Shadows of Golstar (72 page)

The
Grand Patriarch laughed harshly, “Again you attempt to bargain with nothing to
offer that I do not already possess.”

“I
wouldn’t be too sure of that. Take a look at my hand.”

“The
Grand Patriarch saw that Owens was pointing the shocker directly at his chest.

Owens
nodded. “While you were engaged in those grand philosophical discussions with
your daughter, I was able to bring this up to where it will do the most good.”
He waved the shocker slightly to emphasize his point. “If you pull that
trigger, I’ll fire, and before you hit the ground, I’ll break your fucking
neck.”

The
Grand Patriarch now locked eyes with Owens. He said, “I see. By my sovereign
right, at this moment I could pass judgment and carry out her execution.”

“You
could, but that would be your death warrant as well.”

“She
provided you the means to access to our most precious secret. There can be no
greater crime, but... ” He suddenly smiled. “But if you give yourself over to
me now, I vow by the name of General Golan Berral Light that I will temper her
punishment. She will, of course, remain under house arrest, never to leave the
Palace, but she will not be physically harmed.”

Owens
finally nodded in agreement and loosened his hold on the shocker. As it fell to
the floor, the loud boom of an explosion deafened him.

● ● ●

The
smoke and powdered debris began to clear. Collins looked at the damage to the
bars and door. He turned to the two husky men standing beside him. Although they
were still nursing minor injuries from Owens’ surprise attack, they were both
fully recovered from the shocker, and ready to atone for their earlier failure.
Collins said, “Finish the job, we need to get into that suite now.”

Immediately,
they went to work, prying away at the loosened metal bars that had blocked the
heavy door as Collins looked on. In less than a minute they should be able to
enter. By chance, one of his men had been searching in the unused residential
wing and heard a commotion coming from a sealed suite. The man had quickly
notified Collins, who was fortunately close by. He called in the others and
they met at the entrance to the quarters.

Seeing
that the door was sealed with the Grand Patriarch’s coat of arms and secured
with three metal bars, they quickly lobbed a concussion grenade at the
entryway. It was not an ideal method, but the grenade was all they had on hand.
Fortunately, the grenade had worked. Collins now watched as one of the bars was
noisily pulled away from its mounting.

● ● ●

Owens
quickly recovered and looked at the Grand Patriarch. The Golstar leader seemed
to be in a transitory state of shock, struggling to understand what had just
happened, the gun now pointing at the floor, momentarily forgotten. Owens
immediately reacted and tackled him. The Grand Patriarch, though in
surprisingly good physical shape, was no match for Owens’ strength. They fell
to the floor with Owens on top. The Grand patriarch’s head hit the floor with a
solid thud. Owens wrested the gun from the unconscious man’s loosened grip.

Owens
checked for a pulse and verified that the Grand Patriarch was breathing. He
looked up at Sharné and was gratified to see that she was alert and already
moving toward them. “He’s just unconscious. He hit the floor pretty hard, but I
think he’ll be okay.” She nodded once, uncaring of the man who had sired her.

He
stood up quickly. Loud rasping noises were coming from the door. It was
creaking and shaking as it was being battered from the other side. Sharné was
standing close beside him. He said, “We’ve got to get out of here, now.”

She
didn’t seem to hear him. She was staring down at the crumpled figure, “He
murdered my mother. He should die for that and what he has allowed to
continue.”

He
grabbed her shoulders, careful not to exert too much pressure, “Sharné, look at
me.” When she didn’t respond, he shook her, “Damn it Sharné, I’m sorry, but we
don’t have the time for this. We’ve got to go!” His last words were punctuated
by a sound of splitting wood.

Her
eyes cleared. She looked at Owens and nodded, “Follow me.” She ran back toward
the dressing room, heading for the passageway.

“Just
like old times,” he muttered to himself as he rushed to follow her.

Just
outside the entryway, she stopped and pushed the small lever. With nothing
blocking it, the door swung closed and locked in place with a sharp snick. “I
doubt our pursuers are aware of the entry to the passage and my father isn’t in
any condition to enlighten them. It should buy some additional time.” She
looked up at him and asked, “What do we do next?”

“Let
put some distance between us and them. If or when they discover the door, I
want us to be as far away from them as possible. They’ll have no way to determine
where we went.” He saw that Sharné was looking down at the stone floor where
they were standing. Scuffled footprints in the thick dust covering the floor
were clearly revealed in their lamps. “Okay, scratch that lame idea. But I
still think it’s a good idea to get away from here.”

She
looked up and nodded. She turned and headed down the passageway without a word.
He quickly followed. She turned her head and said, “We will go to the shuttle
pad exit. It was sealed over long ago, but perhaps we might find a way to open
it. I cannot think of anywhere else. By now, my rooms have likely been searched
and someone could be posted there to watch for my return.”

“Good
thinking.”

As
they jogged down the corridor, Owens was struck with an idea. He remembered that
Hec had told him that he could contact the
Holmes
without fear of being
overheard. He hoped that was true for anywhere within the palace. If he could
reach Hec, then just maybe… he was getting ready to activate his wrist-comp
when he realized he was holding the pistol in one hand, the lamp in the other.
He figured his idea could wait until they reached their destination.
 

They
ran on for three or four minutes, pausing only long enough to negotiate a few
sharp turns, avoid some empty packing crates and miscellaneous debris they
encountered along their path. Finally, Sharné began to slow. Her pace reduced
to a brisk stride. As he was about to suggest he carry her once again, she
shined her light on a double-wide door, blocking their path. She stepped aside
and Owens walked forward now shining his own light, inspecting the doors.

The
doors were tall and made of a dull, silver-colored metal. A large, curved lever
served as the opening mechanism for each door. Below the lever on the
right-hand door, was a triangular hole. He stared at it and said, “Damn. It's
another mechanical lock. This opening must be for a key. I guess they wanted
something that could still function if the power was cut off.” He tried the
levers. Both moved easily, but neither one engaged the latch mechanism.

He
looked around, shining the light on all the nearby surfaces. He said, “Thought
they might have kept the key hanging on a hook or something.” He shined the
light once more, before saying, “I guess not.” He inspected the hinges hoping
that they were as archaic as the door locking mechanism. They were, but their
massive pins were capped at both ends; he couldn’t remove them. He pushed at
the doors, testing their strength. They were solidly set and didn’t budge. He
pushed harder to see if there was any slack that he could take advantage of,
but they remained silent and immovable, as if welded closed. The only noise
came from Owens’ popping joints. “Well forcing the doors isn’t an option
either.”

There
was a slight note of panic in Sharné’s voice, “We cannot just wait around to be
found. Do you have any ideas as to what we should do now?

Owens
said, “I think I do. Now let’s just hope it works.”

● ● ●

“What
is the meaning of this? Release me, as your Grand Patriarch, I order you to release
me at once!” The Grand Patriarch had only recently returned to consciousness.
He sat in a chair, securely restrained by padded metal straps across his arms
and chest.

The
man sitting across from him smiled thinly. “I am sorry, but I am afraid my orders
will not allow it. For the time being, you are to remain where you are.”

“No
one, no one in all of Golstar transcends my authority. My will is law. You will
immediately obey my Founder-given order.”

The
other man just shook his head.

The
Grand Patriarch took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but before he could
say anything, the man said, “If you are about to shout for the palace’s
automated defense system, it will do you no good. It was disabled. But please,
do feel free to try.”

The
code words died in the Grand Patriarch’s mouth. “Who are you? Why am I
restrained?”

The
man cocked his head, as if considering the question. “I am Captain Collins,
assigned to the North Regional Security Command.” He added, “However, I am
currently on reassignment. I was ordered to bring you here and make sure you
could not escape.”

“Release
me, my authority exceeds all others!”

“I am
sorry, but here you have no authority. Here, you are just a prisoner, nothing
more.”

“Then
you have signed your own death warrant.” The Grand Patriarch glowered at
Collins. “Tell me, who gave you the order to do this? I think he should join
you when you face your executioners.”

“I
did,” said the Guardian of the Way entering from an adjoining room. He walked
around the Grand Patriarch. Captain Collins nodded sharply, then immediately
stood and moved aside, vacating his seat. Talin sat down and looked calmly at
the disheveled leader.

The
Grand Patriarch complexion paled to parchment white. He opened his mouth to
speak, and then closed it. He stared at the Guardian of the Way, unable to
utter a word. Talin watched as the Grand Patriarch’s expression changed from
one of utter shock, to confusion, and then finally settle into a cold, stony
visage.

Talin
turned to Captain Collins, “I believe you have another, more pressing matter
that requires your attention.” Collins nodded and quickly left the room.

Talin
turned back and sat in silence, waiting for the Grand Patriarch to speak. Some
minutes passed before his patience was rewarded. The Grand Patriarch voiced
only a single word, “Why?”

The
Guardian of the Way nodded, “Why indeed…” He stood up and looked down at his
erstwhile friend and leader. “You cannot even guess?”

The
Grand Patriarch said nothing, his eyes reflecting only bitter betrayal. His expression
remained set, revealing nothing more.

Talin’s
own expression was unreadable. He said, “I can well imagine what is going
through your mind.”

The
Grand Patriarch’s voice dripped acid, “Can you now? You can imagine I am
pondering how my longtime friend and confidante could be guilty of such
treasonous acts against the People of Golstar? Can you envision I am
considering the vilest of punishments to be meted out before your cowardly soul
is finally cast into the darkness?”

“As a
matter of fact, yes. You are quite easy to read,” the Guardian responded. “Your
emotional reaction is not unexpected.”

“I
find you are a traitor, and I am castigated for expressing emotion?”

“I am
not guilty of treason. I committed no act against the People.”

“You…
you committed the act against me! I am Golstar! I
am
the People!”

Talin
shook his head sadly, “No. You are not. You have not been for some time.
Perhaps once you were a great leader, a man of vision, but not now, not for
many years. However, even I was surprised by your recent lack of foresight. You
and you alone by your insane scheming have brought our great civilization to
the very brink of extinction.”

“No,
extinction was inevitable had I done nothing. The status quo was leading us
into the final darkness. It was the lack of resolve to act over the intervening
years that led us to the precipice. And it is only by my bold vision and
decisive planning that we may regain our greatness!”

“You
are deluded. By your own admission, the very manner in which you brought Janus Owens
within Golstar’s boundaries will cause Confederated Planets to reach out and
once again test their will against ours. If we cannot regain access to the
Primes, instead of our salvation, it will mean our doom.”

“You
are wrong! It was only a matter of time before our enemy again ventured into
our territory. My plan provided a more certain timeframe, but one that will
allow us some time to prepare.”

  Talin
shook his head sadly, “I cannot agree. You only have hastened their incursion
into Golstar. How can you continue to espouse that absurd premise? There was
another way.”

“No!
It was the only way!”

“No,
had you taken my advice and procured a tissue sample from the Outsider, in
Confederated Planets territory, by now a clone would be ready for birthing. Instead,
you developed this incredibly convoluted scheme.”