Read Birthright: Battle for the Confederation- Turmoil for Free Online Page B

to the Senator who chairs the Governing Committee is spending so much
time with the prisoner.  She needs to keep a lower profile."
    "I agree,"
allowed Dennix as he stared sullenly at his bare desktop, "but she still
has the upper hand and isn't afraid to remind me of that fact.  I'll tell her
again when I see her next that she is going to get noticed if she doesn't stop
seeing her comrade so often."

Chapter Three
               
     
     
     
    Tana Starr would
have laughed if she'd heard Dennix and Shae conspiring to reign her in.  She
was a Priman, heirs to the dominance of this galaxy, and the two conspiring
politicians were members of a species that would still be banging rocks
together for entertainment if it hadn't been for her people.
    Speaking of her
people, she had one in particular she was about to attend to.  She'd just
cleared security at the detention facility at the outskirts of the capital and
was making her way to the interrogation room where Representative Velk would be
waiting for her.  She had all the credentials, the overbearing attitude of a
government official, and wasn't entirely unaware of how she was using her
athletic form and prosthetically altered facial features to distract the
humanoid males.  At first she'd been worried that she was drawing too much
attention, but soon enough she'd realized that they were paying more attention
to her figure than the details of her visit.  If asked, they'd probably be able
to describe her silhouette but not offer any idea what her business was.
    She waited at the
door to the interrogation room until the light on the locking pad by the
doorframe turned green.  She stepped into the room, which followed the
traditional design of such facilities in that it could have belonged to any
number of planets or species.
    The walls were bare,
save for one that had a reflective surface.  Monitors of all kinds looked
through it at the detainee, who sat in an uncomfortable chair at a bare metal
table.  The lighting was too bright, but could be changed to any level that
might upset the detainee.  The temperature, as was typical, was a bit too
warm.  It was up to the investigator to offer to turn down the temperature and
make the 'guest' more comfortable, an act designed to show that the
investigator had the detainee's best interests in mind and wasn't such a bad
person after all.
    She knew Velk would
weather these games as a simple point of pride, so she didn't offer to change
the conditions when he was brought in.  He sat at the table, and she did the
same on the opposite side.  She tapped the ring on her right index finger, a
duplicate to the ring on her other hand which masked her Priman physiology to
casual scans, and the small scrambler inside activated, guaranteeing that
nothing would be recorded.  She had ordered all such devices deactivated
anyway, but caution was standard procedure in her line of work. 
    "Agent
Starr," began Velk with a courteous nod.
    "Representative
Velk," she replied in the same neutral manner.  "I have news today
which affects you."
    Velk's expression
didn't change.  He'd been Commander too long, was simply too good at
controlling himself, to show anything.  She continued.
    "Our visits
here will come to an end soon," she said.  "While having access to
you is agreeable, it is not ideal.  There is a concern that sooner or later the
Confederation scientists might adapt one of their interrogation drugs to our
physiology and you could be compromised.  There is also the simple fact that it
is embarrassing to have to let them keep you caged up here.  Soon, we will
arrange for your escape.  We plan to keep you on-planet for as short a time as
possible, and then return you to Priman space."  She watched to see what
his reaction would be.
    "That is good
news," he agreed, face still an impenetrable mask.  "Is there
anything I should do to prepare?"
    "Not as
such," she replied.  "I will try to give you some notice, but all