Son of Justice (16 page)

“No, sir,” Eli replied. He noted the colonel had taken a cue from Twigg and was now effectively concealing his emotions. Learning that the human seated before him understood and spoke Minith probably had some influence.

“Very well. You are dismissed,” he informed the private. He pushed himself from his seat and announced to the assembly, “This panel is adjourned.”

Eli sat unmoving and watched the panel members rise and make their way to the private doorway located behind their table. As befitting such a formal occasion, each member of the panel appeared stoic and resolute. None looked in his direction.

Except for Ambassador Titan.

Titan stood, waited for the other panel members to exit, then raised a finger, indicating he wanted a word. Eli simply nodded, stood. The bustle and murmurs of the crowd behind him let him know that the observers and witnesses were making their own, noisy exit through the doors at the rear.

Eli marveled at the man’s size as he approached. He wasn’t as large as a Minith, but standing at nearly seven feet tall and weighing almost three hundred pounds—still muscle, even at his age—he was the largest man Eli had ever met. He was also one of the most important. Not only was he the human emissary here on Telgora, but after Eli’s father, Titan was the person most responsible for the defeat of the Minith twelve years earlier. He had destroyed the Minith home planet and led Free’s people in a successful underground assault against the Minith bases here on Telgora. That attack, which led to the freeing of Telgora from Minith domination, had been the inspiration for Eli’s tower assault only a few days earlier.

“Ah, Eli,” Titan greeted the younger man. He gave Eli a solid handshake, then pulled him into a crushing embrace. Fortunately, it lasted only a second or two. “It’s been too long, son.”

“Two years, give or take a couple of months,” Eli agreed, rolling his shoulders in an effort to dispel the pain from the unexpected hug. He also glanced over his shoulder to see who might have observed the greeting. Most of the crowd had already left, and the few remaining were walking away from them. Only Free was left, still seated. The young Telgoran was watching.

“Don’t worry,” Titan said, lowering his voice. “Your secret is safe with me. You father filled me in on your situation and asked me to respect your request for anonymity. Not sure why you’d take that route, but who am I to question it?”

Eli considered citing his reasons but quickly decided not to bother. It was a complex thing, growing up as the only son of the most popular man alive—not to mention, the greatest warrior in human history. On one hand, he had advantages that were beyond compare—superior educational opportunities, advanced military and physical training, knowledge of how the Alliance was formed, how it operated and managed to survive. He couldn’t imagine not having access to these privileges and did his best to use them as a way to improve and prepare for the future—a future he was convinced resided within the Alliance Defense Force.

“Thanks for understanding.”

“General Treel has been briefed also should you run into him,” Titan said.

“Treel? Treel’s here on Telgora?” When Eli was three, his father introduced him to the Minith soldier, who was a prisoner on Earth at the time. Treel and Eli spent a lot of time together and formed a strong bond that continued until the Peace Wars ended. When the war ended, and his father moved them to Waa, Treel’s son, Arok, became Eli’s closest friend.

“Yes, I thought you knew,” Titan explained. “He’s here to observe Arok’s graduation.”

“Of course,” Eli exclaimed. He had been so caught up in his training, he had little time to consider that Arok was going through the Minith version of basic on the other side of the planet. He wondered how Arok had performed for his human sergeants but knew without asking that the Minith had excelled, as usual. Since the age of seven, Eli and his alien friend had been put through most of the same training. The only major differences involved their spare time. Eli preferred studying military history and scouring libraries for insights into ancient battles and tactics. Arok devoted his discretionary time to additional combat and weapons training. Their individual tendencies usually revealed themselves when the two sparred, which was daily. Arok was a beast who could fight all day and then some. He usually got the better of Eli, except for those times when Eli was able to pick up on the other’s most current fighting style and use it to his advantage. When that happened, Eli described what he had uncovered and how he used it against Arok. Once explained, Arok promptly corrected the pattern, or concealed it well enough to once again get the better of his human foe. It was an ongoing, circular process that made them both better.

“Yes, and unlike you, Arok’s not hiding who his father is. Which makes it possible for Treel to visit.”

Eli didn’t rise to the bait. He looked around and noted that only Free remained in the room with them. He nodded to the Telgoran, who returned the gesture.

“Ah, yes,” Titan stated, seeing the interaction. “Our good friend, Free. That’s what I wanted to speak to you about.”

“About Free?”

“Yes,” Titan acknowledged. He tilted his head down and looked into Eli’s eyes. “Thanks to you, it appears our independent thinker has taken a liking to the warrior lifestyle. He wants to know how he can join the Defense Force.”

“What?” Eli was confused. Telgorans didn’t join the alliance forces. Despite being members of the Shiale Alliance, they kept to themselves in their underground caverns where they didn’t have to interact with outsiders, especially the still-hated Minith. They had existed in relative seclusion for . . . well, forever. Forays above-ground, even for alliance business and meetings were rare. At their insistence, Titan generally spoke for them and represented their decisions and interests. It was a responsibility that Titan took seriously. He was adamant in representing them in a manner that protected them in all ways. Eli’s dad often joked that his old friend was more Telgoran than human, and Eli respected the large man for his dedication. “How’s that possible? Doesn’t he need the comfort of the Family mind to survive?”

“Usually, but Free is an anomaly among the Family,” Titan explained. “He can’t access the mass mind. He’s a one-of-a-kind specimen, who’s been living on the fringe of the Telgoran community since he was born. He hasn’t been shunned. The Family doesn’t do that. But he’s a loner in a world that doesn’t understand the concept. Do you know what the Family calls him?”

“They don’t call him Free?”

Titan laughed. It was a hearty sound that started in the gut and filled the room.

“No, no. The word they use to describe him equates more to ‘loner’ or ‘alone.’ ‘Free’ is the name I gave him, kind of by accident,” the large man stated. “Although he’s Telgoran, he and I are very much the same. We’re outsiders among our own kind. He’s an outsider because he can’t tap into the mass consciousness that defines his people. I’m an outsider because the people of Earth don’t know how to deal with me.”

“That’s not true,” Eli argued. “The people on Earth consider you a hero.”

“Spoken like a human who’s lived more than half his life—and all of his adult life—on the distant planet of Waa,” Titan replied, with a shake of his head. “For a smart young man, who knows more about the Minith than probably any other human, you don’t know a whole lot about your fellow humans. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the people on Earth are glad I’m on Telgora and not on their planet. When was the last time you were on Earth?”

“You know I haven’t been back since I was six, almost seven,” Eli answered.

“Well, you probably don’t remember much, but it hasn’t really changed. Earth is still populated by billions and billions of peace-loving citizens, who tremble at the very thought of having an argument with their neighbor, much less wielding a rifle. They certainly don’t enjoy my company—a person who wiped out the lives of billions of sentient, though aggressive and murderous, beings.” Eli, like all humans, knew the ambassador was almost single-handedly responsible for destroying the Minith home planet. Though that act had saved humanity, and allowed the Minith to be defeated, it hadn’t gone over well on Earth.

Titan’s voice remained low, but it carried an undercurrent of distaste. It was distaste for how most of humanity, the majority of the people on Earth, felt about aggression and fighting. He sometimes heard the same tone in his father’s voice when he talked about Earth’s citizenry. “If it weren’t for those few, like your father, who understand that war is sometimes the only pathway to peace, we’d still be slaves, getting crunched into the dirt under a Minith boot. That’s why ninety percent of the Alliance’s current fighters are Minith. Even now, a dozen years after the war ended, Earth still can’t supply enough recruits who are able and willing to pick up a weapon to defend its freedom. Instead, we have to rely on the Minith culture-ism that requires them to bow down before a conqueror.”

Titan’s words struck a chord with Eli. He thought back to what he knew of the Minith. One of their binding culture principles was the requirement to cede supremacy to anyone who defeated them in battle. It was why they now served under the flag of the human-led Shiale Alliance. They had been beaten by humanity, therefore humanity had won their subordination. He wondered for a moment how long that subordination could last, but then immediately thought of something else.

Like a cloud parting before the sun, the shadow of confusion lifted and Eli suddenly realized why Sergeant Twigg had spoken out on his behalf. Eli and his team had defeated the Minith at the tower. Eli had shot Twigg and dropped him to the ground in the process. By Minith standards, that meant Twigg had to cede supremacy to Eli.

Things suddenly made sense, at least when considered from the Minith perspective.

“That would explain why Twigg spoke up on my behalf, wouldn’t it?” he asked Titan, anxious to gain his insight.

“Try to keep up, Eli. Of course that’s why he spoke for you,” Titan confirmed, albeit in a not-too-sympathetic manner. That’s one of the things Eli liked about the giant. He said what he felt and thought with few filters. “The point I’m trying to make is that Free and I are both outsiders, who are more at home with each other than with our own kind. And, here’s the important thing: so are you. Even if you don’t know it yet. You’re human, but you’re not an Earthlike human. Most of those peace-loving citizens wouldn’t know how to act around you, and definitely wouldn’t want you hanging around. No. They want you exactly where you are. They want me where I am, and they damn sure want your father where he is. On a far-away planet, doing the work they’re too scared to do themselves.”

Eli thought about it for a moment and had to agree. Despite the ambassador’s assertion to the contrary, he remembered what it had been like before he left Earth. Even living on a military compound as they did, it was impossible to ignore the fear and uncertainty that surrounded their existence. Not everyone, obviously. Many were fighters who were training to fight the Minith. But those in support roles—the cooks, supply personnel, drivers, and the like—they spoke little and kept to themselves, and Eli recognized it as fear that drove them. Beyond the limits of the training base, it had to have been ten times worse.

“So, what do you suggest?”

“I’m not suggesting anything,” Titan replied. He put a large hand on Eli’s shoulder and squeezed. It didn’t hurt
too
much. “We just keep on doing what we’re doing and hope things work out.”

Keep doing what we’re doing
, Eli thought. It sounded so easy, and he supposed it was. After all, what else could they do but give their best despite what came their way?

“Is it done?”
Free asked from behind in Telgoran. He had walked to within a meter without Eli noticing.
“I can fight now? Like Eli?”

Eli looked at Titan with a questioning frown.

“I told you. He wants to join the Defense Force.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Eli replied with a shrug. He liked Free and wished he could help, but he was just a lowly private. “Maybe Treel or . . . my dad can help. Either way, I have to get back to my barracks before Colonel Drah sends out a search party.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about Drah, Eli,” Titan stated. “Twigg’s speaking up on your behalf pretty much assures there will be no consequences. Plus, I’m a voting member of the panel, and I possess a significant amount of sway. Despite Drah’s personal preferences on this issue, I don’t envision any problems.”

“I can fight now? Yes?”

Eli looked at Free, then back to Titan. He reached out and shook his hero’s hand, then turned to leave.

“I think your problem might be standing right there, Ambassador.”

“Good luck, my friend,”
he offered to Free as he passed.

* * *

Eli was allowed to stew for twenty-four hours before being summoned back before the panel. Despite the assurances that he received from his peers as they passed his bunk, or the parting comments that Titan had made regarding his not needing to worry, all he could do was wonder what he would do if the review didn’t go in his favor. He had prepared for a life in the Defense Force. It was his entire life, and he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. If relieved from duty, how would his father react? How would Arok or Treel treat him going forward? For the first time, he felt a sliver of doubt over his decision to enter training as someone other than Eli Justice, his father’s only son. It was a fleeting thought, though. Even if the decision came back as the worst case, he wouldn’t have done anything differently. Failing on his own merit was preferable to succeeding on his father’s reputation.

Now, once again, he sat alone, facing the long table where the review panel was just being seated. Eli noted with surprise that neither Titan nor the Telgoran representative were present—only the Minith and human military representatives. Except for Sergeant Twigg, who had accompanied him from the barracks, the rows of seats behind him were empty. Visitors had been prohibited from this portion of the proceedings by an unexpected decree from Colonel Drah.