by Mari Collier
“It tis decided then, when we make contact we twill take out any space craft at the Justine Refuge.”
“I'd rather be able to utilize any space craft that is at the Justine Refuge.” O'Neal wanted another vessel and conquest was one way of securing it.
“Nay!” Both the Captain of Flight and the Director spoke at once.
The Second in Command interrupted. “Be patient, Red, y'all will get your own ship for trading. It's not worth the risk. Why bring it up? We need to take them out at the first strike. Then and only then will they be willing to listen to a bunch of mutants demanding a new treaty in the galaxy.” A faint scar pulled the right side of his mouth higher as he gave a quick smile. “Papa and Grandmère are correct.”
“I do have one suggestion.” The only completely grey-haired member spoke out. “You three,” she pointed to the three at the command console, “are better at maneuvering and firing than the rest of us. I believe until we make contact that one, or all three of you, should bed down in here. If we are surprised or need to attack, we can wake you instantly.”
“Agreed.” The Director of Flight stood. “We twill bring in the bedding now.”
* * *
Lamar, his counselor Beatrice, Lass of Betron, and Tamar, laddie of Betron, the sixteen-year-old they were raising, were seated at one of the gold and cream booths in the Justine Refuge lounge. Like Lamar, Beatrice's hair had grayed. They had been sent here to give Rennie, Lady of Rurhran, and her counselor, Rhodan, laddie of Rurhran a long needed break from their stint as envoys to the Justine League. This provided the Justines the opportunity to have Lamar where they could observe him while their one remaining Golden One had scheduled maintenance in its bio level.
While the Brendons performed the needed agricultural tasks, a Krepyon craft patrolled the surrounding space. Both Krepyons and Brendons where overseen by a Justine.
No meetings were scheduled, but the Justines required all Thalians and Brendons to be present and visible during the daylight hours. Tamar had appeared for the midday meal. He was allowed to study with the one Justine youth and sessions were over for the day. Like his appointed Guardians, he was clad in the Thalian skin-fitting, dark blue of the House of Don. His dark brown hair was cut short. His eyes were the lighter brown of Troy. His mither, Belinda, Lass of Betron, Counselor of Army, had decided she did nay wish to raise any child; particularly a male child since she had wed Beauty.
The Thalians had greeted each other warmly by hugging, laying their head on the shoulders, and making a tsk sound in the ear. So far, the Justines had not forbidden the ritual, but the Kreppies would frown.
An excited Krepyon voice came over the com. “We have made contact with Ricca's Golden One. It is not known at this time if Toma is aboard. We will…”
An explosion in the background was heard and the com went silent.
The Justines, Krepyons, Brendons, and Thalians gathered for the meal sat in stunned silence. What had happened? The Thalians held hands, worry briefly appearing on their faces, then hidden. Llewellyn, their Maca of Don, had been with Ricca. Had he been marooned or would he be returning?
Three Kreppies followed the one Justine up into the control tower.
“He tis trying to contact the Golden One,” Lamar whispered. “If that twas an attack, they had best man their remaining Golden One or any attacker will destroy us.”
Beatrice nodded and she gripped his right thigh rather than his useless hand. The Kreppies would kill them if they suspected them of being in league with an unknown assailant.
The Justines' practice of permitting the Kreppies to patrol while the crew of the Golden One rested was a dangerous tactic in Lamar's mind. To him, all Kreppies were treacherous.
A Golden One appeared on the scan screen. It was high in the northern sky above the Justine created biosphere, and the com returned to life.
“If your Golden One shows any signs of lifting, we'll blast it into dust. We are here to discuss a treaty, but will not tolerate an attack.” It was a male baritone voice with an unknown accent. The words were in the Thalian language.
“We need to know who you are and why you attacked our ally.” The Justine's voice filled the spaces.
“Go to hell.” The voice was flat. “Do you wish to talk or not?”
Lamar and Beatrice noticed other Justines flying to their grounded spaceship. The Justines in the lounge area had already left. A bolt of golden light hit the space near the Golden One. The ensuing explosion flipped one of the Justine's four-seater Scouts and dust and rock debris flew into the artificial sunlight. Kreppies were running to assist the Justines and then stopped. What if they fired again?
“We need to speak with Ricca or Toma.”
Another voice came through the com. “Tis tired I am of this dilly-dallying. Ye had yere chance. Do ye sit at a treaty session with us or nay? If nay, yere Refuge tis nay more.”
The voice of Bolly, the Justine in the tower, responded. “Your words are Thalian. Who are you?”
“I am Llewellyn, Maca of Don.”
A ripple of murmurs swept through the scale-faced Kreppies. The Thalians fought to keep joy from their faces.
“Llewellyn, do you realize we have your elder Lamar and his counselor Beatrice here? They will die if you do not surrender immediately.”
There was a longer pause than normal transmission time.
“They are Thalians and my heart twill break, but if ye dinna negotiate with us, ye are nay more.”
“Before we answer you, tell us where Toma and Ricca are.”
“Toma tis aboard. He twas most helpful on the journey. Ricca twas a fool and tried to impose his will on the beings of the planet where Toma was trapped. The beings there killed him. Beat him to death with clubs. They are fierce opponents.”
The Justine paused before speaking.
“May we see Toma at the controls?”
There was another silence.
“The consensus tis that ye may see Toma, but he tis nay at the controls. Nay may ye speak with him till we have landed.”
The scan came alive with a Justine facing a screen in a Golden One's crew quarters. He inclined his head and the scan went blank.
“We need a moment to confer. Will you grant that?”
“Aye, that we twill give.”
Grim faced Kreppie guards appeared at the table occupied by the Thalians. Their long stunners were laid across their left arms.
Finally, Bolly spoke again. “What kind of treaty are you requesting?”
Llewellyn's broad face appeared on the screen. “We wish a new treaty for all in this galaxy; including the Brendons. I assume they have an envoy at your Refuge.” His pronunciation implied refuge was a dirty word.
Kreppies and Justines could be heard taking a deep breath.
“If ye dinna agree to a treaty, this place, yere Golden One, all twill be blasted away. We then continue to the Kreppie's planet and destroy most of what tis there. Thalia twill be free.”
The Justines conferred with mindspeak before Bolly spoke.
“You are a Thalian Maca. Will you agree to a challenge to fight one of us? The winner will then dictate the terms.”
“It twould give me great pleasure. We twill use a Krepyon ship to land. The Golden One remains aloft. If the person manning the controls sees or hears any betrayal of yere words, this place and the Kreppie planet twill be gone.”
“Toma would not betray us like this. What have you done to him?”
“Toma twill accompany us when we land. He has agreed to immediately leave the field. We have done nay to him.
“Are we cleared for passage through the biosphere?”
“Where did you acquire the Krepyon craft?”
“Ye equivocate. Do we land or nay?” The voice had grown stern.
“Very well, you are permitted to land.”
Kalen, eldest of the Justines, approached the Thalian and Brendon tables.
“All of you are to march behind us. The Krepyons will be yo
ur guard. You should be there when Llewellyn loses. No talking.”
The Kreppies motioned with their stunners, and all rose to begin their walk. The Brendons' faces were worried. They marched behind the heavier, taller Thalians. Their green hair had begun to turn to the red of old age. They would soon return to their families to be properly buried in the earth to replenish it. Would they not be allowed to complete their final life task?
Lamar noticed the Justine remaining in the tower. Did he plan to fire at the Golden One from the tower controls? How could his younger fight a Justine? Llewellyn was a mutant. A mutant twould nay be able to stop the mind control of a Justine.
The Kreppie craft left the Golden One and a pulse of energy came from the tower. An answering golden bolt from the Golden One met the pulse in the air. The blast rocked the ground and Justines, the two Brendon envoys, the Thalians, and the Krepyons fell. Dust rose and filtered downward in the golden light. A second, slender bolt demolished the upper portion of the tower, leaving a jagged line of concrete, silicon, titanium ribs, and insulating electronic slurry creeping down the outer golden walls. The fallen beings looked around and rose as the Krepyon craft wobbled to a landing.
'They have killed Bolly. Who can be at the controls if Ricca or Toma are not there?' A group mindspeak by the Justines tried to make sense of what they had just witnessed.
The Krepyons were scrambling to retrieve their weapons as the Thalians were on their feet and towered over the Krepyons. Beatrice was positioned on Lamar's right side, Tamar on Lamar's left.
“They've killed a Justine.” Lamar muttered to Beatrice. “Be ready to die.” His voice faded away as the Krepyon craft's opening panel slid upward to half-position and the landing platform edged out.
“Something tis wrong with that craft.” Beatrice tried to keep her voice low.
“No talking,” commanded the Krepyon behind Beatrice as he nudged her back with his stunner.
Three people appeared on the ramp. The man in the middle was Toma, red hair, copper eyes with golden bands around the pupil and extremely slender: a typical, tall Justine in appearance. It was the other two that made the watching group look in amazement.
The man and woman were the same height: six feet. Both had red hair and were heavier than the Justine, but they matched steps with Toma as they walked down the ramp. It was the woman who caused mouths to drop. Her mammary glands were large by any known planetary standard; yet her body was slender, the green clothes clinging to her, and her mid-calf shoes had high heels. They were carrying what looked like Krepyon stunners. It wasn't until they were closer that the watchers realized the two had Justine eyes.
The next four caused Beatrice to take a huge, gasping breath and tears began flowing down Lamar's face. Tamar looked in wonderment. To his teenage eyes, two were Thalians; huge, muscled bodies and dark, straight hair. The male had to be Llewellyn, Maca of Don, but who was the older woman dressed in black?
On Llewellyn's left side walked a slender (to the Thalians' eyes), wide shouldered man wearing a kineman's hat like they wore on the continents of Don and Rurhran. His trousers were a heavy material in blue, the shirt Thalian blue, and strange boots were on his feet. His gait was slightly rolling, but nay a Thalian's. The other man looked Justine: tall, extremely slender, but his red hair was thinning. Behind them came a motley group of twenty beings, mostly men but some women, dressed in a wide variety of clothes, hats or hair bands, and boots. All of them carried weapons that resembled long, primitive forms of stunners.
As the group approached, Toma gave a curt nod to his parents and used mindspeak.
'My parents, you are thanked for greeting me, but I must go to the Reflection Room. I have been too long among these primitive beings.'
Kalen and Malen exchanged glances and the group tried to speak to Toma, but his mind interrupted their mindspeak.
'You must forgive me, but three of these creatures are from my spermatozoa. One is their descendent; the others are adventurers from their planet. These beings will take what they want. All of them are capable of violence and you will be unable to enter any of their minds.' He walked away.
“Who tis my opponent?” Llewellyn's voice rumbled out over the assembled beings.
The Justines shifted their gaze. As one, they raised their index finger and pointed at the Thalian woman. A sudden orange burst sprayed the ground in front of the Justines and they stared at the man wearing the kineman's hat.
“Stay out of her mind. She's the only one that cannot protect herself.” It was the strangely accented voice heard on the com.
Stunned silence settled over the group. How could any of these beings defy a Justine? An indignant Krepyon standing guard on the left end of the Justine group raised his stunner and died from the man's stunner's orange beam hitting and dissolving him.
As a group, the Justines turned their mind on the man beside Llewellyn, but Kalen fell, writhing in agony.
“Stop, Lorenz, he tis yere biological elder fither.”
Thank Gar, thought Lamar. Llewellyn had finally issued an order and then he, like everyone else, realized that man must be one of the three that Toma had sired. All looked at him, but none could detect red hair, and the eyes, the eyes were blind and yet he saw. Was there an implant? Surely, that being could nay have downed a Justine with his mind, and how did Llewellyn ken? A kernel of disquiet grew in Lamar's gut.
Malen used mindspeak with the stranger. 'How can you deny your natural parentage?'
The man responded aloud. “My natural father is a vicious killer. He tried to murder us all. He succeeded in killing a six-month-old baby. This man, Llewellyn, rescued my mother and then me from the hell we'd been thrown into. He is my father and he has my allegiance.”
The grey eyes were slate. “You all have tried your tricks. Now which one takes up the challenge or do we end this now?”
A smile flitted across Llewellyn's face. “Tis his way, but he tis correct. Does one of ye fight or do we win by default?”
“I am Adrian and I have the task.”
Both men shed their upper garments. Llewellyn was in superb condition. Muscles ran from his neck to his ankles. The Justine was whip-hard, but easily weighed one hundred pounds less; however, the beings inhabiting the Justine Refuge expected him to win. No Thalian could fend off mind control.
The man beside Llewellyn spoke again.
“Remember, this is a physical fight. Both of you can use a mind block, but neither is permitted to enter the other's mind. If any Justine watching tries to interfere, Red, (he waved a hand at the first male to appear) will order his troopers to attack.”
Llewellyn went into a half crouch and the two began circling each other looking for an opening. The Justine shook his head, annoyed. He could not penetrate Llewellyn's mind block. Then a stab of pain hit him and he heard the words in his mind.
'I warned y'all. Don't try it again.'
And Llewellyn was at the Justine swinging his powerful fists, landing blows.
Adrian brought his mind into focus to control his muscles and nerves. His mind began to work in perfect unison with his body, sending blows and kicks at Llewellyn. The Justine meld of mind and body meant their physiques possessed strength far beyond their appearance, and their movements were rapid. Adrian's fists and kicks began to land, but Llewellyn continued connecting with his blows.
For ten minutes they fought, sometimes blocking, sometimes bringing blood. Both were bleeding from facial cuts. Adrian danced away, swung back in and landed a blow at the side of Llewellyn's head and tried to execute the same maneuver.
Llewellyn watched him move away and dove for his midsection. His weight brought Adrian to the ground. Llewellyn grasped Adrian's arm and leg and rose, swinging the man in an arc before tossing him to the ground.
Adrian's momentum made him do a slight spin on the tarmac, and then Llewellyn dropped his knees and weight onto the man's chest. Bones could be heard cracking. Llewellyn began to raise the man again for another toss.
/> “Enough. You may have your treaty. Let us heal our injured.”
Kalen spoke through whitened lips. “We will withdraw and you may assemble in the lounge. We'll speak over the com.”
“Ye will nay withdraw.” It was the Thalian woman with the group. “All of ye twill face us and ye twill hear our words and our terms.
“Captain O'Neal's troopers will disarm and guard the Kreppies.” She spat the words out. “The Brendons twill be seated with us. I am sure they have concerns for their planet that we dinna ken.”
Chapter 6: The Maca of Don
Llewellyn piloted the Kreppie ship towards the Maca of Don Compound in the city of Donnick. He ordered Jeremiah “Red” O'Neal commanding the Golden One to destroy the Kreppie ship rising from Thalia's surface and then three Thalian fighters trying to intercept him. His mission was to access the Maca's Tower and regain control of Don.
This was a confiscated Kreppie ship they had found in the underground research center and manufacturing plant of the Krepyons. They had destroyed everything but one of the two freight ships the Justines had granted the Kreppies. They had modified the seating arrangements ere they left, but it remained a tight fit for his six foot nine frame and corresponding bulk. His dark eyes were on the panel coordinates and he aimed for the padport within the walled compound. The crew behind him consisted of his mither, his laddie Lorenz, his elder Lamar (mither's brither), Beatrice, Margareatha (the lassie of his own, deceased counselor Anna), and four of the adventurers from Earth. They had gone over and over this plan from the time they left the Justine Refuge.
Beatrice had assured them his mither's prints had nay been erased from the security system. The Sisterhood wiped out her ability to change data when they were appointed to the Justine Refuge as envoys.
The landing was perfect and they deployed as practiced; Llewellyn leading the way and the others behind him. At the back double doors, he stepped aside, and his mither came forward, her eyes on the elaborately carved middle door section that hid the screen and placed her hand and fingertips in the panel to the right. In less than a second (to Llewellyn it seemed equal to the one hundred and forty years spent in exile) the doors swung open.