Alien Courage (Rise of the Empress) (6 page)

Url
nodded but said nothing. He reached his hand to
Brakin’s shoulder and squeezed. The smile on his very rough and beaten up
bearded face was the most comforting sight Brakin has ever seen.

“Best we dress out this cat before our knives are
dulled by ice,” Brakin said with urgency, now realising his display of emotion.

“
Ya
,” agreed
Url
.

They quickly had the pelt off the great cat and
carefully removed the eyes and put them in the special pouches filled with foul
smelling liquid supplied by the traders of Zion. They removed the extra long
canine teeth, a prize worth risking your life.

Url
refused to accept them both and insisted Brakin have
one. Brakin looked into
Url’s
eyes and saw the fire
burning in them and knew never to refuse this man on such things. They searched
and found his gun. The barrel was bent where the cat swiped it and it had a
long deep scratch. Both men laughed as they looked at the ruined weapon.

Zion was a planet belonging to the Confederate House
of Irrimus. The planet was covered by magnificently high mountain ranges with
massive rock formations and vast endless forests with a large diversity of
animals and bird life. Large fast flowing rivers crisscrossed each other to
spill into incredibly deep oceans. Its high concentration of uranium and other
radioactive ore in its core mixed with iron and rare metals produced magnetic
poles of widely variable properties. Electronic instruments behaved extremely
erratically and the weather was impossible to predict or control. The planets
rare metal variable magnetic environment was so biologically unique it also
created numerous biologically desirable variations in animal physiology that
were highly prized by military and other research and manufacturing industries.
The extended nights by the slow planetary rotation plus the unique environment
produced retinas in the large cats much sought after by night vision
technological companies. The supply of retinas from the large cats of Zion
brought great wealth and much prestige to Irrimus. The oceans produced fish at
its great depths that their lateral line sensors were so sensitive their
integration into spaceship scanners increased their range up to ten fold over
traditional atmospheric based technologies. Their harvest however, was reliant
upon the most primitive of methods; Mountain men with archaic weapons and
culture was the only way borne out by experience to keep the supply of retinas
regular and sustainable. The wooden fishing boats and deep set organic fibre
nets yielded precious few fish and the wild unpredictable storms took a
terrible toll on the inhabitants. No modern technological instruments, weapons,
complex explosives or magnetically based technology was reliable on Zion and
their use often produced lethal consequences for the users.

Brakin’s last job was to untether the goat and tie it
on the sled. He patted the animals head as he carried it. He knew now the fear
it must have felt to have a great cat size you up for a meal. Brakin looked
skywards into the perpetual twilight and the weather troubled him.

“We need to get back quickly
Url
,”
he shouted, “this storm is bad and almost upon us.”

Url
waved his arm in recognition and pulled the fur flap
across his face and secured it. Only the barest of slits allowed him to see. He
leaned against the platted leather rope across his shoulder and took the
strain, the sled moved slowly forward. The pelt off the great cat weighed as
much as two men and completely filled the sled. Brakin pushed from the rear and
they made their way slowly back to the trail.

They reached the trail and then proceeded to go with the
wind. It was a relief for both men not to have snow driven into their eyes and
be pushed along instead of fighting against the wind.
Url
suddenly stopped and stood still. Brakin made his way to his side and looked
out into the huge void before them. They stood on the edge of a cliff; below
almost two miles down was the valley floor. It could not be seen as there was
another storm raging below them. The howling of the wind was deafening and the
cold permeated every bone and joint.
Url
hit his arms
against himself and then pointed down the trail running along the cliff. Brakin
peered into the grey white gloom.

“What is it? I can‘t see anything?” Brakin said
against the wind.

Url
kept pointing.

Brakin still couldn’t see anything and was about say something
when the slightest of movements caught his eye. He waited and looked. He
finally saw what
Url
had seen some time ago. Two men
were working their way along the trail. The snow covered their skins and fur
clothing and made them perfectly camouflaged except for their movement. There
was no way to avoid passing them and Brakin’s gun was ruined. If they were from
an enemy tribe and they saw the skin, obviously they would know they would have
the eyes as well. There would be a fight to the death. The fact the two men
working their way along the trail pulled no sled meant they weren’t a hunting
party, why would anyone be out in this weather? There had to be a reason.

“Url, pull the sled off the trail, over there,” Brakin
shouted and pointed to a gap between the rocks.

Url
understood and dragged the sled off the trail and
managed with Brakin to hide it behind a large rocky outcrop. The snow quickly
obscured its outline. They both moved away as far as they could and hid behind
an outcrop of rocks. They hoped the two travellers would soon pass so they
could continue on their way home. In the shivering cold they waited.

---------

The Administrator stepped onto the landing pad and
stood to attention. The Imperial Guards saluted him and the Commanding Officer
marched up and stood smartly by his side. “By the Mandates of Almogest and our
great traditions of Imperial guidance you are to walk with me side by side
through the Palace Gates as equals. Your rank and standing are recognised and
are forever honoured,” the Officer said with practiced discipline and indicated
the direction with his hand. Both the Commanding Officer of the Escort and the
Administrator marched smartly off the landing pad followed by the rest of the
Guard in perfect formation. The androids from the shuttle made their way to a
special door in the hanger and disappeared.

The Administrator and his escort made their way out of
the space port complex and into a wide, beautifully tiled access tunnel. The
natural stone tiles were inlaid with inscriptions from thousands of languages
from across the far reaches of the Confederacy. Most predated the Trigeals and
nearly all of them made obsolete by the ruling domination of Trigealian
intervention. The Confederacy now operated on only one language, Confederate.
Some dialects were tolerated but no main departures. The ‘Articles of
Intervention’ makes direct reference to equality of potential understanding
between all sentient beings within its influence, a common language essential.
A number of short brutal wars against the Trigealian Regiment resulted, the
singular Confederate language prevailed.

The Administrator was marched up to two huge
intricately carved wooden doors and as they approached they opened to reveal a
large open area of mosaic ground pavers with the Imperial Emblem in the centre
surrounded by those of the Twelve Houses. The Administrator gasped with a short
breath, his eyes flickered as there before him was the Regiment of the Palace
Guard - The Emperor’s own personal troops in full dress uniform. But what made
the Administrator really gasp was the Officer standing to attention in front of
them, The Captain of the Palace Guard himself. He personally commanded a fleet
of space fighters, android and ground troops to rival any of the Great Houses.
He truly was an extremely powerful figure in the Confederacy answerable only to
the Emperor.

The Officer of the Escort turned to face the
Administrator. “Sir, my duty is over. You are under the command of the Captain
of the Guard from this point on while you are in the Palace, but you must
present him with this.” The Officer motioned with his hand and a smartly
dressed cadet marched quickly to him carrying a long heavy sword in a gold
inlaid leather scabbard. “This is to symbolise the handing over of arms before
entry into the Palace will be granted.”

The cadet gave the sword to the Officer who presented
it to the Administrator. “Carry it horizontal to the ground, handle to the
left. Present it and when it is taken take one step back and salute. Good luck
and may your enemies be worthy,” the Officer whispered. The Administrator
nodded and accepted the sword.

The sword was heavy and was nearly as big as the
Administrator. How in the world would one fight with this, flashed through the
Administrator’s mind. He marched across the stone mosaic parade ground aware of
the many eyes looking at him. He had never met the Captain before and only knew
of him by reputation - ruthless.

The Administrator marched up to the Captain and halted
smartly in front of him. The Captain was a huge man of impressive presence. His
uniform was brilliant scarlet with black and yellow braiding around the left
arm and chest. His chest was covered in a highly polished metallic breast
plate. He was wearing a helmet with a visor with deep crimson plumes draping to
his shoulder, a deep purple cape flowed from his shoulders.  It did not go
unnoticed to the Administrator the Captain had a blaster and light enhancer
weapon on his belt. The Administrator offered the sword by presenting it at
arm’s length.

The Captain slowly opened his visor. His eyes were
cold and suspicious as they locked directly at the Administrator. The Captain
did nothing but look into the eyes of the Administrator. He cared nothing about
the weight of the sword the man opposite was holding waiting for him to take.

“Just what do you want?” The Captain hissed.

“The decision of the Court.” the Administrator
replied.

“The Court means nothing to you. You are Academy Staff
and have your own chain of command. Answer me directly or I’ll save you the
trouble of the truth,” the Captain said calmly placing his hand on his blaster.
“What do you really want and why are you here?”

The Administrator for the first time in this situation
ran into an unknown with no predictable solution. This man in front of him was
prepared to kill him in front of hundreds of witnesses. A strange feeling came
over him. He was not to be intimidated or intervened without creating an
intervention of his own; he was already well past the point of no return. The
results of his actions were creating the situation he now found himself in so
he no longer was concerned with his own welfare. He decided to play the game to
the end.

The Administrator felt the weight of the sword and the
strain caused beads of sweat to form on his forehead, his arms were on the
verge of giving way. “I wish an audience with the Emperor on a matter referred
to me by my Security Chief.”

The Captain slowly withdrew his blaster and held it
just out of it holster. “Your Security Chief has been admitted to Ennack’s
medical facility with a complete loss of memory. In short, the man is
completely unaware of who or what he is, yet he assigned you to represent him
on a matter of Imperial importance only you know about. Either give me your
reason why you are here or die before your avoidance of the truth annoys me any
further,” the Captain said smoothly, now holding his blaster comfortably with
his finger resting on the firing lever.

“Perhaps my death at your hands in this place is the
very reason my Security Chief sent me here. Why he is now unaware of his
existence, I do not know. I have no answer for you Captain, except perhaps for
the one you give me now. If that calls for my life, I can only ask you why I am
still
alive?
” The Administrator said now close to
dropping the sword, the strain very obviously displayed on his face.

The free hand of the Captain flew upwards and grasped
the sword from the Administrator’s grip.

 “Perhaps by the Mandates of Almogest you may
wish to review the Imperial Guard?” The Captain said with practiced politeness
but he kept his gaze menacing. He slipped his blaster back into its holster and
gave it an almost unperceivable pat while looking directly into the
Administrator’s eyes. His intention was obvious and he would kill the
Administrator without hesitation if he thought the Emperor or the Court was
threatened in any way by the merest of insults. The Administrator was now fully
aware he would.