by Mark Wandrey
“This was inevitable. One way or another, we were going to come into conflict with other hostile species. The Chosen have been living targets on the frontier for decades.”
“If that girl behind you hadn’t stolen those weapons, none of this would have happened.” There was a good deal of mumbled agreement. Minu felt her face turning red and fought to keep her demeanor.
“The woman behind me is the one who invented our new shock rifles. It cost her a good deal of personal sacrifice and the loss of her entire science team. Without those guns, we would never have defeated the Rasa here in Tranquility.”
“Bah!” Viktor spat on the rubble-strewn floor, “That doesn’t excuse what she caused.”
“The cause was not hers,” Jacob said. Two Chosen helped him into the room. He wore a cast on his leg from the hip down.
“No?” Viktor asked. “Then who is to blame?”
“A Chosen on a scout mission perpetrated an atrocity on the Rasa. This gave them an excuse to seek Vendetta from the Concordian War Council.”
“Who is this Chosen?” Viktor asked, voices behind calling for the name. “There needs to be punishment.”
“I fully agree,” Dram said.
“Then who is it?” Malovich roared, pounding the lectern.
“The Chosen’s name is Ivan Malovich.” A stunned silence fell over the chamber. Ivan’s face became dark and strained.
“What kind of lie is this?”
“You dare accuse the First Among the Chosen of lying?” Jacob bellowed with an intensity that belied his injuries. Minu felt pride in her leader. Ever since the vendetta began, her opinion of Jacob had been growing. This was just another step in that process.
The voices that had supported Viktor moments earlier turned against him in the blink of an eye. Councilors stood and pointed at him yelling ‘shame’ and ‘outrage.’ Ivan gripped the lectern so hard Minu thought she heard wood splintering.
“I did not mean to offend,” he said, each word sounding like it etched his skin with acid.
Appeased, Jacob continued. “He admitted to perpetrating a slaughter of innocent non-combatant Rasa on a neutral world. Others on his team have concurred that the orders to fire were his. We transferred him to the logistics branch and reduced his rank to five-star, where he will stay for the rest of his career. Considering the offense, the loss of life and property that resulted, I consider the council’s decision to be very generous.”
Viktor had no more to say. He staggered back from the podium and dropped into his seat, defeated.
Dram continued as if no one had interrupted him. “While the loss of life seems great, it could have been far worse. Had the vendetta been by a higher-order species like the Tanam, the Mok-Tok, or the T’Chillen, we would likely have lost everything in short order. We have captured all the surviving Rasa and accepted their surrender, and we will return them to a neutral world, once the vendetta is officially complete. As a bonus, we have laid claim to all of their equipment.”
The council president, an elderly man from the New Jerusalem Tribe named Ezra, stood with some difficulty and spoke. “We owe the Chosen our thanks.” There was loud, nearly universal applause from around the circular chamber. “In particular, we would like to acknowledge Chosen Minu Alma. Her father was my friend, and he would be proud of her, as are we.” This time Minu did blush and could do nothing to control it. “However, First Jacob, how do we keep this from happening again? Why did the Tog not come to our aid?”
“The second question first, if you please? The Tog could not assist us, because it is against the rules of warfare. A vendetta is a kind of mini-war, declared for a few days and, on rare occasions, years. One rule that makes it unique is the open declaration of the participants. If you invite someone to help you, you must allow your adversary the same privilege. Since the Rasa challenged us alone, we had no choice except to fight on our own. Though we are under the protection of the Tog, we caused this incident. Blood was shed, so we were open to retaliation.”
“That is most tragic,” Ezra said and shook his head.
“I agree. As for how we stop it, I can’t say for sure. The Chosen council is going to spend a lot of time trying to answer that very question. We could deactivate the portals and hide on Bellatrix, but our economy depends on off-world resources. Without them, I dare say we would be in real trouble. Also, we must pay our debt to the Tog. Without that payment, we have no claim to Bellatrix, so we’d lose our leasehold. And without that…”
“We would be squatters,” Ezra finished for him. “I understand.”
“Ultimately, there is no way to avoid conflict. Our century under the Tog has been a peaceful time because we kept to ourselves. That time is coming to an end. The Chosen are looking at ways to make us safer, and Chosen Alma’s new weapons have gone a long way toward making that possible. Will this happen again? Maybe. Possibly. Will we be better prepared next time? Absolutely.”
The meeting broke up after a few speeches by well-placed council members. All of them were unhappy about the end of the world’s more than one hundred years of peace, but grateful the Chosen had managed to fend off the attackers. They made special mention of the valor of the Plateau Militia led by Colonel Hastings. As they left, Minu turned to Dram with a question. “Why did you want me here? I never said a word.”
“Propriety demanded your presence.” She looked confused, and he put a ham-sized hand on her shoulder. “Minu, you’re destined for great things. I’ve never doubted it, since I saw you the first day of your Trials. You are almost the youngest Chosen ever to rise to four stars—you are the youngest woman—and look what you’ve already accomplished. If you are not known and seen by the civilians, we cannot do with you what we plan to do.”
“And what is that?”
“You’ll see,” he said with a lopsided grin that gave her no comfort at all.
* * * * *
Chapter 10
Julast 18th, 518 AE
Portal Temple, Tranquility, Plateau Tribe
Minu didn’t like the armor, not one bit. First, it was purely for show and second, she was about to walk boldly into the Kloth’s nest. The vendetta had ended without any further incidents. They ordered all portals to stand down, lest the war-weary Chosen shoot some innocents to pieces. Now that the vendetta had expired, the humans needed to boldly declare their victory.
Minu clunked toward the remains of the portal building in Tranquility. The armor was a copy of the Rasa design which had borne the declaration of Vendetta. Just as the Rasa soldier’s armor had announced the attack, her armor proclaimed their victory. An honor guard of Chosen flanked her as she marched. A naked Rasa, the envoy that had first announced the beginning of hostilities, walked before her. As protocol dictated, they’d forged Minu’s armor from his, and he returned with nothing, a symbol of humanity’s total victory.
She looked at the ravaged portal structure. Its once-sleek roof sagged from fire damage, and water dripped from the sodden walls. A fire had burned a good bit of the remains. Only carefully placed dualloy and ceramic concrete braces kept it from crumbling on the portal. They would have to completely rebuild it. They’d found Jovich’s body just outside the main entrance, along with a dozen dead Rasa. He’d accounted for himself like a Chosen, regardless of his age.
As she walked up ash-covered marble stairs leading to the portal, Dram and Jacob were there waiting for her. Jacob had graduated from a wheelchair to crutches, while Dram’s arm was still in a sling. The bones in his upper arm had shattered and would take weeks to heal. Regardless of their conditions, they came to attention as she approached, leading her charge.
“You do us proud,” Dram said.
“Tell them exactly who kicked their collective asses,” Jacob said with a small smile.
“I’ll let them know the total of the butcher’s bill,” she said. Behind her, lined up four abreast on the east avenue, were rank upon rank of Rasa soldiers who’d been spending the days camped in Founders’ Park.
They wore only their thin uniforms, which were like human sleeveless underwear. They were lucky it was summer, or the cold-blooded beings would have been in a bad way. Jacob and Dram both nodded, and she prodded the naked Rasa forward with her rifle. The Chosen council had agreed she would wield a beamcaster. It was a subtle statement, since the beamcasters were what facilitated their mutual hostilities, and a measure of safety. They needed to keep the shock rifles secret for as long as possible.
The Rasa wasn’t completely naked; he had his portal control rod. Without it, he couldn’t get home. He held out the rod, and the portal came to life. On the other side, Minu saw a wide, tall chamber filled with heavily-armed Rasa soldiers, their weapons pointed at her. The envoy stepped through without hesitation. Minu slid the helmet on her head and followed quickly.
The temperature was several degrees warmer, and it was considerably more humid than Bellatrix. Windows lined the long, vaulted room as far as she could see. They cast a bitter, dark red light through the room. The soldiers tracked her carefully with their weapons. Minu stepped to the edge of their portal and stopped. As she’d read in the Concordian protocol files, Minu gave the Rasa soldier who’d preceded her a none-too-gentle push as he reached the steps of the dais. He’d been expecting it and rolled as he fell off, landing on his feet.
“I am Minu Alma, Chosen, representing Humanity, in service to the Tog.” She bowed, but not as low as she would to a Tog. “You are defeated; your vendetta is turned back.” One of the Rasa came forward through the line of soldiers. He wore advanced combat armor gilded with precious metal and gems. “You are honor bound to abandon your hostilities,” Minu told the newcomer.
“We do not intend to abandon our claim of vengeance,” the Rasa spoke, his hisses and pops translated by Minu’s translator.
“Then you force us to go to the Concordian War Council to demand reciprocity.”
The Rasa leader stared at her for a full minute. His troops watched her. They could clearly see their disarmed troops arrayed on the other side of the portal and the devastation of the surrounding area. Dram and Jacob were watching from the other side; they couldn’t hear, but they could see. This was a critical moment. Minu’s challenge was mostly bluff. Chosen techs had run the fabricator and turned out seventy more computers for the new shock rifles, but they still had less than a hundred weapons. They lacked any substantial bots for an assault force, and a third of the combat-trained Chosen were dead or injured. But the Rasa leader didn’t know any of that. He only saw his defeated army and a human wearing the armor of victory. Minu smiled; she had no doubt he was angry and confused.
“You do not have to take that step,” he said finally, “we acknowledge your victory.” And with that, he dropped to the ceramic concrete floor in the posture of respect. This time Minu’s bow was what she would offer an equal.
“We accept your acknowledgment and will not pursue reciprocity. Your surviving soldiers await parole to return to your world.”
“They may begin—” He never finished the sentence. Quick as a flash another Rasa in equally intricate armor jumped forward and clawed at the first leader’s neck. Minu almost screamed in shock; it took every ounce of will she had not to raise her beamcaster.
In an instant the two Rasa were doing everything they could to kill each other. They ripped and tore at exposed flesh with teeth and claws. At one point, they rolled partway up the dais, almost to Minu’s feet. There was nothing in the Concordian protocol she’d read that applied to this sort of situation, so she stood there, staring straight ahead, pretending not to notice. The rest of the Rasa soldiers did the same; nothing. In less than a minute it was over. The challenger stood up, cut and bleeding from a dozen wounds, his jaws dripping with most of the previous leader’s neck tissue.
“There is nothing more for you here, human,” he hissed and spat the pieces of his predecessor on the floor like a mouthful of snot.
“This changes nothing,” Minu said with as much conviction as she could manage. “We reached an accord with him.”
“It should die with him.”
“That is not The Law.” The Rasa looked from Minu to the corpse, obviously uncertain. “Had you acted before our agreement, things would have been different.”
“Perhaps you are right, human. I delayed my action too long.” Minu breathed again. “We will honor the agreement this dead piece of meat made with you.”
“Very good. I shall send through your soldiers.” Minu turned to leave.
“No,” the leader snapped. “We have no interest in defeated carrion.”
“But they are your people, your soldiers. They fought valiantly and were defeated honorably.”
“If they fought as valiantly as you imply, we would not be having this conversation. You would have been naked on the floor, and this idiot would still lead us. They are dead to us. If they have true honor, they will kill themselves, and you can use their meat to feed your children.”
Minu coughed as the bile rose in the back of her throat. “T-then that is your decision?”
“It is what I said. Leave our world.”
Back on the other side of the portal, Minu gave Jacob and Dram a detailed report on the events she’d witnessed. As she was speaking, Var’at came up from behind, unnoticed by the three humans, and listened. They had deactivated the portal without sending him back to his world.
“The new leader is Ko’kra,” he said. The three Chosen turned to look at him. “He is of a faction in the leadership that favors warfare. Tak’la, the slain leader, only pursued vendetta at Ko’kra’s insistence. I am sorry to place the burden of our disposal in your hands.”
“Disposal?” Minu asked as she removed the stifling helmet and tossed it aside.
“He means execution,” Dram said. Jacob and Var’at nodded.
“He thinks we’re going to kill over two thousand unarmed soldiers who surrendered to us.”
“It is your right,” Var’at said, as if he were saying Minu just won a prize at a fair.
“We refuse that right,” Minu said, immediately backed up by Jacob.
“She speaks the truth. You surrendered, and to humans, that is worth something. You are without a world now; where can you go?”
“There is nowhere,” Var’at admitted, “we cannot go to any legal Rasa world, and if we set out for the frontier, we are squatters. That is not what we want to do. We try to be an honorable people. The squatters you killed were another idea of Ko’kra’s.”
“I have an idea,” Minu said. She leaned in close to the two Chosen leaders and explained. When she finished, they both scratched their heads in amazement.
“That might be…” Dram said, rubbing the stubble on his chin.
“Is it legal?” Jacob asked.
“I haven’t seen anything against it in the Law.”
“Well,” Jacob said and shrugged. He turned toward the expectant Rasa. For a being who was waiting to see if he was going to live or die, he was amazingly calm. “Var’at, you are the leader of these troops, correct?”
“Yes, I do lead.”
“Then as the leader of the Chosen, I would like to ask you to stay here, with us.”
Var’at’s jaw dropped, and his eyes darted back and forth between the three humans. “You speak the truth?”
“Chosen always speak the truth!” Minu insisted. Dram shrugged, but she didn’t notice.
“The civilian leaders will never agree,” Jacob cautioned, “but we have control of large areas of land, and you could settle on it. “
Var’at closed his mouth with a snap. He turned and looked at his soldiers, arrayed down the avenue. Thousands of humans lined the streets, many watching the defeated aliens with angry expressions. Quite a few of his soldiers were wounded, and all hung their heads in defeat. What would this mean to them? “We will only be your charges. Do you mean to make us slaves? It is your right, of course.”
“Absolutely not!” Jacob said emphatically, making a chopping motion with his hand. “Tha
t is abhorrent to humans.”
“We cannot simply live here with no purpose.”
“I’m sure something can be arranged, so that you’re not just guests.”
“I can think of something,” he hissed.
“Please go ahead.”
“We will serve you as soldiers.” It was the three humans’ turns to drop their jaws. “I must consult my troops; some may not wish to do this. Will they be free to leave?”
“Absolutely,” Jacob said, “but you don’t have to be soldiers for us.”
“I understand that, yet this is all we know. We start to train as soldiers even before the fluid from our eggs has dried. It is our lives, all we are and all we will become. You humans are much more complicated than we believed. You are scorned by the higher-order Concordian species, but still you defeated us with ease, utilizing weapons never before seen. Serving you as soldiers is not only a way to continue doing the only thing we know how to do, it is an honor. We will teach you the Concordian way of war.”
“And I’ll teach you the human way,” Minu said.
“Then it is done,” Var’at said and bowed.
“No,” Jacob said, and Minu tensed. Was this where it would all fall apart? “The first lesson you must learn to live among humans is that we are all equal.” He held out his hand. Var’at rose to his feet and stared at the hand. Minu mimed reaching for Jacob’s hand, and he understood. The human and the Rasa clasped hand to claw.
* * * * *
Chapter 11
Julast 19th, 518 AE
Chosen Headquarters, Steven’s Pass
The devil was in the details. Knowing the World Council wouldn’t be happy at their offering the Rasa a home, especially after they’d spent several days trying to destroy one of the oldest cities on the planet, the Chosen used subterfuge. With the public watching and screaming obscenities, they marched the two thousand plus Rasa in through the Tranquility Portal and out through the Steven’s Pass Portal. Normally, they used the training grounds at Steven’s Pass to house Chosen straight from the Trials, but they were ideal for the aliens’ needs, if a bit crowded. Var’at was so pleased to have a place to go, Minu didn’t think he’d care if they had to live in a swamp.