by Alma Boykin
“We have considered that option,” Huan-di said. “However, Our concern is that the Empire’s enemies could take advantage of our lack of defense against nanotech weapons. At present, they know that the Empire has nano-defenses on the Colony worlds and Protectorate, and assume the same holds true for Drakon IV. We prefer to keep the situation that way.” Huan-di’s tone brooked no argument and Reh-dakh sighed to herself. For all that she understood his attitude, as Lord Defender she greatly feared that some day it would come to harm the throneworld.
The three courtiers looked at eachother and the mammal gave a minute shrug, rumpling her tail. She had no brilliant suggestions. “I am a soldier, not a diplomat, Imperial-Majesty,” she admitted. “My preference would be to tell the Sapient Republic to go soak their heads in the Zhangki River, but more delicately of course.” That garnered amused snorts from all three reptiles.
Lord Li-kss, the Foreign Minister, rubbed the tip of his muzzle with a forefoot. “Perhaps the solution is a compromise, Imperial Majesty. Ambassador Bolton is honorable and intelligent, for all that he is a mammal.” Reh-dakh bristled and Huan-di’s tail twitched in amusement at her displeasure. Oblivious to his associate’s irritation, the Foreign Minister continued, “What if he were shown why additional nanotech and genetic modification technologies are anathema? Perhaps emphasizing that additional nanotech is the great fear, and allowing him to assume that some does, indeed, exist on the Throneworld. His report, along with our ambassador’s continued efforts, might persuade the Sapient Republic to cease pressuring your Imperial Majesty. The treaty and founding charter of the Republic does state that members with just cause may opt out of certain trade provisions for valid cultural reasons, provided that they do not infringe on basic life-rights or damage trade,” Li-kss reminded the others.
The King-Emperor looked thoughtful, running the backs of his steel-clad talons under his muzzle as he considered the Minister’s words. “A very good point, Li-Kss. And those provisions also apply to non-signatories, do they not?”
The Foreign Minister’s neck spines twitched as he tried to remember. “According to my understanding and the recognition treaty’s wording they do, but I would want to have Ambassador Daestar look at adjudication precedent before pushing the point too aggressively. Perhaps your Majesty could keep it as a final argument, to be used in last resort?”
The King-Emperor fixed his gaze on his Lord Defender. “Lord Reh-dakh, will it compromise security if Ambassador Bolton were to visit the memory keeper on the southern continent?”
“No, Imperial Majesty, it will not. The low population of the Southern lands is well known, so nothing is risked by having him visit.” After a moment she added, “And neither he nor any security personnel he has with him can carry anything back. Nothing has been reported from the Forbidden Lands for over two centuries.”
That decided Huan-di. “Very well. Lord Li-kss, inform Ambassador Bolton that if he wishes, he will be allowed to see why We refuse the technology that the S.R. desires to impose upon Us. Reh-dakh, as Defender and Healer you will accompany the ambassador to the memory keeper. We will send proper staff and supplies for you, so that the party does not need to draw from the Forbidden Lands—We will not risk Our people there just yet, despite the reports,” he stated. It wasn’t just health matters he referred to, and Reh-dakh had a shrewd suspicion that there would be incense as well as food and other supplies included. “And We order you to spend no time alone in the ambassador’s presence except when you are at the memory keeper,” Huan-di added for public benefit. Reh-dakh bowed her acknowledgment.
After his Imperial Majesty dismissed his advisors, Reh-dakh returned to her office in the area reserved for the Palace Guard. Rhythmic bangs of metal on metal sounded from the indoor weapons practice area, and Reh-dakh poked her head in the doorway. Two corporals were drilling a new batch of officer cadets under the critical eye of a senior sergeant. He nodded to the Lord Defender but didn’t interrupt the practice sequence. Reh-dakh left the males to their work. What to do about the possible trip? She needed to visit the Defenders’ bases on the southern landmass, but not in the company of the human. Well, she’d just have to do it at a different time. Maybe later in the season. The next question was who should come along in her escort. She’d need people who could keep their muzzles shut and who she wouldn’t want to kill after spending every waking minute in their company. Her tail swished as she thought about the available personnel. Defender Kir, her second-in-command, needed to stay right where he was. However, Captain Leesh knew a little about diplomatic protocols because of fostering with Great Lord Zhi-king’s family. Reh-dakh nodded to herself and made a note to start with Leesh.
Sapient Republic Ambassador’s Quarters:
Ambassador Bolton was both intrigued and puzzled. Intrigued by the offer, and puzzled as to the reason and location. His briefing materials claimed that the southern landmass on Drakon IV was uninhabited and off limits to everyone, Azdhag and foreigner both. Sapient Republic intelligence sources maintained that the restriction stemmed from military reasons and Bolton had read accounts of several failed invasions that had been attempted via the southern continent. That suggested the presence of major military bases. However, these were the same intelligence reports that claimed that Reh-dakh was the perennial title of the Lord Defenders over the centuries. Bolton sighed quietly as he wrote out his acceptance of the King-Emperor’s offer. And once again he wondered who Lord Reh-dakh really was.
Two days later the middle-aged human stood next to the Lord Defender. She smiled at him, her black ears twitching at the noises as her soldiers and the ambassador’s bodyguard finished loading the air transport craft. “I apologize for the lack of amenities, Your Excellency,” the woman said. “There wasn’t time to re-do the interior appropriately.” Charles settled into the well-cushioned seat that had been installed for him and shook his head.
“There is no need to apologize, Lord Reh-dakh. This is quite comfortable and serviceable.” The woman took the plainer seat across from him and strapped in. Bolton’s bodyguard sat between the ambassador and the Azdhagi. Bolton secured his own safety harness, then asked, “How many stops before we reach our destination?”
A green light appeared on a display panel beside the Lord Defender’s head and she raised a finger to suggest a pause. Bolton felt and heard the atmospheric ship’s engines fire and felt the thrust of departure as it lifted off. After twenty minutes or so the craft reached level cruising altitude and Reh-dakh answered. “Two stops, your Excellency. We will refuel and pick up some supplies and an additional medical person at the commercial port at Green Cove. Then we cross the Captive Sea and land at Stormgate. Weather permitting, we will overnight there and then use HalfHovers to reach the Defenders base called ‘Erinnerungen.’ Then ground transport to our final destination.”
Bolton watched as Reh-dakh called up a three-dimensional display map of their route as far as the Defenders’ base. Maps of Drakon IV were scarce and he studied the projection carefully. “Am I correct in translating this as ‘Forbidden Lands’?” he asked, pointing to the area west of the base.
“Yes sir, you are,” his guide confirmed. She didn’t add anything more, and cleared the display as an Azdhag appeared with drinks and light snacks. Charles helped himself and noted that Reh-dakh asked the Azdhag a question before taking anything. The reptile continued on to where the rest of the party sat and offered the soldiers drinks as well. As the steward did, Bolton noticed that he and the other Azdhagi all wore small circular metal devices with various patterns on them clipped to their weapons harnesses or on chains wound through their neck spines. However, Lord Reh-dakh did not. She wore a small gold cross on a gold chain around her neck, along with a tiny lozenge-shaped medallion.
“Do you mind a personal question, Lord Defender?” Bolton ventured.
The woman glanced over her shoulder at the Azdhagi, then shrugged. “So long as it is not about my ancestry or my face, no your Excellency.”
She hesitated, then unclipped the elaborate cut-metal fan from her belt and opened it out, laying it on the table between them. “From this. It is a reh-dakh shleera, an iron war fan, roughly three centuries old. The rest of the tale relates to,” and she gestured towards her missing eye and the scars around it. “For that, I need permission from his Imperial Majesty to give you the story. And no, I am not Azdhag raised.”
The aircraft shook and Reh-dakh tightened her harness. “We’re crossing the planet’s northern jet stream,” she explained. She repeated it in Azdhag, and Bolton noted how quickly the others on board snugged their harnesses tight. A few closed their eyes and stroked the talismans they wore. That reminded him of his other question.
“I noticed that you wear a cross. Is that also antique?”
She smiled and a faraway look appeared in her eye. “You might say so. My godfather gave it to me at my baptism. A former squad-mate of mine gave me the St. Michael’s medallion in 1990, old Earth calendar.” She touched the pieces, then tucked them farther into her collar. The woman returned from her mental wanderings and cautioned, “I am not as old as that makes me sound, your Excellency.” Three jolts shook the aircraft and Bolton instinctively clutched his seat as Reh-dakh steadied the cups on the table.
Well, he certainly had a great deal to think about! The rest of the flight passed slowly, if uneventfully, and Bolton was quite glad to get out of the aircraft after landing in Stormgate. The rest of the group seemed of the same mind, and there were a lot of muttered comments from the passengers as they gathered their baggage. Captain Leesh said something to the Lord Defender and one side of her mouth quirked up. The soldiers laughed at her dry reply to whatever the captain had offered. Bolton was learning Azdhag, but the reptile’s thick regional accent and fast delivery confused the human. He stretched and looked around the landing area. As he did, he noticed a group of Azdhagi staring at him. Lord Reh-dakh joined him and nodded towards the onlookers. “They’ve never seen a large mammal before, your Excellency. Our visit will be the fodder for conversations, speculation, and rumor for the next moon at the very least.”
It was after sundown and the mountain air cooled quickly. The ambassador followed his guide to his quarters, where supper waited for them. Everyone ate well and quickly, without the usual formalities of Court. Captain Leesh spoke Republic Standard, although with the odd pronunciations common to Azdhagi. Without flexible lips, certain sounds were unpronounceable, so “t” replaced “b” for example. Still, everyone managed to understand what was said. Bolton wrote up his observations and then slept soundly, exhausted by the long flight.
Silver Talon Inn, Stormgate: Lord Defender’s Room
“Thoughts?” Reh-dakh asked her second-in-command.
He tipped his head to the side as he thought. “So far all is quiet. I’m not pleased with the rumors, Lord Mammal, but,” he gave a tail gesture signifying reluctant resignation to the situation.
The woman shrugged. “Agreed. But it would have been worse if we’d arrived at full dark and tried to sneak him into town. Too bad the lodgings near the landing strip are, hmmm . . .” she searched for a word.
“Unsuitable for high-ranking diplomats?” Leesh suggested, sand-colored tail swinging.
“I was going to say infested with cheap pleasuremates as well as hide-nippers, both of which will give you something to remember them by, but you are correct.” Her reptilian associate managed to keep a straight face, but his tail-tip gave away his amusement. Reh-dakh and Leesh reviewed their plans for the next day. Then he retired to his quarters after making certain that the watches were in place. It was highly unlikely that anyone would try to harm the three mammals, but one never knew. Stormgate was a mining town and isolated—that could mean a lot or it could mean nothing. Leesh and the Lord Defender did not care to guess wrong.
The next morning the party boarded HalfHover aircraft for the Defenders’ base. These craft had windows and Reh-dakh watched her troopers and the ambassador and his guard all staring outside while pretending that they were not staring outside. Why not? It was the first and probably only time most of the people in the group would see this part of the planet. Azdhagi volunteered to serve with the Defenders and part of that contract was that except in case of invasion, only further volunteers served on the southern continent, most especially at Erinnerung Base. Twelve hundred and fifty years after the Great Relocation, the landmass remained a place of fear where only the bravest Azdhagi ventured. Three lords had established estates, or re-established in one case, and those were all well away from the Forbidden Lands.
The landscape shifted as the two-hour flight progressed. Stormgate perched at the foot of a pass in the eastern mountain range and drew its name from the winds funneling between the peaks. They had not yet crossed the equator, but were close enough that it made no difference. Vast swaths of tropical grassland spread out over the landscape, interrupted by hills and an area of relict rock outcrops. The first royal capitol city had been built on one such area, and Reh-dakh remembered climbing over the ruins a century before. None of her guard had been willing to join her, so she had gone alone by the light of the double full moon.
Lush grassland yielded to semi-arid uplands as they flew onto the edge of the central plateau. This was the border of the Forbidden Lands, and several reptiles stroked their ancestral talismans. Even though Reh-dakh knew that any lingering contagion would not affect her, she still picked up on her troopers’ emotions and responded with a hint of fear. Off in the distance she caught sight of the next day’s destination and nodded to herself. It would be hot, then. This was the dry season here, and clear skies meant cool nights and hot days. She let her memory wander back to another place with a climate much like the central plateau and smiled. Time had healed part of that wound, she noted.
The ambassador caught sight of her expression. “Lord Reh-dakh, you do not seem to be troubled by this area,” he observed.
She considered her words. “I am less troubled than many, Your Excellency. The dead past is not what troubles a soldier such as me.” A chime sounded, and Reh-dakh triple-checked her safety harness as the HalfHover began maneuvering for landing. The aircraft slowed to a near hover as the engines began tipping from horizontal to vertical for the landing. When the pilot called “two meters,” Reh-dakh undid her harness and moved for the door. Two of her personal guards did the same, and the trio jumped out of the aircraft even before the wheels touched the ground. The soldiers landed on the run and sped through the dust cloud of the vehicle’s downwash. It was standard procedure derived from combat unloading, and Reh-dakh no longer thought it odd for the senior ranking Defender to disembark early.
Lieutenant Sklee and his men met the Lord Defender. She inspected their formation while Ambassador Bolton and his guard and escort left the vehicles in a rather more dignified manner. Sklee had been Imperial Special Forces before retiring upon the death of his elder brother, the lineage heir. However, the tan-and-yellow reptile found domestic life uncongenial and as soon as he’d sired an heir and a spare, he left his mate running the small estate and joined the Defenders. The unconventional arrangement suited both parties, and Reh-dakh liked having Sklee in her forces.
“Well met Lieutenant,” she told him. “Anything to report?”
“A storm due this afternoon, Lord Mammal. Otherwise all is quiet,” he told her.
“Good. I brought extra parts and supplies, so we won’t be drawing too heavily on your hospitality,” she informed him. Captain Leesh and the ambassador walked up, and without an order Sklee and his men snapped to attention. Reh-dakh smiled broadly at the unordered display. “Your Excellency, allow me to present Lieutenant Sklee, formerly of his Imperial Majesty’s Imperial Special Forces, now commanding officer of Erinnerung Base.” Bolton nodded and accepted Sklee’s salute. “Lieutenant Sklee, Ambassador Charles Bolton of the Sapient Republic. If you could have so
meone show the Ambassador and his guard to their quarters?”
Sklee led the way. Instead of her usual space near the Sklee’s chamber, Reh-dakh would be staying near Bolton, while Leesh took her customary quarters. Erinnerung Base did not get many visitors, and Reh-dakh could tell that the interruption was a most welcome diversion from the normal pattern. Once the ships had been unloaded and rooms located, Sergeant Schai gave Leesh and the Ambassador a guided tour of the facility while Sklee briefed Reh-dakh. As he had warned, a dust storm hit just after the mid-day meal and Reh-dakh took the opportunity to meet with the Ambassador. Leesh and Sklee listened in, as did Bolton’s bodyguard, Major Kreshoy Bai’taklo.
“The items we are going to see require the use of ground transport and then some walking, your Excellency. Because of the heat, I recommend that we leave before first light. It will take roughly four hours to reach our destination. Once we are there, I must ask that Major Bai’taklo remain with the Defenders when we go into the place of memory.” She paused, anticipating objections.
They came quickly. “Lord Reh-dakh, that is not acceptable,” the Burwalian officer stated. “With all due respect, I cannot let the ambassador go into a dangerous area alone.” His orange skin flushed darker and the plates on the backs of his hands rustled.
“First, Major, I will guard his Excellency, and I assure you that I will take any injury before he is touched. Second, his Imperial Majesty is risking a great deal of support at Court by even allowing Ambassador Bolton onto the southern continent, let alone going into the place of memory. I will not potentially compromise my overlord’s safety by allowing you into the memory keeper.” She gestured with the iron fan. “If you absolutely insist on coming with us, I am under orders to terminate the journey and we will return to the Capitol.”
