Shades of Gray (54 page)

“And it was abandoned by the Brotherhood as unusable,” Kaid added. “I remember it now. Why on earth did you want it?”

“How it not work?” demanded Toueesut, coming to a halt beside Kusac. “This is being a marvelous device! A giant mechanical Sholan! It stands up too? Pulls at walls with its claws?”

“Yes, it does all that,” said Kusac. “When we can get it to work. It uses a form of levers and pulleys which makes it very slow moving and unwieldy to control.”

“What this?” asked a new voice.

Kusac turned around to see Annuur and his sept looking at the MUTAC.

“Heard there was big mechanical monster in courtyard so came to see.”

Toueesut turned to the Cabbaran and began rapidly explaining what it was.

“Ah! What like inside? Maybe it can be fixed.”

“Exactly what I was thinking, Annuur, so shall we ask the good Captain to be opening it up so we can look inside?”

“It only holds one Sholan,” said Kusac. “Very cramped in there, but it has a rear compartment for one injured person. It’s designed to be a terror weapon.”

“Then it must undoubtedly become one so that on your mission you can take it, and if anything goes wrong it is at hand to come raging in after you!”

“My thoughts exactly,” purred Kusac, with an amused glance at Kaid.

There was a discreet cough from behind, and Kusac turned to see two Sholan Brothers standing there with slight grins on their faces. They executed smart salutes, then the darker one spoke.

“The Commander said we’d to report to you, Captain Aldatan. Brothers Jerenn and M’Nar at your command. I see you’ve got our MUTAC.”

“Yours?” Kusac raised an eye ridge.

“Yes, we designed it.”

“I know, I was there at the time,” said Kusac.

“Doesn’t work as well as we hoped it would as we only had a few weeks to make it. It was a punishment for playing an Earth game with giant mechanized fighting units like this on the cryptology computers,” said the other morosely.

“Perfect!” trilled Toueesut. “We can have them working with us on this!”

“You’re seconded to Toueesut,” said Kusac as he ducked under the leg and approached the entry hatch. He saw the locking plate and laid his hand over it.

“I’d stand to the side, Captain,” said M’Nar. “The hatch might hit you otherwise.”

He backed off as the hatchway began to swing down, forming a ramp that allowed him access to the small pilot’s cabin.

“Would you care for a demonstration, Captain?” asked M’Nar.

“In a minute,” he said, walking up the ramp so he could look inside. The pilot had to climb up a short ladder to reach the cockpit that was mounted inside the head, but once there, he’d have a good view of his surroundings.

He came back down. “Is there room for either Annuur or Toueesut inside with you?”

“Be a tight squeeze,” said Jerenn doubtfully. “There’s only one seat.”

“Try.”

“I think I should be the one . . .” began Jerenn as M’Nar raced up the ramp and began to disappear from sight up the small ladder.

“I think it’s too late,” said Kusac, amused. “Toueesut? Want to see if there’s room for you?”

“Indeed yes!” said the Touiban, bustling forward to follow M’Nar. Sounds of scuffling and a muted “Ouch! Watch my tail, dammit!” then the ramp closed up.

“I’d back off a good way,” said Jerenn. “Its movements aren’t the smoothest. As M’nar said, though, we didn’t have long to work on it.”

They backed away, watching as the mech’s engines came to life and it began to shudder slightly. It purred, like a Sholan, Kusac thought as he listened to it.

More and more people were coming into the courtyard now; to the point that Kusac began to worry someone would get hurt. He beckoned over a small group of commandos.

“Dheku, clear this area of all but those who should be here,” he said.

“Aye, Captain.”

Slowly the mech’s legs straightened out of the crouch it had been in, and the jointed tail swayed into a position that counterbalanced it. One front leg lifted up and began to move forward, followed by the opposite rear one. The ground shuddered slightly as the feet landed on the concrete surface, then it began to pick up its pace to a slow lope.

“This, I like!” said Annuur. “Why you not make more of these?”

“The controls aren’t responsive enough for use in a battle,” said Kusac as they watched it lope around the exercise yard.

“I’ll tell you what, though,” said Kaid. “It is bloody intimidating. I wouldn’t want to get too close to it.”

“If the Touibans can get it working properly, I was hoping to take it with us on the M’zullian ship as backup, in case we need to get out of there in a hurry.”

Kaid gave him a long, searching look, then put his hand on his shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, sword-brother.”

 

Conner walked down the ramp into the parking area at the front of the Palace. He stopped to look at the building, its white exterior bathed almost golden in the late afternoon sun. Carved figures painted jewel-bright colors marched across the front above a pillared balcony. Each bore tribute which was placed at the feet of an enthroned monarch. To either side of him stood the figures of protective deities sharing in the bountiful offerings. The scene was marred here and there by small chunks of missing masonry and scorch marks, obviously caused by the recent battle.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” said a voice at his elbow. “Easy to see why they called it the Palace of Light. I’m M’kou, General Kezule’s aide and one of his sons. Welcome to K’oish’ik.”

He turned around, hand already held out in greeting. The young Warrior shook it warmly then reached for his case.

“I’ll carry that for you.”

“I’m Conner,” he said, finding his voice and handing the case to him. “The Palace is magnificent.”

“It needs some repairs since the battle, obviously,” said M’kou, leading the way toward the covered parking. “But with all that’s happening now, only the necessary structural ones are being done.”

“Understandable,” he murmured as he passed out of the heat of the sun and into the welcoming shade. “Could we go through the main courtyard, do you think? I’d like to see it if it’s no trouble.”

“Certainly. It did take the worst damage in the fighting. Repair work is still ongoing,” said M’kou, opening the door for him and standing back to let him enter first.

The corridor was narrow, but tall, the walls again decorated by scenes of visiting nobles. There was a barbaric splendor about them that didn’t belong to the current era.

M’kou opened another door and gestured him through, following close behind him.

“Are all the corridors so beautifully decorated?” he asked.

“Not all, only those used by visiting nobility and the Royal family. Most of this side of the Palace is given over to offices, administration, and housing for the staff here.”

They stepped out into an alley at the side of a small building.

“The Grand Courtyard has restaurants and a few stores in it,” explained M’kou as he led him along the narrow alley and into the courtyard proper.

Sunshine again dazzled his eyes, making him blink. When his sight cleared, he saw the courtyard of his vision. There was the central pool, now with the broken stumps of trees around it, the huge stone statues to his left and at the far end flanking an ornate doorway. People bustled about, stopping briefly to look at him and nod to his companion before rushing off. Sounds of hammering and sawing filled the air, and everywhere there was a sense of purpose.

“The public temple is over there,” said M’kou, pointing to the distant statues. “The rest of the buildings on this level are offices and Security.”

Conner turned around, finding he’d walked farther into the square than he thought. As he looked at the young Prime, the vision became complete. Here indeed was the world Merlin had visited in his vision, and these were indeed the people that long-dead druid had seen. No wonder he’d thought he was going insane.

“Is everything all right, Conner?” asked M’kou, coming closer, his face creased in obvious concern.

“I’m fine,” he said, smiling. “I had a vision that I thought was of this world, and I just wanted to be sure it was.”

“And was it?”

“Yes, it was. It was this very courtyard that I saw,” he said, looking around at the balconies, the carvings and finally the damaged south wall to his left, where the bulk of the building repairs were ongoing.

“Shall we continue into the Palace? The sun is strong even though it’s still spring here. It takes a little time to become accustomed to it,” he added, watching the Human squinting up at the sky.

“Yes, please lead the way. I do apologize, I was lost in my own thoughts,” said Conner, tearing his gaze back to earth and M’kou.

 

Conner was shown to one of the Guest suites on the fourth floor, where, he was told, the King and his other guests from Shola and Alliance worlds were also staying. There was time for him to unpack and freshen up, then he was taken to meet King Zsurtul.

He stopped to stare through the transparent walls at the garden as they passed it.

“If you like gardens, there’s the King’s private one on the rooftop,” said M’kou. “It’s open to all who are staying on this floor. There’s also a gymnasium and a pool.”

“There is?” sad Conner, carrying on down the corridor. “This Palace is indeed marvelous.”

“It’s also very old,” said M’kou, stopping at the first doorway and opening it for him. “We reckon somewhere in the region of three thousand years. Not all of it is that old, but the central building certainly is. Successive rulers added to it over time.”

“Impressive indeed,” said Conner as he entered the lounge.

“Welcome to my home, Conner,” said the young Prime getting up stiffly from one of the easy chairs. “Your arrival has been eagerly awaited by many people, including me.”

Conner went forward to shake hands, then take the seat that was offered to him. “King Zsurtul, I assume,” he said as he sat down.

“Yes, and you’re the priest Father Lijou of the Brotherhood sent to help us.”

“That I am,” said Conner, sizing up the youth in front of him. He was young by his people’s standards, that he knew from the brief Lijou had given him, but there was more about him than that. There was a drawn look about his face, alien though it was, that showed he’d suffered loss and sadness. Again, he knew this to be true from the briefing.

“I offer you my condolences on the loss of your parents, King Zsurtul. However, I know they have left a worthy successor in yourself.”

A faint smile. “Thank you, Conner. Would you like a drink? You must taste our maush—it’s most refreshing and has medicinal properties too.”

“Thank you, I will.”

Zsurtul poured him a generous measure in one of the bowl-shaped cups that sat on the small table between the two easy chairs.

“Perhaps we should start with you telling me exactly what you want me to do,” said Conner, accepting the cup and taking a cautious sip of the drink. He was pleasantly surprised. The taste was light and refreshing, reminding him of chamomile tea back on Earth.

Zsurtul relaxed visibly. “The previous state religion was worship of the Emperor as a living God. I dissolved the ancient Empire, what there was left of it at least, when I was crowned. Now I want to replace the religion with something more suitable. There are other deities that we worshiped, of course, but only once a year, or when it was thought that deity could help one.”

Conner nodded. “Do you have an organized priesthood of any kind?”

Zsurtul frowned, obviously in anger. “The main priesthood was the Inquisitors who conducted services for the Emperor and found sedition against him. They were all executed except for the head of the order, who is being questioned in the cells. They were the ones who betrayed and killed my family.”

“What of the other religions, though?”

“There are a few priests, and were even some priestesses, for La’shol, our fertility Goddess.”

“Would it be possible to meet with them?”

“ZSADHI, please ask them to meet us in the public temple in half an hour,” said Zsurtul. “And ask General Kezule and Captain Aldatan to join us as well.”

“It shall be done, Majesty.”

Conner looked around for the speaker.

“It’s the Palace computer,” smiled Zsurtul. “If you need anything, from information to a nighttime snack, just ask ZSADHI. He has nodes everywhere, but unless you say his name, he doesn’t listen in.”

“Very useful,” murmured Conner, thinking of the nights in Old Sarum when he could have done with an artificial intelligence to get him hot drinks and snacks. “Does La’shol have a temple anywhere?”

“In the City, the people have shrines here and there for Her, but no, there is no place where only she is worshiped. Well, maybe you could say the pool is hers. My idea was to turn the two temples over to her. They both share the hollow pillars full of water and creatures from our holy pool.”