Chapter 27
Even if the capital’s populace did not particularly care that broken triads and dyads were frequently sent into danger to kill them off so the Supreme Council could reassign their mates, the native males of Uribern absolutely did not appreciate revelations that the Council Supreme played favorites with the distribution of brides.
More revelations, accompanied by recorded evidence, of the council members’ accepting bribes, enriching themselves at their people’s expense, and consolidating political and financial power among themselves made simmering resentments based on suspicion boil over into outright rebellion and heated demands for political change.
Mated males fortunate enough to have secured human brides and pained by their mates’ resentment of Uribern’s cultural restrictions imposed upon females joined the rebellion, if only to secure their mates’ affections rather than from any dedication to or support for what the human-Urib hybrids called “women’s suffrage” or “women’s liberation.
” Many hybrid females from other planets, much to the surprise of their mates, also joined the protests and demanded that they be treated as citizens equal under the law, too.
The members of the Council Supreme were not amused by the societal unrest and rampant calls for abdication of their exalted positions. They charged Bran and Gil with treason and sent a company of the council guard to arrest the golden Prime.
Bran exchanged glances with Pako and the Ulscanti Triad prime, a celebrated war hero who had traveled extensively and had joined their cause.
Gathered behind them to confront the unlucky warrior dispatched to arrest them were Gil, Yiis, and a horde of other Urib breeds spanning the diverse strata of Urib society.
Over the length of the season, Gil and Yiis had organized the groups to ensure each order had its duly approved representatives.
They agreed that a representative form of government was more equitable than a council consisting of an elite class of males who had never gone to war or served at the pleasure of other masters.
(Mosk, like Zul, remained behind in Omari to ensure their mate’s and their son’s safety.)
“Brannal cen’Vyr, you are ordered to submit for reckoning,” the leader of the Council Supreme’s guard called out.
Bran had expected the confrontation. Open-handed and unarmed, he emerged from the modest building in which he and Gil had been staying and stood, his posture erect and proud.
The harsh sunshine glinted off his golden horns and his golden scales, turning him into a brightly light statue of inspiration.
He replied loudly, “I will meet with the Council Supreme, but I will not submit.”
The guards raised their weapons.
Doors from every building in the neighborhood opened and armed Urib males emerged, all leveling their weapons at the guards. More than one guard looked at the unexpected response from the citizenry and silently murmured petitions to their gods.
“We will no longer submit to the tyranny and corruption of the Council Supreme,” Bran proclaimed.
Standing a step behind his prime and slightly to the right, Gil leveled his sword. Sunshine gleamed off the long length of razor sharp metal. He called out, “Your aggression will be met with death.”
Pako stepped beside Bran, another horned figure of gleaming gold to strike inspiration and confidence among the rebels. He looked down his nose at the guards and said, “Tell the Council Supreme we will meet with them tomorrow at dawn at the High Temple of the Suns.”
Yiis stepped forward. “They will have the opportunity to resign with dignity.”
“The Council Supreme has no honor!” someone from the crowd shouted.
The guards looked about to determine who had spoken, but faced only a sea of obdurate animosity. The commanding officer of the guards lowered his weapon and took a step forward. He met Bran’s gaze without flinching.
“We will inform them, but you must accompany us.”
“Do you guarantee upon your honor that Brannal cen’Vyr will not be harmed?” Gil demanded.
“We will not harm him,” the commanding officer promised.
“Not good enough,” Yiis stated. “Guarantee Brannal cen’Vyr will not be harmed.”
“I cannot do that,” the officer said. “I do not command the entirety of the Guard Supreme.”
“I will go,” Bran said in a low voice so as not to be heard by anyone other than Pako or Gil.
“They’re likely to order your immediate execution,” Gil pointed out.
“Then you will avenge my death and lead the rebellion,” Bran said. I fully expect treachery by the council. They have no honor.
“I know the Guard Supreme’s commander,” the Omari Prime murmured. “I’ll contact him.”
“What leverage do you have over him?” Gil asked, sotto voce.
“He owes me a favor.”
Gil nodded. The details were not important.
“I will go with you,” Bran called out. A hush fell over the crowd. “As everyone sees, I go peacefully!”
“Aggression will be met with death!” Yiis yelled.
Pako then shouted, “Brannal cen’Vyr will join us tomorrow at dawn at the High Temple of the Suns—unharmed—accompanied by the Council Supreme, or there will be blood!”
The crowd erupted in cheers and shouts as Bran descended the steps to join the guards in the street. He met the commanding officer with a curt nod and did not challenge the guards who surrounded him. The officer ordered the guards to march forward, and the crowd parted to allow them to pass.
Gil looked at Pako, his expression worried. “This won’t go well.”
“Probably not,” Pako agreed, his own expression grim. “At the very least, they’ll torture him.”
They turned to walk back inside the building.
“As long as they do not kill him, they will claim to have not harmed him,” Gil said.
“They’d better take more care than not killing him,” Pako said. “Amputation, castration—anything that permanently alters him will be considered harm, and I will ensure every member of the Council Supreme dies for it.”
Yiis nodded. “What they should understand is that Bran’s death will definitely mean outright revolt and sanction their own executions.”
Gil sighed. “Let’s hope they’re not that stupid.”
Pako snorted, expressing his doubt. “I have to contact the Guard Supreme’s commander and remind him of his debt of honor to me. Gil, you and Yiis deal with the rest of our council-to-be. There’s not a warrior among them, and they’ll need reassurance.”
Gil nodded. “They are not warriors, but several of them are wickedly smart. We’d do ourselves a disservice to underestimate them.”
“Intelligence combined with cowardice does not impress me,” Pako muttered before turning down the hallway toward the room he shared with Yiis.
Gil and Yiis stopped walking to turn around and extend their arms to prevent their co-conspirators from following him. “Leaders, let us meet and discuss our next steps.”
The group of sixteen males, eight dyads representing the diverse castes of Urib society except for the warrior caste, followed Yiis and Gil to a large conference room where they began to hammer out a list of demands to present to the currently reigning Council Supreme and a list of concessions they were willing to make for the sake of compromise and progress.
Although everyone hoped for a peaceful regime change, only the two warrior triads did not fear the outburst of violent rebellion.
Revolution was due.
And blood would flow.