by Neal Jones
Jolan turned his gaze to the viewport and the calming vista of the starfield beyond it. An odd sense of peace gradually settled into him, and he interpreted this as further proof that he was doing the right thing. He decided that he wouldn't worry about his final destination. He would find something along his route once the Emperium was behind him. All that was left was to attend the union ceremony of Erengaar and Larewyn, which was scheduled for tomorrow evening. The Etath't would arrive at homeworld only three hours before then, a fact that hadn't escaped Jolan's attention when he had scheduled this trip. The last thing he needed was to explain his absence to Koden and Erengaar if the carrier should suffer some unexpected technical damage. But First Krin S'ynnal had assured him that the Etath't was operating at peak efficiency, and that the operations master would do everything possible to coax more speed from the engines without exceeding safety limits.
Jolan finished his tea and decided it was time to get some rest. He took a brief shower and then crawled into bed, and, just as it had been for the last two nights, his sleep was dreamless.
Chapter 22
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( 1 )
Jolan Nejra squeezed his wife's hand and smiled at her as the Father Intercessor recited the union vows to Lord Prince Erengaar Valayne and Lady Princess Larewyn Tannit. Annaias smiled back, but she knew her husband too well to be fooled by his disguise. She could see the worry and fear in his eyes, hiding behind that smile like a ghost behind the curtain that covers a haunted stage. She did her best to hide her own fear and then returned her gaze to the royal couple standing in front of the audience.
The courtyard of the palace gardens was lit by old-fashioned torches, and the two houses that were being joined by this union each had a tall banner hung on either side of the stage. The House of Valayne, being the more powerful, was hung on the right. The lord prince and lady princess were resplendent in their formal attire, and the tiny jewels in Erengaar's crown caught the firelight, gleaming and winking at the four dozen guests who were privileged enough to be invited to this private ceremony. The only conspicuous absence was the lord emperor. Doctor Rimshar's latest report said that Emkai's health had taken a sharp, downward turn in the last two days. He was now standing at the bank of the River Enld, and he would cross into the Fields of Glory at any moment. Everyone in the royal family had put on a proper façade of sorrow and mourning at hearing this terrible news, but anyone who knew them well could see the relief and anticipation behind the carefully constructed masks. Erengaar, especially, had a hard time hiding his obvious glee, or he simply didn't care. Jolan had reasons of his own to wear a mask, and his only relief was that he would soon be away from all of this.
He and Annaias were leaving tonight, right after the celebratory feast, as soon as a graceful exit could be managed. Their personal ship was fueled and ready, and Jolan would be piloting it himself. Though he was certain he could trust Calor, the pilot who had served him for twenty-two years, he was taking no chances. He had made sure that no one on his household staff knew about this treasonous escape, and while he was fairly certain that they would all avoid the lord emperor's wrath, a whisper of doubt in the back of his mind told him that there was also a good chance that Erengaar might take his rage out on them anyway. The possibility grieved Jolan, and he was even more distraught at the certainty that Eril wouldn't survive once news of Jolan's disappearance was made public, but he had no choice. He knew that if he had shared any part of his plan with Koden, his friend and comrade might choose to expose him instead of join him. It was a risk that Jolan couldn't afford. At least Eril's soul – and those of Jolan's servants - would pass safely to the Fields of Glory, and he would be reunited with them someday.
The Father Intercessor finished his recitation, and Erengaar and Larewyn began theirs. Jolan passed his gaze over the royal family, who were standing to Erengaar's right at the foot of the steps which led up to the stage. Larewyn's family was to her left, and all of them looked immensely pleased to be here. Larewyn's father, in particular, beamed with a pride than can only come from the parent of the bride on occasions like this, and Larewyn's mother dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. By sharp contrast, Erengaar's family looked almost bored, if not uncomfortable, with the whole ceremony. Vatra, especially, looked as if her face was carved of stone. Her expression was void of any feeling, yet her dark eyes glittered with a fire that could be mistaken for happiness, but Jolan was pretty sure that it was rage or bitterness. He had heard the rumors of the lord prince's affair with his half-sister, and it came as no surprise that she would find this union loathsome and despicable. Lady Empress Ildirale appeared despondent and tired, as though her lifeforce were somehow linked to Emkai's, and each day that his vibrancy waned, hers suffered as well. Though she took pains to wear her jovial mask well, the cracks at its edges were too noticeable to be dismissed. Only Sierik Grel appeared to be free of the shroud of despair and misery that smothered his relatives, and Jolan noticed how close Vatra's cousin was standing to her, as well as the occasional glance he cast in her direction. Jolan shuddered at the thought which sprang to mind, and dismissed it as quickly as it appeared. The notion was too hideous to think about, and he felt another stab of relief that all of this mess would soon be far behind him.
The ceremony ended, and the guests rose. A final response reading was necessary, and Jolan was grateful that this Intercessor was not like some others who would recite the entire Book of Tanaph. Instead, he selected a few short paragraphs, and Jolan felt a curious sensation fill his chest as he recited the spiritual phrases in chorus with the others around him. He had said these words many times before, but they held a new meaning – a new power – for him now. Until this moment in his life, the senator had felt no true purpose, no calling that was his own. Until now he had merely inherited a cause that had belonged to his grandfather and his father, and while he had always questioned that legacy, he had never found something to give him meaningful answers.
The royal couple bowed to one another and then to the guests before they walked down from the stage and proceeded up the aisle. The lady princess' family followed and then Erengaar's, and as they all passed him, Jolan looked on them with a new understanding. The monarchy was a dying corpse, rotting from the inside out, and it was spreading its cancerous disease to the whole Emperium. Jolan believed that his grandfather was a good man, as was his father, but they had chosen to accept the propaganda and the dogma preached to them by the monarchy and the senate. They had become too blinded by power to see the horrible end that they had created for themselves and their progeny. Jolan had witnessed that final chapter in his dreams, believed that the Gods had given him an opportunity to change the destiny of the Emperium.
It was so painfully obvious now, and Jolan wondered why he had never seen it before. The Jha'Drok people believed in the Lords of Jha'Dar and recited Their scriptures at all the important ceremonies and special occasions. The cathedrals were grand and pristine, as well preserved and maintained as the royal palace itself. Every child was christened and blessed on his or her tenth day, (though that was one particular ceremony that was becoming more and more rare in this present time), and they learned all the mythology by heart by the time their tenth birthday came around.
But for all of that worship and posturing, memorization and recitation, kneeling and praying, the Emperium as a whole had become lazy and apathetic, content to put their fate in the hands of a corrupt monarchy because that was what the Gods had ordained so long ago. The monarchy itself pretended to believe in the Lords, but they had long since become so drunk on their own power that they no longer wielded it for the benefit of the people but for their own selfish gain instead. They believed that none could stop them, and because of Elyn Nejra's fortunate discovery a hundred and thirty years before, the royal family could now spread their dominion to an entire quadrant of the galaxy.
Jolan had realized all of this at some point, but it was subconscious. Only now was his conscious m
ind seeing things as they really were. The Jha'Drok Emperium had lost its way long ago, and no one was left to stand up and challenge the authority of the Lord Emperor and the Father Intercessor. Jolan and Annaias took their seats at the long table in the banquet hall of the palace, and they raised their glasses when Vatra raised hers. But while Vatra was toasting the marriage of her brother and his ascension to the throne, Jolan was offering a prayer to the Lord of Fortune and Light.
May you always be in front of me, Master, to guide my feet and show me Thy path. I speak with Thy voice and see with Thine eyes. Bless me now and forever. Amen.
Later that night, in darkness that pressed as close as a burial shroud, Jolan grasped his wife's hand and helped her into the hovercar. They sped towards the civilian docking pads in the eastern quarter of the city. Once there, they boarded the class two starcruiser – one of the many privileges that was granted to every member of the senate – and Jolan wasted no time in implementing the preflight check. Everything was as it should be, and he brought the engines on line. This particular class of starcruisers was designed to ferry senators and other VIPs on their tours of the empire. Each cruiser was outfitted with weapons, deflector screens and a cloaking shield, and the maximum crew complement was two dozen. Military regulations and civilian law required that at least one warship accompany the cruiser on any of its travels, but tonight this one was going into the dark alone.
The tiny ship lifted from its docking pad and sailed into a starless sky. The planetary weather system had been arranged to deliver thunderstorms to this region tomorrow, and the stars appeared soon enough as Jolan navigated through the cloud bank. The atmosphere faded, and as soon as he was clear of homeworld's gravity well, the former senator punched the stardrive up to level nine. He transmitted the necessary clearance codes to the home system's border drones, and then he brought the autopilot on line and locked in the course.
Annaias laid a hand on her husband's arm. "Where are we going, Jolan?"
He smiled as he placed a hand over hers. "Exxar-One."
( 2 )
Mariah entered the cryogenic chamber - or the "brain room" as the tech teams had come to call it - with a slow and deliberate pace. Only Doctor Burke and a couple engineers were on duty. Burke's shift had ended three hours earlier, but her scientific and medical curiosity overrode her desire for sleep. At the moment, she was bent over a portable bio-monitor which had been set up at the foot of the cryotube that held the unconscious Erayan. The pair of engineers were at one of their portable stations on the far side of the room. The console was plugged into a relay conduit, and the two men were talking quietly. They glanced up when Decev entered, but she waved at them to remain at ease and continue working.
"Hello, doctor."
Burke's head shot up, and she swallowed a gasp. "Commander. You startled me."
"Sorry. I just wanted to check on the patient."
The CMO shook her head. "I wish I had some good news. Unfortunately, it's taking longer than I expected to sift through this data. I should still make McKenna's deadline, though."
Mariah nodded. "You look like you need a break."
"I probably do, but I just can't resist this. Discoveries like this only come along two or three times in a lifetime, and this is why I enlisted in the first place." She cracked a smile as she reached for her canteen. "But you're right. I should call it a night. What are you doing down here so late?"
Decev shrugged and put on her best sheepish expression. "I couldn't sleep. I'm like you. I find this too fascinating to stay away from for very long."
"Well why don't you mind the store for a few minutes while I take a bathroom break. I'll be right back."
"Take your time."
As soon as Burke left the room, Mariah glanced at the engineers. They were still focused on their readouts, chattering back and forth in tech-speak. The science officer took a deep breath as she approached the head of the cryotube and looked upon the face of the alien lifeform. Decev had wanted to discuss this with McKenna and Benson, but she decided at the last minute that it would be better for all concerned if she just went ahead and did it. The fact that Benson was aware of her telepathic ability was risk enough. Adding another to the circle of trust was too dangerous, and it would most likely mean that Doctor Burke would have to be brought into the loop as well.
Not that this choice was any easier. Mariah had no idea what would happen when she touched her mind to the alien's. It would probably wake up, but there might be a backlash, the mental equivalent of the recoil one feels when one fires a gun. Depending on the force of that recoil, the damage to the mind of the one initiating the meld could be slight or irreparable. This reaction only occurred in a small percentage of telepathic melds, and even then only in the most undisciplined minds, but there was no way to know how powerful this alien's mind was. Decev had had a chance to look over the data that Burke had collected so far, and there was nothing in there about the existence of telepathic nerve cells. Mariah was certain that that particular scan had already been done with all the other basic med-scans, but the CMO had probably not yet analyzed that report.
There were a host of other risks to this course of action, but Mariah shut them out of her thoughts and focused her mind. It was better to just do this and get it over with. She reached out, placed her hand on the glass, and closed her eyes. Focusing one's telepathic ability is like floating in dark water - no sight, no sound, and no way to discern direction. One simply starts "swimming", reaching out with "hands" as one goes and, sooner or later, the water begins to lighten and one moves toward the source of the light. In Mariah's case, the light appeared almost immediately. She reached for it, merging with it completely and allowing the alien consciousness to envelop her. This was especially dangerous for an L5 telepath, let alone an L2, but Decev knew that she would be safe, though she couldn't say why. There was something in the nature of the light, a power that she couldn't explain, but she knew she could trust it implicitly. Even the most disciplined and experienced L5 wouldn't possess the clarity and focus that the mind of this lifeform displayed.
Decev deliberated for what seemed to be an eternity, trying to decide what to say. But then she chastised herself for being so complicated. One should always begin with an introduction of oneself when meeting someone for the first time. [My name is Mariah Decev. Who are you?]
There was a brief hesitation before a non-gender voice replied in a neutral tone. [I am Ilkara.]
Mariah had expected more, but the alien apparently thought that the introduction was enough. The science officer treaded water as she mulled over what to ask next. But when a dull throb began to pulse in her "limbs" she realized that this conversation would be easier in the real world, with both of them conscious and their minds separated. She could tell already that she was going to suffer one mother of a headache as an aftereffect of this meld. [I need you to wake up.]
Mariah honestly hadn't expected it to be that easy. But she was suddenly rising upward at a speed that left her dizzy and very disoriented, and the "water" blurred and coalesced into solid objects and colors. She blinked, wiping the tears out of her eyes, and she found it hard to breathe, as if someone was sitting on her chest. Her head throbbed, and the pain in her temples was so great that the science officer collapsed, and she heard Burke's voice. The engineers were clamoring also, and all three were standing over Decev. She kept blinking, struggling to bring her vision into focus, but it only increased the size of the icicles that were slamming their points into her temples, and she finally gave up, closed her eyes, and sank back into the water and its comforting darkness.
( 3 )
As Joanna Burke was walking back into the brain room, her thoughts were preoccupied with the last analysis she'd been reading. The immune system of the alien was composed of more than just white blood cells enhanced by synthetic bio-probes. The unidentified properties were bothering the CMO because they might represent a biological threat to the less advanced immune systems of herself and
her fellow crewmates. She made a mental note to contact Lieutenant Preston about the settings of the primary quarantine bay in the Dauntless' medical section. That was where Burke and her staff were going to transfer the alien as soon as the doctor determined that it was safe to do so.
Only after Jo had taken several steps into the room did she realize that something was wrong. It took another few seconds for her exhausted brain to process the scene in front of her. Mariah was standing next to the head of the cryotube, her right hand resting on the glass faceplate, her eyes closed. Burke stopped short and called out the science officer's name but received no response. She turned to the engineers and barked an order, bringing their attention to Decev, and they both looked as surprised as the CMO to see what was happening.
"How long has she been like this?" Burke snapped, reaching for her scanner.
"I don't know, ma'am," answered Lieutenant Keyt. "We've been busy with our diagnostic ever since she came in."
Burke stepped closed to Decev and conducted a bioscan, already possessing a good idea of what the results would be. She forced her expression to remain neutral as the results appeared on the scanner's screen, but before she could take any action, Decev's eyes suddenly opened and she yanked her hand away from the cryotube.
"Commander Decev?" Burke reached out to steady the science officer, but Mariah lurched away and then stumbled to the floor, rolling onto her back. Burke knelt over her, running another bioscan and her mouth formed a grim line as the results appeared. "Keyt, get me my emergency medkit! It's in the bottom drawer of the cabinet!" She jabbed a finger in the direction of the portable bio-monitor. But as the engineer raced to obey, another sound registered to everyone's ears, and the CMO jerked her head towards the cryotube.
