Kosh made his way through the growing crowds, pushing against the excited throng in his haste. The entire palace had heard of the empress’s arrival at the same time as he had. The news traveled like lightning, arching from person to person at breakneck speed. As one, they clamored to reach the upper tier where she was to give a speech. At least Kosh could use the VIP lifts, reserved for those truly special citizens. As long as they had the money to pay for the privilege, at least. The problem was that you had to reach those lifts in order to use them. He maneuvered through the crush of people, their growing excitement making for slow progress. His bulk, large even by Nthandian standards, and hard stares, having little effect on the celebrants.
Mr. Esplin had failed to reconnect with him. The man proved himself to be highly capable over the years, and Kosh knew the man would transport the Da’a’shori to their destination. He was more worried about getting word to the various Red Fist operatives in time as they moved through the crowd; communications were proving spotty with so many people accessing the data-net.
While planning tonight’s activities with Lord Ellrick, the two men decided that having the Red Fist in attendance would work in favor of their primary objective. Kosh’s men would sow mayhem and confusion, dredging up old blood feuds and creating new ones. The Great Houses of the system had representatives here tonight. Most of the Lords and Ladies themselves would not be attending, waiting until the penultimate evening of the empress’s celebrations to make an appearance. However, many had sent their heirs and close allies in their stead.
This arrangement was the extra layer of confusion that would cement Ellrick’s plan. Most of the Great Houses had understandings with Lord Lenari; they each thought they were the sole partner in a scheme to bring about a new age of wealth and prosperity to the Solvonus system. Little did they realize Ellrick was playing each of them against the other. He planned to elevate himself to be the sole authority in the system. Better to target their progeny instead of the leaders themselves. The fallout needed to be surgical, calculable. Lord Lenari needed the leaders of the Great Houses to remain a known, controllable factor, still in place to be manipulated.
The untimely deaths, or worse fates, of the heirs and close allies would free the lords and ladies to enact their wrath. Ellrick would play the sympathetic ear. He would cement the idea that their rivals were taking advantage of the evening’s chaos to settle old scores, further causing strife and confusion amongst the leading class of the systems society.
It’s such a simple plan.
They would blame each other. The ruling elites, distracted with their petty infighting, would not realize, until it was too late, that Lord Ellrick Lenari of House Nthandi had taken the reins of power in the system.
If the Houses suspected what had occurred, Ellrick would point to the evidence; a carefully fabricated story of intertwining lies and truth. He would show that the Da’a’shori had assassinated the empress. This would play on the ingrained systemic fear of the Interlopers. The confusion and chaos would allow Ellrick to elevate himself to the throne. After all, he was the one with the wisdom to have foretold, and prepared for this external threat. He would take the throne under protest. And only as a reluctant caretaker.
They just needed to make sure the empress was, in fact, killed, before the rest of the evening’s machinations began.
Kosh continued fighting his way through the crowds, finally winning his way into a guarded alcove that housed a pair of VIP lifts. He entered his code, granting him access. He punched a button, directing the lift to the upper tier while also pressing the override, ensuring the lift would not stop until it reached its destination.
The head of the Red Fist took out his data-pad, reading reports that were intermittently filtering in from his operatives. Their night’s frivolous entertainment had ended with the announcement of the empress’s arrival. His people had moved into position for the next phase of tonight’s plan.
Over the years, the Red Fist had compiled detailed files on the Great Houses, in order to better blackmail and cajole the elites. The information in these files allowed Kosh’s people, who were experts in a myriad of methods of assassination, to get close to their targets throughout the evening. The operatives were taking their last steps to be in the proper places for tonight’s closing act. This would set off a chaotic chain reaction, a necessary distraction that would allow for the final coup de grace.
The lift chimed its arrival at the upper tier of the Cultivation Palace. Through its double doors, Kosh could hear the excited cacophony of the crowds that gathered to see their empress.
The giant Nthandian smiled as he exited the lift onto the upper terrace. He imagined the jubilant chorus becoming cries of horror as he irrevocably altered their worlds. He whistled a half remembered tune to himself. These were the nights he lived for.
__________
This time, Zirenna did throw up. Just a little. She found a trash bin before losing control, but it was embarrassing. This was mitigated somewhat as she looked over and saw Tala doing the same thing, Traveling getting the best of her as well.
The Da’a’shori captain took a few deep breaths and stood up straight, regaining her composure. She saw Mr. Esplin looking at the two of them, a hint of amusement in his eyes, but he was good enough not to comment. He did, however, hand them both napkins from a serving trolley.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
The pair looked around, getting their bearings, and saw that Mr. Esplin had deposited them in some sort of alcove. They could hear the bustle of the wait staff just around the corner from where they stood.
Zirenna didn’t trust herself to say anything for the moment, so she contented herself staring daggers at the Power instead. Why did he take such a colossal risk of having them discovered?
“Calm down, captain,” Mr. Esplin said, knowing what Zirenna's pointed stare meant. “I scouted the area before. Those guards were becoming a little too suspicious of your people, who kept appearing from closed off hallways. Besides, reports said that the empress was making her way here, and we didn’t want to lose our window of opportunity.”
Zirenna paused. She was an experienced professional and her instincts told her it had been the right play. The abrupt Traveling and change in plans had momentarily disorientated Zirenna. The captain hated not being in control. She looked over and saw that Tala had recovered, her data-pad out and was no doubt coordinating with the team to track and converge on their level.
“Fair enough, Mr. Esplin,” she said, swallowing hard at the bile that remained in her mouth. “What’s the plan? I assume you know when and where the empress is going to be?”
The Power simply nodded, scrolling through various feeds on his data-pad. Zirenna waited, exacerbated by the man and the casual air he projected.
This simply was not how covert missions ran. I need more information!
Tala gave a small cough and Zirenna looked over, seeing her weapons expert give a small nod, holding up two fingers.
Good, her people were on the way and would be here shortly. The uniforms and passes Mr. Esplin had provided were working, allowing them access to the service corridors, bypassing the crowds, making for easy maneuvering throughout the palace.
“It looks like the rumors were true.” Mr. Esplin said, looking up from his data-pad. “The empress just made her way to the upper tier and is approaching the main dais to give a speech. Once your team gets here, you’ll have a few moments to prepare. We’re currently one level down and just outside the main kitchens for tonight’s celebration. There is a bank of service elevators down the hallway to your left. Head up and mix with the crowds. This is as close as I can get you to your objective.”
He leaned over to point it out on the blueprints displayed on Tala’s data-pad. With that, the man gave a small salute and vanished, the fragrant smell of vanilla threatening to send her into a fresh bout of sickness.
“That man is a Ta’shek,” Tala said.
Unphased by Mr. Esplin’s disappearing act, the weapons chief stashed her data-pad in a pocket and leaned out, peeking around the corner of the alcove.
“We should be safe here for a moment,” Tala said, ducking back into the alcove. “There’s a lot of activity down the hall by the kitchen entrances, but Mr. Esplin seems to have deposited us down a supplemental storage hallway that isn’t getting much use.”
“Where’s the team coming from?” Zirenna asked, a few deep breaths settling her stomach enough to speak.
“They’re in a staggered approach, each pair taking different lifts. They’ll be converging on the kitchen shortly.”
Zirenna thought for a moment. There was so much to this plan that was unknown. They just didn’t know where exactly the empress would be throughout the evening, only that in such a public venue, they would have their best chance of succeeding. But that is why the High Command tasked Zirenna’s team with this mission. They were the best at this sort of thing. When you worked behind enemy lines for as long as her crew had, you learned to deal with the unexpected.
That didn’t mean she had to like it.
“Tala, inform the team to blend in with the wait staff and begin making their way to the upper tier, mingling with the crowd there. You and I will make our way there ourselves. They’re to split off and cover the entire dais.”
As Tala went to work, sending out the encrypted communications to the rest of the team, Zirenna got to work prepping their equipment.
Over the centuries that the Da’a’shori had brought the Word of Enlightenment to much of the galaxy, they had become skilled at infiltrating and assassinating heads of states and planets. They had learned long ago that trying to convince a populace through diplomatic means was too slow a process that could take years or decades. It was not a sustainable approach to the Da’a’shori long term vision. Decimating the ruling class, the power structure of a world, or a system, expedited the process exponentially. It caused instant confusion and chaos, allowing the Da’a’shori fleet an easy foothold, through which they forced the Light onto everyone they met.
Zirenna, for her part, had discovered that subterfuge, overwhelming confusion, and the alarming chaos that inevitably followed, worked much better for their purposes than direct, overt action. She found it much more effective for the populace to be left wondering who amongst themselves had made a play for power. This promoted the internal strife that made the target that much more vulnerable to invasion.
She had fine-tuned her approach to her part in the Path to Enlightenment over the years, hand crafting her armament to match, fabricating various tools that would allow her to achieve her goals with minimal effort and little chance of discovery. Their missions were usually like this, as much as the captain was loath to admit it; short on information or planning.
From a concealed waistband beneath her tunic, she removed two wristbands, her weapon of choice for such an operation. They were thin, light affairs with slightly raised bumps on the underside, which rested just above the wearer’s wrist. She gave one to Tala and then placed the other one on her right wrist. The bands immediately took on the color and hue of the uniformed sleeves beneath them, employing nanotech for camouflage.
Both women flexed their wrists partially, in a well-practiced and controlled movement, which activated the devices, but did not fire the lethal dart each contained. Each weapon held two darts, tipped with a poison found on a planet on the other side of the galaxy. Discovered centuries ago when the Da’a’shori invaded that part of known space, the poison worked with quick results. The physical effects were horrendous. This played on the mentality of the populace, making it easier to manipulate them into Enlightenment.
Zirenna nodded to Tala. Her weapons chief nodded back. They were ready. The other woman was to be Zirenna’s backup in case of any unforeseen circumstances. The captain had learned long ago the mistake of not having a backup.
In step with each other, both women left the alcove. They headed down the hall towards the kitchens. There they stepped into line, receiving drink trays, and followed the queue of wait staff. They loaded onto the lifts, making their way to the upper tier, just two more serving women in a sea of people.
It was time for the empress to be assassinated.
