Shades of gray, p.76
Shades of Gray, page 76
“We’re ready now, Zhalmo,” he said gently. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
Toueesut stood beside a small table with a bowl of incense, a knife, and two matching gold and gemmed rings sitting on it. To his other side was a small stand holding a brazier with glowing charcoal.
Chy’tu led her forward to kneel on the cushions beside Zsurtul. Behind them, the rest of the Primes and Jurrel were gathered. Ashay and Shaayiyisis hovered by the open doorway, their bulk preventing them from actually entering the crowded room.
“A wedding we celebrate today,” said Toueesut, resplendent in a fresh turquoise blue jacket edged in gold braid, as his swarm fell silent and still behind him. “Always joyous this is but more so since the bride was lost to us, and now we have her safely back among her family again. This wedding important for peace as King Zsurtul and Zhalmo one day will rule over beginning of unified Valtegan people. Will no longer be castes, but all combined as one.” He stopped, hearing exclamations of surprise from around him. “Legends of your people I hear,” he said, looking at Zsurtul. “When Zsadhi comes, so does end of castes.”
“Zsadhi?” asked Zsurtul.
“Jurrel be knowing,” nodded Toueesut, his mustaches wriggling from side to side. “Captain Kusac is your Zsadhi. He has the mark.”
Zsurtul swung around to look at Jurrel, who spread his hands.
“I only know what we all saw,” he said. “When he changed into a M’zullian Valtegan, he had a tattoo of a sword on his chest. The Ch’almuthians called him the Zsadhi.”
“Later, later. Wedding now!” said Toueesut as his swarm began to trill impatiently.
When he had their attention again, he continued. “This wedding unifies your people, King Zsurtul. Do you wish to have Zhalmo as your wife and share your life with her?”
“Yes, I do,” said Zsurtul, looking at her in such a way that she felt her heart skip several beats.
“Zhalmo, do you wish to be married to Zsurtul and share your life with him?”
She tried to say the words but couldn’t find her voice, so she nodded.
“You have to say it, love,” said Zsurtul quietly, reaching for her hand.
“No hands yet!” said one of the other Touibans, darting forward and smacking Zsurtul’s hand away, then darting back behind Toueesut.
Zsurtul grimaced and rubbed the top of his hand.
“Yes, I do,” she said in a rush, suddenly finding her voice.
“Good, good,” beamed Toueesut, picking up the knife and waving it about. “Many peoples, ours all included, are believing blood is life, so they share blood when they marry. Now you will share blood.” He handed it to Zsurtul, who looked apprehensively at it.
“Make a small cut in your palm,” hissed Jurrel from behind.
Zsurtul turned his other hand over, looking at the palm, then rapidly made a small cut in it. As the blood began to pool in his palm, he handed the blade to Zhalmo.
Without even looking at her hand, she made the small incision and handed the knife back to Toueesut.
He took the knife from her and then took hold of their hands, pressing them together. “The bowl,” he said to his swarm brothers.
The bowl was snatched up and held under their hands as Toueesut pressed them firmly together. Blood slowly trickled from between their palms and fell into the incense.
“Blood is mingled, so is life and love,” said Toueesut, letting their hands go and taking the bowl.
Na’qui swiftly handed small pads of absorbent material to them.
As Zhalmo pressed hers to the cut, she turned to look at the medic. “I’m sorry for earlier,” she whispered.
Na’qui smiled and shook her head. “Forget it,” she whispered back.
“Now we offer this to the Deities we all worship,” said Toueesut, tipping the resinous incense over the hot charcoal.
It sputtered for a moment then flared up in a bright flame before settling down to send out calming and uplifting scents, some of which Zsurtul remembered from Shola.
“Ahh,” said Toueesut, breathing in deeply. “A good omen, that flame, I am told. Now the rings. They shall be an outward sign that you two have exchanged vows to each other.”
He picked up the rings, and handed the larger to Zhalmo and the smaller one to Zsurtul.
Zsurtul reached for her hand and eased the ring onto her index finger, his eyes glowing with an inner light as he watched her face. “You look so lovely,” he said, “that I wonder at my good fortune every time I see you.”
Her color rose in a blush as she took his hand and placed the ring on his finger, her hands trembling slightly. “And I marvel at the love that caused you and your friends to come so far to rescue me,” she said.
“As Captain of the Couana, I now say you are legally married,” said Toueesut, clapping his hands, mustaches bristling in pleasure. “Let no one ever come between you from today.”
Zsurtul leaned forward to kiss her, loving the way she met his lips with a passion he’d guessed at but not yet explored.
The Touibans trilled in songs that rose and fell in pitch, weaving a magic of music about them as they got to their feet and turned around to face the others.
“Majesties,” said Jurrel, bowing to them. Then, “May I hug the bride?” he asked Zsurtul.
“Just a hug,” the young King grinned, wagging a finger at the Sholan amid laughter.
M’zull, Zhal-Zhalwae, 9th day (May)
It wasn’t until after dark that Cheelar and M’yikku returned. They were ushered to the center of the cave to get warm, helped out of their damp clothing, and given hot drinks and instant hot meal rations to eat.
Around them, the team leaders and their Seconds gathered to hear their reports.
“It isn’t nearly as far in the snow as we thought,” said Cheelar as he shoveled the food into his mouth, alternating with gulps of the hot maush. “Only about an hour’s walk, and most of it is among the trees.”
M’yikku nodded, eating more slowly. “We were able to walk in animal tracks most of the way. Some kind of hoofed herd beast like those we hunted on that other world—the time the M’zullian half-breeds attacked us.”
“I remember,” said Kusac. “What did you find out about them?”
“They’re not all soldiers,” said Cheelar, scraping his spoon around the plastic container for the last scraps. “There’s a farming community outside the city, some five miles from here. They allocate the less able to farm. We saw people who were mainly older, and some who seemed less mentally alert, which was strange. They seem to be unable to ensure they breed healthy sons, perhaps too much inbreeding. There were some able-bodied farmers too, but not many. It was a market day when we were there.” He stopped to drain his cup, then reached out for more from the pot nearest to him.
“Seems they’re allowed to keep some of what they farm, and they sell or trade it for other goods,” said M’yikku. “There are also people in mountain settlements, though not as high up as we are. They’re more self-sufficient in that they have females of their own. Sounds like they actually live as families. Only the males come to trade, though. Everyone else looks down on them as decadent. There were a couple in the village.”
“Did you go to the city?” asked Carrie, pouring more maush for herself and Kusac from the other jug. She offered some to Kaid, but he shook his head.
“Yes, there’s a transport system to the city from the farms. A train runs twice a day. We caught it there and back,” Cheelar said. “There’re huge interactive maps at the main station where you can find the location of various buildings, from shopping areas to government offices.”
“The money we took from the soldiers on Ch’almuth is worth very little,” said M’yikku. “Bought us the train trips and that’s all. We found out that they do use the old Empire coins that we use on our world, though, and they are more valuable here.”
“Were they suspicious of you?” asked Kaid.
“Strangely, no. They assumed we were mountain folk because of our coloring,” said Cheelar. “The city, now, it was quite different. More modern, full of soldiers, though the stores were a mix of civilian and military. They do earn enough to eat at restaurants and buy personal goods, so it isn’t a completely repressive lifestyle. We saw a few drones about on errands. They’re a much lighter color than any of us or the Primes, but we’ll fit right in as far as everyone else goes.”
M’yikku nodded. “There’s a variety of skin colors around, though the darker ones like General Kezule did seem to be mostly officers. We didn’t have too long there, though. Their money system is based on actual coins, so we were lucky we did bring some of our own with us. Outside the city they have massive metalworks for making their ships and war vehicles. You could see and smell the clouds of smoke. The workers do come into the city to spend their money. Owning covered vehicles seems to be the prerogative of the upper ranks. The most common private transport was a sort of hoverbike for one or two riders, or covered vehicles similar to our aircars that travel a couple of feet off the ground.”
“We did hear the Court gossip,” said Cheelar. “There are huge viewscreens on the sides of all the tall buildings. They broadcast the news according to the Emperor, and according to him, they recovered Zhalmo. Sure looked like her, up on that huge screen.”
“What?” said Kusac in astonishment.
“It can’t be her,” said Kaid dismissively.
“What was the gossip—the real truth?” asked Carrie.
“Ah, well. That’s another story,” grinned Cheelar. “Seems some old lord had a fatal stroke and died, and K’hedduk kindly took his young widow under his protection into his seraglio.”
“And she just happened to look a lot like Zhalmo,” added M’yikku.
“The main gossip on the streets is they’re looking for the spy left behind by the armed soldiers who tried to kidnap Zhalmo. They think she was taken out in battle armor, so one of us stayed behind,” said Cheelar.
“Apparently K’hedduk is really twitchy about that.”
Carrie began to laugh as Kaid and Kusac smiled. “So we started his paranoia without even trying!”
“Better, with him killing one of his courtiers to get his wife, all of them will be wondering who’s next,” said Kaid.
“Perhaps we should rescue Zhalmo’s double,” said Kusac thoughtfully.
“No,” said Banner. “We don’t have the MUTAC now as backup.”
“Maybe getting in touch with the old lord’s son as a potential ally would be useful,” suggested Cheelar. “Mind you, they say he’s on his ship in the fleet.”
“Perhaps. We’ll keep it in mind,” said Kaid. “He’ll have to come back for the funeral, so it is a possibility.”
“So we know we can mingle freely with the M’zullians in the city,” said Kusac. “They can own property like the hoverbikes, and not everyone is a soldier as we thought. What about clothing? Were many in uniform?”
“A mix,” said Cheelar. “They do seem to wear off-duty clothing too. Black is to be avoided—just like back home, it’s the exclusive uniform of the Emperor’s bodyguards. According to those we spoke to, we should stay away from them; they’re vicious for the fun of it, and no one bothers to control them except K’hedduk. Our khaki color is for the special ops people. Most of those in uniform wore a form of camouflage—mainly gray with random patches of darker gray and some black.”
“Urban camo,” said Kaid, nodding.
“We also found out that the lords own the soldiers. They provide them from the nurseries on their land and promise them to their Emperor’s service in return for various favors and money. The Emperor has his own units, of course.”
“That’s worth knowing,” said Kusac thoughtfully. “We need a couple of you to go up and investigate the mountain villages at some point. Ideally, I’d like to split us up into units of three or four and spread us over several major cities. I wish we could get some of us up into the fleet, but that seems an impossibility at the moment.”
“Maybe not,” said Kaid. “If we did pursue that young lord—what’s his name, by the way?—then he could get us access to their fleet.”
“But why would he?” asked Carrie. “Unless you plan to make him get us access?”
“Lord Nayash was the name,” said M’yikku, smothering a yawn. “The funeral and burial services should be in two days’ time on his estate. It’ll likely be a State one, with K’hedduk supposedly taking in the widow like that. Interestingly, Nayash has land, or at least trade agreements, up in the mountains too.”
“If K’hedduk’s there, it would be a one-in-a-million opportunity to kill him,” said Kaid. “Create confusion everywhere while the elite fight it out to see who takes power. A great atmosphere for us to create even more unrest and set them against each other.”
“It would,” said Kusac thoughtfully. “Were there cargo areas on the trains? If there are, we can at least use them to get the non-Primes into the city.”
“There were,” said Cheelar. “If you’re carrying luggage or produce, they expect you to go there rather than the regular seating areas.”
“You two can turn in now,” ordered Kaid. “Good work, both of you. There’s nothing you’ve told us you need to keep to yourselves,” he grinned, looking pointedly at the other team members waiting in a patient group.
They nodded, and rising, headed off toward the tents and their impatiently waiting siblings.
“What now?” asked T’Chebbi, who had been her usual quiet self.
“Rezac, what were their funerals like back in your day?” Kaid asked.
“The Emperor didn’t go to any in our time,” said Rezac. “And obviously as slaves, we weren’t free to leave the seraglio level alone.”
“I expect it’s the same as the funeral Kezule held after we retook the Palace and City,” said Kusac.
Kaid grunted assent. “We need a base nearer the capital,” he said. “And we need at least one of the females in the capital itself. I don’t want to risk using comms. They’ll be monitoring every frequency there if K’hedduk’s as twitchy as they say. I must admit I didn’t quite expect this paranoia so soon. I expected anger and retaliation from him. It means he isn’t feeling as secure on his throne as he’d like to be.”
“We want them all paranoid, thinking there are rebels after them, so we can orchestrate the illusion of a civil war. Killing K’hedduk would go a long way to helping that. We need to strike at a different section of society afterward.”
“In which case, this Lord Nayash’s son is a good idea,” said Kaid. “We have two options—we capture him, then you try to alter yourself to impersonate him, or you control his mind and use him as a puppet. Either way, it will give us access to at least part of the fleet and will allow you to talk up some trouble with the other lords. It also gives us his soldiers at our disposal.”
“On K’oish’ik, the lords lived on estates at the edge of the city but had apartments in the Palace on the level below the Emperor. I expect they do get buried in a graveyard on their estates,” said Rezac.
“So if we can locate Nayash’s estate, we can lie in wait for K’hedduk by the graveyard,” continued Kaid. “That’s one hell of a good starting point.”
“It is,” agreed Kusac. “If the mountain folk are as independent as Cheelar and M’yikku suggest, they may be of more use to us than anyone. I’m really going to have to find out more about their Zsadhi legend,” he sighed. “I may need to make use of it after all.”
“J’korrash was compiling information on it before we left K’oish’ik, and on Ch’almuth,” said Banner.
“Good idea. We need to use every advantage we have over them,” said Kaid. “Playing on their superstitions and fears is always a good way to unsettle any group of people.”
Kusac nodded to Kaid, then looked at Banner shrewdly. “If you know she’s been studying it, I bet you know about as much as she does.”
“I know a fair bit,” grinned Banner.
“So tell us about it,” said Carrie, leaning against Kusac, and moving closer when he put his arm around her.
“It’s an ancient legend, back from the days before they were able to leave their planet and journey into space,” began Banner. “A time when both males and females fought, but the females ruled. Queen Ishardia was good and wise, but she had a jealous sister who wanted her throne. The sister plotted and finally made her move with the help of the chief of the guards, whom she had seduced. They burst in on the Queen and her husband as they slept …”
“You tell it with no passion,” complained J’korrash from behind him. “A tale like this, full of hate and jealousy and revenge, needs passion, Lieutenant Banner.”
Banner shrugged and grinned at the others. “Then you tell it, J’korrash.”
“The Captain sent for me,” said J’korrash, seeing Kaid’s questioning look as she stepped into their small circle and joined Kusac and Carrie on the padded blanket they were using.
She sensed my need, Kusac sent to Kaid and Carrie.
T’Chebbi leaned forward, holding out a wide mug and the jug of still warm maush to her. J’korrash accepted them, pouring herself a drink, then passing the jug on to Carrie.
When they had all gotten fresh drinks, she began.
“In the dawn of our people, there was a time that stood out in its turbulent history for its peace and prosperity. Trade agreements were sealed and marriages arranged. The lands of the Queen and King knew only plenty and prosperity, as did their neighbors. Down the river, trade boats sailed, bringing ambassadors with spices and exotic foods from afar, each wanting to be part of the new age of peace. The Queen’s name was Ishardia, and her husband, for she broke with tradition and not only made him King to rule with her but also listened to his counsel, was Zsadhi. But the seeds of trouble were sprouting in her own garden. Her sister, Tashraka, was jealous of her standing among the tribes and of her sister’s husband. She had no patience for this time of peace, believing they were stronger than the other tribes and should take what they wanted.” She stopped to sip her drink.
