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24: The Harbinger
The cockpit seal broke.
Garen and Dara held their breath, waiting for the enemy to leap out of the scout ship, shooting. Constance peered around her mother, trying to see what was going on.
The hatch rose painfully slowly, finally revealing a lone pilot, helmeted, and wearing a very familiar dark grey shirt and black pants.
"Deuel?!" Dara asked, her head cocked strangely at the pilot. "Is that you?"
After a casual, two-fingered salute, the young man pulled off the black helmet, letting it fold up into the small, boxy form it took when not in use.
"Indeed." said Desslok, swiping unruly hair out of his eyes. "You were expecting the GRN, perhaps?"
"No – Yes!" Dara said, relieved that they had been very wrong. She put her weapons back where they belonged and Garen followed suite, sighing in relief.
"How did you...?" the lieutenant began, then, seeing the look of outright mischief on the young man's face, he didn't bother to finish the question. "Never mind. I don't want to know."
Somewhere off in the distance there was an explosion, followed by several more, accompanied by a cacophony of bird squawks.
"Sounds like someone's having a few... technical difficulties." Desslok smirked.
"There are troops out here!" said Dara, alarmed.
The prince chuckled, "Well, of course there are. But I think they might have just been... stranded." he said, referencing the explosions. "You needn't worry about them – at least, not that particular group of them. There are undoubtedly more out there. Though who they are so desperately searching for, I haven't the slightest idea."
Dara looked at the young man she had been following for only a few days and wondered how he was able to summon such charisma. He was a born leader – that was for certain – but he was one of the oddest people she had ever met, and his oddness just kept compounding itself the longer she was with him. Though there was something... She couldn't put her finger on it, but this "Deuel" had a familiar air about him – something that nagged at the back of her mind – much like the numerous instances she had tried to dig up her past... and failed. She just couldn't place it...
"Well," Desslok stood up and gestured to his three charges, "Shall we get going then."
The Interface was glowing again. The brilliant white light was much softer this time and the glove-like instrument seemed to pulse with the thrumming light. It filled the small corner of her quarters, lifting her heart with hope.
Starsha snatched it up and quickly put it on.
"Do you wish to connect?" the Interface asked, just as it had last time.
"List available connections." the princess replied, wanting to make sure of whom she was contacting.
"Interface 3 is active."
It was the strange young man's Interface number. "Connect to Interface 3." Perhaps now she would be able to get a clear view of him and confirm or deny the strange suspicions she found rising in her heart ever since she had last spoken with him.
"Interface 3 has accepted the call: audio-only."
"Audio-only?" the princess asked, thinking that maybe she had misheard.
"Correct: video has been disabled by the Interface 3 user."
"Why?" she asked, disappointed.
"Error – please repeat your inquiry using acceptable parameters."
"Never mind." Starsha dismissed, accepting that she wouldn't be able to see him this time.
"Connection has been established."
"Princess," the young man's deepening tenor voice met Starsha's ears, "I've sent your message to Admiral Talan, but only time will tell if he has received it. I am sorry I could not do more for you. Our communications here on Gamilon have been taken down... I suspect... Leader Deun... has something to do with it."
Starsha's face turned grave, "If that is truly the case, then we are all in danger – Gamilon and Iscandari alike."
"Agreed." came the reply. "But I cannot discuss our shared peril at this juncture. Rest assured, I will return soon." And with that, the Interface connection shut off and Starsha was left speechless, sitting with her left hand extended towards her sister-world.
It pained him to have to leave without seeing Starsha again, but Desslok knew it was dangerous to enable the video feed with Garen, Dara, and Constance there this time. There would be no way to cover his actions if one of them woke up, and he wasn't sure that he could trust any of them with such a secret right now.
He looked at each of the sleeping three, each in varying positions of slumber, spread out in the back four seats. He was thankful that none of them snored.
Night had fallen several hours ago and they were now flying through darkness. The stars passed silently overhead as they forged on through the night.
The prince looked out over the landscape they were so quickly passing. Hills, valleys, trees, and rivers zoomed by beneath them.
The scout ship's top speed was well above most of the other ships in the Guardiana troop's fleet – that plus the cloaking ability made it the obvious choice for him to commandeer.
Deun's troops seemed to be crawling everywhere. Any extra protection against them was a good thing.
Silent and fast – that was what he did best – run... He hated that every time his brother came after him that he was forced to flee in Deun's evil wake. There would be a day – he had promised himself there would be – that he would no long run and hide. He only wished that today was that day...
Desslok still wasn't sure if the troops he had come across were out looking for him or if their target was Krenshaw. Or, if perhaps there was someone else that Deun was searching for. If only Admiral Talan could tell him what was going on; to have a line into the palace at a time like this would uncomplicate so many things – but with the shutdown of the planet's communication systems, that possibility had died.
Beneath the ship, the prince could see a large, deep canyon yawning. The bottom was so far down that all he could see was a dark streak where the canyon floor should have been. He pitied anything that fell into that gaping hole.
Suddenly the radar screen lit up. Bright green light pulsed repeatedly until Desslok acknowledged the silent alarm. There was no sound – the prince had turned that feature off as soon as he had acquired the ship. Alarms going off during an intense situation generally only served to make the other members of the group nervous – not the best of things in a firefight.
Right now the instruments were showing two distinct life forms on the ground several miles ahead of them, traveling slowly West.
The prince took out Mintra'el, "Give me a sensor reading on those two." he said, voice low so as not to wake the three in the back.
"Two lifeforms – physical specifications cannot be determined at this time. We are still too far out from them. The only certain thing is that both beings are Gamilon." the A.I. replied.
"Is there nothing else you can determine?" Desslok asked, fishing for something – anything else that might be of use to him.
"Both are male." Mintra'el supplemented. "Beyond that, I do not have the ability to find out yet."
"Very well." the prince sighed, slipping the device back into his pocket. "Time to investigate then."
With the subtlety born of much patient practice, Desslok took the ship down, decreasing altitude until they were just far enough above the trees not to rustle the tops with their passing.
When he was sure the two anonymous men were close, he found a clearing and set the ship down as quietly as he could – his efforts made easier by the ships supplemental stealth features.
Once the ship was down, Desslok woke Garen, careful not to disturb either Dara or Constance.
Krenshaw started awake, a spooked look on his face. He stared at Desslok as though he were seeing a ghost. He shook his head, trying to clear away whatever phantasm he thought he was seeing.
"Talon –" suddenly Garen stopped short as his vision cleared and he saw that it was not who his mind had first conjured. "Deuel... What –"
"Come with me. We have some hunting to do." Desslok replied, seeming not to notice Garen's stutter and summarily waking Dara.
She opened her eyes, "What's the matter? Why have we stopped?" Dara asked groggily.
"The lieutenant and I must leave for a while – to track two people. I have no positive identity on them yet. Stay here with Constance. You'll be safe in the ship." Desslok quickly summarized.
Dara looked at the prince blankly for a moment as everything he had just said sank in. She thought about it for a second, then agreed, "Alright." She stared at Desslok, "But if you – " she shifted her gaze to Garen, "or you – don't come back, I'll come after you."
Garen smiled, sensing what was coming next. "And you don't want me to do that." Dara finished, returning Garen's smile.
"We will come back." Desslok stated matter-of-factly, looking slightly annoyed at the exchange between Dara and Krenshaw; then, without ceremony, he left with the lieutenant in tow.
Dara sat silently, staring after them as they disappeared into the darkness. She pulled out one of her weapons, laying it next to her in the one empty seat – just in case she needed it.
All the while, Constance slept peacefully, completely oblivious to the perils surrounding her.
"They're just ahead of us." Desslok whispered to Garen as they came upon the targets' location.
"How do you know that?" Garen asked.
"I hear them."
"Then you've better ears than I."
Desslok did not reply.
The two slowed their pace and within a minute they could see two shadows walking slowly away from them. One was taller than the other and seemed to have a limp. The shorter one kept glancing at the taller one, then looking ahead again.
Garen and Desslok couldn't see either of the two men's faces, and using Mintra'el to get a glimpse of them was out of the question as the prince still intended to keep that particular ace securely up his sleeve.
Calculating his options, the prince made his move. Desslok indicated to Garen that he would take down the shorter of the pair, leaving the limping one to Krenshaw.
Garen acknowledged the assignment, secretly chuckling to himself at the young man's confidence in his own abilities. Then, he waited, trusting this strange young man to make this call as he had made so many others since the scientist had met up with him not that long ago.
Why he continued to trust this "Deuel," Garen didn't exactly know. Though the teenager had proven himself a number of times since their initial meeting, and that was enough for the lieutenant for now.
Desslok gave the signal.
They both leapt upon the unsuspecting prey.
With a thud, Desslok impacted the shorter man, knocking him over and sending both he and the shadow rolling through the dirt and undergrowth. Their progress was stopped suddenly when they crashed unceremoniously into a boulder.
His opponent fought to disentangle himself from the prince, trying to get some distance between them.
To his right, Desslok heard Garen hit the taller man who let out a yell, coupled with several unrepeatable oaths upon impact.
Suddenly, the prince found himself thrown into a puddle of moonlight. His opponent having pulled them to their feet and then wrenched free of Desslok's grip, kicking the prince away and giving himself a temporary respite.
The mystery man leapt into the circle of light and suddenly stopped.
As soon as he saw his quarry's face, Desslok froze, the blood draining from his face as he looked straight into the eyes of a ghost.
Naomi Talan heard something outside on the balcony of her and her husband's residence in the palace. Curious, she went out to see what it might be.
When she got out onto the balcony, she saw the oddest thing. An ayah sat on the floor, staring at her in bird-like fashion, its head tilting sideways curiously, watching and waiting.
The bird hopped a few feet towards Naomi. She bent down and beckoned to it. It hopped cautiously up to her.
Moving slowly, Naomi knelt in front of the ayah, studying her carefully, looking for any sign that this little creature was here for some nefarious purpose.
What would an ayah be doing here? Since the communications had mysteriously gone down planet-wide, more and more troops were using ayahot to communicate back and forth from their field locations – and even to the palace on occasion – but Raymond had not called for one. As far as she knew, her husband was not on Deun's list of important people. Deun barely even acknowledged Raymond at all anymore. Ever since his rise to power – all of a bit less than a month ago – he had ignored both Raymond and Naomi – acted as though no one but that strange Regent of his, and whatever other cronies he had employed, existed.
Naomi noticed the sleeve on the bird's leg. It bulged, betraying its contents. She finally, carefully took hold of the ayah, slowly removing a small message capsule.
Examining the thing carefully, she turned it every which way, looking for an insignia or a marking of some sort that would tell her who it had come from. It was ominously unmarked.
After a full minute, the capsule started to glow blue.
Deciding it was wiser to look at the capsule unobserved, Naomi took the bird and the unread message inside, casting a careful glance around her to make sure no one was lurking about.
She let the bird perch on a nearby piece of furniture and closed off the doorway to the balcony, ensuring that the ayah would not be going anywhere.
She took a deep breath, bracing herself for whatever she might be about to see. Then, Naomi triggered the capsule's message.
She gasped when Desslok's face appeared. At first she thought that it was Deun, but the young man's dyed-brown hair gave him away – though his red roots were starting to show again. Leave it to Masterson to have even the details covered.
Desslok's message began to play, and as Naomi listened, she started to understand just how far things had gone since her son and his charge had left.
The sense of urgency Naomi had harbored since her son's departure began to rise and she knew that Raymond had to see this as soon as possible.
She held the capsule tightly against her as she left her residence, looking for her husband. Along the way she came across several of Deun's new entourage, all wearing those disturbing silver amulets. Naomi quickly closed her hand around the capsule when she crossed paths with the first one, making sure he did not see her secret cargo.
Finally she came across Raymond, tucked away in a corner of one of the several labs he had been known to frequent in the palace, especially lately.
"Raymond..." she whispered loudly as she entered the room.
Her husband's back was to her, though she was sure he knew she was the one entering. These days it was important for anyone not in support of Deun – especially her husband – to watch their backs.
"Naomi? What are you doing down here?" her husband asked, turning to look at her from across the open space between them and beckoning her over to him.
She came, slowly unclasping her hand. She found that she had been grasping the message so hard that the capsule had left distinct impressions in her palm.
"Is this place... safe?" she asked in a low whisper, gesturing around the lab anonymously, but Raymond understood her meaning.
"Yes." He replied in a normal tone of voice. "I've swept it myself a dozen times. The most recent sweep being less than an hour ago." Raymond saw his wife's opening hand and took it, placing his own hand over hers, picking up the small device.
"I have something important you need to see – something that could mean the death of both Gamilon and Iscandar." She looked pointedly at the capsule Raymond now had in his hand. "It's all there..." she said, "It would seem that there are darker forces at work here than we were first led to believe..."
"And why have you not found any of your targets yet?" Deun snarled at the commander of his ground troops – one of the few individuals who had the privilege of using the planet's communication channels.
"Our main battalion was... stranded this afternoon, Sire... by an unknown enemy." the commander didn't look at his Leader, "Whoever he was, he knew what he was doing – and he seemed to take some pleasure in doing it."
Deun frowned.
"He... set our comm systems to emit a frequency that would scatter our ayahot. Then he summarily blew up the engines on all of the troop transports, leaving them to travel on foot. What provisions we had brought were found crawling with... chipmunks. It would seem that the saboteur let them in before his... departure."
Deun raised an eyebrow at the commander. "You cannot handle a bunch of munching rodents?"
"Well, Sire, it isn't that we can't handle them –"
"Well, it sounds like you can't." Deun interrupted. "If a pack of four-inch animals can get the best of you, perhaps you need to find another line of work."
The commander fell silent.
"Is there any other news you have to share with me, commander?" Deun continued, mockingly.
At this, the other man seemed to become even more nervous. "Yes, Sire. We located Regent Yeshin's target and flushed him out."
"Aaaand...?" Deun motioned for the man to continue.
"And then... we lost him..."
Deun slammed a fist on the elegantly curved desk he sat behind, vaulting out of his chair to glare at the soldier. "That is unacceptable, commander!"
"I – I know, Sire. We will find him again –"
"Yes, you will. And you will not contact me again until you have!" Deun shut down the link, locking the communications again.
He turned to look again at Iscandar, looming, blue and beautiful in the star-studded sky. He sneered at the planet, letting his frustration and rage build in him, fueling his bitter soul with their chaos.
"Brother, I know it was you." Deun spat. "How you did it single-handedly, I won't bother to guess, but I know you're out there. And I will find you." Then he addressed Iscandar, "And you –" he jabbed an accusing finger at the planet, "If I find that you have upended impossible odds and interfered somehow, Alexander of Iscandar, I will see to it that you die before the time appointed by my little invention."
There was no answer, only oppressive, all-encompassing silence.