Solbidyum Wars Saga 7: Hunt for the Reduviids (6 page)

Immediately Pheosa and Taunet hit the floor and grabbed jackets from the cart as I uncovered two dishes on the table and grabbed the hand guns.  From my left, I saw a waiter making a dash toward our table and by the look on his face it was obvious that he wasn’t coming to help us.  I spun and fired.  My shot missed, but a laser beam fired from the balcony hit him in the back.  He fell to the floor and exploded a second later.  Fortunately, people at the nearby tables fled quickly when the action started and managed to put enough distance between them and the bombers to prevent anyone from being killed, though several were knocked to the floor by the blast.  Two more men rushed our table, but they were halted by laser fire before they got anywhere close to us.  Again, their bodies scarcely hit the floor before they exploded.  The controller had to be someplace where he could see the action.  At this point, troopers were responding to the situation across the entire main level.  Our table was now surrounded by guards, rendering it impossible for any more bombers to get through.  Moments later, a series of explosions rocked the room as at least a dozen more waiters exploded, spraying the room with blood and fragments of flesh.  I looked toward the floor and was surprised to see that Taunet had thrown herself over Pheosa to shield him from harm.  I could hear a muffled exchange of protests between them – his voice insisting that she was the one in need of protection, and hers telling him to shut up and that he was more important.

I quickly scanned the expanse of the room.  The controller had to be somewhere in the hall with a line of sight to the main floor to detonate the bombs.  All at once, my eyes fell on a lone individual standing on one of the middle balconies.  It was a woman – a tall woman – and she stared intently in our direction as more troopers flooded into the hall and began clearing the balconies level by level.  As Pheosa and Taunet got up from the floor, she fixed a defiant, hateful gaze directly at me, then retreated quickly and silently past the overturned tables toward the balcony exit.

“Stop that woman!” I shouted to the troopers; but none were near enough to get to her before she disappeared.”

“Who was she?” Pheosa asked.  “Do you think she’s the person who detonated the bombs?”

“I think that would be a pretty good guess.  As to who she is, my bet would be that it’s Sisopan; someone we’ve been trying to track down and capture for several years now.  Hopefully, they’ll catch up to her before she escapes the building.”

“Tib, are you alright?!” Kala called out desperately behind me as she rushed into the room with Jenira and two of the Women with Swords close behind her.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied.

“Are you sure?  You’re covered in blood!”  I looked down at myself; my white uniform was sprayed with blood, as was everything else in the room.

“Yeah, exploding bodies will do that,” I answered.  “Honestly, we’re all fine.”  I looked at Pheosa, who was shaking visibly while Taunet fussed over him and tried to calm him down. 

Kala looked at them and then at me.  “You know, Tib, she really does love him.”

“Yeah,” I said.  “She does.”

“Kala, where is Tonclin now?” I asked.

“Security removed him to the lower levels for protection,” she replied.  I remembered those levels from the first attack years earlier; we had been sequestered there for a short time until all dangers had passed.

“I think it would be wise to move the Leaders to one of our RMFF secured ships for the time being,” I said.  “Leader Pheosa, with your permission I would like one of my personal security teams respond immediately and assemble a temporary Cantolla Gate to facilitate secure passage for you and Leader Tonclin to the
NEW ORLEANS. 
Facilities are already in place that will allow you to perform your leadership duties efficiently and privately.  The
NEW ORLEANS
is the most secure place in the universe.  You will be safe there.”

“Why not to one of the starships or your carrier?”

“You would need to travel through several Cantolla Gates to get to one, but more importantly, the present risk of an imposter and body bomber is much greater on a Federation ship than on the
NEW ORLEANS
.  Personnel on those ships change daily, but most of the
NEW ORLEANS
crew members live onboard.  Those few who do travel back and forth do so through private gates and not the central hub, so it’s much easier to screen and monitor them than the crew of a Federation warship.  Besides, the locations of our warships are monitored and known to the Brotherhood most of the time; the
NEW ORLEANS
’ location is a different matter.  Half the time even I don’t know where it is.”

“I can attest to that,” Kala said with sarcastic humor as she rolled her eyes.

“All right, I agree with your idea.  I can’t speak for Leader Tonclin, but you have my approval.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said.  “I don’t believe Tonc will object.  He’s rather familiar with the
NEW ORLEANS
and, since his daughter is part of the crew, I suspect he will welcome the opportunity.” 

I contacted one of my security details and instructed them as to what was needed and I asked Kala to relay the information to Leader Tonclin.  It took about an hour for all the arrangements to be made.  More troopers were brought in from the fleet and the entire Capitol was on lockdown until further notice, including restrictions that allowed only troopers to arrive no one to leave.  The search for Sisopan was still in progress as the temporary Cantolla Gate to the
NEW ORLEANS
was set up for Leaders Tonclin and Pheosa and Chanina and Taunet to pass safely into the
NEW ORLEANS. 
In the meantime, I was contacted by Admiral Wabussie, who informed me he was sending a large team of investigators to the site conduct a thorough investigation initiate interviews of everyone who attended the inauguration. 

Rear Admiral Regeny also contacted me to be briefed on the situation.  He did not attend the event.  Though it was not a firm protocol, Tibby and Regeny agreed that it was no longer wise to have the two highest-ranking military officers present at the same event.  I was chosen by the Leaders to attend the inauguration, because my presence meant the ceremony would be attended by both a high-ranking officer and a First Citizen.  Regeny didn’t seem to be too pleased about the decision, but he made no protest about it.  At the time of the attack, he was safe aboard the
DUSTEN. 
He was a bit upset about both Leaders Tonclin and Pheosa taking shelter aboard the
NEW ORLEANS
instead of at least one coming to the
DUSTEN
, but he relented when I made my case for the
NEW ORLEANS
being less of a security risk than the
DUSTEN
.

It was about two hours later that my security crew and I finally passed through the Cantolla Gate to the
NEW ORLEANS,
leaving instructions with the troopers in the event hall to dissemble the temporary gate and return it to the
NEW ORLEANS
by other means.  Once onboard, my crew removed the sympathetic particles that synchronized the two gates, thus rendering both gates inoperable.  Moments later Marranalis approached me.

“Admiral, it’s good to see you back safely.  You look a mess – are you sure you weren’t wounded?”

I looked down at my uniform, which now showed more dried blood than white.  “Thank you, Captain, I’m quite all right, but I do think I need to shower and get into a clean uniform.”

“Might I suggest, sir, that you do so before returning to your quarters?  You might upset your children if they see you like this.”

“Good thought, Marranalis, there’s a clothing replicator and shower in the gym.  Is there anything I need to know about immediately?”

“Both Leader Tonclin and Pheosa wish to meet with you as soon as you are available.  Also, we’re being bombarded with requests from the news service on Megelleon for an official statement.  They wish to see and hear from both Leaders so they can reassure the citizens that both Leaders are safe.”

“By the stars, there wouldn’t be any need to allay the fears of the citizens if the news media didn’t
release
the news until they had all the facts.  It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that they released the news before the event happened.”

“Uh, sir, the event was a live broadcast.  Everyone saw what was happening as it unfolded.”

“Oh, I see.  Right,” I stammered.  “Well, I guess they have a right to be concerned.  Contact Tonclin and Pheosa and see if they can meet me in my study in thirty minutes.  I may need more than one pass through the shower to get all this blood off.”

Thirty minutes later Leaders Tonclin and Pheosa were ushered into my study by Piesew.

“Oh my, Tibby, I’d heard that your ship was luxurious, but this far exceeds my imagination,” Pheosa said as he entered.  “Is that aquarium real or is that a vid screen projection?”

“It’s quite real, Leader Pheosa,” I answered.

“Pheo,” he said, “remember, call me Pheo.”

“Right!" I responded.  “Now, if the two of you will have a seat,” I said, indicating two leather-like high-back chairs situated before my desk, “we can begin to prioritize our next tasks.  Would either of you care for a cup of foccee?”

“Yes,” Tonc responded, “I believe I’ll have one, Tib.”

“I’ll have one also,” Pheo said as he continued to stare at the giant aquarium behind me.

I nodded to Piesew, who busied himself at the wall dispenser, retrieving and serving several cups of foccee them before leaving.

“There needs to be a statement made over the media by one or perhaps both of you to ease the minds of the citizens,” I began.  “I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but the inauguration event broadcasted live, so now the citizens are anxious to learn the status of their Leaders and the details of the attack.  Fortunately, the
NEW ORLEANS
already has a dedicated meeting room designed for emergency broadcasts, complete with Federation Seals and trappings, so all appearances will indicate that you’re broadcasting from a secure government installation.  The facility has proven itself to be invaluable in the past.”

“Oh yes, I remember those past events well,” Tonc said.  “I agree.  Statements must be made soon; however, as a senior officer in the Federation military, I believe that that you must also speak as to security of the nation and the actions being taken to help secure their safety.  How soon can we proceed?”

“Everything is in place and ready for broadcast, but I think we need to discuss what we’re going to say first.”

“Excuse me,” Pheo interrupted.  “I think it would go over better with the people if we kept our statements brief and allowed the media representatives to ask questions as a follow-up.  That way, people are less likely to think we are hiding something.”

“Good point, but we may be asked questions we can’t or shouldn’t answer,” I said.

“Then tell the people the truth.  There is no need to cover up the fact that intelligence on the matter is still limited or that sharing certain details may compromise the investigation.  As long as the people believe we are making all reasonable efforts to deal with the situation, the less trouble we will have from them.”

The conversation was interrupted by a signal on my wrist com.

“Tibby here,” I answered.

“Admiral, this is Verona.  Admiral Wabussie called a moment ago and has asked that you contact him at your earliest convenience.  He says he has new information for you.”

“Thank you, Verona.  I’ll contact him shortly,” I said and ended the communication link.

“Hopefully he has good news that we can use during the news conference.  I suggest the two of you decide on what to say.  In the meantime, I’ll get with Wabussie and finalize arrangements for a news conference to take place in, let’s say, two hours.  Does that sound acceptable?”

Tonc and Pheo looked at each other and nodded. 

“Good.  I’ll see you in two hours.”

As soon as the Leaders left, I initiated a call to Wabussie.  He wasted no time getting to the point.  “Admiral, my team has been sifting through data gathered since the bombing occurred. I think you need to see this vid clip of the moments following the incident that was taken from one of our orbital satellites above the Capitol.  What you will see is an infrared image of a portion of the Capitol complex near the hall where the inauguration dinner took place.”  An image appeared on the screen.  “Watch this region,” he said, as an arrow pointed to a vertical portion of the structure.  For about a minute, nothing seemed to happen.  Then a small, white, ghostly image appeared on the building surface.  A few moments later the figure descended the outside wall of the building to the ground and then moved stealthily between and around objects, sometimes remaining concealed for a few moments before reappearing.  Finally, after navigating a considerable distance from the Capitol building, the figure entered a ground transport parked in an obscure location.  Seconds later the vehicle entered the street and drove away.

“You think that was Sisopan?” I asked.

“We’re not a hundred percent certain.  The place where this person emerged from the structure is an exhaust outlet for the ventilation system.  We traced the ductwork to the interior and determined that the point of entry is near the location Sisopan was last seen.  We inspected the outlet and found a high-tensile wire extending to the ground and a slow-descent spool at the bottom.  Whoever it was, they knew how to exit the Capitol without encountering the guards.  Considering that we haven’t found any sign of Sisopan inside so far, it’s reasonable to assume that she was the one making the escape.”