Shanraing gave a nod and stood, then moved to the side, making a sweeping gesture for Zim to make claim of his seat. By his less than happy stance she could tell that he wasn't moving. She casually shrugged, then sat back down. “Yes, my brother would shoot me, kill me, or butcher me alive like he does anyone who disagrees with him for too long. He was never much of a diplomat. Killers do what they do best and yearn for the kill like a starving beast. But, if he made an attempt on me, our father would have his head, and our father has the entire Iburun military on his side, you know...being king and all.” She gave him a little wink. “I'm just lucky that Lien-L knows that. So please, tell Lien-L all I have to say and make up a few more ditties for all I care. I'd like him to think about the web of life and what he does to it.”
“Lien-L is your brother?”
“Sadly, yes.”
Zim shook his head. “That's pathetic. And to top it off, you don't want to be here, do you?”
Shanraing chortled. “This is the last place I'd like to be, so the sooner we get moving with this, the better.”
Zim grinned, happy for her drive, something sorely missing with the chemically dumbed down humans. He always wondered what they'd be like if chemicals weren't put into their food and water, but then they'd revolt and that would be that. Nothing would get done. Maybe he'd stick around for the next cycle to begin, just to see how a healthy, chemically free homo sapien sapien acted before being dumbed down. He'd at least get eight years of research. Research? He rolled his eyes. Hell no. Basking in the glory of the riches he'd been promised was more to his liking.
“You know,” he said, “none of this would have occurred if they would've put those damn bio-chips in the humans in the first place. They could have been time coded and implanted into each child through vaccines. Whenever we'd want a human dead or the entire species eliminated, we could sit back or press a button and whoops, everyone just died of a degenerative disease.” He smiled wide, but then frowned a second later. “Why was that vetoed?”
Shanraing simply looked at him, her lips tightly pursed.
He nodded. “Of course. It was you who vetoed it?”
“My brother values my ideas and genius, so it was easy to convince him and the council to halt any manufacturing of those blasted chips. Placing a bio-chip into every human being had its disadvantages.”
Zim titled his head. “Like what?”
“You can pull up my objections in the council infovids.”
Zim reached over his desk and picked up Shanraing's tea, took a big gulp and finished it. “Delicious.” He forced a burp and rubbed his stomach. “Alright, then what's our first course of action, Shanraing? How are we going to speed up the process? Even though you disapprove of your brother's actions and my great ideas, I assume you must be somewhat okay with killing these little bastards?” He smiled, as if he couldn't wait for the slaughter to begin.
Shanraing raised a single eyebrow. “These 'little bastards' are your way to high honors, Zim. They're worth more to you than you can imagine. Without them, you'd be nothing.”
Zim waved his hand in the air, dismissing the comment. “So, what's our first step?”
“To tell the little bastards the truth.”
Zim choked and went into a coughing jag, unable to stop until he hit his chest a few times with his fist, then sputtered, “You're joking...that's not going to happen! Not now, not ever!”
She leaned forward. “It's no joke, Prime Director.”
He cocked his head to one side. “You want me to tell these little shits that they're slaves? That they're actually much smarter and more powerful than us? Shall I tell them about the chemicals in their water? Oh...and how about that we kill them off every 800 years or so and this is the 19th kill-off cycle?”
“That and more.”
Zim slammed his fist down on his desk. “We'd have riots on our hands! The filtration and water systems would never get finished!” He drew a deep breath. “You're supposed to find a way to fix the filtration and water systems faster—that's supposed to be why you're here!”
Shanraing stood. “I'm here to convince you to tell the humans the truth.”
“You can't make me do anything, Shanraing.”
“I can and I will.” She walked a couple of paces away from him, distancing herself.
“You're mad!”
“I have informants in place already. When I give the word, the population will be given the truth from you or from my informants.”
He pointed at his door. “Every one of the damned humans will want to kill me if I tell them everything. You're crazy, woman!”
“If you tell them the truth yourself, you'll be their savior. They'll honor your courage in your service to them, and for your ability to stand up to your own leaders to keep them alive.”
He shook his head. Is Lien-L trying to set me up? Is he trying to get out of paying what I was promised? Damn him!
“What's worse, Zim, a leader exposed as a liar, or a leader who admits that he lied? Who's best forgiven? You tell the population the things you lied about and why—you'll eventually have them eating out of your hands. However, if they find out that you lied and concealed the truth, they'll cut those hands off and stuff them down your throat.”
“There's no need to tell them anything, Shanraing. They'll all be dead soon.”
Shanraing smiled dryly. “And...if they don't die soon?”
Zim jerked, physically taken aback, then stared into her eyes looking for a trick, but found none. “What are you saying?”
“I'm saying that if you don't do as I bid, then you'll be the one who is soon dead.” She crossed her arms, waiting for a reply. They both stared at each other in silence, neither moving their eyes away from the other. Shanraing could tell that Zim was finally comprehending his position when his face began to turn a dark shade of red.
His eyes dropped to the floor as he released his breath. For all he knew, she could have her father and his armies backing her. All he had was Lien-L—if he had him at all. He lifted his hands in surrender, quietly saying, “So, what will you have me do, then?”
“If you want human cooperation, then tell them the truth. You can't continue to tell them that you're like a loving father with his children. No, that's not the truth. You tell them that Admiral Byrd is not a liar or a traitor. You tell them about the gravity on Lumus and why they're mining ebb. I can make a list, if you like.” She mimicked writing something in the air.
“What's happening here, Shanraing? Why tell them anything? I don't understand your motivation.”
Shanraing nodded, understanding his confusion, but she needed to make one more point. “When you tell them all that they need to hear, then, and only then, will you have the people's undivided attention. They'll grasp at every word you say henceforth and you'll be a hero. The riches my brother promised you will pale by comparison to what they'll shower upon you.”
Zim blinked a couple of times, not believing what he was hearing and he chuckled, “So, what do you get out of this?”
“Nothing.”
“You want me to believe that you get nothing out of this?”
“Actually, yes. I do get something out of this. My other brother Ki-En and I will be happy. We'll be content, like a mother and father watching their healthy children.”
“Well, you can get your jollies any way you please, I guess. To each his own, they say.” He wiggled his index finger in front of her. “But you forget, I already have control of the people. There's no need to do what you're suggesting.”
“Of course you have them under control,” Shanraing responded with sarcasm. “Especially the Brigantia and Taranis Guard. Taking over the biosphere and fighting the Matrona Guard must be their way of liking your ideas.”
“I have them where I want them. They're scared and pissing in their pants. That's control.”
“That's not control, Zim, that's failure. You've created havoc in the streets all over this starbase, and most of the humans a
re starting to question you and their history, and rightfully so. They're starting to see through the lies, Zim.”
Zim rolled his eyes, wanting to slap the woman. “That's because the water system isn't fully operational. The drugs aren't going through the system and the humans are waking up. That's not my fault. Once you get the systems back up and running, we'll be fine and our jobs will soon be over. Like you said, the sooner the better.”
“I'm afraid it's not going to be anytime soon.”
“You're supposed to hasten the process, not stop it!” yelled Zim.
“That's not why I'm here. I'm here to stop it, by orders of Ki-En.”
“So, you tricked Lien-L. He'll have a shit fit.”
“I told Lien-L that I would use my genius to help the cause, but for which one—I didn't say.”
Zim turned and pressed a button on his desk's HDC. He'd had enough. “I need Lien-L on the com link – now!”
Jeremy's voice came over the com link. “I'm sorry, sir. I can't do that.”
“What?”
“Uh...” responded Jeremy. “I...uh...don't know—”
Zim bolted to the door and swung it open, slamming it against the wall. He marched down the hallway toward the front desk, bellowing, “What do you mean, you can't get Lien-L on the com link?!”
As the front desk came into view, he abruptly stopped, raising his hands into the air. “What the hell is going on here?!”
Six gunmen dressed in black were pointing phasers, with one changing the direction of his gun toward Zim.
“There will be no calling Lien-L,” said Shanraing as she walked down the hallway. “There is no other choice than to cooperate with us. If you don't, you will die. That's my genius, Zim...simplicity.”
∞
There was still no enemy in sight, not even on the long range radars. It was providing everyone on Starship Sirona with a quiet break, but no peace. With every turn of a wrench, within every conversation, they were all waiting for the cannon blast that would return them to chaos. After an entire twenty four hours of this, they knew something was wrong. Everyone felt it, even though they tried to ignore it. The silence, the unknown, the fear—it all felt like a slow poison having its way with them.
Chief Petty Officer Crystal McCoy tried to peer through one of the hallway windows, moving every which way to see if she could catch a glimpse of light through the window's exterior armor shielding, until she sighed. She couldn't see a thing. No light, no nothing. She was stuck in this ebb ship. Ebb everything and everywhere. Yuck!
If there was anything in the galaxy that Crystal hated most, it was ebb, having mined it for so many years.
She resumed her stroll down the hallway sniffing the aromas from the cafeteria on Sirona's starboard side, smelling beyond delicious. Although the food had come from the storage unit in the Mech warehouse next door, the chefs did a good job of spicing it up for everyone to enjoy.
She opened the door to the cafeteria and looked around, automatically seeking all viable exit strategies, a habit her mother had instilled in her as a child, a habit she hadn't thought to break.
“Crystal?” Jerrod waived his hand. “Over here!” Sitting a table away, he was eating some type of mash that looked rather tasty. She smiled once she realized that it must be a special order of coconut pudding, a healthy dish and one of her favorites. She was glad that Jerrod would make such a choice—raw cold pressed coconut flesh, water and coconut cream mixed with chia seeds, topped with a handful of berries that made the dish taste more vibrant with each morsel. It made her wonder if he drank filtered water, too.
But, then her heart skipped a beat when she saw who was sitting next to him—Daf. She was eating a fried food dish of some kind, delicately chomping every bite while swooning over Jerrod.
Crystal's hand automatically went to cover her heart as she frowned, but then she caught herself. Am I jealous? She almost laughed at the concept, but something about Jerrod and Daf sitting next to each other was definitely disturbing.
She feigned a smile walking toward them. She was about to extend her arm to shake Jerrod's hand when she heard laughter from the table next to her. For some reason she knew it was directed at her and when she looked, she saw Hank's bloodshot eyes staring up at her, his teeth dotted with blobs of food.
“A seat, my love?” He patted an empty chair next to him at a table seating half a dozen other Techies.
“I have other plans, Hank. And we've already talked about this crap, haven't we?” She kept walking, thinking the matter was closed when it happened—a hand smacked her rump.
Crystal spun around to see a wide eyed Hank as her fist automatically came down on his face, the force knocking his entire body sideways. His elbow hit his plate, shattering it across the floor, echoing loudly throughout the cafeteria and silencing the room.
Yet, Crystal wasn't finished. She grabbed Hank by the greasy hair of his head and slammed his face into the table top. She held it there, then bent over and whispered into his ear, “This is just a warning, Techie.” Still holding his head to the table, she stood erect and glared at the other techies at the table as she gave a nod toward Hank. “You like how Hank treats the ladies? Do you like how this lady responded?” Through gritted teeth, she added, “If I ever, and I mean EVER, see any of you treat a woman like he did, I'll give you the same treatment I just gave him—got it?!”
Obediently, they all nodded their heads in stunned silence, except Hank, who couldn't.
She released her grip. Hank lifted his bloody face as he struggled to spit out a tooth. Unsteadily, he rose and waddled out of the cafeteria with tears streaking down his bloody cheeks, most likely caused by embarrassment and a broken nose.
On the way out, Hank and Crystal's eyes briefly met as Crystal sensed something humane in Hank. Or was that physical pain she saw in his eyes? No. It was something else. Sadness. He had looked away, but the feeling had penetrated Crystal to the heart. Perhaps Hank did possess a smidgen of humanity? But there was something else...an inner wound? Crystal shook it off. It didn't matter. The guy was an abusive jerk and whatever it was that turned him into one wasn't her fault. She'd had enough.
Hopefully, he's heading to medical, Crystal thought. Maybe they can give him a new attitude while he's there.
She walked over to a stunned Jerrod and Daf who started to stand to say something when Crystal felt another hand on her. She spun, ready to punch, but let her arm drop when she saw that it was her mother, Admiral Diana McCoy.
Lucky me, thought Crystal, realizing that her mom had probably seen everything.
“What the hell is going on here?!” demanded her mother.
Crystal yanked her arm away from her mom's hand and quickly walked toward the cafeteria doors. She shoved them open and exited the stunned cafeteria, wanting to be anywhere but near her mother.
Diana charged after her, ordering, “Stop right there, young lady!”
Crystal spun around in the hallway, planted her feet and pushed out her chest. “Young lady? I may be young, but at least I have some respect, which is something you haven't taught your crew!”
Diana stopped, confused. “And I'm supposed to know what you're talking about?”
Crystal gave a snort and continued on her way to somewhere—perhaps to her sleeping quarters. Yes, she could lock the door and shut her mother out.
“I have ordered you to stop and you are required by Star Guild Law to do so!”
Crystal halted with a grunt. She turned back around and begrudgingly walked slowly toward her mother while pointing a finger at her. “If you think you're going to use Guild law on me—”
Diana stepped forward and gently pulled Crystal's finger down. “I'm on your side. You always seem to forget that. If you let me know what happened, then perhaps I can clear it up.”
“You're on my side? I haven't seen you in four years and you're suddenly on my side? I know which side you picked when—”
Diana patiently held up her hand to interrup
t. “I chose to be in service to humanity as an officer of Star Guild and it wasn't an easy choice. I know my decision made life hell for you and I'm sorry. I tried to toughen you up to make you an officer one day to get you on my starship, either as a pilot, engineer, or whatever. I did that to see more of you, because that's all I wanted and all I could do. That's why I pushed you so hard, Crystal. I wanted you by my side.”
Crystal withheld a snicker. Being in service to humanity? She knew Star Guild was more or less created as a game purely for show, to keep everyone busy with something deemed important because there was no enemy until now. Being In Service to Humanity was just another form of show in Crystal's mind. “You wanted me by your side for your own sake, not mine!”
“I only wanted what was best for you.”
Crystal rolled her eyes to the old, tired line that her mother always used.
Diana continued, “I disobeyed a direct order and risked my life to come down to Lumus to save you.”
“No, mother,” Crystal shook her head, “you risked the lives of everyone on board to save mine.” She pointed to the cafeteria. “Do you think they don't know that? Don't you think some of them, all of them, don't give two shits about me and they know they'll be dead any day now because of me?”
Diana softened her stance, letting her arms hang by her sides, her eyes sad. “Crystal, why did you hit Hank?”
Crystal looked away, a little embarrassed.
“Tell me, Crystal.”
Crystal hesitated, holding her breath. “I don't need you to fight any battle of mine, Mother.”
“This is beyond mother and daughter now, Crystal. I'm responsible for any problems on my ship.”
“He's been harassing me and he just slapped my ass. Nothing I can't handle.”
Diana narrowed her eyes. “How long has he been doing this?”
“Two or three days. Not long, but like I said, I can handle it.” She crossed her arms. “He'll keep his distance from now on.”
“Its not only you, Crystal. I can't let this slide. There are other women to be concerned about, too.” She slowly shook her head. “No...this doesn't sit well with me at all, Crystal. I'll make an example of him...for all to see.”
The Veil Rising Page 24
