soil. But this will be no different than our days on the Reservation on Mars or at Triton. We will fight, and we will prevail. Take up arms and defend your way of life against the evil oppressor! Defend your home!' She cut the feed.
Elle thought for a moment, trying to decide what her next move should be. Deanna was down there in her penthouse. Since those U.S. fleet ships attacked the city, they might hit the Capitol Building and Dee could be in danger. She needed Dee alive. Dee was the only thing she could use to bargain with Moore. She had to have Dee alive. There was something deeper down, she wasn't sure quite what it was. A memory or a feeling she hadn't had in years that compelled her to want Dee alive. It was the same she had felt about Scotty when she had to kill him. She loved Scotty more than any man she'd ever met. But something, logic, had forced her to kill him for betraying her plans. Dee made her question the plans as well. She felt strongly for her granddaughter. But quickly those feelings were squashed by heartless logic and cold calculation. She needed Dee as a bargaining chip, nothing more.
Elle tapped her watchband, triggering her own snap-back, and vanished from the QMT facility. She reappeared a tenth of an AU away on the second floor of the Capitol Building in New Tharsis, where her personal QMT pad was.
The building shook from the explosions outside, and she could hear missile launches and some AA fire coming from the ground. There were no visible guards around the QMT pad, which was normal. The Capitol Building from the second floor up was hers anyway. Only the occasional VIP visitor or particularly strategically important pieces of her plan, like Dee, were allowed to pass through her personal pad. Otherwise, they used one farther out in the city or shuttled in. She often met with her generals on this floor, but they should be out defending her empire from the Americans. Another blast wave made the building tremble, and the windows rattled.
'What can I do for you, General Fink?' she said as she walked toward the elevator.
'I'm on the first floor, ma'am. I need access to the military protocols so I can help you defend your city. I came back as soon as I saw the mecha crashing into the penthouse.'
'What? Mecha in the penthouse?'
'I'm sorry, ma'am. I thought you knew.'
'I'm bringing you up now.'
Elle stopped and turned around. If there was mecha hitting the penthouse, then she might be outnumbered up there. She wanted to know what happened to her defense systems and SIFs, but that would have to wait.
As she rounded the corner to the pad, there was Fink in a full-body armored e-suit. His helmet was off and tethered over the shoulder as marines typically do while in an atmosphere. Ahmi looked at him curiously.
'Expecting trouble, General Fink?'
'Always, ma'am. That's why I'm still alive.'
'It's just around the corner here,' Dee said.
'All right.' Alexander held up his armored hand. He and Sehera had redonned their AEM helmets and were both flanking their daughter. The other two in suits were behind them. DeathRay and Nancy kept their backs to the walls as they slunk through the hallway of the Seppy leader's house.
'It should be right—' Dee vanished right in front of them.
'Not again!' Moore lurched forward to grab her but got nothing but air.
'Are we too far from the penthouse, you think?' Sehera asked.
'I don't think so,' Nancy replied in a low voice, almost a whisper.
'What the hell!' They heard Dee's voice no more than five meters around the corner. 'Goddamned Fink, I'm gonna fucking kill you!' There was the sound of a struggle, and two
