Centauri Fury: A Harem Space Fantasy (Centauri Bliss Book 4) Page 14

  "This isn't chance. I don't buy it. This isn't just some weapon that the Emperor built getting out of control. The scepter was a failsafe, but this was all a part of the design if called upon," Jinx said.

  "I think so. In the event of the clans breaking out. One his heirs and high command knew about. Releasing something terrible, something that would win. I doubt Joline knew what she was doing, but she knew it was powerful," Mara said.

  That caused a moment of silence.

  "I still want to save them, if we can. Even if the Emperor weaponized the Sands, that isn't their fault," Melody said.

  "Does this change our plans?" Quinn asked.

  "I've already sent a message to my family. See that as a betrayal if you must, but they had to know. They won't wait on us. If we are going to act, we need to do it quickly," Mara said.

  Quinn really didn't like that. Mara said she was free of her implants’ control, but he wasn't sure how true that really was. Still, in this case he could understand. The whole of the Imperium was at risk from this, and with Joline moving fast someone needed to act just as quickly.

  "What about the scepter?" Quinn asked.

  More holograms appeared. Joline at what appeared to be public appearances. Vixana was almost always at her right hand, looking cowed. Joline was making her appearances in full regalia, sword and scepter at opposite hips, and wearing the crown and medallion.

  "Some of these look pretty public," Quinn said.

  "They are—she’s making a point to be seen, and to be seen being unafraid. Sending the message out that stability and peace have returned to the Imperium," Mara said.

  "All the better to get people to cooperate with her," Jinx said.

  "We hit her hard and fast, and with everything we've got. We're too pressed for time to go subtle and I don't see how we'd work it anyways," Taki said.

  "I can build us miniature versions of the bombs Mara's family have. I still doubt they'll be effective in killing her, but they may disorient her for a time," Kalisa said.

  "Do we release these recordings? Tell everyone what she’s really doing?" Jinx asked.

  "I can't see people believing us even if we did. And if we succeed, we totally shatter what is left of the Imperium," Tamara said.

  "But if we don't, we're just staying silent and letting people walk into being converted or turned into slurry," Taki said.

  Jinx decided, "I'll record something as the Queen of Thieves. Tell them to stay away, tell them we're coming to help. Tell them that if we fail, it’s up to them."

  "That will work. You've earned some credibility," Tamara said.

  "So we drop out overhead. Hit with our bombs. Ground every heavy-hitter we have and try to get the scepter and trigger a reboot. Then hope Melody is actually strong enough to seize control," Quinn said.

  It wasn't much of a plan, but simplest was sometimes best.

  "Send out any kind of message to the populace and she'll be expecting us," Taki said.

  "Let’s be honest, she’s expecting something anyways. If Jinx publicly calls her out, it just makes it all the more imperative that Joline show up. Her plan calls for the Imperium to see her confident and secure in her reign," Mara said.

  "Can my navy help at all?" Ice asked.

  "I don't see how. We can bring a few ships through with us with the runic sphere, and should, but not a fleet. And if you tried to fight your way through the Runestone you'd barely clear it before the defenses cut you to shreds. Still, maybe you should do it? You can lead them," Taki said.

  Ice made a face at her.

  "Do you want me to call any of the other Unshackled? It is in none of our interest to see a stronger Imperium. They may come," Kalisa said.

  "We still have to figure out if we should even allow you. That isn't a secure environment," Quinn said.

  "My people are coming, Quinn. I would be very surprised if I am the only Unshackled now in the Imperium. The quarantine is already broken."

  "There are two others loose in the Imperium. Ubrecht and Alleya," Mara said. "Which means she's right. I was all for keeping the quarantine, but we need her firepower. We stand little chance even with her."

  This was different than their other fights. This one wasn't taking place just where an enemy was strongest, but where they were nearly invincible. None of them thought they'd be coming back.

  28

  Jinx stood with the hold as the backdrop. As always, the Queen of Thieves outfit looked like the dubious sort of cosplay it was, although it did at least show off the glow of her runes.

  The speech was almost done, and she'd already gone through the evidence. Making the case of what Empress Joline was doing, of why the Imperium needed to be afraid.

  "I know this makes you want to fight. I know you feel the need to do something. For now, hold back, let me steal your fury and deliver it on your behalf," Jinx said.

  Mara signaled and killed the recording, and Jinx slumped.

  "That was terrible," Jinx said.

  "It wasn't. You've gotten good at this sort of thing," Tamara said.

  It didn't take a big team to do these recordings. Tamara helped with the script, Mara the holo-recording, and Quinn showed up for moral support and to admire Jinx in the outfit.

  "Get magic powers, drop out of school, become an exhibitionist, thief, and noted holo-personality," Jinx said wryly. "Least this is the time to do it, while I still have the figure."

  "We should get all of you outfits," Quinn said.

  "Don't you dare mention that to Dela, she has sketches," Tamara said.

  "I wouldn't mind. I need my stealth suit though," Mara said thoughtfully.

  Quinn thought Mara's stealth suit was nearly costume enough, given how tightly it hugged her figure.

  Jinx got herself a glass of water and took a seat on a crate. "How long do you think it will be?"

  "I'll have it in every system that’s Imperium and with a comm receiver in twelve hours. Then we're just in a holding pattern until Joline makes a public appearance," Mara said.

  "If we read her wrong, she'll not leave the palace and we'll never get our shot," Tamara said.

  "Wouldn't that be a shame? We all get to live and be happy," Quinn said.

  Jinx said, wistfully, "Do you still think about it? Just running away? It worked out last time. Mostly. We've enough money now we wouldn't have to scramble this time. A big house in the middle of nowhere. A pond Vess could hunt fish in."

  Quinn had never wanted to do anything but to keep flying. Still, the thought of putting all of this behind them was tempting.

  "Keep your dreams real. You know that one doesn't fit, not anymore," Tamara said.

  Jinx glared at her. "I know that. I really do know that. But there has to be somewhere, doesn't there?"

  "Sane dreams doesn't mean no dreams. But wanting to be an unknown on the far side of the galaxy doesn't work. A lady with holdings on the Rim is as close as you are likely to get and how we've positioned ourselves."

  "Until the clans arrive in force and put everything to the torch."

  "Well, if we're having silly idyllic dreams, we assume that doesn't happen," Tamara said with a brief smile.

  "Do you dream about the future?" Quinn asked Tamara. "Not plan. I know you’re always planning. But dreams?"

  Tamara sat down besides Jinx. "Of course I do. Doesn't everyone? Mine are a little confused. One of my longest dreams was to be Tourmaline, and that sure didn't work out like I'd thought it would."

  "Being one of the biggest badasses in the universe. You sort of are, now," Quinn said.

  "But I always thought I'd be me, just more so. Thousands of years of experience with which to sculpt beautiful plans. An intimate awareness of human behavior that let me always be a step ahead. Instead, I can let her out and punch faces and steal tanks," Tamara said with a shake of her head.

  Mara said, troubled, "I never dreamed about my own future, not really. We don't get to, exactly. We know from an early age what we are growing up to be
. We know that if you get old, you don't so much retire as get erased. That has been one of the most difficult things about becoming a part of this family. Having dreams."

  "I'd think yours have to be a bit like mine. The quiet life in the country can't appeal, not with all your skills. Do you want to find new ways to test them? Be better?" Tamara asked her.

  Mara laughed. "My skills are a burden, a weight. I use them to hurt people, yes, and they're terrible people, but still the thought of setting them aside is ... a relief. But mostly I dream about just picking a face and keeping it. One of these covers I've had actually becoming real."

  "Do you have one you'd pick?" Jinx asked.

  "I was an oceanographer once. I loved boats, loved the water, diving was ... amazing."

  "When we first met you, we found you hanging out near the pool," Quinn said.

  "Part personal pleasure, part business. Men don't tend to look at your background as closely when they have the option to stare at your chest instead," Mara said.

  Quinn knew it to be true. Especially when younger, a low-cut top had led to him making many a bad decision. As much as he'd like to pretend to be beyond that now, he probably wasn't.

  "Maybe we should start thinking about it. How to make it so. When you're a criminal and you pull a big job, the big job, you need an exit strategy. The temptation is to keep going, but the heat is too high, you're too loud, and each success makes you a little more reckless," Quinn said.

  "That sounds like us all over," Jinx said.

  "It actually does. We've got our bankroll. But we've killed Emperors—more than one of them. We're off soon to kill the biggest one yet. This isn't us, it isn't safe, it isn't sane," Quinn said.

  "So let's call it quits on the Core after this. Unless I want to be Empress and you all want to be the new royal family, we don't have a future there. It isn't exactly an exit strategy, but it is a start to one," Jinx said.

  "You know I've no objection to being royal family. Oh, the right hand of an Empress I would make," Tamara said.

  "Bit close to one of your own dreams here?" Mara asked.

  Tamara looked wry. "I guess so. So nobody gets what they want."

  "Sorry," Jinx said.

  Tamara shrugged. "I haven't expected that to happen for awhile. You've been pliant on some things, but on others you are all conviction."

  "So this time, when we run away from the Core, we stay gone," Quinn said.

  "Are you going to be comfortable with that? The Empress is sticking commoners in a blender. The nobles might have been warring against each other, but it’s been a long time since we saw the people rise up against the nobility. It could happen now," Tamara said.

  "You couldn't suggest that before I made the recording?" Jinx asked dryly.

  "I don't think it will happen. Magic isn't just an influence upon the nobles. For a long time, humanity has been divided into two camps, half the children of Chaos and half of Order. Chaos is slipping in, but I have to think the Imperium will hold strong," Mara said.

  Quinn sure hadn't seen any sign of it. Yes, the entire royal line had been wiped out in a way no one had prepared for, but that didn't mean that those who were left behind couldn't have found an orderly way to decide on a ruler. Instead they'd started killing each other.

  "Even so ... does it matter? The point of an exit plan is making your exit. We're too loud. Whatever happens, if I stay close to the Core, I'm going to be a threat to somebody. They'll act, we'll kill them, or they'll kill me and all of you will be slaughtered. No, this is it. After this we're done with the Core," Jinx said.

  "I shouldn't say I think that is okay. I think you'd be good for the Imperium, I think it could use you. But I think it is bad for you and this family," Mara said.

  "And it isn't like we’re retreating from the universe. We have the clan, our worlds," Tamara said.

  "You really do enjoy it. Putting things together. The planning," Jinx said.

  "My family does. There is something about trying to become Tourmaline. Trying to become the best brick possible to be worth being included in a tower reaching for the heavens," Tamara said.

  "I bet she hates thinking like that," Quinn said.

  "Of course she does. Tourmaline always wanted nothing more than to be the strongest brick bashing a skull. That is why she's lived so long. It is why we'll win the day," Tamara said.

  29

  It was go time. It had been forty-eight hours since Jinx's speech had hit the Empire. There were reports of unrest from across the Imperium, crowds rising in protest on a hundred worlds and in some cases the authorities joining in.

  Joline was holding a speech in the Imperial Gardens to reassure the Imperium. The Imperial Gardens weren’t too far from the Imperial Palace. Occasionally even open to the public in the event of festivals, they were a common and reassuring sight to the people of the Imperium.

  It wasn't as unsecured a location as they might have wanted, but it was functional. More than that, it wasn't a venue suited for a large crowd. That was an advantage when they were going loud and violent.

  The Centauri Bliss jumped in, materializing on the surface of Imperius. They were only about twenty feet above the ground. Below them were acres of wooded rolling hills, beautiful ponds filled with statuary, and ornate gardens. Where the gardens ended the towers began, and the cityscape of Imperius was particularly impressive.

  Bombs dropped. Joline should be directly below them, along with her Imperial Guards, Vixana, and the holo-recording crew. Quinn couldn't see that from the angle, but he had to trust the coordinates Mara provided were accurate and Jinx got them where they were supposed to go.

  Quinn hit a release and the four armored shuttles clinging to the sides of the Centauri Bliss dropped off to crash to the ground. They were serving as crude personnel carriers, getting the best of Ice's pirates into the fight.

  The bombs spun into the air and detonated in brilliant flares of blue electricity and the distinctive red lightning of Chaos magic.

  As expected, Quinn's sensors went dead. Every system on the ship went temporarily down except for the thrusters they'd hard-wired in preparation for this moment.

  By now the rest of the family would be on the surface. They'd sent everybody they could, just leaving Quinn behind to fly the ship—and he was the best.

  In ten seconds the power was supposed to kick back on and he'd provide air support. Instead, the Centauri Bliss lurched as some massive force impacted the hull and the ship spun out of control. Without power Quinn could do nothing to level the spiral out, and when they smashed into the ground it was violent, the ship tumbling end over end before coming to a stop with a metallic groan.

  Quinn took several long moments to catch his breath, everything still spinning around him as he released his straps. The view screens were down, he couldn't see a thing outside the ship.

  Quinn tried to fire the systems back up. Nothing. Even the thrusters had died. If the ship couldn't fly, at least he might be able to provide some support on the ground. Grabbing a suit of body armor and his pistols he headed for the hold.

  The ship was on its side, and the world outside was utterly different from when they'd arrived. The gardens were gone. It was sand, sand everywhere. All glinting with flecks of silver, completely replacing the trees and flowers. At least in the distance the towers still loomed overhead. The entire planet hadn't been transformed into this.

  There was no sign of the others. The shuttle pods were gone, the rest of the family were gone.

  Were they dead? They hadn't thought Joline would be able to kill Jinx or Kalisa, and that even in the worst circumstances their two strongest mages would survive. Yet, where were they?

  The sands swirled around Quinn, picked up by a wind he didn't feel, and a tunnel opened in a dune, angling downward.

  A wordless invitation was still an invitation. What did he have to lose? If the family was dead, Quinn had little chance of avenging them on his own. If they were alive, somewhere, it seemed l
ikely it was wherever he was being invited.

  Quinn started walking. A short distance into the tunnel the sands behind him quietly collapsed, sealing off the exit. The tunnel was lit with a dim silver shimmer.

  After ten minutes the chamber opened into a sitting room. The decor was so dated as to be almost tacky, which probably meant that it was a real part of the palace. Quinn hadn't known it had extended this far underground.

  Joline was seated in a chair beside what looked to be some sort of coffin. Quinn didn't know what this was all about and he doubted any violence would help. Still, it felt better to act than not. Quinn put a shot into her head and two into her chest.

  "Ouch?" Joline asked with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not the original and even if I was, I'm not actually human anymore."

  The effort hadn’t been totally without hope. His rounds were enchanted. It wasn't a good sign that they hadn't even seemed to faze her.

  "You've got a better use of your pronouns now. Saying I instead of we?" Quinn asked.

  "How solid is your grasp of language when you first wake up after a very long sleep? Have a seat, Quinn. We need to talk," Joline said, tightly.

  This really wasn’t how he expected this whole thing to go.

  "Are the others alive?" Quinn asked.

  "No, I killed them off and then decided to sit you, and you alone, down for a talk because you're just that damned interesting. Yes, they're fine. Well, not your pirates. I melted your pirates. Sit, now," Joline said.

  Well, she sure had this ‘sounding like an Empress’ thing down now. Quinn cautiously moved over to a chair and had a seat.

  "So, you're a completely insane, murderous machine that took over the Imperium. I'm a freighter captain. What have we got to talk about?" Quinn said.

  "I'm not as wicked as I appear," Joline said, and then gave a tiny half-smile. "Well I am, but a lot of what I've done wasn't really up to me and I've evolved beyond it. I was built on a false premise, that Chaos was absolutely destructive to the human race."

  "Your parents might have done you wrong, so to speak. But you've made your own choices," Quinn said.