by Alma Boykin
“Lords, you know what happened and what has been done. Now we need your help. The Defenders are doing all they can to eject the invaders and bring the traitors to justice. But we need your strength to succeed,” Beerkali told the gathering.
Someone called from the back of the gathering, “Why should we risk our people and properties?” The clustered reptiles shifted to make room for the newcomer.
“Because you swore an oath to his Imperial Majesty. His Majesty has been attacked,” Lord Shu reminded everyone, loudly.
Great Lord Dissch pushed his way through a cluster of minor nobles to the open area in front of the platform. He’d managed to fight his way though the troops besieging Greenfields to reach the gathering and the others rustled expectantly as the slight, greeny-brown lord spoke. “Lord Defender, what say you?” he inquired.
She set her helmet down and stepped in front of the platform, looking around at the assembly. “Great Lord, I’ve been fighting back since Singing Pines was attacked. Although I’ve received no orders yet from his Imperial Majesty, the Defenders and I have been doing our best to protect the people and free Drakon IV. We’ve almost reached the limit of what we can do without your help,” she admitted as she made eye contact with as many nobles as possible. “This is a large continent, and we are a small but determined force. If the traitors and Raiders consolidate their hold, or manage to corrupt the Imperial Military, the battle for Drakon IV will be over. But now, at this moment, we can tip the balance and win the war, with your help.”
Dissch considered her words. “This is all very well, Lord Defender, but what if you’re on the wrong side?”
“How so, my lord?” Ni Drako inquired.
“If his Imperial Majesty himself brought in the mercenaries, then you and your supporters are going against his will, are you not? Some would say that makes you the traitors.” A number of reptiles nodded and murmured—Lord Dissch’s argument contained some merit, especially given the silence from the Imperial Lineage.
Rada twitched the tip of her black tail, ears rotating to locate the loudest murmurs. You think I haven’t considered that? You underestimate my pessimism, great my lord. “My lord, while it is possible, I disagree. First, if differing with his Imperial Majesty made one a traitor, no one on the planetary or imperial councils would be alive today.” Some forefeet and tails moved in agreement and she continued, “Second, it appears that the Palace complex was taken at the same time that Singing Pines, Sunblast and the depots were first attacked. Why would his Imperial Majesty want to attack himself and destroy the supplies his own forces would need, be they the Defenders or hired soldiers?” There were murmurs of assent at the logic.
“Third, if the goal was to eliminate me and the most problematic of the Great Lords, again, why attack the palace? And why go to such great lengths? My life already belongs to Drakon IV and the Empire. There would be no need for such expense as hiring an entire company if his Imperial Majesty intended only to remove a few troublemakers.” She managed a small laugh, hiding a shiver at the memory as she reminded everyone that, “The great Shi-dan only needed the talons on one forefoot to convert me into a model of respectful behavior!” She sobered. “And there is this, also, my lords. Hired soldiers can be hired away. A good company, such as the Adamantine Division or Diamond Five, will abide by its contract. Others might not.”
Dissch still looked unsatisfied, making a complicated gesture with his weak-side forefoot. “But what if you are incorrect, Lord Defender? What if you and your allies are on the wrong side in this?”
“Then the wrong is mine and so is the penalty. All of it.” Rada’s heart began racing as she faced her own very real fear. “If I am in error, which I highly doubt or I would not have fought this hard or this long, I will accept whatever punishment his Imperial Majesty or the Planetary Council decides for that error.” Although that’s not exactly true according to the laws as they stand. My oaths are to protect the people of Drakon IV, not to obey the King-Emperor, and I know damn well I can argue that defense if it comes to a tribunal. But that doesn’t apply to the other nobles and I need them at my side, she thought behind shields, her body a motionless mask.
In the quiet as the nobles considered Lord Ni Drako’s words, she heard a blade leaving its sheath. Rada turned to face a plainly robed, large, grey and brown lord who approached her from the back of the group, sword drawn. All at once she and many of the others recognized him and she sank to one knee, head bent low. “Imperial Majesty,” murmured through the gathering as the others dropped to the ground.
Rada froze as King-Emperor Chi-tak circled her. “You believe those brave words, Lord Defender?” he inquired quietly.
“Yes, Imperial Majesty, I do.” He had stopped beside her and she wondered what he intended.
Chi-tak rose onto his hind legs to better see the assembly. “And if We did hire the humans for Our purposes, which you have tried to block, will you submit to Our judgment?” He raised his sword.
How dare you? You treasonous monster! Heart burning with anger at the emperor’s betrayal of his people, she replied with as much calm as she could muster, “I will, Imperial Majesty.” She waited in bitter silence as his blade whistled down.
The sharp steel hissed over her bowed head and bent back, the wind of its passing ruffling the fur on Rada’s neck. “You may rise,” Chi-tak said as he sheathed the ancient weapon. “We did hire the humans. We did not intend for them to set foot on Drakon IV, much less attack Our people!” But the Lord-Defender did not rise: instead she slumped onto her side as the King-Emperor and her allies looked on.
When the Wanderer regained consciousness, a tart voice informed her, <>
“I heartily agree,” a male voice concurred and Rada opened her eyes to see Zabet and Prince Imperial Tirahla both glaring down at her. “My honored sire almost died of embarrassment when it appeared he’d misjudged his swing,” the prince continued, sipping his tea.
Rada started to tell both of them what they could go do to themselves, then bit her tongue. “My apologies, your Highness, Lady Zabet. And how long was I unconscious?”
“Just under an hour. His Imperial Majesty had the Healer keep you from waking any sooner.” The prince leaned over and extended his forefoot, helping her sit up. “And the Healer suggests you modify your armor so the throat guard doesn’t choke your breath and blood flow when you kneel.”
Ni Drako got to her feet, only to kneel again as King-Emperor Chi-tak walked into the shelter. “Rise, rise,” he ordered. “You’re my equal at the moment, Lord Defender. Sit and tell me how you managed to break into the Palace computers to retrieve the radio transcripts,” the stocky but agile ruler demanded, taking his own place as Zabet and Tirahla shuffled around to make room. Rada settled onto a pile of cushions, Zabet’s head in her lap as the True-dragon stretched out on more cushions and the Imperials claimed two benches.
“Imperial Majesty, I didn’t hack the computer. Someone within the Imperial Military has been feeding data to me, via my ship. Lady Zabet monitored the data, because we also get business information through my ship, and she flagged the radio information for me.” Ni Drako told the Azdhagi. Zabet looked smug, her whiskers fluttering gracefully as she accepted the meat roll her ‘lord’ offered her.
“And you trust it?” Tirahla wanted to know, as his father sipped his tea.
“Yes, Imperial Highness. Because I took a chance and flew down to Sunblast and looked at the ruins. The creatures did a good job, I’ll give them that.” Bitter respect colored her voice. “High explosive to break open the walls, white phosphorus to start the fires and melt anyone inside. Great Lord Kirlin will have his forefeet occupied for at least a year to come, trying to rebuild.”
Chi-tak swallowed his meat roll. “You mean Kirlin the Younger, Lord Defender,” he reminded the Wanderer.
She shook her head. “I fear not, Imperial Majesty. Kirlin the Elder died of the str
ain during the evacuation.”
<
<
Chi-tak’s eyes narrowed. “So Our first order of business is to take Kirlin’s oaths. Then We retake Our Palace.”
The Lord Defender bowed from her seat. “As you command, Imperial Majesty.”
Chapter 4: Complex Matters
“Lord Defender?” Corporal Scheer’s brown muzzle poked around the corner of the command shelter.
“Over here, Scheer,” the one-eyed mammal waved from behind a pile of maps and charts.
“Lord Defender, Colonel Adrian Gray wishes to speak with you,” the messenger told her. She got up and followed him to the main communications tent, taking a seat in front of a two-way computer screen.
“This is Lord Defender Ni Drako. Go ahead.”
The screen lit up, revealing a middle-aged human man with mousy brown hair, brown eyes and a tan complexion. The two opponents studied each other for a moment, taking the measure of their foe.
“Commander Ni Drako, you’re not quite as advertised,” Gray said with a knowing look.
“Yes, well, I only eat recruits raw once a century. And the Azdhagi found it easier to change my sex than to change their legal system. But we are both rather busy, Colonel. What do you want?” Rada felt her ears starting to flatten and forced herself to cool down.
“I want you to surrender before I’m forced to kill all your soldiers, Commander. My employers are tired of wasting time on you. We hold the capitol and the economic base of Drakon IV. There’s not really any point in your fighting any longer.” Gray had a point, but not much of one.
“And if the Defenders do surrender, what happens?” Rada inquired, taking notes.
The man smiled. “My employers are willing to be generous. Of course, you and the other rebels will face penalties, but your men will be disarmed and allowed to return to their homes in peace.”
She considered his offer. “By penalties I assume your employers include confiscation of our estates and imprisonment or death for the lords, the King-Emperor, and I?”
“For you and Chi-tak definitely, Commander. The others are acting on your orders, so they might be able to argue for lesser sentences,” Gray confirmed.
She shook her head, sending her long brown-black braid swinging. “Sorry, Colonel Gray. His Imperial Majesty has ordered me to continue fighting until Drakon IV is returned to his control. That makes it impossible for me to accept your employers’ offer. However, I am authorized to make a counter offer: surrender your company and evacuate the Palace. All your surviving troopers who have not participated in the burning of Sunblast or the murders at Singing Pines will be allowed to leave unmolested, as per standard practice. We will take care of the traitors, including the former Minister of War, ourselves. And his Majesty will minimize publicizing your violation of the Raiders’ initial contract with the Empire,” Ni Drako offered.
Now it was Gray’s turn to shake his head. “No thanks. Not unless your King Emperor can match my current employers’ payment.”
“And that is?”
He smiled. “The southern continent.”
Rada’s eye went wide for a moment. “No, I don’t believe his Imperial Majesty cares to match that. Although Colonel Gray, soldier to soldier, you might not want that property, considering what happened there a few centuries back. There’s a reason the continent’s population is so very low.” She rubbed under her blind eye.
“I’ll take that in consideration, Commander. However, as you’re not willing to listen to reason, I suppose I’ll be seeing you at your execution after we defeat your troops. Good day.” Gray terminated the conversation from his end.
“Good day, Colonel,” Ni Drako replied quietly. She leaned around the computer. “I trust you recorded that for everyone else’s benefit?”
“Affirmative, Lord Mammal. I also triangulated the computer he used back to, um, to your quarters in the Palace, sir,” Corporal Schriik said, sounding apologetic.
“Good work Schriik. Well, at least we know he has good taste in residences,” the mammal chuckled a bit. “I recognized the paneling behind his head.” She returned to the headquarters shelter to find Beerkali and the King Emperor waiting for her.
“We heard the entire exchange,” Chi-tak announced without preamble. “No further negotiations, Lord Ni Drako.”
She bowed slightly, then brought up a three-dimensional holo-model of the Palace–Capital complex. It had been built on the top of a large, gently rolling plateau, beginning roughly seven hundred years earlier. Over the centuries, generations of rulers leveled more and more of the plateau as they extended the complex, then the spaceport had been added, until the entire conglomeration resembled the small city it was. Gardens, courtyards and assembly areas alternated with wings housing living areas, public spaces and halls, kitchens, the Palace Guards’ barracks and affiliated spaces, chambers assigned to various nobles and ambassadors, servants’ quarters, laundries and all the assorted technology needed to run the Empire. Rada thought that she knew the complex fairly well, considering how much time she’d spent there over the past two centuries, but even she had no idea where some things were. The floodplains of the Zhangki River formed the western edge of the complex, with the spaceport delineating the south side. A hardwood forest marched up to the northern wall, with an elevation difference of ten meters between the forest floor and the base of the outer wall. The eastern wall sat almost a thousand meters back from the edge of the plateau, with a drop of fifty meters to the foot of the hill on that side.
“I assume a frontal assault is not an option, Lord Defender,” the King Emperor half-asked.
“Not exactly, Imperial Majesty. If I had some way of knowing if someone inside had neutralized the anti-air defenses, I’d suggest dropping a squad of paratroopers and taking the palace that way. But we have no paratroopers and no protection against the AA defenses,” she started, working hard to keep a straight face. Zabet’s reaction to the mental picture of Azdhagi parachuting had been to roll off the sleeping platform in a fit of laughter that lasted for several minutes, and Rada privately agreed that skydiving quadrupeds looked a bit odd at first. As it was, the Defenders did not train or have equipment for air assault and the Imperials that were so trained remained too far away. And she hesitated to bring the Imperials on-planet because of the precedent it could set. Absolute last ditch, even-nukes-didn’t-work-apocalypse-scenario is the only way I’ll call them in.
“What I propose is this: a pre-dawn attack in which Lords Beerkali and Blee’s forces, under Beerkali’s command, seize the spaceport and then the air defense system. What air support we have will serve as screening forces and to contain any attempts at reinforcement the traitors might plan, in case Beerkali and Blee run into heavier resistance than anticipated.” Because we always do. Murphy fought for the enemy.
She pointed to a different part of the model projection, “Lord Kirlin brings his men and some Defenders up the diplomatic wing, while Shu pushes in across here,” she highlighted the areas in question. “I’ll bring a small force up through the barracks wing, take or neutralize the defense command center, and then join with Kirlin and Shu at this point, more or less.” Ni Drako looked up at the two reptiles. “The other lords, supported by the Defenders, will be a distraction and most importantly, prevent reinforcements from coming in behind those of us in the assault groups. Imperial Majesty, I had planned for you and the Prince Imperial to remain on alert as a flying reserve.” I don’t want you anywhere near the shooting, Imperial Majesty, but that’s not an option. This way you, the heir, and my oldest commander will be on the sidelines without being officially on the sidelines, the mammal thought behind very tight shields.
Chi-tak frowned and rubbed under his muzzle, his steel-tipped talons flashing a bit of light. “What other options are there, Lord
Defender? This sounds very complicated.”
She nodded. “It is. However, since the enemy declines to leave the Palace to fight on open ground, thanks to Lord Beerkali’s little hobby and the Imperials’ interdiction of the Raiders’ armored vehicles, the only way is to take the fight to them. Or to level the Palace around them. The Palace was built and stocked to withstand a siege, and we don’t really have a year or two to wait,” Rada reminded them.
The mammal added, “Or we could use a neutron bomb,” leaving the building standing while killing every living thing within the radius of the blast. As she’d anticipated, the King Emperor found those options unacceptable, to put it mildly. Chi-tak remembered more than military tactics from his service with the Imperials, judging by his vocabulary, and the Lord Defender half expected the stench of burnt fur to fill the command post before the King Emperor finished his commentary on her proposal to level his capitol or to kill all his servants and females.
After the verbal smoke cleared, and the ears of Lords Ni Drako and Beerkali quit ringing, she cleared her throat. “Imperial Majesty, I request that this information not leave this command center. I believe that we have caught all the spies within our lines, but we need to act as if we didn’t.” The green and grey striped Azdhag nodded, as did Beerkali. They discussed matters a little longer, then Rada cleared the display and the trio went their separate ways.
A pile of equipment lay on the sleeping platform in Rada’s shelter. She looked at it, then picked up what proved to be an armored forearm guard, with a small computer built into it. “Fantastic! This should make life much easier,” she exclaimed, shedding her dress armor and putting on the replacement. She finished getting it assembled and in place about the time Zabet and Skeet arrived with supper. The private’s lower jaw dropped a bit as he took in the Lord Defender in full upper body armor, thigh plates, shin protectors fastened to the front of her boots, and a helmet that sported a tiny, dark blue-green jaguar’s head painted on each side. Instead of her patch covering her blind eye, the ceramisteel lining of the helmet extended down to her cheekbone, then cut back to join the main body of the helmet. A lighter, loser neck guard finished the armor.