It reminded me of something else, too, and after a moment I recalled the decoration Gorok the kroot had applied to the quills on his head. Clearly the races of the tau empire saw nothing wrong in absorbing the mores and fashions of one another's cultures, eroding their very identities in the name of their union, a notion any loyal Imperial citizen would have regarded with as much horror as I did. I'd seen at first hand what happened when traitors and heretics abandoned their humanity to follow the twisted teachings of Chaos, and the thought of how fertile a soil the warp-spawned abominations would find the Imperium if it were ever to become as unwittingly open to alien influence as the tau and their dupes chilled my very soul.
Shui'sassai's flunkies also had their single tail of hair ornamented, though slightly less flamboyantly, and I found myself wondering if the pattern denoted some subtle graduations of status among them, or were merely intended to be decorative.
'Smug little grox-fondler/ Donali was at my elbow again, the words delivered through almost motionless lips as he made brief eye contact with the xeno and raised his wineglass in greeting. 'He thinks he's got the whole planet sewn up.'
'And does he?' I asked, more out of politeness than actually expecting an answer.
'Not yet.' Donali watched as the xeno delegation made its ritual greeting to Grice. 'But he's certainly got the governor in his pocket.'
'Are you sure about that?' I asked. Donali must have detected something in my intonation because his attention switched to me at once, a sensation I found mildly disconcerting.
'You suspect he might be under… other influences?' he suggested, watching my face for a flicker of reaction. Well, good luck to him - a lifetime of dissembling had left me virtually impossible to read in that way. I indicated Orelius with a tilt of my head; he was watching the exchange between Grice and the tau diplomat warily, trying not to look as though he was paying it any attention.
'Our rogue trader friend had quite a conversation with His Excellency earlier this evening/ I said. And neither of them seem terribly happy about it.'
'You've spoken to Orelius?' Once again, I found myself in the middle of a verbal fencing match. Emperor's bowels, I thought irritably, doesn't anyone around here ever say what they mean?
"We exchanged a few words/ I said, shrugging. 'He seems to think the shooting's about to start-'
The bark of a bolt pistol going off echoed around the ballroom, and I dived for cover behind an overstuffed sofa even before the rational part of my mind had identified the source of the sound. I may not be a paragon of virtue, but I like to think my survival instincts more than makes up for any moral shortcomings I might possess.
Donali stood, gaping, as the room erupted in panic and screams. Half the guests started running in no particular direction, while the others stared around themselves in half-witted stupefaction. Priceless crystal goblets shattered underfoot as drinks were dropped and swords were unsheathed, and every kind of sidearm imaginable suddenly appeared in hands on every side.
'Treachery!' one of the tau shrieked, glaring around itself and drawing some kind of handgun from the recesses of its robes. Shui'sassai was down, thick purple blood everywhere, and I knew from experience that he wouldn't be getting up again.
The bolter round had exploded inside his chest cavity, redecorating the immediate vicinity with tau viscera, which I was mildly intrigued to note was darker in colour than the human equivalent;
something to do with the colour of their skin, I assumed.1
'Kasteen!' I activated the combead in my ear. Where are you?'
'Over by the stage.' I lifted my head, scanning the room, and located her as she scrambled up next to Amberley, who was gazing at the crowd as though mesmerised.
'Did you see where the shot came from?'
'No.' She hesitated a fraction of a second. 'My attention was elsewhere. Sorry, commissar.'
'No need to be/ I said. "Vou weren't to know this was going to turn into a warzone/ In truth, that looked uncomfortably like what was happening. Practically everyone with a ceremonial sidearm had drawn it in a panic-stricken reflex, except for Kasteen and myself, and was looking for someone to use it on. Which meant identifying the assassin would be virtually impossible by now.
'Gue'la animals! Is this how you respond to proposals of peace?' The gun-waving tau was getting hysterical, swinging the weapon wildly. It was only a matter of seconds, I thought, before he pulled the trigger, or, more likely, someone else shot him before he had the chance. Either way, it was going to start a massacre, and I had no intention of getting caught in the middle of it.
1 The tau equivalent to haemoglobin contains cobalt, rather than iron, so their blood and viscera vary from dark blue to purple, depending on the degree of oxygenation. Don't even get me started about the smell.
'Lustig/ I voxed. 'Jurgen. We're leaving now. There may be resistance/
'Sir.' Jurgen's voice was as phlegmatic as ever.
'Commissar?' Lustig's was inflected with the query he was too well-trained to ask. But I wasn't about to let the honour guard blunder into a nrefight without warning. I was going to need them if I expected to get out of here.
"The tau ambassador has just been assassinated/ I said. Then I cursed my own stupidity. The channel wasn't secured, which meant every listening post on both sides had probably picked up my transmission. Oh well, too late to worry about that now. My main priority was getting the hell out of here in one piece. Unfortunately that meant getting past the tau delegation, which looked like it was becoming a fire magnet for every Imperial hothead in the room.
There was only one thing for it. With a curious sense of deja vu, I strode forwards, my hands held out from my sides, away from my weapons.
Please bear in mind that barely a minute had passed by this time, and the room, was far from silent. Practically everyone was shouting at everyone else, and no one was listening. The rest of the tau were babbling away in their own language. It sounded like frying grox steaks to me, but the gist of it was obviously 'put that bloody thing away before you get us all shot/ and the other guests were screaming 'drop it!' at him and each other. I realised that with the tangle of competing factions and interests in the room there would be a complete bloodbath the
jnoment anyone pulled a trigger. Which was probably what the assassin was counting on to cover his tracks.
'Colonel. With me/ Kasteen could cover my back, at least. I saw her slip off the stage and start towards rne through the milling mob; Amberley had already disappeared, sensible girl.
'You! You did this!' The tau stuck the muzzle of his curiously featureless pistol under Grice's chin. The governor seemed to lose even more colour, if that were possible, and spluttered incoherently.
That's ridiculous! What would I have to gain-'
'More lies!' The tau shrugged off the restraining hands of his colleagues. 'The truth, or you die!'
This does not advance the greater good/ I said, echoing the words of the kroot. I wasn't quite sure what they meant, but I hoped they had more resonance for the tau than yet another variation on 'put it down before I shoot you/ which didn't seem to be having much effect.
It worked better than I'd dared to hope. Every tau in the group, including the maniac with the gun, stared at me with something I took to be astonishment. Their faces are harder to read than human or eldar, but it gets easier the more practice you have, and these days I can usually catch even the most carefully concealed half-truth.
'What the frak's that supposed to mean?' Kasteen subvocalised into my combead, breaking through the crowd to stand beside me. I noticed with a flicker of relief that she still hadn't drawn her
weapons either, which was going to make things a lot easier.
Warped if I know/ I responded, before stepping forward to where the xenos could get a better look at me.
What do you know of the greater good?' the tau asked, lowering his weapon a fraction, but keeping Grice covered nevertheless. His companions hesitated, clearly wondering if it was safe to disarm hi
m yet. Grice obviously thought otherwise, sweating more profusely than Jurgen reading a porno slate.
'Not much/ I admitted. 'But adding more deaths to tonight's piece of treachery won't help anyone, surely/
'Your words have merit, Imperial officer/ One of the other tau spoke up cautiously, an eye on his gun-toting friend.
'My name is Cain/ I said, and a whisper of voices around me echoed it. That's him, that's Ciaphas Cain…/ The reaction seemed to bemuse my new friend.
"You are well-known to these people?'
'I seem to have acquired something of a reputation/ I admitted.
'Commissar Cain is well-known as a man of integrity/ a new voice cut in. Orelius was edging his way through the crowd, flanked by his bodyguards. At a gesture from him, they bolstered their bolt pistols.
'That's right/ Donali backed him up, taking the initiative back into official hands. You can trust his
word/ Which didn't say much for his skills as a diplomat when you come to think of it, but then he didn't]«now me as well as I do.
'I am El'sorath/ the conversational tau said, extending a hand in human fashion. I took it, finding it slightly warmer than I'd expected; something to do with the blue skin, probably.
'Did your friend…?' I indicated the tau with the gun.
'El'hassai/ El'sorath supplied helpfully.
'Did anyone actually see who fired the shot?' I asked, directing the question to El'hassai personally, as though we were simply having a normal conversation. A flicker of doubt passed across his features for the first time.
We were talking to this one/ The gun came up to point at Grice again. 'I heard Shui'sassai say "What-" and then the sound of the shot. When I turned back there was no one else there. It must have been him!'
'But you didn't actually see the murder/1 persisted. El'hassai shook his head, a gesture I assumed he'd learned from his long association with humans.
'It could have been no one else/ he insisted.
'Did you see the governor with a gun?'
'He must have concealed it/ True, Grice's overly ornamented robes might have concealed almost anything in their voluminous folds, but I tried to picture this indolent lump of lard drawing a pistol, killing the ambassador, and palming it again within a matter of seconds and fought to keep a smile off my face.
There are hundreds of people in this room/ I said calmly. 'Isn't it more likely that one of them is responsible? Maybe a servant you simply didn't notice?'
Vastly more likely/ El'sorath agreed, holding out a hand for the pistol. After a moment, El'hassai capitulated, and handed it to him. A collective sigh of relief echoed round the room behind us.
'This will be investigated/ Donali said, 'and the murderer brought to account. You have my word/
'We are aware of the value of Imperial promises/ El'sorath said, with the barest trace of sarcasm. 'But we will make our own enquiries/
'Of course/ Grice wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe, quivering like a plasmoid, and failing to recover a shred of dignity. 'Our Arbites will keep you apprised of everything we're able to uncover/
1 would expect nothing less/ El'sorath said.
'We're in position, commissar/ Lustig said in my ear. Kasteen and I exchanged glances.
'What's it like out there?' she subvocalised.
'Panic and confusion, ma'am. And there seems to be something going on in the city/
'Perhaps you'd better return to your compound/ Donali suggested to El'sorath, unaware of the ominous messages we'd been getting. 'My driver-'
'Wouldn't get fifty metres from the gate/ Kasteen put in. I switched frequencies to the tactical net, as I was sure she had, and heard a confused babble of voices in my ear. PDF units were mobilising in support of Arbites riot squads, and unrest was spreading across the city like jam across toast.
What do you mean?' Grice quivered, looking around for a flunkey to blame. Palace security troops were finally beginning to deploy, guarding the exits, although I didn't expect much help from them if they actually had to defend the place. Lots of ceremonial gold armour which wouldn't stop a thrown rock, and old-fashioned lasguns with the ridiculously long barrels I'd only seen before in museums, and which probably hadn't been fired in the last couple of millennia.
There are riots breaking out all over the city, Your Excellency/ Kasteen almost sounded as though she was enjoying breaking the bad news to him. 'Mobs are attacking the Arbites sector houses and the PDF barracks, denouncing the Imperium for the ambassador's murder/
'How could they know?' Grice blustered. The news hasn't had time to spread…/
For a moment I wondered if my ill-timed transmission to Lustig had been the cause of all this, then common sense reasserted itself. There hadn't been time to disseminate the information even if someone had been listening. There was only one possible explanation.
'A conspiracy/ I said. The murderer had confederates who were spreading the rumour even before he struck. This wasn't just meant to disrupt the negotiations, it was supposed to signal a full-scale revolt/
'More lies!' El'hassai had been quiet for the last few minutes, staring at the ambassador's corpse as though he expected it to sit up and start giving us the
answers. 'You think we'd sacrifice one of our own to seize control here?'
'I think nothing/ I said carefully. I'm just a soldier. But someone's orchestrating this, Emperor knows why. If it's not your people, then maybe it's some Imperial faction trying to smoke out your supporters here.'
'But who would consider such a thing?' Grice burbled. I glanced at Orelius, my suspicions about him flooding back. The Inquisition was certainly ruthless enough, and had the resources to do it.
'That's for wiser heads than mine to determine/ I said, and for a moment, the rogue trader's gimlet eyes were on me.
'Our prime concern must be the welfare of your delegation/ Donali insisted. 'Can we get a skimmer into the grounds?'
*We can try.' El'sorath was keeping it together, at least. He produced some sort of voxcaster from the recesses of his robe, and hissed and sighed a message into it. Whatever the response was, it seemed to satisfy him, and calm the others, even El'hassai seemed a little less jumpy.
'An aircar has been dispatched/ he said, tucking the vox away. 'It will be with us shortly/
'And in the meantime, my guards will ensure your personal safety/ Grice said, beckoning a few forward. The tau looked dubious at this.
'They were signally unable to do so in the case of O'ran Shui'sassai/ El'sorath pointed out mildly. Grice flushed a darker shade of grey.
'If anyone has a better suggestion, I'd be delighted to hear it/ he snapped, grabbing a large glass of amasec from one of the servitors which continued to circle the room, oblivious to all the commotion.
'I believe the commissar arrived with an honour guard/ Orelius said. 'Surely a man of his reputation can be trusted with so delicate a task/
Thanks a lot, I thought. But with that reputation at stake, all I could do was mutter something about it being an honour I didn't deserve. Which was perfectly true, of course.
Donali and the tau were all for it, once the idea had sunk in, so I found myself leading a small gaggle of xenos and diplomats out of the hall, and into the open air. Lustig and the others came pounding up as we emerged, lasguns primed, and took up station around us.
'Be on your guard/ Kasteen warned them. 'The assassin's still at large. So trust no one, apart from us/
'Especially the diplomats/ I added. Donali shot me a sharp look, and I smiled to pretend I was joking.
'I don't like it here/ I said quietly to Kasteen. 'It's too exposed/ She nodded agreement.
*What do you suggest?'
There's a shrubbery over that way/1 pointed, blessing the instinctive paranoia that had had me looking out for boltholes on our drive in. 'It'll give us some cover at least/ It was also out of the pool of light surrounding the house, less exposed to prying eyes and sensor equipment.
So we scurried over to it, t
he troopers double-timing, and the tau keeping up with remarkable ease. Donali kept up with difficulty, but managed to converse with El'sorath the whole way, slipping between platitudes in Imperial Gothic and the sibilant tau tongue for what I assumed to be remarks too sensitive for the likes of us.
Not that I had the time to eavesdrop on their conversation, even if I'd had the inclination. Vox traffic on the tactical band was getting more urgent, the situation deteriorating rapidly.
'The governor's declared a state of martial law,' 1 relayed to Donali, who took the news remarkably well, only kicking two ornamental bushes to pieces before calming down enough to respond verbally.
'He would. Cretin.'
'I take it you don't think that will be helpful/ I commented dryly.
'It's about as helpful as putting a fire out with promethium/ he said. Even I understood the logic of that. The riots on their own were bad enough, but putting several thousand PDF troopers like the ones I'd encountered in the Eagle's Wing on to the streets, itching for an excuse to bust heads, was just asking for trouble. And that was assuming none of them were secretly xenoist sympathisers.
'So long as none of the PDF trolls take it into their heads to attack the tau…' I began, then trailed off, unwilling to complete the thought. The notion of the aliens being forced to defend themselves, unleashing the wargear Divas had enthusiastically described to
ще, was truly horrifying; because if that happened it was credits to carrots we'd be mobilised to stop them. And, aside from my natural desire to keep as far away from the killing zone as possible, I was by no means sure that we could.
'Our enclave is surrounded by agitated citizens/ El'sorath announced after another brief and incomprehensible conversation on his own vox. 'But overt hostilities have not yet occurred/
Well, thank the Emperor for small mercies, I thought, and stepped aside to talk to Kasteen, who was still monitoring the tactical net.
There's a mob of rioters heading this way/ she said. 'And a PDF platoon with orders to secure the palace grounds. When they get here it'll be bloody/
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