His smile broadened. “Can you say that now?”
“Hardly. I’m surrounded by friends.”
“That’s a mark of your reign I hope will never go away.”
She smiled. “I don’t want to go back to the life that was. I cherish our friends.”
Krys squeezed Tarn’s hand. “Should we invite Governor Havlock to join us?”
He considered, then said, “All of them.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Ellie, Mike, and Seeton need to meet them, and they deserve to hear Tranxte’s story first hand.”
Seeton, governor of Aldebaran Sector, arrived and went right to Krys. The Queen and his First Knight had been ensconced on his planet for some time now, and they saw each other regularly. Not so, Lady Krys.
“Welcome, My Lady, Sir Tarn,” he said.
Krys smiled, something she’d been doing a lot more of lately. “It’s good to be here again, Governor. I know you’re dealing with lots of issues. Can you spend a little time on the issue of Tranxte?”
“Of course I can. Your word is my command here for more reasons than the obvious.”
“Do you know of the progress there?”
“I know General Stymes will be shipping out in a few months. The reports he’s getting are actually more hopeful than he’d expected—there seems to be a process in place that’s working. We’re gearing up to provide major support to the planet after his arrival.” He ran his fingers along his goatee as he considered the issue in its fullness. “I’ve been told the locals were not able to work the fields this year. Famine is something our Empire can prevent, though it’s a massive and expensive project.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. We’ll gather the food, find transportation, and let General Stymes figure out how to distribute it on the other end.”
“Even though Tranxte is not in your sector?”
He smiled a tight smile. “I’m hitting Governor Korban up for help, a lot of help. He might take over the Tranxte situation eventually, but the marines are mine. I want to support them for the present.”
“It turns out you’re short a few marines. I’ve reassigned three of them.”
He did not hesitate, not when it came from Krys. “I’m sure you did so with good reason, My Lady.”
“One has come at my insistence. He doesn’t know it, but he requires Testing.” She turned her blind eyes toward her mother. “Without any knowledge of the Leaf People or what happened to us on Lianli, and without the benefit of the fine educations some of us have been lucky enough to receive from the Rress, he has called us. At the very least, his choices have demonstrated to me the wisdom of the Chosen.”
Ellie stood up deep in thought. In the end, she said, “Well, that’s a new one.”
Krys smiled. “It is indeed. I won’t disappoint you mother, nor will he.”
A trace of anger shadowed Seeton’s face when Havlock and his entourage arrived. Dressed in fine leather pants and shirt, Havlock looked like he’d come from a hunting ground rather than an elite military unit. Then he remembered Lady Krys’ words: she’d reassigned him. Then he remembered they’d come from Tranxte, the hunting ground of gleasons. These people had been the hunted. Recent reports indicated they’d become the hunters. Considering Havlock's prey, he decided the man had the right to dress any way he wanted.
He stepped up to Havlock. “Colonel, I’ve been following your reports. You’re getting quite a reputation around here.”
Havlock wanted to salute, but he was out of uniform. Instead, he just nodded. “It’s my pleasure to meet you again, Governor.”
Atiana’s eyes strayed to the others in the room. When they took in the person whose picture had been held captive in Sir Stven’s Pin, she took a step toward the woman and went to a knee, her head bowed deeply.
Galborae and Milae followed the example of their queen, but the three marines stood there dumfounded. Seeton turned to Ellie with a hand outstretched to Havlock. “Your Majesty, Colonel Havlock, Imperial Marines.”
Havlock had no idea his Queen was even in the room. He immediately went to a knee, followed shortly after by Hawke, and Kori, all of them speechless in the Queen’s presence.
“Stand, all of you,” Ellie commanded. When they reassembled, she said, “Colonel, let me introduce you to your First Knight, Sir Michael.”
Havlock took one look at the tall, dark man standing beside the Queen and went back to one knee. Everyone else followed his example.
“Stand, all of you,” Ellie said again. “No more kneeling or we’ll never get anything done. To whom am I speaking?”
Havlock stood up and took Atiana’s arm in his own, then stepped forward. “Colonel Gar Havlock, Your Majesty.” He shot a look to Seeton, then added, “Governor of Tranxte.”
Seeton did a double-take, but not for long. Crinkles appeared around his eyes as he held back a smile. He suspected what Krys had done without knowing the details, and there was no doubt in his mind that he would approve. He made a mental note to talk to her later. Sector Governors did not appreciate getting left in the dark, especially in matters pertaining to their own troops and the Queen.
Ellie barely skipped a beat, knowing instantly that the title had been bestowed by her Knights. She held out a hand. “Governor is it? I look forward to hearing your story.”
He stared at her hand, not sure what to do. She helped him. “At this point, Colonel-Governor, you take my hand and either kiss it or shake it. Lowering a knee is standard protocol, as well, but we’re well beyond that here.”
Havlock took her hand and lowered a knee as he kissed it. “Your Majesty, what a pleasure.”
“Lady Krys tells me you’ve brought great honor to your uniform, in which case the honor is mine. Will you introduce your accomplices?”
Havlock turned briefly to his First Knight, bowed, then straightened up and touched Atiana’s arm. “Your Majesty, may I introduce Queen Atiana of Tranxte?”
Ellie blinked in surprise, then a smile lit her face. “Another queen!” She paused, then said, “Queen Atiana, I’m pleased to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine, Your Majesty.”
“The fact that you’re here suggests to me you’ve had some dealings with gleasons?”
“I have, Your Majesty. I’ve fought gleasons and been wounded by them. Your Sergeant Kori, known on Tranxte as the Healer, saved my life.” She hesitated, then asked, “I was told you might not know of gleasons?”
Ellie shot a withering glance toward Havlock, the most obvious source of Atiana’s information, before focusing back on Atiana. “I might not know of gleasons? My dear, I died at the hands of a gleason. In my case, my First Knight, Michael, brought me back to life. In another attack, I killed a gleason with a knife. It happened to have him in its clutches at the time. We’ve both fought gleasons, we’ve both been wounded by them, and yes, we both know of your problems on Tranxte. You have my sincerest apology for what happened. We will spare nothing to rectify the situation.”
Atiana’s eyebrows rose. “Why, thank you, Your Majesty.” She turned to Havlock. “May I have your list, Governor?”
Havlock’s jaw dropped. When he recovered, he said, “Not now, Your Majesty. I’ll give the list to Governor Seeton later.”
Seeton’s hand twitched, wanting to see the list, but Ellie beat him to it. “Nonsense. Let me have the list, Governor.”
Havlock reached into a breast pocket and brought out his pad. “It’s not complete, Your Majesty. I need to discuss it further with Governor Seeton.”
She took the pad but did not look at it. “And you will.” She looked to Galborae. “You are?”
“Sir Galborae of Tranxte, Your Majesty. This is my wife, Milae. She’s our local healer.”
“Hmm. Interesting. I’ve heard of you, sir. To Milae, she said, “A pleasure to meet you.” She turned to Hawke and Kori with an unspoken question.
Havlock introduced them. “Teacher Hawke and Healer Kori, Your Majesty. Both were
Imperial Marines before Sir Stven Named them.”
“Hmm,” Ellie murmured just loud enough for everyone to hear. “A queen, a governor, a knight, healers and teachers, and you’re all here at the insistence of my Knights. Please sit down,” she said, indicating nearby couches and chairs. "This should be an interesting tale.”
“It’s a pretty long story,” Havlock managed to croak out.
“We have some time, do we not?” she asked, looking at Seeton.
“Two weeks, Your Majesty. Trexler and a few others will be here next week. We can leave when Reba and Val get here.”
“We should start with clearing up titles.” She turned to Havlock. “Are you a colonel or a governor?”
“I’m both at the moment, Your Majesty. I command the advance contingent of Imperial Marines on Tranxte. Lady Krys has seen fit to reassign me and two of my staff.” He looked to Seeton. “Sorry, sir.”
Seeton didn’t miss a beat. “We trust her judgement around here, Governor. Do you have any idea what she’s done for the Empire?”
“Uh, not in detail, sir.”
“It’s probably safe to say that without her there would be no Empire. Among lots of other things she has played crucial roles in the battles for Earth. An end to Earth means an end to our Empire. We cannot fight the Chessori without them.”
Seeton’s gaze moved to Atiana and Galborae. “Earth is an emerging world, just as yours is. It’s more advanced, but all life there would have ended had it not been for Lady Krys.”
Krys interjected. “Enough, Governor. Admirals Trexler and Buskin led the fighting. The last battle was the largest to date and it was a near thing.”
“Agreed, My Lady,” Seeton replied. He turned back to Atiana. “My point, Your Majesty, is that Tranxte is not the only emerging world to suffer in our war.”
“I’ve been so informed, Governor. Conditions on Tranxte are beyond horrible, but we are survivors. You’re saying there would have been no survivors on this world called Earth?”
“Probably not.”
“Then I understand your priorities.” She shot a look to Havlock, then focused hard on Ellie. “That does not mean I free you of your obligations.”
Ellie turned to Mike with a triumphant gleam in her eye. “We Queens never give in, do we?”
“More important, you never give up,” he replied.
Ellie turned back to Atiana. “I like you. You and I should spend some time together during the next couple of weeks.”
“I would enjoy that, Your Majesty, but I need to get back. All of us need to get back as soon as we can. Too much is at stake.”
Krys interjected. “I would like them to accompany us to Lianli, Mother.”
Ellie looked at her in surprise. The list of invitees going to meet the Leaf People was limited. “Are you certain?” she asked.
“I am, though Governor Havlock insists they return to Tranxte. They have an enormous challenge ahead of them.”
Ellie turned back to Atiana, ignoring Havlock. “She’s talking about the task of cleansing Tranxte of gleasons.”
“That’s the part I see, Your Majesty,” Atiana answered, “but Governor Havlock sees farther. He sees that only as the first step. Step two, and according to him probably the hardest step, is guiding an emerging world through its emergence. He wants my people to become who and what we choose to become, not something created by your Empire.”
Seeton had been leaning against a wall. At those words he stood up straight and stared hard at this colonel who, until recently, had been under his command. As governor of Tranxte, Havlock might still be under his command, but the waters were a little muddy there, particularly in view of the fact that he’d been Named by a Knight.
Mike stood as well. As First Knight, he had taken responsibility for two major projects of burning immediacy: first, dealing with the Chessori, but second, how the Empire was going to bring Earth through its emergence. He knew full well what was at stake here.
Ellie did not stand. She leaned back into her chair in contemplation. This meeting had suddenly elevated itself: here was a problem fit for the Chosen. “You have a plan?” she asked, directing her gaze to Havlock.
“Only the germ of a plan, Your Majesty,” Havlock replied. “We have to bring the locals along without giving up the store, and we need to challenge them every step of the way. I want to shepherd them but make them emerge through their own energy.”
“Can they? Can you?” she demanded.
Havlock spread his hands. “Your Majesty, my forces are focused on the gleasons right now, but two of my people have taken it upon themselves to introduce the Empire to Tranxte in a way that puts the gleasons second. They’ve been given the titles of Teacher and Healer. They have a knack for knowing how much they can press onto the local populace without alienating them. Our plan includes the locals doing a lot of the fighting. While I’ve been fighting gleasons, they’ve been teaching the locals how to help me fight, but they’ve also been introducing the Empire to them, and they’ve been effective.”
Ellie looked to Hawke and Kori and made eye contact as she nodded her head.
Seeton was more focused on Havlock. “Does General Stymes know?” he asked.
Havlock’s lips firmed. “I’m here with a primer, sir. His troops will get some special training on the way to Tranxte. Once there, our Teacher and our Healer will polish those skills before sending them out.”
Seeton cocked his head to the side. “Stymes might need a little training himself.”
“He will, sir. None of this is doctrine.”
Stven spoke up. “Your Majesty, Governor Havlock has developed a general outline for a process that will go through a lot of refinement in the years ahead. I have a feeling some of my people will want to observe first hand and provide guidance in the process.”
“You’re saying the Rress might help?” Ellie asked in amazement. The Rress rarely left their home world anymore.
“You know us, Your Majesty. Can you imagine us not getting involved?”
She smiled. “You’re right.” To Havlock, she said, “You might have more help than you anticipated. You might have more help than you want.”
He shook his head. “I’ll take all the help I can get, but no one can come until we’ve dealt with the gleasons.”
“And how are you dealing with them? It seems an impossible task to me.”
Havlock made short work of his story of caravans, the healing of kings, soldiers, and citizens, and the building of relationships among kingdoms. He ended with, “The caravans have successfully pulled most, if not all the gleasons, from the cities and surrounding farms. We’re working on expanding that program. When General Stymes brings the rest of his forces, we’ll train them and send them out to kingdoms all over the globe using what we’ve learned as a model. His 1,000 squads won’t be enough, but we’ll get a better sense of what’s needed after he’s in the field.”
“If I have this right,” Mike asked, “before General Stymes’s guys go into the field, they’ll be introduced to the locals by someone specially trained in the process?”
“That’s the idea, Sire, though in actuality it happens at the same time. Sergeants Hawke and Kori, and either myself, Queen Atiana, or Sir Galborae appear before the front gates of the castle with a full squad of marines and a shuttle. It can be tense.”
“It will take a while to get the new marines up to speed.”
Havlock nodded. “Yes, Sire. Care is our motto. We won’t go faster than circumstances allow because mistakes are too expensive. Every nation we fail to convince will potentially become a major obstacle in the future.”
Mike leaned toward him. “Wouldn’t some trained civilian experts do a better job of introducing your troops to the locals?”
Havlock shook his head. “I wish that was the case, Sire, but no. We’re dealing with kings and their guards, all of them proud and exhausted fighting men. The only thing that works for them is to see us killing gleasons, but in the long run it
’s equally important for them to know we have not come to conquer. Future generations have to believe we helped them through their emergence, not forced them. Once these kings know we’re on their side despite our magic, they learn to use our weapons and tactics and take over from us to some extent. That process begins with us bringing these people out to our caravans. The local kings join us, they kill gleasons with our weapons, and we make it a point to ensure that every king is in the forefront of his caravan when it reaches his castle.” He looked hard at his First Knight. “We still suffer significant losses on these caravans, Sire.”
Mike leaned back in his chair. “I see why Lady Krys named you governor. It’s an effective blending of civilian and military strengths. It feels right to me, Governor, and I’m impressed. I might pay you a visit one of these days.”
“Come armed and come in body armor, Sire. Never forget, these are gleasons we’re fighting.”
Ellie stood up, and everyone followed her example. “Oh, sit down, all of you,” she said crossly. “This is a working meeting.” She eyed Havlock and his group. “That includes you. I like your plan as far as it goes, Governor. You don’t have a blueprint to follow, but you’ve managed to go beyond simple military objectives. I congratulate you.” She paused with a glance toward Krys, then she brought her attention back to her newest governor. “That’s not why you’re here.”
“Uh, Your Majesty, I’m not exactly certain why I’m here.”
Stven spoke up. “She’s your Queen, Governor. She’s not one for games. You know precisely why you’re here.”
Seeton looked on with great interest as Havlock responded. “In truth, Sire, I’m not certain why we’re here except for the fact that Lady Krys had visions of us."
“Isn’t that reason enough?”
“Is it? We haven’t even begun our search. It could take years.”
“Your search for what, Governor?” Ellie asked.
“Wait,” Krys demanded. “Start at the beginning. Start with your speaking face to face with a gleason in an open field.”
A roar sounded from the back of the room. Otis stood there with his feet splayed, shaking his head and snarling.
Spirit of Empire 4: Sky Knights Page 35