Beloved Nephew snarled. “Who did she tell. How did she find it out. And most of all how I can make every waking moment in her life worse than the one before. She is the bitch who has spread the lies that I would betray Romulus. That I, me of all Romulans, would run to the Federation. It is a lie! I will cut the heart out of whoever is spreading such treachery about me.”
“I may be of assistance to you here, my lord.” She turned to the person at the controls. “Release her. Do so, for I am the Beloved Nephew’s First Whore.”
The Beloved Nephew laughed at that and the entourage tittered in response. The field released Syll to let her fall to the floor. The Tal Shiar present stood in silent witness. Despite the fact they were dressed almost identically, the Human identified the four students. None of the Tal Shiar came to Syll’s aid. She sprawled on the ground, twitching. Kari stood over her. Syll looked up. Kari stared down.
“Well, First Whore,” the Beloved Nephew said impatience stamped on his face. “I am waiting.”
“Look at her, cowering before me. At my feet. Within my power. Is she the one who has destroyed you? Could she have had the audacity to bring you down? Would she have spread lies and rumors about you?” Kari lowered herself carefully to face the Romulan. The handcuffs and heels made balance difficult. She smiled at Syll, opening her mouth then ran her tongue over her teeth. “No. She is innocent after all. She bears no responsibility. A simple school teacher. But I know who is responsible.”
“You? You know who is responsible? You, my First Whore? You are nothing.”
“Yes, you made me nothing. And I am grateful for your attention. Because it helped me. Thank you.” She bowed her head.
The Beloved Nephew frowned. He was tiring of the game. His patience was limited “What do you have, First Whore?”
She shook her head to let the pins drop. Her long hair cascaded to her waist. He licked his lips. “You are wondering who knew where your supplies were hidden. How did they know how to plunder your wealth? How did your enemies slip through your fingers?”
Her shiny heels sparked on the stone floor as she circled. She was radiant.
“Who could know your every weakness. Your every flaw. Your every plan. Could it be this Tal Shiar? How would she know? She is not worthy of knowing is she?”
The Beloved Nephew frowned glancing between the two. “Who then?”
“Who indeed. Your enemies are ravening at your door. Your powerful allies. Not so powerful now. And certainly not so many. They disappear like vermin when their stone is tipped over. Yet, it is I who has stood with you every step of the way. They...” She nodded toward the entourage. “They did not like me being with you at your palace. They insisted on throwing me out.”
“They betrayed me?” he said enraged. They cringed back.
“Oh, no. They are as loyal as any that money can buy.”
“Who?” he thundered. “Who did this? I shall tear them apart.”
“Yes, my lord and my master. You will. If you could.” She looked at the Beloved Nephew and gave him the coy smile he liked so much. Then looked at Syll. “Tell him who furnished the information to his enemies.”
“I cannot tell that which I do not know,” Syll said, gazing into her eyes.
Kari smiled to herself, having already guessed that her Romulan mistress would not take the opportunity. So she turned to the Beloved Nephew. “Does she admit to not knowing, my lord and my master? Do we believe her?”
“No, I shall wring the truth from her myself.”
“Suppose, though, that she is telling the truth, that she does not know.”
“She doesn’t know?”
“Look at her. Could a Tal Shiar agent, a simple female no less, bring down one so great as you? I would not believe so.”
She walked away from Syll and twirled letting her long hair flow around her. “Do you like my fashion today, my lord and my master? Does the First Whore please you?”
“Tell me! I am tired of this game, slut! Tell me now!”
“But I am concerned.” She pouted, fluttering her eyelashes at him. “I fear it will not make you happy.”
“It will! It will make me very happy!”
“As you wish then.” Kari walked back to Syll. She again locked eyes with the Romulan. Syll used Kari’s leg to pull herself into a kneeling position, leaning against the Human.
“I must confess to you, my lord and my master, that it was I who made every plan you ever made crumble before your eyes. I let them know where you could be hurt. And how to hurt you. Even when to hurt you. And I watched you squirm and scream like a little child, then weep like an old woman. You are just my plaything. You danced to my tune. You became my entertainment. I have spent so many hours just laughing at you. You are impotent.”
His eyes bulged. His body quivered.
“You do not believe me? Then know that it was I who saw that you were running into the arms of the Federation like a spoiled brat who’s had his favorite toy broken. Tut tut tut.”
She gazed at him, arching her eyebrows. “Are we happy now?”
She bent down and kissed Syll on her lips, then arose and graced him with a smile.
He screamed. He ran at her. And as he had done every time before when his untrained mind unhinged, he slapped her across her face. She staggered but Syll held her up.
He stepped back, puzzled, and looked at his hand.
Blood. Green blood.
She spat out the half of the disk that contained the needle hoping she had not scratched herself as well. Syll spat out her half.
The entourage roared their approval not realizing yet what had happened.
Then the Beloved Nephew stumbled. He collapsed. The room fell completely silent. Syll released her. Kari’s footsteps echoed as she walked up to the struggling male.
She knelt beside him and made sure he could see her. “You once boasted that nothing could kill you. So you are right, my former lord and never my master, for nothing has killed you.”
The hall erupted into a fire fight. The Tal Shiar and the entourage blasted away at each other.
His mouth foamed and with a shriek, grabbed her around the throat. She tried to pull away but slipped. The clothes entangled her legs and the heels denied her any traction. Then a single shot blew his head off. She fell back and looked around. Syll, supported by Myryath, held a disruptor.
Someone screamed that Syll had killed the Beloved Nephew.
“Unlock the cuffs, please, Mistress,” Kari told Myryath. The student dialed in the code and they fell from her.
Kari took the disruptor from Syll who had shot more holes into the body of the Beloved Nephew. She placed it against Syll’s forehead. Syll stared back as Kari held the gun steady. Then Kari turned to the student.
“Help me, Mistress, or I will shoot her.”
Myryath didn’t hesitate. “The Human has taken Commander Syll hostage! Do as she says.”
The other students ran up. One threw a Tal Shiar robe over their Commander.
“She will be seen as responsible for the Beloved Nephew’s death,” Myryath said. “She needs to hide.”
“Fine, let’s go.” She kicked off her heels letting them hit what was left of the Beloved Nephew. “I can fly the shuttle if that helps, Mistress.”
They picked Syll up and ran out of the hall. There was so much disruptor fire that Seren didn’t know who shot and who died. She did notice that her former guards were beating someone to death with their batons.
They burst through the door of the great hall and sped towards the landing pad.
“There is a problem,” Welan said. “The Beloved Nephew did not come in a shuttle.”
“Master?” She almost stopped but Jhynif pulled her along.
“He brought his damned yacht, Kari,” the Romulan student said, looking over her shoulder. “That’s what he calls it.”
“Yes, Mistress, I know it. I didn’t think it’d fit here.”
“Can you fly it?”
“Yes, I think so, but...?
??
They burst through the doors to the landing pad. The ship was massive compared to the shuttle. White and shiny, the craft glittered in the sun, sharp and hook nosed. Broad winged like a warbird but much smaller, it still had crushed some of the gardens, even a small building. Like a giant snow owl swooping onto its prey, it looked fierce just sitting there.
“The Beloved Nephew needs your help,” Donle yelled. “Protect Romulus if you value your lives.”
A score of the Beloved Nephew’s protectors stationed by the ship ran by them.
The students carried Syll to the main cabin.
“You must leave now, Kari.” Myryath handed her some clothes. “Commander Syll will know where to go.”
“But, Mistress... You’re not coming? Won’t they accuse you?”
“No. He was a fool to come here. The Tal Shiar owns these truths. One for the Beloved Nephew’s network. It exists still, like a cancer. The Tal Shiar will make sure the blame falls on Commander Syll. The other will be a public one. I do not know what that is but it will be to avoid civil war. Then there is the truth. Let the Stars of Wisdom guide you.”
They ran. Kari sealed the hatch. Syll slumped on a couch, unconscious.
The Human realized that the four Romulans assumed she had a plan from this point on. She didn’t. Escape had not been a possibility. And without Syll’s guidance what could she do? Where could she go? The Romulan Commander would berate her for being so ill prepared. Romulans always had a plan. All Kari’s plans ended in that great hall. Survival had not been any kind of a consideration.
Kari clambered up to the bridge which looked down on the main cabin. The controls were