Repercussions Page 3

  Phoenix shook his head. More sirens filled the air and lights bounced off his mirrors. This was becoming a lot messier than he wanted. The mission was supposed to be simple.

  Break into the palace, get the information they needed, get out. But somehow the whole thing had turned into a clusterfuck.

  Phoenix twisted the throttle as more bolts flew past his shoulder. He couldn't keep this up all night. He spotted a bridge up ahead, and it gave him an idea. It was a stupid one, but stupid ideas were what he was best at.

  "Saoirse, there's a bridge up ahead. Position the PH1 just after it and open the cargo doors."

  "Why?"

  "Why do you think, woman? I'm coming in hot," Phoenix said, avoiding a car that nearly crashed into him.

  "This is the national guard! If you do not stop, we will use extreme force," said an amplified voice behind him.

  Phoenix let out a bark of laughter as he glanced at the scene around him. If this wasn't extreme force, then what more could they do?

  His answer came in the form of a light fighter. The small craft flew just above the rooftops of the buildings around him, the noise from the engines drowning out the sirens and car horns.

  "Phoenix, we have incoming."

  "I can see that. Get the PH1 ready to leave," he said, gunning the throttle of the bike. He wove in and out of traffic, approaching the bridge ahead. The light fighter opened fire on him, sending dirt and tarmac flying into the air.

  Phoenix tucked his head down, his focus on the PH1. He could feel the bike shudder as he redlined it for all it was worth. As his tires hit the bridge, Phoenix kept pushing the bike as the PH1's cargo bay came into view.

  "Shit! Here goes nothing," he said as he drove off the bridge and flew towards the ship's cargo bay.

  The bike crashed into the bay and skidded on its side. The crash sent Phoenix flying into the ship's wall, pinging off bits of machinery that Plowstow had left lying about.

  Phoenix landed face first in a sack of Plowstow's dirty laundry and groaned as the ship closed its doors and took off.

  6

  The vast room had high glass ceilings that showed the dying rays of the setting suns. The flaming hue of the orange sky reminded Florin of peaceful times.

  He shook his head. He must be getting old if he thought there had ever been peace. War had always beaten its drum on the horizon, and no matter where one stood, they could always hear it.

  He spread his fingers on the ornate black desk in front of him and looked around the circular table at the other people present.

  "The unrest is getting worse. We must do something about it," Lord Aurum said. He was short, green and fat; his long ears did nothing to distract from his darting black eyes. A crest with a hand overflowing with money was engraved in the table in front of him.

  "There has always been civil unrest," Florin said.

  "Not like this. If this trend continues, it will spell doom for all the families here."

  "You mean the credits will stop flowing to Council depots. Which your family has the largest stake in," Lady Richor spat. She was a member of the Noctis race, and she reminded Florin of Saoirse every time he saw her. A jagged scar ran down her midnight blue face that hinted at a former beauty.

  Her crest signified everything she was. A blade through a skull, with the words "Make sure the job is done right", sat in front of her.

  "Now, now. That is not what I meant. Simply put, the more tensions increase across the worlds, the more stretched to breaking point we shall be. How many worlds can we police? Every year, more worlds come banging at our door, wanting to be let into the Council. There must be an end point," Lord Aurum said.

  A chuckle escaped Lord Jaro's lips.

  "This isn't a laughing matter," Lord Aurum snapped.

  Lord Jaro's forked tongue shot out of his snout, before making its way back in. He scraped his claws along the table. His tongue flicked out of his light green scaly snout once more.

  "I do not class this has a laughing matter. But as we all know, war does benefit you the most," he said, the words forming around his forked tongue with a lisp.

  "I don't know--"

  "You know very well what he means!" Lady Richor said. "Wars are expensive things. They need to be financed, they need to be backed. Who would be in the best position to reap those benefits?"

  "We all reap the benefits of my services!" Lord Aurum said.

  "Some more than others..."

  Dark looks swept around the room and no one spoke.

  "This wouldn't be a problem if the Council didn't want to control everything," Florin said.

  "Last time I checked, each planet that has come into our fold has kept their own government, kept their customs and culture. I don't see how we control anything," said Lord Aurum.

  "Come now; they may have their own flags but we are the ones that produce them. They may have their own governments, but we hint at which candidate is best to be placed forward. Who holds the purse strings to their credits? The unrest amongst the worlds is because people want independence. Maybe we should give it to them."

  Cries of dissent swept through the room, as laughter and shouts were batted back and forth.

  "Always looking out for what's best for the people," Lord Portendorfer said. "You are truly your father's son."

  "Thank you for the compliment."

  The shouts and arguing continued, and Florin didn't lower his eyes as Lord Portendorfer stared his way. He received a slight nod from the older man, and a smile graced Lord Portendorfer's lips before he turned his attention elsewhere.

  "Order! Order," Lord Aurum said, slamming his fist down on the table. "This wouldn't be an issue if The Eye had been taken care of when they first arose. The leader of this so-called revolutionary group has been spouting some nonsense about change. The same nonsense that Lord Fren here seems to be so keen on.

  "Freedom for the people and such and so forth," Lord Aurum scoffed, with a wave of his hand. "Lord Sou, have none of your people been able to gather any information?"

  Lord Sou was covered from head to toe in dark cloth; nothing could be seen of him. The hood that was pulled over his head turned to regard Lord Aurum. There was no carving on the table in front of him.

  "My men have heard much, but most of it is worthless," he said in a gravelly voice. "Their leader has done a good job of creating fear amongst the people. No one wants to speak out against him. He has the love and fear of the populace. Those who have stood against him are all dead, and the numbers supporting him are growing."

  "Can we not simply raise the bounty on his head?" Lord Jaro asked.

  "We have already tried that," Lord Aurum said, throwing his hands in the air. "The cost has been ten dead bounty hunters. Each beheading has been broadcast. It has been months since anyone has taken the contract. That path is dead."

  "We go to the outlaws or pirates, then."

  "You must not understand me," Lord Aurum said, his gaze sweeping the room. "No group wants to get involved with this. The cost to them is too high. And since The Eye have only been attacking Council assets, the other groups have free rein to do as they please while our attention is focused elsewhere."

  "Issues like this always occur, and they always blow over," Lord Jaro said with a wave of his hand. "I motion we just wait it out. The proper balance will occur sooner or later. It always does."

  "I hate to agree with Lord Aurum, but I believe we should deal with this issue head on," said Florin.

  "Oh? That surprises me," Lord Portendorfer said with a smile. "I thought you would be the first to have things fall into anarchy. To have the people rise up from the Council's merciless stranglehold, to take back what's theirs. To have this very Council disbanded."

  "You misunderstand the problem at hand. You all do. While the Council has numerous faults, allowing groups like The Eye to take over will spell disaster for everyone involved. How many failed states have we seen because of revolution?

  "Bloodshed follows anarchy
. When one dictator is overthrown, another quickly takes his place, and they are always worse than the one that came before--"

  "This boy has been here five minutes and is already lecturing us on politics," Lord Portendorfer said.

  "On the contrary. I just want to highlight an upcoming problem which none of you think is coming."

  "Which is?"

  "It makes the Council look weak. If we don't resolve this problem with The Eye, it's only a matter of time before the other groups start tearing chunks out of us. My love for the Council is....complicated, but we have known the galaxy's longest period of peace since it was formed. If that goes away, anarchy will rule once more."

  "Nonsense!"

  "He speaks to us like we are fools!"

  "There..."

  And so it went on and on for some time, till Lord Aurum slammed his fist on the table. "This is getting us nowhere. I suggest we conclude this session for today and reopen the discussions at our next meeting."

  The suggestion was met with nods all around the table, but Florin shook his head. It was always the same: a lot of talk and not much action.

  "Meeting concluded."

  Florin watched while one lord after the next blinked out of existence as their projections vanished from the table, until the only people remaining were him and Lord Portendorfer.

  "I applaud you for trying," Lord Portendorfer said. "Honestly, I do. But a beast as big as the Council does not change direction easily. You should do well to remember that, if you don't want to end up like them." He pointed to the walls around the room.

  Florin lifted his gaze and took in the different crests that lined the walls. They all had one thing in common, a cross branded over their image.

  7

  Florin stormed out of the Council room, slamming the door behind him. His footsteps echoed along the polished floor as his aide hurried to his side.

  "How did the meeting go, my lord?"

  "How many times do I have to tell you, Qbutt? Florin will do."

  Qbutt's pale white hand passed through his hair and rested on the pointy tip of his ear. He was shorter than Florin and had fewer lines on his face. He lowered his head as he shrugged his shoulders forward. "But the other aides make fun of us. They say that the reason we are so informal is because our house is so young. That a house like ours doesn't belong at the table."

  "Really?" Florin said, folding his arms into his sleeves.

  "It's not that I care about what others say about me... It's..."

  "It's what?"

  Qbutt shook his head as his eyes started to water. He took a deep breath and tried to speak but nothing come out. He shook his head.

  Florin patted him on the shoulder and walked with him towards an ornate balcony wall. The wall only came up to his waist, but the view beyond was breathtaking. The sun's rays streaked through the clouds and bounced off towers made of glass.

  Golden towers and metal structures stretched as far as the eye could see, dominating the sky. Hover cars zipped back and forth between buildings, as couples and families relaxed in the dying light on patches of greenery.

  "Look at all this wealth before our eyes, Qbutt. The spectacle that is a Class One planet. Only the truly rich can ever afford to live on these streets, only the lucky. Yet there is something empty about it," Florin said, leaning over the balcony rail.

  "It sure is different to back home. Mama wouldn't believe me, if I told her what this place was like."

  "Yes... I imagine the village greens of Taku are quite different than this. How is your mother?"

  Qbutt brushed his eyes as a smile crossed his lips. "She is much better since she has come under the care of your doctors, my lor--" Qbutt shook his head as a small chuckle escaped his lips. "She is much better, Florin. Thank you for asking."

  "Do not let the whispers of others sway your heart. We both know there is much work that needs to be done to achieve our dreams. I fear that soon we shall face worse things than idle chatter," Florin said, placing a hand on Qbutt's shoulder. "Nevertheless, when that time comes, we must stand strong against them all. This system is sick. I believe I can change that, but I need help. Now, send a message to Phoenix's crew. I believe it's time that we met."

  8

  "Look, the mission didn't go that badly," Phoenix said.

  "The only way it could have gone worse is if you had killed their royal family," Saoirse said, throwing her hands up in the air.

  "The mission was to get in, get the information that Florin needed, and get out," Phoenix said, slamming his fist on the table with each pause. "I did that." He looked around the canteen table at the rest of the crew. Most of the faces that stared his way offered nothing but frowns or shakes of the head.

  "I don't know why everyone is in such a pissy mood. I hate to repeat myself, but the mission was a success."

  "You--"

  "The reason why Midnight is so annoyed, Phoenix," L said, "is because we thought something had happened to you. Turning off your holocom not once but twice gave everyone a scare. I know some people may not come right out and say it," she looked Saoirse's way, "but we care about you. The same way you care about us. Just...sometimes your actions are careless. That's all."

  "I was... Okay, I apologise. It was irresponsible of me, the captain, to not put you first. As the captain, I should do."

  "What makes this information so important that we had to risk life and limb to get it?" Freyan asked.

  "We?" Phoenix said with a raised eyebrow.

  "I meant the royal we."

  "Honestly I don't know what's on the disc. I did try and ask Florin, but his answer was the less I knew, the better it was for everyone."

  "How convenient."

  Phoenix looked at Freyan and lifted both his hands in the air, waiting for the Bloodless One to elaborate. Freyan rubbed the back of his neck, and the sound of metal scraping on metal brought goosebumps to Phoenix's skin.

  "This information that we had to acquire for Florin will no doubt be used against the planet's current government. A government's affairs that we have no business involving ourselves in. Yet here we are, disturbing the political ecosystem, as it were."

  "You're worried about some half-crooked--what am I saying?" Phoenix said with a shake his head. "That place was so corrupt that it would put an African government to shame. The people on that planet are starving because a select few reap the benefits that the masses don't get to share in. I have no problem with what we did here tonight."

  "There will come a time when something that you do will never allow you to rest. Will never let you get a moment's sleep. Because you thought it was the right thing to do but it turned out to be so monumentally wrong. You will live with that decision each and every day," Freyan said, rising from his chair. "And trust me when I say this: you do not know the horror such self-knowledge holds for one that has lived as long as I have."

  Phoenix watched Freyan walk away. He felt like he should go after the doctor, but whatever issues Freyan was dealing with, Phoenix knew he would only be scratching the surface.

  Phoenix cleaned his pistols, removing as much dirt and grime as he could. He didn't do it as religiously as Saoirse, but she had hinted not too subtly on more than one occasion that if he took care of his gear, his gear would take care of him.

  He knew she was right, and someone with his background shouldn't have needed to be told that, but hell, he was lazy, and the last thing he wanted to do was spend his evening cleaning guns.

  A knock on the door made him lift his head and stop polishing mid-stroke. "Come in."

  Saoirse entered his room, casting a glance at his sofa in the corner of the room. The books stacked at its side made her raise her eyebrows in surprise.

  "I didn't take you for a scholar."

  Phoenix looked over at the books and gave her a smile. "No, I'm not, but I like to read fiction when I get a chance. With no other form of entertainment, it's the only escape I get."

  "I must say, these quarters are a l
ot bigger than the rest of the crew's."

  "Being the captain has its perks," Phoenix said with a smile.

  "Hmm," Saoirse said, walking towards his desk. Pictures of the twins littered its surface. Amongst them were one or two pictures of his parents. Saoirse picked one up and ran her finger along the edges. She stood still. She turned her head Phoenix's way and went to speak but shook her head, putting the frame back down.

  "I miss them every day. Every day I think about what they're up to. What they're eating, what they're studying at school, what friends they have made, if they're in trouble. I...sometimes, some days, if you were to ask me if I would trade this all in to be with them, then that answer would be yes.

  "Then I remember that there are people like Holger out there, who could destroy my planet with a click of their finger, and it pushes me to be stronger."

  "It pleases me to see that your heart is so filled with love for your kin," Saoirse said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

  "What about you? No family that you miss, or to miss you?"

  "I..." Saoirse's lips pulled back in a smile that didn't meet her eyes. "My family, they are warriors. Things like love and compassion are rarely spoken about. It is a sign of weakness. It doesn't belong among our kind. Growing up, you had to fight for what you wanted to keep. Especially amongst siblings. One wrong move or thought and that would be it."

  "No one was killed, surely?"

  Saoirse's eyes darkened as she looked past Phoenix to a time he couldn't see. "On more than one occasion...things got out of control. Sometimes, yes, death did knock on our family's door."

  "Saoirse, that..."

  "It is what it is," Saoirse said, shaking her head. "Anyway, the reason I am here is because Florin wants to meet. It sounds urgent."

  "When isn't it?"

  "I have already informed him that we will see him as soon as we can."

  "Have you now?" Phoenix said with a raised eyebrow.

  "If there is an issue, I can delay the meeting."

  "No, no, Saoirse. It's fine."