by Bill Nolan
“Sure I do. I’ve never even heard a rumor of you failing at anything. About Horru, the three guards who helped are with him, along with some others. I’ve got people watching him, so when you’re ready, let me know, and I’ll show you where he is. You do realize they know you’re coming? Somebody saw me with Melia at the bar and put it together. That’s why the police were hanging around. Horru is pissing his pants, and the word is that his daddy has been told to keep the Empire out of it. From what I hear, that came from way up the line.”
“Also, I have a sealed message for you. Some military type who I hear is close to the Queen delivered it to me. He gave me the usual crap about how he was sure I didn’t know you, and equally sure I would never run into you by accident, but just in case, hang on to this message.” Jonu took a message capsule out of his belt and handed it to Robert. “Some sort of private opening code, I couldn’t crack it at all,” he added with a grin.
Tovey slept until nearly dinnertime. When she came upstairs, the first thing she said was, “What’s for dinner, mom?”
Everybody in the room had to hug her, and then they found out she really was hungry. Ravenous, actually, so Robert said he’d spring for dinner at a nice place. Melia was worried there would be trouble with the police, but Robert didn’t seem concerned, so they all went out to a nice little cafe Melia knew about that was just a couple of blocks over.
As they walked to the restaurant, Jane was abnormally alert. She seemed to be noticing everything. First, she noticed that they didn’t walk in a tight group. Kysandra was about 50 feet ahead, and Chofma was bringing up the rear. She noticed that the locals, and even a couple of cops, saw them and then quickly looked away. She realized they were afraid to be caught staring. It was a new feeling for her, walking down the street like she owned it, with everyone staying out of her way. She guessed there wouldn’t be any problems with muggers.
She caught fleeting glimpses of others from the ship. Somebody, and she didn’t know if it was Robert or Kysandra, had security spread wide. She also noticed at least two, and maybe three others that she didn’t know but was sure were To’Ach’an, and she assumed they were Jonu’s people.
The manager of the restaurant leaped out of his seat when they entered. He asked Ky how he could be of service, and Jane found out he really meant it. In minutes, they were seated in a private room, and both the food and service were excellent.
After desert, Robert asked Tovey to go for a walk, and the two of them left. Tovey never saw any of the people keeping an eye on them, but she wasn’t nervous anyway. After all, she was with Robert Allen of the To’Ach’an.
They walked down toward the spaceport, and Robert was making small talk, asking her about her job, whether she was going to school, and what she wanted to do when she was an adult, on her own.
Tovey had a different agenda. “Were you and mom lovers?” she asked suddenly. “I mean, I can’t think of any other reason for you to have come here to help me. I asked mom why, and she dodged it. So, am I your daughter?”
Robert stopped and looked at her. Her eyes were brimming, but she seemed under control. They were standing in front of a little restaurant, and Robert took her arm and led her inside. The proprietor of the little place was shocked when he saw Robert. “What is it, my lord? How may I help you?”
Robert answered, “We just want a quiet table and a couple of sodas. And, I’m not a lord.”
They were quickly shown to a table in a back corner. After the drinks came, Robert took Tovey’s hands in his. “Well, young lady, you certainly know how to get my attention. Yes, your mother and I were lovers. However, it was over 30 years ago, and I hadn’t seen her since until now. So, no, I’m not your father. I wouldn’t have minded, though. Your father is a lucky man. Not many are blessed with a daughter like you. You’re very beautiful, you know. You remind me of your mother.”
“Thanks for telling me the truth about you and mom,” Tovey replied. “Ever since I woke up, my mom and dad won’t give me a direct answer to any question I ask. What are you going to do to Horru? Mom said you would take care of it, but she wouldn’t say what she meant.”
Robert squeezed her hands. “First, I have to hear from you what Horru did, and who helped him. I don’t need details. Just tell me what happened. I have to hear it from you.”
Tovey squeezed back and took a deep breath. “Horru and three of his guards, Horec, Joohn, and Maric, kidnapped me on my way home from work. For nine hours they kept me captive. They tortured and raped me over and over. Do you need to know exactly what they did to me?”
“You just told me,” Robert answered. “Now, understand that I promised your mother to help her if she ever needed it. That put her under my protection, according to our laws. As her daughter, you are also entitled to that protection, if you want it. Before, when you were unconscious, I was able to assume you wanted my protection. Now that you are awake, if you want my protection, I have to hear you say it. If you were still a child, your mother could speak for you, but you’re not, you’re over 16, so you have to speak for yourself. Do you want my protection?”
Tovey thought for a few moments before answering. “If I say I want your protection, then you’re going to kill Horru and the others, aren’t you? So I’ll be responsible for killing them, won’t I?”
“No,” Robert answered, “You won’t be responsible. They are responsible for what they did. You didn’t make them do it. It was their choice. I’m sure they’ve done it before, and they will probably do it again if they can, but none of it is your responsibility. They did what they did, and I’ll do what I have to do, and none of it will be your fault. It wasn’t your fault that they attacked you, and what happens to them as a result won’t be your fault, either. The choices people make determine their destinies.”
There was a long pause. “I want your protection.”
Robert stood up. “Good, let’s go back and find the others. They’re probably wondering what happened to us.” Robert stopped at the front of the restaurant to pay their bill, and Tovey walked out onto the sidewalk to wait.
A couple of local boys she knew from the neighborhood were outside. “Hi, Tovey,” one of them said. “Are you still dating Horru? How about doing for me what you did for him?” The boy reached out to grab Tovey, but another arm grabbed his and spun him into the wall. He came up holding a force knife. Ky just stood and waited.
Robert spoke quietly from the doorway, but his voice commanded attention. “Son, you don’t want to do that. My friend there will kill you if you do.”
The boy looked at the two of them, and they saw it register on his face that they were both To’Ach’an. Ho looked at Tovey, and then back at Kysandra, then dropped the knife. “Look, Tovey, I’m sorry. I was out of line, OK?”
Robert was the one who answered. “Pick up your knife and go home, son. Next time, be a bit more careful who you pick on.” After the boys left, Robert turned to Kysandra. “Thanks, Ky. I appreciate your restraint. That was an unpleasant young man. Is he a close friend, Tovey?” he asked with a chuckle.
Tovey was visibly upset by the incident. “Not a close friend, but I wouldn’t have thought he’d act like that. We went to school together. Why would he say those things?”
Ky answered, “I can never understand why most of the people I meet on planets do most of the things they do. I’m sorry I was a few seconds late. I saw that coming, but I almost didn’t get here soon enough. He nearly put his hands on you. Then I would have killed him.”
“Don’t worry,” Robert added. “It’s all over.”
“No,” Tovey said. “It’ll never be over. Not here. Everybody knows about it.”
After they had seen Tovey and her parents back to Melia’s house. Robert excused himself, saying he had to go out for a while. Chofma, Kysandra, Podara, and Jonu went with him, and Jane decided to go, too. Outside, Robert asked her what she was doing.
“I’m going. You guys didn’t all decide to leave at the same time for no reaso
n. I want to see this man Horru.”
“You’re not trained for this, Jane,” Robert said. “You could endanger someone.”
“I’m going,” Jane repeated.
Chofma spoke up. “I checked the place out after Jonu showed me where it was. It’s a cakewalk. I’ll keep an eye on her for you, Robert.”
With Jane’s presence settled, the group got into the aircar and flew the few blocks to the warehouse district. They left the car a block from their destination and met Leida, who had led the advance team. Leida was one of the people who joined Shanna at Caimerce, and Jane liked her a lot. She looked 20, but was actually several hundred years older than that. She was about 5’2” tall, with a deep brown complexion and shoulder length hair the color of milk chocolate. Her nose turned up a bit, and she had an impish smile. She was not really very pretty, but for some reason most men found her irresistibly sexy. Her team was shaping up to be a good one, and Robert trusted her.
“There are nine inside,” Leida said. Horru and the other three are all here. I guess they thought they would hole up here, but it was a bad choice. We beat the alarms about an hour ago, and they don’t know it yet. There’re four of us. You want any backup inside?” It was clear she wanted in on the action. Jane wasn’t the only one who wanted a part in this operation.
“Yes,” Robert answered. We’ll go in the north side, and you four come in from the west. Don’t let them see you,” he added unnecessarily. Leida rolled her eyes at him.
Horru and his guards were in the dark, using vision gear to watch the approaches. The combat jumpsuits had distorters to deal with that threat. Horru knew somebody was coming, but he couldn’t see how many or exactly where. The distorters worked kind of like radar jammers, overpowering the vision gear with noise. The vision gear tried to compensate, but the distorters were agile, and easily kept ahead of the poorer equipment being used by the queen’s men. Worse for Horru, the To’Ach’an gear was tuned to the distorters, and moved frequencies with them, so Robert’s party had clear vision.
The guard captain turned on the lights, apparently deciding that they’d be better off on a more equal footing. The To’Ach’an had spread out and were using the old crates and building pillars as cover. Chofma was in front of Jane. Robert spoke up. “I only have a quarrel with Horru and three of you others, Horec, Joohn, and Maric. The rest of you can leave.”
One of the guards suddenly brought his hand up from behind the crate he was using for cover. It had a laser plasma pistol in it. Jane was watching Robert at the time, yet she never saw him move. Suddenly he had a weapon in his hand, and the guard’s head was a cloud of red mist. It happened so fast Jane almost missed it. Robert was using a pellet gun. It fired tiny pellets that were given a charge as they left the weapon, and the charge was adjustable. The pellets exploded on contact.
Jonu said, “That was Maric.”
Robert spoke again. “I don’t have a fight with all of you. The ones not involved in the rape can leave. There’s no reason for all of you to die. For the rest, I’ll fight you with force blades if you want a fair fight.”
At that moment, Horru came around an office wall. He was wearing full Imperial armor and firing a heavy laser plasma rifle. Neither would help him. Kysandra, Chofma, Podara, and Jonu all fired at almost the same instant. Horru missed, but none of the To’Ach’an did. The plasma rifle disappeared in a shower of debris. Jane was still watching Robert, and again she never saw him move. He seemed to flicker and then was in another place, right in front of Horru. Horru croaked out “Please, spare me. Have mercy.”
Robert answered, and in a voice so cold Jane didn’t recognize it. “You hurt a lot of innocent people when you were sure they were helpless. This one time you were wrong. Tovey’s mother is my friend.” Again there was a flicker and Jane heard a crack. Horru’s head was twisted at an odd angle. As he fell, Robert’s pellet gun appeared in his hand, and he fired two pellets into Horru’s skull. There wasn’t much left.
The rest of the guards tried to take advantage of the distraction and fire on the To’Ach’an, but they hadn’t seen Leida’s group on their flank. In less than a second, all were dead. None managed to actually fire a weapon. Even though Kysandra had told her that most fights last only a second or two, Jane was still startled at how quickly nine lives had ended, and the weapons used seemed a bit more than needed. Body parts were scattered all over the area.
The total number of To’Ach’an in both groups had equaled the number in Horru’s party, but there the equality had ended. Jane considered that there had been nothing fair about the fight. She wondered if that was important, and decided to talk to Robert or Kysandra when there was more time.
After the fight, their group went back to Shanna. Leida’s team handled security on Melia’s home, and also told Tovey that Horru and the guards were dead. Jonu came up to the ship as a guest, and so that he and Robert could discuss their business arrangements. This was of great importance to everyone on board, as both the To’Ach’an and Tovena on Shanna earned a percentage, kind of like the old whaling ships. Jonu was always honest in his dealings with other To’Ach’an, of course, but he was still known as a sharp businessman.
Once he was alone in his office, Robert inserted the message capsule into the slot on his desk. Shanna brought it up on the screen. It opened with a code phrase, “Red, green, and white.” Robert answered, “Toledo.” The capsule unlocked, and Shanna played the message. It was Shotana, and she asked to meet Robert at the mining planet Wotara. She said she would send a General named Aranna to arrange the details of the meeting, and that she would count on Robert for all security and preferred to meet on his ship.
“Well,” Robert said to Shanna. “That should liven up the trip back to Earth.”
“That’s if we ever get back to Earth,” Shanna answered. “If we have to visit every woman you ever slept with, it will take years.”
The next day, Robert and Jane again landed an aircar in the drop-off zone near Melia’s house. Robert went into the house to talk with Leida, while Jane stopped at a little shop to look at some stone carvings she had seen earlier. She had been there about five minutes when the attack came. There was no warning at all.
She suddenly felt someone inside her mind, and they were clamping down on her muscles. She couldn’t move, and she couldn’t breathe either. She knew somehow that they were trying to stop her heart. She was fighting desperately to call out to Robert, but no sound would come out. She was fighting with everything she had, and she knew she was losing. She felt the blackness coming on.
Suddenly the pressure lessened, and then disappeared, but she was still panicked, until she felt Robert in her mind. She heard him say, “I stand beside you and behind you and in front of you. I hold you in the palm of my mind.” Then, just as suddenly, she was in the midst of an intense firefight. Pellet guns and plasma beams laced back and forth across the shop. She vaguely heard screams and explosions, and then it got dark outside. A moment later the darkness was broken by terrible energies. Everything in the shop was glowing blue, and all her hair was standing on end. Then Robert was beside her.
He picked her up like a toy, and ran out of the shop. Shanna was overhead, and Jane realized that’s why it was so dark. Robert ran up the ramp Shanna had dropped, and Jane saw a lot of others running with them. Once inside, Robert dropped her and yelled at Shanna, “Everybody in?”
“Just a sec’,” came the reply, and then, “OK, that’s it. Full climb.” Jane didn’t know what was happening. Robert was at the console near the ramp entrance. On the screen, Jane could see another ship. She saw it fire, and the screen went white for a moment, then Shanna fired back. The ship on the screen seemed to flow for an instant. Its outline blurred, and then it was gone.
“What happened to it?” Jane asked. “Did it jump?”
Ky was at her side. “No, Jane. It’s still there, but the pieces are too small to see. That’s it. It’s all over. What do you think, Robert? Was it the Governor?”
“Probably,” Robert answered, “but we’ll make sure. Did we get everybody on the ground?”
Jonu answered. “There seemed to be only six in the party on the ground. We got them all, no problem. Chofma took one alive. When Podara finishes with him, we’ll have a better idea what happened. I think the attack there was to draw Shanna down so that ship could attack her from above. Whoever planned this was no genius. Did he think that one Empire ship could take Shanna, even with a gravity well advantage? What an idiot.”
“Any damage, Shanna?” Robert said, “And how about Melia and her family? Did we get them on board?”
“We got everybody on board, and I took no damage,” Shanna answered.
“That’s good. Put some distance between us and that planet, and let’s get everybody settled down. As soon as Podara reports to me, we’ll mop this up. Ky, get my team together and we’ll meet in my office in an hour. That should give Podara enough time. She doesn’t have to be careful.”
Robert led Jane up to their garden. She was still shaking, and she had a lot of questions. “Can I learn to defend against that mental attack? I thought I was dead, and I couldn’t even call out to you. How am I going to be a warrior? I was scared to death.”
“Don’t worry about it Jane. You did fine. You did call out to me. I heard you in my mind. We’re chosen, remember? And I know your mind better than your attacker did. I just came in and pushed him out. While I was taking care of you, Ky and Chofma took out the guys on the ground, while Leida and her team got Melia and her family on board. That ship tried to blast us, but Shanna came in above us and slammed a shield down. You saw the blue glow. It must have been Horru’s dad, the Governor. It was a stupid attack. Podara will find out. As far as being scared, everybody gets scared. If you’re trained, you do your job anyway. Give yourself a few weeks with Kysandra, and you’ll be ready for anything.”