Skelos gazed at her. She was deranged. Don’t panic. Nylthia had dealt with these types in the past. They had never got further than their front gates. ‘I don’t share my plans with the messenger. Now do you want to drop me back home.’
‘Forgive me,’ she said, bowing her head. ‘You must want to speak with the part-humanoid. She is on board.’
~
Skelos following her to the crew’s quarters. When the door slid back, he saw Orel sitting on one of the bunks with her hands resting in her lap. She had not changed. There was something strangely ethereal about her.
I am in love. ‘She has not aged,’ he said.
‘She is my twin sister, was, I suppose. Her name is Tabiatha. Very little of her is humanoid now: a leg and a small segment of her brain, but to call her a cyborg would be an insult.’
He nodded. Interesting. He had never met a part-humanoid: those who had parts of their body replaced by machinery due to disease or injury. Citizens had the ability to self-heal, which was not always the case with Denizen hybrids.
Elise spoke to her sister. ‘Deliver your message regarding Index Eleven.’
‘My name is Tabiatha. I am from planet Gunan. I currently reside on the planet Fortification, located within the Messier galaxy. I want to tell you about Index Eleven. Index Eleven is a list of planets compiled by a select group of revolutionists from planets wishing to overthrow their leaders in the hopes of replacing them with a new order. Gunan was not destroyed by a meteorite but by a nuclear explosion commanded by vice-chancellor Ceroh of Kaltharine. Your former Ruling Chancellor was murdered by a member of your own Parliamentary Elite, Onas Pralyeton. Please contact Zatar to strategise your plans. We await your signal.’
So this explained it. Skelos sunk into the chair. ‘But I didn’t send a signal.’
‘Your wife then or the child?’ said Elise.
Skelos shook his head. How could he send a signal? When he never understood the message.
His heart leapt at the sound of gunfire. The ship rocked under the impact. It was coming from behind them. A ship was in pursuit. Some distance away, it resembled a feathered silver halo.
Elise inspected the ship’s rear navigation screen. She tapped some of the controls. The ship dipped and then released its loaded missiles directly into the nose of the pursuing vessel. It exploded in a ball of white and yellow flames.
She then took the warship higher, letting it drift into a sea of clouds.
Skelos felt a painful pop in his ears. The oxygen levels were dropping. He gasped for air. He looked around for an oxygen mask, but couldn’t see one. ‘I didn’t send the mess-message. Take me home.’
‘But−’
He would have had to be out of his mind to let Elise launch them into outer space in a corroding vessel. ‘Take me home now!’
~
When the ship docked outside his home, he scrambled down the ramp-way before it had fully lowered. His ears blocked ears deadened all sound and his back was saturated in sweat.
He ran inside without bidding Elise goodbye. They had not spoken a word on the return journey.
He secured the door behind him. He poured himself another drink, raised the glass to his lips, and then let it crash to the floor. He trembled. No more drink. He needed to keep his wits about him. Maintain his sanity.
He wiped his mouth, tasting the salt on his lip. He wanted to run. He didn’t want to get involved in politics and war. Such a thing was unconscionable. And what if the Fortification rebels show up here? On my doorstep! He paced the length of the room until he was exhausted and panting for breath.
He rested a while and then paced the ceiling until the pressure in his ears became too much to bear. He wasn’t fond of the vice-chancellor but did not wish to see him overthrown. The idea that Eron had been murdered by these rebels was absurd.
He tried contacting Denlor but could not get hold of him. He could not rely on Nylthia. There was only one person whom he could call.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Skelos sensed Osaphar’s disgust, although it was clear from his expression.
Osaphar lips twitched and his eyes narrowed as Skelos told him of his near-death expedition with Elise and Tabiatha. No matter which way he spun the story, he came across as a coward and cowardice was not the Citizen way.
‘You’ve had no contact with her since?’ said Osaphar.
Skelos had invited Osaphar into his home with some hesitation. He knew he would berate him for what he had done. Osaphar had always judged him. Every question asked was a test; every answer a fail.
Skelos shook his head. ‘She hasn’t attempted to make any, and I’m unable to contact her. The hologram has gone.’
He was not surprised that ‘Orel’ had vanished from his home. She had delivered her message, and he had refused to hear it.
Osaphar sat in one of the dining room chairs. Hi pale green eyes made the room feel cold. ‘What’s the matter with you? You should have stayed and learned more.’
‘In case you hadn’t noticed, I have my own problems. I’m under investigation, my wife’s left me, and my niece has only just returned.’
‘And you don’t think you owe our former Ruling Chancellor allegiance? You don’t wish to avenge his death?’
Skelos harrumphed. He couldn’t pretend he didn’t care. Eron had been more of a brother to him than Aughen had in his youth. He acted as if the passing of time had diminished those feelings, but they had not. He tried not to think about his childhood and the red dust from the caves. It was near impossible. As a child he had formed a strong bond − a brotherhood − with Osaphar and Eron that would never be broken or forgotten. Eron’s wife and son had emigrated to a neighbouring planet away from the media glare and controversy that had followed his death.
Skelos was determined to stand his ground. Regardless of his guilt, and the bond he had shared with the Eron, he felt under no obligation to avenge his death. ‘We were in danger. Elise wasn’t thinking rationally. She intended to launch us into space in a primeval warship. I had to abort. And how could I trust her? She came out of nowhere. You have friends among the Parliamentary Elite, including my wife. You can take care of it, can you not? Osaphar, The Bold.’
Osaphar glared at him. ‘Do not call me that,’ he said. ‘How are we to know our enemies from our foes?’
‘I’ve no idea. Talk it through with Nythlia. I’m going to see my brother in Kaltharine and I’m taking Amelia with me. I’ll send you a crate of Zaskian or two while I’m there.’ He stood up and waited for Osaphar to do the same. He wanted to see him walk out of his front door. He did not want him loitering around the house, tormenting him as Orel had done short hours ago. He suspected he would regret revisiting the hydro-pod for the rest of his life.
Osaphar slammed his hand on the seat of his chair. ‘Sit down!’
Skelos walked to the door. Very well. If he shan’t leave... ‘I have to pack.’
‘Sit down, or I’ll swear you’ll regret it. You cannot deliver this information and walk away. This is beyond the two of us. You know this. You want to act like a Citizen.’
Skelos returned to face Osaphar. ‘Of course, it’s beyond the two of us,’ he spat. ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. The Establishment believe I’m plotting against them. The incident in the sky today will only support their deluded beliefs. And you’re right when you said we don’t know our enemies from our foes. Someone has set me up to take the fall for this, and I’m not about to wait around here to let them do it.’
‘They will catch up with you wherever you go.’
Skelos flopped into a chair. He broke out in a sweat. How could he redeem himself if he ran from the very Citizens from whom he wanted approval?
‘Is it possible you sent the signal without knowing it?’
‘I don’t think so. I found the remote device in the glasshouse. I sat in the Hydro-pod chair, but I’d done that before when I was a boy and no signal e
ver went out − that I know of.’ He thought back over the last few days. ‘I didn’t do anything new. Nothing I hadn’t done before.’
Osaphar raised an eyebrow. Skelos found himself blushing. He knew what Osaphar must have thought. He had never touched her in that way, but saying it wasn’t going to make his former friend believe him. He had bought Orel out after Nythlia had left. Osaphar would naturally assume that it was to fulfil some kind of depraved need, no matter what he told him.
‘Did you tell anyone else about the part-humanoid?’ asked Osaphar.
‘Denlor, but he didn’t hear the message and I-I trust him with my…’ He trailed off. How can I trust anyone, after all I have witnessed in the last forty-eight hours? I don’t even trust myself.
Osaphar nodded, accepting Skelos’s word on the matter. ‘If only there was a way to destroy the threat and the list, then Index Eleven would be thrown into disarray.’ He gave him a measured look. ‘The revolutionists wouldn’t know who to trust. Each planet would be forced to act alone, which would increase the chance of them being brought to justice. That’s if they’re brave enough to attempt to execute their own rulers without intergalactic support. If Onas were solely responsible for Eron’s death, the Establishment would have found some mitigating evidence, I’m certain.’
Eron had suffered a single shot to the head. It killed him instantly; his cells were not able to regenerate in time. The Establishment assumed that he was assassinated by another within the Parliamentary Elite because there was no evidence to the contrary. No one else had been shot, and the Establishment could find no one who had a personal vendetta against him. Eron’s murderer was still out there, most likely on another planet.
It may have been too late to eliminate the threat. The signal had been sent. The wheels had been set in motion. But he could use his Gift to destroy the list – or expose it. That much he could do. That and perhaps a little more… ‘I have a plan,’ he said. It was as if the words were not his own. This was the Maker’s Will; something that could not be explained.
‘Please don’t say murder because that would be−’
‘No, not murder. Something a little less radical.’
After Osaphar had left, Skelos sent Zatar a message on the encrypted gateway and waited.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Skelos slid the Datas card, Osaphar had retrieved from the Thruen across the table to Zatar. He had arranged to meet him in the restaurant of a secluded town, one hundred miles from the city.
Zatar had been gorging on a plate of seafood when Skelos found him. He smacked his thick lips together. He had been suspicious the moment Skelos had made contact with him. He took the Datas card, stared at it for a moment, and then passed it back to him. ‘This means nothing to me. Who are you? What do you want?’
‘Skelos.’ He had no plans to divulge his surname. Why risk unnecessary complications? ‘I was the one who sent the signal.’
Zatar nodded. He wiped his mouth on a napkin and took a gulp of wine. ‘Elise told me about you. She said you denied sending the signal, and then jumped ship – literally.’
Skelos smiled. ‘It was merely a test. You can never be too careful.’
‘Your test could have cost me and my Denizen squad our lives if I had acted immediately, which I did not.’
Skelos’s mouth went dry. He reached for the jug and poured himself a glass of water. ‘Because of what I told Elise?’
Zatar abruptly dropped his fork. He had lost his craving seafood. ‘No − because she was attacked by an unidentified ship. You’re not a member of the Parliamentary Elite, so why show me the card?’
‘Someone tried to kill me. I found the Datas card on them. Now can you understand my caution? The assassination of President Tusan cannot go ahead. Not while we have a traitor in our midst.’
‘And you think that has something to do with me?’
‘How would I know? Would you tell me if it did?’
Zatar shrugged. He called over the waiter and ordered more wine.
He didn’t know who was watching. The sooner he got his hands on the list, the sooner he could destroy it. ‘I need to see the list. Where can I find it?’
Zatar drummed his hands together. ‘Closer than you think. Though, it won’t tell you who tried to kill you, if that’s what you’re thinking. There is only one Index Eleven file. It holds the list of every member. One member holds the list for four years and then passes it on to a successor. Names can be added on recommendation and removed upon request by any Index Eleven member.’
Skelos leaned back. ‘So who has the list now?’
‘Onas Pralyeton.’
~
At first his mother denied knowing anything about Index Eleven, but as he opened up about her involvement, she told more than he had suspected.
‘I didn’t have anything to do with Eron’s death. I joined the list to challenge the rule on Kaltharine only. I wanted to expand Dorm Presteria Energy. The list helped me to achieve this. The rewards were instant. The former Ruling Chancellor blocked us from doing so. I did it for the family. I had the hologram projector installed within the walls of our home to preserve it for the time we are called upon to do our part.’
It explained her reaction when he asked her about the Hydro-pod. He didn’t want to argue with her. He only wanted the list. If it would to be made public, it would condemn them all worse than his failed demonstration ever could.
‘The time is now,’ said Skelos. ‘You went into my vault. You took a file from it containing the list. Where is it?’
‘I destroyed it. You needed worry any further.’ Her bottom lip trembled when she spoke. Her face was as harsh and speckled as granite.
‘You and I both know it’s not the original list.’
His mother shuddered. ‘What are you going to do?’ She understood his gift as a talent, something that he had mastered to infiltrate technological systems. She had no idea that it was some phenomena beyond even his control or understanding. It was the Maker’s Will. ‘There is a traitor in Index Eleven. They are going to ruin us.’
She shook her head fiercely. ‘Don’t do this Skelos. You could put our lives in danger. I will never be able to return to Odisiris.’
‘If the list is destroyed, there is no evidence to link you to it. You should be grateful. I’m doing us a service.’
‘You are doing me a disservice. You don’t know how hard I’ve worked to build our reputation and our legacy. Now you want to tear it down. You who have ruined us in the field of cybernetics. There are Citizens who block our access to the top, and there are ones who are willing to accommodate us. We cannot be seen to go against them. We need others to do that for us. This was why Index Eleven was created. It is not a bad thing. Don’t you dare do what I think you’re going to do!’
‘Having the House of Brailey name on Index Eleven could have been the end of us. And we don’t need any more scandal hanging over our heads than we have already, do we, Mother?’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Skelos walked in on Nythlia and Onas embracing, their bodies pressed against each other, their lips locked. Skelos didn’t think he had ever known Nylthia to kiss so passionately. The image stung him. But there was a greater betrayal. He waited for his blood to simmer before he passed the door’s threshold.
He had never meant to be so bold. Onas was foolish enough to have cyborgs posted outside the door of his home. Cyborgs that he created and knew how to shut down even without his gift.
In hindsight, he should have known there was someone else in Nylthia’s life. She had been unwilling to give him a second chance after one catastrophic experiment.
They heard his footsteps and jolted to attention. Nylthia wiped her lips and turned away and Onas turned an unsightly shade of blue. An angry gleam came to his eyes when he saw it was Skelos who had disturbed him.
Nylthia attempted to compose herself. She smoot
hed down her hair, though there wasn’t a strand out of place. ‘Skelos, what are you doing here?’
‘I came to see Onas,’ he said, his eyes on the vice-chancellor’s advisor. ‘If you don’t mind Nylthia, I wish to speak to Onas alone.’
‘Wait for me in the dining room, Nylthia,’ said Onas.
Blue blood crept up Nylthia’s neck. She shared a final look with Onas and then left the room, trotting the last few steps to the door. It closed after her.
Onas went to stand behind his desk, rubbing sweat from his hands and dabbing his forehead. ‘Dr Skelos, I don’t know want to say. I’m deeply ashamed, but Nythlia assured me that the marriage was to be terminated within the month. And I could not wait.’ He drew himself up, raised his chin, and said with taunting arrogance, ‘We could not wait.’
Skelos tried to control his anger, to keep his blue blood creeping to the surface of his skin. ‘Don’t bother to explain yourself. I’m here on an entirely different matter. A deeply private one.’
Onas took a breath and sat down. ‘Talk freely. We are alone.’
Skelos knew this wasn’t the case. That was the thing about being an Odisirian Citizen, you were never truly alone. Someone or something was always watching, tracking your every move. Thank the Maker, such technology did not hinder him. ‘I want my Stores back and the go ahead to continue my research without interference.’
‘Because of Nylthia. You threaten me with her?’
Skelos threw the Datas card on the desk. ‘I believe this belongs to you.’
Onas watched the card skim across the desk. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes bulging. ‘That’s not mine.’
‘I know you wanted Osaphar and I dead. Somehow you found out that we had a copy of Index Eleven and didn’t want to risk exposure. You were ready to overthrow vice-chancellor, Gabe Nevassi and wanted to leave nothing to chance. You were never interested in my particular field of research, were you? I know you used your son to spy on me. You saw me as a threat. All because of the list. It may interest you to know that I too have joined the Index. If I’m honest, I’m insulted that you left me off of it in the first place.’