Authors: Patricia A. Knight
Doral broke out of
his reverie. Picking up one of Fleur's hands and kissing it gently, he leaned across her to speak in an undertone with Ari. “
Primo
, if active towers span as great a distance as Elder Patricio says, and I see no reason to doubt him, we must re-establish interior gateways immediately. We isolate our cavalry on opposite sides of the energy walls if we don't. However, after what we learned on Raegill II and from the Haarb, it would be wise to erect something other than a free-pass gate. We cannot use the same construct as before.”
Ari
nodded his head in agreement. “I think I am still half asleep. That should have occurred to me.” At Fleur's expression of inquiry, Ari murmured, “It’s that Augoust business.”
She sobered
.
Ari
stood and addressed the entire Council of Elders. “Elders, as your
Primo
, and with the support of my
Prima
and my
Segundo
, I need to make you aware of the imminent threat to our planet from an unlikely source.”
The babble of
over forty anxious voices bounced off the chamber walls until Patricio barked, “Silence!” In the ensuing vacuum of sound, he nodded at Ari.
“
To control what we believe is an attempt to occupy Verdantia by portions of the LFP”—a scattering of alarmed voices filled the background—“I ask that this council meet and designate eight
magisters
of level four or higher to accompany eight
rides
of Verdantian cavalry.”
Comments of
“The LFP are allies. They betray us?” filled the chamber, rising in volume behind Ari’s attempt to speak.
Ari
spoke louder. “They will be dispatched to list operational towers and their energy levels and then to strategic points to create gateways between our
diamantorre
now fully powered.”
The noise rose continually.
Ari ceased speaking and cast an angry glance toward Patricio. Once again, Patricio’s voice pierced through the cacophony of sound. “
Silence!
You will be silent while our
Primo
speaks.”
“Excuse me, Elder Patricio, but we have a right to be heard.
” Elder Eirdale’s voice came from the back of the room, then he stood. “DeTano has made some bold accusations. We have a right to see supporting proof, otherwise, how do we know what is true and what is not?”
Ari
nodded curtly at Patricio. “I will be happy to satisfy all your questions, Eirdale, but first things first, shall we? Whatever happens, we need gates and reports.”
“Yes, I suppose you have a point.” Eirdale resumed his seat.
“To continue then,” Ari scanned the chamber. “As we learned tragically, our gateways between the interior energy walls created by our
diamantorre
can no longer be 'free passage', open to anyone who approaches.
“
I ask this council to determine the best way to construct a gateway allowing us to filter who is admitted and instruct your eight
magisters
in its implementation.”
“
Sixth-level
magisters
operated the importation gates that surrounded the spaceport in our city of Arkodaenia. These gateways allowed us to screen goods and persons entering Verdantia. They were among the first elements of our defense system disabled by the Haarb. Built to withstand exterior attack, the Haarb destroyed them immediately by attacking from within.”
“
We must be able to prevent ingress through these new gates in either direction; and we must be able to operate them with lower level
magisters
or commoners. With one or two exceptions, all
magisters
over fourth level are dead.”
At the audible murmurs of,
“impossible,” “it cannot be done,” and “he cannot be serious,” Ari scanned the assembly with a jaundiced eye. “Perhaps one of you would like to volunteer to leave your protected walls and venture out into the battlefields? Speak up, elders,
magisters.
I welcome any volunteer.”
Once
again, Ari spoke into silence. “As I thought.” Several elders seated in front shrank from his biting contempt.
“
Elders, it is imperative we dispatch our
rides
no later than noon tomorrow. Timing is critical to our survival as a self-governing planet and we have little time. I cannot disclose my sources or any further details to the general body at this time. Believe me when I tell you my sources are impeccable. Our peril is real and imminent.” Ari sat.
“
What were you thinking?” Fleur hissed.
Ari
shrugged. “I wanted to get their attention.”
“
Well, you have it.”
Voices exploded in a babble of hysteria.
Elder Patricio stood again and faced the assembly, pounding his fist fiercely on the lectern. “You will come to order! Silence!” Sound slowly died to a sibilant whisper then, finally, to silence.
“
The heads of the three divisions of the High Enclave, Elder Kittredge, Elder Eirdale and Docenti Fourisone, remain. The rest of you are free to leave for the moment. Do not go far. Each of you will compile recommendations for persons to accompany our cavalry. We will reconvene this afternoon to determine our best candidates and course of action. The ringing of the central tower bells will call you back. Thank you, elders.”
The council chamber was filled with the chaotic jumble of voices, chairs scraping, and footsteps descending the steps to the exits.
* * * * *
“
… and those are the critical points, according to Admiral Lockwood, and from the information we were able to gather ourselves.” Ari watched as Doral's gaze swept a concerned group of eyes. Doral had been speaking for two hours.
Something of a record for him. If nothing else,
that
should indicate the seriousness of our situation.
“
Our last information from Raegill II indicated only two of the League Council Chairs and the Secretary General remained uncommitted until after the reception planned for…” Doral paged through an events schedule. “Three weeks from yesterday. The remainder will vote to classify Verdantia a protectorate under Augoust Herrimon’s control. We must move with haste to re-establish our energy shields and isolate the questionable LFP marine squadrons in areas outside it. It is imperative this occur quickly and quietly. At the same time, we must move our cavalry units that are isolated outside the new energy walls inside them.”
“
Segundo
DeLorion, are the LFP commanders aware of the possible change in Verdantia's status?”
That woman again.
Docenti Fourisone, whom Ari thought an attractive woman of middle age with an amazing memory for ritual
magicks
, asked another in a long series of questions. She had begun her inquiries of him and Doral three hours ago. “How vulnerable are we to invasion?”
Ari
nodded when Doral checked for his consent to answer. “On your first question, as a whole, no. We know of two commanders from Augoust Herrimon's territorial guard now planet-side who are well aware of Herrimon’s plans to occupy Verdantia. We think Herrimon planted them here from the beginning. We feel several of the League’s most elite squadron leaders and their troops would defect should Herrimon, with or without League approval, try to occupy us directly. Captain Seffania Rickard and her elite Blue Daggers are certainly ours. In general, the units reporting directly to our
Primo
are loyal to him, personally, and could probably be subverted. We might consider offering the vacant estates of our known dead as enticement to switch allegiance.”
Ari
nodded his head in agreement. “In answer to your second question, we are very vulnerable. Herrimon will employ his own, handpicked squadrons to replace those currently planetside. We must get our interior defenses established and those problematic LFP squadrons neutralized before the switch begins.”
Elder Kittredge looked to Fleur in question.
“Your Majesty, you met extensively these past two months with what remains of Parliament and our House of Lords. Can they be of any use to us in the administration and operation of our
diamantorre
and gateways? This is assuming we can design a gateway construct that doesn't require a sixth-level
magister
.”
“
Possibly. The issue remains one of numbers, however. How many? Where? And, for how long?” Fleur ticked off the areas of concern. “A full two-thirds of our parliamentary roster is dead or missing, including our prime minister. Many of our representatives no longer have a constituency to represent. Parliament is willing to help us but they don't know if they can produce the people to fill the positions.”
Although her voice began strong and assured,
Ari became concerned as it became shaky recounting the devastation. “When I spoke with him an hour ago, Senior Speaker Arnolo promised to do his best to meet our requirements but…” She spread her hands helplessly.
“
Our House of Lords…” She looked down and stroked the fabric of her skirt. “Our House of Lords is in far worse shape.” Her voice became husky. Her chin began to quiver. She cleared her throat and inhaled a steadying breath. “Of the thirty-two original houses, the heads of eight remain. The others vanished from the face of our planet. It is a story I heard repeatedly from both our common citizens and our nobles. Some are confirmed dead, but most are out there somewhere.” She gestured toward the heavens, her voice bleak. “Of those remaining eight noble houses, three are House Constante, House DeTano and House DeLorion.” Fleur's eyes glittered with unshed tears. “I, alone, represent House Constante. Visconte DeLorion, alone, remains of House DeLorion. The Duca, Duchessa and Conte DeTano make up House DeTano. Elder Kittredge, our House of Lords no longer exists.”
She sat rigidly upright and stared sightlessly ahead.
Her normally mobile and animated features were devoid of expression. Tears overflowed her eyes and streamed steadily down her cheeks, a sight made even more distressing because of her silent stoicism.
“
We recovered auction receipts,” she recounted tonelessly, “of tens of thousands sold into slavery.” Her desolate gaze lingered on the gathered group. “We know where to start looking. However, it will take years to bring them home. It will take fleets of star ships we do not possess and have no way to obtain.” She stopped abruptly. Her nose began to run, as tears continued to roll from blank eyes. She wrapped her arms around her waist tightly as if trying to physically contain her pain. “How could this happen? We were oath-sworn to protect our citizens. They
trusted
us to protect them. As their monarch, as their
magisters
, we failed our people utterly.” Her slight body shook as she rocked slightly.
Ari
had had enough. He left his seat and knelt before her, wiping her cheeks, eyes and nose with a soft linen square. He gathered her into his arms with a gently voiced, “Come to me.” She collapsed on his shoulder shaking soundlessly.
“
I promise,” he murmured, “I promise, my Queen. We
will
find our people. We
will
bring them home, every last one of them.” He closed his eyes and held her tightly. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Doral had moved to kneel beside him.
“
Believe, kitten. You must believe.” Doral tenderly moved Fleur's hair back from her face. Her tearful blue eyes met Doral’s. “In this matter you should be a little, umm, ‘pig-headed’.” He tapped her nose and winked at her.
She
gave a watery chuckle, a small smile on her lips and sat up, lovingly stroking first Ari’s face and then Doral's as they knelt side-by-side.
“
All right, for a little while, I will believe in miracles. With the two of you, who knows, anything is possible.”
All three of them realized at the same moment they had a rapt audience.
Elder Fourisone watched intently with an expression of great yearning. Elder Patricio observed them closely, his face as inscrutable as ever. Elder Kittredge and Elder Eirdale fidgeted with their papers, obviously embarrassed to be witnessing such an intimate, emotional scene.
He
and Doral stood, looked at each other in common understanding and returned to their chairs. Ari swore to himself that he would not disappoint her.
Wiping her face with the heel of her hand and taking a deep breath,
she smiled ruefully at the elders. “How terribly undignified of me. Please forget you saw that.”
“
Nonsense, Your Majesty,” Elder Kittredge said staunchly. “Your feelings for your people do you great credit.”
“
And the
Primo
and
Segundo's
feelings for you do you great credit,” sighed Elder Fourisone.