There Before the Chaos

by K. B. Wagers

  17

  General Carter.”

  “Your Majesty.” Jula Carter braced to attention behind her desk and saluted me.

  “At ease, General.” I wiggled my fingers, gripping her by the forearm when the older woman extended her arm. “It’s nice to meet you. Admiral Hassan filled you in?”

  “She did, ma’am.” Jula smiled. “You didn’t have to come over to the base, though. I could have made it easier on you and brought Colonel Morri to the hotel.”

  “You could have, but this way she doesn’t realize I’m here until she’s in your office.” I winked. “And I hear you have an excellent firing range, which my Ekam has agreed to let me use. With your permission, of course.”

  Jula smiled again, dark eyes darting to Emmory standing by the door. “Of course, Majesty.”

  I took a seat away from the door, crossing one black-clad leg over the other and resting my hands on my knee. There was a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” Jula called, leaning against her desk.

  “You wanted to see me, General?” Dio noticed Emmory first and then looked around and braced to attention when she saw me. “Your Majesty.”

  “At ease, Colonel Morri,” I said.

  Dio shifted, so clearly nervous I almost took pity on her until I reminded myself what was at stake.

  “Colonel Morri.” General Carter cleared her throat. “The empress has some questions for you. I expect your full cooperation.”

  “Of course, ma’am.”

  I brushed an imaginary piece of lint off my knee and then looked up at her with a smile. “Tell me about the Shen.”

  “Majesty?”

  “Tell me about the Shen.”

  She looked at her commanding officer, a worried frown digging into the space between her red eyebrows. “Majesty, I don’t understand—”

  “Colonel Morri, you are an officer in the Indranan military. Per our alliance with Faria, that means as long as you hold rank, you are subject to the laws of Indrana and to me as empress. I asked General Carter to bring you here today both to remind you of that fact and to bear witness if you chose to hand over your commission.”

  “Hand over my commission? Majesty, why would I—”

  “I’m asking you a very simple question, Dio. Tell me about the Shen. If you don’t want to follow that order, General Carter will accept your resignation.”

  Panic flashed in Dio’s platinum eyes, and they darted around looking for somewhere to land before she inhaled, straightened her shoulders, and fixed her gaze to the spot behind me on the wall. “What would Your Majesty prefer, for me to tell you the story of the Shen or answer any questions you may have?”

  “Start with the story. If I have questions, I’ll ask.”

  “Long before I was born, Majesty, the Shen came to Faria. They claimed to worship our gods, said they were our distant cousins returning from a sacred voyage through the stars. It made sense. The gods often sent us away from Faria to see the universe, to spread our message and light.

  “A celebration was planned; the gods were called. We were all there to welcome our kin back home.” Dio closed her eyes, reddish lashes catching the unshed tears and scattering them through the air when she opened them again. “The Shen betrayed us, Majesty. They were heretics, liars. They were not Farians. When they came face-to-face with our gods, they spat vicious lies. They claimed the gods lied to us. They had been sent into the black as sacrifices and had returned to claim their vengeance. They slaughtered our gods, drank their blood in the streets. Only two survived the attack.”

  “This was not something I was taught in school,” I murmured. I wasn’t sure I believed gods really existed and had blown off the Farian stories about their gods as some inexplicable metaphor rather than reality. But if the Shen could truly kill gods—Farian gods at that—they could be a more dangerous enemy than any of us had guessed.

  If the Shen could kill gods, why was Aiz convinced he needed help from a human?

  “I could be excommunicated by the Pedalion for telling you this, Majesty,” Dio replied. “It is one of our most sacred stories, not something for those who do not believe.”

  “I’ll deal with the Pedalion,” I said. “What happened to the Shen who killed your gods?”

  “They escaped. We were not an aggressive people, Majesty; we still aren’t. Our faith prohibits using our gifts to kill or injure, gifts we received from the gods themselves. We were unprepared for such an unprovoked assault, but we have been at war ever since.”

  “And did you find out who the Shen really were?” I asked.

  Dio looked down at the floor. “The gods said they were parasites, wastrels who scavenged the universe stealing anything they could get their hands on. They stole our gods’ power, but it’s corrupted, twisted. It’s why they kill, Majesty. They have no souls, no sense of right or wrong, only the desire to take what they want—and that they take by force.”

  A shudder forced through me at her words, carrying with it the memory of Aiz’s carefully planned kidnapping. Except he hadn’t been interested in anything but talking to me, trying to get me to see their side. He’d had plenty of chances to kill me, and even I could see the logic behind his cruelty—I’d want me off-balance, too, when it came down to it. There was a much better chance of him getting out alive because of that.

  Dio’s words rang with religious fervor, and that made me even more uneasy than the memory of those tunnels.

  “How much of a danger to Faria do you think the Shen are?”

  I watched her hesitate. “We outnumber them ten to one, Majesty. They are rabble, disjointed and just as prone to fighting among themselves as coming after us for these past millennia. However, I have not been home for some time, and if the Pedalion thought it important enough to send Ite—Ambassador Notaras to speak with you and ask for your help, it must have been for a very good reason.”

  Dio made it sound very reasonable, and part of me believed she was convinced of the truth of her words. If I hadn’t spoken to Aiz and Mia, I’d probably agree with her assessment of the Shen based on what we knew so far. But they’d offered to protect Indrana from the Farians, and that didn’t sound like something a disorganized pack of guerilla fighters would be capable of doing.

  “I’m sure,” I replied. “Unfortunately for both the Pedalion and the ambassador, I am extremely busy and the council doesn’t think it’s wise to send me all the way to Faria. Thank you for your help, Dio. I appreciate it.”

  “Yes, Majesty.” Dio braced to attention and saluted.

  I exchanged a nod with General Carter, and the pair headed for the door.

  “Colonel Morri,” I called as they reached the door and crossed the room to her, Emmory on my heels.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “The next time a Farian ambassador, or any other visitor to my empire for that matter, comes to you and asks you to circumvent my chamberlain and bring them to my rooms …” I leaned in until our noses were almost touching. “I expect you to either report to the general and resign, or send Alba a message requesting a moment of my time. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good. Don’t fucking do it again.”

  Dio swallowed. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  Jula closed the door behind her and blew out a breath. “With respect, ma’am, I’d thought the rumors about you were mostly that. I was wrong.”

  “It really depends on the rumor.” I grinned, but sobered quickly. “That was a nice piece of propaganda.”

  Jula nodded, her own expression equally grim. “I haven’t known the colonel for very long, but her jacket is filled with commendations, and every officer she’s served with says she’s honest to a fault.”

  “It’s easy to be honest when you don’t know you’re repeating lies, Majesty,” Emmory murmured.

  “I have a feeling both of you know something I don’t,” Jula replied.

  “True,” I said with a tiny smile. We hadn’t released any inform
ation about the conversation with the Cevallas beyond my inner circle, in part because we had no digital records to back up my memory of it but also because my gut told me it was better the Farians didn’t know what we’d discussed. I mulled over my next words. “I’ve had more interactions with Farians in the last week than I had in the previous thirty years. Before and after I left home the interactions were brief, and after I returned?” I gave a little laugh. “I suspect everyone knows by now that Fasé doesn’t exactly fall into typical anything category. Either way, the more we poke at their reasons for being our allies and their version of the fight with the Shen, the more holes I find.”

  “Fasé would be one of the bigger rumors,” Jula admitted. She glanced Emmory’s way again. “If I’m out of bounds here, tell me please, but did she really bring you back from the dead?”

  “She did,” I said, before Emmory could answer. “Admiral Hassan also. It’s something we’d prefer to keep as a rumor, though.”

  “Of course, Majesty.” Jula nodded. “My aide is telling me that the range is open for your use. I can escort you over there?”

  “Emmory knows where it is. I’ve taken up enough of your time, General. Thank you for your help today.”

  “Of course, Majesty, anytime.”

  I said my good-byes to General Carter’s aide and then headed out of the building and across the deserted central lawn with two teams of BodyGuards splayed out around us. They were two of the newest teams, with faces and names I was still getting used to.

  “I’m surprised you let me out of the house,” I said to Emmory, squinting at him in the bright afternoon sun. “And with a bunch of newbies, no less.”

  “It’s good practice for them. Zin and the others are available as backup should we need it.” Emmory’s shoulders were relaxed, but he still scanned the area and his new Guards with a rhythmic sweep of his eyes.

  He wasn’t wrong. The Academy’s fall session didn’t start for another few months, so only a handful of staff and other assorted visitors were on campus. The ones we’d crossed paths with steered clear with quick salutes once they realized who I was.

  “Are you worried Aiz will come after me again?”

  That made Emmory’s shoulders tense, and I winced internally, but he relaxed again and shook his head.

  “Not here. He planned it perfectly and he’s long gone. He knows you’re leaving Pashati for the tour; it’s not a secret. But we’re going to be out in the black and anything can happen. Just like the Farians, they weren’t happy with your refusal to help them, and if I can’t figure out how he slipped by us …” Emmory muttered a curse. “I’ve been over every scrap of those digitals. We all have. Nobody can figure it out.”

  “I haven’t looked at them,” I said, amused when he glanced at me in surprise. “Already thinking of me as a useless noble, Ekam?”

  “It will never happen, Majesty. It just didn’t occur to me to ask you to do my job for me.”

  I punched Emmory in the arm, startling the young Guard closest to us. “Get used to it, Lathan,” I told him with a wink. “I’ll punch you, too, if you get smart with me like Emmory here.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Seriously though, Emmory. Send me the files. I’ll take a look at them and see if I can spot anything.”

  He nodded. “I will. Speaking of digitals, I spoke with Fenna again about her recording.”

  “Did you now?” I asked, pausing as we reached the door of the range and Emmory sent four Guards in to sweep the place. “I thought you weren’t supposed to involve yourself in politics?” It was supposed to be a tease, but I winced at how bitter I sounded.

  “It has to do with your safety, Majesty.”

  “I’m sorry. That was uncalled-for. What did she have to say?”

  “She did some digging into the two Farians. Put together more detailed profiles on them. They’re both sons of what appear to be higher-ranking members of the Farian government.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Very much so,” Emmory agreed. “It’s hard to get good intel beyond what she can dig up there, obviously, but on the surface it looks as though Fasé’s faction is actively recruiting people like Lucca and Miles.”

  “Doesn’t that sound like they’re looking to destabilize the Farians from within?” I hated that I hesitated in asking the question, that I was already wondering if I was crossing some unseen line, but Emmory merely shrugged.

  “It’s a possibility. Or they just want more people who can move about freely in human space.”

  “It seemed like they’re moving extremely freely now,” I replied.

  “I know, Majesty. That’s what makes me nervous.” Emmory put a hand on my back and escorted me into the building.

  I let the conversation die, smiling as the range master checked us in. The man babbled a bit nervously as he ran through his safety protocols and checked our weapons with us. I took my SColt back from him and followed Emmory into the range, sighing a bit when the door closed behind the range master and left us in silence.

  Lathan stood by the door; the other BodyGuards were at the outer doors and running patrol around the building.

  “So the Shen are recruiting, and they’re looking to do it from a pool of highly ranked Farian children.”

  “As you said, if you want to destabilize a government, Majesty …” Emmory trailed off.

  “Good point. You know, I’ve never actually tried to take down a whole government. Did a few gangs that way, though.” I checked over my gun a second time. “Emmory, do you remember Fasé telling us the Pedalion thought about wiping humanity out when they first saw us?”

  “I do. The only reason they didn’t was because of whatever the future-seers told them.” He shook his head and focused downrange. “They changed their minds once, they could change them again.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that. I need to talk to Fasé,” I admitted with a sigh. “Can we get back out to the estate?”

  “It’d be easier to bring her to the hotel, Majesty. Especially now that the Farians are gone. I’d feel better if she were somewhere closer,” Emmory replied.

  “True. They’re going to find out she’s here sooner or later. Once the asylum request is processed, those go onto the public record. They’ll demand we hand her over.” I sighed. “I should probably talk to Caterina to make sure we can legally say no.”

  “Legal or not it might not make a difference if they come and take her.”

  “I really hope they don’t, but I also won’t stand by and let them hurt her,” I said. “Best three out of five?”

  “Fine, but just for fun. I’m still getting snide remarks from Zin about the money I had to pay you last time.”

  “It’s not my fault you shoot like a cross-eyed old man.” I slid my ear protection on and picked up my SColt, settling into an easy stance and bringing the gun up to fire.

  “Hao’s late.” I pushed away from the window and made a face at the time in the corner of my smati.

  “Didn’t he tell you?” Johar asked.

  “Tell me what?”

  “He had something to take care of, said he’d meet us at Shivan’s.” Johar held her hands up at the look I shot her. “Don’t get mad at me, I thought he would have told you, not expect me to be the messenger.”

  I hissed in annoyance. Hao had been acting strangely since my kidnapping. I’d only seen him once, twice if one counted the brief wave from across the hotel the other day, and my coms had been answered with terse, one-word replies. “Dhatt, we’ve been sitting around for twenty minutes for no reason?”

  “Apparently.” Johar clapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s go eat, I’m starving.”

  The narrow three-story restaurant in the heart of the capital’s warehouse district had survived Wilson’s coup with little damage. Shivan’s was an icon, made even more so by the current proprietor’s friendship with one gunrunner empress.

  “Where’s your fan club?” Johar murmured when we slipped from
the aircar into the quiet night.

  “Alice and Taz are at a fund-raising gala,” I replied, following Emmory up the stairs to the entrance of the restaurant. “The press enjoys following them around a lot more these days.”

  I did not miss the constant attention I’d suffered for the first few months after stopping Wilson. And after a while the whole “gunrunner empress” angle started to die down. The new royal couple made for better press, especially with the occasional controversial pieces about Taz’s Upjas past and the baby on the way. They were a much better public face of the empire anyway; I still had a habit of saying things to the reporters that set off all sorts of alarms in the public relations office.

  “Good evening, Your Majesty.” The young man at the wide reception desk smiled at me as we came through the doors. Behind him the first-floor dining room bustled in quiet symphony as waiters in gray and black salwar kameez served the few diners who were here this evening. “Avan wanted me to extend his condolences. He was sorry to have missed you.”

  “It is fine, Burno. As I told Avan. I knew he was looking forward to the gala.” I winked. “In fact, I believe I threatened him if he dared miss it on my account.”

  Burno smiled back at me. “He may have mentioned that, Majesty. Your room upstairs is ready, have a wonderful dinner.”

  “I always do. Send Hao up when he gets here?”

  “Of course, Majesty.”

  “I love this place,” Johar murmured as we made our way past a display of bright orange and yellow orchids toward the towering glass elevator. “I have eaten at my share of amazing restaurants in the galaxy, but this is one of the top.”

  The contentment in the gunrunner’s voice made me chuckle, but I knew exactly what Johar meant. Shivan’s was a haven, specifically designed as such by Avan’s grandfather, and I’d taken full advantage of Avan’s kindness, hiding in the kitchens of this great restaurant as a teen.

  The members of Team Two stationed themselves outside the elevator; Jagana was the third BodyGuard along with Kisah and Ikeki. She was quiet but thankfully took her cues from the veterans as to how to respond to me, and she was warming up faster than the others.