Harriman was taken by complete surprise when those hard-looking lips began to tremble, and he suddenly hated himself for what he had done to her. He reached out and took her shoulder, marveling at the silky feel of the white hair covering that shoulder. “I am a friend,” he whispered, “and I am Stor’s friend. We are both in the company of a Knight of the Realm, and we are here on Imperial business. Will you hear our story?”
The clear lens descended over her eyes again, then lifted. “A Knight?”
He nodded. “I will bring the Queen if that’s what it takes to save your station.”
Regma Dasht slid backwards off of her seat and hit the floor with a solid thump. “Take me to Stor.”
He stood up and led the way out of the building. “Are you being followed?”
“I don’t think so. Why would I be?”
“Why wouldn’t you be?”
“My coming here is not unusual. We encourage visits to the surface for everyone living on the station.”
“Even for the head of security?”
“Even me. Stor knows that.”
He flagged down a skimmer and followed her into it. As soon as they were seated, he ran a sensor over her body, not even attempting to hide his actions.
“You don’t trust me,” she said.
“I don’t trust anyone, not when lives are in the balance. You’re clean. Thank you for that.”
“I have had to accept military forces on my station. It doesn’t mean I like them. As far as I’m concerned, they are, themselves, a serious security risk.”
“Trust me, they are not here to harm the station.”
“But you are.”
“I am not. We are not. Talk to Stor.”
* * * * *
The first to greet Regma Dasht as she walked up the ramp and into the ship were two Great Cats. She stopped, stunned into immobility. One came forward and ran a sophisticated scanner over her body, then backed away.
“Welcome, Ms. Dasht,” Lex said.
Stor stepped forward and pulled Regma into a hug. The two separated, and Stor said, “Thank you for coming. I know it was not easy for you. Come in and be welcome to my temporary home.” Stor took her arm, and they walked arm in arm toward the lounge.
“You are not the same person I once knew.”
“Despite what you see, I am happier than at any time in my life,” Stor said. “What we do here is important, more important than you can imagine. We want you to be part of it.”
“Things are . . . difficult . . . on the station right now. I can’t leave.”
“Your place is on the station. That won’t change.”
They entered the lounge, and Akurea rose to her feet.
“My Lady, may I present Regma Dasht?” Stor announced. “Regma, meet Lady Akurea, Knight of the Realm.”
Akurea reached out a hand in greeting, but Regma stepped back. “All the Chosen were killed, and suddenly we have a Queen with Knights who are, among other things, destroying manufacturing facilities. I cheered for your wins until you destroyed that station. Now, I cannot. Who are you?”
Akurea studied Regma. When she spoke, she spoke with understanding. “Not all of the Chosen died that night, Ms. Dasht. One survived. She has suffered immensely at the hands of Struthers, but more important, she has suffered from the Chessori. My presence might be an Imperial Secret, but our story is not. Let me tell it to you, for you are going to become part of that story . . .”
Her telling was comprehensive, leaving out only a few details. Even Stor learned things she had not yet heard. So relieved was Regma that her station might avoid disaster that she barely whimpered over the relatively minor issue of producing defective drives.
“You have my agreement, but I do not live in a vacuum,” she said. “You have to talk to the Director.”
“Will he come?”
“It would be better if you went to him. This is not a good time for him to be away.”
“That presents difficulties,” Akurea replied.
“I know. Still, it is the best way.”
Akurea looked away, biting her lip. She knew what Lex’s response would be even though he had remained silent. She glanced at him and found him staring at her.
He spoke to Regma, not her. “Our faces are probably known to the Rebels.”
Regma considered, then shook her head. “I don’t think so. They have not introduced any new face-recognition software into our system. I would know if they had. They might recognize Stor simply because there are so few Llaska, and you Great Cats would be a dead giveaway, but not the rest of you.”
“Are Chessori on the station?”
“Yes, and their numbers were recently augmented.”
“My Lady, perhaps you and I should talk in private,” Lex said.
“No,” Akurea responded instantly. “We either trust Ms. Dasht or we don’t. She knows about the software patch we want her to install in Chessori power bottles. If she is not true, then our enemies will also know and our mission is a failure. I will go.”
“My Lady!”
She turned on him, not in anger but in respect. “You know the Queen’s Knights: we lead from the front. We have never been followers. We take risks so that she will not have to. Not stupid risks, but we do take calculated risks.” She turned to Regma. “Name your time.”
“I should stay the night. Will tomorrow work for you, My Lady?”
She nodded. “I’ll bring Harriman with me. He will have to go without weapons, but he’s creative.”
“He can come. Who exactly is he anyway? He’s persuasive. I’d like to get to know him better.”
Akurea smiled, shooting a quick glance at Stor. “You’re not alone in that department, my dear.”
Had her skin not been so deeply black, everyone would have noticed Stor’s blushing. As it was, they could only sense it. Regma turned to her in amazement. “What are you thinking, girl? You’re alien to each other.”
“Are we?” Stor shot back, her golden eyes blazing. “I’m not so certain. Besides,” she said, her gaze shifting to Akurea, then lowering to the floor, the light in her eyes still bright, “I’ve gone too long without friends. I’m happy here.”
* * * * *
Harriman stepped from the shuttle beside Regma Dasht. Akurea followed, apparently the least significant of the three, and they began the long walk down the entrance corridor. Harriman’s skin crawled, knowing he was weaponless and completely cut off from support, but he was a Protector to the bone. His mind remained actively engaged considering defensive and offensive possibilities as they unfolded. When they reached the end of the corridor he breathed a sigh of relief. Had their identities been known, he and Akurea would not have made it this far.
The trio reached the Director’s private conference room. The moment they entered, Harriman’s senses peaked. The Director stood off to the side against a window looking out on space. Directly across from the entrance, three Chessori stood on the far side of the conference table beside an admiral displaying a chest full of medals. The Chessori all held weapons pointed at himself and Akurea.
“Director?” Regma managed to get out, then the scree sounded. Everyone fell to the floor except the Chessori. Harriman acted the way he’d seen others act under the scree, falling to the floor and thrashing about in agony. The scree only lasted seconds, then it stopped. Harriman lay still, his body still twitching from time to time until he heard angry voices. He opened his eyes to see the admiral pulling himself up with the aid of the table. He stood there, pale as could be while the rest came to. Harriman was the last to rise, staggering to his feet, then plopping himself down in a chair with his head on the table.
“What’s the meaning of this?” the Director shrieked. He looked to Regma. “I need a status check of the station.”
She lifted a communicator to her lips with a shaking hand and moved away from everyone else. The Director’s gaze was locked on the admiral, the Chessori ignored.
“I’m so sorry, sir,”
the admiral choked out, himself still recovering. “I was certain of my intelligence.”
The Director glared at him. “What happened?”
“As I said earlier, we believed your visitors to be enemies. My friends, the Chessori, have the means to determine if we were right. It appears we were wrong.”
“This is my station, Admiral. You have no idea how badly you’ve disrupted our processes. You and your friends are no longer welcome here. Leave, all of you.”
“I’m sorry, Director, but my orders come from Struthers himself. I cannot.”
The Director stood up tall, though the effort cost him - muscles and nerves had not fully recovered from the scree yet. “You can, and if Mr. Struthers wants any more production from me, you will. I cannot prevent your loitering within the system, but you and your ‘friends’ will leave this station or I will shut it down.”
“You must provide the re-designed systems, sir.”
“Do I look like a fool? Struthers’ money is as good as anyone’s, but I will do it my way. Now leave.”
The admiral and his three Chessori left, their expressions forlorn. “I was so certain!” Harriman heard as the door closed behind them.
Without lifting his head, Harriman said, “Regma, we need a complete sweep of the room.”
She made the call. It took two hours, and several video devices were found, but in the end Harriman was confident the room was clean, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“I thought you said you were immune to this thing?” Regma demanded angrily.
Lady Akurea answered for him. “I told you he was creative, didn’t I? He’s a Protector. He just saved your station with the only weapon at his disposal, his mind.”
Regma looked uncertainly between the two of them. “The threat is over?”
Akurea smiled and turned to the Director. “Masterful, sir, kicking them off the station. As soon as you’ve heard our story, you’ll agree. Your station will soon be on our front lines of defense against these disgusting Chessori.”
* * * * *
Akurea couldn’t fast-ship from the system, so it would take three weeks to reach the first jump point.
“Where to now, My Lady?” her captain asked.
“Back to Stor’s station. We’re starting over. I want to see how each station is doing, see if they’re delivering as promised. All the stations will be operating under the watchful eyes of the Rebels. The Directors are smart enough to pull it off, but they might need a little encouragement. After that, we’ll find Mr. Phusk and see how successful he’s been. I don’t think we need to restrict the supply line yet, but I want to be ready if we do. Then I’m going to visit some overhaul facilities. That’s where the proof lies. I need to know if our plan is working.”
Lex, her head Protector objected. “My Lady, I won’t be able to Protect you.”
“Yes you will. It just won’t be in person. Your job is to make sure the rest of us are prepared. We’re nearing the end game. I can feel it. We just have to buy the Queen a little more time.”
Parsons’ World
Chapter 19
Nancy Shaw was bored. Though she was on an alien world, she had to act like the Queen which meant she could not do the exploring she wanted to do. Worse, her agreement to act as the Queen’s double did not set well with her, and the inactivity added to a general unhappiness. Everyone of any importance had left Parsons’ World. The only ones remaining behind were focused on protecting their world and with carrying on the business of avoiding Empire taxes. Smuggling brought lucrative profits, though of late the cost of supporting the Queen had cut seriously into those profits and society was feeling the crunch.
Ellie was out doing whatever Queens did to restore order in the midst of a coup. Nancy Shaw’s job was limited to that of target and the occasional meeting or speech to reinforce the Queen’s commitment in the eyes of the locals.
She was in her office, actually the outer room of her quarters, working on her next speech, when she heard loud voices in the corridor. Three Great Cats within the room stirred, and another Great Cat poked his head in and announced the arrival of Serge Parsons.
Serge didn’t wait. He barged into the room, his voice low but menacing. “Why are you still here . . .?” He sputtered to a stop when he saw her. “Who are you? Where’s the Queen?” he demanded.
“As far as everyone on Parsons’ World knows, I’m her,” she replied. “Get a grip, Serge.”
He looked hard at her, doing his best to see through the make-up adding to her disguise. “You’re Nancy Shaw,” he finally said.
She lifted an eyebrow. “It’s in your best interest to refer to me as Queen.”
He stepped back with a frown. “I’ve just returned. This was not a part of any plan I know of.”
“Did you think you knew everything there is to know?”
He peered hard at her. “You sound just like her.”
“I hope so.”
“Why?”
“Wake up. We’re doing our best to save Parsons’ World. Struthers won’t attack as long as he thinks the Queen is here. As much as he wants to make an example out of you, his first priority is to rid the Empire of the Queen. If he sends an invasion force, he knows I’ll leave, that I’ll escape again. We’re fairly certain he has teams here just waiting for an opportunity to take me out.”
Serge stepped farther into the room, a hand rubbing his chin in thought. “You might be right,” he said after a time. Then he looked hard at her. “You’re bait?”
“I’m bait.”
“Why you?”
She lowered her gaze. “Indeed. Why me?” She lifted her chin in defiance. “I refused my duty once before and people are dead as a result. I won’t refuse again.”
Serge took a step back from her intensity. Clearly, there was more to her words than she was letting on. “Where is the Queen?”
“I have no idea. No idea at all, and I wouldn’t tell you if I did.”
“Hmm. So we’re back to normal, eh? She’s done with me, and I’m just a scoundrel again.”
Nancy stepped up to him and laid a hand on his arm. “Sorry. We’d all like a return to the simple life, but it’s not to be. She’s not done with you yet. In some respects, Parsons’ World’s future has just begun.”
He turned away from her. “We’ve made good progress on Earth. The factories we brought are up and running, and others are being built. They’ve turned over several shipyards and production facilities to us for conversion, and the skilled workers that come with these facilities are willing and easy to train. I think Admiral Trexler’s visit there really made a difference. The whole world seems to be in a survival mode. They’re doing their best to turn the planet into a fortress. They’re even calling themselves Fortress Terra.”
She brightened. “I’m glad to hear it. He’ll be glad to hear it. Have you seen him?”
“Only briefly. He’s pulled in a lot of different directions, and his primary focus is clearing sectors. He’s got some good people overseeing the supply side of things on Earth, and I think he’s finally convinced that he’s not needed there. He only stayed for a few days.”
“How did he look?”
Serge blinked, then he grinned, remembering that Trexler and Nancy Shaw were friends. “He’s stressed to the hilt and one of the happiest people I know. He’s in his element, Nancy.”
She smiled, then frowned. “I’m Ellie until further notice, Serge. We’ve gone to a lot of trouble to keep up the pretense. One wrong word will ruin it.”
He nodded. “Sorry. It won’t happen again. What’s the plan?”
“I’ve been helping your leaders keep the population calmed down. As you can imagine, they’re pretty worried.”
“Rightfully so. We’re sitting ducks here, and we know Struthers will show up in force. We just don’t know when.”
“Aldebaran I is the Queen’s temporary headquarters. Governor Seeton has a hypercom, and her forces are on instant alert to come here.”
> “They won’t make it in time. We’re so far out that it will take two or three weeks to get here, and that’s if they’re anywhere close.”
“She hasn’t abandoned you, Serge. Sufficient forces are close enough. Always. Your guys might have to slow the Rebels, but they won’t have to defeat them.”
“What if they come with Chessori?”
“That’s a problem,” she said. “Other than my few Protectors and my personal squadron, we don’t have anyone else capable of fighting the Chessori. It’s a calculated risk, but we think the Rebels have better uses for their Chessori partners.”
Serge turned away, his gaze narrowing as he considered. When he turned back to her, sparks practically flew from his eyes. “I don’t like maybe’s.”
“You’ve dealt with maybe’s all your life. She is not abandoning you. The plan is that you hypercom Aldebaran I the moment I’m attacked. They won’t come before then.”
“Maybe.”
“Probably. I’m just leaving for an interview. Would you like to come with me? It’s an opportunity to tell your people you’re back. It will be good for them.”
* * * * *
Three air cars carried Nancy, Serge, and three teams of Protectors. Nancy and Serge could have been in any of the cars, but today they were in the last car. A frigate hovered over them, making it impossible for anyone to attack. That protection only lasted until they were within the confines of the city. Tall buildings and the proximity of many people made it impossible for the frigate’s powerful weapons to fire.
That’s where Struthers’ assassins struck. Six convertible air cars rose up from the streets below, each of them carrying a heavy weapon. Tam, Nancy’s lead Protector, calmly announced, “Abort, abort, abort.” Nancy’s cars went to full speed and peeled away from each other. The chase was on.
Everyone harnessed up, though the harnesses were only needed in the event of a crash. Drives resembling those in space ships powered the air cars, drives that pulled on every atom of a person’s body as perfectly as they pulled on the car. Accelerations were never felt, nor was there any danger of falling out. At least that was Nancy’s thought until the canopy shattered from a glancing hit. The moment it disappeared, she caught herself pulling frantically on the straps. The wind threatened to push her overboard.
Voice of the Chosen (Spirit of Empire, Book Three) Page 34