by Bill Nolan
Shanna ordered Bankor out into space, and she and Morkalla flanked him as he moved. Once past the orbit of Earth’s moon, she ordered him to stop. His shields were down, and so he waited, helpless, for his fate to be decided. Robert told the two ships to watch him and kill him if he did anything but sit quietly in space. Robert wanted to wait before deciding what to do with the traitor ship. He needed to find out what was going on. Obviously, all three attacks had been part of one operation, and this treachery by another To’Ach’an was almost not believable.
Podara and Crylth were attending Jane when Robert finished and could finally get to her. Podara saw the look on his face and said, “I can’t reach her at all. She isn’t there anymore. I don’t know what else to tell you. What was that? I’ve never seen anything like that. Robert, I am so sorry. I think she’s dead.”
Robert shook his head. He was dizzy, and staggered backward, almost falling. Ky grabbed his arm and tried to steady him, as he slowly collapsed to the floor. He felt like he was falling into a black hole. Everything was spinning, swirling, in an incredible maelstrom.
Robert was staring, but he saw nothing in front of him. Suddenly he was staring at the weave. He saw Jane’s thread, slipping into the void, and then he reached out somehow, although no part of his body moved. He reached out to Jane’s thread, and he gently guided it back into the weave.
Then, as the swirling around him slowed to a stop, he heard Podara say, “Wait, I think she’s coming back! I can feel her coming back. What was that? What’s happening?”
Robert answered. “I don’t know. I think we’ve just seen another of Jane’s talents. Shanna, what was that energy flow?”
“I’m still analyzing it, Robert. It seems to be mental energy, but on a scale I’ve never seen before. It didn’t come from Jane. She was just the conduit. I think it came from Earth’s sun. Whatever it was, it came in through my shields like they weren’t there.”
One of Robert’s next actions was to contact the Empress and tell her that an attempt had been made to kill Shanna. “I don’t know if they were after me or our daughter, but it was a very serious attack. It almost worked. We can’t wait any longer. You have to act.”
By the time Robert finished with Shotana, Jane was waking up. Her first words were, “Why did Kaymorra attack us?”
“I don’t know,” Robert answered in a voice so quiet it was hard to hear, “but I do know I’m going to war over it.”
Kysandra spoke up. “It looks like we’re already at war, so far as I can see. That’s a big hole Shanna punched through Bankor.”
Robert looked up from Jane and smiled, and Kysandra flashed back to a day about 35 years before, when Robert had smiled at Jaymer after being called a coward. It was the same smile, and it had the same effect. Kysandra Nutima, the Yellow Demon herself, went pale.
As the smile slowly faded, Robert said, “Nobody has ever seen me go to war. Not until now.”
Since they had no idea how many of Jane’s relatives were in on the plot, Podara treated all of them as possible enemies. Each was put into a separate holding room, and Shanna flooded the rooms with gas.
Maria and Ronal were busy with the injured child. Karlona took charge of the mother, who was still pretty hysterical. “Ma’am, it will be OK, I promise. What is the child’s name?” It took several attempts, but eventually she settled down enough to answer.
“Chrissie, her name is Chrissie. Will she really be OK?”
“She’ll be fine. Come over here and sit. It will take them a few minutes to get ready. Let me get you something to drink.” She told Shanna, and a few minutes later Laurni showed up with some hot chocolate. Karlona kept up a running commentary about what was being done to the child, so when she was put into the tank, her mother was prepared.
When they were done, Maria came over. “Hi, I’m Maria, and I’m a healer. What is your name?”
“Donna.”
Well, Donna, your little girl is completely out of danger. She will be in the tank for a bit over four days. When she comes out, she’ll be her old self, except for a couple of things. I took the liberty of correcting her vision, and I am also taking care of her asthma and allergies. They won’t bother her anymore. Naturally, she’ll be immune to most diseases as well.”
Donna’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean, most diseases?”
Maria smiled and took her hand. “Well, she won’t get colds, or flu, or any of the sexual diseases, or cancer. Most anything caused by a virus or bacteria won’t be a problem for her. You look exhausted. Why don’t you let Karlona find you a room? You’ll be our guest until your daughter is completely well. If you need to call anyone, or have anyone brought up to join you, just let Karlona know and she’ll have somebody take care of it.”
Podara’s questioning of the prisoners from the party went easily. Tempers were a bit short, and she wasn’t feeling any need to be nice. It turned out that among Jane’s relatives, only Jenny and Tom knew about the plot, and Tom was clearly the instigator. He had spent a lot of time and effort convincing Jenny that it was the right thing to do, but his main motive was the $100,000 paid to him by the conspirators.
He was easy for Podara to question. Tom had never before seen applied violence up close, and he had been badly frightened by the ease with which the unarmed Leida and Jane had taken out three fully armed and trained professional soldiers. When Podara entered the room, Tom got up. Podara slammed her pointed fingers into his midsection. He doubled over and turned away from her. Her left foot lashed into his groin from the back, and he went down. As he lay on the floor, Podara took a force blade and cut off his left hand. When he looked up at her in shock, she smiled sweetly and said, “If you give me any trouble, your balls are next.”
Jenny turned on Tom as soon as she heard about the money. She really had believed they were doing it for the good of their country.
The US government denied that any of their people were involved until the weapons and dog tags were produced. Only then did the Pentagon admit US military personnel had been involved and start an investigation.
It was later that day before Kysandra could get Robert alone in his office. “Well, Robert, didn’t anyone else but me make the connection? Maybe I’m way off base, but it hit me right away.”
Robert look confused. “What are you talking about?”
“The prophecy, I’m talking about the prophecy. Remember. ‘There will come a time of darkness, and in that darkness a shining warrior will appear to save us from our enemies and this warrior will lead us back to greatness.’ It certainly went dark on Shanna, and Jane certainly appeared, and she was certainly shining. Maybe Jane is the one foretold to lead us.”
Robert was surprised. It was the last thing he had expected her to say, but when he thought about it, it didn’t seem impossible. Jane was still in the process of discovering her true self, and as she did, she was likely to also discover her destiny. After a few moments he said, “Maybe it is Jane. We always consider the prophesy to be an allegory, but maybe we are supposed to interpret it literally. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Bankor was the next problem. He said that he had opposed the plan, but that Kaymorra had ordered him to attack. Shanna believed him, and Robert trusted her judgment on this matter. Bankor said that only about a dozen or so people still on board had even known about the attack. Once it was over, the rest of the To’Ach’an on Bankor had quickly identified and subdued these and locked them up to await Robert’s decision.
About 120 people had died in Bankor during the short fight, including all of the main conspirators, who had all been in the control room with Kaymorra. Shanna’s shot had been no accident. She knew the location of the control room on every To’Ach’an ship, and she had destroyed it quite deliberately. She’d been a little angry at the time. There were 834 people still in Bankor, and all of them were reeling over the unbelievable thing Kaymorra had done.
Robert asked Podara and Chofma to go over to Bankor to take charge. The twelve su
rvivors who had known of the plot had been questioned ruthlessly by the To’Ach’an still in Bankor, and a full report of everything they had learned had been immediately transmitted to Shanna. Robert wanted Podara and Chofma to verify this information.
They came back to Shanna about 12 hours later, and were accompanied by Julai Nefana and Timel Hodas. These two To’Ach’an had assumed control on Bankor after the battle. It was Julai, especially, who had convinced the other To’Ach’an to confine the conspirators and question them. Julai was a woman of nearly 1000 years, although she looked to be maybe 25. She was short, even for a To’Ach’an, at about 4’8”, and a bit on the pudgy side, but Kysandra said she was one of the very best with a force blade, and no slouch with a pellet gun. She led a team on Bankor, and Timel was a team member and her chosen.
It was her team that had organized things on the disabled ship. The two were told to wait outside Robert’s office while Podara and Chofma went in first to meet with him. Leida’s team made no pretense of doing anything but guard the two from Bankor.
Robert’s team members were all in his office. Chofma spoke. “These two have come as emissaries on behalf of the rest in Bankor. It appears that all those responsible have either been killed or are now confined… at least all of those on Bankor. We have learned of at least two other ships with people involved in the conspiracy, but we don’t know exactly how many. That will have to be looked into.”
Robert considered for a moment. “Well, let’s see what they have to say. Shanna, please let them in.”
Shanna opened the door and told Julai and Timel to come into the office. It was not phrased as a request. Leida and her team came in with them. Julai took a deep breath and said, “Robert, may we please meet with you alone, or perhaps you and Jonu?”
“No.”
Timel started to protest, but Robert cut him off. “That’s not how we do things on this ship.”
As Timel started to say something else, Julai waved him to silence. “Tocal Robert Allen, we have come to apologize on behalf of Bankor and all who live in him. Bankor is a good ship, and now his name will be spoken only with scorn and shame. We found and questioned those responsible. It wasn’t much, after the enormity of our crime, but it was all we could think to do. If you allow us to do so before we are destroyed, we also want to transfer all of our assets to your group. We can do this in about two hours, if you will allow us that much time.” Julai did not ask for mercy, and did not expect any. She had already sung her death song.
Robert shook his head. “I have no wish to destroy Bankor, and the only people who will die are those who were a party to this madness. If Bankor can bond with another, he will have the opportunity to regain his honor.”
Julai’s eyes were filling, and she blinked a few times. “I have lived in Bankor since I was born, and as his disagreement with Kaymorra deepened, he has come to me for counsel. I didn’t know the basis of his argument with Kaymorra until today, but he was very troubled by it. I think he will bond with me. I will have to ask him.”
Robert stood up. “Good, go back and ask him, then let me know how long repairs will take. You understand that our people will have to meet with everyone on board?”
She knew he meant they would be meeting with people such as Podara, who could search their minds for treason. “Of course, and I will contact you within an hour. It will take that long to complete the preliminary damage assessment. Also, I swear on my honor that we will help you root out this evil that has infested our people. For To’Ach’an to be in league with the Empire is a profanity. Thank you for giving us this chance.”
“There is something you should know, Julai. They were not in league with the Empire. They were in league with revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the Empress and take power themselves. Don’t forget that, because it’s a very important distinction. It means that when we oppose them, we are the ones in league with the Empire.”
After she and Timel left, Jonu looked at Robert and said, “What’s next?”
“Shotana is on her way here, and will arrive in about 4 days. During that time, we will work to get Bankor fully functional and upgraded to our standards. We also will report that he was destroyed in the battle, and that we were badly damaged. That gives us three ships. More, it gives us the best three ships in the Galaxy. Our enemies only know about Shanna, and they will think she is badly damaged. I think the remaining To’Ach’an traitors will soon come to kill us, but they will expect to face only one damaged ship. We will set a little trap for them.”
“In addition, we will work with Shotana to make a list of all those involved in this plot against her. These people must be hunted down and killed. You have all heard the old saying about how the best way to insure peace is to kill all your enemies? Well, I’m going to become a peacemaker.” Jane saw that everyone in the room was nodding assent.
Less than an hour later, Julai contacted Robert. “Tocal Robert Allen, thank you again for sparing us. I promise we will not fail you. Bankor and I have bonded. Everyone available is already assigned and working on repair crews. Bankor will be battle ready in three days. Naturally, full internal repairs will take considerably longer, but this will not affect our ability to assist you. If you have any healers available, we could use help in that area, as we have several injured.”
“Of course,” Robert answered quickly, “we will be glad to help with anything you need. Shanna, please ask Maria and Ronal if they would be willing to go to Bankor to provide assistance. Also, Julai, I would like to send another team over as well. We have made some technical improvements, and I think you may want to consider adding these upgrades to Bankor.”
When Shotana arrived four days later, a meeting was held in Robert’s office. Robert’s team was all present, along with Miko and Julai. Shotana, General Aranna, and Nante made up the Empire contingent. Julai looked a bit shocked. “What is SHE doing here, Robert. I don’t understand.”
Chofma spoke up. “The Queen has been here before. She and Robert are old friends, aren’t you, Shotana.”
“You need to be informed, Julai,” Robert said. “Shotana and I are indeed old friends, and her daughter, Nante, is my daughter, also. I told you we were in league with the Empire on this one, and we should be. Our tradition of non-involvement – tradition, not law – is wrong. What the Empire does affects us, and if this other group gets control it will surely affect us badly. I have seen this crisis approaching for several years, and I could see no solutions. It was only after I gave up the foolishness of assuming no involvement with the Empire that I began to see some possibilities. We have stood aloof too long.”
Julai stood, and waited for quiet. “I have many years. I am the oldest in this room by far, and I have watched our people for 1000 years. We have become a stagnant race. For all those 1000 years I was told that our ships were perfected, and that no further improvement was possible. Yet, in the last couple of days I have seen several major improvements installed in Bankor. That isn’t all that needs to change. This crisis came upon us because some of our people fear change. Old people can be like that, but they don’t have to be. I don’t have to be. You’re right, and soon everyone will know it.”
With everybody committed, they started going over the lists. Nante had known who most of the traitorous family members were, and Shotana and General Aranna quickly filled in the rest. They then added the names of all those high level officials who were supporting Lord Smalic. General Andeyki was at the top of that list, and there were quite a few planetary governors included.
After about two hours, the list had grown to over 250 people, and that didn’t count the To’Ach’an and Tovena. They really had no idea yet how deeply the conspiracy had infected the supposedly impervious To’Ach’an.
When the list of Empire people was finished, Shotana stared at it for a few minutes, and then spoke up. “I can’t do it. I can’t. I’ve known a lot of these people all of my life. It’s half my family, and many of the others are people I really care abou
t. I’m sorry, but I just can’t kill them. I thought I could, but I can’t.”
“I can.”
Nante hadn’t shouted or spoken sharply, but there was a familiar note in her quiet voice. Everyone in the room knew they had heard it before. Nante was indeed Robert’s daughter. She stood and waited a few moments for everyone to become quiet.
“Just assign the job to me, Mom, and I’ll handle it for you. These people killed my grandmother and tried to kill you. They tried to kill my friend Shanna and all my other friends here. They tried to kill my father, and they tried to kill me. I’m not willing to spend my life waiting for them to try again. I’ll finish it.”
There comes a time in the lives of many parents when they have to step back mentally and take a new look at their children. This was such a time for Shotana. She still thought of her daughter as a sweet little girl who filled her days playing with toys. Now, looking at Nante with fresh perspective, she didn’t see that little girl. She also didn’t see the bravado of a young adult trying to act tough.
What she saw was a woman quietly confident in her ability to handle any job required of her. Nante was alert, but seemed totally at ease. There was no sign of nervousness. She just looked ready. With a start, Shotana realized she looked like a To’Ach’an. The two years she had spent living on her father’s ship had wrought a profound change. Looking at her daughter, Shotana made her decision.
“Shanna, could you please begin recording a tight shot of me?” When Shanna told her she was recording, Shotana stood and spoke. “I am Empress Shotana, 831st in my line. For personal reasons, I have decided to abdicate in favor of my daughter Nante. From this moment forward, she is Empress Nante, 832nd in our line. All loyal subjects of the Empire will now give their full allegiance to Empress Nante. You may stop recording now.”