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  He frowned. “Us?”

  “I would have thought Dee would send Annihilators again,” Kae said.

  “Maybe, or maybe that is too obvious a show of power for the capital. It might make people nervous.” Nero stroked his chin. “Maybe.”

  The odds are good that his Annihilators are standing by outside the system, Prospero said.

  The cockpit door behind them slid open and Sorina pulled herself in.

  “What do you think of this?” He asked her as she settled into the seat behind him.

  “There is going to be a battle soon.”

  “Yeah, but against who? The Brogh?” he asked.

  That is unlikely. The capital is still too far away from their reinforcements and supply lines to make it a practical target, Prospero chimed in.

  “It’s a target of opportunity for a terror strike,” Kae mused.

  He shook his head. “Maybe all of this is for us.”

  “What is that?” Sorina pointed at an icon in close orbit of Kosfanter.

  He looked at it and frowned. His implant identified it as the TSDF Kageryū-maru and scaled it at 450 meters.

  “What is that? A cargo ship?”

  “Look at the power output, that’s no cargo vessel. It’s enough for an FTL drive. Neutrino output is off the charts,” Kae said.

  “It’s too close in to be a wormer. Right?” Nero shook his head.

  “It would crash into the planet, pulled in by its own gravity,” Sorina stated.

  It is a Mitsugawa vessel, Prospero stated. But not one in their official production line. We appear to be looking at a prototype of some kind.

  “Maybe something with a new ALCAS drive?” Sorina suggested.

  Most likely, yes.

  “But what’s it doing here? Baron Mitsugawa is dead. Who would’ve taken over?” Nero asked.

  “Don’t look at me, I just work here,” Kae responded. He scratched one of his mutton chops before sitting up abruptly and pointing. “Kick-ass! Nero, that’s the Peleus.”

  He followed the direction of Kae’s finger to the tactical display. The icon was indeed the CSS Peleus, a cruiser in orbit along with the rest of the Orion battle group. He looked at Kae with a cocked eyebrow.

  “I told you on Zov, that’s your sister’s ship.”

  His eyes went wide and he felt the heat drain from his body. Orithia was a sister he couldn’t remember, though from Kae’s stories he had the sense that she was important to him. She also had helped Kae escape the Olympus after he opposed the Praetor on Nero’s conversion.

  “Does she know I’m alive?” It was not the question he wanted to ask.

  “Alive? Yeah, she does,” Kae stated.

  He felt Sorina’s hand on him and he took it in his own.

  “Here, I’ll just send a little encrypted message…” Kae’s fingers started to fly over the holographic controls.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? It’ll give us away.” His heart was racing and he could feel his palms go slick. “What if… What if she’s not on our side here.”

  “What do you mean?” Kae cocked his head enough to look him in the eye.

  “I mean she’s in Star Corps and if she’s got orders to capture or kill us—”

  “Stow that, soldier. She’s your sister,” Kae snapped with surprising fury.

  He stared at his friend, his eyes flickering back and forth as he struggled to read the man. This wasn’t just about him and a sister he couldn’t remember, he realized. It was about Kae’s own losses, Ameluan and the near-miss with Rune. Family was important to this man, and guilt washed over him as he realized what he had cost him.

  “I’m just saying… What if she’s not the captain of that ship anymore? We have to be careful.”

  “Nero, she helped me escape. That wasn’t according to orders, now was it?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Trust me, it’s worth the risk.”

  He sighed and nodded. “All right. Sorry.”

  Kae nodded back and his fingers resumed touching the glowing panel.

  Nero was drawn back to the tactical display hovering over their heads. How would she react? What if Daedalus was monitoring communications?

  He gave Sorina’s hand a squeeze.

  “I’m going to get ready for the op.”

  Kae looked over his shoulder again. “All right. I’ll take us in.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Palace of the Just, Ikuzlu City, Kosfanter

  J2400:3326

  Cylus leaned back in the centuries-old chair. Its high back curled around and over him forming a canopy that, in some respects, made it look like a throne. He chose this solar in which to meet Sophi for precisely that effect. Surrounded by the opulent decor of carved wood panels and marble statuettes from Cleeb, she could not doubt that he was the Premier of the Confederation. From beneath the crown of his chair he watched her pace across the ancient, fractal-pattern in the rug with a measure of glee. Never before had he seen her so vexed—and he was enjoying every minute of it.

  “Forty-eight standard days and I still have nothing,” she muttered. The hood of her electric-blue robe was thrust back, her white braids dragged on the floor behind her like two dead snakes. “Where the hell did he come from? Why is he so… so… enigmatic?”

  “LeRoux’s been around a long time,” he responded. “His barony pre-dates the Drowning.”

  Look at her, so pathetic, Lina’s voice said into his head. I can’t believe you were afraid of her.

  “That’s just it. There should be tons on him, his family, and yet, there isn’t.” Sophi clenched her fists. “It’s like he’s made-up, or—”

  “Or better at the information game than you are.” He chuckled.

  She glared at him, but he knew he was right. The LeRoux family had been around for centuries, and there were strange rumors surrounding their longevity treatments. There was even one that said the baron was immortal, but like most people he knew, Cylus chalked that up to jealous speculation. EpiGenome stretched their tendrils out like an old-Earth octopus, doing everything from bio-engineering to cybernetics and even microprocessor design. They had no shortage of enemies.

  “What I’m concerned about is why is he in touch with Revenant, and with you, for that matter. Obviously, it isn’t good or you wouldn’t have come here,” Cylus said.

  “He arrived with my new ship. I confirmed that.”

  “And with Einaga, so why isn’t your man telling you what was going on?”

  She shook her head. “He says the baron was only hitching a ride.”

  “What’s the matter? Can’t trust the man you got to betray Sable?” He felt his blood heat up. They had this argument once already, but her avoidance of him on the pretext of Meia’s continued presence in the Palace had forestalled a resolution.

  “I didn’t betray my brother.”

  “You capitalized on his death.”

  She gave him a side-long look. “Succession is very clear in Confederate law.”

  “You planned this,” he muttered.

  “You think I blew up my adoptive father’s home world? You think I killed billions of people?” Her tone was acid. “Do you think so little of me?”

  “I think you would do it if it advanced your plans and you could figure out a way to get away with it.” He shook his head. Her obstinacy about Meia burned away his fear of her, though he knew she might decide to get rid of him if the opportunity presented itself.

  “Cylus…” she sighed. “I didn’t murder my brother.”

  He watched her carefully. Years spent in intimacy had taught him her movements. She liked to think she was impenetrable, but he knew her better than anyone now that Sable was gone.

  “You might not have ordered Taiumikai’s destruction, but you know something about it.”

  She twitched. “I didn’t.”

  “Did you know whoever did it would strike once Sable was on his home world?” He glared at her. “Sophi, he was my frien
d.”

  “Not your only one,” she said in a half-whisper. To his shock, she turned away from him and her body shook. She sniffled and his eyes widened.

  “Sophi, are you—”

  “Don’t say it you half-wit.” Her shoulders shuddered.

  He stared, feeling a strangeness coursing through him. Was she human after all? What could be going on to leave her like this?

  “What did they say to you? What are they saying now? Dammit, Sophi, why are you even here if you’re not going to talk to me?”

  “I may have…” she began in a quivering voice. He waited for more, but she shook her head. “No, it couldn’t be.”

  With slow hands she reached up and grasped her hood. She ran her fingers along its edges, then drew it over her head. Only then, when her face was eclipsed beneath it, did she turn to him.

  “Sorry to bother you, Premier.”

  “Sophi?” His heart was beating hard now. It wasn’t fun to watch her fret anymore. Suddenly her fear was real and infectious. It coursed through him like venom. Somewhere outside, faintly, he heard the whine of a dark-energy engine. “What’s going on?”

  “The sword.”

  “What?”

  “He left it on that ship. That’s what Einaga told me.” Her words were whispers coming from the shadow of her hood.

  “So? What does a sword have to do with it? Why does that scare you?”

  For just a moment her eyes gleamed in the shadows, then she turned and headed for the door.

  “What is it? Sophi, I can’t help you unless you tell me.”

  “You never were one to pay attention to symbolism.” She paused at the threshold. The ancient wood panel slid aside. “Something is happening, and I don’t know what it is. I do know that it will be good for either of us. Watch yourself.”

  His mouth went dry. The engine noise he heard outside was gone.

  “Tell me more, dammit! I have to know!”

  “Goodbye, Cylus.” She moved to leave but drew herself up short.

  “Actually, you won’t be going anywhere without him.” Meia entered the room forcing Sophi backward before her.

  “Meia?” Cylus looked to her, but his questions were answered when a thin woman with black hair and a pointed chin moved in behind her. It took him a moment to process who she was.

  “Ms. Bahu? What is the meaning of this? Is Helena here to—”

  “That will be all,” Ms. Bahu said.

  Meia collapsed to the floor.

  Cylus shook and his mouth dropped open. He leaped to his feet.

  “You should not have ignored your master’s summons,” Ms. Bahu turned her gaze to him. Her eyes were so dark, so large—he couldn’t move, couldn’t think.

  “You, too, actually,” Ms. Bahu continued raising a hand to Sophi. “Both of you will come with me to Revenant Tower, now.”

  He moved to join her. His gaze brushed over Meia, crumpled on the floor like a discarded doll. Was she dead? Did she have time to signal her drone? He doubted it. The thing seemed unnaturally attached to her. If it knew what was going on it would be here blasting Ms. Bahu into oblivion already.

  “You’re like Giselle,” Sophi fell into step with him as they followed Bahu into the hall like dogs on a leash.

  “Metaqua? A half-breed? Hardly,” Bahu responded. In the hallway four of the Palace guard stood with their hands on their weapons.

  “Stand down, I am going to visit a baron. That is all,” Bahu’s voice said into his thoughts.

  “Stand down. I’m going to visit a baron, that is all,” he said. To his horror his men relaxed.

  “VoQ—Vo—” Sophi lapsed into a coughing fit, but did not miss a step.

  “Silence.”

  They were quiet as they moved through the halls of the palace and into the courtyard. For a moment Cylus’ heart surged with hope as the gleaming bands of armor encasing Meia’s drone beside the landing platform came into view.

  “I will return shortly. Shut down.”

  “I will return shortly,” he said. No! Attack! Kill her! She’s a VoQuana! he screamed in his head. “Shut down.”

  The many glowing dots beneath the drone’s translucent skull pulsed from blue to red, but it did nothing as Cylus moved past it.

  Captain Solus stood in his Star Corps uniform beside a limo on the tarmac. His jaw pulsed as they approached. Four other men in Star Corps black stood behind the vehicle with their hands behind their backs and stern looks on their faces.

  “So, looks like you’re coming along after all,” Captain Solus said.

  “Premier Keltan has decided to act in his own interests. As has Baroness Cronus.” Bahu glanced at Iapetus. Cylus followed her gaze with his own and saw the turrets on the drone’s shoulders tracking them. “Shut him down.”

  Against his will, he repeated the command to Meia’s drone.

  The lights beneath its skull still pulsed red.

  “Have you no power over it?” Bahu frowned.

  Captain Solus seemed to note the drone for the first time. He stared at it, chewing the inside of his cheek as he did.

  “Where did you get this DS-109?” the captain asked.

  Bahu gestured, and Cylus found himself and Sophi ducking into the shadow of the limo’s gull-wing door. As best he could, he kept his eyes on the drone, hoping that it would act. He wanted to scream out to it, but the woman’s evil power kept him silent.

  “It’s not shutting down.” Captain Solus nodded to his men. “I think I know why.”

  “We don’t have time for this. Get in.” Bahu moved to join Cylus and Sophi in the limo, putting one boot-encased foot into the vehicle before pausing to look up. His eyes joined hers in tracking a bright light streaking across the twilight sky. Even Solus’ men were now gazing at the sky above their heads.

  A shooting star? A comet? He dismissed the first thoughts in his head as the bright-orange light grew larger. It only took him a moment to determine it was heading straight for the faint glow of the city’s aegis field.

  What is that? he thought.

  Solus took a moment longer to pull his eyes off Meia’s drone and look up with the rest of them.

  “I didn’t order any Star Jumpers here.”

  “No, you did not. Get in the limo.” Bahu took the seat beside Cylus.

  “Major, who the fuck is that?” Solus continued.

  One of his men’s eyes glazed over as he accessed his implant.

  “Get in the car,” Bahu’s voice echoed in all of their thoughts.

  Solus and his men got in.

  The gull-wing doors swung down, sealing with a hiss. It occurred to Cylus that whatever, or maybe, whoever was headed their way had Bahu scared. It was a fine thing to realize, but it was too late. The limo rose up off the tarmac and the Palace of the Just fell away beneath them.

  Meia’s drone did nothing.

  The seven claws of Revenant Tower seemed to close in on them over the tarmac.

  He has us in his clutches. Cylus laughed to himself. How was this the first time he thought of that? Of course, the last time he was here it was with Praetor Graves and he was burning with rage at Yoji’s murder. This time he was not striding into the tower to confront its monstrous master, but was being escorted in as his prisoner.

  Cylus wondered what became of Praetor Graves. Did he find the link between Zalor and Siren? How ironic that he had, thanks to Meia, but wasn’t able to use it.

  “Return to the Laocoon,” Bahu said when they drew up on Tower One’s entrance. The smooth, black door at the base of the curved structure slid aside at their approach. A long corridor lined with black and silver awaited their entrance.

  “I’m supposed to escort the prisoners to Baron Revenant,” Solus muttered.

  Bahu gave him a look.

  “Fine, fine. I’m going.” He turned in the direction of Xur’Quon Island, though their view was blocked by the many buildings in the way. “I suppose you’re gonna tell him that a Star Jumper just landed at the Palace?”


  “Go. You are needed above.”

  Captain Solus made a mock salute, then he and his men returned to the limo.

  Cylus looked at Sophi, but her features were still concealed beneath her hood. He wondered what she was thinking. Forty-eight standard days and Zalor had only asked for his presence once, though he supposed a man like that never asked for anything a second time. He thought that as the Premier, and thanks to his machinations, he’d amassed enough power to ignore and frustrate Zalor. It was all moot now.

  Bahu lead them into Tower One’s main lift and they accelerated upward a kilometer to its apex. His ears popped twice before the car slowed and the black doors slid open.

  The smell of potpourri and old wood drilled itself up Cylus’ nostrils. He blinked, his eyes watering as they were lead into a small antechamber with a translucent wall overlooking the city. Night fell during their trip over, and Ikuzlu glittered with a million tiny lights beneath them.

  Bahu lead them past a naked female statue in black marble and into a second, smaller lift at the far side of the chamber. The statue sent a chill down his spine and Cylus was more than happy to be past it.

  The second lift took them to a T-intersection with the silver comet of Cosmos Corp on the wall. They went left and the smell of disinfectants stung his sinuses. Cylus wondered anew just what sort of man Zalor Revenant was.

  They moved through a small living room with modest decor, which included the busts of Zalor’s ancestors hovering over pedestals. His back stiffened when he saw what was beyond a glass door at the far side.

  Tens of white marble statues stood on a white-pebble floor. Men and women were arranged in the poses of everyday life. Two seemed frozen in mid-haggle. A woman struggled to carry a package. Another stood over a cowering child with a glare on her face that could curdle water. He shuddered when he saw that, and would have shrieked if he could when the woman’s razor-gaze snapped up to look at him.

  They’re all androids, he realized, looking around again. Here were Zalor’s bodyguards, his personal army ready to tear apart any he deemed deserved death.

  A deep chill sunk into Cylus’ veins.

  Man up, Cy. You can—

  “Let’s silence that voice. You’ve carried it around with you for long enough,” Bahu said.