Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 97

 

“You do seem to get in even more trouble now than you did when we were in training.” Ases sank into one of the chairs. He curled up, sitting sideways. “It’s weird none of these chairs have arm rests.”

“Not really. What are they going to do, put two of them on each side? It’d be like a restraint device.” I could always rest my upper pair of arms along the cushioned back of the couch if I wanted, but the chairs were open. “Besides, Bouncer likes it so he can sit close.”

Well, when he wasn’t tucked into a corner tearing into the hunk of meat. I didn’t want that thing in my lap, and his favorite position was to lean against my side and put his head in my lap so I could rub behind his ears and on the back of his head where he had trouble scratching.

Zeekah had stayed outside the room, and I looked around. There were no obvious signs of monitoring. “Can you tell if we’re being recorded?” I asked.

Ases cocked his head. “My mech can. He’s not pinging any signals right now, or I’d have received an alert on my comm.”

“Good.” This was maybe the first time I could be completely certain we were alone and would go undisturbed and unheard. I couldn’t be sure on the ship that we’d go unheard, but the walls were thicker here, especially in a safe room. “Listen, I don’t know that I agree with Garjah’s assessment of the Kardoval’s innocence. We’re at risk here, and I believe they are the cause. I won’t allow anyone to hurt him. I know he’s the head of security for the whole planet, but someone has to look out for him.” This is where things get dicey. “I haven’t told him that I know your mech has custom modifications beyond commercial models.” It was a small betrayal, but I knew Ases was on our side.

He wanted to ensure this treaty and make a name for himself before the Council. I wanted to ensure my bonded stayed safe, and the home he loved above all else stayed safe too.

Ases was too cunning, too stepped in political maneuvering, to act surprised or give anything away. “And?” he probed.

“I need your help.”

 

We were finally released, and Garjah came to take us home. Not a moment too soon because Bouncer was starting to prowl restlessly, and he wasn’t able to use the tiny facilities available tucked behind a hidden wall. What was with these people and hidden catches?

Their very nature led them to favor secrets. It was frustrating as an outsider, but I also saw it differently than everyone else. As Garjah’s bonded, I had standing in society that gave me influence to counter my alien origins.

“You’re quiet,” Garjah said as he piloted our transport.

“What did you learn?” I asked.

He glanced at me then away.

“Really? You’re not going to tell me?”

Garjah took a deep breath. “I would like to get you home,” he said.

I held up a hand when Ases opened his big trap because I could see his comm blinking, and it all came together for me. We would have to come up with a signal. We were being monitored somehow. Good thing Garjah had a security suite at home.

“Bouncer does need to stretch his legs.” The security suite was hidden under the inner courtyard. He really was a paranoid male.

“I bet he does. He was a good boy today, wasn’t he?” Garjah held out one hand to Bouncer, rubbing his ears. “Such a smart protector.”

The cerops was preening. He stretched out his neck, looking smug.

I sank back in my chair. I was losing it. I was looking so hard for hidden motives and craziness I was seeing it everywhere. Sighing, I closed my eyes. Maybe I’d take a short nap. They could wake me up when we got home.

 

“Hey, wake up, snore monster.”

I came up battling, fighting off the hand pinching my nostrils shut.

Ases grinned. “That’s what we used to have to do when he’d fall asleep when we watched vids.”

“Stars, Ases,” I grumbled. “I could have hurt you.” I was stronger now than I used to be.

“Not likely. I still have faster reflexes than you.”

“We home?” I looked around blearily. Wow, not only were we home, somehow Garjah had gotten me down into his security suite without waking me. The screens covering every inch of the property’s land and all the entrances were cycling between views.

“Hey, those aren’t in my room, are they?” Ases asked. He narrowed his eyes. “If they are, we need to talk.”

“No, they’re not in the house. If someone has made it inside, I’ve already failed.” Garjah folded his arms, and he once again stood in that wide-legged stance he loved to adopt.

“Okay, all right, enough posing.” I poked him in the stomach. “Spill. What did you learn?” I flopped into one of the chairs in front of the intel desk full of computer screens.

“This wasn’t a rebel faction trying to take out the Kardoval, or anti-alien activists protesting your arrival either.” Garjah leaned against the table in the middle of what only could be his war room; he had so many plans and charts. An entire shelf was full of comm pad cubes, each one storing enough to clone an entire device. An. Entire. Shelf.

“Then who was it?”

“I don’t know. Before I could fully interrogate the male, he went into shock. I think it was self-induced. I’ve asked Timok to come take a look.”

“It would be handy to have him around.” Timok, for all his annoying characteristics, was also charismatic. “If anyone can get answers, he can.”

“Not from someone who is comatose.”

“Shit, really?”

Garjah scowled. “I think he’s retreated into his memories to avoid the consequences his compatriots faced.” 

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Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 96

 

Maybe he had a point about Bouncer. But that was just because we were his pack and he spent so much time with people instead of animals. Garjah just snorted.

“Eat your food, you took it after all. And we’re not going back to the party.” I looked at Garjah. “Right?”

“No. My staff can finish up there. I’m more needed to question the man Bouncer just caught. Zeekah, go back and get Ases. We need his mech.”

“Yes, sir.” The officer behind me saluted, then rushed off. I guess I didn’t need him if I was sticking with Garjah, and I planned to stay close.

“You think the Kardoval will just let Ases leave with his mech?” I ignored the way Bouncer was tearing into his food. He was always ravenous, and meat was his favorite meal. Getting to use his curved claws to dig deep furrows in the meat reminded me of when I’d first met him, how unable he’d been to dig into the tree to get to the grubs he’d wanted.

He really had grown.

“They have no choice. I make all the decisions regarding the planet’s security.”

I blinked, the glimmer of an idea teasing at my mind. He’d said that before, but I hadn’t really understood. Seeing it in action was something different. He gave an order, everyone else followed. No one argued, there was no second-guessing his orders. Garjah spoke, they acted.

It was a scary amount of power and really explained exactly why he’d been such an overconfident ass when we’d met. Sure, he hadn’t been the captain of the ship and in charge of flying it, but basically everything else was under his control.

Then I came along. I smiled.

“What’s that smile for?” Garjah looked around the room. The kitchen crew was still backed away on the far side of the room, eyeing us warily. I tried to picture the scene we made from their point of view. A beast gnawing on a huge chunk of meat he stole, a grinning hybrid human, and the head of all the planetary security who’d just had one of their team taken away.

I’d have probably fled the room by now.

“Nothing important.” The hum of Ases’ mech preceded him.

“You asked for me?” Ases flowed into the room, his arms tucked inside the flowing silvery sleeve of his tunics. He almost never looked out of place but a kitchen? Not his natural environment. He either caught his food in his shifted form or he had it made for him.

“We have need of your mech.” Garjah pointed at pot. “Can you please have it destroy that?” I hadn’t realized how on edge he’d been, but he’d never fully turned away from the pot on the floor, and he hadn’t allowed anyone near it.

“No problem.” Ases turned to his mech. “Please destroy that silver ball like you did the others.”

“Yes, Ases.” The mech moved forward, oddly graceful for all its size, and lowered its body. It aimed one arm right into the pot.  The blast took only a few seconds, and then it was done. The mech straightened and moved back.

The pot wasn’t even damaged. “That’s some amazing targeting.”

“My father procured the very best.” Ases put his hand on the AI mech. “Safety is very important to him.”

“We appreciate your help. Would you mind going back with Essell to safe quarters here? I will have you escorted, but I would feel better if you stayed together.”

“Wait. Where are you going?” I didn’t know what was going on, and I was nervous about it. “What kind of safe quarters?” He’d sent the other guy to something like that. Was he locking me up? I tilted my head, giving him serious side eye. “Why can’t we stay with you?”

“I need to go interrogate the male that Bouncer found for us, and I don’t want you there for that. Since we don’t know who did this or why yet, I don’t want to rely on our allies for protection. I have a room I know is safe with no exterior doors or windows. With Bouncer and the mech, I know you’ll be protected until I can come back.” Garjah folded his arms over his bare chest, and I had to fight the urge to sigh.

“For how long?” I hated being cooped up, and Bouncer really hated it.

“As long as it takes.” Garjah stepped forward, rubbing my upper shoulder. “I will come for you.”

“You better.” I sighed. “And make it fast.”

“The sooner I go, the sooner I can get back,” he said.

“Fine.”

Garjah waved at the officer behind Ases. It was the same one from before. “Zeekah will stay on the outside of the door.”

“Of course. I won’t let anything happen to your bonded or the ambassador.”

“I’m sure we can protect ourselves,” I protest. Well, Ases had his mech and I had Bouncer. They’d protect us. “Come on, Bouncer. Time to go.” He looked up, over half the meat already gone. There was no way he could still be hungry, but I could see the protest in the way his shoulders hunched and his ears were starting to wilt. “Bring your food.” Who knows how long we’d be? He might need it.

Bouncer opened his jaws as wide as they’d go and wrapped them around the meat. It was still bigger than his head. Zeekah led the way, I followed him, Bouncer followed me, with Ases behind him and his mech taking up the rear. We were a strange parade, but we didn’t really have to go that far. It was in the building at least.

I’d been picturing a tiny, bare room shaped like a box. I hated the lack of windows, but it wasn’t too small and there were a few seats scattered around a table. “It’s been a while since we’ve been locked up. At least this is more comfortable.” 

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Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 95

 

I was on my feet and chasing after Bouncer, but he’d already been across the room from me. Plus, despite his muscular bulk, Garjah was fast and used to his planet’s gravity. I had increased muscle mass and bone density after the incident on Ardra but I still struggled in the higher gravity to move at speed. Besides, I didn’t want one of the nervous security offers to shoot at me.

If Garjah threatened to shoot anyone who took a shot at Bouncer, when he’d probably either dodge it or manage to have it bounce off his armored back, then he’d tear them limb from limb if they hurt me. I was much easier to damage than either one of them.

As a result, I almost lost them as we ran down the corridors of the building. Three officers were following Garjah, and a second one was behind me. Ases had stayed behind, but I wasn’t about to let anyone with weapons chase Bouncer without following them. The officer Garjah had put on us had followed me, so there was a flicker of worry for him but he could take care of himself. He had his mech, after all.

Bouncer had slowed from his headlong rush through the building once he neared the food preparation area, and now he was prowling. His head was low, swinging back and forth as his front shoulders rose and fell in a slow, hypnotic rhythm. One ear twitched, and then he rushed through the main area and all the staff scattered, screaming and shouting as they dove out of his way.

All except the one clutching a pot in his hand. Shit! Was all this because he was hungry? If we’d chased after a rampaging cerops and let him attack a cook for the food he was preparing for a fancy welcoming dinner… well, I don’t know what would happen but I knew it wouldn’t be good.

The terrified staff worker was screaming and twisting, but Garjah had him trapped beneath his body with his powerful forelegs on either side of his arms. Then he sat on his legs. Just sat, literally pinning the man.

“Get him off me!” he screamed. He worked an arm free and hit Bouncer in the side.

“Hey!” Even if Bouncer was after his food, it wasn’t okay to hit him. He didn’t know better.

Bouncer leaned down and snarled right in his face, his fangs bared in warning. There was another cook backed against a counter with a big knife in his hand, and I wasn’t sure about the expression on his face. He looked like he was thinking about lunging forward to protect the other one, so I kept running until I was right next to Garjah, aiming my nastiest glare at the knife-wielding maniac. Even with his back to me, it was like Garjah saw me coming. He put an arm up and caught me, stopping me instantly.

It knocked the air out of my lungs, but what shocked me more was the sight of the open pot. Its lid had come off, and there wasn’t a tasty meat stew or some other savory dish Bouncer could have sniffed out in hunger.

No, there was a comm pad and another one of those ball things. Fear jolted through my body, and I stiffened. Garjah had his weapon out, and he pointed it at the man’s face. “If you move hit him again, I will shoot you in the face.” His weapon was probably on stun, but no one wanted to be shot in the face.

Not even homicidal assassins. The man dropped his arm to the floor. “Get him off me!” Bouncer lifted one paw and flexed his claws, and the scent of urine hit the air. Stars! The man was really afraid. Like, terror levels that meant he was willing to go with the arresting officers and face attempted murder of high officials and visiting ambassadors in order to save his own skin rather than spend another second near Bouncer.

Who was currently prancing over to me with his ears perked, looking very proud of himself. Then his nose twitched again.

What now?

He leapt onto the counter, grabbed the seared… something that used to be an animal, and jumped back off. Sitting at my feet, he began tearing off huge chunks, purring almost loud enough to drown out the derision the security officer’s mocking the assassin who refused to go anywhere near him. They complained about the smell from his wet pants, about having to take him out the back, and promised retribution of the highest order for trying to murder, well whoever he’d tried to murder.

“Put him in my safe room,” Garjah said.

“Yes, sir.”

I wasn’t sure where to look. Bouncer was… disturbingly happy tearing into the roast with his claws and teeth considering how he’d just had a man trapped between his claws in a similar position, the pot was still laying open on the floor with the deadly ammunition inside, and Garjah was giving me a look.

“What?” I asked.

“What were you thinking, chasing after us? You could have been hurt.”

“I was thinking someone was going to hurt Bouncer, and I wanted to be there to tear their face off.” Or scream into their ear holes until they could never hear again, because I would have sworn down the stars from the sky.

“You do realize that your cerops is bigger than any that’s ever been seen before, right? And he pays more attention to what’s going around him than an animal should.” The officer was still behind me.

Like he was using me for cover when he stood at least a head taller. And he skittered back as soon as Bouncer stopped, mid tear with a strip of meat still attached to the roast, and looked around my thighs at him. 

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Julie Lynn Hayes

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 94

 

Sorry, got my days mixed up!! I hope you will enjoy this update!

“Is he always that sarcastic?” Ases asked. “I never noticed that before. He always acts so serious and deadpan. Will his face crack if he tells a joke?”

“Maybe. We haven’t had a lot of opportunities to make jokes since we met.” I sat in a chair in the corner where Garjah had put me and Bouncer sat beside me, leaning against my hip and thigh. I stroked the base of his skull, and he arched his neck. I mindlessly stroked each itchy spot he presented, watching Garjah start interviewing all the attendees of the welcoming dinner.

Some people were indignant at being held, but he presented them with a stern face. A young woman was crying, eyeing the open windows fearfully, and he offered her an arm and led her to a seat at a table with her back to them before crouching beside her. With her, he lost the iron expression.

So maybe not everyone here was as suspicious as the rest. He only spent a moment with her before he moved on. Others were questioned more closely.

“He’s very good,” Ases said.

“Of course he is.” I paused, then frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Look at how he’s separating people. All those knots and groups that were clinched up have been pried apart and sent to different areas to be questioned by different guards.” Ases leaned closer. “And it may seem like he’s protecting the Kardoval with those men in front of them, but they’re being sequestered. They can’t influence anyone or plot.”

“Well, not in person at least.” Garjah kept moving around the room, speaking to some people in person and sending security officers to others. “And they’re not guards. Security officers, remember?”

“Right, right. I’d give my right arm to see what they’re doing with that tech. See those two.” Ases pointed with his hand tucked alongside his thigh, and it took me a minute to follow the angle. Two older Four Arms were waving their hands in front of comm pads. But they weren’t normal ones. These were bigger, worn on forearm sleeves, and it looked like their screen extended three-dimensionally with a virtual interface.

“Huh.” Could those be used to map an area and capture all plants and animals for later study in more detail? That would be so useful! I narrowed my eyes; maybe it was only security who had them. I did have an in with the head of security though. I could sweet talk Garjah into giving me one—or bribe him with my body.

“That kind of grin does not belong on your face. It’s creepy, especially now,” Ases hissed.

“What?” His sudden jab in my ribs startled me, and Bouncer snarled at Ases. He jerked back.

“Hey, chill big guy. We made friends, remember?” Ases said to Bouncer. He didn’t sound afraid but he left space between us anyway. Bouncer huffed at him. “Hey, he was the one with the creepy face while we are being watched. I’m just looking out for him.”

“Who’s watching us?” Beside the obvious. The Kardoval had bounced between us and Garjah the whole time. That wasn’t news, and I doubted Ases would point that out.

Ases was a master of subtle pointing. “That group over there. There’s an older one with two younger people.”

“Like kids? I didn’t think kids were invited.” I shifted in my chair, stretching in a bid to get a better look.

“They’re pretty young. He’s got a good grip on them too.” The older Four Arms he was talking about wasn’t looking at me, but the younger ones were. Intently.

Garjah was busy, and I had no way to signal him. “Let’s keep an eye on them keeping an eye on us. As long as they stay over there, it might just be curiosity. They don’t have aliens like us come here. Remember how isolated their home planet is. Even with a strict isolation policy, they have a port with security features to protect the rest of the planet from incursion.”

“Maybe I’m just jumpy. I keep wondering if the next person I look at is the one who sent those things in here.”

I leaned in close to him. “They probably think we did it.”

“Us,” he waved a finger between us, “or the rebels?”

I shrugged. “Either? Both?”

Lights began to flash on one of the screen in the corner. “Sir!” The officer called for Garjah, and he marched over, instantly abandoning the interrogation of the pale and shaky Four Arm who looked relieved not to be facing him anymore.

“I’ve tracked back the trail of the projectile balls. They were clearly guided, not passive release. They were being operated by someone in the south garden.” The officer pointed out two rooms. “They tracked through here and here, which had multiple staff members but the balls didn’t release.”

“Do we have footage of the garden?”

“It’s been corrupted.”

Garjah growled and I was the only one who didn’t flinch. Well, me and Bouncer. He left me and went over to Garjah. The remains of the balls were near the tech who’d been trying to track their path, and he took a sniff. He sneezed, blowing out a blast of air and shaking his head so hard his ears snapped, but then he lifted his head. He looked over his shoulder, first at me, then the door.

Oh, stars. “Garjah.” I tried to warn him, but I was too late.

Bouncer took off at a run, scattering people from his path and turning them room into a screaming, chaotic mass of people trying to escape again.

“If anyone shoots him, I will shoot them,” Garjah bellowed at the officers. 

Wednesday Briefs: Ancalagon Ch. 93

 

“I insist you call Seedrah to investigate this,” Sloval said.

“He is,” Garjah said shortly. “Who do you think is outside looking for the launch source for the projectile orbs? This room should have been secure, with many different layers of checkpoints between here and any entrances or exits from the compound. Therefore he is investigating outside of the room, and I will handle the security matters inside.” Garjah crossed his upper arms. “Unless you have revoked my status publicly?”

They hadn’t, and we all knew it. Therefore the Kardoval had to let Garjah do his job or risk creating a schism in front of the people.

“Well?” Mereval waved her hand at the panicked crowd.

“Are you done questioning my ability to do my job?” Garjah wasn’t budging an inch. It was a far cry from the awed deference he’d once shown them when we’d first met. He’d been more disaffected than I thought.

She inclined her head. “You may leave your bonded here with me, if you wish to ensure his safety.”

I snorted. “No thanks.” The last thing I’d feel standing next to her was safe. Besides, we still didn’t know who the target of those ball things was. I’d stay next to the one being here who made me actually feel safe. Bouncer, of course, nearly stood on top of my feet. His ears were erect, and his tail lashed the air as he guarded me. Stroking his head, I mentally corrected myself; I’d stay next to two beings who made me feel safe.

Garjah headed straight toward Ases. I hurried by his side. Speaking quietly, I asked, “Those ball things, you know what they are?” I didn’t, but I wasn’t that familiar with weapons. My mother was far more likely to contact lower-technology races and my father’s enemies would simply try to bore him to death with their arguments against his discoveries, not bomb or shoot him.

“Projectile balls. When they detect living beings, the ball splits into thin filaments that are then sent like miniature arrows directly toward the beings’ closest mucous membranes to burrow until it finds internal organs to perforate.” Garjah paused to study the crowd, eyeballing the beings closest to the doors.

I blanched, clutching my loose tunic top. “That’s horrific.”

“It is, and something I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“Then how did Ases destroy them?” Maybe he’d gotten lucky. Or maybe it wasn’t that hard.

“I’m not sure. This is old tech, sure, but not something that had been shared. Let’s ask him immediately.” Garjah strode across the room, and the crowd parted for him. “Ases, we owe you thanks. So many people could have been hurt if your mech hadn’t stopped the threat.” Garjah placed a hand on his chest and saluted, bowing his head.

“It was my honor to be of service, but really, all I did was order the mech to stop the threat.” Ases rubbed his hands on the opposite arms, his narrow pupils blown wide. He was a politician, and assassination threats and other dangers weren’t completely outside of the role he fulfilled, but I didn’t think he faced it very often. “It did the analysis and responded independently once I gave the protection execution command so it would preserve more than just me..”

My eyes widened. “It has that much processing power and speed?”

“Apparently so,” Ases said. He lowered his voice. “My father had it custom-built, but I wasn’t aware it was so… capable.” There was a wealth of worry he wasn’t saying. What else could the mech do that he didn’t know? Could it become a threat to the treaty?

“We did scan it,” Garjah assured him. “It’s not harboring any information or weapons.”

“Good, good.”

“But it was still able to assess the projectile balls and was able to use a chemical to freeze the filaments until their bonds became unstable and the metal collapsed.” Garjah connected two of his hands behind his back. “The balls seem solid until they separate to attack. How did it catch that the balls were made up of filaments and know how to destroy them?”

“I don’t know! It just did.”

“Hmm. We’ll need to scan your mech again,” Garjah said.

“Of course, whatever you need.” Ases took a breath and dropped his arms. “I didn’t want to see this treaty fail because of small discontent.”

“We shall hope that is all it is.” Garjah pursed his lips. He signaled a security officer over who took the mech away to a portable comm system set up in the corner of the room. “We need to review the security footage and see who the target was. That will help us understand better who sent it.”

Ases snorted. “You don’t know?” The glance over his shoulder toward the Kardoval, subtly flicking his fingers at them. “Faugh. It was clearly them.”

“We don’t have evidence of that,” Garjah said. “And I refuse to investigate with any preconceived notions. That way leads to guilty parties getting away.” He cracked a pair of hands, the knuckles popping over and over. “And whoever tried to do this is willing to take out all the major players, including us. We can’t ignore the truth in favor of our biases.”

Besides, with how revered the Kardoval were, it would be impossible to accuse them and not have it go bad. I ran my hand along the thick scales dotting the upper spine on Bouncer’s neck, trying to calm him. He was still agitated, and there was no way I could reassure him with this many people around.

“What should we do?”

“You two sit down,” Garjah said. “The security officers and I are going to start talking to the good citizens who are so patiently waiting to leave.” 

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J Ray Lamb

Julie Lynn Hayes