God's Assassin - Holy Christian Empire 2608: Holy Christian Empire, #2608

Captured

Put the gems into the false bottom, Ahmed told the other two. It will give her a reason for it if someone gets too inquisitive when she goes through port security.

Once they had the gems in the bottom, the bars back into the upper compartment of the box, and the field reestablished, Ahmed said, Hok and Milkey, you leave through the store. This lady and I will go back out through the alley.

Milkey and Hok climbed the short flight of stairs and disappeared through the door.

Ahmed opened the alley door and gestured for Ruth to precede him.

She stepped out into the alley and a heavy bag was jammed over her head.

Books by Al Philipson

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SciFi Four Pack: Four Science Fiction Short Stories

Holy Christian Empire series:

Last Train from Earth –2206

Chandler’s Secret Princess – 2405

Reluctant Marine - 2495

God’s Assassin –2608

God’s Assassin

Holy Christian Empire – 2608

Al Philipson

A Faster Than Light eBook

A FTL eBook

Published by Faster Than Light Publishing

Copyright  2017 by Al Philipson

First two paragraphs compliments of Victory Crayne. Used by permission.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by FTL Publishing, an imprint of Faster Than Light Publishing, Washington.

You are granted a non-exclusive license to this work. You may make copies or reformat it for YOUR OWN USE ONLY. You may not resell, trade, nor give this work away.

If you have obtained this book from a torrent site, it is STOLEN MERCHANDISE.

Created in the United States of America

First Publication: June 2017

Cover design & composition:  Duncan Long, 1949-2016 (RIP)

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters are a product of the imagination of the author and any resemblance to any real person, either living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The name FTL Publishing and the FTL logo are trademarks belonging to Faster Than Light Publishing

To Susan

with all my love, now and forever.

I’ll be along soon.

And to Jesus Christ

my Lord and Savior

who makes all things possible.

Special mention: The multi-talented Duncan Long, who created the cover for this book (one of his last) and others in the series. I was proud to call him friend.

The world has no room for cowards. We must all be ready somehow to toil, to suffer, to die. And yours is not less noble because no drum beats before you when you go out to your daily battlefields, and no crowds shout your coming when you return from your daily victory and defeat.

–Robert Louis Stevenson

Fate whispered to the warrior, You cannot weather the storm.

The warrior whispered back, I am the storm.

–Author unknown

Air Combat Abbreviations

Ordinance:

ATG  – Air to ground (missile)

AMM  – Anti missile missile

AA  – Air to air (missile)

SAM  – Surface to air missile

GA  – Ground to Air (a general term)

Miscellaneous:

ECM  – Electronic Counter-measures

LCM  – Landing Craft Mechanized. Carries troops and equipment

CAG - Commander, Air Group.

Chapter 1

Charlotte carefully adjusted her leather purse, slung its strap over her shoulder, and casually walked around the corner into the almost empty debarkation area of the spaceport. The fat albino behind the desk looked up from his monitor to stare at her, his right hand sliding slowly out of sight and down by his side. Ah, Miss Stereo, back so soon?

From behind her, a familiar voice growled, Charlotte! Stop!

Charlotte froze as she heard the recognizable whine of a Mark 3 blaster powering up. She carefully held her hands out to the side, palms open. Brother Bliss. What are you doing on Merlin? She kept her head facing forward.

Following thee, of course, Sister Charlotte. I’m worried about thy soul. He paused. And the intelligence on the Lord’s troops thee managed to steal from our offices here.

Charlotte continued to look straight ahead.

The albino smiled through blubbery lips while his piggy, pink eyes scanned back and forth.

She stalled for time as the last passenger in the terminal left through a gate halfway across the spacious area. "What makes you think I have anything like that, Brother Bliss? She couldn’t help making the word Brother" sound like something dirty. Why in God’s name did I let myself get talked into this fool mission. One of these days, my luck is bound to run out.

The terminal was now empty except for the three of them.

Thou neglected to disable one of the monitors in the office when thee broke in and copied the information. Bliss snickered with a slight wheeze in his voice. "Thee shouldn’t feel bad about it, Charlotte. The camera was well disguised. Most of those thee blinded were dummies meant to distract sinners like thee.

Now, wilt thou kindly, and very carefully, remove the microcamera from thy purse, lay it on the floor, and then we can take it — and thee — back. We have a nice reeducation facility here on Merlin. I’d be honored to personally conduct thy course of treatment.

Bliss’ words sent chills of fear down Charlotte’s spine. She’d escaped reeducation two years ago. It took six months for her to recover from the damage to her body and her mind. She nearly lost faith in God during that time. Charlotte didn’t think she could survive another bout with the kindly ministrations of the Angels of the Lord, much less those of a fanatic like Brother Bliss. She vowed to retire after this mission was over — if she survived.

The albino raised his eyebrows, then looked left and right without moving his head.

Charlotte blinked her eyes once, deliberately, then started a slow count.

On two, she raised one hand to her forehead. Oh, I — On three she fainted to the ground as the albino pulled a needle gun and fired three times over her, now, prone body.

She looked, frantically, over her shoulder in time to see Brother Bliss collapse to the floor. The exploding needles had made two, very bloody, five-inch holes in his torso, and the third had blown away most of his face.

Hurry! The albino caused the needler to disappear. We need to be out of here before someone reviews the monitor recordings.

Where? Charlotte leapt up from the floor.

There’s a ship lifting for New Jerusalem in three minutes. We can go through gate 3 and sneak over to gate 5. I know a way to avoid the monitors.

Charlotte sprinted after the surprisingly swift bulk of the albino. They slipped through the arch of gate 3 and broke to the right. Do we really want to go to New Jerusalem? That’s kinda like jumping from the frying pan into the Lake of Fire.

"The ship makes a stop at the transfer terminal above Hadrad. I requested Vengeance to meet us there. Once aboard, we’ll be safe. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. Here’s your boarding pass. Then he made a quick motion and a pressure pop appeared" in his hand. He slapped it against his neck.

As they ran down the back corridor, the pressure pop dissolved into his skin and directly into his arteries. His white skin faded back to normal and he lost half his apparent weight.

Charlotte pulled a pop from her bra and did the same thing. Charlotte disappeared. Her blonde hair changed to its normal chestnut brown and her blue eyes faded to hazel. Her hips slimmed down to her normal athletic figure and her face went through some fairly major changes, but the result was still not her own face.

She glanced at her boarding pass. Her name was Hazel Running Deer of the Chiricahua Tribe from Earth. She was traveling with her husband, John Bear Claw, also of that tribe. She wondered if anyone would ask about their very Caucasian skin tones. I thought all the Indians died in the North America – China war.

Three days later, her Charlotte Stereo disguise completely gone, Victoria relaxed in the admiral’s office of her boss’ flagship, trying to figure out how to tell him she was quitting. The tacticians in another compartment were poring over the intelligence she’d provided. 

Admiral Sir Duncan Frazier of the Emperor’s Royal Navy sipped coffee on the opposite side of his desk. Lieutenant Chandler, you and Sergeant MacLaren may have given us a huge tactical advantage over the Angels.

She nodded.  Thank you, Sir.

Do you think anyone beside Brother Bliss knew of your activities?

No, Sir. Bliss likes to work alone so he can claim all the credit. She took a sip of coffee.

Well if that’s the case, we’re truly blessed. It turns out that Admiral Favored-of-the-Lord will be visiting his family on Bethlehem in two months.

Victoria sat up as a twinge of apprehension coursed through her body.

He leaned forward. Would you care to take a shot at assassinating him?  The admiral smiled ingratiatingly.

Sir Duncan, I just came within a couple of minutes of ending up in another reeducation center. She swallowed some bile. If Brother Bliss had caught me before I got into the terminal ... I’d be going through all that again. She started to shake.  I couldn’t handle that. Her voice quavered and she swallowed again. You remember what a mess I was in when I came back. I came that close — she held up two fingers very close together, — to breaking. If Cully and his squad hadn’t gotten me out, I’d have spilled everything I knew to Brother Bliss when he got back to the center.

She was perspiring now. I would very much like to retire from Intelligence and go back to flying fighters full time.

Now that she’d finally said the words, she felt much better.

The admiral sat back in his chair as his face lost all expression. When he got that look, she knew he was most dangerous.  It was his poker face and he’d conned her many times when he got that look.  She braced herself for a verbal assault.

But instead of a barrage, he switched to his sympathy routine. I understand, Vicki.

Ah, the familiar friend of the family approach. Nice try, Godfather.

You must have had quite a fright when your old nemesis blindsided you from the rear. The admiral’s voice and manner dripped with concern.

The problem with this ploy is that he really is concerned. Damn him anyway!

But of course, he’s dead now and no one else is alive who knows what that particular disguise looks like. You never should have used it while there was someone alive who knew you.

I thought I could get away with it. Victoria looked down at the table. With only Brother Bliss left, I figured he’d never be anywhere near Merlin.

Vicki, I thought I taught you better than to assume something like that.  If we make even small errors, eventually the odds catch us and we’ll never stop the Angels’ advance into the Empire. The admiral sighed. He looked older than his 52 Earth standard years. I hate to tell you, but they overran another planet last week.

God’s breath! Which one?

Ropa.  It’s pretty close to the front.  Admiral Favored of the Lord masterminded a feint against Guangdong and sneaked a fleet behind our lines.  By the time we knew about it, they were in firm control with ground installations and a guardian fleet surrounding the planet. The admiral’s eyes drooped and his mouth sagged a bit. In fact, his whole face sagged, showing the worry lines that had seemed to grow ever deeper over the last several years.

He looks tired; like the weight of the Empire is on his shoulders alone.

One of our ships was fortunate enough to slip through while things were a bit confused and drop a supply of weapons, munitions, and field rations at several pre-arranged points in the mountains. He brightened slightly. Since ‘Ropa’ is Russian for ‘mountain’ and the planet lives up to the name, being covered with mountains, any resistance will be able to hold out for quite a while.

He glanced at her, probably to see how I’m reacting.

The momentary brightness in his eyes vanished. They’re probably closing most of the churches there as we speak and installing their own preachers in the ones remaining. And you can bet that all of the school teachers are being given their ‘new curriculums’ at the point of a gun. He looked straight into her eyes. That’s why it’s so important to do something about that admiral.  He’s entirely too capable.

Oh, crap. He’s setting me up to look like someone who doesn’t care about God or king if I back out on this one.

Why don’t you take some leave and think this over? Admiral Frazier steepled his hands just under his square jaw. Then he smiled warmly, though his eyes still betrayed the worries he carried. Maybe spend some time at home. We can create a cover identity for you while you’re away so it will take less than a month to insert you and get you established.

Yeah, sure.  Go to all that work so I’ll feel obligated.

No, Sir. she leaned forward.  You know I prefer to set up my own covers.  The fewer people who know who I am and what I’m doing, the better.

Oh, damned!  He conned me into saying that.  He knows my habits.  Damn, damn, diddly, ding, ding, damn!

The admiral didn’t give her time to retreat.  Well, of course, Vicki, if you prefer that, we’ll just set up your travel arrangements as usual and leave the names and cover to you.

He stood up, which required her, as junior officer, to do the same.  Will you want Sergeant MacLaren on this one?

God’s Breath! When did I volunteer for this? Yes, please, Sir.  Damn him, he cornered me — again. I’ll let him know, Sir.

Very well, Lieutenant.  Dismissed. He paused. And give my regards to Sir Neville.

If I do, Father will ask when you’re going to visit.  There goes your next leave, you con artist. Serves you right.

Hrrrmf!  Admiral Frazier paused and his eyes shifted back and forth as if looking for an escape hatch. Finally, he seemed to give up the attempt at evasion.  You can tell his Lordship his old First Officer will try to get some free time within the next few months.

I’m sure he’ll hold you to it, Sir Duncan.  Victoria snapped to attention and saluted. Admiral Frazier stiffened and returned it crisply. She turned on her heel and left the wardroom, still cursing herself for a fool.

An assassin!  Dammit, I never wanted to be an assassin.  The training was just supposed to help me get out of a jam.  Never this.

She stopped at her unit Commander’s office on the way out of officer’s country. The Commander’s yeoman was behind her desk, but snapped to attention when Victoria walked in.

At ease. As you were.

Thank you, Ma’am. The yeoman resumed her seat. The Commander isn’t in at this moment. May I help you?

Actually, I came to see you, Blanche.  I wanted to put Colin MacLaren in for a promotion. Do you have the proper recommendation form for us to send to his cee-oh?

Just a minute, Ma’am. Blanche waved a hand at her computer terminal to shoo her current jobs off to the side.  Her fingers flew over her keyboard very briefly, then she turned the back of the projected screen on so Vickie could see it.

The usual. Fingerprint it in the box, retinal scan, and the paperwork will be in the Commander’s ‘In’ box for his chop the next time he’s at his desk.

Victoria complied while asking, Why do you use a keyboard instead of voice or a cerebral link, Blanche?

Well, Ma’am, I can type faster than I can talk, so it saves time. And sometimes it’s more private if I’m dealing with classified material. And I can’t control my mind well enough to keep secure information from ending up in a file that isn’t properly protected.

I envy you then.  My typing speed is so slow that I could dictate a full report before I typed the first sentence.

We all have our skills, Ma’am.  Was there anything else?

No. Just the promotion and a chance to wish you a happy birthday next week.

Why, thank you, Ma’am.  Won’t you be at the party?

Nope. admiral gave me some leave and I’m gonna spend it at home.  See you when I get back. She turned to leave.

Have a good trip, Lieutenant, Blanche said to her retreating back.

She stopped at a terminal and asked the ship where Cully was.

Sergeant Collin MacLaren is in Marine Enlisted Personnel Lounge number two. The ship’s computer flashed a three-dimensional holographic map showing her present position and the lounge. She ignored the map and made her way out of Naval officer’s country into the Marine section of the ship.

The sign over the hatch into the lounge portrayed a human skull with a Marine helmet and crossed power rifles in place of the usual crossbones. Underneath was printed:

Mess with the best,

Die like the rest!

The unofficial motto was over 800 years old and dated from the old United States before the War of Secession. The remnant of the United States had been destroyed along with most of North America and China in the FSA/China 20-minute war.

Sgt. Collin Cully MacLaren was playing solitaire with a real deck of cards at a table in a corner of the large compartment, his back to one of the bulkheads. He looked nothing like the fat albino from the space terminal on Merlin.  His 6’ 1" frame was packed with muscle, not flab. Sparkling blue eyes, not red, surrounded by laugh lines, peered out of a tanned and weathered face that still managed to look younger than his 34 Earth Standard (EY) years. The Albino’s sloppy clothing had been replaced with a set of Marine fatigues that fit perfectly and were Marine clean.

Cully’s hands did something to the deck of cards, so fast that she almost missed it. Then he turned a queen and played it on a king.

Probably cheating — as usual. She chuckled to herself, silently.

Cully, do you have a couple of minutes?

The Sergeant looked up and smiled, not with his lips, but with his entire face. Fer you, lassie, always. All traces of the Albino’s accent were replaced by his normal New Scotland brogue, which bore a remote resemblance to the brogue that originated on Earth. He stood up, running his hand over his short auburn hair. Here okay or som’ere else? In lounge areas, normal protocol was suspended, so he didn’t have to brace and salute, nor did he even have to stand.

She looked around. No one was near enough to hear them over the general hubbub. She checked the color of a ring on her right hand. No electronic monitors.

Here will do fine. She took a chair at the table, with her back to the other bulkhead out of habit.

The admiral has another job for us. She spoke in a quiet voice and her hand just happened to cover her mouth from the view of the rest of the room.

So soon? Cully’s eyes widened as he resumed his seat. Me cee-oh jus’ ga’ me leave.

I just got leave as well. We don’t kick off for a month, standard, and we’ll have another month to get inserted.

An’ the job? Cully studied a card that happened to cover his mouth from view.

An assassination.

Assassination? His eyes widened and his genial smile disappeared. That nae be your normal task.

So I told the admiral, but he tricked me into it anyway. I won’t do the same to you, Cully. This is strictly volunteer.

An’ leave you t’ do it wi’oot me in your corner? Nay, lassie, I could’na ′low that. He played the card and drew another to replace it in front of his