Chapter 9 - Unfriendliness
Zacary glanced sideways at the two new students and scowled. They had been in classes a full week and Niklas was full of praise for them. They made him sick, showing him up by working so hard. They needed to ease up a bit, and stop being so standoffish. They thought they didn’t need any help, and they wouldn’t talk about themselves or where they had come from.
The computer screen in front of him might have vanished for all he was seeing of it. His ears were hearing one of the teachers telling some folk tale – nursery stories – he called them. On the other side, Rowan was praising the yokels for mastering the transmitting practice so quickly and apologising for being unable to take them to view the surrounds of the beam in points that were outside in the gardens. When that could be organised, they would be ready for their own transmitters. What was the rush anyway? The yokels had only been around for a week. Back when he was ten, he had to wait a month for his transmitter. It wasn’t fair.
Now Zacary’s own resentments began to fester. The major one was still being in with the little kids when all the others his age were in the large lyceum. Well, Tobias didn’t count. He was deaf, and was only in the small lyceum to learn about plants and stuff.
Now he recalled how the yokels were always being ‘delivered’ and ‘collected’ by personal minders. Fair enough that they didn’t have transmitters yet, and you needed one to get into the lyceum, but all other new yokels, waited outside for the teachers to bring them in. What made these two so special? Morov and the old woman must have the job to make sure they didn’t run off or something. He had encountered missionaries’ brats before. Those raised on backward planets often had pronounced ideas of their own and didn’t want to do things the way that the Governor’s insisted. He was beginning to agree with those yokels.
He didn’t much like what he was doing either. He was learning about the menial jobs that were all they thought him capable of. If he had his way, he’d be off the estate…off the planet.
So maybe these two were not trusted, and the hard work was an act, until they got transmitters and could run away. Well, they would find they couldn’t. There was some barrier around the estate so kids couldn’t transmit out. He’d tried.
As he sat staring at his computer, ideas came into his head of ways he could make the yokels look bad. After considering the pleasant scenarios for a while, Niklas recalled him to his work.
“I was considering different career paths,” he lied immediately. “Do you think I would be allowed to join the Peace Corps? It mentioned that commoners join up. I would like to see more of the world.”
Zacary tuned out Niklas’s comments after hearing, “I will propose it for you,” in favour of listening to the yokel girl trying to wheedle Rowan into letting them walk back for lunch.
“I don’t have the authority to allow that,” Rowan told her. “You will have to ask permission from Governor Tymoros.”
“Everybody else does,” the boy was proposing. “At least we can learn our way from here to there. We haven’t been allowed to go anywhere much outside.”
Zacary laughed to himself. He was now convinced the yokels wanted to run off and it might be fun to make it seem like they had. He’d have to be careful though – he wouldn’t want them identifying him.
Two days later, Zacary watched as the two yokels walked back to the palace with their minders. Morov was acting like a tour guide, pointing out features of the garden. He considered that his ideas for causing trouble for the yokels had more chance of working now. Except that Stenn Reslic had already figured out that they were allowed to walk back to lunch. Zacary didn’t want to try anything near that one of the president’s whelps. In spite of the way Stenn carried on, acting the clown, he was too sharp by half. He saw things that his elders missed.
It occurred to Zacary that he might be able to get back at Stenn at the same time – get all three of them in trouble. He would need to plan things carefully, and remain unseen. As he trudged back to his room in the President’s palace, he tried to think of ways to proceed - finally a brilliant idea blossomed in his mind.
Yes. He would need to wait until his brother Yuri returned from his current duty, but that would be soon – a couple of days. Then he’d have to have a talk with him, after spiking his drink with some of the intoxicant he had found in the palace kitchen. His brother couldn’t tolerate the stuff – that’s why he was a road guard, not a palace guard. When he’d had intoxicant, he wouldn’t remember what he had talked about, would agree to anything, like giving his brother the use of his personal force shield and teaching him to use one. No one would ever know – Yuri would deny it, and he would have it back before he realised he didn’t have it.
In the mean time, he would need to practice doing short line-of-sight flits.
Morov couldn’t hide his amusement. Stenn Reslic was a likable scamp. He had managed to get Prince Tymos and his sister to laugh, even if he had scandalised young Sacul. Morov privately agreed with Stenn - Prince Tymos was working very hard, and should be allowed time to have fun. Even in the evenings, they ate with His Majesty, and afterwards, the High King was instructing them in geography and sociology.
They worked longer hours than palace servants did. Morov worked from dawn to teatime, and was relieved during the night by one of the High King’s junior attendants.
Stenn was trotting backwards as he was having a conversation with them. Morov envied that skill, even as he was wondering if Stenn would trip over. He nearly did, but caught himself in time, but his attention was suddenly on something behind Prince Tymos. Morov glanced back behind him but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just the usual circle of palace guards keeping with them on either side.
“I am going to ask my father to let you have lunch with us. I can’t see why that would be a problem,” Stenn announced. “I’ll go ask him.”
Stenn trotted off, but not towards the palace.
“I have to agree with him,” Morov commented. “You are both looking pale.”
“We are still acclimatising,” Kryslie told him. “And we need to be ready for second stage.”
“If you work to exhaustion…” Morov began, until Delia interrupted him.
“Governor Reslic and Governor Xyron know what they are doing.”
Morov flushed. Tymos gently punched him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. We still have a lot to learn and you have been a great help teaching us how things work around here.”
Morov had stopped listening to him, and begun to turn around as if sensing danger. Delia stopped them walking and was doing the same.
“Keep close to me,” Delia told Kryslie, even as Morov was moving closer to Tymos.
Several things happened in quick succession - almost simultaneously. Delia shoved Kryslie to one side, Morov felt something strike his head, and Stenn Reslic transmitted back.
Moments later, four palace guards reached the group. One hauled Stenn up from on top of Kryslie, causing Stenn to voice a yelp of pain as he half collapsed in the guards grip. A second guard looked around and demanded, “Where is Prince Tymos?”
Stenn looked around too, and saw Morov unconscious with a bleeding scalp. He compared the scene with what he had visualised before transmitting.
“He was here,” Stenn tried to say but his words sounded garbled. The guard let him collapse onto the ground.
Medics arrived and checked the three that still seemed unconscious. Kryslie was stirring, but she couldn’t sit up.
“What happened?” the medic tending Kryslie demanded.
Stenn recognised Alexon, one of the senior medics, and managed to say, “I thought I saw someone materialise here for an instant. I came back.”
Alexon immediately drew out a palm-sized diagnostic device, scanned Kryslie, and then Delia and Morov. He nodded at the guard who half lifted, half-dragged Stenn closer. His face betrayed how much the rough treatment hurt.
“Hey, it wasn’t me!” Stenn protested. His voice was clearer now.
“You have some backflow trauma,” Alexon told him sternly.
“It wasn’t me,” Stenn repeated. He felt the blood rush from his face, as his father…no, as the President Governor, materialised, demanded a report and ordered a search for Prince Tymos.
Reslic listened to the guards reporting what they had seen. It sounded bad, but it all must have happened fast. Stenn tried to stand, and couldn’t quite. He hadn’t done anything wrong he didn’t even know how he had landed on Kryslie, but if she were hurt, he would be in trouble.
Jono Reslic turned a severe face on his son, and Stenn wanted to sink into the dirt.
“Can you stand yet?” Reslic asked.
“Not quite, Sir,” Stenn admitted, sinking back to the ground.
“How much back flow did you take?”
“Just my left side, Sir,” Stenn admitted further, even though he knew what his father must be thinking. When his father was being official, being his son would give him no advantages. “Father, I didn’t transmit here too close on purpose. I didn’t.”
“How do you explain the backflow, and landing on Princess Kryslie?” President Reslic spoke in a mild voice, as if there was only one possible explanation.
“I can’t! And I certainly didn’t hit Morov or hide Prince Tymos. I was going to ask you if they could have lunch with us. They need to lighten up a bit – they’ve been working too hard,” Stenn blurted. He noticed the faintest change of expression on his father’s face. He couldn’t tell if it was good or bad.
“The guards saw you arrive,” Reslic observed. “Tell me what you did.”
“I was talking to Tymos and Kryslie, and I thought I saw someone flitting,” Stenn began and he saw his father raise a questioning eyebrow. He flushed.
“Like transmitting from tree to tree – short distances,” Stenn translated the slang term the students used.
“Go on,” Reslic invited.
“I went to find out who it was and warn the little idiot it was dangerous,” Stenn went on in spite of the frown that developed on his father’s face. “When I couldn’t find the person, I looked back at Prince Tymos and I thought I saw someone materialise for an instant, so I went back and the guards pounced on me.”
Reslic studied his son and then asked, “Prince Tymos was there before you transmitted?”
“Yes,” Stenn stated firmly. “And Kryslie was next to Delia, and I aimed to arrive far enough away.”
Stenn watched as the ‘President’ look eased to the ‘father’ look, and felt he could breathe a bit easier.
“You were meant to come and see me directly after your class,” Reslic reminded his son.
Stenn felt his face flush and decided silence would be a good idea. He had been on his way there, but had been deliberately delaying, and hoping to put off the ‘discussion’, he was expecting. This time his father had caught him out - well and truly.
“Yes, Father,” Stenn said meekly.
“Can you get yourself back to the suite? I don’t recommend you transmit until all the tingling disappears,” Reslic asked. When Stenn nodded, he went on. “Go back and wait for me. I may be a while, but I want to talk about this some more.”
Stenn glanced at Kryslie, who was now sitting up. She gave him a weak smile as she let the medics fuss around her.
“He wass…ent…the …” Kryslie tried to speak, and found her voice wouldn’t produce the words she wanted.
The medic interrupted her. “Don’t try to talk, Princes Kryslie. You have taken some backflow from the repellor field of the transmitter. Just sit quietly. A stretcher is coming to take you to the infirmary.”
Stenn started walking off in the direction of his father’s palace. His entire left side tingled as if it had been asleep and the blood was starting to move again. It felt like a million pins were being stuck into him, repeatedly.
Kryslie watched him go, and then became aware of Reslic squatting down in front of her.
“So, you don’t believe that this was one of my son’s childish pranks?”
Kryslie shook her head, and then needed time to deal with the immediate throbbing pains.
“Don’t try to move too much,” Reslic advised. “You came out of this with only a mild backflow, but it is still not pleasant. Try to keep your answers to a yes or a no.”
“No,” she said.
“Did you see who it was?”
“No. G…g…lowing.”
“You saw a glow?” Reslic asked, seeming to go tense.
“Yes,” Kryslie managed.
“Man shaped?”
“Yes.”
“Taller than you?”
“Bit.”
Reslic became very formal again and stood up. “Go with the medics. I will talk to you again when you are feeling better.”
As the medics lifted her, trying to be gentle but unintentionally aggravating what seemed to be lightning ricocheting around inside her, Kryslie was still aware of Reslic giving orders.
“The culprit may be wearing a personal force shield and may be hiding. Look for signs of shields, and I want an audit of all personal shields. If any are missing, or cannot be produced on demand, I want to know who had access to the missing unit. Check the store where the spares are too.”
Kryslie heard her brother mentioned and listened harder.
“Whoever took Prince Tymos transmitted away. Check the shield logs on the perimeter and search everywhere – in buildings and out.”
Kryslie’s stretcher carriers moved her out of earshot, and she could only watch as sky alternated with trees in her line of sight. She was content to lie without moving as infirmary attendants physically carried her to the infirmary, but a niggling concern for her twin kept intruding on her thoughts.
The infirmary staff moved her to a bed and bustled around. Kryslie was aware that Delia and Morov had also arrived and for a time needed the priority treatment. They took Morov into another room to have his head wound sealed. Alexon came back to her.
“I am going to give you a mild relaxant. You can sleep off the rest of the backflow effects,” he told her.
“No…” she tried to protest, but Alexon pressed a device against her arm and a cool something seemed to spread from that point and soon after, she slept.
When Kryslie awoke, feeling infinitely better, she found Tanya sitting next to her bed, quietly adding tiny stitches to one of her tapestries.
“Where’s my brother?” Kryslie asked at once.
“Awake now?” Tanya asked without answering the question.
Kryslie repeated her question and saw Tanya’s faint frown.
“He’s still missing,” Tanya admitted. “The President has everyone possible looking for him.” She wanted to distract her foster daughter. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine, but Tymos isn’t. You need to find him.”
“How can you know?” Tanya asked.
“He’s my twin,” Kryslie said as if that should answer the question. “He’s cold, hurting, angry, frustrated and …desperate.”
Tanya looked past Kryslie and made a beckoning gesture. Alexon approached and Tanya repeated what Kryslie had said. He scratched his head, but promised, “I will let my brother know.”
Reslic arrived instead of Xyron.
“You can sense your brother?” he asked sharply. He didn’t seem to disbelieve her.
“A bit,” Kryslie admitted. “Sort of how he feels.”
Tanya moved at a subtle gesture from Reslic, and he sat beside Kryslie. He modified his tone, because he sensed that Kryslie was agitated.
“Calm your mind. Clear it of everything,” Reslic directed, and Kryslie, being used to obeying him, did.
When Reslic felt her agitation ease, and disappear, he said, “Think about your brother, feel what he is feeling, tell me what you feel. Try to describe where you are.”
“Cold,” Kryslie said at once. “Cold, like stone – and wet. He’s hurting, like I was and I think his foot is trapped by something and he is trying to free it, but he is too weak. He’s cursing, and it’s dark.”
Kryslie had a distant look on her face.
“What else?” Reslic urged.
“I…” she didn’t want to say what she sensed, but Reslic was insistent. “ It feels like he wants to die, but at the same time, he is cursing.”
Reslic asked, “Do you have a sense of where he is?”
“Small, dark, wet, confined,” Kryslie said, shaking her head. “I have no idea where he is. I have hardly seen any of the estate.”
“Wait here,” Reslic directed, rising from the chair. To Alexon he said, “I need to access the palace archives.”
“You can use my terminal, your Excellency,” Alexon offered. “In my office, over there.”
Tanya returned to Kryslie, and some instinct made her reach over and give her a hug.
“We will find him,” Tanya assured her.
Kryslie returned the hug, and after a while, she said, “I could find him, I think.”
“How?” Tanya asked, pulling away to look more closely at Kryslie.
“We are twins. I think I would know when he is close.”
“Wait here,” Tanya echoed Reslic as she went to find him. She saw Reslic studying a plan of the estate and waited politely for him to notice her, and then told him what Kryslie had said.
Alexon was hovering, and he spoke immediately, “Sir, it is not advisable to transmit Princess Kryslie yet. We advise a full day of rest.”
Reslic knew the after effects of backlash. “Go and examine her again. I am concerned enough to consider her implied offer.”
“Have you any ideas?” Tanya asked, hoping for something positive.
“Stone and water,” Reslic said. “We are scouring the grounds, but there is little rock on the estate but plenty of underground caverns. I cannot be sure that we have mapped them all. I have sent guards to search all that we know of.”
Tymos sat on the damp stone and rested from trying to free himself. He was shivering and feeling very weak. At least the painful tingling had subsided, his mind was beginning to work again, and for a time, the insidious whispers he had been hearing in his head were quiet. They weren’t his thoughts. He didn’t want to give up and die. He had important things to do.
The mental whispers came again. He wasn’t important. He was only a weak, puny minded, second-rate bastard child of weak-minded missionaries.
Tymos cursed, yelling aloud, “Second rank! I’m second rank.”
He and his sister were important – had to be – or they wouldn’t be second rank. The mental voice suddenly changed to say, “I am coming to get you.”
Tymos knew that he didn’t want the person behind that mind to find him.
“I know where you are and I am coming to get you.”
In a frenzy of renewed effort, Tymos tried to free his foot, but it was fastened to the rock by a metal band. He cursed, trying to remember how his captor had fastened it, but his memory was fragmented – maybe even full of hallucinations. All he had seen of his captor was a glowing man shape, who had picked him up while he was helpless and transmitted him here.
He must have blacked out for a time, Tymos decided. He didn’t even know where here was.
After another frenzy of trying to get free, he sensed another mind voice…Kryslie. He concentrated on his twin, tried to talk to her, but his residual energy deserted him.
“Wake up!” Kryslie said, shaking her brother gently.
Tymos opened his eyes and felt energy filling him. “What?” He looked around and saw the half dozen guards with hand held torches, and the Reslic looking down at him.
“So, what have you been up to?” Reslic asked neutrally.
Tymos didn’t know what to say.
He thought that telling the President that he hadn’t trained them to fight invisible attackers would not be well received. He decided on the weak answer, “I got my foot stuck.”
“We will discuss this after you have been checked over by the medics,” Reslic told him. He turned to the guards, “Get him out of here.”
Kryslie saw Reslic gesture her out of the way, but he didn’t dismiss her.
Once Tymos was free, and guards helped him into a standing position, Reslic had the guards transmit both of Tymoros’s foster children to the infirmary. Reslic followed, finding the High King waiting with Tanya.
“You found him then,” Tymoros remarked calmly, as if he had not been highly agitated for the past few hours.
Kryslie went to him and nestled into him, and felt his arm around her. Alexon was leading Tymos to a bed.
“No, your daughter did, like she had a tracer on him,” Reslic told his fellow Governor. “And may I suggest that you sit down, Princess Kryslie, before you fall down.”
“I feel okay,” Kryslie told him, forgetting the usual courtesies for talking to the Governors.
However, she decided to obey and climbed onto the bed she had used earlier.
“While Tymos is being checked over, you can tell me exactly what you remember,” Reslic directed.
Kryslie let her mind recall and began, “Delia and Morov transmitted us out of the lyceum so we could walk back. Stenn came and talked to us, said he would ask if we could lunch with you, and he went off. We walked on, and then I started feeling somewhat electrified. Delia started looking around, and then she pushed me. I felt like there was someone else around and saw a glowing humanoid shape, and then I don’t know much until the medics came. What did happen?”
Reslic’s lips thinned, but he answered, “It seems that someone, wearing a personal force screen set for stealth, transmitted in too close to you. It caused backflow from the repellor field and disabled you all. Whoever came, took Tymos.”
“But…what for? We have never done harm to anyone. We’ve never had time; we don’t even get to see much of our few friends.”
“I intend to find out. Stenn also thought he saw someone near your group before he transmitted back,” Reslic told her.
“Yes, but he wasn’t there when I thought I saw the glow.”
Reslic accepted her words. He could see no reason why Stenn would want to hurt them. He might use them as an excuse to avoid the discussion he was due to have but that was all.
“Stay here,” Reslic said, and he went to speak to Tymos.
Tymoros came to Kryslie and said gently, “I am very relieved you and your brother are both well.”
“How is he?” Reslic demanded of Alexon.
“Well enough. Most of the backflow energy has dissipated. No major physical damage – in fact none at all. I would rather they rested until tomorrow and had a high energy meal.”
“Good. They can stay in Ty’s suite tonight,” Reslic decided. Then he turned to Tymos.
“Now, tell me what you recall.”
Tymos could add little else to what Kryslie had said. Reslic seemed to be interested in the ‘voice’ he seemed to hear in his head that wanted him to believe his position was helpless and to give up.
“So why didn’t you?”
It sounded like an idle question, but Tymos already knew the President didn’t ask idle questions.
“Why would I? I have never had thoughts like that before. Then the voice said it knew where I was and he was coming to get me. I really didn’t want to stay there then.”
“Who might want to hurt you?”
“I can’t think of anyone, Sir. Stenn warned us about Zacary, but we just ignore him calling us yokels, and we have stopped him teasing Sacul about being a missionary brat.”
“Zacary,” Reslic said thoughtfully. “I don’t think he could have done this. He wouldn’t normally have access to a personal force screen.”
“A what, Sir?” Tymos asked.
“Your sister thought she saw a glowing humanoid figure – about you height. I believe someone used one in stealth mode to take you away.”
“But why?” Tymos felt confused. “Did someone want to get me in trouble?”
“Quite likely,” Reslic agreed, but he didn’t specify the kind of trouble. “But their attempt backfired. I am going to insist that you and your sister stay in your father’s suite until further notice and you will have extra guards when you go out. Delia and Morov should be well enough to return to work in a day or two.”