Prime of Life - 47 chapter Space Opera novel

Chapter 8

Okay, Tani thought as she donned the blonde wig she'd shoplifted. A purchase would have given away her location. Her new face in the mirror looked good next to the ID photo on the computer. It was easy to imitate heavy makeup, and she only needed a moment's confusion. She menued into a video sequence from the dance class that General Grice's wife, Daret, taught every fourth cycle. Their daughter Saret was one of the students. Tani fast-forwarded to see Daret walking between numbers, and practiced her movements to complete the counterfeit appearance.

Tani had obtained top-secret dossiers, using Yarek's password. She'd read that General Grice had '...developed a complex interior model of otherness.' A family man--quite the opposite of Rance whose world view was '...based solely on his own existence.' Grice was an exception among the elite, yet, Tani had read, well-liked by Rance. The top general would want to save Grice, and Grice would want to save his family. But orders would have been left at the exit tunnel to pass only Grice, not his wife and daughter. The titanium slab that was usually drawn open, into the side of the entrance, would now be fully closed--to contain Tani in Traxnor sector. Grice would have a plan to sneak Daret and Saret near the tunnel for the moment when the shield would reopen just for him--and the three would run the twenty meters from death to life. Instead, Tani planned to disable Grice and run the tunnel herself.

The makeover was a precaution. Grice was no fool, and she needed an edge. If she looked enough like Daret to distract the general for even a second, she could strike him down and make her exit. The clothes didn't matter--few men remembered what their mates wore moments after seeing them. It would be the face, the hair, and the movement that counted.

The dance school was not far from the local gate. Blueprints had shown Tani a shortcut from the hub where she was now. She took a transport belt, jimmied several service doors open, and came out in a maintenance building near the entrance. As she'd expected, a crowd had gathered--workers and others who normally passed back and forth without difficulty. Tani stepped out. She stood on a landing and absently fingered the small scar on her chin, an echo from times before. Harsh lights glowed above. Electric transports snaked in a line back from the exit tunnel, while those waiting for the walkway tended to cluster in groups. The blast barrier gleamed under the rows of little yellow lights in the tunnel entrance arch.

Even at this distance Tani saw the black-garbed guards, one on each side of the tunnel. The uniforms signified these were tactical personnel authorized to use any and all force. In the short minutes since Rance had activated his plan, there would have been limited time to assemble troops near the various exits from the Traxnor sector.

Tani sat for a moment on the building's steps. Eyes closed, she activated hypersensory processes. Normal smells of large crowd trickled in, along with the sounds of mingled conversations. "Help me up..." "Ynett was told..." "...that's all I know..." An odor of onions distinguished itself, and also ozone which would be, Tani knew, from the high intensity overhead lamps.

Satisfied that nothing was out of the ordinary, given the situation, she shut down her hyperacuity, descended the steps, and made her way past civilians and military personnel. She paused near three bored-looking men. "How long has the gate been closed?" she asked.

"Not half a kilobeat," said the tallest, stating a time roughly equal to seven minutes.

"Yeah," said another, "you don't think how much traffic there is until it gets backed up."

"What's going on?"

"Rumor is, a problem with the air pressure. You know the other gates are closed too?"