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Flanked by the armed Aurelians, I was marched through the tunnels. A canister light and the spy orb followed, keeping me under close surveillance. They were taking no chances. I’d downplayed the seriousness of the situation to avoid frightening Millie. I could think of only one reason why the “lieutenant” would summon me—to interrogate me. Fortunately, Millie didn’t speak Aurelian; they knew they couldn’t get any information out of her.
On the other hand, it also meant she could be of no use to them.
My gut clenched. I would fight every way I could to prevent anything bad from happening to her.
We had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully, the lieutenant would accept that I had no information. And maybe, I’d learn something about Prince Lomax’s disappearance.
A lift ferried us to another level, this one as meager as the one below, except the cell-like rooms were protected by doors rather than force fields. We stopped beside one of them. The leader peered at the orb-cam. There was a click, and the door slid open.
“Inside! The lieutenant does not like to be kept waiting. We will take you back to the cell when he is done with you,” said the patrol leader.
I entered, and the door slid shut behind me. A tall, horned man in dark gray stood with his back to me, watching a large screen displaying drone vid of the Aurelian capital.
He turned. “What are you doing here, Nadir?” demanded Prince Lomax. “Why are you not aboard the LOP ship?”
I felt as if the rock-solid floor had somehow disappeared from beneath my feet, and I’d dropped into a parallel dimension. “I came to find you, Your Highness.” I masked my shock with a matter-of-fact tone. Prince Lomax was the lieutenant? Not a prisoner, but the lieutenant? I’d assumed him being taken captive posed the worst possible scenario. This was much worse. What had he gotten into?
“You shouldn’t have. You have complicated matters significantly.”
“What did you think I’d do when the LOP received a message that you failed to arrive at the summit?” Inside I reeled in disbelief, unable to comprehend the situation.
“You should have been well on your way to New Terra to take the ovwets home. And what were you thinking to bring one to Aurelia?”
“I feared you were in danger.” I still wasn’t convinced he wasn’t. What the zigqat had happened? “You should have foreseen if you went missing, the LOP would return to Aurelia, and I would not leave you. Millie’s presence is an unfortunate happenstance. I did not bring her. She had hidden on the shuttle pod.”
“Why was she hiding—? Never mind.” He waved and then rubbed his horn. “You have placed me in a difficult situation.”
I had put him in a difficult situation? I was responsible for him, and he’d abandoned duty and sanity to join a group of...of... I didn’t know what they were. How would I get him to Nomoru? How would I explain this lapse to the king? Besides the potential jeopardy to his safety and well-being, his actions would send shock waves through Araset, Nomoru, and even the galaxy. With Aeon unable to ascend the throne, second-son Lomax had been tagged to replace him. For another son to disrupt the royal lineage, the stability of the kingdom would be called into question. His Majesty would be apoplectic. My gut tightened with dread at the prospect of delivering the latest bad news. On top of my broken pledge...
“The GJW has a strict non-release policy. Enemy captures are reeducated so they may support the cause,” the prince said.
“Enemy? I’m not your enemy. I am the royal advisor. I have known you for half your life. Millie and I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t disappeared, and your people hadn’t abducted us. And what is the cause? What is the GJW?”
He thrust out his chest. “We are the Galactic Justice Warriors, fighting for the right of all peoples of all alien species to be treated equitably.” The fanatical gleam in his eyes contrasted with his deadpan delivery. These were not his words but a statement he’d memorized.
Had he been captured and “reeducated” by the GJW? Brainwashing took months, years. It couldn’t have happened during the few days the prince had been missing. I wracked my brain trying to remember when he had been gone for an extended period.
Two years ago, he’d taken a tour of the galaxy. He’d been gone for six or seven months. Was that when he’d gotten “reeducated”? Had he been harboring these ideas ever since? His behavior until now had seemed normal.
“Who doesn’t desire justice for all?” I chose my words carefully and studied his face for a reaction.
“The LOP. The league is systemically corrupt. It formed to favor certain planets and beings over others.”
“What a load of nonsense.” I, like everyone else, had done my share of league-bashing, criticizing its bureaucracy, the arbitrary rules, and its interference in sovereign governance, but its purpose was noble—foster cooperation and peace among the nation planets and maintain law and order in the galaxy. If it sometimes fell short of achieving its objectives, that didn’t make the goals unworthy, nor the league systemically corrupt. Lomax’s claim was ludicrous, false, and unfounded.
“It’s true,” he insisted. “The LOP could end alien-species trafficking but doesn’t. They figure if they say the right things, no one will notice they’re not doing anything.”
“If they don’t appear to be doing anything, it’s because most of their anti-trafficking efforts are undercover,” I said in vain. Attempts to change his mind would be a futile exercise. Fanatics could not be persuaded by facts or logic.
“That’s what they want you to believe,” he replied. “In reality, LOP officials and monied supporters publicly condemn trafficking while privately buying slaves from the cartels.”
“You have proof? Give me names.” Such a bald, bold accusation required proof. Ne’er-do-wells existed in every organization. I’d ousted a Copan spy and had dispatched a few thieving servants from the palace. With regard to the LOP, I’d heard of one handler who’d trafficked in alien species, and, given the size of the league, there were probably others. However, I truly believed those were the exceptions. The exceptions did not define an organization.
Lomax waved his hand. “It is fact.”
“Supposition without documentation is not fact. It is rhetoric.” And often outright falsehood. Had the LOP made mistakes? Surely. Could they have done more sooner to combat trafficking? Of course. But trafficking had grown bigger and more complex than what any one agency could handle. There were hundreds of independent, sovereign nation planets, some of which belonged to the LOP, some of which didn’t. The vastness of space provided cover for criminals, pirates, and slavers. Enhanced policing in one sector pushed the cartels into another. Break up one cartel, and another formed.
“We receive LOP reports. You’ve seen the data, the numbers of aliens the LOP has rescued and repatriated,” I pointed out. It’s just as well he never made it to the summit. Given the ideas he harbored, there was no telling what damage he might have inflicted on the genuine efforts to combat trafficking and how he might have misrepresented Araset’s interests.
“Minuscule compared to the problem—presuming the data is even factual and not falsified. Your continued arguments on the LOP’s behalf demonstrate that you do not oppose the enslavement of alien sentients,” he accused.
I could not believe my ears. “Have you lost your mind, Your Highness?”
“So, you do not deny it.” He looked smug.
“That is a ridiculous statement. Of course, I deny it. But I shouldn’t have to.” Claws extended in fury as I stepped toward him, angrier than I’d ever been in my life. He is still the king’s son, still a prince. Still the king’s son, I repeated the mantra, forcing my claws to retract. “My stance on the issue should not even be a question.” How dare he accuse me of such a thing?
The screen now showed the brig. Millie paced in the cell, her face scrunched with worry. The Aurelian captives slumped dejectedly in their cells, their glow dimmed.
Outrage burned hot. “That is your idea of equity and justice?” I gestured at the screen. “You abducted and imprisoned Aurelian citizens. Where is the justice for them? You are no different than the cartels. You are what you claim you oppose.”
Lomax’s eyes blazed with a crazed fanatical light, but, again, he answered in a monotone. “If you are not with us, you are against us, and opponents of the cause must be reeducated, and if they cannot be reeducated, they must be neutralized.”
“Then it was your men who shot at us in the ruins of the township.”
“They mistook you for LOP.”
“That made it okay?”
“We are in a war for justice.”
“Millie was a victim of alien species trafficking. And I’ve been assisting with the repatriation of the abducted humans.”
“If you had stayed on the ship like you were supposed to, all of this could have been avoided. But you ventured into GJW territory. We have claimed the village as a sanctuary for victims of alien species trafficking. The LOP makes empty promises; we take swift and decisive action.”
The vid on the screen changed from the brig to the bombed-out city.
“Were all the citizens of the township against you? Is this the GJW’s doing?” I asked.
“The Aurelian government refused to cancel the LOP Summit, so we staged a protest.”
“You bombed a village!”
“The residents had the ability to vacate if they wished. It was a mostly peaceful protest.”
My jaw dropped. “With all due respect, Your Highness, have you lost your mind? Since when is a bombing and destruction peaceful? You burned their homes, their workplaces, their businesses. The people weren’t cartel members or members of the LOP. You may have spared their lives, but you left them with no way to make a life.”
His gaze hardened. “In the battle for justice, a certain amount of collateral damage is acceptable. Besides, there are no true innocents. As I have said, you are for us or you are against us. If you are for us, you will join the cause and fight. Silence speaks for itself.”
I did not recognize this man with the hard eyes, sneer, the dark-gray clothing of the insurgent. His mask lay on the console. Millie was right; only cowards hid their faces. This could not be the same fun-loving, carefree young man who flirted with the human woman named Kat. I did not know this man.
“They are people living their lives,” I replied. “Isn’t that what you’re fighting for? The right for people to live a life of their choice?” I argued futilely. Fanaticism didn’t respond to logic or fact. Zeal was the means and the end. A fanatic never achieved his goal because he never would acknowledge the cause had been settled.
The vid on the screen shifted to a vibrant city. Able to see it close up, I recognized the unique shapes of the spires and towers of Relia. The city we’d been heading for was the capital. Wide pristine streets were decorated with flowers and flags. Buildings, statues, and monuments had been cleaned and renewed until stone sparkled and metals gleamed. Boughs and banners festooned balconies. And this was only one urban center. Across the planet, every municipality and hamlet would have prepared in a similar fashion. The planet had been anticipating the honor of hosting the summit for months.
At the capitol pavilion, the actual meeting place of the summit, armed guards dressed in their finest uniforms patrolled the perimeter and manned entrance checkpoints. Surveillance drones zipped around. I couldn’t imagine what else the Aurelians could have done to secure the summit site. Unfortunately, the surrounding smaller townships hadn’t been so fortified, leaving them vulnerable to attack. The government couldn’t lock down an entire planet.
I massaged the base of a horn. My head throbbed with the enormity of the problem—getting Millie to the ship, releasing the other captives, taking Prince Lomax into custody, and alerting Aurelia and the LOP about the GJW. They must know a village had been attacked and destroyed, but were they aware they were dealing with an organized, interplanetary insurgent group? I dreaded having to inform the king of his son’s involvement.
First things first: getting Millie out of here. I had no idea how to achieve that. “What did you hope to gain by destroying the township?” I asked.
“The cancellation of the summit.”
“And what would that achieve?”
“The LOP must be disbanded. It is corrupt at its core, and it cannot be saved.”
He didn’t draw a direct line, but I could see the circuitous plan. “You destroyed the township to force the cancellation of the summit, thus discrediting the LOP by making the league look ineffectual.” I paused. “But, they didn’t cancel the summit.”
“And now people see the LOP for the corrupt organization it is. People lost their homes, but they went ahead with the meeting.”
At least no lives had been lost. Yet. It occurred to me I only had Lomax’s say-so no one had been killed. Possibly, many had perished. An icy chill invaded my veins. What has he done? How can there be recovery from this?
Prince Lomax was only two years younger than Aeon, but they were more than a decade apart in maturity. The assumption that Aeon would take the throne upon the death of the king allowed his younger siblings much more freedom—to Lomax’s detriment. In fact, his appointment to represent Araset at the summit had been an effort to give him more responsibility, help him mature. Instead, the king had unwittingly played into the insurgents’ hands.
Aeon had been stripped of his title. Lomax was not mentally stable enough to rule. The three other sons were still children, the youngest only ten. Long live the king! He had better not die anytime soon.
Lomax leaned his knuckles on the console and studied me. “So, you understand the quandary your presence has placed me in.”
“No, no, I don’t.”
“As I stated, the GJW has a strict policy of non-release. You and I have a personal history. You have served my family and the kingdom well. You’ve earned our respect and gratitude. You have been, dare I say, a mentor to me and my brothers. For your years of service and friendship, I would send you back to the ship.
“But, that would betray my oath to the GJW and mock the values of equity and justice I have pledged to uphold. You do not stand with the GJW; therefore, you are against us, and I fear reeducation would not work on you. Your beliefs are too entrenched. For that reason, I cannot allow you to leave. You’ve seen too much. You know too much. If released, you would return with a strike force.”
“So, what are you going to do with me?”
“That is the quandary.”
