Shadows of Golstar (16 page)

He had not contemplated he would act as a
representative of Confederated Planets. It was now so obvious, yet he had
initially missed it. He felt his anger begin to rise and quickly squelched it.
Though he had no background or appetite for such a responsibility, his
circumstances had not changed. Even with this new revelation, he remained committed
and an angry outburst would do no good.

Reynaud asked, “Can I take it by your silence that you
have no further questions at this time?” The Consul took Owens’ lack of
response as an affirmative. “Well then, I believe now is as good a time as any
to break for dinner. We’ll reconvene in an hour for another four-hour session
before we finish for this evening. Before you leave, we will provide you with a
little bedside reading on the politics of that time. I do apologize, but we
have so little time to prepare you. I’m afraid you’re in for some long grueling
hours.”  

“In my line of work that’s not an unusual situation.
The sooner we eat, then the sooner we can get back to it.” Owens rose to follow
the others filing past him to the dining room down the hall.

Reynaud hadn’t been exaggerating. The next three weeks
were
grueling. He barely had time for a short night’s rest and a quick
shower before he was back in the conference room for the continuing history
lessons. He was never able to take advantage of the bar in his apartment or,
more to his regret, Paula Frizzen. Her initial, cool demeanor thawed towards
him. She actually smiled at him on occasion. Sadly, he found that every
available moment was filled. By the end of each long day, his head was spinning
and the only use of his bed he looked forward to, was that of sleep.  

The briefings eventually concluded with a more
detailed analysis on the devastating visit of the Golstar ship to Confederated
Planets’ home system, the final event that triggered the quarantine. He was
happy the briefings were finally over, but he still had two more days left
before he could return to his ship. They would be taken up with medical
examinations and a technical briefing on the ship’s upgrades. At the end of his
final day of briefing, he was ushered back into Neven’s office.

Neven motioned for Owens to sit, “Well, I think now
you know more than I do about Golstar.”

“That isn’t saying a whole hell of a lot, is it?”
Owens rubbed his chin. “The only thing I do know for sure is that they’re real,
come from human stock, and are technologically superior to us and nasty as
Glovian cat shit.”

Neven smiled and said, “Sums it up rather succinctly.
Before you go down to Medical for the last screens, and a final readout, I
wanted to let you know your ship’s modifications are just about complete. Once
you’re provided a short review on upgrades and declared healthy, you can return
to your ship. You will need to complete the final weapons check before heading
out for Golstar. The diplomacy training data has been loaded in your ship’s
library files. Needless to say, we expect you to make good use of your time in
transit.”

Owens yawned dramatically. “I can hardly wait; three
months of listening to Vice Consul Stewart Reynaud wax eloquently on the
niceties of protocol and which fork to use at a state dinner. I suppose you’ve
also provided me with the appropriate apparel those
special occasions
?”

“As a matter of fact, we have.” Neven stood up and
walked around his desk. “And if you think of anything else you might require
that we haven’t thought of, call my assistant and he’ll take care of it. The
best of luck to you,” he said and extended his hand.

What the hell, Owens thought and shook Neven’s hand.
He turned and headed down a long hallway for the first series of his medical
screens. He would receive his last briefing on his ship’s upgrades the
following day. Finally, once he was finished with the weapons check, he could
begin the long trip to Golstar.

The Grand Patriarch made an unannounced visit. He
ignored the two Honor Guards standing rigidly at the entrance to the Guardian
of the Way’s suite of offices and strode past the outer portal into the first
set of administrative offices. A number of managers were working at their desks.
By the time they noticed his presence and started to rise, he was already
through the next set of doors. He slowed as he entered and looked questioningly
at the aide sitting at an ornate desk to the right of the inner office. The
aide immediately stood and bowed.  “He is in, Your Luminance. I shall
announce you.”

“No need,” the Grand Patriarch replied and walked
purposely forward. The aide scrambled to open the door in time. Talin Ruele
looked up in time to see his leader rapidly approaching his desk. His aide
barely had time to thrust out a chair to receive the Grand Patriarch’s fast
descending royal buttocks. Now seated and without turning the leader said
quietly, “Leave us.” The aide made an abbreviated bow and quickly departed.

The Grand Patriarch heard the door close and began
immediately, “I just received a report from your monitors that he was attacked
three weeks ago.”

Talin nodded. “Yes, I was about to inform you of it
myself.”  

“Our one hope,” the Grand Patriarch replied.

“The outsi… excuse me, I meant to say the Chosen was
attacked within Confederated Planets’ borders,” Talin said.

“You might as well call him by his name,” the Grand
Patriarch’s brow was furrowed with concern. “Obviously, it is a secret no
longer.”

“Very well,” the Guardian of the Way responded. “Janus
Owens was attacked while in transit to receive our request. It was a
ship-to-ship attack, an ambush of sorts. From the limited data, I believe it is
safe to say the attackers originated from Golstar.”

The Grand Patriarch shook his head angrily, “The very
gall of it; the opposition has practically shouted to us they know of the plan.
To attack Janus Owens brazenly...” he paused. “Given this, I now do not believe
he will even be safe here. There are too many places to hide and not enough
trusted security personnel to protect him.”

The Guardian of the Way looked down at his hands,
“Then we are compromised. The plan is known to your enemies.”  He
hesitated.

“Go on,” the Grand Patriarch encouraged.

“To go forward as we originally planned may now be
impossible. We must carefully reflect on our next steps, in light of this
development.” He stopped and searched for the right words. “Perhaps we should
consider suspending the plan, at least, for the time being. The risk of public
exposure has increased significantly. And if that were to happen, the
consequences would be catastrophic. Sharné…” He paused again. “Sharné is also
in danger. We simply cannot afford to go through with the plan now. We need to
reconsider the other options.”

“That is exactly what the opposition hopes will
happen. Any delay would allow them more time to counter the plan.” The Grand
Patriarch smiled grimly.

Talin protested. “But the threat to Sharné…” 

The Grand Patriarch shook his head, “Putting aside
Sharné’s safety, for the moment, they know that if the crisis alone were to be
made public, support would be split. While I’m enough of an optimist to believe
a majority of our people would side with us, I remain pessimistic enough to
believe anything less than a two-thirds majority would end in a civil war. A
few nights ago I was sharing this same opinion with Sharné, that the opposition
would not openly risk a civil war.”

Talin asked, “With all that has happened, do you still
believe that?”

“Actually, I do. I believe this attack to be only a
ploy intended to make us believe they would dare to reveal our intent to the
public. I am convinced this attack was solely intended to shake our resolve.
They are clever in their strategy, but perhaps not clever enough.”

“The ones responsible have yet to be identified.”

The Grand Patriarch said, “True, but I believe it is
imprudent to launch an investigation at this time. I do not know how our plan was
discovered. Given that someone within the Palace is somehow providing
information to the opposition, I suspect that we would not be successful in
keeping such an inquiry secret. Forewarned, our enemies can escape. In any
case, I believe it is unnecessary. I am sure Joselé is the one behind it.”

Talin’s eyebrows rose at the mention of the woman's
name, “I see. Then if we cannot pursue an inquiry, what would you ask of me?”

“I need your continued support.” The Grand Patriarch
raised his hand to ward off Talin’s beginning objections. “Our goal is too
important to allow this one desperate act to deter us. Even if it places Sharné
in greater danger, we owe it to our people. I know she may very well be the key
to the success of the plan. Moreover, we are at a turning point in history, and
we need the plan to work if we are to survive. Do not think I take the risk to
my daughter lightly. No, I ask that you do all you can to protect her and Janus
Owens.”    

“As you command,” he acknowledged. “While I respectfully
have reservations, I have no wish to argue the point any further. I know of the
added burden you are taking on by your decision.” The Guardian of the Way bowed
his head then looked up. “May I at least look into the security breach here at
the Palace? We do not know how much of the plan has been compromised. Perhaps
it is not too late to stem the flow of illicit information.”

The Grand Patriarch thought a moment, and then nodded,
“I trust to your discretion in the matter.” He rose. “Remember, Janus Owens is
scheduled to depart for Berralton tomorrow. Precious time is passing.”  He
turned and left as abruptly as he had arrived, leaving the Guardian of the Way
frowning at the closing door.

Back in his private office, the Grand Patriarch called
for a trusted aide. Within less than a minute, a stocky man of muscular build
was standing respectfully before the Grand Patriarch.  The man’s
surprisingly slender hands were held rigidly at his sides. “Be of ease and sit
down, Waverly. I have an important new task for you.”

Jason Waverly sat down. No matter the number of times
he had been called upon by his leader, he still experienced an almost
overwhelming sense of awe to be standing before the greatest man in Golstar. He
was second, in Waverly’s estimation, only to the Founder himself. He said,
“Luminance, I am always yours to command.”

“Excellent, what I want is for you to conduct a
discreet and very critical investigation. I want you to take a few men and
search for listening devices that may be secreted within the Palace.” He
watched as the aide’s eyes widened in alarm. “We have been aware for some time
that someone has been attempting to spy on our confidential discussions. He
reached across his desk’s expansive surface and placed a sheet of parchment
before the aide. “Here are the specific locations I want you to search.”  

Waverly picked it up and scanned the list. He looked
back up at the Grand Patriarch and said, “I live to serve you, when shall I
begin?”

“Immediately, but before you depart, I have some words
of caution. You need to know there will be a parallel investigation taking
place, conducted by the office of the Guardian of the Way. It is of vital
importance the Guardian’s investigation team remains ignorant of your own
endeavor.”

Waverly did not think to question the great man’s
motive. “As you order, I will see to it that they never suspect.”

The Grand Patriarch nodded in appreciation, “I know
that you will, Jason. Now I have one further instruction.”

At the familiar use of his first name by the Grand Patriarch,
Waverly almost swooned with pleasure.

The Grand Patriarch continued, “I want you to know
that your task is aimed to supplement the other ongoing investigation. I fear
our normal security forces rely overmuch on detectors. Politics being what they
are, I would rather not point that out to the Guardian at this time. So, for
that reason your search should be limited to a physical one only. Leave the
electronic sweeps to the Guardian’s people.”

“I understand.”

“Good, I also want you to know I trust no one else for
this assignment. You have proven your loyalty time and again. I know you will
perform this task as you have all others I have given you, with precision and
alacrity.”

Waverly stood and bowed. “You honor me, Grand
Patriarch. I will start at once.”

“Very good, I will leave it to you then.”

At these words, Waverly bowed once more and left.
Moments after he was gone, the Grand Patriarch grinned. Waverly was one of many
such aides in his service. He regularly cultivated their loyalty by providing
them with ‘important assignments.’ Naturally they were heaped with praise and
rich rewards with each task’s successful completion. He had learned from his
mother long ago you could never have too many supporters within the palace. The
costs of creating the relatively meaningless tasks were negligible. Even so,
those performing the jobs grew in self-stature, believing their value to the
Grand Patriarch to be without peer. The resultant worth of their blind
obedience and unwavering loyalty could not be measured.  

He turned, and from a crystal decanter resting on a
silver tray, poured a glass of red-wine. He swirled the glass watching the
ruby-red liquid gently lap against the inside of the glass. He took an
appreciative sip, and the grin faded from his lips. He began to contemplate the
next important task and to whom he would assign it.