Chapter 36 - Kryslie Seals the Cities
Kryslie arrived in the city of Hyrun in the midst of a riot. People were running, shoving each other out of the way and trying to reach the entrances to food shops. Some smashed windows, and tried to get in that way, others tore off the wooden slats where shop owners had tried to protect their premises. The air was full of shouts and shrieks from panic-stricken men and women.
Keleb nearly collapsed; Kryslie caught him and held him up, as she strengthened her own mental shields.
“I’m sorry, Kel,” she apologised, as she enforced some shielding on his mind.
“What’s happening here?” Jonko asked, as he noted the ashen face of his friend. “Has the city been invaded?”
“I sense fear and panic. I need to get back over there. The people have just found out that the city’s shields have malfunctioned.”
“Sabotage?” Jonko queried.
“Yes, and the perpetrator is probably calling his superiors right now. I need to be seen, before this city explodes into violence,” Kryslie told him. “Kel, do you think you can block this out?”
“Give me a few minutes,” Keleb said, his voice betraying the strain he was under. “You go. I will follow in a bit.”
Jonko still looked concerned, but Kryslie distracted him.
“Jon, I want you to go to the council building and get into the room with the shield controls and see what you can do. We don’t have a lot of time before attack craft realise we are vulnerable. Do what ever is necessary to get the shields working again. Do you understand?”
Jonko nodded. He knew he might have to injure or kill a few people to save the majority. He ran off at his fastest pace.
With a final look at Keleb, Kryslie transmitted to the centre of the city square – where the city guards were trying to protect the mayor from a crowd of angry people. She arrived on the platform, facing two violent agitators who had climbed up onto the platform. Both were forced backwards by the repellor field from her transmitter, and fell down amongst the other pressing people.
Kryslie was at the microphone of the public address system before the guards realised she was there.
“This undisciplined behaviour will cease!” she spoke quietly, but somehow her voice was magnified and was heard over the angry clamour. She had also projected the command to those immediately around her, and these stopped moving and yelling abruptly. The silence spread as she identified herself by rank and title. Every eye in the square turned to look at her and a murmur of awe spread out to those beyond the square and to those trying to steal enough food for a month’s siege.
Silence fell and people began to return to the square. The agitators nearest her began to mutter resentfully.
“For those of you that feel that you have been deserted by Royalty,” Kryslie went on, addressing that comment to the disgruntled agitators, “I am proof that you have not. Our world is at war. Many cities are worse off than this one – they have been attacked, buildings bombed to rubble, thousands killed. Nearly a quarter of the cities… so far this one has been lucky. It may not be for much longer. The Royals are not all powerful – we are mortal. We need the help of all of you.”
“But the shield is down!” a man called out. “We will be killed!”
Kryslie felt Jonko’s mind trying to reach hers. “What?” she sent, and she immediately saw in her friends mind the destruction in the council building. When Jonko was looking directly at the shield control panel, she had him study it.
Aloud, she was saying, “I have someone investigating them now and repairs will be underway shortly.”
At that moment, she sensed malevolence and determination that the shields stayed down. She sent Jonko a warning.
Before anyone else demanded answers from her, Kryslie spoke again, “I know each city has an emergency plan, for times of emergency such as this. The district wardens will direct non-combatants – women, children, old and sick folk to the designated shelters. These will have supplementary shields to protect them. The men are to report to the district rallying points and await instructions.”
Already, the level of fear and panic was decreasing. Merely her presence, and her calmness, made a difference.
The mayor had moved next to Kryslie and murmured, “The shields were sabotaged.”
“I know, Mayor Penterton,” Kryslie had identified the man from her father’s shared memories. Quietly, she warned, “There is likely to be more sabotage to vital installations and essential services. You need to direct the local militia to guard those places. You also need to instigate stage two of the census – have some of the militia accompany the census groups and watch out for anyone with dark eyes. By that, I mean those that do not have the white around the iris. These are Aeronites, the enemy I seek. Do not kill them. If they do not wish to come quietly, disable them or stun them. I, personally, will deal with them. Offer them Royal amnesty if they help you locate all of their kind and contact their fellows to cease the sabotage.”
“I cannot see them agreeing,” the mayor murmured back.
“They will when I tell them certain facts,” Kryslie assured them.
Keleb had quietly approached Kryslie, and now she directed the mayor’s attention to him.
“This is Keleb, one of Governor Xyron’s assistants. He can oversee the census follow up. If you are unsure of anyone’s right to be in the city, he will judge them.”
Kryslie quickly explained to Keleb that every citizen had to be listed on the census. This next step required every citizen to be spoken for by two other listed townsfolk, and then to have an indelible stamp placed on their right hand, using stamps and ink supplied by Professor Governor Xyron.
Then she inserted into his mind the special characteristics of the ink and how it changed if in contact with an alien creature. Finally she thought at him, “Some Aeronites might have managed to slip past the original census and be listed and some commoners may not have seen the reason to be listed.”
Keleb murmured, “I know what to do.”
Before Kryslie stepped down from the platform, she admonished the crowd, “Mayor Penderton will remind you all of the emergency procedures, and I expect everyone to do their part.”
Once down at the level of the crowd, Kryslie pushed away the guards who tried to encircle and protect her. “You have enough to do, and little time to do it – start moving the non-combatants to safety. There is not much time.”
Before they could protest, she transmitted into a small space at the edge of the crowd and strode towards the council building. Everywhere she looked, she checked for the tell tale trails of the Ciriot and was relieved when she saw none.
She joined Jonko in the rubble-strewn chamber. He had found some tools and was at work on the damaged control board. Tossed on a pile of fallen bricks was a bound and gagged Aeronite.
“He tried to finish the job,” Jonko told her without taking his attention from his task.
“Let me help you,” Kryslie offered and Jonko merely edged sideways a bit to give her room.
“I don’t know what all these circuits are for; I am simply matching colours and joining them when I can. I really need spare wire and circuit parts.”
Kryslie placed a hand on Jonko’s arm to get his attention and spoke softly so the prisoner did not hear, “Follow the main power conduit back towards the inside/outside connection box. Somewhere between here and there you will find the shield relay box – or rather, the master control box.”
Jonko drew in a breath to speak, but Kryslie hushed him. “Break the link to this box and reset all the green switches. Don’t touch the blue ones. And Jon, hurry. There isn’t much time – an hour – maybe. That Aeronite wouldn’t have brought down the shields if the Aeronite fighters were not close.”
Two of the city guards found Kryslie just as Jonko began his search.
“Take this prisoner to your secure holding area. I will speak to him later. And please tell our superior that I do not need an escort. I need to move freely.”
“Your highness, we were asked if you could send more healers here,” one of the two found the courage to ask.
“I’m sorry. I wish I could. What has happened?”
Kryslie read the situation in their mind. It was as she had warned the mayor. An explosion had occurred at the water treatment plant. “Your people will have to manage,” she told them with sympathy. “The best I can do is go there and look for the saboteur, though I expect he will be well away.”
Kryslie chose to transmit to the scene the men had vivid in their minds. She didn’t join the rescue workers or the healers but sought for the mind of the Aeronite infiltrator and began to hunt.
Her quarry hadn’t gone far – he was checking the effect of his work. He suddenly sensed he was not alone and spun around as he drew his weapon. He fired in a rapid movement, but instants later, he felt the energy of the beam burning him. His mind froze with pain and bewilderment. His mind could not understand how the red headed woman could be uninjured, and how the energy beam had reflected off her hand back at him. He dropped his useless weapon and tried to stagger away.
Kryslie caught him easily, and forced him to sit. For the moment, they were out of sight amongst a cluster of sheds. “You need to listen to me,” she told the Aeronite in his own language. “I know what you are and the types of thing you intend. I will not let you and your friends continue.”
The prisoner spat at her and then grimaced.
“I don’t expect you to like me, just to listen.”
Kryslie tersely explained the situation outside of the cities, and what was happening where the Ciriot were. At first, he was disbelieving, but some of what Kryslie told him resonated with his fears. He had been unable to contact his Warlord superior. She asked him to contact his fellow Aeronites, to stop the rest of the planned destruction, and give themselves up to the guard. She promised them Royal amnesty if they came freely. The prisoner merely stared back at her. She sensed he was thinking, but not ready to trust her.
“What are you going to do to me?” the Aeronite demanded.
“Take you into protective custody,” Kryslie told him. “The people in this city will rip you apart if they knew what you did.”
The Aeronite wanted to run, but his mind revealed that he was too weak both from the effects of the weapon reflection and the lack of his food supplement pills. He cursed Kryslie and let her take him away.
She transmitted him to the council building. A guard came at her call, and she directed him to take her prisoner to the holding area to join the other.
Although the other prisoners refused to help her find their comrades, Kryslie had learnt a great deal from the thoughts in their public mind. Firstly, that there were twelve of them, and secondly the location of the building they were hiding in.
After finding three more near strategic targets, hidden and watching the patrolling guards, and completely unaware that they were identified as aliens, she captured each easily and took them to the holding place. Then she went to their hide out and waited, using her power to cloak her presence.
As each of the remaining seven Aeronites returned, she remained unnoticed, and listened to their uncensored conversation. They all knew that some of them had been captured, and none had dared go near the census points or the shelters. None of them thought there was a need, for once their brother warriors entered the city, these intended to join them and they would be safe.
When Kryslie chose to reveal herself, they all stopped talking and reached for their weapons.
“Who are you,” one of them finally found the voice to demand. His mind revealed that he knew she was a high-ranking Royal and he was imagining the praise and rewards he would receive for capturing her. He tried to fire his weapon to disable her, but found that he could not make his hand work.
“You will listen!” Kryslie spoke in ‘command’ tone, and she repeated what she had told the first five prisoners.
“How do we know that we can trust you?” the group leader snarled. “I don’t believe what you claim. The Ciriot are our allies, and they are not here. And now the damned Tymorean Governors have sent a mere female here to speak to us. They are cowards and fools. They won’t even fight us for what is theirs.”
“Call them what you will,” Kryslie replied. “The Governors have not fought your people for you are not the real enemy we must face. I have seen the Ciriot – in Amik – and there they were torturing Tymorean and Aeronite with equal brutish pleasure. Your people have been used, and now discarded. I pledge to protect you, as I am pledged to protect the Tymoreans in this city. Furthermore, I intend to take you back to your baseship.”
One of the other Aeronites muttered, “Voltec will have us whipped for desertion.”
Kryslie shook her head. “Voltec will have no say in the matter. “Soon he will be arriving at the Temple of Dira to discuss an alliance.”
“We need to talk,” the leader decided. “Amongst ourselves.”
Kryslie gestured for them to huddle, but she did not leave. Part of her mind was aware of their discussion, another part was warning her of imminent danger.
“Keleb!” she mindsent. “Tell the Mayor to sound the siren.”
Moments later, the eerie wailing began. The startled Aeronites thought they knew what that meant. At first they were vindictively pleased, thinking it was Aeronite bombers that were approaching. As the noise came closer and they heard the thumping undertone, they realised the noise was unfamiliar. Kryslie drew on the aura to create a sphere of protection around herself and the seven Aeronites.
“Stay close together,” she commanded them, and then she mentally sent to Jonko, “What’s the hold up?”
He had a picture of a rubble filled room and his hands tossing huge chunks of fallen masonry out of the way. “A few more minutes,” he thought, and even his mind voice seemed out of breath.
The first of the bombs dropped – close enough to blast the walls of the rude shelter to dust. The protective sphere did not block all of the pressure wave, and only Kryslie remained standing.
Several more bombs fell, further away before Kryslie heard, “They’re up,” from Jonko.
The stunned Aeronites, saw the blinding light above them as the next bombs detonated against it. When they were all again capable of thought and speech, and over the shock of their near death experience, none doubted Kryslie’s word. She had done…something… and they were all still alive when they should have been dead.
“We accept your offer, Princess Kryslie,” the leader capitulated. “We will do whatever you ask of us.”
“Tell me where you have other explosives planted,” Kryslie asked.
After taking the Aeronites to the secure cells, Kryslie oversaw the dismantling of the bombs and other nasty traps they had set. She found Mayor Pendleton near midnight, and he insisted that she eat and rest. Keleb and Jonko were already asleep. He reported the status of the city to her and thanked her with heartfelt fervour.
“Keleb gave us your warning in time to get everyone to shelters,” the Mayor told her. “The three bombs that landed, destroyed a row of warehouses being used for hydroponics, part of the recycling plant, and some old shacks. It could have been a whole lot worse. Are you sure you have all the enemy spies in confinement. My people are demanding their death.”
“And I have promised them my protection,” Kryslie stated, ending that discussion. “They are simply soldiers obeying orders from misguided superiors. I will return them to their baseships. They are of no further consequence and they provided me with information so I could dismantle all the rest of their sabotage.”
The Mayor had to accept her word, so he merely nodded in agreement. “I did not expect you to be so competent as a fighter, your Highness,” he commended her. “I cannot image your father doing so much.”
“When he comes visiting, everyone is usually on their best behaviour,” Kryslie said with a faint grin. “You wouldn’t like to cross him. He is a formidable opponent too. However, I cannot stay here much longer, so you need to listen carefully. Tomorrow, you are going to stress to everyone living in the city, that they are to go to their homes, or sleeping places and stay there until the following day. Tonight, I want everyone – guards and citizens – off the streets while I do a search of the city.”
“What are you looking for? I thought you said everything was safe,” the mayor asked in consternation. “And surely my people could help.”
Kryslie shook her head. “Not for this, and I will need no help. However, when I am finished, I will remove the prisoners, and activate the final layer of shielding. The city will be sealed and fully protected from all enemy activity. No one will be able to enter or leave.”
“I don’t understand – how long will it be like that?” the mayor protested.
“How long? I cannot say, but trust the Guardians of Peace. You need have no worries about feeding all the people indefinitely. When I seal the city, it will drop into a state of stasis. All you need remember, is that you will go to sleep tomorrow and when you wake, this useless dirty war will be over and you will find that you no longer need the shields.”
Penderton nodded. “Please accept the thanks of the city for your help, your Highness.”
“And I thank you for yours,” Kryslie replied. “I will be off now, but I will be back in the morning.”
Jonko saw Kryslie sitting watching him when he awoke. “Do you go to sleep at all?” he asked softly, not wanting to wake Keleb.
“Some,” Kryslie told him. “You and Kel did great things yesterday.”
“I am rewarded by your gratitude,” Jonko said with mock gallantry. “Though when you said we had work to do, I never conceived of the scope of the task.”
“It won’t always be this easy,” Kryslie warned him. “And even I did not expect to arrive at such a volatile moment.”
“We arrived in time,” Jonko pointed out. “Though Kel had a particularly hard time. The medic finally gave him a dose of something to make him sleep. Were you aware that during that attack alert, he was going from shelter to shelter with the census checkers and reassuring everyone? He has assured me that everyone is checked and tagged, even the dimwits that avoided the first census. The threat of no rations was effective.”
Kryslie smiled wryly and said, “You will find all sorts.”
Keleb stirred and sat up. “I have one almighty headache.”
Kryslie moved and sat beside him. “Let me help you.” She began to massage his temples, relaxing the muscles and speeding up the metabolism of the sleep drug. “Didn’t Governor Reslic, or your guardian teach you to shield your mind?”
“They did,” Keleb admitted. “And they told me I was a better student in that subject than you were. Next time, I won’t leave a channel open to sense the emotional aura. I never expected the intensity…you must have learnt better than I did after all.”
“Ah, yes, well, Reslic took a while to convince me that I had to learn to block Tym from my mind – but he ensured I learnt it well,” Kryslie admitted, and her friends saw her blush faintly. “I am sorry you were overwhelmed. Do you need me to help reinforce your shielding before we move on?”
“Let me have a short period of meditation, and breakfast, and I think I will be okay,” Keleb considered. “You will need all your attention for what you need to do.”
“And where were you last night? After you finished clearing Aeronite traps?” Jonko asked pointedly.
“I checked the city to be sure there were no Ciriot traces anywhere in the city. Wherever they go, they leave a trail that is visible in UV light. I can see them.”
“So where do we go next,” Jonko asked.
When Kryslie transmitted again, she took Jonko and Keleb to Reva, one of the cities they had all been to before. This time their arrival was unnoticed for a while, and they were able to evaluate the status of the city. Kryslie glanced at Keleb, he saw the look and told her, “This place is not so bad. People are afraid, though. Can you feel it too?”
“Yes,” Kryslie admitted. “I have to go and be seen. I want you to…”
Her intended speech was interrupted by the sound of an explosion in the distance. A second explosion followed, and that one caused a section of the western part of the shield wall to light up.
“I’ll check it out,” Jonko volunteered.
“Go with him, Kel. You will know if I need you,” Kryslie directed.
As she looked around to get her bearings, her attention was caught by the rising screams of a terrified child. Without seeming to hurry, she approached the child’s mother as the other children with her began to wail.
“Hello,” she said to the mother. “Let me take the little one from you so you can reassure the others.”
“It’s all the loud noises,” the mother apologised. “He should be used to it, with the aircraft flying over and trying to bomb the city every day.”
Kryslie was quietly hushing the squalling child, and projecting calm to him and the other children. She crouched down to the level of the others. “You are all being very brave,” she commented to a boy and his two sisters, as she gently patted the baby’s back. “You will be safe if you obey your parents, and do what the city wardens tell you. There is a shield over the city to keep you safe. Have you seen how the sky lights up after the noises?”
They three older children nodded, but the boy said, “But things blow up, inside too. My da got hurt bad.”
The memory of the incident was in the boy’s memory – vivid and terrifying. His sister began to wail, “I want to go home.”
“Our home is here for now,” the mother reminded her gently.
The girl pouted and looked about to burst into tears.
“Tell me about your home?” Kryslie invited, shifting the baby to a new position. He was only whimpering now.
The little girl was distracted and began to chatter and her sibs added bits of information to what she said.
When they ran out of things to say, Kryslie said, “This war won’t last forever, and when it ends, a lot of things will be different. You might need to build a brand new home in the vales and you will all be able to help your ma and da.”
“I want it now!” the girl insisted.
“Tell you what,” Kryslie said, glancing around as if about to impart a secret. “I’d like that too, so what I want you to do is to finish this walk in the sunshine and go back to where you are staying. When you go to sleep tonight, keep wishing on what you want. Wish very hard, that when you wake up, the war will be gone, and one day…soon…it will. And if you see any of your friends, tell them to do the same.”
The three nodded solemnly, and Kryslie stood up, and handed the now quiet child back to his suddenly embarrassed mother.
“You’re…Royalty!”
Kryslie smiled and asked, “You don’t mind do you? I’m Kryslie, and I just happen to have had a fair bit of experience with loud baby boys lately.”
“Oh, yes, the little prince,” the mother remembered.
“And your name is?” Kryslie invited.
“Helena, and my children are Benny, Amy, Gabby, and the baby is Jules.”
Barely had the woman introduced her family, when Kryslie became aware of the first wave of recognition from passers by, who had not cared to come near the screaming baby. Someone was running towards her. She turned and recognised the runner.
“Tarri! Is all well with you?”
“Yes, we are fine. I told the Mayor I had seem you, but he wouldn’t believe me. Is your brother here too?”
Beyond Tarri, a group of men were trotting closer.
“No, Tymos is busy elsewhere. Do give my regards to your mother and siblings, and perhaps you might help Helena get her children back home. I see your Mayor has decided to check your story, and I do need to speak to him.”
The men were city guards, and they challenged Kryslie. “Who are you and how did you get into the city?”
“Hey!” Tarri objected. “This is Princess Kryslie! Don’t you recognise her? She was here on the King’s last tour and her brother Prince Tymos healed my mother.”
In the few moments when the guards were distracted by Tarri, Kryslie subtly changed her stance, so that when the men looked at her again, she wasn’t the friendly approachable woman, but the essence of Royal authority.
“Gentlemen, I am Kryslie, Heir Designate to his Majesty, High King Governor Tymoros, and I require an immediate interview with Mayor Hedglen.”
“But how did you get in? The roads are watched, and with the shields no one can just walk in,” one of the guards insisted.
Tarri snorted with disgust. “Everyone has been wailing about how the Royals have deserted us, when we have been safe here. Has it occurred to you that other cities might be worse off? Does it matter how she came? You are wasting her time.”
Unlike the guards, the Mayor recognised her instantly. He immediately cleared his days schedule and delegated all the important appointments to his subordinates on the council. He summoned his senior advisors to join him.
Even the most hostile of the councillors quickly realised how fortunate Reva had been, as they heard what Kryslie had to say.
As she had done in the previous city, she instructed the Mayor to activate stage two of the census,