Lord tedric, p.13
Lord Tedric, page 13
"I think the important thing is to make sure that Moteete and the rest of his people get out of the Empire of Man as quickly as possible."
"I think the important thing is to make sure we don't let them think they can push us around."
Tedric, who was present at nearly all these heated discussions, thought he knew what the whole thing might well be about. It was that other Wykzl, the silent captive who had observed the entirety of the space battle. He had known, as Carey did not, the true events that had occurred that day, and by now, since he too had been sent down to Evron Eleven, Mo-leete must also know. Maybe the Wykzl commander was simply curious to get a close look at the men who had vanquished his ship. Tedric, Nolan, Keller and Maillard used a floater capsule to reach the surface of Evron Eleven.
Tall piles of dirt and rock rose to greet them, ghostly mountains in the stillness of early morning. The Wykzl robots had nearly completed their excavation of the mines. Many hundreds of miners had been saved and only a few dead bodies had been found. The rescued miners had been sent immediately by shuttle to the orbiting Eagieseye, where most of the ship's medical facilities had been set aside to tend to their care. The eventual fate of the miners was still undetermined. They would be returned to Evron Eleven and expected to work once the mines were repaired, but that might take months and even years. Tedric wondered if even the Careys could force the miners to return to that hell underground once they had become accustomed to the light of day.
MO-leete emerged from a metal shack and crossed the landscape to greet the shuttle'.
Tedric recognized the Wykzl commander from his trappings. He was not alone. The Wykzl with him, though Tedric could not be sure, seemed to be the same one Tedric had captured at this spot. "What do we do?" Nolan whispered in Tedric's ear.
"We go out and say hello," Tedric said.
"This place gives me the creeps."
"Maybe it's supposed to," said Captain Maillard.
By the time the four of them stepped out of the shuttle, Mo-leete and his companion stood waiting at the foot of the ladder. There was no sign of recognition in either of the aliens. They stared into blank space, as if they lived alone on this planet. For a long moment, all of them-men and Wykzl-stood uncomfortably face-to-face.
Tedr ic at last decided to break the silence. "Moleete, by authority of His Majesty, Kane IV, we have come to accept your surrender."
The Wykzl cocked his head, as if straining to hear sounds from far away. Finally, bowing his head, he acknowledged the presence of the others. "I surrender my honor to your h ands." He spoke in perfect Galactic and, as he did, dropped suddenly to his knees. Even then, his head was barely lower than Tedric's throat. Slowly, as if the motion were one requiring a great expenditure of energy, Mo-teete reached toward the heatgun at his wai . st. Beside Tedric, Keller let out a gasp of surprise and reached for his own holster. Tedric gripped his arm. "No," he said. "It's all right."
The gesture Mo-leete was about to make was one familiar to any human being.
He gripped his heatgun by the butt and held it out to Tedric. "This is yours, sirs. My right to bear it is vanquished."
The other Wykzl had not budged an inch. Tedric looked at him, rather than at Mo-leete, hoping somehow to discover what move he ought to make next. Before coming here, he had tapped the ship's central data bank for any information it possessed regarding Wykzl surrender ceremonies. There was absolutely nothing to be found. If any Wykzl had ever surrendered to any human being, that piece of
information had never been transmitted to another.
Tedric knew he would have to act from intuition alone. Bending down, he took the huge alien beneath the shoulders and casually lifted him back to his feet. "Your honor is yours, Mo-leete. I have no proper right to demand it."
It see med to be the right move to make. Mo-leete again bowed his head but in agreement this time not submission. "You area merciful conqueror: Tedric.
"Thank you."
Mo-leete caught Tedric's hand in his and squeezed tightly. He shut his eyes and spoke in his native language. Then, ina softer tone, he translated. "Let it be known to all that, from this day onward, the human being known as Tedric shall be recognized as a lord among all Wykzl and that, from the petty being known as Mo-leete, he shall receive all the favors, service, and honors properly possessed by that rank." Mo-leete opened his eyes and spoke to all of them. "In other words, my friends, whenever you need me, you need only call."
Tedric was willing to accept Mo-leete at his word, though he couldn't help wondering: how far did that promise go if the two space nations met again in war? He decided not to pursue the subject. "You have my respect, too, Mo-leete."
"And mine as well," said Captain Maillard, stepping forward and inserting his hand betw een
those already clasped. Again, it seemed to be the right gesture at the right time. Nolan and Keller clasped theirs as well, and for a moment, his own hand held by four others, Tedric felt a stirring of deep emotion.
Mo-leete was the one who broke his grip first. Stepping back, he lifted his head and Tedric sensed that the purely ceremonial aspects of the surrender were now at an end.
Mo-leete returned his heatgun to his waist and, as he did, his entire body seemed to shed the tenseness it had possessed, as though a long ordeal had finally been ended.
"You fought a remarkable fight in space," he said. "My br other has told me of it."
Tedric shook his head. "We tricked your crew. That was all. If you had been aboard ship, the outcome might well have been different."
"Ah, yes, certainly." Mo-leete seemed to possess few doubts on this point. "But I wish no human being death or harm. Please sit." He pointed to the ground. "I will explain."
Tedric searched until he found a relatively flat spot, then dropped to his haunches. The con tant s
beat and wail of nearby machines hidden from view by the mounds of disgorged dirt pounded in his ears. For any of them, it was necessary to speak in an abnormally loud tone to be heard and understood. A ]one robot suddenly darted through their midst. It swept past and climbed one of the mounds as easily as if it wore wings.
"I believe," Mo-leete said, "that I may have an gered several of your superiors by requesting this meeting with you."
"It an ered Matt Carey, if that's what you mean," Nolan said.
"Ah, yes, that youngster." It was odd how easily Mo-leete's apparently inhuman visage managed to
communicate such human emotions: now he radiated a certain amused contempt.
"But surrender is an important rite among my people, perhaps because it is performed so infrequently. The defeated is permitted only to share his honor with the true victor.
Matthew Carey was not aboard your conquering ship. For him to have joined your party would have violated the sanctity of the rite and made true surrender on my part impossible."
"Tell that to Matthew Carey. He thinks whatever he wants to be true has got to be true."
Mo-leete nodded sadly. "A very intense individual." It was clear that, for him, this could never be a compliment.
"But you promised to explain things to us," Tedric said. "We don't even know what brought you here in the first place. It wasn't conquest, was it?" He spoke these words so quickly, even before he had a chance to realize consciously that he intended to speak, that his own voice caught him by surprise. For a moment, he suspected another of the Scientists' hidden implants-but it wasn't the Scientists who needed the answer to the question he had asked. More than likely, they already knew. "We came for the obvious reason," Mo-leete said. "In an attempt to capture this planet's supply of Dalkanium."
He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone that made it ifficult for Tedric not to believe him. "But surely the available supply within your own nation is sufficient to meet your needs."
"Normally, yes," Mo-leete said, almost wistfully. "But these are not normal times."
"I don't understand."
"No, of course not, and that is why I am willing to explain. Still, there are certain concepts difficult to translate from my language into yours. One such conce pt is the
'honor' that we now share together. in my language, the word means far more than that.
Another such concept is the. He paused, still seeking the correct word. "The invaders, the clouds. Have you heard previously of any such thing?"
Tedric shook his head, as did the others, even Keller. "I don't know what you're talking about, no.
"Then I will begin at the beginning," Mo-leete said, "which would be some eighteen of your comMon years before now. It was at that time that the first of the invading clouds was discovered inside the boundaries of my Wykzl nation. At the time the cloud was no more than a few hundred thousand kilometers in diameter and regarded as purely an astronomical phenomenon. It wasn't until some months. later that our observers realized that the cloud was expanding."
"By cloud," Captain Maillard said, "do you mean just that?"
"No," Mo-leete said quickly. "No, it is not a cloud. It is-" He held'up his hands. "You must see one to understand. Its color is a bright, almost fiery red. From a distance it appears to be quite solid, but when seen from close-up, a certain transparency is visible to the naked eye."
"Then it's just a dust cloud," Nolan said. "That's nothing extraordinary."
"So we thought at first," Mo-teete said, and again there wasa wistful note to the way he spoke
of the near past. "As I said, the cloud grew. And not slowly, either, not gradually. Within less than a year it had swollen until it occupied a portion of space more than two parsecs in diameter. It had also swallowed up two star systems. One of these was occupied-by Wykzl."
"The inhabitants were not harmed," Maillard said. "We do not know."
"But you must know," Nolan said. "Why didn't you contact them?"
"Because the cloud-the invader-would not al-low it. As for the Wykzl swallowed up,inside the cloud, none has ever been heard from again. Our most sophisticated instruments are unable to penetrate the clouds. It is as if there exists nothing at all inside."
"You said clouds," Tedric said. "The first one
wasn't the only one?"
"No. Within the Wykzl nation, more than two dozen have now appeared. Some, like the first one, now occupy as much as fifty light-years of space. Others can still be measured in the millions of kilometers."
The more Mo-leete spoke, the more strongly Tedric experienced a rather peculiar sensation: cold chill running up and down his spine. This story of invading clouds was not something remote and removed from him. He knew it was important. Important to him alone.
Mo-leete went on, "And, because of these clouds, we Wykzl have experienced an unexpected and dire need for Dalkanium. Two clouds have recently materialized within the star cluster that includes the bulk of our population. At their present rate of expansion, these two clouds, along with th others already discovered, will succeed in swallowing up more than ninety percent of all living Wykzl within a century. In other words, sirs, my race is threatened with something very close to ultimate extinction." "And how will the Dalkanium help you?' Maillard asked.
"By allowing us to increase the size of our space fleet. Evacuation is our only weapon, massive evacuation, the removal of billions of bodies through hundreds of parsecs of space. Will the clouds merety pursue us wherever we go? For, myself, I think the answer is yes. But we have no choice. We cannot simply wait and die."
"But these clouds can't pursue you," Maillard said. "You talk almost as if they were conscious entities." "We believe that they are."
Only Nolan laughed aloud, but the sound died quickly on his lips. It was obvious that Mo-leete was more than serious.
"Do you have any evidence to support this rath-er extreme claims" asked Maillard.
"We have the evidence of our own senses. The clouds have spoken to us."
"In words?"
"in-again, I have trouble expressing a concept. In thoughts... images... photographs.
Horrible things. When a cloud approaches a planet to be captured, the inhabitants there begin to see the most monstrous things. They go mad, in mass, long before they are swallowed up."
Maillard seemed less than eager to pursue this subject, and Tedric could understand why. It seemed a bit too fantastic even for a universe in which all things were deemed possible. Mo-leete was clearly afraid of the clouds, with probable good reason. Fear alone could cause some strange delusions. "But why have these clouds appeared nowhere else in the galaxy?" Maillard said. "We have reason to believe that they have-in the Bioman sphere. Contact between the Wykzl and the Biomen was long ago severed, as you know, but transmissions have reached us."
"But there has been nothing in the Empire. If there had,I think I would have heard of it."
'No, that is true. Nor have the clouds appeared among the Dynarx heathen. To us, that is only a sinister sign. Why have the clouds appeared only within the boundaries of the two most advanced species in the Galaxy?"
Tedric couldn't help smiling at Mo-leete's condescending attitude. Had the Wykzl forgotten so soon the purpose of this meeting here? But he had a question to ask, as well, one that was-again, he knew this for certain-vitally important in a very personal way. "Are we the first men to learn of these clouds?"
Mo-leete shook his big head with obvious sorrow. "Alas, you are not, which is the reason for our terrible battle here, I am sure. At the time we became fully aware of our crucial need for Dalkanium, we naturally attempted to acquire an additional supply through peaceful means. An unarmed ship was sent into the Bioman sphere but never returned and was apparently callously destroyed. The Dynarx were also contacted but because of their chaotic existence and lack of stable social order very little has so far developed at that front. At the same time, a message was sent to your Emperor. Shortly thereafter a reply was received from one Melor Carey, who promised to supply us with all the Dalkanium under his control-" "Four planets worth!" cried Nolan. "Well, that is what the message stated. We had no reason-not then-to doubt his sincerity. He asked only that we explain the reasons behind our sudden need. And we did."
"You told him about the clouds" said Nolan. "We told him everything I have told you in shared honor this day. He never replied. We sent a second transmission and a third.
Still, no reply."
Nolan was nodding. "That's old Carey exactly. Find a weakness and then exploit it. He's a veteran of the art of double-dealing. The population of the Empire is close to one trillion. Of them all, if I were you, the last one I'd ever ask for help is Melor Carey."
"So we learned," Mo-leete said, "much to our sorrow. Further transmissions were also ignored. Then an armed imperial cruiser suddenly appeared within our borders. It conducted a survey of several star systems, all of which lay within the paths of expanding clouds."
"I was aboard that cruiser," Keller said. "In response," said Mo-leete, "we sent an un-armed ship to speak directly with your Emperor, but the vessel was turned back by one of your patrol ships long before it reached Earth."
Maillard nodded. "Matthew Carey told me
something of that, except that, in his version, the ship was armed to the gunnels. I didn't believe him. I knew-or I thought I did, till Tedric and Nolan showed me otherwise-that any Wykzl ship could blast a hole through our entire fleet. I simply believed he was making the whole thing up."
"What about that?" Nolan asked Mo-leete. "Do you think Matthew Carey knows about the clouds, too?"
"I had originally assumed so, but during our meeting on the lifeboat he indicated that he did not, and I had reason to believe him. His father seems to have confided some of the truth to him, but not all of it."
"Just as well," said Nolan. "But I do wonder why.l@
So did Tedric, but he sensed that this question would not be answered here. He asked Mo-leete, "But what about Evron Eleven? You still haven't explained what brought you here."
"Sheer desperation. What else? We desire war no more than you, but we had to increase our supply of Dalkanium and do it soon. We frequently intercept stray communications from your fleet. There are times when our vessels may perhaps intrude somewhat upon your rightful borders. A message came to our attention concerning a rebellion among the Dalkanium miners on Evron Eleven. There was much discussion among us and, I should add, some considerable hesitation. But desperation won out, as it perhaps must. I was sent here in command of our most powerful cruiser to seize the mines of Evron Eleven for the survival of my own species. I have, as you know, failed in my
mission. My successors, when they come, most likely will not."
Maillard looked at Mo-leete through narrowed eyes. It was plain to Tedric that the Wykzl had intended his last remark as a threat. "Are you attempting to warn the Empire?"
Maillard asked. "I am. From myself, you have nothing more to fear. Having surrendered according to the proper ritual, I am rendered incapable of further action. But you must understand the solemnity of the situation. We dare not fail to try and try again. The Dalkanium is essential to our existence, like air or blood."
"it could mean a resumption of open warfare between our nations."
"But you could grant our request and thus forestall such an event."
Maillard shook his head. "I'm afraid I have no such power."
"Then who does? Besides Melor Carey?"
"Only Emperor Kane himself. If even he does."
"Then I must ask you," said Mo-leete. "According to the rituals of our species, you and I are brothers in honor. As such, I beg of you: act as our intermediary. Go to the Emperor and tell him what I have told you. He is a creature capable of knowing honor.
Such we have always believed."
"He is that, true," Maillard said, leaving unspoken the fact that the Emperor's freedom to exercise his capability was severely restricted. "Then you will grant my plea."
"To prevent a war, I'll try anything. I fought in ne war. It was ugly and debasing and I never want 0 it to happen again."
"And you?" asked Mo-leete, looking at Nolan. "I go along with the captain. The Emperor's no confidant of mine, but I'll give it a try."
