When Stars Fall (The Star Scout Saga Book 4)

by GARY DARBY

  “Dason,” Jadar began, “this is Teng Rhee. He’s a member of the Imperium’s Special Operations Group. SOG is the Imperium’s premier intelligence-gathering and analyzing unit.”

  In answer to Dason’s puzzled expression, Jadar explained, “In other words, they’re the spy guys. However, in the case of Teng, he’s also our friend and very much on our side.

  “Since there’s going to be three Sha’anay at the meeting, I’ve asked Teng to be the third member of our party.”

  Dason held his hand out. “I’m glad to meet you, Mr. Rhee.”

  “And I you, Scout Thorne,” Teng answered and shook Dason’s hand. “You’ve made quite a name for yourself among the Star Scouts. You’ve definitely followed in your uncle’s footsteps.”

  Dason didn’t have an answer to the unexpected compliment though he was delighted to be compared so well to Jadar.

  “Dason,” Jadar said in a rush, “I’m sorry to hurry this along, but we don’t have much time. The Sha’anay are waiting, but we need to have a quick powwow first.

  “While you slept, we met with them a few times but they were tight-lipped on what this meeting was all about. However, from what little we got out of them, I believe that the Sha’anay are experiencing what we would classify as a profound political rift.

  “I get the feeling that something quite extraordinary has happened, though they wouldn’t let on just what. But whatever it is, it’s caused divisions, serious ones, among their people.”

  “Does it have anything to do with Tor’al?” Dason asked hastily.

  “They didn’t admit to it, but I’m pretty confident that it does because they’re adamant that they need to speak with you and only you.”

  “But why me?” Dason replied. “I don’t understand.”

  “Neither do I,” Jadar answered. “But when we meet, be completely honest and straightforward, just be careful with your words.

  “There’s something odd about all this in that it doesn’t appear that they’ve made any attempts to contact or speak with the Imperium.

  “Apparently, they’ve been out searching for you and are quite delighted to have found you, but won’t say why you’re so important to whatever it is that’s going on.

  “I would have thought that by now they would have demanded, or at the very least asked, to speak with the High Council, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

  “So, be careful, and if the subject comes up, emphasize that we are trying to do everything we can to find Tor’al and that we understand that it is imperative that Tor’al be returned to them.”

  Dason turned to Teng Rhee. “Is that why you’re here, sir, to represent the Imperium authorities?”

  Jadar and Teng exchanged quick glances. “No, I don’t represent the Imperium in an official capacity. Think of me as an unofficial observer, for now.”

  “But,” Jadar hastily went on to say, “the real reason I’ve asked Mr. Rhee to sit in with us is that he’s the point man in SOG on Faction matters. And recently, he’s had, shall we say, some very interesting encounters recently with them that may have some bearing on this. Okay?”

  Dason glanced from one to the other. “Okay, I’m ready.” Jadar led them through several connecting passageways and then into a plain room where the small assembly of Sha’anay waited.

  El’am came forward and placed his fur-covered hands on Dason’s shoulder. In a throaty rumble he asked, “Dason Thorne, my human friend, you are well?”

  Dason placed his hands on El’am’s forearms. “Thanks to you and the compassion of the Sha’anay, I am well.”

  El’am nodded in satisfaction. “Thus has Abi’lar reported to us and for that we are grateful.”

  He turned from Dason to the two other Sha’anay. “This is Elder Ne’roth, of the House of Ne’roth and Elder Co’anth, the At’agi’s master.”

  Out of respect, Dason bowed to the two. “I greet the elder of the House of Ne’roth and offer my sincere thanks to the captain and master of the mighty At’agi for his hospitality to my comrades and me. And especially do I thank you and the Sha’anay nation for preserving my life.”

  The older Sha’anay, with bands of gray streaks showing in his bushy facial hair, bowed his head slightly toward Dason. “And we greet Dason Thorne, friend to Elder Tor’al.”

  He brought his head up, raised a hand, and said, “Now that we’ve observed the formal niceties, it is time for frank speech between us.”

  He motioned for the three humans to take seats at the gleaming hardwood table across from the Sha’anay. Ne’roth fixed his deep, dark eyes on Dason and growled, “What would be in your reckoning ten days ago, the Korha’pec received a message from Elder Tor’al.”

  Dason felt as if he had grabbed hold of an Alesian Electric Worm. The shock ripped through his body and he sat immobile, his mind numb at the news. It took some time until he was able to blurt out, “Is he safe? Is he all right?”

  Ne’roth’s low rumble came from deep within his chest, and his mouth curved back in a snarl, revealing several sharp canine like teeth. “And that is the question.”

  “I don’t understand,” Dason responded.

  Ne’roth waved a hand and said, “Before I go on, I must ask that you share the words that Tor’al had you memorize when the two of you fought together. It would be that I would hear them myself.”

  Dason quickly replied, “Henceforth, until the stars grow cold, the human Dason Thorne is under my House, to him give the choicest cut of the Kor’ar meat, may his cup never be empty of the Mir’al berry, and may his pallet be the softest and closest to the clan fire.’”

  The three Sha’anay exchanged quick glances. Ne’roth rose from his chair and paced a few steps with one hand resting on the curved hilt of his short sword. He seemed deep in thought with his eyes focused on the dull gray metal deck.

  He stopped, inhaled deeply through his nose, and turned to stare at Dason. “Do you understand the meaning of what Tor’al said to you?”

  Dason responded slowly, “Not entirely. I believe he was saying that we were friends and that I was symbolically a member of his House based on that friendship.”

  Ne’roth uttered a low rumble in his chest and raised a paw. “Not symbolically, human Dason—literally. You saved his life; he saved yours. In our culture, that is a bond as strong as family, as lasting as the stars in the cosmos.

  “As the Elder of his House, he is the only one who can bring an outsider into the clan and by stating that you were under his House until the stars grow cold, he did exactly that.”

  “Are you telling us that Dason is a member of the Sha’anay?” Jadar asked.

  “Yes,” Ne’roth rumbled, “and the first non-Sha’anay to be afforded such a place among us. Of course, we do not expect him to completely follow our ways, except to always honor his adoptive House and Tor’al.”

  “Of course,” Dason sputtered. “I would never do anything to dishonor Tor’al.”

  “Of that, I am certain,” Ne’roth responded, “or Tor’al would not have afforded you this honor. But even more so is what he offered you in the second part of the adoptive phrase.

  “Did he explain that to you?” Ne’roth questioned.

  Dason glanced at his uncle, wet his lips and said, “He never mentioned anything. I assumed, as I said, that he was offering me friendship, to which I gladly accept.”

  “He offered you more than that,” Ne’roth snorted. “In our culture the phrase, to him give the choicest cut of the Kor’ar meat, may his cup never be empty of the Mir’al berry, and may his pallet be the softest and closest to the clan fire refers to those who are in one’s immediate family.”

  Ne’roth stared at Dason directly without blinking. “Tor’al was saying that not only are you of his House, his clan, but of his sept. In other words, you are his adopted son.”

  At that, Ne’roth’s shoulders slumped slightly and he shook his head as if very troubled. “And which makes this matter even stranger.”

 
Jadar turned concerned eyes to Dason who sat stunned at hearing Ne’roth’s explanation of Tor’al’s words. He leaned toward the Sha’anay, asking, “Do I understand you correctly that this is not a symbolic gesture but an actual fact? That Tor’al in a manner of speaking adopted Dason into his House?”

  “More than a symbolic gesture, human,” Ne’roth growled, “and it is definitely not a manner of speaking.”

  He slapped at his sword hilt. “It is as real as my sword, as real as this ship, as real as our very lives.”

  Inhaling deeply, he motioned toward Dason. “Unless this cub renounces what has been offered, his is indeed a son of Tor’al, Elder of the House of Tor’al, Holder of the Seventh Sword, Senior Elder of the Korha’pec and most likely the next Grand Elder of the entire Sha’anay nation!”

  Dason’s head was spinning, his mind in a whirl. “I . . . I didn’t know,” he weakly responded. “Didn’t understand what—”

  “How could you” Ne’roth barked. “For whatever his reasons, Tor’al did not explain to you fully the meaning and consequences of his words.”

  Ne’roth stopped and let out a long, rumbling sigh. “I have known Tor’al since we were both cubs. He has always been one who could see things that others couldn’t. An ‘inner eye’ as it were whose vision far transcended the moment and the event at hand.

  “I’m of the mind that this is one of those times, when, for whatever purpose, Tor’al saw in you something that spoke to him and caused him to take this quite unprecedented action.”

  Ne’roth straightened and said, “Normally, Tor’al would have been the one to ask what your answer is to his invitation to join with his House, but matters being what they are, the Korha’pec has authorized me to stand in his place instead.”

  He turned to fully face Dason. “So, human Dason, what is your answer? But before you reply, know this, if you choose not to join with Tor’al’s House there is no dishonor on you or him.

  “Our way is that this is a weighty matter and must be considered without any coercion or influence upon you. However, because of other ‘unique’ circumstances, I must have your answer, now.”

  Dason turned to Jadar, his eyes pleading for guidance. Jadar laid a hand on Dason’s shoulder and looked him squarely in the eye. “Dason, I cannot make this decision for you, only you can decide.

  “The only advice I can give you is first, to ask any questions you might have regarding the consequences of your decision, and secondly, listen to your heart and not so much the brain on this one.”

  Dason nodded in reply, thought for a moment, and then turned to Ne’roth. “Elder, if I choose this adoption, do I lose my other family? My Uncle Jadar, here?”

  Ne’roth rubbed a paw over his whiskers. “Normally the answer would be yes, as that is the custom with us. But, seeing how this goes far beyond tradition and seeing as how we are two different races, my answer would be no.

  “You would enjoy the rare privilege and great fortune of belonging equally in two Houses.”

  “Thank you,” Dason replied and giving a little smile to Jadar and gave him a grateful and understanding smile in return.

  Licking dry lips, Dason then asked, “As a new cub in the House of Tor’al what would be my responsibilities, my duties?”

  Ne’roth smile wide at Dason’s question. “An excellent observation young human and I will only say that those matters will be left to Tor’al for when you two next meet again.”

  He scratched at his head while muttering, “I would think that Tor’al would want you to be schooled in the Sha’anay culture, traditions, and customs, as well as the time-honored traditions of his House.”

  His mouth turned up in a broad smile. “But, I doubt if he would point out which females in other Houses that he would expect you to consider for marriage as is our custom.”

  The other two Sha’anay guffawed at that while Dason turned a slight tint of red. “Uh, I would hope not,” he muttered. “I kinda have someone else in mind already.”

  “Then consider it done,” Ne’roth said. “What other concerns do you have?”

  Dason drew in a breath and said, “What about Tor’an? How will he take this matter of his father bringing a human into his House after what has happened to Elder Tor’al?”

  Ne’roth’s stare didn’t leave Dason’s face and it was apparent that he was contemplating his answer. “Admittedly, a most delicate situation, human Dason and I would simply say that while Tor’an can be excitable at times, when it comes to his father, there is none more loyal to Tor’al’s wishes and commands.

  “He will honor his father and accept you into the clan, though I dare say, you might find some, shall we say, ‘challenges’ along the way. Nevertheless, Tor’an will treat you the same as his other siblings.”

  Ne’roth’s chuckle was a low rumble. “And from what I hear, the interaction between Tor’al’s children makes for a lively House.”

  Dason glanced at Jadar. “I don’t think I have any other questions.”

  Jadar turned to Ne’roth. “If Dason accepts, is there some type of formalities, some symbolic ritual that takes place?”

  “If you are asking, human,” Ne’roth smiled, “if we do some sort of bloodletting to symbolize the mingling of our blood with his, no. In this matter, it is simply for him to answer yes or no in front of three witnesses.”

  He gestured at his two companions. “Which we have here and are honor bound to report to Tor’al the human Dason’s reply. But again, I must know his answer now as there other matters hinging on his reply.”

  “Well, Dason,” Jadar remarked, “there’s certainly nothing in the Star Scout Manual or Code to cover this. We’re in uncharted space on this one.”

  Dason nodded and said, “I think I’m okay with it Uncle Jadar, if you are. I believe it would not only be a great honor, but moreover, it may heal some of the rift between the Sha'anay and us.”

  Jadar nodded and a little mist covered his eyes for a moment. “So do I and I’m so proud of you Dason for thinking that way and moreover that your first thought was of you and me.”

  Dason replied with a lopsided grin and murmured, “You know, I’ve always thought how it would be to have brothers and sisters. Now it looks like I’ll find out. Only, I never thought that they would be so . . . big.”

  At that, even the Sha’anay laughed out loud, their laughter sounding like bears huffing.

  Dason slowly turned to Ne’roth. “Elder Ne’roth, with great humility, and honor, I accept Elder Tor’al’s invitation to enter into his House.”

  “Then rise,” Ne’roth ordered.

  At that, the Sha’anay and humans all stood and the three Sha’anay drew their swords and banged them loudly, together, three times.

  “So let it be said,” Elder Ne’roth intoned, “so let it be witnessed and honored that today, the human Dason Thorne is now of the House of Tor’al as son and heir of Tor’al of the Seventh Sword.

  “To him give the choicest cut of the Kor’ar meat, may his cup never be empty of the Mir’al berry, and may his pallet be the softest and closest to the clan fire.”

  With a hiss, the Sha’anay sheathed their swords. With a grunt and a sigh, Ne’roth settled in his seat as did all the others.

  “Now that that’s taking care of,” he rumbled, “we can move on to the matter at hand.”

  Ne’roth stared at the tabletop, his eyebrows deeply furrowed. “A short time back, several humans, dressed such as you, contacted us. They claimed that they were sent by the human Rosberg—”

  “Rosberg!” Jadar exclaimed, and then hastily spoke, “I beg pardon, Elder Ne’roth, and I meant no disrespect. Our government falsely imprisoned General Rosberg since shortly after he left the Sha’anay. We have had no communications with him at all.”

  Ne’roth’s bushy eyebrows furrowed even closer together, and he brought his fingers up to his whiskers to pull slightly at them. “Then this grows even more perplexing. The humans gave us a recording, supposedly made by Tor
’al.”

  Dason cocked his head to one side, puzzled. “A recording? Why did he not contact you in person?”

  “Indeed,” Ne’roth returned. “A question that we posed as well. The message had several parts.

  “First, he assured us that he was alive and well and that he had gone with the humans willingly. He stated that he had tried to contact us several times but that a renegade group of humans had prevented him from doing so.

  “Because of that, he had sent the recording with those whom he said he could trust in its delivery.

  “He went on to explain that your people were offering a long-term and mutually beneficial alliance. And in order to take advantage of this agreement, and to prevent further indecision among our people, he was assuming the title of Grand Elder since he was the natural successor.

  “Lastly, as Grand Elder, and in full agreement with the human’s governing body, he was ordering a full-scale attack on the renegade humans that were trying to disrupt the alliance.”

  Ne’roth paused to inhale deeply, his mouth turning into a dark scowl. “And that we were to capture and bring to him certain humans who were in league with these renegades.”

  Dason’s stomach had begun to tighten at the mention of a group of rebel humans, and now he knew how Sami must have felt when the Sliver Aal threw its constriction bands around his aorta.

  Tight-lipped, he asked, “Elder, may I ask, who are these renegade humans that you are supposed to attack?”

  Ne’roth’s eyes didn’t leave Dason’s when he answered, “I believe you call them Star Scouts.”

  With a sinking feeling, Dason asked, “And who are those you are to capture and take to Tor’al?”

  Ne’roth hesitated and then raised a thick finger at Jadar. “You.”

  Turning to Dason, his scowl was now an even darker crease in his face. “And you, human Dason Thorn, son of Tor’al.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Star date: 2443.103

  Interstellar Space

  Dason’s thoughts spun faster than a sixteen-legged Whirly-Pede of Beta Cygnon Four skipping and sliding across the fire-red frozen waters of Blazer Bay. None of his thoughts were positive but instead, tinged with disbelief and anger.