A King's Ship (Empire Rising Book 2) (23 page)

“Trade! I don’t think you have understood human, we have given you this audience so that you may come before us on behalf of your people and make an offer to the great people of Vestar. We are the chosen people of the galaxy. It is truly a privilege for you to be in our presence.”

“Indeed we are thankful for the opportunity to come before you Overlord,” James said. “But there can only be trade between two equal partners. We have not come here to give your people anything unless we can come to an agreement. I think you misunderstand our intentions.”

At James’ last words a ripple of whispers broke out among the watching attendants and James felt he must have said something deeply offensive. This time Tal’Nack didn’t jump to his feet but he did lean forward on his throne. “You have miscalculated human, I can command your death anytime I want. You have come to my planet and into my palace and you dare to insult me. Get out of my presence. I will give you this one mercy. Leave now, reconsider your attitude and I may allow you a second audience. If you were anyone else, you would already be dead.”

“Quickly, this way,” the alien who had lead them into the throne room said in a whisper, clearly not wanting to attract the Overlord’s attention.

As the group made their way out of the throne room the large doors shut behind them with a deafening crash. “Well that was short and oh so sweet,” Bell said. “Captain, I think you’re going to go down in history as the man who pissed off the god-king.”

“Yes,” James said. “That didn’t go quite as I expected. I think we are going to have a problem with these Vestarians. We need to find out where their fleet went and how they constructed it. If they are able, I think they would enslave all of our worlds just so we would show the proper respect to their Overlord.”

“Agreed,” Johnston said, “I don’t like that bastard one bit but if there is one thing starting off in the lower ranks of the marines teaches you it’s that you don’t piss off someone with more power than you. I hate to say it but if these Vestarians turn out to have us outclassed militarily, we’re going to have to do a lot of ass kissing in the coming decades just to survive. “

“Excuse me,” a voice called out to them as they followed their host out of the palace. “May I speak with you?” it asked.

Their host stopped and looked at the alien who was now speaking to them. “I’ll see them out once I am done with them,” the new voice said. Their host bowed and walked off.

“Let me introduce myself,” the newcomer said. “I am Rak’la’loren. I serve the Supreme Overlord as his Minister for Technology.”

“And do you have any more insults you want to add to those of your Overlord’s?” James asked, in no mood to hear more Vestarian snobbery.

“You have to understand, no one accuses Overlord Tal’Nack of making a mistake,” Rak’la’loren said. “He is only used to dealing with his ministers and others that come before him seeking his favor. He has never had to deal with someone as an equal before.

“If you are willing. I think together we will be able to come to a number of agreements that we can present to the Supreme Overlord. I think that way you may be able to find his favor.”

“We did not come here looking for technology,” James said. “We came looking for answers. Can you tell us where the ships that attacked our world came from?”

“Well, I’m afraid I don’t know,” Rak’la’loren said. “You would have to ask the Minister of Aggression about that. But if you do have a ship in orbit then you will know that we have no military ships nor do we have the industry necessary to construct them.”

“Ok, then tell me about that satellite in orbit. We know you did not build it. Where is it from?” James asked, changing direction.

“The satellite,” Rak’la’loren said quietly. He looked from side to side in a very human like way suggesting he was nervous. “We don’t talk about the satellite in the palace. It would make the Supreme Overlord nervous.”

“Why?” James asked, “because its technology proves that whoever built it is vastly superior to your Overlord?”

“That is blasphemous,” Rak’la’loren said. “If anyone hears you uttering such things they will report you to the Supreme Overlord and he will have you killed.”

“I’d like to see him try,” Johnston said. “It sounds like your Overlord needs to be brought down a peg or two.”

“Let’s get back on track,” James said. “If you can’t give us our answers we are leaving. We will find them another way. One that does not benefit you or your Overlord.”

“I am sorry,” Rak’la’loren said. “I simply do not have the authority to give you the information you want. If you would only agree to a number of small trade deals. We have some agricultural technology we would be willing to share. Then from there we could build on our relationship and in time you may get the information you want.”

“I am sorry too,” James said. “Your Overlord made it clear what he thinks of us. If you cannot give us the information we need then we are wasting our time here. Good day to you Sir. I think we can find our own way out.”

With that James turned and confidently strode off in the direction he thought the main doors were in. Once they were out of earshot of Rak’la’loren he said to one of the marines, “Did you map out the palace on our way in?”

“Yes Sir,” the marine answered.

“And are we heading in the right direction?”

“Close enough Sir,” she answered.

“Then you lead us the rest of the way. Contact the shuttle and tell them to get ready to lift off, we are returning to
Endeavour
.

34
th
Karack, 565 AC (After Contact), Vestar

Jil’lal’s lungs were burning as she sprinted down the dark alleyway. She could already feel the lactic acid in her four legs building to the point where they would start to cramp. In desperation she ducked into a smaller alleyway and threw herself against a wall behind a large crate. She tried as hard as she could to control her breathing lest her heavy gulps give her away but the thumping of her two hearts was so loud she was sure there was no hope.

Jil’lal knew she needed to find some water. If they hadn’t already the officers from the Ministry of Integration who were pursuing her would soon set their Rakash hounds on her. With six legs and three hearts they were the ultimate predators on Vestar. After generations of careful breeding the ministry had produced a strain of Rakash that was tameable and therefore trainable. Able to run at a constant speed of forty kilometres an hour indefinitely they were equipped with the most sensitive noses on the planet and could hunt and track anything or anyone. The only way to escape was to enter a body of water. The water would throw them off the trail and, with luck, Jil’lal could make her escape before they could pick it up again. 

As her breathing calmed she forced herself to think.
Where is the nearest overflow channel? It can’t be far.
She was regretting not taking more time to plan her mission. Tak’ar always told her that her impulsiveness would get her in trouble. She loved to jump into situations and rely on her raw skills to get her out.
This may be the time my skills finally let me down
, she thought as the fear she had been keeping locked up threatened to erupt.

Vestar was a violent planet. At least that was what the Kulreans had said when they first discovered it. Savage storms constantly made their way across the planet’s surface, dumping huge quantities of water onto the ground as they went. As a result, every city, including the capital, Amack, had overflow channels designed to take the water out of the city and prevent flooding when a storm hit. If only she could find one. She could jump in and let the currents take her far outside the city before she tried to get out and find her way back to the resistance headquarters.

In an effort to remember, she closed her eyes. She pictured the map of the area surrounding the Ministry of Cohesion building she had infiltrated. Then she replayed all the twists and turns she had made as she ran for her life from the building after being discovered. Fairly certain that the alleyway she was in ran east to west she made her decision. If she continued heading west she should run into the channel that flowed past the ministry building.

With a deep breath she pushed herself back to her feet and rushed deeper into the small alleyway. After less than a minute it came to an end with a wall almost six metres high. Smiling, she reached into the pouch strapped to her back and brought out two leather straps with metal prongs on the end. She fastened them to her hands before she jumped up the wall and drove the prongs into the bricks, allowing the metal prongs to hold her weight. She placed her four feet on the lower part of the wall. Slowly at first, she rocked up and down using her hands and feet to propel her. On the fourth way back up she pushed up with all her strength. She was propelled through the air with her final two arms stretched out above her, seeking the top of the wall. With a grunt she clasped her objective and braced herself as the rest of her body crashed into the wall. After pausing for a second to let the effects of hitting the wall wear off, she pulled herself up to the top of the wall.

Ordinarily Vestarians could not lift their own body weight with only two of their arms, they had four for a reason. However, Tak’ar had insisted she bulk up her muscles to the point that she could. ‘You never know when you’ll need your other two hands for something else’ he had always said. As Jil’lal perched on top of the wall she surveyed the alleyway in front of her, thankful for her training. It was wider on this side and in the distance she could see that it widened even further. Thankfully it was night in Amack and the street was deserted. It looked like it would be heaving with people in the day. Not seeing anything to deter her and with no other choice she flung herself off the wall and into the alleyway. Her first two legs hit the ground and cushioned her fall while the other two were already stretching out in front of her, turning her downward momentum into a forward sprint.

Panting heavily, she ran down the widening alley for almost a mile when suddenly, out of nowhere, a fist came swinging out of the shadows and knocked her off her feet.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” a voice said.

“Someone up to no good, that’s for sure,” replied another.

“So what are you running from little girl,” the first voice asked. “Are you being chased by a Talaxar?

A Talaxar was a fictional monster many Vestarian children feared. Jil’lal thought that if they knew she was likely being chased by Rakash hounds they would be gone in a shot. They weren’t likely to believe her though. Why would the ministry send their hounds after a young girl just entering womanhood?

When the second man reached down to turn her over to get a better look at her, Jil’lal fended his hand off. “I’m being chased by the Ministry of Interrogation. I suggest you leave me alone and get out of here,” she said. She hoped mentioning the Ministry would send them packing.

Instead the first voice chuckled, “The Ministry of Interrogation! Don’t make me laugh. You can wish they were here but there is no one to protect you from us little girl. You made a grave mistake coming down our alley in the middle of the night. Now it’s time for you to pay the price.”

Both males approached Jil’lal as she continued to lie on the ground. She tensed her muscles and prepared for action. The knock to her face had stunned her but the seconds the men had wasted talking to her had allowed her head to clear. Now her training was kicking in. As the second male reached for her she reacted with lightening quick reflexes. With one hand she grabbed one of her assailant’s hands and twisted as hard as she could. Two of her other hands fended off the male’s attempts to grab her with his free hands while she struck his twisted wrist with the palm of her fourth hand. The wrist, already under severe tension from being twisted so badly, shattered as her palm struck it and forced it into an angle it simply could not sustain. With a howl the second male jumped back, holding his shattered wrist in two of his hands.

The first male continued to approach her but with a little more caution. His hesitation gave her enough time to scramble to her feet. She backed off, trying to get some space. The first male started after her but as soon as he did Jil’lal changed direction and charged him. He raised his hands to protect himself but that was what Jil’lal was waiting for. As soon as he did she shifted her momentum and threw herself down. As she fell she swept out with two of her legs and struck her attacker off his feet. She used her two free legs to propel herself upwards and brought one of her knees into the falling male’s head. As her knee connected she heard a satisfying crunch.

Back on her feet she eyed the second male warily. He was still holding his wrist and did not look like he would pose much of a threat. Satisfied she was safe, she turned and dashed into the dark. Her martial arts skills were another thing to thank Tak’ar for.

*

Twenty minutes later she knew she was getting dangerously fatigued. It had been almost an hour since she had burst out of the Ministry of Cohesion building and she had been running ever since. Suddenly a piercing howl stopped her in her tracks. Rakash hounds! The howl meant one of them had found her trail. Now it was a race. Could she get to the overflow channel in time?

A new spurt of adrenalin raced through her body, giving her the strength she needed to break into a faster sprint. As soon as another alley intersected the one she was running down, she dived into it. With the rakash hounds chasing her the Ministry officers with them would soon realise she was heading in one direction. They would send hover vehicles ahead to get in front of her. She had to make her way to the overflow channel without giving her pursuers an indication of where she was headed. 

As she continued ducking and diving into different alleys she heard hover vehicles. Out of nowhere two came zooming over the buildings that lined the alley she was in. She dived into the shadows and waited until they flew overhead and out into the city. They would be using infrared sensors to identify people out in the city at this time of night. With the curfew the government had put in place they could afford to stop anyone they caught outside. Only the bravest of criminals came out at night. It was simply too easy to get caught. Little did her pursuers know that Jil’lal was wearing a specially designed military combat suit. At the moment it was keeping most of her thermal heat locked up inside the suit. Jil’lal was getting hotter and hotter but it kept the thermal sensors from registering her as anything more than a small stromi.

At last she broke into a more open space. Ahead of her she could see the walls that marked the overflow channel. They were over thirty feet high to allow large volumes of water to flow down them without flooding the nearby sections of the city. With a grin Jil’lal reached into her pouch and pulled out her climbing equipment. She loved to climb, it had been the one thing Tak’ar had not had to force her to practice. With her spiked boots on and a climbing axe in each hand she rapidly made her way up the wall. Once on top she looked into the overflow channel below. Thankfully, there was some water flowing down it. There had not been a storm in over a week but there must have been one further upstream. Keeping her climbing boots on and holding tightly onto her axes she jumped in. Jil’lal hated water but she had no choice. It was either this or face the fangs of the rakash hounds.

As she punched through the water, she frantically flailed about until she broke through the surface and gulped in some air. She tried and failed to keep calm as the current took hold of her and moved her away from where she had climbed the wall. She counted to two hundred and then swam to the other side to climb out. Her first attempt to grab onto the channel’s wall failed for as she struck her axe into the wall the force of the current ripped it out of her hand. Next time she slammed both axes into the wall and held on as tightly as she could. It worked and she gripped the wall with her boots and climbed. When she got to the top she took off her boots and threw them over the other side followed by her three remaining axes. Then she turned and jumped back into the water.
Let them think I headed on into the city,
she thought as she allowed the current to carry her out of danger.

*

Several hours later the walls of the overflow channel disappeared to be replaced by open countryside. The twin suns of the Vestar system were just rising and Jil’lal was able to take in the beauty of her surroundings. She had been raised in one of Vestar’s minor cities but even there the government’s restrictions had been enforced severely. She had only been allowed out of her block twice in her life and neither trip had been to the countryside. Since joining the resistance she had travelled much further afield but rarely had the opportunity to just sit back and take in the beauty of her world.

After another hour of floating and dreaming about a world without the Overlord a small town came into view. Once Jil’lal spotted it she swam to the river bank. Pulling herself out of the water, she took off her combat suit and lay down in the light of Vestar’s two suns to dry. It would not do if she walked into the town looking like a soaked stromi. Once dry she got up and walked the mile into town. As she walked through the main street she kept an eye out for the local enforcement officers while looking for a building with a data terminal. The first one she found was in an upscale restaurant used by the government officials in the town. The waiter manning the welcome desk eyed her suspiciously, his look only intensifying when she walked straight over to the data terminal. They were only accessible by government officials or government contractors.

His suspicion vanished when she slotted in her access card and the terminal switched on. The waiter probably assumed she was the daughter of some important government official. Recognizing her access codes the terminal gave her a direct link to the planet’s datanet. Once connected, she reached into her pouch and pulled out a data chip. Inserting it into the terminal she uploaded its contents.

When she had broken into the Ministry of Cohesion she had hacked into their most heavily guarded files and downloaded as much as she could. Computers had always been her thing, that was why she had been so useful to the Resistance. Yet she had found that even she had her limits. Some of the files had alarms hard wired into them. As soon as she begun to download them they went off and the guards had been alerted to her presence. She only had enough time to see that the files were about the Kulreans before she had been forced to run for it. Whatever they contained she was sure that they were important. If they were important to the government then it probably meant they would be useful to the resistance.