This post started off as a one-off response to a writing prompt in the Freewriters Community. Then I wrote a part 2 (with the outcome literally determined by a coin toss).
But that naturally leads to a part 3, which is where this short series comes in. I felt that doing it in just one post really wouldn't give enough time to build up a bit of suspense 😀 Enjoy !
Image created by AI in NightCafe Studio
The shuttle's engines ticked quietly as they cooled down. They'd hidden the ship against the base of an overhanging cliff in a range of low mountains a hundred or so miles from Meranda Base.
Dafang sat with his back against the rock, head in his hands.
"Y'okay, Sir ?" Wardek asked with concern in his gruff voice.
"Yeah... thanks. Just shell-shocked and exhausted. Give me a little while, I'll be fine."
A few yards away, the other three ASU veterans were hunched over a control unit of some kind.
Stirring himself, Dafang knew he needed to pull himself together and start taking an interest. After all, these guys had just saved him. They were talking quietly among themselves; their body language and demeanour had that quiet confidence of professional but dangerous people who knew exactly what they were doing.
Moving over to them, Dafang waited until one looked up before speaking. He didn't want to interrupt whatever they were doing.
"So what next ? What's the plan ?" it was just an automatic assumption that there was a plan. That's the kind of people these guys were.
One of them looked up at him. A short, sturdy-looking man, grey haired and with a deeply lined face. The front of his camouflage jacket bore a triple row of service ribbons. When he responded, he was clearly using the practiced mannerisms and phrasing he'd have used when dealing with civilian contacts. It was obvious he was working hard to avoid using the Imperial BatLang that would have been incomprehensible to someone not hypno-trained in it.
"Right now, we're observing and gathering intelligence. Just before we picked you up, we dropped off a package. Half a dozen micro-drones."
The man grinned. "I wonder how long before they notice that some of the insects don't move right ?"
One of the others, a tall spare-looking fellow with the steel cable sinewy muscles of a sprinter and a face that was a mass of fine scars, interrupted. "I think we've got something, Albaraz. Governor Dafang, Sir, you should see this, too."
Everyone turned to pay attention to the control unit. Above it was projected a holographic screen, showing the view the micro-drone was transmitting.
Dafang saw with a shock that it was the inside of his office..... Mr Garnes office, now. It took a couple of seconds to recognise it after the appallingly tasteless adornments Garnes had added, not to mention the odd viewpoint of the drone hiding up behind the ceiling light.
There was sound, as well, although the holoscreen wasn't visible from where the drone was lurking. Garnes was speaking.
"... another priority, Admiral. I know we called for help because we suspect a significant Einheriar infiltration. But there's a more urgent issue I want you to resolve first. We've had a mutiny among a small but highly dangerous section of the Gendarmerie. The former governor subverted them, I don't know why, but they've broken him out of protective custody with extreme violence, killing a civilian and several guards in the process. I believe they've got advanced weapons and are in contact with the Einheriar."
Garnes' words were coming out in a rush, complete verbal diarrhoea with a strong edge of hysteria. Dafang couldn't help but smirk at his former subordinate's discomfiture.
Wardek piped up. "Albaraz, Harmes, see if you can turn the drone and get a view of the screen."
It only took a few seconds of deft tweaks with a control glove, and the viewpoint shifted.
Harmes, the man with the scars, groaned quietly. "Crap, it's Admiral Maraz."
Dafang raised an eyebrow. "Bad news ?"
Nodding, Harmes clarified. "You don't get to be an admiral by being incompetent, but he's a killer. Everything black and white and by the book, and no room for imagination. Lady Kandra had him transferred out of 1055 Battle Corps when she took them to Kerber Sector to learn the new tactics. He's far too rigid to accept something like that."
Nodding, Dafang knew what he meant, he'd dealt with people like that.
"We need him to understand that Garnes grabbed power illegally. But how can we get in contact with him ?"
Previous posts in this series;
- https://peakd.com/hive-161155/@alonicus/24-january-2025-mariannewests-freewrite-writing-prompt-day-2626-mother-love - the post that started it all, and introduced the spine-spiders
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/escape-from-the-caves-of-meranda-iv - the sequel, where the science team escapes back to base and recommends the planet not be colonised. They were too late.
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-1 - we meet the Governor Dafang and get the first hints that the colony isn't going to plan
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-2 - Governor Dafang takes a trip to the Greenfields settlement, only to find it is not there any more
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-3 - a fractious meeting of the co0lony's government, and a worrying foreshadow
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-4 - this is where things start to really go sideways for the colony
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-5 - Doctor Helen Thwaites returns to Meranda to reveal the cover-up
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-6 - Garnes tries to arrest Helen, and gets told to go away
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-7 - Meranda Base finds itself surrounded by a broad band of patterns
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-8 - Mr Garnes makes his move
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-8 - Mr Garnes makes his move
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-9 - Mr Garnes' juniors aren't impressed by his self-promotion
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-10 - Wardek breaks Dafang out of prison, but Doctor Thwaites is swallowed up by the ground.
The way he’s panicking makes it obvious he knows he’s in deep trouble. Also, micro drones disguised as insects is very cool espionage haha. I like the tension in this one
Thank you ! Yep, Garnes is that traditional nightmare, the person who wants power but doesn't know what to do with it once he's there....
!BBH
hahaha like some politicians 🤣🤣🤣