Solbidyum Wars Saga 6: Defeat of the Tottalax (21 page)

“Why were you exiled?” I asked.

“When the ones you call the sibling group came to us and gave us the substance that makes the females receptive for breeding at all times, I opposed their offer.  My sibling desired the substance; his urges to procreate are greater than his wisdom.  With the help of the sibling group he forced me from the throne, and took my place, forging an alliance with the sibling group.  In exchange for the drug, he would use our ship in the sibling group’s fight against your people.”  I realized that the translating device was translating
‘Brotherhood’
as ‘sibling group’ and obviously there was no word for ‘
Brotherhood’
in the Tottalax language.

“So you are against the Brotherhood using your ship to fight us?”  I asked.

“It is unwise to fight others for conquest.  Fighting should only be for defense. The old writings all say this.  However, (squeak, squawk sound) has no belief in the old ways.  Now, because of this substance our planet is becoming over run with new offspring, and my peoples need to look for other worlds to live on.”

“So you are here then to find a new home for your people?” I asked.

“No, I am here because this is where the sibling group left me.  My sibling demanded the sibling group take me with them, so he could assume the rule in my stead.  I was brought here and left by the sibling group to live out my life in exile.”

“Can you tell me why your people destroyed life on my home planet and what they are doing to it?”  I asked.

Tot stared at me a moment and then answered, “I do not know about this, before I was replaced by my sibling, he spoke of another world similar to our own that he believed would be perfect for my people to expand to and colonize.  However, that planet was inhabited by another race and many other life forms.  My sibling wanted to destroy all life of the planet by causing a large space stone to impact the planet and kill all life there.  In a few years, with a little help from our science, the world could be transformed to be like our home world and colonies could be established there.  I was not aware he had done this; I was very much against it, as it violates the codes of our ancient ones.”

I sighed, “Well, he has done it and billions of lives were lost as a result.”

Tot staggered backwards a moment and while expressions on his face were hard to read, what I observed was a look of revulsion as his skin patterns and colors fluctuated rapidly before settling down.

“I am most regretful for these actions, if they occurred and were by my people,” he said.

“Would you be willing to provide us with information about your people and your world?”  I asked.

“You wish to fight my people to stop their assistance with the Brotherhood?”  He asked.

“Yes!” I said.

“I will help you if you help me recover my position as ruler of my people,” he said, “I believe it is best for both our cultures that we live in peace and not at war.  I also wish to see an end to this use of the substance that makes the females receptive to breeding all the time.  It upsets the balance of nature and leads to all sorts of evil situations.  Help me and I will help you.”  Tot had no sooner stopped displaying his skin patterns when abruptly the sensation of gravity left us, and everyone began floating up in the air.  Water from the pools also began rising and forming into spheres.  Around me, I heard the guards and others voicing alarm at what was happening.

One of the many problems with zero gravity is that you have very little control of your movements and direction if you are not in contact with some surface to launch yourself from.  You can move by using swimming motions if you are in an atmosphere, but your level  of motion is greatly restricted as the air doesn’t give you enough resistance to maneuver as well as you would in a medium like water; as a result we were pretty much helpless trying to maneuver about.  To make matters worse Lunnie and Reidecor were standing near the edge of the larger pool when the gravity shut down, and they were drifting toward the large aquatic sphere.

“Get the kids,” I yelled,” don’t let them get into the sphere.”  I saw Kala spinning through the air trying to reach for Reidecor, who was closest to her but out of her reach.  Jenira was spinning through the air toward the back of the stage area, completely out of control.  One of the guards near Lunnie reached out to grab her when he was hit with a laser beam and slumped dead.  I looked about to see several my guards trying to get some stability of motion as one by one they were shot before they could orient themselves properly to see and return fire on our attackers.  None of Jenira’s Women with Swords were equipped with any weapons other than swords, and they were unable to return fire; whoever was shooting at us apparently considered them not to be a threat.  By now, Lunnie and Reidecor were almost touching the sphere.  I saw Kala making a frantic attempt to reach them, and she almost reached Reidecor’s leg when a laser beam struck her in her arm, and it went limp.

By now, all of my security team was dead or disabled, their weapons floating through the air, and none of them were near me.  I looked about in horror at what was happening, near me Tot floated in space frantically looking about.  Just as I saw Lunnie touch the sphere, and the water began to trace about her pulling her into its interior, I heard.

“Well, well, isn’t this nice?  Imagine me running into you here.”  I immediately stiffened with anger and hatred as I recognized the voice as that of Shydak, the Brotherhood goon who had killed Tanden and had nearly killed Jenira as well back on Goo’Waddle.  “Tell me, Tibby, how does it feel being helpless and watching your family as they are about to die?  You didn’t expect me to be here, did you?  It was nice of the news service to let me know you were here.  Luckily, I happened to be on a mission to eliminate a problem for the Tottalax.  You're an added bonus.  I’m going to enjoy letting you see your family die before I kill you.”

By now, I had spun so that I could see Shydak standing in a small control room next to the same private balcony box where Kala and I had watched the performance from.  In his hands, he held a laser rifle as he watched us with sadistic satisfaction.

“Oops,” Shydak said,” there goes one of your kids into the water.  Tell me, Tibby how long can she hold her breath?  One minute?  Two?”  He laughed.  “Oh, there goes the other child into the sphere as well.  Too bad neither you nor your mate can help them.”  By now, I had spun so I was facing the center sphere, and I could see both Lunnie and Reidecor inside struggling.  Kala hung in space nearby kicking with her legs and using her one good arm to try to propel herself through the air toward the sphere.  Help them!” Kala cried.

“I think I’m going to get a really nice bonus for this,” Shydak said, “killing both you and the Tottalax will win me great favor with Roritat and Ming.”  By now, I was nearing the floor, and I was hoping that with one more revolution, I would be close enough, and at the proper orientation that I might be able to kick off it to propel myself toward the sphere and Reidecor and Lunnie.  I looked at the twins once more and could see them struggling to get air to breathe.

“You’re not hoping to get close enough to the floor to be able to propel yourself in their direction, now are you, Tibby?  I can’t have that,” Shydak said as I continued to revolve around so I was looking at him once more.  “I think if I shoot you in the leg it should prevent that,” he said as he raised the rifle to his shoulder aiming at me.

He was about to fire when, to my left, I saw a shape fly by me at a high speed, as it passed the edge of the stage area and outside the anti-gravity field, I recognized it was Jenira, as she dropped abruptly to the floor and tucked into a roll and then sprang on her feet.  She obviously got close enough to the wall to have a surface to spring from.  I saw Shydak look at her in shock and quickly try to take aim on the now rapidly moving Jenira.  He fired two shots, both hitting the floor behind her.  Jenira jumped up onto the back of one of the seats in the lower auditorium, and in what seemed like an impossible leap, made it far enough to the balcony box above that she could grab the balcony handrail and swing herself into the box.

Because of the position within the control room in relation to the balcony box, Shydak was not able to see Jenira once she entered the box.  For a moment, I lost sight of Jenira as my rotation turned me, so I was facing Lunnie and Reidecor once more.  I could see they both were in serious trouble and only seconds remained before they were inhaling water.  Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tot’s feet touch the floor, and he launched himself into the sphere.  As he entered the water he grabbed both twins, carrying them on through the sphere and exiting the other side.  I only had a brief view of him placing his face close to theirs, and sucking the water off their faces, as my spin carried me around to face the control room once more.  Just as it came into view I saw the door to the room burst open, and Jenira rush into the room with swords drawn.

Shydak was taken by surprise, and he tried to raise the rifle and aim at Jenira, but he was too slow.  In a flash of silver light, I saw one of Jenira’s blades slash Shydak’s arm, causing him to drop the rifle as her other blade nicked his jugular vein, causing blood to spurt from his neck.  Then in a contralto voice, very unlike the young girl voice I had last heard from Jenira, I heard her say.  “That is for what you did to me on Goo’Waddle,” then she raised her foot and with a look of hatred and anger, she kicked Shydak solidly in the center of his chest, knocking him over the edge of the control room wall as she shouted, “and this is for what you did to my brother Tanden.”  Jenira paused only a second to look over the side at Shydak lying on the floor, and then I saw her hands moving over what I believed to be the controls for the stage area.

Abruptly, gravity hit us and there was a loud splashing as the water dropped back into the pools.  The sound of the water was loud enough to cover up the sounds of our bodies hitting the floor of the stage.  I looked about quickly to see Tot leaning over the twins carefully checking them.  Kala was on the floor trying to raise herself up with her one good arm, as one of Jenira’s women rushed to help Kala, and two others hurried to help with the twins.  Behind me on the stage lay the dead bodies of three of my guards, the fourth was wounded but looked like he would survive.  I turned and looked back quickly at Jenira as I started to move toward the twins and saw her grab hold on the edge of the control room half wall, swing over the side and drop nearly three and a half meters to the floor.

All of this had happened in about a minute, but it seemed like it had taken hours.

Kala and I reached the twins at the same time.  Tot stepped back so we could get to them, and although they both were breathing hard, both seemed to be fine.  “Mommy, did you see Reide and me in the water?”  Lunnie asked.

Kala was holding her wounded arm with her good one as she looked at the twins with tears streaming down her face.  I saw her force a smile and say to Lunnie, “Yes. I saw you in there.  I was trying to get to you.”

“I couldn’t breave,” Reidecor said sadly.

“Mommy, we couldn’t breathe,” Lunnie repeated, “and then the man came and got us out.” She added reaching for Tot and giving him a hug.  Tot, of course, could not hear what she was saying, but I saw him display a series of brightly-colored patterns across his skin, and my translator picked it up and translated, “I am joyful to have saved your little ones.  I am glad you both are well.”  I walked over to Tot and placed my hand on his shoulder and when he looked at me, I said, “Thank you for saving my children.  I owe you for saving their lives.  If there is anything I can ever do for you, just ask.”  Tot looked at me a moment and then nodded.

A second later several squads of troopers from the
DUSTEN
, and security forces from the
NEW ORLEANS
, burst into the auditorium being led by Marranalis and Padaran.  A medic rushed to Kala’s side and began looking at her arm as troopers spread out around the auditorium looking for other possible threats.

“We got here as quickly as we could,” Marranalis said as he approached me.

“How did you find out we were in trouble?”  I asked.

“I sent out an emergency request for backup,” the wounded guard who had survived the earlier shooting answered.  I looked back at him where he was being loaded onto a stretcher for evacuation.

“My thanks to you then.  What’s your name?  I asked.

“Vorittas, sir.  Lieutenant Vorittas.”

“Well, Lieutenant I thank you.  I don’t recall seeing you on my guard detail before.”

“No sir, today was my first assignment to your guard detail,” he said.

I felt a tug on my leg, and I looked down to see Reidecor looking up at me with a sad face.  I reached down and picked him up, and he looked at me and said, “Daddy I don’t like swimming in this water.”  I had to chuckle.

“That’s all right, Reide.  You don’t need to swim in it anymore,” I said.  Then I turned to Kala, “How are you?”

“Just a bad wound, the medic says once we are back on the
NEW ORLEANS
, and they can get me in the med unit they will have me fixed up in no time.  There is no permanent damage, just a tissue wound.  Tib, I was so frightened, I have never felt so much fear before.  All I could think was that our babies were"… and then she choked on a sob.” Tib, it’s all my fault, I never should have insisted we bring the twins here to this show.”

I was still holding Reidecor in one arm, but I put my other around Kala and pulled her close, “Kala don’t go blaming yourself, blame the Brotherhood and people like Shydak.  We can’t go making our children live in a glorified prison to keep them safe from possible harm.  What we need to do is teach them how to survive and be prepared for these situations.  I looked at Lunnie, who was now seated on the floor with Tot and examining his webbed fingers as he sat still next to her observing her curiosity. Kala looked over at Lunnie and then back at Reidecor, and she sighed.  “You are right, Tib, but we will continue to make sure they have bodyguards wherever they go, won’t we?”