The North Star, page 30
part #1 of Galactic Sentinel Series
Assad’s ship left the densely populated areas behind and traveled to a more spacious district. Grimshaw was surprised when they landed on a pad outside a white consulate building belonging to the Shanti.
Councilor Assad climbed out of the transport and Grimshaw followed. The old man’s guards fanned out and took up positions around the grounds. The building was surrounded by lush green vegetation that included several short fruit-bearing trees. Elaborate white sculptures and other ornaments were strategically placed to draw the eye in specific directions.
They arrived at an arched entrance with wooden doors sporting carvings of ancient Shanti warriors battling a seven tentacled giant that looked all too familiar to Grimshaw.
Assad knocked and a camera extended from a recess to their left.
“Councilor. You’re just in time. The others are waiting.”
A door panel opened, and a handsome young Shanti admitted them. He wore a black suit, a white shirt, and a red bowtie threaded with gold. He gracefully bowed as they entered and closed the door behind them before activating a giant lock.
It was a grand hallway with marble pillars and a wide ivory staircase that climbed to a landing covered with a bright red rug. Paintings depicting legendary Shanti heroines lined one wall, and ancient suits of armor were arranged in a row on another.
An even mix of Shanti and human guards were posted at various entrances.
Grimshaw hadn’t been on the station in a long time, but he didn’t remember there being half as many guards at the human embassy.
“Is security usually so tight?”
Assad cackled as though Grimshaw had cracked a joke. “Having a lot of muscle around has become a bit of a necessity lately. Being a politician is a dangerous game to play these days.”
Martin and O’Donovan smirked as they looked sideways at Grimshaw. He regretted sharing his political views on the bridge, but his head wasn’t in the best of places since Colony 115, and if current events were anything to go by, even a short reprieve was too much to hope for.
“Still seems like a lot of guards.”
“Minister Straiya had to fire her security personnel and double down on the next lot after a certain incident. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it.”
“This way,” the butler said as he led them to a door to the right of the staircase.
They followed him down a narrow winding stairwell and into a cellar.
A Shanti in a short dress smiled at the butler and held another door open for them.
They entered a cold cellar with bare metal walls save a clock like the one Grimshaw once had aboard the Bakura. Three lights hung from the ceiling, and an old bookcase in one corner was stacked with ancient works. A table and six chairs made up the rest of the furniture.
Already seated were three people. At the head of the table was Minister Straiya, looking a lot more gray than Grimshaw remembered despite the fact that Shanti lived almost twice as long as the average human. She wore a red and pink floral dress with high copper-colored collars. It wasn’t a practical garb, but such was the fashion sense of politicians.
A Shanti male and a human woman sat to either side of her. Grimshaw didn’t recognize them, but given their flamboyant dress, he assumed they were councilors or consuls.
“Glad you could join us, Commander,” Straiya said in her soft purring tones. “Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.” He took the chair opposite Straiya while Martin and O’Donovan waited by the door.
“Do you trust these men?” Straiya gestured to the Officers.
“With my life,” Grimshaw said without hesitation.
“Good. Because what you’re about to hear can never go beyond these four walls.”
“Understood.”
“I don’t think you’ve met Councilors Klak and Sams,” she gestured to the Shanti and human respectively, and they nodded.
“Pleased to meet you both,” Grimshaw said.
“I’m afraid my third, Talori, had to leave for an assignment on Shandalla and will not be returning any time soon.”
Assad sat at his left. “Since we’re all here now, shall we get started?”
Grimshaw eyed the empty chair. “I imagined Ambassador Andallis would be here.”
“Andallis is dead,” Straiya said. “His ship exploded three days ago outside Gate Sigma on his way to Earth. We received the report you sent him. We tried to respond, but you must have already entered the gate by then.”
“Was it an accident?”
“That’s the official story,” Assad answered. “But we suspect there’s more to it than that, especially since an attempt was made on Minister Straiya’s life not long after we received word about Andallis.”
Grimshaw couldn’t stop his eyes from widening. “You think it was murder?”
“Let’s just say a lot of people had something to gain from his death,” Straiya said.
It frustrated Grimshaw how politicians couldn’t just cut to the chase. But he was in their domain and thus had to play by their rules. “Do you have a particular someone in mind?”
“Andallis being out of the way has allowed the Galactic Council to vote out Minister Jackson.”
“If Jackson’s no longer the human Minister, who is?”
“Peter Foster.” Assad spat the words.
Grimshaw tried to recall the name. “I don’t know much about politics, but wasn’t he always a bit of a snake?”
“All politicians are snakes,” Klak said. “It’s more a matter of what breed of snake, and Foster is the worst of them.”
Minister Straiya raised her chin as she spoke. “As you know, seven Ministers serve on the Galactic Council, one representing each of the seven major races. Foster has pledged human support to the Yalore and Tal’Ri. I’ll never support the Tal’Ri, and Minister Orrin’s people despise the Yalore. But the Chalah and Wargs are on the fence, as always. If the Tal’Ri win support from either, they will have a majority vote.”
They looked at Grimshaw like he was supposed to know what that meant. “Then what?”
“Then they can restructure the Galactic Council whatever way they see fit,” Straiya explained. “They’ll start with ousting the more uncooperative races. Then they will turn on their so-called allies. It seems that Foster and Lagore have forgotten how power hungry the Tal’Ri are. All one has to do is read a history book.”
“I’m just a Confederation Commander. My representative isn’t even on your side. What do you expect me to do about it?”
“We need someone from off-station, someone we can trust,” Straiya said. “Your record is impressive, Commander, and I remember smelling your loyalty and honor the last time we met.”
“Thank you, but I still don’t see how I fit into all of this.”
Assad looked at him. “Foster’s family are hardcore military. His father was an admiral during the Kragak war. He’s retired now, of course. We hoped you could convince him to appeal to his son, get him to rethink some of his harsher policies.”
Grimshaw raised his hand in objection. “Look, I understand what you’re trying to do, but I’m no politician. You’ve got the wrong guy.”
Minister Straiya the table with a firm fist. “They’re bent on destroying the bridges our people have worked so hard to build over the decades. Foster has already repealed Human-Shanti trade agreements, and to say the Shanti government is displeased would be an understatement. We cannot allow the old wounds of our peoples to be reopened.”
“Things are much worse than Eline said they’d be,” Grimshaw muttered as he briefly cradled his head in his hands.
“We think something more sinister is at work here.” Assad lowered his voice. “What do you know about the Chimera organization?”
“A rogue scientist on Colony 115 mentioned the name before he died, but that was the first I’d heard of them.”
“Very little is known about them,” Assad continued. “They are a secret terrorist organization, and we believe they are responsible for the ambassador’s death and the attempt on Minister Straiya’s life, however, we can’t connect them to any ministers on the Galactic Council.”
“How do you know these Chimera people have something to do with it?”
“One of my guards,” Straiya said. “I usually hire a mix of Shanti and humans for security, but someone planted information on one of them a few months back. The council used it as leverage against the security company and had it shut down. They then assigned me a team of Wargs until I had time to source a new detail, but they’ve kept me so busy I’ve barely had a minute to think about it. It turns out some of those Wargs were working for a third party. They fed information about my activities. It’s how they almost got me. They knew where I was going to be and had a sniper waiting.”
Grimshaw could tell that talking about it wasn’t easy for the minister. “I’m glad you got away, minister.”
“I suspected it was a Warg and had an old friend look into it. We caught one of them leaking information, but before we could get anything out of him, he cracked a poison capsule hidden in his teeth. He told us that Chimera had already won and died seconds later.”
Silence passed as Grimshaw thought about it, the politicians nervously waiting for his response.
“I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t see the fleet letting me stay here for long. You read the report. My ship was destroyed, and we lost hundreds of people on our last mission. I have a lot of work back at the academy.”
“Gate Sigma has been closed since Andallis died,” Assad pointed out. “Earth is holding a ceremony today and will keep their space closed until they’ve conducted their own investigation. That’ll take at least a week. You can give us that long?”
Grimshaw got the feeling that they were leaving out the part where they were the ones who had arranged the investigation so that he might agree with their proposition.
“Don’t forget, Commander.” Straiya’s purr was almost seductive. “If you do this for us, we will lend you our full support when it comes to the investigation into this Aphni invasion on your report. It’s hard to believe such an ancient race is still out there somewhere. The archives contain so little information about them, but the Ancients once believed them extinct.”
It was evident that they weren’t going to take no for an answer, and there was no telling what kind of trouble the politicians would cause for him if he refused.
“If I do this, I’ll need a base of operations. Project Zero would be suitable.”
“As it stands, Project Zero will be locked in that hangar for good unless Chimera get their hands on it,” Straiya said. “According to your report, that’s what they were after on Colony 115. The Tal’Ri would sooner dismantle her than let a human or Shanti on-board again. That is not a battle we can fight at present, Commander.”
“If we succeed in this, however, we’ll see that she gets a good home,” Assad added.
“We’ve already established a secure location for you, Commander,” Councilor Sams said. “It’s got everything you’ll need.”
“What about people? I’ve got some of the best—”
“We’ve put a team together. The most trustworthy Shanti and human agents on Sentinel Station. They passed all the tests.”
“You’ve got to at least let me use some of my own people,” he pressed.
“We’ve worked hard to set up a full operation. Resources have been—”
Straiya silenced Sams with a wave. “The Commander can select some of his own, but please be thorough with your choices.”
“Of course, Minister.”
“You’re lucky we got to you before the Tal’Ri or Yalore did,” Councilor Klak said. “They would have had you locked up if not worse.”
Assad cleared his throat. “Sergeant Chin almost got them. I arrived at the dock just in time.”
“The sergeant is becoming more daring by the day,” Councilor Sams added. “He’s been causing all sorts of problems lately.”
“It pays to be a Tal’Ri dog,” Assad spat.
“So we can count on your help, Commander?” Straiya said, breaking up the Sergeant Chin tirade.
“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best. I’ll need full disclosure. I need to know everything you know. There can’t be any secrets.”
“Of course, Commander. We appreciate your cooperation.” Straiya waved to her human councilor. “Return tomorrow, and Sams will provide you with everything. The address for Foster’s parents, any other leads we may have, finances, whatever you need.”
“Sounds good, Minister.”
It sounded anything but good. The trouble had been nonstop since the Chits attacked, and he almost longed for the monotony of the Confederation Fleet Academy. At least they were giving him the evening off.
EL NATURAL
Taza opened his eyes, and he yawned as he stretched out his arms to feel Zora, but she was no longer in bed. Since leaving the Underways, they spent most of their time at her apartment getting him back into shape. She worked him hard, and he was already getting some of his speed and agility back.
He climbed out of the silken sheets and searched for his clothes. Zora had folded them neatly on the bedside table.
It was a beautiful place, with an open-plan design, plenty of comfortable furniture, air purifiers and a well-stocked vendomat that poured gloop with any flavor he could think of. If he closed his eyes while eating the sticky substance, he could almost believe he was eating the real thing.
The apartment was located in the financial district and overlooked the river, which meant she was compensated nicely for her work.
Or maybe her employer paid for the place.
He was about to get dressed when Zora walked in carrying two bulky black cases.
“You’re awake, good.”
“I’ve been up for hours.”
“Sure you have.” She eyed his naked body. “Don’t put your clothes on, I’ve got something to show you.”
“It’s not every day a man gets an offer like that.”
“And it’ll be a long time before you get that kind of offer again, Taza.”
He had to stop himself from wincing at the name. “I’m still not used to being called that.”
“It’s normal. No one’s called you by your real name in almost a decade. It's a strange name for a human, but a hell of a lot better than Randis. Where does it come from?”
“The folks who adopted me in the Underways gave it to me.” He rubbed his face. It was a subject he’d rather not talk about, and Zora sensed as much.
She smiled and lifted the black cases onto the bed. It creaked under their weight.
“I got you a surprise.”
“What kind of surprise?”
“Open one and find out.”
He reached for the nearest case and opened two latches. The lid hissed as it slowly opened to reveal a black device that seemed eerily familiar.
“What is it?”
“Don’t you recognize it? It’s a suit. Like the one I wore when I kicked your ass.”
“You mean, you’re giving me one?” His eyes widened.
“Sure. I figured since your suit got busted and we’ll be working together, it makes sense.”
He lifted the device out of the box and realized why Zora struggled to carry them. It weighed half as much as he did, though it was no bigger than an over-sized backpack.
“How does it work?”
She threw a bag containing new under-armor at him. “Put that on, and I’ll show you.”
***
Taza followed Zora onto the main thoroughfare, and they walked toward the bridge. It took some time to get used to activating the new suit, but it was much more comfortable than the old one, and much more powerful too. It came with a new exo-tool, and a grumpy Warg gave Taza a dirty look when he almost plowed into it.
“Watch where you’re going. We’re cutting this close.”
“I can’t help it.”
“There’ll be plenty of time to play with your new toys later.”
Since learning Doctor Kira’s true identity, it seemed like everything revolved around time. He knew it was her job to keep track of time, but he wondered if she wasn’t obsessed with it. It was rare when more than an hour went by where she hadn’t checked her exo-tool a hundred times or calculated causal projections with her apartment’s AI.
They reached the bridge, and he looked at the weapons shop across the river. It belonged to the shopkeeper who betrayed Taza to Mr. Darcy. He wanted to pay the establishment a visit, but Zora wouldn’t let him.
“We need to wait on the bridge, or we’ll miss whom we’re looking for.”
“Who is it?”
“Just a person. What did I tell you about asking too many questions?”
Taza swore under his breath. He’d only spent a few days with her, and she was already bossing him around.
They stopped under the archway over the financial district side of the bridge and waited against a wall. Zora scanned the people as they went by.
“If you give me a description, I can help.”
“You know I can’t.”
It didn’t take long before the person Zora was looking for appeared. She punched Randis in the shoulder and pointed a man in a Confederation Fleet uniform out to him.
“That’s our guy. Come on.”
They marched up to the man and cut off his access to the bridge.
He was middle-aged, possibly a little younger than Taza, and had that look in his eyes that said he knew something they didn’t. The man was strongly built and had an air of experience about him. He looked like he’d fought more than a few battles and could cause them trouble if he was so inclined. Taza hoped he wasn’t.
He didn’t look too pleased at being stopped. “Can I help you?”
“Captain Grimshaw?” Zora said.
“Who’s asking?”
“Sorry, how rude of me. I’m Zora Zakari, and this is my partner, Taza Arkona.”
Taza tried his best impression of a friendly smile.
The Confederation officer didn’t seem impressed.
“The name’s Grimshaw, and I’m not a captain.” He sidestepped them and made for the bridge while muttering. “I’m a First Commander. Why do people keep calling me Captain?”
