A Subtle War Read online

  “You’ve done your due diligence, I see,” Rolkar replied, still grinning. “Them and others, yes.”

  Zel cleared his throat with a delicate cough and cut in. “The Orgesse Clan, the greatest of all the clans here on Zoranthan, has many enemies, in keeping with their status as world leaders,” the rep explained, shrugging as if his revelation held as much weight as discussing the weather. “Orgesse has ruled Zoranthan for nearly a century, and the rival clans clamber and claw and strike out now and again to show their displeasure with their circumstances.”

  “They’re hardly anything to worry about, truly,” Rolkar stated. “It’s been months since any of the other clans have lashed out in any way other than politically. They also have no idea you and your people have arrived on planet and have no reason to even look twice at a royal caravan,” the commander went on. “As such, sit back and relax and enjoy the trip. We’ll be at the palace shortly. Queen Rilan is looking forward to meeting with you.”

  “We’re looking forward to meeting her, as well,” Taj replied.

  Torbon rolled his eyes when no one but Taj was looking, and she sneered at him.

  Watch it, Torbon, she spoke in her head, letting the optic carry her message silently to him.

  These things are so gacking cool, he fired back, not even bothering to acknowledge her warning.

  Taj swallowed her frustration with Torbon and settled back into her seat, staring out the window as the city of Dulta crawled past. Zel rambled on, pointing out landmarks and various points of interest while the commander sat ramrod straight, the implant in her eye glinting, no doubt processing everything she saw.

  “Over there is the Vitrol Arena, where special events occur and the lower classes fight nightly to entertain those more fortunate,” Zel said, pointing out the window to the left of the crew.

  Taj caught a glimpse of a huge, silver-domed building in the distance before the vehicle turned and a nearby shop blocked her view.

  “And this is merchant’s row,” the representative continued as the caravan of vehicles weaved through the narrow streets surrounded on all sides by short, squat buildings. “Much of the—”

  A massive explosion erupted ahead of the vehicle the crew rode in, the lead hovercraft going up in a ball of flame.

  Zel gasped and covered his head, ducking low in his seat.

  Torbon grunted, wide-eyed, and pointed at the flaming wreck burning ahead of them. “I’m thinking that might be a problem.”

  Chapter Four

  “Bloody Rowl!” Lina shrieked as their vehicle slid in an attempt to brake, the front end colliding with the flaring wreckage of the lead vehicle with a jarring thud.

  “Stay down!” Commander Rolkar shouted, grabbing Zel by his collar and pushing him to the floor. She muttered something under her breath that Taj didn’t catch.

  Krawg hovered over the crew, pinning them under him as another explosion erupted behind them, rattling the vehicle and sending spiderwebbed cracks all through the windows. The temperature rose in a flash, heat wafting over the crew.

  Taj peeked past a furry armpit to see the Heltrol guards spilling off the platforms and fanning out, firing into the wafts of black smoke that clouded the streets and blocked Taj’s view beyond a short distance.

  Another explosion went off, closer this time, and shoved their vehicle further into the wreckage of the first. The last remaining hovercraft gyrated wildly, nearly tipping over. The crew were tossed like rocks shaken in a can. Grunts, yips, and groans sounded while Krawg did his best to protect them with his body.

  “Stay here,” Rolkar called out, kicking the side door open and leaping out, weapon in hand.

  She fired off several blasts into the smoke and kicked the door shut behind her, taking up a defensive position outside alongside a handful of her people.

  “Nothing to worry about, huh?” Cabe asked Zel, who cowered on the floor.

  The representative shrugged, all four of his eyes looking wet as though he might burst into tears any moment. “They’ve been so quiet of late,” he said, his voice cracking.

  Blaster shots ricocheted off the vehicle, and Zel buried his face in the plush carpet, mumbling something in a language Taj’s translator couldn’t identify.

  Glass shattered above them, raining down on their heads.

  Gack, Taj shouted across their mental comm link, furious that they’d surrendered their obvious weapons to the Heltrol soldiers.

  She hadn’t expected them to be attacked en route to the palace, and she didn’t want anyone knowing that she and her people were armed and armored. She wanted that to be a surprise in case they needed an unexpected advantage.

  Taj caught a flicker of motion outside and spied a force of ragtag soldiers closing on the vehicle. The men were dressed in robes and fought with aggressive zeal. The Heltrol engaged them, but it was clear the royal guard was outnumbered. Blaster fire sounded all around as more attackers joined the first.

  We can’t just sit here, Taj told the others. We’re an easy target cooped up in this vehicle.

  Not to mention those flames are getting a little too close for comfort, Cabe said, gesturing toward the front of the vehicle where telltale flickers of orangish-red spit sparks through the cracks in the window. The armored glass began to melt under the pressure.

  One of the Heltrol soldiers was struck by a barrage of blaster fire and slammed into the side of the vehicle. She slumped out of sight, and Taj saw a second soldier drop a moment after, spatters of blood dotting the vehicle. Commander Rolkar screamed something incomprehensible and she and her soldiers pushed forward, disappearing into the swirling black smoke, firing their weapons as they went.

  Gack it, Taj muttered across the link. I don’t know about you guys, but this doesn’t feel right to me. We need to get out of here and defend ourselves without anyone seeing what we’re capable of.

  She nudged Krawg aside, using the suit’s system to increase her strength, grateful that the armor didn’t need to look like armor to maintain its normal functions.

  The Ursite flopped over onto Zel, dramatically driving an elbow into the base of the man’s skull and knocking the representative unconscious where he sat hunched on the floor.

  “Oops,” Krawg mumbled, and Taj hoped the monarchy hadn’t installed cameras in the vehicle because there was no way Krawg’s maneuver looked anything remotely like an accident. At least the rep was no longer a witness to what they were doing, though.

  Don’t alter your uniforms or draw weapons unless you absolutely have to, Taj told the crew as Dent went to the door and eased it open. Stay in character.

  That’s the kind of thing that’s gonna get us shot, Torbon complained.

  Maybe, Taj replied, but do it anyway. And drag Zel out so the fire doesn’t get him. Wouldn’t be a good start to the trip if we let him burn up.

  Yeah, because the rest of this is wonderful, Cabe complained.

  Between the swirl of smoke, Taj caught a glimpse of movement outside, a wave of dark shadows moving through an alley toward them, but she couldn’t make out the red and black of the Heltrol.

  Trouble’s coming, she told the crew.

  Taj leapt out of the vehicle, past Dent, and rolled across the ground, snatching up one of the pistols the fallen Heltrol had dropped. She familiarized herself with the gun as quickly as she could, her optic display simplifying the process by feeding her the schematics, and she loosed a barrage of fire in the direction of the approaching enemy she couldn’t see very clearly.

  And then she suddenly could, the world clearing before her eyes.

  She regretted the clarity immediately.

  I’ve remotely activated your advanced vision optics, Dent said over the link, explaining the sudden, unexpected shift.

  “I see,” she muttered. Literally.

  Gack!

  Something in the neighborhood of twenty robed soldiers stormed toward the stalled vehicle and Taj and her crew. They were clearly locals, wearing hooded masks that covered
their faces but left their four eyes visible. Their outfits were plain, black, and unidentifiable without any markings, and all of them carried rifles of some sort.

  Now that she could target them effectively, Taj’s next burst of fire dropped one and staggered another, but the attackers were too spread out to hit easily.

  Fortunately, the rest of the crew joined her a moment later and collected more fallen weapons, plenty of them lying about. Bursts of energy ripped past her and tore into the charging enemy, slowing their advance as the attackers reacted, but not stopping them completely.

  They came forward with a purpose.

  Taj could hear the battle echoing all around her. Rolkar’s voice cut through the din of war as though she were off in the distance, making Taj wonder how the woman intended to protect them if she was nowhere near to do so.

  Guess we need to do it ourselves, she thought, not sending that comment to her companions.

  “Move there,” she called out, pushing back against the crew and maneuvering them around the corner, putting a wall in between them and the attackers, if only for a few seconds. Lina dragged the unconscious Zel behind her, setting him against the wall to their backs.

  Taj glanced toward the last vehicle in the caravan to see that it, too, had been engulfed in flames, black smoke billowing through its shattered windows. A small number of Heltrol bodies littered the street around the vehicle, but Taj didn’t count more than four or five.

  Where are the rest of them? she asked herself.

  There wasn’t time to ponder the answer as the squad of attackers rounded the corner, taking aim at the vehicle as they ran toward it. They were clearly unable to see past the smoke, Taj held up her fist to stop her crew from firing right away and drawing their attention. She crouched, motioning for the others to follow her movements.

  Wait a second, she warned, trailing the attackers with her gun as they crept to encircle the vehicle. Let them all get into the open.

  Seconds passed slowly as Taj waited. She wanted nothing more than to blast these guys in the back and mow them down, but she knew there was something wrong and she wasn’t going to take any chances. There were simply too many enemies, all too well-prepared, to have made the attack one of opportunity. Someone had to have known the vehicles would be coming this way, and it didn’t bode well for the Furlorians that an enemy would have such advanced knowledge of their arrival.

  She looked into the distance again, still unable to see Commander Rolkar and her soldiers despite the continued sounds of fighting going on around them.

  A niggling boulder of doubt sat hard in her stomach. Rolkar hadn’t just left them to their fate, she’d abandoned Zel, too. That didn’t sit right with Taj.

  “Now!” she called, reverting to speech out of habit once the group of assailants cleared the corner.

  She tapped the trigger of her borrowed weapon over and over as the attackers spread out before them, backs turned. They were caught off guard, clearly having believed their target—be it the Furlorians or Zel, Taj hadn’t yet determined—were still in the vehicle and the way had been cleared.

  Unfortunately for them, that wasn’t the case at all.

  Bolts ripped into the unarmored backs of the assailants, ripping them apart without a hint of mercy. The attackers grunted and screamed and fell beneath the barrage, the crew taking them out before any of them could process what was happening and dive for cover.

  A few moments later, the assailants were on the ground, dead or dying.

  The sound of fighting grew weaker in the distance soon after, and Taj spied one of the masked men roll to his side and start to crawl beneath the vehicle as she surveyed the scene. His tattered robes dragged behind him.

  “Watch the rest of them,” she told her crew, gesturing to the last of the dying enemies.

  She hissed low in her throat and ran over to the fleeing man, grabbing him by his leg and yanking him out before he managed to get more than half his body under cover. He cursed and shouted, but he couldn’t break free of her grip.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” she snarled, baring her teeth in his face as she pressed the barrel of her gun to his temple. He froze then, and Taj whipped the mask off his head so she could look him in the eyes.

  Well, in a couple of them, at least.

  “Who sent you?” she shouted, bombarding the survivor with questions. “Who are you after? Why are you here? What’s all this about?”

  The Zoranthian snarled, shaking his head in defiance and saying nothing. A trickle of blood ran from his mouth, down his chin, and pattered to his chest. One of his four eyes was bloodshot and looked in a different direction than the rest, swimming about in its socket.

  Taj glared at the man, taking in the thick scar that ran from his scalp, across his wayward eye, and all the way to his cheekbone. It looked like a crescent moon, the puckered skin silvery with sweat.

  The rest of the crew circled Taj, keeping watch on the remainder of the assailants, most of whom had surrendered to their wounds and had stopped moving. Only a few still twitched, but that was short-lived. Silence settled over the group as Taj willed the survivor to talk, her eyes boring into him.

  “Tell me why you’re here,” she pressed, though it was clear the man had no intention of giving up any information.

  Right then, Commander Rolkar reappeared, a dozen of her Heltrol soldiers at her back. They burst through the smoke, weapons bared, racing toward the crew screaming.

  “Everyone freeze!” Rolkar shouted, her gun sweeping the area. The Heltrol formed a half-circle around the Furlorians, weapons pointed at them.

  Taj growled at the woman. “Seriously?” she snapped, stepping away from her captive for just a second to complain to the commander.

  That distraction was all it took.

  There was a shuffle and a clank, and a small, round device clattered across the road, bouncing into the pile of bodies littering the street.

  “Grenade!” a soldier screamed, and everyone scattered. Rolkar dove behind the abandoned vehicle.

  Taj cursed under her breath and leapt, hitting the ground and rolling away from the weapon her captive had unleashed. The rest of the crew scrambled right along with her, piling up over Zel. Krawg triggered his armor’s external defenses, a force field shimmering around him as he threw his arms around the crew and pulled them in tight, his back to the grenade.

  The device exploded a moment later.

  Taj felt a wallop of energy wash over them, Krawg holding his ground mightily as shrapnel pattered across the energy shield he’d thrown up. The Ursite groaned under the pressure, and then his weight slumped down over them as the shockwave passed. He let out a loud sigh, and Taj felt his weight ease up a little. His shield wavered and fell away.

  “That was rather climactic,” he muttered, clambering to his feet a moment later and letting the rest of the crew get up.

  “How did you know there was a force field on the armor?” Lina asked Krawg, her ears pinned to the side of her head.

  He shrugged his furry shoulders. “I didn’t.”

  Taj’s eyes went wide as she stared at him. “Wait. What do you mean you didn’t know?”

  I activated it, Dent said across the mental link. Krawg was quite the hero, but I figured he might need some assistance since his fur, however matted and water resistant it might be, likely wouldn’t be much protection from shrapnel. The armor would have certainly helped in his heroic quest, but I figured it best to be certain.

  “Never know until you try, right, Krawg?” Torbon asked, chuckling.

  The hulking Ursite grunted. Taj didn’t know if that was him agreeing with Torbon or not. Either way, she was glad Dent had equipped them for their mission and had the presence of mind to involve himself even if he hadn’t actually informed them of all the things the suits could do.

  She would need to correct that oversight soon.

  “Are you all right?” Commander Rolkar asked the crew, rounding the vehicle. Her soldiers joi
ned her. She walked over, subconsciously dusting layers of grit off her armor as if it was the biggest issue she faced.

  “No thanks to—” Cabe started, baring his teeth, but Taj elbowed him in the side, shutting him up before he could finish.

  “We’re fine, thank you,” Taj answered, handing her borrowed weapon to the commander as if it disgusted her. “We’re just lucky to have found a few of these things lying about that we could use to defend ourselves.” While Taj hadn’t meant to be snippy, she couldn’t help but let a tiny bit of fire leak into her tone. She caught herself, though, and stepped back into the role of princess before she let the commander have it and she ruined everything. “Our security man here did most of the work, fortunately,” she said, motioning toward Krawg. “We’re not much for gunfights, to be fair.”

  Commander Rolkar’s eyes narrowed, and Taj wasn’t sure if the woman believed the act or not. “Yes, it is fortunate your security detail was with you. Things got a bit chaotic out here.”

  She glanced around at the smoldering bodies of the assailants the Furlorians had taken down, parts scattered all over thanks to the grenade’s explosion. The woman sighed unexpectedly, the hardness of her features giving way to frustration.

  “The zealots lured us away,” she explained, gesturing toward the other side of the wrecked vehicle where she’d been, her voice actually wavering as she spoke. “They’ve never come at us with so many, nor have they used these types of tactics before, splitting their forces and coordinating their efforts. They normally come at us in a horde, all at once, straight on like maniacs. This, however, was…quite different.”

  Taj narrowed her eyes, staring at the commander as if she could suss out whether the woman was being honest or not. She was disappointed, though, unable to determine anything for certain, but now wasn’t the time to question the commander, she realized.

  Taj and her people had a mission to accomplish, and they needed to get on with it. “Is there another vehicle we can—”

  “Wait!” Rolkar called out, clearly realizing something was amiss and cutting Taj off. She glanced around, head on a swivel. “Where is Zel?”