'Paula Myo. Paula's u-shadow was running a review of the sarcophagi's management routines, trying to determine what had switched off the suspension.
'Ah, the Cat said, and grinned hungrily. C'est la vie.
Paula's u-shadow reported a small non-register sub-program that had been grafted on to the case's opacity routine which would terminate the whole suspension as soon as anyone looked in on the occupant. / should have guessed there'd be a trip. Typical Cat, paranoid clever. 'I'm afraid you're not negotiating from a strong position.
The second Cat sat up. 'Aren't we?
'No.
'Paula Myo herself, said the third Cat. 'We must have been doing something bad to warrant your personal attention.
'Of course we have, said the fourth.
'It is what you do, Paula admitted to them. 'But now you have to go back into suspension so the court can ascertain what to do with you.
'Been there, said the sixth.
'Done that, said the second as she slipped nimbly over the rim of the case.
'Bored with it, the fifth emphasized.
'You're interfering with my investigation, Paula warned them. Two combatbots glided into place on either side of her.
The first Cat to waken grinned her effusive grin. 'Is this supposed to be a covert mission, Paula? Are you creeping round here to try and see what's going on?
'My dears, I do believe she is, said the third.
'Shit, Paula grunted, and rolled her eyes inside her armour helmet. This was the Cat after all. All that time and effort sneaking in here...
As if they'd read her mind, all seven Cats configured their biononic energy currents to full weapons function. The combatbots opened fire. Paula teleported out. The Alexis Denken's smartcore activated its weapons systems, and hardened the fuselage force fields. Paula sat down fast in the couch. Active sensors swept out.
The fight in the suspension compartment was almost over. The Cats had lost, against the level of firepower carried by the combatbots the outcome was inevitable. But that wasn't the point, as they'd well known. The damage to the compartment and the base's surrounding structure was substantial. Emergency systems were just starting to deploy. The staff and the orbiting sentry vehicles knew their security had been breached. Paula had a good idea what they would do next. Ilanthe was just as ruthless as the Cat, and she knew the Accelerators couldn't afford to leave any evidence behind.
Sure enough, barely five seconds after the fight between the Cats and the combatbots four of the sentry vehicles were swooping down towards the ice moon at high acceleration. Their multiple sensors probed the base on high intensity, exposing the combatbots. Paula's u-shadow tried to crash the base network, but two of the staff established personal secure links to the" incoming sentries.
All of the base's protective force fields switched off. The Alexis Denken teleported above the cross of cool metal, assuming a defensive posture. Gamma lasers and disruptor pulses hammered down from the approaching sentries. Explosions ripped through the base's skin, sending huge plumes of superheated gas jetting out into space. Paula winced at the damage they'd caused, and fired three m-sinks up at the sentries. They began evasive manoeuvres, twisting and varying acceleration with an elegance she'd never witnessed before, the way they slipped fluidly through space was almost organic. Their fuselage seemed to adapt with them, distorting to absorb the constantly shifting acceleration vectors. One actually managed to elude an m-sink, driving down at forty gees. Kamikaze impact, Paula realized. The Alexis Denken rose to intercept it, firing another two m-sinks.
High above, an m-sink punched clean through one of the sentries, its colossal tidal forces imploding the internal structure in microseconds. The wreckage spun uncontrollably. More m-sinks tracked their prey skilfully. Energy weapons lashed across the base, partially deflected by the Alexis Denken. It was actually looking as though Paula might manage to preserve some of the base.
A phenomenal blast of raw multi-spectrum energy from behind the ice-moon deluged the Alexis Denken's sensors. A flare of blue-white light irradiated the fuselage, as if a sun had suddenly blossomed into existence. Its corona erupted around the ice moon at relativistic speed.
'Shit! Paula yelled. Quantumbusters
The ice moon detonated. Alexis Denken fled into hyperspace, racing away from the colossal mass energy explosion at fifty lightyears an hour.
'Shit shit shit, Paula growled at the readings flashing across her exovision. The four attacking sentry vessels had just been a diversion. One of the others had deployed behind the ice moon to ensure there was no evidence left. 'Crap, I'm old and slow. I should have known. She opened a link to ANA: Governance. 'I'm sorry, my stupidity just lost us our one tangible lead.
'You are being too hard on yourself.
'No. What a professional would have done is examined whatever was in those main chambers first. Given its energy demand it had to be some kind of manufacturing operation. But oh no I went and acted on my obsession.
'You have verified the Accelerators are using the Cat.
'Stop trying to cushion me. Somebody is using the Cat, we have no proof it is the Accelerators. And even if we did, that isn't enough for you to enact their suspension. I need to nail them with conspiracy and treason.
'Paula, you are letting self-anger dominate. This aspect of your investigation has one link remaining: Chatfield.
'Damnit, she wanted to kick herself. Her u-shadow opened a link to Digby.
Cleric Conservator Ethan sat alone behind his polished muroak desk in the oval sanctum, his eyes closed against the bright starfield visible through the high diocletian windows. One day soon, he knew, he would sit in the real oval sanctum, and that very same window would reveal the Void's splendid nebulas glowing across the night sky. When that happened, days like today would simply be banished from existence, and he would live an easier, gentle life. In fact he wouldn't even be Conservator, nor even a Cleric. It often amused him to wonder who on the Council had considered that aspect of their cause. Once they were inside the Void, then they would have achieved their goal and there would be no more Dreaming Void movement. All of them would be ordinary Querencia citizens. Giving up their positions would be hard on some, he knew. Too hard. They would warp their world to make themselves District Masters or worse. But the Waterwalker had shown that even such self-indulgence would come to nothing. All would come right in the end. The Skylords would carry them all to the Heart. He couldn't imagine just how splendid that would be, especially in comparison to today.
Cleric Phelim had called five hours ago to tell him they'd located Araminta, that she was in Bodant Park right outside the apartments she owned. A mere five seconds later Ethan had felt her mind's angry dismissive cry resonate throughout the gaiafield. That worried him more than he would ever admit to anyone, even Phelim. Why would someone chosen by the Sky-lords reject Living Dream so comprehensively? He'd felt her naked emotions, experienced how deep her revulsion for their goal truly was.
Then biononically enriched agents had fought a small war in Bodant Park, a war given total coverage across the wretched Unisphere. Honilar's welcome team had been killed — and they were tough operatives. Ethan knew that, he'd authorized their enrichments and training himself. The aftermath had left him deeply shocked. So many dead. More injured. He had prayed to the Lady for guidance and forgiveness.
A prayer cut short by the Speaker of the Senate calling, demanding he end Viotia's occupation and turn over Living Dream's paramilitaries for an independent trial. Ethan's rather reasonable observation that the carnage was caused by representatives of ANA Factions was ignored. The Speaker said that the Security Commission was preparing a resolution that would allow the Navy to intervene if any further human rights violations occurred on such a level. And that ever since Ellezelin's Senator had walked out of the Senate following the condemnation of the Viotia invasion, repudiating its authority as he went, Ellezelin was technically no longer part of the Commonwealth and therefore the Navy's non-internal deployment restriction didn't apply.