Diplomatic Relations (pt 2)

For a long moment, Dara didn’t trust herself to speak. When she did, her voice was as cold as Hoth, and it was Redding’s turn to send warning glances her direction. “Tell me you and yours didn’t do this.”

“We did not,” Marna said, completely unruffled.

“Now tell me why we should believe you,” was her flat reply.

“You wished an explanation. I am now prepared to give you one.”

Dara sat back, arms folded. “I’m listening.”

“The State is supreme,” Marna began. “It has always been so. They go to great lengths to ensure that it remains so.”

“Hang on. You expect us to believe that the State blew up the Hall?” Redding cut in.

“I expect you to hear us out,” Marna replied mildly, and Redding glared at him balefully. “I am sure you are well aware of the extreme precautions they take to enforce their absolute control: searches, monitored and limited communication, restricted assemblage, filtered and censored news networks, curfews, and the list goes on. They did not even know what these measures safeguarded against when they set them in place, except the possible threat that, someday, someone might challenge their authority. No one did, and yet the laws remain in force; in fact, they became worse. They began arresting citizens on even the suspicion of treason or sedition—even a casual joke would serve as evidence—and then the executions started.”

“Why haven’t we heard any of this?” Dara interjected.

Marna raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think that the State would tell you or your diplomat? None of this is official, but it’s all true.”

“If it’s not official, why should we take your word that it happens? We have no way to verify.”

“It’s not official, but it is documented. Unfortunately, while we have the documents, we do not have the encryption keys. We were hoping you could take the information we will give you back to your New Republic so that they may better understand what kind of a society this is and why we are doing what we do.”

“Redding is an excellent slicer. If anyone can break the encryption, he can,” Dara said shortly. “But what do you mean, ‘what we do’? Who is ‘we,’ and what exactly are you doing?”

“We are the State’s worst nightmare come true.” The man next to Marna finally spoke. “We are the resistance movement they fear, but they don’t even know we exist.”

“So far as you know,” Redding said, and earned a malevolent glance for his trouble.

“We believe it’s time for a change—for the better. It’s time to be free, and we are not afraid to die for it.”

“You’re not doing a very good job convincing me that you didn’t blow the Hall of Roses.”

“The State has been doing its research, and it has learned of the New Republic’s roots. They have changed their minds about wanting to ally themselves with an organization steeped in a rebellious mindset,” Marna said.

“They didn’t dig far enough,” Redding muttered.

“In order to save face, they must have a reason for withdrawing their request. The simplest course they saw was to prove that such an alliance would cause great disruption on our world, and that the New Republic cannot even protect its ambassadors.”

“That’s ludicrous,” Dara protested.

“Completely. But it gives them the out they need without public embarrassment.”

“You mean to say that killed over two hundred of their own people…to save face?” she asked incredulously.

“You see why our movement is vital. We love our world, but the government is destroying it. We do not ask you to accept this on faith, of course. If your man is truly as good as you say, he should be able to access the proof you require.”

“What would you want from us, should this prove to be true?”

“Only to warn your government that the State has not been honest with them and that their flaws go deeper than deceit and paranoia.”

“That’s it?” Redding had a hard time keeping all the cynicism from his words. “You don’t want troops or weapons or an invasion?”

“Would you be able to give them should we ask?” Marna countered, and both Dara and Redding shook their heads. “We are looking for a complete change in our society on all levels, and it will take more than regime change to accomplish that. Our planet would resent it if you tried. We’re aiming for a slow, bloodless—insofar as it is possible—and lasting revolution. It will take time, but it is time we are willing to invest. We are not willing that the State call in other governments so that they will have more guns to play with.”

“I can respect that,” Dara said, and shuddered slightly at the thought that the State might turn next to the remnants of the Empire.

“So if we’re not prisoners,” Redding said, and Marna nodded confirmation, “when can we leave?”

“That’s the tricky part,” the guard said. “See, they blew up the Hall of Roses to kill you. They’re not gonna exactly be thrilled to see you walking around now. Your starfighters are probably already impounded, and I doubt your stuff will be at the hotel for another hour.”

“Can we get in touch with Diplomat Raven?”

“Not likely. They’ll have cut off her communications, pending an investigation of your deaths.”

Dara let her surprise show. “They’d treat a diplomat like that?”

Marna shrugged. “Paranoia is a way of life for them. They don’t know any other.”

“And we’re the only ones who made it out,” Redding said dully. “Dog and Jayem…”

Dara felt the cold touch of grief on her heart, which she abruptly suppressed. “…Made it out, too,” she said firmly.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“There were two very nervous men in black at the Hall, looking at their chronos and generally acting suspicious. I sent Dog and Jayem to follow them.”

“You think those men set the explosives?”

“I’m sure of it. Dog and Jayem are fine.”

“For now,” Redding said dourly. “How are we supposed to find them before our paranoid pals do?”

“They’re resourceful,” Dara assured him. “We’ll get out of this. All of us.”

“Our people will be looking for them,” Marna promised.

* * *

When the speeder finally stopped, Dog and Jayem eased their bikes into the shadows of an alley. They watched in silence as the two men in black got out, followed by two more men. All four walked swiftly into a building and the door shut behind them.

Jayem sighed heavily. “Great. Just great.”

“Now what?” Dog asked, leaning forward on the handles of his bike. “The Hall of Roses is gone, and the smart credits say that the two jokers we’ve been following had more than a little to do with it. I’m not keen on following them into that building. Dara and Redding are dead, and we have no comlinks and no way of knowing how to get back to the hotel or find Diplomat Raven.”

“Wait a minute,” Jayem said. “How do you know Dara and Redding are dead?”

Dog glanced at him sharply. “Did you somehow miss the gigantic explosion? Did you forget that Dara and Redding were inside the building that was inside the gigantic explosion?”

“You don’t absolutely know they were in there. Maybe there’s a secret underground movement who found out about the explosion and warned them to get out.”

“Or maybe there’s a secret underground that caused the explosion and didn’t care who was in there. Come on, Jayem. Be logical. There’s no way they made it out of that. We’re on our own.”

Jayem nodded silently and glanced away.

Dog slid off his bike. “Look,” he said, less harshly. “I wish they hadn’t been. I’d be more than happy to see them walk around the corner right now. But we don’t have time to mourn. We have to—”

A commotion by the building cut off his next words. Three men had come back outside and were arguing loudly. One of them was pointing to the ally where Dog and Jayem were.

“Sithspit,” Dog growled. “You want to fight or run?”

“If we fight these guys, we’ll have a better chance of finding out who murdered over two hundred people, and we can always split before reinforcements arrive.”

“You sound confident that we’ll win.”

“You’re not? You’re the combat expert. You tell me.”

Dog grinned. “Just checking.”

Jayem jumped off his bike, ditched his jacket, and joined Dog at the mouth of the alley. One of the men spotted them and shouted, then all three ran toward the pilots.

Jayem frowned. “What, no call for backup?”

“Don’t look like it, but don’t count on it.” Dog pulled off his jacket as well, slung it across the speeder bike, and dropped into a fighter’s crouch.

The three Stawlians never knew what hit them. Dog’s attack was precise and controlled, while Jayem made up in enthusiasm what he lacked in years of extensive training. The first Stawlian was overeager and couldn’t check his approach as he almost tackled Dog. Dog sidestepped and tossed the man over his hip, into the speeder bike. His head was no match for the metal of the bike, and he slid to the ground out cold.

The second swerved to avoid Dog, thinking that Jayem would be an easier target. The demolitions expert took a few hits, but held his own and floored the Stawlian with a devastating gut punch that left him doubled up, gasping, while his friend circled Dog warily. Dog taunted him, ducking in and out of reach, letting him land a few punches, then hammered him until he crumpled.

Jayem wiped blood from his cheek onto his sleeve, then knelt next to the first man and quickly searched his pockets. “Dog,” he said sharply. “We have to leave. Now.”

Dog turned away from the groaning Stawlian. “Why?”

Jayem tossed the ID card he had pulled from the man’s shirt pocket to Dog.

“Sithspit! These guys are State?”

“This one is. I’d bet that the others are, too.”

Dog verified that with a swift check of the other ID cards and put them all in his pocket.

“Do you realize what this means?” Jayem said angrily.

“Talk later, leave now.” Dog grabbed his jacket and climbed back on the speeder bike, and Jayem followed suit.

“Where are we going?” Jayem yelled above the roar of the engines.

“No idea,” Dog called. “Anywhere but here.”

* * *

Dara stretched and rubbed her eyes. “Did you get in, Redding?”

Marna had brought them to a safe house and given Redding access to a computer. Even though the security measures on the State files weren’t elaborate, they were numerous, and fighting through all of them took time. After about an hour, Dara had dozed off.

“Yeah. You should see this.”

Dara leaned forward and watched as Redding pulled up report after report of political executions, arrests, property seizures, and flimsy accusations of treason. “They weren’t exaggerating,” Daramis whispered. Every report was State authorized.

“None of them can be found in any official folders. This is black ops stuff. Look at this one. I had to do extra digging to find it.” He pointed to a form for massive amounts of explosives to be delivered to the Hall of Roses.

“Fun. Can you pull copies onto a datadisk?”

Redding tossed her two cards. “Already done, Major Mother.”

She grinned and pocketed the disks.

“You have made progress?” Marna asked from the door.

“Yes,” Dara replied, standing. “Redding’s confirmed what you told us, and I admire your decision to make a stand.”

Marna shrugged slightly. “It is our world. And we are not alone in our desire for change, I think.”

“I trust that you will show others that they are not helpless. Has there been any word of our friends?”

Marna shook his head sadly. “They have not been sighted. I will let you know if we hear anything.” He glanced at his chrono. “It is late. If you are finished, I can show you sleeping quarters.”

Dara looked to Redding, who nodded and switched off the console and stretched.

“Sounds good,” he said, and they followed Marna out of the room.

* * *

Jayem yawned and shut his eyes for a moment. It was just after local midnight, and he and Dog still did not know where they were or what to do. They had stopped at a small late night store to ask directions, and Jayem, being so much taller than the average Stawlian as to be conspicuous, had opted to stay with the speeders while Dog went inside.

Jayem opened eyes to find Dog handing him a cup of caf, which he accepted gratefully. “Which way do we go?”

“We don’t,” Dog said grimly. “The State has made some not-so-subtle implications that Raven had something to do with the explosion.”

“What?”

“They’re claiming she was jealous of us, or some such nonsense. Anyway, she’s under house arrest and the entire city is nervous and on edge, equally afraid of the State and of the New Republic’s reaction.”

“Great. The State destroys the Hall of Roses and shifts the blame. They could have easily gotten away with it if they had just stayed quiet, which leads me to assume that we were at least the secondary, if not primary, targets. It would explain why we were scheduled to appear earlier than any of their important people were.”

“It gets better. Curfew is at 0100, and they’ll arrest anyone on the streets after that. We’ve got half an hour to find a place to hole up.”

Jayem downed the caf. “Any ideas?”

Dog shrugged. “Not really. Do you have any money?”

“Only New Rep chits. That’d be a dead giveaway.”

“Doesn’t leave us with many options.”

“You could come with us.”

Dog jerked his head toward the voice, and Jayem spun around, both reaching for blasters they didn’t have. The woman leaning against the wall of a nearby building snickered.

“Definitely off-worlders,” she laughed. “So, you coming?”

“I don’t think so,” Dog replied.

“You don’t have a choice.” A vibroblade appeared in her hand, and the pilots noticed two men hanging a little further back who also had vibroblades.

“Yes, we do,” Dog said evenly, letting the vibroblade hidden in his uniform slide into his hand and tossing a second to Jayem.

Jayem did a double take as he plucked the blade out of the air and thumbed it on. He determined to ask later how Dog had managed to get them past the weapons scan at the State dinner.

The woman chuckled and shut her blade off. “You, I like. You’ve got nerve.”

Dog glared. “Who are you?”

“No need to be so hostile. My name’s Celeste. That’s my backup.” She jerked a thumb at the two men still lurking in the shadows. “Who are you?”

Dog and Jayem glanced at each other, then Jayem answered, “I’m Barada and he’s Tessek.”

She clicked her tongue sympathetically. “And here I was, thinking that you were Dog and Jayem from NRSC. But, since you’re not, I can’t help you.” She moved as if to leave.

Dog took two quick steps forward. “Wait. How do you know who we are?”

“Everyone on Stawl knows who you are. The welcome banquet was a State-approved broadcast, and you can be sure they wanted everyone to see when the Hall of Roses exploded. In fact, my money says that the guy in there,” she nodded to the store, “knew who you were as soon as he laid eyes on you. Whether or not he called his friends or the law is anyone’s guess, but you’re not safe on the streets.”

Her reference to the Hall of Roses did not escape the pilots’ attention. “And we’d be safer with you?” Dog asked dryly.

She shrugged. “We’re your best option.”

“We don’t even know who you are. And I don’t mean your name. I want to know what your interest is.”

She sighed and stepped close to Dog. Jayem had to move nearer to hear, her voice was pitched so low. “Have you ever heard of the Fringe?”

They shook their heads.

“How about the name Darx? Or Mayell?” When she received another negative response, she sighed. “Then you’ll just have to trust that we want to help you, which is more than the State can say.”

Jayem glanced at Dog. “Lesser of two evils, if nothing else,” he murmured.

“I’m touched,” Celeste said, rolling her eyes. “You coming or what?”

“We’ll follow,” Dog said. “If we decide we don’t like it, we’re leaving.”

“As you will.” Celeste motioned to her back up, and all three turned and climbed into a speeder that had emerged from its waiting place in an alley.

“Do you trust them?” Jayem asked as he mounted his bike.

Dog shook his head. “But what else is new?” He started the engine and roared after the speeder, Jayem close behind.

(to be continued...)