“You lie! The vessels are less than a day away, and your vessel was the only battleship on the star charts.”
“Two days ago we were the only battleship in the quadrant,” Zulien confirmed. “The Quistar was on planet gathering supplies and they re-entered space this morning only to find themselves engaged, for a brief time anyway, with your two rogue vessels.” Zulien smiled at the shocked expression on his adversary’s face, and he wondered what he would do now that he knew his support was not going to arrive. The Debayluths were natural cowards.
The rogue Commander fell back in his chair after another crewmate apparently confirmed Zulien’s message, and he was shaking his head in confusion. They did not handle a change in plans well.
Even though the single ship provided little threat, Zulien decided the rogue vessel had to be destroyed so that they could not take news of the Ancient back to their hideout. “It is time to join your wizards, pirate.” Zulien turned to Seartock. “Engage.”
The lasers blasted towards the rogue vessel before it had time to maneuver, and Letang increased speed, heading straight for their ship while Seartock and Nemiste fired their weapons. The Debayluth’s ship finally made an attempt to turn. It was unprepared to see Taliquant, Versheron and Redemis blocking them in and firing their smaller lasers in a joined line directly at the view port of the bridge.
The battle lasted less than fifteen minutes before Ethram noticed the brief flare and then the disappearance of the rogue vessel’s position on the star chart. The Isotant had not even crossed into the outer worlds.
“Zulien, I take it the Quillant is the vessel I still see on the charts?”
Zulien chuckled. “We have this marker to ourselves, Commander. Apparently, the Battleship Quistar aided our cause by taking out two vessels that were supposed to join them for back up.”
“I caught part of the communication. What are Debayluths doing this close to the edge?” Ethram was no warrior, but a Commander of any vessel would be remiss if he did not keep up with the charts.
Zulien answered, “I have no idea. They said they had some wizards who had visions of my Ancient.”
Ethram caught the warrior’s reference to ‘his’ Ancient. “Debayluths with visionary wizards? Never going to happen.”
“I agree, but this is quite the mystery. Let me secure the Quillant and my returning warriors, and I will get back to you shortly to discuss this further.”
Zulien’s abrupt finish led Ethram to believe he had already formed an opinion on the matter. Their discussion later would be interesting, he thought, his tapered fingers stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Ballion, keep our weapons at the ready.”
“Letang, meet me in my quarters to discuss the rendezvous. Berslan and Nemiste, take the helm and scan the charts in case there is a fourth ship we have missed. Seartock, you can release the mates from quarters.” Zulien walked briskly back to his room with Letang at his heels. “Letang, freeze outgoing communications with your pass code. It should buy us a little time, and he will think you forgot to release the device when I ordered you to follow me.”
Letang knew better than to ask questions and quickly did as he was told.
Zulien walked over to his desk and scanned the communications log. “Letang, call Taliquant and tell him to meet us here ASAP. I do not want to transmit over my band in case someone is scanning me.”
Letang did as he was ordered. He was curious about the Commander’s statement because Zulien was not a paranoid man. He must truly believe he was being observed by someone on the ship, and they waited patiently for Taliquant to join them.
“Sit. We have something to discuss that cannot leave this room.” Zulien ran his fingers through his dark hair.
“The Debayluths had no business in this quadrant, and that story about the wizards is nonsense. That leaves only one alternative: someone on board one of the ships has been talking. I am sure Commander Ethram will agree that Ballion cannot be considered a threat. Although Minocs are greedy by nature, even at the offer of great boon they would kill themselves before they would dishonor their race. That leaves someone aboard the Quillant. The mates would not be able to operate the communication device without assistance, so that narrows it down to a warrior.”
Letang and Taliquant eyed each other uncomfortably. Warriors became closer than natural brothers, and this was a crushing blow. “You know who it is,” Taliquant stated.
Zulien nodded. “I think I do. The Debayluths have no reason to exterminate ancients, and their Commander made a curious comment. He said, ‘The Magistrates would support their plan’. We all know the Magistrates would execute any pirate who dared to contact them directly. I am not sure how my mate could be a threat to the hierarchy, but I believe that is who ordered the attack. Only one warrior has direct contact with royalty.” Zulien halted his summation to make sure they were following his thoughts.
“Berslan... his betrothed is the daughter of the Magistrate of Commerce.” Taliquant put his head in his hands. Berslan had been on board the Quillant as part of their original crew, and they had spent centuries in battles together.
He looked up at Zulien. “Do you think he knew they would order them destroyed? It is so hard for me to believe he could be a part of such a thing.”
Zulien reached for a file on his desk and he pulled out a scroll with the gold edges of the Magistrates’ decrees. “The Magistrates have ordered him off ship when we land on Latisqua for the ceremony. They would not risk his mate on a battleship. He was to be promoted within the hierarchy to strengthen the Magistrate’s bloodlines.”
“He never said a thing.” Taliquant looked at Letang for confirmation.
“No, Commander,” Letang agreed. “I never considered the consequences of his mating, and it makes sense now that he is so determined his true mate has decayed. I have never heard anyone so convinced. We all continue to hope until it is proven our mate is lost to us.”
“I need to decide what to do. I am sure the Magistrates are waiting for Berslan to contact them, and I cannot keep the communication portal closed much longer without raising suspicions. If he tells them the two ancients survived, they are sure to make a stronger attempt.” Zulien felt the twinge in his groin again. With his mate located, his protective instincts were becoming stronger and he knew it could interfere with rationality.
Letang smiled. “Perhaps they did not survive, Commander.”
Zulien looked up at him. “What do you mean? Of course they did. The Debayluth vessel never got close to the Isotant.”
“Please, hear me out, sir.” The young man stood and began pacing. “This will not be a permanent solution, but could keep them safe until we can decide what to do. Suppose we have Ethram communicate to the ship the two outer world mates have decayed. He could say they could not survive our atmosphere, or they contracted a strange virus that does not affect us, or something. He could deliver the mates to Shallistar while we deposit our traitor on Latisqua. We can skip Berslan’s ceremony and head back to your home planet so you and Taliquant can properly mourn your loss. With the claiming and the ceremonies quickly concluded, the hierarchy would have a difficult time arranging another attempt on your mates.”
Zulien thought it over. “That could work, Letang. What do you think, Taliquant? This concerns your mate, too.”
“I feel like kicking Berslan’s ass for delaying my claiming, but I see no other choice,” Taliquant agreed. He had waited centuries for his mate, and now that she was found he was being denied. His stomach soured.
“Letang, we need to keep this news between ourselves. Will Vasilla be able to maintain our confidence?” Zulien knew it would be impossible for Letang to keep the plan from his mate.
“I will tell her it could compromise my well being if the plan were divulged. To protect me she would decay with it unspoken,” Letang assured them.
“How do we keep Berslan from discovering our ruse? We have to tell Commander Ethram our plans.” Taliquant was becoming agitated as he fo
rced himself to accept the delay in meeting his mate.
Letang thought for a moment. “We will rendezvous with the Isotant as we planned, and the three of us will board and finalize the plan with the Commander at that time.”
Zulien felt his cock quiver at the thought of being so close to Miranda.
“The crew will question why we are returning without our mates,” Taliquant noted. He adjusted his breeches to accommodate the stirring in his groin.
Letang could not help himself. “Getting a little tough to think, huh?”
The Commander scowled at him. “I am fine.”
“The feelings balance after the claiming, sirs. Might I suggest we return to the ship with the news the mates appear to decline, and until we learn what is wrong, it is better to leave them with Commander Ethram as he is experienced in these matters?”
“By the stars, when did you become such a devious strategist, Letang?” Zulien knew the junior officer had great potential, but he had outdone himself with this matter.
“I have studied under a great teacher, Commander. You have yourself to blame,” Letang laughed.
“I guess the plan is set. Letang, return to the bridge, make your apologies about the communication lock, and arrange the rendezvous quickly. I want the news of our mates’ decay to become known as soon as possible to divert another attempt on their lives.” Zulien waited for Letang to leave.
“That warrior will have his own battleship one day,” Taliquant commented.
“I’ve watched him. He is quiet and discreet, but misses very little, and I would not be surprised if he had figured out it was Berslan about the same time I did.” Zulien poured them each a drink.
“Well, this sucks,” Taliquant toasted.
“True. We wait centuries and discover we have surviving mates who are friends, only to have to delay the claiming over some political crap. Why do you suppose the Magistrates want them destroyed?”
“I have no idea. I do not know the history of the ancients very well, but Celestials who have been living in the outer worlds could not pose that great a threat. It makes no sense.” Taliquant shook his head in confusion.
“Mother says Miranda is Atlantian. I think they were the keepers of knowledge or something. I could not find much in the data banks, because they were thought to be extinct hundreds of centuries ago.”
“I thought they were artists. That certainly would not cause any threat to the hierarchy. Maybe your mother can tell us more when we get back to Shallistar.” Both men were shifting around stiff erections at the thought of their mates. “What a mess.”
Zulien downed his drink. “You got that right.”
“I wonder what they look like. I mean, the Ancient gene has been diluted with the primitive planet species for hundreds of thousands of years.”
Zulien waved a frustrated hand at his charts. “I can not even locate the damn planet they were found on.” Zulien ran his fingers through his wild hair in exasperation. “I know I will crave her anyway, but I keep hoping she does not have Minoc scales.”
Taliquant rubbed his crotch. “Ouch.”
Zulien was ready to burst. “Want to hang around a while? It is still my night with the Parina.”
The rendezvous was set for late afternoon. With the exception of a brief conversation with Ethram concerning the docking procedure, Zulien avoided the bridge. He found it difficult to be around Berslan.
Ethram was still trying to figure out what was going on, but he cautiously avoided asking questions about the attack when Zulien neglected to bring it up. With a flash of insight, Ethram waited for the last communication before docking. “Commander, might I suggest you and the Major bring your joining gifts with you. Ballion has never seen the offering,” he lied.
Ballion was across the bridge, out of communication range, and he raised an eye flap in question. He had seen several of the scarves. They were carefully embroidered with blessings from the warrior’s mothers, and remained under the big men’s pillows, sometimes for centuries, until their mate was found. Something else was going on, and he began nervously flitting around the ship getting things in order, and generally driving Ethram crazy. “By the stars, Ballion, sit down someplace. They are warriors. They could care less how the ship looks. They just want to claim their mates.”
“Why did you tell them to bring the offerings? What else is happening?” The Minoc’s nervous nature had him almost shaking at this point.
“It is nothing specific, Ballion. I just have a feeling we are not quite done with this mess.”
Ballion secretly hoped the Ancient and her primitive friend would be transferred off the ship soon, so things could get back to normal.
Ethram had checked on the sleeping women at regular intervals. They should be peacefully unaware of all the conflict surrounding their procurement, and yet several times he had to brush deep sleep across Miranda’s brow to stop her restlessness. She continually reached out, clasping her hand in the air. This was a new phenomenon he had never seen from a procured mate.
He inserted the small translation device under the skin behind their ears. The other three young women had not moved, other than an occasional unconscious smile at the prospect of meeting their new mates. Their men had communicated several times to find out when to expect them. Ethram did not mention the Ancient or the attack. He knew to be discreet until Zulien gave him more information.
In order for Ballion and him to collect the anticipated large boon and promotions for this procurement, the news would have to be logged eventually. He trusted the warrior to apprise him of his plans.
Ethram’s musings were cut short by the sound of the transport lock engaging. “Well, Ballion, I suggest we find out what this is all about.”
Ballion ran his hands over his cheeks, smoothing his scales. There was nothing he could do about his nervous, wandering antennae. He followed Ethram to the transport room where the connecting doors had locked the ships together.
Ethram keyed in the code to unlock their door, and three warriors strode into the room. “Welcome aboard the Isotant, warriors.”
“Thank you, Ethram. I believe you and I have met before.” Zulien held out his hand.
“Yes, a few centuries ago at some Magistrate’s rising or something.” Ethram shrugged his shoulders.
Zulien was amused to find the procurer apparently had little regard for the pompous hierarchy. It would make the discussion of the attack and their plan easier to bring up. What they were going to suggest bordered on treason, and it would have been unthinkable if Ethram had been a radical procurer for the Magistrates. As fortune had it, he was an independent with a territory leased from the hierarchy. “This is Major Taliquant and Lieutenant Letang.” The men shook hands.
“This is apprentice Ballion.” Ethram introduced the short green Minoc, and Ballion held out a scaly paw.
Zulien smiled at him and said, “Thank you for caring for my Ancient while your Commander procured Taliquant’s mate.” After releasing Ballion’s rough grip, Zulien thought again, I hope she does not have scales.
“Ethram, we have a lot to discuss.” Zulien and his warriors followed the Commander towards the lounge and made it halfway down a corridor when Zulien and Taliquant stopped. Both men felt the uncomfortable sensation of stiff erections and a mental pulling to the right wall.
Ethram positioned himself between the wall and the warriors, and urged them forward. “My apologies, Commander. Your mate is two corridors over and I had not thought the effect would be as strong. I know you are anxious to meet her, but I think we had better get our talks over with first. You may be a little distracted when you see her until your claiming.”
As the distance increased, Zulien felt himself returning to normal. “Is it always like that?”
Ethram chuckled. “Zulien, I have seen men try to claw through the corridor walls to get to their mates, so nothing surprises me anymore.”
They reached the lounge and sat on the couches while Ballion handed out drink
s. The warriors discussed their plan and waited for Ethram to decide if he would be their accomplice.
“Dammit, it would have to be the Magistrate of Commerce,” Ethram said, exasperated. This was the Magistrate responsible for boons and for referring promotions to the Magistrate of Battle. “Well, it seems whether or not I go along with this, I will not be paid for her. The Magistrate wants her dead and you want her hidden.”
“I cannot do anything about the promotions, but I will match whatever boon you think the Magistrate would have offered… before he decided to kill her,” Zulien added, and Taliquant quickly agreed.
As was his habit, Ethram tented his fingers on his chin. “I have not been to Shallistar in over a century. It would be a nice place to take a break, and I think we can still push for the promotions. The mates were discovered off world, and we did survive the attack. You and I can figure out a boon when we meet up on planet.”
Miranda's Destiny - the unexpurgated edition Page 6
