Spacer Clans Adventure 3: Naero's Fury (17 page)

Bright flashes of light enveloped both
enemy warships.

In a matter of instants, the false crews collapsed and sprawled stricken upon
the decks of those two ships, above and below decks.

Several
Kall ships roared in the next moment–surrounding the two renegade ships–including the large warship of King Haikoda, himself.

There was no escape, and no battle, since the imposters were already stunned.

Naero rode a lift on chains and ropes down to the deck of
The Blue Vixen.
She embraced Kutira and her adept friends, thanking them.

Prince Tavul stood by nervously. He looked
over at Naero with his large golden eyes, trying to be brave.

“
You are the mediator?” he asked.

Naero offered him her hand. “I am, Prince Tavul. My name is Naero, and I am your friend.”

Tavul looked around at the Kall, and sighed.

“
So, I am to be ransomed, then?”

Naero laughed and shook her head. “No, my friend.” She reached up and touched his young, handsome face. Sheesh, even at thirteen, the kid was taller than her. “There shall be no ransom.”

Naero led Tavul to the lift and winked back at Kutira.

Now it was the princess who sighed. “You are right, Naero. Even if my brother does
n’t like it. It is the right thing to do. If only you had come to us sooner. Perhaps we could have–” Kutira looked away.

Naero took Kutira’s hands. “I’m sorry. I wish we could have saved your brother, Jigan.”

A fierce light lit Kutira’s fair face, burning with tears, as the wind swept through her hair. “I know very well who is to blame. I shall never forget it, nor forgive.”

Tavul smiled happily as he rose up into the air. He waved at them. “Farewell, Princess Kutira, my
pretty friend. My good holy ones. Thank you all and the gods themselves for rescuing me. I owe you my life.”

Kutira smiled through her tears and waved up at the handsome boy. “Go in peace, my friend. Let us pledge never to harm each other.”

“You have my word, Kutira.”

“
And you mine, Tavul. Let all witness it.”

The Sea King and their two remaining brothers strode up quickly to join their sister.

A brief squabble was settled quickly, concerning the loss of ransom.

“
My lords,” Naero pointed out. “You have just regained control of two of your lost warships, completely unharmed, undamaged, and fully loaded for war. You have captured two large units of villains, posing as your people–and perpetrating murder, rapine, piracy, and war–falsely in your name. I suggest you question these spies and assassins thoroughly before bringing them to justice. I’m certain you shall learn many interesting things.”

Kutira knelt at her
oldest brother’s side and kissed his hand. “The mediator has done very well by us, my brother. By freeing Prince Tavul and returning him to his mother, Naero prevented an attack on our secret lumber mill and shipyard, a loss that would have set us back decades!”

King Haikoda asked for a seat to think in, and one was brought up on deck for him.

He listened to all that was said, and then looked at Naero in wonder. “Is all of this true? Why have you done all of these things to help us?”

“
I am here to help all toward the ways of peace,” she said. “For that is the will of the gods. There has been enough blood. Even the warrior gods grow sick and tired of seeing their beloved children constantly butcher each other for no reason. It is time to put an end to such folly and madness. Peace and reason will serve you all better.”

Even the mighty Sea King was at a loss. “We have never known such. How do we even proceed?”

“The holy ones will advise and counsel you all, if you would only listen to us. Both the Maedo and the Kall have seen fit to make no war this night. It is a start. It is only a beginning, and must be continued, no matter how hard it becomes.”

“
I am listening, child. You force me to listen.”

“
I am listening as well,” a mighty voice called down from another lift that had been lowered from the Maedo Cliffs. “Haikoda, mighty King of the Sea. Queen Aijarri of the Maedo thanks you for the freely returned life of her youngest child, Prince Tavul. And I thank the holy ones for his miraculous rescue from the clutches of Emperor Vauk.”

Haikoda stared at Naero in wonder. “But how? How was this achieved?
No one escapes with their life from the very teeth and claws of the blood-soaked, golden dragon?”

Naero clasped her hands together. “The gods wished the boy to be spared and set free, and so he was. Yet they seek not to meddle in your affairs directly.
That is not their way or wish. You world is your own for you to rule. If you count on them to do what you should do for yourselves, they will surely turn away. They but give you all these few chances to solve your problems on your own–between one another. For that is the way things should be. They placed you all in charge of your world. It is not theirs. You are all responsible for what comes of your world–peace and life–or death and destruction. The choice remains and always will remain yours to make. Make the right choices long enough, and you will have no need of the gods.”

Queen Aijarri called down from her lift. “For too long, the
Darkheart has set us all at each other’s throats, Haikoda. Our peoples grow weaker, while he only grows stronger. This night I owe you the life of my son, and offer you safe passage. Will you not come up to us, great king, and let us speak of peace, with the mediator of the gods between us?”

“
I wish that I could, great queen. But I swore a great oath–before the gods and all that exists–to never set foot on land, and to stay on the ships of my people, until the Kall are safe and secure in their freedom. I cannot break such an oath.”

“
I understand. Keep your great oath. Then, if you swear my safety upon the lives of your blood and your people, great king. I shall come down to you, alone and weaponless. And we shall speak of such matters on any ship you name.”

“
How can I refuse such a brave offer, that I cannot meet myself? Come down then, weapons or no, as you are, Queen Aijarri. Upon my life and my honor, you shall remain both safe and free among us.”

The Queen
signaled for the lift to be sent down, and she stepped out to take the hand of The Sea King in greeting.

“
Ware! In the port rigging!” Kutira suddenly cried out.

A Kall archer bent her bow at the Maedo Queen. None could stop her from firing.

Haikoda himself stepped before the queen to take the shaft in his own breast, protecting her according to his vow.

But at the last instant, Naero leaped in. The arrow struck her in the back, and protruded out the front of her chest. She gasped in agony and felt her eyes roll up.

Haikoda caught her in his startled arms. “No…no, little sister. That shaft was not meant for you!”

The assassin crashed to the deck the very next instant–dead–riddled with arrows, javelins, and even a few well-thrown knives.

Kutira rushed forward to examine the body.

“
Was she one of us?” Haikoda asked in disbelief.

Even Kutira stared in
shock, before she nodded. “She…was. Gevana and I were playmates. Yet see what I find in her pockets…Vaedo gold coins!”

The princess flung the bloody coins into the sea in fury.

Naero felt the adepts examining her. She trusted in her friends. They would heal her.

Naero. Poison. The arrow was poisoned, with the same blowfish venom meant for the Thanes!

I’m getting dizzy Om. Help them neutralize it.

I’m trying.

“
Poison,” Naero muttered. “Blowfish…poison–”

The Sea King paled. “If that is true, I’m afraid…she
is gone. There is no known cure for such poison.”

“
Lay her down,” Pharrah insisted.

“
Let us tend her!” Kenden said.

“
Give us room!” Rinaldo said. All three adepts did their best to heal, neutralize, and regenerate her. First they removed the arrow very carefully.

“
It…missed my heart, at least,” Naero said, weak and choking for air.

“
Lie still. Don’t talk,” Pharrah ordered.

The Sea King looked on and could not believe his eyes. “Amazi
ng. The lethal wound is healing; I can see the flesh closing up.”

“
My friend,” Queen Aijarri asked, pulling him aside. “Let me send word to my people on the cliffs. They will be worried about what is happening down here.”

“
Please, do so, great queen.” He turned to his brother. “Nokarro, her life is yours to watch over. Yeshida, Kutira. Stay with me and our little mediator.” The king shouted aloud in a fell voice. “Death to any who lift a hand against the royal family, or any of our honored guests. Allow no further treachery!”

Ahhh…at last, we’ve done it, Naero. We’ve neutralized the toxin. In a few moments, you will start to feel much better.

Thanks, Om.

After a few tense moments more, Naero felt her strength return, and spoke aloud for all to hear.

“I’m all right. Help me to my feet, my friends.”

Naero rose up, and allowed a shimmering, blue-white aura of Cosmic energy to surround her entire form, from head to foot.

The crews of all the ships present, even the king and queen themselves, gasped, backed away in awe, and fell to their knees.

“
The child shines with the very light of the gods themselves!” Queen Aijarri proclaimed.

The Sea
King shook his head as if he might go mad. “She lives. She should be dead, and yet she rises from such a wound, hale and unhurt. Truly, it is the will of the gods!”

“
I was spared,” Naero said, “from the brink of death, by the will of the gods. For my task among you is not yet finished–to bring a lasting peace, to all the children of the gods. To help you establish peace upon your world, for you and all of your children. Are you not all tired of war and senseless death and misery? Together, let us work to find and sustain, a better way–the way of peace, and freedom for all.”

Naero went to the king and queen, lifted them up, and embraced each of them, as her aura slowly faded.

Later that night, when all was done, not only a new treaty, but an alliance had actually been formed between the Maedo and the Kall. Trade would resume between the two former foes. Maedo forest and mountain warriors would help protect the secret shipyard, and the Kall would help protect what remained of the Maedo lands, and their access to the bay.

Naero filed her report to the High Masters, certain
that they would find some fault with it, and threw herself on her bed to sleep. Of course, she thought she was doing a great job.

She dreamed of dragons again, including nightmares about a terrible golden wyrm, drenched in human blood.

The time to meet with Emperor Vauk would come the very next day.

19

Naero had trouble replicating a tree the next day. Trees, as they turned out, were incredibly difficult to get right–just something about them. One of hers even turned all rubbery and floppy for some
funky reason.

How
. Embarrassing.

Frogs, even birds, a squirrel
type creature–even a kind of deer and a bear–she was able to replicate just fine after a few attempts. Mammals seemed easy. Mammals just came to her naturally. Maybe it was because she was one. Perhaps that gave her an edge. But trees? Even little trees, damn it. Even just saplings were nearly impossible.

Trees were tough. Maybe it had something to do with their lifespans being so long and stretched out. Naero was
n’t quite sure.

Finally, they went to a place on one of the continents that had large primates–a baboon creature with gray fur, livin
g on the edge of a savannah jungle.

Naero tried replicating one, and it seemed to go all right, but the attempt also gave her a massive headache.

That was something new.

The more sentient a species was, the more painful it was to attempt to replicate it. Go figure.

Naero, that’s enough replication for today. I knew we shouldn’t have skipped startapping, and went with replication first.

Cool your drives, Om. So we mix it up a little? Let’s hit the desert and try some startapping. We still have some time.

All right. Now today, we just want to focus on tapping a small amount of energy and being able to store it again, for a longer period of time.

Gotcha, buddy. Will do.

In the desert, once they startapped, Naero attempted to store the tiny amount of Cosmic energy within herself.

Instead, her Dark Beast broke free just enough to
gobble it down.

Emboldened by the energy feed, it lashed out in fury, trying bust out completely and seize control.

For an instant, Naero forgot that what she had access to–so did her Dark Beast–and its lust and hunger for any type of energy was constant and ravening.

First she thought she could simply wrestle with it, and drain the energy it had seized back out
from it. Yet anything it devoured, it transformed into destructive, Darkforce energy. If she absorbed such energy directly, she would be infused by its taint, leaving her open to her Dark Beast even more.

Naero…remember what we have learned about the Lifespark and the Darkforce–how they balance and even compliment each other to form the Harmony–The true balance of all energies Cosmic.

Dark and Light.

Life and Death.

Creation and Destruction.

I’ll try to balance them out, Om.

She struggled to summon just enough of the Lifespark to balance with the Darkforce powering her monster within herself.

Naero gasped
.

Almost instantly, her Dark Beast wailed, bereft of all its stolen power. It roared in fear–in terror actually–and slipped away to hide.

The thing within her had never shown fear before.

The serenity of the Harmony suffused Naero. She hovered on the brink of becoming an energy being. She pulsed first with Scarlet Chaos energy, then Blue Order Energy, and finally a mix of the two,
creating violet energy.

Violet energy…just like
that of the artifact statue.

She swelled with energy until she towered ten meters over the spot she stood upon. Her hands and arms shifted into huge scarlet katanas. Red, blue, and purple blades emerged out of her energy form.

She looked like Baeven, in his partial, Cosmic energy being form.

In a flash it occurred to her.

This was hers. This was what her partial energy being form looked like, when it took shape.

She could
n’t wait to try it out.

“
What are you doing, Naero?” High Master Tree suddenly asked.

She felt all three of the High Masters suppressing her powers once more,
siphoning them away.

She did not try to resist them
–this time–but at some point, that was going to change. Naero shrank down to her normal form and size.

“
Just trying out some new ideas that came to me.”

“
We and Intel have been monitoring some strange Cosmic energy spikes showing up on the planetary scans each day, at about this time,” Master Jo stated.”

“
I’ve been trying to use balanced energy strategies to help control and contain my Dark Beast,” Naero said. “Isn’t that one of the goals I’m supposed to be working on?”

Master Tree looked uncertain for once. “In theory, yes. But it troubles us greatly that you have been going off on your own–and doing so–without our input, and without us there to safeguard you, should you lose control.”

“See, we cannot trust her,” Master Vane said. “What if she goes off on her own and loses it? She could wipe out an entire continent before we could arrive to contain and suppress her. It’s the exact same situation on Janosha. What if the artifact statue should sense these Cosmic spikes and seek to investigate them? What if it takes her over, like the one on Janosha did with–”

Master Tree cut him off sternly. “She did not know that, and does not need to know the particulars of that event.”

Naero, do not tell them about your replication abilities just yet.

Do
n’t worry, Om. I’m not about to.

So, the artifact on Janosha took over Baeven somehow? Wh
at did it do to him? What did it do with him? Naero vehemently disagreed with the High Masters. They wanted to keep her ignorant, and saw safety in that strategy. Yet more and more, she needed to know exactly what had happened back then to her uncle.

She needed to know, in order to better control what
just might happen to her as well.

“
High Adept Maeris,” Master Tree said, “we are deeply concerned and alarmed by this secretive, reckless behavior, and frankly, with some of your choices and decisions that you have made in your role as Mediator.”

“
What have I done wrong? I have achieved a major treaty between the Maedo and the Kall.”

Vane snorted. “What have you done wrong? Where do we begin? This was busy work. This was a lark, meant to keep you occupied, so that you did not get into trouble. And here you are in the thick of it. You are only supposed to be negotiating thes
e issues, not making them turn out the way you want them to–pretending to use godlike powers, duping the natives, and meddling directly in the affairs of the natives–far beyond any authority we ever thought to give you. You meddle too much, and you enlist the other adepts with you in doing so!”

Naero tried to ignore Master Vane. She knew exactly what he was going to say. “Look, you three gave me a mission, and I have taken the initiative to
try to actually do something with it. And I have done real good. Tell me now. What was I supposed to do? Let the Thanarran royal family be murdered? Let Prince Tavul of the Maedo be killed, just like Prince Jigan of the Kall? Without my meddling, the Maedo and the Kall would be at war right now, to the detriment of both. Instead, they are at peace, and have formed a mutual alliance.”

Finally, Master Jo came to her defense. “Brothers, she makes many good points. We did send her on this mission. What
real harm has she done within the farce that we ourselves have established? She has brought about positive results, and avoided direct violence, whenever and wherever possible.”

“
I am not convinced,” Master Tree said. “All of this could collapse and turn bad very quickly. And I am very uncomfortable with the element and level of deception being used, as far as manipulating the natives through their superstitions.”

Naero could
n’t believe it. She had to go ballistic on that one. “Seriously? You sent us among the natives, posing as ‘the holy ones,’ and yet we are not supposed to use that at all to our advantage, or to the furtherance of our mission? If the results are good, what do the methods matter?”

She had never witnessed Master Tree nearly go into a rage.
“
That
opinion is dangerous and problematic almost in its entirety. I question it by its very nature. The ends cannot always justify the means. Can you not see the danger in that, High Adept Maeris?”

Master Jo shook his head. “I strongly disagree. No one is saying
always
. Yet face the facts–sometimes the ends
do
justify the means. We should not fail to act, just because we
might
do harm. Harm will be done anyway, even if we just stand by and let things happen the way Master Vane would. Why should we not try to modify things and make things better, for all concerned?”

Vane jumped in. “That is
not what we should be doing. Why are we even meddling at all? Who cares what the natives do to each other? We shouldn’t even be here or be involved. Maeris is right in one thing: If you don’t expect her to do what she does, in the way that we can guess she’s going to do it, why in the hell should we give her the task anyway? I know very well what’s going to happen. All of her attempts at peace are going to lead to the worst kind of war imaginable. Everything she touches ends in disaster and destruction. When has she not left destruction in her wake?”

“
You all gave me a task,” Naero said again, reminding them. “I have made it my own, and I am pursuing it to the best of my ability. It is far too late now to get cold feet, well after the point where I have committed so much time and effort, and the fates of so many are already at stake. You yourselves said that I would more than likely fail, as others before me have failed. At least give me some trust to make the best effort possible, using my own methods.”

“
I still question your methods in many ways,” Master Tree said, folding his hands together. “But it seems that we are all both invested and fully committed to you seeing these matters through, whether we like it or not. Tell us then, Naero. What do you think we should do?”

Naero spoke bluntly. “Easy,
kill the sleazy emperor of the Vaedo and defeat the Vauk. We could do so in less than a day, and save tens of thousands of lives. The Vaedo are constantly fanning the flames of war, and playing everyone against the others for their benefit. They are without honor, and cannot be trusted. They are the obvious, greatest obstacle to peace between the city states.”

Vane covered his face with his hands and shook his head in frustration and despair.
“Now do you see the problem?” he howled.

“
I do,” High Master Tree said, his face very grave and troubled. “Naero Maeris, this is the exact reason why I commanded you expressly not to use violence. Is it not your go-to solution for everything? We cannot interfere in that way, and simply pick the leaders for the natives–and certainly not through assassination. That is not our role, or our place.”

“
Why in the hell not? You tell me…exactly how are the other city states supposed to negotiate peace with a diseased maniac like Emperor Vauk on the throne of the most powerful and numerous nation, with the largest army and active spy and assassin network? That is why Vauk keeps winning, and everyone else keeps losing. He is a genocidal maniac, a deluded tyrant, and a brutal, bloody thug of the worst sort. Why is his life so important, as opposed to all of the people he kills and tortures and maims on a daily basis?”

Master Jo looked at her pointedly. “Yet, the High Masters are still right. It is not our place to decide who lives and who dies; that is a slippery slope that we cannot go down. You must find another way. We do not work this way.”

“Yes. We do,” Naero told them. “What a load of crap. We face down tyrants all the time–and kill their sorry asses–cold, stone dead. We took out Triax Gigacorp in the Annexation War. We exterminated the Ejjai invasion during the High Crusade–and it was a very good thing that we did!”

Ma
ster Tree took up the argument. “High Adept Maeris, you are confusing what our people–the Spacers and our military do–and what the Mystics do. You cannot confuse the two. The Mystics do everything they can
not
to interfere in primitive cultures and backwards worlds, for good or ill. It hardly ever turns out well in the long run. And we are very careful about what we do, and how we do it. That is why we have so many rules concerning such things.”

“
So, I can be used as an all-out weapon when we are at war, when serving attached to our military, but when I’m just an adept on my own, my hands are tied on undeveloped worlds? We can’t do what we would normally do to protect others, the way that we in fact, protect ourselves and our people? You’ve read the reports. This guy is a major problem. If we can’t deal with someone like him, what in the hell are we even here for?”

Vane finally lowered the boom.

“That’s just it, Maeris. You don’t even get it. We wouldn’t be here at all, doing any of this, if the artifact wasn’t here, if Thanor-4 was not the best current candidate for the new replacement, Mystic Homeworld for Chaos Wisdom. Understand this: We would be ignoring the natives and their issues absolutely. They would be completely left on their own–as I personally think they should be. If they kill each other off completely, then so be it–that’s their problem, and their business. My constant vote is for total, non-interference.”