“You don’t seem to understand Gihron’s position here,” Colonel Amori said. “We are the Tiao of the Ninth Circle. We are the most powerful planet in your so-called outlier planets, and we are the only ones that keep those other planets from waging war on the Alliance.”
“I must disagree with you,” Isa said. “Jakra attacked Pirian just last year.”
Colonel Amori went quiet, staring at the Golden Elite with a cocky expression. He was not thrown off by Isa’s information. If anything, it seemed to excite him.
“How powerful do you consider yourself, Elite Isa?”
“As powerful as I need to be for the situation,” Isa answered.
“A very good answer,” Colonel Amori said, leaning forward. “Gihron is not looking to bow to Venus or the Elites. In fact, if Venus were not the cornerstone of the Crescent Alliance, we would have considered joining decades ago, before your predecessors fucked up everything.”
Isa’s expression was carefully controlled, veiling her annoyance. She felt that Colonel Amori was in no position to be making demands on her. She was the Golden Elite of Tiao, she was the leader of the Crescent Alliance, and she held more political power than he. She would not give in to his demands. If he was unwilling to yield, she would not allow the trade agreement. She had nothing to lose from not solidifying the agreement.
“But, as such, we are not part of the Alliance,” Colonel Amori continued. “Nor will we ever be if Venus is the law of the Alliance.”
“Perhaps I have misunderstood you this entire time,” Isa said coldly. “I did not realize that you were discussing terms on joining the Crescent Alliance. I have not fully informed you of all the terms for joining, including taxes and war agreements.”
Colonel Amori chuckled coldly.
“We are getting off-track, aren’t we?”
“Indeed,” Isa agreed. “I know that you do not wish to join the Alliance, and as such, it is optional to join for all planets. However, I am bound by the rules of the Alliance as well. These trade routes that you want access to are not mine. They belong to all planets that have sighed with, and complied with the terms of, the Alliance. Because I alone do not hold the power to give access to these routes, I must insist you comply with trade and military terms.”
“I thought you were as powerful as the situation required?” Colonel Amori challenged.
“I am,” Isa agreed. “And I am firm in my position that I will not grant access to the trade routes unless you comply with my terms. I suffer no loss from you walking away from this trade agreement.”
Colonel Amori leaned back in his seat, smiling arrogantly.
“You are a force to be reckoned with, aren’t you?” he murmured. He sighed heavily, tilting his head. “Why not just allow Gihron to keep its social system in tact?”
“Because it is dangerous to the Alliance.”
“What makes it so different from Tiao?”
“I believe my people have the basic right to food and shelter,” Isa said darkly. Colonel Amori let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head.
“Is that so?” he challenged. “What about the Trid district?”
“Trid is an entirely different matter,” Isa said simply.
Colonel Amori pursed his lips.
“I could say that about our grunts, too,” he said. “I could wave the question away and say it was an entirely different matter, and that you couldn’t possibly understand, but I’m not afraid of what the lower class represents.”
“And what is that?”
“Fear,” he answered. “I know that that is what you use Trid for—fear to keep your classes in line and working, keeping the economy running and the planet appearing strong. It’s the same with our grunts.” He leaned forward once more. “It seems we are not so different after all.”
“Politics are politics no matter where you are in the Altereye System,” Isa said, her voice cool and calm.
“I’m glad you understand that,” he murmured. “Which is why you should understand why I cannot condone tearing apart Gihron’s society merely to allow our ships to trade goods.”
“If that is the case,” Isa started, “then perhaps our negotiations have ended.”
“No, Elite Isa, they have not,” Colonel Amori said dangerously. “They’ve only begun.”
“I cannot change the rules agreed to by the Alliance. The numbers in military forces were carefully calculated and agreed upon,” Isa said strongly. “They are Venus’ Law. They are absolute.”
Colonel Amori gave her a half smile.
“If you’re so keen on the rules, why do you break them yourself?”
Isa stared at the Colonel. After studying the dangerous look in his brown eyes, she started to feel worry settle in her stomach. Her mind raced, trying to think of what he had seen that would make him believe she did not obey Venus.
She did obey the computer.
Apart from being with Remus.
“What do you mean?” Isa asked, keeping her voice steady.
“Nothing, of course.” He stood and bowed his head. “I will take my leave now. We will resume our negotiations tomorrow.”
“I will not be at the Syndicate tomorrow.”
“I know,” Colonel Amori said. “But I find your office cold and depressing. I would rather meet with you here.”
“It is unprofessional, I will not allow it.”
“I will be here tomorrow.”
He turned and walked out of the level. Isa groaned and her head fell back on the couch, frustrated.
Even though Isa was sure she had been very careful to keep her relationship with Remus a secret from the Colonel, she was worried that he had found out somehow. The next day, before the Colonel appeared at her house, she called Remus and told him to come over for the negotiations. She said they needed to be firmer in their discussions and that she would rather break ties with Gihron and leave them in their corner of the Altereye System than drag on the negotiations.
The Silver Elite came over and asked her why she was upset, but she did not have time to discuss the possibility of Colonel Amori knowing about their relationship before the Gihron leader appeared at her door.
Rayal answered the door with a bow of his head and then promptly excused himself from the room.
The negotiations that day were very short. Colonel Amori did not seem interested in discussing anything with Remus in the room. Isa, however, refused to speak with the planetary leader alone. He was in her home, a place she preferred to keep free from political matters, and she needed to show that she had the power in that situation.
Once again, Colonel Amori and Isa were in a deadlock with their stances on the trade agreement.
Twice, Isa tried to dismiss the Gihoric Colonel, but he refused. He said he would contact his brother and discuss a course of action with him.
For two weeks, Isa did not see Colonel Amori. Her frustration continued to build, however, when she did not hear from him.
She was also very careful about how she associated with Remus. She had managed to keep their relationship secret for nearly fifteen years, and she was not about to get careless. There was something about the Colonel’s demeanor that told her he would resort to dirty tricks to get his way. Therefore, she kept the Silver Elite at a distance, much to Remus’ confusion.
Another emergency came up when Kreon sounded a distress signal for the Alliance. One of their power reactors had gone into catastrophic meltdown and Isa’s attention was focused entirely on getting the people of her closest ally the assistance they needed. Remus had fallen ill just one day before the emergency occurred, so she was left handling the problem on her own. She deployed her troops to help secure and evacuate the area around the reactor and then sent aid by means of food and supplies for those displaced, as well as four of her most-qualified technicians to organize repairs.
When it seemed the problem was properly contained, Isa had almost forgotten about Colonel Amori. She never saw him, and he had not called her to tell h
er about his brother’s decision.
Remus came to her home when the reactor was reported as stable and shared a drink with her. Her frustrations and stress about Kreon and Colonel Amori caused her to seek Remus intimately. She wanted him to take control of her life, even if it was only within the confines of her bedroom. They had not had sex in weeks, and both were hungry for contact.
She fell into a sound sleep next to Remus, who also slept deeply, still recovering from the strange virus that had taken hold of his system.
As she slept, she dreamt she was swimming in warm, serene waters. The feeling of weightlessness and calm surrounded her, and she allowed herself to enjoy the dream.
Until she felt her limbs become heavy, and she began to slip under the surface of the water. She struggled to breathe as water pressed hard against her nose and mouth. She struggled and flailed violently, panic setting in as she began to drown.
Her eyes snapped open and she realized the drowning feeling had been due to the hand clamped over her nose and mouth.
“Shh, shh…” a dark voice whispered in her ear. “This will be so much easier for you if you don’t struggle.”
Isa started flailing violently, reaching out to hit Remus, trying to wake up the Silver Elite.
“Don’t bruise the poor man, now,” the voice laughed. “He’s not gonna wake up for a while.”
Isa’s eyes focused on the shadowy figure over her and her hand swung, punching him violently in the jaw and rolling her off the bed in the same motion. She quickly turned over and started to stand when the body collided with hers, grabbing her wrists and flipping her over. As she kicked, he pressed his hand deeply into the back of her neck and a pulse of pain shot through her, her muscles freezing in their tensed positions. She could not move. She was paralyzed.
Her eyes moved about the room and she saw the man’s face come into her field of vision once more. His bright smile and dark eyes were in contrast with one another, and his cold, dark voice sent a terrible tremor of fear down her spine.
“I told you it would be better if you didn’t struggle,” he said with a light laugh. He turned her onto her back, her muscles still refusing to move, no matter how she struggled. Once she was on her back, he straddled her, leaning down and crossing his arms over her collarbone, pinning her.
“Allow me to explain how this is going to work,” Colonel Amori said darkly. “These terms are non-negotiable, and you will obey them.”
“The hell I will!” Isa spat, her teeth locked together. “I’ll have you executed for this.”
“Will you?” he challenged. “My dear Isa, you seem to think that you have the upper hand, when, in reality, I have you completely cornered.” He leaned closer to the Elite. “What do you think Venus would do if she knew you were fucking your Silver Elite?”
Isa said nothing. Her mind was working around the situation, trying to figure out how to alert someone that she was in danger and get the Colonel taken into custody for use of force and political coercion.
“No? Is that not enough for you?” Colonel Amori asked. “How about this, then?” He reached into his front coat pocket and pulled out two black devices. One was a portable drive of a sort that Isa had never seen before. The other was a small handle with a button in the middle. “Do you see this?” He shook the one with the button. “I have two of these. This particular one won’t cause as much damage as the other, but I assure you, they will both work.”
Isa stared at the device, trying to figure out what it was.
“Your brother seeks war against us?” she growled. “If you harm me, the entire Alliance will destroy your planet without hesitation.”
“My dear, you misunderstand me. Decius is not privy to any of this. He never was. And I have no intention of hurting you,” he said. “I need you too much.”
Isa glared at the other politician, trying to move her arms and legs, but the needle pressing into her neck was effectively keeping her body paralyzed.
“I need you to help me destroy the Alliance and Venus.”
Isa stared at Colonel Amori with wide eyes.
“Are you insane?” she hissed. “I would never help you. You could threaten me all you want, but you will never destroy Venus, and the Alliance will come to my aid to destroy you.”
“Assuming that you call them,” he said, shaking the device in his hand. “Do you really think I was sitting around this entire time? I’ve been hard at work, securing my control over you and Tiao.” He put the device in her face. “This holds the life of your Silver Elite, all of your Bronze Elites, and your caretaker.”
She looked at the device.
“What have you done to them?”
“I’m sure that you’ve heard of microbionics?” he asked. “Those tiny little robots used in medical practice?”
“Those were outlawed twenty years ago,” Isa said coldly, fear seeping into her gut.
“In the Alliance, yes,” Colonel Amori agreed. “But we are not in the Alliance. I happen to be a brilliant programmer. I’ve developed them to be smart, well, as smart as a machine can be. Certain microbionic cells were injected into each of your colleagues and your caretaker. And this little button,” he barely tapped it with his finger, causing Isa to tense, “will activate all of them. First, the ones in your caretaker will eat him alive from the inside out. Some of them have already tried, I suspect, since your caretaker fell ill last week. But the best ones, the microbionic cells I injected into Remus and into your brainless Bronze Elites are far more sophisticated. Those ones will attach to the spinal cord and they will control all of them to kill you.”
Isa stared at the device.
“I wonder what you would do in that situation,” Colonel Amori mused. “Imagine it. You’re working in your cold, depressing office and Remus comes into see you, only it’s not Remus.” He shook the device again. “It’s me. And he comes after you, with every intention to kill you. Of course, he won’t understand why. He’ll probably be screaming at you, telling you he doesn’t understand what’s happening, even as he raises a gun to kill you. I wonder…” Colonel Amori smiled darkly, his face barely parted from Isa’s, “how strong are the survival instincts of an Elite? Will you let him kill you? Or will you put a bullet in his brain? Pop!” He tapped the end of the device on Isa’s forehead. “Right between the eyes.”
Isa stared in horror at the Colonel. She was not sure if the needle in her neck was keeping her paralyzed or if it was her fear at the words.
“But if you kill him, you’ll leave the room only to realize that all thirteen of your Bronze Elites are acting the exact same way. They surround you, chase you down, tear you limb from limb, all the while screaming, not sure what they are doing, but fully conscious of the fact that they are doing murdering their beloved Golden Elite.”
“I’ll kill you for this,” Isa hissed.
“No, darling, you won’t.” Colonel Amori smiled. “Because there is yet another device, remember? No microbionics, this time. Instead, it’s far more primitive. A catastrophic failure of three of your power processors in Anon. I believe they’re connected to Venus, too, which is just a bonus for me. Just like Kreon, these processors will go into accelerated failure, and before everyone has time to realize they are in danger, Anon will be erased from the face of the planet.” He smiled darkly. “This is your test. If you were a real Elite, you would not bother to worry about your colleagues and your forbidden lover. Instead, you would focus on getting the people to safety, and then you would have me executed, even at the expense of killing your colleagues. That would be the calculated decision. More people saved from danger.
“But you’re no ordinary Elite, are you?” he challenged. “The question is, what will you do?”
“I already told you,” Isa growled. “I’ll kill you.”
“Well, before we can get that far,” he said, returning the device with the button to his pocket and raising the other one, “there is something I need from you.”
He sat up and his ha
nd violently grabbed Isa’s left breast, forcing it toward her collarbone before jamming the device against her ribcage, forcing a node deep into her skin until it touched the processor around her heart.
Isa began screaming in pain, and Colonel Amori clamped his hand over her mouth.
“I hate it when women scream. Shut up,” he snarled.
Isa continued to scream. The pain forced the noise out of her, cutting it from her lungs and pulling out of her throat. Her body spasmed angrily as shockwaves went through her.
She was not sure how long the pain lasted, but when he ripped the drive from her, she choked and groaned, sure that she had been in agony for days.
“Excellent.” Colonel Amori smiled. “Oh, something I forgot to tell you,” he said, looking down at Isa. “If you breathe a word of this to anyone and try to get me arrested, I’ll pull that trigger and force you to die with me and the rest of the city. And when that happens, my brother will come with the entire planet at his back and destroy everything on Tiao before taking over every planet in the Alliance. You can be sure of that.”
Isa tried to move her arms, but she could not. She struggled and groaned, trying to move, her body shaking.
“Oh, right,” he chuckled. “It’s late. You should get some sleep. After all, this is only the beginning. I need you rested and ready to help me when we move to the next stage.”
He leaned forward once more, grabbing a syringe and uncapping the needle. He pushed it into her shoulder and flashed a brilliant smile.
“Isn’t it amazing how detailed nightmares can be?”
Isa’s eyes slipped shut and she was left at his will.
When Isa woke, she was immediately terrified, but the pain in her head made it impossible for her to move very fast. She groaned and forced her eyes open. There was no one there with her. She saw the light on to the bathroom and sat up slowly, cradling her pounding head in one hand.
“You feel shitty, too?” Remus chuckled, walking into the room from the bathroom with a package of pills he had rifled from the drawer and a glass of water. “We both drank too much last night and then did too much physical activity,” he teased lightly, sitting on the bed next to her and extending the glass and painkillers. “Here.”
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