The Days of the Golden Moons (The Two Moons of Rehnor, Book 5)

by J. Naomi Ay

  “My playing with guns saved your life, Jerry.” She spat angrily, and then turning back to me, she waited for an introduction.

  “This is Tuman,” the doctor said, rising to his feet. “He’s an in-law of yours.”

  “Rekah’s father,” she said, the fire having died from her voice. “I see the resemblance. There’s some ibuprofen in the bathroom. Would you get me some please, Jerry? And an ice pack?”

  “I can mix you up a tincture with white willow bark.”

  “No,” she snapped. “Just get me some pills.”

  She turned back to me when the doctor had left the room. “You’re the guy with the fish stand, the one who always wants the tuna sandwiches.”

  “Ay yah. You make delicious sandwiches. The grocer will sorely miss you.”

  She closed her eyes and swallowed the pills the doctor handed her whilst I went to the kitchen and made up the ice pack. “Were you spying on me?”

  “I have lived here twenty-five years longer than you have.”

  She nodded. “But you called them?”

  “Of course,” I replied and went to the window to look out. There were people far down the beach near the town though they appeared to be moving in this direction. News travels fast in small villages where excitement is rare, and tourists are plentiful.

  “Why?” she asked. “Why would you turn me in when you don’t want to go back there yourself?”

  “Someone has to stop him from invading Rozari. Better you than me,” I said. “I couldn’t stop him anyway. He never listened to me.”

  “He never listened to me either,” she replied. “My influence on him is overrated.”

  “You need to try,” the doctor said.

  She studied the doctor’s hairy face.

  “Why are you here, Jerry?”

  “I went looking for something,” the doctor shrugged, “And, I was on a path, and the path turned and I didn’t like it, so I turned around and went on another path and here I am.”

  “I haven’t a clue what you just said,” the lady responded, her brow furrowing.

  “I didn’t understand it the first time I heard it,” I remarked. “I don’t understand it now either.”

  “Are you coming back with me?” She asked the both of us.

  I nodded. It was time after all for me to go home. Moreover, if I left now, I could avoid carving up the octopus.

  “I’m going to stay here awhile longer,” the doctor replied. “If you show up after all this time with me, I’m liable to be executed even though all I did was sew up your arm.”

  “No, Jerry. I won’t let that happen,” the lady insisted.

  “I’m not about to risk it. Furthermore, I kind of like it here. The other day, I was meditating, and I realized that I’ve spent practically my entire adult life chasing after something I was never going to catch. Right now, I’m just going to settle down, stop running and plod along this path to see where it takes me.”

  “Good thinking,” I said.

  “This town needs a good doctor like you,” the lady said.

  “Yeah. I probably should add a little bit of conventional medicine to my practice too. Sometimes, things like sealant and ibuprofen are kind of useful.”

  “Thanks again, Jerry,” she said and reached up to kiss the doctor’s forehead, which was about the only place on his face that was not covered in hair.

  “Thank you, Goldie,” he replied. “You can repeat the ibuprofen every six hours as needed. Once you get picked up by the Empire, have somebody take out my stitches and redo the wound with sealant otherwise you’ll end up with a nasty scar.”

  “I am already well scarred,” the lady replied and then turned to me. “Tuman? If you’ve got a cell, will you please call Thad and order us a spaceplane?”

  “Of course, Madame,” I replied as a knock sounded on the door. I stood up to admit in the Imperial Guardsmen.

  Chapter 13

  Caroline

  “Hey, where's Taner?” the guy said.

  “Lord Taner is busy now,” I replied. “Who is calling, please?”

  “Thad Mattson. I need to talk to him, him or Berkan. Are they around or has the Big Guy killed them?”

  “Oh hey, Thad,” I cried. “This is Caroline Adamson. Remember me? You rescued me on Derius II. I'm Katie's friend from the Discovery.”

  “Right, right,” Thad nodded. “You were the nurse who worked for Jerry.”

  “Jerry Waldman,” I sighed. “Now that is a name I haven’t heard in a long time.”

  “Actually, nobody has heard it especially since he changed his name.” Thad chortled until he started coughing.

  “What in the heck did he change his name to?” I asked.

  “Dr. Moonbeam.” Thad broke into another fit of laughter. “He’s living on Derius II now, in the nice part though. He’s got a clinic called the Holistic Health Center and he spends his days doling out flowers and teaching yoga lessons.”

  “You have got to be kidding me,” I gasped.

  “Yeah. Get this. He left Janet practically at the altar and then reincarnated himself as a new age hippie vegan. Of course, Janet’s a little scary. If I was somehow coerced into marrying her, I might have run off and done the same thing.”

  “Wow.” I glanced at my ring. “Poor old Jerry just wasn’t lucky with women.”

  “I don't know about that,” Thad continued. “He was lucky to escape while he could. Anyway, Caroline, I've got more important stuff to tell Taner. Could you possibly patch me through to him?”

  “No,” I declared. “They're both in meetings trying to do everything they can to stop this invasion.”

  “You think they can do anything?”

  “I don't think so, but what do I know? Seems like most Rehnorians think Rozari should belong to the Empire, and the Imperial SpaceNavy is all for it. It gives them a chance to demonstrate all their fancy new equipment. Nobody's going to say no to HIM either. If he wants it, he's going to get it. You’re not home on Rozari now are you?”

  “Nah, I’m off in space. I spoke to my mom yesterday though and just about everyone is scared shitless.” Thad laughed again. “Except my mom of course.”

  “Well I can have Taner ring you back as soon as he finishes up,” I offered and just as I said this Taner walked through the door. “Hi honey!” I called. He came over and kissed my check. His bushy mustache tickled me and despite having Thad hanging on the line there watching this, I giggled.

  “Taner?” Thad said. “You old dog you! You and Caroline?”

  Taner smiled back at him, proudly I thought. “Senya had it right when he said one Human girl was just the ticket.” He put his hand on my shoulder, and I blushed like a school girl.

  “Well, speaking of,” Thad said, "I have a spaceplane en route to Imperial Spacebase 29 in the Cascadia sector. Can you send a couple Imperial planes to rendezvous with it? And do me a favor, put Prince Shika aboard one so he can say hi to his mom.”

  “Katie's coming home!” I squealed.

  “Well, not exactly,” Thad replied. “She's determined to go to Rozari. She's asked my dad to set up a meeting with the Allied President and the Governor of Rozari. She wants to try to negotiate something since you guys don’t seem to be making any progress.”

  “Will your father be able to do that?” Taner asked.

  “Meh. Maybe,” Thad shrugged, “The Alliance is nervous after that little display you guys put on last week and the fact that you have a couple ships sitting in our sector.”

  “Thank the Saint,” Taner sighed. “We will take care of it, Thad. I will be on the spaceplane and brief Her Imperial Highness as soon as I meet with her. Just today, HIM has started his rant again about going to Rozari, to the Karupatani Temple there. Perhaps Madame can arrange that, and it will satisfy him instead of an invasion.”

  “Thanks Taner. And don't forget to send a second spaceplane. I've got another little surprise for you. Ron's uncle Tuman is coming home. What do you know? He was hiding out on
the same planet as Katie all these years.”

  “Tuman?” Taner gasped as Thad rang off. “Blessed Saint, how did this come about?”

  “Taner,” I said. “Why don't you put HIM on a plane instead of Shika? Maybe if, Miss Katie will satisfy HIM then no one will need to go to Rozari at all.”

  “Ah, you're very clever my little lamb,” he replied. “Why don't we take a break for lunch and you can show me exactly what you mean by that.”

  “Oh Taner, now hush,” I cried and forwarded my vid to Deka.

  Chapter 14

  Shika

  It was really weird meeting my mom again after all this time. I mean, half my life went by while she was gone missing but when she asked me what was new, I couldn't think of a thing.

  Of course, she hugged and kissed me a lot and kept holding onto my arm, which I really didn't mind at all. I forgot how little she was. Actually, maybe I never realized how little she was because I was always smaller. Now, I was a whole lot bigger. She kept looking at me and shaking her head, saving over and over how I looked like my dad even though my hair was military short and light brown not long and black like his.

  Taner left us alone for a while, and we talked and talked about everything I was doing and I found myself just going on and on about school and Petya and all the problems I had. She listened to my every word, staring intently the whole time like she really cared, too. She asked me what my dad thought of this, and that and when I told her, I hadn't spoken to him since right after she left, her face scrunched up like she was either really mad or about to cry. It turned out that meant she was mad because, in her next breath, she started swearing and calling him all sorts of names.

  At this point, Taner came back in and started telling her all about what was going to happen when she came back to Mishnah. That probably was about the worst possible time to bring up that subject. A doctor guy came in too and fixed up the wound on her arm and then Taner told my mom she needed an injection.

  “Is it tetanus?” she asked while the doctor guy popped his needle into her arm.

  “Uh, no,” Taner said. “It’s a tracking chip. But we can get you a tetanus too if you like.”

  My mom went ballistic at that point and started screaming how she didn't give a damn if it was the Evil Emperor's order that she got this. She demanded that the doctor take it back out, or she would cut it out herself. Taner started laughing although none of us knew why. After that, he forbade any one to have a knife around my mom. Then he and the doctor left, and it was just mom and me and Auntie Luci again for a little while. I was able to calm her down by telling her about my plans to join the Imperial SpaceNavy and become a ship captain. She thought that was a totally awesome idea and perked up again telling me about all the adventures on her ship and how I was born in space, and maybe I belonged out here. I didn’t tell her about my ride on the Queen of Altaris and how I gave the order to blow up the planet. I wasn’t sure how she’d react to that since she thought it was her mission to keep my dad out of Rozari.

  By the time we got to Rozari the next day, my mom was feeling better. Auntie Luci had done her hair and made sure she dressed appropriately, so she was looking very Empress-like again. My valet had put out a nice suit for me, so I think I was looking pretty Prince-like too. Of course, my mom and Luci went on and on how handsome I looked which I guess I did. In fact, Auntie Luci whispered to me that I was more attractive than my dad because at least I was normal looking.

  Taner was drinking coffee and eating breakfast with mom and Luci when I came in. Mom got over her mad at him and was laughing about the fact that he got married to her old friend Caroline who was a tall, Human lady with grey-brown hair and some kind of weird southern accent. When I first saw her a few months ago, she kept pinching my cheeks and telling me how she fed me my first bottle and that I was exactly 8 lbs 2 ozs, 21 ½ inches when I was born.

  “So Madame,” Taner was saying as I pulled up a chair. “Do you think you can arrange for HIM to go to the Temple in Karupatani? Perhaps we will all be fortunate, and he will decide after that he has no further interest in the planet.”

  “I think Tuman should go with him if he's going to go there,” my mom said and smiled at me. “Aren't you gorgeous today?”

  “Mom,” I sighed and gave the attendant my breakfast order which was a waffle, strawberries, cinnamon French toast, turkey bacon and turkey ham and a large glass of milk. “Oh, I also want a bowl of fruit loops. Tuman who? My cousin?”

  “No honey. Tuman is also your dad's uncle. Grandpa Sorkan's brother, Uncle Rekah's dad. He's back too.”

  “Cool?”

  “Yeah, cool,” my mom agreed. “So Thad has already spoken to SdK General Counsel, and they are prepared to make a case that he has the right to visit the Temple under the Alliance's Religious Freedom Act. We think we can convince them that the Alliance would be violating the civil rights of the descendants of Karukan by not allowing them to express their religious preferences. There are precedents both in the Alliance and Earth case law, upon which the Allied laws are based, that date back several centuries.”

  “And you think you will be able to convince them of this?” Taner asked skeptically.

  “Tuman was, prior to his departure, training to be the High Priest of Karupatani. Of course, Senya as Emperor is the titular head of the Karupatani State whether on Rehnor or Rozari. Our case is that the Temple which had been restored by Senya, I might add, has never been consecrated. Tuman will do that since there are no Karuptas currently living on Rozari. It should be a slam dunk.”

  “It probably will help that we have all those starships in the sector too,” I commented, waving for the attendant to get me a second bowl of fruit loops. “No, wait. I’d rather have corn pops.”

  “Probably,” Mom agreed. “I'm going to offer to pull them out afterward and also grant them a fair amount of money for their troubles. Thad also suggested I give them the Takira-hahr estate as a personal gift in exchange for unlocking the Kalika-hahr campus. I'm still thinking about that one.”

  “And we will be able to secure the area while HIM and Prince Tuman are there?” Taner asked.

  “Of course,” Mom replied. “We will require a security dome over the entire area and as many Imperial Guards as the security force requires. I'm also going to remind them that we have EMP Control on our ships and should anyone attempt to do anything at all curious, we will disable the entire planet if we have to. We'll send them back to the dark ages without nuking them.”

  “You're so smart, Madame,” Auntie Luci said.

  “I do think it may work.” Taner smiled and nodded. “What will you do? Will you go with them to Rozari?”

  “I think Madame should come back to Mishnah. We have so much to catch up on. So much work that has been neglected during her absence,” Auntie Luci added.

  Mom looked at me.

  “I'm going to go back to Earth. Right now, I feel like I've got to go visit your gramma and see my father's grave. I've got to finish the trip I started before I can move back to Mishnah.”

  Taner cleared his throat. “HIM will never grant you permission for that.”

  “It's non-negotiable,” Mom replied. “Furthermore, he doesn't seem too concerned with my whereabouts. You and Berkan may be, but as far as I can tell, he has no interest other than chipping me and putting me in handcuffs.” She held up her wrists and rattled the thick gold bracelets she had to wear now. “I guess I should be glad I don't have a collar around my neck too. Woof, woof.”

  “HIM is very concerned for your safety, Madame,” Auntie Luci said. “The bracelets will prevent you from going anywhere that is unsecured and dangerous to you.”

  “The Alliance will never allow you to go to Earth,” Taner insisted.

  “Oh, it will.” My mom shook her head. “The Alliance will do anything for the right amount of money. It is the Emperor that needs to understand that this is a condition on my part. You may send an entire security team with me if you like. You may put
a security dome over my mother's house. You can secure every damn door. You can orbit the planet with a starship. I don't care. I am going to go to Earth even if I have to cut off my hands to get rid of these.”

  “For how long?” I asked.

  “I don't know. Do you want to come with me?”

  I thought about that for a moment. I kind of would like to go. I was a little worried that she would disappear again, and if I went with her, at least I could make sure she came back. Of course, if her security team was with her, they would make sure she came back too.

  “School starts next week, Sir,” Auntie Luci reminded me. “You and Petya are moving to your dorm room on Friday, are you not?”

  “That's fine,” Mom replied. “You don't need to come. I may even try and bring Gramma back here with me.”

  “Ok,” I agreed. “But you won't be gone too long, will you?”

  “I don't know,” she shrugged, “I'm kind of in a precarious position here. I'm supposed to be the Empress, but I'm not sure if I'm still married to the Emperor or just a slave of the state.” She banged the bracelets against the table.

  “Oh, you are still married,” Taner insisted. “He hasn't said anything to the contrary, and I can assure you, he's been...uhem…entirely faithful.” Taner glanced at me.

  “Well, I'm not sure I want to be.” Mom lifted her chin. “Being married implies that you actually live together and occasionally speak to each other. I know he's the Supreme Big Guy in the galaxy right now, but it would have been awfully nice if he had at least sent me a letter and welcomed me back to sanity.”

  “That would require a return to sanity on his part as well,” Auntie Luci remarked with a smile.

  “It would also have been nice if you guys found me and maybe rescued me some time before eight years had passed,” Mom added.

  Taner looked embarrassed.

  “You're back now and that's what's important,” I said.

  “Right,” Mom agreed and then smiled at me. “Geez, I just can't get enough of looking at you. You're like eye candy in addition to being utterly brilliant.”