Black Storm - Red Queen Fan Fiction

Chapter 3 - The Fitter part III

Caution warned Cal to keep the radio turned-off. He couldn't let himself be ruled by impulsiveness, not after he and the Guards had barely escaped imprisonment and execution. The Blackrun might have been bugged during the prison break. The stolen plane might have been full of trackers. The radios might might have been compromised. And so on. Paranoia threatened to overwhelm Cal. He breathed in, trying to assess what had happened with the cool mind of a general. Maybe the secret service of Norta had finally identified the Blackrun as the vessel stolen by the Scarlet Guard months ago. But there was a flaw in his reasoning. The set-up had been perfect. This hadn't been an spontaneous countermeasure against an enemy vessel that had just been discovered as such; it had been a well-planned trap. Why had Maven come himself, instead of dealing with Elara's death? Cal doubted his brother was able to keep the government and the court in check all by himself, thus he wouldn't have left Archeon for a lucky chance: He must have been sure he'd catch Mare and Cal today and there was only one way to drop the Blackrun in an exact spot at the right time: if you knew where it would be beforehand.

Like that prophet Jon would know. Cal hesitated to rely on this suspicion thoroughly. Jon had helped them, hadn't he? But how could you be certain that a prophet told you the truth? Jon had to be able to play his own games. He'd set them on a particular road, luring Cal with specific information to gain his favour, while Jon had enjoyed Mare's interest in all that he'd said. That man knew exaclty how to manipulate people, why shouldn't he be trying to work on every side to to further his own agenda?

Cal's resolve dwindled with this theory. You couldn't win if your enemy knew you better than yourself. Maybe everything was going to shit. Perhaps the Colonel's plane was encountering a similar assault, while Tuck was raided as well. And Mare -

Cal forced himself to calm down again. Drowning in horror scenarios would get him nowhere. He turned around to his jaded comrades, still lost and lost confused. But not shattered. They were Reds, after all. They fell down and stood up again. They knew better than to give up after a defeat, a mindset difficult to grasp for a noble Silver bred for strength and power. Cal's head filled with respect for those young rebels, for Reds in general, for another time. He'd always been aware of this, but now he understood how Reds could be strong enough to topple the oppression of centuries.

He straightened himself again. "We've suffered a loss today, but we have survived. Thus we won't and can't be ruled by this defeat," he told the huddled guards. "First of all, we need information. Is one of you versed with the Scarlet Guard radio codes? We have to contact Colonel Farley and Tuck to warn them."

The Guards looked to each other, some shrugged. A girl started to move, but her neighbor's glare discouraged her from offering her service. Cal maintained his determined composure, yet he was able to read their doubts easily. They'd come for the Lightning Girl who had suffered by Silver kings and had lived, who'd shown them how to win because she was stronger than both Reds and Silvers. The Scarlet Guard might believe in equality, but an ideal tumbled quickly if reality kicked you in the face. Cal had gained the sympathy of a few, but these people, most of them strangers, were probably upset just because Cal had dared to use the word "we".

But he needed to act. He pointed at the girl who had shown some willingness. "Are you a radio operator? Call on Tuck immediately." He walked up to her so she had no chance to consider an objection. She took the custom-made radio that Cal handed to her and started to work.

"Sir?" she asked quite flustered. "What's your message?"

He focused on the bare facts. "Blackrun intercepted by Nortan military. Mare Barrow abducted. No casualties. Vehicle destroyed. Warning to all other operatives." He was relieved to be asked at all, as if he really their leader, because Mare was -