Shades of Gray (106 page)

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 hover-bikes, 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.

“Was this story set where the capital is now?” asked Kaid.

She nodded. “Indeed it was. Their lands contained the Holy Pool, and because of that, they were considered first among the tribes. Tashraka approached Zsadhi, offering him not only herself, but goods and possessions no male had ever owned if he would help her overthrow her sister. Zsadhi made the mistake of laughing at her before refusing her offer because of his love for Ishardia. Mortally offended, Tashraka vowed vengeance on him and her sister. When told, Ishardia refused to take her sister’s threat seriously, making excuses for her behavior, unable to believe her beloved sister could wish them ill.”

“No one wants to think ill of their family,” murmured Kaid, resting his head against T’Chebbi’s shoulder, watching as the rest of the Primes and Ch’almuthians drew closer to hear the story.

“Tashraka took the head of the Queen’s guards as her lover, and together they plotted. He knew of a powerful sorceress in the town who would help them—for a terrible price. Together, one night they stole through the silent streets to the hovel where the sorceress lived. In return for their newly born egg, Tashraka obtained a spell that changed her into the likeness of her sister and the guard into the likeness of Zsadhi. Wrapped in cloaks to conceal their new shapes, they returned to the Palace. There they revealed themselves to the guards, claiming that they were the real Ishardia and Zsadhi and that her sister Tashraka and the chief guard had trafficked with a sorceress for shape-changing spells and were even now impersonating them.”

“Magic?” murmured Banner skeptically.

J’korrash glanced at him. “Who knows?” she smiled. “The guards burst in on the Royal couple in their bedchamber and dragged them out into the Throne Room, where the false Tashraka and her lover sat on the thrones. They were sentenced to death, Ishardia to be burned at the stake and Zsadhi, who was only a male after all, to be taken deep into the desert and left there without food or water after he had witnessed his wife’s execution.”

“Some sister,” muttered T’Chebbi.

“Almost destroyed by grief, Zsadhi was dragged to the desert and left, and for ten years, nothing was heard of him. It was assumed he’d perished. For ten years, the country groaned under the cruel hand of Tashraka, still in the shape of Ishardia. An army she’d raised, sending it out to kill all the females and children in the neighboring tribes. The males became her slaves, toiling for her or tortured for her amusement, so that none dared stand against her. Meanwhile, she studied magic with the sorceress, who demanded a place at her Court.” She stopped to look around her circle of listeners, smiling slightly at the looks on their faces.

“Then the rumors started. At first it was whispers of a desert holy person, a follower of the Goddess La’shol, who preached against Queen Ishardia, calling her a false Queen, one who trafficked with a sorceress of evil. Tashraka ignored them as beneath her notice. But one by one, her best female officers were picked off in their villas, and the whispers of this desert prophet became louder until the wailing of the males and children left bereft could be heard outside her Palace.” She stopped, raising her cup to her lips, taking a drink. Over the rim, she regarded them all, eyes flicking around the rapt circle of her listeners.

“It was said the avenger was a giant of a male,” she continued, lowering her cup to the ground again. “His skin burned almost black from the heat of the desert, dressed in only a loin cloth and weapon belt, he carried a great sword of precious steel that cleaved through the guilty as if cutting a water-rich melon. On his chest was blazoned the sword of the Goddess, with two edges, one to destroy, the other to heal. The innocent and worthy had nothing to fear from him; it was only those who cleaved to the false Queen who need fear his and La’shol’s wrath.”

Kusac shifted uneasily until Carrie took his hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

“Tashraka was no coward. She dressed in full regal attire, including the headdress of the Queen, and stood, surrounded by her guards, on the Palace steps. “Let this desert lunatic come before me with his claims that I am a false Queen,” she said to her people. “I will prove that he is false by challenging him in mortal combat! The Goddess knows I am the true Queen!” “

Stopping briefly for effect, she waited a moment or two before continuing.

“As she spoke, one of the moons began to slide across the face of the sun, blotting out its light. When its disc reached the center, fire blazed forth across the sky, turning everything as red as freshly spilled blood. The wailing crowds parted in terror to let a lone male walk through them to stand in front of the false Queen. All who looked on his face saw that of the chief guard who had disappeared when Ishardia had been executed.