Celia Whitley, formerly head of Imperial Security, escapes
facing court on a technicality. But Celia's no fool. She knows perfectly well that
Imperial agents will be following her every move. The thing is, she has been an
Imperial agent herself. She knows all the moves, she has powerful contacts, and
she has planned her disappearance for years. It's going to take all of Tian and Brent's cyborg smarts to catch up with her. And even then, they might need some help from their cyborg friend, auralfang, Puss.
Here's an excerpt. Brent, Tian, and Puss are on Whitley's trail.
Brent followed a couple of steps behind Tian as she returned to the ship.
The set of her shoulders was enough to signal she was angry, in case he hadn't realized
it after they'd left Ul-Mellor's office. Inside Chaser's common room she
grabbed a cleaning kit from a cupboard, dropped down onto a seat and started
the routine of cleaning her pistol with short, precise motions.
The weapon
didn't need cleaning. Tian carried out that task immediately she'd finished
with it, every time. Brent shot a glance at Puss, who had leapt onto the table
and was busy cleaning her ears. They probably didn't need cleaning, either. No
help from there, then. Well, he might as well get it out. He couldn't let it
simmer. That was exactly what she looked like – a kettle on a simmer.
"What's
up?"
Tian stared
up at him. "Up?"
"You're
steaming."
She forced
an unconvincing grin. "I'm not. I'm cleaning my pistol." She returned
to cleaning the weapon's sensors, bent over so he couldn't see her face.
"It
doesn't need cleaning."
She didn't
look up, but her hand paused for a millisecond.
"Come
on, Babe. Ul-Mellor upset you. Spit it out."
That did
it. She slapped the pistol down on the bench, staring at him with a fury he'd
rarely seen but her voice remained steady, low-pitched. "We have to catch
her. Find out what she's doing. Bring her back."
"Yes."
"And
you're okay with that?"
Her anger
coursed over him, a hot wave. Puss felt it, too, stopping her ablutions and
broadcasting her own muted yellow.
"Those
are our orders," he said.
"You
can stop with the soothing waves, Puss. It won't work." Tian rose to her
feet, her fists clenched. "It's stupid. We should just find her, take the
bitch out. She doesn't deserve to live." She looked away for a moment,
licking her lips, then turned back. "She tried to kill us, Brent. Both of
us. With that… that slayer."
The
trachymex. How could he ever forget? If they'd been Human, they'd surely be
dead. Even with their cyborg strength, they'd only just escaped.
Tian stood
in front of him, gazing up at him. "And that's not all. She tried to kill
me before, when she captured me and sent me to that brothel. I was meant to die
there. And you think she deserves justice?"
There was
that, Brent knew. Whitley had done those things, had been part of the plot to
kill Ul-Mellor and all those other dignitaries at the university. And unleash
war between Yrmaks and Humans. Now he counted it up, she deserved to die. And
it would be much easier than bringing her back alive. And yet Ul-Mellor was
definite.
"He
wants to put Whitley in front of a court and in the news so that people know
what Humans First is capable of." It made sense to him, but Tian was in no
mood to listen to logic.
She tossed
her head and scowled. "And what'll that do? Her hot-shot lawyer will
probably get her off on another technicality. I still don't think the admiral will
get enough evidence to convict. Not based on what we know."
"There
must be enough to cause her to disappear."
"She
might just be sick of the constant surveillance. And she knows… she KNOWS… that
we know. I'd be running, too, if I were her." Tian had cooled off enough
to hide her fury. She went over to Puss and ruffled the Auralfang's ears.
"Well, Puss. Whatever else we do, we'll have to find the bitch first.
Won't we?"
Somehow
Brent didn't think that was going to be the end of the argument but it was a
start. "So… where do we go first?"
Tian
shrugged. "Last known location. And that will be New Haven."

Tensions
simmer on a world where Humans blame Yrmaks for their defeat in a recent war.
It's a perfect environment for Celia Whitley, former head of Imperial Security
and director of Humans First, to stir the pot. All it takes to brew an
interspecies war is money and weapons – and she can organize both. Revenge over
Yrmaks, who murdered her husband, will be hers.
Imperial
agent Tian Axmar wants Whitley dead – but her boss insists the woman be brought
back to face justice. Whitley's trail had gone cold until Tian, partner Brent Walker, and
auralfang, Puss, learn of a stolen
cargo of heavy weapons.
Tian and
Brent scramble to prevent a war on one world from spilling over to engulf the
Empire. But interspecies war is not the only vengeance Whitley wants. Tian,
Brent and Puss will need all of their cyborg abilities to prevent the cruelest
blow of all.
This is the third Brent and Tian Imperial agents book. Like
the other two, EYE OF THE MOTHER and FOR THE GREATER GOOD, it's a stand-alone
story, but it helps if you've read the other two because it provides
background. RETRIBUTION starts off pretty much after FOR
THE GREATER GOOD finished.
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