by K. B. Wagers
“We will not abide by decisions made without our input.”
I smiled. “You will abide by whatever I tell you to abide by, Itegas Notaras, or you can leave now and deal with the Shen in your own territory. Your choice.”
“Why do you get weapons?” The question came from Aiz, leaning back in his chair with one arm hooked over the back. Mia sighed and shook her head.
“I get guns,” I said, staring Aiz down with a cold smile and putting a hand on the second SColt 45 I’d added on my left hip, “because I said so. You all wanted me in charge, this is what you get.
“After I am finished with the rules for these negotiations, I will go through each point on the lists. You are welcome to ask for clarifications on individual points, but you are not required to give any sort of answer at this time. Let’s begin.”
Six hours later, we’d been through the bulk of the demands on each side without further incident. Though the look Adora had shot in Fasé’s direction when I announced the dismantling of the Pedalion had been filled with pure hatred.
The Farian requirement of Shen sacrifices had been met by Aiz with little more than a grim look and a shake of his head. Mia, however, looked sickened. Neither of them had done more than blink at the number difference at all, though Kag had frowned.
“The final issue for the Shen is the matter of the soul of Javez Cevalla,” I said.
“What of it?” Adora snapped.
“The Shen would like it returned.” I gave her a warning look that had zero effect.
The glare she turned on Aiz could have melted plasteel. “You can have your father’s soul when the whole of the Pedalion lies dead and Etrelia is burning.”
“Those are acceptable terms as far as I’m concerned,” Aiz replied, laying a hand on Mia’s arm before she could respond, and I watched her sit back in her seat, the first hints of hatred finally showing on her face.
So she does care about getting her father back.
Adora glanced my way and thought better of whatever she’d been about to say, folding her gloved hands together on the tabletop.
I waited a beat and then nodded as I got to my feet. “The session is closed for the day. I suggest you all retire and start thinking about which points you are willing to consider. I will see you in the morning.”
The Shen and the Farians filed out. As soon as the room was empty I sank back into my chair and rubbed my eyes with my hands.
“Well done, Majesty.”
“That was the easy part,” I said, not looking up at Emmory. “Tomorrow when they reject all the demands out of spite? That’s when things get really fun.”
“Have a little faith,” Emmory replied.
“I ran out of that a long time ago. We’re talking about Indrana’s future here. One that takes a dramatic turn for the worse if these groups go to war.” I pushed to my feet. “I need a drink.”
My smati pinged from an incoming com link as we made our way up the stairs to my rooms. A quick glance at the ID showed Agent Paez’s information at the HCL facility, and I shared a look with Zin as I answered it. “Luis, hang on, I’m almost back in my rooms and I want to put you on the screen.”
“Yes, Majesty,” he replied.
Hao was leaning against the wall next to my door, legs crossed, and staring out the massive stained-glass window that overlooked the stairs. Gita was on the opposite side, pretending to ignore him. Poor Dailun sat in the middle and shot me a relieved look as he got to his feet.
I waved them into the room as I passed and transferred Luis’s com onto the screen.
“Majesty,” he said with a smile and a nod, his sharp dark eyes taking in the other occupants. “We’re good?”
“We are, what do you have for me?”
“The results of the scan of that Farian outpost we spoke about, ma’am.” Luis swallowed, a frown creasing his handsome face.
“Are you going to make me ask?”
“No, sorry, ma’am. It’s just—we were able to catch a glimpse as we moved the telescope. There’s not much there, but it’s enough for me to be able to tell you that it wasn’t any Farian ships I’ve seen before that hit the Persuor outpost.”
“Was it mercenaries?” I asked Luis.
He shook his head. “It was—I’ll just show you, Majesty. It’s easier.”
The screen split, showing the faint glow of the star behind the world where the Farian colony had been. A trio of ships, a design I’d never seen before, swooped in out of warp far too close to the planet for any sane pilot to be comfortable with.
“What the actual fuck,” Gita cursed from behind me. “What are those things?”
They weren’t normal Farian ships, with their rigid lines and sharp angles. These ships were designed for atmo, sleek as Indranan dolphins and so dark I could barely pick them out against the backdrop of space even with the light of the star. A blue light sliced out of each of them, stabbing down into the planet below with a precision no orbital bombardment could hope to match.
I was thankful for our visual, cold and clinical as it was, though I could all too easily imagine the chaos and pain down below. This was why there hadn’t been any survivors of the colonies. Less than five minutes of that awful light and everything the ground below was nothing more than a smoking ruin.
“Dark Mother preserve us.” Zin’s whispered prayer echoed into the silence.
I met Luis’s dark eyes. “You think it’s the Shen?”
“I don’t know who it could be, Majesty. It’s no Farian ship we’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not theirs. We don’t know enough about the Shen ships, though the design leans more toward their other ships than not. The alternative is that there’s a third player in this game, and I like that even less.”
“The Farians said they bombarded the colony from orbit.” I jabbed a finger at the screen. “That’s not the least bit like an orbital strike.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Gita said. “Nothing in development, not even a whisper that anyone in the galaxy is even thinking of building something with that kind of firepower.”
“If it is the Shen,” Emmory said, his voice a rumble of concern, “They’ve got a lot more firepower than they’ve been letting on.”
“If I had something like that, I wouldn’t be sitting here at peace negotiations,” I said, pointing at the ship and shaking my head. “Even if that’s the only ships they’ve got, they could put a serious dent in the Farians, no matter what kind of defenses they’re going up against.”
“Unless they only have the three.”
I turned to look at Hao. He was leaning against the edge of the couch, fingers tapping restlessly against the butt of the gun on his right leg. He gestured at the screen. “If the Shen only have those three, or for argument’s sake if the Farians own those ships and are crazy enough to attack their own people. That’s a good enough reason for keeping them as hidden as possible. If they flew them right at Faria they’d take a beating before they got to the planet. I can say that even not knowing what kind of defenses they have, because the same thing would happen if they flew on Pashati or Earth. I don’t care what kind of firepower you have on a ship, it doesn’t do you any good if you can’t get past the defenses to take a shot.”
“He’s right,” Gita said, the words filled with grudging respect. “So far they’ve hit outposts and colonies. Things well away from planetary defenses of any kind, or even large masses of ships. My vote is it’s the Shen, but we need more information.”
“Agreed,” Luis said.
“As weird as this sounds, I really hope that’s not some new alien race deciding to make our lives more difficult,” I muttered. “All right, we’ll table this for further investigation. Luis, get this info to Caspel. Tell him I want every available resource directed at finding out who owns those ships and how many of them there are. Dailun, you and Alba get on this. Hao’s busy with the money trail.”
“Done.” They all nodded at me. Luis signed off t
he link and I dragged a hand through my hair.
“Emmory?”
“Yes, Majesty?”
“I want to talk with Mia. See if Fasé can arrange that.”
“May I ask why?”
I leveled him with an imitation of his Look but was met with calm patience. “I want to talk with Mia alone. Aiz isn’t going to let me do that in the peace talks, but she might be more amenable.”
“I’ll speak with Fasé.” He left the room, exchanging words with Johar as she came in. I’d been privately relieved when Johar passed on the opportunity to head back to Pashati and instead came to Earth with us. Protocol or not, my gut felt better having her with us, and her reputation was equally helpful in keeping the more reckless mercenaries off Hao’s tail.
“Hail.” She tapped her fist on mine. “Perimeter is secure. Told Emmory he needs to have a word with the Marines on the southwest corner. They didn’t issue a challenge until I was well within killing range.”
“I’m sure he will.” I chuckled. Johar had taken it upon herself to run constant tests on the embassy’s security. I was sure she was giving the Marine in command constant heartburn, but it gave her something to do—and as I’d told Emmory the first night here, a bored Johar was a terror none of us needed to deal with at the moment.
“Speaking of the money trail,” I said, turning toward Hao and Dailun. “What’s the latest?”
Hao pulled a tablet from his pocket and handed it to me. “I hit up three more accounts. Same general payments with the final total in the vicinity of twenty trillion.”
Zin whistled. “That’s a lot of credits. Where are they getting that kind of money from?”
“Especially if we assume that they’re shelling out the same to the other mercs. Hai Ram.” I muttered. “They’re laundering an awful lot for no one to be talking.”
“I’m closing in on it,” Hao replied. “I can tell you we’ve narrowed the origin of the payments down to two different companies. They’re likely still fronts, but give us a little more time and we’ll know for sure who the source is.”
I passed the tablet over to Gita on my way to the couch; she glanced at it and then shook her head, her jaw tight with disapproval.
“What?” Hao’s demand was sharp.
“Why should we believe you?” Gita demanded. “I’m just looking at a bunch of routing numbers. All I have is your word they go to the banks and companies you’ve got on the list.”
Hao visibly gathered his patience. “I know how to track money, Gita. A little trust here would go a long way.”
“That’s funny coming from you.”
“Are we going to do this now?” Hao raised an eyebrow. “I don’t mind either way, just want to be sure you are okay with the audience.”
“We’re not going to do anything.” She tossed the tablet onto the nearby desk and headed for the door. “Come talk to me when you have some kind of proof that’s more than you wanting me to believe your word again.”
“This is awkward,” Johar muttered, low enough so only I could hear. “I wish they’d go back to having sex.”
My choked laughter earned me a glare from Hao, which I met with an innocent smile.
“A little help would be appreciated, Your Majesty.”
“You’re doing just fine on your own,” I said. “Go find some proof.”
Hao snatched the tablet up, muttering under his breath as he stormed out of the room.
40
Bugger me.” I set the cup of chai down, shaking the spilled tea off my hand with a second muttered curse.
“Stop pacing with a hot cup in your hand,” Alice said, and winked when I shot her a look.
“It helps me think.” Wiping the remains of the tea off on my pants, I picked up my cup again and resumed my pacing.
“With respect, Majesty,” Caspel said from the other half of the split screen. “It makes me a tad dizzy to try to watch you when Alice isn’t moving on her screen.”
“I would get up and pace with you, Majesty, but—” Alice gestured at Ravalina, the newborn sleeping peacefully on her chest, and smiled innocently.
“I have enough trouble here without you two ganging up on me also,” I replied, but I dropped into the desk chair, narrowly managing to avoid spilling a second time and sighed. “I cannot promise I won’t shoot every single person in that room today.”
This time Caspel’s smile was sympathetic. “I’ve seen the video of yesterday, Majesty; you held yourself together quite well under the circumstances.”
“Indranan lives are at stake, Caspel. I’m rather required to keep it together, I think.”
“Well, yes, but it doesn’t change the facts.”
The third day of negotiations had not gone well. Adora had met me at the door with an accusation of trying to undermine the negotiations by wanting to speak to Mia directly. How she’d found out about it I still didn’t know.
Not that I’d gotten to speak to Mia in the first place, because Aiz had interfered in that regard and sent me a nasty message about the need to speak with both of them or not at all.
Even Fasé had gotten in on the action yesterday and in the midst of the discussion about dismantling the Pedalion had earned herself not one but two warnings for calling Adora names I still couldn’t find a translation for.
They’d made Aiz laugh, though he wouldn’t tell me what Fasé had said and neither would Sybil.
I rubbed at the skin between my eyes with my free hand and sighed. “Thanks. I did get them to agree on a few things, so I guess that’s a success. We’ll see how today goes.”
“Keep after them,” Alice said. “I’ll talk to you later.” She disconnected her com and I turned my attention to Caspel.
“They don’t care about these negotiations.” I met Caspel’s surprised look and rolled my shoulders uncomfortably. “The Shen, I mean. Both Aiz and Mia are so calm. They haven’t gotten upset about anything at the table while the others are there. The confrontation yesterday about me wanting to speak with Mia alone had been the first time I’d seen Aiz even close to losing his temper since they’d recounted the story about the gods on the first day.”
“Go on.”
I closed my eyes a moment, recalling the last few days. “Adora is anxious. There’s a weight on her, and the other Farians in her group are equally tense. This is important to them, even though they’re not willing to cooperate. I honestly think that’s just their arrogance getting in the way.
“Fasé and her group are invested.” I scrambled for the right words to describe her easy smile and her intensity existing in the same space. “But they seem relaxed, like they—” I couldn’t stop my laughter. “Like they know what the outcome is going to be.”
“Which makes sense when you think about it.” Caspel nodded. “But you think the Shen are just playing along?”
“I think so. I can’t put my finger on it.”
Caspel was as diplomatic as he was good at spying and didn’t press me for more details. “It’s your gut, Majesty. Would there be an objection from the Farians or the Shen to having Johar in the room today? She’s as good as you are at spotting details others might miss.”
“After all that haranguing I got from Caterina about proper companions and who I should have conversations with?” I couldn’t resist the tease. “You’re telling me to have Hao follow up on leads and to put Johar in the middle of a politically charged situation. Are you trying to get me in trouble?”
Caspel rolled his eyes at the ceiling. “They have skills that happen to fall into these specific occasions, Majesty, and I am always in favor of the right tool for the job.” He grinned at me. “Besides, that was the matriarchs who were uneasy and while I don’t blame them, I do understand where you were coming from.”
“My sister knew what she was doing when she appointed you.”
Caspel’s smile was fond. “She would have been a good empress, Majesty. I hope you’ll forgive me for saying that I am glad you are here to handle this, thoug
h.”
“Forgiven.” I knew what he meant. My sister would have been overwhelmed by all this chaos. Domestic administration of an empire in peacetime was one thing; negotiating a truce between two ancient warring alien races was something else entirely. “And thank you.”
“Have a good day, Majesty. I look forward to reading your report this evening.”
I disconnected the com link and looked over at Gita. “He was being serious, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, ma’am. Caspel doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean.”
The door opened before I could reply and Johar poked her head in. “Kisah said it was okay.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder with a grin. “But if I’m interrupting I can come back.”
“No, come in,” I said. “I’ve got a question for you anyway. Do you want to do me a favor today?” I asked as she shut the door. “Or do you have something else planned?”
“I don’t, what do you need?”
“Alba’s still busy with Dailun. Come to the negotiations with me and watch. I want a second opinion on some things.”
“I can do that.” Johar gestured at her plain black tunic and pants. “Do I need to change?”
I laughed and held a hand out to her, pulling her into a hug when she took it. “No, never change.”
“I’d say the same to you, but you seem to be shifting in front of my eyes.” She murmured, hugging me back. “It’s not a bad thing, I think, but some days I miss Cressen.”
“Some days I miss her, too,” I admitted.
For reasons I couldn’t understand, Fasé’s contingent and the Shen were demanding land for the Shen on the Farian homeworld. Adora, obviously, rejected this the moment it was brought up, and the ensuing fight about it nearly disrupted the entire proceeding.
