The Friendly Ambassador: The Beginning of the End Read online

Chapter Three

  The Ambassador’s Retreat

  Li-Sen-Tot stood before the control console at the Embassy Ring Network Portal. It was a large circular room panelled in the rich red woods of Klysanthia. The figures of sylph-like women clad in wisps of silk and with hair that blew in a wooden wind were carved on each of the panels. The decoration of the room had been of his choosing. It had brought him much pleasure, now it only made him sad.

  The existence of the Embassy RNP was known to very few. The room doubled as Li-Sen-Tot’s drawing room, and he was often found relaxing here. Indeed he did find it relaxing to sit surrounded by the wooden figures that represented happier times. He often ate here, and the room was furnished with comfortable and well-worn armchairs and low tables. Books, ancient and modern, were stacked on the tables. Many were from Eden, many more from distant worlds, their alien scripts eligible. Li-Sen-Tot could read them all.

  Near the centre of the room was a globe of Eden. Li-Sen-Tot stood next to it. He turned the globe, as if studying the low relief continents and mountains. He suddenly stopped the globe and unhinged a quadrant, revealing a hidden control panel inside.

  His fingers flew over the controls, and above him, the portal projectors glowed into life. Colours filled the centre circle of the ceiling, and directly below it a grey sea of mist began to swirl. In a few seconds the grey mist rose up to the ceiling and became a cylinder. Slowly the cylinder became opaque, and then a beam of bright sunshine appeared. The cylinder of grey vanished. In its place was a circular pad of polished white stone. And above it was an intense light that filled the whole room. There was the sound of the sea, and a breeze blew the scent of salt on the warm air.

  Sunshine, warmth, white stone, and a man.

  Li-Sen-Tot stepped away from the globe and stared at the man. “General Ares, you are not the man I expected to see.”

  Ares smiled and stepped off the white stone. Now he was in the room proper. “And I did not expect to see you still here, either,” he replied.

  They stood face to face. Ares was taller than Li-Sen-Tot. He had fair hair and piercing blue eyes. His features were strong, and although stern, were not unpleasing to the eye. He was also strongly built, his body bronzed under the white gown, leather tunic and white cloak he wore. The tunic was armoured at the chest and was studded as it reached down over his short skirt. His arms and legs were bare and he wore sandals on his feet. In contrast to his style of dress, his belt supported a laser pistol and night-sight as well as the more correct short sword, and the helmet he held in one hand was a plastic composite. There was also a Geo-Sat locator strapped to his wrist.

  Li-Sen-Tot smiled and embraced his old friend. “It is good to see you, Ares, but I know why you are here, and it won’t work.”

  Ares lifted Li-Sen-Tot off the floor—such was the strength and emotion of his embrace. But despite the warmth of their greeting, it was cut short by angry words.

  “Your stubbornness is growing tiresome!” Ares exclaimed as he released Li-Sen-Tot and stepped back. “You were commanded to leave Eden! I sent you this command myself before I left for Ephesus! Why do you stay? Are you mad?”

  “There is no reason for me to leave.”

  “Have the Edenites signed a treaty with the Keruh?”

  Li-Sen-Tot nodded. “This morning.”

  “Have you closed the Embassy?”

  “Yes. And dismissed all the staff. Some of them cried.”

  “Then your job here is done. Come back with me through the portal.”

  Ares stepped closer to the portal. He held out his hand, inviting Li-Sen-Tot to follow him. The Ambassador stood his ground.

  “I am not leaving. Ever.”

  Ares sighed and lowered his hand. “There are many with greater reason to grieve than you. Even my own blessed Atlantis is not safe from the Keruh Host. Why this melancholy?”

  “I have no place I would rather be, and no reason to wish to be elsewhere. In my life I have travelled the Ring extensively, but even I have seen barely a quarter of the worlds open to it. I am content with this. I have no wish to travel anymore. It is time to stop.”

  Ares tried a different approach. “Otrera is in Metropolis.”

  It was a simple statement that caused Li-Sen-Tot to pause thoughtfully. He stood and stared at Ares, his eyes unseeing.

  Otrera.

  The name conjured up the memories of the past like a meeting in the flesh. He could suddenly see her in his mind; he could even smell and taste her in the air. The long, sinuous body, her elegant almost spindly limbs, that beautiful elfin face, that sweet, powerful scent. She had hair like golden silk and skin like, like...

  Otrera, the Queen of the Klysanthians.

  Li-Sen-Tot had met her many times. He knew her well. His liaisons with her were the climax of his life. Nothing had meant anything after that.

  “Is she well?” he asked, his eyes still vague.

  “She moans about the thickness of the air and the weight of her limbs, but she is alive. She and the Royal House came with us when we evacuated Klysanthia. Many others also survived. So you see, Li-Sen, there is a reason for you to leave here. Come back with me, see her once more, embrace her tiny form.”

  Li-Sen-Tot’s eyes re-focussed. “It is a powerful lure, but one I can deny. Send her my love, but tell her I must stay.”

  Ares greeted his words by raising his eyes to the ceiling. “May the gods give me strength!” he shouted out, turning his back on the subject of his anger. “This man is beginning to annoy me!”

  His exasperated outburst was met by angelic laughter. The sound filled the room with beauty and stirred the soul.

  Li-Sen-Tot looked toward the circle of white stone bathed in sunlight, his eyes round and unbelieving. A woman like no other woman came into view and stepped slowly and elegantly onto the far edge of the white stone circle as if emerging from behind a veil. She seemed to take an age to appear as if she knew the delay was an irritation to those who waited. But at last she stood in all her glory at the centre of the stone circle, the breeze rippling her wispy blonde hair. She was clad in a delicate fabric of silver that was so fine it almost wasn’t there. It floated in the air around her like tissue, revealing far too much of her amazing body. She was very tall, her shape a tantalisingly long and lithesome form. Her hips were gently curved and her waist was hardly thicker than a man’s arm. Her shoulders were her broadest feature. Like her body, her limbs were long and fine. Her long and supple legs were bare, and her tiny feet were encased in elegant shoes. And upon a long and graceful neck was a regal head with the most exquisite of features. The sylphlike figures that decorated the wooden panels around the room suddenly appeared heavy and clumsy.

  A delicate, blonde-haired nymph nearly seven feet tall looked down upon them and smiled.

  As they watched as if mesmerised, she held out her long arms and bent slightly forward. Her hands were small and elegant, but with fingers that were twice as long as the hand itself. Her fingers uncurled in a graceful movement that made them almost tentacle-like in appearance and she beckoned to Li-Sen-Tot.

  “Come to me, Li-Sen.”

  It was the voice of an angel.

  Li-Sen-Tot walked forward, took her tiny hands in his, and stepped onto the stone pad. They stood together in the centre of the circle, bathed in the sunlight, her slim form towering over his. He looked up at her exquisite face, uncaring.

  Ares laughed out loud. “Ha! The lure of a goddess can never be denied!”

  He stepped onto the stone circle next to them, and an instant later the scene vanished.

  The room was suddenly empty and cold, as if the life had gone out of the place.

  It was well into the afternoon but the sun was still high in the sky. It bathed the city of Metropolis in brightness and warmth as it lay in the sea at the edge of the island of Atlantis. It was a city built in an age of simplicity and understanding, where wealth, power and technology were reflected in art and ar
chitecture. The city was filled with temples and palaces, villas and gardens. All the buildings were rich and white, decorated with columns of marble. Carvings covered each grand building depicting heroes in battle, and gods in their might. And everywhere there were squares filled with statues and fountains. People came and went about their business, chariots pulled by teams of horses vied with carts for supremacy on the stone roads. And traders and merchants filled each square, rubbing shoulders with young women who chatted coyly in the sun with equally young men dressed for war.

  Metropolis was surrounded by a ring of water, like a moat around a castle. But the ring of water was much larger than a moat. In fact it was a wide circular canal large enough to allow the passage of ships. And beyond the canal was a farther ring of land filled with more buildings. These buildings were less grand than those in the centre, but they were no less imposing, nor were they any the less decorative. But they were more spread out, and the areas in between were filled with squares dotted with trees and olive groves. Here was the beginning of suburbia. Another wide circular canal surrounded this outer ring of land, and five times more a ring of water encircled a ring of land, until finally the open sea was reached. And through it all four wide and straight canals were cut, allowing the ships with their large sails and multiple rows of oars to pass through to the open sea. There they sailed to far off lands to ply their trade.

  On the land side of Metropolis was the causeway that led to the island of Atlantis proper. Like the rest of the city the foundations of the causeway were built from large square blocks of white, black, and red coloured stone. And the sides and parapets were richly decorated with carvings repeated in sequence. Upon this causeway ran a wide stone road that began at the square before the Senate. The road was wide enough to allow chariots and merchant’s carts to pass one another with ease, and it continued once the mainland was reached, passing through the large fertile plain that stretched to the mountains.

  The fertile plain was divided into separate square plots or fields, each owned and cultivated by a different family or co-operative. There were many villas dotted throughout the plain, and the road split into smaller roads that edged each square plot. Finally, the road disappeared into the foothills of the forest-clad mountains beyond.

  At the other end of the road, at the centre of Metropolis, was the Senate building. Large and architecturally beautiful, it resembled a large pyramid with the symbol of Atlantis at its peak, but this was in fact only the upper part of the building and roof. Here there were offices and meeting rooms. But beneath was the Senate proper. A large, open amphitheatre built from marble, the Senate was open on all sides to the outside, the pyramid above supported on great columns. It made it very airy and cool, even when full. Around the Senate were the palace apartments for the President and Senators, and other government buildings such as the power centre and The Great Hall of the Council War Room. This latter building housed the main Atlantian Ring Network Portal and the galactic map, a three-dimensional image of the heavens.

  Many of the palace apartments around the Senate had terraces. Li-Sen-Tot stood on one such terrace and looked out at the scene. His eyes squinted in the bright sun. He had always found the star here to be too bright, too bright and too hot. He could have avoided the sun by going with Ares to the Senate, or he could have gone inside, but something kept him out here on the terrace.

  Otrera stood a little distance away from him. She had her back to him. She was standing on her toes at full height, her arms out-stretched and her head tilted back, her face raised to the sun. Her fine golden hair cascaded from her head. It reached beyond her waist. And the fine silver dress she wore almost disappeared in the bright sunlight.

  The sight of her transfixed Li-Sen-Tot. She had such a delicately shaped and slight form that he could almost imagine the sea breeze carrying her off. He wanted so much to run his fingers through that fine hair, to embrace her tall but slim form.

  Otrera flexed her long fingers and then dropped her arms to her side and sank down from her toes.

  “It’s too hot here,” she said a little petulantly in her delicate voice. “And the air is too thick, and the gravity too strong.”

  Li-Sen-Tot nodded. “Ares told me that you found it uncomfortable here.”

  “Better to be uncomfortable than dead.”

  Li-Sen-Tot could resist no longer. He stepped forward and encircled her waist with his hands. His fingers met and overlapped on her stomach. “I am sorry, Otrera. Klysanthia should never have entered the war. I should have argued against it—”

  She turned in his grip, facing him and stopping him by placing her long fingers gently over his mouth. “Shh, now. The decision was correct, even if taken in haste. But the outcome would have been the same had we stood aside.” She removed her fingers from his mouth and stared into the distance as she continued. “The Keruh would have come to Klysanthia whether we stood against them or not. They enjoyed killing us. Alone we would have fallen to their axes much earlier. At least this way we put up more resistance, and with the Androktones to fight on in our place we will have the victory and the revenge that we crave.”

  When she had turned, Li-Sen-Tot had let his hands move down over her hips on to her bottom. Now he slowly moved his hands back up her long and sinuous body, moving them around to the front until they had reached her chest. Once there, he gently cupped her delicate breasts and looked up at her with the eagerness of a child.

  She looked down at him. “You wish to taste my flesh once again?”

  “How can I stand so close to you and not feel the power of your body?”

  “Yes, the power of my body,” she repeated almost sadly. “The pheromones we produce were necessary in the rarefied air of Klysanthia, or our males would have failed to find us in the night. It is an inheritance of our past made redundant by modern technology and civilised society. None-the-less it produces remarkable results in the males of other races. Ares, too, is overcome by my power.”

  Li-Sen-Tot looked surprised. “You have lain with Ares?”

  “We both gave seed for the generation of the Androktones. You knew of this. That we should spend time together was inevitable. Are you jealous?”

  Li-Sen-Tot nodded. “Bitterly so. Even though Ares is my friend, I could kill him at the thought of you and he together.”

  She laughed and stroked his baldhead. “Then take me to your bed, Li-Sen, before I make a murderer of you. Re-acquaint yourself with the taste of my flesh. Make me quiver with delight and gasp breathlessly in this thick air. For a short time let us both forget the horror we have faced and live for a few seconds in the arms of our dreams.”

  Men and women, gracefully attired and normally well mannered, argued like children on a street corner. They shouted and pushed at one another, their faces filled with anger.

  Ares stood amid the noise of the marbled amphitheatre of the Atlantian Senate and shouted above the raised voices.

  “Enough! What behaviour is this? Do I come to a tavern?”

  Aetolus, the Leader of the Senate, turned to him angrily. “Not a tavern, Ares! A cauldron! A cauldron of dissent and fear!”

  Ares was suddenly surrounded by his white robed countrymen, their anger clear on their faces as they gathered around him. Ares stood firm.

  “What fear? What dissent?” he demanded.

  There were more angry voices, all shouting at the same time. They blended into a blur of sound, the words lost to comprehension.

  Until this moment, a regal woman had sat silently at the edge of the amphitheatre. Now she rose to her feet and stepped forward. Aegina was the President of Atlantis. She had listened patiently as her Senators had argued and shouted. Now she would speak. As she stepped forward, the angry voices died around her. Elected for this purpose, and with the support of all in the Senate, there was none who would raise their voice above hers.

  Aegina stood before Ares. She spoke calmly, her voice soothing the nerves of those gathered aroun
d them in the Senate.

  “You spend far too much time away from Metropolis, Ares. You concentrate on the war, a war fought against enemies far from our shores. A war fought in favour of allies who have brought us great knowledge. But this knowledge now brings with it a great debt. The crop of our young men now die in the blackness of the night sky, their bodies lost forever to those who would mourn for them. And for what gain? Will our territories be increased? Will we receive greater trade and merchandise than already fills our ports? No. So why should we let our warriors die for this cause? Why send our ships so far from home? Why fight this war and risk the punishment the gods will send to us if we should lose?”

  Again voices were raised as the questions Aegina had asked were redoubled and reinforced. But of all the Senators in the amphitheatre it was Aetolus who was the most angered. His was the main voice against the war, and his emotion showed as he spoke again.

  “While we look to the heavens our enemies here begin to flex their muscles. In the east, Attica, Laconia and Thrace grow in stature, and the Persians increase their empire. And in the west, the Incas hinder our trade with surcharges and taxes that alter with the wind. Everyday our ships return with more stories of discontent and insolence!”

  The other Senators voiced their agreement once more. But it was Aetolus’s final words that turned their voices to a roar.

  Crashing his fist into his hand he shouted, “The Kraken should be here! Our enemies should quake in fear of her power!”

  Ares looked around at the shouting Senators, their fists raised and their faces angry. Finally he turned to Aegina.

  “Would you have me end this war?”

  His question caused the voices to fade and silence fell.

  Aegina turned away from Ares, her expression thoughtful. And when she finally spoke, it was with calmness and serenity.

  “We entered this war with noble sentiments. The Tun-Sho-Lok brought us connection to the Ring, and with that connection came great riches. They sought no favour or payment for this boon, only free access. This access we granted, and they came into our world and taught us about the heavens. In a short time we had entered through the portals, going boldly to other worlds like children leaving the farm for the great city for the first time. Since then we have prospered. Much of our empire is due to the knowledge we have learned. Our enemies fear us as they fear the gods. They have little understanding of the technology we have accepted, and they look on the alien visitors who travel from our shores in fear and trepidation.”

  She turned to face him once more.

  “I understand the fear of our people, Ares. The anger of my Senators is a reflection of that fear. Like them they understand and have accepted what has happened. But like the people beyond our shores, they are also filled with trepidation. In all honesty, we could continue to prosper through our access to the Ring, or disconnect it with little effect. We are now so high above those on our world that we could conquer them all and remain in complete power over them for thousands of years. But to what end? Could we be any more prosperous than we are now? Would the enslavement of others bring us greater happiness? So far we have been wise enough to show restraint. But this war is different.

  “If we should fail, if the Keruh Host should enter through the portal and Atlantis fall, then all of the world will fall too. Those who are innocent, those who have gained nothing, all will suffer the fate we would bring to them. Is this price worth our commitment to our allies? Aetolus is right. While the Kraken leads our mighty fleet to a distant war, those enemies much nearer to us would nibble at our empire. They act in ignorance of the fate that could overtake them. We could crush them in an instant. We can still crush them in an instant. But this is not the question. A war with the Persians means nothing to us. A war with the Keruh Host means everything. It is a war we must win. Will we win it, Ares?”

  Ares looked around at the expectant and worried faces of the Senators. It was no surprise to him that he should be faced with dissent on his return from Ephesus. It had been a hard war, a war fought in distant silence. How could he be angered by the fear of those whose loved ones never returned? But it was the fear of the unknown that was greatest among his countrymen. The reputation of the Keruh Host had reached here far sooner than the plea for help from the Tun-Sho-Lok. And yet they had still voted to give their support.

  Ares took a deep breath and stared into the eyes of Aegina. “This war is already won. The Androktones go from success to success, and the Keruh retreat before them—”

  Aetolus interrupted him. “If they are successful, why has Klysanthia fallen?”

  Ares turned to him. “The distances are too great to travel by ship. The Androktones must be landed through the portals. The Keruh closed the portal to Klysanthia before this could be done.”

  “The Keruh are not hindered by this problem. They have landed on Eden this very day.”

  “And the Androktones will soon follow!”

  Ares had raised his voice as the exchange with Aetolus had grown more heated. Their argument would have begun afresh, but Aegina calmed them both as she spoke again.

  “If we close the portal, neither friend nor foe can reach us by this route. Does the Kraken still lead our fleet to Eden?”

  Ares nodded, sensing what was to come. “It does, President.”

  “If she were to be recalled, how soon could she return to guard and protect our skies?”

  “Eight days. But if she were to return, the war will most certainly be lost.”

  Aetolus sensed victory. “But to whose loss?” he quickly added.

  Aegina paused. And while she considered her decision, another figure moved across the marble floor to take centre stage. It was Diomedes, the Centaur who stepped forward. His head and features were almost human, but it was as if they had melted and flowed in the heat. His rich brown eyes were more on each side of his lengthened head, his mouth and nose wider. And the thick and curly brown hair that crowned his head was like that of a lion. But if his head was strange, his body was even more so. He had a thick, sinuous body that was muscular and filled with strength. It was also very long. And the most remarkable thing about him was that he had six limbs. Although the front four limbs were actually all arms and hands, hands that were dexterous and sensual, the middle pair were much broader and tougher. Out in the open, or in buildings that suited his stature, Diomedes would stand on his hind legs stretched to his full height. But inside, like now, he would drop down onto all fours, his broad middle hands acting like extra feet. Even so, he still towered above them all. About the main part of his body he wore a heavy gown, and a rich jacket about his torso supplemented it. He came to stand before Aegina, his front two arms folded. His voice was deep and base, but his words were brief.

  “My government argued against entering this war. They, too, thought that they could continue their attachment to the Ring without commitment. Now my world burns and my people are scattered. Soon we shall be extinct, and only the memories of those on your world who once saw us will give evidence that we ever existed at all. Think wisely, Senators of Atlantis, or your people will follow mine into nought but legend.”

  The silence that followed was painful. All eyes were now on Aegina. She nodded at last and turned once again to Ares.

  “I made you God of this war, Ares, I and the Senate. The reason was simple, there is no other in our army who has commanded with such power, loyalty and success. No other has won so many victories over our enemies. Some have even called you the Stamping Horse of Atlantis, such is your reputation and prowess in battle. And it was because of your reputation that none opposed your appointment. But this war is different, Ares. For many months the people have lived with the losses. Ships have left never to return, taking with them fine young sons, loving husbands, and caring fathers. And while we mourned, the Tun-Sho-Lok built their fortress at Ephesus. Here they bred their demons and nurtured them. Now the time has come for the mourning and the waiting to ceas
e. If the Androktones are unsuccessful on Eden, if the Keruh Host are undefeated, then I will command our ships to return and the portals here and at Ephesus will be closed.”

  With her decision made, Aegina turned and swept out of the Senate. Her departure was accompanied by murmurs of agreement and even Aetolus bowed gracefully as she passed him.

  When he returned to the terrace, Ares was neither surprised nor jealous to find that Li-Sen-Tot and Otrera had retired together. In fact he would have been worried if they hadn’t. Rather than risk disturbing them, he stayed on the terrace, throwing himself on to one of the sofas. He pulled grapes from the bowl on the low table next to him and popped them one by one into his mouth. Here, lounging and eating, he watched the afternoon sun go down. And when it was low over the horizon, the lovers finally emerged.

  Ares looked up from his position stretched out full length on the sofa and laughed lasciviously when he saw them.

  “Ah! At last you are sated! I had wondered if you had killed one another in your ecstasy, that Li-Sen may have snapped you in his eagerness and was too embarrassed to show his face!”

  Otrera replied before Li-Sen-Tot could speak. “It is you that runs the risk of damaging me!” she accused Ares haughtily. “Li-Sen is far more gentle and caring, while you treat my body as you do the horses you ride!”

  Ares merely laughed louder. “Women, horses and goddesses! They must all be treated the same or the rider may end up being ridden!”

  Otrera made a show of turning her back on him. She sat herself down on another sofa. Li-Sen-Tot sat next to her. He looked across at Ares.

  “How many times have you ridden this goddess?”

  His serious expression caused Ares’s laughter to subside. Ares sat up.

  “Not as many times as I would wish, nor as many times as you. Do our liaisons anger you?”

  “They do.”

  “Then we will speak of it no more.”

  “And your liaisons will stop?”

  There was a pause. Finally Ares nodded his head gracefully.

  Otrera sighed. “Why are the males of other races so aggressive?” she declared with annoyance, her tone aloof and petulant. “Normally civilised men degenerate in an instant, and none seem concerned with my feelings or needs. I am no mere chattel, I will take the pleasure I need from whom I need and when I need. And if you should dispute this, then I will deny you both and seek my pleasure elsewhere.” She looked around at the descending sun. She held up her hands, her long fingers curling and flexing as if feeling the radiated heat. “It’s still too hot here!” she cried. And with that final statement, Otrera got to her feet and swept off the terrace, her silver dress flowing behind her like her hair.

  Ares and Li-Sen-Tot watched her go in equal amounts of surprise and dismay. Ares turned to Li-Sen-Tot.

  “For an Ambassador, you are not very diplomatic.”

  Li-Sen-Tot shook his head. “It is impossible to be diplomatic where Otrera is concerned.”

  Ares lounged back on the sofa. “And so it is with all the Klysanthians. They are not coy about their bodies, nor are they restrained in their liaisons. They burn with a fire that can only be experienced. Much mischief has been caused by her Royal House since their arrival, and I think Otrera herself has not been lax in joining in.”

  Li-Sen-Tot’s eyes widened with surprise. “She has lain with others?”

  “Let me just say that many of my men are tired and that their expressions are whimsical.”

  Li-Sen-Tot sighed. He suddenly felt foolish. He couldn’t understand why he had spoken so rashly. He could almost have come to blows with Ares, a man who was his closest friend. How could he behave like that? Like a child? It was as if his mind had been filled with fog, as if his only concern was the need to possess Otrera and deny the involvement of others. Now his mind felt so clear. He knew why, of course. It was because Otrera had left and the power of her body had gone with her.

  “It is as it should be,” he said with resignation. “I know from my life on Klysanthia that sexual restraint is a rare commodity there. Klysanthian males are non-sentient, so the idea of being faithful to one at the exclusion of others is meaningless.”

  “It is as impossible to harness a Klysanthian as it is to harness the wind,” Ares pointed out.

  Li-Sen-Tot nodded in understanding.

  “I am sorry for the way I spoke to you. Will you forgive me?”

  Ares smiled. “Your words are forgiven and forgotten—but be warned!” He sat up and held up his finger to emphasize his point. “If Otrera should seek her pleasure from me once again, I will be as unable to deny her as you would be in the same position. So if you challenge me again, I will split your head!”

  It was night. Li-Sen-Tot lay awake in his bed in the palace. He couldn’t sleep. All he could think about was what he had learned about the progress of the war.

  After Otrera had left, Ares had taken Li-Sen-Tot to The Great Hall of the Council War Room. Here Ares and his captains had showed him the galactic map, a huge metal frame in the shape of a globe that was sat on the back of a statue of a kneeling god. This was Atlas, once the patron god of Atlantis but now more of a figurehead than a deity. Projectors in the frame created a three-dimensional image of the galaxy that could be contracted to show the whole spiral, or expanded to show a single star system or planet. With the view contracted, different areas in the galaxy were coloured red, yellow and green. The green areas represented the territory under the control of the Tun-Sho-Lok and their allies, the red areas were those controlled by the Keruh, and the yellow were those territories so far unaffected by the war. The majority of the galaxy was coloured yellow. Red was the next largest area. The green area was shamefully too small.

  But the coloured areas didn’t tell the true picture. The Keruh had lost all of the most recent battles, their forces on the ground wiped out by the Androktones. Only their space fleets still held sway. They ruled space, but less and less of the planets that occupied that space now belonged to them. They were reduced to bombardment, destroying worlds that had previously been fought over so viciously. The Atlantian and surviving Klysanthian fleets strove to defend what they could, but it took time for ships to be moved from star system to star system. The distances were vast, and entire worlds could be reduced to a cinder before a ship had crossed half the distance to reach them.

  It was a problem faced equally by the Keruh as it was by the Tun-Sho-Lok. The Androktones could invade any occupied world at random through the Ring Network Portals, kill everything on the ground, and escape back through the portal before any Keruh ships could be brought up in time to give support.

  To alleviate the problem, ships were being transferred through network portals to speed up the journey times. But even when fleets finally faced one another, neither side was now confident of the outcome of a space battle unless their numbers were great enough to guarantee a victory. It meant that the progress of the war was dictated by the accessibility of worlds through the network portals and not by the speed and might of ships.

  Accessibility was another problem. The codes and protocols required to grant access to each portal were constantly being scrambled and changed by either side. Keruh technicians would add another descriptor only for the Tun-Sho-Lok technicians to circumvent it and then add their own. It was a tail chasing exercise at the cerebral level with the clock ticking constantly.

  The war was now becoming a race. The Keruh sought to replace what they had lost by conquering new worlds connected to the Ring while the Androktones swept through each occupied world behind them one after another, killing everything they found. And the time the Keruh had on each world depended on the time it took for the Tun-Sho-Lok technicians to break the access codes that would allow the Androktones to enter. Those times were getting shorter, but the race would only be over when one advancing tide overtook the other on some distant world.

  Eden was such a world.

  Ares had laid his plans
well. The arrival of the Keruh Host on Eden had been anticipated and even the treaty with the Edenite Government had been allowed for.

  Ares had used a light stick to pick out the sector in the galaxy. The view in the globe had instantly expanded until the Edenite system was displayed. Numbered markers in the three different colours identified the positions of ships and fleets in the area. Ares pointed them out with his light stick.

  “The Klysanthian Second and Ninth Fleets are already in the Edenite star system. They will eliminate the Edenite fleets before the Keruh can acquire them. The Keruh have four battle fleets on the way: The Telen’Gal, Mysan’Taf, Orly’Ank and Belol’Fan. They are still over a day’s journey away at maximum speed. By the time they get here it will be too late. They will be at the end of a long haul, and with the support of the Atlantian Fleet that pursues them, they will be in a well-prepared trap. Even if we don’t destroy them, we will break them as a force in this sector.”

  Li-Sen-Tot had been unimpressed. “Ships mean nothing without ports.”

  “And they shall have none here.”

  “The Keruh Host had already arrived when I left. Their invasion was unopposed. They may already control the landing fields at Kalahar and Nemen. That means they will have control of the Eden Defence Net.”

  “Good!” Ares had replied. “We want them to feel safe! We want them to complete their bridgehead. We want them down on the ground in their thousands, because that’s where they are at their weakest. On the ground. Man to man. Sword to sword.”

  “Tell that to the Klysanthians,” Li-Sen-Tot had said, imagining the smashed bodies of their female soldiers. The image still hurt his mind. “Tell that to your own men.”

  “The Androktones are more hardy,” Ares had replied with venom. “I have seen them fight. I have seen the hatred in their eyes. They possess the worst of us, in bodies spawned from the best of us. Your genetic scientists have created the perfect warrior, Li-Sen, pure of form and spirit, and unsullied by thoughts of remorse or self worth. They fight to the death, even when dismembered. They are a true punishment from the gods.”

  A true punishment from the gods.

  Li-Sen-Tot contemplated those words as he lay awake in the night. The Androktones had no remorse; they had no care for themselves or for others. They killed everything and everyone they considered to be an enemy, and for most of the occupied worlds where a treaty had been made with the Keruh, even under duress, that meant the indigenes population too. The Klysanthians might as well let the Keruh destroy each relieved planet, the result would be the same in any case: A dead world. His mind drifted back to the last correspondence he had received from Ares:

  ...THE ANDROKTONES HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT EDEN GOVERNMENT MAY CAPITULATE PRIOR TO KERUH INVASION. EDENITE FORCES WILL BE CONSIDERED HOSTILE...

  When the last of the Keruh Warriors on Eden fell, the Edenites would follow. But, of course, Li-Sen-Tot had always known that. That was why he had to be there.

  Ares walked boldly into Otrera’s bedroom. He hadn’t been invited, nor had he been announced. He scattered her Royal Guards about him as they attempted to restrain him. Despite their stern expressions and almost stark black uniforms, their combined strength was no match for him. He bellowed at them as they hung on to him, slithering along the floor on their heels while their voices tinkled angelically in protest. He was like a broad dwarf ploughing through a field of spindly nymphs.

  Otrera heard the commotion but didn’t look up. Her guards called out a warning to her and in response she raised her arm and waved her long fingers at them in an obviously dismissive gesture. One by one her Royal Guards bowed and melted away.

  Ares stood over her with his hands on his hips. He could never get used to the way Klysanthians slept, nor could he get used to their beds. Otrera lay naked on her back, floating in a shallow, oblong bath of water. Her arms were outstretched on either side of her and her hair fanned out around her head. She floated effortlessly on the surface, relaxed and content to have the water support her body and limbs in this heavy world. She appeared to be totally dry.

  Li-Sen-Tot once told him that it was something to do with a chemical that they secreted through their skin. It meant that they never broke the surface tension of the water, and that, and their tiny weight, allowed them to float on water without effort and to remain totally dry. What was also very noticeable as Otrera lay stretched out on the water was that, like all Klysanthians, she had absolutely no body hair.

  “Why do you disturb me at this early hour?” Otrera asked in a sleepy voice as she rolled over on to her side. Her shoulders and hips sank into the water, bending the surface to her shape as she bobbed gracefully up and down until the movement subsided. Her cheek was now resting on the water, her delicate nose and lips pushed against the surface, indenting it and curving it. Despite the pressure it remained intact, never threatening to stifle her breath.

  “Have you seen Li-Sen this morning?” Ares demanded.

  “No. Why should I? You were with him last.”

  “He is not in his quarters and no one has seen him. I fear for him, Otrera.”

  His final words were said with emotion and caused Otrera to awake fully at last. She turned on her back once more and then propped herself up on her hands, her long fingers spread out on the water. Her hair tumbled down behind her, the ends resting on the surface, still perfectly dry.

  “Is he aware of the plan?” she asked.

  “In essence he always was. It was only the details I explained to him last night. I fear he has returned to Eden. He was adamant that he wished to stay.”

  Otrera nodded slowly. “Yes, he will have returned as you surmise.”

  Ares grew angry, and he paced back and forth in her bedroom with obvious anxiety.

  “But why? For what reason could he wish to be there when the Androktones attack? It is a folly, a waste!”

  Otrera suggested the obvious answer. “Li-Sen has been the Ambassador there for many years, the Edenites are his friends as he is theirs, and it is often said that it is best to be killed by a friend than by an enemy.”

  “Noble sentiments, Otrera. But you and I both know Li-Sen far too well. The world he loved was your own. The memories of his life there, his frequent visits over the years, they are no secret to either of us.”

  Otrera smiled briefly. “The controls on his private RNP must be well worn. Yes, his trips to Klysanthia have been frequent, but the war stifled them. It is the first time I have seen him in many months. His mood is sombre; there is no joy in him. Even when we made love I could taste the melancholy in his body.”

  Ares had no reply. Otrera watched him pace back and forth. But the question she now asked him threw a tangent into his mind.

  “Where is Ro-An?”

  Ares stopped pacing and turned to face her. “Ro-An?” he repeated. “She returned to Cyclopia. Why ask about Ro-An?”

  “Because she and Li-Sen are the last of the Tun-Sho-Lok.”

  “Your words make it sound like no others of their race exist. This is untrue. Every world attached to the ring has an Embassy, and every Embassy has its Ambassador.”

  Otrera nodded. “Yes, an Ambassador on every world. And on some of those worlds other Tun-Sho-Lok may live among the aliens whose civilisation and life style they have adopted. Grouped together their numbers may be high, but scattered across the galaxy they are insignificant. Each lives isolated on a world far from their home. This has been the life of their choosing for many years. In the past it posed no threat. But now that their home world is lost, and the bulk of their race has perished, this way of life may prove to be their undoing.”

  Ares grew angry again. “But they choose to be apart!” he exclaimed. “Even at Ephesus only their genetic scientists remain in number. Kel-Cid-An is the only member of the Humeric Council who remains, and he takes no more interest in the running of the war! If truth be known, it is only we Atlantians who fight this war now!”

  O
trera smiled. “Do our ships not wait at Eden?”

  Ares turned away, deflated by her gentle reminder. “Yes, they wait,” he said more softly. “But there are times when I feel very much alone. This war was their war, and now, when victory seems close at last, they seem uninterested.”

  “You must forgive them, Ares. Much has been lost, and it is difficult to imagine the pain in their minds. Even my suffering cannot match it. My beautiful Klysanthia is lost, but my people survive together in enough numbers to make a future possible, if we should grasp it, and the fact that we can interbreed with those of your own race is an added bonus. For Li-Sen, Ro-An and the others of the Tun-Sho-Lok who survive, there are no such possibilities. In each case their behaviour will be the same. Each will return to the planet that was their home for many years. Li-Sen and Ro-An have already gone, and Kel-Cid-An and the others at Ephesus will do the same in time. Each will depart and fade away. Each will seek the future of their choosing.”

  There was an uncomfortable pause while Ares considered what that choosing might be. Otrera climbed from her sleeping bath, her feet bending the surface of the water so deeply as she stood up that they reached the bottom. She began to dress, selecting each item with a curling and flexing of her long and sinuous fingers. It was as if she were selecting sweets from a platter. First came her underwear, an item of tiny proportions that only revealed its shape when it was about her hips. Next came a simple gown of delicate gold that left her shoulders and arms bare. The gown was also very short, leaving much of her long legs equally exposed. The tiny shoes she put on her feet were a dainty framework with little strength or covering. Everything she wore was designed to cover as little of her body as was possible. Ares watched her dress in fascination, keeping silent until she had finished.

  “You think they will throw their lives away, at the moment of our victory?” he finally asked her.

  She turned to him, now towering over him by at least a foot. “The victory you speak of is hollow when the price is as great as theirs. You should already know this. Your ignorance is a sign of your insensitivity and narrow-mindedness. You concentrate too much on the strategy of war and not on the suffering it causes.”

  Ares sighed in acceptance of the truth. But how could he do anything else? The war wouldn’t wait. “Now my worry is increased. But I will heed your advice. I will speak with Kel-Cid this day, and I will contact Cyclopia and have them check on Ro-An. Contacting Li-Sen is more problematical. His private portal on Eden is offline and our technicians are unable to open it, and the main portal is about to be otherwise engaged.”

  “And that may be another reason for Li-Sen’s behaviour,” Otrera pointed out.

  “Another reason?” Ares was suddenly suspicious, and what Otrera told him didn’t ease his mind.

  “The blood that flows through their veins may belong to you and I, Ares, but the Androktones belong to the Tun-Sho-Lok. The instincts that have been programmed into their minds were done so at the very moment that Lokana was falling. The Tun-Sho-Lok were aware of their imminent extinction. It was a powerful moment. We can only imagine what other purposes the Androktones may have been programmed with. It is more than likely that Li-Sen will be fully aware of these purposes. As you said, it is their war not ours, we are merely their allies. And it may well be that his presence on Eden when the vanguard of the Keruh Host are finally trapped on one world with the Androktones may not be by his own choosing.”