Alien Courage (Rise of the Empress) (5 page)

The android made its way to the Administrator. Its
orientation was female. Its movements were gracefully sensual as it glided
elegantly across the floor. Its female form was beautifully accented by its
Imperial Court’s attire; long flowing colourful veils accentuating the tightly
fitting uniform of the Imperial Court with matching headdress. It was truly a
thing of beauty and the Administrator admired its beauty and movement as it
made its way to him.

The android stopped exactly at a pre determined
distance from the Administrator and bowed. The android straightened and waited
for acknowledgement, the Administrator bowed.

“Your presence has been humbly requested by the
Imperial Court. Do you accept?” The android said in flawless Confederate. The
voice was soft, female and had a very captivating effect.

The Administrator stood to attention and bowed his
head slowly, “Yes, I accept with honour,” he said with respect. Not for the
fact of the almost hypnotic
effect
of the female
android but through this android his every word and movement was being
monitored by Imperial Court Security. Any disrespect or non compliance would
bring swift intervention.

“Arrangements have been prepared for your immediate
audience with the Imperial Court and I am to assist you in all preparations for
your meeting. I will inform you of all the necessary protocols and procedures.
Your first step is to bathe using these soaps and essences,” the android said
producing a small bag from under a veil. I also have a new uniform for you. I
will return to my transport vessel to get it. Please commence your bathing,”
the android said, bowed and walked elegantly away to retrieve the
Administrator’s uniform.

The Administrator hurried off to his personal
quarters. He had only ever been to the Imperial Palace once before and that was
for a special ceremony commemorating the ceasing of hostilities between the
House of
Fornox
and Volen, the first Controlled
Conflict the Trigeals sanctioned. He never got to speak or even got close to
the Emperor; very few people ever did especially anyone of common military
orientation.

He showered quickly and was a little stunned when he
walked into his bedroom with only a towel around his neck to find his new
uniform laid out neatly on the bed and the android standing silently waiting.
She moved forward to the Administrator and walked around him scanning him with
a hand held device.

“Thank you for using the essences. Their use has
historical significance relating to an attempted overthrow of the Empire by
assassins with deadly bacteria on their skin. Their history is on a data chip
on the inside of your left breast pocket. Please familiarise yourself with that
data and what else is on the chip. All dignitaries along with you at the
Imperial Court will have that information in common. Please use it to help
develop communication. A lot of the dignitaries are from very diverse and
different planets and cultures,” the android said flawlessly.

The Administrator eyes flickered as he looked down at
his naked body. He felt uncomfortable being aroused by this very sensual and
exquisitely spoken machine. He took a deep breath to clear his mind and reset
his priorities. He picked up his uniform and walked to an adjoining room. The
android followed closely behind him. He tried to block her way by triggering
the door closing mechanism. The android effortlessly cancelled the mechanism.

“I understand you may be feeling uncomfortable with my
intrusion but you have been requested to appear before the Imperial Court and
possibly the Emperor himself. The manner in which you have been summonsed has
not been initiated in the lifetime of any living being. I have been programmed
not to leave you alone until we reach Palace security. “Would you prefer if I
altered my appearance,” the android said softly.

The Administrator turned to face the android. “No,
forgive me, I usually dress alone.” He walked back into the room and dressed.
He smiled to himself as he realised the quality of the fabric, the gold badges
of office and boots, black supple leather with gold interlaced threading. He
completed his dressing in silence. When complete he went to put his arm console
on but was stopped by the android.

“There are to be no devices of any kind taken into the
Palace.”

“Off course,” the Administrator answered and
reluctantly placed his console on a nearby table.

The Administrator and the android left the Academy in
an Imperial shuttle. The Administrator was the only living thing aboard the
shuttle but there were four armed android guards plus his escort and the pilot.
He studied the surface of Ennack as they sped to their destination. The
atmosphere was crystal clear, being processed almost daily. The buildings below
stood out in pleasant contrast with the many rivers and streams that snaked
their way across the surface of the planet. There were no states or borders on
Ennack, just the different areas assigned to different parts of the Logistic,
Administrative, Military or Imperial components of the Confederacy. He
marvelled as he always did at the gardeners buzzing around busily on their
flying barges tending to the largest garden in the Galaxy - the planet Ennack!

The Administrator suddenly noticed the air traffic
thin rapidly and the sky almost emptied of spacecraft. He looked up out of the
observation port above his head and immediately noticed three Trigealian space
craft enter the atmosphere. The silver ships effortlessly manoeuvred as one as
they spiralled their way slowly towards the ground. Then, as if they got the
scent of something they disappeared at incredible speed over the horizon. The
Administrator sighed relief. He turned his head to notice his android escort
staring at him with lifeless eyes, he took out his data chip and fed it into
the port on the seat and activated the switch. A holographic image formed in
front of him and as images and sound gave a brief history of the Imperial Court
and its role in the Confederacy.

The Administrator finished the data disc but wasn’t
very impressed with the information. The history of the Confederacy held no
significance for him and he missed his arm console. It gave him an insight no
one but a Norfian could understand. His thoughts were easy to control but the
consequences of his actions were another matter altogether. He leaned back in
his chair and was keenly aware of the circumstance he had created. He smiled to
himself as he reflected how a female machine had a little time earlier gained
the advantage of his attention. He had fallen for one of the oldest motives in
history but now he openly smiled. He also realised his every move and word was
being observed, analysed and recorded. “
Does
this
craft have a beverage worthy of an Imperial Guest?” He asked almost joyfully.

“Yes, what does your Excellency desire?” The female
android asked.

“A spirit the Emperor would recommend for first time
meetings,” came as an easy reply.

“The best would be a
Bencucian
White but highly recommended is the
Venciani
Gold for
its meditative qualities.”

The Administrator was amused and this relaxed him. “The
Bencucian
White is a good choice is it not?” The
Administrator asked.

“A favourite among many members of the Imperial Court
and the Great Houses,” the android said with the programmed sensuality to
subtly affect the listener, male or female. The Administrator was now more
comfortable with the environment he was entering and leaned forward to accept
the delicate crystal glass containing a perfectly clear but slightly oily
liquid. He brought the glass to his nostrils and smelled the sweet nectar of liquor
that takes nearly a lifetime to make. He had tasted it only once before many
years ago supplied by one of the most successful non Volen smugglers in the
Confederacy, until he was negatively intervened by the Trigeals, such a loss he
remembered. The Administrator only sniffed the liquid then placed it in the
seat receptacle.

Six Imperial fighters intercepted the shuttle the
moment it entered Imperial Palace airspace and escorted it in perfect diamond
formation to the Palace shuttle dock. The platform had twenty armed Imperial
Guards in full dress uniform standing smartly to attention, waiting. Banners
and heraldry dating back to the era of the Mandates of Almogest lined the
walls. The Administrator resisted a smile as he realised the administrative chain
reaction he had caused within the Palace.

The snow got heavier and visibility dropped to only a
few yards. Brakin put his hand over the powder pan on his flint lock gun to
keep out the ever penetrating snow. His un-gloved hand quickly started turning
blue with the cold but he could not afford to put it back on, not just yet. It
was his trigger finger hand and his quarry was close, very close.

The goat cried and strained against its tether. It
sensed danger and fought its restraint more and more, its cries clearly heard
through the driving wind.  Brakin was only yards away lying between two
rocks.

The huge cat slowly and very cautiously broke cover.
The snow covered conifer branch barely moved as the animal crept under it into
the open. The cat’s belly was buried in the snow as its huge paws as wide as a
man’s chest moved slowly and rhythmically in the deep snow. Its ears were
upright and pointed straining for every sound of its prey and the predator’s
eyes locked onto an ever increasing image within the white shield of driving
snow. The goat screamed as the cat settled its weight on its powerful legs. The
cat’s small stumpy tail swished and its head lowered as it prepared to attack.

This was sensed by
Brakin
who
moved smoothly to a sitting position and held the long gun as steady as his
could in the driving snow. He could barely make out the cat’s image but knew
exactly where it was and wrapped his hand around the gun stock; his finger
caressed the trigger and in his mind he gave the order, “Fire!” His finger
squeezed the trigger and the hammer flew forward. A loud resounding ‘click’
came from his weapon. It failed to fire and a shocked Brakin half stood up and
strained to pull the hammer back with numb fingers.

The cat heard the click, turned in an instant toward
the sound and leapt. It landed only feet from Brakin and with such speed that
defies reaction swung a great paw. The blow hit the gun only inches from
Brakin’s hand. The gun disappeared, spinning off into the whiteness. The cat’s
ears flattened completely against its head and growled exposing a mouth with
two huge teeth that could kill a man in a single bite.

Brakin backed back on all fours scrambling in the deep
snow. His mind went blank with fear as he saw the big cat followed him step for
step. Brakin stumbled, fell, and got half up again scrambling backwards as fast
as he could go. Suddenly Brakin impacted into a small tree and his escape was
blocked! In horror he watched the cat advance. He could make out its eyes clearly.
Brakin’s impact on the tree dislodged the built up snow on its branches. The
snow fell in a heavy clump landing directly on the big cat’s head and
shoulders. The shock of impact stunned the cat and it growled threateningly as
it shook off the snow and prepared to leap.

“BOOM!” reverberated from a flintlock gun. The
unmistakable noise of a large calibre bullet impacting flesh and bone resounded
in Brakin’s ears. The huge cat staggered and fell at Brakin’s feet with a
bullet imbedded deeply in its chest. A huge roar, then a spasm making its body
shake violently was the last actions the animal would ever make. It died with
its head resting on Brakin’s boot.

Brakin sat in the snow staring at the cat with wide open
eyes, he couldn’t move. His beaded face had ice imbedded in the whiskers, his
fur hat and clothes were white with snow and he failed to notice the severe
pain increasing in his un-gloved hand. Soon to be frost bitten if he didn’t get
the circulation working again quickly.   

Rough but friendly hands grabbed him and hauled him to
his feet.
Url
, his hunting companion looked over his
friend closely and noticed his glove dangling from a leather strap on his
wrist. He quickly got the glove back on his hand and rubbed the hand
vigorously.

Brakin became aware of the motion on his hand. He
suddenly grabbed
Url
and hugged him saying nothing.
Url
stood there allowing his friend to hold him. It was some
time before Brakin released his grip but he held
Url
at arm’s length.  “You now have his spirit,” he said pointing at the great
cat, “my life and all I own are forever yours. I am your friend.” Brakin said
solemnly.