Return to Dakistee (3 page)

Vejrezzol nodded and took time to scan the faces of the men at the table as if searching for signs of nervousness or doubt. Finding none, he said, "Be seated, gentlemen."

The high priest took his place at the head of the table, while Gxidescu took a seat at the opposite end. From their vantage points, both leaders could establish eye contact with any of the others who constituted the inner circle of Vejrezzol's dissident sect. "Report," was all Vejrezzol said as he looked at the first man on his left.

"The freighter is in orbit and ready to begin loading. The captain has been well paid and is prepared to take on twenty of our followers as crew."

Vejrezzol nodded and looked at the next man, who immediately began his report.

"The containers that will hold our five-year food supply have been delivered and loaded. This includes the emergency rations. As planned, the fresh food will be loaded in refrigerated containers just before we're ready to leave."

Vejrezzol nodded again and shifted his gaze to the next man.

"The medical equipment and supplies have been loaded into containers and are ready for transport. The supplies with expiration dates will be delivered just before we're ready to leave to ensure they're as fresh as possible. All suppliers have been compensated for the supplies we've ordered and are only awaiting notification of our ship date. All will be ready."

"The 'farm equipment' and 'seed packs' have been procured and loaded into the special containers," the next man said in turn. "We're ready to send the loads up."

The last man on that side of the table spoke up as Vejrezzol looked towards him.

"The home furnishings and personal possessions of our followers are ready for transshipment, except for what they will bring as carry-on luggage."

Vejrezzol shifted his eyes to the other side of the table and the reports continued.

"The complete knowledge base of our people has been downloaded from the Royal Library and is securely stored in several containers."

"I assume it doesn't contain any copies of the new Almuth?" Vejrezzol asked.

"Of course not, Excellency."

"Very good."

Vejrezzol continued around the table, receiving reports on building materials, power generation and water purification equipment, livestock, communications equipment, clothing, and necessities such as paper and pens, cookware, sewing supplies, etc. The last man to report said, "The people who have traveled off planet in anticipation of this day have been collected from their locations and are all aboard. To the best of our knowledge, no one outside this group knows just how large the flock is."

"Excellent," Vejrezzol said when all reports were complete. "The day we have planned for and worked towards for so many annuals is almost upon us. When Azula Carver delivered the blasphemous document she alleges to be the original Almuth, we all knew that our ancestors would never have followed such a vile lifestyle as is espoused in that text. Why the nobility supported it and the leaders of our church accepted it as genuine we shall probably never know. But we do know that once we are out from under the thumb of the royal family and their puppets in the church, we will be able to live the lives God intended for us. I shall notify you all very soon of the departure date."

"Has the government given any indication that they intend to stop us or
attempt
to stop us?" Gxidescu asked.

"None, nor should they. We are free citizens of Nordakia and the Galactic Alliance, exercising our right to travel outside our home solar system. Slabeca has no planetary government and is not protected by the Galactic Alliance Bureau of Alien Affairs, so they cannot require us to secure advance entry permits. My friends, I promise you this— when we reach our destination, the entire galaxy will know of the sacrilege that forced us to abandon our homes on Nordakia and travel to a distant solar system. They will understand the reasons for the acts we have perpetrated and support our cause as just, no matter how many die in our struggle. Anything is acceptable when it's done by the hand of the righteous in the name of God."

Chapter Two

~ April 24
^th
, 2285 ~

"That's him leaving now," one of the analysts said to the group of senior officers watching the monitors in the command center.

Images from satellites and 'oh-gee' floating surveillance cameras filled an entire wall of the enormous operations room. Special housings, employing the battle armor technology used by Space Marines that rendered the wearer almost invisible, left little chance the cameras would be spotted. Images of the panorama behind the unit were projected onto the housing front, but a slight rippling effect might be detected if the camera was being repositioned. At night, the surveillance equipment was virtually undetectable. With the right sensors, it could be located by heat signature, but, due to the cooling feature built into the armor, chances of identifying the presence of the equipment were infinitesimal. The floating cameras had become the favorite tool of people performing surveillance work, although satellites still had a place.

"How can you possibly tell who's beneath that cloak?" one of the officers asked. "It could be almost anybody."

"The equipment uses a number of measurements when attempting to identify a suspect," the analyst said. "It has estimated his height and weight using the dimensions of objects in the environment and the impression he's left in loose soil surrounding the lodge, plus it can compare the gait of the subject with those of previously recorded instances where identification was positive. Every person walks in a different manner, and you can't fool the system for long, even if you're trying. The computer lists the probability of accuracy in this surveillance to be 99.99%. It's him, sir."

As the oh-gee vehicle departed the site, the computer announced that a routing plan entered into the vehicle's GPS device would take it to the home of Nordakian high priest Kledoujk Vejrezzol, albeit by an indirect route.

"That would seem to leave little doubt it was him," one of the senior officers said. "Shall we continue our conversation in the secure conference room?"

As the door to the conference room slid silently shut, Admiral Cjolaku spoke first. "From what we know of their plans, the dissidents are ready to depart the planet. The Prime Minister has expressed his firm belief that they'll attempt to initiate a great catastrophe on our home world timed to occur after they've gone. He said he has excellent reason for his speculation, although he can't name the source. Our job is to ensure it doesn't happen."

"Sir, did the Prime Minister mention what
type
of catastrophic event they might be planning?" Commander Rlerqsop asked.

"He suggested it might be a mass poisoning or a pandemic. We'll have to be extra watchful of people who work in any field dealing with mass distribution of products, especially pharmaceuticals and food. All water reservoir security forces must be placed on heightened alert."

"Every agent on the planet, including a cell composed of retired agents reactivated just for this operation, are watching all known members of this group," Rlerqsop said. "I'll update their orders immediately to include this latest information. If the dissidents attempt anything, we'll know."

"Hopefully in time to stop them," the admiral said.

"Yes, sir."

"If they do perpetrate a great disaster, they won't escape justice," Commander Bloljuxa said. "A Space Command vessel will be monitoring their progress for at least their first month after leaving Nordakia to ensure they really are headed for Slabeca."

"Whatever made them choose Slabeca as their destination?" Rlerqsop asked. "It's a hot, dirty little planet with limited mineral resources."

"They say they intend to follow the plan of our ancestors who colonized this world millennia ago," Bloljuxa said. "On Slabeca, the dissidents will be free to establish a colony where they can follow the dictates of their false Almuth. There's no government, and the existing colonies are small and widely scattered. They say the lack of mineral resources makes the planet unattractive to mining operations with their
corrupting
influences."

"Yes, but Slabeca? Most of it's an arid wasteland because it orbits too close to its star."

"They believe the planet is ideal for their intended agrarian society because it's of so little value for anything else. It's certain that it will never be a tourist destination. The dissidents have purchased massive irrigation system supplies, in addition to their farm equipment, seeds and agricultural supplies. They believe they'll turn it into a lush paradise."

"Lotsa luck with that one. I think they'll be on their way back to Nordakia within two years."

"Vejrezzol has made everyone sign papers renouncing their Nordakian citizenship and the documents will be filed officially after they depart. They can't come back."

"They're all Nordakian born," Rlerqsop said. "If they petition to come back, I'm sure the government will restore their citizenship, unless they've attempted to perpetrate crimes during their absence, such as attempts of mass poisonings of Nordakian citizens."

"The only thing I don't understand," Bloljuxa said, "is why the women among the dissidents wish to go. The false Almuth stripped women of all privileges and made them virtual slaves in the household. The Royal family had worked at reforms long before Azula Carver returned the One True Word to our people. If the dissidents follow the dictates of the false Almuth we've reviewed, the situation on Slabeca will be ten times worse than at any time here during the past century."

"I can't answer that one," Rlerqsop said, "other than to say that I don't think they fully understand what they're getting themselves into. I think they might have romanticized this back-to-basics philosophy. It's one of the reasons I believe they'll be begging to come back within two years. Life on Slabeca won't be easy for anyone, but I pity the women most."

* * *

Prime Minister Kulhwolpk hurried to the door and pulled it open. "Come in, Most Holy," he said to the distinguished-looking Nordakian who had just arrived in his outer office as he stepped back to allow entry.

"Thank you, Prime Minister," the priest said as he stepped through the doorway. As a Jtagual, Chlakqu Rtjweefkla occupied one of the five highest positions in the Nordakian priesthood.

"Shall we sit in my informal area, Most Holy?" Kulhwolpk asked, gesturing toward the oh-gee seating in a side alcove. "These seats are far more comfortable than the office chairs."

"That would be most satisfactory," Rtjweefkla said and walked in that direction.

Once the two men had settled into comfortable chairs, the prime Minister said, "Thank you for coming. I wish to discuss the matter of the dissidents again. They will be leaving shortly and we're on high alert for treachery and sabotage, but so far we've uncovered no plots. Have you heard anything?"

"Vejrezzol has broken off almost all contact with the church. He doesn't respond to communications and doesn't see visitors from outside the sect he's established."

Kulhwolpk shook his head slowly. "I was hoping you could tell me something we could use."

"I can tell you Vejrezzol was never granted access to the documents that proved church leaders were behind the genocide of our people on Dakistee. We've known for decades that Vejrezzol only craves power, so we've seen to it that he never rose to a position of real authority and responsibility in the church. Had he achieved such a position before we learned of the treachery, he would surely have been included in the discussions and would then have understood why the church allowed the document from Dakistee to replace the Almuth we were following. But I know he can't be trusted to keep the secret, so when I learned he was serious about leaving Nordakia, I felt you should be reminded of what happened once before. I can't guarantee Vejrezzol is unaware of it. He might have learned from a clergy member in the know."

"Then you feel confident he's capable of carrying out such an act?"

"Capable? Without a doubt. He's extremely bitter. When the church hierarchy was satisfied that the Almuth presented to the King and Queen by Azula Carver was genuine, we made a commitment to embrace it. It was difficult letting go of so much we had come to accept, but most of us were successful. Vejrezzol and his followers continued to denounce the original Almuth as heresy and pledged himself to proving it was a lie perpetuated by Azula Carver. He was unable to do so, of course, but he managed to gather enough believers that he was able to form his own sect. Unfortunately for them, the government never recognized their church because it tried to impose old values on a populace who had come to embrace the changes."

"And how do you feel about the changes now?"

"The church has fully accepted the changes. Our people are more faithful to the covenants of the Almuth and more content with their lives than at any point in my lifetime. I doubt any of our priests, outside of Vejrezzol's sect, would welcome a return to the Almuth we followed in the days before the changes. The recovered text of the One True Word has answered so many questions that our scholars have wondered about and argued about for millennia. A new sort of peace has developed within the priesthood. Our ancestors on Dakistee were wise indeed, and the leaders who brought our people here must have been mad. I wish we could tell both groups how we feel about them."

"If so much of the church recognizes that the changes have been beneficial, how is it that Vejrezzol has managed to find so many supporters for his dream of reinstituting the false Almuth?"

"People have trouble letting go of lifelong behaviors, even when shown the practices were wrong to begin with. We in the priesthood have accepted that what we were taught was a lie and that our teachers had themselves been deceived. This was a difficult pill to swallow, but we were unable to argue with the truth that the people who brought us here had committed a vile act. We knew it was time for us to do what we could to rectify it. Vejrezzol never reached that conclusion. He could only see that what he had been taught was being stripped away from him after a lifetime of dedication. He simply refuses to accept the truth."