Thirty-eight
Overlord Khalin Nome made a personal appearance at
the emergency meeting of the Ruling Council of the ten cities of Covonia.
Nobody had expected his appearance. Many had been told that he had fallen
ill, that he was suffering the final stages of senility, or that he had
gone mad.
Basil Whalyk took his appearance in stride and
relinquished the podium. Khalin took his place, and the Council of
twenty-seven Prime and Secondary Executives fell grimly silent.
"It will be wise if each of the ten cities removes
the crypts of its citizens from the Ark," Khalin said. "Bolphan will
stand alone in its defense. It is our responsibility by charter. Any of
the cities willing to stand with Bolphan against the Alliance are welcomed
to do so. Some may elect to commit themselves to the void. Each city
will decide for itself."
Laitin Doen of Tasia leaped to his feet. "The ten
cities of Covonia cannot hope to survive an order of execution issued by
the High Court of the Alazhir Alliance. To stand against the Alliance is
certain death!"
Council Prime Executive Basil Whalyk had seated
himself. He, too, rose to his feet, looking at Laitin Doen, but speaking
to Khalin. "How certain is our destruction should the High Court issue a
writ of execution?"
Khalin Nome addressed his answer to the Council at
large, ignoring Laitin Doen. "The Alliance is not a democracy. Covonia
did not elect to become a member, and our resentment has simmered for many
long centuries under the yoke of both Hive and Alliance oppression. In
ways not clearly visible even to the Ruling Council, we have anticipated
this day and prepared for it."
Doen's voice rang out again. "Nobody prepared for
your treachery, Khalin, and nobody is prepared to die for a crime which
you alone have committed in violation of your sacred office!"
Khalin took the outburst in stride. "Of which sacred
office do you speak, Laitin Doen, the one I occupied many centuries ago
when we thought be would be freed of the blight of the Hive, or the role
of the fool I have played since that day of betrayal in preparation for
this, our present day of defiance and final victory?"
Doen opened his mouth to protest. Basil gestured him
to silence. "Let the Overlord have his say."
"If Myla is my crime, then Jzon Dalikor was our
collective crime. I do not believe you accepted the judgment of the
Alliance in our exile. I do not believe you will stand by and allow
yourself to be subjected to their writ of execution. We are the last
surviving members of the Dalikor regime. It was we as freely chosen
representatives of the colonies who accepted humanity's willingness to
bear the burden of war to rid civilization of the blight of the Hive. You
chose me and Mesina as the creator of the weapon we would bring to bear
against the Hive. Has that office and that trust ever been rescinded?"
"It's no longer relevant!" Doen called out, but the
rest of the Council remained deathly still.
"We have all agreed that you should not have acted
alone and in secret in this matter," Basil said. "How can we hope to defy
the Alliance and survive?"
"Have I acted alone?"
Doen looked around, quietly desperate for more
support. All faces were on Khalin, grimly willing to hear what their
Overlord had to say in his own defense.
"Look back upon your own attitudes and behaviors
during the past few centuries. We have reinforced our ten cities in ways
not apparent to the Alliance, have we not? Alliance code limits Bolphan
to four field engines of magnitude ten. Bolphan possesses twelve. Laitin
Doan, even Tasia possesses eight, as do the remaining nine cities of
Covonia, and they are all of magnitude fifteen."
"A hundred engines would not stand against the
heaviest destroyers the Alliance can bring to bear upon us," Doen said
petulantly.
"But the Alliance does not have its heaviest
destroyers in this region. They defend the core worlds."
"They will bring them here to destroy us!"
"Have you forgotten what Myla has already
accomplished? Will she allow Covonia to be destroyed? Or would the
Alliance leave the core worlds undefended against the Hive?"
"You pit a child against our most powerful enemies,"
Basil said, speaking for the Council as a whole. "So much power in the
hands of so little wisdom and maturity."
"Granted, unexpected factors have intervened," Khalin
said, "but those unexpected factors affect the Hive and the Alliance as
well. We have an alien presence in our midst. I have reason to believe
that the refugee pursued to Covonia by the alien vessels currently
standing off in the distance has accompanied Myla, and is in her care at
this very moment."
Half the Council shot to its feet in startled
surprise.
"I don’t know what this event signifies,” Khalin said
over the nervous roar. “Our fates have been thrown to the wind. Covonia
and the Hive and the Alliance are all caught in the grip of powers we
cannot fathom. I cannot even begin to guess what may happen now. I no
longer care, except for my fervent desire to survive long enough to
witness a resolution and a closure to our suffering.
"For the immediate future, the Alliance will lay
siege upon us, but we must stand against it. Our goals remain as focused
as they always have. Covonia seeks the destruction of the Hive and the
dissolution of the Alazhir Alliance. The Alliance seeks the subjugation
of all of humanity in fear of the Hive. And the Hive simply seeks the
destruction of all of humanity in its own warped self-defense."
Khalin Nome chuckled grimly. "We live in interesting
times. We thought Dalikor's Hive War a monumental and pivotal turning
point in all of human history, one that could never be surpassed. We
thought that we had been betrayed and defeated, but I am telling you that
our struggle for freedom did not end, and it would be foolish to allow our
courage and fortitude to falter at this late hour.
"The battle is still being waged, and our forces have
been joined by a beautiful little creature who is, in every meaning of the
word, Jzon Dalikor's little sister. Jzon died without realizing that he
would be feared by some. I hid from him that very real danger. It was
enough that so many were dying to see the Hive destroyed. With his
superior mind, he was quite aware of the names and personal histories of
vast numbers who died and the tragic impact their deaths had on their family
and friends. He didn't need to feel hated or feared. I protected him.
I failed,
but I did not allow the cowards who took his life to destroy the
technology that gave him birth.
"I had intended for Myla to grow and mature before
assuming the responsibilities of her predecessor. Myla thought I wanted
her to take an avatar because I had developed an inordinate fear of
death. Perhaps so. Her adoptive father thought that as well and ingrained the Nat courage in the face of death deeply within the child.
But I only sought to hide her talent from the eyes of the world. The task
was exceedingly difficult. I have failed in any case.
"As the situation stands, the issue is moot. She is
out there now, prematurely aware of what she is, prematurely burdened by
the suffering of an entire species that is not her own. Our fate rests in
her hands. The fate of all of humanity may well rest in her hands. The
Alliance thought that advancing technology would defeat the Hive in time.
Some persist in that belief. Civilization, however, cannot flourish
beneath the oppression the Hive brings to bear upon us and the oppression
humanity imposes upon itself in supplication. Covonia has held
its own, but most colonies are but fading shadows of their former glory.
They are consolidating as their population dwindles. Some have simply
died. Others have committed themselves to the void in their desperation.
We must act now to free ourselves. We may not have another opportunity to
save our species from extinction."
