The Tigrens' Glory (10 page)

“And you, as well,” Jung Del replied, shaking hands with the Director in the manner of humans while Baza excused himself from the room.  He took a seat in front of the Director’s desk, tapping a button on what appeared to be a wristwatch while the Director walked back around to his own chair.  The flashing yellow light on the miniature display warned him that the office was not as private as the Director no doubt thought.  It was not a reflection on the Director, however.  He was able to detect the Xanti monitoring technology only because the Jasani were so generous with all that they’d learned in the past few months.

“Director,” Jung Del said, “I apologize for arriving somewhat later than I intended.  I stopped on Jasan to visit and stayed longer than I meant to.”

The Director frowned and started to speak, but Jung Del held one finger to his wide mouth in a universal request for silence.  The Director’s eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.  “I learned from Princess Lariah that her beloved sister, and my friend, Ellicia Daniels, now swims the seas of Paradise.  I am most sorry for your loss.  I know that she was as a daughter to you.  She forever carries a place of importance in my heart, as well as the hearts of my people.”

The Director’s frown deepened.   “On a somewhat lighter note, I’m sure you were pleased to learn that the one who called himself Stephan Loggia now lies beneath the feet of his eternal tormentor.  He lasted much longer than we expected.”

The Director’s eyes widened, then narrowed once more as he leaned back in his chair.  “Actually, I had not heard that, Jung Del.  Did you send me a message?”

“Oh yes indeed, Director,” Jung Del said.  “It appears you did not receive it.  I am surprised.”

“As am I, my friend,” the Director said slowly, his mind racing as he tried to arrange the bits and pieces Jung Del was offering him into a coherent picture.  “I also sent you a message informing you of Ellicia’s passing which, it seems, you didn’t receive.  I wonder what happened to them.”

“I confess that my personal assistant, Sidley, suffered from a temporary bout of idiocy caused by an inordinate fondness for jellyfish fire,” Jung Del said.  “I’m afraid he made a number of errors during that period.”

“Ah,” the Director said, his eyes flashing toward the door at the words
personal
assistant
, then back to Jung Del. 

“Yes,” Jung Del said with a deep sigh that did not remotely match the intensity of his expression.  Then he smiled, a rather frightening sight to behold on a Marrazon.  “I have something that I think you would very much like to see aboard my ship, Director.”

“Do you?” the Director asked politely.

“Indeed,” Jung Del said.  “A Xanti.”

The Director’s eyes widened in shock as understanding hit.  “Excuse me,” he said.  “Did you say
Xanti
?  Truly?”

“I wouldn’t jest about something of such serious import, Director,” Jung Del replied.  “Would you like to see it?”

“Can you bring it here?” the Director asked.

“Oh no, I’m afraid that would be very unwise,” Jung Del said, shaking his head.  “It’s an extremely dangerous and wily creature.  They move extraordinarily fast in their natural form, and have a stinger that’s quite deadly.  It would be best to view it on my ship where we have a cage of sorts for it.  Much safer for everyone, I assure you.”

“I’ve no wish to offend you, Jung Del,” the Director said, choosing his words carefully.  “Unfortunately, there are rules that I must follow in certain situations.  I’m afraid that if I’m to join you aboard your ship, I’ll need to bring at least one guard with me.”  The Director waited a beat, then added, “And my assistant, Mark Baza.  Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Jung Del said, waving one hand, though his grin widened appreciably.  He was very relieved that the Director had understood him so well, though he had expected it.  The man was extremely intelligent, after all.  “Don’t worry, Director.  I promise you, I’m not offended in the slightest.  In fact, it’s exactly what I expected.”

“When can we do this?” the Director asked, sitting up straight in his chair. 

“Immediately,” Jung Del said, smiling again.

The Director pressed a button on his desk.  “Yes, sir?” Mark Baza’s voice sounded through a hidden speaker. 

“Grab a member of my security detail and come to my office, Mark,” he said. 

“Yes sir,” Mark replied.  “At once.”

“Shall we take my car, or yours to the spaceport?” the Director asked.

“Neither,” Jung Del replied.  “If you’ve no objection, I can transport us up to the yacht in just a few seconds.”

“Excellent,” the Director replied grimly.  “The faster the better.” 

“Indeed,” Jung Del replied.

“I must admit, I’m very excited at the prospect of seeing a Xanti,” the Director said.  “No one even knows what they look like.”

“They resemble a class of creatures common to Earth called
arachnids
.  They have more legs, and are quite a bit larger of course.”

The Director grimaced with obvious distaste, a reaction Jung Del understood and concurred with.  The Xanti in their natural form were truly disgusting creatures.  He’d actually shuddered the first time he’d seen one.

Jung Del rose and turned at the sound of the door opening behind him, hiding his satisfaction at the sight of Mark Baza and a very young military guard.  Mark closed the door and crossed the room to stand beside the Director, giving himself away.  The guard followed Mark’s example and took up a position on the other side of the Director.  Jung Del moved to stand beside the guard, then pulled his sleeve back and pressed a few buttons on his watch.  After a brief moment of nauseating disorientation, the Director, the guard, and Jung Del were standing in a transport room aboard the newest Marrazon battle cruiser, the
Megalodon
.  They all waited a few moments for the brief discomfort to pass. 

“This way, Director,” Jung Del said when he was sure his guests were steady enough to walk. 

“Excuse me, Director, sir,” the guard said.  “Where is Mr. Baza?”

“Mr. Baza is a Xanti,” the Director said calmly as he followed Jung Del out of the room and up a short corridor.  “Do they truly look like spiders?” he asked Jung Del.

“Yes, they do,” Jung Del replied, leading the way through another door into a narrow room with one transparent wall.  The wall was actually one side of a room sized tank filled with water.  Standing on the bottom of the tank was a furious and frantic Mark Baza. 

“The Jasani have learned much about the Xanti and their bio-suits in recent months,” Jung Del said as they watched Mark Baza through the armor shielded wall.  If Mark Baza happened to have a weapon on him, it wouldn’t do him any good.  “The moment this one was transported into this holding tank, he was hit with low frequency sound waves and a high intensity electromagnetic pulse which effectively shut down the power of his bio-suit, and destroyed the signal beacons implanted in both his true body, and the suit.”  Jung Del glanced at his watch.  “His air supply will run out in a couple of minutes.”

“How did you discover that Mark was the traitor?” the Director asked as he stared dispassionately at his longtime aide, who was now banging on the wall of the tank with both fists.

“That I did not receive notice from you of Ellicia’s passing was one clue,” Jung Del said.  “That you didn’t respond to messages I’d sent you, another.  But the first, and most important clue was something Loggia said before he died.  He referred to the
idiot Xanti, Mark
, who confused the descriptions of the Daniels women.”

“I owe you much, Jung Del,” the Director said.  “I don’t know how he managed to fool us for so long.  Fool
me
for so long.  It’s an embarrassment, to say the least.”

“The Xanti have had thousands of years to perfect their ability to infiltrate races not their own,” Jung Del said.  “They also have technology beyond that of the rest of us.  Technology they steal from subjugated races.  This is how they’ve managed to conquer untold civilizations and worlds.  Not by battle, courage and might, but by stealth and subterfuge.  There is no reason to be embarrassed, my friend.  Nor do you owe me.  Ellicia loved you, and I honor her.”

“I can’t imagine the amount of damage he must have caused over the years,” the Director said. 

“Assuredly,” Jung Del said.  “Most recently, we believe he was responsible for the escape of a prisoner, Eric Kick, who very nearly murdered Faith Meyers.”

“Is Faith all right?” the Director asked.

“Yes, Director, she is perfectly well,” Jung Del assured him.  “She is Arima to the Admirals of the Jasani Navy, and quite happy.  I understand that Eric Kick is now the sole resident of a small planet at the far edge of the galaxy.”

“Outstanding,” the Director said, nodding sharply.

“Yes, I agree,” Jung Del said.  “It is also believed that Baza is responsible for all of the information the Brethren received on
berezis
for decades, and for the kidnapping of two women from one of your military bases, one of those being Hope Bearen.”

“It will probably take years to discover all that he’s done,” the Director said with a disgusted shake of his head.  “I now realize my office is unsecure, even though it’s scanned a dozen times a day.  How did you know?”

“As I said, the Jasani have learned much of late.  I have a few gifts from them that will help you in detecting whatever Xanti technology may be secreted around your offices.”

“That will be very much appreciated,” the Director said.  Mark stopped banging on the tank wall and went still. “Will the Xanti die in there?”

“That’s up to you, Director,” Jung Del said.  “If you want a live specimen, we will provide it with air, cage it, and transfer it to whatever location you choose.  If you wish it dead, we will allow it to drown.  It’s the best way of killing it without causing damage to the Xanti or the bio-suit that might hinder your scientists later.”

They watched with horrified fascination as the front of Mark’s designer shirt began to move, slowly at first, as though testing resistance.  “You must make up your mind quickly, Director.”

“Do you have the current data on the Xanti from the Jasani?” he asked.

“I do, and Prince Garen instructed me to turn a full copy of it over to you,” Jung Del said.  “It includes detailed findings of a full autopsy on a Xanti, as well as every second of recordings taken during a period of time when one was held prisoner before it was killed by a Xanti explosive device.”

“I know our scientists would love to have this thing alive, but regretfully, I must ask that you kill it.  It knows too much about the inner workings of the Directorate.”

“Understood,” Jung Del said with a slight bow.  The shirt covering Mark’s chest tore open and a huge black spider-like creature with ten legs and three segments scrambled out of the bio-suit that so perfectly mimicked a human man.  It stared at them with hatred in its tiny red eyes, its stinger raised high as it scrambled frantically toward the top of the tank in a vain search for air.

“I’ve seen enough,” the Director said, turning his back on the tank.  The guard did the same, his face pale and sweaty.  Jung Del opened the door and they all stepped out into the corridor. 

“If you can remain here for another couple of hours, I’ll have a secure area prepared for the Xanti, and the bio suit,” the Director said.

“I thought to remain for another day,” Jung Del said.  In truth, he’d never expected to trap Baza so quickly and easily.  Even counting the two day delay waiting for the offices to reopen, he still had a full twenty-four hours before he had to leave Earth in order to make his rendezvous with the Jasani task force.  “After that, however, I’m afraid I must leave in order to fulfill another obligation.”

“We’ll have something suitable prepared by this afternoon,” the Director promised.

“Send me the coordinates when you’re ready and they’ll be transported down.”

“You’re sure you don’t want the remains yourself?” the Director asked.  “Your scientists might enjoy studying it, and I do feel as though I owe you.”

“That’s very generous, Director, and I thank you for the thought.  However, we don’t study our enemies in that manner.  The data generously provided by the Xanti are all we need, or want.”

“Thank you again, Jung Del,” the Director said.  “I will send a message to Prince Garen as soon as I return to my office thanking him, and his people.  I would like to thank you more personally, though, if you will allow.  Would you like to join me for dinner tonight?”

“Yes, I would very much enjoy that,” Jung Del replied, leading the Director back to the transport room as they made plans.  Once the Director was gone, Jung Del headed for his private quarters.  He needed to let the Jasani know that the Xanti spy had been neutralized, and that he was on schedule, and expected to meet them as planned.  It still amazed him that he’d been able to travel from Terien to Earth in less than a day.  Or, even more amazing, from Jasan to Marrazo in less than three days.  As unbelievable as it sounded, he’d done it himself when he’d gone home to trade his yacht, the
Predator
, for the
Megalodon
.

It hadn’t been easy to refrain from telling the Director how close the Xanti were to being neutralized.  But he’d given his word, and he would never betray the Jasani, or dishonor himself by breaking it.  He promised himself that he would return to Earth and personally inform the Director of the outcome of the upcoming battle as soon as he possibly could.

Chapter Nine

It was still early evening when Glory lit the last of the dozen candles she’d set around the living room of River House, inhaling their unfamiliar, but soothing scent.  She’d spent the entire afternoon on the vid-terminal, reading.  She’d learned so much in those few hours that her mind reeled with it.  Lariah had not exaggerated.  Women had as many rights on Jasan as men did, and knowledge was free to any who wanted it.  By the time she’d turned the vid-terminal off she’d made up her mind about a couple of things.  First and foremost, she would never again allow herself to be barred from knowledge--she would never become a part of any society that banned knowledge from people because of their sex, their beliefs, or their race.  If she ever saw King Bashir again, she decided, she would thank him for banishing her from Ramouri.