“Some dhpou, Lashila?”
Ilavna Lashila looked up startled at the Princess as she came back from settling Dani in to the steam bath. “Your Highness!” Jhayka was holding the tray with a mirthful sort of grin, and laughed at Ilavna's startled exclaimation, which just made the young adept blush.
“I haven't changed a bit. It's just wrong for the First Estate to abuse the Second Estate, no matter the history of our families, so relax with me and have some tea; you are a priestess of the Lord Justice, after all, and though I appreciate your help very much the fact of the matter is that under the guise of our old role; mistress of the manor and servant; you have allowed yourself to fall back into comfortable formality. Come, let's talk as equals, since you're the only person around here who is really solid and trustworthy as things stand.”
“That's hardly true. Our mercenaries will remain true to your coin and the economy that backs it up, Your Highness, and to the flag under which they have been sworn..”
“First, take the dhpou, Lashila, I know you like it.”
The adept sighed and picked up the steaming hot cup. A human would have found it to taste something like spiced chicken broth, and it was commonly consumed between the morning meal (which was usually of grains and sweets) and the noon meal (cheeses, breads, and greens). The stimulant ulat was consumed in the afternoon and the evening meal was usually starches and meats, along with some sort of liquor, though for a formal occasion the evening meal grew to many more courses than that. After that ulat might be consumed more but only if it was to be a long evening; Jhayka expected many of those, but kept to the traditional order of meals as long as possible, and it was late morning.
The two sat, Jhayka settling the tray aside and falling back in her chair, seeming rather more comfortable. “Strange to say, I actually like the thought of having to find room for a guest here. The Normans are very unpleasant savages—they have their costumes of honour but their traditions are, by our civilized standards, most uncouth. Even most humans find them barbaric.” A soft grin. “No doubt you find that these attitudes are preferable.”
Ilavna Lashila drank of the dhpou, her body shuttering slightly, pleasantly, as her eyes met Jhayka's through a frame of blue hair. “Your Highness, you know what my mission is—to open Gilead to the worship of the Lord Farzbardor. I can scarcely find your words anything but pleasant in that light.”
“Extorting the right to preach in the primitive zones is going to be difficult. Unlike in the democratic cultures of many of the states we've previously encountered, there is no inherent hunger for a different moral philosophy in their souls;” Jhayka replied, playing the bit of the philosopher princess, ears flattened in musing. “They are not deficient in spirituality and they are not riven with the nihilism of materialism which opens the souls of the lost so easily to the message of the Lord Justice and to a renewal of hope.”
“You have taught me well, Your Highness,” Ilavna Lashila replied, to the flush of a smile from her old feudal lady. “And it is something I remember of your words—namely, that these primitive cultures are irrevocably doomed by the onrush of the interests of foreign powers. Their societies, their tribal identities, shall all be swept away, and with them, the current moral and spiritual foundations for their existance. They will be like the primitive tribes of many worlds in our early contacts, before we adopted caution, when we arrived and tried to immediately integrate them into Taloran society—mass nihilistic despair will overtake them and they will engage in acts of mass suicide and lose the will both to reproduce and to live as their cultures implode.”
Jhayka nodded once, ears perking up noticeably. “That is why I have come, yes, you know that well. But still, the fight is not gone out of them yet. I can tell. They are in a bad position, maybe hopeless, and they know it, but they'll fight with the despair and desperation of cornered animals alike, and be dangerous and uncaring of death while that period lasts. Then, missionary work will be bountiful, but not before then. And so we have come in a dangerous time for you and your mission. But I see another avenue for it.”
Ilavna Lashila finished off her dhpou and tipped her head slightly to the right, curiously, looking to Jhayka. “Your Highness?”
“The people who come here from the many democratic societies, in acts of despair and nihilism, to throw their fates into the hands of the primitives and foreign slavers and, unwittingly, the trade in flesh and sentient labour. That is a sign of the ultimate nihilistic feudality of materialistic democracy, of course, and presents similar difficulties—since the materialistic system of belief is what drives them—in conversion as missions to those societies, even when successful.”
A sly smile: “But consider, my young adept, that these are the meanest, the lowest, the most hopeless of them all from those societies, and they are away from those societies, and end up in circumstances they often could not have before imagined, and here they are desperate and the salvation of our religious teaching is their only hope.”
“An interesting perspective on where the real prospects are in Gilead for the Priestly Orders,” Ilavna answered carefully, needing to give the matter more thought. A few silent minutes past. “I suppose among humans, and humans ensnared in democratic materialism, that is particularly true, that certain segments of the various nationalities are more affected than others, and here, well, they might all find their way to the Confederacy.
Jhayka smiled rakishly. “Well, right now, anyway, I believe it is quite true. As they say, the Sword has opened paths for the Book before,” she slapped a hand against one of the armrests of her chair to emphasis the train below them, racing at 150km/h down the broad-gauge tracks of the primitive zone railnet and toward Kalunda. “And this is as good a sword as any, if the bullet is to meet the bone. Which, I have much reason from our visit to East Port to believe, it well might.”
“Then I will be ready to serve you as I may, Your Highness,” Ilavna answered, thinking of the only time she had seen blood spill—at the execution of Jhayka's lover—and wondering why Jhayka did not seem to mind seeing it again. The poor Princess still had a long way to go to recover fully, she mused, sadly, and then noted the time rather abruptly, setting down her cup and speaking hastily: “I should probably go check on our guest.”
“Of course, Lashila.”
55 Days in Kalunda.
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In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
Co-written by myself and Marina
Ilavna reentered the bathing room, having only remembered just in time that she really needed to make sure that the alien woman was out of the steam bath in a safe amount of time; she had chosen one about appropriate for pregnant Taloran women on the guess that humans didn't have the same reaction to sustained periods of heat. Twenty-five minutes was probably long enough. She opened the doors of the steam bath, to be blanketed in a rush of hot steam covering her and leaving condensation upon her skin and clothes, albeit very light, as she reached in to turn off the steam element and look for a moment at the reclining form of the human woman--a chaste enough look, for Ilavna had no attraction to females and even if she had, well, humans, even fit ones, are much to plump by Taloran standards to really be attractive, like they're pregnant or something, Ilavna mused idly before reaching down to shake the sleeping human awake.
Waking from Illavna's shaking of her shoulder, Dani took a moment to realize the steam had escaped from the bath. Her skin was still hot and even a bit scalded. She barely managed to suppress a desire to yawn and looked up at the girl. These people really need to put on some weight, Dani decided as she said, "Oh, thank you. I couldn't stop myself from falling asleep.... how long was I in here?"
"Close to thirty minutes," Ilavna replied politely, reaching for a massive, comfortably engulfing towel and handing it to the human woman. "Are you feeling better?" She enquired solicitiously, stepping back from the verge of the steam-bath the moment Dani had taken the towel and waiting by the door, ears cocked, for something else which she might require or desire which Ilavna could help with, her thoughts otherwise occupied by her own musings on what she had previously discussed with Jhayka just a few minutes before in turn.
"I feel clean, which is a great deal better than what I was before," was Dani's response from inside. After drying herself, Dani walked out with the long towel draped around her from cleavage to thighs. "Although I am famished." Dani took the time to really look at the thin Taloran woman. She doesn't just need weight, she needs flesh. She looks so frail.... Of course, to them, I probably look horribly fat or buff. "Though I suppose clothes are more important than food right now. Any luck with that? I'd hate to walk around wearing this or nothing."
"Yes, I had the tailor begin drawing you up some clothing just after I left the bathing room earlier," Ilavna answered, which is where she'd been before heading back to the Princess. "I can go get them for you, though, if you like, once you're dry, I can give you one of Her Highness' evening robes and you can wear that whilst some food is brought out for you...? Her Highness won't mind at all since she often wears little more herself and you are a welcome guest; anyway they are quite modest attire, I assure you," she concluded and opened the door, making to step out if Dani approved.
"If Her Highness does not mind, that sounds great."
Ilavna smiled broadly at that, a very expressive look, and brushed back some of her hair. "Ma'am, she probably wouldn't even be able to find where her robes were in her wardrobe without help," and then turned to get one in a flash of light blue hair. It didn't take long, of course, since even Jhayka's private car was not all that large, and she returned to the bathroom on the lower level holding a great dark lush green evening robe with silken red fringes, glancing in to see if Dani had finished drying off.
Dani had, indeed, finished drying off. She kept the towel on for the sake of being as least offensive as possible - open showers had been the norm in the Naval Academy gym, after all - and accepted the beautiful robe. Given it seemed to just fit her, Dani could only imagine how it looked on the thinner Taloran noble who was now her hostess and protector. She tied it at the front and enjoyed the sensation of the soft material against skin that had, until recently, spent hours coated with sweat while on hard rock. "Thank you again."
It was about that moment that Dani started thinking of Fay again. She'd been so caught up in the end of her own ordeal that she had nearly forgotten. "Is Her Highness available for me to talk with? I don't want to intrude if she's busy, but I'd like to talk to her and thank her."
"Oh, your meal can be brought to you in Her Highness' parlour, we were preparing for, ah, lunch, anyway," Ilavna answered, and she then motioned for Dani to follow her. Ilavna Lashila proceeded to lead Dani into the parlour on the rapidly moving train, and there was Jhayka, reading from a readout padd which she turned off and set aside after a moment to look up at Ilavna.. "Welcome back, Lashila.. And, ah, our guest! Ma'am," she offered, and gestured for Dani to sit, smiling and noticing that the robe looked well on her--even if rather on the tight side. Talorans were used to flowing clothes and such. "I trust you are refreshed? The midday meal shall be along shortly."
Ilavna reentered the bathing room, having only remembered just in time that she really needed to make sure that the alien woman was out of the steam bath in a safe amount of time; she had chosen one about appropriate for pregnant Taloran women on the guess that humans didn't have the same reaction to sustained periods of heat. Twenty-five minutes was probably long enough. She opened the doors of the steam bath, to be blanketed in a rush of hot steam covering her and leaving condensation upon her skin and clothes, albeit very light, as she reached in to turn off the steam element and look for a moment at the reclining form of the human woman--a chaste enough look, for Ilavna had no attraction to females and even if she had, well, humans, even fit ones, are much to plump by Taloran standards to really be attractive, like they're pregnant or something, Ilavna mused idly before reaching down to shake the sleeping human awake.
Waking from Illavna's shaking of her shoulder, Dani took a moment to realize the steam had escaped from the bath. Her skin was still hot and even a bit scalded. She barely managed to suppress a desire to yawn and looked up at the girl. These people really need to put on some weight, Dani decided as she said, "Oh, thank you. I couldn't stop myself from falling asleep.... how long was I in here?"
"Close to thirty minutes," Ilavna replied politely, reaching for a massive, comfortably engulfing towel and handing it to the human woman. "Are you feeling better?" She enquired solicitiously, stepping back from the verge of the steam-bath the moment Dani had taken the towel and waiting by the door, ears cocked, for something else which she might require or desire which Ilavna could help with, her thoughts otherwise occupied by her own musings on what she had previously discussed with Jhayka just a few minutes before in turn.
"I feel clean, which is a great deal better than what I was before," was Dani's response from inside. After drying herself, Dani walked out with the long towel draped around her from cleavage to thighs. "Although I am famished." Dani took the time to really look at the thin Taloran woman. She doesn't just need weight, she needs flesh. She looks so frail.... Of course, to them, I probably look horribly fat or buff. "Though I suppose clothes are more important than food right now. Any luck with that? I'd hate to walk around wearing this or nothing."
"Yes, I had the tailor begin drawing you up some clothing just after I left the bathing room earlier," Ilavna answered, which is where she'd been before heading back to the Princess. "I can go get them for you, though, if you like, once you're dry, I can give you one of Her Highness' evening robes and you can wear that whilst some food is brought out for you...? Her Highness won't mind at all since she often wears little more herself and you are a welcome guest; anyway they are quite modest attire, I assure you," she concluded and opened the door, making to step out if Dani approved.
"If Her Highness does not mind, that sounds great."
Ilavna smiled broadly at that, a very expressive look, and brushed back some of her hair. "Ma'am, she probably wouldn't even be able to find where her robes were in her wardrobe without help," and then turned to get one in a flash of light blue hair. It didn't take long, of course, since even Jhayka's private car was not all that large, and she returned to the bathroom on the lower level holding a great dark lush green evening robe with silken red fringes, glancing in to see if Dani had finished drying off.
Dani had, indeed, finished drying off. She kept the towel on for the sake of being as least offensive as possible - open showers had been the norm in the Naval Academy gym, after all - and accepted the beautiful robe. Given it seemed to just fit her, Dani could only imagine how it looked on the thinner Taloran noble who was now her hostess and protector. She tied it at the front and enjoyed the sensation of the soft material against skin that had, until recently, spent hours coated with sweat while on hard rock. "Thank you again."
It was about that moment that Dani started thinking of Fay again. She'd been so caught up in the end of her own ordeal that she had nearly forgotten. "Is Her Highness available for me to talk with? I don't want to intrude if she's busy, but I'd like to talk to her and thank her."
"Oh, your meal can be brought to you in Her Highness' parlour, we were preparing for, ah, lunch, anyway," Ilavna answered, and she then motioned for Dani to follow her. Ilavna Lashila proceeded to lead Dani into the parlour on the rapidly moving train, and there was Jhayka, reading from a readout padd which she turned off and set aside after a moment to look up at Ilavna.. "Welcome back, Lashila.. And, ah, our guest! Ma'am," she offered, and gestured for Dani to sit, smiling and noticing that the robe looked well on her--even if rather on the tight side. Talorans were used to flowing clothes and such. "I trust you are refreshed? The midday meal shall be along shortly."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
This post was co-written by myself and Marina.
"I'm feeling much better." Dani slid into the seat, enjoying how comfortable it was. "Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness." She adjusted her robe a bit, not wanting it to get too tight. She set her arms down on the soft chair arms and smiled a little. "And thank you for letting me ride inside. It's so much better than the way I had been planning to travel."
"You're welcome," Jhayka answered after a moment, stretching and leaning forward to brace her chin on a hand propped on one of the armrests of the plush chairs in the parlour, of which Dani had another. Ilavna headed off to see that the majordomo was preparing an extra portion for the mid-day meal, as silently as ever, though she offered a smile back in the direct of the two before disappearing. Now, Jhayka turned to more serious matters. "It's not really a great trouble for me to house you as a guest, but I must ask--I am very interested in what you are doing here. Your presence and the spectacle of your escape were altogether quite unexpected."
"Of course." Dani put her hands together in her lap. "As I said before, my name is Danielle Verdes. I'm a Commander in the Alliance Stellar Navy, an engineer. For about the last year I've been a dock manager at the naval base we set up in Luther for the war, working almost around the clock to fix up ships with battle damage." Dani's expression went cold for a moment. One of the more macabre jobs was inspection, which occasionally brought someone to the flash-burned remains of vaporized crew or the radiation-scorched corpses of those not sucked out into space. Most of those scenes stayed with her, as well as the more routine memories of twenty hour days crawling and climbing around ships to fix them up and get them back to the front.
"When the war ended, I had a bit of leave time built up and a lot of reason to take it. One of the other dock managers Commander Fayza al-Bakar, talked me into going to Palm City here on Gilead. It's just north of Quanzhi, a nice tourist town for off-worlders. The brochures were like any other vacation beach spot. Talked about the sun and scenery, nothing about any of the perversion or insanity of the rest of the planet." Dani sighed, resting her head in her hand with her forehead placed along the length of her index finger. "I tried to talk her into going to New Daytona on Lisea, but she was adamant that Palm City would be fine. I guess she was also thinking about the kind of company we'd find, though. In a way, so was I." Dani's face blushed from some shame. She was concerned she might offend the woman, and she certainly wasn't going to articulate the kind of companionship she'd been thinking about when she came to Palm City. It wasn't something she liked to admit even now, but since.... her, Dani's life had been one of lonely work.
"A few nights ago, I can't tell you which night because I lost track of time, we finished up a day of lazy sunbathing and movie-watching by going down to the bar for some light drinks. A guy came up to me and offered me a drink, and I accepted. As we sat and talked I noticed Fay leave the bar with another guy, a bit older but no less handsome. The next morning, I went to her room and she was gone. Nobody had seen her. The best I could do was another guest who saw her return with the guy she met at the bar."
Dani felt a few tears well up. Fear for Fay, certainly, with quite a bit of guilt to add to it. After all, while whatever it was had been happening to Fay, she'd taken her own company to her room for the kind of thing she'd been looking for since arrival.
"The police wrote the whole thing off, saying Fay was probably with the guy and had gone out on a boat ride with him or whatever. Nobody could tell me who he was. So after two days of searching I contacted the Embassy in Cranstonville, informed them Fay was missing, and asked for help. I was still waiting to hear back from them when I spotted the guy in the bar again. I followed him, confronted him, and I knew the bastard was lying even as he claimed he'd left as soon as he and Fay had, well, um..."
"I'm surprised you didn't know about how common the trade in sentients is in the Confederacy," Jhayka mused aloud, not saying anything condemnatory. "Did he capture you also, or was that someone else in East Port? I admit I am quite worried about East Port as our base of our supply for this expedition. I don't trust any of these people, you know," Jhayka smiled grimly. "I trust very few people. Ilavna Lashila is one of them. I suppose I also trust the All-Highest," by which she referred to the Taloran Empress, "but that is a matter of feudal loyalty, one of the few virtues I am known for in unstinting measure." The tall, long-eared woman gave a dapper sort of expression there and crossed her right leg over her left. "Do you think she is still in the hands of the Normans?" Even as the question was asked, Ilavna silently entered the room, bracing herself against one side of the parlour as the armoured train raced onward through the primitive zone.
"He didn't nab me himself. But I went to sleep in my hotel room that night and when I woke up, I was naked and locked into electronic restraints in a cargo hold like a piece of meat being shipped to market." Dani frowned deeply and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess that analogy is more accurate than I'd wanted it to sound."
"As for your other questions? The only thing I knew about 'trade in sentients' here on Gilead was that there were enclaves for people who like the chains-and-leather variety of sex and that there were problems occasionally with corruption in the enclaves. I mean, I saw the first half of 'The Road to Hell' when it came out, so I know what Gilead was once like, but everything Fay showed me about Palm City - and Gilead itself - made it out like that kind of thing never happened anymore. If I'd know this was possible, I would have literally dragged Fay to New Daytona rather than set foot on this planet." Dani sighed and closed her eyes, trying to fight back a few tears. "Oh, poor Fay.... I have no idea where she is. I don't even know if the Normans have her or not. Hell, I didn't know they were Normans until just before the auction when we were informed of what would be expected of us by our new masters. I was taken back to my cell and immediately found the sharpest thing I could hide in my hands."
Jhayka clapped her hands together once, and then glanced up. "Oh, do sit down, Ilavna, we're all friends here," she said before turning back to Dani. "Well, Miss Verdes--forgive me, but I still want to verify your rank--I'll ask around in Ar when we get there and buy her out of slavery if I find her. It wouldn't cost very much coin at all to do that, and of course I have a lot--part of the reason we're traveling in military fashion is that I'm worried about a robbery of our stores, you see," though the provision of several companies' worth of heavy weapons on the trains seemed more than sufficient for that. In the meanwhile, Ilavna had settled down, and spoke now herself.
"Your Highness, I am here because you asked me to come. But I'm also here to see to it that the word of universal Justice is spread; now, you know how important the Priesthood of the Lord Farzbardor was to suppressing the slave-trade on Talora Prime. I consented to go along with your mission not interfering in your efforts to document these societies; but you yourself seem prepared to somewhat violate the principle of noninterference. Once the period of study is over.."
Jhayka waved a hand slightly. "Lashila, I can't play with fire in the primitive zones on Gilead without starting an international incident, and we'd get no support from the Sword in that case. But you know that I have committed rather significant sums to the Priestly Orders. It can perhaps be arranged for the establishment here of extraterritorial missions which can serve as safe-harbours for freed slaves." She got a musing look, then, and directed her gaze back to Danielle. "Miss Verdes, you understand that I cannot conduct a manhunt over the whole planet, I am afraid to say. But religion may help us--Lashila has an excellent point, namely, that securing extraterritoriality for religious organizations could serve to suppress the slave-trade by making it impossible to secure the slaves. So you may be advised to stay with us indefinitely, if you desire to see your friend liberated; even if we don't find her immediately, well, I planned to be here for several years, and that would be enough time for us to create a real missionary network in Gilead."
Dani listened to Illavna. At the moment she didn't quite mind the thought of the Talorans proselytizing here. They were certainly better people than the locals. Then she listened to Jhayka's offer.
It was more than tempting. Dani couldn't bear the thought of leaving Gilead without finding Fay. But she didn't know how her superiors would take it. She was, after all, only an engineer. This was the kind of work for AID spooks and Star Marines, not dockmasters. They certainly wouldn't let her take an indefinite leave.
I'd have to resign my commission. I'll never make it to Captain and some of those big engineering firms I was hoping to get a big chair in won't even bother to study my resumè.
There were many things that could be said about Dani, and even she knew they weren't all good. But she was loyal to her friends. Oh well, I don't like desk jobs much anyway. "Thank you for the offer, Your Highness. I'll do what I can to help my friend and everyone else caught by these scum." Dani nodded her head graciously. "If you don't mind, can I contact the Alliance Embassy? I need to let them know what's happened and see if they've found out anything about Fay."
"I was, quite honestly, going to do so myself. Do you think we should wait until we arrive in Kalunda, however? I believe there is a charge d'affair of the Alliance Embassy there, which would make everything much more simple--and secure. I have a secured comm here but I'd rather not use it any more than necessary. I don't want to make the locals suspicious of me, even as I am suspicious of them, you see." Jhayka concluded, settling back a bit--she seemed more relaxed with Ilavna Lashila around.
"If you feel it is best, I have no complaints." Kalunda! I wonder if it's as beautiful as it was in the movie? Dani had really enjoyed that movie and had yet to see the second half. All of the trailers made it seem as adventurous as the first and the big battle at the end was supposed to be the best swordplay fight since the "Peloponnesian Wars'" battles. I wonder what the Kalundans are like these days...
Since she had pretty much completed her story, Dani now inquired about Jhayka's. "So, you are here studying the cultures of these regions?"
"I want to write about them before they all die off," Jhayka answered. "Once I am finished, then I will let Lashila and those who follow her go to work on converting them and saving them from the crisis which is about to come. Gilead is doomed, at least in the state that it is now, and the curious experiments of the Primitive Zone will die with it. But we are in dangerous times; the primitives also know this, they are preparing to fight the day's coming, and they have allies in the government of Gilead and other powers." She fell silent then, as a Taloran man entered, older looking with a light purple hair, and carrying stacked up trays despite the swaying of the train. He set them down on a ledge running on the far side of the parlour, and from underneath it, unhooked and swung up a solid wood table which was locked into place, then arranged the trays on it, taking off their coverings. "The Noon Meal, Your Highness, Adept, Ma'am," he said, bowing, and then retiring from the room.
The food was alien, but Dani's grumbling stomach would have accepted clumped grass at that point. She restrained a desire to go right for the food and waited for Jhayka to stand, following her and Illavna to the table. "Is there any kind of grace your people say before eating?"
"No," Ilavna said, adding a moment later: "The Lord Justice does not desire that we offer thanks for our food, but rather that we are moderate in our habits of eating. Gluttons and consumers of luxurious and polluting foods are those who must face judgment." Jhayka had gotten up in the meanwhile and shifted her chair on her own over to the table, and than sat again. Ilavna waited until she had done so before getting up and moving her chair as well, and then helpfully added: "The midday meal today is sliced Kalatian Ghoi-bird with bfaesar sauce over bread and.. Ah, what you'd call cheese made from rostok milk. There's also a Kavaraean seaweed salad, with water and voli to drink."
Dani studied the eating utensils provided with the food while asking, "Voli?"
"It's a chilled nonalcoholic beverage made from the distilled leaves of the voli plant," Jhayka interrupted--the utensils looked like metal chopsticks supported by a knife and something ominously resembling a spork, god knows how they were supposed to be used as part of the meal--and looked up from her food to offer Dani an amused sort of half-smile. "It's very sweet, as the voli plant is a natural producing of sugar--think of it as being sort of like a," she paused for a moment and thought of a proper comparison, brightening as she did--proud of her memory of the foreign palate, mostly: "Molasses beer, except nonalcoholic."
Dani smirked with amusement and took a sip. "Ehh, almost too sweet. But that's better than too salty. Where I come from, we call Keloan s'nurgas 'salt water beer' and it's not good at all." She began to eat the food, forcing herself to do it slowly to prevent any kind of stomach ache. "I've never tried alien food, save for Bajoran hasperat. I was introduced to that by someone I knew."
You were introduced to it by her. And it's why you've barely eaten any of it since....
"What is hasperat, if I may? And I take it that means you have been to Bajor, Miss Verdes?" Jhayka asked conversationally, though a moment later the more youthful Ilavna peppered Dani with another question: "Keloa? That is your homeworld?"
"No, I'm from Earth in Universe SE-1. Minnesota. And hasperat is this kind of, I dunno, burrito I guess. Flour, bread-like covering packed with meats, salad, or whatever you want. And I've never been to Bajor, though I have visited Deep Space Nine once while I was serving as a repair group CO at the New Liberty Naval Station. It was strange to see a standard Class Three space station under a Federation administration. Though at least their Chief of Operations was competent, which is better than I can say for most Starfleet engineers."
Jhayka gave a lazy shrug to that. "I've never understood the protectionism of your societies. Why is it so odd to sell stations and such things to foreign powers? It just increases your own economic power, which is never bad." And then she gave sort of a purring laugh, flexing her ears merrily: "And, of course, it's actually a benefit to our military security if we arm potential rivals, since then we know all the details of their weapons systems."
Dani replied with a giggle, which was subdued until she swallowed. "That's a good advantage, and one we've got in a few situations. As for DS9, well, we always intended to give the Bajor Station to the new Bajoran government, and it was always legally considered Bajoran. The amusing element was to see Federation officers running the station and having to learn how systems in the Alliance work. You see, the Federation has always been really, really self-defensive about their technology even if it's designed badly. They're regular beacons of social and technological progress in their own eyes. And I could spend hours criticizing Federation design philosophy, but it's not very exciting unless you're a dedicated engineer."
"As for protectionism, I'm not too big on it myself. I've seen what protective tariffs can do to colonies while I was out serving on a ship along the frontier. Just last month I voted for Admiral Dale to become Alliance President because he's the only one who's come out and said he's going to reduce and eliminate tariffs and control government spending."
"Well, there was probably also the loyalty of veterans to their own in that decision," Jhayka mused. "But I won't presume to judge your politics. As for engineering, well, I suppose we could have our own conversations on that--I am a trained engineer myself, though different from your standards, as I was the colonel commanding a sapper regiment in the Imperial Army for decade."
"Really? Why did you go into engineering, if I may ask?"
Jhayka smiled dangerously in response, her ears leveling straight-up: "Because, Miss Verdes, being a tunnel rat is not perhaps the most clean of careers, but if you are a combat veteran of the Imperial Sappers and Engineers Corps, then nobody doubts that you are the real thing and not just a sinecured officer of the high nobility with a nominal commanding rank over a unit." She stretched out, straightening from her food for the first time in the meal. "My family is one of the minor nobility of the Empire without a great reputation, you might say, as the grand commanders and loyal generals of Her All-Highest. But where genius may not run in the blood, I am content with grit, and there is nothing so bloody as the clearing of deep-shelter tunnels when the enemy chooses to fight rather than to yield." Ilavna had never seen blood before the fateful execution, but Jhayka had, and in some way it seemed almost as if she was looking for a fight like in the old days by coming here.
"I see." Dani sipped on the voli again, trying to get used to the taste. "I can respect that. Me, I always wanted to find out how things worked and how to put them together. The military was my Dad's idea. He was a Chief in the US Star Navy until I was 12. My Mom was supportive too, though she was more concerned with my... preferences in companionship."
Yes, she came home early one day and found me in bed with one of the girls on the school cheerleading squad. I never quite knew just how devout a Catholic Mom was until she started screaming at me. I guess she didn't realize that the Navy doesn't really care who you sleep with so long as you're not out embarrassing the Service.
Ilavna turned her head to the side, then, ears flexing, and asked musingly: "Just what is it with human religions, anyway? Though I suppose at first the conservatism of the old tribes prevailed in Farzianism, but we have the example of the Sword of the Lord Justice to prove that love cannot be, intrinsically of itself, an evil thing." But here Jhayka was silent, for the matter was much to close to being personal for her, and she let Ilavna carry on the rest of the conversation over the noon meal, as she remained in a pensive silence.
"Depending on the church or group, Illavna, some of our religions are still stuck two thousand years in the past," Dani remarked. "I was raised Catholic, mostly by my mother, but I never Confirmed. I couldn't, not in good conscience. I couldn't believe in God if God was vengeful or unfair. And I thought it was unfair to be condemned because I was more interested in other girls than in boys." Putting her chopsticks-like utensil back into her food for a moment, Dani added, "I'm not saying I don't believe in God. But I don't believe in the petty rules and laws. Faith should transcend piddly little details of life. It should focus on how people treat each other, not on what kinds of foods they eat or what specific days they should go to church or who they choose to take as a soulmate."
Dani tried and, to a degree, failed to hide her sadness at mentioning a soulmate. She'd had one but lost her, and never even knew it was her soulmate until their relationship was through. She was happy now, content with another woman she loved, but Dani was alone and knew what loneliness was now.
"The truth of human monotheistic religions has been obscured by deviationist doctrines, the theory of the absolute creation under God--which is fallacious, for of course Farzbardor did not create evil, that is the work of Idenicamos--and the unusual practices of the Christians. Retention of social values from the ancient past scarcely helps, of course; but the commandments of God are absolute. You can't have a purposeful religion without a morality fixed by it, after all, Ma'am." A pause, and she smiled softly: "Farzianism is very practical in that sense. But I imagine Her Highness would prefer we hold off this conversation until a point when I don't need to annoy her ears with things she has already long before debated with me."
"Of course." Dani returned to finishing lunch and begin to inquire about other basic facts of Taloran society, exchanging information of her own with Jhayka and Illavna.
"I'm feeling much better." Dani slid into the seat, enjoying how comfortable it was. "Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness." She adjusted her robe a bit, not wanting it to get too tight. She set her arms down on the soft chair arms and smiled a little. "And thank you for letting me ride inside. It's so much better than the way I had been planning to travel."
"You're welcome," Jhayka answered after a moment, stretching and leaning forward to brace her chin on a hand propped on one of the armrests of the plush chairs in the parlour, of which Dani had another. Ilavna headed off to see that the majordomo was preparing an extra portion for the mid-day meal, as silently as ever, though she offered a smile back in the direct of the two before disappearing. Now, Jhayka turned to more serious matters. "It's not really a great trouble for me to house you as a guest, but I must ask--I am very interested in what you are doing here. Your presence and the spectacle of your escape were altogether quite unexpected."
"Of course." Dani put her hands together in her lap. "As I said before, my name is Danielle Verdes. I'm a Commander in the Alliance Stellar Navy, an engineer. For about the last year I've been a dock manager at the naval base we set up in Luther for the war, working almost around the clock to fix up ships with battle damage." Dani's expression went cold for a moment. One of the more macabre jobs was inspection, which occasionally brought someone to the flash-burned remains of vaporized crew or the radiation-scorched corpses of those not sucked out into space. Most of those scenes stayed with her, as well as the more routine memories of twenty hour days crawling and climbing around ships to fix them up and get them back to the front.
"When the war ended, I had a bit of leave time built up and a lot of reason to take it. One of the other dock managers Commander Fayza al-Bakar, talked me into going to Palm City here on Gilead. It's just north of Quanzhi, a nice tourist town for off-worlders. The brochures were like any other vacation beach spot. Talked about the sun and scenery, nothing about any of the perversion or insanity of the rest of the planet." Dani sighed, resting her head in her hand with her forehead placed along the length of her index finger. "I tried to talk her into going to New Daytona on Lisea, but she was adamant that Palm City would be fine. I guess she was also thinking about the kind of company we'd find, though. In a way, so was I." Dani's face blushed from some shame. She was concerned she might offend the woman, and she certainly wasn't going to articulate the kind of companionship she'd been thinking about when she came to Palm City. It wasn't something she liked to admit even now, but since.... her, Dani's life had been one of lonely work.
"A few nights ago, I can't tell you which night because I lost track of time, we finished up a day of lazy sunbathing and movie-watching by going down to the bar for some light drinks. A guy came up to me and offered me a drink, and I accepted. As we sat and talked I noticed Fay leave the bar with another guy, a bit older but no less handsome. The next morning, I went to her room and she was gone. Nobody had seen her. The best I could do was another guest who saw her return with the guy she met at the bar."
Dani felt a few tears well up. Fear for Fay, certainly, with quite a bit of guilt to add to it. After all, while whatever it was had been happening to Fay, she'd taken her own company to her room for the kind of thing she'd been looking for since arrival.
"The police wrote the whole thing off, saying Fay was probably with the guy and had gone out on a boat ride with him or whatever. Nobody could tell me who he was. So after two days of searching I contacted the Embassy in Cranstonville, informed them Fay was missing, and asked for help. I was still waiting to hear back from them when I spotted the guy in the bar again. I followed him, confronted him, and I knew the bastard was lying even as he claimed he'd left as soon as he and Fay had, well, um..."
"I'm surprised you didn't know about how common the trade in sentients is in the Confederacy," Jhayka mused aloud, not saying anything condemnatory. "Did he capture you also, or was that someone else in East Port? I admit I am quite worried about East Port as our base of our supply for this expedition. I don't trust any of these people, you know," Jhayka smiled grimly. "I trust very few people. Ilavna Lashila is one of them. I suppose I also trust the All-Highest," by which she referred to the Taloran Empress, "but that is a matter of feudal loyalty, one of the few virtues I am known for in unstinting measure." The tall, long-eared woman gave a dapper sort of expression there and crossed her right leg over her left. "Do you think she is still in the hands of the Normans?" Even as the question was asked, Ilavna silently entered the room, bracing herself against one side of the parlour as the armoured train raced onward through the primitive zone.
"He didn't nab me himself. But I went to sleep in my hotel room that night and when I woke up, I was naked and locked into electronic restraints in a cargo hold like a piece of meat being shipped to market." Dani frowned deeply and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess that analogy is more accurate than I'd wanted it to sound."
"As for your other questions? The only thing I knew about 'trade in sentients' here on Gilead was that there were enclaves for people who like the chains-and-leather variety of sex and that there were problems occasionally with corruption in the enclaves. I mean, I saw the first half of 'The Road to Hell' when it came out, so I know what Gilead was once like, but everything Fay showed me about Palm City - and Gilead itself - made it out like that kind of thing never happened anymore. If I'd know this was possible, I would have literally dragged Fay to New Daytona rather than set foot on this planet." Dani sighed and closed her eyes, trying to fight back a few tears. "Oh, poor Fay.... I have no idea where she is. I don't even know if the Normans have her or not. Hell, I didn't know they were Normans until just before the auction when we were informed of what would be expected of us by our new masters. I was taken back to my cell and immediately found the sharpest thing I could hide in my hands."
Jhayka clapped her hands together once, and then glanced up. "Oh, do sit down, Ilavna, we're all friends here," she said before turning back to Dani. "Well, Miss Verdes--forgive me, but I still want to verify your rank--I'll ask around in Ar when we get there and buy her out of slavery if I find her. It wouldn't cost very much coin at all to do that, and of course I have a lot--part of the reason we're traveling in military fashion is that I'm worried about a robbery of our stores, you see," though the provision of several companies' worth of heavy weapons on the trains seemed more than sufficient for that. In the meanwhile, Ilavna had settled down, and spoke now herself.
"Your Highness, I am here because you asked me to come. But I'm also here to see to it that the word of universal Justice is spread; now, you know how important the Priesthood of the Lord Farzbardor was to suppressing the slave-trade on Talora Prime. I consented to go along with your mission not interfering in your efforts to document these societies; but you yourself seem prepared to somewhat violate the principle of noninterference. Once the period of study is over.."
Jhayka waved a hand slightly. "Lashila, I can't play with fire in the primitive zones on Gilead without starting an international incident, and we'd get no support from the Sword in that case. But you know that I have committed rather significant sums to the Priestly Orders. It can perhaps be arranged for the establishment here of extraterritorial missions which can serve as safe-harbours for freed slaves." She got a musing look, then, and directed her gaze back to Danielle. "Miss Verdes, you understand that I cannot conduct a manhunt over the whole planet, I am afraid to say. But religion may help us--Lashila has an excellent point, namely, that securing extraterritoriality for religious organizations could serve to suppress the slave-trade by making it impossible to secure the slaves. So you may be advised to stay with us indefinitely, if you desire to see your friend liberated; even if we don't find her immediately, well, I planned to be here for several years, and that would be enough time for us to create a real missionary network in Gilead."
Dani listened to Illavna. At the moment she didn't quite mind the thought of the Talorans proselytizing here. They were certainly better people than the locals. Then she listened to Jhayka's offer.
It was more than tempting. Dani couldn't bear the thought of leaving Gilead without finding Fay. But she didn't know how her superiors would take it. She was, after all, only an engineer. This was the kind of work for AID spooks and Star Marines, not dockmasters. They certainly wouldn't let her take an indefinite leave.
I'd have to resign my commission. I'll never make it to Captain and some of those big engineering firms I was hoping to get a big chair in won't even bother to study my resumè.
There were many things that could be said about Dani, and even she knew they weren't all good. But she was loyal to her friends. Oh well, I don't like desk jobs much anyway. "Thank you for the offer, Your Highness. I'll do what I can to help my friend and everyone else caught by these scum." Dani nodded her head graciously. "If you don't mind, can I contact the Alliance Embassy? I need to let them know what's happened and see if they've found out anything about Fay."
"I was, quite honestly, going to do so myself. Do you think we should wait until we arrive in Kalunda, however? I believe there is a charge d'affair of the Alliance Embassy there, which would make everything much more simple--and secure. I have a secured comm here but I'd rather not use it any more than necessary. I don't want to make the locals suspicious of me, even as I am suspicious of them, you see." Jhayka concluded, settling back a bit--she seemed more relaxed with Ilavna Lashila around.
"If you feel it is best, I have no complaints." Kalunda! I wonder if it's as beautiful as it was in the movie? Dani had really enjoyed that movie and had yet to see the second half. All of the trailers made it seem as adventurous as the first and the big battle at the end was supposed to be the best swordplay fight since the "Peloponnesian Wars'" battles. I wonder what the Kalundans are like these days...
Since she had pretty much completed her story, Dani now inquired about Jhayka's. "So, you are here studying the cultures of these regions?"
"I want to write about them before they all die off," Jhayka answered. "Once I am finished, then I will let Lashila and those who follow her go to work on converting them and saving them from the crisis which is about to come. Gilead is doomed, at least in the state that it is now, and the curious experiments of the Primitive Zone will die with it. But we are in dangerous times; the primitives also know this, they are preparing to fight the day's coming, and they have allies in the government of Gilead and other powers." She fell silent then, as a Taloran man entered, older looking with a light purple hair, and carrying stacked up trays despite the swaying of the train. He set them down on a ledge running on the far side of the parlour, and from underneath it, unhooked and swung up a solid wood table which was locked into place, then arranged the trays on it, taking off their coverings. "The Noon Meal, Your Highness, Adept, Ma'am," he said, bowing, and then retiring from the room.
The food was alien, but Dani's grumbling stomach would have accepted clumped grass at that point. She restrained a desire to go right for the food and waited for Jhayka to stand, following her and Illavna to the table. "Is there any kind of grace your people say before eating?"
"No," Ilavna said, adding a moment later: "The Lord Justice does not desire that we offer thanks for our food, but rather that we are moderate in our habits of eating. Gluttons and consumers of luxurious and polluting foods are those who must face judgment." Jhayka had gotten up in the meanwhile and shifted her chair on her own over to the table, and than sat again. Ilavna waited until she had done so before getting up and moving her chair as well, and then helpfully added: "The midday meal today is sliced Kalatian Ghoi-bird with bfaesar sauce over bread and.. Ah, what you'd call cheese made from rostok milk. There's also a Kavaraean seaweed salad, with water and voli to drink."
Dani studied the eating utensils provided with the food while asking, "Voli?"
"It's a chilled nonalcoholic beverage made from the distilled leaves of the voli plant," Jhayka interrupted--the utensils looked like metal chopsticks supported by a knife and something ominously resembling a spork, god knows how they were supposed to be used as part of the meal--and looked up from her food to offer Dani an amused sort of half-smile. "It's very sweet, as the voli plant is a natural producing of sugar--think of it as being sort of like a," she paused for a moment and thought of a proper comparison, brightening as she did--proud of her memory of the foreign palate, mostly: "Molasses beer, except nonalcoholic."
Dani smirked with amusement and took a sip. "Ehh, almost too sweet. But that's better than too salty. Where I come from, we call Keloan s'nurgas 'salt water beer' and it's not good at all." She began to eat the food, forcing herself to do it slowly to prevent any kind of stomach ache. "I've never tried alien food, save for Bajoran hasperat. I was introduced to that by someone I knew."
You were introduced to it by her. And it's why you've barely eaten any of it since....
"What is hasperat, if I may? And I take it that means you have been to Bajor, Miss Verdes?" Jhayka asked conversationally, though a moment later the more youthful Ilavna peppered Dani with another question: "Keloa? That is your homeworld?"
"No, I'm from Earth in Universe SE-1. Minnesota. And hasperat is this kind of, I dunno, burrito I guess. Flour, bread-like covering packed with meats, salad, or whatever you want. And I've never been to Bajor, though I have visited Deep Space Nine once while I was serving as a repair group CO at the New Liberty Naval Station. It was strange to see a standard Class Three space station under a Federation administration. Though at least their Chief of Operations was competent, which is better than I can say for most Starfleet engineers."
Jhayka gave a lazy shrug to that. "I've never understood the protectionism of your societies. Why is it so odd to sell stations and such things to foreign powers? It just increases your own economic power, which is never bad." And then she gave sort of a purring laugh, flexing her ears merrily: "And, of course, it's actually a benefit to our military security if we arm potential rivals, since then we know all the details of their weapons systems."
Dani replied with a giggle, which was subdued until she swallowed. "That's a good advantage, and one we've got in a few situations. As for DS9, well, we always intended to give the Bajor Station to the new Bajoran government, and it was always legally considered Bajoran. The amusing element was to see Federation officers running the station and having to learn how systems in the Alliance work. You see, the Federation has always been really, really self-defensive about their technology even if it's designed badly. They're regular beacons of social and technological progress in their own eyes. And I could spend hours criticizing Federation design philosophy, but it's not very exciting unless you're a dedicated engineer."
"As for protectionism, I'm not too big on it myself. I've seen what protective tariffs can do to colonies while I was out serving on a ship along the frontier. Just last month I voted for Admiral Dale to become Alliance President because he's the only one who's come out and said he's going to reduce and eliminate tariffs and control government spending."
"Well, there was probably also the loyalty of veterans to their own in that decision," Jhayka mused. "But I won't presume to judge your politics. As for engineering, well, I suppose we could have our own conversations on that--I am a trained engineer myself, though different from your standards, as I was the colonel commanding a sapper regiment in the Imperial Army for decade."
"Really? Why did you go into engineering, if I may ask?"
Jhayka smiled dangerously in response, her ears leveling straight-up: "Because, Miss Verdes, being a tunnel rat is not perhaps the most clean of careers, but if you are a combat veteran of the Imperial Sappers and Engineers Corps, then nobody doubts that you are the real thing and not just a sinecured officer of the high nobility with a nominal commanding rank over a unit." She stretched out, straightening from her food for the first time in the meal. "My family is one of the minor nobility of the Empire without a great reputation, you might say, as the grand commanders and loyal generals of Her All-Highest. But where genius may not run in the blood, I am content with grit, and there is nothing so bloody as the clearing of deep-shelter tunnels when the enemy chooses to fight rather than to yield." Ilavna had never seen blood before the fateful execution, but Jhayka had, and in some way it seemed almost as if she was looking for a fight like in the old days by coming here.
"I see." Dani sipped on the voli again, trying to get used to the taste. "I can respect that. Me, I always wanted to find out how things worked and how to put them together. The military was my Dad's idea. He was a Chief in the US Star Navy until I was 12. My Mom was supportive too, though she was more concerned with my... preferences in companionship."
Yes, she came home early one day and found me in bed with one of the girls on the school cheerleading squad. I never quite knew just how devout a Catholic Mom was until she started screaming at me. I guess she didn't realize that the Navy doesn't really care who you sleep with so long as you're not out embarrassing the Service.
Ilavna turned her head to the side, then, ears flexing, and asked musingly: "Just what is it with human religions, anyway? Though I suppose at first the conservatism of the old tribes prevailed in Farzianism, but we have the example of the Sword of the Lord Justice to prove that love cannot be, intrinsically of itself, an evil thing." But here Jhayka was silent, for the matter was much to close to being personal for her, and she let Ilavna carry on the rest of the conversation over the noon meal, as she remained in a pensive silence.
"Depending on the church or group, Illavna, some of our religions are still stuck two thousand years in the past," Dani remarked. "I was raised Catholic, mostly by my mother, but I never Confirmed. I couldn't, not in good conscience. I couldn't believe in God if God was vengeful or unfair. And I thought it was unfair to be condemned because I was more interested in other girls than in boys." Putting her chopsticks-like utensil back into her food for a moment, Dani added, "I'm not saying I don't believe in God. But I don't believe in the petty rules and laws. Faith should transcend piddly little details of life. It should focus on how people treat each other, not on what kinds of foods they eat or what specific days they should go to church or who they choose to take as a soulmate."
Dani tried and, to a degree, failed to hide her sadness at mentioning a soulmate. She'd had one but lost her, and never even knew it was her soulmate until their relationship was through. She was happy now, content with another woman she loved, but Dani was alone and knew what loneliness was now.
"The truth of human monotheistic religions has been obscured by deviationist doctrines, the theory of the absolute creation under God--which is fallacious, for of course Farzbardor did not create evil, that is the work of Idenicamos--and the unusual practices of the Christians. Retention of social values from the ancient past scarcely helps, of course; but the commandments of God are absolute. You can't have a purposeful religion without a morality fixed by it, after all, Ma'am." A pause, and she smiled softly: "Farzianism is very practical in that sense. But I imagine Her Highness would prefer we hold off this conversation until a point when I don't need to annoy her ears with things she has already long before debated with me."
"Of course." Dani returned to finishing lunch and begin to inquire about other basic facts of Taloran society, exchanging information of her own with Jhayka and Illavna.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
And this was written by me:
Berglund Estate, Berglund
To accomodate his ego, Illian Berglund had long had his estate's grand ballroom converted into what was essentially a throne room. A high-backed armless leather chair with soft cushioning was at one end, a carpet of red running from it to the door. Built into the chair was a latch for attaching chains, such as the chain that one could put on a collar. It was such a chain, of about six feet in length, that connected the chair to the golden collar around Aurora's neck. It was encrusted with small rubies and looked very fancy. A similar belt was around Aurora's tight waist, encrusted with jewelry - as were the manacles that kept her wrists changed together - but aside from the collar and belt she was completely naked. Berglund's hand was setting upon her head while he sait in an open-chested robe and pants.
In front of him was an alien, one of the first Aurora had ever seen. He was large, green-skinned, and very brutish in manner, and flanked by two Humans. He kept giving Aurora an occasional glance.
"You want £50,000 for a blonde?" Berglund smirked. "Mister Oloparatho, do you realize just how many attractive blonde Caucasian sex-slaves can be acquired on Gilead, legitimate and illegitimate?"
"I'll throw in a second girl."
"What kind?"
"I'm told she's what you call an 'Arab'. Looks young and is attractive. I had her myself last night, very juicy."
"Used goods, in other words. And there are plenty of Arab girls to be had. I bought my last for something around £7,000."
Oloparatho clenched his jaw. "How about I bring the girls in, and you will see why I think they're worth fifty thousand."
Berglund shrugged.
Olopartho snapped his fingers and one of the Humans left. When he returned, he came with another Human, and both were holding ropes tied around the belts of the two young women, the same belts to which their wrists were chained behind their back. They were brought in front of Olopartho and forced to their knees.
Aurora could immediately see the significance of the blonde girl. It wasn't her striking blue eyes or the beauty of her body, but the spots on her body. They started on the forehead, running down both sides of her hairline to her neck and down her torso, following the contours of the outer edge of her breasts until they moved inward at the hips, going down along the inside-facing parts of her legs. There was no hair between her legs and, to Aurora, it looked like it was natural that way and not simply shaved. A barked order from Oloparatho prompted the girl to grudingly spread her legs, and after Oloparatho's rough touching, it was clear to see she was different from Humans there as well.
Berglund looked completely enchanted with her. "Fifty thousand pounds it is, Oloparatho. For her and for the Arab girl. She looks good for some of my productions. What do you think, dear Consuela?" Berglund put his hand on Aurora's head and directed her gaze at the Arab girl. "Would you mind having sex with that lovely woman?"
"Of course, Master," was the sultry response. Aurora had to play her part, after all.
"You can have her tonight, then. As for you, Oloparatho..."
"I have business elsewhere," the Orion said. "But thank you for the offer. I'll have to come back again and see if you'll let me be entertained by that lovely slave you have at your side." He turned and left with his men, while two of Berglund's employees took Berglund's new acquisitions and placed them in irons. "Send the alien girl to my master bedroom and secure her on my bed. Use the silk cords... I wouldn't want to bruise her. As for the Arab girl, put her in a cell and prepare her for the torture room. Consuela will initiate her tonight, live on my channel." Illian stood up. "I'm going to have some dinner soon, and then, my alien sweet, I'll show you why so many women enjoy serving me."
Aurora was unlatched from the chair and taken to her room. After her 'successful' initiation, she had been given a room in the palace of her own, a small one with a bed and nothing else but at least something private. From there she was planning her next move from here, inside Berglund's estate.
Berglund Estate, Berglund
To accomodate his ego, Illian Berglund had long had his estate's grand ballroom converted into what was essentially a throne room. A high-backed armless leather chair with soft cushioning was at one end, a carpet of red running from it to the door. Built into the chair was a latch for attaching chains, such as the chain that one could put on a collar. It was such a chain, of about six feet in length, that connected the chair to the golden collar around Aurora's neck. It was encrusted with small rubies and looked very fancy. A similar belt was around Aurora's tight waist, encrusted with jewelry - as were the manacles that kept her wrists changed together - but aside from the collar and belt she was completely naked. Berglund's hand was setting upon her head while he sait in an open-chested robe and pants.
In front of him was an alien, one of the first Aurora had ever seen. He was large, green-skinned, and very brutish in manner, and flanked by two Humans. He kept giving Aurora an occasional glance.
"You want £50,000 for a blonde?" Berglund smirked. "Mister Oloparatho, do you realize just how many attractive blonde Caucasian sex-slaves can be acquired on Gilead, legitimate and illegitimate?"
"I'll throw in a second girl."
"What kind?"
"I'm told she's what you call an 'Arab'. Looks young and is attractive. I had her myself last night, very juicy."
"Used goods, in other words. And there are plenty of Arab girls to be had. I bought my last for something around £7,000."
Oloparatho clenched his jaw. "How about I bring the girls in, and you will see why I think they're worth fifty thousand."
Berglund shrugged.
Olopartho snapped his fingers and one of the Humans left. When he returned, he came with another Human, and both were holding ropes tied around the belts of the two young women, the same belts to which their wrists were chained behind their back. They were brought in front of Olopartho and forced to their knees.
Aurora could immediately see the significance of the blonde girl. It wasn't her striking blue eyes or the beauty of her body, but the spots on her body. They started on the forehead, running down both sides of her hairline to her neck and down her torso, following the contours of the outer edge of her breasts until they moved inward at the hips, going down along the inside-facing parts of her legs. There was no hair between her legs and, to Aurora, it looked like it was natural that way and not simply shaved. A barked order from Oloparatho prompted the girl to grudingly spread her legs, and after Oloparatho's rough touching, it was clear to see she was different from Humans there as well.
Berglund looked completely enchanted with her. "Fifty thousand pounds it is, Oloparatho. For her and for the Arab girl. She looks good for some of my productions. What do you think, dear Consuela?" Berglund put his hand on Aurora's head and directed her gaze at the Arab girl. "Would you mind having sex with that lovely woman?"
"Of course, Master," was the sultry response. Aurora had to play her part, after all.
"You can have her tonight, then. As for you, Oloparatho..."
"I have business elsewhere," the Orion said. "But thank you for the offer. I'll have to come back again and see if you'll let me be entertained by that lovely slave you have at your side." He turned and left with his men, while two of Berglund's employees took Berglund's new acquisitions and placed them in irons. "Send the alien girl to my master bedroom and secure her on my bed. Use the silk cords... I wouldn't want to bruise her. As for the Arab girl, put her in a cell and prepare her for the torture room. Consuela will initiate her tonight, live on my channel." Illian stood up. "I'm going to have some dinner soon, and then, my alien sweet, I'll show you why so many women enjoy serving me."
Aurora was unlatched from the chair and taken to her room. After her 'successful' initiation, she had been given a room in the palace of her own, a small one with a bed and nothing else but at least something private. From there she was planning her next move from here, inside Berglund's estate.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Kalunda, Gilead
Tessa was thoroughly irritated with everyone right now. She had just finished a conversation on Frost via an encoded line that had been very irritating. Frost wanted her to demand Julio's help with the threat that if Kalunda - a shining example of the "good" enclaves of Gilead - did not back the coup openly, then they would have to find other allies.... such as the conservative religious movements and groups that wanted to eliminate all of the enclaves and compel them into mainstream Gilean society. Tessa disliked having to threaten her own friend, of course.
Tessa relieved her tension in a predictable way by going to the gymnasium, donning boxing gloves, a sports bra, and shorts, and proceeding to smash a punching bag until her knuckles were throbbing.
When she'd had enough, she finally took a break and sat. The clanking of wood against wood prompted her attention to another mat, where she saw a young man and young woman wearing white silken robes and trousers sparring with wooden sword-analogues. The man was light-skinned, the girl very obviously Oriental in complexion and face. They were having a rather spirited contest from the looks of things.
"Want some water?"
Tessa looked up to see Amber standing beside her. She was in a sleeveless silk blouse and skirt, purple in color, a bottle of water in each hand. "Thank you." Tessa accepted the water and drank some of it.
"Trouble with Julio?"
"Yes, and others."
"He won't go along with the coup. And your friends want you to apply the thumbscrews." Amber sat on the bench. "Good, aren't they?"
"Who are they?"
"Well, we have Sen Xiao Li. The family resemblence should make it obvious."
Upon another look at the young Chinese woman as she parried blows from the young man, Tessa nodded. "Yu Ling's granddaughter?"
"Yes. She's staying here to be with her future husband, that fine young man she's fighting with right now."
"Ouch. I never let my lovers spar with me for a good reason, you know."
"Well, it depends on the kind of relationship." A mischievous twinkle appeared in Amber's eye. "It's well worth it if you give the sparring attachments. The kind your delicate English sensibilities wouldn't appreciate hearing."
"I'm Scots, not English, dammit," Tessa muttered. "And who's her husband-to-be?"
"That's Prince Keven. Carlis' son and heir."
Tessa nodded with understanding. "And since Julio's probably going to abdicate, Keven will be the future King of Kalunda. Which means.... you're going to have a fun little dual-monarchy arrangement like Austro-Bavaria."
"Oh yes." Amber looked back and watched the fight continue.
Tessa smirked and said, "He's too young for you," before she started to drink.
"Well, he is my grandson."
A spray of water came from Tessa's mouth as she spit the entire gulp out so as to not choke. "What?"
"My daughter Saria was Keven's mother." Amber turned her head, a sad expression on her face. "Saria died when he was born. Complications."
"Amber... you... I never knew...."
"Sara did, but I've been cut off from the universe at large for a long time. I don't blame you for not knowing about Saria or Keven." Amber sighed and sniffled. "I sometimes think of Saria growing up and how much I used to dislike the idea of being a mother. I was so wrong..."
"Amber, I'm sorry."
"Thank you." Amber drew in a breath. "What burns me sometimes is that Carlis never loved her. Not as a wife. She died having a baby of convenience, not love."
"So it was a political marriage?"
"Entirely. Carlis needed an heir since, even then, we knew Julio would eventually abdicate to go be with Sara. He was only waiting for Carlis to grow up and show he was going to be a good monarch. Of course, we never expected that he...." Amber smirked. "Oh, I shouldn't mention that."
"Mention what?"
"That Saria was the only woman Carlis had ever been to bed with. Carlis... is not into female company, and Kalundan society's not so understanding of that kind of attitude in men as they are in the case of women."
Julio's designated heir is gay? It would explain why he waited longer to abdicate and reunite with Sara. He had to make sure Kevem was going to be a good heir in case Carlis was outed. "Good thing Kalunda doesn't have tabloid rags yet."
"Yes." Amber smiled softly as the sparring finished, Xiao Li sprawled out on the ground with Keven standing over her. "Bravo!" she called out, causing both young people to look to her. "Keven, Xiao Li, you've heard of Tessa of course."
Xiao Li scrambled to her feet. "Tessa Stuart? It is an honor!" She rushed up and dropped to one knee. "My father speaks so highly of you."
"Oh, Highness, you musn't bow for me." Tessa brought the girl to her feet. "You look so much like your grandmother."
"You honor me by saying that," Xiao Li said, red appearing on her cheeks. "I wish so much to live up to the memory of my honored ancestors."
"I'm sure you will."
At that moment one of the Crimson Guards entered. "Lady Amber, Lady Tessa, Your Highnesses." She bowed respectfully. "His Majesty requests that you be prepared in the morning to welcome a guest of great noble rank."
"Oh? Who, Private? Is King Xu Cai visiting us?"
"No. It is a.... non-human. We have learned that a traveler from one of the non-human races will be visiting Kalunda tomorrow, and that she is of noble rank. A Princess Jhayka itl dhin Intuit of Lesser Intuit of a.... Taloran Empire."
"The Talorans?" Tessa's interest was piqued. "They're another extrauniversal race, this one through some kind of space rift. Rather standoffish lot, have only now begun to expand their contacts with the rest of us."
"We'll be ready," Amber promised. "And I, for one, can't wait to meet her."
Tessa was thoroughly irritated with everyone right now. She had just finished a conversation on Frost via an encoded line that had been very irritating. Frost wanted her to demand Julio's help with the threat that if Kalunda - a shining example of the "good" enclaves of Gilead - did not back the coup openly, then they would have to find other allies.... such as the conservative religious movements and groups that wanted to eliminate all of the enclaves and compel them into mainstream Gilean society. Tessa disliked having to threaten her own friend, of course.
Tessa relieved her tension in a predictable way by going to the gymnasium, donning boxing gloves, a sports bra, and shorts, and proceeding to smash a punching bag until her knuckles were throbbing.
When she'd had enough, she finally took a break and sat. The clanking of wood against wood prompted her attention to another mat, where she saw a young man and young woman wearing white silken robes and trousers sparring with wooden sword-analogues. The man was light-skinned, the girl very obviously Oriental in complexion and face. They were having a rather spirited contest from the looks of things.
"Want some water?"
Tessa looked up to see Amber standing beside her. She was in a sleeveless silk blouse and skirt, purple in color, a bottle of water in each hand. "Thank you." Tessa accepted the water and drank some of it.
"Trouble with Julio?"
"Yes, and others."
"He won't go along with the coup. And your friends want you to apply the thumbscrews." Amber sat on the bench. "Good, aren't they?"
"Who are they?"
"Well, we have Sen Xiao Li. The family resemblence should make it obvious."
Upon another look at the young Chinese woman as she parried blows from the young man, Tessa nodded. "Yu Ling's granddaughter?"
"Yes. She's staying here to be with her future husband, that fine young man she's fighting with right now."
"Ouch. I never let my lovers spar with me for a good reason, you know."
"Well, it depends on the kind of relationship." A mischievous twinkle appeared in Amber's eye. "It's well worth it if you give the sparring attachments. The kind your delicate English sensibilities wouldn't appreciate hearing."
"I'm Scots, not English, dammit," Tessa muttered. "And who's her husband-to-be?"
"That's Prince Keven. Carlis' son and heir."
Tessa nodded with understanding. "And since Julio's probably going to abdicate, Keven will be the future King of Kalunda. Which means.... you're going to have a fun little dual-monarchy arrangement like Austro-Bavaria."
"Oh yes." Amber looked back and watched the fight continue.
Tessa smirked and said, "He's too young for you," before she started to drink.
"Well, he is my grandson."
A spray of water came from Tessa's mouth as she spit the entire gulp out so as to not choke. "What?"
"My daughter Saria was Keven's mother." Amber turned her head, a sad expression on her face. "Saria died when he was born. Complications."
"Amber... you... I never knew...."
"Sara did, but I've been cut off from the universe at large for a long time. I don't blame you for not knowing about Saria or Keven." Amber sighed and sniffled. "I sometimes think of Saria growing up and how much I used to dislike the idea of being a mother. I was so wrong..."
"Amber, I'm sorry."
"Thank you." Amber drew in a breath. "What burns me sometimes is that Carlis never loved her. Not as a wife. She died having a baby of convenience, not love."
"So it was a political marriage?"
"Entirely. Carlis needed an heir since, even then, we knew Julio would eventually abdicate to go be with Sara. He was only waiting for Carlis to grow up and show he was going to be a good monarch. Of course, we never expected that he...." Amber smirked. "Oh, I shouldn't mention that."
"Mention what?"
"That Saria was the only woman Carlis had ever been to bed with. Carlis... is not into female company, and Kalundan society's not so understanding of that kind of attitude in men as they are in the case of women."
Julio's designated heir is gay? It would explain why he waited longer to abdicate and reunite with Sara. He had to make sure Kevem was going to be a good heir in case Carlis was outed. "Good thing Kalunda doesn't have tabloid rags yet."
"Yes." Amber smiled softly as the sparring finished, Xiao Li sprawled out on the ground with Keven standing over her. "Bravo!" she called out, causing both young people to look to her. "Keven, Xiao Li, you've heard of Tessa of course."
Xiao Li scrambled to her feet. "Tessa Stuart? It is an honor!" She rushed up and dropped to one knee. "My father speaks so highly of you."
"Oh, Highness, you musn't bow for me." Tessa brought the girl to her feet. "You look so much like your grandmother."
"You honor me by saying that," Xiao Li said, red appearing on her cheeks. "I wish so much to live up to the memory of my honored ancestors."
"I'm sure you will."
At that moment one of the Crimson Guards entered. "Lady Amber, Lady Tessa, Your Highnesses." She bowed respectfully. "His Majesty requests that you be prepared in the morning to welcome a guest of great noble rank."
"Oh? Who, Private? Is King Xu Cai visiting us?"
"No. It is a.... non-human. We have learned that a traveler from one of the non-human races will be visiting Kalunda tomorrow, and that she is of noble rank. A Princess Jhayka itl dhin Intuit of Lesser Intuit of a.... Taloran Empire."
"The Talorans?" Tessa's interest was piqued. "They're another extrauniversal race, this one through some kind of space rift. Rather standoffish lot, have only now begun to expand their contacts with the rest of us."
"We'll be ready," Amber promised. "And I, for one, can't wait to meet her."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Again, co-written by myself and Marina.
The Next Day
Two trumpets played out a sovereign fanfare, and a call echoed down the line of mercenaries, thirty-two strong, from their commander: "Present-Arms!" Guns were smacked down with a resounding crack against the stone floor of the platform and then raised up to be presented forward. Jhayka climbed down then with Ilavna Lashila at her side. She was wearing a huge greatcoat in military gray-green like before, with Ilavna much more colourful, as always, and Jhayka, hands in her pockets, presented a dogged sort of morose expression at the display as she strode past it onto the platform of the passenger section of the rail station at Kalunda. It was connected to the city these days by a modern electrical maglev line, two kilometers long, which went into the city walls to haul cargo to and from the railroad platform, and thence, of course, to the spaceport at East Port. There was thus a very great marshalling yard and loading facility for freight cars at Kalunda these days, as well, with hundreds of tracks and a hump-style gravity assist yard classifier.
The platform was built in neoclassical style with high Corinthian columns and a series of statues of Victory around the main gate through which Jhayka arrived, trailed by her Majordomo. She didn't plan to spend long in the rapidly modernizing Kalunda--though she'd return to it on the way back in several months--but it was a useful stop and would, at any rate, allow her to confirm the identity of her guest. Speaking of which, Miss Verdes was now dressed in a nicely tailored blouse, riding pants, and windbreaker, with boots, which had actually been custom-fit for her on the train by Jhayka's entourage, for which such extravagance seemed normal. Though there would be no nobility here, Jhayka was of course quite interested at the sort of formal reception that would be here, before they were brought into the city and she presented herself before the King there and examined her lodgings. In view of that she strode forward, out of the main concourse into the grand hall. "Acknowledged," she said, with a lazy wave of her hand, and the troops fell in around her, the rest, of course, still back on the train to guard it, as she led with Ilavna Lashila comfortably on her right side, as only a priest would have the right if of lower rank; everyone else would walk on the left.
Awaiting Princess Jhayka was a full lead Company of the King's Battalion of the Crimson Guards. They were dressed in formal uniform instead of practical modern wear, their red armor pieces glistening in the blue sunlight coming down from the transparent roof, with a light wind coming from the concourse. Sarina stood with the company, the only one wearing the officers' cloak In front of her, Amber stood and held her posture rigid. She, as when she'd greeted Tessa, was not wearing armor and had the silk pantaloons, corset, and cloak of red that high officers of the Crimson Guard wore. Her sword and pistol dangled at her hips. An order from Sarina brought the women of the Guard to attention and the Kalundan flag was held high, with the crest of the Royal Family (an old Terran falcon with a sword in it's claws) emblazoned on a field of red and blue. Amber bowed respectfully. "Your Highness Princess Jhayka itl dhin Intuit, I am Amber Proctor, Countess d'Kellius, Knight-Commander of His Majesty's Crimson Guard and Minister of the Royal Palace. I bid you welcome on behalf of His Majesty King Julio III Kevem Kalundius, the King of Kalunda and Sovereign of the Eastern Coast Cities, the Protector of the Civilized Peoples of the Eastern Region. He awaits you in the Palace."
"Lady d'Kellius, an honour to meet you," Jhayka replied, and then turned to her right and made a slight gesture. "This is the Adept Ilavna Lashila of our the Priesthood of the Lord Farzbardor." The entourage went unspoken, and for the moment, Danielle was simply another one of them until her status could be otherwise confirmed. "I am greatly pleased to hear that His Majesty has deigned to greet me in person.." Her ears flexed forward at that, almost bowing, and she smiled. "And I would certainly not desire to keep him waiting, so do lead on." The unusual crimson dress of the guards had been noted, but was not thought much askance. If anything it was modest compared to the silvered plate cuirassier and plumed helmets of the guard rostok lancers of the Imperial forces in Valera, if rather on the scandalous side to say the least. But Jhayka was not much concerned with scandal; rather, fighting quality, and that was something she unfortunately was not likely to find out. The practice of gender-segregated units was odd, but scarcely unusual for her, and it had historical precedent; Taloran pike in the Age of the Sword of God had also been organized by gender.
The orders wee given; the Crimson Guard made an about-face and led the way to the Royal Maglev Car. The entourage boarded and shot off through the city toward the palace. Dani looked around, astounded at the beauty of the city. It was almost like stepping back in time to ancient Greece or Rome, save that there were cars in the streets and public data terminals and a great deal of other modern things. The Kalundans were every bit as spectacular as she'd imagined.
The main station in the city was adjacent to the Royal Palace, and it was the East Gate that Jhayka was led through. The rest of the King's Battalion were present to greet them, adorned formally as before. Jhayka, Illavna, Dani, and the others were led by the grand fresco of a single long file of women in similar armor and dress to the Crimson Guard, a larger group of savage-looking men charging them as they stood with firm expressions and pikes lowered. A statue of the Praetoress Jovina, who led the Janissaries in their fight to the death in the Sack of Kalunda, dominated the Courtyard. On the other wall, aanother beautiful series of frescoes depicted the scenes of the Battle of East Henley Valley fought the following year; the initial charge, with Sara Proctor and Tessa Stuart prominent in the front ranks of the red-clad Janissaries that fought on the Allied Left Wing, the hill and mountain tribes waiting in the bushes above to ambush the Normas; the stout-hearted Shi'ites plunging through the ranks of the depleted Norman left after the gunpowder mines had decimated them; the Zhai cavalry, led by their Queen Sen Yu Ling, as they plunged into the Norman reserves, with a Norman pike clearly sticking through the belly of the beautiful young Queen of the Zhai; the arrival of the Kalundan Army under King Julio, the traitor Luvis being dragged behind, and the Normans fleeing upon their arrival.
One inside, a painting hanging above the entrance to the throne room depicted the surrender of the Norman Empire, with King Julio standing with Sara Proctor at his side and signing the treaty with his chief allies; the anti-Pope Pius XX and the Emir Rashad bin Abdullah al-Farani. The architecture was beautifully Roman, with fine tables and chairs in the receiving room. Another pair of male guards, from the King's Palace Guard, welcomed them into the throne room. Julio sat at his throne, a handsome man with anti-aging treatments to keep him looking as young as he was on the images outside, enrobed in ermine and silk and with an elaborate crown upon his head. Standing beside him as a guest was the red-haired Tessa Stuart, in a Crimson Guard uniform. "Welcome to Kalunda, Jhayka itl dhin Intuit, Princess of the Lesser Intuit. I bid you greetings. Allow me to introduce my Honored Guest the Lady Tessa Stuart, a Knight of the British Empire's Order of Victoria, Member of the Order of the British Empire, Knight-Commander of the Crimson Guard, Retired Captain of the Royal Marines."
"Your Majesty," Jhayka bowed low and polite from the waist and then straightened, her ears flexing toward Tessa. Her greatcoat was open at the moment to reveal the hilt of her gilded sword, and its inscribed wooden/silver scabbard which marked her as being of the high nobility of an old family. Ilavna Lashila had done the same. "I present myself with my confessor specialists, servants, attendants, and guards in my service, having come from the international railroad, Your Majesty, and offer you my most profuse thanks for your generous welcome and a demonstration of such renowned modesty which befits well one of your fine and noble stature. I fear that I come not accredited by Her Serene Majesty the Taloran Empress, but in my capacity as a private citizen and member of the Convocate in my own right," the use of citizen was intentional to reflect the fact that as a noble she was of the same caste as Her Serene Majesty, whereas a commoner would be only a subject. "It is most excellent that you have seen fit to allow me the chance to meet a famous hero, Dame Stuart, who has been involved in many fine exploits during the pacification of the rebellious upon this world and others besides. Truly you are generous, Your Majesty."
"I myself am honored to meet a Taloran of high rank," Julio replied. "Your people and their reputation for greatness and charity in regards to trade are becoming increasingly known of even here. I extend to you an invitation to stay as long as you desire, Your Highness. I am confident to say that the hospitality of the Kalundan people will meet all expectations. If you desire, I will assign the Prince Kevem to escort you through the Palace and the city while we make preparations for tonight's formal dinner."
"That the reputation of the Taloran Empire precedes itself to your nation and is reflected in a position light is a most excellent piece of news, Your Majesty, which I find heartening indeed. The hospitality of Kalunda is doubly welcome, and your invitation as well; I shall stay for, at the most, a week, I fear, but intend to return after I have completed by survey of the traditional zones of the planet via the international railway," Jhayka offered, with a rather charming smile, even, and ears now tall and attentive, as she concluded: "To have the escort of a Prince of high rank of your nation would be a further honour accorded to me which I could scarcely presume to deny as your Your Majesty's will, but find an astonishing act of generousity on your part. Certainly the reputation of the Kalundan people as the most hospital of all the nations of Gilead is well-deserved."
"Our people take the treatment of a guest very seriously, Your Highness. Our neighbors have a tendency to do the exact opposite." Julio relaxed in the throne a bit. "I will have Prince Kevem meet you in three hours, after our lunch time. In the meanwhile, I hope you will find the rooms laid aside for you and your entourage to be as comfortable as your own home. And I hope you will consider my offer for a guide in your travels and acceptance of my protection. I do not mean to insinuate you cannot defend yourselves, Your Highness, I am only concerned with the ways of the other societies of the Primitive Zone. For some of those here fear those nations they know more than the ones they do not."
The Next Day
Two trumpets played out a sovereign fanfare, and a call echoed down the line of mercenaries, thirty-two strong, from their commander: "Present-Arms!" Guns were smacked down with a resounding crack against the stone floor of the platform and then raised up to be presented forward. Jhayka climbed down then with Ilavna Lashila at her side. She was wearing a huge greatcoat in military gray-green like before, with Ilavna much more colourful, as always, and Jhayka, hands in her pockets, presented a dogged sort of morose expression at the display as she strode past it onto the platform of the passenger section of the rail station at Kalunda. It was connected to the city these days by a modern electrical maglev line, two kilometers long, which went into the city walls to haul cargo to and from the railroad platform, and thence, of course, to the spaceport at East Port. There was thus a very great marshalling yard and loading facility for freight cars at Kalunda these days, as well, with hundreds of tracks and a hump-style gravity assist yard classifier.
The platform was built in neoclassical style with high Corinthian columns and a series of statues of Victory around the main gate through which Jhayka arrived, trailed by her Majordomo. She didn't plan to spend long in the rapidly modernizing Kalunda--though she'd return to it on the way back in several months--but it was a useful stop and would, at any rate, allow her to confirm the identity of her guest. Speaking of which, Miss Verdes was now dressed in a nicely tailored blouse, riding pants, and windbreaker, with boots, which had actually been custom-fit for her on the train by Jhayka's entourage, for which such extravagance seemed normal. Though there would be no nobility here, Jhayka was of course quite interested at the sort of formal reception that would be here, before they were brought into the city and she presented herself before the King there and examined her lodgings. In view of that she strode forward, out of the main concourse into the grand hall. "Acknowledged," she said, with a lazy wave of her hand, and the troops fell in around her, the rest, of course, still back on the train to guard it, as she led with Ilavna Lashila comfortably on her right side, as only a priest would have the right if of lower rank; everyone else would walk on the left.
Awaiting Princess Jhayka was a full lead Company of the King's Battalion of the Crimson Guards. They were dressed in formal uniform instead of practical modern wear, their red armor pieces glistening in the blue sunlight coming down from the transparent roof, with a light wind coming from the concourse. Sarina stood with the company, the only one wearing the officers' cloak In front of her, Amber stood and held her posture rigid. She, as when she'd greeted Tessa, was not wearing armor and had the silk pantaloons, corset, and cloak of red that high officers of the Crimson Guard wore. Her sword and pistol dangled at her hips. An order from Sarina brought the women of the Guard to attention and the Kalundan flag was held high, with the crest of the Royal Family (an old Terran falcon with a sword in it's claws) emblazoned on a field of red and blue. Amber bowed respectfully. "Your Highness Princess Jhayka itl dhin Intuit, I am Amber Proctor, Countess d'Kellius, Knight-Commander of His Majesty's Crimson Guard and Minister of the Royal Palace. I bid you welcome on behalf of His Majesty King Julio III Kevem Kalundius, the King of Kalunda and Sovereign of the Eastern Coast Cities, the Protector of the Civilized Peoples of the Eastern Region. He awaits you in the Palace."
"Lady d'Kellius, an honour to meet you," Jhayka replied, and then turned to her right and made a slight gesture. "This is the Adept Ilavna Lashila of our the Priesthood of the Lord Farzbardor." The entourage went unspoken, and for the moment, Danielle was simply another one of them until her status could be otherwise confirmed. "I am greatly pleased to hear that His Majesty has deigned to greet me in person.." Her ears flexed forward at that, almost bowing, and she smiled. "And I would certainly not desire to keep him waiting, so do lead on." The unusual crimson dress of the guards had been noted, but was not thought much askance. If anything it was modest compared to the silvered plate cuirassier and plumed helmets of the guard rostok lancers of the Imperial forces in Valera, if rather on the scandalous side to say the least. But Jhayka was not much concerned with scandal; rather, fighting quality, and that was something she unfortunately was not likely to find out. The practice of gender-segregated units was odd, but scarcely unusual for her, and it had historical precedent; Taloran pike in the Age of the Sword of God had also been organized by gender.
The orders wee given; the Crimson Guard made an about-face and led the way to the Royal Maglev Car. The entourage boarded and shot off through the city toward the palace. Dani looked around, astounded at the beauty of the city. It was almost like stepping back in time to ancient Greece or Rome, save that there were cars in the streets and public data terminals and a great deal of other modern things. The Kalundans were every bit as spectacular as she'd imagined.
The main station in the city was adjacent to the Royal Palace, and it was the East Gate that Jhayka was led through. The rest of the King's Battalion were present to greet them, adorned formally as before. Jhayka, Illavna, Dani, and the others were led by the grand fresco of a single long file of women in similar armor and dress to the Crimson Guard, a larger group of savage-looking men charging them as they stood with firm expressions and pikes lowered. A statue of the Praetoress Jovina, who led the Janissaries in their fight to the death in the Sack of Kalunda, dominated the Courtyard. On the other wall, aanother beautiful series of frescoes depicted the scenes of the Battle of East Henley Valley fought the following year; the initial charge, with Sara Proctor and Tessa Stuart prominent in the front ranks of the red-clad Janissaries that fought on the Allied Left Wing, the hill and mountain tribes waiting in the bushes above to ambush the Normas; the stout-hearted Shi'ites plunging through the ranks of the depleted Norman left after the gunpowder mines had decimated them; the Zhai cavalry, led by their Queen Sen Yu Ling, as they plunged into the Norman reserves, with a Norman pike clearly sticking through the belly of the beautiful young Queen of the Zhai; the arrival of the Kalundan Army under King Julio, the traitor Luvis being dragged behind, and the Normans fleeing upon their arrival.
One inside, a painting hanging above the entrance to the throne room depicted the surrender of the Norman Empire, with King Julio standing with Sara Proctor at his side and signing the treaty with his chief allies; the anti-Pope Pius XX and the Emir Rashad bin Abdullah al-Farani. The architecture was beautifully Roman, with fine tables and chairs in the receiving room. Another pair of male guards, from the King's Palace Guard, welcomed them into the throne room. Julio sat at his throne, a handsome man with anti-aging treatments to keep him looking as young as he was on the images outside, enrobed in ermine and silk and with an elaborate crown upon his head. Standing beside him as a guest was the red-haired Tessa Stuart, in a Crimson Guard uniform. "Welcome to Kalunda, Jhayka itl dhin Intuit, Princess of the Lesser Intuit. I bid you greetings. Allow me to introduce my Honored Guest the Lady Tessa Stuart, a Knight of the British Empire's Order of Victoria, Member of the Order of the British Empire, Knight-Commander of the Crimson Guard, Retired Captain of the Royal Marines."
"Your Majesty," Jhayka bowed low and polite from the waist and then straightened, her ears flexing toward Tessa. Her greatcoat was open at the moment to reveal the hilt of her gilded sword, and its inscribed wooden/silver scabbard which marked her as being of the high nobility of an old family. Ilavna Lashila had done the same. "I present myself with my confessor specialists, servants, attendants, and guards in my service, having come from the international railroad, Your Majesty, and offer you my most profuse thanks for your generous welcome and a demonstration of such renowned modesty which befits well one of your fine and noble stature. I fear that I come not accredited by Her Serene Majesty the Taloran Empress, but in my capacity as a private citizen and member of the Convocate in my own right," the use of citizen was intentional to reflect the fact that as a noble she was of the same caste as Her Serene Majesty, whereas a commoner would be only a subject. "It is most excellent that you have seen fit to allow me the chance to meet a famous hero, Dame Stuart, who has been involved in many fine exploits during the pacification of the rebellious upon this world and others besides. Truly you are generous, Your Majesty."
"I myself am honored to meet a Taloran of high rank," Julio replied. "Your people and their reputation for greatness and charity in regards to trade are becoming increasingly known of even here. I extend to you an invitation to stay as long as you desire, Your Highness. I am confident to say that the hospitality of the Kalundan people will meet all expectations. If you desire, I will assign the Prince Kevem to escort you through the Palace and the city while we make preparations for tonight's formal dinner."
"That the reputation of the Taloran Empire precedes itself to your nation and is reflected in a position light is a most excellent piece of news, Your Majesty, which I find heartening indeed. The hospitality of Kalunda is doubly welcome, and your invitation as well; I shall stay for, at the most, a week, I fear, but intend to return after I have completed by survey of the traditional zones of the planet via the international railway," Jhayka offered, with a rather charming smile, even, and ears now tall and attentive, as she concluded: "To have the escort of a Prince of high rank of your nation would be a further honour accorded to me which I could scarcely presume to deny as your Your Majesty's will, but find an astonishing act of generousity on your part. Certainly the reputation of the Kalundan people as the most hospital of all the nations of Gilead is well-deserved."
"Our people take the treatment of a guest very seriously, Your Highness. Our neighbors have a tendency to do the exact opposite." Julio relaxed in the throne a bit. "I will have Prince Kevem meet you in three hours, after our lunch time. In the meanwhile, I hope you will find the rooms laid aside for you and your entourage to be as comfortable as your own home. And I hope you will consider my offer for a guide in your travels and acceptance of my protection. I do not mean to insinuate you cannot defend yourselves, Your Highness, I am only concerned with the ways of the other societies of the Primitive Zone. For some of those here fear those nations they know more than the ones they do not."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
211 Rembrandt Lane, Cranstonville
Gilead, Gilean Confederacy
The Alliance Embassy was located not far from the major government buildings of the Gilean Confederacy and the planet itself; it was a converted in-city mansion that had once been owned by a media mogul. The torch-and-stars on the flagpole in front of the door fluttered gracefully in the breeze as Isaiah Shameel walked up. The Marines at the inside of the door put him through the usual security scans and let him go on his way. Shameel made his way to the office of the Embassy's AID Liaison, Ari David, who's secretary sent him in right away. David looked slightly younger, speaking English as a first language (unlike Shameel) as he greeted him. "Mister Shameel, I'm pleased you answered so quickly."
"I was surprised to get your call. I'm quite sure all of my papers are in order."
"Your visa is fine, don't worry. The Gilean authorities have no problems with your presence. They really have no problems with anyone. No, the reason I've called you is to make sure of what you're doing here."
"I explained everything in my visa application to the Gilean government," Shameel replied.
David frowned and leaned forward, switching to Hebrew when he spoke. "Quit the bullshit, Shameel. I'm not a CIA bureaucrat or some French floozy who can't find his own ass. I'm Mossad too. And AID knows all about why you're here."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Communications traffic in the military, secret meetings between various Gilean admirals and generals, some of which including persons with links to indigenious MI6? AID's well aware that a coup d'etat is about to go down. We've suspected it as possible ever since that ass Crayshaw got elected. And with Plymouth beaten, the British have no reason to oppose the boat getting rocked." David leaned back in his chair. "And now you come, having met with Elijah Weisbaum just days before you departed Earth HE-1 to come here. This wouldn't be the first time that Bloody Elijah has gotten his hands dirty."
After sitting silent for a moment, Shameel smirked a little. In Hebrew he said, "If you think I'm here to help overthrow the Gilean government, why don't you warn them?"
"Why would I want to? Why would AID want to? Remember our mandate from the Foquet-Erzburger Act? Orion may be under new government, but the War on Slavery continues, so to speak, and Gilead is now a major front in that war. Just don't get yourself burned."
"I'll be careful."
"One more thing." David stood up and prompted Shameel to do the same. "While you're about on your business, I need you to put out feelers for these two." David handed Shameel a pair of photos; one was of a green-eyed mestizo woman and the other of a bronze-skinned, brown-eyed Semitic woman. "Commanders Danielle Verdes and Fayza al-Bakar. They're dockmasters at Luther who came here for leave. Five days ago we received a notize from Commander Verdes that Commander al-Bakar had gone missing in the coastal resort town of Palm City. By the next day, Commander Verdes was also missing. The local authorities have been... less than cooperative."
"Probably under pay. I don't expect we'll see either again."
"Oh?"
"The local slavers are careful and know of what we did to Orion. The instant they realize who Verdes and al-Bakar are, they'll kill them and dump the bodies to make it look like a serial killer or some such." Shameel noticed the look on his face. "Which, of course, is why I'll look into the matter so that their identities are kept safe."
"Lieutenant Sands is the junior attachè who handled the communication from Commander Verdes. If you find anything, please let him now."
"Of course." Shameel went to the door. "Thanks for the head's up."
"Just remember, we're staying out of this one. You're on your own."
"As you said earlier, we're Mossad. We're always on our own in the field. That's how we like to work." Shameel smirked and winked at David before leaving.
Gilead, Gilean Confederacy
The Alliance Embassy was located not far from the major government buildings of the Gilean Confederacy and the planet itself; it was a converted in-city mansion that had once been owned by a media mogul. The torch-and-stars on the flagpole in front of the door fluttered gracefully in the breeze as Isaiah Shameel walked up. The Marines at the inside of the door put him through the usual security scans and let him go on his way. Shameel made his way to the office of the Embassy's AID Liaison, Ari David, who's secretary sent him in right away. David looked slightly younger, speaking English as a first language (unlike Shameel) as he greeted him. "Mister Shameel, I'm pleased you answered so quickly."
"I was surprised to get your call. I'm quite sure all of my papers are in order."
"Your visa is fine, don't worry. The Gilean authorities have no problems with your presence. They really have no problems with anyone. No, the reason I've called you is to make sure of what you're doing here."
"I explained everything in my visa application to the Gilean government," Shameel replied.
David frowned and leaned forward, switching to Hebrew when he spoke. "Quit the bullshit, Shameel. I'm not a CIA bureaucrat or some French floozy who can't find his own ass. I'm Mossad too. And AID knows all about why you're here."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Communications traffic in the military, secret meetings between various Gilean admirals and generals, some of which including persons with links to indigenious MI6? AID's well aware that a coup d'etat is about to go down. We've suspected it as possible ever since that ass Crayshaw got elected. And with Plymouth beaten, the British have no reason to oppose the boat getting rocked." David leaned back in his chair. "And now you come, having met with Elijah Weisbaum just days before you departed Earth HE-1 to come here. This wouldn't be the first time that Bloody Elijah has gotten his hands dirty."
After sitting silent for a moment, Shameel smirked a little. In Hebrew he said, "If you think I'm here to help overthrow the Gilean government, why don't you warn them?"
"Why would I want to? Why would AID want to? Remember our mandate from the Foquet-Erzburger Act? Orion may be under new government, but the War on Slavery continues, so to speak, and Gilead is now a major front in that war. Just don't get yourself burned."
"I'll be careful."
"One more thing." David stood up and prompted Shameel to do the same. "While you're about on your business, I need you to put out feelers for these two." David handed Shameel a pair of photos; one was of a green-eyed mestizo woman and the other of a bronze-skinned, brown-eyed Semitic woman. "Commanders Danielle Verdes and Fayza al-Bakar. They're dockmasters at Luther who came here for leave. Five days ago we received a notize from Commander Verdes that Commander al-Bakar had gone missing in the coastal resort town of Palm City. By the next day, Commander Verdes was also missing. The local authorities have been... less than cooperative."
"Probably under pay. I don't expect we'll see either again."
"Oh?"
"The local slavers are careful and know of what we did to Orion. The instant they realize who Verdes and al-Bakar are, they'll kill them and dump the bodies to make it look like a serial killer or some such." Shameel noticed the look on his face. "Which, of course, is why I'll look into the matter so that their identities are kept safe."
"Lieutenant Sands is the junior attachè who handled the communication from Commander Verdes. If you find anything, please let him now."
"Of course." Shameel went to the door. "Thanks for the head's up."
"Just remember, we're staying out of this one. You're on your own."
"As you said earlier, we're Mossad. We're always on our own in the field. That's how we like to work." Shameel smirked and winked at David before leaving.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Berglund Estate, Berglund, Gilead
The "dungeon" basement of Illian Berglund's home was mostly quiet as Aurora walked along, wearing the gold-colored two-piece bikini that was pretty much her only suit in this place. She'd learned the layout of the underground pretty well, including the entrance to what she knew to be Berglund's private arsenal and an external passageway leading out of the grounds.
It was still unsafe to try and access Berglund's computer, but Aurora knew she had to find a way and soon. Fortunately, a way may have plopped itself into her lap. The Arab girl that Berglund had gotten from the Orion had at one point claimed to be a military engineer from the Alliance - one that may know computer systems. It was worth a try.
The Arab was being kept in a dungeon cell, as Aurora had been for a short while. Berglund used it as an incentive to get his acquisitions to break and accept their new lives. And it was in an isolated cell that Aurora found the girl. Her wrists were held spread-eagled above her head by ceiling-mounted shackles, appropriate to the setting Illian had worked to create. Aurora walked into the cell, disliking how cold the floor was on her bare feet, and noticed the girl look up. She was shivering a little in the cold - another one of Illian's little games, this one to make his prisoners' nipples stay perky. Knowing they were probably being watched or at least recorded by security systems, Aurora did what she knew would be expected of her in this situation and removed what amounted to her clothing. "You look cold," she said in a sultry tone.
"Come back to torture me some more?" the woman said defiantly.
"No. I came for pleasure." Aurora walked up and put her hands on the woman's hips, moving them up her sides as she pushed her lips to the Arab's neck. "I can warm you up, my dear."
"Go away."
Aurora smiled at her while her hands moved to the Arab's chest, and then up to her neck. She brought her head up and began to nuzzle the Arab woman's earlobe. As she did so, Aurora began to whisper. "Stay as you are and reply to me only in whispers. I need to talk with you privately and we are being watched."
"What is it?"
"I am not who I seem. You say you are an engineer in the military. What did you do?"
"Mostly ship functions. I've been Chief Engineering Officer on a number of Alliance warships."
"What do you know about computer security?"
"I know enough. That was my secondary course studies in officer school."
"Good. I need your help." Since she'd spent enough time nuzzling the woman's earlobe, Aurora moved back and put her lips to the Arab woman's. She was clearly unenthused, and the kiss was very quick. "Struggle a little. You're supposed to be unbroken."
"I've been struggling. I'm tired."
"I see." Aurora put her hands back on the woman's breasts and began to grope them. "You must break soon. Make it look good."
"Why should I?"
"Because once broken, you will be given a room above with a bed so that you can rest. You are also allowed the freedom to explore the mansion in your offtime, and we can work together. So long as you're not, Illian will leave you here and continue to put you through his perverted torture."
The woman's reaction came a few moments later, as Aurora moved her hands back to the Arab's hips. "Fine, how do you suggest I break?"
"Just convince yourself that you can't bear the pain anymore. Break down, plead to him to stop, that kind of thing. Illian's a control freak, not a sadist. Recognize his control over you and he'll consider you broken." The smile on Aurora's face was grim. "Of course, if he's not convinced, you'll make him angry and he'll get worse. And, I suspect, that will break you. Just don't let him break you too hard, I still need your help. And then, maybe, we can get out of here."
"I'm all for that."
"Then we're partners. My name is Consuela."
"I'm Fay."
"Good. Now, Fay... I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to have to follow through on my visit. I'm not into women and I don't like this any more than you do. Just follow along and I'll be on my way."
The "dungeon" basement of Illian Berglund's home was mostly quiet as Aurora walked along, wearing the gold-colored two-piece bikini that was pretty much her only suit in this place. She'd learned the layout of the underground pretty well, including the entrance to what she knew to be Berglund's private arsenal and an external passageway leading out of the grounds.
It was still unsafe to try and access Berglund's computer, but Aurora knew she had to find a way and soon. Fortunately, a way may have plopped itself into her lap. The Arab girl that Berglund had gotten from the Orion had at one point claimed to be a military engineer from the Alliance - one that may know computer systems. It was worth a try.
The Arab was being kept in a dungeon cell, as Aurora had been for a short while. Berglund used it as an incentive to get his acquisitions to break and accept their new lives. And it was in an isolated cell that Aurora found the girl. Her wrists were held spread-eagled above her head by ceiling-mounted shackles, appropriate to the setting Illian had worked to create. Aurora walked into the cell, disliking how cold the floor was on her bare feet, and noticed the girl look up. She was shivering a little in the cold - another one of Illian's little games, this one to make his prisoners' nipples stay perky. Knowing they were probably being watched or at least recorded by security systems, Aurora did what she knew would be expected of her in this situation and removed what amounted to her clothing. "You look cold," she said in a sultry tone.
"Come back to torture me some more?" the woman said defiantly.
"No. I came for pleasure." Aurora walked up and put her hands on the woman's hips, moving them up her sides as she pushed her lips to the Arab's neck. "I can warm you up, my dear."
"Go away."
Aurora smiled at her while her hands moved to the Arab's chest, and then up to her neck. She brought her head up and began to nuzzle the Arab woman's earlobe. As she did so, Aurora began to whisper. "Stay as you are and reply to me only in whispers. I need to talk with you privately and we are being watched."
"What is it?"
"I am not who I seem. You say you are an engineer in the military. What did you do?"
"Mostly ship functions. I've been Chief Engineering Officer on a number of Alliance warships."
"What do you know about computer security?"
"I know enough. That was my secondary course studies in officer school."
"Good. I need your help." Since she'd spent enough time nuzzling the woman's earlobe, Aurora moved back and put her lips to the Arab woman's. She was clearly unenthused, and the kiss was very quick. "Struggle a little. You're supposed to be unbroken."
"I've been struggling. I'm tired."
"I see." Aurora put her hands back on the woman's breasts and began to grope them. "You must break soon. Make it look good."
"Why should I?"
"Because once broken, you will be given a room above with a bed so that you can rest. You are also allowed the freedom to explore the mansion in your offtime, and we can work together. So long as you're not, Illian will leave you here and continue to put you through his perverted torture."
The woman's reaction came a few moments later, as Aurora moved her hands back to the Arab's hips. "Fine, how do you suggest I break?"
"Just convince yourself that you can't bear the pain anymore. Break down, plead to him to stop, that kind of thing. Illian's a control freak, not a sadist. Recognize his control over you and he'll consider you broken." The smile on Aurora's face was grim. "Of course, if he's not convinced, you'll make him angry and he'll get worse. And, I suspect, that will break you. Just don't let him break you too hard, I still need your help. And then, maybe, we can get out of here."
"I'm all for that."
"Then we're partners. My name is Consuela."
"I'm Fay."
"Good. Now, Fay... I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to have to follow through on my visit. I'm not into women and I don't like this any more than you do. Just follow along and I'll be on my way."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
There is no US in the actual TGG universe (Universe CON-5). One of the drawbacks about being a richer nation of Earth was that American colonization was more widespread, thus in the post-Terra's Fall period there was no concentration of American-held worlds to make anything close to a Great Power.Junghalli wrote:I notice the US doesn't get mentioned much, I'm curious about its status in this universe.
Come on, if the British get to have a star empire so should we!
However, there are multiple US Successor Nations (interstellar republics with Constitutions modeled on the US); Lisea, Scathford, Catalinis, Denerios, and New California (albeit the latter was once in the Hispanic Empire). Plus there are "Anglo-American" (US and Anglo-Canadian) populations in the territories of New Plymouth, Devenshire, Gilead and the British Empire.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Kalunda, Gilead
Tessa gently removed the silk clothes she was wearing and eased herself into the large hot tub in one of the palace rooms. It was the size of an Olympic swimming pool, though still soothingly warm. She sighed as she let the warmth of the water do wonders to her muscles, which she had made so tight during the formal greeting of the Taloran princess.
She sat there, trying to avoid thinking about all of the problems that had crept up since her arrival. She concentrated on the comfort of the moment only and, in fact, began to doze off.
Tessa would stir when she felt the water ripple near her. She opened her eyes and watched Amber settle into the tub. "If you don't mind me asking, why Kevem?"
Amber sighed and set her head against the cushioned rim of the pool, her arms and legs sprawled out. "Julio's way of getting Kevem experienced with handling outsiders. Him being the heir and all."
"Oh, I see."
They remained quiet for a bit longer. "I take it your supporters have threatened to back the Moralist factions?"
In response to Amber's question, Tessa replied, "Of course. They want as much support as they can get to make this as quick a fight as possible."
"But you're not convinced anymore, are you? That it can be done quickly?"
Tessa did not reply at first. Finally she answered, "After my first talk with Julio, I took the liberty of reading up on things. He's right. So many of the people my associates want to rely on are remarkably uncommitted when the time comes to actually vote."
"That's the way things are. Most of them are more worried about the Moralists and centralists than they are about the Normans and others. They're afraid that if they give the Moralists any kind of momentum, the Moralists will be able to undo everything and force the dissolution of all the enclaves, not just the bad ones. So when given a chance to back out, they do so."
"Unfortunately, that's going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy." Tessa shifted and caused the water to stir. "Now let's speak on none of this. I came here to relax."
"As did I." Amber grinned and laid her head back. She closed her eyes as well and sighed, "At least we still have these. Never in public anymore, though."
Tessa gently removed the silk clothes she was wearing and eased herself into the large hot tub in one of the palace rooms. It was the size of an Olympic swimming pool, though still soothingly warm. She sighed as she let the warmth of the water do wonders to her muscles, which she had made so tight during the formal greeting of the Taloran princess.
She sat there, trying to avoid thinking about all of the problems that had crept up since her arrival. She concentrated on the comfort of the moment only and, in fact, began to doze off.
Tessa would stir when she felt the water ripple near her. She opened her eyes and watched Amber settle into the tub. "If you don't mind me asking, why Kevem?"
Amber sighed and set her head against the cushioned rim of the pool, her arms and legs sprawled out. "Julio's way of getting Kevem experienced with handling outsiders. Him being the heir and all."
"Oh, I see."
They remained quiet for a bit longer. "I take it your supporters have threatened to back the Moralist factions?"
In response to Amber's question, Tessa replied, "Of course. They want as much support as they can get to make this as quick a fight as possible."
"But you're not convinced anymore, are you? That it can be done quickly?"
Tessa did not reply at first. Finally she answered, "After my first talk with Julio, I took the liberty of reading up on things. He's right. So many of the people my associates want to rely on are remarkably uncommitted when the time comes to actually vote."
"That's the way things are. Most of them are more worried about the Moralists and centralists than they are about the Normans and others. They're afraid that if they give the Moralists any kind of momentum, the Moralists will be able to undo everything and force the dissolution of all the enclaves, not just the bad ones. So when given a chance to back out, they do so."
"Unfortunately, that's going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy." Tessa shifted and caused the water to stir. "Now let's speak on none of this. I came here to relax."
"As did I." Amber grinned and laid her head back. She closed her eyes as well and sighed, "At least we still have these. Never in public anymore, though."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Another joint post by Marina and myself.
Kalunda, Gilead
The Grand Hall had been carefully prepared for the dinner; now, finally, everything was in place and the official guests piled in. Julio stood with both Kevem and Prince Carlis, the latter possessing a thinner face than his brother/cousin and son alike and a solid frame. Amber and Tessa stood together nearby, with Sarina off talking with one of the Crimson Guards assigned for security. Tessa was more modestly dressed than any Kalundan woman in the room, since her clothes only exposed her calves and shoulders, while Amber and Sarina both wore a sleeveless, shoulder-bearing purple silk corset that bared the lower half of her belly, as well as a knee-length dress. The other Kalundan women had similarly flattering wear due to the centuries of social momentum for the open display of physical beauty - the dancing troupe that was to be the evening's entertainment were probably clad the least (though Julio had made sure their performance would be appropriate to foreign visitors and not the usual risque fair that was so typically Kalundan).
The dour Ambassador from the Sedavanticists was ahead of the Taloran entourage, the crisply dressed hawk-nosed Ambassador from the Northern Region's Satyri Kingdom behind. Dani was standing with Jhayka and Illavna, wearing the modest robes gifted to her instead of the Kalundan silkwear offered to her - she'd have to buy some for later, though. She glanced back and noticed that the haughty Satyri woman was glaring at them - she did not like having to be behind the Talorans in the line, but it was being conducted in a first come basis and Jhayka seemed far too interested in observing the other functionaries to insist on any kind of favor in being admitted and introducer.
Formal propriety must nonetheless be observed, and to that end Jhayka went to the table and stood--waiting, of course, for the King to sit first, as she would never presume to simply sit herself down in the presence of Royalty. Ilavna Lashila was less-used to being in the actual role of a guest at such a ceremony but knew the etiquette well from her days as part of a family of attendants for the Sovereign Princess. Thus there was no hesitation on her part to assume her position, and a reassuring smile was offered to Danielle, perhaps also a subtle hint that she shouldn't sit; after all, none of the Talorans seriously expected someone from the Alliance to know anything about high etiquette. Ilavna was dressed in the robes of a priestess, a lush light royal purple with red sigils upon them in the old seal script which had been standardized by In'ghara before the institution of an alphabet. Some religious documents were still maintained in it, and historical sites on Talora Prime displayed it, but otherwise it was an obscure field; the alphabets and languages before In'ghara's reforms were nonexistant to all but the most arcane scholars, and so the oldest edition of the sacred texts available was that in In'ghara's seal script. Jhayka, for her part, wore a military jumpsuit, with a vest over it which held several badges of service, including, notably, the Order of Saverana I with the Star of Gallantry, which she had previously not been seen wearing, but had decided to display for the dinner, and was only awarded for conspicious bravery in close combat to officers of the nobility. Over the jumpsuit and vest in turn she wore a cape, of light purple on the inside as a backing andof black-and-gray splotted fur on the outside of some unknown beast. With that were, of course, heavy black artillery boots, and her hair was pulled back and tightly braided into a single braid which fell down to the small of her back, revealing her ears fully. There was naturally a sword in the scabbard upon her built though otherwise she was unarmed. Her attention seemed reciprocated to the Satyri ambassador but more in curiousity than anything else.
After the guests were all formally introduced and exchanged a personal word of greetings with Julio, he went to his place at the head of the table and sat, with Kevem and Carlis to his left and right respectively. Tessa sat beside Sen Xiao Li (who was seated beside her lover, naturally); opposite of her was where Jhayka had been seated as the next senior-most guest, with Illavna and Dani on down from her and Amber and Sarina afterward.
They had spoken with the Embassy that day. There was still no word on Fayza, but Dani's identify had been confirmed to the satisfaction of Jhayka, though Dani could tell the Taloran princess maintained a bit of uncertainty over her. Then again, her own culture was rather conservative, and it was probably hard for her to get her mind on the concept that a ranking officer of the military would vacation on a planet like Gilead.
There were multiple dishes available on the table and Dani looked over all of them. A couple of roasted ducks and two roasted Southbirds (wild poultry birds native to Gilead and in the southern regions of the planet), a roast beef platter; several fine vegetables, pastas, and sauces; finally, several cases of 2793 vintage wine from the vineyards of the Fresno Valley of New California, a gift provided to Kalunda by a grateful Gilean viniculturalist who's daughters had been rescued from Norman slavers by the Crimson Guard. Servants cut the meat and served appropriate portions to those who called for them. Dani wasn't very hungry, given the indigestion she'd suffered from the Taloran food she'd had, but she decide to enjoy some of the pasta and sauce with a small helping of carrots and duck.
However, nobody began eating right away. All glasses were filled with wine, all plates covered in food; then Julio raised his glass. "I would propose a toast this night, in honor to both our guests and to those who are unable to attend." He waited for those present to raise glasses. "To the heroism of our ancestors who left their homeworlds so long ago to settle the stars, and to the heroism of those who have fallen in wars both ancient and modern to preserve from slavery the homes they loved, the faith in their hearts, and the freedoms they cherished. Thanks to them, we all enjoy the great freedoms; we are free from fear, free from want, and may speak and worship as we please. To the Freedom of all Intelligent Races! Cheers!"
"Hear, hear," Jhayka murmured with some reserve, drinking the toast. Freedom was of course something that could always be toasted, and was a fact established for the Taloran people in the reign of Saverana I, with its precedents extending back still further. The meal looked appetizing, and of course Jhayka had eating quite a lot of human food, along with the appropriate enzyme supplements, so that she could digest it; the same was true for most of the Talorans in her party, since they were practical peoples and expected that their usual sources of food during the expedition might not be available. After the toast, Jhayka waited, wondering if a progression of toasts would be held or if the meal would be commenced. The food served to them--the Talorans favoured poultry over red meat but had a little of that as well, if just a little--appeared to be of the best quality, and though Jhayka rather preferred human port to their wines the vintage was excellent enough to ignore that.
"Before we begin, I would like to thank all of our guests from coming on this night. Tonight is a special occasion with an unexpected pleasure." Julio looked to his left first. "This dinner was initially called to welcome the Lady Tessa Stuart back to Kalunda. It has been decades since she last visited our great city, and in that time she has been greatly missed. To have a hero of the Valley in Kalunda is always a great thing."
"But what we did not expect was the presence of our illustrious visitor from the Taloran Empire. Her Highness Princess Jhayka has honored us all with her presence and that of her entourage, and I am grateful to be allowed to welcome them here tonight. The chance to help establish relations between Humanity and another great race is most welcome. Your Highness, thank you for this honor."
"Your Majesty does me a great service by including me in the same breath with such a hero of your nation," Jhayka replied solicitiously. "And in that spirit I thank Your Majesty greatly for such a commendation of my presence, in particular as representatives of the Taloran people and sovereign." A pause, musingly: "That we are honoured by such a fine reputation here is a great compliment to our people, but I would prefer that this dinner remain a celebration of the great heroine to your nation, the Dame Stuart, on her return to Kalunda and the honour that you do to her, thus, for her voluntary service to your nation."
"That is a gracious sentiment that I completely agree with. Cheers, then, to Lady Tessa!"
Another toast was performed with the exception of Tessa, who showed a diplomatic smile. With this final act done, the meal began.
Jhayka could be a bit of a raconteur, and enjoyed the sentiment of the commence of the dinner after the second toast, which was drunk heartily, very much. She proceeded to begin to eat, mastering the silverware without much difficult--Ilavna Lashila rather had more--and observing carefully the flow of the conversation and the interesting people there so that she might slip in amongst their discussions and exchanges unobtrusively and to the general merriment of all at the pleasant social function, not exactly what she had been prepared for in the primitive zone, but that just made it all the more welcome.
It didn't take long for Dani to find herself talking to Amber, who was mostly curious as to why she was traveling with the Talorans. She had a noticable frown at Dani's explaination. "Those things still happen despite our best efforts," she noted. "We try to alleviate it, either by buying unfortunates like you or by liberating them."
Dani nodded. She's even more beautiful than the actress who played her in the movie was one of the thoughts that went through Dani's mind. Amber may have seen the motion in Dani's eyes, because she smiled. "Escapes from the Normans are very rare, I'll add. You're a woman of exceptional talent to manage it, Commander Verdes. And I hope you enjoy the hospitality of Kalunda."
There was an interested look in Amber's eyes that Dani recognized. Oh my God, I'm being checked out by Amber Kellius. Almost blushing, Dani turned and watched Illavna eating quietly while Jhayka observed the ongoing conversations. Dani took some bites from her own food. "I'm afraid this is my first royal dinner," Dani finally said to the young priestess. "Is there anything else I should know? I mean, things to do, or not to do?"
Don't look directly at His Majesty," Ilavna Lashila answered, a bit embarassed, herself. "Eat politely. Never refuse food if offered by a sovereign, even if you're full. You are probably doing that better than we, for you know human customs better," she added softly, and then changed the subject--her ears flexing, obviously a bit sheepish: "Who is the lady you were speaking to? You seemed almost in awe of her," Ilavna concluded, looking back to her food but her ears obviously swiveled to listen for Danielle's reply. Jhayka for her part was soon engaged in conversation with the Sedavanticist amabssador.
"Amber Kellius, I mean, Countess d'Kellius." Dani had already been working at being as polite as possible in eating, not going terribly fast at all, and she hadn't even thought of looking toward Julio yet; Illavna's advice had come at just the right time to keep her from screwing up. "In the Alliance, Sara Proctor's books were adapted into vids, um, I guess you might call them plays that are filmed and released for viewing in many different places. She was represented in the second movie by a well-liked actress, and I liked the story of how she overcame the way her people were back then and asserted her independence."
"That is a very courageous thing to do, but it can have problems," Ilavna Lashila replied after a moment's thought in reply. "It seems natural enough that she would become the center of a national epic, though, but I am surprised it has such wide publicity. I have not seen anything on the founding war of the monarchy in human lands, after all, and it had very great repercussions for the fate of the world and the Taloran people. Perhaps it is because you are all of the same people; but you have many different nations with different histories, and, for instance, we among the Talorans on the other hand have our shared epics mainly from the fact that we share the same three branches of the House of Ta'ert, which is the House of the Sword."
After a moment Ilavna leaned over a bit further, looking curiously to Amber. "Your Ladyship? I am the Adept Ilavna Lashila, I was wondering to ask you--for it is apparent that your story is one of great renown and heroism, and I find myself somewhat flattered to be in a room with so many heroes--what is like to find yourself living as part of a legend? We have had many legendary figures among the Taloran nation; but it something of a sad custom among our people that they end their days having disappeared or in retirement or disrepute, save that they are monarchs. Perhaps that is because we are so mindful of humility; yet I can scarcely imagine that the burden of living fame is any easier."
Dani was a bit shocked at how directly Illavna had approached Amber. Amber, it seemed, didn't mind and looked rather delighted to be approached by one of the Talorans. "Being what I am is an incredible responsibility, and I accept it because I'm doing my part to keep Kalunda safe and prosperous. Though I think the legend's gotten a bit ahead of the reality, as happens often. When it comes down to it, the fact that I resisted and overcame the conditioning wasn't enough. I was just lucky to be born at the right time and the right place. Which, I guess, is how most legends were born."
After sipping at her wine, Amber continued. "I owe Sara for my fame as well as my life. Before she wrote her memoirs, only the people of this planet knew widely of Kalunda, and we were disliked by a lot of them for insisting on regaining technology and on dismantling the original basis of our lifestyle, namely, female slavery and sexual submission to men." Amber looked to Illavna. "I'm not sure how your society is, Adept Lashila, so I don't wish to say anything that would scandalize. I suppose I can sum everything up by saying that while I'm flattered to become so well known even in other universes, I'm not sure the legend lives up to the reality, or vice versa really."
Ilavna Lashila was a member of the Second Estate, and thus had gained at least some confidence in talking to lower nobility. "I understand that legends can grow greatly; though sometimes the events they tell are truly tremendous. Have you heard of the battle of the Brilar of our own people? It was the last engagement where the Sword and the Lieutenant fought together, where the Tyrant was overthrown and slain." A pause, and she ducked her head, ears flashing embarassment at her presumption. "By this I mean the central figures of the spread of the Farzian religion on our planet--it was a very great battle many thousands of years ago that led to the founding of the ruling dynasties and the spread of the faith, and the ascension of the Sword to paradise. There are, of course, doubters to our religion--but nobody denies that the battle itself took place. In the same way the stories of your exploits may indeed become quite legendary, but I am sure that despite that you will always receive the truth of your due--many people are in the right place at the right time, and that is not a mark against their actions, Your Ladyship, but a sign that they are meant to do what they do. Never doubt that you were not suitable for your role. This is central to our own beliefs, for that matter." A moment's thought, and she glanced to Dani significantly and then back to Amber. "Do not worry, Your Ladyship, but I am not blind to this world--I have seen the things on it, the practices of the Goreans which my liege lady wishes to document. I will not be bothered by frank words. We Farzians are practical, as a rule."
"Goreans? Oh, yes, the Normans. Forgive me, but nobody calls them by that; very few even know that was the original name for their way of life." Amber smirked at an old memory. "Their reputation once made them feared in Kalunda, particularly by Kalundan women. Now we know them as nothing but a collection of savages and brutes who cling to their ways. They're unworthy of the respect we give to our allies, the Sedevantacists and the al-Farani, who follow their ways of life out of devotion to their religions and not ignorance and a false belief in what makes people strong."
"I suppose that one day, the Battle of East Henley will be to our people what your Battle of the Brilar is to your own, though we are just a minor nation of Humanity. My own part in it has been exaggerated, I fear. I fought because I wanted to avenge my slain father and reclaim Kalunda, and also because I loved my sister and wanted her to live a life where she could be free. Sarina, you see, would have enjoyed our slavery even less than I did, because she is disgusted by the thought of relations with men. My dear sister prefers the company of other ladies." Amber allowed Dani and Illavna to see her smile, though it was not entirely mirthful. "Though that is one legend we do live up to; we Kalundan women tend to enjoy each other's company immensely. One of those enduring legacies of those days when nine out of ten Kalundan women remained addicted to sex for most of their lives and could not always have a man to fulfill their... needs. I'm told this makes us something of a fulfillment of fantasy elsewhere."
Dani giggled at that, well familiar with just how many young males would love the thought of a society of loose bisexual women. Though I don't think they'd love the compulsory military service that goes with it went through her mind.
"I apologize, Adept Lashila, that I do not know more of your people. Kalunda has only recently come into wider contact with other nations and peoples. Gilead tends to be isolationist while under the protection of the British Empire and we here in Kalunda are but a small portion of the Gilean populace at large. If not for the popularity of Sara's books - I believe you'd know her now as Sara Proctor, Grand Duchess of Illustrious - I don't think people would know much of us either. As it is, I do enjoy how frank Sara was about the way of life we once led, and her recounting of the Battle of East Henley is the truest account I've read. And everything bad she says about pre-Valley Kalunda is completely and utterly true."
"Well, it is the word that Her Highness uses at times in her study--I think she has researched their background very extensively, on the basis of previous ethnographic reports, for her own," Ilavna Lashila replied. "She might even get a position on the board of the Imperial Academ..."
Jhayka turned back toward Ilavna abruptly with a flushing, embarassed look. "Oh, Lashila!" She exclaimed. "You should not make my effort out to be so grandiose. I am not doing it to place myself as a scholar in the Academy, after all, just out of idle curiousity."
Ilavna Lashila smiled back, amused at her liege lady if obedient. "Your modesty serves you very well, Your Highness," she answered with a soft and almost impish look before turning back to the Countess d'Kellius. "My apologies, Your Ladyship. Her Highness is an exceptionally modest woman, as befits the noble class, and sometimes my delight for the innovations of her project exceeds her own desires about its publication, and overall goals." She smoothly continued: "It is quite alright that you know little of my people; I expect it. Her Highness and I are well read on account of having prepared for this expedition. We know about the sexual customs of the various peoples of this world; some of them are extreme lurid, of course," Ilavna answered rather frankly. "But we are not intolerant of the companionship of lovers of the same sex... It is unfortunate, in that right, that you have never heard of Brilar, for it is the final tragedy of the greatest love story of all time."
Amber smiled, as did Dani, both amused by Illavna's enthusiaism and appreciative of Jhayka's modesty. "I would like to learn of it. Maybe if you have some free time while you are still here, we can meet and you can tell me of the story, over a lunch maybe? There are cafès along the river with beautiful views, and if you are inclined, the swimming is very good along much of the riverfront. We take great pains to keep it pristine."
"I would be quite pleased to do so, Your Ladyship, we have a few days here and I am free for most of them."
"Wonderful. Tomorrow I have work for most of the day, but the day after I'm free for some of the afternoon. How about then? We could eat a meal, perhaps do some swimming first if you like. All three of you are welcome to come."
"I'll ask Her Ladyship," Ilavna Lashila replied momentarily, and leaned over toward Jhayka, indeed, leaning against her slightly in an oddly affectionate gesture though it was very strictly platonic. Jhayka finished up a comment to the Satyri ambassador--she'd joined in speaking with the woman and broken down her reserve a little, being a militant woman herself was not afraid of emphasizing it, and thereby winning back the good graces of the affronted ambassador. Now though, she paused to look down to Ilavna. "Yes, Lashila?" She asked quietly, speaking so they could be heard in the common tongue of these people out of politeness.
"Her Ladyship the Countess d'Kellius is inviting us to gymnastics and the afternoon meal along the riverfront the day after tomorrow. Do you wish to attend...?" Ilavna queried politely, seeming, as usual, to never be bothered by the use of her last name to refer to her and even the haunting images that brought forth of the execution she had participated in, on that fateful day.
Jhayka leaned in a bit against Ilavna Lashila and muffled in herself the impulse temptation to the motherly gesture of ruffling the young Adept's hair. Ilavna could not help but feel it as a thought inside of her mind and she flushed quite openly, which brought Jhayka a sheepish look, so she simply replied: "I would be most honoured," and then turned back to the Satyri ambassador, mildly annoyed, and began to speak again of military campaigns and the experiences of the intense form of warfare to which Jhayka was used.
Ilavna straightened and smiled over toward the Countess d'Kellius. "Your Ladyship, Her Highness would of course be very pleased and honoured to have a chance to meet with you, and accepts the invitation. We shall all come." Dani, of course, being a part of the Princess' party and invited, was included as a matter of course. There were some downsides to being a guest of a Taloran noble but in this case she probably would not mind at all.
Dani was a bit taken aback at not being asked if she intended to come - which she did, of course - but carefully suppressed any impulse to inquire aloud at the function. She turned her attentions back to her meal, mostly, enjoying genuine "Human" food after the Taloran food that had messed up her digestive system. Thankfully, she had money still - a good deal accessible in her accounts, since she and Fay hadn't yet done some of the costly things they'd planned - and would be able to buy quite a bit of Human food for the rest of her trip through the Primitive Zone - a thought which returned Dani to her plan to write her resignation this evening.
Amber, for her part, was delighted that she'd have all three of them for lunch. She thought of the places to go and decided upon a cafè along the South Bank overlooking one of the river ports. She had a boat there, the Lady of the Blue, that she could take them out on to a prime swimming spot. Particularly Commander Verdes; she hoped that the Commander at least would wear more flattering Kalundan wear for that day.
As the dinner went on, Amber's attention was diverted to her younger sister. An amused grin was on Sarina's face as she whispered, "You're giving Miss Verdes that look, y'know."
"What look?" was the whispered, innocent-sounding reply.
"The look that says you want to take her to the underground to do certain things to her," was the reply, followed by a light giggle.
"Well.... yes." Amber tried to hide a blush. Danielle Verdes was, after all, attractive. "Like you wouldn't?"
"Of course. But I'm far more imaginative than you are, big sister," Sarina cackled, again whispering, before she returned her attentions to her meal. Amber did the same.
At last a more serious matter than telling old war-stories and the banter of friends came up. It had led from ambassador to ambassador and thus finally to the King, whom Jhayka was compelled to politely address. She, of course, looked directly to him--Taloran nobles were a proud lot and considered their monarchs to be only the first among equals. "Your Majesty, in securing your domains--as these ambassadors of your friends here have also noted--you must be aware that there are plots afoot in the Gilean government which lead to tense and uncertain times ahead. May I ask how fast you forsee this trouble coming upon us? I expect, after all, to be on Gilead for months if not years; I wonder what you see the future in that frame of time holding for the Confederacy and your own State."
Julio set his glass, resisting the temptation to see if Tessa was watching carefully. "I am well aware of the jockeying and plotting in Cranstonville. Prince Carlis is my representative there and has been diligent in observing it all. Gilead's future is troubled, yes, but I am not yet sure it will come to violence. Too many on either side of the ongoing great debates there have proven themselves unwilling to resort to violent measures to press their points, and the Confederacy's central military has purposely been kept weak to guarantee autonomy to the worlds and enclaves of the Confederacy." Julio sipped at his wine. "Ah, the fools. Decades were spent there debating whether the crime lord Quao Zhi had amassed too much influence here in the Eastern Region, or whether the Normans had violated the rights of their neighbors, and nothing came of it. Not until the Normans were defeated by the rest of us was the matter decided against them in Cranstonville. I suppose that's how it always is. The great issues are never decisively resolved by mere speeches and legislation. In the end, they are resolved by the clash of steel."
"If you are concerned for your safety, Your Highness, do not fear. Most civilizations in the Primitive Zone have become painfully aware that to attack foreigners would invite recrimination. The British have, as of late, induced pressure on Cranstonville to harshly punish any attacks on foreigners, and from those outside our universe, word has spread of how the Alliance of Democratic Nations dealt with the Orion slavers of the Alpha Quadrant when they engaged in enslaving Alliance citizens. In our own, the Slavic Tsar has expanded his influence into the Caliphal States on the foundation of a war to defend his subjects from the slavers there. If Gilead is cursed by tolerance for cultures and societies that practice slavery, that practice is at least kept in check by the fear of external powers enforcing abolition by force as they did in Devenshire. After all, everyone knows that the best defenses in Gilead are British warships and that the British are abolitionists." That brought a cackle from others. Julio smirked in amusement. "What comes will come. Kalunda's citizens are armed and all are ready to fight to protect our autonomy, from our own government or others. Many here feel the same way." A murmur of agreement came from the assembled.
"Good, Your Majesty. I fear I am a pessimist; it is better, at the least, Your Majesty, to be armed and bearing the fangs of the Clavuri with steadfastness than to rely on the talk of men in an ineffectual federation." She smiled, then, a grim look and expression to Julio. "Your Majesty, your position under the Federation's government recalls that of the nobility of my own world; myself included; under the All-Highest Sovereign. To Empress Saverana II we owe our loyalty and our lives, but we have never let the daughters of In'ghara forget that--to quote a hoary phrase of human origin--We dare defend our rights. They are given to us by the Lord of Justice and by the legacy of the sacred history of all monarchies--and none of us forget that the mother of In'ghara was herself but a Countess, who won the right for her daughters to rule our peoples at push-of-pike. You, to, have a right to your autonomy and the maintainance of your traditions. Do not cede it. To boldly stand for the rights given in antiquity to your people is always Just, and will be rewarded always, Your Majesty. I wish you fortune in that you might maintain forever the position of your House."
"My thanks to you, Your Highness, for those sentiments, and I likewise wish fortune for your House." Julio noticed that those in attendance had finished their dinner, for the most part, and motioned for an attendant to come. He whispered into the man's ear and he ran off. After a few moments, Julio clanged his spoon upon his wine glass to gain attention. "Tonight's dinner has been splendid, but the evening has not yet ended. The Magnificant Heveli Troupe is preparing to give us a private, special presentation of their best acts and await our pleasure in the royal auditorium. I trust we will all enjoy their performance..."
Kalunda, Gilead
The Grand Hall had been carefully prepared for the dinner; now, finally, everything was in place and the official guests piled in. Julio stood with both Kevem and Prince Carlis, the latter possessing a thinner face than his brother/cousin and son alike and a solid frame. Amber and Tessa stood together nearby, with Sarina off talking with one of the Crimson Guards assigned for security. Tessa was more modestly dressed than any Kalundan woman in the room, since her clothes only exposed her calves and shoulders, while Amber and Sarina both wore a sleeveless, shoulder-bearing purple silk corset that bared the lower half of her belly, as well as a knee-length dress. The other Kalundan women had similarly flattering wear due to the centuries of social momentum for the open display of physical beauty - the dancing troupe that was to be the evening's entertainment were probably clad the least (though Julio had made sure their performance would be appropriate to foreign visitors and not the usual risque fair that was so typically Kalundan).
The dour Ambassador from the Sedavanticists was ahead of the Taloran entourage, the crisply dressed hawk-nosed Ambassador from the Northern Region's Satyri Kingdom behind. Dani was standing with Jhayka and Illavna, wearing the modest robes gifted to her instead of the Kalundan silkwear offered to her - she'd have to buy some for later, though. She glanced back and noticed that the haughty Satyri woman was glaring at them - she did not like having to be behind the Talorans in the line, but it was being conducted in a first come basis and Jhayka seemed far too interested in observing the other functionaries to insist on any kind of favor in being admitted and introducer.
Formal propriety must nonetheless be observed, and to that end Jhayka went to the table and stood--waiting, of course, for the King to sit first, as she would never presume to simply sit herself down in the presence of Royalty. Ilavna Lashila was less-used to being in the actual role of a guest at such a ceremony but knew the etiquette well from her days as part of a family of attendants for the Sovereign Princess. Thus there was no hesitation on her part to assume her position, and a reassuring smile was offered to Danielle, perhaps also a subtle hint that she shouldn't sit; after all, none of the Talorans seriously expected someone from the Alliance to know anything about high etiquette. Ilavna was dressed in the robes of a priestess, a lush light royal purple with red sigils upon them in the old seal script which had been standardized by In'ghara before the institution of an alphabet. Some religious documents were still maintained in it, and historical sites on Talora Prime displayed it, but otherwise it was an obscure field; the alphabets and languages before In'ghara's reforms were nonexistant to all but the most arcane scholars, and so the oldest edition of the sacred texts available was that in In'ghara's seal script. Jhayka, for her part, wore a military jumpsuit, with a vest over it which held several badges of service, including, notably, the Order of Saverana I with the Star of Gallantry, which she had previously not been seen wearing, but had decided to display for the dinner, and was only awarded for conspicious bravery in close combat to officers of the nobility. Over the jumpsuit and vest in turn she wore a cape, of light purple on the inside as a backing andof black-and-gray splotted fur on the outside of some unknown beast. With that were, of course, heavy black artillery boots, and her hair was pulled back and tightly braided into a single braid which fell down to the small of her back, revealing her ears fully. There was naturally a sword in the scabbard upon her built though otherwise she was unarmed. Her attention seemed reciprocated to the Satyri ambassador but more in curiousity than anything else.
After the guests were all formally introduced and exchanged a personal word of greetings with Julio, he went to his place at the head of the table and sat, with Kevem and Carlis to his left and right respectively. Tessa sat beside Sen Xiao Li (who was seated beside her lover, naturally); opposite of her was where Jhayka had been seated as the next senior-most guest, with Illavna and Dani on down from her and Amber and Sarina afterward.
They had spoken with the Embassy that day. There was still no word on Fayza, but Dani's identify had been confirmed to the satisfaction of Jhayka, though Dani could tell the Taloran princess maintained a bit of uncertainty over her. Then again, her own culture was rather conservative, and it was probably hard for her to get her mind on the concept that a ranking officer of the military would vacation on a planet like Gilead.
There were multiple dishes available on the table and Dani looked over all of them. A couple of roasted ducks and two roasted Southbirds (wild poultry birds native to Gilead and in the southern regions of the planet), a roast beef platter; several fine vegetables, pastas, and sauces; finally, several cases of 2793 vintage wine from the vineyards of the Fresno Valley of New California, a gift provided to Kalunda by a grateful Gilean viniculturalist who's daughters had been rescued from Norman slavers by the Crimson Guard. Servants cut the meat and served appropriate portions to those who called for them. Dani wasn't very hungry, given the indigestion she'd suffered from the Taloran food she'd had, but she decide to enjoy some of the pasta and sauce with a small helping of carrots and duck.
However, nobody began eating right away. All glasses were filled with wine, all plates covered in food; then Julio raised his glass. "I would propose a toast this night, in honor to both our guests and to those who are unable to attend." He waited for those present to raise glasses. "To the heroism of our ancestors who left their homeworlds so long ago to settle the stars, and to the heroism of those who have fallen in wars both ancient and modern to preserve from slavery the homes they loved, the faith in their hearts, and the freedoms they cherished. Thanks to them, we all enjoy the great freedoms; we are free from fear, free from want, and may speak and worship as we please. To the Freedom of all Intelligent Races! Cheers!"
"Hear, hear," Jhayka murmured with some reserve, drinking the toast. Freedom was of course something that could always be toasted, and was a fact established for the Taloran people in the reign of Saverana I, with its precedents extending back still further. The meal looked appetizing, and of course Jhayka had eating quite a lot of human food, along with the appropriate enzyme supplements, so that she could digest it; the same was true for most of the Talorans in her party, since they were practical peoples and expected that their usual sources of food during the expedition might not be available. After the toast, Jhayka waited, wondering if a progression of toasts would be held or if the meal would be commenced. The food served to them--the Talorans favoured poultry over red meat but had a little of that as well, if just a little--appeared to be of the best quality, and though Jhayka rather preferred human port to their wines the vintage was excellent enough to ignore that.
"Before we begin, I would like to thank all of our guests from coming on this night. Tonight is a special occasion with an unexpected pleasure." Julio looked to his left first. "This dinner was initially called to welcome the Lady Tessa Stuart back to Kalunda. It has been decades since she last visited our great city, and in that time she has been greatly missed. To have a hero of the Valley in Kalunda is always a great thing."
"But what we did not expect was the presence of our illustrious visitor from the Taloran Empire. Her Highness Princess Jhayka has honored us all with her presence and that of her entourage, and I am grateful to be allowed to welcome them here tonight. The chance to help establish relations between Humanity and another great race is most welcome. Your Highness, thank you for this honor."
"Your Majesty does me a great service by including me in the same breath with such a hero of your nation," Jhayka replied solicitiously. "And in that spirit I thank Your Majesty greatly for such a commendation of my presence, in particular as representatives of the Taloran people and sovereign." A pause, musingly: "That we are honoured by such a fine reputation here is a great compliment to our people, but I would prefer that this dinner remain a celebration of the great heroine to your nation, the Dame Stuart, on her return to Kalunda and the honour that you do to her, thus, for her voluntary service to your nation."
"That is a gracious sentiment that I completely agree with. Cheers, then, to Lady Tessa!"
Another toast was performed with the exception of Tessa, who showed a diplomatic smile. With this final act done, the meal began.
Jhayka could be a bit of a raconteur, and enjoyed the sentiment of the commence of the dinner after the second toast, which was drunk heartily, very much. She proceeded to begin to eat, mastering the silverware without much difficult--Ilavna Lashila rather had more--and observing carefully the flow of the conversation and the interesting people there so that she might slip in amongst their discussions and exchanges unobtrusively and to the general merriment of all at the pleasant social function, not exactly what she had been prepared for in the primitive zone, but that just made it all the more welcome.
It didn't take long for Dani to find herself talking to Amber, who was mostly curious as to why she was traveling with the Talorans. She had a noticable frown at Dani's explaination. "Those things still happen despite our best efforts," she noted. "We try to alleviate it, either by buying unfortunates like you or by liberating them."
Dani nodded. She's even more beautiful than the actress who played her in the movie was one of the thoughts that went through Dani's mind. Amber may have seen the motion in Dani's eyes, because she smiled. "Escapes from the Normans are very rare, I'll add. You're a woman of exceptional talent to manage it, Commander Verdes. And I hope you enjoy the hospitality of Kalunda."
There was an interested look in Amber's eyes that Dani recognized. Oh my God, I'm being checked out by Amber Kellius. Almost blushing, Dani turned and watched Illavna eating quietly while Jhayka observed the ongoing conversations. Dani took some bites from her own food. "I'm afraid this is my first royal dinner," Dani finally said to the young priestess. "Is there anything else I should know? I mean, things to do, or not to do?"
Don't look directly at His Majesty," Ilavna Lashila answered, a bit embarassed, herself. "Eat politely. Never refuse food if offered by a sovereign, even if you're full. You are probably doing that better than we, for you know human customs better," she added softly, and then changed the subject--her ears flexing, obviously a bit sheepish: "Who is the lady you were speaking to? You seemed almost in awe of her," Ilavna concluded, looking back to her food but her ears obviously swiveled to listen for Danielle's reply. Jhayka for her part was soon engaged in conversation with the Sedavanticist amabssador.
"Amber Kellius, I mean, Countess d'Kellius." Dani had already been working at being as polite as possible in eating, not going terribly fast at all, and she hadn't even thought of looking toward Julio yet; Illavna's advice had come at just the right time to keep her from screwing up. "In the Alliance, Sara Proctor's books were adapted into vids, um, I guess you might call them plays that are filmed and released for viewing in many different places. She was represented in the second movie by a well-liked actress, and I liked the story of how she overcame the way her people were back then and asserted her independence."
"That is a very courageous thing to do, but it can have problems," Ilavna Lashila replied after a moment's thought in reply. "It seems natural enough that she would become the center of a national epic, though, but I am surprised it has such wide publicity. I have not seen anything on the founding war of the monarchy in human lands, after all, and it had very great repercussions for the fate of the world and the Taloran people. Perhaps it is because you are all of the same people; but you have many different nations with different histories, and, for instance, we among the Talorans on the other hand have our shared epics mainly from the fact that we share the same three branches of the House of Ta'ert, which is the House of the Sword."
After a moment Ilavna leaned over a bit further, looking curiously to Amber. "Your Ladyship? I am the Adept Ilavna Lashila, I was wondering to ask you--for it is apparent that your story is one of great renown and heroism, and I find myself somewhat flattered to be in a room with so many heroes--what is like to find yourself living as part of a legend? We have had many legendary figures among the Taloran nation; but it something of a sad custom among our people that they end their days having disappeared or in retirement or disrepute, save that they are monarchs. Perhaps that is because we are so mindful of humility; yet I can scarcely imagine that the burden of living fame is any easier."
Dani was a bit shocked at how directly Illavna had approached Amber. Amber, it seemed, didn't mind and looked rather delighted to be approached by one of the Talorans. "Being what I am is an incredible responsibility, and I accept it because I'm doing my part to keep Kalunda safe and prosperous. Though I think the legend's gotten a bit ahead of the reality, as happens often. When it comes down to it, the fact that I resisted and overcame the conditioning wasn't enough. I was just lucky to be born at the right time and the right place. Which, I guess, is how most legends were born."
After sipping at her wine, Amber continued. "I owe Sara for my fame as well as my life. Before she wrote her memoirs, only the people of this planet knew widely of Kalunda, and we were disliked by a lot of them for insisting on regaining technology and on dismantling the original basis of our lifestyle, namely, female slavery and sexual submission to men." Amber looked to Illavna. "I'm not sure how your society is, Adept Lashila, so I don't wish to say anything that would scandalize. I suppose I can sum everything up by saying that while I'm flattered to become so well known even in other universes, I'm not sure the legend lives up to the reality, or vice versa really."
Ilavna Lashila was a member of the Second Estate, and thus had gained at least some confidence in talking to lower nobility. "I understand that legends can grow greatly; though sometimes the events they tell are truly tremendous. Have you heard of the battle of the Brilar of our own people? It was the last engagement where the Sword and the Lieutenant fought together, where the Tyrant was overthrown and slain." A pause, and she ducked her head, ears flashing embarassment at her presumption. "By this I mean the central figures of the spread of the Farzian religion on our planet--it was a very great battle many thousands of years ago that led to the founding of the ruling dynasties and the spread of the faith, and the ascension of the Sword to paradise. There are, of course, doubters to our religion--but nobody denies that the battle itself took place. In the same way the stories of your exploits may indeed become quite legendary, but I am sure that despite that you will always receive the truth of your due--many people are in the right place at the right time, and that is not a mark against their actions, Your Ladyship, but a sign that they are meant to do what they do. Never doubt that you were not suitable for your role. This is central to our own beliefs, for that matter." A moment's thought, and she glanced to Dani significantly and then back to Amber. "Do not worry, Your Ladyship, but I am not blind to this world--I have seen the things on it, the practices of the Goreans which my liege lady wishes to document. I will not be bothered by frank words. We Farzians are practical, as a rule."
"Goreans? Oh, yes, the Normans. Forgive me, but nobody calls them by that; very few even know that was the original name for their way of life." Amber smirked at an old memory. "Their reputation once made them feared in Kalunda, particularly by Kalundan women. Now we know them as nothing but a collection of savages and brutes who cling to their ways. They're unworthy of the respect we give to our allies, the Sedevantacists and the al-Farani, who follow their ways of life out of devotion to their religions and not ignorance and a false belief in what makes people strong."
"I suppose that one day, the Battle of East Henley will be to our people what your Battle of the Brilar is to your own, though we are just a minor nation of Humanity. My own part in it has been exaggerated, I fear. I fought because I wanted to avenge my slain father and reclaim Kalunda, and also because I loved my sister and wanted her to live a life where she could be free. Sarina, you see, would have enjoyed our slavery even less than I did, because she is disgusted by the thought of relations with men. My dear sister prefers the company of other ladies." Amber allowed Dani and Illavna to see her smile, though it was not entirely mirthful. "Though that is one legend we do live up to; we Kalundan women tend to enjoy each other's company immensely. One of those enduring legacies of those days when nine out of ten Kalundan women remained addicted to sex for most of their lives and could not always have a man to fulfill their... needs. I'm told this makes us something of a fulfillment of fantasy elsewhere."
Dani giggled at that, well familiar with just how many young males would love the thought of a society of loose bisexual women. Though I don't think they'd love the compulsory military service that goes with it went through her mind.
"I apologize, Adept Lashila, that I do not know more of your people. Kalunda has only recently come into wider contact with other nations and peoples. Gilead tends to be isolationist while under the protection of the British Empire and we here in Kalunda are but a small portion of the Gilean populace at large. If not for the popularity of Sara's books - I believe you'd know her now as Sara Proctor, Grand Duchess of Illustrious - I don't think people would know much of us either. As it is, I do enjoy how frank Sara was about the way of life we once led, and her recounting of the Battle of East Henley is the truest account I've read. And everything bad she says about pre-Valley Kalunda is completely and utterly true."
"Well, it is the word that Her Highness uses at times in her study--I think she has researched their background very extensively, on the basis of previous ethnographic reports, for her own," Ilavna Lashila replied. "She might even get a position on the board of the Imperial Academ..."
Jhayka turned back toward Ilavna abruptly with a flushing, embarassed look. "Oh, Lashila!" She exclaimed. "You should not make my effort out to be so grandiose. I am not doing it to place myself as a scholar in the Academy, after all, just out of idle curiousity."
Ilavna Lashila smiled back, amused at her liege lady if obedient. "Your modesty serves you very well, Your Highness," she answered with a soft and almost impish look before turning back to the Countess d'Kellius. "My apologies, Your Ladyship. Her Highness is an exceptionally modest woman, as befits the noble class, and sometimes my delight for the innovations of her project exceeds her own desires about its publication, and overall goals." She smoothly continued: "It is quite alright that you know little of my people; I expect it. Her Highness and I are well read on account of having prepared for this expedition. We know about the sexual customs of the various peoples of this world; some of them are extreme lurid, of course," Ilavna answered rather frankly. "But we are not intolerant of the companionship of lovers of the same sex... It is unfortunate, in that right, that you have never heard of Brilar, for it is the final tragedy of the greatest love story of all time."
Amber smiled, as did Dani, both amused by Illavna's enthusiaism and appreciative of Jhayka's modesty. "I would like to learn of it. Maybe if you have some free time while you are still here, we can meet and you can tell me of the story, over a lunch maybe? There are cafès along the river with beautiful views, and if you are inclined, the swimming is very good along much of the riverfront. We take great pains to keep it pristine."
"I would be quite pleased to do so, Your Ladyship, we have a few days here and I am free for most of them."
"Wonderful. Tomorrow I have work for most of the day, but the day after I'm free for some of the afternoon. How about then? We could eat a meal, perhaps do some swimming first if you like. All three of you are welcome to come."
"I'll ask Her Ladyship," Ilavna Lashila replied momentarily, and leaned over toward Jhayka, indeed, leaning against her slightly in an oddly affectionate gesture though it was very strictly platonic. Jhayka finished up a comment to the Satyri ambassador--she'd joined in speaking with the woman and broken down her reserve a little, being a militant woman herself was not afraid of emphasizing it, and thereby winning back the good graces of the affronted ambassador. Now though, she paused to look down to Ilavna. "Yes, Lashila?" She asked quietly, speaking so they could be heard in the common tongue of these people out of politeness.
"Her Ladyship the Countess d'Kellius is inviting us to gymnastics and the afternoon meal along the riverfront the day after tomorrow. Do you wish to attend...?" Ilavna queried politely, seeming, as usual, to never be bothered by the use of her last name to refer to her and even the haunting images that brought forth of the execution she had participated in, on that fateful day.
Jhayka leaned in a bit against Ilavna Lashila and muffled in herself the impulse temptation to the motherly gesture of ruffling the young Adept's hair. Ilavna could not help but feel it as a thought inside of her mind and she flushed quite openly, which brought Jhayka a sheepish look, so she simply replied: "I would be most honoured," and then turned back to the Satyri ambassador, mildly annoyed, and began to speak again of military campaigns and the experiences of the intense form of warfare to which Jhayka was used.
Ilavna straightened and smiled over toward the Countess d'Kellius. "Your Ladyship, Her Highness would of course be very pleased and honoured to have a chance to meet with you, and accepts the invitation. We shall all come." Dani, of course, being a part of the Princess' party and invited, was included as a matter of course. There were some downsides to being a guest of a Taloran noble but in this case she probably would not mind at all.
Dani was a bit taken aback at not being asked if she intended to come - which she did, of course - but carefully suppressed any impulse to inquire aloud at the function. She turned her attentions back to her meal, mostly, enjoying genuine "Human" food after the Taloran food that had messed up her digestive system. Thankfully, she had money still - a good deal accessible in her accounts, since she and Fay hadn't yet done some of the costly things they'd planned - and would be able to buy quite a bit of Human food for the rest of her trip through the Primitive Zone - a thought which returned Dani to her plan to write her resignation this evening.
Amber, for her part, was delighted that she'd have all three of them for lunch. She thought of the places to go and decided upon a cafè along the South Bank overlooking one of the river ports. She had a boat there, the Lady of the Blue, that she could take them out on to a prime swimming spot. Particularly Commander Verdes; she hoped that the Commander at least would wear more flattering Kalundan wear for that day.
As the dinner went on, Amber's attention was diverted to her younger sister. An amused grin was on Sarina's face as she whispered, "You're giving Miss Verdes that look, y'know."
"What look?" was the whispered, innocent-sounding reply.
"The look that says you want to take her to the underground to do certain things to her," was the reply, followed by a light giggle.
"Well.... yes." Amber tried to hide a blush. Danielle Verdes was, after all, attractive. "Like you wouldn't?"
"Of course. But I'm far more imaginative than you are, big sister," Sarina cackled, again whispering, before she returned her attentions to her meal. Amber did the same.
At last a more serious matter than telling old war-stories and the banter of friends came up. It had led from ambassador to ambassador and thus finally to the King, whom Jhayka was compelled to politely address. She, of course, looked directly to him--Taloran nobles were a proud lot and considered their monarchs to be only the first among equals. "Your Majesty, in securing your domains--as these ambassadors of your friends here have also noted--you must be aware that there are plots afoot in the Gilean government which lead to tense and uncertain times ahead. May I ask how fast you forsee this trouble coming upon us? I expect, after all, to be on Gilead for months if not years; I wonder what you see the future in that frame of time holding for the Confederacy and your own State."
Julio set his glass, resisting the temptation to see if Tessa was watching carefully. "I am well aware of the jockeying and plotting in Cranstonville. Prince Carlis is my representative there and has been diligent in observing it all. Gilead's future is troubled, yes, but I am not yet sure it will come to violence. Too many on either side of the ongoing great debates there have proven themselves unwilling to resort to violent measures to press their points, and the Confederacy's central military has purposely been kept weak to guarantee autonomy to the worlds and enclaves of the Confederacy." Julio sipped at his wine. "Ah, the fools. Decades were spent there debating whether the crime lord Quao Zhi had amassed too much influence here in the Eastern Region, or whether the Normans had violated the rights of their neighbors, and nothing came of it. Not until the Normans were defeated by the rest of us was the matter decided against them in Cranstonville. I suppose that's how it always is. The great issues are never decisively resolved by mere speeches and legislation. In the end, they are resolved by the clash of steel."
"If you are concerned for your safety, Your Highness, do not fear. Most civilizations in the Primitive Zone have become painfully aware that to attack foreigners would invite recrimination. The British have, as of late, induced pressure on Cranstonville to harshly punish any attacks on foreigners, and from those outside our universe, word has spread of how the Alliance of Democratic Nations dealt with the Orion slavers of the Alpha Quadrant when they engaged in enslaving Alliance citizens. In our own, the Slavic Tsar has expanded his influence into the Caliphal States on the foundation of a war to defend his subjects from the slavers there. If Gilead is cursed by tolerance for cultures and societies that practice slavery, that practice is at least kept in check by the fear of external powers enforcing abolition by force as they did in Devenshire. After all, everyone knows that the best defenses in Gilead are British warships and that the British are abolitionists." That brought a cackle from others. Julio smirked in amusement. "What comes will come. Kalunda's citizens are armed and all are ready to fight to protect our autonomy, from our own government or others. Many here feel the same way." A murmur of agreement came from the assembled.
"Good, Your Majesty. I fear I am a pessimist; it is better, at the least, Your Majesty, to be armed and bearing the fangs of the Clavuri with steadfastness than to rely on the talk of men in an ineffectual federation." She smiled, then, a grim look and expression to Julio. "Your Majesty, your position under the Federation's government recalls that of the nobility of my own world; myself included; under the All-Highest Sovereign. To Empress Saverana II we owe our loyalty and our lives, but we have never let the daughters of In'ghara forget that--to quote a hoary phrase of human origin--We dare defend our rights. They are given to us by the Lord of Justice and by the legacy of the sacred history of all monarchies--and none of us forget that the mother of In'ghara was herself but a Countess, who won the right for her daughters to rule our peoples at push-of-pike. You, to, have a right to your autonomy and the maintainance of your traditions. Do not cede it. To boldly stand for the rights given in antiquity to your people is always Just, and will be rewarded always, Your Majesty. I wish you fortune in that you might maintain forever the position of your House."
"My thanks to you, Your Highness, for those sentiments, and I likewise wish fortune for your House." Julio noticed that those in attendance had finished their dinner, for the most part, and motioned for an attendant to come. He whispered into the man's ear and he ran off. After a few moments, Julio clanged his spoon upon his wine glass to gain attention. "Tonight's dinner has been splendid, but the evening has not yet ended. The Magnificant Heveli Troupe is preparing to give us a private, special presentation of their best acts and await our pleasure in the royal auditorium. I trust we will all enjoy their performance..."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Cranstonville, Gilead
Lieutenant Lyle Sands was a tall, lanky officer from Georgia, possessing a handsome figure that went well with his dark brown complexion. The twenty-seven year old officer was only new promoted and so far a career staff officer with a bachelor's degree in Foreign Studies from the University of Georgia. He would never meet the image of the dashing, energetic naval officer serving the Allied Nations in war; his lot was going to be diplomacy and intelligence. He was the Embassy's junior naval attachè and, simultaneously, worked for AID's station chief David as a liaison for ASNID (Alliance Stellar Navy Intelligence Division).
Sands was standing on the side of the road in civilian clothes - a brown coat, buttoned shirt, and slacks - as he'd been instructed, when a non-descript dark green Ford-Conway pulled up. The older Israeli man inside gestured for him to get in. Clad in a similar, bland fashion, the Israeli waited for Sands to close the door buckle in before pulling away, a soft hum filling the Ford-Conway as the electric motor powered up. "For a junior officer you're awfully hard to get ahold of," Shameel said in irritation.
"I have more duties than the usual junior attachè," was Sands' response. "I don't really have the time for this spook bullshit."
"Have you heard anything?"
"Yes. Commander Verdes is alive and safe. She escaped from her captors and is now in the city of Kalunda, where she contacted our consulate."
"That's terrific news. As for Commander al-Bakar, that is why I called you."
"You found her?"
"No, but I've found a source for information. We're going to meet him now."
"Ah." Sands nodded and looked at Shameel. "Where?"
"We'll be meeting somewhere safe, where we won't go noticed. You know, the usual spook bullshit."
"Ah, so somewhere seedy with a bunch of scum to hide in. Like a titty bar or something."
"Oh yes," Shameel replied with a smirk. "I guarantee you, there'll be plenty of pretty girls where we're going, and if you're lucky, maybe they'll let you fuck them."
Shameel wasn't lying about the pretty girls.
Granted, that wasn't saying much. But Sands wasn't quite prepared for Shameel to pull into a Perkins in the suburb of Tulipville and announce, with an amused smile on his face, that this was the meeting place. "Nobody will notice us in the average family diner." Shameel had then pointed inside to a pretty brunette girl in a waitress uniform who looked and carried herself like a 20 year old. "And there's pretty girls, like I promised."
They were sitting in a corner booth sipping on coffee when a thin, wolf-haired man walked up. "Hello, Isaiah," he said with a hint of a Russian accent.
"Ah, Yevgeny. Hello. I'd recommend the vegetable soup."
After the brunette waitress took their orders, Yevgeny turned to Shameel and asked in Russian, "I heard you retired. So why do you have a naval intelligence desk-warmer here?"
"Eh, Ari asked me. A favor, you see. I'm not here for this."
"No, I'm sure you're not, Isaiah." Yevgeny noticed the impatient look on Sands' face. "What's your problem?"
"I don't like being left out of the conversation."
"Americans." Yevgeny snorted. To Shameel, he continued in Russian, "Oh, how I long for how our universe was before we made contact with the others. I can see why our ancestors were so fed up with the Americans."
"Like you enjoyed the remnants any better? I remember what happened in Seoul."
"Oh, that was nothing. Besides, I like our Texans and Midwesterners. They're not like the Americans of old. Or the Americans from the other universes."
"Are we going to get to the point?" Sands asked in irritation.
Shameel looked at him and grumbled, "Shut up, our food hasn't gotten here yet."
"I didn't come here to eat, I came here because you promised information."
Sighing, Shameel gave Yevgeny an apologetic look. Yevgeny chuckled with amusement. "Oh, you deskwarmers. You couldn't handle real field work, too impatient and self-important. Why don't you just fuck off and let us enjoy a meal, you'll get your information."
Not backing down, Sands continued to speak. "And who are you anyway?"
"An old friend."
"Another spook. Fine. Who're you working for?"
"If I told you, kid, I would have to kill you."
Sands smirked at that. Yevgeny saw the disbelief and opened his coat enough to show the gun in an inner pocket. "I meant that in all seriousness."
Noticing the look that now came over Sands' face, Shameel sighed. "Why don't you go take a piss or something before you piss all over yourself? Go on, get out of here." He shoved Sands off and the young man went straight for the bathroom. When Sands was out of earshot, Yevgeny broke out laughing. "You can't resist toying with his kind, can you?"
"No, I can't! He watches too many old spy vids, the idiot."
"How's work with the Tsar?"
For a moment, Yevgeny didn't reply. Finally he shook his head. "Ah, Isaiah, we always have these little games, don't we? Why don't we cut the shit and I'll tell you what I came here to tell you." He reached into a coat pocket and brought out a disk. "Picture's on here. A nice fellow named Oloparatho. He was peddling a Semitic woman in Ar some days ago and one of my contacts snapped a picture. Fits the description of your missing naval engineer."
"Oloparatho? As in Oloparatho of Morkala?"
"The same. One of the most brutish Orion slavers of all. Took off from Orion when the Alliance moved in. I'm sure you know all the story. He's taken to the local life. And he still has contacts back home. He was bartering off a Trill girl according to my contact."
"I'll pass this on."
"Does this make up for Noveaux Piedmont?"
"In spades. Be seeing you."
By the time Sands returned, Yevgeny was gone. He sat down, looking rather irritated. "Where the hell did he go?"
"He left." Shameel passed the computer disk to Sands. "There's your goods kid. All he could find on Commander al-Bakar."
"Thanks."
"And kid, next time I take you out to meet an associate, don't be so fucking stupid. Asking him who he was working for?!"
"I don't like surprises," Sands replied.
The waitress came with their meals, sans Yevgeny's of course. Afterward, as they ate, Sands said to Shameel, "By the way, I have been told to ask you something."
"What?"
"My superiors at ASNID want you to convey a message to your employer and his associates. Hold it off until after the inaugeration. The last thing we want is for something to go down here in the President's last days."
Shameel smirked at that. "I'll 'convey' that message. Now eat your food so I can take you back to your apartment."
Lieutenant Lyle Sands was a tall, lanky officer from Georgia, possessing a handsome figure that went well with his dark brown complexion. The twenty-seven year old officer was only new promoted and so far a career staff officer with a bachelor's degree in Foreign Studies from the University of Georgia. He would never meet the image of the dashing, energetic naval officer serving the Allied Nations in war; his lot was going to be diplomacy and intelligence. He was the Embassy's junior naval attachè and, simultaneously, worked for AID's station chief David as a liaison for ASNID (Alliance Stellar Navy Intelligence Division).
Sands was standing on the side of the road in civilian clothes - a brown coat, buttoned shirt, and slacks - as he'd been instructed, when a non-descript dark green Ford-Conway pulled up. The older Israeli man inside gestured for him to get in. Clad in a similar, bland fashion, the Israeli waited for Sands to close the door buckle in before pulling away, a soft hum filling the Ford-Conway as the electric motor powered up. "For a junior officer you're awfully hard to get ahold of," Shameel said in irritation.
"I have more duties than the usual junior attachè," was Sands' response. "I don't really have the time for this spook bullshit."
"Have you heard anything?"
"Yes. Commander Verdes is alive and safe. She escaped from her captors and is now in the city of Kalunda, where she contacted our consulate."
"That's terrific news. As for Commander al-Bakar, that is why I called you."
"You found her?"
"No, but I've found a source for information. We're going to meet him now."
"Ah." Sands nodded and looked at Shameel. "Where?"
"We'll be meeting somewhere safe, where we won't go noticed. You know, the usual spook bullshit."
"Ah, so somewhere seedy with a bunch of scum to hide in. Like a titty bar or something."
"Oh yes," Shameel replied with a smirk. "I guarantee you, there'll be plenty of pretty girls where we're going, and if you're lucky, maybe they'll let you fuck them."
Shameel wasn't lying about the pretty girls.
Granted, that wasn't saying much. But Sands wasn't quite prepared for Shameel to pull into a Perkins in the suburb of Tulipville and announce, with an amused smile on his face, that this was the meeting place. "Nobody will notice us in the average family diner." Shameel had then pointed inside to a pretty brunette girl in a waitress uniform who looked and carried herself like a 20 year old. "And there's pretty girls, like I promised."
They were sitting in a corner booth sipping on coffee when a thin, wolf-haired man walked up. "Hello, Isaiah," he said with a hint of a Russian accent.
"Ah, Yevgeny. Hello. I'd recommend the vegetable soup."
After the brunette waitress took their orders, Yevgeny turned to Shameel and asked in Russian, "I heard you retired. So why do you have a naval intelligence desk-warmer here?"
"Eh, Ari asked me. A favor, you see. I'm not here for this."
"No, I'm sure you're not, Isaiah." Yevgeny noticed the impatient look on Sands' face. "What's your problem?"
"I don't like being left out of the conversation."
"Americans." Yevgeny snorted. To Shameel, he continued in Russian, "Oh, how I long for how our universe was before we made contact with the others. I can see why our ancestors were so fed up with the Americans."
"Like you enjoyed the remnants any better? I remember what happened in Seoul."
"Oh, that was nothing. Besides, I like our Texans and Midwesterners. They're not like the Americans of old. Or the Americans from the other universes."
"Are we going to get to the point?" Sands asked in irritation.
Shameel looked at him and grumbled, "Shut up, our food hasn't gotten here yet."
"I didn't come here to eat, I came here because you promised information."
Sighing, Shameel gave Yevgeny an apologetic look. Yevgeny chuckled with amusement. "Oh, you deskwarmers. You couldn't handle real field work, too impatient and self-important. Why don't you just fuck off and let us enjoy a meal, you'll get your information."
Not backing down, Sands continued to speak. "And who are you anyway?"
"An old friend."
"Another spook. Fine. Who're you working for?"
"If I told you, kid, I would have to kill you."
Sands smirked at that. Yevgeny saw the disbelief and opened his coat enough to show the gun in an inner pocket. "I meant that in all seriousness."
Noticing the look that now came over Sands' face, Shameel sighed. "Why don't you go take a piss or something before you piss all over yourself? Go on, get out of here." He shoved Sands off and the young man went straight for the bathroom. When Sands was out of earshot, Yevgeny broke out laughing. "You can't resist toying with his kind, can you?"
"No, I can't! He watches too many old spy vids, the idiot."
"How's work with the Tsar?"
For a moment, Yevgeny didn't reply. Finally he shook his head. "Ah, Isaiah, we always have these little games, don't we? Why don't we cut the shit and I'll tell you what I came here to tell you." He reached into a coat pocket and brought out a disk. "Picture's on here. A nice fellow named Oloparatho. He was peddling a Semitic woman in Ar some days ago and one of my contacts snapped a picture. Fits the description of your missing naval engineer."
"Oloparatho? As in Oloparatho of Morkala?"
"The same. One of the most brutish Orion slavers of all. Took off from Orion when the Alliance moved in. I'm sure you know all the story. He's taken to the local life. And he still has contacts back home. He was bartering off a Trill girl according to my contact."
"I'll pass this on."
"Does this make up for Noveaux Piedmont?"
"In spades. Be seeing you."
By the time Sands returned, Yevgeny was gone. He sat down, looking rather irritated. "Where the hell did he go?"
"He left." Shameel passed the computer disk to Sands. "There's your goods kid. All he could find on Commander al-Bakar."
"Thanks."
"And kid, next time I take you out to meet an associate, don't be so fucking stupid. Asking him who he was working for?!"
"I don't like surprises," Sands replied.
The waitress came with their meals, sans Yevgeny's of course. Afterward, as they ate, Sands said to Shameel, "By the way, I have been told to ask you something."
"What?"
"My superiors at ASNID want you to convey a message to your employer and his associates. Hold it off until after the inaugeration. The last thing we want is for something to go down here in the President's last days."
Shameel smirked at that. "I'll 'convey' that message. Now eat your food so I can take you back to your apartment."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
-
The Duchess of Zeon
- Gözde
- Posts: 14566
- Joined: 2002-09-18 01:06am
- Location: Exiled in the Pale of Settlement.
Kalunda, Gilead ? ? ?
The riverfront of Kalunda was bustling with the day-to-day commerce of the city, with goods from near Kalunda and in other areas of the planet coming in and out. Situated on the roof of a building near the port, very close to the private marina beside it, was the Cafè d'Mala, a pleasant outdoor establishment with exquisite tables and a decent food selection. ?
Amber was wearing casual clothing, which to her people consisted of a strapless shoulder-bearing silk top that went from her belly to her cleavage with a knee-length silk skirt, the top being white and the skirt being blue. She grinned at the arrival of Jhayka and the others; Dani especially caught her eye, having apparently decided to enjoy Kalundan clothes in light of the day's warmth; her's was slightly more modest with spaghetti straps over the shoulders and the material covering a bit more of her breasts, the top being the same flattering green as her eye color and the skirt being a brilliant white. ? Dani, for her part, could see Amber was looking her over again. It was reciprocated, the Mediterrenean climate of Kalunda adding to the atmosphere of the rooftop cafè.
"Surprisingly warm," Jhayka had certainly commented with some relish earlier to Ilavna Lashila. She was dressed casually for a Taloran--her hair was let out, flowing in seeming-outrageous pink everywhere down her back in sharp contrast to the usual severe braiding. She wore tight-fitting riding pants, really rather like jodhpurs but in white and black, and the same for a shortsleeved shirt which nonetheless had a high formal collar to it, keeping her head up straight though she didn't complain about it. It showed that, for one, she did in fact have breasts, which was hard enough to notice in her usual collection of clothes; there was a cape with it, though it was a shorter, vibrant thing of green which provided a sharp, intense contrast with the other colours she wore and the unusual colour of her hair. It made the dead-fish effect of her eyes noticeably lessened.
Ilavna Lashila for her part walked to the right of Jhayka, as though she was her right hand--and she was--and dressed in a black tank-top which was not nearly as revealing as the humans' dress but seemed, nonetheless, to be quite daring for her, along with a long skirt that hung below her knees, though it left enough of pale, unadorned lower leg visible to tease at the hint of those incredibly long legs, and as usual she had a broad combat belt, with two pistols thrust into it. The ensemble also revealed around her neck a gold medallion which showed a book as the foundation for what was probably a scale of justice, flanked by swords; it was fairly large, but still clearly normally hidden under her modest clothes, and more interestingly, the lack of covering on her arms showed elaborate dark green tattoos in seal script on each of them. One was in fact a ritual incantation against evil, and the other, a mark of her status and which Order she belonged to as an Adept and priestess of the Lord of Justice. She was also carrying a duffle bag slung over her left shoulder with their swimming suits.
The two Talorans approached along with Dani and could not help but notice the look that passed between the human women. Jhayka smiled wryly at it, with a vague sense of loneliness bourne of feelings inside of her which would never pass away; Ilavna just smiled and ducked her head away, a bit embarassed, though it didn't last long--this was really her day, to entertain and instruct, and she was prepared to do her duty to her faith and have a good time in so doing. At least they had cleared up the matter of Danielle's identity, and Ilavna felt very good that her instincts and psychic abilities of divination had been correct; she was indeed who she had said she was, though the circumstances which had brought her to be in that slave-market were odd in the extreme, which Jhayka had, in her nobility, chosen not to comment upon, and instead simply accepted Danielle as an officer and treated her accordingly. But now, the Countess Amber's attention was upon them..
"You look so good, Highness," Amber said with delight, gesturing them to their seats. "As do you, Adept Lashila." She looked to her right, where Dani had taken a seat. "And you too, Commander Verdes. Go ahead and drink if you like," she added, gesturing to the four glasses on the table with liquid and ice. "I had them bring glasses of water for us to sip on until we order."
"Ah, that's quite welcome on a pleasant day like this," Jhayka answered after sitting, and Ilavna followed. "We're from the lower Intu'in on my homeworld.. It's what you'd call semi-tropical, almost a desert, otherwise it would be tropical, except close to the coast where it's very balmy like this. Though I've been stationed in my military service on so many chilly worlds that I find myself more affected by the heat these days than I used to be--perhaps getting older has something to do with it as well, perhaps not; I am not that old after all." A self-effacing look there, and she patted Ilavna lightly on the shoulder while sipping her water. "Ilavna, here, though, is in the prime of youth, and thus also given to the youthful enthusiasm for her duties, scarcely a bad thing, for it shall give you a marvelous story today, one that I have memorized as well but scarcely mind hearing again."
"We're not far from the desert ourselves, but it's far enough away that our people have never thought of it much." Amber motioned to a waiter to come. "Kalunda was built upon this spot centuries ago because of the Mediterrenean climate. We were simply fortunate that Gilean silkworms take to the climate well." ? The waiter came, and Amber ordered a sandwhich meal with a tea. Dani chose for a lunch-sized steak and picked coffee.
"Well, that is the great fortune of Gilead, and your primary resource," Jhayka agreed, and then glanced over the menu uncertainly with Ilavna, pausing, considering the foods, then asking light-heartedly: "It's not some feast-day I forgot, is it?"
"No," Ilavna replied, half-smirking in amusement. "Anyway, you're the human expert, Your Highness, so what should we have?"
"Two reuben sandwiches with french onion soup and cole slaw for both of us," Jhayka answered with an unusual degree of promptness, then, "and iced tea," handing the menus over to the waiter as the order was acknowledged before offering a sort of smile to the two humans women. "Taloran metabolism is rather higher than that of humans, which accounts in part for our great leanness."
Amber nodded at that. A grin came to her face. "I suppose, then, that you ironically consider us to look rather fat even though we eat less?"
"Well, a bit on the curvaceous side. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though for most people such tastes would be considered.. Eccentric." Jhayka explained delicacy, her ears flexing and being, confessedly, a tad sheepish about it all as they waited for their food to come.
"Or a noble affectation," Ilavna dared. "Since the upper classes have always had more to eat, such rare overweight Talorans as exist tend to be concentrated among them."
"The Army keeps us fit," Jhayka countered with a game amusement, not minding that Ilavna was pressing the propriety of the Second Estate.
Dani laughed. "Most militaries do. Quarterly fitness exams for everyone, with a complete physical every year. Or more, if your CMO decides you need it, which has happened to me several times. The Marines are the worst of them all." ? "We Kalundan women have always kept in shape," Amber said in amusement. "For a long time it was because we were never allowed to get fat. Now that we have that freedom, we still like to keep our figures nice and healthy." ? "Besides, your clothing styles require you to keep trim," was Dani's sarcastic reply. ? "That they do!"
"Well, excessive consumption of food is frowned upon by the Farzian religion. It is considered.. Out of balance, an unnatural excess. We are not people of excess," Ilavna added to conclude, and glanced to Jhayka, who smiled and nodded approvingly.
"Go ahead," she said softly.
"Well, alright," Ilavna turned back to the human women. "I'll tell you the story I promised, now, yes?"
"I like a good story over lunch," Dani replied.
“You must understand that everything that happened was very long ago.. Long, by the standards of Taloran life. Unfathomable by your own. But the memory, the blood still runs in us. At every single one of the battles I am now going to tell you about, the ancestors of our current reigning Empress and the Great Queens of Lelola and Midela Colenta fought. Daughter to daughter the lines have continued for some twelve thousand human years.”
Ilavna, content that she had her audience, continued the recitation. “In the year 1599 After Eibermon, by the reckoning of the Terran year, when our religion was by your standards still young, and the memory of the prophet fresh, there was a tyrant in the eastern lands of the Great Continent named Moloyr. He had inheirited the two Kingdoms of Rasilan, which is an island, and Trilune, and was educated by the philosophers of the Quesadi City States and armed his infantry in the Quesadi fashion with the long pike and armour.
“In this year, then, he set his army upon the Kingdoms of Uruka, Ferashako, and Erasano, the neighbouring Despotates to Rasilan and Trilune. It consisted of thirty-six thousand pike, fifteen thousand cavalry, and nine thousand skirmishers. An understrength corps by modern standards, but a great army by the standards of Gilead, and it would grow larger still. He regularly faced armies six times his own strength in numbers; none of them could stand against the pike of his phalangites nor the charge of his heavy-armoured rostok cavalry. In this way the three despotates were overthrown and conquered.
“He then spread his sights further and subdued many other lands, and became feared throughout the Great Continent, where it was believed that he would become the first man in history to unify all the nations of the worl. But at the same time he had developed a madness from his power and believed that he was descended from the Gods, and a God himself. The people under him became discontent.
“After subduing the great powers of the eastern half of Grenya Colenta, he proceeded against the Ta'ert, the great river of the central continent and the delta lands, divided among many warring principalities. Here it was that Valera, daughter of Qua'rin and Yasmini, lived as the wife of a minor Count. She had by him three daughters; of these, In'ghara, is the founder of our Imperial Dynasty and was about thirteen or fourteen years old by the human reckoning at the time of the invasion of the Ta'ert by the armies of Moloyr.
“Now, of course, the Ta'ert was easily overcome and entirely subdued by the arms of Moloyr. Valera's husband was killed defending his realm on his refusal to submit to the power of the arms of Moloyr, and she escaped with her daughters on rostok with a guard of less than twenty men, pursued hotly into the desert of the Great Divide, territory of the faithful of the religion of Farzbardor. Here Moloyr's men did bother to pursue her further.
“There in the desert the Countess Valera was converted to the Farzian faith with her daughters, and issued an appeal to the faithful to make war upon Moloyr, who represented the ancient and evil pagan deities and the desire for their conquest, she said, to wipe out Farzianism as they had overcome the Ta'ert, where it had already made great progress. Her words won over both the tribes of the desert and the Kingdoms of the Mountains, and so she raised an army and advanced to do battle for the land of her forefathers.”
The food came. They ate, and between bites of her own food and sips from the tea that Jhayka had ordered for her—she didn't really like it but it sated her thirst—Ilavna continued, having by that point, surprisingly enough, captivated her human audience. “Countess Valera returned to the Ta'ert with 38,000 troops. She met a guard force of 17,400 of Moloyr's men at the Battle of Ter'ure and overthrew them in pitched battle.
“Following this defeat, the people of the Ta'ert revolted against Moloyr and the garrisons were overcome. Valera established herself over the whole of the Ta'ert and prepared to meet Moloyr's inevitable response, hoping by the power of the Lord Justice to maintain herself against the power of Moloyr.”
“So far, you have been telling a very entertaining epic,” Amber interjected. “But you promised a love story, Adept.”
“As a matter of fact it begins now. There was a lady of lower rank in Moloyr's kingdom who had risen to great power in his army, by unusual skill and brilliance, such as to overcome what belief in the lesser position of women as existed in the east—in the In'tuin and the Ta'ert, the Quesadi Cities and the Farzian desert such beliefs did not exist as they did in the eastern Despotates.
“Her name was Taliya, and she was by this point one of the first of Moloyr's top generals, alongside Retgari and Faree and Ghasand.Moloyr, retaining a hundred thousand troops for the invasion of the Despotate of Dalamar, dispatched Taliya with fifty thousand troops to suppress the revolt in the Ta'ert with great force and vengeance. He ordered that one-tenth of the whole population of the delta should be put to the sword, and that Taliya should destroy the temples of the Farzian faith and make forays into the desert to poison wells.
“Now, Taliya was of the lowest order of the nobility of Trilune but her heart was of the highest of nobility. These orders sickened her, yet out of obedience to her liege she prepared to execute them. She entirely overmatched the armies of the Ta'ert with her force; but a difficulty came to her in that the Intu'in, our own homelands, rallied to the cause of Valera and against Moloyr, and they dispatched to her 14,500 troops.
“The two armies met each other on the field in the eastern Ta'ert and Valera, imitating the fashion of Moloyr and being an excellent swordswoman of the highest order, led the charge of the heavy cavalry to seek out the commander of the enemy force and slay her. Taliya was not unskilled herself, and very strong for a Taloran woman—able to match blow-to-blow any strike of the sword of a man, and not simply rely on the longer reach of a woman's arms—so it was natural that they met in single combat.
“Now, this trial of arms, from a-rostok, lasted for so long that soon the fighting between the sides, which was a stalemate, died down. By mutual assent the two sides broke off the engagement, and instead waited on the result of the contest of their commanders. Valera and Taliya were fighting a-rostok the whole while, fighting in short bursts for thirty minutes or so and then resting for thirty minutes, before resuming the combat. It is said that in this fashion they dueled each other in thirty bouts in the saddle over three days. Everyone was very much amazed at this feat of arms, where the family swords of two minor nobles clashed in such a fashion which would have made even Kings envious.
“They were very conscious of each other as honourale opponents, the cruel orders of Moloyr aside, and while resting it is said that they conversed with each other over a distance of, ah, what you would call about twenty-two meters. It could be said that by the end of the duel they were very nearly friends. The stalemate would have lasted forever, everyone agrees, were it not for the strange and miraculous intervention of the Prophet. Though Taliya rode one of the finest rostok of Trilune, gifted to her by the Tyrant, Valera rode a rostok which is said was descended from the rostok which had been bred by the Prophet Eibermon himself.
“Now, this miraculous beast, after little rest or sleep or food, as the combatants had themselves between their exertions, still found it within its body, shaped by the knowledge of the Prophet, to carry Valera with great swiftness after the third day of the single combat. And it was, therefore, that in the afternoon on that, perhaps it was a burst of speed, or a slanting movement of the blessed beast, that allowed Valera to escape a blow to the armour which Taliya should have made; and thus undefended for the slightest moment, Valera struck such a chivalrous blow upon Moloyr's General as to wound her and dismount her upon a single strike.”
Ilavna paused for a moment, smiling, the audience entranced; even Jhayka listened as though it was the first time she'd heard it. The food was nearly finished, but Ilavna continued. “The spell of single combat was broken. The fighting resumed. Taliya's bodyguard rushed to save her life, Valera and her bodyguard hacked their way through the press to escape, and the armies of Moloyr, befit of his finest Marshal, were in confusion, whereas our's were emboldened, having seen, in the combat, their commander victorious.
“We drove them from the field, and they commenced a general flight, upon which we pursued them and a few days we caught the greatest prize of all—Taliya, wounded, upon her litter. She was brought to Valera, and asked of Valera, “Shall you then end me, oh Lady General?”
“At this it is said that Valera replied, and with a bright smile: "I would not presume to end an equal in all realms except their taste in Rostok and friends. I would speak with you on many things, General, and perhaps the mistakes of your past can then be remedied." And thus it was that Valera had Taliya tended to by her own doctors and cared for her in her own tent and they spoke of many things as two chivalrous nobles and warriors might.
“It is said that Taliya at once converted to the Farzian faith, though this is not certain, I will confess; regardless, she had converted and was faithful by her deathbed. What followed is certain, however; many days of discussion took place between Valera and Taliya and between the two armies, and in the end, it was agreed upon that Taliya's army, more loyal to her than to Moloyr, should join with our own army of Farzians and Quesadi mercenaries alike, and make common cause, and Taliya should be the second in command, though it would be the daughters of Valera who would be the heirs of her position, and would from that moment fight with their mother and Taliya as their shared personal guard.”
“Now, when word of the defection of Taliya reached Moloyr, he at once secured peace with Dalamar, ignoring the devil-tongues he told him he could master both foes at once as the god they said he was, and mustered the whole of his army to meet the revolt which now took on the aspects of a general war for control of the whole of the continent. He again shared the hardships of his troops, addressed them as comrades, and they forgot his godly pretensions and followed him as if the old days had returned.
“A great battle was fought on the plains to the northeast of the In'tuin lands. 115,000 troops under Valera and Taliya with 130 Yatila fitted with war-towers met Moloyr with 95,000 troops under his command. It seemed as though Valera and Taliya ought be victorious, but that was not to be. Moloyr's outnumbered pike stood firm, the heavy cavalry cut through our lines, and Moloyr led the charge, seeking single combat with his traitorous general, to chasten Taliya with her life for what he perceived as her disobedience, when all she had done was choose good over evil.
“It was here, however, that the Lord Justice signaled that the youngest of Valera's daughters should be the first among them, despite her age, and that she should be the founder of the Imperial union of all the Taloran peoples. For when the life of her mother and of the General Taliya were in danger, it was she who went forward and met the sword of the Tyrant in single combat, and she survived it with him for three bouts, meeting those marvelous eyes of evil which he held and not being blinded by them; wounding him lightly and allowing her family, Taliya, and herself to escape without harm in so doing.
“With the army scattered, Valera and Taliya were forced to fall back with what forces that remained into the Intu'in lands and the Kingdom of Ras'merin. Reinforcements were summoned from all the lands loyal to their cause; but these would not arrive in time, so the two generals resolved to stand fast in the city of Filidmarn, which had a population of 375,000 and some of the finest walls in the world, with a harbour so that reinforcements might be brought in by the sea, and food.
“For one of your terran years the city of Filidmarn held. At last, Moloyr built a great siege engine of bronze, with a large turret ontop, powered by a thousand men and moving on wheels. This, armoured against fire, he resolved to bring up against the wall and allow his whole army to mount the wall from within it. But the rear of the tower was not armoured in bronze for want of armour, and so Valera, who was in the city whilst Taliya mustered the reinforcements, launched a sally from the gates of Filidmarn and cut through Moloyr's pike to reach the tower, setting it alike from behind and burning nine hundred of Moloyr's best men alive inside of it who could not escape.
“In this way was Moloyr forced to retreat from the siege of Filidmarn, losing many troops in the process, while Valera and Taliya concentrated their armies and prepared to meet the Tyrant on the field of battle once again. On the plain of Gili'mar, 112,000 troops under their command and 70 Yatila with towers met 117,000 of Moloyr's troops and 60 Yatila with towers.
“Valera and Taliya had learned the lessons of the last battle. They overthrew Moloyr entirely in this engagement. His army was shattered and he had to flee the field; he had been beaten. We at once pursued, and on the banks of the Greater Ina he tried to halt Valera and Taliya once more in a defensive engagement, now with only 83,000 troops. Again he was defeated and with only 40,000 men he had to retire to his capital. Valera and Taliya pursued down the Brilar river while he desperately tried to raise a new army.
“The army of the Farzians was at this point some 120,000 strong, with 80 Yatila with towers, while the army of Moloyr had only 102,000 pikemen when they met on the Brilar; and besides this, 180,000 men of the peasant levies, without training and with the old-weapons of the despotates he had crushed. Valera and Taliya had shared war together and had shared what moments of peace they had; their hearts had grown close through separation during the siege of Filidmarn, and their letters there today are maintained in our record as the finest example of love-poetry, which tells its truths without revealing them, by which I mean to say that though they never uttered outright the words, they spoke them in other ways in the finest of literary fashion.
“It had been fourty-one years by the Terran reckoning since Valera had fled into the deserts of the Farzian peoples. Moloyr used his peasant levies properly. They were slaughtered, but they bought him time. General Retgari fought hard on the right flank against the bulk of Valera's pike, and forced her to commit the reserves to push him back. On the left flank the village of Mastre entirely served to confuse the fighting and the limited number of troops posted there were stalemated on both sides. In the center, however, the thin lines of our pike were victorious over the greak bulk of the peasants, slaughtering them by the tens of thousands, and causing their collapse. At this point, though, Moloyr still had two thousand crack pikemen in reserve and committed them into the flank of our advance in the centre.
“In this way he shattered several brigades of pike and allowed for his personal lifeguard company of lancers to sweep through the rear areas of the army, bringing him face-to-face with Valera and Taliya once more. He sought out Taliya in single combat—and his blade was dipped in poison to make sure that she might die. After two bouts he cut her with this blade, but before he could face his next foe, Valera, who in those two bouts had slain two of his finest companions, each with a single blow, turned about and faced him and struck off his head from his body.”
Ilavna took a deep breath and drank the rest of her water, the ice in it having melted. They were all finished eating. “They really did love each other very dearly, I am sure of that. But..” There was a real look of sadness upon her face. “It was not to be. Taliya was doomed by the cut upon her; the poison had entered her blood. While our armies triumphed in the centre and on their right, and Retgari was forced into a fighting retreat for his life, Valera took Taliya to her tent and left to her daughters the conduct of the battle.
“At this time it was pronounced by the physicians that Taliya would die, and they hailed Valera as the Master of Kings, Moloyr's old title. She refused it, and denounced them in her anger at the mortal wound to Taliya, and declared it would be a title she would never hold; and then she carried Taliya herself into her private chambers and there they exchanged words that we do not know, save that In'ghara has said later that before her mother left she spoke to her daughters and told them that they had exchanged words of love and kissed in parting, true lovers who had never been able to share their love to each other until Taliya's dying breath.
“Valera could not stand the loneliness, nor did she desire to rule the whole of the globe as was offered before her. She left toward the great inland sea of the north, and it is on the banks of this sea that it is said that the Lord Justice himself, pleased with her chivalrous behaviour, the trueness of her heart and her lack of desire for supreme power, and the great lengths by which her victories had spread the true faith, took her directly into heaven, where she commands the armies of the Lord Justice and prepares them for the day when the whole universe shall be divided into camps of good and evil and the great battle of the end-times shall take place, deciding if the armes of the Lord of Justice shall triumph and institute the reign of everlasting justice, or if the armies of evil shall triumph and drive the universe into eternal chaos.
“In'ghara outdid her sisters in craftiness, and with the help of General Retgari, whom she pardoned and established as her field commander, overthrew their efforts for supreme power and made herself the ruler of the whole of Grenya Colenta, sending them off to Lelola Colenta and Midela Colenta, the other continents of our world, to effect their own conquests there as her suzerains, and founding the dynasty of the three sisters which still rules us to this day.” Ilavna was half-choked up at the tale, saying it with such intensity and sincerity to impart it the highest degree of tragedy, and so it was the love-story she had promised; but of the saddest kind.
The riverfront of Kalunda was bustling with the day-to-day commerce of the city, with goods from near Kalunda and in other areas of the planet coming in and out. Situated on the roof of a building near the port, very close to the private marina beside it, was the Cafè d'Mala, a pleasant outdoor establishment with exquisite tables and a decent food selection. ?
Amber was wearing casual clothing, which to her people consisted of a strapless shoulder-bearing silk top that went from her belly to her cleavage with a knee-length silk skirt, the top being white and the skirt being blue. She grinned at the arrival of Jhayka and the others; Dani especially caught her eye, having apparently decided to enjoy Kalundan clothes in light of the day's warmth; her's was slightly more modest with spaghetti straps over the shoulders and the material covering a bit more of her breasts, the top being the same flattering green as her eye color and the skirt being a brilliant white. ? Dani, for her part, could see Amber was looking her over again. It was reciprocated, the Mediterrenean climate of Kalunda adding to the atmosphere of the rooftop cafè.
"Surprisingly warm," Jhayka had certainly commented with some relish earlier to Ilavna Lashila. She was dressed casually for a Taloran--her hair was let out, flowing in seeming-outrageous pink everywhere down her back in sharp contrast to the usual severe braiding. She wore tight-fitting riding pants, really rather like jodhpurs but in white and black, and the same for a shortsleeved shirt which nonetheless had a high formal collar to it, keeping her head up straight though she didn't complain about it. It showed that, for one, she did in fact have breasts, which was hard enough to notice in her usual collection of clothes; there was a cape with it, though it was a shorter, vibrant thing of green which provided a sharp, intense contrast with the other colours she wore and the unusual colour of her hair. It made the dead-fish effect of her eyes noticeably lessened.
Ilavna Lashila for her part walked to the right of Jhayka, as though she was her right hand--and she was--and dressed in a black tank-top which was not nearly as revealing as the humans' dress but seemed, nonetheless, to be quite daring for her, along with a long skirt that hung below her knees, though it left enough of pale, unadorned lower leg visible to tease at the hint of those incredibly long legs, and as usual she had a broad combat belt, with two pistols thrust into it. The ensemble also revealed around her neck a gold medallion which showed a book as the foundation for what was probably a scale of justice, flanked by swords; it was fairly large, but still clearly normally hidden under her modest clothes, and more interestingly, the lack of covering on her arms showed elaborate dark green tattoos in seal script on each of them. One was in fact a ritual incantation against evil, and the other, a mark of her status and which Order she belonged to as an Adept and priestess of the Lord of Justice. She was also carrying a duffle bag slung over her left shoulder with their swimming suits.
The two Talorans approached along with Dani and could not help but notice the look that passed between the human women. Jhayka smiled wryly at it, with a vague sense of loneliness bourne of feelings inside of her which would never pass away; Ilavna just smiled and ducked her head away, a bit embarassed, though it didn't last long--this was really her day, to entertain and instruct, and she was prepared to do her duty to her faith and have a good time in so doing. At least they had cleared up the matter of Danielle's identity, and Ilavna felt very good that her instincts and psychic abilities of divination had been correct; she was indeed who she had said she was, though the circumstances which had brought her to be in that slave-market were odd in the extreme, which Jhayka had, in her nobility, chosen not to comment upon, and instead simply accepted Danielle as an officer and treated her accordingly. But now, the Countess Amber's attention was upon them..
"You look so good, Highness," Amber said with delight, gesturing them to their seats. "As do you, Adept Lashila." She looked to her right, where Dani had taken a seat. "And you too, Commander Verdes. Go ahead and drink if you like," she added, gesturing to the four glasses on the table with liquid and ice. "I had them bring glasses of water for us to sip on until we order."
"Ah, that's quite welcome on a pleasant day like this," Jhayka answered after sitting, and Ilavna followed. "We're from the lower Intu'in on my homeworld.. It's what you'd call semi-tropical, almost a desert, otherwise it would be tropical, except close to the coast where it's very balmy like this. Though I've been stationed in my military service on so many chilly worlds that I find myself more affected by the heat these days than I used to be--perhaps getting older has something to do with it as well, perhaps not; I am not that old after all." A self-effacing look there, and she patted Ilavna lightly on the shoulder while sipping her water. "Ilavna, here, though, is in the prime of youth, and thus also given to the youthful enthusiasm for her duties, scarcely a bad thing, for it shall give you a marvelous story today, one that I have memorized as well but scarcely mind hearing again."
"We're not far from the desert ourselves, but it's far enough away that our people have never thought of it much." Amber motioned to a waiter to come. "Kalunda was built upon this spot centuries ago because of the Mediterrenean climate. We were simply fortunate that Gilean silkworms take to the climate well." ? The waiter came, and Amber ordered a sandwhich meal with a tea. Dani chose for a lunch-sized steak and picked coffee.
"Well, that is the great fortune of Gilead, and your primary resource," Jhayka agreed, and then glanced over the menu uncertainly with Ilavna, pausing, considering the foods, then asking light-heartedly: "It's not some feast-day I forgot, is it?"
"No," Ilavna replied, half-smirking in amusement. "Anyway, you're the human expert, Your Highness, so what should we have?"
"Two reuben sandwiches with french onion soup and cole slaw for both of us," Jhayka answered with an unusual degree of promptness, then, "and iced tea," handing the menus over to the waiter as the order was acknowledged before offering a sort of smile to the two humans women. "Taloran metabolism is rather higher than that of humans, which accounts in part for our great leanness."
Amber nodded at that. A grin came to her face. "I suppose, then, that you ironically consider us to look rather fat even though we eat less?"
"Well, a bit on the curvaceous side. It's not necessarily a bad thing, though for most people such tastes would be considered.. Eccentric." Jhayka explained delicacy, her ears flexing and being, confessedly, a tad sheepish about it all as they waited for their food to come.
"Or a noble affectation," Ilavna dared. "Since the upper classes have always had more to eat, such rare overweight Talorans as exist tend to be concentrated among them."
"The Army keeps us fit," Jhayka countered with a game amusement, not minding that Ilavna was pressing the propriety of the Second Estate.
Dani laughed. "Most militaries do. Quarterly fitness exams for everyone, with a complete physical every year. Or more, if your CMO decides you need it, which has happened to me several times. The Marines are the worst of them all." ? "We Kalundan women have always kept in shape," Amber said in amusement. "For a long time it was because we were never allowed to get fat. Now that we have that freedom, we still like to keep our figures nice and healthy." ? "Besides, your clothing styles require you to keep trim," was Dani's sarcastic reply. ? "That they do!"
"Well, excessive consumption of food is frowned upon by the Farzian religion. It is considered.. Out of balance, an unnatural excess. We are not people of excess," Ilavna added to conclude, and glanced to Jhayka, who smiled and nodded approvingly.
"Go ahead," she said softly.
"Well, alright," Ilavna turned back to the human women. "I'll tell you the story I promised, now, yes?"
"I like a good story over lunch," Dani replied.
“You must understand that everything that happened was very long ago.. Long, by the standards of Taloran life. Unfathomable by your own. But the memory, the blood still runs in us. At every single one of the battles I am now going to tell you about, the ancestors of our current reigning Empress and the Great Queens of Lelola and Midela Colenta fought. Daughter to daughter the lines have continued for some twelve thousand human years.”
Ilavna, content that she had her audience, continued the recitation. “In the year 1599 After Eibermon, by the reckoning of the Terran year, when our religion was by your standards still young, and the memory of the prophet fresh, there was a tyrant in the eastern lands of the Great Continent named Moloyr. He had inheirited the two Kingdoms of Rasilan, which is an island, and Trilune, and was educated by the philosophers of the Quesadi City States and armed his infantry in the Quesadi fashion with the long pike and armour.
“In this year, then, he set his army upon the Kingdoms of Uruka, Ferashako, and Erasano, the neighbouring Despotates to Rasilan and Trilune. It consisted of thirty-six thousand pike, fifteen thousand cavalry, and nine thousand skirmishers. An understrength corps by modern standards, but a great army by the standards of Gilead, and it would grow larger still. He regularly faced armies six times his own strength in numbers; none of them could stand against the pike of his phalangites nor the charge of his heavy-armoured rostok cavalry. In this way the three despotates were overthrown and conquered.
“He then spread his sights further and subdued many other lands, and became feared throughout the Great Continent, where it was believed that he would become the first man in history to unify all the nations of the worl. But at the same time he had developed a madness from his power and believed that he was descended from the Gods, and a God himself. The people under him became discontent.
“After subduing the great powers of the eastern half of Grenya Colenta, he proceeded against the Ta'ert, the great river of the central continent and the delta lands, divided among many warring principalities. Here it was that Valera, daughter of Qua'rin and Yasmini, lived as the wife of a minor Count. She had by him three daughters; of these, In'ghara, is the founder of our Imperial Dynasty and was about thirteen or fourteen years old by the human reckoning at the time of the invasion of the Ta'ert by the armies of Moloyr.
“Now, of course, the Ta'ert was easily overcome and entirely subdued by the arms of Moloyr. Valera's husband was killed defending his realm on his refusal to submit to the power of the arms of Moloyr, and she escaped with her daughters on rostok with a guard of less than twenty men, pursued hotly into the desert of the Great Divide, territory of the faithful of the religion of Farzbardor. Here Moloyr's men did bother to pursue her further.
“There in the desert the Countess Valera was converted to the Farzian faith with her daughters, and issued an appeal to the faithful to make war upon Moloyr, who represented the ancient and evil pagan deities and the desire for their conquest, she said, to wipe out Farzianism as they had overcome the Ta'ert, where it had already made great progress. Her words won over both the tribes of the desert and the Kingdoms of the Mountains, and so she raised an army and advanced to do battle for the land of her forefathers.”
The food came. They ate, and between bites of her own food and sips from the tea that Jhayka had ordered for her—she didn't really like it but it sated her thirst—Ilavna continued, having by that point, surprisingly enough, captivated her human audience. “Countess Valera returned to the Ta'ert with 38,000 troops. She met a guard force of 17,400 of Moloyr's men at the Battle of Ter'ure and overthrew them in pitched battle.
“Following this defeat, the people of the Ta'ert revolted against Moloyr and the garrisons were overcome. Valera established herself over the whole of the Ta'ert and prepared to meet Moloyr's inevitable response, hoping by the power of the Lord Justice to maintain herself against the power of Moloyr.”
“So far, you have been telling a very entertaining epic,” Amber interjected. “But you promised a love story, Adept.”
“As a matter of fact it begins now. There was a lady of lower rank in Moloyr's kingdom who had risen to great power in his army, by unusual skill and brilliance, such as to overcome what belief in the lesser position of women as existed in the east—in the In'tuin and the Ta'ert, the Quesadi Cities and the Farzian desert such beliefs did not exist as they did in the eastern Despotates.
“Her name was Taliya, and she was by this point one of the first of Moloyr's top generals, alongside Retgari and Faree and Ghasand.Moloyr, retaining a hundred thousand troops for the invasion of the Despotate of Dalamar, dispatched Taliya with fifty thousand troops to suppress the revolt in the Ta'ert with great force and vengeance. He ordered that one-tenth of the whole population of the delta should be put to the sword, and that Taliya should destroy the temples of the Farzian faith and make forays into the desert to poison wells.
“Now, Taliya was of the lowest order of the nobility of Trilune but her heart was of the highest of nobility. These orders sickened her, yet out of obedience to her liege she prepared to execute them. She entirely overmatched the armies of the Ta'ert with her force; but a difficulty came to her in that the Intu'in, our own homelands, rallied to the cause of Valera and against Moloyr, and they dispatched to her 14,500 troops.
“The two armies met each other on the field in the eastern Ta'ert and Valera, imitating the fashion of Moloyr and being an excellent swordswoman of the highest order, led the charge of the heavy cavalry to seek out the commander of the enemy force and slay her. Taliya was not unskilled herself, and very strong for a Taloran woman—able to match blow-to-blow any strike of the sword of a man, and not simply rely on the longer reach of a woman's arms—so it was natural that they met in single combat.
“Now, this trial of arms, from a-rostok, lasted for so long that soon the fighting between the sides, which was a stalemate, died down. By mutual assent the two sides broke off the engagement, and instead waited on the result of the contest of their commanders. Valera and Taliya were fighting a-rostok the whole while, fighting in short bursts for thirty minutes or so and then resting for thirty minutes, before resuming the combat. It is said that in this fashion they dueled each other in thirty bouts in the saddle over three days. Everyone was very much amazed at this feat of arms, where the family swords of two minor nobles clashed in such a fashion which would have made even Kings envious.
“They were very conscious of each other as honourale opponents, the cruel orders of Moloyr aside, and while resting it is said that they conversed with each other over a distance of, ah, what you would call about twenty-two meters. It could be said that by the end of the duel they were very nearly friends. The stalemate would have lasted forever, everyone agrees, were it not for the strange and miraculous intervention of the Prophet. Though Taliya rode one of the finest rostok of Trilune, gifted to her by the Tyrant, Valera rode a rostok which is said was descended from the rostok which had been bred by the Prophet Eibermon himself.
“Now, this miraculous beast, after little rest or sleep or food, as the combatants had themselves between their exertions, still found it within its body, shaped by the knowledge of the Prophet, to carry Valera with great swiftness after the third day of the single combat. And it was, therefore, that in the afternoon on that, perhaps it was a burst of speed, or a slanting movement of the blessed beast, that allowed Valera to escape a blow to the armour which Taliya should have made; and thus undefended for the slightest moment, Valera struck such a chivalrous blow upon Moloyr's General as to wound her and dismount her upon a single strike.”
Ilavna paused for a moment, smiling, the audience entranced; even Jhayka listened as though it was the first time she'd heard it. The food was nearly finished, but Ilavna continued. “The spell of single combat was broken. The fighting resumed. Taliya's bodyguard rushed to save her life, Valera and her bodyguard hacked their way through the press to escape, and the armies of Moloyr, befit of his finest Marshal, were in confusion, whereas our's were emboldened, having seen, in the combat, their commander victorious.
“We drove them from the field, and they commenced a general flight, upon which we pursued them and a few days we caught the greatest prize of all—Taliya, wounded, upon her litter. She was brought to Valera, and asked of Valera, “Shall you then end me, oh Lady General?”
“At this it is said that Valera replied, and with a bright smile: "I would not presume to end an equal in all realms except their taste in Rostok and friends. I would speak with you on many things, General, and perhaps the mistakes of your past can then be remedied." And thus it was that Valera had Taliya tended to by her own doctors and cared for her in her own tent and they spoke of many things as two chivalrous nobles and warriors might.
“It is said that Taliya at once converted to the Farzian faith, though this is not certain, I will confess; regardless, she had converted and was faithful by her deathbed. What followed is certain, however; many days of discussion took place between Valera and Taliya and between the two armies, and in the end, it was agreed upon that Taliya's army, more loyal to her than to Moloyr, should join with our own army of Farzians and Quesadi mercenaries alike, and make common cause, and Taliya should be the second in command, though it would be the daughters of Valera who would be the heirs of her position, and would from that moment fight with their mother and Taliya as their shared personal guard.”
“Now, when word of the defection of Taliya reached Moloyr, he at once secured peace with Dalamar, ignoring the devil-tongues he told him he could master both foes at once as the god they said he was, and mustered the whole of his army to meet the revolt which now took on the aspects of a general war for control of the whole of the continent. He again shared the hardships of his troops, addressed them as comrades, and they forgot his godly pretensions and followed him as if the old days had returned.
“A great battle was fought on the plains to the northeast of the In'tuin lands. 115,000 troops under Valera and Taliya with 130 Yatila fitted with war-towers met Moloyr with 95,000 troops under his command. It seemed as though Valera and Taliya ought be victorious, but that was not to be. Moloyr's outnumbered pike stood firm, the heavy cavalry cut through our lines, and Moloyr led the charge, seeking single combat with his traitorous general, to chasten Taliya with her life for what he perceived as her disobedience, when all she had done was choose good over evil.
“It was here, however, that the Lord Justice signaled that the youngest of Valera's daughters should be the first among them, despite her age, and that she should be the founder of the Imperial union of all the Taloran peoples. For when the life of her mother and of the General Taliya were in danger, it was she who went forward and met the sword of the Tyrant in single combat, and she survived it with him for three bouts, meeting those marvelous eyes of evil which he held and not being blinded by them; wounding him lightly and allowing her family, Taliya, and herself to escape without harm in so doing.
“With the army scattered, Valera and Taliya were forced to fall back with what forces that remained into the Intu'in lands and the Kingdom of Ras'merin. Reinforcements were summoned from all the lands loyal to their cause; but these would not arrive in time, so the two generals resolved to stand fast in the city of Filidmarn, which had a population of 375,000 and some of the finest walls in the world, with a harbour so that reinforcements might be brought in by the sea, and food.
“For one of your terran years the city of Filidmarn held. At last, Moloyr built a great siege engine of bronze, with a large turret ontop, powered by a thousand men and moving on wheels. This, armoured against fire, he resolved to bring up against the wall and allow his whole army to mount the wall from within it. But the rear of the tower was not armoured in bronze for want of armour, and so Valera, who was in the city whilst Taliya mustered the reinforcements, launched a sally from the gates of Filidmarn and cut through Moloyr's pike to reach the tower, setting it alike from behind and burning nine hundred of Moloyr's best men alive inside of it who could not escape.
“In this way was Moloyr forced to retreat from the siege of Filidmarn, losing many troops in the process, while Valera and Taliya concentrated their armies and prepared to meet the Tyrant on the field of battle once again. On the plain of Gili'mar, 112,000 troops under their command and 70 Yatila with towers met 117,000 of Moloyr's troops and 60 Yatila with towers.
“Valera and Taliya had learned the lessons of the last battle. They overthrew Moloyr entirely in this engagement. His army was shattered and he had to flee the field; he had been beaten. We at once pursued, and on the banks of the Greater Ina he tried to halt Valera and Taliya once more in a defensive engagement, now with only 83,000 troops. Again he was defeated and with only 40,000 men he had to retire to his capital. Valera and Taliya pursued down the Brilar river while he desperately tried to raise a new army.
“The army of the Farzians was at this point some 120,000 strong, with 80 Yatila with towers, while the army of Moloyr had only 102,000 pikemen when they met on the Brilar; and besides this, 180,000 men of the peasant levies, without training and with the old-weapons of the despotates he had crushed. Valera and Taliya had shared war together and had shared what moments of peace they had; their hearts had grown close through separation during the siege of Filidmarn, and their letters there today are maintained in our record as the finest example of love-poetry, which tells its truths without revealing them, by which I mean to say that though they never uttered outright the words, they spoke them in other ways in the finest of literary fashion.
“It had been fourty-one years by the Terran reckoning since Valera had fled into the deserts of the Farzian peoples. Moloyr used his peasant levies properly. They were slaughtered, but they bought him time. General Retgari fought hard on the right flank against the bulk of Valera's pike, and forced her to commit the reserves to push him back. On the left flank the village of Mastre entirely served to confuse the fighting and the limited number of troops posted there were stalemated on both sides. In the center, however, the thin lines of our pike were victorious over the greak bulk of the peasants, slaughtering them by the tens of thousands, and causing their collapse. At this point, though, Moloyr still had two thousand crack pikemen in reserve and committed them into the flank of our advance in the centre.
“In this way he shattered several brigades of pike and allowed for his personal lifeguard company of lancers to sweep through the rear areas of the army, bringing him face-to-face with Valera and Taliya once more. He sought out Taliya in single combat—and his blade was dipped in poison to make sure that she might die. After two bouts he cut her with this blade, but before he could face his next foe, Valera, who in those two bouts had slain two of his finest companions, each with a single blow, turned about and faced him and struck off his head from his body.”
Ilavna took a deep breath and drank the rest of her water, the ice in it having melted. They were all finished eating. “They really did love each other very dearly, I am sure of that. But..” There was a real look of sadness upon her face. “It was not to be. Taliya was doomed by the cut upon her; the poison had entered her blood. While our armies triumphed in the centre and on their right, and Retgari was forced into a fighting retreat for his life, Valera took Taliya to her tent and left to her daughters the conduct of the battle.
“At this time it was pronounced by the physicians that Taliya would die, and they hailed Valera as the Master of Kings, Moloyr's old title. She refused it, and denounced them in her anger at the mortal wound to Taliya, and declared it would be a title she would never hold; and then she carried Taliya herself into her private chambers and there they exchanged words that we do not know, save that In'ghara has said later that before her mother left she spoke to her daughters and told them that they had exchanged words of love and kissed in parting, true lovers who had never been able to share their love to each other until Taliya's dying breath.
“Valera could not stand the loneliness, nor did she desire to rule the whole of the globe as was offered before her. She left toward the great inland sea of the north, and it is on the banks of this sea that it is said that the Lord Justice himself, pleased with her chivalrous behaviour, the trueness of her heart and her lack of desire for supreme power, and the great lengths by which her victories had spread the true faith, took her directly into heaven, where she commands the armies of the Lord Justice and prepares them for the day when the whole universe shall be divided into camps of good and evil and the great battle of the end-times shall take place, deciding if the armes of the Lord of Justice shall triumph and institute the reign of everlasting justice, or if the armies of evil shall triumph and drive the universe into eternal chaos.
“In'ghara outdid her sisters in craftiness, and with the help of General Retgari, whom she pardoned and established as her field commander, overthrew their efforts for supreme power and made herself the ruler of the whole of Grenya Colenta, sending them off to Lelola Colenta and Midela Colenta, the other continents of our world, to effect their own conquests there as her suzerains, and founding the dynasty of the three sisters which still rules us to this day.” Ilavna was half-choked up at the tale, saying it with such intensity and sincerity to impart it the highest degree of tragedy, and so it was the love-story she had promised; but of the saddest kind.
The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. -- Wikipedia's No Original Research policy page.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
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The Duchess of Zeon
- Gözde
- Posts: 14566
- Joined: 2002-09-18 01:06am
- Location: Exiled in the Pale of Settlement.
Scritch, scritch, scritch, the sound of a pen along thick paper, working out something invisible to the eye. The noise went on for many minutes, and the pen was of exquisite quality, made out of bone and silver. It had some of the characteristics of a brush with its broad strokes, and it was almost calming in the way it was moved across the paper. It also left absolutely no trace of what was being written, and was repetitious; the same line repeated over and over across the whole page. At the top and the bottom it was cut off, only a half of each character was stroked out; these, too, were invisible.
Finishing, Jhayka leaned back and left the paper to dry, straightening out some. It was a very simple message, and of course in the Seal Script it would look like a watermark the way she had written it; that was of course the entire point. She had no other means of communication, and did not really want one. The thought of a leash was quite unappealing, particularly one held by the most unappealing person with whom she had to interact.
Jhayka sighed softly and took the paper once again. The ink was dry. So she took a pen with real ink upon it—a fine quill—and dipped it into a heavy ceramic well upon the table, and began to write, now in the proper High Alphabet of the Intu'in language, rather than Imperial standard. There were some sixty letters in Intu'in and it was not a hard language to learn, until the Imperial tongue, lacking—like Dalamarian—any tonal differentiation. She wrote on both sides of the thick paper and concluded in a dramatically stylized signature which would be instantly recognizeable to confidants and those who understand the system of the nobility in producing identifying monograms, but was hopeless to read otherwise.
The message was quite innocuous, and legitimate. The one under it? Well, it is not really a big deal, Jhayka mused. She was here for the purpose she had said, it was just that like any decent citizen, some observations ought be made to the government out of patriotism by the intelligent traveler. And at that, she rose, setting the pen down, and placed the letter in an envelop which was then sealed. Then she left the bedroom of her suite and headed down to her majordomo's quarters. There she handed the message off to him with a brief comment, “It's for Trysea,” she said—the governing officer of the Principality in her absence—and headed off again through the rooms that King Julio had given them, to whistle before the door to Ilavna Lashila's suite. She had her own, of course, on account of her rank as an adept of the orders. Things could not be as informal here as they were on the train.
She stepped in from the answering call of “ei!”, finding it unlocked. Ilavna presented Jhayka with a steaming mug without even another word being spoken, then went to pour another for herself. “So, Your Highness, finished up that personal business you spoke of earlier?”
“Oh yes, Lashila, quite done,” Jhayka agreed in relief—she was very glad that the whole thing was done, to say the least, if for different reasons, perhaps, than the adept. Who probably knew more than she let on, for all of her rigorous training.
“How have your religious efforts been going here?”
“Oh, just surveying,” Ilavna leaned against the wall and motioned for Jhayka to sit, continuing as she did. “There should probably be a main missionary compound here in Kalunda, with outlying posts at the major slave-auction points. That way we can, through the combination, reach the highest number of the disaffected who end up here, and devote a fair amount of money to the purchasing of slaves. Circuit-riding priests for the primitive zones, of course. Or else a station-stop ministry. There's a lot of danger here.”
“There may not be a need for that soon enough.”
“You think violence is going to come to this place that soon, Your Highness?”
“You don't know the ways of fighting peoples, to be honest, Lashila, though you've the makings of a good shootist in a tight spot,” Jhayka admitted. “At any rate, everyone here is spoiling for a fight, because they don't see any other way out of their troubles. They're right, too, so of course there's going to be one, though I don't give them much chance. It does, however, give our mission added urgency—though I think we might finish it before the fighting begins, there won't be much left of the peoples here when it's over. I'm more and more sure of that, and, well.. We may not finish before the fighting breaks out.”
“Hmmm.” Ilavna settled back against the wall, ears flexing in discontent. “I really don't like the idea of that. We're far from the Imperial forces.”
“We're our own fighting force, and legally neutral. I don't expect problems, really,” A tight smile. “Well, I expect them in the sense I prepare for them. Still, any conflict here would be by our standards fairly low grade, so I'm not that worried.”
“We'll see what the Lord holds in store for us,” Ilavna said by way of changing the subject, really. “What about, oh, you and Dani?” Definitely a subject change and an amused one, too.
Jhayka flushed in that way of Talorans which would seem quite sickly, like someone about to vomit, to a human, though of course it was much the same emotion as a flush, to be sure. “Ah.. er.. She's just very flirtacious, and the atmosphere doesn't help. And we're both good swimmers—as are you. For that matter, I think the girls around here like you more than I, probably the hair...”
Ilavna's eyes goggled. “I'm not like that!” She protested, of course, quite uselessly. “Anyway, they're all fat, and very dark skinned—make Dalamarians seem pale—though that seems to be a type that you like very much yourself, Your Highness.”
“Dani's not fat, quite healthy by human standards, though I know all humans seem plump to us,” Jhayka corrected gently before realizing how that would make the whole matter seem to Ilavna Lashila and blushed slightly once again. “At any rate, just because the refinement of the nobility makes us more apt to consider a somewhat plump person healthy, doesn't mean I'm going to run off and start chasing after aliens. Furthermore, you started this entire personal conversation for no other reason than to avoid pressing affairs of our expedition because of your distaste for the idea of combat.”
Ilavna frowned slightly. “My apologies, Your Highness, if you think it untoward.”
“No, that's quite alright, it's a subject we didn't really need to discuss. All the preparations have been, after all, made; and I don't want to ruin your enjoyment of our little foray. Anyway, I probably have been spending to much with Danielle, but mostly because I'm researching the people of Kalunda, and so just having casual interaction with them isn't quite appropriate. And she's a rather charming raconteur, even if her other virtues are rather.. Dubious.”
“There is that. And I suppose you're suspicious of her, anyway.”
“Because her story still seems quite implausible? Maybe a little; but I almost don't care.” A bleary look. “I've been caught up in the dirty world of intelligence for to long, and the cleaner this foray is, the better.” Though there is not much chance of that, though I will still try my best to make it so, she thought wryly. “So in that regard I simply won't care. I know when to hold my tongue, after all.
“And..” An amused smile, then, her ears perked up: “thank you for the diversion. I don't need to worry about fighting. If it comes, I'll act as I always have.”
Finishing, Jhayka leaned back and left the paper to dry, straightening out some. It was a very simple message, and of course in the Seal Script it would look like a watermark the way she had written it; that was of course the entire point. She had no other means of communication, and did not really want one. The thought of a leash was quite unappealing, particularly one held by the most unappealing person with whom she had to interact.
Jhayka sighed softly and took the paper once again. The ink was dry. So she took a pen with real ink upon it—a fine quill—and dipped it into a heavy ceramic well upon the table, and began to write, now in the proper High Alphabet of the Intu'in language, rather than Imperial standard. There were some sixty letters in Intu'in and it was not a hard language to learn, until the Imperial tongue, lacking—like Dalamarian—any tonal differentiation. She wrote on both sides of the thick paper and concluded in a dramatically stylized signature which would be instantly recognizeable to confidants and those who understand the system of the nobility in producing identifying monograms, but was hopeless to read otherwise.
The message was quite innocuous, and legitimate. The one under it? Well, it is not really a big deal, Jhayka mused. She was here for the purpose she had said, it was just that like any decent citizen, some observations ought be made to the government out of patriotism by the intelligent traveler. And at that, she rose, setting the pen down, and placed the letter in an envelop which was then sealed. Then she left the bedroom of her suite and headed down to her majordomo's quarters. There she handed the message off to him with a brief comment, “It's for Trysea,” she said—the governing officer of the Principality in her absence—and headed off again through the rooms that King Julio had given them, to whistle before the door to Ilavna Lashila's suite. She had her own, of course, on account of her rank as an adept of the orders. Things could not be as informal here as they were on the train.
She stepped in from the answering call of “ei!”, finding it unlocked. Ilavna presented Jhayka with a steaming mug without even another word being spoken, then went to pour another for herself. “So, Your Highness, finished up that personal business you spoke of earlier?”
“Oh yes, Lashila, quite done,” Jhayka agreed in relief—she was very glad that the whole thing was done, to say the least, if for different reasons, perhaps, than the adept. Who probably knew more than she let on, for all of her rigorous training.
“How have your religious efforts been going here?”
“Oh, just surveying,” Ilavna leaned against the wall and motioned for Jhayka to sit, continuing as she did. “There should probably be a main missionary compound here in Kalunda, with outlying posts at the major slave-auction points. That way we can, through the combination, reach the highest number of the disaffected who end up here, and devote a fair amount of money to the purchasing of slaves. Circuit-riding priests for the primitive zones, of course. Or else a station-stop ministry. There's a lot of danger here.”
“There may not be a need for that soon enough.”
“You think violence is going to come to this place that soon, Your Highness?”
“You don't know the ways of fighting peoples, to be honest, Lashila, though you've the makings of a good shootist in a tight spot,” Jhayka admitted. “At any rate, everyone here is spoiling for a fight, because they don't see any other way out of their troubles. They're right, too, so of course there's going to be one, though I don't give them much chance. It does, however, give our mission added urgency—though I think we might finish it before the fighting begins, there won't be much left of the peoples here when it's over. I'm more and more sure of that, and, well.. We may not finish before the fighting breaks out.”
“Hmmm.” Ilavna settled back against the wall, ears flexing in discontent. “I really don't like the idea of that. We're far from the Imperial forces.”
“We're our own fighting force, and legally neutral. I don't expect problems, really,” A tight smile. “Well, I expect them in the sense I prepare for them. Still, any conflict here would be by our standards fairly low grade, so I'm not that worried.”
“We'll see what the Lord holds in store for us,” Ilavna said by way of changing the subject, really. “What about, oh, you and Dani?” Definitely a subject change and an amused one, too.
Jhayka flushed in that way of Talorans which would seem quite sickly, like someone about to vomit, to a human, though of course it was much the same emotion as a flush, to be sure. “Ah.. er.. She's just very flirtacious, and the atmosphere doesn't help. And we're both good swimmers—as are you. For that matter, I think the girls around here like you more than I, probably the hair...”
Ilavna's eyes goggled. “I'm not like that!” She protested, of course, quite uselessly. “Anyway, they're all fat, and very dark skinned—make Dalamarians seem pale—though that seems to be a type that you like very much yourself, Your Highness.”
“Dani's not fat, quite healthy by human standards, though I know all humans seem plump to us,” Jhayka corrected gently before realizing how that would make the whole matter seem to Ilavna Lashila and blushed slightly once again. “At any rate, just because the refinement of the nobility makes us more apt to consider a somewhat plump person healthy, doesn't mean I'm going to run off and start chasing after aliens. Furthermore, you started this entire personal conversation for no other reason than to avoid pressing affairs of our expedition because of your distaste for the idea of combat.”
Ilavna frowned slightly. “My apologies, Your Highness, if you think it untoward.”
“No, that's quite alright, it's a subject we didn't really need to discuss. All the preparations have been, after all, made; and I don't want to ruin your enjoyment of our little foray. Anyway, I probably have been spending to much with Danielle, but mostly because I'm researching the people of Kalunda, and so just having casual interaction with them isn't quite appropriate. And she's a rather charming raconteur, even if her other virtues are rather.. Dubious.”
“There is that. And I suppose you're suspicious of her, anyway.”
“Because her story still seems quite implausible? Maybe a little; but I almost don't care.” A bleary look. “I've been caught up in the dirty world of intelligence for to long, and the cleaner this foray is, the better.” Though there is not much chance of that, though I will still try my best to make it so, she thought wryly. “So in that regard I simply won't care. I know when to hold my tongue, after all.
“And..” An amused smile, then, her ears perked up: “thank you for the diversion. I don't need to worry about fighting. If it comes, I'll act as I always have.”
The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth. -- Wikipedia's No Original Research policy page.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
In 1966 the Soviets find something on the dark side of the Moon. In 2104 they come back. -- Red Banner / White Star, a nBSG continuation story. Updated to Chapter 4.0 -- 14 January 2013.
Giles Township, New Salem
7 October 2841 CON-5ST
5 December 2162 AST
The lone Army jeep rumbled down the mud road into town, the Corporal at the wheel ignoring his passenger as she looked about. After over four decades, Sara Proctor again saw the tall trees and fresh grass of the land she grew up in.
Eyes turned here and there, and most of the faces were unfamiliar. Sara sadly wondered how many of the children she grew up with had died in the wars. She wondered particularly where her parents were, if they too had died in the previous years.
And there was her daughter, the precious little girl she had gained and lost in an instant, to be raised by the parents of the boy who betrayed Sara so callously, forever ending the innocence of teenage naivety.
So now, 45 years after teenage Sara Proctor left Giles Township in disgrace as a branded seductress, Her Highness Sara Proctor the Grand Duchess of Illustrious and so on had returned as high nobility for one of the nations that had conquered New Plymouth.
Her clothing was a military-like uniform, though it did bear the insignia of her family invested now in Illustrious - it was in the light purple color favored by the Devenshires with golden tassels and epaulets upon the shoulder boards.
The jeep made it's first stop at the old militia fort that Sara had remembered from her childhood. It was mostly intact, though the flag that flew over it now was that of the Alliance of Democratic Nations - the first of the great powers from other universes that were turning Sara's cosmos upside down. The platoon of infantry that was maintaining order in the Township was from the Republic of Texas in a universe called FHI-8; Sara met with the Lieutenant who was in charge of the post and endured a short welcome ceremony with the troops in full uniform and at attention. This duty done, Sara had her escorts take her to the only place that she wanted to see.
The old Proctor homestead and farm, the one her father was threatened with losing when Sara was shamed, was still intact. It showed no signs of neglect, making Sara a bit hopeful. Everywhere she saw things she remembered as a child - the great tree outside the house was still there, and the wooden swing her father had put up for her when Sara was but three was still intact, much to her surprise. Bittersweet tears, with a smile of the same flavor, came to her at happy memories long clouded by time and darker moments. Alone, she walked up to the front door of the small two story home and knocked on the wooden door. Her heart threatened to beat itself out of her chest. Would it be her parents answering? Or a stranger?
The door finally swung open. Standing in the doorway was an old woman, her hair long turned silver-gray by age, with a face wrinkled from years of worry and toil. Her dress was a plain dark blouse and knee-length dress, the standard for all the women in Giles. She looked at Sara with blue eyes, just like those Sara possessed, which widened a little. "Sara?" was her reply, in an aged voice that seemed weary.
There were hot tears in Sara's eyes now. "Momma?" She reached out a hand to her aged mother. "You're still alive. Thank God, you're still alive," she wept.
"Sara!" Abigail Proctor threw her arms around her daughter in a hug as powerful as she could give. "Oh my dear little girl, I've waited so long."
"I have too, Momma." Sara put her arms around her mother and lost half a century of age - she was again a young girl who wanted nothing more than a reassuring hug from her mother. "I've been praying for this day."
"Oh Sara, please forgive me," Abigail cried. "Please."
"I do Momma. I forgive you. I love you."
And that was that. For Sara, the youthful bitterness of her parents siding with the boy who betrayed her had long surrendered to the years alone, with no family, and she was in no mood to be bitter, not now.
With that done, her mother led Sara into her old home. Not much had changed from the days of old; her parents had even put back on the wall the picture of Sara that they had angrily removed before throwing her out of the house. Abigail led Sara into the den. The furniture had changed at least. Abigail led Sara to one chair across from a low-set table. "Do you want anything dear?"
"Only some water. But I can..."
Abigail waved Sara off. She went into the kitchen and returned with a couple of cups and a pitcher of water. Sitting them on the table, Abigail looked across at her daughter with tears still in her eyes. "I can't tell you how much joy I had to see you at the door, Sara. I've been praying that I might see you once last time before the Lord brings me home."
Sara looked at her mother, rather afraid. "What do you mean?"
"My dear, I am growing old. It was only by God's fortune that I survived the last winter." Abigail grinned sadly at Sara. "It's so strange to see you and to know how old you are, yet to see you as young as you were on that... horrible day. It's like you've come back from right that moment."
"I'm sorry it took the Church so long to allow the treatments here," was Sara's reply. After taking a sip of water, she asked, "Momma, where's Dad?"
Abigail looked down and Sara knew her father was gone. Her heart ached. She had wanted to see him one last time, to apologize for failing to be a good daughter for him, for letting herself get lied to and tricked. His disappointed look in the courtroom that long-past day still haunted her, because Sara had loved "Daddy" from the very beginning. Even these days, waking up from nightmares made her want to have him there again, to hold her with those strong arms and reassure her that everything was going to be fine. Sara began to tear up. "What happened, Momma?"
"Your Father was called into service in the war against Lisea, Sara. He died twelve years ago on Radcliffe." Abigail looked down. "Goodman Tucker was with your Father when he died. He said that Abraham called out your name and died begging forgiveness for not believing you."
The tears came freely now. "Daddy", Sara sobbed, after which she put her hands to her face and cried for a while, her mother walking over and bringing her grieving daughter into an embrace. Finally, when Sara had calmed herself down, she looked up at her mother, as if remembering something. "Momma, what happened to Rebecca? What happened to my little girl?"
Abigail Proctor smiled and sat back down. "She was raised well by the Bransfields. They said she was as beautiful as you were when she became a young woman."
Sara smiled. "Did she ever find out about me?"
Abigail nodded. "Yes. When she was sixteen. Minister Giles retired then, and he was replaced by a fiery young man - Goodman Hale's son Daniel, the one who went to the Church schools. Daniel Hale had fallen in with the United Faith movement. He was loyal to Hanson Leewood, and the Bransfields were not. So a few months after he started here, the good Minister Hale gave a series of fiery sermons about hypocrisy, deceit, and all sorts of other things that made quite clear what he was talking about. The Bransfields decided to fess up, since everyone in the town knew the truth anyway, and told Rebecca that the young man she'd called her brother had been her father. It was up to others to tell her that her mother had been sent away in disgrace after being betrayed by him. The Bransfields lost her then, and Rebecca joined us. She got married to William Heresford, a nice young journalist from the city, and they were happy."
As Sara heard about this, her heart warmed. All of those dreams and nightmares about her daughter, and this surpassed them all. To know she was happy.... was happy.... "Momma, where is Rebecca?" Sara asked, a horrible feeling making her stomach knot.
Abigail looked at her daughter with sad eyes. "Willie was opposed to Leewood. Nothing came of it until eighteen months ago. The Church Inquisition arrested them in Salem City for sedition and blasphemy when Willie was at a reporter's seminar. They were tried, convicted, and executed within a matter of days. Just like Minister Giles, Goodman Bransfield..."
"Noooooo!" Sara's crying became hysterical. "Not my little girl! No!" She collapsed out of the chair and to her knees, a hand over her eyes and another holding her up from the floor. "This isn't fair! This isn't fair!"
"Sara. Sara, dear...." Abigail went back to her daughter once more, to comfort her while she wept as well. This time it took very, very long for Sara to be calmed. Even when the crying and sobbing became managable, she could barely speak. The weight of grief on her was unbearable, indeed, had been the heaviest weight on her soul in a very long time. She had lost her beloved father and the little girl who had kept Sara's imagination all these years. Sara would once have offered to die for the chance to hold her little girl just once, to tell her who she was and that she was loved by her mother. But that chance was gone now.
"Momma, I never got the chance to tell Rebecca that I loved her. I never got to see her, and she... she never got to see me and learn how much I loved her. I... I've been through so much, I've endured so much, and it was all for a chance to see her one more time. This isn't fair."
Abigail shook her head. "No, it isn't. Leewood's hurt so many of us. The man was a demon, a false prophet, and we were all so wrapped up in our righteousness that we didn't see him for the devil he was until he had set us on the evil path. Willie and Rebecca knew before many of us did, and they died for that. I'm so sorry, Sara."
"Momma...." Sara let her mother bring her back to her feet. "I was raped, Momma."
Abiigail gasped and pulled her close. "I'm sorry, Sara. It's my fault. I shouldn't have... Abraham and I should have forgiven you and let you stay. We failed you."
"I cried for Daddy.... I wanted him to come save me..." The old wound opened up once more. "It was horrible Momma."
"He would have come for you if he had known, Sara. He would have done everything for you. I would have done everything for you." Abigail pulled back. "Dear, Rebecca left something for you. Something..."
The door to the back opened, drawing their attention. A young man - at least sixteen years old - with wet black hair stepped in, naked from the chest up save for the stripped shirt held over his shoulder, which was as soaked with water as his trousers. He was handsome and muscled, clearly a farmer's son. He looked to Abigail and then to Sara. "What's going on here, Grandma Abigail?"
"Where are the children, William?"
"Sara's bringing them back. We just about had to pull Abe out of the river, he was so fixed on swimming more." The young man had the familiar accent of someone from this region of New Salem. "So, why do we have an officer here?"
Abigail grinned. "William, this is your grandmother Sara."
If William looked surprised, Sara looked more surprised. She looked at the young man closely, with widened eyes. "You.... you're my.... Rebecca had children?"
"Grandma Sara?" William blinked. "I... I'd heard stories... Mom used to talk about finally meeting you all the time."
They went to hug, but Abigail stopped them with a sharp "Ah ah ah". Looking to the matriarch of the Proctor family, they were answered with, "You're not messing up that fine uniform by hugging him while he's dripping wet. William, go wipe down and change in your room." William did so, smirking with amusement.
The door opened once more and a procession of four children entered. The eldest was a brunette like Sara, who looked to be about 12 or 13; there was another girl of about seven years of age, and two boys, aged about 9 and 5 respectively. Unlike William they were all fully dressed, although clearly wet. "Sara, everyone, I'd like you to meet your Grandma Sara," Abigail said proudly.
Sara was taken aback to see all of these grandchildren. She looked to her mother. "What about their father's family?"
"Willie's brother and father was killed fighting Lisea. His mother was executed a month after he was for blasphemy." Abigail shook her head. "We're their only family, Sara. Now you four go get dry clothes!"
They filed out rather obediently. "I'd be at my wits' end if not for William," Abigail confessed. "He's a rock, just like his father.... and your's. Nothing at all like Tom Bransfield, thank the Lord."
Sara nodded in acknowledgement, but she could barely restrain herself, and the instant the children emerged from drying off she went to them. William was first, young and strong in his embrace. Then there was her namesake, gentle, and the three youngest - Sam, Beth, and Abe - who all hugged her at the same time as Abigail introduced them. Sara was weeping while they each clamored for the attention of this strange young-looking woman who was their grandmother, a person they'd known only by the spoken dreams of their mother and the guilt-laden laments of their great-grandmother.
"Grandma Sara, you're an officer?" This was from William. "And that's the uniform of Devenshire isn't it?"
"Yes, William. Queen Minerva gave me a commission in her Navy. I, well, saved her parents' lives when they were fleeing Devenshire almost thirty years ago." Sara smiled at her inquisitive grandson, and if she remembered protocol correctly, heir. "As for my rank? I... oh my, Momma, I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you."
Abigail smiled softly. "That's alright, dear, we had such important things to talk about first."
Sara walked away from them all and turned back. Smiling as widely as she ever had in her life, she said, "I'm not just a Grand Captain in the Devenshire Navy anymore. I am now Her Highness the Grand Duchess of Illustrious, Duchess of the Rochester Islands, of Courtland, and other places, Countess of blah blah blah..." She broke out chuckling at that moment, blushing and more than a bit embarrassed with herself.
The family stared for a moment. "Does... does that mean I'm a prince?", little Abe finally asked in astonishment, causing his elder siblings to giggle and chuckle.
"No, honey, but you're.... something. I'll have to ask the protocol minister." Sara giggled happily and accepted a hug from the others. "I was surprised when I was asked to accept the title. But Queen Minerva needs people who are committed to making life better for the people there. They've suffered a lot, as slaves and then under occupation and in the war, and I've seen too much slavery in my life to turn them down." Sara shrugged sheepishly. "So, hee, I'm an aristocrat now. But... this doesn't change anything. I want you to know that. I... I wanted to meet your mother so much, I haven't seen her since the day she was born. She's gone now, but she left you, and I'll be here for you like I wished I'd been for her. If you want to stay here, I'll do everything I can to support you. And if you want to come..."
"Do you have a castle?!"
"Um.... I have a palace, Sam, which is more like a mansion than a castle..."
"Do you have your own spaceship?!" Now it was Beth.
"At least one. The Fabian. I've had her for almost forty years." Sara shrugged. "I haven't counted the ships I'm supposed to get as Grand Duchess yet."
"We wanna come with you!" The younger children all clamored in such a fashion, making Abigail smile and Sara blush. She looked to the eldest now, William and Sara. Her namesake blushed a little. "I... I like the simple life, Grandma. I like caring for children. I'm not fit to be a... whatever it is I'd be."
"There are worlds in my holdings where you can do just that, Sara. And there are so many orphaned children..." Sara smiled at her namesake. "Or you can stay here, if this is where you'd be happy."
"No, no." Sara (the younger) shook her head. "I can't leave the little ones. If they go, I go."
It was William's turn. He looked from Abigail to Sara and back to Abigail. "I... don't want to leave you here alone."
"Oh, I'll be fine," Abigail retorted. "The township will watch out for me."
"Momma, you can come to. I'd... like you to come."
Mother looked at daughter. "My home is here, Sara. I grew up here. All of my memories are here. I can't leave it."
"Momma... at least visit, please? I want to show you everything, I want to show you all everything."
Abigail sighed. "Oh, I can't deny those eyes, never could. I'll come with you for now, but I'm coming back."
"Of course, Mother. I won't stop you. But who'll help you with the farm?"
"I'll let Goodman Riley's sons look over the farm. They're the lucky ones, returned from both the wars, and they need a good place to settle down."
"Grandma Sara, when are we going?!"
"Always so impatient, Abe." Abigail clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
"I'll go make arrangements for a truck."
"Go pack, children!"
When they'd all gone upstairs, William and the younger Sara trying to keep them from tripping each other, Sara looked to Abigail. "Don't they have friends, Momma? I can't believe they want to leave so quick. I never wanted to leave when I was that young."
"They didn't grow up like you did, Sara. Even Abe remembers Salem City." Abigail put a hand on Sara's shoulder, looking sad. "Besides, many of the families here that still have kids were supporters of Leewood. With what happened to their parents, they were teased so mercilessly at school that I had to have them home tutored. Goody Harrison, God bless her, gave me the materials and advice to do it." Abigail sighed. "Look at you. You're beautiful, and you've become something your father and I never even imagined. You're a symbol to everyone now, with those books you've written, the things you've done. I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you Momma." Sara hugged Abigail yet again; after years apart she didn't know if she could stop hugging her mother. "Thank you very much. And can you do me one favor, Momma?"
"What is it, Dear?"
"Don't leave us." Sara ended the hug enough for them to see one another's faces. "I want you to be at my wedding."
"Wedding?"
"There's a man I love, Momma, and I've loved him for years. And now, after everything that has happened... I want to marry him, and to be with him until the end. His name is Julio...."
7 October 2841 CON-5ST
5 December 2162 AST
The lone Army jeep rumbled down the mud road into town, the Corporal at the wheel ignoring his passenger as she looked about. After over four decades, Sara Proctor again saw the tall trees and fresh grass of the land she grew up in.
Eyes turned here and there, and most of the faces were unfamiliar. Sara sadly wondered how many of the children she grew up with had died in the wars. She wondered particularly where her parents were, if they too had died in the previous years.
And there was her daughter, the precious little girl she had gained and lost in an instant, to be raised by the parents of the boy who betrayed Sara so callously, forever ending the innocence of teenage naivety.
So now, 45 years after teenage Sara Proctor left Giles Township in disgrace as a branded seductress, Her Highness Sara Proctor the Grand Duchess of Illustrious and so on had returned as high nobility for one of the nations that had conquered New Plymouth.
Her clothing was a military-like uniform, though it did bear the insignia of her family invested now in Illustrious - it was in the light purple color favored by the Devenshires with golden tassels and epaulets upon the shoulder boards.
The jeep made it's first stop at the old militia fort that Sara had remembered from her childhood. It was mostly intact, though the flag that flew over it now was that of the Alliance of Democratic Nations - the first of the great powers from other universes that were turning Sara's cosmos upside down. The platoon of infantry that was maintaining order in the Township was from the Republic of Texas in a universe called FHI-8; Sara met with the Lieutenant who was in charge of the post and endured a short welcome ceremony with the troops in full uniform and at attention. This duty done, Sara had her escorts take her to the only place that she wanted to see.
The old Proctor homestead and farm, the one her father was threatened with losing when Sara was shamed, was still intact. It showed no signs of neglect, making Sara a bit hopeful. Everywhere she saw things she remembered as a child - the great tree outside the house was still there, and the wooden swing her father had put up for her when Sara was but three was still intact, much to her surprise. Bittersweet tears, with a smile of the same flavor, came to her at happy memories long clouded by time and darker moments. Alone, she walked up to the front door of the small two story home and knocked on the wooden door. Her heart threatened to beat itself out of her chest. Would it be her parents answering? Or a stranger?
The door finally swung open. Standing in the doorway was an old woman, her hair long turned silver-gray by age, with a face wrinkled from years of worry and toil. Her dress was a plain dark blouse and knee-length dress, the standard for all the women in Giles. She looked at Sara with blue eyes, just like those Sara possessed, which widened a little. "Sara?" was her reply, in an aged voice that seemed weary.
There were hot tears in Sara's eyes now. "Momma?" She reached out a hand to her aged mother. "You're still alive. Thank God, you're still alive," she wept.
"Sara!" Abigail Proctor threw her arms around her daughter in a hug as powerful as she could give. "Oh my dear little girl, I've waited so long."
"I have too, Momma." Sara put her arms around her mother and lost half a century of age - she was again a young girl who wanted nothing more than a reassuring hug from her mother. "I've been praying for this day."
"Oh Sara, please forgive me," Abigail cried. "Please."
"I do Momma. I forgive you. I love you."
And that was that. For Sara, the youthful bitterness of her parents siding with the boy who betrayed her had long surrendered to the years alone, with no family, and she was in no mood to be bitter, not now.
With that done, her mother led Sara into her old home. Not much had changed from the days of old; her parents had even put back on the wall the picture of Sara that they had angrily removed before throwing her out of the house. Abigail led Sara into the den. The furniture had changed at least. Abigail led Sara to one chair across from a low-set table. "Do you want anything dear?"
"Only some water. But I can..."
Abigail waved Sara off. She went into the kitchen and returned with a couple of cups and a pitcher of water. Sitting them on the table, Abigail looked across at her daughter with tears still in her eyes. "I can't tell you how much joy I had to see you at the door, Sara. I've been praying that I might see you once last time before the Lord brings me home."
Sara looked at her mother, rather afraid. "What do you mean?"
"My dear, I am growing old. It was only by God's fortune that I survived the last winter." Abigail grinned sadly at Sara. "It's so strange to see you and to know how old you are, yet to see you as young as you were on that... horrible day. It's like you've come back from right that moment."
"I'm sorry it took the Church so long to allow the treatments here," was Sara's reply. After taking a sip of water, she asked, "Momma, where's Dad?"
Abigail looked down and Sara knew her father was gone. Her heart ached. She had wanted to see him one last time, to apologize for failing to be a good daughter for him, for letting herself get lied to and tricked. His disappointed look in the courtroom that long-past day still haunted her, because Sara had loved "Daddy" from the very beginning. Even these days, waking up from nightmares made her want to have him there again, to hold her with those strong arms and reassure her that everything was going to be fine. Sara began to tear up. "What happened, Momma?"
"Your Father was called into service in the war against Lisea, Sara. He died twelve years ago on Radcliffe." Abigail looked down. "Goodman Tucker was with your Father when he died. He said that Abraham called out your name and died begging forgiveness for not believing you."
The tears came freely now. "Daddy", Sara sobbed, after which she put her hands to her face and cried for a while, her mother walking over and bringing her grieving daughter into an embrace. Finally, when Sara had calmed herself down, she looked up at her mother, as if remembering something. "Momma, what happened to Rebecca? What happened to my little girl?"
Abigail Proctor smiled and sat back down. "She was raised well by the Bransfields. They said she was as beautiful as you were when she became a young woman."
Sara smiled. "Did she ever find out about me?"
Abigail nodded. "Yes. When she was sixteen. Minister Giles retired then, and he was replaced by a fiery young man - Goodman Hale's son Daniel, the one who went to the Church schools. Daniel Hale had fallen in with the United Faith movement. He was loyal to Hanson Leewood, and the Bransfields were not. So a few months after he started here, the good Minister Hale gave a series of fiery sermons about hypocrisy, deceit, and all sorts of other things that made quite clear what he was talking about. The Bransfields decided to fess up, since everyone in the town knew the truth anyway, and told Rebecca that the young man she'd called her brother had been her father. It was up to others to tell her that her mother had been sent away in disgrace after being betrayed by him. The Bransfields lost her then, and Rebecca joined us. She got married to William Heresford, a nice young journalist from the city, and they were happy."
As Sara heard about this, her heart warmed. All of those dreams and nightmares about her daughter, and this surpassed them all. To know she was happy.... was happy.... "Momma, where is Rebecca?" Sara asked, a horrible feeling making her stomach knot.
Abigail looked at her daughter with sad eyes. "Willie was opposed to Leewood. Nothing came of it until eighteen months ago. The Church Inquisition arrested them in Salem City for sedition and blasphemy when Willie was at a reporter's seminar. They were tried, convicted, and executed within a matter of days. Just like Minister Giles, Goodman Bransfield..."
"Noooooo!" Sara's crying became hysterical. "Not my little girl! No!" She collapsed out of the chair and to her knees, a hand over her eyes and another holding her up from the floor. "This isn't fair! This isn't fair!"
"Sara. Sara, dear...." Abigail went back to her daughter once more, to comfort her while she wept as well. This time it took very, very long for Sara to be calmed. Even when the crying and sobbing became managable, she could barely speak. The weight of grief on her was unbearable, indeed, had been the heaviest weight on her soul in a very long time. She had lost her beloved father and the little girl who had kept Sara's imagination all these years. Sara would once have offered to die for the chance to hold her little girl just once, to tell her who she was and that she was loved by her mother. But that chance was gone now.
"Momma, I never got the chance to tell Rebecca that I loved her. I never got to see her, and she... she never got to see me and learn how much I loved her. I... I've been through so much, I've endured so much, and it was all for a chance to see her one more time. This isn't fair."
Abigail shook her head. "No, it isn't. Leewood's hurt so many of us. The man was a demon, a false prophet, and we were all so wrapped up in our righteousness that we didn't see him for the devil he was until he had set us on the evil path. Willie and Rebecca knew before many of us did, and they died for that. I'm so sorry, Sara."
"Momma...." Sara let her mother bring her back to her feet. "I was raped, Momma."
Abiigail gasped and pulled her close. "I'm sorry, Sara. It's my fault. I shouldn't have... Abraham and I should have forgiven you and let you stay. We failed you."
"I cried for Daddy.... I wanted him to come save me..." The old wound opened up once more. "It was horrible Momma."
"He would have come for you if he had known, Sara. He would have done everything for you. I would have done everything for you." Abigail pulled back. "Dear, Rebecca left something for you. Something..."
The door to the back opened, drawing their attention. A young man - at least sixteen years old - with wet black hair stepped in, naked from the chest up save for the stripped shirt held over his shoulder, which was as soaked with water as his trousers. He was handsome and muscled, clearly a farmer's son. He looked to Abigail and then to Sara. "What's going on here, Grandma Abigail?"
"Where are the children, William?"
"Sara's bringing them back. We just about had to pull Abe out of the river, he was so fixed on swimming more." The young man had the familiar accent of someone from this region of New Salem. "So, why do we have an officer here?"
Abigail grinned. "William, this is your grandmother Sara."
If William looked surprised, Sara looked more surprised. She looked at the young man closely, with widened eyes. "You.... you're my.... Rebecca had children?"
"Grandma Sara?" William blinked. "I... I'd heard stories... Mom used to talk about finally meeting you all the time."
They went to hug, but Abigail stopped them with a sharp "Ah ah ah". Looking to the matriarch of the Proctor family, they were answered with, "You're not messing up that fine uniform by hugging him while he's dripping wet. William, go wipe down and change in your room." William did so, smirking with amusement.
The door opened once more and a procession of four children entered. The eldest was a brunette like Sara, who looked to be about 12 or 13; there was another girl of about seven years of age, and two boys, aged about 9 and 5 respectively. Unlike William they were all fully dressed, although clearly wet. "Sara, everyone, I'd like you to meet your Grandma Sara," Abigail said proudly.
Sara was taken aback to see all of these grandchildren. She looked to her mother. "What about their father's family?"
"Willie's brother and father was killed fighting Lisea. His mother was executed a month after he was for blasphemy." Abigail shook her head. "We're their only family, Sara. Now you four go get dry clothes!"
They filed out rather obediently. "I'd be at my wits' end if not for William," Abigail confessed. "He's a rock, just like his father.... and your's. Nothing at all like Tom Bransfield, thank the Lord."
Sara nodded in acknowledgement, but she could barely restrain herself, and the instant the children emerged from drying off she went to them. William was first, young and strong in his embrace. Then there was her namesake, gentle, and the three youngest - Sam, Beth, and Abe - who all hugged her at the same time as Abigail introduced them. Sara was weeping while they each clamored for the attention of this strange young-looking woman who was their grandmother, a person they'd known only by the spoken dreams of their mother and the guilt-laden laments of their great-grandmother.
"Grandma Sara, you're an officer?" This was from William. "And that's the uniform of Devenshire isn't it?"
"Yes, William. Queen Minerva gave me a commission in her Navy. I, well, saved her parents' lives when they were fleeing Devenshire almost thirty years ago." Sara smiled at her inquisitive grandson, and if she remembered protocol correctly, heir. "As for my rank? I... oh my, Momma, I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you."
Abigail smiled softly. "That's alright, dear, we had such important things to talk about first."
Sara walked away from them all and turned back. Smiling as widely as she ever had in her life, she said, "I'm not just a Grand Captain in the Devenshire Navy anymore. I am now Her Highness the Grand Duchess of Illustrious, Duchess of the Rochester Islands, of Courtland, and other places, Countess of blah blah blah..." She broke out chuckling at that moment, blushing and more than a bit embarrassed with herself.
The family stared for a moment. "Does... does that mean I'm a prince?", little Abe finally asked in astonishment, causing his elder siblings to giggle and chuckle.
"No, honey, but you're.... something. I'll have to ask the protocol minister." Sara giggled happily and accepted a hug from the others. "I was surprised when I was asked to accept the title. But Queen Minerva needs people who are committed to making life better for the people there. They've suffered a lot, as slaves and then under occupation and in the war, and I've seen too much slavery in my life to turn them down." Sara shrugged sheepishly. "So, hee, I'm an aristocrat now. But... this doesn't change anything. I want you to know that. I... I wanted to meet your mother so much, I haven't seen her since the day she was born. She's gone now, but she left you, and I'll be here for you like I wished I'd been for her. If you want to stay here, I'll do everything I can to support you. And if you want to come..."
"Do you have a castle?!"
"Um.... I have a palace, Sam, which is more like a mansion than a castle..."
"Do you have your own spaceship?!" Now it was Beth.
"At least one. The Fabian. I've had her for almost forty years." Sara shrugged. "I haven't counted the ships I'm supposed to get as Grand Duchess yet."
"We wanna come with you!" The younger children all clamored in such a fashion, making Abigail smile and Sara blush. She looked to the eldest now, William and Sara. Her namesake blushed a little. "I... I like the simple life, Grandma. I like caring for children. I'm not fit to be a... whatever it is I'd be."
"There are worlds in my holdings where you can do just that, Sara. And there are so many orphaned children..." Sara smiled at her namesake. "Or you can stay here, if this is where you'd be happy."
"No, no." Sara (the younger) shook her head. "I can't leave the little ones. If they go, I go."
It was William's turn. He looked from Abigail to Sara and back to Abigail. "I... don't want to leave you here alone."
"Oh, I'll be fine," Abigail retorted. "The township will watch out for me."
"Momma, you can come to. I'd... like you to come."
Mother looked at daughter. "My home is here, Sara. I grew up here. All of my memories are here. I can't leave it."
"Momma... at least visit, please? I want to show you everything, I want to show you all everything."
Abigail sighed. "Oh, I can't deny those eyes, never could. I'll come with you for now, but I'm coming back."
"Of course, Mother. I won't stop you. But who'll help you with the farm?"
"I'll let Goodman Riley's sons look over the farm. They're the lucky ones, returned from both the wars, and they need a good place to settle down."
"Grandma Sara, when are we going?!"
"Always so impatient, Abe." Abigail clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
"I'll go make arrangements for a truck."
"Go pack, children!"
When they'd all gone upstairs, William and the younger Sara trying to keep them from tripping each other, Sara looked to Abigail. "Don't they have friends, Momma? I can't believe they want to leave so quick. I never wanted to leave when I was that young."
"They didn't grow up like you did, Sara. Even Abe remembers Salem City." Abigail put a hand on Sara's shoulder, looking sad. "Besides, many of the families here that still have kids were supporters of Leewood. With what happened to their parents, they were teased so mercilessly at school that I had to have them home tutored. Goody Harrison, God bless her, gave me the materials and advice to do it." Abigail sighed. "Look at you. You're beautiful, and you've become something your father and I never even imagined. You're a symbol to everyone now, with those books you've written, the things you've done. I'm so proud of you."
"Thank you Momma." Sara hugged Abigail yet again; after years apart she didn't know if she could stop hugging her mother. "Thank you very much. And can you do me one favor, Momma?"
"What is it, Dear?"
"Don't leave us." Sara ended the hug enough for them to see one another's faces. "I want you to be at my wedding."
"Wedding?"
"There's a man I love, Momma, and I've loved him for years. And now, after everything that has happened... I want to marry him, and to be with him until the end. His name is Julio...."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
-
Ford Prefect
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 8254
- Joined: 2005-05-16 04:08am
- Location: The real number domain
Kalunda, Gilead
17 October 2841
15 December 2162 AST
The moon of Gilead was out, bathing everything in a silvery light. The reflection of the moonlight off the shimmering surface of the abandoned royal pool on the Palace roof fit Dani's mood perfectly. She was sitting on the ceramic flooring around the pool, wearing a bathrobe to cover the silk swimwear she had put on, just to find that she had no temptation to swim, probably since she had spent nearly every day in Kalunda swimming with Jhayka. And when she wasn't swimming with her, or eating with her and Illavna, Dani had been to and from the Alliance subconsulate waiting to hear if anything more had been heard about Fayza. All she knew now was that Fay had last been tracked to Ar - the capital of the Normans. When she had informed the others of this, she had gotten mostly sympathy.
She wanted to weep for her lost friend, suffering God knows what, but Dani was too angry to weep. She was in a paradise, a beautiful city with luxury and companionship everywhere. She was free.... Fayza was not. She was angry at her fortune. And she was angry at Fay for wanting to come here.
So Dani sat there, legs curled up to where she could set her chin on her knees if she really wanted. She did absolutely nothing, content to brood and imagine Fayza's screams as... whatever was happening to her.
There was movement beside her that drew Dani's attention. Amber walked up, wearing a robe like her's. "Coming for a night swim?"
"I thought about it. But right now I want to be alone."
"Brooding about your friend isn't going to help her any," Amber said. She sat down next to Dani, stretching her legs out to put the heels of her bare feet into the pool. "There's nothing you could have done."
"I could have insisted on New Daytona. Or any other damned place but here. That's what I could have done." Dani frowned. "I could have watched her more closely and made sure everything was on the up and up."
Amber chuckled. "Women from your society usually don't like their friends watching them have sex with men. Kalundan women can get awkward about it too, even."
"Dammit, don't laugh at me!"
"Fine, I'll just be blunt. Stop being stupid!" Amber got to her feet. "Just what in the Hell were you supposed to do? Barge in on your friend's life? Monitor her every move? She's a grown woman, Danielle, just as you are, and she's entitled to her privacy."
That made Dani look up. "My leave ends in two days," Dani finally said. "I'm supposed to have left yesterday to get back. I haven't heard back yet on whether my resignation was accepted. If it wasn't... and I don't get back... I won't be able to go home. I'll be a fugitive from my own home, wanted for desertion."
"Why don't you go back then? You can't find her on your own."
"No, but Jhayka can help me. She's traveling to Ar the day after tomorrow. She's promised me that if we can, we'll find Fayza and buy her out of slavery. I... I owe Fay that much."
"Then don't worry about it." Amber smirked. "If the worst came of it, you could always stay here."
Dani looked at Amber, rather irritated. Amber stood up and removed her robe, wearing nothing beneath. At first Dani thought Amber was going to start her swim, but instead Amber gave a clearly calculated look to Dani and sat back down, this time in front of Dani facing her directly. "That looks uncomfortable," Dani remarked, indicating the ground and where Amber was seated upon it.
"I'm used to it." Amber shook her head and snickered. "You... really are dense."
"And you have absolutely no subtlety."
"I've never been one for being subtle. And we Kalundans tend to be direct about these things." Amber adjusted her sitting posture. Dani looked at her mischievous brown eyes and downward, to inviting lips, a gracious neckline, and full, gorgeous breasts. "Danielle Verdes, you are a beautiful woman, and I want to have sex with you. We can have it in the pool, or on one of the chairs, or we can retire to one of our rooms if you desire." A smirk appeared on her face. "A trip to the underground levels? You look like you could use a little spice."
Dani was grinning, despite herself. She shifted position as well, getting to her knees and moving closer to Amber. With a mock conspiratorial whisper, she asked, "Blindfolds and handcuffs?"
"You or me?"
"Rubbing oils?"
"Plenty."
Dani giggled. "Hmm. So, how would the story go? Tonight, in this moonlight, we submit to mutual attraction and have the best sex of our lives. Tomorrow we defy the world and go to Ar, where we swiftly find Fay and the brutal monster she's been sold to. We ignore all consequences to ourselves and rescue Fayza in a daring attack, undoubtedly uncovering some foul plot by an evil Norman mastermind in the process. The plot is foiled and we return to Kalunda with Fayza as heroines and lovers. And we have more sex." Dani nodded at that final note. "That's how it would go."
Amber, for her part, merely looked on, sensing where this was going.
As if popping a ballon upon blowing it up, Dani smacked her hands together. "Oh, but this isn't a holovid. This is the real world. And that's not what I'm looking for anymore." And without a further word, Dani stood up and went to leave.
"Danielle, you sound disappointed."
Responding to Amber's remark, Dani turned. "After seeing the vids and reading the books, I thought you were a rebel, that you'd turned against your people's hedonism and stood for higher things. Even when I hadn't changed, I still thought that of you and I liked it. But you're not. You're a slut like the other women here, and I'm.. I'm not into that. I've done that shit. I've been into the kink, into the free love, the one night stands. And... I don't want that anymore. I want stability! I don't want another fuck buddy, I want a lover, someone to hold at night, to tell me that I'm loved, that I matter."
Frowning, though not reacting with the fury that would have been expected from someone outside Gilead, Amber crossed her arms over her chest. "Danielle, I used to feel that way. And for years I remained lonely. I had nobody but my daughter. And then I lost her! And.... I'm too old for rebellion. I'm too old to give a damn about it. It's sex. It's pleasure. I like it. That's all the reason I need." And with that said, Amber sighed. "I should have known better. My people are too different from your's. A gap like that... it wouldn't work." She reached down and retrieved the discarded robe. "Have a good night, Danielle. Good luck finding Fayza."
Dani nodded and, without a pause, returned to her room. A message was waiting for her, and one of her worries was gone.
Her resignation had been approved.
17 October 2841
15 December 2162 AST
The moon of Gilead was out, bathing everything in a silvery light. The reflection of the moonlight off the shimmering surface of the abandoned royal pool on the Palace roof fit Dani's mood perfectly. She was sitting on the ceramic flooring around the pool, wearing a bathrobe to cover the silk swimwear she had put on, just to find that she had no temptation to swim, probably since she had spent nearly every day in Kalunda swimming with Jhayka. And when she wasn't swimming with her, or eating with her and Illavna, Dani had been to and from the Alliance subconsulate waiting to hear if anything more had been heard about Fayza. All she knew now was that Fay had last been tracked to Ar - the capital of the Normans. When she had informed the others of this, she had gotten mostly sympathy.
She wanted to weep for her lost friend, suffering God knows what, but Dani was too angry to weep. She was in a paradise, a beautiful city with luxury and companionship everywhere. She was free.... Fayza was not. She was angry at her fortune. And she was angry at Fay for wanting to come here.
So Dani sat there, legs curled up to where she could set her chin on her knees if she really wanted. She did absolutely nothing, content to brood and imagine Fayza's screams as... whatever was happening to her.
There was movement beside her that drew Dani's attention. Amber walked up, wearing a robe like her's. "Coming for a night swim?"
"I thought about it. But right now I want to be alone."
"Brooding about your friend isn't going to help her any," Amber said. She sat down next to Dani, stretching her legs out to put the heels of her bare feet into the pool. "There's nothing you could have done."
"I could have insisted on New Daytona. Or any other damned place but here. That's what I could have done." Dani frowned. "I could have watched her more closely and made sure everything was on the up and up."
Amber chuckled. "Women from your society usually don't like their friends watching them have sex with men. Kalundan women can get awkward about it too, even."
"Dammit, don't laugh at me!"
"Fine, I'll just be blunt. Stop being stupid!" Amber got to her feet. "Just what in the Hell were you supposed to do? Barge in on your friend's life? Monitor her every move? She's a grown woman, Danielle, just as you are, and she's entitled to her privacy."
That made Dani look up. "My leave ends in two days," Dani finally said. "I'm supposed to have left yesterday to get back. I haven't heard back yet on whether my resignation was accepted. If it wasn't... and I don't get back... I won't be able to go home. I'll be a fugitive from my own home, wanted for desertion."
"Why don't you go back then? You can't find her on your own."
"No, but Jhayka can help me. She's traveling to Ar the day after tomorrow. She's promised me that if we can, we'll find Fayza and buy her out of slavery. I... I owe Fay that much."
"Then don't worry about it." Amber smirked. "If the worst came of it, you could always stay here."
Dani looked at Amber, rather irritated. Amber stood up and removed her robe, wearing nothing beneath. At first Dani thought Amber was going to start her swim, but instead Amber gave a clearly calculated look to Dani and sat back down, this time in front of Dani facing her directly. "That looks uncomfortable," Dani remarked, indicating the ground and where Amber was seated upon it.
"I'm used to it." Amber shook her head and snickered. "You... really are dense."
"And you have absolutely no subtlety."
"I've never been one for being subtle. And we Kalundans tend to be direct about these things." Amber adjusted her sitting posture. Dani looked at her mischievous brown eyes and downward, to inviting lips, a gracious neckline, and full, gorgeous breasts. "Danielle Verdes, you are a beautiful woman, and I want to have sex with you. We can have it in the pool, or on one of the chairs, or we can retire to one of our rooms if you desire." A smirk appeared on her face. "A trip to the underground levels? You look like you could use a little spice."
Dani was grinning, despite herself. She shifted position as well, getting to her knees and moving closer to Amber. With a mock conspiratorial whisper, she asked, "Blindfolds and handcuffs?"
"You or me?"
"Rubbing oils?"
"Plenty."
Dani giggled. "Hmm. So, how would the story go? Tonight, in this moonlight, we submit to mutual attraction and have the best sex of our lives. Tomorrow we defy the world and go to Ar, where we swiftly find Fay and the brutal monster she's been sold to. We ignore all consequences to ourselves and rescue Fayza in a daring attack, undoubtedly uncovering some foul plot by an evil Norman mastermind in the process. The plot is foiled and we return to Kalunda with Fayza as heroines and lovers. And we have more sex." Dani nodded at that final note. "That's how it would go."
Amber, for her part, merely looked on, sensing where this was going.
As if popping a ballon upon blowing it up, Dani smacked her hands together. "Oh, but this isn't a holovid. This is the real world. And that's not what I'm looking for anymore." And without a further word, Dani stood up and went to leave.
"Danielle, you sound disappointed."
Responding to Amber's remark, Dani turned. "After seeing the vids and reading the books, I thought you were a rebel, that you'd turned against your people's hedonism and stood for higher things. Even when I hadn't changed, I still thought that of you and I liked it. But you're not. You're a slut like the other women here, and I'm.. I'm not into that. I've done that shit. I've been into the kink, into the free love, the one night stands. And... I don't want that anymore. I want stability! I don't want another fuck buddy, I want a lover, someone to hold at night, to tell me that I'm loved, that I matter."
Frowning, though not reacting with the fury that would have been expected from someone outside Gilead, Amber crossed her arms over her chest. "Danielle, I used to feel that way. And for years I remained lonely. I had nobody but my daughter. And then I lost her! And.... I'm too old for rebellion. I'm too old to give a damn about it. It's sex. It's pleasure. I like it. That's all the reason I need." And with that said, Amber sighed. "I should have known better. My people are too different from your's. A gap like that... it wouldn't work." She reached down and retrieved the discarded robe. "Have a good night, Danielle. Good luck finding Fayza."
Dani nodded and, without a pause, returned to her room. A message was waiting for her, and one of her worries was gone.
Her resignation had been approved.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
As usual, this was co-written by myself and Marina.
North of Kalunda
19 October 2841
15 December 2162 AST
Jhayka's armored train was rumbling along toward the Norman capital of Ar, Kalunda's beauty now long replaced by the forests and open hills of the Henley region. During the day Dani had sat and looked out the window, enjoying the beauty of the nearly empty countryside. Occasionally one could see a rider or a group moving along, or packs of animals. It looked even better than the holovids of Sara Proctor's memoirs. Dani could see why some people chose to forsake the luxuries of modern living and take to these hills and forests.
Dinner was done now and the lounge car was nearly empty and quiet now. Jhayka was at her desk, reading and writing something. Illavna had left to do other things, leaving Dani to her thoughts.
I'm out now. It was still a little surprising to her how quickly it had come and gone. Her resignation had been accepted and Dani wasn't sure she'd want to return to the service even after she found Fay. For the first time since she was nearly a teenager, Dani was freed from the obligations of uniform, though her obligations were even more oppressive.
Here I am, rocketing off toward the home city of a people who see nothing wrong with enslaving women... people who tried to enslave me. What would happen when they got to Ar was still unknown. She was prepared to, if necessary, spend the entire time on the train, but she still held out hope that they might find a clue to where Fay was... if they didn't actually find her outright.
Sometimes, particularly when so morose looking as she was whilst handling paperwork, Jhayka also seemed remarkably prescient. "Ar is an interesting place," she commented at last, quietly suggestive. "It's a very considerable city, by preindustrial standards, and the culture is unique. It's also a dangerous place for you." Jhayka looked up, her eyes seeming clear in the dark. "You're aware of that, yes? I assume Lady Amber tried to talk you out of coming, at the least?" An almost amused look, there, if somewhat negative--Jhayka had been somewhat bothered by the other noblewoman's advances against Danielle and it showed, if most subtly, and mostly by the flexing of her ears as she spoke. For the moment, though, she was very calm about it, and everything else, for that matter.
"She made the danger rather clear. More clear than I wanted to know." Dani looked to Jhayka. The way her ears had moved made Dani wonder, yet again, just how the flexibility of a Taloran's ears spoke of their moods. Jhayka seemed calm enough, but then again, she was always rather stoic. "But I wasn't very interested in what she had to say, about that or other things. I just want to find my friend." Dani stood up and moved to a chair nearer to Jhayka. Looking at her, even as she was seemingly immersed in her work, Dani could tell she had the Taloran's attention. "What about you? I don't know much about Normans, but I don't imagine you'll be all that welcome either. They have contempt for people from civilization, especially women, and I'm not sure they'll give you much distinction because you're not Human."
"Not under the guns of the train," Jhayka answered somewhat contemptuously. "For all that this is an improvised weapon, the power of the guns is quite real. You're not a land officer so I wouldn't expect you to notice this, but we're packing the firepower of a tank company bolted haphazardly onto this train. I could literally demolish the walls of Ar in an afternoon of firing, seeing as how they are straight chiseled stone which is not ever designed to withstand chemical artillery. Fire shots along the lower section.. Undermine and collapse.. And they know it, too. Or if they don't.." Jhayka's ears subtly stiffened and she laughed softly. "Well, Danielle, that at least is not my concern. As for in the city itself--I fear not ambush, though the reasons why I prefer not to go into. And I'll probably dress rather elaborately, anyway, so that the average street ruffian is not quite sure of who I am. We'll go heavily armed, naturally, but for at least some points I want be able to join in the male games with ease.." At that she paused for a moment to open up a drawer on her desk and reveal a mask, with a metallic protrusion around the mouth and rubber covering the whole of the facial area, or something similar, which she fitted to her face and then keyed a button on. Her voice came out harsh, scratched, and metallic: "A gas mask has other issues than defence, in this case, the communications module strips one's speech down to the bare minimum. We'll wear robes of course, and lots of clothing in general, though the styles of the free women of Ar are to cumbersome; we have our own from the deep deserts of the Great Divide, suited to quick fighting and self-defence." At that she removed the mask once more, an implement which it seemed she never kept far from herself.
Dani was very impressed with it. At least Jhayka would be relatively safe. And the mask gave her ideas...
"How many of those do you have? Are there any I might be able to use?" Dani didn't bother trying to hide her intent; should it be impossible to let her enter Ar, she could use the mask and heavy clothing to travel incognito to look for Fay.
"Oh, sure, I can have one obtained for you... I think there's a human variant that the mercs are using, these wouldn't fit as they're designed for a narrower face, but we definitely have some to human standards," Jhayka answered promptly, and the narrowed her eyes, which was an obvious enough emotive expression to be sure. "Are you thinking of accompanying me into the city on all of my forays?"
Dani looked at her and nodded. No use trying to dance around the issue with Jhayka. "That and more. I want to find anything I can on what happened to Fayza. And I promise I'll be careful. Is that okay with you?"
"Well, that is part of why I let you come along, is it not?" Jhayka frowned. "This could cause a fairly serious incident, you realize? I'd like your word that, if possible, the situation with Fayza will be handled peacefully. The Normans shall be going to war soon enough, I am sure of that, we do not need to press the issue, or get caught up in the middle of it, for that matter. I am not totally ruling out buying several slaves--just to get into their heads, so to speak, and see precisely how the Normans do indoctrinate the girls, since I of course have no belief in their bizarre theories. You, at any rate, suffice to disprove them in my eyes for the human female, being as you are intelligent, honourable, and generally of a suitable bearing," the archaic finishing term seeming almost natural to the formalized way the Talorans spoke english and meant, rather shyly, that Danielle's personality had just been complimented. "That's part of my urgency here, for I suspect that Ar will be the focal point of how the troubles of Gilead to come play out on this world; well, with its counterpoint between Kalunda, of course. So I visit these two places first. And all I have seen in Kalunda suggests to me that the violence will come even sooner than I before expected; I do think that opinion will indeed be sustained by our visit to Ar. That said, I will protect you like my own if it comes to it. What has happened to your friend is.. Most disgraceful."
It wasn't too tall an order. Dani knew it was virtually impossible she could free Fay with violence and escape from Norman territory. "You have my word that if we find Fayza, I won't do anything rash, unwise, or violent. I'll follow your lead."
After an accepting nod, Dani continued. "Do you really think it will come to violence, though? I mean, the situation on this world. It breaks my heart to think of Kalunda in flames, or anything else that might happen if a war breaks out as you think will happen."
"Thank you. I would prefer to simply buy her out; if not, well, we shall see what happens, but if you find her I will not leave her," Jhayka answered, then continued: "I think it will. Plot and counterplot, the general dissolution of civil control proceeding apace, the political elements to defend this dissolution allying from all fields to oppose the central government.. The grasping hands of foreign powers..." Jhayka smiled wanly. "It is the typical situation in which civil conflict begins. We are not unused to it on Talora, even if the last of our intramural battles were mostly fought in space against the Old Colonies; we are not as fractuous as humanity is here, by far, let alone in the other universes of the general multiverse which further compound matters. Though we are still quite capable of strife.." Her look was definitely sad then. "Mostly terrorism against the government, sometimes farmers' demonstrations that turn bloody, or major factory strikes. That sort of thing. Don't worry about Kalunda, though; the King is solid and their arms are decent, if green to modern ways of fighting--but their enemies will be worse off than they, and the defenders always have the advantage."
"So we'll be in a war zone. I can see why you invested in such heavy weapons." Dani tried to chuckle to lighten things up, but it came off rather awkwardly; it wasn't a funny subject. "You've actually talked to Normans, and I'm sure you know about them. What can we expect when we get to Ar? I mean, I only know some things from a holovid, and our movie-makers never get all the details right. All I really know about them is that they enslave people, particularly women, that they like their primitivist lifestyle, and that they think women like to get raped."
That last note was particularly distressing. It was still an academic subject for them, thankfully, but Dani had never felt more certain of imminent violation in her life than she had while a prisoner. The looks she got from her captors told her what they would do to her as soon as they desired it, and she never wanted to feel that powerless, that scared, again. Unfortunately, she didn't think being in ar would help with that very much; she was going to be surrounded by men who, given the chance, would gladly do those things to her. She trusted Jhayka and her protectors, of course, but there was still going to be that minor element of danger just from being there. If not for Fayza being missing, Dani would have been heading back to Cranstonville to get back to her posting, not racing toward the heart of Norman society here on Gilead.
Jhayka stretched out a bit, setting aside her pen, pushing her arms out to either side, even as her feet shifted to balance her chair while the train started a long curve. Then she settled in again, long arms bracing her head on the table to peer forward at Danielle. "That's a good question to be sure--and I'm glad you're curious about it. A lot of the details are not, in fact, gotten right. The average Norman is a fundamentally honourable individual, they aren't backstabbers as such. They are fiercely loyal to their city--they worship, roughly, something called the Home Stone or founding stone of the city of the Ar, and have similar stones for their family lines, to which they show considerable honour, though they are patriarchal. They are very brave in combat, personal and general fighting, but have little experience and regard it as a warrior's effort--they do not train," Jhayka concluded.
"As for their treatment of women, it is vile, disgusting, and uncivilized, and they regard the female human as being entirely mentally inferior; the intelligent can make exceptions for aliens, at least in public. The average one, however, would not, though I am by their standards too unattractive to warrant enslavement. You are not. Their belief about the natural submissiveness of women makes them use rather brutal methods to make women conform to these expectations, since women warrant no real consideration, though I suppose in a sick and twisted sense the master/slave relationship occasionally shows real affection. Their society is vaguely democratic among the free men of the city, and prone to conflict to settle disputes and determine leadership. Most importantly, it is heavily caste oriented, as rigid as the most rigid of the Hindu castes, with a change in caste an exceptionally rare thing for an individual; though of course even a man of the lowest caste improves his stature with a slave girl, which only heightens their desireability. Warriors naturally dominate society, and their caste essentially forms the government."
Dani shivered. Jhayka's remark about being unattractive to them - and how she, Dani, was not unattractive - reminded her of how close she'd come to being made a Norman slave. If not for that bit of masonry, the complacency of her jailers, and some quick thinking... I would be getting raped right now. They'd be turning me into some mindless slut. It was a horrible thing to contemplate. Dani turned her attentions back to what Jhayka was saying.
"Free women, I might add, are conditioned since very young to consider slavery desireable, and their sexual desires are focused into a neurosis of desire toward slavery, and not sated outside of it; they are intentionally made unhappy in this world, their lives those of cold and distant pleasure, for sake of not only controlling their urges since patrilineal inheiritance is uncertain and fidelity a life-or-death matter for a family line, but also to create in them subconscious desires for satiation which make it more willing to indoctrinate them as slaves such the customs for the enslavement of a free woman come into play against them. It is, in short, altogether most unpleasant."
It was hard for Dani to imagine such a society could manage to survive for very long. It occurred to her that this society was more vile, more deserving of destruction, than the ones the Alliance had warred with in recent years.
"It's very different from Kalunda. I know the Kalundans used to keep women enslaved, but not as bad as the Normans."
"What did you think of them, anyway? The Kalundans, and especially Amber? I thought they were friendly enough, if a bit exhibitionist."
"Well, the Kalundans, they are not so bad people now; nor, in comparison, were they before. Their customs now offer hope for the future, at least, if they still have a great deal of bias to overcome, and a tradition which is conductive toward extreme hedonism. But I don't really approve of the majority of their customs, and their women are.. Undignified.. By Taloran standards, as a legacy of the cultural expectations they were previously under, which they were taught to adhere to, and to which to some extent still inger. The Lady Amber comports herself well enough, but it was quite obvious what she desired from you, if I may say," Jhayka concluded delicately, and then, cocking her head to the side, eyes flicked down, asked: "Why do you ask? I'm certainly not unapproving of her, seeing as she is gallant enough.. And your affairs are your private matter, anyway."
"I wanted your perspective on things. I tend to rather enjoy it when you give them." Dani smiled thinly. "The Lady Amber, well, for me it was like meeting a hero from some movie or book and realizing the truth isn't quite the legend. I expected her to be more stoic, more reserved, than other Kalundan woman. I mean, she rejected her people's old ways when she was young and risked herself greatly in doing it. She was going to be exiled before Sara Proctor came to her rescue. And I just expected her to be like that, firm and heroic. I didn't expect her advances, especially not how she made them."
There was a sigh. "The odd thing is, well, I agree with you. They are undignified. And I used to be a bit like that. Not as bad as they are, but bad enough, I now think." Dani put a hand on her cheek. "Ten years ago, I would have welcomed Amber's advances and, well, responded to them. Today I find them annoying, disappointing.... To think I've changed so much in so short a time."
"A very short time, and all the more of a splendid change for it," Jhayka said, straightening back up and seeming all of a sudden more affiable, though perhaps it was just a trick of the uncertainty of Taloran emotions to a human's eye. "You're quite true about the Kalundan women, and even Lady Amber--Poor Ilavna Lashila, who is simply not attracted to women at all, had to fend them off fairly often enough. Mostly by preaching, I think, which is a very effective tactic though no-doubt from her eye a bit counterproductive in that sense," Jhayka barked a short laugh. "At any rate, the Kalundans are not a bad people, but they evidence the worst sort of licentiousness, which in some way detracts from their great martial skill and love of their homeland. But things will change with time--just as things are changing all around here thanks to the outside influences, and the forces which have themselves made my mission more urgent. Ah well.. I am grateful for that urgency in one respect: I wouldn't have had your acquaintance otherwise, and it shall be most worthwhile, even if you hand me a firefight in Ar as the price of my generousity."
Dani had giggled despite herself at the thought of Illavna, that sweet devout girl, fending off Kalundan women no doubt seeking the opportunity for sex with an alien girl by proselytizing to them. Dani had been subjected to a number of brazen attempts at pickups herself, not counting the night before last when Amber, with the aid of the moonlight, had very nearly succeeded.
It was a logical thing to see that the licentious nature of Kalundans might interfere with their other virtues. Comfort had a way of softening people, making them unwilling to make sacrifices. Comfort alone wasn't bad, of course, and was only dangerous in that aspect when there was nothing else to consider. The Kalundans in this aspect were better off than other hedonists on Gilead, as the Norman tyranny of Luvis' short reign was still in living memory for them.
"Speaking frankly," Dani began, returning to the subject of Kalunda, "I used to be as licentious as someone of my position could be. I'm sure you know our people don't have quite as many inhibitions about these things, even for military officers. We consider them private matters, and they remain so unless some fool makes them public, and then they get what's coming to them if you ask me. I had my share of escapades, yes, but I was always careful to remain anonymous. What I did, I did as a private citizen, not an officer."
"And, I'll add that while I've changed and no longer desire that lifestyle, my shame for it comes from my knowledge of what I cheated myself of, not the fact that I enjoyed it. I don't know how your people view things, but I'll say that I don't see anything wrong with enjoying sex. Nor do I see anything wrong with playful sex, or the playing out of sane sexual fantasies between lovers, and I can honestly tell you that I've had some rather creative experiences with partners in my lifetime."
"My problem with the Kalundans, with how I was, is that it encourages people to concentrate on the pleasure. I've found out, the hard way, that pleasure is worth nothing when you're alone in a bed for too long, without someone to hold onto, to whisper words into your ear and make you feel loved. Having a successful career, wealth, and fun isn't worth a damn if you're all alone in the universe, multiverse, what have you. So that's what I want now, and I won't be satisfied by anything less."
Smiling mischievously, Dani ended her monologue with a response to Jhayka's remarks about a firefight in Ar. "And when it comes to those Norman savages, I'll try not to get you into trouble, Jhayka, though if trouble begins anyway, I will enjoy beating the living crap out of Norman men, and I make no apologies for that. As far as I'm concerned, we'd be fighting for our lives because I'd rather be dead than a Norman slave. Not that dying is Plan A." Having said all this, Dani added, "Well, now you know what I've been and how I feel. I'm not sure how this all works with Talorans. Or even you, since I'm sure you're not the average Taloran noblewoman. I hope that I haven't caused any kind of offense, but I wanted to be honest about the matter to let you know where I stand."
"Well, I appreciate your honesty." That was all Jhayka said at first and it seemed she was uncomfortable. "We are a very reserved species, you know, we aren't given to excess--for the most part. There are, however, some of us that find it morally acceptable or even desireable, but they are not a popular part of our society and mostly associated with groups which are against the Heirs of the Sword, and thus in fact in political opposition to the government. Ideological struggle is little known among the Talorans, indeed, it is nearly nonexistant, so this conflict, though admittedly mostly ideological, has always been painted in religious tones, which makes it particularly dangerous at times. In that sense, though, excess takes on a form of not just social but political deviance." She paused again, and spoke in what was recognizeable as a most uncomfortable tone: "I don't pretend to have been entirely faithful to the Church. I'm not sure I've ever made clear that.. Our inclinations are similar.. And for various reasons I was involved with a mistress, on account of fact that she was sufficiently below my station that a union would have been morganatic and thus unsanctionable." Jhayka's ears had settled down rather noticeably, now. "Unfortunately her religious inclinations led to a very bad affair, in the political sense, which ruined things between us; and she has gone to her judgement at any rate. It is not something I really talk about, and as you are an alien I don't think you can fully understand; so please, do not at any rate show me any sympathy, for it is unwarranted in this case. But you are right in that I am an eccentric. Few of my peers would respect you, and most would say that loneliness is preferable if duty requires it. In disbelieving that maxim I have perhaps harmed myself very greatly, so I am not sure that I agree with you; yet at the same time I won't deny your right to those feelings nor think poorly of you for them, particularly since your loyalty to your friends is so absolutely commendable that even Ilavna Lashila is very impressed with it on moral grounds."
Dani didn't respond to Jhayka's words at first; she couldn't, since her first reaction was the sympathy Jhayka did not desire. Rather she mused on the issue. She had been right about Jhayka being unique amongst her peers, but it was still hard to imagine the strictness, the rigidity of the Taloran society that Jhayka was providing such a good look at. Dani tried to control her expression, since she did feel a great deal of sympathy for Jhayka and couldn't help it.
"Duty can be a rather harsh mistress," Dani finally said, recounting something she remembered from years ago. "Stern, demanding, and completely unsympathetic to someone's desires.... even someone's pain. It's led both of us here and now. But... I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can agree with the point of view that we must accept cold loneliness. I don't think anyone could ever have the Duty to do that. I believe that if there is a benevolent force, a God, that it isn't just about making people act right to one another. I believe that, no matter what you call him, God wants us to be happy, and will never force someone to remain alone for their entire existance. Which your own people believe, if you ask me, since they accepted the idea that Farzbardor - God - brought Valera away from mortal life. She would have spent the rest of her mortal life unhappy and alone, but with Him, she could be happy, and reunited with Taliya."
Happiness. Something that she had never really noticed she was missing until she began to feel it just to have it yanked away. As the old saying went, you never appreciated something until you'd known how good it was and had it taken from you. She had finally known what it was like to be in love, to have someone's devotion in exchange for one's own.... and it was taken from her, because as it turned out, there was someone else who had an older, deeper bond.
Jhayka was very silent for a moment, and seemed to be staring curiously at Danielle, perhaps even with a bit of wonderment. "You know, it is never phrased that way in our holy books and histories. They are all about the glory of Valera as the Sword of God, chosen to lead the armies of God in battle against the forces of evil. There is not much about what Valera must have thought on seeing the shade of her lover.. Funny, that." Jhayka leaned back and closed her eyes, drumming her long fingertips with long nails in a metallic tapping against the table. "I can't help but wonder if In'ghara, bless her heart, was somewhat jealous that her mother had found a love to replace her father, and simply ignored that part of the importance of Valera's ascent. In'ghara was a bloody-minded woman, at the best of times, with every virtue of a ruler, yet her first distinct memories were probably of her father in a pool of blood, and she was probably never happy sitting on the grim gray throne she built of iron in Valeria, more warrior than not to the end of her days. I.. I am something of an outcast, also, in my willingness to consider these things about our past, which are taken as religious dogma, though Ilavna Lashila, bless her heart, is very tolerant of me. Our poetry is the poetry of the love of Valera and Taliya; but our religious dogma and our histories are stamped in the name of her youngest daughter." Jhayka's eyes flickered open, and she smiled grimly. "Unfortunately, for all that you made an excellent point--and you may be right that the Lord was merciful to Valera in that way also--I assure you that many people have accepted the Duty to enslave oneself to cold loneliness and obedience to the doctrines of the Lord over the desires of one's own heart. I know, because I have done so myself, Danielle, and it's a fact that will dog me until I, too, go to my judgement."
It took a great deal of Dani's will to not show sympathy. It was too contrary to her personality to not feel bad for Jhayka. She had stumbled upon the coldness; Jhayka had been raised to accept it. Now I cannot help but wonder if Jhayka is here because she seeks a way to hide from it. "Sometimes, people get so wrapped up in the specific details of the story that they can't see truths within it. The 'official version' as you put it becomes the dogma, and nobody sways from it, and in doing so they forget everything that it can represent."
Dani wanted to go further. She wanted to ask Jhayka why her duty was incompatible with having someone. Why she had to be alone. It didn't seem right; it didn't seem fair. Aristocracy never was, and in getting to know Jhayka - especially in this conversation - Dani realized that democrats so concentrated on the unfairness of aristocratic power over commoners that they forgot the aristocrats themselves were often forced into positions despite anything they might want. She did not envy them, especially not Taloran ones like Jhayka, condemned to live for centuries in such a cold life of duty.
But Dani could not bring herself to speak these things. She did not want to offend, and it might very well be torment to poor Jhayka. Instead she let her heart flutter with sadness, unable to say anything more, admiring and pitying Jhayka at the same time.
"You're quite true in saying that, of course," Jhayka's ears had by then straightened more affably. "But duty is still duty. You simply can't escape it at times. Conflicts between duties are painful but ultimately resolveable in a moral calculus of sorts. Conflicts of heart and duty... Well, duty always wins if you're a good person, yet I rather think that makes the conflict worse. It is certainly very unpleasant." Silence, a long, companionable silence under the sound of the rolling wheels of the train racing on toward dangerous, mad Ar.
"Unpleasant, indeed. You are very kind to speak to me about the succor of the Lord. Unfortunately, if I am to find happiness with someone--well, I shall not find it here, of course. Nor, though, will I find it in death, of that I am certain. So that leaves for me these expeditions, they are a form of salvation of their own, really. Both a chance to make amends and a chance to leave the miasma which haunts me at home." Jhayka continued dryly, there: "I am the subject of a great deal of gossip, none of it good, and I assure you I would be much to uncomfortable to talk about this subject to any Taloran noblewoman, assuming she would even care to abandon her preconceived notions about the matter, so I am fortunate to have you here."
"Happy to be of service." Dani wanted to smile, to try the lighten the mood, but she was afraid that anything more than the slight grin on her face would come off as too sympathetic. Sympathy wasn't want Jhayka needed, she was too well aware of her own plight.
It was easy now to look into those gray eyes and see why they were so cold. It wasn't that Jhayka was a cold woman; she wasn't, at least not in Danielle's eyes. She was vibrant and charming, intelligent, and passionate even. The coldness was a mask, a shield around that warm core that protected Jhayka as she went about her life of duty, alone always.
It wasn't fair, of course. Why did such duties mandate her to be alone and unloved? She was too good a person, in Danielle's opinion. She deserved a measure of happiness. Dani wished she could give it to her.
"I thank you kindly for it. You are a solid person to have as a friend," Jhayka allowed, and a trace of a smile touched her lips, it seemed forced, though, more deeply, there was at least genuine gratitude behind it. Gray eyes looked out expressively to Danielle and she chuckled softly. "Well, it won't be long to Ar, and whatever happens there, we are going to remember it well, I think. So let's rest while we can, yes? These conversations are always emotionally draining for me, I shall confess, though I don't want to be a poor host--perhaps you should like a nightcap before retiring?"
"That sounds good to me," Dani replied with a grin, bringing the sad if educational conversation to a close.
North of Kalunda
19 October 2841
15 December 2162 AST
Jhayka's armored train was rumbling along toward the Norman capital of Ar, Kalunda's beauty now long replaced by the forests and open hills of the Henley region. During the day Dani had sat and looked out the window, enjoying the beauty of the nearly empty countryside. Occasionally one could see a rider or a group moving along, or packs of animals. It looked even better than the holovids of Sara Proctor's memoirs. Dani could see why some people chose to forsake the luxuries of modern living and take to these hills and forests.
Dinner was done now and the lounge car was nearly empty and quiet now. Jhayka was at her desk, reading and writing something. Illavna had left to do other things, leaving Dani to her thoughts.
I'm out now. It was still a little surprising to her how quickly it had come and gone. Her resignation had been accepted and Dani wasn't sure she'd want to return to the service even after she found Fay. For the first time since she was nearly a teenager, Dani was freed from the obligations of uniform, though her obligations were even more oppressive.
Here I am, rocketing off toward the home city of a people who see nothing wrong with enslaving women... people who tried to enslave me. What would happen when they got to Ar was still unknown. She was prepared to, if necessary, spend the entire time on the train, but she still held out hope that they might find a clue to where Fay was... if they didn't actually find her outright.
Sometimes, particularly when so morose looking as she was whilst handling paperwork, Jhayka also seemed remarkably prescient. "Ar is an interesting place," she commented at last, quietly suggestive. "It's a very considerable city, by preindustrial standards, and the culture is unique. It's also a dangerous place for you." Jhayka looked up, her eyes seeming clear in the dark. "You're aware of that, yes? I assume Lady Amber tried to talk you out of coming, at the least?" An almost amused look, there, if somewhat negative--Jhayka had been somewhat bothered by the other noblewoman's advances against Danielle and it showed, if most subtly, and mostly by the flexing of her ears as she spoke. For the moment, though, she was very calm about it, and everything else, for that matter.
"She made the danger rather clear. More clear than I wanted to know." Dani looked to Jhayka. The way her ears had moved made Dani wonder, yet again, just how the flexibility of a Taloran's ears spoke of their moods. Jhayka seemed calm enough, but then again, she was always rather stoic. "But I wasn't very interested in what she had to say, about that or other things. I just want to find my friend." Dani stood up and moved to a chair nearer to Jhayka. Looking at her, even as she was seemingly immersed in her work, Dani could tell she had the Taloran's attention. "What about you? I don't know much about Normans, but I don't imagine you'll be all that welcome either. They have contempt for people from civilization, especially women, and I'm not sure they'll give you much distinction because you're not Human."
"Not under the guns of the train," Jhayka answered somewhat contemptuously. "For all that this is an improvised weapon, the power of the guns is quite real. You're not a land officer so I wouldn't expect you to notice this, but we're packing the firepower of a tank company bolted haphazardly onto this train. I could literally demolish the walls of Ar in an afternoon of firing, seeing as how they are straight chiseled stone which is not ever designed to withstand chemical artillery. Fire shots along the lower section.. Undermine and collapse.. And they know it, too. Or if they don't.." Jhayka's ears subtly stiffened and she laughed softly. "Well, Danielle, that at least is not my concern. As for in the city itself--I fear not ambush, though the reasons why I prefer not to go into. And I'll probably dress rather elaborately, anyway, so that the average street ruffian is not quite sure of who I am. We'll go heavily armed, naturally, but for at least some points I want be able to join in the male games with ease.." At that she paused for a moment to open up a drawer on her desk and reveal a mask, with a metallic protrusion around the mouth and rubber covering the whole of the facial area, or something similar, which she fitted to her face and then keyed a button on. Her voice came out harsh, scratched, and metallic: "A gas mask has other issues than defence, in this case, the communications module strips one's speech down to the bare minimum. We'll wear robes of course, and lots of clothing in general, though the styles of the free women of Ar are to cumbersome; we have our own from the deep deserts of the Great Divide, suited to quick fighting and self-defence." At that she removed the mask once more, an implement which it seemed she never kept far from herself.
Dani was very impressed with it. At least Jhayka would be relatively safe. And the mask gave her ideas...
"How many of those do you have? Are there any I might be able to use?" Dani didn't bother trying to hide her intent; should it be impossible to let her enter Ar, she could use the mask and heavy clothing to travel incognito to look for Fay.
"Oh, sure, I can have one obtained for you... I think there's a human variant that the mercs are using, these wouldn't fit as they're designed for a narrower face, but we definitely have some to human standards," Jhayka answered promptly, and the narrowed her eyes, which was an obvious enough emotive expression to be sure. "Are you thinking of accompanying me into the city on all of my forays?"
Dani looked at her and nodded. No use trying to dance around the issue with Jhayka. "That and more. I want to find anything I can on what happened to Fayza. And I promise I'll be careful. Is that okay with you?"
"Well, that is part of why I let you come along, is it not?" Jhayka frowned. "This could cause a fairly serious incident, you realize? I'd like your word that, if possible, the situation with Fayza will be handled peacefully. The Normans shall be going to war soon enough, I am sure of that, we do not need to press the issue, or get caught up in the middle of it, for that matter. I am not totally ruling out buying several slaves--just to get into their heads, so to speak, and see precisely how the Normans do indoctrinate the girls, since I of course have no belief in their bizarre theories. You, at any rate, suffice to disprove them in my eyes for the human female, being as you are intelligent, honourable, and generally of a suitable bearing," the archaic finishing term seeming almost natural to the formalized way the Talorans spoke english and meant, rather shyly, that Danielle's personality had just been complimented. "That's part of my urgency here, for I suspect that Ar will be the focal point of how the troubles of Gilead to come play out on this world; well, with its counterpoint between Kalunda, of course. So I visit these two places first. And all I have seen in Kalunda suggests to me that the violence will come even sooner than I before expected; I do think that opinion will indeed be sustained by our visit to Ar. That said, I will protect you like my own if it comes to it. What has happened to your friend is.. Most disgraceful."
It wasn't too tall an order. Dani knew it was virtually impossible she could free Fay with violence and escape from Norman territory. "You have my word that if we find Fayza, I won't do anything rash, unwise, or violent. I'll follow your lead."
After an accepting nod, Dani continued. "Do you really think it will come to violence, though? I mean, the situation on this world. It breaks my heart to think of Kalunda in flames, or anything else that might happen if a war breaks out as you think will happen."
"Thank you. I would prefer to simply buy her out; if not, well, we shall see what happens, but if you find her I will not leave her," Jhayka answered, then continued: "I think it will. Plot and counterplot, the general dissolution of civil control proceeding apace, the political elements to defend this dissolution allying from all fields to oppose the central government.. The grasping hands of foreign powers..." Jhayka smiled wanly. "It is the typical situation in which civil conflict begins. We are not unused to it on Talora, even if the last of our intramural battles were mostly fought in space against the Old Colonies; we are not as fractuous as humanity is here, by far, let alone in the other universes of the general multiverse which further compound matters. Though we are still quite capable of strife.." Her look was definitely sad then. "Mostly terrorism against the government, sometimes farmers' demonstrations that turn bloody, or major factory strikes. That sort of thing. Don't worry about Kalunda, though; the King is solid and their arms are decent, if green to modern ways of fighting--but their enemies will be worse off than they, and the defenders always have the advantage."
"So we'll be in a war zone. I can see why you invested in such heavy weapons." Dani tried to chuckle to lighten things up, but it came off rather awkwardly; it wasn't a funny subject. "You've actually talked to Normans, and I'm sure you know about them. What can we expect when we get to Ar? I mean, I only know some things from a holovid, and our movie-makers never get all the details right. All I really know about them is that they enslave people, particularly women, that they like their primitivist lifestyle, and that they think women like to get raped."
That last note was particularly distressing. It was still an academic subject for them, thankfully, but Dani had never felt more certain of imminent violation in her life than she had while a prisoner. The looks she got from her captors told her what they would do to her as soon as they desired it, and she never wanted to feel that powerless, that scared, again. Unfortunately, she didn't think being in ar would help with that very much; she was going to be surrounded by men who, given the chance, would gladly do those things to her. She trusted Jhayka and her protectors, of course, but there was still going to be that minor element of danger just from being there. If not for Fayza being missing, Dani would have been heading back to Cranstonville to get back to her posting, not racing toward the heart of Norman society here on Gilead.
Jhayka stretched out a bit, setting aside her pen, pushing her arms out to either side, even as her feet shifted to balance her chair while the train started a long curve. Then she settled in again, long arms bracing her head on the table to peer forward at Danielle. "That's a good question to be sure--and I'm glad you're curious about it. A lot of the details are not, in fact, gotten right. The average Norman is a fundamentally honourable individual, they aren't backstabbers as such. They are fiercely loyal to their city--they worship, roughly, something called the Home Stone or founding stone of the city of the Ar, and have similar stones for their family lines, to which they show considerable honour, though they are patriarchal. They are very brave in combat, personal and general fighting, but have little experience and regard it as a warrior's effort--they do not train," Jhayka concluded.
"As for their treatment of women, it is vile, disgusting, and uncivilized, and they regard the female human as being entirely mentally inferior; the intelligent can make exceptions for aliens, at least in public. The average one, however, would not, though I am by their standards too unattractive to warrant enslavement. You are not. Their belief about the natural submissiveness of women makes them use rather brutal methods to make women conform to these expectations, since women warrant no real consideration, though I suppose in a sick and twisted sense the master/slave relationship occasionally shows real affection. Their society is vaguely democratic among the free men of the city, and prone to conflict to settle disputes and determine leadership. Most importantly, it is heavily caste oriented, as rigid as the most rigid of the Hindu castes, with a change in caste an exceptionally rare thing for an individual; though of course even a man of the lowest caste improves his stature with a slave girl, which only heightens their desireability. Warriors naturally dominate society, and their caste essentially forms the government."
Dani shivered. Jhayka's remark about being unattractive to them - and how she, Dani, was not unattractive - reminded her of how close she'd come to being made a Norman slave. If not for that bit of masonry, the complacency of her jailers, and some quick thinking... I would be getting raped right now. They'd be turning me into some mindless slut. It was a horrible thing to contemplate. Dani turned her attentions back to what Jhayka was saying.
"Free women, I might add, are conditioned since very young to consider slavery desireable, and their sexual desires are focused into a neurosis of desire toward slavery, and not sated outside of it; they are intentionally made unhappy in this world, their lives those of cold and distant pleasure, for sake of not only controlling their urges since patrilineal inheiritance is uncertain and fidelity a life-or-death matter for a family line, but also to create in them subconscious desires for satiation which make it more willing to indoctrinate them as slaves such the customs for the enslavement of a free woman come into play against them. It is, in short, altogether most unpleasant."
It was hard for Dani to imagine such a society could manage to survive for very long. It occurred to her that this society was more vile, more deserving of destruction, than the ones the Alliance had warred with in recent years.
"It's very different from Kalunda. I know the Kalundans used to keep women enslaved, but not as bad as the Normans."
"What did you think of them, anyway? The Kalundans, and especially Amber? I thought they were friendly enough, if a bit exhibitionist."
"Well, the Kalundans, they are not so bad people now; nor, in comparison, were they before. Their customs now offer hope for the future, at least, if they still have a great deal of bias to overcome, and a tradition which is conductive toward extreme hedonism. But I don't really approve of the majority of their customs, and their women are.. Undignified.. By Taloran standards, as a legacy of the cultural expectations they were previously under, which they were taught to adhere to, and to which to some extent still inger. The Lady Amber comports herself well enough, but it was quite obvious what she desired from you, if I may say," Jhayka concluded delicately, and then, cocking her head to the side, eyes flicked down, asked: "Why do you ask? I'm certainly not unapproving of her, seeing as she is gallant enough.. And your affairs are your private matter, anyway."
"I wanted your perspective on things. I tend to rather enjoy it when you give them." Dani smiled thinly. "The Lady Amber, well, for me it was like meeting a hero from some movie or book and realizing the truth isn't quite the legend. I expected her to be more stoic, more reserved, than other Kalundan woman. I mean, she rejected her people's old ways when she was young and risked herself greatly in doing it. She was going to be exiled before Sara Proctor came to her rescue. And I just expected her to be like that, firm and heroic. I didn't expect her advances, especially not how she made them."
There was a sigh. "The odd thing is, well, I agree with you. They are undignified. And I used to be a bit like that. Not as bad as they are, but bad enough, I now think." Dani put a hand on her cheek. "Ten years ago, I would have welcomed Amber's advances and, well, responded to them. Today I find them annoying, disappointing.... To think I've changed so much in so short a time."
"A very short time, and all the more of a splendid change for it," Jhayka said, straightening back up and seeming all of a sudden more affiable, though perhaps it was just a trick of the uncertainty of Taloran emotions to a human's eye. "You're quite true about the Kalundan women, and even Lady Amber--Poor Ilavna Lashila, who is simply not attracted to women at all, had to fend them off fairly often enough. Mostly by preaching, I think, which is a very effective tactic though no-doubt from her eye a bit counterproductive in that sense," Jhayka barked a short laugh. "At any rate, the Kalundans are not a bad people, but they evidence the worst sort of licentiousness, which in some way detracts from their great martial skill and love of their homeland. But things will change with time--just as things are changing all around here thanks to the outside influences, and the forces which have themselves made my mission more urgent. Ah well.. I am grateful for that urgency in one respect: I wouldn't have had your acquaintance otherwise, and it shall be most worthwhile, even if you hand me a firefight in Ar as the price of my generousity."
Dani had giggled despite herself at the thought of Illavna, that sweet devout girl, fending off Kalundan women no doubt seeking the opportunity for sex with an alien girl by proselytizing to them. Dani had been subjected to a number of brazen attempts at pickups herself, not counting the night before last when Amber, with the aid of the moonlight, had very nearly succeeded.
It was a logical thing to see that the licentious nature of Kalundans might interfere with their other virtues. Comfort had a way of softening people, making them unwilling to make sacrifices. Comfort alone wasn't bad, of course, and was only dangerous in that aspect when there was nothing else to consider. The Kalundans in this aspect were better off than other hedonists on Gilead, as the Norman tyranny of Luvis' short reign was still in living memory for them.
"Speaking frankly," Dani began, returning to the subject of Kalunda, "I used to be as licentious as someone of my position could be. I'm sure you know our people don't have quite as many inhibitions about these things, even for military officers. We consider them private matters, and they remain so unless some fool makes them public, and then they get what's coming to them if you ask me. I had my share of escapades, yes, but I was always careful to remain anonymous. What I did, I did as a private citizen, not an officer."
"And, I'll add that while I've changed and no longer desire that lifestyle, my shame for it comes from my knowledge of what I cheated myself of, not the fact that I enjoyed it. I don't know how your people view things, but I'll say that I don't see anything wrong with enjoying sex. Nor do I see anything wrong with playful sex, or the playing out of sane sexual fantasies between lovers, and I can honestly tell you that I've had some rather creative experiences with partners in my lifetime."
"My problem with the Kalundans, with how I was, is that it encourages people to concentrate on the pleasure. I've found out, the hard way, that pleasure is worth nothing when you're alone in a bed for too long, without someone to hold onto, to whisper words into your ear and make you feel loved. Having a successful career, wealth, and fun isn't worth a damn if you're all alone in the universe, multiverse, what have you. So that's what I want now, and I won't be satisfied by anything less."
Smiling mischievously, Dani ended her monologue with a response to Jhayka's remarks about a firefight in Ar. "And when it comes to those Norman savages, I'll try not to get you into trouble, Jhayka, though if trouble begins anyway, I will enjoy beating the living crap out of Norman men, and I make no apologies for that. As far as I'm concerned, we'd be fighting for our lives because I'd rather be dead than a Norman slave. Not that dying is Plan A." Having said all this, Dani added, "Well, now you know what I've been and how I feel. I'm not sure how this all works with Talorans. Or even you, since I'm sure you're not the average Taloran noblewoman. I hope that I haven't caused any kind of offense, but I wanted to be honest about the matter to let you know where I stand."
"Well, I appreciate your honesty." That was all Jhayka said at first and it seemed she was uncomfortable. "We are a very reserved species, you know, we aren't given to excess--for the most part. There are, however, some of us that find it morally acceptable or even desireable, but they are not a popular part of our society and mostly associated with groups which are against the Heirs of the Sword, and thus in fact in political opposition to the government. Ideological struggle is little known among the Talorans, indeed, it is nearly nonexistant, so this conflict, though admittedly mostly ideological, has always been painted in religious tones, which makes it particularly dangerous at times. In that sense, though, excess takes on a form of not just social but political deviance." She paused again, and spoke in what was recognizeable as a most uncomfortable tone: "I don't pretend to have been entirely faithful to the Church. I'm not sure I've ever made clear that.. Our inclinations are similar.. And for various reasons I was involved with a mistress, on account of fact that she was sufficiently below my station that a union would have been morganatic and thus unsanctionable." Jhayka's ears had settled down rather noticeably, now. "Unfortunately her religious inclinations led to a very bad affair, in the political sense, which ruined things between us; and she has gone to her judgement at any rate. It is not something I really talk about, and as you are an alien I don't think you can fully understand; so please, do not at any rate show me any sympathy, for it is unwarranted in this case. But you are right in that I am an eccentric. Few of my peers would respect you, and most would say that loneliness is preferable if duty requires it. In disbelieving that maxim I have perhaps harmed myself very greatly, so I am not sure that I agree with you; yet at the same time I won't deny your right to those feelings nor think poorly of you for them, particularly since your loyalty to your friends is so absolutely commendable that even Ilavna Lashila is very impressed with it on moral grounds."
Dani didn't respond to Jhayka's words at first; she couldn't, since her first reaction was the sympathy Jhayka did not desire. Rather she mused on the issue. She had been right about Jhayka being unique amongst her peers, but it was still hard to imagine the strictness, the rigidity of the Taloran society that Jhayka was providing such a good look at. Dani tried to control her expression, since she did feel a great deal of sympathy for Jhayka and couldn't help it.
"Duty can be a rather harsh mistress," Dani finally said, recounting something she remembered from years ago. "Stern, demanding, and completely unsympathetic to someone's desires.... even someone's pain. It's led both of us here and now. But... I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can agree with the point of view that we must accept cold loneliness. I don't think anyone could ever have the Duty to do that. I believe that if there is a benevolent force, a God, that it isn't just about making people act right to one another. I believe that, no matter what you call him, God wants us to be happy, and will never force someone to remain alone for their entire existance. Which your own people believe, if you ask me, since they accepted the idea that Farzbardor - God - brought Valera away from mortal life. She would have spent the rest of her mortal life unhappy and alone, but with Him, she could be happy, and reunited with Taliya."
Happiness. Something that she had never really noticed she was missing until she began to feel it just to have it yanked away. As the old saying went, you never appreciated something until you'd known how good it was and had it taken from you. She had finally known what it was like to be in love, to have someone's devotion in exchange for one's own.... and it was taken from her, because as it turned out, there was someone else who had an older, deeper bond.
Jhayka was very silent for a moment, and seemed to be staring curiously at Danielle, perhaps even with a bit of wonderment. "You know, it is never phrased that way in our holy books and histories. They are all about the glory of Valera as the Sword of God, chosen to lead the armies of God in battle against the forces of evil. There is not much about what Valera must have thought on seeing the shade of her lover.. Funny, that." Jhayka leaned back and closed her eyes, drumming her long fingertips with long nails in a metallic tapping against the table. "I can't help but wonder if In'ghara, bless her heart, was somewhat jealous that her mother had found a love to replace her father, and simply ignored that part of the importance of Valera's ascent. In'ghara was a bloody-minded woman, at the best of times, with every virtue of a ruler, yet her first distinct memories were probably of her father in a pool of blood, and she was probably never happy sitting on the grim gray throne she built of iron in Valeria, more warrior than not to the end of her days. I.. I am something of an outcast, also, in my willingness to consider these things about our past, which are taken as religious dogma, though Ilavna Lashila, bless her heart, is very tolerant of me. Our poetry is the poetry of the love of Valera and Taliya; but our religious dogma and our histories are stamped in the name of her youngest daughter." Jhayka's eyes flickered open, and she smiled grimly. "Unfortunately, for all that you made an excellent point--and you may be right that the Lord was merciful to Valera in that way also--I assure you that many people have accepted the Duty to enslave oneself to cold loneliness and obedience to the doctrines of the Lord over the desires of one's own heart. I know, because I have done so myself, Danielle, and it's a fact that will dog me until I, too, go to my judgement."
It took a great deal of Dani's will to not show sympathy. It was too contrary to her personality to not feel bad for Jhayka. She had stumbled upon the coldness; Jhayka had been raised to accept it. Now I cannot help but wonder if Jhayka is here because she seeks a way to hide from it. "Sometimes, people get so wrapped up in the specific details of the story that they can't see truths within it. The 'official version' as you put it becomes the dogma, and nobody sways from it, and in doing so they forget everything that it can represent."
Dani wanted to go further. She wanted to ask Jhayka why her duty was incompatible with having someone. Why she had to be alone. It didn't seem right; it didn't seem fair. Aristocracy never was, and in getting to know Jhayka - especially in this conversation - Dani realized that democrats so concentrated on the unfairness of aristocratic power over commoners that they forgot the aristocrats themselves were often forced into positions despite anything they might want. She did not envy them, especially not Taloran ones like Jhayka, condemned to live for centuries in such a cold life of duty.
But Dani could not bring herself to speak these things. She did not want to offend, and it might very well be torment to poor Jhayka. Instead she let her heart flutter with sadness, unable to say anything more, admiring and pitying Jhayka at the same time.
"You're quite true in saying that, of course," Jhayka's ears had by then straightened more affably. "But duty is still duty. You simply can't escape it at times. Conflicts between duties are painful but ultimately resolveable in a moral calculus of sorts. Conflicts of heart and duty... Well, duty always wins if you're a good person, yet I rather think that makes the conflict worse. It is certainly very unpleasant." Silence, a long, companionable silence under the sound of the rolling wheels of the train racing on toward dangerous, mad Ar.
"Unpleasant, indeed. You are very kind to speak to me about the succor of the Lord. Unfortunately, if I am to find happiness with someone--well, I shall not find it here, of course. Nor, though, will I find it in death, of that I am certain. So that leaves for me these expeditions, they are a form of salvation of their own, really. Both a chance to make amends and a chance to leave the miasma which haunts me at home." Jhayka continued dryly, there: "I am the subject of a great deal of gossip, none of it good, and I assure you I would be much to uncomfortable to talk about this subject to any Taloran noblewoman, assuming she would even care to abandon her preconceived notions about the matter, so I am fortunate to have you here."
"Happy to be of service." Dani wanted to smile, to try the lighten the mood, but she was afraid that anything more than the slight grin on her face would come off as too sympathetic. Sympathy wasn't want Jhayka needed, she was too well aware of her own plight.
It was easy now to look into those gray eyes and see why they were so cold. It wasn't that Jhayka was a cold woman; she wasn't, at least not in Danielle's eyes. She was vibrant and charming, intelligent, and passionate even. The coldness was a mask, a shield around that warm core that protected Jhayka as she went about her life of duty, alone always.
It wasn't fair, of course. Why did such duties mandate her to be alone and unloved? She was too good a person, in Danielle's opinion. She deserved a measure of happiness. Dani wished she could give it to her.
"I thank you kindly for it. You are a solid person to have as a friend," Jhayka allowed, and a trace of a smile touched her lips, it seemed forced, though, more deeply, there was at least genuine gratitude behind it. Gray eyes looked out expressively to Danielle and she chuckled softly. "Well, it won't be long to Ar, and whatever happens there, we are going to remember it well, I think. So let's rest while we can, yes? These conversations are always emotionally draining for me, I shall confess, though I don't want to be a poor host--perhaps you should like a nightcap before retiring?"
"That sounds good to me," Dani replied with a grin, bringing the sad if educational conversation to a close.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Southern Rail Yard, Ar, Gilean Primitive Zone
20 October 2841
16 December 2162 AST
Dani awoke from the bed set aside from her, trying again to acclimate herself to the alien appearance of the train's interior as she sat up in her small private room. Bathing would come later, after breakfast, so for the moment she put on a loose robe and exited her room.
They had arrived in Ar during the course of the night, though here on the rail line they were still on "international" ground, in the eyes of the locals. There was to be an official reception later, where a few VIPs would come and greet the alien dignitary as she'd been greeted in Kalunda. Dani didn't know yet if she should make an appearance, as the Normans didn't take kindly to escaped slaves.
It would be breakfast with Jhayka and Illavna as usual, though in a concession to Dani's stomach they'd agreed that she would have ham and eggs. That was still to come, however, so as she waited for the major domo or some other servant to call her into Jhayka's lounge and dining car, Dani found a window and stared out at the city.
The rail-line came up to the west and south side of the city, along the hills before rolling west to Kellervil, the capital city of the Amazon Society. The line had been placed along the edge of the ridge facing Ar, with the main rail station built on top of the hill and on the gentle slopes below the ridge. From here, Dani could see some of the city's shape. It wasn't as splendid and beautiful as Kalunda, though it had it's own deceptive grace. Ungaily high walls surrounded the inner city, testament to a failed attempt to replicate the impossibly high walls that bordered the city's namesake in the now-ancient works that had given the model for the Normans' society. The architecture was almost alien, though some buildings nearer to the rails showed what seemed to be a belated attempt to copy Kalunda's neo-classical style.
Somewhere, in that large, ugly city, Dani might find Fay. That was why she was here, literally entering the den of a lion that she had only barely escaped from. Even now there was a terror that made her want to back down, to go home, to go back to the life she'd had before. But it was too late; she'd made the commitment and was here. And so she'd stay.
It was at that time that she was called in to breakfast. They would have a long day ahead of them.
Today something different was happening. Jhayka herself, just wearing her usual night robe and slippers, with nothing else particularly discernable than its cavernous folds, was standing rather pensively by the table, pink hair a crazy mess behind her. She turned with a smile when Dani arrived, ears perking up. "Greetings, Danielle. Lashila should be along in a moment.." She was looking out the window again after she said that, turning back quickly to it, but did not cease talking to Danielle. "I've been mulling over a plan for you and I want your opinion on it. It's a very eccentric thing, and as you can see, it kept me up a bit late, so I slept in longer than I usually do. But I thought it suitable to go over before everyone else can hear about it, since you may in fact find it rather uncomfortable or even distasteful--but I assure you it is done in the best interests of your friend. It comes from my knowledge of Norman culture and your own traits of personality."
"So, what do you have in mind, Jhayka?" With curiosity and some dread, Dani took her seat and awaited to hear the idea.
"I know the slave dealer who caught you, courtesy of my Norman contacts," Jhayka answered. "I'll send word ahead that I've captured you and want to keep you, and that I'll pay the last price at the auction, in Taloran money. That's all quite legal, and most dealers don't like escaped slaves, anyway--some masters will try to break them out of fun or cruelness, but dealers are businessmen, and they'd frankly be relieved to make any money at all off a situation like that." Jhayka was quite collected about the whole thing. "Anyway, if you are legally my slave then, dressed in the appropriate Norman attire, I can send you anywhere in the city. Slave girls wearing the collar of a free citizen--that would be me, in legal terms anyway, as a recognized guest of the city--can only be used sexually with the permission of their owner. And free women can quite capably own slaves; which I, of course, am. In short, it will make me firstly seem much more accepting of Norman cultural values, which will aid my mission, and secondly it will allow you to travel anywhere, without concern. Men may stop you and investigate your collar from time to time but as long as you have a cool head there should be no problem." Jhayka looked and smiled to Danielle. "You must remember--slaves hear everything in the city. Nobody protects against them learning anything. And they can nearly go anywhere, as long as they have a slip of paper saying they are on a mission from their owner. Inferior women, a threat to security? Never. And it is each master's judgement as to when his girls have been trained enough that they can be allowed to go on forays through the city like that."
It was intelligent. It was clever. And it was completely revolting, not to mention dangerous. Despite Jhayka's assurances, Dani did not trust Norman men. Yes, go about alone dressed like a slut in a city full of men who think that women only exist for them to fuck. Like being, I dunno, a hen in a wolf den or whatever.
"It makes sense. I don't really like it, but it makes too much sense for me to ignore off the bat. But, what of our plan to go about in heavy robes and the masks? I rather liked that one..." Dani hoped her desperation to avoid getting dressed up as a slave wasn't as obvious as it probably was.
Jhayka laughed gently. "What, you don't want me to see you in skimpy silkenware like that?" She had almost an amused wink in her eye. "Really, though, it will be worth the risk, I think. You might even be able to talk to Faye directly without any fear on your part of being found out or accosted. You will simply be another slave." A pause. "Granted, I know that I was originally planning for you to accompany the party heavily dressed, but I see some real advantages in this. Your movement won't attracted so much attention as it would in that case, you see, and that can be crucial for doing some digging into information like this."
"You're right, I know." Dani's eyes narrowed in only half-mocking irritation. "I hate it when someone's right about something I'd rather not do."
Oh God, I can't believe I'm doing this! I must be insane!
"Um... if you introduce me as your slave, won't the Normans make.... assumptions... about us? I mean, they, well... and what will Illavna think, since she's your confessor?"
"Yes, of course. But they already know I'm homosexual--I implied as much in several conversations with a variety of potentates back in the 'port. So that would be of little surprise, and, at any rate, Lashila will be fully taken into my confidence." Jhayka stretched out languidly and moved over to the table, her gray eyes looking back carefully to Danielle as she pulled out her own chair and sat down, staring across at the human woman. "Would it be alright then, Danielle?"
"It's not alright, but I'll still do it. You'll understand, though, if I prefer to limit the amount of time I'm out alone like that? Because, I trust your judgement, Jhayka, please understand that, but I still don't trust them. I can't, not with the way they are."
"I quite understand. It is asking a lot of you, I know, but I am just trying to help you find Faye," Jhayka replied.
"That you are." Dani smiled sweetly - now was her opening to get a dig in for that "silkenwear" remark. "So, going by their standards, I'm going to be your love slave." Her grin became impish. "I much prefer a relationship where I get to tie my partner up as often as she does me."
Jhayka's eyes bulged as it was, and it seemed like they'd faintly burst out of her head as she looked at Dani and flushed that dark green-gray sickly color that Talorans, for assorted reasons of their skin tone, tended to flush. "Danielle!" She exclaimed in a voice which probably would only amuse the human woman. "I.. Well, you know.." A hapless gesture, and then, weakly: "You know what I meant, and that was to much information?" It was clear, though, that though the initial shock had been genuine she was faintly amused by the whole thing.
"Oh, Jhayka, you really are innocent." Dani shook her head, giggling. "At least by Human standards. Though I just made your point for you about my new role, I guess. I hate it when I do that."
"Yes, you did," Jhayka couldn't contain a brief smirk. "And I'm far less innocent than you think, just more.. Proper. Let's leave it at that."
Then she was distracted by the door opening and the entry of Illavna.
"Food's about to come.." Ilavna started and then frowned. "You two have been talking about something of import, I take it?" Unlike Jhayka, she was already dressed and freshened up--and stepped deftly aside as a member of the dining staff brought around a hot beverage for the three of them, and then sat.
"Yes, we were," Jhayka agreed. "About Danielle's role in the city."
Ilavna frowned at once. "You haven't even summoned me to help you dress yet and you're already plotting with our guests, Your Highness?" A coincidental slip revealing the fact that Jhayka sometimes needed help with her complex clothes in the morning, which was a gentle chastisement only, though Jhayka was quite aware it was one. Then she looked to Danielle. "What does she want you to do?"
In a jokingly, farcical tone, Dani bowed her head - had she been in less serious company, she probably would have gone to the ground on all fours and prostrated. "Oh, I'm your slave now. Well, Jhayka's slave. But if I remember the stuff right, it means everyone on the train gets to order me around. But I draw the line at cleaning. I'm an engineer, not a maid."
At that point, something occurred to her. "Though, um, Jhayka, you don't suppose they'll want me to learn those slave positions, do you?"
"Oh stop it," Jhayka began.
"Your Highness, is that really necessary?" Ilavna asked, frowning and looking embarassed for Danielle's sake.
"Yes, it is, and no, she's just joking, Lashila," Jhayka said, trying to remain dignified. She paused there, looking back to Danielle, and gave up and laughed softly. "No. You know how to scrape and kneel before your betters," she said with a delicious smirk. "And that is enough, since you are quite forbidden from being used by anyone but me, as far as the Normans are concerned." Food was being served--the staff was thankfully silent about that, and neither of the Talorans seemed to mind human food, though they needed certain enzymes to digest them, but they had bottles of those on hand. "Anyway, I shall ask you to hang back during the initial meeting, while I clarify these things," Jhayka continued. "If that's alright, Danielle?"
Actually, I wasn't joking fully. Dani said nothing on that matter, instead replying, "Of course." She looked to her food and they all began to silently eat.
At the rail station, the Norman delegation awaited. At the lead was Jurik Tuvis, a wolf-haired man who was one of the city's executive leaders. A bodyguard detachment of elite warriors was with him, as was the Norman equivalent of the Foreign Minister.
Tarl Ikmen, the diplomatic senior of Ar, had once been the young aide to the last Ambassador to the Zhai, and was thus one of the few Normans still alive who had met the hated Sara Proctor in person. He was one of only two to survive the treacherous crossing of the South Henleys that the Zhai forced upon the Ambassador and his staff after their decision to oppose the Norman Empire, and so he was a hard man with an intense hatred of the Zhai, Kalunda, and most especially of Sara Proctor.
Also with the entourage was a leading trader and merchant of the city, Wolfgang Xueson, a mostly Caucasian-featured man with slight hints of Oriental ancestry. He was joined by only one bodyguard, the massive eight foot tall warrior Trajan.
Jhayka was dressed in black robes, which in Norman terms would denote the Assasin's caste--a subtle warning--as was Ilavna and the other women not in the power armour of her guard. They wore metallic face grills, gas masks which were clearly quite modern, and extremely pronounced goggles, like strange technocrats of a desert waste-world, with studded leather gloves and heavy black boots. The robes were, though, concealing jumpsuits, and could be flung off their bodies in a single motion of a hand. Very tall, almost onion-shaped turbans topped the ensemble, which swathed their ears thoroughly but were wound to allow them to be close to the surface of the fabric to hear decently well, and they looked somewhat like the turbans of Ottoman sultans. It was very impressive garb, particularly with swords at their sides, and in its anonymous way, rather intimidating, particularly with the grating, metallic tint to Jhayka's voice when she spoke, which left her gender indistinct. The combined ensemble had to be easily seven feet tall on Jhayka, and probably higher. "Gentlemen, I thank you for welcoming me to your city. I am, of course, only pleased to respect your customs on visiting, as it is my goal to do nothing less than record them for the general knowledge of the universe, in an impartial study of this whole region. But, of course, my request is essentially for the freedom of the city--for I shall need that to fully understand your people."
Tuvis spoke. "Of course, Your Highness. The people of Ar welcome you, and we will be pleased to allow you to go about the city as you desire. For the duration of your stay, you and your entourage are recognized as having the rights of free citizens, and the government guarantees your safety and security. Special announcements will be made to that effect immediately."
Looking at the assembled, Tuvis suddenly added, "Hmm, is Miss... Danielle Verdes with you? I believe that's the name. I was looking forward to seeing her."
"I have her aboard the armoured train," Jhayka said--making sure to emphasize armoured. "Why are you asking after her, if I may?" Jhayka managed to sound courtesy even swathed like a desert raider and speaking through a metallic grate like that, though of course she had an inside line through the entire arrangement--Ilavna was scanning their minds for security purposes and could warn Jhayka mentally if it came to it. So far she had found nothing out of the ordinary.
"I wished to convey our apologies," Tuvis answered, though his associate Ikmen had a half-snarl now. "She is from the other universes' Alliance, and by our law it was illegal to buy her as a slave and try to sell her. Those responsible are being placed on trial for the violation of that law, and here she is not considered an escaped slave but a free guest of another nation. I must admit, I was hoping to meet her not just to express our apologies for her ordeal, but to express my gratitude that she escaped before she endured the slave lifestyle further, as well as my admiration for her fighting prowess as I've heard of it."
Xueson's expression was neutral, as was that of his bodyguard. Ikmen was trying and failing to hide disgust - Norman diplomats were institutionally used to making demands and giving orders, not kowtowing to outsiders.
Jhayka of course watched all the interplay with interest, and Ilavna could actually feel it, which made the whole situation no doubt even more embarassing for the Normans--except for the main fact that they had no way of knowing about Ilavna's capabilities. No doubt they would be less comfortable allowing the Talorans in had they known. Jhayka, for her part, had an eye on the situation, and responded diplomatically, even though she was quite surprised at the news, wondering if it was a trap, but glad that she wasn't forcing Danielle into anything, at least, which would be rather a big help as far as she was concerned. "You are most gracious individuals, with a high regard for civilization," Jhayka commented effusively, in result, and then continued--"I may buy a number of slaves while I am, for the purpose of the study of the culture of your slaves. This will, I trust, not present a problem? I am a breeder of fine rostok, myself, and caring for living possessions is not an issue of difficulty among Talorans, even strange ones." It was unlikely that the Normans knew that was technically illegal under Taloran law, harshly so, but she planned to let the girls go on returning home, and therefore on having liberated them as a matter of fact.
Ikmen's frown did not disappear, and he clearly suspected that Jhayka would liberate her bought slaves, but Tuvis nodded. "Of course, Your Highness. As a guest you are accorded almost all rights a free citizen would have, save of course for those relating to our political discourse." He chuckled at that. "The Ubar and the High Ministers are awaiting us in the city." As introductions had already been made, there was no use for any more delay. "If you wish to let Miss Verdes accompany us, we will gladly wait."
"I fear that would somewhat delay us, as she is not suitably attired, since of course she did not expect to leave the train, understandably," Jhayka answered judiciously. "And I do not wish to keep the representative of your sovereignty waiting for any length of time, over the matter of an officer of a navy foreign to my own Empress. But if her presence is expressly requested, than a minor delay will, of course, allow her to attend."
Ikmen and Xueson looked to Tuvis. Neither wanted to wait. Ikmen particularly was irritated that Tuvis had wanted to invite the woman, since he saw in her too much of the "unnatural womanhood" of the other societies. Seeing his comrades' reactions, Tuvis sighed. "My associates, I think, would prefer to get on with ceremony. The Ubar is awaiting us, after all. Perhaps Miss Verdes can come into the city another time. Properly attired, of course, as we would not want anything bad to happen to her."
"For our party, I think it is more a matter of respect for your institutions," Jhayka noted. "Taloran physiology is very different than that of humans--and I note that Miss Verdes has rather established her reputation, nevermind the legal issues." A pause for a moment. The grating voice, and the first meeting of this Normans with a Taloran, probably gave them quite the impression, even if they knew what Jhayka really looked like under the garments of the Great Divide Desert of her home continent on Talora Prime. "Let us proceed then, yes, and I shall present myself to the Ubar per diplomatic protocols."
With that, Jhayka and her entourage were led to a rail car on a special line to take them into the city. The seats were comfortable, and barely-clothed slave girls were available for serving the entourage during the short trip into the city via the government line. Windows on both side allowed Jhayka and her entourage to view the city, both it's squalid poor sections and the "richer" areas that in many cases were starting to look rundown and dilapidated. It was clear that Ar was a great Imperial capital now on hard times from the loss of that empire, like Athens after the great Peloponnesian War. Years of reparations to the former tributary allies and to the Great Alliance, not to mention to individual victims of enslavement freed after what many Normans contemptuously called "Sara Proctor's War" had been followed by the exhaustion of many of the gold, silver, and precious gem veins that had once enriched Ar even without it's great empire.
Nevertheless, Ar used what it had left wisely, and it showed with the Imperial Plaza and Capitol. The great monuments it had here were not destroyed, as Jhayka and her people could see from the government car as it rode to a stop. Statues commemorated great victories and events. Still noticable, despite being recently moved from it's central position to one in the corner out of immediate sight from the government car, was the statue of Marius Kutar, the victorious general who had a century and a half before defeated an Amazonian army at the Norman city of Cabotvill on the east bank of the Henley. The strong-jawed general's right hand gripped his sword, while the left gripped the chain attached to the collar of the naked Amazonian Magestrix Taleria that was on her knees beside him with a grim expression of submission.
The entourage continued on, looking upon the works around them.
The faded glory of old capital cities was not exactly a new thing for Jhayka, though she was somewhat affected by the despairing element of decayed splendour, maintained to the best efforts of unworthy ancestors as the city of Ar was. Of course, under her mask and robes the external view was impassive, but the internal one mixed disdain at the barbarism of the monuments with a bit of a warriors' chivalrous admiration for the pride and combative history of these people, no different than any great imperial officer allowing a moment's retrospection to the course of a fallen and shattered people, of which Jhayka was quite convinced the Normans were fast on the way to becoming.
And then, it was on to the Ubar, through the central square of the city's government buildings and toward his grand and forboding palace, with a full escort of honour which, though, did not attract much attention to the Normans, who are not given to gawking.
The Ubar of Ar was a younger man, born after the victory of the Great Alliance. Carlus Park was tall and strong, with a reputation as a vicious man driven by his hate for the nations that destroyed the Norman Empire. The High Ministers, who were more like the leaders of the various castes than actual secretaries of government in charge of overseeing it - the Normans maintained a very loose government in practice - were all dressed richly and of various age. Ikmen took his place among them, leaving it to Tuvis to announce Jhayka. "I present Her Highness Princess Jhayka itl dhin Intuit, Princess of the Principallity of Lesser Intuit, vassal of Her Majesty the Taloran Empress Saverena II, and company."
"Your Excellency," Jhayka sort of lowered forward slightly in a carefully measured gesture of respect which in no way approximated a bow, which was quite conscious considering the pride that Normans had in their freedom, but was still intended to show great deference. Her voice, though, remained unnatural the whole time, and she seemed generally very, very alien when her anthroid features were covered up. Nevermind the ominous black of the dress. The Talorans were not to be meddled with, and even honoring Norman custom they made that clear. "I have come to take up residence in the splendid city of Ar, for a period of some weeks, that I might record the glories of your people, and their habits and customs."
"Yes, well, we are pleased to welcome an esteemed guest from far away. Non-humans rarely visit us here in Ar, and for one to come for the purpose of learning our ways and history is a great honor." Carlus nodded. "My Ministers will aid you in your research if their duties allow."
This gained several irritated looks, but with a glare Carlus ended them. It was clear that Normans were not exactly a subtle people, and their emotions were often worn on their sleeves.
"As for your lodgings while here, there are many great lords who maintain lodgings here in the Upper Quarter. We would welcome your presence, and I will add, all of our records and great libraries are to be found here to aid you in your research. If need be, I can arrange for a government rail car to be made available to you to move freely between here and your train."
"Your graciousness in aiding in my research is a welcome effort, and I wholly appreciate it, Your Excellency. The honour of your people is quite well known, and certainly considering your long legacy here, and the conscious decision of your people to eschew the modern life which many find to be most shallow, I am looking forward to gathering together altogether a great deal of information which will, perhaps, take many years for me to go through--though I do not think I will need more than two weeks here to accumulate it, considering how obliging you plan to be." Jhayka, naturally, did not want to stay long in Ar, and of course the slaves would help her research long after they left the city.
"Excellent, then. And while you are here, you must really attend our tri-monthly gladiatorial contests this coming week. Though our people have fallen on hard times since we lost our empire, we still struggle to celebrate the greater aspects of Humanity; the Will of the strong clashing against one another, and the glory and rewards claimed by a victor. It's better fare than what you'll find in the tech world, where comfort has deprived men of their Will to do great things, and the hardness that helps them do it."
"Interesting that you mention that. Among the Taloran nobility there is something similar--the tradition of the dueling society. It is not, however, what we call ar'kan, the skill of dueling with the sabre, but rather Ihl'kan, the practice of standing one's ground against a blow, and steeling the will and the body for it--members of these societies have thoroughly scarred faces, and consider each scar a symbol of honor." Jhayka was smiling with grim amusement under the heavy concealment of the grilled mask. "I should, in light of that, very much like to see your Norman custom on full display."
"I will have the appropriate times sent to you. Now, I fear there are affairs of state that we must attend to. Mister Xueson is, like yourself, a foreigner. Perhaps he would be a suitable host?"
Taking the hint, Xueson nodded. "Yes, I have free rooms in my home here in Ar. I would gladly accept you as a guest, Your Highness."
"Thank you kindly, Your Excellency." she turned to Xueson. "Your offer is gratefully accepted. I shall be glad to take in the hospitality of your manse," she accepted--and of course a home guest in Norman culture was a safe position to be in, to be sure. It appeared as if all was in order for this visit, now, and the only thing that remained was to fill Danielle in on the details; Ilavna, in particular, was relieved that the earlier plan had fallen by the wayside, or so it seemed, and so all that remained was to settle in for the blessedly short time they'd have there.
20 October 2841
16 December 2162 AST
Dani awoke from the bed set aside from her, trying again to acclimate herself to the alien appearance of the train's interior as she sat up in her small private room. Bathing would come later, after breakfast, so for the moment she put on a loose robe and exited her room.
They had arrived in Ar during the course of the night, though here on the rail line they were still on "international" ground, in the eyes of the locals. There was to be an official reception later, where a few VIPs would come and greet the alien dignitary as she'd been greeted in Kalunda. Dani didn't know yet if she should make an appearance, as the Normans didn't take kindly to escaped slaves.
It would be breakfast with Jhayka and Illavna as usual, though in a concession to Dani's stomach they'd agreed that she would have ham and eggs. That was still to come, however, so as she waited for the major domo or some other servant to call her into Jhayka's lounge and dining car, Dani found a window and stared out at the city.
The rail-line came up to the west and south side of the city, along the hills before rolling west to Kellervil, the capital city of the Amazon Society. The line had been placed along the edge of the ridge facing Ar, with the main rail station built on top of the hill and on the gentle slopes below the ridge. From here, Dani could see some of the city's shape. It wasn't as splendid and beautiful as Kalunda, though it had it's own deceptive grace. Ungaily high walls surrounded the inner city, testament to a failed attempt to replicate the impossibly high walls that bordered the city's namesake in the now-ancient works that had given the model for the Normans' society. The architecture was almost alien, though some buildings nearer to the rails showed what seemed to be a belated attempt to copy Kalunda's neo-classical style.
Somewhere, in that large, ugly city, Dani might find Fay. That was why she was here, literally entering the den of a lion that she had only barely escaped from. Even now there was a terror that made her want to back down, to go home, to go back to the life she'd had before. But it was too late; she'd made the commitment and was here. And so she'd stay.
It was at that time that she was called in to breakfast. They would have a long day ahead of them.
Today something different was happening. Jhayka herself, just wearing her usual night robe and slippers, with nothing else particularly discernable than its cavernous folds, was standing rather pensively by the table, pink hair a crazy mess behind her. She turned with a smile when Dani arrived, ears perking up. "Greetings, Danielle. Lashila should be along in a moment.." She was looking out the window again after she said that, turning back quickly to it, but did not cease talking to Danielle. "I've been mulling over a plan for you and I want your opinion on it. It's a very eccentric thing, and as you can see, it kept me up a bit late, so I slept in longer than I usually do. But I thought it suitable to go over before everyone else can hear about it, since you may in fact find it rather uncomfortable or even distasteful--but I assure you it is done in the best interests of your friend. It comes from my knowledge of Norman culture and your own traits of personality."
"So, what do you have in mind, Jhayka?" With curiosity and some dread, Dani took her seat and awaited to hear the idea.
"I know the slave dealer who caught you, courtesy of my Norman contacts," Jhayka answered. "I'll send word ahead that I've captured you and want to keep you, and that I'll pay the last price at the auction, in Taloran money. That's all quite legal, and most dealers don't like escaped slaves, anyway--some masters will try to break them out of fun or cruelness, but dealers are businessmen, and they'd frankly be relieved to make any money at all off a situation like that." Jhayka was quite collected about the whole thing. "Anyway, if you are legally my slave then, dressed in the appropriate Norman attire, I can send you anywhere in the city. Slave girls wearing the collar of a free citizen--that would be me, in legal terms anyway, as a recognized guest of the city--can only be used sexually with the permission of their owner. And free women can quite capably own slaves; which I, of course, am. In short, it will make me firstly seem much more accepting of Norman cultural values, which will aid my mission, and secondly it will allow you to travel anywhere, without concern. Men may stop you and investigate your collar from time to time but as long as you have a cool head there should be no problem." Jhayka looked and smiled to Danielle. "You must remember--slaves hear everything in the city. Nobody protects against them learning anything. And they can nearly go anywhere, as long as they have a slip of paper saying they are on a mission from their owner. Inferior women, a threat to security? Never. And it is each master's judgement as to when his girls have been trained enough that they can be allowed to go on forays through the city like that."
It was intelligent. It was clever. And it was completely revolting, not to mention dangerous. Despite Jhayka's assurances, Dani did not trust Norman men. Yes, go about alone dressed like a slut in a city full of men who think that women only exist for them to fuck. Like being, I dunno, a hen in a wolf den or whatever.
"It makes sense. I don't really like it, but it makes too much sense for me to ignore off the bat. But, what of our plan to go about in heavy robes and the masks? I rather liked that one..." Dani hoped her desperation to avoid getting dressed up as a slave wasn't as obvious as it probably was.
Jhayka laughed gently. "What, you don't want me to see you in skimpy silkenware like that?" She had almost an amused wink in her eye. "Really, though, it will be worth the risk, I think. You might even be able to talk to Faye directly without any fear on your part of being found out or accosted. You will simply be another slave." A pause. "Granted, I know that I was originally planning for you to accompany the party heavily dressed, but I see some real advantages in this. Your movement won't attracted so much attention as it would in that case, you see, and that can be crucial for doing some digging into information like this."
"You're right, I know." Dani's eyes narrowed in only half-mocking irritation. "I hate it when someone's right about something I'd rather not do."
Oh God, I can't believe I'm doing this! I must be insane!
"Um... if you introduce me as your slave, won't the Normans make.... assumptions... about us? I mean, they, well... and what will Illavna think, since she's your confessor?"
"Yes, of course. But they already know I'm homosexual--I implied as much in several conversations with a variety of potentates back in the 'port. So that would be of little surprise, and, at any rate, Lashila will be fully taken into my confidence." Jhayka stretched out languidly and moved over to the table, her gray eyes looking back carefully to Danielle as she pulled out her own chair and sat down, staring across at the human woman. "Would it be alright then, Danielle?"
"It's not alright, but I'll still do it. You'll understand, though, if I prefer to limit the amount of time I'm out alone like that? Because, I trust your judgement, Jhayka, please understand that, but I still don't trust them. I can't, not with the way they are."
"I quite understand. It is asking a lot of you, I know, but I am just trying to help you find Faye," Jhayka replied.
"That you are." Dani smiled sweetly - now was her opening to get a dig in for that "silkenwear" remark. "So, going by their standards, I'm going to be your love slave." Her grin became impish. "I much prefer a relationship where I get to tie my partner up as often as she does me."
Jhayka's eyes bulged as it was, and it seemed like they'd faintly burst out of her head as she looked at Dani and flushed that dark green-gray sickly color that Talorans, for assorted reasons of their skin tone, tended to flush. "Danielle!" She exclaimed in a voice which probably would only amuse the human woman. "I.. Well, you know.." A hapless gesture, and then, weakly: "You know what I meant, and that was to much information?" It was clear, though, that though the initial shock had been genuine she was faintly amused by the whole thing.
"Oh, Jhayka, you really are innocent." Dani shook her head, giggling. "At least by Human standards. Though I just made your point for you about my new role, I guess. I hate it when I do that."
"Yes, you did," Jhayka couldn't contain a brief smirk. "And I'm far less innocent than you think, just more.. Proper. Let's leave it at that."
Then she was distracted by the door opening and the entry of Illavna.
"Food's about to come.." Ilavna started and then frowned. "You two have been talking about something of import, I take it?" Unlike Jhayka, she was already dressed and freshened up--and stepped deftly aside as a member of the dining staff brought around a hot beverage for the three of them, and then sat.
"Yes, we were," Jhayka agreed. "About Danielle's role in the city."
Ilavna frowned at once. "You haven't even summoned me to help you dress yet and you're already plotting with our guests, Your Highness?" A coincidental slip revealing the fact that Jhayka sometimes needed help with her complex clothes in the morning, which was a gentle chastisement only, though Jhayka was quite aware it was one. Then she looked to Danielle. "What does she want you to do?"
In a jokingly, farcical tone, Dani bowed her head - had she been in less serious company, she probably would have gone to the ground on all fours and prostrated. "Oh, I'm your slave now. Well, Jhayka's slave. But if I remember the stuff right, it means everyone on the train gets to order me around. But I draw the line at cleaning. I'm an engineer, not a maid."
At that point, something occurred to her. "Though, um, Jhayka, you don't suppose they'll want me to learn those slave positions, do you?"
"Oh stop it," Jhayka began.
"Your Highness, is that really necessary?" Ilavna asked, frowning and looking embarassed for Danielle's sake.
"Yes, it is, and no, she's just joking, Lashila," Jhayka said, trying to remain dignified. She paused there, looking back to Danielle, and gave up and laughed softly. "No. You know how to scrape and kneel before your betters," she said with a delicious smirk. "And that is enough, since you are quite forbidden from being used by anyone but me, as far as the Normans are concerned." Food was being served--the staff was thankfully silent about that, and neither of the Talorans seemed to mind human food, though they needed certain enzymes to digest them, but they had bottles of those on hand. "Anyway, I shall ask you to hang back during the initial meeting, while I clarify these things," Jhayka continued. "If that's alright, Danielle?"
Actually, I wasn't joking fully. Dani said nothing on that matter, instead replying, "Of course." She looked to her food and they all began to silently eat.
At the rail station, the Norman delegation awaited. At the lead was Jurik Tuvis, a wolf-haired man who was one of the city's executive leaders. A bodyguard detachment of elite warriors was with him, as was the Norman equivalent of the Foreign Minister.
Tarl Ikmen, the diplomatic senior of Ar, had once been the young aide to the last Ambassador to the Zhai, and was thus one of the few Normans still alive who had met the hated Sara Proctor in person. He was one of only two to survive the treacherous crossing of the South Henleys that the Zhai forced upon the Ambassador and his staff after their decision to oppose the Norman Empire, and so he was a hard man with an intense hatred of the Zhai, Kalunda, and most especially of Sara Proctor.
Also with the entourage was a leading trader and merchant of the city, Wolfgang Xueson, a mostly Caucasian-featured man with slight hints of Oriental ancestry. He was joined by only one bodyguard, the massive eight foot tall warrior Trajan.
Jhayka was dressed in black robes, which in Norman terms would denote the Assasin's caste--a subtle warning--as was Ilavna and the other women not in the power armour of her guard. They wore metallic face grills, gas masks which were clearly quite modern, and extremely pronounced goggles, like strange technocrats of a desert waste-world, with studded leather gloves and heavy black boots. The robes were, though, concealing jumpsuits, and could be flung off their bodies in a single motion of a hand. Very tall, almost onion-shaped turbans topped the ensemble, which swathed their ears thoroughly but were wound to allow them to be close to the surface of the fabric to hear decently well, and they looked somewhat like the turbans of Ottoman sultans. It was very impressive garb, particularly with swords at their sides, and in its anonymous way, rather intimidating, particularly with the grating, metallic tint to Jhayka's voice when she spoke, which left her gender indistinct. The combined ensemble had to be easily seven feet tall on Jhayka, and probably higher. "Gentlemen, I thank you for welcoming me to your city. I am, of course, only pleased to respect your customs on visiting, as it is my goal to do nothing less than record them for the general knowledge of the universe, in an impartial study of this whole region. But, of course, my request is essentially for the freedom of the city--for I shall need that to fully understand your people."
Tuvis spoke. "Of course, Your Highness. The people of Ar welcome you, and we will be pleased to allow you to go about the city as you desire. For the duration of your stay, you and your entourage are recognized as having the rights of free citizens, and the government guarantees your safety and security. Special announcements will be made to that effect immediately."
Looking at the assembled, Tuvis suddenly added, "Hmm, is Miss... Danielle Verdes with you? I believe that's the name. I was looking forward to seeing her."
"I have her aboard the armoured train," Jhayka said--making sure to emphasize armoured. "Why are you asking after her, if I may?" Jhayka managed to sound courtesy even swathed like a desert raider and speaking through a metallic grate like that, though of course she had an inside line through the entire arrangement--Ilavna was scanning their minds for security purposes and could warn Jhayka mentally if it came to it. So far she had found nothing out of the ordinary.
"I wished to convey our apologies," Tuvis answered, though his associate Ikmen had a half-snarl now. "She is from the other universes' Alliance, and by our law it was illegal to buy her as a slave and try to sell her. Those responsible are being placed on trial for the violation of that law, and here she is not considered an escaped slave but a free guest of another nation. I must admit, I was hoping to meet her not just to express our apologies for her ordeal, but to express my gratitude that she escaped before she endured the slave lifestyle further, as well as my admiration for her fighting prowess as I've heard of it."
Xueson's expression was neutral, as was that of his bodyguard. Ikmen was trying and failing to hide disgust - Norman diplomats were institutionally used to making demands and giving orders, not kowtowing to outsiders.
Jhayka of course watched all the interplay with interest, and Ilavna could actually feel it, which made the whole situation no doubt even more embarassing for the Normans--except for the main fact that they had no way of knowing about Ilavna's capabilities. No doubt they would be less comfortable allowing the Talorans in had they known. Jhayka, for her part, had an eye on the situation, and responded diplomatically, even though she was quite surprised at the news, wondering if it was a trap, but glad that she wasn't forcing Danielle into anything, at least, which would be rather a big help as far as she was concerned. "You are most gracious individuals, with a high regard for civilization," Jhayka commented effusively, in result, and then continued--"I may buy a number of slaves while I am, for the purpose of the study of the culture of your slaves. This will, I trust, not present a problem? I am a breeder of fine rostok, myself, and caring for living possessions is not an issue of difficulty among Talorans, even strange ones." It was unlikely that the Normans knew that was technically illegal under Taloran law, harshly so, but she planned to let the girls go on returning home, and therefore on having liberated them as a matter of fact.
Ikmen's frown did not disappear, and he clearly suspected that Jhayka would liberate her bought slaves, but Tuvis nodded. "Of course, Your Highness. As a guest you are accorded almost all rights a free citizen would have, save of course for those relating to our political discourse." He chuckled at that. "The Ubar and the High Ministers are awaiting us in the city." As introductions had already been made, there was no use for any more delay. "If you wish to let Miss Verdes accompany us, we will gladly wait."
"I fear that would somewhat delay us, as she is not suitably attired, since of course she did not expect to leave the train, understandably," Jhayka answered judiciously. "And I do not wish to keep the representative of your sovereignty waiting for any length of time, over the matter of an officer of a navy foreign to my own Empress. But if her presence is expressly requested, than a minor delay will, of course, allow her to attend."
Ikmen and Xueson looked to Tuvis. Neither wanted to wait. Ikmen particularly was irritated that Tuvis had wanted to invite the woman, since he saw in her too much of the "unnatural womanhood" of the other societies. Seeing his comrades' reactions, Tuvis sighed. "My associates, I think, would prefer to get on with ceremony. The Ubar is awaiting us, after all. Perhaps Miss Verdes can come into the city another time. Properly attired, of course, as we would not want anything bad to happen to her."
"For our party, I think it is more a matter of respect for your institutions," Jhayka noted. "Taloran physiology is very different than that of humans--and I note that Miss Verdes has rather established her reputation, nevermind the legal issues." A pause for a moment. The grating voice, and the first meeting of this Normans with a Taloran, probably gave them quite the impression, even if they knew what Jhayka really looked like under the garments of the Great Divide Desert of her home continent on Talora Prime. "Let us proceed then, yes, and I shall present myself to the Ubar per diplomatic protocols."
With that, Jhayka and her entourage were led to a rail car on a special line to take them into the city. The seats were comfortable, and barely-clothed slave girls were available for serving the entourage during the short trip into the city via the government line. Windows on both side allowed Jhayka and her entourage to view the city, both it's squalid poor sections and the "richer" areas that in many cases were starting to look rundown and dilapidated. It was clear that Ar was a great Imperial capital now on hard times from the loss of that empire, like Athens after the great Peloponnesian War. Years of reparations to the former tributary allies and to the Great Alliance, not to mention to individual victims of enslavement freed after what many Normans contemptuously called "Sara Proctor's War" had been followed by the exhaustion of many of the gold, silver, and precious gem veins that had once enriched Ar even without it's great empire.
Nevertheless, Ar used what it had left wisely, and it showed with the Imperial Plaza and Capitol. The great monuments it had here were not destroyed, as Jhayka and her people could see from the government car as it rode to a stop. Statues commemorated great victories and events. Still noticable, despite being recently moved from it's central position to one in the corner out of immediate sight from the government car, was the statue of Marius Kutar, the victorious general who had a century and a half before defeated an Amazonian army at the Norman city of Cabotvill on the east bank of the Henley. The strong-jawed general's right hand gripped his sword, while the left gripped the chain attached to the collar of the naked Amazonian Magestrix Taleria that was on her knees beside him with a grim expression of submission.
The entourage continued on, looking upon the works around them.
The faded glory of old capital cities was not exactly a new thing for Jhayka, though she was somewhat affected by the despairing element of decayed splendour, maintained to the best efforts of unworthy ancestors as the city of Ar was. Of course, under her mask and robes the external view was impassive, but the internal one mixed disdain at the barbarism of the monuments with a bit of a warriors' chivalrous admiration for the pride and combative history of these people, no different than any great imperial officer allowing a moment's retrospection to the course of a fallen and shattered people, of which Jhayka was quite convinced the Normans were fast on the way to becoming.
And then, it was on to the Ubar, through the central square of the city's government buildings and toward his grand and forboding palace, with a full escort of honour which, though, did not attract much attention to the Normans, who are not given to gawking.
The Ubar of Ar was a younger man, born after the victory of the Great Alliance. Carlus Park was tall and strong, with a reputation as a vicious man driven by his hate for the nations that destroyed the Norman Empire. The High Ministers, who were more like the leaders of the various castes than actual secretaries of government in charge of overseeing it - the Normans maintained a very loose government in practice - were all dressed richly and of various age. Ikmen took his place among them, leaving it to Tuvis to announce Jhayka. "I present Her Highness Princess Jhayka itl dhin Intuit, Princess of the Principallity of Lesser Intuit, vassal of Her Majesty the Taloran Empress Saverena II, and company."
"Your Excellency," Jhayka sort of lowered forward slightly in a carefully measured gesture of respect which in no way approximated a bow, which was quite conscious considering the pride that Normans had in their freedom, but was still intended to show great deference. Her voice, though, remained unnatural the whole time, and she seemed generally very, very alien when her anthroid features were covered up. Nevermind the ominous black of the dress. The Talorans were not to be meddled with, and even honoring Norman custom they made that clear. "I have come to take up residence in the splendid city of Ar, for a period of some weeks, that I might record the glories of your people, and their habits and customs."
"Yes, well, we are pleased to welcome an esteemed guest from far away. Non-humans rarely visit us here in Ar, and for one to come for the purpose of learning our ways and history is a great honor." Carlus nodded. "My Ministers will aid you in your research if their duties allow."
This gained several irritated looks, but with a glare Carlus ended them. It was clear that Normans were not exactly a subtle people, and their emotions were often worn on their sleeves.
"As for your lodgings while here, there are many great lords who maintain lodgings here in the Upper Quarter. We would welcome your presence, and I will add, all of our records and great libraries are to be found here to aid you in your research. If need be, I can arrange for a government rail car to be made available to you to move freely between here and your train."
"Your graciousness in aiding in my research is a welcome effort, and I wholly appreciate it, Your Excellency. The honour of your people is quite well known, and certainly considering your long legacy here, and the conscious decision of your people to eschew the modern life which many find to be most shallow, I am looking forward to gathering together altogether a great deal of information which will, perhaps, take many years for me to go through--though I do not think I will need more than two weeks here to accumulate it, considering how obliging you plan to be." Jhayka, naturally, did not want to stay long in Ar, and of course the slaves would help her research long after they left the city.
"Excellent, then. And while you are here, you must really attend our tri-monthly gladiatorial contests this coming week. Though our people have fallen on hard times since we lost our empire, we still struggle to celebrate the greater aspects of Humanity; the Will of the strong clashing against one another, and the glory and rewards claimed by a victor. It's better fare than what you'll find in the tech world, where comfort has deprived men of their Will to do great things, and the hardness that helps them do it."
"Interesting that you mention that. Among the Taloran nobility there is something similar--the tradition of the dueling society. It is not, however, what we call ar'kan, the skill of dueling with the sabre, but rather Ihl'kan, the practice of standing one's ground against a blow, and steeling the will and the body for it--members of these societies have thoroughly scarred faces, and consider each scar a symbol of honor." Jhayka was smiling with grim amusement under the heavy concealment of the grilled mask. "I should, in light of that, very much like to see your Norman custom on full display."
"I will have the appropriate times sent to you. Now, I fear there are affairs of state that we must attend to. Mister Xueson is, like yourself, a foreigner. Perhaps he would be a suitable host?"
Taking the hint, Xueson nodded. "Yes, I have free rooms in my home here in Ar. I would gladly accept you as a guest, Your Highness."
"Thank you kindly, Your Excellency." she turned to Xueson. "Your offer is gratefully accepted. I shall be glad to take in the hospitality of your manse," she accepted--and of course a home guest in Norman culture was a safe position to be in, to be sure. It appeared as if all was in order for this visit, now, and the only thing that remained was to fill Danielle in on the details; Ilavna, in particular, was relieved that the earlier plan had fallen by the wayside, or so it seemed, and so all that remained was to settle in for the blessedly short time they'd have there.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Again, this was co-written by Marina and I:
Upper Quarter, Ar, Gilean Primitive Zone
22 October 2841
18 December 2162 AST
“I like Ar. It makes me think of the proud old plains cities, millennia ago,” Jhayka said quietly as she leaned on the ornate, latticework-concealed balcony of a free woman's rooms, looking down to the ordered garden below and the street behind it; the gardens were concealed, of course, by a high fence. “A pity it's populated by such brutish people as these.”
“They won't be for much longer, Your Highness,” Ilavna ventured. “Not if what you predict comes true. And perhaps then they will be willing to accept the faith, and end this senseless system... Which I find increasingly hard to study in an even-handed manner, and all the more temptation to resort to firey condemnation.”
“You just have to separate the revulsion of a civilized being from the precocious fascination with the myriad permutations of the society quirks and oddities of sentient races, Ilavna. That's really all there is to it. Of course I find them repulsive; but I also find that they have virtues. This does not make me like them; I hate them to tell the truth. Yet I can't help but think that these people, who love their city so much, and remember the honours of generations past, and have such a fine warrior spirit, would make excellent troops in general and I rather hope that they get their chance for one last splendid fight.”
Ilavna wanted to reply, but was instead distracted by something very interesting to her in what Jhayka had said to her. And she asked very gently, too, for she worried about what it could mean. “Your Highness, why do you now call me Ilavna and not by the name of my family?”
Jhayka looked to Ilavna with white, gray eyes. “I did, didn't I. I..”
She turned away abruptly. “Perhaps I'm starting to let go.”
“It would be good if you did, Your Highness,” Ilavna offered in meek hope. “I.. It's not healthy for you.”
“She's in hell, serving Idenicamos,” Jhayka answered with a horrible grim voice, showing a quiver to the hands as she gripped onto the sides of the window sill. “As she should be for plotting against the Empress. But in her own twisted way she did, I think, more than love me. Everyone is telling me that I was manipulated like a callow child, on account of my tastes for plump women and my willingness to dalliance with a commoner, that I opened myself to a false and very base attraction. But let me tell you, Ilavna; that may be so: But if it is then it is also true that she felt reciprocal emotions for me. Lashila Virasno loved me, Ilavna, and I will no longer try to pretend otherwise or try to be nice to people who imply otherwise for that matter.
“She was trying to save my soul. She actually—horror of horrors to the lunatics of her sect—found herself in love with a noble. And her bringing me in to the plot against the person of the Empress was her way of redeeming me. If I could but renounce my titles, help slay my feudal lord, the sins I had committed by adhering to and being part of the class structure could be wiped clear and her love with me would be pure by even the standards of the Prophet of Deception. It was the flawed love of a madwoman, but it was love nonetheless, and that is why I was taken in by it. Because there was nothing to be taken in by: It was genuine, but it just offered to lead me to a bad end even though being genuine. And now that I can understand that I suppose I can accept the fact that she's gone more; because I can be again sure, as I was when she lived, that I loved her, and what I've felt is not false but genuine mourning.”
Ilavna did not immediately reply. Reassurances would of course be pointless; so would platitudes about Lashila Virasno. Ilavna, after all, was to well trained, even young, to violate the tenets of her faith to give false and base reassurance to someone who badly needed the truth, and was slowly being healed by its stern and bloody power.
“You feel the old hunger return?” She at last asked. It was not a question meant to help, but a dawning realization.
“Yes. That's what I came here—for adventure. And I have a sense that I will get it.”
“Your Highness! You still know better than to...”
“Wish violence upon these people? I am not that wicked, though I do hate them with justice. But they will, I am sure, bring it upon themselves. Then we'll see.” Jhayka smiled faintly. “Anyway, the realization was helped along by our kind guest—who's presence is heartening, and who's just cause may at any rate bring us in conflict with the Normans, also.”
“You..” Ilavna stammered, for it was a bit much even for her. “She's an alien!”
“Has my reputation as a pervert clouded even your head, my faithful Ilavna? That someone cannot have close friendship and have it affect their heart without anything else involved..? Or is it only other people who can feel such affections, and I must restrain myself from them less I fall into some sort of perversion which—I would further add—is not even considered a sin?”
“Natural law..”
“Shh. We can have a philosophical discussion some other time, seeing as I have just poured out to much of my heart as it stands. At any rate there is nothing of that sort, my reputation aside. As for the conversation.. Most of it, I suppose, was rather confessional in content, for I'm about to do something else my heart is not entirely right with.”
Ilavna frowned. “Your Highness?”
“To help Danielle on her quest, I am going to propose to her that she go undercover as a slavegirl once again. It's clear from our time in Ar—the slaves I have bought, the souk-markets I have bartered by way through, the dinners and parties I have attended already, the interviews I have conducted, the dances I have watched and the sweetmeats I have tasted; in short having already thoroughly lived the culture as best a freewoman here is able—that nobody will give up poor Fay. And the longer she is in their clutches the more they shall whip through her personality as finely as they shall scar her back, and the years that must follow of recovery shall only be adeed to. If she is held by one of their men they shall not give her back, for that would mean putting the man to death, whereas they may extent the pretence of kindness to me and to Danielle since there is, as it were, no harm, and no fowl, in how it ended. Apologize for what is found out, and hide and deny the rest. That is how they approach the matter.”
“She will not like it.. But you are quite certain in this.” Ilavna's ears dropped down. “Seeing as you are fond of her, I don't like the thought of her being in such danger, for your sake, Your Highness, but if you think it is necessary for her mission than you must tell her so, for she is on a mission of honour, of loyalty to her friends, and that is something that no other person should stand in the path of, as you know well. So I do not oppose this.”
“Good.”
“But then I must ask—if you find Fay but cannot buy her, what shall you do?”
“Get her out.”
“Even for a fight?”
“Even if I have to burn the city down, Ilavna. I am, after all, a tunnel rat and a Colonel of Sappers—half-pay or not. The regimental honour would expect nothing else.” Jhayka smiled, dangerous and somewhat alluring. “But for now I have a very mundane task for you.”
“Your Highness?” Consternation was evidenced, for when Jhayka was in a mood like this that could mean almost anything.
“Sew our Amazon a set of slave-silks for her excursions. I believe her measurements are on file.”
“Well, at least that's easy,” Ilavna answered. “Of course, Your Highness.”
“I'll be back with Danielle for dinner, then. ..And, thank you, Ilavna.” With that, Jhayka headed out.
Ilavna watched her go, smiling softly. “You're welcome, my Princess. It is good to see you coming back, Lord be praised.”
Xueson's mansion was one of the few to have technology, since Xueson himself was not a Norman, but for all it's grandeur it was still clearly meant to be a primitive abode. Light in the main halls was provided by oil lamps, not electric light, and in the heat of the day it could get uncomfortably warm without central air.
An entire wing of the mansion had been granted to Jhayka to use, and Dani had been given a room just beside those of Jhayka and Illavna, with a small common pantry. The rooms had air-conditioning, though the halls did not; the pantry had modern items and utensils as well.
Since arriving in the mansion, Dani had done almost nothing, simply staying around the mansion and volunteering to help organize Jhayka's now-growing mount of notes, as well as interviewing the slaves that Jhayka had purchased in her first few days. Jhayka had mostly bought the well-conditioned ones, which were rather thoroughly brainwashed with Norman nonsense. Dani took down notes of what they said and would gently inquire about Fay, but she learned nothing. A couple were curious of her and Jhayka - one informed her that she had never been with another woman but she was looking forward to it, making Dani blush with embarrassment and irritation.
The blue sun of Gilead was high in the sky on this second full day in Xueson's mansion. Dani was laying on her bed, consciously looking away from the room with the fur carpet. She consciously kept herself dressed in a long and loose robe and even had a head scarf and veil should it be necessary.
Jhayka padded into the room, barefoot, which showed off the obvious fact of her six-toed feet as well as the more visible six-fingers of her hands, which were also free of encumberent. She was much less concerned about modest than Danielle, perhaps understandably as well, though it was certainly odd to see someone walking around as casually as she was in a light jumpsuit with a sword hanging from a belt about her hip, as though it was something which never left her presence. Not off the train, anyway. As any Taloran noble would be expected, she was sharply possessive of her status, and the gold leaf on the pommel was the closest thing to jewelry on her body. Like she needed it: With her hair let down at the moment she was followed with a cascade of vibrant pink, and she smiled when she saw Danielle laying on the bed like that, pleasant enough on that long face, given to grimness as it was. "Just relaxing, hmm? I hope you don't mind if I sit?" She was mostly busy scanning books into her computers, a task for which she had employed several resident aliens in addition to several of her party, and beyond that, to conduct interviews, to being a guest of an assorted number of people who thought to invite her to parties or dinners, which she never declined, and to her work at the slave auctions, where she had played up her ability to choose 'good horseflesh' well, buying three female slaves to date and looking for more from a crossection of the Gorean slave markets; now her interest was in finding one of the more rare male slaves, and altogether she wanted eight or so. She was aware, to, that it was a bit of a grey area for her, particularly in the behaviour around the house, and the questions were followed immediately with a rather pointed comment as she leaned against the wall and rested one hand on the pommel of her sword. "You don't like having those slave-girls around, do you, Danielle?"
"No. It's just.... it disgusts me too much. Maybe I'd be taking this better, though, if I hadn't come so close of becoming like them myself. Just a few seconds delay back on that auction, and I'd have been unable to escape." Dani sat up and looked at Jhayka. "Oh, go ahead and sit wherever you like." Fully noticing Jhayka's state of dress, and seeing for the first time her bare feet and the almost freakish six digits on them, Dani added, "Dressing light? Well, I guess that's not as dangerous when you've got that sword. I've got fists, and I don't think they'd work so well against half a dozen or so guys. Especially that giant bodyguard Xueson's got, the one who looks like he's about eight feet tall."
"He's a foreigner. I've found that out by listening to their conversations--people consistently underestimate Taloran hearing even when they're fully aware of the size of our ears. They're very unique, you know, that they can straighten on their own, twist a bit to focus in on something. It's common among Taloran species but seems a rather unique adaptation by us which makes the ear more complex than in other mammal-analogues, as I think you'd call us," she made idle small talk as she moved to sit on the side of the bed. "And, really, I feel quite safe in this wing of the manor--which is nice, and not terribly dissimilar from home, which at least has modern climate control, but is so large as to feel rather empty and drafty--but I really don't think they want to cause trouble for us. They just want us out of here, and frankly, I am all to happy to try and move quickly. We'll only be here another ten days, twelve at the most, and I'll have enough of the slaves by then to continue research while we travel." Her ears dropped then. "I'm sorry that it disgusts you, but, all things said, they are better off under me than otherwise. And they'll be legally free once I get back to Taloran space though as a matter of course I expect to retain them as house servants; perhaps some mental health experts can make them fully functional in society, but for most of them I doubt it. Probably because the ones I've bought so far have all grown up here; I'm looking for fresh captives at the moment to see what they're like when the training process is still fresh. Speaking of which..." A full frown, then. "There's been no progress on finding Fay, has there?"
"Nothing. This Orion man, Oloparatho, is gone, or so I've heard. One of the slave girls I talked to mentioned he sold one of the 'green-skinned' girls to a friend of the Ubar, the leader of the Kalveos family, who he stayed with for a long time. But he left weeks ago with the other slaves he had." Dani sighed. "But that's all I've heard. Nothing about Fay, or where Oloparatho went after he left Ar."
"Green Orion slave women. I've heard they're genetically engineered constructs which don't have a real free will," Jhayka commented in extreme distaste, for she did share the prototypical Taloran dislike of extreme genetic modification born of religious prejudice, perhaps wise in that it was flexible but cautious, yet nonetheless severe in the social sense. "Though I don't know if that's true." Jhayka did not lighten up after that, either: "It seems odd, but a fair number of the foreigners have left, and there seems to be some price deflation in the city as well. Since they use metallic currency that means that there's been some very heavy purchasing going on from the government, or from the main oligarchs, which is on a scale to affect the economy of Ar. I suspect that many of the traders are leaving because they're literally loaded full of all the money they can carry and can't continue to trade without going to redeem some of it for additional goods; but I'm not sure what's causing that. It's possible that the slave markets have been growing very rapidly but and we're just arriving on the tail end of that. They may be going to acquire more slaves. If that's correct then it's clear that there's a general resumption of the old ways here. That, as I've feared, will either force a government response or cause a crisis. So things are happening about as all have expected. But it does us no good in trying to find Fay."
"I don't remember anything about Orion slave women being genetically engineered. They're usually either the girls born into slavery from their Southern or Eastern nations, or taken in wars against the Northern ones that kept them in check until the slavers got stupid and enslaved some of our people." Dani remembered the news from those days, when the Alliance had invaded Orion to punish the slavocracies of their dominant Southern nations for enslaving Alliance citizens. "I guess the people in charge missed a slaver."
Sighing, Dani put her head into her hands. "I've got to find where she is. There has to be someone here who knows. Can't you get the leaders here to help? They've already said enslavement of Alliance citizens is illegal here, maybe they know something."
"As a matter of fact, I raised the issue last night. That's part of why I was coming here to talk to you.." Jhayka sighed, and rolled to settle on her hands and knees on the bed, looking to Danielle with her hair falling down her sides and those gray eyes peering straight at her, rather close, too. "They claim not to know anything. They may be telling the truth but I think not--I believe that they are simply following the principle that you apologize for and make illegal what is caught, and pretend that what is not found out, what is not caught, is never made public, you understand? Their law is born of fear, and thus will be applied with hypocrisy. So I have been thinking of another way to give you your chance to find Fay."
Dani breathed a bit too hard at seeing Jhayka's eyes come so close to her. She seemed deceptively relaxed and - dare Dani say it? - informal, laying upon the bed on all fours with her pink hair loose and free, so unlike her usual appearance. It was tantalizing in it's own way. Thankfully Jhayka's clothing wasn't so loose as to hang down far, otherwise Dani may have been given a temptation of curiosity she'd rather avoid when dealing with Jhayka. Yet there was something there, something Dani found appealing, in the way Jhayka looked at her.
"I'm all ears, Jhayka." Nevertheless, Dani had her suspicions as to what the suggestion would be.
"Remember the idea we had on the train?" Jhayka seemed to flush a bit of a gray-green as she looked on over Danielle's fine form; the position had not been chosen for the view, to be sure, but to simultaneously emphasis the point and make the request seem informal, just a suggestion really, rather than a directive. "I think it's best if you go ahead and do that. It may be really the only way that you can find Fay in the city, quite frankly, no matter how painful and dangerous it is for you. I know it will force you to be very immodest around these men, but you can pass easily enough as a slavegirl, particularly now that you have experience with them, and their laws should prevent them from taking advantage of you.." A sigh. "I just don't think we'll get her back if she's here unless you do that. I'd burn the place down if she was, since I've give you my word, but as it stands there's no proof and I simply won't do violence to these people without it. So I really do believe you must go undercover as a slavegirl to have a chance of rescuing her." A wry flicker of a smile. "And don't worry; Ilavna's swept the rooms for bugs rather regularly."
"I'm sure she has." Dani sighed. "Well, you're right, I'll have to do it. One of the girls you bought was just sold from the Kalveos household, so I'll start with our notes from her interviews to see where I might meet other slave girls from that household."
Dani had, in the meantime, noticed the flush on Jhayka's face. Her grim expression turned to an impish grin. "I suppose you'll get to see me in one of those silks after all. Though you saw me at the auction, so there's no mystery like there is otherwise."
Jhayka flushed brighter, as if she had suddenly become aware of the position she was in, and rolled back to sitting on the side of the bed, very careful and gracious with her sword buckled to her, where for someone else it might have presented a hindrance. "Uhm.. Well, as a matter of fact that's quite true isn't it?" She took on a rather sheepish look. "I wasn't thinking of you as more than some sort of rather arrogantly brilliant fighting amazon at the time, but I certainly saw you quite nude, from every side, too. I hope you're not offended by that; it was, of course, unavoidable, considering the situation." She seemed to relax a bit. "The Kalveos girl's notes will be the most useful for you, of course. Speaking of which, the girls seem of the universal opinion that their clothes are even more erotic than going nude; because it tantalizes and seems to hide some of their appearance. A same principle is observed in other cultures with a low opinion of women, though usually women are fully covered in such societies, swaddled from head to toe as a matter of fact--I've read historical records of men from Islamic cultures, for instance, being driven into a wild, animalistic frenzy by the mere rumour of the presence of an 'available' woman. That contrast in Norman society--the low status in women combined with their ostentatious display--is one of the reasons I'm studying it. It seems curious that a nearly nude figure can generate some of the same lust as a fully swathed one, but I suppose it, if anything, increases the effect by revealing so much and then denying the rest of the figure." A frown, there. "I do sometimes wonder at humanity. We Talorans are a modest people, but we haven't faced such extremes since we smashed the primitives of the subcontinent and the outer islands, and that was before we even developed spaceflight."
Dani had watched Jhayka, with some embarrassment, change her position to a sitting one along the side, and do so with her usual grace. Dani slipped her legs over the side of the bed, sitting beside Jhayka with a foot or so between them so that Jhayka might have some room. Turning to her, Dani put a hand through her own dark hair, straightening it a bit and letting most of it fall over her left shoulder, opposite from the side facing Jhayka. "Well, it's just how societies go. Some are just better than others. Some of our people still don't understand that, but anyone with a brain does. What woman would honestly want to live here? What man would want to live with the Amazons across the river? Some of the atheists I've known would probably not want to be Taloran, and I'm sure our societies seem too liberal and undisciplined for your people, so they'd feel the same." Dani grinned a little. "I like to think I'm open-minded. Your people are very proper and reserved and modest, but I think deep down you're probably not that different from us. You love life too, I'm sure, and desire happiness."
"We love life, though I am not sure we love our own lives. In a sense, to a Taloran, there are many things we love more than life; but that is certainly not true of us all, and yet at the same time our culture can have great tendencies of self-sacrifice in it. And we know what happiness is. But I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility that our outlook on both is very fundamentally different... I sometimes worry when I look at you and think about you and make these requests of you that we're not really understanding each other, even though we speak the same words. And I'm not really sure how we'd be able to tell if we're understanding each other, either. Though I am in expert in the cultures of humanity, and in the manifestations of their societies--and I mostly agree with you, though I scarcely think I am so tolerant as you--I fear differences which will prevent me from a full understanding, particularly of such a fine friend as you who has, to us, shown herself to be very loyal to her friends. Traits like that we emphasize much more than you do; I am not sure if this is a difference between us or a result of different values, and what motivates you in your friendship precisely. Though perhaps it is not important, for it is admirable no matter what the cause in your mind is." Jhayka braced herself with one hand, eyes cast away from Dani thinking, thinking, it seemed, before she continued. "I very much apologize, at any rate, for having put you in a place where you must bear yourself so immodestly and so dangerously around these men, but it is necessary for the sake of your friend, as I judge it.. And, I will make it up to you."
"I know you will." There was nothing else to say on that issue. Dani would take that risk, confident in her own abilities to get out of a mess and of Jhayka's willingness to come to her aid.
Dani lowered her eyes, noticing Jhayka was no longer looking her way. "But, I think you need to put a little more faith in just how similar we can be, and I mean Humanity and Talorans. Many of us also believe there are things greater than our own lives. We might look at things differently, but I honestly don't think that means we can't understand each other. At least, not as long as we actively try to learn about each other." Dani shrugged a little. "Might make living in the same cosmos a bit easier than just assuming that we're all either undisciplined sinful anarchists or stuckup elitists."
"I can't change my people. And we have reasons for believing what we believe. Though, really, humanity is not as such sinful, or anarchistic. It has integrated very nice into the Empire.. Which is, speaking of which, part of how I wanted to make things up to you." Jhayka took a deep breath. "I have, ah, expended a very, very great deal of my political capital due to events which happened in the recent past, which put me on shakey ground, both socially and politically; that is part of why I am here, giving the capital some time to cool down about the whole affair, really, and indulging a personal passion. I have not, also, been all that well; which is the real reason Ilavna accompanied me, though she has many others of her own and is making herself not just useful to me but to the Farzian religion here, being as she is both intelligent and faithful, and quite studious altogether." A wry laugh, as her ears flexed. "Sorry. I was distracting from the point. Suffice to say--if you find Fay, come back with me to Talora Prime. She'll have time to, well, heal, there. And you may live on my coin, at least, until I've put together the contacts to arrange you a commission with one of the minor navies of the Archduchesses or border Marchionesses, or one of the merchant guilds."
Jhayka's offer caused Dani to look at her. She hadn't given much thought of where to go after she found Fay - the Navy was out, and without reaching higher rank her hope of a high-paying firm job was too - and so the offer suddenly made her realize that she had cut herself adrift in the naming of finding Fay.
Now Jhayka had given her something to possibly look forward to. There would be the challenge of learning about an entirely different engineering philosophy and the possibility of perhaps gaining that job she wanted, even if it wasn't back home. And the chance to see Talora Prime, the homeworld that Jhayka and Illavna had spoken of so eloquently, was simply superb. After all, space travel still cost money, especially given there were no gates in the Taloran home universe yet, and Dani was going to be rather tight on money now.
Of course, Dani's curiosity was now on what might have caused Jhayka such trouble back home. She wouldn't dare speak on it, but it was there. "I'd... Jhayka, thank you for that. I'm looking forward to it. When we're done here, of course." She grinned, waiting for Jhayka to turn her way again. "So, where do we start?"
"Well, I already asked Ilavna to sew up a slave's costume for you out of the fabric I bought for the girls," Jhayka answered with a slightly guilty expression. "I guessed what your answer would be. Pretty much after that you need a collar--I've bought a supply of them so that's not a problem--and then you just go out through the slave doors. In all liklihood, seeing as everyone knows that I'm buying lots of slaves for research purposes, you simply won't be noticed at all, you know what I mean? Just another of the faceless girls, out on an errant for her master.. I'll give you a money bag to tie around your neck, since slaves can't actually carry money, so when you go out of course as on an errand it must be slung about your neck--that's an amusing adaptation, probably since everyone realized that it's pointless to have slavegirls unless they can do menial work for you. And certainly my Majordomo is organizing them nicely as it stands, though Ilavna is in supreme contempt of their abilities to keep the wing clean, which they all regard as a demotion--they're proud of being used for pleasure." Jhayka found the last bit somewhat amusing.
"I guess they consider cleaning work for the older slaves that men don't want anymore." Dani giggled. "Oh well. Anyway, I've been thinking that we need to find out everywhere Oloparatho went to. I can then go and buy little trinkets for you as a cover to talking to any of the girls who might've heard something. When will Illavna have the suit ready?"
"It would be very charitable to call it a suit. Most very charitable," Jhayka said, the combination of the last two words signaling a Taloran impulse in her english. "You've seen the girls yourself, after all. I wouldn't even wear such a thing to go swimming in. I don't envy you." Talorans did tend toward modest one-piece bathing suits, though that was in public--in gender segregated baths they were of course quite comfortable with nudity. "At any rate, by the evening. Evening is a good time to go, too; the markets are very feel-wheeling, and most of the men around are drunk. More apt to feel you up before seeing the color of your silks and backing off, but also less likely to notice that things are wrong, yes? And neither of us wants to really deal with those sorts of complications."
Dani shivered. "No. No, we don't."
"I could give you a concealed weapon, but you'd have to conceal it in a body cavity, since there's no-where else for it wearing those clothes," Jhayka offered with a sort of amusement. The offer was genuine and so was the precondition.
Dani gave her a look of mock horror. "Um, no. I think I'll take my chances otherwise. Otherwise I might walk funny and draw attention I'd rather not draw."
"There are tricks for seamlessly getting away with it, but I suspect they don't train those to people in the armed forces even in the ADN." Jhayka's look fell. "I was taught how to do that by someone rather close to me, admittedly a normally completely useless skill for a noble, though I suppose there are some situations in which I might consider it. For instance, if I ever contrive to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, by both pretending to be a Muslim and crossdressing as a man, most like a Taureg. I think I would likely enjoy doing that altogether quite a lot."
Dani noticed the change in Jhayka's expression but said nothing about it. "Well, I draw the line at cross-dressing," she teased gently. "But whatever floats your boat is fine," Dani added with a giggle. "But really, aside from bedroom activities I'm not used to having something in, well, either area that would be big enough to hide even a small knife, and I'd probably walk so funny that I'd draw lots of attention. Better to be just another slave girl passing through. So long as this collar thing works and you can make sure I'm marked 'Looky looky but no touchy touchy', I'll be fine. And I promise not to get involved in any brawls unless it's a life or death situation."
"I accept your word, of course," Jhayka replied automatically, flushing a bit again as the subject was discussed. "Well, no matter, I just wanted to offer it as a possibility, since I feel rather responsible about getting you into this whole situation. Granted, you are the one looking for Fay, but you might have found a more discrete way to do it without resorting to this form of disguise had I not been here." Which was ignoring the whole issue of Jhayka have probably saved Dani's life in the railyard, but with the best of noble virtue she remained quite unpretentious about that.
"Don't worry, Jhayka. You saved me, remember? I was huddling naked under a train desperate for something good to happen when you came along. Granted, it was your train I was hiding under..." Dani let out an amused chuckle. "I'll try to return the favor on that someday."
"It is nothing, really. And while you wait, can I have something made for you? We've talked right through the noon meal, after all, but the girls are at least a little less annoyed by the prospect of cooking than by cleaning and so we might as well given them some work there." A sly grin was allowed, at that point, in a rare display of broad emotion: "And I do remember, from time to time, that your physiology is different and you do not need to be on a starvation diet."
"Yes," Dani laughed, "that sounds like a good idea."
Upper Quarter, Ar, Gilean Primitive Zone
22 October 2841
18 December 2162 AST
“I like Ar. It makes me think of the proud old plains cities, millennia ago,” Jhayka said quietly as she leaned on the ornate, latticework-concealed balcony of a free woman's rooms, looking down to the ordered garden below and the street behind it; the gardens were concealed, of course, by a high fence. “A pity it's populated by such brutish people as these.”
“They won't be for much longer, Your Highness,” Ilavna ventured. “Not if what you predict comes true. And perhaps then they will be willing to accept the faith, and end this senseless system... Which I find increasingly hard to study in an even-handed manner, and all the more temptation to resort to firey condemnation.”
“You just have to separate the revulsion of a civilized being from the precocious fascination with the myriad permutations of the society quirks and oddities of sentient races, Ilavna. That's really all there is to it. Of course I find them repulsive; but I also find that they have virtues. This does not make me like them; I hate them to tell the truth. Yet I can't help but think that these people, who love their city so much, and remember the honours of generations past, and have such a fine warrior spirit, would make excellent troops in general and I rather hope that they get their chance for one last splendid fight.”
Ilavna wanted to reply, but was instead distracted by something very interesting to her in what Jhayka had said to her. And she asked very gently, too, for she worried about what it could mean. “Your Highness, why do you now call me Ilavna and not by the name of my family?”
Jhayka looked to Ilavna with white, gray eyes. “I did, didn't I. I..”
She turned away abruptly. “Perhaps I'm starting to let go.”
“It would be good if you did, Your Highness,” Ilavna offered in meek hope. “I.. It's not healthy for you.”
“She's in hell, serving Idenicamos,” Jhayka answered with a horrible grim voice, showing a quiver to the hands as she gripped onto the sides of the window sill. “As she should be for plotting against the Empress. But in her own twisted way she did, I think, more than love me. Everyone is telling me that I was manipulated like a callow child, on account of my tastes for plump women and my willingness to dalliance with a commoner, that I opened myself to a false and very base attraction. But let me tell you, Ilavna; that may be so: But if it is then it is also true that she felt reciprocal emotions for me. Lashila Virasno loved me, Ilavna, and I will no longer try to pretend otherwise or try to be nice to people who imply otherwise for that matter.
“She was trying to save my soul. She actually—horror of horrors to the lunatics of her sect—found herself in love with a noble. And her bringing me in to the plot against the person of the Empress was her way of redeeming me. If I could but renounce my titles, help slay my feudal lord, the sins I had committed by adhering to and being part of the class structure could be wiped clear and her love with me would be pure by even the standards of the Prophet of Deception. It was the flawed love of a madwoman, but it was love nonetheless, and that is why I was taken in by it. Because there was nothing to be taken in by: It was genuine, but it just offered to lead me to a bad end even though being genuine. And now that I can understand that I suppose I can accept the fact that she's gone more; because I can be again sure, as I was when she lived, that I loved her, and what I've felt is not false but genuine mourning.”
Ilavna did not immediately reply. Reassurances would of course be pointless; so would platitudes about Lashila Virasno. Ilavna, after all, was to well trained, even young, to violate the tenets of her faith to give false and base reassurance to someone who badly needed the truth, and was slowly being healed by its stern and bloody power.
“You feel the old hunger return?” She at last asked. It was not a question meant to help, but a dawning realization.
“Yes. That's what I came here—for adventure. And I have a sense that I will get it.”
“Your Highness! You still know better than to...”
“Wish violence upon these people? I am not that wicked, though I do hate them with justice. But they will, I am sure, bring it upon themselves. Then we'll see.” Jhayka smiled faintly. “Anyway, the realization was helped along by our kind guest—who's presence is heartening, and who's just cause may at any rate bring us in conflict with the Normans, also.”
“You..” Ilavna stammered, for it was a bit much even for her. “She's an alien!”
“Has my reputation as a pervert clouded even your head, my faithful Ilavna? That someone cannot have close friendship and have it affect their heart without anything else involved..? Or is it only other people who can feel such affections, and I must restrain myself from them less I fall into some sort of perversion which—I would further add—is not even considered a sin?”
“Natural law..”
“Shh. We can have a philosophical discussion some other time, seeing as I have just poured out to much of my heart as it stands. At any rate there is nothing of that sort, my reputation aside. As for the conversation.. Most of it, I suppose, was rather confessional in content, for I'm about to do something else my heart is not entirely right with.”
Ilavna frowned. “Your Highness?”
“To help Danielle on her quest, I am going to propose to her that she go undercover as a slavegirl once again. It's clear from our time in Ar—the slaves I have bought, the souk-markets I have bartered by way through, the dinners and parties I have attended already, the interviews I have conducted, the dances I have watched and the sweetmeats I have tasted; in short having already thoroughly lived the culture as best a freewoman here is able—that nobody will give up poor Fay. And the longer she is in their clutches the more they shall whip through her personality as finely as they shall scar her back, and the years that must follow of recovery shall only be adeed to. If she is held by one of their men they shall not give her back, for that would mean putting the man to death, whereas they may extent the pretence of kindness to me and to Danielle since there is, as it were, no harm, and no fowl, in how it ended. Apologize for what is found out, and hide and deny the rest. That is how they approach the matter.”
“She will not like it.. But you are quite certain in this.” Ilavna's ears dropped down. “Seeing as you are fond of her, I don't like the thought of her being in such danger, for your sake, Your Highness, but if you think it is necessary for her mission than you must tell her so, for she is on a mission of honour, of loyalty to her friends, and that is something that no other person should stand in the path of, as you know well. So I do not oppose this.”
“Good.”
“But then I must ask—if you find Fay but cannot buy her, what shall you do?”
“Get her out.”
“Even for a fight?”
“Even if I have to burn the city down, Ilavna. I am, after all, a tunnel rat and a Colonel of Sappers—half-pay or not. The regimental honour would expect nothing else.” Jhayka smiled, dangerous and somewhat alluring. “But for now I have a very mundane task for you.”
“Your Highness?” Consternation was evidenced, for when Jhayka was in a mood like this that could mean almost anything.
“Sew our Amazon a set of slave-silks for her excursions. I believe her measurements are on file.”
“Well, at least that's easy,” Ilavna answered. “Of course, Your Highness.”
“I'll be back with Danielle for dinner, then. ..And, thank you, Ilavna.” With that, Jhayka headed out.
Ilavna watched her go, smiling softly. “You're welcome, my Princess. It is good to see you coming back, Lord be praised.”
Xueson's mansion was one of the few to have technology, since Xueson himself was not a Norman, but for all it's grandeur it was still clearly meant to be a primitive abode. Light in the main halls was provided by oil lamps, not electric light, and in the heat of the day it could get uncomfortably warm without central air.
An entire wing of the mansion had been granted to Jhayka to use, and Dani had been given a room just beside those of Jhayka and Illavna, with a small common pantry. The rooms had air-conditioning, though the halls did not; the pantry had modern items and utensils as well.
Since arriving in the mansion, Dani had done almost nothing, simply staying around the mansion and volunteering to help organize Jhayka's now-growing mount of notes, as well as interviewing the slaves that Jhayka had purchased in her first few days. Jhayka had mostly bought the well-conditioned ones, which were rather thoroughly brainwashed with Norman nonsense. Dani took down notes of what they said and would gently inquire about Fay, but she learned nothing. A couple were curious of her and Jhayka - one informed her that she had never been with another woman but she was looking forward to it, making Dani blush with embarrassment and irritation.
The blue sun of Gilead was high in the sky on this second full day in Xueson's mansion. Dani was laying on her bed, consciously looking away from the room with the fur carpet. She consciously kept herself dressed in a long and loose robe and even had a head scarf and veil should it be necessary.
Jhayka padded into the room, barefoot, which showed off the obvious fact of her six-toed feet as well as the more visible six-fingers of her hands, which were also free of encumberent. She was much less concerned about modest than Danielle, perhaps understandably as well, though it was certainly odd to see someone walking around as casually as she was in a light jumpsuit with a sword hanging from a belt about her hip, as though it was something which never left her presence. Not off the train, anyway. As any Taloran noble would be expected, she was sharply possessive of her status, and the gold leaf on the pommel was the closest thing to jewelry on her body. Like she needed it: With her hair let down at the moment she was followed with a cascade of vibrant pink, and she smiled when she saw Danielle laying on the bed like that, pleasant enough on that long face, given to grimness as it was. "Just relaxing, hmm? I hope you don't mind if I sit?" She was mostly busy scanning books into her computers, a task for which she had employed several resident aliens in addition to several of her party, and beyond that, to conduct interviews, to being a guest of an assorted number of people who thought to invite her to parties or dinners, which she never declined, and to her work at the slave auctions, where she had played up her ability to choose 'good horseflesh' well, buying three female slaves to date and looking for more from a crossection of the Gorean slave markets; now her interest was in finding one of the more rare male slaves, and altogether she wanted eight or so. She was aware, to, that it was a bit of a grey area for her, particularly in the behaviour around the house, and the questions were followed immediately with a rather pointed comment as she leaned against the wall and rested one hand on the pommel of her sword. "You don't like having those slave-girls around, do you, Danielle?"
"No. It's just.... it disgusts me too much. Maybe I'd be taking this better, though, if I hadn't come so close of becoming like them myself. Just a few seconds delay back on that auction, and I'd have been unable to escape." Dani sat up and looked at Jhayka. "Oh, go ahead and sit wherever you like." Fully noticing Jhayka's state of dress, and seeing for the first time her bare feet and the almost freakish six digits on them, Dani added, "Dressing light? Well, I guess that's not as dangerous when you've got that sword. I've got fists, and I don't think they'd work so well against half a dozen or so guys. Especially that giant bodyguard Xueson's got, the one who looks like he's about eight feet tall."
"He's a foreigner. I've found that out by listening to their conversations--people consistently underestimate Taloran hearing even when they're fully aware of the size of our ears. They're very unique, you know, that they can straighten on their own, twist a bit to focus in on something. It's common among Taloran species but seems a rather unique adaptation by us which makes the ear more complex than in other mammal-analogues, as I think you'd call us," she made idle small talk as she moved to sit on the side of the bed. "And, really, I feel quite safe in this wing of the manor--which is nice, and not terribly dissimilar from home, which at least has modern climate control, but is so large as to feel rather empty and drafty--but I really don't think they want to cause trouble for us. They just want us out of here, and frankly, I am all to happy to try and move quickly. We'll only be here another ten days, twelve at the most, and I'll have enough of the slaves by then to continue research while we travel." Her ears dropped then. "I'm sorry that it disgusts you, but, all things said, they are better off under me than otherwise. And they'll be legally free once I get back to Taloran space though as a matter of course I expect to retain them as house servants; perhaps some mental health experts can make them fully functional in society, but for most of them I doubt it. Probably because the ones I've bought so far have all grown up here; I'm looking for fresh captives at the moment to see what they're like when the training process is still fresh. Speaking of which..." A full frown, then. "There's been no progress on finding Fay, has there?"
"Nothing. This Orion man, Oloparatho, is gone, or so I've heard. One of the slave girls I talked to mentioned he sold one of the 'green-skinned' girls to a friend of the Ubar, the leader of the Kalveos family, who he stayed with for a long time. But he left weeks ago with the other slaves he had." Dani sighed. "But that's all I've heard. Nothing about Fay, or where Oloparatho went after he left Ar."
"Green Orion slave women. I've heard they're genetically engineered constructs which don't have a real free will," Jhayka commented in extreme distaste, for she did share the prototypical Taloran dislike of extreme genetic modification born of religious prejudice, perhaps wise in that it was flexible but cautious, yet nonetheless severe in the social sense. "Though I don't know if that's true." Jhayka did not lighten up after that, either: "It seems odd, but a fair number of the foreigners have left, and there seems to be some price deflation in the city as well. Since they use metallic currency that means that there's been some very heavy purchasing going on from the government, or from the main oligarchs, which is on a scale to affect the economy of Ar. I suspect that many of the traders are leaving because they're literally loaded full of all the money they can carry and can't continue to trade without going to redeem some of it for additional goods; but I'm not sure what's causing that. It's possible that the slave markets have been growing very rapidly but and we're just arriving on the tail end of that. They may be going to acquire more slaves. If that's correct then it's clear that there's a general resumption of the old ways here. That, as I've feared, will either force a government response or cause a crisis. So things are happening about as all have expected. But it does us no good in trying to find Fay."
"I don't remember anything about Orion slave women being genetically engineered. They're usually either the girls born into slavery from their Southern or Eastern nations, or taken in wars against the Northern ones that kept them in check until the slavers got stupid and enslaved some of our people." Dani remembered the news from those days, when the Alliance had invaded Orion to punish the slavocracies of their dominant Southern nations for enslaving Alliance citizens. "I guess the people in charge missed a slaver."
Sighing, Dani put her head into her hands. "I've got to find where she is. There has to be someone here who knows. Can't you get the leaders here to help? They've already said enslavement of Alliance citizens is illegal here, maybe they know something."
"As a matter of fact, I raised the issue last night. That's part of why I was coming here to talk to you.." Jhayka sighed, and rolled to settle on her hands and knees on the bed, looking to Danielle with her hair falling down her sides and those gray eyes peering straight at her, rather close, too. "They claim not to know anything. They may be telling the truth but I think not--I believe that they are simply following the principle that you apologize for and make illegal what is caught, and pretend that what is not found out, what is not caught, is never made public, you understand? Their law is born of fear, and thus will be applied with hypocrisy. So I have been thinking of another way to give you your chance to find Fay."
Dani breathed a bit too hard at seeing Jhayka's eyes come so close to her. She seemed deceptively relaxed and - dare Dani say it? - informal, laying upon the bed on all fours with her pink hair loose and free, so unlike her usual appearance. It was tantalizing in it's own way. Thankfully Jhayka's clothing wasn't so loose as to hang down far, otherwise Dani may have been given a temptation of curiosity she'd rather avoid when dealing with Jhayka. Yet there was something there, something Dani found appealing, in the way Jhayka looked at her.
"I'm all ears, Jhayka." Nevertheless, Dani had her suspicions as to what the suggestion would be.
"Remember the idea we had on the train?" Jhayka seemed to flush a bit of a gray-green as she looked on over Danielle's fine form; the position had not been chosen for the view, to be sure, but to simultaneously emphasis the point and make the request seem informal, just a suggestion really, rather than a directive. "I think it's best if you go ahead and do that. It may be really the only way that you can find Fay in the city, quite frankly, no matter how painful and dangerous it is for you. I know it will force you to be very immodest around these men, but you can pass easily enough as a slavegirl, particularly now that you have experience with them, and their laws should prevent them from taking advantage of you.." A sigh. "I just don't think we'll get her back if she's here unless you do that. I'd burn the place down if she was, since I've give you my word, but as it stands there's no proof and I simply won't do violence to these people without it. So I really do believe you must go undercover as a slavegirl to have a chance of rescuing her." A wry flicker of a smile. "And don't worry; Ilavna's swept the rooms for bugs rather regularly."
"I'm sure she has." Dani sighed. "Well, you're right, I'll have to do it. One of the girls you bought was just sold from the Kalveos household, so I'll start with our notes from her interviews to see where I might meet other slave girls from that household."
Dani had, in the meantime, noticed the flush on Jhayka's face. Her grim expression turned to an impish grin. "I suppose you'll get to see me in one of those silks after all. Though you saw me at the auction, so there's no mystery like there is otherwise."
Jhayka flushed brighter, as if she had suddenly become aware of the position she was in, and rolled back to sitting on the side of the bed, very careful and gracious with her sword buckled to her, where for someone else it might have presented a hindrance. "Uhm.. Well, as a matter of fact that's quite true isn't it?" She took on a rather sheepish look. "I wasn't thinking of you as more than some sort of rather arrogantly brilliant fighting amazon at the time, but I certainly saw you quite nude, from every side, too. I hope you're not offended by that; it was, of course, unavoidable, considering the situation." She seemed to relax a bit. "The Kalveos girl's notes will be the most useful for you, of course. Speaking of which, the girls seem of the universal opinion that their clothes are even more erotic than going nude; because it tantalizes and seems to hide some of their appearance. A same principle is observed in other cultures with a low opinion of women, though usually women are fully covered in such societies, swaddled from head to toe as a matter of fact--I've read historical records of men from Islamic cultures, for instance, being driven into a wild, animalistic frenzy by the mere rumour of the presence of an 'available' woman. That contrast in Norman society--the low status in women combined with their ostentatious display--is one of the reasons I'm studying it. It seems curious that a nearly nude figure can generate some of the same lust as a fully swathed one, but I suppose it, if anything, increases the effect by revealing so much and then denying the rest of the figure." A frown, there. "I do sometimes wonder at humanity. We Talorans are a modest people, but we haven't faced such extremes since we smashed the primitives of the subcontinent and the outer islands, and that was before we even developed spaceflight."
Dani had watched Jhayka, with some embarrassment, change her position to a sitting one along the side, and do so with her usual grace. Dani slipped her legs over the side of the bed, sitting beside Jhayka with a foot or so between them so that Jhayka might have some room. Turning to her, Dani put a hand through her own dark hair, straightening it a bit and letting most of it fall over her left shoulder, opposite from the side facing Jhayka. "Well, it's just how societies go. Some are just better than others. Some of our people still don't understand that, but anyone with a brain does. What woman would honestly want to live here? What man would want to live with the Amazons across the river? Some of the atheists I've known would probably not want to be Taloran, and I'm sure our societies seem too liberal and undisciplined for your people, so they'd feel the same." Dani grinned a little. "I like to think I'm open-minded. Your people are very proper and reserved and modest, but I think deep down you're probably not that different from us. You love life too, I'm sure, and desire happiness."
"We love life, though I am not sure we love our own lives. In a sense, to a Taloran, there are many things we love more than life; but that is certainly not true of us all, and yet at the same time our culture can have great tendencies of self-sacrifice in it. And we know what happiness is. But I wouldn't completely rule out the possibility that our outlook on both is very fundamentally different... I sometimes worry when I look at you and think about you and make these requests of you that we're not really understanding each other, even though we speak the same words. And I'm not really sure how we'd be able to tell if we're understanding each other, either. Though I am in expert in the cultures of humanity, and in the manifestations of their societies--and I mostly agree with you, though I scarcely think I am so tolerant as you--I fear differences which will prevent me from a full understanding, particularly of such a fine friend as you who has, to us, shown herself to be very loyal to her friends. Traits like that we emphasize much more than you do; I am not sure if this is a difference between us or a result of different values, and what motivates you in your friendship precisely. Though perhaps it is not important, for it is admirable no matter what the cause in your mind is." Jhayka braced herself with one hand, eyes cast away from Dani thinking, thinking, it seemed, before she continued. "I very much apologize, at any rate, for having put you in a place where you must bear yourself so immodestly and so dangerously around these men, but it is necessary for the sake of your friend, as I judge it.. And, I will make it up to you."
"I know you will." There was nothing else to say on that issue. Dani would take that risk, confident in her own abilities to get out of a mess and of Jhayka's willingness to come to her aid.
Dani lowered her eyes, noticing Jhayka was no longer looking her way. "But, I think you need to put a little more faith in just how similar we can be, and I mean Humanity and Talorans. Many of us also believe there are things greater than our own lives. We might look at things differently, but I honestly don't think that means we can't understand each other. At least, not as long as we actively try to learn about each other." Dani shrugged a little. "Might make living in the same cosmos a bit easier than just assuming that we're all either undisciplined sinful anarchists or stuckup elitists."
"I can't change my people. And we have reasons for believing what we believe. Though, really, humanity is not as such sinful, or anarchistic. It has integrated very nice into the Empire.. Which is, speaking of which, part of how I wanted to make things up to you." Jhayka took a deep breath. "I have, ah, expended a very, very great deal of my political capital due to events which happened in the recent past, which put me on shakey ground, both socially and politically; that is part of why I am here, giving the capital some time to cool down about the whole affair, really, and indulging a personal passion. I have not, also, been all that well; which is the real reason Ilavna accompanied me, though she has many others of her own and is making herself not just useful to me but to the Farzian religion here, being as she is both intelligent and faithful, and quite studious altogether." A wry laugh, as her ears flexed. "Sorry. I was distracting from the point. Suffice to say--if you find Fay, come back with me to Talora Prime. She'll have time to, well, heal, there. And you may live on my coin, at least, until I've put together the contacts to arrange you a commission with one of the minor navies of the Archduchesses or border Marchionesses, or one of the merchant guilds."
Jhayka's offer caused Dani to look at her. She hadn't given much thought of where to go after she found Fay - the Navy was out, and without reaching higher rank her hope of a high-paying firm job was too - and so the offer suddenly made her realize that she had cut herself adrift in the naming of finding Fay.
Now Jhayka had given her something to possibly look forward to. There would be the challenge of learning about an entirely different engineering philosophy and the possibility of perhaps gaining that job she wanted, even if it wasn't back home. And the chance to see Talora Prime, the homeworld that Jhayka and Illavna had spoken of so eloquently, was simply superb. After all, space travel still cost money, especially given there were no gates in the Taloran home universe yet, and Dani was going to be rather tight on money now.
Of course, Dani's curiosity was now on what might have caused Jhayka such trouble back home. She wouldn't dare speak on it, but it was there. "I'd... Jhayka, thank you for that. I'm looking forward to it. When we're done here, of course." She grinned, waiting for Jhayka to turn her way again. "So, where do we start?"
"Well, I already asked Ilavna to sew up a slave's costume for you out of the fabric I bought for the girls," Jhayka answered with a slightly guilty expression. "I guessed what your answer would be. Pretty much after that you need a collar--I've bought a supply of them so that's not a problem--and then you just go out through the slave doors. In all liklihood, seeing as everyone knows that I'm buying lots of slaves for research purposes, you simply won't be noticed at all, you know what I mean? Just another of the faceless girls, out on an errant for her master.. I'll give you a money bag to tie around your neck, since slaves can't actually carry money, so when you go out of course as on an errand it must be slung about your neck--that's an amusing adaptation, probably since everyone realized that it's pointless to have slavegirls unless they can do menial work for you. And certainly my Majordomo is organizing them nicely as it stands, though Ilavna is in supreme contempt of their abilities to keep the wing clean, which they all regard as a demotion--they're proud of being used for pleasure." Jhayka found the last bit somewhat amusing.
"I guess they consider cleaning work for the older slaves that men don't want anymore." Dani giggled. "Oh well. Anyway, I've been thinking that we need to find out everywhere Oloparatho went to. I can then go and buy little trinkets for you as a cover to talking to any of the girls who might've heard something. When will Illavna have the suit ready?"
"It would be very charitable to call it a suit. Most very charitable," Jhayka said, the combination of the last two words signaling a Taloran impulse in her english. "You've seen the girls yourself, after all. I wouldn't even wear such a thing to go swimming in. I don't envy you." Talorans did tend toward modest one-piece bathing suits, though that was in public--in gender segregated baths they were of course quite comfortable with nudity. "At any rate, by the evening. Evening is a good time to go, too; the markets are very feel-wheeling, and most of the men around are drunk. More apt to feel you up before seeing the color of your silks and backing off, but also less likely to notice that things are wrong, yes? And neither of us wants to really deal with those sorts of complications."
Dani shivered. "No. No, we don't."
"I could give you a concealed weapon, but you'd have to conceal it in a body cavity, since there's no-where else for it wearing those clothes," Jhayka offered with a sort of amusement. The offer was genuine and so was the precondition.
Dani gave her a look of mock horror. "Um, no. I think I'll take my chances otherwise. Otherwise I might walk funny and draw attention I'd rather not draw."
"There are tricks for seamlessly getting away with it, but I suspect they don't train those to people in the armed forces even in the ADN." Jhayka's look fell. "I was taught how to do that by someone rather close to me, admittedly a normally completely useless skill for a noble, though I suppose there are some situations in which I might consider it. For instance, if I ever contrive to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca, by both pretending to be a Muslim and crossdressing as a man, most like a Taureg. I think I would likely enjoy doing that altogether quite a lot."
Dani noticed the change in Jhayka's expression but said nothing about it. "Well, I draw the line at cross-dressing," she teased gently. "But whatever floats your boat is fine," Dani added with a giggle. "But really, aside from bedroom activities I'm not used to having something in, well, either area that would be big enough to hide even a small knife, and I'd probably walk so funny that I'd draw lots of attention. Better to be just another slave girl passing through. So long as this collar thing works and you can make sure I'm marked 'Looky looky but no touchy touchy', I'll be fine. And I promise not to get involved in any brawls unless it's a life or death situation."
"I accept your word, of course," Jhayka replied automatically, flushing a bit again as the subject was discussed. "Well, no matter, I just wanted to offer it as a possibility, since I feel rather responsible about getting you into this whole situation. Granted, you are the one looking for Fay, but you might have found a more discrete way to do it without resorting to this form of disguise had I not been here." Which was ignoring the whole issue of Jhayka have probably saved Dani's life in the railyard, but with the best of noble virtue she remained quite unpretentious about that.
"Don't worry, Jhayka. You saved me, remember? I was huddling naked under a train desperate for something good to happen when you came along. Granted, it was your train I was hiding under..." Dani let out an amused chuckle. "I'll try to return the favor on that someday."
"It is nothing, really. And while you wait, can I have something made for you? We've talked right through the noon meal, after all, but the girls are at least a little less annoyed by the prospect of cooking than by cleaning and so we might as well given them some work there." A sly grin was allowed, at that point, in a rare display of broad emotion: "And I do remember, from time to time, that your physiology is different and you do not need to be on a starvation diet."
"Yes," Dani laughed, "that sounds like a good idea."
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
Berglund Estate, Berglund, Gilead
28 October 2841
24 December 2162 AST
Aurora and Fayza were only in the gold g-strings and thin strapless bras that Berglund gave to his newest slaves, their bodies straining from tension in the darkness of Berglund's halls. It was pitch black outside, clouds obscuring the light of Gilead's moon, and there was very little light in the building.
Fayza flexed her right arm, having just healed from being dislocated during the "peak' of her initiation, while Aurora was sore in certain other places from being given to some of Berglund's security people the previous night. Fayza could see that Aurora was not at peak, but she nevertheless moved steathily through the building and nearly left Fayza behind several times.
They reached their destination soon enough. Illian's main lounge, where he kept a computer terminal for ease of access while using it. Fayza slipped into the chair while Aurora kept watch at the door. She had made a few clandestine entrances so far, using other terminals, to see the layout of the system.
"You remember the commweb server I told you to go to?"
"Yes, I do." After making her way into the system, Fayza typed in the server address and waited for the system to load it up, which it didn't take long to do. From there she downloaded the innocuous looking file that was there and, when inputting her personal ID, gave the codephrases Aurora had told her to place into the ID.
"It's installing a file." Fayza watched as the system began to run things. "What's going on?"
"It's dumping the contents of Illian's databases to an external site." Aurora leaned over Fayza and, utilizing the controls for a moment. "It'll also temporarily overwrite his passcodes so I can enter secured doors, like the emergency exit in his dungeons that lead to outside the grounds, and disable the camera systems for a bit."
Fayza looked back at Aurora. "Then, maybe you could let me use this to send a message? I need to let the Embassy know I'm alive."
"I'm afraid I can't, but don't worry." Aurora smiled. "As soon as this finishes, we're going to escape."
"Won't it leave traces and allow Illian's computer people to counter-hack the external site?"
"The program is made to cover it's tracks. By the time Illian's people find out where the data went, it'll be stored on an isolated system." Aurora hit the monitor screen's power button, turning it off. "I hear someone coming, hide!"
Aurora and Fayza scrambled to different sides of the room. A single man entered, one of the security guards. Looking about, he heard a slight sound from where Fayza had tried to hide under Illian's desk. "Okay, who's there?" He began to walk up to the desk. "Come on out where I can see you."
Accepting the inevitable, Fayza stood. She'd removed her top under the desk and now tried to smile lustfully, knowing it'd be expected of her. She saw the man's eyes go to her breasts and sat onto the desk, sliding over toward him. "You caught me," she said, trying to emphasize her slight Arabic accent. "Will you punish me?"
"Oh, that depends." The security man finished walking up to the desk, where he put his hands on Fayza's shoulders. He grinned. "I'm sure I can... overlook this..."
"I would like that." Fayza breathed hard into his face and pressed her lips against his. He returned the kiss and pushed her against the desk, his hands groping her breasts tightly. After the kiss ended he stood straight and reached down to undo his pants while Fayza's fingers curled around her G-string.
Nothing else was necessary. Aurora appeared behind the guard and smacked him on the head with a poker. He collapsed, blood gathering at the back of his head and mingling with his dirty blond hair. Fayza sat up on the desk and stared at the dead man. "You killed him!"
"Yes. I would have preferred something non-lethal, but I had no choice." Aurora reached down and removed the man's automatic rifle and ammo belt. "Take his sidearm."
Fayza watched Aurora put the ammo belt around her waist. She now looked like something out of a crazy macho magazine, given her state of undress, but this was real and so was the killer look in Aurora's eyes. Fayza began to realize just how little she knew about the Hispanic beauty. She picked up the sidearm and followed Aurora out, taking the time to snatch her discarded top from beside the desk before leaving.
Berglund's mansion security wasn't as tight inside as it was out, and it was easy for Fayza and Aurora to make their way into the basement. Fayza did nothing but follow Aurora, who went through the corridor of cells toward the dreaded torture chamber.
Passing one cell, they heard crying. Aurora went to go on, but Fayza stopped and looked into the cell. It was one like she had been kept in, and the occupant of the cell's restraints was the Trill girl she'd been sold with. "Come on, let's go."
Ignoring Aurora, Fayza stepped in. The Trill was completely naked, and there were bruises on parts of her body. "He beat you?" Fayza asked.
The girl looked up. Her eyes focused in on Fayza and Aurora. "He won't stop. Why won't he stop?"
"We don't have time for this," Aurora said irritably.
"Yes, we do." Fayza looked over to the wall and triggered the electronic controls for the chains holding the girl's wrists toward the ceiling. They unlocked and fell away, and she promptly fell to her knees. "Come on, we're getting out of here." She brought the Trill to her feet. "Can you walk?"
"Yes...." Though she was clearly straining, the Trill girl followed Fayza and Aurora.
Going past the entrances to Illian's lower rooms and his large showroom/torture chamber, Aurora led them to an unmarked door with a keypad on it. She typed in a stream of numbers and the door opened. It led them into a long, concrete-lined hallway of bland gray with flourescent lights down the length of the tunnel. "Come on, we're almost out."
The three women went as quickly as they dared down the four hundred yards, time ticking away preciously. They came out to a flight of stairs, which they took up to what appeared to be the ceiling of the end chamber. Fayza helped Aurora pull loose locks that caused the ceiling to flip downward, revealing an entrance to the world outside.
They crawled out into the darkness, just past the perimeter of Berglund's estate. They could see the electrified fence in the distance and an armed man not too far away walking alongside - from the inside fortunately. Aurora motioned for them to get down, and they crawled away from the estate on their bellies.
Berglund's estate was surrounded by open field, but in the darkness they would not be visible from a distance so long as they weren't viewed with IR goggles. So they remained low until Aurora felt it was safe, which was quite a while.
"Where do we go now?" asked Fayza. "If Berglund's only telling a mere bit of the truth, he still has the local authorities in his pocket or scared shitless."
"There's a Catholic mission not far from here." Aurora stood, raised her hand to the horizon, and carefully counted as she moved. Fayza realized she was calculating degrees of her turn, and thus a change in direction. "We'll get shelter there."
"How the hell do you know where you're going?" asked Fayza. "You don't even have a compass!"
"We Hispanics receive good education in the Empire," was the non-commital answer. Aurora clasped the rifle tightly and walked along. "Try to keep up."
Fayza did. She took the hand of the Trill girl, her free hand holding the gun she'd taken from the man Aurora killed, and walked along behind her erstwhile comrade. She heard the Trill girl ask, "What's your name?"
"I'm Fayza al-Bakar."
"Fayza. That's a Human name? Sounds a lot like Fadzia."
"Yes, it's Human. Arabic, to be precise. What about you?"
"My name's Marzi Durigan."
"Shush," they heard Aurora say. "I want to make as little noise as possible."
The other two women shushed immediately.
28 October 2841
24 December 2162 AST
Aurora and Fayza were only in the gold g-strings and thin strapless bras that Berglund gave to his newest slaves, their bodies straining from tension in the darkness of Berglund's halls. It was pitch black outside, clouds obscuring the light of Gilead's moon, and there was very little light in the building.
Fayza flexed her right arm, having just healed from being dislocated during the "peak' of her initiation, while Aurora was sore in certain other places from being given to some of Berglund's security people the previous night. Fayza could see that Aurora was not at peak, but she nevertheless moved steathily through the building and nearly left Fayza behind several times.
They reached their destination soon enough. Illian's main lounge, where he kept a computer terminal for ease of access while using it. Fayza slipped into the chair while Aurora kept watch at the door. She had made a few clandestine entrances so far, using other terminals, to see the layout of the system.
"You remember the commweb server I told you to go to?"
"Yes, I do." After making her way into the system, Fayza typed in the server address and waited for the system to load it up, which it didn't take long to do. From there she downloaded the innocuous looking file that was there and, when inputting her personal ID, gave the codephrases Aurora had told her to place into the ID.
"It's installing a file." Fayza watched as the system began to run things. "What's going on?"
"It's dumping the contents of Illian's databases to an external site." Aurora leaned over Fayza and, utilizing the controls for a moment. "It'll also temporarily overwrite his passcodes so I can enter secured doors, like the emergency exit in his dungeons that lead to outside the grounds, and disable the camera systems for a bit."
Fayza looked back at Aurora. "Then, maybe you could let me use this to send a message? I need to let the Embassy know I'm alive."
"I'm afraid I can't, but don't worry." Aurora smiled. "As soon as this finishes, we're going to escape."
"Won't it leave traces and allow Illian's computer people to counter-hack the external site?"
"The program is made to cover it's tracks. By the time Illian's people find out where the data went, it'll be stored on an isolated system." Aurora hit the monitor screen's power button, turning it off. "I hear someone coming, hide!"
Aurora and Fayza scrambled to different sides of the room. A single man entered, one of the security guards. Looking about, he heard a slight sound from where Fayza had tried to hide under Illian's desk. "Okay, who's there?" He began to walk up to the desk. "Come on out where I can see you."
Accepting the inevitable, Fayza stood. She'd removed her top under the desk and now tried to smile lustfully, knowing it'd be expected of her. She saw the man's eyes go to her breasts and sat onto the desk, sliding over toward him. "You caught me," she said, trying to emphasize her slight Arabic accent. "Will you punish me?"
"Oh, that depends." The security man finished walking up to the desk, where he put his hands on Fayza's shoulders. He grinned. "I'm sure I can... overlook this..."
"I would like that." Fayza breathed hard into his face and pressed her lips against his. He returned the kiss and pushed her against the desk, his hands groping her breasts tightly. After the kiss ended he stood straight and reached down to undo his pants while Fayza's fingers curled around her G-string.
Nothing else was necessary. Aurora appeared behind the guard and smacked him on the head with a poker. He collapsed, blood gathering at the back of his head and mingling with his dirty blond hair. Fayza sat up on the desk and stared at the dead man. "You killed him!"
"Yes. I would have preferred something non-lethal, but I had no choice." Aurora reached down and removed the man's automatic rifle and ammo belt. "Take his sidearm."
Fayza watched Aurora put the ammo belt around her waist. She now looked like something out of a crazy macho magazine, given her state of undress, but this was real and so was the killer look in Aurora's eyes. Fayza began to realize just how little she knew about the Hispanic beauty. She picked up the sidearm and followed Aurora out, taking the time to snatch her discarded top from beside the desk before leaving.
Berglund's mansion security wasn't as tight inside as it was out, and it was easy for Fayza and Aurora to make their way into the basement. Fayza did nothing but follow Aurora, who went through the corridor of cells toward the dreaded torture chamber.
Passing one cell, they heard crying. Aurora went to go on, but Fayza stopped and looked into the cell. It was one like she had been kept in, and the occupant of the cell's restraints was the Trill girl she'd been sold with. "Come on, let's go."
Ignoring Aurora, Fayza stepped in. The Trill was completely naked, and there were bruises on parts of her body. "He beat you?" Fayza asked.
The girl looked up. Her eyes focused in on Fayza and Aurora. "He won't stop. Why won't he stop?"
"We don't have time for this," Aurora said irritably.
"Yes, we do." Fayza looked over to the wall and triggered the electronic controls for the chains holding the girl's wrists toward the ceiling. They unlocked and fell away, and she promptly fell to her knees. "Come on, we're getting out of here." She brought the Trill to her feet. "Can you walk?"
"Yes...." Though she was clearly straining, the Trill girl followed Fayza and Aurora.
Going past the entrances to Illian's lower rooms and his large showroom/torture chamber, Aurora led them to an unmarked door with a keypad on it. She typed in a stream of numbers and the door opened. It led them into a long, concrete-lined hallway of bland gray with flourescent lights down the length of the tunnel. "Come on, we're almost out."
The three women went as quickly as they dared down the four hundred yards, time ticking away preciously. They came out to a flight of stairs, which they took up to what appeared to be the ceiling of the end chamber. Fayza helped Aurora pull loose locks that caused the ceiling to flip downward, revealing an entrance to the world outside.
They crawled out into the darkness, just past the perimeter of Berglund's estate. They could see the electrified fence in the distance and an armed man not too far away walking alongside - from the inside fortunately. Aurora motioned for them to get down, and they crawled away from the estate on their bellies.
Berglund's estate was surrounded by open field, but in the darkness they would not be visible from a distance so long as they weren't viewed with IR goggles. So they remained low until Aurora felt it was safe, which was quite a while.
"Where do we go now?" asked Fayza. "If Berglund's only telling a mere bit of the truth, he still has the local authorities in his pocket or scared shitless."
"There's a Catholic mission not far from here." Aurora stood, raised her hand to the horizon, and carefully counted as she moved. Fayza realized she was calculating degrees of her turn, and thus a change in direction. "We'll get shelter there."
"How the hell do you know where you're going?" asked Fayza. "You don't even have a compass!"
"We Hispanics receive good education in the Empire," was the non-commital answer. Aurora clasped the rifle tightly and walked along. "Try to keep up."
Fayza did. She took the hand of the Trill girl, her free hand holding the gun she'd taken from the man Aurora killed, and walked along behind her erstwhile comrade. She heard the Trill girl ask, "What's your name?"
"I'm Fayza al-Bakar."
"Fayza. That's a Human name? Sounds a lot like Fadzia."
"Yes, it's Human. Arabic, to be precise. What about you?"
"My name's Marzi Durigan."
"Shush," they heard Aurora say. "I want to make as little noise as possible."
The other two women shushed immediately.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia
American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.
DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED