Mark Tiedemann - Mirage

"There is always one in the lead," the robot said finally, "and two who appear behind. "

"Military," Mia said. "A holographic generator worn by a soldier projects an image of two or three more. An enemy targeting system can be confused, just like Bogard was, giving multiple counts."

"Bogard," Derec said, "do a projected trace on one of their shots and see where it goes."

There was a moment's pause, then one of the shadow rifles fired. The scene jerked forward then, into the frightened delegates, and stopped on an Auroran woman trying to turn and flee back into the debarkation umbilical. She looked unhurt and continued her attempted flight.

"Bogard, according to your trajectory plot she should have been hit?"

"Yes, Derec. "

"Wouldn't the newsnets have figured this out already?" Ariel asked.

"Probably not," Mia said. "They got their recordings, they put them on subetheric, they did their duty. I doubt anyone gave it a second look." She thought for a few seconds. "On the other hand, maybe they have and they don't know what to do with it. It doesn't change the results, does it?"

"All right," Derec said, "this would confirm your suspicion that Kynig Parapoyos at least supplied the weapons and that an ex-military man like this Bok Golner conducted the actual assault. What do we do next?"

Mia cleared her throat, then, and looked at Derec and Ariel.

"Before we go any further," she said, "I need to make it clear that once we start, it gets dangerous. I can't trust my own people and they control the security network for the planet, or at least a good portion of it. If we go probing we could get hurt. If you don't want to risk that, tell me now and we stop it here."

Ariel pursed her lips and made a show of thinking it over. "There's no option for me. I have to know. But Derec-"

"No option for me, either," he said. "I'm involved already through Bogard. No matter how this comes out, what I've built here is at risk. The only way I can protect any of it is to see this through. We're in."

Mia studied them both, then nodded. "All right, then. First we need to find out where the guns came from and where Bok Golner trained his team. The attack took expertise. You don't just get up one day and do something like this without practice. Where would they train?"

"Kynig Parapoyos bothers me," Ariel said. "Why would he do this? Or his organization? I don't recall ever seeing or hearing anything about him conducting assassinations."

"Not like this, no," Mia said. "But I don't think he's entirely behind it. Someone had to subvert the RI, someone had to subvert Special Service agents, someone had to be on the inside. Parapoyos could provide the weapons, but all the rest?"

Ariel was nodding. "He's the main supplier for the Settler colonies. Do you think they had anything to do with it?"

"Why would they?" Derec asked.

"The piracies," Mia answered. "One of the primary suspects is the Settler worlds. One or more of them may be harboring the pirate bases."

"And robotic inspections could affect that relationship," Derec said, nodding. "But all of them? As a matter of policy? Isn't that a stretch?"

"Of course," Ariel said, "but the Settlers aren't a monolith, no more than the Spacers are. It's a possibility."

"It would be a good idea for you to buy some guns, Ariel," Mia said.

Ariel's eyebrows went up.

"It would be a way to get to Parapoyos. You go to the Settler Coalition and talk to them. If they're buying through Parapoyos here, Riansa Visher was involved. Her successor will know about it. They can put you in contact."

"Why me?"

"Because this little incident could mean war," Mia explained. "Aurora may need weapons."

Ariel did not look comfortable, but she nodded.

After an awkward silence, Derec waved a hand at the subetheric. "With this and the recordings from the RI-"

"Assuming anyone but you and the RI staff saw those particular records," Ariel said. "By now, Special Service may have confiscated or destroyed them."

Derec frowned and stared at the subetheric.

"Bogard," Mia said, glad for the change of subject. "Find the actual casualties and trace the shots back to source. Determine how many live assailants were present."

For a few painful minutes the view shifted from victim to attacker, victim to attacker, several times. Each instance startled and saddened Mia. What struck her most consistently was the expression of surprise each wounded person wore upon being hit, followed sometimes by a rictus of pain, but only if that person had survived the injury. Death left the last expression stamped on each face: bafflement, confusion, amazement, in one instance a look of betrayal.

"Nine," Bogard announced finally. "There are twenty-one images and nine actual assailants."

"Nine," Mia mused. "That tends to validate the idea that they were after only a few individuals."

"Bogard, can you identify the individuals killed?" Ariel asked.

"Yes, Ms. Burgess." Bogard began displaying the names of the delegates as they appeared on the screen.

"You captured three of the assailants," Derec said to Mia. "Didn't you?"

"Yes," Mia said. "I-"

"Stop," Ariel said, standing. Bogard fell silent. She stared at the screen. "That last name…"

"Tro Aspil," Bogard said.

"Tro… but he survived…"

"The wound depicted," Bogard said, "is not consistent with survival. The shot entered the throat and severed the carotid artery."

"Then…" Ariel went to her datum.

"What is it?" Mia asked.

"Should I continue?" Bogard asked.

"Hmm?" Mia glanced up at the robot. "Compile the list for future reference."

"You captured three of the assailants and…?" Derec prompted.

"Yes, I did. Well, Bogard captured two of them, but-"

"How did Bogard perform?"

"After I gave him a new priority, perfectly. I couldn't have apprehended those men without it."

"Then…" Derec looked at Bogard self-consciously. "How do you explain the failure?"

"I'm not sure-"

"I built Bogard, Agent Daventri. Senator Eliton is dead. I need to know what happened."

"I see. Yes, you should know. Frankly, I had intended to ask you that question. When-" She gave Bogard an apprehensive look. "I'm not sure we should talk about this in Bogard's presence."

Derec nodded. "Bogard, have you completed compiling the list of casualties from this recording?"

"Yes, Derec."

"Stand down, then, please."

"I cannot do that, Derec. I am still responsible for Agent Daventri's safety."

Derec frowned briefly, then shrugged. "Should any of the subject matter we're discussing present potential operational difficulties for you, alert us."

"I will do that, Derec."

Derec smiled. "Bogard will know better than any of us when it's in trouble."

Mia felt uneasy. "I attempted to get a full report from Bogard last night. The part about Senator Eliton is absent from its logs."

"No, it's not. It's elsewhere, but it's there. At some point I'll have to run a complete debrief on all Bogard's systems to get at it, but it means that its system is working the way it should. Please, go on."

"When the explosions began, Bogard immediately enshielded the Senator. That left us free to confront the assault. But it came so suddenly and unexpectedly-you train for the possibility, but nothing can prepare you for the reality. The casualties, the explosions, the panic-what do you do first? Our training says to get the people we're supposed to protect out of harm's way as soon as possible. There was nowhere for them to go. We couldn't get them to safety. Then… then my teammates started going down. I tried to return fife, but for all I know now I may have shot nothing but images. Or I may have shot innocent spectators. There was too much all at once."