Son of Justice (35 page)

What the flock?
There were more than a dozen weapons aimed at his overly large head, and he thought he held the upper hand. Eli considered pointing out the obvious.

“How about you recall your soldiers to the ship, and I won’t pull this trigger,” Eli countered.

“I understand your position, human,” Oinoo said, his voice like honey—sugary sweet and full of promise. “Here you stand, on my ship. You have me at a momentary disadvantage because of your weapons. But you should think long-term. What is going to become of you and your . . . men . . . when you leave this ship? You are surrounded by ten-thousand Zrthn mercenaries, who are backed by one hundred and fifty thousand Minith. Surely, your force cannot stand up to those odds. Accept my advocacy and I will ensure your wellbeing. Do we have a contract?”

They had swapped less than two hundred words in their short time together and Eli was already tired of that question: do we have a contract?

His Zrthn forces have been cut to just over seven thousand after encountering Alliance carrier jets
, Aank inserted his thoughts into Eli’s consciousness. Eli welcomed the Waa’s mental presence, happy for his ability to see into the Zrthn’s thoughts.
The number of Minith backing Drah is also greatly exaggerated. He is uncertain of the true number, but it is a fraction of the total population.

Not all Minith are on Drah’s side?

No, Eli. Most are sitting by, waiting for a victor to emerge. Again, Oinoo is unsure of the exact numbers, but it is a majority. He is not pleased with Drah. Apparently, the colonel promised a full rebellion.

So, he’s trying to bluff me?

Eli, we both know you would not accept his offer. But the Zrthns, by nature, are masters of trade and business. They are skilled negotiators who value contracts and agreements. This one places much value on his negotiation abilities. Bluffing is merely a tactic he uses to sway issues in his favor. Also, he is highly intelligent and has already surmised how we arrived on his ship. Because of that, he believes you aren’t aware of the events happening outside.

Interesting. And he has no clue we know what he’s thinking?
Eli considered the value in knowing what your enemies and your trading partners thought. No wonder the Waa ability to read minds was such a closely guarded secret within the Alliance.

Blink. Blink.

Okay, Aank. Keep me on track here. If there’s anything I miss, let me know.

Blink. Blink.

“Come now, Oinoo,” Eli addressed the Zrthn. He tried to mirror the alien’s honeylike tone. “We both know that thirty percent of your forces have already been killed or injured by our aircraft. And Drah has less than a thousand followers. The remainder are sitting on their paws waiting for this to end.”

Although he wasn’t familiar with Zrthn facial tics, Eli saw a change in Oinoo’s features at that news. The low ball estimate of a thousand Drah followers was a complete fabrication. Fortunately, two could play the bluffing game.

“If you recall your forces now, we will allow you all to leave Telgora unharmed. If you don’t . . . well, we’ll have to take the appropriate steps to eliminate you. All of you.” Eli allowed the threat to hang in the air. The weapon he pointed at Oinoo left no question about who would be the first to die.

“The fighters outside are contracted mercenaries, Captain,” Oinoo replied. “If you kill me, they will fight to the death. Then where will we be?”

That is a truth, Eli.

“I believe you, Oinoo. But if you’re dead, their continued struggle doesn’t help you or the Thmelia Pod. And they will end up dead anyway.”

It would cost his pod a great deal in compensation to their families, Eli. He does not want that.

“Perhaps there is truth to your words. But their sacrifice might weaken your defenses enough so that a future foray by my pod would be successful.”

Not true. He is here without authorization of his pod or the Zrthn executives to whom all pods pay tribute. A future assault is possible, Eli, but not from this one’s pod. Compensation payments and the negative reputation over this failed attempt will prohibit that.

He’s a rogue?

Somewhat. It is not unusual for their kind to take unilateral actions against worlds like this one. Senior pod members who lead successful subjugations are hailed and applauded.

And those who lead failed attempts?

Ridicule. Loss of Position. Sometimes death.

So, why would he agree to leave? He has nothing to lose if his forces fight to the end.

Do not underestimate loyalty to the pod. He may agree to a deal that spares his pod from ruin.

“Oinoo, are you loyal to your pod?”

“Yes!” The word was delivered with a sense of what Eli assumed was righteous indignation. The alien’s finger-tentacles quivered and waved as well. Good.

“Here is my proposal,” Eli responded. “Recall the mercenaries you have deployed outside the ship. Leave Telgora, and do not attempt future forays against us. In exchange, we will guarantee safe departure for you and all of your forces. In addition, the Shiale Alliance will agree to negotiate only with the Thmelia Pod on future shipments of agsel. No other pods will have a seat at the negotiating table.”

“You would do this? You would deal only with my pod?”

That has his interest, Eli. For him, being the only recipient of the Telgoran agsel is nearly as good as his agreement with Drah, who he feels may be unable to uphold his end of their bargain. Such an agreement will also rescue his reputation within his pod. He now envisions a prosperous arrangement, where before he saw little chance of success.

Good
, Eli thought.
Let’s increase the pressure then.

“Yes, Oinoo,” Eli replied. “We can make this deal. However, to compensate the Alliance for our loss of life and for the damages caused by your actions, we will retain five of the six captivity ships in your fleet. You will be allowed to keep your battle carrier, your support vessel, and the last captivity ship.”

Eli didn’t disclose why he wanted the ships, though it was likely obvious. The transportation portal and real-time communication device alone would move Alliance technologies forward a hundred years. Who knew what else the Waa could find on board?

Oinoo’s arm-tentacles started a slow, rhythmic side-to-side wave as he considered the offer.

He is wavering, Eli.

“If you do not agree to these terms,” Eli continued, pressing the advantage. “We will seize
all
of your ships and eliminate all of your crew and mercenaries. The Thmelia Pod will be left with nothing but heavy debt, failure, and ridicule.”

Oinoo’s tentacles stopped their strange waving rhythm. Eli knew the other had no choice but to agree.

“Do we have a contract?” he asked the Zrthn.

Becca looked down across the plain where the ship waited. She had no idea what was happening. The Zrthn forces there had begun a slow but steady retreat back inside the large spacecraft, and she wondered what they were up to. The attacks by Gurney and his crew had taken a heavy toll on the ground forces around the ship before they were brought down, but that didn’t explain the movements taking place.

Her forces were still ready to move out—had been since the pilots started their assault. But she held them back, unwilling to commit until she had a good idea of the situation. Now, she had no one left outside the ship to attack, except for several hundred Minith, who wandered about, seemingly just as confused as she was.

She had no desire to throw her forces—now two thousand strong—against the ship itself. Though the ramps were still down, she doubted their ability to storm the craft with any degree of success. She considered Gurney’s final transmission and debated bypassing the ship altogether so she could help the Telgorans against the Minith forces headed below ground. Still, she held back. Indecision was a fatal error in any battle, but so was committing your forces without knowing what you were committing them against.

She decided to wait another ten minutes. If nothing changed by then, she’d move to support the Telgorans.

With five minutes to go, Lieutenant Colonel Becca Conway received the greatest shock of her life. She watched in stunned wonder as a line of armored Shiale Rangers exited the alien ship and headed up the hill in her direction.

“This is Captain Eli Justice of the Shiale Rangers,” she heard over the comm unit attached to her ear. “Who’s in charge of the force on the hill?”

Becca slowly fingered the transmit button. How in the flock did her troops get on board a Zrthn ship?

“Captain Zero,” she announced, shaking her head. “You have some serious explaining to do.”

* * *

“Captain Zero,” Eli heard Colonel Conway’s voice come across the headset. “You have some serious explaining to do.”

He couldn’t hold back the smile, and he put the suit into triple speed, anxious to reach his commanding officer. He should have known the colonel would be at the center of the human response to this rebellion. She hadn’t been put in charge of the ranger battalion because she lacked skills or initiative.

“Colonel Conway, it’s good to hear your voice, ma’am.”

“How the flock did you get aboard that ship? Aren’t you supposed to be on Rhino-3?”

“It’s a long story, Colonel, and I’d like an opportunity to share it with you. But we’ve got a few things to accomplish first.”

“Agreed, Captain,” Conway said. “What’s going on with our Zrthn visitors? Since you’re coming from their ship unharmed, and their soldiers have suddenly left Terra Telgora, can I assume they are no longer a threat?”

“That would be an accurate assumption, Colonel. We . . . um . . . we’ve reached an agreement.”

Eli felt a sudden stab of doubt. Until this moment, he hadn’t really considered how his deal with Oinoo might be received by the rest of the Shiale Alliance. He was just a lowly captain (zero). What authority did he have to speak for the entire Alliance? Oh well, it was what it was. All he could do now was live with the fallout.

He reached the ridgeline where the human force waited and saw Conway waving from a hundred meters to the north. He looked over his shoulder to make sure the rest of his company was behind him and, satisfied that they were keeping up, moved in her direction.

When he reached her location, Eli offered a silent nod of recognition, propped the Ginny against his right leg, and reached up, suddenly anxious to release the clasps of his helmet. He turned the locking mechanism, flipped the clasps, and twisted the helmet a quarter turn clockwise. With a sigh of relief, he lifted the helmet from the suit and breathed nonprocessed air for the first time in two days. It was the hot, sand-blown air of Telgora, but it felt wonderful. Even the tiny pricks of sand hitting his face were almost welcome in a painfully familiar way.

With the helmet removed, he offered his commander a perfectly executed salute and a thin smile.

In return, the colonel surprised him by closing the distance between them and throwing her arms around his body. It was an unexpected greeting, and while he couldn’t feel the embrace through the PEACE armor, he definitely felt it in the core of his being.

A crowd of more than one hundred thousand filled the stands that had been set up on the tarmac of the recently renamed
Captain Jamison E. Gurney Spaceport
. The large crowd arranged around the Gurney Spaceport was a healthy mix of Minith, human, Telgoran, and Waa; all of whom had reason to observe the medal ceremony and cheer on their own races’ medal recipients. The damage caused by Gurney and his fellow pilots had been mostly repaired, and the Zrthn ship that had occupied the space was now gone. Still, all of those in attendance understood the significance of holding the ceremony here, where the majority of the battle had been fought.

Eli had never met the pilot whose name the spaceport had been given, but he had heard of the man’s actions from Colonel Conway. He had also viewed the vids from the pilot’s final flight. While many no doubt credited Eli and his company of rangers with playing the largest role in quelling the rebellion and defeating the Zrthn invasion, Eli thought the pilot did more than he ever could have done. He and his fellow pilots had reduced the Zrthn forces around the ship by 25 percent before being taken down by the Minith rebels. Gurney had then single-handedly destroyed nearly half the Minith who were marching on the native Telgorans and sacrificed his life to accomplish the feat. His actions were the turning point and provided Eli with the leverage he needed to convince Oinoo to cut his losses and retreat.

Eli stood at attention, a position that he had somehow managed to hold for the past hour without wilting in the face of the ever-present sand-pricks that bit at his uncovered face.

The ceremony was being projected on a giant vid screen that resided somewhere behind Eli and the other recipients. The audio projected out over the large crowd and gave the waiting soldiers a running update of the proceedings. By following along, they were able to estimate just how much longer they had to wait—either to receive their award or to wait for the others to have their turn.

The end was nearing. The hundreds of former prisoners from the Rhino stations had been the first to get their medals. They were issued Meritorious Agsel Awards en masse, a company at a time, to expedite the ceremony. The next level of awards—Bronze Agsels—were given out to those who had been instrumental in freeing the captives being held by the Zrthns and securing the alien battle carrier. Tenney—who had just received approval for a transfer, and was in her final days of being his XO—Crimsa, Ellison, Captain Zin, and the rest of rangers were included in this tier.

Eli and the rest of the assembly listened as the last of those awards were made. From his periphery, he saw the award presenters appear on his far right. Finally, they had made it to the rank where he and the final recipients waited.

The first person in his rank to be pinned was Colonel Conway, and Eli listened closely to the announcement. His commander was awarded the Silver Agsel—her third, he was surprised to hear—for her actions during the rebellion. The announcer noted her resistance against the initial assault on the ranger headquarters and her ability to assemble a large force that was capable of defending the Alliance. Her bravery and leadership while leading that force against the eleven hundred Minith who survived Captain Gurney’s final attack were cited as the primary reason for the award.