Shroud of Doom

  Chapter 3

  A Delicate Situation

   

  The Public Enforcer shook his head as he surveyed the carnage at Flat Meadow. He’d underestimated the fighting ability of the rhutz. He’d assumed forty men with high powered rifles would easily overcome them, but he’d failed to consider two things. His deputies were not trained enforcers but mere recreational hunters and the rhutz were not wild beasts but an intelligent life-form equal in intellect to human beings. Now he was scared. When the town council found out he’d lost fifteen men he’d be forced to resign in disgrace. There might even be criminal prosecution. But as it turned out that was the least of his worries as two more packs of rhutz arrived and encircled the meadow. When the rhutz saw their slaughtered brothers at the hands of the humans they were outraged and wanted revenge.

  The rhutz came at the stunned hunters from every direction catching them completely by surprise. They hadn’t taken into account the rhutz collective consciousness and paid dearly for their error. In just a few loons they were overrun and ripped apart by the angry rhutz and the Flat Meadow Massacre was history. Forty-one men and twenty-nine rhutz had been brutally slain for no apparent reason. When the fight was over the survivors dragged the slain rhutz, one by one, over to the sligot nests and watched solemnly as each carcass was quickly consumed. They didn’t bother to dispose of the human bodies knowing the humans had their own burial rituals.

  When the hunting party failed to report in that night a local news crew flew out in a chopper to find out what had happened to them. When they saw the carnage at Flat Meadow from the air they reported it to Tarizon’s Global Army, usually referred to as the TGA. Within minutes a heavily armed search and rescue team, led by Lt. Rule Diviil of the TGA Regional Command Center at Rini, was flown out to investigate. They landed in the same clearing young Rupra Bruda and his friends had landed two days earlier. Several news crews and local officials were there to meet them. One of the local officials was Councilman Rammel Garciah. He knew Lt. Diviil so he walked with him through the battle scene. Mutilated bodies were everywhere. The stench of death was heavy in the air. Rammel pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it over his nose.

  “What do you think happened here, councilman?” Lt. Diviil asked.

  “The rhutz were attacked so they defended themselves. You can’t really blame them.”

  “Perhaps not, but I understand they killed a human first without provocation.”

  “That’s what Rupra Bruda and his companion say, but I’m not sure I believe it. I’ve never heard of a rhutz attacking a human.”

  “So, you think the boy is lying?”

  The councilman shrugged. “That would be my guess, but I have no proof of it.”

  “I guess it doesn’t really matter now,” Lt. Diviil mused. “With forty-one dead citizens the outcry for vengeance will be deafening.”

  Rammel sighed. “I knew it was a mistake to try to kill them. I tried to talk the council out of it.”

  “They should have listened to you,” Lt. Diviil said. “I wonder what happened here. There are no slain rhutz. Surely your hunters must have killed some of them.”

  “From what I have read about the rhutz, they dispose of their dead bodies much like we do. They wouldn’t have left them behind.

  “So, you think we’ll find them buried somewhere?”

  “Probably. They may have a cave around here somewhere.”

  As they were talking a soldier walked up. “Sir, there are no rhutz in the area now but it appears from their tracts that there were three groups of them. One occupied this area, another came in from the north and a third from the east.”

  “Any idea where they are now?” Lt. Diviil asked.

  “It appears they went back the same way they came.”

  “So, we can track them then?”

  “Yes, sir. It shouldn’t be hard at all.”

  Lt. Diviil looked at Rammel. “You know, it almost appears that the local pack here called for help when they came under attack. Do you think that is possible?”

  “Yes. They communicate telepathically. I don’t know how it works exactly or the range over which they can communicate, but I’d say you’re right. They called for reinforcements and the neighboring packs responded.”

  Lt. Diviil frowned. “So, that means if we go after them the same thing is going to happen again.”

  Rammel nodded. “Yes, if you keep attacking them you’ll soon find yourself at war with every rhutz in Lemaine Shane.”

  Lt. Diviil swallowed hard. “How many are there, you think?” Lt. Diviil asked.

  “Hundreds of thousands, I’m sure. I doubt there’s ever been a census, so I don’t know for sure.”

  “Damn,” I guess I better call my commanding officer and let him decide whether we want to go down that path.”

  “Yes. That would be prudent,” Rammel agreed. “There are rhutz everywhere and if they all start attacking humans untold numbers will die.”

  Lt. Diviil got on his global communicator and called his commanding officer. They talked a long time as Lt. Diviil wanted to be sure Central Command understood the serious situation they faced. Finally he hung up and shook his head.

  “What did they say?” Rammel asked.

  “They’ve instructed me to secure the area and stay put. They don’t want to provoke the rhutz into more killing. Central Command needs more time to evaluate its options.”

  “Good,” Councilman Garciah said. “I think this situation was an aberration. Somehow the rhutz felt they had no choice but to fight. I’d suggest you interrogate Rupra Bruda and his friend. The story they are telling may be a lie.”

  “Why do you say that?” Lt. Diviil asked.

  “Because Bruda was testing the new experimental Ruggi 7 rifle for his father. He says they were hunting range deer, but you don’t need a heat-seeking rifle for that. No, I think young Bruda wanted to try the rifle out on something more challenging.”

  “Like a rhutz?”

  “Exactly. Hunting a rhutz would be like hunting a human target and that is what this rifle has been designed to do.”

  “Alright. I’ll be sure to talk to them.”

  “Well, I think I’m going to go back and report to the town council,” Rammel advised. “I promised I’d be back right away. There are many families who will have to be notified as to what happened here today.”

  “I don’t envy you,” Lt. Diviil said solemnly.

  Rammel shook his head and walked away. He took one last look at Flat Meadow and then walked briskly back to the staging area where the copters and ATVs were parked. When he got there a mob of reporters swarmed around him.

  “Councilman Garciah. Are there any survivors?” a reporter asked.

  Rammel shook his head. “I didn’t see any, but you should check with the medical response team to be sure.”

  “Do you know why the rhutz did this?”

  Rammel looked at the reporter incredulously. “They did it because they were under attack, obviously. If someone is trying to kill you it’s a natural instinct to fight back, don’t you think?”

  “Are you defending them?” a reporter asked.

  “No. I was simply stating the obvious,” Rammel said angrily. “What’s important is that we find out exactly what happened here before we draw any conclusions. I asked the town council to do that before they sent a bunch of amateur hunters up her to kill the rhutz, but they didn’t listen.”

  “Did you suspect the men would be slaughtered?” the reporter asked.

  “No. I thought they’d slaughter the rhutz and that would be a tragedy. Obviously something went terribly wrong, and we’d better find out what it was before we act blindly again.”

  “Councilman!” another reporter yelled.

  “No more questions,” Rammel said as he strode away. “I’ve got to report back to the town council.”

  As Rammel’s plane took off he couldn’t shake the image of forty-one blood-soaked bodies strewn acros
s Flat Meadow. He wished there was some way he could find out what had happened out there. There was obviously something going on with the rhutz that nobody understood. He knew that the citizens of Vaceen would soon be demanding vengeance and the Town Council would probably be forced to do something—but what? Kill more rhutz? That simplistic approach had already backfired once, he couldn’t let it happen again.

   

   

  Shadow was ready to collapse from dehydration and heat exhaustion when he caught the scent of water in the air. The sweet smell gave him the incentive he needed to go on. On the outskirts of Urunes he found a well with an open pool of water surrounding it. There were several people drawing water as he approached. When they saw him they got up quickly and ran off. He drank deeply and then just sat there and rested for a while looking around wondering why it was so quiet. A gunshot rang out and dust flew up beside him. He looked at the spot where the bullet had hit curiously. What was that? Another near miss got him to his feet. He looked in the direction of fire and saw a man with a rifle pointed at him. He was confused. Has the human population gone mad? Finally he ran between two buildings to get out of the line of fire. The man started to chase him but Shadow easily escaped into the back alleys of Urunes.

  He walked for a long time staying away from humans. He needed time to think. What is going on? He reached out with his mind to see if there were any rhutz in the area. He found one quickly.

  “I was just shot at? Is that how they treat rhutz in Urunes?”

  “Sorry, my brother, apparently you didn’t hear about the Massacre at Flat Meadow.”

  “What? I just left Flat Meadow.”

  “You must be Shadow, then. I am Starlight. We wondered why you were not killed with the others.”

  “What others?” Shadow asked now becoming alarmed.

  “Your pack was murdered by the humans.”

  “No! That cannot be. They were fine when I left them.”

  “Sadly, it is true but you will be pleased to hear all of the humans responsible for the massacre have also been killed.”

  “Oh, Whisper save us. So, that’s why the humans are shooting at me?”

  “Yes, as soon as word of the massacre got out, the humans here in Urunes have taken up arms against us. I’m afraid we’ve all been driven away. You should leave immediately. You’re welcome to join our pack since yours is no more.”

  “Thank you for your generous offer, but it is now more important than ever that I make contact with the humans and try to put a stop to this madness.”

  “But is that even possible? The humans and the rhutz have never communicated.”

  “Yes they have. Sandee and Whisper communicated telepathically and I have heard of others who have managed it. I must try.”

  “Who will you seek among the humans for this communication?”

  “I’m told the councilor Tobin Sandista is a wise man with a fair and open mind. I’m hoping to make contact with him.”

  “Yes. His name is familiar to me. He does have a reputation for being fair to the humans, but I’m sure he has never talked to a rhutz.”

  “Surely, he will understand the need to do so now.”

  “Do you even know if he is telepathic?”

  “No. I pray he is, though, as time is short. I don’t have time to seek another.”

   “Even if he is you don’t know his language. You may only be able to communicate by sharing your memories.”

  “But that is not good enough. We must be able to exchange ideas clearly and quickly.”

  “Our Old One knows how to read the human language. Perhaps he will teach it to you if you ask him.”

  “How did he learn it?”

  “He’s been studying it a little at a time over many cycles. He likes to know what the humans are up to.”

  “If I come to you now, will you take me to him.”

  “Yes, I’m only a kyloon east of town. Where are you?”

  “Near the well as you enter the town from the South.”

  “Wait there. I will come to you.”

  Shadow sat down and waited. He hadn’t thought about the human language. He assumed if he linked to a human they would understand each other, but now he realized how stupid he’d been. Depression overcame him as his task seemed more and more impossible. After a while a beautiful silver rhutz stepped into his vision. He stood up and walked toward her. They sniffed each other as rhutz did to memorize their scent, then looked into each other’s eyes to enhance their link. It was much easier for rhutz to connect when they were looking in each other’s eyes. In this fashion they could not only share thoughts but exchange memories as well.

  Starlight growled as she felt the memories of Shimmer’s death. “The human murdered her for no reason.”

  “That’s why we followed them and tried to kill them. Unfortunately, two got away and brought back more murderers.”

  “God, save us,” Starlight thought.

  “That’s why I must talk to the humans. There can’t be a war between the rhutz and the humans. It would be the end of us.”

  “Or, the end of humans,” Starlight disagreed.

  “No, it would be the end of the rhutz. The humans have many weapons and armies trained to kill. We’d be no match for them.”

  “Perhaps, but it would be a costly fight.”

  “Take me to your old one,” Shadow said “We have little time to lose.”

  Starlight turned and trotted away with Shadow at her side. Starlight picked up the pace and soon they were racing through the grassy plains east of Urunes toward the Drogal Mountains. When they got close to Starlight’s pack she stopped and howled to the sky. Before she was done six rhutz stepped into view.

  “Come on. The old one is waiting,” Starlight advised and took off after the other rhutz.

  After a loon, roughly the Earth equivalent of a minute, they came upon a pile of logs that turned out to be the roof of a makeshift cave. Starlight entered the cave with Shadow right behind. The six rhutz took up positions behind the Old One. Shadow looked into the Old One’s eyes. They both opened their minds and shared their recent memories.

  “So, you think you can stop the war?” the old one asked.

  “I must. Such a war would be unthinkable.”

  “True, but I fear it is too late. A lot of blood has already been shed and the humans have an unquenchable thirst for vengeance.”

  “But if I can explain what happened. If they know that a human murdered my mate, perhaps they will understand why the rhutz killed one of theirs.”

  “I fear it won’t work, but I hope I’m wrong. What can I do to help you?”

  “Starlight tells me you know the human language?”

  “Yes, as a pup I was befriended by a human child. Neither of us knew humans and rhutz were not supposed to be friends. We spent time together alone and shared our thoughts. At first it was just memories and mental pictures, but in time the human taught me to read and think in Tari. This allowed us to communicate as well and any two humans.”

  “Can you teach me?” Shadow asked.

  “Not the entire language. There’s not enough time, but I can teach you enough to get your message across to the human you are seeking out.”

  “Thank you. How shall we begin?”

  The old one ran everybody off and spent seven days with Shadow teaching him the human language and how humans wrote it down with symbols. Shadow was highly intelligent and keenly interested in the topic, so he learned quickly. At the end of the seventh day the old one wished him good luck and retreated back into the den. While Shadow had been learning Tari, Starlight had been hunting and sharing her kill with Shadow. He accepted it appreciably as he didn’t have time to hunt. While they were eating Starlight offered to accompany Shadow back to Urunes to meet Councilor Sandista. Shadow accepted the offer as he liked Starlight’s company and knew it would good to have another set of eyes with the humans being out for blood.

  “Of course, I would love your compa
ny, but it will be dangerous,” Shadow thought.

  “I believe in what you are doing, so I don’t mind taking the risk.”

  “Don’t you have a mate who will miss you?”

  “No. My mate was run down by truck a cycle ago.”

  “Oh, no. How did that happen?”

  “He’d just killed a ringlet in and alley and was enjoying his lunch when a human driving a truck recklessly turned the corner and struck him. The human didn’t even bother to stop.”

  “So, you must have the same questions about the humans as I do.”

  “Yes, and I enjoy your company as well, so come to my bed and we can rest. Dawn will soon be upon us.”

  Shadow didn’t argue but immediately followed Starlight deep into the den. They cuddled up together and went to sleep. During the night Shadow went over his meeting with the councilor in his mind over and over again. Each time the encounter became clearer and more focused until communicating in Tari seemed almost natural. When he woke up at first light he felt excited and confident he’d be able to communicate effectively with Councilor Sandista. Now the only problem was finding him and cornering him somewhere so he’d have to listen.

   

   

  When Rammel got back to his office, he called the governor. The situation was no longer a local matter and he wanted to explain everything to the governor before the media or one of the other councilmen got to him. Although Rammel didn’t know Governor Wilfin Errius all that well, they were both Loyalists so they were on good terms. After some difficulty, he got the governor on his global communicator or GC and explained the situation.

  “That is disturbing news. I agree we need to do whatever it takes to avoid further bloodshed.”

  “The TGA will be under a lot of pressure to move against the Rhutz,” Rammel reasoned, “both from the Town Council and the General Assembly.”

  Not only was Progasis Bruda a Vaceen town councilman but he was also the son of Cornelias Bruda, the Chairman of Tributon’s General Assembly.

  “Yes, this is a most difficult situation.”

  “You’ll have to move quickly to head them off

  “Indeed I will,” the Governor agreed. “I’ll get right on it.”

  Rammel left his office and went straight to the Bruda compound. He assumed Progasis Bruda’s widow would already know her husband had been killed since it had been the feature story on the news, but he wanted to give her his personal condolence. He also wanted to talk to Rupra Bruda to see if his suspicions were true about Rupra’s testing the new rifle on the rhutz. When he got there several news reporters were milling outside. When they saw him they swarmed around him.

  “Councilman. Are you here to inform the family of Councilman Bruda’s death?” a reporter asked.

  “Well, I’m sure she already has heard about it. I’m here to give her more details and see if there is anything she needs.”

  “Is the TGA going to track down the rhutz responsible for this atrocity?” another reporter asked.

  “Central Command and the Governor are studying the matter as we speak. No decisions have been made.”

  “What’s there to study? Surely, they have no choice but to eliminate the two packs that are responsible?”

  Rammel sighed. “They want to understand exactly what happened before more lives are lost. The town council acted hastily and look what happened. The public enforcer has already underestimated the rhutz, the TGA won’t make the same mistake.”

  Rammel moved through the crowd to the front door. Mistress Bruda, who had heard the commotion outside and opened the door, let him in. She closed the door behind them.

  Rammel turned and shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Mella,” Rammel said.

  She shrugged. “It’s not your fault. I heard you were against the hunt.”

  “Yes, I feared it was a bad idea to send out an angry mob to deal with them, but I must admit I didn’t expect the mob to be massacred.”

  She wiped a tear from her eye. “Yes. That baffles me as well? Progasis was sure it would be no problem dealing with them. In fact, Rupra almost went with them. Thank God he had been slightly injured in the previous encounter, otherwise he’d be dead too.”

  “Speaking of your son. I need to speak with him a moment. I want to get more details of that first encounter. It would be good to understand why the rhutz attacked the boys.“

  Mella nodded. “Of course. I’ll go find him for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Rammel knew if his suspicions were correct it would further complicate an already delicate situation. Rupra’s father had been well liked and respected as a town councilman and Rupra’s grandfather was the most powerful man in Tributon, being the chairman of the General Assembly. If Rammel accused Rupra of murdering the rhutz and then lying about it, he knew he’d have to have irrefutable evidence to prove the accusation. Even with this proof Rammel would become an enemy of one of the most powerful families on the planet. Rammel’s thoughts were interrupted when young Rupra Bruda appeared, not looking too pleased about the summons.

  “What do you want,” he spat. “You here to gloat over my father’s death.”

  “Rupra!” Mella exclaimed “Watch your tongue.”

  “No,” Rammel replied. “Your father’s death is very tragic. I feel horrible about it. My opposition to the hunt was out of respect for the rhutz. I thought it important we know all the facts before we scheduled an execution.”

  “I told you the facts. They attacked us for no reason and murdered Callus.”

  “That’s what I understand. I just wanted to ask you a few more questions.”

  “Like what?”

  “You say you were riding your jet cycles when they attacked you?”

  “Yes, we were on our way back to the copter to go home.”

  “So, where were you coming from? Had you been to Flat Meadow?”

  “No. We followed a herd of range deer and tested the new Ruggi 7 on strays and stragglers. We never saw a rhutz until they attacked us.”

  “So, why do you think they attacked you?”

  “I don’t know,” Rupra said irritably. “Like I said, they acted mad.”

  “Were they foaming at the mouth?”

  Rupra shrugged. “I don’t know. We were running for our lives. I didn’t have time to look at their mouths.”

  “Oh, by the way. How did your test results come out. Were you infected?”

  “No,” Mella said. “Thank God the test came out negative.”

  “So, if the rhutz weren’t mad, I wonder why they attacked you. I’ve searched all our databases and I can’t find a single report of an unprovoked attack by a rhutz in Tributon in the past 10 cycles. It’s very perplexing.”

  “You calling me a liar?” Bruda challenged.

  “No. No. Like I said. I’m just perplexed. There must be an explanation. I just can’t figure it out.”

  Mella looked suspiciously at her son and then turned to Rammel. “Thank you for coming by Rammel. “If you don’t mind, I’m rather tired. I think I’ll retire.”

  Rammel nodded. “Of course. Let me know if you need anything. I’m so sorry about Progasis.”

  From the Bruda home Rammel went to the Tripolis home to give his condolences to his widow over the death of Callus and Rubbias Tripolis, however, Mistress Tripolis was under sedation so he was unable to talk to her. Finally, he went to the home of Romas Lantra to verify Rupra Bruda’s account of the first rhutz attack. Romas wasn’t pleased to see him and seemed quite nervous. Rammel figured Bruda had warned him of the likely visit and they’d worked out any discrepancies in their stories, but he also knew it wasn’t easy to lie and that liars could be tripped up. He pushed the record button on his wrist array so he’d have a recording of the conversation to play back later.

  “So, I guess you heard Rupra’s tests came out negative?” Rammel noted.

  He nodded. “Yes. That’s great.”

  “So, if the rhutz weren’t mad, what do you thin
k caused them to attack you?”

  Romas looked away and shrugged. “How should I know why a rhutz does something?”

  “I don’t know. You were there? I wasn’t. I just thought maybe you observed something that might shed some light on what happened.”

  Romas shook his head. “No. It’s just like I told the PE, we were on our way back to our plane when we were attacked for no reason.”

  “On your way back from Flat Meadow?”

  Romas looked at Rammel warily. “Ah, I guess.”

  “So, the range deer were feeding in Flat Meadow and you were taking random shots at the herd?”

  “Ah. Right.”

  “How many did you kill?”

  “Just a couple.”

  “So, what did you do with your kill?”

  “Ah, well. We just left them for any scavengers that wanted them.”

  Rammel knew somebody was lying since Bruda had claimed they hadn’t been to Flat Meadow. He also knew range deer were a prized catch and nobody would shoot one and just leave it laying around.

  “But range deer are pretty tasty. I can’t believe you didn’t tie them on the back of your bikes and bring them home.”

  Romas shrugged. “I hate skinning them. It’s a lot of work.”

  “You could have taken them to the meat plant. They would have paid a good price for them.”

  “I guess. I never thought of that.”

  “You didn’t think of it because you didn’t kill any range deer,” Rammel challenged. “The only thing you shot with the new Ruggi 7 was a rhutz, isn’t that right?”

  “No,” Romas protested. “We shot two range deer.”

  “Well, I spent a lot of time searching Flat Meadow and I guarantee you there was no evidence of any recently killed range deer. There would have been a fresh carcass even if scavengers had eaten the meat. In fact, since a pack of rhutz live on the edge of Flat Meadow I doubt many range deer venture near the place.”

  Romas paled. “Well, I— ”

  “I won’t tell anyone about this conversation. I just need to know the truth.”

  “Rupra will know that I told you. He’s telepathic.”

  Rammel let out a frustrated sigh trying to restrain his anger. “I think you should come with me to the PE’s office. Perhaps a dose of truth serum will refresh your memory. Of course, if you lie to the Public Enforcer and he finds out you’ll go to prison.”

  Romas swallowed hard, tears welling in his eyes.

  “If I make sure the PE interrogates Rupra first, he’ll have no reason to ask you if you gave him up.”

  Romas shrugged dejectedly. “Okay, you’re right. Rupra shot a rhutz. He said he needed to test the rifle on a more difficult target. The thing is the rhutz was just walking through the meadow unaware that he was about to be killed–hardly a challenge, huh? As soon as the rhutz fell the rest of the pack came after us. We almost got away, but Callus got scared and stopped to look back to see how far away they were. That was a big mistake. It was just enough time for the rhutz to catch up with him before he could get on his bike and take off. He didn’t have a chance. If we’d have gone back after him, we’d have all been killed.”

  Rammel sighed. “Okay. That’s what I figured. Rupra didn’t consult you about whether to shoot the rhutz or not, right?”

  “No. He did it on his own. Callus and I didn’t think it was a good idea and told him so.”

  “Good. You were smart to tell the truth. Did you take any shots at the rhutz?”

  “No,” he lied. “We only had one Ruggi.”

  “Good. You did the right thing. I’d stay away from Rupra for a few days. Can you go visit a relative or something.”

  Romas took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “My grandmother lives in Ce Lat. She’s been asking me to come visit her.”

  “Excellent. I’d leave immediately. Tell your parents that you need to get away because of the shock of seeing Callus die. Tell them you don’t want to be disturbed so not to tell anyone where you are.”

  “Okay?”

  Rammel was elated that he’d managed to dig the truth out of Romas and had a recording of his confession. As soon as he left the house he called Governor Errius.

  “Governor, I just wanted to inform you I’ve confirmed that Rupra Bruda is responsible for the Flat Meadow Massacre. His friend Romas just admitted to me that Bruda killed a rhutz without provocation.”

  “Oh, Sandee! What was he thinking?”

  “I suspect he wasn’t thinking. His father made a mistake giving the Ruggi 7 to a teenager to test.”

  “Yes, and it cost him his life,” the Governor noted. “So, now I’m duty bound to have Master Bruda arrested.”

  “His grandfather will not take so kindly to his incarceration,” Rammel warned.

  “I know. But we need to stop this insane war before it gets out of hand and the only way to do that is to expose Rupra Bruda’s crime.”

  Rammel sighed. “I fear the Chairman will not believe it.”

  “No. He won’t. He’s grooming Rupra for a career in politics. This will devastate him. He’ll have no choice but to defend him,” the Governor said.

  “So, what should we do?” Rammel asked.

  “I don’t know. I just got off the GC with General Seelor. He’s ready to declare war against the entire population of Rhutz.”

  “Oh, my God. You can’t let that happen.”

  “I know, but many support his position,” the Governor said. “There’s an emergency meeting of Tributon’s General Assembly set for tomorrow morning to consider the matter. Only they can authorize a campaign against the Rhutz. You should be there to play your tape of Master Romas’ confession.”

  “I promised not to involve him. If I played the tape or called him as a witness against Bruda it would be his death sentence. The Purists don’t tolerate disloyalty. ”

  “Then, you better come up with a new strategy or, I fear, thousands more will die,” the Governor warned.

  Rammel ended the call and considered his few remaining options. He could get one of his allies in the General Assembly to insist on Rupra Bruda’s testimony. Then if they could catch him in a lie, he could be compelled to take the truth serum. It was a longshot but the only other option would be to argue that each Rhutz had a right to a trial before any of them could be executed. Unfortunately, that hadn’t worked with the town council and he thought it even less likely he’d be able to convince the full General Assembly that the Rhutz were a protected life-form under the Supreme Mandate. He decided he had no choice but to confront Master Bruda.”