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Fathers, Sons, Sisters, Brothers, and Mothers

Palace of Prince Zorzal El Caesar

"I had everything in place," Prince Zorzal admitted the next day as he sat on the edge of his bed. "With father out of the way, real power would have been mine!"

Behind him, Vendetta smiled. Zorzal's reaction was one of puzzlement and mild annoyance, not full anger. Zorzal was still a crude and ill-tempered brat but he was somewhat pliable. He also had a huge ego, which she was becoming adept at stroking. This was partially how she had managed to keep him from pulling his little scheme on the Emperor. Not that she cared one way or the other for Molt, but the timing left much to be desired.

"You've long been ready to rule, my prince! But we must ready the Empire to follow your leadership! You are a Lion among sheep!"

Zorzal grinned. Cassiopeia was correct, of course. How foolish of him to think only of himself! He was destined by the GODS for greatness but his people were still only ordinary men of imperfect flesh. They needed to be guided so when the time came, they would follow him without fail.

"How true! And you? Are you ready to follow my every command?"

"Without hesitation, my Prince!" Of course, the real truth of the matter was that she needed time. Zorzal had been quite enthusiastic about the return of his cherished companions and associates but Vendetta was considerably cooler about it. She needed to know how they would interact with and influence Zorzal. Bouro had given that no particular thought, which is why he had been so enthusiastic about pressing Zorzal to take power NOW But in the time that her mother had been instructing her in the ways of society, Andromeda had continued also to stress the need for patience to her daughter. Cassiopeia now saw the wisdom in her mother's teachings. She would watch how Zorzal interacted with his old companions and make very certain that they bent to him. It would be so inconvenient to her plans for others to be bending Zorzal's ear.

"Have you had the opportunity to consider that little project I asked you about?" She solicited mildly as she began massaging his back.

"What did you call it? The Order of the Kestral?" He smiled in amusement. He never had patience with falconry but it seemed harmless enough.

"Yes, My Prince. If Princess Pina can have her 'Knights', then I fail to see why you cannot sponsor an order to mold the next generation of leaders, who will also serve you with the same unswerving loyalty."

"And I see your brother will have a high place among the young men in this Order."

"Of course!" Cassiopeia readily agreed. She made no attempt to hide her loyalty to her brother. Of course, the part about inspiring loyalty toZorzal was utter nonsense. But loyal men who would support and protect the heir she hoped to bring forth was tantamount. And they would need to be men of better quality than those Prince Zorzal kept as companions. Further, her current position had moved her into a position to better know just exactly what mess the Empire currently found itself in. She had already heard some proposals by some of Zorzal's stalwarts to lower the age for military service and this did not give her any comfort. If she could not dissuade such lunacy, then at least Hadrian could be properly trained. With luck, it could become an Honor guard.

Zorzal smirked. "I think this has merit. I will entrust you to handle it. Do a good job, my dear."

"Always, My Lord."

Near Alnus

"Lord Octavus," Merisa greeted and saluted Taylor, a gesture made by holding her right fist over her heart. Must remember to ask when they picked that up from the Romulans, Taylor thought absently as he saluted back.

"Lady Merisa, it's good to see you."

"Thank you, my lord." She gestured to the young ladies behind her, one of whom carried the standard of the Blue Rose. "These are Shasta La Phroaig, Chopin El Sabeda, Juno of Eristoff, Ginevieve La Rios, and Erath of Woodbridge. I'm told they've shown great promise and I am certain they will all perform well on our journey."

"As am I, " Taylor agreed. "So? How was the flight in?"

Merisa shook her head. "Not as bad as the first time, my lord but still an unsettling and wholly unnatural means of travel."

"I would not wish such an experience on a blood enemy," Shasta shuddered as her companions all nodded their agreement.

Juno nodded in agreement. "I would much rather ride a dragon mount. Not so much the wyverns that the Dragon Cavalry use but one of the larger breeds. Something calmer."

"Or a small one…" Ginevieve countered. "I like a swift mount but definitely nothing so unnatural and noisy as your 'Iron Pegasi'."

"Wait… I thought these things only came in stretch limo and giant flying death machine?"

Merisa chuckled. "Oh! No, my lord! It is just that the Imperial Army favors Horned Reds. Ginevieve prefers 'Blue Racers' and Juno is thinking of Cloud Dragons."

"And how big are they?" Taylor asked. And how did this not come up already?

"Oh! Roughly forty-five pedes! So about half again the size of a Horned Red. They're endurance fliers but not exactly agile. They also eat a lot for their size."

Near Sadera

While the Lady Agrippina looked forward to reclaiming her family home, Vendetta had returned to her new villa, so thoughtfully provided by Prince Zorzal. Along with her mother, she had arranged for Lady Antonia and Hadrian to live there as well. She was also finding herself in the need of pest control in her new home but unfortunately, the pest in question was Bouro, spymaster, conspirator, and Vendetta's patron, and until she could be certain just who among the staff of her new villa reported to Bouro and which ones reported to Zorzal, Vendetta danced carefully indeed.

For his part, Bouro was very disturbed that Zorzal had not yet acted on the Emperor. They were so close to power. The prize was tantalizingly close and yet Zorzal had hesitated! ThatVendetta had been the one responsible for this troubled him most of all.

Cassiopeia frowned, knowing that her new status did not yet put her out of her patron's reach. She turned to her mother and Lady Antonia and excused herself. "Hopefully, this won't take long." She said and headed out to the garden, where Bouro waited, very unhappily.

"Vendetta! You are supposed to facilitate our plans, not alter them! Our people are waiting NOW! We are ready NOW!" He insisted.

"Forgive me, Lord Bouro," Vendetta said carefully. "But would you rather delay the plan or risk that one of His Highness's newly returned associates might influence him in a direction contrary to our hopes? Is not the great plan you set forward that only the Haryo should be in a position to guide His Highness? Obviously that would be in jeopardy if one of his friends actually turns out not to be just another tool."

Bouro grunted in agreement. "We've made a great number of promises. The loyalty of the centaurs did not come cheap. But you are correct… Provided we can deliver soon." He warned.

"Of course, Lord Bouro," Vendetta soothed, lowering her head submissively.

"Good," he replied then frowned. "And what else have you been doing?" He asked, looking at her speculatively.

There was no point in lying. "I've suggested that His Highness sponsor a 'Civic Order'," she continued carefully, knowing she was in the dangerous territory of showing too much initiative and intelligence.

"Oh?"

"Yes. If I may?" She asked, keeping a submissive tone.

"Go on."

"Even once we have taken our rightful place in the Empire, the Empire will still be dominated by humans. The simple math assures this! We need their loyalty if this is going to work. We need to shape their viewpoints on this. With the 'Order of the Kestral' in every city and town across the Empire, we can shape that loyalty."

"Isn't that why His Highness is building the Oprichnina?"

"Fear is a useful tool," Vendetta allowed. "But rule through fear aloneinvites rebellion. Besides," she smiled. "The Oprichnina may be useful against the Prince's political enemies but does not necessarily fit our long term plans. It may be necessary to remove them one day. As His Highness has charged me to build this new Order, I will need to find and procure the best trainers the Empire can provide. Such proficiency is hardly required of a force designed to handle His Highness'spolitical enemies. They don't need to be trained to the same degree of military proficiency."

Bouro's lip curled up in a satisfied smirk as he nodded his understanding. Still, the woman needed to remember her place in the greater scheme of things. He leaned forward and spoke very softly.

"Just don't get too clever, my dear."

Kingdom of Elbe

Hundreds of miles to the south, King Duran's calculation and care paid off as Task Force Elbe made peaceful contact with the local patrol. The patrol's commander, Captain Roland, yielded in recognition of the King of the Elbe. He also confirmed that he had dispatched two messengers to the nearest outpost and thus, the word that his patrol had encountered something had probably already reached the Capital.

"How could they know already?" Itami wondered. "Even our vehicles would take hours." Without radio, then maybe they used magic instead, Itami guessed. "Do you guys have a crystal ball or something?"

Duran laughed. "It's nice to see you Men in Green underestimate us for a change! No," he smiled. "We have outpost towers positioned at intervals of one league apart. While complex messages aren't possible, we use smoke and fires to signal movement on the borders. In a small nation, we need as much advanced warning as we can get."

Sergeant Kuribayashi frowned. "But until recently, you were allies with the Empire."

Duran nodded and put a hand on the hilt of his sword. "Is it better to forge a sword and never have need to draw it or not have it and find you need one after all?"

Itami nodded, He then mentioned seeing a small stone tower a couple of miles back, inside Imperial territory.

"Yes," Duran said mildly. "That was one of our signal towers before the Empire adjusted the border a few years ago."

"We ought to be at your Capital by nightfall," Itami noted.

"Depending on whether Andar chooses to confront me at the gates or as far away from the city as possible," Duran considered. "If the choice were mine, I would meet you at the Gates, where I would be at my strongest. But a young or nervous leader might seek to meet you as forward as possible."

"Alright. Then we'll proceed as planned. Keep alert and hope we can avoid trouble."

Much to Duran's pride, if to the anxiety of Third Recon, nothing more than the occasional glimpse of a fresh scout was to be seen until they reached the gates of Duran's Capital. At the Gates, they were challenged by the Gate Warden.

"Who goes?"

"I, Duran! Rightful King of the Elbe!" He raised an eyebrow at the warden. "Is your king not welcome in his own city?"

The Gate opened and Task Force Elbe proceeded inside, to be confronted by the amassed troops of the City Garrison, archers lined the walls.

Itami did not like this situation in the slightest. While he somewhat trusted Duran's judgment, he knew that his force was in the most dangerous possible position. Quietly, he ordered the .50 cal manned, ready to clear the walls if they needed to fight their way back out. Yao watched warily, prepared to intercede her body if anything should threaten Itami. Rory stepped forward, a smile of anticipation lighting her features as a young man in splendid armor rode forth, lowering his sword down at Duran.

"So, the rumors are true, Old Duran lives."

Duran shook his head ruefully. "I am disappointed. I was hoping my son would have retained wiser counsel. You are too hot-tempered to command the soldiers of the Elbe."

"Silence! Elbe recognizes only one king! Certainly not a broken puppet of off-worlders!"

"Quiet!" Another firm voice commanded. Andar, son of Duran rode up on his favorite stead, dressed for battle. "Vassilus, you are my closest comrade and you command my army. But your manners are lacking." He looked down at his father and drew his sword.

There is only ONE King of the Elbe." He tossed his sword to the ground and dismounted. Andar, hailed as King, stepped to his father and knelt in the mud before his sire. "Only ONE King! I kneel before Duran! Rightful King of Elbe! And I will be the first to draw the blood of any man who denies the Rightful King!" He removed his helmet and bowed his head. "Father, "

Duran smiled. "Rise my son. I feared we would face each other in battle, this day. I am relieved for this not to be so."

"Father… I'm afraid I've never been shy about announcing my qualifications to rule our kingdom. But my ambition never extended to stealing your crown." Andar said as he rose to look into his father's proud eyes.

"My son! You have made me very proud this day. You WILL be a fine king one day."

Andar shook his head. "Perhaps. But today I am your vassal to obey as you command. What is your will, Sire?"

An Undisclosed Location South of Sadera

Flavius flinched slightly as his sister tended the cut on his arm.

"Hold still," Dyet said as she applied vinegar to the wound.

Flavius grunted as Dyet finished cleaning the wound.

"Damned fool! If that IDIOT had at least a clue how to hold a sword!" Still, he managed to chuckle with rueful humor. "Sir Grey always warned us that it was not the trained sword we needed to fear but the fool who has never used one. He was right about that!"

"Well," Dyet said as she began to bandage the arm, "at least you were able to disarm him without hurting him too much and we convinced him we weren't this 'Spartacus'! Got us a good deal on his stock at least."

"Add another two off-worlders to the tally and another fifteen emancipated besides," Flavius agreed. "Once you calmed him down, he was practically ready to throw them at us!"

"You saw what was left of Biblius Sulla's villa," Dyet reminded her brother. "If I were in his sandals, I'd want to get into another line of business!"

"One hundred and thirty-eight off-worlders," Flavius considered. "I'm afraid that's what we can do. Between this 'Spartacus' and these new bands of trackers, we've been seeing, It's getting much more dangerous. We need to take what we have and keep them safe until we can send them home."

"I'm afraid I would agree, dear brother. If Spartacus is dangerous, hiring a bunch of cutthroats to stop them is worse. Frankly, I'm worried about one of these retrieval companies finding our little refuge."

"Well, If they think they're going to get past Lady Videlia, I think they'll be sadly mistaken."

"Agreed brother, agreed... We do have one more problem, I'm afraid."

"What?" Flavius Co Cacola had a sinking feeling.

"One of the off-worlders recently delivered a child," Dyet sighed.

"Great... Just great."

Temple of Miritta, Sadera

Antonia beamed as she bathed her new son in the sacred fountain. The piles of gold given to the temple and to others meant nothing to her. Her late husband had openly scorned her for going to the temples, long had he blamed the gods for her barren womb. Antonia knew that he had planned to cast her aside as soon as he got back from the conquests. Well, the Gods had smiled on her. They had seen to it that her husband now soldiered the legion of the dead and now she used his gold to obtain the son that he could never have given her. Ironic that it was her husband's contacts who had brought her this treasure. In her heart she knew the man had been a devil who consorted with devils and perhaps she was no better because it was a Devil's bargain she had made but Antonia only knew that she wanted and Decimus had promised to provide for that want. The cost had been high enough in gold, paid every month until the baby's birth. She told herself in a part of her soul she did not want to face that her gold had been a salvation to both the birth mother and to her unborn child. Of course, every month, Decimus had found excuse to justify demanding even more gold than before, by pointing out that if he didn't maintain the rest of his slaves as well, jealously might cause one of them to harm the pregnant mother. Certainly he would punish such a slave but it only took a moment and the damage would be done and Antonia could not take that risk, even if she knew that most of the gold that went into the man's fat, greasy palms would not be used for the purposes stated.

But again, it had never been about the gold. Nor did it matter in the past few weeks when Decimus had begun to look very nervous, like a fat old hog passing near a lion's den. He had actually stopped demanding as much gold and instead began begging her to talk to her Uncle, Senator Dussie for protection from this 'Spartacus'. Gold, influence... These were merely tools to be used and so she agreed.

She ruthlessly suppressed these thoughts as she beheld the beautiful child before her.

She marveled at his perfect features, the bright, curious eyes of her son as she washed him.

"Miritta has seen fit to grant you a handsome son!" The priestess smiled. "What will you name him?"

Antonia smiled. There was a very old name passed down from legends from beyond the founding.

"By the will of Miritta and before all the Gods, I name him 'Aeneas'..."