Sword of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) (13 page)

“I couldn’t care less what it sounds like, that’s the reality you’re facing. We’re leaving now, give me your answer within twenty hours.” He got up to go, then stopped as he almost ran into four of Smetana’s armed troopers blocking his exit.

“I’ll give you my answer now, you Axian thief. The answer is no.”

Ewald bristled with indignation. “Get these men out of my way, this is a criminal act, it’s mutiny.”

“One moment, Ewald. Men, arrest these two Axians and find them a deep, dark cell, I want them out of circulation. I’ll get a signal out that we’re taking over the city.”

He turned to Ewald. “Now that, my friend, is mutiny.”

His men led the two deputies away, both alternatively shouting and pleading.

“You’ve done it now,” Max told him. “Once word get’s out that they came to see you and didn’t reappear, there’ll be troops smashing down the door looking for them.”

“You’re right, but the timing is no accident. I left it until they were so short of food that they’d come crawling here and try a trick like that. Now that we know they are truly desperate, we can start hitting them, the people will be ready to rise up. Max, call all of our people onto the streets.”

It took longer than he’d planned to wrest control of the entire city from the Axians, let alone the entire planet. The fighting went on for three weeks, first the city fell and Smetana’s forces began to push back the Axians elsewhere, but the enemy still held half of the planet. The Rescom Fleet finally came to their aid. They’d been busy putting down the last of the resistance in the Arcturus System. Admiral Rusal’s Helios Class Battlecruiser docked five miles back from the battlefront, a line of trenches and fortifications that extended more than sixty miles across the surface of Hesperia. Rusal walked down the ramp with Constantine Blas to greet Smetana and Biermann. After they’d shaken hands, Rusal asked how much progress they’d made. Smetana scowled. “Not much, I’m afraid. More than three quarters of the population welcomed us with open arms, but the Axians have been staging a fighting retreat across the planetary surface, they’ve still got most of the heavy weapons.”

“What about your losses?” Blas asked him.

“Bad. We recruited more than twenty thousand men, we’ve got barely half that number left, we’ve taken a battering.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rusal said. “We’re here now, how can you use our firepower?”

“That’s the problem, we can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t? That’s crazy, we’ve travelled halfway across the universe to get here, now you say we’ve wasted our time?”

“They’ve made a stand at Perian, Admiral. That’s why we can’t attack with heavy weapons.”

There was absolute silence as they considered the enormity of what he’d said. Perian, previously the capital of Hesperia was a city that some said was the fabled ancient cradle of human civilization, though many doubted it. But to most Hesperians, it was the holy city, the one place in the universe that they considered truly untouchable. It was as precious to them as life itself and the city had been declared inviolate.

“The cowardly bastards,” Blas said. “There are treaties that forbid the use of the city for military purposes of any kind.”

Smetana shrugged. “Apparently they haven’t read them. Another thing, the Grand Pasha’s daughter Evelyn is there with a lady in attendance, she was on some sort of a pilgrimage. I guess Merca Gluck ordered his troops to defend her at all costs.”

Blas’ mind churned with the implications, Evelyn Gluck again, the mysterious young woman who had appeared, albeit covered from head to toe, at his trial. The young woman who seemed to have cast some kind of a spell on his emotions. He’d sworn to kill Merca Gluck and every member of his family. But he knew that he could not kill any woman, not visit the sins of the father on any woman’s head, least of all Evelyn’s. He would wreak his revenge on the Grand Pasha if fate gave him the chance to get near enough to kill him. That would have to be sufficient to slake his thirst for bloody revenge. As for Evelyn Gluck, he had unfinished business there. What was it about her, why did he feel so strange every time her name was mentioned? He put her out of his mind and brought his thoughts back to the enormity of the problem they faced.

It was almost insoluble, Rescom forces now effectively surrounded the city of Perian, but it would be an enormous propaganda coup for the Axians if they attacked it, especially with heavy weapons. The presence of the Grand Pasha’s daughter made it even more difficult. Blas looked at Smetana.

“You know there’s only one way to do this? We’ll have to go in and deal with them hand to hand.”

“Even then, we’ll be breaking the treaty,” Smetana muttered. “I don’t like it, I’m a Hesperian, you don’t understand what it means to us.”

“You’ll not be breaking any treaty.” A woman walked slowly, regally down the ramp. Sister Serena of Orphex, Vice-President of the Rescom Federation. Every man stood rigidly to attention, Sister Serena was more than just a leader, she seemed to radiate power, an inner force that traveled with her.

“We weren’t aware you were on board Admiral Rusal’s flagship, Ma’am,” Smetana said.

She smiled at him. “I have been in communication with Guide Tell, that’s why I was late making my presence known. He has convened Res Publica and a new edict has been issued. In order to deal with the illegal occupation of Perian, you are empowered to go in and arrest those that are breaking the law. However, you may not use weapons of any kind against buildings and any other fixed installations inside the city. Hand weapons only, you will be going in as policemen, not as an army.”

Berg nodded, it made sense, in fact it was the only way they could go forward. But for one thing.

“They have heavy weapons in there, you know that?”

“Res Publica is aware of that, Mr. Smetana. They send you their blessings.”

“It looks like your way is the only way, Constantine. Blasters, knives, man to man. We’ll have to go in there by stealth and somehow get past their guns.”

“You’re the best man in the universe for that kind of fighting, Berg.”

Blas turned to Rusal. “Admiral, I’ve fought with Berg before, I’d like to go with him. Dirk Gehlen can do with command experience on the Rex Vitas and he’ll have you there to keep an eye on him.”

Rusal thought for a few moments. “Very well, how many men will you need?”

“Berg will have Max with him and his squad, they’re all trained and experienced hand to hand fighters and assassins. If I can take twenty troopers from the Rex Vitas, that should do it.”

Rusal looked at Berg. “How many Axian forces are there in the city?”

“We estimate about twenty thousand, possibly twenty-five, almost all of them camped in the amphitheatre.”

“And you’ll have what, about forty men altogether?”

“And me, Admiral. I shall go with them.”

They looked with astonishment at Sister Serena.

“That’s crazy, Vice-President Serena, this is a military operation, not a diplomatic mission.”

“It is vital I go with the mission, Admiral. There are a number of reasons, but suffice to say it is necessary that I go.”

Blas thought about her motives, trying to guess what they could be. The last thing he wanted was a woman, a politician joining them. And an Orphexian mind reader was even worse.

“At least let us know one of the reasons, Ma’am.”

“Evelyn Gluck is in there, I have to speak to her. She could be very valuable to us.”

Of course, they all realized, the implications were enormous. The Grand Pasha’s daughter.

System Standard 2728.1302 Peria City, Planet Hesperia

They made it into the city without too many problems. Smetana had been brought up nearby and knew every cave, tunnel and fold in the ground so that he could lead their tiny party under the walls. Once inside Serena guided them to one of the many temples, a high-ceilinged building made of the peculiar local stone. It was threaded with semi-phosphorescent impurities that gave off a natural light inside the temple without the need for any artificial illumination. The temple had been re-dedicated to the Prophet Axia and a huge stone effigy of the God Ahura of the known universe stood outside. Inside, little had changed, it was a standard temple with a high altar, ritual baths and a high roof. Blas wondered why they had come to this particular temple before any other building in Perian, but he understood when he heard women’s voices speaking quietly to Serena. How he was sure of who they were he didn’t know, but he just knew. It was Evelyn, daughter of Grand Pasha Merca Gluck, with her handmaiden. His emotions swirled when he thought of her father, the blood of his parents on his hands. But she should not take the blame, he swallowed his anger. Another woman, also covered from head to toe in a hooded robe, stood next to Evelyn. They stopped speaking when they saw him standing close by. Serena smiled at him.

“Captain Blas, this is Evelyn Gluck and her handmaiden, Nightingale.”

He nodded to them, how did you greet a person, enemy or otherwise, who was swathed in amorphous robes? He felt that same feeling he’d experienced in the court when she walked past him, an aura, a powerful force that seemed to emanate from her almost as if he could reach out and touch it. Or was he imaging things, was it just what she represented, the cruel power and oppression of Axia, that made it feel that way?

“Does this mean they are now our prisoners?” Even as he said it, he shivered, the thought of taking her prisoner was somehow awful, horrifying.

Serena looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean? How could they be our prisoners?”

“We’re at war, Ma’am. Are they not prisoners of war?”

“You forget yourself, Captain. You are here as a policeman, not a soldier. Have they committed any crime here inside Perian? Are they armed, do they threaten you with a gun?”

“No, but...”

“Then they will not be touched, do I make myself clear? They are under my protection.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Captain Blas, may I have a word with you in private?”

Evelyn was looking at him, Blas blinked in surprised. “Er, yes, of course.”

He followed her and her handmaiden to a side chapel and she sat down on the rich, upholstered chair that was used by the Axian priest during their celebrations. Blas stood, there was no other chair in the room in any case, but he nearly staggered and fell at what happened next. She reached up and pulled back her veil and headdress. As if that wasn’t enough, he had an even bigger shock when he saw her face. She was incredibly beautiful, more striking than he could have believed possible, even in his wildest dreams. She had a heart shaped face, cafe-au-lait skin and dark, flashing eyes, yet warm and gentle. As he stared at her, he absently noticed that her glossy hair was almost jet black, long and wavy. She was tall too, willowy and regal. She was so beautiful that it seemed a crime that such classic and perfect features as hers should be hidden away behind a piece of cloth. She turned to her companion.

“Nightingale, you may remove your veil too.”

But Blas only had eyes for Evelyn.

“I saw you in the Supreme Court on Axis Nova.”

She looked surprised, but pleased. “How could you know it was me, Captain, I was veiled.”

“I just knew.”

She nodded, but looked even more pleased. Blas could hardly believe it, the daughter of the Grand Pasha of the Nine Systems, First Lady of the known universe had shown him her face in contravention of every tenet, every rule of their religion. What an incredible creature she was, the very model of perfection. If he had a woman like her, he’d die for her. But he stopped himself short, he was forgetting.

“It would be better to live for her,” Nightingale said.

“What? How did you know...you’re a mind reader? You’re an Orphexian?”

“I am an Orphexian, yes. As is Evelyn, didn’t you know?” she grinned unexpectedly. “So you’d better be careful what you think. But I apologize, Captain Blas, I jest with you, I should have closed myself to your mind. It was just that it was so strange meeting an enemy here, I was on my guard. It won’t happen again.”

He nodded, surprised that a personal servant could speak with such confidence and authority. She was more than a mere handmaiden, that was obvious. He looked enquiringly at Evelyn, but she shook her head.

“No, Captain, I was not reading your mind, I’d already closed my mind to yours.”

“But, how could you be an Orphexian? I thought your father was, well...”

“It was from my mother. Father wasn’t aware of her origins, he doesn’t know I have mental powers either. I would sooner he didn’t find out.”

“No, of course not, I wouldn’t say anything, but I’m not likely to meet him, am I? What do you want with me?”

She seemed lost in thought for a few moments. Then she gave him a small smile. “It’s rather what we can do for you, we’ve already spoken to Serena. We want to join you, Nightingale and me. We want no further part of the Axian movement, we want to help you bring it down.”

“You need us, Captain Blas,” Nightingale said. “Otherwise you could have a bloodbath in this city.”

He looked at the handmaiden, or whatever she was. She had the body of a female athlete, medium height and with the obvious outline of firm yet female muscles. With her dark skin, dark brown eyes and glossy, dark hair she was an attractive young woman in her own right, although Evelyn’s beauty would put any other woman into the shade. Blas’ overwhelming emotion was of relief as he looked at her again. Evelyn was not his enemy. So what did that mean for him, or for her? The possibilities were endless, he’d have to see what the future brought. If they survived, and that was by no means a certainty.