Tears of Kerberos (21 page)

“What is your status?” asked Sergeant Travis.

“I’ve got four injured, they are being taken care of now, luckily nothing too serious. The three squads from the Ninth Precinct are unhurt, I’m still checking on the rest.”

“Good, good. Get the three units down to the street fast! We need medical attention for the injured. Keep one squad back to protect the Assembly.”

As he watched the dust cloud started to settle revealing over twenty bodies plus more people still staggering away from the crowd. In the middle of the bodies were the charred remains of the religious standard. Incredibly it was still intact but had suffered damage and scorch marks from the attack. Around the damaged icon were the bodies of the members of the Church, each one dressed in their traditional garb and all badly mutilated by the blast. From the boundaries of the area small groups of people emerged, some were bleeding, others may have just arrived. At the sight of the partially burnt icon they started to swoop back in as bodies were still being carried away.

“Cordon off the icon, get those people away from there!” he shouted.

Sergeant Travis moved down from the line and towards the relic, doing his best not to slip and fall on the blood. Small numbers of police joined him as they tried to create a protective screen around the clump of bodies by the relic.

A man lifted a stick in the air and waved it over his head.

“Zealots out, Zealots out!” he cried before being dragged down by the mob.

Travis tried to push his way through to the man, but was too late as he was already being dragged off by four burly men, who then promptly disappeared into the darkness.

“Dispatch, we need that backup now. The Assembly Building is not secure, I repeat the Assembly is not secure!” he said firmly into his radio.

There was no response from the set. He tried again but the numbers of people moving back into the area was just too much, with a hand signal he instructed his men to fall back to their original positions outside the building. As they moved back the crowd plucked and grabbed at the ruined icon, though whether for souvenirs or as relics he couldn’t tell.

Jenkins rushed over to him.

“Sir, we’ve got a problem around the corner. A car has been crashed into our command centre and a device set off. They managed to get everybody out but they have had to fall back to the Assembly perimeter. Something big is going on here!”

* * *

“Fellow representatives, as you are all aware, in the last year events have conspired to bring violence and disorder to the colonies of the Confederation. The causes are many and in some cases are still being discovered. In calling this Assembly it is my hope that we can rebuild the road to real peace and lasting security throughout the sector. We can be strong, safe and productive if we work together. I am fully aware that there have been two previous attempts to resolve the grievances between the religious organisations on Prime and the political structures of the Confederacy. They both failed and it is now our job as citizens of the Confederacy to ensure we do more than lay out another road map. We owe this to every man, woman and child in the sector!"

A round of applause spread gently through the building. It was hardly the resounding roar he may have hoped for but it was at least audible. There was always the possibility he would have been shouted down and that would have been a disaster. As the noise dulled he prepared to continue.

“Starting today…” he said before being interrupted by the first bomb blast.

From inside the substantial stone building the explosion sounded like a dull thud but it was clear something bad, if nothing else by the number of security officials rushing to the doors and balconies to see what was happening.

“Please be calm, we are checking on this disturbance. Stay where you are, there is no cause for alarm,” the President said in a reassuring voice.

The sound of alarms was barely audible and the sound of police hovercraft flying over the building was hard to disguise. The recognisable blare of police sirens ran from one side of the building to the other as more police vehicles swept in around the building. A police officer hurried around the outer walkway of the hall until he reached the President, he leaned in and spoke briefly before handing him a datapad. The President looked at it for a moment, the officer headed back as the President stood up to speak. Some of the representatives started to get up, either to see what was happening or to try and find safer surroundings.

“Please be calm, this situation will be dealt with shortly. I have just received this report from the local police officers providing security for this important gathering. It is believed that an unknown attacker has triggered an explosive device in the crowd. There have been many casualties but it is unknown whether they or this Assembly was the intended target,” he said sternly.

One of the door burst open along the lower side of the hall and in ran three men, each of them dressed in drab grey overalls and carrying a bloodied body between them. A number of security people ran to stop them. They weren’t fast enough to prevent the first man from speaking.

“It was the police, they killed the Echidna representatives in the street…in cold blood!” the man shouted before he was dragged to the ground.

As the security men tried to restrain him one of the men managed to fight free and pushed out into the middle of the hall. In one hand he carried an object, it looked like a small metal ball about the size of a man’s fist. Several people spotted his movement and started shouting, assuming it was a bomb. He was evidently about to speak or do something with the item when one of the guards jumped forward and struck him with his baton. It was a heavy strike and intended to hit the man in the arms but in the struggle he was struck in the temple. In an instant the man collapsed to the ground, blood running from the wound to his head.

As he hit the floor the object dropped from his hand and rolled into the crowd. Some of the spectators ducked down behind their seats but the rest stared on intently, fascinated by the spectre of what might be. As the object stopped they could see it presented no real threat.

“What is it?” shouted one.

“A snake or something, a figurine,” said another.

Muttering and shouting spread before a man in the robes of the Church of Echidna stepped inside. Several of the dignitaries bowed as he passed, showing due reverence to the leader of the Church on Kerberos. The man moved out into the open area. As he approached the fallen object the security guards stepped back. Either they had been ordered to back off or they could see the situation for what it was.

“Order!” shouted the President but it was no good.

Pandemonium erupted in the hall with officials from each of their worlds trying to get a better view of what was going on. One of the trade representatives turned and quickly left and was followed by a small number of followers to the nearest emergency exit. At the same time two guards in dark suits and armed with carbines approached the President, flanking him on both sides to protect him from any potential threats.

“Delegates, please be seated, this disturbance will be dealt with shortly!”

The robed man stopped and knelt down to pick up the object. As he held it the people attempting to leave the building turned and watched. From outside a number of shouts and cries could be heard, presumably from the gathering protests. The man lifted up the object and turned to face the President.

“President, this is part of the Icon of Echidna, the ancient relic of our religion and our most revered symbol. We intended to present the icon to the Assembly as a sign of our respect to the people of Yama City. Sadly it appears this is the only part of the relic that has not been destroyed by the fires of violence or of the greed of material gain. I, the Bishop of Yama, offer this small piece of Echidna to the proceedings,” he said before walking to the small altar at the back of the room. He placed it down carefully. A number of the delegates started to clap and more than a dozen men shouted and cheered him.

Behind him the security units dragged these other men away and out through a small doorway to the side of the building. It was standard procedure, after all, they were not allowed inside the hall. But from where the delegates sat it looked as though the security forces and police were beating or arresting people at will.

Ambassador Drusilla from Orthrus stood from her seat and spoke out through the loudspeaker system, her anger obvious.

“This is intolerable. We were told this was an open debate between representatives of the colonies and all the religious groups. These attacks on our brothers in the Church of Echidna will not go unpunished! Your state lackeys are attacking legitimate protesters outside!” she cried.

The Ambassador sat down, giving a brief glance to her opposite number from the Agora colony. Shouting and arguments spread through the many groups inside the building. The President tried to placate them but it was too little, too late. He might be the President of this colony but in the Assembly there were plenty of factions who considered him nothing more than a regional puppet. The ambassador for Agora pressed the button in front of his seat to indicate he would like to speak to the Assembly.

“As the elected representative of Agora I would like to ask the Bishop of Yama to offer his thoughts and considerations on the problem in the Confederacy. I think it might be useful to hear some free speech and discussion away from the politics of this chamber,” he said in a sarcastic manner.

A chorus of agreement echoed from some of the people inside, even so a number declined to join in, some even turning their heads in disagreement.

The Bishop lifted his hand to thank those who wished to hear him speak. As he stood the Assembly quietened down, each curious to hear what the most important religious figure in the colony had to say.

* * *

The shockwave from the shuttle rippled past the craft as it emerged into the atmosphere. Now travelling at thousands of miles per hour the heat from the massive amount of friction superheated the ceramic plates fitted along the hull of the craft. This was always the most dangerous part of landing forces planet-side. Just one break in the ceramic plates and the hot gasses would tear inside the craft, melting away the metal alloys and vaporising the vessel in a matter of seconds.

“Can’t we go faster?” asked an irritable General Rivers.

“ETA eleven minutes, Sir, any faster and we’ll burn up on re-entry,” explained the co-pilot.

The marine assault shuttle was one of the standard craft from on board the CCS Santa Cruz. Like many of the vessels in the battlegroup, it showed the marks and scars of battle from the last week. This particular shuttle had sustained over a dozen bullet strikes during the evacuation at the Titan Naval Station and then debris and storm damage during the contested landings on Prime. Though most of the damage had been repaired, the paintwork was in a terrible state and one of the gun mounts on the side of the craft was still out of action. However, it was still the least damaged shuttle on the ship.

“You’re that desperate to meet a load of arguing politicians?” asked Spartan.

The General smiled but looked as if he had a great deal on his mind. Spartan thought about the news he’d recently seen and was already starting to lose count of the number of factions, interests and people in the troubles. He wondered sometimes if there was some kind of hand behind it all. Surely this amount of strife didn’t just come about by chance? The more he thought about it, the more he realised that his entire life seemed to consist of events that should never happen and included people he would never expect to meet. It was strange, he had only been involved in a small number of missions but was already beginning to feel like a veteran. This was his fourth assignment since the Fleet had been rushed into action. The first had been on the moon of Kronus, the second when he was part of the team that interdicted a transport trying to escape the epic space battle around the Naval Station. His most recent action on the surface of Prime had exposed him to more violence and combat than any marine could expect in an entire career. Still, at least he had been given a twelve-hour break before meeting the rest of their unit. It wasn’t much but after Prime he needed a break, any break just to calm his nerves and to rest his weary body. It wouldn’t be long before he met the rest of the team so they checked their communications gear, procedures and plan for the major contingencies that might occur on Kerberos. He still couldn’t believe the speed of the assignments coming his way. He could only hope that upon his return he would finally get some rest. By the time he was back it couldn’t be long before Teresa and her team returned to the Santa Cruz and that was a part he was really looking forward to.

“Uh, Sir, we have reports of violence outside the Assembly Building. Looks like there has been some kind of bomb attack,” said the co-pilot.