“Bullshit.” She made a copy of the data files after retrieving them, of course, but hadn’t cracked their encryption yet. She was spending too much time mourning Shkur and taking kalkoa, if she was honest with herself, to really have a go at it.
“There is a lot of data in those files. I’m waiting for Sophi to tell us which piece she wants us to dig into.”
She was shocked. Zalor’s files had to contain sensitive information. There must be something that might embarrass or cause trouble for a barony. Having access to his private files could blow her investigation wide open. She might finally have the links she needed to go public with the plot to murder Baron Mitsugawa Yoji and conspire with the VoQuana.
“I can tell by the way you’re looking that you’re excited,” Giselle said. “To tell you the truth, I am, too, but we have to stay calm about this. Sophi’s the one who cracked the encryption, so we’re going to know only what she gives us.”
She gave the woman a tight smile. From her biomonitor she could tell she was flushed, and from the look of things it seemed Giselle was getting that way, too. Of all the genes for Ila to copy from Biren it had to be the pheromones, didn’t it? she thought with a look at the Isinari in question. Somehow her body seemed to be receiving them despite her nasal filters. She’d have to figure out how that was happening, it might be useful at some point, but in the meantime she needed to concentrate, and damn but didn’t Ila look good right then. The low slopes of her headcrest were particularly appealing, so symmetrical and elegant. Her hip pushed into Ila’s as though of its own volition.
“Unless we crack it ourselves,” Sanul said through a crystal smile.
Do it, Cygni transmitted to him and started the file transfer. She was grateful his words brought her back on point.
“I’m on it,” he sent back.
“Don’t try it.” Giselle fanned herself with one hand. Her eyes caught on Ila for a moment and she pulled them back to Sanul with some effort. “We’re working for the baroness now. We have to do as she says, and I don’t think she’d want us to do anything with this.”
He stiffened.
“Fuck that.” Cygni locked eyes with Giselle. “She’s got stuff on me, sure, and I’m sorry that she dragged Ila and Sanul into it, but that doesn’t mean we have to try and guess what she wants.”
“I know her, and I think that we should, ah…” Giselle paused for a moment. Her eyes drifted back to Ila. “Anyway, I think it’s a bad idea. What are we going to do with that information? It’s not like Sophi is going to let us just go public with everything. You know she won’t.”
She sighed, starting to feel the weight of her situation again. Giselle was right. Her excitement receded as she remembered the conversation she had with Baroness Sophiathena in the limo, and shivered.
“Well, to be honest—” Giselle was interrupted by a loud chime.
All eyes turned to the door where the one-way glass allowed them to see Biren in its frame. His slumped shoulders and the long look on his face told her all she needed to know about his mood. As relieved and angry as she was to see him, she was concerned. By the time Giselle signaled her door to open, worry was all that was left.
Ila was on niur feet in an instant, crossing the distance the moment he was over the threshold to put him in niur long arms. It looked like a warm, tight hug, and Cygni felt a stab of jealousy in her gut at the sight of it. It made no sense really. She knew they were together, and yet she couldn’t help but think of Biren as hers. The emotion was stronger than it had been in years, even after he came to comfort her when Shkur broke Sanul’s leg. It vexed her as she got up and moved to stand within a meter of the couple.
Giselle moved to their other side. “We’ve missed you, Biren.”
He hugged Ila, then pushed her back and took in the others with a lazy smile on his face. “What, no love for me, Sanul?”
Cygni glanced over her shoulder to see the Volgoth was the only one who hadn’t moved to meet Biren by the door. She was starting to get used to reading him, and it occurred to her that from the way his lids hung over his geode-like eyes, and the twitch of his small earlobes, that he was puzzled at what he was seeing. Biren’s sigh brought her attention back to him.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions—” he started.
“Where have you been the last few days?” she asked. “I’ll spare you the ‘you’ve got a lot of nerve’ speech, but Biren, you can’t go vanishing on us. What we’re involved in is serious.”
“I know. I’ve been at the biodome. I sent Ila a message.”
Niu nodded. “I told them, but you didn’t make much sense. What is going on with your mother?”
“It’s her and my sister.” He pushed past them into the kitchen. He paused just long enough to identify the refrigerator and yanked it open. “Beer?”
“Bottom shelf,” Giselle said with a glowing smile.
He pulled up a clear plastic drink-orb filled with amber liquid, squeezed it to pop up the straw, and headed over to the center couch while the bubbles formed. Cygni followed, sitting down on his left as Ila hurried over to sit on his right. Giselle gave them a longing look and moved into the kitchen to check on her cooking.
“So?” she asked.
The haunted look returned to his face and he took a deep draft through the straw before speaking. “Mom’s gone nuts. Boa, too. I’ve spent the last two days arguing with both of them.”
“What’s going on?” Her gut twitched.
“Baron Revenant intends to install Baron Keltan as a figurehead Premier in the next election. Premier Dorsky is finished.” He nodded at her. “Mother wants to take advantage of the fact that Baron Keltan hasn’t been seen for over a standard week now.”
“How do the two relate?”
“Is this location secure?” He snapped his head around to stare at Giselle.
“Completely.”
“Mother wants me to murder Premier Dorsky.”
Cygni gasped. She wasn’t the only one. “What?”
“If Dorsky died it would force an immediate election to establish an interim Premier.”
“Wait, I thought if the Premier died, or was rendered unable to serve, the Barony Speaker would be installed in his place until the next election,” Giselle said.
“The Barony Speaker is Baron Revenant.” Ila put one of her long arms over Biren’s shoulders and nestled her hip into his. “Baron Revenant is off-world at the moment. Baron Keltan is missing…”
“And that would mean power would fall to the next highest ranking baron,” Cygni added. “Who is Baron Mitsugawa—Oh.”
“And after that Baroness Hephestia Cronus,” Biren said. “The Mercantile Party wouldn’t allow her to run things, even if it was just for a few months while Baron Revenant made his way back, so they’d take a vote to force a special election.”
“But what about Baroness Olivaar?” Sanul asked. “She’s running Cosmos Corp until Baron Revenant’s return. Wouldn’t she stand in for him?”
“Not in the Barony,” Biren said. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“I can see this is a golden opportunity, but Biren—” Cygni started.
“I know. I know.”
“You’d never come back alive,” Giselle added. “Even if you could get within striking distance of the Premier, his guards will cut you to ribbons.”
“I know,” he said again, then his voice dropped to a whisper. “I argued.”
“You said you were fighting with Boa, too. Don’t tell me she was on board for this insanity?” Cygni asked.
He sighed. “She thinks it’s our only chance to take down Revenant. There aren’t even any Abyssians showing up to investigate Olivaar and Vargas’ deaths. She said that must mean it’s open season on the barons.”
“It hasn’t been that long since they died,” she said. “There could still be an Abyssian in-transit.”
“I pointed that out, and they just used it as further justification for needing to act now.” He star
ed at the floor.
“This is desperation,” Giselle said. “It’s not a good idea.”
“I know.” He finished the second half of his beer in one, long drag.
“I do not believe this. This is morally wrong. How could the Mother Priestess suggest such a thing?” Ila said.
“Does she have any idea how good the security is around the Premier?” Sanul asked.
“She knows,” he said.
“What could drive her to this?” Ila asked.
“We’ve lost most of our allies. Keltan’s either under VoQuana or Revenant’s control. Our agent reported that he was acting different before her reports got weird and she went dark. Baron Mitsugawa hasn’t made contact—”
Wait, not too much, Cygni messaged him, concerned that anything Baroness Sophiathena didn’t already know would get to her through Giselle. Biren ignored her and barreled on.
“—even though he should have been on Taiumikai for enough time by now for a message to reach us, and the Savs are insisting they’re going to go whichever way Mitsugawa does. We’re alone. That’s not a good place to be when we’ve been spying on the Mercantiles for decades. She thinks we have to act right now, especially with what Baroness Sophiathena just found out.”
“What did she just find out?” She leaned forward.
“I’m sorry.” Biren sighed again, seeming to crumble into himself. Ila pulled him close. “I checked the spy-grain you have in that Isinari’s office.”
“Clearach’Kul’Tearae,” Ila said.
“That’s the one. Sophi just found out that Doctor Rega’s been putting those Siren canisters all over the city.”
Cygni’s whole body went numb. “What?”
“So, that’s what he was doing,” Giselle whispered. “I can back that up. Rega’s been working on two projects over the last week or so, and fervently at that. One concerned the Cephalon Gate Spheres, and the other was something I hadn’t quite figured out yet. It involved a lot of trips to Xur’qon Island, though.”
“Oh, no. So that’s what that was? He’s got tons of those canisters under the Palace. That must be where the Siren supply is,” Sanul said. “I fleshrode him a couple of times while I was healing up in your bed.”
Cygni gave him a look.
“I got bored.” His little ears flicking at the base of his horns.
“When were you going to share?”
“Now’s not the time for that, Giselle.” She glared.
“I think it is. How long have you sat on this, Sanul? Did you know, Cygni?” Giselle asked.
“I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you. There was a lot of pain, and a lot of phytrophor…” His ears wilted beneath his horns.
She rubbed her temples with her fingertips. “We have to figure out what we’re going to do about it.”
Giselle frowned and nodded. “You’re right, but how are we supposed to function as a team if you hold things back? If any of you do?”
“Us? What about yourself? You didn’t tell me you were working for Sophiathena Cronus when we met, did you? You didn’t warn me she was going to threaten to send me back to the Orgnan Khargs if I didn’t do as she said. You’ve got a lot of nerve being critical of Sanul.” She got to her feet and jabbed a finger in Giselle’s direction. “Well? What are you hiding now? You want us to be completely open, you better start with yourself. You’re right, unless we do this we can’t function as a team, but you have to start since you’re the only one here who hasn’t been honest.”
Giselle shot daggers at her with her eyes for a moment, then withered. “You’re right, of course.”
“Ah, what happened?” Sanul asked. “What did you do, Giselle?”
That’s when she remembered that neither Sanul nor Ila knew.
“I cut a deal with the baroness. I had to get Cygni out of CSA custody in a hurry, so I told Sophi that she would be invaluable to our mission against Baron Revenant. It was Sophi who decided, over my objections, that Cygni would need some extra incentive, but I’m still sorry about it. I’m sorry, Cygni. You know I didn’t want it to get that far.”
“The baroness involved the Orgnan Khargs? How?” Sanul’s ears flickered against his horns. He was one of their slaves before Elthroa bought him, and she was sure he just realized what would happen to him if they failed the baroness.
“Sanul, I’m sorry,” she said.
“What? Why?” His thick nostrils flared.
“If I hadn’t needed rescuing you wouldn’t be under threat.” She looked around the room. “None of you would, but I fell for a stupid trap, and now we’re all under the baroness’ thumb.”
“I’m sorry,” Giselle said again.
Biren got up and put his hand on Cygni’s arm. A moment later she found herself pulled into his embrace. He, too, was on the Orgnan hit list because of Minlea. She refused to believe Thuban about them not mattering to the Khargs. In her experience, the Khargs always got revenge. Always…
“It is what it is,” he said after he released her. “We’re all in the shit now. I’m guessing even you, if we fail.”
Giselle hesitated a moment, then nodded. “Sophi doesn’t take failure well.”
“Cygni’s right. We all have to get it together and work as a team. No more secrets, no more vanishing for days,” he said in a self-admonishing tone. “None of us want to wind up in Orgnan space, or on a Confederate penal colony, or dead, so let’s spill it.”
She took in a deep breath and looked about to say something, but Biren cut her off.
“I’m sorry about this,” he said.
“What?” She looked at him, searching his dark eyes.
“I know you’ve been looking for Baroness Altair’s daughter.” He hesitated. “She’s our agent with Baron Keltan.”
Her mouth dropped open. If he told her before then Pawqlan would still be alive, they wouldn’t be under threat of slavery, they—she cut herself off. Why would he have told her? She betrayed both Boa’s and his trust by putting that spy-grain on her halter. No, she wouldn’t let herself blame him. It was still her fault. Her own stupid fault.
“Yeah, I’ve known her for a long time.” There was something in the way he said it that was strange, but she didn’t care. “Her name is Pasqualina Olivaar.”
“Heiress Olivaar?” Sanul gaped.
“She is the child of Baron Revenant and Baroness Altair,” Biren continued. “Revenant made Olivaar adopt her to keep her out of his fortune.”
Giselle sat down, looking as stunned as Sanul. “What? Sophi never told me she had a sister.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” he said.
“You had no reason to.” Cygni let her eyes fall to her feet. Something occurred to her. “You said her reports got weird and she went dark on you?”
He nodded. “Yeah, little while after she got engaged to Baron Keltan her reports started getting vague, like she was hiding something. Mom wanted to pull her out but we were stuck. Who else on our side could be so well placed? The last time I saw her was in the Interstellar Bazaar, then she and Baron Keltan vanished.”
“Wait, how is this helping us?” Ila said. “It is good to be open with each other, but we need to talk about what we are going to do.”
“I guess we can pick this up later, you’re right,” Cygni said.
“Biren, what are the consequences if you refuse the Mother Priestess?” Ila asked.
He stared at her for a moment before answering. “She’ll find another Evolutionary to carry out the job.”
“How do we stop her?” niu asked.
“We don’t. Once mother gets an idea in her head…”
“What if we proposed another plan?” Ila persisted.
Cygni blinked. Goddess bless nium, niu was the only one thinking among them. “Yeah, what if we tell her we’re working on it?”
“She knows we are, and I’m not sure what she would do other than call us incompetent and do things her own way.” Biren shook his head making the shells in his dreadlocks tin
kle. “It’d have to be a hell of a good plan, but even then, I don’t know.”
“What about going to the CSA about the Siren canisters?” she asked. “Linking them to Revenant will stop him, right?”
“How would we do that without getting arrested?” Giselle said. “They’d probably want to know how we knew, and if we told them—”
“I think I have a contact there,” she said, thinking of the strange conversation in front of Shkur’s old place.
“You what?” Giselle stared at her. “Who?”
“Thuban Vargas—”
“The man who spent days interrogating you? Do you have Stockholm Syndrome?” Giselle scowled.
“He came to me recently and made an offer. You know they got all of my records when they arrested me. They know all about AgroWorlds Tower, Baron Revenant, and the VoQuana,” she said.
“So what? They work for the Premier, and Dorsky’s on Revenant’s side,” Giselle said.
“Thuban is frustrated with the CSA investigation into the VoQuana’s activity. Maybe Dorsky isn’t in on that, or is worried about it, or something. Whatever the case, Thuban seems to genuinely want to do something about it.”
“Didn’t you tell me he tried to stop you from killing that one, ah, what was his name?” Biren asked.
“Yes, but it was because he wanted to interrogate it.” She couldn’t believe she was defending him. “I think he’s genuinely interested in doing what’s right.”
There was silence when she finished speaking. It took almost a minute for someone to speak again.
“Can we trust him, or is this a trap?” Giselle asked.
It was a good question.
“I don’t know. I think he’s being genuine. If he is, and we go to him with the Siren canisters being around the city, I think he’ll help us.”
“If?” Giselle scowled.
“It’s a risk,” Biren said. “But I don’t want to see my mom and my sister executed for treason. She might go for this. Do we have any better ideas?”
He looked around the room. No one spoke.
“Maybe this will give the CSA enough of an excuse to at least investigate Revenant,” he said. “It could delay or put a stop to his plans, even if he wriggles out of it somehow.”
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