Warrior Rising cos-3

by James Somers

  Tiet had taken a great interest in organizing civilians from among the Vorn and the migrating Castillians to form a large ground force in training. He had become obsessed with the task in fact, leading Wynn to the conclusion that it was in part to relieve himself from his own troubling thoughts concerning recent events and the deaths of those dearest to him.

  Wynn ascended a stairway leading to a very long balcony overlooking the training courtyard. He couldn’t help but be delighted to see his own Castillian people training with the Vorn to fight a common foe. A dream had been realized with the uniting of these people. He hoped nothing would tear them apart again. Still, it was vitally important that they have the necessary leadership and that leadership could not be served better than in the Barudii King.

  Swords clashed on the courtyard as instructors from among the Aolene guided the trainees in various sparring exercises. The handsome new uniforms Tiet had designed were of the same material used in the old Barudii cloaks and rendered the wearer electronically invisible.

  Various improvements from Vorn technology allowed for the E.M. shields to be reduced in size and incorporated directly into the garments along with components that provided a real-time holographic data display and nano-sensory components. These additions helped to mimic the Barudii’s ability to sense information such as number and position of combatants within a certain range of their bodies.

  The data from the suits sensors was used to create pressure sensations in the garment which then alerted the wearer-in effect giving them perception in all directions simultaneously. Other nano-components provided scanning of one’s surroundings, feeding the information to the holographic display.

  Today, the trainees were practicing Barudii blade techniques. Much progress had been made in the eighteen months since Baeth Periege had been engulfed in battle. More trainees appeared daily as the migration from Castai-Origin continued, despite the threat of the Baruk. The city had been under constant repair by numerous robot construction crews, although the cloning facility which had once been a jewel of science for the city was never rebuilt. The Vorn “Council of the Twelve Cities,” named for the twelve large cities now housing the population for unification and safety concerns, had outlawed the cloning of Horva as servants.

  General Grod’s Horva troops provided little interference to reconstruction after their defeat. There had been a few raids on smaller cities that were nearly abandoned, but it appeared they sought supplies now rather than conquest. Grod himself had been proven to still be alive, a fact which had brought considerable alarm to the Council. While there seemed to be no immediate threat, it was a definite possibility that Tiet’s new recruits might face a war on two fronts if the Horva resurfaced and the Baruk arrived.

  Wynn continued to walk the length of the balcony until he saw a group of recruits surrounding one unarmed man. The young man was blindfolded but not bound. Several of the recruits moved in to strike. The first strike went for the face. The blindfolded man’s head bobbed to one side as the strike passed before him. He quickly struck the mid-section of the attacker then swept the feet while countering another strike from a different recruit.

  As the recruits moved in quickly, trying to overwhelm the man, the whole situation seemed to revert to chaos. In a matter of a few seconds, all of the recruits were tossed to the ground, leaving the blindfolded man standing alone. Wynn chuckled a bit to himself as Tiet removed his blindfold and beckoned his students to their feet. Wynn could not hear the instructions given at that point, but soon the recruits disbanded to other exercises in the courtyard.

  Tiet raised his blindfold again and replaced it over his eyes. Wynn noticed a flash of light as something caught the sun between Tiet and himself. Something whispered on the wind and kissed the railing of the balcony next to his right hand. Wynn saw a unarmed spicor disc lodged there.

  He looked back at Tiet, still blindfolded but curling his index finger in the air toward Wynn. He smiled then stood waiting. Wynn dropped to the courtyard below as Tiet leaped at him. Wynn caught Tiet’s foot and sent a fist to the groin, but Tiet’s other leg had already come up and over to catch Wynn in the side of the head. Wynn stumbled as he let go of Tiet’s foot, but quickly regained his composure. Tiet was standing ready. He liked training with his new mentor.

  Wynn smiled back at the younger man and began to think, maybe, he had taught him too well in recent months. They exchanged a quick moment of fists and kicks with neither man landing a blow with advantage. Tiet was still smiling behind his blindfold.

  “I’ve come to urge you to speak with the Council,” Wynn said.

  Tiet’s smile disappeared. He was never pleased when this subject came up. It often had, since the Council had pressed for leadership in the months following the battle at Baeth Periege.

  “We’ve been over this before,” he said. “I am not the man to lead these people, Wynn.”

  Wynn could sense that this hardness was not as deep as Tiet was trying to make it appear. They exchanged several more blows with Wynn the more playful now. He noticed that all the commotion on the courtyard had ceased. Nearly all of the recruits in the area were focused on the sparring between the two Barudii.

  “You’ve become very powerful in recent months. Far more than when we first met,” Wynn said.

  “All thanks to your training, I’m sure.”

  “Would you be up to a wager with an old man?” Wynn asked.

  Tiet smiled again and raised his blindfold. “Wynn, if you’re trying to get me to-”

  “Of course if you doubt your ability to knock me to the ground in hand-to-hand combat, I suppose I understand.”

  “And if I do?”

  “Then I won’t bother you with the matter again.”

  Now Tiet was intrigued. “Do you really mean it, Wynn?”

  “I do.”

  That was the last word he needed. Tiet launched an intensely fast barrage of fists and feet at Wynn. He managed to block them all, but with difficulty. The younger man had the age advantage and he was powerful. If this kind of attack continued, Tiet might wear him down.

  Tiet was younger, but Wynn had decades of specialized training. He deliberately faltered and Tiet took the bait. He landed a strong blow to Wynn’s face. The elder man stumbled and went to one knee. Tiet approached. “Looks like you’re about to lose this one, Wynn,” he boasted.

  “That’s too bad. Do you think Orin and Dorian would be proud of your lack of resolve to assume your rightful place?” he asked with mocking tone.

  Tiet’s countenance flashed through surprise and then anger. He lunged. The elder man took the opportunity and rose to meet him with a knee to the stomach: three consecutive quick blows that knocked the wind out of him. He followed the ambush with a backhand to the side of the head that sent Tiet to the ground gasping for breath.

  He looked up at his mentor, who was smiling at him again. He remembered the old lesson to refrain from anger in battle as it can foil one’s concentration.

  “You tricked me,” he coughed out.

  “My dear young king, it was only for your own good and ours.”

  Wynn offered Tiet a hand, helping him to stand again. The pride and anger were gone, replaced with the knowledge that Wynn would never let the issue die.

  “The Council meets tonight at dusk. Don’t be late.”

  Wynn smiled and turned away to leave the courtyard and its stunned audience who began to whisper about the outcome. Tiet looked after the elder man. He had been foolish to have been baited so easily. It was so important to Wynn, this matter of the throne. Tiet did not understand why, but a promise was still a promise.

  He heard a slow clapping coming from behind him and looked to see its source. Ranul was sitting under the shade of the balcony overhead clapping, sarcastically, with a sly grin on his face.

  “Yes, yes-very funny,” Tiet said as he turned to gather up his sparring equipment from the ground.

  Ranul got up and walked over to him. The soldiers were renewin
g their training on the grounds, pairing up as they prepared for the days to come when the Baruk would almost certainly attack.

  “Now don’t be mad, young master. After all, Wynn means well. The people do need a leader and you are the natural choice. I’m sure Orin would have agreed.”

  Tiet turned to look at him. “Well, I don’t know about that. Orin tended to be very protective of me and a bit critical.”

  “Maybe, but he cared a great deal for you. And whether you realize it or not, he was quite proud of you.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I knew Orin very well back before the Vorn came. It was written all over him. He treated you like the son he never had. He would have wanted you to take your rightful place as King.”

  Tiet looked at him, not sure how to answer. He was rubbing his stomach. Wynn had really laid into him.

  “You should get over to the medical complex and have my daughter take a look.”

  Tiet smiled. “I’m not really hurt, Ranul. He just knocked the wind out of me.”

  “It’s still worth a visit, just to see Mirah. Haven’t you two been talking recently?”

  “A little, but…”

  “But what? She’s a nice girl, Tiet…”

  “I know.”

  “And she’s moving up now that she’s completed her medical training. You’re going to have to think about taking a wife someday.”

  Tiet looked at the donjarr on his wrist. He had still not removed it after losing Dorian. “You’re a bit direct aren’t you Ranul?”

  “I don’t mean to push Tiet, but you have to go on with your life. Dorian is gone and Orin is gone-you have to assume your responsibilities for your own good and the good of those around you.”

  “I just don’t want to fail everyone like I failed them.”

  “You didn’t fail them. You fought back against those who had enslaved our people and you won. I owe a debt to you I can’t repay in giving me back my daughter. If you hadn’t been set on freeing us from the Vorn, she would have died in that prison cell along with the children they had captive with her. She was able to go on with her residency work and now she’s turning into a fine physician. You haven’t failed.”

  Tiet thought about it for a moment. His words were kind, but they cut him to the heart. He felt unsure of himself, yet convicted by the need to serve the people.

  “I had better get going, Ranul. I’ve got to get ready for this meeting if I’m going to keep my promise.”

  He shook Ranul’s hand and started to walk away from the courtyard.”

  “Tiet, don’t forget. If you get a chance, go by and see Mirah. She really would like to see you. You know, she was very complimentary of the man that freed her from prison.”

  He laughed under his breath as he continued to walk away. “Subtle, Ranul, very subtle.”

  Governor Tal tapped the communication panel to end the transmission to his ship. He was onboard the flagship of the Baruk space fleet. He had assured his wife of his safe arrival. It was time for his meeting with Lord Lucin. He was quite anxious about the meeting. Since their rendezvous with the Baruk battle convoy months ago, he had not been given much information.

  The Baruk were far too secretive for his own tastes. After all, the Vorn military and the Baruk were supposed to be allies. This meeting should have taken place just after their arrival. But he wasn’t about to push the issue with Lucin.

  The Baruk were the most blood-thirsty clan Tal had ever known. It was dangerous enough to be their ally and the Baruk’s alliance with Lucin was the stuff of legend. He was terrified of this mysterious clan.

  One of the Baruk warriors came into the chamber. He was fierce looking to say the least. His black body armor was a part of him-a symbiotic coexistence. Whatever the living armor was, all of the warriors of the Baruk were joined to them. Somehow they covered and intertwined internally and externally with the Baruk, forming a living exoskeleton that protected them.

  Tal had seen the warriors in action before. Their exoskeletons were capable of repelling light pulse weapons fire. And the various weapons they utilized were part technology and part bio-weaponry.

  The warrior motioned for Tal to follow him. They both entered the chamber of Lucin. Tal had only seen him once before. He ruled the Baruk and appeared as human as any other, but there was a darkness which emanated from him: oppressive and evil.

  Tal came before him where he was seated upon a raised platform. Lucin was sitting on a wide throne that seemed more organic than craft. Tal waited for Lucin to speak, not daring to show any disrespect to him.

  “You have desired an audience with me, Governor Tal?” Lucin asked.

  “Indeed, my lord. I would inquire as to your plans for retaking the planet of Castai on our behalf. We looked to you for assistance in quelling the rebellion of the Horva under General Grod, but we were overrun at Baeth Periege before you could arrive.”

  “Should we retake the planet it would be unwise to reinstate control to your regime, Tal. You lost the planet and most of your people were killed. You lack the capacity to reign over the inhabitants.”

  “But we are allies. Surely you will want to help us to regain control. It is for your benefit as well-”

  “Our benefit does not concern you, Tal,” Lucin interrupted. “You are weak. It is time the Baruk assumed possession of Castai.”

  “But you can’t-” He almost bit his own tongue, trying to stop the words.

  “Can’t?”

  “What I mean to say, my lord, is that we have always tried to govern the territory in accord with your interests as well as our own. It would be unfortunate to dissolve that relationship now. I still have a thousand people aboard my ship who can lead the way in retaking the planet from these rebels-at your command, of course.”

  “My command has already been issued concerning your people,” Lucin said.

  A holographic image of Tal’s vessel gliding along with the Baruk convoy appeared in the room above him. One of the Baruk ships heaved a large projectile out of one of its cannons. Tal’s heart sank as the object impacted with his ship, smashing it like a glass upon the floor. Over one thousand people, including his own wife and children were dashed to pieces in a moment.

  Tal gasped. He could not breathe. He almost didn’t notice the white hot needle-stick: a neurotoxin injection. Tal lost sensation almost instantly, numbly falling to the ground at the feet of the soldier who had administered the poison. His breathing slowed then stopped as his muscles ceased to function. Tal was suffocating, but he couldn’t move to help himself though his mind was still clear.

  “We have no further need of treaty with you, or your people, Tal,” Lucin said. “Now that your strength has been diminished, we see Castai as ripe for the taking.”

  Tal could not respond. His body began to spasm from lack of oxygen. Lucin hissed with delight as the Vorn governor entered the throes of death before him.

  “Housra, it is time to deal with our traitor and don’t underestimate him. He is still a Barudii,” Lucin said to the soldier.

  “I obey.”

  KALE

  The food aboard the Baruk vessel was barely palatable. Kale detested almost everything about their clan. If the Vorn military had been able to suppress the various uprisings then I wouldn’t be in this mess, he thought. Kale had been turned against his Barudii people, by Lucin himself, all those years ago and now he was paying for it.

  He understood the desire of the Baruk to control the planet of Castai. It was rich in resources and, perhaps even more importantly, it was the perfect location for control of the transdimensional rift.

  None of that really mattered to Kale. He had no allegiance to anyone. He took another bite of carusk meat. It was bitter on his tongue. The Baruk loved this meal as a delicacy, but that didn’t surprise him. The bitterness of the meat seemed ironic to him as he thought about it. What had seemed right and good for him at one time so long ago had become ashes in his mouth.

  Kale could
not push out the thought of his brother running across the tarmac to try and save Orin. He realized that Tiet almost certainly didn’t know who he was at the time, but did he know now? And what if we had come face to face then, he wondered. Would Tiet have embraced his long lost brother, the betrayer of their people and their parents?

  No, of course not. He would have gladly struck with all the fury he could muster. Suddenly Kale felt disgusted with everything, or perhaps only with himself. He spit the hunk of meat back onto his plate and pushed it away across the small table.

  The Baruk could not be trusted. They were completely sold out to the Wicked One, Lucin. The Vorn had very little understanding of the true nature of the malevolent being that ruled the Baruk clan and their planet. They were merely a vehicle for this fallen one-a way for him to move among men and control their minds in his symbyte form.

  It was Lucin who had promised him vengeance upon his father and Orin for the dishonor they had shown him-a prince of the Barudii. He only had to provide the weaknesses of their mountain cities and great power would be his. But it was a lie from the Prince of Lies. The death of his people and his family had brought him nothing but regret and sorrow. But he had bound himself to Lucin. How could he escape from such a power?

  The Baruk certainly had no way of escape and they didn’t want any as far as Kale could tell. The symbyte form of Lucin, inhabiting their bodies, gave them great power and the ability to drive out their enemies before them. Now they were on the move to Castai. Lucin would conquer it and move on through the rift to conquer the twin Castai. Only Elithias could stop such a being. Though he thought of dropping to his knees to pray, Kale knew that he was probably the last person Elithias would want to hear from.