Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [168]
A septar in the lead battleship answered. “My orders are to take you aboard this warliner to wait for the arrival of Imperator Rusa’h.”
“Am I not welcome in his court on Hyrillka?”
“You are welcome aboard this warliner. Those were my instructions.” Then he added chillingly, “This maniple has just reconvened from Alturas and Shonor, both of which have joined our holy cause. Our ships are prepared for immediate departure to Dobro—should we be needed there.”
Udru’h drew a deep breath, driving back his alarm. “Very well, then. I will be pleased to await my brother on your ship.”
Once aboard, Designate Udru’h was brought forward like a piece of property. The rebellious Solar Navy officers looked at him as if questioning his loyalty—a good question, actually. These soldiers were completely detached from any thism he could sense, making them oddly opaque in his mind.
The soldiers led him to a sealed room, opened the hatch, and ushered him into the chamber. “While you wait for the Imperator, discuss your situation with him. He can explain the consequences of failing to cooperate.”
Ignoring the brainwashed guards as they sealed the door, Udru’h saw a defiant but impotent Adar Zan’nh. The commander sat in his rumpled uniform, a prisoner, disheveled but not obviously mistreated. His reddened eyes had a wildness to them, and he seemed to be slowly losing his struggle against isolation. Udru’h could certainly understand the engulfing emptiness and silence; already it echoed around him here, but because of his solo trips to the captive green priest Nira on her isolated island, the Dobro Designate had a little more practice.
Seeing him, the Adar’s eyes narrowed with deep suspicion, as if he suspected a trick. Udru’h and his nephew locked gazes, each assessing the other, and finally the Dobro Designate said, “No, I have not agreed to join them yet—if that is your question.”
The Adar did not relax, taking fast and shallow breaths. “And I should believe this?”
“I am your uncle. Would you not know through the thism if I am lying?”
Zan’nh’s eyes flashed with caged anger; emotions seethed close to the surface, barely in control. “Never before did I suspect that a Designate could lie to me or deceive his Mage-Imperator—yet Rusa’h has done so. I do not know what to believe.”
Udru’h remained standing inside the cell, not certain how closely they were being watched. “In fact, I have given them no answer at all.”
“You would even consider betraying your Mage-Imperator?” Zan’nh looked indignant, a cornered animal ready to attack any convenient target. “By merely thinking that, you have already committed treason.”
Udru’h was unruffled. “Prime Designate Thor’h lectured me at great length when he threatened Dobro with one of the warliners that you surrendered to them, Adar.” He scowled. “Thor’h was very earnest, if not entirely convincing.”
Zan’nh looked away, clearly ashamed about what had befallen his maniple. “After briefly imprisoning me on the surface, they forced me aboard what was once my own flagship. I had to watch as the mad Designate attacked other Ildiran colonies and commanded the murder of his own brothers and nephews.”
“And what about your crew?”
Zan’nh’s gaze snapped back up. “They have all been manipulated through the use of shiing. They are no longer responsible for their own minds.”
“Apparently neither you nor I are susceptible to such straightforward persuasion. We must join Rusa’h willingly.”
“That will never happen—at least not on my part.” The Adar studied Udru’h’s eyes when he was slow to give a similar assurance of his own.
Finally the cell door opened, and Solar Navy guards came for the Dobro Designate. “Imperator Rusa’h requests your presence in the command nucleus,” said the lead guard.
Zan