by James Somers
"Of course! We're just beginning to celebrate. How could Kale ever enjoy it without Emil around?"
The two young men grinned at each other again.
"You two go on ahead and get Emil's things. We'll meet you at the transport."
"Yes, Mother."
Emil looked to Grod who nodded his approval, then he went off with Kale to the boy's quarters to fetch his things. This was a time of celebration; it was customary for the boys to go out on their own for an outing after the trials were passed, and they were eager to get going. They were planning another surprise upon their return and they needed just a little more time for their final preparations before unveiling it.
XVI
THERE was no need to chime the door when Lucin arrived, in Estall's form, at the Councilman's home; he was already waiting for him. Licoure opened the door and allowed him in. No need for introductions, they knew each other all too well. Licoure was already a part of Lucin's assimilated slaves.
"You have it, then?" asked Licoure as he motioned to the object Lucin was carrying wrapped in a black cloth.
"Of course, Councilman. After all, I'm a friend of the family and trusted," Lucin said deviously through his form as the human Estall.
"Then let's proceed."
Lucin removed the cloth to reveal a Barudii blade of particular ownership.
"This action should provide enough doubt among the Castillians and Horva to allow us to remove Tiet from the equation and gain the boy," said Lucin.
"The boy is most valuable. He will provide a fitting body for you, master."
Lucin nodded and then raised the blade to set his mark and drove it straight into the chest of the councilman. The Vorn man jerked and cried out from the pain, then fell dead to the floor; his life blood pouring through the wound and out on to the floor around his body. Lucin left the blade inside the man and walked back out the door.
There were no guards present at the time. Licoure had given them some time off, telling them he had a meeting planned with the King. Everything was progressing perfectly and soon he would have the boy and complete conquest of this planet would be his.
TIET didn't even bother to return home after the trials at Nagon-Toth. He had a little time to shop in Baeth Periege at the downtown district before getting to his meeting with Licoure. The councilman probably wanted to threaten him again concerning his willingness to keep associations with the Horva. Doubtless the councilman was aware of the trials having been held at Grod's compound and was fuming about it.
He left his transport in the basement garage of the tower complex where Licoure had his residence and ascended in the lift to the councilman's private floor. When the lift doors opened Tiet was met by armed Vorn soldiers.
"So you've returned to the scene of the crime! Guard him, men," said Councilman Teman.
The soldiers trained there weapons on the King.
"What's going on!?" asked Tiet urgently as the group of soldiers encircled him with looks of hatred on their faces. Men that he had trained and fought with suddenly looked like they would enjoy pulling the trigger on him.
"You have killed the chairmen of the high council and you dare to come back here and feign ignorance? Maybe you've returned for this!" said Teman as he pointed back to Estall who was behind him holding a very familiar item; his own father's Barudii blade. The weapon was covered in the coagulated blood of Licoure. Tiet couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Was the councilman's request of you so harsh that you had to kill him?" asked Estall with astonishment on his face.
"Surely you don't think I did this!"
But the look on his face was not reassuring.
"It is your blade and you were scheduled for a meeting with the councilman today, which you're an hour late for…"
"I'm not late; the meeting was set to begin in another ten minutes."
"Not according to Licoure's schedule!" said Estall. "Do you happen to have a transcript of the message Licoure sent to you concerning your meeting?"
"No, why would I bother to-"
"Perhaps you would have us believe the chairman gave you a different time and then he conveniently crept into your secure residence and stole your own weapon so that he could creep back here and drive it through his own chest to kill himself!" said Councilman Teman with as much malice in his tone as he could muster.
"Councilman, honestly I don't know what's going on here, please just allow me to prove my innocence."
"You may do that in our court of law; that is, if you are willing to surrender yourself to our authority?"
Tiet was about to answer when Estall interrupted. "I'm sure, Councilman, that the king would be all too willing to cooperate in this matter-after all, an innocent man has nothing to fear from the law."
It wasn't exactly what he was thinking to say, especially with public Vorn opinion going against his leadership right now. He might very well end up as a scapegoat in such a situation, and who but the Castillians would oppose it with a Vorn councilman dead and Tiet's own blade apparently the murder weapon. But with Estall and Teman staring at him waiting for his response, what else could he do?
If he resisted, he would only worsen his public image by putting himself above the law and with these armed soldiers around it would be a fight to leave anyway. He could probably get away from them, even unarmed, but at what cost? Civil war would certainly erupt and it would only be the grace of God that would prevent it now anyway. "Of course I will comply with the law, Councilman; I only ask a fair hearing."
"You will have what the law provides, as with any other suspect. Men, arrest this man."
Two of the armed Vorn men moved to place restraints on him while the others stood their ground with their rifles still trained on him. Tiet did not offer any resistance to their efforts. Lucin, in the form of Estall, watched without suspicion as he was led away by the soldiers.
A secure facility was already awaiting his arrival. Lucin had taken great care to see that every possible measure was in place to secure him. He looked at Teman as Tiet was escorted off of the floor by way of the lift.
Teman was not of his mind, at least not yet. But he was a willing participant nonetheless; even if he didn't realize that the prisoner was actually innocent of the crime. He was all too ready to believe that the king was capable of such a crime and was poised to make the most of the entire situation.
"I suppose you will need to assume control of the council in Licoure's absence, Sir," suggested Lucin with devious intent.
"It's unfortunate that this has all happened, but I'm ready to do my duty to the Council as the alternate for the chair," said Teman.
"If it's all right, Mr. Chairman, I will accompany the prisoner to our detention facility and see that he is secured properly."
"I know you and Tiet have been good friends, Estall. I hope you realize that he must stand trial; I want to know you won't attempt to help him escape the law. It would cause a civil war."
"Sir, I assure you, I couldn't have any thought further from my mind."
Teman looked pleased by the response and Lucin, in his guise as the man Estall, turned to go into the lift. A sly smile crossed his lips at the thought of trying to let Tiet go after all the effort to frame him. After years and years of covertly assimilating a large portion of the population in the twelve cities, the time had finally come. The populous was his to command; an angel severed from the gates of heaven, but still commanding his own destiny.
There wouldn't be enough time to have any sort of legal proceedings. Everyone would soon be under his control and come to be joined within the symbyte collective as the Baruk once had been. With the king out of the way, and the boy within his grasp, the time to act was now. The lift doors closed in behind him as Licoure's body was being removed from his residence; all according to plan.
EMIL steadied himself as he awaited the attack. Kale stood across the large training room that doubled for his bedroom. From a rack of weapons, he picked up a vest with spicors stu
ffed in it and put it on as he looked at Emil, who stood with only a wooden bow to fight with. The spicors were not armed of course, as that would certainly bring his parents screaming into his bedroom if any were to go off.
Kale started toward Emil with his array of weaponry located all over his uniform.
"Now concentrate, Emil. Remember to let go of your physical senses to some extent and allow them to be heightened and helped by the kinesis."
"Sometimes if I concentrate too hard I lose it altogether."
"Just try to let it flow naturally. You'll get that feeling of being inside and part of an energy field, as though it were an extension of your own body and mind; transmitting information to you and obeying your commands. Don't fight it. Embrace it. After all, you have the ability; you just need to hone it."
"My father will be so excited when we surprise everybody; I can't wait until we get back from the outing!"
"Well let's get to work so you can really show him something."
Kale brought up a handful of spicors and began to hurl them at Emil. He dodged the first which was meant to bring him into the path of the second. He brought his bow to bear as the disc embedded into the wood in front of his face. The remaining discs came quickly as he dodged about, allowing some to pass into the wall behind him and deflecting others away as he brought the bow spinning elegantly around himself.
"Very good."
Kale pulled his sticks from their magnetic clips and extended the emitter posts. He flew into an attack against the youth, who brought the bow staff into play to counter the strikes. Emil quickly moved to the offensive and spun down low with his body underneath Kale's strikes, swinging the whirling bow at his friend's lower legs. He very nearly caught him with the effort, but Kale flipped forward over him instead and returned an extended kemstick back at Emil as he landed.
The boy was already there with his staff to block the strike and moved again to try and push back at Kale. In mid-swing Kale ignited the kemsticks and one of them cut right through the middle of Emil's wooden bow staff. He quickly threw the pieces at Kale as he searched with his senses for another weapon.
He found them on his attacker's legs. As Kale deflected the bow staff pieces thrown at him he felt his other pair of kemsticks leaping to Emil's waiting hands. They ignited and he traded blows with Kale.
They had made the discovery of his power two years before while Kale was training under Wynn. While practicing various exercises in his bedroom training room with Emil, the young Horva had followed him through one of the mental exercises and actually produced some result. With more experimentation, they had discovered his power and Kale had taken it upon himself to pass on everything Wynn was teaching him; but secretly.
They had no idea how he could have come to have the kinesis in the first place, until the two had heard from Tiet, whilst he was in a reminiscing mood, about how Grod had once been his enemy and captured him for the purpose of using his DNA for an experiment to rejuvenate his own chromosomes with the Barudii power. But the experiment had failed to produce any such power in Grod, and was never dwelt on further by either of them. The boys assumed that what had not manifested in Grod was now showing up in his son.
The boys traded further blows playfully as Emil used the kinesis to carry his body elegantly through dodges and flips as the two fought. The power was a wonderful feeling. So much freedom and his mind and senses had never felt so alive. He thought of how proud his father would be when he learned what he had unknowingly passed on to his son.
Suddenly Kale felt something else; something besides their sparring. He stopped his attack and dodged away leaving Emil looking puzzled by his friend's sudden withdrawal.
"What is it?"
"Something's wrong. Something is approaching."
LUCIN'S intercom link beeped to life. "Yes?"
"Sir, the squads are positioned outside the king's residence and Commander Gareth's."
"Very good, Lieutenant. I will contact you momentarily with an order to secure the premises and capture everyone on the grounds at the king's residence. Wynn Gareth, I want killed on sight; understood?"
"Understood, Sir. We're standing by."
Lucin watched as the containment field charged up around Tiet inside the special chamber that was prepared to hold him. The last of the guards left the chamber as Lucin entered in the form of Estall and faced Tiet.
"Estall, you know I couldn't have done this, don't you?"
"I am very confident you did not."
"But can you help me to prove it?"
At that, Lucin began to pace around the bubble of the containment field.
"I don't think that would be possible."
"I don't want you to break the law, just see that I receive a fair trial," said Tiet
Lucin stopped his pacing and chuckled at the comment. "I don't think a trial is in your future."
"What do you mean?" asked Tiet with a puzzled look on his face.
Lucin faced him and stared into his eyes. "It is no longer necessary to prolong this charade. You have walked into a trap and you will die here in this room before long."
"Estall, what are you talking about!? What's going on?" Tiet asked as he noticed a look on Estall's face he had never seen on him before. "Who are you?"
"Did you really think you could destroy me by wiping out the Baruk?"
Realization washed over Tiet like a wave of doom. Estall was dead; the same creature that had held control of the Baruk was inside him now. "Why imprison me, if you're so powerful why not face me openly?!"
"Do you think revenge on you is my plan? You are vain. It is complete control I will soon have; and a new young body to rule with." He laughed, "God may have cursed me to these physical forms and favored man, but I'm not through fighting yet."
Tiet was trying to take in what he was hearing, but it wasn't all registering.
Lucin spoke into his intercom link. "Lieutenant…"
"Yes, Sir."
"Sweep the residence and be sure the boy is kept alive. Kill Commander Gareth."
"Yes, Sir. It will be done."
"Kale?!"
"Oh, yes, old friend. Your son will make a fitting body for me to rule this planet and those that will follow."
"I'll kill you!"
"That would be a neat trick. This bubble was engineered by your own scientists to hold even a Barudii."
Tiet was fuming with rage, but the containment field prevented him from using his power to break free or affect anything beyond it.
"Enjoy your stay Tiet; I have a meeting with your son."
"Take me instead…wait!!"
But the possessed body of Estall did not wait. He turned with a devilish grin on his face and left the chamber. Tiet pounded a fist into the containment field which repelled him, but his rage kept him from collapsing. He felt like exploding, but he knew it would be useless. He needed to get out of here and quickly. That creature would kill everyone he cared about if he didn't do something; but he had no idea what.
The containment field kept his powers nullified and the chamber looked extremely dense and capable of keeping him from breaking out even with the use of his kinesis. What could he do, but wait. Wait for them to come to kill him; wait while his family was taken the way that thing had taken Estall and possessed his body. He wanted to scream, to cry out but he could only sit on the ground and pray as Orin had taught him to do in times of seeming helplessness; just to sit and think and pray God would give him an answer to the dilemma. It was all he could do.
WYNN sat at his table eating dinner. He was still feeling tired from the trials. He finished the plate of food, and felt…a disturbance, as he got up. Someone was here. It was not the same as Vorn or human. Something else vaguely familiar but he couldn't place it. They were coming now, he could sense it. He moved toward the main room where he kept his weapons mounted on the walls.
The entire side wall exploded inward, covering him with rubble. He thought he might have lost consciousness for a moment
. When he opened his eyes he could see and sense soldiers all around walking across the wreckage they had made of his house. They were looking for him.
He remained as motionless beneath the wreckage as possible. He concentrated, his mind taking in the entire area. The soldiers were mostly Vorn, yet they weren't. Something was alien about them and the Castillian soldiers with them. It was like the body was proper but the mind controlling them was joined one to another like one mind controlling them all in a way.
Then it hit him. It was the same sense he had of the Baruk. The creatures that inhabited them were still alive. He felt for a weapon and found one two feet away under some of the wreckage. Time to act.
With his mind he raised the entire room full of wreckage, in a massive burst of motion, along with the soldiers standing on top of it. Wynn stood up as he called the kemstick to his hand and ignited the extended post.
The soldiers were returning to the ground along with the rubble as he began to whirl through the rainstorm of dust and debris cutting through the symbyte possessed soldiers. Others were approaching fast from outside of his demolished home. He deflected several blasts, then retreated into another portion of the home that was still standing. The symbyte soldiers pursued him hard, like hounds on the hunt. They reached the innermost portion of the room as he escaped through a window. He returned a mental command that blew out the supports that remained and dropped the rest of the house on his pursuers; more were on the way.
He could head right into them and try to kill as many as possible or try to escape and reach Tiet's home. These things would certainly be on the attack at the king's residence if they were going all out here.
His estate was near the airway and overlooked it to the east. He ran for it as the soldiers began to come beyond the wreckage of his home after him. The hill had a wall across it that prevented someone from falling over the edge into the airway lanes below. He jumped up to it and down on the narrow ledge on the other side as laser fire blasted into the wall near his position. Below him, shuttles and transports of every sort sped along the airway lanes in two directions.