“It comes as no surprise”, concludes the envoy, “that the Destroyer lashed against us with no reason or provocation, in direct breach of your safe passage promises, not even a day after the start of our talks.”
“What about your warlord’s attack against the human visitors?” asks Favriel.
“I fail to see the relevance of this”, responds Garvald. “The human world is on our side of the frontier, so their race is no concern of yours. Drud was in his rights to punish the humans if he so chose, and the Destroyer had no reason to interfere.”
Luckily the Council had the wisdom to exclude the human survivors from this hearing, and the Scourge have no grounds to argue against this. I don’t doubt for a moment that Garvald wouldn’t have lost the opportunity to inform our guests that they stand to become Scourge subjects at the end of our current peace talks.
I can’t quite challenge his stance regarding humanity’s place in the galaxy, at least not without openly wrecking the peace talks. Luckily, I don’t need to, as the Haillar law is on my side.
“As the Council is well aware,” I respond, “this particular group of humans arrived on Tao Bellona at my invitation, as duly noted and registered with the Archive of Lore. This legally makes them my wards and makes Drud clearly guilty of murdering my people. His punishment was entirely within my rights.”
I don’t even mention the dead warlord’s attempt to control me. I would have played into the envoy's hands and make this punishment a personal vendetta between the ‘people of Jael’ and me, as no doubt the Scourge intended to present my intervention.
“My ship-master had no way to know of your invitation,” counters Garvald, clearly unhappy with my latest statement.
“That doesn’t make him any less guilty”, responds Favriel.
“I could hardly expect you to admit we were wronged by one of your own. But the reality is we cannot continue these talks while our personal security is at risk. We’ve already lost two of our number.”
Conveniently forgetting that their bodyguard was killed by another Scourge is no less than what I expect from the enemy. Yet another trap, should I decide to challenge the envoy, as that would put me on the defensive, arguing the body count rather than my rights.
Yet to my utter surprise, the second surviving Scourge warlord chooses this moment to intervene:
“She only stands to answer for Drud. I killed the verlan, not the Chaos Wielder.”
Garvald is equally perplexed, as he didn’t expect such an out of character statement from his own ship master. He turns around and rebukes his colleague.”
“You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have killed Hrund for choosing to act on behalf of his lord and against your wishes.”
“I killed Hrund for daring to touch me, not for defending Drud”, responds dispassionately the richly dressed warlord.
There is some history at work here, something we miss. Far from a random replay, Hagan the Fair is making a point, yet I’ve no way to grasp what that is. Yet his words are not lost on Garvald, who has a moment of hesitation, then turns toward the Council queens.
“My conclusion remains. We cannot continue in the current set up. We won’t take additional risks with your mad mongrel.”
“What do you suggest. You have been the one who insisted on having these talks here, on Tao Bellona.”
“We ask for a safe venue, a restricted access location where only the negotiators are allowed. A place where random acts of violence cannot happen so easily. And most importantly, a place she does not have access to.”
The envoy ends his tirade by pointing dramatically at me. Somehow, since the Scourge arrived on Tao Bellona, I was constantly pegged as the main obstacle for these peace talks. I was the one preventing the end of the war. Millenia of Scourge attacks were apparently driven by my hostile actions.
The Council queens break the hearing to consult with their advisors. Faun is wholly engrossed in a conversation with Cannora Sen’ Diessa, an elderly adept who’s usually in charge with her trade affairs and any cross-species arrangements. The Spirit Queen appears to come to a decision and turns to her colleagues to confirm it. As they reach a conclusion, she addresses the Scourge.
“As the most ardent supporter of these negotiations, I would offer to continue the talks at my estate on Merdun. Cannora Sen’ Diessa will escort our guests to my palace and will be responsible for their well-being. With the Council’s agreement, I will be the only queen directly involved in these discussions, though all of us will confirm the treaty. During this negotiations round, portal traffic to and from Merdun will be stopped for anything else than business and emergencies, so will be guarded against outside interference.”
The latest comment was apparently addressed to me. I should be upset, but I really don’t care. I’ve known my sister queens for aeons, and regardless of our differences, I can’t believe any of them would genuinely trust the Scourge over me. Faun is playing her own game. What’s bothering is that the Scourge are playing their own game too, and for the life of me, I cannot see what they hope to obtain by moving the talks from Tao Bellona to Merdun.
Yet Garvald honours me with a satisfied smile as if he scored a point. Hagan the Fair is stone cold and simply nods in my direction before bowing to the Council and taking his leave.
CHAPTER 20 (PETER)
For the second time in as many months we were mourning our dead.
With Morris gone and Koslowski in a coma, possibly never to wake again, our Navy contingent was cut in half, all the survivors away from us on Aldeea. I always considered our token protection detail as a show of independence in front of our hosts rather than actual guards, yet without them none of us would have survived the encounter with the Scourge.
We were all aware of this, as we watched the crackling fire casting showers of sparks into the night. All five of us, all the survivors of our small party, were gathered on the lakeshore under the cloudless sky. The waters were completely still like black glass reflecting the stars above, celestial torches for our departed crewmates. No Haillar joined the wake, not even Elizabeth. They understood our unspoken request to be left alone tonight, the only Earth stock humans on this alien world.
“Ellandra promised they’ll continue to take care of Commander Koslowski for as long as it takes,” mumbled Charles absent-minded. He got the wrong avatar name, but none of us was in the mood to correct him. What was the point?
We nearly died today, all of us. If the other Scourge would have attacked, if the Chaos Queen would have been one minute late, all of us would be asleep next to Koslowski, never to wake again. Or worse, mindless husks unable to take care of our most basic needs.
“I can’t forget the face of that monster.”
I don’t want to tell Christine that Elizabeth’s final blast came just in time to save her life. I was facing the fight and noticed the moment when the warlord understood the game was over, his last attempt to score another victim. Thank God my crewmate was down, hence unaware of the nightmare scene unfolding in front of my eyes.
“The Scourge are now aware of us. Hell, they called us ‘human scum’, so they knew about us already even before the attack.”
“Do you think they’ve already found Earth?” whispered Fiorelli. “How else would they know?”
“Either that, or the Haillar betrayed us,” answered Charles.
The last remark woke Christine from her stupor.
“Did it look to you that Elizabeth betrayed us? That she’s plotting with those murderers behind our backs?”
“Not her, but one of the others. The Chaos Queen let slip that some were happier to see us than others.”
“The Dominion had been at war with the Scourge for twenty thousand years,” I respond. “I can’t see them joining hands against us. It makes no sense whatsoever.”
“Yet our visit here receives an unusual level of attention. The pixies are using our presence for some political gains.”
Charles was right, but I sti
ll couldn’t see a scenario where the queens will choose to voluntarily inform the Scourge about us. They stood to gain nothing, and whatever rivalry was between them it wasn’t running deep enough to hurt each other, or else their confederation would have perished a long time ago. I was unequivocally sure that Elizabeth was on our side, so if someone else was working against humanity, they were implicitly working against her.
“The game has changed. What shall we do now?” asked Fiorelli.
“There is only one thing we can do. Return to Aldeea and inform Captain Holt of everything that happened. And then decide what’s best for Earth.”
“Do you hear yourself, Charles? You, deciding what’s best for Earth, for Christ sake!”
Despite Mertens outburst, this should be precisely what we were going to do, what Elizabeth asked us to do in the first place. All right, maybe not a democratic vote, as it was ultimately Captain Holt’s decision, but we were playing with the destiny of our own race. At the start of this mission, none of us would have thought we’ll reach this point. Or perhaps we have reached it once already, and Liz dared to do what the rest of us would not.
Thinking about Liz reminds me of our last day together, of the return from Aldeea and our failed attempt to convince the officers that the Scourge danger was real.
“It’s Captain Holt’s decision, but we can’t throw this entirely on him. We are the ones who went to Tao Bellona, who tried to understand the Dominion with its good and bad sides, who met the Scourge. In between the five of us, can we come to a common agreement on what we believe the decision should be?”
“It’s blindingly obvious,” responded Christine instantly. “We should bring the Earth under Dominion’s protection, under Elizabeth’s shield.”
I didn’t expect anything else from her, especially now after Elizabeth saved us yet again. If the Chaos Queen would come to Earth and decide to make herself into a religion, Christine would stand first in line to become her high priestess. She was so intense in her devotion that she scared me, for I couldn’t understand what drove this transformation. Something happened to her on Aldeea, around the time of the siege or immediately after to trigger her obsessive interest in the Haillar, and especially in their queens.
“Unless they’ve already come across us, the Scourge will not find Earth’s location easily. Knowing that our first contact with the Dominion happened on Aldeea, they can narrow down our probable location to a sector containing several million stars. Still, after that, it will take a great deal of time to find a needle in the haystack.”
The astronomer’s musing didn’t seem to lead to any conclusion, so Hank Mertens cut him short.
“That’s beside the point. Earth needs to know we are in danger, or else sooner or later we’ll send an exploration ship right into the Scourge’s hands. Our own mission could have easily crossed the path of their gigantic ships, had we arrived a couple of weeks later. I’m with Christine, we need to return.”
“You’re right, of course” responded Fiorelli. “I was heading to the same conclusion if you’d only let me finish.”
“In between doing nothing and returning home in fame, with a powerful ally, I would prefer the second,” agreed Charles.
In his own self-serving way, Charles made the decision into a straightforward affair. None of us had any doubt the Chaos Queen was a friend and a great ally in defending Earth. Dominion’s influence on our development, on our free will, was something else entirely but whatever the effects, they would come into play thousands of years after our deaths.
In between the immediate danger of an end to our race and humanity’s long-term future, I tended to agree that we didn’t have the luxury to hesitate. The Earth could deal with the shock of meeting the Haillar and their potential impact on our path to the stars, but right now we won’t stand a chance against the Scourge.
“I’m also for returning”, I said. “We should convince the Captain that going back to Earth is the right choice.”
✽✽✽
Next morning the five of us looked for Elizabeth, to arrange with her our portal departure and inform her of our commitment to convince the Navy officers we should return to Earth. I had no doubt Milena and Ewan will enthusiastically support us, their hope for return is what kept them on Aldeea in the first place.
Elizabeth was in her study, presumably dealing with her House’s affairs, but she received us immediately.
“I’m deeply sorry for your loss!” she said, and despite not being close to Koslowski or Morris, I was utterly certain that she actually believed it. That she cared about us, all of us, in a way I didn’t imagine an alien being was able to care. “I wish I could have been faster and find you before you ran into the Scourge.”
“How did you know to look for us in the first place?” asked Charles.
Indeed, in the heat of the moment, it didn’t even cross my mind to ask how Elizabeth knew we were in danger.
“The note from the Council was a fake. The Spirit Queen was not even on Tao Bellona at the time when your audience was supposed to take place. Somebody wanted this ambush to happen. Somebody wanted you to meet the Scourge.”
Once again, Charles proved to be right, and I’m afraid I had to reconsider my opinion of him. Well, maybe not my views of him as a person, but the biased way I judged his assertions.
“Do you mean somebody is betraying you? You personally, or the entire Dominion?”
“Anyone working with the Scourge and helping them in their plots is an enemy of the Dominion, not just an enemy of mine. We know they exist, but we just don’t know who they are. Yet.”
I wanted to ask why a Haillar will consider doing this, why ally with the enemy attacking their worlds, killing or enslaving their own people. But this was not the time or place for a discussion about power and morality, about good and evil.
Mindful of Elizabeth’s morning routine, I went straight to the point.
“We have to return to Aldeea and let the others know about the ambush and the fate of our friends. We need to inform Captain Holt that our existence is no longer a secret, that the Scourge know about humanity and are possibly looking for our homeworld.”
The queen nodded in acknowledgement and asked the predictable question:
“Will you be prepared to return to the Earth together with us?”
“It’s ultimately Holt’s decision, but all of us here agree it’s the right thing to do.”
Confirming my words, there in Elizabeth study, all five of us nodded in turn, like knights of old sealing a pact, a solemn vow. For all I know in Haillar’s eyes that was exactly what we were doing, swearing in front of their queen that we’ll fight for our peoples’ alliance, do or die.
“I will inform Chalissa of your decision and ask her to make the necessary arrangements”, said the Queen.
I could imagine that firebrand’s reaction to are hasty departure, only days after being asked to turn an entire wing of the palace upside down to accommodate our lengthy stay.
“Good-bye, Elizabeth, or better said au revoir,” said Christine.
I had no doubts we’ll meet the Chaos Queen again, hopefully on the way to Earth. If not, if Captain Holt’s decision would be to ignore our warning and pretend none of the Scourge machinations is our business, I had no doubt Christine at least will find a way to return and make true of her promise.
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” I said. Simple words, but I saw in her eyes that she understood their meaning, that I wasn’t only referring to her being our host on Tao Bellona and once again saving our lives in the process. She understood I was finally at ease with her decisions, all of them, not just her choice of name. Despite her protests, she harboured a piece of Liz, and she knew it, and now she understood I knew it as well.
Before any of the others had the time to say their farewells, our conversation was cut short by an attendant who opened the doors with a slightly puzzled look on her face:
“Forgive me My Queen, but Oriel Sen Diessa is here. I mean
here in person, arriving without any notice.”
From the Haillar’s confusion, I guessed the unannounced visit of a fellow queen was a slightly irregular occurrence. Equally irregular was said queen waltzing her way around the guard into Elizabeth’s study, only to come face to face with us.
This was the fourth Haillar queen we’ve met, and she was entirely unlike any of the others. While Haillar women were usually small and dainty, this one came to my chin and was downright scary. She was an athletic woman with dark bronze skin, red accents in her black hair and red face patterns, reminiscent of Gaelic face paint. By far the most striking features were the red eyes giving her the appearance of a demon, only reinforced by her attire: a black costume I could only describe as body armour. Various sharp implements were attached to her person, the first queen I saw openly wearing weapons of any kind.
I could only imagine that our contact with the Haillar on Aldeea would have gone quite differently if instead of Ellandra we would have met this sister of hers. The woman was emanating menace and the feeling of raw, barely restrained power.
The armoured queen stopped in her tracks, and the five of us took a step back in concert.
“Greetings Ashar! I apologise barging in at an inappropriate time.”
“Greetings Oriel! You know you are always welcome to my house.”
The two of them stopped and measured each other for a moment, both unwilling to continue in our presence. Face to face they look like night and day: the calm, silver dressed angel with the perfect face and shining eyes and the black-haired devil with crazy red eyes and menacing attire.
We were just about to leave before this queen had entered, so we moved around the newcomer, heading towards the entrance. Yet, before we had the time to excuse ourselves, Elizabeth waved us to wait, and formally introduced us:
“Oriel Sen’Diessa, please meet my human guests, the first of their race to visit Tao Bellona.”
The alien queen honoured us with a once over, the softened her face to a minute degree, responding in a clipped, measured tone.
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