“Why tell me this story now? It’s been four months since you spoke to Connor Stallion right here. You haven’t been the same.”
Shad thought about that forty-minute meeting, where Connor smoked a cigar and learned of his potential role in a bold future.
“He accepted my proposal despite knowing I wore a disguise and hid something important about our past. Connor trusted me. If I’d switched off the shifter, he’d have seen why.”
“You make assumptions, Father. Connor was five during the war. Who remembers what happened when they were so young?”
Shad Abdelmani swiveled to face the wall of thirty holos from across the Collectorate. Most were live deepstreams; only a few were delayed. These represented less than five percent of his covert access points.
“It’s a valid question,” Shad told his son. “Our lives crossed at a brief interlude when he and Trevor were their most fragile. If he saw my true face, Connor would have been confused ... but only for a moment. His heart would have called him home, to the place where fate should have ended his life. We remember our saviors.”
“By that reckoning, you wouldn’t have had to sell Stallion on the plan. He would’ve been devoted from the go. Why remain hidden behind Nexus?”
Shad / Nexus expanded the holo which showed the Hampton Wave’s landing bay, where Red Team prepared to board a Scramjet. They wore civilian clothes over their body armor. Connor looked dashing in formal Catalan dress and a wide-brimmed fedora.
“I wanted Connor to believe in the path for what it is. He mustn’t feel as if he owes a debt.”
“Why not? You saved him.”
“No. His dog did. I was nearby. Fritz is gone. I’m not.”
“I don’t see your reasoning.”
“Son, have I ever asked you to murder a man?”
“Not directly.”
Shad reached out his hand until Malik took it and squeezed.
“Each time, you took it upon yourself because you understood the necessity.”
Malik stiffened his jaw.
“To protect you and the cause.”
“If I had ordered you to carry out genuine horrors, the weight of it would have become a crippling burden. Your devotion to me would be swallowed whole by a blackened heart. Your Mother would have been ashamed to know her son became such a monster.”
Shad felt the lingering grief in Malik. Three years later, and the suddenness of Hera’s end still carried a furious bite for both men.
“What are you saying, Father?”
“Connor will do horrible things for the right reasons, with no sense of obligation to any one man. As long as he believes in the justness of our cause, he’ll complete these tasks with appropriate satisfaction. Even relish. His Dyson arc will finish soon. He’ll be impervious to the frailties of ordinary men.”
“Men like me, you mean.”
“Yes, Malik. Like you.” Shad sighed at his son’s self-loathing tone. “I’m a selfish father. I love you too much as you are. Not all our messengers need the polish of a Dyson Shell.”
Malik unknotted himself from Shad’s grip.
“Why the fixation on Connor and his brother?”
There it was. The question Malik skirted around many times since Red Team’s brief visit on the Dalliance. Shad decided his son needed to know. His steadfastness earned the moment.
“I never thought they’d be part of this great undertaking. After the war, I reserved a small corner of my memory for them – especially Connor. I often wondered what became of them. A year after Amity opened, I visited on a trade mission. My enterprises were small but flourishing. By chance encounter, I met their Grandfather Maximillian. We spoke briefly of the war, and their names filled my ears.
“I couldn’t let them go. Why? The question vexed me for years. I checked in on occasion, observing from a distance. They grew big like Chancellors of old. Self-sufficient, confident, but decidedly different personalities. Their happiness filled me with joy, almost as if they were an extension of my family.”
He swiveled to make certain his son took no offense. Malik remained predictably stoic.
“But not your family, Father.”
“No. After we achieved our primary goals and Requiem took hold, I never imagined our paths crossing. Then came along Trevor the curious one and Connor in search of a purpose. Now, they’re both moving rapidly toward the center. I simply cannot deny it, Son: There is something at play here, greater than a human design.
“I felt it that night on Earth. The instant Connor begged me to save them. I felt a shift. Then came the Wave. Now it’s playing out. We’re moving into the final stages of this endeavor. The Stallion brothers will be critical pieces on the board.”
Malik flipped open the humidor on his father’s desk and propped an unlit cigar between his teeth. He only chewed; never smoked.
“Greater than human design?” He said. “Are you being literal?”
Shad swiveled toward the image transmitting from inside the Amity Station Governor’s office. Trevor paced while dictating to his pom. He wore a sharp blue suit with a fluffed collar, popular among the administrative class.
“In Gov. Stallion’s case? Quite possibly.”
“You still believe the Void intelligence will play a role?”
“At the right moment. The real issue is how Trevor reacts. He used it once to great effect. He saved lives. But what’s coming his way will be far more challenging than a tiny gang of terrorists.”
“He worries me, Father. He could be one of our best allies, or the one who unravels everything.”
