Interzeit: A Space Opera (21 page)

The next day, early afternoon, Lei makes her way back to Kovaskygrad. She travels alone, Iza citing a rule about the newest person having to pick up new arrivals. A convenient rule indeed, she gave very little defense to it, instead teasing Lei further about her “prince”.

She had spent most of the morning going through calibration reports with her engineering team, learning the list of changes and tweaks they had made, the ones they were making, and the things that they would look into
et al.
It was hard to focus with the arrival of the new pilot so close at hand.

Iza told her th
e idea of borrowing her hovercraft
was “cute and suicidal” so she rented
an
autocraft
for the purpose instead.
Iza
had been right about the traffic though
. The traffic between the cities was slow and methodical, even with
the machine efficiency
of the vehicles.

The drones would not circumvent the roads due to anti-theft measures, so she distracted herself with Basil and her other ionics.

The “road” was a sort of hamster cage like terrarium once they got away from Lunar Colony
“The Shitheap” Three. After passes through several large redundant ai
rlock gateways, they were cruising
on a wide lane, no exits,
minimal
turn arounds. It was canopied by a semi opaque veil, curving over the passengers in an arc, protecting them from the sights and (lack of) sounds in the vacuum.

Slowly, an hour turns to two, and they finally reach
K
ovksygrad
proper.
Lei enjoys
a brief respite from traffic, until she immediately runs into more as they head towards the visitor terminal.

Apparently, not unlike her own arrival, they had sent Septis ahead of the war mech. This was sensible enough as, she knew that it was still being worked on the last they had spoken.

The pit in her stomach drops, and she finds herself unexplainably nervous. She tries smiling, and laughing to herself to no avail. She
even practices
mock greetings.

“Hello!” Basil responds suddenly, snapping to immediate and compliant attention, “At your service Miss Liang.”

“Nevermind Basil,” She
mumbles

“We have arrived,” The craft hummed suddenly,

Lei realized this, the excitement/dread spiking up to higher levels. She rushes out of the vehicle, “Please stay near, I’ll call for you in a few minutes.”

“The customer is always right!” The car chirps cheerfully,

Basil
scoff
s as they both exit, the anthrion clambers into the seatings on Lei’s ionic array.

Lei checks her wrist, she’s a few minutes late, but the schedule shuttled had yet to arrive. She enters the terminal, and after clearing security waits with full nerves at the pressure lock he should be
coming out of. After ten minutes of mindless distraction, the “Not Arrived” finally clicks over to “Arriving,”

Mouth dry, she sends Basil for water, not wanting to mess any of the timing up. He returns in less than two minutes, relieving her of any thirsty excuse. Finally the lock opens and several people in military uniforms begin streaming out. They have the globe, and the crest of the Planetary Cabinet emblazoned on their clothes, with various patches and codifications of rank and merit.

A fresh face
d
woman approaches her, smiling calmly
. She looks Lei in the eye extending a soft hand in greeting.
Lei shakes
it.

“I’m Ophelia,” She beams back, “Cabinet liason and specia
l project manager. He
got a bit sick on the way up I’m afraid.”

“I am Pilot Liang of
TianShanTech
,
I’m here to escort the pilot back to the command center.”

A person
comes hobbling alone from the terminal. Lei’
s gaze is pulled towards it.
Nol
stares back,
his
machined parts sticking out of
a black pilot suit
.

He appears very pale and faint, corroborating Ophelia’s shattering words to a large degree. Experiencing a feeling Lei thought she no longer had, or had any use for, she approached the young man. She places a comforting hand on his shoulder, trying to avoid the obtrusive implants.

“First time in space?”
She
asks
,

He nods not looking up, “Yeah, I’m uh, I’m better though
.” He looks up, revealing his sunken face.
After a moment, his eyes light up.

“I’m Nol
. Pilot of Earth, conqueror of space!”

Lei smirks, “I am Lei Liang,
pilot, and fighter in
three
u
nified
w
ars.”

Nol
smiles back, “I know, I’m a fan of your work Liang.”

His
strength leaves him suddenly, and rushes off, puking into a nearby waste container.
Lei
pulls
him off the frail grip he has on the container, leading him onwards.

Carpentaria was humming, energy reverberated through her streets. The
Kuipterra
n ship returned to the Earth capital. Its large prismatic glow and crystalline structure hung in the skyline, striking emotions of all kinds down a spectrum of fear and pride.

Everyone in the city
could feel it. An undercurrent rode through the planet, and the system, collecting in a nexus under their feet. It welled up closer and closer to the surface, seeping from the epicenter outwards slowly.

Some things were kept secret, only itching feelings, obtained only through osmosis of the general attitude coming from the Cabinet. Apprehension was palpable, other
things,
nodes of information were on their way up as well.

Giving physical substance to the whispers and conjecture of the populace, some people who knew people
, were starting ominous rumors.

The
Mech
armament was only the tip of what was to come. The streets brewed with conflicting thoughts and forces. Questions of the
u
nified
w
ar winner, of peaceful transition, unity, and a planetary governm
ent with planetary leaders
grew stronger. The Cabinet dismissed these mat
ters, citing the crisis at hand.

The legitimacy of the continued
Kuipterra
n rule was becoming weaker and weaker among the native population on the planet
. The revelation of Earth’s own w
ar
m
ech
sparked a unification movement, but i
t failed to capture the opinions of those outside the central metro regions.

Polystratus
found
Septis
at the most opportune moment. His re-entra
nce was surprising and happy
, but this was a feeling that could not last long. Polystratus had become quite hooked into the undercurrent, into the nexus forming under Carpentaria.

Of all the places of human activity, this was the place, the center in which all the information would eventually flow to, the heaviest point of the human intellect. The moment was arriving, a linchpin in history.

In this captured section of spacetime, the whole zeitgeist was in upheaval, and fractured. Ready to be redirected into one of the splits, the forces pulled away from each other ripping, and rippling with ramifications
felt all across the intersystem
.

Septis’s
head drummed with the complexity of his friend’s work.
The web and roots tracing out and branching, not just into one group, but several, all waging a
n
ethereal war on the streets and in the buildings of the Cabinet.

“I’ve been hiding more and more,” Polystratus explained, “I hit a saturation point, dug too deep into the system, and its immune system wishes to dispose of me.”

“If what you tell me is true,” Septis says, “Then I’m surprised they haven’t succeeded.”

“I’ve made some contacts in the city, they’re
Kuipterra
n, but not with the Cabinet, not in the “know”, they’ve been sheltering me for some time.”

Septis smiles, “In hiding, but still in uniform?” he points to his monochrome suit.

“Its quite ubiquitous yes, but sometimes the occasion calls for it. Will you still go to see him?”

“My father?”

“Yes, Maxelus has be
come withdrawn from the public, s
ending out messages
only
through liaisons and
representatives.

The rumors are true, if you follow the rumors I do, he’s done so to focus on the conflict, trying to prevent war, or prevent losing control, depending on who you ask.”

“I have n
ot seen him since before the last war
, and…
c
ome with me Polystratus, I think we are both safer in each other’s company at this point.”

Polystratus grins, and accompanies the Prince on his way towards the Planetary. Ensconced with gardens, and xenophilic technology, the place shimmered in the twilight.

“
Septis
, in my investigations I stumbled on a number of political assassinations, even stopping some of them.”

The front gates of the cabinet were
towering near
.

“I feel like you should know, before we meet with The Executor, that…he
was the one who orchestrated them
.”

Septis
stops in his tracks, “Why tell me this?”

“Things have changed since the last time you were here
Prince,
I know you care for you
r father, but..
.”

Septis
answered with a deep contemplative, “Hmm” and they reached the first checkpoint with little further verbal exchange. A small tide of security became collecting around them, each recognizing one or both of the two, bracing and readying for dissimilar outcomes. They began surrou
nding them,
several of the security
fanning
out, forming a wide crescent around them.

Finally an officer stepped forward, his body shook, but his voice rang out with certainty, “Good evening Prince Septis Calatian,” He nods his head in an untrusting imitation of a bow.

“Good evening to you as well.” Septis answers, “I’m here to speak with my father, feel free to inspect us, we simply want through.”

“My apologies Prince,” the captain looks away gathering the courage, “The person with you is a wanted fugitive, we cannot let you pass with him.
We must take him into custody.”

“What are his crimes?”

“Treason,” He says with some hesitance.

Septis
pats
his comrade on the arm, Polystratus tries smirking, but his stone face resists the action thoroughly.

“Captain, all he has done, he has done in my name, so when you accuse him of treason, you accuse me of treason. So tell me then, why is it impossible for you to accuse my agent of treason?”

“The Cabinet is not under
Kuipterran
law Prince
,”
the captain’s
voice wavering at last, “
We’re taking him in
.”

Septis
drops his facade
, “Please make way,”

With nervous caution the assembled squad of security slowly breaks ranks, returning to their regular tasks. The guards and captain manning the gates let them pass with tense silence. Septis thanks them for their cooperation, trying to assure them that they were not to blame for what had
transpired,
it seems to grant them little comfort as they pass them by.

“Not the most graceful entrance,” he remarks.

“I’ve had wor
se,” Polystratus says,

They enter the glimmering halls of the cabinet, those within eye them with suspicion and distrust, clearing out of there way.

A few brave cabinet aides step forward, trying to help stabilize the situation.

“The Executor has withdrawn to his inner chambers for the evening Prince. He does not wish anyone to disturb him.”

Septis
apologized that his wishes would not be fulfilled, and had them guide the way to the so called inner chambers. They took the central elevator up the building to the top floor. The entourage arrived to a
n
emptying planetary cabinet.

The main forum, massive in size, had a large thin membrane separating it from the night stars.

The place was
empty aside from the guards
.

Lit meeting rooms similar to the ones strewn throughout the house, ticked away in silent machination, the unresting collaboration, trying to stay ahead of a grand whole pulled away from any semblance of unity, grinding and undulating at differing, often conflicting rhythms.

Septis and Polystratus were taken to the private elevator a
t the far end. The aide flees
back to their m
inor role and responsibilities
.

The
elevator guard
was spirited and defiant. Septis
threatened
him with all manner of criminal charges before they finally relented.

They grunt into their ionic
s, “The Prince and the suspect
are coming up, all stations.”

The pair tried to enter, but the guard refused to let them go without a search. He tried to take Septis’s emitter after finding it. Septis rebuffed his persistent attempts at confiscating
it,
finally lifting him of the ground with his suit’s enhanced strength.

“We’re not dangerous, right Polystratus?”

“Actually,” he says, “I’m carrying six illegal weapons right now.”

Septis rolls his eyes, “Great now we have to kill him.”

“Please don’t!” The guard screeches,

Septis reaches holds him in place with one hand, his other reaches forwa
rd, inching towards the man’s
throat. It brushes against it, sliding around at the last moment. He rips his hand away quickly, tearing off the powe
r supply to their ionic system. He crushes
it like cardboard in his fist.

“Kidding,” He smiles.