The Tigrens' Glory (21 page)

Glory sighed, turned off the vid-screen, and reached for her favorite workout pants.  Time was running out fast, and she still didn’t know where the Tigren were.  She hoped they’d come up with an idea or two themselves because she had nothing, and she was starting to feel that desperate urgency again.  She had to find them soon.  But how? 

She slipped her feet into running shoes and headed for the exercise room on the rec deck.  A couple of hours of hard physical activity would, hopefully, help to relax her enough that she could get some sleep.

Chapter Eighteen

Xaqana-Ti was worried.  Not only hadn’t she received regular reports from several of her Leg Leaders over the past few days, she’d sent four separate messages to her highest ranking subordinate, Xi-Kung, and had not received a single response.  Xi-Kung could be difficult to manage at times, but she was positive that he would never deliberately ignore a single message from her, let alone four of them.  She hadn’t received a response from Za-Linq either which, due to his undercover status, wasn’t unusual for him.  However, added to the other missing reports, and her suspicions concerning possible new jump points and the Jasani’s knowledge of Xanti Doors, she had a bad feeling something ominous could be taking place. 

What she really needed to know was whether Zarnia-Te was having trouble with Jasan.  Missing ships.  Missing reports.  Anything.  If so, then something was going on that undoubtedly effected the Xanti as a whole.  If not, then Zarnia-Te was behind the missing reports.  Unfortunately, she couldn’t come right out and ask without tipping her own hand.  The matter required subtlety.  Luckily, subtlety was one of Xaqana-Ti’s strengths.  Nodding to herself, she tapped in Narliq-Li’s comm code.

“Greetings, Xaqana-Ti,” Narliq-Li said after a short delay. 

“Greetings, Elder Sister,” Xaqana-Ti said.  “I’m certain you’re busy, so I shall come straight to the point of my call.”

“I thank you for your thoughtfulness,” Narliq-Li replied. 

“I have not received communications from some of my ships over the past few days,” Xaqana-Ti said.  “Are you having any problems?”

“No, Xaqana-Ti,” Narliq-Li replied, then she said, “Oh, wait.  There is one ship I have not heard from, but as you know, intergalactic communications are not always reliable.  I expect I’ll receive a message from them soon.”

“I would appreciate it most deeply if you would kindly consent to inform me should any of your ships fail to communicate with you when they should,” Xaqana-Ti said, choosing both her words and her tone carefully.  “I am concerned that the Xanti may be under attack.”

“Of course, Xaqana-Ti,” Narliq-Li replied.  Xaqana-Ti waited, but Narliq-Li said no more. 

“Thank you, Elder Sister,” Xaqana-Ti said after a long silence.  As soon as the call was disconnected Xaqana-Ti began pacing her private chamber.  The only mistake Narliq-Li had made was in not speaking more than she had.  Narliq-Li was practically a chatter box for a Xanti, and easily excitable.  Yet she’d said nothing in response to Xaqana-Ti’s concern that the Xanti were being attacked.  That was more than a little troublesome.  She considered, then discarded, the idea of contacting Zarnia-Te.  It would be a total waste of time.  Zarnia-Te wouldn’t cooperate with the mildest suggestion from her.  But the more she thought about it, the more serious she felt the situation was.  Finally, she returned to her control board and tapped out another comm code.

“Xaqana-Ti,” the Queen Mother said when she came online. 

“Honored Mother,” Xaqana-Ti said, bowing before the vid-terminal.  “I have some serious concerns that I think you need to be aware of.”

Narliq-Li stared at her eldest sister’s image on the vid screen.  She’d just sent her a copy of her conversation with Xaqana-Ti, and was waiting for Zarnia-Te to review it.  When the recording ended, Zarnia-Te tapped all of her legs against the floor, a sure sign of agitation. 

“You made a mistake, Narliq-Li,” she said, obviously struggling to keep her temper in check. 

“What mistake?” Narliq-Li asked, surprised.  “I had no choice but to speak with her.”

“No, you didn’t,” Zarnia-Te agreed.  “The mistake is that you didn’t speak enough.  When she mentioned attacks on the Xanti you should have had a few things to say about that, but you didn’t.  Do not be surprised when we are summoned to meet with our youngest sister and Mother.”

“Why would we be summoned?” Narliq-Li asked, completely adrift. 

“In part to discuss the missing ships, but also to satisfy the suspicions Xaqana-Ti surely has about you now,” Zarnia-Te replied.  “At least we have time to plan ahead.”

“If we are summoned, I think we should refuse to attend,” Narliq-Li said. 

“To what end?” Zarnia-Te asked.

“To give us more time,” Narliq-Li replied.  “Between us, we’ve eliminated nearly half of Xaqana-Ti’s forces and can expect to inflict further losses on her.  Every day we delay is to our favor.”

“That’s true,” Zarnia-Te agreed.  “In the meantime, we both need to report the same sort of unexplained communication issues Xaqana-Ti is experiencing.  That should throw them off the scent for a time.”

 “Agreed,” Narliq-Li replied.  “Tomorrow I will send Mother a report stating that Xaqana-Ti’s concerns worried me, so I attempted to contact several of my ships and failed.”

“Perfect,” Zarnia-Te said.  “The following day I shall make a similar report.  That should give us time to work out a final plan and end this farce once and for all.”

***

“Good morning, Glory,” Lariah said as Glory entered the Dracons’ private dining room for breakfast.  She had an open invitation, but this was only the second time she’d taken them up on it.  She was glad she had since it appeared Lariah was eating alone this morning.  “You look tired.”

“I am, a bit,” Glory replied as she sat down and poured herself some coffee.  “More than that, I’m worried.”

“About the Tigren?” Lariah asked.

“Yes,” Glory replied.  “They’re stronger now, which is good, but they still don’t know where they are, and I’m no closer to figuring it out myself.”

“This will sound strange, maybe,” Lariah said, “but I think you need to have a little faith.”

“Faith?” Glory asked in surprise.  “Faith in what?”

“Did I hear my name?” Faith asked as she entered the room.

“Sort of,” Lariah said, smiling.  “Good morning, Faith.”

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting,” Faith said.  “The Admirals are talking with the Princes, who said you were here alone, so I figured coffee and company would be nice.”

“Nope, not interrupting at all,” Lariah said.  “Take a seat and help yourself.  Glory was just telling me she’s worried because she doesn’t know how to find the Tigren yet.”

“And you were telling her to have a little faith,” Faith said, as she chose a seat beside Glory and reached for the coffee pot.

“Yes, and Glory was asking me what she should have faith in,” Lariah said. 

“I see,” Faith said.  “Would you mind if I tell you what I think?”

“Not at all,” Glory replied.  “I’m very interested to hear whatever advice you have.”

“It’s not advice so much as a belief,” Faith said. 

“Belief?” Glory asked.

“I know, it sounds strange but, I honestly believe that everything happens for a reason, Glory.  The good and the bad.  Sometimes, going through the bad is the only way to reach the good.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” Glory said.

“Well, like most people, I had some fairly bad things happen to me,” Faith said.  “I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why.  You know, the old
what did I do to deserve this
thing.”

Glory smiled as she nodded her understanding.

“Then, I met the Falcorans,” Faith said.  “I realized that if I were to go back and change any of the bad things that happened to me, my journey wouldn’t have led me to them.  I don’t know where it would have taken me, but I believe with all my heart that I would never have known the happiness I know now if things had happened any differently than they had.”

“Do you mean that we have to experience bad things in order to earn the good?”

“Not at all,” Faith replied.  “I just believe that there are many possible paths for us to choose from.  You could have chosen to remain on Ramouri and ignore your dreams, but you didn’t.  You could have chosen to go to any other world, but you chose Jasan.  You could have chosen not to come with us to Xantara.  See?  All paths.”

“Yes, I do see,” Glory said.  “But I don’t see a path to finding out where the Tigren are.  If I did, I’d take it.”

“That’s where the faith comes in,” Faith said.  “You have to believe that you will find that path, and when you do, that you’ll have the strength to do what has to be done to get to the other end.  It might not be difficult, or it might be more difficult than anything you’ve ever had to do before.  A little faith might be all there is between success and surrender.”

“I’m not real big on giving up,” Glory said.

“No, you’re not,” Faith said.  “But it can’t hurt to remember that there’s always a reason for everything that happens, even if you can’t see it.”

“Thank you, Faith,” Glory said.  “You’ve given me much to think on.”

“You’re welcome,” Faith replied.

“So, what are the guys talking about?” Lariah asked, changing the subject.

“The tactics for our jump into LMC,” Faith said. 

“I thought that was already settled,” Lariah said.

“It is,” Faith replied with a smile and a shrug.  It wasn’t always a good idea to try to understand the way men’s minds worked. 

“What tactics will we be using?” Glory asked.  “If it’s not secret, of course.”

“The
Eyrie
will jump first, then the
Ugaztun
,” Faith said.  “We’ll neutralize any and all Xanti ships in the area, then the rest of the task force will begin jumping while we cover them.”

“What?” Glory asked in surprise.  “Two ships will take on the Xanti, alone?”

“We have a secret weapon,” Lariah said with a smile.  “Care to see it?”

“I’d love to see it,” Glory replied, hiding her sudden worry.  She remembered High Prince Garen telling her that they hoped to defeat the Xanti without a fight.  Now they thought two ships would be enough to take on the Xanti in their own galaxy.  She hoped their
secret weapon
was extremely powerful.  Otherwise, the Tigrens’ actual location wouldn’t matter, since the
Ugaztun
wouldn’t survive to reach them.

After breakfast Faith went to find her Rami, while Glory followed Lariah up to the
Ugaztun’s
oversized auxiliary control room, dubbed the Pinnacle.  Her eyes widened in surprise the moment she stepped inside.  The room was circular, and nearly eighty feet across, the outside wall an unbroken expanse of floor to ceiling transparent, armored viewport.  All of the control apparatus was contained on a raised dais in the middle of the room, leaving the remainder of the room empty except for groups of four stools spaced evenly in front of the viewport all the way around the room.

Glory stared in awe at the 360 degree view.  If she ignored the control dais, she almost felt as though she was standing in empty space, which was both unnerving and exciting at the same time.  “This is amazing.”

“Isn’t it?” Lariah agreed.  “I love seeing all the way around like this.  I’d spend most of my time in here if I could, but it’s the ship’s auxiliary control room, so there’s usually people on station in here.  Every time I step foot in the place they all start bowing and scraping and your-royal-highness-ing me to death.  I swear sometimes they do it just to annoy me.”

Glory grinned, an expression she was growing more accustomed to when she spent time with Lariah.  The Jasani Princess was unassuming and unfailingly kind, but Glory had no doubt she was right.  Everyone adored her completely, that was clear, but they did like to tease her.

“This room was designed specifically for Arimas and their Rami to do battle from,” Lariah said as she led Glory over to a set of stools in front of the transparent wall. 

“You’re going to do battle?” Glory asked, immediately worried.  Lariah was a force to be reckoned with in her dracon form, there was no denying that.  But the Pinnacle was designed for humans.  Not dracons. 

“Don’t worry,” Lariah said, placing one hand lightly on Glory’s arm.  “I’m not going to be swinging a sword around or anything like that.”

“What sort of battle will you do from here?” Glory asked, not wanting to risk hurting Lariah’s feelings by expressing her relief.

“As you know, Clan Jasani males wield magic,” Lariah said.  Glory nodded.  “A male-set with an Arima is capable of magic many times more powerful than an unmated male-set.  That’s because we Arimas act as a conduit between our Rami and the magic.  They don’t have to be with us to wield strong magic, but, the closer we are to them, the stronger they are.  With experimentation and practice, we’ve learned that we can increase the flow of power to our Rami significantly if we concentrate, though under usual circumstances we feed them magic without having to think about it.”

 “So, you’re strongest when you’re together, and focused,” Glory said.

“Oh yeah,” Lariah replied, grinning smugly. 

Glory’s eyes widened.  “Lariah, are you telling me that you and your Rami are powerful enough to destroy a ship?”

“Yep!  Amazing, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is,” Glory said as she turned in a slow circle, looking at the room with new eyes.  “That’s what you guys have been practicing each afternoon, right?”

“Yes,” Lariah agreed, gesturing at the transparent wall.  “Embedded within the material of the viewport at regular intervals all the way around the room are displays that show ships, planets, and all sorts of other data.  Once the
Ugaztun
goes through the jump point to the LMC, it’ll be up to us to provide cover for the rest of the task force so it can pass through behind us.  Well, us and the
Eyrie
.  Our job is offense: we’ll attack and, hopefully, destroy any Xanti ships in the vicinity.  While we’re doing that, the
Eyrie’s
main focus will be to defend us by engaging any Xanti that attack this ship or that get too close to us.”