Marauder Aegus (3 page)

T
he docking platform
is located outside of the city proper, and we enter through a large marble archway into Sankt Petersburg itself.

We exit the docking platform on a raised stairway that drops down into the city. From this height, I can see a full view of the city. I see its one hundred stories tall gleaming white towers with its one hundred-story waterfalls. Green parkways are lined with towering redwood trees, and in the center of the city stands a colossal statue of Tsar Nikolai IV, the founder of the city, towering above everything else. In his hands, he’s holding a sphere that represents Venus, but it’s a terraformed version with water oceans and continents. A vision of the future, but still under the rule of the Tsars.

The Empire will surely tear it down.

The great hanging forests of Sankt Petersburg make the sky appear green. They function on sunlight magnified by the dome above them and hydroponic feeding systems. The hanging forests feed the oxygen tanks, so very little oxygen has to be synthesized from the Venusian atmosphere itself.

I have read all about the workings of Sankt Petersburg, but I read it with an invader’s eye. I had wondered how I could infiltrate the city with a squad of tribal soldiers and move through the city undetected long enough to make contact with the Tsar.

But now I walk behind the Tsar, having officially and formally met him the moment I stepped foot in the city.

I expected him to hate me with venomous anger, but I get the feeling that–beneath his anger–he is partially thankful to me for bringing his daughter back to him.

I’ll need to use that to my advantage, and I’ll need to start working him fast. Time is almost up if I have less than two weeks.

There’s a car waiting for us, and the royal guards form a line as we step inside.

I’m so big that I barely fit in the seat and have to hunch down. Even then, my head is right up against the ceiling.

I’m sitting next to Anya, who tentatively takes my hand. I love the feel of her hand in mine, but I realize this feeling is dangerous. If I truly develop feelings for her, she’ll be in greater danger than she already is. And feelings for her will distract me and make it much more difficult for me to complete my mission.

“Aegus,” the Tsar says. “What do you think of our great city?”

“It’s almost as beautiful as an orbital,” I start, but quickly correct myself. “I mean it’s more beautiful than the orbitals, it’s–”

“No need to kiss my ass,” the Tsar says. “I know it’s not quite as striking as an orbital, but it’s the closest you can get without going full habby.”

The car takes off, quickly climbing up into the domed sky. We’re soon level with the skyscrapers’ twentieth, thirtieth and then fortieth floors. Lanes of traffic are formed at ten-story intervals, but the cars seem automated, as they move in uniform precision like rivers of colored pebbles.

“There’s the palace,” Anya says, pointing out the window.

The palace appears next to the statue of Nikolai IV, and it’s taller than the palace itself. The palace has domed parapets that look almost like colorful balloons.

“It’s styled after the old Kremlin in Moscow,” Anya says,

I have the Tsar alone in a car, but it seems too early to dump my plans on him. If I do it now, it might seem as if I’m using Anya to get to him. I’ll need to gradually earn his trust, but there’s unfortunately so little time. I may need to start pushing my plan on him after dinner tonight.

The car begins to descend as we near the palace. It parks on a docking ledge rather than landing on the surface.

Royal guards are waiting for the car to come to a complete stop, and one of them opens the door for us to exit. Anya and I exit first, and we must wait at attention for the Tsar to stand and lead us into the palace.

I stop and look out at the city again before we make our way inside the palace. We’re now in the center of the dome, and the city is all around us. There are massive, wide windows on the sides all around the city, through which the Venusian atmosphere and faint sunlight is visible. There are huge solar lamps hanging just below the forest that add to the dim light.

I’d considered blasting some of the windows open as part of one of my earlier plans. The pressure at this altitude is similar to that on Earth, and the oxygen wouldn’t rush out. The Venusian atmosphere would slowly leak in and eventually cause a serious emergency, but in the meantime, it would act as a sufficient diversion to let me and a small squad sneak through the city’s defenses.

“Aegus, come on,” Anya says, pulling at my wrist.

I shake my head, as the beautiful daughter of the Tsar is now my fiancée and I’m being escorted right into the palace by the Tsar himself. Much easier than blowing out giant, half-meter-thick windows.

* * *

A
s soon as
we are inside the palace, the Tsar takes Anya by the hand.

“Anya, go to your rooms. I need to speak to Aegus alone.”

She gives me a worried look.

“You will be safe in your own rooms, yes?” I ask.

“Of course she will be safe under her father’s roof!” the Tsar snarls at me. “Go, Anya!”

Anya mouths some words to me, and I understand them as, “I will be safe.”

I don’t like the idea of leaving her alone, but seeing four royal guards following behind her puts me partially at ease.

“Come with me,” the Tsar says, motioning for me to follow him.

We walk across marble floors lined by ornate, gold-trimmed walls. Huge oil paintings depicting what seem like key events in human history and important looking historical figures adorn the walls.

The Tsar opens a door and ushers me inside. The royal guards remain standing outside the doorway, not following us into the Tsar’s office.

“Your Excellency trusts me enough to leave the guards outside?” I ask.

“Sit down,” he says, pointing to a chair.

I sit down as he begins pouring drinks from a crystal container into glasses. The liquid is thick and brown.

“No,” he says, passing a glass to me. “I don’t trust
you
. I trust the reports from the spaceport enough to know that the guards couldn’t stop you. I’d be dead already if that’s what you wanted.”

I nod.

“What
do
you want, Aegus? I know it’s not really Anya you’re after.”

“Your Excellency,” I say, stalling for time. “Your daughter is more lovely than all of the jewels in the–”

“Cut the shit,” the Tsar interrupts.

“I wouldn’t lie–”

“No,” the Tsar says. “I’ve seen the way you look at her. I know you’d bed her.”

I clench my jaw, and chug the drink to numb my anger. It burns as it travels down my throat. I can’t hit this man; too much is riding on his cooperation.

“But she’s not
why
you’re here. You arrived on the spaceport in Venusian orbit with some plan in your head; running into Anya just happened.”

“I want to end the war,” I say, clutching my glass.

The Tsar laughs, then takes a sip of his own drink. “Doesn’t everyone? I fully intend to end the war, at least between Venus and the Empire. Mars can do what it likes.”

“Surrendering to Bahamut will end nothing,” I say. “He controls the emperor as if he were a puppet, and he’ll string you up–”

“Watch yourself, alien!” the Tsar warns, leaning forward, face red. “I know what I do. You’re an outsider who knows nothing.”

“I have crucial information,” I say, “that will drastically change the course of the war...do not forget that the real war is coming when twenty million Marauders arrive. There will be one hundred warships, each one stronger than the entire imperial fleet. Do you think I really know
nothing?
”

“It will be Bahamut’s problem,” the Tsar says. “All of that, after I surrender to him. And if you end this farce with Anya, she’ll get to stay in this palace. Maybe she won’t rule for real, but she’ll have a good life, and if I can offer her a safe and comfortable life...I will. If I defy the Empire, and stubbornly stick to the losing side of this war, then she’ll be killed–at best.”

I grind my teeth. He wants to protect Anya, but he’s too short-sighted. I’ve seen this in the years since I’ve been among humans. They have a curious ability to ignore anything that is not right in front of them. Our warships are a few years away, and to people like the Tsar, they may as well be non-existent. They are a future problem to him, and he doesn’t understand how much they endanger his daughter’s future.

“I represent a faction of Marauders–no, I
lead
a faction of Marauders, ten million strong, who want to exist peacefully with humans. I need them to arrive to a humanity not at war with itself, or I may lose them. If even one warship changes their mind, millions of humans will die. I’ve made it so my faction will arrive earlier. They’ll have a few months lead-time, and–”

“So what do I do?” the Tsar says, cutting me off. “Tell Bahamut to end the blockade? The alien said it doesn’t matter? How does your ten million nice aliens arrival help the lives of my people?”

“Your Excellency,” I say. “Allow me to present my full case. I can show you things that will change everything. They will give you leverage over Bahamut, but you will have to trust me.”

“After dinner,” the Tsar says. “I need time to think on this. I’ll hear what you have to say, but I don’t know if I can trust someone who uses my daughter to gain an audience with me. Now see yourself out.”

He pours himself another drink and shoos me away with his hand.

I step outside the door, and the guards walk me down the hall toward the room I’ll be sleeping in. Anya and I are engaged—not yet married—so the room is mine alone.

“
H
e’s my fiancé
,” I say, “Let me through!”

The guard starts to open his mouth to protest, but I shove past him.

He refrains from letting me open the door, meaning he wasn’t explicitly ordered to prevent me from entering the alien’s chambers.

When I step inside, Aegus is buck-naked and reading a tablet. When he hears me enter, his armor begins to form across his body like teal liquid, but not before I get a good eyeful of his perfectly sculpted ass.

“Your father will be difficult,” Aegus says.

“Yes,” Anya sighs. “It seems you know him now.”

“He wants me to end the engagement.”

I frown. “Of course he does, but you fought him, right?”

“I’m going to make my case to him after dinner,” Aegus says. “I will include our marriage as a non-negotiable term.”

I smile. “Good.”

“Does that mean we will actually get married?” Aegus asks. “Or–”

“Of course we will,” I say. “I’ll take you over the baron. Marriage doesn’t mean a whole lot when you’re the Tsar’s daughter, we don’t have to...you know. Unless you…”

I’m blushing. I let my voice trail off, realizing I’m making an idiot of myself. I don’t know what I want from this frustrating alien. He can protect me, he can get me out of the marriage with the baron, but what does marrying him even mean? He’s a total outsider, and when his race arrives, what will that mean for us?

“Aegus,” I say, suddenly realizing something. “You’re not just using me, are you? I mean, I know you kind of are, to talk to my father, but you realize marrying me will give you serious standing here?”

“I do not have to marry you,” he says. “This was your idea, and my shame debt compels me to see it through.”

“Shame debt…” I say, not quite sure what to make of that. “If you can put that aside, how does marrying me make you
feel
?”

I bite my lip and watch for his reaction. I’ve seen the way he looks at me, and I know I’m really just fishing for some kind words out of him. But I also don’t want to force him to do this for me if his heart isn’t in it–if it’s not something he wants.

“I’ve not allowed myself to find a mate,” Aegus says. “The weight of leadership is too great...there will be time for that when I’ve fulfilled my purpose.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I say, taking small steps toward him.

“Not every question must be answered, woman,” he says, ears shaking.

Anger flares up from deep inside me, and I back away from him.

“Fine then,” I say. “You don’t have to marry me. Once you find a way to get
both
of us off this hellhole planet, you take it. That will absolve you of any debt to me. Shame debt...whatever.” I wave my hand dismissively.

“Anya,” he says. “I didn’t mean–”

There’s a loud knock at the door. An incessant and urgent pounding that doesn’t stop.

I give Aegus a quizzical look, and his muscular body tightens.

I shake my head at him. It seems serious, but there’s unlikely any danger. He stands back as I open the door.

It’s Donovan, one of the royal guards who is at least friendly to me. The others treat me like a very important and valuable sack of potatoes.

“Tsarevna,” Donovan says. “Your father would like to speak with you prior to dinner.”

“Why the urgent knocking?” I ask.

Aegus has come up behind me. He’s towering over Donovan, scowling at him, his ears pulled back.

Donovan lowers his head. “Please, I was meant to deliver the message. I don’t know anything further.”

“I’ll be just a moment,” I say, and begin to close the door.

Donovan stops me from shutting the door with his forearm, and Aegus grabs Donovan’s arm.

“Aegus, no!” I shout.

Aegus still clutches Donovan’s arm, and I wonder how many microseconds away he was from breaking it.

“Tell us at once what is going on,” Aegus rasps.

“I wasn’t told anything, I swear,” Donovan says, hesitantly. “But...no, I shouldn’t say anything.”

I take Donovan’s hand in mine, looking up at him with an earnest expression. “Donovan, if you know
anything
, you should tell me. I’ll personally see to it that you don’t get in trouble.”

Donovan looks down, afraid to face me.

I put my hand on Aegus’s chest plate and say, “And I promise this huge jerk won’t hurt you either.”

“Okay, Tsarevna,” Donovan says. “Your father, His Excellency, he seemed...the Tsar cannot be scared of anything, of course, but, he…”

“He was scared?” I ask.

Donovan gives an imperceptible nod of his head, then says, “Please come with me now, or I will be in trouble. You’re to come at once. Alone.”

I look back at Aegus, who is already taking a protective step toward me.

“The Tsar greatly looks forward to his meeting with you, Aegus,” Donovan says.

It seems to placate Aegus, though I know Donovan well enough to see he doesn’t believe the meeting will even happen.

I consider telling this to Aegus straight away, but I need to try to defuse this situation on my own before I pull him into it. Aegus is a blunt instrument, and some situations need a fine touch.

“Aegus,” I say. “You can wear your armor to dinner, if you’d like…”

He scowls at me. “That means I should not wear it.”

“And if you’d like to wear something else, I can send a tailor to you.”

Aegus waves a hand. “I’ll wear the armor underneath any ridiculous thing they put on me.”

“Fine,” I say, and I flash him a genuine smile.

I was angry at him before–and I still am–but I realize he’s just trying to do his best in a difficult situation.

I shut the door and begin to follow Donovan. I don’t dare ask him any more questions, as he’s already told me much more than he should have.

My father would never be scared to meet with me alone, which means this meeting must involve someone else.

We reach his throne room, and Donovan opens the heavy door.

Who could scare my father, other than…?

General Bahamut is standing tall next to my father, a smug and self-satisfied expression plastered to his face. He has jet-black hair pulled back into a bun, and he’s wearing a big bucket hat at a stupidly deep angle, the same way that all imperial officers wear their big dumb hats. He’s young for a general, but twice my age.

I notice an ornate scroll with real ink on it laying on my father’s desk. It’s weighted down on either end. They
never
use parchment and ink like that, except for the most official of agreements.

“Anya,” father says.

“Tsarevna,” General Bahamut says. “Thank you for joining us on such short notice.”

“I didn’t know you were in the palace tonight, general,” I say, trying to keep the disgust off my face and out of my voice.

“Yes, well,” he says, “I didn’t know there was a Marauder in the palace. No one thought to tell me.”

“But you found out anyway,” I say.

“I’m a general. I should be well informed, otherwise I’d not be good at my job.”

“So you’ve come to congratulate me on my engagement–”

“Anya!” my father shouts. “Please…”

“No,” Bahamut says. “It’s okay. I
have
come to congratulate you, Tsarevna…”

Before I can register what’s happening, Bahamut pulls something out of his belt and raises his arm to my father’s head.

My brain catches up just in time to register that he’s holding a gun, but Bahamut fires it before I can even open my mouth to scream.

My father’s body collapses onto the ground in a bloodied heap, and I realize my ears are still ringing from the gun’s blast. I hadn’t even heard the sound; it had been drowned out by my fear and anger.

“Or should I say,” Bahamut says, “Tsa
rina
. Congratulations on your swift rise to the throne…”

I rush toward him, reaching for the gun.

Before I can grab for it, the gun fires a second time.

I see the muzzle flash, and I feel burning pain cut across my cheek. I stop moving and adrenaline courses through me. It feels as if time has stopped.

I’m not dead? The acrid scent of gunpowder hits my nose, and I see Bahamut smiling.

I feel a wetness dripping down my face, and when I reach up to touch my cheek, I feel warm, sticky blood.

“That was the warning shot,” Bahamut says. “The next one will hit you between the eyes.”

Aegus. I need to get to Aegus. He’s my only way out of this–the only way to avenge my father.

I try not to look down at my father’s body, but it’s there on the edge of my vision.

“Here’s what you will do, Tsarina. I will give you two of my best fighters, and you will go to the alien. You will get his guard down–convince him that everything is okay–and my men will kill him. This is your
one
chance. If you refuse or shy away from your first task as Tsarina, you’ll meet the same end as your father.”

I ball my fists, digging my nails into my palms. The cut on my cheek is still bleeding, but I don’t wipe it away. “No one will believe you. You assassinated the Tsar, you–”

“No,” Bahamut says. “He killed himself, just after signing this.”

Bahamut grabs the parchment off the desk. “He’s surrendered. Venus is once again part of the Empire, and you are my puppet. I’ve successfully bribed most of his guards so they will back up this story.”

“You fucking–”

“Go! Tsarina Anya Ivanov! Do what your master orders!”

Bahamut snaps his fingers, and the two soldiers he has appointed to escort me to Aegus rush in from a side room. He rolls up the parchment and gives me a wicked smile as the soldiers haul me from the room.

Once I’m in the hallway, the taller of the two soldiers grabs my chin and jerks my head to the side.

“Be still, Tsarina,” he says in a forceful whisper.

He presses something into the side of my cheek. It burns, and then turns icy cold.

“This will prevent scarring,” he says.

“You mean it will cover up what that monster did to me,” I spit.

The soldier ignores me, and jerks my chin back up to the light.

“So this is what it means to be a puppet, Tsarina? Manhandled by Imperial soldiers?”

“Go to the alien,” the soldier demands. “We’ll kill you first if you try anything. The General’s orders.”