Slavers of Antar
By
DocPaul
***************************************************************
Chapter
Twelve: Inevitability
“The
Half Wise,
New
blood joins this Earth
And
quickly he’s subdued.
“You are different.”
Liz blinked twice, her hands bound to the table.
She could not move her head to follow the voice, as it moved behind her.
“Interesting, not what I seek, but still an
anomaly. I will keep you for further
consideration.”
“Who are you?”
Liz closed her eyes gulping hard. Her
throat was dry, parched and scarred.
“That is a question, I would ask of you.”
Thoth moved into the light, into her field of view.
Liz’s eyes widened and the deep brown darkened in
fear. Struggling against the binds
for a moment, she could not quell the rising hysteria.
“You’re dead!”
Khivar leaned down, his hands imprisoning her on
either side. “You should wish I
were.”
“Khivar.” Liz
felt a tear moved from the corner of her eye.
~~~
Ava handed Julia a cup of fresh water.
“Drink. Dehydration is the
first step to death in this place.”
“How long have you been here?”
Ava sat down staring at the sleeping Liam next to
Julia’s feet. “Not too long, but
it feels like a lifetime. I was
taken off my homeworld of Geneja.”
“The Shiva responded to that call.
The devastation was—total in the attacked cities.”
“I watched the cities burn from orbit when they
took me.” Ava took a deep breath.
“I didn’t know why at the time, but now I realize that this is some
eugenics program much like Khivar’s.”
“They harvested your eggs?”
Ava nodded. “Quite
a few times. It would appear that I
am close to what they seek. As so
must you be, or you would be dead or on the slave block.
Being extraneous is not a position you wish to achieve on this planet.”
Julia carefully studied the guards, making note of
their proximity. “You are a
doctor, as am I. Can you tell me
what you believe they seek?”
Ava followed Julia’s glance.
“A chromosomal anomaly. A
rarity that crosses cultures, one that is unique.
They want it for some type of reverse transcription process.
I believe they are looking for unique protein markers in the DNA
chains.”
Julia moved her hand over Liam’s head in comfort.
“Eminents had a chromosomal anomaly, extra base pairings and strands.
The Anterraans were rumored to have multiple duplicity, it was what
Khivar was trying to achieve.”
“An Ancient,” said Ava.
“Yes.” Julia
looked at the smaller woman; her delicate body was showing stress.
“Are you all right?”
Ava nodded. “There
is a Commander here, he has taken a perverse liking to me.
He keeps me alive for his pleasure.”
Julia sat up her face moving in sympathy and horror.
“Rape?”
“Worse. He
is impotent. He just likes to watch
me with my hands on myself.” Ava
grimaced. “As far as I can tell,
few of them actually engage in sex of any type, I believe they lack the sexual
drive and desire. Those that still
feel desire in some form are in some way deviants.
I don’t think they can feel pleasure, the sensory networks in their
genitals and secondary sexual organs have since been selected against
evolutionarily.”
“That would make sense.
High sensationalism is part of foreplay and sexual excitement.
If you are evolved beyond sexual reproduction, your body would no longer
need that network, it would be deemed extraneous, and slowly nature would…”
“Make it into an appendix.
Exactly.” Ava tossed a
curl. “It’s not so bad.
I close my eyes, and I dream of a man that I cannot see, one that will
save me. He never disappoints me,
and that toad, Nikolas seems to get off on it.”
“So he’s a voyeur.
I guess that is better than the alternative.”
Ava lifted a brow. Julia
shrugged. “I suspect there are
either members of this society with no sexual drive or interest, voyeuristic
like your—friend, or the other extreme, sadistic bastards needing graphic
violence to feel anything.”
Ava paled. “There’s
a horrible thought.”
“Hmm.” Julia
looked around the room. “Ava—I
know you haven’t been here long, but there is someone…”
Julia searched her clothing for the picture.
Passing it to Ava, she sat up at attention.
“Have you seen this woman?”
Ava sighed at the beautiful redhead.
The woman was gorgeous and young, alive.
She stared at the picture. “Who
is she?”
“My sister, Margo.
Taken over a year ago in the Northern Expanse, a shipping vessel was
attacked and all members taken or murdered.
She was not among the dead.” The raiders had at first taken vessels,
and only in the past six months or so began attacking actual worlds. It took the
destruction on worlds for the New Royal Federation to turn its attention to the
problem and deploy the Shiva on the hunt.
Ava
looked at Julia and shook her head. “She
is no longer here.”
Julia sat up on her legs.
“Was she taken to the slave trade?”
There could be records. There
was hope…
“No.” Ava
looked away. “She died two days
after I arrived. She was one of the
longest surviving prisoners.” Ava
put the picture in Julia’s hand. “I’m
sorry.” Leaving her, Ava went to
tend some of the other captives, giving Julia time alone.
A
year !
Julia stared at the picture, her eyes filling with tears.
She had waited, held on for a year, for rescue that never came.
Hugging her knees into her body, she rested her head on them, holding the
picture.
~~~
“What will you do to me?”
Thoth laughed. “I
do not know. You are a curiosity,
one beyond the others we have found.” He
sat down next to Liz, smiling at her struggle to free herself.
His face made her uncomfortable. “I’m
not him, you know.”
“I don’t…”
“Khivar, I am not he.
Or technically, I should say, he was not me.
I am his clone, a next generation in a long history of generational
clones.” Thoth stood, pacing the
room angrily. “Do you know what
happens to a copy made from a copy?”
“Replication becomes impossible as every flaw is
not only carried on to each successive generation, but eventually the number of
flaws…”
“Enough! I
was merely being rhetorical! I do not need a real answer.”
Thoth sat down again, his smile twisted.
“What is it that they call you?”
“Liz. I
am Liz.”
“Liz? Do
you not have a specifier?”
“Pardon?”
Thoth laughed. “You
know, I am Thoth of Antar. Simple, I
have not only a name, but a place of origin, and should I want, I could list my
family’s house and names.”
“Just Liz. I
am Liz.”
“So, Just Liz, what is it that makes you
different?”
Liz was uncertain what to say.
The truth might not serve her, and it was possible that once he learned
of her origins, she would lose what little uniqueness she possessed.
“I am sure I don’t know.”
“You are one of the crew of Shiva.”
Thoth pondered the young woman, his captive audience.
“That in itself is a fair distinction.
You no doubt know the Princess of Anterra.”
“Yes.” Maria.
He was interested in Maria. Liz
frowned. That was not a surprise.
“She is married to the Commander.”
“The mate. Yes,
I have heard many stories. I
personally have them to thank for my inception, given that my predecessor was
removed by them.”
“Khivar was removed by the
“The Granilith—and what ‘Just Liz’ do you
know of the Granilith?”
Liz felt a slow trickle of sweat down her neck.
Perhaps she had said too much. The Granilith was once her very purpose to serve.
“Nothing. It is gone. The Acolyte de Prin’c sent it away, to a place beyond reach.”
“The Acolyte
de Prin’c, you know more than you tell. Strange that you should refer to
her by her formal title, and not merely as Princess.”
Thoth picked up one of Liz’s fingers.
“Tell me, ‘Just Liz’, why is it that your genetics are so unique
that you actually resonate at a higher harmonic band?”
“I cannot say.”
“You cannot, or you will not?”
Liz turned her head to look into the man’s eyes.
They were silvery, which was strange for a man with black soulless eyes.
“Both. I am as I was born, and of that, I know not what makes me unique. I am
as I have always been.”
“And what are you?”
“An engineer on the Imperial Flagship of the New
Federation, Shiva. That is who I am, and what I am.”
Liz swallowed her fear. Hell, she could spit, play three-tier poker, and
get drunk with the best of them. “Therefore,
you wish my moniker. I am Liz of the
Shiva.”
“We will see, Liz of the Shiva.
We will see exactly what you are.”
He nodded for a guard to take her. “Perhaps
you will be what I tell you to be. Should I tell you a truth that I know about
you?”
Liz looked in his eyes, and she saw nothing but a
void. The nausea slowly crept into her stomach burning a hole.
~~~
“Liz!” Julia hurried to the young engineer when
they brought her to the chamber. Helping her to the floor, she quickly looked
her over. “Did they hurt you?”
Liz shook her head. She looked at the guard,
lowering her voice. “It is Khivar! I know him.”
“He’s dead.”
“No. He lives. He is now Lord Thoth.” Liz looked
around. “Liam? Where is he?”
“They took him about half an hour ago.”
Liz groaned. “I
promised Kyle I would watch over him.” Liz
hugged her knees to her chest. “Thoth
asked me about the Princess.”
“Maria.” Liz nodded. “What does he want from
her?”
“I don’t know.” Liz licked her lips, her hands
unsteady. “He knows I’m different. He knows I have a harmonic frequency that
is unique.”
Julia gripped Liz’s hand hard. “Don’t tell him
anything! The less we offer, the better.”
Liz ducked her head ignoring the penetrating glare
of a guard. “Julia, did you see the others, when we were taken?”
“Those taken with us are either gone to slave
auction or dead.”
“Jonesy, did you see him? Did they take him?”
Julia sighed. Her arm went around Liz’s thin
shoulders. “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Liz. I’m sure he’s okay.”
“I saw him fall.” Liz wiped her face, and the
slight moisture left by tears. “He told me, Julia—Thoth—he told me…”
She could not finish. Covering her eyes, she breathed deeply trying to find a
calm she could not feel.
“Liz? What did he tell you?”
Liz pushed long brunette strands from her face
wishing for the restrainer that she usually used to contain her hair. Peeking up
at Julia, she whispered, “He told me that I am pregnant.”
Julia sat back. Oh god. Neither Julia nor Liz saw
Ava approaching.
“Here, have her drink this.” Ava handed Julia a
small cup of warmed soup for Liz.
Liz went to accept the cup, when she saw Ava her
body reacted in shock. “Tess?”
~~~
“My Lord.”
“I told you that I do not wish to be disturbed.”
Thoth stood overlooking the desolate world of Antar; its red skies burning in
the heat of its suns. Green worlds,
he dreamt of worlds that were alive in color, any color, but red.
“The young boy…”
“What of him?”
“He is a high power Empath. Stronger than any we
have tested, and his genetics are acceptable.”
“Then he must be from Agape, a true bred.” Thoth
left the window to sit in his throne. “The unusual girl, Liz, she is
pregnant.” Thoth breathed in deep. A child! Such a thing had not been seen in
his world in many generations. “I
want her protected. Send me a scientist. Perhaps our manner is wrong. Perhaps we
cannot find what we seek, because we search for it many generations too soon.
The answer may not be in the individuals, but rather in their unborn
children.”
“My Lord, we do not have generations to find a
solution. The Royals do.”
Thoth picked up a heavy object and tossed it across
the room. “Do not tell me what I
already know! Blast them to hell! The Royals,” snarled Thoth in spite and
rage. “They have been the death of our worlds, a curse sat upon us by the
humans. Do not speak to me about what is right, what is truth. I know only one
truth! The humans of Earth and all their seed have doomed us for all time. I
will find the One true progenitor egg; I will restore my health to the throne;
and when I do I will make this universe and all those descended of humans bleed,
starting with the Royals!”
~~~
“Captain, the Commander and Princess missed their
check-in time.”
Max stopped leaning against the wall. Swearing, he
shook his head at Kyle. They were out of time.
“By how long?”
“Three full periods.”
Max closed his eyes for a moment. He could feel
them. “They are alive. Try contacting them. They may be in transport, and if
they do not respond, give them three more periods.”
“Max…” Kyle did not like it. More of their
people out of touch or missing felt wrong.
“I know, but Michael has been known to skip
reports. He’s strange lately.”
“He’s dying, you know that.”
Max searched Kyle’s face. “I knew that, but I
did not know that you did. He came to you?”
“Years ago when his reproductive cycle went
active, we’ve fought hard to keep it from overwhelming him. The last few
weeks, it has come back with a vengeance.”
“I can’t lose him.” Max stared at the men Sean
was interrogating on the monitor. “I will do anything I must to save him.”
“Maria is already doing it.” Kyle watched a
small smile grace Max’s face. It made his severe look approachable.
“Maria. I should’ve known. The devil himself
would have to rip him from her arms—she will not let him go easily.” Max
mused over his sister-in-law, a woman that was bonded to him closer than a mate.
Being part of the triad of the One, ever did he feel her presence, like a breath
on the wind—a song in the head.
“He hid it from her so long, but even I knew it
would only be time before she discovered what he doesn’t want to discuss.”
Max sighed, shaking his head. “What is so hard about making babies? I never
thought to be a father, or to find love. I am glad that nature made the decision
and not I.”
Kyle patted Max on his shoulder. “Be prepared, old
friend. If Michael gets his way, he and Maria will not be around much longer. He
has a powerful need to be with her, and her alone.”
“I know. That feeling crosses the twin boundary.
He makes me feel drawn to her inexplicably, like she is a focus to my thought, a
clarity. It is all him—he projects.”
“Bet Isabel likes that.”
Max laughed. “Bastard is projecting to her too.
Maria draws her like the rest of us. The
twins feel it as well.” It was too hard to explain. It felt like the appeal
came from Maria, but it was not. It was Michael—all Michael. “He is getting
stronger, a force. He can project thoughts into my head from a great distance. I
watched him channel energy into a stream, the same type that Maria used to open
the corridors.” Max looked at Kyle. “That is a power never known to our
people.” He reached out his hand. “I feel that I can almost touch the
matrix—push it aside.” Kyle watched as a table moved across the room.
“Max…”
The man was unaware of what he was doing. “I feel
focused. Clear. She gives him so much control and stability—is that the nature
of true happiness, Kyle? Is that what she gives him? So much happiness, that he
feels completely calm, at rest, able to think without doubt?”
“Perhaps.” Kyle frowned. He could feel the power
emanating from Max as well. “She represents everything to him, his entire
existence—a peace. Perhaps in her he finds a way to focus all his energies,
and he projects that need or satisfaction to you through the twin bond.”
“Then that explains it,” said Max.
“What?”
Max laughed. “Why when you are upset you find
Maria to talk to, when Isabel needs help, she goes to her. I too look to her and
trust her to keep Michael safe, because there is no one I trust more with his
well being. The twins, they adore her without question, feel safe with her, even
despite her anxieties. There is a
reason worlds look to her to retain her position as the Princess, and I think it
isn’t because of what she is, but the feeling projected to them about her, if
that makes any sense.”
Kyle and Max looked at each other both saying at the
same time, “Michael.”
Kyle swore. “No wonder he is a neurotic mess.
He’s afraid someone will take her from him, as if she were his personal
property.”
“I did warn you that we Attilaans are possessive.
Did you not notice Sean going on and on about his Lizard and the doctor?”
“Why the hell did we ever let your people off your
planet?”
“Stop your bellyaching.”
Kyle shook his head. “Do you even know what you
did?” Kyle laughed at Max’s confused look. “I didn’t think so.”
Sean entered the room plopping down on a table.
“None of them are talking. I’ve done everything short of killing them, and I
can’t get their coordinates to this world, Antar and its solar system.” Sean
looked at them. “What are we
talking about?”
“Evolution,” said Max dryly. “Michael and
Maria missed a report.”
Sean snorted. “Yeah, like that never happens.”
“True, but they were on a Commerce Planet. I
don’t like it. If they get a lead, they will be gone, and to hell with us.”
“You would rather meet them there.” Sean
suggested wisely.
“I know Michael. He’s brash and impulsive, but
once you hook him up to Maria, there can only be chaos.” His brother and
sister-in-law were Max’s trouble children, if other members of his staff acted
as they did, he would have fired them. They rarely followed instructions.
Isabel came to stand in the doorway.
“Max, the reed thrashes to the wind of a spirit
that is unfelt. The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of
understanding.”
Kyle stood up and frowned at Isabel. “Izzy, what
does that mean?”
“I have no idea, but I think it means that we need
to find Michael and Maria before they find the Others.”
“How long have you been speaking in Eminent
parables?” Kyle took Isabel’s hands pulling her the rest of the way into the
room.
“She started when we went to Geneja with dreams,
seeing
Kyle took out a medical scanner. “You’re moving
matter, Max, as is Michael. Isabel is acting like an Eminent.
I have a new heart that is stronger, with more chambers, than my two
native hearts, and Sean has caught the love bug. Michael can transmit thought
and feelings over immense distances. I would say we are evolving quite well.”
He quickly ran his scanner over Isabel. Closing it, he smiled.
“It’s not Isabel.”
Max shook his head confused, refusing to release
Isabel’s hand. “What is not Isabel? This is my wife. I think I would know
her. I can feel her.”
“No, I mean, the change is not in her technically.
It’s in her unborn fetus.” Kyle smiled as a look of wonder crossed
Isabel’s face and she put her hands on her stomach. “I would say only about
four weeks, and from my scan, your child is showing the extra chromosomes of an
Eminent, much like Alex, but in this instant, the extra chromosome is completely
natural.”
“Pregnant?” Max was speechless, as he moved his
hand with Isabel’s on her stomach, his face darkening. “Our child won’t
be…”
“No. I think, as Maria suggested, this universe is
evolving upward, and the combination of both you and Isabel is resulting in a
child that is a step forward, naturally. Not like Eoin, but close. Isabel is
getting the insight from the fetus, even at four weeks.” Kyle breathed easier.
“I think we can now understand what set Michael off in the mating season. He
was holding his own, but about four weeks ago he started losing ground.”
Max kissed Isabel pulling her close. Holding her, he
looked at Kyle. “Oh, he is going to hate me.”
“Once he realizes why he has been so harassed and
determined to procreate, he definitely will find you.”
Max gave a small laugh bending down to whisper in
Isabel’s ear making her laugh as her hand came up to stroke his scarred cheek.
Sean frowned in irritation. “Think you two can get
all mushy about more babies later? I’ve got a missing girlfriend and my Lizard
out there, not to mention Kyle’s son.”
Max quickly kissed Isabel as he straightened. “Add
in my missing brother and sister-in-law, yeah, we can get busy.” Max rested
his hand on Isabel’s flat stomach. “Wait here.” Leaving the others, he
went into the interrogation room. Sean and the others watched him as he entered.
Max stood staring at the two factions. He did not
speak for a moment, but let the silence increase. The men in the room began to
squirm a little, all except one man.
“I understand that neither of you want to speak,
or give us coordinates.” Max stroked his cheek. “I am out of patience, and
it would appear that my twin is out there somewhere. No sane person would come
between Attilaan twins, and that is what you are doing.”
Max smiled slightly, his face anything but humorous.
The men moved uncomfortably.
“So this is how it is. I command the Shiva.
In this universe, she is a supreme vessel, unmatched, even by anything you can
have, cloaking shield not withstanding. I defeated Khivar with her, and I will
defeat you. Have no doubt about that.” Max sat on the edge of the table facing
the men. “I have missing crew members, and that is something I will not
tolerate.”
The one man whose stare was unwavering met Max’s
eyes. He remained stiff. A slight smile pulled at his mouth.
“You are what they call a Thoth warrior of Antar.”
The man nodded giving that much information.
Max ignored the second Thoth warrior, acknowledging the other faction.
“And the four of you are Royals?”
“That is correct.” Max smiled at the Royal that
spoke. Excellent. He now knew the leaders of each faction.
“You are in a civil war with one another searching
for a solution to stop your cellular degradation caused by generational
cloning.”
The six men were suddenly quiet, and Sean moved
closer to the monitor. He could almost smell the fear and sweat. Their war was
their own, and Max was an interloper.
“Perhaps this war needs to end if it bleeds over
into our universe, creating collateral damage along the way. You have shown
yourselves to have no regard for others, their lives, or freedoms. You are an
affliction in our space. I have a few options.” Max stood to pace. “I can
take my resources and champion a side to end this war, thereby protecting those
who I am sworn to protect. Or…”
Max suggestion of interference made the six men sit
up, suddenly no longer tired from the endless interrogation. “Or, I can hunt
down and annihilate your entire species so you will no longer plague innocent
worlds.” Max took a seat again. “Oh, what to do?”
“You have no right!”
The Thoth warrior stood in anger.
Max stood and pushed the man in his seat, using his
foot to hold him down. “And who gave you the right to interfere in other
worlds? Is this not how you have sustained yourselves all these generations? Was
the Granilith ever yours to command?”
Max took out his weapon moving the setting to kill.
“You think we are sheep? That we will allow you to
do as you please? Think again.” Max slew the main Thoth warrior without pause.
Turning, he took out the leader of the Royals. “There is no mercy for invaders
that maim and murder, kidnap and enslave. I would rather see you dead.”
Max looked at a guard. “Kill them one by one until
someone gives me my coordinates, or until none remain. Toss the remains off my
ship.”
Max left the room not bothering to look back.
~~~
“Captain.” The guard stood in the doorway
waiting to be recognized.
“Are you through?”
“Yes, Sir.” He handed over a handheld monitor.
“Your coordinates.”
Max looked at the pad and passed it to Sean. “How
many are left?”
“Two.”
“Confine them to the brig. We might need them
later.” Max dismissed the man. “Sean, shall we go pick up our people?”
“Aye, Cap.” Sean paused on his way out the door,
his back to Max. “I could’ve killed them if you let me.”
“I know.” Max glanced at his wife. “It
wasn’t your place.” Sean nodded, leaving without looking back. Kyle smiled
at Isabel and quickly followed Sean.
“Kyle,” said Max. “Can your heart handle the
stress?”
Could his heart handle the stress? It was a fair
question, but the real one was could his two hearts handle it. It was becoming
apparent that his new heart was strong and healthy. “My heart can’t handle
not having my son back, so yes, I can hold.”
Isabel sat quietly feeling the rage kept in check by
Kyle. The door made more noise than the doctor did in his departure.
“Do you always have to be so tough?”
Taking his wife’s hand, Max rubbed it across his
face, pausing to kiss her palm. “Yes.”
Isabel curved her hands to his face, stroking the
scarred skin on the left side. He never looked scarred to her. Her fingers had
to search for the imperfection, because her eyes could not see it. He looked
perfect to her.
“I was afraid that I was becoming something
else.” Isabel bit her lip. “I saw things. I still do. Knowledge is a whisper
in my mind. I do not know, just that I know. How can that be?”
Max pulled his wife to him roughly kissing her
passionately. “I know too, Isabel. Stay with me, forever.”
Isabel wrapped her arms around his neck nuzzling in
his neck. “I would never leave you, not for anything.”
Max closed his eyes for a moment, seeking what he
never knew to look for--the babies. “I can’t feel them.”
“Don’t worry, it’s early. Soon. You will feel
them soon enough.” Isabel kissed him, pulling his lower lip into her mouth to
worry, and then nip. “Maybe it won’t be twins.”
Max laughed. “We couldn’t get that lucky. As you
mentioned before, I’m a twin, and you’re a twin. Things are stacked against
us.”
“Four children, Captain. Is that enough?” Her
hand stroked her beautiful husband. He was everything she never knew she needed.
He took her from a life cloistered in fear, hidden, and gave her life and a
future. It was more than freedom to live, but life that moved her body made
uniquely from the combination of the two of them. Max was not an easy man to
love, but despite that, there was no one else she could ever love as him.
“Eight.”
Isabel lifted a brow. “Are all you Attilaans such
gluttons?”
Max snorted. “You’ve met Sean and Michael.” He
gave his wife a suggestive look. Hell, what was she thinking? Of course, they
were.
~~~
The return to normal space was as if silence rushed
into empty spaces. Exiting a warp corridor, Maria quickly checked the monitors.
Michael frowned. They had lost their prey.
“Maria?”
“He’s not on the scope, but the beacon is. I
locked navigation.”
“How did he disappear?”
Maria shook her head despite Michael being unable to
see her behind him. The readings were wrong. “Michael, this is the same area
we came to the first time after we visited the archives on
“There’s nothing here.”
Maria’s
hand gripped Michael’s shoulder from behind, as she finally understood.
“Michael! Deviate from the flight path! We’re entering a solar system.”
“There’s nothing here!” Michael searched
frantically feeling a pull on the controls as they hit a graviton well, washing
back on the Zephyr. They were too close to a planet.
“Cloaked! The planets are cloaked.” Maria
watched all the monitors jump. “Michael!”
“Hold on!” Too late, they were caught in the
planet’s gravity and going down fast. They had found Antar.
"Do not crash my ship!"
Michael cursed. "Too late..."