Goddess of the Galacticide Episode 52 - It Worked
- Bert-Oliver Boehmer
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
“In a hurry?” asked Rige Khuksos.
Lotnuuk Rrupteemaa’s lank body stopped. How disappointed he must feel, having made it halfway up the ramp of his personal starship, only to be caught fleeing the Assembly moon. So close.
“It is not like you, Assembly Member, running from responsibility,” she said, “or maybe it is.”
The old immortal sighed. “I am no longer a member of the Assembly, thanks to you. You certainly remember the accusations of dereliction of duty, negligence, misuse, and collusion you leveled against me? I no longer hold any office here. I might be out of work, but I am not a prisoner.”
“The long list of inquiries and hearings you have been scheduled for implied your presence on this world,” said Rige. “Keep your twisted logic. You are running, old man. You are still subject to the laws of the Assembly, many of which you have voted for.”
Lotnuuk Rrupteemaa was no mpets, he knew he had been bested. 500 orbits was a long time to make allies in remote corners of Assembly space, and many a crooked administrator in some fringe nation owed him a favor he intended to call in. Still, his towering presence seemed to make it impossible not to appear aloof. Nothing could wipe off the condescending smugness from his face.
“History is being written as we speak. Actual history, the kind people will still retell for many generations. You could be part of it.” Rige smiled. “Not as the hero, but as the villain. Not that bad a role. People still remember solar sailor Fim Chiipi, and he was a sadistic opportunist—yet by now he is a father of the Reclamation.”
“You want me to be your Fim Chiipi?” asked Lotnuuk. “I am afraid I forgot my gun.”
“Where do you want to be, Rrupteemaa? On your ship, racing away from pivotal events? Where have you been? You even missed the initiation of our newest member.”
Rige had been taught restraint since early childhood. Enough, no reason not to savor this moment to the fullest.
“You replacement,” she added.
Rrupteemaa gaze became unsteady, focused beyond Rige, then looked down.
“According to rumors I heard,” he said, “I was in the archives tonight. I assume this is where you lured her into your trap.”
The trap. Constructed with care, laid for the most foresighted human ever. Who stepped into it, executing each step of the way to her doom according to Rige’s script, not even requiring any secondary paths of fall-back options.
“We got her,” said Rige. She had captured Linuka Omga.
“Yes, certainly” He tilted his head. “The bedroom was a nice touch.”
Rige’s smile froze for a tick, but she could catch her mouth’s corners from free-fall. The old man had built his network over the lifespan of many nations. Rige must have overlooked some of his agents, but it did not help him in the end. Her smile refueled with genuine assuredness.
“It was difficult to re-construct, but worth the effort.”
“Iihe Et,” said Rrupteemaa. “If you had to steal my plan, why being so inefficient? Why lay the trap here, on Omech Krreng? Using—quite traceable—Assembly resources for excavation work at the Royal Palace of Aloo Dash?”
The smile broke. This part of the plan had been from Rrupteemaa’s early concept, but he never had the guts to see it through. The choice of location was brilliant. Linuka did not foresee being trapped where she expected it the most, relying on her powers, her strength, and her weakness alike. Maybe this was the core of Rrupteemaa’s hesitance. Despite all their differences, Lotnuuk and Linuka were kindred spirits: unable to believe they could be bested at their own game.
“It worked,” said Rige. “Efficiency is nice, but results count.”
Rrupteemaa shook his head. “Why do you think we kept Vriishany Omga on her home world? Did you think I turned senile and forgot my own plan? It ensured that when Linuka Omga decided to grab her kin, she would trigger a trap right there and then. To have this confrontation on Dziilaa Sok, not in our capital.”
He walked down the ramp, stood before Rige, and looked down on her.
“Rige, you destroyed the Assembly. Everything we built. For a moment of vanity. You believe I am running from you? I am running from the fallout of your decisions.”
Rige’s smile might have left, but her stare did not waver. I will not blink, old man. You keep making excuses for yourself. We both know you failed.
“I know drama has been your style since before my grandparents were born,” she said, “but this is a tad too much, even for you. Linuka Omga is secured and helpless in one of our systems.”
“Yes,” said Rrupteemaa. “But what about the bomb?”
The system’s massive central star peeked over the horizon shaped by the spaceport outer terminals, blinding Rige with its diffuse rays. Or was it the revelation that this man’s spy network reached deeper and wider than she had anticipated? The bomb had been discovered just over half a rotation ago, and yet this trickster knew about it already.
“Why do you think she sent one of those causality devices?” asked Rrupteemaa. “She knew what she was getting herself into. She brought it as insurance.”
Rige pointed at the tall, low-g husk of a man. Curses ran through her mind, but when the internal litany stopped, she said, “It did not help her.”
“Rige, not that kind of insurance. Not the one that makes you keep your promises. The one where it is made sure you die, right after Linuka Omga loses.”
Rige’s head shook involuntarily.
“Well, she cannot detonate it now. She cannot do anything.”
“Come on, Assembly Member,” said Rrupteemaa. “What about a timer? Or using remote detonation? You thought she brought this bomb to impress you? She brought it to assure that either Linuka Omga wins—or nobody.”
He pulled up his saggy robe and marched back up the ramp. “I have tasted the effects of a causality-negating device, and I have no desire to relive the experience.” Having reached the top of the ramp, he turned to Rige. “If you have any of the cleverness left that I built your career on, you will leave, too. I doubt there is much time left.”
Rige’s temple implant sent the gentle buzz of an incoming priority message. She touched the side of her head by reflex. Foyash Le Sakp was another veteran of the Assembly, level-headed and thoughtful, and much more of a mentor to Rige than Rrupteemaa had ever been. His panicked tirade cut through Rige’s consciousness, sweeping the legs from under her self-esteem, leaving it bleeding on the floor.
“Let me guess,” said Rrupteemaa. “The causality device has been activated.”
“Linuka Omga escaped,” said Rige. From the mind prison, system walled off from the input device. The chair, out of which her lifeless body dragged itself. Through the lines of security guards. Gone—into the night.
“Oh,” said Rrupteemaa, raising his eyebrows. He chuckled. “This girl. I am glad I stopped underestimating her. Now the question for everyone—but you in particular, Rige—is: what is worse, getting disconnected from the rest of the universe by a bomb…”
He sighed. “Or facing the wrath of Linuka Omga?”
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