The Serpents and the Skulls, Chapter 3.4
13 Apr 2017Michael Wolfe
“The attack,” Laius was saying, “will commence in waves. The main strike force will enter the system in one coordinated jump and proceed to the planetary surface, establishing a perimeter and deploying the teams into the sanctuary. The rest of the fleet will be kept on standby, a single jump away and committed as needed. As soon as the facility is secured, the occupation will proceed and we’ll deploy patrols to consolidate the system.”
There were nods all around from the assembled High Council and squadron leaders in the bridge of the Bucephalus. All around me, the assembled Black Omega fleet stretched as far as I could see. I turned to gaze at the multitude of ships, wishing for a glass of wine to compliment the moment.
Even my father never commanded a fleet of this size. Then again, he’d never needed one.
Within the bowels of the vessels surrounding me where thousands of Black Omega shock troops and enforcers, ready to fight and die at my command. They were men and women who had taken and secured a dozen systems that were ruled directly by Black Omega. My thoughts drifted to the past. Though Rabat had extended his influence by terror and intimidation, he’d never bothered with actually administering the systems from which he demanded tribute.
So what would he think of this? Suits, taxes, governing- a private military contracting firm that expanded into a consortium of a dozen systems. Prosperous. Respectable.
I suppressed a private chuckle to myself. Just the kind of target that he’d love to knock over.
A black Viper passed lazily outside the canopy glass, the twin-skulled Black Omega logo visible on its hull. And what would he have thought of you?
I looked down at myself. Elegant black tactical flightsuit, over which a supple leather business jacket was worn. Dreads long gone in favor of a more presentable cut. Clear eyes and clean fingernails. So what if I’d played the role of the pirate when I’d had my fun with the Anaconda? I still had responsibilities when I’d gotten back to Clair Dock, and I’d seen to them like a good second-in-command.
Apollonia silently appeared at my side, clad in white and letting her gloved finger brush against mine. Her presence- and the council’s- reminded me of a few other key differences between myself and Rabat-
“A Morgan doesn’t share power.”
I swallowed. Victor was still droning on about the invasion’s details as more ships flew by the Bucephalus’s bridge. It was like I could hear him, during one of the few times that he’d deigned to speak to me for a reason other than to say how weak and disappointing I was.
Yes. I remember. It had been when that long-lost uncle of his had appeared. I must have been twelve. Maybe younger.
Tanis Morgan. I was surprised that I remembered, but I did. A long-estranged relative, cast out due to some family quarrel or another, offering to work for my father and bring his crew with him. For a time, he’d done so- accompanying Rabat on raids and shakedowns. Then one day he vanished. No one spoke of the man’s disappearance, or even the man himself. It was as though he’d never existed. And his crew? Gone as well. I’d learned to not ask questions, but word spread regardless- especially around silent young girls whom grown roughnecks overlook.
“Massacred,” some had whispered.
“By Rabat’s own hand,” others had said. “Demanding more say and a larger share of the loot. Even called him a ‘pup’ to his face.”
I hadn’t seen anything, and certainly hadn’t asked any questions. All that had happened was seeing Rabat sat on a pile of filthy crates in a docking bay, watching his ships come and go. I’d wanted to just walk by without being noticed, but he grabbed my arm and yanked me to him.
His breath stank of rotgot, but that was nothing new. What was unusual was the fact that he’d been cleaning his knife, using a whetstone to rub off dark flakes of some kind from the blade. From the corner of my eye, I could see the half-drank bottle of liquor. I knew what could happen when he was like this- so I kept silent, eyes to the deck and waiting for him to speak.
Rabat opened and closed his mouth a few times before gesturing toward a battered old Cobra ahead of us that was being loaded.
“We won’t be seeing Uncle Tanis anymore,” he said.
I nodded, still looking down. But he wasn’t done.
“We won’t be seeing any of his crew anymore, either.”
I’d already heard the rumors, of course, but I dared not say anything. Again, I nodded.
I felt his massive, rough fingers grip my jaw and lift my chin. His dark, sooty eyes were always terrifying to look into, even when he wasn’t angry. But this time was different. He didn’t seem angry with me- yes, he regarded my scrawny form with contempt- but he wasn’t actually angry. That was when he said it- the first of many, many times that I would hear the mantra repeated over the years.
“A Morgan doesn’t share power,” he slurred. “Not with friends. Not with anyone.”
I swallowed, thinking of my presumably dead uncle. “Not even with family?”
A look of suppressed rage clouded his eyes as his fingers squeezed my jaw. The pain was immense, but I knew better than to cry out.
“Especially not with family.”
He released me to twist around to grab the bottle. I took a few steps back, my eyes again downcast. He ignored me to once again watch the ship take on cargo containers, and I took my opportunity to slink away.
“A Morgan doesn’t share power.” I could almost see him, his reflection in the window instead of my own.
“What are you doing, you little fool? You failure. You imposter. You and your fancy business suits and your meetings and your chauffeured ship. If you weren’t my own blood, I’d have let the men have their way with you and jettisoned your fucked-out corpse from the airlock.”
I swallowed. It’s all part of the plan. I’m second-in-command of the entire firm, under-
“Degginal DeVerre? That sniveling little string-puller? He’s no man. He’s a spider in a web, a puppet master making his fools dance. And what about you? Is one of his strings hooked into your back, as well?”
My heart started to beat harder. Rabat was terrifying when disappointed. It isn’t like that, father. I just need more time.
His eyes darkened as he faded into the void of space. You can call me that when it’s you that your people follow, not that dried-up old barfly on his deathbed. And this business with the serpents-
I swallowed. Father?
A cruel look clouded his face. They harbor the one who killed me. Never forget that.
Never, father.
His image faded against the fleet’s formation. Then give the order.
… give the order.
“Council! Shall I, uh- give the order?”
I blinked hard and caught my breath, turning around to face Victor and rest of the assembled crowd on the bridge of the Bucephalus. All eyes were on me, and Apollonia’s touch had turned into the urgent squeeze of her hand around mine. Though they were trying to hide it, every man and woman present had a look of reservation on their faces. Laius had been trying to get my attention, having finished the briefing and offering the honor of giving the order to high-wake to me.
Swallowing, I nodded. “Do it.”
The man nodded and signaled the helmsman to proceed. “All ships, jump on my mark,” he said, still wearily eyeing me.
Victor and the other assembled leaders of the fleet shimmered and disappeared as their holographic projections dissolved, leaving the bridge once again empty. I sat in the commander’s chair as Apollonia took her place at my side. My father’s voice was still fresh in my mind.
“What are you doing, girl? Fancy suits. Boardrooms. Chauffeurs. You’re no Morgan.”
The final countdown until the jump to witchspace echoed through the Bucephalus as I signaled for Apollonia. She knelt down as gazed submissively to the deck as she braced for the jump.
“Mistress?”
I Iooked down at the waif, recalling the same habits as a child when before my father. “When we’re on the other side, I want you to take this-”
I gestured to the elegant business jacket. “And dispose of it. Go to my quarters and bring that red and black number instead.”
Yes. That’s more like it.
The Bucephalus barreled down the tunnel of witchspace, the eerie clouds and stars streaking by the bridge canopy. I was reclined in the commander’s chair, though the actual flying was being done by a Black Omega pilot. Per my instructions, I had my knee-length black and red leather jacket over my flightsuit and a glass of wine in my hand. The Snakes would never know what had hit them, and I intended to lay waste to their sanctuary in style.
The distant star became visible in the distance, slowly grew in prominence- and then appeared rapidly before the bridge as the Bucephalus transitioned back into supercruise. Immediately, the helmsman plotted a course, entering coordinates that would lead straight to the snakes’ hidden refuge. Numerous ships followed suit, as the Black Omega fleet turned to cross the system. Even if the snakes had deep-space patrols, they would never be able to summon reinforcements in time. The ships and crews of my fleet crossed the expanse of the barren system, coming up to a remote, desolate planet. It was on the starmap, but had no known settlements on the surface.
I took a sip of the wine, savoring the victory ahead. Of course, it’s not like like many Pilot’s Federation explorers make their way out here.
“No hostiles detected,” said the navigator. “We’ll be over the destination in a matter of minutes.”
I nodded, pleased with the operation’s progress. “Signal the fleet. Maintain a tight formation. I want us blotting out the sun when we drop into atmo.”
On the sensor display, the numerous icons of the various Omega ships coalesced into a solid blob. The planet was looming larger and larger, with the exact location of the base already pinpointed. There were still no signs of opposition.
This won’t take but a moment, I thought.
The fleet formed a dense formation as the ships’ nav computers began their glide phases. With the Bucephalus in the lead, the mass of vessels closed in on the speck in the distance, barren rocky terrain streaking beneath their hulls. Indeed, the Snakes would never know what hit them, and Deggie’s faith in me would again prove justified.
And Father. Father is watching, along with all the gods of the clan. Surely he’ll raise a bottle to me from the aftervoid.
The fleet broke into normal flight, decelerating over the Serpents’ sanctuary one by one until the sky was indeed darkened with our number. I took another sip of wine as I looked around me. Black ships with skulls on their sides were densely packed on all sides.
Now witness your daughter.
I raised the glass to those around me, rising from my seat to assert control over the situation. “Well done, squadron leaders. Establish a perimeter. Shock troops, prepare to dr-”
The helmsman pointed to a dense mass that was appearing on the edge of his sensor readout. “Council! We’ve got incoming!”
I strode to the edge of the bridge, peering out the canopy glass. Sure enough, a dark cloud of innumerable specks was rising from the horizon. But where had they come from?
“Report!”
The man frowned as he focused the sensor arc, reading the information as it came in. “Taipans, like ours. Dozens- no, hundreds of them!”
I felt my breath die in my lungs. Hundreds? But how did they transport so many? And how did they know that we were coming?
One by one, I let my gaze fall upon the bridge crew, as though I would gain some kind of clairvoyance as to what had happened by looking at them. Hardening my mouth, I shook my head and forced myself to focus on the situation at hand. The cloud of dark specks was closing in rapidly.
Swat the Snakes from the sky, worry about the intel leak later.
“Squadron leaders! Defensive formation! Protect the dropships!”
The Taipans slammed into the formation, weaving in between the larger ships with ease. All around me, weapon fire lit up the sky around us, the Bucephalus’s shields lighting up in little blue ripples. Gritting my teeth, I seized the bridge’s gunner by the collar and leaned into his ear.
“Blast those fighters, or else your next posting will be as some leather daddy’s plaything at Exotica!”
The man swallowed as I released him, his targeting system having trouble staying focused on only one target. “Yes, council.”
But no amount of threats or coaxing changed the situation. The fleet was packed like a container of ship rations, the tiny fighters of the Gold Crew free to maneuver, and the larger Omega ships unable to return fire without hitting their own.
Seething, I spun to the helmsman. “Contact the reserve squadrons and tell them to get here now!”
Smoke and flaming ships surrounded the view from the command ship. The gunners of the Omega fleet were doing their best, but several black-hulled vessels were spiraling to the surface. One of them looked to be a dropship, carrying within it hundreds of shock troops…
“Reserve squadrons are on their way, but they’re still out of system.”
I slammed a fist down on the holo-display, causing it to flicker. At the rate that ships were dropping, they would never reach us in time. It was a tossup as to who would even survive this battle. The Omega ships were tough as nails and flown by battle-hardened pilots, but they were constricted in their targeting and movement. The snub fighters were easy to pick off individually, but were overwhelming in numbers.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Even if you win the skies, you’ll have lost a humiliating number of ships and men. If they’re entrenched and waiting, you might not be able to take the sanctuary, either.
A black-painted Viper spiraled before the canopy as the Bucephalus’s shields weathered a barrage of cannon fire from a flight of Taipans. The gunner tried to track them, but they used an adjoining Anaconda as cover, the target lock already broken.
I turned to Apollonia. “Fetch the girl. You know the one.”
My companion’s eyes widened as she comprehended my request. “Mon cheri, you don’t mean to-”
Gripping her delicate jaw in my fingers, I pulled the waif’s face to my own. “I mean to win this battle.”
The pale-skinned woman turned to comply, but I tightened my grip and moved my mouth over her ear. “And if you ever question an order again, I’ll take you in hand. Fetch the girl. Now!”
I released her, fear spreading in her eyes. Without a word, she spun and ran from the bridge. I took a deep breath, puzzled at how a phrase once used by Rabat has so effortlessly rolled off my tongue.
“Take you in hand.” I haven’t heard that since he was alive and threatening his own crew.
An explosion jarred the bridge, causing the crew to brace at their stations. I rose back to my feet and looked around.
“Report!”
The helmsman’s eyes widened. “Shields are down. We’re taking damage!”
Already the familiar rattle of small caliber multicannon rounds was reverberating through the hull. The Bucephalus was a brick house of a corvette, protected by heavy slabs of armor- but even she wouldn’t last forever against the swarm of Taipans. Apollonia reappeared, the Elder’s vegetable granddaughter’s hand in hers.
This has to end.
“Open a channel to the sanctuary. Tell them that we wish-”
I swallowed, preparing myself. “Tell them that that we wish to negotiate.”
It took a few tense minutes, but the connection to the complex was able to be established. The Bucephalus was still taking damage and both sides were losing ships at a steady rate. Ahead of me, the face of the Serpent’s Elder shimmered into view, his ruddy, dour face dominating the bridge. He took a moment to look around before speaking.
“Marrakech of the Skulls. What is the meaning of this?”
My eyes narrowed as I looked at him sideways. “The meaning should be clear enough: to repay you and yours for your treachery. But there’s no reason for more bloodshed than necessary.”
The man scoffed, causing his holo-image to distort. “A Skull, talking to me about bloodshed! I’ve been watching your big, expensive fleet get torn to shreds. What terms could you possibly offer us?”
The Bucephalus took a hard hit to starboard, causing her to list before the pilot regained control. Emergency alarms sounded and were quickly silenced. I grabbed a handrail, grit my teeth and looked up.
“You’ll never win, snake. Not in the end. And if you persist, you’ll only kill off your own future.”
A look of caution crossed his face. “Speak plainly. You’re in no position to play games.”
I signaled for Apollonia to bring the child, a hood over her head. Grabbing the girl by the shoulders, I spun her around and yanked the cover.
“Neither are you.”
The man’s eyes widened as he opened and closed his mouth. “Is that- Ingrit?”
I took a step forward, sensing my advantage. “It is-”
Another explosion jarred the ship, triggering fresh alarms. A Taipan made a run at the bridge, spraying the canopy with multicannon rounds and leaving a trail of spiderweb cracks in the glass. The bridge crew scrambled to divert power and prioritize repairs to keep the ship in the air. I steadied myself and tilted the girl’s head back, forcing her to look at her grandfather.
“- and you’re killing her.”
The man’s face twisted in anger and worry. He turned to someone off-camera, ordering the Gold Crew forces to stand down. I held up my hand, signalling my own helmsman to do the same.
Almost immediately, the gunfire surrounding the fleet silenced. The stricken Black Omega fleet began to close the gaps in its formation, the surviving Taipan fighters withdrawing like a swarm of bees leaving a smoking hive.
Thank all the gods for that.
Over the holo-feed, the Elder and I regarded each other in silence, each sizing up the other. He tore his gaze from the child in front of me and hardened his face.
“You wanted terms, void witch. What can you offer?”
I took a step forward, trying not to smile. “Exile. From your base and from Pegasi. Bulk transports only. No weapons, no warships. Only your lives and the clothes on your back. The Black Omega fleet will provide escort and safe passage to Federal space. That Great Serpent of yours will have to do the rest.”
The Elder ignored my jab at his religion. “And Ingrit?”
I placed my hand on the child’s shorn head, caressing it tenderly. “At your side for the journey. I’ll even deliver her myself.”
The man’s face clouded with distrust. “Unharmed?”
Finally, I allowed myself a cunning smile. “Exactly as you see her.”
The Bucephalus touched down on the flattened, dusty ground outside the sanctuary. It had indeed been a well-chosen site, taking advantage of the planet’s system of natural-formed tunnels and caverns, formed by intense volcanic activity from thousands of years ago. The base itself had been built into the mountains, with only a few man-made outcroppings and observation platforms to hint at habitation. From the probe scans, the planet looked to have been in the early stages of terraforming, with a semi-breathable atmosphere maintained by gas-exchange towers in a perimeter around the base. How much longer those would last was anyone’s guess.
I descended down the corvette’s entry ramp, trying to not obviously inspect its damage. Though I wasn’t able to get a good look, I could tell that the ship had suffered tremendously during the battle. Pockmarks and twisted metal plating disrupted its straight, no-nonsense lines, and in a few places the crew was already applying emergency hull patches from the inside.
I allowed myself a glance skyward, the black shapes of the Black Omega fleet maintaining position above the settlement. Around them, the Taipans maintained a swarming holding pattern. To my sides, the still-smoldering wrecks of recently fallen ships littered the landscape. Small bands of survivors were gathered around some of the large Black Omega ships, but others-
No matter. Focus.
The doors to the mountain entrance opened, and a small group of Gold Crew functionaries strode toward us. I straightened my back as an honor guard of Enforcers assembled around me. Apollonia was behind me, the child’s hand in her own. At my side was Idris, wearily watching the entourage coming at us.
“Do you believe it a trap?” he said.
If it isn’t, the Serpents are fools. It’s exactly what I would do in their position.
I shook my head. “No. Their sense of honor prohibits it.”
A scowl crossed the brute’s face as he looked around and at the mountain peaks. “Their sense of honor prohibited poisoning a woman in her own bedroom, as well. We must be cautious.”
I smiled, amused at Idris’s uncharacteristically detailed observation. But he wasn't wrong. The attempt on Azalea’s life had Kat von Steuben’s fingerprints on it, not anyone raised from within the Crew. Yet the recent battle had none of her low cunning. The Gold Crew had waited until we were fully committed and engaged in the old way, with nothing hidden and no deceptive tactics. Then, it had taken the sight of a single little girl to halt what had been a winning battle. So what did that mean?
It means that Kat isn’t here to influence the snakes. That child is the future of the clan, but she wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice her if it meant victory and survival.
The realization both brightened and dampened my mood. So, if she isn’t here, where is she?
“Marrakech of the Skulls.”
We had been led to the chambers of the Inner Circle, buried deep within the mountain. The Elder was waiting for us, the large, circular table set with a single glass of wine at the opposite end as where he was sitting. Without hesitating, I picked up the glass and raised it to my host.
“Elder Teilhard of the Serpents.”
Without hesitation, I pressed the goblet to my lips and gulped down the fiery liquid in one pull, the venomwine filling my belly with fire. With a load exhale and a solid gaze into his aged eyes, I firmly placed the glass back onto the table. The Elder looked at me with amusement, gesturing to the empty vessel.
“You do me great confidence. But unnecessarily so. It is not our way to poison an envoy, even one such as yourself.”
I sneered at the man, gripping the chair and shaking my head. “No, but it’s your way to poison a woman in her own bedchamber. And don’t even get me started on what you do to your own envoys!”
A look of pain and regret spread over the man’s face, even though he tried to conceal it.
“Wolfgang was a good son,” he said slowly. “And I loved him from the day I pulled him by his arms from his mother’s womb to the day I ordered them skinned. But he was weak, and betrayed the Inner Circle’s trust by agreeing to your ruinous terms. I don’t expect you to understand.”
I let out a short laugh. “I’m no stranger to harsh fathers. But I didn’t come here to listen to you justify yourself. Your people are to leave. All of them.”
A sad smile lifted the man’s lips as he held up his hands. “From this sanctuary, certainly. But there are others. And when word spreads of my surrender, I’ll no longer be an Elder. In fact-”
The man looked at his arms, holding them out. “In fact, I fully expect to share my son’s fate. A great many would say that I’ve betrayed the Great Serpent just by speaking with you. I’m afraid that there is very little leverage you have on me, Marrakech of the Skulls.”
I smiled slyly. “Except the girl.”
The man dropped his arms and slouched. “Except the girl.”
My wrist communicator chirped. It was a message from Victor Laius, in command of the reserve fleet. I glanced at it and immediately closed out the display.
“And when this agreement goes through, your people will depart peaceably? I would hate for there to be further-” I smiled. “-misunderstandings.”
The man looked up, the dignity of his position preventing him from despair. “As I said- from this facility only. Those in my charge will fight no more forever.”
I picked up the empty glass, holding it up in a mock toast. “Well,” I said. “That’s a start, isn’t it?”
The Elder started hard at me. “You have your terms, then. I want mine.”
I raised my eyebrows, still holding the toast. “The girl. Of course. Apollonia!”
From behind me, my waif gently led the child by the hand, stepping unsurely as though she had scarcely learned to walk. She positioned her in front of the Elder and pointed at him. Slowly, mechanically, the child walked toward the old man, his overjoyed look slowly dissolving into one of horror and mistrust. She hadn’t reacted at seeing him, hadn’t done anything except follow basic instructions. Again, my wrist computer chimed. Again, it was a message from Laius.
The man looked at his granddaughter, holding her face in his hands and trying desperately to see any trace of the child he had known. She only continued to gaze ahead, her eyes lifeless and dull. He repeated her name, every attempt becoming more desperate than the last. He tilted her head up for her to look at him- and brushed the insertion point, left in place by Doctor Glaboski. The Elder glanced at it- and looked bitterly up at me.
“What have you done with her?”
Finally, I allowed the full coldness of my smile to spread across my face. Everything was in place.
“She sold you out, old man. Just couldn’t resist taking her out to look at the stars together, could you?”
Trembling in rage, the Elder raised an accusing finger. “Oathbreaker!”
I took another step forward, grinning wider, my jacket rustling around my knees. “I promised to return her in the exact condition that you saw, and I have. But you’re right. Just not in the way you think.”
The man opened and closed his mouth, unable to comprehend the level of treachery to which he’d fallen victim. Behind me, the chamber door burst open, Idris and a squad of Enforcers leveling weapons at the old man. Slowly, I fished my comm device from my jacket and opened a general channel.
“All ships- attack!”
Even from within the mountain compound, we heard the staccato sound of multicannons opening up and the rumble of thrusters engaging. Once again, the sky was filled with sounds of battle. The Elder regained his voice and drew himself up.
“We… we had terms! You agreed that my people could leave in peace!”
Despite myself, I felt my lips curl into a smirk. “I lied.”
As if to underscore my point, we heard the whine of a Taipan rush close by before an explosion shook the ground under our feet. Ingrit stumbled, unsteady on her feet. In one smooth motion, I drew my pistol, took careful aim-
And shot the mentally crippled child in the back.
The Elder screamed and dropped to his knees to catch the dying girl in his arms. Her legs collapsed and her eyes shot open, not comprehending the pain or what it meant. Within moments, she was dead. The man, for his part, simply wailed and looked at me with pain and hatred. But he was impotent. There was nothing he could do, unarmed and with Idris standing next to me. Apollonia was looking with pity at the child, her lips pursed but not daring to say anything.
I blew the smoke from the weapon and re-holstered it. “For what it’s worth,” I said. “The child was the only one to whom I’d planned on showing mercy. Teams of shock troops are even now blasting their way into your sanctuary.”
Another explosion rocked the facility above us, the heavy tamping sound of Enforcers being deployed causing dirt to fall from the rock ceiling. I brushed the dirt from my shoulder and gave the man a toothy grin.
“There’s one.”
More enforcers appeared as Laius’s dour face appeared from my wrist computer. “It’s over, consiglieri,” he said. “The snakes were low on ammo, and we’ve scattered their snub fighters. Teams are securing every level of the facility as I speak.”
I nodded at the man’s hologram and gestured to the old man before me. “Don’t be angry, Elder. You had no way of knowing that a second fleet was on its way. But I’m not a total monster. I promised safe passage for your people, and they shall have it.”
I raised my wrist computer, looking again at Laius. “Contact the Kumos. See what the going rate is on-” I looked up at the Elder. “-snake skins.”
Glancing at Idris, I dropped my voice. “And seize him.”
Without hesitation, Idris stroke forward and grabbed the Elder by the wrist, twisting his arm and wrenching him away from place over his granddaughter. I gestured downward, and the old man was forced to his knees before me. Still, he looked up, broken in body but not spirit.
“I’ll die here before I let you sell my people into slavery!”
I smiled, standing over him in triumph. Weapon fire and the screams of dying men echoed down the hallways above and around us.
Hopefully the Enforcers don’t kill too many. We’ve racked up quite a bill today.
“No, Elder,” I said. “You’re coming with us. I’ve got more sanctuaries to visit, and you’re going to help me find them.”
A look of defiance twisted his face as he struggled in Idris’s grip. “I’ll never tell you anything!”
I raised my eyebrows, amused. “Me? Certainly not. But the good Doctor Glaboski?”
I leaned in, gripping his jaw like I had Apollonia’s back in the Bucephalus. “I suspect that you’ll be most forthcoming with him. Much like your precious Ingrit.”
A look of horror spread across the old man’s face as he comprehended his fate. “You will burn in all the hells for this, Marrakech of the Skulls!”
Idris hoisted him up for the Enforcers to lead him away, but I held up my hand, halting thim. I hooked my fingers around the leather jacket’s oversized collar and cocked my head to the side.
“About that. I've been meaning to correct you,” I said. “It’s Marrakech- of the clan Morgan.”
The woman awakened, still in a state of pain and misery.
How long had it been? she thought. How long would I be here?
The temple’s location was a secret, buried as it was in a chamber of solid rock, the circular walls themselves sculpted to resemble the stacked coils of a giant snake. Above her head was an outcropping of stone, also sculpted to resemble a snarling serpent, looking furiously down at her. She was bound and immobile, on her back atop a smooth stone slab with her arms wrapped in thick bandages. Here she had undergone The Shedding, the ceremony where one affirms their commitment to the clan and to their Great Serpent.
She closed her eyes, trying to push the memory of the ordeal from her mind. Though her arms were healing, the agony had been so great that she could still feel it. Intellectually, she wasn’t afraid. The regen drugs would re-grow her lost skin, and she would be physically none the worse. But the phantom pain from it all- the feeling of having one’s own skin slowly peeled from its flesh...
It hadn’t been only the pain. For weeks, she had been utterly dependant on others for her needs. The ritual was meant to teach humility as well as symbolize the shedding of a snake’s skin. Food, drink, bodily hygiene- without the use of her arms, she had been unable to care for herself. She had been forced, as all those who underwent The Shedding did, to submit herself to the care of her clansmen totally, to trust them and depend on them. And so she had. And so she lived. But unlike those of her adopted clan, she learned the opposite of the ritual’s intended lessons.
She hated her clansmen even more than when she had accepted their protection and her initial snake tattoos. She hated all of them. For their cruelty. For their barbarity. For the timing of their “honor”, when her skills and her guidance were needed the most. For ten years, it had been that barbarism and savagery that protected her from the wrath of the Morgans. Perhaps the Elders thought that her time to repay the clan had come. Perhaps they were right. But they were still fools.
The remnants of their Inner Circle had feared change too much, relegating her to the sidelines and engaging the Skulls in their own way. No doubt that they were hoping for the conflict to be at an end by the time she healed, but she knew the outcome of such a strategy. Sooner or later, the Skulls would get the pitched battle that they craved. The Serpents would fight and die with honor.
And Marrakech Morgan would still be alive, walking in her father’s monstrous footsteps.
The chamber door slowly opened, the sound of rock sliding against rock echoing from the stone walls. In walked the temple’s Serpent Priests, their dour faces looking down at her as they illuminated the chamber with flaming torches. The High Priest signaled to one of the others, the subordinate slowly unwrapping the linen that covered her arms from shoulder to fingertip.
“She is ready,” he said.
Indeed, she was. Smooth pale skin like that of a newborn covered her arms, leaving no hint of the bloody trauma that had been inflicted on them weeks ago. The High Priest gave another signal, and an old man with a deeply wrinkled face and milky white eyes stepped forward. He hadn’t had his sight in years, but it was believed that the Great Serpent itself guided his hand, so brilliant and intricate were his tattoos. Slowly, carefully, he arranged his needles and pots of ink.
The woman relaxed. Compared to before, getting new serpents would be a joy. But it was only when she glanced to her side and noticed the exact colors of ink being prepared that her eyes widened.
“You- you can’t possibly be serious!”
The High Priest nodded gravely as the other formed a circle around her. “As serious as death. Sanctuary Prime is destroyed. Elder Teilhard is taken. Now the others are in danger, and we have nowhere else to go.”
Bei allen Göttern, she thought.
Sanctuary Prime had been the largest, most well-hidden concentration of those evacuated from Serpent’s Redoubt. If it was gone, then so was much the Gold Crew’s best leadership and warrior stock. She shook her head, despairing at the news.
“Then we must flee. Flee to the bubble and accept whatever fate has in store for us. We were nomads once- we can be so again!”
The old man was already washing her arms, preparing her skin for the needle. He was also familiarizing himself with her, mentally mapping her arms and planning his final masterpiece. The High Priest ignored him as he shook his bald head.
“No. Pegasi is our home. The remaining megaships are invulnerable, and there is no place for us in the core.”
Even as her mind struggled for solutions, she knew that he was right. She glanced at her arms, and than up to the High Priest. “And this is the will of the Great Serpent?”
The holy man nodded, gesturing for the others to leave and taking a step towards the door himself. Once again, the chamber was almost pitch black, the blind tattoo artist not requiring the light to do his work. Before exiting the chamber, he turned to the raven-haired woman a final time.
“The Black Dragon has fallen,” he said. “And if we are to survive, it must rise again.”