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19: The Pawn
"Today we officially break silence with Iscandar." Deun declared to all of Gamilon via the worldwide news broadcast. "Our envoy will travel to the palace on Iscandar this very day and offer to them a renewal of our undying bond as twin worlds."
"I didn't even know there was a breach to begin with," Sasha, third princess of Iscandar said, unimpressed with Deun's grand speech. "Why is he doing this anyway?" she turned to her sister Astra who was only half-listening to the broadcast the girls had tapped into and reading a book at the same time.
"Hmm?" she mumbled, then looked up at the eleven-year old, "Oh, I don't know. He's quite brass. Perhaps he needed an ego-boost." the older girl absently scrolled to the next page.
"I don't like him." Sasha declared.
"I don't either." Astra echoed, looking up from her reading, "What Leader tries to steal his ally's princess?"
"Yeah, no kidding," Sasha said, rolling her eyes at the news projection as Deun disappeared and the news announcer took back the screen.
"That was the Leader, live from the palace announcing the repeal of his father's edict almost six years ago that no one on Gamilon have contact with Iscandar. We can truly be one with our sister world again. This is truly a day to celebrate."
Sasha turned the broadcast off just as Starsha walked into Astra's apartment. "What was that about?"
"Oh, just that teenager who says he's the Leader of Gamilon waxing eloquent about 'being our friend' again." Sasha rolled her eyes, a disgusted expression on her face.
Starsha laughed at her little sister's summation of the broadcast.
Astra laid her book in her lap and looked at Starsha strangely, seeing again the light in her twin's eye that had appeared there two days ago after her trip to the library.
The younger twin ignored her older sister's look, "He does not seem to know what the concept of 'friendship' means. A part of friendship is securing the well-being of the other party."
"So much for that idea," said Sasha.
"Indeed." Astra put in, "So what has you so happy, Starsha?"
The middle child smiled and looked away, "Just something I found while I was at the library."
"Well, I knew that. What you mean is, 'I don't want to talk about it right now.'" Astra replied.
"Well... Yes and no." said Starsha, "All I will say is that I don't think we have to worry about Deun and Aba anymore."
"And... why do you say that?" Astra asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I just do," she said, avoiding going any farther with her new-found secret.
"Will you tell us eventually?" Sasha asked.
"Oh, probably." replied Starsha, "I just want to look into something a bit more before I do."
"Hello, girls." Queen Kara said as she entered the apartment, "And what are you three up to in here?"
"Oh, we were just watching that teenage windbag go on about how 'we're all friends now.'" Sasha rolled her eyes again.
"Now Sasha," Kara looked down at her youngest, "I know he's not a favorite person of any of us... but he is still Gamilon's Leader, and we must give him the respect due his title..." something in the queen's eyes was suddenly very sad and she added in a whisper, "If only..." Then to cover her secret thoughts she said, "But I am glad for the explanation of the long silence between our worlds. We had all wondered why Leader Deun – the former Leader, that is – didn't contact us at all after Queen Talonka's burial."
Sasha grudgingly admitted the truth in her mother's words and gave her sisters a sidelong look before saying, "So what made this new Leader decide to talk to us again anyway?" she emphasized the title, still betraying her disgust with the young man. "Certainly it wasn't just because he wanted to propose to Starsha."
The middle girl's face turned red and she looked away from the group to hide her embarrassment.
Kara answered her youngest, mercifully pretending not to notice Starsha's discomfort at her sister's forwardness, "I don't know, Sasha. Perhaps we'll never know the answer to that question. But it does shed new light on all of Admiral Talan's communiques to your father and I over these past six years."
"He was breaking the law..." Astra breathed.
"Yes, it would appear so." Kara replied, "But never have we received word from Admiral Talan unless it was needed." she looked at her eldest, "Sometimes, to break a law is the only way to uphold what is right. If by keeping a law, truth is betrayed, or Adonai's Law broken then that edict cannot be kept."
"What about the representative from Galera – Israel Kotlar?" Starsha asked, having recovered from her embarrassment enough to rejoin the conversation.
Kara sighed, "He is not entirely under the jurisdiction of Gamilon. Being a colony world brought into the Alliance, Galera is under both Gamilon and Iscandari rule. Representative Kotlar broke no law in coming to see us."
Before anyone else could continue the conversation, a call came through for the Queen. Instead of answering it on her communicator, she borrowed the higher-resolution equipment installed in Astra's quarters. Upon accepting the call, the image of her husband appeared, saying, "The representative Leader Deun sent to us is on his way in. He'll be landing in ten minutes. Can you bring the girls with you when you come?"
Kara smiled at her husband, "We'll be there. Maybe Deun has rethought his earlier sentiments about us."
"Maybe." Alexander replied, looking a bit relieved at this gesture of peace. "I'll see all of you when you get here."
Kara nodded and the conversation ended. The queen turned to her daughters and said, "Well, you heard your father, we have to be at the reserved launch pad in ten minutes – preferably sooner than that."
The three girls accepted the instructions. Astra set her book on a nearby table and slipped on her shoes. Quickly checking her hair to make sure the straight blonde strands didn't look too tousled, she was ready in half a minute. Starsha was already prepared to go, and Sasha borrowed her sister's brush and gave her own blonde hair a quick once over before declaring herself ready too.
The four women left Astra's apartment and made it down to the landing area specially reserved for honored guests, such as representatives from their sister-world, just as the ship was landing.
Unlike all of the other docks, this one was more similar to a landing pad than a mooring harbor. Ships landing here would descend into shallow water just off the shore and would then be lifted up out of the water and brought right up to the palace grounds on a land ferry propelled by repulsors.
The Gamilon ship splashed down into the harbor and as soon as its engines were off, the ferry swooped up under the ship and bore it gently along through the shallows and up onto the shore, showing everyone watching that this was an honored visitor.
The ship finally came to rest on a specially constructed landing pad that, if the visitor should choose, could serve as a launching point for the ship if they needed to leave quickly, otherwise, they would be ferried back down to the harbor, where they could depart when their visit was over.
The representative's ship was small – it looked like it wouldn't hold more than two people – and when a single old man stepped out of the ship, no one was surprised he was alone.
What did surprise them all was that when he had taken three steps away from his ship, he suddenly fell to the ground.
Kara and Alexander rushed over to the man, kneeling down to see if they could help him. Both king and queen shook the man, to see if he had perhaps passed out for some reason. Then, they discovered that he had no heartbeat or respiration and his pulse had disappeared.
"He's... dead..." Kara whispered to her husband, tears in her eyes, "We didn't even have the chance to welcome him here before he died."
Alexander hugged his wife with one arm, and with his free hand he summoned one of the doctors they had on call in the palace, "Inyesayna, we have a situation here at the landing pad."
"Yes, Sire. I'll be there directly," the woman physician replied respectfully to the voice-only call.
"Thank you." Alexander ended the call and re-pocketed the communicator.
Both king and queen stood up, Kara still allowing her tears to fall for the old man.
Inyesayna arrived within minutes and flew over to the old man's side. She checked for vital signs as the king and queen had and found none. Then she began a slower, more detailed analysis of the body.
Slipping on what looked like two fingerless gloves, the doctor waved both palms above the dead man in a methodical manner. When she was done, she held both palms face-up and waited. Suddenly a medical readout appeared before Inyesayna's face. The woman shook her head sadly and let her hands drop to her sides. Pulling off the scanners, the doctor stood up and walked over to the king and queen and their three daughters.
"He picked a bad time to die of old age." she sighed sadly. "It was nothing you did, I assure you."
The King nodded, "I'll inform Leader Deun of this tragedy... Thank you, Inyesayna."
The woman nodded, went back to retrieve what instruments were still laying beside the body and left.
Sasha leaned over to Astra and whispered, "He just... died of old age? That's kinda strange."
"Not really." Astra replied, "No one knows for certain when they'll take their last breath." the eldest princess studied the body from a distance, "He looks like he didn't have too many years left in him. He was probably the least surprised of any of us."
"Leader Deun, I must send my condolences to the family of the representative you sent to us." Alexander stood before the image of the young Gamilon ruler, his face clouded with sadness over the death of the man sent to them to right a wrong that had been done to Iscandar without her knowledge.
Deun sighed and said with uncharacteristic compassion, "It was not unexpected... He was old – retired from diplomatic services many years ago. When a volunteer was sought to be the liaison between your world and ours for this particular conversation, he willingly offered his services. He knew it might be the last thing he ever did, but he said he only wanted to 'do one last thing for Gamilon.' My advisers tried to dissuade him, but he would not be turned back." the young leader made a show of his apparent regret for the man's demise. "He said that, should something like this happen, that he would be more than happy to be buried on Iscandar, among friends of our world."
Alexander nodded, "We will give him a burial as an Iscandarian then. He will be treated as though he were one of our own."
"He would have been grateful." Deun bowed his head in thanks.
"And what of his ship, Leader Deun? We would be happy to ret –"
"No, no." Deun quickly held up his hand to silence the king, "No need for that, Alexander." the young man said, "Keep it... as a small gesture of good will... perhaps to dispel some of the... recent tension between us."
Alexander studied Deun's face carefully, "I thank you for your sentiments, Leader Deun. But if I may ask... why the sudden change of heart?"
Deun chuckled. It was an odd sound to hear from the young man, and Alexander did not know quite how to take the expression, "I have learned to... deal with my disappointments."
Alexander paused, thinking about Deun's words, then nodded, "I am happy for you, Leader Deun. And I thank you for your gesture of friendship."
Deun nodded respectfully to the Iscandari king once again and his image disappeared, leaving only the faintest hint of something in the air, something that made Alexander uneasy for a reason he didn't understand. By all appearances, Deun had significantly changed his attitude towards Alexander's rejection of his proposal, but with Deun, Alexander knew, beneath the outer facade lay very deep, often very cold waters.
The king thought about the conversation for a long time. He sat, thinking about every nuance, every word, every change in tone of voice that he had been able to see and sense. To his relief – or his chagrin, he did not know which – he found no reason for the sense of unease he found permeating his being.
The funeral for the would-be representative from Gamilon was conducted the next day, and the deceased man was honored with a traditional Iscandarian burial.
The ceremony was short, but good, and once it had concluded, the royal family walked up the hill from the beyt kevarot*, located in one of the flower-dotted meadows that surrounded the palace, heading back to their residence. The rest of the attendees had already dispersed and were returning to their respective homes or vehicles.
The elegant headstones occupying the area shone in the sun by day and at least one of the twin-moons by night. The transparent glass pyramids jutted five to six feet into the sky, marking each life's passing into the realm of eternity with dignity and beauty. There was at least one such beyt kevarot on every island on the planet large enough to accommodate one in order to provide the space needed to house the dead of Iscandar.
Alexander glanced back at the small group of tombs where his ancestors, and the other previous inhabitants of the island had been buried. That was when Kara, who had her arm around her husband's, got his attention with a tug on the arm she had captured.
"Yes." the King looked down at his wife as they continued the walk back to the palace, "What is it?"
"I..." Kara began, but then stopped to collect her thoughts and more clearly express what was bothering her, "Why haven't we heard anything from Gamilon about a replacement representative?"
Alexander nodded, "I've wondered the same thing. Perhaps it was merely an oversight. Or it could be a show of respect for the dead. Some of Gamilon's cultural practices still evade me." he smiled at Kara, "I'm sure there's nothing to be concerned about."
Kara nodded hesitantly then asked, "So you have no reservations about this new-found friendliness Leader Deun seems to have acquired?"
The king thought on that for a moment, then stopped walking.
Seeing the conflict in her husband and knowing it needed resolving, Kara followed suit, "Go on back, girls. We'll be there soon," the queen called to her daughters who had gone ahead of them on their hike back to the palace. The three waved back their acknowledgment to their mother and continued on their way back.
Once their children were out of earshot, Alexander faced his wife. Placing his hands on her smaller waist, he looked into her face and let his misgivings show, "I... There is something here... something I don't understand and cannot hope to figure out on my own. It's a sense of foreboding – that something is happening that I cannot control or hope to change – something dark and deadly."
Kara stepped forward, letting Alexander's arms circle her. She leaned into his chest and felt his cheek against hers as she hugged him back. She didn't know what to say to her husband, so instead of trying to reassure him with her words, she simply stayed as she was, his silent, supportive companion.
Suddenly, a young woman came sprinting across the open field, coming from the palace.
Kara saw her and called out to her, "Yuriana! What brings you out here?"
"Majesties," the young woman said, breathing heavily from her all-out run, "Majesties, there has been a death at the docks."
Kara and Alexander exchanged looks, "We will be there as soon as we can," the king said, "Thank you for bringing this to us."
"You are welcome, Sire." Yuriana bowed to her sovereign. "I must be getting back to my post."
Kara nodded permission for Yuriana to leave, then looked back at Alexander, "Two deaths in two days..."
"It is not uncommon," Alexander said, his tone unconvincing, "People die every day – many people."
Kara nodded, "I know." she let her head sink to Alexander's shoulder, "So why do these seem different somehow...?"
"I must give you the same diagnosis, Sire." Inyesayna said to the King as Alexander, the doctor, and the queen stood with some of the other dock attendees around the body of the deceased man who had been discovered shortly after the Gamilon representative's funeral. "This man died of nothing more than old age." she assured, "His internal organs simply failed. This is normal in people his age – as I'm sure you know."
"Thank you, Inyesayna." the king said to the doctor, "I appreciate –"
"Sire!" the voice cut into the conversation, sending heads quickly turning to see who had interrupted the moment.
"Yuriana..." the queen breathed, suddenly feeling sick.
"Majesties!" the young woman greeted the monarchs and in haste announced, "There has been another death."
Gasps from the gathered men and woman flooded the area, followed by a tense silence broken only by Yuriana's strained voice, "In the palace! Please, come quickly." the woman looked at the doctor, "You too, Inyesayna. We have another physician there already. You can examine the body and corroborate your findings with him."
The King, Queen, and doctor followed the palace doorkeeper as quickly as their legs could carry them.
Once at the scene of this third death in two days, Inyesayna immediately began her examination, conversing with the attending physician as she did.
Kara, Alexander and Yuriana looked on in concerned puzzlement, waiting for the diagnosis of both doctors. Within minutes, they had their answer.
"She is dead... of old age." the middle aged male physician said.
"I concur." said Inyesayna, "She is a bit younger than the representative and the man at the docks, "But she is no young woman. These deaths – though close in occurrence and geography – all seem to be completely normal events. There has been no sign of any outside influence on these three deceased individuals."
"They were not diseased, or assaulted in any way." the other physician offered. "There are no marks of violence; no injection sites; no toxins in their blood."
"All three appear to have simply fallen down, dead, for no reason other than that they were physiologically unable to function anymore. The only oddity with this one" Inyesayna gestured to the dead woman, "is that she was at least five years younger than the last two deceased, but she is still well up in years and her death is not completely unrealistic."
"Is there nothing that could cause them all to appear to have lived out their days? Something that could cause their organs to wear out before their time?" Alexander asked, the sense of dread he had been harboring now starting to return and well up within him as he remembered something he had said less than two weeks ago, something he now wished he could take back.
"Nothing that I have ever encountered, Sire." Inyesayna replied, the other physician also nodding in agreement with the younger doctor.
The King replayed that dreaded memory, that conversation with Deun not two weeks ago when he had denied the young ruler Starsha's hand, letting it echo in his mind, he turned to prayer, "Why is this coming back to me now, my Lord? What significance does it have in this...?"In his heart, Alexander started to understand the answer to that question, but he didn't want to... for he knew that to acknowledge that answer would change his life forever.
The King thanked both physicians and left them to arrange for the full examination and eventual burial of both the dock-man, and the palace worker.
Alexander and Kara left the scene, winding their way back up to the upper levels of the palace where they lived.
"Kara, there is something I need to do," said the king to his wife when they were almost back to their quarters.
"Alright..." Kara glanced up at him in concern. "Shall I come with you..?"
"No," Alexander sighed, "But thank you. This is something I'm afraid I must do alone."
"Very well." Kara let go of her husband's arm, which she realized she had been clinging to all the way up the myriad ramps and stairs they had chosen to take in lieu of a quicker route via the elevators.
Alexander left his wife and began to wrack his brain for a place he could go to do what he needed to undisturbed. Finally, one place came to mind and he made his way to the highest level of the palace. The room was small, and quiet, usually used for small five-person or fewer conferences.
The King took out his communicator and stared at it solemnly, fingering the device. Taking a deep breath, he made the call he had dreaded making all the way up to this lonely room.
"Ah, Alexander." Leader Deun appeared before the king, a pleased expression on his young face. "How may I help you?"
The Iscandarian stared into the holographic representation of his Gamilon counterpart, and, heart pounding in his chest, he uttered the dreaded question and his blood ran cold, "What... have you done... to my people?"
At this, the glowingly innocent facade Deun had projected all throughout his previous conversation with Alexander melted away to reveal his true heart – at its blackest.
"Oh, Alexander," Deun tsked at the Iscandari King condescendingly, "Don't you know that when I don't get what a want I get very angry?"
"She'll die too, Deun." the King grasped at the only thing he thought might sway this insanity, "You'll have accomplished nothing by this but genocide."
Deun smirked, "Will you reconsider my offer, then? You daughter in exchange for your lives? I assume that since you are still trying to dissuade me that she still lives."
Alexander bowed his head in silent anguish – the choice was before him. He had known it might come, but he had prayed that it would not, "Yahweh... I cannot go against what You have ordained to be right... And I cannot sentence my own people to death. What am I to do?"To the king's surprise, something inside him lightened as he sent this plea for help. It did not take away the feelings of dread, but it did extend to him a measure of comfort that he did not think possible for him to possess.
"I am waiting, Alexander." Deun said, that confidant smirk still on his face.
The King raised his head again, "I cannot give you what you seek, but neither can I simply allow you to snuff out innocent lives." The King braced himself for the inevitable backlash he was about to receive and then continued, "My daughter – and every other member of my household will remain here with me; but be assured that we will find out what you have unleashed on us, and we will fight it."
"You foolish man." Deun chuckled, "Do you really think there is a cure for what ails you now? Do you think there is a defense against it? Only I know the key to what will wipe out your race, and I will never give it to you. If I cannot have your daughter, then no one will."
The Gamilon abruptly disappeared, leaving Alexander alone in the gathering twilight that had begun to settle over the capitol.
He grabbed the nearest of the chairs, removing it from its tiny circle and sat. For a moment he stared out over his beloved Iscandar, remembering all the moments of joy he had experienced on this world, all the friends he had made, the wonders he had witnessed.
Then, leaving the past, his thoughts turned to the present.
With his head in his hands, he wept, the brilliant sun taking its leave of Iscandar's capitol until the dawning of tomorrow.
Chapter 19 was inspired by:
- "How Firm a Foundation" found on the Majesty Music CD "I Saw Jesus in You"
- "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" found on the Majesty Music CD "I Saw Jesus in You"
Chapter 19 Notes:
* beyt kevarot – house of burials: graveyard