

Colby hurried to the back of the tent and squirmed beneath it.

The commander of this attack group was yelling orders, getting people out to search the dunes. Scanning the dunes around him, Colby saw someone scrambling up a dune at the far end, only to suddenly jerk and go still as something stabbed up into his throat from beneath the sands.

His improved vision could just make out the disturbance in the sand as Sec moved away.

Not having to breathe is so fucking cheating!

By the time they found the bodies he had left behind and called back the patrols, there was no one left to come back. That left five terrified and confused soldiers in the camp. Colby wished the order to kill their captives was unexpected, but it was very much par for the course at this point.

Subtle had just gone out the window.

Colby burst from between the tents, firing with both gauntlets, as Sec leaped from beneath the sand in the group's path, a rifle in his hands as he fired.

Five became two instantly, and one of them was smart enough to surrender. The commander did not surrender, choosing to try and shoot Sec rather than give up.

Colby’s tail slammed through his spine before the man had even finished raising his weapon.

“I told you they had a plant,” Sec crowed. “I so fucking told you!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Colby chuckled. “You were right.”

“No need to be a dick about it,” Buddy added.

“Who are you?” the remaining soldier had been the plant, and she was looking extremely nervous.

“You deal with this while I go see to the captives?” Colby asked, ignoring the woman.

“Nope!” Sec grinned. “I was right, so I get to be the savior. You get to deal with this,” he jerked a thumb at the agent.

“Fair enough,” Colby nodded. “Don’t take long. That food doesn’t smell half bad, and we can get a bite to eat if we’re done quickly.”

Sec coughed meaningfully and waited.

“Uuugh, fine,” Colby shrugged out of his coat and handed it over to Sec.

“Don’t do any gross in it! We will want that back!”

“Relax!” Sec popped the collar as he sauntered away.

We should have shown him the photo! Do it now! Do it now! Buddy added in Colby’s head.

They had never actually shown Sec the photo or anything else. Even if Prim had thought it would be hilarious… Colby just couldn’t. He wouldn’t do that to Prim.

He turned to their prisoner, his tail thrashing angrily.

“You are under arrest by the Star’s Song Marshalls. Do you have any information to volunteer at this time?” Colby looked down at the woman kneeling miserably in the sand.

“I’ll tell you everything I know,” she said quickly. “Really, I didn’t want to help them. I didn’t. They made me do it.”

“Lie, lie, lie, and lie,” Colby said, shaking his head. “You can’t hide the truth from the Marshalls. Last chance, or we move straight to judgment.”

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“I’m not lying!” she lied.

“Very well.” Colby nodded. “You are charged with aiding the enemy in times of war, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, giving false evidence, and obtaining aid under false pretenses.”

“Wait!” she yelled.

“You were witnessed by Marshall Sec to enter the Sand’s Embrace Defence Forces listening post this morning, claiming to be a refugee. You were witnessed opening the door this afternoon, in the process of being ‘captured’ by this group of marauders, and finally, you were witnessed as a member of this group by both Marshall Sec and myself, Marshall Colby.” Colby shook his head. “Given the chance to explain or show remorse, you were recorded as having lied multiple times and are therefore considered unrepentant and showing no remorse for your actions.”

“You are kidding me?” she gaped.

“The judgment is guilty on all charges.” Colby turned away. “The sentence is death.” His tail whipped out, the long, sharp tip piercing the brain in a single strike. “Sentence carried out. May the Star’s Song guide you to a place of peace.”

Aww, that last bit was a nice touch.

“Come on,” Colby said with a sad smile. “Let’s go get something to eat.”

/===<<<>>>===\

“The I.P.A. has a long history with the Sagacity. An illustrious group with many star systems and a long history,” Ambassador Lewisham said carefully. “Why would we abandon trade with them to adopt your invention? An invention which is frankly very limited by comparison.”

“For one thing, we do not require you to avoid trading with the Sagacity. In fact, we actively encourage you to do so.” Nellie replied with a smile.

“As for the benefit of early adoption of our range of products, that should be obvious. It would allow you to get priority delivery of your orders, not to mention a much closer diplomatic tie.” Bryan added, offering the Ambassador a plate of pastries.

“One product is not a range,” Lewisham replied. “And while you do not demand exclusivity, the Sagacity does.”

“Strange that they feel entitled to tell independent planets what they can and can not do,” Nellie said mildly. “I certainly would not allow that in my space, but each to their own. It is not exactly a great way to inspire confidence in their products, though.”

“How do you mean?” Lewisham asked.

“Well, if you have the best, you don’t worry about competition,” Nellie said with a smile. “But then, I’m not a trader. Perhaps I am missing something.”

“And you are quite correct; a single product would not count as a range,” Bryant said with a sly smile. “The goggles are our only product currently available for sale.”

“Currently?” Lewisham asked. “I see. You expect to release more products for sale soon?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Bryant nodded. “I can’t imagine why anyone would assume we wouldn’t.”

There was a knock on the door, and a cent came in with a small black object. It was about the size of a large load of bread, with a large scoop on the back and a wide front end.

“Sorry to interrupt, Your Highness, but you asked to see the prototype as soon as it arrived.” The cent placed the box down on the side of her desk, bowed, and left.

“Oh, yay,” Nellie said, sitting forward and taking a set of metal cubes of various sizes out of a drawer. “I’ve been looking forward to trying this out.”

“Ma’am, we are in a meeting,” Bryant said with an apologetic look at Lewisham.

“Nonsense,” Nellie said. “It’ll only take a second.” She dropped the cubes into the hopper and pressed a few buttons on her datapad. The box began to hum.

“There, all done,” She turned back to Lewisham as a datapad slowly emerged from the front, the machine almost seeming to print it as she spoke. “Where were we?”

“Umm,” Lewisham was fixated on the box. “May I ask what that is?”

“Oh,” Nellie laughed. “Of course. We have a planet that is being developed without nanite usage at the moment. This is something my wife invented to speed things along. She calls it a Material Processor. Quite ingenious, really.”

“That machine does not use nanites?” Lewisham asked as the datapad thunked onto the table.

“Only internally. A set of designs and some materials are all it really needs.” Nellie nodded. “Some of our people do prefer these methods. I don’t really see the point while inside the Imperium, but each to their own.”

“And it just made that datapad?” Lewisham asked. “Right now?”

“Oh, yes,” Nellie handed it over the desk to him. “A slightly older design than our current ones, but still quite useful.”

“It is remarkably fast,” Lewisham frowned at the datapad in his hands. “And, a little heavier?”

“The cents,” Nellie laughed. “They can be a little heavy-handed with datapads. So we make them reinforced.”

“If we can get back on to the topic at hand?” Bryant asked. “I believe we were talking about possible future expansions to our product range.”

“Oh, sorry,” Nellie patted Bryant's arm apologetically. “You were saying, Ambassador, that the I.P.A. feels it is better served by the Sagacity. They have been supplying you for years. No doubt you still have many more products of theirs that you need to purchase?”

“Hmm?” Lewisham seemed to have trouble pulling his eyes away from the Material Processor. “Oh, right! Now that you mention it, we are quite well supplied for the moment, but who knows what the future may hold? They are promising permanent bans, you know.”

Nellie nodded, “I understand entirely, Ambassador. You have to consider the long-term prosperity of your people. As you say, who knows what the future may hold?” She tapped the processor absently as she finished speaking. “Very well, I will not take up any more of your time. Thank you for coming!”

“Of course,” Lewisham stood, eyes still flickering to the processor occasionally. “Oh, your datapad.”

“Keep it,” Nellie smiled. “We make them by the shuttle load these days.”

“Thank you,” Lewisham hesitated on the way out and turned back. “I wonder if I might book some time on the relay satellites in this system so I could talk to my people back in the I.P.A.?”

“No need,” Nellie said with a shrug. “All ambassadors have free access to them at any time. Make all the calls you like.”

“But the bandwidth…”

“Oh, we have no problems with that kind of thing,” Nellie reassured him.

“Really?” Lewisham looked surprised but nodded. “In that case, good day, Your Highness.”

“And you, Ambassador.”

/===<<<>>>===\

“Now,” Tri said, walking up and down the line of kneeling, handcuffed crew. “Let’s talk options, shall we?”

“Options?” the former captain of the E.H.C.S. Flare-light looked up, hope in his eyes. “I thought the Marshalls just executed people?”

“Oh, we do if they deserve it,” Quad said with a menacing smile. “But today, we are feeling generous.”

“Who’s a lucky smuggler, then?” Tri asked.

“Me?” the captain asked.

“See, Quad, I said he couldn’t be as stupid as he looked!” Tri said with a broad smile. “This here.” He pointed at the captain. “This here is a man in need of a second chance. A man eager to learn from his past misdeeds!”

“Bastard,” a woman near the end of the line said quietly.

“What is that, love?” Tri asked. “Speak up so we can all hear you.”

“I said he’s a bastard!” She snapped. “He blackmailed us into doing this!”

“Oh, and what was he blackmailing you with?” Tri asked, crouching down in front of her.

“Don’t listen to her!” The captain yelled. “She’s a liar!”

“Answer the question, lady,” Quad said in a low rumble.

“He knows where our families live,” another one of the crew spat. “Said he had some mates who would go and visit them if we said no.”

“Oh-ho!” Tri said, “Is that right, Mister Captain?”

“It was just a threat!” the captain said quickly. “I never hurt anyone.”

“What about your mates?” Quad asked. “I assume you have names and addresses to supply us with?”

“Yes, yes, of course!” the captain nodded quickly. “I’ll tell you everything.”

“Good chap,” Quad yanked him up and uncuffed him. “Here’s a pad; write down everything. Everything, mind you. If we think you are leaving out even one thing… it will end badly for you.”

“Of course, Marshall.”

Tri watched as the man typed furiously and then handed the pad back.

“And sent,” Quad nodded to Tri. “Confession is on record.”

“I do like things neat,” Tri grinned. “Goodbye, Captain Shitty.”

Quad drew and fired before the Captain’s relieved smile could even start to fall.

The body clattered to the deck.

“Now!” Tri clapped his hands excitedly. “Let’s talk about your new options!”

“Option one,” Quad said, dragging the corpse over to the airlock and throwing it out onto the landing bay. “You serve jail time according to Ember’s Hearth Clan law.”

“Option two,” Tri said with a wide smile. “You are temporarily conscripted into the Marshalls and assist in the wholesale looting of the enemy clan’s ships.”

“Are you talking about piracy?” the woman looked terrified. “Is this a trick?”

“No, no, no,” Tri put a friendly arm around her shoulders. “It’s called a ‘Letter of marque.’ Basically, we get to rob them blind because we are at war or some shit.”

“So it is a legal action?” She asked. “Fully legal?”

“Oh, yeah, lady,” Tri had a glint in his eyes. “Fully. Legal. Lootage.”

“Oooh,” Quad chuckled. “Say it again, Tri!”

“Fully. Legal. Lootage!” Tri chuckled. “I have no idea who the French are, but bless ‘em right down to their socks for that one!”

“If it is legal, then we agree,” the woman said, swallowing nervously.

“You heard the lady,” Tri nodded to Quad. “Let’s get our crew uncuffed and get to work.”

“How do we stop the enemy ships?” the woman asked. “This is no destroyer. It’s a freighter.”

“Don’t worry,” Quad waived out the door. “We brought presents.”

Tri grinned, hands on his hips as the large crates were placed on the dockside.

“Let’s get to work, people! We got a pirate ship to build!”