she told him. She had him repeat a phrase similar to what Terra had said.
**Mark six recognizes operator Bannor Starfist. Body patterns committed and locked.**
“I have no idea how to…”
Dulcere finished adjusting the Kriar pack so it would not interfere with his own knapsack—bending the thin metallic shell so it contoured with his back much like the carapace had.
That was something he had to admire, the Kriar devices were so thin and lightweight that he barely even recognized they were present. He shrugged his jacket back on, and adjusted his knapsack.
Bannor heard Aarlen’s deep voice small but clear in his ear where the Dulcere had placed the red device. **Team two comm. check, acknowledge,**
**Solaris go,** Bannor heard the counsel respond.
**Ariok go,** Dominique said.
“Ummm,” he raised his hand. “Yeah.”
“Understood,” Damay responded rubbing at her ear, and looking confused.
“I too,” Idun responded, appearing equally lost.
“Feel on the neck piece,” Aarlen said reaching up to an indentation on her own.
Bannor found it.
“Press and hold to talk,” Aarlen continued. “Or tap it twice to leave the vocal on.”
He pressed it. “I just talk?”
**That’s it,** Aarlen smiled.
“What is the range of these?” Idun asked.
“A lot,” Aarlen said looking over at Eclipse. “Like five thousand leagues clear line of sight, two hundred in heavy terrain.”
“And this is supposed to be better than telepathy?” Idun asked. The goddess while obviously not familiar with the Kriar equipment, seemed comfortable with the armaments. A golden glow had begun to gather on the pantheon lady’s skin. Bannor could tell the ancient creature was beginning to get excited about the prospect of going into in battle. He guessed there was no way to completely suppress the war-like nature of the Aesir no matter how old and staid they became.
“No,” Marna said. “But some on the team don’t have telepathy, and others cannot shield their minds so as not to give away their position. These devices are secure.”
“Let us head to the pick up point,” Eclipse told them. He looked to Bannor. “Has there been any change in your friends—are they still in the same location?”
Bannor closed his eyes and felt his ties to Eternity and Wren. The savant still felt strong. They were now immeasurably closer than they had been, but they still remained a tremendous distance from her. There was no real way for him to tell if she had moved.
He wondered if she was close enough for savant contact. He focused on Wren’s tracery and pushed his thoughts toward it through his link to Eternity.
There was a short pause. Then Wren’s thought rang in his head clear and powerful.
It took him a moment to recover from the volume of the blonde savant’s exuberance.
He opened his eyes. “Wren’s okay and says they haven’t been moved. She says that Quasar has been preparing, something about creatures—?”
“You can mindspeak her!?” Euriel burst out. “Damn, I didn’t even try! I just assumed it would be blocked!”
Eclipse sighed. “No reason for Quasar to block it. She just wants to force us to engage the Baronians.”
Bannor felt a barrage of savant speak ignite the shared links of Eternity as Wren struggled to keep up with the deluge of telepathic calls suddenly directed at her by her friends and family.
Loric’s wife Desiray, looking quite at home in the Kriar garb, stepped up to Marna. She brushed back white hair and folded her arms. “Let me ask one thing.”
The Kriar matriarch tilted her head. “Yes, Desiray?”
“Okay, now I’m not complaining about an excuse to get a little action, but why haven’t you just sent the Kriar army in there? I mean, can’t you just get Quasar out of there, and close the hole she made?”
“Desiray, please,” Marna replied with a shake of her head. “If the solution was that simple don’t you think it already would have been done?”
The guild woman leaned back and raised her chin. “Has it?”
The Counsel let out a breath. “Yes, Desiray, it has. I dispatched five-hundred troops the instant I had confirmation of Wren’s whereabouts.” She pressed her lips to a line. “Quasar is the mistress of her estate. Its defenses are significant and she can keep them out for days. She wants this group to come in. We are equipped magically to deal with the Baronian threat. The Baronians are geared to fight Kriar soldiers, not Protectorate agents and pantheon warriors.” She glanced at Daena. “And certainly not first ones.”
“Well, the odds still stink,” Tal growled. “They ain’t going to underestimate again.”
“I’m certain Quasar is allowing for that,” Marna agreed. “You see this is more of a political move than anything else. Our council has been slow to dedicate resources to this endeavor. The reigning sentiment is ‘why invite trouble with further involvement’. I personally cannot simply forget the soldiers at the way-point who lost their lives—but there are others who can. Quasar is apparently willing to sacrifice her freedom in order to lure the Baronians here and force the issue not only with us but the ruling council. As a strategy, it is admirable, bait the Baronians with an irresistible lure and force them to do battle where we will be at our strongest with all of Homeworld’s resources nearby.”
“So, you promise she’ll be punished for this?” Euriel growled.
“Oh, that is a certainty,” Marna answered with a nod.
Bannor saw Eclipse’s face cloud over. No doubt he blamed himself for Quasar’s current path of self-destruction. The ancient Kriar had indeed lost much when he chose to be apart from her. Letting out a breath, he picked up a heavy jacket and shrugged into it and fastened it up. He swung something that looked like a much bigger weapon over his shoulder. “Let us get this over with.” He stalked toward the exit.
* * *
Chapter Four
Approach
« ^ »
The team put together to recover Wren and fight the Baronian assault was a team of truly awesome power and experience. Against the onslaught of juggernauts we expected to face—we knew that even this formidable force might still not be enough…
—Bannor Nalthane Starfist,
Prince Conjugal, Malan
The group watched Eclipse stalk off. The ancient Kriar warrior was a knot of emotions that Bannor didn’t need his nola sight to see. It was in the Kriar’s stiff bearing and the way he clenched his fists. Standing by Bannor with hands on hips, Dulcere watched the other Kriar for a few moments before moving to follow him.
“He sure isn’t happy,” Daena said stepping to Bannor’s shoulder. Dressed in the Kriar battle carapace with a blaze of auburn hair tumbling over her shoulders, the young savant looked quite striking. She blinked at him with glowing green eyes. Bannor felt a hitch in his chest. Damn, the girl wasn’t just striking, she was magnificent. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? He shook himself—where had that thought come from?
Bannor managed to find some words. “He loved that woman for eons. The prospect of locking her up can’t make him happy.”
Daena pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yes.”
The group filed out following Eclipse down the giant hall to an open area. The best way for Bannor to describe it would be the alien equivalent of a town square. Notches were cut into the walls with counters. Kriar and other creatures Bannor didn’t
recognize stood behind them. Most looked human to a degree, but there were strange hair and skin colors. He saw some that looked reptilian, and one that had four arms. There was simply too much to take in as they rushed by.
The crowd of patrons was even more varied than the sellers, with skin, hair, and eyes from a rainbow of hues. Of the hundreds present, perhaps one in fifty were Kriar. The Kriar sentinels watching over the exits outnumbered the gold citizens sedately looking around. Bannor noticed that the other races seemed to give the few Kriar quite a bit of space. It wasn’t like they were exactly afraid—but they seemed to hold them in some awe.
The throng parted around Eclipse, the sight of him and their group seeming to strike the observers dumb. What had been a noisy trade venue became a funeral hush as their team filed through.
“Damn, this place is even more wizard up close,” Daena murmured. “Look at all the different kinds of people. Did you ever imagine…???”
Bannor shook his head. It was bewildering indeed. Not only were there humans of a kind he had never seen before, they had the means to come to this far off place.
“I forgot how wizard it is to shop here,” Desiray murmured to Loric. “When we get Wren back from that old witch, we should bring Ri and Daar on an expedition.”
Her gray-haired husband rolled his eyes. “Des, you are hopelessly optimistic. I’m stunned that shopping even occurs to you now…”
The woman shoved her hip against him. “I’m a woman, shopping is never far from our minds.” She laughed.
Behind her Ziedra giggled. “Is there good stuff here, Mom Des?”
Desiray looked back and grinned. “To die for.” She paused. “Well, not actually die—but you know what I mean.”
“Let’s focus on staying alive, shall we?” Aarlen growled. “If we have to fight a thousand Baronians there’s going to be a lot of blood and a lot of pain.”
“Don’t worry, Miz Nibs,” Desiray snapped back. “I’ll do my part. I’m not exactly an amateur you know.”
“No, you merely act like it,” the elder responded with a frown.
“I think I liked her better when she was in a good mood,” Daena whispered.
He nodded.
Eclipse led them through an archway and down a ramp. Bannor immediately recognized the area as one of the chambers he and Daena saw earlier that accessed the crystal tubes that ran between the world sections.
A cylindrical construction about twenty paces long sat in a depression a short distance from the end of the ramp across a platform. Doors opened into the thing near each end and a row of twenty windows ran down its ribbed side. Blinking jewels flashed red at the edge of the depression, and black and yellow stripes were painted on the floor and rails surrounding the big machine.
Eclipse went to one of the doors, pressed his hand to a square green section and the door slid aside. “In,” he said standing in doorway and gesturing. “Take a seat.”
Bannor followed Daena in near the back of the group. The inside of the thing was divided down the middle by a narrow path. To either side thickly padded couches lined either wall. Marna, who was already sitting in one of the couches next to pale-skinned Dominique, gestured Bannor, Daena, and Damay to the empty seats next to her.
The chamber shuddered as the door closed behind Eclipse. The big Kriar touched some lighted jewels on the panel at the front the machine as the whole structure lurched forward and began to move.
Though he had expected it, Bannor’s fingers still clamped down on the padded arm rest. Daena put her warm hand on top of his. Next to her, Bannor saw Damay tense. The elder savant gritted her teeth then seemed to master herself.
Daena leaned over and rubbed the older woman’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Big Sis.”
Damay swallowed. “Aye.”
As the vehicle continued to accelerate into darkness, Bannor saw Idun frowning sitting in the couch gripping her daughter’s hand. She was having at least as bad a time as Damay. Euriel’s husband Vanidaar sat in his chair stiff and stoic, an arm around his wife. With there being room for forty people, Tal and Terra had pushed up the chair arms and were sitting longwise down the couch with the attractive woman spooned into Tal’s lap, her back reclining against his chest. The two looked so totally at ease. Loric and Desiray while not quite as relaxed, were obviously not concerned as the huge device hummed around them, the platforms opening out of the tube shot by at ever faster speed. He noticed Aarlen, like Tal and Terra, had folded some of the chair arms down. She sat in what was now the back of the contraption, feet up on the cushions and arms folded.
“You know, you two are very brave,” Marna said to them.
Daena looked down at her. “How’s that?”
“All these strange new things and I’d dare you’ve hardly twitched at any of it.”
“New isn’t always scary,” Daena remarked. “After I met this fellow.” She elbowed Bannor gently. “Everything is new—new face—new family—new enemies.” She shrugged. “It used to scare me, but I’ve grown accustomed to it.”
Marna nodded. “What about you, Bannor?”
He sighed. “I guess I’m much the same. Sarai changed my entire life. Then I met Wren and things…” His voice trailed off. “Well, let’s say it hasn’t been boring.”
“So I have heard,” the Kriar said with a nod.
“Can I ask a question?” Daena asked.
Marna nodded.
“You’re the head boss-lady here, the leader for this whole immense world, right? What are you here for? Should you be risking your life like this?”
Marna tilted her head and smiled. “And what leader is any good if they aren’t willing to take some risks for their people?”
“Isn’t it—well—” Daena lowered her voice. “Irresponsible?”
Marna pursed her lips. “Actually, yes,” the Kriar batted her eyes. She grinned at Dominique who smiled back. “It gives my advisors fits.” She sighed. “There are hundreds of people waiting in line to take my place. If something were to happen… I wouldn’t be missed for long.”
“Well, I would miss you,” Loric said. “You’re far too good company to write you off so easily.”
Marna dipped her head. “Ever the gentleman.”
Dulcere thought to them.
“My Heart,” the Kriar leader said smiling toward Dulcere. “I always listen. It is that I do not always agree. If you recall, I did not want you to become a soldier. We both see how well you listened.”
Euriel and the others made an ‘ooohing’ sound as vehicle left the enclosed area of the tunnel, now surrounded only by the clear material in the open space between the world sections. If anything, the sight was more impressive in the flesh. To see the titanic structures apparently suspended on comparatively tiny threads all around them.
“I just don’t understand,” Bannor said without thinking. “Why does it need to be so big?”
“To hold all our expectations,” Marna said. She said it with a flip tone, no doubt having answered the question a million or more times.
“It’s really a world lab,” Loric said. “Farmers on your world raise chickens, the Kriar raise complex species and play god.”
“Ric, we do not play god. We interfere if only very rarely with those developing cultures—that defeats the purpose.”
“The purpose being?” Loric asked.
“To usher other cultures to enlightenment,” Marna replied. “I’ve told you this before. Most of the races we transplanted here were dying or on the brink of extinction from various causes. We gave them a new start.”
“That’s the answer I keep hearing,” the gray-haired elder said. “It sounds like a zoo keeper’s justification to me.”
Marna let out an exasperated breath. “When they are ready, they come out and interact. You saw them in the trade areas.”
Loric frown
ed. “I see how they are when the living gods walk among them.”
Marna rocked her head back. She had obviously had this discussion before. She didn’t respond except to sigh and run a hand through her long tresses. Dominique rubbed her arm.
Bannor watched the ancient Kriar lady, she simply did not give off the vibrations of a ruler of an entire race—much less a race that was likely one of the most powerful in Eternity. Her threads told a different story. They spoke of incomprehensible age and complex knots of potential that did things he could only begin to imagine. She looked and acted so young though… or was that simply an affectation? Her psyche pattern was so intricate that Bannor couldn’t tell. Quasar had been easy to read by comparison.
“Something wrong?” Daena asked, squeezing his arm.
Bannor looked down at the slim but powerful fingers on his skin. He liked the feel of them. Her touch made him warm inside. He liked everything about that hand in fact—especially being attached to the vibrant young savant beside him. They had so much in common…
He swallowed and winced. He could not be thinking like that. Sarai was his love. They had a lot in common, especially a baby daughter on the way!
“Bannor?” Daena leaned over and gazed into his eyes. The glowing green orbs of the young savant’s eyes cast reflections on her shiny smooth skin.
A rush of heat gripped his chest. Reflexively, he pulled his arm away from her hand. “I’m—okay.” He drew a breath. “Just thinking about—Sarai.”
If only he had been.
“Oh,” Daena tilted her head to one side. She looked down at the arm that he’d pulled away from her touch and raised an eyebrow. She glanced at him, sniffed, and leaned back in her seat.
“Sorry,” he said.
She folded her arms. “I understand.”
He expected her to be annoyed by his flinching away, but it didn’t come through in her tone at all. She seemed—satisfied. That didn’t make sense. Hades, he wasn’t making sense. He could admit to having some attraction for Daena… what wasn’t to like? Sarai was his first and only love, and though Daena and others had tried to tempt him, he’d felt little more than a twinge. Sarai was everything he wanted in a woman, attractive, strong, passionate, understanding, and devoted. So, what were these sudden feelings? Why now?
Reality's Plaything 4: Savants Ascendant Page 7