Revenge blackout book 7, p.1
Revenge (Blackout Book 7), page 1
Blackout: Revenge
Book 7
Daniel Young
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
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1
Captain Jackson Keogh snapped a fresh fuel cell into his weapon and stuck the handheld in his pocket. He did his best to ignore the protests and grumbles behind him, but in the end, he gave it up.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“Is this the thanks we get for all our hard work?”
“How do you expect to work with these people if they don’t respect the rest of us?”
Jackson turned around to face Roy Rawles, Liri and Lana, Quort, Woolzi, Bombie, Wicklow, Hitori Haru, and Ogul lined up to confront him. Not one of them looked at all happy about this. Even Benedict scowled at Jackson, though the huge Grocit didn’t take part in the discussion.
“Listen,” Jackson began. “I already explained this to you. I’m meeting with the highest commanders from the Order of Magna. These guys are straight military. From what we saw when we tried to invade their territory, they’re highly disciplined and strictly committed to protocol.”
“Are you saying I’m not straight military?” Roy demanded. “I’m as straight military as you are, Captain.”
Lana snorted. “You hang around with that monster and a ragtag band of aliens and criminals. You couldn’t be straight military if you tried, pal.”
“We’re the commanders of the Black Congregation forces,” Bombie pointed out. “We have as much right to liaise with the Order of Magna commanders as you do.”
“I’m not arguing with you about that,” Jackson replied. “I’m not arguing with you about any of it. When it comes to waging this war, I’m counting on all of you just as much as them—if not more. I just want to soften the blow, as it were. I want to ease them into the idea of working with us. Christ knows I’m not straight military anymore, either. I’m as much a criminal and a rebel as the rest of you.”
“Why should they balk at working with criminals and rebels?” Quort rumbled. “They’re just as outside the law as we are.”
“They’re the law in their own territory, and I don’t think I have to remind you that we’re guests in their territory with nowhere else on the planet we can go. We’ve alienated everyone else.” Jackson slammed the weapons cupboard shut. “Besides, this is just a preliminary meeting. Once I break the ice, we’ll all meet together to discuss our strategy. Then they’ll have no choice but accept all of us.”
“How do you know they’ll let you make any decisions at all about our strategy?” Liri asked. “How do you know you won’t be answering to their commanders instead of them answering to you? By meeting with them, you could be making all of us subordinate to the Order of Magna.”
“That won’t happen. Now can we stop talking about this? I have to go.”
“How do you know it won’t happen?”
“Because…” Jackson stopped himself. He still hadn’t told his crew—his closest confidantes—about what had happened inside the Order of Magna temple. “I just know.”
He headed for the door leading to the discharge ramp. Hitori and Woolzi stepped out of line to join him, but the others didn’t move.
“You can’t leave us in the dark like this,” Roy called after him. “We’ve covered too much real estate to just go along blindly without some explanation. None of us is here out of some misplaced loyalty to any faction. We deserve to know what’s going on.”
Jackson stopped with his hand on the door latch and heaved a deep sigh. When he turned around a second time, he realized that Roy was right. “All right. I’ll tell you. I’m doing this because of Arlyane.”
The whole group froze and stared at him. “Arlyane!” Lana fired back. “What does he have to do with this?”
“Don’t you wonder what happened to him after the Battle of Lulin? Don’t you wonder how Wicklow and Bombie and Creet and Montayne and all the other pilots from Arlyane’s faction ended up on board stolen Keter Legion ships, working for the Black Congregation? Go on, Wicklow. Tell us all about it. Bombie? How did it happen? What happened to Arlyane after the battle to defeat the Legion?”
Bombie glanced up at Wicklow. The big, bearded rebel glared at Jackson and pursed his lips. His beard stuck out straight from his face. “I don’t know what happened to Arlyane. He told us to go to the Black Congregation, and then he left by himself. He didn’t tell us where he was going.”
“Right. When Woolzi and I went into the temple, we met with Patrina Oligani. She was every bit as looney as you said.”
“I don’t understand you,” Liri replied. “What does this have to do with Arlyane?”
“If she’s crackers, how do you think I got permission to command the Order of Magna troops? Who do you think gave me that mandate?”
“How should we know?” Lana countered. “We assumed it was one of her henchpeople.”
“Right. During our interview with her, one of her lieutenants spoke up and started spouting a bunch of hooey about bringing their Votek to the throne. He said I would take command of their forces to bring…” Jackson waved the subject away. “I don’t remember half of what he said. I was too surprised when he pulled back his hood, and who do you think it was?”
Liri’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets. “Arlyane—he’s here?”
“He’s in disguise…or rather, he’s undercover. Don’t ask me how he knew where we’d be, or how to position himself so he could help us. I don’t understand half of what goes on in that dude’s head, and I don’t want to know.”
“The conniving little shit!” Quort grumbled. “He might have told us before he let the Order of Magna wipe out half our force.”
“My best guess is that he’s been angling to place his most trusted people in every faction. He wants to call on them when he needs them.”
“That part makes sense,” Lana added. “He spent years courting the Bedots so he could call on Uzud when the time came.”
“That’s not all,” Jackson went on. “Nikos and Oberon Dao mentioned that they wanted to ‘negotiate’ with Arlyane. I smelled a rat right away, so I’m guessing Arlyane smelled it, too. He wanted to short-circuit all the other factions’ schemes and machinations to defeat him. He put his most trusted people where he knew they’d be able to do him the most good, and then he disappeared. He knew his people couldn’t infiltrate the Order of Magna, so he did that himself. He snuck into the position that would give him the biggest advantage, as one of Patrina’s handlers—one of the priests that speaks for her and interprets her so-called prophecies.”
“Does he know we’re here?” Liri asked. “Does he know we’re with you?”
“Is that all you can think about at a time like this?” Roy countered. “We’re about to join forces with an enemy faction and you’re worried about impressing Arlyane?”
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to him myself,” Jackson interrupted. “We were in the presence of a bunch of other priests, guards, and Patrina herself. He had to play the part, but I wouldn’t put it past him to know where everyone is at any given time.”
“How can he?” Ogul asked. “No one can know everything.”
“He sent his people to fight for the Black Congregation in stolen Legion vessels,” Jackson told him. “Those ships all received tracer data from every other active Legion vessel. He’d be stupid not to monitor his people and their activities. There are a lot of words I can think of to describe Arlyane, but ‘stupid’ isn’t one of them.”
Woolzi waggled his antennae. “Monitor Vigilant. Monitor Blackout.”
“Exactly. With one ship of his own, or even some remote access to the data feed, he could have kept track of everyone—even the Black Congregation. It was the perfect plan.”
“So what are we going to do?” Ogul asked. “How are we going to use him to achieve our ends?”
“We aren’t going to use him. We’re going to let him use us. He’s the big commander here, not me,” Jackson said. “He’s a thousand times more astute than I am, and from what you told me, Lana, he has this whole war outlined down to the gnat’s ass. I’ll keep taking orders from him for as long as I can. I’ll coordinate the Order of Magna troops and get them working with what’s left of our own force.”
“How are you going to do that?” Quort asked. “How do you know the Order of Magna commanders won’t try to take over our forces?”
“They won’t because Arlyane won’t let them. We have some Grocit left, and a good number of Urvals. We can call on more from the slums and slave ghettos all over the planet. We have the Silden from the Kalichi. Bombie, Wicklow, and the twins will continue to pose as pilots in the Black Congregation fleet.”
Roy scratched his head. “You think that’ll be enough to take on the Krakzid?”
Jackson took hold of the door handle again. “I’m hoping these commanders can tell me what Arlyane thinks. Hold the fort until I get back.”
He walked out onto the discharge ramp with Woolzi and Hitori right behind him. Of his whole crew, these two looked the least like gutter rebels. Hell, Jackson looked like one himself.
The trio left the Blackout and crossed the massive square under the towering Order of Magna temple. They entered the Bayonet’s open discharge ramp and made their way to the command conference room.
He crossed to the podium and switched on its display. He pulled up a map of Lulin to show the Order of Magna commanders the terrain he wanted to take first.
“This good idea, Captain?” Woolzi squeaked. “This no trap?”
“I was just about to ask the same question,” Hitori added. “We’re completely at these people’s mercy.”
“If they wanted to kill or imprison us, they didn’t have to pretend to work with us to do that.” Jackson frowned at the screen embedded in the podium. He studied the Vigilant’s onboard charts. He tried to locate the nearest Krakzid strongholds when, out of nowhere, a stream of tiny characters flowed across the display.
He squinted to make them out. They formed a miniature banner scrolling from right to left. The commanders coming to visit you are named Anzon Zais, Rakaz Strok, and Ned Khul. Anzon is on the Krakzid take, and Rakaz is a Keter Legion plant. Ned works for me. Then the screen switched back to the map.
Jackson didn’t have to ask who this mysterious me was. He could well guess.
“Captain take precautions,” Woolzi went on. “Search commanders when come in.”
“That won’t be necessary, Woolzi. These men are supposed to be our friends. Besides, Hitori and I are armed, and you’re as good as. It wouldn’t be sporting for us to disarm them while we stay armed.”
Another stream of words crossed before Jackson’s eyes. Anzon will try to steer you toward the Krakzid base at the Valvalara Multiplex. That is a trap, and the Krakzid are waiting for you there in force. Rakaz will try to lead you to the Bone Yard south of Tuido. The remnant of the Legion is in hiding there. They hope to seize the ships stolen from them. They lack the strength to succeed, but engaging with them will be a waste of time.
The words vanished again and left the chart unobstructed. Jackson waited for another message, but just then, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor. He nodded to Hitori, who stepped close to the door. The motion sensor opened it, and the three Order of Magna commanders entered.
2
No one would ever suspect the Order of Magna commanders were anything other than one hundred percent loyal to their faction. All three wore spotless uniforms, each with a different insignia on their lapels.
Jackson approached them and extended his hand to each one in turn. “Thank you for coming to meet me. My name is Jackson Keogh. I’m a captain in the Zenith Militia.”
A tall, burly man with scattered wrinkles on his translucent face shook Jackson’s hand. “Your reputation precedes you, Captain. I am Lieutenant Anzon Zais. May I introduce Brigadier Rakaz Strok and Sergeant Major Ned Khul?”
Jackson did his best to keep his expression blank while he greeted the other two as politely as possible. “How does a sergeant major become a commander of such a large force? Wouldn’t a higher-ranking officer make a better choice?”
Ned bristled exactly the way Jackson expected, but he didn’t speak. Did Arlyane tell Ned that Jackson was taking information from Arlyane, too?
Ned didn’t look much younger than Anzon. In fact, all three commanders looked about the same age, though Rakaz wasn’t as grizzled and weather-beaten as the other two.
Jackson’s first impression of Ned gave him no indication that Ned was anything but absolutely firm in his commitment to the Order of Magna. He presented himself as neatly groomed as Rakaz, with not one thread out of place. No one would ever pick him as a rebel.
“Believe it or not,” Anzon went on, “we sometimes find it difficult to find anyone in the faction qualified for command positions. When someone comes to the High Overseer’s attention, we bring the person onto the Order of Magna promotion scheme immediately. Their character and qualities determine their post, not their rank.”
“Ned is a credit to his faction.” Rakaz clapped Ned hard on the shoulder. “I only wish we discovered had him years ago.”
“How do you discover qualified officers?” Jackson asked. “How could such a marvel go unnoticed for so long?”
Anzon shrugged. “The Order of Magna is a big faction covering miles of Lulin neighborhoods. Thousands of people work in menial jobs all over our territory. We couldn’t possibly discover them all, no matter how exceptional they are.”
Jackson turned to Ned. “How did you get discovered, then?”
“Our previous shoemaker died and we needed a replacement.” Rakaz laughed loudly and slapped Ned hard on the back again. “Ned here shoed fifty thousand soldiers in a year, with a team of seven Urvals and ten Silden. Now that’s what I call leadership!”
Rakaz and Anzon exploded with laughter, but Ned only scowled. He narrowed his eyes at Jackson. Jackson’s questions nettled Ned and made him mistrust Jackson.
So much the better. Jackson didn’t want Ned trusting him. He didn’t want this man confiding in him, and Jackson didn’t want to confide in Ned. He wanted both of them to keep their secrets for as long as possible.
Jackson waved behind him toward the table. “Well! Come on in and let’s get started. These are my friends, Woolzi and Hitori Haru.”
Anzon frowned. “You call a Silden a friend? You should be more careful.”
“I’m Zenith, not Keteran,” Jackson told him. “We have a culture of treating everyone equally, including alien species. We have Urvals, Grocit, and other species fighting side by side in our forces, and even holding command positions.”
All three commanders stiffened. “We don’t operate that way.”
“These aliens are our friends and willing supporters, not our inferiors. Woolzi represents a body of free Silden who have chosen to help us free Keter from the Krakzid. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather fight alongside them than against them.”
Anzon and Rakaz exchanged glances. “You might find it hard to convince any Keterans of that.”
“I have Keterans on my crew who have no problem with treating the Silden as equals The same goes for the Urvals. If you have a problem with them, I suggest you withdraw from this association now.”
Jackson already knew they wouldn’t, and Anzon shrugged off the suggestion. “I’m sure our High Overseer wouldn’t assign us to work with you if it wasn’t acceptable.” He moved closer to the table. “Let’s get started.”
The three commanders took their places, but somehow, no one sat down. Jackson stepped behind the podium. He half-dreaded what he would see there. He didn’t see any words right at this moment, but that could change at any time.
He projected the chart onto the large wall screen. “As you can see from this map and I’m sure you already know, the Krakzid have established numerous bases all over the planet. Some are better supplied than others. This base here at Tiquill acts as a supply hub for the rest of the Krakzid presence on Keter. The Krakzid have to ship all necessary supplies from Tiquill to their other bases. I suggest we hit this first while our combined force is at its strongest. Once we cut off the supply line, the other bases will fall more easily, which will be important if we take heavy losses seizing this base.”
“What about the Valvalara Multiplex?” Anzon interjected. “It acts as an even more crucial supply depot for a Krakzid larger population.”
“Valvalara is too far away,” Jackson explained. “Besides, we already have Silden allies closer to it. They’ve attacked the Multiplex before, and they could be prevailed upon to do it again.”
“Why not divide our force between both?” Rakaz suggested. “If your goal is to weaken the Krakzid by limiting their supplies, then eliminating both depots would be more effective than one or the other.”
Jackson was just about to shut this suggestion down when another line of letters appeared on his display. Amazingly, they didn’t transmit to the projection screen for all to see. Valvalara is near enough to the Bone Yard that the Legion could reach it with enough advanced warning. Rakaz plans to lead the Order of Magna into an attack on the Krakzid, where the Legion will ambush them. The Legion hopes to recapture enough weapons and equipment to restore their former dominance.
