Starlight Gleaming Ch. 19

He scanned them, then snapped out, "What is this! Some kind of joke?"

I shook my head. "No joke. Lieutenants Keedro, Franjammo, Parthesque, Quedestar, and Lixowalt are in the stockade on multiple felony charges. Your wife has asked me to Intercede on her behalf, so here I am."

"What did they do?"

Shaking my head, I said, "Among other things, they assaulted a superior officer, Master Xochatsm. Until JAG has ruled on the matter, it's not your concern. Unless you're somehow involved in their behavior?"

Arvine narrowed his gaze at me. "You want that stupid cunt, don't you. I want a thousand credits for her."

"No, actually I don't want her, and all I have is twenty-three credits in cash. You can do what you want, but she's already out of your reach. You sign the divorce papers, you keep the dowry, she gets her freedom and the kids, and you are free to remarry. Everyone wins."

"Since those idiots are in trouble, it seems I have no further use for them. As for Breena, she is a total and complete whore," he replied derisively, scanning the papers again. "She sucks cock and licks asses. She'll even eat shit. Can you believe it? The slut can't keep her legs together when she's around other men. Completely untrustworthy. I was looking forward to exposing her adulterous ways and seeing her bound and naked in the stocks, getting what she deserved."

I gave him a grim smile. "This will be a quicker and much cheaper way to get rid of her, and I'll pay the filing costs. As soon as it's filed, you're rid of her."

He glanced at Sergeant Mack and Corporal Haytam, then shrugged. Snapping a finger, the guard next to him produced a pen, and Arvine signed. He didn't even ask about his own sons. Scanning through a third time and satisfied he'd found all the places requiring his signature, he handed the papers back to me. "You're welcome to her. Even the sight of her turns my stomach. She's not even good for a hate-fuck anymore."

Taking the papers, I put them into my pocket. "Oh? Why is that?"

"Too much damn white blood. That cunt has whites on both sides of her family! Can you imagine? Everyone knows that whites and blacks aren't real people. They're inferior! Mixing with their primitive kind pollutes our race and brings down our nation."

I saw Cholan stiffen.

"Indeed?" I replied calmly, my own anger rising.

"It's up to you, of course, but I certainly wouldn't breed with her."

"But you did," I countered. I looked, and realized the setting sun had darkened the room where we were, that in the half-light Arvine hadn't noticed my difference in color or my eyes.

Arvine's face darkened in anger. "That's before I knew better. There are a lot more people who feel just like I do, Commander. The Atlanteans and the Aesir? They're fucking ghosts, diluting our pure bloodlines. It's a travesty. Personally, I think blond hair is obscene, and our people shouldn't even be allowed to dye their hair that color."

"I see," I said.

Arvine continued, apparently eager to talk about his racist beliefs. "As for the Ashoka, Dogo, and Zimbabweans? All darkie scum, to be wiped off our feet. We should attack them all, blacks and whites -- burn them and everything they have to the ground, to make room for real human beings."

"What about the Shingye? Tongwe, and the Vedans?"

"Oh, them, too! They're all dirty vermin that should not be allowed to come here. Damn filthy immigrants! They come here and take our good jobs, they bring down the property values, and before you know it, they're trying to intermix with their betters, trying to dilute the purity of our people. We don't want or need their kind here. They aren't even fit to be slaves, because eventually some of them will earn their freedom. And those mongrels already here? They need to be culled. It's the only decent thing to do."

"And it would be better if one married within the same tribe, wouldn't it," I prompted.

"Exactly!" Arvine confirmed with a smile. "It's a fact that some tribes are superior to others."

"Like the Nahua?" I offered.

He gestured disparagingly. "They're decent enough, as far as it goes. Not as gifted as our own people, of course."

"Oexicans?"

"Don't make me laugh! Stupid farmers! That's all they're good for."

I glanced at Korreem. "You wanted to discuss your matter, Captain?"

Standing up, he put his tablet away. "No, the matter is moot now. I'm a witness."

I stepped closer to Arvine, my face coming into the brighter light of the main room.

He looked at me, then jerked back. "Hey! You have blue eyes!"

"Imagine that," I said. "I am a nobleman. Before a member of Imperial Security, you have slandered my House and several members of my family, Master Xochatsm. I will contact your lord. If he is not willing to pay me one hundred thousand Imperial credits to save your life, then I will be back to end you."

"One hundred thousand! You're crazy! And so much for your honor, if you can buy it off with money!"

"You think I care about the money?" I snapped back. "You arrogant upstart. The only reason you aren't dead right now is because of your employer, Tlokan Armaments. If you can pay the damages, I want it to hurt your pocketbook like a kick to the balls. I'm actually hoping the money isn't paid so I can legally kill you with my bare hands."

"What if I don't let you leave here?" Arvine said, taking a step back. The guards near him shifted, moving closer.

Speaking loudly, I said, "Make another move, Xocatsm, and it'll be the last step you take." Turning to the guard, I added, "Do not reach for that pistol. Not if you want to live."

Mack and Haytam charged their rifles, pointing them at Arvine. Arvine's guards on the mezzanine began to move, looking for a clean shot.

Just then a heavy rumbling noise could be heard coming closer, followed by the welcome sound of rotors cutting the air. Bright searchlights from above briefly lit up the gardens outside, and a second one moved along the large windows before vanishing.

Outside, a loudspeaker blared out, "This is the Imperial Ground Service. In the name of the Emperor, throw down your weapons and step away from them or be destroyed. This is your only warning. You have five seconds to comply."

A servant ran to the mezzanine railing. "Master, three tanks and several ChoCacs with machine guns have broken down the gate! And they have three gunships with them! What shall we do?"

Without a doubt, I had the best brother in the world. It was hard to keep the smile off my face.

Shoulders slumping, Arvine sighed, taking a look at my name tag. "Seems you have the advantage, Lord Kandikan. Don't resist, Jono."

"Xocatsm, take two steps back, hands behind your head and down on your knees," I instructed. "Jono, is it? Take all your weapons out, nice and slow. Easy. That's it. Set onto the floor, real easy. Join your master there. Hands behind your head and on your knees. Troopers, if they try anything, make sure the first two rounds take out our host."

Korreem ordered his assistants to disarm and gather the other guards into the front room. Mack and Haytam kept their rifles pointed at Xochatsm. With one trooper, he might be tempted to try something. With two guarding him, the odds of taking them both out before he was shot were pretty slim.

I collected Jono's weapons and exhaled.

Cholan slid up beside me. "Commander, you need to come with me."

"I'll keep them under watch," Korreem said, obviously intrigued.

Striding quickly down the hall, Cholan looked into various doors, passing them by until we found the library. Quickly searching around, she hurried over to the mantel above the fireplace, trying several fixtures. One easily rotated and she turned it until it clicked.

A huge grin lit her face as a large bookcase panel beside the fireplace popped open. Pulling the doorway open, Cholan stepped into the narrow alcove and went to the wall safe. On the back of the panel was a large poster in red and black Mayan letters, exulting the people to rise up and join The Night Hunters, exhorting the people to throw out all foreign invaders.

The Night Hunters were an outlawed separatist movement.

I removed the poster, rolling it up, then watched Cholan work, turning it left, then to the right. Leaning close, she carefully turned the dial left again and pulled the lever. It clicked and opened.

"Are you a safecracker, too, Island Girl?"

She snickered as she started pulling things out. "No, Breena told me where to look and the combination. My sister acted stupidly, but she paid attention."

Pulling out a large cloth sack from her rear pocket, she reached in and pulled out a box. Opening it, it contained jewelry. "Some of this is from my family. It went to Breena as the eldest." She dumped everything into her bag.

There were also other items in the safe. A pistol, five stacks of cash, another two stacks of what looked like bonds and stocks, and three journals.

"Give me all the jewelry," I told her. "Put the rest into the bag."

She grinned. "Okay."

Keys came out of one pocket and earrings and necklaces and rings went in. I moved the keys to my empty breast pocket, and after folding the divorce papers and pushing them to the back, I buttoned it up the pocket.

I briefly scanned one of the books. It turned out to be a ledger with names and dates and payment amounts. The other two books were the same. Everything went into the bag.

"Jackpot, Cholan."

My island girl grinned at me, and holding the bulging bag, she closed the safe. Collecting the poster, we stepped out of the alcove, and Cholan pushed the door until we heard a click, the hidden door locking into place.

As we turned around, there stood a woman about five months pregnant, her long black hair in wild disarray. She was barefoot, wearing a simple house shirt and shorts, glaring at us. Arvine's new mistress.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "And what were you doing with my husband's safe?"

Cholan took a breath at the declaration, then said, "If you want out, we can get you out. You don't have to stay here."

"My husband is rich and powerful!" she scoffed, then zeroed in on the bag. "Thieves! Wait, you look familiar. Your name's Cholan... now where do I know that from?" Then she suddenly grinned, pointing at my lover. "Ah hah! You're Breena's little sister. You're the bastard!"

"Hold this, please." Cholan pushed the bag at me and I nearly dropped it.

"What do you think--"

Out snapped her fist and Arvine's woman went down with a screech, grabbing at her nose."You fucking bitch! You hit me!"

Blood dribbled down her chin and onto her cream house shirt, staining it.

Cholan held up her fist, grinning fiercely. "Damn right I did. And if you know what's good for you, bitch, you'll stay down and shut up. Ah, ah, ah! Try it, and I'll break both your arms -- and then you won't even be able to wipe your own ass. See if I don't!"

I was impressed. The punch had been perfect.

Apparently Arvine's mistress was likewise impressed. She held her tongue, sniffling and cradling her bloody nose as we strode out.

Back in the front room. I handed the poster to Korreem. He opened it, and his eyebrows rose.

"That was in a hidden alcove. We found these, too." I handed him the bag.

He looked into it briefly, pulling out one of the books. Then looked impressed. "I shall enjoy going through this."

Arvine looked up, realizing what we had. "You... you broke into my safe! You had no right -- argh!"

When I turned around, he fell over into a ball, whimpering, unable to do anything while cuffed.

"That's for my sister, you stupid fuck!" Cholan shouted. Then she kicked him again. "And that's for my nephews. Big man beating up on little kids. I'm going to teach them to hate you, and when you're dead, we're all going to fucking piss on your grave!"

The front doors crashed open. Several Ground Service soldiers in full battle gear stormed in, pouring inside and moving by fire team. One team joined us to put the civilians under guard. Another flanked left and quickly yet carefully ascended the stairs, alert for any hostile actions. Two more groups swept by, pushing deeper into the house.

Behind them strode an officer flanked by two riflemen in heavy gear. Up went the visor.

Bilan.

"Hey! Has anyone seen my little brother? Goes by the name of Commander Kandikan? I think he's lost." He lowered his own rifle and exhaled, shaking his head at me. "Ah, Ranji! There you are!"

Tapping Cholan on the shoulder, I walked up to him. "I know, I know. I totally messed up and you had to come save my ass. Again."

He laughed. "I'm telling you, Ranji! It's like a fucking daytime drama with you, You gallavant left and right, you get into a pickle, then I have to come bail you out. At least this time you appear to be in one piece. Are you?"

"I am, indeed," I confirmed. "Thank you for asking."

"Thank the gods for small favors. Your mother was extremely worried. Cholan, I'm surprised at you. I thought you had better sense than to tag along with him when he's busy knocking over hornet nests."

I think I surprised him when I pulled him close for a heartfelt hug. "You are the best brother in all the world."

He chuckled as he hugged me back. "And don't you forget it."

I pushed away. "You're don't have to be such an ass about it."

"Hey, I intend to milk this for all its worth, Ranji. This is worth a lot of cred with your mother and my sons."

Cholan moved next to me and I put my arm around her.

Korreem came over and they shook hands. It appeared they knew each other.

I nudged Cholan and we went over to Mack and Haytam. "Stand down, troopers. He belongs to Imperial Security now."

Safeties on, they fell in behind me and Cholan. I stopped by Korreem and Bilan. "Since you have this in hand, I'm going back to the war base."

Bilan pointed his finger at me. "I expect you to visit for at least a week after this inspection of yours is done, do you hear me? Your parents and my boys both demanded that during said visit that your girls come along. And I expect to hear everything, Ranji. That's just for starters."

"Done!"

Korreem nodded at me. "This isn't what I was expecting to happen at all, but I'll take it. If we need anything, we'll be by later or I'll contact you by secure email, Commander."

Then my brother surprised me by snapping to attention and giving me a salute. "The Ground Service has arrived, Commander Kandikan. Everything is now safe and secure."

I returned the salute. "Nice of the Ground Service to mop for Air Security, Captain. We'll make a Kandikan out of you yet."

"Surely you have that backward. Right now, there are more Monaycotes than Kandikans, and I don't see that changing any time soon."

Cholan approached Bilan and tugged on his shirt. He leaned down and she kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she said.

"For you, no problem, Cholan," he said warmly. Then he winked at me. "It's just too bad you are hanging around with this shady guy."

She thumped on his chest. "Don't badmouth my man, Captain!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Korreem laughed. "You're worried about her?"

"You don't understand, Captain. There's four more besides Cholan here. They all know my wife, and I guard his parents. If his women or his mother gets angry with me, I'm toast."

Korreem did a silent, "Oh."

I laughed. "Come on, Cholan, let's get out of here. Troopers, with me."

Outside, I slowed down a little. Aside from the porch light, it was nearly dark outside, yet I could see the destruction to the formerly pristine landscaping. Off side from the road indeed was a Tlokan 90 heavy battle tank. Beside it was a pair of Ocelots, flanked by six M-type ChoCacs, the machine-gunners in their bubble-turrets keeping watch.

Overhead, I heard two of the helicopters turn and fly off, but one remained on station, sweeping the area with a pair of searchlights. By the sound and silhouette, I knew it was a Raptor. During the fight at High Guard, I'd seen them deliver death, and I was impressed by their firepower.

Further back, past the ruined gates a half-dozen local police were parked, lights flashing.

As we approached our vehicles, one of the ChoCacs eased toward us, then stopped. The gunner on top saluted. "Commander Kandikan, we've been ordered to escort you back to the war base."

"Oh?"

"Not all the local police are interested in enforcing the law. Plus, there may be other armed men eager to get some retribution for what's happened here."

Since we were in staff vehicles, not security cruisers, we were a lot more vulnerable.

"So noted, Sergeant. Thank you," I replied, returning his salute.

Loading up into the vehicles, we turned around, and with one fighting vehicle leading the way, a second one pulled in behind us, keeping us safely bracketed. Even with their presence, my troopers scanned around, paying attention to our surroundings.

As we moved onto the road, I saw a new feature I'd only recently read about in a security dispatch.

Four small drones lifted from the ChoCac in front of us. Designated Guardian 5, these hunter-seeker drones they were controlled directly by the ChoCac's AI, and would seek out any hostile drones and attack them, thus preserving the main vehicle. The hunter-seekers had a pair of extendable arms that could latch on, and while one held the other drone in place, the second arm would be begin tearing at the wiring to destroy the target while aloft. The Guardians were also equipped with an explosive charge, so if they encountered a hostile position, the human operator could direct the drone to fly into the target and whereupon it would detonate on impact.

Only a few fighting units had these new drones. No surprise at all that Bilan had them. No doubt a gift from Tikún Travel.

The four deadly devices quietly went aloft, vanishing into the night air.

With the armed escort forcing their way forward, the police and bystanders moved aside, and we began our return journey back to the war base.

Cholan reached over and took my hand. I gave her a squeeze and a smile.

"Commander?" she asked. "Why did you tell your brother you messed up?"

"Because I did. Going there without finding out about her husband beforehand was a stupid mistake on my part, bordering on idiotic. Worse, because of what happened with trying to pay off Sowitwee's contract, I'd already had warning that Copán is rife with extensive political and criminal connections. No, I acted like I was still on a war base where I could expect people to behave within the rules and to respect my rank. I nearly got us killed, Cholan. If Bilan hadn't shown up when he did -- well, we would have taken some with us, but we could very easily died there. I recklessly endangered you and my troopers. For that, I'm sorry."

"But he did come," she countered.

I shook my head. "His job is to keep my parents safe, not to keep coming to my rescue. Twice I've been out among civilians, and twice he's left his post to come save me. I can't keep doing that. It's inconsiderate and unfair to my brother. He has his own job to do. If he decided to chew me out later, I would deserve it."

"You did what you set out to do, though. My sister does not deserve all that you've done for her. I don't like her very much, but I can't ignore the fact that she's my sister. You secured her a divorce and saved her, my nephews, and my niece. Whatever anyone else says, you're a good man, Commander."

"What do you say, Corporal Haytam? You were there. What is your assessment?"

Haytam glanced at me by way of the rearview mirror. "With all due respect, we can verify the commander has balls of steel."

Both women grinned at each other and I felt the heat on my cheeks. Even Cholan giggled.