operatives.”
“What the hell happened?” Anton demanded. “Who attacked us?”
“Hibbils and Adurians,” Dabiggio said. “The Human and Mutati empires are lost. Surprise assaults, with overwhelming force. We lost communication three hours ago, but at that time only Canopa and Siriki were holding out in the MPA, and the Mutatis only had Dij left.”
“My God!” Anton said.
“We have incontrovertible proof that the Hibbils and Adurians are in alliance.” the third Elder said.
Is this what I sensed ? Noah wondered. “Hibbils and Adurians?” he asked. “How could that possibly be?”
Nodding solemnly, Kre’n said, “They call themselves the HibAdu Coalition. They must have been plotting the attacks for some time. Coordinated military assaults against all targets.”
“Traitors,” Tesh said. “What a bunch of sneaky bastards.”
Noah thought back, and again he remembered seeing Hibbil and Adurian soldiers in a Timeweb vision. He’d reported it to Doge Anton, but there had been no indication of the scope of the treachery, or the direction it might take. Noah also remembered now that Lorenzo had a Hibbil attaché named Pimyt. The last Noah heard, Lorenzo and Pimyt were in Noah’s former EcoStation, where the deposed doge was in exile.
The HibAdu Coalition , he thought in dismay, letting it seep in.
But his gut told him that wasn’t all he’d been sensing. There was something more than this dire military news, something even worse, and he couldn’t put a finger on it.
Kre’n raised a hand. “Bring the Mutatis in,” she said.
“The Mutatis?” Anton exclaimed. Obviously stunned, he exchanged nervous glances with Noah.
A side door burst open, and a large Mutati strutted in, wearing a purple-and-gold robe. He was accompanied by an entourage that included several uniformed military officers and a female shapeshifter—of the aerial variety—who flew beside him.
“Meet the Emir Hari’Adab,” Kre’n said, “ruler of the Mutati Kingdom.”
Chapter Eighteen
If you look hard enough, there are always surprises in this universe.
—Tulyan Wisdom
Inside the inverted, floating dome of the Council Chamber, Hari’Adab addressed the small gathering, choosing to emit synchronized, pulsing sounds from his puckish little mouth. It was not an orifice that had been part of his natural-born state, but was instead something he had improvised (and varied slightly from time to time) when he became old enough to care about his appearance. Now, dressed in a flowing robe that cascaded over his mounds of fat, the Emir paced in front of the wide council bench.
“Since you know my name and I know some of yours, allow me to introduce two of my companions.” He motioned back to the aeromutati who stood off to one side, just behind him. “This is Parais d’Olor, the gentlest of all Mutatis, a person who brings peace to my heart.”
He nodded somberly in her direction, then looked back to the other side, where Kajor Yerto Bhaleen stood with military erectness. After introducing him by title and name, he said, “Yerto is the highest officer in the Military High Command. He gives me advice in matters of war. But he knows, and fully understands, that I seek peace as the highest priority of my people.”
Noting skepticism on the faces of Doge Anton and Noah Watanabe, he gazed at them with oval, bright black eyes and said, “The Elders told me of your tremendous military victory over the Parviis. Unfortunately, while you were occupied with that, the Merchant Prince Alliance and the Mutati Kingdom fell to conquerors.”
The Humans glared at him. Then Anton responded, “Between us, we may have three planets left. Whatever the case, we will fight back.”
Beside them, a large Tulyan and a Human-looking woman watched Hari warily. The young Emir, with a racial ability to detect subtle details of physical appearance, noticed immediately that the female was not really Human, but had altered her appearance to look
Laila Cole
Jeffe Kennedy
Al Lacy
Thomas Bach
Sara Raasch
Vic Ghidalia and Roger Elwood (editors)
Anthony Lewis
Maria Lima
Carolyn LaRoche
Russell Elkins