On The Imperium’s Secret Service (Imperium Cicernus) (49 page)

Mariko kept her group back as the men filed out of the building and opened fire.  The outsiders seemed confused at first, and then returned fire.  None of them had expected trouble, Mariko realised, even though they were guarding prisoners the Imperium would do whatever it took to free.  And there were fewer of them than Mariko had expected.  Most of the Secessionist soldiers had apparently gone elsewhere. 

But where?

The fight was short, but very savage.  Once they recovered from their surprise, the Secessionists tried to launch a counterattack against the building Mariko was holding.  The unaugmented men defended the building while Mai took over one of the communications consoles and tried to access a live feed from the
Bruce Wayne
.  Mariko glanced at it as soon as it started to stream from orbit and frowned.  It wasn't easy to tell the difference between the two sides, but it seemed as if most of Tuff had simply been abandoned by the enemy.  Lady Mary’s complex appeared nearly deserted.

“Call down the assault shuttle,” Mariko ordered.  “We’re going to need support if they have reinforcements in the jungle.”

Fitz had once told her that a successful Imperial Marine assault had turned into a disaster when automated systems had opened fire on the Marines, instead of the enemy force they needed to remove.  This was why no one trusted the shuttle's autopilot to fire on ground targets without human supervision.

The shooting was dying away as the remaining Secessionists were outflanked and rapidly wiped out.  Few tried to surrender.  The handful who did were marched into the prison cell formerly occupied by the bodyguards after a brief search and scan for augmented surprises.  Most of them didn't seem to be dedicated soldiers, only trainees with a handful of real soldiers to stiffen them up and provide lessons on military tactics. 

But what had happened to the real soldiers?

Mariko wondered how many of the prisoners had been hurt in the crossfire and how many of them deserved it.  Most of the spoiled brats she’d seen on safari could do with some pain to remain them that their lifestyles were based upon the slavery of thousands of others.  But some of them didn't like to hunt; she'd seen that herself, the first time she was here.

Had the innocent been caught up with the guilty?

“Free the prisoners, and then prepare to head to Lady Mary’s compound,” Fitz ordered two of the augments, who went to unlock the cages.  “See if their vehicles are working...”

The assault shuttle flashed by overhead, spinning around to provide fire support if necessary.

“Good thinking,” Fitz complimented her.  Mariko felt herself blush.  “Call the shuttle in to land at the landing pad so I can load her up with volunteers.”

Some of the prisoners seemed to expect that they’d be taken home immediately.  They demanded that their bodyguards see to their needs personally, whatever the other demands on their time.  Mariko watched one of the bodyguards patiently try to explain that he was needed elsewhere, before stunning the aristocratic lady who had insisted, time and time again, that he take her home.  The fact he might not be
able
to take her home never seemed to occur to her.

How can they be so freaking unaware of the universe around them?
Mariko thought as she clambered into the assault shuttle.
How can they be so blind to how savagely they are hated?
  The Secessionists had been remarkably disciplined, all things considered; their other enemies would be far less inclined to be merciful. 

She took control of the shuttle and checked the live feed from
Bruce Wayne
.  Unsurprisingly, the vast number of starships in orbit had
left
orbit only a few hours after they’d been captured and dumped in the jungle.  Lady Mary’s people had made an attempt to get into the
Bruce Wayne
, but after the automated defences had fired warning shots, they’d backed off and left the modified ship alone.  Mariko couldn't understand why they hadn't simply blown her out of space, before realising that they probably wanted to dissect her to discover what Imperial Intelligence built into its modified hulls.

“Move,” Fitz yelled at his small team of augments.  Mai followed him, looking somewhat out of place compared to the tough men who were scrambling into the shuttle.  “Mariko – you ready to take us to the compound?”

Mariko ran her hand down the controls, bringing the engines online.  “As soon as you slam the hatch,” she yelled back.  “Now?”

Fitz banged the hatch closed.  “Now,” he ordered.  “Get us out of here!”

The shuttle leapt into the air and raced for Lady Mary’s compound.  Mariko silently blessed Fitz’s insistence that both she and Mai practice flying the assault shuttle until they were perfect, for the moment they headed towards the compound they picked up signs that there were automated defences hiding in the jungle. 

Mai took control of the weapons and launched HVMs towards the hidden sensor systems, hoping to destroy them before they could open fire on the shuttle.  Great explosions billowed up from under the jungle canopy as they swooped down on the compound, heading right for Lady Mary’s lawn. 

Mariko yanked the shuttle to a halt and then dropped down, landing with a bump.  Fitz and the other augments didn't seem to be particularly bothered by the hard landing.  Those who had combat experience, she decided, would have been through worse.

“Go, go, go,” Fitz yelled. 

The augments spilled out of the shuttle, weapons in hand.  Smoke was still rising from the jungle, where Mariko’s missiles had taken out weapons pods and sensor platforms, but there was no sign of any resistance.  The entire compound seemed to have been abandoned.  Mariko looked towards the landing pads and saw nothing, not even the shuttle they’d used to land two days ago.  It felt as if they’d been on the planet for a lifetime.

She monitored Fitz’s progress as best as she could from the shuttle, watching through the sensors as the augments moved from room to room in the massive mansion.  The building appeared to be completely deserted.  There was no sign of anyone, human or alien.

But they didn't have the manpower to search it properly. She saw them discover hidden compartments and passageways allowing Lady Mary to move servants and rebels around without being seen by her guests.  Someone with access to the mansion’s internal sensors could have avoided them with relative ease.

“They’re all gone,” Fitz’s voice said, through the communicator.  “The birds have flown the nest.”

“Understood,” Mariko said.  “What do you want us to do?”

“For the moment, nothing,” Fitz said.  “I think I need to establish some order here.”

“Want me to work on the computers?”  Mai offered, eagerly.  “I might be able to pull something out of them.”

“I don’t think so,” Fitz said.  “The entire system has been melted down into slag.  My guess is that they don’t intend to come back here after...after they carry out the rest of their plan.”

Mariko cursed.  Whatever had been in those computers would be lost forever, she knew.  It was difficult to erase something permanently, particularly on a computer designed and produced by the Imperium, but vaporising the memory cells would definitely do it.  Lady Mary probably wouldn't have been foolish enough to keep all of the details of her plans on her planet, yet there might have been something they could use to guess where the Secessionists were going.  And then it dawned on her that there was only
one
place they could go.

“Fitz,” she said, slowly, “I think they’ve gone to Sumter.”

There, the Secessionists could try to make their plan work, despite the disruption they’d suffered at Tuff, or they could withdraw back into the shadows, giving the Imperium time to take precautions against an Imperium-wide wormhole collapse.  If they could take precautions...if they couldn’t find a counter, the Secessionists would just keep trying until they succeeded. 

“I think so too,” Fitz admitted.  He’d clearly had the same thought.  The Secessionists could try to make their plan work, despite the disruption they’d suffered at Tuff, or they could withdraw back into the shadows, giving the Imperium time to take precautions against an Imperium-wide wormhole collapse.  If they could take precautions...if they couldn’t find a counter, the Secessionists would just keep trying until they succeeded.  “Either way,
we
have to go to Sumter ourselves.”

Mariko glanced at the screen as the
Bruce Wayne
forwarded an alert.  “There are multiple engine signals heading away from the rebel base,” she said.  “They’re coming this way.”

“Hopefully, that means that they got the rebel vehicles to work,” Fitz said.  “But stay on alert anyway, just in case.  There’s no proof that was the only rebel base on the planet.”

***

An hour later, Mariko was starting to wish that they’d killed more of the former hostages in the crossfire.  She’d
never
heard so much complaining in her life, particularly not from people who should know that they were lucky to be alive and free.  Aristocratic boys who seemed to think that the world revolved around them, girls who believed that everyone should drop to their knees and worship their beauty, older women who played political power games for fun...they were intolerable.

“I demand that you find us a flight off this world at once,” one of the older women was saying.  Her face had been scrubbed clean of makeup by the Secessionists, something else she’d been bitching about at great volume.  Mariko privately doubted that any amount of makeup would turn her face into something attractive, but her series of husbands had presumably disagreed.  “I intend to make sure that the Grand Senate hears about it in person and...”

Fitz studied her, shook his head, and turned away again. 

The woman gasped, shocked by his dismissal.  Why didn’t she think that the Grand Senate had more important things to do than debate what had happened to an insignificant woman on an even more insignificant planet?  Mariko watched with some amusement as the woman was frogmarched out of the room by a pair of augmented bodyguards and escorted to one of the small rooms Lady Mary had prepared as love nests.  She could stay in there until starships arrived to lift the entire population off this rock and back to the Imperium. 

“Now you know why I spend as little time in High Society as possible,” Fitz muttered, as soon as the woman was hauled out of the room.  “I take it you found no working shuttles?”

“No,” Mariko confirmed.  The handful of shuttles they’d located in hangers had had their guidance systems removed, a simple way to immobilise a shuttle without making it immediately obvious what they'd done.  “I think Lady Mary doesn't intend to come back.”

“Or if she does, it will be after she succeeds in bringing down the wormholes,” Fitz agreed.  “What did the hunting parties find?”

“They located enough food for” – she checked her datapad – “roughly six months, assuming they follow strict rationing procedures,” Mariko informed him.  “There's going to be a great deal of argument from the aristocrats over the rationing, Fitz.”

“That’s their problem,” Fitz said.  He snickered.  “Besides, they won’t have access to the body shops here.  They’ll have to actually
work
to keep their bodies unless they want them to go to fat.”

Mariko had to chuckle.  “There
are
some decent huntsmen among the former hostages,” she added.  “They may be able to shoot some animals we
can
eat and add to the rations that way.”

“I’d be careful about that,” Fitz said, thoughtfully.  “Tuff worked a great many surprises into his masterpiece.  I’d be surprised if some of the edible animals didn't turn out to be poisonous, if not cooked very carefully.  We did get to eat some of the meat from animals we shot, but Lady Mary’s staff always saw to their preparation.”

He shrugged.  “Maybe we can test it out on the complainers first,” he added.  “See if they get sick.  If not...better luck next time.”

Mariko giggled.  “Speaking of complainers, over a hundred have demanded passage on the
Bruce Wayne
back to Sumter,” she informed him.  “A number have offered cash bribes amounting to seventy thousand credits; others have threatened you and yours with all manner of political punishments if you refuse to give them passage.”