Solbidyum Wars Saga 5: Desolation

by Dale C. Musser

  “Oh no!” Padaran exclaimed, “I’ve seen that look before. Nybidong has no idea what he is in for!”

  As if Padaran’s words were a release of prophecy, Jenira’s catas suddenly became a blur of motion, and it was clear that Nybidong was now backing away and fighting as hard as he could. Jenira cut Nybidong’s vest to shreds without ever once marking his skin. Tondor stopped the contest several times to see if she had grazed him, but could find no wounds. By now, the crowd had grown silent as the realization sunk in that Jenira had been merely playing with Nybidong all this time. The contest resumed with Jenira slicing the straps on Nybidong’s sandals until they fell from his feet. She cut locks of his hair from his head, barely missing his scalp but still did not nick his skin. Soon, nearly 30 minutes of battle had gone on, and other than for breaks while Tondor checked the combatants for wounds, there was no respite. Jenira slowly made cuts in Nybidong’s pant legs until the lower portions fell off, tripping him several times; each time Jenira stepped back allowing him to regain his feet and leaving him in what now looked like shorts. It had become obvious at this point that what before had looked like sweat rolling down Nybidong’s face was now tears, and finally he dropped to his knees sobbing, and he turned his catas’ hilts out, handing them to Jenira in defeat.

  There was a long moment of silence and then suddenly the crowd went wild cheering. Over the din of the crowd, Kerabac shouted to me. “I do not believe that ever in the history of the Ruwallie Rasson has a master swordsman been defeated without receiving a cut. This day will go down in Ruwallie Rasson history as a first for sure. I doubt it will ever be repeated.”

  Down on the floor of the coliseum I saw Jenira take her own two catas and break them across her knee, and then she took Nybidong’s swords and placed them in her own scabbards and reached out her arms and helped a still sobbing Nybidong to his feet and hugged him.

  Tondor was at a loss and was not sure what to do, not that it mattered as the crowd was cheering so loud that no one could have heard him anyway. By now, many had jumped down into the arena and were running across the stadium to pat Jenira on the back. Several were bowing at her feet and raising their arms toward her, and some were handing her their catas wanting Jenira to kiss them.

  “They want her to kiss their catas,” Kerabac said, “The Ruwallie Rasson believes that if a master swordsman kisses their swords that some of his skill is transferred into the sword.” Then he paused, and added, “Only, in this case, it’s HER skill they are wanting. This definitely is a first for the Ruwallie Rasson, as they forbid women from touching their fighting catas.” Then he threw back his head and laughed deeply.

  Out in the arena I could see Ruwallie Rasson singing and dancing about. It was like a huge festival. My elation at Jenira’s victory was short-lived as a message came to me from Marranalis, who was now on the NEW ORLEANS and looking for me. “It appears that I need to get back to work. Padaran, I leave it to you to see that Jenira gets back to the ship safely. I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay that long.”

  “It may be hard to get Jenira away anytime soon,” Padaran said, “I suspect she will have many Ruwallie Rasson wanting her to share dinner tonight and to celebrate.”

  “Please get her away as soon and safely as you can, Kerabac needs to get the NEW ORLEANS on its way to Mars tomorrow, and I want you and Jenira back aboard before then,” I answered.

  When I arrived on the NEW ORLEANS I was met by Marranalis, who took one look at me and said, “You’d better get back into your admiral’s uniform before Kalana or anyone on the DUSTEN sees you.”

  “Why? What’s happening?” I asked.

  “First, Kalana has been looking for both you and Jenira all morning, and she is steaming,” Marranalis said in a stressed tone, “I think she was expecting Jenira to be there to take care of the twins this morning, and when she didn’t show she started looking for you, who also appeared to be mysteriously absent. Things only got worse from there. Once her meeting with the representatives from Kendrop and Gochian started, both sides immediately started to fight, and both sides were asking for you to be present as an arbitrator as well.”

  “By the stars, isn’t there ever going to be a break?” I fumed.

  “By the way, how did Jenira make out in the challenge?” Marranalis asked.

  “How do you think?” I asked with a grin.

  “Beat his butt good, huh?” Marranalis asked, grinning back.

  By now I had changed and we were heading for the Cantolla gate back to the DUSTEN. “Jenira never nicked him once,” I said, “but by the time she was done with him, he was on the ground crying and surrendered his blades to her.”

  “WOW,” Marranalis exclaimed, “I would love to have seen that.”

  “You’ll probably get a chance. I think Kerabac recorded it,” I answered just as we saw Kala rounding the corner and coming at us like a mad fubalo.

  “Tibby, by the stars! Where have you been? And where is Jenira? I’ve searched both ships and could not find either of you,” before I could answer she continued, “and why won’t anyone tell me where either of you were? Don’t try to tell me you both were on one of the ships. I had the computers check and according to the one on the NEW ORLEANS, you, Jenira, Kerabac, Padaran and a bunch of Ruwallie Rasson guards went down to Goo’Waddle. I started to speak but Kala cut me off again, “Tibby I needed you this morning with the representatives from Kendrop and Gochian. The least you could have done was told me where you were going. I’m so angry with you right now!”

  I paused a second and started to say, “You’re right I should have told you," but before I had a chance to finish Kala jumped back in, “and just where is Jenira now? Is she still on Goo’Waddle? By the stars, Tibby, I needed her to be there with the twins this morning, instead I had to get Lt. Franton to take care of them, and you know how much he hates taking care of the twins. So are you going to tell me where Jenira is or not?”

  I held up my hands in a gesture of surrender, “She was fighting a duel on Goo’Waddle,” I stated.

  “WHAT! Oh no, Tibby, you didn’t let her, did you?” Kala demanded.

  “Kala, I didn’t have any choice in the matter. The Ruwallie Rasson heard she was carrying two swords in their fashion and demanded she face the challenge. If she didn’t, Padaran would have lost his position over the Ruwallie Rasson, and they would have reverted back to their old ways of slavery again.” Kala looked at me with a hard look. “Please tell me she won, Tib.”

  “Yes she won. She REALLY won…,” I said.

  “What would have happened if she’d lost?” Kala asked as the question hit her mind.

  “Nothing much,” I said, “at least nothing that couldn’t have been fixed.”

  “Tibby, I don’t like that answer. Do I need to strap you to a truth detector?” she said staring me in the eyes.

  “Okay, she would have lost a hand, but we could have a new one cloned for her,” I added quickly.

  “Oh Tibby! I suppose that Jenira was all for this contest too, wasn’t she?”

  “Ah, yeah, pretty much… she was sure she would win,” I muttered. Behind Kala, I could see Marranalis grinning and making a gesture of a knife being drawn across his throat and mouthing, “You’re a dead man.”

  When Kala and I got back to our suite aboard the DUSTEN, she was still fuming, and I was beginning to sense that I might be sleeping alone that night. We entered the suite to find Lt. Franton carrying about a crying Reidecor while a naked Lunnie ran beside him smearing some reddish colored food substance on his trousers. She seemed to be coated abundantly with the stuff herself and was leaving tiny footprints where ever she went.

  “See what I mean, Tibby!” Kala said swinging an arm and pointing in Lt. Franton’s direction, “Jenira knows how to handle things like this.” I wanted to respond by saying, “Oh, and you think that Lt. Franton would have been able to right things on Goo’Waddle in her place?” However, I realized that it only would have escalated things and not have hel
ped.

  “By now Lunnie and Reidecor had seen that Kala and I were back, and Reidecor immediately started stretching and reaching for Kala while Lunnie ran across the floor, and she began smearing my trouser legs with whatever it was she was using to finger-paint everything in sight. As Kala retrieved a sullen looking Reidecor, Lt. Franton snapped to attention and said, “Sir I would like to formally request a transfer.”

  “To where, lieutenant?” I asked.

  “Any place, another ship, department, division, sir. I’m not cut out for this kind of work,” he said. I could see he was nearly in tears.

  By now Kala had Reidecor balanced on her hip and was trying to get hold of Lunnie’s hand in what I assumed would be an attempt to take the twins to get them cleaned up. “By the stars, Lunnie, what is this stuff you have all over you? What happened to your clothing?”

  “I can answer that,” Lt. Franton said defensively, “I was about to give Lunnie a bath and put some clean clothing on her after she got Mendinde pudding all over herself and then Reidecor slipped on some of the pudding on the floor and bumped his head, and I picked him up just about the time you both arrived.”

  “How did he slip on the floor?” Kala asked.

  He stepped into the pudding that Lunnie dropped.” he answered.

  “But he doesn’t walk yet,” Kala replied. “Lunnie started a few days ago, but Reidecor hasn’t so far.”

  “Well, he was walking today,” Lt. Franton said, ‘he’s been following Lunnie all over the place.”

  Kala stood Reidecor on the floor and walked a few steps away and said, “Come to mamma.” Reidecor looked at her, and then grinned and took several steps toward her. “Look, Tibby, he’s walking too. Isn’t it great?”

  “Yes, great,” I said, as I noticed that Lunnie was now free again and painting a masterpiece of abstract art on the wall beside Kala, “Absolutely great!”

  It’s strange how motherly instincts can override other concerns. Kala seemed so pleased with Reidecor’s ability to walk that it seemed to erase her ire with Jenira and me for the moment. I gathered Lunnie up in my arms, intent to clean her up and get her dressed when I heard Franton speaking behind me once more, “Sir, about my request?”

  “Fill out the forms and bring them to me tomorrow, anywhere you want to go or any department. I don’t care. I’ll sign them. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to attend to my daughter. Oh and one last assignment before you depart from my command. Find someone in housekeeping to come and clean up this mess,” I said as Lunnie giggled and slapped a glob of goo on my face.

  Even though the activities of the crew of the NEW ORLEANS and the DUSTEN were separate matters, with one ship being basically a Federation military ship and the other a private yacht, there was intense interest among the crew of both ships about Jenira’s exploits. Jenira is an individual who makes an immediate impression on you, and you quickly find yourself becoming intrigued by her uniqueness. It was not surprising when recordings of Jenira’s sword challenge started appearing on the DUSTEN long before Jenira ever returned to either ship. Everywhere I went on the DUSTEN people were watching replays of the event on vid screens, and she was the major topic of the day. News of the event spread even faster and further than I thought, and I was surprised later in the evening when I heard, “Ah, there you are Tibby,” and I turned to see Admiral Regeny walking into the dining room where I was eating with Captains Wanoll, Marranalis and Slater. “Mind if I join you?” he asked in what I knew was not really a request.

  “Certainly, Admiral,” I said, “I was not aware you would be visiting us this evening.”

  “That’s the beauty of these Cantolla gate contraptions,” Regeny said. “One doesn’t need to make long-range plans. I just happened to have a few spare minutes in my schedule and thought I would pop in just to see how things are going? I hear there was some excitement today on Goo’Waddle,” he said as he looked down while adjusting a napkin on his lap.

  “I’m guessing then that you have also seen the recording of the event as well,” I said.

  The Admiral turned to the waiter, who was handing him a menu and ordered a glass of wine without looking at the menu. Then he turned to me and said, “Yes, my nephew Padaran sent me a copy. A most impressive display,” he chuckled.

  “Did he explain to you all the circumstances behind the event?” I asked, feeling somewhat defensive at the moment.

  “He said that a challenge had been made by the Ruwallie Rasson because he was allowing Jenira to carry swords and to fight in the Ruwallie Rasson fashion. Also, that he stood to lose his favor and position with the Ruwallie Rasson if he didn’t see to Jenira answering the challenge. Is there any more to it than that?”

  “Only that had Jenira not accepted the challenge, and Padaran losing his ranking with the Ruwallie Rasson, that they most likely would have reverted to their old ways again and gone back to taking slaves and other criminal activities. Oh, and if Jenira lost the competition she also would have lost a hand.”

  “Yes, nasty thing that would have been.” Regeny said as he turned to the waiter and ordered something to eat and then turned back to me, “it worked out pretty well. I think. Padaran is telling me that a number of Ruwallie Rasson approached him after the event asking if he thought it would be all right for them to join up with the Federation as mercenaries, fighting against the Brotherhood.” I was taken off guard by his comment.

  “I’m afraid, sir, you have me at a disadvantage on this matter,” I replied, “I’ve not had the opportunity to speak with Padaran since I left Goo’Waddle a few hours ago. It could hold promising possibilities if they are willing to take and follow orders.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Regeny said, “I talked to Wabussie about it, and he thinks it might help us locate the home world of the Tottalax. The Ruwallie Rasson from Goo’Waddle are known to travel far and wide outside the Federation, and their knowledge of what is going on in those regions exceeds what we have at the moment. I realize the NEW ORLEANS is not a Federation ship Tibby, and they are not subject to my orders. It is your yacht, but you could assist the Federation greatly if you were to give orders to the NEW ORLEANS crew to help in recruiting Ruwallie Rasson to assist us in this fight.”

  “Does that mean you already talked to Padaran about this, and he gave you the runaround and not a straight answer on the matter?” I asked as I now was getting a better idea of what all had taken place.

  “Ah, something like that,” he said uncomfortably.

  “You do realize that I have no say or control over what Padaran does regarding the Ruwallie Rasson; that’s a matter completely separate from the role he serves on my yacht,” I said.

  “Damn it Tibby, we need this, and you do have a say in the matter. Padaran looks up to you for guidance and advice. It’s not like I am asking you to do anything devious or immoral. It’s in everyone’s best interest.”

  “Then it shouldn’t be a problem Admiral, “I said, “your nephew is a bright young man with great potential and capabilities. I'm sure he will make the right decision.”

  “But you will talk to him, won’t you?” Regeny asked in an almost pleading tone.

  “Yes, I’ll talk to him,” I sighed.

  The remainder of the meal we discussed the proposed Cantolla gate hubs that would act as a central transfer station for individuals traveling between different worlds, the construction of hub ships to be used to make gates large enough for star ships and smaller ships to pass through them, and the proposed trap in Sector 3.

  “Do you think you can get the gates set up, and ships there, before the Brotherhood strikes?” Regeny asked as we were wrapping up the meal.

  “Admiral, we can only pray that we do. We have no idea how soon they may attack,” I answered.

  “But you’re pretty sure they will attack there next, with a major force?”

  Slater didn’t wait for me to say anything, and he spoke up, “If Ming is coordinating their attacks, I would bet anything he will attack ther
e next. It’s a total textbook case for his tactics, and he will assume that no one here is familiar with how he operated back on Earth, so he’ll’ stick with old methods. I’m sure of it.”

  Regeny nodded and then looked back at me, “I hear you are negotiating with the planets Kendrop and Gochian to have the repair work on the HAPRIN done here. That’s a good plan if you can work it out. It would be nice to have a shipyard here near the rim to not only repair, but to build new ships as well. How’s that going?” he asked before taking a bite of his food.

  “Not as well as I hoped,” I answered. I've called Kala back to duty to help negotiate with them, as most civilians and other government representatives have left the starships since the war began.”

  The Admiral chuckled, “Not ALL civilians I hear. Word has it that Rinncal Haf-joab was quite upset that you wouldn’t turn the ship around for him.”

  “About that, Admiral,” I began, “I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help it the man was being such an ass.”

  The Admiral was near laughing now. “No need to apologize, Tibby, you handled it far better than I would have and with better flair. I’ll bet it even gets written up in the history books; after all, it did lead to his connections to the Brotherhood and his nefarious activities,” he laughed again and then muttered, “Wrinkles half job from buttocks, by the stars that’s funny.”

  After the meal, Regeny said he needed to return to the Capitol. I walked with him to the compartment where the Cantolla gates were located. The gate that connected to the one outside Regeny’s office was next to the one that led to the NEW ORLEANS. Looking through, we got a glimpse of Padaran and Jenira holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes before they kissed. It was obvious that neither of them were aware of our presence, which amazed me, as the clomping feet of our marching bodyguards could have awakened the dead back on Megelleon. Once they ended the kiss, and Jenira turned to come through the gate to the DUSTEN, they saw us and both reacted with embarrassment as the realization we had just witnessed their kiss sunk in.