Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids (26 page)

“Ah, I see,” Marranalis said with a knowing grin.

“So what do I need to know about today?” I asked.

“The planets Syndrop and Porporat are both petitioning the Federation to be allowed to secede.”

“Why do they want to secede?”  I asked.  “That’s an open invitation for the Brotherhood to come and occupy them.”

“They don’t seem to see it that way; in fact, they believe the opposite; if they secede, they believe the Brotherhood will leave them alone.”

“By the stars, what gives them that idea?  They can see what the Brotherhood has been doing with other worlds.”

“I think there is a lot of pressure on them because they are surrounded on all sides, but one, by the Brotherhood right now and they see themselves in line to be conquered.  If they secede, they believe the Brotherhood will pass them by, at least for the time being and move on to attack other worlds.”

“That strategy hasn’t worked for any worlds so far; what makes them think they will be any different?”

“I’m not sure they think it will be any different, only that they will fare better this way than if they are part of the Federation and they resist the Brotherhood when they come.”

“By the stars, don’t they have any sense at all?”

“I can’t answer that question, Admiral.”

“How long would it take us to get to… what’s the name of those planets again?”

”Syndrop and Porporat, sir,” Marranalis replied as he checked the computer database.  “We’d need to make three transfers through Cantolla Gates; that would put us in their system in about seven hours.

“Contact Captain Wanoll and have him get us there,” I said.

“Wanoll, sir?  You want the
DUSTEN
to fly there?” Marranalis asked in confusion.

“Wanoll?  Did I say Wanoll?  I meant… Ah, Captain Mareoparen.  I want this ship flown there.”

“Yes, sir,” Marranalis said as he glanced at me with concern.  “Admiral, are you feeling all right?”  he asked.

“Yes, at least I think I am.  I’m tired from last night, but keep an eye on me, Marranalis, just in case,” I added, hoping that the treatment A’Lappe had given me wasn’t wearing off that quickly.

It had been five days since my treatment and A’Lappe believed the treatments would last about a week.  I had been hoping I wouldn’t start showing signs of the drug wearing off so soon.  Perhaps it was being tired because of my lack of sleep.

“You’re going back to your old habits,” Padaran said later that morning when I sparred with him.  I hadn’t even come close to having a good move on him all day and I was slow in my responses.  “You must have stayed up too late last night.  You know you can’t go out dancing all night like you used to,” he joked.

“Yeah, you wait.  You'll be old too one of these days,” I answered through a forced grin.

I was taken by surprise later that afternoon when I received word that a lawyer on Megelleon was trying to contact me about Admiral Stonbersa’s will.  According to the lawyer, I had been named in his will and the lawyer wished to meet with me.

“Why would Stonbersa have named me in his will?”  I asked Kala later that evening as we ate dinner.  “I can’t imagine him leaving me anything, with all that I have now.  Anything I don’t have I can buy or have made.  It makes no sense,” I said.

“Dad,” Reide butted in, “maybe it’s a map.”

“A map?  For what?”

“I don't know, maybe a treasure that belonged to some space pirate who died and he gave the map to Stonbersa before he died.”  Reide said as he struggled hard to make up a reason.  I glanced at Kala, who had her head down and was smirking.

“That’s dumb, Reide,” Lunnie interjected, “How would Stonbersa get to know a pirate and why would the pirate give him the map?”

“I don’t know,” Reide mumbled, “Maybe they were friends growing up--like me and Rory.”

“Well I don’t think it’s a map,” I said.

“Dad, can Rory come and live with us here on the
NEW ORLEANS
?” Reide asked abruptly.

“What?  Why do you want Rory here on the ship?” I asked.

“Well, he’s my best friend and we’re like brothers and he doesn’t have a mother or dad, and… well, can he, Dad?  He could share my room with me,” Reide said looking at me pleadingly.

“Reide, Rory has a very nice place back on the estate and he can come here at any time; all he has to do is walk through the Cantolla Gate, the same goes for you.  You can visit him every day if you wish,” I said.

“Yeah, but it’s not the same.  When I go there we always have Women with Swords following us around and watching everything we do.”

“But they don’t follow you around when Rory is here visiting you on the ship,” I said.

“That is why he should come and live here, so we don’t get followed all the time.”

“Reide, I get followed all the time, on the ships or at the estate,” I said.  “Right now there is a trooper outside our door to follow me where ever I go.”

Reidecor looked sullen and mumbled, “that’s not the same.”             

“Oh?  Tell me how it’s different?”

“Well, well… it’s not fair.  That's all…”

“I see,” I said.  “And somewhere you think there is a law written down that life should be fair,” I asked in amusement?

“Well, it should be,” Reide fumed.

“Go tell that to the Brotherhood,” I said.  “They’re one of the big reasons that life isn’t fairer than it is.  Rory’s parents are dead because of the Brotherhood; they are the reason Rory is an orphan; they are the reason you need the Women with Swords to guard you, Lunnie and Kala.  They’re the reason I have to wear this uniform and fight battles instead of being able to spend more time with you all.  Tell it to Jenira, who was a slave longer than you’ve been alive; and tell it to her brother who was killed when he wasn’t much older than you are now.  They will all agree with you that life should be fair, but they will all also tell you that it isn’t and to get used to it.”

“So, Rory can’t come and live with us?”  Reide said peeping at me from under his brow.  It made me laugh and I ruffled his hair.  “No, but he can come and spend the night from time to time and he’s always welcome here on the ship.”

After dinner when Kala and I were alone I asked her, “Kala, did I do the right thing telling Reide ‘no’ about Rory coming to live here on the ship?  I mean, we certainly can afford it.”

Kala smiled and looked me in the eyes, “Tib, if you had said yes, next week Lunnie would want to move four of her friends in here and the week after Reide and Rory both would want someone else to join them.  I think you made the right decisions; like you pointed out, it’s not like they can’t get to see and be with each other, only it’s not twenty-four hours a day.”

I was starting to open my mouth to say something else when my wrist com beeped.

“Tibby here,” I answered.

“Admiral, this is Marranalis; Admiral Wabussie is requesting your presence.  The FSO has spotted Sisopan.”

“Tell Wabussie I’m on my way.  Where is he? On the
DUSTEN
or the Capitol Station?”

“Capitol Station, sir.  He said to tell you that when you arrive there he will have some agents waiting to lead you to his office.”

“Alright, I’m on my way.”

It was a good thing I had my security detail, otherwise I might never have found my way to Wabussie’s office; but once I told bodyguard where I wanted to go, it was a matter of me staying with him.  As promised, no sooner did we arrive at the Capitol Station than we were met by an FSO officer who guided us to Wabussie’s office.  I was not surprised to see Admiral Regeny already there and seated in a rather plump-looking high-back chair in front of Wabussie’s desk.

“Ah, Tibby, we’ve been waiting for you,” Admiral Wabussie said.  “Have a seat.”  He indicated a chair identical to the one Regeny was sitting in.  “I’m sorry to interrupt your evening, but we’re getting information from the field that Sisopan has been spotted and was last seen entering this building.”  He pointed to an image on the giant vid screen behind his desk. “…and so far none of them have exited.”

“How long has it been since they entered?” I asked.

“About forty minutes,” Wabussie said.  “I’ve called for agents to surround the area; very few of them are close enough to the building to be seen.  We have four areal drones at high altitudes using telescopic lenses watching the building from all angles.  If they leave we’ll know it.

“Not necessarily,” I said.  “They could leave cloaked.”

“The Brotherhood doesn’t have personal cloaking,” Regeny blurted out, “do they?”

“Admiral, the Brotherhood has had cloaking technology for a long time; that they weren’t using it for personal devices either was an oversight on their part, or they hadn’t gotten around to miniaturize it like we have.  However, they do have the technology and there is no reason to expect that they haven’t started producing personal cloaking devices.  They’ve also captured several Federation planets where we had troopers with individual cloaking devices.  You can be sure that by now the Brotherhood has some and they are using them.”

“So we don’t know if Sisopan and the two men are in the building,” Regeny said?

“We can’t be sure,” Wabussie answered, “but we still believe they are.  Ten minutes ago, one of the men was seen at a window on the third floor.”

“So what’s the plan?”  I asked.

“We’re waiting for them to exit the building and my agents will sweep in from all sides and arrest them.  We have a cloaked patrol ship hovering nearby with a squad of troopers to assist if necessary.”

“Can I see a map of the area?”  I asked.

“Sure,” Wabussie said as he reduced the view window showing the building and brought up a map of the surrounding area.  “What are you looking for?”

“A target; Sisopan may be prepping the men as body bombs and they may have a nearby target.  There!  What is that facility, the one with the clear space around it and all the people coming and going?”  I asked.

Wabussie activated some commands through a touch pad and names displayed over all the buildings in the area.  “It’s the Cantolla Gate location to access the central transfer hubs."

“That has to be it; alert the Gate guards and give them pictures of the suspects.  None of them are to be allowed inside and if possible, I want them captured and placed in explosion-proof isolation cells.”  I said.

“Tibby, the two men are exiting the building now,” Wabussie said, “do you want us to stop them where they are?”

“Can you see Sisopan?” I asked.

“No, she doesn’t appear to be with them,” Wabussie answered.

“Wait until the men are out of sight of the building, or until Sisopan exits before moving in.  She’s the one we want.”

It took several minutes before the men were out of sight of the building.  There still was no sign of Sisopan.  “All right, move in and take the men.  Stun them if you can.  Sisopan will need to stay nearby in order to detonate the body bombs.  She’s probably still in the building and giving them enough time to get to their assigned detonation areas.  My guess is we have about ten minutes before she detonates them.  Send a team of cloaked men into the building and find her.  I want her alive.”

I was nervously starting to sweat as I sat staring at the screen.  Minutes ticked by and Wabussie got word that the two men had been stunned before they reached the Cantolla Gate building and they were being transported in a patrol ship away from the facility.

“Does the ship have an explo– ” 

My statement was cut off by a bright flash on the vid screen as the cloaked patrol ship exploded over the city.

“By the stars,” Regeny said as he leapt from his chair.

“There was no explosive proof shielded area on the ship, obviously,” I said.

“Wherever Sisopan is, she is on the move now trying to get away from the area.  Have the men in the building found anything?”  I asked.

“They say the building is empty; the only thing they found was a pile of clothing she wore when she entered the building and a small valise she had been carrying.  They reported that a DNA aerosol bomb had been activated in the room, so there is no trace of DNA or fingerprints.  From the looks of it, the aerosol was set off about the same time the men left the building.”

“How did she get out of the building?”  Regeny asked.

“She may have walked out with the men,” Wabussie answered, “only she would have been cloaked.  She might even have been with them when they were stunned, for all we know.”

“True,” I said, “but somehow I doubt it.  My guess is she was somewhere near the gate station, far enough away to not be hurt by the explosion but close enough for the detonator to work.”

“Where do you think she is now?”  Regeny asked.

“Gone,” I answered, “she either went through a gate after detonating the men, or she’s taken another route to a small private ship that was waiting nearby.  However, I’m betting she is no longer on the planet.”

“I’m afraid I must concur with Tibby,” Wabussie said.  “Sisopan never sticks around after a strike; she is off world before the smoke of the explosion is settled.