Uprising (Gateway Series Book 3) Page 3

  Martin let out a sigh of relief. “I have to—”

  “First, Paladin,” interrupted Plaxis. “How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

  “It isn’t, Sir.”

  “Well, I guess I have no choice. If it is a trap, you’ll most likely kill me on the order of the ProConsul. If it isn’t and I refuse, you’ll kill me anyway.” Plaxis sucked in a deep breath and tugged out the wrinkles in his uniform. “But if I am to die, let it be for my people and not that arrogant, power-hungry bitch,” he added.

  “Good,” replied Martin with a smile. “And don’t worry…if I ever do kill you, it will be because I want to, not because someone tells me to. I’m done killing for the wrong reasons.”

  “Comforting,” said Plaxis dryly. “So why have you really come?”

  “Not only have I seen Nero and Stone, but they…I…am working with the Terillians in hopes of instigating a revolt here on Alpha Humana to coincide with an attack on the Gateway Station.” She wouldn’t tell him about Dolus. He didn’t need to know, at least not yet, and it was safer to make sure no one person knew everything.

  “Attack the Gateway Station?” blurted Plaxis. “And Alpha Humana? There’s no way that will succeed. Any attack force jumping near the Gateway Station without the codes will—” He paused, stepping out from behind his desk. “You need the encryption codes.”

  “Yes,” replied Martin.

  “Then what? There’s no coming back from a move like this.”

  “That’s the plan. According to Nero, there are others among the First Families that want free of the Xen and will join us.”

  “Who is ‘us’?” shot back Plaxis. “Nero can’t have more than a brigade—5,000 men, and even though I command two battle groups, only a third at best would follow me. I don’t think we will overthrow Astra Varus and hold off the resultant Xen and Doran attack with maybe one battle group and a few thousand men.”

  “What about the others?”

  “And just who do you think would join in this revolt?” asked Plaxis.

  Martin hesitated. Was Plaxis playing her? Was Astra Varus or one of her minions listening to this conversation? If she gave up the names, not only would the revolt not happen, but any chance of a future rebellion might be destroyed. “I don’t—”

  “You don’t trust me,” interjected Plaxis. “Don’t forget you’re the one that came to me.”

  “Perhaps it’s better if we try to keep things compartmentalized.”

  “The families I know of are mine, of course, Malius, Vanari, Juli, and some of the Vae. The remnants of the Nero family are split, with some trying to regain favor and the others just trying to avoid reduction in status. But they are under too close of a microscope to be involved until the last minute. Then there are the Great Eastern Mountain Families.”

  Plaxis had named most of the families Nero had mentioned. If Astra knew this information, and she would if Plaxis was loyal, she would have acted already…probably. Martin suddenly yearned for the simplicity of battle. Being a spy was much too complicated. “Screw it,” she declared. “Apparently the Centius are dissenters as well.”

  “Interesting,” replied Plaxis. “And there may be others that are smart enough that no one else knows about them. But even then, that won’t be enough.”

  “I can’t discuss the plan in detail, but there will be enough support from the Terillians to take key areas and then defend strongholds until the word can be spread to the population—”

  “Terillians on Humani soil?” replied Plaxis anxiously. “And you trust them?”

  “I’ve never trusted a Ter,” replied Martin. “But Stone does, and I trust him.”

  “And if we tell the commoners what we have done—for centuries—they will destroy the First Families. You would become the lapdogs of the Terillians or let our world slip into the chaos of the mob?”

  “I will die before I am ruled by a Terillian,” growled Martin. “But you know as well as I do that our people aren’t truly ruled by a Humani right now. Astra Varus may be the boot, but the Xen hold the keys to our chains.”

  “You are saying the right words, Paladin,” replied Plaxis. “But—”

  “Call me Major, sir,” interrupted Martin. “Paladin is a title of the ProConsul.”

  “Very well, Major,” continued Plaxis, “I am reluctant to stick my neck out for a plan that I have no idea will succeed.”

  “It will,” said Martin. “It has to. Nero developed it, the Terillian leadership support it, and Stone agreed to it. It’s risky…but it can work.”

  “And what do you need from me other than the codes?”

  “I will return to you in about four months and provide you with more details. Then, when the time comes, bring your fleet near the Gateway Station for a training exercise. Once you’re there, send out an electron spin burst with the codes for the next day to a location I will provide the next time we meet. The Terillians will jump and attack Gateway Station. When that happens, join the fight with us.”

  “You do understand carrying out a revolt onboard a warship, not to mention the entire fleet, will not be easy. I can move a few officers around to stack the deck on a few ships, and once the battle starts, I can come up with a story to get others to continue to fight the ship, but in the end, pretty much every ship is going to have its own little civil war to fight.”

  “At least if they’re fighting each other, they won’t be fighting the invasion force,” replied Martin.

  “Humani killing Humani so that a Terillian task force can attack Alpha Humana,” said Plaxis, shaking his head. “If this fails, we’ll be crucified.” He paused. “And if we succeed…”

  “We’ll have a whole lot of new problems,” replied Martin. “But they’ll be our problems, not the Xen’s.”

  “I’m in,” declared Plaxis.

  ***

  “So what’s the news?” asked Cassandra Orion, shoving a piece of bread in her mouth.

  “You assholes blew up my ship,” grunted Rickover. “That’s the news.”

  Stone saw Mori, setting across from him, roll her eyes.

  “It was my ship, Rickover,” replied Orion, still chewing. “And you’re gonna have to let that go.”

  “Well, the engine room was mine,” grumbled Rickover.

  Stone looked forward to the occasional breakfasts shared by those he’d been with on Hydra. Although he, Mori, Katalya, and Magnus had been training for the boarding of the Humani capital ships and Orion had assumed command of a squadron of Foxtrot fighters, the crew and passengers of the Hydra still managed to meet up once a week for breakfast. What he did not look forward to was the first few minutes of each meal when Rickover unfailingly reminded everyone they had destroyed his baby.

  “Aren’t you busy enough building those gadgets to shut down the Hanmani reactors?” asked Mori.

  “That was easy,” replied Rickover. “Just a simple matter of inductance. Now the fleet maintenance officer has asked me to join his inspection team.”

  “There won’t be ship in the fleet fit to fly,” joked Orion.

  “If their systems are in good order—”

  “Joking,” interrupted Orion. “Anyway, I really was asking about the news,” she continued, looking toward Stone. “What’s this I hear about you taking over Nero’s division?”

  Startled, Stone coughed, nearly spitting out his mouthful of eggs.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Mori, first looking toward Orion but quickly shifting her gaze to Stone. “What is she talking about?”

  Stone felt as if every eye in the massive mess hall turned toward him.

  “I…it just happened yesterday,” said Stone, knowing the time made no difference.

  He glanced slowly toward Orion, who tightened her jaw, curling one said of her mouth. “Sorry,” she mouthed.

  “So that was your meeting?” replied Mori with a nod, her lips turned tightly inward.

  He knew she was surprised…and hurt. But he needed time to prepare h
imself before he talked to Mori about leaving. “Yes. I—”

  “Thanks for…” She paused. “I’ve got work to do,” she added as she rose from the table. “I have an attack to plan.”

  “But Ino’ka—”

  Mori turned from the table without acknowledging Stone and began to walk toward the exit.

  “What was that about?” asked Rickover.

  “Are you serious?” replied Orion.

  “What? Stone’s got a new job…one he’s qualified for. Everyone’s got a new job after you people killed Hydra.”

  “Are you—” Orion stopped. “Never mind.” She turned toward Stone. “You better go after her.”

  “Better not,” interjected Katalya.

  “I have to,” replied Stone, rising from the table.

  “Just give her time.”

  “I don’t have time,” said Stone.

  Stone rushed across the mess hall into the passageway. Turning to his left, he saw Mori leaning against the wall, looking up toward the ceiling.

  “Ino’ka,” said Stone.

  “Damn it,” cursed Mori. “Just leave me alone.”

  “I can’t,” he replied as he stepped toward her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

  “You don’t get to decide,” she snapped, her eyes wet with tears. “But I guess you’re getting good at making decisions about us,” she said coldly.

  “I didn’t mean—”

  “Just leave me alone for a few—”

  “I’m leaving tomorrow,” interrupted Stone. “We need to—”

  “Tomorrow?” guffawed Mori as she turned partially away from Stone and took in a deep breath. “Well, General Stone, good luck. I’m sure you’ll be glad to be with your own people again.”

  “That’s not fair,” he replied, turning her shoulders so she was facing him.

  “Fair,” growled Mori. “Were you even going to tell me or just leave me a note on the pillow?”

  “I was going—”

  “Hmm,” interrupted Mori.

  “Damn it, just listen for a minute,” he continued, gripping her arms tightly.

  “Let go,” she demanded, breaking his grip on her arms. “I’m not some helpless Hanmani maiden you can order around.”

  “I wasn’t trying to—” Stone paused. “Damn it, you know this is the right thing for me to do. My place should be on Alpha Humana when the attack—”

  “Your place,” interrupted Mori, “should be with me.”

  He didn’t know how to make this right, but he also knew he would be much more valuable to both the Akota and the Humani people by leading Nero’s division. It was the logical thing—the right thing—to do.

  Stone stepped toward Mori and gripped her arms again. She didn’t resist but turned her gaze away from him. “I want to be with you,” he said softly. “My whole existence has changed because of you. But—”

  “You’ve made your decision, Magakisca,” she said calmly, looking up toward Stone and brushing away her tears. “I am sure you’ll perform well in your new assignment.”

  “I don’t want an assignment to change how we feel about each other.”

  Mori let an exasperated laugh escape. “You’re not in the Humani military anymore. Everything is connected. Just like a star warms a planet and the winds create the ocean waves, one action impacts the others…how can it not be connected? If you don’t think of the Great Circle when you make these decisions, you are thinking only of yourself.”

  “Myself,” snapped Stone, his pulse quickening. “If I’d been thinking about myself, I would have turned down the offer and stayed with you.” He took in a deep breath, his frustration mounting. “If I had been thinking of only myself, I would be a fucking Humani general and would have left you in that—” Stone froze, realizing he had gone too far. “I didn’t—”

  “That’s okay,” said Mori, her voice cracking as she cut him off. “At least all the trouble I’ve put you through has paid off in a promotion…General Stone. And in case you missed the salutes while you were stuck with us…” Mori stood stiff as a board and raised her right arm in a salute any Guardsman would have been proud to give. “Congratulations, General Venarius Tyler Lucius Stone,” said Mori, ignoring his Akota names. “You can once again be a hero to the proud Humani race.” Her normally beautiful fierce green eyes looked pale and dark as she dropped her salute and walked away. “And don’t follow me.”

  Stone stood motionless, wondering if he had lost the first woman he truly loved.

  ***

  Mori exhaled a short, quick breath while standing outside of the canvas door to the wichasa wakhan onboard Winterfall. If anyone could help her sort out her feelings, it would be the spiritual advisors. Her heart pounded as she wiped the tears from her face. She had tried for hours to tell herself that Stone was doing what was best for the Akota, but all she had done was fall deeper into a sea of doubt and anger.

  The canvas covering slowly opened, and an old man poked his head out. His hair was graying, and he had two thin, white lines running down either side of his eyes.

  “Ino’ka,” said the man, “what brings you to us?”

  “Uncle,” she replied, showing respect for his position. “I need…” She inhaled deeply. “I am lost.”

  “Enter, Ino’ka,” said the man with smile. “Let us talk.”

  Mori stepped into the room, lit only by the fire at the center of the room.

  The floor was covered with animal furs, and the flickering light of the fire illuminated bones dangling from the ceiling.

  “Sit, warrior,” said the man.

  Mori sat next to the fire, the smoke wafting up toward her. The slight burning sensation, punctuated by the smell of sage, began to calm her.

  “What troubles you?” asked the old man as he sat across from her.

  “I am unbalanced, uncle. I don’t know what is right and what is wrong.”

  “Is this about Magakisca’s assignment?”

  She leaned back. “How did…” Of course he knew. The Shirt-Wearers would have spoken with him as well. The advisors were the keepers of everyone’s secrets and dreams. She took a breath, hoping the sage would further calm her. “In my head I know why he was chosen and also why he accepted, but…” She closed her eyes, inhaling heavily and looking down toward the furs on the floor. “But in my heart I feel betrayed because he chose to leave…and that he did not consult me.”

  “So you are conflicted?”

  “I feel angry…hurt. And then I feel bad for feeling that way.”

  “And you want to know what is right?”

  “Yes,” huffed Mori. “I need to know: how I am supposed to feel?”

  “You feel how you feel, warrior.”

  Sometimes the wise ones could be infuriating. “I’m sorry, uncle. But that isn’t very helpful.”

  The man threw another branch on the fire. “The fire is comforting, is it not?”

  “It is?”

  “What makes it comforting…other than the sage?” he smiled.

  “It warms me.”

  “But you wouldn’t realize the warmth unless you were cold.”

  “I guess.”

  “So if it wasn’t for the cold, you wouldn’t appreciate the warmth and it wouldn’t comfort you in the same way.”

  She began to understand.

  “What makes the Great Circle work, brave warrior?”

  Mori tilted her head. “Uncle?”

  “Why does it work?”

  “It remains unbroken? It represents the life cycle?” She knew it represented everything. What did he want to hear? “It represents the seasons?”

  “The seasons?” asked the man. “What about them?”

  “The cold and darkness of the winter gives way to the sunlight and rebirth of spring and—”

  “Wouldn’t our ancestors have been better off without the winter?”

  Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”

  “When our ancestors roamed the plains on the First Plane
t, wouldn’t they have been better off without the snow and the cold? Without the death of the crops and the scattering of the herds of the buffalo?”

  “I never thought about it,” replied Mori. “Maybe?”

  “That is a very indefinite answer for a warrior. A Ki’etsenko.”

  “I just don’t understand, uncle.”

  “You think we would be better without the winter.”

  “Yes,” she replied, feigning certainty.

  “What did the ancestors do during the winter?”

  “The clans broke into family groups and took shelter in the valleys.”

  “And?”

  “The grandfathers told stories to the children and the husbands and wives spent time together because they couldn’t during the other seasons between the hunts and warfare.”

  “And what came from the grandfathers and the husbands and wives?”

  “The grandfathers passed on our traditions and wisdom and the husbands’ and wives’ unions continued our people’s existence.”

  “So is the winter bad or good?”

  “I know you are trying to teach me, uncle. I guess it can be both.”

  “Just like the warmth of the fire needs the contrast of the cold to provide comfort, your separation makes the union stronger when two that have parted are again together. And like the winter, you cannot focus on the negatives of a situation. If you look closely enough, you will see that everything has a place in the Great Circle.”

  “So I should let him go?”

  “He will go. It is not up to you.”

  “I didn’t…I mean, should I let him go in my heart?”

  “To know if the spring will be a good one bringing forth growth or if it will bring floods, you must stay in the valley and last out the winter. You can also stamp out the fire for fear that it will burn you, or you can step back into the cold for a short time so that its warmth is new and comforting upon returning to it.”

  A smile came to Mori’s face.

  The old man returned the smile.

  Mori rose to her feet, a weight lifted from her soul. “Thank you, uncle.”

  “You are welcome, warrior,” he replied.

  She turned to exit the room.

  “Ino’ka,” added the man as he sat by the fire. “You feel relieved that our talk has lessened your burden. And that is good. But like you prepare for the freeze of winter and the bite of fire when it grows out of control, you must look into yourself and ask why letting him go when the cold comes was the question you posed instead of what you need to do to keep him in your heart during all seasons.”