“Do you believe the Inventor will return with the Splinter?”

  “Oh, yes,” Maxwell said. “He will return with many. That was his promise to the Triad leadership when they last visited him on Artemis Station.”

  Kara shared a nervous glance with Chi-Qua.

  “How long ago was this?”

  “A year,” Kemba said.

  “Were you there?”

  “No, but my father was. He shares power atop the Triad. He does not consult his others as I do, but he knew the report would thrill me. I became more committed to preparing a new future.”

  Now she made the connection. Simon Ofesee. Ran a banking conglomerate. Had everything to gain with the Alliance.

  “Does your father approve of your being here?”

  “He believes I am misguided. But he has said he will not interfere until the Alliance is formally announced. Then I must take my role.”

  “Your father is very powerful.”

  “Wealthy, you mean. All our fathers are bathed in the spoils of power. We are not interested in these things.”

  “The new future you speak of.”

  “Yes. A common identity in the sight of God of all universes.”

  “I’m curious,” Chi-Qua said. “If you gain all these Splinters and convert your people, do you plan to convert other worlds next?”

  “All roads must be considered, but that one is years away at best. Please, let us take lunch. The Marches are preparing cinder wraps.”

  “Don’t worry, Kara,” Maxwell said. “It is a simple spiced meat. Very tasty. Nothing like boulimapp.”

  She chuckled and told Chi-Qua, “Long story.”

  Lunch was good but small. Kara found herself craving more, but everyone ate a single serving on a tiny plate and washed it down with bottled sween. The men stood while eating or lounged on their sleeping bags. They treated the circle as sacrosanct.

  Upon return, one member who said very little during the morning session raised his hand. Kara thought he intended to read from his notes, but Adi Chenga pointed to the women.

  “Why are they still with us? Did they not hear enough already?”

  Kemba replied. “Kara and her friend are our guests. They have observed without breaking any rules. They’re fascinated by what they are hearing. If not, I’m sure they would’ve said their good-byes.”

  Adi narrowed his eyes into suspicious slits.

  “You have seen what we do. What more is there for you to learn?”

  Kara started to speak, but Maxwell interrupted.

  “Adi, we should be happy for anyone to care about our revelation. How many times have our own people mocked us?”

  “If they were not off-worlders, I would bear them no distrust. You have not properly explained why your grandfather arranged for two women from Hokkaido to enter our circle. I have tried to be respectful, but my patience is wafer thin.”

  Maxwell scanned the group. “Does anyone else feel this way?”

  The March twins raised their hands. Kara thought back to the initial introduction. Even then, the twins and Adi Chenga seemed cold to their presence. Kara tried to preempt further tension, though the rules precluded her from speaking inside the circle.

  “We are only here to learn. If we make you uncomfortable, perhaps it’s time we left.”

  Kemba took control of the moment.

  “None of you voiced an objection before they arrived. It is far too late now. I trust our guests. Also, they have not yet heard the voice of God. How can we allow anyone to leave without experiencing the voice that crosses the divide?”

  “We can’t,” added young Reginald, who made the bold promise before the first session began. “How can we demonstrate the power of the Splinter if we are not willing to leave ourselves to the mercy of our others?”

  Kara thought that sounded wrong in every sense.

  “Reginald is right,” Maxwell said. “No one outside the Splinter will truly believe our revelation until they understand the power of our connections. We must allow our guests to hear directly from across the divide.”

  “No.” Adi rose from his chair. “The voice of God must be reserved for the faithful. These women will think it is a trick.”

  “The voice of God must be heard by everyone,” Reginald snapped back. “Who here will bring forth your other to speak directly?”

  The room went quiet. Adi took his seat. Maxwell asked:

  “Is no one in communion with your others at this moment?” With no response, he turned to the women. “We are tied to each other across divides, but we must go about our lives without the constant intrusion of our others. When we do make ourselves visible to be seen and heard, we share a physical mind. It is the connection that proves God. When we give permission, the other may speak through our lips. Our personality takes their form, and the host stands quiet until our mind is released. It is as if we were never really here.”

  What does one say to that? Nothing, Kara concluded. Anything might sound judgmental or insincere. She understood why someone without prior knowledge might leave the room laughing at these lunatics. She waited for the group to reach a verdict. Leave? Stay? Deliver the voice of God? Maybe Chi-Qua was right. Maybe this was crazytown after all. But damn, these men weren’t kidding. They believed it with all their heart. After everything she’d seen, why not accept the possibility of the impossible?

  “If we demonstrate this power,” Adi said, “will these women have seen enough to leave us?”

  He didn’t address the question to the guests. Kemba answered.

  “We will leave the decision to our guests. A short demonstration will suffice. Who is communing?”

  “I am.”

  “Adi? You just got through saying non-believers should not hear the voice of God.”

  “I did. But Onyx has asked to speak. He has seen today’s circle through my eyes and ears.”

  The objections were immediate and harsh.

  “Onyx?” “No, not him.” “Anyone else.” “He is a troubled mind.”

  After three hours of respectful commentary on their counterparts, the members leveled a barrage of disrespect toward this man Onyx. Kara did not recall his name being mentioned in the morning.

  “Onyx suffered greatly in the war,” Adi said. “He is paranoid. This is true. But he understands the dark nature of human beings. He is telling me of his dire concerns. These Hokki women need to face him. They will know the word of God is truly infinite.”

  Maxwell stood and faced Adi eye-to-eye.

  “Every time we have heard from Onyx, he delivers a negative message. We have advised you to tread carefully with him. He will do nothing but insult our guests and make us all look like fools.”

  “I disagree, and as I am the only one communing at the moment, I will give myself to Onyx. This will satisfy revelation and send our guests on their way.”

  Maxwell turned to Kara.

  “It is not necessary for you to hear this. But if you choose to stay, know that Onyx is a difficult man. His insults must not be taken personally. And remember, Adi has no control while Onyx speaks.”

  “I grew up being insulted horribly by the people I loved. Whatever is said here will be tame by comparison. Chi, are you good with this?”

  “I go where you go.”

  “Let him speak, Maxwell. I want to experience the voice of God.”

  Maxwell and Kemba nodded.

  “If Onyx is there now,” Maxwell told Adi, “then he can hear me. I demand he show respect for our honored guests.”

  Everyone sat but Adi. In a matter of seconds, his shoulders slumped, his left eye drooped lazily, and he moaned as if in pain. Either this was a parlor trick – part of the scam – or somehow the other personality took over physical attributes as well.

  Adi scanned the circle, his lip curled as if to judge every member. The voice that followed was slow and brittle.

  “They had five hundred chances to kill me.” Adi or Onyx wagged a finger. Kara thought the theatrics were amateurish. “They missed. Every man in my company fried. The reinforcements never came. They were cowards. They knew the Swarm was invincible.”

  Shit. How does he know about the Chancellor Swarm?

  “You are soldiers of God, and I survive to be your spearhead. I live to show you the enemy in your path.” Adi or Onyx pointed to the women. “These pathetic cunts have not come to learn the truth. They have come because they wish to destroy the Splinters.”

  Maxwell rose from his chair.

  “I warned you, Onyx. You will show respect. Your accusation is mad. Allow Adi to regain his form.”

  “Do you deny it?” Adi or Onyx asked the women. “Speak.”

  “Yes.” Kara stood. She refused to take this sitting down. “We came here with honorable intentions. We are trying to save lives.”

  “By destroying the Splinters. You will separate us from God.”

  “Adi. Onyx. Whichever you are. We are not …”

  “Quiet. I have lost many battles, but never to a woman.”

  The man reached under his long, hanging shirt and returned with a small black object. Until now, she didn’t know which of them carried a gun.

  22

  A T FIRST BLUSH, KARA DID NOT believe the threat was real. The gun was a toy. The Zwahili took his theatrics too far. A flurry of movement suggested otherwise. Maxwell lunged toward the gun. To Kara’s right, Chi-Qua went for her laser pistol, rose, and aimed in one tidy motion.

  “Drop it or I’ll drop you,” she told the gunman, now fending off Maxwell with one arm.

  “There,” Adi/Onyx said. “You see! She brought a weapon. This woman is here to destroy us. She is an agent of the Swarm.”

  Maxwell looked back, his eyes wide when he zeroed in on the pistol. The circle’s members rose. Kemba raced behind Adi and double-teamed with Maxwell to silence the threat.

  “Chi.” Kara reached out. “Put it down. He won’t shoot.”

  Chi-Qua did not move.

  For an instant, they appeared to have pulled back from the brink. Maxwell and Kemba controlled Adi, whose gun pointed to the floor. However, the March twins aimed weapons – one toward the circle’s center and another at Chi-Qua. They barked over each other.

  “Let Adi go.” “Put it down or I will fire.”

  “Please,” Kara shouted. “Everyone. Stop before someone is killed.”

  The three circle members who remained – Randolph, Reginald, and Marcus – implored the twins to calm down.

  As the Marches lowered their weapons, Chi-Qua took a half-step back and appeared ready to follow suit. All Kara wanted to do was slowly back out of this flat with Chi-Qua at her side.

  It happened in a blink. Two pops.

  Adi/Onyx had twisted the weapon upward. Maxwell stared in disbelief then lost his handle on the gunman. He stumbled backward and fell into Reginald’s arms as if drunk. The gunman, whether in a body from this universe or the next, raged against Kemba and freed himself long enough to regain his aim.

  He fired. Chi-Qua returned three silver/white blasts that cut him across the chest. The gunman fell like a stone.

  Chi-Qua took position in front of Kara and ordered the twins to throw down their weapons or she’d kill them both.

  Kara was a bit foggy on what happened next. At first, she sensed a tingling sensation in her side. Then she felt something moist and unnatural. It was … ??

  What she did know: Shots reverberated close by. The door flew open in a crash. Two more pops preceded a familiar sizzling of human flesh.

  No. Why did it come to this?

  The room filled with soldiers in black armor, their Force Drums glowing blue from the central pulse drive. They made demands. Hands were raised, and men fell to the floor.

  “We have containment.”

  The voice was familiar. Someone she loved.

  Chi-Qua swung around and grabbed hold of Kara, who felt light enough to levitate. Chi-Qua looked down, horror in her eyes.

  “Kara, you’re hit.”

  Oh, so that’s what the moisture was about.

  She swayed and fell into the giant arms of a Talon in black. The soldier scooped her up and carried her from the room. They descended a flight of stairs. So many people were shouting. So much running. Suddenly, the midday sun hit her face.

  Was that a Scramjet in the middle of the street?

  A few seconds before she fell into darkness, Kara’s mind pushed the fog away and took stock of the moment.

  Shit.

  She drifted off, but there was no pain.

  The same could not be said when she awoke. Her left side beneath the ribs ached. A holo hovered above, providing continuous readings. Cando studied them, his Talon armor covering his body neck down.

  “What happened?” She said.

  “There you are. The phasics said you should’ve been awake ten minutes ago. I was worried.”

  “I’m on Scylla?”

  “Home again. You never should’ve left.”

  She remembered shots. Maxwell, he …

  The rest followed as her memory caught up.

  “Chi. Is she …?”

  “Chi’s fine. She’ll be here soon. Handled herself like the Talon she is now. If she hadn’t been there, you’d be dead, Kara.”

  “I don’t understand how it fell apart. Cando, everything was going so well. We were eating lunch together. We had meat wraps. A few minutes later, he was aiming a gun and making accusations.”

  “Yes. Adi Chenga. He’s dead. Well earned.”

  “What about Maxwell? I think he was shot, too.”

  “He was. Took two bullets to the gut. Last report, he’s still alive.”

  “Last report? Where is he?”

  “Medplaza in the city. We didn’t hang back to help the Zwahilis. The situation on the street was tense after we gave up our little secret to save you and Chi. A quick escape kept the body count down.”

  Cando took a clinical tone. The combat veteran replaced the man she woke up next to each morning.

  “Tell me everything. How did you arrive so fast?”

  As she asked the question, Kara realized the obvious answer.

  “We sent Chi in with a bleeder. As soon as the situation turned hot, we jumped from orbit. Your location in the back of the building left us no easy entry. We opened a worm aperture outside the front door. It cost us extra seconds to get to you. Probably cost a couple lives as well.”

  “You didn’t tell me your plan.”

  “You would’ve objected. I told you the danger outweighed the mission’s value. You put Joseph’s assurances before my warning.”

  He was right on all counts.

  “How many died?”

  “Four, including the gunman. We took heavy fire ascending the stairs. Our armor is designed to neutralize energy pellets and deflect mass radius projectiles. Bullets don’t fall under either category. They penetrate the outer shell and disrupt the synaptic venal system. We cut down a pair of boys who fired from the second floor. When we entered the flat, another one took a shot. We had no choice.”

  “The boys. Were they wearing white t-shirts?”

  “As I recall.”

  Sons of the building’s owner, she was told. The rear guard, Joseph called them with confidence. The other victim must have been a March brother.

  She recognized the larger problem.

  “What kind of trouble are we in?”

  “More than a little. I’m leaving the diplomatic cleanup to Ham, but I’m not sure he can salvage our deal. We killed the sons of important men, and everyone in Mumbassa is asking tough questions about who we are, how we appeared out of nowhere, and what you were doing there at Joseph Mogandi’s behest.”

  “Is he in danger?”

  “I don’t know his political position. It’s only been four hours, Kara. The good news is that the witnesses confirmed who shot first. They confirmed who fired in self-defense.”

  “What about Francois? He must be furious.”

  “I ordered all ship-to-surface comms shut down right after. Francois and the Zwahilis onboard know nothing, and they won’t until we see which way this is headed.”

  “There are a lot more of them onboard than us. Do you think they’d try to take the ship?”

  “They might try, but they’d fail. We scrubbed the ship of blood once already. I don’t intend for it to happen again.”

  A sharp pain rushed through her abdomen.

  “How bad was my wound?”

  “You’re officially down one spleen. Could have been much worse. Meena should be back soon. She oversaw the phasic surgery. She’s a damn fine combat med. You’ll be here for a day or two at least.”

  “I have to talk to Joseph soon. I know he’s terribly upset about his grandson, but I’m sure he’s also blaming himself.”

  “As he should. He played on your emotions, Kara.”

  “Cando, I don’t regret my decision. It was going well until Adi Chenga … I don’t know. He lost control. But I learned so much about the Splinter and what it does to people. Cando, it’s so dangerous. That group believes it connects them directly to God. I heard something important about Amayas Knight. They claimed that he promised to return to the Kingdom with many Splinters. I think they’ll try to do for Zwahilis what Ya-Li did to Pinchon.”

  Cando caressed his hand against her cheek.

  “I know. Chi briefed us while you were in surgery.”

  “Did she tell you about Adi Chenga’s counterpart?”

  “The so-called voice of God. She didn’t buy his act for a second.”

  “Then she missed the part where he talked about the Swarm.”

  He flinched.

  “How could he have known, Cando? How could a Zwahili boy know about a Chancellor army ravaging another universe? The one you spent years fighting? I don’t think it was an act.”

  “Maybe not, but the damage is done. We’ve probably lost our best chance at finding the Inventor or Shin Wain. As for the warships, our best move might be to take them out and launch a new game plan.”

  “You’re giving up already?”