Awen rolled her eyes. “Of course you were.”
“Docking with platform KN4-31, Hangar Bay Three in ten seconds,” Azelon reported, her voice reverberating in the bridge—and, presumably, throughout the rest of the ship. “Please prepare for main hull connection.”
“I suggest you hang on,” TO-96 said to Awen, who turned, took a seat in the captain’s acceleration couch, and buckled herself in.
“Five seconds,” Azelon announced. The window showed the platform’s crew tube extending toward them like a blackened worm protruding from the hangar block. The Azelon Spire was far too massive to fit inside the bay. Instead, she would make port at the end of the gantry crane that cradled the tube.
“Three… two… one…”
Awen braced herself. The smallest nudge rocked her forward. She waited, expecting more. “Was that it?”
“That was it, yes,” TO-96 replied.
“Docking procedure complete,” Azelon reported. “You are free to move about the ship. Pending hangar access at bow deck four, section one. Awaiting permission to open doors.”
“Access granted,” said a voice from behind Awen. She turned to see Ezo stepping out of the elevator and onto the bridge.
“Acknowledged,” Azelon said.
Awen rose from the captain’s chair and moved to Ezo. “Any improvement?”
Ezo would know she was asking about Sootriman. And perhaps TO-96 would note her concern. Now you need to prove yourself to a robot?
“The readouts seem to be positive, though Ezo is no doctor.” He looked to Azelon. “Thank you for translating the diagnostics for me.”
“My pleasure, sir. I am only sorry that I could not do it sooner. But it was not until I accessed TO-96’s archives that the translation was possible. He was indispensable in that regard.”
Awen noticed TO-96’s eyes glowing a little brighter—more robot blushing, as if such a thing were possible. Nothing like anthropomorphizing robots, Awen. Maybe she needed a break from them—or from everyone. She hadn’t gotten much alone time since before leaving Worru for Oorajee.
A pang of guilt filled her chest as she thought about Matteo and Master Toochu and the others who’d perished in the mwadim’s palace. She wished she could go back—she’d change so much. But that was impossible. Awen thought back to Willowood’s advice before the meeting with the treacherous So-Elku. “You cannot control what is done to you,” the wise sage had said. “Just like you could not stop those people from dying. The only thing you get to control is your today. You choose, and the universe responds.”
Oh, how she missed her mentor and hoped—to all the mystics—that Willowood was still alive. What am I thinking? Of course she’s alive! So-Elku might imprison her, but he isn’t ruthless enough to kill her. Perhaps she would use the next two days to try to reach Willowood—providing it didn’t compromise her own safety… So it’s all about you?
Sometimes her inner monologue was such a pain. Of course it wasn’t all about her. She was doing this for the greater good. For those who did not even know they needed defending yet. Whatever Admiral Kane and his associates were up to, it was evil. And it had to be stopped.
“So what’s the plan?” Ezo asked Awen.
“I figure we let Sootriman stay here in sick bay. I doubt any of Ki Nar Four’s medical facilities are better than Azelon’s.”
“Based on my initial scans of this planet’s technology, I would agree,” Azelon said.
Awen turned to glance at Azelon, eyebrows raised. Then to Ezo, she whispered, “I swear, she’s got ears in every part of this ship.”
Azelon whispered back, “If that is another metaphor for my ability to detect audio-acoustic vibrations on every one of the ship’s surfaces, then yes, I have ears in every part of this ship.”
“Great,” Ezo whispered back. He smiled and returned to a normal voice. “So we leave Sootriman in Azelon’s care. Then what?”
“Well, I was hoping we could rally some of Sootriman’s troops. Her bodyguard. Maybe some of those Reptalon sentries she keeps. Then they get whatever weapons they need, and we go back to Ithnor Ithelia.”
“What are you, a mercenary now?”
“No.” Awen shook her head. “Why is everyone having a hard time with me wanting to stop bad people from doing something evil?”
Ezo shrugged. “Well, you are a Luma, aren’t you? Don’t you all seek to employ ‘alternative means’ in accomplishing your goals? Diplomacy and splick. You know.”
“Okay, first off, Luma work in teams through established diplomatic channels. My last team got blown up”—she punched her palm with a fist—“and in case you hadn’t noticed, our leader betrayed the whole Order. So I’m not getting a team of Luma anytime soon. Secondly, I’m not exactly sure Admiral Kane and his troopers are going to be interested in diplomatic negotiations through moderate peace talks.”
“So you’re saying there is a place for violence…”
Awen threw her hands up. “Why is everyone so interested in my principles all of a sudden?” She looked at TO-96, who shrugged. She blew a strand of hair out of her face. “Listen, Ezo. All I know is that if we don’t stop whoever those troopers are back on the Novia home world, something bad is going to happen. I don’t know what they’re after, but it’s not good. This isn’t going to end well for anyone if we don’t do something.”
“Agreed.” Ezo nodded. “Ezo just wants to make sure you’re okay with… you know… us killing people. It’s not exactly your style. Ezo’s, yes. Yours? Not so much.”
“I get it, and I appreciate your concern. But let me worry about my morality, and you worry about yours.”
“You sure?”
“Mystics! Yes.” She raised a flattened hand toward the elevator. “Can we just get on with this?”
“Sure can, Star Queen. Just remember one thing.”
“And what’s that?” Awen wasn’t in the mood for a lecture—or for anyone else questioning her ethics.
“You do have a team.”
5
Walking through the streets of Sootriman’s capital platform was just as disgusting as it had been the first time. How such a classy lady tolerated a refuse pit like this was beyond her. But she supposed that being a warlord over a rogue planet outside the Republic’s domain came with certain caveats. Didn’t all leadership? And Awen would be the last to question Sootriman’s judgment calls, even if she didn’t entirely understand them. For all Awen knew, Sootriman’s citizens wanted their planet this way. Even illegals off the grid had rights, as Oorajee plainly demonstrated.
The smells of urine, fermented yeast, and bile mixed with odors of rusted metal and the sulfur from the planet’s surface. The midday sun cast a murky green hue over the streets, which were now bustling with merchants, shoppers, and beggars. Disreputable storefronts boasting all manner of alien erotica stood side by side with seemingly decent food service and merchandising establishments—all of which sought to do honest business in this backwater world.
Ezo led TO-96 and Awen against the gyrating flow of traffic, heading toward the massive domed building in the city’s center. Under full sun, Sootriman’s den showed more wear than Awen remembered. Rust and oil stains crept along the surface, slowly pulling the structure down to the decaying platform’s grave. Cables, poles, cranes, and wires protruded from the circular building like the bristly hairs of a Tuskavarin boar mongrel.
“Something’s not right,” Ezo said above the din of the crowd.
“What? Why?” Awen looked at Sootriman’s den. “How can you tell?”
“There’s been a fire.” Ezo pointed to charring around the windows and between the metal plating. “That’s not normal.”
“I’m detecting residual levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, polyethylene—”
“So it’s bad, ’Six. I got it. Come on.” Ezo put his shoulder down and started pushing through the crowd. Patrons swore at him as people bumped into one another an
d lost their grip on whatever wares they carried. Awen held on to TO-96 as he followed after Ezo, trying not to get swept away by the crush of bodies.
The trio made it through one of the larger squares before being funneled into a side street. The narrow road bent right and terminated at an intersection. Ezo pulled himself up short, narrowly missing becoming the hood ornament for a street skiff.
Even though she’d momentarily lost sight of Sootriman’s den, Awen thought she could detect the sharp odor of a burnt-out fire. Ezo looked side to side and chose to go right. She and TO-96 followed him and made it to another intersection. They turned left and moved between some dilapidated apartment buildings. As they drew closer to the end of the street, Awen could see that a fire had worked its way through the structure. Soot stains marked walls, and debris littered the sidewalks below them.
“Come on,” Ezo said, breaking into a run. TO-96 and Awen followed, pushing past pedestrians and dodging small skiffs. By the time Awen reached the street’s end—butting up against the rounded exterior of the den—Ezo was already running toward the building’s main entrance. When she and TO-96 caught him, he was staring into the blackness. The massive doors had been blown off their hinges and lay in the street.
“What happened?” Awen asked, not really expecting anyone to answer.
Ezo took a step into the entryway, examining the ceiling and walls. “Kane happened, bet you a hundred creds in Abimbola’s poker chips. Careful.”
TO-96 switched on two shoulder-mounted lights and helped Awen step over some rubble. They followed Ezo as he moved deeper into the tunnel. Within a dozen meters, Awen started seeing body parts of Reptalons. Hands, heads, legs. The odors of smoke and burnt flesh hung heavily in the air. She covered her nose and mouth, trying not to let her eyes linger too long on the gruesome carnage.
When the three of them reached the stairs that mounted to Sootriman’s grand hall, Ezo kicked Reptalon bodies aside to make a path. Whoever had come through here—Awen agreed that it must have been Kane—had spared no one. Awen was surprised that Sootriman had failed to mention any of this during their three months together on Itheliana. Ezo seemed equally dismayed, which meant he’d been kept out of the loop too. Sootriman had never shared the details of how Kane had taken her hostage. Perhaps it was too humiliating. Or too sad. Reptalons weren’t ideal friends, but Awen doubted the lizard people were the only casualties of Kane’s attack.
“Great mystics…” Ezo whispered from above.
Awen didn’t even want to ascend the rest of the stairs, afraid of what Ezo had found. But she knew she must. Full knowledge of what was up there would add to her motivation to stop Kane. If she really were going to betray the tenets of the Luma, she’d need to see the fruits of this enemy’s labor. She’d need to know what she was up against, what Kane was capable of, and—
Awen froze on the top step, and her stomach turned. She blinked and squinted at the places where TO-96’s and Ezo’s lights landed. Bodies. Dozens of bodies. Maimed. Burned. Dismembered. Dried blood and ash swirled in macabre designs on the tiled floors. Slash and blaster marks scorched the pillars. Women who’d once been fanning themselves were frozen in anxious crawls away from whoever had slain them. Men who’d dashed over to defend their queen lay eviscerated on the ground. Ghastly faces filled with terror were everywhere.
Awen was about to vomit when she heard a hiss.
“Who goes there?” Ezo demanded, swinging his pistol to the far wall. TO-96 also centered his lights on the dais. “Who are you, and what are you doing here? Come out slowly!”
Awen watched in horror as a figure emerged from behind the dais. Her imagination told her it was a Reptalon carcass brought back to life—some sort of manipulation with the Unity. But to her amazement, it wasn’t a trick or a walking corpse. It was a Reptalon, alive.
“Hands up, scaly!” Ezo ordered. “And come down from there slowly!”
The Reptalon extended his clawed hands to his sides and began moving down the dais. But his steps were awkward, and he slipped. The lizard fell, hitting his hip on the marble steps, and then tumbled to the floor. It hissed louder, writhing in a failed attempt to get up.
“Slowly!” Ezo ordered, picking his way over the bodies between the entrance and the dais. “Don’t do anything stupid!”
“Stupid,” the lizard hissed. “Stupid.”
“Yeah…” Ezo edged closer. “That’s right. Stupid gets you shot.”
“So stupid.” The lizard pounded the marbled floor a scaly fist. “So, so, so stupid.”
“You did all this? You betray your oaths?” Ezo asked. Awen felt like that was a pretty unnecessary thing to ask and wished she could do the questioning. But Ezo held up a hand to keep her quiet. “Hey!” Ezo jammed the toe of his boot into the Reptalon’s side. “Ezo’s talking to you, lizard brain!”
The creature rolled over on its back and hissed at Ezo. Awen had always thought that Reptalons were, by far, one of the most disturbing creatures in the galaxy. This behavior only served to confirm it.
“Saasarr is stupid!”
“Who’s Saasarr, buddy?” Ezo asked. “Did he do this?”
“No, no, no.” The Reptalon was distraught. He seemed to be crying, and judging from the smell of alcohol in the air, he was probably drunk too.
“Ezo,” Awen whispered, raising a hand toward his arm. “I think he’s a survivor.”
“Gotta be sure, Star Queen. He’s one of Sootriman’s generals if the rank on his lapel is correct. Stand back.”
She did so and watched Ezo stick his boot in the Reptalon’s side again.
“Is that really necessary, Ezo?”
“You want to catch bad guys?” He glared at her over his extended arms. “Let Ezo do his job.” Ezo looked back at the Reptalon. “Who’s Saasarr, and who did this?”
“Saasarr was sleeping. Sleeeeeeping!” The lizard rolled over and pounded the floor again, fresh blood squirting between the scales of his fists.
“Are you Saasarr?” Awen asked, unable to handle much more of this. This creature either needed to be imprisoned or sedated. And fast.
“Saasarr the stupid! Saasarr the lazy! And now she’s dead, dead, dead. All because of me.”
“So you did this?” As fast as lightning, Ezo placed his boot between the Reptalon’s shoulder blades and pushed the barrel of his pistol against the back of its head. “You betrayed her?”
Fearing the Reptalon would answer in the affirmative, Awen clarified the question with one of her own. “Did intruders kill all these people?”
The lizard was hysterical—sobbing and writhing. “Intruders, yes! And Saasarr was nowhere to be found.”
“Dammit, Awen,” Ezo scolded her. “You can’t offer detainees words! We needed to hear him say it.”
“But he wasn’t going to say it. At least not anything we wanted to hear about Kane or troopers. He wasn’t even here!” She looked down at the pitiful creature and shouted over the Reptalon’s grief. “Are you Saasarr?”
“Curses! Curses from the gods! I am Saasarr! Curses!” He pounded the marble with every syllable. “Intruders. It was intruders.”
Ezo holstered his weapon and removed his boot from Saasarr’s back. “’Six, get him up.”
“Right away, sir.” TO-96 reached down and helped the lizard to his feet. Saasarr struggled to stay standing, so the bot kept a hold of his arms.
“Did you get a look at the intruders?” Ezo asked.
Saasarr shook his head. “It was too late. Too late when I returned. Dead. They were all dead. And I still can’t find her body. Been searching. But I’ve failed.”
“That’s because your queen is alive,” Awen said.
Saasarr’s eyes widened. He looked between her and Ezo. “She’s alive?”
“Well, that sobered him up,” Ezo said.
Saasarr acted as if he wanted to stand on his own, so TO-96 let him go. But a beat later, Saasarr was headed to the floor. The bot caught him, sparing him from another nasty fall.<
br />
“Can you get him back to the Spire, Ninety-Six?” Awen asked.
“And leave you two alone to search without me?”
“If this is the worst of it,” Ezo said, gesturing to Saasarr, “then we’ll be just fine.”
“We’ll check for more survivors,” Awen added. “Then we’ll get back to the ship.”
Ezo nodded in agreement. “If he’s really one of her generals, he’ll be an asset in rallying the rest of Sootriman’s fighting force.” Suddenly, Saasarr hurled the contents of his stomach onto the marble floor. Ezo and Awen stepped back just in time. “And get him cleaned up, would you, ’Six?”
“As you wish, sir.” TO-96 hoisted Saasarr over his shoulder and began walking back toward the entrance.
“Put Saasarr down!” the lizard ordered, his speech slurred.
TO-96 could be heard reasoning with the Reptalon all the way out the door, down the steps, and into the tunnel.
“You made a good bot,” Awen said.
Ezo forced a blast of air through his nostrils. “Sometimes Ezo wonders.” The two shared a smile and looked around the room as if to say, What’s next?
“So… we keep searching?” Awen proposed.
Ezo shook his head. “Nah, Ezo has a better idea. This way.”
* * *
Ezo led Awen behind the dais and through a doorway that opened into a long corridor. His weapon’s light revealed several doors that lined each side of the hall at evenly spaced intervals. But it was the single door at the hallway’s end that Ezo seemed intent on.
He lowered his weapon and tried the lever, but it was locked. “Give me some room.”
Awen stepped back as Ezo kicked the door, the metal doorjamb bending under the force. He struck it three more times before it finally gave. Ezo shined his light into what looked to be a well-appointed office complete with luxurious furniture, wall dressings, paintings, and area rugs.
“Sootriman’s office?” Awen asked.
“One of them, yeah.” Ezo walked around a desk in the middle of the room and pulled out the high-backed chair. He sat, placed his pistol to the side, and spread his hands over the desk, calling up a holo-display. The first thing that hovered in front of him was a login screen. He let out a sigh.
Ruins of the Galaxy Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 72