RABAN (The Rabanian Book 2)

by Dan Haronian

  "I think you should let things settle down there. You have waited over two hundred years. Give it some time. I have no doubt this man is very busy right now and he won't listen to you."

  "Yes, he needs to want to do it on his own," said the Doctor as if he’d just realized this simple fact. The wheels in his mind started to turn as his thoughts turned down the well trodden path of developing a plan to make this rebel understand his role. Sosi on the other hand was filled with longing. A wise man once said you soon forget dead people but you miss the living.

  "This is a u-u-useless b-b-battle," I said walking towards Thesh. He was still behind Essy terminal. Seragon's war shuttle was expelling thousands of war hovercrafts to engage the Mampasian forces.

  "Tell that to the Seragon," he said.

  "Wh-wh-where are they now?" I asked, but he didn't answer. "I a-a-assume they are still around Nome," I said.

  Thesh gave me a quick look but immediately looked back at the screen with a grim look. I didn't know my father's plans. I wasn’t sure how far would he let Seragon approach before fully exposing Shor. I tried to remember the discussion we’d had that night. I hadn’t been in the mood to listen to anything he had to say, certainly not his war against a ghost. But all of that had changed now. I was sure his defense network was still active. His word game when I was inside Shor door had made it clear.

  I went back to the couch and sat down next to May-Thor. "It will end soon," I said and she turned her face away from me, "Seragon will win every ba-ba-battle," I said loud enough so Thesh would hear too. May-Thor looked at me, her eyes wide. "Until Ma-Ma-Mampas withdraws."

  Thesh stood up and paced back and forth close to the screen as if tied to the terminal by a short leash.

  "I hope you are right," said May-Thor. "Otherwise we are all doomed." Just as she finished talking Thesh froze. He leaned forward and stared at the screen. Someone was talking to him. He gave me a quick look as if my presence distracted him. A few seconds later he rose ran his hand through his hair again.

  "We have retreated," he said then looked at me and shook his head.

  "What is ha-ha-happening?" I asked but he didn't answer.

  "Wh-wh-when did the retreat s-s-start?" I asked wondering why he hadn’t told me before.

  "The battle is still going on," said Thesh.

  "Are they fo-fo-following you?"

  Thesh looked at the screen. "I am not sure yet," he said.

  Gu-Dos approached him and the two talked quietly for a few seconds. He glanced at me and May-Thor, and then left the chamber.

  "What is going on?" asked May-Thor.

  Thesh looked at her. He looked back at the screen. "They are still fighting but…" he said and shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn't sure.

  I took a deep breath. Suddenly my arm started to hurt. I stood up and walked towards the desk. "Did their shuttle move forward?" I asked.

  "No, but their battleships are still active." He gritted his teeth. "They are chasing us."

  "Continue the retreat," I said. "If their sh-shu-shuttle stays in place their ba-ba-battleships will eventually s-s-stop."

  He nodded and raised his eyes from the screen to look at me. "I don't suppose you know what they’ll do next?" he said.

  "What you mean?"

  "I don't even know what I mean. You created this madness. I thought you might know what’s next." He shook his head in disgust. "Are they going stay there? Will they start a siege and strangle us?"

  "I’ll make them go away if they try," I said, though I didn't really know how I could make that happen.

  May-Thor walked up behind me. "Where did Gu-Dos go?" she asked.

  "Back to the desert, there are people there he needs to calm down."

  May-Thor gritted her teeth.

  "I guess we can go now," I said.

  "Go? Go where?"

  "To-to-to the desert," I answered.

  "It's not over yet and it's too dangerous there for you."

  "You are wo-wo-worried about me?"

  "I am worried about Mampas. As long as this sword is on our neck I want you alive."

  "What do you want me to do?"

  "I'll get you an office here. Until Seragon is gone, and until I feel comfortable that they are not going to crush us under their boot, I want you near me."

  "You're offering me a job?" I asked.

  "I'm offering you a way to get your life back."

  I nodded and looked at May-Thor. "Wh-Wh-What about the De-De-Desertians?" I asked.

  Thesh pushed his hair back nervously. "What about the Desertians?" he asked. "I still hope we…" he paused for a second. "I hope we can come to some sort of an agreement."

  "Do you really thi-th-think that is a po-po-possibility after what yo-yo-you've done to us?" I asked. I left unsaid my own lack of trust.

  "Things got out of hand," he said.

  "It's not only that. You got lots of bad advice from those who couldn’t care less about the people of Mampas."

  "That's also true."

  "I don't trust any of this," said May-Thor. "Not as long as Gu-Dos is part of it anyway." She looked at me. "He knew. Gu-Dos knew about these attacks the whole time and he did nothing."

  "How do you know he didn't try? How do you know that we intended to do much more and we didn’t because of him?"

  "That’s not good enough, even if it were true. He should've quit whatever he was doing with you as soon as you fired the first shot," she said, her eyes blazing. "He helped you kill hundreds of his own people."

  "You were scrambling information. Did you expect us to accept that? You are the ones who brought over all sorts of scrambling experts. What were we supposed to think? Could we have let that go and assumed you did not intend to use them to fight us?"

  "Na-Na-Naan brought the s-s-scramblers here, not the rebels," I said.

  Thesh shook his head. "And where did you learn your skills? How did this knowledge all of a sudden appear in the desert? How many like you are there?"

  I looked at May-Thor.

  Thesh gritted his teeth. "Someone once told me that I should always make the best of every crisis," he said. "You're a very dangerous man and I’m telling you that I’ll have you on my side or you won't survive this."

  "I'm wi-wi-willing to help you. I'll be yo-yo-your advisor for as long as yo-yo-you want, but I have one request."

  He looked at me.

  "I want to take care of Na-Na-Naan. Naan the planet"

  "Why?"

  I looked at him. "Be-Because I know you ga-ga-gave their ambassador a free hand to hunt us down."

  He shook his head.

  "I need to k-k-know how de-de-deep this co-co-conspiracy is."

  That was true but not in the way Thesh would understand. I wanted to know who, besides my cousin Naan, was involved with all that happened to me. I was already sure that no one but Naan wanted to destroy the Desertians. It was his way to strengthen his hold in Mampas. What I didn't know is who else beside him wanted me dead.

  "I cannot let you start a new war," said Thesh.

  "I am tired of wars," I said. "But this is not th-th-the time for co-co-complacency. You t-t-trusted Na-Na-Naan and yet he is re-re-responsible to the death of ma-ma-many people. We ne-ne-need to know who e-e-else is working with him."

  Thesh took a deep breath and looked between me and May-Thor. "Go get that arm looked at and get some rest. If Seragon stays where it is, as you claim, we'll talk about this again."

  He walked towards the doors of his office and stopped. He turned and looked at Essy. "The cleaners are on their way sir," she said. Thesh knew the molecules wouldn’t hurt him but he didn't what to take a chance. He turned back to the couches and sat down heavily.

  We left the chamber and went down the elevator. Small knots of people were gathered in the main hall of the building and looked at us as we passed. We walked out the door into the park across the road.

  "Let's sit here," I said when we came to the bench close to the stairs that led to the
main road. Some vehicles passed on the road but for the most part the road was empty. A huge cluster of Flyeyes flew over as we sat. There was a fine order in the way they were moving. Their spacing was even and their movement was synchronized. I remembered the swarm of Flyeyes that had chased me only a few hours before. They’d been a random collection of primitive predators. Something must have been warping their circuitry.

  "You must see a doctor," she said interrupting my thoughts.

  "Yes."

  Questions were bouncing around in her mind too. As angry as she had been with him it seemed that everything had turned out all right. It seemed crazy but she found herself wondering if it had all been part of his plan. What had happened with Seragon was miraculous. She had a hard time believing he was behind that too.

  "You lied to him," she said.

  "I didn't te-te-tell him the whole t-t-true, but I didn't lie." I said.

  "You were behind whole thing. Just you."

  I looked at her. "No, it was a s-s-scrambler that Na-Na-Naan brought over."

  "You know what I mean. You had better tell them who you really are. I doubt they will stand another lie from you."

  "Not yet. The war with the re-re-rebels may be coming to an end, b-b-but my war is not over."

  "You can at least tell him the truth about Naan. I'm sure he will take care of him properly."

  "That's the problem. I'm really not sure Naan was acting alone. I don't know who else is involved."

  "You think someone was helping him?"

  "I don't k-k-know." I took a deep breath. "My father warned me not to underestimate my enemies, but I didn’t li-li-listen. I underestimated all of them and barely walked away from it alive. Now I can’t afford to trust anyone," I said as my thinking drifted to the Doctor.

  Without the ability to sell their products through Mampas, Naan's economy came to a standstill. The warehouses at the airport overflowed with unwanted goods. The fields were neglected and the produce began to rot.

  Two days after Naan’s return to Mampas, Daio took a hovercraft to the City of the Chosen. He knew he wasn't wanted there but he didn't care. His pride was nothing compared with the future of Naan. He would not hesitate to do everything he could to protect it.

  The rich fields of the City of the Chosen reminded him of Raban. He had often compared his nephew to his son Naan, and he’d always concluded the boy had been talented. But Raban had also been naïve, as green as fields he saw through the window. Daio didn't know what had really happened to him in Mampas, but he was sure that in some hidden way, his innocent nature had cost him his life. Now he wondered what Raban would have done if he’d been in Naan’s place. Daio thought that he would not have left Thesh. In some odd way he thought that maybe that was what Naan was missing, innocence.

  The hovercraft landed in the valley in front of Sosi's and Su-Thor’s house. His brother was already waiting for him. Daio remembered meeting him there some thirty years ago. The place was completely wild and deserted back then. The only thing that remained from that time was the forest on the hill behind Sosi's house. He felt as if he had traveled back in time. Back to when he’d come here to bring Sosi home. He’d been hoping that his brother could help them save Naan from the plague. Now was here again hoping he could do it again.

  "Sosi," he called as he stepped out of the hovercraft and walked towards him.

  "Hello Daio," said Sosi and looked around him. "Where are the guards?"

  Daio slowed his steps for moment, then continued. "I didn't needed them back then and I don't need to now."

  Sosi nodded started to walk up the hill. "I assume there is a good reason for this visit."

  Daio raised his head. "I came to breathe the fresh air of the chosen."

  "So now you want our air."

  Daio smiled embarrassed. "I need your help," and stopped walking.

  "Our help?"

  "I know it looks odd in light of what has happened recently."

  "Bad is probably a better word to describe this visit," said Sosi and walked ahead.

  Daio looked at the trail that lead to the house and at Sosi walking away. "What happened in Mampas affects us," he said loudly. "If you haven't learned that yet you soon will. We need to overcome our differences and join forces."

  Sosi stopped and turned to look back at him. "It does affect us, but we don't need Mampas. We never have. We can live off what we make."

  "Still?" said Daio and stopped next to him.

  "Still what?"

  "You're not going to make it easy on me."

  "I don't know what kind of help you're looking for. I simply can’t believe you are here. I also find it hard to imagine that you have the nerve to come here looking for help after forcing us to accept your way of life. Now you are asking me to make it easy on you?"

  "You know I didn't have much choice."

  Sosi didn't answer and they continued up the hill in silence. Near the top Daio noticed Su-Thor standing on the porch at the entrance to the house. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs breathing hard. The wrinkles on her face looked deeper and darker than he remembered.

  "Su-Thor," he called and sucked in another deep breath. "You look wonderful."

  Su-Thor smiled. "I look as good as you sound," she said and pointed to the chair on the porch.

  He climbed the stairs and sat down with a big sigh. "You need to do something about this hill."

  "How is everyone doing?" she asked.

  "Everyone is fine," he said taking another deep breath. "They are worried about the situation we are in though. And how are you doing?" he asked. He hoped she wasn’t thinking about her lost son.

  "We're fine," she said with a forced smile.

  Sosi sat down next to him and Su-Thor started to walk into the house.

  "Stay with us," said Daio.

  "I'm going to bring us something to drink," she said and disappeared inside.

  Daio turned in his chair and looked at the view. "A lot has changed since we came here thirty years ago."

  Sosi followed he's gaze and nodded.

  Daio turned at him. "We did well but the journey was not without its mistakes."

  "You've made several recently."

  "Maybe. Probably. You can make your own decisions when you're out here in the middle of nowhere, but it’s harder when you have thousand depending on you."

  May-Thor came back with three cups and a pitcher on a tray. "You must try this," she said. "It's something new."

  He smiled and looked at her when she handed him a full cup. He took a sip. "It’s wonderful, what is it?"

  "It's a new drink. It’s made from local herbs. People are crazy about it."

  Daio looked at the cup.

  "And everything is natural. There is nothing artificial in it here," she said with pride.

  "Wonderful," he said and set the cup on the table. His face became serious and he went turned back to look at the scenery. "The truth is that the situation is not good. Mampas has cut us off. Not just trade but also communication. Everything has stopped."

  "Yes, we heard," she said. "But we also heard that the conflict with Seragon has ended."

  "Many things are happening there, but I'm not sure what's real and what's not," he said and looked down. "They blamed Naan for everything that has happened there. They claimed he was responsible for scrambling information in Seragon." He looked at Sosi. "They have finally retracted their accusations however. I spoke to Thesh and he told me it was a mistake."

  "If it was a mistake then why the embargo?" asked Sosi.

  "I'm not sure," said Daio. "I think they're terrified of scrambling now. This thing with Raban and now Naan, puts us at the top of the list of planets to avoid contact with."

  May-Thor set her cup on the table. "If Naan wasn't involved in anything then maybe Raban too was innocent."

  "Clearly that is not how they see it," said Daio. "I think they are simply afraid. They don't really know what's happened and they think this is their best course of act
ion."

  "And what do you think?" asked Sosi.

  "I don't really know. I don't know what happened there. I don't know what happened with Raban. It's hard for me to believe he was involved in anything illegal. I had a chance to get to know him. I like to think I am a good judge of character. When he was accused I said that I didn’t think that he was involved." He looked at Su-Thor. "But it's not so simple. People scrambled information in Seragon every day, but they aren't many people who can scare Seragon into taking action."

  "So what exactly are you saying?" asked Sosi.

  "That I don't understand. Things don't make sense, and we’re all going to pay for this. If we don’t work together I think things will worsen. Naan went back to Mampas a few days ago but I haven't heard from him yet."

  Sosi shook his head. "You have been working with them for twenty years. I thought that you had a good relationship with them. Why has everything suddenly collapsed?"

  Daio raised his hands hopelessly. "Exactly."

  "You took away our education system because of Raban. You brought your Flyeyes into our city so that we can never rest. You’ve threatened to strangle our economy if we don’t agree to the changes you are imposing on us. And now our economy is crashing anyhow. How are we supposed to feel about this?"

  "It’s not our fault. Everything is sliding into an abyss," said Daio.

  "If it’s that bad then get your Flyeyes out of here."

  "Sosi!" called Su-Thor.

  Sosi stood up and walked to the edge of the porch.

  "This rebel," said Daio. "Their new guy. His name is Sonny. He's Thesh’s right-hand man now."

  Su-Thor looked at him. "Maybe you know him?" Daio asked.

  Sosi turned. "We have heard of him, but we don't know him," he said. He glanced over to see Su-Thor wiping away her tears.

  "I have had no communication with my people since I left," she said.

  "I'm sorry," said Daio.

  "It’s fine. You don't need to be sorry. The tears come to my eyes easily now."

  "I understand your father is still there," said Daio.