The Tigrens' Glory (30 page)

“Glory,” Kirk said, his language transfer complete.  Kyerion turned to see Ri place the device to Cade’s temple, then turned back to Tek.

“Will you tell us her full name, or her home world?”

“Princess Gloriani, of a world called Ramouri,” Kyerion said.  “But, she is outcast from her people and her family.  It was Glory who did this.  She alone deserves the credit for it.”

“Then
Glory
it shall be,” Tek said, with a deep nod.  He reached up with one two fingered hand and tapped on a round device hanging from a chain around his neck.  The device flashed in different colors for a moment, then went dark again.  “We are ashamed to admit that we are to blame for all that the Xanti have done.”

“How are you to blame for their actions?” Kyerion asked.

“It is a long story, and we have little time to tell all of it,” Tek said.  “I’ll tell you those things you should know right now.”

“Very well,” Kyerion said, straightening as he realized this was more important than he’d originally thought.

“Garakai are not from this galaxy, or your own, which contains the area now called the Thousand Worlds,” Tek said.  “We have long travelled through endless galaxies, aiding those worlds and peoples who needed it as we went.  It is the purpose of our race.  We’ve encountered hostile worlds and peoples before, of course, but the Xanti were different.  They begged for aid, and behaved as friends, but they deceived us.  They took our ships and killed our people, then enslaved their own galaxy before moving to yours.”

“How do you know what they’ve done since you’ve been in these tanks?” Kirk asked.

“There is a small room nearby that contains a system that automatically prepares people to be placed within hibernation tanks.  It removes clothing, but has no effect on anything that contains metal because it was never our intent to place an unwilling body in hibernation, or to harm their belongings.  The Xanti were unaware that such objects had to be manually removed, so they left them on.”  Tek reached up and touched the round object hanging from a chain around his neck.  “For that reason, this was left on my person, as your gold was left on you.  But this isn’t a decoration.  It has many functions, one of which is to connect my mind to the information banks of this facility, as well as a few others that still exist.  In the past few hours I’ve been able to access and review the stored data, and get an idea of our current situation as well.”

“You’ve learned all that’s happened over the past seven thousand years in just a few hours?” Kyerion asked in surprise.

“In our case it’s been ten thousand years,” Tek said.  “To us, that isn’t so long, and Garakai assimilate information at an extremely rapid rate.”

Kyerion nodded, but said nothing.  It seemed impossible to him, but then, this hellish place filled with tanks holding people for thousands of years should be impossible, yet it was real enough.

“This facility was built to carry people from a dying planet in a distant galaxy to a new, uninhabited world here,” Tek said.  “We’d completed our mission and were returning to our own galaxy when we stopped on Xantara to offer aid to the Xanti.  You can see what use they have made of it.”

“A prison,” Cade said.  “But we don’t understand why.”

“Not a prison, but a trophy case,” Tek corrected gently.  “There are specimens here of each of the people they have conquered.”

“They haven’t conquered our people,” Kyerion said.  “They are on their way here now.”

“The Jasani are your people?” Tek asked.  “I thought you were of Ugaztun.”

“We are, but we’ve learned from Glory that, thanks to the Xanti, Ugaztun is no more,” Kyerion said.  “What remains of our people now live on Jasan, and call themselves Jasani.  They know of us, but don’t know exactly where we are.  When they get here they mean to attack Xantara and, hopefully, rescue us.  We just need to find a way to let them know where we are.”

“That would explain why their flag ship is called the
Ugaztun
,” Tek said.  “You will be pleased to know that the Jasani have already arrived.  In force.  A short while ago they succeeded in bringing down the shield surrounding Xantara, and have destroyed the Xanti’s power plants and communications satellites.  After we finished speaking with you, it was our plan to contact the Jasani and request aid for the survivors here.  Perhaps they will be more willing to help us if you make the request.”

“We have no way of communicating with them,” Kyerion said.  “Otherwise, we’d have done it already.”

Minka stepped forward with an object that looked much like the one Tek wore, but smaller.  “This has been programmed to connect with the Jasani ship called
Ugaztun
,” Tek said.  “If you tap it twice in the center, you’ll be able to speak with those aboard.”

Kyerion had no idea how a tiny device such as he held in his hand would allow him to speak with people so far away, and almost asked.  Instead, he kept his questions to himself and tapped the spot two times firmly, as instructed, then waited to see what would happen. 

“Excuse me, Highness,” Dav Lobo said.  Garen looked up at the note of tension in the Lobo’s voice and frowned.  “We’ve just received a communication request from Kyerion Tigren.”

Worry fled, excitement taking its place.  “Put it on speaker.”  A clicking sound came over the speakers, then Dav nodded to Garen.  “This is Garen Dracon.  Do I have the honor of speaking to Kyerion Tigren?”

“I am Kyerion Tigren, yes,” a deep, rumbling voice replied, filling the room.  “I don’t understand how I am speaking with you, High Prince, but I am grateful for it.”

“As are we, Kyerion,” Garen replied, unashamed of the raw emotion in his voice.  Lariah stepped up beside him and squeezed his hand gently.  “We’ve identified your location and are just a few minutes out.”

“That’s the best news we’ve heard in several thousand years,” Kyerion said.  Everyone smiled at that.  “Please tell us, how is Glory?”

Garen tensed.  That was a question best answered in a more private setting.  “She is safe,” he said carefully, then held his breath, hoping Kyerion didn’t ask for more detail.

There was a long silence.  “That will do for now, Highness, thank you,” Kyerion said.  Garen let his breath out slowly.  He understood that Kyerion had let him off the hook.  For now.  Getting them off that asteroid and safely aboard the
Ugaztun
was the current priority. 

“How is it that you speak Standard?” Garen asked, changing the subject.

“There are people here who call themselves the Garakai,” Kyerion said.  “They’ve
gifted
us with the language, as they put it.  They have more knowledge of what’s going on than the rest of us, and they’re asking if you can retrieve at least some of the survivors here.”

“Orders for fighters and personnel transfer pods to begin setting down at your location are being given as we speak,” Garen said, watching Trey and Dav move to the far side of the control room as they spoke into their voxes.  “The problem is that there’s no atmosphere outside of the structure you’re in, so we’re going to need time to rig something up.”

There was a moment of silence followed by voices mumbling incoherently in the background before Kyerion spoke again.  “The Garakai called Tek is sending the location of umbilical tunnels to the
Ugaztun
.”  He chuckled softly.  “I’ve no idea what I just said, Highness, but I hope it has meaning for you.”

“Yes, it does,” Garen said, sharing the Tigrens’ humor.  “Rescuers will be there soon, Kyerion.  How many survivors are there?”

“About four hundred and fifty last time I checked,” Kyerion replied.  A short pause.  “Four hundred thirty six, according to Tek.  We lost a few more.  Not all of those we got out of the tanks survived.” 

“Kyerion, my brothers and I would like to speed-travel down and bring you three back to the
Ugaztun,”
Garen said.  “You are the only Tigren remaining that we know of, and for the sake of our people, we need to see you safe.”

“We certainly have no objection to that,” Kyerion said tiredly.  “Especially if you can promise food and drink.  And baths.”

“Consider those promises given,” Garen replied.   “We’ll be in range to speed travel very soon.”

“We look forward to seeing you, High Prince.”  Kyerion smiled as he handed the communication device back to Minka.  “Thank you, all of you.”

“We’ve done very little,” Tek said sadly.  “There are ten thousand hibernation tubes in this facility.  Of those, only four hundred and thirty six lives have been saved, and those thanks only to you three, and Glory.”  The device on Tek’s chest flashed green and he looked down at it for a long moment before nodding.  “I’ve received confirmation that Glory’s name and deeds have been recorded, and will be honored for all time by the Garakai.  I ask that you send us an image of her once you return to the
Ugaztun
so that we can forward it to our people.”

“I’ll inform High Prince Garen of your request,” Kyerion said. 

“Do you have any idea what happened here?” Kirk asked.  “Why did all of these tanks stop working?”

“Each section of one hundred hibernation tanks is powered with fuel rods,” Tek replied.  “The technology for manufacturing those rods does not exist outside of our own galaxy.  Enough were loaded into each section to last about ten thousand years, far more than we ever suspected would be needed.  We were wrong, obviously.  The rods were inserted at about the same time, so they ran out at about the same time.”

Without warning, three very large men with black hair and slashing eyes appeared beside the Garakai, startling everyone.  After a moment, the Tigren pushed themselves to their feet and bowed.

“Greetings, High Prince Garen, Prince Treyen, Prince Valen,” Kyerion said, surprising Garen.  Kyerion smiled.  “Glory was good enough to tell us your names.”

Garen stepped forward with arms crossed and clasped Kyerion’s wrists firmly.  Never before had the traditional greeting, indicating that their lives were intertwined, meant as much to him as it did in that moment.  “Welcome back, Brother Warrior.  Your people have greatly missed you.” 

Trey and Val greeted Kirk and Cade in the same manner, with the same emotion.  When they stepped back, Garen waited for the lump in his throat to ease.  This was a moment he would never forget, a moment that meant so much to all of their people.  The return of Clan Tigren signaled a real future for Clan Jasani.  There were still obstacles to overcome, but at least they now had a chance.

“We will take you back to the
Ugaztun
,” Garen said.  “Warriors will arrive very soon to help evacuate the other survivors.”

“Do you have room for so many?” Tek asked.

“We will find room,” Garen said.  “No one living shall be left behind.”

“We offer you our deepest thanks,” Tek said.  “Many of the survivors are from this galaxy, the rest from your own.  Unfortunately, the Xanti have enslaved all of the worlds here, and destroyed many of them.  It may be impossible for them to return to their homes.”

“We understand,” Garen said.  “Our people are few, but we’ve committed ourselves to aiding the people of this galaxy to shake off the yoke of the Xanti and get back on their feet, so to speak.”

“We three feel responsible for what was done here, Highness,” Tek said.  “We allowed the Xanti to fool us, a mistake that cost untold millions of people much more than can ever be replaced or repaid.  If our own people had known where we were, or that our actions were responsible for what the Xanti did, they would have stepped in to stop them.  Unfortunately, by the time they began looking for us, we were hidden behind the energy shield, as was this facility and the data it contained.  We’ve now made our home world aware of what has happened here.  If you’ve no objections, High Prince, the Garakai would be honored to accept the task of helping the people of this galaxy to recover from the Xanti’s predations.”

“We have no objections at all,” Garen said.  “We would, in fact, be grateful.  Are you sure though?  It is a monumental task.”

“We are well equipped to take it on,” Tek said.  “I’ve already received notification that the first ships will arrive in two days, if you agree, of course.”

“We agree, with thanks,” Garen said.  “In fact, the aid of the Garakai is a huge relief to us.  We still need to deal with the Xanti scattered throughout the Thousand Worlds and, to be honest, our people are stretched thin as it is.”

“Do you know how many Xanti there are?” Tek asked, his head tilting to the side curiously.

“No, we have no idea,” Garen said.  “Do you?”

“Xanti are hive creatures, Highness.  Each queen is capable of having fifty thousand warriors at one time.  Not one single egg more than that.  There are workers too, and gatherers, but they don’t fight.  These are genetic limitations of their species and cannot be changed in any way.”

“How many queens are there?” Garen asked.

“There are four sub-queens and one primary, or supreme queen at any one time.  Should one sub-queen die, all of her brood will also perish.  Those physically closest to her will die within a couple of days, those furthest away may take as long as ten to fourteen days.  If the supreme queen dies before passing her mantle to a sub-queen,
all
Xanti will die.  For that reason, she spends the majority of her time hidden deeply beneath the surface of Xantara.  There are never more than two hundred and fifty thousand Xanti warriors at one time.”

“That’s more than double our own population, but it’s a relief to know that there are far fewer than we expected,” Garen said.  “Our task may not be as onerous as we thought.  Thank you for this information, Tek.”

“You do not intend to annihilate the Xanti,” Tek said, making it a statement rather than a question.

“We cannot,” Garen said.  “There is no creature we despise more than the Xanti.  However, it has been made clear to us that should we commit a direct and deliberate act of genocide, it would have catastrophic results for our people.  For the first time in many thousands of years, we have a chance to fully reclaim our race.  We will not risk that future for the satisfaction of seeing the end of the Xanti by our hand.”