“So, what does that mean, P’tah!”
“It means I don’t know what you are becoming, Diem, but I am sure that you are changing and I’m not sure what you are becoming,” P’tah said, scratching her head.
“What do I do?”
“Nothing. In fact, don’t tell anybody. Keep this a secret. Let people keep underestimating you. Especially the Crown.”
“Why?”
“As long as you are a political tool and not a legitimate military threat, the Queen is likely to favor you. When it comes to the Crown, the Queen is the real power.”
“Got it. Anything else I should know?”
“Lots. I compiled a reading list for you, but I could skip that step and download it into your slumber lessons,” she said, holding up data stick.
“You’re not funny, P’tah. Give me the damned reading list,” I said.
She handed me a separate tablet, and I sat down to work. Main meal was only a few risings away, and I couldn’t afford to waste a minute. We would be arriving on Troiken in two cycles, and I needed to be ready.
I never had any interest in history on Earth. The political intrigue of years gone by bored me to tears back then, but as I read over the last century of Troiken politics, I became engrossed. I began to see how the breeding programs that they implemented helped to create the tension between the Crown and the Council. I also began to see how the careful system of checks and balances was fraying at the edges, with both sides looking for any advantage.
It was like a watching a car crash. It seemed like the only way to maintain peace and order within the empire was to expand it constantly. If the Troitek had an external enemy to conquer they were able to subdue any internal strife. But, expansion for the sake of expansion was a hollow goal, and the people were beginning to see through the ruse. They were restless.
Not only that, but the inequalities created by predictive genetic testing and decentralized families were beginning to create a class of people who had little to lose from the collapse of the present system. In short, Troiken was on the verge of civil war. Was it any wonder that Rakesh and I attracted so much attention?
As the pieces fell into place, I began to get a knot in my stomach. I was really in over my head. Rakesh was right to call me ignorant and foolish. One wrong word could set off a powder keg with shockwaves throughout the entire empire.
I was longing for the days of military balls, and cheap pizza slices as the comm panel buzzed, and Puva’s voice boomed through.
“It is time for main meal; Sava, will you be joining us?”
“Sure thing, I’ll be right there,” I said.
I stood up and stretched my stiff muscles.
“How does she always know where I am?”
“You are tagged. The ship’s sensors can locate you even if you are on the surface of a planet. It’s a security protocol,” P’tah explained.
“Are you coming with me? I am supposed to be explaining the joys and delights of human love and sex to the crew?”
She looked up quickly and then tried to suppress the excitement in her face.
“I’m sure they will find it interesting,” she mumbled.
“Oh, don’t be like that. You know you want to know as well. Why don’t you come with me? It’ll give me a chance to heal the rift between us. Publically,” I pleaded, throwing an arm around her shoulders.
She cocked her head to the side, the way she always did when she was calculating in her head. Exasperated by her indecisiveness, I marched over to her, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her out of her seat.
“You can tell me all the reasons why you shouldn’t go after we get there,” I said, dragging her along behind me.
***
“You have to be brave and express your interest,” I said. It had been nearly two risings, and I was still asking questions.
Rakesh joined us, holding my hand and sitting nearly silent beside me. While most of the crew found Earth customs amusing, some, it seemed, was excited about the idea of love and sex.
“So, how do you know which offspring strong warriors or talented leaders will be?”
“You don’t,” I said. I could feel Rakesh tense up as he sat beside me. The young male couldn’t know just how sensitive his line of questioning was, but I couldn’t ignore them. He had a right to know.
“So then?”
“We educate all of the children similarly and allow them to differentiate themselves as they grow. It is a process of self-discovery that takes several years. Even then, many people change directions even after more than a decade,” I said.
A low murmur went around the room as the crew debated the oddities of human ways.
“All of the children?” Nedan spoke up.
“Yes, as best as you can,” I said, ignoring the fact that we were no less prone to punishing children for perceived inferiority than the Troitek.
A light shone out of his brown, too human eyes. Hope. Rakesh saw it too and tensed slightly before snorting.
“Highly inefficient.”
He didn’t mean it. But that didn’t matter. The light in Nedan’s eyes didn’t dim. And the story, I knew, would be carried through the ship and on to Troiken. This was the day that everything changed.
Chapter Thirteen
“The Council will be there to receive you. Try not to piss them off. Let the Commander do all of the talking,” Meck said, handing me a heavy cloak made of woven strings of metallic beads. The tiny dark beads caught the light and made a light tinkling sound as they swayed.
“Is this supposed to be this heavy?”
“It is a reminder of the primitive warrior costumes worn by our ancestors,” Meck said.
“Okay, but I’m not Troitek. Maybe wearing this is going a little too far to try and impress the Council. I mean, maybe I should go as I am.”
“They will look down on you,” Nedan said. He'd been leaning casually against the door the whole time, looking disgusted and uncomfortable in his dress uniform.
“That’s okay,” I smiled at him. “I want them to underestimate me. We see how well that worked out for L’rna.”
He gave me a wolfish smile and visibly relaxed.
“Give me my blades,” I said to Meck. He blanched, his eyes darting back and forth between Rakesh and me.
“B-but, you can’t. You just can’t,” he said in a high pitched voice.
Nedan walked over to where my blades were mounted on the wall and put them in the decorative scabbard that Rakesh had made for me. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a long string of the tiny metallic beads and wrapped them in an intricate knot around the hilt, sealing it into the sheath. He handed me the blades, and I strapped them to my back.
“Commander!” Meck looked horrified.
Rakesh looked at us all without saying anything. I watched the warring emotions in his eyes. My idea was tantamount to climbing into a rusty shark cage.
“Let her wear them,” he said, clapping Meck on the shoulder. “It won’t make much difference either way. She might as well be comfortable.”
Meck opened his mouth to protest, but the quick flash in red in Rakesh’s eyes warned him off. He looked at me and sighed, resigning himself to the situation.
Rakesh looked me over again, his eyes glowing this time. He smoothed over my hair and let the delicate strings of beads that P’tah gave me pass through his fingers. Ignoring the prying eyes, he dipped his head and licked the crook of my neck, an intimate act that made my skin get hot, and my face turns red.
“This will be fine,” he said in the strange timbre.
Apparently, he was unanimous in his decision. The presence of the Red Dragon was palpable. Meck and Detack both reacted to it, backing up slowly and making sure they were within arm’s reach of a weapon.
He turned his glowing eyes to Nedan, the only male in the room who wasn’t visibly shaken.
“Protect her,” they said.
“You have my word, Commander.” Nedan bowed slightly; his ey
es never left Rakesh’s face.
There it was again. Hope. Reverence. It was a little overwhelming to see it shining out of his face. I wondered if my people would look at me like that one day? Would they also look to me to make a new way out of the darkness of their life?
“It’s time, Commander,” Detack said, throwing his heavy cloak over his shoulder. Detack took the lead as we exited the ship. Rakesh followed closely behind. Meck, Nedan and I walked shoulder to shoulder behind them, with me sandwiched between the two males. I didn’t see Puva and P’tah, but I knew they were close.
We’d purposely waited until the crew disembarked before we left the ship. Whatever happened, we wanted as few people implicated as possible. As I stepped out of the lift and onto the planet, I was struck by how much it resembled the pictures I’d seen of mars.
In the distance, I could see jagged mountain ranges and dark shadows at the base. I wasn’t sure if they were settlements or vegetation, their form was so alien to me. A hot wind blew, catching the cloak that Meck, Rakesh, and Detack all wore slung over one shoulder and causing them to shimmer as they danced in the rose-colored sunlight. I couldn’t tell what time of day it was. The sky looked as though it were in a perpetual sunrise, or sunset. The brilliant oranges, pinks, and purples stacked one atop the other, ending in a dazzling red sun that hung ominously close to the ground.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, stumbling as I took my first steps on solid ground. For a moment it felt as though I could feel the planet’s rotation.
“P’tah said it would take you a little time to get used to the gravity here. The ship’s artificial gravity is a close approximation, but it’s not exact.” Meck spoke in hushed tones, as if he was afraid that we were being watched, even as we crossed the barren plain where the ship landed.
I kept my eyes open, longing to un-sheath my blades and keep them at the ready. I felt defenseless like this. The five of us walked in silence until I could make out waving banners in the distance.
“The Council. Pay attention, Sava. That is the Council’s sigil. Whenever you see it, you are in their domain,” Nedan hissed. His disgust for the Council dripped from every word.
Seven large figures made their way across the sands to meet us. They all dressed alike, in plain robes of deep burgundy. Around their waists, they wore a beaded belt. As they came closer, I realized that three of them were female, though they were careful not to emphasize the fact.
“The Council honors us by welcoming us back personally,” Rakesh began, raising his clasped fist to his chest and bowing slightly at the waist. The others followed suit. Only I remained standing.
“Is this the earth creature we have heard so much about?” the male ignored the others, his eyes trained on me. I met his gaze defiantly, determined not to be intimidated by him.
“This is the human, Diem,” Meck answered, standing slowly.
The other Council members all turned their attention on me, sizing me up.
“I expected… more, from the female responsible for my daughter’s death,” said the male.
I answered. “With all due respect, sir, the only female responsible for your daughter’s death is your daughter herself. But I suspect that that fact is not very comforting at this difficult time. I am sincerely sorry for your loss.”
The male bristled with indignation, his eyes becoming wild with malice. Oda and her sire both shrouded themselves in pride.
“I am sure that Councilor Shan appreciates your kind words,” said the female standing to his left.
“Yes, I appreciate you taking the time to learn our language. I couldn’t make heads or tails out of your planet’s sea of clicks and barks.”
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck begin to stand on end. I looked at Rakesh and saw that his body was unusually stiff. Looking up at the other Council members I could see that they were also watching, waiting for him to react to Councilor Shan’s provocations. It was a test. I couldn’t afford to fail.
“Humans have thousands of languages. Many of us speak several. It takes a bit of mental dexterity to function that way. You are so lucky here, on Troiken, to only have one simple language to master,” I said with a smile.
Councilor Shan looked as though he’d swallowed a bug.
“A unified system has its benefits,” said a third Council member, a male who was much older than the others. “You will have to excuse us for staring, Diem. We heard many things about you; we felt we needed to come and see it for ourselves.”
“I am just a human,” I said with a demure bow.
“Indeed. But, it would seem that is all that is necessary to set tongues to wagging and create quite a stir in the empire.”
“I apologize for any inconvenience that my presence has caused.”
“It speaks exceptionally well,” mumbled the second female.
“And you, Commander Rakesh, son of Lagosh of the house of Mo’adh. We have heard tales of your abilities,” the older male continued, silencing the others.
Rakesh did not attempt to reply.
“Well, get on with it boy. Show us this famous Red Dragon, if you can.”
I felt Mech and Nedan tense up beside me. Detack took two steps back, blocking Rakesh from my line of sight. I peeped around his shoulders and saw Rakesh remove his cloak and his uniform. His form shuddered for a moment, before his dragon form unfurled itself, emerging from beneath his skin.
The Council members jumped back, terror filling their gaze. Three of them drew blades from beneath their robes in response. Catching sight of the glinting metal in the red sunlight, Rakesh whirled on them, his great jaws threatening to end them all the same way they had devoured Oda and her ill-fated rebellion.
“No!” I lunged against Detack and Meck who formed a wall in front of me.
Hearing my voice, Rakesh lost focus and turned back to me. One of the Council members saw his opening and moved to strike at Rakesh.
“Are you mad!” The eldest Councilor rebuffed him, striking the blade-wielding male in the face before he had a chance to strike.
“Look at it. It’s magnificent,” said one of the females.
“Rakesh, I am here,” I said, reaching out to touch him. His giant, elongated form lumbered over to me and pressed his snout against my hand.
“These people aren’t going to harm me. Protect yourself,” I said, looking at Councilor Shan. He glared at me, but I didn’t care.
I looked back at Nedan, who was the only one of the five of us who seemed unsurprised by the Council’s behavior. He nodded slightly.
“Look at how it responds to the female. It appears that the rumors are true,” said the same, mesmerized, female.
I walked over to where Rakesh left his clothing and picked them up off of the ground.
“That’s enough,” I said.
Nedan walked over to me and held his cloak open. Detack and Meck did the same, forming a semi-circle. Rakesh, sensing my meaning, pulled his dragon form back into his humanoid body. The transformation was amazing every time I saw it, but here in this barren place, under the glow of a red sun, it seemed all the more magical.
“Wait! You said he could fly. Why didn’t he fly?” the last Council member whined.
I ignored the complaint and handed Rakesh his clothes. The boys stood like silent sentries, keeping a wary eye on the Council members as Rakesh dressed.
My fingers itched for my blades. I wanted to cut the smug smiles off of their faces and claw their cruel eyes out of their heads. The worst part was that I was almost sure I could accomplish it.
I could feel the adrenaline surging through my veins, and it flooded my limbs with a sense of strength and power. Rakesh approached the Council members again and fielded several questions. I didn’t hear any of it. It was my turn to size them up. I was pretty sure that they weren’t all armed. P’tah was right. I was changing, becoming something else. Not Troitek, but every day I was a little less of the human that I used to be.
After several minutes a color
guard came out to meet us. The proud, young warriors marched out in two straight lines, holding high a flag with the Troitek Empire insignia, waving in the purpling sky. Meck, Detack, and Nedan resumed their posts, walking with me sandwiched between them. Rakesh proceeded with his back straight, and his head held high. Only a slight change in his gait hinted at the effort he was making to keep his humanoid form.
We were escorted silently into a large hangar where three vehicles waited. Each of them bore the Empire’s flag.
“I am sure that you would like to freshen up before dining. Diem, I have arranged for a dwelling for you, here on the compound,” said the eldest Councilor.
“Councilor Braen, that is not necessary.” Rakesh stepped in front of the aging male.
“Of course it’s necessary. She is the only one of her species to visit Troiken. We must do everything in our power to ensure her well-being. And strange and outlandish tales have already begun to spread about her. How are we to ensure that none of our misguided Troitek cause her harm due to the silly rumors?”
Councilor Braen gave a sickening smile, his diseased looking gums adding to the ghoulish nature behind all his niceties.
“As you wish, Councilor,” Rakesh said, appearing to agree.
“Wonderful,” the older male clapped his hands. “Now, if you would be so kind as to embark.”
He gestured to the vehicle closest to him, but Rakesh turned around, grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the last vehicle with him. Nedan followed behind him, casting a dangerous look at the shocked old male. Councilor Shan gave a derisive snort and climbed into the vehicle at the head of the convoy.
It was obvious that they were trying to separate us. It was also obvious that Rakesh wouldn’t let that happen. For now, we all had to do things we didn’t want to do. I could only hope that my meeting with the crown would go more smoothly.
A Pet For The Commander: The Complete Series Page 18