by C H Gideon
“Foot in the ass?” Jiya suggested.
Reynolds grinned. “If it comes to that, but I think we’re going to have to try a more subtle approach. The last thing we need is to offend the emperor. We can’t go pointing fingers at his sister without any kind of evidence unless we want to stir shit up.”
“And if he’s not involved…” Jiya said, letting her thought fade.
“Exactly,” Reynolds replied. “Why rattle his cage if we don’t have to? All we’ll do is screw up our chance at negotiations and, more importantly, make another enemy. We don’t need more enemies in this galaxy.”
Takal sighed. “I wish I’d spent more time with him.”
“You said he asked you about our tech?” Jiya asked, remembering what Takal had said earlier.
The inventor nodded. “He had never seen a superdreadnought before, apparently,” Takal answered. “He was ignorant of its power, so I explained it in the simplest terms—mainly to ensure he understood what would happen should he decide to harm me.” Takal laughed.
Jiya chuckled. “I guess that explains why he’s being so nice. He doesn’t want to have his kingdom blown out from under him.”
There was a quiet knock on the door before Reynolds had the opportunity to reply, and Takal went over and eased it open. Reynolds was surprised to see the emperor standing there with a half-dozen soldiers at his side.
This can go one of two ways, Reynolds thought. He’s come to kill us, or he needs something.
Krol Gow slipped inside the room with his soldiers, one of them closing the door behind him. The emperor looked flustered and nervous.
The latter it is, Reynolds thought gladly.
As much as he wanted to find more of the cultists and wreak havoc on them while learning more about Phraim-‘Eh, Reynolds wasn’t spoiling for a fight with the Muultu if he could avoid it.
“What can we do for you, Emperor?” Reynolds asked.
Maddox stirred and came over to stand behind Reynolds and alongside Jiya and Takal.
“I ask that you come with me,” he responded. “There is something I wish to discuss with you where no eyes can see or ears hear.”
Interesting.
Reynolds nodded his agreement, and the emperor seemed relieved. One of his guards propped open the door and glanced outside. He waved them on a moment later, and the whole of the crew, the emperor, and the soldiers left the guest chambers and started down the corridor the opposite direction from which they had come.
Krol Gow led them to a blank wall, and he laid his hand upon it. There was a muffled click and the wall swung open, revealing a darkened tunnel beyond. The emperor didn’t hesitate. He slipped through the secret passage and starting down the black hallway.
Although there were no lights save one in the distance, Reynolds could see the emperor and the corridor clearly. Once he was certain there was no one lying in wait for them, he and the crew followed, and the guards shut the secret door, staying close to the crew.
Reynolds felt the calmness of his convictions.
He’d been right to be patient.
Chapter Six
“We’re on watch duty for the foreseeable future,” Asya announced to Geroux, who only nodded, having heard the order over the comm.
“Yay!” she joked, pulling a face.
The pair, along with Ka’nak, had staked out the top of a nearby building that had a good view of the one the rest of the crew had entered.
While Geroux didn’t have a perfect line of sight to what might be happening on the other side of the compound, she could see the only other exit. Her advanced optics zeroed in; she would know if the emperor’s sister or anyone else left the compound and traveled into the city.
While they waited, she split her focus on her surroundings, watching the people of Ulf go about their daily tasks, the soldiers making their rounds within the compound.
It wasn’t any more exciting than what the rest of the crew were up to, but this was Geroux’s least favorite aspect of the missions they went on.
“I wonder if the emperor is feeding them,” Ka’nak said wistfully, staring at the sky from where he was huddled on the roof. “I feel like we’re missing out on the best part of the mission being up here.”
Geroux ignored him and fiddled with her wrist computer, setting up a program to alert her if anyone tried to exit through the heavily-guarded back gateway. It automatically used her advanced optics to keep watch, so she settled in beside the Melowi, ready for a long wait.
“I need to sit down with my uncle and build some small cloak-enabled drones for this kind of boring grunt work,” Geroux muttered. “They’d be perfect for a low-tech world like this one. No one would ever see them.”
“Sign me up,” Asya said with a grin. “At least when I’m stuck on the ship, there are things to do. Out here in the field on babysitting duty, there’s nothing to do but pick your nose and decide where to wipe it.”
Geroux laughed. “How ladylike.”
“You start to get creative after a while,” Asya said, grinning.
“This one time—” Ka’nak started, miming wiping his hand on something, but a sensor went off inside Geroux’s helmet, thankfully cutting the demonstration short.
Geroux bolted upright and focused in on the warning. She spotted the emperor’s sister approaching the mass of guards on the far side of the building.
“Aht Gow’s on the move,” Geroux announced, pointing toward where the emperor’s sister had emerged from the compound.
“So is the crew,” Asya replied, tapping Geroux and Ka’nak on their shoulders to draw their attention to where Asya was looking.
Geroux saw the crew, the emperor, and a number of guards creep out of the very building they were posted on.
“How the hell did they get in there?” Ka’nak grunted, clambering to his feet.
“I don’t know, but their timing fucking sucks,” Asya growled. What’s going on? she asked Jiya over the mental link.
Don’t know yet, Jiya answered. Emperor wants some serious privacy for some reason we haven’t learned yet. Stick to the mission. We’ll figure things out on our end and update you when we know something.
“I don’t care what she says, we need to go after them,” Ka’nak stated. “This is strange, them traipsing after this guy.”
“We need to follow the sister, too, though,” Geroux muttered, torn between helping her crew and following her orders.
It didn’t look as if the crew were in trouble, seeing as how they were still in their armor and traveling with the emperor. Also, Jiya hadn’t said anything to indicate they were worried, but it was clear they were being stealthy, staying out of sight of the average citizens and the guards at the compound.
Something was going on.
“I guess we’re splitting up,” Geroux grumbled.
Asya nodded. “Who do you want?”
“Ka’nak’s better qualified to deal with a physical threat, so I’d say he should go after the crew and the emperor and keep them safe. You and I can follow the sister and see what’s going on with her.”
Ka’nak agreed without argument. “On it,” he replied, giving them a thumbs-up and starting off. He was always ready for action.
Before Geroux could respond, Ka’nak dropped off the far side of the building where the crew had emerged and started after them, cloaking himself before he hit the ground.
Geroux grunted at his abrupt departure, but she was grateful Takal had designed the crew’s suit optics to be able to see the cloaked members so they could keep track of each other. She watched Ka’nak until he vanished around a corner.
“Just us, I guess,” she told Asya.
“Yup. Let’s do this,” Asya said, patting Geroux on the back for encouragement.
The pair triggered their cloaking devices and raced off after the emperor’s sister.
They circled around the compound and caught up with Aht Gow as she left the guard station. The female strolled regally down the barren walk, chi
n up, back straight, as one would expect of royalty, but that all changed a few moments later.
Once Aht Gow was out of sight of the guards, she bolted down a confined alley.
Asya and Geroux ran after her. Geroux stopped at the corner and peeked around. She spotted her, and was surprised to see her pulling a sandy-brown robe out from under her dress. Geroux hadn’t realized she’d been carrying anything.
Aht Gow slipped the robe on, hiding both her sash and dress beneath it, and wrapped a cloth around her head, effectively disguising herself.
Had Geroux not seen her change clothes, she might not have realized that the person she had followed into the alley was the same one who exited the far end.
Sneaky, Geroux thought.
She glanced back at Asya, who stood there studying the female they were following.
The fact that Aht Gow had disguised herself only added to Geroux’s distrust. They’d already determined she was up to something, but the quick-change act made it clear Reynolds had made the right choice by keeping an eye out for her.
Now, they needed to figure out where she was going and what she was up to.
Even cloaked, however, the task wasn’t easy.
Aht Gow strolled out onto the walkway at the end of the alley and quickly joined the crowd of passersby that congregated there, blending in.
Geroux had missed some signal that stirred the populace into motion, since it seemed the whole of Ulf came alive right then.
People poured out of the shops and homes all at once and joined the already substantial gathering on the walks, the overflow spilling onto the streets.
Asya cursed under her breath as the pair were forced to dodge the citizens wandering about while tracking Aht Gow.
Now would be a damn good time for that drone, Geroux complained.
She caught snippets of conversations as the emperor’s sister wound her way through the crowd. Apparently, the end of the workday had been called and everyone was returning home, which left Geroux and Asya struggling against the tide of tired workers looking forward to returning to their families and relaxing.
Aht Gow had used this ploy before.
She weaved in and out of the crowd with ease, looking no different than any of the other non-Muultu surrounding her. Geroux noted there were more of them than she’d initially thought.
The pair nearly lost sight of the emperor’s sister several times in the crowd, but either Asya or Geroux always managed to catch up and mark her before she slipped away.
It wasn’t until the female veered off and started up a steep hill toward some stone buildings on a rise that towered above the area of the city they’d been traveling through that the foot traffic began to clear.
About damn time, Geroux growled, speeding up to get closer. Asya raced alongside her.
They went on for a while, and Geroux was impressed by Aht Gow’s composure. She strolled along as if she belonged among the common people.
Her regal saunter was gone, replaced by a work-weary lope that copied the walks of the people surrounding her. She nodded to them now and again, a quick and noncommittal gesture, but she never said anything or stopped, always remaining on the move.
It wasn’t until they neared the top of the hill that she slowed noticeably.
Aht Gow set a pace that kept her behind a small group of people, and then, when they were comfortably far enough ahead to not know she was there, the emperor’s sister shot into a narrow crack between the tall walls of the two nearest estates.
Geroux bit back a curse. She wasn’t sure they could follow the female, given the armored suits they wore.
She came up on the space and glanced between the walls, glad to realize there was just enough room for the two of them to squeeze through one behind the other.
Aht Gow had reached the middle of the makeshift alley by then and slipped out of sight. Not wanting to lose her, Geroux bolted into the tiny space, Asya right on her heels.
They found where Aht Gow had turned off and caught sight of her opening a small metal gate that led into the estate to the right. The gate clanked shut behind her and Geroux crept up to it, peering through the crack between the metal gate and the wall.
A small courtyard lay beyond, cast in shadows by the twelve-foot walls that surrounded it. Three males stood guard within, rifles of some kind in their hands.
Geroux didn’t recognize that type of weapons, although she realized they were mechanical, not the blasters she and the crew were armed with. She didn’t think they could hurt her or Asya, but she erred on the side of caution and kept from drawing attention to either of them.
Can’t hurt to be smart.
Geroux held up a hand to keep Asya from getting too close and raised three fingers to indicate how many people were there.
She kicked herself mentally a second later since she could have engaged the mental link and relayed that information in person.
Subterfuge isn’t my thing.
While she watched, Aht Gow greeted one of the men, and he waved her on after she pulled her scarf back and revealed her face. He said something to her that was too low for Geroux to hear, but Aht Gow nodded in reply before climbing the short flight of steps to the side door of the estate. A soldier inside opened the door and let her in.
Geroux inched closer to the crack and focused her advanced optics to look inside before the guard closed the door.
She caught sight of what appeared to be a wealthy home.
Stone and glass decorations abounded; it was the most extravagant place Geroux had seen on the planet so far, not that she’d seen many. But given what the others had reported regarding the spartan palace and guest chambers, she was shocked to see such lavish decorations in the home.
It seemed out of place in the plain, simple world that was Muultar, so it wasn’t what she expected.
The guard closed the door behind Aht Gow, blocking Geroux’s view. There were small rectangular windows to the sides of the doors, but they were covered by metal slats that prevented her from seeing through them.
Geroux raised her hand as if to ask, “What now?”
We need to see if we can get a look inside, Asya told her over the link. And one of us needs to get up on the roof and keep an eye out.
How do we do that? Geroux asked.
Asya pointed to the wall.
Although it was tall, Geroux could see that the top had been shaped in a way to provide a makeshift ledge. Her gaze followed it around, and she realized it encircled the whole of the house, providing a path around the entire estate.
She turned back to Asya, who held her hands cupped in front of her, expecting Geroux to step into them and slither up the wall.
Geroux drew a deep breath and nodded her agreement. She cast a glance in the guards’ direction through the crack and waited until they were looking away before stepping into Asya’s hands.
Asya lifted her without effort, doing it slowly to keep quiet, and Geroux clambered onto the narrow ledge on top of the wall.
Once she was settled and had made sure the guards hadn’t noticed, she turned around and stretched out a hand to Asya, helping her up the wall.
The pair started off, skirting the edge with slow, patient steps to keep from toppling off or making noise.
There was no doubt that the wall would hold them. Everything was built to extreme standards using the most robust materials.
As they closed on the part of the wall nearest the house, Asya jumped across, landing gracefully on the roof.
There was a muffled thump and both Asya and Geroux froze in place, holding their breath. Several moments passed before either exhaled.
No one came out to check or opened a window to look.
I’ll go up and take a look at what’s around us, Asya said. You find a window that’s open and see if you can locate Aht Gow.
Geroux accepted the plan and continued along the wall while Asya patrolled the roof. On the other side of the house, Geroux found a window where the slats had bee
n left open.
She hunkered down to peer inside despite the awkward angle. At first, she couldn’t see much more than the house’s décor, as she had through the door earlier, but a flash of movement caught her eye.
The emperor’s sister paced back and forth in an empty room, threatening to wear a groove in the stone tiles. Her scarf off, Aht Gow looked frustrated, or maybe nervous, Geroux thought.
She wasn’t the self-assured royal who had strolled casually away from the compound earlier.
We’ve got company up front, Asya reported a moment later. Oh…shit.
What is it? Geroux fired back.
I think we’ve found our smoking blaster, Asya replied. You have eyes on the sister?
I do. What’s going on?
You’ll see in a minute, Asya responded, refusing to say more.
Geroux growled at the non-revelation. Aht Gow stiffened and stopped pacing, drawing her attention. The emperor’s sister turned and looked at the doorway as it opened and Geroux saw what Asya had been referring to.
A male entered the room, and if anyone could be considered a stereotypical cult member, this guy was him.
Dressed in long robes like the Phraim-‘Eh devotees she’d seen on Krokus 1 and 4, the cultist carried himself with the same brand of arrogance. He moved as if he expected the world to step out of his way, and Geroux was shocked to see that even Aht Gow deferred to him.
She bowed her head as he approached, and he laid a hand on the top of it. He said something, but there was no way Geroux could hear what it was.
The emperor’s sister raised her head once the man’s hand was gone. She looked flushed, almost awed by the contact.
He wasn’t a Muultu, his skin showing no signs of the scarred and ravaged flesh that was indicative of the natives. His skin was pale almost to the point of gleaming and he was without hair of any kind, either on his head or face.
The cultist looked as withered and aged as if he’d been alive for thousands of years, yet there was an obvious vitality to him that belied the presumption. His eyes were gleaming black orbs.
