by M. D. Cooper
There’s no way. I don’t care how mad she was at me. She wouldn’t do this. If for no other reason than it would damage the Alliance.
The only possibility Petra was willing to seriously entertain was that someone had managed to send directives that only appeared to come from the empress, and that Diana had played no part in the attack.
The feed Alastar had pulled from the Atlior Pacel of the moments before the attack showed a woman who was not ordering the death of her former lover, but rather one who might have been reconsidering her actions, or who was at least wholly focused on her ice cream.
Petra knew what Diana looked like when she was angry, even when she was ordering someone’s death. It was quite a bit different.
A ping from the outer sensors caught her attention, and her eyes shifted to meet Danielle’s. “Mains is back.”
The other agent nodded. “Hope he has good news…like we can leave here for somewhere better.”
“I thought this was what we were supposed to suffer through in a safehouse.” Petra smirked. “And that it’s all about not being spotted by some cam or drone.”
“We’ve masked our faces, our idents, our Link tokens, the works,” Danielle replied. “No one’s spotting us anymore.”
Petra only nodded silently and turned to face the door, waiting the two minutes it took Mains to arrive. He opened it slowly and eased into the space, an impassive expression on his face.
“Well?” Petra asked.
“I think we can rule out Ryse,” he said while setting another bag of food down on the table. “And I’m impressed with Admiral Malachi. He had the prelate on the ropes the whole time.”
“Really?” Danielle asked. “I wouldn’t have thought Ryse to be so easy to play.”
“He’s already shaken up,” Mains explained as he pulled sandwiches out of the bag. “I’ve confirmed that Prelate Bella has been rattling her sabre about the benefits he’s getting from the war on the Hegemony. Though, interestingly, there’s no evidence that Prelate Fiona was making any noise. Either way, it’s enough that he fears for his life.”
Danielle grabbed her burger. “Doesn’t that mean he’s a prime suspect to have attacked Petra in an attempt to slow things down?”
“A pretty risky play for a slowdown.” Petra grabbed her burger and took a deep breath. “I still think it’s Chimellia. She doesn’t like my influence and she’s made some less than favorable comments about Tenna. Our friend the severed head said the same thing before I freed him from his body.”
Mains pursed his lips as he watched the two women eat. “Well, at the least Ryse took heed of Malachi’s warning. He’s holed up on his ship, not going anywhere. Cornering Chimellia, on the other hand, is going to be a damn sight harder than isolating anyone else. That woman is surrounded by a wall of information. If we come at her, it has to be sideways.”
“We could kill two birds with one stone,” Danielle suggested after taking a pull from a bottle of water.
“Mmm?” Petra grunted while chewing.
“Well, we suspect Bella and Fiona…at least to some degree,” Danielle said. “Why not go after one of them? If they’re guilty, we do what we do best. If not, then we use them to lure Chimellia.”
Petra shrugged and glanced at Mains. “Seems solid—for a notion that might turn into a plan.”
“Oh!” Danielle placed a hand over her chest. “You wound me, Director.”
“Well, Bella and Fiona are both at the palace, and almost as heavily guarded as Diana. How do we get to them?” Mains pressed.
Danielle winked as she gave a nonchalant shrug. “Easy. After Fiona got her brain hacked and tried to kill President Sera, I befriended a few of her guards. I’m positive I can get us close.”
“Well, if you can do that, I can get us into the palace,” Petra said. “I have a few contacts of my own in there.”
“Just a few?” Mains laughed. “Is that all you have after four decades? I have hundreds.”
“Showoff.”
A LITTLE TRIP
STELLAR DATE: 10.08.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Imperial Palace
REGION: Alexandria, Bosporus System, Scipio Empire
Diana had queried a dozen commanders, chiefs, directors, and generals for updates, and yet the planetary police, the military, her guards, and even the imperial spy agency had no leads on Petra’s whereabouts.
To make things worse, half of the ambassador’s staff had disappeared too, leaving only a skeleton crew in her spire, though the platoon of TSF soldiers was still present.
The empress pursed her lips. Her feeling of satisfaction toward the abilities of Petra and her agents was warring with the frustration of not knowing what was going on.
Though her AI had unshakable faith in the Hand agents, Diana wasn’t prepared to stop worrying just yet.
“What?!” Diana thundered aloud. “Are you telling me that Admiral Malachi knows where Petra is?”
The empress fumed at the thought, hating that she was being kept in the dark. This isn’t a game, she thought, about to reach out to the Transcend’s admiral, when her office’s outer door chimed.
The empress bottled up her rage and nodded, curious why the head of her guard would come back so soon, and in person. If he had an update, she would have preferred to have it over the Link, not wait for him to travel to her quarters—unless it was something he didn’t trust to the palace’s network.
“Send him in.”
Diana walked to the center of the room and drew herself up, squaring her shoulders in preparation to take on whatever news the man had in store.
A moment later, he reached the door and it swung open to admit him.
“My Empress.” He bowed low and held the position for a second before rising. “We’ve found a woman who has seen Petra and two of her agents. She’s been brought in for questioning and a memory sweep.”
“Where did she see them?” Diana demanded, masking her relief with frustration. “And why did you come here in person?”
“Petra and her people were seen not far from the palace,” the general explained, his tone both respectful and cautious. “We’re worried that they have highly-placed contacts who are helping them through the city, so I thought it best to come tell you and offer my additional protection.”
The empress arched an eyebrow, considering who could be helping Petra—other than the TSF military. It was one thing for Petra to move about in the city unnoticed, but if she were near the palace, she was going to make a move of some sort.
“What do you think she’s doing?” Diana asked.
“I do not know. If she plans to harm you, though, we’ll be ready.”
“I want you to take me to see this woman. I want to know firsthand what she learned.”
The general nodded. “I expected as much, My Empress. I will escort you to her.”
<
Are you sure about this?> Tenna asked.
“Just a moment.” Diana glanced at General Corpus and held up a finger before responding to Tenna.
The AI laughed softly.
The empress considered reaching out to Chimellia to see if her sum adjut had learned of Petra’s sighting, but decided to let sleeping attendants lie.
“Very well, General. Lead the way.”
Diana didn’t know if she should feel happy or sad regarding that memory, and instead opted to push it away.
The AI didn’t respond, and Diana preceded the general out of her office. The pair walked in silence, and her guards formed a protective shield as they moved out into the palace corridors.
It took several minutes to reach Diana’s private maglev station, and once aboard the car, she noticed that several of the guards at the far ends of the conveyance weren’t a part of her regular detail.
Diana nodded absently.
The AI was silent for a moment before she spoke again.
The empress was about to ask General Corpus why he’d allowed improperly authenticated guards in her presence when Tenna spoke again.
The empress’s eyes narrowed as she regarded the general. For a moment, his expression remained impassive, then a smile formed on his lips.
“Don’t worry, Empress Diana. It’s my job to keep you safe. Even from yourself.”
AN OLD LE
ASE
STELLAR DATE: 10.08.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Imperial Palace
REGION: Alexandria, Bosporus System, Scipio Empire
“Things are heating up, Prelate,” George said as he walked into Fiona’s sitting room, stopping a few meters from her chair.
She sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. It had been her hope that her head of security would have some positive news about the hunt for Petra, something that would direct attention away from herself.
So far, nearly every agency in the empire with even a passing tie to diplomacy and law enforcement had requested an interview with her. George and her aides had fended most of them off, but even so, the past two days had been filled with probes into her activities, and interviews with herself and her staff.
At first, Fiona had felt a bit of her old fire coming back, a desire to fight tooth and nail for both her innocence and her privacy—and brow-beat anyone who doubted her into compliance. But the desire didn’t last, and she had acquiesced to a greater level of scrutiny than she would have tolerated in the past.
Without her wall of anger and bravado, the prelate had been surprised to find that the accusations leveled at her hurt less than they did in the past. She was able to separate herself from the cold stares, and imagine that they were directed at her former self, a woman who no longer existed.
Replaced by this new meek and cowering version of me.
“What’s the latest,” she asked George after debating for a minute whether she wanted to hear any of it.
“Well, the Transcend has shut down all military preparation, turning back cargo ships that were scheduled for gate jumps to Spica.”
“I bet that’s tickling Bella pink,” Fiona said with a laugh.
“People think it’s pleasing you too,” George added. “Ryse has been spreading rumors that you and Bella have been opposing the war efforts launching from Spica. Since he holed up on his ship, those rumors have been gaining steam.”
“He made that statement with the empress three days ago,” Fiona protested. “I publicly endorsed his proclamation, I don’t know what else I can do.”
Her security head only shrugged. “I don’t know either, Prelate. That’s not my area of expertise. I wish it were.”
The sincerity in George’s voice was easy to discern, and a strong feeling of appreciation welled up in her breast.
After her brain had been hacked by the Orion agent several weeks prior, she’d been disgraced and nearly outcast. It had taken intervention by Diana herself to protect Fiona from an inquisition. But even the threat of recriminations had sent her supporters fleeing, leaving in droves for other political camps.
Along with half my advisors. The good half.
Everyone that was left on her political staff saw Fiona as a vehicle for their own advancement—even more than usual—and she was certain that many were actively working against her to curry favor in other corners.
Fiona sat in silence, staring at George’s chest for a moment, then his hands. She knew one of the reasons he was still with her was their past dalliances, but she’d not taken him to her bed in a month; yet he remained, steadfast and ready to do his job.
“Why are you still here?” she asked in a quiet voice, unable to raise her eyes to meet his gaze.
“Ma’am?” George’s voice sounded puzzled, and she finally looked up into his eyes to see his brow furrowed with concern. “I’m here because you haven’t dismissed me.”
“Oh cut the shit, George, you know what I mean.”
Her head of security held his stoic expression for a moment, and then it softened and he winked. “Nice to see a bit of your old fire there.”
“It was just a sputter.”
George took a step closer to her, his right fist clenching and unclenching at his side, a tell that he wanted to say something he wasn’t sure she’d want to hear.
“Out with it, or out with you,” she grunted, immediately regretting the words. “Shit, sorry.”
George’s eyes registered a modicum of hurt, but he squared his shoulders and then knelt before her. “Fiona. Let me take you away from here. From all of this.”
“Back to our quadrant’s capital?” She asked the obvious question, though she was certain he was suggesting something else entirely.
“From Scipio. We know there’s a whole galaxy out there, and I heard from a Transcend soldier that humans are settling the Sagittarius Arm. Forget all this imperial bullshit. It’s killing you. I can get you there, I can keep you safe.”
“I don’t know that you’d be happy with a version of me that could run away from responsibilities…”
George snorted. “Well, you’re already doing that, and I’m still here.”
A small gasp burst from Fiona’s lips at his biting tone, and she was readying a rebuke when he continued.
“Seriously, Fiona. You’re a shell of your former self. Protecting you is what I do, an
d right now, I need to protect you from withering away in this position you now clearly hate.”
“I don’t….” Fiona let the denial trail away.
She’d thought that her general malaise was due to a sense of fear after what the Orion agent had done to her, but now she wondered if he was right, if she really did hate being a prelate of the empire.
She stared at her hands for a minute, and then her gaze climbed his body once more. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the last person she expected to see pushed the door open behind George.
“I hope you’re not busy right now,” Ambassador Petra said with a haughty smile as she strode toward the pair.
UNLIKELY ALLY
STELLAR DATE: 10.08.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Imperial Palace
REGION: Alexandria, Bosporus System, Scipio Empire
Petra wasn’t taking any chances. Her sidearm was trained on Fiona’s guard, while Mains and Danielle moved into the room on either side, the latter checking the corners while the former covered the prelate.
“Sure, c’mon in,” Fiona muttered and flopped back in her seat. “Here to finish what Orion started?”
“No, from what I overheard, you’re doing that just fine on your own,” Petra replied. “I’ll admit, I feel a little bad using you for access, Fiona, but you’ve been a major pain in my ass for decades. It helps me to be able to overlook any personal misgivings for using you.”
“Using me.” Fiona’s eyes sharpened, and she sat forward. “I suppose you might as well join in. Taking advantage of me is quite the trend lately.”
Danielle snorted, and Petra resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Sorry life’s so hard for you right now. Though I’ll admit I’m not sad to see you get a taste of what it can be like on the receiving end for once.”
The prelate’s jaw tightened, and Petra was glad to see the woman still had some moxie.
“OK, buddy,” Mains said as he approached the prelate’s chief of security. “You’re going to step back three paces and then disarm. Any funny business, and I’ll literally disarm you.”
