by Linda Mooney
“What if he refuses?” Sandow queried. “What if he insists on taking us prisoner?” Pointing to the bound and gagged Seneecian, he added, “What’s going to happen to him?”
“We will not know until it occurs,” Kyber admitted. “My first priority is to get all of us off this world. We will deal with the consequences later.”
He softly caressed Kelen’s cheek with his fingertips. “There is much we have to discuss, once we leave here.”
She nodded but didn’t reply, and watched in silence as her husband and his shipmates exited the tunnel.
Chapter 3
Prisoners
“How do you plan to inform Duruk about the Terrans?”
They stood on the edge of the sloping platform at the edge of the temple and gazed out over the vast desert.
Kyber responded without addressing Massapa directly. “We will tell them we are alive only because the Terrans joined us in our survival.”
“Duruk will not be happy to know we have Plat under guard,” Kleesod remarked.
Kyber agreed. “There is much that will need to be explained, including why the Terrans are not our prisoner, but the D’har is.”
Massapa made a rude sound. “I would chance to say that is not going to be your biggest problem.”
Again, Kyber agreed. “Kelen.” It was all he had to say. To the Seneecians, it would be bad enough that he and the others had consorted with the Terrans instead of killing them outright. But to admit that he’d taken one of them to wife, and he and Kelen had Confirmed their union in front of witnesses, would cause major conflict.
Gaveer moved up to stand beside him. “Tell us what you want us to say.”
Lifting his chin, Kyber mulled over the request. It would not be against Seneecian law for him to command the others to lie for him. In fact, it was expected. Kyber would be held solely and fully accountable for all actions he had taken with the Terrans and against Plat. Kleesod, Gaveer, and Massapa would not be blamed nor punished because they had followed orders as directed, and as expected.
“I want you to tell them the truth.”
The other three Seneecians gasped, turning to give Kyber disbelieving looks. “Kyber, why—”
Kyber lifted a hand to stay Massapa’s protest. “I know you all acted of your own free will, but Duruk, and subsequently the Triumvirate, will believe you were following my orders.” He finally eyed each of them. “Let them believe that. Those are my orders. Let them believe your actions stemmed from my orders, and avert any punishment from being dealt to you.”
“That is not right, Kyber,” Gaveer heatedly remarked. “Why should you bear the burden of punishment?”
“Because I bear the title,” Kyber snapped back. “That is my duty. That comes from being your Por D’har.” Grinning lopsidedly, he added, “Besides, even if you told them everything you did was self-driven, do you think the Triumvirate will take your word for it?”
“A ship!” Kleesod pointed in the distance as a tiny speck gradually drew closer to the garden temple. It soon became recognizable as a Seneecian land shuttle.
Kyber and the others remained on the rocky slab as the craft came to rest less than fifty meters from where they stood. As the rear bay door lowered, he noticed his brother had already spotted and recognized him.
All eight Seneecians exited the shuttle. As per protocol, Kyber and the others knew two were left inside the craft—the pilot and one guard. Duruk casually led his warriors to the rim of the stone ledge and stopped short of stepping onto it. Kyber saw the man give him a curious stare and knew why. Duruk expected his younger brother to give obeisance to him, as a Por D’har would to a superior ranking officer. When Kyber remained unbending, Duruk frowned.
“Has time on this planet removed all training from your addled brain?”
“No.” Short, simple, and direct. And it definitely pissed off the D’har.
“Then why do you not bow to me, Por D’har?”
“Since when is a D’har required to bow to another D’har?” Kyber stoically replied. Secretly, he enjoyed watching the momentary surprise come over his brother’s face.
Duruk quickly collected himself. The man’s dark eyes darted to the three men surrounding Kyber. Kyber half-expected the man to question one of them, blatantly asking if what Kyber said was true, but thought better of it. Even if they said Kyber’s claim was true, he would take it as them lying as per Kyber’s orders—an expected reaction. Even if Kyber wasn’t their D’har, he was still their commander as their Por D’har. Yet, Duruk wasn’t totally satisfied.
“What happened to D’har Plat? Did he not survive the crash?” That remark told Kyber the remains of their lifepods had been discovered.
“No, Duruk. D’har Plat survived. I challenged him for rank using Tooth and Nail, as is my right, and gained my title.”
For the second time, Duruk registered surprise. “You killed him?”
“No. He is my prisoner.”
The Seneecian again took in the fact that only four men faced him. “Where is he? You have him in hiding?”
“He is being watched by our allies.”
“Allies? Who?”
“The Terrans.”
Duruk’s response was immediate and expected. All nine Seneecians pulled their weapons, ready to blast the enemy.
“Where are they holding Plat?” Duruk demanded.
“They are holding him where I commanded,” Kyber said, making sure he enunciated each word carefully. Before his brother could respond, he repeated his earlier comment. “They are our allies. They are under my banner of protection, and therefore—”
“Therefore nothing! They are the enemy, not our allies!” Duruk hotly remarked.
“They are our allies,” Kyber continued to reiterate. “If we had not joined forces, this planet and the creatures that inhabit it would have killed all of us before now. We owe our lives to their help, and they for ours. I have given them my word as D’har that no harm will come to them when we are rescued.” He narrowed his eyes and restated his last comment more forcefully. “They will come to no harm. I gave them my word as D’har, and I expect my word to be resolute.”
The challenge was given. In a perverse sort of way, Kyber was hoping the man would contest his claim. Maybe even try to invalidate it. Disappointingly, Duruk yielded.
“What is it you wish from me and my crew?” the man inquired.
“Passage back to Seneecia, where the Terrans will be allowed to notify their planet of their survival.”
“And then what? Provide them safe passage back to their galaxy? Are we now a shuttle service for their enjoyment?” Duruk made no effort to hide his disgust of Kyber’s plan.
Kyber refused to rise to the bait. “That will depend on what their government requests. Until then, they will be treated as—”
“Prisoners,” Duruk interrupted with a sneer. “On my ship, they will treated as my prisoners.”
Kyber gave a slight bow of his head. On this issue, he couldn’t argue or demand otherwise. It was Duruk’s ship, and Duruk was the D’har. What he said was law. Any attempt to countermand the man’s authority would give Duruk permission to abandon Kyber and everyone else on this rock. The most he could hope for was that Kelen and the others would not be treated with any form of cruelty. “I accept, D’har Duruk,” he murmured, which seemed to appease his brother. Raising a hand, he signaled to Gaveer, who went to retrieve the others.
This battle had been won, but the war was far from being over. There would be many more battles to fight, but for now he could rest assured the Terrans would not be killed on sight when they emerged.
Steadying himself, Kyber waited for Kelen and the rest to join them.
Chapter 4
Debasement
Gaveer appeared at the tunnel entrance and waved for them to follow him. “A word of advice. Do not speak. Not to each other, and not to D’har Duruk unless he directly asks you a question.” His eyes dropped to Cooter’s rifle and he held out his
hand. “I must take your weapons.”
“Ohhh, no.” Cooter pulled his beloved weapon out of reach. “Forget that.”
For the first time, a hard, angry look came over Gaveer’s face. “You must give me your weapons. If you do not, Duruk’s warriors will shoot and kill you the second they see you are armed.”
Sandow placed a hand on Cooter’s shoulder. “Jamse, it’s for our safety.”
Fullgrath stepped past Kelen to give his blaster to the Seneecian. The former weapons master cast Cooter a stern eye but said nothing. After another moment, Cooter finally relinquished the rifle.
They started to walk out of the tunnel when a soft cheep made Kelen pause. A glance over at Dox revealed Five sitting on the young man’s shoulders. The little furry creature knew something was amiss. Dox reached up to take his friend into his hand when Kelen stopped him.
“No, Dox. He has to stay here. He can’t come with us.”
“But…friend.” Dox gave her a pleading look.
Kelen shook her head. “He belongs here with his own kind,” she gently admonished.
A short conversation was exchanged. It was clear neither one wanted to part, but in the end Five allowed Dox to lower him to the ground. The furry gave one final heartbreaking chirp as Dox turned away.
With her arm around Dox’s shoulders, Kelen and the others followed the Seneecian out of the tunnel, through the temple, and over to the large, arching entrance where Kyber and the rest were waiting. She kept her face blank, but her eyes never left the cadre of Seneecian warriors who stood there with their weapons drawn.
More interesting was the big leader with the black fur. As she drew closer, she could see some resemblance in the man’s face. Also, that he had dark brown streaks in his pelt, whereas Kyber’s hair was totally black.
Duruk watched her with narrowed eyes as she approached and stopped beside Kyber. But when her husband reached over and took her hand in his, the Seneecian’s eyes widened in surprise. He started to say something when Kyber spoke first.
“This is Kelen Chambliss, my Confirmed.”
It was like watching a bomb go off amid the group of warriors. Shock and revulsion went through them, leaving them stunned in its wake.
Kelen saw Duruk’s nostrils flare. His breathing quickened, giving her the impression he was sniffing her. If he was, she knew she had to be giving off a noxious odor, considering she’d been wearing the same uniform for how many days?
Duruk gave her a second head-to-toe examination, strongly focusing on her genital area and breasts. She could imagine what he might be thinking. What did she look like unclothed? Bare skin and hairless. Probably judging how repulsed he would be if he tried to make love to such an abomination. When he turned his attention back to Kyber, he was barely able to keep his rising anger in check.
“You would besmirch our family house by claiming this gakking skint as your Confirmed?”
Kyber fired back. “Speak Terranese. They have earned that right.”
An odd expression crossed Duruk’s face and he took a step back. A faint smile curled one corner of his mouth. It resembled the same kind of jesting smile Kyber would give her. But in this case, instead of teasing her, Duruk’s was condescending.
“I see what you are doing. Very clever of you.”
“What do you mean?”
Duruk waved a finger at Kelen. “Claiming the female for yourself to protect her. A rather reckless move, and a foolhardy one. I did not expect this kind of duplicity from you.”
“I have claimed her,” Kyber murmured.
Duruk shook his head, clearly dismissing Kyber’s claim. Kelen started to rebuke the man, but Kyber must have suspected he would and squeezed her hand. She took the subtle hint and bit her lip.
Mellori and Sandow brought Plat forward. Duruk immediately stepped forward and removed the Seneecian’s gag.
“Arrest Kyber Nau!” Plat demanded. “Arrest him now!”
Kelen half-expected Duruk to order his men to reach for Kyber. If they did, she was prepared to throw herself in front of her husband. Instead, Duruk tilted his head to one side and eyed the former D’har for a moment. Giving a wave of his hand, a warrior moved up to cut Plat free of his bonds. The man quickly moved away from Kyber and his group to stand next to Duruk.
“Arrest Kyber Nau,” the Seneecian ordered again.
“We will discuss this when we return to the ship,” Duruk told him.
Plat opened his mouth again, thought better of it, and kept silent. Kelen gave the Seneecian a cold look, which the man caught. In return, he sneered at her. She had no doubt he would try to make Kyber and his men pay for what had been done to him, even though he had been the one to disregard their laws.
A warrior advanced toward Dox. The little man pressed closer to Kelen as the big striped Seneecian tried to grab the box Dox was holding. “Surrender your weapon.”
“It’s not a weapon,” Kelen argued. “It’s the transponder.”
Her remark caught Duruk’s attention. “Transponder?” He addressed Kyber, not her.
“Are you here because you received a signal for help from us?” Kyber questioned back.
“We did.” The man pointed at the box. “From that?”
“It is Bollian,” the warrior observed.
“Then take it,” Duruk ordered.
Dox made a little cry of protest as the transponder was jerked from his grasp and gave Kelen a helpless look, as if pleading for her to intervene. She shook her head to let him know she couldn’t do anything about it. Dox sighed dejectedly.
“How many of you are there?” Duruk demanded.
“Twelve, D’har,” another warrior responded.
“We will take half of you now to the ship,” the D’har stated. “The rest can wait for the shuttle to return.” He pointed out several of them to go first, when Kelen realized he included Kyber, herself, Kyber’s three crewmembers, and Plat. In other words, all but the Terrans. A cold possibility went through her, and she jerked on Kyber’s arm.
“Why are only the other Seneecians going up?”
Duruk paused, and it was at that moment she knew his deception. Unable to stop herself, she threw another question at her husband.
“Kyber, why is he leaving the Terrans behind, unless he never planned to return for them?”
The tension between species ramped up as Kyber and his brother squared off as the implication behind Duruk’s action became clear.
“Is that your strategy?” Kyber demanded in a dark voice. “Do you intend on leaving the others stranded here on this world?” Without waiting for the man to answer, he motioned for Jules, Mellori, and Massapa to step forward. After which he shoved Kelen and Dox in front of him. “Gaveer, accompany them. Make sure they are treated with…respect.”
Duruk stared at Kyber. Kelen watched as the D’har lifted his chin in a grandiose manner, and Kelen understood why her husband had never mentioned his brother before now. The man considered himself superior to all, especially to his own blood.
“You dare to tell me who I will take up to my ship?”
Astonishingly, Kyber released her hand and knelt to the man. The move seemed to surprise all of them as Kyber also bowed his head.
“I dare nothing, D’har Duruk. I humbly request that those I mentioned go ahead of me. The others and I will remain behind until you send the shuttle to retrieve us.”
A full minute passed. Kelen forced herself not to look at the D’har, fearing that he would consider it a personal affront if she did. The man was looking for a reason to decline Kyber’s request. What she nor the others expected was for him to capitulate.
“Veenosh Bareth, escort the prisoners to the shuttle.” Turning his back to Kyber, Duruk started back to the craft as four warriors gathered those whom Kyber had singled out.
As one warrior shoved her shoulder, urging her to move, she reached out to her husband. “Kyber.”
“Go with them.” His head remained bowed as he continued to kneel. “I wi
ll join you shortly.” It was part order, part plea. She didn’t need to understand the complexities of Seneecian protocols to know he was deliberately debasing himself in order to save their lives.
Another warrior confiscated the transmitter, jerking it from Dox’s hands. The little man cried out in protest, but Kelen hurried to shush him.
They were herded toward the shuttle as a group. Kelen glanced back at where four warriors remained behind to stand guard over Kyber and the others. Her husband never moved from his position.
They were shoved into the shuttle and made to buckle into the seats lining the bulkheads. The craft quickly lifted off, aiming for the warship orbiting overhead.
Kelen kept her eyes on the front windshield as the temple and surrounding landscape gradually shrank into view. The shuttle leveled off when they reached a certain altitude, and she finally got to see the incredible sight of the half world she’d crashed onto before the craft jetted into space. As they’d suspected, the planet had been sheared almost completely in half. At the northern tip a small portion jutted inward, reminding her of the way a dog sometimes tucked its tail between its legs. That northern tip was also capped in ice and snow. There was no sign of the volcanoes Kyber had mentioned. Perhaps they were on the back side, out of view. However, she thought she could see a faint plume of smoke rising in the atmosphere.
The planet looked as inhospitable and uninhabitable as they’d believed, and she knew the memory of their time there would remain with her for the rest of her life.
Chapter 5
Future
She and the others were hustled off the shuttle after it landed inside the warship’s bay. Each of them were forcibly taken by the arm and almost dragged through a series of air locks to the area containing the ship’s decontamination chamber. After they were thoroughly sprayed and bombarded with cleansing ions, they were ushered down into the bowels of the ship where the brig was located.
She was shoved inside a little two-by-four meters cell. By the time she turned around, the entrance had been sealed. Going over to it, Kelen pounded on the door and called out. “Hello! Can anybody hear me? Mellori? Jules? Anybody?”
