Kusac felt the pressure of a gun muzzle against the side of his head and froze.
“Stop right now. Let him go and stand up. We’re taking you prisoner, and you can explain to the Inquisitor what you were doing here,” said the second officer.
“I don’t think so,” said Kusac, letting him go and slowly standing up. “I have a job to finish, and I intend to do so.”
He heard the pistol being cocked and the fallen gun being kicked away from him. “And we intend to stop you. You can come nice and easy, or you can come dead. We don’t care much which way you choose.”
Cheelar and M’yikku had been heading up to the service elevator to the pumping station when he sent his message for help. He could sense them close by now, close enough to hear them talking.
“You won’t shoot me,” he said. “You can smell the fumes for yourself; you know the slightest spark could blow us all up.”
The gun moved from his head to his neck, pointing downward through his body. “Now it won’t.”
The officer he’d been tussling with regained his feet and aimed a low punch at his gut. Doubling up more than was necessary, Kusac groaned in pain. He felt the second draft of air as a knife spun past him to lodge in the throat of that officer while the one holding him suddenly released him with a brief exclamation of pain.
“You all right, General Nayash?” asked Cheelar, running forward to check on all three of the downed assailants.
Standing up wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be, the blow to his stomach had hurt, but M’yikku’s steadying arm was there to help him.
“We got your message, General,” said M’yikku quietly. “Are you hurt?”
“Telmaar!” exclaimed Cheelar, looking up at Kusac. “Why would he attack you?”
“Seems he was an agent for Inquisitor Ziosh,” said Kusac. “No, I’m not hurt. we just traded punches, but it could have gotten nasty very quickly.”
“So we saw. Thanks for the heads up not to use our guns,” Cheelar said wryly. “What do you plan to do with them? Telmaar’s still alive, but the other two are dead.”
“If he’d been alone, I had hoped to do a memory wipe on him and let him go, but he’d miss his two aides.”
“You could still do that,” said Cheelar thoughtfully. “All you need to do is suggest that these two have disappeared without leave, gone native or something. You can do that, can’t you?”
“And Telmaar was a victim of your attackers,” said M’yikku. “Perhaps you could make it that the two turned on both you and Telmaar? That would save the need to explain away the bodies.”
“I think that idea’s the best one,” said Kusac. The pain in his gut having eased off, he walked over to where Telmaar lay on the ground and crouched down beside him, taking hold of his head with both hands.
It was more difficult when they were unconscious, and it took several tries to penetrate the other’s natural mental barrier, but at last he was able to erase the real memories of their encounter and replace them with adapted ones from his own encounter with the two aides.
“Collect your knives. M’yikku, you go report the attack on me. Cheelar and I will wake Telmaar and make sure the false memories have taken.”
“Aye, General,” said M’yikku, heading off at a run.
“Here,” said Kusac, passing Cheelar the small pack of explosives. “Find somewhere dark to plant this. I put the last one on the underside of a pipe at the back of one of the tanks.”
Cheelar nodded and quickly vanished from sight. Moments later he was back. “Done. Shall we wake Telmaar now?”
“Yes, I want him awake before help arrives.” He gently slapped Telmaar’s cheeks and when that had no response, hit him harder across one side of his face. That got him waking up with a moan of pain.
He looked up blearily into Kusac’s face. “What was that for?” he demanded, massaging his jaw. “And why am I lying down?”
“We were attacked, don’t you remember? They knocked you out.”
“Who?”
“I think they’re your men,” said Kusac. “They looked familiar. Yelled something about the Zsadhi and drew guns on us.”
Telmaar sat up and peered over at the bodies. “It’s my two aides,” he said in a shocked voice. “Are you sure they attacked us?”
“You can see the guns on the floor, Telmaar. If they weren’t attacking us, why would they have drawn them?”
He scrambled to his feet, swaying slightly. “My jaw hurts,” he complained.
“It would. They punched you unconscious. Me, they were going to shoot.”
“Down here, with the smell of fuel, and the fuel tanks not thirty feet away?” asked Telmaar.
“They weren’t very bright, but they did yell something about the Zsadhi as I said. Guess they are starting to take out individuals now, rather than just damaging property and spreading leaflets.”
“That’s worrying,” agreed Telmaar. “If two of my closest aides could be part of the Zsadhi movement, who is heading it up? It could be anyone.”
“Well, we know it isn’t the Emperor, but there’s no love lost between him and the Inquisition. It could even be Inquisitor Ziosh who’s behind all this.”
“Impossible,” snapped the other. “Inquisitor Ziosh is loyal . . .”
“. . . to himself,” said Kusac as a squad of soldiers bustled up, carrying stretchers and body bags. “You know there’s no love lost between them.”
“Agreed, but that’s a far cry from what has been happening!”
“Lord General Nayash, sir. Hear that these males attacked you and Lord Lieutenant Telmaar,” said the Sergeant in charge of the detail.
“That’s right. I want them bagged up and sent back to M’zull with Lieutenant Telmaar as soon as possible today. He can give his Majesty, Health and Long Life be His, the report on how we were attacked down here. Personally, I think it was a suicide mission to explode the fuel tanks. I suggest you double your security from now on.”
“Yessir! I’ll see that the bodies are shipped out right away! Lord Lieutenant Telmaar, if you’d like to go topside to level 1, they’ll order a shuttle immediately for you. We’ll see to loading the bodies.”
“General Nayash, you aren’t going to leave it to me to tell the Emperor what happened, are you?” Telmaar asked.
“I’ll send a transcript of the happenings directly to Lieutenant Zerdish. Have no worries about that,” said Kusac smoothly as he began to turn away from the other and walk toward the elevator up to the pump room. “My inspection was cut short, so I need to carry on from where I was. I’m sure we’ll meet again groundside, Telmaar.”
Dismissed, Telmaar had no option but to accompany the Sergeant and the bodies up to the first level of the station.
“Telmaar’s an agent for Ziosh,” said Kusac quietly to Cheelar and M’yikku. “We’ll have to find a way to distance ourselves from him, maybe even terminate him if it looks like he’s becoming a liability. I did reinforce the idea that I am no threat to him or the Inquisitor, but I’m not sure how well that will hold, given all that’s going on right now.”
“We’ll keep our eyes on him when he’s around you,” said Cheelar.
Kusac smiled briefly at him and M’yikku. “I have no doubt at all about that.”
Zhal-Oeshi 11th (August)
The rest of Kusac’s visit was uneventful, and when he’d finished inspecting the lower levels, he retired to the Aggressor to send his report on the attack to the Emperor’s office. The Generals of the Second Fleet were about the same for and against K’hedduk as those of the First Fleet.
His visit to the Third Fleet, however, had very different results. Decimated by the abortive attack on the Prime world in retaliation for Zhalmo’s rescue, their morale was low as was their opinion of the Emperor. The trips had been successful in that all the explosives had been placed
and he had a pretty accurate list of all the Generals for and against K’hedduk. A list he could now manipulate to suit his own ends.
Thankfully, with Telmaar back on M’zull, they were free to relax on the homeward shuttle trip. The final thing he did on his return was to get Cheelar to set explosives in the underground ship parking lot to prevent K’hedduk from leaving the planet the way he had left K’oish’ik as they retook it. Its detonation tied to those of the space stations, they would blow at the same command from the Touibans.
M’yikku had helped him compile the dossiers on each station as they traveled to the next one so that once they landed on M’zull, Kusac could submit the final report. He’d then be free to ostensibly head to his estate for a couple of days to see to business there, but, in reality, head to the mountain den and change back to his Sholan form. Already he was feeling the strain of keeping up the appearance of a Valtegan, and he knew from previous experience that if he didn’t take the time out to recuperate now, he ran the risk of his body rebelling and forcing a physical change on him. Luckily, this had happened only once, at the mountain den where he was safe. Three days was the limit, then he had to change, and that time was up today.
His report handed into the Emperor’s office, Kusac was headed to his apartment when a message came in on his comm unit from Laazif.
“M’Lord, it’s Shazzuk. He asks that you come to the village as soon as you can.”
“Tell him I’ll be there later today, Laazif.”
“Do you want me to join you at the villa, Lord Nayash? If there is a crisis at the village, you may be needed for longer than the one night you had planned.”
“No, you remain here at the apartment. I’ll be there in a few minutes to pick up your mistress. I’ll keep you posted on how this affects my plans for the next day or two.”
“As you wish, m’Lord.”
“Dammit, I could have done without this today,” muttered Kusac, cutting the connection and increasing his pace. “Let’s get moving. The sooner I’m at the village, the sooner I’m done.”
Nayash mountain village, same day
M’yikku got them there in record time. Parking in the main square, Kusac handed Mahzi out of the aircar first. Her family, and her new husband, were waiting anxiously for her and as they exchanged happy greetings, Kusac walked over to Shazzuk’s house where the village leader was waiting for him.
“Lord Nayash,” he said, ushering him into his office. “Thank you for bringing Mahzi with you. Her family have been anxious about her.”
“She’s only here until tomorrow, I’m afraid. What’s so urgent, Shazzuk?” Kusac asked.
“There’s been another change in the chapel wall painting,” the village leader said, his tone reluctant. “Another part of the mural has disappeared.”
“Excuse me?”
“The carving of Tashraka, the evil sister of the Zsadhi’s wife, has vanished,” said Shazzuk, face creased in a frown, part embarrassed and part worried.
“How can it have vanished?” asked Kusac. “It’s a carving, part of a frieze, connected to the figures next to it!”
“The Zsadhi sword vanished,” Shazzuk reminded him. “If it can vanish, then a carving is no different.”
“It’s very different. The sword was the real one, set into the wall, not a carving.”
“Come and see,” said Shazzuk, opening his office door. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me until you saw it for yourself. That’s why I called you, even though your people in the mountain have seen it.”
“They’ve been here recently?”
“They came yesterday with more leaflets for us for the Zsadhi raids.”
Kusac grunted, and as they left the house, he called Cheelar and M’yikku over to join them. “Are you sure this isn’t someone having a joke on us in very bad taste?” he asked. “It seems highly unlikely that not only do we have a magic sword, but also a magic carving.”
“Call it what you will, but the carving is gone,” said Shazzuk as they took the path to the chapel. “And, as I told you before, no one in the village would dream of defacing the chapel.”
The day was getting on toward evening now, and sunset colored the sky in a myriad of vibrant reds, pinks, and oranges as the sun began to sink below the horizon. Rhassa had already lit the chapel lights and was waiting inside for them.
Kusac strode down the aisle to the front row of seats facing the bas-relief carvings of the story of the Zsadhi. There, near the center, was indeed a raw area that looked like the carving of the person there had been chipped out. Stopping a few feet from the wall, Kusac looked over to Rhassa.
“Tell me the story, Priestess,” he said, pointing to the scene.
“You are the story. It happened in the ancient days when we females ruled K’oish’ik. This carving shows Zsadhi coming in from his years in the desert to challenge the false Queen,” said Rhassa. “It’s the carving of Tashraka that is missing. The legend is coming to life again.”
“Why would that happen?” demanded Kusac. “There is no place in society for females, so where would she fit in?”
“As the false Emperor?” suggested Shazzuk.
“Wouldn’t it be Captain of the guard in that case?” asked Kusac. “I just don’t see it. I think someone defaced the carving, I don’t for a minute believe that it pulled itself off the wall and walked into our present time.” He got to his feet and turned toward the doorway of the chapel.
“Heed my warning, Zsadhi,” said Rhassa in ringing tones. “Ignore Tashraka at your peril!”
“I’m warned, Rhassa,” said Kusac before leaving the chapel and heading out into the twilight. Hearing the legend of Zsadhi always caused shivers to go up and down his spine, this time no less than the others. He knew personally just how real the Entities of Shola were, and though he didn’t want to admit it, the Zsadhi, too. Could it be that Ishardia and Tashraka were also real, always fighting over the Zsadhi just as Kuushoi and Ghyakulla fought over Vartra? The thought was not comforting, and he tried to push it to the back of his mind.
Once back in the main village square, he pulled Azwokkus’ vial from his pocket and let it drop unseen to the ground before crushing it underfoot, releasing the nanites that would protect the memories of not only himself and his team, but also the villagers, assuming Annuur and Azwokkus’ plan went according to schedule.
He turned to talk to Shazzuk who had followed him out to the courtyard. “I have to leave now to meet up with my people in the mountains. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon for Mahzi, so make sure she’s ready to leave. Is there anything else your insurgents need for their raids?”
“She’ll be ready, m’Lord. The leaflets were what we needed, and thanks to you, we have them,” said Shazzuk.
“Until tomorrow, then,” said Kusac, getting back into the aircar.
The mountain den
The small cavern was bustling with activity when Kusac and his team finally arrived there. Kaid and Carrie stopped what they were doing long enough to greet them, then carried on as before. Kusac headed for the tent he and Carrie shared, getting out of his hated military uniform before morphing back into his natural Sholan form. He lay on the sleeping bags for a few minutes, waiting until the pain and the shaking that any change caused had subsided, then reached into his bag for a tunic.
Dressed in comfortable clothing, he folded the M’zullian clothes and sealed them into the protective cover kept there for that purpose. Finally ready to face the others, he clambered out of the tent again. Kushool was waiting by their central cooking fire with a hot drink for him.
“Coffee! I didn’t think we’d have any left by now.”
“We wouldn’t if Annuur hadn’t brought us some more,” she grinned. “But we did keep some back specially for you and Rezac.”
Squatting down by the heating unit, Kusac sipped the aromatic drink appreciatively.
“We’re getting a package ready for Rezac’s group,” she said. “They have the next raid, as I’m sure you know. A factory for fighter craft this time.”
“Sounds dangerous. I hope he’s taking it carefully.”
“Always,” said Jo, coming over to join him. “He says stop worrying, he’s not after the whole factory, just the area where the craft are painted because it’s the most volatile process. He’ll be coming to pick up the leaflets and explosives in an hour or two, after his dinner.”
Kusac nodded. “I’ll talk to him then. Any word from Annuur on how much longer until their nanites are ready?”
“The current estimate is two to three weeks left before they reach population saturation. Apparently, once the nanites have reached everyone, because they all communicate with each other, they’ll alert Annuur and Azwokkus that they’ve achieved full coverage. The matter transformer will then activate itself for the last time, and turn on the nanites. After it’s done that, it will destroy itself.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Kusac grunted. “Meanwhile, I was just up at all three of the space stations. They’re now rigged to blow when I give the word to Annuur. I want this damned planet’s ability to wage war utterly destroyed, and I want it isolated from any other planet. Its threat has to be gone forever this time.”
“It will be,” said Jo, reaching out to pat his arm.
Carrie came over and settled down beside him, leaning against him. “Well, that’s done,” she said. “It’s good to have you back. How have things been with you, apart from setting explosives on the space stations?”
“Busy,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and nuzzling her neck. “Mahzi is in the village with her real husband, you’ll be pleased to know.”
“I’m sure they’re both happy with that arrangement. I was at the village earlier yesterday with Kaid—we used the morphing devices—to deliver them some leaflets.”
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