In the Shadow of the Rings by Frank Kennedy (grave mercy .txt) 📕

seconds, only the ceiling fan’s whirr broke the dreadful silence. Perr glanced at his wife then his daughter. He sighed.

“In deference to your new status,” he said, “and given how this horrifying event disrupted your celebration, I wil al ow dialogue.

What troubles you, Daughter?”

She saw Lang’s brow flex; he was surprised Father acceded.

“No matter what happened last night or who was responsible, I think our relationship with the Chancel ors wil never be the same again.”

“How do you mean?” Perr said.

“They have always been the masters. True, we control the sea, but they control everything else. They have never been openly chal enged because smart Hokkis know better. But this wil give hope to everyone who has ever wished for new masters – or none at al .”

“Interesting speculation.” Perr turned to the boys. “Thoughts?”

Lang glared at Kara, as if she’d gone around the bend.

“They took a hit,” he said. “Sure. But let’s be honest. We know who did it. Those damn terrorists. The ones with the leader claiming to be some sort of god. They claim to have this … what? Army of immortals? We’ve al heard the reports the last year or so. Sneak attacks, raids, magic tricks on other colonies.”

“Precisely,” Dae added. “A band of fanatics. I’d bet anyone ten thousand Dims they got in a lucky punch when no one was looking.

The Guard wil chase them down, wipe out the whole lot.

Chancel ors wil mourn their loss and close the case.”

“Business as usual before you know it,” Lang concurred.

Perr refocused on Kara. “They talk sense, Daughter.”

“Perhaps. But these terrorists – what do they cal themselves?

Ah, yes. Salvation. Strange name. Salvation from what? Or from whom? No one ever talks about that. But if these terrorists brought down three Carriers, who’s to say they can’t destroy the rest? Wasn’t there a group of desert fanatics on Hiebimini a long time ago who brought down a Carrier? Or was that legend?”

“Your point, Daughter?”

“There are more than a bil ion Freelanders on Hokkaido. They want separation from the Chancel ors, and now they know the Chancel ors are not gods. They have the numbers. If they see a

path, I think they’l rise up. The Chancel ors won’t be able to hold the planet without war.”

Perr slammed his fist and wagged a fiery finger at Kara.

“There wil be no talk of insurgency or war in this household. Not today, or ever. I al owed you an opportunity to speak, but only in the spirit of conciliation. Your notions are perverse. If I ever hear you dispense such wild ideas again, the consequences wil be dire. Am I understood, Daughter?”

Kara buried her anger and nodded with due subservience. Lang and Dae relished her upbraiding.

None of them, as it turned out, were right. But Kara came the closest. In the coming days, as new reports surfaced, there were whispers of the terrorists using a weapon capable of generating a singularity. It was said to have swal owed up each Ark Carrier, leaving little wreckage adrift in orbit. Soon, news arrived from many other colonies of similar strikes on the same standard day. More than two mil ion Chancel ors perished, and the terrorists made their boldest demand: Al Ark Carriers must leave the colonies and return to Earth, or they would meet the same fate.

The mighty empire forged by the Chancel ory was brought to its collective knees by a tiny enemy no one took seriously.

Kara’s family walked around in a daze. She rarely saw her parents.

They did not leave the estate, but they were in constant conference with fel ow seamasters and their Carrier contacts. She knew this only through the tried-and-true art of eavesdropping. Once, she walked by Dae’s suite and caught him bal ed up in the corner of his bedroom, crying like a baby.

These theatrics confused Kara. The Chancel ors were suffering great loss, for sure, but not a single Hokki died in the attacks. The industrial engine of the seamasters was not slowing. Video bytes from New Seoul and Puratoon showed random celebrations in the streets. Moreover, the terrorists only attacked Chancel or targets, so why should her family fear? Two bil ion people stil needed to be fed.

Then, without warning, the family’s fear made a strange kind of sense. Perr cal ed them to his library and sat behind his commanding desk to deliver the news and an edict.

“They’ve left us,” he said. “The other twenty-two Carriers departed our system three hours ago.” His voice quivered, a stunning betrayal of his wel -honed discipline. “Admiral Sussex insists they wil return someday, but he was lying to himself and to me. The terrorists have achieved a fortified position and they are capable of striking any Collectorate target without warning.