THE PRIZE: BOOK TWO - RETRIBUTION (16 page)

“The humans, dead and alive, were brought back here in chains and paraded through the street in a shameful parade so the populace could see the mad humans, after that…” Regina turned away and bowed her head, while Rim looked down at the floor.

“Your scientists dissected the dead ones and threw the live ones into some sort of prison, right?” Richard felt his anger rising but pushed it back down. He couldn’t blame either of them for what had happened.

There was no Geneva Convention here, no articles of war that said how you should treat prisoners. As far as the Silurians were concerned, they were enemy combatants and didn’t deserve any special consideration. He needed to add that to his list of items to discuss with the Queen. Regina turned at last, wiping her cheeks.

“They were sent to the mines, and it is with great shame that we admit that we have done nothing to improve their lot, even knowing that you are not our enemy.”

“Commander… Regina, that’s not fair.” Rim blurted out, breaking protocol. “What could either of us do against the military high command, and her Majesty’s wishes?” Regina reached up and stroked the side of Rim’s face for a moment. Rim leaned into the caress and returned it.

“We could have at least tried to do something for them.”

“They didn’t exactly make it easy for us to help them, did they?” Rim gritted his teeth. “It’s no wonder everyone thinks all humans are mad. They constantly refused to obey orders, stole anything not nailed down and repeatedly tried to escape. Where they thought they could escape to, is beyond us.” Richard let out a short laugh. “However, the Queen ordered they not be killed, or severally punished, unless they killed someone, which oddly they refrain from doing when they escape.”

“That’s a human for you, more a pain in the rear than they are worth. I guess that’s one of the things your Queen and I will be talking about.” They both turned their head to look at him. “One way or another, those humans are going home with me.”

“Please, Sir Penn. We will ensure they are released now that you are here, I swear it. Regina pleaded. “I can understand your anger upon finding this out, but please, do not do anything um… rash before you have spoken with our Queen.” They both tried, but it was impossible for them to hide the fear in their eyes.

“I promise not to do anything until I have spoken with your Queen.”

Chapter Nine

Meeting of The Minds

After a shower, a change of clothes, and a light meal of fruit, cheese and some sort of bread, Rim Timor led him back through the palace complex for his audience, past nervous guards. Before he ate, Richard took a couple of vitamins and antitoxins to reverse any effect the daily products might have on his systems. Rim opened a door and motioned him inside, and Richard walked into a well-lit, furnished room. Instead of some stately audience chamber he was expecting, the room reminded him more of his and Ellis’ office in their house on Sigma Draconis. Two large landscape paintings decorated two walls, very good landscapes at that, Richard thought. Another wall was dominated by a huge floor to ceiling view screen, while the other had just a few well-placed holographs of children and young adults, the Queen's children he suspected. Apart from a large desk with actual papers scattered on top and an easy chair behind the desk, the remainder of the richly carpeted wood floor was taken up with two couches and several easy chairs. Small, gracefully carved wooden tables sat beside the couches and chairs that Richard took to be coffee or drink tables. Penn closed his eyes and expanded his senses for a moment, smiling slightly. Free he might be, trusting they were not. He detected at least three energy weapons pointed at him, and probable more hidden away behind decorative scroll work where the walls joined the ceiling. Any sudden, or threatening movement toward their Queen and they’d fire without warning. Richard took a seat near the desk and relaxed.

A few moments later, the Queen and Tal Regina strode into the room in all her regal splendor similar to what she had on before. Regina sported a vibrant blue cape that floating behind as she walked. The Queen sat behind her desk with Regina taking up a position to one side. A few moments later, Rim did the same on the other. Penn meanwhile remained sitting, which brought a slight frown to the Queen's face. Power plays were something Richard understood, such as sitting behind the desk, putting it between them as if to say …‘this is my space. Don’t enter’… the fact she expected him to stand when she entered was another, as most people here would have done. Doing so while she sat would have put him in a psychologically inferior position than her. Penn on the other hand needed to establish that they were equals, and neither spoke from a commanding position. It was something people in power loved to do to people they considered lesser than them, from politicians to senior officers in the military and managers. Director Markoff was especially prone to doing that with people, like the Var elite.

'“My cousin and Commander Timor has told me again of their adventure inside the accursed building, yet she could not tell me exactly what it is, or its purpose.” She steepled her hands, elbows on the desk and looked straight at him without flinching as Penn returned her look. “They also couldn’t explain how they and the others returned here after they were apparently killed.”

“It’s not what everyone thinks.” He paused a moment, trying to find the words to describe what the building, and the planet was.

“For a start, the whole building is a massive cybernetic intelligence and built to test members of its builder society who wish positions of power.” He could see from her blank look that she didn’t understand.

“At the moment, you are Queen by what means?” He asked. Queen Tal Alesha-Baan blinked, as if she didn’t understand the question.

“I… my family has ruled for three hundred years. It is our right…” Penn shook his head. “What!” She asked, looking slightly cross.

“You are ruler because everyone says you are.”

“What! That’s absurd.”

“Is it? What if in the future a bad ruler ascends the throne, what then? Revolution, war, the King, or Queen deposed. Then the people would put someone else in their place and call them Queen, King, President, Supreme ruler, or what have you.” Penn could hear her tapping her foot, a slight frown marring her perfect features.

“And what has this got to do with that infernal building.” She barked. Penn glanced at Regina and Rim, seeing them color slightly. A smile tugged at the corner of Penn’s mouth. They got it, even if the Queen wasn’t prepared to admit the truth.

“The building is a testing ground. It was built by the first intelligent species to inhabit this galaxy many millions of years ago. They also faced the same question and concluded there had to be a way to test their people to see who should rule in all levels of their society. And so, the pyramid. You enter, you are tested, and depending on what you do inside, you succeed or fail.”

“That’s ridiculous. Anyone could fool any testing, no matter how good.”

“Even if that test was against yourself?” The Queen shook her head and frowned at him.

“The test comes from your own mind. Will you give in to your base needs? Greed, anger, fear, indecision, or a host of other things buried deep in your mind?”

“He speaks the truth my Queen. I… we have experienced this.” Regina added softly.

“At some point you will have to face the biggest monster of them all.”

“And what would that be!” She snorted.

“Yourself.” Rim gasped. The Queen and Penn both looked up.

“Speak!”

“It’s nothing my Queen… but I was just wondering what sort of monster Penn had to face?”

“Well, Sir Penn. Can you tell us?” The Queen asked. Penn shook himself and stood with the muscles of his hard jaw clenching as he remembered the apparition he had faced in that building. For a moment he couldn’t speak, a sheen of sweat beading his forehead.

“When you first looked at me you saw a monster, a mad monster. A killer without mercy or compassion.” The Queen gave him a slight nod, frowning and pursing her lips for a moment.

“This is true.” She said at length.

“What I faced was pure evil. So evil that he could have watched the destruction of a million Human Beings… men, women and children, and laughed. He would have never lifted a finger to save any of them, and gladly worked for Markoff to kill anyone he wanted, even you, Majesty.”

“Humph!” She snorted. “You think he… or you could have penetrated this building with all my guards, and um… other defenses to do this?” Penn looked around the room and smiled slightly.

“With the threat of the weapons pointed at him, it would be difficult to show you what he would be capable of my Queen.” The Queen regarded him for a moment.

“Show us.” She commanded.

“You are a brave woman your Majesty.” And saying that, Penn squeezed down on his stomach muscles and went into full combat mode.

To Richard, everything slowed down to a crawl as he strode quickly to the door. As before, when running through Emperor Cytec’s palace, all anyone saw was a blur of motion, and even the auto weapon systems couldn’t keep track or lock on before he was gone, and if anything he was faster now. To him, it took far longer than he thought to locate his knives on Rim’s desk and strap them on. He smiled, seeing the stunned look on a lieutenant’s face as he swept through Rim’s office and back out in a whirlwind of flying papers. He then ran back to the Queen’s office and came to a halt, breathing heavily. Penn shivered as the burst of adrenalin dissipated, taking deep breathes as his body slowed to normal.

“Prophet preserve us!” Rim muttered, his hand reflexively reached for his sidearm when he saw the knives. The Queen rocked back in shock seeing them strapped to his legs.

“As I said. He would have had no trouble entering and executing you, your Majesty.”

“But… but… how did you disable the weapons…”

“I didn’t.” Penn quickly moved back and sat in one of the easy chairs just as six guards burst into the room, weapons all pointed at Penn. Rem and Regina exploded across the room to stand between the guards and Penn before they could fire.

“Stop!” Regina ordered just as the Queen stood and held up her hand to stay them as well.

“All is in order. You may return to your posts.” For a moment, they didn’t move, but one by one they lowered their weapons and backed out of the room.

“Sir Penn spoke the truth, my Queen. Had he meant you harm he could have done so right then.” The Queen waved them back and looked at Penn.

“Sometimes Rem, I wonder what my cousin sees in you.” Penn smiled seeing both of them blush bright red. The Queen knew they were mated.

“I’m sorry… I…” Regina took his hand and pulled him back to stand beside the desk.

“He’s not usually this dense, my Queen.”

“I should hope not. Stating the obvious gives me pause to wonder about your future children.” She smiled.

“Majesty… I… we were waiting for the right moment to ask…” The Queen waved her hand.

“I knew the moment you two arrived back here so unexpectedly from your trip to that planet… can you tell me how this was done, Sir Penn?”

“I have genetically enhanced combat reflexes built into my body that permit me to move very quickly for a short period of time.”

“And this… pyramid you called it, how did it send my cousin and her...” she smiled slightly, “her mate back here.” Both Regina and Rem blushed again.

“Yes and no. The pyramid is controlled by… let’s call it an entity. The people who enter it are tested by things taken from their own minds, usually the things they fear or want the most. If they fail, they die. At that moment they are transported back to their planet of origin by an inter-dimensional gateway.”

“I don’t remember dying…” Rem interjected softly.

“Neither do I. We remember entering a place full of lava, like from a volcano, and then trying to cross it…” Regina stopped for a moment, as if searching her memory. “Then nothing. We don’t remember what happened after that, just waking up here, in a field outside the city with Rem beside me.”

“This is the same memory that I… we had.” Rem added. Penn nodded, remembering the place.

“All our wounds were healed and somehow we were restored to health, as were the rest of the troops that went in with us.”

“A bonus. The entity returns all who come and fail to their place of origin, in good health and a little wiser in most cases.

“How is this possible… we are far from that accursed planet, months in fact.”

“Michael, that’s the name of the entity, can transport anyone to anywhere in the universe, no matter how far away in an instant.”

“By the prophet! If we had such technology…” The Queen stopped, seeing Penn shake his head.

“That is far beyond anything we, or anyone else can comprehend, let alone duplicate.”

“Given time, our scientists could.” Again, Richard shook his head.

“The pyramid will not give you any technology beyond what you can produce yourself.”

“And you know this, how?” The Queen asked.

“Because I asked. Even if I did win the prize, whatever it was, I can’t use any of the technology… well, most of it.”

“Most?”

“Yes. The ship that brought me here is about the only thing I get to use, and then under very strict conditions.”

“And the rest?” The Queen asked.

“There is a very old saying on my planet, your Majesty. The Prophet Mohammed once observed when an important man wouldn’t come to see him, saying that if the mountain wouldn’t come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain.”

“I think I understand. We must come to knowledge ourselves. Knowledge will not come to us without effort.” Penn nodded.

“Whoever said these earthmen were mad, was a fool.” Regina muttered. “May I see your blade, Sir Penn.” Richard didn’t hesitate for a second and pulled out his long blade and offered it to the Queen, hilt first. She took it, marveling at its weight.”

“A worthy blade for a warrior, Sir Penn. The blade maker put a lot of work, and maybe even love into this, especially the dragon motif along the blade.”

“Yes, your Majesty, I did.” The Queen smiled.