The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (45 page)

“I agree with Princess Lariah,” Summer said, placing an apologetic hand on her Rami’s
shoulder.  “Since when do we make war on the innocent, Maxim?” she asked gently. 
“We must go to Onddo, and we must fight those who have taken up arms against us, and
those who work with the Xanti.  But we must also find those Narrasti who wish to be
left in peace, or who would fight against the Xanti.  Those Narrasti we should allow
to join us as brothers, if they wish.”

“What if there are no Narrasti who want to join us against the Xanti?” Maxim asked.

“There will be,” Aisling said.  “That is the meaning of the oraculum.  We must give
them the chance.”

“So the problem is not whether to send the task force to Onddo,” Trey said.  “It is
merely what the task force will do once they get there.”

“I, for one, am relieved,” Garen said.  “We have heard many good arguments both for,
and against dispatching this task force over recent weeks, and were frankly uncertain
as to the best way to proceed.  This feels right to me.”

A few minutes later, after only a little discussion, it was agreed to send the task
force to Onddo with modified orders.  Then Hope held up one hand.

“Just one more thing, please,” she said.  “Is what we’ve learned here today, with
this chalice, to be shared with all Clan Jasani, or is it to be kept secret?”

There was a long silence as everyone considered the question.  Finally Garen turned
to the eldest of them.  “What do you think, Eldar Hamat?”

“I think that there are very rare circumstances under which truth should be hidden,”
he said.  “This is not one of them.  Our people must know and understand what really
happened, to the best of our knowledge.  The Xanti have interfered for far longer
than we ever imagined, and that should be made known as well.”

“Agreed,” Prince Garen said, seconded by Prince Trey, and Prince Val.  “I’m very pleased
with the decisions made here today,” he added.  “Especially since the Triad didn’t
have to threaten us with the Prophecy.”  Princess Lariah arched a brow at her Rami,
and there was some light laughter around the room.

“Prince Garen,” Aisling said, standing again.  “I would like to speak again, if I
may.”

“Certainly, Arima Aisling,” he replied. 

Aisling activated her hand terminal while she spoke. “As some of you know, my father
was a scientist.  He spent his life studying the Xanti.  He found refugees from the
Xanti’s galaxy and compiled stories which he compared and cross-referenced.  I’ve
spent the past month reviewing his data, and have found two stories which I believe
will be meaningful.

“The first is a story told by every refugee he interviewed with only minor variations. 
It says that many thousands of years ago there was a race of beings known as the Garakai. 
They were the most advanced race in their galaxy, and often traveled to lesser worlds,
sharing their knowledge and technology.  Until the day a large contingent landed on
a world known as Xantara.  The Xanti took all that the Garakai offered, learning how
to use their machines and operate their ships.  Then they murdered the Garakai, and
used their ships to leave Xantara.  Pretending to be Garakai, a peaceful race, they
invaded other worlds and stole more technology.  It took many centuries, but eventually,
the Xanti destroyed or enslaved every civilization and world in their galaxy.”

“Here are the important points to this story,” Aisling said.  “First, the Xanti are
incapable of creating their own technology.  If all technology were taken from the
Xanti home world, they would never be able to leave it again.  Even given the tools,
materials and plans to build a ship they could not do it.

“Second, the Xanti did not win control of their galaxy by military conquest.  They
did it by stealth.  They infiltrated, lied, manipulated, and poisoned one race against
another until peoples, civilizations, and entire worlds destroyed each other and themselves. 
Once they set things in motion, the Xanti had only to sit back and watch.  When it
was all over, they moved in, took what they wanted and left the ruins behind without
another thought.”

“And third, the Xanti are infinitely patient.  They think nothing of planning hundreds
or thousands of years ahead.  They move slowly and carefully in all that they do.” 

Aisling paused for a few moments to let that knowledge sink in.  She turned off her
hand terminal and started to sit down, then changed her mind.  She had just one more
thing to say.

“My father suspected, and I believe he was right, that the Xanti are doing the same
thing here, in The Thousand Worlds, as they did where they came from.  If we don’t
stop them, we will end up just like all of the intelligent species of their own galaxy. 
Slaves to a bunch of oversized bugs.”

***

Darck opened the door of the small cottage he shared with Thelba, surprised to see
Marqex, the leader of the village, standing on the doorstep.  He stepped back politely
and waved her in.  Marqex smiled and bowed her head before entering.  Darck closed
the door, listening to Thelba go through the ritual greeting, wondering why Marqex
had decided to visit them. 

Though Darck had no idea of her true age, he knew from her wrinkled skin and ashy
complexion that she was quite old.  She rarely left her own cottage except for very
special occasions or ceremonies.  All he really knew about the Marqex was that she
was deeply loved and respected by all of the females in the village, and by him as
well.

When she was seated, Thelba sat, then gestured for Darck to sit as well which he did
a little nervously.  He had assumed the Marqex had come to see Thelba.  Since they
wanted him to stay, it was clear she came to see him, or both of them.

“Darck Winicke,” Marqex said, “Since you have come to our village you have shown yourself
to be a good mate to Thelba, a good and generous male to the other females of the
village, and an honorable being.”

Darck shook his head.  “I do not want to contradict you, Marqex,” he said.  “But the
truth is that I am neither good, nor honorable.”

“Ah, but that is in your past,” Marqex said, surprising him.  She shrugged slightly
and smiled.  “I am old, yet still I see.  I care not who you were before you came
here, to us.  I care only who you are now, at this moment.  It is now, at this moment,
that I would share with you secrets that must be held close to your heart.  A day
will come, very soon I think, when the secrets must no longer be secrets.  It will
be up to you, Darck Winicke, to make that judgment.  In your hands will lie the fate
of our future, and the future of your children.  Will you accept this burden?”

Darck hesitated.  He didn’t know what she was talking about, nor did he doubt a single
word she had said.  Whatever she’d decided to trust him with was as important and
as dire as she said it was.  The question was, did he trust himself to carry such
a burden?

He looked at Thelba, saw the love and trust in her eyes, and nodded.  For her, for
their children, he would do anything.

“Yes, Marqex, I shall accept any burden you lay upon me,” he said solemnly.

“Several years past, the one known as Magoa rose to power,” Marqex began without preamble. 
“He chose who should live, and who should die, according to his own whims.  Any born
with what he termed
defects
were ordered to the killing fields.  Any with abilities that he decreed wrong, were
ordered to the killing fields.  No one noticed that mixed in with his orders that
none with two many legs or not enough claws should be allowed to live, there were
also orders that none who displayed powers that might, in time, rise up against him,
were also destroyed.  Almost no one.  I noticed.  Magoa was careful to destroy anyone
who had the slightest hint of sugea in them.  He wanted no competition.  There is
no counting the numbers of our people who have gone to the killing fields since Magoa’s
reign began.”

Marqex paused for a moment and sighed, her eyes so sad that Darck’s heart ached in
sympathy. He could not imagine what it would be like to watch so many people slaughtered,
nor did he want to.

“Where Slater came from, I do not know,” she continued.  “Perhaps Magoa really fathered
him and, since he is weak in mind, decided to keep him.  We will never know the truth,
I suspect.  What I do know is that Magoa decided to spare Slater as soon as he decided
to accept the Xanti’s assistance.  That is when Magoa realized that he would eventually
need an army of sugea.  Slater became the first.

“Over the past several seasons, Magoa has tried, and failed, to breed more sugea,
something he becomes increasingly angry and frustrated about.  What Magoa does not
know is that it is not the male that carries the gene needed to birth a sugea.  It
is the female.  He can never father a sugea without a female who carries the correct
gene.  Even then, it will not be his genes that create the sugea.  It will be hers,
and hers alone.”  Marqex paused to accept a glass of cool water from Thelba, giving
Darck time to think.  He had never been a quick thinker, or so he’d been told all
of his life.  So he was very careful, and took his time.

“If Magoa had enough sugea, he could force the Xanti to leave Onddo,” he said.  Marqex
nodded slowly, then waited.  “He would then take his army and conquer other worlds,
using the Xanti’s ships,” Darck finished.

“Yes,” Marqex said.  “He will begin with Jasan.  He will say that the Jasani are to
blame for our plight, but he neither believes that, nor cares if it is true.”

“What is it that he wants, then?” Darck asked.

“Jasan’s wealth,” Marqex replied.  “When the Xanti came with their ships, and their
houses, their tools and their machines, offering the Narrasti a chance to join the
rest of the Thousand Worlds, Magoa considered it for many days.  He disliked the Xanti,
but wanted the extra power they offered to him.  The Xanti said they wanted to
aid the Narrasti to seek revenge upon the Jasani
, but Magoa saw through their lies.  Whatever their true reason, Magoa did not care. 
Why should he?  It has been thousands of years since the destruction of our world,
and our genetic memories tell us that we played an equal part in that.  We have no
issue with Jasan.  Magoa decided to send them away.  Then he learned of the wealth
of Jasan, of the many mines of metals and precious stones, and he changed his mind. 
He will war with the Jasani, for the wealth of Jasan.  But he cannot do it with Xanti
ships.  If it could be done that way, the Xanti surely would have done it long ago,
for their hatred of the Jasani is huge.  Therefore, Magoa’s only chance is to use
sugea.  He must have sugea.  And he must have many of them.”

“But you, and all of the females with the correct gene, are now here, in this village,”
Darck guessed.

“That is most correct,” Marqex replied with a satisfied smile.  “Magoa has noticed
that there are fewer females, but he cares not.  What difference does the loss of
a few females make to him?  His ignorance does more to keep us safe than our rock
walls.”

“Since he doesn’t believe that females have anything to do with it, he looked elsewhere
for his answers,” Darck said.  “That’s why he helped the Brethren, brought us to Onddo.”

“Yes, Darck,” Marqex replied.  “That is why.  The Xanti told him that the bodies of
the Brethren held direct sugea DNA, and they were correct.”

“What does that mean?” Darck asked.

“It means that, even without a female with the correct gene, they have found a way
to use the Brethren to create sugea.”

“How?”

“I confess, the science is above me,” Marqex said.  “Before I tell you what I must,
I would have you know that I learned this only last night.  If we could have warned
the Brethren sooner, we would have.”

Darck nodded, understanding that he was going to learn something bad.  He took a deep
breath and braced himself.

“They have been putting specially treated hormones from female Narrasti into the food
distributed to the Brethren.  It is that which made your brothers ill, and caused
their deaths.”

“We suspected, my father and I, that our food or water was being tampered with,” Darck
said, not as surprised as Marqex had expected.  “There was nothing we could do about
it.  Without those rations, we would have died anyway on this new world that we knew
nothing about.”

Marqex nodded.  “I am sorry, Darck, for you and your people.  Please know that we
would not have allowed such a thing to continue had we known of it.  We would have
brought untainted food, or taken all of you away from that place.”

“Thank you, Marqex,” Darck said.  “I know that you would have helped, and I thank
you for that.”  Darck turned his thoughts away from his father, and the end of his
own race, and back to the problem at hand.  “Why female hormones?” he asked.

“I do not really know,” Marqex replied.  “This I do know; there are now one thousand
eggs hidden in deep chambers beneath the ground.  They have been injected with a mix
of DNA taken from the Brethren, and Magoa.  In a few weeks the eggs will begin to
hatch.  There is reason to believe that they will all be sugea.”

“A thousand sugea?” Darck gasped. 

“It is worse,” Marqex said.  “Even now new chambers are being prepared, and every
female in Magoa’s town are ordered to breed.  Their eggs are being gathered and injected
as fast as the females can lay them.  At this rate, there will be thousands of sugea
within a year.  They will overrun Onddo completely.”