by Tom Shepherd
A few dozen meters away from the entry point, she vanished and materialized inside the perimeter. Suzie used the Patrick Henry’s MLC hardware to hack cautiously into the Central Temple, where she selected an identity, someone who was currently off planet. Halek son of Zaron. She assumed his appearance, to include a scar across the left cheek from quelling a food riot on a colony world when he was a junior constable. Over the years, Halek had risen to the rank of Senior Rector and People’s Advocate, an investigator of the Religious Police with absolute authority at crime scenes and the ability to argue criminal cases in court. With this new identity, Suzie—now a middle-aged Suryadivan male—searched for the policeman she had bumped into. She approached him with a sneer.
“You!” she called in perfect Suryadivan.
The officer trembled and froze in place. “Yes, Reverend Rector?”
“Come here.”
“Yes, Reverend Rector.” He knelt.
“Get up, fool.”
“Yes, Reverend Rector.”
“Give me the bracelet.”
“Excuse me, Reverend—?”
Suzie slapped him. “Idiot!” She reached into his pocket and pulled out the wristband.
“I… I have never seen… I am innocent—”
She slapped him again, harder. “You are a bungling dolt. One of my operatives slipped this into your pocket, and you carried it through the access port like a pack animal.”
“The human female…?”
“Works for our Sacred Protectorate.”
“This was a security test?”
“And you failed.” Suzie pocketed the communicator. “Place yourself under arrest.”
“But Rector, it is only a bracelet!”
“What if this were a micro-bomb, secret recording device, transmitter collecting intelligence for heretics and enemies of the Forty-Six?”
“Forgive me!” He bowed his forehead to the ground.
A pair of police supervisors appeared and asked what was happening. Suzie ordered them to send the incompetent fool to a detention facility for spiritual interrogation, a term she discovered in the language base, roughly corresponding to a hybrid of Maoist re-education camps and the Spanish Inquisition. They ushered the hapless fellow away and Suzie marched to the center of the congregated officers.
She approached a pair of Rectors who examined the street with magnification instruments and scanners. Gingerly deploying remote links from the Patrick Henry once more, Suzie tapped into Suryadivan governmental files to ID the pair from images and bio-signatures. Sai’lah and Abzek. Both worked the district nearest the Matthews Trade Embassy, which explained why they got here so quickly. Neither had particularly distinguished records or powerful relatives. Good soldiers, mid-level autocratic flunkies.
“Rectors Sai’lah and Abzek,” Suzie greeted them dismissively. “I am Senior Rector Halek of the Gobikan Response Force. You will report your findings, now.” The Rectors recoiled with visible fear, but quickly recovered.
Sai’lah found his voice. “Honored Reverend, we have determined that Greeter Lox Aspi, son of Erizond the Advocate, fell from the topmost floor of the human Trade Embassy.”
“That is regrettable. Where is the body?”
“Body?” Rector Abzek cried.
“Show me the body.” Suzie’s connections to the database of Terran law almost made her smile and break character. She was verbally serving them a Writ of Habeas Corpus.
“Your pardon, Honored Rector,” Sai’lah said. “Perhaps I misled—”
“I want to view the body!”
“Greeter Lox receives treatment in the medical transport, very much alive,” Sai’lah said.
“He lives?”
Abzek’s head fin flapped vigorously. “Yes, yes! Honored Lox Aspi was saved by a human female wearing illegal anti-gravity footwear. We arrested her.”
Suzie resisted the urge to knock the fins off these blowfish. “An alien female saves the son of a Temple Court official from certain death, and you arrest her?”
Sai’lah gestured with a hand, a looping movement from chest upward in an outward circle, which Suzie recognized as a sign of utmost respect and a request to speak freely. Suzie cross-checked the cultural response catalog and responded with a contemptuous hand flip, fluttering her head fin in disdain.
“Yes, yes, Sai’lah. Let me hear your confession, before I have you both re-educated.”
“An informer inside the Terran embassy is certain a human pushed the son of Erizond from the topmost floor.”
“An act of sacrifice to honor their god of revels, Mardi,” Abzek said.
Bloody hell. You berks need better spies. Susie flipped a hand the opposite direction and displayed full head fin. A signal of impending wrath.
“I swear it, Your Grace,” Sai’lah said on bended knee. “When we called Advocate Erizond, she instructed us to ship the apprehended female back to her.”
“So, Erizond wants to use the prisoner as leverage.” Suzie cursed herself for thinking out loud. “I will go inside and confront the Terrans.”
“A brave act, Honored Reverend,” Sai’lah said. “However, Advocate Erizond has ordered the embassy sealed.”
“Which means the humans must stay within,” Suzie said. “I will speak with them and demand the surrender of the accused.”
“Shall we first obtain approval from the Gobikan?” Abzek said.
“You have no skill at politics, Rector. If I ask for Advocate Erizond’s approval, she becomes responsible for whatever transpires. If I act alone and succeed, she may claim credit without liability.”
“Excellent, excellent!” Abzek said.
“Did your informer provide a name of the perpetrator?”
“Esteban Solo Rio,” Sai’lah said. “It may be an alias.”
Suzie attempted to hide her shock. “Very good. And who is your informer?”
Sai’lah displayed his hearing fin at three-quarters, indicating caution. “Do you not know, Honored Lector?”
So, he thought she was testing him. Clever ducky. “The identities of field operatives are held in close security. However, knowing the name of a collaborator on the scene is a wise precaution when entering the enemy camp, do you not agree?”
Sai’lah fluttered his fin to acknowledge the point. “Our asset is known by the code name Lucky Star. That is all I know.”
“Can you communicate my objective to the agent? I will protect Lucky Star’s identity.” After turning the traitorous bastard over to Demarcus Platte.
“We have no lines of communication,” Sai’lah said. “Our informant has gone dark.”
“Please be careful, Honored Reverend,” Abzek implored. “Terrans are animals.”
“They are indeed.” Well, you got me there, chum. I just mated with a howling Wolf. “Remain here. Continue searching for evidence.”
They genuflected and turned in complete circle, signifying total compliance.
Suzie strutted toward the embassy entrance, reviewing her situation. She ached to dump this Suryadivan disguise and return to human female form, and she felt a little guilty for the rush of xenophobia. Well, hell. Humans wrote her program, activated its consciousness, and interacted with the newborn cyber-entity until it achieved self-awareness. With a vast library of species and gender nuances available for a dominant personality, she opted for heterosexual human female. And she let herself become emotionally active. Of course, Suzie felt like one of them. She had romantic feelings for a human.
Damn you, Tyler Matthews.
She couldn’t imagine life without him, and there was no way they could be together like a normal couple. One problem at a time. Yumiko imprisoned, and this mob of Religious Police wanted Esteban, too. She hurried to the Trade Embassy’s main doors.
Twenty-Three
Still holding the form of Senior Rector Halek, Suzie went straight for the Matthews Security Guards and demanded to see Ambassador LeBlanc. Given the rank of her avatar and the besieged status of the Embassy, Se
curity escorted her directly to Adelaide’s office, where she found the two brothers and Cousin Esteban. Noticing the way J.B. gawked at the figure of a Suryadivan in clerical robes before him, she winked and said in her frisky, Neo-British accent, “You’ve never seen a holy bloke before? Mind if I call you Jerry?”
She morphed back into the stunning blonde who had jumped out of the sixty-eighth story window. Tyler kissed her, but they broke it off quickly.
“Get a holo-boudoir,” Adelaide said. She hugged Suzie and got down to business. “That was quite a stunt. What did you learn, honey?”
Suzie briefed them on the tactical situation outside and recounted the conversation with her fellow Rectors. The Ambassador’s smile turned into a frown. Adelaide darkly vowed to eliminate the spy among her guests and employees.
“We had a break-in tonight,” Adelaide said. “Woman in black, maybe your spy. She rummaged the office where Julieta Solorio worked.”
“Did you get an image?” Inspector Platte said.
“No,” Adelaide said. “The intruder wore a dark hood and deactivated all visual and motion sensors. Tanis and some guards saw only her back before she knocked them cold with a handful of bongo pellets.”
“Set to stun, not kill,” Platte observed.
“What did she steal?” Tyler said.
“Data only,” the Ambassador said. “The intruder downloaded whatever information Julieta had compiled about the Adaoan Sacred Hunt. The file is empty now, contents deleted.”
“Let’s explore the burglary later,” J.B. said, “We need a strategy to free Yumiko without surrendering Cousin Esteban.”
“Lox Aspi tried to kill himself,” Esteban said. “I will tell them the truth. Surely they will not hold me.”
“Let me tell you about the real universe,” Tyler said. “They want you as a bargaining chip when we sue them for access to the Jump Gate.”
Rosalie nodded. “They’re having trouble holding whatever coalition they’ve put together. The Meklavite delegation leader is unhappy with the Suryadivan ban on travel to Jump Gate Alpha. She told me the Meks want the Sacred Hunt quarantine restricted to Adao-2.”
“Why is there a coalition against us?” Tyler said. “What do the other players get out of this?”
“This is all irrelevant,” Esteban said. “I cannot allow our heroic Yumiko to take punishment intended for me.”
“Mr. Solorio, look at it politically,” Adelaide said. “If the Gobikan wants to obfuscate the fact that Greeter Lox tried to kill himself, you’re a convenient scapegoat.”
“They have no witnesses,” Esteban said, “because I didn’t do it.”
“They don’t require witnesses,” Suzie said. “Suryadivan law is based on most likely cause. Their judges swing Occam’s razor like Sweeney bloody Todd.”
Tyler held up his hands, framing an invisible door sign. “Suzanne London, Attorney-at-Law.”
“All right, all right,” J.B. mumbled. “Maybe she could be valuable to the firm.”
“I must surrender to authorities,” Esteban said.
“Why?” Tyler demanded.
“Only Jesus suffers in my place. Not Yumiko.”
“To hell with that,” Tyler said.
Demarcus cleared his throat. “Mr. Solorio, what did Greeter Lox say before he jumped?”
“Very agitated. He cursed his religion and his God—gods, I mean.”
“The Gobikan wants to change the narrative to you,” Adelaide said.
“It is my decision.” Esteban turned to Suzie. “Return to your disguise and take me into custody.”
“She can’t,” Demarcus said. “If she tries to take you outside the crime scene force field, security scanners will pick up her holographic signal.”
“They’ll trace it back to the Henry,” Tyler said. “When they discover we punked them, we’ll watch Jump Gate Omega fail from a jail cell.”
“I will go alone,” Esteban said.
“I don’t agree with your choice, Esteban,” Suzie said. “But if you’re determined to surrender, I can hand you to officials outside the building and disappear quietly after you’ve gone.”
“Once again, Cousin, I strongly advise against this action,” J.B. said.
“The choice is mine.”
“You need to shake off the martyr complex,” Tyler said.
He and Esteban had this conversation before. Although educated for the clergy, Esteban couldn’t bring himself to take the vows of priesthood at the end of that grueling process. But he never got over the sense of unworthiness, suffered-in-my-place theology of traditional Christian dogma. Too bad, because the Church had declared the Atonement a metaphor several centuries ago. Still, Esteban couldn’t help his naivety, and a man who stood by his convictions resonated with Tyler.
Esteban turned to Suzie. “I am ready.”
Tyler sighed. “Go ahead, Cuz. We’ll bail you out.”
“They have no concept like bail,” Suzie said. “He will be tried in ten days and sentenced at that time.”
“If convicted,” Esteban said.
“According to their legal records, people usually are,” Suzie said.
Esteban smiled. “But I have the best representation on the Galactic Rim—the mighty Star Lawyers.”
Tyler wanted to tell Esteban how lucky they’d been to have Paco’s criminal case fall so easily into place. This was an entirely different situation. Esteban trusted a system that was both theocratic and corrupt. Even if Tyler disabused him of the fantasy, Esteban believed his faith in God would be strong enough to get him through. As for Tyler…he could only have faith in what he knew. The Family needed good legal counsel, not guardian angels.
* * * *
Suzie, now Senior Rector Halek again, marched the alleged perpetrator through a battle-ready Religious Police cordon to the Rectors Sai’lah and Abzek. Since she had to remain within 100 meters of the wristband device or dematerialize, Tyler slipped the bracelet onto his wrist and followed her. Suzie watched as Sai’lah ordered low-ranking Religious Police to lead Esteban away. The dark-haired Latino disappeared into the glare of siege lights.
“In exchange for his surrender,” Suzie said imperiously, “I have given them my word we shall release the human female who saved Lox Aspi.”
“High Priestess Advocate Erizond has ordered you to the Gobikan,” Sai’lah said. “She wants a complete report. You can convey your arrangement about the Terran detainee face-to-face.”
“I will meet you there shortly,” she said.
“My pardon, Honored Reverend, but she was quite adamant. You must accompany us,” Sai’lah said.
Tyler stepped forward. He didn’t speak a word of Suryadivan, but he could tell from the body language this was not going well.
“Excuse me, I am Mr. Solorio’s attorney, Tyler Matthews. I demand to see your warrant for his arrest.”
Suzie frowned at him, and then turned to her fellow Rector. “Sai’lah, do you have any idea what this creature is saying?”
“Yes, Honored Rector. I speak a little Terran.”
“Abzek and I will verify that the prisoner is safely aboard the transport,” Suzie said. “Please hurry. I want to see my good friend, Advocate Erizond, and discover the condition of her son.”
“Certainly, Honored Reverend.” Suzie and the other Suryadivan headed toward the force field exit point. Sai’lah approached Tyler. “I speak little Terran. You come Temple Court ten day. Trial. He executed eleven day.”
“Executed? Listen, fish-brain, you will allow his attorneys full access to their client, or your government will have a firestorm on its hands.” Tyler scowled Suzie, who stood near the limit of her projection range.
“I speak not well Terran. You come temple court ten day for trial. He executed eleven day.”
Tyler shook his head, hoping it was a universal gesture. “Let’s go now.” He marched after Suzie, increasing her range with every step.
“No, not!” Sai’lah gurgled in Suryadivan. Strong, webbed ha
nds of Religious Police grabbed and restrained Tyler.
He squinted into the siege lights but could not find Suzie’s avatar. “Damn.” He looked at the sky, as if praying, but whispered loud enough for his wristband to pick up the words. “J.B., get out here—bring help!”
Rosalie, J.B., and Demarcus Platte followed Adelaide, the first person out the door. Sai’lah recognized her immediately.
“Honored Ambassador.”
“My Suryadivan is bumpy.” She turned to Rosalie. “But your language skills are legendary. Can you speak—”
“Yes, fluently.”
“Tell him we would consider it a gesture of good will if they released the youngest son of the most powerful man in the Terran Commonwealth.”
“Can do.” She conveyed the message in upper-class Suryadivan with the Deiro Yord accent. Rosalie added, “He is also my brother, so speak your next words very carefully.”
Sai’lah fluttered his head fin and let out a sigh. “Should I fear a faraway potentate and a young girl standing before me?”
Rosalie leaned toward him, fixed on the gray-green eyes, and replied in a verb tense reserved for addressing inferiors. “Only if you are wise, and seek immortality at the end of a long life.”
Sai’lah stiffened, dropping the head fin flat. “I do not wish to complicate our relations with other cultures, and since I have no directives binding my conduct in this circumstance….” He ordered Tyler’s release. “I am certain you will designate a vacant space in your report of tonight’s events where mention of this trivial misunderstanding might have appeared.”
“Of course, Reverend Rector. You may leave now.”
He bowed slightly and departed for the perimeter exit point.
Tyler kissed his sister’s cheek. “What the hell did you say to him?”
Rosalie smiled sweetly. “Happy Mardi Gras.”
“What just happened?” Adelaide said.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Rosalie said. “I tossed a few veiled threats and he caved.”
