Athena Lee Chronicles 8: Infiltration Read Online Free PDF Page A

children. She’s not happy with me for not telling her of Amelia’s death. She had to send her Consulate spies to find out what happened. I did say I was sorry, but it didn’t matter.”
     
    “Back to Athena, they have her in a cell? Why does the embassy have cells? They aren’t interrogating her are they?”
     
    “Amalie does not know. She only knows what Wilson has told her. Dar’s strike force is still free. Wilson prevented her from reporting in. When this message was written there was a plan in motion to attack the embassy and free her.”
     
    “You did not answer my question. Why the cells?” Min was beginning to see what Athena meant about their father. It was like pulling teeth sometimes to get him to tell the truth.
     
    “Some of our history is not all happy and light. It was my understanding that the interrogation suite and cells were dismantled after the revolution. Their existence is one of the reasons that Amalie and myself do not get along.”
     
    “If I am to lead our people, I need the truth! Now give it to me! This is what we staged a revolution for! Lies in government are not the way to go.”
     
    “Fine. You want the truth, here it is. This is an agricultural planet, it was founded by the Old Earth UN to be a resource planet instead of a free colony. Our ancestors broke away from the influences of the UN and established our own way in the galaxy. Because the settlers here were intended to be little more than slaves, only agricultural technology and supplies were sent.”
     
    “That can’t be right. I’ve been on some of our earliest ships. We have technology and science. This is a core world for the old League!” Her mind raced to understand what he was saying.
     
    “The first couple of ships belonging to this planet were stolen from their owners. We were one of the few planets that Earth gov tried to enforce UN rules upon. Many of the Canadian and Greek settlers were government agents disguised as colonists. Once they got here, they tried to take over. We stopped them. A few came over to our side and helped to build up the planet. We have been a united people for two centuries.” He shook his head and stared at the floor. “Our early technology was stolen from other worlds. Mars was a bit different. We only made contact with them a century ago. Your great-grandmother was in charge then as she is today. Martian security caught our spies at work at least fifty years ago. Relations between our worlds were tense for many years. The trade mission that I was a part of also brought an apology to her with the promise to destroy the cells. As I said earlier. Those facilities were supposed to have been destroyed.”
     
    “Are we still stealing from other governments?”
     
    “No. We are not supposed to be. That may be another reason that your sister is under arrest. By the God’s! What a mess this is going to be! I need to call Governor Stoner and read the Assembly into what is happening. Keep an eye on things here for me please?”
     
    Min nodded to her father as he left the house. Too many secrets. Athena was right again. She sat at the table staring out the window deep in thought until something touched her leg making her jump. She bent down and scooped up Merlin, Wilson’s cat. The metallic robot cat started to purr and nudge her coffee like a real cat would. It has been spending too much time with the real cats on the farm. They had been frightened of it, but eventually they just ignored it like the drones in the big barn. Cats are adaptable.
     
    Just another thing that Athena had dropped into her lap. Only a crazy AI would have a pet that he can’t touch. At least it doesn’t poop. She spoke too soon as a port opened in its rear and a collection of circuit boards, wires, sensor parts, and what looked like buckles fell out of the cat. Peering at the electronic parts she recognized several as bug components. Did the cat eat a surveillance unit? But what is the rest of this