Free Endgame by Ann Aguirre

there’s a distinctive watermark on a live broadcast so the audience knows there’s no special effects involved.
    Perfect.
    Because when they conclude the match, Zhan faces the camera and bows, making it clear that, he, too, is a free La’heng; and then he steps out of frame. Loras goes on, “You want what we have. There’s so much hopeless anger trapped inside you. I can help you. But you have to be brave. You have to reach for it. Watch the comms for more instructions on how to join the La’heng Liberation Army.”
    Grinning at him, I turn off the cam, cutting the bounce-feed. “That was amazing. You just started a revolution.”

CHAPTER 10
    After the broadcast, I run into Tarn in the hallway. “Did it work?” I ask.
    “I timed the message perfectly,” Suni says. “My old Conglomerate contacts will hear straightaway about the tremendous civil unrest.”
    I fall into step beside him. “Will that, coupled with the damage from the attacks, be enough for lockdown?”
    “It should be once Leviter finishes spinning it.”
    “He could get the planet coded red with a vid message,” I mutter.
    “Probably,” Suni replies seriously.
    “How did you meet him?”
    “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” There’s an intriguing softness in his smile.
    Tarn leads me to a conference room, where Leviter is waiting. It’s a small risk, permitting them to know the location of the base, but one worth taking for their help. Leviter needed a secure site to work his magic, somewhere his efforts can’t be traced. Besides, if it comes down to interrogation, Leviter can probably kill people with a sharp look, and I’ve no doubt he’d end anyone who so much as stared sideways at Tarn.
    “It went smoothly,” he says without looking up from his handheld. “Well done.”
    I acknowledge the praise with a nod. “You did your part?”
    “I lit up the bounce-feed, as promised. They’re already talking about the rebellion in the forums and the news-net channels. It helped that you hit several different installations, giving the impression of large, organized resistance.”
    “You can really make so many people off world believe the situation is dangerous, unstable, and dire?”
    But Tarn wouldn’t lie. He’s not that kind of politician.
    Leviter tilts his head back to study me, his expression quietly amused. He has the eyes of a shark, flat and hard, with darkness at their depths. “One doesn’t need to control reality, only the
perception
of it. And I’m not doing it alone. I have agitators with various Conglomerate officials, reporting ‘firsthand’ information from the attacks.”
    Mary, I’m glad Leviter’s on our side. “What’s the next step?” I ask.
    “I’ve requisitioned buoys, warning all vessels away from La’heng space. They should arrive within the next twenty-four hours.”
    Tarn nods. “In anticipation of the Conglomerate ruling.”
    “Will that work?” I imagine a beacon that shouts,
Go away
, into the silence of space, while ships ignore it.
    “The buoys are also SDIs,” Leviter explains, as if I’m slow. “Any ship that attempts to violate the Conglomerate edict will be blown to bits.”
    Aha. That makes all the difference,
I decide. “So the space above the planet becomes a minefield. Nice.”
    Leviter continues, “Once the Conglomerate codes La’heng red, if the Nicuan Empire attempts to breach the no-fly zone, it will be tantamount to an act of war against all Conglomerate worlds. They have a fine fleet, but they can’t take on all the tier worlds.”
    “Excellent. The centurions must be cut off, left to the mercy of the legates on La’heng.”
    “Who are all morons,” Tarn mutters.
    Yeah, mostly.
This is the assignment older centurions on Nicu Tertius beg for because there’s no actual fighting—or there
hasn’t
been in many, many turns. So it’s a cushy gig,where they get to attend parties as show dogs in dress armor while their employers eat and drink like swine,