Euthara

by Michael McClain

  “That was fast,” Gilas said. “Put it on the main screen.”

  An older Eutharan appeared dressed in court robes. “Captain Gilas?” he said.

  Gilas bowed as he answered the question, “Yes Sir, what can I do for you?”

  “Oh, it isn’t what you can do for me. But, what you can do for his majesty,” the Eutharan said. “You have been called to an audience at once. You’re to leave your ship and come here immediately.”

  “As he wishes,” Gilas said as he stood up straight. “I’ll inform the Atlantis of my departure and be on my way.”

  “No, you will not,” the Eutharan said. “You will leave right now with no contact with the Atlantis or other foreign vessels. Is this understood?”

  “Yes Sir,” Gilas said.

  “Good,” the Eutharan said as the screen faded.

  “Ass,” Gilas said. “Tatiana contact the second in command and have them report for duty until I get back and have a shuttle prepped for me.”

  “Yes Sir,” Tatiana said.

  The shuttle bumped slightly as it touched down on the landing pad. Four guards waited for Gilas as he stepped off the shuttle and took a deep breath.

  “This way, Sir,” one of the guards said.

  Gilas just nodded and followed them as they led the way to a small room off the assembly hall. They took up guard positions to wait for his summons. Then he would be handed off to the Court Guards, and they would take him the rest of the way. No one went anywhere in the palace without an escort if you weren’t royalty. Even then you were watched at all times.

  Gilas was half asleep when the summons came. He stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of his uniform. He gave it one last look over before he took his position in the middle of the court guards. They escorted him down a small hall to two large golden doors. Two guards standing on either side of the doors watched the small group approach.

  Gilas stepped from between his escorts and spoke, “Osaant Gilas, Captain of the Titan reporting as summoned.”

  “You are expected, Captain,” one of the guards said as he pushed the doors open.

  Gilas gave a small bow as he stepped through the doorway. The hall was abuzz with small chatter as Gilas made his way towards the King and Queen. As people started to notice Gilas the quiet conversation between them stopped as all eyes followed his approach to the small raised dais in the center of the room.

  The King was in quiet conversation with a noble standing to his right. It was someone Gilas knew and disliked, Duke Andara. The Duke had the Kings ear and controlled the military here on Euthara. He also had designs on Deatra and had sought her hand in marriage for years. Gilas frowned as the Duke turned and watched him approach.

  Gilas stepped up on the dais and bowed deeply to the King and Queen as he spoke, “Osaant Gilas, reporting as ordered your majesty. May you and your wife be well and have long lives.”

  “Captain Gilas, you can stand up,” the King said.

  “As you wish Sire,” Gilas said.

  “I have a few questions I would like to be answered,” the King said.

  “If I can I shall Sire,” Gilas said.

  “What delayed your return to Euthara?” the King said.

  “Shortly after we left on patrol we encountered an Invaru Battle Cruiser across the neutral boundary. We had engaged it briefly before it jumped away, and we gave chase and through the course of several days we engaged it multiple times,” Gilas said.

  “You pursued it across the boundary?” the King said.

  “Yes Sire,” Gilas said. “Per the cease fire agreement, the Invaru Cruiser was caught breaking the Boundary and I decided to pursue her.”

  “Even against the rules set forth by the council?” the King said.

  “Sire, as Captains we’re given certain leeway and I deemed the vessel in question was on a recon mission,” Gilas said. “When we approached them and offered assistance they opened fire on us as they retreated. I took it upon myself, and my officers agreed, to discover what they were doing.”

  “I see,” the King said. “Did you discover what they were doing?”

  “No Sire, the fight ended up in front of Ghost Station,” Gilas said. “We took the brunt of the battle and were disabled before they were chased off by the ADF.”

  “The inhabitants of our station,” the King said. “This Commander Hunter that now occupies our station. You can also drop the ‘Sire’ as I don’t need to be hearing it every two seconds.”

  “As you wish,” Gilas said. “The station in question is now under Commander Hunter’s control. He has the lost key codes for the station and in my view that makes him the legitimate holder.”

  “I don’t need your view,” the King said. “Key codes or not, the station is Eutharan Property.”

  “Of course,” Gilas said. “Commander Hunter has expressed a desire to work with our people and help rebuild our planet.”

  “You believe him?” the King said.

  “He repaired the Titan without being asked to,” Gilas said. “He had even upgraded several systems on her and provided training to the crew on how to use the newer systems. He has been more than helpful.”

  “Interesting,” the King said. “What about this mutiny I’ve heard about?”

  Gilas’ mind spun as he answered, “Yes, I had to quell a mutiny that threatened my ship and did so with Commander Hunter’s help.”

  “That’s not how I understood it,” the King said as he waved to someone.

  Gilas’ eyes followed to where the King was waving and widened when he saw the councilor from his vessel step forward. A grin spread across his face as he stared at Gilas.

  “Councilor Wesatu,” the King said. “You have a different version of the story?”

  “Yes Sire, though it’s close to what Captain Gilas has said,” Wesatu said. “There are a few differences.”

  “Please go on,” the King said.

  “It’s true what he says about being rescued,” Wesatu said. “The mutiny though was his and his second in command that perpetrated it.”

  “How so?” the King said.

  “Acting on the behalf of the Eutharan Empire, I attempted to gain control of our station while we were docked,” Wesatu said. “I had seen that Gilas was falling under this Commander Hunter’s spell. So, in my capacity as a representative of the Council I assumed control of the Titan and ordered her marines to secure the docking port. They refused my direct order or even to acknowledge my authority. When Gilas arrived, I warned him of the consequences for the actions of his crew. He laughed it off…”

  “Liar!” Gilas said. “You did no such thing, I told you we were guests and we should act accordingly. You refused to accept that even though Commander Hunter and his marines were already there. I had given my crew orders we were to act as guests and to cause no problems. You were there and accepted that order, even agreed it would be best.”

  “Captain Gilas,” the King said. “You’ll hold your tongue until he is done. There will be plenty of time to push blame around.”

  “I’m sorry Sire, it’s hard to stand here and listen to blatant lies,” Gilas said. “I’ll hold my tongue as you wish.”

  “Continue Councilor,” the King said.

  “I never agreed to not trying to retake our station,” Wesatu said. “Especially when our station was in pirate hands, and we had the chance to recover it.”

  “You think this Jonathan Hunter is a pirate?” the King said.

  “Of course, what else would you call someone who has taken something that doesn’t belong to them?” Wesatu said. He grinned at Gilas as spoke.

  “Point taken,” the King said.

  “I’m sorry, but is this a trial? Do I need to seek council and summon Jonathan Hunter so he can defend himself?” Gilas said.

  “Of course not,” the King said. “This is just an informal fact finding session.”

  Gilas crossed his arms as Wesatu continued, “Anyway; I was arrested and turned over to the pirate. He g
ave me an old shuttle with only enough provisions for a couple days and sent me on my way. The entire crew did nothing to prevent this and Captain Gilas was even present when he judged me and did nothing.”

  “Thank you,” the King said. He waved Wesatu back to his spot and turned his attention to Gilas. “You have anything to add to this matter?”

  “Sounds like a trial,” Gilas said. He muttered it to himself under his breath.

  “Excuse me Captain, what was that?” the King said.

  “Sorry, I said that Wesatu attempted to take something that wasn’t his, caused a mutiny aboard my ship and tried to gain control of it. The Titan was under repairs at the time, and he caused those repairs to be delayed with his little stunt. That cost us precious time that could have been used to return and report here.”

  “Seems to me you’ve had plenty of time to return here and report,” the King said. “yet you opted, according to your own logs, to stay and render assistance.”

  “Yes, only because the delay of repairs forced me to send a communication, and I waited for a reply which never came,” Gilas said. “It was simpler to stay and assist and learn what I could from them.”

  “Communication?” the King said. He looked at Andara and raised an eyebrow. “Did you receive a communication from the Titan?”

  “No,” Andara said. “I haven’t been alerted to any communication from them.” Andara gave a small grin at Gilas as he folded his arms across his chest.

  Gilas had an idea what was going on here and there wasn’t much that he could do about it. “You can check the logs,” Gilas said.

  “I did,” Andara said. “No such communication exists in your ship’s logs.”

  “Impossible,” Gilas said. “I sent it myself.”

  “Maybe you thought you sent it,” Andara said. “But, I assure you no such communication was sent.”

  Gilas pressed his lips into a thin line as his temper flared.

  “Maybe it was an oversight on your part,” the King said. “A slip of the mind from the stress of the situation and being captured the way you were. Being forced to work with someone isn’t an easy thing to cope with.”

  “Excuse me?” Gilas said. “I wasn’t forced to do anything. We could have left any time we wished. I decided to stay once the Princess arrived to help serve her as I know you would have wanted me too.” He was being manipulated, and he knew it. There wasn’t much he could do about it.

  “My daughter,” the King said. “She is well I take it.”

  “Of course,” Gilas said. “My second in command is now commander of her Royal Guards.”

  “Where is Carex now?” the King said.

  “He’s currently in command of Ghost Station in an overseer and training advisory capacity.” Gilas could play the game too. If they thought that Carex didn’t have any real power on the station, it was safer for him.

  “So, explain to me how the bond happened,” the King said. “How did he force the bond on my daughter?”

  “It was her that did the linking,” Gilas said. “The humans don’t bond and as far as I know have no mental powers I’m aware of.”

  “That you’re aware of; so it is possible that you’re not aware of them?” the King asked.

  “I…uh,” Gilas said. He wasn’t sure how to answer the question. He was sure Jon had no mental powers except those given by the bond and even those were limited right now.

  “Just answer the question,” the King said. “Yes or no, which is it?”

  “Yes, I guess it’s possible,” Gilas said. “But, I haven’t seen any evidence of such.”

  “Just because you haven’t seen any evidence of mental powers doesn’t mean they don’t have them,” Andara said.

  “So, it is possible he has forced the bond with my daughter to further his means here,” the King said.

  Gilas didn’t respond to the statement; he knew better.

  “If this is true we must talk to Deatra,” the Queen said. It was the first time she had spoken.

  “We will,” the King said. “I’ll summon her as soon as I can get in touch with her. Right now Commander Hunter is refusing my communications. Captain Gilas, would you happen to know why he is doing that?”

  'Perhaps it’s because you’re a pompous ass, and you need put in your place,' Gilas wanted to say. Instead, he said, “From what I understand, it’s because of your refusal to acknowledge the return of the Ga’sahde.”

  “Ah, the Ga’sahde’s reappearance.” the King said. “That came at the right time for him, didn’t it?”

  “In accordance to the prophecies, yes,” Gilas said. “The Weaver of Worlds shall awaken an ancient race for the benefit of all involved.”

  “You’re leaving out; The Ancient race shall once again move to power through the Weaver of Worlds and cause all to kneel before him,” Andara said. “Isn’t his sister the Matriarch of the Ga’sahde and she would do anything he said?”

  “That piece of the prophecy can mean many things,” Gilas said. “Yes, it’s true that Princess Hunter-C’loth is the Matriarch of the Ga’sahde and through her he is the House Primus. As far as the Princess doing anything Commander Hunter said, I would have to say no, she thinks for herself, and if she doesn’t agree with him she lets him know.”

  “So, he has insubordination in his ranks?” the King said.

  “No, not really. Commander Hunter accepts everyone’s ideas and suggestions and then makes a choice based on that input,” Gilas said. “However, when the time for decisions is over he acts without input and takes the course he thinks best. The Princess in her current role as Matriarch of the Ga’sahde has the option of following or not. He can still order the Ga’sahde to take a certain action even if she doesn’t agree. That’s his privilege as House Primus.”

  “You understand I dislike the Ga’sahde.” the King said. “I always have, even though they haven’t been around in my time until now. Their whole reason for being rubs me the wrong way. That is why I abolished the treaty when I took the throne. I knew someday they would be back, and I wanted no part of it.”

  “Which you have no right to do,” Gilas said.

  “Excuse me?” the King said. “I’m the King and I have every right.”

  “No, the treaty was signed by majority vote by the people of Euthara and the Council,” Gilas said. “As stipulated in the treaty it can only be undone by majority vote. No one person has the power to remove it.”

  “It doesn’t matter; I make the laws, and I speak for the people,” the King said.

  “You, by turning your back on the Ga’sahde, have doomed us to an even faster death,” Gilas said. “The Ga’sahde could broker treaties and trade contracts to help us get back on our feet.”

  “You have no right to speak to me that way,” the King said. He stood up and glared at Gilas. “You forget where you are.”

  “No, I haven’t forgotten,” Gilas said. “You, yourself asked me for my honest opinion and said this was an informal session. I’m giving you that opinion and following the rules of an informal session. If you would like you could just tell me what to say, and I’ll do that instead.”

  The King’s jaw dropped and then he laughed as he spoke, “Right you are Captain Gilas, my apologies.” The King sat back down as he continued, “That’s one thing I have always liked about you and your family. Ask a question and expect an honest answer.”

  Gilas bowed as he spoke, “Thank you, Sire.”

  “Your views on the Ga’sahde are noted,” the King said. “But that doesn’t change my view or my ruling on the treaty.”

  “Then I’m afraid Commander Hunter will not change his position,” Gilas said.

  “You know this as a fact?” the King said.

  “When Commander Hunter gets something in his mind and then does something this drastic, it’s very hard to change his mind,” Gilas said.

  The King nodded and glanced over at Andara, who nodded back and left the room. The King stood up and paced in front of the throne
before he spoke. “Let’s move on,” the King said. “What is the current situation with the Arc Light and General Vors?”

  Gilas had been waiting for this, and now that it was here he was a bit nervous. Vors was one of the King’s most trusted advisers and his death would almost certainly enrage the King. “General Vors is dead,” Gilas said.

  “How,” the King said in a calm manner. It was almost too calm and told Gilas the King already knew.

  “He took the Princess Terri hostage in an attempt to take over the station that he said was ordered by you,” Gilas said. “In the resulting fray a personal guard to the Hunter family snapped his neck.”

  “The Buranis called Oojoung,” the King said.

  “That is correct,” Gilas said. “It was right before Vors was about to execute the Princess.”

  “As far as I’m concerned she isn’t a Princess, and he’s no Prince. So, you can stop referring to them as such,” the King said. “The situation with the bond is in question and until that matter is ironed out they will not hold that title or authority.”

  “As you wish,” Gilas said.

  “Why did you not back up your superior officer?” the King said.

  “It was an unlawful order,” Gilas said. “Even if given by you it was wrong. There are better ways to go about things than taking hostages.”

  “No order from me is unlawful,” the King said.

  “We weren’t sure the order even came from you,” Gilas said. “Vors wouldn’t stand down until it could be confirmed. So, he paid the consequences of his actions.”

  “I never gave the order if you must know,” the King said. “Though, I might have if I thought it would succeed. Moving on, what about the Arc Light? We’ve had no contact with her since she docked at the station.”

  “You won’t,” Gilas said.

  “Why’s that?” the King said.

  “She has been taken by the ADF and renamed Earth’s Revenge,” Gilas said.

  “By what right?” the King said. The King was unusually calm during this discussion, and it was unnerving Gilas, something was up.