“You are a wise leader, High Prince Garen,” Tek said.
The Tigren bowed to Garen, fist to heart. “It is a relief to find that, as ever, Clan Dracon rules the Klanaren with both strength and intelligence,” Kyerion said. “Clan Tigren would pledge loyalty to Clan Dracon.”
The Dracons returned the bow with equal formality. “We accept your pledge with great honor,” Garen said.
“Even though the Xanti imprisoned you for seven thousand years and destroyed your home world, you agree that they should not be exterminated?” Tek asked Kyerion. He didn’t seem surprised or critical. Just curious.
Kyerion shrugged. “I’d have no objection to destroying those individuals who committed the crimes you mentioned. But, wiping out an entire race is a different matter. Karma is a tricky thing, Tek.”
“The Garakai also believe in the concept of karma,” Tek said. “Like you, our people would never condone genocide. However, the three of us, personally, believe that it would not be a bad thing for the Xanti to learn the meaning of karma, as well.”
“We would not object to them being taught such a lesson,” Garen said. “Nor would we interfere.”
Tek bowed his head and smiled, but made no further comment on that subject. Instead, he waved Minka forward, who held up the device Kyerion had used earlier. “If you will take this, High Prince, and inform us when the evacuation is complete, we will be most grateful to you.”
“You are remaining here?” Garen asked without a trace of surprise as he accepted the device from Minka.
“Yes, I’m afraid it’s quite necessary, Highness,” Tek replied.
Garen nodded. “You should know that we believe this structure’s continuing integrity is questionable.”
“You are correct, Highness, and we thank you for your concern, and your warning,” Tek said. “This entire asteroid is a ship, in a sense, though the Xanti were never aware of that. The control room is deep within the asteroid itself. We will withdraw there and, once all the survivors are evacuated, we’ll engage the main engines. We employ graviton propulsion, so we ask that your ships back away a safe distance before you notify us that the evacuation is complete.” Tek studied Garen for a long moment. “I should warn you, High Prince, that we might experience navigational difficulty. I am quite certain that your ships will be safe, but you may wish to keep an eye on things. Just to be sure, of course.”
Garen nodded slowly. “I understand completely, Tek, and I thank you on behalf of all of the peoples of this galaxy, and our own. We will signal you when the evacuation is complete, and our ships are a safe distance away, as you’ve requested.”
Val rejoined the group. “The Katres and the Gryphons will bring warriors down to help with the survivors in just under four minutes.”
“There may be more prisoners on the moons within the shield radius,” Trey said. “We’ll need time to land rescue parties.”
“That’s an admirable, but unnecessary effort, Prince Treyen, as only Xanti reside within the shield boundary,” Tek said, reaching up to indicate his device with one finger. “This we know for fact. We are here only because we are helpless trophies and, as far as the Xanti are aware, this facility contains no weapons, and no means of escape.”
Garen stepped closer to Tek. He crossed his arms and held them out to the Garakai leader. With an expression of surprise, Tek crossed two of his arms and took Garen’s hands as Kyerion had done earlier. “Brave heart, Brother Warrior,” Garen said solemnly, sharing the age old ritual with a being not of their race for the first time in the history of the Klanaren.
“Sharp eyes, and long life, Brother Warrior,” Tek returned, surprising everyone except Garen. Garen nodded, then released Tek’s hands and stepped back.
“Farewell, Tek,” Kyerion said. “And thank you for the language gift.” The Garakai bowed, then Garen placed one hand on Kyerion’s shoulder and they vanished. A moment later Trey and Kirk vanished, then Val and Cade.
Kyerion was glad that speed traveling, at least, felt familiar, because it was the last familiar experience he had for a while. The large room they found themselves in aboard the Ugaztun seconds after leaving the asteroid brought home to them just how much time had passed while they’d slept. They recognized the beds, tables, chairs, and dressers for what they were, though the designs and materials they were made of were so unfamiliar as to make them seem alien. The lamps, carpets, overhead lights, doors, wall coverings and even the framed artwork were strange to their eyes. There was so much to see, so much to learn, so much to absorb in this new time and place that it was nearly overwhelming. Kyerion focused his full attention on the single most important matter he could think of, which helped.
“What of Glory? Is she well?”
Garen wished he hadn’t asked that question yet, though he’d expected it. “She suffered a severe injury during her last Dream Walk. All that can be done for her, is being done.”
“We ask that you take us to her,” Kyerion said. “We owe our lives to her, and would see to her care.”
“Of course,” Garen replied. “Might I suggest that you clothe yourselves first? Before that, you will probably want to bathe, and eat. I give you my word that Glory is being well cared for, but she is unconscious and will not know if you see her now, or an hour from now.”
Kyerion looked down at himself, then nodded. He’d forgotten that they were naked, and the mention of food reminded him how hungry he was. “Much time has passed but I suspect the custom of wearing clothing in public is still maintained,” he said wryly. “Your advice is both welcome and appreciated.”
Garen smiled as he gestured to Val, who called for stewards. “This is a guestroom designed for an unmated male-set. If you would prefer to each have a room to yourselves, we can easily accommodate you.”
“No, thank you,” Kyerion said. “For now, we would prefer to be within each other’s sight.”
Garen nodded, unsurprised. “You three are about our size. We’ll have some of our clothing brought for you. When you get settled in, you can have the ship’s fabricator create whatever you want.”
“Fabricator?” Kirk asked.
“It’s a machine that will create what you want according to the specifications you feed into it. The one we have aboard the Ugaztun is limited to the manufacture of clothing and weapons. The one on Jasan is much larger and will manufacture virtually anything.”
“Astounding,” Kirk said as several stewards entered the room. A few minutes later they left with orders to fetch clothing from the Dracons’ cabin, and a large quantity of food and drink from the cafeteria.
“I’m not sure you understand how important it is to all of our people to have Clan Tigren returned to us,” Garen said when the stewards were gone.
“Glory shared with us those things you told her,” Kyerion said. “It wasn’t easy to hear that all we once knew and loved is gone, but we’ve had some time to absorb it. Aside from that, we are High Druids, Highness.” Kyerion indicated the mark on his left cheek. “We understand the power and necessity of the Triskele better than most. We are, in all honesty, surprised that you have survived so long with the imbalance of only seven clans.”
“We’ve survived, that’s true, but we have not thrived,” Garen said. “We’re grateful to have made it this long, and we look forward to a richer future now that both Lost Clans are found, restoring us to nine. But, more than anything else right now, we are just glad to have you here.”
“Yes, we too take our happiness in the moment,” Kyerion said. “Specifically that we are alive and no longer trapped in those tanks. Which reminds me, Tek asked that an image of Glory be sent to them when you transmit your evacuation signal. The Garakai wish to honor Glory for her efforts.”
“We will see to it,” Garen said. “Come, I’ll show you how the facilities work so you can shower while awaiting your food.”
“Shower?” Cade asked.
“You’ll love it,” Trey assured him with a grin, leading the way into t
he bathroom.
Chapter Twenty Five
Tek waited until a dozen more Jasani arrived and began organizing the survivors for evacuation. The Jasani were all large, serious men, clearly warriors, but they handled each of the survivors with care and respect, regardless of their species. Satisfied he’d done everything possible for them, he signaled to Minka and Ri. They walked to the far side of the facility, well away from the others. They were nearly to the furthest corner of the building when they stopped and looked down.
The floor in front of them looked no different than the rest of the flooring until Tek reached up and tapped out a code on his device. The minor illusion hiding the access door vanished, and Minka knelt down to open it, revealing a long vertical tunnel with a metal ladder leading straight down. Tek tapped his device a few times while Minka and Ri entered the tunnel and began the long descent. Tek waited for a confirmation tone from his device before entering the tunnel himself. He pulled the hatch door shut and sealed it before following his companions.
The trek to the main control room buried in the center of the asteroid was nearly a mile long and very difficult for them. They were weak from their long stay in the hibernation tanks, and just as hungry and thirsty as the other survivors, but they pressed on determinedly. Thanks to Tek’s device, the internal power unit was humming smoothly and the maneuvering thrusters were online by the time they reached the control room. Minka went straight to the food processor and dialed up food bars and fluid for them while Ri closed and sealed the last hatch. Then they all paused to consume the food Minka handed out. The much needed nutrition revived them quickly, making it much easier for them to get through the laborious system checks.
Once they were sure that everything was up and running properly, Tek went to work with the navigation computer. He took his time, making sure that every possible variable had been taken into account and every reasonable trajectory calculated with meticulous precision. While he did that, Minka composed a more detailed message to their home world than Tek had been able to send with his remote device. Ri prepared and reformatted the data collected by the facility over the millennia while they’d slumbered, including all of the information they’d collected on the Xanti before their betrayal. The data would be forwarded to their home world, and to the Ugaztun after the evacuation signal was received.
They worked quickly and efficiently, completing their tasks within moments of each other. After that, all they had to do was wait.
***
Doc leaned against an empty medi-cot in the triage center aboard the Vyand and rubbed his hands over his face tiredly. There had been very few injuries and no casualties incurred during this attack on the Xanti which, frankly, gave him too much time to think. A door whispered open and his bride, Darlene Flowers, entered the room and walked straight toward him, her blue eyes narrowing as she approached. He knew exactly what she was thinking, and decided to go on the offense.
“You should be resting, Darlene,” he growled when she stopped a bare inch in front of him. “The baby...,” he stopped speaking abruptly when she placed a gentle finger against his lips.
“Don’t start,” she warned, placing her other hand against her flat stomach in a protective gesture. “Our child is fine, and will remain so. It’s you I’m worried about.”
Doc sighed. “I’m sorry, love. I’m just so frustrated. Had I known the Dracons intend to allow the Xanti to live I wouldn’t have bothered to come.”
“You need to learn patience,” Darlene said. “We are not finished here yet.”
“What do you know that I don’t?” Doc asked curiously, placing one palm over Darlene’s hand. He’d lived many years more than anyone could guess, had delivered more children than he himself could count, had even had children of his own, and three beloved grandsons. Once. Before the Xanti murdered them. But, none of that changed the fact that the tiny fetus nestling within Darlene’s womb, their child, was a precious miracle to him.
“I don’t know anything more than you know,” Darlene answered. “I just view what I know differently than you do. It’s one of the benefits of being a woman.” She leaned in and kissed his twitching lips. “Haven’t you read the Oraculum of the Arkandu?”
“Of course I have,” Doc said. “And yes, I know it says the Xanti will be destroyed. But the Dracons have made it clear that we won’t be doing the destroying.”
“What difference does it make who does it, so long as it’s done?” Darlene asked in surprise.
“I want to watch,” Doc said. “I need to watch. I need to see with my own eyes that the Xanti no longer exist, that their evil has been utterly destroyed for all time.”
“In that case, you need to come with us now,” Garen said. Darlene spun around in surprise to see Garen and Trey standing near the door, but was even more surprised when Doc swept her behind him with one arm. “I apologize for startling you,” Garen added.
“What’s going on?” Doc said, his body relaxing though his arm still held Darlene firmly behind him. She wasn’t sure whether to laugh at him, or snarl.
“I know how unhappy you are with our decision concerning the Xanti, and I apologize for that,” Garen said. “But, I think that after you see what we have to show you, you’ll forgive us.”
Doc released Darlene, his shoulders slumping. “Dammit, Garen,” he said with a sigh. “Why’d you have to go and apologize? Now I gotta admit that I understand your decision. I don’t like it, but I understand it, and what’s worse, I think it’s the right one. There’s nothing to forgive, Son.”
“As always, you honor me, Doc,” Garen said. “I thank you. Now, please come with us. We really do have something we know you’d like to see.”
“All right,” Doc agreed, then turned to his wife. “You coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Darlene said with a mysterious smile. Doc frowned at her, then shook his head as he led her across the room to where Garen and Trey waited.
“This better be good,” he grumbled.
“It will be,” Garen said with a grin, clapping one hand on Doc’s shoulder as Trey reached for Darlene.
***
Xaqana-Ti exited her ground transport before it had come to a full stop and ran toward the entrance to the Palace Hive. She shoved her way past the sentries, scrambled across the lobby, and turned into the formal meeting room called the Court in time to see the Queen Mother enter from the far end. Her sisters stood together in the middle of the room, speaking softly to each other, but now was not the time to worry about their foolish political maneuverings.
“Before the satellites went down I received a transmission from one of my fuel transports,” she announced as she hurried toward them. “A Jasani task force has reached Xantara.”
“You lie,” Zarnia-Te accused loudly.
“Why would she lie?” the Queen Mother asked, reaching the center of the Court at the same time Xaqana-Ti did from the other direction.
“She always lies,” Zarnia-Te spat. “There is no proof to her claim, yet you take her side as ever.”
“Our power plants have been destroyed, as have our satellites. Isn’t that proof enough?” Xaqana-Ti hissed furiously. “We must set aside our differences and see to the future of the Xanti!”
Zarnia-Te glared at Xaqana-Ti through glowing eyes as she lowered herself, then raised her body high, then lowered it again in preparation for attack. Xaqana-Ti prepared herself, understanding in that moment that Zarnia-Te was utterly insane, but the attack never came. Instead, Zarnia-Te leapt in the opposite direction, landing on top of the Queen Mother. Within seconds Zarnia-Te had the larger, but much older female on her back.
Xaqana-Ti’s first instinct was to defend their Mother, the Supreme Queen of all Xanti. None of the guards standing around the perimeter of the room could move against any queen, so it was up to her. At the same time, she knew that was exactly what Zarnia-Te expected her to do, and had certainly planned for. She would not make things so easy for her traitorous sister.
Instead of racing to the Queen Mother’s aid, she attacked Narliq-Li without warning. It took no more than a few seconds to sever her smallest sister’s neck with a vicious twist of her mandibles. She immediately leapt to the floor, her full attention focused on Zarnia-Te.
“Do you realize that you’ve just destroyed our race?” Xaqana-Ti demanded when she saw that the Queen Mother was dead.
“Do not be so dramatic,” Zarnia-Te snapped as she climbed down off the Queen’s body to face her youngest sister. “It is down to the two of us. The winner will become Supreme Queen.”
“No one will become Supreme Queen, fool,” Xaqana spat. “The Queen Mother’s sting is required to enable the new Supreme Queen to lay four female eggs. By killing her before she could perform that very necessary task, you’ve exterminated our entire race.”
Zarnia-Te stilled for a long moment. Then she began trembling, her legs tapping rapidly on the floor, her eyes looking more crazed than ever as they darted around the room. “You lie,” she said, but there was no conviction in her voice.
“You never did pay attention to your lessons as a youngling,” Xaqana-Ti said. “Now, all Xanti will pay the price for your ignorance.”
Zarnia-Te spun around to look at the still body of the Queen Mother, her mind struggling to process the enormity of what she’d done. A low, moaning sound escaped her, cut off in an instant when Xaqana-Ti chose that moment of inattention to attack. Seconds later, Xaqana-Ti climbed off of a forever silent Zarnia-Te, and walked toward the Queen Mother’s body.
Removing the stinger intact was a delicate procedure, but Xaqana-Ti was no longer in a hurry. In just a few minutes the future of the Xanti would reside with her alone, and she was confident in her own ability to keep herself alive. She’d go deep into the Queen Mother’s tunnels and nest there, safe and secure, while the Jasani did their worst. When the Xanti rose again, under her rule, her first act would be to cleanse the Thousand Worlds of the humans and other loathsome, pink, four-limbed beings that infested it. Beginning with the Jasani.
The Tigrens' Glory (Soul-Linked Saga) (Volume 9) Page 24
