A Fiery Sunset Page 5

  Sansar couldn’t tell what Drizz’s thoughts were—she wasn’t any good at reading alien body language—but she knew the Hussars were loyal to each other to a fault. They believed in the company first and their race second; for all intents and purposes, the Hussars was their race…even for its Human members. She knew the Hussars’ leader, Alexis Cromwell, had never even been to Earth. Where did her loyalties lie? Sansar didn’t know, but if Humanity couldn’t count on the Hussars, they might as well not even bother fighting. Every merc organization had a specialty, and the Hussars’ was space combat; without the Hussars’ ships, humanity wouldn’t stand a chance. Would it be enough even with the Hussars? She didn’t know that, either.

  One thing was sure—freedom had always been cherished by her Mongol ancestors, and that was something they’d passed on to her. If it was possible, she intended to fight!

  The other thing humanity didn’t have, besides a large fleet, was time, and Sansar was conscious of it slipping away. Time to get started. She stood and went to the head of the table, even though, at an inch under five feet, she wasn’t much taller standing than the men were sitting.

  “Thank you for coming,” she said. Introductions weren’t necessary; they all knew each other, by reputation if nothing else. “I don’t think this will come as a surprise to anyone here, but we’re being hunted.”

  The massive understatement elicited a forced laugh from the two Humans and a growl from the Zuul. “Unacceptable,” Drizz said. “As Colonel Cromwell has said many times, the Winged Hussars are no one’s prey.”

  “She can say whatever she wants,” Nigel Shirazi said. “That doesn’t change the facts. I know for certain that a combination of Besquith and MinSha did their best to wipe out both my company and my family.”

  “They killed my mother and father, and tried to bankrupt the Cavaliers,” Jim Cartwright agreed. “When that didn’t work, they tried to kill us on the battlefield, too.”

  “I think it’s more than just us, though,” Sansar said. “Not only did our enemies try to wipe us out as a group, they also tried to kill off all the Human mercenaries in general with the plague they sent. If we hadn’t found out in time…”

  “It could’ve been a lot worse,” Jim finished. The toxins had been incorporated into a new paint for their Combat Assault System, Personal, or CASPer, suits that they wore into battle, and would have released four deadly viruses into the systems of everyone who came in contact with the suits if Sansar’s company hadn’t found out about it and stopped it in time. “Even with the advance warning, some of our troops and their families will probably be hit, and I’m really worried about any of the companies who are off-planet. I suspect many will be wiped out.”

  “And we don’t even know who’s behind it,” Nigel said. “There’s only one thing to do.” His eyes met Jim’s and then Sansar’s. “I say we kill all the aliens. It’s the only way to be sure.”

  “Really?” Drizz asked. “Perhaps you and the three or four men you have remaining at Asbaran Solutions should try to do so. I look forward to you making the attempt!”

  “Stop!” Sansar shouted, before the two said anything that couldn’t be unsaid. “There are good aliens and bad, just as there are good and bad Humans. I know for a fact there were Humans helping distribute the virus. I don’t know what the end game was for them, but I intend to find out. Regardless, it’s up to the four of us to find out what’s going on and lead humanity through it.”

  “You called us all here,” Jim said. “You must have some sort of plan.”

  “I have some ideas, yes,” she said. “Foremost among them, we need to be prepared to leave Earth.”

  “Leave Earth?” Nigel exclaimed. “Why would we want to do that?”

  “They’re going to be coming for us,” Sansar stated. “Everything they’ve done indicates that. While you’ve been arming and recruiting for your own private crusade, we’ve been analyzing the data, and here’s what we’ve found. Whatever’s going on, it was set in play several years ago and, especially for the last year, Humans have been on a losing streak. Most companies have failed to complete their contracts, and many haven’t returned at all. Something, or someone, has been out to get us. It started small, which is why no one noticed—a company destroyed here, another that went on-mission and never returned there. Recently, though, our enemies have ramped up their efforts, and have increasingly targeted us.”

  “Why do you think that?” Drizz asked. “Being mercenaries is dangerous; sometimes units are destroyed.”

  “This is much bigger,” Sansar replied. “We haven’t seen anything like this since our first companies went out on the Alpha Contracts. What’s more worrisome, and why I think we need to be ready to flee, is the nature of the recent attacks. Not only was there the plague-based attack, someone also put a virus into our CASPers’ operating systems. When taken together, it looks like our enemy is trying to strip us of our best defenses—our assault suits and the people who know how to use and maintain them. Why would someone do that?”

  “Based on what your sergeant told me, I’m guessing you think they want to invade Earth,” Jim said.

  “I think it’s possible. Why else would anyone do this to us?”

  “Damn it!” Nigel shouted, slapping the table. “I know why—they want to enslave us!”

  “What do you mean?” Sansar asked. Although her analysts had forecast an attack, that was further than they’d gone, and the prospect had her reeling.

  “My last time out, I spoke with one of my Pendal pilots,” Nigel said. “When the Pendals first joined the Galactic Union, the Besquith tried to enslave them to use their abilities as pilots. I’ll bet they’re doing it again, only with us.”

  “Hmm…I don’t know, but it’s possible,” Sansar said, finally wrapping her mind around the concept. With six implants, her brain had additional computational power beyond the others, and she was able to rapidly work through the possibilities. What she saw horrified her. “You may be right about them enslaving us—we never considered that outcome. I guess we just assumed that with such an ‘enlightened Galactic Union,’ that wasn’t possible. Now that you mention it, though, it could make everything fit. We still have to figure out who’s behind it and why.”

  “What do you mean?” Nigel asked, unable to keep up with her.

  “If I agree this is about someone trying to enslave humanity,” Sansar said, “it has to be much bigger than just one race wanting to subjugate us; there would have to be a number of races involved. The Besquith, the MinSha…

  “The KzSha and the Goka, as well,” Jim said. “Hell, I personally curb-stomped four Canavar on Chimsa, and we saw at least six different races who were working to control them.”

  “There are a number of space-based merc races involved, too,” Drizz added. “The Bakulu, the HecSha, and the Izlians, among others.”

  “With that many races involved, it can’t be just a collection of rogue merc companies,” Sansar said; “it has to be one of the guilds or a combination of them. And, with all the merc races involved, I have to believe the Merc Guild is either behind it or at least in collusion with whoever is.”

  “That makes sense,” Drizz said as the two Humans nodded. “But why? What would the guilds have to gain by enslaving you?”

  “I don’t know,” Sansar replied, thinking furiously, “but I intend to find out. Profit is the obvious motive for the Merc Guild, but that’s almost too obvious. Its members would gain more by wiping us out and reestablishing the status quo that existed before we came on the scene—what do they gain by enslaving us?”

  “Nothing,” Drizz said. “A pool of slave labor is bad for competition if everyone knows about it.”

  “Or good for driving costs down,” Jim said. “It just depends on how you look at it.”

  “They can get fucked if they think we’re going to go along with that,” Nigel said.

  “And that’s another issue,” Sansar said. “Whoever’s behind this went to a lot of tro
uble to set all these plans in motion, but they missed one fundamental aspect of humanity. At the end of the day, this plan is never going to work. Humanity will never go along with it. Although there may be some turncoats, we’ll never be good slaves, regardless of who the overlords are.”

  “They should’ve just wiped us out,” Nigel said.

  “It would’ve been the only way to be sure,” Drizz added, his lips pulled back from his teeth in what Sansar hoped was a smile.

  “So what do we do?” Jim asked.

  “We fight!” Nigel exclaimed.

  “Yes,” Sansar said. “We fight. How can we do otherwise?”

  “So we’re agreed?” Jim asked. “We fight, even if it’s the entire Merc Guild against us?”

  “Perhaps,” Drizz said. “But perhaps not.”

  “What do you mean?” Sansar asked before Nigel could say something rash.

  “While most of the Hussars are Human, nearly half of us are not,” Drizz replied. “It’s not my place to say what we will or won’t do if war comes to Earth. Commander Cromwell would have to make that decision.”

  “Well, let’s ask her then,” Nigel said. “Where is she?”

  “She is…indisposed,” Drizz said. “She’s at Home, but I’ll get word to her as quickly as I can.”

  “That’s not going to be good enough,” Sansar said. “In three days—five at the latest—I expect the Solar System will be invaded.”

  “What?” Nigel asked.

  “So soon?” Jim added.

  Sansar nodded. “Yes, that soon. We have to be ready within three days.”

  “It can’t be done,” Jim said. “That’s not enough time to prepare.”

  “It has to be,” Sansar replied. “That’s all we’ve got. Gather everything you can. Find every man, woman, and CASPer you can, with all the ordnance that’s available, and get them loaded onto whatever ships you can beg, borrow, or steal. Something’s coming, and it’s coming soon.”

  “What are you going to do?” Jim asked.

  “The Golden Horde will be the bait. Our enemies know your companies have been hit hard, and they’re going to expect you to be plague-infected and unable to hit back. They’ll probably know we escaped the trap they set for us, so they’ll concentrate on us first. We’ll draw them in and—hopefully—destroy as many of them as possible, giving you time to escape.”

  “Escape?” Jim asked. “Where would we go?”

  “There’s only one place you can go.” Sansar looked pointedly at Drizz. “Are you going to tell them, or should I?”

  “I’ll tell them,” Drizz said, “but I can’t give you an invitation, nor can I tell you that you’ll be welcome if you show up there.”

  “Blue Sky above!” Sansar exclaimed, losing her temper for the first time. “If you aren’t going to help us, then we have nowhere else to go. I know Colonel Cromwell and the Winged Hussars don’t feel the same attachment to humanity as the other merc companies, but damn it! If it can happen to us, it can happen to you, too, no matter what race you are! Who’s to say our enemies don’t already know about your secret base, anyway, and that they won’t show up there as well?”

  “Secret base?” Jim asked.

  “Yes, the Winged Hussars have a secret base on a planet that’s off the star charts. We’ve been helping them build up the system’s defenses. It’s a decades-long project, and isn’t completed yet,” Sansar said, looking at Drizz, “and you need us to help finish them and man them. Your families need us to help them, just like our families need you to help us!”

  “Is that true?” Nigel asked, staring daggers at the Zuul. “You have a secret base?”

  “Yes, we do, and we guard its existence as if our lives depended on it, which they obviously do. I don’t know what you Humans have done to anger the guilds, but you’ve endangered us, as well.”

  “I’m going to ask once,” Sansar said, her voice low and dangerous. “Are you going to give them the coordinates in case an invasion occurs?” She didn’t add the second part of the threat, allowing the Zuul to imagine any number of ways she could ruin his life. Drizz met her eyes, unblinking, and seemed to consider for several seconds.

  “I met Colonel Cromwell on Karma a few months ago,” Jim Cartwright said into the silence. “It was after we faced the Canavar. I told her about it, and she seemed bothered. Even more than you’d expect after hearing those ancient nightmare creatures are alive and well. It wasn’t her reaction that was important, so much as what she said.” He looked at Drizz as he spoke. “‘The Four Horsemen for Earth,’ she said. For Earth.” The two locked eyes for a long moment, then Drizz spoke again.

  “Okay, yes,” he said. “I’ll risk the wrath of Commander Cromwell, and I’ll give this one the coordinates.” He pointed at Jim. “But only if he gives me his solemn vow not to share them with anyone else.” He pointedly didn’t look at Nigel.

  Jim narrowed his eyes and regarded the Zuul for a moment, then nodded. “You have my word.”

  The Zuul nodded once back. “That, however, will only get you to New Warsaw. Once you’re there, you’ll have to convince Commander Cromwell to allow you to stay. You’ll also probably have to convince her not to destroy you on sight to protect the system’s coordinates. She doesn’t like uninvited guests.” He gave a very Human shrug. “That’s all I can—all I’m willing—to do for you. After that, everything else is up to you.” He removed a small electronic device from a pouch he wore around his waist and handed it to Jim. “This will only work once. Plug it into the navigational computer no more than one minute before transition. Don’t attempt to open it or hack into it. You won’t like the results.” The Cavalier’s commander nodded and accepted the device. The only marking was a tiny Winged Hussars logo on the side. He placed it in a pocket.

  “Fair enough,” Sansar said. “And thanks.” Having been to New Warsaw and spoken to Alexis Cromwell in the past, she knew it was all she could hope for. Her trip had been on a Winged Hussars ship, and the cosmology of New Warsaw was such that her people had been unable to pinpoint its location. Jim would have to convince the merc leader to fight for humanity…if he could. She would have enough trouble on Earth, organizing a resistance to whatever happened. Hopefully, Jim could keep Nigel’s mouth shut long enough for Alexis to hear his arguments, or she knew they’d be out of luck…if not dead. “You need to be ready to leave, too,” Sansar said, her eyes still on Drizz. “When they leave, the Guild will come for you.”

  “I doubt that,” Drizz said. “Everything you’ve shown me indicates they’re coming for you Humans. I don’t believe I’ll be in any peril.”

  “Still,” Sansar said, “I would be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. It’s the prudent thing to do.” Drizz nodded once, and Sansar picked up her slate. “There’s just two more things, and then we need to be on our way…”

  * * * * *

  Chapter Three

  Command Center, Cartwright’s Cavaliers HQ, Houston Texas, Earth

  “Damn it, Hargrave, it’s not fast enough!” Jim threw the slate down on his desk and took a big drink of the Coke he’d been nursing for two hours. Outside, through the old William P. Hobby airport concourse, he could see a line of heavy lifters waiting to be loaded. They weren’t being loaded very quickly. He hadn’t slept since the meeting with the other Four Horsemen yesterday, and he was running on caffeine and adrenaline.

  “Kid, it’s hard to get people right now. There’s some labor dispute under way.”

  “Then pay them double!”

  “You’ve spent a huge hunk of our operating capital buying everything that wasn’t nailed down,” Hargrave reminded him. “I know Enkh convinced you a war is coming, but what if she’s wrong?”

  “I don’t think she is,” Jim said. He’d tried to explain all the links and connections several times to his XO. Maybe it was because he’d been a merc for three times longer than Jim had been alive, maybe it was because the man didn’t have pinplants, so he couldn’t process information as fas
t. Whatever the reason, he didn’t see the threat as clearly.

  “Jim,” Hargrave said, calming visibly, “maybe after the whole Adayn thing, your judgement is a little off.”

  “Don’t say that name,” he growled and shot the older man a sideways glare. Hargrave held up a placating hand.

  “We were all taken in by her,” he said.

  Not as much as I was, Jim thought. Even then, he found himself wondering what had become of her. He’d had his modest intel team sweep the old control tower and his apartment. They’d found three listening devices. The bugs and all her junk had been driven to a dump in Austin and unceremoniously disposed of.

  “All that matters is that everything is up to Bucephalus within 72 hours. Frankly, I don’t care if we have to move it all on our own dropships.” Hargrave nodded and left the office, leaving Jim alone with Splunk, who was disassembling a P08 model German Luger pistol she’d found in the museum downstairs. He wished he was as adaptable as the Fae, and as able to roll with the punches.

  Outside, Charlie Company was mustering to begin the trip up to orbit. As the least-experienced unit, they’d be first up. Should Enkh’s estimate be off, and things went sideways even sooner than planned, Jim didn’t want to be tripping over the newbies in their haste to evacuate. He got a notice from his pinplants of incoming email.

  Jim turned and sat, examining the message. His offer to purchase two older transports, unsuitable for combat operations, had been accepted. He mentally signed the contract, and several million of the Cavalier’s dwindling reserves flowed out of the account. He quickly sent messages to logistics informing them of the purchase and ordered the dropship pilots to rendezvous, take ownership of, and move the ships into parking orbit over Houston.