“Maxtin never asked me to execute someone before, not like this.” Reynard realizes too late he should have never admitted to uncertainty, but he must understand why he was requested to murder this man.
“Zayars murder just as easy as any species, Osirian. The Admiral and I go back all the way to the Battle of the Twin Suns. I doubt my friend would send you to kill me.”
“Unless the evidence was overwhelming you were betraying your people to the Mokarran.”
Donkor laughs. “Do you not understand this war, Osirian?”
“Understanding’s not required of a soldier.”
“Again, if you were sure, you’d have fired already. You’re not sure. So what in your limited Osirian brain makes you not pull the trigger?”
Reynard contemplates, Maxtin’s done nothing but help me survive. He’s never led me astray. If it’s a test, then the results could be devastating. No. Maxtin wouldn’t send me to kill someone who didn’t need to be eliminated.
“You’re correct. I don’t assassinate people. I’m a soldier. I’ve a duty.”
“Then do it, Osirian.”
Reynard knows aliens use “Osirian” with the same tone his own people of Earth use for “spick,” “chink” or “nigger.” Since was not born in this time it fails to have relevance to him as a personal insult.
“I’ve got to know why you turned away from what you fought so hard for thirty years ago.”
Donkor grabs his left sleeve and tears at the silken fabric. A red tattoo fades. “Ask your commandant about the trust we put in each other and why he now betrays me.”
The strange group of lines means nothing to Reynard. It has the look of the Chinese I Ching, but it’s not. It could be an alien version of that philosophy; many such life lessons are universal on dozens of worlds. He has no idea why Donkor shows it to him now. It means something important, and it must signify the trust Maxtin and the others had in each other when they survived the Twin Suns battle and founded the UCP.
I will finish it.
I need more information first.
I have to know why.
I can’t just kill in cold blood.
Maxtin should never ask this of me.
Reynard lowers his magnum.
“Finish it, Osirian, or you’ll never sleep again. I’ll send squads of assassins after you and my old friend for this betrayal.”
Amye holds her smoking blaster. The red plasma bolt sears open Micah Donkor’s chest, and he slumps bloodless to the carpet. The intense heat beam cauterizes the vessels, which mist only flakes of blood into the room.
Amye lowers her weapon. Her eyes affix to the smoldering hole that was once the chest of the politician.
Reynard holsters his gun and grabs Amye in one swift movement to prevent her from collapsing once her knees give out.
“I just killed an unarmed man.” She glares into Reynard’s hazel eyes with her own, now more doe-eyed than her sister’s. “It’s not the same as when I fired on the Mokarran.”
“Maxtin ordered this because it would save millions of lives,” Reynard assures her.
She shifts her eyes to the charred remains of Donkor’s organs. The sight twists the bottom of her stomach as if it were a wet washcloth being wrung out. The contents reach the top of her esophagus, and no amount of control she has allows her to push it back down.
Reynard grabs her hair and keeps it from her face as she loses the rest of her lunch.
••••••
“UPLOAD IT.” REYNARD shoves his headgear into Doug’s hand.
With two keystrokes Doug puts the image on the main view screen.
“What’s that?” he snaps at Australia, pointing at the picture he took.
What reminds Reynard of the Chinese I Ching appears. “It was on Donkor’s arm. He showed it to me before he died.”
Australia props her elbows on her control station and bounces her front teeth on her two index fingers in contemplation.
“The queen had the same tattoo on her backside,” Reynard adds.
Doug opens a link to the ISN.
Reynard lowers his voice, “Australia, tell me what you know.”
“I am unfamiliar with this symbol.” She seems flustered with herself with the lack of knowledge, having always been able to answer any question posed to her by her captain. “But I have seen it before.”
“Where?”
“When I was tasked to assign myself to this crew, it was faded on a small book in Admiral Maxtin’s office.”
“The Admiral, the queen and the political leader of Shalenotun are all connected to this mark, and all three were at the founding of the UCP. I smell conspiracy,” Doug adds.
“If Amye were on the bridge, she would tell you it was a half-baked notion.”
“Where is Miss Jones?”
“She’s not dealing so well with the trigger pull and Donkor being an unarmed kill.”
“Smuggling, abduction, and assassination—the trinity of intelligence operatives.”
“You suggest a conspiracy at the UCP founding. What an Oliver Stone movie this would make.” Reynard pats Doug’s shoulder, “Find any reference to that mark.”
“‘Not all of life is a result of conspiracy by any means! Accident occurs alongside conspiracy,’” Doug spouts.
“That’s not from a movie,” Reynard accuses.
“No, but something Oliver Stone once said.”
“Then it doesn’t count.” Reynard contemplates the Earth quote game he plays with his communications officer.
“It has relevance.”
“It’s no accident three of those involved in the founding of the UCP are linked to the mark.”
“You would have to learn who among the other founding members also retain said mark to determine the significance.”
“None of them are Osirians.”
“The queen is.”
“Not from the Osirians scattered across the known galaxy by the Iphigenians. I would not consider her species true Osirians but a close cousin species,” Australia clarifies.
“So far, all missions involve UCP founders, none of which are Osirian. Not much of a plot point so far.”
“The lack of information on the Interplanetary Subspace Netscape suggests the mark’s pertinence.”
“Secret organizations don’t remain secret by broadcasting their intentions. Keep searching for references to the symbol.”
“You could just ask the Admiral.”
“I’m not ready for that conversation,” Reynard admits.
“You’re going to have to talk to him anyway. Incoming transmission,”
