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It was something she’d given great thought. She’d done hundreds, thousands of interviews and social media spots. In all of them, she presented what people expected to see. An entertainer. A star. Someone they wanted her to be.
Today she needed them to see her as a citizen—one they recognized and trusted but who was just like them.
Ranvir let his gaze travel over her. She was still his Taly, but right now, she was more. Since the recording revealed her short blonde locks, she’d made no attempt to conceal them.
Instead, she’d enhanced them, making them fuller and shinier but still natural-looking. She’d also spent time on her face. Her lips were fuller but contained no artificial color. She’d outlined her eyes but had added no other enhancements.
The outfit she wore was form-fitting but not glitzy or sparkly. She’d found a pair of multi-pocket black pants, a short-sleeved black pullover, and low-heeled black boots nearly identical to an Elite military uniform. She could easily pass for a cyborg.
When Ranvir remained silent, she gave him an uncertain look. “Ranvir?”
“You look beautiful, Taly, but then you always do.”
“You’re biased.”
“Perhaps, but it’s also the truth.” Pulling her close, he gently kissed her lips. “I love you, Taly.”
“I love you, too. Let’s go do this.”
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Closing her eyes, Taly took a deep breath and held it for a count of ten before slowly exhaling. It was something she did every time before going on stage. It calmed and centered her, and if there was ever a time she needed it, it was now.
Slowly, she moved across the stage she’d performed on countless times to the nearly invisible spot on the floor that perfectly centered her.
Looking toward the back of the room, her gaze found Vujcec’s. “Are you ready?”
“We’re ready when you are. Just say when.”
“And you’ve ensured Shui can’t shut down the transmission?”
“I’ve got this thing bouncing off so many relay stations on so many different channels that the only way that would be possible is if he completely shut down the entire Kirs electronic infrastructure, which he’d never do.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because if he did, it would shut downeverything. Communications. Defense. Power. Transit systems. It’s all interconnected. Shui demanded it, so he had control. It would take days, maybe weeks, to get everything back up and running. Not even Shui is crazy enough to do that. It would leave him completely vulnerable to attack.”
Taly hoped he was right. She took a deep breath and said the word that would forever change her life.
“When.”
She looked straight into the red light on the tiny drone hovering several feet in front of her and waited precious seconds. She’d learned the art of a dramatic pause at a young age.
“Hello. In case you don’t recognize me, I am Talyani Zulfiqar. A short while ago, many of you saw a recording of me and aren’t sure if it was real. I’m here to clear that up along with many other things. Starting with Emperor Shui’s claim that I had been abducted.
“I. Was. Not.
“I willingly left Kirs when I learned of the emperor’s plot to arrest and imprison innocent citizens because of who their family members and friends were. Those family and friends are cyborgs. The very Kirs citizens who have sacrificed their lives and bodies to protect the rest of us.
“They swore an oath to protect our people from any force that would try and destroy us. They discovered Emperor Shui was doing this by silencing all who disagreed with him.”
Taly looked away from the drone for a moment, seemingly to gather her thoughts. When she looked directly into it again, her gaze was hard.
“I was one of those people Shui wanted to silence. Not because I spoke out against him, but because he wanted to use me the way he uses all our people for his own gain. He believed that if I were killed while on Bionus, you, my fans, would rise up and demand retribution. That you would fully support his invasion of a planet that has never been anything but peaceful with Kirs.
“But I didn’t go to Bionus as scheduled. I began to hear rumors of the arrests Shui was making. The arrests of innocents. The arrests of cyborgs. The killings of anyone who tried to interfere. All because a cyborg pod refused to carry out the orders they’d been given, to kill innocent citizens.
“Now, you might find this story unbelievable. I know I did when I first heard it. After all, I’m just an entertainer—no one of any real importance. I was then told of a second assassination attempt to occur while visiting the Interplanetary Children’s Hospital three weeks ago.
