Striker Page 9

  The moment Alpha slid over his skin, calm came over him. He welcomed Alpha with a bevy of soft emotions. The strange male who had been hovering over him when he opened his eyes moved to Dargon. Zeus sensed the rush of power surrounding Dargon. Sensing no alarm in Alpha, he unlatched the fastenings to his jacket and then his shirt as he watched the mysterious person work on his lover.

  "Star Eater, one of my children from my life before the grid," whispered Alpha as he settled himself about Zeus’s collarbone.

  His curiosity piqued, he studied the person. Seeing past the shimmering red hair seemed more difficult than it should have been. The color was so captivating that for long moments, it was all Zeus saw. Then he noticed the long, pointed ears, the tips poking up through the hair. As if Star Eater sensed Zeus’s scrutiny, he turned his head and dark eyes met his gaze, the corners crinkling as Star Eater smiled at him.

  Dargon began to cough, drawing everyone's attention. "There, now he will rest comfortably. His fractured nervous system has been repaired," Star Eater said with a relieved sigh.

  "Star Eater," the Qrxzl did not sound as confident as before, almost pleading. "We were acting on the information given to us. We …" The Qrxzl trailed off.

  Zeus rose to his feet next to Star Eater. The crowd moved, making a pathway, and allowing him to see what held everyone else's attention: Feteine and V'Saar.

  "I see. We need a place to speak, somewhere preferably out of the sun," said Star Eater.

  "Of course, we can adjourn to the dome. Please follow us." The two azure crystals fractured, and with a strange lumbering gait, moved across the stands. The wind blew, revealing a red stone pathway that followed in the wake of the Qrxzl.

  "Azaes, could some of the Monticore please take Dargon back to the ship?" Zeus asked.

  Azaes, his hand still resting protectively on Zeus’s shoulder, gave the order. With a tender kiss to Dargon's slack lips, Zeus watched Dargon being carried away with an aching heart. Guards hustled as they gathered around their charge, disappearing in the direction of the landing pads.

  Half of the remaining Monticore scouted ahead, verifying the threat level before allowing Zeus and his brothers to follow. A hand grasped Zeus’s shoulder, drawing his gaze up to Star Eater's. "I promise he will be well when he wakes. He is a strong male." Zeus nodded. The reassurance did not stop him from worrying, though.

  The V'Saar stood within the circle of the Feteine. Zeus’s lips curled back over his teeth as he listened to Alpha explain what had transpired while he lay unconscious. The chimeras stayed with the group as they moved up the path.

  Axis, still shirtless, whispered close to Zeus’s ear. "They are Chimera, are they not? What they did … I did not believe that to be possible … and yet …"

  Zeus squeezed Axis's arm. "They are the revered triplets."

  "That thing they do: are they born able to meld together?"

  He glanced at Axis, noting the avid gaze, and Axis' compulsive swallowing. "The ability is unlocked when they are ten summers old. They are sent out into the Black Sands Desert on a quest to track down the sages who live there to teach them the secrets of the Three form. Not all Chimeras share the same characteristics of their inner self. Once they acknowledge and accept who they are, they then are able to combine to become what you see here. How they shift their shape is an unanswered question."

  "Their trust in their brothers must be immense."

  "Their bond is so close that they either do not find a mate or they share one between them."

  Axis stared, swallowing several times. "They have beautiful wings," he uttered so quietly that Zeus assumed Axis did not want anyone to hear.

  "The location has been secured." Sohm'lan strode along the path toward their group, still appearing strong and unwearied, despite the upsets of the day.

  Somehow Zeus found himself leading the way, the Monticore in a loose circle around them. Azaes and Mestor flanked him, one on either side. After skirting several dunes, they came upon a flat area with sculpted river rock under their feet and sparkling turquoise domes arching overhead. A couple of the royal guards stood at the entryway, gazes combing the dunes, searching for any hint of a threat.

  Inside, the rest of the Monticore had spread out along the wall of the room. Overhead, multicolored crystals jutted from the dome's interior wall, each pulsing with their own inner light. The Feteine separated from the V'Saar, who settled in what Alpha indicated as a nonviolent posture. Star Eater strode into the room but stayed off to the side.

  The dome's interior walls were made of flat, hexagon-shaped crystals. Zeus watched, turning in a slow circle, as one by one the crystal faces became alight with a soft, warm glow. The floor sloped down to a ring of low steps leading into a pool of turquoise water. A single red obelisk rose from the center of the pool. Glyphs of an unknown language were carved into the stone. As the wall lit up, the tip of the obelisk began to glow softly.

  The three V'Saar on the opposite side of the room seem to stare unblinkingly at Zeus. They resembled the bug who accompanied the T'Sali in the raid on The Gorgon weeks earlier. The only difference Zeus could see were the blue stripes over their dark exoskeletons. One of them had two thick, white bands circling the abdomen near the tail.

  "They are the equivalent to our emissaries." He sensed Alpha's bloodlust as he spoke.

  He turned his attention to the Feteine, six individuals in all. Each of them was different, with some appearing newer than the others, the purpose for what they were originally designed for apparent in the shape of their bodies.

  Two separated from the others. One was once painted a yellow that had become dingy and chipped around the body's segmented edges. It was flat-faced and featureless, with a long, banded window glowed blue in the place of eyes, and an egg-shaped speaker in the place of a mouth.

  The second figure appeared newer: white glossy paint, and no dings or chips could be seen. Whoever designed the Feteine gave the robot a feminine appearance, with a human-like face including eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Even the wires that went from the crown of the head to loosely connect to the upper spinal column gave the appearance of hair.

  The two Feteine walked down the steps and stopped at the edge of the pool. To Zeus’s eye, they appeared split by the body of the obelisk, one appearing on each side. The lighted crystals along the wall flickered gently, but six darker than the others near the top of the dome shone a beam of red light on the tip of the obelisk protruding from the pool.

  "Who will act as the questioner?" The wall crystals intoned.

  "I will." Star Eater descended to the pool. He seemed very calm, as if he knew what was to happen.

  "Who will speak for the emissaries?"

  One of the V'Saar stood and moved to the space between the Feteine and Star Eater.

  "Who will speak as the leader of the offended?"

  Azaes stepped forward. "I speak for Emperor Valdor Vondorian of Atlainticia."

  "And finally, Zeus, as the party who has Rights of Retribution, would you please join the group."

  He hesitated, wary of being led into another trap by the Qrxzl.

  "This is the Qrxzl's Pool of Truth. Those who stand on the lowest platform must be forthright in all of their words. If they are not, the obelisk will reveal what the speaker intended to hide. This possesses no danger to us," Alpha reassured him.

  Cautiously, Zeus descended the steps to the pool's edge. Upon closer inspection, the liquid seemed thicker than water, more like gel in its consistency.

  "The tribunal has started. The recorded proceedings will be hand-delivered to the galactic emperors and the Council of Neighn. Star Eater, the oldest living son of the Alpha-Zetamite, presiding. These accounts will begin with opening statements from Europa Astarte and Laeretes Arcesii, Feteine representatives from the planet Sidonia."

  The feminine Feteine stepped forward. Her strangely human-like gaze scanned the Mar'Sani and Dargon's crew members before her stare took in Azaes, whose tail slashed back and forth, th
e only outward sign of his agitation. Finally, Europa's gaze stopped and rested on Zeus. She began to speak.

  "We occupy the planet of Sidonia, the first habitable planet outside the boundaries of the Milky Way, close to the grid. In one of our patrols, we came across a weak point in the shield. Over the last five or six years, more of such points have appeared, but given time, they usually repair themselves.

  "As is protocol, we set up an outpost to oversee the point until our supervision was no longer needed. My office received an emergency communication from the outpost. They received a coded message through the grid from the V'Saar, seeking an audience with the Feteine.

  "By the time I arrived, the V'Saar had slipped through the grid in a noncombatant vessel." Zeus suppressed a grin at Alpha's snort. "Under a flag of truce, I met with the emissaries and listened to what they had to say. I agreed to escort them to the Qrxzl, who concurred with our assessment. The purpose of the V'Saar emissaries is one the galactic imperials need to hear. We were devising a plan of introduction when the request came from the Mar'Sani, who also sought help from the Qrxzl."

  Star Eater glanced to the V'Saar, his distaste for the creature evident in his controlled sneer. He addressed Europa. "Were you not concerned for your safety? The V'Saar have a habit of making puppets out of other species."

  "The newest of the Feteine are biomechanical. There is a possibility they could be subjugated, but I highly doubt it, since their nervous system is completely mechanical. Those accompanying us are non-organic machines. The venom would not affect us."

  Zeus could not read the Star Eater's expression as he contemplated the information Europa gave regarding the Feteine.

  "Son of the Alpha-Zetamite." Europa paused, her hesitancy oddly human. "Please believe me when I say the Feteine would never do anything to harm the galactic assemblage. We are aware the V'Saar are slavers at best and destroyers of worlds at worst. As a race who shrugged off the chains of slavery, we would never force bondage on others."

  Star Eater did not reply, but turned his attention to the V'Saar. The waters of the pool remained undisturbed.

  "Introduce yourself," Star Eater demanded.

  Zeus understood the sibilance of the V'Saar better now than his first meeting with a bug.

  "I am Atizen, oldest son of Queen Isolt."

  "Soul Crusher," Alpha hissed, Zeus automatically giving voice to Alpha's words.

  Atizen turned his attention to Zeus. "Yes. The Alpha-Zetamite has met me in battle many times before. My army crushed his homeworld and subjugated his bondmates." A hard clicking noise punctuated the last word.

  Alpha raged, trembling with fury against Zeus’s skin. "It seems to me,"—Zeus ground out between gritted teeth, barely restraining their fury—"by those words, you are attempting to incite a war, not seek assistance."

  "Atizen, you will restrain yourself from provoking speech." Star Eater warned. "Stay to the reason why you seek out the galactic emperors."

  "He killed my sons!" Atizen's hard-shelled feet click-clacked as he moved in agitation.

  "You gave no mercy! If it had been my decision, I would have killed your queen and scattered your people to die a long, starving death in a black hole," Zeus screamed back.

  The V'Saar screeched, turning in a frantic circle. The venomous stinger arched over its body, dripping a viscous liquid, some falling into the turquoise water, only to be spat back out onto the river rock tiles.

  Finally the V'Saar's temper tantrum ran down. Zeus silently consoled Alpha. He had never been so bloodthirsty in his entire life. Glimpses of the Alpha's life before and the deeds of the V'Saar horde leading to the Arthro War slipped through Alpha's defense, painting a horrific picture.

  "I know this, Alpha-Zetamite. If I were not bound by my oath to my queen, I would challenge you and take the rotting corpse of your bondmate back to her for all the lives you stole."

  Zeus worked to loosen every muscle in his body until he stood loose-limbed, staring back at Atizen. He gave a murderous grin, his voice dripping with scorn. "Nice try, bug. You may be bound by an oath to not attack, but to kill in defense … that is something else altogether, is it not? You will need to do better than that to entice us into striking you. We will not break the law. Until you are no longer protected by your emissary status, we will not touch you."

  "Atizen," Star Eater snapped. "I will not ask you again to state your business."

  "As so happens, Queen Isolt gives birth to many daughters. They fight among themselves, killing each other off. By doing this, the last one is usually too weak to live past her injuries. A millennia can go by before one is born and survives to become a queen. One daughter, Orla, survived."

  Atizen stooped to slurp up the venom that the pool had spat out. Was that normal? Zeus held back his shudder at the thought. "A tourney is held and the fifty surviving males who wish to go with the new queen will compete for the honor. Queen Isolt generously gave Orla a small galaxy, but Orla became greedy and sought to gain more of Queen Isolt's territory." Atizen paused.

  Zeus gave an incredulous laugh. "Please tell me your queen is not asking for assistance against her own daughter?"

  Atizen's head twisted eerily, the beady little eyes staring unwaveringly at Zeus. "It is natural for mother and daughter to fight over territory until one consumes the other. The victor is the strongest. Their offspring is more desirable.

  "Orla has decided not to play by the rules. She believes herself to be crafty, even though she loses battle after battle. Her fighters found a permanent weak spot in the grid and she sends troops over into the Milky Way. Our sources told us she struck a treaty with the Terrens. Together, they are intending to take down the grid."

  "I would think your queen would enjoy the bounty these new galaxies offer." Star Eater's dark gaze narrowed as he regarded Atizen.

  "Queen Isolt does not covet your galaxies," Atizen spat.

  The obelisk pulsed to life and a wave of fluid rippled from the base of the stone toward Atizen. The liquid rose up to engulf him, completely covering the V'Saar in a thick, jelly-like film. Zeus waited for Atizen to do something: move away, shake off the substance, but Atizen held still, seemingly immobilized. Why would it do that?

  A low voice intoned from the glowing pillar, "Queen Isolt covets the space beyond the wall of the grid, but knows if her daughter acquires a foothold here, then Orla will use the grid against Queen Isolt. She will lose the opportunity to acquire these galaxies herself."

  "How would Orla use the grid against Queen Isolt?" Star Eater asked.

  The gel moved from Atizen, and instead of the liquid returning to the once-placid pool, a column of liquid stood in front of the V'Saar.

  "While listening for the truth, the stone detected the partial lie Atizen intended to tell." Alpha answered Zeus’s unasked question.

  Atizen continued, although he did not seem as confident as before. "My source told me Orla works with the Terrens in order to obtain the key to the grid. The allied parties have been working together for some time, although we do not believe the alliance between them has existed for longer than thirty solar years. They search for the one called the Bespoken. His race is rumored to be the weakest of the three keys, and therefore the easiest to obtain."

  Atizen turned his gaze to Zeus again. "Our intelligence reported the Fal'Amoric once resided on Valespia. With well-placed warnings and rumors, they were enticed to run and leave the safety of their homeworld. Orla used the Terrens like hounds to track down the race and to place them into confinement. Yet, the key still eludes them. But you would not know anything about the key, the Bespoken, now would you, Zeus Vondorian? About the Fal'Amoric hidden among the Atlaintician lizards?"

  Alpha growled aggressively in Zeus’s head. He wore a bored expression, but all the while, a slow panic began to build. He had always thought the Chtichlians had set him up as a decoy for the Terrens, but if both of the bug kingdoms knew of the Bespoken, then maybe the Chtichlians meant for him to be captured by the V'Saar.


  "Did your queen send you to find the Bespoken or to entreat for help?" Zeus knew he should probably keep his questions to himself, but Star Eater did not have the knowledge he held.

  Star Eater nodded. "You'll answer the question, Atizen."

  Atizen eyeballed the liquid column before him, as if he seriously weighed how he would answer. "Primary goal is to stop Orla and keep her on the other side of the grid. If she acquires the Bespoken, I am to bring him to my queen."

  Zeus caressed Alpha, hoping the soothing motion would calm him. "He believes you are the Bespoken. I should have killed Isolt when I had the chance. I was—we were all grief-stricken, tired of the bloodshed and war."

  "And we need to allow him to continue to believe that." Zeus knew Alpha would not be happy with his insistence on keeping quiet. He was glad Alpha was no bigger, because Zeus knew he would have trouble keeping Alpha from murdering all of the V'Saar otherwise.

  "How do the V'Saar know of the Bespoken?" Star Eater asked as he paced. "It seems to me, if this is the first time you have been on this side of the grid, you would not know how the grid works. The humans should not know, either." Star Eater stopped pacing and glanced over to Zeus.

  Mestor, Sohm'lan, and the Monticore moved to the step above Azaes and Zeus. He had already shared everything he had learned about the Fal'Amoric and the Chtichlians' work to set him up as a decoy for the Bespoken with his brothers and the guards. Their movement let him know that they, too, thought the Chtichlians had meant for him to be captured, and not just be a decoy.

  Someone who had intimate information of the grid, who understood how to operate the defense system, fed the information to the V'Saar or the Terrens, just as something or someone caused the Fal'Amorics to flee the safety of their homeworld. This meant a traitor. A traitor in a place of authority, of trust.

  "Queen Isolt has an informant among the V'Saar who infiltrated this side of the grid. They were able to obtain a communication device made by the Terrens, allowing us to receive transmissions from our spy."