The V'Dan (57 page)

It was political suicide to say such things, but Li’eth was too angry. Turning back around, he headed for the hospital wing. He wanted to reach out to Jackie, to find out how she was doing, to learn who, if any, of her staff had been harmed in the attack . . . but her mental shields were tightly sealed at the moment. He couldn’t bring himself to knock on that metaphysical wall, not when he didn’t know what he could do to help the situation.

Footsteps approached. A familiar dark blond, almost brunette braided head streaked with hot pink came into view. V’kol looked up from the tablet in his hand, relief in his eyes. “Finally! Did you know my clearance to know your whereabouts as your military attaché doesn’t cover when we’re under attack? Who
invents
these rules?”

Li’eth rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “I’ll see what I can do. What news do you have?”

“The palace is still on lockdown, but the admirals have confirmed that the Salik Fleet appears to have retreated from the system. They’re at a bit of a loss to report more than that, though, because of the broadcasts the Terrans shared, before . . . ending transmission.” V’kol gave him a grim, worried look. He glanced around, then moved in close and whispered,
“. . . Is your sister insane? Doing what she did?”

“I don’t know,” Li’eth confessed out loud. “I honestly do not know. I am going to log a recommendation to the Imperial Cabinet that she be reconsidered as Regent. Her decisions so far have not been good ones for the Empire.”

“Are
you
crazy?”
V’kol hissed under his breath, turning to follow the prince as he kept walking.
“I am certain that
everything
that takes place in these halls is being recorded, and
that
is political suicide.”

His people had a saying: stealing a spoonful, stealing a barrel. If one was going to be caught for theft—under the old harsh penalties of his foremost ancestor—then one might as well go for a big score, rather than just a tiny fraction of it. “I
am
aware everything is being recorded. Including my sister’s insistence upon alienating and chasing away the allies we need out of simple pride and arrogance. Her choices, made rashly out of anger and some aggrandized sense of self-importance, have cost us an
important
alliance.

“The rank of Imperial Regent is temporary. And it rests upon the requirement that the Regent consider and undertake whatever is
best
for the Empire during the period of the regency. Insulting our allies and disrespecting them to the point that they would rather leave than stay and help us survive is
not
good for the Empire at this point in time, let alone what is best,” Li’eth told his fellow officer, cutting his hand through the air.

V’kol eyed his friend, but said nothing for several seconds. Li’eth started to turn to the left at the next junction, but the leftenant superior caught his elbow. “Not that way. The hall’s a wreck, that way. That’s where they pulled Her Eternity out of the rubble. We’ll have to take one of the other lift clusters. I’d say take a stairwell, but it’s seventeen floors down to the tram, and then another six back up to get to the palace infirmary.”

Nodding, Li’eth turned to the right, and both men walked in silence. The next bank of lifts waited for them down a shallow flight of stairs and at the far end of a long hallway. Two Imperial Elite Guards approached from a side hall just when they neared those lifts. Both gold-and-scarlet-clad men bore grim expressions, their attention focused on the prince.

Wary, Li’eth slowed. “. . . Is everything alright?”

“Imperial Prince Kah’raman. By order of the Imperial Regent, you are to report immediately to the
Dusk Army
for reassignment back in space,” the right-hand Elite told him.

Li’eth narrowed his eyes. “My assignment is liaison to the Terrans. While the Terrans are still here, I am still their liaison.”

“Their embassy is closed,” the Elite on the left stated. “That means your position as liaison has ended. We are to escort you straight to East Hangar Bay 2 where you will be flown to your next duty post.”

This was not right. Something was very much not right. “I choose to exercise my right as Imper—”

“—Sorry,” the Elite on the left apologized blandly, drawing a small hand-held device from his thigh pocket.

Li’eth recognized it instantly, a V’Dan version of a Salik stunner pistol. He had an instant in which to react, and flung out a telekinetic wall, shoving everyone back. Unfortunately, the Elite’s aim was true . . . and a holy force that could move physical objects did absolutely nothing to stop an energy-based weapon . . . just as Master Sonam had once warned him, during his lessons on what telekinesis could, and could not do. Static snapped over his senses, dropping him out of
consciousness.

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