This Bloody Game by Dan Schiro

Author:Dan Schiro [Schiro, Dan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, ancient civilization, shapeshifter, terrorism, assassination, alien artifacts, Politics, secret society, space travel, aliens
Publisher: Dan Schiro
Published: 2019-02-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

In the aftermath of the Kalifa of Light’s death, the Star Sentry was called to the nearest SpaceCorps base for a full report, Zovaco’s campaign schedule be damned. Orion and his team watched the approach to Kovac Station from an observation lounge, and he found himself awed by the concentration of military might. The free-floating, bowl-shaped stronghold measured nearly as large as a small moon, with thousands of diamond-glass windows and billions of tons of nano-engineered white ceramic armor. Thousands of fast-attack fighters, hundreds of assault cruisers and dozens of heavy destroyers drifted lazily around the enormous space platform, ready to scramble at a moment’s notice to defend Union homeworlds and colonies. The great Velvet Rift lay just beyond the military base, its glow tinting their darkened observation lounge red.

“So?” Orion asked, continuing their conversation. He sat in a low, cushy lounge chair dressed in simple white pants, a red shirt and fine leather shoes, Bully sprawled out at his side. “What do you guys think?”

“It sounds preposterous to me,” Aurelia said. She reclined on a plush fainting couch and stretched her supple green body. “I’ve seen a lot of things in my 3,500-some years, and I’ve never caught a whiff of a mysterious Assassins Guild controlling galactic events.”

“Just because you have not heard of it,” Kangor said as he gazed out the window at the space station, “does not rule it out.” The big vycart turned and looked down at them, his massive arms folded across the front of his worn leather tunic. “It is clear that the plot to kill Zovaco Ralli runs much deeper than Dawnstar. We have an enemy as formidable as they are invisible.”

“Exactly.” Orion ran a hand through the spikes of his blond hair. “You said it yourself, Aurelia — something powerful blocked your spirit mask when you tried to see into the portal this time. And why would LaVal make up such an elaborate lie? Why would she spare our lives, again?”

“Mysteries are ponderous things,” Aurelia sighed. “Does it change our job at all? We simply keep the politician alive until he gets elected, or doesn’t, who cares? Then we get paid, move on.”

“You should not be so flip,” Kangor said, a slight snarl rising to his wolfish face. “Zovaco is a good man, I believe. An honorable man, who puts the people of the Union before himself.”

Orion nodded. “And it would be a lot easier to do our job if we knew what we were up against.” He chewed on it for a few moments. “Look, I’ll figure this out. But while I do, I’ll need you two to take split shifts. I want one of you with Zovaco the whole time we’re docked here.”

Kangor raised his thick brows. “You’re expecting an attack while we’re moored at a Union base?”

“Who knows anymore?” Orion said with a shrug. “Our enemy has long, shadowy fingers, that’s for sure.”

The three of them left the observation lounge and split up. Kangor went to guard Zovaco, Aurelia to the space station bars and Orion to the Star Sentry’s virtual reality suite.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.