Death's Handmaiden

by Niall Teasdale

  Shaking her head, Nava turned her attention outward again. Maya had reappeared and because of that, Mitsuko needed protection. That was the mission Nava had accepted, and it was the mission she was going to damn well do.

  ~~~

  Mitsuko lay sprawled on one of her sofas, watching the feeds from the News Club on her wall screen. She was dressed in her red robe and did not seem to care that this was causing Melissa some embarrassment. In truth, she did care a little, but she was too tired to care a lot.

  ‘It’s a race between you and Tracey Spears,’ Melissa said. ‘Sebastian Ranta has fallen so far behind that he might as well c-concede now.’

  ‘If the polls are to be believed,’ Mitsuko replied. ‘I suppose, in these circumstances, they’re probably reasonably accurate. However, there’s a week to the actual election and things can change.’

  ‘You have an eight-point lead over Tracey Spears,’ Nava said. ‘That seems like a relatively insurmountable advantage.’

  ‘People don’t always vote the way they’ve said they will. Much of that lead comes from combat students saying that Tracey’s policies are too extreme. Some of them, maybe many of them, will vote differently when the time comes because they’re guaranteed anonymity.’

  ‘There might be some who go the other way though,’ Melissa said. ‘Peer pressure making them say they’ll vote for Tracey Spears when they really intend to vote for you.’

  ‘It may be my fatigue talking, but I suspect there will be fewer of those.’

  ‘We’ll just have to wait for the results and find out. I think you’ll win.’

  ‘Thank you for your confidence, Mel. After last night, I need the boost.’

  235/2/30.

  Nava slipped her ketcom into its slot as she sat down at her desk. The room was buzzing already and the polls would not be opening for five more minutes. What was it going to be like when these students, who had never been in a position to vote for anything in their life before, could actually cast their vote?

  The idea of the ‘polls opening’ was a bit of a misnomer, of course. What was actually going to happen was that, at eight thirty, the website for voting would open. Since the site authenticated with the student’s ketcom, it was a highly secure method of ensuring that just those involved could vote and vote once. Those concerned with their privacy could access the site from anywhere they deemed secure and there were screened voting booths set up in the library for those who were really concerned. Nava did not care and planned to use the site as soon as it opened, right from her desk. It was vaguely possible that some people had not figured out where her sympathies lay, but they had to be few and far between. So, why hide it?

  Luca Newton walked into the classroom and went to her lectern. She waited all of two seconds before speaking. ‘As I’ve no doubt you all know, it’s election day.’ The room was already beginning to quiet and those not at their desks were heading that way. Normally, Luca waited until everyone was seated before starting. Today, apparently, was going to be an exception to that. ‘The voting site will be open in… ninety seconds. If you already know how you’re voting and don’t mind that there might be someone looking over your shoulder, I have no objection to you voting during homeroom. Just remember that the site is open until eighteen hundred and that there will be no actual reporting on the voting trends. We get the results at eighteen fifteen and any reports you hear before then are speculation. You’ve got plenty of time, so you don’t need to jump straight in.’ Someone put their hand up, which got a raised eyebrow. ‘Yes, Lydia Bonfils?’

  Lydia was a tall girl with bronzed skin and the look of someone who spent much of her time on a beach at an expensive resort surrounded by suitors. It tended to come as a surprise to discover that she was lacking confidence and tended to defer to her friends a lot. ‘How would you vote, Miss Luca Newton?’

  ‘It’s not my place to say. I believe that you should evaluate the candidates based upon how you see them. If you want my opinion on the traits of a good student president, then I think they should have some history with wielding power. They should be fair in their interactions with all students, but firm in their convictions. They should have policies which benefit the student body as a whole. If my analysis of a good candidate gives you any clue concerning who would be my choice for president, I do hope that won’t influence your own choice.’

  Nava did not smirk, because Nava did not really do smirks. Melissa smirked for both of them. Nava could tell her friend was amused even though Melissa was facing the front, and when the redhead’s hands began to move and Nava noticed the time, it was fairly clear that Melissa was jumping in to vote for Mitsuko. Nava tapped at the message window which had just appeared to inform her that voting had started and prepared to do the same.

  The site was already showing signs of stress; early voting, it seemed, was heavy. Still, all that meant was that a lot of people had firmly made up their minds. It did not give any indication of how many were going to vote for Mitsuko.

  ~~~

  Mitsuko was, Nava thought, the proverbial swan. On the surface, she was a beautiful, pristine princess, all serenity as she negotiated the lunch queue under Nava’s watchful gaze. Beneath the surface, her emotions were paddling like crazy.

  ‘You’re sure you’ll be alright with just these sandwiches?’ Mitsuko asked. She was collecting lunch for them both so that Nava’s hands were free if needed. You just could not tell that the presidential candidate was as nervous as Hell.

  ‘That’ll be fine,’ Nava replied.

  ‘I could get–’

  ‘It’s all I need.’

  Mitsuko slid closer and lowered her voice. ‘It’s not all I need. I need stress relief.’

  ‘You need to be seen. Everyone’s heard about the attempt the night before last. You acting like you’re fine and being seen is important. I’d go down on you here, but I think it might cause a scene.’

  Mitsuko’s cheeks coloured a little. Nava was actually a little worried that her lover was thinking about it. Seriously. ‘It probably would…’

  ‘The polls are saying it’s very close,’ Rochester said once Mitsuko was on a seat beside Nava and opposite him. Rochester gave a shrug. ‘Not that I trust their polling methodology. Self-selecting polling systems have been entirely discredited for centuries.’

  ‘And yet, we still have them,’ Mitsuko said.

  ‘I’m sure all of the students in our class voted for you,’ Melissa said. Her tone was a little overly bright.

  ‘Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Mel. I’m quite sure several of the students in my class did not vote for me. Still, I didn’t expect them to.’

  ‘You’re taking this all very calmly. I’d be a nervous wreck. And someone tried to kill you the night before last! You’re amazing.’

  Nava glanced at Mitsuko, wondering what her response would be. Apparently, she was willing to put on a brave front, but not to lie to someone she called a friend. ‘No,’ Mitsuko said, ‘I’m a nervous wreck. I just have a good poker face. You’d have to be inhuman not to be stressed by everything that’s going on.’ Which was probably true.

  Nava ate her sandwiches quietly and calmly, her eyes scanning for any signs of trouble.

  ~~~

  ‘We’ve had a couple of attempts to hack the voting site through the day,’ Courtney said. She was keeping her voice low, but she was standing right beside Nava. They were both on the stage in the main theatre, the place where all the really big indoor events were carried out. The matriculation ceremony had been held here; you could fit more or less the entire school in this room, so it was being used for the revelation of the election results.

  Nava was not sure why Courtney was telling her about the hacks. It was not general knowledge, so the SSF and the school were keeping it secret, but Courtney was telling Nava. Odd. ‘A couple?’ Nava asked.

  ‘Well, nine over the course of the day. Nothing successful, but the techs couldn’t trace them to a source.’

  �
��You’re sure they failed?’

  ‘About as sure as you can get. The security around the voting process is pretty tight. It wasn’t once and they learned from the experience.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Huh, yeah. When the school first initiated the whole student council thing, they more or less used an honour system. No one thought anyone would try to rig the ballot. About ten years in, there was a very unpopular president on his third term, and everyone expected him to be voted out. He won by a pretty respectable margin and there were questions asked. Then they noticed that there were thirteen more votes cast than there were registered students.’

  ‘Someone got a little too enthusiastic?’

  ‘They’d got away with it for three years and they got cocky. Anyway, the school responded by making sure that site has the best security. It basically has the same security system as the secure library database, and that’s military grade. Could be that, whoever was trying to get in, they were just looking for the current vote counts. We’ve seen that before. The News Club can get… overzealous.’

  ‘Or they were trying to rig the vote,’ Nava suggested.

  ‘Or that. If that, then it’s possible they aren’t finished.’

  That was why she was telling Nava about the hacks. Okay. ‘I don’t think they’ll be finished until their objective is complete or they can’t win. You’ve no idea who they were trying to boost? No, because they didn’t get in.’

  ‘No, we don’t know.’ Courtney frowned at her taciturn companion. ‘You have some idea?’

  ‘I have a guess with very little evidence to back it up. I… may be able to get more.’

  ‘Do it. As long as it’s not illegal.’

  ‘It’s not illegal.’

  ‘Then–’

  ‘One might consider it questionable, but it’s not illegal.’

  Courtney frowned again. ‘Do it anyway.’

  ~~~

  ‘Speaking from experience,’ Pascual Flores said, ‘I can tell you that this is an extremely stressful time to be a candidate. It is with great relief that I stand here in front of you all, knowing that my school career is not dependent on the outcome.’

  It was a cheap laugh, but it did get the expected result. The candidates all laughed too, though Nava doubted they were amused. Still, the waiting would be over soon. Pascual had the results.

  ‘Since it’s a stressful time,’ the outgoing president went on, ‘let’s make this short.’ He tapped at the lectern in front of him. ‘Tracey Spears Cook, three thousand nine hundred and eighty-two votes.’ That was under fifty percent of the total number of students, but it still might be enough to give her the presidency, depending on the no-voters and Sebastian Ranta’s count. ‘Sebastian Ranta Voll, ninety-two votes.’ Okay, so he was not going to be having much of an impact. Still… ‘Mitsuko Trenton Sonkei… four thousand–’

  Uproar. The crowd went wild. It was a little divided over how it went wild, but there was definitely a majority of the crowd who seemed positive about the outcome. It also seemed to Nava that the group who had voted for Tracey Spears were not heavily represented by those yelling ‘boo!’ Yes, their candidate had lost, but they were taking it with good grace. It still left quite a few people vocally decrying the result.

  ‘Four thousand one hundred and twenty-six votes,’ Pascual said when the noise had died a little. ‘I declare Mitsuko Trenton Sonkei to be the next Student President of the Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery. Mitsuko Trenton, please come forward.’

  Nava’s body tensed and her senses went into overdrive. This was when it would happen, if anything was going to happen. This was when she would have hit the ceremony, when Mitsuko took centre stage to accept the presidency. There was already a little drama going on at the back of the stage: Tracey Spears was refusing to shake Mitsuko’s hand and was storming off in a huff. Nava filed that information away because, if she was right, that would change how things went going forward. Mitsuko took Sebastian Ranta’s offered hand and then turned, walking out toward Pascual and the lectern. Nava moved away from the rear of the stage and started keeping pace with Mitsuko as she moved, parallel and about three metres away to the left and behind.

  The theatre was built with a large expanse of seating on the ground floor, but that was not enough to allow some eight thousand students to sit down. There were two balconies to give more seats, though the highest one gave you a really lousy view of the stage. That was likely why Maya appeared at the back of the lower balcony. This time, she was wearing a helmet and Nava could not see her face, but she was sure it was Maya. Maya with a magitech carbine and, since no one around her was reacting, she had her invisibility spell up. She took a second to assess her situation before raising her carbine to her shoulder, a second to take aim, a second of adjustment as Mitsuko finished her walk and, smiling, shook hands with Pascual…

  It was too long. Maya had always been a confident one, maybe overconfident, right up until the point when… Recollections could wait. Nava was raising her arm and taking aim even before Mitsuko had Pascual’s hand in hers. A pulse of light flew up toward the back of the hall some fifty metres away and then exploded in Maya’s face. It was the weakest Magic Burst Nava could fire and, this time, Maya had had the sense to put up magical armour before teleporting in. Nothing got past that to Maya’s skin, but her shot went wildly off as she lurched back from the expanding wave of energy. A pulse of red-orange flame hit the ceiling at the back of the stage and exploded. Concrete dust and larger fragments rained down from the ceiling. The screaming started.

  Up on the balcony, Maya vanished. On the same level, Kyle was rushing toward the spot where Nava’s spell had detonated, but he was going to find nothing except a few people in need of medical aid. Nava closed the distance between herself and Mitsuko, moving into a guard position. It was possible that Maya would try again and Nava needed to be ready. Possible, but Nava would not have been willing to risk money on it.

  ~~~

  Mitsuko had wondered why Nava needed some privacy for a few minutes, but she had not asked what her bodyguard was up to. They had retired to Mitsuko’s apartment after leaving the theatre. The ceremony had been cut short due to the attempted assassination, but it was a formality anyway. Mitsuko would be taking over the presidency during the next week, while the school was taking its early spring break. By the start of the following week, when school restarted, she was supposed to have the other council positions ironed out, so she was going to be a busy girl.

  Nava took out her ketcom, pulled out the screen, and activated the call function. Flicking through her contact list, she found the one she wanted and placed the call. A few seconds later, the call connected and a round face with tanned skin and large green eyes appeared on the screen. You could just about see the collar of her ASF uniform at the bottom of the miniature image.

  ‘Nava? Is there a problem?’

  ‘Good evening, First Lieutenant,’ Nava replied. ‘There are a number of problems and I’m sure you’ve been keeping up to date on them. Have you had a report on the attack that happened tonight?’

  First Lieutenant Fawn Tyrell Hamilton glanced away for a second, possibly to hide the fact that she had been checking up on Nava and Nava was not supposed to know but clearly did. ‘I got a report, yes.’

  ‘Did anything strike you as interesting about the attack tonight?’

  ‘It… A spell like that could have wiped out all the candidates and a fair amount of the audience. It was beyond effective range when it hit the ceiling and it still did damage to the structure. It seems like a step up from the previous attacks. We’d assumed the Redwings were trying to push a specific candidate into the presidency, but that could easily have killed–’

  ‘All of them except Tracey Spears Cook. She left the stage when she heard the results.’

  ‘Is that so?’ Fawn pressed her lips together and frowned at somewhere under her terminal.

  ‘First Lieutenant, could you run a background check on Tracey Spea
rs? Financials. That kind of thing. It might show up any connection she might have to the Redwing Faction. It might not.’

  ‘And you want this kept quiet, of course. The ASF has not been called in for this case and I doubt the school wants us to be.’

  ‘I think that, if we can get evidence that Tracey Spears is connected to the Redwing Faction, Courtney Martell Garavain will contact the ASF to handle her arrest. Even if the school doesn’t want to involve you, the Redwing Faction is classified as a terrorist organisation. The SSF will have no choice.’ Nava paused and then added, ‘But I’d like to keep the search quiet in case it doesn’t find anything.’

  Fawn nodded. ‘Since it’s the Redwings we’re talking about… I’ll be in touch.’

  ‘Thank you, First Lieutenant.’

  ‘Do I really have to ask you to call me Fawn again?’

  ‘Every time,’ Nava replied.

  235/2/31.

  ‘It’s four in the morning,’ Nava said, her voice soft, ‘don’t you think you should get some sleep?’

  ‘Yes,’ Mitsuko replied, ‘but I don’t want to. It’s Sunday and things won’t take off until tomorrow. I think a lie-in is perfectly reasonable. I’ll sleep when I can’t stay awake. Until then, I want to celebrate.’

  ‘I don’t think it’ll work that way. Someone will–’

  ‘It will, because I say it will.’

  Shaking her head, Nava reached for a long, thick, bright-red vibrator which Mitsuko had insisted on purchasing recently. ‘I guess we’ll see who collapses from exhaustion first, Madam President.’

  Mitsuko frowned. ‘Don’t call me that, Nava. I’m still your– Yeee!’

  ‘But I like making Madam President squeal.’

  ‘You’re evil!’ Mitsuko said through the gasps.