The Emperor of Everything

“I should dive down six hundred meters, fighting off the margars and the brainborers, pry open a sealed ingress, break into Yubere’s dungeon, fight my way up to his labs — or worse, his residential level — all the time dragging your ringer with me, kill Yubere, see that the ringer is functioning properly, and get away clean. Do I have it right?”

“Exactly right, Ruiz Aw, old friend.”

“Oh fine.”

Publius snorted. “You put the worst possible face on everything — I’m astonished that you’ve survived in your profession as long as you have. Murder and pillage are inappropriate vocations for realists. But I’ve already made many of the arrangements. I have a sonar-transparent submersible ready to go — it has a clamp-on repair bay, so you won’t even get wet when you break in. You can draw on my funds to hire mercenaries, within reason — the sub holds only eight crew and passengers. Your weapons budget will be generous. What more could you want?”

“A way of preventing you from sticking a knife in my back, in the unlikely event I succeed.”

Publius sighed. “I’m open to suggestions, Ruiz.”

Ruiz sipped at the lilac liquor. “It’s a matter that requires serious thought. Let me return to my own lodgings and I’ll consider.”

Publius smiled and shook his head. “Don’t be silly, Ruiz. I can’t let you out of my control now — you’re gravid with dangerous information. I’ll have a suite prepared for you here, and you’re welcome to brainstorm to your heart’s content, or at least until tomorrow.” His expression darkened and he directed a worried look at the puppet. “The pirate lords are growing restive; who knows how much longer they’ll delay moving against Yubere. They don’t know exactly how he’s connected with the secret, and of course it’s difficult for them to make any sort of concerted effort… but they’re working themselves up to it.”

Something about this last bothered Ruiz. “What makes you think your Yubere would do better against the lords than the real one would?”

“Perceptive question, Ruiz,” said Publius, sounding a bit displeased. “I don’t know why I even try to fool you. Well, I’ll say only that I can call on resources that the real Yubere cannot — and don’t ask me to elaborate.”

Ruiz felt strangely weakened, out of control, bewildered — he could only dimly perceive the mechanisms so obviously grinding away beneath the surface Publius had presented to him. As he considered this, he grew resentful. He looked at the monster-maker and only with great difficulty did he conceal the disgust that flooded through him.

“Well,” he finally said. He made his voice light and fixed a disarming smile on his face. “I hope you’ll put me up in decent style, Emperor Publius. We who are about to die could use a good night’s sleep.”

Chapter 13

Corean took her assassin back to the Jolly Roger in silence. Marmo, who had waited for her in Yubere’s negotiation facility, spoke to her only in monosyllables, and if she hadn’t believed that Marmo had long ago worn out his store of such human emotions, Corean might have thought Remint had frightened the old cyborg.

When they reached their rooms, Lensh seemed openly distressed by the slayer’s ominous presence; his feline features constantly wavered between cringing disapproval and outrage.

She found Yubere’s brother more than a little intimidating herself, so much so that she couldn’t be very irritated with the reactions of the others.

She directed Remint to a corner ottoman, where he sat quietly, staring into space, a machine waiting for its instructions.

Her most urgent need then was a bath. Perhaps she only imagined it, but she still smelled the subtle Gench taint she had noticed in Yubere’s stronghold, as if those alien molecules were clinging to her with unnatural tenacity.

She lingered in the warm bath, thinking aimless thoughts. She noticed the slight dryness of her perfect skin, her need for a manicure. After a while she rubbed a soapy sponge across her breasts, and she became aware of a dull sexual ache. She had, after all, been away from her various erotic pets for several days now; her growing frustration was natural enough. Perhaps she would send out for a brace of joyfolk later; the Jolly Roger kept several well-regarded catering firms under contract. She considered summoning Lensh to service her immediately, but as a lover he was uninteresting. Like most folk with substantial feline DNA adulteration, Lensh tended to mate in a brief, brutal, matter-of-fact manner — which at the moment held no appeal for Corean.

For a moment she considered the slayer — how would it be to lie in such inhumanly strong arms? She dismissed the notion with a tiny shiver. She was feeling unadventurous tonight — unusual for her.

Something turned her thoughts to Ruiz Aw. A perversely wishful mood came over her, so that she lay back in a swirl of sweet-scented heat, and remembered how much she had once lusted for Ruiz Aw’s handsome flesh.