Human, page 33
part #1 of Humanity Ascendant Series
Sulak patted his stomach fondly. “It has spent a lifetime trying to embarrass me and with little success. I dare it to try – one last time…”
“We also don’t want any non-critical systems, like the oven, creating heat right now,” Eth muttered, highlighting a seven-ship patrol in the upper atmosphere.
Eve swerved them around the patrol and dropped down to tree-top level, skimming along toward the palace at twice the speed of sound. She slowed their approach as the glittering waters of the Sea of Akkadia slipped beneath them.
Even Eth grabbed at his arm-rests as the palace flung itself into view, entirely blocking out everything else. If not for the collision-avoidance algorithm, they would have crashed rather than simply stopping ten meters away.
Eth got up and led the two Quailu aft as Eve edged the ship up to the side of the palace wall, about a kilometer up from ground level. The side of the ship flowed open and Eth got his first lung-full of Throne World’s brisk night air.
Meesh came forward with a cutting tool and started working as soon as he could reach across the narrowing gap.
“This feels mildly sacrilegious,” Sulak said nervously.
“Yeah!” Meesh agreed happily. “It does, doesn’t it?”
“Would you rather walk in the front door and ask the emperor for his help?” Eth asked the priest. “Our lord is not exactly in the emperor’s good books at the moment.”
Sulak’s shoulders drooped. “I suppose I hadn’t given this part of the plan a lot of thought.”
A meter-square section of the palace wall fell down through the gap and spun wildly away, caught in the wind. The engineer stepped back and gestured with elaborate but mildly sarcastic politeness for Eth to lead the way.
They were on target. Inside the hole was a steel catwalk running around the elevator shaft that Marduk used to reach his subterranean office.
Eth stepped across, closely followed by the two Quailu. Noa hopped across next and moved to an access point on the far side, opening up several holos and working on them at a feverish pitch.
Gleb hopped across, eyes darting everywhere. He walked past behind the two Quailu, ignoring their shudders.
“We’re in luck,” Noa declared as they moved closer. “The elevator is already on its way to Marduk’s office. We can bring it to a quick halt here. This saves us calling it remotely and triggering an alarm. Should buy us an extra three minutes.”
“That should be enough,” Sulak said. “Youthful enthusiasm and all that…”
Eth could feel the indignation build in his lord but it abruptly evaporated.
“Haste would be best in this case, I’m afraid,” Mishak admitted, “though I could have taken more time if…”
“Yes, Lord,” Eth interjected, rolling his eyes, “we’re all sure you could have given the empire an event of epic proportions, but time is definitely not on our side.”
The elevator arrived before Mishak could form a reply, the displaced air nearly blasting them all off their feet. The doors opened on a Quailu who started to step out before realizing he was faced by two unknown Quailu and a few armed native retainers.
There was also the small issue of this not being Marduk’s office.
They all crowded in with the original passenger, Mishak staring intently at him. “Urhamsi?” he asked.
“That’s correct,” the other replied, “but who…” He tilted his head, leaning forward in amazement. “Young Mishak!” he blurted. “I haven’t seen you since you returned to your father’s dominions.”
His feelings of concern filled the small compartment. “Throne World isn’t safe for you,” he warned. “The emperor has always feared your father’s strength and, now that you’ve begun your own rise to power…”
“Are you concerned for me, old friend?”
“The emperor won’t hesitate to have you seized on some trumped-up charge and use you as leverage against your father.”
“He’d be a fool not to take advantage,” Mishak agreed, flexing his knees as the elevator came to a stop, “which is why I must not hesitate in my own endeavor. I am glad to have you present for this, Urhamsi.”
He led the way into Marduk’s outer office, the bemused Urhamsi trailing behind the Humans, too confused at Mishak’s cryptic manner to insist on proper protocol. Father Sulak broke from the group and moved toward Marduk’s adjutant, the only occupant of the outer office.
“Not to worry,” Mishak told the startled adjutant, “they’re all with me.” He swept on through the doors to the inner office where Marduk was closing down a large holo projection that he’d been standing in, back to the door.
The Emperor’s chief of staff must have felt the unexpected presence. “Mishak?” He turned to face them, one foot moving back. “What in the name of the gods are you doing here?”
“Hello, Uncle.” Mishak offered the polite honorific with more cheer than he dared to feel. “I’ve got a counter proposal that could bring stability back to the empire. Say, have you got any coffee?”
He glanced about the office hopefully. “We didn’t pack near enough for the trip, you see, so I’ve been craving it for the last few days.”
“Er… yes,” Marduk leaned slightly to the left to shout around his visitor. “Nergall!” he shouted. “Coffee!”
He could, of course, use the proximity net to simply talk to his adjutant but he’d had it disabled. Mishak knew that shouting at his young assistant was far more satisfying for Marduk.
Eth could feel Marduk’s mood, slightly improved by yelling, but it was now in danger of backsliding due to the lack of an immediate response. Just as he was filling his lungs to shout again, an affirmative was shouted back from the outer office.
Eth grinned to himself as the thwarted shout soured the chief-of-staff’s mood to just the right level that Marduk enjoyed.
“How did you manage to reach my office with an armed party?” Marduk demanded. “Alarms should be sounding and Varangians should be destroying my office in an orgy of gunfire.”
“We’d be happy to smash the place up for you,” Mishak offered helpfully, “before we leave.”
Marduk took an irritated half-step to the side, changing his angle on Mishak. “You may have found a way to sneak in here undetected but you’d have a harder time getting back out.”
“Rest assured, Uncle, I’ve given very careful thought to what happens when I’m done here and I’ve narrowed it down to two likely outcomes.”
“Have you indeed?”
Eth felt surprise from Marduk but also a willingness – an eagerness – to believe what he was hearing. It made sense, seeing as he’d had a hand in raising the young noble during his fostering to the imperial court.
“Admittedly,” Mishak conceded, moving aside slightly for the adjutant and his tray, “one of the options ends with my decapitation, but I should point out that it’s very firmly in the ‘Plan B’ column.”
“So you weren’t entirely asleep during our many discussions?” Marduk said, emanating amusement.
“Well, it does account for a major miscalculation on my part,” Mishak explained. “One that doesn’t feature in Plan A, so you see why I feel that Plan A is far superior.”
“Oh, yes,” Marduk agreed, taking a coffee from his adjutant, “a much better plan in all regards – an entirely sensible plan, if I may say so?”
“I should be honored.” Mishak accepted a mug from the proffered tray, catching Sulak’s nod as the priest entered the room.
“I could wax on about the brilliance of this plan,” Marduk added, taking sip, “if you were to tell me what the verpus collatus it actually is !”
“Oh, have I not told you?” Mishak feigned surprise. “I suppose it’s best that I not do so. If you were of a mind to stop me, then knowing my plan would be a great aid to you. Conversely, if you didn’t try to stop me and the emperor finds out that you actually knew my plan…”
“This becomes tiresome, my young friend,” Marduk warned. “Are we to stand here exchanging foolish pleasantries until you end up falling back on Plan B?”
Eth and his two Humans were standing closest to the anteroom door and he turned when Gleb put a hand on his elbow.
“I feel someone coming,” he warned. “I think it’s the princess. She’s confident, whoever she is.”
Eth’s talk with Gleb had been an eye opener for both men. Gleb was inherently violent, but he also possessed a singular capacity for intense focus.
He made a surprisingly good apprentice.
Crown Princess Tashmitum stepped out, followed by three of her Varangians and two scensors. The Varangians saw the armed Humans inside the main office and began to raise their weapons.
“Hold your fire!” Eth hissed to his Humans. He reached out to the three Varangian minds, finding their motor control centers, and he willed the three of them to stop, drawing energy from their pericardial regions in order to do so. He felt Gleb’s mind slip into the one on the right and let that one go.
The complex of pump muscles that circulated the Varangians’ blood was the best place for the Humans to draw heat from. They had the advantage of a continuous flow of hot blood.
Tashmitum glanced back at them and he could feel her mild confusion at her guards’ sudden sense of alarm.
The wisps of incense wove their way between the Humans, tickling Eth’s nose with a scent like a rotting corpse. He wondered why such a disgusting odor was in favor at court. It must be perceived differently by the Quailu if…
A sudden small small movement from the left-hand Varangian warned him that his concentration was wavering. He put aside his musings on incense, returning his focus to the now-shivering imperial guardsmen. If this went on for much longer, they’d suffer permanent injury to their internal organs.
He held them there, ignoring the speculative look on Noa’s face. His control was almost interrupted again as Mishak led Marduk and Sulak out into the anteroom, crossing his line of sight.
As far as the Quailu were concerned, the two armed parties were engaged in a war of threat and counter-threat. The struggles of insects had no bearing on matters of state.
“Your Royal Highness.” Mishak bowed low. “I am your most humble servant.”
“You’ve said as much before, in our youth,” she replied, “though it’s nice to hear it without the sarcasm for a change.”
Eth was straining to hold the three guards. He was also using some of his own body energy for the demanding task of controlling two opponents. It was getting even harder to do, now that there was an important conversation to ignore.
“Your people knew this day was coming, Major,” Eth hissed at the lead Varangian, noting the suddenly raised eyebrows of his opponent. “Lower your weapons.”
Tashmitum turned to the guards and held up a hand. “Major Pilsen, stand down.”
“But Highness,” the Varangian ground out between clenched teeth, “we have very specific orders from your father…”
“Which you can only carry out by shooting through me,” she replied, stepping between the guards and Mishak.
“Mishak, Elector of the Holy Quailu Empire and son of Sandrak, Elector of the Holy Quailu Empire,” she continued solemnly, “you have placed yourself at my service. Will you accept whatever role I decide to offer to you?”
“I will, Highness.”
She reached up to her throat, undoing the clasp on her cloak and Eth could feel the surprise of the others present.
Nudity, for most races of the HQE including the Quailu themselves, was entirely unremarkable. Nudity, however, in this particular context had a great deal of meaning.
The princess leaned slightly forward as Mishak approached from behind, removing his own cloak. Eth was grateful for Sulak’s bulk as the oracle moved to take his place as an official observer of this joining of two noble houses.
Though Eth was able to avoid the distracting sight of his master mating with the imperial crown princess, he wasn’t able to ignore the feelings coming from the pair.
He was aware that the two had grown up together but he was still surprised at the depth of affection they had for each other. Even though this was a matter of state and had to be appropriately witnessed, he felt as though this emotional eavesdropping was far more intrusive than simply watching.
He looked over to Gleb. The younger man’s jaw was hanging open. Eth reached over and gave him a poke in the shoulder.
Gleb opened his mouth to speak but then shut it again with a guilty little shrug.
Eth wondered if the Quailu had the ability to not feel what was in the minds of others. He glanced at Sulak, noting the beatific smile on the oracle’s face.
Of course, Sulak reveling in the couple’s feelings meant nothing. The oracle was almost certainly a bit of a pervert.
It was around this moment that Eth realized he’d lost his grip on the three Varangians. They seemed to notice at the same time and they lowered their weapons, their eyes fixed on the act of statecraft being conducted in the anteroom.
It was far too late to stop proceedings at this point.
Mishak, true to his word, was commendably, if somewhat disappointingly, swift and the pair separated.
Eth, having felt the ultimate moment in his own mind, wished he could remove his own brain and give it a good rinse in a mildly acidic solution.
“It is done then,” Marduk said, emanating an air of relief and resignation as Mishak stooped to recover the dropped robes.
“Indeed it is,” Tashmitum agreed, accepting her robe from her new mate with a nod. “But it must still be seen as done throughout the realm before… opposed interests… decide to cover the whole thing up. We must register the bannen to every corner of the empire. ” Tashmitum looked pointedly at Marduk’s adjutant.
The only interest that could manage a cover-up would be the Emperor but she could hardly make such an open accusation of her father. Especially at a moment like this when the recordings would be viewed millions of times.
Eth saw Marduk follow her gaze and felt the chief of staff’s surprise and delighted anger at the young Quailu who was busy calling for a media officer.
He must have been serving Tashmitum in secret.
That would have explained why Sulak went straight to the young fellow when they first arrived and why the princess had been so quick to reach the office.
“The crown princess is right,” Mishak insisted. “Our joining will give the impression that the emperor has gained my family’s support. We should be able to restore peace to the realm before any questions of my father’s loyalty can be raised.
“We need to get out there,” he added, looking to his new wife. “Both of us, My Lady. The intervention at Arbella would be a good template for us to follow.”
“The crown princess cannot be risked for the sake of a few small border wars,” Marduk insisted stiffly.
“It is exactly what the heir apparent is for ,” replied Tashmitum. “My father filled the same role, in his day, and I dare say he wouldn’t have won the votes for ascension if he’d hid in the palace like he does now.”
She stepped forward, closer to Marduk. “Uncle,” she soothed, “I owe peace to our subjects. That duty extends beyond the bed-chamber.”
Mishak approached the chief of staff from the other side. “A wise teacher once told me that a noble who has never shared the hardships of those he leads is no leader at all.”
Eth could feel the old Quailu’s resistance melting.
“That’s a dirty trick,” Marduk groused, “using my own words against me.”
“Well, I felt the moment called for wisdom,” Mishak explained, exuding confidence, “so quoting you seemed a safer bet than just winging it.”
“Hah!” Marduk surprised them all with his loud outburst. “You’d better get used to winging it. There’s no manual on how to stop petty border disputes.”
“I rather thought we’d just thrust ourselves into the thick of it,” Tashmitum said lightly. “Dazzle them with our charm and wit, maybe threaten them, in the most polite of terms, and then accept the accolades.”
“Worked for your father,” Marduk conceded before turning to Mishak. “You let her handle the charm and wit. You may have grown up here but living on Kish has turned you into a back-galaxy bumpkin. Just back her up and try to look unpredictably dangerous or something.”
“Now, there’s a role I can excel at!” Mishak took his wife’s hand and turned for the elevator. “Come along, Eth. We’ve got an empire to pacify.”
Eth sighed quietly and fell in behind his lord. He kept his thoughts to himself as the Humans boarded the elevator.
It all seemed achievable.
He was fairly certain that very thought preceded just about every disaster in history.
Carving up Loose Ends
E th returned General Tilsen’s semi-bow, grateful for the public acknowledgement. Standing on the left bank of the Ghatra river, the imperial palace’s main throne-room waterway, Tilsen was in a position of honor – the best location from which to view the proceedings, but he wasn’t above recognizing a native on the far bank.
Especially when he owed his continuing employment to that native’s actions.
Tilsen had only arrived the previous day, bringing with him Mishak’s renegade uncle, captured during the mopping-up operations in Bau’s home system. His gift for the prince-presumptive had earned him his current view.
The newly minted royal couple had been conducting a tour of major houses, speaking about the importance of peaceful coexistence. They’d rushed back from Lord Gil’s capital at the news of Tilsen’s arrival, leaving Gil with the distinct impression that he’d be facing the wrath of Sandrak’s family if he made any moves on Lord Anos.
Mishak’s false-flag ploy at Ashurapol had almost been too successful…
Mishak and the Princess knew they had to return and deal with Tilsen’s gift before public opinion reared its ugly head.
Eth sensed the approach of focused attention and he turned to see a Varangian approaching. “Hjalmar,” he greeted him neutrally.
“Eth.”
“You could have told me before you turned that woman loose on Kwharaz Station,” he admonished the Varangian. “She nearly killed my lord.”
