Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (183 page)

“Oh, you have got to be bloody kidding me. I thought we were nearing an end with this shit?”

Richard scowled in his holo, and Graham would daresay he did not look entirely pleased himself. “I am not and we are not. So what do you think?”

Graham ran his hand through hair that hadn’t been combed since sometime yesterday, which was now effectively two days ago, and grimaced at Will across his desk. When the man had walked into his office a few minutes earlier and said he had something which would result in yet more lack of sleep, he’d braced himself for almost anything—but not this.

“I don’t actually possess the authority to order the military arrests but I’ll manage it somehow. The civilians…that’s what they make black ops for, isn’t it? A number of these names aren’t on Federation or Alliance soil, though. Do you have a way to get at them in time?”

“No. But you know who does.”

He nodded, relieved Richard had come to the same unpleasant conclusion on his own. “I do. You realize of course ‘detainment’ will not be the outcome for any name we give her.”

Richard dragged a fist over his mouth to rest at his jaw. “Everything is on the line. God can judge us for our actions when the time comes. If humanity survives, our superiors and perhaps even the public can judge us, too.”

Graham appreciated the more honorable of his friends were willing to submit themselves to their particular god’s judgment, but he personally intended to keep his sins to himself. “They won’t find out about it from me. I’ll take my secrets to the grave, hopefully sometime next century.”

Will was ignoring him to fixate on the holo. Understandable. “If it helps at all, Richard, I believe this is the right thing to do. Whatever their motivations, these people will aid and abet the destruction of civilization if you—if we—don’t stop them.”

Richard gave Will a weak but genuine smile, and Graham was relieved he didn’t have the weight of yet another broken family on his conscience.

“It does. Thank you. Okay, enough wallowing, because we have
no
time. Shall we prepare a message to Ms. Montegreu?”

NEW BABEL

I
NDEPENDENT
C
OLONY

Forty Hours Earlier

The smooth, dulcet tones of the news broadcaster wafted in through the open door to the bath.

“We want to bring you breaking news. We have just learned the Earth Alliance leadership has agreed to send its mammoth Sol Fleet to Seneca to fight alongside Federation forces in their defense against an expected attack by an armada of Metigen ships.

“Spokespersons for both the Alliance and the Federation are refusing to confirm the report, but if true it represents an unprecedented and historic act of goodwill and cooperation between governments which were at war only weeks ago. It also raises concerns about the wisdom of leaving Earth all but defenseless in a time of war.”

“Who could have envisioned I would help to bring such accord and harmony to a divided galaxy? I submit my reputation needs to be adjusted to reflect my status as a peacemaker.”

Aiden’s toes ran up Olivia’s calf beneath the bubbly water as the flute of champagne hovered at his lips. “I’ll put out a memo. In the meantime, I was wondering…do you think I should offer amnesty to the remaining Shào members if they join my organization? Can’t say if I’ll follow it, but I’d like your advice.”

The answer to the question of how Aiden was able to take out Shào’s headquarters turned out to be that he had a woman inside the cartel. She had infiltrated the leadership more than two years earlier in response to Shào’s increasing challenges of Triene. Within hours of being contacted she’d placed and activated explosive charges throughout the base of operations. Now deceased occupants included not merely Eun Shào himself, but his chief deputy, four lieutenants, three lesser underlings and at least thirty front-line employees.

She snorted and dropped her head back to rest against the curve of his shoulder. “Only if you want a gamma blade in your spine this time next week. Those thugs have no honor.”

His snicker rumbled low into her hair. “Whereas you and I, we do have honor?”

“We have standards. If someone falls beneath them, they aren’t worthy of honor. If they rise above them? Sure, we have honor.”

His hand not holding the champagne slipped beneath the bubbles to run up her inner thigh. “Is it honorable to—”

“Stop.” She shoved his hand away as she opened the message which had just arrived.

“Don’t even entertain the notion of being a tease, Olivia. You—”

“I’m reviewing something, dammit.”

He griped behind her but complied while she re-read the message, scarcely able to accept its contents. And she’d thought the Federation military requesting illegal boosters for their fighter pilots was scandalous…. “You are not going to believe this.”

“When it comes to you, I will believe anything. What is it?”

“It’s best if I show you.” She projected an aural to float above the frothy bubbles.

Ms. Montegreu,

It is with the utmost reluctance and distaste that we request, per the terms of our agreement, for you to subdue or otherwise render unable to take independent action the following agents of the Metigen enemy:

Joon Choung, CEO of Choung Pharmaceuticals

Hanse Abel, Vice-Chairman of Advent Materials 

Greta Schwartz, Chief of Staff to the governor of Atlantis

Alonso Bianchi, Chief Deputy of the Shào Cartel

Karie Singh, Director of Utilities on Pandora

Vincenza Nielson, Chairman of Total Chemical Solutions on Romane

Mellie Ohara, Senior News Broadcaster, Galaxy First Communications

Action against said agents should be taken no earlier than twenty hours and no later than thirty-six hours from the timestamp of this message. Fulfillment of all elements of the requests contained herein, plus cancellation of the contract on Noah Terrage’s life, will constitute satisfaction of our agreement and your release from its terms.

— Richard Navick and Graham Delavasi

“Forgive me for asking the perhaps self-evident question, but is this an assassination list?”

“I do believe it is. Oh, and look, one of them is already dead. Isn’t that an interesting coincidence.”

“Working for the aliens, huh? I guess the more chaos sown, the better.”

“They must want these people eliminated rather badly to release me from further squeezing.”

“Who’s Noah Terrage?”

She grumbled under her breath. “A very lucky man, it seems.”

“There are some powerful individuals on the list who could inflict real damage. You’re going to need my help.”

“Don’t be coy. I wouldn’t have shown you the list if I wasn’t expecting your help.” She wiggled out of his grasp, stood and snatched the towel from the rack. “Come on. We have a lot of work to do and little time to do it in.”

EARTH

EASC
H
EADQUARTERS

Thirty Minutes Earlier

Devon:  This signal beam’s genius, Mia. Annie’s ashamed she didn’t create it.

Mia:  Meno’s ashamed he didn’t create it sooner. Who knew Artificials had inferiority complexes?

Devon:  Who knew Artificials had complexes, period?

Stanley:  Morgan just raised her hand. What does that mean?

Alex:  Devon, can you push this signal out to the arrays at Earth and Seneca, too?

Devon:  You don’t think their firepower will be enough?

Alex:  I think this is not the time to hold anything in reserve.

Devon:  Valid point. Let’s see.

Mia:  Romane’s Chief Engineer said ours couldn’t transmit signals.

Devon:  He’s just lazy. The receivers can be reprogrammed to act as transmitters as well, but how to do it isn’t taught in Introductory Electronics. I’m not lazy but I am busy. Can anyone—wait, never mind. Annie borrowed a routine from the Gagarin Institute.

Alex:  Does the Gagarin Institute know that?

Devon:  Almost certainly not. They shouldn’t have stored it on their private encrypted internal network if they didn’t want an insanely-powerful, unshackled human-Artificial hybrid to pilfer it.

Alex:  Clearly.

Devon:  All right, Earth Defense Grid is a go. Morgan, I need a bypass of the Senecan Defense Grid’s ware alteration block.

Morgan:  Done. Do me a favor and forget the tunnel route after you use it, in case we go to war with each other again in the future.

Devon:  Sure thing.

Mia:  He says in the least convincing voice ever. Ooh, another swarmer to kill. That’s not getting old anytime soon.

Morgan:  You might be surprised….

Alex:  Devon, are you sure we have to provoke Hervé? Can’t we just get Richard to arrest her, tell the others what’s going on, fire the damn arrays and be done with it?

Devon:  We’re not merely provoking Jules—we’re provoking all of them. It’s this thing they call a ‘test,’ and if we want to enjoy any degree of personal security when this is over we have to do it.

Alex:  And if they fail this test?

Devon:  Then at least we know what to expect and can act accordingly.

Alex:  Dammit. Okay.

Five Minutes Earlier

How’s it looking there? I suspect we’re almost out of time.

One target left, and she should be in custody in the next five minutes. How are things in Vancouver?

Richard scanned the War Room from his position of relative—emphasis on the ‘relative’—privacy in the deepest corner. For the most part officers meandered in circles or peered intently at displays as if doing so would influence the data displayed.

The vortex of activity had a clear center, though, and that center was Miriam Solovy.

In her immediate orbit was an ever-shifting slate of advisers and department heads. Devon’s presence was via a large holo separated from the others. He reclined lazily in a lounge chair in the center of the sim room, the twitch of his eyelids the sole explicit evidence his mind was elsewhere. Occasionally he muttered or shouted announcements or observations, but his most noticeable visible action was to direct pertinent information to Miriam’s displays.

This of course only added to the veritable sea of data surrounding Miriam—more than anyone could hope to absorb. And she didn’t have an Artificial in her head to help her out in that regard.