She stood as Nathan Tanaka approached, pulling off his mirrored sunglasses.
“I did not think,” he said, kissing her hand lightly, “that I would be seeing you again so soon—if ever.”
“Neither did I,” she admitted, feeling her way back into her chair and waving him into the seat opposite her. “I felt I should apologize for the way I treated you back on Aphrodite.”
“There is nothing to apologize for, Shannon,” he told her. “I don’t believe either of us exchanged marriage vows or promises of faithfulness, unless I was asleep.”
Shannon chuckled softly, covering his hand with hers.
“I know,” she agreed. “We were both consenting adults with no illusions about sex. But there was no excuse for my avoiding you.”
“You and Captain McKay had a lot of catching up to do,” Nathan reasoned. “I would not have begrudged you that time together. I could see in your eyes the feelings between you. Even when we were together, I could see it.”
“Could you?” Shannon fought back a blush, even more embarrassed by the fact that she
“Don’t worry, Shannon,” he assured her. “You were not a giddy teenager, by any stretch of the imagination. Reading people’s faces is a skill necessary to one in my profession. My father used to say that not even a samurai could guard his eyes.”
“Do you ever see him?” she asked. “Or your mother?”
“Mother visits once a year.” His face softened, his voice becoming as close to wistful as she’d heard from him. “Father died over ten years ago. He was guarding a corporate executive during a visit to the Mars colony. He was killed in an attack on the mine facilities by Martian separatists.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, squeezing his hand. “That must have been rough on your mother.”
“Not as bad as the thought of the same thing happening to me,” he replied. “She has asked me at least once every year since his death to retire to Japan, to teach the young men and women of the clan.”
“But you have to stay with Valerie,” Shannon said, mouth turning down almost imperceptibly. “How is the little princess?”
“Visibly pregnant and almost invisible socially.” Tanaka didn’t seem comfortable with the subject. “Actually, she’s here in the Capital, with Mr. Mulrooney and the Senator, listening to the President’s End-of-Session Address— they’re to go to Luna after the recess and stay till her baby is delivered. It seems it will be an easier delivery in the lighter gravity.”
“Guess I caught you just in time, then,” Shannon concluded, taking a sip of her drink.
He nodded. “Another six hours, and I would have been on the shuttle with them.”
“Should be a fun vacation,” she sniffed. “I’ll bet Mulrooney’s loving this.”
“It is a difficult time,” Nathan admitted. “But Ms. O’Keefe is handling it as well as can be expected.” He glanced at his watch. “I should really be getting back to the Center.”
“And I need to catch a flight,” she said, sliding back her chair and coming to her feet. “I just wanted to talk to you first.”
“I hope you and Jason have much happiness.” Tanaka stood, taking her hand. “He is a good man—you are truly worthy of each other.”
“Thank you, Nathan.” She pulled him into a kiss, with all of the feeling, if not the desire, they’d shared once before. “I hope,” she told him as she slipped out of his arms, “that you find someone worthy of you.”
“To find two such women in one lifetime,” he said with a shake his head, “would surely be a miracle. Take care, Shannon.”
She gave him one last smile, then turned, without another word, and walked away. Yet she couldn’t help but think that she wasn’t just walking away from something—she was also walking toward something.
So intent was she on walking toward something that she didn’t hear Tanaka’s shouted warning, didn’t notice the huge shadow passing overhead until the bodyguard slammed into her from behind, knocking her out of the way just as the thing plowed into the tiled surface of Reagan Plaza. Hitting the ground with a flare of pain from her hip and shoulder, Shannon cursed reflexively but was unable to hear her own voice above the shriek of tearing metal as another of the teardrop-shaped, bat-winged craft slammed directly into the Freedom Tower at the center of the plaza, sending the skeletal structure toppling like a felled oak into the awning of one of the outdoor bistros.
For a horrible, frozen moment, all Shannon could manage was to stare wide-eyed at the black shapes of the Invader drop pods swooping down over Capital City like vultures on a rotting corpse, and amid the terrified screams of the onlookers and the muffled bangs of explosive bolts ominously detonating, all she could hear was a wailing voice screaming in her head—“Too late! We were too late!”
“Shannon, come on!” Nathan jerked her to her feet. “We have to get to the Senate!”
Snapping out of her fugue, she glanced disorientedly from the bifurcating pods to Tanaka’s desperate frown.
“The Senator,” she realized.
“Not just the Senator,” he corrected. “The President!”
“Oh, my God,” she hissed, scrambling to her feet. No sooner had she moved than a burst of gunfire ripped into the section of pavement she’d occupied only a heartbeat before, the ricochets spanging off the fusion-form cement in every direction.
Nathan and Shannon darted behind the low wall of a fountain, out of sight of the squad of Invader biomechs who’d emerged from the nearest pod. The fusillade followed them, spraying water and chips of sculpted marble cherub over their backs as they hugged the pavement. Shannon clawed at the cargo pocket of her utility fatigues, grasping desperately for the compact handgun concealed there, but the firing suddenly cut off.
Nathan risked a glance around the edge of the fountain wall and saw the squad of Invaders jogging off in a loose wedge out of the plaza, following at least three other groups of the biomechs whose pods had fallen into the square.
“They’re going,” Shannon breathed, finally freeing the pistol from the folds of her pocket.
“They’ve been called away,” Nathan deduced. “They’re being directed.”
“To the Senate?” she guessed.
“We have to get there first.” He pulled her to her feet and led her out of the plaza at a sprint.
President Gregory Jameson surveyed his audience, looking over the faces of the collected representatives of every nation on Earth, as well as the larger orbital colonies, Luna Dome and the Martian Habitats. In some ways, this was his favorite day of the year, because he was presiding over the best the human race had to offer—it made him proud and full of hope. In other ways, it was his favorite day of the year because he wouldn’t have to listen to the incessant whining of the biggest bunch of Goddamned selfish crybabies in the universe.
He sighed, trying to shake off the negative emotions. Glancing at the foot of the platform, he nodded to Charlie Klesko, the agent in charge of his security detail. The solid, shaven-headed man had been with him since his election, and the sight of him parked there in his unfashionably plain suit had become something of a comfort. But looming behind him were the huge, bronze double-doors of the main entrance, inlaid with the seal of the Republic, reminding him of why he was here.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate,” Jameson began, trying to collect his thoughts. “I thank you for inviting me here again to address you on the occasion of the Senate’s annual recess. I’ve given this speech many times before, so many that it’s become rather automatic. But I feel this time is different. This may be the most important speech I’ll ever give… and the most important one you’ll ever hear.
“Those of you who sit on the Security and Space committees have already been briefed about the ship disappearances, and the rest of you have probably heard the rumors about the events on Aphrodite. Today, I’m here to tell you that these rumors are true. About nine months ago, the Aphrodite colony was invaded by unknown forces.” He paused, waiting for the rumbling aftershocks to travel through the audience. Many of them had heard the news already, he was sure, but even those tried to act surprised since it had officially been top-secret.
“Due to the bravery and resourcefulness of certain members of our armed forces, whom you will be meeting in a few months, the invasion force withdrew, leaving us valuable clues that are even now being analyzed by investigative teams. We are certain of only one thing at this point: there is a non-human enemy out there capable of star-travel and perfectly willing to use force to take what they want.”
“So what makes them any different than
