No Rhyme or Treason, Part 4 (final part)
11 Jun 2024Naomii
CHAPTER 4READ PART 3 HERE
Naomi collapsed against the wall of the elevator, and slowly slid down to the floor. She brought her knees up close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, leaning her head forward onto her forearms. “Verity, executive priority turbolift override.” She croaked. Barely having enough breath left to speak. “Take me back to the convention center.”
Verity responded, “Acknowledged, Commander. I’m detecting high levels of cortisol and adrenaline in your system. Do you wish for me to call for medical assistance?” The request alerted her enough to muster sufficient strength to respond sternly. “No, Absolutely not.”
It was then that she heard a crackling static in her earpiece. She guessed that meant that the encrypted comms unit had reconnected her with the man in the mask.
“Hey, Numbskull? You there? I have the data.” She was met with silence as a response. However, she continued, “Heh, I wouldn’t answer me either. You probably think I’m calling you from security detainment, trying to lure you into a trap, right?”
The empty line continued to serve as her conversation partner. “Ummmm. I’m gonna say something that they would probably punch me for if I said it around an Azi bootlicker. That should prove to you I’m not compromised.”
She stopped for a moment to think. “Uhhhhh, oh! Yeah this should do it. We lost the Eternal Vigilance. No one at the main office has any idea where it is. Maybe someone in Blackflight knows but they’re for sure keeping it to themselves.” There was still only silence. “Not good enough for you, huh?”
The elevator chimed, signaling her arrival back at the convention center. The door remained closed, however. It was waiting for her to disengage the override protocol.
She spoke once more into the comms, “Well, uhh. I don’t know what to do now. So I’ll be at the bar getting blackout drunk so I won’t be able to incriminate myself.”
The convention hall was in the same state as when she’d left. She looked at her wrist-holo and realized it had only been about half an hour since coming dangerously close to getting thrown into the depths of an Azimuth black site for the rest of her life. I suppose I wouldn’t have been stuck there that long. They probably would have spaced me after the interrogation. Or turned me over to The Order. She shuddered at the thought.
No one at the party seemed to have noticed anything amiss. If security had caught Anri at Salvation’s office, there was no sign of a shift in the company’s mood here.
She proceeded to the nearest of the banquet hall’s many bars and took a seat on a barstool. A bow-tie adorned bartender was with her in seconds. Azimuth had pulled out all of the stops for this gathering, including hiring extra staff to all but eliminate wait times.
“What can I get for you, Ma’am?” Naomi considered her options for a moment for a moment. “Harma Rum, Lime, Sluggo Cola. Thanks.”
The bartender sprung into motion. “Got it! One Silver Sea Slug, coming right up!” Naomi lost herself in observing the confident ballet of the pro-mixologist assembling her cocktail. This one certainly has a lot of flair.
The voice in her ear finally returned. “Good. You made it. Let’s–”
“Where the hell have you been?!”, Naomi forcefully whispered back at him.
He continued calmly, “I had to be certain that you were not compromised. How did you escape with the data?”
The bartender returned then with her drink. She pretended to be on a business call as she answered the masked man. “Honestly, I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you. But you can be sure their share price is about to tank. My team made sure of that. It’s time to short.”
She smiled at the bartender, while swiping a generous tip towards him from her wrist holo. “Here handsome, you deserve this. I’m about to make so many fucking credits on this deal, you would not believe.”
She winked at him before returning her attention to her comms. “So anyway you were telling me?”
The man in the mask scoffed, “Where was this energy earlier tonight?”
She took a sip of her cocktail. “Ya know it’s kind of hard to muster a lot of enthusiasm when you are worried about your whole. . . portfolio. . . eating vacuum.” “Wow. That was very smooth.” he retorted sarcastically.
Naomi implored him, “So are you ever gonna tell me where I need to send these earnings reports? You can’t leave me hanging right as we’re about to close.”
The masked man responded, “One of the guests at the conference is a mutual friend of ours. Wait at the bar. He will order a Lavian Brandy with a splash of Evil Juice. That’s how you’ll identify him.”
“Brandy and Evil Juice, got it.” Naomi quipped.
The masked man continued, “Give the data chip to him. Catch up for a few minutes so it doesn’t look suspicious. Then get yourself to landing pad 40. Azimuth security might not be after you now, but it’s only a matter of time before their security auto-audit discovers the aborted alarm. They will find your DNA all over the scene.”
She sipped her drink while she waited at the bar for her contact to reveal themselves. She watched as the handsome bartender danced his way through cocktails. If this had been a normal evening, she might have been tempted to invite him back to her penthouse after the evening concluded. I guess the penthouse days are over for me.
She sighed to herself in resignation. Surprisingly, she actually felt good in that moment. She hadn’t realized the weight she was carrying trying to pursue an agenda that involved so many ethical compromises. Letting it go was a relief.
Naomi heard the man from the other end of the bar. “Lavian Brandy, on the rocks. Throw in a splash of Leestian Evil Juice please, will ya?”
She turned to see who it was that the masked man had sent to finish their mission.
He was barely recognizable in his tux. “OMG Xenos!”
He turned his head to track who was shouting his name. Naomi rushed towards him, jumping into a hug, while discreetly placing the data chip into his jacket pocket.
Naomi beamed at him, “Dude, I barely recognize you without the flight suit. You are looking sharp!”
He chuckled before replying to her complement, “Haha thanks! Nice uh, dress sparkles?”
“They’re called sequins, you dummy!”
He pretended to display offense. “Well, sorry. I may be an Elite Pilot but I’m only Mostly Harmless when it comes to fashion.”
She was actually excited to see him. It made it easier for her to continue her ruse for the other guests. “What the hell are you doing here? I haven’t seen you since the Witch Head.”
Naomi and Commander Xenos Aurion had worked together during a brief period of cooperation between Azimuth and Aegis, the tri-superpower anti-Thargoid taskforce. He had been one of the directors of the Witch Head Nebula Survey. A mission to gather intel on the state of Thargoid forces in that region.
Commander Aurion answered her question. “Honestly, I just thought I was flying escort for the Aegis delegation to this shindig. After I docked. One of the Aegis press secretaries was waiting on the pad for me with this suit and told me to enjoy myself. I’m glad they did because I had heard from our mutual friend, uh, Agent Skully, that you would be here.”
A lull in the indistinct murmur of conversation that had been filling the ballroom caught their attention. Several security officers were making their way towards where Toben Rademaker was still chatting with guests. One of them whispered something into his ear and then they escorted him out of the room.
The masked man piped up, “I’m hearing lots of security chatter. Time to make yourself scarce”
Naomi turned to Xenos, “I should probably go see what's up with that, seeing as I work here ya know? It was nice to see you, friend.”
Xenos nodded, “Good luck!”
* * *
Naomi exited the elevator near the gate to docking pad 40. Her executive clearance allowed her to take the turbolift directly to the gate, bypassing the Cartier City border control booths. She looked at her surroundings. The terminal seemed about as busy as usual for this time of the evening.
Most of the conference guests would not be departing until the next morning, likely sleeping off their intoxication or, perhaps, engaging in other, libation induced fun.
Azimuth always reserved several floors of the Cartier Plaza hotel for conferences. Their seven star accommodations ensured that all the corporation's guests would experience a happy stay.
She approached the gate and was surprised to find the entrance to the spaceway flanked by a pair of Federal Marines. They were both clad in tactical graphite Dominator combat suits and armed with Karma C-44 submachine guns.
Naomi hesitated, wondering if the masked man had sent her to the right landing pad.
As if on queue, the skull-faced man spoke in her ear. “You need to get to pad 40 now! Security was just given orders to detain you.”
She heard raised voices in the distance. She turned and saw an armed security team sprinting across the terminal towards her.
Then one of the marines spoke up. “Ma’am, you need to come with us.”
The Marine was motioning her towards the gate while her squadmate took up a defensive position behind the ticketing counter.
Once again, Naomi kicked off her heels. She sprinted towards the gate. As soon as she had crossed the threshold, the marines ducked inside and slammed the gate closed behind them. The marine that had called to her grabbed her arm, and pulled her towards the landing pad while shouting an order to the other marine. “Seal the door!” Naomi saw him pull an E-Breach from his belt and slap it onto the door controls. The holographic screen on the door glitched then displayed a classic padlock icon. “Move move move!” He shouted.
The three of them reached the hangar bay in short order. The pad was occupied by the grey bulk of a Federal Dropship. The insignia on its side read Federal Diplomatic Service. She heard a loud hiss and then a mechanical hum as its rear gantry way lowered.
They made it about halfway to the ship before they heard the commotion of Azimuth security streaming onto the pad through the side entrances. The security team moved to encircle Naomi and the marines, cutting off their escape.
The security forces trained their Manticore rifles at them. Their armor matched the polished black finish of their weapons. Their team leader's voice had a metallic twang as he spoke through his helmet comms. “This woman has been accused of a crime. Turn the suspect over to us and you will not be harmed.”
They were all startled by a loud thunk as the dropship’s ramp came into contact with the tarmac. Ten more federal marines promptly disembarked. Their guns trained on the Azimuth security. Naomi could see another pair of marines kneeling inside the ship at the edge of the hatchway armed with laser rifles.
The marine that had escorted her from the terminal addressed the station security team. “We are escorting a Federal diplomatic delegation. You have no authority to detain us. Stand down!”
The air around them was electric. One miscalculation and half of them would be dead in an instant. Naomi felt time slow to a standstill. Then a voice came through the intercom. It was Torben. He sounded pissed.
“This is Rademaker. All security forces in the vicinity of landing pad 40 are to stand down immediately.”
The security team captain responded in a confused tone. “Sir? We can’t let the fugitive escape.”
Torben shut him down harshly, “Are you an idiot, Captain? We cannot risk an interstellar incident by detaining members of an ambassador’s delegation. Let. . . them. . . go!” He spat out his last three words with the type of force usually reserved for spoiled sashimi.
He continued, addressing the marines this time. “Federation delegation, you are to finish embarking your personnel, post-haste. Following that, you will launch and leave the Xi Wangda system, immediately!”
The Azimuth forces withdrew from the landing pad and the marines escorted Naomi onto the dropship. She was shoved unceremoniously into an acceleration chair and strapped down before the rear ramp had even finished retracting. She felt the lurching of the ship as the entire pad moved forward and began its ascent to the central docking chamber.
A marine medic knelt down next to her. He shined a light in her eyes and linked his datapad to her wrist holo to check her vitals. “We apologize for the roughness Ma’am. I’m Sergeant Nguyen. I need to check you for injuries before we launch. Have you experienced any head trauma in the last 24 hours?”
Naomi tried to push the light out of her face, but the sergeant was unexpectedly strong. “Um, no. Seriously, I’m fine.”
“It’s protocol Ma’am. Can’t take off until you are cleared.” The medic’s datapad beeped and lit up green. He activated his suit comms. “VIP is secure.”
Naomi heard other marines in the compartment report on their respective responsibilities. ”Hatchway secured!”
A voice crackled over the intercom. “Everyone strap in! We launch in T minus sixty!” She heard the scramble of two dozen marines stowing their gear and strapping themselves into their seats. A minute later, she felt the familiar feeling of weightlessness as the ship detached from the docking pad. She turned to Sergeant Nguyen, who was occupying the seat next to her. “You know, I’ve actually flown one of these ships, but I’ve never been a passenger on one. It’s not quite as fun.” The sergeant laughed in response.
Naomi was thrown back into her seat as the Federal Dropship fired its main thrusters. The acceleration gel cushioned the harshest aspects of the g-forces.
She heard the hum of the atmospheric restraining fields as the ship passed through the mail slot into open space. After an additional thirty or so seconds, the ship's COVAS announced, “FRAMESHIFT DRIVE CHARGING. FOUR. THREE. TWO. ONE.”
* * *
The dropship emerged from hyperspace into supercruise. The cabin intercom beeped a pleasant tone and the indicator light above her seat turned green to signal that it was safe to move about the compartment.
Naomi reflexively hit the release on her straps. The sergeant tried to stop her, but was too late. She realized her mistake as soon as she tried to step forward and accidentally launched herself across the room.
Naomi was moments away from colliding with a door at the front of the cabin when it whooshed open. She crashed into the man that was attempting to pass through. It was her father. He managed to secure himself with the help of a grab-bar on the corridor wall.
He wrapped his other arm around her, keeping her from tumbling back into the cabin.
“My Lady!” he grinned, “What ever happened to your shoes?” He then shouted cheekily at the marines. “Somebody get my daughter some shoes!”
A few minutes later, she was seated comfortably in the much more luxurious Ambassador’s suite on the upper deck of the dropship. Her father sat across from her. “Well Nai, I’m sure you have some questions for me, but first, how about a nice calming mug of hot cacao?”
Naomi couldn't help but smile at the contrast between the ordeal she’d just gone through and the imminent warm chocolatey bliss she was about to experience. “Um. Sure, Dad. Hot cacao sounds great.”
Nathan pressed the comms panel on his chair. “Marigold, can you bring us two hot cacaos, please?” The woman on the receiving end of the request replied, “Sure thing, Ambassador. Be there shortly with them.”
The two of them sat in contented silence awaiting their beverages. A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman entered the cabin holding two closed top mugs with capped drinking straws protruding from them. She set them down on the table between Naomi and Nathan. “Two hot cacao’s, Ambassador.” Nathan smiled, “Thank you, Marigold.”
Marigold turned to Naomi and put her hand on her shoulder briefly. “I put marshmallows in yours, dear. I remember how you liked it.” “Thanks, Marigold. It’s nice to see you too.” Naomi took a sip of the hot cacao, savoring the rich, sweet flavor. She felt the stress beginning to melt away. The sliding door closed behind Marigold as she exited the cabin.
She smirked at her father, “I see your wife won't let you swap her out for a younger model.”
Nathan knew she was just poking fun at him. “Nonsense, the State Department wouldn’t survive without Marigold. The diplomatic corps would collapse into anarchy.” They both giggled at the thought.
Naomi sighed and sunk into her seat, her eyes closed. She realized that, for the first time in months, she felt safe.
Her father stood up. Walked over to a wall compartment, retrieved a blanket adorned with the State Department seal, and wrapped it around her.
He sat back down in his seat.
She opened her eyes again and asked him, “So, are you gonna explain to me what you were really doing coming to Cartier City, and why it was your ship I found myself directed to when I needed to escape?”
He furrowed his brow slightly, preparing to answer. "Your surprise at seeing me earlier is starting to make sense. You didn't know you'd be leaving with me?"
"Nope" Naomi replied. Her tone was heavy with confusion.
Nathan explained, “About a week ago I got a call from my friend Delphine Dumont, a fellow Ambassador. She said that an old associate of hers had called in a favor, and that she knew I would want to help. I don’t know anything about this associate of hers, but she told me that he was working with an asset inside Azimuth who might need an extraction.
“When I found out you were the asset, I called in every favor, played every card I could to convince the President to assign me to the delegation.”
Naomi sat up. “Wait, so you knew the whole time that I’d be escaping on your ship? That I was in hot water?”
Her father responded, “Yes.”
She took a few moments to process this revelation. “So that means. . . fuuuuuck. This was his plan all along!”
“Who?” Nathan inquired.
“That, helmeted, skull-faced bastard!” Naomi gesticulated aggressively. “The whole time he had me thinking that he could kill you, and everyone else at the conference with the push of a button!”
“He coerced you?” Nathan spoke with a concerned tone. “Do you think he’ll come after you?” She cut him off before his worry and anger escalated further.
“No. I really don’t think so. At least, not to hurt me.” She let out a tired sigh. “Honestly, I am actually really glad to be out of there. But it’s a really long story, and right now I just want to sleep.”
Nathan stood up. “Of course, Nai. Get some rest.” He moved to exit the compartment, dimming the lights with a few taps on his wrist holo.
“Hey Dad?” Naomi called out. Nathan turned back to look at her. “Yeah, Nai?”
“Thanks for rescuing me.” She rolled over, burying her face into her seat cushion.
Nathan grinned. “Of course. Anything for My Lady.”
As Naomi drifted off to sleep, she wondered if she would ever see the mysterious man in the skull-faced mask again.
FIN