So he punished who he could. His servants and other pets had suffered greatly at his hand. His wrath had killed quite a few of them. But he didn’t care. They were easily replaced. All the rest avoided spending much time in his presence, which kind of amused him. How did they expect to serve his needs if they were not around him enough to know what those needs were? Their absence only gained them more punishment. Something that he wasn’t against dishing out. It was an enjoyable pastime.
But it wasn’t enough. He was bored. Not even watching the war was enough to sate his growing boredom. It was time that he went to attend to his other experiments. Betrayer pondered which piqued his interest as he made his way to the shuttle bay. Did he observe the panic of the Imperial System at the emperor’s seat of power? Nah, it wasn’t any different than in Iceron. More boring in that there were no battles to entertain him. Kinair? No, not yet. Perhaps Felania. He was in process of changing their culture. He wanted to see their recent developments.
Once he left, his servants and the pets breathed sighs of relief. It was always dangerous when the master was bored. Especially so when he was angry and bored. Many of the servants decided that now was their opportunity. It was time to change their name and move far, far away. They were, after all, easily replaced. The pets were left to fend for themselves.
Chapter 5 – Of Shades and Guardians
Marius
Hyperspace
Spectral Empire
THIS IS NOT THE USUAL PLACE ONE WOULD EXPECT TO FIND YOU, MARIUS, DEAR, Zara crooned teasingly, as she curled up next to his chair. Marius grunted softly, not bothering to move his eyes from the database screen he was working on.
Sweet Zara was right. It was a rare blue moon that found him in a database room recently. Too much was going on. Too much to occupy his mind. Usually the only solace he could find while on his free shifts was in the recreation center on ‘B’ deck. The combat room had seen a lot of him recently. But today he was in the database room. He hoped it would give him a couple more moments of peace.
The database room was a small chamber on ‘B’ deck for those who wanted quiet and yet to still be in a public place. There were twelve database ports for crewmembers to access the Fleet’s digital archives. There were also two comfortable overstuffed chair arrangements for those who brought their tablet to sit. It was very reminiscent of old Earth libraries. Except for Zara and two other people, Marius was alone.
He was going to enjoy that fact for as long as he could. Jason would find him soon. And while that wasn’t a bad thing, the kid asked a lot of questions. Marius usually didn’t mind questions, especially when he was in ‘teacher’ mode. Unfortunately, he had a question limit. Jason had helped him discover it.
There was only so much he could say about the Shade Order and Spectrals to a non-Shade, no matter how close Jason was to being one with the wilder nature of his soul. It didn’t matter either that Jason was also a prince. One he was, as was his right as a friend and duty as a Shade, guarding.
Jason and the flying serpent, however, were persistent. MARIUS, WE HAVE COMPANY, Zara murmured sleepily. Even without her warning, he had sensed a presence beside him. Marius sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Jason, I’ve told you all I can.”
IT ISN’T … Zara began, but another interrupted.
“So, what is it that you have been telling Jason and not wanting to tell me?” Westley asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Marius.
Marius settled himself in his chair to more comfortably meet Westley’s gaze. For a moment he considered Westley. He had wondered when this would happen. “I was helping him with some of his lessons.” In the various races of the Empire, with a concentrated study on the Spectrals, Marius added silently. He always hated not being able to tell people he liked the full truth all the time. The problem was, the secrets he kept were not only his. He was already treading a dangerous line with Jason. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jason to keep his mouth shut. He was just trying to keep in the practice of holding his own silence. It was that effort that led him to find some breathing space in the database room.
Zara snickered from her spot. AH, THE TANGLED WEBS WE WEAVE …
Tangled webs we weave? As the Spectral in this relationship, you don’t have to weave a web of protection, Marius pointed out.
I WAS JUST SAYING …
Yeah, well …
At Marius’s words, Westley’s gaze shuttered slightly before he looked away. He tilted his head curiously at the database port screen that Marius had been studying. Marius followed his gaze. On the other side of the screen was the latest news from the battle front. The Zar’daken Empire was pushing steadily into Spectral territory. N’avé had fallen without so much as a whimper, the few defending forces had been overrun. No word had reached Legion Fleet Command until it had been too late. Most claimed that the Zar’dakens had come so hard and fast that no one had been able to send a cry for help. While Marius agreed that the Zar’dakens came in force, especially since they had taken three whole systems and were now threating three others, he was also prone to be suspicious. There were traitors in the ranks. It wouldn’t surprise him if some of them had been in control of border security and had simply let the Zar’dakens enter Spectral space without a single shot being fired.
Thankfully, there still were those who were loyal to the Spectral Empire. The J’Ara System had been fighting viciously against the invaders. So far, they had managed to keep the Zar’dakens from taking their Prime World. But they were in need of aid. Admiral L’Seral, the LFP Terrenza, and four hasta class starships had been deployed to the J’Ara front just before the Hail Mary with her own battle group had been ordered to the Terress, Lenti-Solum, and Ser’etten border. The Terressian Prime World may have already fallen but the hope was to keep Lenti-Solum safe. With her recent upgrades, many a high hope was placed on the Hail Mary and her battle group.
“Catching up, huh?” Westley asked.
Marius nodded. “Nasty business, this war,” he observed, “but then every war is.”
“Agreed,” Westley said, before leaning back in his chair. “I bet Rylynn would have been able to guess what they were up to and have several surprises in store for them. Hell, she probably would have found some way to get to the root of the problem by now.”
Marius chuckled softly. “That sounds like her. She was terrifying when it came to reading a situation or plotting.” And instead of being with them and doing what she did best, she was out cold in a coma. Both she and Kylesst were so lost that no other Spectral could drag them back. They still tried, though. Spectrals were fiercely loyal to each other. When one was in danger, the others did what they could to help. All who could, mostly those who didn’t have a Shade to protect, stayed near the downed pair and called to them continuously. It was all they could do until Rylynn and Kylesst were closer to the surface.
Westley sighed. “I miss her, too,” he said, drawing Marius back to reality. “Though I guess it is worse for you,” Westley added. Marius frowned and looked to Westley for an explanation. Westley caught Marius’s look and shrugged. “I just thought that since you and Rylynn had this connection, it must be worse for you knowing that there is nothing you can do to help her. I know it makes me feel hopeless and I wasn’t as close as you two had been.”
Marius made to reply when Jason found them. The boy looked relieved and excited. “Oh good! Westley knows now. We have all been so close I hated knowing about, you know.” He trailed off when Marius and Westley both stared at him, one with expectation and the other with annoyance. Glancing between the two of them, Jason flushed slightly. “He doesn’t know, does he?” he asked Marius.
“Not yet, but Marius was just about to tell me,” Westley replied with anticipation, a slight edge to his voice, challenging Marius to deny that there was some secret between Jason, Rylynn, and himself now after Jason’s slip. “Were you not, Marius?” The look he shot Marius made the Shade see a cat nose-to-nose with the mouse under his paw
. Which was ironic considering what Marius’ Spectral was.
Now what? Marius wondered. Zara, helpful as ever, huffed softly in amusement. Wanting badly to shoot her a glare for her insolence, Marius resisted and instead glanced about the room. The other occupants kept slanting looks at their group. Marius couldn’t help the ‘why me?’ look toward heaven. Jason had not whispered when he had greeted his friends. Thankfully, he hadn’t been shouting, but even speaking normally was loud in the database room. Marius caught the dirty looks from the others in the room and sighed. “Come on, let’s go eat,” he suggested softly. Westley and Jason nodded in agreement, probably also catching the not-so-pleased vibe from the room’s other occupants. Even softer to Westley, Marius added, “We will fill you in.”
Looking very pleased with the situation, Westley nodded. Marius also caught the slight hint of relief in Westley’s gaze.
There was a companionable-like silence between the three of them as they made their way down the corridor to the mess hall. Marius didn’t know about the other two, but he was scrambling to rationalize his reasoning for why he was not only going to tell Westley his secret, but also Rylynn’s.
MARIUS, YOU WILL TIE YOURSELF IN KNOTS, Zara said, brushing against his leg with her insubstantial form. I HAVE NEVER FELT ANYTHING UNTRUSTWORTHY IN WESTLEY.
How can I explain this if something goes wrong and people are hurt? And if I do tell him, then I might as well fill them both in on things that non-Shades have never known. Where do I draw the line?
YOU REALLY DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR WEBS COMING UNDONE, DO YOU? At Marius’s covert look, she sighed and shook her head. GO WITH YOUR GUT, MARIUS. YOU ALWAYS HAVE. YOUR INSTINCTS ARE GOOD. AS TO ‘LINES’… THESE ARE YOUR FRIENDS. CAN THERE BE ‘LINES’ BETWEEN FRIENDS WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH WHAT YOU LOT HAVE BEEN THROUGH?
The tension that had been riding him hard ever since seeing Rylynn bleeding out on the prison chamber’s floor finally began to ease. Zara’s words seemed to wash through him and made quite a bit of sense.
OF COURSE, IT DOES. I’M A FELINE, she said.
Don’t get a big head now, any bigger and it won’t fit through the doorways, Marius cautioned. Zara gave him a decidedly feline-patented haughty look.
Marius and the other two grabbed something to eat and chose a table far from anyone else in the mess hall. At first they ate and traded stories about their individual shifts — traditional things. But they were also waiting for Marius to bring up the topic that they really wanted to discuss. Finished with his sandwich and starting to work on his soup, Marius answered his companion’s silent pleas. Confidant that Zara would warn him if someone was listing in or could overhear (paranoia was an unavoidable survival skill for the job), he began. “The short of it is this: Rylynn and I are Spectral Shades …”
***
Valencia
Colony Lenti
Lenti-Solum System
Spectral Empire
“Thank you, thank you so much! You have no idea what this means for me, for my family! Thank you! You must be a saint,” the old matron kept repeating. It was starting to drive Valencia crazy. She was no saint. Had never been one. She had told the woman this, but had been ignored. She even said that this was only a job to her, not charity work. It wasn’t her wallet that was paying to evacuate this woman, her children, and the Lord knew how many grandchildren. It wasn’t Valencia’s generosity that had provided the money and the start-up package for the many families this matron was the matriarch of. The woman’s thanks should be annoying the ears of Jack Fairhand and his Guardians. Valencia was just helping out, providing leg work.
All her explanations were falling on deaf ears. And hers were getting worse by the moment. “That’s great, now go with your family on the transport before they leave you here,” Valencia said, with a barely-sticking fake smile pasted on her face. Through a stroke of luck, she managed to extract herself from the woman’s hold and slipped away.
“What’s the matter, Kitty?” Ace asked, with amusement falling into step beside her. “You look a bit ruffled,” he explained.
Valencia lifted her chin and glared at him haughtily. “And where were you, Ace? I didn’t see you around to help guide that lady and her brood and their broods to the transport.”
Ace laughed. “It looked like you were handling things well enough on your own. My presence would have only complicated things.”
Valencia raised a brow at his attempt at logic and innocuous expression. “It would have been much easier for you to just admit to being a coward,” she said.
Ace turned to her with a hurt expression. The only problem with it was the humor tugging at his lip and shimmering in his eyes. “You wound me, Valencia. I was just trying to keep your life peaceful. If I had joined you, I would have been sorely tempted, beyond my control, to help that kind matron drive you crazy.”
Valencia eyed him before shaking her head. “So you were doing me a favor, huh? Why do I not believe you?” Ace shrugged.
The two walked in silence for a time. The crowds of people fleeing Colony Lenti surrounded them in the forests where the Guardians had gathered them to escape. People had been trickling away for over a year now. But never before had it been this desperate. The fall of the Prime Cities had shocked those holding out for the Telmicks to lose interest into a panic. They fled the Prime Cities and followed the Guardians to places where the chances of fleeing undetected were higher. Everyone could feel that time was short. Most believed it was because the Zar’dakens who had driven the Legion Fleet from the area would soon be coming planet side. Valencia and Ace were among the few who knew that there was a greater threat than the Zar’dakens that would come soon.
Jack Fairhand was convinced that something worse was coming. He hadn’t told Valencia what it was, only that his source was an old friend who knew what she was talking about. Valencia didn’t disagree with him. Her own sixth sense was jangling. She knew something was coming. Something wrong. Something very, very bad.
“Has there been any luck convincing the L’uf to leave?” Valencia asked.
Ace sighed. His right hand massaged the back of his neck. “Mykio, several others, and I have been talking to the tribes. The Story Keeper understands that change is enviable and that the best chance for her people to continue is elsewhere. However, there are strong traditions that keep them tied here. They were born here. They have always been content with their lot in life. Never pushing to reach to the stars above …”
“I thought dogs were adaptable,” Valencia commented.
“The young are, and some of the old … I just don’t know how many we can save,” Ace said with regret. It was not something Valencia expected a gang boss could feel. Not usually in the habit of touching others, especially to comfort, Valencia still felt the urge to comfort him. She might not like dogs, but not even dogs deserved what was coming. Awkwardly she brushed Ace’s shoulder and he startled slightly. Flushing, Valencia let her hand drop and pretended to be fascinated in people-watching when he glanced at her. He started to speak but she cut him off.
“Hey, let’s make sure we save as many as we can. After all, I earn my money,” she said, walking away. Ace watched after her a moment before shaking his head and going in the other direction.
Chapter 6 – Nightmares
… Down below the surface of the earth-like colony world pulsed a dark heart. The screams of the damned, the cursed, the should-not-exist echoed as they had for hundreds of years. Unheard. Locked in a prison that kept the rest of the universe safe.
“Why are we here?” I asked. For the first time in I don’t know how long I knew myself from my companion. We had been locked in one consciousness, one set of memories. Untold years of memory. Kylesst had pretty much seen the dawn of time. He had witnessed God’s creativity since time immortal. All the memories we lived through makes my mind now hurt. I had learned all the things he knew. It was almost like being in Heaven and asking the Creator himself all the questions of the universe
.
But unlike being in Heaven, I can’t keep all the information without going brain-dead. But I could retain some. I knew now how Kylesst had been captured by the Lous-eci’dalb and how Spectrals assumed the forms that they have today. The first human they bonded with gave them a form by thinking of them as a creature they knew. I had always wondered why all the Spectrals had the forms of earth creatures. Humans were the first race that Spectrals bonded with. I still didn’t understand why but I guess that would just have to be something I asked once actually in Heaven.
I had also learned where the Imperial gift had come from. Two Spectrals, before the bonding had started, had fled to earth to escape a Soul Shadow. While there, Asea and Slyth had met a human brother and sister. They had become friends with the siblings. The sibling’s tribe eventually witnessed the Spectrals change shape and had apparently thought that they were deities. To save their friends from becoming sacrifices, Slyth and Asea used their partial bonds with the siblings to save them. Their way of saving coincidently started the legends about Quetzalquatal.
They were just flashes now, but I had seen the day when humanity had reached for the stars and first encountered other peoples … the black day when the war with the Zar’dakens began. Not only did I understand history in a whole new way, I also now knew the way to save people from the Soul Shadows — the bond between a Spectral and corporeal being.
It wasn’t until we reached my own time of existence that I remembered who I was. Kylesst and I could now try to understand what was going on and how to get back home. But how the prison chamber on Colony Lenti helped with that I couldn’t even begin to guess … except … “Are we here because I almost died here?” I asked. If so, how did that work? My body wasn’t here. It was just an empty chamber with a huge oily-looking crystal suspended over a pool of silver Char Jelly.
I DON’T KNOW, Kylesst replied. Before we had too much more time to wonder about our change of scenery, our awareness was drawn to the silver pool. Neither of us could pull away. I don’t know what drew us there. I don’t think Kylesst knew, either. All I did know was that a horrible sense of dread was clawing at me.
Defender of the Empire: Chaos Page 4