At Circle's End

by Ian J. Malone

  Tully returned to the screen. “With all due deference, Highness, I know Masterson is a monster for what he did to you. That cannot go understated. However, you can’t possibly expect me to believe this wildest of accusations is true. It’s madness!”

  “Oh, have no illusions, old friend,” Zier said. “That is precisely what I mean for you to believe. For it is every bit the ironclad truth Sergeant Tucker says it is.”

  Zier proceeded to recount Briggs’ explanation of the Kamuir’s first contact on Kurgoria, and of Masterson’s murder of Major Langella. He also told Tully of Briggs’ discussion with Masterson in the Kamuir’s ready room afterward, in which the now chancellor had confessed to knowing the Kurgorians’ true identity.

  Tully slumped back on the sofa and hid his face in his hands when it was over. Dear gods, how could we have been so blind as to let this happen?

  “I was on my way to be executed when all of this happened,” Zier concluded. “Sergeant Tucker and Captain Briggs saved me and got me safely to Aura. I’ve been here ever since, working with Rick Wylon on a solution to ending this conflict once and for all. Alas, if what Commander Ovies has told us is true, Masterson is about to beat us to the punch in twelve hours.”

  Tully chewed his lip. He hadn’t always seen eye to eye with Zier where policy was concerned, but he knew Lucius’ character to be beyond reproach. Compare that with what he knew of Masterson, even before all of this, and Tully’s allegiance was clear. “What do you need from me?”

  “We need proof,” Danny said. “Briggs’ testimony alone won’t convince the grays of crap. We need hard evidence to pair it with if we’re to show them that Masterson lied about the Beyonders.”

  “Agreed.” Tully looked up. “But how do we know such a thing exists? And even if it does, how do we go about finding it?”

  Zier fielded that one. “Captain Briggs said Masterson knew exactly where he was and what he was looking for when the Kamuir’s site team touched down on Kurgoria. That tells us he had to be working from some kind of intelligence. If we can find that and connect it to the chancellor, that should be enough to shake the public’s trust in him.”

  Tully hunched forward and placed his elbows on his knees. “That sounds well and good. Where do we look?”

  “Ten to one he’s got it stowed in the imperial alcazar,” Danny said. “The place is built like a fortress, and it’d be the perfect place to keep something like this from anyone that would use it to do him harm.”

  Tully raised an eyebrow. “How do you come by that assertion?”

  “Think about it,” Danny said. “Would you keep something that vital on your person, or would you stow it away under lock and key where no one could get to it?”

  Tully considered. “Fair point. He wouldn’t necessarily have that at the parliament building. All right, how do we get in?”

  Danny retrieved Tully’s overcoat from the banister. He reached into the breast pocket and pulled out a set of credentials. “You, Minister Roan Tully of Ledington Province, are going to get it for us.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter 30: Lost and Found

  In the transport outside of the imperial alcazar, Danny rubbed his hands for warmth as he waited for Tully to return from inside. C’mon, c’mon already. They should’ve been gone already. The offensive was just hours away, which meant the place was swarming with security, and credentials or not, that made Danny antsy as hell.

  Trying to think of something else, Danny glanced through the transport’s side window and spotted a group of kids playing in a park nearby.

  They’re not bad people, he remembered Zier saying. They just want to be safe.

  Yeah, yeah. Danny returned his gaze to the steering column. Peace, love, and starships for all. I hear ya.

  The passenger door opened, and Tully climbed in. “We’re in luck. Masterson was called out a short time ago on an emergency meeting with Hugo Kerns. As such, I was able to gain access to his private office.”

  Danny tilted his head. “Creds or not, how’d you manage that?”

  “The head of house security used to run escort duty for my public events,” Tully said. “He’s a colleague and a friend. Plus he owed me a favor.”

  Danny shrugged. “Favors are good. Did you find what we need in Masterson’s office?”

  “I suppose we’ll know soon enough.” Tully fished a data card from his inner coat pocket and handed it over. “Everything on here came from the chancellor’s private server. It’s encrypted, though, so we’ll need someone to assist with that.”

  “I know a girl.” Danny reached into the back seat and retrieved the tablet. He activated it, and Reegan’s face returned to the display.

  “Hey, Top. What can I do for you?”

  “Put me through to Mac,” Danny said.

  “You got it.”

  A few seconds passed while the call went through. After that, the ASC seal appeared, followed by Mac’s less-than-pleased expression. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s skate right on past the part where you ditched us again.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Danny said. “But it had to be done.”

  “Save it,” Mac said. “What do you need?”

  Danny plugged the data card into the tablet and waited for it to sync up. “I’m sending you a packet of stuff from my location. It’s encrypted. I need it cracked, stat.”

  “What’s the source?” Mac asked.

  “Masterson’s private sever.”

  Mac’s mouth fell open.

  “Sending now.” Danny pressed the Broadcast key then waited for his friend to receive his transmission.

  “Got it.” Mac whistled, green eyes zipping from side to side down the code in her screen. “Dude, this is heavy-duty stuff.”

  “Can you crack it?” Danny asked.

  “I think so, but I’ll need a minute.” Mac glanced at her watch. “I’ll touch base with you in thirty. Northern Star out.”

  The ASC seal flicked back to the tablet’s home screen as silence fell over the transport cab.

  “You do realize that what I just did is a treasonous offense, yes?” Tully’s look was grimly serious. “Punishable by execution?”

  “Relax, Minister.” Danny tapped the ignition, and the transport’s electric engine whirred quietly to life. “Bailing Alystierian diplomats out of the fire is apparently what I do. Now come on; let’s get out of here before we’re spotted.”

  Shortly thereafter, the duo arrived back in the Garden District, where Danny pulled the transport to rest outside of Tully’s elegant two-story home. They hopped out and bounded up the front steps as the tablet in Danny’s coveralls chimed.

  Tully threw the deadbolt once they were inside. “Is it her?”

  Danny nodded and flipped on the device. “Talk to me, Mac. What’ve you got?”

  “I’m sending you the decrypted files now.”

  “Apologies for interrupting, Miss,” Tully said from the foyer, “but did you get a look at the contents?”

  Mac looked up. “Who’s that?”

  “Long story,” Danny said. “Question stands: did you see the files or not?”

  She shook her head. “Not past a cursory glance, no. Hastings just called an all-hands briefing with the Kennox flight crew, so Lee and I are on our way to meet him now.”

  “Fair enough,” Danny said. “Thanks for the assist, Mac. I owe you one.”

  “Correction, armor boy; you owe me a crap ton,” Mac said. “For now, though, how about you just focus on getting home. We’ll settle up then.”

  Danny smiled and found a stool at the kitchen island. “Thanks, Mac. Tucker out.”

  A new folder appeared on Danny’s display, and he toggled into it. The folder opened to reveal several more inside, each one leading to another sequence, then another, then another after that.

  Reaching what appeared to be the end of the tree, Danny toggled into the first folder and started browsing its contents.

  “What do you see?” Tully asked. />
  Danny grunted and continued his sifting of the files. “Not much. Looks like a lot of administrative crap, press briefings, more administrative crap, deployment info.” He moved to the second folder. “More deployment info—nice, but not what I need—message correspondence, R&D reports, supply requis—” Danny halted at a lone subfolder buried under mounds of others. Its title was a single word: Rayner.

  Son of a bitch—that’s gotta be it.

  Tully must’ve noticed him make the connection because he leaned in over Danny’s shoulder to see what he’d found. A tap of Danny’s finger, and the eyes of both men bulged open.

  “Dear gods, it’s true.” Tully cupped his hands over his mouth once the playback had concluded. “That’s how he knew where to find them. It’s all true; every slaring word of it.”

  Danny snapped the tablet off then ejected the data card and tucked it into his coveralls. “First things first—I’ve got to get this to Zier and Wylon. And I need to do it now.”

  Tully bolted upright. “On that, Mr. Tucker, we are in full agreement. What can I do?”

  “You’ve got clearance onto Fort Donner, right?”

  The crow’s feet at Tully’s eyes crinkled. “Of course, but why in the gods’ names would you want to go there?”

  “I’ll tell you on the way.” Danny put the tablet aside and strode for the door. “Grab your creds, and let’s roll.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter 31: Good-bye and Hello

  Arriving on base at Fort Donner, Tully had no problem gaining passage through the gate while Danny, not taking any chances, remained hidden under a blanket in the backseat. From there, the transport made its way through the grid of buildings before eventually coming to rest outside of the hangar where Danny had stashed his confiscated armor.

  “Are you sure you’re all right from here?” Tully threw the vehicle into park.

  “I’ll be fine,” Danny said. “There’s just some other stuff I’ve got to handle here before I go.”

  Tully aimed a rueful stare at the seat. “I’m sorry it took your holding me at gunpoint to get me to listen. Nevertheless, I want you to know I’m eternally grateful you did. I, like Chancellor Zier, love my people tremendously, and I have no desire to see them taken down this road that Masterson has started them on.”

  “Yeah, well…” Danny swung open the door and dropped his boots into the gravel. “In the meantime, keep your head down until all of this goes down. It’s gonna get bloody, really bloody. And when the dust settles, Alystier’s gonna need folks like you and Zier to put her back on track toward a prosperous future.” He shot the minister a wry smile. “Just make sure it’s the right track. Otherwise, I might not be so chatty the next time we meet. Comprende?”

  “I have absolutely no idea what that means.” Tully extended a hand. “Safe travels to you, Mr. Tucker. And thank you again for everything.”

  Danny shook hands and climbed out. Watching the transport whisper its way onto the base’s main thoroughfare, he wondered if there weren’t more ministers out there like Tully, people of integrity and honest character whose sole reason for being was to defend the rights of those they’d been elected to serve. He hoped there were—he really did. After all, with Masterson gone, who knew what Alystier could become under that kind of leadership?

  Danny trotted back into the hangar and boarded the shuttle, finding its dash controls still active, just as he’d left them. He redialed Overlook via radio comm.

  This time, Shotz answered. “Hey, what’s going on?”

  Danny did a slight double take. “A lot. Where’s Reeg?”

  “Remy asked for him down in engineering. What’s up?”

  “I need another errand run.” Danny fished the data card containing the file he’d seen at Tully’s from his coveralls and plugged it into a dash port. A red meter appeared and began its crawl through the yellow spectrum toward green. “I’m sending something your way. Once you have it, give it to Reegan and tell him to go straight to the ASC brass with it, no one else. The contents of this file are for Wylon and Katahl only though they’ll need to loop in Zier, too, to pull this off.”

  “Zier?” Shotz blurted. “As in, Lucius Zier? How di—”

  “No time for a recap, Shotz. Just do as I ask, and don’t waste any time.”

  “Understood. Any other instructions for the brass?”

  Danny scratched his face. “Yeah. Tell them when the time comes—and trust me, they’ll know when that is—I want this shown to everyone with a pair of eyes and ears, and then some. Aurans, Alystierians, the frickin’ Vatican if you can get ’em on the horn. I mean, everyone sees it.”

  “Copy that.”

  The dash meter flashed green, and Danny tapped the Transmit key. “Stand by. Data’s on its way.”

  There was a pause, then Shotz answered, “Package received in full. I’ll get it to Reeg right away. You coming back to Overlook now?”

  Danny reclined in his chair and sighed, his mind awash in both anxiety and anticipation over what came next. “Not just yet. I’ve got a few loose ends to tie up over here first—one really big one in particular.”

  Shotz didn’t pry for details. He just sniffed. “Well, all right, then. I guess that’s that. Overlook ou—”

  “Hey, Shotz?”

  “What?”

  “Think you could do me a favor?”

  The redheaded brute bellowed a long, hard sigh then grunted. “What do you need?”

  “You’re obviously free to go wherever you see fit when this is all over,” Danny said. “But if I don’t make it back, I need you to look in on Doc and Remy from time to time. Reeg can handle himself, but those two might need a hand if trouble finds them. Be that hand. Can you do that?”

  A long pause ensued, followed by another sigh. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”

  “You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.”

  “Fine, sure.” Shotz huffed. “Overlook ou—”

  “One more thing.”

  “You did want this file delivered now, right?”

  Danny rolled his eyes. “Take care of yourself, too, while you’re at it. I mean it, Shotz. It’s been a pleasure.”

  That had apparently caught the big man off guard because he stammered his response. “Yeah, man, you too. Watch your shells out there. And thanks for, well…you know.”

  Danny smiled at his console. Shotz didn’t show it often, choosing instead to play the money-grubbing merc, but he had a code. Otherwise, Danny wouldn’t have gone through all that effort to bring the ex-gray onto his crew. “I’d do it again, bro, any time, any day. Tucker out.”

  Once the channel disconnected, Danny regrouped his thoughts on the rest of his plan. The time for politics and subterfuge was over; now it was time to really get to work. It’s about damn time. Danny exited the shuttle and lowered the ramp into the cargo bay where he’d left his armor. He scampered up it, stripping off Stinky McGee’s coveralls along the way, and climbed into the suit’s operator cocoon. It sealed shut around him.

  “Bridge Sync Complete,” the strange armor said in green. Next, it warned of the failing air supply, but Danny dismissed that one. He wouldn’t need much for what he had in mind.

  Marching out of the hangar, Danny took a long, deep breath and approached the first pair of guards he could find.

  “How can we help you, Centurion?” the short one asked, shooting a confused look at his partner.

  And now comes the fun part. Danny braced himself then keyed his juice supply to release in full.

  A gush of bile and vomit spattered the pavement at the centurion’s feet as Danny, convulsing in a spastic fit, spilled out of the chest cavity and face planted into the middle of it.

  Two rifles rocketed to his head.

  “So.” Danny turned to one side and hurled a fresh glob of goo onto the concrete. “One of you losers wanna take me to your leader, or what?”

  * * * * *

  Part Three

  Chapter 32: Reversal of Fortunesr />
  Masterson stood white-knuckled at the guardrail as the lift at his feet continued its ascent toward the Vanxus CIC. Not this day. It halted at level one, and, wasting no time, Masterson bounded off it onto the catwalk and marched toward the command center as two centurions parted to allow him passage. One of them palmed an access pad, and the doors swooshed open.

  “Chancellor Masterson.” Pralah Kai-Ool turned to greet him. “To what do we owe this unexpected visit?”

  A contemptuous grin covered Masterson’s face, though no one saw it through the breather mask. “How go the Kurgorian launch plans?”

  “Excellent,” the pralah hissed. “The warbirds Centov and Tarxus just arrived last hour, whereas the Ramzfar and the Triov should be here by midmorning. As it stands, we’ll have twenty-two ships at our disposal come time to deploy.”

  “Outstanding.” Masterson had expected nineteen at best.

  A long, awkward pause ensued as neither commander spoke.

  “With respect, Chancellor…” Kai-Ool cocked his head. “You could have just as easily gleaned that information by comm. So, I ask again: why the visit?”

  Masterson’s dark grin widened. “I’ve come to inform you, Zan, that when the time comes for our forces to deploy, I alone will be leading them—your ships and mine—into Auran space.”

  Kai-Ool clasped his hands at his back. “You alone, you say?”

  “Indeed,” Masterson said. “I’ll also be retaining your forces, once the Auran conflict has ended, for use in any and all other campaigns I see fit to launch. As such, your services as senior pralah are no longer required.”

  The alien commander didn’t even flinch with concern, a fact that pleased Masterson to no end. All the sweeter for the fall.

  “That’s quite the proclamation, Chancellor.” Kai-Ool traded looks with Ceda Jahara across the room. “Might I ask where you received the authority to make it? Last I checked, the Kurgorian High Council decides who does and does not lead our ships, and somehow, my pale-skinned friend, I don’t see them handing that power to the likes of you.” He mocked a bow. “Again, with respect, of course.”