wondered what her life would have been like if she’d been born on Talis, if she’d been able to actively make choices instead of having them foisted on her.
No matter her upbringing, what Natchook thought needed to happen was ill-advised. Insane. “What you propose isn’t the way to bring about change. There has to be another tactic, something we haven’t thought of yet.”
“Since my wife’s death all I’ve done is think, trying to find other ways. But I keep coming to the same conclusion. They don’t care about what happened to her. She isn’t even a footnote on any legislator’s agenda.” He stood and began to pace the small room. His voice low, he said, “I made sure to become friends with Jarrad T’heone, the captain of Vardan’s personal security cadre. Through him I’ve met Vardan. He’s not as good a man as you think he is. He’s Talisian, with Talisian interests first. Always.”
While a member of their squad, Natchook had a knack for infiltrating enemy ranks. He still exuded charm and confidence, qualities of a natural-born leader. But Sirina couldn’t let him get involved in something like this. “And if someone does assassinate Vardan? Then what?” She stood and grabbed his arm. “If you get mixed up in this, they will execute you. You won’t live to see what, if any, changes are made.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “They can’t execute me if they can’t catch me.” His grin and quick wink were sly with self-confidence. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
“Right.” She stared into his eyes. “And are you sure your hypothetical escape plan is good enough to evade every security force in the system?” Trying to get through to him, she tightened her fingers. “Natchook, the assassination of a world leader is a huge thing. They’ll put a price on your head. Anyone who is remotely involved will be hunted down like rabid beasts. You won’t find a hole to hide in on any planet.”
He shook his head. “I’ve thought about that, too. If someone wanted a handy escape route, all they’d have to do is lay some credits on a couple of technicians at Rift Central,” he said, giving the detention center the nickname most Avasans used.
It was the place where society’s undesirables—political dissidents, religious heretics, and criminals—were taken after trial and sentencing. Once there, their souls were stripped from their bodies, and the incorporeal energies that made up the essence of what was left were placed in specially designed holding tanks.
A rift between their dimension and another occurred every seventy-three rotations of Talis around their sun star. Because the rift opened from the other dimension, all the authorities could do was wait for it. But when it happened, the holding cells were opened, and the gravitational forces of the rift sucked the entities into it. No one knew what happened on the other side after that point.
Not very many people cared to know, either. This solution had been practiced for millennia, and most system inhabitants were just glad to be rid of the troublemakers.
Her cousin looked confident in his plan. “The timing is perfect. The rift is due in just over a week. Once someone is placed in a holding cell and the rift opens, they’ll make their way through. The authorities could never touch them.”
She was through talking about all this hypothetical nonsense. “You think bribing a technician or two at the detention center will get your soul removed from your body so it can be sent through the rift when it opens?” Sirina couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with her cousin. He’d always been so levelheaded. So strong-minded. Yura’s death had affected him much more deeply than she’d thought. She had to convince him not to go through with this. “Let’s say you go through the rift. What then? Nobody knows what happens once you’re in the other dimension. You could simply cease to exist.”
“So I die either
No matter her upbringing, what Natchook thought needed to happen was ill-advised. Insane. “What you propose isn’t the way to bring about change. There has to be another tactic, something we haven’t thought of yet.”
“Since my wife’s death all I’ve done is think, trying to find other ways. But I keep coming to the same conclusion. They don’t care about what happened to her. She isn’t even a footnote on any legislator’s agenda.” He stood and began to pace the small room. His voice low, he said, “I made sure to become friends with Jarrad T’heone, the captain of Vardan’s personal security cadre. Through him I’ve met Vardan. He’s not as good a man as you think he is. He’s Talisian, with Talisian interests first. Always.”
While a member of their squad, Natchook had a knack for infiltrating enemy ranks. He still exuded charm and confidence, qualities of a natural-born leader. But Sirina couldn’t let him get involved in something like this. “And if someone does assassinate Vardan? Then what?” She stood and grabbed his arm. “If you get mixed up in this, they will execute you. You won’t live to see what, if any, changes are made.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “They can’t execute me if they can’t catch me.” His grin and quick wink were sly with self-confidence. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
“Right.” She stared into his eyes. “And are you sure your hypothetical escape plan is good enough to evade every security force in the system?” Trying to get through to him, she tightened her fingers. “Natchook, the assassination of a world leader is a huge thing. They’ll put a price on your head. Anyone who is remotely involved will be hunted down like rabid beasts. You won’t find a hole to hide in on any planet.”
He shook his head. “I’ve thought about that, too. If someone wanted a handy escape route, all they’d have to do is lay some credits on a couple of technicians at Rift Central,” he said, giving the detention center the nickname most Avasans used.
It was the place where society’s undesirables—political dissidents, religious heretics, and criminals—were taken after trial and sentencing. Once there, their souls were stripped from their bodies, and the incorporeal energies that made up the essence of what was left were placed in specially designed holding tanks.
A rift between their dimension and another occurred every seventy-three rotations of Talis around their sun star. Because the rift opened from the other dimension, all the authorities could do was wait for it. But when it happened, the holding cells were opened, and the gravitational forces of the rift sucked the entities into it. No one knew what happened on the other side after that point.
Not very many people cared to know, either. This solution had been practiced for millennia, and most system inhabitants were just glad to be rid of the troublemakers.
Her cousin looked confident in his plan. “The timing is perfect. The rift is due in just over a week. Once someone is placed in a holding cell and the rift opens, they’ll make their way through. The authorities could never touch them.”
She was through talking about all this hypothetical nonsense. “You think bribing a technician or two at the detention center will get your soul removed from your body so it can be sent through the rift when it opens?” Sirina couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with her cousin. He’d always been so levelheaded. So strong-minded. Yura’s death had affected him much more deeply than she’d thought. She had to convince him not to go through with this. “Let’s say you go through the rift. What then? Nobody knows what happens once you’re in the other dimension. You could simply cease to exist.”
“So I die either
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