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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