by K. B. Wagers
Fasé stood by a distinctly Farian ship; the angles and edges made it look like a cube folded in on itself. It was smooth and black, eating so much of the light around it that it looked like a hole in the fabric of reality. A pair of golden-haired Farians were bowing to her.
“This is a riot waiting to happen,” Hao murmured, and I followed his gaze around the docking bay. People hadn’t quite gathered in a circle around the new ship, but there were hard looks and harder words floating on the air.
I picked up my pace, reaching the trio in a few strides, and Fasé looked over her shoulder with a smile.
“Your ships were caught in a battle,” Fasé said. “Specifically, between the Farians and the ships that Mia recently stole for the Shen.”
“How do you know that?” Hao demanded.
“Mia stole those ships?” I asked in surprise. “I would have assumed Aiz was the one responsible.”
Fasé’s smile was a bare-toothed challenge. “Because I know everything, Cheng Hao—oh, I can’t call you that anymore, can I?” She reached out and trailed a hand down his bare arm. Hao jerked away and hissed a curse at her.
“Fasé, focus.” I glanced over my shoulder. “And while we’re at it, let’s take this conversation into the hallway before you three end up on the wrong end of an angry crowd. Hao, go find those pilots and talk to them; then meet us back on the bridge. I want to know how they figured out the Farian fighters were on autopilot.”
“My siblings,” Fasé said as I took her by the arm and propelled her toward the exit. “Of a sort. May I introduce Veeha and Volen Riantin.”
“Star of Indrana.” The twin Farians, one male and one female, bowed in unison and then followed us out of the docking bay. “We are honored to be in your presence.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but why are you here?”
“They are here for the peace talks,” Fasé replied with a smile. “I figured it should be more than just me and Sybil if we were to be a proper delegation.
“This attack was not your fault, Majesty,” she continued, looping her arm through mine as we headed down the corridor. “I know you must think so, but demanding that Adora allow me to the table was the right course of action. For whatever my opinion is worth to you these days.”
“I’m not sure what it’s worth at the moment, honestly. But I do need something more than you saying this was the Shen and the Farians shooting at each other. Do you have proof?”
“The pilots you sent Hao to find will have it.” She squeezed my arm with a smile. “Go on back to the bridge; your answers will be there. I will be safe with my family. Do you mind if I steal Stasia? I’d very much like for her to meet them.”
“Go ahead.” I nodded and shoved my hands in my pockets as Fasé headed away from me with the other Farians in tow.
“Are we going to have a problem there?”
Emmory shook his head. “I don’t think so, Majesty. Fasé spent the last several hours healing the wounded, as have the other Farians, but I’ll let the admiral know to keep an eye on it.”
“Come on, we need to go back to the bridge.”
Emmory led the way, the members of Team Two arrayed out around us as we made our way back through the chaos of the station.
“Your Majesty, Admiral Bolio is in her ready room.” Commander Nejem informed me. “She’s waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Commander.”
Hao leaned over the display, shoulder to shoulder with the admiral, as he pointed out the ships on the scan and I allowed myself a soft smile before I cleared my throat.
“Hail,” he said, and Admiral Bolio raised an eyebrow at the easy familiarity. “Not only did those pilots have info on the auto-fighters but they got scans from both sides of the fight. Come look.”
I joined them, following the path of Hao’s finger as he traced the battle out on the display.
“Two sets of Farian ships. One here. The other there on the far side of the binary stars.”
“And the freighter convoy in the middle. Bugger me,” I cursed. “Do we know which group fired first?”
“Based on the damage reports: the ones hidden behind the stars. Their opening salvo is what damaged the ships at the back of the convoy. It was the closer fleet that destroyed Commander Resnik’s barricade.”
“Can I say what everyone is thinking?” I asked, and heads nodded around the room. “One of those fleets is the Shen in the stolen Farian ships.”
“Without a doubt,” Admiral Bolio replied, her face grim. “They were shooting at each other, didn’t see us until it was too late.”
“No. They knew.” Hao crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “At least one of those captains knew, or worse, both of them did.”
“They just didn’t care that we were in the cross-fire,” I agreed. “I’d put credits on that one. This is two giants fighting on top of an ant pile. They’ll crush us without thinking twice about it.”
33
Over the next several days I met with wounded freighter crews and tourists from the passenger liner. I was part of endless meetings with the Matriarch Council via com links as we waited for the Farians to report back to us.
“It doesn’t make me feel any better. My gut is still screaming at me,” I said, leaning on the console in Admiral Bolio’s ready room.
“It also doesn’t answer the question of whether Shen forces were involved or just Farians,” Captain Saito replied. “It may make perfect sense that the two forces are Farians and Shen, but until we have confirmation we can’t rule out the possibility it was just the Farians. Shooting at each other, or at us—the end result is the same.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right,” I said with a sigh. “Fasé claims her people haven’t been anywhere near this sector, but we can’t discount it as an option. I’m waiting on a message to see if we can get any confirmation.” The look I shot Caspel’s screen had the GIS director wincing.
“It’s a lot of data and only two men, Majesty; you’re asking me to piece together ship IDs from only sensor data in the middle of a firefight,” he said over our private com link.
I checked the timer in the corner of my vision. “You’ve got less than three hours left. I want an answer before the Farians get back in touch with me so I know if they’re lying to my face.”
“I’ll see what I can do, ma’am.”
“Don’t see. Get it done, Caspel, or you’re not going to have the budget for anyone over there next year because I’m going to have to spend it all on this war.”
“Majesty, I’ll be right back,” Caspel said out loud, and I waved a hand in reply as his screen clicked off.
I tapped a hand on the console and glanced up at Alice’s screen; Fasé’s earlier warning about things backfiring on me was raging in my head. “I’ll say it if no one else is going to. I fucked up. If I hadn’t pushed for Fasé’s faction to be included in the negotiations, we wouldn’t be here.”
“Hail,” Alice protested. “You can’t know that for certain. The Farians have refused to even deal with the Shen up to this point; there’s no reason to believe they’d have reacted any differently.”
“Our people are dead, Alice. I am empress. It was my call. At least now if the Farians really did take a shot at our people, I can use it to force them into coming to the table.” The very words made me sick to my stomach.
“Either way, we’ll cancel the rest of the tour. As soon as repairs to the Hailimi are finished and the rest of Admiral Hassan’s reinforcements are here, I’ll head for Earth or for home.” Several people swallowed nervously at the hard look on my face. “The Farians and Shen wanted me involved. I hope they like what they’ve called up.”
There were grim looks all around, but no other protests as we wrapped the meeting up. I followed Admiral Bolio and Captain Saito to the door.
“How long until the repairs on the Hailimi are finished?” The damage to the Vajrayana had been mostly superficial, but a few of the hull plates had taken direct hits
from the Blue Diamond’s debris and the shipyard had the ability to fix them, so we’d decided to stay with the ship rather than transfer my things over to another Vajrayana.
“Five more days, a standard week at the most, Majesty.”
“See what you can do about shortening that. The replacement ships for our task group will be here tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The pair saluted and moved down the hallway, leaving me alone with Emmory.
I sighed and leaned into him for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
“For what, Majesty?” His gloved hand settled on my arm in a comforting gesture before I straightened.
Looking at him for a long moment, I shook my head and started down the hallway in the opposite direction from the naval officers. “I know you don’t want to go to Earth; it’s dangerous and nothing we’ve prepared for.”
Emmory chuckled. “I also know it’s necessary and you’re not just being unduly reckless.”
“When have I ever been reckless?”
“You punched an assassin, shot the king of the Saxons, jumped off the side of a canyon, hijacked a gunrunner’s ship—”
“I did not hijack it,” I murmured. “Hao was there because you told him to be, and he’d have given me the ship if I’d asked.”
Emmory ignored me. “—flew into the stronghold of Bakara Rai, personally led an assault on an occupied station—”
“Shiva, stop,” I said, laughing as I pushed him. Emmory caught my hand and stopped us in the hall.
“My point, Majesty,” he said, smiling at me, “is that this is my job and you don’t have to apologize for it. It was an unexpected twist to my life, but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the universe.”
“Are you trying to make me cry?”
“No, ma’am.”
“In my initial letter to President Hudson I told him you got to have the final say in security decisions for the summit.” I looped my arm through his and continued to my quarters. “If the Farians agree to this, I’m also going to insist that we all stay armed.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“I occasionally come up with them,” I replied with a grin that faded when I spotted Alba waiting for me outside my rooms.
She saw the look on my face and sighed. “You’re going to send me home, aren’t you?”
“The staff at the embassy can help me facilitate the peace talks if they happen,” I said, reaching for her hand.
“I know what you’re trying to do. You feel guilty about people dying and you’re going to try to get as many of us out of harm’s way as you can.”
I blinked at her. “Excuse me?”
“You always do this.” Alba’s eyes were dry, but there was a surprising urgency in her voice. “I didn’t fight you on Canafey when you made me stay there. I knew you were going into a war zone and I wasn’t suited for it, but this is exactly why you hired me. The embassy staff on Earth doesn’t know you as well as I do. Please don’t send me back to Pashati, ma’am. I am of more use to you at your side than I am back home.”
“Alba—”
“Majesty, she’s not wrong,” Emmory said, and I looked at him in surprise. “I know I agreed with you earlier on this, but it isn’t more work for us to watch after Alba, especially since she is usually by your side. And a pair of critical eyes for a situation this politically charged can’t be a bad thing.”
“Traitor,” I muttered, but it was with a laugh. “Wipe that smile off your face, Chamberlain, and I guess don’t pack your bags.”
We were fifteen minutes away from my deadline when Caspel commed me back. “You’re cutting it close, Director.”
“I know, Majesty. I’m sorry. We found it, though. Agent Paez was able to match IDs to one of the groups with the Farian ships that were stolen by the Shen. The other group appears to be regular Farian forces. We tagged their IDs coming through a port exchange near Sol.”
“Who fired first?”
“The Farians, ma’am. It was their opening salvo that caught the Blue Diamond.” Caspel frowned. It was a look I was starting to dread seeing on my intelligence director’s face, because it meant he was worried. “Here’s what’s weird, Majesty, and I can’t prove anything. Looking at the data, it looks as though someone was actively jamming the signal from the freighters and the passenger liner. The Farians shot as though they could clearly see the convoy, but the Shen?” He shook his head.
“They fired their answering salvo right into the middle of them. When our ships showed up it was too late.”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s why Captain Khalifa had to do what he did. Those missiles would have obliterated that passenger liner.” Caspel rubbed a hand over his face, sighing in frustration. “I’m old enough to admit that maybe I’m overly paranoid, Your Majesty, but this looks—”
“Like the Farians were trying to set the Shen up and using us to do it.” I finished his sentence and he nodded at me. “Bugger me. Tell Alice and Inana about the jammed signals, but no one else. I’ll notify President Hudson that we’re coming to Earth. We’ll leave as soon as things are wrapped up here.”
“Yes, Majesty.” Caspel dipped his head. “Ma’am?”
I raised an eyebrow at the tone. “Go on.”
“Be careful.”
“I will,” I replied with a smile, and disconnected the com.
The door to my rooms slid open and Stasia came through with a tray.
“Is Fasé’s family settled?” I asked with a smile.
“Yes, Majesty.” She nodded. “Do you need anything else?”
“No, I’ve got a com with the Farians in a few minutes, so it’s probably best you’re not in here anyway.” I winked at her and waved my hand. “I’ll serve myself; you go on and spend time with Fasé.”
“Yes, ma’am.” She disappeared back through the door and I poured myself a cup of chai. My com pinged, and I answered it. “Itegas Notaras.”
Adora nodded. “Your Majesty, if I may introduce Itegas Rotem.” The man at her side also nodded. He was tall for a Farian, with gray hair and the same piercing platinum eyes as Dio’s. He offered up a gentle smile, one that was well practiced and a total lie.
“Itegas.”
Adora cleared her throat. “Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that the loss of your people was a result of an altercation between our ships and the Shen. I’m terribly sorry, our crew had orders to shoot on sight. It’s no excuse, they should have been aware there were humans in the area.”
“Yes, it’s very curious their sensors didn’t pick that up.”
“We suspect the Shen were using our jamming technology.” Rotem lied easily. “The return fire from the Shen did the larger amount of damage, but we fired the first shot, Your Majesty, and will take responsibility for it.”
I kept my face blank. “We will speak with Chennai Pharma about the cost of replacing the freighters as well as the death benefits for their crews.”
“Of course, Majesty. We deeply regret this whole incident and will do whatever is necessary to help ease the burden.”
Had it not been such a precarious position, I’d be more impressed by the Farians’ ability to wrap a lie in the truth and present that gift as though it was something I should be grateful to receive. As it was, all I could do was smile at the pair and deliver my own strike.
“I want you and whoever else from the Pedalion you need to join me on Earth in two standard months for this peace summit. Fasé and her people will be there. So will the Shen.” I held up a hand before Adora could protest. “You asked for my help initially, Itegas, and thanks to your feud with the Shen my people have died, so you’ll deal with the fallout from that. You’ll sit down and talk to each other and we’ll figure out a way for everyone to live peacefully in this galaxy.”
The pair of Farians shared a look, a silent decision not to argue passing between them, and I kept in the breath I wanted to release. This wasn’t going to be easy, even with their cooperation, but at least the first step could go smoothl
y.
Smoothly. All it had required was the deaths of my people.
The slow burn of fury in my gut was alive and well, flaring brighter with Adora’s nod of agreement.
“Very well, Your Majesty. It’s not an easy task in front of you, but I wish you the gods’ blessing in your attempt.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
Disconnecting the com, I muttered a curse into the empty air and grabbed for my chai. “They weren’t the least bit upset about the fact that we destroyed their ships,” I muttered.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Farians had somehow engineered what everyone was now calling the Chennai Incident with the kind of cold precision I normally admired.
The question was: why?
I could assume it was because they wanted me mad at the Shen, that they wanted an excuse to get Indrana to back them in this conflict. I just still couldn’t figure out why. The Shen might have the tactical advantage if it was true the Farians couldn’t wrap their heads around mercenary tactics, but the Farians had the numbers and an obvious technological advantage if they could fool the Shen into shooting at a bunch of civilian ships that easily.
Muttering another string of curses in Cheng that would have shocked even my Ekam, I checked the time on Earth and cued up Ambassador Zellin’s com.
“Your Majesty.” Heyai’s assistant was a bright-eyed young man with long brown dreadlocks.
“Good afternoon, Jinga. I’d like to speak with Ambassador Zellin if she’s available?”
“She is, Majesty. Please hold.”
I drank the last of my chai while I waited and then smiled when the screen switched and Heyai shook her folded hands at me. “Your Majesty, it’s a great pleasure to speak with you.”
“Good afternoon, Heyai.” I returned the gesture. “I will start with an apology for making your life more difficult. I have a new message for President Hudson. Due to the incident that has occurred with freighters from Chennai Pharma, I have issued an ultimatum to the Farians and they have agreed. I will preside over the peace talks, which will involve two factions of Farians and the Shen. We will be there just as soon as we finish repairs on my ship and our reinforcements arrive from home. I’ve included a copy of the letter for you, and so you are up to speed I will be sending along a list of non-negotiable items we will require not only from the Solarians but from both the Farians and the Shen for these negotiations to proceed. I suspect more will be added onto that during our journey to Earth, so keep that list to yourself until I tell you otherwise.”
