My Kingdom Come book 1: The Saints We See
Chapter 21: Explosions

661 standard years after the signing of the Alliance treaty

“Hathu.” Someone shook his shoulder.

Hathu’s eyes snapped open, his fingers tightening on his rifle. Walesa was crouched next to his sleeping mat holding a dimmed electric light. “Someone is coming. A ship.”

Hathu’s body came wide awake. It had been eight days since they had contacted the army. He shoved his feet into his boots, got up, and slung his rifle over his shoulder.

Walesa led the way outside, past rows of sleeping sentients. The sun was just above the horizon. The ship was coming in with the sun behind it, making it impossible to see it clearly.

“We don’t know know who it is?” Hathu asked.

Walesa shook her head. “No.”

They stood there with the few others who were awake, watching the silhouette of the ship anxiously. It slowed and dropped, the tops of the town buildings coming between it and the watchers. Hathu and Walesa turned to stare at each other.

“What was it? Could you tell?” Hathu asked.

Walesa swallowed. “I think it was a cargo ship…but it could be an army cargo ship.”

“We’ve got to get a team out there.” Hathu said hurriedly turning towards the gymnasium.

Walesa grabbed his shoulder. “What for? We can’t stop them from leaving if it’s the cargo ship, and if it’s the army, we’ll only get in the way.”

“We have to get closer to see what’s happening. The insurgents might have brought more people/sentients, they might be planning another attack on us, we have to know what’s going on.”

Walesa let go of him and Hathu ran to gymnasium. He had a small team armed and ready to go in fifteen minutes. They were all wearing white coveralls that some of the women had made out of sheets to give them a bit of camouflage while they were out scavenging or hunting in the snow. He also grabbed the last three explosives they had left and shoved them through a slit in the coveralls into his zippered jacket pocket. He and his team were moving carefully through the town five minutes later.

There was no ship between the prison and the town, so they moved to where they could see into the prison docks. A supply ship was docked there, insurgents were dragging supplies off the ship and dumping them in the snow. There were a few bodies wearing grey coveralls laying still in scarlet spattered snow a little ways from the ship.

“Shit.” Hathu said softly. He sat in the snow with a thump and held his head in his hands.

Walesa touched his shoulder. “It’s okay. We did what we could. You kept us alive. That’s what’s important.”

“No,” Hathu growled. “This isn’t over. We’ve got to try and stop them.” He looked up at the docks, trying to come up with a plan. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get to Poe street, it lines up with the south east corner of the docks. We’re going to get to the corner and start screaming and shooting like our lives depend on it, running towards the east gate. We’re going to break into that gate.”

“Hathu, it would be impossible for us to break through the gate. We don’t have the right equipment.” Walesa interrupted.

“I know that, but they don’t. We just need to distract them. If we act like we can get in, they’ll react. While they are focused on us breaking into the gate, two of us, who stay here, will get up to the fence. One will provide cover as needed and the other will lob these over.” He scooped the three explosives out of his pocket. “I know it’s a long shot, but if we can hit the ship with one of them, it could disable it.”

Walesa stared at him for a moment. “This has a very low chance of working.”

“It could work.” Hathu countered. “We have to try something. I can’t think of anything else.”

Walesa crouched down next to him. “We could just go back to camp. Let them go. You told the army they might get away, this is their problem.”

Hathu looked back at the prison. He swallowed. “This is just the first step in my father’s plan. I don’t know what else he has planned, but I know what kind of man he is. It won’t be good.” He turned back to Walesa. “I thought stopping him from taking students from school would be enough, but he was already sending his followers through town killing sentients and I wasn’t ready for that. I didn’t prepare enough. I’m not going to let him go without a fight. Until my father is dead or behind bars, he’s not safe. Anyone who wants to go back to camp should go, but I’m going to do what I can to stop father from leaving, and it has to be soon. They are almost done emptying the ship. They’ll probably bring the families out next. I don’t want to risk hurting them.”

Walesa nodded. “Okay. Whoever goes up to the fence will probably die.”

“I know. I’ll be one of the ones to go up to the fence.” Hathu said.

Walesa shook her head. “No. You need to stay alive.”

Hathu shook his head. “All of us who have a good arm will draw for it.”

Walesa sighed and turned to the rest of the team. “Did everyone hear the plan? We are going to split into two teams. Team one will go up Poe street to the south east corner of the docks. From there they’ll run towards the east gate making all the racket they can to draw attention. They will be acting like they are going to break into the gate.

“Team two will be made up of two or three of us. One or two will provide cover as needed, the other will lob over explosives in an attempt to hit the ship. We’ve got to move before they start bringing out the families. ”

Jaidev arched an eyebrow. “That ship is pretty deep into the docks. Maybe fifty, sixty yards from the fence.”

“I know. It’s worth a shot though.” Walesa said. “We all know what Nediz is like. The thought of him running around the galaxy with a ship full of psychopaths is pretty terrifying. We need to do what we can to try to stop him.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Alright, does anyone have a good throwing arm?” Walesa asked.

Jaidev, Walesa and Hathu raised their hands.

“Well. Okay then.” Walesa pulled a coin out of her pocket. “Heads throws explosives, tails goes with the gate breakers.” She handed the coin to Jaidev. He flipped it. It was heads. He handed the coin to Hathu. He flipped it. It was heads. He handed the coin to Walesa. She flipped it. It was tails.

“Well, shit.” She muttered. She looked around at the rest of the group. It was mostly made up of adults, there were a few of the older students as well. “Anyone want to go home before we go on this crazy mission?”

No one moved.

“Alright.” She looked at Jaidev. “Keep him safe.”

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Walesa looked at Hathu, then up at the prison docks. “Good luck. We’ll get over to the south east corner as soon as we can. If you see them start to bring the families out, just shoot a plasma bolt into the air and we’ll abort the plan. We’ll all meet back at the school, either way this plays out.”

Jaidev and Hathu nodded.

“Come on team,” Walesa said to the rest of the group. They all got up and started jogging off towards Poe street.

Jaidev looked at Hathu. “Do you want to throw the explosives or provide cover?”

Hathu shrugged. “I’m a decent shot. I can throw pretty well too. Which do you feel you’re better at?”

“My brothers and I used to get old hess goose eggs, you know the big ones? We’d take them out to an old field and throw rocks at them from twenty, thirty yards away. At twenty yards, nine out of ten of my stones hit the egg, at thirty yards I was seven out of ten. At fifty I was two out of ten, right through the egg shell. I’m a pretty good shot.”

Hathu nodded. “Okay. You throw the explosives, I’ll watch your back.” He held the explosives out to Jaidev. “You know how these work?”

Jaidev nodded. “Oh yeah, I’ve had a long acquaintance with these little gems. Very reliable.” He dropped them in his pocket and stared out at the prison docks. “Hathu?”

“Yeah?”

Jaidev sniffed and looked over at Hathu. “I never thanked you for saving my life.”

Hathu scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I’m sure you would have done the same for me.”

“Naw. I wouldn’t have. I’ve always only looked out for number one. Fat lot of good that did me, landed me out here on the edge of civilization in a shit job. I almost joined Nediz’s little club, but I decided there just wasn’t enough in it for me.” He sniffed and licked his lips. “I’ve started seeing things a bit differently since you and Walesa hauled my ass out of bed a couple of months ago, before Nediz’s goons could get to me. If I die out here today…this will have been the only really worthwhile thing I’ve been a part of. So, you know, thank you. I always thought I’d die somewhere on some godsforsaken planet for an idiot politician’s pride.”

“Um.” Hathu didn’t know what to say.

Jaidev scratched his jaw and cleared his throat. “I uh, guess we ought to get in position.“

“Yeah.” Hathu nodded.

They moved stealthily down the street till there was only a wide expanse of snow between them and the electrified fence that ran around the perimeter of the prison docks; and the little bit of scraggily leafless bushes they crouched behind waiting for Walesa’s signal. Jaidev reached into the snow at the base of the bushes and dug softly with his gloved hands. He kept scooping till he found some rocks that were roughly the same size and weight as the explosives in his pocket. He grabbed a few and held them in his fist.

A chorus of banshee howls and roars broke out to the east. Hathu startled. Jaidev chuckled and clapped Hathu on the shoulder. “Come on.” He and Hathu both rose from their hiding spot and ran in a slight crouch towards the fence. Hathu hoped that their white coveralls would help them blend in enough to escape the distracted guards’ notice.

The men who had been dragging the cargo out of the ship were all looking in the direction of the east gate, a few were talking urgently into communicators.

Jaidev stopped twenty feet from the fourteen foot high fence. He rose to his full height and threw one of the rocks in his hand. Hathu knelt slightly in front of him his rifle ready, and swept the docks with his eyes for anyone who might have noticed them. The rock landed with a poof of snow between the hauling ship and the fence, only a few yards from the ship. Jaidev let out a satisfied grunt. Since the ship was between the men staring at the east gate and where the rock had fallen, none of them noticed it, they were still focused on the racket coming from the east perimeter of the fence.

Hathu could hear Jaidev twisting an explosive from its detonator. He threw it. It landed in the snow a few feet from the nose of the ship. Jaidev cursed softly, he was already getting the next explosive ready. He threw it with a soft grunt. A gust of wind blew the explosive too far to the west of the ship. One of men near the ship turned, right after the explosive hit the snow, looking for the source of the sound. He unslung his rifle from his back.

“Shit,” Jaidev muttered. “Be lucky for me,” he whispered twisting the last explosive free from its detonator. Hathu heard the swish of material on material and a soft grunt as Jaidev threw the last explosive. Hathu glanced up and saw it arc over the fence, soaring over the wide space between the fence and the ship. Hathu wanted to continue to watch its flight, but he pulled his eyes back to the men around the ship. Half of them were already starting to move towards the east gate. The one who had turned to see what had hit the snow was looking around, his gaze passed over Hathu and Jaidev, then came back. His rifle rose. Hathu centered his rifle sights on the man’s chest; staring at him down the barrel, waiting.

The man on the other side, cocked his head slightly, raised the elbow of his firing arm and fired his rifle. Hathu’s breath caught in his throat. The plasma bolt hit the electric fence and the magnetic field holding the superheated plasma together dissipated into the charge in the fence, sending sparks cascading down it’s length on both sides, but the plasma melted a hole through the metal of the fence. Hathu’s finger hesitated for the barest fraction of a second before he gently squeezed the trigger.

At the same moment there was a tiny click behind him and the last explosive Jaidev had thrown went off. Hathu’s plasma bolt passed through the hole in the fence and hit the man square in the chest. He fell backwards in the snow. Jaidev set off the other explosives, snow poofing up in large clouds around the ship. He grabbed Hathu’s shoulder. “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.”

Hathu numbly climbed to his feet and ran beside Jaidev back towards the street they had come from as shots sounded behind them. Most of the bolts got caught up in the fence, but a few hit the snow around them. Clouds of white rose up around them providing a little cover. Jaidev dropped back. Hathu turned to see what was wrong.

Jaidev tapped his back. “Keep going, I’m right here.”

Hathu sped back up. More bolts were making it through the fence now. Jaidev let out a grunt of pain. Hathu began to turn but Jaidev was immediately tapping Hathu’s back again with hard fingers. “Keep going, damn it.”

Hathu ran up the front yard of the the first house in the street and dove around the corner. Did I do the right thing? Jaidev landed with a grunt next to him, his face a grimace of pain. How could that ever be right?

“What happened? Are you okay?” Hathu asked, quickly unslinging his bag from his back and beginning to unzip it. The shoulder of Jaidev’s white coveralls and his jacket were burned away exposing raw blistered skin.

Jaidev put his hand over Hathu’s. “We don’t have time for dressing wounds, we need to get out of here. They’ll be coming after us any moment. Come on.” He got up and began running again, weaving through the houses.

Hathu quickly slung his bag over his shoulder and followed him. “Were you hit?”

“Naw, the bolt just passed close enough that it burned me. I’ll be fine.”

“Did we hit the ship?”

Jaidev let out a dissatisfied grunt. “I set the thing off just a hair too soon, it was right above the wing. We hurt the ship, but I’m not sure if we hurt it enough.”

They ran all the way back to the school grounds, where they were met by a defense line of Ir’Klahn that Hathu had told them to prepare in case there was retaliation from the insurgents. He looked up and down the line of elderly, young, the mothers, there were a few guards from the prison; some were holding rifles, some holding whatever they could replace to use for weapons and his heart clenched. Did I do the right thing?

“You should get your shoulder looked at.” Hathu told Jaidev as they joined the ranks of the defenders.

“I will. When I know we aren’t going to be attacked.”

People up and down the defense line looked at Hathu and Jaidev questioningly. Bakresh squeezed in beside Hathu. “How did it go? Where are the others?”

“The ship that came in was our cargo ship.” Hathu began. “The insurgents killed the crew and were emptying the cargo. It looks like they were just going to use it to leave. We broke into two groups, one set up a distraction, Jaidev and I tried to sabotage the ship. We don’t know if it worked. If it did, they’ll probably be here to retaliate soon. Are the rest of our people safe in the gymnasium? And do we have extra defenses around that in case the insurgents try to attack from behind?”

Bakresh nodded. “Everything is set up the way you wanted.”

“Good.”

The news began to travel up and down the line. People shifted. Shoulders were a bit more tensed. Hathu grit his teeth. His hands were shaking.

“You know we would all be dead if you hadn’t done what you did.” Jaidev said casually beside him.

Hathu glanced at him. “What?”

“You’ve got to stop blaming yourself for the shit your father’s pulling. You’re just trying to keep more people alive, and you’re succeeding.”

Hathu swallowed.

Everyone’s focus shifted. Someone was coming. Rifles came up, fingers tightened on weapons.

Walesa and her team burst into the cleaning around the school, from one of the streets that dead ended near the school. They paused when they saw the line of defenders facing them. Everyone on both sides let out relieved breaths, and Walesa and her team jogged over to join the defense line.

Walesa squeezed into the line between Jaidev and Hathu. “Who threw those explosives? That was impressive.”

“That would be me.” Jaidev said at the same time that Hathu said tightly, “Jaidev.”

“Did you see the explosion?” Jaidev asked. “I’m pretty sure I damaged the ship at least some, but we had to run as soon as the explosive went off. Did we damage it enough?”

“I didn’t get a real good look.” Walesa replied. “The wing was still attached, but I saw pieces flying. At least they won’t be leaving the planet in that ship.” She glanced at Hathu. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Hathu gritted.

She looked at Jaidev. “What happened?”

He shrugged.

The whine of an overexerted ship’s engine reached them. Everyone tensed, their eyes rising to the skyline. The whine rose in pitch as the engine strained. Finally the cargo ship rose above the roofs of the town. It was flying lopsided, clearly one engine doing most of the work. The ship moved across the horizon to the west, weaving and bobbing unsteadily. Hathu swallowed hard. Don’t crash! Please gods, don’t let it crash. It continued out over the ocean and began to shrink in the distance.

The smell of burning reached Hathu’s nose. He jerked his gaze back to the horizon. A thin stream of black smoke was rising from near the prison. “The supplies.” He muttered.

“What?” Bakresh asked beside him.

“They set fire to the supplies.” Hathu said. He thought for a moment. “This could be a trick. Jaidev, keep the defense line strong. Walesa, we’ve got to put out that fire. We need those supplies.”

Hathu and Jaidev slipped out of the defense line and began running back towards the prison, watching for insurgents as they went. They didn’t meet any resistance. Walesa made Hathu wait at the edge of town once they had reached the other side for a long moment while they swept the horizon for any sign of enemies.

The ship must have hit the fence that ran around the prison docks on its way out. A huge section between them and the docks was torn out, strewn across the snow in blackened tatters. The docks looked abandoned. Flames were beginning to rise up from the supplies piled up where they had been dumped out of the ship. A few yards in front of the burning supplies a figure was sitting slumped and unmoving in a chair. The front of its torso was blackened and charred. Hathu rose to a standing position.

“Hathu?” Walesa said in a confused voice. But Hathu was already running across the empty space between him and the docks.

“Hathu!” Walesa yelled.

Hathu could hear her running up behind him. He pushed his legs to move faster, tears obscuring his vision. Please, let it not be him. As he drew closer the features of the body came into focus, undeniably recognizable even to his sorrow-blurred vision. It was his second oldest brother, Ranar. Hathu let out a howl of rage and sadness. He had known. Ranar always cocked his head and lifted his elbow like that before firing.

Hathu tripped over something he didn’t see. Walesa leapt on him as he was falling. There was a roaring sound and the world exploded around him. Hathu slammed into the ground, Walesa’s weight crushing him, and everything went black.