The Phoenix Darkness (17 page)

“With that, I bid you peace and good fortune,
and urge every listener to remain listening to hear the testimony
of Dr. Hameldon, who can explain this profound discovery far more
elegantly than I am able to myself. I part you today with only a
simple, but important, rhetorical question, and that is, can we
afford to allow a mental patient to sit upon the Imperial
throne?”

“
Aaaaand
, you’re clear,” said the
producer, pointing at Caerwyn, meaning Dr. Hameldon’s broadcast,
being shot from inside his spruced-up, old medical office, had
begun. As his staff started taking down the cameras and shifting
the equipment, he knew he was finally free to relax. No longer able
to help himself, he let out a chuckle, which turned into a laugh.
He shook his head, thinking he really had gotten the better of this
latest exchange.

The rebel queen had tried her best, and her
attack on his character was not without its dangers. The specific
names the rebel queen had sent might cause him some actual trouble
if people started digging, but Caerwyn already had a plan in place
to deal with that.

He would use the existence of the fifty-nine
who successfully got through to defect to the rebel queen,
traitorous bastards all, as evidence no one is stopping anyone from
turning traitor and defecting. Meanwhile, his people had already
been tasked with finding stock footage to broadcast of some of the
missing representatives to rebut Kalila’s claims, and Caerwyn had
put into place a do-not-kill order on the few Representatives who
had been captured but not yet executed. He intended to pressure
them, by threat and bribery, into making recorded statements, meant
to appear live, and then he would broadcast them as further
evidence against Kalila’s claims.

He also had some of his people investigating
the possibility of framing Kalila’s spies, which she’d admitted to
having, as being the ones responsible for the abduction and
suspicious murders of the fourteen representatives the public had
noticed were missing.

All of the damage she’d inflicted him could
and would be handled. But as for the blow he’d just dealt her…he
doubted she could do much to recover from that. Especially when
footage from some of these allegedly dead representatives began to
appear, further impeaching both her allegations and her state of
mind.

Chapter 6

“It’s a bunch of cargo ships and freight
transports,” said Vulture, peeking through the scope of his
anti-material rifle. “But I don’t see any cargo.”

Ryker knelt just behind them; the two had
gone ahead of the others to scout the situation. They hid in a
thicket of trees and rocks on an elevated position about three
kilometers away from the edge of the city, where several large,
bulky starships had touched down, forming a makeshift city of their
own just on the outskirts of the ruined capital. Ryker was able to
make out some of it with the binoculars, but Vulture’s keener eyes
combined with the superior magnification of the rifle’s scope meant
he had a much better idea of what was going on than Ryker did.

“Those dots out there,” said Ryker, peering
through the binoculars and trying to make out what he could. The
dust in the air around the city made surveillance even harder. “Are
those people?”

“Not people like you and me people,” said
Vulture. “They’re Rotham. I can see Teldari uniforms. I estimate at
least two-hundred soldiers exited out of that freighter on the far
west side. I’m guessing the others carry the same.”

So not supplies, then. Not food or aid or
anything the planet, and even the remaining CERKO operatives,
desperately needed at this point. Instead, the Rotham had finally
come, in force, to claim their prize. The scorched, famished planet
that had rebelled against the Empire, bled to chase off the king’s
troops, and then declared itself a member state of the Rotham
Republic.

“Do you suppose they’re here to protect the
people?” asked Vulture. “Now that the humans here have gone
Republican?”

“I doubt it,” said Ryker. If there was
anything a Rotham could be counted on for, it was guile. The plan
had always called for the Rotham to take Renora. It had been a
concession Zane had made for something, God knows what, and Ryker
and his people had been the instrument to make certain that
happened. Still, it was odd to see the Rotham arrive in such force.
And if the many orbital ships he’d spotted during the night were
any indication, they might've arrived with tens of millions of
troops. Not enough to invade a planet that stood ready to resist,
but more than enough to dominate a broken world with an iron fist
should that be their objective. “I'll bet they’re here in such
force because they want to make sure the citizens of Renora don’t
get buyer’s remorse. If the king’s troops could be repelled off the
planet, why not the Rotham? Unless the Rotham make a strong
statement of their presence. That’s what my money says,
anyway.”

“I still don’t see any humans, or human
ships,” said Vulture, quietly irritated. When Ryker and Vulture
left the camp to scout ahead, their goal had been to identify a
human ship because any humans working alongside the Rotham would no
doubt be part of the bargain struck between Zane Martel and the
Rahajiim. They would not only know about the CERKO units trapped
here, they'd be expecting them. And most importantly, they would
have transport off the system for them, along with instructions
about how they could most expediently claim their rewards. After
all, a contract had been agreed and services rendered; now Zane and
his men expected to be paid. No doubt all the CERKO soldiers spread
across the globe were feeling the same way, however many were still
alive, that is.

“Keep looking,” said Ryker. A part of him
wanted to collect his men and rush forward to greet the newcomers.
They’d have their arms raised above their heads, in a symbol of
peace, to avoid being mistaken as local resistance and gunned down
on sight. Then, upon approach, they would either be recognized or
ask to speak with someone in command. No doubt one of the Rotham
high officers would be in the loop regarding CERKO’s presence and
involvement here, and would be grateful for all the work they’d
done. He could put them on a shuttle which would take them to Zane
Martel, or wherever their rich reward awaited them, and then Ryker
and the rest of his men would never have to fish or forage for food
again. It was hard not to imagine lustfully the kind of estate he
would buy, how he’d never have to work again unless he wanted to,
and how, once he got out of here, based on Zane Martel’s own
promises, he’d never want for anything again. The intense feeling
of fatigue, the sickness of breathing in dust and ash and living
off the wild and camping on soil that was mud and rocks; all of it
had driven him desperate. And it took real discipline not to
immediately give way to those instincts and make their
approach.

But Ryker held back cautiously, still wanting
to scout it out, hoping to spot some humans working alongside the
Rotham. Someone he could trust to recognize him and deliver on what
was promised. His greatest fear was that this invasion force
consisted of low-level soldiers who had not been sufficiently
briefed regarding the subtle nuances of how exactly the system had
been taken, and they might never have heard of CERKO. Or worse,
might read something in their computers about how CERKO was an at
large criminal outfit and then instinctively toss Ryker and his men
into some kind of terrible Rotham dungeon.

Remaining on Renora was a dungeon unto itself
and, as the days had stretched on, was nearing some point of
intolerability all by itself, Ryker knew. He felt and knew his men
felt this, especially Micah, who was perhaps the most dangerous.
This discomfort coupled with the confusion of not getting further
orders, or contact, or extract, and the feeling of not having the
rewards for which they’d worked so hard stretched tempers thin.
Already there’d been one incident between them which had resulted
in Micah giving Tank a black eye, a harbinger that their group’s
loyalty was breaking down, since Tank had always been close friends
with Micah. Ryker had managed to put a stop to that fracas, but had
known then, as he did now, that it was only a matter of time before
his group would have to split up or they’d end up killing each
other.
A lonely slow death in the wilds of Renora choking on
fumes, or else a quick violent death at the hands of my own
friends
…Neither option sounded particularly attractive. And so
Ryker knew he would have to use the arrival of new starships, and
the Rotham soldiers, somehow, to make an effort to get off the
planet.

But he held back on quick action because it
just didn’t feel right. Something was off. There should have been
humans there too, just as assuredly as Zane should have made
contact with them again. The dead silence, coupled with the arrival
of a Rotham invasion fleet, with apparently no delivery of aid for
the local populace and seemingly no members of The Phoenix Ring to
take part in the operation…Ryker simply couldn’t shake his gut
feeling that something had gone horribly wrong, though he couldn’t
imagine what.

“There’s nobody, not from here anyway,” said
Vulture. He climbed up to his feet, deactivated the scope on his
rifle, then looked Ryker in the eyes. “So, what do we do,
Boss?”

Ryker wished he had an answer. Part of him
wanted to travel to the farther side of the city, to get a better
sense of what some of the other landed ships were doing and who
their occupants were. Part of him hoped the humans were there, and
it had been merely bad luck that no humans had landed in the
outskirts here. But another part of him fully expected doing so
would offer only the same result, and cutting through the ruined
capital carried the risk of an unwanted violent encounter with any
rebels, disaffected CERKO survivors, or Rotham Teldari they might
happen upon. For now, Ryker preferred to keep the safe distance and
observe what he could from out here. Unfortunately, after a few
hours of this, it seemed Vulture, their best scout, had become
convinced that all there was to see had been seen, which left Ryker
with the uncomfortable and precarious spot of having too little
information to know what was the best and safest course of action
for him and his men.

“Boss?”

“We go back to camp, discuss it with the
others, lay out all our options, and then make a decision.”

“What decision?” asked Vulture. “Obviously,
we have to go down there and take our chances with the Rotham. I
mean, what’s the alternative, to stay out here forever and starve
to death?”

Ryker supposed Vulture was right, but his
instincts still nagged at him that something had gone awry, and to
approach the Teldari represented as much danger as it did
possibility of reward. But if it
was
their only way out of
here…

Back at camp, the decision of what to do next
turned out to be divided. Vulture thought it was best, even
necessary, for them to march down to the Rahajiim, hands raised,
and take their chances. He was convinced to do otherwise would be a
slow suicide, and surely the Rahajiim would prove grateful for what
they’d done and expeditiously get them in touch with Zane and their
reward. Choosing to delay was only deciding to remain miserable
when the chance for relief had come right to their door. Still,
Vulture at least had the patience to hear arguments to the
contrary, even though he fundamentally rejected them.

Micah, on the other hand, would hear nothing
whatsoever to the effect of waiting, delaying, or ultimately
choosing not to approach the Rotham. “They’re men, just like us.
They’re part of the plan, just like us. They’re probably even
looking for us, so we can get extracted, just like the plan. What
the
hell
are we waiting for?” Micah enjoyed their time in
the woods, starving, least of everyone. And his cold but deadly
temper shone in his murderous eyes. Whenever Tank or Ryker tried to
make a counter point, Micah would either interrupt or turn away,
beginning to march down the hill.

“I’m just saying, maybe it’s smarter to work
our way through the city and check out a few more LZ’s before we
settle on approaching this one,” said Tank to Micah’s back as the
latter continued walking away, having heard enough.

“You shits can rot here for all I care,” said
Micah, not even bothering to look behind him. “I’m going to get the
hell out of here. I’m going to claim my reward and go live a life
free and clear of you dumbasses. And if the lot of you want to stay
here, camping until you starve, or freeze, or kill each other, be
my
God damn
guests.”

“Micah,
wait
!” said Ryker, calling
after him in a polite but commanding tone, which. Micah ignored.
“
God dammit
, Micah, I order you to stop.”

Micah continued to walk down the hill, his
only acknowledgement of Ryker’s order was to raise both fists and
flip a bird with each hand.

Ryker shook his head. There was a time when
such insubordination would have meant drawing his gun and killing
Micah on the spot. CERKO might not have the training of a military
force, nor the precision, but Ryker’s team had always acted like a
military unit. Insubordination was well understood to be
unforgivable.

“You
ass
,” Tank called after him. If
Micah heard, he ignored him.

“I’m coming too!” shouted Vulture, as he
sprinted to catch up with Micah. He turned his head back briefly to
say, “I’m sorry,” to Ryker, but kept moving forward at full clip
until he’d caught up to Micah.

As the two were about to disappear out of
sight, Micah could be heard saying, “At least one of you doesn’t
have shit for brains.”

Ryker let out an angered sigh, and Tank,
whose face was flushed with rage, was quietly cracking the knuckles
of one fist in his other hand and shaking his head.