Wrath of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) (8 page)

“She’s all ready to go. I suggest President Tell stays out of sight and rides in the back with Admiral Rusal and the lady. You can join me in the cab, Captain Blas. Admiral, I recommend we load some boxes and sacks in the truck for you to hide behind in case we’re stopped and searched. We’ll also need some weapons. If they stop us we may have to shoot our way out.”

“You have weapons?” Rusal asked.

Karn grinned. “Weapons? Admiral, what smuggler can afford to go anywhere without some means of defending themselves? Sure, we have weapons. I’ll show you what we’ve got.”

He opened a vehicle inspection pit in the floor of the warehouse. They followed him down some steps and he opened a heavy steel hatch. He dropped down a steel ladder into an underground arsenal and they could hardly believe what they saw. Every man-portable weapon imaginable was present, racks of laser pistols, laser rifles and even a dismantled, tripod-mount heavy laser cannon. There were also boxes of grenades and even some high explosives.

“You need all this for a smuggling operation?” Rusal asked, bemused.

Vansen shrugged. “You never know what you’re going to need. The Security Bureau boys tend to shoot first and ask questions afterwards. We like to be able to shoot back.”

Rusal issued crisp instructions. “We need to arm ourselves with hand weapons and laser pistols for everyone. Take two boxes of grenades, half a dozen rifles in case we get into a firefight and we’ll take that heavy laser cannon too. We can mount it on the back of the transport. If we’re pursued, that should make them think twice.”

“It’s a bastard to get that old cannon up through the hatch,” Karn said.

“It would be a lot worse if we were chased by an SB armored vehicle without the means to defend ourselves,” Rusal retorted.

“Right, we’ll take the cannon then. One more thing, Admiral.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“In view of the way things are, I won’t be coming back to this warehouse. If they search the city of Peria, and they surely will, they’ll find it anyway. I’d like permission to set the charges for when they break in?”

Blas smiled at the way the Hesperian smuggler had automatically taken on the role of a soldier in the presence of his superior officer. Probably he’d been an NCO, a sergeant. No doubt he’d be needed to take that role on again, and very soon.

“Permission granted, Vansen. And thank you, for all of your help.”

Karn nodded and started dragging out the ordnance. It was awkward squeezing the laser cannon out, but finally they had it assembled in the back of the truck. The rest of the guns were hidden behind innocent boxes and sacks. He went around the warehouse placing charges in strategic places, and then set the timer.

“The timer will arm the charges in ten minutes, so we need to be out of here when I start the detonation sequence. As soon as anyone comes inside, the whole building will be flattened.”

“No chance of anyone innocent, coming in here?” Tell asked.

“None. You’ll see when we leave. The place is like a fortress. If anyone comes in here, it’s going to be the military and that means SB.”

“Good man. We’re ready.”

They boarded the transport and Karn opened the warehouse doors with a remote switch. Then he climbed into the vehicle and drove out, pressed a switch on his remote and the doors started to close. They drove away, almost in silence as the wheeltracks purred over the ground. The smuggler looked across at Blas.

“The explosives are all armed, so when they go in there they’ll get more than they bargained for. At least a few less of those bastards will be some relief for the Peria locals.”

“I gather it’s been bad around here?”

“Bad! That doesn’t describe it. Those Security Bureau bastards use this planet like it’s a moneybox. They steal everything they can find, imprison the inhabitants and use them for forced labor. You know what they call us Hesperians? Sub-humans, that’s what. To them we’re no more than animals, only fit to be their servants and slaves. You know there are rumors about some of the camps on the plantations?”

“No, I don’t. What rumors?”

“Some say that their plan is to get rid of all of the Hesperians, so that the planet can be colonized by the Axians. They plan to use the cities as vacation centers and to develop the countryside with plantations and hunting estates.”

“That explains the Galuppi birds.”

“You saw them?”

Blas nodded.

“There are thousands of them, and the locals are terrified. Some say that they’ve had babies stolen from their cribs by those damned birds.”

“Can’t the locals hunt them for food? At least they’d get some benefit from them.”

Karn laughed. “The SB passed a planetary law. Hunting the birds without a license means an automatic ten-year sentence to a plantation, and that’s a death sentence. No one lasts ten years in those hellholes. Besides, no Hesperian can apply for a license. In fact, they say that the only people to have been granted licenses are friends of the Bose brothers or the President’s cronies, and Axians, of course. If you worship Axia you can have anything.”

 
“It’s crazy, the Axians were beaten. It’s hard to see how can they influence what happens on Hesperia?”

Karn gave him an amused look. “You’ve seen the statue in the center of Peria? It was supposed to have been removed. That’s a laugh. And how many SB troopers have you encountered that weren’t believers? They’re all Axians, to a man, Bartok’s private army.”

“That’s not legal, is it? Last I heard, the military are not allowed to recruit or select on the basis of religion.”

“That’s the clever part. The Security Bureau is not technically part of the military. They’re a police force. That way, they can get around the ban on religious allegiance.” He spat out of the window. “Axian bastards!”

They drove out of the city and across the endless plantations of burlash that had taken over the planet, or so it seemed. Along the side of the road they passed several small towns that appeared to be empty.

“Where are all the people? Are they out working their plantations?”

Karn looked across at him and shook his head. “You still don’t get it. No Hesperian is allowed to own a plantation. I told you, the SB is getting rid of the natives.”

“The population of whole towns? Where in space have they hidden them?”

“They’ve gone, Constantine. They’re dead. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. They arrest them and take them away in chains, large groups of them. They go to these camps hidden away in the countryside and then disappear.”

“I still don’t get it. Disappear, where to?”

“As far as we know, they have disintegration chambers. They herd the people inside like cattle, fire up the power and they’re gone. Poof!”

“I can’t believe it. That’s mass murder, genocide, and the worse crime in the universe.”

“There’ll be another one committed soon if we’re not careful. There’s an SB armored transport right behind us, and he’s ordering us to stop.”

Karn accelerated away as Blas looked at the rear view screen on the panel. Sure enough, falling further back was an armored SB transport. It wouldn’t lag behind for long. They were fast, heavily armed and armored. It started to creep nearer to them as the SB driver increased speed to catch up.

“Couldn’t we have tried to bluff it out?”

He shook his head. “They’re either after Xerxes Tell or they’re after loot. Maybe both. Either way, we can’t stop and let them search us. The moment we halt we’ll be surrounded and outnumbered by armed troopers. We’d find it hard to fight them, and all they have to do is hold us for a few minutes while they call for reinforcements, then we’re finished.”

“Right, so we run.”

Karn grinned. “We run, yes, but they’re faster than we are. We’ll have to destroy them or we’re lost.”

“Right, I’ll tell them in the back.” Blas opened the connecting hatch to the rear of the transport. “Evelyn, we’ve got trouble. Have you seen the SB armored vehicle behind us?”

She looked up at him. “Yes, we saw them. The Admiral and President Tell are preparing the laser cannon just in case it’s needed.”

“Tell them it’ll be needed,” he added grimly. “If they don’t destroy that armored vehicle we’re finished.”

“I’ll tell them. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll stay with Karn in case I’m needed.”

He meant in case the cab was riddled with gunfire and he had to take over the controls, but he didn’t say that. He didn’t need to. Evelyn had been through too much with him during the last war. She knew the way it worked.

“Be careful, Constantine. I love you.”

“I will and don’t worry. We’ll get out of this mess.”

“I know,” she replied. “I trust you.”

He briefly wondered how much he trusted himself. She was the most valuable thing in his world. If anything happened to her, well, he couldn’t worry about that now. He pushed the thought out of his mind.

The first shot whistled overhead. It was just a warning. They could hear the menacing tones of the loudhailer.

 
“This is Security Bureau. You must stop your vehicle or you will be destroyed.”

Two more shots ranged over the cab, each one a little lower. Blas had little doubt that the next one would be on target. He shouted back through the hatch.

 
“Now would be a good time to open fire, Admiral.”

Before he finished speaking, the heavy laser cannon started shooting at their pursuers. Blas watched the rear screen and saw the destructive bolts smashing against the bodywork of their pursuer, but it still kept coming. Then the SB troopers fired directly at them, an energy bolt that smashed against the rear of their transport. It must have taken out some of their wheel tracks, for they immediately slowed and lurched to one side. Karn struggled to keep hold of the control stick and correct their course. The skewed motion of the vehicle was threatening to take them off the road completely. Blas knew that they couldn’t survive another hit like that.

“Karn, stop, stop the transport. I can take them but we need to get them right next to us.”

“Are you sure?” he asked doubtfully.”

“I’m sure. Just do it!”

As Karn started to slow, Blas put his head through the hatch. “Admiral, we’re getting them alongside us. You need to show yourself with your hands up. They’ll recognize you and won’t shoot.” At least, he hoped they wouldn’t shoot. “Get President Tell to hide. Leave the rest to me.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“This is a smuggler transport, so I’m going to board them. Isn’t that the way they used to do it in the old days?” he said, trying to keep his voice light.

“I think that was pirates, Constantine,” Karn said doubtfully. “But good luck all the same, and be careful,” was the dry response.

Blas took a final look in the back. Tell was crouched down behind the sacks and boxes with Evelyn. He turned to watch the progress of the SB vehicle as it neared, timing his next move. It started to draw alongside the driver’s side and he climbed out of the passenger door and pulled himself up onto the roof of the truck, where he lay flat. Their transport stopped and Rusal stepped out. The armored vehicle stopped next to them. The commander was in the turret. He climbed down and a door in the body of the vehicle opened, disgorging his squad. Eight troopers stood with drawn weapons, all pointing at Quentin Rusal. He waited with his hands up and a smile on his face.

“Sergeant, I’m glad it was you. You know who I am?”

“Admiral Rusal, I didn’t know you were on this transport.” The man looked puzzled. “We were told that you’d been removed from your command. What are you doing in a smuggler vehicle?”

“Smugglers? Is that what this is? They offered me a lift from Peria when I was stuck without any way of getting back to Tulum. I’d no idea this was a smuggler vehicle.”

“Why were you shooting at us then?”

“Sergeant, you were shooting at us. We had to defend ourselves. This is a lawless place. We didn’t realize who you were at first, so we shot back. We thought you were about to stop us and loot the vehicle. You know how bad crime is on Hesperia.”

Blas was looking down, admiring Rusal’s calm way of dealing with the troopers. The Admiral had moved around so that the soldiers were looking away from Blas. It gave him the chance he needed to leap from the roof of the transport onto the hull of the armored vehicle. There was a slight ‘thud’ as he landed. He twisted behind the turret as one of the soldiers looked around, but he was too late.

“There’s a man on top of our vehicle,” he shouted.

They all whirled around and started to shoot at him. Laser flashes lit up the scene and the bursts arced and flashed as they struck the turret. All he could do was keep his head down so that it didn’t get blown off. He realized the danger of his position. As soon as one of them jumped into the vehicle, they could use the internal defense systems to sweep him off the hull. All of these vehicles were fitted with high static-energy defense weapons to stop enemy soldiers from doing exactly what he had done. He drew his laser pistol, looked around and took a shot at a trooper who was about to jump through the hatch. The blast hit his head, the only part of him that was visible to Blas. The body was thrown to the ground. Above the neck there was just a smoking ruin where the head had been. But the other troopers were already starting to gather their wits. He was desperate and had to do something to keep them away, yet he was one man armed with a pistol against an armed squad. Then he heard Evelyn shout.