Tale of the Spinward March: The Great Khan (Tales of the Spinward March Book 1)

by David Winnie

  She was taller than he thought, standing on her mid and aft legs, her forelegs curled under her thorax and head. Her lowered head exposed the black fibers of her main nerve ganglion between her head and thorax segments, and her antennae lay flat. She was a dirty yellow and green color and smelled earthy. Jeweled emerald eyes studied him.

  “I greet you, First Daughter of the Vinithri.” He motioned to a blanket laying on the grass, “Please, sit. Make yourself comfortable.”

  She maneuvered carefully, then lowered herself on the quilt. She waved a leg, the tip covered with a cotton boot. “A curious requirement, Emperor,” she stated. “You guards would not let me leave my ship until I had donned these. Now you wish me to sit on this covering?”

  “A legacy of my father,” explained Angkor. “He declared no alien foot should ever touch Terra. Inconvenient, yes. This is a concession to my supporters.” He produced a jar and loosened the top. “A gift from me to you. The hives this came from have been in my family for generations.”

  The First Daughter accepted the gift, removing the lid and extending her slender tongue. Her antennae vibrated. “Magnificent!” she exclaimed, lapping at the golden honey again. “I shall be sure my diplomats begin a new round of negotiations for trade, provided Terra puts this on the list to trade!”

  “I am pleased you enjoy my gift,” answered Angkor. “Now to business.”

  “Yes,” she put the jar aside with reluctance. “I would like to thank you personally on behalf of my people for your concession on Falleron. It is a close approximation for our lost world.”

  “You have been equally gracious on the terms of the mining concessions, First Daughter,” he answered. “And allowing Terra to exploit the Kuiper belt is also very generous.”

  “I believe we have learned our lesson on that topic,” the First Daughter’s antennae lay flat again, the Vinithri symbol of sorrow.

  “I am curious,” The First Daughter continued. “I understood the negotiations were complete. I was to meet you on Luna to sign the treaty between us. Now, I have been asked to come here for one more meeting before we sign this treaty?”

  He handed her the cylinder. The Vinithri had no written language; the cylinder had recorded the odors their language used to record the treaty. The First Daughter read the odors, her head suddenly turning to Angkor.

  “This is non-negotiable,” he told her firmly. “Though, as you can see, we both have reason for keeping it secret between just you and me. Should you decline, I will cancel this afternoon’s ceremony and we will once again be at war. Unfortunately for you, this is a war that will mean your end, as you are now an endangered species with no way to reproduce.”

  “This is an outrage, monkey!” she responded. “This will keep my people slave to Terra for all eternity!”

  “This is your only chance. Yes, your new queen and her offspring will be genetically predisposed to obedience to Terra. But this will ensure that not just both our peoples survive, but fundamentally alter the balance of power in the entire Sagittarius Arm.

  “Imagine, First Daughter. If you agree to this, not only will you will ensure the future of both our races, but you will be instrumental in bringing order to the Sagittarius Arm. Terra will do this with or without you. Our success, though, will be greatly enhanced with the Vinithri at our side, rather than as a footnote to history.

  “Already we have found the possible solution for your queen jelly. With your scientists and ours working together, we will soon be able to deliver the savior queen to your people. And potentially, the savior for mine.”

  “So,” he asked, “am I leaving to go to Luna and complete our agreement or should I return home, destroy what we have found of your queen jelly and plan with my allies for Terra’s future?”

  The terms were simple enough. Ten thousand Vinithri would be quietly transported to Angkor’s Keep in the Khangai Mountains. They would tunnel deep into the ribs and roots of the stone, creating a vast living area and laboratory. The egg that would be the new queen would be transported there, along with the finest geneticists from both Terra and the Vinithri. The queen’s DNA would be subtly altered to ensure that she and her progeny would be unfailingly loyal to Terra.

  The new queen would be transported to Falleron, the new home of the Vinithri. Already tens of thousands of workers on the Vinithri colony ships originally planned for Terra were being awakened to start the new royal nest for her arrival. There was sufficient male seed to create the first generation of males and workers. Within ten years, the Vinithri people would be vital and robust once again.

  Back on Terra, once the new queen had left for Falleron, the real work would begin. Twenty-Four Vinithri eggs would be turned over to Terra. The blueprint of the zygotes implanted in these eggs would be designed by a committee of Terrans, aided by their insect colleagues. Their goal was to create eight children, who would compete to be the next leader of the Terran/Vinithri alliance. Each generation, twenty-four eggs would be turned over, eight more children produced to begin the competition again.

  Most of the scientists of the first generation assumed the genetic material would be supplied by Terra’s greatest soldiers, scientists and athletes.

  They were wrong. Only Angkor and his closest allies knew the source of the supplied material. For the sake of the future Empire, only one source would be used.

  Emperor Angkor Khan and his wife, the Empress Sophia.

  Mare Traquilltatis has long held historic significance to Terran history. In the mid twentieth century, it was the location of the first-time humans stepped on a celestial body other than Earth. In the twenty-first century, the first outpost on another world was established, Luna Prime. It was also the first colony destroyed in war. Luna Colony was rebuilt in time to be used for the Solarian War, larger and more advanced.

  The signing of the formal peace treaty between the Terran Empire and the Vinithri was the latest in a long line of history making events. As with any treaty ending a war, it was largely supported by the majority of the Empire, though there was dissent, mainly among the hawkish citizenry. Their news services branded the Emperor a traitor and vowed to fight the peace.

  The first raids were in Atlanta at the New Confederacy Eagle news service. The offices were attacked by Imperial Intelligence agents in black combat uniforms. Computer terminals and servers were destroyed, data cubes confiscated and the offices burned. Editors and reporters were arrested in their homes and turned over to I.I. for questioning. The owner was arrested and disappeared. Charges were filed against many of the editors and reporters, but few came to trial. Special Courts were held in the monolithic Imperial Intelligence office in New York. The guilty were never seen again. Those who were released refused to speak of their experiences while in custody. Most applied for visas off world.

  The events in Atlanta were repeated across the Empire a half dozen times. Rapidly, word spread. Dissention against the Empire or the Emperor was not tolerated.

  When reports of the raids were acknowledged by the government, the general opinion across the Empire was; “Tsk-tsk, they got what they deserved. How could anyone hate this Emperor? He’s made us safe, after all. And prosperous!”

  Nine of the Vinithri ships arrived at the Falleron system. Located twenty light years from Terra, the system had five habitable worlds and three gas giants. The Vinithri started on the second world, a heavily forested planet with vast mineral deposits of gold, silver, rubidium, cal-selenium and other rare elements. The planet was blanketed with flowering foliage from the ground to high in the trees, hundreds of feet in the air.

  The foremen set the workers to their tasks as soon as the shuttles touched the surface of their new home. Orbital scans had found a particular plateau suitable for tunneling. There was an underground grotto that could serve as the Grand Hall until a proper facility was excavated. Ten separate entrances were dug to the grotto, then another dozen tunnels branched down and outward. A mile below the grotto, the queen’s chamber was burrowed, a w
ide chamber with a soaring cathedral arch. Service tunnels came next, leading to the mammoth egg chambers, where the billions of eggs laid by the future queen would be allowed to mature.

  The workers were of low intelligence, focusing only on their work. They had no time to consider or hope the scientists would be able to create the new queen. A burrower found a large crack along the path of the tunnel she was digging. Since it wasn’t in her plan and there was the possibility of a cave in, she stopped and signaled for a supervisor. The supervisor’s conclusion was that, while there was a danger, it was worth the risk to continue. It was a ruinous mistake. The crack expanded and the new tunnel collapsed, killing fifty workers. Guardians arrived quickly, cut the head off the supervisor and dragged her body to the recycle burrow. A new supervisor arrived, inspected the cave in and directed the workers on the new routing of the tunnel. The dead worker’s bodies were recovered and joined their supervisor in recycling.

  Around the new nest, planners and workers created the spaces needed to store and manufacture the food that would sustain it. Others assembled simple machines, which in turn created larger machines, creating the industry needed for the Vinithri civilization. As their laboratories became available, scientists were awakened on the colony ships and moved to the expanding nest.

  The Elder Sisters made the journey down into the nest once the Grand Hall was declared ready. First Daughter had been insistent and detailed. The nest must be built. It must be ready. She asserted the monkeys would find the solution and rescue their race.

  And if they didn’t, the Vinithri would die in their own home.

  Chapter 23

  August 3062 A.D.

  The Imperial shuttle circled the ancient temple complex of Angkor wat. The Emperor sighed. It had been too many years since he had visited the hallowed campus where he had learned so much. Indeed, his gratitude ran so deep that Angkor had taken the name of the temple for his own on his naming day.

  Buru would celebrate his own naming day in a few weeks. While tradition said Angkor and his son wouldn’t meet prior to the ceremony, he hoped they could find a few minutes to visit after his meeting today.

  The shuttle flared and landed so gentle as to not even create a ripple in Angkor’s tea. As it should. After all, the pilot was transporting the Emperor.

  His escorts framed the ramp leading to the landing pad, wearing polished combat uniforms and severe weapons. Their moves were precise, mechanical, another reflection of the pride and professionalism demanded by General Zoltan. Angkor tried to remember when the two of them sat and chatted, as they had when they were students. It had been too many years, he decided.

  Angkor missed the lively talks.

  As the ramp of his shuttle lowered, Angkor saw his former master, Nom Ng, standing with the bonzes awaiting the Emperors arrival. “Master Nom!” he cried, foregoing formality to rush down the incline. Master and student embraced, Angkor’s heart nearly bursting from his chest with the joy of seeing his proctor.

  “I see you have earned a promotion,” Angkor stated. Ng now wore the sash and headpiece of a master.

  “As have you, young Pitth.” Ng said.

  “Master Tok?” queried the Emperor.

  “Awaiting you at Fountain Glade,” Ng said. “He is head of our order now. He thought meeting there would be most auspicious.

  “We are most grateful for the honor you showed the Temple, Emperor,” Ng continued. “Daily, we receive inquiries about class availability. Many, from both inside the Empire and from without, are eager to have their children learn at the institution that trained an Emperor.”

  They passed through the familiar portal, where Tok sat placidly on a mat, his eyes closed. Ng and Angkor joined their ancient master on the grass. It was all as he remembered, save for the mat. The gentle fall of the water in the fountain relaxed and cheered Angkor for a moment, though it wasn’t as he remembered. It was changed, discordant.

  “Yes, Student, you have been quite busy, haven’t you?” Master Tok sounded disappointed.

  “Master?”

  “Look to the fountain, young Pitth,” admonished the old man. “It has changed much since you left us, yes? I swear, some of your stones have been spun about like tops. Are you not listening when you meditate?”

  “Master, I try…” began Angkor

  “Try? Try!” the master was angry. “What did I teach you? Did I teach you to try? No. You were not taught try! You were taught better than this, young Pitth. You were taught to consider and act. This…” he pointed to the fountain, “shows strong indication of responding, not consideration and action. You were not trained to let others to decide for you, but even a simpleton such as yourself can see that is precisely what has happened. As a result, you are confused, out of harmony.”

  “What should I do, Master?” The conversation was not what he expected.

  Tok heaved a sigh. “Tell me of this request you have. Ng has told me much; I want to hear it directly from you.”

  The Keep, now Angkor’s, was ready. The vast facility beneath the temple was excavated and most of the furnishings for the vast laboratories were in place. Two separate wings had been quarried, one for the resurrection of the Vinithri Queen. The other waited for the eggs the new Queen would deliver to produce Angkor’s heirs.

  There was only the transfer of the project from Mars to the safety of his fortress to accomplish.

  Progress on Mars Station was going well. Doctor Lungrun reported the sequencing for the new queen was nearly complete. The Vinithri queen jelly they sought was still eluding them. The etymologists were exploring every option. Doctor Lungrun was confident they would soon have the answer. Now that the Keep was ready, the entire team, including the Vinithri, were to transfer to Terra to integrate the code into a Vinithri egg and wait for the hatching of the new queen.

  “The replacement of the queen will be the completion of just the first phase of my plan,” Angkor explained. “Phase two will be the creation of the child who will succeed me. As Ng explained, I consider the bonzes of our order to be the most qualified for the new Khan’s design and education.”

  “How long do you expect this project of yours to last?” asked Tok.

  “Master, you can clearly see my plan. This will not be for just my grandson, it will be for all my descendants,” explained Angkor. “I should like to leave the future of the Empire in your hands by teaching my heirs as you have taught me.”

  “And will you follow our decisions?” challenged Tok. “Will your children follow our decisions? What guarantee do you hold that your plan will bind the future of your heirs and the Empire to our ministrations?”

  “Only my law, Master,” Angkor replied. “The law of the Emperor will be sacrosanct and obeyed.”

  “Oh?” asked Tok, “Why do I meditate in your presence on this mat, foolish one, if your law is so powerful?”

  “I…I don’t know, Master,” the confused Angkor answered.

  “I was not born of this world,” revealed Tok. “I am originally from Vespa. My order sent me here to study. I have grown to love this world and elected to stay and run this order. But by your father’s law, I am not allowed to touch the earth here, as I am technically an alien.”

  “But you are Terran,” protested Angkor.

  “No,” answered Tok, “I am Vespan, although I have lived most of my life here. How can you claim the force of your law for my order if your father’s law holds this unintended consequence?”

  “I can change the law.”

  “So can your descendants.”

  Angkor pondered for several minutes, studying the fountain. He spied a stone near the base of the fountain, nearly covered with moss. He dug the stone out, wiping the dirt off, but leaving the moss in place. He set it reverently in the upper font of the fountain. He listened to the fountain, adjusted the stone and nodded, satisfied.

  “Master,” he said, “This is the most ancient stone of the foundation of the fountain. It is clear the mason set this stone wit
h care, from around it springs the younger stones. For centuries, this humble stone has been the base for the other stones, which in turn has been the base for the fountain. The mission of this unpretentious rock has been lost by all of us, so perfectly has it done its job.

  This stone is my law. I have placed it to be the base of all my Empire, all of my society. Only should I topple it or place it on a lower tier would it not be so. My children will be programmed by your bonzes to worship my law and enforce the law for all time.”

  “Ah,” the old man closed his eyes and asked, “So you accede the design of your children to me and my order for all time?”

  “They will always have a choice in their partners,” declared Angkor, thinking of Sophia.

  “Of course. We shall design the new Khan each generation and decide which of the eight will succeed their predecessor.”

  “Agreed, Master.”

  Tok leapt to his feet. “Then may I leave this mat? I should like to feel the grass again.”

  The antediluvian stones had been placed more than two thousand years before to collect the ribbon of water meandering down the moss-covered hill. It spilled into the rectangular reflecting pond to the sill, then channeled quietly into the Siem Reap.

  Afternoon sun filtered through the ageless grove of willows that surrounded the pond. Its light sunlight flickered and danced as the billions of slender leaves twisted in the almost imperceptible breeze. Angkor watched leaves loosen and twist away from their branches. His admiration for the designer of this place increased when he saw none of the leaves touched the surface of the still pond or the patio as they came to rest.

  Benches hewn from weathered stone sat at either narrow end of the pond. When seated, you would study the reflection of the person seated across from you. Pitth had spent hours here with his friends when he was a student in this place.