‘So you just went and made this decision without talking to any other subofficers,’ Ala said, pacing along the pavement outside headquarters and occasionally pausing to step over debris. ‘Might’ve told me. Not like I kept us together for the past two decades or anything!’
Sandsa looked at Callista who merely raised an eyebrow. She remained by Ala’s side while the horde of non-Maria clanspeople continued to show up en masse, all packing weaponry. Several Maria subofficers were also in attendance, including the newly promoted Knives. Mindful that he owed Ala an explanation, Sandsa said, ‘These clans do not wish to rule the city and so have agreed to help the Maria defeat the Alcazaar.’
‘What happens when the lyin’ scum stab us in the back, though?’ Knives asked. Ala’s mechanical eye swung over to Knives and he held up a hand, his tone growing defensive. ‘Hey now, if one subofficer can get away with makin’ peace with a bunch of other clans without your say-so, then this subofficer can speak out of turn.’
‘See what you’ve done, Bolt?’ Ala growled.
‘Ala, it was not done to supplant you,’ Callista assured her.
‘No? You think I’m stupid enough not to see what he wants?’
Vom’s large figure cut a path through the gathering crowd and the stirrings on both sides ceased, allowing the man to speak unhindered. ‘Bolt can see we have greater numbers than the Alcazaar if we join together. If what the man wants is to rid us of the Alcazaar, then my people are happy to help him. And it’s not like your leadership has done the Maria any favours, Subofficer Ala.’
‘Ala kept us together,’ Callista said firmly, ‘and made sure we remained a viable threat to the Alcazaar. But that’s not the point. We want to win this. Ala, Vom gave me the codes we’ve been using to neutralise their hovercars.’
‘Why?’ Ala asked, suspicion heavy on her brow.
‘Seemed like a good idea to make nice with a powerful clan,’ Vom said, drawing laughs.
A clanswoman interrupted the confrontation with a shout, announcing the arrival of four Chipper tanks. Several eyes lifted to take them in, then rose much higher to the Chipcopter flying behind the tanks. This caused more than a few people to mutter among themselves.
Sandsa swallowed, mentally preparing to take on the Chipcopter if need be. ‘My friends. Subofficers. The Zatzat and the other gangs here were formed out of necessity by people who wished to protect themselves and their families from the violence of Atsa. They know that the best chance to achieve this is to support us in our fight.’
Ala’s red eye selected several new faces to scan. ‘Alright. But, Vom, you gotta understand what you’re getting into. If you start fighting the Alcazaar, your people will die. I mean it. If we lose, all of you will die.’
‘Then we die,’ Vom said simply.
‘Easy for you to say, Vom!’ someone chortled. ‘I got my mother-in-law’s mortgage on another planet to pay off. She’ll never let me hear the end of it if I get myself killed!’
Sandsa stepped forward before the spreading laughter could detract from the seriousness of the situation. ‘Clanspeople, do you agree to take the orders of Subofficer Ala during this war, without any attempt to take the mantle of Clan Leader for yourselves?’
‘Yes!’ Vom boomed and the chorus followed. ‘Yes, yes, yes!’
Callista left Ala’s side and came towards Sandsa. He caught her in his arms and they kissed, surrounded by those who had joined them in fighting this war. While the ’copter hovered overhead, the tanks began to disgorge armed passengers in purple jumpsuits and Vom had to quickly quieten scores of uncertain clanspeople who were not aware of the truce between the Maria and the Chippers.
‘Do you think this will lead to a good outcome for Atsa?’ Sandsa asked Callista in a low voice. ‘I can’t…I can’t see if banding together will lead to the end of the Alcazaar.’ He decided not to mention that his ability to peer into the future, which had already been difficult to use for the past few weeks, was now severely hampered by ignoring the god’s powers.
Callista smiled at him. ‘I think that this home, while we have it, deserves every attempt to make it something better.’
‘While we have it,’ he repeated, nipping her earlobe. Then he turned to the nearby Chipper who had just finished clearing her throat noisily. ‘Colonel Jeras Nerani. I take it this particular Chipcopter belongs to you.’
The woman nodded. The tiny periwinkle tentacles on her scalp shivered in response. ‘Until my superiors find out what I’m doing with it, that is. Tonight it’s your chauffeur service. Governor Garnett wants a word with the two of you.’
‘You will have to ask Subofficer Ala if that is agreeable,’ Sandsa told her, offering a polite nod to Ala.
‘Why bother askin’ me anything?’ Ala asked sourly.
Sleep was the order she had given her people, but she hadn’t obeyed it herself. Sandsa felt the darkness encroaching on her consciousness and burrowing into her thinking processes. Sandsa held both her eyes, real and artificial, and said, ‘Because this might be a trap and you care about the safety of your people, even the one who has stolen the admiration of your peers.’
Ala’s laugh sounded like metal grinding over pavement. ‘The colonel here might be a Chipper but she’s not scum. I trust her. And I like Cals far too much to send ya off to certain death. She’d probably take issue with it — worse, I think she might even love you.’
‘I do love him,’ Callista said.
Ala flapped a hand at her. ‘Cool it. You just met him. You can’t know that already.’
‘I do know.’
‘As for takin’ all my respect and power…’ Ala went on.
Sandsa tensed.
‘…my job was to protect my people, like Vom did for his lot,’ she finished, smiling sadly. ‘Your job’s somethin’ else, evidently. Take good care of her — you owe me that much, Bolt.’
He nodded once then strode towards the ’copter, Callista at his side. The airborne vehicle lost height so rapidly it looked as though it was about to crash, but then it drew up short, staying low only long enough for them to board. Within moments, Ala and Nerani became tiny objects, like expendable pieces on an ancient chess board. Next to shrink were the buildings and the explosions that were cropping up all over the city; the latter now resembled colourful splashes on a pond.
‘I will not do all the talking, I promise you!’ Sandsa shouted over the whistling wind so that Callista, who was searching for the button that activated the automated restraints, could hear him.
‘Talking seems to do a lot for you,’ she said, glancing up. ‘You managed to unite a plethora of clans and make nice with your girlfriend’s best friend all in one night!’
‘Girlfriend?’ he echoed.
Callista retreated into mind-speech as a particularly strong gust of wind jolted the ’copter. Well, I can’t call you ‘lover’ yet.
Why not?
It’s just how things progress, I guess, she said, physically shrugging. Girlfriend is lower down on the scale. Then lover. Then other labels turn up.
And is ‘wife’ one of those labels? he asked.
Callista did not respond, though he noticed that her hand shook when it reached for his.
The ’copter pilot did not spare them a single glance during the entire journey, nor when she set them down on the largest building in the city. The governor’s base of operations was sleek, silver and graceful, almost like one of the sea creatures that Sandsa knew his brother Fayay, the god of water, dealt with. The chrome on the building’s exterior might have been painted at some point over the centuries, but now its bare surface gleamed, a beacon above the chaos down below. It would be so easy to see the people streaming over the distant paths and roads as insignificant nuisances, Sandsa mused. He was disturbed that this thought reminded him of how he’d viewed the mortals in his deserts.
He climbed out onto the flat square that marked the top of the building and turned to Callista, holding out his hand. Tossing him a mischievous grin, she refused his help and leapt past him, landing steadily on her feet.
‘I love you, but sometimes you’ve got to remember I can handle myself,’ she told him when he joined her beside the section of the roof that was sinking to form stairs.
You are a very capable individual, but together we are greater than anything we could ever be apart, he said, his fingers grazing her cheek.
She gave him a smile, but it was brief, uncertain. I’d still like to be great on my own, Sandsa.
They descended the steps as one.
***
Unsurprisingly, there were guards at the entrance to the governor’s study. They remained unmoving, even when the wooden door between them swung out in the same archaic style that the Chippers favoured. Callista would have scoffed at this had she not heard a hidden metal panel retract before the door opened. If the governor needed to seal himself inside his study, he would have two layers of protection.
Governor Garnett stood when they entered. The only furniture in the room consisted of a cluster of chairs and an ornate circular table that played host to a silver bottle with a tall, elegant neck. Wine from another planet, Callista noted, an expensive brand that her parents had foisted on her over the years. She hated its cloying taste but had learned how to smile and pretend it was the best thing she’d ever tarred her tongue with.
The governor reached for the bottle and began pouring its contents into three tumblers.
Only once his visitors were seated did he lower himself into a chair. Shorter than Callista remembered and now bearing as many individual threads of silver in his hair as her father did, he still maintained the bulk of someone who could best a clansperson in a physical fight. His genial smile painted him as paternal, but his pale eyes were flinty.
Callista leaned back in her chair and slung a leg over her knee, making sure she earned his disapproving look. The governor quickly reactivated the smile and extended a tumbler to Sandsa who shook his head. Callista copied the gesture.
‘I believe I have the both of you to blame for the recent turmoil in this city,’ Governor Jon Garnett remarked. ‘The current Clan Leader and I have spoken on this matter.’
Callista threw a worried look at Sandsa. He’s not lying; he has to speak to the reigning Clan Leader to keep Atsa running. I’ve only been in the Maria for three years — you even less. Do we have a right to upend the entire city?
But Sandsa was smiling. ‘Governor Garnett, I propose that the current method used to police Atsa City is flawed.’
‘Enlighten me,’ Garnett said, bending his fingers at the knuckles as he pressed them together.
Callista cleared her throat. ‘Families are forced to form their own clans simply to survive the night. Not everyone can afford the safety of the No-Go Zone.’
‘The very zone that your gang now stages battles in?’ Garnett mused.
Sandsa’s chair creaked as he shifted forward. ‘Governor. Do you want these conflicts to continue to endanger the innocents of your city?’
‘I imagine he only cares about how they vote,’ Callista said, rolling her eyes. ‘And I suspect he makes a lot of money out of levying taxes on imported weapons and equipment. The more the Alcazaar bring in, the better it is for him.’ She cut herself off to give the governor a significant look. He shrugged unapologetically then retreated from the table when the wine in the bottle began to slosh around angrily.
Callista drew in a steadying breath. The alcohol stilled.
Garnett eyed the bottle for a moment, then said, ‘Callista Krendasta. What makes a woman born into wealth and presented with an even wealthier husband choose the streets? She turned down Isolde Israr, Subofficer Bolt. You must be something special.’
Callista ground her teeth together, trying not to let the man get to her. ‘Israr is only interested in looking out for himself. He’d rather sit around counting his coin-chips than try to fix this city.’
‘Or perhaps Bolt has powers which can influence your perception — Israr would be most upset if I mentioned this to him,’ Garnett said with almost believable concern.
‘If you’re so worried about Bolt messing with your thoughts, then why meet us?’ Callista snorted. ‘Neither of us have the ability to make you think something you don’t want to. And we’re not here to dance to your tune. I don’t know why Colonel Nerani thought this would be a good idea.’
The governor’s lips flattened into two straight lines. ‘I met with both of you because undoubtedly one of you will survive the upcoming conflict and I wanted to get a measure of the next person I will have to deal with.’ He spread his hands, a gesture that emphasised his lack of weapon. ‘CL may not see it, but I do. You are a real threat and I want to impress upon you the need for my continued existence — leave me alive and I will make you my partners in ruling Yalsa 5. I can make the gangs and their night-time leaders officially part of our constitution. GLEA can’t touch you then. They don’t make a habit of overturning a planet’s governing body, no matter how it is formed or what activities it conducts.’
Callista laughed and shook her head. So he didn’t care about the people of Atsa — he was just making sure he was immune.
‘You understand that our discussions will be very different from CL’s,’ Sandsa told Garnett.
‘We will change things,’ Callista added.
The governor sealed his palms back together and tapped his fingers against his lips. ‘If I continue to benefit, I do not see any issue with new leadership. I shall let you go now as I imagine you will be very busy tonight. Die well, if you do.’
Sandsa and Callista stood in one motion. The wine bottle lifted from the table at the same time and the tumblers rose to lazily circle it, as though they were orbiting a star. Governor Garnett’s eyes narrowed but he made no further comment. Callista smirked, saying nothing and letting the governor wonder just which one of them was responsible for the casual display of chipless powers.
Holding hands, the Maria subofficers left the room and returned to the roof where the Chipcopter awaited them.