Only the Open

by M. C. A. Hogarth

  “Go,” the Knife said. And then, as if realizing he may no longer have any authority, “Unless there is a problem with this.”

  “No,” Lisinthir said. “But don’t leave the building, please. I don’t know how many people here may have… issues… with Chatcaava they may want to take out on your hide, if they find you alone.”

  “There’s no violence here,” Amber said.

  “There’s no violence here now,” Lisinthir said. “That was prior to there being provocation.”

  “So the question,” Na’er said, “If you’ll pardon me for dragging us back to boring practicalities… is what do we do now?”

  “Where’s the Emperor?” Sediryl asked. When the Knife and Lisinthir both looked at her, she said, “He’s the one with the crown, yes? He left, presumably, or he would have been there to help the Queen. So where did he go, and why hasn’t he come back?”

  “Deployed,” the Knife said. “As he has been frequently since your departure, Ambassador, taming the rebellions.”

  “And the last rebellion was…?” Lisinthir asked.

  “I no longer know the location of his campaigns,” the Knife said. “As I was detached from the Navy to serve palace security. But.”

  “But,” Na’er muttered. “There’s always a but.”

  “One of the reasons we fled was that we couldn’t contact him to ask for direction,” the Knife said. “No one was answering his tag. Not even the flagship.”

  That silence was harsh. Sediryl broke it by saying, “So he’s in trouble, is what you’re implying.”

  “Or under operational security so strenuous he wouldn’t allow it to be broken even for the Queen Ransomed,” the Knife said.

  “And the chances of that?” Sediryl asked.

  The Knife said, low, “You find us here.”

  “So what we’ve got is an empire in the process of complete destabilization with its nominal head of state missing in action and no one with legitimate authority to stop that process,” Na’er said.

  “I fear you misunderstand,” the Knife said heavily. “The Empire wants very much to conquer you aliens. If we are promised that war, we will not at all be destabilized. We will be very united, and very little will be able to brake us.”

  “For now,” Lisinthir murmured. More clearly: “We must find the Emperor. He only counts as deposed if he’s dead. He also understands the subcultures of the Empire; balancing their competing desires has been the work of his lifetime. So our task must be to discover where he went last and what happened. We extricate him from whatever contretemps he’s found himself in, help him rally his supporters, and go back to the throneworld to dethrone the usurper. Providing one has selected himself.”

  “I like a nice solid plan,” Na’er said. “I’m guessing that Uuvek can figure out where he went?”

  “There is very little Uuvek cannot discover, given a computer,” the Knife said. “But this plan does not offer a solution for its most important contingency.”

  “Which is that the Emperor might be dead,” Sediryl guessed.

  “Yes,” the Knife said.

  “He’s not,” Lisinthir said. “But we should ascertain for certain, as much as possible.”

  “And if he is dead?” Laniis asked, softly.

  “Then I’m guessing we leave the whole notion of reforming the Empire to rot while we kill them all,” Amber said.

  All the Chatcaava looked at him.

  “Amber,” Sediryl said. “That might not be the most diplomatic way to talk in front of our allies.”

  “On the contrary,” the Priestess said, “That’s the most Chatcaavan thing we’ve heard at this table yet.” She leaned over and plucked up a grape with her talons. “It is comforting to encounter something familiar here in the middle of freakland.” She eyed Sediryl and grinned, all fangs. “If my lack of diplomacy can be excused.”

  “I think I can find it in my heart to forgive you,” Sediryl said, wry.

  “So,” Na’er said. “Just to reiterate here. We dig up some information from secure Chatcaavan networks on the location of the Emperor, or where he was last headed. We check for any message drops. Then we sortie for wherever he went, in secret, and see if we can find him. We rescue him, if he needs rescuing, gather his allies, and go pound the tar out of his enemies. Which will hopefully also stop them from conquering the Alliance.”

  “Or trying,” Amber muttered.

  “That sound about the size of it?” Na’er said. “What are we doing with the refugees? Leaving them here?”

  “I would prefer to see them safely into the Alliance,” Sediryl said. “The Queen of the Eldritch has offered them asylum.”

  “Has she,” Lisinthir said, glancing at her with raised brows.

  “As long as there’s someplace for them to go?” Laniis said. “Beyond the Eldritch homeworld. Or is that what the Queen was offering?”

  “I would like to see the homeworld of the Ambassador’s people,” the Mother said, surprising… everyone, it seemed. Including herself.

  “Who’s going to oversee that process, though?” Amber asked. “You, cousin?”

  “Actually,” Sediryl said, “I was thinking of nominating you, cousin.”

  “Excuse me—”

  “I have a ship,” Sediryl said, “with a military-grade Duster. It doesn’t have a great deal of passenger space. And I have things to do, you perceive, that don’t involve me traveling all the way to the opposite end of the Alliance.”

  “What things are those, pray tell?” Amber asked, eyes narrowing.

  “Oh, I could think of several applications for a small vessel with a military-grade Duster,” Lisinthir said, considering the ceiling. “Can’t you, Na’er-alet?”

  “I think if I put my mind to it for long enough I could come up with… oh, I don’t know. One or two? Maybe?”

  “I am not going home,” Amber growled. “I have work to do here too!”

  “Your work, if I’m guessing correctly, involves punishing the Chatcaava for crimes committed against the Eldritch,” Lisinthir said. “I can hardly think of anything more fitting than to take some of their most vulnerable members away from them and hide them among us. They have done violence to the more vulnerable of our members often enough, have they not?”

  Amber’s eyes narrowed. In their tongue, and swathed in black on every word, he said, “That was a rogue’s touch, and unworthy of a gentleman.”

  “You will find me a proponent of expediency when it suits my purposes,” Lisinthir said. “And I am remarkably unruffled by insults.” Switching to Universal, he said, “I believe that plan has merit, cousin Sediryl.”

  “She’s the one who arranged the refugee flight,” Amber said. “She’s supposed to be the one overseeing it!”

  “I am overseeing it. That means I’m free to deputize you,” Sediryl replied. “Which I shall. Or are you not a loyal subject of our Queen?”

  “You’re not the heir yet,” Amber growled in their tongue.

  “Let’s not be rude,” Sediryl said in Universal. “No one else speaks our language, cousin.”

  “I won’t deny having an extra ship that can travel in stealth would be handy,” Na’er said. “If Lord Sernataila doesn’t mind seeing to the refugees.”

  “But with what ship?” the Knife said. “If not the extra one you are speaking of?”

  “There have been arrangements for getting the refugees off this planet in small groups,” Sediryl said. “I’m sure if Amber put his mind to it, he could consolidate most of those flights, since you’re all here.”

  “So we all have work to do,” Lisinthir said. “Shall we be about that work?”

  “Sounds good to me.” Na’er rose. “Since you and Lord Sernataila and Lady Sediryl are going to be busy with the next stage of the refugee situation, I’ll lead these folks to their temporary quarters. If that’s all right?” He grinned at the Knife. “Laniis and I speak the language, if not with the Ambassador’s facility.”

  “Nothing
like his facility,” the Priestess agreed. “But you can make yourselves understood.”

  “Maybe you can help us with our accents,” Na’er said.

  The Priestess snorted. “Unless you’re willing to cut your words off with your teeth, we’re not going to make any progress.”

  “I've got teeth.” Na’er flashed them, all fang, and startled the Priestess into wide-eyed silence. Sediryl found those surprised expressions strangely charming: something about the size of their eyes and the enormous irises.

  “He has very good teeth,” the Mother observed placidly.

  “They’re only as good as his ability to use them,” the Priestess replied, but she cast a speculative glance at Na’er.

  “Let’s go, then,” Na’er said. “And leave the Eldritch to their plans.”

  In the silence that remained in the wake of the departure of the aliens, the three Eldritch stared at one another. Amber was fuming, so visibly angry that Sediryl felt an unwilling fascination at the sight. Would he explode? Refuse to do as they asked? Call for a duel? Wouldn’t that be interesting.

  Cousin Lisinthir was draped in his chair in irreverent nonchalance, his hands folded on his solar plexus and his legs stretched in front of him, crossed at the ankle. Sediryl found his pose just as fascinating as Amber’s anger. She tried to remember seeing any Eldritch so... What was the word she wanted? Arrogant, perhaps? Masculine? And yet, Jahir was masculine and she couldn’t imagine him just... lazing that way. Like a predator, sprawled in the sun. No, Jahir had to sit with that perfect posture and hint at his passions only with flickers in his mesmerizing eyes. Goddess and Lord, what a pair.

  When the silence lasted too long, she finally said, “Will you do it?”

  “Have you left me any choice?” Amber asked.

  “No,” Lisinthir said. “Your inability to control your anger compromises you, cousin. You don’t know the language, the culture, or the situation. And you have outmoded notions of the potency of women which I fear we will not cure you of in time to prevent you from making a noble but perilous mistake.”

  “You are trying to tell me you’re not compromised by your own emotional involvement in this?” Amber asked. He waved a hand at Sediryl. “She’s the only one who hasn’t suffered at the hands of dragons, and she’s no better than you because she has something to prove and she’s determined to do it whether she’s fit for it or not!”

  Anger ripped through her so abruptly she felt the shock of it first, before the flame. Sediryl whispered, “Oh, cousin.” Something in her voice warned him, because Amber glanced at her sharply.

  “Go,” she said. “Right now. Before I say something I regret.”

  “You know it’s true, Sediryl.”

  “I’d do as she asks,” Lisinthir said. “I would hate for you to break with one another over this.”

  Amber stared at them both, seething. Then shoved off the chair, hands tight at his sides. “Fine. I’ll do what you ask. But this… this will clear the slate between us, cousin, of what I owe for Beth’s rescue. We are quit, we two.”

  “As you wish,” Lisinthir answered, voice cool.

  The vacuum of emotion in the room after Amber swept out was so distinct Sediryl felt lightheaded. She pressed a hand to her temple and said, “You tried, I know, but there’s no use. He’ll be angry about this forever. I played with them both when we were children and while Jahir would forgive anyone anything, Amber held grudges until they fell apart in his arms.”

  “Proof enough that he doesn’t belong out here,” Lisinthir said. “The Chatcaava are creatures of emotion themselves, cousin, and if you allow yourself to descend to their level they will win the fight. One must be capable of mastering one’s emotions to contest with them and win. And Amber is carrying too much shame over the princess’s fate.” He grinned at her, sudden and wicked. “Besides, you have a ship with a Duster and he doesn’t.”

  Sediryl blinked, then started laughing. “So all I’m good for is my hardware, is that it?”

  “As I said, I am a great believer in expediency. Which brings me to Jahir. As you have been nominated the expendable one—” A cock of his eyebrow, inviting her to laugh, “—you are certain you don’t mind overmuch fetching him when he arrives in three days? Someone will have to pick him up, and to be honest he might as well remain with you in orbit rather make the journey here, when we ourselves will have to leave as well.”

  “I said I’d do it… and I don’t mind,” Sediryl said, ignoring her heart’s flutter. “But… I thought you’d be coming with me?”

  “I could, I suppose. Or you could ask someone else to accompany you, though who you would tap I do not know. The Fleet people must stay together, and I should remain where the Chatcaava are. And you will surely travel more swiftly alone.” He tilted his head, the rubies braided into his hair glittering as they shifted. “Besides, I have other reasons I would advise against it.”

  Something in the way he said that... “You would?”

  He smiled, winsome. “I would. You and your cousin may want some time to become reacquainted. It has been a while, has it not?”

  “Ah... you might say so. I think.”

  “Mmm.”

  She eyed him. “You know something I don’t.”

  “I know many things you do not, I should hope. But like most knowledge, it is more truly grasped when learned directly, rather than imparted by a third party.” He smiled as he stood, all mischief and predatory grace. “And now, I believe we should begin seeing to the schedule of those transports, yes? The less we put on Amber’s poor shoulders, the better for us all.”

  She sighed. “That is putting it... diplomatically.” She managed a wry smile. “But then you would, wouldn’t you.”

  “I have my moments. I confess they are fewer than some would like.”

  Sediryl laughed. “All right. Let’s go get it over with.”

  Had the flight of the refugees been the only task to divert him from their stalled mission, Lisinthir would have been subject to an agitation he would have hated to display in front of either of his cousins.

  Fortunately, there was the Knife. The male had a skeptical crust of an exterior, but once past it was willing to speak of the Queen and what she’d accomplished in his absence. Lisinthir listened with intense satisfaction to her exploits in the nursery, and the way she’d taken to daily meetings with him, and with Uuvek. How she’d handled herself with grace and conviction. How she’d flowered. Watching the Knife speak of her was its own revelation, for the personal loyalty she’d obviously inspired in him and presumably the others. The Mother, of course, did not surprise him. Fierce little Gale, though, was a delight, as was his more demure brother. And the Priestess… the Queen had made friends among the females she’d insisted would always despise her.

  It was hard to imagine so much change happening in such a short time. No wonder they’d become imperiled.

  Uuvek was not the only one mired in a computer. Na’er was keeping a grim vigil on the movements of the Fleet. “There’s something going on there, on the coreward border,” he said, tapping the map on his data tablet. “Maia says it’s pirate activity. But pirates have always been associated with the Chatcaava, which makes it likely that there’s some link there.”

  Thinking of Third’s deep involvement with piracy, Lisinthir said, “More than likely, yes.”

  “The problem is that the least time deployment from the Empire to the Alliance takes the fight straight through the Bright Belt,” the Aera continued, dragging a fingertip along a corridor that encompassed many of the Pelted’s homeworlds. “If I thought I had parity with an alien’s navy, I’d probably start with diversionary expeditions, or raiding around the less policed fringes. Eat my way in from the edges, so to speak. But we’re not talking about a situation of parity, are we?”

  Lisinthir said, quiet, “I fear we are not, no.”

  “So if I knew I could attack in force…” The Aera’s ears slowly sagged until their tips brushed his shou
lders.

  “But numbers aren’t everything,” Lisinthir said. “We know the Chatcaava have more people than we do, and more space, and presumably a larger military. But as you had noted, that military is fragmenting. Some portion of it may rebel.”

  “But enough of it?” Na’er said.

  Lisinthir glanced at him. “That, I’m afraid, is an imponderable.”

  “Yet we have to plan for something.” Na’er set the data tablet down. “I’m glad I’m just a grunt on the outskirts, trying to gather data. I’d hate to be making the decisions on this one. So much at stake…”

  “We will prevail.”

  “Will we?”

  “Yes,” Lisinthir said. “There is no alternative. And a cornered beast, alet, is far more dangerous than its attackers often assume.”

  The Aera sighed. “Let’s hope you’re right.”

  Thankfully, Amber left on the following day with the first and largest of the refugee groups. The second group would be accompanied by the Priestess, who had surprised them all by deciding to help lead the effort. The Mother had decided to go with her, because children had no place on a battlefield by her standards, and she trusted no one else with the children. It was while that group was mustering to leave that Uuvek returned with the data tablet, and even knowing him poorly Lisinthir misliked his expression.

  “You are about to tell us things we don’t want to hear,” the Knife said heavily. “So let us have everyone together so you only have to say it once.”

  “Be quick,” was all Uuvek said.

  Sediryl and the Fleet personnel were found, and once they had gathered again in the room underground, Uuvek said, “The Queen left us a message.”

  “She lives!” Sediryl exclaimed.

  “Maybe,” Uuvek said. “According to her, she’s about to be gifted to a ‘pirate nation’ as an incentive for continuing their attack on the freaks. That’s not a diversion, by the way. From what our contact’s written, the pirates have been promised as much of the coreward chunk of the Alliance as they can keep.”

  “Speaker-Singer,” Laniis whispered, horrified.