by Renee Duke
For a few moments, everyone else in Beom’s Chamber appeared too stunned by Ezrias’s words to say anything. But then they began to talk. Angrily, belligerently, excitedly, hesitantly, despairingly. But no amount of talking seemed to help much. The best plan of action they could come up with was for Taz to send some armed ships as close to Lurgos, Shavo, and Orec as possible and monitor all comings and goings. They thought that would keep Drazok guessing as to which planet Challa and Kadi were on and have people on hand to stop him or one of his henchmen transporting down onto Lurgos if he were to find out.
“What about capturing him before he gets that far?” said Chief Rupin. “I don’t imagine he’s been on Cholar since he escaped custody, but he has to be hiding out somewhere directing affairs. An AUP-member world would be my guess. If we could just determine which one, we could put our own line of ships between it and Lurgos.”
The Council also toyed with the idea of broadcasting news of the search for Cholar’s royal children far and wide and denouncing both Drazok and AUP’s involvement. But AUP was likely to stick with its fear-of-contagion story and even if the bulk of the Zaidus system’s independent planets and former AUP-member planets believed AUP to be lying, what could they do about it? Other than to come to Cholar’s aid in a war against Lurgos, and no one on wanted to start a war with Challa and Kadi in the firing line.
“I canna take any more of this,” Kirsty whispered. “They’ll be talking here all the night and by morning be no further ahead than they are now, what with having to worry aboot laws, and proof, and protocol, and such. Come on. Let’s away to the palace. We can come up with some plans of oor own there.”
She had a look I knew, just knew, meant she was formulating one of her famous schemes. And, sure enough, when we got back to the palace, she went into more detail.
“We canna stand by and do nothing,” she said when we were gathered in a small alcove in the eerily quiet palace. “Too much depends on getting Challa and Kadi back so they canna be used as leverage for an abdication. But Taz’s hands are tied. The only way Cholarians can fetch the bairns from Lurgos is to go in as an invading force and chance killing them in the process. The Lurgosians will be watching for possible operatives from other independent planets too, so Mr. Skoko wouldn’t be for getting far either. That leaves us. We come from AUP’s founding planet. We can visit an AUP-member world any time we want.”
I usually make some attempt to deflate Kirsty’s wild proposals but wasn’t inclined to on this occasion. Someone had to rescue Challa and Kadi and we were the only ones who stood any kind of chance.
“You can count me in,” I said.
“Me too,” said Simon. “And don’t you dare say I can’t go, Meda, because you know I will, whether you take me with you or not.”
This was so patently true, I didn’t bother to answer.
“I, too, will go,” said Jip. “For centuries now, Vorla has remained neutral in the face of interplanetary conflict in this region, so although Vorla renounced its conditional membership in AUP, it is unlikely to be on the list of planets whose citizens are currently unwelcome on Lurgos. If, by chance, it is, I will simply board a Lurgos-bound ship through another dimension.”
I stared at her. In the past, she had always been adamant about not using her dimension travel abilities for nefarious purposes.
“Wouldn’t that go against your Vorlan Code of Honour?”
“Not under these circumstances. Since our last adventure, I have been studying the Code more attentively. There are a surprising number of conditions under which the principles it upholds may be…adjusted. Though this only applies when dealing with dangerous, unscrupulous people,” she hastened to add.
“Aye, well, the nasties who made off with Challa and Kadi and the villains aiming to use them as pawns certainly qualify,” said Kirsty. She looked around. “So, it’s settled then? We go after the bairns? And without a word to Taz or any of oor guardians, because there’s no chance at all they’d let us put oorselves at risk, even for Challa and Kadi.”
Jip, Simon, and I all nodded
So did Arlyne.
“You’re not going to try to talk us out of it?” I said, surprised.
“No.”
“Oh. Well, that’s great. No one’s likely to give us much thought tomorrow, so you should be able to cover up our absence for quite a while.”
“Perhaps,” said Arlyne. “But I won’t.”
I gave a snort of exasperation.
“You just said — well, implied — it was okay for us to go.”
“It is. Taz and Vostia are terribly upset. We have to help them. And it’s the only possible chance Challa and Kadi have. So, I’m going too.”
“You can’t,” I declared. “We were told to keep out of it and people are going to be plenty mad at us for disobeying. We’re all kind of used to that, but you aren’t.”
“Jip isn’t. Not as much.”
“Yes, well, we seem to have broken her into our ways. But this isn’t anything you want to get mixed up in. Danger aside, you don’t like flouting authority.”
“How do you know? Just because I never have doesn’t mean I’m incapable of it. And you’re not leaving me behind to explain to everyone where you’ve gone and why. Not this time.”
I briefly wondered if that meant our parents had taken her to task after Simon and I ducked out on the edu-tour.
“Just plead ignorance as usual,” I told her.
“I doubt I’d get away with that here. And I’m not going to try. I’m going with you.”
There was a determination in her voice I’d never heard before, but I still found it hard to take her seriously.
“The more of us there are, the more conspicuous we’ll be.”
“We won’t be moving around in a herd. When you were trying to get the ring back to Taz, you divided your forces more than once. It seems only sensible to do the same on Lurgos. If only to cover more ground.”
“I know, but —”
“Och, let her come,” said Kirsty. “We dinna have time to argue.”
I looked at Jip and Simon, who both nodded. Her understandingly, him impatiently.
“Well, okay. But you’d better not start whining if things go wrong.”
“I don’t intend to. Even though they probably will.”
Chapter Twelve
By morning, a list of suspect planets had been posted throughout the Zaidus system. As Jip had thought, Vorla wasn’t on it, but Cholar topped the list, making direct passage between it and Lurgos impossible. Which meant we’d have to go to a non-suspect planet first and get a ship to Lurgos from there.
“We can travel to Lurgos openly,” said Jip, “but what about coming back, when the children are with us? They do not have passports, and with or without them, I am sure Lurgosian starport officials would recognize them and hand them over to Drazok. Even if they were not recognized, they are Cholarian children and would, under the false contagion fears, be quarantined.”
“Yes, we’ll have to think of a way around that,” I said.
Kirsty had a suggestion. “We could wait ’til they’re asleep, wrap them in blankets, and take them through as luggage, saying they’re life-sized robotic dolls.”
Simon rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah. That’ll work.”
“No, it would not,” said Jip, missing the sarcasm.
“And just how would you go aboot getting them past the Lurgosian officials?” Kirsty asked Simon.
“Easy-peasy. Coming back, we stow away on a freighter.”
I gave a derisive snort. “We got caught when we tried that.”
“You got caught, but only because you were dumb enough to stow away on a passenger ship — and a V.I.P. passenger ship, at that. I stuck to freighters and was never caught. Besides, I wasn’t thinking of us all stowing away. Seven stowaways would be sure to attract notice, but if just a couple of us snuck aboard with —”
“— a baby who’s likely to cry at some point and the champion
tantrum thrower of all time. You think they aren’t going to attract notice?”
“We’ll be in a part of the ship hardly anyone goes. The crew won’t hear them.”
“Him, maybe not. Her, when she gets going? They’d hear her three decks away.”
“Only if she has a tantrum,” said Jip. “If I go along as the other stowaway, I should be able to mentally head off a storm before it breaks. It is not mind control. Merely a calming technique Vorlan parents use.”
I looked at Kirsty and Arlyne.
“I suppose it is a better notion than life-size robotic dolls,” Kirsty admitted.
“And about our only choice,” said Arlyne.
Our best bet for a connecting planet seemed to be Borel, home world of Drazok’s masquerading friend. A small independent world that tended to mind its own business, Borel wasn’t on the suspect planet list, sat in between Cholar and Lurgos, and took less than a day to reach.
“We’ve probably got enough money to get to Borel,” I said as we weighed our transport options. “But there won’t be much left over for tickets to Lurgos.”
“We can soon get it,” said Simon. “We had considerable wealth bestowed on us for our services to the crown. It’s only titles and offices we can’t have until we’re older.”
“Wealth that’s in trust,” I pointed out. “We can only get at what’s considered a reasonable amount of spending money for our ages. And even that’s only accessible once a week, to teach us how to budget.”
Something only Kirsty and I had trouble with, the others being born savers.
“Leave it to me,” said Simon.
He went off to sort out the necessary travel funds, along with what he vaguely referred to as ‘other things’. By the time we were ready to set out, our accounts had become open access accounts and the amount permitted for withdrawal increased by, well, let’s just say quite a lot.
I didn’t ask how.
I didn’t want to know.
Even so, getting off Cholar wasn’t as easy as just going to Cholaris’s starport and booking passage to Borel. Like all the main starports, it was being watched by special guards charged with catching Drazok — if, by chance, he was on Cholar and trying to get off — and making sure anyone who might be working for him stayed planet-bound. Travel documents were being carefully examined, and people known to have been associated with Drazok in any way whatsoever, detained. That didn’t apply to us, as our association with him hadn’t exactly been cordial, but we were too well-known to get by even regular starport personnel unnoticed.
There was, however, a small starport on the edge of Chorathase that was mostly only used by naturalists and outdoorsy types from other worlds.
“And Borel is one of the planets it serves,” said Simon. “I know because Naka told me Kovo sometimes meets up with Borelian naturalists when he’s camped out there studying the flora and fauna.”
Arlyne gave him an odd look. “How long have you been calling Princess Zovia and Prince Mardis Naka and Kovo?”
“Not sure. A week or so, I guess. It slipped out, and they said I could. They don’t have any kids, and while I’m here I’m sort of their kid.”
“Hmm. Well, yes, I suppose you are,” I said. “They might even miss you a little when we go back to Yaix.”
“Yeah. More than Mother and Father at any rate.”
I was expecting Arlyne to protest and start in about how busy they were, but all she said was we’d better get going if we wanted to catch a ground bus out to Chorathase. An airbus would have been faster, but those went out of the Cholaris starport and we didn’t want to run the risk of being noticed.
There were only a few people at the tiny Chorathase starport, most of them aliens who’d just arrived or were heading home. We had no trouble purchasing tickets for Borel, but the only ship going out that day wasn’t due to board for a couple of hours. To pass the time, we went up into the observation tower and looked out over Chorathase itself.
It was a clear day and visibility was good. In the far, far distance, we could see an ocean. Immediately before us, however, swept a panorama of trees, hills, mountains, and lakes in beautiful, spectacular, abundance. Some of it was in Chorathase Park, the rest in the notorious restricted zone.
“The Shield of Beom might still be out there somewhere,” I said. “I wish we had time to go look for it. It could help us find the kids and protect them once we have them.”
“Och, people have been looking for it for centuries,” said Kirsty. “It’s not likely to pop up oot of nowhere just for us. And we already know where the we’ans are.”
“Yes, on Lurgos, which is quite a big planet, and the Quorlians’ hide-out could be anywhere.”
“Aye, I know, but a large metropolis with oodles of different races moving aboot would be the best place for them to lie low. Even Quorlians would think of that. I’m betting on the capital, Lurgo. Its starport will be the one oor ship will be going to anyway, so it’s as good a place as any to start.”
When we heard the boarding call for our ship, we went back into the main part of the starport, coming to a sudden stop when we rounded a corner and saw a familiar figure leaning up against some luggage chutes.
“Going somewhere?” Mr. Skoko inquired. “Do not bother to answer. I have already made inquiries and know you are booked on a ship destined for Borel. You will not be boarding it.”
We exchanged looks of dismay.
“How did you —” I began.
“— guess you might try something like this? Let’s just say I have come to know how the four of you think.” He pursed his lips and looked at Arlyne. “I suppose I will now have to put together a dossier on Miss Arlyne as well.”
“Och, come now, Mr. Skoko,” said Kirsty. “You must be for knowing we’re the only ones who can go to Lurgos and get Challa and Kadi. Cholarians canna do it, and neither can you. It has to be people from an AUP-member planet or a neutral world.”
“Supreme Ruler Taziol is working on recruiting some for the task.”
“Aye, maybe, but how long will it take him? Time’s of the essence.”
“I am aware of that. I am also aware His Royal Highness intends to have any rescue attempt of his children carried out by adults. He will not be pleased when he learns of this.”
“Does that mean he doesn’t know yet?” I asked. “And our guardians don’t either?”
“I chose not to inform anyone of my suspicions until I knew they were correct.”
“But you can’t take us back to the palace. You just can’t.”
“I can and will.”
“And naught will change your mind?” said Kirsty.
“No.”
“Och, well, I suppose it will have to be this way then.” Whirling round, Kirsty pointed at Mr. Skoko. “Help! Help! This wee mannie just made an improper suggestion to me.”
“What? No!” Mr. Skoko spluttered. “That is a lie. I —”
He got no further as Simon backed Kirsty’s play by hitting the button on the luggage chute behind Mr. Skoko and giving him a hard push.
This tactical manoeuvre wouldn’t have worked if most of the people at the Chorathase starport had been Cholarians. Mr. Skoko was too well known and regarded as one of Taz’s saviours. But the bulk of those around us were aliens and they came running to render assistance as he disappeared down the chute cursing all five of us.
“We’ve a ship to get to,” Kirsty told them. “And if we have to stop and talk to the authorities aboot this —”
“Do not worry, Miss,” a burly Delveckian man replied. “You go aboard your ship. We will make sure he remains where this clever young man had the forethought to deposit him.”
“And will hand him over to the authorities after the ship has departed,” a Bithian matron added earnestly.
“Thank you kindly,” said Kirsty.
“He’s never going to like us, is he?” I murmured as we made our way to the ship.
Simon grinned. “Not in a million years.”
The trip to Borel took less than a day We got there without further incident and were able to take ship for Lurgos almost upon arrival. By then there was little chance of pursuit from Cholar as it would have taken a while for Mr. Skoko to be arrested, recognized, absolved of any wrongdoing, and apprise Taz of our plans in person rather than risk having a communication intercepted. And even when he had, Taz couldn’t very well have anyone follow us and try to bring us back. Not just because of the ban, but because Drazok would be watching for even the smallest hint as to where Challa and Kadi might be.
A day and a half later we went into orbit around Lurgos, having again travelled without incident. None of us had ever been to the big, sprawling city of Lurgo, but we knew better than to call attention to ourselves by specifically asking where criminals might hole-up. Instead, we went to the nearest tourist information booth and asked where the seedy parts of town were.
“Just so’s we can avoid them,” Kirsty explained.
The woman we spoke to nodded understandingly and let us download maps into our pocket computers highlighting all the disreputable districts.
Kirsty, Simon, and I took the nearest ones and Jip and Arlyne the farthest. We didn’t think we’d be in too much danger as, on AUP-worlds, disreputable usually just meant the people were poor rather than criminally and/or immorally inclined. AUP-backed governments were known for being tough on crime that didn’t do anything to enrich its upper echelons, who eschewed minor thieving and thuggery and preferred to take a percentage of the greater profits to be had from the gambling, prostitution, and other lucrative enterprises going on in more upscale neighbourhoods.
We were also armed, Simon having managed to obtain two stun-guns before we left Cholar. Again, I didn’t ask how, because, again, I didn’t want to know. I carried one, and Jip the other.
The tentative questions Kirsty, Simon, and I asked about Quorlian friends didn’t net us anything, but when we joined Jip and Arlyne in the small park we’d arranged to meet in, they did have something to report.
