Kingdoms Away 1: Jorian Cluster Archives (16 page)

They gave him enough time to sit down; he
hadn’t quite gotten comfortable when the onslaught began.

“It came to our attention by Captain Sorance
and Professor Sorance that Trimador instigated and then proceeded
to hide the kidnapping.”

“The evidence?”

Tzand was getting the short version of what
had already been a grilling couple of hours if he was reading the
admiral’s face correctly. He opted for the cautious approach not
knowing how much was discussed.

They passed some pictures over. He studied
them and noted the blown-up sections carefully highlighted. Not
only did he recognize the Trimador symbol but knew it was on
Mardez’s hand. The miniscule tattoo on his middle finger next to
his nail was recognizable.

“I believe, Commander Tzand, that you were
against this kidnapping from the start.” A delegate from Kreid
spoke. She looked at him hard.

He now knew the Nest had confirmed that they
were responsible. “That is correct.”

“You have measures in place to prevent such a
thing from happening if you felt strongly about it; why didn’t you
practice those measures available to you?

“I was off world, Professor Maderson. When I
returned I was given the report and saw the implications.”

“And yet you kept quiet all these years.”

“The Nest set up all possible measures to
find the girl and to help the search. I did not feel that by
revealing who was responsible would help. In fact, I felt it would
hinder the investigations.”

“Why so, Commander Tzand?” A bird-faced man
with brown eyes eyed off the smooth albino face, rare in the
Cluster.

“It was felt that emotion may get in the
way.”

“This is a bad thing?”

“Yes, General Idfarin. It would have
distracted from the real problem.”

“And that was?”

“To find the one person who may be able to
save the Joiran Cluster.”

“You realized the project’s potential?”

“Yes. When I came to the final conclusion of
the report the kidnapping had already happened. I just returned to
Trimador, and I was with the admiral when the report of the attack
of the kidnappers came. I carefully weighed up the options and
decided it was in the best interests to support the admiral in
doing everything to help find the crashed vessel and hopefully the
girl.”

“But it was you who made the decision to keep
quiet at that point. The admiral wanted to come forward.”

“That is correct. For the reasons already
stated and because I knew we might be restricted to planet. This
would hinder our SpyNet.”

“We’ll get to the SpyNet presently; you had
presented the admiral with a PASO prior to that meeting.”

Tzand nodded, meeting the admiral’s resigned
eyes.

“It is for that reason Tzand that this
Delegation Body has requested that the admiral retire and you
receive its newly vacated appointment. We expect to be kept updated
on what is going on, Admiral Tzand …”

Tzand wanted to correct her but she jumped
in, “… I am familiar with your customs. That you are not officially
an admiral without the ceremony, but for the sake of this
conference the Nest has kindly given permission to provide you with
this title and all ongoing responsibilities from this point.”

Heads around the table and surrounding chairs
nodded.

A Nest Official announced for all superfluous
staff to leave. Over three quarters of the number left. The
ex-admiral was escorted out.

Ard was shown in. He took a position behind
Tzand. The remaining bodies found a closer position to the main
table. There were about sixty people left in the large room. Ten
delegates and fifty Nest officials.

Kwi, a leader from Behemoth, straightened her
back and glanced around the room. “It came to our attention,
Admiral, that you and Ard made an arrangement after that first
meeting when you had found out the girl had been kidnapped.”

“That is correct.”

She looked down at her screen tilted at the
head by forty-five degrees so that she could read it in comfort.
“It says here you two spoke at some length and decided that Ard
would accept the admiral’s offer to become his attaché. That he
would report to you regarding any—” she looked him directly in the
eye as she spoke the next two words “—stupid decisions—” she noted
he did not appear discomforted by her disclosure or stare “—and
that Ard was to keep you up to date with the latest information on
both the search and the attackers.”

“That is correct.”

“We understood most of what was required of
Ard and, while we may differ in organizational structure and
procedures, we are not here to tell you how to operate. What we do
want to know is why did you want the information on the
attackers?”

“To give to you now, Kwi.” Tzand smiled at
her and, noticing her response, he glanced around at Ard, who
immediately went to a table top computer and accessed information
that now appeared on everyone’s screen.

“We thought that the main focus for everyone
would be on finding the girl. We thought that by also finding the
assailants this could possibly help us find the girl. I had
received some disturbing reports while I was off Trimador that some
planets were registering missing people. We investigated further to
try and discover why anyone would go missing in the Cluster. I find
it hard to believe, not that our system is perfect, but it’s
certainly better when compared to the scanty Earth history.” His
pink eyes followed the report that had been a culmination of five
years’ work. “Ard discovered that there were some disruptive groups
within the Cluster who also disappeared. We were able to trace
these groups to others who haven’t disappeared and are now
currently in the process of finding out who they are and what they
are doing.”

Kwi spoke again. “Back to that SpyNet issue;
when Trimador, over eight hundred years ago, originally set up its
form of rule, many of those in the Joiran Coalition had suspicions
that the SpyNet could produce serious ramifications. We allowed it
so long as it stayed on planet. Now we know that it has in fact
crept out and the SpyNet is happily operating in at least five
planets that we know of.”

Tzand kept quiet about their estimates.

She continued. “I’m sure that figure is an
underestimate but we will discuss that issue later. For now, we
will simply say that it has both destroyed you and saved you.”

The Ambassador for Apis spoke. “Trimador has
broken its word with its SpyNet and gone against its original
Charter. However, we feel that you, Admiral, have properly
conducted yourself and have sympathy for the Project. It is for
this reason we will need to work with you to discover the obvious
current problems the Cluster is having. We will provide you with a
selection of individual’s representative of the Coalition and top
members in their fields.”

Kwi continued. “We feel that the Nest is
sorry for its action and has tried to repair the damage. So that
you know the full scope of the actions conducted against Project
Wolf, you will meet with the Saxe Genetic Council and discover why
the following punishments will be put in place.”

Here we go; Tzand and Ard had discussed the
possibilities and would now find out who would win the bet.

“This Delegation Body do find the
Trimadorians responsible for the kidnapping of Serafina Alessandra
Reos and Genetic Samples ZXD512 and VDC635 … guilty. The punishment
is as follows:

“Number One. All Trimadorians are hereby
confined to planet until this matter is resolved. All travel off
planet is to be suspended immediately. The exception being any
investigations.

“Number Five: Trimador will receive a 500
point penalty at the Games …”

Neither Ard or he had thought of a game
penalty.

The process went on for ten minutes. Tzand
rubbed his eyes. The initial stimulate of the last couple of hours
was wearing off. It seemed the game of Praxlock was years ago. Ard
placed a drink to his left. Tzand hadn’t even seen him leave the
room. As he sipped it he realized that it was a stimulant. A rumbly
voice down the table said they’d all like a drink and something to
eat. Ard disappeared and came back with the requested refreshments.
Twenty minutes later everyone was energetic again. Ard had given
them all stimulants; Tzand was sure it wasn’t just the food and
drink on its own merit. He groaned inwardly but no one mentioned
anything unusual.

They had all briefly read the report and were
astounded at the mention of the Terasians. After much discussion,
they decided to pack up to rest for a few days. Time could be spent
coming back to this room to do further reading or research but the
information was locked and coded to this room only.

Kwi spoke up, “We thank the Nest for its
cooperation. Congratulations are in order for Tzand, though we wish
it had been under different circumstances. Individual meetings with
kidnapping instigators will be held four days from today. This
issue of the Terasians will become priority one in the next
meeting, which will be two days hence, first light. We’ll need all
the original manuscripts of why they were created and why they were
rejected and who now works in collaboration with them. If they are
causing trouble, we must deal with them decisively, as our
ancestors should have done.”

She looked at Ard who was still standing like
a rock behind Tzand. “Our thanks to you, Ard, for the refreshments.
I’m sure we all found them stimulating.”

Chuckles filled the room. Typical, thought
Tzand. Only Ard would get away with something like that. Still,
that’s why he’s my attaché.

They all stood. Some left quickly, others
moved around the room to talk. Some of the Nest officials shook
Tzand’s very white hand; they were pleased with their choice. One
very longstanding official came over, unsmiling. Still, there were
hardly any smiles in the room; it was not a smiling occasion even
though he felt the lack of smiles keenly regardless of what was
happening. “Well done, Tzand, with Ard beside you, you make a great
team.”

Ard managed to get Tzand out and drove him
back home, the quick way. Ard left him at the front door. The last
thing Tzand saw was the underside of his quilt as he collapsed into
his bed stark naked. His last thoughts were of his shortened
holiday.

{[SPITHRA] [Erus] [Darcerus]

[151409/376/257/autumn]}

The autumn weather had settled in and she loved the
new smells it brought with it. Erianna held the latest Eventus in
her hand. It had been proofread and was ready for mass printing to
go to the two million readers on Erus. She sat in her office,
pondering the latest news. A Captain Sorance and Professor Sorance,
roughly a month ago, had finally uncovered the mystery of who was
behind the kidnapping. Trimador was now facing the
consequences.

The Sorances had acquired some land. Taya had
offered a reward to anyone finding or giving information regarding
the girl’s kidnapping. Erianna had wanted to offer some land on
Erus a year earlier than Taya but her husband had not only
overruled her, but so had others on the council who supported the
offer. It had been humiliating and, once again, she left the
council chambers hurt, angry and rebellious. She had felt deeply
for the parents of the girl and wanted to keep people motivated to
find the culprits.

“Thank you, Zare.”

She lifted the freshly brewed coffee to her
lips, smelling the aroma as she sipped at the edge of the cup. The
door closed gently as the secretary left Erianna in peace. She
swiveled around in her chair to view the capital Darcerus. Mostly
she could see treetops and birds flittering in and out, forever
busy, building nests to ready for their young.

Thoughts turned to her own dilemma: her
husband, the beloved Sovereign of Erus. Thankfully, he was away but
he would return shortly. She was tired of walking on eggshells and
tired of having to stay one step ahead. Moreover, she had
discovered a quandary with her planning some time ago. She
organized things so that she and Ed were apart from him as much as
possible. But in doing so she was finding it hard to build the
Death Portfolio she had started two years ago. But she was not
going to expose Ed to more heartache just so she could take
decisive action. She had to keep patient and busy; when Ed was
older then she would allow for more exposure of the abuse between
her and her husband. Then she could take action. No one else was
suffering on the account of the Sovereign. Or so she originally
thought.

Behind closed doors, he was abusive and
malicious. No outsider had ever suspected him of being anything but
a selfish and arrogant man at his worst. That was until the time he
turned her idea down of offering land in Erus as a reward. It was
the first time he had outwardly shown any of his malice that only
she and Ed saw. She had held her breath, hoping that someone may
begin to suspect.

Most had simply passed over the incident,
saying he was simply having a “bad day.”

She had groaned in frustration.

After that event she wondered at his
motivation for not wanting to offer land. Unbeknownst to him, it
was one of many times she was thankful that he thought her an
idiot, but she had been training as a Guardar. She had received her
qualifications and began training others in special techniques. He
never even questioned the changes of her body as layers of fat
became lean and muscular. When he was home he was very demanding
sexually and she had found being fitter an advantage in this arena.
She was way past the stage of enjoyment and fulfilled her
obligations whilst planning his demise.

Not only was she now a trainer of her own
elite guards, but she had completed the Sovereignty studies. No one
questioned it and instead applauded her prudence when starting the
course, nor did anyone mention within his hearing. Most felt she
should have completed the course a long time ago and did not
understand why he was against her being a Bi-Sovereign.