Joseph took hold of his brother's forearm. "I will be there, Harden."
Harden grinned. "I know you will, brother!"
Harden then stood and began to pace the room. "I had a short discussion with Joni this morning. She is as stubborn as ever. She had broken a steel leg off a chair and was attempting to dig her way out by chipping away at a concrete wall. I wish she could see things from our point of view. She reminds me of father and me with her tenacity. She could be a huge contributor to our cause, where my own children are dimwits, nothing more than spoiled leeches sucking the blood from the family. Continue to work on her, Joseph. I feel we may one day need her."
Joseph replied, "I will do what I can, but we must be patient."
Harden looked at is arm pad. "I have a meeting with a representative of the Igari."
Joseph stood. "Is there anything I can help with?"
Harden waved his hand. "No. I have a list of minor concessions I am prepared to offer in exchange for their cooperation against several of the colonies where they have influence. If we can bring the Igari unrest under control, I believe we can use them as a tool to quell unrest elsewhere. Did you know, they are expected to surpass us Humans as the majority species here on Alpha? Just a short time ago, that thought would have been unfathomable. Our colony at Endura is now the only Human dominated colony in this sector."
Joseph nodded. "The great expansion of Human ideals by the founders of the AMP has truly come to an end. I believe it was a mistake for the founders to hide away Earth. It is a symbol of Human greatness, but a symbol that we cannot touch or see. We are left to wonder if it ever really existed at all."
Harden scowled. "When we take control of the Milky Way, I will make it a priority that we find Earth. I agree that it has been a symbol of the Human species. I would make it the capitol of the Salton Empire, and make Humans the favored species, placing restrictions on breeding by other species."
Harden turned toward the door. "I must go. We will continue these discussions further, brother. I would like your wisdom on what we might do."
Harden left the room. Go powered after him.
Garrett said, "A thousand galaxies? This guy is a nut. You couldn't possibly manage an empire so large."
I nodded. "They will never make it to their dream of a thousand galaxies, let alone a hundred. I very much doubt they will ever control the six. Harden is an egomaniac. His push to make things happen quickly will be his undoing. He will soon discover his mistake of making an alliance with the Grotus and the Grumar."
Go said, "Let's see what it is he has to offer to the Igari. Their representative just entered the room."
Harden Salton stood with his hands clasped behind his back. "Mr. Jalud, welcome to my home. I hope my staff has met all of your needs?"
Harma Jalud stood quietly for several seconds. "I must insist that your henchmen leave the room, Mr. Salton. Their presence is an insult to our diplomatic efforts."
Harden turned toward his bodyguards and gestured for them to leave.
"Let us not dally, Mr. Salton," Jalud said. "You have an offer for my people. I trust you have met our demands?"
Harden Salton's expression turned from a polite smile to a scowl before settling back into a forced smile. "Mr. Jalud, I am prepared to offer a loosening of the trade taxes by nearly half on the colonies under your influence. I will also begin to pump a significant amount of stimulus credits into your economies in an effort to show that I am serious about our commitment. The credits will be in the form of purchasing agreements for excess production from your factories, for shipment to other sectors. I will also remove all import taxes on raw materials coming into your colonies. That should give a significant boost to the Igari through full or near-full employment."
Harma Jalud shook his head. "This is exactly the kind of shiny trinkets we were expecting from you. I'm afraid I must decline and instead offer another more permanent solution."
Harma pressed several buttons on his arm pad. The doors to the meeting room locked and sealed.
Jalud sprang forward, delivering a chop to the base of Harden Salton's neck. Harden dropped to the floor, nearly unconscious.
The Igari assassin stood over him. "Your time of corruption is over. The fate of the other families will follow soon."
The Igari knelt on top of the fallen leader, slapping him several times. The Salton bodyguards banged hard on the steel doors to no avail.
Go yelled with excitement. "What do I do?"
I yelled back. "There are four cameras in that room! Take them out and then take out the Igari! We can't let Harden die yet!"
Go aimed his BHD glove at the first of the cameras. As the black hole of the BHD passed through the camera mount, the camera it supported fell over, leaving it looking at nothing but the wall. The assassin clasped his hands around Harden Salton's throat and began to squeeze, shutting off his air supply. Go circled the room, taking out the remaining three cameras as the bodyguards kicked at the steel doors.
As Go came to rest beside the assassin, he held out his balled fist, occupying the same space as the Igari's head. With a blink in and out, the largely headless Igari slumped over.
Garrett spoke into the comm. "We can't leave it like this. Make the rest of the Igari disappear!"
Go looked around, identifying a set of coat hooks on a wall behind the door. After blinking in, the Igari was dragged over to the hooks and hung up. With several more activations of the sodium-covered suit, the Igari assassin was gone. All that remained was a series of blood pools.
Go blinked out for a final time. "Best I could do."
Garrett replied, "You left them with plenty of questions, but they won't have any good answers. Other than the blood, the Igari is gone. Good job!"
I nodded. "Yes, I think you averted a disaster just now. And as Garrett says, they will have questions, but they won't have answers. Just stay where you are and follow him to whatever medical care they take him to. We still need the coordinates of the gate and he is the one that will tell them to us."
Several minutes passed before the doors were unsealed and opened. A disheveled Harden Salton was taken from the room and hustled to an emergency aid station, where he was given oxygen. Once stable, the victim of the assassination attempt was taken to a medical facility for examination.
A Human doctor looked over a holo-display of stats. "That blow to your neck will take a day or two to get over. Scans don't indicate any damage that would be considered permanent. Take a couple hours of rest and you should be OK."
Harden Salton scowled. "I'm fine. I have work to do. I can rest later."
A call came in from the head of security. "We rounded up the other Igari here, sir. There were eight in total. They are being questioned as we speak. We have the main culprit. He was attempting to flee. We are certain he was the one who locked and sealed the door from his security console. He played dumb about the issue until the security officer of the room held a blaster on him."
Harden rubbed his neck. "I want to know who he knew and who he's come in contact with for the last year. Make this a priority. And would someone please tell me what happened to Jalud?"
One of the bodyguards stepped forward. "There was blood, sir, but no sign of the Igari. He somehow disabled the cameras and then fled. We aren't sure what happened, sir, but he must have had other help."
Harden took an angry tone. "Someone better find out where he went! We have other cameras. Every millimeter of this compound is under surveillance. He has to have been picked up by one of them!"
A second bodyguard stepped up. "Sir, a scan of all recordings shows all cameras operating at 100 percent, sir. There is no indication of the Igari assassin on any of them. It appears as though he vanished."
Harden Salton pushed the doctor aside as he stood to face the bodyguard. "Vanished? That's not possible! Find out where he went!"
The bodyguard replied, "Sir, there is a substantial amount of Igari blood in there. Perhaps he was able to vaporize him
self."
An angry Harden Salton yelled. "Perhaps? I want all of you to get me some answers! I will not be subjected to an assassination attempt in my own home!"
Harden Salton stormed out of the medical lab.
Joseph was waiting just outside. "What happened?"
Harden growled. "The Igari tried to kill me, that's what happened. Now he's on the loose right here in our home!"
Joseph asked. "How? How did this happen? Did he have a weapon?"
As they walked, Harden continued to rub his neck. "No. He conned me into sending my guards out of the room and then had an accomplice lock the doors. I was knocked down, and he was on top of me choking me before I knew what was going on."
Joseph looked around. "How did he escape?"
Harden pulled up his holo-display. "That's what I want to know. The cameras in the room were disabled. The Igari vanished before he could finish the job. I can only guess that this was a warning."
Joseph continued, "Where are we going now?"
Harden pointed at a location showing on his holo-display. "The Igari reps always travel as pairs. We will see his other half over in the diplomatic quarters. He's already being restrained and claims to know nothing of this attempt."
Joseph replied, "What will you do?"
Harden stopped. "I will give them one more chance at this deal. We need our own house in order before we can expect to take over others. This was the first step toward bringing the Igari in line. Obviously, there are some who don't want this, but it's what I'll be giving them. And if they don't like it, well, let's just say that their leaders will need to be replaced."
Harden Salton continued his walk at a brisk pace. The remaining Igari representative acted as if he was oblivious to the assassination attempt that had just transpired. The taxation and trade deal was eagerly accepted, and the Igari sent on his way. Harden Salton returned to his personal quarters for a rest.
Chapter 10
* * *
"He's been asleep for half an hour," Go said. "I could use this time to explore."
Garrett stretched his arms up over his head. "How about we let him to look in on Joni and then scout for some other security rooms. Maybe we can find some of Harden's strategists. There has to be somebody on this compound who is in contact with that portal gate."
I gazed at the sleeping Harden Salton through Go's video feed. "No, I think I have a better idea. Go, I want you to find a room with terminal access to their network. If there are cameras in the room, disable them. Garrett will work with you to access their systems. If we can't get Mr. Salton to tell us the information we seek, we'll go looking for it on our own. We may only have a few minutes from the time any cameras are disabled, so you'll have to work quickly. You'll also want a room where the door can be locked from the inside."
Go replied, "That's much better than watching the man sleep. I noticed a few empty terminals in the first building I drifted through. I'll see if we can bring one of them online."
After a short burst, Go settled into a maintenance room in a generator building used to supply emergency backup power to the compound. "OK, door's locked. I blinked in. Bringing up the terminal now."
Garrett replied, "I'm sending a request to your arm pad for access. Keep in mind I only have access while you are visible. You turn on that suit and I get cut off."
Go nodded. "Terminal is up. Approving your request now."
Garrett swiped away at his holo-display. "You should see a link request from that terminal … accept it. I'll take over from there. You just keep blinked in for me."
Several minutes passed as Garrett grumbled and tried new methods to hack into the terminal security.
A green indicator was followed with a smile. "We're in!"
I said to Go, "Listen for anyone outside that door. It's steel, but it doesn't look to be reinforced."
Garrett grinned. "Oh man! I have direct access to the trunk of their network! I can go anywhere! Give me five minutes. I would have to believe I can find connections to the portal."
I replied, "Do you have access to the cameras on the compound?"
Garrett passed an access request to my console. "Accept that and tap on the camera symbol. From there you should be able to see everything their security teams can see."
Go stood by the door, listening. "Let me know if I can do anything else."
Garrett responded. "Nope, you just stay where you are. Looks like I have six paths to explore. Any luck with the cameras?"
I swiped through several screens. "No activity in the security room we were in before. No movement on the walkways leading to your building, Go. It looks like we are still in the clear."
Go leaned against the wall. "Can you see the feed from the camera in here?"
"Hold on," I said. "It looks like it's pointing at a wall."
Go grinned. "That's the ceiling."
I replied, "Did you just move?"
Go nodded. "I moved my arm. Why?"
I sighed, "I saw a shadow. I don't want any evidence that anyone was there."
Garrett gestured toward my console display. "Go to the archive, copy a minute's worth of recording before the camera turns and past it over the archive from that point on. If anything, that should throw off their time of when the camera moved. When it asks if you want to update or replace, hit replace. That will sync up the time-stamps and make it that much harder to figure out that it was altered."
Garrett continued, "I think I'm on the right path here. Yes! I have a direct link to the portal gate!"
I shook my head. "I'm seeing activity in the security room. We have a group of three who are hot onto something. One is on his comm now. Wait, I have four, no, five guards heading for the generator room. Go, you might want to brace that door."
Garrett grimaced. "The connections at the portal are antiquated. It's the original gear from that gate. I'll need at least another minute or two to get where I want."
Go leaned hard against the door. "Where is it you want to get?"
Garrett swiped several screens and typed feverishly on his console keyboard. "I need to get to the nav system. It will have coordinates."
Bangs could be heard on the power room door. "I don't think we have much time!"
I zoomed in on the security detail outside the room. "Garrett, one of them has a blaster out. Go, set your activation level to 50 percent. If they blast that door it should be enough to keep you breathing."
Garrett yelled. "No! I need that connection! Give me a few more seconds! I'm in the nav console!"
Go moved away from the door, taking up a position behind a generator. "If they come in I'm blinking out. You have until that door comes down!"
Garrett continued his frantic chase of the coordinate data. Three more kicks had the metal frame of the door beginning to break away from the concrete walls. An ion blast sent the door swinging open as the lock mechanism melted.
Go calmly said, "I'm out. Sorry, Garrett."
Garrett smiled. "Don't be sorry. We got it! We got the coordinates! The gate is parked near Adicus!"
Garrett sat back and took a deep breath. "Can you see the terminal? Is it still active?"
Go powered forward. "Terminal is sitting at a login screen. And get this, the door smashed against the camera mount. If we can get back in there we could adjust that archive file to clean up the camera view all the way up until the door blew open."
I replied, "No. It won't matter. They will trace the access logs up to the portal gate and will see what we came for."
Garrett shook his head. "I don't think so. I cleared the logs as I went. If they want to know what we accessed they will have a very hard time piecing our trail together. I also left them a cookie with a pipe open to the security systems on SS6. They'll spend weeks investigating everyone on that station who had any access before figuring out it's a dead end. And that station is crowded with Igari."
Go powered out of the generator building, leaving himself to drift just above. "There must be a five hun
dred armed guards running around down there."
Garrett turned to face me. "Can we check on Joni now?"
I nodded. "Go, head back to where Joni is."
Go drifted into the concrete walled room before powering himself to a stop with a microburst of the glove. "Looks like she's still at it."
Garrett shook his head. "She is determined, I will give her that. Is there any way we can get her out of there?"
I thought for a moment. "Go, how many cameras are there in that room?"
Go spun around. "Four, one in each corner. Looks like her amenities are a bunk, a sink, a toilet, and a shower. All the comforts of home. Kind of creepy to be watched all the time."
I replied, "Take out the camera feeds in there and in the hallway outside. Blast the door lock from the outside, then move back into the room and blink in. I want to talk with her."
Garrett offered a look of confusion. "What will you do?"
I smiled. "I'll give her hope."
Several seconds passed before the thud of a weak tungsten round blew a hole in the concrete beside the door lock. Go blinked in and reached to push the door open.
I said, "Wait! Give me an external audio feed and set your active level and position where no one can see you if they come down that hall."
Go replied, "All set."
I continued, "Head into the room."
As Go stepped into the room and turned, a stunned and confused Joni Salton lay huddled in a corner.
"Joni, it's Knog and Garrett," I said.
Go protested. "And Go!"
Joni sat up slowly. "What? Where are you?"
I replied, "Just listen, we only have a minute before the security teams will be here. This is extremely important for your own sake, so remember what I tell you.
"This morning an Igari attempted to assassinate your uncle. We prevented that from happening. You'll have to trust me, it was for good reason. When the security teams get here, you tell them the door exploded and an Igari, dressed in all white, came into the room with a mini-blaster. When he saw it was you, he hesitated, turned, and left. That is all you know about what just happened. Can you remember that?"
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