by Gregg Vann
So far, anyway.
The pair continued to take in the busy spectacle as they watched Ambassador O’linth approach, the Udek dignitary nearly blocked from view behind the large collection of armored vehicles still circling the Bodhi ship. O’linth’s ambassadorial coach, usually only brought out for state functions and high-profile public events, looked severely out of place amid the destruction left behind by the Udek assault. But Tien recognized the necessity of its presence, and he appreciated the ambassador’s not-so-subtle messaging. O’linth intended to make his power known to everyone here, in a flagrant display of authority, just in case there were any lagging hard feelings from this incident, or attempts to complicate what came next.
“From this distance,” Eraz remarked, “I can’t tell if he’s happy or angry.”
“Probably both,” Tien replied. “O’linth can see the benefits of this plan, but he also understands the obstacles. It won’t be easy to pull off, or simple.”
A Special Corp commando stepped up to them, nodding to Tien. “Everyone is off the ship, sir. And the fires will be out shortly. We recovered the android body you asked for, but the head was completely destroyed. Beyond retrieval.”
“Understood. Have the techs get to work removing the arms from it so they can be installed on this body. And tell them to ask the Bodhi monk for help if they need it. No. Strike that. Have the monk do the work himself, and then release whatever is left over to him.”
“Yes, sir.”
Eraz laughed as the soldier jogged off to carry out Tien’s orders. “Half an hour ago, that man was trying to kill you. Now it’s, ‘Yes, sir’.”
“I’m glad to see someone is happy,” Ambassador O’linth said, forgoing any salutations or other niceties as he came to a halt in front of them. His demeanor was clearly troubled, and conveyed a sense of disappointment that bordered on anger.
“I’m not laughing about that,” Eraz explained, gesturing toward the burning ship and wrecked Special Corp vehicles.
“I should hope not, Commander. It will take every connection I have to smooth this over.” O’linth switched his gaze to Tien. “And that presupposes you have enough information to bring the more recalcitrant politicians on board with the new pecking order, particularly your promotion to the head of Special Corp.”
Tien nodded to Eraz and she handed Ambassador O’linth a dataslate. Before leaving the ship, he’d used his HUD to encrypt the device containing all of the Bodhi secrets. And then Eraz had tucked it into the small of Tien’s back, underneath the darksuit. The dataslate O’linth held now was taken from an Udek technician, right after they escaped from the burning vessel, and it only contained the data Tien wanted to share.
“That is a list of your opponents, the ones I have compromising information about—secrets potent enough to use for coercion. I possess more on other members of the Presidium, much more. As well as private data regarding several high-ranking military officers…enough privileged information to influence or embarrass hundreds of Udek elites. But in your hand are your enemies. And for the moment, mine.”
O’linth began making his way through the list. He examined the names intently, along with the brief synopses next to each of them, detailing the information Tien uncovered about the person. O’linth paused to consider the positions of his foes—both social and political—and pondered how useful blackmail might prove against them as individuals. His expression was hard to read, but Tien believed the ambassador was satisfied by what he saw. O’linth tapped some information into the dataslate and then handed it back to Eraz.
“There are a few names not on that list, people who can’t be alive in the morning if we are to be successful. I put their names in the dataslate, and I’ll trust you to handle it.”
“I will,” Tien replied. “I never expected this to be bloodless, Ambassador.”
“No,” O’linth replied. “I don’t imagine that you did.” The uncertainty in the Udek’s voice was hard to miss.
“Relax, Ambassador O’linth. We have everything we need to do this. And I know the best ways to exploit that information, especially with the resources of Special Corp at my disposal. You and I will both be safe in our respective positions—from here on out. As will our families. I can help you steer the Presidium away from this disastrous course of action they’ve taken, strengthen your ability to fight against the expansionists and undermine support for their platform. Together, we will reshape Udek interests in the galaxy to better serve Ko’ln’s needs. And we’ll do it without antagonizing every other race along the way.”
Despite his trepidation, O’linth allowed himself a smile. “Awi Stenth was right about you, Tien. You are the perfect replacement for him. But I never pegged you for a patriot. Why the sudden concern for your own people? I was given the impression you hated us.”
“I don’t hate the Udek,” Tien said. “I only hate what we’ve become. A true patriot is motivated by the needs of his people, not the ever-changing whims of his government, or its incessant quest for power. Both the Presidium and the military have lost sight of that.”
“You’re right,” O’linth replied. “So let’s do something about that, shall we?”
Tien’s statement left the ambassador feeling reassured, and relieved. They appeared to share common goals, and held a united vision about what the future should look like for the Udek people. But more importantly—from the ambassador’s standpoint—Tien’s aspirations seemed to stop at the doors of Special Corp headquarters. O’linth had feared Tien would use the information he possessed to reach far higher into Ko’ln’s political strata.
“I’ll stop by in the next few days and we’ll lay the groundwork to set things right. Tonight is only the first step.” O’linth’s tone was serious and determined, as present circumstances warranted. But there was a measure of excitement in his voice as well.
Tien nodded and the ambassador strode away, returning to his vehicle for the short journey to his offices in Nykor. Tomorrow would be a busy day, driven by fallout from this evening’s events, and O’linth had much to accomplish in the next few hours in preparation. A sea change was coming to Udek political waters, one powerful enough to wash away the old order of things, and Ambassador O’linth intended to emerge from those cleansing tides as the newest captain of the ship of state.
Brother Ryll had been holding a respectful distance away from Tien and O’linth with three Udek technicians. And as the two men finished their conversation, the small group stepped forward to begin removing and replacing the ruined remnants of Tien’s arms.
“Everyone is aboard Maxal’s ship,” Ryll said. “Including Ayel’s body. I’ll need it to fashion a clone when I get back to Bodhi Prime. There were a few mechanical things done to sabotage the ship and keep it grounded, but they were minimal, and Maxal has already put things right. The vessel is ready to fly, and Maxal is…impatient.”
“I’ve granted you immediate clearance to leave,” Tien told him. “I understand how Maxal feels, and how precarious Brother Dyson’s condition is.”
“Thank you.”
Tien twisted his head sideways to stare down at the monk. Ryll was wrestling a connector open on one of Tien’s replacement arms. “You can thank me by returning as quickly as possible. My family will be transporting my body—and your equipment—from Obas to Ko’ln. So you will need to come back here to do the transference.”
“I will, just as soon as I’m finished on Prime. I’ll use our fastest shuttle to return.”
Brother Ryll settled the arm he was holding into place, and then lined it up with the corresponding connectors on Tien’s torso. With a final push, the appendage attached itself and powered up. The arm appeared heavily damaged from the fierce battle on the Bodhi ship. But other than a complete loss of weapons, it was fully functional. Tien immediately flexed his fingers to test it out. “That’s better,” he said. Tien grabbed the dataslate from Eraz and deleted everything on it but the list of names Ambassador O’linth gave them. Then h
e beckoned to a nearby Special Corp operative he recognized.
“Kubex,” Tien said as the man approached. “It’s been a while.”
“Kiro Tien. Or should I say, Chancellor? I always imagined that the next time we met it would be on Obas. And I certainly didn’t expect you to look like this.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m glad Stenth never sent you after me. There are very few of the old guard left.”
Kubex grinned and crossed his arms. “He always kept me busy with other assignments. But it would have been fun, no?”
“It would have,” Tien replied. “For one of us, anyway.”
“Since you lead the Corp now, I should probably tell you—you’ll find out soon enough. Zrea was mine. I trained him.”
“He was good,” Tien said, his voice turning serious. “Very good.”
Kubex smiled. “But not good enough, it seems.”
“No.”
Tien highlighted the names Ambassador O’linth provided and handed the dataslate over to Kubex. “Pick two other operatives to assist you, and make sure no one on this list survives the night.”
The Udek assassin glanced down at the names, reacting with mild surprise. “Your first orders are going to create quite a stir. There will be serious repercussions from this.”
“Let me worry about that,” Tien said. “Just get it done.”
“Oh, they were dead when you handed me their names. You know that.”
“Good. And come by my office tomorrow afternoon. I want you to head up a new training initiative for field operatives. I think the Corp has grown soft since my departure.”
“Zrea impressed you, eh?”
“He did. If not for a simple mistake—one more training or experience could have prevented—Zrea might have succeeded. It was a shame to kill him.”
“I’m sure. If there’s nothing else, I’ll get this taken care of and see you tomorrow.” Kubex started to leave but hesitated, holding up the dataslate. “I forgot to ask. How do you want it? Are you sending a message?”
“No,” Tien replied. “Quick and quiet will be fine, with no collateral loss of life. This is surgical, not personal.”
“Understood.”
As Kubex departed, Ryll fastened the second of Tien’s new arms into place. The conversation he’d overheard between the two killers was unnerving, especially the cavalier attitude they’d shown when talking about murder—as if taking lives was akin to some base, business transaction. The assassins’ soulless banter had made him feel uncomfortable, to be sure, but it wasn’t nearly as troubling as Brother Ryll’s next task. He worked to control his nerves. “You have to take special care with this body, Tien. You must protect it. At all costs.”
“Special care?” the Udek repeated, confused by Ryll’s sudden warning. Tien thought that maybe the monk had discovered some previously unseen damage while replacing the android’s arms. “What are your concerns?”
Brother Ryll unconsciously shuffled a few steps back, trying to create a safe distance. But his conscious mind knew that no such thing existed with a man as lethal as Kiro Tien. “I have a confession to make. The transference equipment on Obas failed, Tien, and the backup copy of your mind wasn’t saved properly. It wasn’t saved at all, actually. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you wouldn’t complete the mission—that you would refuse to rescue Brother Dyson. But now that it’s over, you deserve to know the truth.” Ryll pointed at Tien’s chest, inwardly proud that his hand wasn’t shaking. “At this moment, you only exist inside that soul chamber. If it’s destroyed, you will die.”
Tien remained motionless, and a heavy, expectant silence filled the air. Ryll imagined an unfathomable rage building up inside the Udek assassin, and he anticipated violence. It seemed suitable recompense for Brother Ryll’s lies to Tien, and a fitting response to the danger he’d placed the Udek in. In the young monk’s heart, Ryll knew he deserved a severe punishment for what he’d done.
What he got instead was laughter.
“Ha! You surprise me, Brother Ryll. I’ve misjudged you completely. But I won’t make that mistake again in the future. Count on it. Now go. Deliver Dyson and Ayel to Bodhi Prime so you can return for my transfer.”
Brother Ryll sighed in relief. “I will,” he said. “I promise you. I will.”
Tien yelled after him as Ryll ran off in the direction of Maxal’s ship. “And bring better equipment with you this time, monk. Some that actually works.”
Eraz chuckled. “I have to say that I’m shocked. I didn’t know that little human had it in him.”
“He probably didn’t know it either,” Tien replied. “But I’m learning to never underestimate the Bodhi.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“I never imagined there was this much paperwork in the entire Confederation,” Tien said, indicating a large assortment of destructible hard copies, sloppily strewn across his desk.
Each of the pages was both color-coded and timestamped, and contained sensitive, highly classified communiqués that couldn’t be entrusted to any form of digital storage. Along with a plethora of intelligence dataslates, arranged around the desk in an equally haphazard fashion, the briefing materials addressed every subject imaginable concerning the Udek Confederation and its far-ranging interests. In the week since Kiro Tien killed his predecessor and took command of the Special Corp, the piles of coded papers and triple-encrypted data devices had only grown larger.
“It’s not much better in the military, you know,” General Eraz replied, shifting around as she tried to get comfortable. Eraz stood up and slid her chair closer to Tien’s desk, and then she dropped back into it. “Sometimes, I almost regret getting my rank back.”
“At least now you have more staff to help out,” Tien said.
“As do you,” Eraz pointed out, smiling as she jerked the front of her uniform down to smooth out a few wrinkles.
Tien sighed, and the android’s vocalizer captured his mood perfectly. “Maybe,” he said, sweeping a metallic hand over his desk to denote the mass of secrets keeping the Udek intelligence machine in motion. “But I can’t grant them access to any of this, especially the information from the Bodhi. The memories those monks pilfered from the afterimages are for my eyes only, because if those secrets ever got out, they would lose all of their usefulness. I don’t trust the loyalty of my staff—and never will—so the responsibility for most of this information rests solely on my shoulders.”
“I see your point,” Eraz said. “And you’re right to be cautious. Awi Stenth casts a long shadow, even from the grave.”
Tien casually picked up one of the dataslates and skimmed over the subject line. It was a weekly report from one of the many spies he’d inherited, a ministerial aide working inside the Presidium. “I think I’m finally beginning to understand Stenth’s incessant paranoia, and why he kept so much to himself. In an organization where subterfuge and duplicity are prized attributes, how can you trust anyone but yourself? Ah well, it’s only been a week. Maybe things will get better as the dust settles from all of this upheaval and the days become more routine.”
Eraz scoffed. “Well, this is new. I never figured you for an optimist, Tien.”
He tossed the dataslate down and leaned back. Tien’s chair creaked from the unusual burden of his android body. “I’m not. But with Dasi and Nsari arriving tomorrow from Obas, and Brother Ryll returning the following day to place me back inside my own body, I’m beginning to see a silver lining in all of this.”
“Any other news from Bodhi Prime?”
“Ryll informs me that Brother Dyson and Ayel are both fine, and will be fully restored when their clones are ready. Maxal chose to remain on Prime and wait for Ayel’s transference into her new body. With the recent changes in Udek policy toward Polit, he didn’t feel compelled to rush back and participate in the defensive blockade around the planet. That’s not all that surprising, though. I’m sure his loyalty was always more to Ayel than it was the rebels during the conflict. Or wh
at used to be a conflict, I should say.”
“Yes,” Eraz began, “about that…”
Tien leaned forward, fully attentive and ready for a fight. “Are you getting pushback from the other generals? Give me their names, and I’ll smooth the way.”
“Some of them,” she replied, “but not nearly as many as you might think. Most of the military’s upper echelon realizes that we need to fall back. They know that the best way to rebuild our strength is to consolidate our forces and reduce expenditures, of both soldiers and materiel. Then we can concentrate our efforts on repair, replacement, and rearmament, much like what the Obas are doing. Let’s face it, the Udek were hurt by the war just as much as the other races—in relative terms of fleet size and troop levels. Maybe even more, due to our aggressive deployments and fighting strategies. The Brenin never made it all the way to Ko’ln, but we still bore the full brunt of that war.”
The unexpected shift in conversation drew unpleasant memories to the forefront of Eraz’s mind, and she paused as recollections from the war rose up from her subconscious, filling her thoughts. The journey was a short one, as those painful remembrances always lurked just below the surface, no matter how much mental energy Eraz expended trying to keep them suppressed.
The recruitment of Kiro Tien on Bodhi Prime featured prominently in the sobering wash of memories, but Eraz also recalled the many hard-fought battles against the powerful alien ships. Some of those fights had ended triumphantly, like the successful struggle for Obas against overwhelming odds. But other engagements—and far too many of them—had resulted in unmitigated disasters, measured in incomprehensible losses of life. Those were the memories that stung the most, and no matter how much Eraz wished it otherwise, they were also the ones she recalled with the greatest clarity. It was as if her mind was intent on punishing itself—like a subconscious bout of survivor’s guilt, inflicted on a rational mind that understood blame was pointless. There was no shame in being alive, and Eraz knew that. But it could have just as easily gone the other way, and she knew that too. The Udek and their allies had achieved victory in the end, obliterating the invading Brenin fleets. But the price had been almost unimaginable. So many dead friends, military comrades…and family.