Far From Home, page 18
“Except you fabricated it!” Erva shouted. “What did you think would happen? No one out there wants to kill people!”
“There are two bodies down there that say different.”
“Because you made it happen! You sick little—”
“Ah!” Crondak waved the gun. “I’m holding a weapon here. I could finish you off right now! That’s what they want, you know. After I worked it out. You, Pondarl, and Mezani can all go straight to the hereafter knowing your pathetic attempt at peace failed. We don’t want it. And now, it’ll be gone.”
“Do you even hear yourself?” Erva asked. “What is the opposite of peace in your mind? War? Between these people and what? The GenDrus? The outcasts? There aren’t enough inmates to make proper sides. So please tell me, how’s this work in your head?” And why the hell did you betray me? I trusted you!
The last part was pointless to ask. Erva had to keep the creature talking. Buy himself some time so he could move in, take the weapon away. Reclaim his leadership status with the people somehow. But with Crondak alive, and instigating a riot, things would turn to absolute chaos quickly.
“We have plenty to kill,” Crondak said, “and when we’ve limited the numbers, we won’t have to ration as hard. People can live where they want. Any newcomers will have their chance to win a life here by killing someone else. Population control. Something you should’ve initiated a long time ago.”
“Murder,” Erva replied, “call it what it is. You want to murder innocent people and criminals alike. And why? Because you think somehow, we don’t get enough rations? I limit the resource consumption for a week, and this is what comes of it? Mutiny? You have to be insane if that’s all it took to break you.”
“I don’t need your nonsense. I only need you to get into that arena and fight for your life.”
“Excuse me?” Erva laughed. “You must be joking. You want me to what, kill those people? After Hil softened them up? You think that’s what the people want? That it’ll bring them some kind of satisfaction?”
“Call this one for me,” Crondak said. “Now get in or I shoot you and send someone else. You want to save a life? Maybe I’ll have them fetch Pondarl. Or Mezani. They both will die anyway. Maybe they should do it in the ring. I’m sure everyone here would love to watch either of them go down in the mud.”
“One of them is your only doctor, you fool!” Erva shouted. “Don’t you see—”
“Enough talk!” Crondak bellowed. He tapped the control panel, bringing the microphone back online. “I bring you the special of the evening, a surprise you didn’t know you wanted. Witness the great Erva! As he brings death to the newcomers… or falls in glory as he was always meant to! Witness!”
“Erva! Erva! Erva!” The people shouted his name, but not because they admired his leadership. Not anymore. It was a flashback to his old days, a return to the arena. Only this time, he found himself compelled at the end of a gun. Even his owners hadn’t done that before. They had respected him.
Right up until they sent him to Lakon.
This was a long time coming. Erva turned to the rail. He looked over the throng of people opposite him then down at Seth and Nitha. They’re brave. They faced down a man full of bloodlust, a violent criminal trained in the way of war. Probably someone that Crondak didn’t trust. He wanted to get rid of the best fighters.
Which might allow him to lead for a few weeks before someone killed him.
“You’ll regret this,” Erva said, “if you’re lucky enough to survive the first few days.” He hopped over the edge, landing in a crouch. The crowd cheered again, though their roars sounded all too similar at that point. He thought he might’ve stepped back into the role easily enough, found some sense of his former life the second he entered the ring.
But it didn’t happen. All he felt was detachment and disgust at what he witnessed. How long had Crondak plotted against him? They took meals together, talked about the future, worked closely to make Lakon a better place, only to come to such an end. It didn’t make sense.
Seth held the club at the ready. Nitha did the same. Erva didn’t go for the weapon. He had half a mind to let them win. If he put forth a basic attempt to survive, he’d buy them some time. For what, he had no idea. Perhaps they wouldn’t be killed if they took down the former leader of the settlement.
“This doesn’t have to happen,” Seth said. “We don’t have to fight here.”
“We might,” Erva replied. “Our audience seems to be ready to take matters into their own hands if we do not.”
“How could you let this happen?” Nitha shouted. She advanced on him. “You let Albon die! And now you’re in here with us! I thought you had control. You seemed like such a big man, but really, you’re nothing but a—”
“Stop,” Seth interrupted, “that doesn’t matter. How’s this going to play out, Erva? I don’t see you going for the other weapon. Have you given up? Or do you have an idea on how all of us can walk out of here alive?”
I wish I did. Erva turned in place, staring at the crowd. He knew those faces, but the expressions turned them into strangers. While he couldn’t remember all their names, he spent time with them too. They were a tight-knit community, and Crondak had turned them into something dangerous.
A weapon for chaos.
“Crondak put them on this path. I don’t know how to pull them back.”
Seth said, “Then help us get out of this arena.”
“To what end?” Erva asked.
The audience became restless. They started chanting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
“Where’s Mezani?” Seth looked around. “How do we get to him?”
“How do you even know…” Erva smirked. “I see. He came to you. His cave isn’t far. Three hundred meters that way.” He gestured to the left.
“And he’s got a ship there,” Seth replied. “Isn’t that right?”
“His.” Erva looked at Albon. “But it wasn’t able to fly.”
“He thought he could get it going,” Seth said. “So let’s get out of here. We’ll figure it out as we go. Start the fight, make it look good, we’ll get to the cages and go from there.”
Erva thought about the area beyond the cages. Each of them was made of wood. They weren’t the sturdiest of structures. With Seth’s help, they might be capable of bringing a wall down. It would take the people in the stands at least a few minutes to reach them. If they sealed up Mezani’s lair, then that would buy time.
I just don’t know what happens afterward. Of course, dying in the arena didn’t make a lot of sense. Might as well find my end trying to escape. As I’ve always wanted.
“Alright.” Erva advanced. “I’m swinging high. Grapple me, Nitha. Make the fight go toward the cages. Once we’re in range, I have a plan. Follow my lead, make it look good, and perhaps we can make it out of here alive. What happens after though…” He took the swing. Seth grabbed his arm. Nitha threw herself into him.
“We’ll figure it out,” Seth said. “Shove me.”
Erva complied, putting enough force into the blow to knock Seth to the ground. He picked up Nitha, tossing her at her partner. The two of them rolled away, drawing closer to their destination. This might work. He advanced. Spirits, guide us through the rest of this play. We deserve better than poor Albon.
Chapter 15
Kayra paced behind Vihda’s station. Comms had been open since they took orbit. No one answered, though scans proved out their technology was fully operational. Everything should’ve been fine with their equipment. So what happened? Was no one monitoring it? Maybe they didn’t bother at night.
If they aren’t expecting anyone, I could understand.
Scans found the crash site for the Guild ship. None of the evacuated life pods remained in system either. Their rescue came fast. He hadn’t left immediately, but soon enough that they should’ve caught the others in the act. The sentinel didn’t bother to gather any data on the activity outside its range.
Which meant they couldn’t identify the specific Guild involved in the activities. That was a common ploy by the organizations. Their competition remained internal. As far as the empire was concerned, they put up a unified front. Whatever information Hendo wanted may not be available anymore.
Depends on how the convicts handled the computer systems. All those electronics they probably salvaged first. Kayra couldn’t imagine they were stupid enough to think no one would come looking for the data. I can’t put anything past them. They ended up on this planet, didn’t they?
“What’s taking so long?” Kayra asked. “You should’ve had the signal or a comm connection already.”
“No one’s answering, sir,” Vihda replied. “And the signal… I can’t detect it right now. I’m sweeping the entire surface. Maybe they’ve got some kind of curfew as far as power’s concerned. You can’t leave things on after dark. That would make sense if they’re dealing with power they can’t recharge.”
“I doubt they have such discipline,” Kayra said, “so get me that information!” He stormed over to Hazh. “Do you have anything on scans? Any activity? Anything we can use or see?”
“I can refute the power.” Hazh changed the viewscreen to an aerial view of the settlement. The cameras came from the sentinel ship, depicting bright lights in the area. “As you can see, they’ve got something going on.”
“Indeed. But what? Can we get a closer view to the situation?”
“That’s as good as it gets, I’m afraid. I found a file suggesting we put surveillance in place, but I can’t find any of it now. It’s all been taken offline.”
Kayra nodded. “That’s rather obvious, I’m afraid.” He took his seat. There are only a few options open to me at this point. It wouldn’t break any protocols if he swept the area with a shuttle. Regulations advised against it in the unlikely circumstance that a mishap brought the ship down.
They are rather too tight about these rules. If they want us to succeed, they need to open up. Let me do my job. Kayra knew if he broke too many rules, someone aboard would inform on him. That was the nature of the empire. Loyalty could not be guaranteed, not even from those closest to a person.
Kayra put faith in Hazh and Vihda, though he probably shouldn’t have.
“Sir?” Hazh said, “looking at the feed, I’d say we’re looking at some kind of gathering. A large one. Perhaps everyone in the settlement even.” He stood, gesturing to the screen at the highest concentration of living white. “Due to the night, we’ve switched imaging to gather body heat. Weather patterns made it difficult at first.”
“So what did you do?”
“Used filters to identify the people.” Hazh changed the view to a larger section. “I found the GenDrus as well. They seem to be gathered in this mountainous region well to the north.” He gestured. “And then a few scattered individuals are spread throughout other areas. Along with animals, of course.”
“Show me the crash site,” Kayra replied. “Are there any people down there at all?”
“Negative, sir.” The screen changed again, this time showing a swath of devastation. A trail of foliage had been crushed. “The pieces are strewn about. I’d be willing to bet the control station has been destroyed completely. It likely hit first with no one at the helm to pull up. Which means we’ll need to find an Engineering section for data recovery.”
“Vihda,” Kayra looked over his shoulder, “can you do any of this remotely? Or do we have to be down there?”
“Sir…” Vihda sighed. “One of the reasons they pick these environments is to cut down on the use of technology. Signals have a harder time getting through the thick foliage, all that humidity, the terrible storms… this impacts us as much as them though. So I might be able to do it… given time.”
“And I assume you have yet to identify the signal?”
“Correct. I’m sorry. I wish I had better news.”
“Keep working.” Kayra gestured to Hazh. “Send a shuttle to the surface to buzz the settlement. Maybe if they see a ship, it’ll get them to their control center. Or what passes for one. I want them launched immediately. And get me Engineering. We’ll see about committing our own salvage team to the efforts down there.”
If no one’s at the crash site, I should get my people down there right now. The storm worried him. Lightning shouldn’t pose a threat to a modern space vessel, but stranger things happened. It would be ridiculously bad luck to have a ship go down. We’ll make sure they’re cautious.
Considering the instructions he was given, he doubted Hendo would care too much about small errors providing they made it back with the information required. Blackmail material on the Guilds probably held greater value than any other resource at that particular point in time.
I didn’t realize they needed to be brought to heel so imperatively. Kayra pushed the why out of his head. Hendo only discussed some of it with me because of my future family. He wondered if Reilin’s father had anything to do with the assignment. I’ll find out when I get home. But if he’s got Hendo doing his bidding, what does he need me for?
The instrument for tasks. That seemed possible. And altogether disappointing.
“Ship launching now,” Hazh said. “I’ll patch their visual through to ours.”
Finally get a look at this settlement, Kayra thought, and find out why they’re too busy to respond to communications.
***
Seth took a heavier blow than he anticipated straight to the gut, enough to make breathing a challenge. He exaggerated his stumble backward to buy some space toward the cages. They were still a good fifteen feet away though he figured he might have a good excuse to flee Erva’s onslaught.
The crowd’s watching this guy throw us around like we’re nothing, Seth thought. No one would fault me trying to buy a little time. He hustled backward toward the cages while holding his hands up defensively. Making a show of blinking helped him look dazed, a little confused by the action around him.
When Nitha engaged in a quick round of blows with Erva, that helped distract the onlookers. Seth positioned himself directly in front of the cage he’d come out of. If all went as planned, they’d be out of there soon enough. How painful it might be was another story entirely.
Nitha took a punch to the face. It knocked her to the ground. Erva kicked her in the gut, lifting her from the ground while tossing her in Seth’s direction. She slumped, rolling in the mud then strained to push herself up from the ground.
Christ, man. Learn to pull the punches!
“Hey!” Seth shouted, “come fight someone ready for your goofy ass! Let’s do this!” He pulled his arms tight against his chest, preparing for what came next. The crowd seemed to love the banter, or at least they were still cheering. No one booed, not even when the big guy beat the hell out of the lady.
They probably enjoy watching that punishment too. Sick bastards.
A roar overhead caught Seth’s attention. It wasn’t thunder, but a bright light flashed by them as some kind of aircraft buzzed the settlement. The air shook around him for a moment, and while he stared at the sky, Erva charged. Three splashing footsteps heralded his approach just before he slammed his shoulder into Seth’s arms.
The two of them continued forward. Erva carried him easily, picking up speed before they slammed into the cage. Wood splintered, some breaking, others collapsing with the weight of both men. It didn’t seem to provide any resistance before they were through. Each of them went to the ground, rolling to the opposite side.
Seth groaned. His back ached, his shoulders burned. Did I get stabbed? He had to wonder if maybe the sticks poked him, cutting through the lightweight outfit and all the caked mud on him. The last thing I want is an infection from that filth out there. God knows how much blood and other unmentionable crap mixed in with it.
“Get up!” Erva shouted. “Hurry! Everyone’s distracted by the Olarin shuttle!”
“The what?” Seth felt himself hoisted up by the left arm. The swiftness of it made his socket ache. “Christ… was that really a ship?”
“Yes! And we never get them down here like that unless they’re dropping people off. And they don’t do that during the night. So we need to move.” Erva gestured. “Mezani’s cave is that way!”
“Nitha!” Seth shouted. She wasn’t in the arena anymore. “Hey! Where are you?”
“Right here,” Nitha replied. She held her ribs while slouching. Blood covered her face. She was bruised all over, but at least she stood on her own. “Can we please move on? I’d rather not have to fight with anyone else right now. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me for another brawl.”
“This way!” Erva dashed off. He seemed spry considering how many hits he took. Seth gave as good as he got, though the gladiator was likely more accustomed to taking ridiculous amounts of punishment. Like a professional boxer occasionally tasked with straight-up murder during a TKO.
“Can you run?” Seth took Nitha by the arm. “You got this?”
“No choice.” Nitha grunted as they each hustled after Erva. “Don’t wait for me. If I fall behind—”
“I’m not leaving you,” Seth interrupted, “so don’t talk like that. We’re leaving this place together. I promised. Now save you strength for running rather than chatting.”
Erva pulled far ahead. When he looked back, he stopped then waved at them emphatically. “Do you want to be torn apart by the crowds? They’ll be coming soon! When they realize what we’ve done—”
“Just don’t,” Seth interrupted. “Maybe we wouldn’t be so slow if we didn’t have to fight your friend to death or if you could pull some punches.” They caught up to him. “Where now?”
“This way.” Erva pointed. “Go. I’ll take up the rear.”
