Shades of Gray (71 page)

 

“Just a couple of scratches,” said Kusac in answer to the looks as he entered and took his place to the left of the King.

“I’ll get to the bottom of this, Kusac, you can trust me. I ordered a census of my people, and the Telepath Mentors are already checking those aboard the
Khalossa
,” said Raiban.

Kusac nodded. “Keep me apprised of the situation.”

“I want the City off-limits to all but trusted Sholans,” said Kezule.

“And who are those?” demanded Raiban, eye ridges meeting in a frown as she glared at the General.

“Kusac’s people,” said King Zsurtul shortly. “General Raiban, you’ll have to excuse us, but you’re not part of our planning meeting. We will see you tonight at the banquet.”

Raiban looked around at the gathering and realized she’d get no support from anyone. Clenching her jaw, she got to her feet, inclined her head briefly at the King, and left.

“Commander Rhyaz, you and Commander L’Seuli can bring your own guards to the City gates, where my commandos will meet you. They will guard you inside the City and Palace,” said Kezule. “Your guards will return to your shuttle. I’ll have you and your wife escorted there at the end of the evening.”

“That’s acceptable,” agreed Rhyaz.

“ZSADHI has security cams everywhere. Anyone not recognized will be stunned on sight and guards called,” Kezule continued.

“Toueesut is included with my people,” said Kusac, gratefully accepting the dish of hot maush handed to him by an attendant. If truth be told, both cuts had been deep enough to still pain him a little despite the analgesic Zayshul had insisted he take.

A knock on the door and Carrie entered. As she was greeted by King Zsurtul and as the Sholans made room for her beside Kusac, they held a brief mental exchange.

Are you really all right?
she asked.

I hurt,
he admitted, fingers curling around the hand she placed on his.
But they aren’t serious cuts.

Carrie flashed a smile and a mental greeting to Kaid, getting one in return as she settled into her seat.

“Kezule, King Zsurtul,” said Kusac, “before a tithe ship is sent to Ch’almuth, I believe K’hedduk will attempt to destroy the City, and with it the Palace and Throne of Light. Without it, he knows no one can be crowned Emperor. Remember, he believes you’re dead, King Zsurtul, and that Kezule will take your place.”

Kezule nodded. “Tactically, that would be his priority. However, he could do both.”

“He’ll want K’oish’ik cowed before dealing with Ch’almuth,” said Kaid. “After all, the tithe only adds to the Court harem, nothing more.”

Zsurtul’s face froze into a still mask.“What about Zhalmo?” he asked in an expressionless voice.

“I’m sorry, Majesty, but until the tithe ship arrives at Ch’almuth, there’s nothing we can do to rescue Zhalmo.” Kusac was aware of Kezule sitting just as still as the King.

“What if he doesn’t send one?”

“He will,” reassured Kaid. “He’s not the kind of person to let go of anything he considers his. He’ll want to make sure that Ch’almuth isn’t ripe for rebellion after the return of the last ship.”

“Zhalmo isn’t his!” On the table, Zsurtul’s hands clenched into fists.

“No, she’s not,” said Carrie gently. “Whatever else, he won’t harm her. He needs her to legitimize his claim as Emperor.”

“What is your plan?” asked Kezule, filling the silence.

“We need to use the weather platform and Kij’ik,” said Kusac. “While the rest of you see to the planetary defense, I’ll train my rescue team. My plan is basically what we discussed before, Kezule. Fill the tithe ship with your commandos wearing K’hedduk’s uniforms and battle armor, with a token few dressed as Ch’almuthians. We’ll follow their flight plan, land at their city then enter the Palace as normal. Then we’ll head for the harem and Zhalmo. She shouldn’t be difficult to find since I’ll be able to contact her mentally by then.”

“She’ll be drugged,” said Zsurtul. “There’s no way she’d give in to him.”

“I’ll find her,” Kusac reassured him.

“If you can get in, it would be an opportunity to capture or kill K’hedduk,” said Rhyaz, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

“Killing K’hedduk won’t stop the coming war,” said Kaid. “Another will rise in his place and ensure they hit here first.”

“I’ll want a team of twelve as soldiers and eight to be the tithe. We may not need them all, but I want to be sure we have enough fighters. Is there any way the ‘Ch’almuthian prisoners’ can be armored under their clothing?” asked Kusac.

“Ch’almuthian clothing is worn in layers and can be bulky,” said M’kou. “It’s possible it could conceal lighter body armor.”

“If they can carry baggage, they can have helmets in them,” suggested Carrie.

“Any rescue will make both here and Ch’almuth instant targets,” warned L’Seuli.

“That goes without saying,” said Kezule. “You Sholans, however, are a difficult problem to solve. Even concealing you as prisoners wouldn’t ensure your heads or legs would remain covered.”

“I’ll be the only one leaving the ship,” said Kusac. “I want Kaid to remain on board with Carrie, Banner, and Jurrel, and the MUTAC, assuming Jurrel can pilot it, as backup.”

“MUTAC will be ready for you to train within two, maybe three, days,” said Toueesut. “Much improved it is with extra firepower and strength. So impressed are we by it, we wish to make some of our own.”

“We’ll discuss that later,” said Rhyaz.

“Discuss it with Garras, Toueesut. He’s our Clan’s business manager,” said Kusac, with a feral grin at Rhyaz. “I think you’ll find our people were instrumental in developing it, Rhyaz. You called it a failed experiment.”

“Is that so?” beamed Toueesut. “Then I can negotiate for us with the Touiban military, as we are being part of your Clan!”

“This rescue,” said Rhyaz. “There must be something we can do to deal them a blow, at least, when you leave M’zull. It goes against the grain not to do them some damage.”

“Unlike this Palace, which was never designed as a stronghold, they dug down,” said Kezule. “Only public buildings exist in the aboveground levels now, from what our prisoners told us, and the plans confirm. Besides, snatching Zhalmo from his harem, at the center of his world, will make him lose an enormous amount of credibility, and embarrass him publicly.”

“Actually,” said Kusac, taking another sip of his drink. “I’m looking at the possibility of some of our commandos remaining on M’zull as a small guerrilla force. There’s a lot they could accomplish.”

“But that’s suicidal!” said Kezule. “What can you possibly accomplish on a planetary scale with even twenty warriors, and some of them females, on M’zull? You can’t subvert them, most will be genetically loyal to K’hedduk’s family!”

“What family? He killed his brother to take the throne,” said Kaid. “But you’re right. We can’t get to their fleet to destroy it. We’ve read the reports—it’s berthed at several orbiting ports in their solar system, not all in one place.”

“This is what I want to discuss,” Kusac said. “We’ll never get another chance to place our people on the surface of M’zull. The alternative is war. So let’s look at the guerrilla options now, while we have the opportunity. If the worst comes to worst, they have a chance to steal a ship and get offworld, where we can pick them up.”

“I’d still prefer you to take a series of linked charges and set them all over the Palace; then when you take off, blow them,” muttered Rhyaz. “Cut the head off the beast, and the command structure falls apart, leaving them ripe for the taking.”

“It’s unlikely that most of the military leaders will be there. They’re more likely to be with the fleet, not on the ground,” said Kaid. “One of them will assume command and target both here and Ch’almuth in retaliation, which brings us back to an all-out war.”

“Destroy their Palace and Emperor, and they won’t rest until both planets are leveled,” said Kezule grimly. “Then they’ll turn on all of you. It will unite them as nothing else will.”

“Much as I would like to destroy the Palace and K’hedduk, it isn’t the way,” said Kusac, one hand unconsciously going to rub the inside of his wrist. “We have several options. There is the drug that destroys the extra speed and healing abilities for one. If Rhyaz can get us enough of it in time, it can be put in the water supplies all over the planet.”

“I have a small amount with me, but not nearly enough of it,” said Rhyaz.

Kezule frowned, and Kusac could sense his rising anger. “Out of the question. It’s of limited use, anyway. It doesn’t prevent their aggressiveness.”

“Perhaps the TeLaxaudin have something that could strip them of their racial memories,” said Kusac. “Maybe even their current ones.” Even as he said it, he had a feeling of déjà vu, as if he—or someone—had said this before.

“How would that help?” asked Carrie.

“They forget about the Empire, and us, and have no reason to fight,” said Kusac.

“What makes you think the TeLaxaudin have some such magic solution?” asked Rhyaz sarcastically.

“Because they helped the Primes breed in growth tanks and transfer their memories chemically,” said Kezule, thoughtfully. “If they could adapt that for our purposes, then it would be a viable solution. But how would we deliver it?”

“I assume it was put into the tanks as a liquid, so water borne would work. I’ll need to talk to Giyarishis first. Meanwhile, I suggest Kaid and I start working on our rescue plans, and you, Rhyaz, and Kezule plan the defense of K’oish’ik. My skills are more toward covert ops than space battles, but we’ll fit in where needed in the defense plans.”

You’re thinking of repeating what the First did—putting telepaths on the main fleet ships so they can cause them to destroy each other!
sent Carrie angrily as the meeting broke up.

I’m trying to think of a way to get some of our female commandos, or Ch’almuthians, on their fleet ships, yes,
he replied.

Who’s going to lead this guerrilla team?
she demanded, following them out into the corridor.
You are
not
going to remain on M’zull, Kusac! It would be suicide!

“Kusac, a word in my office,” said Kezule quietly at his elbow.

Surprised, Kusac turned to look at him, then nodded acquiescence. “Carrie, you, Kaid, and Banner gather the rest of our people and the commandos who lived on Kij’ik, and start forming teams of warriors and captives. ZSADHI can give you lists of those available. Use the large empty room we were allocated next to the Temple on the ground level. I’ll join you shortly.”

 

The door closed silently behind them, and Kezule gestured him toward the less formal chairs.

“The scent marker is gone, Kezule,” said Kusac, sitting down. “Kaid tricked Carrie and me into a situation where our mental Link could re-form if we wanted it to, and when it did, the scent marker vanished. I haven’t yet had a chance to tell you.”

“I had noticed,” said Kezule, picking up and lighting one of his small cigars from a box on the table. “But it wasn’t about that I wanted to talk. You mentioned controlling Valtegan memories.”

“I said it was worth looking into,” said Kusac. “After all, haven’t TeLaxaudin been doing that for centuries in order to help the Primes breed?”

The General hesitated, drawing on his cigar, then letting out the smoke in a series of gentle puffs.

“There are times when I’ve wondered where some of my memories have come from,” he said finally. “They feel—incomplete—as if only the main facts are there, not the details. Then something tells me I’ve always had those memories.”

“I’ve read many minds, Kezule. Believe me, deep, old memories can be like that, or they can be overwhelming with the amount of sharp detail,” said Kusac, the half-truth coming easily to him. This was his Hunt, and though also a victim, he knew that Kezule had no part in it. “If your memories have been altered, I see no sign it was done to diminish you.”

“If you did see signs of that . . .”

“I’d have the hide of whoever did it, literally,” he interrupted. “Then give it to you to make a rug or a wall hanging.”

Kezule laughed, his first genuine one since Zhalmo had been taken. “And I’d do the same for you.”

“Did I ever tell you how our telepaths defeated your Empire?”

“No, you didn’t, and for some reason, it never occurred to me to ask you,” said Kezule, regarding him carefully.

“Our people placed telepaths as pets with all the major figures in the Court and the military, and gradually they subverted them by making them paranoid about each other. On a given signal, the attack was launched. They made the fleet leaders fire on their own ships, the military on the ground attack each other, and they sterilized the females here on K’oish’ik, as well as turning the guards on each other.”

Kezule stared at him. “You used our weaknesses against us. Are you thinking this could be repeated, with Valtegan females?”

“It had crossed my mind.”

“It depends how they treat their females. They’ll certainly be in harems, and the breeders are given to a very few. They’d have military harems with breeders to reward the military as well as to see that more soldiers were bred from good stock, and public ones with drones for the common soldiers to let off steam. That was the pattern in my day. It’s hardly likely high-ranking Admirals or Generals would take their wives out of their homes, even if they aren’t drugged and semiferal.”

“They might if they thought K’hedduk was casting avaricious looks at them. And that we
can
arrange.”

“That would take talented individuals, ones willing to be enslaved by K’hedduk to get close enough to the upper military echelon and the wives to influence them. Do we have any that knowledgeable and gifted?”