“If they leave here alive, they will send word to their superiors,” the prime minister said. “Should the Dax learn we have Grendel portals, they will surely come to our planet in force. I will not bring enslavement upon my people again.”
“Don’t I get a say in this?” Sir Uram said as he eyed the end of an enforcer’s staff. His spear was secured to the back of his armor, but I didn’t think it would be difficult for him to grab it in a flash. The initiates, however, were in no state to fight, and the enforcers would strike them down before they could protect themselves.
“Those Dax need treatment,” I whispered to Elle. The point clerk nodded after she’d finished bringing Leith back to consciousness. We moved to the initiates, and they readily accepted our help.
The captain’s blue eyes turned ice cold. “Do you always kill those you wish to keep silent?”
“It is our way,” Treyin said with a shrug.
“Not while I’m here,” Captain Cross grunted.
The grey-skinned minister cocked her head. “You’ll have your men kill me in my Ark? I thought such threats were beneath a man of honor like you.”
The captain chuckled mirthlessly. “I don’t doubt they could do it. Even those who can barely stand.”
“Hell, I’m ready for more fighting,” Olav said.
“What exactly should I do with them?” The prime minister stared at the berserker like he’d just escaped from a mental asylum.
“How about your thickest steak and a flagon of your best wine?” Sir Uram answered. “We did save your Ark, after all.”
“Quiet, Star Spear,” Treyin said with a snarl. “I have suffered your presence on this Ark for too long already. I need only an excuse to have you executed.”
The Dax warrior inspected the blade of his spear and didn’t look up to speak. “If my embassy does not receive a message, they will know we have fallen. Then more will come, and if they learn you have killed us, there will be war. Of that, you can be certain.” His voice sounded surprisingly calm, and I wondered if he had spoken to Treyin before.
“We could forge a message,” Treyin said. “Our cyber alchemists are unfamiliar with your technology, but I’m sure the Stalwart’s crew could bridge any gaps in their knowledge.”
“We should be able to arrange such a message,” Commander Reynolds said. “Meanwhile, keep the Star Spear and his initiates as prisoners. I’m sure there’s somewhere on this Ark where they can’t contact their embassy or their friends back home. It will give you time to decide what can be done.”
“Or time for you to consider a payment which will keep us silent,” Sir Uram offered.
The prime minister ignored the man and took a few seconds of quiet contemplation. “I will keep them prisoner,” she said, “but not for the sake of the Dax. The Stalwart’s crew saved our lives so I will honor your request.”
“The Star Spear and his soldiers helped,” Captain Cross added. “We might not have succeeded without them.”
“You exaggerate, Atticus. I know the power of your crew. It is a mistake to spare the Dax. Nevertheless, I will.” The woman sighed as she looked at Sir Uram and the initiates.
“It’s an even a bigger mistake to use evil methods for good ends,” the captain said.
“You Caledonians and your platitudes.” The prime minister rolled her eyes. “So be it.” She palmed her weapon’s hilt and walked toward the Star Spear with every eye in the room watching. “You will remove your weapons and armor at once. Then you will go peacefully to the fourteenth level and remain there until I give the order otherwise.”
“That is a strange reward for saving your Ark,” the Star Spear countered. “Might I repeat my request for steak and wine?” He was still holding his weapon, and he glanced around the room as though calculating the odds of a fight.
Treyin glanced at the captain, and he stepped forward.
“Do as she says,” he ordered as he stared at the Dax warriors.
“Ah, yes,” Sir Uram said. “I was wondering when I would be treated to the renowned Caledonian hospitality.”
The Star Spear’s eyes remained half-opened, and he almost seemed bored with the whole conversation. In a half-assed gesture, he tossed his spear on the ground and then nodded at the initiates beside him. Their swords and shields joined the pile, but their expressions were filled with contempt for both the prime minister and the captain. Once all three Dax were wearing only their underclothes, the enforcers shackled them and escorted them from the room.
“Now, will you tell me why you kept the existence of Grendel portals from me?” Captain Cross asked the prime minister. The genuine hurt in his voice surprised me, and I wondered exactly how close the two had been in the past. They seemed like old lovers. The whole conversation played out like a marital argument, and I felt like I was intruding.
“I had no reason to tell you,” Treyin offered.
The captain made a point of looking around the room, and then he nudged a Naga’s massive serpentine skull with his boot. “Is that so? You can’t think of a single reason why I should have known about the portals?”
“The Grendels have never posed a major problem for us,” Treyin said. Even though I was ten meters away from the woman, I noticed she couldn’t keep her eyes off me. Every so often, she would meet my gaze, and her blue lips would tweak in the corners.
I didn’t know how far away I needed to be to avoid her empath abilities, but I moved about five meters further back while she explained to the captain how they had never experienced such a wide scale disaster like today.
Elle came with me, and we stood in front of a Naga corpse. I marveled at the creature’s size; it looked even bigger now that it wasn’t moving, and its red and blue scales had lost their shine. The trident beside it was at least three meters long, and strange jewels encrusted the haft. I’d never seen the likes of them before, with shifting colors depending on the angle.
“Is it just me, or does the prime minister keep looking at you?” Elle whispered to me.
“I think she suspects I changed the portal’s level,” I replied. “If she wants to punish me, I think she’ll have to wait in line.” I nodded at the berserker, and he bore his teeth in a snarl. Like the prime minister, I was the constant object of his attention. He obviously blamed me for the trouble with the portal, and I doubted he’d forgotten about getting beaten in the VR game. No matter what I did, I couldn’t seem to win him over.
I looked away from Olav and returned my attention to the captain and the prime minister.
“This mishap would not have occurred had there not been a certain someone present,” Treyin said. “One with the ability to manipulate Grendel gateways.”
Knowing the woman was referring to me, I looked up from the Naga corpse and yelled out. “The alarm sounded before my ability changed the portal’s level, so something went wrong long before I had any effect on it.”
“The alarm sounds whenever a new portal opens,” Treyin explained. “This one was a little higher than normal, but nothing we could not have handled were it not for your tampering.” She turned to Captain Cross. “You should have informed me this man was a mutant.”
“If you had simply told me there were Grendel portals here, I wouldn’t have allowed Squire Lyons to enter your Ark because of his abilities.”
“Abilities? Are you implying he has more than one?” The prime minister arched an eyebrow, and she stared at me hungrily. I could tell she was attempting to scour my emotions, but I didn’t care anymore. All I was feeling right now was exhaustion, and I wanted this conversation to end so I could get cleaned up.
After I looted the Grendel corpses, of course. Even on Tachion I’d only had the chance to remove an Ogre’s ears, but I would be able to harvest far more now.
The captain didn’t answer Treyin, so I guessed he didn’t want her knowing about my teleportation ability. The Grendels had destroyed all the Den Ark’s surveillance devices in the fortress, so I doubted she would have any record of me
using my powers.
Captain Cross shook his head as though confused by the whole situation. “How long have you had portals on Ecoma? That’s a secret you kept from the Triumvirate. You didn’t mention it once while you were stationed on the Stalwart.” I detected a hint of hurt in his tone, but the prime minister gave a slight smile.
“Although I served in the RTF as an advisor, my home was always on Ecoma,” she answered. “My allegiance was always here.”
“Answer the question,” Commander Reynolds said. She had been jubilant on reuniting with Treyin a few days ago, but now she seemed even angrier than the captain.
Treyin sighed loudly. “The portals existed many years ago when the Dax still ruled us. Then they simply stopped opening. But the Watchtower and its fortress remained. Fifty-three years ago, the gateways appeared again. The wars between the Arks ceased because we were too busy reviving old technology to fight the Grendels.”
“And you’ve been successful until now?” Captain Cross asked.
“Yes,” the prime minister said. “Until your little squire decided to pay a visit to our power plant.” The woman’s eyes turned on me again, and I felt an almost irresistible desire to go to her. I wanted to tell her everything, my history, my mutation, and anything else she might want to know. Every question I answered would carry the reward of her soft lips and the touch of her smooth skin against my own.
“Are you okay?” Elle tore me from the trance with her question, and I swallowed down my desire.
I nodded my head and then wiped my brow. It was slick with sweat and hot to the touch. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
The point clerk frowned at me, and I offered her a little smile.
“This fortress is built around the appearance of Grendel portals,” Commander Reynolds said, “so you must be able to manipulate where they appear.”
“Yes,” Treyin confirmed. “It is a technology the Dax left behind.”
“I’d like to take a look at it,” Captain Cross said.
“It is forbidden to outsiders.”
“Like your implants?”
Prime Minister Treyin bristled, and she shot a look at the remaining enforcers. They seemed confused by the captain’s question, and they didn’t appear to know what he was referring to.
“The next portal won’t be here for at least seven Caledonian days, so I want to do you a favor until then,” the captain said.
“Is that so?” Treyin folded her arms.
“We’ll send the enchanters in here,” he answered. “They can fix up your equipment. We’ll need to distill some Dust first.”
“We have more than sufficient Dust,” the prime minister said.
“Of course you do,” Captain Cross narrowed his eyes at the woman. “Our four enchanters will fix this place up, then we’ll be out of your hair.”
“Uhh . . . that’s three enchanters, Captain,” I said.
He cocked his head at me as I approached, and he didn’t seem to care I’d been eavesdropping. “What do you mean ‘three’?”
I dropped my head, not wanting to meet the captain’s eyes. “Dominic died during the battle.”
I heard a clatter and spun around to see Olav drop a Grendel Warrior’s serrated sword. “You’re fucking joking! He shouldn’t have even been in here. It’s Lyons’ bloody fault Dominic was killed!”
“Olav, keep your head on. Squire Lyons didn’t know there was a portal here,” Captain Cross said.
“I don’t believe that,” the berserker spat.
“You’re walking a fine line,” the captain cautioned.
Olav glared at me for a few moments, and his right hand dropped to his axe. His anger melted away and his expression softened, but there was still a fire in his eyes. “Apologies, sir,” he said to the captain. “I just don’t trust traitors.”
“Seems like you have trouble brewing among your crew, Atticus.” Treyin smirked. “You can’t seem to avoid internal strife, can you?” The woman’s beautiful face glowered when the captain didn’t respond to her bait. “In return for saving our Ark, you may take of the spoils.” Treyin spread her hands at the room filled with Grendel bodies and the dead Dax initiates, and then she turned to speak with one of her attendants.
Six Ecomese robots entered the room carrying containers in the metal arms, and Commander Reynolds addressed the crew. “We’ll need Alpha Dust and any half-decent equipment. You lot failed to bring back much from the portals on Tachion, so we’re after anything Knight class and above.”
I stared at the dozens of fallen corpses and wondered what kinds of equipment they might yield. The knights began inspecting the dead enemies while Prime Minister Treyin and Captain Cross continued speaking. I was interested in what they were saying, but I was more eager in finding some gear I could take back with me. Since the commander had said they needed Knight class equipment, I could find and keep any items below that.
A Grendel Warrior caught my eye, and I moved toward it. Olav came to the lizard-man’s corpse at the same time, and he snarled at me.
“Fuck off, Lyons,” he said. “This one’s mine.” Now that the battle was over, the berserker didn’t hide his hatred for me.
“Yes, sir.” I shuffled backward like I was slowly moving away from a rabid dog. Olav stared into my eyes, and I saw the same flicker of madness he had when fighting Grendels.
I was too tired and didn’t want to deal with the berserker’s fury, so I walked to the other side of the room past the Point Clerk. I didn’t bother Elle because she was busy examining a trio of wrecked warsuits.
As I made my way to the furthest wall, a fallen Dax initiate caught my eye: the woman who had chased down the teenager in the city. When I approached the body, I saw a fifteen-centimeter cavity gaping in the middle of her chest armor, revealing the bloodstained ground beneath her. The woman’s prot-field must have gone down, and a Grendel plasma ball had seared a hole into her abdomen.
Two cat-like lenses were on the front of her helmet, and the right one was shattered. I shuddered under the woman’s lifeless gaze and looked away. I stared straight at Olav, and his lips tilted into a snarl that showed his teeth. The hairs on my neck prickled as I considered how long he had been watching me.
Olav wasn’t inspecting the dead Grendel anymore, and it looked like he hadn’t removed any items from the corpse. I gathered he’d told me to fuck off because he wanted to spite me. The berserker’s penchant for chiding me was getting on my nerves, but I didn’t know how to make the situation any better.
I foresaw something violent might unfold between us, and I didn’t want to instigate it. At least it wouldn’t happen right now, since I doubted he would try anything with the captain in the room.
I knelt beside the initiate’s corpse and examined the woman’s gear. From a cursory glance at the matte black armor, most of it had sustained a lot of damage. The Stalwart’s enchanters might be able to repair the runes and fix the metal, but I doubted the Initiate Dax equipment would be worth the time.
I was interested in the energy shields the Dax had summoned, and I figured their left gauntlets were responsible for them. After finding a release mechanism on the underside of the dead woman’s left arm, the item snapped open. I removed my left glove and then attached the Dax item. For its bulky size, it was surprisingly light, and the material felt durable. The runes on the outside no longer held their formations so they would require minimal repairing. I could probably do it myself if only rune-tracing was required. I removed the gauntlet, began to wrap it back around the initiate’s forearm, and then stopped when I thought about looting the equipment from an ally.
What harm would scanning the item do? I needed to keep out of Olav’s way, and this was as far away from the knight as I could be. The Caledonian database might not have access to details on Dax runes and weapon effects, but I’d know right away. I held my breath and scanned the weapon. When the details flickered to life on the projected holo, everything else in the room became unimportant to me.
Armor type: Targe Gauntlets
Absorption rating: Standard
Power class: Initiate [Squire]
Armor effect: None
Runes inscribed: Energy Tage
Rune class: Initiate [Squire]
Rune effects: Generates low-level energy shield from left gauntlet. Battery is contained within right gauntlet.
The database was evidently familiar enough with the item to determine its power class was equivalent to squire. The right gauntlet contained the battery for summoning the energy shield, so I would need both items for the shield to function. I stared at the other gauntlet on the dead initiate’s right forearm and considered whether looting the corpse of a fallen ally was dishonorable. My excitement faded when I realized it probably was. Besides, if the Dax’s military was anything like the RTF, they’d have the items returned to the initiate’s family along with his embalmed body.
“This looks interesting,” Elle said as she turned another Dax initiate’s helmet in her hands. She looked at me with a little guilt when she noticed me staring at her.
“Mind if I scan it?” I asked.
The point clerk gave me a mischievous grin and passed the helmet to me. We were both acting a little out of order, but examining the equipment from a kingdom outside the Triumvirate was an infrequent occurrence.
Armor type: Helm of the Reaver
Absorption rating: Standard
Power class: Initiate [Squire]
Armor effect: Retraction - Helmet retracts into visor.
Runes inscribed: Detect
Rune class: Initiate [Squire]
Rune effects: Scans and displays basic information for Grendel types.
“Whoa,” I said to Elle. “This helmet has a rune effect that scans Grendels. Do you think it might show their weaknesses and strengths?”
I barely finished asking the question when the point clerk grabbed the item from me.
“The Detect rune will probably need to link with our Caledonian Grendel database, or maybe it contains the data from the Dax database,” she said after she scanned it with her prot-belt.
Space Knight Book 2 Page 21