“I understand, and I appreciate that. If Sable is—ah, well—you were hired by him weren’t you?”
“His father, but I understand what you mean. I am part of the self-defense force. I still have a job as long as Shiragawa exists.”
“Believe me, I hope my friend is alive, but until we know you might consider working for me directly? I mean, you were only in the employ of my step-aunts because Yoji died, right?”
Reika chewed her lip again before answering. “Hai. Yes, that is correct.”
“How about it then? Why not work for me until we know what happened to my friend? If he’s alive I’m sure he won’t mind. Shiragawa’s position will be in question now, anyway.”
She looked at Meia.
“I think we need to trust him,” she said. Cylus could almost hear the ‘for now’ in her tone. It was fine. He understood the position she was in as well. He had yet to prove the value of his promise to her.
“I’ll make it worth your while. I promise. Your baron and I have been friends for decades. I know it will be all right.”
Lina cocked an eyebrow, but he ignored it, keeping his focus on Reika.
“Okay, I will do it,” she said at length after another look at Meia.
“Good. Thank you.” He looked at Lina and nodded. “Let’s go.”
Aurora and Hephestia, once his aunts by marriage, were not at the Intel-Sys tower when they arrived. Even with the Council in session he expected Hephestia to be home at least, but the android in reception informed them that she went to watch her sister give a speech in the Council. He suspected it might be Aurora’s last. If it was, it was his and Sophi’s fault for defecting to the Mercantile Party. He hadn’t thought about how badly that hurt her chances for reelection at the time. She explained it the night Sophi moved out of Intel-Sys Tower, but now the reality struck him like a blow to the face.
The Sovereign Council was housed in a rectangular building fifty-stories high with beige walls and a wide base. The Barony, which was at the opposite side of the Government District, was three times the height and had an ornate edifice carved by the masters that laid the first stones of the city. The Sovereign Council was not built to impress the masses, but to serve them. The Council Hall was a large chamber taking up three levels of the building. Constructed in the style of an amphitheater, the seats of the delegates rose in concentric rings. They were full today, with all of the known species of the Confederation represented. The floor had no podium as the Barony’s did, and so whoever stood upon it had to do so before the masses of counselors without anywhere to hide. The thought made Cylus break out in a cold sweat, and he was glad he wasn’t an elected official.
The guards, two white-skinned androids in riot gear holding short, thick carbines, wouldn’t allow weapons into the building. He suspected that Iapetus probably had them outgunned, but that wasn’t an option. He doubted anything could happen in the Council anyway, so the drone kept his bodyguard’s pistols in the van.
“We cannot allow this hijacking of our republic to stand,” Aurora said as she paced around the Council floor. “Baron Revenant has drained our treasury and kept us in a war we cannot win for too long. I propose it is time to end his folly, and bring an end to the games of the Barony along with it. By voting for the People’s Economic Restoration Bill we will cut military spending, restore the treasury, and hopefully, bring an end to the suffering this Confederation endures.”
She moved slowly, taking long steps and meeting the eyes of her colleagues with her chest held out and her chin high. Her face was flushed, full of a fiery passion.
“I’ve never been to the Council before,” Meia whispered to him while they stood in the entryway. “There’s something awe-inspiring about it. So many sentients from different species all working together.”
“Unfortunately, they’re not,” his gravel-filled voice popped in his throat. “The Council hasn’t done anything of worth in decades. Through its economic influence the Barony has seen fit that Council members squabble among themselves without end. This bill will go nowhere.”
She frowned. “So what’s the point of all this?”
“To make people believe they have a choice,” he responded, remembering Zalor’s words on the subject.
“That’s horrible.”
“The Barony will suffer no rivals.” He looked over at Reika for her reaction, but the Taiumijin wore the stone-faced expression her culture was famous for.
Aurora finished her speech and walked to her seat.
“Come on, let’s wait for her at her office,” he said.
“We’re not going to see the vote?” Meia asked.
“What’s the point?” He cocked an eyebrow at her then turned and headed into the hallway. Reika was right behind him, but it took a moment for Meia to pull herself from the Council chamber.
“What do you mean, ‘what’s the point’?” she asked as they took the lift to the second floor.
“The resolutions of the Sovereign Council have not been binding on the Barony in decades, and if they’re not binding on the Barony, they aren’t effective. This is all just a show.”
“Is that so?” Reika asked.
“The Council is the will of the people of the Confederation.” Meia scowled at him. “I know the Barony does as it wants, but how long do you think the populace will stand for that?”
“It’s hard for me to see what they are going to do about it. They haven’t done a thing so far.” He shrugged. “I don’t mean to disregard your opinion. I’m just being honest.”
Her nostrils flared and her eyes hardened.
“Maybe they will surprise you?” Reika sounded uncertain.
“Maybe,” he conceded, but knew it wasn’t at all likely. Bureaucratic institutions like the Council didn’t recover from paralysis easily, especially when such gridlock was being maintained by outside influences.
There is no point to its existence, he thought and nodded in agreement with himself.
Aurora’s office was located in the northeast corner at the end of a long, marble hallway lined with the doors of the other representatives’ offices. He sat down on the bench beside it and folded his arms in his lap. His companions assumed positions flanking him with their feet shoulder-width apart and their arms held behind their backs. He looked up at Meia, noting the hard stare she had aimed down the corridor.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know you’ve been through a lot. I’m not trying to—well—”
“Never mind. I should have expected it from this government,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t expect anything good from a government that allowed my father to be killed for his company. He was too small-time to join the Barony, so no one cared. A Praetor didn’t even show up” She took in a deep breath and released it through her teeth. “Please, forget it.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Who was your father?”
“You don’t know?” She cocked an eyebrow at him. Even Reika looked surprised.
He shrugged.
“Sanevar Ironstar,” she responded.
He took a moment to do a web search for the name. “Ironstar Cartography, right. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize the name before. We have a common enemy.”
“We do?”
“Zalor Revenant murdered my family as well.”
She gave him a look. “I thought the Brogh murdered your family.”
“Yes, that’s the official line, but I suspect Zalor had a hand in it.” He paused, wondering if Zalor had used the same lie about the Brogh concerning Sable’s planet. It seemed unlikely, destroying a whole world didn’t seem to be his style, but maybe he was wrong.
“You don’t know, do you?” Meia answered.
“It’s a pretty strong suspicion. He murdered Yoji for opposing him, and my father was doing the same when the Barony sent him to Brogh Prime. I don’t know. I think so, but the point is we have him as a common enemy.”
“That’s terrible. I�
�m sorry,” Reika said with genuine concern in her voice.
After a moment Meia nodded. “Seems we do.”
The Cronus sisters appeared at the end of the hallway talking to each other before Aurora looked up and spotted him. They both rushed over.
“Cylus, you’re back—and shaven bare.” She stopped her advance two paces from him. “And you’ve returned Captain Fukui.”
Reika bowed to the sisters.
“Along with someone new,” Hephestia added.
“This is—” he started, not sure if he should give her real name.
“Carina Starblood,” Meia cut in, relieving him of the burden of that decision.
Aurora gave him a questioning look.
“I had need of a bodyguard,” he answered. “My iteration of Ben was destroyed. I’ll explain more about that later.”
“Did you note the travel ban? Dorsky’s gone too far. We should be on Stolchem by now. We should be at Taiumikai helping with the relief effort and looking for my son. If Zalor had anything to do with it, I swear—”
“I doubt he would go to that extent,” Hephestia interrupted.
Aurora gave her a cross look before speaking again. “Any word from my son? He wasn’t on Taiumikai was he?”
Cylus sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t run into him, and I don’t know where he was when… Anyway, we need to talk in private.”
“Let’s go into my office.” She gestured at the door behind them.
Beyond it was a modest chamber with three sofas arranged in a semi-circle around a large wooden desk and a high-backed chair. A picture-window provided a wide view of the local neighborhood’s utilitarian buildings. Off to his left, the wall was wrinkled by flowing water, and was the source of both the wet chill and the gritty smell of stone in the air. How it didn’t soak the coffee-colored carpet around its base, he had no clue.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Aurora moved around the desk and indicated that he and his guests should sit opposite her. Her face relaxed into an expression of exhaustion the moment she sat down. Hephestia took up residence on a couch as they sat down.
“Is this location secure?” he asked.
“As secure as I’m able to make it, but I won’t guarantee there isn’t someone with a laser microphone beaming it at my walls,” Aurora said.
“Perhaps we should wait until later.” Cylus frowned.
Hephestia waved her hand in the air. “Don’t let my sister scare you out of speaking. We sweep this office every morning and have security screens in place. No one can hear us. What did you find out?”
He tensed. This was the moment where he either took them into his confidence and went after Zalor, or kept them in the dark and went with Lina’s plan to seize power. It struck him as a strange decision to make. Content to live out his life on Anilon, power was something he couldn’t remember ever wanting, but that was before Sable and Sophi dragged him into all of this. It was before he became Zalor’s pick for the next Premier, and before Daedalus kidnapped him and the woman he loved.
Power is the only way to keep you and Lina safe, he thought to himself, raising his hand to scratch the stubble-encrusted skin on his face. The path to power is not through your confidence in these two. If you move too soon, Zalor will crush you. It was true. As Lina pointed out, he had to wait to become Premier before he could act.
“Cylus?” Aurora prompted him, making him realize he was lost in thought for too long.
“Sorry. We didn’t find out much,” he began with a quick look at Meia.
She seemed surprised for a moment, but hid it quickly. He was relieved. He would have to lie to the two people, aside from Lina, he was sure really cared about him. It hurt to do, but he realized it was necessary if he was going to protect them. The trick was to tell just enough of the truth to get them to support him for Premier when the time came. He had to be careful.
“The quarantine around Calemni is bogus. The planet was attacked by something that might have been the same thing that killed Yoji, but we didn’t find much in the way of evidence of who did it.”
The sisters both frowned. He could tell they were disappointed, so he decided to offer a little more truth to hook them.
“Unfortunately there was nothing that linked the system to Zalor, but we did get samples of the nanomachine used there.”
“You did?” Aurora leaned forward. “Was it the same that killed my husband?”
“I’ve got it safe and sound at my tower. We’ll know if it is the same once the Praetor returns,” Cylus said.
Good, he told himself. They’ll wait for proof and support you in the meantime.
The sisters exchanged a hopeful look.
“I’ll keep you posted.”
“Thank you, Cy.” Aurora came out from behind her desk to hug him. When her arms wrapped around him he stiffened with surprise. “With my son missing, things have been pretty bleak here. You have given us something to cling to. Thank you.”
He felt his face twitch. A change of subject was in order. “What’s been going on here? What’s this about the biodome?”
Hephestia leaned back into the couch. “There was an investigation into the deaths of your uncle and Baron Vargas after you left. It was ruled an accident, and we all relaxed some, but then the Gaians attacked the Premier. We still don’t know why.”
“They did? That wasn’t a lie?” He felt a chill run through him. He could be next.
“It seems it is true,” Hephestia continued. “We’d like to ask one of our contacts but they’re all dead, missing, or arrested. The Praetor launched a lethal attack using the local Star Corps garrison. We haven’t been able to inquire about their fates for fear that we will fall under suspicion next.”
“It has to have been staged. The Gaians are the scapegoats in Zalor’s plot to trap us in the capital, though we don’t know why. After the attack Dorsky banned all travel, allegedly to give the Praetor time to weed out more culprits. The deaths of Olivaar and Vargas are being blamed on the Gaians, too.”
“We know they weren’t involved in that,” Hephestia whispered, sending a shudder through him. “Your lady needs to be careful where she shows her face these days as well. If I were you, I would advise her to stay in your tower and avoid the Praetor.”
He nodded. The Praetor hadn’t questioned her, but that was before she went looking for her Gaian cohorts. He realized that she might be in danger, especially if the Praetor Augusta found something linking her to the Gaian fugitives.
All the more reason I need to be the Premier, he thought.
“Your lady wouldn’t happen to know something about all this, would she?” Aurora asked.
“Why would she? She’s been with me the whole time.”
“Of course.” She brought her hands together before her, touching finger-tip to finger-tip. “We’re afraid of what might happen next. Baroness Helena is now in charge of both the ETMC and Cosmos Corp until Zalor returns.”
“And he will return,” Hephestia added. “I doubt he anticipated these events, and knowing him, he’ll want to be here in person to straighten them out.”
“I’m sure he will be. Can you two trust me?” Cylus asked.
“Trust you?” Aurora cocked an eyebrow.
“I know you don’t have much reason to, but I did what I said I would with Sable’s ship, and once Praetor Graves gets back we might even have Zalor cornered. I’ve got other stuff in the works, too. I just need your support when the time comes. Can I count on it? Please?” He tried to sound as sincere as he could through the growl in his voice.
The sisters exchanged a look. It was Aurora who answered.
“Cy, you know how badly you hurt us. It will be hard to fully trust you, but I also helped to raise you. I know your heart. Stay away from Sophi’s schemes. Do what you know is right, and yes, I think we can trust you.”
He looked to Hephestia and received a hesitant nod.
“Oh, and one more thing,” he said. “Would you mind if I
poached Captain Fukui for a while longer? I might have further use of her services.”
The sisters exchanged a glance. Reika shifted her weight, looking at the air between them.
“It’s not like we’ll be leaving the planet anytime soon. It would look suspicious if one of us suddenly disappeared, and I don’t need the Abyssians hunting me down,” Aurora said.
“Thank you. Thank you both. I promise to do my best,” he said. “Right will win out in the end.”
“It rarely does,” she said, “but we hope you are right.”
He smiled, knowing he would have their support at least until the full extent of his plan was revealed. They may not understand it, but eventually they would see that he was doing what he had to do to keep everyone he loved safe. Once they realized that, all would be well.
And if they fail to see it, their approval won’t matter in the end. Not once you have the power, he told himself.
His smile broadened.
Chapter Twenty-Five
New Harbidum, Zov
41:4:8 (J2400:3254)
The entrance to the cave yawed like the mouth of some mythical beast. From its jagged lips Nero watched the city of New Harbidum glitter beneath the stars. The crisp, night air cut across his body, raising goosebumps on his arms and across the nape of his neck. Autumn arrived sometime during the last few days. The crop-fields around the city grayed, and they felt the temperature take regular dips as the days drew on.
Ameluan lead them on scouting missions through the city, and Nero could see that infiltrating the ziggurat would not be easy. Escaping it afterward would require the type of knowledge of the area that one just couldn’t get from studying a map, and that made the risk of being discovered on these forays worthwhile. Login and Lugal Meshara had every drone, Maskhim, and citizen looking for them. If not for Ameluan’s ability to interfere with the VoQuana’s biotelepathy, they would have been caught long ago. Fortunately, Prospero noticed one glaring weakness in the ziggurat defenses that would enable them to pull off their escape—the lower levels connected with the city’s waterway system. It was a weakness he intended to take advantage of tonight.
Eye of the Abyss Page 43
