Starblade (27 page)

This brought great joy to Ambika. She and
Nadia had some troubled times when her daughter was young. Nadia
had been an exceptional child and never really fit in with her
peers, always so deep and smart. It was good that her perfect
little girl had come to accept who and what she was, thanks to
Sharr.

“Nadia, I’m just curious what you’ve in
mind. Let's be honest. Empires are dependent on such alliances.”
She read the expression in her child’s bright eyes. Ambika pushed
forward. “You have someone in mind? Who is he then?”

“Noorani.” Nadia said. “He is strong and
respected by most nations.”

“An Ambitious move. Darius would make a good
match for Ariel, both genetically and politically. But you knew
that already Nadia.” The Grand Matriarch cocked her head. “Have you
heard from Shalimar?”

“I’ve not spoken with her since our visit to
Japan. She’s still upset and doesn’t understand why Sharr dealt
with their loss like he has.”

The rift between Sharr and his Kajra Re
broke Nadia's heart. The two people nearest and dearest to her in
the world no longer seemed to care for one another.

“No parent should suffer such pain, trust
me, I understand.” Ambika said sadly. “Perhaps Sharr has been
dismissive of her feelings over Krada’s death? I never hear him
talk about it.”

“It's not his way. He coils his emotions up.
Shali doesn’t know him the way I do. She can’t appreciate how Sharr
must deal with his son’s death. The alternative would be violent.
He mourns his son I assure you.”

“My girl, you’re amazingly tolerant of
Sharr’s flaws.”

[Vorkrür: Narshin Thryak December 3,
2030]

Sharr leaned back in his claw-throne. With
his head resting in his hand, he looked rather disinterested and
lost in his own thoughts. Nadia sat on a golden ottoman, a loving
hand on his arm. Frederika waited at his side against the throne's
post.

Shuriken Kra stood a step down on the dais,
a tri-claw boot on the step. He insisted that he return to Vorkrür
for this encounter. Never mind that he and Frederika had struck up
a very pleasant relationship since they had met back at Kuras.

Kvaltar waited also in the court. It was
dubious as to if Oberon Kreis were truly Sharr's brother, though
certainly Vron did not doubt the possibility given the nebulous
facts which encircled Sharr's paternal lineage. Why not a
half-brother?

The Drakorian fingered their weapons with
agitation. Trained to be watchful of threats to their Shotar, the
Imperial Guard grumbled at the whole idea of this meeting. Worse
still, Oberon brought with him members of his own elite military
and their beloved Bashir, Kulcarin Aranskrai received the honor to
train them.

A gong rang. The great egg shaped doors of
the palace slid on their hydraulics, proclaiming the arrival of
Oberon and his party. Vron noticed Sharr leaning forward with
interest. He turned his attention back to the Prussian who claimed
to be his friend's brother. Kreis marched at the head of his men
dressed in a black and silver uniform designed to hearken back to
Germany's old imperial days. Oberon held his spiked helmet under
his arm, the one-eyed man smiling at the Falcanian ensemble.

The Blackeagle were big burly men. Each
looked to be a murderer. None had the pleasant smile of their
leader Oberon, though in his case that made him more dangerous. It
was not clear as to what enhancements were made to these Blackeagle
Knights. Under their starched pressed black uniforms, muscles
bulged in an almost unnatural way. These cold, monolithic men were
ruthless in their duties.

From behind Oberon, a smaller figure
wavered, a white shawl obscuring its features. Perhaps a female?
The Blackeagle quickly put themselves between the figure and
Kvaltar's line of sight.

“Hail Sharr Khan!” Kreis said with gusto. “I
bring the men my Duchess ordered und the Nemesis starfighter.”

In a way Oberon reminded Vron of Nadia's
father as he had also been quite jocular and affable in his
demeanor. This alone caused him to question the familial link to
Sharr who always kept so reserved in public.

“We welcome you,” the Shotar responded with
the full Imperial authority in his voice.

The figure in the shawl turned at the sound
of Sharr, and Vron caught a glimpse of her face. His eyes flared in
disbelief and moved in to get a better look. Nadia glanced toward
Kvaltar, struck by the surge of emotion she had felt from him. She
looked at Kvaltar with question. He returned the gaze but remained
unsure.

“You have done well, Colonel,” Frederika
said.

“I am humbled, my Duchess,” Oberon said.
“Und now, I bring a special gift for my brother Sharr Khan.”

Kreis gestured and the Blackeagle Knights
parted to allow the shawl-mantled figure to step forward so that
Sharr might be able to see his gift.

The woman removed her shawl. She was dressed
in a pink short-sleeved top and a long black skirt with a slit
running up the right side to show a long leg encased in a smoky
stocking. Chunky strappy shoes were on her feet.

By Falcanian standards she looked rather
average, though beautiful by human measures. Her beauty was simple,
a girl-next-door quality about her. Long brown-black hair flowed
down her back. A curious, wandering expression crossed her Latin
features as she stood there and demurely glanced at the man seated
on the claw-throne. She saw Sharr and recognized him for who he
was, a pleasant smile curving her lips.

Like a blade, the emotional wave cut into
Nadia. She felt Sharr's emotions rise and fall. First he felt joy,
then sadness, and an old jealousy crept into his mind. He was
overwhelmed and nearly lost his emotional control. All at once his
instincts screamed trap!

From her place beside the Shotar, Frederika
gasped. “I did not know. I had no idea!”

Nadia knew what Frederika said to be true.
Nadia herself was surprised by what she felt. Jealousy overwhelmed
her, more so that such feelings originated within her and not some
girl of the harem where the emotion could often climb high. It was
not a thing she was accustomed to.

“You have changed, Roderik,” the girl
purred, her voice dropping its usual octave as it had always done
when she spoke to him.

The effect upon Sharr was immediate. He
activated his Garuda's jets and hovered around the throne room.
Sharr glided down the stairs, circling his “gift” from Oberon.
Carefully he avoided touching her, as if to make contact would
destroy him.

“Roderik Visal is dead. Only Sharr Khan
remains, Aria.” He looked her over. “You have grown young.”

Indeed Aria DeFalco seemed to be either
eighteen or nineteen, not the thirty-three year old that she had
been when Sharr had last seen her. That fact left one with all but
a single conclusion.

“She’s a reboot, my Lord,” Oberon said again
with a pleasant smile.

Revelation of this fact caused much uttered
disdain among the gathered Falcanians. Reboots, clones with
recorded memories programmed onto new flesh. Falcanians had
particular taboos about such practices. Certainly they regarded
cloning to be useful, but they also regulated its use.

“I see.” Sharr Khan looked closer at his
gift, not really bothered by the moral implications. This
individual wasn’t a Falcanian, therefore not part of the networked
over-soul. No line had been crossed in her creation. “Aria, what
did I give you for your thirtieth birthday?”

“A homemade card. You told me it was
supposed to have been a teddy bear, but you ended up sketching your
cat because it had been in the room.” The reboot smiled happily
recalling the memory “Also you gave me a box of chocolate covered
cherries.”

The personal information seemed to satisfy
Sharr who hummed to himself while he glanced Aria over. He inhaled
deeply around her. She even smelled as she had before. The same
lavender aroma and cool body lotion emitted from her slight body.
Oberon had been thorough in his recreation, with the exception of
Aria's restored youth.

Frederika buried her eyes in the book and
glared harshly at the script written in both Trikash and Roman
characters. A list of Falcanian female names beside their
definitions, she intently searched for what she would be called as
a member of this species.

“You do not seem happy, Frederika.” Shuriken
said, reading the young woman's ridged body language.

Frederika glanced away from the Falcanian
name index. “No, I am not.”

“Would this concern Aria?”

“Yes, but more so my uncle.”

“None of us are pleased by this development.
Well, Sharr is, but he… He's distracted more than anything else by
her being here.”

Shuriken actually understood all too well
the effect that Aria's presence here was having on his friend. Kra
had seen it all before and in his opinion it was not pretty. He was
surprised Sharr had not had a heart attack when the Shotar had seen
the reboot. In fact, Kra once witnessed the Shotar almost suffer
from a severe case of hypertension after an extended period in
Aria's presence.

“The very sight of her rips open wounds
which never really healed,” he added.

“Oberon planned this,” she fumed. “He used
me to get here.”

“Perhaps I did?”

Oberon walked into the library. Shuriken Kra
let his hand drop to his vajra holstered at his left side and gave
a wary look at the Prussian colonel.

Oberon raised a peaceful hand. “General, I
assure you I mean no harm to anyone.”

Of that Kra doubted. He glanced at the young
woman. “Would you like to be alone?”

“No! What is said can be heard by all,” she
told Shuriken and thus made her new loyalties very clear for
everyone.

Shuriken stepped back a pace, to allow
Oberon to move closer to Frederika at the same time he kept Kreis
at a respectful distance from her. The one-eyed German noted the
Falcanian had become protective of Frederika.

“Rika, do you truly think that Sharr would
have allowed me to come here had I been more direct about my
desires?” Oberon asked. He knew the answer, but did as he always
would and directed her thoughts to where he wanted them to be.

“No. He is skeptical and would not have
believed you were his brother.”

“Indeed, had I showed up uninvited at his
door it would have proved disastrous to everyone involved.” Oberon
said. “However it’s true. Either way, I would have gotten what I
wanted. You would have brought back the secrets I had sent you to
gather, therefore benefiting our dukedom or the actual end I
sought: me standing on this island as an invited guest.”

ISG Shuriken Kra found he admired the
strategist in Colonel Kreis while feeling anger at the man for
playing on Sharr's emotions to get what he wanted. That he could be
so bold to explain his actions concerned Shuriken. It spoke of a
dangerous arrogance in the man.

“It is true Sharr would not have been so
open.” Shuriken Kra paused and added, “Right away.”

“General, Falcanians are not known for their
openness to outsiders. They hardly leave this island or the
Subcontinent. We had no choice, but to play this game.”

Shuriken Kra shrugged. He knew it to be the
unvarnished truth.

“Und why did you not tell me about my
connection to these people?” Frederika demanded.

“Some things are better learned. Besides,
then you would have forgotten your mission all together und gone
native much earlier then you did,” he said in a fatherly tone. “In
many ways, you are perfect, though you do posses a flaw Frederika.
You are too intrigued by those whom you must spy on. I've warned
you about this often.”

She looked down at her feet and bit her lip.
The thought of failure hurt her so. Frederika hated when Oberon
chastised her, but he was correct. She failed in what she had set
out to do here. There was little excuse for it, even if this had
been Oberon’s actual goal.

“Aria, why bring her here?” The blonde
latched onto the reboot's presence as an excuse for her own
failures. “Why recreate her for him?”

“Aria is exactly as I said,” Oberon
explained. “A gift for my long lost sibling. I thought it'd make
him happy.” The natural wolfish grin brightened his face. “We all
knew at GenKon the love Sharr held for this girl. After all, we had
our eye on him for some time. She is nothing more than a gift, a
kind of peace offering.” By sincerity alone Oberon Kreis managed to
overcome the viceroy's cynicism. Yet Kra did not know what to make
of him. He knew the right buttons to push with Frederika which
would cow her. Shuriken would keep a close eye on this man. “Let us
once again be one, big, happy family,” Oberon declared.

“Ouch!” The facsimile of Aria cried out.

Nadia continued to telepathically probe the
reboot while she conducted a checkup. Her assistant Priyanka
already tested Oberon and this reboot's blood.

Now Oberon Kreis remained a mystery to the
Queen. Unlike this reboot which psychically appeared as an open
book, Nadia found herself unable to probe his mind. After she’d
woken with her new powers at GenKon INC., Kreis had been a wraith
to her. Even those with low PSI ratings still were readable, yet
for some reason, not him. Kreis's mind existed as white noise to
her She could not be sure if it was some biological phenomena or
rather technology Oberon employed to hide his psychic self from the
telepathically gifted. Nadia surmised GenKon INC., had developed
counter measures to telepathy.

“When can I see Roderik?” Aria asked for the
tenth time.

“Do not call him that,” the Queen said. “He
prefers Sharr. And you can talk to him soon.”

Either it was an implanted compulsion or
Aria simply wanted what was familiar to grasp onto. Sharr would be
comfortable to her, someone she associated with pleasant memories.
Thus far, Nadia found no such compulsion in the girl’s mind. Only a
wish to be with someone safe she could trust. The Queen speculated
what it must have been like, a thirty-three year-old mind awoken
into a body hardly out of adolescence. “Tell me. What do you last
recall?”