by Ian J Miller
"And how will we do that?"
"I shall wrestle with them," Katya said.
"You mustn't. They'll tear you to bits," Aella said as she almost begged Katya to reconsider.
"I doubt it," Natasha said with a smile. "Possibly a bit of cosmetic fixing may be required, but I assure you, claws are no match for titanium. Let's go while we can still make a rescue."
"And please, bring plenty of rope," Katya said.
* * *
Aella led Natasha, Katya, then Lucius, who was carrying a spear and various lengths of rope, through a long tunnel and through a false back into a cupboard, from whence they exited carefully into a large room. Natasha then took the lead and with her Krezell wand in her hand, and Katya at her side, she led them along the hall indicated by Aella and towards a kitchen. They could hear what was later interpreted as Ranhyn swearing, and the sound of wood tearing.
There, on the far side, two Ranhynn were struggling with a pantry door, that seemed to be held partly shut with something wedged between the doors and the floor, and two wooden beams were flailing at the two Ranhynn. There were various bottles on the ground, presumably having been used as missiles. One Ranhyn had grasped a beam, but the other beam belted down on his hand, whereupon he let go and uttered a fearsome cry of pain, and yet another bout of swearing.
They then heard a Ranhyn voice ordering, "Put that weapon back! We want them alive as bargaining chips."
"But –"
"No buts. Grab that pole and lever the door open!"
"Keep behind me," Natasha whispered to Lucius and Aella, then she crept around the corner and saw the two Ranhynn, who on seeing her come into view, had turned to face her.
"Ha! Dinners out in the open!" one said.
"More to the point, two problems solved in one go," the other said. Natasha gasped a little, for this was Seppet Tes.
"At least you're rightfully scared, Terran," Tes scowled. "Since nobody can find you, you can quietly disappear."
"Stay behind," Natasha said again to Lucius, who wanted to advance with a spear. She might have been surprised but she was far from frightened.
The second Ranhynn laughed. "You think you can take on a Conclave Guard!" He reached for a handgun.
Natasha pointed her Krezell wand at the weapon, and as it was about halfway towards the firing position, there was a scream of pain, and the weapon flew off towards the floor behind Natasha.
"Leave it for a few minutes," she advised Lucius. "It is currently about three hundred degrees Celsius."
The two Ranhynn stared at each other, suddenly realizing that perhaps they were not in control. The second Ranhyn suddenly decided to leap forward, and Katya did the same. The second Ranhynn raised a rear leg, then suddenly seemed to realize that he still had his boots on. Katya lunged forward, grasped the leg, and swung around, causing the Ranhyn to fall flat on its back.
"Rope!" Katya called.
Tes suddenly came to life, and deciding that Katya was occupied, he leaped towards Natasha, but Natasha aimed her Krezell wand, "captured" him, and sent his body back against the far wall.
"Rope his legs," Natasha said, "while I hold him still."
Lucius ran forward and hobbled Tes. By now Katya had finished trussing her captive, and she moved towards Tes, who tried to claw her with his fingers, but all he managed was to have his arms grasped and have them tied to the rope around his legs. He let out a loud howl.
"You two," Katya said to Lucius and Aella, "should take the others and get back to safety."
"What about you two?"
"We can't get these two down your escape route, so we have to get out some other way."
"But . . ." Lucius seemed stuck for words. He wanted to go, but he did not want to leave the two in danger.
"Don't worry," Katya said. "I have contacted Marcellus, and help is coming."
"You think any help from your Roman friend will do you any good," Tes snarled.
"Just wait and see. In the meantime, we had better do something about securing a holding situation."
* * *
Baht was in two minds. She had been excited at first. Tes had been captured, and she would be involved in making sure he stayed captured, and gave a Ranhyn name to the capture. Then realization had struck. There would be others supporting Tes there, which was why she was being asked to provide a distraction, and to waste the time of those who might be trying to rescue him. She was told to take no unnecessary risks. What was an unnecessary risk? Not that it mattered, because without giving it very much thought, she had agreed to do what she could. The good news was, help was coming. She was only required because she was much closer and could get there quickly. She grasped her pole firmly as she entered the front door of the designated building. She wondered what anyone else would think of this pole. She had practiced with it to help Kazyn, and at the same time she had learned a little of how to use it. She hoped she had learned enough. She also hoped any opponents would not have real weapons.
Natasha was on the ground floor, but around the back, near the kitchen. Baht had no idea where the kitchen was but the back was reasonably obvious, so she put her head down and ran in a loping style along a corridor. She turned right, and then saw that she was in the right place, or the wrong place depending on your point of view. Three Ranhynn were pointing beam weapons at a door, and a fourth was looking on.
Then she heard from within. "If I were you, I would discard those weapons rather quickly because the energy banks are about to blow."
It seemed that was true. Each of the weapons began showing the signs of glowing pulsations, the glows getting brighter all the time. Baht retreated around the corner, but stuck her head around to see what was happening. Two of the Ranhynn threw their weapons away. The third decided he was not going to be bluffed. The others looked at this, and dived away just as all beam weapons became incandescent and Baht took total cover. A dreadful smell of burnt protein filled the hallway.
Baht decided to try some deception, and came out from behind the corner, leaning on her pole as if she needed help walking. She made a pronounced limp as she advanced to where the three Ranhynn were gradually picking themselves up. Lying on the floor was the fourth, his arms missing and his front charred beyond recognition.
"My," Baht said as she tapped her way towards them, using the pole for support as she took small limping steps. "Has something exploded in the kitchen?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm hungry," Baht said. "That's why I came to the kitchen. Doesn't everyone come here to get food?"
"Go away!"
"I will, after I get some food," Baht said. "I suppose there is food after that dreadful explosion?"
"I told you to get out, you stupid little fowl."
"I shall," Baht almost bleated, and at the same time seemed even more unsteady on her feet, "when I get something to eat. I haven't eaten for days. I know, you lot mightn't understand what it's like to be hungry, but –"
"You were warned!" Not only did the speaker begin to advance, but also so did one of the others.
Baht stood there, her only action being to subtly change her grip on the pole. Suddenly, the bully leaped at her. Instead of retreating, Baht stepped forward and thrust the pole up and caught the aerial Ranhynn in the throat with the point of the pole, allowing the pole to fall to the ground end on, so that the bully almost impaled himself with his weight. As the bully was falling to the ground, making gasping and choking sounds, Baht swung around on the pole, and slashed across the neck of the second Ranhyn with the claw on her foot. He fell back, blood pouring. Baht then advanced on the third with her pole.
"No, Please!"
"Then sit in the corner there, hands spread, feet out in front."
The Ranhyn edged back, head down, and sat as required.
"You all right in there?" Baht asked.
"We're fine," Natasha replied. "Should we open this door?"
"You can if you like. Help should be here soon."
"Looking at this," Natasha said, as she looked around, "you don't seem to need it."
"I probably got a bit carried away," Baht said, almost apologetically, "but . . ."
"You did extremely well," Katya said, to encourage her.
They then spent almost ten minutes doing very little other than watching their captives, then there was a sound from the front door, then the sound of Ranhynn coming towards them along the corridor. Then two soldiers came around the corner, and stopped to stare in surprise before lowering their weapons. Then Methrell and Kazyn came around the corner.
Methrell walked up to the still choking Ranhyn, and gave him a gentle kick. "Still alive," she pronounced, "and maybe will stay that way." She walked over to the other, who was lying inert in a pool of blood. "Dead!" she announced, then looked at Baht, and at her feet, the left one of which had a small amount of blood staining it. "Very good use of the claw," she remarked."
"Maybe I shouldn't have –"
"Nonsense," Methrell snorted. "I assume these three were going to attack?"
"Well, yes, but –"
"No buts. You were perfectly entitled to do so, and not only that, you did an excellent job of it. Only one strike, I believe."
"Well, yes." Baht lifted her head somewhat, proud to have praise from one so fearsome.
"Then let's see the other two," Methrell said, and strode through the door. She stood before Tes, and said with a cold laugh, "I gather you claimed no help would do Natasha any good?"
Tes shrunk back as far as he could.
"You may or may not have been right, but I assure you, cousin, I am not going to do you any good at all." She turned to the Guard. "Who's this?"
"This is a Conclave Guard that threatened to eat Natasha," Katya said, knowing fine well what was likely to happen next.
"Untie him," Kazyn growled, and began taking off his boots. "Baht, lend me that pole."
"Wh what?" the Guard stuttered.
"You threatened to eat my honoured nestling," Kazyn said. "Strictly speaking, I should permit her to deal to you, but she has declined. Honour means I now have the opportunity, and I am not going to decline."
"Strictly speaking, I have not declined," Natasha said the Guard. Kazyn turned towards her, a look of annoyance on his face. "I could be persuaded to spare you, if you told us something that would unequivocally lead to the demise of Cardinal Sender, and lead to the treaty with Earth."
"He doesn't know enough," Kazyn snorted. "Pole please", he added, stretching out an arm towards Baht.
"We don't actually know that," Natasha said. "We should give him enough time to show us if he does."
Baht stared at the two, uncertain as to what to do with the pole.
"Look, the Cardinal would kill me, and . . ."
"That's not the sign of someone wanting to save his skin," Kazyn spat. "Pole please."
"I tend to agree," Natasha said, and nodded to Baht, who handed over the pole.
"What are you going to –"
Kazyn brought the pole down on the Guard's head. There was a squawk, the guard looked to attack Kazyn, but the pole came around and struck him on the knee, which resulted in a yell of pain.
"Baht demonstrated on that one," Kazyn pointed to the Ranhyn on the floor with the gashed throat, "the technique known as the fast claw. I shall demonstrate the use of the slow claw." He turned to Natasha and explained, "In your culture, you call it, death by a thousand cuts." With that he leaped, and brought his left leg across the back of the guard, scratching with his big toe claw, and drawing a small line of blood, as well as a further yell.
"He can't do this! Stop him!" the guard called to Natasha.
"I have been forbidden to intervene in Ranhyn customs," Natasha shrugged. "If this is not permitted in Ranhyn culture, then Methrell can request Kazyn to stop."
"I was more inclined to tell him to get on with it and stop talking," Methrell said. She turned to Baht, and added, "If this Kazyn can't get this right, I shall have to demonstrate on my cousin." Then she turned to Tes, and added, "Of course it is only a matter of what I do to you."
The guard lunged at Kazyn, claws flashing, but Kazyn evaded but struck out as the leg flashed by, tearing the side of the leg.
"On that matter," Kazyn added, turning towards Tes in between two further strikes on the guard, "we exchanged feathers. You have also dishonoured me, so in the unlikely event that Methrell leaves anything of you behind, I shall have my go on you too. Oh, and before you think this unfair, remember you wanted to have three on me once." He struck again on the guard, who was now quite groggy.
What happened next reminded Natasha of a cat she had once seen playing with a rat. The claws flew, the target was flung around and was becoming increasingly weakened. The guard would make the odd lunge at Kazyn but he was too weak to be effective, and each time he was rewarded with more strikes to various parts of his body. He made the odd dash for a door, but Kazyn clawed his legs from beneath him, then dragged him back to the centre of the room, where he would step away, even pretend to look away, and then pounce on whatever move the guard made. Eventually the guard lapsed into unconsciousness, a bedraggled bloody mess. Kazyn then inserted a claw just behind and below the ear, held it for about three seconds, then withdrew it.
"That," Kazyn announced, "may not have been perfect, but that was the slow claw."
"No, be fair to yourself," Methrell said. "We have things to do, so we don't have indefinite time here. I would say that under the circumstances, that was better than adequate."
Kazyn looked at Methrell with some degree of surprise. Praise was not exactly what he had expected.
"And we must get out of here," Methrell said. "We are too exposed."
"Where do you suggest?" Natasha asked.
"The Tukhranh special forces barracks," Methrell said. "Neither the Conclave Guard nor the police, if they decided to act against us, would be prepared to attack there." She turned towards one of the soldiers. "Corporal, secure Tes, and bring him." She turned to Tes and said, "I shall deal with you later, but you can retain some sort of public honour. If you march out of here and keep quiet, nobody need see you humiliated. One smart crack from you, and I shall muzzle you. Any attempt to escape, and I shall claw you, hobble you, and thoroughly humiliate you in public. Your choice."
In the event, Tes accepted the choice and left with them without making any attempt to escape.
Chapter 37
"Well, Kyurta qu' Tharryt, you seem to have had an interesting time of late."
Tharryt stared at the Cardinal, whose expression was unreadable. Tharryt knew this was a key moment, and if he slipped here he was dead. He was also dead if the Cardinal realized that he knew, but for the moment he needed self-control. "I have had my moments, your eminence."
"Yes, you have," the Cardinal said with a nod. "The question is, do you want some more?"
"I wish to carry out your orders," Tharryt replied, with firmness but what he hoped was obedience in his voice.
"Good. Now, what do you think happened at the place you were watching before you started your pursuit?" The Cardinal's eyes were hard as they bored into Tharryt.
"From what I gather, that was the residence of Tenzat Zakryn, there was some sort of coup going on and Zakryn was killed."
"You are sure?"
Tharryt was surprised by this, but he responded quickly. "Well, I suppose I don't know it, but it was on the news, and I assumed –"
"Quite so," the Cardinal nodded. "I presume you also saw on the news that Seppet Tes stated he was the new Tenzat?"
"Yes, although that surprised me."
"And why did it surprise you?"
This was easy. "Because, your eminence, I believe the rules are clear, and the process of appointing a new Tenzat takes at least a week, and usually a month."
"Yes," Cardinal Sender grated. "It appears that Tes jumped the gun somewhat."
Tharryt said nothing. The Cardinal was obviously testing him, and the less he said, the better.
>
"So," the Cardinal said, again his eyes boring into Tharryt, "what did you make of what happened just before you started your pursuit?"
"Some Ranhyn, almost certainly a female, came running out from a hole in the fence," Tharryt said. "This female caused the death of two Guards, which was why I pursued. I assume this female was part of the attempted coup."
Cardinal Sender seemed surprised at this. "What makes you say so?" he said with a frown.
"The female escaped through a hole excavated below the fence. Such a hole had to be there previously, which means that the killing of Tenzat Zakryn must have been planned well in advance."
"Why?"
"Well," Tharryt seemed a bit flustered, "there was no time to excavate a hole while the female was being pursued by the Guards."
"Quite so," the Cardinal said. He seemed to drop into deeper thought. Then he came back to life and while seemingly staring into space, but while watching Tharryt out the corner of his eye, he muttered, "I wonder who she could be."
"I'm sorry, your eminence, but I did not get a very good look at her," Tharryt lied, smoothly but apologetically.
"And what do you know about what has happened in the last hour?"
Tharryt immediately swallowed a, "How would I know?" and instead said as evenly as he could, "The news has only got up to about three hours ago, so I don't know."
"What has happened," the Cardinal said, "is that Tes apparently went after some humans and he got captured by Seppet Methrell, and together with some humans, he has been taken to a military base."
"Then that's good. He is safe."
"He is far from safe. Methrell believes he killed her father."
"Then you want him rescued?" Tharryt asked.
"No. The fact is, Methrell is correct. From what I can make out, Tes and some accomplices attempted a coup, and Tes tried to make himself Tenzat. As far as I am concerned, Methrell can have him."
Tharryt had no idea what to say about that, and he was becoming concerned, then he realized that was his out. "Then I don't understand what you want from me, your eminence."