Shadows of Golstar (58 page)

Before long, a steward knocked discretely at the door.
Having been given permission to enter, a lanky young man in an immaculate white
tunic walked into the room, pushing a food-laden cart before him.

Her father smiled at her surprised expression, “I
anticipated this would take some time, so I took the liberty of arranging in advance,
a light supper to fortify us through the rest of the evening.”

The smells wafting from the food whetted her appetite.
She was hungrier than she had realized. “Truly, you are the Grand Patriarch,”
she teased.

They smiled, and then allowed the steward to serve
them. Their meal was eaten in companionable silence. When Sharné confessed she
could eat no more, her father signaled again for the steward. He arrived
quickly, cleared the plates with silent efficiency and after leaving a fresh
pot of tea and decanter of wine, departed just as speedily.

Holding a glass of his favorite wine, her father said,
“If you are ready, please continue.”

Sharné once more took up the thread of the story. She
described the
Holmes’
screaming entry into Selane’s atmosphere and
continued on through to the attack of the teddy bear-like animals.

“I did not know that I raised a warrior,” he chuckled.
“It took courage to fire on that pack of predators.” His voice sobered, “You
saved his life and in doing so, saved our people’s future. You must be tired of
hearing me say this, but I must do so again. I am very proud of you.”

His praise made her blush, “Really Father it just
happened. I did not have time to think... I simply reacted.”

She then paused looking at her father. “Father, did
the admiral inform you of the location on Selane where he found us?” Her
nervousness returned.

He took a sip of his wine. “As a matter of fact, he
did. I did find it curious that you ended your trek near the old and revered
shrine established during the Founding.”

She studied him as he spoke the words in a
matter-of-fact manner. To her eyes, he gave no indication of anything other
than a look of mild curiosity.

This was her opportunity, she thought. Soon, the
damning disclosures of the Controller and the spheres would be brought to
light. She would leave nothing out except her interactions with Owens. With
this resolve, she returned to her story.

She began describing Owens’ sudden unexplained
sensations of being observed, being drawn to the location of the shrine. Her
father asked no questions, his expression unremarkable. So she continued
without interruption, next describing the attack that apparently took Owens’
life, all the while darting furtive glances to gauge her father’s reaction. He
still seemed unaffected by her narrative.

It was not until she began to describe her miraculous
transportation into the underground complex did she notice a change in him. His
eyes took on a hardness she had rarely seen before and his lips became
noticeably thinner as if he were pressing them tightly. Seeing her father’s
suppressed reaction, her nervousness returned. It became harder for
Sharné
to speak. Her mouth had become dry and she began
to stumble over her words. Finally, she finished the tale. Her father did not
say a word during this last, most incredible part of her story.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, his
expression relaxed. Taking a sip of his wine, he gazed abstractedly out the window.
Without looking at her, he said, “Well, that was hardly the manner in which I
would have chosen for your introduction into our most closely kept secret.”

“A secret you kept from me,” she said quietly.

He looked at her, studying her face. With a rueful
note in his voice, he said, “That particular revelation was not to be revealed
for a few years yet to come. I had hoped to have you better prepared.” He
sighed, “But I suppose what is done, is done.”

“Preparation for what exactly, Father? I am, after all,
a grown woman. I hold the office of Keeper of the Way with all the requisite
training to execute the office’s responsibilities. What more preparation could
I possibly require?”

He looked pained. “Your high position notwithstanding,
your education was less than it might have been. You have not been inculcated
with the Doctrine of the Mysteries.”

She could not keep the surprise out of her voice, “The
Doctrine of the Mysteries? What is this doctrine? I confess this is the first
that I have heard of it.”

“It is well that you have not. It is restricted to
those who have gone through the prescribed rituals and oaths. They may speak of
it, but only within the circle of those initiated. To speak of the Mysteries
outside of the circle would lead to the severest of consequences. Given the
nature of your recent exposure to them, I may exercise a certain degree
latitude.”

Sharné looked down at her hands. “May I ask who are
the initiated?”

“Of course, given what you now know, it is
appropriate. Key members of all the ruling families undergo the initiation.”

“I still fail to understand, Father. Why was I not
included?

“That is a story of its own and it is best put aside
for another, more appropriate time.” The royal command in voice was
unmistakable. “This current discussion has progressed as far as I will allow.
You will learn more soon; however, it will be when I deem it appropriate.”

She felt her own temper begin to flare. “I see, but I
have already gained more knowledge, Father.”

The sudden hardness in his voice was evident. “Oh?”

“Yes,” she answered. She knew that she continued to
tread on dangerous ground, but she would not back down. “I believe I understand
more than the Controller may have intended to reveal.”

He just looked at her, his stern expression fading.
His face was now shaded towards that of mild interest.

Breathing a little easier, she told him of Owens’
experience with the Controller and mood-altering function of the glowing
sphere. “Father, it looked identical to the smaller light globes found aboard
our ships’ chapels.” She hesitated. “In fact, the Grand Light globe we have in
the Cathedral of Light looks the same but just on a far greater scale.”

“I see,” he said slowly. “And what conclusion do you
draw from this?”

 “To me, it appears obvious. The Orbs of the
Light, the very symbols of our faith are not truly inspirational icons, are
they, Father? Rather, they must be instruments of control, designed by
non-humans, are they not?”

He did not answer, a look of mild consternation his
only reply.

She rushed on, “The globes transmit subliminal sounds
and radiation, do they not? These emanations somehow influence the human mind.
When worshipers talk of revelation or healing, they trust that it has come from
the Light, the sacred spirit of the Light of the Way.” She hesitated, fearing
his reaction.

Finally she said, “But that cannot be true, can it,
Father? Given what I have so recently learned, it cannot. Instead, those
feelings of comfort and hope are false. They are artificially generated and
must originate from a cold unfeeling machine, an alien construct.” Her last
words came out more bitter than she had intended. She searched his face for a
reaction and was crestfallen to observe no surprise or even a hint of regret.

He raised his hand to halt her next words, “You must
be careful Sharné, so very careful.” There was genuine concern in his voice.
“You truly know little of what you now speak. Your brief glimpse during your
stay on Selane has provided you nothing of the true nature of the circumstances
by which we live. You must not allow incomplete information and superfluous
emotionalism cloud your mind’s eye. As my daughter, as the Keeper of the Way, I
would expect this of you.”

She stood up. “Then please tell me, Father, tell me.
Tell me that the alien machines are not used to control peoples’ minds. Please,
help me to understand.”

He rose from his chair. His expression softened.
 
“I cannot, at least not now, at this very
moment. There are more urgent matters that require my immediate attention.”

She cried in consternation, “What could be more
urgent?”

He looked her in mild surprise. “Why surely you must
already know.” He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, “Think a moment,
daughter. Think about all of what you have just told me.” He opened his eyes
and again looked at her.

She was at first confused, and then belatedly it
dawned on her what she had just revealed. Amidst all of her recent adventures,
budding romance and subsequent revelations, she overlooked the most obvious
outcome from sharing their experiences on Selane.

He nodded, “Ah, so you do begin to see it. The urgent
matters of which I speak are all related to our newly arrived guest, Janus
Owens. He, a citizen of Confederated Planets, has been exposed to our most
precious secret. A secret, were it to be revealed, would tear our society
apart; a secret so vital that should he inform his government of it; our very
survival would be threatened.”

She looked at him, unable to find any words.

He gave her a look of real regret. “This series of unfortunate
circumstances has effectively bound my hands in this matter.”

She knew where this was leading, but she forced
herself to ask anyway, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, through no fault of your own, your decision
to land on Selane has ultimately forced me to abandon my plan altogether.” He
shook his head sadly. “Instead of being allowed to conduct the investigation to
recover the stolen statue, a mystery of my own device, Janus Owens must now be
immediately placed in custody and kept in total isolation until I can determine
what next must be done.”

He smacked his fist into his palm, “To have come so
far in achieving our goal only to now find that all of our plans are rendered
useless is… distressing to say the least.”

He looked at her, his face now infused with a look of
impotent anger. He then rose, turned and walked out of the sitting room,
slamming the door behind him. He did not witness his daughter collapsing into
her chair, a look of growing horror marring her perfect features.

● ● ●

The Grand Patriarch strode angrily down the hall, his
two guards trailing him at a discrete distance. Fuming, he thought of all the
wasted time, resources and lives that had been expended in the name of the
plan, his plan.
 
For a moment, he
considered that perhaps Talin had been right. He had proposed straight-forward
abduction over the elaborate ruse. However, the notion quickly passed.

No, he thought. The chance of discovery had been too
great. It was better that they made the overt request to Confederated Planets
with a well-hidden agenda. ‘Hiding in plain sight’ was the ancient term. Yes,
his approach was far better than chancing even the remote discovery of a
kidnapping perpetrated by agents of Golstar.

Granted there had been some illegal activities
conducted, but the necessary data thefts had been executed with minimal risk
since his agents were conditioned to vaporize themselves in the event that
anything went wrong. In activities where Janus Owen was directly involved, such
a drastic measure as a kidnapping could not be considered and the increased
risk of injury to Janus Owens had such an attempt failed was simply too great.

But the Grand Patriarch had not foreseen the mutiny
and attack on the
Light Saber.
Janus Owens and his daughter had come so
very close to death. He had first thought it providential they had landed on
Selane. It was a key factor to their ultimate survival. Unfortunately, there
was also an unforeseen price of that survival. Janus Owens and his daughter
stumbled onto Golstar’s ultimate secret. 

His elaborate plans were rendered useless with their
unintentional discovery of the underground complex. He was thankful at least
that the Controller had intervened. But why had it revealed itself? The Compact
should have prevented such an admission, yet his daughter said that the
Controller had referenced the Compact as its rationale to intercede. This
mystery could wait; his more immediate concern was how to handle this new
situation.

His pace increased as his mind wrestled with the
problem. There still might be a way to salvage the ultimate goal. Some elements
of his grand strategy would have to be accelerated. However, his unique plan
for Owens would be abandoned altogether. All pretenses for requesting Janus
Owens as a private investigator would be dropped.

He came to a quick resolution. Yes, he thought, it
should be a simple matter. Janus Owens will send a ‘progress report’ to
Confederated Planets. In it, he will indicate the assignment was found to be
most difficult and therefore taking longer than anticipated. Later, it would be
reported that Janus Owens had met with an unfortunate, but fatal accident.

Of course Confederated Planets would not believe the
lie for a moment, but coupled with the initial delay resulting from Janus
Owens’ status report, a comfortable interval should still be achieved. That
should allow for sufficient time to prepare against the possible reprisals from
Confederated Planets, if they were to rediscover their courage and decide to
act.