In the mouth of the gift horse
Raymond Daley
Copyright 15/4/12 by Raymond Daley
The train slowly rolled up to the station. It was late and the only people on the platform were the Station Master and the two patient Minions of the Emperor.
As mere underlings they weren't yet eligible for names and were known by their working ID numbers.
The cattle truck drew level with them on the platform.
Minion 1 looked at the Station Master. "Is this it?" he asked.
The Station Master ran his hand reader across the RFID manifest label on the side of the truck. "Seems so, says Equine in transit here. That's what you were expecting?".
Minion 1 nodded, Minion 2 was already fiddling with the complex looking locking mechanism on the cattle truck.
"No need," said the Station Master "It opens automatically".
As he finished saying this to the Minions, the lock turned and twisted and the door of the cattle truck slid fully open, the warm air inside slowly leeching out into the coldness of the oncoming night.
The Minions both hesitated for a moment as they heard the ominous heavy footsteps coming from inside the cattle truck.
"What are you waiting for? It's open. Get your cargo, we have a schedule to keep!" the Station Master looked a little angry, he was eager to send this train on its way. He had no wish to receive a black mark against his service or his station for delaying this train any longer than he had to. It was well known what happened to those who displeased the Emperor.
Minion 1 stepped into the relative gloom of the cattle truck, the only real source of illumination was a single red light set into the centre of the ceiling. He didn't really need the light to find the cargo, he could see the waves of heat emanating from the beast in the corner. He approached it with caution, the creature had been alone for several hours and he did not know if it had been fed recently.
The beast looked enormous as it stood breathing heavily, looking at him in anticipation. Did it bite? Did it eat Minions? This and many other fears about his safety passed through the mind of the nervous and poorly prepared Minion.
Minion 1 looked down and consulted his hand-link. Data from the creatures implant updated the unit, it had been fed, it had been left some feed for transit, as well as drinking water. 'This beast must be extremely important to merit being given its own water' Minion 1 thought privately to himself. He knew very few could afford excess water these days, but the Emperor clearly was not in that group.
The hand-link fed him more useful information, how to disembark the beast in the form of a series on onscreen pictograms. He saw the leather straps that held the creature to the wooden poles that ran from floor to ceiling, more proof of the opulence this being was kept in. He had never seen wood before, he was aware there was much of it lining the inner sections of the Palace but he had never been allowed into those areas.
But people talked. Or rather Minions talked.
There was little else to do when not serving.
He manipulated the leather straps according to the instructions from the hand-link and wrapped them around his fingers and gave a slight tug. The beast started to follow him as he walked towards the door of the cattle truck. The truck shook with each footstep of the creature. Minion 1 was pleased to feel the blast of the cold night air as he stepped down onto the platform, happy to be out of the confined space at last.
The beast pulled up behind him, refusing to step down. Again he consulted the hand-link. "There is some kind of ramp to deploy?" he half said, half asked as he looked at the Station Master.
The Station Master passed his hand reader over a small illuminated console on the side of the truck, a wooden ramp angled out of the side of the truck and made contact with the platform. Minion 1 pulled the leather strap again, this time the beast picked its way slowly down the ramp onto the concrete platform.
Its feet made an odd sound as it walked across the platform. Minion 2 stepped forward and ran the scanner across the beast, starting from its nose and working his way down to the end the hand-link designated 'the tail'. Satisfied that all readings met the expected parameters, Minion 2 offered his thumbprint to the Station Masters hand-link to conclude their transaction.
As the Minions led the creature away, the Station Master reset the truck to travelling mode, retracting the ramp and updating the console with the Minions thumbprint. The train pulled away into the darkness.
The Minions hurried the beast into the waiting truck, they had no wish to anger the Emperor who was anxious to receive this creature. Their journey back to the Palace was short and uneventful, the guards passing them through quickly after Minion 2 presented the manifest from his scanner.
The doors had all been left open, the wall mounted LED system mapped out to the path to the Throne Room. Minion 1 led the beast as Minion 2 walked at his side. They had never been this far inside the Palace before, this was a true honour.
As they passed the largest and most grand wooden door, their entry triggered the passive infrared sensor. An electronic fanfare sounded and the Emperor stepped down from his Throne eager to receive his new prize.
Under the strong lights of the throne Room, the creature was truly impressive. It radiated heat, it's muscles rippled under taut skin - all hallmarks of excellent breeding, he had been assured.
As he stepped closer to the animal, the Captain Of The Guard stood in his way.
Only this man could dare show such impudence in the presence of his Exulted Emperor.
"Sire, security must be observed!" the Captain said.
Minion 2 stepped forward with the scanner, the Captain indicated a panel on the wall closest to him.
Minion 2 passed the scanner unit across the panel, multicoloured flashing lights danced across the faces of the panel and the scanner in elegant synchronicity.
The Captain scrutinised the read-out carefully, his patrons life depended on it.
After checking the reading a third time he finally announced "All measures have been observed sire, it is safe to approach."
The Emperor moved forward to creature, indicating to Minion 1 to release the leather straps. Minion 1 obeyed instantly and moved back.
The Emperor dismissed the Minions with a curt wave of his hand. The Throne Room was sealed once more.
Even as the beast stood idle, it looked so fluid, each minute movement amplified through its sleek black hide.
The Emperor placed his left hand on the beasts nose, then his right under its mouth, pulling its lips down.
"Teeth seem sound!" he said, more to himself than anyone else still present in the room.
He placed both hands on the beasts jaws, one hand on either side. He gently pulled the teeth apart and stood on tiptoe.
Minion 1 motioned to Minion 2 and they ducked into a side corridor, stepping into an alcove filled by a large decorative vase which was taller and wider than both of them combined.
The explosion blasted the Throne Room doors into millions of tiny pieces, the shock-wave burst out into the corridors, killing guard after guard in its path.
As the shock-wave reached the T Junction it spread but slowed massively. It was no more than a slightly warm rush of air by the time it reached the alcove where the Minions had secreted themselves.
It took a few minutes for the dust cloud to subside. The Minions could hear the ensuing chaos, guards desperate to find out the cause of the explosion.
Both Minions were apprehended, everyone new in the Palace was a suspect.
All guards were still acting in accordance with the Emperors orders, hold and question all potential traitors.
Days went by in the Palace Torture Chamber.
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There were no leaders now, no continuity of Command.
Scouts were sent out, long lost relatives were to be traced.
Eventually, from across the ocean, a far removed cousin came to claim the Throne. The Coronation was a lavish affair, all remaining envoys and Ambassadors had been recalled to court.
The Head Of The Church stood ready with the Imperial Crown. It was placed on the head of its new rightful owner. The newest Emperor stood to address his subjects.
Every view screen across the land was displaying this ceremony.
"As absolute leader of this land I have but two commands to give in my reign. 1 - This land will form a Government, elected by the people. 2 - The caste system will be abolished immediately. Before I step down as your Emperor I have one more wish. This is not a command, merely my desire. All prisoners in this Palace are to be set free, immediately".
The crown was placed on the throne. The former Emperor stepped back and walked slowly out of the Throne Room.
Confused guards rushed to free all prisoners.
Many days later the former Emperor met with Minion 1 and Minion 2.
"Still not picking names?" he smiled as he said this. He knew a lifetime of conditioning had been difficult for them to break.
They had performed their task well, he had fully expected them to either die in the blast or be executed after the explosion as terrorists or traitors.
The bomb had been planted in the perfect place.
A man such as the tyrannical Emperor could not refuse a gift from another Royal House, no matter how far removed. Etiquette dictated it was so.
The sheer rarity of the gift had made it impossible to refuse, The Tyrant loved one of a kind items and had insisted the creature be sent to him immediately.
The animal lover inside the Prince had hesitated for a moment but he knew no mere messenger would be allowed so deep into the Imperial Court. Precautions had been taken, the beast had been cloned so it would live on.
It's sacrifice would not be in vain. Countless millions had died at the command of his distant cousin, the sadistic Emperor. This creature had finally put an end to the reign of terror, slaughter and fear.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
The End.
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Authors Notes:- Sometimes you have a lot to work with, other times a little bit. This was an occasion where I literally had 1 line.
I threw in the bit about the horse being cloned because I hated to think of such a wonderful creature dying just to kill a tyrant, no matter how terrible. I'm a bit of a softy at heart really.
In my head, there's a statue of that horse outside the Imperial Court praising its heroic sacrifice as a national martyr.