Chapter XI – Concubine Heist

So far, so good, thought Tavian as they approached the Yamen.

They had successfully intercepted a delivery. Now came the moment of truth. The car turned into the laneway that ran along the back wall of the complex.

The others had queried Tavian on whether he could pass as a dealer working for the White Gang, given he clearly wasn’t a Shangxia native. He insisted it wasn’t an issue, as he had known a number of offworlders who had come to the planet seeking fame and fortune and ended up working for the criminal underworld. People like Wei were more than happy to exploit those who were alone and had nowhere to turn.

That’s what he had told them; as he approached the gate he dearly hoped he’d been correct.

The car announced they had reached their destination and he exited, straightening his suit. He adjusted his sunglasses and tie and walked towards the gate. The city’s lights were blinking on and the sunlight was fading from the sky. Unlike the grandiose front entrance, this one was rather unremarkable. No guards were in sight, but there was a small intercom panel to one side. Glancing up and down the alley he hit a button on the intercom.

“Please state your name and purpose,” came a gruff voice.

“Seamus Michaels,” said Tavian. “I have a special delivery for His Excellency….” Here he paused, remembering the code, “It shines like Chang Xi’s Divine Lantern.”

There was a pause at the other end.

Did I fuck that up? Tavian wondered.

But no, the response came a moment later.

“Stay put, we will meet you shortly.”

The line went dead and Tavian waited, once again looking around the alley. He could hear traffic from the far end, but no one was to be seen in the alley itself. He glanced up at the sky. Thick clouds billowed above, illuminated by the light of the city. Somewhere up there was the Orbital Ring and the Amrita, but there was nothing to be seen tonight.

He was snapped back to the moment when the door swung open. A man wearing the uniform of the Governor’s Household Security appeared.

“You are late,” said the man.

That was on purpose. The designated time for Tavian’s delivery was significantly earlier than that for Mu and Harry’s arrival. But in order to rendezvous with them, he would need to slip away from his escort. They had figured this action would immediately put security on higher alert, making Mu and Harry’s entry more difficult. This meant there was a narrow window of timing. Mu and Harry couldn’t arrive so much later than Tavian that he would actually have reached the Governor’s private chambers by the time they arrived, and he couldn’t slip his escort so early that their entry might be barred. That meant they couldn’t enter more than six minutes apart – just less than the time it took to get from the entrance of the Yamen to the Governor’s chambers, and conveniently about the same amount of time it took to get from the complex’s rear gate to the main entrance of the Yamen-proper.

“My apologies,” said Tavian.

The guard looked him over. “You’re not the usual guy.”

Tavian shook his head. “I assure you the product itself is the same as ever.”

“You can leave the product with me, I will take it to His Excellency,” said the Guard.

This caught Tavian off guard. “My instructions were to deliver it directly to His Excellency.”

The guard glared at him. “That won’t be necessary.”

Tavian’s mind raced. “I have a range of products. I believe His Excellency may have questions.”

The guard looked displeased with this. “Wait here,” he said. The door closed again.

Tavian did his best to look unperturbed. He assumed he was under surveillance.

The door opened again a moment later.

“You can come with me. You are not to leave my sight for a moment,” said the guard. “Please relinquish any weapons you have and we’ll get you scanned.”

Tavian wasn’t in the business of carrying a firearm, but this time he had one for authenticity’s sake. He turned it over to the guard. He was ushered into a small chamber where some sort of machine gave him a once over.

If they’re going to flag me for who I really am, now will be the moment, thought Tavian.

But the moment passed and he stepped out of the chamber, the guard apparently satisfied.

“Your tablet?” asked the guard. Tavian turned it over and the guard ran it through another device, then handed it back.

Tavian took it and ever-so-lightly tapped the screen in a quick, pre-determined pattern. The software Nova had installed on it would recognise this as the signal that he was in and to start the countdown to the moment she would unleash the distraction that would allow him to slip his escort.

With that he set off with the guard. He had a pretty good idea of the layout of the complex, thanks to both Nova’s and Seraphina’s intel-gathering. The rear section of the complex was far less impressive than the front, which was covered in immaculately maintained gardens and courtyards. Here many of the more utilitarian functions of the complex were housed, though some attempt had still been made to tie the aesthetic in with the grandeur of the front-facing section.

There were some rudimentary gardens in place, but mostly it was a maze of tightly clustered buildings separated by laneways and the occasional courtyard. Tavian had the route from the rear gate to the Yamen well memorised, though things looked a little different from ground level. Nonetheless, he was able to keep fairly good track of where he was going as they proceeded.

They passed various people that Tavian took to be staff, but no one took much heed of him along the way. At one point he caught sight of Matthias, perched atop a nearby roof. It was reassuring to know that Seraphina (and likely, by extension, Kal) were watching. At least as far as Tavian could tell, everything was so far going to plan, although he told himself the most difficult portion of the plan only started once he slipped his escort and they became wanted.

The guard didn’t pay him much attention either as they walked, his mind seemingly elsewhere. Tavian checked his tablet. Nine minutes until Nova’s big moment. As long as he didn’t get held up, he would be inside the Yamen itself by the time that moment hit. Then it would just be a matter of locating the other two. They should be entering in three minutes. Kal had planed everything out in precise detail.

They emerged from the network of laneways through a moon gate into a much larger courtyard than any they had thus far walked through. On the far side of the courtyard was the Yamen itself, wide stairs ascending to its entrance. At the centre of the courtyard was a large equestrian statue. The Aixin sure loved their equestrian statues of ancient princes and emperors, though Tavian doubted many Aixin leaders ever sat atop a horse. Still, it was a key distinguishing feature of Shang and Aixin statues – Shang statues were always depicted wearing long robes and, if they were men, sporting beards near as long, looking sage-like – a stark difference to the more martial qualities of Aixin statues.

They passed the statues and ascended the stairs. Two guards flanked the entrance to the Yamen, spears in hand (though Tavian noticed the sidearms holstered on their belts as well).

“Special delivery for His Excellency,” said Tavian’s escort.

This better not take long, thought Tavian – just six minutes remained until showtime. Harry and Mu were no doubt at the gate at this very moment.

One of the other guards was remarking on Tavian’s lateness to his escort, who grumbled in acknowledgment. Tavian surveyed the courtyard. He could see other guards at various positions or patrolling in the vicinity of the Yamen. Regardless of how competent or otherwise security was, there was certainly plenty of it.

“Come on,” said his escort eventually, and Tavian followed him inside.

The inside had a distinctly more modern look to the traditional style of the exterior, though it retained some elements that blended traditional elements into the overall aesthetic. Various recesses in the walls showed off ancient vases and statuettes. From their scouting, Tavian knew that up ahead was a central nexus from which the various wings of the Yamen radiated. If they were still on schedule, it would be about a minute after they passed that chamber that all hell would break loose. Hopefully Mu and Harry were inside the Yamen by the time that happened.

Tavian breathed in deeply.

Almost showtime.

As it happened, Mu and Harry had a smooth journey from the gate to the Yamen. Mu saw that as they entered, Matthias the raven fluttered in behind them. He had appeared when they entered the main courtyard and followed them since then. Somehow none of the guards seemed to notice him. Mu wondered if that itself was the result of some magic of Seraphina’s. With a little smile she gave a small wave to Matthias as he followed them along the hallway towards the central chamber of the Yamen.

Any moment now, she thought.

Hopefully Nova’s distraction would be sufficient to give them the space they needed to reach Mingxia’s room.

And hopefully she’ll be there.

That said – when Mu had voiced concerns to Kal, he had reassured her that if Nova’s first attempt at pulling away security didn’t work, both he and Seraphina had contingencies in place. One way or another, they were going to create one hell of a ruckus.

Mu had given Kal one last condition before they’d locked in the plan: “No one dies, okay?” she said.

“I’ll do my best,” said Kal. “The rest will be up to you.”

She’d reiterated the point when they’d parted ways with Kal, leaving him and Seraphina back at the apartment.

She saw they’d reached the main chamber. It was hexagonal in shape, with many doors and a ceiling that rose high in the centre. It was a design that was common across the Empire. Back on Aixingo itself many of the grand buildings of state and the residences of nobility included such a room. Apparently, they mimicked the shape of an ancient yurt, though a bit of creative imagination was required to see the similarity, so abstracted had the design become over the years of cultural symbiosis with the Shang that had occurred during the Empire’s long existence.

It was almost time.

Their escort led them down one of the halls that branched off that central chamber. This must be the Governor’s private wing.

As they approached, she felt herself getting nervous. She was feeling increasingly invested in the fate of Mingxia. The gilded prison she’d escaped from at the Imperial Court was never deliberately cruel, but it was oppressive and soul crushing in its sheer inhumanity. For all the beauty of the gardens – of the temples, the pagodas, the grand pavilions – there was little to truly nourish the soul, the artifice of it all overwhelming.

She thought of the borderline desperation in her mother’s voice when she had been trying to persuade Mu that it was an honour – a joy, even – not merely a duty, to marry the Prince-Imperial. Far from being persuaded by her mother’s words, she recognised in them the outcome of generations of systematic oppression, beating down the individuality in all who were part of the Imperial machine.

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“You will be the Mother of Theophants.”

The grandiosity of it never compelled Mu; no, rather it repelled her. Drove her here.

Mother? Broodmare, more like.

And listening to Tavian’s story she recognised in Mingxia’s actions that same desperation to escape that she herself had always felt. But she also recognised that out here, far from the niceties of the Imperial Court, Mingxia’s cage was like to be one far more brutal than her own. With that thought in her mind there was no choice. She had to save this woman she had never met.

So here she was.

Sneaking into the Governor’s Yamen on this strange world of Shangxia.

When it happened, everything happened quickly.

Mu heard a series of loud bangs from somewhere outside. Moments later alarms started going off everywhere at once. Their escort held out his hand to halt them and immediately started speaking through his comms unit.

Even as he was talking there was another series of loud bangs, one after another, in extremely rapid succession.

“Follow me,” said the escort, “There is a security situation. You are to remain in a secured area until we retrieve you.”

With that he led them a short distance along the corridor and opened a door. They stepped inside.

“You will stay—"

He never finished. Mu spat out the small capsule that she’d held under her tongue since they entered. With one swift movement she snapped it open in front of the guard’s face. His eyes widened in shock and then he sagged to the ground. Mu and Harry opened a nearby cabinet and shoved his unconscious form inside before closing it once more.

Harry lifted up his tablet and tapped a few buttons. “You there, Tavian?”

There was no response.

“He’s probably just occupied,” said Mu, when Harry looked over at her. “Let’s just head to Mingxia’s quarters, he’ll find his way there.”

Harry nodded.

They stepped back out into the hall and a black shape came rocketing towards them. Mu extended her hands and in a puff of black mist her sword and scabbard materialised, dropping into her grasp. Alongside it was a holster. She threw this to Harry who withdrew the pistol inside and inspected it.

“Thanks, Matthias,” she said. “See if you can find Tavian.”

The bird squawked and darted up the hall ahead of them.

“Let’s go,” said Mu and Harry nodded.

They had only gone a short way when Mu signalled for Harry to stop. “Guards will be coming shortly,” she said.

“That foresight of yours is mighty helpful. Is this room safe?” asked Harry, indicating a nearby door.

“Room’s empty,” said Mu and they darted inside.

Sure enough they heard voices and footsteps outside all of fifteen seconds after they’d ducked into the room. They waited a little longer.

“Sounds safe now,” said Harry, his ear pressed to the door.

Mu nodded and they crept back out, looking up and down.

Mu’s mind was abuzz with possibilities. She could sense the constantly intertwining and unravelling paths, shifting in a frenzied dance of possibility and probability. It almost made her head hurt as she tried to focus both on what was in front of her, and any sign of imminent danger along those tangled futures.

Nonetheless, they pushed forward. Mingxia’s chambers weren’t far ahead and they reached them shortly.

“There’s one guard with her,” said Mu, and even as she said it, the future where they burst into the room and were immediately placed at gunpoint evaporated. She probed different possible paths forward, striving to find one where they managed to neutralise the guard. Her own demand that there be no killing certainly made things trickier, but she didn’t want to spill any more blood after their first escape from the surface.

Even as she was contemplating what to do, footsteps came up behind them. She had been so focused on what would happen when they entered Mingxia’s bedchamber that she missed the person approaching them from behind entirely.

Harry had apparently been caught out too, because both of them spun around at the same time. Her heart went into overdrive as her hand flew to her sword and she tried to process the baffling web of foresight. Before her eyes had even registered who was approaching, those futures resolved themselves into a safe one.

“Sorry, I got delayed,” said Tavian.

“Weren’t you ahead of us?” asked Harry.

“I was… had to get creative to escape my super-persistent escort,” said Tavian, then pointed to the door they were standing before, “This it?”

“This is it,” Mu confirmed. Her heart beat was slowing just a little again.

“You make a very pretty prostitute, by the way,” said Tavian, looking her up and down.

“Thanks,” she said rolling her eyes, then turned her attention back to the room. “There’s a guard in there.”

Tavian seemed to think for just a moment. “What if I go first, distract him, then you two jump in and take him down a moment later.”

“Got any more of those sleepy time capsules?” Harry asked her.

“Oh sure,” she said, “I swallowed a six pack before we came.”

“No need for sarcasm,” said Harry.

“Good at swallowing. Important skill in your line of work,” said Tavian.

“I will kill you once this is done,” said Mu, then turning to Harry she said, “I’m being serious. He’s dead.”

Harry smiled and nodded. “I believe you. Now, what’s the plan?”

“Oh, I think we’ve sorted that,” said Tavian and before either of them could react, he opened the door and stepped through, yelling “Don’t shoot!” even as he did so.

“That bastard,” Mu muttered, her hand returning once more to the hilt of her sword.

She was standing off to one side of the door and couldn’t look into the room beyond without revealing herself to its occupants, but she could hear the voices clearly from inside.

“Who are you?” demanded one.

“Oh… I seem to have gotten lost. I had a security escort, but when all those explosions started occurring, we got separated. Perhaps you can help me?”

Mu slowed her breathing and concentrated. She foresaw herself and Harry stepping through the door, just as the guard inside reached where Tavian was standing, close to the entrance. It was probably close enough that she and Harry could surprise and apprehend the guard before he could shoot either of them, but with the Starflow so weak here the picture became fuzzy even more than about ten seconds away from the current moment.

“On my mark,” she mouthed to Harry and she hoped he understood her. He nodded, so she figured he at least thought he understood her.

“Why are you here?” she heard from inside, footsteps getting closer.

“I was supposed to be meeting with the Governor,” said Tavian. “Er, His Excellency.”

In that moment another voice, this one belonging to a woman, sounded: “Tavian?”

“You know him?” came the voice of the guard.

Then came the sounds of a physical altercation.

“Now!” yelled Mu and both her and Harry rushed into the room.

But things had happened fast. Tavian already had the guard secured; his arm held behind his back. The guard’s firearm fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

“Nice work,” said Harry, upon seeing Tavian.

“What should we do with him?” asked Tavian, then he looked over at the room’s other occupant. A young lady dressed similarly to Mu was standing a short distance away. “Any ideas?” Tavian asked her.

The woman came closer. “You’re alive… Why are you here?”

“For you,” said Tavian.

“For me?” asked the woman.

“Li Mingxia?” asked Mu, approaching her.

She looked at Mu warily. “Who are you?”

“I’m a… friend… of Tavian’s,” said Mu. “My name’s Mu.”

“Oh, so we are friends!” said Tavian brightly. He was still holding the guard, who was struggling, but Harry had now joined Tavian and the guard’s struggles were in vain.

Mingxia regarded Mu, then Tavian, Harry, and the guard. “Yes, I’m Li Mingxia. There’s a bathroom through there. We can probably trap him inside.”

“What are you doing, Lady Li?” demanded the guard.

Mingxia didn’t reply to him as Harry and Tavian manhandled him over to the door she’d indicated.

Mu was distracted from what happened next as she was slammed by a bizarre sensation. All at once she felt a titanic wave of Starflow wash over her, quite unlike anything she’d felt previously on Shangxia. It was only there a moment, but she was left reeling in its wake.

Her tablet vibrated, and half-dazed from what had just happened, she lifted it up. It was Kal. She answered.

“Princess Mukushen, did you feel that?” came Seraphina’s voice over the line.

“Yes,” she said. “What was it?”

“I don’t know,” said Seraphina, “But I will have Matthias try and find out.”

“Let me know if it’s anything we should be worried about,” said Mu and hung up.

On the far side of the room Harry and Tavian had seemingly managed to successfully secure the bathroom door with the guard inside. Mingxia was standing in the centre of the room, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“Like I said, to rescue you,” said Tavian.

“After you abandoned me?” she asked.

Only now did Mu take a proper look at her. She was troubled by what she saw. Mingxia’s make up was good, but it wasn’t good enough to hide the swelling around her face, nor her black eye. She felt a rage swell up inside her.

“What did he do to you?” she asked.

Mingxia turned Mu’s way. “He beat me. Of course. Frankly I was lucky that’s all that happened.”

“We should kill this bastard,” said Mu.

“Wasn’t your whole thing not killing anyone?” said Tavian.

Mu was in no mood to joke. “I’ve known men like this Governor all my life. They think they own women. They become violent when they find out otherwise.”

Harry laid a hand on Mu’s shoulder, but she shook it off. Unperturbed, he spoke, “Mu, we have to get out of here. That’s the best thing for everyone. That’s the best thing for Mingxia.”

Mu knew he was right. She looked again at Mingxia, attempting a smile. “Will you come with us?”

Mingxia looked towards the bathroom door, then back again. She laughed bitterly. “Well, I just helped you guys stuff a guard in there, so I’m probably in for worse if I stay.”

“You don’t have to live like this,” said Mu.

Mu thought Mingxia must have recognised her sincerity and desperation, because something changed in the other girl’s demeanour a moment later. She nodded slowly, breathing out. “I believe you,” she said. Then she repeated, with emphasis added, “I believe you,” she said to Mu, before glancing Tavian’s way. He gave a defensive gesture, but both Mu and Mingxia locked him with piercing glares.

Mu walked over to the other woman and wrapped her in her arms. “You’re going to be safe. We’re going to get you out of here.”

After a moment of surprise, Mingxia returned the hug. “I don’t know why some stranger is doing this for me. But thank you.”

Mu pulled away. “After I heard what he had done, I had to.”

Mingxia looked for a moment like she was going to ask Mu something, staring into her eyes. But the moment passed and she looked away.

“With that sorted, perhaps we should get a move on?” said Harry.

“Yes,” said Mu. “Let’s.”

Her tablet buzzed again and she looked at its screen. Nova. “Hello?”

“Target secured?” asked Nova.

“We have reached Mingxia,” confirmed Mu.

“Do you need any more explosions?” asked Nova. “’Cos I’ve got more drones if you want more explosions. I feel like the people of the city are enjoying the fireworks display, anyway.”

“Probably wouldn’t hurt,” said Mu.

“Say no more,” said Nova, “I’m your girl.”

There was a pause on the other end.

Then: “You’ve got company closing in,” said Nova. “I can’t see all the angles, but they can’t be more than a minute from you.”

Mu decided to walk out into the corridor, but before she did so, she peered along that path, gazing into the moments to come. Out in the corridor she saw nothing. No guards, just a corridor, empty as it had been when they’d entered.

“Are you sure? I’m not sensing anything,” said Mu.

“Positive,” said Nova.

Strange.

“Alright, we’ll get moving. Thanks,” said Mu, shutting off the call. She turned to the others. “Nova says we’ve got company closing in. Let’s go, now.”

The other three nodded. Tavian paused a moment and as Mingxia walked past him he handed her the butt of the guard’s confiscated pistol. “Know how to use it?”

“Point it at the bad guys?”

“More or less,” said Tavian. “Just try not to shoot us or yourself.”

“Thanks for the tip,” said Mingxia. She took the offered firearm and Tavian waved her to lower it. Mingxia looked slightly annoyed with herself that she’d needed the pointer, but nonetheless lowered the weapon.

“We’ll work on trigger discipline later,” said Tavian. “Let’s get going.”

With this exchange over, Mu stepped out into the corridor, her own hand resting upon her sword hilt.

It was not as she’d foreseen.

Two figures were walking slowly along the corridor towards them. Both tall, both thin, both wearing long dark coats.

And both had cybernetic implants, inhuman eyes gazing at her.

She looked once more into the future and saw only an abyss.

“Oh,” she said, as the others emerged and stopped behind her.

“What is it?” asked Harry.

“It’s them,” said Mu.

Neither Harry nor Tavian seemed to have to ask any follow up questions, instantly understanding who she meant.

The two figures stopped a short distance from them.

“Princess Mukushen, I am Mr Wang. This is my associate, Ms Chu. We are from the Interstellar Fugitives Section of the Enforcement Division of the Bureau of Resonance. His Imperial Excellency, Aixin Ulušun, Prince of the First Rank and Minister for Civil Administration has ordered us to escort you to Aixingo.”

Mu drew her sword, adopting a combat stance.

“You can tell my father I’m never coming back,” she said, her fingers flexing around the hilt of the sword.

Tavian and Harry stepped forward, standing either side of her, levelling their own weapons.

“Can I point it yet?” asked Mingxia.

“Point away,” said Tavian, his eyes never leaving the two Resonance Bureau agents.

“Princess Mukushen, I would strongly advise you and your colleagues to stand down and drop your weapons,” said the female agent. “If you fail to comply, we will be forced to eliminate them.”

Mu slowly shook her head. “I’ve already given you my answer. If you want me, come and get me.”

She looked over at Harry. “You should all get out of here. I will hold them. These aren’t opponents you can fight.”

“I don’t think they are opponents you can fight either,” said Harry.

“They won’t kill me,” said Mu. “Go!”

Then she felt it. Just like before.

A great surge of the Starflow. And she could sense where it was going, pouring into the two agents. It was so potent she felt like she could almost see them, gleaming like twin suns in that hallway.

“I’m sorry, Princess Mukushen,” said the male agent. “Our orders stand.”

Then they rushed forward, moving with inhuman speed, bright light flaring around them. It was fast, but it happened as if in slow motion to Mu, foresight and her own vision seeming to meld into one. No longer were the agents concealed, now they were blazing beacons of power.

Then it came. A shadow on six wings.

Matthias rushed forward along the corridor, inserting himself between her and the agents. One agent struck him and he went flying across the corridor striking the wall with a plaintive cry.

For a fraction of a second the agents paused.

Matthias’s broken body rose up into the air, not by force of his wings, but lifted by swirling tendrils of black mist. Around his limp form was a growing globe of spiralling darkness. It expanded out in all directions and when it was gone, Seraphina was hanging in the air, her hands outstretched in front of her.

“Seraphina!” exclaimed Mu.

“You should go, Princess Mukushen,” said Seraphina. “None of you will escape otherwise.”

Mu shook her head. “No, you can’t fight my battle! They’ll kill you!”

Seraphina turned briefly to Mu, her red eyes as impassive as ever. “I stand a better chance than anyone else.”

She turned back to the agents, who had seemingly paused to assess this new threat. “After all,” said Seraphina. “I am a Sister of the Melusine Coven, Daughter of the Witching Star. No imperial agent has ever set foot on Hecate, but by the consent of the Sisters. You do not have my consent to pass, and you shall not.”

Seraphina began moving her hands around to form a circle of purple light, gleaming arcane symbols filling the air.

“Run,” said the witch.

Mu didn’t argue this time.

They all ran.

As she ran, she heard the agents one last time. “Then, witch, you shall perish.”