Assault on Ambrose Station: A Seth Donovan Novel (40 page)

64.

“Come no closer!” shouted a figure, high atop the building before me.

I could see the muzzles of a dozen rifles pointed at me from various parts of the rooftop. I could see the location of each guard in my overlay, a nearby recon drone feeding me an aerial view of the area.

I was standing before the building, selected as a likely access point to the fortress, alone and unarmed – as well as I was able to be.

“I mean you no harm!” I called back, raising my arms to show them I was unarmed.

“Why should I believe you?” he called back. He was smart.

“You shouldn’t. I’ve seen what’s out here. I seek someone within your settlement. A man named Osiris Blackburn.”

He disappeared behind the wall, and I could see the figure conversing with a pair of other guards before returning to the wall.

“The others say you are not alone. We saw you approach.”

“It’s true. There are a few more of us. We thought it would be safer for one of us to present ourselves, so we appear less threatening.”

“Tell the others to come into view!”

“Not until…” I began.

A shot rang out, a bright flash struck the ground before me and splattered mud in all directions. I flinched, as I felt my face become wet.

“Not until I have your word they will not be harmed.” I finished.

Once more, they conversed.

“If you come out, and make no sudden moves, we won’t shoot you. If they do, I’ll shoot you first. Understood?”

I turned and nodded over my shoulder. One by one, the others of my squad stepped into view, Rego leaning against Renthal.

“What do you want?” the figure called.

“Like I said. We’re looking for a man named Osiris Blackburn.”

“Why?”

I looked at Artemis, who shrugged at me.

“We have news from a relative of his. Tell him Benedict Jenner sent us.”

“Never heard of him.”

“He’ll know. Tell him.”

Tac leaned over to me. “I am detecting a short wave radio signal. Shall I intercept and play it for you?”

“Just tell us what they’re saying. Quietly.”

“They are relaying your message. Someone is responding. They are ordering the guards to wait until they can confirm the message.”

“Tell me if they get orders to shoot.”

He nodded to me. A very human gesture.
Was Tac picking up our mannerisms?
I thought.

After a few minutes, the guard called down to us again.

“Are you armed?”

“Yes.” I replied.

“Will you surrender them?”

I looked over at Kekkin and Art, both gave slight shakes of their heads.

“On one condition!” I called back.

“What?”

“You tell me your name, and where you are from.”

“I’m Alexander, and I’m from District Eighteen. You?”

“Seth. I’m from the Galactic Protectorate. We’re here to rescue you.”

He gave a rich laugh, gesturing to the guards near him. They disappeared down a flight of stairs.

“You’re late!”

An iron door at the base of the building rose up into a recess, revealing a garage. Several other guards were there, although only a few of them had their weapons drawn and pointed at us.

I gestured for the others to follow, and told them to hand over their weapons. We had hidden the last of our equipment bags earlier, in case things got out of hand. The others begrudgingly disarmed, although I saw a few of them secret a blade or holdout weapon before handing their guns and blades over. Art kept a large briefcase at her side – the portable Jump Gate.

As we entered the garage, the door slid down behind us and another rose on the other side. Alexander met us in a courtyard beyond, he was a young man, lean and wiry like most of the people we saw. He had dark hair and a harrowed expression, like a soldier who had seen too much. I understood the look all too well.

“Will you be taking us to Osiris?” I asked as he led us further into the complex.

“I will. How did you get here? We thought the Protectorate were destroyed years ago.”

“Destroyed?”

“In the big battle in the sky.”

I stopped walking, Art almost running into me.
Galaxy,
I thought,
he’s talking about the Push!

“Not all of the Protectorate was destroyed,” I replied, “And that was only a small part of the organisation.”

“Then why didn’t they send more sky ships? Why did they not come again?”

I searched out his face. He seemed to earnestly want to know, rather than accuse me of failing them.

“It’s not an easy question to answer. A lot of people died trying to get to the station to rescue you a few years ago. We called it the Push. It didn’t go according to plan, as you probably know.”

“If it was only a small part of the Protectorate, why didn’t they send more?”

“How much do you know about the rest of the galaxy?”

“Not much. I was born here. I know there are other worlds, the elders teach us that much. But they don’t talk about the Protectorate much. Are you really cowards?”

I looked at him in surprise. “No. Why would you think that? Is that what you are taught?”

“They say that the Ghantri scare the Protectorate. I am not afraid of them.” he looked at me with pride.

“Have you ever fought one? Do they come here?”

“They used to. They used to come and take slaves. They stopped years ago. After the battle.”

We continued to walk. We passed through another set of buildings, what I guessed was the second ring of defences. We saw more guards, looking down at us warily. We passed large groups of unarmed civilians, clearly afraid. I tried to smile at them, but they only shied away. There seemed to be far more people than we had at first estimated.

“How many people are here?” I asked, indicating the civilians.

“Four thousand, from different Districts, mostly civvies. But we have over seven hundred soldiers.” he said with a grin.

“You are aware of the raiders coming here?” I asked eventually.

“We’re ready for them.”

“Do you know how many there are?” said Art.

Alexander looked at her and sneered. “Of course. We know there are many. We’re still ready for them. They don’t have the technology we do. They’re stupid.”

Art looked ready to say something again, but I held up my hand.

“How long have you been fighting them? How long have the raids been going on?”

“A couple of years now. We weren’t ready at District Eighteen, but here we are. Most of the people here are from other Districts, but we’re ready to fight.”

“Do you know why they are attacking people?”

He slowed his step, looking thoughtful. “No.” he said at last.

We passed through the third ring of defences and were greeted by the sight of the tower and surrounds. It was as we saw on the drone images. The tower, built of a white glossy material, rose up from the centre of the grounds like a Corporate office. The farmland around us was growing well, with many crops large and overgrown. There were dozens of farmhands tending to the crops, those we passed near stopped their toil to peer at us.

As the shadow of the tower fell on us, we passed a stone display with the words ‘Ambrose Central University’ carved into them artfully. We were met with more guards at the entrance, a glass façade that led into a large lobby. A barricade had been constructed inside, with gun emplacements at several angles covering the entrance. Towards the rear of the lobby a flight of stairs awaited. We passed by several elevators, their doors were jammed open and the shafts were filled with water. Pipes led through the lobby to the shafts, drawing water for the irrigation.

We carried on through to the stairs and began to climb. We passed other men, dressed in makeshift uniform. It was clear that there was plenty of activity going on.

In time, we reached the upper levels of the tower, exiting into a large chamber. The trappings of modern galactic civilisation adorned the room - lush carpets, animated picture frames, holographic displays. A bank of electronic equipment covered one wall, which three soldiers worked at. There were several other consoles stationed about the room. People of various races worked on the displays and consoles, all about some task or other. Alexander led us through the room to a set of double doors, ostentatiously decorated with carved wood and red leather padding.

He paused at the door, one hand on a handle. “Are more sky ships coming?”

I looked him in the eye. I could see some of the earlier bravado of before had slipped, showing me the haggard face of a tired soldier.

“No.” I said simply.

He nodded, disappointment strong on his features. He pushed the door open and waved us in. He did not follow us inside.

The room was dark, lit only by a soft glow from a holographic display further down. The room was long and rectangular, like a boardroom. In the gloom I could see several figures huddled to one side and the whispers of their conversation carried to our ears. A large black desk of shiny material dominated the far end, from behind which sat a large man of stern countenance. I could see, as we approached, his likeness to the images we had of Osiris Blackburn, only aged somewhat over the years. His once dark hair was toned with grey and the lines on his face had deepened, but the man before us was clearly the man we sought. He studied us as we walked, his face giving away nothing. He appeared neither relieved, nor angry to see us, but somehow gave me the impression that both emotions vied for dominance.

Eventually, we stood before him.

“Osiris Blackburn?” I asked.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Seth Donovan. This is Artemis Derris. We were hired by your nephew Benedict Jenner to rescue you from the Gossamer System.”

He was silent for several heartbeats.

“Why?”

I was taken aback. “Why?”

“Why am I do be rescued? Why now?”

“Um…” I looked to Artemis.

She cleared her throat. “Benedict has acquired the means to enact your rescue, and hopes that you will retake what was yours before the Ghantri Betrayal.”

“Does he?”

“Ye…yes.”

“How? Does he bring ships?”

“No…”

“Why is there Protectorate soldiers with you?”

“They were elicited to…”

“Do you think I’m stupid, Ms. Derris? Mr Donovan?”

“What?” she stammered, “No, I…”

I went to open my mouth but he held up a hand.

“What proof do you bring that you are indeed from Jenner? That you are who you say you are?”

Artemis spoke again, “I have an authorisation code, given to me by Mr Jenner. If you’ll accept the message I’m sending to your overlay…”

“This is from my old organisation. These codes were used to identify couriers and operators.”

“Yes, as I said. Benedict Jenner sent us.”

“So if there are no ships, how did you get here, and how do you intend to rescue me?”

She indicated the case. “I have with me a prototype stolen from the Korveli-Xue Corporation.”

“What is it?” I could see the constant interruptions were starting to get to Art.

“It’s a portable Jump Gate.”

This time, his eyes twitched. I could see that he was a man who rarely was surprised, and he barely concealed it this time. He considered us before him, his demeanour suddenly shifted. I could see the wheels turning behind his eyes.

“Does it work?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Mr Donovan here has the means to ignite the Gate and allow a number of people to Shift to the other side. Jenner has the sister Gate set up at one of his facilities.”

He began to study me more closely, as if seeing me for the first time.

“Donovan, huh?” he rubbed his beared chin. It was angular, more so than a full human’s. I saw the blended ancestry in him that I saw in Jenner as well.

“Yes, sir.” I was giving nothing away. I began to see the danger in this man. His mind was always alert, scheming and plotting.

“Any relation to Heiron Donovan?”

“He was…is my grandfather.”

The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly, one could mistake it for a smile.

“Castor’s boy…I knew your mother, you know?”

“No, sir. I did not know.”

“I thought all the Donovan’s were dead.”

“No, sir.”

“You don’t speak much do you, boy?”

“I speak only as much as is needed.”

He did smile then, and gave a short chuckle.

“You’re not here to finish what your grandfather started, are you?”

“No, sir. What beef you may have had with old man Heiron is between you and him.”