<< Back to Ch. 49 --- Continue to Ch. 51 >>
50: The Woman
"All the more reason to leave this place as soon as we can." Celestella offered. "That boy is only one of many who have fallen prey to the tsarebetim – especially over the past year." she paused to let her words sink in, then continued, "Perhaps it's time to... step up our efforts; move forward more quickly than the original plan."
Desslok looked thoughtfully out at the twilight sky, letting Celestella's words sit for a moment before slowly nodding in agreement. "Gamilon is dying; even now I can almost hear her groan in mortal pain, and the people as well. The death toll is rising; time is running out."
"Then what stands in our way, Sire?" asked Celestella, "It's time to move, to give the people of Gamilon some hope again."
The Leader did not respond.
"There is nothing standing in our way... is there?" She knew the answer to her question before she asked it. Even though the general populace still had no idea of what was being done on their behalf, many of the military leaders and political figures knew exactly what was going on, and most were in support of it, though some lent their approval hesitantly. The idea of forcing another group of people off of their planet so that Gamilon could take it as their new home was a difficult matter to consider.
The moral implications alone were enough to cause many to balk at the idea, but in the end, they all agreed – or rather, almost all of them had agreed.
"We must make this push now, before our resources run thin." Desslok stood before his council and declared.
Elisa and Dommel sat in silence, still in shock after their son's traumatic death. David avoided the Leader's gaze as well as he could, looking instead at his brother-in-law.
The expression on Frakken's face was one of resignation.
Zimring, sitting just on the other side of Wolf seemed to be lost in thought, but not opposed to what Desslok had just offered up as their solution.
The Leader looked from one face to another, purposefully beginning on the Lysis's side of the table and working his way reluctantly around, all through Deun's former puppets, and on to the three faces he dreaded seeing. First came the horrified face of Naomi Talan, followed by her husband's expression of silent, righteous indignation. And then... there was the most difficult one to face.
Desslok stared long and hard at Admiral Talan, dreading to move his gaze on to Masterson, stalling as long as possible.
After a long long moment, he finally did it. Desslok's eyes left the Admiral and ever so slowly moved on to Masterson.
The look on his friend's face nearly turned him back from the decision he had made so painfully and carefully. The agony he saw in Talan's eyes rivaled every pain Desslok himself had ever faced. It was a pain that stemmed from something in his very soul.
Desslok seeing his former teacher's anger was nothing compared to seeing his best friend and long time protector's disappointment.
He dared not let his eyes linger too long on Masterson's face, so, within a few seconds, he looked up and surveyed the entire group one more time.
"I need your support to do this. To save our people, we must act now. Delaying any longer will cost more than we are willing to pay." There was silence in the room, then suddenly one of Deun's "council members" stood and slowly began to applaud. He was soon followed by the rest of the former Leader's council, then by Frakken, Dommel and a numb Elisa.
"Thank you." Desslok nodded to the standing men and women, "I will not betray your trust." He motioned for the council to sit once again, but not before glancing one last time at the four people still seated.
The meeting ended quickly. Masterson was the first to disappear, followed swiftly by his father and mother. The next to go was David, and after that, Dommel, Elisa, and Frakken.
Zimring stood up slowly, after the first six had left. He walked slowly over to the Leader, a sad look on his face and said, "Leader Desslok," he bowed to the younger man, "You have a long road ahead of you, but I will do what I can to help you."
Desslok nodded to the former hermit, "I thank you, my friend."
Zimring took his leave.
Deun's council began to filter out, looking warily at Desslok as they went. His recent conversation with them had let all of them know that they were welcome to stay on in their former capacities, but that they must swear their loyalty to him. The ones that were here today had done just that, but they were still unsure of where they stood with the new Leader.
The past was heavy; Deun had done so much to try to destroy his brother. There was good reason for Desslok not to trust any of them – which was the exact reason why he didn't trust them. But trust and usefulness were two different things, and even though the Leader had little or no trust for these men and women, he did know that they could be potentially useful to him.
The two women on the former council left first, with nods to the Leader. Then the men began to leave one by one. Finally, there was only one man left, the one who had stood to applaud the Leader's proposal.
He started to pass Leader Desslok, giving him a farewell nod, but just before he got out of the room, Desslok stopped him.
"I appreciate your confidence." the Leader said, loudly enough for the man to hear.
He turned around to acknowledge his ruler, "It was nothing, Sire." he bowed.
"I do not seem to recall your name. Do you hail from Gamilon?" the Leader asked, noting the man's violet skin tone, hairless head and perpetually blood-shot eyes.
"I do indeed, Sire." the man replied,"Though I was involved in an... accident some time ago which I am told changed my outward appearance drastically and inhibited my memory of events before then."
"But surely you remember your own name." the Leader said, eyebrow raised in skepticism.
"I am afraid not, Sire. But I do believe I have found one suitable." he dared a look at his Leader's face and continued, "You may call me... Krypt."
The scene began to fade and the present swept in again.
"There are still a few... barriers that must be... removed..." Desslok said.
Celestella cocked her head to one side, hearing something in Desslok's voice, something she had been waiting to hear since he'd taken over the palace.
"I shall leave you to it then." she said, hiding a grin. She left quickly, but not quickly enough to miss hearing the Leader summon Masterson Talan to meet him here as soon as possible.
"Sire, they are innocent in this. It is Deun who bears the blame for beginning the bombardment, not you. You can stop this now, before it's too late for all of us – for all of them." Masterson motioned towards the floating orb Desslok had conjured – the image of Erats.
A deadly silence fell between Masterson and Desslok. Talan could almost feel the waves of anger rolling off of Desslok.
"They will all die." The cold words were hard as granite. "It has come down to them or us. It is already too late to turn back. If we do not conquer this world within six years, we ourselves will be driven out, to live like exiles, wandering in space – or worse yet... dead." the last word had a bitter edge to it, "I cannot and will not allow that."
"Their lives for ours… It is a trade your brother would have made." The instant after the words left his mouth, Masterson knew he had made a grave error.
Instantly Desslok drew and pointed his weapon straight at Talan's head.
"I am not my brother!" the Leader shouted. "I will never be like him and don't you ever mention his name to me ever again!"
Masterson just stood there in shock. This man, whom he had known since childhood, who had trusted him with so many secrets and hopes was now threatening to snuff out his life. But as he watched Desslok, he saw something break within the man – something very deep and hidden.
As the Leader stared into his friend's face the ghosts of memory haunted him and the voice of betrayal cut him over and over. His hand became unsteady, wavering just the tiniest bit as his resolve began to falter. He had killed so many men throughout the past nine years, what was one more? As he continued to look at Masterson he realized that he could and would kill again, but it would not be this man… Masterson would never taste death at his hand. This was one person he just could not take life away from.
Desslok suddenly turned away from Masterson again, hiding his shame at the bitter tears that threatened to fall. He looked out across the dying city, regaining his control and gathering his resolve. There was more silence between the two men as the weight of reality began to settle heavily on them. Then the Leader spoke the last two words Masterson had ever expected to hear uttered by his oldest friend.
"Go, Talan."
Masterson's eyes widened. Desslok had never told him to leave – not once in their entire friendship had he bid him "go." "Be silent," yes, but never "go." At least, not until today.
"There is a ship ready to depart. Take command of it. Tell the captain it is my wish that you do so. If he tries to stop you, send him to me. You are to take that ship and leave for the rim of the galaxy immediately to begin routine patrol duty. You will remain there until I send for you again."
"Yes… Sire." Masterson bowed his head sadly and walked out of Desslok's palace, stopping briefly at his residence to collect his belongings before he boarded the humble vessel that would be his home for the foreseeable future.
Looking back at the palace one last time, Masterson prayed,"Adonai, keep watch over him. Protect him from himself. And preserve the lives of the innocents he has set out to kill. May Thine ever-present hand be upon us all." Then he took his first step onto the lowly patrol ship Hadar*.
"He did what?!" Starsha asked in complete astonishment.
"Masterson has been sent out to command a patrol ship." Admiral Talan replied, "He spoke out against what Desslok has done."
Starsha's eyes widened and her breath got shorter as a sudden dread rose within her, "What – what has he done?"
Raymond's face grew dark. "He has... chosen to continue something Deun began years ago..."
"What?" the Iscandari queen's tone was more insistent this time. Her stomach felt as though it had vaulted up into her throat.
"When the tsarebetim first appeared on our world nine years ago, Deun began looking for another place – another world where our people could live peacefully. But his real motivation was not to keep his people safe, but rather to cover up his own mistake. So he sought far and wide for a place that we might call our new home. Then, one day, his scouts found it. One hundred, forty-eight thousand light years away was a world we had never seen before – a world of forests, deserts, rivers, oceans, cities, mountains – everything we could have dreamed of. But it was inhabited, so Deun had to get rid of the ones who had already claimed the planet as their own.
"What he didn't know was that the planet's inhabitants hadn't settled there as we did on Gamilon. They had been created there millenia ago... The world he had stumbled upon was Erats – the point of Creation. The first world – our true home..."
Starsha's eyes began to well up with tears, "He's... slaughtered them?" she choked out.
"No – not entirely." Raymond offered the woman hope, "Deun began to bomb the world's surface – polluting it with radioactivity to either drive the populace offworld, or make them vulnerable enough so that Deun could send in a force to take over and occupy the world.
"But his efforts were interrupted when Desslok took over and banished him. It seems that over the years, someone has been trying to slow their progress, but the operation seems to be entering its final phase..." Raymond paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "Starsha, Erats is a desert now. I intercepted a report from Colonel Nadel Ganz just this morning. It included an updated image of the planet... Seeing it –" he choked, "Seeing it made me want to weep."
"But – but..." the Queen stuttered, "Surely Desslok would not continue such a barbaric plan."
"Perhaps nine years ago he might not have... But now... Now he is a different man – one who will stop at nothing to achieve what he believes to be the best course of action – I believe that he will try to finish what Deun began, even if, by pursuing this goal, he must pay in blood."
Starsha closed her eyes, bowed her head, and let the tears roll down her cheeks silently. "He will destroy himself..." she whispered, "But even if he succeeds in doing that, he must not destroy Erats and her people."
"But you've no might to stay his hand." Raymond protested. "You've no force to stop him, no way to persuade him."
Starsha was silent for a long, long moment, but while she did not speak audibly, she prayed as hard as she ever had, then she knew what she would do. "Admiral... I may have no might, but Adonai has granted me the power to heal. I cannot stop Desslok from assaulting Erats, but I can undo the damage he has done to her."
Aurelia's guttural laugh echoed through her dark chamber. "Excellent, Miezela. Excellent! You have far surpassed all of my other servants in every way. You have shown your competence beyond any doubt." the Malha nodded her approval.
"Thank you, Malha." Celestella bowed low. "You give me too much praise. I have only done what you required of me."
"Ah yes, but not just anyone could have taken that troublesome Talan out of the way." Aurelia replied.
"But there remain two Talans."
"Yes, but Desslok is now convinced of his course of action. Not ever the infamous Admiral will be able to sway him. Only Masterson could have done that, and now he's gone, thanks to you."
Celestella mirrored the evil smile that now played across the Malha's face. "Now we begin the plan?"
"Yes." Aurelia said, "Now we begin."
"What about Fiske?"
"What about him?" asked Aurelia.
"He is dead, poisoned by the tsarebetim."
"What of it?" Aurelia shrugged, "His death is of no consequence. He was not a particularly useful servant to me anyway. Couldn't even kidnap a child without making mistakes." she smirked.
Celestella smirked back, "True. So is there anyone else you have in mind to aid me in executing the plan?"
"Your sister should be sufficient." Aurelia replied, "But if something should happen, I will send you another."
Celestella nodded, "Thank you, Malha. You are most generous."
Constance awoke shivering. The ship was not usually this cold, even during the night cycle. Upon opening her eyes she realized that, the reason she felt so cold was because she wasn't on the ship anymore. Instead, she was lying on the bare floor of an escape pod.
She groggily pushed herself up off of the floor so that she could peer out the small viewport set into the pod wall. She looked out the window and was puzzled. She couldn't see anything.
She continued to stare out. The only color she could make out was stark white everywhere. Nothing else seemed to be out there.
Where was she anyway? Why was she out here in the middle of some white desert with nothing but an escape pod to call home? When had they dumped her here anyway? She couldn't even remember being put into the pod, much less the launch or landing.
She recovered her senses enough to realize that she needed to find out if it was safe to go outside without a space suit. After all, it didn't look like they'd left her one and she was pretty sure that they didn't want her dead – not after everything that Aurelia had said.
She accessed the sensor network interface.
"Atmospheric conditions." she said to the computer.
"Atmosphere is breathable; oxygen level tolerable; solid precipitation falling at regular intervals; temperature 269 Kelvins* and holding; wind is negligible."
"Two hundred sixty-nine Kelvins?! Oh... I hate cold..." she muttered and slumped against the wall. Suddenly a compartment, formerly hidden, popped open revealing a pure white, fur-lined coat and a closed travel bag.
Constance raised an eyebrow at the garment and bag. She cautiously took the coat and shook it out. She held it up so that she should see it. Finally, deciding that it was safe, she slipped it on. She instantly felt warmer.
"Closest landmark." she said to the computer.
"Closest landmark: a manmade structure, one hundred meters tall: two hundred meters south of current position."
Constance sighed, then decided that leaving the pod, though dangerous right now, would probably be safer for her in the long run.
Mustering her courage, and biting her lip for good measure, she cracked open the pod hatch. Instantly she felt the icy wind trying to bite her, but the thick coat stopped its cold teeth from sinking in.
Constance took her first step out into the snow – the first snowfall she'd ever experienced.
She looked around, wondering at the novelty of it all, then chuckling to herself at the irony. Here she was, in the middle of some wilderness she didn't recognize on who knows what planet in some unknown part of the galaxy – if she was even still in the same galaxy, and she was enjoying herself – at least, as much as she could in such a situation.
But her revelry was cut short when she remembered that it was below freezing out in the open and that shelter was her immediate need.
She looked back at the pod and figured out which way was South. Then she started walking.
After a while she began to feel a little numb from the cold, but she was still in good shape to go a good while longer.
Suddenly she saw the structure that the computer had told her about. It looked a lot like a citadel. And to her amazement, there was a light on in one of the windows high up.
She stopped short, conflicted about whether or not to venture closer. Who knew who was in that citadel? They could be friendly, but remembering Aurelia's words about the "Sentinels" she knew there was a possibility that whoever was in that building might not be friendly too.
Suddenly feeling very afraid Constance ran to a nearby patch of trees and sought refuge beneath them, hoping that whoever was in that tower hadn't seen her.
She leaned against the nearest tree trunk and slid down to the ground, hugging her knees to her chest and letting her forehead rest atop them.
Without meaning to, she began to cry as the reality of what was happening suddenly hit her. Her mother was somewhere light years away most likely, she was on a planet she knew nothing about, her deranged, possessed great-grandmother was somewhere out there, waiting.
While she was lost in her own world of terror and sadness, something fluffy brushed up against her leg, making her jump.
Constance drew in a sharp breath and her head shot up off of her knees. She looked around frantically, trying to find out what had touched her.
She looked down at her leg and nearly laughed when she saw that it had only been her coat, but her face nearly turned white when she saw two small black eyes staring at her out of the whiteness in front of the tree. At first it seemed that the eyes had no body, but then she realized that, it wasn't that the eyes had no body, it was that their body blended in with the snow.
"Hello."
Constance nearly screamed when she heard the voice coming out of the snowy white fox that stood before her. "Wha – wha – what?"
"I said, 'Hello.'" the fox replied.
"H – h – how are you t – talking to me?" Constance whispered loudly.
The animal cocked its head and replied, "Phantom has many secrets."
"Phantom?" Constance asked, "What is Phantom?"
"Why, it is this planet." the fox stepped a little closer to Constance. "Now come, we must get you away from here. It isn't safe for you." the little animal seemed to be noting her pale skin and red hair. "You seem to... remind me of someone..."
"I do that to people." Constance replied vaguely, then changed the subject, "So why is your voice so low if you're such a small animal?"
The fox chuckled jovially, "As I said, child, Phantom has its secrets. You will know the answer to your question. One day."
And with that, Constance followed the good-natured animal into the thickening woods, away from the citadel and Sentinels within.
* Hadar – Hebrew name meaning "Splendor" or "Glory"
* 269 Kelvins – 25 degrees Farenheit