Chapter 33
Later the next morning, Kim'r stopped just inside the training room closest to where Robin and the others had their quarters. She smiled slightly as she watched the trio inside, noticing that Robin wasn't taking the easy road with getting his knee better. Her smile faded slightly when she noticed who was teamed against who. It wasn't that she thought two against one was particularly unfair, it was just something about Robin being set against Koriand'r that just didn't sit right with her. Not to mention that from this distance it was almost as if she was watching Robin fighting the Princess and her twin.
She winced at the clash of metal against metal as Shel'b blocked Robin's round house kick with her forearm guards, and she was impressed with the speed and fluidity of the lieutenant's counter attack which threw Robin back a couple feet. Kim'r flinched as Robin's knee gave out as he put his weight on it to stop his slide, and prepare to throw a kick of his own. He lay sprawled face down for a moment then slapped his open hand on the floor as he growled with frustration.
"Robin, are you. . . . ?"
"Yes, Star, I'm fine," he snapped, getting to his feet.
Kim'r's interest intensified when she saw the look on Shel'b's face.
"You will not address the Princess in that tone."
Robin looked over at Starfire, raising a questioning eyebrow, Starfire merely shrugged her shoulders, her face indicating she was as confused as Robin was. "What was that?"
"I said you will not speak to her in that tone of voice. You have done it time and time again and I have let it pass as you are her Shalocfa, but I will tolerate it no longer."
"How I address her is no concern of yours, Lieutenant."
Kim'r mentally nodded her approval. Robin's addressing Shel'b by her rank should serve as a warning and reminder of her place, giving her the opportunity to back down.
Shel'b, on the other hand, wasn't interested. "In my presence you will speak to her respectfully."
Kim'r saw Koriand'r tense as the muscles on Robin's face jumped as he clenched his jaw, reigning in his rising anger. "This training session is over; cool off, Shel'b," he said, then turned to talk to Starfire.
Kim'r was shocked when Shel'b grabbed Robin's shoulder and turned him so he was facing her again. She saw Robin's arms twitch as he fought the reflex to raise them defensively.
"You will not turn your back on me while we are talking!"
Kim'r could tell that Robin was seething with anger, as she herself would in the same situation, but she was amazed at how calm he kept his voice. "Our conversation is over, Lieutenant. Stand down. . . . .now."
"You will show her the proper respect!"
Kim'r tensed at the implied threat behind Shel'b's words, and was surprised to see that Robin didn't get angrier, but grew concerned instead.
"Shel'b, are you alright?"
"There is nothing wrong with me, Robin. What is wrong is the way you speak to the Princess."
"Which, as I told you, is none of your concern." he reasoned.
Kim'r may have been surprised at Shel'b's reaction, but she cold tell that Robin wasn't as he blocked the blows she threw at him. 'X'Hal, no!' she thought to herself as she saw Shel'b take a stance that prepared her to throw a roundhouse kick.
"NO!" Starfire yelled, accompanying the dim flash of her low powered star bolt. Her aim was true, and the bolt struck the shin guard on Shel'b's right leg as it swung towards Robin's, but it didn't stop the toe of her foot from impacting just above Robin's injured knee. The joint folded and Robin instinctively rolled as he fell, putting space between himself and Shel'b. Space that Starfire filled, both of her hands, and her eyes glowing green.
"Enough, Lieutenant. I will not let you harm him!"
"Stand aside, Highness, you have no right to interfere," Shel'b ordered, her hands and eyes glowing blue.
Starfire hunched her shoulders in anger, the glow of her hands and eyes brightening, "You presume to give me orders, Lieutenant!" Starfire watched as Shel'b's arm moved back, as she prepared to launch her bolt.
"Lieutenant!" Kim'r shouted, making her presence known for the first time. "What are you about to do?"
Shel'b turned, the glow of her eyes and hands fading as she shook her head as if to clear it. "Commander, I . . . " she began, then trailed off. She shook her head again before she spoke, "Get out. All of you. Please."
"Lieutenant, control yourself, act like a warrior."
"Commander, take them and go!" Shel'b practically begged, and Kim'r could see the tears streaming down the young woman's face. "Now, please! I can not fight the anger much longer! Never felt it so strong before," she panted, her forehead glistening with the sweat of her effort.
Robin watched as Starfire crept up behind Shel'b, and the odd placement of her fingers on the back of the lieutenant's neck. With a small gasp of surprise, Shel'b sank to the floor. Unable to get to his feet, Robin crawled over to where Shel'b lay, his hands checking the openings of her armor.
"Robin, the move Koriand'r preformed on her only rendered her unconscious. It did not harm her."
Suddenly Robin's fingers stopped as the ran over the inside of the back of Shel'b's neck piece. "This is what I was looking for," he said holding up his hand, the tips of his fingers coated with a white paste.
"X'Hal, no!" Starfire gasped, recognizing it.
"What in X'Hal's name is that?"
"Vartoch du Lunecha," Robin announced angrily.
"You know of that!"
"The training session I did not let you view was when the paste had been applied to my sword hilt. I am not proud of my actions at that time."
Taking the hand that Starfire held out to him Robin managed to get to his feet, but he quickly found that he could not put any weight on his right leg at the moment, and his arm quickly went around her shoulders as he stumbled. "You were not in control of yourself, Star, as Shel'b wasn't just now.
Starfire nodded, then went and got some towels from the locker room, as Robin leaned against the wall. "Why did you think that Starfire was under the influence of the veka serum when she came aboard?"
"Because that was what I was told she was poisoned with."
"No, it was with Vartoch du Lunecha. I did not know that it had been applied to the hilt of the sword the Titans had given me, and I could not control myself and attacked both Robin and Raven. Fortunately, he was able to knock me out before I injured someone."
"I'm the one who administered the serum. Devon'r left some with me in case we ran across Blackfire."
Kim'r raised an eyebrow at Robin's tone of voice. "You find fault in that Shalocfa?"
Robin sighed heavily, "Only in what it put Starfire through."
"I can well imagine. It was shortly after you declared yourselves to each other, was it not?"
"A little more than two weeks."
"How harsh was she with you, Robin? How much did she blame you for taking her powers?
"How. . . .?
Kim'r waved her hand dismissively in Robin's direction. "It is part of the serums side effects. Just be glad that she did not accuse you of enjoying seeing her like. . . . Oh "X'Hal, Koriand'r, you did not, did you?"
Starfire nodded sadly as she finished wiping the paste from Shel'b's neckpiece, and the back of her neck. "I knew that it was not true, but I could not stop myself. He even asked me if I truly thought of him that way, and all I said in reply was the he should act more like my shalocfa."
Kim'r was silent for a moment as she watched Starfire finish checking Shel'b over to see if there were any other places with the paste. "I am sorry that you both had to go through that, but I am happy that you made it past that rough spot."
"Robin is a most forgiving person," Starfire said, slipping her arm around his waist as he put his around her shoulders for support.
"With you in particular, and his friends in general I would agree, but I would not wish to find myself among those he lists as enemies."
Robin chuckled in embarrassment at how well Kim'r seemed to know him. "What was it that Starfire did to Shel'b?"
"Tamaranean acupressure, which reminds me," Kim'r replied, then knelt in front of Robin her fingers gently probing around his knee, after she had removed the metal armor. She grunted when her fingers touched a particular spot and Robin flinched and gasped in pain. "Hold him tightly, Highness, this must be done, but it will cause a fair amount of pain."
Starfire nodded, and pulled Robin closer, her other arm crossing over to hold his far shoulder.
"Brace yourself, and try not to move, I will be as quick as I possibly can," Kim'r warned then her fingers pressed in specific places on places above and below his knee. To his credit, Robin only tensed, and groaned at the flash of pain in his leg. After a brief moment, Kim'r rocked back on her heels, and looked at his knee. "See if you can put weight on it now."
She and Starfire watched as Robin slid his arm from around Starfire's shoulders, then stood on his own, most of his weight on his left foot. Gradually he put more and more on his right until he was lightly bouncing on it.
"That almost feels as good as new. Thanks Kim'r."
Taking the hand that Robin offered, Kim'r rose to her feet. "When Shel'b kicked you, she was aiming for a set of nerves. Fortunately for you, Koriand'r's star bolt took much of the force from the kick or it would have been much worse. There is one thing I do not understand though."
"What's that?"
"Komand'r is a Tamaranean, and not under the influence of veka serum, how were you able to over power her and hold Shan'a at bay?"
Without warning, Robin snaked his arm up over Starfire's shoulder, cupped her chin and pulled back, pulling the small of her back against his hip arching her backwards, off balance. "Like this."
"No, Highness, do not struggle. I know that you could simply pull yourself and him forward, and flip him over. What kept her from doing that?"
"I had my dagger at her throat, and threatened to kill her," Robin replied, then suddenly felt Starfire step back with one foot, while she tucked forward and to her left, flipping him so he ended up on his back, looking up at her.
"You did WHAT! No you stay right there. You get up now, and I will put you right back down there. You threatened my sister's life?"
Robin didn't get up, but he did roll over and got into a sitting position. "Kori, I had your sister talking about how she wanted you out of the way of her taking the throne, and Shan'a holding Nie'l, in my opinion as a hostage. When Blackfire was surprised at my being able to deflect her star bolt into Shan'a, I took the opening and used the advantage as I saw fit."
"And was correct, Highness. Would you have followed through on your threat to kill Komand'r?"
Robin noticed the way Starfire's eyes narrowed as he actually asked himself that question for the first time. His answer didn't help her disposition. "I don't know. I honestly don't think so, but all that mattered was that they thought so."
"That is not an answer, Robin."
Keeping his eyes on Starfire he got to his feet, and approached her. Moving cautiously due to her angry expression, he put his hands on her shoulders. "It is the best I can do, my love. I made them believe that I would have done it, and acting on that belief they released Nie'l. Once that was done, and Shan'a had left the VELANCE'R, I removed my dagger from Blackfire's throat and released her. My actions were correct for the situation, and I would repeat them if I faced that again."
"What if. . . ."
"Highness, stop! Do not torture him like this. You were not there at that time, facing that situation."
"I would have found some other way to resolve it. A way other than threatening my sis. . .another's life."
Robin's hands fell from her shoulders, and he hung his head. "Then tell me what I should have done." His head snapped up, his eyes locking with hers. "No Kori, don't think about it, react, tell me what I should have done. You've got your sister, commanding a warrior that is holding Nie'l. What do you do?"
"Highness, what is your answer?" Starfire tore her eyes from Robin's and looked over at Kim'r.
"Finding him I left to Shan'a," Blackfire's voice said from the recorder on Robin's belt, and the sound of her star bolts being warmed up could be heard. "Getting him from the abbots you left him with was a simple matter of displaying the right amount of power."
Starfire closed her eyes, when she heard the sound of the star bolt being launched and Robin's shout to Nie'l. She took a ragged breath, then turned to Robin, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Gentha'fa, I am sorry. I do not know how I would have handled that situation, which means I have no right questioning your actions."
Robin reached up and cupped her cheek. "It's okay, Star. Your questioning my actions is appreciated, but only if you have some other way I could have handled it. Remember your blind spot."
"Blind spot?"
"Robin instructed me the other day about how my sisterly affection for Blackfire makes me blind to the fact that she's a danger to me. Actually I should say that it did, after what I learned yesterday I do not believe that I have any more affection for her."
"You still do, Kori," Robin said softly. "Just now you said that you would have found another way, one that didn't threaten your sister, or at least that what you were going to say, but corrected yourself to say another person."
Starfire looked at Robin in surprise, "I did not."
"Yes, Highness you did. I can see where this would cause you concern, as her shalocfa. I strongly suggest that you do not let her be unattended by a Tamaranean. I mean no offense, Robin, but in a pitched battle I do not believe you would withstand one of us."
Robin sighed heavily, and Kim'r realized that despite the fact that it was a slight blow to his ego, he knew she was right. "I've already taken steps in that direction. The only problem is someone sabotaged Shel'b's armor."
"Do you have some of the veka serum with you? If not, we should call for some in case she can not control herself."
Robin touched a compartment on his belt and a small syringe fell into his palm. "A twenty four hour dose." he said softly holding it up so Kim'r could see the blue contents. "I will not give it to her unless absolutely necessary."
"Now as to the reason I came here in the first place."
"Because you enjoy watching Robin in combat?"
Kim'r chuckled, "No, Highness, although you are correct, I do enjoy it. The reason I came here was to tell you that your plan appears to be working. Mik'l, Stev'n, and Shar'n have teamed up with Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg and are currently escorting Salvainian cargo ships to our colony on Serac, then they will move on to Verdigris. Galfore asked me to extend his congratulations, and to tell you that you have saved over ten million Tamaranean lives."
"And given both sides some breathing room to try to negotiate a peace agreement. What about the other colonies?"
"Shel'b, Pet'r, and Diet'r will team up with you and Koriand'r tomorrow to escort ships to Camargue and Avernus. The rest of our colonies are able to grow their own crops of Zorka."
Just then Shel'b moaned softly. Robin was caught off guard as Kim'r and Starfire took defensive stances, then he remembered the Vartoch paste. "Wha. . . .where am I? Why am I not confined to a healing room under veka serum?"
"We wish to give you the opportunity to explain and control yourself, Shel'b."
Getting woozily to her feet, Shel'b rubbed the back of her neck as she rolled her head around to loosen it up. "I see that you remember the kavek lian, Highness. Shel'b seemed to shudder for a moment, and her fists clenched, but she took a couple quick breaths and relaxed. "I am in control, the effect is fading quickly."
"Good, now maybe you can tell us how the paste got onto your armor in the first place."
"My apologies, Shalocfa, but I placed it there, knowing we were to have a sparring match this morning. I felt I needed the edge to defeat you and the Princess when you teamed up." She hung her head in shame. "Unfortunately it took effect sooner than I had planned.."
"Robin, do you mind if I have a word with her alone?"
"Not at all, then we will have our own talk, Shel'b."
"Lieutenant, what in X'Hal's name were you thinking? Do you realize that you had come very close to striking the Princess with a star bolt? Not to mention the insubordinate behavior you displayed to Robin."
"Commander, I have been with them since his Confirmation, and even a group of three of us have not yet been able to defeat the two of them in combat, even when we were free to use our powers. I thought the added boost that the Vartoch paste would give my powers would enable me to defeat them."
"Do you remember what you were discussing with Robin?" Kim'r asked, and Shel'b nodded. "Does the way he speaks to her bother you that deeply?"
Shel'b looked over at Starfire and Robin, chatting softly, intimately close to each other. "At times, yes, Commander, but then I remember that they have been living, and fighting together for almost three years. During that time, she has not brought forward the fact that she is a Royal, so Robin and the other Titans do not treat her as such."
"Good I am glad you understand that much. Understand this as well, Lieutenant, he is her shalocfa, and they have a very special relationship. In more private situations, I address her as Koriand'r, but only he may address her as Kori."
"As only she addresses him as Gentha'fa."
"Correct. I am sure there is something you call a certain Lieutenant Commander I know about. I am also certain that you are not always so. . . .proper addressing each other."
Shel'b blushed a deep red. "Thank you, Commander. Now if you will excuse me, I have my Commanding Officer, and Princess to face."
"Agreed, and I hope for your sake he considers you a friend."
Shel'b couldn't hear what Robin was saying to Koriand'r, but he broke off, and turned to face her as she walked up to them. Coming to attention, she saluted. "Commander, I submit myself to you for reprimand."
Robin glared at her for a moment, then heard Starfire's 'voice' in his head, 'Remember, my love not to harsh.' "Lieutenant do you have that much of a problem taking orders from me or being under my command? If you do, there's the door, go through it and you're released from your oath to me. Starfire and I have worked and lived together for almost three years now, and have our own way of acting around each other. She knows, beyond a doubt, that she has my respect, as I know I have hers. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Shalocfa, perfectly clear. Do you wish me to leave?"
"Personally, no. But understand this, Shel'b: I am the leader of the Titans, Koriand'r's Shalocfa, and a Commander. When I give an order I don't expect it to be questioned, but followed. I don't give them often, and when I do it's because it's to keep someone from getting hurt or to keep a criminal from escaping."
"Understood, in that case I would like to stay."
Robin nodded and smiled softly. "I was hoping you would. Now you have to explain yourself to Starfire, and I'll let you know one thing, Shel'b. Even I know better than to give her an order in that tone of voice or in that manner."
Shel'b swallowed as she turned to her Princess, wishing she could remember what all she had done after she had seen Robin turn his back on her to talk to Koriand'r. "Highness."
"Lieutenant," Starfire replied, her vice firm. "Do you realize what punishments you could be given for your actions today?"
"Yes, Highness, at the least I will be First Lieutenant again." Shel'b stood there under Starfire's steady gaze, fighting the urge to shift her weight from foot to foot.
"You will retain your current rank of Second Lieutenant, and I will consider this incident forgotten. I have recently been under the influence of the Vartoch paste, and I do not hold you at fault for your actions under it's influence, however I am disturbed by your choice to use it as you did."
"I give you my word as a warrior that it will not happen again, Highness."
"And I will accept that, without requiring your oath."
"Good, now that that is settled shall we get down to some training?"
"The only kind of training I'm doing today is learning that move Starfire did to Shel'b. What was it she called it, the kavek lian?"
"A small problem with that, Robin is that to learn it you have to render the victim unconscious which would be counter productive to getting in the training I wish to do today."
"You could simply show him the placement of his fingers."
"Very well then, Highness, since it was your idea, turn around."
Starfire nodded and turned her back to Robin pulling her hair aside exposing the back of her neck. She shivered slightly as Kim'r's fingers touched the bare skin just above her neckpiece. "Your fingers are very cold, Commander."
"My apologies, Highness. Now Robin, your fingers go here and here, and you press inward, toward the spine."
Robin stepped over and placed his fingers on Starfire's neck just as Kim'r had. "Like this?"
"Yes, Robin, that is the correct placement, but please do not press as I do not wish to lose consciousness." She sighed softly as Robn moved his fingers so his thumbs were moving up and down on either side of her neck, massaging some of the tenseness there away.
"Now then, Highness, Lieutenant, shall we got down to training?"
Robin moved to one side as he watched the three women take to the air. Much as he tried to spread his view over all three, he found himself doing the same thing he did the first time he reviewed the tapes of the training sessions at the Tower with the Titans, focusing on Starfire. He watched as she simultaneously dodged a star bolt from Kim'r as she delivered one that struck Shel'b, and an odd movement to his left caught his attention.
Looking to his left Robin found he was now watching Kim'r as she rose higher in the air. His eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what was different about the way she was flying. It was when she seemed to dip in the air for no reason that it dawned on him. 'She's having trouble staying in the air,' he thought to himself. To his horror he noticed that the two younger combatants were about to attack Kim'r at the same time. "Covatchu!" he shouted, drawing the attention of all three, and Kim'r quickly sank to the floor. "Kim'r! What's wrong?"
"I. . . .do not. . . .know," she replied slowly then slowly shook her head to clear it. "Feel strange, trouble focusing."
Robin looked over at Starfire when she gave a small gasp. "Kim'r, try to summon your star bolts."
Robin and the others knew what she was gong to say next by the look of shocked astonishment on her face. "I can not."
"She is seyla!" Shel'b gasped. "But how? Why?"
"What is it Robin?" Starfire asked as Robin's back stiffened.
"What Sher'l told us she over heard. Kim'r, what did you do differently today than you did yesterday?"
They watched as the older warrior struggled to remember, the veka serum in her system not only interfering with her accessing her powers, but slowing her normal thought processes as well. "Only thing was having mid meal early."
"I need to know something," Robin said. "Does veka serum have to be injected or can it be absorbed through the skin, like the Vartoch sap, or can it be eaten or drunk?"
"I do not know."
"Nor I."
"Contact Vern'a, she can tell you." Kim'r managed to say.
Robin pulled out the communicator Kim'r had given him and used it to call Vern'a through the ships network. "Yes, Shalocfa, what can I do for you?" Robin asked Vern'a what he needed to know. "Absorbing through the skin does not work, unless exposed for a very long time, but ingestion is how it is administered to prisoners. Why do you ask?"
"No time to explain right now, but is there a way to test if food has been contaminated with the serum?"
"Yes, Shalocfa, it is a simple reagent test using a sample in a test tube."
"Can you meet me at the main dining facility with a test kit as quickly as you can?"
"I can not think of why, but I will meet you."
Robin closed the connection. "Kim'r, I need you to find some way to stop mid meal from being served." He was surprised when Starfire took the communicator from his hand and pressed a series of buttons.
"This is Princess Koriand'r, it has come to my attention that a bomb has been planted at one of the dining facilities on this and the other ships in the fleet. There is no need to panic, but mid meal will be delayed until a thorough search has been completed."
"Brilliant Star, I'll contact Pet'r and Diet'r and send them to the other ships to check."
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An hour later, the results of the tests had come in. With potentially disastrous results for the fleet.
"Double check the stores on the ship you're on; we'll check this one. It doesn't make sense for them to contaminate all the zorka berries, just what was to be used today."
"As you command, Shalocfa," Pet'r and Diet'r's voices came from Robin's communicator.
"Robin, I thank you for your quick thinking. If you had not remembered what Sher'l had told you, every warrior in the fleet would now be seyla, without powers."
"I didn't act alone, my Lord. Koriand'r was the one who came up with the idea of a bomb scare to clear the dining halls, and I have my doubts that all of the warriors in the fleet would have been effected."
Just then, Galfore's communicator beeped. "My Lord, several small objects are moving toward us, the BOROM'R, SOMON'R, NUMEN'R."
"Set for battle, and notify the other ships. Prepare to repel boarders."
"As you command, my Emperor."
Robin's guess turned out to be correct. The small objects turned out to be Tamaraneans. Ones loyal to either Teranc'r or, as Robin guessed to Starfire's dismay, Blackfire. Robin felt better when Mik'l and the other returned from their escort duties, and right after the discovery of the approaching warriors.
"This should be the first place to strike. You should get to safety, Highness."
"I appreciate the concern, Mik'l, but seeing as there are disloyal warriors already aboard, I know of no where I would call safe."
The two looked to their right as they heard the hiss of a sword being drawn. "You are correct Koriand'r, there is nowhere."
As the warrior advanced on them, Starfire breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the sound of a birdarang flying through the air, and buried one of it's wings just below the warriors throat.
"Ah, ruthasha, you need to improve your aim," the warrior chuckled. "Your toys are no match for Tamaranean steel."
"Wait for it," Robin said softly and the birdarang started beeping softly.
"What?" the warrior asked, looking down at it. The beeping suddenly stopped and a small white cloud issued from it with a pop. The warrior gave a gasp of surprise, then collapsed with a groan.
"Star, Mik'l, stay back, I don't know how quickly the wistona gas will dissipate."
"Wistona gas?"
"Thanks to you telling me it must have been what the intruder at the Tower used on you, I got some from Vern'a and modified a bunch of my explosive birdarangs to emit a small cloud of it."
"Let us go and join the other in the launch bay."
Robin, Mik'l and Starfire arrived just in time for five warriors to enter the bay through the air locks.
"Throw down your weapons and surrender; your attempt to poison us through our food has failed," Galfore informed them as several dozen warriors powered up their star bolts.
"Your 'Operation Seyla' has been discovered and stopped."
Several of the warriors gasped in surprise when Starfire used the name of their plan, but before either side could do anything, the lights of the landing bay turned red and a alarm started sounding.
"Battle alert! Battle alert! Multiple ships dropping from light speed just out system and burning hard for Earth! This is no drill! Battle alert!"
"What ships are there?" Galfore asked as Mik'l, Starfire and Robin gathered around him with several other warriors.
"Emperor, there are several ships droppng from light speed just outside this star system, and they are coming this way. One is the TAMAR, Kor'mel's flagship, and at least two others that we can pick up on scanners are Gordanian, and one of them is a DUVORT class."
"The enemy has arrived! We are all Tamaraneans! Get back to your ships and prepare for battle!"
"Yes, Lord Galfore!
Robin shook his head in disbelief. The bay was filled with warriors that wanted to over throw Galfore badly enough that they contaminated the zorka berries that were to be served for mid meal with veka serum, but now that the Salvainians arrived, they would follow his commands.