Michael Cobley - Humanity's Fire book 1

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by Seeds of Earth


  breath.

  Was that Segrana} she thought. What did it mean by

  'join? Then she remembered something else - 'Two of

  their servants arrived last night. . .'

  She shivered in the fading light. Nivyesta's orbit

  would soon be carrying this part of Segrana into night-

  time but for now some sunlight filtered down from

  above, striking gleams and glitters from the raindrops

  that had fallen while Catriona had been in the vodrun.

  And she thought about how it was dark and shadowy

  down on the forest floor, and found herself imagining

  soft-footed intruders skulking through the undergrowth,

  weapons in hand and malice in their eyes.

  Still seated on the high, narrow platform, she hugged

  her knees and tried to think.

  37

  THEO

  To get to Sundstrom's villa, Theo had to go with three

  security guards through the adjacent property's grounds

  to avoid the dozen or more reporters camped outside the

  villa's main gate. It was overcast and unseasonably mild

  this early in the morning, with the promise of more rain

  to follow last night's succession of showers.

  It had been raining steadily by the time Theo and

  Donny Barbour and the others had reached the Port

  Gagarin terminal, only to find it sealed off, jumpy local

  police and DVC soldiers covering every exit, while all

  flights had been grounded. They soon found out why,

  which contributed to Donny's ill humour, itself sharp-

  ened by news that the DVC squad assigned to Kuros

  had been disarmed on the say-so of the Earthsphere

  ambassador and were being interrogated by Brolturan

  officials and officers. Nothing Barbour could say was

  enough to get him through the cordon - the comm

  system hubs might have been out but the order had

  apparently come through on one of the old landlines,

  express instructions from the deputy-president to allow

  the Brolturans to conduct an investigation unhindered.

  Theo had been astonished to hear this and only a

  little more surprised at Barbour's cold and impassive

  response.

  'The port is theirs,' he had said in low, clipped tones.

  'No point in staying here - we should get back to

  Hammergard.'

  He had then turned and strode off back to the spin-

  nercar, followed by Theo, Rory and Janssen. Pausing

  by the car, Donny tried his comm once more, got noth-

  ing, weighed it in his hand for a second before hurling it

  with sudden violence against a nearby brick wall, where

  it shattered into pieces. Saying not a word, he calmly

  opened the driverside door and got in. Janssen merely

  arched his eyebrows for a moment, but Rory had

  grinned and nodded. 'Ah wiz worried there,' he had said

  as they climbed in and Donny drove off.

  Once back in his apartment, Theo had made for the

  lounge, thinking to check a news channel on the vee, but

  then exhaustion started dragging at him with a hundred

  hands and he had found himself swaying on the spot.

  J may be a fit fifty-year-old, he thought. But I'm still

  fifty.

  Almost without thinking, he had staggered into his

  bedroom, where he fell asleep fully clothed.

  Until he was roused by an insistent hammering on his

  door about three hours later. It turned out to be a gov-

  ernment courier with a handwritten note from

  Sundstrom pleading with him to come to the villa for a

  'crucial advisory meeting'. Bleary-eyed, he had starec

  at the note and the courier, then sighed.

  'Right . . . okay . . .' He jabbed a thumb over his

  shoulder at the kitchen. 'Coffee's in the brown jar,

  beakers are on the board - I'll be having a shower.'

  'It's all right, sir. I don't want anything to drink.'

  'It's for me, laddie - my need is greater than yours!'

  Now he was following one of the security guards

  through a cleverly masked gap in the hedge then along

  the side of the villa to a porticoed side entrance. Theo

  wondered what would be on the agenda as he was

  shown into a dim passage then up a flight of stairs. It

  wouldn't be hard to guess, going by the radio reports

  he'd heard during the drive here. It seemed that the

  Brolturans had determined that the Darien soldier who

  assassinated their ambassador had died in a grenade

  explosion only moments after the murder. Some of the

  DVC soldiers present had been released into the

  Office of Guidance's custody while a few others were

  still being questioned at the terminal. In addition, the

  Brolturans were fortifying the Hegemony embassy on

  the basis that the next ambassador would be based

  there. The perimeter wall had been heightened overnight

  in several places and various mysterious devices were

  being installed at intervals around it. Local residents

  also reported the comings and goings of small transport

  craft; it was not known if the Brolturans had obtained

  permission to overfly Hammergard. Staff at Port

  Gagarin air traffic centre were said to be tight-lipped

  about the matter.

  I'll bet, he thought as he was escorted up to the

  second floor. No one wants to look a fool, especially

  when it might make your boss look one too.

  Moments later he was ushered into Sundstrom's

  office, exchanging nods of greeting with Pyatkov and

  Donny Barbour, who were already seated at a small,

  ornamental table occupied with heavy-bottomed glasses

  and a bottle of Urquhart. A wood-cabinet vee was mur-

  muring in the corner, showing Macroscope, the 24-hour

  news channel.

  'So, has the Hegemony taken over yet?' Theo said,

  pouring himself a drink. 'Has Horst finally caved in?'

  Pyatkov's smile was thin. 'Not really. The Brolturans

  are pushing the "we are the victims" line and Starstream

  are giving them plenty of coverage, along with Kuros

  and Horst, who are playing the compassionate sympa-

  thisers' role for all it's worth. The Purifiers commander,

  this Father-Admiral Dyrosha, even gave an interview -

  on Starstream, of course - expressing his outrage that

  peaceful Brolturans were slaughtered by, quote "savage set-

  tlers", unquote.'

  Theo stared at the intelligence chief. 'He really said

  that? - "savages" plural?'

  'The father-admiral was quite concise in his mean-

  ing,' Pyatkov said.

  'Savages,' Theo echoed. l]a, and we know who

  brought them here! Why don't we go get some of those

  reporters in here and tell them who really has been

  behind all of this?'

  Donny laughed, but Pyatkov was unimpressed.

  'Because we have no proof that the Hegemony has sent

  Humanlike agents among us . . .'

  'Apart from Mr Olgren and his singular tattoos," cut

  in Donny.

  'Who's now lying in the morgue,' Pyatkov said.

  'Aye, in pieces.'

  Theo glanced from one to the other. 'What's this

  about Olgren? How did he die?'

  'Dismembere
d,' Donny said with a savage relish as he

  refilled his own glass. 'Seems they tattoos weren't just

  for decoration . . .'

  'My officers had brought him to the OG detention

  centre and were taking him to Processing when he col-

  lapsed on the floor, yelling and gasping,' Pyatkov said.

  'Those tattoos were starting to constrict his neck, arms

  and ankles.' He grimaced. 'Suddenly there was blood

  everywhere and his escort were looking at a dismem-

  bered corpse.'

  'My God,' murmured Theo.

  'Tells ye one thing, though,' said Donny, looking

  straight at Theo. 'These people mean business.'

  'That may be so,' said Pyatkov. 'But certain events

  seem to have no rationale, like the rifle left behind after

  the Giant's Shoulder shooting. They must have known

  that someone would have traced the scope to High

  Lochiel and eventually to that rooming house.' He

  shrugged. 'Was that what it was all about, setting up an

  elaborate trap? I cannot be sure but my instinct says

  no.'

  Donny hunched forward. 'There's no doubt that all

  those attacks were supposed to exhaust the OG's

  resources and divert its attention. Add to that the really

  convenient comm hub blackout earlier, along with the

  security cameras in the Bay 2 lounge having their plug

  pulled just before the Brolturans arrived.'

  'Horst requested that,' Pyatkov said sourly.

  'Prompted by Kuros, no doubt.'

  Theo snorted. 'So there's no record of what hap-

  pened.'

  'Apart from the one apparently made by one of

  Reskothyr's retinue,' Donny said. 'Which they've

  promised to release to the news media later today - oh,

  and to us, in the spirit of cooperation.'

  'So where's Sundstrom?' Theo said.

  'Trying to cope with a political crisis,' said Pyatkov.

  'Storlusson, the master-provost of Trond, has told him

  that if he cannot restore order and persuade the

  Brolturans to withdraw their troops, the Northern

  towns may reform their League as a temporary security

  measure. Also, he is facing a vote of no confidence when

  the Assembly meets in emergency session in a few hours.

  The Consolidation Alliance are pressing him hard while

  certain elements of his Civil Coalition are badly shaken."

  'Could he lose?' said Theo.

  'It's on a knife-edge - there's a handful of Legators

  who are certain to switch to the Consies if he can't sta-

  bilise the situation. If that happens and he then lost the

  vote, he would most likely step down in favour of

  Jardine. Holding an election under these circumstances

  is unthinkable . . .'

  'Jardine,' Donny said with undisguised distaste. 'That

  windbag . . .' :

  Just then, the other door opened and Sundstrom

  entered in his wheelchair. He looked as if he had aged in

  the hours since Theo last laid eyes on him, yet a kind of

  dogged tenacity still burned in those embattled features.

  'Gentlemen,' he said, steering his chair over to their

  table. 'Thank you for coming at such short notice, and

  my apologies for shortening your sleep.'

  'Sleep?' Donny said to Theo. 'What's that again?'

  Theo grinned while Pyatkov kept a stone face.

  'I've read Vitaly's report on Olgren, which I assume

  the both of you are privy to,' the president went on.

  'What none of you know is that you're here to witness

  the conference call I am about to take with Ambassador

  Horst and the High Monitor Kuros. Depending on the

  outcome, we may have to adjust our short-term tactics.'

  He leaned forward to pour himself a generous measure

  of Urquhart and knocked it back in a single gulp. He

  exhaled pleasurably through gritted teeth and set down

  the glass. 'My doctor will be most displeased. And now,

  gentlemen, as my father used to say - it's showtime!'

  He propelled his chair over to his desk, fingered its

  control pad and picked up his comm while turning to

  face the pair of view screens that had come to life above

  the low bookshelves at his back.

  'My friends, could you move that way, out of the

  screens' two-way sensors?' Then into the comm he said,

  'Is that it? Good, then you may put them through.'

  A moment later the screens blinked, one after

  another, and presented the faces of Robert Horst and the

  Sendrukan Utavess Kuros. Sombre greetings were

  exchanged, although Theo thought that Horst seemed

  the least grave of all three.

  'Ambassador, High Monitor - I am sure we are all

  aware of the despicable act that took place at Port

  Gagarin last night, and may I reiterate my sorrow and

  condolences for the victims and their families.' He

  paused a moment. 'As you might realise, the events of

  the last few days have had repercussions for my govern-

  ment, especially me. I can tell you that the death of

  Ambassador Reskothyr has brought things to a

  head ...' And he laid out the details as Theo and Donny

  had been told a short time before.

  'A tricky situation, Mr President,' said Horst. 'If I

  may be blunt, if you were to stand down, would Mr

  Jardine be able to form a stable government? Is that

  what this call is about?'

  'No, sir - Deputy-President Jardine would be unable

  to maintain the Civil Coalition, thereby losing his

  majority in the Assembly and facing his own vote of no

  confidence, which he would inevitably lose. While this is

  happening, Trond and her neighbouring towns would,

  I've been assured, re-establish the Northern League, trig-

  gering protests, arrests, expulsions and general civil

  unrest. Any attempt to run a general election amidst

  such upheaval would be almost impossible, and the full

  consequences would of course be broadcast for all to

  see.'

  Both the offworld diplomats were now soberly atten-

  tive.

  'What this call is about is my persuading you, High

  Monitor, to withdraw the Brolturan troops, and you,

  Ambassador, to provide Darien Colony with, say, a

  company of Earthsphere marines to assist my govern-

  ment in maintaining security and stability, as well as

  deepening ties with the homeworld. What do you say?'

  Theo exchanged astonished looks with Donny and

  Pyatkov.

  A hard gleam had entered the Sendrukan's gaze. 'This

  is scarcely diplomatic language, Mr President. Father-

  Admiral Dyrosha would be far less understanding than I.'

  Sundstrom smiled and nodded, all evidence of his

  earlier fatigue seemingly vanished. 'High Monitor, I

  agree that my recommendation lacks the diplomatic

  niceties, but I am sure that the honourable father-admi-

  ral will understand it if you tell him clearly. If you as yet

  remain unconvinced by my determination, then let me

  acquaint you with some recent developments. Last night

  my security service detained a man known to be a

  member of the Free Darien Faction, a man whose body

 
was decorated with bands of tattoos. Soon after he was

  taken into custody, these tattoos turned into some kind

  of implants which then constricted, dismembering him

  in minutes, so that he quickly died of blood loss and

  shock. Analysts tell me that these skin implants can only

  have come from offworld, which forces me to conclude

  that Darien's internal affairs are being interfered with.'

  Are you accusing the Hegemony of responsibility for

  this incident, for which you have presented no proof?'

  said Kuros.

  Sundstrom shrugged. 'To be honest, High Monitor, I

  don't know what to think. However, in a few minutes I

  shall be holding a press conference, and if I have to

  announce my resignation I shall tell the reporters why in

  detail, including a coroner's report on the FDF agent's

  body and additional testimony from my analysts.'

  'Sir, this behaviour is outrageous!' said Horst.

  'Indeed it is, Ambassador, but when you have a weak

  hand you have to make every card count.'

  Theo grinned, enjoying this display of old-fashioned

  political rough-house.

  'You have a talent for negotiating, Mr President,' said

  Kuros. 'Let me first put your mind at rest regarding

  Hegemony involvement in any insurgent activities here

  on this world - we Sendrukans do not engage in illegal

  activities that would threaten stability. That said, I do

  feel that, on reflection, your proposals have considerable

  merit. I am certain that Father-Admiral Dyrosha can be

  persuaded to draw down the Brolturan peacekeepers. I

  am likewise sure that Ambassador Horst can easily see

  how continued stability can only be beneficial to all con-

  cerned.'

  For a moment Horst's face stared blankly from the

  screen. Then he blinked and life came back into his fea-

  tures. .

  'Well, eh . . . if my Sendrukan colleague is willing to

  persuade . . . persuade the Brolturan commander to

  scale back the troop presence, that puts matters in a dif-

  ferent light. In the interests of cooperation and stability

  my remit would allow me to offer the kind of military

  assistance previously mentioned.'

  'Your words are most gratifying, gentlemen,'

  Sundstrom said. 'You have no objection to my announc-

  ing the main points of our accord to the waiting

 

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