The warriors stayed busy organizing the paths for the two additional protective battleships that were being left behind. If the hierarchy split was passed, and now it looked like more of a question of when, Miranda would have to be assassinated for the four excluded Magistrates to save anything of their power.
Miranda decided to sit by the altar while Tempest joined Terena in the garden they were planting. She saw the women discussing different plants, and she left the stone structure and wandered aimlessly towards the edge of the settlement, deep in thought.
“It is pretty here, Celestial.”
Miranda turned to see a warrior leaning against the back of one of the buildings. “It is beautiful,” she agreed. She studied the man’s uniform. “Are you from the Quillant?” She did not remember seeing him before, and she was sure he was not one of the new officers.
“I used to be third officer,” the friendly warrior informed her as he walked forward with his hand extended. Miranda was confused, and she tried to remember the warriors she had met.
“I feel your arousal and passion, Major Berslan. Allow me to fulfill your desires.” Miranda gaped as the Pirana came into view. Berslan grabbed Miranda's arm and shoved a rag of strong smelling liquid over her face, and she faded into darkness.
“Shall I take care of your need?” the Parina purred.
“Stay, you stupid ‘droid’.”
Berslan had snuck onto the Quillant when it docked with the Quibista, and when he discovered the Celestial had already been shuttled on planet he made his way to a battle cruiser. In all the confusion of the shuttles and surfacing, no one noticed him leave. Unfortunately, he had not noticed the Parina on board waiting for a tryst with one of the junior officers.
She had been very helpful in locating the Celestial. Apparently, they had met, and her lifeforce was scanned into her data banks. He did not have the time or patience to deal with her seductions now. He needed to get the Celestial back to the hierarchy before she was discovered missing. He carried the small woman back to the cruiser, leaving the Parina disoriented with no one to guide her.
The Parina walked to the other side of the structure and located the wild haired woman she had seen with the Celestial. Maybe she could instruct her on how to get to Major Berslan and ease his arousal. Her data banks were almost smoking as they tried to assimilate the reason the Celestial caused such passion.
Tempest looked up as a hand brushed her shoulder. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re not after my mate, are you?”
The Parina’s eyes flashed, as she rationalized the question. “No, Admiral Taliquant is mated now and no longer requires my services to suck his mighty cock. Major Berslan's sack is heavy with arousal. His cock is in need of my wet sheath, and his passion fills with quivering lust from obtaining the Celestial. It bursts within him.”
“What the hell? Did you say Major Berslan has Miranda?”
“Major Berslan is filled with heated need over obtaining the Celestial,” the Parina confirmed.
Terena's face turned white and she screamed. “Zule, Tali! Hurry!”
The Parina repeated her seductive rantings, and Zulien yelled for his mate. His hand stroked absently over his heart. He knew she was gone.
The other warriors had joined the admirals, and Vesario said, “Where did he take her?”
“His swollen cock is readying to leave this planet without satisfying its passion.” The Parina pointed to where Berslan had hidden the cruiser.
The warriors ran in the direction she pointed, and when they rounded the barge of shallistones they saw him loading the unconscious woman onto the cruiser.
Berslan had taken his time, not realizing the Parina would relay his actions. He had been thinking about the honor the pompous Magistrate would bestow on him for bringing the Ancient back to Laquista. As he leaned to place her on the floor of the shuttle, massive hands ripped him from the doorway.
Zulien punched him so hard that his nose crunched and tilted to the side. He hurried to his unconscious mate while Taliquant kept up the assault until Vesario and Zibula pulled him off the beaten man.
Zulien ran with Miranda in his arms and placed her on the sleeping pallet, while Terena, Zilana and Tempest tried to figure out how to help her. “Zulien, I smell dillint on her. We need a healer immediately,” Zilana said. She had recognized the residual odor on Miranda's face. The powerful drug could kill the fragile woman if it was not neutralized.
Two guards held Berslan outside while Vesario and the other warriors entered the room. “Are you sure it is dillint, Zalana?”
“Yes, Vesario.” Zalana's face had the unhealthy yellow cast of fear.
Vesario lifted his communicator. “How far off is the Quanza?”
“They are due to be in orbit in an hour, sir,” was the distant reply.
“Tell them to speed up,” he ordered. “I need the Magistrate of Well Being. The Celestial has been injured.”
There was silence as the information was absorbed, and then, “Yes, Magistrate. At top speed they can be here in fifteen minutes. I will tell them to prepare the Magistrate of Well Being’s shuttle.”
The group waited in agonizing silence as Miranda's breathing became shallow. Zulien was alternating between holding her hand and pacing angrily, wanting to kill Berslan.
“Zulien, you need to hold your mate. If she feels you close, it will help her until the healer arrives.” Zalana guided him back over to Miranda.
The Magistrate of Well Being burst into the room. “What has happened?”
“It is dillint. Berslan was trying to kidnap her and bring her back to Laquista,” Vesario informed him.
“As what? A decayed corpse?” The Magistrate threw his staff into the corner as he approached the pallet. “By the stars, she is so small. She would not have made it out of the quadrant.” The big man knelt by Miranda's head. He laid his hand on her forehead and blew across her face.
He reached into his cloak and pulled out a vial, and then measured the blue liquid into a dropper. He looked at Miranda again, and put two drops back. “She is so small,” he repeated in a whisper. He placed the drops in her mouth and, keeping one hand on her forehead, he placed the other on her stomach and closed his eyes. He envisioned the poison leaving her, and after a few seconds a green fog rose out of her body, dissipating quickly.
The Magistrate fell back. “Her will is strong. I have never felt such power.” He looked up at the worried faces, and then at Zulien. “She will sleep for a while and be fine. The baby lives as well.” He noted Zulien’s shocked expression. “You did not know? Your mate is with child.”
The Magistrate walked over to Tempest, who was shaking with relief in Tali’s arms. “Your babies will be born close to the same time.”
Tempest looked up in shock. “Are you telling me I’m knocked up?”
Her reply confused him. “I do not sense an injury. Were you hurt as well?”
“What? Oh no, I’m all right. Did you say I was pregnant?”
The Magistrate shook his head, bewildered. “Perhaps it is because you are a primitive that you were unaware of your condition.”
Tempest rolled her eyes. “I wish people would stop calling me that.” She smiled as she put her hand over Tali’s where it rested on her stomach. “Cripes!”
Miranda slept safe in Zulien’s arms until morning. He felt her stiffen as she awoke, and she sat bolt upright. “Zule!” she exclaimed.
“I am here. I have got you, Miranda. You are all right, my little Ancient.”
Miranda settled back onto his chest. “That man…”
“We caught him, and Vesario is taking him back to Laquista. He is using his confession to discredit the Magistrate of Commerce. With the Magistrate of Well Being’s signed statement that the drug he used would have killed you, they plan to bring them all up on assassination attempt charges. The Magistrate’s daughter is still promised to Berslan, so he would not be able to separate himself from the treachery.”
“
I was so scared. As soon as I saw the Parina, I realized I had walked into a trap.”
“Actually, the android saved you. Berslan left her when he headed to the cruiser with you, and being on planet she had no warriors to serve. She was disoriented. The only man she could sense in need was Berslan, and he was with you. She found Tempest and asked her what she should do.”
“I bet that was an interesting discussion,” Miranda smiled.
Zulien chuckled. “It does take some patience to work through the innuendo to obtain the facts.”
“I guess I should thank her,” Miranda's brow furrowed.
“She is back on ship, happily servicing her three officers. To her, being of service is her reward,” Zulien explained. “Did you know you are with child?”
Miranda looked up at him. “How did you find out?”
“When the Magistrate of Well Being healed you, he told us the baby was all right. Why did you not tell me?”
“Because I was afraid you would not let me out of your sight so you could do your job,” she admitted.
“You are right. I intend to keep you beside me. If you had been with me, Berslan could not have made his attempt on you.”
“Or he would have killed you, knowing it would be the only way to get to me,” she rationalized.
There was a knock on the door and Tempest called, “Is she awake yet?”
“Come on in, Tempest. I’m fine,” Miranda answered.
Tempest walked in with Tali on her heels, bursting with pride. “My mate is with child.” He had been announcing it to everyone.
Tempest rolled her eyes. “It’s official. Everyone on this planet and on all three battleships knows now." She smiled at Miranda. “You too, huh?”
Miranda nodded. “That was some joining.”
Zibula appeared at the open door and came in. “Vesario is already entering Laquista air space. They must have been on full throttle the whole way back.”
Another large man came in, and Miranda recognized the cloak and staff of a Magistrate. “How are you feeling, Miranda? You gave us quite a scare.”
“I feel fine. Are you the one who healed me?”
“Yes, I am Feriston, the Magistrate of Well Being. It is so good to finally meet you. You continue to cause excitement, for one so fragile,” he chuckled.
“Well, I hope the excitement stops soon. I am reeling with all the changes.”
“It will. The Magistrate of The Unexplained joined our alliance when he heard of the assassination attempt. We are expecting the other two will announce their intentions as soon as the formal charges are drafted. The indecisive idiots are still waiting to see how many people are supporting us.” The Magistrate shrugged.
“What happens then?” Miranda asked.
“Our allies will insist on space decay for the parties involved. The Magistrate of Law is in charge of the proceedings and will argue against it. I do not see how he can get around it, though. He is the one that drafted the law. When he did it, he was afraid of an attempt on his own life, and he figured the strong penalty would make whoever was after him second-guess his decision. Now, he is stuck with using it on his ally.” The Magistrate smiled. “Hopefully, they will tie his insipid daughter into the plan because she was Berslan's promised mate.”
Tempest spoke up. “What, exactly, is space decay?”
Tali kissed her forehead. “You are with child and should not concern yourself with such things.”
“Do not patronize me, big guy. What the heck is it?”
Zulien sighed. He held Miranda tighter, instinctively knowing the explanation would unsettle her. “If they are convicted, they are taken to the border of the outer worlds and released in shariver suits. It is left to the gods whether or not they make it to a habitable planet before their air supply and fuel are exhausted.”
“That’s horrible,” Miranda gasped. “Zulien, I can’t let that happen. Please, stop it. These people are only trying to protect their way of life.”
“Miranda, I have no control over what the audition decides.”
Miranda thought for a minute. “Have they split the hierarchies yet?”
“No, it takes time to draft the borders and get them agreed upon.”
Miranda struggled out of Zulien’s arms. She stood in front of the Magistrate of Well Being and looked up at him. “Magistrate, I refuse to press charges. I will not be a part of this. You say that everyone is pleased that I’ve been found so peace can once again rule, and yet the first audition concerning me will result in three deaths.”
“Miranda, it is the way this is done. The laws will slowly change as the support shifts,” the Magistrate explained.
“If this sentence is carried out, I will not perform any rituals or relay any visions. It would be hypocrisy to say I am to return the Old Religion on the backs of three murders.”
Zulien whispered, “Miranda, the hierarchy…”
“No, Zule. You may as well return me to the outer worlds. I promise, I will be useless to you.” Miranda's lip quivered with her statement.
Zulien was stunned into silence, and the rest of the people in the room were just as shocked. “We have waited centuries for an Ancient.” Zalana's eyes were filling.
“You’ve created a civilization that thrives on clawing up the backs of others, and with all your advancements you are no more civilized than the primitive outer world you procured me from.” There was true sadness in Miranda's voice. “If these people die because of me, there will be no cleansing ritual that could ever bring me balance. Whether or not I wanted to continue to help you re-build, the power would be lost to me.” She sat on the sleeping pallet and stared at the floor.
Zibula quickly communicated to Vesario to stay in orbit and not transport Berslan on planet. He told him what the Celestial said. “Vesario wants to know what you want us to do, Miranda.”
She was quiet for a minute, and then looked up at her father-in-law. “Ask the Magistrate to bring Berslan back here. Even without an audition, he would be assassinated on Laquista to protect the people who ordered him to do this.”
“Miranda, he has tried to kill you twice. You cannot bring him back to Vallastera,” Zibula declared.
“It’s the only way I know that I can ensure he will not be murdered because of me,” she explained.
“The only reason I did not murder him was because I knew they would order it on Laquista, and perhaps round up his conspirators as well.” Zulien was clearly agitated at the thought of his mate’s attempted assassin returning.
“Do any of you really think he meant to kill me?” Miranda asked.
“But, the dillint…” Zalana began.
“Berslan is no herbalist, Zalana. He is a warrior. If he meant to kill me, he could have strangled me or used a knife. I believe he meant to bring me to Laquista, based on whatever lies and promises they made him. Whoever gave him the drug to use on me and told him it was harmless is the one responsible,” Miranda reasoned.
“All of you have been so surprised at his actions, because he was an honorable warrior alongside of you for centuries. I, for one, do not believe he is beyond redemption. Instead of thinking the worst of the man, suppose he was told I would be honored and celebrated on Laquista, and that is what he thought he was returning me to. They may have made it sound a heck of a lot better for me than being evicted to some uninhabited world on the edge of the hierarchy with a handful of warriors and family to protect me."
Miranda continued, “Do not misunderstand me. I love being with you here. I am just saying, that if this is what they led Berslan to believe, his actions were not totally without merit. Zulien, you backed him into a corner, forcing him to trust them when you stripped away his commission. It was the only honorable thing he had to hold onto.”
Zulien was frustrated and angry. “Why do you support this theory that he acted with honor instead of self-righteous gain?”
Miranda smiled. “Because of the Parina. She is an android and cannot devise political motivat
ions.”
“The Parina? What does she have to do with it?” Feriston asked.
The Magistrate remained silent, digesting all the Celestial had been saying.
“The Parina said that every thought Berslan had concerning the Celestial brought him passion and desire. Berslan likes me. He has been the unwitting agent of these people. If you interview him yourself and tell him what the drug he had used could have done, I think you would be very surprised at his reaction. No one from either side has included him in any conversations of what the hierarchy really wants me for, and now he’s only getting the information they want him to hear.”
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