It had to be, Garryn thought.
Anything else was too monstrous to imagine.
* * *
After the session was over, only Garryn and Kalistar remained with Jonen when the other Dreamers left. It had been a long day and the scope of the dreams had become too much for some to bear. Nikela's version was the worst of all and affected Garryn more than he cared to admit. He wondered just how many New Citizens were Dreamers without knowing it.
In the meantime, Kalistar was inducted into the conspiracy resulting in Mira's murder. Garryn saw no harm including her, since it was her own father investigating the matter. Understandably, Kalistar was shocked. Like the others in the session, she attributed the presence of guards to Garryn's presence among them, not Jonen's protection.
“So you went to my father about this?” This surprised Kalistar, since the relationship between the two was never warm.
“You have to admit, if anyone knows how to root out a conspiracy, it's him. I take it he doesn't know you're seeing Jonen?”
“I thought of telling him, but you know the attitude towards mentalists.” She shrugged, casting a sheepish glance of apology at Jonen.
“I do,” Jonen dismissed her needless apology with a wave of his hand.
The study of mental health was a relatively new science on Brysdyn. The demand had arisen during the Scourge when the population, devastated by the loss of so many loved ones and facing life without children, needed to cope. Since then, the field had grown considerably but, to many of the old guard, it was still viewed as enabling the weak.
“At some point I will have to tell him about this group. I'm sure he suspects that I'm your patient, but to help us, I think he needs to understand the scope of the problem,” Garryn explained to Jonen.
“I believe you may be right,” Jonen conceded the point, handing Garryn his data table. “Without access to the official records, I've gone as far as I can with my own investigations.”
“What have you found so far?” Garryn's fingers flew over the screen to peruse the data Jonen had gathered.
“Well, as far as I can tell, until we actually received the distress signal, there was never any evidence of Cathomira's planets being populated.”
“That's right,” Kalistar agreed, recalling her studies at school. “Life on Cathomira was a surprise to the scientific community. They were certain the environment was too hostile for human life to evolve there naturally.
“That can't be right,” Garryn pointed out. “Look at the diversity of the population. The variances are just like ours. It can't be just one baking dust ball if it produced that much variation.”
“Has anyone been to Cathomira since the rescue?” Jonen inquired. As a mentalist, astrophysics and space exploration was not something of which he kept abreast. Until the Dreamers, Jonen had little reason to think about the place at all.
“No,” Garryn replied despite the fact the Imperial Fleet was shifting its focus towards exploration, like the Jynes. With peaceful co-existence, the Imperial Fleet was finding new purpose by exploring uncharted areas of space. For the first time, they were expanding the Empire through means other than conquest. “It's not surprising, though. The planet's under quarantine.”
“I wish we knew more about this biological weapon they unleashed. Even if it wasn't fatal to you, it could have produced unforseen side effects. Your dreams might be a result of that. Unfortunately, there is no medical data on the Cathomiran virus.”
“Why can't we send someone there?” Kalistar asked.
“Now that's an idea. I do have the authority to launch a mission like this.”
“I know colleagues who would love the opportunity to examine the Cathomiran virus,” Jonen added. “Of course, the Healers Circle would never allow samples of the virus to be brought back to Brysdyn, so we could conduct our research within the system and then destroy the samples before returning home to minimize contamination. There would be no need to put the Empire at risk.”
“Perhaps you can study the planet itself as well. There are still a lot of grey areas regarding Cathomira. It would be good to clear them up.”
“Do you think you can arrange this?” Kalistar asked.
“I don't see why not. I'm supposed to be the Prime, I might as well see what I can do with the title.”
XI
Expedition
Organising an expedition to Cathomira was no small matter.
Garryn quickly learned it took more than a title to navigate the maze of bureaucracy required to make such a thing happen. The more inquiries he made, the more convinced he became he was ill-equipped to handle any of it. In the end, he appealed to his father for help and the Imperator's advice was to get himself an aide familiar with the political terrain of Brysdyn.
For Garryn, there was only one man who would do.
Benaris was the agricultural heart of Brysdyn. It provided the bulk of the planet's sorghum food supplies and existed in vast, neatly sectioned plantations. Most of these were government-owned, although some nobles and wealthier Brysdynians invested in parcels of land for retirement purpose once they were done with life at court. Ashner, whom Garryn was journeying to see, was neither wealthy nor an aristocrat.
Ashner was a Jyne. He was tutor to the young Aisha before her marriage to the Imperator and had joined her in Brysdyn as her aide. When Garryn and Elisha were children, he took on the role of tutor and both the royal children adored him. Until Aisha's death less than two years ago, Ashner was her constant companion and friend. It was Iran who awarded Ashner with an estate in Benaris in gratitude for a lifetime of service and friendship.
The trip from Paralyte took less than an hour in Garryn's private ship. He set out early and was cruising through the warm skies of Benaris by midmorning. The climate was less humid in comparison to Paralyte, edging closer to a hot savannah. Even though the environmental controls of his ship kept the dry heat out, Garryn felt the drain of moisture from the prickling in his skin.
As he approached Serafia, the fanciful name Ashner gave his estate, he had already crossed over hundreds of acres of lusty green fields and rolling hills. Serafia was not as lavish as some of the other aristocratic residences in the area, but it had its own elegant charm. There was a moderate sized manor house Ashner had decided to renovate instead of demolish and a good sized lake where Garryn and the old man occasionally fished. The more recent addition to the place was a small flight pad where Ashner's small T25 Runner transport was docked.
“Garryn!”
Garryn had wanted to surprise the man with his visit and hadn't announced himself until the very last moment.
“Hello, old man.” Garryn embraced Ashner warmly. “How is life in the provinces?”
“Perfectly quiet,” Ashner replied as they both began walking towards the house.
Ashner was well into his seventies now, with a full head of white hair worn close to his scalp and a neatly trimmed beard of the same. He was a tall man once, but the slight stoop in his shoulders made him shorter than Garryn. His clothes were remarkably casual for a man who was once a resident of the Domicile, but Garryn was unsurprised by Ashner going native.
“And you hate it,” Garryn retorted.
“Desperately so,” Ashner laughed.
They spoke of family and court gossip as they walked to the house. Garryn noticed the gardens had undergone changes since his last visit. Under the occupancy of the previous owners the gardens were sculptured perfection with manicured lawns and fashionable shrubs and flowers. Now most of it was torn out and replaced with farrowed rows of cabbages and other vegetables. There was even livestock roaming the paddocks around the lake, grazing in contentment in the afternoon sun.
Garryn could not help thinking this place was in severe need of children and a family. Not that he voiced that observation. Ashner was no lover of women and his preferences for young men had long since passed. Both men retreated into the house of provincial design and decor. Most of the walls were covered
with full bookshelves, as was to be expected of the man Garryn always knew to be a scholar. His library consisted of text from all over the galaxy.
While Ashner's housekeeper, Dian, fetched them something cool to drink, both men settled down to talk in the sunroom. Wide windows and light coloured paint gave the room a feeling of perceptual warmth. It also gave a wonderful view of Serafia's pastoral life and its lake. Garryn felt more at ease at this place than he had at any other since returning home.
“So, how does it feel on the eve of becoming Prime?” Ashner asked as he studied Garryn in the opposite armchair.
“I still have five days,” Garryn countered petulantly.
“Five days or weeks, does it matter? The inauguration is coming. You will soon be Prime.”
“A Prime who is in dire need of an aide,” Garryn declared, using Ashner's question as the perfect segue into his reason for coming here.
“And here I thought it was your sentimental need to see your old teacher that led you to come all this way to see me.”
“That too, but mostly because I need you in the same way my mother did.”
“I did teach you well.” Ashner smiled with approval at the play on his sentiments. “Hitting the old man where it hurts? Bravo my boy, I couldn't have done better myself.”
His playful tone subsided after a moment as his expression saddened. “Your mother was like my child, you know. It gave me so much pleasure to be a part of her life and then, later, a part of yours and your sister's. It wasn't right she should die before me.”
“The Scourge's claws were sharp. Father told me she never recovered the way she should have, always pushing herself harder than anyone else.”
“Your mother was a remarkable woman and your father adored her. Perhaps to his fault, he could never say it to her.”
That was true, Garryn decided. Iran did love her deeply. Many at court could never fathom how two people from such different worlds could have so successful a marriage. Aisha was the daughter of the Jyne Chancellor, and Iran the Imperator of Brysdyn. One cool and civilised, the other fiery and aggressive. They complimented each other and, even now, Garryn could see how incomplete his father felt without her.
Getting back on point, Garryn continued to make his case. “Ashner, I need you even if it's for a while. I have some things I need resolving quickly and I don't have the political experience to weave through the bureaucracy to get it done. I need someone who knows the terrain better than I do.”
“I see,” the older man's expression hardened into the astute political animal of reputation. “What sort of things?”
“I need to launch a scientific expedition to Cathomira.”
Ashner's surprise showed in his eyes. “For what purpose?”
Without hesitation, Garryn revealed the nightmares leading him to the Dreamers and the conspiracy stumbled upon by Jonen. Ashner listened quietly, offering no judgement until Garryn had related the entire story. When he'd finished, Ashner took a deep breath and both men remained quiet for a few minutes.
“Going to Edwen may not be the wisest thing you could have done.”
“Excuse me?” Garryn had not expected that.
“Perhaps it is my paranoia,” Ashner replied, leaning closer, all trace of mischief in his eyes disappearing for something edged and dark. “I have found over the years dealing with Edwen is like making a pact with the Dark One. I would not be too quick to trust him. He has a tendency to use a situation to meet his own agenda and put you in a vulnerable position.”
Garryn's stomach hollowed at the idea he might have compromised himself by involving the Security Elite. “But Edwen agreed to help. He said he would help me find out the truth.”
Ashner's scepticism showed. “Perhaps he will do that, but he will also use what he needs to gain the support of the Imperator, to ensure the survival of his Security Elite.”
Garryn was aware of Ashner's opinion of Edwen and his Security Elite. Edwen could never stomach the idea of the Imperator's wife being a 'foreigner'. He cared just as little for her aide and anything Jyne. As much as he loved Ashner, Garryn could not ignore the possibility that his teacher's opinion might bear some prejudice, but he could not ignore it either.
“If I don't go to Edwen, then to whom do I go?”
Ashner frowned, seeing Garryn's dilemma. “Does he know his daughter suffers from this Dreaming disease?”
“No, Kalistar didn't dare tell him. You know how the old guard feel about mental illness.”
Ashner knew only too well, because he knew Edwen. “It would be advisable if she didn't tell him. You are correct in believing Edwen would be the one to find out if there is a conspiracy afoot, but it may be information he will use to his advantage.”
“Edwen has men protecting Jonen. I believe that his eagerness to help me is to save his own skin. He knows how I feel about the Security Elite.”
“Perhaps you're right but, remember, the General is no fool. He will not allow any suspicion to fall on his precious institution if the mentalist should die.”
“So what do I do? The information about Cathomira is scarce. We don't know whether what's happening to us is an actual brain disorder or a shared experience. You were at court when we were brought to the Empire. Was there anything unusual about it?”
Ashner did not immediately answer, giving the matter some deep thought first. “The existence of life on Cathomira was always a shock to us. We didn't believe it possible. The red sun should have killed any chance of that, but we did receive a distress signal and, after that, it all happened very fast.”
“Who received it?” Garryn questioned.
“It came from one of the relay stations on the Imperial perimeter. Tasys, if I remember correctly. By the time the news of the distress signal reached us on home world, the rescue ships were already despatched.”
“The Imperial Navy, you mean,” Garryn finished.
“No, the navy was fragmentary. You must remember, Garryn, one-third of the Empire died during the Scourge. What remained of the navy protected the main space lanes from bandits and pirates. All our mineral deposits and commodities were vulnerable, because we lacked the manpower to protect them. The Imperial fleet couldn't be spared to make the journey to Cathomira.”
“So who came to get us?”
“The Security Elite, of course.”
* * *
When Garryn returned to Paralyte, Ashner went with him.
The old tutor made it very clear the appointment was temporary. He would remain long enough to help Garryn solve his current mystery, then return to his provincial life. As much as Ashner hated the quiet, he had also become accustomed to it in his old age.
At first, Garryn thought Ashner's suspicions about Edwen to be the venom of an old man for a hated enemy, but the more he thought about it, the more logical it became. Edwen's power was second only to the Imperator and his house.
Edwen knew more dirty secrets and unexposed scandals than anyone else in the Empire. Throughout the years, he'd fortified the Security Elite with a buffer of protection built on intimidation and fear. Garryn was certain little occurred in the Empire without Edwen's notice. With Garryn's rise to the position of Prime, Edwen would be foolish not to exploit any vulnerability in order to survive.
Ashner returned to the Domicile and set to work immediately, assembling Garryn's expedition without direct involvement of the Imperator or the Elite. In the meantime, Garryn continued his consultation with Edwen and the investigation. As Ashner predicted, the General did not report anything of value. Meanwhile, Garryn continued to see Kalistar, who gave him some insights into the General, even if it did set the court abuzz with rumours of their relationship.
While Garryn found this innuendo irritating, it did serve a purpose. Despite the rumours, he confessed his affections for Kalistar were strong, though he worried he might be doing her an injustice. At a time when his life was about to change irrevocably, she was one of its bright spots. She was a beautiful woman, but t
here was kindness in her he found comforting. It was also good to have a friend who understood what he was going through with the Dreaming.
“So your new aide managed to secure a science ship from the navy?” she asked during dinner at the Domicile.
“Yes, apparently our scientific community is thrilled at the prospect of going to Cathomira for research.”
Garryn explained how amenable the Minister for Scientific Research was to the idea after Ashner spoke to him about it. The scientific world had grown in prominence since the Scourge, but not even its power could overcome the Healers Circle's paranoia at the study of virology. With their very considerable influence, they had always quashed any request to study Cathomira's virus but, this time, with the office of the Prime driving the demand, they were unable to refuse.
“All it took after that was a whisper to the right people of my gratitude for their cooperation.”
“So you didn't really promise them anything,” Kalistar found it amusing to see how Garryn wielded his newfound power.
“No I didn't,” he took a sip of his wine.
“So when do they leave?”
“Shortly after the inauguration. I'd prefer it sooner, but you know what the festivities are going to be like.” A grimace stole across his face like an automated reflex. “Nobody wants to miss any of it.”
“What does happen?”
“Let's see.” He eased back into his chair and gazed at the lights beyond the balcony. For once, Feroz did not object when Garryn suggested their dinner be served here. The view of the balcony from the city was certainly worth the effort. “There's a circus in front of the Quorum in the morning. Everything from fire swallowers to the acrobats of Tayto, complete with performing Sayleen dragons and the Lords only know what else. Some of the vendors at Kirkaris will be moving their stalls to Quorum Hill for the day.”
“Where will you be?”
“Hopefully stowed away on a freighter with Borellian stock horses on its way to Jyne.”
Garryn was not entirely joking.
Children of the White Star Page 10