Three Square Meals Ch. 057

When Avelissa returned to their quarters, the solid crystal door rose up into the ceiling, and she found her fellow assassin waiting for her, pacing nervously. "You look worried, Renaya, what is it?" she asked her, once she had stepped into the room, and closed the door behind her.

Renaya was biting a nail, but she stopped as she hissed tersely, "You must have observed the same thing as me! You've been in service to House Loraleth for nearly as many years as I have, and I'm sure you've done your share of recon missions in Valaden territory. I don't know about you, but I've -never- seen Valaden personnel looking this relaxed before."

Avelissa nodded, looking pensive as she replied, "I felt the same shift in mood too." She stared at her teammate for a moment, then let out a troubled sigh, as she added, "Would you want to tell Shaedra Loraleth that we aborted the mission because we've seen a few happy Maliri?"

Torn with indecision, Renaya reluctantly shook her head, replying, "We'd probably get a thousand lashes with a neural whip, and that's only if we were lucky enough not to be executed immediately."

"We'll just have to keep our eyes open, but we don't really have any choice, we have to proceed. You were at the same briefing I was; failure won't be tolerated," Avelissa said grimly, recalling what was at stake on this mission.

Renaya nodded, saying, "We could just be being paranoid. I know I keep waiting for Irillith to suddenly appear and blow my cover any minute."

"I asked around about her," Avelissa said, as the hint of a smile played on her lips for the first time since they'd arrived at Genthalas. "That's one bit of good news. An engineer and a technician both confirmed they'd seen her leave on a Terran ship a few days ago."

Renaya looked relieved, and they both relaxed a little as they quickly finished their preparations for their meeting with their contact. They had been told to meet with an engineer named Ioelena, and had seen an image of her supplied by House Ghilwen Espionage Division. From the recent picture they'd seen, it appeared Ioelena had dyed her hair white, just like a handful of other engineers they'd seen around Genthalas.

With that in mind, they knew she'd be easy to spot, but it was a worry that she would appear so conspicuous. The meeting was set up in one of the impressive Arboretums in Genthalas, the huge hydroponics bay protected by a vast clear crystal dome that gave a spectacular view of the Epsilon Aquarii system. Neither of the assassins had time for such trivialities as sight-seeing however, and they walked at as swift a pace as they dared, through the grassy park.

It only took them a couple of minutes to reach their destination, and they immediately spotted their contact, her short, glossy white hair identifying her clearly. Ioelena was seated at a cluster of tables and chairs, which had been beautifully carved out of the trunk of a tree that had been felled many centuries ago. She looked up as the two assassins approached, making eye contact for an instant and giving them a brief nod, before returning her gaze to the holo-reader she held in her hands.

As they walked up to her, Avelissa and Renaya cast their eyes in a long, nonchalant sweep of their respective sides of the arboretum to watch for danger. There were a couple of Maliri walking in the park, but this particular area seemed deserted at the moment, and they didn't sense anything to make them feel suspicious.

"There's a shift change in two minutes," Ioelena explained, as she watched the two assassins casing the park. "We have at least seven minutes before anyone is likely to interrupt us."

"Can we speak freely?" Avelissa murmured in a hushed whisper.

Ioelena nodded, looking up at her with her bright aquamarine eyes, as she explained, "This holo-reader has a built in sound dampener, and is also emitting a low-powered signal disruptor. If there's any audio devices nearby, they'll just pick up static, and the sound dampener will prevent any long range audio-pickups."

Avelissa studied the white-haired engineer for a moment, trying to gauge her feel of the young woman seated before her. Ioelena certainly seemed sincere, and the assassin didn't get a sense of any deception from her. She sat down, while Renaya maintained her seemingly casual vigil, although she was actually watching any approaches like a hawk.

"You have everything we need?" Avelissa asked brusquely.

Ioelena slipped a hand under the table, and furtively passed a small data-stick over to the House Loraleth assassin. It was a deft move, completely unnoticeable to even a trained observer. She smiled as she replied, "That stick contains Edraele's schedule, and a suitable site for you to make your move. She'll be meeting with her Fleet Commanders in just under four hours time, which will be the best time to strike."

Avelissa nodded, then looked at Ioelena with an air of caution as she asked "Have you established contact with the other teams?"

Ioelena smiled confidently as she replied, "Teams from Houses Aeberos, Naestina, and Ghilwen are all prepped and briefed. They'll coordinate their attacks to synchronise with yours, eliminating any nearby military personnel, and suppress any electronic alarms, to give you as much time on-target as possible. Edraele has three bodyguards with her on Genthalas at the moment, but plans are in place to draw them away, leaving Edraele exposed when she attends this staff meeting."

Carefully stashing the data-stick in a pocket, Avelissa was about to depart, but she paused before she stood. "May I ask you a question?" she inquired, studying the engineer seated opposite her.

"Yes, but make it quick, I need to be back at my station in a couple of minutes," Ioelena replied.

Avelissa glanced at the young woman's shock of white hair, and asked curiously, "Why did you dye your hair that colour? We've seen a few engineers with white hair."

Ioelena smiled and said, "When you see Edraele, you'll understand. Someone thought she might treat those who looked like her more kindly, and it appears to work, so it's started to become the trend here on Genthalas." She shuddered for a moment, and said, "Believe me, you don't want to upset Edraele Valaden if you can help it."

The House Loraleth assassin raised an eyebrow at that, saying, "I think she's going to be fairly upset in four hours time."

Ioelena laughed nervously, saying, "Yes, but you're a highly trained assassin. What am I? A grade two engineer. If you fail, you can escape to House Loraleth territory, but I'll be stuck here with an enraged Edraele."

Avelissa stood, and said with conviction, "In a few hours, no one will be worrying about upsetting Edraele Valaden any longer."

Giving her a grateful smile, Ioelena said, "Good luck. I hope everything goes nice and smoothly."

Not bothering to respond, Avelissa walked away, with Renaya falling into step beside her. The two assassins shared a glance, then strolled purposefully out of the Arboretum. They walked along in companionable silence until they reached their quarters, and as soon as the door shut behind them, Renaya turned to look at her teammate with anticipation.

"So, what do you think?" she asked curtly.

Avelissa had been replaying the encounter with Ioelena in her mind as they had returned to their room, and she nodded slowly saying, "I trust her. I'm a pretty good judge of character, and I definitely believe her." The assassin had a slight smile on her face as she said, "I quite liked her actually, she reminded me of my youngest sister."

Renaya shrugged and said, "Alright then, let's take a look at the ambush site."

They plugged in the data-stick to the holo-reader that they'd brought with them, and examined the location that Ioelena had highlighted for Edraele's assassination. It was on the edges of the activated section of Genthalas Station, reasonably close to the docking bays there, but on the other side of the station from the busier mercantile and drydock areas.

"It looks pretty remote, so less civilian foot traffic to mess up the hit," Renaya observed, nodding her approval of the location.

Avelissa glanced over at her teammate, and asked clinically, "Set explosives in that main corridor, then wait for the detonation, and finish Edraele if she survived?"

Renaya rolled her eyes, and said, "You and your explosives. Alright, it'll make more noise and mess than I'd like, but we can't afford to take any chances."

With a sly smile of anticipation on her face, Avelissa reached over to her bag for the components she needed to start assembling the bomb.

***

An hour later they were on their way, with Avelissa carrying the detonator in a pouch at her waist, and the explosives in a nondescript backpack. This was familiar territory for her now, approaching an ambush site in readiness for a hit, and any remaining nerves she had settled down, her professionalism taking over.

They walked at a deliberately unhurried pace along busy corridors, until the number of Maliri began to thin out, as they travelled further from the more highly used parts of Genthalas Shipyard. Edraele was holding her meeting with her Fleet Commanders in a conference room, which was housed in the high-security area a little further ahead. The corridor they had just joined was the main one that linked the Valaden Matriarch's private quarters on Genthalas, with this particular high-security area, so it was highly likely to be the route she used to attend the meeting. Avelissa and Renaya began to search the corridor, looking for a suitable location to hide their explosives.

"What about behind that vending machine?" Renaya suggested, nodding towards a bulky cabinet.

Avelissa shook her head, her mouth set in a grim frown, as she replied, "No, definitely not, it might muffle the blast. That happened to me seventeen years ago, and the target got away. You never can tell how sturdy those cabinet chassis will be, and we can't risk that happening here." She looked around, then pointed towards a wall-mounted comms console which had been set up for public use, and said, "That looks promising."

Renaya pulled out a multi-tool as she walked across the deserted corridor, and quickly detached a panel on the console. "Looks big enough to take it," she nodded with satisfaction, carefully moving cabling out of the way to make room.

"Perfect," Avelissa agreed, as she unshouldered her backpack. "I'll set this up, and you can install the target-cam up the corridor."

She pulled the bomb out of her pack as Renaya walked back the way they had come, then gingerly slotted the high explosives through the exposed console panel. There was just enough room, so she reached down for the detonator on the belt at her waist, feeling the comforting, familiar weight in her hand.

Suddenly there was a swooshing noise, as well-maintained security doors began to rapidly descend in the corridor. Avelissa looked up in alarm, just in time to see Renaya's shocked face, moments before the heavy door slammed shut between them. Suddenly cut off and alone, her heart pounded in her chest, her fear intensifying when a murky green gas started pumping into the corridor with an ominous hiss.

Holding her breath, she glanced the other way down the corridor, and saw that a second security door had dropped a couple of dozen metres away. Avelissa turned the detonator, tapped at it frantically, then hurled it down the corridor as she dived behind the vending machine. She curled up in a ball, covering her ears with her hands, and five seconds later a thunderous explosion rocked the corridor.

With no time to spare, what with the viscous green gas swirling around her knees, Avelissa sprang to her feet and charged towards the security door. The detonation had ripped a savage hole through the reinforced barrier, blasting jagged fragments of crystal all over the corridor. She plunged through the gap, fleeing as fast as she could to get clear of the billowing gas cloud. When she had sprinted fifty metres up the corridor, she finally trusted the air was good enough to breathe, and desperately filled her burning lungs with crisp clean air.

She took long deep breaths, sighing with relief, as the dizzy lightheaded feeling quickly passed. The sense of relief was short lived however, when she looked up, and saw two lithe women stalking towards her down the corridor. Instantly recognising the predatory stance and measured, confident gait, she knew exactly who was bearing down on her. Reaching for the hilt that had been strapped to her back, concealed behind her backpack, she flicked it to the side. The long, crystalline blade rapidly snapped into place, forming a four-foot-long translucent sword.

One of the approaching Maliri hung back a little, but the other, with unsettling yellow eyes continued undaunted. She raised a placating hand, and called out in a rich voice, "We don't wish to harm you. Please surrender, your situation is hopeless."

Explosives were Avelissa's preferred tools of her trade, but many long years in this profession had taught her to branch out. She snarled, and raised her blade in defiance.

The Valaden bodyguard inclined her head a fraction, drawing her own blade with a whispering hiss.

Slowly the combatants circled each other, gauging their opponent, and looking for weaknesses. Avelissa was the first to strike, lunging forward in a powerful thrust to the chest. Luna parried, her own crystal blade moving in a shimmering blur to deflect the strike safely away. Avelissa was the more aggressive, chopping and striking in a frenzy with her blade. She tested Luna's defences with a rapid flurry of blows, thinking she had the measure of the Valaden assassin.

A split second was all it took. That singular crushing moment of despair, when Avelissa realised she was being toyed with, and that Luna's skill with a blade vastly outmatched her own. With a contemptuous flick of her sword, Luna sent Avelissa's crystalline blade spinning out of her hand, her fingers trembling after the ringing blow.

Bracing herself for the killing thrust, Avelissa stared with disbelieving eyes as Luna lowered her blade, and backed away. "She's all yours, Ilyana," the yellow-eyed swordmaster said quietly.

The other Valaden bodyguard strolled forward confidently, saying in a calm voice, "Please surrender. I have no wish to harm you, but accidents can happen in combat."

"Fuck you, Valaden whore!" Avelissa raged furiously, darting forward and striking with her fist for the woman's throat.

Ilyana moved fluidly with the blow, catching Avelissa's arm at the wrist, then smoothly twisting her so that she sprawled on the floor. Avelissa tried to shake off the daze, and attempted to struggle to her feet, but Ilyana was already on her.

"Shh, gently now," Ilyana whispered, as she wrapped herself around the Loraleth assassin like a snake, and started to squeeze.

Avelissa struggled valiantly, but Ilyana's grip was alarmingly strong, as she carefully cut off the blood supply to her brain with pressure applied to her neck. The last thing Avelissa saw before she blacked out were Luna's yellow eyes, as she squatted down in front of her.

"I promise you'll be quite safe. Edraele wishes to meet with you," Luna said soothingly.

Despite Luna's best intentions, Avelissa didn't find that very soothing at all.