Hers to Command Page 9

  “This is a very thinly disguised move to take over that planet, Councilman, and don’t think I don’t see it,” said Admiral Lockwood.

  Their argument had been raging for the better part of two hours, observed by the majority of the League’s council heads.

  “But Admiral,” the council head for Theropossa interjected, “our good Nuovo Terra Chairman is offering his own territorial guard to protect the Verdantian population. The cost to him will be exorbitant. He should benefit somewhat. It’s only fair.”

  She swung her furious glare to the Theropossa council member. “Precisely! He proposes to use his personal army to promote his private agenda on Verdantia in a direct conflict of interest with this League’s founding charter! Councilman Jerxthi, even you should see that this is not protection. This is occupation. Ask yourself, who stands to benefit? Not the LFP. What Councilman Augoust proposes will eliminate Verdantia’s representation, its standing with the LFP that Conte DeTano fought three years to acquire. It will put him in control as Protectorate General. It puts Verdantia at the mercy of this poseur from Nuovo Terra and whoever he is in bed with. I believe it is the Haarb.”

  A roar of voices and shouting erupted at her accusation.

  Bam! Bam! Bam! The gavel wielded by the Hunlo Kanta, Secretary General for the LFP, accompanied his voice. “Order! I will have order!” The heated voices gave way to boiling silence.

  “We will table this issue until after the Verdantian reception. I wish to view the conditions myself before deciding whether to declare them a protectorate of the LFP.” The Secretary General cut Herrimon’s protest short. “You may deploy your territorial guard, Councilman Herrimon, and we thank you for your generous provision of troops. We –”

  Lockwood burst out of her chair. “With respect, Secretary General, I most strongly object!”

  Eyeing her, Kanta ground out, “Keep it short, Admiral.”

  “I must protest Councilmember Herrimon’s participation. Any military involvement should remain strictly LFP forces. If the League is concerned with the rising cost of such deployment, we can renegotiate with the Verdantians in terms of cinnagin export, fair trade for protection. We cannot—“

  “Thank you, Admiral. Please be seated.”

  “Secretary General, you must –”

  “Madam, that is enough! Be seated or you will be physically removed!”

  Kanta stared her down until she unwillingly sat.

  “As I stated before I was interrupted, Councilman Herrimon has our approval to move his personal militia to Verdantia’s surface. However, the voting on the status of the planet will be postponed until I can personally observe conditions on Verdantia. This meeting is adjourned.” The gavel descended with a thunderous BAM!

  Lockwood gripped the arms of her chair, motionless, until the room emptied. Her usually reliable self-discipline had deserted her. Her fury raged such that she might physically attack Augoust Herrimon, an action certain to destroy her credibility with the LFP Council. Feeling her emotions subside back under her normally formidable control, she rose and walked out into the deserted hallway—the almost deserted hallway.

  “Admiral, I should be careful about the enemies you make.” Augoust’s unctuous tones slithered around her. “You are too easy to find.”

  “You threaten me, Augoust?” Her contemptuous laughter removed his smile. “You?” She turned in disdainful dismissal, her strides putting distance between them.

  “I have powerful friends, Admiral,” he threw at her back.

  Her hand gestured obscenely behind her. Her steps never slowed.

  Admiral Lockwood’s enraged strides took her quickly down the hallway of her residence on Raegill II. She nodded to the elite personal guards flanking her quarters in the private home the LFP had acquired on Raegill II. The extensive grounds surrounding the large, palatial residence had the tightest and most up-to-date security available. She felt secure with the knowledge nothing could penetrate the perimeter of the property undetected, not even Herrimon’s “powerful friends”.

  Entering her suite, she walked to her bedroom, unzipping her jumpsuit as she went. She was looking forward to getting out of her uniform and into a loose caftan, then having a very stiff drink. Her head ached. The heated debate among council chairs weighed on her. What Herrimon proposed was a hidden treachery of the highest order. She knew why the council stayed willfully blind. They had been paid off. But why couldn’t the Secretary General see it? If Augoust succeeded in occupying Verdantia, the wealth and, by extension, power, that would flow to the Haarb could destabilize the entire LFP. Augoust had to be stopped but so far she had no proof of his link to Krakoll and she was burning bridges left and right trying to make people believe her.

  She hoped her lover, Mic, would not be long. He gave very good massages. She could use one—as well as the other forms of relaxing release he performed expertly.

  Standing in the darkened room, she shrugged out of her uniform and lingerie leaving them on the floor for her attendants to deal with. Naked, she walked into the large closet for her silk robe.

  “Admiral Lockwood, please don't react, ma'am. Do not turn on any lights. It would be best if the security vids did not record this.” A male's quiet, confident voice came from the darkness behind her.

  Charise Lockwood froze. “Who the hell are you? Identify yourself immediately before I call my security guards in here.” She clutched the robe in front of her. Where is my pulsar emitter?

  “My name is Doral DeLorion. I am Conte DeTano's aide.”

  Hell and damnation, where is that emitter? She scoured her closet for her weapon. “I know your name. Your reputation precedes you. Why are you here?”

  “Admiral, please, put on your robe.” She could hear the smile in his deep voice. “I have your weapon.”

  With impotent fury, she flipped the caftan over her head hastily then turned. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. She could see a vague outline of a man standing between her bed and the curtained courtyard door. He was a mere two feet from one of the ‘elite’ security guards standing outside her quarters. “How did you get in here? How did you get past my security?”

  “Admiral Lockwood, Conte DeTano would like to meet with you, privately, at the first opportunity. Name the time and place. He will be there.”

  “How do I know you are who you say you are?” She would not put anything past Herrimon Augoust.

  There was a sound of amusement from the other side of the room. “His lordship said to tell you he will forever associate chaleureuse brandy with an intimate portion of your anatomy.”

  She choked on a laugh but sobered in the next breath. She thought for a moment. “All right. Tell Ari, the Clasterine Orchid Pagoda. Eastern end of the public gardens. Tomorrow. Nuovo Terra Solar 630 hours.” It will be good to see him again.

  “Thank you, Admiral. Now, please leave the room. Shut the door behind you.”

  Charise heard the lock slide home as she closed the door. By the time she had it reopened, he had vanished. She made no attempt to have the grounds searched. They wouldn’t find him. Damned Verdantian assassin could infiltrate anything. A chill ran over her. Had DeLorion wanted her dead, she would be. Her emitter lay on the bed pillow.

  * * * * *

  In his opulent apartment on Raegill II, Augoust slowly sipped his drug-laced brew. He didn’t think he could be in the same room with Krakoll without some tempering of his terror. With the message to expect the Haarb leader, his bowels had threatened to disgrace him. The first drugged cup had done little to blunt his hysteria so he had poured another. Now, with reality pleasantly distanced, he could face Krakoll.

  “Tell me you have succeeded, Herrimon. I want control of that planet.” The Haarb leader stepped out of the deep shadow that had hidden him. “The LFP has cost me a fortune in cinnagin.”

  “Krakoll!” Augoust transferred his cup to his other hand and swiped at the brew spilled down the front of his jacket. “Yes. Yes. I am sending my pe
rsonal militia planetside. They will replace the LFP’s ground marines. We will have no problem with a military take over. The Verdantians won’t even know it is happening.”

  Krakoll’s snake-like eyes examined the Nuovo Terra council head. His lips curled in disgust. “You are drugged.” He spat a stream of brown liquid out the side of his mouth. “That will stop until you have delivered Verdantia to me.”

  “Just a little Ardamonian spice. Surely, there is no harm in that.”

  “You whimpering slug. I am beginning to doubt your usefulness.”

  “No! No! Krakoll. I have done what you asked, The LFP will deliver Verdantia to you and it will not cost you a thing! It is only a matter of a few weeks.” Herrimon felt the sweat rolling off him. His knees trembled and the room spun. Perhaps that second cup had been ill advised.

  “The vote to make them a protectorate is just a matter of time. When I am the Protectorate General, all obstacles will be gone.” Augoust’s voice trailed off as Krakoll approached him.

  “I am not a patient being, Herrimon. You won’t have another chance. Fail me this time and I will find you. You cannot run far enough to hide from me.”

  The blood drained from Augoust’s extremities as he watched the Haarb leader bare his pointed teeth in a parody of a smile. “You were unexpectedly entertaining, Herrimon. I would keep you alive for a while.”

  The council head lost the fight with his nausea as the Haarb leader slipped back out and disappeared. When he could finally stop retching up the contents of his stomach, he sent for his secretary.

  “Yes, sir, you need me?”

  “Clean that up, then call Captain Oestral. Send him to my office. I am going to change.”

  Augoust collapsed in his office chair, almost too weak to control his tremors. The universal credit chips stacked on the desktop in front of him would purchase a small country. Certainly they would guarantee that a particularly troublesome admiral would cease to bother him.

  A mercenary captain with a reputation that would have him killed on sight on most planets in the charted systems paused in the doorway. “What do you want?”

  “Not very respectful for a purchased talent, Captain Oestral. I suggest you amend your tone.”

  “What do you want, Councilor?”

  He chose to ignore the sneer. “I need a person to become gone.”

  “Who?”

  “Admiral Charise Lockwood.”

  “No.”

  Augoust pursed his lips. “The five hundred thousand in universal credits stacked in front of me say yes. They are yours if she ceases to bother me in the next three days. But, Captain, it cannot be traced back to me.”

  “Five hundred thousand.”

  “Yes. Five hundred thousand.”

  Oestral walked over to the desktop and slid the credits into his hand.

  * * * * *

  Ari watched the sunrise filtered through the leaves of the small pagoda. The exquisite little structure was tucked away into an obscure niche in the large public gardens surrounding the government buildings on Raegill II. Heavy flower-bedecked vines wove through the latticed walls, perfuming the air and enclosing the small pagoda with a veil of seclusion. It was perfect for a lover's tryst, or anything else requiring privacy. Ah, here she is.

  Lockwood entered through the other archway, throwing back the hood of her long cloak. Her expression was sober. She stopped, considering, her eyes taking him in.

  “I kept telling myself my memory was at fault. No one could be as gorgeous as I remembered you.” Charise Lockwood's mouth quirked up wryly. “There is nothing wrong with my memory. How are you, Aristos?”

  He smiled and crossed to meet her, stopping and picking up her hand. He pressed a kiss on its back then held it lightly against his chest.

  “I am well. Time has bypassed you entirely, Charise. I trust Fleet Captain Ardain's efforts put that youthful blossom on your face?”

  She shook her head, disbelieving. “I keep no secrets from you, do I? How is it you know about Micheol?”

  “I make it a point to stay current on the whispers circulating that concern the LFP's fleet officers.” He released her hand and took a few steps to gaze out the latticework. “I am sincerely glad you found someone who appreciates you.” Ari glanced back at Charise with a warm smile.

  The admiral looked abashed. “It seems you raised appetites in me I didn't know I had. When you had to leave, it was difficult to go back to my staid lifestyle. Mic was an answered prayer.”

  “You don't need to explain, Charise. You deserve only good things.”

  Ari and Charise exchanged affectionate glances before Lockwood teased, “So, Ari, who is this angel with the courage to take you on 'till death do us part'?”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Fleur is no angel, more like a she-devil. She is terribly young, painfully brave, amazingly competent. You will like her, Charise. The L’anziano, our genetic council, arranged my marriage to her when I was sixteen. My fault that fifteen years passed.” He smiled ruefully. “I ran like the demon-wolves from the seven hells were tracking me. But it is a long story for another day.” He sobered.

  “I asked you here because I am concerned about the Council's recent activities, Charise—the covert ones.”

  “Precisely what activities?”

  He turned away from her and carefully scanned out the archway, keeping an eye open for unwelcome company.

  “You moved two heavy battle cruisers into our orbital space and held several secret meetings of the LFP council heads regarding Verdantia's status as a LFP member. I would very much like to know what was said in those meetings.”

  Charise shook her head, disgusted. “I really need to stop underestimating your sources for intelligence.

  Ari, there is a war for power going on among the Council Chairs. Herrimon Augoust is assembling a cadre of supporters with a very different agenda from what the Council publically states it will be. He is arguing that the military support for Verdantia is ruinously expensive, given the uncertain return. He maintains that what remains of your government is unable to adequately administer our repayment or enforce our trade agreement. He wants to see the LFP revoke voting-partner status for Verdantia and place you as a non-voting protectorate. He argues the Haarb de-stabilized Verdantia to the point where social order is in chaos and you would be better served as a protectorate of the LFP.”

  “Of course,” Ari said bitterly. “Then the LFP would step in to ‘re-structure’ our government and ‘re-establish’ social order.” He eyed her grimly. “Augoust would designate himself as Protectorate General. He might as well crown himself King of Verdantia. We would no longer be self-governing. And as to the re-establishment of social order? Augoust would make certain that didn't happen.”

  Lockwood nodded. “And line his pockets accordingly. Well cloaked under ‘let’s help the poor Verdantians’. The outcome is still very much up in the air. The vote will occur sometime after the reception on Verdantia for the LFP Council Chairs; our Secretary General wanted to see, first hand, what conditions were like before he voted.” She paused, her lips pursed. “I am very concerned, though. It will come as no surprise to you that several of the initial dissenters reconsidered after receiving a large monetary incentive, quite under the table, of course. While I cannot prove it, I strongly suspect Augoust is being funded by the Haarb.” She crossed her arms and paced several steps, only to stop and face him again. “The two heavy battle cruisers contain fresh squadrons to 'relieve' those currently planetside. Augoust knows those planetside squadrons and their commanders are of compromised loyalty to the LFP.” Lockwood gazed, unseeing, out the archway. Her mouth quirked up in a brief, sardonic smile. “Seems a certain Conte DeTano is very popular among the ranks. There is a question as to whose side the ground-based commanders would choose, should they be forced to it.”

  Charise leveled a concerned look at him. “I can do nothing about it, Ari. Herrimon 'volunteered' his territorial militia. He must feel very
certain of his support. He is picking up the cost.”

  He listened in grim silence.

  She stood and thought for a few moments. “I would feel vastly more comfortable if Verdantia could defend herself. I have great faith you will reorganize your government, given adequate time.” She eyed him in question. “Can the sigil tower grid be made operational again? Any outside attack could be repulsed if those energy walls surrounding Sylvan Mintoth could be extended to the entire planet.”

  “No.” He adamantly rejected Fleur's participation in another Great Rite, not even to stymie the plans of Herrimon Augoust.

  “Why not, Ari?” she pressed. “You revitalized the Sylvan Mintoth sigil. Can’t your magisters, or whoever, work whatever damnable ‘magick rites’ necessary to power up those other sigil towers? Your High Enclave has these strange rites using some kind of ‘magickal’ hocus-pocus. Use one of them.”

  “Charise, the L’anziano geneticists bred us for over five hundred years to get fifty females with the right gene to interact with the planet. Fifty, Charise, in the entire population who could, with the right partner and cinnagin, energize the diamantorre sigil towers.

  “To bring up the entire grid would require performing the Great Rite in each of the thirty-five towers, a difficult task with fifty female, seventh-level magistras. It is impossible with one, poorly prepared, fifth-level. It was a miracle she lasted long enough to re-energize Sylvan Mintoth’s sigil. I refuse to risk her again.” He looked at Charise grimly. “It was not by chance the Haarb murdered our women. The loss to Verdantia…” He shook his head, his expression bleak.