Warrior Empress (Warrior Empress Series Book 4), page 7
She took a deep breath, “He requested that if caught, he didn’t want to be taken. Since he was scanned when he became part of Dea, he couldn’t take any standard tools for ensuring his own passing should he be captured.”
I was surprised and concerned where she was going. She never spoke that much. Ever.
“He requested that if they took him, they’d torture him, brain-scan him and he’d just as soon die before that.”
Wah-Sin looked fierce, but angry. Tau? Not so much, she just looked like Tau - on a warrior mission - frank, honest, reciting what was.
Tau continued directly and in a matter of fact tone, a warrior speaking to another warrior, “So, Wah-Sin approached me as a Red Guard to ask if I would take care of him.”
Now I got it. She’d asked for a short leave to help Wah-Sin with a task and now I understood why.
I simply nodded at her and asked the obvious question, “How far was the shot?”
She was momentarily surprised and blinked. Wah-Sin was openly confused, looking at her expression. They both didn’t realize I’d instantly jumped to that conclusion.
I mean, come on. Why have Tau help you with ‘something’ when a person is at risk, Tau is a warrior and a preeminent sniper.
It isn’t that great a leap. We’d done similar on Haden.
Tau didn’t smile, but a flash of understanding, a short nod and a look of competence crossed her face, “Two kilometer head shot.”
I nodded at both of them, “And may he be with Lor and go forward in his new journey.”
I saw them both standing there expectantly, like they were waiting. Oh, I get it, they think they are going to be in trouble.
Not happening.
I leaned forward toward both of them, intently focused and staring directly into their eyes, “It is never pleasant to take another’s life. He was a warrior and he knew he was at risk. I accept his honor at understanding he would die and even more so to ask that a sniper end any chance of suffering. You both did well and thank you. Thank you Wah-Sin for the initiative to help him. Many would not have had the courage to do that for him and he’d have been tortured, horrifically. Tau, thank you for taking the shot. Maybe not your longest, but certainly one of your most important.”
They both nodded and seemed slightly more comfortable as they turned, and went about their duties.
I just burned with hatred at the arrogance of those houses. I would find a way. . .
Chapter ten
The news commentators announced the end of the thousand year war and, of course, the elite Houses took full credit for that since they own all of the media outlets. They even managed to tune the message to make it appear they were responsible for the win because they were in place to guide the Empire systems groups to be more effective, courageous and helpful. . . something that would not have happened but for their leadership.
I didn’t quite throw up, but came close.
There was a feature article about the great work of Admiral Cailan and how he’d brought the war to the precipice, close to the end and ‘simply’ handed the final task off to a lower level marine, a General Oman Lim, who he had entrusted to end the war by killing the Brinlo battle commander.
Okay, I couldn’t stop my gag reflex with that one and needed to cover my mouth with my sleeve.
The sheer gall. . .
And, now, began a horrible time of confusion while the Houses tried to scurry about figuring out how to realign their manufacturing, their bloated inventories and scamper for more power - always more power.
The media transmissions were also ramping up their dissatisfaction with me, specifically, and how I’d been hampering their ability to end the war. They were advocating the end of the matriarchy and to move on to civil rule with the Houses in charge. The messaging was subtle, but still obvious. I was puzzled how I alone could have been responsible for hindering the prosecution of the war, when I’d only been at the palace for a few months. . . and the war had been going for centuries before I’d even been born. Whatever.
After a few weeks of that, we entered into a weird quiet period. And I became nervous.
The media were still reporting wide-spread disappointment with the matriarchy. I get that.
But, my palace agenda had shifted away from nearly constant meetings with the Houses asking for more and more resources. They were up to something and I simply did not know what.
I read an update that the chemical protein cure was being produced and was having a great success curing those infected with the protein poison.
I had not yet figured out how to make that public and hold the Houses accountable, certainly not with the evidence we had, it was just too thin to convince the populace and would never hold up in a Hoganthan court, given how the judges were selected.
I was just so. . . dissatisfied with everything and emotionally drained. I needed a break.
I’d just read another news report blasting the matriarchy and me in particular. I was exhausted at the never-ending attacks - like trying to fight in a fog and constantly being hit.
I was taking a mental break, looking out the high windows from the palace and out across Lenteel.
I recalled once, long ago. . . ha, maybe only two years ago. . . but seemed like an eternity, when Ashwan, Roun, Tylen and I dressed as regular citizens, as local workers, and just walked around a local market near the palace.
I’d done that months ago and would do that again. That would give me a better sense for what the regular people, the hard working people of Hoganth actually felt.
I looked over at my Red Guard team and nodded at them. They’d just broken up from a meeting and Tremeer saw me look over at them, “Empress, how can we help you? Is there a threat or issue?”
I laughed to release the pent up tension, “There is always a threat or issue. I’m tired of the same news hype over and over again. I want to hear what the regular people of Hoganth actually feel and believe.”
They all cocked their heads to one side to process what I was requesting. Teesa, too.
Wah-Sin Benet paused, realized what I was about to do and just nodded with a thin, tired smile.
I smiled broadly, happy at my decision, “Red Guard, street clothes, no armor, small weapons only, thirty minutes, palace lobby. We go to mingle and find out what the street folk of Hoganth really feel.”
Wah-Sin motioned to Teesa and left with the guards. I raised my eyebrows at that, but that would be fine, too, we just had to split up to not be obvious who we were.
A group of eight would certainly draw attention - attention I didn’t want.
And, in less than a half hour, we were all back at the first floor palace lobby. It took me a while to get through security. . . and a lot of raised eyes at my well-used, wrinkled and slightly stained work clothes. I’d chosen the same style as when I’d entered the Academy - pale cream work shirt, rough textured and well worn brown work pants, scuffed boots and my brown, hooded cloak. It had taken a couple of extra minutes while Wah-Sin ‘helped’ Teesa pick out more suitable attire, not something that would stick out in people’s memory as we walked around.
I didn’t take Sheeba, my assault weapon. That would have been too obvious, so I belted on a small hand weapon and a long knife.
We were just another group of travelers and walked out the tall, glass front entry. I intentionally hadn’t shared my trip with anyone but them, so when we arrived in the lobby no one knew who we were.
We all had our hoods up, all looked like common workers and street travelers, and I smiled at that.
We strolled across the broad entry gardens and I steered us subtly toward groups of citizens to see if we could hear what they were saying. None of it was good as it was all focused on how to get into the palace and do business there. Ugh.
I kept walking toward the daily market place I’d been to before with Ashwan, Tylen and Roun. I was thrilled to be out and away, and made a mental note to do this more often, just to get away from the palace drudge.
To hopefully give me perspective.
The palace was surrounded in a broad ellipse with a wall made of very hard stone blocks and topped with a plastisteel and electronic security barrier. When we stepped past the wall and turned to our right, I could instantly hear the sounds, light music and smell the fragrant, intense spices of hundreds of vendors announcing their wares trying to entice buyers. It was wonderful.
I still steered us around and near small groups of beings from all over the galaxy looking at, shopping and just talking as they did their usual business and enjoyed the bright day.
Okay, maybe that last part was just me, maybe for them it was the drudgery of day-to-day life, but to me, it was gorgeous outside, bright, blue sky, comfortably warm and I was surrounded by the very people I was tasked with protecting and leading forward.
It was both wonderful and scary.
I slowed as we came close to a group of merchants standing next to a set of tables with locally grown vegetables. They were discussing, not arguing, but discussing the news and their dismay at how the Houses were treating the matriarch, the family and how the planet was recovering.
They all seemed to be optimistic and not angry at me at all. Hmm.
We found another group that was arguing, this time a Forsyth, clearly marked with the House ‘F’ on her forehead, was advocating that Hoganth and the Empire would be far better off in the guiding hands of the elite Houses. She stopped speaking when she was cut off by three merchants who began to defend the Alliance and matriarch. They got right up in her face about it and she backed away, fuming, arrogant and angry.
I tried not to smile, but was just warmed inside, not with pride, but with the feeling I was on the right path and doing their bidding, helping the people and our planet go forward in their journey.
The market was huge and we were starting to draw looks. I turned to my team, “Let’s split up, look, listen and report back to the palace in four hours, sooner if you run out of conversations.”
I could see the nods as the hoods went up and down.
Wah-Sin took Teesa’s hand and they slowly ambled off to casually not draw attention.
I turned to my guard, “Azz and Yanol, travel separately as though looking for foods or trade goods. Roun and Tremeer, travel together doing the same, Tau, with me.”
And that’s what we did. For four hours. I kept going and was almost giddy with just being outside.
Finally Tau had to caution me we were going to be late. I nodded in disappointment, but understood.
The only adventure we had was just after we separated. Tau and I were standing next to a table of ornaments and decorative clothing. A young female came up to me and started to bow. I instantly chilled and put my hand on her shoulder to stop her. That’s the last thing I needed was to be recognized - and how did she do that? How did she even know who I was? I was hooded and my cream fur with orange brown stripes are not that rare. At least I don’t think so.
She nodded at me and added quietly, “Thank you for visiting, Empress. You shine light on our world today and give us hope.”
I nodded and was confused, “Thank you. Please do not share with others that we are here. Some may not be as welcoming as you are.”
She smiled broadly and continued, “I only recognized you because I remembered a couple of years ago that your friend bought a medallion from our table. Those credits helped my Pater that day. He has since passed on to Lor, but I will never, ever, forget the generosity you gave us.”
I smiled broadly and pulled the token from beneath my shirt that I always kept around my neck and showed her I still wore it.
Her eyes went wide as she saw it and I could see her face light up and tears begin to form.
I put my fingers to cover my mouth to indicate she should remain quiet, then nodded with a broad smile.
She blinked rapidly several times and nodded, “What brings you out today, then?”
I looked at her, then casually around, “I look to see how Hoganthans are doing and whether the news reports are accurate.”
She openly scoffed, then covered her mouth to quell her voice and then whispered to us, “They are not accurate. They speak what the elite and arrogant Houses want us to believe, not how we really feel. We are tired of war, we are tired of their arrogance and we just want to go back to being focused on our day to day journeys. Many don’t care for the Empire and what it has become. Many would secretly choose the Alliance, but for the wrath the Houses would throw upon us. I’ve certainly seen that happen often enough.”
I thanked her, tucked my small and treasured medallion back inside my shirt and continued on.
We listened in and even engaged a couple of more groups along our way before we had to go back to the palace. In the end, it seemed almost universal - regular, street Hoganthans and even beings from other systems, were tired of war, wanted peace desperately, wanted a return to normalcy and wanted less onerous control by the Empire. Most either didn’t know about the Alliance, or were nervously concerned it would become just another Empire.
And from all of that, I knew what my new focus would be. I’d focus on steering us away from the Empire and, as gently as I could, toward a broader, more inclusive, self-governed, Alliance.
That was not going to be easy. . . but that is what I wanted for Hoganth and the Empire member systems.
Yeah. . . now, how to do that?
Chapter eleven
House Agent Ahreth Cailan of House Cailan finished his elaborate presentation with his well-known, confident smile, his hard eyes gleaming, striving and failing to hide his arrogant glee.
He was thrilled. He had achieved his goal and would return to House Cailan a stronger leader with more wealth and status as a result of this meeting.
His mouth quivered in excitement.
He knew he’d won the contract because he never lost. Ever.
Her Highness, the very young and inexperienced Royal Matriarch Empress Elith, nodded gently, her calm and polite expression genuinely devoid of any real emotion to prevent those addressing her from reading her feelings and garnering some power from that.
She had long ago learned the need to hide her expressions.
Her dearest friend and advisor Ashwan had taught her that, not consciously, but as a result of Ashwan asking her about her feelings when her expressions changed.
Her long, cream and dark orange colored ear tails wafted in the gentle breeze in the enormous, high ceilinged chamber of her palace office nestled in between the towering mountain ranges in the capital city, Lenteel, on Hoganth.
Her fine, short fur smoothly combed back away from her thin lips and very white, pointed teeth. Her dark orange stripes began at her forehead and arched over the top of her head to the back of her neck.
She paused before speaking to make sure she was fully understanding the offer by the House Agent.
“Honorable Agent, please allow me a moment to better understand your House Cailan proposal. Let’s see… you believe that with all of the devastation that Terra has endured at the hands of the Brinlo, the raiding, the slavery, the theft of enormous resources taken off-world and out-spin that House Cailan would be the best representative to gently guide Terra back to stability, productivity, to become a contributing member of the Hoganthan Empire… and become, ultimately - across several hundred years - a member of the galactic association. Is that correct?”
He almost glared at her, feeling there was a hint of disrespect hidden somewhere inside her message.
He tried to prevent a hiss in his response and managed a calm, “Yes. . . Your Highness. House Cailan is the only House with experience bringing back territorialized slave planets. . . as you know. House Cailan is the only House that has demonstrated the skill and expertise to restabilize the indigenous populations to enable them to stabilize, prosper and to join the broad space faring societies.”
He paused for a moment, then added, not able to hide his flippant and petty tone, “As young as you are and new to your role, you would not be aware of the successes Cailan has accomplished on other worlds, asteroids and systems. You just wouldn’t understand what we do.”
He saw her arch her well muscled back for a moment. Her face still devoid of any obvious emotion.
His lips crunched to a thin line at his inability to read her.
Without looking at him she mentally scanned the one hundred and twenty three thousand line document with the aid of her embedded AI and neural feedback from her close advisors.
She ignored his flippant comment, looked up at him with her tight stare, “Honorable Agent, how do you plan on stabilizing the deteriorating conditions, improve morale and begin the rebuilding process for their long term success? That does not seem to be detailed here.”
House Agent Ahreth Cailan chilled at the disrespect and temerity she demonstrated to even question his proposal.
He shifted his face from an instant frown toward a thin, forced smile, “Uh… uh… that is an excellent ask, Your Highness, as you can see on line twelve thousand thirty seven, we would carefully coordinate pre-approved Empire resources, those same resources just so recently committed by the Council on Wardle, to begin the rebuilding of the vast infrastructure needed to support the Terran society and to develop the expected budget requests to enable the ongoing funding from the Wardle Council to support the re-growth of Terra. This is a difficult time for them and we need to move quickly to stabilize their world now that the Brinlo have been removed.”
She waved her hand to stop him from continuing, “But that doesn’t answer my question about how to improve the MORALE of the humans and their. . . human condition.”
He stood tall and failed to repress his anger and hostility. His eyes flared in hatred.
The Empress nodded with a thin smile and sharp eyes, carefully ignoring that he specifically did not answer her question, “Let me see, then, if I am sure to understand the truth of your offer, House Agent Ahreth of Cailan.”
