Chapter Seven: The Sheep in Wolves' Clothing
"Who was that on the communicator?" Geris asked Da'an.
After convincing the generals to halt the attack, Balvak had sent his brother to protect Da'an on their journey. The two had been weaving their way through the rubble trying to avoid the soldiers on both sides. Right now they were hiding in what was left of a house.
"My boyfriend…and my doctor," Da'an replied.
"Interesting," Geris chuckled checking the area for any spies.
"Do not judge them too lightly. I trust them with my life."
"You strike me as the type who does not trust anyone."
"You strike me as the type who trusts too much," Da'an said back.
"Maybe I do, but it's hard to look over your shoulder everywhere you go."
"True. Speaking of which, are we still being followed?"
"I don't see anyone," Geris said checking again to be sure.
"How far along are we?"
"We're about halfway to the nearest camp, but it's not where the leaders are," Geris said.
"How do you know so much about these camps?" Da'an asked.
"The peace movement was given full access to all camps before we were hired by the high council, but we took a vow of silence to never disclose the information. There are innocent people in these camps, and if the Jaridian high council knew of their location, they'd slaughter those people like animals."
Da'an smiled in admiration. Geris helped Da'an to her feet, and they took off into the wasteland.
"It seems like there is restless fighting," Da'an said listening to the gunfire and explosions in the distance.
"That's what it feels like," Geris said. "We're losing a lot of good people. My friends. That's why we want to end both of these wars."
"I don't know if I can do anything about the Taelon-Jaridian War."
"We'll work something out."
"Wait!" Da'an whispered.
"What is—?"
Da'an silenced him before he could finish. A strange feeling came over her that caused her to pause. She reached out with her hands to determine the source. She found herself in a sudden shock and yelled to take cover. Geris pulled out an energy gun and dove to a wrecked wall. Da'an followed him. Suddenly, there came a group of Jaridian soldiers in the middle of a gunfight. Geris told Da'an the ones in dark green jumpsuits were Jaridian rebels. The ones dressed in black were soldiers for the high council.
"Watch out!" Da'an cried. Geris ducked just in time before Da'an released a psychic wave that send two high council soldiers into the wreckage.
The rebels took care of the rest of the soldiers. Geris and Da'an appeared from hiding unarmed and put their hands in the air. One of the rebels nodded that it was all right to put their hands down. Then, he started speaking to them in a dialect of Jaridian that Da'an couldn't understand.
"That does not sound like a dialect in this territory," Da'an said to Geris.
"I think it's Vlutak," Geris said. Then he started speaking in the same dialect. After a few words were exchanged, Geris turned to Da'an. "He said they saw these soldiers following us and engaged them."
"I knew I was not crazy," Da'an exclaimed.
"I never said you were," Geris said.
The Jaridian interrupted with more of his dialect.
"What did he say?" Da'an asked.
"He wants to know if you are who he thinks you are," Geris said.
"Who does he think I am?"
Geris asked him. More words were exchanged.
"He thinks you are the Espelon Da'an that broke away from the Commonality without the punishment of devolution."
Da'an nodded to the Jaridian in acknowledgement. The rebels began murmuring in excitement. Then, they started motioning for the two to follow them.
"They're taking us to their hideout. Apparently the leader's been expecting you," Geris said.
"What?"
Geris just shrugged and motioned to follow them. "By the way, you never told me how you did that."
"Did what?"
"You knocked those two soldiers into the ground without touching them," Geris said. "I've seen Taelons use their energy as a weapon before, but never through their hands. You must have the sha'quarava like us."
"I don't," Da'an said. "It was a burst of mental energy called telekinesis."
"You are a psychic?" Geris asked. "But how? I heard that only the priests had those kind of powers."
"The Taelons give their mental energy to the Commonality, which fuels the powers of the priests," Da'an said. "When I freed myself, I freed my own mental energy from the priests' grasp. But before then, I was a special case."
"What do you mean?"
"Every Taelon child is born not fully connected to the Commonality. The fear is that a full connection is too much for a developing mind to bear. It could drive them mad. However, their connection is supposed to be strong enough to inhibit their psychic abilities. That was not the case with me. The priests took it upon themselves to meld me into their sleeper. They took me when I was sixteen and enforced my full connection to the Commonality. After that, they blocked all my memories of my childhood, and they continued to block any part of my life where my abilities would slip up."
"I never knew they could do that to a Taelon," Geris said.
"The priests can do whatever they want to any Taelon when they want it," Da'an said. "But it does not matter anymore."
"I think it does."
"It is none of your concern," Da'an said.
Geris wanted to hear more, but they were forced to stop talking when the rebels asked them to board a transport vehicle. It was a hovering green crystal device, square in shape with poles sticking upward from each corer. There were three seats on the front, three in the middle, and three in the back—all black in color. At the top, more poles completed a rectangular box. The steering appeared to be a joystick on the leftmost front seat. Da'an and Geris were asked to sit in the middle while the other soldiers sat in the front and back. Once the vehicle's engine started, invisible force fields surrounded the walls and the ceiling of the vehicle and they were on their way.
It took them about an hour to get to their destination. Along the way, Da'an saw several bruised civilians and their children with tattered clothing trying to hide from the war anywhere they could. Hovering every now and then were Jaridian seeker ships. These had been the ships from which Da'an had heard the constant bombing. The vehicle was so maneuverable that none of these ships spotted them. Da'an also saw that squads from both sides were using Jaridian replicants they had either manufactured or reprogrammed. The carnage reminded Da'an of the Taelon massacre that had turned the Taelons' and Jaridians' war of the words into an all out war. A group of Jaridian terrorists hacked into the portal system and smuggled themselves into the Taelon capitol and the surrounding areas. They bombed the Synod building, where Ka'li, the last great Synod leader, had been. He was the first to die. In the confusion, more terrorists snuck in like insects. Innocent Taelons were raped and massacred. Children were either killed instantly or tortured. One half of the Synod was slaughtered. Quo'on, Da'an, and their child Zo'or had been trying to make their escape when a group captured them. After that…
The vehicle stopped in an area that appeared to be nothing more than more scorched earth. The rebels, one by one climbed into a well and disappeared. They motioned for Da'an and Geris to do the same. The well was, in fact, a chute that led them into a large underground network.
The two were led past more tattered citizens who were either looking at Da'an in awe, in terror, or with extreme prejudice. Da'an ignored some of their more slanderous comments until she was led to a large conference room. There, four Jaridians were sitting at a black rectangular table. The rebels saluted the four and then asked Da'an and Geris to sit. Finally, they were dismissed.
"So from what I hear, you are expecting me," Da'an told the four Jaridians.
"We were expecting you the moment our spies told us that you had agreed to assist the high council in destroying us," one of the leaders said. "But introductions, first and foremost. I am Kunik. These are my fellow counselors Lutak, Boren, and Sharak."
"I know those names," Da'an said. "You are all former members of the hierarchy."
"We knew you were not so foolish," Kunik said, "as to believe the lies of the high council. We knew your investigation would lead you to us. We are expecting more of your friends soon."
"Excuse me?" Da'an asked.
"Our spies told us of a human female who was asking questions about the last hierarchy meeting," Lutak said. "Does that sound familiar?"
"Yes," Da'an replied. "What happened to the hierarchy?"
"It was destroyed," Sharak said. "The hierarchy protested the war and was slaughtered one-by-one for high crimes. We had escaped long before the killing began to form this resistance. We are the four who started it, and we are the only ones left. It was my wife who was killed."
"I'm so sorry," Da'an said.
"It's all right," Sharak said. "The high council may have you convinced that we started the civil war in retaliation for her death. In reality, it was an extremist faction of our group. The high council interpreted it as a representative of all who opposed them and declared martial law."
"Why were you protesting in the first place?" Da'an asked.
"Our people are dying. Our metabolisms are killing us. We were demanding an end to the Taelon-Jaridian War to focus on problems at home," Sharak explained. "After the civil war, the hierarchy had enough. A battle for power began. The hierarchy lost. It is no more."
"They lied to us," Geris realized. "They have been lying to us the whole time."
"Balvak has managed to halt the attack for about twenty-four hours," Da'an told the leaders. "We have Taelons and humans stationed in the Citadel. Surely we could be of some use to you and help end both of these wars."
"We had hoped you would say that," Kunik said. "We have a strategy to stop the high council from the inside. We've never been able to get more than a few spies inside however."
"Yes, we keep it guarded like a fortress," Geris said cynically.
"When I give the word, those Taelons will attack whomever I tell them to," Da'an said. "I can also convince Liam Kincaid to assist. He is the human commander."
"That's not enough to stop the thousands of soldiers they have outside," Geris said. "The forces are being recalled for the attack that's supposed to happen tomorrow. The high council will recall all those troops to the Citadel and get them ready during the twenty-four-hour waiting period."
"We've noticed that too," Kunik said. "Your forces coupled with ours will still not be enough."
"You do not have to worry about that," Da'an said. "It's already taken care of."
"What do you mean 'it's already taken care of'?" Geris asked.
"Just what I said," Da'an replied. "It's already taken care of. Do you trust me?"
"According to you, I trust too much," Geris retorted.
Da'an smirked. "When are you expecting my other colleagues?" Da'an asked the leaders.
A beeping noise sounded as if right on cue. Kunik pressed a button to silence the sound. "Right about now."
The doors opened to reveal Liam, Renee, and Lili.