The Terran Mandate (7 page)

Guardians

Shoahn'Fal struggled up the last rise
between him and the valley where the Pyramid stood. Its blue aura of light rose
just above the top of the rise, promising him his prize. Driven on by the
seething hatred growing inside him and his unslakable thirst for revenge, he
dragged the case through the sand as he pushed down on his walking stick to
take another aching step towards the top. His mind was fully immersed in the
forbidden as Dren'Vil consumed his very soul. He had already lost control of it
all and seemed to be more a servant of its will rather than his own. But it
seemed so right, that he gave into it now and swam freely in its currents. The
forbidden told him to take another step even as his body screamed for rest,
just a moment of respite from the searing pain cutting through his muscles. He
dug the stick into the sand. He dragged the case along. He took another step.

Cresting the hill, he fell to his knees
as he looked down into the valley and saw the Pyramid standing as he had left
it so many years ago. It was as if time had not passed. The blue glow permeated
its surface, telling him it was still alive. His eyes wandered to the base,
where he saw the shallow alcove etched into its side leading to a sealed
portal. Nobody had ever really known what was behind it. Until now, they hadn't
known how to open it, either. Until now, nobody had even thought of doing such
a thing. It was forbidden. His parched throat croaked when he scoffed at the
thought. The forbidden had become a gateway to a newfound power he never knew
existed. Why he had believed it was something to be hidden and controlled he no
longer understood. He now knew that the forbidden made his the true heart of a
Shoahn'. This is who he was. This is who his people had been long ago. A twinge
of sadness ran through him when he realized this is all they would ever be and
that it was too late to save the rest. For that, the humans were going to pay -
all of them.

His eyes scanned the ground around the
Pyramid and his heart sank when he saw them. Eleven of the human walking war
machines stood neatly in three groups next to the pyramid. Humans were
scattered around them, working under the lights they had erected on thin poles
to look down on the machines. Another group with weapons slung over their shoulders
walked past the portal he had come to open and then turned to walk along the
side of the Pyramid.

He was suddenly aware of how tired he
was. The pain that had consumed him now became a dull numbness that made him
feel so heavy he didn't know if he could stand back up. He let go of the case
and reached into the ragged sack slung over his shoulder. He pulled out the
last morsel of clay root that he had brought with him and gnawed its tough hide
to release the scant juice inside and let it trickle down his throat. A part of
his old self flickered inside him, thankful that the Shoahn' could extract far
more strength from a bit of clay root than the human invaders. What they needed
to live for a day would carry him for seven. Next, he pulled out the plastic
bottle of water that he had stolen from the Terran Guard compound before
entering the Fallen. This, too, would last him far longer than it would have
for any human. The bottle was nearly empty, but he only drank half, saving the
rest for the next day.

He turned away from the Pyramid and sat
quietly in the sand, letting the nourishment revive him until he felt strong
enough to stand up. As his strength returned, the glimmer of his old self faded
and the Dren'Vil returned, stoking his vow to kill every last human left on his
world. But it told him something else, as well.

He needed them to help him do it.

Allies

General Godfrey stopped in front of the
door to the interrogation bunker to smooth over the front of her utility dress
blouse. She glanced at her boots, which reflected the Shoahn'tu sun in their
black sheen. A beige beret sat perched on top of jet black hair cut to length
just below her jaw line. The Terran Guard sergeant standing next to her was
just as immaculate, right down to the fresh oil he had used to clean the action
of the weapon slung over his shoulder. He carried a thin black briefcase in his
right hand.

"Alright," she said.
"Let's go." The sergeant leaned forward and tapped a code into the
numeric keypad next to the door. He stepped back and General Godfrey placed her
hand on the small screen next to the pad. After a moment, the pad chimed, indicating
that the code was correct and that it recognized her palm print. Steel latches
flipped back and the door, made from a full inch of steel plating, eased back
automatically on well-oiled hinges.

The room was lit just enough that she
could see everyone clearly, but just dim enough to give anybody brought in for
questioning a vague sense of uncertainty. The floor was shined to a high gloss
and the walls, sloping outward towards the ceiling, were painted in a flat
gray. A stainless steel table took up the center of the room, with two armed
soldiers standing against the wall behind it. A man dressed in black field
utility dress and wearing a side arm stood up when she entered.

"Ten 'hut" he hollered,
stiffening his stance.

General Godfrey stopped mid-stride,
staring at the Shoahn' sitting in a metal chair at the far end of the table. He
was slumped over, staring at the brushed steel case sitting on the table in
front of him. His snout was curled out as he purred softly with a submissive
cooing.

"Shoak'tra 'Val," she said in
the Shoahn' language.

He looked up at her and returned the
greeting. "Shoak'tra 'Venal."

She stepped up to the table and studied
his face, noticing a faint dark blush on one side.

She looked at the man still standing at
attention. "What's that?," she asked, pointing at Shoahn'Fal's face.

"He wouldn't answer any of our
questions, General."

She stepped sideways to stand just
inches from the man. He was taller than she was and she had to look up into his
face as she spoke. "The first Shoahn' we've seen in twenty years, and you
felt the need to interrogate him?"

"We didn't think there were any
left -"

"Nobody thought there were any
left," she interjected, raising her voice.

"We had to make sure he wasn't
-"

"Oh my God, are you all six kinds
of stupid?" she blurted.

"General, we were following
procedure. He's not injured."

"We're supposed to protect these
people, not beat them!" she said, raising her voice even further.

"I was following procedure,
General."

A look of shock flashed across her face
and she stepped back. "Get the hell out of my briefing room,
Captain," she demanded.

"General, I think it would be
better -"

General Godfrey whipped her sidearm from
its holster and pointed it at the man. "Oh wow, you've invented a whole
new kind of stupid. Get the fuck out of my briefing room!" The man opened
his mouth to say something, but stopped short and bolted for the door when she
pulled the hammer back on her pistol.

"You, there in the back," she
said. "I want a full report on what happened here from the moment this
Shoahn' walked in the door."

"Yes ma'am", the guards said
in unison.

"Dismissed." The guards strode
stiffly towards the door without another word.

Godfrey and her sergeant stood alone,
watching Shoahn'fal as he continued to coo. She cocked an ear, listening for
the nuances in his voice. She detected a pattern, straining to recognize it.
Her eyes flew open when she realized who he was.

Speaking in his language, she said,
"
You are a priest
."

"
Yes
."

"
Have you had service
?"

Looking up from the table, he said,
"
Not in a very long time
."

"
We have a temple."

"You are too
kind."

"Would you like to take
a meal?  I can have something brought for you."

"Perhaps later."

She hadn't spoken to a Shoahn' since she
was a buck lieutenant and had forgotten how excruciatingly polite they could
be. Despite his words, she could tell he was tired, hungry, thirsty and in
great pain.

"
We are honored by your presence
and I must ask that you forgive me, but we have to be sure."

"I understand."

"Go ahead Sergeant." He placed
the case he was carrying on the table and opened the lid to expose a clear
fragment of oblong crystal with a myriad of haphazard facets. She walked along
the table, sliding the case along with her. She slid the crystal in front of
him and said, "
Please."

Shoahn'Fal nodded and wrapped his
leathery fingers around the crystal, his claws scraping the surface as he did
so. He closed his eyes and unfurled his snout to its full length and began with
a low droning coo that immediately caused a soothing sensation to wash through
her. She had forgotten about this as well and realized she greatly missed the
Shoahn'. As he filled the room with the ancient voice of the priesthood, the
crystal began to glow. At first, a few specks of blue light fluttered inside
and then started to swirl. As his cooing grew louder, the flecks coalesced and
came together until a dull haze of blue light formed a perfect sphere inside
the crystal.

Godfrey stared at the light, unable to
look away. Slowly, the room around her began to fade and she felt herself
falling into the light until she was surrounded by a universe that went on
forever. Time stopped and her mind became one with a great expanse of
nothingness that was beyond everything. Her mind settled into it and she felt
herself swimming in a pure state of peace.

Shoahn'Fal stopped his drone and the
light faded. The room around her shuddered back into place and she heard
herself gasp. The place her mind had been retreated into a thin point on edge
of her consciousness, and then was gone, like a forgotten dream.

Godfrey squinted and shook her head,
shaking of the effects of the crystal. "
Are there any more like you?
"
she asked.

"
No
," he lied.

She carefully closed the lid and slid
the case towards the sergeant, who stepped next to her and removed it from the
table.

She eyed the case Shoahn'Fal had brought
with him. "
What have you brought?"
she asked. When she reached
for his case, Shoahn'Fal quickly placed his hand on it and slid it to the side.

He gently scratched it with a claw and
then pulled it towards him and flipped it open. He turned the case around so
she could see the contents. "
These are the Old Scrolls
," he
said.

"
I've heard of them
."
She studied Shoahn'Fal's face more closely now. He had to be old, even by
Shoahn' standards, and she couldn't help wonder if sanity abandoned the mind of
old men for the Shoahn' just as it did for humans. She studied the contents of
the case, which looked like an old MFD display replacement for one of the older
jumpjets. She looked at the sergeant, who simply shrugged. She decided the
kindest thing was to humor the old priest. It wouldn't bring any harm and if it
made him feel important, she could call an old piece of forgotten avionics the
Old Scrolls.

"
May I show you
?" he
asked.

"
But of course
," she
said with mock enthusiasm. "
What do they say
?" The boredom
that was starting to set in halted abruptly when he touched the screen and it
lit up showing the blue triangle. Her first thought was to wonder how the thing
could possibly still have power. When he touched one of the buttons on the bezel,
the page changed to something written in a language that looked vaguely
familiar but that she could not recognize. He touched another button and the
device revealed another page showing a graphic of the Pyramid. Godfrey's
boredom vanished entirely and she felt a new sensation clutching at her chest
as adrenalin surged through her. He touched another button to reveal a line
drawn from a section of the Pyramid to a list written with the symbols that
were tantalizingly familiar, but still inscrutable. He touched another button
to reveal a list accompanied by simple graphics depicting several different
objects: oblong, short, long, square, boxy, round. Each had a label underneath
depicting what it was. When he touched another button, her heart stopped. The
page showed a topographical map with a red circle in the center. A series of
concentric circles expanded out from the first: orange, red, white and finally
a black circle that was too large to fit on the page.

"
What is this
?" she
hissed.

"
These, General, are the Old
Scrolls. They are a catalog of what's inside the Pyramid
."

Godfrey's eyes widened in disbelief.
"
And what's that
?" she asked, pointing to the black card
nestled next to the tablet.

Shoahn'Fal tapped lightly on its surface
and said, "
This, General, is the key to rule the world
."

Her voice was barely a whisper. "
It
unlocks the portal.
"

"
That is correct
."

"
Why are you bringing this to me
?"
she asked.

"
Your Terran Guard is sworn to
protect the Shoahn'
," he said. "
And even though you have
failed, you have come to understand us. In you, my people are preserved by the
observance of their culture, a respect for who they were. You are now as close
to being Shoahn' as anybody could be without being one of us
."

"
I'm afraid we're a little less
polite than your people
."

He tapped the rim of the case. "
It
seems we were once a little less polite, as well. This is the Ancient
Technology from the Time Before. Reading the Old Scrolls, I have come to
understand who we once were. We did not adopt the way of the Shoahn' as you
know it because of our kind nature
." He leaned forward and gazed into
her eyes. She felt something touch her consciousness, something that seethed
with anger, and then it was gone. "
We became who we are in order to
survive
."

"
Show me
," she said.

Shoahn'Fal nodded and the mouth beneath
his snout widened into a leathery grin. "
Of course. But there is one
more thing you need to understand. Your human friends with the walking war
machines have set up guard around the Pyramid
."

Godfrey leaned back and let out a sigh.
"
Do they know about this
?"

Shoahn'Fal thought back to his first
tantrum and how his initial indulgence of Dren'vil must have touched the
priestesses he had left behind. "
They might know it's important, but
they can't know what's inside. Only the Old Scrolls tell us that
."

"
How long do you need to open
this portal
?" she asked.

"
But moments
."

Godfrey stood up and started pacing.
"
It's not enough to just seize the Pyramid; we have to hold it. And
then we have to figure out how to use whatever's inside without the Colonial
Marines getting wind of what we're up to
." She sat back down and
pointed at the tablet. "
I need to understand everything that's in there
if we're going to figure out how to make this work
." She kept her hand
suspended in the air, pointing, waiting for him to respond. "
I need you
to trust me
."

She saw the antennae on his head ripple
for just an instant and then settle back down as a grin once again enveloped
his face. "
Of course, General. Let me show you
."