Repercussions Page 4

  With a nod of her heard she turned to walk out the door, but Phoenix stopped her.

  "Do you know what the deal is with Freyan? I mean, why is he so against taking any action whatsoever? Anytime we involve ourselves in a cause I think he would find worthy, he... I don't know," Phoenix said, brushing his hand over his head.

  Saoirse kept her back to him and spoke over her shoulder. "There are burdens that the crew carry that are not visible in plain sight. I believe Freyan is struggling with something he did that caused untold pain and suffering. For a being that doesn't age, or can look forward to death, he is going through torture. That I wouldn't wish on my most hated enemy."

  "But surely time heals all wounds?"

  "Does it?" Saoirse said, looking over her shoulder, as she made her way out the door.

  9

  Dre sat in the captain's chair slumped forward. One hand rested on his chin and the other held a picture in his palm.

  He looked down at it, like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. He ran a finger down the picture as it brought back happier times. Times that were not filled with pain and suffering. Times when he laughed until his sides hurt and his eyes filled with tears of joy.

  That was long ago.

  "Dre, we arrive in five minutes," said one of his men.

  He didn't respond. His gaze still rested on the picture.

  "Is the plan...still a go?"

  Silence filled the bridge, and masked faces looked at one another. The crewmember was about to ask the question again, but he was stopped by one of his colleagues, who shook his head.

  "When was it ever different? When was it ever anything but this?" Dre asked.

  The man who spoke looked at the other masked faces on the bridge and shrugged.

  "There was a time that I was a peaceful man. There was a time that I was a good man, a kind man. How circumstances can turn the most pure heart black."

  Dre brought the picture he held to his lips and kissed it softly. Placing it in his breast pocket, he looked up at the image the viewing screen presented to him.

  A planet that looked like so many others graced the screen. Once you had seen one, you had seen them all.

  "We shall be entering the atmosphere in mere moments," said the man at the ship's controls.

  The ship rocked from side to side as clouds gave way to patches of darkness broken by small pockets of light.

  "Three light fighters are inbound!"

  Dre looked at the man who had spoken and gave him a shrug. "So?"

  "What should we do?"

  Dre looked towards the oncoming ships, then back at the man who had spoken. Getting up from the chair, Dre walked towards the console the man sat in front of. Dre looked his man in the eye as his finger descended upon a red button.

  Three missiles fired from the ship and destroyed the light fighters.

  "If any more ships appear on our sensors, I pray you know what to do. Now aim the ship for the royal palace. I don't care if you have to land on the fucking city itself. It's time to have some fun!" Dre said, to the resounding cheers of his men.

  King Tut of Obudal sat on his throne looking down at his daughter. Technically she wasn't his by birth; she was his predecessor's daughter. He only kept her alive after decapitating her father because she was too young to know any different and it was the only way her mother would allow him in her bed.

  The years had passed, and before he knew it the girl had grown on him. But, by the gods, was she a pain in the ass.

  "Torfhidenar, how many times do I have to tell you, girl, that men only want one thing from you," said the king.

  "I know, Daddy, that's why I like them," she said.

  "You..." Tut passed his hands through his grey hair and rolled his eyes to the skies. "You like that men only like you for one thing?"

  "Of course, silly. If they didn't, that would mean I'm ugly. But because they do, it doesn't," the princess said, beaming with a smile while rocking back and forth on her heels.

  Tut buried his head in his hands and groaned. He sometimes thought the girl was so stupid she would die of thirst in the middle of a lake. But sometimes the simple logic she spoke had the clarity of a finely cut gemstone.

  "That may be the case, dear, but the man that escaped from your room took something very important from your father. Something that was going to make him very powerful--"

  "But you're already powerful, Daddy. You kill whoever you want. How much power does one person need?"

  A chuckle from one of the king's aides turned into a cough as the king sent a glare his way. "The information that he took would have placed me--us--on the Council of Six. But now--"

  An explosion overhead shook the foundations of the palace.

  "What was that?"

  Another explosion could be heard further afield, and screams from outside penetrated the palace walls. The throne room doors burst open and two guards ran towards the throne. The king's aide rushed to meet them halfway.

  They talked in hushed whispers that didn't reach the king's ears.

  "What is going on?"

  The aide looked over his shoulder, sending a nervous look Tut's way. Turning back to speak to the two guards, he pointed the way they had come. With nods of their heads, they ran back out and sealed the doors behind them.

  "Sire, I have terrible news. It appears that the city is under attack. We must move you and the royal family this instant!" the aide said, making his way towards the king.

  "Who would dare?"

  "Daddy, it's not like he had a chance to ask them. No doubt they want to steal your wealth, kill you and everyone you love," the princess said with a beaming smile.

  The aide looked at the princess open-mouthed and shook his head. "Sire, they have not made any demands yet, but before the point arises, I suggest we--"

  Another explosion knocked everyone off their feet. The overhead lights blinked in and out of existence before slowly coming back on.

  "The escape tunnel! Move, move, move," Tut said, rushing behind his throne. He flicked a switch under the chair, opening a sliding door behind the throne. He hurried down the tunnel without a second glance over his shoulder.

  "Daddy, what about Mum?"

  "It's too late for her, honey; it's just you and me, now, I'm afraid," Tut said.

  "After all she has done for you! You're going to leave her?"

  Tut turned around with a flick of his robe. He could just make out the stupid child, standing at the entrance to the tunnel with her hands on her hips. Sometimes he wished he had just killed her and got it over with. "Child, I'm leaving. You can either come with me or go and find your wretched mother. The choice is really yours, and I don't much care which decision you make."

  "Mother told me the truth, anyway. She told me you're not my real father. I'm going to find her, and if I see any invaders, I will tell them where you went," the princess pouted, before rushing off in the opposite direction.

  The king looked at his aide, shrugged his shoulders, and continued down the escape route. The building shook every so often, raining dust down upon heads. One corner led to the next until an almighty crash brought their movements to a stop.

  "Shit!"

  The path ahead was blocked by a boulder; a chunk of rock had made its way down from the floors above. Tut gave it a shove but it stood steady.

  "What now?" the aide asked, concern flashing across his features.

  "What now? I'll tell you what. We are not going to be defeated. How many people have I killed to get where I am now? How many double-crossers, poisoned meals, rigged elections, have you and I gone through to let something like a boulder defeat us? No, let's double back and try another route."

  They retraced their steps to the throne room. The doors had now been blasted open, and the mangled bodies of guards, torn apart by bullets and blades, littered the floor.

  King Tut pressed his finger to his lips as the echoes of gunfire from the courtyard reached his ears. He moved forward, watchin
g where he placed each foot. As he moved past the throne, a voice cut through the room.

  "My, my, what little gifts have appeared under my feet," said the gravelly voice before barking a laugh.

  King Tut turned to flee the way he had come, but the escape tunnel doors were already closing. His aide gave him an apologetic shrug as he disappeared from view.

  "Why, you dirty fucker," King Tut hissed. He straightened up and brushed his clothes down before making his way to the front of the throne.

  A figure sat on his throne, his pale skin covered in luminous tattoos.

  "What do you want?" Tut asked.

  "There was a man here, not so long ago, that stole some information from you. I would like to know what that information was."

  "I don't know what the fuck you are talking about."

  Humourless laughter broke past the stranger's lips, and he passed a hand through his slicked-back purple hair. He brought his hand down to cover one eye and fixed Tut with a red robotic stare.

  "Now, I know that is a lie because The Eye sees all."

  10

  Phoenix's and his crew's footsteps echoed as they walked through the ship. Doors leading to empty rooms lined miles of endless corridors. Rust covered most of the walls, and wires hung from metal ceiling panels.

  L trailed a finger along the wall, leaving a path in the dust. She inspected her finger with a grimace and wiped it on Plowstow's back.

  "Hey! Did you just wipe something on me?" he said, turning his head this way and that, trying to look at his back.

  "Of course not." L smiled.

  They carried on along the deserted corridor without another word passing between them. L stopped and whistled as she looked through the glass panel of a door that revealed a hangar that stretched for miles.

  "I don't like this," Plowstow said, his head snapping from side to side. "I don't like this at all." He unclipped his rifle from his back.

  "Easy," Phoenix said, touching him on the shoulder.

  "You know, Phoenix," L said, "if I were a less trusting person, I would think that our old friend Florin is trying to pull something on us."

  "Like what?"

  "Oh, you know, asking us to come on this abandoned ship so he could kill us more easily. You know, the fewer witnesses, the fewer questions asked."

  No one said anything. Phoenix stopped in his tracks and looked both ways down the hall. With a shake of his head, he carried on.

  "Oh, hi, Florin," L said, waving.

  The crew stopped before the lord. He looked each crew member over in turn before resting his gaze on Phoenix.

  "I'm glad you made it here safely," Florin said.

  "Yeah," put in L, "pretty creepy ship you got here. We were just discussing if you were going to try and kill--"

  Saoirse elbowed L in the ribs, cutting her off.

  "I do apologise, but with your reputation, and people in my own camp trying to kill me, I can't be seen with you in public. I can't trust many people. But that's beside the point. There is much that we need to discuss. Your methods, for one..." Florin said, turning away and leading the group into the captain's office.

  The crew sat around a metal desk. Someone had attempted to polish it, but the rust and its age still shone through.

  "Did you receive the information we got from Obudal?" Saoirse asked.

  Florin took a sip from a cup on the table and nodded his head.

  "Was it sufficient?"

  Florin placed the cup back down on the desk and picked up a small holographic cube on the other side of the room. He threw it into the middle of the table, where it glowed faintly before projecting images in the air. It showed a palace ruined beyond repair. A city on fire. People ran through the streets as others lay dead in pools of their own blood.

  "This... This..." Florin passed a shaky hand over his face before he found his voice again. "This is not how I expected a covert mission to go. Covert. The word itself should give you all the information required on how I wanted this carried out. I didn't expect to find dead children on the newscast this morning!"

  The crew looked at Florin in bewilderment before all eyes settled on Phoenix.

  "Is that Obudal?" Phoenix asked.

  "What was left of it, after you were done."

  "Florin, we didn't do this. The palace was intact when we left. Phoenix might have been heavy handed on his escape out of the city, but those casualties that you see before you were not our doing," said Saoirse. "You spit on our honour, if you think we would bloody our hands with the deaths of children."

  "If that is true, then..." Florin paced back and forth as he muttered under his breath.

  "You care to enlighten us?" Phoenix said through gritted teeth.

  "There is a terrorist group who call themselves The Eye. They have been attacking Council-protected planets and outposts. They claim their goal is independence from the Council. Their means of getting it are...violent. They have killed tens of thousands in the name of a just cause."

  "Well, this is what happens governments are dictatorships," Freyan said.

  "How so?"

  "The more people you oppress, the more resentment is built up over time. How can you expect the people to pay tribute to you when you are not even from their culture? This was bound to happen, sooner or later. It just hadn't until now because the Council's power is so absolute."

  "What you say is right, but all I need is--"

  "More time?" Freyan said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Florin looked at the Bloodless One, seemingly lost for words.

  "Florin, we will do--"

  "I don't see how this is our problem," Phoenix said, cutting Saoirse off.

  "What do you all think will happen as soon as the Council crumbles? War, chaos, and a grasp for power and lands. Peace rarely comes after a revolution."

  Phoenix was transported back to his earlier conversation with Freyan and nodded his head in agreement. He knew that Florin was right. Failed states were things of horror, where one dictatorship tried to replace another. To imagine it on a galaxy-wide scale was frightening.

  Should he really involve himself in this? Involve the crew?

  Sometimes the current regime was the best thing to keep in place. But best for whom?

  "What do you know about the group?" Saoirse asked.

  "Not much. Just that they are searching for something. For what, I have some clues, but until I crack the information that you got for me from Obudal, I will not have a solid idea. Until then, I have some places that I would like you to investigate, ones I believe are supplying The Eye with their weapons."

  Phoenix closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as silence filled the room. He knew that all eyes were on him, waiting for him to make a decision. But he was tired of getting into one mess after the other. Messes that he had nothing to do with.

  "This really isn't our fight, Florin. I mean, I know I offered to help you, but this..."

  "Billions will die if we don't stop this group. I can't live with that on my conscience. Can you?" Florin asked.

  Phoenix let out a sigh and looked up at the Council lord. "First things first--how my crew and I operate is up to us. We may break a few eggs but we are not child killers. We will do the job as suits us best. If you have a problem with that, find someone else to care about your cause.

  "Second, if this job doesn't feel right to me, for whatever reason, then I'm pulling us out."

  Florin bit the side of his lip and stared at Phoenix. He let out a small sigh as he gave him a nod.

  "Good," Phoenix said. "Give us all the information you have. We'll be in touch as soon as we find anything out."

  11

  Phoenix walked towards the sick bay and knocked on the door before entering. Freyan lay on one of the sick bay beds surrounded by books. One rested in his lap and he jotted notes in another.

  "You busy?"

  "That all depends on what you would have me do. If it's a medical emergency, then no. If it's ju
st idle chit-chat, yes," Freyan said, not looking up.

  "Idle chit-chat? Is that anyway to speak to your captain?"

  Freyan's head lifted slightly and he glanced in Phoenix's direction before returning to his notes.

  "Well, if you're that busy--"

  "No, no. My brain capacity is such that I can multitask on numerous projects at once. Go ahead," Freyan said, waving a hand in Phoenix's direction. "I am sure whatever subject you want to discuss can't be that taxing."

  "How many times do I have to tell you? Being humble is a trait that would make fewer people want to punch you."

  "And how many times do I have to tell you that being nice is a way for stupid people to hedge their bets?"

  Phoenix brushed his hand over his head, before bringing it towards his earring. "I wanted to talk to you about Florin and this whole mission. I know you may have issues with what we are doing here--" Phoenix lifted his hand to stop Freyan as he went to speak. "Let me finish. I know this may not be what you signed up for. Hell, I don't even know what that is. All I wanted to do was escape Dredar, save my siblings and from there... I don't know. But I know we can't just sit back and allow this to continue when we can do something about it."

  Freyan lowered his notebook and let out a small sigh. "Phoenix, no, I do not agree with the course of action that you are taking, but I will follow you, no matter what. You saved me from a torture worse than death. So I shall do everything in my power to help you achieve whatever goal you have."

  "Thank you," Phoenix said, turning away.

  "Remember, actions lead to repercussions. Repercussions lead to anger. Anger leads to more action. Breaking the cycle before our time passes is what we should all strive to do."

  Phoenix nodded and made his way down the familiar corridors of his ship. He stopped in front of Saoirse's open door and looked inside to see the former bounty hunter sat cross-legged in the middle of the floor. A semicircle of weapons surrounded her.

  She passed a stone in her right hand slowly over the edge of the blade in her left. The occasional spark flew into the air like a firefly escaping from a jar.