Rebellion (7 page)

Anton Salvator, Planetary Ruler of Mitah, had not been seen in years. A degenerative brain disease had turned him into nothing more than a shell. In the years leading up to the official announcement, Chancellor Mortog took control of Mitah. Gradually, and with great patience, he’d instilled a network of corrupt officials across the planet. From what Ty could tell, they were hell-bent on wiping out any and all educated Curzans.

“Zander hasn’t been here in two years,” Ty said.

“He’s coming to the ball.”

Ty rocked on the balls of his feet. “So? He’s only twenty-two. Still has a final year at university, and we have no idea what he thinks about Curzans. And if he is sympathetic to us?” Ty shrugged. “He may not survive his return. Do you really think Mortog will just step aside?”

Merek straightened up. “Don’t do this, Ty. You’re only twenty-five. You can’t come back from killing a man. Besides, Jara is just following orders.”

“Orders from Mortog, who underestimates both our numbers and our intelligence.”

Merek looked pale and old. “And what if they capture you?”

“They won’t.” He sounded far more confident than he felt, but the truth was, he didn’t care.

* * * *

Ria found the background hum of space travel to be calming. Maybe because it meant the engines were running and the air circulating. Both good things in space. She and Dani were again aboard one of Rucon’s well-appointed transport ships headed back to Mitah. This time they had Ian and Armond with them, as well as Ian’s parents, Rucon and Mara. Ian’s father was at a table in back talking on his com, his mother on the couch near the others. Ria wished Marco could have made it back in time. He always brought an element of comedy to the group. Unfortunately, he wasn’t scheduled to be back on Earth for another week.

Supreme Commander Torril Anantha had kept his word, and there was an additional battleship stationed near Earth in their absence. If Torogs or any other aliens tried to visit Earth, they’d get a surprise welcome.

Oversize chairs and couches gave the deck a comfortable, home-like feel. Landscape paintings of various planets adorned the smooth steel walls. Ria rapidly flipped through visitor information about Mitah on her holo-vid. “So, the capital of Mitah is Starfall because that’s where the first Sandarians touched down, and party town is Watersedge because it overlooks the Marul Ocean. Not very imaginative with their naming conventions, were they?”

Dani, who’d also been reading up on the planet, agreed. “Apparently Gondor Salvator, the original planetary ruler, preferred function over form. I still find the whole planetary ruler thing bizarre. Could the Curzans ever get the planet back?”

“Why should they?” Armond said, in a haughty tone. “If Sandarians had not intervened, Curzans wouldn’t exist. The only reason the rulership was awarded in the first place is because they were on the verge of destroying themselves along with their world.”

“Non-psi beings,” Rucon said, joining the group and sitting next to his wife, “only get one chance at destroying themselves.”

“Wait a minute.” Dani looked perplexed. “If the natives are Curzans, why isn’t that the planet name?”

“It was, long ago,” Armond said. “Salvator changed it.”

“Pfft.” Dani smirked. “Must be nice being able to walk around changing the names of planets.”

Rucon chuckled at that. “I just spoke with Balastar.”

“Any luck finding more people with the new form of psi?” Dani asked.

“In a roundabout way. They found another device.”

“Seriously? Where?” Ria tuned to Rucon.

“At an open-air market on Florin 5. They purchased it for half a credit. The thing is useless unless you know what it is.”

“And have our psi,” Armond said.

Ria was a little jealous. Ian, Dani, Armond, and Mara all had the strange psi that would eventually allow them to make portals with the mystery boxes. “It’s hard to wrap my head around the thought of you guys creating portals.”

“Indeed,” Rucon said. “Question is, how did it get on Florin 5?”

“Did they find any people?” Armond asked.

“No, but they had to cut their search short,” Rucon said. “Prayda has placed bounties on all the Portal Masters that escaped with us to Earth. They’re heading home as soon as Balastar finishes up.”

“How’s he doing?” Dani asked.

Rucon smiled. “He’s found his calling. Piloting a transport ship around the galaxy agrees with him.”

“I’m glad,” Dani said.

Ian placed his arm around Dani’s shoulder. Dani’s long blond hair was a few shades lighter than his. Tall and lean, they were a striking couple.

Ria smirked. Their intimacy was cute in a nauseating kind of way. All you had to do was mention Balastar’s name, and Ian instinctively reached out to his psi-mate. Ian had known Dani and Balastar were getting closer before he had bonded with her.

Ria checked the time. They’d be on Mitah in a few hours. They were staying with an old friend of Rucon’s, Darl Karton and his wife. Ria was looking forward to the Summer’s Ball. Beings came from around the galaxy to celebrate life in a party that lasted three days.

A three-day party—
Ria stretched out her legs in front of her—
sounds good to me.
She thought back to her night with Ty and hoped she’d see him again. She nudged Armond’s boot with her psi. “How’s it going with that thing?”

Armond held the portal-making device. “There have been no further revelations regarding its functionality. Ian is making progress. He should be able to create a portal soon.”

Ria was tempted to mimic his formal speech but decided to let it go. “Where are you going to place the portal?”

Rucon answered the question. “We’ll activate it between Darl’s place and your villa. We can always move it later.”

Ria hoped they didn’t move it. If she managed to find Ty again…the thought was appealing.

“How about Sandaria?” Ria stood, time to get ready. “Any new developments there?”

“Nothing new.” Rucon stood as well. The others in the room followed suit. “Gordat and the Portal Masters are playing at something, but we don’t know what. What’s more interesting is the situation on Mitah.”

“What situation?” Ria and Dani chimed in at once.

“Our host, Darl, thinks there’s a storm brewing. Native Curzans are being murdered without apparent cause or retribution. There was a death recently in Watersedge, not far from his estate, so he did a little digging. What he discovered didn’t make sense. The man had lived in Watersedge for over thirty years, but not as a Curzan. He was well known as a Mitan.”

Ria exchanged a look with Dani. “Laric’s father mentioned something about the Curzans being out of control.”

Rucon eyed her. “Out of control doesn’t give anyone the right to kill.”

“Agreed,” Ria said.

Dani turned to Ria. “What about the boy Leon had taken away?”

“What boy?” Rucon asked.

“Jara went after someone at lunch when we were here last,” Ria said.

“And what happened?”

“Jara had him arrested. He was just a teen.” It annoyed Ria that he’d interrupted lunch to arrest what was nearly a child.

“I want everyone to keep their eyes open.” Rucon didn’t seem to like it either. “Report anything suspicious to me. And stay out of it. I don’t need us getting caught up in a civil war.”

Ria’s com chimed and a woman’s voice with a heavy southern accent said, “It’s time to get a move on and load that shuttle, little missy.”

“What, was that?” Rucon asked.

Ria snickered. “That’s Harvey.”

“It doesn’t sound like a Harvey.” Armond pursed his lips.

“Yeah well, he changes his gender. I never know what I’m going to get.”

Mara laughed. “I think it’s wonderful. Harvey is also correct. It’s time to load the shuttles for our trip down to the surface.”

Ria took one more look at the planet before they filed out of the room.

* * * *

Ty stood next to Merek on stage and waited while Father Arlo closed the curtains of the meeting hall. The muted light suited his mood, but he’d rather not be here at all. A certain fatalistic fog had descended upon him ever since watching Jafferies’s murder. He wasn’t a child any longer, and it was time Leon Jara was stopped. These meetings were useless.

Freckle-faced Connor jumped up to give the priest a hand before taking a seat next to Bella who sat with her legs dangling off the stage. The white-walled hall behind the church was standing room only, the younger teens standing on top of chairs and desks that had been pushed against the walls.

Two men came in from outside and approached Arlo. After a few words, they went back out and Arlo gave Merek a nod.

“All right everyone, time to settle down.” The voices quieted, and all eyes turned to the stage. Merek cleared his throat. Everyone knew he hated speaking in front of such a large crowd, even though he’d known everyone here for years or even decades.

Ty crossed his arms. He scanned the room, taking in the faces of the men and women who formed this secret community. Curzans masquerading as Mitans and the occasional real Mitan mate. Word of the killing had spread fast and tension was high. Merek wanted to calm them down and get them refocused. “I’m sure you all know about Jafferies by now.”

Murmurs and nods from the crowd.

“I don’t have to tell any of you that the empire is changing.”

“The empire is dead,” a voice called out.

A few shouts of
“Hael!”
erupted.

Merek waved them quiet. “I also don’t have to tell you things here on Mitah are getting critical.”

From the back of the room, someone shouted, “Fracking Sandarians.” This garnered a slew of reprimands, and from what Ty could tell, a mumbled apology by the offender. There were Mitans here after all. Unfortunately, the sentiment was a common one.

Merek spoke loud but un-rushed. “We have to remember not all Sandarians are our enemy. Look at Father Arlo here. Only those who seek to repress all things Curzan are our enemies.”

“Only those with all the power, you mean,” Connor hollered, and it garnered plenty of support.

“That’s right,” Ty spoke up. “And it’s time for a change.”

The crowd erupted again.

“And how do you suppose we do that?” someone called out.

Silence fell as they collectively waited for a reply. “One at a time,” Ty said with determination.

Another eruption of voices and cheers.

Merek shot him a warning glance.
“Ty, you’re not helping.”

“Ty’s right,” an older teen said. “We should deal with them one at a time, just like they do us. Jafferies won’t be the last, you know.”

That set the crowd off again.

“Oy!” Merek hollered. “Settle down. This is going to take time. We have to be smart, not rash.”

They quieted to hear him out.

“You know we have people in government, plodding their way up.” Merek let that sink in.

Heads nodded and people commented to each other.

Merek continued. “The Curzan underground across our planet is growing steadily every day. Trust us. The new mandate from the GTO decrees no more subjugation of non-psi beings.”

Ty wanted to laugh. The GTO meant nothing here.

“Who cares?” said old Craggin near the front, echoing Ty’s own thoughts. “Many of us aren’t ‘non-psi beings.’ Never have been. And we ain’t been nothin’ but subjugated.” He emphasized the last word and got a round of applause.

“I know, I know.” Merek paced on the stage. “But as
you
know, no one outside of Mitah is aware of that. Now listen. We’ve been working on something. Something that could change everything, but let’s face it. The GTO has its hands full right now. No one is going to care, not yet. But they will eventually. And when we find what we’re looking for, we’ll be ready for that day. It is coming.”

“And what is this…thing?” Craggin eyed him suspiciously.

“Yeah, what are you talking about?” It was Connor who asked, and he was giving Ty a questioning look.

“I’m not at liberty to say.” Merek looked uncomfortable. “But trust me, it will change everything. In the meantime, keep your ears open and your heads down because it’s starting to look like the chancellor is getting inside information. No one knows how they found Jafferies or the others before him. We need to stick together. Anyone hears anything, let me know.”

Ty fought to keep quiet. They were making progress with the texts, it was true, but Merek was putting too much faith into how much impact they would have. So what if they got their proof? Who were they going to take it to? No. The time for talk and texts was over. As soon as Merek wrapped up, Ty left out the side door. He needed to be alone. Needed to get his affairs in order. He didn’t know if he would come through his encounter with Jara alive or not. And he didn’t care as long as Jara was dead.

* * * *

Merek watched Ty make his escape from the church. Once the rest of the crowd dispersed, he sat on the edge of the stage with Bella and Father Arlo. “Our people are getting restless.”

“And why not?” Arlo rubbed his temples. “Another killing. I fear that everything we’ve worked for is unraveling. The emperor is no more, but Chancellor Mortog is ever your executioner. Your people have the right to be restless.”

Arlo Morton had taken over the church in Merek’s hometown of Turin many years before. The priest had never treated Merek as anything other than an equal, even though he knew him to be Curzan. When Arlo’s ten-year tenure was up, the church transferred him to Watersedge. In an unthinkable move, he’d smuggled Merek out with him and invented a background story. Merek set up shop as a Mitan woodworker and soon found his psi-mate, Trin.

Over the years, they had brought in Curzan refugees from all over Mitah. Backing each other’s stories and histories, the community grew. They enjoyed the rights and perks of being Mitan, but lived in fear of discovery.

“Enough of this sad talk.” Merek patted Bella on the back. “What of your work? How are you getting on with the texts?”

Bella kicked her heels against the stage side. “Every time we think we have something with one book, we aren’t able to correlate it with the others.”

“We have found similarities across the books,” Arlo said, “but it’s slow, tedious work. Thank the Goddess for Bella’s young eyes.”