by Reiter
“That isn’t necessary,” Valian said softly.
“Will you tell me how to run matters in my house?” the woman snapped.
“He might at that,” Annodia replied. “This is Valian Styrke, Ward to the Duke of Jhormynn.”
“Ahh, so this is the reason why Myldrique has been drowning his sorrows as of late. You are the new governor.”
“I am, milady...”
“Suttara, but I am no Lady.”
“I would more than argue that point,” Valian returned, giving the woman a slight bow.
“Charming,” she thought. “... and smoother with the delivery than most his age.
“I am sure it would be a rigorous debate, but even with that declaration, I pay you tribute. How I run my house is still my province.”
“So it is,” Valian bowed deeply.
“And to that point... we are waiting, Karlia.”
“My apologies, your lordship,” Karlia said, bowing with flaring nostrils and tightening jaws.
“Hmmm, perhaps we should call it a work in progress,” Valian remarked and Suttara giggled. “Is there a place where we can discuss business?”
“So that’s what lies behind those eyes,” she said softly, turning on her heels. “My office is this way.” Her strides were slow but smooth, possessive of an awareness and a grace that made Valian smile back at Annodia.
“You see something you like, milord?”
“Always,” he replied, looking at his squire as his expression turned warm... before surprise registered on Valian’s face.
“And where did that come from?!” he thought, managing to slowly turn and follow after Suttara. “Where the hell did that come from?!”
“Right this wa–” Suttara opened the doors to her office to see another stranger standing behind her desk. Three of her guards we unconscious and stacked one atop the other against the wall. “What in the name of the known worlds is this?!”
“Oh, that is my associate, “ Valian said, entering the office. “Find anything of interest?”
“Like most Imperial citizens, Suttara knows how to use a computer, but she isn’t computer savvy,” Kethgeegan relayed. “Her security was fairly easy to crack. The room is safe.. now, and her guards are pretty good. Couldn’t sneak by all of them. Had to lay three of them out.
“Anyway, you were right,” he continued. “... she’s got an arena. It is literally underground in the adjacent building. It does about as much business as her smoke house, but nothing moves the Imperial credits like the gambling and the betting. It’s still small-time, but it’s got potential.”
“What are you playing at, Ward?” Suttara asked sharply.
“First of all, let us drop every measure of pretense,” Valian said, walking behind her desk. Kethgeegan moved out of the way and Valian pulled out the chair, smiling up at the woman. “Why don’t you have a seat?”
“Mother, you never mentioned anyone like him,” Suttara thought as she walked to her chair. As she sat down, Valian gently pushed her forward to her desk.
“Had to lay them out, eh,” Annodia asked of Kethgeegan.
“Yes... why?”
“Because the meat of this unconscious sandwich isn’t cooperating.”
“Let’s get all three of them out,” Valian directed.
“Go with them, Ironhead,” Suttara commanded and she waited for all five to leave her office. “I’m all ears.”
“You’re a criminal,” Valian started. “And I would be within my rights to level this building and drive you out of my city, if not arrest you outright and usher you into servitude. But you knew that already.”
“Then why did you say it?”
“Because while I know of you, I don’t know you... and you certainly don’t know me,” he replied. “Cutting to the chase, I don’t want to do any of those things.”
“Good to hear. What do you want?”
“Tribute.”
“I already pay tribute.”
“You pay the tribute of a citizen and business owner,” Valian clarified. “But this is my territory now, and everything that moves through my territory should pay tribute to me.”
“That kind of news is going to upset a lot of–”
“I could care less about who this upsets,” Valian interrupted. “Fairly soon, the Duke will have a garrison at the old mountain castle. We will see what sort of agreement capital that will give me.” Valian started for the door. The seed had been planted... he just needed to see if a weed was going to come along and try to choke the plant. “What I need is someone to run this side of operations for me.”
“And you’re looking at me,” Suttara stated.
“I like the way you run your house,” Valian commented. “You can send your tribute by way of Karlia. We’ll see if we can get a better apology out of her over time.” Valian left the office and the establishment soon thereafter.
Annodia waited until they were out of the city before speaking. “And what is going to come of this?”
“First, we must complete the vetting process,” Valian stated. “I told her we were weak at the castle. If she is loyal to her ambitions, she will warn me if anyone wants to pay us a visit. If she is loyal to the guilds, she will alert the proper people. Those are not the only two options, but I believe she will choose one or the other... perhaps both.”
“And we’ll learn who those people are either way now that we’ve put the Twins’ box inside her computer,” Kethgeegan added.
“Unless she uses the Energies to transmit the message,” Annodia pointed out.
“That would be an entirely different type of guild and if they are involved, they won’t send assassins because Valian’s too valuable a contact.”
“So I guess we wait.”
Valian shook his head ‘no’. “No, Annodia, we don’t wait... we train. The days are going to pass much more quickly than we want.”
Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it.
Winston Churchill
(Rims Time: XI-4903.20)
“Nine months,” Valian thought, wading through the multitude of people who had gathered for the event. “For three-quarters of a year my parents have been away from their home.”
Valian could certainly appreciate the passage of time. It was a perspective that he believed he was beginning to understand. In six months he had gone from training to master the many skills of a KnighT to being a fairly prominent figure in the workings of the Black Market on the moon of D’Quarr. It had taken time, and on several occasions it had almost cost him several retainers.
Suttara had established where her loyalties lay: with Suttara. Valian had established himself as a potential player in a game she had come to master. She played both ends against the middle, placing herself in a position where she would side with the last one standing. She told her superiors of Valian’s arrival and his demands... she then told Valian of their intentions. It was a masterful maneuver that Valian appreciated and accepted.
The resources of the organizations headquartered in Imperia were impressive but fairly unorganized. They had tripped over one another trying to get to Valian, and it had made their operatives all too easy to dismiss from the playing field.
Myldrique had been pulled out of the bottle and made Valian’s Lieutenant Governor, a position he would quickly come to relish. The given description of his job had been the deciding factor: “... all the power and a fraction of the responsibility of your former position... with a raise in salary”.
Eventually, attempts to breach the castle at Bulrayne had risen to the point to where action had to be taken. In one visit to Imperia, the focus of the discussion had been suddenly shifted from what to do about Valian to what to do with the man. After all, identities had been discovered; those who were in positions of power could continue to wear their masks and operate under colorful names, but the KnighT of Jhormynn had made it clear he knew who they were... it had been unnecessary to state the obvious implications.
But
it had helped matters greatly that Valian had fought his way to the bargaining table with distinction... but once there, he had brought credits along with the blood of those who had been sent against him.
Now Myldrique had seen to the township and Suttara had been entrusted with Valian’s more shady aspirations. His tribute was brought to him every week by Karlia who was proving to be a most interesting project. She had yet to render a satisfactory apology, but her weekly visits to the castle had grown from visitations taking an hour to those that took all night.
Valian surprised many, bringing Karlia along to Calrios. The simple truth was that the woman looked good in fine clothing and expensive affectations without being too much of a bother. Having her around also meant Valian could rely on his full numbers, which had grown by three. None of the recent additions had been brought from D’Quarr.
As the young KnighT’s thoughts returned to the moment, a smile formed on his face. He applauded right along with the gathered masses who were watching on the gigantic scrying device. “Almost nine months to the day. But at last, it is done. Congratulations, Father.”
The image on the screen held the attention of many, but not all of the attendants were glued to the view-port. Such was to be expected. Most of the gathered people had their eyes on the deck where the Duke’s Proxy and children stood, though even they were not the center of attention. The majority of attention was delivered to the Imperial Empress, Pelania Maradia Guysor-Primuson, and her reactions to the event.
For the young KnighT, the Empress was something of an oddity. She had, of course, been embraced by MajiK and was therefore sustained by the Energy. She had been married to the Emperor for a little over thirty years, but she would not have children with him for at least another sixty years, so that the incantations worked on her body during her conditioning would be permanent and locked into the essence of the woman. Still, she had to perform the duties of an Empress, and while the Emperor was lord and master of the Empire, the Empress was responsible for those things that could be considered the expressions of the kingdom. The largest and most powerful corporation in the Inner Rim was one of those expressions. Therefore, the Empress was the Chief Executive Officer of New Eden Technologies and for her, today was indeed worthy of celebration. At an open session of the Interplanetary Amalgamation, the Inter-Rim Accords were being signed into law.
The Duke and Duchess were attending an event on the planet Vastion, the heart of the Terran Triangle, often considered to be the capital of the Middle Rim. Surrounded by dignitaries of the IA, Vaiyorl and Guysorla were not boastful in their presentation, but they had also managed not to be outshined. It was common for the wife to take a position a few meters behind her husband, unless she was the principal dignitary, but Vaiyorl kept his wife at his side and catered to every door that needed to be opened and every chair that required pulling out. The Empress was delighted by the way the Duke addressed his wife without having to say a single word.
On Calrios, the Empress had decided she would celebrate this moment with the Duke’s Proxy and his family. It was an event of the highest magnitude... and the Proxy could think of no one better to oversee security than the Duke’s Ward.
“Like anyone is going to get close to the Empress with her guard,” Valian thought as he walked over the grounds. He had counted three Dreadnaughts – each with a protégé of some sort and a Shatter Caster –along with at least a three score of the Imperial Palace Guard. “It would take a battle cruiser just to get into scanning range!” But it was with that thought that Valian stopped. “I can’t believe I did that,” he thought, opening a comm-link line to Travis. “I’m taking on too much... going in too many directions... things are getting missed. The Empress has come to the estate for a visit and I don’t ask a Seer if there is something I need to be concerned with?!”
“Hello, Valian,” a synthetic voice came over the line. It was the tone dedicated to Tacita’s computer. “Things are moving so fast right now, I have to leave this message. Travis has collapsed!”
“No!” Valian whispered, pressing his finger to his ear so that he could hear every word of Tacita’s message.
“The only thing he said before falling unconscious was ‘cut fish’. Neither Thomas or I know what it means, and Thomas wants us to break cover. I told him to wait on your response. Send Green to keep cover and Red to break it.”
Valian looked at the data regarding the message. It was over two hours’ old. He sent the reply ‘green’ to both Tacita and Thomas and then started looking around the grounds.
“Of all things,” he thought as he started to move away from the crowd. “My father hated fish.” Valian stopped walking as something became clear to him. “But Travis used the term anyway. Thomas and Tacita also don’t know what it means... but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a Marine thing.
“Sandra, I need you on the line,” Valian radioed while sending a message to the Imperial Security Grid requesting the Duty Officer of the Empress’ watch.
“I’m here, Val,” Sandra responded, “... whaddaya need?”
“Looking for information, Chief, if you’ve got it. Does the term ‘cut fish’ mean anything to you?”
“Sure does,” the woman answered. “When you’re a serious fisherman and you want to fish for longer than you’ve got bait, you take the small fish that you’d normally throw back. You cut ‘em up to use as bait. Depending on where you’re dipping your hook, you tend to get some real nasty fish that way. We’re talking predators.”
“Small fish,” Valian thought. “Ones you normally throw back... but don’t... like when the Empress is visiting. Everyone is held until they are fully vetted!”
“This is the Duty Officer, who am I speaking with?”
“Thanks, Chief. Send a Code Red Alarm to the retainers,” Valian commanded before switching channels. “Duty Officer, this is Valian Styrke, Ward of Duke Vaiyorl.”
“Give me tone and code for vocal recognition,” the man requested.
“Valian Styrke,” he repeated. “Code is Featherhorn, seven, nine, six.”
“That code clears. What can I do for you, sir?”
“Have there been any apprehensions or detainments on the Jhormynn Estate premises since the Empress’ arrival?”
“Checking. No sir, no arrests reported to this station.”
“Duty Officer, we may be dealing with a very real threat here,” Valian stressed. “Contact the officer responsible for forwarding such reports to you and verify, please.”
“At once, sir!”
Valian looked around the grounds again, a stern frown on his face. He could feel Annodia come running to his side and he turned to greet her.
“Annodia, my brother said he was going to move the constable station,” he started.
“That he did,” she confirmed. “He never got back to any of us on where that was going to be. “I’ll see if I can get a constable.”
“Thank you,” Valian said, looking to the Northeast and the Southwest several times.
“If you don’t have the numbers to move against the Empress,” he thought. “... then you must have the right kind of weapon... something that does not need to hit her to kill her... a bomb... a very powerful bomb.
“No,” Valian quickly shook his head as the memory of the conversation he had with Duke Vaiyorl returned to his mind. “How it looks to not have your house affairs in order. The goal is not to harm the Empress, but to disgrace the House Jhormynn!” The sound of a link request sounded in his ear.
“This is Valian.”
“Sir, this is the Duty Officer. We have–”
“Send me the coordinates of where they’re being held!” Valian snapped as he started running to the West side of the property. There was little chance that the holding facility was anywhere near the seaside of the estate. “All hands, I need fast-movers, and I need them an hour ago! Sending you the coordinates for the rendezvous.”
Rounding the bend of the manor, Valian could see a number of the Hou
se Guard and half a dozen constables standing around five men who had been restrained and were on their knees.
“We’ve got another incoming,” a constable cautioned as he saw Valian running toward him. He drew his baton and was about to power it up when one of the House Guard grabbed his hand.
“You power-up that stick, it will probably be the last bad move you make in life,” Anzun warned. “That is the Duke’s Ward, the true Champion of the Tower.
“Hey, Siadri... guess who’s coming for a visit?”
The young woman’s jade eyes came away from the detainees and focused on Valian. She had a smile in the forming, but it went away. “That’s not a come-to-visit look, Anzun.”
“You know, I think you’re right.” Anzun stepped forward, cupping his hands around his mouth. “What do you need?” he yelled.
Valian pointed at the kneeling men and cried back, “Those five!”
“You heard the man. Get them up on their feet!”
“We apprehended these men,” one of the constables argued.
“Idiot, that’s a battle cruiser coming through,” Anzun snapped. “Are you going to get out of its way or add to its body-count?!”
The constable looked at the man who had covered over a hundred meters faster than most could run thirty. He then saw several hover-cars and a hover-bike quickly approaching. It was easy to see the drivers of the vehicles were wearing uniforms of the same color scheme as the running Ward. “Let’s get the prisoners on their feet.”
Valian looked at the confiscated vehicles and while they all appeared to be fast, they were not fit for what he felt he needed. His retainers got off and out of the vehicles they had brought.
Annodia knew the hesitation on Valian’s face did not come from indecision. He knew what he wanted to do... he just had not been given the right tools to do the job.
“One side!” Cedric yelled as he piloted the small and smoking tug. Kyle was kneeling on the flatbed trailer it was pulling. He had his hands in the rear access panel of the tug. “Best we could do in the time we had.”
“Annodia, you drive,” Valian commanded as he grabbed one of the restrained men. He went to lift the man, but found he was not strong enough. His eyes flared wide in shock and the man he had tried to lift stared back, moving his head to tilt slightly.
