by Cheree Alsop
“We went to the planet you call F One Thousand Seven to rescue my brother from a trap.”
The woman nodded her head. “Brandis gave his statement earlier about the beings who captured him and took him to the planet where he was then taken into captivity by some sort of grass-like entity.”
“It was more like moss,” Liora replied.
“Don’t ever presume to correct Her Grace,” Ludow snarled.
He raised a hand to strike Liora. She didn’t flinch, merely met his gaze and waited.
The silver-haired woman gave the smallest shake of her head. It was enough to make Ludow close his mouth and drop his hand immediately.
“It’s alright, General,” the woman said. “Liora does not know our customs. I don’t think she meant to be rude.”
At the woman’s enquiring look, Liora shook her head. With everything she had gone through, she felt justified in being rude; however, the woman treated her with such kindness, Liora couldn’t help being polite in return.
“They set a trap for me,” Liora said. “They wanted to create a gateway to the Milky Way Galaxy, but I destroyed the orbs they planned to use, so they were seeking revenge.”
A woman with glowing yellow tentacles asked, “Can we have clarification about the location of the Milky Way Galaxy?”
“The Milky Way Galaxy is one of the lesser galaxies still struggling with basic political principles and practices.” Metasa, a woman with four arms crossed in front of her chest and eight piercing eyes, said into her microphone. “It is yet too unstable in its social dynamics to be considered a member of the Unified Galaxies.”
“Thank you,” the tentacled council member replied.
“Let’s return to the moss entity,” the silver-haired woman suggested.
Liora nodded.
“For the record, we do not have a moss-like entity in our archives,” Metasa dictated in a monotone voice.
“Thank you, Metasa,” the woman said. “Your memory serves us as always.”
“If I may speak, Your Grace?” Brandis asked. At the woman’s nod, he continued, “When they had me submerged in their energy draw, I was privy to their thoughts. The moss entity, as you call it, traveled from planet to planet sucking the life out of its core and inhabitants. It was far more an enemy to your treaty than Liora.”
The man with dark green scales cleared his throat. “That is for us to decide, young man.”
“If you don’t have the facts, how will you decide fairly?” Brandis replied. He leaned forward so he could see Liora around Ludow. “Where’s Tariq, Liora? He could add his testimony to ours and let them know that we’re telling the truth.”
The name rang in Liora’s ears and a knot grew in her throat so that she couldn’t speak.
“Who is this Tariq?” the woman asked.
“He’s her boyfriend,” Brandis replied. “He’s also the best medic I’ve ever met. He was a member of the Coalition, then when we disbanded from them, he was recruited into my father’s new defense fleet. He’s the best hand with a gun I ever met.” His gaze was expectant when he turned to Liora. “You know he’d speak on your behalf. They can’t deny all of our testimonies. Do they have him here somewhere, too?”
The grip Liora had on the bar in front of her kept her centered. She lowered her gaze to the cold metal and felt glass beneath her palm again.
She took a shuddering breath. “When we freed Brandis and the other survivors from the moss entity, my warriors carried them out. Tariq…” It was hard to say his name. She swallowed and said again, “Tariq and I knew from what the moss had shown us that if we didn’t stop it, it would have access to the rest of the Macrocosm. We had to finish it at all costs.”
Liora couldn’t speak. She knew she couldn’t describe what had happened in a way that would be true to Tariq’s memory.
“Your Grace, I need to ask permission to show you instead of tell you what happened on F One Thousand Seven.”
The woman with the silver hair gave a slight frown.
“In a hearing such as this where your ability to pull energy is in question, your request is highly unusual,” she said.
Liora waited in silence. Talking about Tariq’s death was more than she knew she could handle at the moment. Her only chance to defend herself was to show them instead of tell them the truth of the events on the moss planet.
“Even so, given the uniqueness of the circumstances, I allow it,” the woman finally conceded. “If you have the ability to push such a memory into our minds, which we acknowledge is a considerable task, we welcome the chance to clarify the circumstances on F One Thousand and Seven.”
Loud talking rushed through the room. Several voices were raised and the sound echoed down.
“She’s not pushing thoughts into my head!”
“There’s no way I’m letting her into my brain!”
The woman raised her hand and talking ceased.
“Those who are uncomfortable with the sharing of images are welcome to leave the room. Your opinions will not be included in the final hearing,” the woman said.
The sound of beings leaving met Liora’s ears, but she didn’t look up. The thought of what she was about to do gripped Liora’s heart.
“Liora, you don’t have to do this,” Brandis said quietly.
Liora looked at him. It was obvious by his expression that he dreaded finding out what had happened to Tariq. Liora lowered her gaze.
“Liora Day, we are ready,” the woman said.
Liora nodded. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind. Pushing to so many would take a considerable amount of strength. She hoped she had enough left.
Liora chose to start with their landing on the planet. The journey through the caves were rough, but she didn’t leave out the deaths of her warriors. She showed them finding Brandis and the others being used by the moss. The attack of the huge creatures with the long claws made several minds shy away from hers. Liora continued to push to those who still remained open.
She felt her back be torn open again and her wounds throbbed. She pushed forward to the voice of the moss in her mind when she and Tariq were enveloped. She showed them the planets being sucked dry by the moss’ parasitic ways and the plan for the use of her warriors’ bodies to transport the many moss particles to the rest of the galaxies.
“Liora, get out of here!” Tariq said. “Get to the ship before the others are killed!”
“I won’t leave you here,” Liora refused.
Tariq grabbed her arm. There was desperation in his gaze. “Liora, you can’t let them leave this planet.”
Liora reached the mind of her brother and stopped the warriors from entering the ship. She heard the gasps of those in the audience when the Ketulans attacked. The Nine was torn apart and crashed into the opening of the dome. Liora touched the glass.
“I love you,” Tariq mouthed.
“No!” she yelled.
The bomb exploded. Liora put her hand to the red rock ground. She gathered the strength she found and pooled it into a knot in her chest. With an outlet of angry breath, Liora shoved the energy up her arms and the glass shattered.
Liora pushed on, showing the Ketulans tearing apart the warriors and Ludlow’s people. She reached the edge of the ship, a target for the machines, drawing them away from the others. They closed in on her from every side, burying her with their flashing blades. She paused, her debate evident as to whether she should live or die. In the end, with her Damaclan blood, she was unable to just give in. She put her hand to the ground and pulled. The power arched over her and the Ketulans burst into flames.
Liora let the memory fade.
The silence that followed was broken when Ludow said, “So she pulled from the planet twice.”
The woman across from Liora let out a slow breath. She looked at the members of the Council on either side of her.
“We will adjourn this preliminary hearing for the Council to discuss the information we have been given. We will reconvene this after
noon to hear the decision of the Council.” She nodded at Liora. “Thank you for showing us what you did. It had to take courage.”
Liora lowered her gaze and didn’t speak.
“Your Grace, may I beg permission to see my sister?” Brandis asked. There was a hint of desperation in his voice that told how long he had been waiting to know if she was alright.
The woman gave a kind smile, but shook her head. “It is against the customs of this Council to allow visitation of any kind until the hearing is ended. You will have the chance to see Liora tomorrow.”
Ludow unhooked the chain of her manacles from the bar. Liora took the first step from the dais and paused when her knees threatened to give out. Rist put a hand to her elbow but she shrugged it away. The touch felt too much like something Tariq would have done.
She followed Ludow from the room. The moment the door slid shut behind them, her legs gave way and she fell to her knees on the floor.
“What’s going on?” Ludow demanded. He crossed his arms and glared down at her, his orange eyes showing his distaste for the mind-push he had been forced to endure.
“I knew you were just being strong,” Rist said. He bent as though he intended to pick her up.
“I’m fine,” Liora snapped. She rose shakily, but couldn’t get herself to walk forward.
Rist ducked under her arm without waiting for her to protest.
“Ludow isn’t known for his patience,” he said quietly. They had walked forward for a few steps when he continued with, “And it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to show a little less strength up there.”
At Liora’s questioning look, he said, “If you could garner a bit of compassion, it would help you in your hearing.”
Liora awkwardly moved her chained arm from his shoulder and shoved him away.
“Does it occur to you that I might not want compassion?” she demanded. “I don’t need you to care. I didn’t show them what I did so that they could feel empathy for me. I wanted them to understand the kind of threat the moss entity posed. If I am held in contempt to their so-called Council, I’m certain they will hold my army to the same, whatever is left of them. I’m not going to stand by and watch them tear my brother and warriors apart the way they appear so eager to do to me.”
Liora’s chest heaved after the rant. She wasn’t sure where the angry outburst had come from, but was aware that she had finished at a far louder decibel than she had intended.
Before she took another step that would potentially land her on her face, Rist ducked under her arm again. She would have thwarted his efforts to help her, but to do so would require much more energy than she had left. She was angry at herself for expending it in such a useless way.
They had passed through several halls behind the straight-shouldered form of Ludow when Rist spoke again.
His voice was quiet when he said, “You may have plenty of enemies up there, Liora, but don’t count me among them.”
Liora didn’t reply. She knew the number of people on her side was limited, especially given their views on her use of the planet’s energy. A Damaclan knew when to make enemies and when to garner favor in the light of having an ally against stronger foes. She knew Tariq would frown on her sliding back solely to her Damaclan heritage, but she was in survival mode. If she chose to live life as a human, she would have already died from the gaping hole in her heart left by Tariq’s death.
Food waited in the small room when Liora was led inside.
“Enjoy your last meal,” Ludow said with a smirk on his purple face as he unlocked her handcuffs.
“It’s not her last meal,” Rist snapped, his dark green eyes showing his fury. “For someone who acts in the name of justice, you sure are anxious to see an innocent die because she dared to save others.”
Ludow stormed out of the room.
Rist let out a breath. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have let my temper get the best of me.”
Liora glanced at him. “If my temper got the best of me, he’d be dead right now.”
Rist helped her sit on the pallet and took a step back. “I suppose I shouldn’t underestimate you; though you look like you’re going to fall over at any moment.”
Liora hated that her exhaustion showed. She leaned back against the wall, then sat up again when pain coursed through her stitched wounds. She eyed the food.
“It doesn’t look like much,” Rist said. He cracked a smile. “I wish I could tell you it tastes better than it looks, but the Council definitely needs a better cook.”
Liora pushed the tray away.
Rist gave her a searching look. “I didn’t mean you shouldn’t eat it. You need the nourishment.”
Liora met his gaze, her expression flat.
Rist held up his hands. “Sorry. I forgot. No empathy. My bad.” He walked to the door. “I’ll be back with Ludow as soon as the hearing is ready to start again.”
When the door shut, Liora fell to her side on the bed. Her muscles quivered and the strength she had tried so hard to maintain left her. She could feel the weakness of infection seeping through her body. There was no doubt all the time between receiving her injuries and getting them tended to had taken their toll.
Sweat broke out across her skin and it was all she could do to pick up the bottle of water and put it to her lips. The liquid tasted flat and chemical, but she gulped it down. She let the empty bottle fall from her hand to the floor. The clatter rang loudly in the tiny room.
It felt like she had just closed her eyes when the door slid open.
“Time for the hearing,” Ludow’s gruff voice broke through the haze of her nightmare.
Liora opened her eyes and stared at the bare wall for a moment.
“What is that?” there was a strange note to Ludow’s voice as if something had caught him off guard.
Liora sat up slowly and glanced over her shoulder to find him looking at her back. For a moment, she couldn’t remember why he was there. The pain of her wounds and the haze of the nightmare made it difficult to focus her thoughts.
“I told you she was wounded,” Rist said. “She’s bleeding through the bandages, but they won’t give me permission to work on her again.” He pushed past Ludow and crouched in front of Liora. “I brought you some more water,” he said, his voice quiet.
She took the bottle he held out and willed her eyes to focus on it.
“Can you stand?” Rist asked.
Liora nodded. She rose without a word and held out her hands for Ludow to cuff them again.
He did so with more care than before.
“Are they too heavy?” he asked.
Liora gave him a searching look. He dropped his gaze.
“I, uh, didn’t know about your back. I saw those creatures attack you in your memory.” Ludow stopped talking as though he felt uncomfortable. He lifted his shoulders and said, “I guess I didn’t put the two together.”
The change in his gaze when he looked at her said Rist’s theory of gaining compassion from the Council wasn’t a bad one. The problem was that Liora didn’t want empathy from anyone.
“I’m fine,” she said. She pushed past them both. “Let’s get this over with.”
She heard the talking in the Council hall before they entered. It fell to silence once more when she stepped onto the dais. Ludow locked her handcuffs to the bar and she held onto it for support with the hope that no one else noticed.
“Liora, are you alright?”
She looked over to see Brandis leaning forward to peer around Ludow. To her surprise, the purple-skinned man stepped back so she could see her brother better.
“I’m fine,” she replied.
He smiled, but she could tell by his expression that he didn’t believe her.
“This hearing will begin,” Ludow said. “Has the Council reached a decision?”
The silver-haired woman’s smile carried less peace than it had earlier. “Unfortunately, our Council is divided on the matter of Liora Day’s use of planet energy to destroy the enti
ties.”
“Also, there is a question of the entities themselves,” the dark green, scaled man said from his podium. “We do not have enough proof to accept the existence of Ketulans.”
“She showed you her memory!” Brandis said, his tone incredulous. “She lost Tariq because of them and had to save your men and women. How can you deny that?”
“There is not conclusive evidence of—”
Liora cut the man off. “I am done playing your games.” The strength of her words echoed around the hall. “Are your own warriors playthings to be thrown away without a care? If so, I want nothing to do with your Council. You can only turn a blind eye for so long until your ignorance results in your failure.” She looked at the rows upon rows of Council members above her. “If you want to deny the presence of the Ketulans, so be it. If you want to dismiss what I have shown you as random synapses of my imagination, then do so. But if you truly speak for the good of the Macrocosm, you will take heed when I tell you that I am not your biggest threat. Look to your neighbor, because he or she will be the cause of your demise.”
Liora turned her gaze to the silver-eyed woman. “A council of fools has the ability to cause far more damage than they ever will good.”
The woman bowed her head in acknowledgement. She was about to speak when grating, humming sounds bombarded the hall.
“What is that?” Ludow asked.
Liora knew exactly what was coming.
“Unlock me,” she said.
Ludow shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Your safety depends on it. Unlock me!”
The roof tore free. Ludow turned from her to stare in horror at the droning mass of Ketulans entering the great hall with their blades raised.
Chapter 16
The first Ketulans picked up members of the Council on the highest levels and dropped them to their deaths below. The first body hit the ground in a mass of blood and bones. Screaming erupted and chaos ensued.
Liora pulled on the bar, but the handcuffs wouldn’t give.
“Ludow, release me!” she demanded.