Fires of Heresy

Filename: gs01.html
© 1998 Glynn Stewart

Genre: Science Fiction
Description: In a world where democracy is considered heresy, a city reverts to it as its form of government.



Fires of Heresy

"Check Rad levels. Report." Renac sat in the Mecha's cockpit, his skin shining with perspiration.
"External; one-six-five, Internal; one-three." Knight Two sounded tired, but then he always did.
"External; ditto to deuce, internal; one-four." Knight Three sounded very energetic.
"You sound like a newbie, Three, keep a handle on it; and Deuce, why don't you catch up on your sleep before you leave on a mission next time."
"Gotcha, sir." He sounded more awake this time.
The three Mecha strode across the snow-covered desert. It was a standard patrol, following a set route checking for hostile Mechateers.
At least they had comfortable cockpits, thought Renac, On a three day patrol, comfort was top of the list, followed by speed, range and firepower, In that order.
Sixty-five hours into the patrol the Knights picked up Gypsies on the radar, Seven of their massive Caravans, twenty-one Mechateers. Renac immediately sent a report to command.
"We have Gypsies on our radar, repeat, Gypsies on radar. Seven Caravans, twenty-one Mechateers. Closing to comm range. Knight Lead, signing off." He switched to the squad frequency, "Let's check it out, Knights."
The trio of Mecha changed direction, heading towards the Caravans. The comm crackled suddenly: "Mechateers, Identify yourselves."
Renac switched the comm to the frequency the message had come on; "This is Knight Squadron out of Inuvik, Captain Renac in command. Identify yourselves."
A sigh of relief came over the comm. "This is Trellis Caravan requesting medical assistance. We have lost contact with three Caravans and have confirmed dead of over six thousand. Almost all of the survivors are wounded, with a thousand in critical condition."
"What the hell happened to you?"
"Church Mechateers, on their 'holy' quest to slaughter and murder us so-called 'heretics'." There was a bitter tone in the man's voice, repeating a formula he had heard or said a hundred times over.
"We've finished our patrol, so we'll escort you to Inuvik."
"Thank you, Captain, thank you." Relief tinged the mans voice.
Renac noticed that the squadron comm light was flashing. He switched to it, "What is it Knights?" Knight Two, Lieutenant Tomlinson, spoke first,
"Sir, Trellis Caravan are confirmed Democrats..." his voice trailed off,
"Yeah, why are we helping heretics? The Church'll get on our back!" demanded Knight Three, one Lieutenant Riley.
"Because their human beings!" Anger was clear in Renac's voice, "And because the old ways, the traditional ways, have weakened in Inuvik and it's high time for a change!"
"Good point, sir." Tomlinson was part of the group that supported Lord Foren's increasingly Democratic ways.
"Are you sure we're ready?" So was Riley, but he was a more conservative supporter.
"I'm sure, and so is Foren, And he's the important one."

* * *

"Lord Foren is a good lord. The Council, though, sees him as weak and foolish, so refutes his methods. If it weren't for the Mechateers undying support of Foren there would be a different Inuvik." Ralen gestured towards his son Renac as he said this. "And you, John Trellis, turn up with your democracy. It could change Inuvik." They were sitting at the table in Ralen's house.
"And get the City Interdicted by the Church." The prospect didn't seriously concern Renac, however.
"Couldn't you start your own Church?" Ralen and Renac looked at each other and grinned.
"You must be psychic!" exclaimed Renac. "That's what we're doing. The only priest who isn't with us is Bishop Ulster."
Ralen's face twisted in distaste at the mention of the fanatical Bishop of Inuvik.
"So you want me to propose democracy to the council?" The prospect justifiably concerned Trellis, but Renac quickly allayed his fears:
"No. To Foren. He will present it to the Council. Will you?"
"Why not? As long as you will protect Trellis Caravan."
"Like you said, why not?" Renac shrugged. It was part of the Mechateers duties anyway.
Trellis still had one concern left: "Are you sure the people will follow you? After all, you have one and a half million people here in Inuvik. Are you sure they all will support democracy?"
Renac and Ralen looked at each other in mock shock, "Not follow the wishes of their Lord and Master? You dare suggest it!" Ralen was trying to keep from laughing, Renac was more serious,
"Not all of them, but a majority, and in democracy, a majority is all you need."
Trellis nodded, "I'll do it."
* * *
Renac and Foren stood in an unadorned room. The only objects in it were a desk and chair. Foren sat in the chair while Renac leaned against the wall.
"I was hoping to avoid this confrontation until after the Council vote," sighed Foren, holding a demand from Bishop Ulster for an audience. Clearly to discuss the fact that Foren allowed Heretics to enter Inuvik, had spoken to one, and that there seemed to be some quiet preparations around the City for a switch to democracy.
"Look at it this way," Renac advised. "If we get rid of the Bishop and instate our Democratic Church before the vote, the Council will know that we are serious about democracy and are willing to go to drastic measures. Such as dissolving the Council, if necessary."
"Perhaps." The entrance of Bishop Ulster and six guards cut off any further conversation.
"Your Excellency, it is customary to knock!" Foren said icily.
"Your Lordship, it is customary to ban Heretics from the City!" Ulster shouted in anger.
"That is my decision and my responsibility! The Church has no authority in these matters!"
"I have also been informed that the Council is going to vote on the instigation of the Heresy you call Democracy! The Heresy that brought the wrath of god down upon this land."
"No. Actually, a decision to take a more active stance against international terrorism brought the wrath of a petty dictator down upon this country and this country responded in like. Then the whole world went crazy. God had nothing to do with it."
Ulster turned with incredulous anger towards the speaker, Renac. "You dare speak Heresy in the presence of a Bishop of the Church! Guards, kill him!" All six guards drew their guns and fired at where Renac had been.
Renac jumped away, rolled and came up firing. Six shots blasted from the barrel of his weapon. Six tranquilizer darts slammed home in six different necks. He flicked a switch on the side of the gun. "I suggest you come peacefully, your Excellency. This gun is now set to explosive." He took careful aim.
"Never!" Ulster shouted, diving to one side as Renac's shot slammed into the wall behind where he had been standing. Ulster rolled up with a gun in his hand and Renac's training took over.
He dropped below Ulster's shot and fired a single, well-placed shot that blew off Ulster's arm. He collapsed to the floor. "Finish it! Damn you, Renac! Finish it!" Ulster shouted at Renac.
Renac walked over to him and said: "You seem to have forgotten the Seventh Commandment: Thou shalt not kill." He fired a tranquilizer dart.
Foren looked at Ulster's prone form in satisfaction. "Well done, Renac, well done." Renac flicked the gun to safety and holstered it. Then he picked up the remnants of the Bishop's gun and threw it in the waste disposal. He then turned to Foren.
"I've wanted to do that for a very long time."
"So have I, my friend, so have I." Foren laughed, "Let's go to the council chamber and do this vote."

* * *

A large table dominated the Chamber. Ten Councilors sat around it. There were three empty spaces: the City Lord, the Mechateer representative, and the Bishop.
The ten Councilors were conversing among themselves about the absence of Bishop Ulster. One of them was saying: "...and they dragged him off to the cells!" Shocked indignation ran around the room at this statement.
"Foren wouldn't dare! He's afraid of his own shadow!" Councilor Tabor's voice cut off at the entrance of Lord Foren, accompanied by Renac and a man in ecclesiastical robes.
"Would you like to repeat that?" Foren's gaze and voice were as icy as the Arctic they lived in. Councilor Tabor shuffled his feet. "Good. I'm sure you've all met Colonel Renac. He will be representing the Mechateers today." He gestured towards Renac on his right, "I'm also sure you haven't met Father Celanus, Bishop of the Democratic Church." He gestured towards the man in the ecclesiastical robes on his left, "He will be representing the Interests of his Church today." Foren looked around. "Now, I'm sure you have been wondering what happened to Ulster, our former Bishop of the American Church. He was arrested for treason and has been imprisoned awaiting trial. A medic is tending to the injuries he gained while resisting arrest."
A ripple of shock went around the room and a man stood up. "What injuries are you talking about?"
Foren looked at him and said; "Unfortunately, the former Bishop has lost his right arm He drew a gun on Colonel Renac, in my presence. The Colonel acted as his training dictated and shot the gun out of Ulster's hand. It was sheer misfortune that the Colonel had his gun set to explosive at the time. The resulting explosion removed Ulster's wrist and forearm." Anger rippled around the room but nothing was possible as Renac had acted well within his authority and in the manner he should have.
"Now, to the business at hand. Have any of you read the proposition?" There was a murmur of embarrassment around the room as Foren's icy glare passed each Councilor, "Very well, I'll summarize. The proposition is the institution of democracy in this City. An elected President will replace my position. This council will be expanded to some five hundred individuals, of which four hundred and fifty will be elected. The remaining fifty posts are an appointed representative of the Mechateers, the Bishop of the Democratic Church, the President and forty-seven Councilors appointed by your selves and your peers. Everyone over eighteen will have the right to vote. Anyone over twenty-one can run for a position. To run for a position you must be with a political party. For every two percent of the votes a party gets, they will have one Councilor. The party with the most Councilors has their candidate for presidency made President. Are the points of this proposition clear?" Twelve murmurs of assent came. "Now, the vote."
Every lord wrote his choice on a ballot, and passed them to Renac. Renac added his own to the pile and shuffled it. He then counted them out: "Results: Six for democracy, six against democracy." He turned to Foren, "The tie-breaking vote is yours, sir." Foren looked around at the Council and spoke:
"My vote is for democracy." A sigh of relief came from Renac and the others who had voted for, glowering looks of anger from those who voted against. Foren nodded to Renac, who took the twelve sheets and burnt them. Then Foren turned to the Council. "Now to other business..."

* * *

"Order, order. The court will come to order." Ralen shouted and pounded the gravel against the desk until he had silence. "The proceedings against Bishop Ulster of the outlawed American Church will begin. First the testimony of City Lord Foren." Ralen stepped back down. Foren came forward to the stand. This was a controversial case among some people, because some people thought it outrageous that they were having a trial at all, they should just take him out and shoot him. The others thought that observing the law was important even when everyone knew that Ulster was guilty. The Bailiff stepped forwards and repeated the traditional words:
"Do you, Lord Foren of Inuvik, hereby swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god?".
"I do so swear." Foren looked around and the prosecutor stepped forward,
"Could you describe for us, my Lord, what happened on the day the defendant was arrested?"
"All right. I was talking with Colonel Renac in my audience chamber waiting for Ulster to arrive. When he did arrive he burst into the room and insulted my judgment as ruler of this City. When the Colonel suggested that he had his facts slightly unclear he shouted heresy and ordered his guards to kill the Colonel. The Colonel avoided their fire and tranquilized them. In an attempt to convince Ulster to come peacefully he set his gun to explosive. When Ulster jumped him and drew a gun he acted as his training dictated and shot the gun out of his hand. As his gun was set to explosive Ulster's arm was blown off. He then immediately switched to tranquilizer and put Ulster temporarily out of his misery."
"Do we really need any more evidence?" the prosecutor asked, "Ulster clearly broke the Law by ordering men to draw weapons in the presence of Lord Foren and then drawing a weapon himself. Colonel Renac's actions were clearly self-defensive."
The Defense disagreed, "I think we should hear from one of these guards Foren mentioned." The guard was clearly nervous as the bailiff led him in. The Defense turned to the guard, "Now, do you disagree with anything Lord Foren has said?" The man stood up and looked the lawyer directly in the eyes,
"No. As far as I know, what Lord Foren has said is completely true." The prosecutor looked triumphantly at the defense,
"So from a man sworn to be loyal to Bishop Ulster and the truth, we have proof that Ulster is a traitor!"
Renac banged the gravel until he had silence in the ruckus that followed, "That is up to the jury to decide." Renac looked at the jury and asked: "Do you have enough information to make a decision?" The jurors nodded, "All right. You may leave to discuss it among yourselves."
The jurors left. Five minutes later they returned, with a verdict. "Guilty. Ulster is guilty of treason and attempted murder. Colonel Renac is cleared of any possible charges."
Ralen looked around, "All right. The verdict is guilty. The punishment will be life at labor at Corneal farm!."
The court went wild with cheering.

* * *

"Knight squadron, keep your eyes open." Renac had the full squadron, all ten Mecha, out for this escort mission. They were escorting Ulster and some other prisoners to Corneal Farm. They were certain the Church would try a rescue operation.
They were currently sixteen hours away from Inuvik, and fifteen hours from Corneal. This was the area they'd marked as the most likely ambush site. Renac was thinking along those lines when fifteen Church Mecha suddenly came over the hillside! "Damn it! Intel was right. Knight Squadron, target and engage!" He switched the comm off. He didn't need any extra distractions. He targeted the lead Mecha, switched to autocannon and fired. Thirty seconds at 5000Rpm tore the Mecha's cockpit wide open and it burst into flames. Renac winced, but it was a better way to die then being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a tear in your Rad suit.
He switched to another target, checking current status of his squadron as he did so. Two of his Mecha, although disabled, had intact cockpits, so the pilots could survive indefinitely until help arrived. Meanwhile, five Church Mecha were down and his squadron was engaging eight of the rest. The other two were escorting an APC towards the Transport. "Oh Lord. Let's go!" He jammed the Mecha into over gear shooting toward those two Mecha. He targeted the closest, and fired a full rack of missiles into it. It turned around and returned fire with a heavy-duty cutting laser. Renac barely actuated the jump motors in the legs in time to make it over the beam. He fired a second volley of missiles, straight into the cockpit of the other Mecha, killing the pilot instantly.
As he spun around, he realized he had taken too much time. A hovercoptor had come over the hill, picked up the APC, which had captured Ulster, and the Mecha. It then, right in front of his eyes, blasted two of his pilots to pieces.
Renac desperately locked on to the hovercopter and emptied his missile bays onto I, as did the other surviving Knights. They inflicted some damage, but the sturdily built hovercoptor flew away.
He switched the comm back on: "Knights, we may have lost the battle, but we haven't lost the war. Keep hope."
He surveyed the damage to his command, four men dead, three in disabled Mecha. Of the Church, they'd killed twelve of the fifteen; disabled none.. Lieutenant Riley was the first to speak,
"Sir, you're right. This battle was nothing to what we might have to fight, but I'm willing to fight any battle required to keep Inuvik free. And I'm sure the rest of us are willing too. Now let's get on with it and finish this mission so we can get back to the real fight: keeping Inuvik safe and free." Heartened by Riley's words, Knight squadron moved on. But Knight Squadron would not forget, and would never forgive.