The unnamed Planet
They stepped carefully, unsure of what they would find. The debris held
residual signatures of the people who had lived there, but also another
dark signature.
"Peacekeepers?" K'Tahli asked. Ashan nodded, still not trusting himself to speak, not even directly to her mind.
"Why here? There was no connection, no reason to come here, was there?"
Ashan looked even more troubled than the previous moment.
"Sit, C'thha." He took her hand and they sat on the cold rock. "My mother was afraid that I would be taken by the Peacekeepers. That is why she brought me to Marata to raise. I have dreamt of the Peacekeepers, and my family. Marata always suspected I was not an only child, and perhaps my siblings may have been killed. Perhaps somehow that led them here."
"That gives them no reason to wipe out an entire community? Are they that ruthless?"
"They are." He replied, the knowledge heavy on his thoughts. K'Tahli had studied ancient peoples, ancestries and the races that developed higher cranial functions. Violence to her was a fable, a story handed down. In training as a healer, Ashan had seen the results of violence on the body, each race's physiology reacting differently.
They sat together for the better part of the arn, as the light faded. Lost in their own thoughts they did not see the Peacekeeper landing party.
Suddenly K'Tahli stiffened, gasped. For a moment, she had felt her mother's mind reach out to her. Her mother was in agony. Then she was gone.
"Ashan! She wasn't killed here! They took her." K'Tahli was sobbing, a broken sound.
"Shh. Tell me?" He held her face in his hands.
"She said your name.to a man in Peacekeeper garb. He smiled." K'Tahli trembled, her anguish was total. "Your whole name. Then she died." K'Tahli collapsed into his arms. He held and rocked her. The people they loved, killed. His parents, her mother. For once in his life, Ashan wanted desperately to kill someone in retaliation. But now, he mourned his losses with the one good thing he had left, K'Tahli.
Captain Braca saw the pair seated in the dirt, heads low. Their mourning gave him a moment to study Ashan. The resemblance was uncanny. Braca felt a rush of satisfaction that was almost sexual as he thought of telling Bialar Crais he had another brother.then telling him he had crushed the life from him single-handedly. Always the strategist, Braca thought back to the sibling ties he had witnessed in his career, and the lengths Bialar had gone to for Tauvo. Planning a brilliant scheme to have both brothers' dead and his place in Command secured, Captain Braca walked forward.
Seeing the movement, K'Tahli and Ashan both turned and looked at the uniformed man striding toward them. Ashan disregarded the weapon in the man's hand and charged. He rammed his shoulder into the Peacekeepers midsection, knocking him to the dirt.
Braca controlled his irritation at this change of plan but used it to his advantage.
"Wait!" he scrambled to his feet, "I am not your enemy!"
"Words belied by the weapon in your hand!" K'Tahli spat at him.
He dismissed K'Tahli as unimportant. A fatal mistake, he would later realize. In her grief, she did not recognized him as the man her mother looked upon, moments before her death.
"My landing party was ambushed. We were told that there was an injured member of our crew here. That someone had found a way to heal a damaged Sebacean who suffered living death. When we came to retrieve him, we were attacked."
"Why were you spared?" Ashan was not suspicious, he did not have enough first hand experience with Peacekeepers to be wary of the treachery.
" I had returned to the transport for a gift , to try and persuade the healers to share this knowledge with us. The phase flash rendered me unconscious."
"Who did this? Did you know them?"
Braca hid the evil smile that formed in his mind as the naïve couple fell for his ruse.
"Yes. A rogue band of escaped criminals. Among them is an officer who has been contaminated and has committed heinous acts. He must be stopped. He has a leviathan of ours and has evaded capture. As you can see," he waved his hand to indicate the destruction surrounding them, "he will stop at nothing to evade us."
"I will find him, I will avenge their deaths myself." Ashan declared, with an extremely familial finality .
"Ashan! You cannot mean that!" K'Tahli unknowingly confirmed the captain's assumption by speaking his name. Ashan was stronger than she, more familiar with warring peoples, but he had never spoken a desire to kill.
He turned to her and placed his forehead to hers. The tingling as the two unity marks was tainted slightly, by the rage in his heart.
" I have to find this band, stop them, C'thha. I could not continue to live if I do not."
"You are a sworn healer!"
"This is healing of a sort, cleansing an evil."
"I will come with you!"
"No!" He replied quickly, wincing at the hurt look that was quickly replaced by a determination in her face he had seen too often "I must go alone."
The healer in him was sensing the malevolent waves emanating off the unassuming Braca. He was beginning to suspect something was not as it seemed. Determined not to alert his mate or this unstable captain, Ashan said to K'Tahli. "Go to your teacher's home, she will give you peace. I will join you when they are dead." He turned to the Peacekeeper. "You tell your command I go alone. Do not track me, I will find you and bring evidentiary report of the rogue band's death."
Braca saw the born command taking over Ashan's features as he readied himself to leave. The captain found himself almost relieved this man had not been in the ranks, for he may have been a formidable barricade to Braca's promotions. The captain had no intention of honoring his request, but for the sake of the deception he complied.
The unlikely trio walked over to the Captain's transport.
"Will you require a ship?"
"No, Captain. I will secure transportation for myself and my mate."
Braca made no comment to the strange man knowing his rank. Men of ego generally underestimated the architects of their eventual downfall. Braca was no exception.
Braca took off back to the command carrier.
"Peacekeepers?" K'Tahli asked. Ashan nodded, still not trusting himself to speak, not even directly to her mind.
"Why here? There was no connection, no reason to come here, was there?"
Ashan looked even more troubled than the previous moment.
"Sit, C'thha." He took her hand and they sat on the cold rock. "My mother was afraid that I would be taken by the Peacekeepers. That is why she brought me to Marata to raise. I have dreamt of the Peacekeepers, and my family. Marata always suspected I was not an only child, and perhaps my siblings may have been killed. Perhaps somehow that led them here."
"That gives them no reason to wipe out an entire community? Are they that ruthless?"
"They are." He replied, the knowledge heavy on his thoughts. K'Tahli had studied ancient peoples, ancestries and the races that developed higher cranial functions. Violence to her was a fable, a story handed down. In training as a healer, Ashan had seen the results of violence on the body, each race's physiology reacting differently.
They sat together for the better part of the arn, as the light faded. Lost in their own thoughts they did not see the Peacekeeper landing party.
Suddenly K'Tahli stiffened, gasped. For a moment, she had felt her mother's mind reach out to her. Her mother was in agony. Then she was gone.
"Ashan! She wasn't killed here! They took her." K'Tahli was sobbing, a broken sound.
"Shh. Tell me?" He held her face in his hands.
"She said your name.to a man in Peacekeeper garb. He smiled." K'Tahli trembled, her anguish was total. "Your whole name. Then she died." K'Tahli collapsed into his arms. He held and rocked her. The people they loved, killed. His parents, her mother. For once in his life, Ashan wanted desperately to kill someone in retaliation. But now, he mourned his losses with the one good thing he had left, K'Tahli.
Captain Braca saw the pair seated in the dirt, heads low. Their mourning gave him a moment to study Ashan. The resemblance was uncanny. Braca felt a rush of satisfaction that was almost sexual as he thought of telling Bialar Crais he had another brother.then telling him he had crushed the life from him single-handedly. Always the strategist, Braca thought back to the sibling ties he had witnessed in his career, and the lengths Bialar had gone to for Tauvo. Planning a brilliant scheme to have both brothers' dead and his place in Command secured, Captain Braca walked forward.
Seeing the movement, K'Tahli and Ashan both turned and looked at the uniformed man striding toward them. Ashan disregarded the weapon in the man's hand and charged. He rammed his shoulder into the Peacekeepers midsection, knocking him to the dirt.
Braca controlled his irritation at this change of plan but used it to his advantage.
"Wait!" he scrambled to his feet, "I am not your enemy!"
"Words belied by the weapon in your hand!" K'Tahli spat at him.
He dismissed K'Tahli as unimportant. A fatal mistake, he would later realize. In her grief, she did not recognized him as the man her mother looked upon, moments before her death.
"My landing party was ambushed. We were told that there was an injured member of our crew here. That someone had found a way to heal a damaged Sebacean who suffered living death. When we came to retrieve him, we were attacked."
"Why were you spared?" Ashan was not suspicious, he did not have enough first hand experience with Peacekeepers to be wary of the treachery.
" I had returned to the transport for a gift , to try and persuade the healers to share this knowledge with us. The phase flash rendered me unconscious."
"Who did this? Did you know them?"
Braca hid the evil smile that formed in his mind as the naïve couple fell for his ruse.
"Yes. A rogue band of escaped criminals. Among them is an officer who has been contaminated and has committed heinous acts. He must be stopped. He has a leviathan of ours and has evaded capture. As you can see," he waved his hand to indicate the destruction surrounding them, "he will stop at nothing to evade us."
"I will find him, I will avenge their deaths myself." Ashan declared, with an extremely familial finality .
"Ashan! You cannot mean that!" K'Tahli unknowingly confirmed the captain's assumption by speaking his name. Ashan was stronger than she, more familiar with warring peoples, but he had never spoken a desire to kill.
He turned to her and placed his forehead to hers. The tingling as the two unity marks was tainted slightly, by the rage in his heart.
" I have to find this band, stop them, C'thha. I could not continue to live if I do not."
"You are a sworn healer!"
"This is healing of a sort, cleansing an evil."
"I will come with you!"
"No!" He replied quickly, wincing at the hurt look that was quickly replaced by a determination in her face he had seen too often "I must go alone."
The healer in him was sensing the malevolent waves emanating off the unassuming Braca. He was beginning to suspect something was not as it seemed. Determined not to alert his mate or this unstable captain, Ashan said to K'Tahli. "Go to your teacher's home, she will give you peace. I will join you when they are dead." He turned to the Peacekeeper. "You tell your command I go alone. Do not track me, I will find you and bring evidentiary report of the rogue band's death."
Braca saw the born command taking over Ashan's features as he readied himself to leave. The captain found himself almost relieved this man had not been in the ranks, for he may have been a formidable barricade to Braca's promotions. The captain had no intention of honoring his request, but for the sake of the deception he complied.
The unlikely trio walked over to the Captain's transport.
"Will you require a ship?"
"No, Captain. I will secure transportation for myself and my mate."
Braca made no comment to the strange man knowing his rank. Men of ego generally underestimated the architects of their eventual downfall. Braca was no exception.
Braca took off back to the command carrier.