“Something’s off here,” she said.
“Affirmative.”
The target took a sudden left into an alley and stopped. Iapetus drove their truck past it before pulling over twenty-meters away.
Meia pursed her lips, then stuck her arm out the window and kicked Mr. D into action. The Mini Reconnaissance Drone unwrapped its four curved pylons. The sharp, metallic smell of ozone filled her nostrils and it took off from her wrist in a burst of blue ionic fire. Its control window opened up in her UI and she saw her truck through its sensors grow smaller as the drone shot up into the sky.
She flew the drone around the corner and swept it around the target vehicle, using as many of Mr. D’s passive sensors as she could to determine if things were as they appeared to be.
“Looks clear,” she said.
“Analysis: This is the optimal time to capture the target,” Iapetus stated.
“Jam the signal and let’s go.” Her stomach fluttered and she reached down to unhook the strap holding her Growler in its holster.
She was thrown forward against the dash as Iapetus backed the truck up and cut a sharp turn into the alley, blocking off the target’s escape. She barely had time to sit up before he swung open the rear door and hit the ground outside with his metallic body ringing on the pavement. Meia swung herself out of her seat and followed with gun drawn, careful to stay behind Iapetus’ armored form as they advanced on the van.
They met no resistance as they advanced to the van’s side. Metal screeched as Iapetus tore the skin from its frame. The Volgoth, Sanul Mondu, stared up at them with wide, geode-like eyes from within. He took a moment to recover from the shock and his four-digit hands rose into the air.
“Don’t shoot!”
Meia stepped out from around Iapetus and held out her arm. Mr. D hissed and landed, wrapping its pylons around her forearm as it shut down.
“Sanul Mondu, you are under arrest,” she said, holstering her Growler.
His hircine mouth opened and shut several times as she climbed up into his van. Green muck seeped from the corners of his mouth, and his irises undulated in a slow rhythm. She frowned for a moment before it dawned on her that she’d seen this before.
“He’s high,” she said to Iapetus.
“Metabolic analysis confirms,” he responded.
“Is this… a drug bust?” Sanul asked.
She shook her head. “Scan?”
“He is unarmed,” Iapetus responded.
“Out.” She stood aside so that the Volgoth could climb out through the hole Iapetus opened in the van. He stared at her for a long moment, then climbed into the alley.
“You are working for the Praetor?” Sanul asked.
“Hands behind your back,” she stated. He complied and she bound them with smartcord before pushing him forward toward her truck. Able to see both ahead and behind at the same time, Iapetus marched in front with his turrets trained on the Volgoth.
Sanul took several steps on his crystal hooves and then stumbled. “This was a trap? The heiress betrayed us?”
“I don’t know about that,” she said.
Iapetus reached the truck and waited for her to load their prisoner in before following. She climbed back into the driver’s seat.
Target Sanul Mondu acquired. No sign of the others, she sent on the encrypted channel the Praetor provided. She wasn’t sure she could trust the Abyssians after Calemni, but Cylus was working with them and she was working for Cylus. At least they weren’t hunting her.
“Confirmed. Bring him to Intelligent Systems Incorporated Tower,” Praetor Augusta’s clipped Solan came back down the line.
Affirmative, she replied. “Got that?”
“Confirmed,” Iapetus said.
The truck lurched into motion. He backed it up onto the road then headed forward, merging smoothly into traffic.
Sanul Mondu slumped against the side wall looking small and defeated beside the hulking frame of the DS-109.
“We were going to save them,” he murmured.
“What?” Meia turned around and stared at him.
The Volgoth hesitated only a moment before speaking. “Heiress Olivaar made us a deal. We were going to get the Cronuses out and to Baron Keltan. She was going to intervene on our behalf and get us off planet so the Premier couldn’t hurt us. We just wanted out.”
Was he lying? It seemed like there were too many details for that to be true, and the Volgoth was clearly scared out of his wits. She looked up at the glowing dots beneath Iapetus’ skull and back at Sanul Mondu.
“You were going to murder them,” she said, unsure of why she was bothering to question him.
“No! No, no, no! Premier Dorsky ordered them murdered but we made a deal with Heiress Olivaar and—”
“You covered that already,” she interrupted. Something wasn’t right here. “You said Dorsky ordered them murdered. You’re working for him?”
“Ah, well, Cygni is.”
“Cygni Lau Aragón?” she said.
“Yeah.”
“And you’re a Gaian?” She was going over ground she knew already.
“Um, well, not really. I mean, I kind of sit in and—”
“You’re working for Gaians?” Meia pressed.
“Yeah, well, with and for I guess. It beats the hell out of working for Baroness Cronus.”
“You worked for the Cronuses?” Meia’s eyebrows went up.
“Um, no, the other one. Sophiathena Cronus. I used to work for Elthroa before this. I was indentured,” Sanul said.
“Indentured?”
“Elthroa bought me from the Orgnan slavers. I was getting close to paying off my debt working for them and then the Praetor attacked the Gaian Biodome.”
“For attempting to assassinate the Premier,” Meia stated.
“No! No, not that—I mean, they didn’t do that. High Priestess Euphrati didn’t want that. She was furious that they were blamed. I mean, if they tried to kill Premier Dorsky then why is he asking us to assassinate baronesses for him?”
Meia’s mouth opened and closed. Iapetus?
“His biosignature does not indicate false data.”
Sanul Mondu was still talking but she was lost in her own thoughts. It didn’t make any sense for the Premier to employ Gaians after the assassination attempt. It made more sense that they were blamed as a pretext to attack the Biodome, but why attack the Biodome? The Praetor carried out the action, but if the assassination attempt was a cover then who wanted the Gaians dead? Did Dorsky? That didn’t make sense. They weren’t a threat to him as far as she could tell. Did the Abyssians themselves want the Gaians dead? Before Calemni she never would have thought the Abyssians had their own agenda, but Praetor Modulus convinced her they did. The Abyssians might want to wipe the Gaians out if they knew about Siren…
A chill went down her back. Was this connected to Calemni?
“Mister Mondu,” she interrupted the Volgoth’s rant.
“Eh?” His small ears flicked at the base of his crystal horns.
“Does the word ‘Siren’ mean anything to you?” Meia asked.
The Volgoth’s eyes widened.
That was a ‘yes.’
“What do you know?” She leaned forward in her seat.
“Ah,” he hesitated.
Iapetus’ shoulder turrets twitched.
“Okay! Okay! Cygni thought Baron Revenant used it to murder Baron Mitsugawa. The Praetor Nero Graves went chasing that lead off planet to a world called Elmorus. There was a Siren factory there—”
“A factory? How do you know that?”
“Cygni has spy grains in Elthroa and Cosmos Corp. I decrypted the streams and—”
“Shush.” She frowned, thinking. Elthroa and Cosmos… Sophiathena and Revenant were connected to Siren somehow. They were connected to the ones who tried to kill her with it, who marooned her, who massacred that colony… She looked back through the windshield. They were almost at IntelSys Tower.
“Delay us,�
� she said to Iapetus.
The truck took an abrupt right onto a side street.
“The Praetor will know if we delay too long,” he stated.
She nodded. “Mister Mondu—”
“That sounds weird to hear it. I mean, ah—”
“Sanul, then?” It was time to play good cop.
He nodded.
“Sanul, do you have these decrypted streams?”
“Yes.” He tapped the side of his furry head.
“Who ordered Siren made? Who controls it?”
“We’re not sure. Ah, the Baroness Altair is involved, though. The VoQuana, too. They were talking about it when they took control of Baron Keltan.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Ah, yes it is. Cygni almost had the same thing happen to her before she killed—” he cut himself off.
“She killed who?” Meia asked.
Sanul shook his head.
“We could just go to the Praetor now.”
He licked his lips with a black tongue. “If I tell you everything you’ll let me go?”
Her gut clenched. It went against everything she knew. Her word was her bond. Her father drilled that into her, but at the same time those colonists deserved justice—she deserved justice.
“Maybe. Depends on what you say.”
He thought for a moment. “Okay. Ah, first, do you have any contact with the VoQuana?”
She frowned. “No.”
“Are you sure? Baron Keltan—”
She held up her hand. “I said no, and I don’t believe they can do that.”
His ears flickered in the air. “Okay, okay. You’re Keltan’s bodyguard so you saw the feed Dorsky showed him, yes?”
She nodded.
“The VoQuana in that feed was named Sinuthros. Cygni killed him after he did something you don’t believe in.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. If he was mind-controlling her then she couldn’t have killed him.” Meia shook her head.
“It wasn’t like that… Ah, anyway, Sinuthros was connected to Baron Revenant and Siren. I have the feed showing that. There is another VoQuana named Allatu who is now connected to Baron Revenant and likely Siren. She is going to meet with him soon here on Kosfanter.” Sanul looked rabid, his words came one on the other. “I can prove this.”
“Wait, are you saying that the VoQuana gave Baron Revenant Siren?” She shuddered.
“It is likely. There is another involved, Doctor Rega. He developed it somehow, or maybe refined it. He has a Siren facility here on Kosfanter.”
“What?” Her blood went cold. She looked at Iapetus.
“He is telling the truth as he believes it.”
She nodded and took a deep, shuddering breath. “Where?”
“You won’t believe me.”
“Where is—”
A boom sounded somewhere in the distance. It was followed by the screech of a dark energy engine. A crash shattered the relative calm of the early-morning traffic.
Meia looked at Iapetus.
“Patching into local security sensors,” he stated.
Sanul looked up at the DS-109, but his eyes no longer held fear. “I did not realize they could do that.”
She ignored him, waiting for Iapetus’ report.
“The crash is just outside Intelligent Systems Incorporated Tower. The prisoner’s cohorts appear to have been shot down.”
“What? Cygni! Biren! Giselle!” Sanul exclaimed.
She held her hand up in his direction and thought for a moment.
“Tag him.”
“What?” Sanul turned his head as Iapetus pinned him to the wall with one hand while poking him in the chest with the other. There was a dull hissing sound and the Volgoth convulsed.
“Tracking signal acquired.” Iapetus released him.
“Ouch!” Sanul gripped his chest. “What the hell?”
“I have to be sure I can find you. Iapetus has just shot you up with a military-grade nano-tracer. It’s flowing through your veins as we speak. Until we shoot you up with the releaser we’re going to know where you are.”
“But why?”
“You escaped,” she stated. “And you’re going to help me when I call you. Got it?”
“What about Cygni and the others?” His features sagged.
“I’ll check on them when I go to tell the Praetor you had a nanogrenade or something. I’ll contact you as soon as it’s safe, but if you try to escape we’ll give the tracker to the Praetor and I’ll figure out what’s going on by myself. Got it?”
He nodded with vigor. “By the gods bellow thank you!”
“Don’t thank me yet.” She activated the truck’s restraints. Straps flowed out of the chair and over her shoulders and waist. “You still have to survive the crash.”
“Crash?” Sanul’s ears became a blur in the air. “Wait, no!”
Meia nodded at Iapetus, and the truck accelerated before making an abrupt turn into the nearest building.
“Ben,” she said as soon as she entered the upper tower with Iapetus.
“Welcome back, Miss Starblood,” he stated from his position at the inner door and bowed to her.
“Thank you, Ben. Where is Reika?” She did not break her gait as she passed him and entered the hallway. Her boots hammered at the ornate rug in time with Iapetus’ drumbeat steps.
“Reika is located in Baroness Cronus’ quarters at the moment.”
That brought her up short. She turned to him.
“What?”
“Baroness Cronus is the acknowledged successor to the Shiragawa Zaibatsu, and as such, is Captain Daldon-Fukui’s boss. She requested Captain Fukui’s presence ten-minutes, thirty-seven seconds ago.”
“Oh.” Meia blinked, thinking her plan through while she listened to herself breathe.
“Is all well?” Ben asked.
“Yes, of course. I should report to Baron Keltan.”
“Baron Keltan is indisposed at the moment. He suffered something of a shock at discovering that Heiress Olivaar was involved with the Gaian terrorists and died in the attack on the tower.”
“She died?” Her eyes widened. She knew something had gone on at IntelSys Tower, but in order to maintain her ruse with the Praetor she had to pretend to have been knocked unconscious by the crash that “freed” Sanul.
“Along with Miss Aragón and Miss Tauthe, they were killed while trying to escape.”
“So, it’s over,” she said feeling odd.
It wasn’t. She reviewed some of the records Sanul provided her on the way back to Keltan Tower. She knew Sanul’s group was looking into the Praetors, the VoQuana, and the barons’ connection to Siren. So far everything he said was backed by the evidence. She closed her eyes and saw the faces of the Siren-maddened colonists during that horrible night on Calemni. She would avenge them as well as herself. She would make sure that another Siren attack never happened again. She swore it on the memory of the dead.
“The Gaian terrorists shouldn’t bother us any more,” Ben brought her attention back to him. “You have done a good job, and I am certain the baron will be pleased when he recovers.”
“Is Baron Keltan going to be okay?” A knot formed in her gut. She was now uncertain of his connection to Siren and the rest. Were the VoQuana really controlling him somehow? She still dismissed the ‘mind control’ myth, but perhaps they had some other means like nanomachines in his brain. No matter what it was, she would save him too. She owed him that much.
“He will be, yes. He is just a little overwhelmed.”
“Thank you, Ben.” She glanced up at Iapetus before continuing on.
Half-way back to her room she stopped in the hallway and frowned.
Reika, come meet me in my room when you can, she sent on their encrypted channel, then switched to direct contact with Iapetus. Can you make sure Ben isn’t watching us?
“It will arouse suspicion.”
Shit, she thought. He was right. There was no way of getting into the
heiress’ quarters without Ben knowing. He would certainly tell Baron Keltan if she went snooping. The rub, she realized, was whether or not that mattered. How would he react? Should she tell him what she was doing, or would that be equivalent to telling her enemies? It was impossible to tell. She had to know more.
With some reluctance she turned and resumed her path back to her quarters. Stripping off her armor, she flopped onto her back on the bed and accessed the files Iapetus decrypted on the way from the field. The oldest was titled “PRAETOR GRAVES: INTELSYS TOWER.”
She opened it and fed the somatic data into her implant. To her surprise, it put her in the park beneath the Cronus’ tower the night Baron Mitsugawa Yoji died. She saw the news feed from her quarters on the SS Iapetus when it happened. This record, though, had her experiencing the aftermath in person. She noted the recorder from the ID tag in the corner. It was Cygni Lau Aragón.
Meia didn’t recognize the Praetor and the CSA agent who showed up to investigate, but it was clear Aragón had an interest in them. It was also noteworthy that Baroness Sophiathena Cronus was the only one present not looking upset or shocked. Was she involved? From what she knew the baroness seemed capable.
She finished the recording and was about to open the next when her door chimed.
“Come in,” she shouted, sitting up.
Ben was in her doorway.
“I apologize for bothering you. Baron Keltan is in need of your presence,” he said.
She cocked an eyebrow. “I thought he was indisposed.”
“The situation has changed.”
That was fast, she thought, but nodded and slipped into a plain brown jumpsuit. She strapped her Growler to her bare thigh.
“Your drone was not called,” the artificial said when they moved to follow him. “It will remain where it is.”
Her eyes narrowed. A streak of defiance rose in her gut. It was futile, though, and Ben’s strange demeanor indicated this was something serious.
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