by James Somers
TRIAL by FIRE
Tiet and Wynn talked strategy a little, but mostly they bubbled over Kale’s progress. It was easy to see their mutual pride in the young man.
“I have to warn you: Kale came by last night and pulled an interesting stunt on me,” said Wynn.
“What do you mean?”
“Somehow, he was able to persuade my senses that a feral Horva was coming through my courtyard. He completely masked his own presence from me.”
“You?”
“If I hadn’t figured out what he was doing just in time, I could have been in the infirmary today instead of here with you.”
They both grinned then they turned toward Kale’s position across the crater.
“He’s moving,” said Wynn.
“Shall we?”
The two warriors moved out onto the crater floor. Tiet took to the air, landing upon one of the huge boulders covering the ground. Wynn stayed on the ground, weaving between the rocks toward their prey.
As Tiet crossed part of an outcropping, he suddenly lost sense of Kale. It was as though his son had vanished. He looked over the rock protruding in front of him. Nothing.
“Wynn, I’ve lost him! I can’t sense him!”
“Be careful,” said Wynn from below. “I told you, he’s gotten sneaky.”
Tiet brought his blade in front of his body, ready for anything. He grinned. As a proud father, he couldn’t help it. He knew Mirah must be concerned, standing on the crater rim above them. She doted on the boy as much as any mother could. Kale was growing up, requiring him to take on greater responsibility, especially after today.
Thinking on Mirah above them, Tiet almost didn’t see the piece of rock skimming low across the surface of his perch. Quickly, he found a piece of his own and hurtled it mentally into the path of the projectile, smashing them both to rubble. Where had it come from?
☼
Lucin looked at his own reflection in a mirror on his shuttle’s restroom wall. A greenish tint faded to fleshy white across his conjunctiva. He opened his mouth to examine his mucus membranes. The greenish tint faded to pink as Lucin looked over his new host body, Vice Commander Estall, one last time as his shuttle landed at Nagon-Toth.
He was late for the trials. They had evidently already begun. Lucin saw the site at the nearby crater specified in his invitation. Castillians and Horva warriors lined the crater rim. The trials were scheduled to take place on the crater floor.
Lucin hurried on toward the crater once the ramp had lowered. If all went well, his friend the king would not ask too many questions about his late arrival. He hoped they might have a private meeting sometime after the post-trial celebration. Tiet was the key to accomplishing the goal Lucin strove for, control of the planet and its population. Fifteen years of continuous work infiltrating human society—it was about to finally pay off.
☼
Mirah searched along the crater floor for her son. He had disappeared somewhere among the huge boulders strewn along the ground. Ranul patted his worried daughter’s shoulder in support. She could see Tiet atop one of the rocks brandishing his blade. Don’t hurt him, she thought. Wynn was nowhere in sight. He too had disappeared among the huge boulders.
☼
Tiet came down from his position. He sensed his son below and moved in for the attack. Silently and swiftly he came around one of the large boulders. Kale was approaching from the other side. Tiet raised his blade as he came upon Kale rounding the boulder. He struck out at the young man and met Wynn’s blade instead. The two looked at each other, puzzled for a moment. They had each thought the other was Kale. Tiet laughed. “He did that?”
Wynn spotted their attacker just before he struck. Kale moved as a blur, bouncing off of the side of one of the boulders towering around them. Two kemsticks extended in his hands as he flew into the two older warriors, full force. They weren’t quite expecting what Kale did next. Instead of landing in front of them, he brought his feet up to land horizontally against the rock wall between them. He crossed both arms over his chest so that a kemstick was brought to defend on either side as Tiet and Kale both attacked. He forced back with simultaneous counterstrikes, unfolding his arms, leaping back away from the rock, somersaulting back to his feet.
Tiet quickly pursued his son, trying not to allow Kale to get his guard back up. He struck multiple times with his blade while Kale blocked each strike. Wynn came behind him looking for an opening to get into the action. Kale maneuvered to keep Tiet in between himself and Wynn; a tactic he had taught the boy himself.
Wynn leaped over the two warriors to come down behind Kale and immediately set to his own attack. Kale’s kemsticks whirled around furiously in crisscrossing patterns defending against every thrust and swipe of their blades. They were trying to push at him mentally as well, to expose a weakness, but he was already there waiting for them, pushing back.
☼
Kale’s mind was somewhere else as well. The clouds above continued to flash periodically with lightning. He had practiced the technique only twice and had been successful only once, but it was time. Kale put his mind to raising a negatively charged streamer off of the rock towering above them. There was a seam of iron running through the rock that would serve nicely as a conductor. He maintained the streamer mentally, hoping for a bite from the clouds above. Yet nothing happened.
The fight continued until Wynn and his father began to overcome his defense. Why wasn’t it working? Kale abandoned his current defense, leaping away from both men, but neither of his elders was going to let up on him so easily. They each leaped after him, keeping the pressure on.
As they came back at him, Kale launched first one and then the other kemstick at his opponents. The other pair, he carried on thigh clips, leaped to his hands. No sooner had these touched his palms before they were thrown away as well toward Wynn and his father. They each blocked the spinning weapons flying at them. The kemsticks, in turn, rebounded back to Kale, one after the other—striking then rebounding then back to strike. With a pair per hand, flying back and forth at each opponent, Kale looked like some mad juggler unleashing his fury upon them.
Wynn dodged as he blocked, trying to keep from getting hit. He didn’t want to lose. Even though these weapons were training models only, he and Tiet were getting battered hard. Without hands to guide them the flying strikes were less predictable to counter. Then it happened. One got past Wynn, striking his thigh. The training kemstick’s stunning electrical current sent him to his knees and out of the fight.
Kale knew he had won when Wynn went down. He immediately concentrated all four flying kemsticks at striking his father. Tiet had already pulled a kemstick into his defense and was furiously countering everything Kale was throwing at him.
Tiet was able to counterstrike at the handles of one pair coming at him, deactivating them. They fell to the ground as Kale pulled back the other pair to his hands. Now the fight was on between him and his father. No more private sparring for fun and practice. Play time was over and Kale was determined to win.
He had been maintaining the streamer throughout the fight, almost putting it in the back of his mind. The weather suddenly changed. A lightening strike burst upon the battlefield before anyone could react. It struck the rock nearby, but the current coming off of it managed to knock down both fighters.
Moments later Kale was the first back to his feet. He found Wynn next to his father. Tiet wasn’t moving. Wynn checked the King’s vital signs. A look of relief came over his face. He was still alive. Kale rushed to his father’s side in an instant, scared to death.
“Wake up, Father, I didn’t mean to—”
“Kale, I think he’ll be all right, but we need to get him to a med-lab to make sure,” Wynn said.
People had begun to come down onto the arena after the lightning strike. Within moments, Mirah was next to Tiet. He was trying to get up but was still very weak from the electrical shock. Grod, Daooth and Estall stood around them as Grod instructed some of
his warriors to get Tiet back to the med-lab within the compound.
“Wynn, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to. It wasn’t supposed to come so close,” Kale pleaded.
“Are you trying to tell me, you caused that strike?”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like that! I threw up a streamer just hoping to—”
But Wynn was only half listening now. The Horva were escorting Tiet to the med-lab.
☼
Lucin watched the boy through Estall’s eyes as the mother led him away. He walked over to examine the strike point of the lightning while people milled about on the crater floor. The boy is more powerful than Tiet, he thought. To gain him as a host would mean the ability to conquer even the King. Lucin made his way quickly out of the crowd and onto his shuttle. It was time to get back to Baeth Periege and set a trap that would give him the boy.
☼
Mirah checked over her husband who was now conscious but still slightly dazed.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. Mirah, I’m okay,” Tiet protested.
“How many times have I told you not to argue with your doctor?”
Tiet gave up and allowed her to finish her examination.
“Well, you do seem all right,” she said finally.
“I just can’t believe Kale actually caused that strike. It’s amazing!”
“I don’t think he sees it that way. Kale was terrified while you were unconscious. He thought he might have killed you.”
“Yes, but the fact that he even came up with it. That’s great.”
When Tiet was dressed again, after finishing the exam, he walked with Mirah out to the waiting area where Wynn, Kale, Grod, his son Emil and Daooth were all anxious to see how he was doing.
“Well, you’re alive after all,” said Wynn.
Kale didn’t look directly at him. He was ashamed of his actions and the danger he had put his father in.
“It just took the wind out of me. I’ve been given a clean bill of health by my doctor here,” he said, smiling at Mirah.
Kale approached his father, “I’m really very sorry for hurting you. It really was an accident…I didn’t mean for it to strike so near, just to draw your attention and distract you.”
Tiet smiled full of parental pride. He glanced at Wynn.
“Wynn, what do you think? What is your judgment of this candidate’s performance in the trials—should he progress or regress for further training?”
“I would most definitely recommend that this candidate progress to the status of Barudii Warrior,” Wynn said, grinning.
Kale smiled at his friend, Emil, standing at General Grod’s side. Grod and Emil, as father and son, both bore a regal appearance. Tiet laid his hand on Kale’s shoulder.
“Son, I’m very proud of you. Don’t think you’ll be perfect and never make a mistake. Mistakes are to be learned from. You’ll always be my son and I’ll never stop loving you.”
Kale hugged his father as hard as he could, which Tiet noticed was pretty hard. His boy was no longer a boy, at least not by Barudii standards. Kale was already almost as tall as his father and now he was setting out as a man.
“Well, Mirah are you sure you still want to put up with Emil for a week?” Grod asked.
“Of course! We’re just beginning to celebrate. How could Kale ever enjoy it without Emil around?”
The two young men grinned at each other again.
“You two go on ahead and get Emil’s things. We’ll meet you at the transport.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Emil ran off with Kale to his quarters to fetch his things. This was a time of celebration and it was customary for the boys to go out, on their own, for an outing after the trials were passed. Kale and Emil were eager to get going. They had a big surprise to unveil for their parents upon their return.
ENTANGLED
There was no need to chime the door when Lucin arrived, in Estall’s form, at the councilman’s home. He was already waiting for him. Licoure opened the door, allowing him to come in. No need for introductions, they knew each other all too well. Licoure had already been assimilated among Lucin’s symbyte controlled slaves.
“You have it, then?” Licoure asked as he motioned to the object Lucin was carrying wrapped in a black cloth.
“Of course, Councilman. After all, I’m a friend of the family and trusted now,” Lucin said deviously through his form as the human Estall.
“Then let’s proceed.”
Lucin removed the cloth to reveal a Barudii blade of particular ownership.
“This action should provide enough doubt among the Castillians and Horva to allow us to remove Tiet from the equation and gain the boy,” said Lucin.
“The boy is most valuable. He will provide a fitting body for you, Master.”
Lucin nodded then raised the blade to set his mark. He drove it straight into Licoure’s chest. The Vorn man jerked and cried out from the pain then fell dead to the floor. Lucin left the blade inside the man and walked back out the door.
There were no guards present at the time. Licoure had given them some time off, telling them he had a meeting planned with the King. Everything was progressing perfectly. Soon Lucin would have the boy and complete conquest of the planet would begin.
☼
Tiet didn’t even bother returning home after the trials at Nagon-Toth. He had a little time to shop in Baeth Periege at the downtown district before getting to his meeting with Licoure. The councilman probably wanted to threaten him again concerning his willingness to keep associations with the Horva. Doubtless Licoure was aware of the trials having been held at Grod’s compound and was fuming about it.
He left his transport in the basement garage of the tower complex where Licoure had his residence and ascended in the lift to the councilman’s private floor. When the lift doors opened, Tiet was met by armed Vorn soldiers.
“So, you’ve returned to the scene of the crime! Guard him, men,” said Councilman Teman.
The soldier’s trained there weapons on the King.
“What’s going on?” asked Tiet urgently, as the group of soldiers encircled him with looks of hatred on their faces. Men that he had trained and fought with suddenly looked like they would enjoy pulling the trigger on him.
“You have killed our chairmen of the high council and you dare to come back here, feigning ignorance? Maybe you’ve returned for this!” said Teman as he pointed back toward Estall coming from behind. He held a very familiar item—his own Barudii blade. The weapon was covered in the coagulated blood of Licoure. Tiet couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Was the councilman’s request of you so harsh that you had to kill him?” Estall asked with astonishment on his face.
“Surely you don’t think I did this!”
But the look on Estall’s face was not reassuring.
“It is your blade and you were scheduled for a meeting with the councilman today, which you’re an hour late for,” said Teman.
“I’m not late. The meeting was set to begin in another ten minutes.”
“Not according to Licoure’s schedule,” said Estall. “Do you happen to have a transcript of the message Licoure sent to you concerning your meeting?”
“No, why would I bother to—”
“Perhaps you would have us believe the chairman gave you a different time then conveniently crept into your secure residence and stole your own weapon so that he could then creep back here and drive it through his own chest!” Teman said.
“Councilman, honestly, I don’t know what’s going on here. Please, just allow me to prove my innocence.”
“You may do that in our court of law. That is, if you are willing to surrender yourself to our authority?”
Tiet was about to answer when Estall interrupted. “I’m sure, Councilman, the King would be all too willing to cooperate in this matter—after all, an innocent man has nothing to fear from the law.”
Not what Tiet was thinking to say, especially with public opinion going ag
ainst his leadership right now. He might very well end up as a scapegoat in such a situation, and who but the Castillians would oppose it with a Vorn councilman dead and Tiet’s own blade apparently the murder weapon. However, with Estall and Teman staring at him, waiting for his response, what else could he do?
If he resisted, he would only worsen his public image putting himself above the law. And with these armed soldiers around, it would be a fight to leave, anyway. He could probably get away from them, even unarmed, but at what cost? Civil war would certainly erupt. “Of course, I will comply with the law, Councilman. I only ask a fair hearing.”
“You will have what the law provides, as with any other suspect. Men, arrest the King.”
Two of the soldiers placed restraints on him while the others stood their ground with their rifles trained on him. Tiet offered no resistance to their efforts.
☼
Lucin, in the form of Estall, watched without suspicion as Tiet was led away by the soldiers.
A secure facility already awaited his arrival. Lucin had taken great care to see that every possible measure was in place to secure him. He watched Teman as Tiet was escorted off the floor.
Teman did not yet belong to Lucin’s collective, at least not yet. But he was a willing participant nonetheless, even if he didn’t realize that his prisoner was actually innocent of the crime. He had been all too eager to believe that the King was capable of such a crime and was poised to make the most of the entire situation.
