by S. H. Jucha
In a cold voice, Imian said to Caitie, “Maybe I was wrong. You might not make a good representative for the dome. If you wish to live under the families’ rule, that’s fine with me. I’ll be welcome topside.”
“Imian —” Noel began, but the teenager held up a hand.
“I’ve something else for you to think about, Caitie,” Imian said. “The aliens have met Harbour, Jessie, and the other explorers. They’ve represented Pyrean citizenry to them. What do you think the Jatouche ruler and the other aliens will think when they meet Dorelyn and her ilk?”
Imian didn’t wait for Caitie’s answer. He headed for the door, but halted with his hand hovering over the activator. Over his shoulder, he added, “I wonder if the Belle and the spacers would abandon us … Pyre, I mean … if downsiders controlled the government. They could easily set up shop off Triton and have the entire alliance on the other side of the gate. Then again, they might just abandon their ships and disappear to other worlds. I wouldn’t blame them, either way.”
The husband and wife stared at the door that slid closed behind Imian.
“I’d like to say he’s crazy,” Caitie said softly, “but he made a lot of sense. What do you think he’s going to do? Abandon us?”
“Not hardly,” Noel replied. “He was embarrassed and angry about our listening in on his conversations. After he cools down, he’d going to talk to Harbour and Jessie about the problem you suggested.”
“You have that much faith in the boy?” Caitie asked.
“Didn’t he surprise you tonight?” Noel replied.
“Yes, he did,” Caitie admitted.
“Another thing. Be prepared for a blistering later tonight,” Noel said, and kissed the top of his wife’s head.
-34-
Downsiders’ Dilemma
“Good evening, everyone,” Imian said when he connected to Sasha’s comm device.
“Hi, Imian,” Sasha replied, enthusiastically.
“I’d like to introduce Noel Gunderson and his wife, Caitie,” Imian said. “I’ve recently learned that they’ve been listening to our conversations.”
“All of them?” Sasha asked in surprise.
“I’m afraid so, Sasha. I’m sorry,” Imian said.
“Well, I’d like to meet the two of you someday,” Sasha said sweetly.
Imian realized that Noel and Caitie had no idea what Sasha meant by her remark.
“Good evening, Noel and Caitie,” Harbour said pleasantly. “Is your comm link one-way or two-way?”
Caitie looked at Noel and strenuously shook her head.
Despite his wife’s strong admonition, Noel unmuted their device and said, “Two-way, Envoy.”
“Do you have questions for us?” Jessie asked.
Caitie shook her head, and Noel again ignored her.
“Imian posed an interesting concept to us,” Noel said, “but we’ve some serious concerns before we can consider his idea.”
“Before you answer, Envoy,” Imian interrupted, “what’s the status of the representatives’ list?”
“Dottie Franks, a JOS investor, signed up first,” Harbour said. “Then Bryan Forshaw, Pete Jennings, and Lindsey Jabrook joined as candidates. After that, stationers have been adding their names.”
“Lindsey?” Sasha shrieked. “That’s great, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Sasha, and she can thank you for restoring her control,” Harbour said and smiled, which made Sasha preen.
“Who’s Lindsey Jabrook?” Noel asked.
“An empath,” Imian replied, “and a wonderful woman.”
“An empath wants to be a member of the Assembly?” Noel asked incredulously.
“Certainly, and why not?” Harbour asked. “Don’t you believe we have a right to participate?”
“No offense was meant, Envoy,” Noel quickly said. “I would have thought the empaths would wish to remain aboard the Belle.”
“Obviously, you haven’t been topside in a long time,” Jessie said. “Things have changed up here. It’s an empath who forged the relationship with the Jatouche and the Crocians. It’s an empath and her partner who are uncovering the secrets of the domes, which the alliance council prizes. If you don’t participate in the new government, downsiders will eventually be left behind in the development of Pyre.”
“What did you propose, Imian?” Harbour asked, returning to Noel’s remark.
“Caitie Gunderson is the group’s leader,” Imian replied. It was good that he couldn’t see Caitie’s wince and her subsequent glare at her husband. “I suggested that she declare her candidacy for the Assembly and communicate to the other leaders that they should do the same.”
“What did you think of the idea, Caitie?” Harbour asked.
Caitie’s sigh could be heard before she answered. She said, “As Noel mentioned, we’ve concerns.”
“Name them,” Jessie requested.
“If we declared our candidacies, the families would view us as interfering in their affairs,” Caitie said.
“I told the Gundersons that I could convince my father that regular workers would be more electable than individuals selected by the families. They’d speak naturally instead of from a script,” Imian explained.
“Imian, do you really think Idrian could convince the council that this is a good idea?” Jessie inquired.
“It’s a good plan,” Imian insisted. “Caitie and the other leaders are downsiders, and the families believe they’ve ultimate power over the entire dome population.”
“If we do as Imian suggests, there are two problems, as we see it,” Caitie said sternly. “First, we declare as candidates, and the council hasn’t accepted Idrian’s proposal. Now we’ve added our names to family security watch lists. Or the council has no problem with our candidacy, and we win seats in the Assembly. Then, when we enact the first law contrary to the council’s wishes, we and our families become targets.”
“Let’s deal with your second concern first,” Harbour said. “It’s the most critical one. One moment, please.” Then Harbour made a second connection.
“Evening, Harbour,” the callers heard.
“Commandant, we’re on a conference call with Imian Tuttle and two downsiders who have some concerns about declaring their candidacy for the Assembly,” Harbour said. “They prefer their names not be used. Let’s call them Allen and Betty.”
“What are Allen and Betty’s concerns?” Liam asked, deciding to go along with Harbour’s unorthodox request.
“They want to understand how downside representatives can be protected from the council’s revenge if they vote their consciences,” Harbour said.
“Pardon me, Envoy,” Liam said. “I presumed the council would be choosing their candidates.”
“They will, if we let them, Commandant,” Imian interjected. “I’m trying to convince workers, who have no direct association with the families, to run for the Assembly.”
“And Allen and Betty are two possible candidates?” Liam queried.
“Maybe,” Imian replied. “What about their concern?”
“Who vouches for Allen and Betty?” Liam asked in an authoritative voice.
Imian wanted to speak up, but he was hesitant. To his ears, it sounded as if the commandant had something to share, but he didn’t like the secrecy.
Noel firmly nudged Caitie’s elbow and nodded toward their comm unit.
“Commandant, we’re Noel and Caitie Gunderson,” Caitie said through gritted teeth. “We’re part of a secret group. Imian calls us the underground. Our purpose is to find a way to rid ourselves of the families’ control.”
“Imian has been helping us,” Noel interjected. “He’s managed to connect us to eight other groups. We’re all talking to one another.”
“How?” Liam asked. He was worried that if what they were saying was true, then they might have been compromised by the families’ security surveillance.
“We use the domes’ electric vehicles to carry messages,” Noel said, returning Caitie�
�s glare with his own hard stare.
“Clever,” Liam commented and laughed, which helped to ease the tension on the call.
“Can you help us, Commandant?” Caitie asked. It came out more as a challenge than a request.
“The information that I’m about to share must be held closely,” Liam warned. “Is that understood by everyone?”
If it wasn’t for Harbour and Jessie on the call, Liam wouldn’t have ventured to share his plans. When he received verbal responses from all participants, he said, “I’ve contingency plans in place in the event a topsider wins the presidency. If it’s a downsider, I want a cabin on the Belle, Envoy.”
“Done,” Harbour replied. “I hope you like aliens for companions, Commandant,” she added.
“A topsider president can approve my plan for a system-wide security force without the Assembly’s consent,” Liam continued. “It’s in the Belle’s documents. I’m expanding the forces, as we speak. If a topsider wins, I will lead a significant number of officers downside, and we’ll set up shop in the domes.”
Noel regarded Caitie with hopeful eyes, but she wasn’t ready to acquiesce so easily.
“What initial steps would you take, Commandant?” Caitie asked.
Liam chuckled and said, “I would seek out Allens and Bettys ahead of time and ask for their suggestions. Downsiders know their problems better than I do.”
“The airlocks to Pyre’s surface,” Caitie replied sharply. She wasn’t in the mood to share in Liam’s laughter. “Have your techs hack the access controls and wipe the entry codes. Then install your own codes.”
“The airlocks, why?” Liam asked.
“That’s the means by which the families make downsiders disappear,” Imian reluctantly explained.
“Buried on the surface?” Liam asked, aghast at the thought. “How many are we talking about?”
“Who knows?” Noel replied. “In our dome, we hear of two or three every month.”
Liam did the math, and the results scared him. He hardened his resolve. “Okay, block the exits to the surface. What next?”
“Remove all stun sticks from family security, Commandant,” Imian supplied. “Don’t wait for the families to turn them in at your request. Their houses will have caches of them.”
“How many sticks per family?” Liam asked.
“Thirty, forty, fifty,” Imian replied. “Only security knows. Don’t look in the obvious places. Sweep the houses. You’ll find most of the caches hidden in the walls.”
“Good, what else?” Liam pursued.
“The families rely on security as their enforcement arms,” Caitie said. “You must curtail that power.”
“I can’t order them fired without cause,” Liam objected.
“No, Commandant, but you could insist that they’re only to accompany family members. They’re not to independently roam the domes,” Noel suggested.
“Hmm,” Liam mused. “Difficult concept to enforce. Taking away their stun sticks should reduce their effectiveness.”
“No, Commandant,” Imian stated firmly. “When I was a child, I watched my father’s security personnel train. They can disable a person with the strike of a fist, knee, or foot.”
Liam was quickly revising his plans for the descending force. He needed more spacers and improved self-defense training, and he needed dome workers on his side.
“I hope one or both of you run for the Assembly,” Liam said. “It looks as if securing the domes will be a greater challenge than I imagined. I need more information about containing the families, and I need the citizens supporting my officers.”
“Thank you, Commandant,” Caitie said. “This conversation has been most encouraging.”
“Thank you, Commandant,” Harbour said and ended his side of the call.
“That was helpful, Envoy,” Caitie begrudgingly said.
“Good. Now let’s talk about your other concern,” Harbour requested.
“Imian, what if you presented the idea of regular workers as Assembly candidates to your father as a hypothetical concept?” Jessie asked. “You’d state that it’s an idea you had, and you’d be willing to seek out the people who could present well.”
“That has merit, Imian,” Noel added. “If the council sees it as an idea with no names attached, then it’ll appear as a suggestion. You’ll stand as the individual willing to do the work to recruit the candidates.”
“That doesn’t limit our exposure if the council decides to accept this merely to operate it as a ruse to draw out malcontents, as they would see it,” Caitie objected.
“Caitie, this entire enterprise to form a new government has enormous risks,” Jessie stated. “It’s a risk we have to share equally if we want to have something that serves every citizen and not just the powerful.”
“It seems to me that topsiders have the most to lose,” Imian interjected. “Downsiders can only improve our lot, but topsiders can lose their freedom.”
“I think that’s enough conversation for this evening,” Harbour said. “Noel and Caitie, you’re welcome to join us tomorrow evening, if Imian calls. Don’t be shy.”
“Oh,” Jessie added. “Please act like responsible adults and give the teenagers their privacy.”
Sasha scooped up her comm unit and headed for her cabin.
Noel regarded Caitie, and then he closed their device.
“You go too far,” Caitie said in a cold voice.
“And you don’t go far enough,” Noel retorted.
* * * *
Dorelyn unlocked her office door with the electronic pad. Unexpectedly, the room lights didn’t come on. She used the shaft of light from the corridor to see her way to the desk and its lamp. Halfway across the room, she heard the whisper of the door sliding closed behind her, and she froze.
“Hello, mistress,” Sika said.
“You made it,” Dorelyn said, as neutrally as possible, while she turned to face the location from where the voice emanated.
“Yes,” Sika replied quietly.
Dorelyn heard Sika’s single word from a different position. She couldn’t see Sika, and she didn’t hear her move. That irritated and frightened her.
“You were inventive to be able to escape from JOS security,” Dorelyn said. “Too bad your cleverness didn’t extend to the duty I assigned you.”
“I planned well,” Sika replied from a new location. “I was aboard the Belle for weeks. The opportunity on the JOS was satisfactory, but fortune was against me. An empath betrayed my presence. My auto-injector struck the advisor’s medallion, and unknown to me, spacers are adept fighters.”
“Unfortunate, to say the least,” Dorelyn remarked. “I dare say your usefulness has run its course.”
“While incarcerated, I learned JOS security was on to me for the killings of Roby and Emerson,” Sika said from behind the desk, and Dorelyn turned to face her. “They put together details of those killings and were searching for me with a facial recognition application. My disguises kept me safe.”
Sika waited. She noted coldly that Dorelyn had nothing to say. “Is my usefulness entirely at an end?” Sika asked.
Suddenly, Dorelyn realized why Sika might be in her office under these strange circumstances. She was testing the viability of their relationship.
“Only as far as topsiders are concerned, Sika,” Dorelyn said evenly. “I’ll have work for you to do in the domes.”
Dorelyn waited for an answer. When none came, she realized Sika had left, as silently as she’d moved about the room.
Locating the comm unit on the desk, Dorelyn called house maintenance to restore the lights in the room.
When the tech left, which was in a hurry after completing his job, Dorelyn sat fuming behind her desk.
Years ago, Dorelyn had agreed that Sika could have an apartment of her own. An account was opened for the young woman, and Dorelyn set up a monthly auto transfer.
Sika had created a second account, which swept the funds out a day after the coin was
received in the first account.
Security staff was unable to gain access to the second account. It had been JOS security coded to DNA, which wasn’t Sika’s. That alone was a mystery. Dorelyn’s security couldn’t understand how Sika could access her own account.
In actual fact, the second account’s deposits were swept to a third account, which Sika accessed via her comm unit. With Dorelyn’s funds, Sika paid for her apartment, her food, and her necessities.
Dorelyn deposited bonus funds into Sika’s account for successful execution of assignments. By Dorelyn’s calculations, the assassin would have amassed a significant sum, not that the young woman had any use for the coin.
The decision that lay before Dorelyn was whether to move on Sika now or wait until later. She hadn’t liked Sika’s visit. It had scared her, and she didn’t like being frightened by anyone. Worse, it showed Dorelyn that Sika no longer trusted her.
Locating Sika was out of the question. She moved on a regular basis, which also annoyed Dorelyn.
After the first three years of their arrangement, Dorelyn had realized that Sika must have discovered her security team’s attempts to find her apartment. Subsequently, she’d been able to hide her presence among the dome’s downsiders.
To eliminate Sika, Dorelyn knew she’d have to set a trap. She would need to offer her assassin a valuable target. Sika was always summoned by a dead drop. It was a tedious method of communication, when a comm call should have sufficed, but it was one of Sika’s rules.
The choice of the target would be important. It had to be plausible to ensure that Sika wasn’t alerted to the possibility of a trap.
Dorelyn readily admitted the body count would be high when security tried to take Sika. Worse, the action would have to take place in her office to allay Sika’s suspicion. In which case, Dorelyn would need to find a way to protect herself when the mayhem ensued.
-35-
Tails
Dottie Franks and the other three candidates who followed her onto the candidates’ list opened the gate for others. The number of stationers who signed up quickly increased.