Consortium of Planets: Alien Test (17 page)

Martle could see Forge’s determination but wasn’t going to give up. Too much was at stake. He needed to win him over and maintain control until a definitive plan for running the world could be devised. “Colonel, you need to put your personal feelings on hold until the time is right. For one thing, Visen has an assassin on her way over here from Europe who is planning to kill me. But it’s strange; the chancellor doesn’t act like he knows that she’s after me. It’s been business as usual, and he isn’t that good an actor. The bottom line is that you need to get to her and try to turn her to our side before she gets to me. With you and her working together, planning Visen’s demise will be a lot simpler.”

Unfortunately, the general made sense. Dean had never gone on a mission without a plan and a mistake might let Visen get away. Killing Visen would be the ultimate mission. The chancellor had a great deal of security. Success would require the perfect plan and a lot of luck. “General, you can count on me to do whatever it takes to get him. The more pain I can inflict on him, the better. So you want me to intercept the assassin?”

“Yes, but there is more to her than meets the eye.”

“More than killing you, General?”

“Colonel, Visen had her parents killed when she was a little girl, and I don’t think she knows it. When you catch up to her, you must try to convince her of what he did to her family and use that information to turn her against him. She is formidable and, like I said, would make an important addition to the Network. I have video footage I want you to watch of her attacking my European assets on two different occasions. For now, Colonel, you must act like everything is fine when you’re with Visen, but watch your back anyway.”

“Sir, watching my back
is
why I’m still alive.”

Consortia:

Constant traffic moved methodically up and down the wide boulevard while everything baked under the planet’s large lavender sun. The noisy bustle filled Reggiald’s ears as he sat patiently at a table for two on the sidewalk outside a local cantina. Across two more rows of tables, he noticed how dry the wispy trees were that lined the street.
We really could use more rain.

He wasn’t the only one who noticed as the commandant of the Warrior Caste approached. Reggiald hadn’t met him in person but had seen numerous pictures in the news, so he knew exactly what the C.O.P.s’ top military commander looked like. Surprisingly, he wasn’t very tall for a Warrior. He still appeared imposing, though, dressed in purple and gold body armor. Lines of experience were etched deeply in the greenish-gray skin around his black eyes.

“Commandant, it’s good to finally meet you. I appreciate your responding on such short notice. As I said, it appears that the Chn-maa terrorism extends to the Warrior Caste, so we have a bigger problem than we might have thought.”

Ban’yr smiled to himself. His anti-Chn-maa propaganda was clearly working – even the University was buying it. He quickly sized up the University professor and decided that he could use him before the Senate to lend more credibility to the Chn-maa threat.

“Doctor, it is difficult to believe that Warriors, sworn to duty, would get involved in such clandestine activity.” Looking for the micro pouch, he added, “What proof do you have of their involvement?”

Reggiald looked around conspiratorially, leaned toward the commandant, and began to speak so that only Bany’r could hear. “Sir, I have a micro pouch that one of your captains tried to send to a terrorist contact here on Consortia. Also, there is a spaceport record of Fe’ton and two of his bodyguards trying to get that micro pouch from one of your Warriors, who was acting as the captain’s courier. That same Warrior is an eyewitness to back up what both records show.”

Yes,
Ban’yr thought to himself as the doctor oozed with conviction.
He comes across so believable and sincere...perfect to stand with me in front of the Senate and convince them of the threat.
The commandant had found his pawn – someone from the University who the Senate wouldn’t ignore.

Reggiald paused briefly and waited for the commandant's reaction, but all he received was a slow nod and intense scrutiny.
He knows there’s more.
Reggiald braced himself as he added more. “There’s one other problem.”

Ban’yr raised his heavy eyebrows in anticipation but said nothing.

“One of our Searchers is stranded on the planet that the courier came back from and we need a ship to get her home.”

“Oh, yes. How did that project turn out, Doctor?”

“Well, it turned out much better for the Consortium as a whole than the Warrior Caste in particular.”
Apparently, the commandant hasn’t gotten the word about his ship and crew yet.
“Searcher Wystl approved the species for admission into the Consortium.”

Reggiald paused again, but not for the commandant’s reaction. He had to choose his words carefully so as not to implicate Wystl in the crew’s fate. “Unfortunately, there was some kind of weird feedback that destroyed the vessel while the Searcher was outside doing research.”

Ban’yr’s eyes narrowed as he considered the doctor’s explanation. At this point, he would maintain the doctor’s confidence by picking up his Searcher.

“That
is
very...convenient that your searcher wasn’t on board with the rest of her crew when the ship happened to blow up.”

Both of Reggiald’s stomachs began to churn.
He suspects!

“Your Searcher sounds like a survivor we must save, Doctor. I will immediately dispatch a shuttle to pick her up.”

Reggiald couldn’t believe his ears, but he had to remain calm. He couldn’t let the commandant know that there was anything other than a professional interest on his part in getting his subordinate back.

“Doctor, do you have coordinates of her location?”

“She was on the planet’s only moon but was taken to the planet’s surface by its inhabitants. The planet’s leader, Jonathan Visen, should know where she is. Have your captain contact me for his coordinates when they’re ready to go.”

Reggiald lowered his voice conspiratorially again and warned, “You must caution your Warriors that the inhabitants of Earth look exactly like the Chn’maa but have none of their old technology. They must have been a colony that lost contact with the rest of their kind long ago and are no longer a threat. There isn’t even anything in their mythology that connects them to their Chn-maa ancestors.”

Ban’yr blinked rapidly as he considered what the new species meant to his plans. A faint warning nagged at the back of his mind.
Is it coincidence or some form of irony that more Chn-maa showed up at the very time that I am preparing to use them in my plan?
No. Nothing would stop him now. It was not a sign from the gods, and he would find a way to use it to his advantage. In front of the Senate, he would use the Humans as more proof of the Chn-maa threat.

“Well, Doctor Reggiald, we’ll save your Searcher, and I want you to know that you have confirmed my fears. I always felt that the terrorist activities were too well organized for the Chn-maa to be acting alone. I was afraid that they had help. I just didn’t know that their help was coming from my own people. Even more disturbing, those people are specifically trained in warfare and tactics. Doctor, depending on how experienced those Warriors are...well, let’s just say that we could be in for the fight of our lives. Bring your records and the Warrior to my office this afternoon so I can review the information.”

“Commandant, I don’t think we can wait. We need to present what we know to the Senate immediately!”

Ban’yr smiled to himself.
This is too easy
. “Of course we do, Doctor. Trust me. When we get in front of those diplomats, we’d better keep it simple and straightforward, or they’ll talk their way right out of the existence of a threat. We have to be prepared.”

The old soldier watched the doctor’s eyes grow in fear and disbelief that the Senate might not react to their information. The commandant tried to reassure him. “Listen, Doctor, with your assistance, we can force them to act. So let’s meet this afternoon at my office, say right after lunch?”

“I hope so, Commandant. I hope so. After lunch then.”

Both Consortians stood up from the table, turned, and walked away in opposite directions. Each pulled their linker and made a call.

“Alont, it is Reggiald. I just met with the commandant.”

The young Warrior had never met the commandant. He had only heard amazing stories about his military genius and how he used it in unique ways to defeat his opponents.

“What did he say?”

Before Reggiald could respond, the anxious Warrior quickly asked another question.

“Do you think he is angry about what I’ve done?”

Reggiald frowned in alarm at the linker in his hand and the fearful voice coming from it. “You’ve done nothing wrong! You have exposed a terrorist threat that we were unaware of until now. The commandant should think of you as a hero. You have nothing to worry about.”

Alont breathed a sigh of relief and was able to listen quietly.

“The reason I’m calling is to let you know that he wants to meet with us to examine our evidence and then prepare it for Senate review. I’m headed back now to pick you up and get the recordings. See you in a bit.”

“Dev’kall, its Ban’yr. I’m meeting with the University’s scientist this afternoon at my office to review what he has. We just met, and I think I can use him to help sway any Senate hesitation regarding the significance of the Chn-maa threat. It appears that there is a whole planet of Chn-maa that we never knew about.”

“What? We’ve provoked modern-day Chn-maa? How could we have gone this long without running into them? What kind of fleet do they have?”

“Relax. Apparently, it’s a lost colony of them that one of his Searchers just found. They can barely get to their moon, let alone launch a fleet. I’m sending a ship to retrieve his Searcher and pick up the colony’s leader. We’ll put him in front of the Senate, along with everything else we have. By the time we’re done, all warship will be back in my hands, where they belong – and the Consortium’s fleets will vanquish the Chn-maa once again. There will be no glory for the University this time. They won’t even have a part.”

The little alarm went off in Dev’kall’s mind, the one that normally kept him out of trouble. He wasn’t sure if it rang because of the Chn-maa or the sudden sound of power that resonated in Ban’yr’s voice. Either way, Ban’yr did tell him about the doctor this time. He decided that he had complained long enough. It was time to ante up or go home.

“So the doctor is sure that they are benign?”

“Yes, he is absolutely certain.”

“Let’s hope so. Do you want me to contact the Chn-maa for you while you’re preparing for the Senate?”

Ban’yr almost screamed, and then caught himself. “No! I mean, I can handle it. Besides, the less everyone knows, the more secure the mission.”

The sound of power had disappeared. The commandant sounded shaky now. Dev’kall wondered fleetingly what it was like to really be able to trust someone but quickly dismissed the thought as totally unrealistic. “Well, thank you for the update and let me know what’s next. I’ve already contacted our Warrior for Change leadership, and they’re ready.” “Thank you, Consul. I’ll be setting up things with the Chn-maa next. Goodbye.”

Tilcas covered his ears to block out the sudden burst of noise. It shook the subterranean tunnel in which he stood. It didn’t bother him; he was used to the loud routine. In a newer tunnel, just a few meters above his head, a huge, clear tube-shaped transport was screeching to a halt, right on schedule. All three stories of the massive, bloated-looking “worm” extended a full kilometer down the tunnel; it barely fit in its confined space. It came within a meter of the tunnel’s arched roof and had metal platforms filled with wiggling passengers within its bloated belly. Surrounded by transparent glass, the worm had two shiny silver floors that separated all three of its levels. They looked like stripes from the outside.

Almost as noisy were the thousands of Consortians who exited and switched places with thousands more entering the worm underneath Consortia City. They were going to work, to shopping venues, or to places that Tilcas could only dream of. He was one of the janitors who kept the tunnels clean and, even if he had the wealth to travel, they would never allow him to do so anyway, for he was also Chn-maa. What they didn’t know – and there was much that they didn’t know – was that he was the elected leader of the two billion Chn-maa who lived and toiled on hundreds of planets throughout the C.O.P.

It wasn’t really necessary, but force of habit made him look over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching. Seeming to be uneducated and practically a slave in their eyes, he went about his menial tasks and could not remember a Consortian ever noticing him. That was exactly the way he liked it. His dirty, gray coveralls blended nicely with the drab, concrete walls. He kept his section spotless, just like the other Chn-maa janitors, so that even their Consortian supervisors would not have to notice them.

He leaned the handle of his ion cleaner against the wall and stepped into one of the tunnel’s many supply rooms. In the back of the small, two-by-three-meter room stood neatly stacked shelves. They held everything that the Consortian supervisors thought a Chn-maa might need to clean up their mess.