Taza’s hand slowly moved closer to his Blaster.
Herschel’s eyes met Taza’s. Without saying a word, the Lieutenant’s look conveyed that he knew better than to mess with a former Archagent. Even if he’d only just met Taza, the Lieutenant obviously knew an experienced fighter when he saw one, and the Ghost’s work had once been known across the galaxy.
“What are you fools waiting for?” Farmorai spat, pointing at Taza enraged. “Arrest him!”
Before Lieutenant Herschel could answer, Straiya tapped Farmorai on the shoulder.
As the Rivarian Minister spun to face the Shanti, her fist smashed into his jaw, sending him crashing into the remains of an overturned desk.”
“I’ve had enough of your shit, Rivarian. No one is arresting Archagent Arkona,” Straiya roared, with such ferocity that even Taza winced. She looked back at Taza. “At least not today.”
“How dare you strike another Minister. I’ll have your title for such insolence!” The Rivarian swore, looking for something with which to pull himself up.
Straiya stormed over to him, her fist clenched, and the Rivarian cowered back in fear, shielding his face with his scaled hands.
“As the third Minister of the Galactic Council and prime representative of the Shanti people, I invoke my right to pardon all perceived and alleged wrongs on the part of Archagent Taza Arkona. By my grace.”
Taza was taken aback. The Ministers were only allowed to offer grace once during their entire career. Most saved it for emergencies, valuing it almost as much as their lives.
Minister Farmorai tried to claw his way out of the broken furniture but got tangled in his robes and fell down again.
One of the guards sniggered.
“Your head will roll for this, you Shanti scum!”
Lieutenant Herschel offered a hand, but the Rivarian slapped it away. “Keep your dirty Terran hands off me. I can get myself out.”
He eventually untangled himself from his robes and got back on his feet. He edged away from Straiya before turning to address Taza. “I would watch myself if I were you, former Archagent. Straiya’s get-out-of-jail-free card won’t help you next time we meet.”
She pretended to step toward Farmorai, and he flinched. “Get this asshole out of here before I do more than punch him.”
“I did not ask for an escort,” the Rivarian seethed waving the Tower Guard away. “I’ll see myself out. I need to make sure the people at my offices are okay, anyway. I suggest that you do the same.”
He glared at Straiya and Taza one last time before sweeping his robes contemptuously and storming off.
“As you were,” Straiya said to the confused guards.
“You heard the Minister,” Herschel ordered. “Back to your posts.”
The guards scrambled about the room, doing as they were told.
Taza thought he heard one of them mutter something about Straiya’s awesome right hook.
He looked at the Shanti, astonished. “What was that all about?”
“Minister Farmorai isn’t entirely with it at the best of times. I wouldn’t be surprised if this Chimera business has sent him over the edge.”
“I know Farmorai isn’t all there,” he said. “I’m talking about that punch.”
“I once sat back and watched as the Galactic Council mistreated a very dear friend of mine,” she said, her eyes taking on a distant look. “I will never make that mistake again.”
“I appreciate it, but it’ll cause you trouble…and you used your grace—”
“Another day’s worries,” she said with a dismissive wave as she moved closer and took his hands in hers. “I suspect that our struggles with Chimera have only just begun but let us enjoy this small victory for now. Let us…savor the moment.”
Straiya swallowed a lump as she hooked her arm through his and led him toward her black SIA car.
Taza’s hand had gone clammy with sweat, but Straiya held it tightly as their SIA aircar drifted toward Sentinel Square. Taza still wasn’t sure how he felt about the situation. Hell, I haven’t had time to think about it.
He had enough to be worried about without thinking about is feelings regarding the Shanti Minister. It felt like a dream, and no matter how many times Taza pinched himself, he wouldn’t wake up. He hadn’t forgotten Zora either. Their relationship was platonic at best, but as ever, she occupied the usual corner in his mind.
Straiya finally let go of his hand, her business demeanor returning, like she switched on another personality. He wasn’t certain who the real Alovon Straiya was, but for some reason wanted to believe it was the one who’d kissed him.
“You must forgive my indiscretion, at Sentinel Tower,” she said, averting her gaze for just a second.
Indiscretion? Taza added that to the long list of things he would need to figure out at some point. “Don’t worry about it,” he said with a shrug. “With the attack and all, things were pretty intense.”
She nodded sharply as if to say they should make no further mention of the incident. “Try not to worry about Captain Grimshaw. Check in with Clio and we’ll work on tracking down the Captain.”
“Sure,” he said.
Straiya’s SIG rang as the aircar descended. “Karakane. Is everything okay?”
“Yes ma’am. Just a call to inform you that SenSec rocked up and are running a sweep of the offices.”
“Haven’t you already secured the wing?”
“We have, but they wanted to be sure.” Karakane said, sounding fed up with the intrusion.
“Leave them to it. It’s best we be thorough about these things. I’ll be there soon.”
“Yes ma’am. See you when you get here.”
The link cut and the aircar jolted to a stop.
Taza reached for the door and it hissed open. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Aegis Zantho will take good care of me. We’ll be leaving for Shantalla soon in any case.”
The somber looking Rivarian Aegis had come along for the ride, but Straiya had him sit up front with the driver.
“I hear the civil war has gotten bad there. Stay out of trouble.”
Just as he was about to jump out, Straiya pulled on his coat sleeve. “Taza...had things been different…”
He caught the hint of a smile, as if the Straiya who had kissed him briefly tried to break through the otherwise stone-like features. “It’s okay,” he said gently, giving her hand one last squeeze. “I understand.”
It was a lie, of course. He couldn’t recall a time when he’d been more clueless.
Straiya withdrew her hand. “Next time, don’t wait so long before saying hello.”
They said their final farewells, and Taza leapt from the car, onto the side of the square. His neck craned as the SIA car lifted back into the air and sped off back toward Sentinel Tower.
“Women,” he muttered.
He turned his attention to the square. Other than SenSec officers posted at the corners, and a scattering of emergency services personnel, the area felt fairly desolate. He remembered Sentinel Square as a hub of activity when he had spent a lot of time there in the past. Wind blew dust from a pile of rubble that had once belonged to a row of proud statues. The stage beyond the low wall lay in a pile, and torn decorations and litter were strewn across the sunken section where the crowd had gathered. Gunfire had torn up every surface.
He turned away from the devastation and called Clio again, but she still didn’t answer. The lines at Grimshaw’s offices were still busy too. He figured that it would take a while before the communications network went back to normal.
Taza set off in the direction of the Data District, staying close to the Izmark Building. He rounded the corner and happened upon a commotion on the steps leading up to the building’s main entrance.
His hand instinctively went to his holster.
“What’s going on?” he said, approaching the group of young Tower Guard causing the noise.
Several jumped out of the way, swearing, as another fell to
the ground, holding his twitching leg.
Taza pulled his gun and rushed forward. He was surprised to find that Booster was the center of their attention.
The monkey-like creature looked confused and frightened. Taza noted how the end of one of his fingers was smoking like the barrel of a gun.
A Tower Guard jumped for him, but Booster scrambled onto the Rivarian’s shoulder and bit at his ear.
Another guard pulled his blaster and wove it about as he tried to line up a shot.
“Stand down!” Taza bellowed, drawing everyone’s attention.
The Tower Guard with the gun looked at him in shock and didn’t move.
“I said, stand down,” he growled at the gun wielder. “I’ve had a hell of a day, kid. Don’t make me add another body to the pile.”
“Ah yes…err…of course, sir,” he said, stumbling over his words and scrambling to holster his weapon.
The guards shrank back as Taza closed in. Several converged on the Rivarian with the missing ear, blood oozing through his fingers as he grasped at the side of his head. Booster tentatively approached them and tossed them a piece of Rivarian flesh. The wounded guard snatched it from the step with his free hand and shooed Booster away, dripping blood onto the white flag-stones. Booster screeched and ran to Taza, climbing onto his shoulder the way he usually did with Clio.
“The monkey’s with me. The next person that touches him gets a hole in the head.” He looked around the dozen or so guards and holstered his blaster. “Understood?”
They muttered agreement, their shoulders sagging, and their heads hung low.
“I’ll repeat myself one last time. Am I understood?” He demanded.
“Yes, sir,” they said louder in unison.
“That’s more like it. Now get your asses back to your posts and get this place cleaned up. The fighting’s over, but the work has just begun.”
The group scattered, most disappearing into the Izmark Building and several joining a cleaning crew up ahead.
Taza watched them go. “Damn kids need someone to teach them some respect.”
“Fucking bastards,” Booster squeaked.
Taza couldn’t help but laugh. “You’ve been hanging around Clio for too long. Speaking of Clio, where is she?”
Booster’s hackles stood on end all of a sudden.
“Clio, Swigger, Riley!” he said, panting. He spurted a string of sentences but spoke so fast Taza barely caught a word.
“Whoa there, Booster. Slow down, monkey. You said something about SenSec arresting someone?”
Booster ran a hand across his furry face like Taza was some kind of idiot. He sighed deeply, making a show of slowing down. Taza wasn’t sure if he was being mocked, or if the puck was simply doing it intentionally.
“Listen!” Booster demanded, elongating the vowels like he was speaking to some dumb child. “Clio and the others. In big trouble. Chin bastard arrested and beating them at terminal. Chin tried to find me. Kill me. But I got away. Overheard one of them say they are helping Chimera. Took Clio away.”
Taza froze in horror. “Did I hear you right?”
Booster jumped up and down on his shoulder, making animal noises and drawing stares. “Must I really repeat?”
“Okay, I heard you. Relax. It was a figure of...You know what, never mind. Are you sure about the Chimera part?”
“Yes!” Booster shrieked, nodding his head frantically.
Taza thought for a minute. Chin and members of SenSec being in cahoots with Chimera wasn’t beyond belief. In fact, it explained a great deal.
“Shit! SenSec just turned up at Straiya’s offices.”
Taza spun on his heel and ran back in the direction of Sentinel Tower. Booster’s claws dug into his neck as the puck almost fell off.
“If we help Straiya, she can help Clio!” Taza croaked.
“Yes! Help Straiya, help Clio!” Booster chirped in his ear. “SenSec bastards!”
29
Foster’s Rage
Grimshaw looked at the ceiling, wondering where he was. Is it another nightmare?
He strained his neck to look around the room, nerve pain shooting down his right arm. The space was box-shaped and windowless, with white walls and a single light hanging above his bed.
He ran a body check and was amazed to find everything in working order—everything bar his right arm. It worked but not very well. He couldn’t decide whether the limb was numb or tingling. He sniffed the air. Bleach? Am I in the hospital again?
Footsteps sounded outside the door, and an access panel bleeped.
A familiar Shanti with close-cropped, black hair and short, pointed ears entered. He wore a white medical coat and a cumbersome medical SIG on one arm. A much smaller device rested in his other hand. It took Grimshaw a second to match the face with a name.
“Doctor Roshi?” His voice crackled.
The Shanti tipped his head. “Aegis Grimshaw. Good to see you again, my friend. You seem to be making a habit of getting yourself hurt, especially in the shoulder area, huh?”
Grimshaw licked his dry lips. “How long was I out for this time?”
“You spent a day in theatre and two nights in recovery.”
“A day in theatre? Why? The last thing I remember is jumping out of a Chimera aircar. I guess that makes me a bit of an…idiot.”
He nodded as if to agree. “Interesting choice of words. You’re lucky to be alive. The river broke your fall, and your TEK minimized the impact, but you landed in the shallows. The angel-class TEK is incredibly advanced, but even it will break when struck hard enough. And when that happens, the person inside tends to break too.”
Grimshaw cringed at the thought. “Sounds nasty.”
“I’m not going to lie. You were a real mess when they dragged you in this time. It’s a good thing your tracker activated when it did.”
Grimshaw tried to ignore the growing discomfort in his chest and right shoulder. “My tracker?”
Roshi gave him a curious look, like he should have known what a tracker was. “All Aegi TEK’s are equipped with individual tracking systems. It helps the Order recover those in need of assistance…the wounded…and sometimes even the dead.”
Grimshaw attempted a grin; even his facial muscles felt fatigued. “I still haven’t had a chance to read the operations manual.”
“You should do that, you know,” Roshi said with a tut. “The tracker could come in handy. You don’t have to be injured to call for help. If your TEK hadn’t detected you were in distress and set the tracker off automatically, chances are you’d be dead.”
“Duly noted,” Grimshaw mumbled. “Other than that, what’s the damage?”
“The fall almost tore your arm off. The injuries you had last time were like a paper-cut in comparison. You were a few fibers short of a full replacement. We had to install a fair bit of metal.”
Grimshaw looked at him with a mix of surprise and horror.
“Don’t worry, Aegis. We salvaged most of what was already in there.” Roshi pointed at his own arm. “We mainly replaced shattered bone, and connective tissue, and added some muscular augmentation to deal with the additional weight. You also had three cracked ribs, a sternal fracture, and two fractured disks along your cervical spine. C6 and C7. You were less than an inch from serious spinal injuries and a few inches from brain damage. That would have taken a lot longer to fix…that is if we could have fixed it at all. Regen machines are incredible, but those have limits too. And we haven’t even gotten to your fury implant. Your brain scans came back inconclusive. We’ll run more when we have access to better equipment.”
Grimshaw rubbed his face with his left hand. “All that explains why I feel like I could sleep for a few years.”
“Ha, sleep?” Roshi said sarcastically. “The last time we spoke, I ordered you to rest before going back into the field…Yet you ignored me and look what happened.”
Grimshaw shrugged, and he winced as a sharp pain shot from his right shoulder across his c
hest. “I’m afraid a dog has no choice but to obey its master,” he groaned.
Roshi laughed. “All you Aegi are the same. Think you’re invincible. Think those TEKs will stop anything from killing you. Well, I’ve seen plenty of dead Aegi in my day and it’s never pretty.”
“That’s…reassuring…” Grimshaw tried to flex his arm again, but it moved slower than he would have liked.
“Your motor-neuron response will go back to normal once the nanites have completed their tissue regeneration routine.” He checked the time on his SIG. “They should take another couple of hours.”
“Well, I’ve got some pain, but at least it doesn’t feel as bad as it sounds.”
“Wait until the medication wears off, my friend.” Roshi winked. “Minister Straiya ordered you the highest intensity regen our machines can manage. We’ve never put anyone through that much targeted radioregeneration therapy before. However, all your signs are reading fine…so far.” Roshi reached out and lifted Grimshaw’s right arm from the bed. “Wiggle your fingers for me.”
Grimshaw barely felt a thing but did as the doctor ordered, his hand opening slowly and closing even slower.
“Good,” the Shanti said. “How does it feel?”
“My skin is numb, but there’s tingling on the inside.”
“Very good. The nanites are doing their job. You had a higher-than-recommended dose of those too.”
Grimshaw looked around the room again. “Are we in the AEMC?”
“The Aegi Medical Center isn’t safe right now. But rest assured, you’re at a similar facility.”
“What do you mean it isn’t safe? Have you had word from my team?”
“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to speak about anything outside of your health, Aegis,” Roshi said with an apologetic expression. “However, Minister Straiya is just down the hall. She’s been anxious to see you.” He operated his SIG. “I’ve a few more people to see. I’ll be back to check on your progress soon.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Grimshaw groaned, laying back on his pillow.
“It’s the least I can do after what the Order did for my family.” The door slammed shut before Grimshaw could ask him what he meant.
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