Guardian of Empire

by Kylie Chan

  ‘This is a new Shudo for me,’ the Empress said. ‘I’ve never seen you drunk.’

  ‘There’s other parts of me that you’ve never seen, either, honoured dragon,’ he said. He carefully placed the cup on the ground, then lifted his tunic and turned to bend over, revealing his bright pink furry hindquarters. ‘Check out the genital slit – I had a full cleanse and fragrance today, and it is fresh.’

  The Empress buried her nose in his slit and sniffed loudly. ‘Delightful.’

  Shudo waved his backside at me. ‘Want a sniff, Jian? It’s a new blend for the season, based on the scent used by my nation’s leader, and everybody’s been trying it. Come on, I know you’re not into genital freshness but this is special.’

  ‘I can’t appreciate it, I have no sense of smell,’ I said. ‘Go wave it at someone else.’

  ‘Spoilsport,’ he said, standing and straightening his tunic. ‘Graf tells me you’re already doing a fine job.’ He lifted his cup and took a deep swig. ‘Thank you for taking the position. I’m enjoying being an over-parent and I’m glad the Empress is in good hands. Oh! There’s my friend. She has to smell this.’ He wandered away.

  ‘Tomorrow morning he will wake up and think – “Did I really ask the Empress to have a good sniff of my slit?”,’ the Empress said.

  ‘It’s not that much of a faux pas,’ I said. ‘It’s how they greet each other, after all.’

  ‘He’s never done it before; it was too intimate to be respectful,’ she said, studying where he’d gone to wave his slit in a companion’s face. ‘He even used the close-family-pronoun for me.’ She turned her sapphire eyes onto me. ‘If that’s the case, it looks like he’s not planning on returning to the job.’

  ‘He’s always welcome,’ I said, scanning the crowd. ‘The paperwork’s a bitch.’

  ‘Is it safe to come back?’ the Ambassador said from where she and her husband had quickly retreated. ‘No more slit sniffing?’

  ‘Yeah he’s gone,’ the Empress said. ‘To be honest the fragrance was very enticing. Please excuse me, Ambassador.’ She nodded to the Maxwells. ‘I’ve been inspired to visit the pleasure quarter. Come on, Captain.’

  Maxwell and I shared a wry glance, and I followed the Empress towards the orgy quarter. I looked up to see that all four of the symbols above my head, representing the four social celebrations, were dark grey to show that I wasn’t participating.

  ‘You don’t need to be grey, you know, you’re not officially on duty and can have some fun,’ she said, as I followed her through the dazzling rainbow of colours between the food-and-drink and dancing quarters. We were hit by a barrage of sound and I gestured for Marque to lower the volume in my personal space. A few clicks were teaching some other species their mating dance in a large circle that rotated between the dance and the sex quarters, losing a few people to the orgy every time they went through.

  The Empress gestured towards the dance. ‘Come on, Jian, enjoy yourself.’

  It looked like fun, so what the hell. ‘Marque, turn on everything except sex,’ I said, and the Empress grinned.

  She took two-legged form, grabbed my hand, and inserted us into the dancing circle. The clicks had programmed Marque with their mating click-music, and everybody was attempting the moves around the circle – tapping their arms or legs against the people next to them and rotating to wiggle their behinds into the centre of the circle. With so many species present – many who didn’t have the right number of appendages – it was chaos, but it was joyful chaos that glowed in my empathic sense like an aurora of shared hilarity. Nobody was doing it right, and nobody cared, and we were all laughing in our different ways. When we followed the circle’s trajectory through the rainbow wall to the orgy quarter, the Empress broke off with the slug next to her and they took themselves to a mating platform not too far from the edge. I stayed in the dance, enjoying myself more than I had in a while.

  The next time I rotated through the orgy quarter, I was slapped over the head by fifteen tentacles as thick as forearms, covered in dark blue slime, and dragged from the dance. One of the tentacles massaged the top of my head as I pulled the others away from my nose and mouth to breathe.

  I turned with difficulty – the tentacles had an iron grip – to see the dark blue cephalopod holding me. It was as tall as me, with tentacles all around its egg-shaped body.

  ‘You are beautiful and the party is beautiful and the Empress is beautiful and I am beautiful and here!’ it shouted. It shoved a ball of pale blue goo, the size of my head, into my face, nearly choking me again. I pushed the mass away and scowled at it.

  ‘You are as high as a kite, I have sex greyed out, and I have no idea who you are.’

  ‘That’s the best part of the experience and yes! Chemical assistance. I am name that cannot be translated into your perception. Party! Love! Your brown skin is beautiful like delicious food. Give me potatoes now, human. I love you!’

  ‘Marque, sober it up.’

  The cephalopod changed from dark blue to white, then a rainbow of colours shifted across its slimy skin. Its tentacles waved, then it realised that it was holding the ball of sex cells in front of my face and quickly hid it.

  ‘Profoundest apologies, honoured sentient,’ it said, and turned grey all over. Fluorescent blue symbols marched over its sides as it mirrored the sentiment onto its skin. ‘I had a little too much. Please forgive me.’ It flashed completely black. ‘Oh. You are the new Captain of the Guard. I am extremely remorseful, and personally apologise to you, most honoured sentient.’

  ‘I’ll let you off with a warning for now,’ I said. ‘Moderate your chemical intake. You’re on my watch list, and if you try something so flagrantly unacceptable again, you’ll suffer the consequences.’

  It turned neon pink and hot orange stripes ran over it. ‘I understand, Captain. It won’t happen again.’ It scuttled away so quickly that it became almost flat against the ground.

  I sighed and looked around. ‘Am I authorised to do that sort of thing? My duties don’t mention whether I have jurisdiction outside the Palace. I didn’t step on any local law enforcement toes, did I?’

  ‘Since I’m local law enforcement and I don’t have toes, I don’t think you need to worry. You handled it perfectly. You are well within your authority; anyone who is chemically affected to that degree is a danger to the Empress. You were right to do what you did.’

  The Empress and the slug were hard at it and had collected a small, enthusiastic cheer squad. I turned to walk through the dancing section to storytelling where it was more my type of fun. My mother had a rapt audience gathered around her as she told them the graphic story of human natural birthing processes. I changed my mind and headed back to food and drink.

  A group of armed aliens stopped me halfway. One stepped forward and waved its shell axe at me. It appeared to be a pile of humanoid-shaped mascles with red ropes of tendons wrapped around them and no visible head or face.

  ‘Come and join us!’ it said. ‘We’ve been waiting for you; we haven’t started yet.’

  ‘I’m sorry, Soft-Comfort, I can’t risk death while I’m Captain of the Guard, my backup bodies are too precious to waste,’ I said, and Soft-Comfort’s axe drooped. ‘Some of you are unable to compete without killing me, so the contests will have to wait until I’m no longer captain.’

  The aliens all shared a look – eyes and tentacles waved at each other, then back to me.

  ‘We understand, Captain. We wish you well – and we’ll—’

  ‘We’ll miss you from the tournament!’ they said in not-quite-unison.

  ‘I’ll miss you guys as well,’ I said. ‘You all taught me so much – I appreciate the time we’ve spent together killing each other.’

  ‘At least come and watch,’ Soft-Comfort said. ‘You are our honoured guest.’ It bent to speak conspiratorially to me. ‘Any heads I take are yours to keep.’

  ‘How can I resist a generous offer like that?’ I said, and followed them towards the battle
arena.

  13

  The five-year anniversary of the release of the humans was a celebratory time for everyone. The victims’ soulstones were attuned and they were once again immortal – and they could move into new bodies if they chose, leaving the memories of the torture they’d suffered under the cats behind.

  Tomoyo dropped me off in front of the Dragon Embassy on Earth. The Embassy occupied the original Dragonhome island, a mushroom-shaped facility floating on a long stalk above the Mediterranean. It brought back fond memories; I’d spent many years here, helping the parents of the first generation of dragonscales children with their gifted and passionate daughters – until the children had reached maturity and immediately started the reproductive conquest of the entire planet. The facility was now used as the Dragon Embassy, with the accommodation converted to guest villas and the main hall made into offices and a reception area. The pale pink buildings on the surface of the island were all dragon-standard domes, with Earth greenery in carefully-tended gardens between the shining pink tiles of the square. The sky was a particular clear Mediterranean blue, and I breathed the air of home deeply to appreciate it. Earth air always smelled different no matter how Marque tried to duplicate it off-world. The main building, which had been my administrative centre, had been enlarged and expanded into a white double-storey dome with blue and silver accents.

  ‘Tap my scale when you want me back,’ Tomoyo said, and strolled away.

  ‘You’re not heading home?’ I said.

  ‘I want to have a look around the island.’

  I shrugged and went into the Embassy. The lobby was dragon-sized, with a towering twenty-metre roof, and inlaid with the Empress’ own livery of blue and silver. A few heads turned to see me, and the human dragonscales receptionist rushed from behind her desk and raced up to me, glowing with smiles. I recognised her; she was one of the original half-dragon girls that I’d helped to raise on the island.

  ‘Captain Choumali. Welcome! Come this way,’ she said, and gestured towards the entrance to the administrative section.

  ‘Hello, Ingrid, is all well?’ I said.

  ‘It’s lovely to see you again,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry about what happened with Princess Aki – oh, I felt that.’

  ‘Sorry,’ I said, and tried to control the pain of loss. Aki was alive. We would be together eventually.

  ‘Don’t be. It’s wrong what they’re doing to her – to both of you. Anyway, here we are, through here and turn left to the medical centre.’ She bowed to me. ‘I’ll return to my duties, but I’d love to spend time with you when you’re done with your son.’

  A buzz of conversation followed me through the double doors at the end of the hall. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn the captain’s uniform; the blue and silver livery was instantly recognisable.

  The entire family was gathered around David in the medical centre. He was one of the first to undergo the procedure, and his expression was serene. He was on a standard gurney, and the medical table of white liquid holding his cloned body was next to him, ready to take the stone.

  ‘Are you sure the stone has been in his head long enough to be attuned?’ Dianne said.

  ‘If it’s not attuned it won’t work,’ Marque said. ‘The new body won’t do anything.’

  ‘I’m not sure I’m happy about what will happen to the old body,’ I said. ‘He’ll still be alive and in it. We’re killing him.’

  ‘You aren’t,’ David said. ‘My soul transcends any number of bodies that I exist in. This is what I want.’

  ‘I feel the same way, Jian,’ Marque said. ‘It’s unpleasant to do this when the old body isn’t dead.’

  ‘I want it!’ David said.

  Cat rushed in. ‘Stop! Don’t do it.’

  David sat up. ‘It’s okay, Cat,’ he said. ‘The memories of what happened to me are ruining my life, and I want them gone. I won’t die.’

  ‘Yes you will!’ she shouted. ‘You have to stop this. This will kill you!’

  ‘The soulstones work,’ I said. ‘His soul will be transferred. His essence can never be destroyed. It will still be him.’

  Her face screwed up. ‘It’s a fake soulstone!’

  That stopped me. ‘What?’ I turned to Marque. ‘You’ve said that’s not possible?’

  ‘It can’t be fake, I put it in myself,’ Marque said, and David’s soulstone lifted from his forehead. ‘It looks genuine to me. Cat – what makes you think it’s fake?’

  ‘We need to hide, David. We need to hide now.’ She took David’s hand. ‘David, I love you, and I’m betraying everything I stand for to save you. I replaced your stone with a fake when you were sleeping, and sent it to my people. But I can save you. Please come with me!’

  ‘What the hell, Cat?’ I said. ‘This is insane. Hide from what?’

  ‘It is fake,’ Marque said. ‘A clever duplicate – down to the nano level. Probably created by their nanobots. It doesn’t have the unique crystalline structure that our soulstones have deep within them – on the outside it’s identical. Not even I could see it was a copy until I examined it at the quantum level. When did you swap it in?’ It answered its own question. ‘When you two were on privacy together.’

  ‘David, come with me,’ she said, gripping his hand. ‘They’re coming. It’s time!’

  ‘Time for what?’ I said. ‘What the hell is going on, Cat?’

  ‘Something just appeared within Earth’s planetary system,’ Marque said. ‘It’s growing. Nanobots? What is this? Matter transmitters? Two of them. Three. Five . . .’ Its voice went quiet. ‘Nanos are building them all over the place. The transporters aren’t very big, less than five metres across. I can’t see all of them in such a large space. The cats must have seeded them when they were here before. The nanos are gathering material, assembling solar collectors, and building transport portals on the spot. Twenty.’

  ‘But matter transmission is death, the transmission process destroys your body,’ I said. ‘Your body is rebuilt at the other end, and a different soul inhabits it.’

  ‘Is that what happened to our soulstones?’ David said. ‘The cats kept them so that they could use matter transmitters?’

  ‘See? You’re so clever,’ she said. ‘They will leave their soulstones behind when they come through; that’s why we took them.’

  ‘What’s coming through the transporters, Marque?’ I said.

  ‘Nothing as yet.’

  ‘Cat.’ David held her hand. ‘What are they doing? Why are they creating teleporters?’

  ‘I can’t tell you, I’ve told you too much already,’ she said. ‘Just come with me, and we’ll be safe.’

  ‘What about my family?’ he said.

  She hesitated, then rushed on. ‘Nothing can be done for them. We’re too strong.’

  ‘Thank you very much,’ I said.

  David dropped her hand as if it were red-hot. ‘You’re a spy for them?’

  ‘I didn’t plan to fall in love with you,’ she said. ‘This makes things complicated – so we need to run.’

  ‘How can you do this to my family?’ David said. ‘You’ll just let them die and save me? How could you?’

  ‘But I love you,’ she said.

  ‘Walkers in powered nano battle armour are coming through the portals,’ Marque said.

  ‘Walkers?’ I said. ‘What are walkers? More info!’

  ‘One of the species that the cats have colonised,’ Marque said.

  A three-dimensional representation appeared in the air. The walker was an alien that looked like a cross between a two-legged hippopotamus and a meat-eating dinosaur, with the colouring of a killer whale. It was smooth-skinned, with splashes of black and white across its stocky body. It had short arms and long, strong legs, its face was wide, and its mouth was open, revealing sharp, carnivorous teeth.

  ‘How big is that?’ Oliver said.

  ‘Each of them is three metres tall and wearing bio-powered nano battle armour. Walkers are very efficient killers – an
d they take a great deal of pleasure in killing things.’ It lowered its voice. ‘The cats give them targets, and they go on murder sprees. They’re really nasty.’

  ‘Notify the dragons!’ I said. ‘Tell them we’re under attack, and to round up our defensive troops. Spread the word!’

  ‘Come with me, Cat,’ David said gently. ‘Let’s go somewhere safe. Nobody will survive an attack by those – the rest of Earth is doomed.’

  ‘Yes!’ she said. ‘We only use walkers when we need to completely wipe out a species. There’s nothing we can do to save humanity – but I can save you.’

  He led her out of the room and glanced meaningfully back at me. I nodded a reply to him. I trusted him to put her somewhere where she couldn’t do more damage.

  ‘Any idea what their targets are?’ I asked Marque.

  ‘At this stage I have to say Earth. All the portals are within this region of space.’

  The walker representation in the air changed to a map of the solar system, with dots popping up indicating the locations of the portals. Three more appeared as I watched, all within Earth’s orbital track.

  ‘Wow, we really pissed them off,’ Oliver said. ‘Time to find some weapons and defend our home.’ He turned to David’s other parents, and my mother. ‘You know where my old room is, at the back of the administration offices? Where I lived when I was a child?’

  ‘I remember,’ Dianne said.

  ‘There’s a door at the end of the corridor. That’s the bunker. Take Nan—’ He put his arm around Mum and pushed her towards Victor. ‘Take yourselves into there, and shut the door. Grab anyone you pass and take them with you.’

  ‘Got it,’ Dianne said, nodding. She rose, gestured for Victor and Mum to follow her, and they went out and headed back towards the admin offices.