The Round Table (Space Lore Book 3)

by Chris Dietzel

  “I never actually thought your plan would work,” Quickly said, smiling and giving her a hug.

  “Oh ye of little faith,” Morgan said, giving his metallic android arm a friendly punch.

  Quickly scanned the area for the others. When he only saw Vere, Traskk, and Pistol, his eyebrows raised, a combination of a grimace and fools’ hope. Morgan knew what he was thinking, even without hearing the question.

  “Cade wasn’t the only loss.” she said. “Baldwin too.”

  He groaned and asked how.

  “On the prison grounds.” Quickly’s mouth moved but he didn’t ask the next, obvious question of how. Morgan added, “The monster got him.”

  Vere, Traskk, and Pistol managed to escape the crowd of onlookers. Quickly patted Traskk on the shoulder and gave Vere a hug.

  “It’s great to see you again,” he said.

  “It’s great to be here.”

  But Vere’s smile was filled with questions. Why were her ships in the middle of an asteroid field? How long had they been here? What was the plan for them? She was sure that whatever Morgan and the others had decided to do was the correct thing, but it was jarring to see the remnants of the CasterLan Kingdom hiding between asteroids.

  Morgan said, “This is where we had to retreat to after the battle. Once we were here, it was easier to stay.”

  Vere frowned and looked around at the makeshift colony amongst the asteroids.

  “Edsall Dark?” she mumbled.

  Only then did Morgan realize how little Vere knew. It seemed obvious, though, when she thought about it. Why should she know anything after being isolated at the Cauldrons? Morgan had assumed that Mowbray would make sure Vere knew exactly what had happened to her kingdom during her imprisonment. Now, though, it was obvious he had told her nothing, allowing her to imagine the worst.

  “We built this colony,” Morgan said, “to stay safe and hidden until we could take Edsall Dark back. We were waiting for you.”

  Vere only shook her head, didn’t say anything.

  “Scrope is there now,” Morgan said, and Traskk let out a low growl. “We could have taken the planet back any time we wanted. As far as we know, he’s the only person left in the capital. But there wasn’t any point in going there until we knew we could hold it.”

  “Hold it?” Vere asked, her eyes looking around at what remained of her father’s kingdom.

  “We could have taken it back, but Mowbray’s fleet would have come and we wouldn’t have been able to defeat them. We would have just lost more ships. It would have been pointless.”

  Finally, Vere smiled. “Great,” she said. “No better time than the present.”

  Morgan gave a pronounced sigh. It was obvious that while Vere was functioning better than when they found her at the Cauldrons, she still wasn’t putting one and one together to equal two.

  “I just said: we can’t retake it because Mowbray will send his fleet and destroy the few ships we have left.”

  As Vere spoke, she smiled with a pleasantness and calm Morgan had never seen until freeing her from the prison. “Oh, that won’t be a problem. The other kingdoms will all help us.”

  “Vere, we have no other allies.” Morgan turned and held her hands out to show how few Solar Carriers remained without a proper shipyard to build more. “This is it.”

  “No, no. The other kingdoms will be sending their ships.”

  No one else said anything. Morgan could tell this was making as little sense to Traskk as it was to her and that he was concerned for Vere’s wellbeing. His tail was perfectly still and limp against the ground. But no one else would correct Vere’s egregious miscalculation. As always, they were going to leave it to Morgan to be the one to speak the hard truths.

  “Vere, no offense, but you aren’t making any sense. No one, except for two traitors, joined our cause last time. Now the other kingdoms have even less reason to join us.”

  “But I sent for them to help.”

  It was Morgan’s turn to laugh. She actually slapped her own leg, not believing what she was hearing.

  “Why would they come and help? They know we were defeated. They know we have nothing to offer. No one else wanted anything to do with us two years ago when we had a full fleet. Now that we barely have any Solar Carriers left and we’ve lost every planet that flew the CasterLan flag, they definitely won’t join us.”

  “It’ll be different this time,” Vere said quietly.

  “Why, Vere? Why would it be any different?”

  Morgan didn’t want to be unkind to her friend, especially after everything she had been through. She couldn’t help herself, though. After losing Baldwin and Cade, she wouldn’t listen to any more nonsense. It was almost as though Vere was trying to infuriate her.

  When Vere spoke again, it was not only maddening, it also confirmed Morgan’s suspicions that they had risked their lives just to rescue someone who was no longer living in the same reality as everyone else.

  Vere’s response was, “Because of the round table. That’s why they’ll join us.”

  Morgan threw her hands up in the air. Baldwin and Cade had sacrificed themselves to free a mad woman. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Quickly grimace at Vere’s words. When she turned to him, his gaze dropped toward his feet and he scratched his head.

  “What?” Morgan said to him, but he continued to frown and act as though something incredibly interesting was at his feet.

  She looked at Traskk but he appeared to be as puzzled as she was.

  “Out with it,” she said to Quickly, hoping he would make more sense than Vere.

  “I thought you knew,” he said. “The message came from your ship. I thought you knew.”

  “It’s not a big deal,” Vere said.

  But Morgan put her hand in the air for silence. This confusion had to be put to rest as soon as possible.

  “What message?” she demanded.

  Vere shrugged. The same innocent smile was there, but now, instead of making Morgan worry about Vere, it was starting to enrage her.

  “We’re going to build a round table,” Vere said. “And everyone from the other kingdoms will have a seat. Every land and every territory will have a voice.”

  Morgan’s teeth ground together and she looked at Quickly, who confirmed Vere’s answer with a nod.

  “That’s why you think everyone will send their fleets to fight for you, because of some round table where they can sit and listen to you give them orders?”

  “You’re missing the point,” Vere said, causing Morgan to stifle the urge to break someone’s nose.

  “Oh really? What point am I missing?”

  Vere laughed. “It’s a round table.”

  “Damn you, I know it’s a round table. Start making some sense.”

  It was Quickly who said, “Everyone would have a say—”

  Vere cut him off. “They won’t be fighting for us,” she told Morgan. “They’ll be fighting for themselves. There is no one at the head of a table that’s round. Everyone has an equal voice.”

  “So you’re going to lead a group of—” Morgan started to say, but again, Vere interrupted.

  “Not me. Not anyone from the CasterLan Kingdom. Like I said, everyone has an equal voice.”

  “Everyone, from every other territory, is going to have a say in what happens to the CasterLan Kingdom?” Morgan asked.

  She looked at Traskk, wordlessly pleading with him to keep her from killing someone.

  Vere’s smile disappeared, but she still looked perfectly at peace with what she was saying, “Not our kingdom. There won’t be a CasterLan Kingdom any more. It will be everyone’s kingdom.”

  50

  In the middle of the Yltyl Sector, Supreme Despot Kraven the Oppressor read Vere’s message over and over, still not sure what to make of it.

  One sector over, Hellion IV, son of Hellion III, grandson of Hellion II, great-grandson of Hellion I, the man who had
murdered the wives and children of every rival in order to claim his throne, narrowed his eyes as he read Vere’s message, trying to figure out what game was being played.

  The Council of the Gur-Khan continued to debate Vere’s request. The Gur-Khan, inhabitants of a single planet, had never invaded another world. It went against their code. Only rarely did another ruler attempt to invade the Gur-Khan’s planet because they were always decimated when they tried. And yet the Council debated what to do about Vere’s message long into the night and through the next morning because they understood the ramifications it could have across the entire galaxy.

  51

  Vere knew what kind of reaction to expect. Mortimous had cautioned her that just because she saw the wisdom of giving up her kingdom didn’t mean anyone else would.

  “If I had asked you two years ago if such a plan was a good idea,” he had told her as she pushed the Circle of Sorrow, “you would have thought I was playing a game with you.”

  “But it makes so much sense.”

  “Only when you are seeing clearly,” Mortimous had said. “Once you understand the effects it will have throughout the galaxy, it makes sense. But for those who have only known one thing in their lives, it could be very frightening.”

  The wise man’s words had proven especially true for Morgan. Vere got the exact response she had been waiting for.

  “You’re giving away the kingdom?” Morgan asked, taking a step forward to ensure she blocked Vere’s way. “We risked our lives to free you. Baldwin and Cade are dead. For what? For you to give away the very thing we fought for? If I knew this was what you were going to do, I would have left you at the prison.”

  This last comment made Traskk bare his fangs and hiss. Even if he didn’t like what Vere was suggesting any more than Morgan did, he wouldn’t ever wish pain upon his friend and he wouldn’t tolerate anyone else doing it either.

  “It’s okay,” Vere said, giving Traskk a smile.

  While the credit for the idea of the round table went to Mortimous, and while Vere wholeheartedly agreed with it, she also knew it went against everything she had been raised to believe. Because of that, people like Morgan would have difficulty understanding why it would work.

  The truth was that the average person didn’t care about war or rulers or kingdoms. Not even their own. They just wanted to live. To be happy. To raise children. To grow old.

  And yet the galaxy was embroiled in one war after another, experiencing ever-expanding and contracting territories and kingdoms. The most recent conflict had started because Hotspur had chased a cargo vessel through a portal and destroyed it in Vonnegan space. Mowbray had used that as an excuse to expand his empire. But even if Hotspur hadn’t been ordered to attack that ship, the Vonnegan fleet would have been looking for reasons to move into another sector. Just as Vere was sure they would eventually attempt to conquer one of the other rulers who had received her message. Mowbray wasn’t the only purveyor of war and violence, however. As long as there were rulers who cared more about riches and power than the people they were supposed to be leading there would be an unending succession of conflicts.

  A continuous cycle of war had existed for as long as history had been recorded. Sometimes there were years of peace, but more often, there was at least one conflict taking place somewhere in the galaxy. Two thousand years earlier, Gron the Destroyer had conquered three other kingdoms and created the most expansive empire the galaxy had ever seen. Only thirty years later, the empire collapsed upon itself and wars raged everywhere. Eight hundred years later, the galaxy embroiled in civil wars on dozens of different planets, Yosh the Merciless had united every warring tribe and created a federation that, while short-lived, would never be matched in terms of the number of planets ruled and sectors controlled. Each of these campaigns had resulted in millions of lost lives and even more people losing their homes.

  When she thought about how many people had died as a result of her own kingdom’s battles with Mowbray, she could only close her eyes and try to calm herself and work to ensure it never happened again.

  Once she saw the wisdom of what Mortimous was suggesting, the solution of the round table was obvious. Bring together a representative from each kingdom, put them all around one table, each with an equal voice. Let them come together rather than battle each other. Have the galaxy focus on what was best for everyone rather than the glory of an individual leader.

  “You’re going to host some round table meetings?” Morgan said through her teeth, her hands balled into fists. It didn’t help that Vere’s response to her friend’s anger was to offer a gentle smile. “That’s your solution? You think the other rulers are going to join you at some table? What’s to keep them from all voting against you and running your kingdom for you?”

  Vere had it all figured out. That was why she kept grinning, because she was sure that Morgan and the others would eventually see the beauty of what she was suggesting.

  “They won’t be at the round table,” she said. “And neither will I.”

  Morgan brought one of her hands up and took hold of Vere’s collar. A couple of years earlier, Vere would have smacked the hand away, letting the gesture derail the discussion and prompting another fight to break out. Now, she merely looked down at the fistful of cloth and shrugged.

  “Start making sense,” Morgan growled. “I swear, make sense or I’m going to knock some sense into you.”

  “It wouldn’t work if I was at the table. Like you said, no room full of rulers would be able to agree on anything. They would each have their own ambitions and agendas. It can only work if you find someone ordinary, someone who doesn’t care about territories or colonies or taking as much power as they can. Those are the people who will represent each kingdom at the round table.”

  Morgan sighed and let go of Vere’s jacket. She looked for someone else to say something, but no one would. Instead, she saw groups of people gathered, each waiting for their chance to greet Vere, but all of them sensing that they shouldn’t interrupt whatever discussion was taking place.

  “The CasterLan Kingdom will be ruled by a bunch of farmers and blacksmiths from all around the galaxy—is that what you’re telling me?” Morgan asked, trying to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

  “I can’t think of anyone better,” Vere said. “They would certainly do a better job of leading than I did, or Mowbray, or any of the other rulers.” When Morgan started to protest, Vere added, “But only the rulers who agree to step down will have a representative at the round table. And they aren’t going to be presiding over just the CasterLan Kingdom, but every kingdom that has a seat at the round table.”

  “Vere, why would any ruler voluntarily step down and give up their kingdom?”

  “I am,” Vere said with a smile, certain that it was a matter of time until Morgan shared her vision.

  Instead, Morgan shook her head. “Let me rephrase that. Why would any sane ruler step down and give up their kingdom?”

  “They won’t have a choice,” Vere said. “As soon as their citizens see a kingdom led by the people, not by someone who never should have been their ruler in the first place, they’ll start to see that they should be living in that same sort of kingdom. They’ll become restless. They’ll demand change. Each time another kingdom is disbanded and has a seat at the round table, the subjects in every other kingdom will want the same thing. All around the galaxy, people will see what’s happening and they’ll demand a change. Eventually, the entire galaxy will be free of rulers and will be led by the common voice of people who simply want to live in peace. That’s why I’m giving up the CasterLan Kingdom—for peace.”

  A table without someone at the head. A table large enough for every kingdom to have a seat. It was the answer to all of the galaxy’s suffering.

  The longer she had pushed the wheel, the longer she had spoken with Mortimous and went through every possible shortcoming of the round table, the clearer the solution had become. Not only was it the right idea, b
ut she was sure that if she had encountered it two years earlier, she might have saved herself from the Cauldrons of Dagda. She might have saved her fleet from being decimated and even saved her kingdom from defeat. Her mother and Mortimous had been right all along; it wasn’t the Excalibur Armada that would defeat Mowbray, it was the round table.

  More throngs of supporters found Vere and encircled her. Everyone that was within hand’s reach touched Vere’s shoulders, arms, even her face.

  “You’re back,” one said.

  “I never thought I’d see you again,” another said.

  Too many voices to tell apart. Too many well-wishes to hear them all.

  And yet Morgan still wouldn’t let go of Vere’s jacket.

  A hush came over the crowd, with the group moving apart so someone could make their way closer to Vere. An incredibly muscular man, his torso on top a disc of energy where his hips would have been if he had legs.

  “Hector,” Vere said, smiling.

  At an early age, Hector had been on a path to becoming one of the CasterLan Kingdom’s most celebrated generals. There was nothing he couldn’t do in war. Yet, even he had lost half of his soldiers in battle, along with his legs. He had come to realize the wars he had fought were never necessary, were only started by flawed leaders seeking fame and prestige by sending other people to fight on their behalf. After refusing replacement android legs, he had also declined to fight in any more wars.

  He was here now, however, and his eyes were wide with astonishment at the things Vere had done.

  “It’s an incredible thing,” Hector said. “Your message worked. Gerchin the Suspicious, Kaiser Doom, Lord Plonnenst—they’re all on their way. And many, many more.”

  “Their fleets?” she asked.

  Hector nodded. “Yes. Ten so far. More sending communications every hour to say they’ll join your cause. I can’t believe it. Mowbray would be foolish to face them.”

  Morgan finally released her grip to allow Vere to leave.

  Instead of walking away, Vere put a hand on her friend’s shoulder and said, “Well then, I say we get out of these asteroids and go home. What do you think?”