“Xandor has foreseen you fears, eka wielder. The safe passage corridors will be defined by our treaty, only to be activated when we decide to move to other spiral arms, having completely harvested this galactic sector.”
I’m horrified, though nothing the Scourge say or think should surprise me anymore. This warlord is nonchalantly talking about depopulating an entire galaxy arm, destroying thousands of civilisations and is concerned about his prospects of moving across to do the same to the neighbouring sector of space. Yet, his response effectively removes their second condition as an immediate concern, levelling the playing field, at least in the eyes of the Council queens.
“We can work with you to define such paths,” said Faun, “but understand that they would be used only if your entire race is prepared to migrate to a different part of this galaxy.”
In theory, such a controlled migration will be easy to contain by the combined Dominion fleets, though in practice I’m wondering how we could ever be sure that no Scourge will be left behind to harass us on two fronts.
The practicality of this future arrangement doesn’t seem to bother the Spirit Queen. Indeed, Faun is all about the safest way to protect the Dominion today, and if this meant turning the Scourge lose on the rest of this galaxy arm, so be it. Or maybe my colleague doesn’t trust Xandor offer any more than I do, and the entire pretence of negotiation is just this, a charade while biding our time and probing for enemy’s weakness.
One way or another, Faun seems to concede that an agreement can be reached on the Scourge terms, provided reasonable safeguards are in place. The Scourge lord appears to be equally content with this resolution.
“I’m glad you can see the wisdom of our proposal” he purrs, flashing again the insufferable Scourge smile, this time in a supposed display of friendship. “As active masters of Jael world-ships, my subordinates will be working with you to establish these corridors. Meanwhile, we expect you to cease all your exploration missions on our side of the frontier.”
I wasn’t even aware there is a Scourge side of the frontier. With no colonised worlds they have no formally claimed volume of space. They come out of nowhere in an endless succession of raids against the Wall and disappear back into the void as soon as they desecrate a Dominion world.
But apparently according to the Scourge mindset, whatever isn’t Dominion is already theirs.
Faun remains quiet for a few moments, honouring the envoy with a fixed stare that reminds me of a bird of prey:
“There can be no such agreement unless you cease any hostile activity towards Dominion worlds,” she said. “By hostile activity, I mean not only military actions, but any form of undercover operations. No more dwelkaar landings, no more assassination attempts, no more covert attacks using kreussa or dominion rogues.”
Garvald adopts a vexed stance as if the Scourge had never engaged in such treacherous activities and any hint to the contrary is a stain on their unblemished honour. I’m pretty sure the word ‘honour’ is an abstract concept for them, something entirely alien to the Scourge mentality, yet useful for whatever mind games they decide to play with other races.
“Xandor’s followers have no intention of launching an unprovoked attack, in force or otherwise. We only ask for you to cease intruding in our space.”
I notice the response itself is evasive, failing to provide any assurance that a real truce will indeed be in place. No matter how blatant the act, Xandor can easily disown any of his minions caught red-handed and be innocent of any wrongdoing
The point is not lost on the Council queens.
“Is Xandor fully in control of Jael’s people?” asks bluntly Favriel. “Do you speak for the entirety of your race?”
All three envoys’ faces go blank. Drud the armoured brute appears ready to draw a wicked blade conveniently attached to his left vambrace. Hagan’s answer, delivered in an emotionless tone, stops him in his tracks:
“Xandor, the Son of Jael, is the sole ruler of our people. Every clan, every shipmaster, each and every everir and verlan are falling under his undisputed authority.”
I see Drud fuming, but he can’t bring himself to challenge Hagan’s categoric statement. And indeed, the effeminate lord’s answer was as categoric as it could be. Each and every lord and warrior, he said. For the first time during these talks, the Scourge have delivered a straight, unambiguous answer. They had to choose between continuing the games and casting doubt on their supreme leader’s authority or committing to honour the truce.
Not even Drud, and definitely not Garvald, could bring himself to dispute Xandor’s might openly. In a neutral tone, the head envoy amends his earliest stance:
“If you agree to stop interfering in our space, your words are safe. As long as this truce holds, none of the people of Jael will launch an unprovoked attack against Dominion’s colonies.”
The council queens consult each other briefly and look satisfied with the overall outcome. It’s probably as good an assurance as one can get from the Scourge, not that their promises mean anything. Yet, if we intend to continue these talks, we need to pretend they do and play the game.
“We can agree to suspend all expeditions beyond the Wall, but only on the duration of these talks”, responds Asturien coldly. “Beyond that, it all depends on where we end up with this peace treaty.”
“Shall I understand we have an agreement in this respect? No more expansion beyond your current frontier, and in exchange no Jael attacks, covert or otherwise, against the Dominion worlds?” asked the Scourge.
“You do”, confirmed Faun.
The last exchange is as good as a signed truce. Both parties recorded the meeting, and both parties acknowledged the outcome, opening the door for the actual talks.
Garvald performs a half-mocking bow and waves his hand to the other two envoys. All three of them turn as one, heading back towards their escorts who are patiently waiting next to the entrance. One of the Council guards opens the doors, and the Scourge file out in silence. All except for Garvald, who stops on the doorstep, as if remembering something, and then turns around flashing the Scourge’s signature smile.
“I almost forgot to mention that we look forward to meeting your entire Conclave. These days it would make for an interesting sight. I’ve heard it said that the last one of you to die returned somehow deficient, the poor unfortunate creature. You must keep her penned, together with the others of her kind.”
This talk about leaving, about corridors to other galactic arms, this entire negotiation is all a farce!
The Scourge know all about our latest contact. They know about the human ship on Aldeea, they know about the human group on Tao Bellona, they know all about my new avatar, and they probably know even the outcome of our last Conclave votes.
The entire purpose of this meeting was to trick the Council into agreeing to stop any forays beyond the Wall, implicitly delaying any contact with our guests’ home planet and giving the Scourge more time to look for their race.
CHAPTER 16 (PETER)
Later in the morning, we were ambushed by the smallest Haillar woman I’ve ever seen, almost half of my size, if that. The lady was called Chalissa, an Order adept according to the diamond symbol etched on her tunic, and she apparently held the title of Seneschal, or in other words mistress of the Dorien estate. As the newest residents of the compound, here to stay for an indefinite time we were now part of her kingdom, so she felt she had the duty to explain us the ground rules.
We learned the freedoms we had, namely permission to go pretty much everywhere except the portal room and some wharves next to the lakeshore, our rights which were the same as any other person in the compound, no more and no less, and our duties, which were none. I was left with the impression the lady was less than happy with the last point, which might have accounted for her polite, but slightly sour demeanour. Or maybe she simply didn’t like humans, though I couldn’t see this being the case, considering the Chaos Queen’s latest avatar.
Elizabe
th herself was nowhere to be seen, so after this formal induction we were left to our own devices and broke in random groups of two or three people. I tried to find Christine, but she had disappeared without a trace, so I found myself exploring the gardens together with Hank and Charles Swanson, of all people. A talkative Charles, set to educate us on each Haillar plant’s similarities as compared to Earth closest equivalent. I wouldn’t had been surprised if he hadn’t devised and stashed somewhere a fully-fledged Swansonian taxonomy describing the Haillar flora, complete with Latin named families, orders, classes and phyla.
We were saved from death by boredom by a feline. A familiar feline, Lieutenant Serrruin our first guide aboard the Haillar ship that brought us to Tao Bellona. The fact that nowadays I could find familiarity in meeting with a talking cat spoke volume about how far down the rabbit hole we had fallen since our departure from Aldeea, less than a week ago.
“Serrruin, we didn’t expect to see you here! What are you doing in the Dorien gardens?”
“Same as you, I suppose, visiting the estates. Though I learned in the meantime that you made friends in high places.”
“What do you mean? We arrived here the day after we landed on Aldeea.”
“I meant the Chaos Queen. Her new choice of avatar is the talk of the compound, and no one is more in tune with the gossips than a pride of kalan.”
“Sorry, my friend, but I’m afraid I can hardly understand what you are talking about.”
“I’m a guest of the local pride, and your group’s arrival and especially your extended meeting with Ashar, are too much of a juicy piece of news for those nosy females. Considering you and she are now the same species, I mean.”
I didn’t realise that my long talk with Elizabeth last night had become a source of entertainment for the local cat population. I didn’t know there was a kalan population on the Dorien estate, to begin with.”
“What is a kalan pride doing here?” asked Charles. “We were told the Dorien residence sprawls across the entire island.”
“It does, and it doesn’t. The palace proper is covering the upper terraces down to the garden levels, about a quarter of the entire space. Other people from the Dorien sector occupy the lower quarters, as the queens have made the island their Houses’ enclave on Tao Bellona, not just their private residence. All the other houses do the same.”
This made a lot of sense, as the size of this place puzzled me from the very beginning. I couldn’t see Ellandra, or Elizabeth for that matter, needing thousands of acres of buildings and terraces, not if she was the person who portrayed herself to be.
“I wasn’t aware that the kalan were part of Dorien sector. I didn’t even know you are associated with any queen.”
“As a matter of fact, our race has always been friendly with Reith, who had a kalan avatar a few thousand cycles ago when we were allied with the Haillar but not yet part of the Dominion. Pretty much the same way Ashar is now human. But that doesn’t mean we are all with Dorien. There are kalan colonies in all six sectors.”
So, Ashar taking a human avatar was not a unique occurrence as we mistakenly believed, but something they’ve done in the past. Even more puzzling was the cat’s comment about the spread of the kalan race. Before I had a chance to ask more, Mertens cut me out with a question about Reith.
“How did having a kalan queen worked for you?”
“Quite well, as the histories go. The Order Queen lived an entire life amongst us and helped us a lot in the early days. Even today she’s close to my race and well respected amongst my kind. The Dorien dichotomy, in general, is deemed to be more open-minded to alien races than any other Haillar House.”
I couldn’t imagine a ruler taking a sabbatical, especially the ruler of an entire galaxy sector, so I couldn’t stop asking.
“How was it possible, I mean Reith living her entire life with you. Didn’t she have her own duties as a Haillar queen?”
“Her sister took care of their House in her absence. They sometimes do this, covering for each other, as I guess they need a change from time to time. Besides, it’s not as if Reith would have been isolated from the others. They worked together and fought together when needed.”
“Are all of them like this?”
“The Chaos queen is generally considered to be a bit of a maverick, and Reith is usually the one keeping her in check. But that’s not always the case, for sometimes Reith can be the adventurous one, and her sister protects her back. Indeed, Chaos and Order are two of a kind. Some of the others are complete opposites. Fire, for example, is totally unpredictable, while Frost is as steady as one can be. The Spirit Queen is most conservative, but Oriel, her sister, is the epitome of a fighter.”
I was glad for meeting Serrruin. Talking with Elizabeth was mind-blowing, but she wouldn’t openly discuss her relationship with her sisters. Somebody like Maurien could be a trove of information, but any high ranking Sen’Haillar was too political to openly comment on their queens. Serrruin was an outsider same as us but much more informed on the peculiarities of this alien society.
Taking advantage of a lull in the conversation, I finally ask the question on kalan species’ allegiance.
“You mentioned kalan worlds in each of the six sectors? How can that be?”
“Dominion’s exploration fleets are Haillar, same as the military fleets. In effect, one can say they are the same, as any exploration vessel is built on the same type of hulls and crewed by eka wielders. Any race can take under concession a newly discovered world or only part of it. Because of the portal technology, proximity is not an issue, hence you’ll find kalan worlds in all six Dominion sectors.”
“How does the concession system work?” asked Hank Mertens. As a geologist, I would expect he was quite familiar with the topic, not to mention the issue was extremely relevant in the eventuality Earth would be joining the Haillar confederation.
“The standard duration is ten thousand cycles, the fee more than decent. But then again you have to use their portals on an ongoing basis, also at reasonable fees, so in the end, it works quite well for the Haillar. To their credit, they never raised the prices in fifty thousand cycles, hence the commercial arrangements are all very predictable.”
I guess the Haillar queens never heard of inflation. Yet, as with the defence arrangements, the entire setup looked very decent and reasonable, but at the same time left all the other species entirely dependent on the Haillar. As long as they controlled the portals, they effectively controlled all the Dominion worlds. I wondered if the queens did this on purpose or the entire system was a by-product of their self-assumed role of stewards and protectors of the entire confederation. Was this to be our future? Or would humanity be better off by itself, walking on our own path to the stars?
✽✽✽
Hours later the Haillar attendant found us in the shadow of a fountain, still talking with Serruin.
“Forgive my interruption, dear guests. The three of you are required to meet with Deputy Seneschal Eneid. You have received a Diplomatic Corps request.”
We didn’t expect any official message, so it was probably yet another episode of Haillar politics. Last night Elizabeth downplayed the importance of the influence game afoot, but it was definitely there from the first moment we arrived on Tao Bellona. For some reason I wasn’t completely clear about, Haillar’s contact with humanity continued to receive a lot more attention than we would have expected, given the relative size of our civilisations.
We took our leave from Serruin, promising to meet the next day again and headed back to palace proper, collecting on the way the Navy officers and Dr Fiorelli.
We were led in a lounge close to the portal hall, some sort of antechamber for departing parties. Eneid was there, together with Faurist and Christine.
“You have received a personal invitation from Faun Sen’Diessa, the Spirit Queen. She’ll meet you at the Council offices and later introduce you to the other two Council Queens.”
It was worse than
I was expected. In other conditions meeting the Haillar rulers would have been an honour, not to mention a fascinating experience if they were anywhere as interesting as the Lady of Chaos. Not now, not as pawns between the Haillar rulers, and not with our planet’s future at stake.
We spent the next thirty minutes listening to Faurist, who described in detail the three Council queens and the etiquette applicable in various situations. Either the Dorien queens were an exception and their colleagues were infinitely more ceremonial, or old Faurist was a sticker for decorum to a ridiculous degree and risked making us look equally absurd during the coming introductions.
At the appropriate time, the legate activated the portal and we soon found ourselves in yet another spectacular place, the administrative heart of the Dominion.
Like the Dorien estate, this place was also an island, not surprisingly for this world of shallow lakes and marshes. Unlike Ellandra’s terraced palace, the Council’s island was perfectly flat, so low in fact that it should be at the mercy of the mildest storm waves, but somehow it wasn’t despite the lack of dams protecting its shores. Six enormous towers surrounded by smaller skyscrapers dominated the skyline in any direction, while in between an intricate network of alley and catwalks crisscrossed a perfectly landscaped park.
“Jeez,” exclaimed Mertens, “this place is Manhattan on steroids, and we are about to take a walk through Central Park on the way to the Empire State Building.”
I guess one can describe things this way, though the park itself was the size of Manhattan, while the Council building in the middle was utterly dwarfed by the six towers surrounding it at the points of a perfect hexagon.
“Let me guess, those are the headquarters of each of the six Great Houses,” asked Koslowski.
“They are, indeed” responded our guide. “And the surrounding towers are housing their many affiliated enterprises”.
This is yet another surprising face of the Chaos Queen: Elizabeth Ashar Sen’Dorien, business tycoon and billionaire many times over. The woman was a real Matryoshka doll, a seemingly infinite number of personas overlaid on each other, combining themselves in this fascinating being.
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