Declaration (Forgotten Colony Book 5)

by M. R. Forbes

  “Caleb, we have to go,” Lia said.

  “Open it,” he said.

  “It is not your place to give me orders. You will follow me.”

  “I want to see him. Open it. Please.”

  “He isn’t coming to any harm, Caleb. He’s being sanctified, as you were.”

  “You’re healing him?”

  “Of course. You told Harai he’s a powerful warrior. He’ll do honor to our Master in the Kuu.”

  Caleb stared at the closed door. He turned away. He didn’t need to see Washington go through what he had gone through. He didn’t want to think about pulling the trigger.

  Except he hadn’t killed Dante. Ishek had. Only Caleb’s body had fired the rifle. Not his mind. Not his soul. He could let it eat him alive, or he could use it as motivation.

  He would use it as motivation.

  “This way,” Lia said.

  She took him down the corridor to an open space where more Inahri in brown robes were working at holographic terminals. They didn’t pay any attention to him as he passed, maintaining their interest in their work.

  “How many Inahri are in the Citadel?” Caleb asked.

  “Sixty-thousand Inahri. Four thousand Relyeh. Two Intellects. Three Earthers.” She smiled at the last part.

  “Two Intellects?” Caleb asked. “Are they reprogrammed?”

  “No. Arluthu made them. He reverse-engineered the design.”

  “So why didn’t he make more?”

  “He prefers living things to automatons. That is why his mechanized units have living minds.”

  “Mechanized units? You mean the Abominations?”

  “Don’t let him hear you call them that. That is a Free Inahri term.”

  They went through the open space and out through an archway into a larger corridor. More Inahri passed Caleb, all of them dressed similarly in brown robes, all of them female. Not all of their heads were shaved. Some had hairstyles he might have called glamorous, suitable for a cocktail party back on Earth. Some were wearing makeup that made their skin shimmer interestingly against the dim light. A few had rounded stomachs, clearly pregnant.

  They didn’t bat an eye at his nakedness. They didn’t pay attention to him at all.

  “Do you like them?” Lia asked, noticing him examining them. “Sergeant Harai has many breeders.”

  “Breeders?”

  “Only the most genetically sound Inahri women are chosen as breeders. It is a position of honor. If you do well in the Kuu, you will earn the right to choose your own from Harai’s stock.”

  Caleb’s teeth clenched. Breeders? Stock? These people were slaves, and they didn’t seem to know or care.

  Some of them knew. Some of them cared. That’s why some left this place and went searching for the Free Inahri. How many failed in their attempts? How many wound up repurposed?

  “In here,” Lia said, leading him into a new compartment. Four other Inahri women were already in the room, standing separate and silent. The other side of the space was dark, but Caleb could see tunnels through the stone at either end.

  “Does this place have any windows?” Caleb asked. “I’m trying to figure out where we are relative to the outside of the mountain.”

  “There are some, but not here. It can become unsettling to look outside too long.”

  “Why?”

  She put her hand straight up. “The Citadel rises from the sea like this.” She used two of the fingers on her other hand to make legs. “We traverse it like this.” She walked down the Citadel from the top.

  “We’re horizontal to the planet’s surface?”

  “Yes. Gravity alteration reorients most of the inside of the Citadel. Looking out windows tends to give our minds the sensation that we’re falling.”

  “I see. What about the tunnel?”

  “The Arshugg will take us to Sergeant Harai’s living space. You will have a room there and whatever access he grants you to any of his belongings.”

  “You mean his slaves?”

  “If I meant slaves, I would have said slaves.”

  “Fine. What’s to stop me from cutting Harai’s throat while he’s sleeping?”

  “Try to harm me, Caleb.”

  “What?”

  “Go ahead. Try to punch me.”

  Caleb wasn’t sure about the idea, but he made a fist and swung at Lia. His muscles contracted halfway into the punch, stopping it short and sending waves of pain up his arm.

  “Reach to the back of your neck.”

  He did, feeling a tiny bump he didn’t think was there before.

  “An inhibitor,” she said. “It won’t allow you to remove it or to harm anyone outside of the Kuu.”

  “I should have guessed. What’s an Arshugg?”

  He heard it a moment later. Something was moving through the tunnel. He watched in horror as a massive, worm-like creature came into the room. The front half of it resembled an Advocate, with big black eyes and a small, pincered mouth, hundreds of legs carrying it through the carved stone. It was disgusting, but it was only frightening because of the back half. The creature appeared to have been cut in two, the rear replaced by a metal carriage supported by mechanical feet.

  The door to the carriage swung open. The other Inahri women all went inside with Caleb and Lia.

  The interior was more spacious than he expected and filled with thick red cushions the women all found places to rest on for the trip. Then the door closed, the Arshugg made a deep wailing sound and they began to move.

  “I can’t even begin to understand this place,” Caleb said.

  “Don’t be concerned,” Lia replied. “As long as you do well in the Kuu and remain healthy, you will probably never see this part of the Citadel again. The sanctorium is reserved for base followers of Arluthu. You’ll be trained to become a member of his Might.”

  “There’s no way I’m going to fight for Arluthu.”

  “You will, Caleb. There are other places in the Citadel. Dark, ugly places. If you see them once you’ll do anything it takes to stay away from them. If you refuse to fight, that’s where Harai will send you.”

  Caleb stared at Lia. He already knew getting out of here might be hard.

  Now he wasn’t sure if it would be possible at all.

  Chapter 16

  The Arshugg made the first of multiple stops a few minutes later. Caleb could tell they were moving through a location-based hierarchy by the change in the atmosphere inside the Citadel. Where the lower level had been hotter and more humid, the upper end was definitely more comfortable for both human and Inahri.

  Of course, since they hadn’t bothered to give him any clothes yet, the change in temperature left him chilled. He refused to show any of the Relyeh any weakness, so he took it in stride, ignoring the goosebumps that ran down both his arms.

  It wasn’t only the climate that shifted. The volume of light increased, and they passed small transparencies in the outer hull, allowing him to get brief glimpses of the world outside. It was daytime, and he noted the clear blue sea around the dark stone of the Citadel, slightly disoriented by the fact that to his body, he was traveling horizontally, but to his eyes he was rising vertically.

  The color and decorativeness of the area also increased. The stops went from roughly hewn dark stone to plushly carpeted floors and walls strung with banners and tapestries, made of threads that shimmered and shifted depending on the viewing angle. It was more beauty than he ever expected to find in Arluthu’s city.

  “This is our section,” Lia announced as the Arshugg slowed to a stop for the third time.

  Only one other Inahri woman was still in the carriage. She was young and probably considered pretty for her kind, with golden hair and a long, smooth face. She had a small baby bump rounding out her robe, and she carried herself with an air of superiority that Caleb had never liked in anyone.

  Caleb stood and followed Lia out into the small room, his feet sinking into a thick, deep red carpet. It was the softest thing he h
ad ever felt. Lia closed the carriage door behind them before rejoining him.

  “Who was that girl?” he asked.

  “Miya,” Lia said. “The newest of Colonel Ae’s breeders. She is beautiful, but you would have to win in the Kuu many times to earn a right to her.”

  “That wasn’t why I asked,” Caleb said. “You said to win the Kuu. That means it’s a competition?”

  “It is not my place to say. Follow me.”

  “Do I get a robe or anything soon, it’s a little chilly up here.”

  She glanced back at him and laughed. “You will have a full wardrobe in your cell.”

  “Cell? I thought you don’t need to worry about me because of the inhibitor.”

  “Cell, as in room. Sergeant Harai has twelve warriors in his squad. Had twelve warriors. A few of them were recently killed.”

  “I know. I was there.” He smiled. “Partly responsible. I’m still sorry I didn’t get the knife deep enough into Harai’s chest.”

  “He ordered me to place you in the second cell beside him. He does you great honor to place you there before you’ve even entered the Kuu.”

  “I guess nearly killing him was impressive.”

  “It was.”

  They exited out into another long corridor. He saw Inahri men for the first time, moving through the passages from one place to another. They wore an assortment of styles, from simple robes to tunics and pants, to hardened material that appeared to be armor. They didn’t ignore him like the women, instead taking quick glances, as if sizing up their newest adversary.

  “Sergeant Harai’s quarters are closer to the center of the Citadel,” Lia explained. “We have passed through Sergeant Axi and Sergeant Bash’s regions already.”

  “Are all of the men soldiers?”

  “Yes. Arluthu demands males for his Might. Females for his labor.”

  “Do any of the women ever wish they could fight?”

  “Of course. But it isn’t our place. There would be more people moving about, but the Might is preparing for war.”

  “Against the Axon, once the Seeker is fully operational?”

  “Against the Free Inahri first. And then the Axon. Arluthu also wishes to take the rest of the Earthers and add to his Might.”

  He nodded. At least she had confirmed what he suspected Arluthu intended to do with those on the Deliverance.

  “Have you ever met Arluthu?”

  Lia’s face paled. She looked horrified. “No. Never. It is forbidden. Very, very few of us have ever seen our Lord.”

  They continued walking for a few more minutes. A mix of male and female Inahri passed them by. None of them spoke to him or Lia, remaining fixed on their tasks.

  “These are Sergeant Harai’s barracks,” Lia said. They were still in the same corridor, and nothing about it appeared to have changed.

  “How can you tell?” Caleb asked. “Besides from experience.”

  She stopped walking, backing up a few steps. She pointed to matching symbols etched into either side of the walls. “Dojo Shing,” she said. “An old squad, part of Aemo company.”

  “Colonel Ae?” Caleb guessed.

  “Yes. This way. We’re almost there.”

  Caleb followed her to a door in the passage identical to all of the others. She put her hand near the wall to open it, the stone swinging inward on invisible hinges. It revealed a large antechamber, alien and beautiful. Thick fur rugs lined the stone floor, mingling with furniture carved from different kinds of crystal and stone and padded with pillows with shimmering threads in all of the colors of the rainbow. It was bright and welcoming, hardly what he would ever consider a barracks to be.

  There were two Inahri soldiers in the room, sitting on one of the couches, holding cups and talking. They fell silent when Lia and Caleb entered. He recognized them as two of the soldiers Harai had brought to the Deliverance, and then to the Free Inahri compound. Their eyes landed on him, studying him with a mix of hate and jealousy.

  “Sergeant Caleb,” Lia said. “This is Corporal Novai and Private Kilai.”

  “We’ve met,” Caleb replied. “Nice to see you again, corporals.” He smiled, putting on an arrogant face. He understood the soldiers were following orders when they killed the Law Officers and slaughtered the Free Inahri. That didn’t mean they had to be friends.

  The two soldiers glared back at him. “Greetings,” Novai said. “Earther.” The second word came out like a curse.

  Lia started walking again, leading Caleb through the antechamber into a second, larger room. This one was more finely decorated than the first, including holographic artwork that floated against the walls. A dozen Inahri women were spread around the room. A couple were sleeping. A few were talking. One was creating some kind of artwork, manipulating a hologram with a pair of handheld devices. Two were in a tub in the back, soaking in a steaming bath. Three of them were pregnant.

  “It looks like a harem,” Caleb said.

  “I don’t know that word,” Lia replied.

  “These are Harai’s breeders?”

  “Half of them. Yes.”

  They looked up at Caleb when they heard him speak. They seemed much more interested in him than the women he had seen on the way up. They stared at his body, so similar and yet so different to theirs.

  He felt like a piece of meat in a lion’s den.

  Chapter 17

  “Greetings,” Caleb said, matching the way Novai had said it.

  “Sergeant,” the oldest of the women said, bowing her head. The others followed suit.

  “Oni,” Lia said, introducing them. “The head of Harai’s breeders and esteemed elder.”

  She didn’t look like she was more than thirty-five. Hardly what he would consider an elder.

  “Good to meet you, Oni,” he said.

  “I am honored by your acknowledgment, Sergeant Caleb.”

  “They know my name?”

  Lia laughed. “Of course. All of the Shing has heard the rumors.”

  “How long was I in the sanctorium?”

  “Sixteen hours.”

  “You replaced my entire arm and healed everything in sixteen hours?”

  “That is only a small taste of what Arluthu offers his followers.”

  “Right. Something I don’t understand. All of these women having all of these babies. Why are there only sixty-thousand Inahri in the Citadel?”

  Lia’s face darkened. She didn’t like the question. “It is not my place to answer.”

  “How old is the oldest Inahri in the Citadel?” Caleb asked next. So far, none of the Inahri he had seen were older than fifty at best.

  “Point five seven ens,” she replied.

  “With your tech? You should have a much longer lifespan, no?”

  She continued to darken. “Elders are brought to another part of the Citadel to spend the rest of their days in comfort, their work as soldiers, servants, or breeders completed. Your cell is this way.”

  “I hope to see you again, Sergeant Caleb,” Oni said as he reached the door.

  “Thank you,” Caleb said.

  Lia led him into another corridor. The hierarchy was immediately apparent in the design of the passage. The door directly across from what he could only think of as the harem was plain stone, and had a single symbol etched into its surface. The next one down was similar but had two matching symbols, with three on the next one. At the sixth door, the symbols changed and the door was slightly larger. Harai’s quarters. A pair of double doors, many symbols brightly painted on them, filled nearly half the wall from top to bottom.

  “A history of the leaders of Dojo Shing,” Lia explained, pointing to the symbols.

  “I would have thought his quarters would be directly across from the harem,” Caleb replied.

  “So that none of the others in the Shing would know how many times a breeder is requested?” Lia replied.

  For the first time, Caleb sensed a hint of displeasure in the woman’s voice.

  “I guess that
makes sense,” Caleb said.

  Lia turned to the left. “This is your cell.”

  His door was colored as well, though it had only two symbols etched into it. Taking a moment to stare at them, he realized he understood what they said. Sergeant. Earther.

  “I can read Inahrai.”

  “Of course.”

  “Why didn’t I realize sooner?”

  “Your mind is still processing the new information. It will come quickly. Put your hand to the symbol.”

  Caleb did. The door swung open.

  “You can access any cell below yours. You also have access to the…harem, as you call it, without requiring Sergeant Harai’s permission.”

  “Is that typical?”

  “No. Sergeant Harai has taken a liking to you, Sergeant Caleb.”

  “Because I almost killed him. Some society you’ve got here.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Nevermind.”

  He walked into the cell ahead of her. It wasn’t as much a cell as an apartment. It had a large living space almost as big as the antechamber and similarly designed. A door on the right led to what looked like a bedroom, while a door to the left fed into another room. Behind the central area was a patio of sorts—a holographic projection of space providing flickering stars.

  Maybe Harai thought he could tempt Caleb into fighting on the side of the Inahri. Perhaps he wasn’t going to get a choice. Either way, none of this was going to work on him. He didn’t care about the women, the honor, the comfort.

  He was a Space Force Marine, and he still had a mission to accomplish.

  “Your wardrobe is this way,” Lia said, guiding him to the bedroom.

  It was as large as the living space, the center occupied by a round bed, thick and plush, covered in silky looking blankets and pillows. A door on the right led into a closet filled with underclothes and all manner of robes and tunics and pants, offering Caleb limited freedom in style. All of the clothes were purple. All of them had small silver buttons on the shoulder. He had seen the buttons before. They would project his name and rank, and he assumed his Shing and position in the pecking order.