Chapter Eight

“What we need,” said the Emperor-Priest of Janos, “is a good reason to invade, and we need to make sure the reason fits in well with the Galactic Alliance’s views on war. I can’t just unleash my armies and expect them to turn the other cheek, now, can I?”

The assistant delegated to the Mind on planet Chinngard nodded at the image of her Lord as the message cube played back his recording. She chewed slowly on a stick of guala weed whilst she viewed the message, small listening devices plugged into her ears so that anyone walking past the door would not hear.

It was strange, she thought, that the Prime Lord had not sent a return message since her last transmission about the urgency of the child’s extraction, but secretly she was pleased. She had sent the message two days ago, and had been so tied up in the importance the throne had put on the mission, and the tokens she was being paid, that her regard for her dedication to Janos had slipped her mind. She was a professional, after all, but the money lining her pockets sometimes made her forget.

Still, it had been just as well she had told the Prime Lord of the strange goings on two nights ago. That little piece of riddabeast dung, Mind Hillit, would have only said something himself, and she didn’t want the Prime Lord suspicious over why she had neglected to tell him. She bit down on another piece of weed.

“I have decided to time two things; an assassination and an invasion. It is well known that the whole strength of the Chinngard army is controlled by the Baron Familee and his advisors.” The image flickered and the sound crackled, and the woman kicked her antiquated player to correct the problem. “Their word is final in all military decisions. With him and his generals out of the way, we can walk in quite easily whilst his troops are disorientated. That will be your job, to find some way to kill the Baron and his advisors. You will find in this message box three vials of a poison that are untraceable and easily administered. I will require the men dead by Chinngard’s twelfth bell tomorrow. Well, I hope you have received this message in time and you have the correct tomorrow.”

Tomorrow! Was the Emperor-Priest insane? How could she do this? How could she kill a whole group of men by twelfth bell tomorrow? What incentive did she have to turn assassin?

“For this deed I will pay you the sum of one hundred thousand tokens. After all, it is a great favour to ask.”

There was the incentive.

“As for the reason, I have decided to use a little murder to convince the Prime Lord, and more importantly the Galactic Alliance, of my right to attack House Familee. Tomorrow morning I am having my youngest son killed. He is a sickly child, and I have seventeen others so he will not be missed. What a wonderful reason, don’t you think? I am going to have the ambassador of Chinngard, Ambassador Jutla, kill him and attempt to end the lives of the rest of the bloodline of Janos by planting bombs, which will be intercepted. Poor little Horr, youngest son of Janos, just happened to stumble upon the ambassador planting the devices. I think that will be all the reason I need. Not only will I end the House I will disgrace it.”

The woman had stopped chewing and was just staring at the image in shock. Her skin was paler than usual. Kill his own son, just for a reason to attack? Wasn’t he going just a little too far? She knew he was a strange man, with his peculiar views on mixing with other worlds, but this was just plain insanity.

She reached into the box and pulled out three thumb-sized vials of a clear liquid, with a small instruction pad on how to use it.

“Now listen carefully. My armies will descend on Chinngard exactly ten minutes after the Baron and his aide’s die, if you administer the poison correctly and on time. We will storm the palace and claim our revenge. You are not to fail me, Fly. Our landing will go much easier if the Baron is dead and I do not want a prolonged fight. You realise the price for failure?” The Baron let his tight lips and raised eyebrows answer the question for him.

The image flickered and died.

She removed the crystal that stored the recording of the Baron from the message box and smashed it with her boot. Then she quickly swept up the pieces and threw them on the heater. They flared up, the flammable element of the crystal destroying the evidence in seconds. Then she opened the small booklet about the poison and began to read.

Things had gone haywire these past few days. After the meeting between the Baron Familee and the Minds all those days ago things had gone from bad to worse. The people of Chinngard had become disheartened along with their Baron. The health and welfare of the child had been the topic of discussion everywhere, with rumour and speculation twisting the story so much it was now the normal thing to hear several stories around the palace that, according to the storyteller, was the absolute truth.

She hadn’t had much contact with many people around the palace recently, timing her visits to the kitchen or certain errands for Mind Hillit with the movements of the Baron and his family, trying to overhear anything that may prove useful.

Janos was coming. They would be here in a little over a day. She had already worked out how to administer the poison. All the advisors and leaders of departments met for dinner at the eighth bell, so she would slip the liquid in the first course. According to the instructions, the poison took effect after a certain time, depending on how much was used in a single dose. She would time it so that the poison would take effect after enough time had elapsed so that they would all die at the appointed time, or at least close enough to be effective.

As for the Baron, he and his wife usually ate alone on the nighttime in their quarters, so it would be easy to put some more of the liquid in their food, also. Untraceable. That was what the Baron had said. Untraceable. This could be perfect! Not only would she make all the money in one night than what she had made over the past two years, she would also be assured of surviving the coming invasion. Maybe she would even be able to buy herself a little land on Janos, retiring early and maybe raising a family.

It would be a shame to see the Baron and his family die, but they were a liability to the spiritual purity of her world and her own agenda. Baron Familee was a kind and gentle man, although you didn’t cross him if you could help it. His kind would be missed in the Ki-Ki Sector. Most Ki-Ki System Barons were very protective of their worlds these days, considering that another habitable world had not been discovered for over four centuries within the Ki-Ki borders. With the threat of having to remain on a single planet for good, the Barons were becoming jealous of the resources of the other Baron’s worlds and closely guarding their own. Maybe a little war might make them realise the precariousness of their bickering.

Still, this was all far off in the future. She would be dead and gone by then. An invisible hand in the shaping of the future.

She quickly got up and put away the player, hiding her vials and booklet under the thick mattress of her bed. She had decided to go down to the kitchens and find out the best way to place the poison. She had to know every exit and nuance of the kitchens if she was to carry out her orders effectively.

She left her chambers, checking the chronometer on the wall to make sure she had enough time before she had to report to Mind Hillit. Then she hurried down the corridor to the kitchen.

As she rounded a corner she ran into Yedda, who was just as startled as she as she bounced of his chest and took a step back. She looked into his face in shock as he gazed back into hers with a similar expression. She curtsied quickly.

“Apologies, Sir, I was late for my duties.”

“Excuse me. I’m in a bit of a rush myself...” but Yedda’s words were left hanging in the air as the small woman stepped past him and half-ran down the hall. He watched her go, confused. Was she feeling the tenseness around here, too?

He shook his head and continued on, his monitor buzzing after him. He couldn’t worry about what others were murmuring about in the halls of the palace. It was all guessing and gossip. He was on his way to his brothers with the real truth. A real truth he could scarcely believe himself.

He had just been to the medibay, talking with the physician and checking in on his mother and sister who had been inseparable these past two days. She only left the room to spend dinner with his father, returning straight after to spend the night with her daughter.

And after his visit, he could understand why.

He arrived at Corii’s door and knocked once before pressing the panel on the wall. The door slid open and he stepped in quickly, letting the door slide shut behind him.

Corii and Simion looked up from their game of strategy, the playing pieces forgotten as they saw their brother’s face, their monitors adjusting their positions to follow their movement. He was flushed and shaking slightly. Simion stood and took him by the arm. “Yedda? What is it?”

Yedda crossed to the bed and sat down, rubbing his forehead with one hand and gripping the bed sheets with the other. “I’ve just come from the medibay.”

The brothers looked at each other with fear. The condition of Yedda told them something was seriously wrong. Even if he had been straight-backed and smiling, they would have known. They shared a bond no other person could understand, the bond of sharing the same womb, the bond of triplets.

“Mother is distraught. Our sister has aged again. The doctor says she is the equivalent of a four-year old. She’s trying to speak.”

“Speak?” Corri almost shouted, receiving a disapproving glance from Simion. “What the... what is happening to her?”

“At first the doctor tested for any kind of disease, but found none that could cause such a thing. Her genetic scans all come out perfect. He’s testing for anything, now. All he knows is that her cells just grow at a rate he has never seen before. He also says that at this rate she will grow old and die before her first birthday.”

There was nothing short of utter astonishment and sorrow in the room now. All three were quiet as they contemplated the news.

“Maybe we should have handed her over to the Minds. Maybe this is what happens when a Mind isn’t properly trained,” Simion mused.

“No!” Yedda stood, passionately disagreeing with his brother. “This is not because we never handed her over. Minds can develop powers and go rogue, it happens all the time. This has nothing to do with the Minds.” Simion was taken aback by Yedda’s outburst. Yedda, suddenley regretting his anger, patted his brother on the shoulder and stepped past him to the window. Corii just watched, confused and upset.

“What did father say about the chip you found?”

Yedda turned at Corii’s question, taking a deep breath and answering slowly. “He said it was probably a Mind trick, designed to cast distrust in the household and make things more confusing for us. He also said if it was true, he would catch the spy in the act. As of yet, no one knows who it is. They certainly haven’t been back, and the hidden monitor has not seen a thing.”

“It was a good thing you found that chip. A stroke of luck, eh?” Simion sounded unconvinced that Yedda had found the chip simply by accident.

“Yes,” Yedda replied. “A bit of luck.”