Jazz released his grip and pushed the Hashmedai down to the ground.
Or so he thought.
The corpse that hit ground had light brown skin and dark green scales along the sides of its neck, arms, and back. Jazz grabbed the corpse’s head and spun it around to examine its face. No fangs present, just flat teeth and the eyes…they looked like a reptile’s eyes.
There was no denying the physical features, the body before him was an Aryile. But he was a Hashmedai just seconds ago; Jazz was sure of it, and had the claw slashes on his armor and face to prove it.
Surprise, mothafucka, indeed.
Chapter 11
►► Imperial Palace, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Empress Y’lin patiently sat crossed-legged on her throne while Archmage Gayir knelt before her. He was tall man with long black hair with a well-maintained body, visible by the fact he wore no top so that his advanced cybernetic implants could breathe. Had he not been born with psionics, a man with a strong firm body like his would have made a prefect guardian or warrior.
The aftermath of the attack found most of the palace staff cleaning bloodstains, removing bodies, and making plans for repairs. The bodies of several fighter pilots and palace entrance guards were found early the next morning with their necks slashed and IDs stolen. Y’lin’s room was broken into as well and torn apart; her red gem was missing... Whoever planned this attack knew exactly whom to hit and when, resulting in Gayir being placed in charge of the investigation.
“Speak,” Y’lin said to him.
Gayir raised his head from the floor to make eye contact with his furious empress. “The lab has confirmed that the attackers are indeed human, not Linl.”
“You could have told me this telepathically Archmage,” Y’lin said. “Why did you come here to speak personally?”
“I wanted to show you this,” Gayir said and conjured a holographic window in between the two. “These are intercepted transmissions that the human assassin we have working for us sent over the last year.”
“The one who calls himself Jazz,” Y’lin said as her yellow eyes scanned the data written on the hologram.
“Recently he has made a lot of inquires in regard to the Cerbillon system,” Gayir said while he rose to his feet to continue. “A system known to have lots of deserters lurking in the darkness and the system that is home to the closet space bridge to Earth.”
“Get to the point,” Y’lin firmly requested.
“Almost all of the missions Jazz and his mentor, Veloshira, have taken involve eliminating deserters. We believe Jazz is secretly trying to cover the tracks of the humans who infiltrated our great home world.”
“How so?”
Gayir continued his explanation. “Earth is a little over sixteen light-years away, it would take the fastest ship at least thirty-two years to get here. There’s no way humans could have sent that strike team as a means of retaliation for our attack on Earth. They would still be flying here…unless.”
“Unless they used the space bridge,” Y’lin said. She was impressed with his findings.
“I strongly believe humans boarded those fleeing ships and forced the Hashmedai crew to take them through the space bridge, just before we started to conduct searches of all ships in that system,” Gayir said.
“And Jazz is targeting the deserters who knew of the hijack,” concluded Y’lin with an eyebrow raised.
“Indeed, Your Majesty, to ensure their silence, to ensure that nobody knows that humans made it to the empire.”
“But their disguises,” Y’lin said. “They resemble those that the Whisper uses when infiltrating our worlds.”
“Humans and Radiance are allies now; the Whisper may have aided them in getting this far.”
“Still, Jazz was responsible for my daughter’s safe return.” Her voice of reason chimed in, stating facts Gayir probably overlooked in his quest for justice. “If he had ill intentions, he could have ended her at any time, especially now that he’s an assassin. And this attack was clearly targeted toward us. Furthermore, he was nearly killed himself during the attack and aided in our rescue.”
“But at the same time, since he’s been here, you no longer feel safe knowing that he walks among us, even if he lives in the Morutrin system.”
She couldn’t deny that. It was one of the reasons Gayir had this data to start with; she ordered him and other Archmages to keep an eye on Jazz. “Yes,” was the only word she could muster.
“He needs to be…eliminated, and the human leadership needs to punished.” Y’lin looked on with intrigue forming in her mature face as he spoke. “I have an assassin in mind, Phylarlie. She will be perfect for the job.”
“No, I want his loyalties tested.”
… … …
►► Silver Raven, Paryo Orbit
► Uemaesce System
Jazz floated in zero-g within the confines of the cryo chamber aboard the Silver Raven. He stared into the cryo pod that held the dead intruder from earlier, still puzzled how it came aboard the ship as a Hashmedai, but now looked like an Aryile.
“Stare all you want,” Veloshira said from behind. “It won’t change.”
“I’m not crazy, Vel,” Jazz said to her.
“Never said you were. The security cam on the bridge recorded three Hashmedai teleport in, one of them being the psionic who left, the other being your friend here,” she said.
“What did the cargo bay cam record?” asked Jazz.
“Nothing, it wasn’t installed.” He sighed then floated out of the chamber toward the cockpit. “Ironically, the tools that you used to take him out were there to install the camera.”
Onatiasha and Zhinbryo floated in the spacious cockpit of the Silver Raven as Jazz and Veloshira entered and took their seats up front. The view of Paryo could be seen from the forward windshield as the Silver Raven hovered above the icy planet in high orbit.
“I wouldn’t recommend telling the empire about that body you have persevered,” Onatiasha said to Jazz in English. No doubt she didn’t trust Veloshira’s ears in regard to the Celestial Order.
Jazz replied in English, “I ain’t gonna, especially now that the empire announced that humans, not Linl, did this attack.”
“It’s not possible for humans to be out here at this time,” Onatiasha said. “The order must be the ones behind this.”
“And it’ll be up to you and Zinny-B to look into this from Taxah,” Jazz said. “Speaking of which, when does that transfer request go through?”
“Lord Hasiv is escalating the process, and it should be approved sometime this week,” Onatiasha explained.
“Well then, do me a favor,” Jazz said, handing Phylarlie’s dagger to Onatiasha. “Give this to Kroshka—something to keep her safe if someone tries something. I have a feeling my ass ain’t gonna be welcomed back to the capital anytime soon.” Hopefully she’ll put it to better use than I did, he thought. After all it would have come in handy during the attack, had he remembered he was holding on to it.
The new message indicator chimed, causing Veloshira’s fingers to access it. A holographic window manifested in front of her as she read the message. Slowly she tilted her head away from the screen to address Jazz. “Top priory message from the Assassins’ Guild,” she revealed. “They want to speak to the two of us, in person.”
… … …
►► Assassins’ Guild Pyramid, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Veloshira and Jazz once again entered the wide triangle-shaped atrium within the Assassins’ Guild pyramid. The duo approached Riyel who, as per usual, was working at the reception desk with half a dozen holograms in front of her that illumined her darkened work space. Riyel looked away from her work as they stood at the desk, the look of caution growing on their faces.
“Welcome back, you two,” Riyel said.
“We were summoned to deal with an important matter,” Veloshira explained.
Riyel’s hands interacted with
one of her holographic displays. Information regarding Jazz and Veloshira loaded, it caused her to grimace. “The guild master wishes to speak with you in his office. What the fuck did you two do?”
An elevator took Jazz and Veloshira up toward the tip of the pyramid, Guild Master Torval’s office. The doors spread apart upon reaching their destination, a small triangular-shaped room with a large window on the far end of it. The light from yellow glowing eyes reflected off the window. An elderly man stood before it, looking out at the nighttime snowfall.
“Veloshira Snapshot and her human apprentice, Jake “Jazz” Johnson, I presume,” Torval said as the two stepped into the office. “We have a special assignment for you two.”
“Who would you like us to kill?” Veloshira asked.
“Whom,” Torval corrected her as he activated a hologram ahead of the two.
The hologram displayed a picture of two people. They were human. Jazz could tell just by how they were dressed and by the Earthly things happening in the background of their pictures. One hologram depicted an older Latino woman dressed in a business-casual outfit wearing a pair of glasses; she looked like she was giving some kind of speech. The other was a black man dressed in what appeared to be a US military uniform. He held a rifle pointed toward a Hashmedaian man.
“These are your targets,” Torval said. “Chris Boyd, the human believed to be responsible for killing prince Akeia. He escaped from Nodevar on Lejorania Sanctum eight years ago and managed to return to Earth via a Radiance ship. We have not heard from Nodevar since he reported that he failed to kill Chris, we assume that Nodevar is either dead or in cryostasis trying to return to the empire.” Torval continued, still facing the window. “Your secondary target is Mariana Salamanca, president of the new human puppet government set up by Radiance.”
Jazz had heard rumors of a new global government taking control of Earth in the aftermath of the invasion, but was never able to get conformation on the fate of humanity. Until now. “You guys seem to know a lot about what’s been going on at Earth over the years,” Jazz said.
“My associates keep me in informed of the new developments whenever they can,” explained Torval. “Empress Y’lin personally requested that you two take on this duty and pass on your existing one to an assassin of your choice.”
“Why us?” asked Veloshira.
“Jazz is human and knows the world better than any of our assassins; however, he is still but an apprentice, and so you must aid him, Veloshira,” said Torval. “The recent attack on the imperial family was carried out by humans in an attempt to assassinate the empress and princess. We shall return the gesture and assassinate the human president as well as the human who took the life of prince Akeia.” Jazz smiled at the realization of what this mission would entail—the chance to return home to Earth. Too bad it’s to kill the president. “You are to depart right after you’ve passed on your current kill order. Please ensure that you are prepared for the task at hand, especially you Veloshira, it would be…unfortunate for your family’s safety should you lose your standing with the empire.”
Jazz and Veloshira exchanged glances. Both of them had some concerns regarding this mission. Both were unable to find the words necessary to convey those thoughts. They began to step toward the elevator when Torval called out once more. “Oh, Jazz, one last thing,” he said. “Tell Phylarlie to collect her reward herself, and resume her duties as an assassin. Or I’ll have her killed.”
What a charming old man.
… … …
►► Dorcallo, Paryo
► Uemaesce System
Veloshira’s mate, Neilus, buried his face in his arms as he sat at the dining table within their home. He remained silent for several minutes after Veloshira gave him an update on her new mission, a type of mission the two had hoped she would never have to deal with. Their son, Peiun, hadn’t been informed, probably for the best, she figured; he was still too young to understand the complexity of space travel. Veloshira’s father was unaware as well and probably wouldn’t hear about it from her directly. He didn’t even live on Paryo, and she didn’t have time to find a psionic who could communicate with another psionic on the opposite end of the empire.
“You said this will never happen,” Neilus finally said.
“It shouldn’t have, there’s a reason I offered to take apprentices under my guidance,” Veloshira said, carrying a bag with a few of her personal belongings in it. “We’re not expected to take on too many tasks, and the ones we do take on are close by.”
“And here you are, going into deep space on a top-level mission issued by the empress herself!”
“I cannot turn down a direct request like this from the empress,” she replied.
“You shouldn’t have run to her rescue like that, this is probably why she wants you two to go.”
“Had I not gone, Jazz and the imperial family would probably be dead.”
“I’d still have you; we’d still be a family.” He sighed. “And you’re going to be alone with that…humon.”
“Human,” she corrected him.
“Peiun and I won’t see you again for another twenty-one years,” he said.
She walked over to him, resting her hands on his shoulder. “Listen, for a mission like this, the empire will take care of our family like it always has. You won’t be required to work; anything you want you can have.”
“All I want is the ability for you to come and visit like you have been doing all this time,” Neilus said. His voice became weak with sadness. “Peiun will be a man by the time you return, and I—”
“Take a trip across the empire,” Veloshira interjected. “The empire can’t deny you something like that. With all the time you and Peiun will spend in cryo or space bridge limbo, you won’t age much. Time it right, so that when you return here to Paryo, twenty years will have passed.” It was the best she could offer at this point, and the only means for the two being able to avoid the age-old problem of a family member traveling into space while the other remains planet side. “And while you’re at it, stop by the exterior colonies and talk with my father,” she added. The two held each other in their arms, a lovers’ embrace that neither of them wanted to end.
“Well.” Neilus said, looking at Veloshira’s bag, “I guess I got some packing to do as well.”
… … …
►► Port Shala, Morutrin Prime
► Morutrin System
Jazz finally found himself back in his apartment on Morutrin Prime after a lengthy wait at the Paryo space bridge. As expected, a blast of chilly air hit him as he crossed the threshold. Phylarlie was there, and probably had been for a good while now, judging by the small buildup of frost at the sides of the glass sliding door to his bedroom. She lay back on the couch, listening to Hashmedaian music that played on the entertainment speakers. A holographic window listed the songs she had selected to play.
Jazz had a feeling she wasn’t in a good mood. The fact that she didn’t talk or look at him when he walked through was more than enough information to go by. He stepped closer to the couch and stared at her—still nothing, so he finally spoke. “So, we’ve got to talk.”
“No, you have to talk,” Phylarlie said with a stern demeanor. “I need to listen and determine why I bother.”
Jazz crossed his arms while he looked at her with in unimpressed look on his face. “Bother with what?”
“Bother having feelings for you.” he rolled his eyes, as she continued. “You went to the Conquest Day events, even when I asked you not to.”
“What makes you think that?” I don’t recall telling you what I wanted to do there anyway. Phylarlie had conjured a holographic window from the knowledge network, and it displayed the horrific images from the assault on the imperial palace. He didn’t need to read the report to know that it mentioned a certain human assassin who came to the rescue. “Oh right, that,” was all Jazz had to say.
“That and you were gone for a few days longer than you should have b
een if you were just heading to the Assassins’ Guild.”
“Kroshka invited me,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, you’d rather spend time with the young cute princess than the older bitter assassin.”
Jazz slowly felt his forehead begin to thump with pain. “In case you haven’t noticed, you and I aren’t a thing. We’re friends with benefits, as we call them on Earth, nothing more.” May as well let it all out; he knew exactly where this conversation was heading. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
“I’m starting to realize that now,” she said while rubbing her forehead.
“By the way, we’ve been assigned to take out two targets on Earth,” Jazz said. “The trip back to the empire is twenty-one years, though you’re well aware of that.”
She directed her face straight at Jazz and looked at him with a slight frown. “You weren’t joking about us not truly being anything special,” she finally said. “You accepted that assignment and didn’t communicate with me about it.”
It’s not like I had a choice. “You sound like Alisha,” he grumbled.
“If this is what Alisha went through when she was married to you,” Phylarlie said as she arose from her seat. “I’m not surprised she left you.”
She walked past Jazz, heading to the front door while he began to reveal the last details of his visit to the Hashmedai home world. “The guild said you can collect your own reward, and that you need to accept a new mission, or they’ll place a hit on you.” Her fingers stopped inches away from the door access terminal on the wall. Her body language showed a hint of concern, and it grew more powerful with each passing second. “I have to trade a mission I picked up earlier in order to accept the one to Earth,” Jazz said. “Avearan Slayer, she’s got links to the Celestial Order too—maybe you can make yourself useful to Onatiasha, Zhinbryo, Kroshka, and me, as we’ve been looking into this group without your help.”
“I’m going to take a walk.” And with that her fingers tapped the door controls, and the door slid open.
“I’m leaving in the morning, and I’ll be putting the rent for this place under spacer suspension until I return,” he added. “Make sure to grab your stuff by then.” And with that said, she vanished into the hallway. Jazz grunted and then entered his practice area. His hands swiftly moved, grabbing every piece of equipment he felt necessary for the journey ahead.
Uprising of the Exiled (Splintered Galaxy Book 2) Page 16