Steven Gordon 3: The Modloch Empire (22 page)

Steven and Komoru were dismissed; the
visiting ships undocked then descended to the capital city
below.

CHAPTER 28

Charlie was laughing so hard his sides
hurt. He had just completed a four week training program with
recruits that he and Kelly had cooked up between them and was
enjoying a few days off before they began with a new batch. The
Chief looked hurt. ‘What’s so funny Charlie?’

Charlie drew breath and looked up at
one of the massive generators, ‘You got all that money and spent
the lot on generators for your Emperor’s ship?’

The Chief shrugged, ‘So?’

Charlie wiped away a tear, ‘Are you
happy Chief?’

‘
As a pig in shit, as
you Humans say. Aren’t they great?’

The Chief then launched into a
descriptive frenzy that only another engineer could truly have
appreciated. Charlie simply went along with it. In the canteen he
was welcomed like a long lost friend. The latest Human release was
playing on the radio and in a few weeks time there was going to be
a whole album. He was there for a couple of hours before deciding
to return to the ship. Charlie had agreed to meet the Chief later
on the surface of the planet where they were going to visit a few
taverns.

He went to the spot where he normally
beamed from and found a Modloch officer there.

‘
Who are you
Human?’

Charlie eyeballed him, ‘Sergeant
Charlie Murison. I am here at the invitation of the Chief
Engineer.’ The officer consulted a pad. ‘I can’t find your name on
here. Come with me.’

Charlie was forced to follow and cursed
his luck. He wasn’t too worried though, the Chief would soon clear
it up. The officer led him to what had once been the headquarters.
Charlie was sure that it was now the Emperor’s residence. Only once
he was inside did he get the feeling that something was wrong. By
the time he searched the Modloch officer’s thoughts it was too late
to do anything about it. He considered calling on Babes to simply
beam him out, but quickly dismissed the idea. What would happen
would happen.

The Modloch officer had no idea that he
had been compromised. As they entered the final door Charlie
pounced, going for his sidearm. Before the Modloch could draw it he
found himself flying through the air. The officer smacked into the
wall and was knocked unconscious. The trouble was, Charlie could
see another dozen waiting for him.

The distraction was enough for Charlie
to get the drop on them. Before they could move he had the weapon
he had just taken off the officer pointed at the Modloch who sat
alone at a big ornate table. It took both his hands to wield the
pistol; his fingers didn’t reach the trigger.

The Emperor went very still. ‘Do you
know whom you point a weapon at, Human?’

‘
I remember
you.’

‘
Yet you dare point a
weapon?’

‘
If one of your men
so much as move a muscle I am going to kill you.’

‘
It would start a
war.’

‘
I would be dead
anyway, so why would I care?’

‘
Good point,’ the
Emperor conceded.

‘
So what is this all
about?’

‘
I have been told
that you are rather intuitive. Why don’t you venture a
guess?’

Charlie already knew, but decided to
play the game. ‘Well my big friend Gord is here along with a half
dozen others dressed the same way. I will presume that they are
your personal body guard. The others are dressed very differently:
tight black clothing with purple flashes and piping. Discrete, hard
to see in the dark.’ He titled his head towards the Emperor. ‘Did
you know that Humans always dress the bad guys in movies in
black?’

‘
No I
didn’t.’

‘
Here is another
interesting fact. Did you know that at one time on Earth purple was
the hardest colour to produce? As a result only royalty was allowed
to wear it. Any commoner found wearing the colour was put to
death.’

The Emperor found it hard not to smile.
‘That is very interesting.’

‘
Isn’t it just? But
back to what I am seeing here. A single chair, which I imagine is
for me. One of your men in black has bindings stuck through his
belt. Now let me see... Aha! The incident at the ball. I must have
offended you with my wee demonstration. You must have taken it
rather personally. You discovered I was coming aboard to visit the
Chief and decided to right the wrong you believe I did you. Which
means that these fellows in black are your private executioners.
How am I doing so far?’

‘
Remarkably well for
a commoner. You are also exceptionally calm. Admirable.’

‘
As are you,
considering this is the nearest you have ever come to being killed.
I don’t imagine there are many who have stuck a weapon in your
face. I thought you would have been screaming like a little girl by
now. I am impressed.’

The Emperor smiled, ‘So what do we do
now?’

‘
You’ll know about my
neural link with my ship, so I presume you have some form of field
surrounding this room or building to neutralize it. Which means I
would have to get a fair bit away before I could actually escape.’
Charlie tilted his head again, ‘You know the motto of my regiment
is “bydand”. It means stand fast.’

‘
You mean you have no
inclination to run?’

‘
None at all,’
Charlie admitted, ‘I would far rather kill all of you and then
everyone and everything I come across until I am killed myself.’ He
paused for effect. ‘Did you know I come from a race that is famous
for its fighting skills and tenacity in battle?’

‘
Your King did tell
me that, as a matter of fact. Now I am beginning to see what he
meant. I have to question if you would actually do it.’

‘
I would have
absolutely no problem doing it. You know there are those who are
still protest about the millions of Albany civilians asphyxiated
during the battle for the city ship?’

‘
Yes, there are those
who say it was due to battle damage but others say it was done
deliberately. You Humans seem to have no explanation.’

‘
I have one: it was
deliberate. We overheard an announcement by the Albany commander
saying he had armed every single one of his people so they could
fight us. He told them that if they captured even one of us, those
involved would receive the serum first. If they died then their
immediate family would receive it.’

‘
Yes I am aware of
that. It is on record.’

‘
They did it too.
When I found myself in one of the control rooms and discovered,
with the help of our ship, exactly what controls I was looking at,
I shut off the air to those sectors. My Captain tried to stop
me.’

‘
Captain
Gordon.’

‘
That’s the man. I
think he still has nightmares about it. There are days when he
simply can’t look me in the eye. Of course I did it in every other
control room we fought our way to that day too.’

‘
You admit this
freely.’

Charlie looked him straight in the eye,
‘Why not? It isn’t like the dead can tell tales, is it?’

The Emperor seemed to lose some colour
about the snout. He realised just what a precarious position he was
in. ‘It looks like my own pride has led us down a very dangerous
path.’

‘
It has indeed.’
Agreed Charlie with a cheeky grin. ‘In fact it is a lethal path. I
would say the only person that has any chance of surviving this is
me. If I can live long enough to get outside your dampening field
then I can get aboard my ship and alert our fleet before yours
become aware that you are dead. Our commanders will have to attack
your fleet, most likely destroy a large part of this city, and any
city with military craft, dock yards, or space ports. We’d then
make a run for the great barrier. Yup. I think this is going to
turn out to be a very bloody day for the Modloch
Empire.’

‘
I could just let you
go.’

‘
I don’t trust you.
You will then believe that the harm I have done you is tenfold to
what it was this morning. Who knows, that may lead you to attack
our fleet. I really couldn’t let that happen, could I?’

‘
So our fates are
sealed.’

‘
Oh, I don’t know. I
have to admit I was a little cocky at the ball. After all, you are
an Emperor. I could start by apologising for my
attitude.’

‘
You were boastful as
well. What was it you said? That it wasn’t men like those that we
would meet in battle, it was men like yourself.’

Charlie cocked his head, ‘Did you find
that boastful?’

‘
I most certainly
did.’

‘
I was actually being
very serious. I was trying to convey a warning to you. Those in
political office can often lure people unacquainted with them into
a false sense of security.’

‘
So you were trying
to do me a favour?’

‘
In my very common
way, yes. I imagine someone such as yourself would not feel
threatened by us Humans at all.’

‘
I have to admit this
is the first time. I also have to admit I am still doubtful. Not
doubtful that you could pull the trigger and kill me, that I am
sure of.’

‘
I don’t really like
being called a liar. I have never killed anyone for it. But I do
tend to get upset. I suppose I could prove it.’

‘
By killing
everyone?’

‘
I don’t really think
that would do anyone any good. I don’t fancy going down in history
as the man who started a war with the Modloch race.’

‘
It would most likely
result in the end of your species.’

‘
I would never be
forgotten though.’

The Emperor laughed, ‘You have a
point.’

‘
Maybe, but you are
the one who was trying to kill me in the first place.’

‘
You insulted
me.’

‘
What if I was
telling the truth?’

The Emperor hesitated, ‘You mean I
should accept that you were trying to give me a friendly
warning?’

‘
Yes.’

‘
I don’t actually
think that would work. No, I think I would still feel
insulted.’

Charlie raised an eyebrow, ‘You have a
gun pointed at your head.’

‘
I am just being
truthful.’

‘
I get that, and
respect you for that answer. So how about if I prove
it?’

The Emperor sighed, ‘By killing
everyone.’

‘
No. Ever heard of
unarmed combat?’

The Emperor frowned, ‘Of course.’

‘
You have a dozen men
here: top troops, specialists even.’

‘
Are you suggesting
you fight them?’

‘
Yup.’

The Emperor laughed, ‘But they would
kill you.’

‘
Then that should
prove to you without a shadow of a doubt that I was lying, and I
was being boastful. If this lot can beat me or kill me, I will
accept that as justice for my arrogance.’

The Emperor didn’t want to die, but nor
would he be shamed. His pride was riding high but his admiration
was growing for the Human. ‘I think I can accept that.’

‘
If I win, will you
accept the fact that I was not being conceited or boastful, and was
genuinely trying to convey a concern I had?’

‘
You believed that I
was not taking the Human race seriously enough?’

‘
Very much so. You
are arrogant. You think that if it came to a conflict your forces
could wipe us out.’

‘
Of course I do. We
are Modloch, not Albany. Of all the races that inhabit this galaxy,
we Modloch are the fiercest and most war-like.’

‘
Which is probably
why our races have so much in common. Yet I still fear you have no
real concept of Human fighting skills.’

The Emperor sighed and threw up his
arms, ‘Here we are again.’

‘
Right, back to
square one.’

‘
Do you really
believe that you can beat my men unarmed?’

‘
Doddle.’

‘
That did not
translate.’

‘
Easily.’

‘
You call me
arrogant!’

‘
I am not being
arrogant, simply stating what I believe is the truth.’

The Emperor thought it over, ‘I accept.
If you can defeat all of my men in unarmed combat I will accept
your apology through this trial of strength.’

Charlie took a deep breath to protest
then thought better of it. ‘Fine. You can act as judge then. If any
of your people reach for a weapon I expect you to shoot them.’

‘
I don’t have a
weapon.’

Charlie offered his and the Emperor’s
eyes widened, ‘You are giving me your weapon?’

‘
It is unarmed
combat, I won’t need it.’

‘
Are you a
fool?’

‘
No, just a very good
judge of character.’

‘
You seem sure of
that.’

‘
A moment ago you
were prepared to die for your honour. I am taking a bet you would
shoot yourself before you shot me in the back.’

The Emperor reached for the gun, took
it and placed it on the desk in front of him. He turned his
attention to his men, ‘Remove all your weapons. You will fight this
Human, and if he happens to die during the fight, then so be it.
However, before he dies I would really like to torture him for his
arrogance.’