by T S Hottle
Kai suppressed a laugh at the thought. “You did. You gave me this world to build an army out of criminals. The place is a soup kettle.”
Laral scoffed, stroking his reddish beard. “What criminals? Thieving merchants, cub buggerers, and the odd serf rebel who has no clue what he’s rebelling against. These aren’t criminals. They’re nuisances. Even Marq’s degenerate society deals with their like.”
Marq sat off to one side. His posture, standing with his head down, suggested one of respect. The eyes, those alien blue eyes, told of amusement with a hint of predatory waiting. Marq had an agenda, all right. But did Laral know that?
“My point,” said Kai, “is that an army needs food, the kind of food we can grow here. Rations are fine when you send them into combat. They’re eventually coming back. When they are home, especially if we are to train them here, they need food that is produced locally. Lots of it. The best we can do is grow these tubers this alien brought to us. Only…” He tossed the one Tishla had given him in her lab just before the meeting. It landed not with a solid thud but with a sickening splat. The tuber was a greenish mush. “This planet fights every attempt we make to grow food. Did anyone bother to see if this world was good for anything except robotic mining?”
Laral stretched and laced his fingers behind his head, looking more like a father amused by his boy’s insistence of monsters in the cellar than a High Born of the Warrior Caste and a member of Council. “Kai, believe it or not, I’m not unsympathetic. The fact is, your friend Marq here has made a compelling case to me. Seems his people have a problem with… What did you call them again?”
“Rogue colonies, Your Eminence,” said Marq, bowing his head as he gave Laral the wrong honorific. Only relatives of the Sovereign’s family were called “Eminence.” At best, Laral was “Sire,” maybe “Excellency” if his rank warranted it.
“Rogue colonies,” Laral continued. “Three in all. One of them was this desert world called Baah Zun.”
Kai knew the name must be something slightly different. It would be an incredible coincidence if the Tianese had named their world for his people’s mythical land of the ancient gods. “What of it?”
“As you know Kai, my nephew, your cousin, has a passion for terraforming. He can take one of those thin-aired rocks and have the atmosphere breathable and the temperatures tolerable within five to seven revolutions. Marq here needed a test bed for some crops his employer specifically designed for such projects. Since the people were there illegally…”
“It was a mutually beneficial arrangement,” said Marq. “My people are rid of a nuisance and can bring their military closer to our core worlds. Your people gained a little breathing room.”
“Tell him the best part,” said Laral.
“There are two more rogue colonies we’d like pacified, both more conducive to the grains you desire for livestock and for your people. Less rain on both of them. One, in fact, is experiencing something of a greenhouse phase at the moment. The flatland farms on these colonies tend to burn a lot of hydrocarbons.”
“If you can take them, Kai,” said Laral, “they’re yours. We’ll sell Essenar to the Laputans. Let their Mining Guild squeeze this mudhole dry.”
Kai had seen the aftermath of a Laputan mining operation on a planetary scale once. It had rendered what was a jungle world into a hellish desert with a toxic atmosphere within a decade. Speaking of terraforming… “So what’s in it for you?”
“I’ll get to that. First, let me show you how we’re going to do this.”
***
The cylinder, about the size of a two-story building, sat in a vacant lot outside the capital. Two rows of cradles ringed the interior, a dozen cradles to each ring. In each cradle sat a primitive looking vehicle with a large motor and some sort of dish device that folded down between the seats. The vehicles had rubber-wrapped wheels, like the personal cars of the Ethanol Era, and seating for five.
“What is this?” asked Kai as he and Laral stood inside the cylinder.
“An incursion capsule,” said Laral. “We mount a life pod float in the center.” He pointed to the space in the middle of the cylinder. “Suspend it by its own force field, and drop this thing from orbit. The crew land. They unpack the battle wagons you see ringing the interior, and fan out to kill or run off the unsuspecting settlers.”
Kai examined one of the battle wagons at the bottom. The motor looked large with a lot of pipes and exhaust tubing running in and out of it. Beneath it sat a smooth, round oblong tank. No solar panels of any kind, except on the dish device. He tapped the dish. “Heat ray?”
“Absolutely,” said Laral. “Our best intelligence says the Tianese don’t like energy weapons much. It’s not a tactical strategy or any failures in the technology. They simply prefer hurling blunt objects at their targets. Their favorite is to send a large mass of lead or gold at something. They hit a lot of spaceships that way, but they like hurling them at cities better.”
“Kind of primitive, isn’t it?”
“Ask the Laputans. When they tried to seize one of the Tianese established colonies, their Compact military simply rained giant metal bullets down on the invaders’ positions. Works better than any fusion device, and the worst of the fallout is gone in days. And in case you’re wondering, they not only have fusion weapons, but they have them with clean triggers. But these are rogue colonies, so you’ll have no problems with their military.”
“I need a military.”
Laral put his arm across Kai’s shoulders. “Your problem, Kai, is that you’re too proud to come to the Warrior Caste for anything. Yes, there is a price for our services. That’s just good business. But you don’t even wait to hear the price before you reject it out of hand. Had you come to me before you accepted the gift of Essenar, this planet would either be a lush paradise for you to rule over, unmolested by Confabs and the Council, or it would be a wealth-making machine. You could wring this planet of every last resource and leave the husk a very wealthy man.”
“Name your price.”
“The two planets you will be taking are ready for planting,” said Laral. “All I ask is that you set aside ten percent of your harvests to feed my troops. I will even recruit and send colonists once you’ve secured each planet.”
“Sounds fair. But there’s more, isn’t there? The Warrior Caste always wants more than a tithe. I suppose our friend Marq wants exclusive genetic customization rights for anything we need to adjust for our new worlds.”
“That’s a given. You knew that the moment he handed you the magic root.”
That Kai did. But knowing Laral as he did, there had to be more. “But you want something else.”
“I do. For starters, there is a city in the northern plains of the second planet. I will send a contingent of real troops to seize and neutralize it. They have assets there that I wish to use. It will benefit you as well.”
“And the other thing?”
Laral laughed. “Perceptive cub, aren’t you? Very well. I’ll give you a choice on the last part of the agreement. You can sign over Essenar itself once your claim to the other two worlds is secured. And I assure you the moment our colony transports arrive, it will be secured.”
“Or?”
“Or you can sell Tishla to me for the remainder of her term of indenture. I, of course, plan to exercise my right to renew it.” Laral closed his eyes. Kai could tell by the way he worked his jaw that his tongue was swelling. “I find that woman intoxicating. I must possess her.”
Kai had long ago decided he would kill Tishla rather than let any man take her away before attaining her status as a Free Woman. When Tishla first learned of this plan, she was enraged at Kai. Later, she told him exactly how he was to kill her if it came to it. By the time she agreed to her own murder, Kai decided he too would forfeit his life. Killing an indentured servant in cold blood invited beheading.
Right now, he considered a third option. He would kill Laral. It was much easier for one High Born to murder an
other and get away with it, particularly if the victim was of the Warrior Caste.
For now, Essenar remained on the table. As long as it did, Laral could live and Kai could keep his head. And Tishla could look forward to her freedom.
Finally, he said to Laral, “I’ll consider it.”
***
Tishla looked startled as Kai entered her chamber. Wearing only her underdress, she lacked any of the adornments her indenture contract required in Kai’s presence. “You startled me.” As if realizing her state of undress, she knelt. “I apologize for my appearance, my Mast-…”
Kai put up his hand. “First of all, I came to you, not the other way around. Second, you haven’t called me ‘Master’, except as a joke, since your third turn in my service. Why start again now?”
“You look angry.”
“Come here.” He motioned her to him. “Come here.” When she crossed the room to him, he took her in his arms. “Do you want to stay with me?”
“I want to be your wife, if that’s possible.”
Her body pressed tightly against his, causing his tongue to swell a little. He fought the arousal so he could speak. “Would you be upset if I invoked the option on you for another five revolutions?”
She bit his neck. “What’s going on, Kai? Normally, I’m the one that asks you about my future. And since when does a Master ask a concubine permission to invoke his or her option?”
He kissed the top of her hair. “I paid for your contract so you could get your honors in genetics. If I wanted a playmate, I’d have signed a common whore instead.”
“What’s wrong, Kai? Why ask me these things now?”
Kai pulled away and turned his back. “Laral is going to back my taking of Marq’s two rogue colonies. We arm the most violent offenders among us and launch them in incursion capsules against both worlds.”
“What are the terms?” Her tone suggested she already knew.
“Ten percent tribute from all crops plus I let him have a city on the second world. Apparently, the rogue colonists have managed to put together quite a manufacturing center there.”
“Uh-huh. Laral does nothing by the book, and that’s a textbook Warrior Caste arrangement if I ever saw one. What’s the real price?”
Kai swallowed. “I trade Essenar for the two new worlds…”
“That sounds suspiciously fair,” she said. “Or?”
Kai turned and said, “Or he wants you. He wants your indenture contract. And he plans to exercise the option to extend your bondage.”
“You know how I feel about that. I’d rather die than serve a new master. Not when I’m this close.”
Kai put his hands on each of her arms. “To freedom?”
She kissed him in a way that drew his tongue into her mouth. “And to you.” Taking his hand, she gently bent a finger straight and pressed it into her navel. “I belong to you.”
She moaned as Kai worked his finger into her navel through her underdress.
“No,” he said. “I belong to you.”
“Kneel with me.” The underdress slid down her body and puddled at her feet. “Kneel with me now. Show me how you really feel.”
He scooped her up, lowered her to the floor, and slipped his swollen tongue deep into her navel…
***
Hours later, as the hidden sun set on the capital, Kai and Tishla lay naked in her chamber. It was almost unheard of for a High Born to enter his or her spouse’s chamber, let alone that of an indentured companion. Yet Kai did not care. From the moment he met her, he knew Tishla had been born far below her station. And yet, it would take something extraordinary to bring her into the ranks of the High Born castes. She would need to render some incredible service to the Realm. It was not unheard of, but it usually involved death. Kai did not want to elevate her posthumously.
“I have a confession to make,” she said. She waited until Kai turned and looked at her before continuing. “I’ve been shirking my duties as a concubine.”
That made Kai laugh. “Really? If that was shirking, I don’t think I have the stamina to handle you being dedicated to the job.”
“I’ve been taking fertility suppressants.”
“What a coincidence. I keep forgetting to have those locked up. Seems some of the guards don’t want to wear shrouds or take injections when they kneel with their women.” He rolled on his side and traced his finger along the curve of Tishla’s hip. “But denying a master the opportunity for a child is a serious offense. You’re a wise woman, Tishla. I seek your counsel in resolving this matter.”
She took his hand and guided it back down to her navel. “Well, my Master…”
“Don’t call me that,” he said. “Even in the others’ presence.”
“We must follow protocol, my love.”
“Nonetheless, it offends me. You’re better than that.”
“As you wish. Now, to your dilemma.” She took his hand again and manipulated one of his fingers into her navel. It made her moan. “Your concubine has taken anti-fertility drugs in violation of her contract. You must punish her.”
“Perhaps I should forcefully kneel with her multiple times a day.”
“How would she stand all that pleasure?” She smiled and began working his finger around her in navel. “Yes, I believe you should use her several times a day. I can assure you that will teach her a lesson. But for her crime. We must…” Her breath caught again as his finger went sunk in. “Oh, that tickles good.”
Kai took over, working his finger in deeper. “You were saying about her crime?”
“I might get careless and… Oooh, yes, curl it around like that… Might leave my pills out on the basin.” She cried out, her breathing getting more rapid.
“And maybe it’s time I had your chamber inspected.” As she became unable to speak, he said, “so when the crime is discovered, I will have to punish you again.”
Tishla could only respond with an incoherent “Unnh!”
Kai began working his finger faster and faster, the tip rubbing all four pressure spots. He could feel his tongue swelling again. “And so, in order to have the child you promised me, I would have to extend your contract.”
“Yes!” Her whole body shuddered and went limp. She gasped as he pulled her finger out. “If that is what you want… Me and a child… Do it.”
“And when the child is born?”
Tishla took a moment to relax her body. “Oh, I have a headache from that. What do you want of me, Kai? If I gave you a son…”
“A child. Anything I make inside you is my child, son or daughter. What I’m asking is… Would you consent to marriage if a child binds us together?”
“Yes.”
She kissed him and had to feel his tongue becoming stiffer. “I think you need to practice making a child some more, my Master… My husband.”
Kai crouched over her, now unable to speak, and plunged his tongue inside her navel.
***
The next morning, Kai descended for his breakfast only to find Laral seated at the head of his table. A servant had just served the general a plate of eggs and meat, imported from more developed worlds, and a tuber cut up and fried as a side.
“That’s my breakfast,” said Kai. “And I’ll take my seat now.”
Laral looked up at him the way a father stares down an impudent child. “What did you just say? I am a member of Council, Kai. You’d better…”
“You are Warrior Caste,” said Kai. “You are also a guest here. That means you ask permission to eat my food – which I import for myself and my staff – and you do not sit where the head of the household and the Governor of the colony sits. Your caste tends to forget these things.” He looked over to the servant. “Once the general has made himself comfortable in his new seat, have the kitchen make him whatever he wants.”
The general rose and moved two places down the table. “I beg your forgiveness, Governor.” His voice lacked any trace of sincerity. “A warrior sometimes forgets who serves whom.” Lara
l sank into his new seat barely making eye contact with Kai.
Kai took his seat and began digging into the breakfast Laral had ordered for himself. “That’s quite all right, General. A man of your accomplishments and stature has a right to expect preferential treatment.” When the servant returned with a beverage for Laral, Kai said, “Summon Palak. Tell him I require a witness.”
The general finally smiled. “Will the lovely Tishla be joining us as well?”
“The lovely Tishla was up all night with her duties.” Kai shoved a forkful of tuber into his mouth and again regretted not importing any salt with the last shipment of provisions. “I bonded her for her mind as well as her beauty, you know. Which is why I’ve summoned Palak. I will need Tishla’s brilliant mind to shape those two new planets you will be helping me secure.”
Laral had started to raise his cup to his lips and stopped. “Need her?”
“Oh, yes, General,” said Kai. “I slept on your proposal last night. I accept on condition you make a vow in front of another member of the Warrior Caste.”
The captain of Kai’s palace guard entered, dressed in black with no visible armor this morning. “Sire, you wished to see me?”
“Ah, Palak. The General has a business proposal I’d like to accept.” He looked to the ceiling. “House, record.”
“Begin recording,” a dull female voice said, sounding about as real as the stuffed birds Kai knew Laral kept in his own home on Blutoch.
“General Laral Jorl,” said Kai, “the terms you outlined yesterday are as follows: You agree to militarily support the taking of two rogue colonies at the coordinates given us by the Tianese known as Marq. You will provide transportation, weapons, and incursion capsules for my colonists to neutralize the squatters and agree to send colonists recruited to take over and develop both worlds. Is this correct?”
