The HecSha nodded his flat, lizard-like head, the scales glinting in the overhead lights.
“Of course, Guild Master,” he said, rising to his feet. “It would be my honor.”
“Thank you,” Breka said, and then he moved to the edge of the stage. As he walked down the stairs, he glanced at Grektch and Hak-Chet and flicked his eyes toward a nearby door. The message was clear: We need to talk.
They quickly rose to their feet, slipped their slates into their vests, and followed him. Breka disappeared through the door, and moments later they joined him in a service hallway where two Equiri guards, his ever-present companions, had assumed a protective stance ten meters away. Both faced down the long passageway and were well out of earshot.
Breka faced Hak and Grektch. He ran a paw under his nose, brushing the smaller tentacles away from his mouth.
He took a few moments to take them in, his eyes meeting theirs for several seconds. He let out a long breath.
Grektch nodded solemnly. “Guild Master.”
“Well met,” Breka replied with a nod. “Selector. Deputy Selector.”
“Guild Master,” Hak-Chet said, his calculating eyes glinting in the harsh fluorescent light of the passageway. The sound of Rsach’s ongoing presentation of badges continued in the auditorium.
“My apologies for taking you away from the ceremonies.” He turned to Hak-Chet. “You are satisfied with the effort so far? You believe it will be enough to push Hr’ent to become a candidate for your program?”
Hak-Chet nodded. “I do, Guild Master. He knows it should have been him up there receiving the Silver Blade and not Rsach. His rage was palpable. The sensors under his table recorded nearly critical levels. You noticed that Rsach skipped over his name in the lists?”
“I did.”
“That nearly sent Hr’ent into a physical confrontation, but he managed to calm himself down. I believe, now, that if he does not quit the program altogether, we will have him…and he will be of considerable value to the guild.”
Breka’s ears fluttered. “What do you mean quit? He just graduated. Are you not finished with him?”
“No, Guild Master.” Hak-Chet shrugged. “Had I needed an accomplice, Rsach would have proven capable. As it is, I am confident that something will be said, perhaps when he receives his badge. Who knows what Rsach will say to him during the pinning? Frankly, the valedictorian cannot stop himself from acting like an ass.”
Breka nodded. “As a valedictorian, I have great faith in him, however I am well aware of what his efficiency reports say, and I am in agreement with you. He will do something. I trust you have that handled, Hak-Chet?”
“My team is standing by for any eventuality, Guild Master. Several have infiltrated the undergrads attending in the periphery. And I will be there as well, if this conversation does not take too long. Either way, if Hr’ent were to fly into a violent rage, we could safely tranquilize him and remove him from the center. I don’t believe that will happen, however, sir. Not based on what I just saw.”
“Why?”
“His mother,” Grektch said with a gruff laugh. “Young Oogar have a tendency to be careless and rough, but not with their mothers present. Hak-Chet is correct in his assessment. I trust, though, that the reason for this aside is the message you received on your slate a moment ago?”
Breka chortled behind the tentacles around his maw, a sound not unlike like a cough. With a twitch of his ears, he nodded and met the Selector’s eyes. His eyes found Hak-Chet’s. “What you are about to hear is classified at the High Council level. You are reminded that although you hold the post of Deputy Selector, you are not typically privy to such information. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Guild Master.” Hak-Chet nodded. For a split second, the easy, confident demeanor cracked, and the young Sidar’s age and experience betrayed the gaze in his eyes. To his credit, Hak-Chet recovered quickly, but Breka noted the realization with quiet satisfaction.
Breka inhaled sharply. “Yes, the message…There’s more to the story, and you need to hear it from me. There has been a request for a Peacemaker on the planet Godannii 2. The Iron Sky Mining Corporation has angered the GenSha colony there with regard to promised wages, safety of work discrepancies, and allegedly unfair contract stipulations. It is entirely possible an insurrection is simmering. There has been rioting and some rather expensive sabotage inflicted by the GenSha. Whether these actions were directed by the GenSha Union Leaders on Godannii 2 remains to be seen, although they have said in no uncertain terms they had no foreknowledge.”
Grektch grunted. “Iron Sky Mining is a Jivool-owned business, Hak-Chet. They have a less-than-stellar reputation. I can certainly see miners being driven to the point of volatile reactions.”
“Agreed…and ISMC is rife with outright criminals,” Breka said. “That stays here, between us, is that understood?”
The Selectors nodded, both smiling.
“That being said,” Breka continued, “I am prepared to do something a little unorthodox. Given the urgency of the request, I’m dispatching a Blue Flight. Chief of Operations Zerrep has one en route here from the Parmick system now. Once they arrive, we’ll get the intelligence packet—what it contains will be our criteria for deployment of a team. I’m not sending one Peacemaker alone into this situation. I’m considering several because of the breadth of the conflict.”
“Experienced Peacemakers?” Grektch asked with one furry brow raised comically. “Or new graduates?”
“New graduates,” Breka said evenly.
The answer surprised Hak-Chet. He knew a good deal about ISMC’s history with labor disputes. They’d had a number of rebellions and several instances of near-genocide. They’d been fined and censured, and several of their Directors had been incarcerated over the decades. It was systematic with them—a matter of policy. They pushed as hard as they could, bled their assets and labor dry, and factored in post-situational fines and penalties as nothing more than the cost of doing business. He had always wondered why the Peacemaker Guild continued to permit situations like this to rise again and again to the point of armed confrontations and even fatalities. But to send new graduates on something as sensitive as an armed insurrection that could lead to the intervention of mercenaries and possibly even genocide seemed outright reckless.
“New graduates?” Hak-Chet asked, trying to keep the surprise out of his voice.
“Correct,” Breka replied. He turned to Hak-Chet, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Of the current class, who would you send?”
“Me?” the young Sidar stammered. Again, Hak-Chet was caught off guard by the Guild Master. Why would Breka want a Deputy Selector to choose the team for something as critical as what was happening on Godannii 2? He knew he was competent, and he certainly had proven he could choose the appropriate Peacemaker personnel for a mission. But this felt off, somehow. He just couldn’t put his finger on why. His mind raced. He realized that the situation, if managed properly, could be orchestrated to see his own goals for Hr’ent come to fruition sooner than he expected. He focused all of his attention on the Guild Master. He would have to execute perfectly at every step, and lives would probably be lost no matter what happened. It would simply be a matter of scale, and he would have to live with the consequences…they all would.
“Yes, Hak-Chet,” Breka winked at Grektch. “A Selector always serves the role of adviser to the Guild Master. The opinions of those around me matter.”
Hak-Chet nodded, thinking furiously.
“I understand, Guild Master.” He paused for a moment, running through a short list of likely candidates from the auditorium beyond the door. Who among them would be just right? One name rose immediately to the top of the list, while others floated up and down in his estimations of their personalities, capabilities, and what they might likely encounter on Godannii 2. He took a deep breath and finally replied, “Of the current graduates, I would recommend a team of four under the command of Rsach Klixtylbyt, and p
robably including the class president, Tyrn Govai.” Breka and Grektch raised an eyebrow at the recommendation. He couldn’t tell if they were impressed or uncomfortable, but it didn’t matter to him. They’d asked for his input, and he was offering, with his own agenda factored squarely into the middle of it. “With your permission, I can review the case file and determine the right mix of Peacemakers to send to…complement Rsach’s leadership style.”
Breka nodded thoughtfully and kept his face straight. “Do that. I need an answer first thing in the morning. I want a team of four, no more, no less.”
“Yes, Guild Master. I will have more than sufficient information well before that,” Hak-Chet said. “This is a negotiation, yes?” It was a loaded question. From what he’d heard, it sounded like the situation was well past negotiation and into the early stages of an outright revolt.
“Oversight,” Breka replied. “They are overseeing the negotiation and determining the breadth of the problem. They must ascertain the truth on the ground above all. Call it a fact-finding mission, if you like.”
Again, Hak-Chet was surprised by Breka’s response. Oversight and reconnaissance? The players were identified. The problem was clear, at least mostly so. They weren’t dealing with anything new on Godannii 2. They were dealing with a predictable inevitability that ISMC had initiated in the past on more than one occasion.
Grektch grumbled, and it was clear he was uncomfortable with something.
“Iron Sky Mining is ready to deploy ISMC security forces and perhaps even mercenaries to restore the peace.” Grektch’s voice was even, but Hak-Chet had known the Selector long enough that even he was confused by his responses. “They aren’t afraid to use violence to subvert their miners. Everything they do is about profit. The workers and their families are forced to use company assets for everything and receive meager food and water supplies. For the GenSha, moving into the mountains of Godannii 2 was supposed to have been a boon to their agricultural enterprise. Iron Sky came in and underbid the rest of the competition, wrangling the GenSha into shoddy contracts. They are likely legal in a very broad sense of the word, but the undue hardship on the colony, as has been reported, borders on slavery that could easily lead to genocide. That is when we get involved. The regional barracks commander in the system requested assistance—there are several situations she is monitoring now.” Grektch squinted. “The regional barracks is at Lupta, yes?”
“Correct,” Breka said. “And you know as well as I that they have the smallest staff of any barracks, and four separate incidents to contend with in other systems. I cannot reallocate them. Hence the need to bring in another, ready cohort. The High Council agrees with this course of action. They see Godannii 2 and the Iron Sky idiots as less critical than anything else in the region.”
There was an awkward silence until Hak-Chet blurted, “You see this isn’t less than critical, right?”
“What do you mean?”
To his credit, Hak-Chet cleared his throat and enunciated his response slowly, with the care of a politician, but he felt as if he was explaining something to Breka that the Guild Master was already aware of. He needed to be cautious.
“It’s common knowledge that ISMC has a less than stellar reputation when it comes to treating fairly with their labor force—this isn’t the first potential rebellion they’ve had to contend with—and they have skirted the boundaries of legality with their contracts at literally every opportunity. With no law in place to prosecute such legally gray circumstances, the Peacemakers have waited for a situation bad enough to warrant intervention, hence we are sending four Peacemakers, new or not, to do the job of one. This seems to be a show of force. Of capability.” He paused, searching the Guild Master’s face. “Yes?”
Breka nodded, seemingly impressed. “Our new Peacemakers need experience, too.”
“They are not the only ones,” Hak-Chet said, thinking of Hr’ent. He looked at Grektch. “If you’ll excuse me, Guild Master?”
“Certainly, Deputy Selector.” The Guild Master nodded. “And notify us immediately if the subject loses control out there.”
“I will, sir,” Hak-Chet said, opening the door, “but I suspect you would hear of such a situation the moment it started to unfold.” He paused, a wry expression on his face. “Oogar are not known for expressing their anger quietly,” he added as he stepped into the auditorium.
Breka and Grektch’s chuckling faded as the door closed behind him, and as it did, he had to wonder what else the two senior Peacemakers might be discussing in his absence.
“Come up and be recognized,” Rsach said as six more graduates approached the stage.
Hak-Chet saw that Hr’ent was not among them, and he recognized two of them with names in the Vs. When he looked at the big Oogar, it was readily apparent that there was no patch or badge affixed to his uniform. Hak-Chet blew out a frustrated breath and slipped out his slate, pulling up the biometric readouts.
Hr’ent was nearly back up to red line…the slow simmer had returned to a boil.
Hak-Chet focused his attention on the valedictorian who, once again, was whispering something in the ear of a newly anointed Peacemaker. Rsach was clearly enjoying the spotlight, and his unfaltering ego seemed to have risen to the occasion. That ego was the primary concern for those in the Selector division who had access to his private psych evaluation. If he was going to screw up as a Peacemaker—or put himself into a position where others would have leverage and could compromise him—then it was Rsach’s ego that would be the lynch pin.
The valedictorian appeared to be magnanimous and carefree while carrying himself with a haughty confidence. He was reveling in the position of authority…holding court, as it were, like some overconfident robber baron. His barely contained mirth threatened to bubble over as each graduate received his or her accoutrements.
Hak-Chet felt his anger grow, and as he stared at the egotistical valedictorian, he realized the vindictive side of his personality would have no problem with whatever might happen on Godannii 2. Rsach would be perfect.
The last of the latest group stepped down off the stage.
“Vrendal Sook-cahr,” Rsach said, starting off another group of graduates.
Hak-Chet recognized the female MinSha graduate. She was another of the graduating class he’d been keeping an eye on as a potential for his program, but as Rsach’s eyes came up to look at the audience, they locked onto Hak-Chet’s glaring visage.
The haughtiness faded quickly, and his words froze in his throat. The young Jeha’s spine quivered, and there was an erratic, almost fidgety vibration of his antenna that slowed perceptibly as he got control of his emotions.
Hak-Chet let the fury seep into his glare. He raised one hand slightly away from his side and flattened his palm to the floor and swiped it in a slicing motion.
Enough.
There was no need to explain further. They knew what had Hak-Chet’s ire up.
Rsach glanced down at the podium and fumbled with some papers for a moment. His antenna bounced in distress. Ever the careful actor, as much as Professor F’hnela taught them during the second year, Rsach appeared shocked and shameful all at once.
The sound in the auditorium fell off to a hush, and Hak-Chet heard whispers here and there, but not of surprise so much as the laughter of those on the inside who knew the joke had come to an end.
The graduates—most of them Hak-Chet surmised—clearly knew what the issue was.
“Friends,” Rsach said, gripping the podium awkwardly with two of his pincers. “I am afraid there’s been a terrible mistake.” He cleared his throat nervously, a sound not unlike claws on a chalkboard. “It appears as if the cases up here were somehow placed out of order. I’ve just realized the error, which is even more unfortunate, considering who has, up until this moment, been skipped over. I should add that this candidate nearly won the Apex Achievement Award but missed due to an…ahhh…unfortunate accident. I must say that from our first year here at the Academy, as the con
tenders for valedictorian rose above the ranks, I feared that the slightest mistake I might make could tip the scales in his favor. As a result, I strove each and every day for the lofty goal of perfection. At the end of our tenure here, the better cadet won by a slim margin. I am deeply honored to have received the Apex Achievement Award, but I must take this opportunity to congratulate my closest competitor as well as redress what has been an unfortunate accident in placing these cases.”
Hak-Chet’s eyes never left Rsach’s during the rather lengthy and wholly unnecessary monologue.
Rsach sent a momentary glance in Hak-Chet’s direction and then fixed his gaze on the back of the auditorium.
“Hr’ent Golramm,” Rsach chirped happily, “please come forward, be duly recognized, and accept my most humble apology.”
Hak-Chet tapped a command on his slate that sent a simple, two-word message to his operatives waiting in the wings: Be ready.
* * * * *
Chapter Four
Ocono
Peacemaker Academy
At the sound of his name, even uttered by a nemesis he’d endured throughout his tenure as a cadet, Hr’ent sighed with a good deal of satisfaction. There was still an underlying fire of anger, frustration, and disdain for the valedictorian—that would never change—but at least he was getting his due, albeit a bit late. As his eyes met the faceted oculars of Rsach, he let just a hint of a snarl lift the side of his muzzle. As far as Hr’ent was concerned, there might one day be detente between the two, but there would never be peace.
Applause rang out from the enthusiastic family members of the other candidates, who took Rsach’s melodramatic speech at face value. For a moment, it felt as if they were merely pitying the poor Oogar Peacemaker for having been slighted. Many of the graduates, however, continued to hide their amused grins. Hr’ent glanced into the happy face of his mother and wondered when he’d last seen her eyes glisten. It had been a very long time, and that realization squelched some of the anger that still bubbled in his heart.
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