Tedra finally stopped walking, and the frown she was now wearing said she wasn't happy with her own decision, but had made it nonetheless. "We need to get back to the ship and be on our way”.
"You aren't going to help?"
'I retired from 'saving planets' twenty‑one years ago," Tedra said matter‑of‑factly. "And the sooner we get home, the sooner we can notify the proper authorities to deal with this problem."
"Even though that might be too late? Once war is begun, the League won't get involved."
"I doubt Jorran's intention is to make war," Tedra replied. "Is it, Martha?"
"Highly improbable." Martha was using her bored tone again, which, unfortunately, usually precluded a bomb, which she dropped now. "Subjugation and utter domination are what he'll be looking for."
Tedra made a face. Subjugation was a word she seriously disliked; it was what the Sha‑Ka'ari had tried to do to her own people. The Sha‑Ka'ari were originally from Sha‑ka'an, but had been taken some three hundred years ago to a mining colony in the Centura star system to be used as slave labor. But they were still incredibly huge warriors, and it didn't take them long to take over that colony and subjugate those people and any others they happened to conquer. They had lost touch with most of their old beliefs, didn't even know where they originally came from, and had developed much differently than the Sha‑Ka'ani on the mother planet.
They were still considered barbarians, though, were still swordwielding, slave‑holding warriors, just a smaller variety, having interbred with their slaves for hundreds of years. But unlike Challen and his people, also considered barbarians, who pretty much snubbed their collective noses at the wonder that could be had from advanced planets, the Sha‑Ka'ari weren't averse to using whatever was obtainable if they could put it to good use, nor averse to space travel.
Jorran´s people from Century III were much like the Sha-ka'ari. They were still medieval in development themselves, yet having been discovered and dealing for many years with off‑world visitors, they didn't deny themselves the benefits of modern technology. They had trade ambassadors on almost all of the known planets, and their kings enjoyed space travel as well, but not much was really known about them, since they weren't members of the Centura League.
The League of Confederated Planets wasn't just one solar system, but half a dozen neighboring star systems now comprising seventy-eight planets that abided by one set of rules and regulations to the benefit of all. The Niva star system, newly discovered, had yet to be brought into the fold, though no one doubted it would be one day. Century Ill was another system within traveling distance that, although it dealt well with the League, had yet to be invited to join.
And their own first dealings with the humanoids of Century III had been less than pleasant. The High King Jorran and his entourage had come to Sha‑Ka'an the previous year, when the visitor restriction had been lifted for the competitions that Challen had opened to one and all in hopes of finding a lifemate for Shanelle among the winners. Shanelle hadn't known that was the purpose of the competitions, and the winner wasn't guaranteed to be chosen, but Jorran hadn't seen it that way.
He hadn't competed either, competition being much too undignified for his esteemed self. No, he had demanded to fight the winner who had gone through the process of elimination in the appropriate way, and Falon, being that winner, could have refused to fight him, should have refused, yet he didn't. No one suspected that Jorran's intention was to kill him, rather than just defeat him.
The competitions had been friendly matches of strength and skill, not the deadly fight Jorran tried to make of them. Falon didn't find that out until after he had accepted Jorran's challenge and Jorran used not a normal sword but a razor sword. This was a weapon so light and maneuverable that there was no way to avoid it by normal means, nor was Falon able to.
He would have died if a meditech unit hadn't been handy, he had been sliced up so badly. He would have lost the match as well if he hadn't given up using his own weapon and simply taken Jorran out with his fist instead, just before he passed out himself from loss of blood.
This was when Shanelle, fearful of having Falon for her lifemate, had run away. And Falon, determined to have her, overcame his own fears of space travel to follow her. Challen had already given her to him, and Falon wasn't going to let a mere thing like a universe keep him from her. Nor had the Sunderans been able to keep him away, despite their promises to the contrary.
"Shani, this is not our responsibility," Tedra said now. "Just because we know what those rods are capable of, and what a first-class jerk Jorran is, doesn't make this our problem. The League will be given all the information we have and will do what's appropriate with it. We are already late getting home, and 1 refuse to make Challen continue to worry."
I will go after Jorran and see to the proper destruction of those rods. "
Both women turned toward Dalden, his silence until now having made them forget he was with them. Shanelle was merely surprised that her brother would want to involve himself personally when matters outside of Sha‑Ka´an had no interest for him. Tedra's own surprise was brief, her response less than diplomatic.
"No," she said.
Chapter Four
DALDEN SMILED AT TEDRA. SHE WAS HIS MOTHER, BUT HE was a Sha‑Ka'an warrior full‑grown, which made all decisions his own to make, and she knew that. She could make her objections known to him, but in the end the decision was still his.
"I have no choice in this matter," he told her. "You wondered how the High King could have had knowledge of the rods before he came here for them? That knowledge came directly from me."
"How?" she demanded, "and when? You weren't even home, had left with Falon to fetch Sham back. And Sha‑Ka'an closed down to visitors again right after the competitions."
"All did return to their respective planets‑except Jorran. He was still at the Visitors' Center when we returned. It was necessary that I go there as well, to negotiate with the Catrateri on Falon's behalf. They were still eager to trade for the gold from his country.
"But how did you end up having anything to do with Jorran, after what he tried to pull at the competitions? I would have thought you would have ignored him like the insect he proved to be."
"And I would have, but a man with such a high opinion of himself as Jorran has cannot comprehend that someone might dislike him or not want to be 'honored' by his attention. There was a dinner for a newly arrived ambassador. The Catrateri had been invited to it and insisted that we could continue our negotiations over fine food. Jorran invited himself, and of course the head of the Center would not think to insult him by asking him to leave."
"No, Mr. Rampon is the administrator there because he's about as diplomatic as they come. I doubt he even knows how to insult someone. It's just not in his genes."
"I could wish that it were not in mine."
This was said in such a tone that it brought an immediate blush to Tedra. Challen didn't insult people, after all, so DaIden certainly wasn't talking about the genes he had gotten from his father.
"Let's stick to specifics," she grumbled. "How did you happen to have words with Jorran? The dining hall at the Center is huge. You could have gone through the entire evening without getting within forty feet of that Centurian jerk."
"Except that he sought me out specifically, to question me about Falon. He did not pretend indifference, nor hide his underlying anger over the subject of his interest”
"Don't tell me his nose was bent out of shape figuratively, after Falon bent it out of shape literally? It's really too bad the meditech unit corrected that."
"I gathered the same, that he was still at the Center for no other reason than he had waited for Falon to return, with some sort of revenge in mind. Falon was unaware of this, or he might well have obliged him. But he had gone straight home to Ba‑Har‑an with Shanelle when we returned, and no visitors could get to his country, so the High King was forced to give up and go home, which he was schedul
ed to do the next rising."
"So mention of the rods occurred when he grilled you about Falon?"
Dalden shook his head, even sighed. "I would not speak of Falon with him, other than to give Jorran no doubt that Falon was beyond his reach. Speaking to him at all put a foul taste in my mouth that I tried to wash away with Mieda wine."
"You should have just left."
"I am aware of that."
"How did the rods get mentioned, then?"
"It was toward the end of the dinner. I spoke no more with Jorran, but I made sure I was close enough to hear anything he might say. He was talking with the people at his end of the table about the tedious process of mind control in Century III prisons, to rehabilitate their lawbreakers and make them useful members of their realm again. I mentioned that even a low‑tech people like the Sunderans had mind control down to a fine art, and instantaneous, at that. It was a deliberate attempt at subtle insult of which I am ashamed."
That Dalden would have used phrases like low‑tech and fine art, words he gained from having a "visitor" for a mother, not words a warrior would use, showed just how drunk he had been that night. And he probably didn't even realize that whatever means Jorran's people would use for mind control was probably gained from offworlders; they weren't even low‑tech, they were no‑tech at all. Not that any of that mattered when the damage had already been done.
"Martha, did you know what Dalden had done that night?" Tedra asked.
"Sure did. You kept me on the Rover at the time, if you'll remember, so I could keep tabs on Shanelle. And after what Jorran tried to pull during the competitions, he was on my personal list of 'keep under surveillance' as well."
"Why didn't you mention this sooner?"
"Because Jorran's intention was to return to his world, which he did. Despite the fact that he left us furious, he had few options that might cause you trouble. His learning about the Altering Rods did set off alarms in my circuits, but when he gave absolutely no indication that it was something he felt he could take advantage of, I crossed him off my 'endangered species' list."
Tedra rolled her eyes. Martha's "endangered species" crack was her way of describing anyone she saw as a threat to Tedra's wellbeing. She was programmed against killing things herself, though she was rather good at threatening to do so, and she could defend and render harmless as needed. Tedra, on the other hand, wouldn't think twice about demolishing someone who threatened her life or that of any of her family.
"But there's no reason for Dalden to get involved, is there, aside from guilt? This can be handled by the League, right?"
"In time to stop Jorran, no," Martha replied. "In time to Prevent him from taking over more than one planet, you betcha. But that won't help the people who get forced to worship him as their new king."
Since that wasn't what Tedra was hoping to hear, it wasn't surprising that she slammed her palm down angrily on the link‑unit so she wouldn't have to hear any more of Martha's less than supportive commentary.
"That isn't going to work," Shanelle pointed out.
"No, but after nearly two weeks on the ship where there is no shutting her up, since she has complete control of the farden thing, being able to do so now is a luxury I won't deny myself," Tedra replied.
"She can still hear you."
"Of course she can, but she can't reply."
"Wanna bet?" boomed out of the heavens.
Shanelle blinked, noticed the complete look of shock on Tedra's face, and then started laughing. "Droda help us, half the people on this planet are going to think their God just spoke to them." She fell to the grass and held her stomach as another round of laughter ensued.
Tedra wasn't amused, slammed the button on the unit again and growled into it, "You misbegotten metal nightmare, you know better than to cause global panic! You're in meltdown, right? you've totally lost it?"
"Relax, doll." Martha's voice came through the unit again in purring mode. "General Ferrill doesn't take chances with visitors anymore; he makes worldwide announcements warning his people to expect the bizarre and unusual for the duration. And since we've been let inside their global shield this time, we're pretty hard to miss."
Tedra glared up at the two spaceships hovering in the sky above them. "Beside the point."
"Actually, that was the point," Martha said, using her tone that was laden with amusement. "Much as I might get a kick out of being mistaken for a god, that isn't going to happen here, when the Rover is in plain view for anyone who heard me on this side of the planet. And I have information that you require before you can make an informed decision, so shall we proceed?"
Tedra hated it when Martha dropped carrots like that. She would have preferred to tell her circuited friend to stuff it, but couldn't now.
"Proceed," she grumbled.
I made a point of finding out all I could about Jorran when he became a contender for Shanelle. He's indeed a High King of Century III, but what isn't common knowledge is that he's a king without a kingdom. Probables tell me he had hoped to find a kingdom in Sha‑Ka'an, through Shanelle. He's apparently been looking for one for quite a while now."
"Backtrack, old girl," Tedra said. "How'd he lose his kingdom?"
"He never had one."
"Then how does he hold the title?"
"That answer requires a bit of information about Century III." "The brief version, if you don't mind."
"You got it. Century III isn't just the name of their main planet, but also of their star system. There are twelve planets in all, but only six are habitable, and only the main planet had developed to the point of intelligence and world governance, ruled by one family that give themselves the titles of High Kings. The current family possesses seven High Kings. The planet used to be divided among the family, but that wasn't working out well with this last crop of seven, probably because they didn't have enough countries to go around. When they were discovered by the League and learned of space travel, they decided to divide up the planets in their system just as they had previously done with the countries."
"But they still came up one short?"
"Exactly. Now, the rest of the family are perfectly willing to share with Jorran, to give him anything he wants, but it's just not the same as having an entire people revere you as their only king. It seems to be a serious disgruntlement for him, and one he is finally taking steps to correct. His first option was to marry into a ruling family that would offer complete takeover eventually. He doesn't command a large army after all, nothing of the sort needed to go in and take what he wants by force. So this was his only option‑until he learned about the Altering Rods."
"He learned about them eight months ago. Did it take them that long to find Sunder?"
"No, my guess is it took that long for Jorran to call in favors to get his own ship. He didn't have one when he came to Sha‑Ka'an. They came with the Century Ill ambassador, which is how they returned home as well."
"Call in favors? Does he lack wealth as well as a kingdom?"
"Not at all, but keep in mind they don't produce their own ships, nor are their people trained to fly them, nor are they likely to possess a Mock 11 capable of making crews obsolete. And they don't get ambassadors arriving from every known planet like Sha
Ka´an does, since they don't possess anything remotely as in demand as gaall stones are. They're on a few trade routes, but they're more a tourist attraction than a stopover for necessities. I'm frankly surprised it didn't take longer for Jorran to acquire his own ship and crew for this expedition."
"What type of ship did he get?"
"Your basic run‑of‑the‑mill Trader, large cargo space, a few weapons to ward off pirates, good speed to outrun bigger ships, designed for long hauls."
"What kind of speed are we talking about?"
"A bit faster than the Rover, but about the same as that overpowered war machine that accompanied us."
I take it you're not talking about Brock?" Shanelle couldn't resist saying, which got the expect
ed snort out of Martha.
Brock and Martha got along much better than they used to, but there were still times when their objectives clashed, and this could well be one of them if Tedra decided to head out after Jorran herself. Brock would side with Tedra's original insistence of wanting to get her home with all speed, since getting her home and back into Challen's arms would be his main concern, ultimately insuring Challen's peace of mind. Martha, however, would know that Tedra was torn at the moment, wanting to help, but too worried about Challen's worry to be able to devote her full attention to helping.
Dalden was actually offering an alternative that both Mock Ils Would be able to support. Tedra hadn't reached that point of acceptance yet, though, and was still in questioning mode.
"From their current course, any idea which planet they have
in Mind for takeover?" she asked Martha.
"They are heading into uncharted space."
This surprised all of them. "You mean they're hoping to find a new undiscovered planet out there?" Tedra concluded. "That seems like a rather stupid plan."
"No, actually, i 's rather smart of them. That sector of space is it uncharted, but there are solar systems in it, and there are rumors of at least one planet that's inhabited. But one planet in an entire solar system isn't worth putting them on a trade route when their system is so far off the beaten track, so no official World Discoverer has bothered to head over that way to verify or discount the rumors. But Jorran would want a target that is very far out of the way. This would pretty much assure him that no other offworlders would be conning around to mess up his plans."
"Just how far off the beaten track are we talking about?" Tedra asked.
"Unknown data."
That was too abrupt, even for Martha, reminding Tedra that Martha based her probables on known facts, and rumors didn't fan even remotely close into that category. Martha hated being wrong about anything, after all, and rumors could be proven false.