Vana-Nus Lorvan?”
“That would mean he was paranoid about it a full day before it actually happened, Medusa, even if Seris-Karat Valanat was already in-system.”
“You may wish to consider the possibility that he’s expecting you. You are black-flagged, remember, and you do not know the identity of the High Guard who has been assigned to your case.
“That will make this interesting. If this goes to Rio, Medusa, make sure those League boys know about it.”
“As if this hasn’t already gone there. Why don’t you let me get that door open?”
“Aw, when they’ve gone through so much effort? If they are expecting me, I’m sort of curious what they think I’m going to do, and if they aren’t, I want to know who’s crashing the party. Another gray jump-suited janitor with no nerve endings perhaps?”
I walked down the corridor like that, painfully aware of every echo and every metallic scrape. The Sarcodinay disappointed me by trying nothing.
I reached the offices of the North Point Station Senior Commander. The door panel slid open easily, and I saw a Sarcodinay secretary looking at me from behind his desk on the other side of a long, narrow hallway. I waved at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Hello there!” I grinned at the secretary while pulling up an energy signature read-out on my wrist screen. “Is the War Leader in? I’ve so wanted to stop by and say hello.”
He was nervous, very nervous. He licked his upper lip carefully, then his lower lip, then repeated almost as if he were wringing his hands. “Step inside and I’ll see if he’s available.”
I laughed. “Oh I do so love Sarcodinay humor.” I shook my head, still grinning. “No.”
He looked surprised. “But—”
I glanced down at the panel on my wrist. “You know what else I love about you Sarcodinay? Consistency. A 5 meter by 2 meter chokepoint to command quarters will always, but always, be a maser-armed security grid. Oh, look, you’ve got Virox-class masers. Very fancy. Spared no expense, I see.”
The Sarcodinay swallowed. “I will turn off the security grid...” He reached out to his desk, fiddled with some buttons.
I sighed. Shaniran was clearly expecting someone, and I didn’t like the idea that he was expecting me. One of my old teachers from the Kaimer School had some advice on this: Never use the door they give you. I knew I should take that advice, turn around and walk out, but when would I have the chance to talk to the famous Shaniran again?
I checked the energy readings again. “Uh huh. Sure you did.” I pulled two small cubes out from a pocket.
“What are you doing?! Stop that immediately!”
“Now don’t be sore. You had your chance to play nice and power it down on your own.” I tossed one cube into the hallway and let the other fall at my feet. A few seconds later, a spike of electromagnetic energy formed a tube between the two points. “But no, you had to go and try to be clever.” I kept my pistol trained on him as I walked through the corridor at a brisk pace.
I reached the other side and looked over at the secretary. “Huh. You didn’t even try to fire. Now I am surprised.”
The Sarcodinay wiped a hand over his forehead. “The War Leader will speak with you inside.”
I scanned the door and the area around it, and then nodded to the man. “Thanks. You’ve been a peach.” I pulled a small object the same size and shape as a cigarette lighter out of another pocket, grabbed it in a fist, and walked inside.
The room was circular, and probably meant to look impressively grand. Large windows set in the ceiling provided a riveting view of the central ring where the docking ships were located. The War Leader’s large Nova-class carrier could be seen in the background. A number of flat-screen vids broke the line of the windows, like posters in the room of a teenager who wanted more wall space. The lower section of the room was edged with intertwining vines, revealed to be red and yellow by the luminescent faux insects crawling over the leaves. Flowers, brilliant pink and red, released their scents into the air. The velvet-napped carpeting and the remainder of the walls were black.
War Leader Shaniran stood towards the center of the room, looking up. He was tall even by Sarcodinay standards, but without the heavy musculature of their knights—a side-effect of a lifetime in lower gee environments. The light was just strong enough to make out the bronze-black tone of his skin and his glowing green eyes. He was wearing his formal War Leader ceremonial khani, so encrusted with medals and gems of merit that the existence of fabric underneath had to be taken on faith.
I couldn’t tell if he was staring out the window or not. Then I saw one of the vids was showing feed of Terran megacity riots.
“Good evening, War Leader. Enjoying the show?”
“Twenty years,” he said with a heavy voice that reminded me of a tiger’s purr. “I give you all twenty years before you’ve reverted to barbarism again. It’s your nature. You can’t help yourselves.”
“What odds are you giving? I might be persuaded to make a wager.” I inhaled. “You must be Shaniran, War Leader and explorer extraordinaire.”
“So they tell me.” He nodded, still without looking directly at me. “And you are Seris-Kaimer Mallory.”
“Oh, that’s sweet of you to say. Truly. But I never graduated.” I paused. “Also, I’m not particularly loyal to your Emperor or your Empire, and I have a family name, so I’d just as soon not use the Kaimer crèche instead of my own.”
He shrugged. “Very well then: Mallory Barbara MacLain.” Unlike most Sarcodinay, he pronounced the ‘b’ sound correctly.
I walked back to the door and punched the open button with an elbow. It was locked. I hadn’t really expected any less. I sighed and holstered the pistol. There wasn’t much point unless I felt like opening a hole to vacuum.
“I didn’t realize you were a fan of mine. You were looking for an autograph?”
“Lorvan told me about you. He told me all about you. He was terrified of you. Cowardly little worm.”
I scanned the room. It gave me a second to collect myself. He wanted to play hard. He obviously knew something, or thought he knew something, that I didn’t. Fine, I could play hard too. “I know why he was scared. Why are you?”
Shaniran brought his eyes down. They were glowing red in anger. “I am scared of nothing!”
“Why all the tricks? Why herd me down here through security airlocks, try to lead me into a security checkpoint, and even then greet me with a hologram instead of in person? You think I can’t recognize a holo-projection room when I see one, even if the display grid is hidden behind those flowers?” I gestured. “Two more doors besides the one I came through and you have a half-dozen Sarcodinay knights in full armor behind each. That’s enough fire power to turn this station into space junk, let alone kill me. When you panic, you don’t mess around, do you?”
“That’s not panic. That’s caution.”
“Was this whole trap set up for me? Should I be flattered?”
“I notice you don’t seem overly concerned.”
“Do you really think I would have come all this way without some guarantee on your good behavior?” I put some real condescension into my voice, and made sure to keep myself calm enough to not trigger any alerts. The whole game was up if Shaniran’s sensors, which I was quite certain he had trained on me, told him I was lying. “Oh you made this way too easy. Any fool would notice the trap.” I held up my clenched fist and waved it. “I took precautions.”
He frowned. “What is that? Some kind of dead man’s switch?”
“Smart man. I can see why you’re in charge. Simple shielded biometric trigger. I drop it, or pass unconscious, or die: it activates.” I smiled as nastily as I could manage. “You won’t like what happens next.”
He chuckled. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Still, you could be bluffing. Perhaps there is no bomb, or perhaps you expected me to be physically present and your kill switch will do nothing but take your own life.”
“Or maybe I assumed you wo
uldn’t leave your ship if you didn’t have to and planned accordingly. Willing to take the chance?”
“Not just yet. Why are you here, Seris?”
“One of the bodyguards you assigned Lorvan killed a friend of mine. He didn’t have to kill him. There was no good reason to do it. Sarcodinay soldiers are known for their skill at obeying orders, not improvisation. All I want to know is why you ordered Paul DuPres killed. Tell me, and I’ll leave without any fuss.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I didn’t order it.”
“Then who did?”
“Why don’t you ask Lorvan?” He must have seen my expression through some sort of camera feedback, because he raised a hand to stop my retort. “I am not entirely sarcastic. Lorvan was terrified of you and in later years increasingly paranoid. Lorvan called me asking for protection and I gave him two men. I don’t deny it. He may have given the men I loaned him instructions that were equivalent to signing your friend’s death warrant. You have my condolences.”
“Why would he kill one of my friends if he came to me for help in the first place?”
“Again, that is a question I cannot answer. It seems that all the answers you will ever have died with the Minister of Education. I am sorry.” His tone indicated that he was anything but sorry. Shaniran returned to watching the vids of the riots. “How do you think it will all end?”
“With my luck, death and chaos. Or are you talking about the riots?”
He shrugged. “The