Without a Front (2 page)

CHAPTER 2
Political asylum

 

Lanaril Satran had never been
part of a High Council meeting before. She had occasionally been invited to speak at one when her input as Blacksun's Lead Templar was required, but the High Council meetings had always been closed-door affairs, limited to the six caste Primes, the Lancer, and occasionally the Chief Counselor.

But then the
Caphenon
had landed and the changes kept coming, with no end in sight. And here she was on the fourteenth floor of the State House, sitting with the leaders of Alsea and waiting for the arrival of a Voloth soldier. A soldier who was asking to stay on the very world he had tried to take by force.

Fahla certainly did have some interesting plans.

She glanced up at the head of the table, where Andira sat with an inscrutable expression and an impenetrable front. She looked every bit the Lancer today, with her dark blue uniform and her blonde hair wound back in a formal twist. If the thought of facing one of the Voloth she had turned was bothering her, Lanaril couldn't tell.

“So the technology is identical?” Prime Merchant Parser asked.

“No, but it's close enough.” Prime Scholar Yaserka tossed his thin gray hairtail over his shoulder and leaned forward. “Our healers harvested several lingual implants from dead Voloth, and Chief Kameha reverse-engineered them.”

“The man is brilliant,” Prime Builder Eroles added. She was resplendent today in a turquoise suit that set off her dark skin and hair to perfection. “It took him just three days to come up with a prototype. They're very similar to Protectorate implants, so he had no problem altering one of the
Caphenon
's chip burners to produce the right chip.”

“‘Harvested,' what a horrible use of that word.” Prime Producer Arabisar shuddered. “Could we refrain from using that for anything other than what Fahla intended? We harvest crops, not technology from the heads of dead aliens.”

“My apologies,” Yaserka said. “We dissected them.”

Arabisar glared at him. “You did that on purpose.”

“Did what? You asked—”

“Enough,” Andira said in a clipped tone. “Yes, we have full communication with these Voloth. The healers said it was critical for their mental health to be able to speak with us and to understand our broadcasts. And since mental health is on all of our minds these days, I authorized both the…study of the technology and the production of new language chips.”

“And look where that got you.” Prime Warrior Shantu crossed his arms over his expensive tunic, his fashionably cut hair brushing his shoulders. “Watching those broadcasts is how they knew to target you.”

“Excuse me,” Lanaril said. Every head turned to her, and she sat a little straighter. “I understand that you're thinking like a warrior and looking for the strategic angle. But I think we should remember they're not our enemies anymore. Right now they're supplicants.”

“With all due respect, Lead Templar, I killed as many Voloth as I could. I don't see them as anything but an enemy.”

“And of course that's what you had to do. I stood outside my temple and rejoiced at every explosion of light I saw, because that was one less ground pounder that could attack us. But that was then. You beat them. We won. They have no power anymore. These are people who are asking us not to send them home. So I have to ask in my turn: Why? Why don't they want to go?”

“Perhaps they will be prosecuted at home for what we forced them to do here,” Prime Crafter Bylwytin said in her quiet voice. “Or persecuted.”

“Oh, now, you're not feeling sorry for them, are you?” Shantu snorted and shook his head. “They're invaders
.
They should feel exceedingly fortunate that we haven't executed the lot. Instead they've made demands and we're actually going to listen to them.”

“Exactly,” Andira said. “We're going to listen. We haven't agreed to anything, and we won't without a majority approval of the Council. But it costs us nothing to listen.”

“Well, it's costing me a valuable hantick of my time, not to mention the strain of being in the same room with one and refraining from killing it.”

“If they were ‘its,' I hardly think a high empath would have killed herself from the guilt of empathically forcing one.” Lanaril hadn't meant to let her own feelings show, but Shantu's attitude could only come from one who had no inkling of the suffering she had seen in her temple. “I've been counseling Blacksun high empaths for two moons, and I can assure you, their guilt comes from forcing people, not animals.”

His front was as good as Andira's, but the hate burned in his eyes. “The first ground pounder bombed Duin Bridge to charred bricks and killed every adult and child in it. They would have done the same to every one of our cities if we hadn't stopped them. And those they didn't kill, they would have enslaved. Those are not the actions of
people.
”

A tap on the door interrupted and Colonel Razine entered, her stern face set even harder than usual. Behind her came a Guard holding one end of a chain, then a tall Voloth with his hands shackled in front of him and attached to the chain. A second Guard brought up the rear, and the small conference room suddenly felt very crowded.

Lanaril stared at the Voloth. With his smooth, ridgeless face, he resembled the Gaians she had met and liked. How could an enemy look so similar to a friend?

The three warriors thumped their fists to their chests, a salute that was marred by the jangling of the chain still held by one.

Colonel Razine stepped forward. “Lancer Tal, members of the High Council, Lead Templar Satran, this is Rax Sestak, weapons specialist in the Voloth Third Pacification Fleet.”

“Pacification?” Shantu said. “Really?”

The Voloth looked at him, then around the table. When his gaze settled on Andira, all motion in the room stopped. His unfronted emotions poured off him, buffeting Lanaril with a shock of recognition and panic, followed by the determination that wrestled his fear under control. It had never occurred to her that he might be afraid, but in hindsight it made sense. He was facing down his own personal nightmare.

Was she?

They stared at each other for what felt like five ticks before Andira finally said, “Rax Sestak. I never knew your name.”

“I never knew yours, either.” His voice was gravelly, as if he hadn't used it in a while. “Well met, Lancer Tal.”

Great Fahla, Lanaril thought. He knew the standard greeting. Somehow she hadn't expected courtesy from an invader.

“Well met,” Andira answered. The tension in the air eased, only to rise again at her next words. “Colonel Razine, this room has a long history, and I don't believe that history includes the presence of bound prisoners. Take off that chain and unbind his hands.”

“Are you insane?” Shantu shoved his chair back and stood. “I know you like to prove your points, but this is going too far.”

“Are you afraid of him, Prime Warrior?”

Shantu stopped with his mouth open, then snapped it shut. “I killed too many of them to be afraid of one.”

“Well, I for one am not comfortable sharing the room with a bound Voloth, much less an unbound one,” Eroles said. “Lancer Tal,
is
there a point to this?”

“We're here to listen to a request for political asylum. If we can't do that without keeping the petitioner in chains, then I don't see any reason for this meeting to continue. We'll have already decided on our answer.”

“I agree.” Prime Merchant Parser cast a sidelong glance at the still-bristling Shantu. “If the five warriors in the room can't handle one unarmed Voloth, then we have indeed come to our decision.”

“Unbind him for all I care. I'd welcome the chance to kill one more. But there are others in this room whose concerns should be taken into account.”

Andira turned to the Prime Builder. “I promise you, on my honor as a warrior, that this Voloth will not harm you.”

“How can you make a promise like that?” Eroles asked.

Andira rose and walked over to stand in front of the Voloth. She looked slim and small in front of him, but he watched her with a resurgent fear. Without taking her eyes off his, she said, “Colonel Razine.”

The colonel took out a key, unlocked the wristcuffs, and handed them to the Guard holding the chain.

“Thank you,” said the Voloth as he rubbed his wrists.

“Tell me, Rax Sestak, do you intend harm to anyone in this room?”

“No, Lancer.”

“And we're supposed to—”

Andira held up a hand, stopping Shantu in mid-sentence. “Would you like a chance to prove that?”

Rax looked at her in confusion. “I don't see how.”

His eyes widened and his fear spiked into panic when she reached into her boot and pulled out a dagger. The entire room collectively held its breath.

Andira held the dagger for a moment, then flipped it over, caught it by the blade, and offered it to him hilt first.

He took it from her hesitantly, his panic morphing into shock and bafflement.

“I'm the one who made you do it,” she said in a low voice. “I stripped you of your will and forced you to kill your fellow soldiers. I know you hate me for that.”

“A little,” he whispered.

“Then this is your chance. Take your revenge if you can. No one will stop you; it's a matter of honor.”

He looked from her to the dagger and back again. “If I do, none of the others will get to stay.”

“This is between you and me. It won't have any effect on the others.”

Lanaril felt as if she were watching an entertainment vid. This couldn't be real.

Rax tightened his grip on the hilt. “Did you know that some of them were my friends?”

“No, I didn't. Did you know that I lost friends, too?”

“But you didn't kill them yourself.” His voice was almost a groan. “I killed my own friends.”

“Then kill me and you'll feel better about it.”

“No, I shekking won't!” He threw the dagger to the ground. “It won't help! And that's not what I came here for.”

One of the Guards scooped up the dagger and handed it back to Andira, who took it with a nod of thanks and slipped it into her boot. Turning to the others, she said, “Is that proof enough?”

“Great Mother!” Yaserka blurted into the shocked silence. “That was the most reckless thing I have ever seen.”

“No, it wasn't. He can't harm me nor any other Alsean. He
cannot
. Do you understand?”

Lanaril finally remembered to exhale, just as Shantu let out a startled laugh.

“Oh, well done, Lancer Tal. You didn't bind him to yourself. You bound him to Alsea.” Shantu sat down, still chuckling. “I must say I'm impressed.”

“And I'm confused,” said Arabisar. “What in Fahla's name just happened?”

“A demonstration.” Andira took her seat. “Rax Sestak has free will, with one exception. He cannot harm Alsea nor any Alsean. I left that instruction when I forced him. Unless I cancel it, he'll be bound by it for the rest of his life. If we send him back to the Voloth, he'll never again be able to engage in any hostilities against Alsea. And if he stays here, he'll never be able to raise a hand against any Alsean. So as you can see, he's not a threat to you.”

“Some demonstration,” Eroles said. Her dark skin was a shade lighter than usual, and Lanaril suspected her own face was still showing the shock.

“Rax Sestak, how shall we call you?” Andira asked.

“Just Rax.” His desperate need to know burst its confines. “Please, tell me. Is that the only thing you did? Is that all you left inside me?”

“That's all,” she assured him. “I swear.”

He dropped his face into his hands, his shoulders shaking with the release, then looked up with reddened eyes. “Thank you. I know I was one of the lucky ones. If you could see the others… Seeders, they've forgotten everyone they ever loved. My friend Danek—he has a baby daughter and he doesn't even care anymore. He carried her picture everywhere and we used to tease him about how gone he was over her, and now—he doesn't care. At least you left my heart in one piece.”

Lanaril didn't think anyone in the room could be unaffected by that. She glanced over. Well, anyone but Shantu.

“None of us ever wanted to do that,” Andira said. “But you left us no choice.”

“
We
had no choice!” he cried. “We were shekked if we did and shekked if we didn't.”

“What do you mean?” Lanaril asked. “Why didn't you have a choice?”

“Because we're hangers. And the officers are all citizens.”

The six caste Primes and Andira seemed to understand this, but Lanaril had no idea what he was talking about. “Hangers and citizens?”

“The Voloth Imperium has its own caste system with three castes,” Andira explained. “Though they don't call them that, and there's no equality. Their people are either citizens, hangers, or slaves.”

Rax rubbed his wrists again. “And being a hanger isn't much better than being a slave. You can't own property, you don't have the same legal rights as citizens, and Seeders help you if you ever get into trouble with a citizen. The police will never believe you. A citizen can do everything but murder a hanger, and nobody would turn a hair. I don't think murder is out of the question either, so long as you bribe the right person. And in the military—” He shook his head. “You don't disobey orders.”

“You know what your military does,” Yaserka said. “You made a choice when you joined it. Seems to me it's a little late now to say you wish you hadn't.”

“But I don't—” He stopped and calmed himself with an effort. “Yes, I made a choice to join. We all did. But that's only because none of us were rich enough to buy our citizenship.”