by Ian J Miller
Chapter 32
Gaius, as requested by Methrell through a call from a store, turned on the news channel and waited. It did not take long for an emergency news item. There, on camera, was Seppet Tes announcing the death of his father Seppet Zakryn, brutally murdered by Zakryn's own daughter Seppet Methrell. Tes explained that Methrell had attempted a takeover of the military, and was only prevented from achieving this goal thanks to the help of the Conclave Guard, some of whom arrived thanks to information gained relating to the coup attempt. Unfortunately, they arrived too late. Methrell was now wanted by the authorities, as was one Zander Thuygen who had been waiting outside the Seppet's residence, and thus provided a get-away vehicle for Methrell.
"Well, you've done something for Seppet Methrell," Gaius laughed at Tharryt, who had come to inform him what had occurred, “except she's in hardly a position to reward you.”
"Yes, well, my life's a bit like that at the moment," Tharryt replied.
"Tell me," Gaius said, becoming more serious, "what will the average Ranhynn make of that? Will they believe it, or will they suspect it?"
"It depends. Most will be highly suspicious because the question is, how did Tes know what had happened unless he was there, and if he were there, why didn't Methrell kill him or he kill Methrell?"
"Just the points I was hoping they might see," Gaius said. "Right, we have things to do, and one of them is to gather our forces together. I want you to go and get Baht, tell her to go get Kazyn and give him this message," and he handed over a small tablet, "and then come to this location." He then handed over a small map with a point marked on it.
"You realize I'm supposed to be doing other things," Tharryt protested, “and while I might be still able to survive, there is a limit to –"
“I'll do my best to look after you,” Gaius promised.
“How?”
"Well, for this, we disguise you," Gaius smiled. "How about you look like a drab female, down on her luck?"
"How . . ?"
"One thing Ulsian technology is very good at is creating illusions," Gaius interrupted. "Hold out your arm and I shall put this bracelet on it."
"That's fairly big," Tharryt pointed out. "nobody will believe that should be there."
"They won't see it. It is the illusion generator, and it will also provide you with some protection against beam weapons, but don't overly rely on it. Now . . . there! You wouldn't even recognize yourself. Look in a mirror."
Tharryt did, and was quite surprised. He did truly look drab. His clothes were not quite right, but he was not going to change boots right now.
* * *
Seppet Methrell had made a second call, and had received a favourable response. When she started to explain, the Master Sergeant quickly informed her that he had seen the news and he did not believe a word of it. That the Conclave Guard was there at the same time was beyond coincidence. He was also absolutely convinced that the Conclave Guard had previously tried to kill Methrell, and probably him as well. That the police had taken the public protestations of innocence in the attempts on Methrell at face value had annoyed not only him but also many of the Ranhynn serving on the base. She could count on backup if she needed it.
The Master Sergeant also warned her that Tes had attempted to appoint himself Tenzat, and was seemingly organizing some sort of military expedition. While the local barracks could be relied on to support her, as Tenzat, Tes could call on a lot of support, and if Methrell intended to contest, she must do so quickly and efficiently. On the basis that this military expedition was being formed so quickly after Zakryn's death, he felt this was something that the Conclave wanted, and something they knew both Methrell and Zakryn would refuse to participate in.
"What would you think that would be?" Methrell asked.
"Given the presence of the humans, I suspect it is an invasion of the planet of origin."
"You might be right," Methrell said. "Where would you stand on that?"
"I told you. I stand with you. So will a number on this base, but I warn you, a general mutiny is unlikely. If you are going to do something, now is the time."
That, Methrell admitted, was true, but what could she do? She had the address Gaius had given her in an emergency. She would go there, as apparently, would this highly frightened Zander Thuygen. She really did not need him, but on the other hand, since the Conclave Guard was seeking him as an accomplice, even if he were not really, she had to let him come along.
* * *
Baht was stunned. Here was a female even more disreputable looking than she was, telling her what to do. Even if a female were unacknowledged, and even if her feathers were particularly bland-looking, she could at least keep them tidy. Her first thought was to take no notice of this, whatever, and so Tharryt had little choice. He pushed her inside, closed the door, and took off the device.
Now Baht was really stunned. A male! How could this be? Tharryt explained that Scaevola had given him this device to disguise himself, and he wanted Baht to take the message. Not only that, but it was urgent. He would accompany her, and provide protection.
"And how are you going to do that?" she said, somewhat unconvinced as Tharryt replaced the device and the dowdy female returned.
"With a Mark 288 beam gun."
"And where are you going to get that from," Baht said. She was clearly skeptical, but she was gathering up a pack to take with her.
"Outside the front door," Tharryt shrugged.
"And why is there that sort of weapon out there?"
"Because the Conclave Guard are carrying them, and one of them seemed to be coming to kill off Ranhynn they don't trust." He paused, watched her look of concern, then added, "There were two coming for you, but I stopped them." When she looked suitably puzzled, he added, "All they saw was a dowdy female, and they took very little notice until it was very much too late. I have a weapon for you too."
"Then I suppose we had better get going," Baht agreed. One thing she was clear about was that if the Conclave Guard were cleaning up people associated with Kazyn, her future was very grim, but it was very much grimmer if she stayed where she was.
* * *
Kazyn, in turn, was very surprised, and a little concerned, to see two females approaching his hideout. He recognized Baht, but then he noticed the other one was carrying a rather heavy weapon. He was about to consider rescuing Baht when he saw that she was carrying such a weapon too. He let them approach, then he asked who the other was.
"You may recognize me," Tharryt said, and took off the device.
It was now Kazyn's turn to be stunned, and he turned for a weapon.
"It's safe," Baht called out. "That device is Ulsian, and Scaevola gave it to him and asked him to come and get you."
"Why?"
"There has been a coup by Cardinal Sender," Tharryt explained. "They are trying to take over the military. They have killed Seppet Zakryn, and replaced him with your friend, Seppet Tes. They are trying to remove all Ranhynn who might be a problem, as well as the humans."
"There were two Guards outside my place," Baht confirmed, "although they were dead. These are their weapons."
"So what do you want?"
"Scaevola wants to bring together everyone he can trust," Tharryt explained. "He also assumes you might want to deal with those who poisoned your father before they get around to killing you."
"You might be right," Kazyn muttered. "And exactly how do we few deal with the Conclave Guard, and the military, and presumably the police?"
"The military is not yet a problem, and may be an ally," Tharryt said. "While they tried to kill Seppet Methrell, thanks to my warning, they failed. She is organizing some allies."
"So you've changed sides?"
"No choice," Tharryt replied. "Don't forget, I was simply doing my duty when you came up on me. All I thought I was doing was seeing the law was being followed. I had no idea those others were going to try to kill Methrell."
"You mean, Baht?"
"No, I
mean Methrell," Tharryt explained. "Scaevola is convinced she was the target because we were only dispatched after it became known she was going to run as well. I am now convinced she was the target, and I believe this coup had been planned for some time. They wanted her out of the way because they believed she would want revenge for her father's death, which, as an aside, she does. She is a very angry Ranhyn right now.
"So now," Tharryt continued, "you have to decide whether you want to come with us and try to put things right."
"You mean I have to decide whether you are leading me into a trap or not?"
"That too," Tharryt said. "We can part company if you wish, but . . ."
"I'll come," Kazyn said. "If Gaius trusts you, I suppose I cannot do less, but if you turn against me, or Baht, I'll see you get a very miserable end."
"Everyone has a miserable end in store for me," Tharryt shrugged. "This should be interesting."
Chapter 33
The meeting place that Gaius had chosen was an abandoned hut moderately deep in the forest. He arranged for Natasha and two other humans to arrive first, then Katya and Marcellus would go back and check for unauthorized Ranhynn, who would be warned once to leave, or else. Gaius was sitting in a chair and feeling somewhat tense. He was a little unsure why Natasha had gone off on her own, and he was partly afraid that it was to avoid him. Accordingly, when she entered, as he rose to greet her he was unsure what to say, and it showed when all he could manage was, "You went off on your own?"
"I am entitled to make my own decisions," Natasha said, somewhat stiffly, and anticipating what he was going to say.
Gaius stared at her briefly, wondering whether she was reading his mind, when another warning came to him, and he realized; Katya and Marcellus were working together to keep them both in the same place but emotionally apart. "Of course," he replied, equally stiffly. "Perhaps you could introduce me to your friends."
"Of course," Natasha said, and relaxed a little. "Gaius Claudius Scaevola, meet Lucius Arrius and Flavia Livilla. They were voted to represent the humans on Ranh."
"Pleased to meet you," Gaius bowed, then he added, "I have also invited some Ranhynn. When they come, do not be afraid. They won't hurt you."
"You may not be able to stop them . . ." Livilla started.
"Believe me, I can, and I will."
"There may also be Conclave Guards, or soldiers, or . . ."
"There will be a few soldiers, but they will be on our side. Anyone who is not will be turned back."
"And if they refuse?"
"They will die. I have two androids out there, and four extra Ulsian war machines, and a major battleship lined up. I know it is not absolutely guaranteed, but I think it will do as long as a major Ranhynn force does not descend, or that Rahn declares war. Now, let us wait for our next guests, and thank you for your attending, and thank you for the recording you have provided."
"We didn't bring it," Lucius said, a touch of concern entering his voice. After all, it had not even been requested. "It is thought to be too valuable."
"You showed it to Katya," Gaius smiled, "and she relayed it to the Actium, which in turn has provided me with copies."
"The Ranhyn court may not accept such copies . . ."
"And you would be too afraid to go in person," Gaius agreed, "but I think I have another way to authenticate one of them, and I don't think the courts will be relevant. Now, let's wait."
Gradually a number of Ranhynn arrived, and Gaius introduced them to each other, to Natasha, and to Lucius and Livilla. Thuygen was stunned, but stepped back when Gaius waved a finger at him, Kazyn, being far more accustomed to humans, simply bowed, Baht tried to show that she was as comfortable with humans as Kazyn was, Methrell nodded, her two soldiers looked as if they might be aggressive but one frown from Methrell stopped them, then finally Hadell came in, and was clearly surprised to find them there. Only Tharryt was missing. Gaius had asked him to return to surveillance on the Seppet house. In principle, this was also being monitored by the Actium, but ground surveillance could be preferred in terms of interpretation as to who was doing what, and also Gaius thought this might be a good chance to test Tharryt's real allegiance.
"Right, I have invited you all here because one way or another, there are some decisions to make, and first I want you to see some evidence. This is thanks to friends of Lucius. Please watch."
An image on the wall showed Zakryn's office.
"Tenzat Zakryn had decided that something had to be done about the humans who had been left more or less alone but in hiding, especially since we had arrived. He set up this recording in the hope . . . well, we don't quite know what he was going to do with it, but watch."
A Ranhynn came in and placed a tray of food on a table, then a human came in, bowed to Zakryn, and Zakryn invited him to eat, while Zakryn also picked up some food and began eating. They also began talking about the generalities of possibly sending the humans back to Earth. Would it be possible to get them all together? It was not quite clear what the human representative thought because there was confusion outside the door.
"Find out who's out there," Zakryn said to the Ranhyn, then he turned to the human and said, "Just for the moment, would you please hide in this cupboard." He closed the door on the human, then returned to his office seat.
The human did. There was a screeching outside, and the sound of a beam weapon. Then the door was flung open, and in came two Conclave Guards, together with Seppet Tes.
"What's the meaning of this?" an enraged Zakryn said.
"Simply, your days of being Tenzat are over," Tes said. "You won't do anything about the humans, so I will." He signalled to the guards, who immediately fired. Zakryn fell forward, and slumped, dead, over his desk.
"Now I'll have to clean the desk," Tes, muttered, "and look at this messy food. Not even fresh meat!" and he threw the tray against the wall.
"Is that all?" a Guard asked.
"Stop!" Gaius ordered. The scene froze. "Now, watch this door here," he said and pointed to a door on the far side of the room. "Continue!"
The scene came back to life. Nothing much happened, then the door opened and a head appeared.
"Recognize the head?" Gaius said to Methrell.
"That is me," came the very cold reply.
"So you authenticate the scene to this point?"
"I do. And I assure you, I am a very angry Ranhyn. Besides having my father killed, I have also been badly dishonoured by my cousin."
"And I believe I am in the same position, other than that Tes is not my cousin, but rather one with whom I have exchanged feathers," Kazyn added.
"You didn't have your father killed," Methrell spat towards Kazyn.
"Actually, he did," Gaius said in a commanding tone that left no doubt that he would not tolerate an argument between Methrell and Kazyn. "Here is the next piece of evidence," and he read the statement made by the human who had seen the poison administered. "As evidence, that is harder to validate," Gaius continued, "and it depends on the statement of one person, and it would have been possible to obtain independent verification if a forensic analysis could be carried out on the body, but I gather it was cremated, so that is not likely."
"Nevertheless, now I know," Hadell said. "I doubt the courts would be relevant with the lack of evidence, but I intend to make a certain Ranhyn pay."
"As do I," Kazyn said, "especially since I now know why that carcass was put in my larder."
"Which gets me to the next point," Gaius said. "We each have to decide whether we are going to do anything about this, and if so, what each of us is prepared to do. We each have different objectives, and if –"
"We do have different reasons for involvement," Kazyn interrupted, "but I think all the various reasons involve dealing with the same Ranhynn, and I rather think that if we act alone we shall all die. Even if we act together, our chances are not very good, but I for one vote for united action."
"There is another problem," Hadell said, "and that involves
the degree of action you are going to take. If you were to blast out opposition with –"
"No!" Gaius interrupted. "Your point is correct. I must not intervene that way in Ranhynn affairs. These must be seen to be addressed by the Ranhynn, because otherwise the whole problem for humans will emerge again shortly after. On the other hand, I can give some covert help to these issues, and I shall act quite openly on the matter of the annihilation bombs, when I can locate them."
"What annihilation bombs?" Methrell asked.
"My information is that Cardinal Sender has had enough made to wipe out life on Earth," Gaius replied evenly.
"I know nothing of that," Methrell said.
"I know, and I never implied you did. I am less sure of Tes, though."
"He has no future while I am alive," Methrell scowled.
"So what do you plan to do?" Hadell asked.
"What I think should be done is this," Gaius started. "Our overall strategy requires a series of consolidated strategies. We first need information, and I think our first move should be to capture Tes and the Conclave Guards, and interrogate them separately. If we can persuade them to tell us enough to get the authorities to depose Cardinal Sender, all the better."
"What about Thapet Tergyn?" Kazyn asked. "Since he replaced my father, I want him."
"I think I have a better idea," Hadell offered. "Assuming you secure Tes and the Guards, and can keep them incommunicado, and assuming they don't give you enough information, I shall approach Tergyn as an ex-Tenzat and offer some friendly advice. I shall tell him that Kazyn is interrogating those others, he has gained information that his father Tallyn was poisoned, he knows when and where, and he is preparing a challenge."
"The others may not talk," Thuygen interrupted.
"They may not, but Tergyn can't be sure, and in this specific case, any sort of information can come to light in a challenge, and Tergyn would be executed if it did and he lost, which he almost certainly would if there were evidence that he poisoned Tallyn."