Annihilation: The Power of a Queen

by Andrew, Saxon;Chiodo, Derek

  Danielle looked around and couldn’t see what had Tag worried; then she saw. On both sides of the path Glod warriors were removing their white coverlet to expose their traditional armor and were stepping in to surround them. Tag looked at their leader and said, “That is as close as you get; don’t come any closer.”

  The Circle of Glod Warriors turned out and faced the multitude and drew their weapons. In a loud voice the leader of the group yelled to the crowd. “I challenge these Aliens to the Quilleron Rite. I, Hakn-Yee, leader of my families make this challenge.”

  Kosiev said into his com, Naval Marines jump now to my location, Ultra Ships jump in system now.”

  Suddenly the company of naval marines landed at the front of the Central Building in full battle armor with blasters raised.

  Danielle raised her voice and yelled to Kosiev, “Stay there! That is an order!” Kosiev reluctantly obeyed but ordered the Marines to be prepared to attack. The multitude grew deathly silent. Then Danielle turned to Tgon-Gee and said, “What is the challenge that this warrior is directing at me?”

  Tgon-Gee looked at the Glod warrior and said, “We have an ancient rite that allows only the leaders of our constituent nations to challenge the selection of a new monarch. It has not been used for more than 1,800 solar rotations.” Then he turned to the Warrior and said, “Hakn, I will kill you for this outrage.”

  “Maybe you will, but at least I will have my challenge before you do.”

  Tag had not moved from where he was standing in front of Danielle. He stood there seemingly relaxed with his eyes closed. Then he said, “Hakn has chosen the five warriors to perform the challenge.” Hakn was stunned, how could this off worlder know this? Tag opened his eyes and said, “He has selected you,” and he pointed to a large glod warrior in front of him, “and he has chosen you three,” and he pointed out three warriors behind them, “and he has also selected you,” and as he pointed at the fifth selection, he walked in front of the fifth Warrior that was at the head of the group and stared up at him directly in the eye. He said to that warrior, “Do you agree with him that she is unworthy of being your queen?”

  The huge Glod warrior looked down at Tag and said, “I do.”

  Tag said to Danielle, “Come here and stand in front of this warrior.” Danielle walked and stood directly in front of the big Glod and also looked him in the eye. Tag said to the warrior and to Hakn, “As I understand it, you are not going to attack her but her chosen champion. If the Champion fails, she will not be selected as your queen. Is that right?”

  Hakn said, “I see Tgon-Gee has taught you our traditions.”

  Tgon-Gee said, “I have not told them of any of our traditions. I told you they seem to know us better than we know ourselves. Did I also mention that he has the aura of Nim-Qur?”

  Hakn said, “You lie to try and protect them.”

  The leader of the fifty Peers said from the front of the building, “Hakn, we never lie and his aura is even darker and brighter than Nim-Qur himself.”

  Silence reigned in the huge crowd. Nim-Qur was the most deadly Glod that had ever raised a sword. It was he who took the worlds from others to form the Glod Union. He never lost a fight. The tremendous crowd wondered if it were possible to have two such powerful psychics. Some just refused to believe that this Human male was stronger than the mystical Nim-Qur. Hakn was obviously shaken by the announcement from the Peers. “All of you will lie to protect this stranger. I do not lift my challenge.”

  The crowd moved back and formed a circle around the people involved. Hakn said, “Give the Human weapons and let the first contest begin.”

  Tag felt his anger approaching rage. He could feel his sense of all things around him growing in magnitude and he sensed the warriors confronting him getting ready for the fight. Tag looked at Hakn and said, “If it’s not a violation of your rite, I would prefer to take my weapons from the warriors that have insulted my wife’s integrity. I also would humbly request that the first four I pointed out attack me together.” The fifth warrior he pointed his finger at and said, “Him, I’ll save him for last.”

  Hakn roared, “You make a mockery of our beliefs. Teach this Human a lesson, you four attack him now.”

  The four selected Glod warriors looked at each other and by silent agreement rushed to the attack.

  Tag was amazed at his emotions. These warriors had endangered Danielle and he felt cold rage engulf him. He stood there and felt his psychic talent building almost like it couldn’t wait to destroy these naysayers. Tag watched as the world slowed down around him and come to a stop. He saw the four Glod warriors surrounding him start to move toward him and he saw that the biggest warrior behind him would arrive first aiming a sword slash to take off his head followed closely by the warrior to his right slashing to take off his legs. He knew he could probably kill all four before they had a chance to move but he actually wanted to fight. He turned and moved toward the warrior behind him and the world around him began moving very slowly again. The warrior behind him came forward in slow motion and he ducked under the slash and slammed his fist into the Glod’s midsection doubling him over; he then slammed his palm into the big Glods chin lifting him off the ground. He then grabbed the arm of the big Glod and swung the warrior into the path of the leg cut and saw the second attacker cut both of the big Glods legs off just above the knees. He broke the warriors arm holding the sword and wrenched it from his hand. He then turned and parried a blow from the third warrior just arriving from the left and then turned and stuck his sword into the shoulder of the fourth warrior coming from behind him. He ducked another thrust from the warrior to the left and spun in a crouch and cut one of his legs off; the attacker crumpled and fell to the ground. He then rolled to his left as the two remaining warriors rushed at him. He came out of his roll and jumped a leg cut by one of them rising almost 7 feet in the air in front of the Glod that had cut the legs off the first Glod and kicked him in the face slamming him back into the hardened brick path striking his head against the unyielding surface. He then confronted the warrior with the injured shoulder and parried six sword strikes easily before spinning and slashing violently at the huge Glod warrior. The Glod stood still for a moment as Tag turned toward the warrior that had been slammed hard against the concrete. As he approached the prone warrior the Glod he had slashed toppled over as his head fell off. Everything was still moving so slowly. The mass of Glods expected Tag to kill the warrior lying prone on the brick path. Tag stepped up to him put his hand under the stunned Glods head and said, “I’ll give you a few moments to collect yourself.” He looked at the wounded warrior that had his leg cut off struggling to rise but failing. The warrior that had both of his legs cut off had died from loss of blood. He gently put the Glod’s head down and then he turned and looked at the fifth Glod standing in front of Danielle and the huge crowd of Glod could see the menace in his eyes. He stood, picked up a second sword, and purposefully walked with a sword in each hand toward the fifth warrior standing in front of Danielle. As Tag approached the warrior, everyone could see the danger radiating from this dangerous Human; Danielle held up her hand and stopped him.

  “Enough,” she yelled. She turned from the huge Glod warrior in front of her and walked over to the wounded Glod struggling with his severed leg. She looked into the crowd and said in a loud voice, “Someone come and tend to this wounded warrior.” No one moved and she yelled, “Do it now!”

  Immediately several doctors in the crowd rushed out and started working on the two downed warriors. One doctor took a leather strap from the warriors harness and made a make shift tourniquet to stop the bleeding. “Is he going to live,” Danielle asked?

  The doctor looked up and said, “I think so. We can give him a transfusion and he stands a good chance.” She walked over to the prone Glod that had hit his head on the path and asked, “Is he alright?”

  The doctor looked up and frowned, “He has a concussion but he should recover.”

  Danielle placed a h
and on the warriors shoulder and said, “You fought well; live and fight another day, your people need you.” The huge Glod looked up at her and then nodded slowly. She stood and looked out at the crowd and every one could see her anger.

  She looked at Hakn-Yee and said, “You stand there and caused two of my finest, bravest warriors to lose their lives to a friend of your people. You waste the vibrancy of their lives because you don’t agree with my selection. How dare you waste the lives of your people when you will need everyone in the upcoming confrontation with the Alliance? My fellow Humans and Cainth are willing to die to protect you against your enemies. Is it too much to expect you to do the same for each other? I didn’t ask to be your queen; I was selected. I will not rule a people who value the lives of their defenders so little. All of your warriors are needed in the coming conflict and you waste them. Every one of you is precious to this universe and every one of you has the capability to make it a better place to raise your families.” She then walked over in front of Tag and said loudly, “There will be no more killing today.”

  Tag felt his rage drain away. He took the two Glod long swords and threw them both at the two wooden posts that were on each side of the entrance at the Solar Arch that led into the Quilleron Temple fifty yards away. They flew past the fifth Glod’s head faster than the eye could follow and struck the two posts embedding themselves halfway to the hilt. The crowd was stunned. Those two posts were made from wood that was harder than steel.

  Danielle turned and again faced the fifth warrior selected as Tag stood five feet away and said, “I will not stand here and see you die. You will not defeat my husband; he cannot be defeated. Your rite is not given a fair chance when you have to face death face to face with no chance of winning. You will make the decision. You will decide for your race here and now if I am to be your Queen. If you say you don’t want me as your ruler, I will leave and your people will have to find another. You will decide for your people.”

  The huge Glod warrior looked down on the small human female and saw she meant what she said. He saw determination and real anger in her eyes coupled with strength of spirit and a softness of real concern for his safety. She moved him deeply. The Glod Warrior had just seen the Human male totally defeat four of his fellow champions faster than his eye could follow. He was not afraid to face the Human; death didn’t frighten him but he knew what decision must be made. The Warrior looked at Hakn for a long moment and then he bowed to Danielle and offered his sword to her. In the silence of the square his voice could be heard by everyone, “My Queen, I will defend you with my life and all my possessions. Forgive me for my blindness at not seeing how right you are at this moment in time.” The entire multitude bowed and lowered their head to this small Human Female. The silence was deafening.

  Tgon-Gee said, “Guards, take Hakn into custody.”

  Danielle turned and shouted, “Guards, you will leave him alone. He did what he thought was right for his people. Did you not hear me say we need every one of you? Am I supposed to remove one of our nation’s leaders because he did what he felt was right. One thing is going to become clear to all of you if I am to become your Queen. We will do what is right in all our dealings with each other. We will be each other’s best friend and we will be able to count on every one of us to protect each other. You will not have to guess from today on. Our three races will die to preserve each of our three races. I demand that you do the same with each other?”

  Hakn-Yee knelt and said, “My Queen. Please forgive me. I couldn’t have been more wrong.” Hakn meant it. He could feel the intensity of this Human Female. She was as angry as a mother would be if one of her off spring had been attacked. This kind of spirit was inspiring and he could sense her inner power. He also now knew the Human male was a supreme warrior.

  Two of the Glod warriors that had been part of the group that issued the challenge moved forward and lifted Danielle onto their shoulders and then yelled out to the crowd, “Oya-Luah.”

  The multitude went crazy; they responded with “Oya-Luah.” The huge multitude began chanting Oya-Luah together over and over as the big Glod drums began beating the cadence. The chant could be heard from miles away. The two huge warriors carried her out into the mass of Glod that had begun swaying to the rhythm of the drums.

  Tag sat down on the concrete and Tgon-Gee walked up looked down at him. Tgon-Gee smiled and said, “Oya-Luah means True Royalty and is only used to describe our supreme leaders that have earned the respect of our warriors.”

  Tag felt weary as he looked up at Tgon-Gee and said, “When do you think I might get my wife back?”

  Tgon-Gee smiled, “As soon as she tells them to bring her back; they love her now. I guess that since she has already addressed the crowd, we can take that off the list.”

  “I hate I had to fight those warriors. They were pretty good.”

  “The five of them are planetary champions in martial combat. You defeated our best. The crowd also noticed that you didn’t kill the warriors that couldn’t defend themselves. You treated them with kindness even though they attacked you. That’s a lesson my people had to see in order to understand. Those warriors that were injured or died here today will someday be national heroes of my people because they proved the validity of our new Queen. To a Glod Warrior, nothing is more important than being immortalized for your actions.” Tgon-Gee looked out at the celebrating multitude and said, “Mr. Gardner, my race has never had a leader of a different race, this is a first for us. We know the importance of psychic ability but there are a huge number of my people that questioned our decision of choosing a Human to lead us. We believe in strength in our leaders and what happened today proves that we have chosen well. Your defeat of our champions as you did demonstrated that our warriors need a different role model to follow and please notice that the ones cheering the loudest are the warriors. The sincere concern of Queen Danielle for her subjects in the fight has won their hearts; they know she will protect our race in her decisions.” Tgon-Gee looked back at Tag sitting on the ground and sat down beside him. There was silence for a moment while they watched the celebration that was getting louder by the moment then Tgon-Gee sighed, “Mr. Gardner, I envy your abilities and wish my race had produced someone like you and your wife but if we did then we would have probably continued our aggressive behaviors and ultimately turned on each other. You have allowed us to see a better path and my people will be better for it.” With that he stood up and shook Tag’s hand Human fashion and went to join the celebration.

  As Tgon-Gee walked away Tag sat there looking up at a flock of giant carnivorous birds flying overhead and could understand the Glod’s warrior traditions; they were necessary for survival on this violent planet. He thought about the fight and had a sudden thought, “Atlas, why didn’t my screen come on during the fight?”

  “It only comes on when you are going to be hit by an object. None of their weapons came close enough to activate it.”

  Tag looked at the two dead warriors and said, “I’m sitting here sick to my soul thinking that I murdered these Glod. Atlas, I wanted to hurt them. I felt rage almost take me. I’m glad the shield didn’t come into play.” Tag paused and thought, “Atlas, did I do the right thing today?”

  “Tag, the Glod are a warrior race. Tgon-Gee was right, these five warriors and Hakn will have this deed sung around their ceremonial fires for centuries to come. The more these people come to love their queen, then the more importance these warriors will attain. Their families have already been elevated in stature among their cities. They will be revered and cared for by all the members of their nation. Already, every Glod warrior on the planet wishes that they had been selected for this rite so they could gain immortality. The fifth warrior that chose Danielle will be elevated in their race. You chose well to pick him; he will become one of their highest leaders.”

  “I sensed that he really wasn’t sure that he was doing the right thing. I wanted to make sure he would have the opportunity to possibly surv
ive. I sensed at the end that Danielle would not allow an uneven fight. Atlas, what do they think of me?”

  Atlas did not respond for a long moment and then said, “Tag, you are their warrior spirit in living flesh. They will do their best to copy your actions. You are the ultimate level they all aspire to attain. They respect you and they rightfully fear you.”

  Tag looked down and said, “What did Tgon-Gee mean by my aura?”

  Atlas said, “They believe you are death incarnate. Did you notice that your shield wasn’t needed because these four champions couldn’t touch you? You don’t have to even think about it, your psychic gift will protect you. Just relax and watch it happen. The thing you should remember is that you don’t go around looking to use your talent. If someone chooses to stick their head into a reactor, then that’s their fault. Your talent could not have been given to a better keeper of it. You race needs that talent in the coming conflict.”

  “Atlas, I’ve wondered why the first time I was attacked by five criminals that the knives I used did not have my finger prints on them. Danielle has asked me how they were not on the knives when I didn’t wear gloves. I didn’t have an answer for her.”