War of the Fathers

by Dan Decker

  Chapter 13

  The setting sun covered the street in shadow and caused Adar to become more alert. Ruder had told Jorad that the Hunwei attacked Wasat at night. Adar didn't know if that meant that they preferred to attack at night or if he was reading too much into it. Regardless, he couldn't stop from becoming more wary of the possibility as the sky became darker.

  Karn had spent the better part of an hour bringing Adar up to date on what had happened since he'd left Rarbon. The thing that surprised him the most about Karn's report was that the general attitude of the people about the Hunwei had changed. During the ride back to Neberan, Adar had told Tere and his men that the Hunwei had returned. Strangely, Tere had believed him without argument. When Tarner had guffawed at Adar's statement, Adar hadn't thought much about it. It appeared that Tarner's attitude reflected that of a majority of the people in Rarbon. That didn't bode well for Jorad gaining access to the Portal.

  The rumor that had delayed Karn and Xarda was about an ancient artifact that had been embedded into a rock. When Adar had heard the story his first thought had been that it might be one of the weapon repositories of the fathers. Karn and the others had spent more than a month looking but hadn't been able to find the place.

  The repositories reminded Adar of Semal Bray. He'd asked Karn about the old man and was pleased to hear that Semal was well. His role in Rarbon had been marginalized and while some of the generals still called him in for the occasional lecture, much of the populace regarded him as insane. Adar had been saddened to hear it. He'd been planning to guide Jorad to Semal for help.

  Semal could still help of course, but if he no longer had much influence, he wouldn't be able to convince the Council to give Jorad access to the Rarbon Portal without going through all the trials. Semal had been lobbying to ease some of the restrictions in order to become Ghar back when Adar was making his claim. He'd been making headway until it became a moot point because Adar had finished his last task.

  It had been years since Adar had thought about his final trial. Thinking of it again still filled him with anxiety. It had only been luck that had kept him from slipping into the molten metal. He could still remember the surprise on Abel's face when he'd come up, burned but alive. He hadn't believed that his father wanted to see him die, but it became clear that his father hadn't wanted him to succeed either. His father's surprise had been replaced by jealousy. He had often wondered if Abel had something to do with the murder of Nelion.

  Adar scanned the people on the street, looking for anybody or anything out of place. There were a number of people going about their business. A small gathering of people had pulled chairs outside to enjoy the evening air. Adar could smell their alcohol from several shops away.

  After six months in Neberan, he knew almost everybody by sight. It was part of how he operated. He spent a great deal of effort to familiarize himself with the people around him in every new place. It was now second nature for him to absorb the routine of their normal habits. Nothing jumped out at him as unusual until he looked behind. There was a man that he didn't recognize following them.

  His quick glance told him enough information to know that the man was from out of town. His clothing didn't strike Adar as coming from any particular nationality, which in itself was odd. Was the man trying to hide where he was from? He wore two short swords and was a brawny fellow. The man hadn't made eye contact with Adar even though he was directly behind them. That was strange too. The man should have been looking in the direction he was walking. Adar looking over his shoulder would have drawn the eyes of the man.

  “Your father remarried,” Karn said.

  “I heard.” It made sense that Abel had felt the need for another heir.

  Adar guided Karn down an alleyway while Karn continued his report. They hadn't made it very far down the alley when Adar heard rushing feet. He'd been expecting this and was prepared; he turned at the last moment, a dagger in each hand.

  The man that had been following them registered a look of surprise before one of Adar's daggers took him in the eye. The other sunk into his chest. Adar had his sword out the next moment but there wasn't a need. Their attacker dropped his two swords and fell in a heap.

  “Melyah!” Karn drew his sword and stepped away from the dying man. Adar looked out of the alley. There weren't any witnesses to the event and if they moved quickly they could keep anybody from becoming curious long enough for them to get away. “Killed him pretty quick, didn’t you? Didn't you want to know why he was attacking you?”

  Adar grunted. He hadn't recognized it earlier, but the coat told him the dying man was from Colonipo. He searched the man’s pockets and pulled out a worn piece of paper, which he handed to Karn.

  “Already knew what he wanted.”

  It was unlikely the man had found them without help, Colonipo was a long way away and Adar had been careful to cover their tracks. Neare had mentioned a poster the other night and Adar wondered if Neare had helped the man find him or perhaps even sent for him. Adar retrieved his daggers and cleaned them on the bounty hunters jacket. Somewhere a woman screamed, but it didn’t seem to be connected to his kill as the alley was still empty and nobody had walked by on the street.

  “Why you got a bounty hunter on your trail?” Karn asked.

  “Caught a man doing something he shouldn’t and he didn’t survive my lesson. Grab his legs. I don’t think anybody saw me.”

  “Lucky thing we’re leaving tonight.”

  They moved the body over to the side of the alley behind some crates. Adar had been distracted by the bounty hunter so he hadn't given the scream a second thought. Now he wondered where it had come from, was somebody in need of help?

  He was about to investigate further when a figure stepped into the alley. He prepared for another attack until he recognized Tere’s silhouette. For a moment, all Adar could see was Nelion soaked in blood as it spilled from her torn chest. Adar's anger surged when he thought of the other man lying in his gore. She’d loved Adar, he knew it and it didn’t matter how he found her, but the thought still fueled him to a full rage. A thought occurred to him. Tere had thrown that in his face, intending to get him angry. Why? Had Tere wanted to continue the fight?

  Adar had never been satisfied with Tere's explanation that he'd just been passing by and happened to hear Adar as he tried to save Nelion's life. Adar regretted entering the truce earlier. If Adar had known that Xarda and Karn would show up today, he would not have entered into the arrangement so readily.

  “Gone for all of an hour,” Tere said examining the body, “and you two have already managed to find trouble.” Tere was calmer than when Adar had last seen him at the boarding house. He tried to imagine how Tere felt. Tere had spent all those years looking for them so that he could return Jorad, only to find out that Adar had left a plan in place for Jorad to return anyway. If Tere had killed Nelion, it was only the beginning of the punishment he deserved.

  Adar’s eyes narrowed. Tere could have put the bounty hunter on his trail; it would after all be a convenient way to get rid of him and still return with Jorad to Rarbon. It was too dark to make out much of Tere’s face. Perhaps Karn was right and Adar should have waited to question the man.

  “Need something?” Adar asked as Tarner and Lous followed Tere into the alley. Both of them looked down at the body with a measure of surprise.

  Tarner took it better than Lous did. Adar had to keep his hand from touching the tip of his ear that Tarner had injured. It had been a long time since he'd taken a wound. Even a small wound like that. Tarner had attacked him when his back had been turned. It was a cowardly thing to do because Adar had been keeping Jorad from killing Tere. He'd have to keep an eye out for Tarner in the future. Adar remembered giving Tarner some training back when he'd been a scrawny and short boy. Come to think of it, he hadn't gained much height since. He was a great deal more bulky and Adar wondered if Tarner kept that way on purpose to make up for his lack of height.

&
nbsp; Lous was affected by the body. Adar didn't know Lous from before and hadn't yet had a chance to learn his last name. When he did, that might tell him a little bit more about the man and why he'd been sent on this particular expedition.

  “Jorad was taken by the guards.” Tere looked down at the body of the bounty hunter. “He takes after you, he’s wanted for murder.”

  “One of the guards almost killed him,” Tarner said. “Xarda was sure they’ll try again tonight.”

  Adar didn't bother to respond as he pushed past them and ran out onto the street. The guards would have taken Jorad to the guardhouse. The quickest way to get there would be through the town square. Of all the times, why did this have to happen now? This smelled of Erro. The jealous boy couldn’t leave well enough alone, could he?

  As Adar ran past the party of people who'd been relaxing and drinking, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt at not doing more to try to save the town. He'd had a conversation with mayor Keerit when he'd reported the body. He'd told her that the Hunwei were back and would be attacking Neberan soon. Needless to say, she hadn't believed him. She hadn't even bothered to keep the amusement off her face. Throughout the day, he'd tried warning other people as well, but nobody would listen. Well, that wasn't true. Tere had taken him at his word. It struck Adar as strange that Tere had believed him without a problem about the Hunwei but he didn't believe Adar about Nelion.

  As Adar got closer to the town square, he became alarmed. People were crying out, he’d didn’t remember anything of particular note happening at the town square tonight, but he rarely paid attention to those things. Despite his urgency to get to Jorad, he slowed down. The cries did not have a note of merriment to them. He thought about the scream he heard earlier.

  Adar slowed as he approached the turn that would put him on the street that went to the town square. Knowing what he would find but having to see it firsthand.

  He could hear the cries more clearly now and there was a lot of light coming from around the corner. The smell hit him next. He didn't have the right words to describe it but he could tell that it was smoke. It just didn't smell like anything that he'd encountered before. He noticed that Tere was walking beside him. Neither spoke as they turned the corner. The town square was engulfed in mayhem. Tere said something that Adar didn’t catch because that was when the explosions started. Adar dove to the ground, the rumbling thunder blocking out the sound of his own curse.

  The Hunwei were here.

  Interlude 1

  THE YEAR OF THE SEVERING

  For the tenth time in the last hour, Rend wondered if he was making a mistake. The wind from the open doors of his balcony touched and cooled his sweaty forehead. He wiped his brow and sighed.

  Millions were about to die.

  He'd lost weight in the weeks leading up to the assault and he couldn’t remember the last time he had a restful night of sleep. What would he feel once it was done? Would it be relief or horror? Was this just the first step on a path that would leave him abandoned and forlorn?

  He steeled his nerves. Even if that was his fate, he would proceed.

  Most believed that the fleet had been destroyed by the war's end, but the holographic display in front of him proved the lie. A third of the fleet was intact and moving in on the Hunwei home world.

  Rend used the computer to call Admiral Joner, but his hail went unheeded. That wasn't a surprise, Joner rarely answered. The man had been sent on his mission years before by Ghar Chandlir and he didn't feel the need to explain himself to Rend.

  Jbyte would track Joner down if Rend asked but the thought of interacting with Deren's cursed program made him want to punch a hole in the wall. It frustrated him that Jbyte was always monitoring him anyway. The last thing he wanted was her bothering him as the attack began.

  He took a breath, letting the cool air calm him. The last time he'd punched something he'd been lucky. It had been a chair that easily gave way. The rock walls of Rarbon palace weren't so forgiving.

  There was a flurry of activity on the display that drew Rend's attention. At first, Rend assumed that the attack was under way, but it was the last of the fleet moving to position. He was surprised because he'd been following the fleet closely and had thought that everybody was already into position. Perhaps Joner had changed his orders at the last moment.

  When the first reports of the planet had come into Rend's office, he’d scarcely believed that they’d found the right place. The first photographs had resembled a big dust ball and he’d wondered how the Hunwei survived with so little water, something just as essential to Hunwei as it was humans. It wasn’t until later that he learned that what it lacked in oceans and lakes, it made up for with rivers and marshes.

  He’d been surprised to find that the Hunwei built cities in harmony with their ecosystems. That was ironic. The Hunwei made no effort to spare the natural resources of Rend's home and in many instances had destroyed large swaths of forest.

  That reminded him of the question that had been bothering him now for the better part of twenty years. Why had the Hunwei attacked in the first place?

  Because the Hunwei never tried to directly communicate, the reasoning behind the war was hotly disputed. Any attempts to reach out to the Hunwei had failed. From what he could tell, the Hunwei had come to capture slaves and destroy. He believed that there was more to it than that, but he didn’t have any idea what.

  Regardless, the Hunwei would deserve what they got.

  Rend had rarely left his office since the first ship had snuck into the system and sent back the initial photos. His wife Tira wasn’t too happy with him about that. It would have been much easier if he just told her, but then the burden would be on her shoulders as well. She didn’t need to feel the responsibility for this atrocity.

  She'd stopped to visit earlier when Rend had been having a panic attack. He’d barely been able to engage in conversation and she’d left in tears. A few more hours and it would all be over. She’d forgive him.

  He stared at the fleet. If the reports he’d been given were accurate, it would take less than an hour to destroy the planet. He didn’t quite believe it, but he couldn’t help but hope.

  Do I want this to be my legacy? he wondered. I want this over and done. Joner is certainly taking his sweet time. Anytime now, the destruction would begin, and the nightmare would be over. After that, he could get to work dealing with the political fallout and putting his life back together.

  Once the attack was complete, the truth would go out. Joner had his hands full keeping his team in radio silence. There had been several executions of those trying to get around the blackout order in the last year. Rend's heart went out to each of them, but he'd done nothing to stop it.

  Who’s to say that the Hunwei hadn’t left spies? It seemed unlikely, but it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take. The soldiers had just wanted to know if their loved ones had survived, but order and secrecy had to be maintained.

  What a mess I’m in, he thought, it isn’t even my fault. The lie had been told long before he’d ever sat in this office. His only sin was that of perpetuating it. That wouldn't matter though when the truth finally came out. He’d be just as blameworthy as Joner. Even once everybody knew, he hoped that most wouldn’t condemn him and the others involved.

  Rend had been outraged when he’d learned the truth. How could Ghar Chandlir have been so blind to the fate of his people that he’d sent so many of their resources away when his people had needed them the most?

  After Rend had calmed, he realized that Chandlir had made the right call. If the rest of the fleet had stayed, who’s to say that they wouldn’t have been destroyed like all the others?

  Rend’s first instinct had been to call the ships back, but he’d hesitated. The Hunwei had brought humanity to the brink of extinction. So many had died. His first wife, his sons, and all but one of his daughters.

  Lief.

  The thought that Lief was up there somewhere liv
ing his life as a slave is what kept Rend from calling off the attack. That wound would never heal.

  It was unlikely that the ship that took Lief had returned to the Hunwei home world. Rend wasn't aware of a single Hunwei ship that could travel faster than light. While it had taken ten years for the remaining ships in the fleet to get to the Hunwei planet, it would take the Hunwei more than a thousand. It had been a mere two years since the last Hunwei ships had left.

  Faster than light travel had been his people’s one advantage and little good it had done them. How could a species that was so advanced in other ways lack that? Was it because the Hunwei could live for more than a thousand years so they just didn’t bother? What good were slaves that were lucky to make it past eighty? Rend wished he knew.

  He pushed the questions away. It was one of many inconsistencies with the Hunwei. More questions he’d never be able to answer.

  Here was Rend’s only opportunity to right this wrong. He’d never be able to find what ship his son was on or where they’d taken him, but he could ensure that any of those Hunwei ships that returned home would find their planet gone. Much the same as what they'd left to the few human survivors.

  “Besides,” Rend whispered to himself. “This war isn’t over.” There had been no declaration of truce. He had a distinct feeling that the Hunwei would one day return.

  “If it isn’t, why’d they leave?” Jbyte materialized as she spoke and Rend looked up from the holographic display. Her image was of a serving girl in a tight red dress. He recognized the face but couldn’t put a name to it. An actress from before the war? The holograph bowed low, an act of respect that had been out of fashion for years.

  Rend winced and wished he hadn’t. Jbyte’s sensors picked up the smallest things. She enjoyed it when she got to him. Unfortunately, if Rend ignored her, she’d do the same and he still needed her help. For now. She was his only way of knowing what was happening with the fleet because Joner wasn’t very forthcoming.

  “We’re not done until they’re all dead, or they’ll haunt us forever.”

  Stupid. His comment would just result in her further tormenting of him. If there had been another way to continue this attack without depending on one of Deren’s cursed inventions, even if it required a lot more effort, Rend would have taken it.

  Deren had never built anything that was reliable. He’d programmed that way on purpose and had called it intelligence. For Rend, Jbyte was just a terrible nuisance.

  “Care to make a bet?” she asked instead of continuing the lecture she liked to give. He'd probably heard it more than thirty times during the last week alone. That had almost been enough to make him want to shut down the whole mainframe, but he couldn't do that just to spite a program.

  It was the last remaining hub of information. Initially, when it became apparent that humankind wasn't going to win the war against the Hunwei, the government had been afraid of being sent back to the dark ages.

  To ensure that didn't happen, twenty-five secret mainframes had been established throughout the world. The one hidden in the depths of the Rarbon palace was the last one remaining. In the intervening years all the others had been destroyed. By the time they were down to the last few, too much of their technology had been lost to build anything new. It would take them years to recover everything they’d lost. It was a lucky thing that Rarbon was self sustaining, or even the final mainframe might have been lost.

  Jbyte's words were still ringing in Rend's ears. Care to make a bet? She knew Deren had been fond of those words. Her eyes narrowed and she raised the side of her upper lip, an expression Deren had frequently worn when he’d been lost in thought.

  “It’s not too late. This crime will overshadow your victory.”

  Rend didn’t bother to correct her, they hadn’t won. Even Tira could see that now. When the Hunwei had left, most had celebrated. Eventually, other people began to come around to Rend's way of thinking.

  “It wasn't a victory, they packed up and left.” He tried not to imagine what a baby Hunwei looked like. He looked at the clock. The attack should have begun by now.

  “Get me Joner, he--” Rend stopped when he saw a flare of light coming through the open balcony doors. His office was high enough in Rarbon Palace that he could see the distant wall. He could just make it out. The light was outside the city wall and far enough away that he would have missed it if he hadn’t happened to be looking that direction. Had it been a missile? A bomb? Whatever it was, Rarbon's shields were continuing to hold.

  It was a reminder of one more problem he still needed to deal with. He'd been ignoring Araz for too long. The attacks were becoming more frequent. Rarbon's walls would hold a little longer. Once the Hunwei were dealt with, he could focus on Araz. Rend would sooner see the mainframe destroyed than let it fall into Araz’s hands.

  Not even the Hunwei had ever managed to get past Rarbon’s defenses for long. Araz wasn’t likely to make it past the shields anytime soon.

  It was time Rend made a trip to the outer wall to observe the enemy encampment firsthand. Tomorrow would be soon enough, once this was all over, and he had a full night of rest under his belt.

  “Where’s Joner?” Rend asked.

  “Not responding. If this is right, why haven’t you told your people?”

  “I’ll tell them when it’s over. We have to keep our plans secure.”

  “Rubbish. You know they won’t agree with you.”

  Rend was saved from having to respond because Joner flashed onto the large display that was mounted on the wall facing Rend's desk. Joner looked as haggard as Rend felt. Normally, he would have stopped to ask how the man was doing, but every minute they delayed was another chance for the Hunwei to realize they were under attack.

  “It’s about bloody time.” Rend approached the display. “Why haven’t you attacked yet?”

  “The attack is still several hours out.” Joner didn't seem concerned by Rend’s look of alarm.

  Rend struggled to keep his voice steady and had to resist gritting his teeth. “You don’t have time, Joner. Launch the Borers. The Hooneys will find you soon, if they haven’t already.”

  Joner shook his head. “We won’t move until we’ve completed a final analysis of the planets defenses. We have one shot at this, we need to make sure we'll succeed.”

  “You're jeopardizing the plan.”

  “I'll let you know when the attack commences.” Joner ended the transmission and Rend pounded the screen, enlarging a small crack that had formed before when it had received similar treatment.

  “Temper, temper,” Jbyte said. “Maybe he’s having a crisis of conscience, that’s something you wouldn’t understand.”

  “He’s a fool! We can put an end to the Hunwei war now.” Rend stopped before he slammed his fist into the rock wall beside the screen, he hadn’t realized he’d moved over and didn’t need a broken hand on top of everything else. He stepped out onto his balcony and looked at the city far below, he needed to clear his head.

  “We can’t take the chance it’s not over.” His eyes narrowed when he noticed metallic flashes moving through the crowds. Would there ever be any end to the damage Deren had inflicted? It would take the rest of his life to rid the world of Deren’s mistakes.

  “We’re under attack,” Jbyte said.

  “Sensor’s failing? I saw the missiles earlier; it was nothing to worry about.”

  “The palace has been breached.”

  Rend turned. “How many? Where are they now?”

  “Fifteen and they’re on the second floor. Araz’s men.”

  “Why’d you let them get that far?”

  “My sensors were disabled.”

  “And you didn’t notice?” Rend grabbed his rifle from the closet and as an afterthought a small blaster that fit into his pocket. It wasn’t his preferred choice for a backup weapon, but it was better than nothing. Why did everything always happen at once?

  Rend readied his rifle and looked at
Jbyte, but Deren stood before him, frowning. Rend growled, and had taken aim before he remembered that Deren was dead. Then it was Jbyte again, smiling.

  Cursed machine. “Get me General Paet.” She’d picked a bad time to taunt him.

  “It’s not my fault they got in.”

  Rend was having a hard time believing that. “Just get him.”

  After a brief pause, Jbyte responded. “I can’t get through. Admiral Joner is blocking any attempts to communicate.”

  “Try the other ships.”

  “All communications are blocked.”

  “Melyah take Joner! Can’t you get around it?”

  “You’re the one who insisted I relinquish control of the fleet computers. Regret that yet?”

  Rend didn’t answer as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his tablet and brought the holographic display to life. If she couldn’t get through, he didn’t need her any longer. He couldn’t take the risk that she was involved in the breach.

  “I didn’t betray you.” Jbyte disappeared.

  Rend blinked. He’d been a few steps away from imprisoning her, but hadn’t completed the process.

  “Jbyte?”

  No answer.

  Rend brought up a status report for the mainframe server room. Once the attack had begun, the guard on the mainframe should have tripled, but instead, the display showed the room had been breached. He should have received an alert when that happened; it was just further proof of Jbyte’s instability or treachery. He didn't have time to wonder which.

  “Either way, they’ve betrayed you too.” Araz’s men were targeting the hub. Was he desperate enough to destroy it?

  Rend had assumed not, but maybe he was wrong. He made the adjustments necessary to lock down the mainframe but hesitated before completing the action. He was the only one that knew how to access it once it was secured.

  There was no time. Araz would have known about the protective measures before penetrating the palace. Rend touched the display and completed the process. He’d waited too long already. The doors forty levels below would close, the blast shields would follow, rendering them impossible to open and in minutes the oxygen would be sucked from the room and the intruders would be dead.

  When Rend looked up from his tablet, he realized that he was no longer alone. His first instinct was to raise is rifle until he recognized his guard.

  “Has the palace been secured?”

  They didn’t answer as they leveled their rifles at him, took him into custody, and led him out of his office.

  Part Two: Tempest of Fire

  1,192 YEARS SINCE THE SEVERING