Sword of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) (24 page)

Excerpt from the Scrolls of Axia – Part XXI Laws for Men and Women

System Standard 2728.1314 Surface of Planet Corazon

The dust cleared, thank the stars, Blas thought with relief. Serena still stood there, immovable and the Mk V had been blown into wreckage. Incredibly, the shooting had stopped, for some reason the Axians had ceased firing and slowly the Rescom fire petered out too. The battlefield was littered with many broken vehicles, smoke hung over the whole area and the smell of battle assaulted their senses. The comms operator shouted to him.

“All of our equipment has gone down, Sir. We can’t communicate with the Fleet.”

“Is it just this vehicle or our entire force?”

“It’s all of us, Sir. The central comms station must have taken a hit.”

“Can we receive anything?”

“Nothing, it’s all out. There is one other possibility, Sir.”

Yes, he’d already worked it out. The possibility that the Fleet was either destroyed or had surrendered. He’d have to ignore that for the time being, if the Fleet was gone, there was nothing he could do about it. What was needed was to concentrate here on the surface, he need to find out what was happening. First priority was to get the Vice-President back inside the vehicle. He climbed through the hatch and walked across to where she stood, silent, proud, unmoving.

“Ma’am, I must insist that you get inside the N34, we need to return to the command center, the President will want you out of harm’s way.”

She turned and looked at him, he nearly staggered. Her eyes were like beams of laser fire, they projected an intensity that was, well, frightening. It was as if the armored might of both forces was as nothing compared to the unworldly power that shone from within her. He understood then that he had seen only a tiny fraction of what she was capable of. No wonder the Axians had been powerless against her terrifying power.

“Do you know why I let you see what we can do, Constantine?”

He tried to control his racing thoughts, he dimly realized she was speaking to him. “No, I do not.”

“It is because I need your help. Never before have we Orphexians felt the need to reveal the extent of our powers. We know that it could lead to our ruin. People would seek to enchain us, to make our powers work for terrible purposes. It is only because the Axians threatened the end of humanity as we have known it that we have we been forced to go to these extreme lengths.”

As she spoke he was running through all of the implications of their enormous and awful power. They could rule the universe if they wished, forever. Why didn’t they just do it, what held them back?

“Because we would be constantly at war with humanity, you would always be plotting to bring about our downfall, to find a way to defeat the power of our minds.”

He realized she’d been reading his mind. But she shook her head.

“No, I have not been reading your mind. It’s the obvious question for you to ask, and the answer is equally obvious too. Why would we wish to rule if we were constantly under attack from envious humans, never knowing when you were going to invent a way to circumvent our power? Our rule is only to use mind control for the good of humanity. Some would say we have overreached in this war but we felt we had no choice. After this is over we wish to go back to the status quo, if that is ever possible.”

Blas wondered if it would ever be possible. When a secret was out, how could it ever be put back in the box? But first things first.

“Please, get back inside the vehicle.”

He followed her through the hatch.

“We’ll take the Vice-President back to the command post, driver. Watch out for enemy gunfire, they’ve stopped for now but we don’t know when they’ll start again.”

“They won’t fire again, Captain Blas.”

He looked at Serena; she seemed so calm, so sure. “You’ve managed to control their entire force?”

“No, I do not have that power, but I have controlled their leaders and they have ordered a surrender. I suggest you take advantage before they recover, you must disarm them.”

“I’ll get you back to safety first, then we’ll go about accepting their surrender.”

They reached the command post safely. Just as Serena had said, the battle had abruptly ended. He hustled her inside with Tell and Smetana and checked the screens. Nearby he could see his vehicles approaching the Axian Mk Vs, they were all at a standstill with their crews emerging, their hands in the air waiting to be taken into captivity. Yet there was no air of celebration inside the cramped room, the silence from space could mean that as much as they’d succeeded on the planet’s surface, their Fleet could be in ruins. Yet even as they feared for the worst, a ship touched down on the surface nearby. It was a shuttle from the flagship Rex Vitas. They went outside to greet it, the ramp came down and Admiral Rusal emerged smiling.

“It’s all over up there, they’ve surrendered, we heard about the surrender down here too. The Axians sent the surrender order and asked for confirmation. Of course, we were in control of the Axian communications by then and we merely confirmed it. We’ve won.”

Blas looked out over the smoking plain, the bodies, the wreckage. Presumably the butcher’s bill in space would be no less, perhaps worse.

“We won nothing down here, Admiral. Your Vice-President used her powers to force an Axian surrender. It’s a good thing she did, we were pushed to the limits of our endurance, they outgunned us in every way. The Axians lost, but it’s the Orphexians that won, not us.”

Rusal was thoughtful. “Their surrender was strange too, it was just when we thought we were finished, almost as if a guardian angel intervened for us.”

“It was an Orphexian angel,” Serena interrupted them. “We had people on the Axian flagship, they had instructions to prevent a disastrous defeat, as I had here.”

Blas stared at her, the question that no one seemed to want to ask was ‘whose instructions?’ But Rusal had a more important matter on his mind before he worried about who was behind their unexpected but welcome victory.

“We’d better get back to the flagship, we need to start planning the next stage of our fightback. It will be the most difficult, without a doubt. The largest concentration of their forces still needs to be beaten. We need to begin the assault on Axis Nova.”

System Standard 2728.1314 Battlecruiser Rex Vitas above Planet Axis Nova

Serena was huddled in the grand cabin with her fellow Orphexians, Evelyn Gluck, Nightingale and Alex Yalonda. Guide Tell was in the conference room with Rusal, Smetana and Blas. Their combined Fleet was making the long, complicated journey through hyperspace that would put them within striking range of Axis Nova. It would also put them close to the enormous Axian forces.

“I feel that we should give them a chance to surrender,” Guide Tell insisted. “I will go down onto Axis Nova and negotiate directly with the Grand Pasha.”

“It’s crazy,” Smetana growled. “In the first place, why would he listen to you?”

“I will have his daughter with me,” he replied.

“Damnit, Sir, he must know what she is now, an Orphexian. If he gets his hands on her he’ll put her in the deepest, darkest dungeon he can find, a thousand miles from Lyra. That’s if he doesn’t put her to death first. He won’t want an Orphexian near him, daughter or not.”

“In that case, she may come with us as part of my diplomatic mission, she’ll have my full protection.”

Smetana threw up his hands in disgust, it was obvious what he thought of the idea. The door to the conference room opened and the women walked in, Serena, Evelyn, Nightingale and Alex Yalonda. Guide Tell explained to them his plan for a diplomatic mission to Axis Nova. Evelyn smiled.

“You do not understand my father, he will not agree to receiving the mission in the first place. Even if he did, it would be a golden opportunity for him to take high ranking hostages to prevent an attack. Do you not know what he is capable of?”

With growing horror they listened to her description of how her father had come to power, the way he had coldly attached his campaign to the coat tails of the Prophet Axia. How he believed in Axia only until such time as something more useful to his own particular brand of politics came along. The, she fully believed, Axia would be consigned to the dustbin of history.

“That’s useful to know,” Tell said thoughtfully. “The Prophet just disappeared one day, bequeathing the leadership of his religion to Gluck and the other High Acolytes. Those Acolytes, I seem to recall they disappeared too, leaving only Gluck and two others. Now it’s only Gluck, if I am correct.”

“You are correct, Guide Tell. Nobody knows what happened to The Prophet, he was on a routine flight from one of the outer planets in the Vega System. When the ship docked, he had gone. My father said that The Prophet had been called to serve the God Ahura in the afterlife. Some said that my father and Axia had been arguing about the succession, but those people disappeared soon afterwards so nobody knows.”

It was a story that was so familiar, Blas thought. Since the dawn of time religions had fallen over each other to drown in bloodshed as the leaders fought for supremacy. Their followers spilled their blood and died to spread and defend the word of their so-called ‘God’ without knowing the true reason why. No matter how good or bad the Rescom Federation was, and it was anything but perfect, they had avoided the need for duplicity and violence to earn followers. Rescom had a simple philosophy, if you want us, vote for us. If you don’t, vote for someone else. He looked up, Rusal was speaking again.

“Our options are limited, we have to force the Axians to surrender, otherwise they will grow stronger and attack us again, this war could go on forever. Can we rely on Orphex for further support?” he asked, looking at the women.

Serena shook her head. “No, that is not possible. We have already gone far beyond what we would normally be allowed to do. Only by staying neutral for the final confrontation can we demonstrate what we stand for.”

“A lot more people could die than is necessary,” Rusal said bitterly. “Don’t you prefer to preserve life?”

“Unless we make a firm stand to regain our neutrality our whole planet could be wiped out. That is not acceptable to us. No, you must achieve this victory yourselves.”

There was an interruption as an officer knocked and entered the room. “Excuse me, the prisoner Shemal Kerawan has begged for a meeting with the Rescom leadership, he says he can offer you help that will enable you to win the coming battle.”

They looked at each other in surprise. Guide Tell shrugged. “Very well, bring him in.”

A few moments later the guard brought in the Axian Secretary. His normal lean, swarthy face looked distinctly paler and less confident than when Rusal, Smetana and Blas had encountered him in the Supreme Court.

“Gentlemen,” he half bowed, rubbing his hands together like a Daqilian merchant. “I could be useful to you, you know. I can serve you as just as I served the Axians.” He smiled thinly at them.

“What are you offering, Kerawan,” Tell asked impatiently.

“The keys to the planet, no less. I can give you the codes that will enable your ships to get within striking distance of Axis Nova before they are detected as hostile.”

“And in return?”

“All I ask is for consideration for a position in your new government.”

“No guarantees, Kerawan. But yes, I promise we will look on you favorably.”

“In that case, I am your man.”

Tell nodded. “Very well. Guard, take him away, we can talk to him later.”

Kerawan half bowed again and was led away.

“What’s our next move, Admiral?”

“It’s quite simple, Mr. President. We begin the assault on Axis Nova.”

System Standard 2728.1325 Lyra City, Planet Axis Nova

 
Grand Pasha Gluck surveyed the incompetent fools that were supposed to be the leaders of his Axian forces. The disaster at Corazon was unbelievable, every message had predicted certain victory, yet the last communication had admitted the surrender of the entire force. His assembled commanders watched him steadily, waiting for the axe to fall, someone had to take the blame for the debacle. Rad Bose stood impassively beside him, Gluck was comforted by the presence of his hatchet man, any one of these traitors might take it into their heads to make a play for the leadership. Over his dead body, of course. His gaze fell on General Lov Rashul, his Chief of Staff, the man responsible for assigning the forces to Corazon.

“General Rashul, why did you send such an inadequate fleet to take Corazon?”

Rashul bristled. “Sir, our Fleet was overwhelming, enough to crush the Rescom force several times over.”

“Yet it did not, General. Why did it fail and even worse, why did they surrender in such a cowardly fashion?”

The General looked away. “I don’t know, it’s inexplicable.”

“Really? I have another word for it, General Rashul. I call it treachery. Mr. Bose, arrest General Rashul and take him to the cells, I’ll deal with him later.”

Bose went forward, drew his pistol and took hold of Rashul’s arm.

“This is preposterous, I have done everything I could for our glorious revolution, I’m no traitor.”