by Tim Morrison
Chapter 1.3
Death of a Leader - Clanworld Camelin -32 BA
Unlike leaving Desinlo, this time the TGX hard-docked to the Camelin Skyhook. A massive structure that physically connected an orbital repair facility with the planet's surface by way of a carbon lattice cable that carried freight and passengers from orbit to the surface in under an hour.
“We're eighteen thousand kims above the planet here.” Kalen explained to the group as they looked out the windows at a sight they had never seen, a planet that was not covered in craters and dying of cobalt radiation. A world full of life, and a world that was ready to welcome them.
The Pod ride down was one of jubilation. The Desinlo women were joyous to visit a living breathing world, and the Camelin men were equally proud to show off their mates and consorts. Once the Pod had slowed and docked, they disembarked and Ryo met with the Clan Advisors, Lya by his side.
"Vis Macelon, Clan Finances. Vis Atewal, Clan Trader, Vis Damino, Clan Opiner, and Vis Petro, Clan Management. I would like all of you to meet my consort, this is Lady Lya of Clan Desinlo." ryo said by way of introduction to the four men who stood in a line and had bowed their heads deferentially as their Lord had stepped out of the downshaft pod from the skyhook.
Macelon was round, almost to the point of excess. However, he was a fine mathmatician and had a knack for the numbers that had gotten him into the positiion of being in control of the Clan finances many cycles past. He wore a long robe that draped round him like a cloak and it concealed everything except his face and hands. Lya noted that he had piercing green eyes that seemed to look right through her.
Atewal was tall, even for a Hablis he was tall, towering head, shoulders, and half a chest above everybody else in the hallway. He wore a flightsuit of deep blue that contrasted with his deep brown skin and his eyes were an odd shade of amber that almost glowed as he bowed to her.
Damino was just a little smaller than Lya herself, with a long narrow face, a hawkish nose, and slim festures, mostly covered by a full growth of beard. He had darting eyes of blue that seemed to never settle, he was always watching everything. He gave the barest of respectful bows, but as the Lord seemed to accept this, Lya could make no objection.
Petro was round, the roundest man she had ever seen. He was also happy, a wide smile on his face, and with a jovial laugh, he not only bowed, but embraced her before stepping back. His round jowelled face had deep brown eyes and a fine spread of lines that crinkled as he smiled, making him seem even friendlier than he was.
The four advisors fell into step with their Lord and his lady as Ryo walked down the corridors towards the normal lift shafts that would lead him to his family chambers at the 5 kim level.
"Welcome back to the citadel, my Lord." Vis Petro said as they walked.
"How is my father coping?" Ryo asked.
"Lord Camelin the elder is not faring well, my Lord. He is suffering greatly under the effects of the sickness and his condition worsens daily now." Vis Damino reported.
"And the people?"
"The Clan is concerned, both for their fading leader, and for his son, who chooses to journey outwards instead of taking up the mantle of leadership, lord Camelin." Damino replied.
Ryo stopped and faced the Vis who held the popular opinion of more than six billion citizens all loyal to the Clan leadership under his father and him.
"My father has ruled this clan with fairness and with a just hand. Just like his father before him, and for ages past. I intend to do the same, Vis. I however, will not stay here, in this tower, while the Clan slowly withers and the Confederacy falls to ashes." Ryo said.
"As you command, my Lord. I am just a humble servant showing you the people's wishes and desires. Such is my position." Vis Damino said, bowing.
"Stop it, Vis. You are not a sychopant or a silent follower. Stop acting like one." Ryo snapped, glaring at the other man. Damino straightened up.
"What brought about this change of mood? My father's impending death? You knew about that for cycles, we all knew once he took that radiation surge. What has changed?"
"If I may, my Lord. You are now ascending to the reins of power. Within a few weeks you will be the Lord of clan Camelin. Ruler of more than six billion citizens on sixteen worlds all fiercely loyal to you first, and to the Confederacy second." Vis Petro said, breaking the tense mood.
"Is that why you have all become so obesquious all of a sudden?" Ryo asked, looking at the four primary advisors, who refused to look him in the eye.
"That would be the reason, my Lord. You are no longer the Lord in waiting. You are soon to be Lord Camelin. It is a position of strength and we must show honor and respect." Vis Macelon said.
"Let me be clear, all of you. I expect you to do your duties as you have always done. You put the clan first, and the leader second. Yes, I will soon be in charge of the clan, but without advisors like you around me, Camelin will fade away within a generation and go the way of Radian. I do not think you want to lose your positions, your families, wealth, and your heads when the other clans sweep in to take our territories?"
He looked at the four advisors as they all shook their heads.
"Neither do I. Camelin is a strong military clan. We make wars happen and we win them when they do. We fight for the Confederacy and for our territory, but we do not seek expansion. I rely upon you to maintain and manage the affairs of the Clan while I am offworld keeping the borders safe. Just as Lord Gyo did before me. Unless you would like to join me on the TGX? Perhaps learn to fight a war and survive?" Ryo looked at them all.
"You are not warriors. I am not a politician, but I must balance both worlds as Leader of the Clan. You all manage the Clan while I am away, when I am here, let me do what needs to be done, and by all means, keep me informed. Do not, and I mean this, Vis Damino, question my loyalty or my dedication to Clan Camelin and my people. It is by the will of the people that we remain in charge of the clan. I am not so stupid to realise that if the people so choose, my family can be swept from power and a new Camelin head be emplaced in days if necessary. If that happens, I cannot imagine that you would retain your positions either. We are not in the time of limited communications, or city states fighting over a waterway. We rule sixteen planets, within a Confederacy that contains close to seven hundred worlds, all populated by close to a hundred billion citizens. They tolerate the clan leadership. I heard once that it tends to amuse the larger population more than anything else when we bicker and fight among ourselves. Whehter we all live or die, the Confederacy would live on."
Damino bowed. "Yes, my Lord. I understand and was not questuoning your loyalty. I was expressing the feelings of the people. They do love you, and want to know you are present to guide them, Lord Camelin."
Ryo nodded, then resumed walking down the corridor.
"I intend to guide them, and rule the Clan, and keep it prosperous and strong. Vis Atewal, what is our trading position?"
The tallest man in Clan Camelin, and one of the tallest in the entire Confederacy took up the role of speaker. His deep voice belied his towering form, with a soft yet strong timbre that vibrated as much as it echoed.
"In the overall trade indices, we are fourth. Clans Michelab, Veritas, and Guylian are stronger than us in trade commerce. Food flows to all worlds, our people are well fed and have luxuries. The mood is good, and we have strong trade exports, which exceed our imports. We are in surplus, and have been for the past eighteen cycles."
Ryo paused at the door to his father's chamber, and turned to face the advisors.
"So overall, the people are happy, well fed, and the mood is good?"
"Yes, my Lord. All is well at this time within the zone of Clan Camelin." Vis Macelon replied.
"Excellent, keep it up, and inform me of anything that requires my attention. Otherwise, I will attend my father during his final days." Ryo turned and opened the door to his father's chambers, then ushered Lya in.
“Father? I have returned.” Ryo sai
d as he entered the chambers of his aged patriarch. Gyo Camelin looked even older than he had two months ago. The radiation was eating his body from the inside, and his skin was growing more grey and wrinkled with each passing day. His eyes were still bright and full of life though.
The old man held up a feeble hand and Ryo walked over to gently take and kiss it in greeting, then he rose, and beckoned Lya to come closer.
“Did you succeed, my boy?” Gyo asked.
“Father, this is my consort, Lya.” Lya curtseyed to the old patriarch and also kissed his hand. Gyo's face broke into a wide smile as he properly caught sight of her.
“Is she?” He asked.
Ryo nodded. “She is from Desinlo, My Lord Camelin. I have returned with her and others of her people. We are going to bring them back to the Confederacy.”
“Such good news, my lad, such great news. I was never one for exploration, you know.” He said, clasping Lya's hand and patting it gently. “This boy, my Son, wants to explore, not be cooped up in this tower ruling a Clan full of old whiners and peddlers.”
Lya laughed, and then knelt so she could get closer to Gyo as he whispered. “My dear, you are positively glowing. Are you carrying?”
Lya blushed, then looked up at Ryo. “Yes, my Lord. We are going to have a child.”
Gyo clapped his hands together, and if his legs were still working, would have leapt out of the chair to dance. “My boy, you have done wonderfully. You have made me the happiest I have been since your mother passed. May she rest in Pangea. I just wish I could be there to see your child enter the light.”
Lya patted his hand. “I am sure you will be, My Lord.”
Gyo chuckled and covered her delicate hand with his gnarled one. “Don't try to fool an old man, my dear. I am not so vain as to not know my own mortality. I will be dead and in Pangea long before your child breathes the air of this world.” He leaned back and took a deep breath.
“I have no regrets, Ryo, Lady Lya. None. I have lived a full life and I have had my fair share of joy and sorrow.”
A swift knock at the door was followed by a communications officer. “My Lord Camelin. Apologies, my Lords Camelin. There is an urgent message from Clan Michelab. It requires an immediate reply.” He said as he stood in the doorway.
“Ryo, you go and deal with that. I am sure the Lady Lya will not object to keep an old man company for a little while?” Gyo said, looking at Lya as she smiled at him.
Lya nodded. “Go, I'll be fine.”
Ryo kissed Lya on the cheek and grasped his father's hand briefly before walking out the door with the comm officer to deal with Clan business.
“Now, my Lady Lya, who has so captured my Son with your beauty and wisdom. Please, entertain an old man with tales of your world. Tell me of Desinlo.” Gyo asked, eager to listen.
...
“They have sent us an invoice? For eighteen destroyed cobalt warheads?” Ryo said, astonished.
“When did we destroy eighteen of their cobalt weapons... Oh my Gods!” He recalled, eighteen was the number that had swept towards Desinlo, and eighteen had been reduced to atoms by the TGX-2, protecting the planet. They were from Clan Michelab.
He read the message again, it was short and to the point. Eighteen Cobalt warheads, destroyed on deployment by Camelin weapons. Cost per warhead, fifty Regals. The cost didn't matter, the details were what mattered. The missive was signed by Clan Captain Unral Kerilac, of Michelab.
“Send no reply. Now is not the time to deal with this. No acknowledgement, no reply to this message. “ He said. Then he looked at the message again and sighed. He did not need a war on his hands while his father lay dying, but a Clan war may lie just around the corner.
...
Later that evening, as Ryo was showing Lya around his home, she asked him about the message. “It concerns your planet, Lya. I would ask that you not concern yourself any more. We will protect you, all of you.” He said as he turned her to him, one hand resting protectively on her stomach.
She smiled. “I know, I am still curious though. We are an unknown outside of yourselves, or are we?”
Ryo sat and drew Lya to sit beside him on the couch.
“How long had the Cobalt weapons been used against Desinlo?” He asked after a few seconds' silence.
“The first ones hit four hundred eighty cycles ago. Then every few months, another wave would come in. It was almost like clockwork. We have three weeks before the next wave will appear, driving straight towards Desinlo.” She replied, looking at him. “Why, what have you discovered?”
“I know who is making them, and probably launching them. The only remaining question is, why? Why after all this time is this still going on?” Ryo said, rubbing her hands in his own with a tinge of nervousness.
Lya watched his hands rub her own for a second before stopping him with a firm grip. “Commander, you are nervous. I have not seen you nervous before.”
“I have already made a decision, Lya. My Clan will follow me into this, with open arms and armed weapons. We are probably going to war in the next few months.” Ryo said quietly.
“Which clan, Ryo?” She asked him.
“Michelab. They have been manufacturing the Cobalt projectiles for hundreds of cycles. They sent me a bill for the destruction of the weapons we stopped striking your world a few months ago. I am preparing for a meeting with them in the next few days to discuss things. I do not anticipate this going well though. I think my Clan will be at war fairly soon.” Ryo said, holding her hands firmly as he talked.
Lya looked at him, then gently leaned forward and kissed him. “You do not need to go to war for me, Ryo. Let them have the planet. You are already preparing to save my ... our people. Let them have that burnt-out husk of a world, we can start new lives here, with you.”
Ryo sighed and brought her into a close embrace. “There is so much more at stake that just that, my Lya. They have been launching these weapons for hundreds of cycles. Your world lies in the middle of the Oxymax Nebula, which is fully enclosed by Camelin territory. Michelab has been violating our space for centuries. For that alone, restitution should be expected.”
Lya rose and stepped back from him so suddenly that Ryo thought he had made a grievous error. Then she held out her hand to him. “I am tired, my Lord. Take me to your bed.”
Ryo rose and taking her by the hand, led her to his chambers, a flight down from where his Father now slumbered.
As she entered his chambers, she slipped out of the robe that she had been wearing and sat on the soft bed, looking at him expectantly, draped just in a short shift that covered her, but left little to his imagination.
Ryo bent to kiss her, then taking off his jacket, laid it over a table and went to gaze out the large windows that overlooked the Capitol city of Clan Camelin. Home to more than a million citizens alone, on a world that housed more than a hundred times that number.
Behind him, Lya slipped out of the shift and then rose to walk up behind him. Naked, she slid her arms around him from behind and gently caressed his chest, kissing his back. Ryo held her hands, then turned and took her in his arms, kissing her as his large hands caressed her back and buttocks.
Lya twined her arms behind his neck, still kissing him, then hopped as his hands lifted her and he supported them both as she pressed against him, hungrily chewing on his lip as he continued to devour her mouth.
She came up for breath and looked into his deep brown eyes. “My Lord, I am yours. For now and for always. Make me yours, let me feel you.”
Ryo walked to the bed and laid her down, then as she lay there, invitingly spread for him, he stripped off his tunic and pants, then laid down beside her.
He ran his fingers over her stomach, now beginning to show the signs of pregnancy, and kissed her, then moved down, kissing her neck, the swell of her breast, then her nipple, then her belly itself.
Lya sighed, her hands idly twisting in his hair as he laved her stomach and nether regions with his lips and ton
gue, then she gently pulled him so he drew onto her, feeling his hardness as it lay on her leg, close to her lower lips. She wriggled her hips and he slid into her, then she pushed as he moved, and the both of them came together with a soft moan, mouths locked, tongues battling as they continued to love each other and enjoy the sensations coming from below.
...
"Doctor, you are not going to defy me. I am regent of Desinlo, and this child must not be born!" Lya fumed, staring at the Doctor as he stood between her and Jalena.
"You would have me violate my oath to Clan Desinlo? To violate the oath of life giver? Regent, not even you have that power." Solonae said.
"Doctor, she needs to carry a girl, not a boy. A male child from Jalena's genes is not required. It will do irrepraparable damage to the Lari'Sota development." Lya said, sitting down again.
"Jalena is only 24 cycles old, Regent. She can have more children. It only takes two cycles to fully recover from pregnancy. We can also do gene manipulation to guarantee she has a female next time." The Doctor said, trying to soothe the fiery emotions in the room.
"We cannot do that in this case, Doctor. The child must be natural. We may not have the time to wait for another child to be born. Everything hangs in the balance. The entire Lari'Sota breeding plan is at risk. That child that you carry, Jalena, may well be a great danger." Lya said, pointing at the younger woman.
"How can an innocent babe be a danger? We are all pregnant, my Lady. Why is my pregnancy so very different from yours or the other women?" Jalena asked.
"Because it is not female. The Lari'Sota gene sequence requires a female carrier. You hold the final sequence, Jalena. We have known this since your great mother's time. Your future daughter is the final key to the Lari'Sota breeding sequence. There is no information or plan for a male child." Lya said, then rubbed her own stomach.
"Which means what, my Regent?" Jalena asked.
"That child is not part of our plan, therefore, it has no place in this world. I am sorry, Jalena. You will have to give it up. You cannot raise it. You are meant only to raise a girl." Lya said, then got to her feet.
"Doctor, you will make arrangements for the child, upon birth, to be given to another family to raise, Jalena must be prepared to carry another child, and the next one must be a girl." She then turned and walked out of the room and back to her consort who was sitting with his slowly dying father.
The door closed and then Jalena began to cry, all the emotions built-up erupted and she fell to the floor in a sobbing heap. Doctor Solonae came over to her and his strong hands on her shoulders were as a lifeline. She grabbed his wrists and looked at him, tears streaming down her face.
"I have no choice, Hektor. None at all. She is my ruler, my Regent, Her word is law. You will take care of him, won't you? You'll make sure he won't be given to a cruel family, that he will be raised well?"
"Yes, my Jalena, I will be sure to give the child to a good family. He will be well cared for, and will want for nothing. You need to compose yourself now. I will have to also arrange for your mate to be informed his child is stillborn, to allay suspicions." Doctor Solonae said as he helped her to her feet.
...
“Ryo?” Lya came running down the stairs, careful as she was beginning to put on weight so was always more careful now with her footing. She ran into one of the Clan Advisers. “Where is Lord Camelin?” She asked, a bit out of breath.
“In the comm room, my Lady.” The adviser said, then lead the way to the chamber, where Lya saw Ryo in a conversation with somebody over the Comm channel. He hung up the comm as she came in and turned to her, she rushed into his arms, then looked at him frantically.
“What is wrong, my Lya?” He asked.
“Ryo, your father. It is time. He is passing.” She said. They made their way quickly back up to his father's chambers, where the old man was sitting in his chair, looking out over the view of the city from a kim in the air. Where he could see everything that he controlled and was protected by him.
Ryo could see from the colour of his skin, that the old man had only a short time left, his skin had a blue tinge to it as the oxygen flow was being cut off by the radiation destroying the capillaries and red blood cells. He would be beginning to hemorrhage internally as his organs began to disintegrate.
Ryo went up to him, and looked at his father as he held up a vial of powerful painkiller. “Soon, my boy. Very soon.” Gyo Camelin said. Seconds after Ryo would inject the medicine, the pain would subside and the soporific element would put Gyo to sleep. Minutes later, a slow electrical suppressor would stop his heart. The radiation was terminal, and Clan Doctors had prepared the dosage for when the pain got too much.
“I can see the stars, my boy. I know that it's radiation impacting behind my retina, but it is still stars to me. You have managed to touch those stars. I commanded the ship, but you can lead it, my Ryo.” He reached out and took Ryo's hand in his, in a very firm grip. He reached out with his other hand, and Lya took it in hers. Gyo put their hands together in his grip, then patted them.
“You are good for each other. I am glad for that, I have seen love grow, and that prepares my journey to Pangea. Now, my boy. Help me to sleep.” Gyo said, and then relaxed as Ryo injected him with the medicine.
Minutes later, he carefully put his fathers' lifeless hands on his lap in a comfortable position, then called for the attendants.
“Do you wish to be alone, Ryo?” Lya asked him gently after the attendants had guided the chair with his father's body on it out of the chamber to prepare him for his journey to the Gates of Pangea.
“No, Lya. I would like you to stay with me.” Ryo said. “I have been aware this day would come for many months now. We both were. It is still a shock, but not unexpected.”
“I never told you before, but I liked your father, Ryo. He was a charming man, and very much the Clan Lord and gentleman as well. He treated me with the utmost respect at all times.” She said, holding Ryo's hand and rubbing her other hand up and down his back in an effort to sooth him.
“I thank you for that, Lya.” Ryo said, leaning to kiss her. “You brightened his last days, he almost seemed like his old self again. In the end, I think he truly was happy again, and at peace.”
She smiled at him. “Come, I am hungry, this babe needs food at such odd times, my Lord Ryo.” She said as one hand came to rest on her stomach, now beginning to show the swell of pregnancy.
...
“Lord Camelin, the Gates of Pangea have been prepared for the final journey of Gyo Camelin.” intoned the Gatekeeper. “Do you have the price?”
Ryo nodded and stepping forward, picked up a single Regal coin from a length of azure cloth that was draped over his Father's casket.
“The price for passage is One Regal. I have it here.” He said.
The Gatekeeper opened a small wood box. “Place the price in the box, my Lord.” Ryo put the coin in the box and it disappeared under the Gatekeeper's robes.
Ryo watched, with Lya by his side, as the transport lifted off. Within it's mauve shell lay the casket that contained his father's body. That ship would transit Neospace until it reached the Pangea system, at the heart of the Confederacy. There, the casket would be released to fall into the centre, where a singularity lay wrapped in a cloud of debris and gas that made it into the only stable black hole in the Center Worlds.
“Will you do that for me, Ryo?” Lya asked as the transport slipped into Neospace.
He turned to her, and lifted her chin so he could look into her deep azure eyes. “For you, my Lya, I will journey to the very gates themselves, and see you escorted within. I will shout at the Gods to be warned. Lya Desinlo is coming. The woman of a Clan they forgot. I will tell them to tremble, because you are a force to be reckoned with.”
She reached her arms up to pull his head down and kissed him, fully and deeply.