by Shae Mills
The young woman’s wild eyes widened as they focused on Chelan.
Chelan looked at her closely. If she were an Earth woman, Chelan would have pegged her to be in her early twenties. She had high cheekbones and beautiful almond-shaped eyes, a bright golden brown in color. She was simply stunning.
Chelan reached for Korba’s arm, exerting light pressure on him and forcing him to lower the knife. Then she spoke to the trembling woman, softly. “Someone like us has taught you about the Empire, right?”
Korba’s head snapped around, but Chelan ignored him. “Who do you know that is like us?”
The young woman shook her head. “I cannot reveal.”
Chelan nodded and then signed to the warrior holding the woman to release her. The warrior looked to Korba, and Korba nodded. The warrior released the woman and stepped back.
The woman seemed confused by the maneuver, but the color began to return to her cheeks.
Chelan spoke. “We have not come to harm any of your people. We are here to deal with the Troke, and them alone.”
The woman looked about the clearing at all the mounted warriors. “I saw the fighters in the sky earlier. I...I knew something was happening. But I was out here alone. I had to hide.”
Chelan smiled. She decided to engage in nonthreatening conversation. She needed to make the woman at ease, if that was indeed possible. “Hiding was wise. But if your home is not far from here, why did you not make a run for it?”
“It is not that far, but I did not want to risk being caught. I knew not your purpose. Nor did I want to lead... I...”
Chelan simply smiled again, keeping her voice warm. “Others like you are foraging?”
“Yes, most of us, and hunting for the dark times.”
Chelan sensed Korba stiffen, and Chelan knew why. “You have weapons?”
“A few. Knives and spears mostly.”
Chelan hesitated, hoping Korba remained contained. “Mostly? May I ask what else?”
The woman went deathly still.
Chelan studied her closely. “The other weapons your people possess, did the person or persons who told you of the Empire supply you with them?”
The young woman began to tremble once again.
Chelan stepped a little closer, and this time Korba did react. “No closer, my Lady, or we will have to bind her.”
The woman swayed unsteadily, looking like she was about to collapse. Her eyes snapped to Korba, then she turned and instantly tried to flee. The warrior behind her reacted with viperlike reflexes, seizing her roughly. He struggled with her as Korba grabbed Chelan and drew her in behind him.
“No!” wailed the woman. “Let me go!”
Chelan peeked around her mate. “Please! We will not hurt you. Just tell us who this person is.”
“Noooo... You cannot take him from me!”
Chelan felt a chill ripple over her body. The woman’s level of despair coupled with the potential ramifications of the conversation caused her heart to take off. The implications hit her like a strong gust of wind, and she swayed, clutching onto Korba to steady herself.
The warrior locked the woman’s arms behind her and bound her to stillness as he cinched his arm about her chest.
With her safely subdued, Chelan shored herself and stepped away from Korba. Her excitement was barely containable. “You know an Iceanean warrior,” she stated confidently. “That is how you know us, and how you come to know our language. Someone taught you.”
The woman was sobbing. “Please, do not take him away! He said you might come one day.”
Korba was momentarily rendered off-balance by what his mate was suggesting. He spoke, trying hard to moderate his tone. “Who is this warrior you speak of?”
The woman peered at him through tear-soaked eyes. “He is my husband. Please do not take him from me. I cannot live without him.”
Chelan stepped forward and touched her quaking shoulder. “We will not take him from you. But you must tell us who he is.”
The woman was now crying uncontrollably, unable to answer, and Chelan looked up at Korba. “Why would one of ours come here?”
Korba paused. “He may not even be one of ours. He could be one of Talon’s.”
The woman shook her head. “No...,” she moaned sorrowfully. “He crashed here escaping Talon. He is one of yours.”
Korba and Chelan stared at her, both of them riddled with adrenalin. Chelan had to wet her dry throat so that she could speak again. “Tell us his name, please. We will not take him. We have billions of warriors that have taken his place. We have no need of him.”
Chelan waited for her reassurances to take effect on the woman, but it all seemed for naught. She decided to try a different approach. “I am the Lady Chelan, and this is his Majesty, the Lord God Emperor, Korba. You have our word: we will not take him. We just want to speak with him.”
The woman nearly crumpled to the ground, and the man holding her was forced to support her completely.
She sobbed again... her voice but a whimper. “His name is Droth. Droth Los.”
Chelan’s eyes skated to Korba’s. “That is not an Iceanean name.”
But Korba was mute. Chelan faced her mate directly, her heart suddenly banging in her ears. “What is it? Who is Droth Los?”
Korba finally looked down at Chelan. “It is from an old Iceanean dialect no longer spoken.”
Chelan reached for him, touching him almost tentatively. “What does it mean?”
Korba looked to the woman, and stared into her frightened eyes. “It means, ‘love forever lost.’”
Chelan rocked on her feet and then swiveled back around to look at the woman. “Please. You must take us to your husband.”
The woman shook her head, trying desperately to reach for Chelan, but the warrior held her fast. “Please... He hunts. He hunts for all of us. He has the only good weapons we possess. And he protects us from the Troke...” And more tears fell.
Chelan nodded, her heart going to the woman. “I more than understand. And I told you that you have our word that we will not take him from you. But you must take us to him. If nothing else, we can supply him and your people with more weapons.”
Much to Chelan’s surprise, the woman cried out, and this time as her knees gave way completely, the warrior letting her slump to the ground. “Nooo... You are the Emperor and Empress. He speaks of you both all the time. If he knows you are here, he will leave with you.”
Korba finally crouched down beside the convulsing woman. “He already knows we are here. As of this morning, he knows the fighters and to which Empire they belong. You need to take us to him before he goes into the city looking for us. If he has been protecting you from the Troke, they must know him, and he could be a wanted man. You cannot chance that he will run into any of them that we may have missed.”
Chelan knew that no warrior of the Empire would fall to the Troke, especially with the Empire holding most if not all of them hostage for the time being. But this woman did not know that.
The young woman looked up at Korba through red, swollen eyes, and she became frantic. “Oh no!” she cried. “Please, that must not happen!” And she lurched for Korba, falling as she stumbled into him.
Korba caught her and pulled her to her feet. “I am going to put you with a warrior on a Centurion, and you will direct us to your camp.” Then Korba signed, and one mounted warrior came forward. Korba lifted the woman effortlessly into the arms of the warrior, who seated her in front of him. Korba signed again and Shabizar came forward and knelt for Chelan. Korba helped her and then swung onto Zar. “Tannis! Report.”
“Yes, my Lord. The rest of the patrol is about one kilometer due south.”
Korba nodded and then looked to the woman. “Your name?”
She swallowed a sob and then managed to clear her throat. “Annya,” she said shyly.
“Annya, which way is home?”
“To the east,” and she pointed.
Korba looked about him. “Tann
is, I want fighters overhead for the duration.”
“Done, my Lord.” And within moments, hundreds of ebony fighters hovered above them and just beyond.
Annya looked up, her bloodshot eyes now as wide as could be.
Korba pulled his hood over his head, and instantly, they were off at a gallop.
KORBA LISTENED TO INCOMING reports from his fighters as they approached their target area. Finally, coming to a stop on the outskirt of what appeared to be a fairly large encampment, he and his warriors scrutinized the scene. Goods and provisions were stacked around in strategic locations. Primitive shelters mostly made out of rocks, some made out of logs and bound together like lean-tos, pockmarked the land. The air was acrid with the scent of stale smoke.
Korba scanned the area once more and then nodded to Annya. “Where is everyone?”
“Most will be out foraging like me. The rest will be hiding. The fighters frightened us all.”
Korba signed, and his warriors advanced. Once in position right on the periphery of the camp, they stopped.
Korba glanced at a sensor. Then he peered up at the closest fighters and read the cyphers. Finally, he stared at Annya. “Summon those who are here.”
Annya looked about nervously, and then called out in her native tongue. After a few anxious moments, heads poked up from around various structures.
Korba signed to the warrior who was restraining Annya. The man dismounted and then reached for her, helping her off the Centurion. Korba looked down at her. “The whole area is covered by my forces. Go to your people and tell them we mean them no harm. But also warn them to leave any weapons they may have behind.”
Annya nodded and then scurried off. Korba watched carefully as several people came running out to her, hugging her while keeping a wary eye on the wall of warriors surrounding them. Finally, Annya turned to Korba and beckoned.
Korba glanced up, confirming that his front line of airborne fighters now had Annya and her people in their sights. When all were targeted, only then did he, Chelan, and his main men approach. Once in front of the people, about forty in all, both sides silently studied one another. Finally, an elderly man stepped forward, and bowed to Korba.
“My name is Flek,” he said in passable Iceanean. “I am the leader here.”
Korba and Chelan withdrew their hoods, and Korba spoke. “I am sorry to intrude upon your people. We are not your enemy.”
Flek nodded. “You are the people of Droth?”
“We are, and we wish to speak with him.”
Flek glanced at Annya before looking back at Korba. “Droth keeps us safe from the Troke. He is my daughter’s husband.”
“We understand. We have no issue with him. We merely wish to meet and to speak with him.”
Flek looked unconvinced. “He came to us long ago, crashed here after some great war he spoke of. Annya nursed him to health. He provides for us. We cannot lose him.”
Chelan and Korba glanced at one another. Then Korba swung a leg over Zar and dropped to the ground. “We are here to deal with the Troke. We, the Empire, are taking over your planet and all those around you. Very shortly, the Troke will be no more.”
A frantic murmur went through the masses, and a brave few edged closer, even some women with their children clinging to them. Chelan straightened on Shabby’s back, noting that many of the people were smiling at the news. Suddenly she felt proud. Even though Korba was here to take over a whole planetary system, inadvertently he had just liberated these people, and undoubtedly thousands more just like them all over the planet.
Korba stepped over to Shabizar and reached for Chelan, helping her down. Then he signed, and most of the mounted men dispersed into the surrounding trees. Yanis and a few of the officers remained where they were, on the Centurions, lazguns hidden but at the ready.
Korba spoke. “Tannis. Report.”
“The contingent headed to the main city has halted where they are for now and await your orders. All clear thus far. The Troke are still sequestered and the city is being swept continuously. No resistance to report.”
Korba nodded. “Laden oversaw the containment of the Troke. Tell him I want his report, adhering to communication silence.”
Tannis hit a few buttons, and suddenly a distant fighter wove its way toward them. Once in position, it hovered just above the crowd of people, causing a few of them to cringe. Flek looked up in awe.
The fighter faced Korba and the cyphers were relayed, the lights along the wing edges flashing. Korba nodded and gave a hand signal. The fighter rose back to its position, soundlessly.
Korba addressed Flek. “My mate and I would like to converse with you and your people while we await Droth’s return.”
Flek nodded. “You are more than welcome. Droth often hunts in the Far Lands. I am sure he is on his way back. He would have begun the moment he saw the fighters. But the Far Lands are exactly that.”
Korba took Chelan by the hand and then approached the group. Suddenly, en masse, they all bowed, taking both Korba and Chelan by surprise.
Flek looked up, his old eyes bright. “Droth has told us much over the years. We have heard your names many times. You honor us by visiting, just as Droth honored us by staying.”
Korba’s lips thinned. “You said he crashed here. I suspect, then, he could not have left?”
Flek smiled. “That is so true, but he could have joined the Troke and lived in much better conditions.”
Chelan glanced at Annya. “I bet there was a woman here who snared his heart, and that is one of the reasons he stayed.”
Annya actually blushed. Then she looked at Chelan shyly. “I found him on one of my forays. He was badly injured. We all helped him to recover. At first he was determined to leave the planet, but I am afraid there was no way for him to do so without enlisting the help of the Troke.”
Korba nodded at her. “Why did he not do that? I am sure he could have procured their help without living among them.”
Annya’s voice was soft. “During his long recovery, we taught him much about our two cultures. And during that time, when he was weak, we kept him hidden and protected from the Leatherin.”
“The Leatherin?” Chelan questioned.
Flek spoke. “In our language, the Leatherin are those who forged alien liaisons with the Troke.”
Korba’s eyes narrowed. “Talon,” he whispered.
Flek nodded. “Yes. A man named Talon was their leader.”
Suddenly, fighters moved and warriors bristled. Korba twisted around, protecting Chelan by casting her behind him as he swung the large lazgun out from under his shroud.
Korba instantly spotted the man on the ridge, dressed like all the other people, shrouded in animal pelts, hood drawn. Korba knew immediately, by his size alone, that this was Droth.
The man began cascading down the hillside at an alarming pace just as Annya broke into a sprint toward him. Centurions charged forth but Korba yelled out, halting his men’s advance. “Let him through!” he bellowed. Then his eyes narrowed as he followed his quarry’s movements. Korba’s breath caught. This was no ordinary Iceanean warrior.
Droth scooped Annya up, and they embraced for the longest time before he finally let her feet touch the soil. He then took her by the hand and approached Korba cautiously. When he was within meters of the Warlord, he stopped and hugged Annya tight into his side. Everyone was as still as statues.
Chelan finally peeked out from behind Korba, the Emperor still holding her back as he scrutinized the man before him. Then, slowly, Annya’s husband pulled back his hood.
Korba almost lost his grip on his gun. Yanis bolted off his Centurion, dropping to his feet, where he froze. Chelan had to grab Korba in order to remain upright. “Oh my god,” she whispered, and her eyes flooded.
Chapter 31
FREMMA NODDED TO THEM. “My Lord. My Lady. You bloody well took your time getting here. Years, in fact.”
Korba was still too stunned to move, and Chelan was equally incapacitat
ed. But Yanis lurched forward and tackled the man. Annya jumped out of the way with a shriek just as the two leviathans fell to the ground in a tangled heap. They both rolled and Yanis ended up on top of Fremma, pinning him.
“You bastard!” Yanis yelled. “I told you not to go after those fighters! I told you to stay with me!”
“There was no way I was bugging out of there without taking those men out!”
“There were too bloody many of them. What the hell was wrong with you?!”
“For your information, I got them all! It just took longer than I expected.”
“I could not track you. There was chaos everywhere.”
“Well, as it turned out, I did not need your help. I managed quite well on my own.”
Yanis grabbed him by the front of his cloak, raised him up and then slammed him back down to the ground. “Quite well?” he shouted. “You ended up shot, crashed on this fucking planet, and lost to us all for years! How is that doing well?”
Fremma laughed. “I am still alive, aren’t I?”
Yanis sprang to his feet. “I should beat you to within an centimeter of your life right now! Do you know how long I have harbored the guilt of your death?”
Fremma pushed to his feet, his smile leaving him. “For that, I am truly sorry, my friend. I thought we were both dead no matter what, so I wanted as many of Talon’s men to go down with me as possible.”
Agitated, Yanis walked in a tight circle and then stopped in front of Fremma again. “How the hell did you end up here, of all places?”
“Those troops were originally on their way here to escort shipments of Zenatropium, a mineral mined on this planet, back to processing areas. I followed them to this system, and in one of our final skirmishes, I was shot down and crashed here. At the time, I had no idea why they were headed here or why Talon was so interested in this material. It was only after I recovered that I learned all. But then I had no way to get back to the Empire. Anyway, I assume the mineral is the reason you are here also?”
Yanis grabbed Fremma and hugged him tight, slapping him on the back several times. “Yes, and thank the stars we found you, my man. Thank the stars.”