Chapter 23
Zahn struggled to open his eyes, but only caught flashes of color and light before his lids slammed shut again. Lifting his lip in a snarl that didn’t quite come, he forced his eyelids to open once more. This time he was able to make a little more sense of his surroundings. Monitors, sterile looking walls… must be a medical facility. Trying to look far enough down his body to see that he had all his extremities, he was surprised to see silver hair, and a delicate, feminine arm lying near his body. It was Au'revele. His spirit soared, his desire to rise and declare that he’d destroy any who dared say she wasn’t his flooded his body. He tried to move, to sit up, then stand and claim her, but nothing more than twitches of his fingers and a leg resulted. Maybe it wasn’t the perfect time to rise from his sick bed and claim her, but it wouldn’t stop him from letting her know that he wanted her there.
He opened his mouth to speak, but only a raspy whisper escaped him after so many days of not using his voice. Lying there frustrated, his irritation growing he managed to turn his head enough to see her head resting atop one of her arms and the other arm thrust out near his hip. Channeling all his frustration, he targeted his own arm and after several tries managed to just barely lift it enough to hover briefly over her arm. He dropped his arm on top of her, his fingers slowly curling around her forearm like a vice.
Au'revele startled and sat up quickly, looking down at her arm to see that he’d awakened and taken hold of her. Au'revele looked into Zahn’s eyes, of which only one was focused on her. She smiled at him as she blinked away tears of relief. “Zahn… I’ve been waiting for you.”
He tried to focus on her a little more clearly, but in the end decided to just close his eyes .
“Yes, rest. Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right here.”
Zahn slowly inhaled, filling his lungs properly for the first time in days, and it felt good. He was breathing. He was alive, and Au'revele was beside him. He had so much to say, so much to explain but there wasn’t a chance it would happen today. He tightened his grip on Au'revele’s arm. Didn’t matter. She wasn’t going anywhere. He’d tell her later.
Au'revele stroked the back of his hand with her other hand, assured that he at least knew who she was and wanted her there.
Zahn opened his eyes once more and did his best to focus on her.
Au'revele smiled at him.
He opened his mouth and tried to speak.
She watched him, the little furrow between her brows wrinkling up as she tried to understand him.
He tried again, and finally managed to push enough air past his bruised throat and everything in it for her to realize what he was telling her. “Mine,” he rasped, looking into her eyes.
Au'revele nodded and squeezed his hand with her free hand. “Yes. Yours.”
Zahn felt filled with the strength of 30 males. Au'revele had admitted that she was his. She’d accepted his claim, feeble though it was. He tried to speak again, but instead let his head fall back on the pillow, and was once again unconscious.
Au'revele’s gaze jumped to the monitors. Each was maintaining the levels they had been before, which indicated to the medical personnel that came and went that all was well. Assured that he just needed more time to heal, she settled in to do what she’d done since he was brought in and that was sit beside him, and let him know he wasn’t alone. She’d always be beside him.
~~ ~
“I had no idea this was so large, Zha Tahl. I assumed as everyone else did that it was a small group of warriors unhappy with the changes that will be taking place when Quin is appointed Sovereign,” Bart said.
Zha Tahl sat at a large conference table in his war room, scrolling through screen after screen of reports on the huge monitor mounted on the wall opposite where he sat. “I’ve been aware of some unrest since it was confirmed that Quin would take my place. But it was nothing new. There have been rumblings since we joined the Consortium. But even I had no idea the roots ran this deep. I thought a dozen warriors, or less, voicing their concerns, hoping for validation among their peers. There are always critics no matter what civilization it is, no matter how positive the changes could be, there will always be those who condemn the new ways simply because they’re not the old ways. This, though. It’s not just the warriors, it’s civilians, too. Thankfully, it’s a small percentage of the population, but it still exists. It cannot be ignored or it will fester until it spreads like an infection.”
“So Quin is right for not trusting certain of the palace warriors with the safety of your families.”
Zha Tahl sighed and grimaced a bit as he considered his answer. “It is never wrong to be too careful. So I fully agree with evaluation of our guard to determine who is truly loyal to us, who is not, and who has not decided exactly where they stand. Quin is also a new father whose son was just attacked. I am surprised there have not been more than the two deaths already accounted for. What Quin needs to realize is that there are still those who are loyal to us and to Cruestace and the changes she is going through. They would give their lives to protect us and willingly defeat an uprising against us and our way of life. That’s why those who disagree are still keeping to the shadows with their clandestine operations. And because of that, I do not think that those who wish to remove modernization and alliances from our future policies can succeed. But it is entirely possible that those loyal to Cruestace could be harmed during the process of overcoming those who wish to bring us down. And they will, as they’ve already shown target the weakest among us, because that is their easiest path to success as they see it. Make no mistake, though, Quin will find them. I have no doubt of it. Those committing treason will ironically be erased through the very violence and dominance they long to have returned to the Cruestaci way of life. They will cry foul when they are a victim of their own desires.” Zha Tahl huffed a sardonic laugh. “They have lulled themselves into a false state of superiority. They’ve forgotten who exactly Quin was before Vivian and the Consortium came into his life, but they will soon remember.”
“I hope the numbers are overestimated and it is still only a handful of warriors that we are talking about.”
“I would welcome that,” Zha Tahl said. “But I don’t think it will be the case.”
“The weakest among us you say… I think that could include staging certain things to make it look like loyalists could very well be guilty. To push the blame off on others and cast doubts on them rather than on themselves,” Bart said.
Zha Tahl considered Bart’s words for a few moments. “You are speaking of Mirilla.”
“I am. We both made poor choices, but neither of us were involved in weakening the security of Quin and Vivian’s home to allow it to be infiltrated.”
“I agree. As does my Ehlealah. Mirilla was not sent to her rooms as a punishment; it was for safekeeping. Is there a disciplinary action to follow? A minor one, yes. But I do not believe she is guilty of sabotage of any type.”
“Quin is talking about prison or execution.”
“Quin is raging, as he should be. They had their hands on his son! But you and I both know that while he can be vicious, he is not rash.”
Bart chuckled.
“At least not usually,” Zha Tahl amended. “He gathers information, calculates, plots, then he attacks. And we all know that once he has targeted those who are responsible, there will be no one left to incarcerate. ”
“He can be very convincing when he’s trying to make someone see his point,” Bart said with more tone than he’d planned.
“If it’s convincing it is because it’s too easy to have been a reality. That doesn’t mean it’s a reality, though. And that is where his planning and calculating comes in. He will be sure of who he targets before he ever pulls the trigger, but he will go over and over every possibility in his mind before he finally takes aim.”
“And you?”
Zha Tahl grinned. “Some would say that I’m the more volatile of the two of us. But this is his time. We are all evolving, Cruestace included, and it will be in his hands going forward. I’m involved in all that occurs as we move forward to him actually being Sovereign, but it cannot happen too soon. I am ready to hand it to him when he is ready to receive it. I’ve given enough of myself to my people. It’s time for Zha Tahl the male to live a life now.”
~~~
Bart knocked on the door yet again, and waited a suitable amount of time before he started shouting. “Mirilla! Open the door!”
He waited a second and started knocking again. “Please open the door! We need to talk.”
He’d been knocking for fifteen minutes, and had begun to make a spectacle of himself.
He waited several more minutes, knocking intermittently and calling her name, but still, there was no answer at all and nothing but silence could be heard on the other side of her door. “I know you’re angry, Mirilla, and you have every right to be, but if you don’t open this door, you’re going to be angrier. I’m going to get someone to open the door for me!”
“I don’t think you have any right to demand she do anything. ”
Bart quickly turned to see who was speaking to him. “I’m aware, Ba Re’. But I have to try.”
Ba Re’ watched Bart, almost comically as he went back to pounding on Mirilla’s door.
“I don’t think she can hear you,” Ba Re’ finally said.
“Everyone can hear me,” Bart snapped.
“Not everyone,” Ba Re’ said.
Bart turned around to face Ba Re’ again. “Why are you here?”
“Quin has sent for you.”
Bart sighed tiredly as he rubbed his forehead. “Fine. I’ll be there”
“Now.”
“I’ll be there!” Bart insisted.
Ba Re’ stayed just long enough for Bart to glare at him once more as he started beating on Mirilla’s door again.
The next time Bart turned to tell him go away, he was already gone. “Jesus,” Bart mumbled. “I liked him so much better before.” He started pounding on Mirilla’s door again. “Mirilla! Come out and speak to me! Say anything you want to say, just open the door.”
Bart leaned against her door for several more minutes, knocking slowly. “Mirilla, we need to speak. There is still so much that needs to be addressed. We both have unwelcomed thoughts clouding our minds and our judgment. Open the door so we can talk of it all.”
Realizing she wasn’t willing to even consider opening the door, he gave in. “I have to go. Quin has sent for me. I’m not giving up, though. I’ll be back. Please, please consider opening the door. Even if all you do is shout at me, it’s a start.”
~~~
Ba Re’ walked past the many Elite warriors guarding Quin’s residence, raising his chin in greeting as he went, making sure he acknowledged each of them. They were his new peers. The only ones he felt comfortable with. They’d helped him gain a sense of self when he’d been lost shortly after his rescue and return to Command Warship 1. When he reached the front door he tapped on the door and eased it open, quietly stepping inside.
Once inside he made his way over to where Jhan was standing with Kol, Kron, and Vor, intently listening to Quin as he went over all he knew, all he suspected, and what his plan was in detail. When Ba Re’ came to a stop, standing beside Jhan, Jhan glanced at him and flashed him a quick grin, lifting a hand to quickly clasp each other’s fists in a silent show of unity before he went back to listening to Quin. But no one missed the fact that they were standing so close their shoulders were touching. It was a vast improvement over the awkwardness that reigned over the relationship the brothers shared when Ba Re’ was first returned to them.
Quin finished speaking then looked up at Ba Re’. “Did you find him?”
“I did.”
“Where is he?” Quin asked.
“He’s shouting at Mirilla’s room through her closed door.”
“Mirilla’s room?”
Ba Re’ nodded.
“Is he coming?” Quin pressed.
“He said he was.”
Minutes later Bart walked into the living room through the front door.
“Nice of you to join us,” Quin quipped, obviously short on patience.
“I came as soon as I could,” Bart answered, glaring at Quin. He was not one of Quin’s warriors, and didn’t particularly care for the way he’d been treated lately as though he had to come running when summoned.
“Rather than start at the beginning, I’ll just summarize it for you,” Quin said.
“Works for me,” Bart answered with the same tone Quin used with him .
“My warriors will be spreading out, joining existing palace guards in an attempt to feel out those who are not loyal. They may even begin a bit of grumbling themselves in an attempt to lure some into a false sense of camaraderie. There are two teams that will strike out in a search grid to try to locate the missing palace guards. It’s evident that a large number are unaccounted for.”
“What is considered a large number?” Bart asked.
“More than twenty, at least. It is my thought that if that many are physically missing, surely there could be a much larger number involved. Perhaps they’ve seen and are seeing our response to their actions and have decided to remain undetected for the time being. Hence the warriors from the warship infiltrating their numbers and earning their trust. It may be fruitful, it may not, but if nothing else, the sheer number of our personnel mixing in with theirs guarantees the safety of our people and those that are loyal to us. We are depending on locating those that are missing so that we can get some real information.”
“I don’t understand why they weren’t able to be located by now. Surely they could have been tracked on the palace grounds. I know it’s a massive piece of land, but it’s still well known by those who live and work here,” Bart said.
“If they were being hunted by those who are in agreement with them, they will never be found. They are intentionally not tracked, not located and not brought back here for questioning and justice,” Quin said.
“Makes sense. Can your Elite warriors keep from killing any of the more than twenty they might find until we can get information?” Bart asked.
Quin shot him a look like he wanted to slap him, but somehow got himself under control. “They can do anything I’ve ordered them to do.”
“What do you need me to do?” Bart asked.
“Contact the space stations where you have delegations. Let them know to keep their eyes open for any Cruestace people, warriors or not, that may suddenly turn up on their station. It is possible some of them got off the planet before we had a chance to enact searches of each vessel departing here.”
“I’ll take care of it right away,” Bart said.
“Thank you,” Quin answered.
Bart turned and started to walk away, but instead stopped about halfway across the large living room. “I’m going to handle this with the Consortium, then I’m going to try to speak to Mirilla again. I don’t like the way we left things.”
Quin simply watched him expressionlessly.
“I know we made poor choices. But I also believe that she is innocent of all she’s accused of. She didn’t have anything to do with this.”
Quin gave a slight shake of his head as he pressed his lips together in preparation of launching into all the reasons he thought Bart was wrong.
But an interruption from Ba Re’ surprised them all. “He’s right.”
Bart turned his head to look at Ba Re’, surprised at his statement. “Thank you.”
“What?!” Quin demanded of Ba Re’.
“I agree with Bart and Ba Re’,” Eula said, walking into the living room from the downstairs bedroom Quin and Vivi were using at the moment.
“I cannot believe that after everything I laid out for each of you that you can’t see the connections that are clearly there,” Quin said angrily.
“Had any one of you stopped trying to force the other to see things your way, allowed your tempers to calm and actually listened to anything the female tried to say, you’d already know they’re right. She is innocent,” Ba Re’ insisted. “And just to be clear, I can follow your logic. I can see why you think she’s involved. But I also know that she was telling you the truth. She fucked up. They fucked up, her and Bart, but she was not involved with this. She was so distraught at the accusations leveled against her and the fact that no one was listening to a word she was saying that she stopped defending herself. She stated her position clearly one last time, then just stopped. ”
“And that’s how you know she was being truthful?” Quin asked sarcastically.
“No. I know she was being truthful because I watched her. I listened to her words. I saw her body language. I SCENTED no lie! She did not lie! And all of you were so busy trying to prove your points and speak over each other that no one bothered to use their senses to determine her honesty. If you had, you'd have known that she was not involved,” Ba Re’ said.
“Maybe she can disguise a lie,” Quin said. “Some have mastered it.”
“Indeed. Jhan can,” Ba Re’ said.
“Hey!” Jhan snapped, looking angrily at Ba Re’.
“And that is exactly the reason I went to her room. I spoke to her. I turned the conversation to a place that would require her to lie to me, and when she did, I scented her lie with no problem. She’s telling the truth. She was not involved,” Ba Re’ insisted, crossing his arms over his chest to indicate that he was finished with all he had to say.
“I told you I didn’t believe that she was involved, that I just couldn’t see it!” Bart exclaimed.
Quin didn’t respond right away. He was too busy considering all Ba Re’ had said. He respected Ba Re’, even this new Ba Re’, and the male didn’t lie. You might not like what he had to say, but he didn’t lie. Finally he decided on a statement that didn’t really give any information that the others didn’t already have but gave some concession to the fact that he might have been wrong. “I will admit that I was extremely emotional and defensive of my family. I was probably more accusational than I should have been in my rush to find and prosecute those who threatened my family, but it stands to reason that she could have been carelessly responsible, if not directly involved. It is still possible that she was observed, that her behavior is directly responsible for the fact that our home was accessed by those who tried to harm my son!”
“Perhaps parts of it are accurate, but Mirilla wasn’t knowingly involved,” Ba Re’ said .
“Then we must find those who were, and are involved,” Quin said.
“I’m going back to the Sovereign’s office to activate my retrieval teams,” Bart said.
“Perhaps you can try to speak to Mirilla again,” Eula suggested.
“She is so angry she won’t even speak to me,” Bart said. “She won’t open her door, or even speak a word from inside her room. It’s complete silence.”
“She will open for my mother,” Quin said.
“Maybe. Maybe not. She heard you say that she would rot in custody or face execution if she couldn’t prove her innocence,” Bart half-shouted.
“I’ll go to her room. I believe that she will at least speak with me,” Eula said.
“When all of this over, if she is proved to have been speaking the truth, I will personally apologize to her,” Quin said.
“I just told you she was telling the truth,” Ba Re’ said.
“And I believe you believe she is being truthful. But I’m more focused on locating those who can tell me exactly who is responsible and how they did it,” Quin said.
“Suit yourself,” Ba Re’ mumbled.
“Ba Re’!” Quin snapped.
Ba Re’ rolled his eyes and looked away.
Jhan nudged Ba Re’s shoulder with his own.
Ba Re’ nudged him back without looking back toward them.
Quin sighed deeply trying to keep his temper in check. Sometimes the only way he did not lash out at Ba Re’ was to remind himself of the trauma Ba Re’ had been through and the miracle that he’d actually survived. It didn’t help that the one male he’d aligned himself with was Rokai. Rokai had his own sense of duty and it seemed so far that Ba Re’ had adopted the same outlook. “Does everyone understand their assignments and know where they go from here?” Quin finally asked.
A round of yeses and nods and affirmations went up around the room.
“Let’s get to it,” Quin said .
“I’m going to speak to Mirilla,” Eula said.
“You can try, but if I were she, I wouldn’t open the door,” Ba Re’ said.
“Ba Re’!” Quin snapped.
“What?” Ba Re’ asked.
Quin shook his head, willing the male to shut up.
Ba Re’ just shrugged and went back to pretending he didn’t have any idea of what was happening.