“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Clio’s voice quivered. “You’re just as bad as them. And here I thought we were friends.”
“Clio, you already know why I can’t divulge what I know, not until the right time at least.”
“I get it,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “For some reason, I just thought things were different.”
Zora climbed out of her chair and drew Clio into an embrace. “I’m sorry. I wish it could be different. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t caught up in this space-time fabric mess my employer has dragged me into.”
Clio let herself go and melted into Zora’s shoulder. “You’ve nothing to apologize for. We’ve all been dragged into shitty situations.”
“And we’ll get out of them together.” Zora drew back and held Clio’s face in her hands, gently wiping tears away with her thumbs. She leaned in and kissed Clio on the forehead. “You’ll see.”
Clio felt a glimmer of hope shining through the darkness. Zora’s words always had a strange, calming effect. “I need some advice.”
“Of course,” Zora said, sitting back in her stool.
“Straiya has offered me a position as an acolyte Aegis. With everything else going on, I’m not sure what I should do. I was holding off on my decision out of…guilt, I think. But now that I know I sent that data to you…”
“You already know that I can’t influence your decisions.” Zora looked aside in thought for a moment. “But what I can say is you should weigh up the pros and cons. Straiya will have you on a leash, as she does Grimshaw. However, it’ll grant you power and influence you won’t otherwise have.”
“It’s never easy.”
“You should ask yourself what you want more than anything else in the universe. Then ask yourself if your decision will align with that desire. That’s how I used to deal with major decisions before. Now, most decisions are made for me.”
Clio looked at the mangled teddy bear sitting on the workspace and closed her eyes. She hadn’t forgotten the events of Colony 115. How could she when they haunted her dreams most nights. Her nightmares had been filled with Chits harvesting men, women, and children without mercy. At times, she even heard their screams while awake. Nakamura and others who hadn’t made it off alive had featured in them too. Life on the Sentinel had served as a distraction, but the burning fire in the pit of her stomach still demanded justice. What she wanted more than anything else in the universe was to destroy every last Chit she could find. She opened her eyes, seeing her world afresh. “I know what I need to do.”
“That was fast,” Zora said, surprised once again. Her SIG alerted her to an incoming message, and as she read it, her pupils dilated.
“What’s wrong, Zora?”
“This wasn’t how things were meant to pan out. Something I haven’t accounted for has changed.” Zora looked around the workshop, distracted. She suddenly looked back to Clio. “Don’t worry. It has nothing to do with you, my dear. I’ll need to leave for a few days. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I don’t mean to leave in a hurry.” Zora leaned in and stole another quick squeeze. “We’ll chat more when I get back. But at least you don’t have to worry about where that data went. Just don’t be telling anyone else about it. If it reaches the wrong ears, it’ll cause you no end of trouble.”
“My lips are sealed.” Clio pressed the tips of her forefinger and thumb together and drew them across her mouth.
Zora reached the concealed door and looked over her shoulder. “And take care of Taza for me. You know how he can be.”
“Do what you have to do. I’ll keep him out of trouble.”
Zora smiled before disappearing into the store front.
Clio wasted no time in opening a new message addressed to Minister Straiya’s direct mailbox. The flame inside her raged just beneath the surface, fanned back to life by her conversation with Zora.
I’ll become the best damn Aegi there is and purge the galaxy of every last Chit in the process.
9
Death on the Wind
Taza relaxed against the rail as he watched a sheet of water cascade into the dark void below Level Two. He felt much more at ease in the level below Sentinel City. It had high ceilings in place of a wide-open sky and very few vehicles. The area was more densely packed yet had less traffic and noise. It reminded Taza of the Underways slums, though Level Two was much better maintained. Unlike the flamboyantly-dressed, eccentric people who lived in Sentinel City, those who dwelled on the levels just below were somewhat normal. Taza couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but people here seemed less tense and more trusting.
Taza’s eyes followed a golden Daroxian saber fish as it half-swam and half-flew in and out of the falling liquid. He traced a break in the water to its origins several yards up where the water gushed from Sentinel City’s filters above. A school of sabers had gathered there to hunt the small gelp that fed on whatever particles made it through the filtration process.
He cracked his neck and promised himself he would never crawl through another maintenance tunnel for as long as he lived.
Life had become a whirlwind since meeting Zora, and he hadn’t taken time off in as long as he could remember. Taza found the elusive nature of her job a challenge at times but given the squalor he’d been living in only a short time ago, he was fortunate to have her. He still couldn’t figure out whether Zora genuinely returned his affection. Sometimes he suspected that he was just part of her employer’s grand plan. Overall, he didn’t really care. Life was good, and he was happier than he’d been in years. To Taza that was more than a man like him could ever hope for.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
He smiled as Zora joined him at the rail. “It’s the only place worth looking at down here. I’m not a big fan of Sentinel City, but at least it has some scenery.”
“A pity living up there would be too risky with your past.” She elbowed his ribs playfully, and Taza pretended it didn’t hurt. Sometimes, Zora didn’t know her own strength. “Even this level is a risk. I still think we should move to Level Three.”
“We’ve talked about this before. If I’m supposed to help Grimshaw, I want to stay as close to the top as possible.”
“And that’s why we’re here,” she said.
He noticed a hint of urgency in her mannerisms, but he knew it best to let her speak about whatever was bothering her in her own time. “We’ll not have to worry about me being discovered once we get off the Sentinel. Saying that, sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever get off at this rate. I know Captain Grimshaw is doing his best, but it sounds like the Council isn’t willing to give that ship up without a fight…if at all.”
“Hopefully the Captain can win their trust and convince them otherwise.” Zora put her hand on his. “And even if they don’t, Grimshaw will likely be reassigned to the Confederation Fleet Academy. Either way, he has promised us a free ride out of here.”
Taza regarded Zora with a questioning glance. “It’s not like you to come looking for me.”
“I wanted to let you know that I have to go away for a while, and I don’t know when I’ll return.”
“Go where?”
“That I can’t tell you. Hopefully, I’ll be back within a week, but it’s hard to tell.”
“I wish you didn’t have to keep me in the dark like this all the time.” He looked around to make sure no one was within earshot and lowered his voice. “We were just getting into the swing of things with the Chimera Project.”
“I don’t like it any more than you do, but something has come to my attention. Something I can’t ignore.”
“It’s okay.” Taza smiled to reassure her but wasn’t certain whether he pulled it off. “I have no illusions of you settling down or sticking around anywhere for long. I know how demanding your job is.”
“I’ll have to drop off radio contact, so don’t be doing anything stupid while I’m gone.�
�
He grinned. “I never do anything stupid.”
“I’m serious, though. And keep a close eye on Clio. A lot of uncertainty has arisen around her, and I don’t know what that means for the timeline. But I do know that if anything happens to either of you, we’ll be in a lot of trouble.”
“The riddles can get a little tiring sometimes,” he mocked. “But of course, I’ll take care of Clio. I can up her training regime to keep her occupied. Searching for Chimera’s signal will keep us busy the rest of the time.”
“How’s that going?” Zora asked.
“The STD is still secure. I attached it to the Sentinel’s power grid so we should have access indefinitely. Several maintenance bots have passed it by without so much as a glance. It’s just a matter of finding another Chimera signal and getting a lock. Clio’s ocular implants are a cut above mine and designed for processing information faster. Chances are she’ll find it before I do.”
“It sounds like you’ll both have plenty to keep you busy.”
“I’m not sure how to feel about how worried you sound,” Taza pressed.
Zora leaned in closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. “You know me. I just don’t like not knowing what might or might not happen.”
“Last time we talked about it, you were concerned about Captain Grimshaw.”
Something in Zora’s silence set him on edge, and he put his arm around her shoulder.
May as well enjoy what time we’ve got left.
Zora looked up at him, the galaxy balancing on a needle point in her eyes.
“What?” he asked.
“I think Grimshaw is going to die.”
10
The Thandrall
Warm, bitter fluid sloshed onto the cold floor as Grimshaw choked up whatever was in his chest. He fought for air as blurry lights danced around his head.
A nearby voice mumbled something inaudible. Grimshaw moved his head in the direction of the sound, icy spikes stabbing through his cheek. He lay still, trying not to panic as the murmuring voice rambled on, its volume slowly increasing.
The cold floor against his face brought a flood of unfamiliar memories crashing through his head: memories of pain. Lots and lots of pain. Grimshaw screwed his eyes shut and wished them away.
“Aegis Grimshaw. Can you hear me?” the voice asked. “I told you not to touch him. If he doesn’t come around on his own, he’ll go back into shock.”
“Where…am I?” The words scraped through his throat like shards of broken glass.
“It’s okay, Captain.” The voice rang clear. “You’re in good hands. Lift him onto the cot. Ready five units of sodalatriptimine.”
Grimshaw sensed his weight being transferred from the cold floor to a more comfortable surface. He felt his teeth chitter as he shivered from the invasive cold.
“I said—” An involuntary cough ripped through his chest and more warm, salty liquid gushed from his mouth and nose.
“Stay on your side Captain,” the voice said. “You’ve almost evacuated the last of the stasis gel.”
“Stasis?” He winced as the pain tore at his throat.
The outline of a figure appeared in his field of vision and came into focus. A young Shanti man stood before him dressed in a medical uniform. “You were injured in a fight, Aegis. The assassin at the Foster residence infected you with a virus we’ve never seen before. On top of that, you almost lost your arm. We put you into regen. We used the chill plate to shock you out of stasis after your body went into shock. You’ll warm up soon.”
“Thanks.” Another cough drove another thousand hot nails through his throat, and he decided to make that his final word.
“Relax and save your breath, Aegis,” the doctor said as if reading his mind. “You’ll find your skin is a little numb for the time being. It’ll become extremely sensitive within the hour. This should help ease the transition.”
The medinjector hissed as it pressed into Grimshaw’s arm, and his eyes almost rolled into the back of his skull with the resulting euphoria.
“We’ll get you set up in a more suitable room momentarily. It’ll be a few days before you’re back on your feet.”
Grimshaw had to stop himself from objecting. He allowed his shoulders to sag as an orderly wheeled his cot through sliding doors and into a corridor so bright he had to squint. Lights drifted far above his clouding vision as he sailed through the sky and into the welcoming arms of a swirling sea.
Grimshaw opened his eyes and rubbed at his neck, his skin tender to the touch. He sat up on the hospital bed and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. A loud drum pulsed in the back of his head and he fought down a wave of vomit. Eventually, the room stopped spinning.
The orderly had transferred him to a small plain room, no bigger than a prison cell. Four bare, white walls surrounded him, and a single medical monitor stood to his left, its dim lights flashing a language only medical personnel understood. A cup of water rested on a shelf below the medical equipment. Ignoring his stiff joints and sensitive skin, Grimshaw retrieved the receptacle and drained the liquid in three gulps. He was surprised to find the pain in his throat had passed.
Pain meds are probably still doing their magic.
Someone knocked on the door, and the panel slid open before he could respond.
Minister Straiya entered, her hips and tail swaying semi-seductively. She stopped before the medical monitor and checked the readings for a moment with a thoughtful gaze.
Grimshaw fought down the animosity welling in his chest. He could hardly believe that she had the nerve to show her face, let alone ignore him completely, considering she put him in the situation. Then again, Shanti were beyond arrogant at the best of times.
“A greeting would have been nice,” he said hoarsely.
She turned her attention to Grimshaw, regarding him with her golden eyes. “You never struck me as the kind of man who appreciated formalities.”
Straiya was right, of course, but that didn’t help his anger. He decided against arguing with her. That rarely ended well and never in his favor. “Where are we?”
“We’re in the AEMC,” she said, checking her nails. “An Aegi emergency medical facility. Not far from Sentinel Square.”
“Aegi orientation made no mention of such a place.”
“Normally, it’s reserved for anointed Aegi only. However, for you, we made an exception.”
“How very unlike you.” He smirked, his face muscles weighing heavier than he expected.
“We’ve been over this before,” she said, sensing where Grimshaw was taking the conversation. “My hands are tied with the North Star. If I could get you access, you would have it already. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tal’ri and Rivarians aren’t still using the whole debacle as an excuse to oust me from the Council. I’ve been the Shanti Minister for over a decade now. I suppose that’s a longer run than most.”
“If they could have ousted you, they would have done so already.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. I suspect they’ve been biding their time...working out a way to make the transition appear more…natural.” She looked into obscurity. “I sense change on the winds. If they plan to move, they’ll wait until after the festivities.”
“The Sentinel Ceremony? How long have I been in here?”
“You spent two days in the recovery chamber.”
“It feels more like a year.”
“We had planned to keep you in there for much longer, but you were too restless.” Straiya looked him up and down, and Grimshaw suddenly realized that he was naked under the thin, blue excuse for a sheet. “What happened?” he said eager to change the subject.
“From what we can piece together, an assassin was sent to take care of you or Mr. Foster. Maybe even both of you. We can’t be sure. I had a team investigate before young Minister Foster shut us out. My people didn’t find anything useful, only that the assassin has access to vast resources—if the technology he was using is any indication. What
do you remember of the attack?”
“Not much. It’s all a bit of a blur.”
“It is unfortunate for us that you happened to be there, but then that was probably how they planned it.”
Grimshaw almost choked. “You would have preferred that the Admiral die?”
“Don’t be such a fool,” she hissed. “What would I gain from the old man’s death? Given their relationship, Minister Foster would hardly take any notice if his old man were to pass.”
“I don’t know what drives you at the best of times,” he said apologetically.
Straiya looked hurt but regained her composure before Grimshaw could be sure. “That you think I would do such a thing is…disappointing. I know it was nothing more than bad timing, but Minister Foster will try to use your being there against us.”
“But I…we saved the Admiral.”
“That may be the case. However, the story they’re spreading is that Foster senior saved you.”
Telling Straiya that it was a team effort was hardly going to help. “How is the former admiral?”
“He’s fine. Minister Foster has tightened security at the residence. He has doubled security throughout the city and called in reinforcements from other levels.”
“At least it’s making him take the Chimera threat seriously.” Grimshaw thought about the human Minister. “Could he be behind it?”
“Minister Foster can be a harsh fool at times, but I doubt he would kill his father. If it ever got traced back to him, he’d lose his stake in the Foster estate as well as his seat on the Galactic Council.”
“Who do you think hired the assassin then?”
Straiya stared at him for several quiet seconds, and it struck him. “Chimera would seem the most likely candidate.”
“We must be onto them.”
“It makes sense. Despite months of searching, we still know so little about them. We know they were on Colony 115. We know they’re in the Underways. And now they’ve shown themselves in Sentinel City. Their influence goes deeper than we feared, and they desperately want to keep their secrets to themselves.”
The Galactic Sentinel: Ultimate Edition: 4 Books with 2000+ Pages of Highly Entertaining Sci-Fi Space Adventure Page 44