White Fire

by Laurie Bell

  “Senator Kalzee’tiam,” Zach answered.

  “Who?”

  “Vice-President Ramo’s nemesis.”

  “Nemesis, Zach?”

  “Seems fitting.”

  Toni had to agree. She examined the man on the screen. A bone thin, pale face amplified the man’s judgmental sneer. He raised his head so that he appeared to be staring down his nose into the camera. “Praying to long-dead gods for assistance—is he serious? We have not been attacked. There is no evidence of Ascendancy armies waiting for Sector Two to fall so they can attack us. Prince Chrismatt is asking us to send our soldiers to their borders to fight an army whose only goal is to strengthen and protect their own lines against the Confederate conspiracy.

  “And make no mistake, if we were to send our troops to aid the Confederacy’s imaginary battle, we will weaken our own defenses, freeing the Confederacy to launch an attack on our border. Join with them, he pleads! What a subtle way of saying, ‘We want access to APE troops from within.’ This cannot be borne, this will not be borne!”

  A rumble grew, bursting forth from the Blackflame’s speakers. The view on Toni’s screen changed as different cameras panned the audience. Angry whispers and catcalls rose up from the crowd. Many faces shown were downturned or scrunched with teeth bared. Nearly all of them were nodding.

  “He seems to be swaying the audience.” Zach said.

  “Mindless cattle.” Toni scoffed. “He’s clearly never been out to a border planet. Zach, how far are we from Midock?”

  “We shall arrive within five minutes.” The scrolling ident on the screen reported Ramo would be up soon.

  A reedy voice cried out, amplified suddenly as if a hidden microphone had been turned up, snapping Toni’s gaze back to the screen. The vision cut between different angles as the director tried to locate the voice’s owner. “If the Ascendancy attack Sector Two, then I say let them. It is not our fight. Let both sides weaken themselves, and when their war is over, they will have no desire to take us on. In the meantime, let us strengthen our own borders and build up our own defenses.”

  Toni rolled her eyes so hard it renewed her dormant headache. Kheghing fools.

  “The President is not even here today. Is that not the clearest indication we have that he does not support his own Vice-President in this matter?” another voice shouted. The screen flashed around the audience again, as if the cameraman might find the President hiding somewhere amongst the crowd. It was a fair point to raise. Why wasn’t the President there? Did Ramo not have his support? The camera stopped on the pale face of the Vice-President.

  “Look.” Toni muttered. The woman’s set expression hid her reaction and Toni had the feeling that said everything. “She’s kheghing furious. Do you think the President is ill?”

  “I could find out, hack into—”

  “Presidential systems? No, Zach. I can’t allow that. Besides, you might not get through their security.”

  “I could.”

  “Zach!”

  “Fine, can I look elsewhere?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to know, Zach.”

  “Got it, Boss.”

  The camera had returned to Kalzee’tiam. He was pounding his fist against the podium. “I challenge Vice-President Ramo to make public what evidence she has that proves the Ascendancy intend to attack,” he jeered. “I demand she show us the declaration of war. I demand an immediate dismissal of this so-called vote until such evidence is received and reviewed!”

  “We should probably look into ’Tiam in relation to the threat against the Vice-President,” Toni mused. Had Zaambuka’s obsession with Gallian blinded them all to the real killer?

  “I can start a search.”

  “Do it, Zach. How is Doctor Telksh going with that antidote.”

  “He is currently asleep on your workbench. His machine is active.”

  “Right. I suppose that’s a good thing.” Toni peered over her shoulder at the closed door.

  “They are awake.”

  “What are they—you know what? I don’t care.” Toni slumped back into her chair. “I’m tired, Zach.”

  “You should sleep.”

  She groaned and scrubbed at her stinging eyes. “I can’t. I have to fix Mate. We’re nearly there. I can’t go without him, Zach.” She eyed the silent C-bot, the panel in his side wide open.

  “You may have to, Boss.”

  “I can’t search for the assassin on my own.”

  “The smugglers?”

  “We’re coming with you.” Dan lounged in the doorway. Toni assumed it was because he couldn’t stand upright without assistance.

  “No.”

  “Toni—”

  “You’ll be a liability. You’re injured and besides, this is my job.”

  His sigh filled the cockpit. She refused to be swayed. The view through the main screen exploded into stars as they fell out of forcedspace. Midock swelled in the center of the screen. “Do you know anything about Balandez?” she queried, capitulating a little.

  Dan fell into the seat beside her. “He’ll head high.”

  “How do you know?”

  “It’s what I would do,” Berni announced entering the room.

  “That’s comforting.” Toni muttered. Both smugglers glared at her. She ignored them.

  “He’s a loner,” Dan added.

  “Speaking from experience? I’m actually serious. Have either of you ever met Balandez?”

  “Hearsay only.”

  “Go ahead.” She’d take any information she could get her hands on.

  “There’ll be eyes everywhere inside the Great Hall, security everywhere and they know about the threat on the Vice-President’s life, right? Security are hyperaware, searching for anyone moving on their own. He’ll have cover or a disguise, probably infiltrate in a group.” Berni certainly sounded knowledgeable. Toni wondered if she could trust anything the woman said.

  “By now, he’ll have dug in somewhere,” Dan added.

  “Concealed?”

  “Probably. He won’t emerge until he’s ready to act. Which means he’ll need line of sight,” he said.

  “Hence up high.”

  “Right. He won’t be able to reach the floor. Too secure. Don’t even bother going inside the hall,” Berni said.

  Toni nodded. That was actually good advice—Zaambuka’s teams would be everywhere. Toni’s mission was to keep the Vice-President alive. She’d never get to Ramo’s side in time. Would she be better off going after the assassin? “Zach, get me the agents on the ground.”

  “Be careful. Balandez is a shadowlink. You won’t see him coming. And he’s deadly—best in the biz,” Dan warned.

  “Worried about me?”

  There was no answer. She refused to look at Dan’s face.

  “Don’t turn your back, even for an instant.”

  It was advice she wished she had years ago. A lesson she wished she’d never had to learn the hard way.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Black lines in the maroon plush pile flashed before her eyes as Toni raced along the upper floor of the Great Hall. An almost overpowering tangy scent of flowers tickled her nose, hiding any clue the potential assassin may have left behind. In the corridor, she could hear the Vice-President begin her speech. Time was running out.

  “Every concern raised here must be respected and honored. Today I will address your arguments and hope that when the time comes, your decision will be made with an informed mind and confidence in your choice.”

  Zach’s updates kept popping up on Toni’s glasses display.

  Zach: The smugglers are one floor below you. Agent Nar is a floor below them. Doctor Telksh is pacing.

  “Not happy, I take it?”

  Zach: I believe the word is frustrated. He reports the antidote is not yet complete but it should be any moment now. He’s asking if Agent Nar will be ready to transport it to Marn.”

  Toni kicked open the door leading to a room with a balcony o
verlooking the Great Hall. Each room she searched looked identical to the one before. Her eyes scanned over the theatre chairs, the table for dining and across every dark corner as she ran forward. Nothing. She flicked the curtains aside to confirm the balcony was assassin-free. It took seconds to be happy the area was clear. At the balcony edge, she peered down at the floor of the Great Hall. The head of security’s report said the Vice-President had a personal bodyguard. They didn’t say who. She glanced quickly at the stage. Enough to see the woman standing at the podium. Toni examined the floor, searching for movement. Every chair was filled. The back of the hall appeared to be barricaded with what looked like a transparent shield. Ha! Media trapped like Sain fish in a bowl. Her gaze darted over the Mixitt horseshoe shape of the stage, allowing senators from all thirty-five original member races to sit at the semi-circular table. The sixty-five newer APE members—from the human settlements—sat behind them on a raised circular platform.

  Toni glanced up. Woah. The ceiling’s arching braces soared over them like giant waves. Probably symbolizing the fluidity of nature or some other such fancy notion. Balconies on the dozen floors overlooked the hall. It was a truly beautiful room, and one in which hid an assassin. Keep moving. Toni raced out, returning to the corridor and into the next room.

  The speaking woman’s voice rose. “This is a unique opportunity, one we will not see again in this generation, perhaps in any generation. A chance to change the life of every being living in our two Sectors today.

  “The economic and financial benefits that come with aligning with the Confederacy, a Sector as strong as our own, are unparalleled. A Sector whose strengths lie in their comprehensive health services and strong governmental support systems. It is our mission, it must be our mission, to protect the systems, planets, and governments under our care, but also our people. We can do that together. As we did over three hundred years ago when the first human transports entered our sector. We were not afraid of an alliance then and we should not be afraid now. Humans fleeing their own world’s destruction, a violent aggressive people and a people with their own culture and traditions, and we did not turn them away. Now, humans are some of our most productive members of the APE and a valued voice on the Senate.”

  The group cheered. Toni snorted. The woman was a good speaker, of that there was no doubt. But Ramo was a fool for ignoring the threat to her life. Toni cleared the next room. Once more, she checked the balcony and then leaned over the edge, hunting for unusual movement.

  The Vice-President was resplendent in her white gown. Toni sniffed, shaking her head. Bet it was heavy and probably itched like khegh. The high neck and full train too ostentatious. Of course, it was tame compared to some of the ceremonial outfits Toni could see. Toni shoved the curtain aside and ran back out to the corridor.

  Ramo’s voice had a musical quality that slithered beneath Toni’s skin. She could almost hear a beat, a ticking clock. “We have another chance to strengthen our borders and enrich our discoveries. Sector Three is ruled by a dictatorship, not content to remain safely behind their own borders. The Ascendancy’s desire to expand and dominate means every world and every life is in danger of falling to their bloodlust.”

  Another update appeared before Toni’s eyes.

  Zach: The smugglers report no sign.

  Toni froze in the wide corridor—too many damned rooms. “Zach, you said security searched every floor?”

  Zach: Yes, Boss.

  Am I wasting my time?

  Ramo’s voice softened. “We, the APE, have a duty to protect our worlds and our children. The Confederacy has a duty to protect their worlds and their children. Together, our goals are the same—to save every individual from a life of slavery at the hands of an enemy who will stop at nothing to destroy us.”

  There was a long pause. Toni bolted to the next room.

  “I understand and respect the points raised by Senators Corini and Vlashma, and in particular that of Senator Kalzee’tiam. But I ask you, how can we, as a government entrusted with the protection of the people, elected to serve the people, afford to sit back and wait for the Ascendancy to attack?”

  Nothing here. In Toni’s head, the clock ticked faster.

  “Signing a treaty of Peace with the United Planets Confederacy is not a declaration of war against the Ascendancy, as some in this room would have you believe, but just what it is—a declaration of peace, the offer of an alliance with a people and a government very much like our own.

  Nothing.

  “We share a common goal, and that goal can be strengthened by each other’s support. The lessons of both Sectors will serve to benefit all peoples, and will create a vast pool of experience from which we can draw upon to combat the inequities facing both of our societies, and not, as Senator Kalzee’tiam would have you believe, each other.”

  Again empty.

  “But how can we align ourselves with another Sector and another government, when our own leaders operate from a private and secretive agenda? Today I was informed of some very distressing news. One of our own people, a senator in this very room, has betrayed us to the very enemy we are discussing here today. Despite my instinct to deny the accusation, I was provided with proof.”

  Khegh it. As the Great Hall erupted in a wall of sheer noise, Toni ran to the balcony edge. Pushing aside the curtain, she stared down at the podium. The Vice-President’s inflammatory remarks were going to get her killed. It was the perfect opportunity for the assassin to strike. Security officers in the crowd raced forward, clearly thinking the same thing. They were forced to push back the surging senators demanding Ramo explain.

  Toni’s eyes sprang wide. Zaambuka here? Her boss stood at the Vice-President’s side. His tanned face had paled significantly. Toni could see him edge closer to Ramo, his lips moving rapidly. Trying to convince her to leave, no doubt. It didn’t appear he was getting through to her though. His hand fell to his weapon. For a split second, the curling in Toni’s gut told her he was the assassin. Her hand, the one holding her pistol, raised in his direction. She lowered it, sucking in a sharp breath. If he was there to kill Ramo, he’d have done it already. When had she lost faith in him? When I stared at him in Gallian’s face. Her gaze flew to all of the balconies she could see. Not a single curtain moved. Where was Balandez? He had to be here somewhere. Toni could taste the coming attack in the air.

  Ramo raised her hands to draw the room’s attention before continuing. At first she shouted to be heard, but quickly dropped her volume back as the room silenced, everyone anxious to hear what her report would entail.

  “Through a lengthy and confidential investigation, it has been discovered members of this very Senate have been dealing with parties working against our interests.” Her voice strengthened with every word.

  Move! Toni’s breath puffed from her mouth, her sides aching from her stop start race. “Zach?”

  Zach: Nothing, Boss. Agent Nar is heading to the floor.

  Toni ran for the next room.

  “For individual wealth to be considered so advantageous that these conspirators would consider their actions above reproach is simply beyond my scope of comprehension. These deals have been made to prevent an alliance being formed. Without an alliance, the probability that the APE or the Confederacy alone can defend against attack is hampered, if not made impossible. By undermining this peace process, they ensure the Ascendancy will win against us all.” Ramo’s voice became sharp, cutting a swathe through the thick silence.

  Empty.

  “If this is not a pre-emptive strike by the Ascendancy, I do not know what is. Surely, this is the evidence you have called for, evidence that demonstrates the Ascendancy is conspiring with our own people to force our submission. We must act now. We must act to prevent war.”

  There was a long pause. Shenghi, what a fool. Zaambuka had his hands full with her. Focus on the mission. A whisper of movement caught Toni’s eye. Leaning out over the balcony edge, she stared at the curtain two rooms across. A b
reeze? There was no further ripple. That one! She pulled back, heart thudding. If she was wrong… She sprinted for the room. The time ticking in Toni’s head stopped.

  “There’s no defining mark …” The Vice-President cut off in a scream. Below, the hall became a pit of noise. Toni couldn’t spare it any attention. She ducked the swinging right hook and danced out of reach, watching the crazed man warily. The assassin gripped a bowcaster in his left hand and lashed out with it again. The noise it made when the projectile fired still rang in her ears. Did I knock his aim enough to save the Vice-President?

  He turned on her the moment she hit him, wild-eyed and roaring with anger. The shadowlink’s skin blurred and blinked from the color of the curtain to grey shale blending into the shadows of the darkened room. Ready as she was, the strength of his blows still caught her by surprise. She struggled to remain conscious after that first punch and was still shaking her head to clear away the stars that hampered her vision.

  She blocked the next attack and tried to snatch the weapon from his hands, her chin stinging where the edge had struck. Blood dripped onto her shirt.

  The assassin struck her across the face again, smashing her shades and slamming the bowcaster down onto her wrist with enough force that Toni heard a bone snap before she felt it. She screamed. Her voice blended in with the noise from the main hall, her pistol falling from lifeless fingers. The assassin kicked her weapon across the room.

  Toni just avoided another fist, clutching her damaged wrist close to her chest. She kicked out. The bowcaster flew from the assassin’s hand over the balcony ledge into the crowd below. She spared a thought for everyone standing beneath and hoped no one would be struck. Gasping, she sidestepped the man’s angry charge, throwing out her other arm. It connected with his throat. Colors rippled across his skin. He gagged and coughed.

  Desperate to find anything she could use to her advantage, she risked taking her eyes off him for precious seconds to locate her pistol, spotting it half-hidden under the curtain near the balcony’s ledge. It might have been a world away from her current position. She lashed out with her good hand, grabbing the assassin’s forearm as he charged again and dragged him around to drive her elbow into his ribs. He grunted.