by Lee Watts
Motioning to the guards, two of them stepped forward and clasped Vivica's upper arms.
"Take her to Nim-Gimmer, tell him to... indulge himself."
Panic gripped Vivica as she realized the sentence that was handed down.
"NO, NO, SAQIR! PLEASE! PLEASE!"
She struggled, but her thrashing efforts were useless against the strength of the guards pulling her away. Passing the charuk dog, it barked viciously and snapped at her while reaching the extent of its chain. Fear overwhelmed the woman, and she screamed in hopeless terror. Tears flooded her face, and she piercingly wailed with unabated horror as she was dragged from the room to the waiting surgeons.
"NO! NOOOO!"
Each of her screams went higher, and her body began convulsing as she was wholly overcome by terrors.
"NOOO!"
The side doors of the throne room closed behind her, and her screams faded as she was dragged down the hall. The sounds of her horrified wails sent chills crawling over Cale's skin. Looking back to Saqir, he noticed the pleased look on the white-skinned man's face. He was delighting in all of this. It made Cale fear Saqir all the more.
"Now," Saqir said as he slowly turned his gaze back to Cale. "Whatever should I do with you?"
"You should allow me to serve you and the Hegemony, Potentate," Cale said while bowing his head.
"And what further service can you be?"
"I know the Coalition's plans for an imminent attack inside of The Cloud."
Saqir gloated as he leaned back in his throne.
"I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that," he said with a chuckle and dismissive wave of a hand. "We have spies among the rebel Coalition and know all about their attack plans. We've taken the necessary precautions."
"Certainly, Potentate, but win or lose the Coalition will continue as long as Alexander Lyons reigns. He must be eliminated."
"You think I don't know that?! He has proven difficult to capture or kill. He's a symbol to that rabble."
"Yes, but if you were to execute him publicly, Potentate - if you were to bring him here and broadcast his death for all to see, it would take the fight out of his people, and the Coalition would fall apart."
"True," Saqir said, "but I doubt Alexander will simply come into The Cloud at my invitation for such an obvious trap."
"All a trap needs to work is the proper bait," Cale said as he withdrew a tablet from the pocket at his thigh. He activated the device and handed it to a guard who ascended the steps to the thrones then gave it to Saqir.
"And I've brought the perfect bait in the ship with me," Cale said with confident satisfaction.
Saqir looked at the device then smiled victoriously. "Indeed, you have," he said as he focused on the image from inside a locked cabin of Vivica's yacht where was the quite irate Aulani Suchet.
CHAPTER 32
"And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. - Isaiah 45:3
"Pay off," Sosimo said excitedly upon entering the Fortune's bridge. Moving with purpose, he took his command chair.
"Beg pardon, Captain?" the first mate said inquisitively.
"Pay off, Mei. The legend says the Vault Keeper was well paid to hide the treasures from the Ramillie. So, he has a bunch of money, but he can't let the Ramillie know he has a bunch of money because they know the Vault Keeper has a bunch of money, and if they know he's got a bunch of money then they'll know he's the Vault Keeper. Now, he knows the Ramillie know, but he can't let them know he's the one who knows. He can't go to the banks of the time because then they'll know and they'll let the Ramillie know, but they won't let him know the Ramillie know. However, we know now what the Ramillie didn't know then, but do know now."
Head swimming, Mei closed her eyes for a second and shook her head to clear it.
"What do we know?" she asked.
"We know where The Vault is. Now, if you had a bunch of money that you knew you didn't want them to know about where would you keep it?"
"...In... The Vault?" she said questioningly.
"Exactly," Sosimo said proudly. "Plus, there were generations of Vault Keepers hiding treasures, which means there's a ton of money hidden there somewhere."
Mei thought her captain may have finally snapped. Had his obsession with finding The Vault and treasure permanently separated his often-tenuous grip on sanity?
"Captain," she said gingerly, "we already found the treasures, remember? There's nothing there. No money."
"No, Mei. We found the treasures, not the money - not the pay off. For generations, the Vault Keepers were paid to hide the treasures. We found the treasures, not the payoff. It's there, Mei. The Vault Keepers wouldn't have kept it in the open where the people might have found it. No, they would have concealed it, which means it's somewhere on that planet waiting for me. Jaiden, set course for Por Tabello, best speed. It's time to get paid."
Jaiden looked to Mei to get her impression before continuing. The smile on her face and gleam in her emerald eyes let him know she realized the captain was right. Turning back around, Jaiden started laying in a course for The Vault.
As Jaiden made the preparations, Sosimo looked out the main viewscreen. A private, luxury yacht was leaving the surface of Theera and heading for deep space. He thought about getting his own yacht when they found the money, but then discounted the notion because he already had his own ship. He considered buying a magnificent mansion on some vacation planet where he could look up at the stars each night but then realized he already had that view from his cabin on the Fortune. He mused on the idea of owning his own space station so he could keep his hand in the game, but not have to risk his life so much, but he realized being tied to one place and watching others go off on adventures would drive him crazy. It seems each thing he considered purchasing was something he realized he already had or didn't really want. He started to be somewhat disgusted with himself and the entire situation then decided he would simply hire someone to think of things he could buy then hire someone else to go buy them. The thought made him much happier. As he leaned back in his seat, the Fortune changed heading and leaped to lightspeed on its way back to The Vault.
***
The doors of the royal council conference chamber opened and in rushed one of the palace guards.
"Did you find her?" Alexander asked.
"No, Sire. We've searched the entire palace, but we did find the Marquis of Estrada. He's been shot."
"Shot?" Alexander asked in alarm. "Is he dead?"
"No, Sire, but he is gravely wounded. A med team is with him now."
"Who did it?"
"I don't know, Your Excellency. I was sent to tell you right away."
"Where's he now?"
"In the east wing, near the library."
Turning to another of the guards, Alexander gave instructions.
"I want you to return to the hall. Find my mother. Let her know there has been an emergency, and I won't be able to return to the gala. Tell her to take charge of the event. She's hosted these type of things a thousand times over, she'll know what to do."
"Immediately, Sire," the guard said then did a quick bow and turned to leave. Before he reached the door, Alexander called to him adding one last detail.
"Oh, and don't mention Aulani is missing - at least not yet. Let's find out what's happened to her before we cause any panic."
With a nod of understanding, the guard turned and left through the door to the main hall. Alexander turned to the guard who brought the information and motioned for him to lead the way. Caedmon accompanied them, and the trio hurried through the deserted palace halls. Rounding the corner of the corridor to the library, Alexander noticed Sergeant Gibson was with the med team. Marquis Matthews was already loaded on an antigrav stretcher, and they were about to rush him to the hospital.
"Wait," the king called out. "I need to talk to him."
Immediatel
y, the medical staff parted to make way for the king. Getting near the stretcher, he saw they had an IV tube, and several monitors hooked to the injured Marquis. A heavy, blood-stained bandage was covering the upper right portion of his chest.
"What happened, Nathan?"
"I... I was going to see Lady Canton to... to try and smooth things with... her. One of the guards said he saw her heading toward the east entrance where the landing pads are," Nathan said panting, each word was a struggle to speak through the pain. "I... saw her talking to someone, but before I could get close, he... pulled his pistol and fired."
"Who was it? Who did this?"
"Uni... uniform..." was the last thing the marquis said before he succumbed to unconsciousness.
"Uniform? One of our people?" Alexander said questioningly.
One of the med techs spoke up. "The wound and residual energy signature is constant with a Realm weapon."
"I believe I know the answer, Sire," said Marcus. "It's Cale."
"Cale?" Alexander repeated in disbelief. "But he's been with us since the beginning."
"Sire, we discovered he is the one who planted the bomb tonight, and he's nowhere to be found. Remember that night on the Chariot when we rushed into the cargo bay? He didn't know we were coming, yet he had a ship powered up and waiting. Who was he waiting for?" Marcus paused to allow Alexander to draw the conclusion.
"Lord Canton," Alexander answered.
"Right, but Lord Canton was in on the assassination, which means Cale was too. He's been working with the Ramillie from the start."
Alexander was reeling from the revelation but found the logic inescapable.
Marcus added another, highly concerning thought.
"The Marquis said he saw him talking to Lady Canton, and now her ship is gone. Cale is a pilot. I bet he's the one flying that yacht."
"Question is," Alexander said with a tilt of his head, "did she go willingly or is she a hostage?"
"Wait a moment," interjected Caedmon. "Didst not a messenger tell Lady Aulani the Marquis wanted to meet her here?"
"That's right," Alexander said. "But the Marquis wasn't coming here to meet Aulani. He said he was coming to meet Vivica."
"Where is Aulani?" Marcus asked.
"Missing," answered the king.
For a moment, no one dared speak, as they all came to the same conclusion. Vivica was in league with Cale and the Ramillie, and they had taken Aulani. At last Caedmon broke the silence.
"If Commander Rayne and Lady Canton hast taken her, where wouldst they go?"
"The one place they have allies," Marcus answered. "To the Ramillie."
"Oh no," Alexander said as he realized the horrendous situation just got worse.
"Cale was with us when we laid out the plan to use the hypergate to enter The Cloud. If the Ramillie find out what we're planning they'll have their forces ready. Our last chance to win the war will be lost."
"Then we must launch the attack immediately whilst there is still time," Caedmon said.
"We can't," responded Alexander. "The Chinix, the Vanari, none of the Coalition will have their fleets in position for another week."
"Then we must go alone," Caedmon insisted, "or the opportunity will be lost forever."
Alexander's instinct was to protest, but he held his piece as he considered the matter. If the element of surprise was lost, then the plan for victory would become a trap of their own making. Alexander knew the entire war came down to this one, final battle.
"We attack now or not at all," he said. "Marcus, go to the hall, get Admiral Balin and bring him to me. We launch before the dawn. One way or another, this war ends tomorrow.
***
Exiting the tunnel leading to the Zur village, Sosimo, Mei and Jaiden quickly descended the steps. A few of the villagers came up to them speaking excitedly and pointing down the path leading to The Vault.
"Yea, yea," Sosimo said dismissively. "We know where it is. This is our third trip for crying out loud. I'm thinking of getting my mail delivered here."
The villagers surrounding them grew in number and were obviously worked up about something. One lady was nearly hysterical.
"Uh, Captain...," Mei began to say with concern, "this is more than a fond welcome back. Something's wrong."
"I think your right," Sosimo said as looked down the trail and saw smoke rising from some of the huts. To his right he noticed a woman cradling a lifeless man who had blast marks on his tunic.
"The Ramillie must have returned," Jaiden said. "But I didn't detect another ship in orbit."
"It might have been on the far side," Mei proposed, "or maybe they just dropped off a contingent of troops and are coming back for them later."
"Either way, we need to warn the ship," Sosimo said. Quickly he pulled out his personal communicator, but there was nothing but static. "We're too deep. I can't get a signal through all the rock above us. Jaiden, go back to the other side of the tunnel. There's a clear line of sight from the bottom of the crevasse. You should be able to contact the ship from there. Warn Byron about the Ramillie and tell him to stay out of sight until we contact him. He'll know what to do. When you're done then hightail it back here. Mei might need some help dealing with the Ramillie."
"Me need help?" Mei questioned.
"Obviously I don't, Mei, but you're a girl."
"What?!"
"Just trying to get you mad," the pirate said with a coy smile. "You fight better when you're mad. Now, come on. Jaiden, get going and head back quick."
Jaiden nodded then darted back toward the ziggurat as Sosimo and Mei proceeded down the path toward The Vault. Leaving the village, Sosimo motioned toward a hill rising above the valley. Mei followed him to the top. The many rocks on the hill's crest gave them a great vantage point of concealment to look down on the happenings. Reaching into one of his pockets, he withdrew his contact case. Squeezing a drop into each eye, he then carefully inserted the lenses that contained the micro circuitry. He blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust then focused on the main entryway of The Vault.
Activating the magnification feature, he saw there were two bodies on the ground in front of the massive open doors.
"Looks like some of the villagers tried to stop them," Sosimo said.
"Can you see how many?" Mei asked.
"No, not from this angle. Use your portable scanner. How many are we dealing with?"
Mei lifted the device and tilted it toward the valley below them.
"I'm picking up thirteen humanoid life forms."
"Thirteen," Sosimo said in surprise. "That's odd. I'd figure they'd send a lot more."
"It's probably a scouting expedition sent to secure things and set up a base for the main force to arrive later."
"Maybe," Sosimo said questioningly but with doubt. "Still, even with thirteen troops, they outnumber us quite a lot. Let me see that scanner for a minute," he said as he holstered his pistol.
Lifting the strap from over her neck and shoulder, Mei handed him the device. He clicked several switches and buttons inputting some commands. He then pressed his robotic hand causing a small panel to slide open. Carefully tapping some of the now revealed components, he linked the two devices.
"There," he said in satisfaction. "That should do it." He then pressed his droid appendage causing the panel to close. "Okay, here's the plan. We're going to split up. You make your way to the front entrance, and I'll sneak in using that secret tunnel we came through the first time. No matter what, don't fire until I give you the signal."
"Got it," Mei said.
Stealthily, they made their way down the hill and split directions as they neared the valley floor. Mei heard voices coming from inside The Vault. Someone was talking angrily. Drawing nearer, she started to make out the sound more clearly. The voice wasn't coming from inside a helmet, and the language wasn't Ramillie, it was Standard. These weren't Ramillie troops at all.
Who else could it be? she wondered. There's no way somebody else found The V
ault. Not this soon after us anyway. Impossible. Maybe we were followed during one of the other trips. She reasoned that must be the case, which would explain a great many things. Her mind considered who among the myriad of pirates, mercenaries, and bounty hunters they knew might be in there. Quietly, she rushed from her point of concealment to behind a bolder that was closer to the grand opening. Two people were arguing. The new voice wasn't speaking Standard. It sounded like the language of the Zur's. They must have taken one of the villagers as a hostage.
"WHERE IS IT?" demanded the first voice. "You know what I want, and you better show it to me quick, or you're gonna wind up like your friend here, you stupid primitive."
That voice, Mei thought in sudden shock as she recognized it. Crimson! How did... He and some of his crew must have made it to escape pods.
She wrestled with the notion of radioing the captain to warn him but realized it would give away her position. Figuring Sosimo would be in position any moment, she knew he was counting on her being ready. Quietly, she reached for her pistol but heard the telltale sound of an energy pack rising in pitch and realized someone had a weapon pointed at her. Easing her hand away from her sidearm, she cautiously turned to find one of Crimson's men with a gun leveled at her and a leering smile on his stubbly face.
"The captain is gonna be glad to see you," he said with a smirk.
Gesturing with his pistol, he motioned for her to put her hands behind her head. When she did, he reached toward her hip and withdrew her weapon.
"Alright, move," he grumbled.
Mei's green eyes flashed in anger as she walked in The Vault and saw Crimson standing over a battered Zur who was on his knees. Looking toward the newcomer, Crimson smiled in wicked delight, put his heel on the Zur's chest and pushed the man over with it.
"Shen Mei," the murderous pirate said with a chuckle. "'Bout time you showed up. Where's that lunatic captain of yours?"
Mei refused to say a word as her eyes bore daggers at him.
"Play'n tough?" Crimson mocked. "Where is he, and more importantly, where's the treasure?"