Broken Worlds_Civil War

by Jasper T. Scott

  Tanik gestured vaguely to the facility behind him and Feyra. “There are exosuits in there. If you put them on before you travel to Tarsus, then nothing will happen to you. And you need to take the risk because the virus will not kill the Revenants. All it will do is incapacitate them and take away their powers. After that, we will have a window of opportunity to kill them ourselves and finally have our revenge.”

  Vartok’s eyes lit with interest, and he began nodding. “It will be satisfying to kill the Revenants ourselves. Very well, we will help you, but your plan had better work.”

  Tanik inclined his head to that. “Thank you, master.”

  “What does this android look like, and where can we find him when the time comes?”

  Chapter 36

  “We have ten minutes until we drop out of warp. We’d better go strap in,” Trista said.

  Cassandra turned to face her from where she stood by a broad, curving viewport in the Harlequin’s crew and passenger lounge.

  “Not yet,” Tanik replied. “Let’s go over the plan one last time. Gatticus you have the virus?”

  Gatticus patted his stomach and nodded. “All set.” He had two canisters of the virus stored in his utility compartment, each of them disguised to look like auxiliary power cells. The canisters would disperse their contents into the air one minute after their seals were broken, at which point the virus would fly through the air and infect the nearest viable host, just like the one they’d used on the Cygnian prisoner. The difference was, this batch of the virus was programmed with a timer to only activate in two days’ time, during the inauguration ceremony. Gatticus had the access codes to remotely adjust that timer in order to coincide with the ceremony, or to simply activate the virus if the timer failed.

  Tanik turned to Cassandra next. “What’s your story going to be when Darius asks where you’ve been hiding all this time?”

  “I’ve been hiding in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. That’s where I found Gatticus, who was also hiding there.”

  “Good. And you remember what I taught you about shielding your thoughts? We can’t afford for Darius or one of the other Revenants to find out about our plan by seeing it in your mind.”

  “I remember,” Cassandra said. Since successfully testing the virus on that Cygnian prisoner, Tanik had been working with her on the skill of shielding her mind. It had gotten to the point where she could compartmentalize certain thoughts and memories while revealing others, which would make it look to her father like she wasn’t trying to hide anything. As for Gatticus, he’d created an altered set of memories to coincide with their cover story. Once he switched data sets, their lies would become his truth, and he would forget all about their plot until Cassandra spoke the code word—Gakram—to reactivate him. That was a precaution against the possibility that the Revenants might scan his data core to verify their story.

  “Gatticus, how did you come to be in the warehouse?” Tanik asked.

  “Would you like me to answer the question from my current data set, or the altered data set?”

  “Do the cover stories differ between data sets?” Tanik asked.

  “They do not.”

  “Then use your current data.”

  “Very well. When I woke up after being cast away from the Deliverance, I found myself drifting in an Osprey with no fuel and no memory of how I’d come to be there. I cobbled together a comm probe from pieces of the transport and used it to make contact with Trista, a freelance pilot at a nearby fuel depot. She took me to Tarsus in exchange for fair payment.”

  Trista snorted. “Yeah, and I’m still waiting for that payment, by the way.”

  Tanik ignored her and nodded to Gatticus. “Go on.”

  “I went into hiding as soon as the Revenants took over, because I was afraid of what the people of Tarsus would do to me if they learned that I used to be an Executor for the Cygnians. Several months later Cassandra found my warehouse while trying to hide from Revenant patrols. I recognized her from my time on the Deliverance, so I helped her to hide, but she eventually grew tired of hiding and convinced me to turn myself in with her at the palace.”

  “And after that?” Tanik asked.

  “After we turn ourselves in, I will find a way to give one of the canisters containing the virus to Cassandra.”

  “Good. Cassandra, what will you do with the virus?”

  “I’ll sneak it into his room the night before the ceremony.”

  “And I’ll leave mine in another strategic location, in case hers fails,” Gatticus added.

  Tanik nodded along with that. “Trista, what about you?”

  She gave a dramatic sigh. “We’ve been over this a hundred times. My job is to sprinkle the courtyard with the little kakkers the night before. But you still haven’t told me how I’m supposed to do that with fek knows how many guards watching me from the palace.”

  “Let me worry about the guards. I’ll make sure they don’t see you. You just make sure that no one sees they’re standing on a thin layer of micro-machinery the next day.”

  “But you’re not even going to be there,” Trista fumed. “So how are you going to deal with the guards?

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be somewhere nearby. That will be good enough.”

  Trista snorted dubiously. “Better be. If I turn out to be the unwitting patsy in this plan, I’ll sing like a caropian war beetle and tell everyone that you were behind it.”

  Tanik smiled tightly at her. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  “And I will bite off each of your fingers and gnaw the meat from your bones while you watch!” Buddy declared from Trista’s shoulder.

  Silence hung in the air following that threat. Tanik regarded the furry ball of lard with his eyebrows raised.

  “Too much?” Buddy asked, glancing up at Trista.

  “No, that sounds about right,” she replied. “Let’s go strap in. We’ve got two minutes left before we arrive at Tarsus.”

  Tanik nodded and waited for her to lead the way to the cockpit, doing his best to act even-tempered and reasonable, when in reality he was boiling with rage and vengeful thoughts. Trista had been nothing but trouble since they’d met. If it weren’t for her and her suspicions, he never would have had to agree to be infected with his own virus. He was going to take special delight in killing her when the time came.

  * * *

  “Stand by for docking,” a gruff voice said over the comms.

  “Standing by,” Trista replied.

  Cassandra watched over her shoulder as an Osprey from the Tarsus Orbital Defense Fleet lined up its lower airlock with their upper one. A moment later the two airlocks met with an audible clunk and a barely perceptible jolt.

  Trista turned her chair away from her controls. As she did so, Buddy popped out of his custom-sized acceleration harness and sailed gracefully through the zero-G environment to land on her shoulder.

  “I still say we should have found a way to hide the three of you,” Trista said, nodding to Tanik. He stood leaning against the cockpit door, beside his empty seat. There was no point in any of them staying strapped in right now. Trista had been ordered to kill all thrust and forward momentum until the authorities could conduct a physical inspection of their ship and cargo.

  “Hiding won’t be necessary,” Tanik said.

  “What if someone recognizes you?” Trista countered. “Or Cassandra? She’s been missing long enough that by now the entire system should have seen her face.”

  “Remember the warehouse?” Tanik replied. “None of the patrols even set foot inside to search it, but I made them think that they had. This will be the same.”

  “You’re just lucky none of them recognized you. Those scars on your face are hard to forget.”

  Tanik nodded agreeably. “And my influence is equally hard to resist. The only person we need to worry about seeing me is Darius himself, and he is in the executor’s palace on the surface.”

  Trista didn’t look convinc
ed, but she said, “I hope you’re right.”

  “I am.” Tanik flashed a tight smile and left the cockpit without another word.

  Trista blew out a sigh and shook her head. “I don’t trust him.”

  Cassandra considered that with one eyebrow raised. “Why not? We’ve already infected him with the virus, and Gatticus can activate it any time. There’s nothing he can do to us.”

  Trista sighed. “Call it a hunch. No one gives up power willingly. He’s planning something. I’d bet my ship on it.”

  Cassandra wasn’t about to believe her without a good reason, but something deep inside of her urged her to listen. “Even if he is planning something, what can we do about it?”

  Trista snorted and shook her head. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to be ready to run to the deepest, darkest corner of the galaxy if I so much as suspect that things are about to go kakside up.”

  Cassandra thought about it. As far as backup plans went, that wasn’t a bad one. “You have any extra seats?”

  “Sure, why not. It might be helpful to have someone with your powers around.”

  “If I still have them after we release the virus.”

  “Here’s a tip. Wear an exosuit to the inauguration. Or pretend you’re sick and don’t go. You might have noticed that no one asked you to infect yourself ahead of time. All you have to do is avoid getting infected with everyone else.”

  “Hey, that’s a good point,” Cassandra said. “Why has no one asked me to get injected with nanites like they did with Tanik?”

  “Because you’re just a kid, kid. No one sees you as a threat. You’re too young and innocent.”

  “Thanks... I guess.”

  “Don’t mention it.” Trista turned her chair back to the fore and stabbed a button on one of her consoles. “Hey, Tanik, how’s it going back there?”

  When no answer came, Trista stabbed at her console again and said, “If you don’t answer me I’m going to—”

  “Everything’s just fine,” Tanik replied, his voice coming from directly behind them.

  Cassandra jumped and whirled around at the same time as Trista spun her chair back to look.

  “Where’s the boarding party?” Trista asked. “Don’t tell me they’re busy tearing my ship apart without any supervision!”

  “No, they’re standing in your airlock, staring at a wall.”

  “What... how? No, never mind. Why make them stare at the wall?” Trista asked.

  “Because anyone watching that patrol ship will expect a delay while our vessel is searched, and you don’t want them traipsing through your ship, so I thought staring at the wall would be a nice compromise.”

  “What happens when someone tries to contact them, and they don’t reply?” Trista asked.

  “They’re not unconscious. They actually think they’re searching the Harlequin right now. They’re in a trance. It’s something like sleepwalking, but without the walking part. They can still reply to their comms if they need to.”

  “I’ll take your word for it,” Trista said. “How long is this going to take?”

  “Half an hour seems about right,” Tanik said.

  “So what are we supposed to do while we wait?” Trista asked.

  Tanik shrugged but didn’t offer any suggestions.

  “I’m hungry,” Buddy put in. “What’s to eat?”

  “You’re always hungry,” Trista said.

  “I’m also hungry,” Tanik replied.

  “Me, too,” Cassandra added softly.

  “Where’s the galley?” Tanik asked.

  Trista fixed each of them with an incredulous look before throwing up her hands in exasperation and releasing her acceleration harness. “Next time you should all wait until someone starts shooting at us. That’d be a great time for a snack!”

  Buddy perked up at the suggestion. “Actually, I do get hungry when—”

  “Shut it, fur ball.”

  Tanik smiled and winked at Cassandra while Trista stormed out of the cockpit ahead of them.

  As they followed her to the galley, Cassandra found herself staring at the back of Tanik’s bald head and thinking that Trista was wrong about him. She had to be. Tanik was genuinely trying to save her father and the other Revenants from themselves—and save the rest of the galaxy from them. Why else would he work so hard to earn their trust? He was making the people who’d come to search their ship stare at a wall for half an hour, so he could definitely make Trista and Cassandra follow him around blindly if he wanted to. He didn’t need them to trust him if all he needed was to make them go along with his plan.

  Cassandra nodded to herself, reassured by that logic. Tanik was on their side. He didn’t have any hidden agendas.

  Chapter 37

  The palace loomed large and terrifying in the distance. Four spires rose high from the corners of the I-shaped edifice, tracing shadows against the night. The closer she got, the more Cassandra felt her footsteps dragging. She hadn’t seen her father in almost four months. What would she say to him when she returned? And more importantly, how would he react? The last time she’d seen him, he’d thrown her into a wall and knocked her unconscious for daring to talk back to him. What would he do to her now for daring to run away from home? Not that the Tarsian Palace could really be called a home, much less her home.

  “Is everything all right, Cassandra?” Gatticus asked, glancing briefly in her direction.

  “No,” she admitted, and gave her head a quick shake. “I’m scared.”

  “Because of the mission?”

  Cassandra’s eyes flared in alarm, and she looked around quickly to make sure none of the shadowy pedestrians walking by them had taken a sudden interest in their conversation. But none of them had. They were all walking with their heads down and faces hidden. “Because of my dad,” she explained. “He’s not the same anymore. Not since he started drinking that glowing water.”

  “I see. If it makes you feel better, you are not alone. Substance abuse changes people, and those changes can be frightening for their loved ones.”

  “Yeah,” Cassandra agreed. “The worst part is that he doesn’t seem to notice his own behavior. He’s nothing like he used to be.”

  “I am sorry for your loss,” Gatticus said.

  Cassandra fixed him with a puzzled look. Her loss. That was a strange thing to say about someone who was still alive, but Gatticus was right. In a lot of ways, her father was dead.

  They walked on in silence until the palace walls came into view, at which point Gatticus reminded her to watch her tongue and stick to the script Tanik had given them. “I’m preparing to switch data sets now,” he added. “Do you remember the activation word?”

  Cassandra nodded. “Yes.”

  “Don’t use it until you’re sure that it’s safe,” he added.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  Gatticus fell silent once more, and they walked on ahead for a few more minutes. Dead ahead, Cassandra glimpsed the palace and the moonlit courtyard through the bars of a giant metal gate.

  When they were just a few dozen meters away, Gatticus glanced at her. “It’s not too late to turn back. We were safe in the warehouse.”

  Cassandra arched an eyebrow at him. His memory swap must have taken effect already. “We can’t hide there forever, Gatticus.” Turning back to the fore, she saw two Revenant soldiers in black armor come swirling out of the shadows around the palace gate. A giant red and white hologram blazed to either side of them, advertising the time and date of the inauguration. It would be held in the courtyard tomorrow evening.

  “Halt,” one of the soldiers said as they came within a dozen feet of him. “The palace and courtyard are closed. Assuming you have legitimate business here, you’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

  “Do you know who I am?” Cassandra asked.

  “Should I?” the soldier challenged, his gaze inscrutable behind his helmet. His head dipped up and down as he looked her over. “You are a Revenant,” he conclud
ed.

  He must have seen the sword sheathed on her back.

  “I am the Emperor’s daughter, Cassandra Drake,” she replied.

  The two soldiers glanced at each other, then back to her. They hesitated, probably comparing her face to whatever records they had. A split second later, both soldiers dipped their heads in a shallow bow. “My apologies. It has been many months since you left, My Lady. Your father will be pleased to see that you have returned.” The soldier’s helmet turned a few degrees to the side until he was staring directly at Gatticus.

  “And who is...” Suddenly both soldiers drew their swords. “You brought an Executor with you?” They must have sensed the void where his presence in the zero-point field should have been.

  “I am no longer an Executor,” Gatticus replied. “And the Union no longer exists. You have nothing to fear from me.”

  “He is an old friend,” Cassandra said. “My father and I owe him our lives. His name is Gatticus Thedroux. Go ahead and ask. My father will want to see him too.”

  “One moment please.” The soldier appeared to freeze. A few moments later he began nodding in response to whatever conversation was going on inside his helmet. “You have both been cleared to enter the palace, but we’ll need to scan you first.”

  A fan of blue light flickered out from the top of the gatehouse, passing over her and Gatticus from head to toe. As it finished, a green light winked on above the gate, and a pleasant chime sounded. In the next instant, the gate began to rumble open, sliding up like the portcullis of an ancient medieval castle.

  “This way, My Lady,” the soldier said, and gestured to the rising gate. “Your father is eager to see you both.”

  Cassandra’s stomach fluttered with a conflicting mixture of hope and dread. Maybe she’d been worrying for nothing? Maybe her dad wasn’t as far gone as she’d thought.

  * * *

  Darius watched as his daughter and Gatticus, of all people, approached his throne with the guard who’d received them at the palace gates. He’d considered receiving them in a less forbidding environment, but Cassandra had wasted a lot of time and resources by making them search for her. She didn’t deserve a warm welcome. As for Gatticus, he was an android that could be programmed to commit any crime, and Darius couldn’t simply read his thoughts to determine his agenda like he could with Cassandra. Androids and other non-biological lifeforms were uniquely dangerous in that respect.