Divine Deception: The Will Traveller Chronicals (24 page)

“And, of course,
you won’t succeed at that either” Chortled the Governor General,
gleefully quoting Lady Ursula “The Supreme fleet will soon destroy
your fool hardy venture Lord Robert” He added. You could hear the
three men breathing and nothing else, for at least a full minute,
while the General and his co-leaders came to grips with what he’d
just accidentally done.

“You have far more
to fear from Lady Ursula than you have from me, now you’ve told me
her plan” I said softly.

“But I haven’t”
General Marsoni protested vainly.

“Oh yes you have
Governor” Zoran assured him “And you’ve picked the wrong side too.
Lord Robert is here to return our planet to peace, freedom and
justice for all. Not just to punish” Zoran looked down on the
no-longer-so-sure Sentorian leaders.

“Now Lady Ursula,
well, she warned you didn’t she” Zoran added, a knowing look on his
wizened face “If any Sentorian tries to cross her they will be
killed” Zoran quoted Ursula, adding “And don’t worry about your
robot protectors, no-one wants to come here”..

“You still
maintain your whole pretence?” The Admiral asked surprised “It is
you that are the fools” He told us, doubt on his face

“Lord Robert
cannot be killed; he has already been murdered, by his own
brethren. Now he is back to do what must be done” Zoran told them.
Soon after, the three now confused and frightened leaders left our
T.T.V. and we prepared for our next journey.

As our next
destination was several hours flying time away, Zoran and I took
the rare opportunity to get a good night’s sleep. As with most
vehicles, the faster you flew the T.T.V., over its base cruising
speed of around 300kph, the greater the craft’s per distance fuel
consumption. Though we had taken on enough in Carabindy to
circumvent the entire planet, it seemed not wise to waste it. The
Sentorians would now have a lock on our T.T.V. and could direct
Edmond and Elray straight to us. So it was a good idea to be well
rested for the apparently looming battle. We would have to hide our
craft from them, but with Zoran and I, unbeknown to them, carrying
essentially the same fire power as they did, I was quite confident
we’d send them back to where they had come from, or worse.

It was easy to
recognise Arc Island, because that’s exactly what it was. Ten
kilometres at its centre, the twenty kilometre long island lay just
20 kilometres off the North West coast of the great North
continent. Our pilot could hardly contain his delight at being home
after such a long time away.

“Perhaps you can
tell us about your homeland” I invited him.

“Well Sire, like
Sentoria, it was founded by pirate bands, a couple of centuries
ago” The navigator began haltingly “They used to attack ships on
the coastal trade route that ran and still does, I think, from far
up on the North coast, right down to almost the equator” The young
pilot was warming to his task

“When the Supreme
House took over the North West coast and founded Port Rualé, the
Arc Island pirates couldn’t pirate trade ships anymore” He told us
without acrimony.

“How did the
Supreme House take over the North West coast?” I asked, expecting
the worst or some fanciful untruth, I got neither.

“When they came,
their ships were faster and easily able to defeat the pirates” He
replied “So they offered security against the Pirates to the
coastal traders. Pretty soon, everyone had to check with them,
before they shipped anything, to make sure it would be safe to ship
it” The pilot told us.

“Then they founded
Port Rualé and convinced all the traders to the north that overland
travel was cheaper and safer. They built the roads and transports
and that’s how it still is” He paused.

“What happened to
the pirates when there were no more trade ships?” The Captain asked
his younger crewman curiously.

“Well, pretty soon
after the Supreme fleet arrived, one of my uncles apparently found
gold, right up in the central hills” His voice lowered
conspiratorially “It was the best kept secret around. The pirates
pretended to have turned to fishing and used their fishing dhows to
secretly transport the gold to several agents along the coast, who
then sold it all over the New World” The navigator’s conspiratorial
grin disappeared “There was peace and prosperity all around, till
one of the Dhows got caught in a storm and ended up on the rocks,
just north of Port Rualé” He told us.

He paused, looked
at his Captain for a moment then went on

“The Supreme One
declared that Arc Island’s gold was the property of all the New
World and ordered in the Supreme fleet”.

“Did your people
put up much of a fight?” I asked. Again, a pause.

“Well, it wasn’t
much of a fight really Sire, but a lot of people got killed” He
replied. The Captain frowned at his ‘disloyal’ pilot.

“It’s alright
Captain” I smiled at the senior officer “My family have quite a
history of killing off the local opposition, one way or the other”
I told the craft’s senior officer.

“It was like that
Sir” He said to his Captain, adding “It was join the New World or
die”.

“My Father and
many others decided to do as the Supreme One ordered” The pilot
told us, adding “Many others didn’t and died trying to fight for
what could never be again”.

“And now?” I
probed.

“Well, soon after
the Supreme fleet left, gangs of mainlanders started attacking the
Arc Island gold freighters, and, last I heard, that still goes on.
As you know Sire, Supreme House staff are not allowed contact with
outsiders, so I don’t know if my family is even still alive” The
pilot’s eyes had misted and he rubbed at them embarrassed. “Sorry
Sir” He muttered and fell silent, looking down at his long unseen
homeland. We could just make out the mainland’s coast, the darker
areas were probably Port Rualé. Something told me to go visit these
ex-pirate gold miners first, so we headed for the capital
Stonebridge. Built on both sides of a river that ran down from the
central mountains, it was the huge stone bridge that spanned the
river and connected the two halves of the city that gave it its
name. More of a country town than a city, Administration House, the
tallest building in Stonebridge, was only three stories high, with
an old style clock tower above, making it look exactly like every
country town hall I’ve ever seen. The Captain stood at control seat
and turned to the pilot.

“Well, Pilot
Millwell, seeing as this is your town, perhaps you should take her
down” He suggested smiling at his younger officer.

“Yes sir” The
young man saluted proudly, then sat at the controls and landed the
world’s most powerful craft, right in the middle of his home town.
More and more people were gathering as we slowly came straight
down. By the time the T.T.V’s legs came gently to rest on the
grassy football field sized forecourt, just about everyone in that
town was there, or on their way. As I looked around, the people
seemed fit and prosperous, there was a definite air of togetherness
about them, almost tribal. The crowd parted spontaneously and, once
again, three men approached our craft. Till I saw the Arc Islanders
en massé, I hadn’t noticed that our pilot, though white, had
several features more often found on people of colour.

They had thick
lips, a flatter, broader nose and a much larger forehead. I
realised that these were truly the indigenous people and this was
their island. I ordered the door open and the transom lowered, then
let Zoran, as usual, do his intro. This time though, he was cut off
before he got to even saying my name, by the tall sixtyish man in
the middle. He and his two companions were dressed in what can only
be called pirate style clothes. Bandanas, loose sleeved shirts and
black baggy pants tucked into shiny black knee high boots. Instead
of a cutlass though, they had sophisticated hand weapons that
looked more like torches than guns, hanging from their waist
sashes.

“We know who your
master is Zoran” The voice was clipped, well used to obedience.
“Perhaps many of us would support your Lord Robert” He continued,
coming forward with his two colleagues.

“If we had the
ability” The tall leader continued, adding “But the Supreme One has
ensured we don’t. So leave before you cause our destruction” He
asked politely. I floated out over Zoran’s head, the three men
stepped back, their hands to their weapons.

“Your weapons
cannot harm me” I told them quietly, adding “It would seem that you
have heard only one side of the story, Sir. To whom am I speaking?”
I inquired of him.

“Captain James
Millwell, Governor of Arc Island Lord Robert” His was a strong and
dignified answer.

“Is it Governor or
Captain?” I asked the flamboyant leader.

“As you wish Sire”
He replied, clearly curious at the smile that played on my
lips.

“We have someone
here you’d like to meet Captain” I signalled for my pilot to come
onto the transom “Remove your head gear please Pilot Officer
Millwell” I ordered. The young officer tried to cover his steaming
tears as he obeyed. When he had, the tall leader needed the support
of his two colleagues to stay upright “Peta?” He asked
disbelievingly. The pilot nodded, then the young man looked
questioningly up at me.

“Go ahead son” I
urged him, though he needed none. Dropping his headgear, the pilot
ran into the arms of his equally tearful Father. The whole crowd
spontaneously burst into applause and cheering and the chant of
Peta, Peta, Peta rang through the town of Stonebridge.

Needless to say,
that put a whole new tone on our visit and, in less than an hour,
we were seated comfortably on the balcony below the clock tower,
drinking hot tea and looking out over this clean and green country
town. Zoran and I suggested that Peta Millwell might do us all a
favour, by simply recounting what he knew, from the theft of the
Supreme House’s T.T.V’s to the death of my siblings. And the attack
on the retirement ‘resort’. All the way through to the many lands
and people he had seen with his own eyes. Younger, highly
intelligent and nowhere near as intoxicated with the Supreme House,
as his Captain, I felt he would tell our story as I’d want it told.
Then surely, his Father would let Zoran and I tell our side.
Perhaps they could not help us fight, but solid information is one
of a warrior’s best weapons.

Our other two
companions, the ones who had first come out with Captain Millwell,
had also been Captains but now days, they chose to use their civil
titles, which were, Administrator Knight and Supervisor Blarty. A
couple of attractive young ladies, dressed like the waitresses in
taverns of old, served our tea and biscuits, while Captain Millwell
told Zoran and I of Lady Ursula’s warning, to all in the New World,
that if anyone gave loyalty to me they would be ‘expelled from the
New World forcibly’. Most would take that as being destroyed. We
learned how the mine, smelting and exporting the gold, employed 80%
of the island’s workforce. Conditions were excellent but dissent
was forbidden. Everything that ever happened on this island was in
accord with the wishes of the Supreme One.

“I get a list of
instructions, at 6am on Monday of each week, and if it’s not all
done by week’s end, I have to explain the following week”
Administrator Knight said, resigned but still resentful.

“And what if it’s
not?” Zoran asked the once proud Captain.

“Usually fines for
those responsible” He answered “If it’s a big one James, Ken and I
cop it as well” He told us. Ken Blarty, his voice lowered
conspiratorially, confided to us.

“In effect, they
have turned us into salaried slaves. Oh, we have all the comforts
alright, but the spirit of our people was born free” There was no
mistaking the longing in his voice.

“The spirits of
all people are born free Supervisor” I told him.

“But those who
would control us are few” I pointed out to the three Arc Islanders
“While those who would be free are many, so, be of good heart” I
told them. It was well over an hour before Captain James Millwell
and his Son, our pilot, joined the four of us on the balcony. The
leader had some questions his son could not answer. Zoran told the
three of them everything. My murder and return, Lady Margaret and
Lord Peter’s death. The sick incestuous power struggle and the
reason he believed I’d returned. I sat silently, watching him
explain, aware of the occasional furtive glances by James and his
colleagues. Our young pilot was somewhat over-awed at being party
to such information.

After a minute of
silence, while the three leaders digested all this new optimistic
but dangerous information, Captain Millwell looked me directly in
the eye.

“I know now that
they can’t kill you again, though you look very much alive to me”
Captain Millwell commented “But can you actually defeat Lord Edmond
and Lord Elton, with one ship to six or eight?” I smiled and looked
at Zoran who nodded to me.

“They have only
one of these each” I withdrew the small black tube “The most
powerful weapon on the planet. I’ve brought down two of their
T.T.V’s with it already” I told him. Zoran produced his “So we have
two as well” I continued “This is between my brothers, Zoran and I”
I explained to the Arc island leader quietly.

“Then you go back
and take over as the Supreme One, right Sire?” Captain Millwell
asked respectfully, but without enthusiasm.

“No Captain” All
heads turned to me “I will immediately disband Supreme House and
disburse its assets where they can best be utilised to make things
right again” I answered him firmly.

“You mean every
New World State would be independent again?” Ken Blarty sounded
excited, if somewhat incredulous. Captain Millwell held my eyes for
a long moment.