The Anialwch Connection
Chapter 27
Donica lifted Tavin from his chair at the table and watched as Chait studied a message. He was obviously upset. She leaned over his shoulder.
“What is it?”
“It’s a message from Donte. Your brother has a good imagination. Now he thinks I may be the target of an assassin.” He shook his head. “I wish he’d keep the folklore in his colony. We don’t need the drama.” He wadded the message and tossed it into the trash.
Donica frowned. “If Donte sent you a warning message, you should heed it.”
Chait gave her a sour look. “I’m not going to lock myself in my house and hide in case someone might be after me. Who would want to kill me? I don’t have any special abilities and no one is accusing me of inciting the colonists.”
“Donte wasn’t inciting the colonists.”
“I didn’t say he was. I said he was accused of it. Why would anyone want to assassinate me? What would they gain?”
That was a good question. Still, Donte wouldn’t have warned him unless he had a good reason. There wasn’t much Chait could do when he didn’t know why Donte thought there was a risk.
“What did Ness have to gain by having Donte assassinated?”
Chait shook his head. “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you? I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“I’m sorry I brought it up. I know you didn’t have anything to do with it. You asked what they had to gain….”
Chait headed for the door. “I’ll see you this evening. Be careful.”
“I’ll keep the door bolted while you’re not here, just to be safe.”
She kissed him goodbye and after he left, she bolted the door. She watched out the window as he walked to the complex. Once he was inside the gate, she felt relieved. Inside the complex he would be protected by his council. Would he tell them about the warning? Probably not. Still, Kia was there and he liked Chait. Kia had been Sima’s vice president and if it had not been for the termination of Ness, he might not have had a second term as vice-president.
Chait and Kia had managed to get the all-Mascot council they wanted, but it seemed there was more unrest, not less. Chait said it would take time. If Donte was right, they only had three more years. Of course, that was assuming Celyn’s vision was part of The Prophesy. Chait thought Celyn’s vision was only the dream of a child. Even Donte thought her interpretation was that of a child. Maybe Chait was right. Maybe The Prophesy was nothing more than folklore. Donte would probably be happy to discover he was wrong.
She had thought that Chait secretly believed in The Prophesy, but since she had returned from the Moeder, he had acted as though it was another of Donte’s ridiculous stories. She had been certain that Chait both liked and respected Donte, but since Donte had taken her from Lochfowk, Chait appeared to have nothing but distain for him.
Kia was part of a political party called the Cabal. It was something new and Chait said he thought it would be powerful enough to subdue any uprising. Right now, it was a secret party and she wasn’t supposed to say anything about it. It was still in the formation stage.
Donica missed Rianne and Saskia. She had made a friend in Mai, but she was still lonely. Another person she missed was Pieter. Donte probably did too. Most of all, she missed Donte. She always felt safe around Donte. With the growing tension in Lochfowk, the feeling of security was a rare commodity for a Bergen Mascot.
The day proceeded without incident until afternoon when someone knocked on the door. She stepped to the window to see who was there and gasped. She hurried to the door and opened it.
“Kenyon!”
He hugged her. “Where is Chait?”
Fear clutched at her throat. “At the complex. What’s wrong?”
“Donte needs to talk to him. Where is Sima?”
“At her house, I guess.”
“Can you explain how to get there?”
She nodded.
Kenyon tapped a medallion on his chest. “Donte, are you there?”
“Yes,” Donte replied through the medallion.”
Kenyon looked at Donica. “Tell him how to get there.”
She gave Donte directions.
“Thank you,” he answered.
“What’s happening?” Donica asked Kenyon.
“We have reason to believe Kia may be involved in a conspiracy to take over the Lochfowk government.”
She frowned. “Why would he do that? He’s already part of the government.”
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask Donte. He’s the brains of this duo. I’m only here to protect you.”
“From what? An assassin? Why would anyone want to assassinate me?”
“Today we had to rescue Celyn. They captured her in an attempt to get Donte.”
She caught her breath. “Who?”
“I don’t know. A political party called the Cabal.”
She put a hand to her mouth. “Chait thinks they are going to protect him!”
“Donte is taking care of that. He said he wanted to do it right this time – through the proper channels.”
“How?” She shook her head. “They’ll kill him.”
Kenyon’s smile was sardonic. “I think he’s getting a little miffed at their attempts. You don’t want to have Donte miffed at you.” He sobered. “I listened to him today while he coordinated with the commanders on the Moeder and the Baigh. Adriaan provided a shuttle and commander Cadha provided two Lochfowk servicemen.” He hesitated. “I don’t even know if I’m supposed to tell the other part, but my point is that Chait doesn’t have a clue what he is dealing with. I knew Donte was powerful, but I didn’t know how powerful until today.”
***
Donte followed Donica’s instructions and found Sima’s house. He made his way to the back door and knocked. He could hear someone moving around inside, so he knocked louder. The sound of footsteps came to the door and Sima opened it. She gasped.
“Donte! What are you doing here?” She stepped back. “Come inside.”
Donte stepped inside the cottage and turned to her. “I need your help.”
She nodded. “You’ve got it. What do you want me to do?”
He explained the situation. “If Kia sees me, he may kill Chait before I can get to him. Is there some way you can bring Chait to me without alerting Kia?”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. Neither Chait nor Kia have any use for me.”
“Can you get me into the complex to see Chait - and Kia away from Chait?”
She thought about it a minute and then smiled. “I think that might be possible.”
Sima ordered a carriage and got Donte to the complex without anyone seeing him. From there it was impossible to hide, so she walked him into the complex as though he were the Ruler of Bergen arriving for a visit.
She told the girl at the desk to notify Chait that Donte was there to see him, but before she did that, contact Kia and tell him that Sima had been seen in the file room.
Sima smiled up at Donte. “I’ll see you later.”
The girl at the desk watched her walk down the hall before contacting Kia. She waited a few minutes and then contacted Chait, telling him that the ruler of Bergen was in the lobby waiting to see him.
Chait was there in only a few minutes. He frowned at Donte. “What’s going on?”
Sima had done her part. From here on it was up to him. He held out a palm to Chait.
“You told me last time that I should go through the proper procedure. That’s what I’m doing.”
Chait started to ignore his hand, but as Donte’s words sank in, he reached out and gripped Donte’s forearm. He gave Donte a skeptical look. “What is it this time? I got your message.”
“I had a mission this morning to rescue Celyn. She was captured by a member of the Cabal.”
Chait stared at him. “Why?”
“They didn’t want Celyn. They wanted me, but they were going to kill her as well.”
Chait frowned. “Again, why?”
“It seems that they had a plan. If you were dead, Kia would be president. The Cabal would be in control of the government.”
Chait watched him for a minute. “What are you trying to achieve? What’s in this for you?”
Donte tapped his medallion. “Nieke?”
“Here, Monomi.”
“Patch me through to Commander Cadha.”
“Yes, Monomi.”
Chait’s expression became wary, but he remained silent.
“This is commander Cadha.”
“This is Donte. I’m talking to the president of Lochfowk right now. He would like confirmation of our mission this morning.”
They could hear keys being struck on a computer. “I have confirmation from the Premier Infantry that a Cabal member named Ewan was arrested for treason against the government of Lochfowk. The report says that he captured princess Celyn in an attempt to lure the ruler of Bergen into an ambush for the purpose of assassination. We are waiting for confirmation from the Lochfowk government on the arrest of Kia for treason and his part in the attempted assassination. He is to be turned over to the Premier Infantry.”
Chait’s complexion paled and his pupils dilated. Donte pulled out his laser and handed it to Chait.
Chait stared at the weapon for a moment.
“Donte?” The medallion spoke.
“Waiting on confirmation,” Donte responded.
Chait looked up as Kia walked into the lobby. Chait lifted the weapon and slid back the cover, pointing it at Kia.
“Kia, you are under arrest for treason against the Lochfowk government.”
Kia’s smile was casual. “By whose authority and on whose word?”
Chait squared his shoulders. “Commander Cadha. Ewan talked.”
The smile evaporated from Kia’s face. His startled gaze jumped from Donte to Chait and back again. Instinct warned Donte that Kia wasn’t going to surrender.
Donte stepped away from Chait.
Chait kept the laser weapon aimed at Kia’s middle. “Put your hands over your head.”
Kia looked at the weapon as if measuring his chances. Maybe he thought Chait wouldn’t fire. Maybe he wouldn’t, but more than likely he would. Donte had adjusted the laser to stun before entering the complex because they would be surrounded by innocent people. Surely Chait would have noticed that.
Donte sensed when Kia was ready to make his move. “Watch it Chait.”
As he spoke, Kia lunged at Chait. Chait calmly stood his ground and fired. Kia fell to the floor, groaning.
Chait closed the laser and handed it to Donte. “Thank you for your assistance.” He walked over to Kia and grabbed him by the collar, jerking him to his feet. “As I said, you are under arrest.”
Kia staggered out the door in front of Chait, still moaning.
Sima joined Donte and looked up at him, a sly smile on her lips and a mischievous look in her eyes. “I think you owe me at least a kiss for that.”
Donte leaned down and kissed her cheek.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “You can do better than that.”
He grinned. “I’m sure I could, but I won’t.”
She was barely containing a laugh. “Why not? Wasn’t it worth it?”
He laughed. “I’m afraid next time it would include something like a first born.”
She sighed. “You can’t blame a person for trying, can you?”
He shook his head. “Sima, you’re a flirt.”
She finally gave in to a grin. “Ah, I think you have discovered my true self.”
He offered a palm to her. “Seriously, I appreciate your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
The medallion spoke. “Uh…Touching, but I’m still waiting on that confirmation.”
Donte caught his breath and blood rushed to his face. “Confirmation on that arrest, commander Cadha.”
“Good job…. I’ll take a rain check on that kiss.”
Sima burst out laughing.
Donte returned to Bergen with a feeling of achievement. They had rescued Celyn and probably prevented the assassination of Chait in the same day. It was more than that, though. Four colonies and two spaceships had worked together to achieve all that. As the Anialwch Connection, he had coordinated a successful mission. He still wasn’t certain if The Prophesy had begun. Who could say? The only thing he knew for certain was that they were better prepared now than they were a year ago. For the first time, they had used shuttles and communication devices in a way that proved the necessity for them on Purlieu. The assistance of the Premier Infantry was the final step in everyone working together. For the first time, he felt that if The Fontalo returned, they had a chance. With things falling into place, he would be able to focus on Bergen and his family. He was looking forward to that.
When Gerritt had returned from service on the Moeder, he hadn’t known what he wanted to do, but when the cabinet put him in charge of the militia, he discovered he liked to command. It wasn’t because he liked the power – not exactly, anyway. He liked the order that could be achieved with that power. As a militia member, he knew what needed to be done, but he had to stand by and wait for someone to give him a directive. As a commander, he saw the need and took care of it.
For all his trials, Donte was stronger, wiser and more prepared for the Prophesy. His efforts had held the colonies together and given him a following of colonists in every colony. If the Prophesy never happened, Purlieu was still a better place now than it had been before Donte began working with the colonies. They had a lot to do, but they were all going in the right direction now.
****
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The Mascot Trilogy continues with book 3, "Return of the Fontalo."
Soft Science Fiction
