by Randal Sloan
“Katarina is making all haste to get there, using all our newest technologies including the void drive. Our biggest worry is figuring out how to navigate the core in the necessary haste, but I’m confident we’ll make it happen.”
She gave him a smile. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but I really believe we’ll get there before you.”
She paused to look directly at the VR. “I also believe that this event, despite appearing to be a local action, is far more than we realize and has galactic importance. I have no idea why I believe that, but I know it’s true. Hopefully, we’ll make it in time to save the day.”
John didn’t understand that, but he’d learned to never underestimate his cousin’s ability to see things others couldn’t. He was already thinking about the response he would need to send momentarily. He would need to let her know he believed in her and include his reassurances that he would do his part in his response.
Jarra gave him a smile, a smile he knew was only because she cared for her cousin as much as he did for her.
“I’ll see you in a few days. In between, I’ll be in contact as I have more information. Jarra out.”
John sat there in thought a few moments. He would do his best to get there for when she would need him. No, she likely would be ahead of him, not that he could tell most of his crew where she came from or how she beat them there, but she would still need his help.
He composed his response and sent it, along with his own estimated time of arrival.
Yes, two can play that game, he thought with a smile.
Chapter 6
Conspiring Events
Jasper Ogletrott was a man of information. Information was the currency that he sold to the highest bidder, sometimes to more than one of them, not that he would tell them that. But in the last couple of years he’d gotten so good at his job that he limited his clientele to only those who could afford top dollar, and with those he dared not try to double dip.
Jasper had just received an anonymous tip that seemed might possibly be very valuable to his newest client. He quickly took steps to verify its authenticity, all the time planning his next steps. This one could be quite lucrative for him. He would need to set up a rendezvous and soonest, if he wanted to collect the max on the information’s value. It never occurred to him to wonder where the tip came from, not that he would have believed it if he had known.
His newest client was his highest value client yet and he had been quite profitable if not a much higher risk than the others. In fact, the man downright terrified him, but Jasper still took his money. He did have more money than any sensible fellow would be able to spend, so he wouldn’t even miss Jasper’s small payment.
Jasper didn’t trust him, for the man was so ambitious that he didn’t care what happened to those that stood in his way or what he had to do to get there. No, this one wanted power more than anything else, and he’d set his sights on the top of the mountain. That was why before now, he’d been able to sell to him for a tremendous price the details on the rebels and their foolish alliance with aliens that had offered them a deal too good to be true.
Despite all his faults, Augustus Montgomery was a patriot and he had the sense to see that those aliens without a doubt would double-cross the rebels as soon as they had their victory. Luckily, their plot had failed miserably, mostly due to the Crown Prince and his cousin, although Augustus didn’t hold a lot of faith in the stories about the Princess.
No, he figured she just had been in the right place at the right time and had just gotten lucky. Plus, it was well known the Emperor doted on her and had given her all the high tech toys the Empire had developed. So far even Jasper hadn’t gotten any of the data on those technological advancements. That was one of his objectives he still hadn’t been able to achieve.
Augustus had just finished a late dinner at one of his exotic restaurants, an expensive meal if he’d had to pay for it, but, of course, for him it was gratis. He was still savoring the hundred year old wine that he preferred when he received an anonymous VR message made to look like a sales pitch. Instead, it contained the code words that told him Jasper wanted to meet him that evening.
Included in the code was the location, a gentleman’s smoke bar. After centuries of affliction, mankind had finally found a way to make smoking non-addictive and non-lethal, which apparently took the attraction out of it for most of the riffraff. Still, gentlemen's clubs promoted the practice, mostly because it gave their clients a quiet place to conduct their various and often nefarious affairs. Providing the ones that desired such a location to do that kept them well supplied with such clients.
Augustus sent the response that appeared to be a vicious rejection of the sales pitch, but actually contained his coded acceptance of the meeting. Still, he wanted to make sure the help remained in their proper place, so he waited the appropriate amount of time before proceeding to the rendezvous.
“This had better be good for you to interrupt my dinner,” he told the man.
“Oh, it’s good,” Jasper told him, always careful to give the man just enough to keep him on the hook. He wasn’t dumb enough to give him everything at once either, lest his usefulness appear to be a thing of the past.
“Have I ever not provided good intel?” he went on, ignoring the fact that he in fact had failed at getting the tech from the Imperial Navy’s top secret research station. Not that anyone else had either. For some reason, the Empire had locked that data down tighter than anything else he’d ever seen.
He quickly continued, lest the client bring that up. “I was the first to give you the info about the rebels and their alien friends and I’ve continued to feed you all the data I have on the rebels. I even have the info on their last rebel base, if you’re still interested in it.”
“Yes, I’ve been thinking about that. I think that I should accidentally stumble on the information regarding that base and pass it up the chain of command. It’s time that I step out of the shadows and gather the appropriate level of notice.”
Jasper gave him a smile. “I’ll send the info on to our protected NET drop site this evening. But that’s not why I called this meeting. I have come across another bit of information that I think you’ll find quite useful. I’m sure you’ll eventually discover this yourself in another handful of days, but I believe you’ll find the additional time I can give you to be quite valuable.”
Augustus frowned, but he finally nodded. “If, and only if, I do indeed find it useful to know this in advance. If so, I’ll be pleased to make a payment for this information. If not, you’ll have wasted my time. What exactly are we talking about?”
Jasper smiled. “This is something you’ve been awaiting for a long time. The Dauntless and her squadron, with the Crown Prince on board, just made an emergency deployment earlier this evening to some distant destination. That means that the Crown Prince will be unable to attend the Imperial Ball scheduled in a few days. Instead, another will be expected to attend.”
Augustus’s eyes lit up. “You’re right. This is quite useful information to me. I may even consider adding a bonus if it pans out.”
Then he frowned. “The other thing I’ve had you looking for. Do you have that info?”
Jasper was way ahead of him. He’d learned a long time ago to come prepared when meeting with this man. He was also going to have to be extra careful with this one. The contact he’d found was not reliable enough to suit him and he didn’t want that to blow back on him.
“The man insists on meeting with you directly. I’ll make the arrangements using the safe house you proposed and include the details in your drop. He seems like a real weasel, but I know you’ll be able to put him in his proper place.”
That brought another smile to Augustus’s face. He rose to leave. “That I may, that I may. I won’t need him after I complete this transaction, so perhaps I will arrange for him to retire.”
His smile grew bigger. “Permanently.” Just like that he was gone, the smoke in the air hiding his exi
t.
That, thought Jasper, is why I’ve got to be so very careful with this one. If he ever decides he doesn’t need me any more… He drew a throat slash across the air in front of him.
Perhaps it’s time for me to retire too, just not in the same manner.
Somewhere on Albious Prime.
“Are you sure the meeting room is secure?” the tall, thin man asked the other, a much more heavy-set gentleman.
“Not only is the room secure, but the entire building is considered a safe house.”
“Well, I’m still going to go by a fake name, just in case. You can call me Doctor Love. It’s not like what we’re doing is evil, but I don’t think others would agree with what we have planned. Especially those that would wish they’d thought of it before us.”
“So, Doctor Love, show me what you’ve got. We may only have the one chance, since the ball is coming up rather soon.”
“Sure, one of our technical gurus on the chemistry team came up with this. We call it our ‘love potion’ and that’s pretty well what it does. If you can dose both targets with a tiny amount of the drug each time the two will be together, the drug causes an addiction that makes the targets feel like they’ve each just met a new love and they simply can’t get enough of each other.”
He smiled a rather evil smile. “We’re quite proud of it. We’ve done a number of blind tests, all quite successful, but unsurprisingly, legal won’t give us the go ahead to sell it for obvious reasons. You only have a span of a few weeks before the effect starts to fade anyway, so that’s another reason we never tried to go to market with it.”
The other man matched his smile. “I’m sure if we can get her under his skin and hopefully even get as far as an official engagement announcement, she’ll be able to keep him under her spell. My niece is a very endearing young lady.”
“Does she even have a clue what you have planned?”
“No, she’s quite sweet and naive. She must get it from her mother’s side, because my brother was ever bit as ambitious as me. Unfortunately, he did meet his untimely death.”
Doctor Love chose to ignore the implications of that. Well, partially. He thought quickly. “I can only give you enough to last one week at a time,” he lied. “We have to mix up a fresh batch or it loses its potency.”
“Just make sure you don’t try to up the price on me or something. I don’t take kindly to blackmailers or double-crossers.”
“No, sir, not at all. From what you’re paying me, I can quite easily retire, so I have no reason to want more. It’s just the way the drug works.”
“Good, so I guess we have a deal?” He reached out to offer his hand, which Doctor Love eventually responded to with a weak shake.
“Do you have the product on you? I don’t want to risk another meeting so soon, but I dare not pass up this chance. Who knows when this opportunity will present itself again?”
Doctor Love reached into his pocket, pulling out a tiny vial. “I was hoping you would agree to a deal, so I came prepared. Here’s the first week’s product. I would recommend you apply it with a contact patch that you can wear on your right hand. That way you can apply the drug with a handshake.”
He laughed. “Just make sure you wear the patch with the drug on the outside.”
His companion was not amused. “Like I would be stupid enough to do otherwise.” He glared at him. “I’m not amused. I suggest you stick to business from here on out in our dealings.”
Doctor Love was terrified at this point, but he tried to hide it. “No problem. It was just a stupid joke.”
He knew one thing. He never wanted to see this man again. “I probably won’t be able to meet with you each time after this. I’ll likely send the drug by courier for safety's sake. He’ll be wearing a standard disintegration pouch, just in case he’s intercepted. Not that I expect anyone would be able to figure out what it is he’s carrying.”
“Yes. I can’t be seen to be involved with it either. I’ll send you drop coordinates each time. Make sure to send a different courier on each delivery too. We can’t be careful enough.”
“Good luck on your plans. I expect to hear of your success; it’s not like he’ll be able to keep it secret, not with the entire Empire watching.” Doctor Love bowed and quickly made his escape.
In his hurry to leave, he missed the evil smile on his companion’s face. Not all physical agents needed to work immediately. Some could be designed with a timed release. Say in a few month’s time…
Doctor Love, really the more appropriately named Bart Cartimore despite his visions of grandeur, was already planning to take his retirement off-world. His terror after leaving the meeting with the other man made his mind up for him. He could set up the courier schedules and manage it all remotely. Perhaps he would go to that new planet that had been discovered. Only a few people even knew about it so far.
As a member of the new product team, Bart had been given access to information not privy to many. For example, he’d learned about the new planet that had been discovered. Almost no one knew about it yet, but his company had received advance notice and was considering sending a research team there within the next year. They were always on the outlook for potentially undiscovered biological resources.
New Earth. That was the name of the place. Supposed to be a virtual paradise. Way out in the middle of nowhere. That would be a good place to disappear to.
Yes, New Earth sounded like the perfect place for one to make an escape. He could hide there for a year or so and then make his further plans or perhaps he would decide to stay.
Bart checked his accounts to verify the payment had been received. He never thought to wonder why the man hadn’t demanded to split the payment along with the deliveries. Instead, he redirected the monies into the special accounts he’d set up under his alternate identity. Then he quickly made the arrangements for the couriers to deliver the product so that he would not have to go into the office the next day.
Opening a special hidden door, Bart sat down at a small dressing table in front of a tiny mirror. He proceeded to apply several physical altering nanite treatments to himself, another product that his company made and sold to a rather specialized clientele. The final one he injected himself with would change his apparent DNA signature to all but the most intense investigations.
Jack Albetran rose to exit the small room, pressing the button that would remove all traces of his former self. He would do the same to the entire apartment when he left the next morning to catch the next flight to New Earth.
All but one trace of the former Bart Cartimore was gone. Unfortunately, he carried that evidence unaware within his body, the timer slowly ticking along.
Ariyana Montgomery was surprised when her uncle dropped in to visit late that evening. Times hadn’t been easy for her and her mother since her father had gotten himself killed in some type of ski accident. Because he was outside the legal area to ski on a planet designated as a sanctuary world for local flora and fauna, his estate had been declared forfeiture and most of their means of living had disappeared along with it.
Luckily, her uncle stepped in to save the day. He managed to use his legal team to protect a small portion of his brother’s estate, enough for them to live on. Every day became a struggle and they lost the extensive manor they’d lived in for most of her life, but her mother still had the summer home to call her own, mostly because her uncle had bought it out of his own pocket to give to them.
Samantha Montgomery still tried to pretend to keep her earlier lifestyle, but Ariyana knew that was going to be impossible. Luckily, Ariyana had learned to live in a simpler manner during her time at the university, so it hadn’t been so very hard for her.
In another sense, it had been a disaster to her for a different reason. The large group of potential suitors her mother and father had insisted she cultivate had simply evaporated like smoke at the news. That wasn’t all bad as far as she was concerned, for most of them hadn’t been worth her time anyway,
but the total lack of interest she now faced made her future look much more dim.
Ariyana knew she was a little different from most of her “friends” and classmates, for she had been determined to find the right person and together make a difference for the sake of the betterment of the galaxy. She sighed as she thought of her grand intentions that had disappeared with that smoke. Things didn’t look very promising at the moment, no not at all.
That meant she was completely surprised when Uncle August addressed her directly after they finished the meal her mother had quickly arranged with Cook. Not quite first class, but not bad either.
“My dear Ariyana, I’ve got a surprise for you. I’ve managed to wrangle an invitation to the Imperial Ball, and I want you to attend as my special guest. I’ve already made arrangements for you to get a special gown from one of the most renowned fashion designers in the galaxy, and to have your own personal makeup artist and hairdresser. You’re going to be the hit of the Ball!”
He smiled at her. “There are even rumors that the Emperor will be there.”
Ariyana just stared in shock. Attending the Imperial Ball was every girl’s dream and could it actually come true for her?
Before she could manage to say anything, her mother gave her a dark look. She was probably jealous he wasn’t taking her, but that ship had long since sailed. “Well, are you not going to even say thank you?”
Ariyana threw herself into her uncle’s arms. She must have taken him by surprise, for he staggered and for a moment remained stiff in her embrace, but she proclaimed excitedly, “Thank you, Uncle August, thank you so very much.”
By this time he had responded with the appropriate level of contact, but he pushed her back out at arm’s length to look her in the eyes. “It’s nothing,” he said. “Just remember your Uncle August when you gain the lofty heights within the Empire, perhaps as even consort to the Emperor.”
