Journey by beast was by no means fast, albeit quicker than traveling by foot. As at ease as the Hunter was on beastback, I had to wonder if they had other modes of technologically more advanced travel. I mean, they had the trains, which ran on some sort of propulsion powered by generated electricity. How, I wasn’t sure. Solar maybe, with the power stored on batteries hidden under the floor perhaps for using them at night as well as by day.
I sucked in my top lip, dying to ask him about it and maybe find out more about his people. It was very tempting, especially given my recent discovery that our leadership had not been entirely forthcoming with some rather important details about his people and the world we found ourselves on.
Deciding to give in to the impulse, I said, “In the old Earth vids and books and stuff, they had machines to drive them around. Personal vehicles, public transportation, too. Though it was generous, I guess, of Lord Roe to lend you your own beast.”
Pilar threw a small smile my way. “I’m sure he wanted us gone as quickly as possible and not give us an opening to claim we were short a mount.”
“Maybe,” I allowed.
“Mmm, as for the other, is that your way of asking if we have mechanical vehicles other than the trains you’re used to seeing?”
I laughed. “Guilty!”
He gave a low laugh, his mount’s ears twitching to catch the sound.
“We do. We have flitters that can carry six or twelve persons, with an area to berth mounts and supplies as necessary.”
“And spacecraft,” I said pointedly.
“Yes,” he replied after a moment, his tone heavy with consideration. “But not ones that take off from the surface.”
I gaped at him. “Then how do you reach them? When you said you had colonies on other worlds and this was a preserve, I imagined at least one working spaceport was left.”
“Oh, we have a spaceport all right,” he allowed. He sighed. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?”
“What do they tell you about your arrival here?”
“Umm, our ship entered this sector and was detected and we were guided in for landing when it was ascertained we couldn’t make it anywhere else.” Every child knew this story, but somehow, I knew his people told a different version.
“Well, that is pretty much true, just missing some key facts,” he said, with another soft sigh. “As soon as the ship entered this sector, our military noted the incursion and sent out a ship to intercept and investigate. We could see the ship was rather clunky and primitive compared to ours,” I winced as he said this, “so when they failed to reply, we figured they either were either not using subspace channels to talk, or didn’t understand us, or the communications system was broken.”
“We didn’t understand you,” I guessed.
“That and upon realizing this area of space was already occupied, the crew onboard began to panic. They later told us that the possibility of encountering intelligent alien life had seemed so remote that they hadn’t properly prepared a protocol for that. In fact, the protocols did not plan a contingency for arriving and finding the planet uninhabitable or anything else either.”
My stomach lurched. That was insane! Such a thing was tantamount to knowing several hundred souls very well could be on a suicide mission. I could see why the crew would want to pretend all was well in hand as they raised their families generation after generation as they traveled across the vast expanse. Then I remembered, our ship was one of several the group back on Earth had launched, pointing them all towards different destinations. Had they all died? A cold shiver ran along my spine and down my arms at the thought of what might have happened to those other settlers.
“Anyway, The Indomitable contacted their base and the decision was made to send out six heavy cruisers. They placed a set of tractor beams on your ship and a group of Hunters entered your ship.”
I pulled Winnie to a stop and he followed suit upon noticing. “Are you serious? They never said anything about that? And you Hunters work out in space too?”
“Mmm,” he murmured in agreement. “There are those of us garrisoned here, most of us born to the Houses dedicated to the preservation work. But we are actually part of the military belonging to the Dark Scion, which is our governing body.”
“So your Council, are they only local representatives?” My mind raced to make sense of their government structure.
“Yes. They have a say over most of what happens here. Other worlds with their denser populations, as well as independent space habitats and stations, have their own regional councils. Those in turn answer to Zone Arbiters, who represent the collection of councils within their marked zones. The Arbiters answer to the Dark Scions.”
“Dark Scions?”
“Think of them as a group of five royal houses. Each House shares power within their chosen sibling set, and ascend once the current set abdicate to the next generation upon the eldest reaching two hundred and fifty years of age. They remain on as advisors to the new Scions.”
“And the Scions decide on stuff how? I mean as a whole, not each family,” I hastily added.
“They hold discussions and then vote.”
“And how do they choose these sibling sets?” It didn’t sound fully hereditary.
“It is one of the matters that go before each level of government. The records of the current age group to be considered for Scionhood are examined at the local level, with each promising candidate being followed from early childhood. They get weeded out as they mature until there is only a small pool of no more than thirty left, upon which the Scions themselves select the sibling group. The selection is completed before the youngsters complete their training.”
“So then they get taken away to train to be a Scion.”
He shook his head. “No. They are told and kept in place wherever they are, unless it is dangerous for them to be so. Unlikely, but possible. This helps retain a closeness to the people by those at the top and prevents a dynasty being formed, as individuals with a close kinship to a current or previous serving Scion within three generations are forbidden from being considered.”
“I bet they find other jobs within the government though.”
He laughed. “Of course they do.”
“So, who are the current Scions for our area?”
“That would be Hedley, Shimar, and Trimar.”
“What happens if they are an only child?”
“Another condition for consideration is that there must always be at least two siblings.”
“Huh. Okay. Um, do you know who is gonna be next?”
He glanced away. “I do.”
I waited. When he wasn’t more forthcoming, I pressed. “So, who is it? Not like I am gonna know who they are, right?”
“It’s me and my brother,” he finally answered, his voice soft. “But we aren’t due to ascend for a few more years yet.”
It was a good thing we were still moving as I nearly lost my perch on my saddle. “You’re kidding? You’re practically a prince and they sent you out here to hunt a killer?” They had to be out of their minds.
“I am not currently a prince, there is always a second and third choice, and yes, I was sent to do my job,” he snapped, chirruping at his mount to get it moving again.
Shit! I’d offended him. “I’m sorry!” I called after him, nudging Winnie to get her going again. “I only meant that I thought they’d consider you too important to risk, being their best choice and all.”
His shoulders came down, the tenseness he’d held at my line of questioning and subsequent remark loosening.
“I am sorry as well,” he replied, looking abashed. “I am the first omega on the planet to become a Hunter since the Time of Preservation began, so I am probably a bit sensitive on the subject of my suitability. It is not as rigidly ingrained as with your people, but even among mine, there are those who believe those of us who can bear young should hold ‘safer’ jobs.”
“Well, a fatal accident can happen to anybody,” I pointed out. “House fire, run over by a runaway beast, accidental food poisoning, illness…”
“Precisely.” He gave me a small smile and I felt as if the sun had come out from the way it warmed me. “So, you were asking how we get to our ships if we don’t launch from the ground?”
“Yeah.” I really did want to know and the change of topic back to my original set of questions was welcome. I could figure out what, if anything, him and his brother being future galactic rulers of some kind meant. For me, probably not much, as the current set had not had any impact on my day to day. Not that I was aware of, anyway. But then, the more I talked with him and the deeper we got into this investigation, I was finding out that what I actually knew— no, scratch that; what most of us all knew, was a whole lot of nothing. We were all pawns in a game none of us had a clue we were even playing.