“Hey, Brent,” the guard snapped.

  Soren turned around and traced the guard’s eyes to the coffee.

  “Sorry. Been one of those days.” Soren held the tray up to the guard and he took a drink out.

  “Looks like you had one of those nights, too,” the guard said, a wolfish grin on his face. “Your eyes are blood shot as all hell.”

  Soren winked. “Unity Day mixer went late.”

  The guard took a sip of his coffee and Soren smiled at him. “Tell me her name later.”

  Soren turned left, saw the directory with Verdier’s office number and turned around.

  “Went real late,” he said as he hurried off in the proper direction.

  The path to the Senator’s office was less crowded, but hardly empty. Soren did his best to appear a man on a mission, intent on delivering his drinks on time at all costs. He nodded at the smiling faces that all knew “Brent” by name until finally he reached Verdier’s office and stepped inside.

  Verdier’s office had extravagant oil paintings depicting Oliphant from orbit, moving holo portraits of the Finch Waterfall on the planet’s main continent, and bowls full of little red candy balls that Soren knew tasted of cherries, strawberries and rambutan. The candy were a local delicacy so expensive that Soren’s parents only ever bought it during the holidays.

  Past the lavish reception area was a cubicle farm with a wide pathway leading to the Senator’s door; a grand affair made of rich mahogany. Soren moved to the grand door, approaching a frumpy woman with horned rim glasses who glared at him as he approached.

  “You are almost late,” she hissed.

  “Sorry.” Soren pulled a coffee out. She snagged it from him as he walked past her.

  Pushing the heavy door open, he found Senator Verdier at the back of the room, looking through a slightly tilted glass window wall at the Senate chamber below. Verdier looked older than the information holos, campaign bursts, and other media Soren was subjected to as a citizen of Oliphant. In those he seemed barely in his fifties. In reality he appeared an older man with white temples and dark hair streaked through with gray.

  “Thank you, Brent.” The senator motioned toward Soren his desk without removing his gaze from the chambers below. The agent put the drinks down on the desk and saw that Verdier was watching his reflection in the glass wall.

  The senator turned, his posture now tense. “Brent, how is it you’re three inches taller?”

  Soren gently slid the coffee tray to the center of the desk and showed the Senator his palms.

  “I’m not Brent, Sir,” he said, seeking to keep his voice as calm and soothing as possible. Offering no hint of malice.

  “Then my eyes don’t deceive me. Who are you?”

  “My name is Soren Voss. I’m a Nether Ops field agent. Number 99-337.” He switched off the voice modulator on his neck and deactivated in infiltration hood, causing a painful ripple to surge across his face. “You and the Republic are in great danger.”

  The Senator frowned. “That seems to be Nether Ops tech on your face, alright. But where is Brent? What did you do to him?”

  Soren followed the senator’s eyes as they glanced from Soren to his desk. He likely had a weapon there.

  “Your aide is fine,” Soren said, again holding out his palms to show me meant no harm. “I needed a discrete way into your office, which I think you’ll understand once I explain the situation to you.”

  The senator’s hands balled into fists and he looked ready to make a run for the door.

  There was a creak behind Soren.

  “Brent,” the secretary hissed. “Why are you still in there? The senator has a—you’re not Brent…”

  “It’s alright, Bertha,” Verdier said. “We’re just having a chat.”

  “… of course, Senator.” The door creaked again, then clicked shut.

  “I’ll need to hear the compelling and short version now.” Verdier walked to his desk, moving closer to where he kept his weapon. He sat down in his chair, which Soren knew was odd here not seeking to arm himself. “Why would a Nether Ops agent need to sneak in here to see me?”

  Soren began to peel up the infiltration hood, pausing to say, “Senator, if you don’t mind?”

  Verdier nodded.

  Soren peeled the hood off the rest of the way and rubbed his bare scalp. He rolled the thin synth-flesh up and tucked it inside his jacket.

  “Thank you, Senator. Damn thing hurts and it only has a few minutes of power left. To the point, the short version: I have uncovered evidence that the MCR is planning a terrorist attack of some sort at the Unity Day Parade. I have further evidence that they are being helped by members inside the government and Nether Ops itself. Hence the need for secrecy in coming to you.”

  Verdier arched and eyebrow. “Perhaps I’d better have the long version, Mister Voss.”

  Soren recounted his operation from his initial assignment on Strach and got to the legionnaire ambush on Rintaka when the senator held up a hand.

  “Stop, Mr. Voss.” He shook his head. “Let me stop you right there. You expect me to believe that Legionnaires—the Republic’s elite defenders—are somehow involved in this?”

  “Sir, not legionnaires per se. These were all appointed officers working as a collective cell. I can provide proof.” Soren reached into a pocket and placed his hand on the desk, leaving four ID chits on the carved mahogany. “These weren’t just four random rogues, sir. They—”

  “Senator?” Bertha said from the door. “He’s here.”

  “Show him in.” Verdier swept his hand across the desk.

  Soren quickly pocketed the ID chits.

  A man with an unbutton jacket entered the room. His gait and the way he scanned the room, focusing on Soren first, screamed ‘bodyguard’. A thick vine of scar tissue crept out of his hairline and touched his right eye: a prosthetic that glinted in the light. Soren saw the handle of a pistol inside his coat. His trim physique was padded with flex-armor.

  “That’s enough, Pattar,” called a voice form outside.

  A man gave the bodyguard a pat on the shoulder and walked past him inside. He was elderly; only a few wisps of hair white left, liver spots prominent on his hands and temples, but he walked like a younger man. He bore a senator’s pin on his lapel but even without that Soren recognized him instantly.

  “Senator Dryden,” Verdier said as he stood, arms wide and welcoming. “You know your man Pattar frightens my office ladies.”

  “Let them cluck.” Dryden smiled and gave Soren a quick glance before sitting across from Verdier. “Besides, Pattar’s a gentle soul. Isn’t that right?”

  “He’s new.” Pattar clasped his hands over his waist and stared at Soren. He inhaled slowly into a snort, like a dog taking in the scent of a stranger.

  “Yes, a new hire from Oliphant,” Verdier passed Soren a datapad and waved a hand toward a couch against a wall. “Looks to be very promising. He was just finishing up a report for me and I’d like for him to stay a bit if that’s agreeable?”

  Dryden shrugged. “It’s your office.”

  Soren ducked his head slightly as any office drone might have and hurried over to the couch. He began tapping out further details of his journey to Verdier’s office while he eavesdropped on the two senator’s conversation.

  “Is Delegate Karr going to do it today?” Verdier asked Dryden.

  “During the parade,” the older man said with a sniff. “His office lined up the usual media talking heads to broadcast the message just as some Army unit marches past. One thing I’ve always admired about Orrin was that he always did have a good sense of timing: announcing an entirely new Corps of Legionnaires and two new fleets fresh from Tarrago to deal with the MCR menace.”

  “Legion Commander Keller has been asking for a new Corps for some time,” Verdier observed.

  Dryden rolled his eyes. “Well, the new Corps is required to have an officer corps consisting of sixty percent appointees. Minimum. So Keller’s joy at getting this new toy has been somewhat tempered.”

  Verdier nodded. “I am still uncertain as to the extent of this MCR ‘menace’ as you say, Senator Dryden. Outside of a handful of concentrated operations, they seem more focused on picking at isolated systems and performing terrorist operations on worlds already sympathetic to them.”

  “The loss of a destroyer is not something to simply shrug off.”

  “I know,” Verdier said, “It’s only that the MCR is a symptom of a larger problem. And it’s my belief that spending Oba knows how much on new ships and Legionnaires to fight the MCR will only make the problem worse. The House of Reason tells the Republic we’re arming for war and the MCR will get even more desperate.”

  “Let them,” Dryden said. “The more terrorist acts they commit, the easier it will be to justify our response. Downplaying the exact nature and closeness their attack was against the House of Reason was a mistake.”

  Verdier looked down. “We both know that had more to do with who they’d partnered with than anything else.”

  “The zhee could have been left out of it and the point would still stand.” Dryden clapped his hands together. “It’s not like the Legion needs convincing to kill someone first. But we need the tax payers to take on a bit more of the burden that comes with sending those boys to do the job. And patriotism will always help sugar coat that bitter pill.”

  “Karr can announce what he likes,” Verdier said. “Taxes are already at an all-time high and it’s not like he can snap his finger and create legionnaires or ships.”

  Dryden smiled. “Orrin wouldn’t make an announcement if he didn’t already have the necessary support in the House of Reason or Senate.”

  Verdier smiled. “True enough. Which leads me to wonder why you are even telling me this?”

  “Because you’re on record as something of a pacifist.” Dryden gave a wry smile. “And… something of a tight wad when it comes to spending. No offense.”

  “I take that as a compliment.”

  “The media will go straight to you after the announcement and Karr wants you on his side for this.”

  “Karr doesn’t have the votes to get the funding through the Senate,” Verdier said. “That’s why you stopped by my office.”

  “What would it take to get you on board to safe guard the Republic?”

  “Save your spin for the networks,” Verdier said, his face flushing with checked anger. “A spending bill like that won’t solve anything. It will only serve to make matters much, much worse. If we simply put time and effort into fixing the rot in our institutions, the MCR won’t have any reason to fight.”

  “They’re Middle Core barbarians.” Dryden waved a hand in the air. “Barely better than the monsters that we fought in the Savage Wars.”

  “The MCR are Republic citizens who are engaged in open rebellion. That is not the same as the Savage Wars. At all.”

  Dryden smiled slowly. “Well. I’m disappointed, naturally. But at least we have Unity Day to show our support for the Republic. Differences withstanding.”

  Verdier glanced at Soren and rapped his fingertips on his desk top.

  “I’ll do this much Dryden,” he said to the old senator. “Karr can count on me to only speak about this problem in his office. I’ll keep my disagreement out of the headlines…for now.”

  “That can and will be arranged.” Dryden got up slowly. “A media cycle of rah rah Legion, a little boost to defense sector stocks on speculation. Can’t ask for more from a Unity Day, can we?”

  Verdier glanced at the chrono on his wall. “See you in the box?”

  Dryden shuffled toward the door. “Yes, yes. Delegate Karr’s office will be in touch. Come Pattar.”

  Dryden’s bodyguard gave Soren a sidelong glance as he followed the Senator out of the office.

  Soren stood up. “The legionnaires I mentioned—they were all appointed by Senator Dryden.”

  Verdier stayed quiet for a moment, then said “I have a hard time believing he’s involved in this plot you’ve uncovered. He wants a stronger military. Wants the MCR crushed. Why work both sides of the conflict?”

  “The evidence may be circumstantial,” Soren patted the pocket with the legionnaire’s identify chips, “but it is there.”

  Soren paused. Remembering the black and red armor that left the planet. “Senator, does the name or phrase Goth Sullus mean anything to you?”

  Verdier shook his head slowly. “Nothing.”

  Soren bit his lip and then handed Verdier the datapad which he’d brought up weapons schematics for the cargo he’d delivered. “Whatever connection Dryden had to those legionnaires on Rintaka, the reasoning can wait. What I know for sure, beyond any shadow of a doubt, is that there is a threat right now. Military grade N-4 rifles the conspirators wanted were delivered to this city.”

  “Weapons you delivered,” Verdier mumbled, taking up the datapad. “Which is typical Nether Ops in my experience. Make a larger mess and then cry for action and more funding. Mister Voss, the capitol city has a billion people in it when the House and Senate aren’t in Session. Many more beyond on a day like today. But you maintain that a case of blaster rifles comprises an existential threat?”

  Soren frowned. This was essentially the argument Nix had made. Before he’d made the attempt to kill Soren.

  “Senator, these weapons went to men with training. I’d bet my salary they were once Legion and are seeking to do as much damage as possible with them. I’m Nether Ops, sir. We believe a dagger in the dark is worth more than a thousand swords at dawn.”

  Verdier dropped the slate on his desk and rested his forearms on either side.

  “It is hard to believe any of this,” the senator said, “but I pushed the Security Council to seek appropriation for additional agents to investigate the MCR. My understanding was that while Dark Ops was on top of it, Nether Ops pushed back. Hard. Now you show up with evidence that there are corrupt elements in that institution…” Verdier shook his head. “It’s good you brought this to me. No one else would have believed you.”

  “Then you need to—”

  “This is where the weapons are right now?” he tapped the datapad.

  “That’s where the cases with the trackers are. If the rifles are still in there is up to debate. I would suspect not”

  “I have a contact in the Capital District PD. I’ll send these coordinates as an anonymous source. If it’s as you say, they’ll at least find some evidence of what you’re talking about. This planet is a gun-free zone. Even weapons cases are enough to arrest anyone on hand.”

  The Senator stood up and put on his coat.

  “If you this contact of yours is reliable and to be trusted,” Soren said, standing by Verdier’s side, “Then I agree. But I admit I’ve had some… trust issue lately.”

  “He’s Oliphant born and bred, same as us. A family friend” Verdier made for the door and motioned for Soren to follow. “You’re coming to the parade with me. I’ll take you to Karr’s office myself once this is all over with.”

  Soren followed, acutely aware of how unarmed he was.

  “Senator, if anyone in Nether Ops sees me…”

  “Aren’t you dead?” the senator asked as they passed a very confused looking Bertha on their way out the door.

  “Far as they know.”

  “Then appreciate that they aren’t looking for you. If anyone pushes the panic button around you, it proves they’re in on the conspiracy. Isn’t that how this spy thing works?”

  Soren smiled and shook his head. “Senator, I believe you may have missed your true calling.”

  “Sometimes I wonder.”

  21

  Soren kept a step behind Verdier as they made their way through a narrow tunnel lit by glow pods in wrought iron frames.

  “They don’t mention this part of the capital in school, do they?” the senator asked.

  “I took a tour once when I was a kid,” Soren said, trying to make sense of the labyrinth all around him. “This wasn’t a part of it.”

  Verdier smiled. “These tunnels run under the entirety of the capital compound and then some. Sometimes we want to be seen mingling with constituents. Sometimes we’re late to a committee hearing and don’t want attention along the way.”

  “And maybe some time you have to escape…”

  “Yes, that too.”

  Soren stepped over a puddle and hurried through an intersection. “Why is it that Senator Dryden has a security escort and you don’t?”

  “Fear is a state of mind,” Senator Verdier said. “The more security you have, the less you’re open to what’s around you. If I have a former legionnaire glaring at everyone that comes near me, what good am I? I’m a representative of the people. The people need to be able to speak to me.”

  “If I could get through the House’s security, so could someone else.”

  “Perhaps, but you had to disarm yourself to make it this far, remember?”

  The senator turned down a hallway. Overhead, the pound of feet echoed through the walls.

  “But suppose you entered my office impersonating Brent and I had a bruiser like Pattar by my side? You’d be in a holding cell right now. Consider what refraining from a personal guard brought me.”

  The Senator turned and gave Soren a warm, smile. Something more than a politician’s practiced face. Something genuine.

  “Proof of rot at the very heart of Nether Ops. Perhaps the Senate itself.”

  “I’m grateful to have you as a Senator rather than Dryden,” Soren said, checking behind to be sure they weren’t being followed.

  Verdier laughed. “Pattar would’ve crushed your skull for laughs. Assuming Dryden’s other guards didn’t nab you first.”

  The senator stopped at an armored door and held a wrist up to a sensor. A light traveled around a bracelet and the door slid open with a pop. They stepped into a small alcove behind a semi-transparent holo wall, fronds of a small tree on the other side. The sounds of cheers and beating drums were much louder now, echoing down the hallway beyond the faux wall.

 

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