by James Somers
“We’ve been over this before,” he said. “I am not the man to lead these people, Wynn.”
Wynn could sense that this hardness was not as deep as he was trying to make it appear. They exchanged several more blows, with Wynn the more playful now. He noticed that all the commotion on the courtyard had ceased. Nearly all the recruits in the area were focused on the sparring between the Barudii.
“You’ve become very powerful in recent months. Far more than when we first met,” said Wynn.
“All thanks to your training, I’m sure.”
“Would you be up to a wager with an old man like me?” he baited.
Tiet smiled again and raised his blindfold. “Wynn, if you’re trying to get me to—”
“Of course if you doubt your ability to knock me to the ground in hand-to-hand combat, I suppose I understand,” Wynn interrupted.
“And if I do?”
“Then I won’t bother you with the matter again.”
Now he was intrigued. “Do you really mean it, Wynn?”
“I do.”
That was the last word needed. Tiet launched an intensely fast barrage of attacks at Wynn. He managed to match them all, but with difficulty. The younger man had the age advantage and he was powerful. If this kind of attack continued, he might wear him down. Wynn considered it and Tiet hoped for it.
Tiet was younger, but Wynn had decades of specialized training. He deliberately faltered and Tiet took the bait. He landed a strong blow to Wynn’s face. The elder man stumbled and went to one knee. Tiet approached. “Looks like you’re about to lose this one, Wynn,” he boasted.
“That’s too bad. Do you think Orin and Dorian would be proud of your lack of resolve to assume your rightful place?” he asked with a mocking tone.
Tiet’s countenance flashed through surprise and then anger. He lunged. The elder man took the opportunity and rose to meet him with a knee to the stomach; three consecutive quick blows that knocked the wind out of him. He followed the ambush with a backhand to the side of the head that sent him to the ground gasping for precious breath.
He looked up at his mentor, who was smiling at him again. He remembered the old lesson to refrain from anger in battle, as it can foil one’s concentration.
“You tricked me,” he coughed out.
“My dear young king, only for your own good and ours.”
Wynn offered him a hand, helping him to stand again. The pride and anger were gone, replace with the knowledge that Wynn would never let the issue die.
“The Council meets tonight at dusk. Don’t be late.”
Wynn smiled and turned away to leave the courtyard and its stunned audience who began to whisper about the outcome. Tiet looked after the elder man, thinking himself foolish to have been baited so easily. It was so important to Wynn, this matter of the throne. He did not understand why, but a promise was still a promise.
He heard a slow clapping coming from behind him and looked to see its source. Ranul was sitting under the shade of the balcony overhead clapping sarcastically with a sly grin on his face.
“Yes, yes—very funny,” said Tiet as he turned to gather up his sparring weapons from the ground.
Ranul got up and walked over to him. The soldiers were renewing their training on the grounds; pairing up as they prepared for the days to come should the Baruk actually attack.
“Now don’t be mad young master; after all, Wynn means well. The people do need a leader and you are the natural choice. I’m sure Orin would have agreed.”
Tiet turned to look at him. “Well, I don’t know about that. Orin tended to be very protective of me.”
“Maybe, he cared a great deal for you. And whether you realize it or not, he was quite proud of you.”
“How do you know that?”
“I knew Orin very well back before the Vorn came. It was written all over him. He treated you like the son he never had. He would have wanted you to take your rightful place as King.”
Tiet looked at him, not sure how to answer it. He was rubbing his stomach; Wynn had really laid into him.
“You should get over to the medical complex and have my daughter take a look.”
Tiet smiled. “I’m not really hurt Ranul; he just knocked the wind out of me.”
“It’s still worth a visit, just to see Mirah. Haven’t you two been talking recently?”
“A little, but…”
“But what? She’s a nice girl Tiet…”
“I know.”
“And she’s moving up now that she’s completed her residency. You’re going to have to think about taking a wife someday.”
Tiet looked at the donjarr on his wrist. He had still not removed it after losing Dorian. “You’re a bit direct aren’t you Ranul?”
“I don’t mean to push Tiet, but you have to go on with your life. Dorian is gone and Orin is gone—you have to assume your responsibilities for your own good and the good of those around you.”
“I just don’t want to fail everyone, like I failed them.”
“You didn’t fail them. You fought back against those who had enslaved our people and you won. I owe a debt to you I can’t repay, in receiving back my daughter. If you hadn’t been set on freeing us from the Vorn she would have died in that prison cell along with the children they had captive with her. She was able to go on with her residency work and now she’s turning into a fine physician; you haven’t failed.”
Tiet thought about it for a moment. His words were kind, but they cut him to the heart. He felt unsure of himself yet convicted of the need to serve the people.
“I had better get going Ranul. I’ve got to get ready for this meeting if I’m going to keep my promise.”
He shook Ranul’s hand and started to walk away from the courtyard.
“Tiet, don’t forget. If you get a chance, go by and see Mirah. She really would like to see you. You know, she was very complimentary of the man that freed her from prison.”
Tiet laughed under his breath as he continued to walk away. “Subtle, Ranul, very subtle.”
GOVERNOR Tal tapped the communication panel to end the transmission to his ship. He was on board the flagship of the Baruk space fleet. He had assured his wife of his safe arrival and the time for his meeting with the Council of Three. He was quite anxious about the meeting. Since their rendezvous with the Baruk battle convoy months ago, he had not been given much information at all.
The Baruk were far too secretive for his own tastes. After all, the Vorn military and the Baruk were supposed to be allies. This meeting should have taken place just after their arrival, he thought. But he wasn’t about to push the issue with the Council.
The Baruk were the most blood-thirsty clan Tal had ever known. It was dangerous enough to be their ally and the Baruk’s supposed deal with the fallen angel Lucin was the stuff of legend. He was terrified of this mysterious clan.
One of the Baruk warriors came into the chamber. He was fierce looking to say the least. His black body armor was a part of him; a symbiotic coexistence. Whatever the living armor was, all of the warriors of the Baruk were joined to them. Somehow they covered and intertwined internally and externally with the Baruk, forming a living exoskeleton that protected them. Tal had seen the warriors in action before. Their exoskeletons were capable of repelling light pulse weapons fire, and the various weapons they utilized were part technology and part bio-weaponry.
The warrior motioned for Tal to follow him. They both entered the chamber of the Council of Three. Tal had only seen them once before. They were of a different caste than the warriors and they ruled the Baruk as one.
Tal came before them where they were seated upon a raised platform. They were sitting on a wide throne that seemed more organic than craft. Tal waited for them to speak, not daring to show any disrespect to them.
“You have desired an audience with us, Governor Tal?” asked one of the Three.
“Indeed, my lords. I would inquire as to your plans for retaking the planet of Cas
tai on our behalf. We looked to you for assistance in quelling the rebellion of the Horva under General Grod, but we were overrun at Baeth Periege before you could arrive.”
“Should we retake the planet it would be unwise to reinstate control to your regime Tal. You lost the planet and most of your people were killed. You lack the capacity to reign over the inhabitants.”
“But we are allies. Surely you will want to help us to regain control. It is for your benefit as well—”
“Our benefit does not concern you Tal,” interrupted another of the Three. “You are weak. It is time we assumed possession of Castai ourselves.”
“But you can’t—” he almost bit his own tongue trying to stop the words.
”Can’t?” they all questioned simultaneously.
“What I mean to say, my lords, is that we have always tried to govern the territory in accord with your interests as well as our own. It would be unfortunate to dissolve that relationship now. I still have a thousand people aboard my ship who can lead the way in retaking the planet from these rebels. At your command, of course.”
“Our command has already been issued concerning your people,” said one of the Three.
A holographic image of Tal’s vessel gliding along with the Baruk convoy appeared in the room above him. One of the Baruk ships heaved a large projectile out of one of its cannons. Tal’s heart sank as the object impacted with his ship, smashing it like a glass upon the floor. A thousand-plus people, including his own wife and children were dashed to pieces in a moment. He gasped and could not breathe. He almost didn’t notice the white hot needle-stick of the neurotoxin injection. He lost sensation almost instantly as he numbly fell to the ground at the feet of the soldier who had administered the poisoned weapon. His breathing slowed, and then stopped as his muscles ceased to function. He was suffocating but couldn’t move to help himself, though his mind was still clear.
“We have no further need of treaty with you or your people Tal,” said one of the Three. “Now that your strength has been diminished, we see Castai as ripe for the taking.”
Tal could not respond. His body began to spasm from lack of oxygen. The Three hissed with delight as the Vorn Governor entered the throes of death before them.
“Housra, see to the traitor,” the Three said to the soldier.
“I obey.”
THE food aboard the Baruk vessel was barely palatable. Kale detested almost everything about their clan. If the Vorn military had been able to suppress the various uprisings, then he wouldn’t be in this mess, he thought. Kale had been turned against his Barudii people, by Lucin himself, all those years ago and now he was paying for it.
He understood the desire of the Baruk to control the planet of Castai. It was rich in resources and perhaps, even more importantly; it was the perfect location for control of the Transdimensional Rift.
None of that really mattered to Kale at all. He had no allegiances to anyone. He took another bite of the carusk meat. It was bitter to his tongue. The Baruk loved this meal as a delicacy but that didn’t surprise him. The bitterness of the meat seemed ironic to him as he thought about it. What had seemed right and good for him at one time so long ago had become ashes in his mouth.
He could not push out the thought of his brother running across the tarmac to try to save Orin. He realized that Tiet almost certainly didn’t know who he was at the time; but did he now? And what if they had come face to face then, he wondered. Would Tiet have embraced his long lost brother, the betrayer of their people and their parents?
No, of course not. He would have gladly struck with all the fury he could muster. Suddenly Kale felt disgusted with everything; or perhaps only with himself. He spit the hunk of meat back onto his plate and pushed it away across the small table.
The Baruk could not be trusted. They were completely sold out to the wicked one, Lucin. The Vorn had very little understanding of the true nature of the Three that ruled the Baruk clan and their planet. They were merely a vehicle for the fallen one; a way for him to move among men and control their minds in his symbyte form.
It was Lucin who had promised him vengeance upon his father and Orin for the dishonor they had shown him; a prince of the Barudii. He only had to provide the weaknesses of their mountain cities and great power would be his. But it was a lie from the prince of lies. The death of his people and his family had brought him nothing but regret and sorrow. But he had bound himself to a fallen angel; how could he escape from such a power?
The Baruk certainly had no way of escape and they didn’t want any as far as he could tell. The symbyte form of Lucin, inhabiting their bodies, gave them great power and the ability to drive out their enemies before them. Now they were on the move to Castai. Lucin would conquer it and move on through the rift to conquer the twin Castai. Only God could stop an angel and though he thought of dropping to his knees to pray; Kale knew that he was probably the last person God would want to hear from.
Normally, he might have suspected his food to be poisoned, but his personal scanner had detected nothing dangerous in the meal. It did little to console him about the possibility of the Baruk killing him. He looked at his blade upon the hard slab the Baruk called a bed. Picking up the blade he examined it a moment; this blade was his life. He knew he could never trust the Baruk and even if he could, he did not want to remain among them. But how could he escape? They had control of his ship. He heard heavy footsteps approaching his quarters.
The door opened up before the Baruk warrior. Housra quickly moved inside with his compression gun ready to terminate the Barudii on sight, but he wasn’t there.
Kale looked down on the Baruk warrior from the ceiling of the compartment. He clung there via kinesis. The compression weapon used by their species swung from side to side as the warrior surveyed the compartment, stopping to examine the half eaten meal.
Kale dropped down, igniting his blade as he landed. Housra whirled around bringing his gun to bear upon the Barudii. The ignited blade divided the weapon before he could fire. The living exoskeleton sprang outward from the Baruk, striking Kale.
He was smashed backwards into the door of the compartment but managed to strike back furiously with his kinesis. The Baruk swung hard toward the other wall, but was stabilized quickly by the exoskeleton. It had appeared solid, but now morphed into obscene appendages to protect its host.
Kale brought his blade between himself and the Baruk. The symbiotic creature was reared up in a posture of aggression as it sought to strike.
One of the appendages lashed out and Kale struck it with his ignited blade. It recoiled. He moved in again, striking at the hovering tentacles and landing a blow to the warrior’s leg. He severed it completely.
Another appendage knocked Kale down into the table as the Baruk fell from his wound. The morphing tentacle smashed the table flat as Kale rolled away. If Lucin had sent this warrior to kill him, more would quickly follow. He needed to get off of this ship as fast as possible.
He bolted out the door, leaving the maimed warrior and his symbiotic protector as far behind as he could. Now he just had to figure out how to get to his ship and off of this vessel alive.
ESTALL stared at the information coming onto the display as Ranul keyed in the various retrieval commands. Probe #2041 was transmitting its information on a coded band. He studied the incoming data carefully. Looking over Ranul’s shoulder, Estall attempted to understand what the transmission contained, but Ranul was scanning the data too fast for him to put it together.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Are you going to share with the rest of us?” he asked.
“Oh!” he said as though he had forgotten others were in the communications room with him. “The probe beyond the star Casiss has picked up a group of objects. After long range scans, it has concluded that the objects are in fact very large space cruisers on a path for Castai.”
“The Baruk, I suppose.”
“Well, I don’t think there’s any
other possibility. According to the Vorn records, it’s along the flight path to their territory.”
“Well, we’ve been training for a fight; looks like we’ve got one.”
THE Council buildings were as luxurious as any Tiet had seen among the Vorn cities. This one in Baeth Periege was perhaps the most beautiful of them all. He passed through the main hall on his way to the meeting chamber. It was lined on either side by troops he had helped to train in recent months. They looked very sharp in their uniforms, he thought. It was nice to see the peace between the Castillians and the Vorn illustrated in the new standing army.
Why did Wynn insist on trying to push him onto the throne? He certainly did not see himself as a king. He was just a young man, still in training himself—not a great man like his father. Tiet wished his father were still alive to lead this great people. He would’ve known what to do.
Tiet wished he had been able to really know his father, but his brother—the thought cut him to the heart. If he ever saw his brother again, he would avenge his father’s death and Orin’s.
Too bad the coward had taken off before he realized who he was. Tiet would have killed him. That thought gave him little joy, but seemed to satisfy his anger to some degree. Two of the acting guards opened the large main doors that allowed him into the main council chamber.
The ceiling was three stories high in the main hall and he could see that it was even higher within the meeting chamber as the doors parted before him. They revealed a very large circular room with a dome at the top. The Council of Twelve, along with their various advisers, was seated along the outer portion of the room slightly above the place where Tiet was to stand in the middle of the room and be addressed by the Council.
As he made his way into the large room he could see that the session was already beginning and apparently everyone was waiting for him to arrive. As he entered, many began to cheer and clap. This was not the sort of entrance he had expected or wanted.
