New Dawn (Divine War Book 1) (9 page)

He shrugged sullenly. “I guess.”

“You might seem a little more enthusiastic,” Kabi said calmly. “I mean, you've been pressuring me about this arrangement we made for years now. I'm finally ready to keep up my end of the bargain, and you're too busy sulking to be interested.”

The young man sighed and eyed Kabi suspiciously. He couldn't help but think that the man was tricking him somehow. “And what exactly do children's tales of Angels and Archangels have to do with you keeping to the agreement and telling me about my family and my past, and about why the hell I have to keep the fact that I'm your niece and not your nephew secret?”

The boy's voice had risen in pitch, and Kabi glanced over to see if the others had heard. But Benho and Niku were deep in conversation themselves.

“Maicee, there is too much to explain all at one time. But there are certain things you need to know. Especially now, since, in case you haven't noticed—though I'm sure you have—we all seem to be in danger. Should anything happen to me, I want you at least to understand the basics.”

Maicee's eyes flickered. He felt confused, glad that he was about to get the knowledge that he'd hungered for, but now wondered if the information was really going to be worth it, really going to make any difference. “I'm listening,” he said quietly.

“I don't have the time to break this to you gently,” Kabi warned, their feet tramping in step. “So I need you to accept what I say. Accept it as truth. And the truth is that I am an Archangel. As was your mother, my sister.”

Maicee stopped, regarding Kabi with complete disbelief. “I...”

“Keep walking,” Kabi said, taking his arm and propelling him forwards. “We don't have time to stop. I assure you that no matter how unbelievable this sounds, it is true. There were originally thirteen of us. We lived amongst the people, we protected the world, protected justice.” He smiled ruefully. “And there are always going to be those who are against the ones who wish to do good in the world. Now there are only two of us left.”

“But what happened? I mean, why? Only two?” Maicee's head was spinning with questions, but this time he kept on walking.

“I told you we don't have time for the full story yet. And this is just background, necessary for the important thing that you need to know right now,” Kabi said. They were beginning to climb a slope, and his breathing was a little more laboured. “When your mother was alive, she went by many names. To me, she was always my sister Aquarius. But here, those who remember her do so by the name Salamazi. Queen Salamazi.”

“Wait, hold up.” Maicee stopped again, this time clutching Kabi's sleeves and forcing him to turn and look straight into his eyes. “You're telling me that my mother was the Queen of Britannia? That...”

And suddenly everything fell into place. Maicee's mouth fell open, and Kabi couldn't help but smile.

“Yes,” the older man said. “You're the missing Princess Aicee, little Niku over there is the beloved pet of your younger sister, Princess Ausanne, and you, my dear, are supposed to be kidnapped and presumed dead by the world. And yet, here you are, very much alive.”

“Come on, slow coaches!” Benho's voice rang through the empty side street, breaking Maicee's trance.

“So maybe you can understand why we need to keep certain things secret and why leaving Carooine might be for the best right now?” Kabi whispered, pulling Maicee's arm and hurrying to catch up with Benho and Niku.

Still in shock, Maicee nodded. He needed time to think about all of this, and he needed the rest of the story from Kabi. Something that he obviously wasn't going to get right now. He... was a princess?

*

“That,” said Benho, stopping on the dark beach and looking at the ship floating a short way offshore, “looks very much like an Imperial Navy battle cruiser. Other than the fact that it's painted black, rather than white.”

“Very astute, Doctor Benho,” said a voice from the darkness. Lucia materialised out of the twilight. “The
Freedom
did indeed used to be a naval battle cruiser, until I liberated her. She is now, however, one of the finest pirate ships to ever put to sea.”

She beckoned them to a small transport boat that made enough splashing and chugging that conversation was impossible for the minute or so it took to cross to the ship. The boat glided up a small ramp, and Lucia alighted, once again beckoning for the men to follow her. She opened a large door and ushered them onto an open, airy bridge. In the centre of the room, a cylindrical holographic tower stood, like the trunk of a tree growing through the deck.

“The tactical overlay,” explained Lucia. “Now, allow me to introduce my small crew.”

Four women were busy in front of flat touchscreens, and each turned as she was introduced.

“Falorni, you know,” said Lucia, and the young scrub nurse smiled and nodded. “She's ship's medic. Then another familiar face, I believe—particularly for you, Doctor Benho—my agent and officer in charge of supplies on board, Sa-li.”

The young, black-haired girl turned and gave Benho an abashed smile. Maicee laughed as he watched his friend's mouth drop open in disbelief.

“And then we have Kate, the
Freedom
's navigator, and Pam, our weapons specialist.”

Both women turned and smiled.

“Lean, the engineer, is currently below decks; and Bettie, my first officer, is attending to some business in town and will be joining us very shortly. That's everyone. A small but very efficient group.”

Maicee's eyes narrowed. He'd lived on Carooine a long time and recognised all of the faces that he'd seen so far, though he didn't know Kate and Pam to speak to. “You seem to have drawn your crew from the young ladies of the town,” he said slowly.

Lucia laughed her bell-like laugh. “Quite the opposite, my dear Doctor Maicee. These women have been my crew for a long time; it simply behoves us all to have day jobs that take the eye of suspicion off us. These women came to Carooine because they joined me, not the other way around.”

Kabi nodded. “Your pirate band is very impressive, but there is something we need to speak of before we leave. Is there somewhere a little more private we could go, Captain?”

“I too must brief you. Come this way.”

Dropping his eyes so as not to spend too much time admiring the rounded backside of his new captain, Benho noticed that Lucia no longer wore her diaphanous gown. She was now attired in altogether more appropriate clothing, tight leggings clinging to shapely legs, a breastplate that left very little to the imagination. It was even more beguiling than the transparent robe. He sighed and followed the comely captain into a private office.

“Sit,” Lucia bade them, gesturing to large, comfortable-looking armchairs surrounding a low table. “Before we leave Carooine,” she said, “there is one task that I must undertake. One little … expedition, if you will.”

“That's fine,” Kabi said, barely even noticing the plan. “But there is something that you must know. It's only right that you are aware of what we're dealing with here.”

Lucia gave a small moue of interest, which defined her high cheekbones even further. “And that is, KabiOnn?”

“The Imperial Navy are currently searching for a survivor who was aboard the ship
Sanosis
,” Kabi began.

The captain waved her hand. “I know this already. I know all of this,” she said dismissively.

“What you don't know, then,” said Kabi, “is that the survivor the naval officers are seeking is currently on board your ship.”

He nodded at Benho, who opened his pack to reveal a curled-up, sleeping Niku.

“A Chamonkey.” Lucia laughed. “In all seriousness?”

“In all seriousness,” assured Kabi. “And the fact is that the
Sanosis
was attacked because the Ambassador of Britannia was carrying something of utmost importance to the Supreme Emperor himself. Something that, thanks to this little Chamonkey, is now in my possession. Something I urgently need to take across the sea to Britannia.”

“And something that the Supreme Emperor and his navy are still searching for,” finished Lucia. She gave a small smile. “I think, dear KabiOnn, that once more our interests collide. You see, I am not willing to leave Carooine empty handed. It would be terribly bad for my reputation. And the little expedition that I was planning will probably serve both of our needs very well. Allow me to explain.”

She leaned over the table and soon was telling the three listening men what she and her crew were planning.

*

The ceiling fan was still creaking on its incessant, circling journey in an attempt to keep the muggy air of the Director's office cool. With a sigh, Professor Lock-Tmy put down the reports he'd been handed. Removing his boxy spectacles, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

“It's a shame,” he said. “A real shame.”

Bettie, first mate of the
Freedom
, could see that he was already set on what he was to do, so she turned to leave. As she pulled the door closed behind her, she saw that Lock-Tmy was reaching for the com system on his desk to place the call. She smiled and let the door click into place. Her job here was done.

*

Waves splashed gently on the sides of the Imperial battle cruiser
Argoni
. The sound was soothing, rhythmic, lulling. The creak of the ropes, the slapping of the water on the hull, the soft groans of wood settling and moving. One of the two sentries posted by the ship's ramp yawned. Lamps lining the dock made small circles of yellow light, and a quick eye could see movement coming towards the ship.

“What's that?” grunted one sentry, pointing.

The two men concentrated, narrowing their eyes to focus, until they saw the familiar, staggering walk of one, no, two drunkards.

“Just boozers,” the second sentry replied.

And they settled back into their watch. In truth, few people dared approach the military vessel. Those who did would get a shouted warning, maybe a dip in the sea if they got too close. But there weren't many men on Archeonis brave enough to get that close. The sentries had little to worry about. It wasn't until a few minutes later, when the carousing, singing, and stumbling of the two drunks got near enough to be bothersome, that the older of the two sentries sighed.

“Go tell 'em,” he said to his partner, not wanting to walk down the ship's ramp himself. His knees were getting old, and the slope troubled him these days.

The younger man sauntered down the ramp, muscles bulging, full of the arrogance of youth. As he got to the bottom, one drunk clutched his stomach and bent over as though to vomit up his night's wine. The sentry slowed a little, not wanting to get recycled alcohol on his sandals.
This one will definitely need a bath
, he mused, thinking of the best way to capture two men and throw at least one over the side of the dock. So intent was he on logistics that when a large shard of crystal shot up from the ground, skewering him like meat on a stick, he didn't even have the time to process the pain. In an instant, he was dead.

The second sentry was reaching for the alarm as a whistling blast of air hit him. The dagger sliced neatly across his throat, and Lucia bent to retrieve it, wiping the knife clean on the sentry's uniform before standing and beckoning to the two men on the dock.

Benho stared at the pierced man in front of him, then back at Kabi, who shrugged. Apparently this wasn't the time for explanations, but the young man had never seen a display of such power before. Kabi pulled at his arm to lead him towards the ship, and Benho had to stop himself from flinching. The man could kill him with a look, and that both thrilled and scared him. Nevertheless, he followed Kabi unquestioningly. If only so that he didn't end up like the poor, skewered sentry.

Lucia searched the pockets of the dead man in front of her as her two companions ran lightly up the ramp onto the vessel. Just as they arrived, she found the security pass she needed and stood to wave it over the door scanner. Thinking quickly, Benho grabbed the dead guard's bolt blaster, something that could prove useful, following the others through the now-open door as he tucked the blaster into his belt.

The ship seemed empty, though that couldn't be so. But the only noises were the regular creaking and splashing sounds that one hears on board a vessel.

“A lot of the troops are in Carooine City tonight,” whispered Lucia, bringing them to a halt at a junction in the ship's corridors.

She looked left and right, then nodded. “All right, you two know the plans. Don't engage anyone unless you're forced to. We don't need troops of soldiers coming after us right now. You've got two hours. Anyone who isn't back here on this spot in two hours’ time will be left here to his fate. Understood?”

Kabi nodded, but Benho rolled his eyes.

“Stop worrying. We heard you at the briefing. We'll be fine; there's no need to nag,” he said impatiently.

Lucia smiled a little, knowing that the boy's impatience was only a show of bravado, covering up his natural fear.

“You'd better look after him,” she said to Kabi. “That impatience could get him killed.”

“I agree,” Kabi said, looking thoughtfully at Benho. “He'll stay close to me.”

“Now, let's get to work,” Lucia said. “We've got bombs to place.”

“And a ship to sabotage,” finished Kabi, grinning.

*

On board the
Freedom
, Maicee sat, fidgeting nervously and unable to keep still. He was supposed to be waiting for a signal from the infiltration team that had gone aboard the
Argoni
. His fingers tapped on the communication console, and Niku perched on his shoulder mimicking his tapping with her little fingers on his neck. He didn't know why he was so nervous about all this.

“Do you think they're going to be all right?” he asked Falorni, who was sitting on the bridge with him, keeping an eye on various screens.

“Hmm?” she asked, turning to him distractedly. “Oh, yes. Don't worry.” She gave him a bright smile. “The captain is a fantastic strategist; her operations are always perfectly executed. They'll be back in no time.”

Maicee smiled weakly in return. She was right. He shouldn't worry. He should have faith in this Lucia; after all, she was about to smuggle him out from under the noses of the Imperial Navy. And she had Kabi with her too, so what could possibly go wrong? He shifted in his seat again, noticing that his leg was jiggling up and down seemingly by itself. It was just that he had a bad feeling. The little shiver of danger ran down his back. Yes, he admitted. He did have a very bad feeling about all this.