Page 73 of Tears of Tungsten
Epilogue
Wesley
Meanwhile, on Tartarus Base
The moans, grunts and pained cries reached my ears from the moment I walked into the Titans’ Pit. I hid a grimace, wishing I hadn’t been forced to come here today.
But I’d learned a long time ago that wishes were for fools, so I kept my head down and didn’t stop walking. I’d grown inured to the violence and abuse women suffered here. It was ugly and horrid, but it was always a good distraction and kept people from noticing the more dangerous things that were going on.
As I walked through the Pit, I ducked around countless men, some half-dressed, most smelling like sex or lust. In the various alleys, I caught glimpses of the sex workers who made a living here. Today, there had been no alarms, so I assumed nobody had died.
When I got to Persephone’s Plaza, I found things the same as usual. Countless Terran women were lined up like cattle, and various men were taking turns on their holes. Most of them didn’t even eat, as the men here got a kick out of saying the sole food source of the whores was semen. The drones in the Pit made sure the bodies of the whores didn’t give out and they had at least a few hours a day to go to the bathroom, but beyond that, they were basically objects.
I wasn’t proud of it, but I’d taken advantage of their services more than once. Such women didn’t care that I was part machine. For them, all clients were the same, and if I didn’t hurt them and paid well, they were more than thrilled to take my cock.
But today, I wasn’t here for such questionable enjoyment. I had other goals. Beyond the rows of women getting fucked, beyond the crowd of jeering men, a secret was hiding.
The alley I entered didn’t look much different from the ones I’d passed, beyond the fact that it was empty. A few couples were having sex inside, but I walked straight through them—literally. The holograms were only there to make sure no unauthorized individual managed to sneak into our meeting.
After the third hologram registered my presence, the wall to my right parted, revealing a hidden entrance. I stepped inside and cursed to myself when I realized I was late.
The rest of our group had already arrived and when I came in, they stopped in the middle of a heated argument. “Ah, Commander Trevor,” our leader greeted me. “You’re here.”
“My apologies for the delay,” I replied. “There was a minor problem with Charon’s Barge and the staff asked me to look over their systems.”
“It’s no problem,” he offered. “I was merely bringing everyone up to speed.”
“Is it true, Wesley?” Leonardo asked. “Has His Royal Highness reached an agreement with his father?”
Leonardo di Rossi was one of the most important people in our group, but he wasn’t always as well informed as the rest of us, since he also spent a lot of time on Terra. He was the one who monitored the Terran rebel forces and let us know who could be an asset for us and who could be a threat. He didn’t usually question our leader, so I assumed this information had truly upset him.
“It seems like it, yes,” I replied.
“That could be problematic in the future,” Odette Donadieu said. “I don’t know how this could have happened. Pollux didn’t mention any such plans.”
“To be fair, Odette, your son isn’t all that close to you. And it’s not as problematic as all that. Prince Brendan is simply looking out for his interests.”
“It’s the woman, the new pilot of the Sphinx,” Lowell grumbled, leaning against the back of his hover chair. “He’s looking out for her.”
I bit the inside of my cheek so hard it bled. I had foreseen this, the moment news had come of the classes King Philip had organized at Chimera Academy. People like Lowell Voss and his immediate entourage didn’t believe in such things, not anymore, and had run out of patience. If Selene Renard had thrown a wrench in our plans, she was an obstacle that needed to be removed. “It’s not her fault,” I said. “She’s trying to change things for her people too.”
Odette let out an exasperated sigh. “She won’t succeed, Wesley. You know that. There’s no way you can reason with The Grand Judiciary. I wouldn’t be surprised if we found out Selene Renard is secretly on their side.”
“You can’t be serious,” I answered. “She’s made no secret of her feelings toward the current policies of the government.”
“Yes, but she could be doing it for appearances’ sake,” Lowell shot back. “Let’s face it, Trevor. How likely is that an apparently Unblessed Terran woman would be chosen one day as the pilot of the Sphinx, then wriggle her way into the prince’s bed, and save the life of his apsid lieutenant? It’s very suspicious.”
It was, and King Philip’s recent change of heart made things even worse for Selene. But even so, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Selene couldn’t be an ally of The Grand Judiciary.
I knew her as her teacher and her trainer. I’d seen her learn how to fight. I’d watched her claw through the horrible gunk at Chimera Academy, forcing herself to ignore everyone who hated her. She was gifted, yes, but she was also honest and determined. She genuinely wanted to help.
Unfortunately, I had no proof to support my assessment, nothing the others would believe. But on the other hand, they couldn’t prove she’d done anything wrong either.
“You can’t suddenly kill everyone you’re suspicious of. You’re only making these accusations because she’s inconvenient. Her presence has changed Prince Brendan’s priorities. But that doesn’t mean she’s an accomplice of the government. That’s a lazy explanation and falling into such practices is a recipe for disaster.”
Lowell scowled, but didn’t deny my argument. “That may well be, but the fact remains that we have a problem. We can hardly stage a rebellion if we’re not sure Prince Brendan will be there to support it.”
We were getting nowhere by fighting over this. I turned toward our leader and hoped he’d see sense. In the end, it was his decision, and if he said Selene wasn’t dangerous, the others would listen. “Your Highness, what do you think?”
