Wrath of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) (4 page)

“Do I know you?”

“It’s me, Sir. Ari Merx, I was Rafe Glen’s sergeant when we fought the Axians on Dafne.”

At length he recognized the man. He’d once been a tough, hard-fighting soldier, fit and ready to take on a platoon of Axians singlehanded. Now, he looked almost at the point of death.

“What happened to you, Ari? What crime did you commit to be put in this place?”

“I’d had a few drinks, and I said that the Axian Admiral, Rad Bose, was a brutal thug. Our commander overheard me. His name is Pieter Bose and he’s Rad Bose’s brother, so he had me arrested for treachery and imprisoned on his farm here on Hesperia.”

“His farm? You mean that Pieter Bose owns this farm and uses people he’s put in prison himself as slave labor?”

“That’s exactly what they do, him and his brother. They formed a system-wide company, the Bose Corporation, to seize the assets of captives and local undesirables. Most of the men here fought for the Republic at one time. They put us here on trumped up charges. But it’s worse for the Hesperian natives, this is their own planet and yet they’ve been declared sub-human.”

Blas had to work hard, very hard to control his anger.

“Ari, listen to me. I’m going to do my best to stop this. Don’t make any trouble, and don’t give them any excuse to punish you more. I’ll be back with some help. It’ll take some days to organize, perhaps longer, but I’ll do my best. Don’t give up, do you hear me?”

“Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir.”

A guard stormed up to them. “What do you think you’re doing, talking to prisoners? It is not allowed.”

Blas looked at him. He was as unedifying as his supervisor, flabby and bloated, the contrast made even more marked by the emaciation of the prisoners.

“Shackling these men is not allowed either, under the laws of the Nine Systems. I take it you know the penalties for mistreatment of prisoners? You may find yourself wearing these chains if you’re not careful.”

He walked back to the skimmer, Evelyn climbed in and they drove away. He told her about Ari Merx.

“I felt so helpless back there. They’re all good men, men that I’ve been into battle with. Now they’re made to work in a field, shackled like slaves. You know who that land belongs to?”

She shook her head.

“Pieter Bose. Second in command here on Hesperia, and Rad Bose’s brother.”

“That explains a lot, I was wondering how they got away with it. When the man in charge is the military commander, there won’t be too many complaints. We have to do something, Constantine.”

“Yes, I know. But what?”

They parked outside Max Biermann’s modest house. Berg Smetana’s former number two came out to meet them. In five years he was unchanged, the same short, tough, wiry man who’d fought the Battle of Corazon at Smetana’s side. Blas remembered him charging into the enemy hordes, a laser pistol in each hand, forcing them to retreat in panic. His hair was the same crewcut, little more than a quarter inch in length. He greeted them with a wide smile on his swarthy face, and his dark brown eyes flashed with pleasure at seeing his old comrades-in-arms. Evelyn had joined that fight too. They had all fought shoulder to shoulder at some time during the war.

“Constantine, Evelyn, come in, you’re more than welcome.”

They went inside his house and he served them cold drinks. Max was no fool. He could see the concern in his friends’ eyes.

“You’re worried about Berg. I can see that. You know what’s going on here?”

“We’ve seen enough. Damnit, Max, where the hell is he? What’s this nonsense about Security Bureau hunting for him as if he is a criminal?”

“I’m afraid in their eyes he is a criminal.”

“How could he be? He’s a war hero, a senior military officer.”

“We know that, but he made himself a nuisance to them with all the trouble he stirred up. They finally fitted up some charges and accused him of treason. It’s all nonsense, of course. Did Admiral Rusal tell you that he expects Rad Bose to dismiss him?”

They both nodded.

“That’s the problem, they can do as they wish, these Security Bureau scum.”

He spat out the word ‘scum’, leaving them no doubt about the way he felt about Fabian Bartok’s Security Bureau.

“We were doing fine in the Nine Systems before this bastard Fabian Bartok came along supported by these Axian religious lunatics. We beat them and thought we’d put the Republic back where it should be. How wrong we were, the Security Bureau is a bastard child, formed by the Axians. The left a few of our people in the military and renamed it Tricon, but it’s toothless. It’s all Fabian Bartok and his Axians. Before long, the Security Bureau will be the only military force in the universe.”

“Tell us about Berg, do you know where he is?”

Max looked around, as if the SB were hiding somewhere in the room.

“He escaped from Hesperia because the Security Bureau was closing in on him. The last I heard he was heading for Planet Cadmus, in the Sirius System. He heard about a new resistance movement that had formed there and he went to join them. He told me that if he had to make a run for it, he might as well go somewhere his talents could be useful. I’ve heard nothing since he left.”

They thought about his ‘talents’. Berg Smetana was a killer, a man at the very peak of the ancient Hesperian art of the assassin. He was also a fiercely loyal democrat.

“So you don’t know if he’s dead or alive. Do you think he’s ok?”

Max smiled. “Berg is a hard man to kill. Yes, I think he’s alright. He’ll send a message when he’s ready, but in the meantime he doesn’t want to make those Security Bureau bastards a gift of his location.”

“What about you, Max? What are you doing here in Peria City? Is there a resistance?”

“There is a small resistance group, yes. It’s starting to grow, and the more that the Bose brothers and the Security Bureau hammers the population, the more recruits we get. As long as Admiral Rusal commands the military, he’s able to prevent some of the worst excesses. He’s finding it hard going, though, with Pieter Bose as his second in command.”

“How did Pieter Bose become his executive officer?”

Max nodded. “He was posted to Hesperia by Rad Bose, against the Admiral’s wishes. His post is technically second in command of the Hesperian garrison, but he is in sole personal charge of the SB. Since he arrived he’s set about putting the native population to work on his land.”

“Max, we saw the slaves working on the Bose Corporation burlash plantation.”

“Yes, that bastard is busy buying up half the planet, or stealing it. His favorite tactic is sending a man to prison on a trumped up charge and then put his land up for auction. Who would oppose Pieter Bose by making a rival bid? He buys the land for chickenfeed and then uses his prisoners to work it. The scheme is making him a multi-millionaire.”

“It’s illegal, and the constitution forbids it,” Evelyn interrupted.

Max laughed. “Yes, that’s true. But Pieter is not interested in the legality of his scheme. Believe me, his only interest is whether it makes money. His brother supports him in everything he does. There is no law here, only the law of the Bose brothers.”

“Can’t Admiral Rusal do anything?” she asked. “After all, he is still in command.”

“Not when Pieter’s brother is the Commander in Chief. A simple call to headquarters on Axis Nova and Rusal is overruled.” He smiled. “But look, enough of the politics, why don’t you two go into the old city and do some sightseeing. At least enjoy some of your holiday.”

“It seems a bit lame, Max, wandering around like tourists when so many people are suffering.”

“That’s true,” he grinned, but his eyes were serious. “But do it anyway. For me.”

They looked puzzled. “What do you mean? Why should we do it for you?” Evelyn asked.

“If the SB look closely at me, I can say honestly that my guests are here as tourists.”

They nodded their understanding. “The sights of Peria City it is,” Blas said. “If we can change our clothes, we’ll get started. We shall be tourists, at least for a few hours.”

“Good, I’ll show you to your room.”

They showered and changed into clean clothes. Blas even persuaded Evelyn to wear a long, pretty, floral dress.

“You know I don’t like those dresses, Constantine. They remind me of that Axian religious nonsense when they forced women to wear those awful robes.”

“I know, my darling, but you’ll look feminine and innocent in a dress, so they won’t mistake you for a member of the resistance or a freedom fighter.”

That did make sense and she agreed. She did look so much prettier in a silk dress rather than the standard Metalorg trousers and tunics that she normally wore. Even if they were of the best quality, cut by experts to flatter her figure. Blas noticed she’d taken a little more trouble with her makeup and hair to compliment the dress. He said nothing. Max had one last piece of advice before they left.

“Stay out of trouble. This is not the city it used to be. The Security Bureau is everywhere. They hunt down the natives to arrest them on any number of trumped up charges. It’s a scam to send them to work on Pieter’s plantations. Off-worlders can’t expect much protection either as they’re not too fussy about who they arrest. Just keep your mouths closed and remember our time will come.”

Max’s house was outside the center of Peria, so they climbed aboard the skimmer and drove the short distance into the city. They found a secure bay to park their vehicle and walked through the narrow streets. Once more they noticed the same kind of decay they’d seen on the way to the city. Many of the buildings were in a bad state of repair and much of the damage that had occurred during the war still remained. The streets were covered in litter too, and the people looked shabby and hungry. It was as if the inhabitants were refugees, not residents of a once proud city whose history was said to date back to the earliest days of the human race. And then there were the constant checkpoints, reminders of the power of the SB.

“Papers!”

They encountered the first barrier as they rounded a street corner. It was a simple pole across the road, with a spiteful looking sergeant leaning against the post that supported it. He looked bored. The sergeant wore Axian campaign ribbons. They showed that he had fought for Blas’ enemy during the war five years ago. This meant he had to be a religious fanatic, Blas made a mental note to be careful. They’d been told that the Security Bureau men were Axians, so they’d not be inclined to be too friendly to those who’d defeated them. Evelyn’s hand tightened on his as she recognized the medal ribbons. The sergeant gave them a searching look as they approached, but when he recognized that they were mere tourists he saw they were not a threat. As Blas had anticipated, it was military lore that terrorists didn’t wear floral silk dresses. Security Bureau orders were to leave tourists alone. The SB troopers were not even supposed to toy with them to alleviate their boredom. Although not all of them obeyed the order.

“Business in this city?”

“Tourism.”

Blas kept his voice even. He could see the man was searching for a reason to make trouble.

“Have you been here before?”

That was when he made a mistake. He knew he should have kept his mouth shut as soon as he’d opened it, but somehow he just couldn’t. It was hard to see a defeated enemy posturing and preening like a victor.

“Yes.”

“What was the purpose of your previous visit?”

“I was hunting down and beating the crap out of the enemy, the Axian military. They were holed up inside the city like rats and so I treated them like the criminals they were.”

The sergeant looked up from the papers, and his puffy face started to glow red.

“What’s that you said? You fought for the enemy!”

“The enemy? Not at all, the Axians were the enemy, if you recall. The forces of the Republic beat the shit out of them. After we’d booted their sorry asses out of the Nine Systems, we set up a new Republic. That’s your current employer, as I recall. Not Axia, they’ve gone. They were just treacherous, backstabbing cowards.”

The sergeant looked back at the documents, trying to control his anger while he searched for some flaw in them, a reason to detain a former enemy who had the audacity to remind him, an SB officer, of his army’s defeat. He looked up.

“It says here you were a naval officer.”

“That’s right. The last time I came to Hesperia I captained a Battlecruiser, under Admiral Quentin Rusal. I visited Peria on a diplomatic mission.”

He grunted and handed back the papers, unable to find any fault with them. Neither was he about to pick a fight with Admiral Rusal’s protégé. He backed down with bad grace.

“I’ll be watching you, Mr. Blas. If you give me an excuse, I’ll throw you and your whore in the cells. We’ve enough problems here with the natives.”

Blas worked to control his anger at the insult to Evelyn.

“Really? What kind of trouble, Sergeant? Anything we should worry about?”

“We’ve had these locals painting slogans on walls and throwing rocks at our men. They’re not allowed weapons, or the scum would be shooting at us. Now move along. I’ve got better things to do than talk to you rebel scum all day.”