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NOT so long ago, in another creation of God…. A strong wind was blowing across the grassy plains where the Guniran province was located. Of all of the habitable planets of creation the planet Kosiva was the most sparsely populated, yet one of the most beautiful. With mild climates across most of its land mass and its longer growing seasons, Kosiva was as near a paradise as one could find among the habitable planets. And most important of all to the Guniran clansmen that resided there, it was spared from the ravages of the war.
The province consisted of primarily small homes packed around a small metropolitan area. There were a number of larger structures located there including the Council chambers for the province.
The delegates from the Guniran council seated themselves inside the ornate council chambers; inside one of the larger two story buildings located in the Guniran province. The delegates all wore similar apparel consisting of tan trousers and shirts with a long waist coat that was open in front below the waist, even when buttoned. The borders of the garments were embellished with an intricate pattern of darker material. They all wore brimless caps upon their heads and they had the air of politicians, which made Tiet uneasy.
Politics was a dirty sort of business for the most part with much scheming and backstabbing usually taking place. Tiet preferred open combat in a warrior’s uniform with clearly defined enemies and a sturdy blade to the sort of dress he was made to wear today. Mirah had insisted that he dress formally for the meeting, since so much depended on its successful outcome. She had selected for him, a dark blue semi-formal suit that had been purchased in one of the province’s shops. It was similar in style to the delegate’s attire and Tiet didn’t like it, but he was consenting so long as Wynn and Grod were made to wear the same. With dark wavy locks hanging on his high, tight collar and his olive skin, Tiet was handsome in the attire but terribly uncomfortable. He wasn’t and never would be a politician.
Tiet, Wynn and Grod took their seats and a beverage was poured for each of them by a servant. “Thank you,” said Tiet.
He picked up the wooden cup with its intricate carvings along the rim and took a sip—it tasted quite good, but he wasn’t familiar with what it was.
“Gumji,” said one of the delegates as he took a drink from his own cup.
“Excuse me?”
“Gumji. It is made from one of Kosiva’s native plants,” said the delegate whose name was Onnell. “It has medicinal properties.”
“Ah… my wife is a physician—she might be interested in knowing more about it,” said Tiet.
This small talk would soon become an annoyance. Tiet wanted to get straight to the matter. “Gentleman, now that you have consented to our staying in the area near the province, I would like to discuss the possibility of enlisting some of your people to aid us in a permanent dwelling for our group,” said Tiet.
“And what would you pay our laborers with?” asked one of the other delegates.
Tiet noticed a hint of sarcasm in the man’s voice—he didn’t look pleased to be meeting with them.
“I’m sure we could come to some sort of arrangement,” said Wynn.
“The fact of the matter is you don’t really have anything of value that we would be interested in,” said Onnell.
Clearly the small talk and pleasantries are over, thought Tiet.
“The only reason that we have consented to this meeting is because of Aija’s influence,” said Onnell.
“Who is this, Aija?” asked Tiet.
“He is the prophet of Elithias, The Eternal One,” replied one of the other delegates. “He instructed us to meet with you, as the king of the Barudii.”
“Well, that’s fine,” said Tiet. “So why do we appear to have a problem if your prophet has told you to meet with us?”
“The problem, Master Soone, is that we know who you are,” said Onnell. “We are afraid of the trouble that follows you.”
“And what trouble might that be?” asked Grod. The dark skinned warrior was formidable looking and his deep voice filled the chamber when he spoke. He was large and looked like his muscles would burst out of the Guniran suit at any moment.
The delegates looked coyly at one another and then Onnell continued speaking only to Tiet. “You are the king that fought and defeated the army of the Baruk and now your planet is under the control of the same being that controlled their clan for so long. It is very apparent; you barely escaped the planet with your lives.”
“We are not warriors here,” continued another Guniran clan delegate. “We cannot fight an army if they come to Kosiva looking for you.”
“I assure you, gentlemen, it is not our intention to place you and your people in danger. I am the Barudii king in the stead of my father. I returned from exile to avenge my fallen clan, but the time was right to form a rebellion against the Vorn, so we did so and we won. The Baruk answered this defeat of the Vorn with an attack on the twin Castai. It was only with General Grod’s help that we were able to defeat the Baruk, but that is when their leader, this symbiotic creature, escaped and began a fifteen year assimilation of much of the population on Castai.” said Tiet. “We came to Kosiva on the run from whatever has taken over the bodies of our people on Castai. This is true, but what else could we do?”
“You see Councilmen,” said Grod, his voice commanding their attention, “We had peace. This was all due to the efforts of the King. Tiet is not some war monger who is trying to bring the conflict to your planet. He made peace with me and my Horva brothers, recognizing our struggle for freedom. We, in turn, assisted him against the Baruk. It could not be helped that the creature escaped and later overran the twelve cities. We made every attempt to stop the takeover, but we were simply outnumbered.” Grod’s presence, with a large muscular build and his dark skin, seemed to be unsettling to the Councilmen, though they would not admit it. They knew of the Vorn and Horva only in the sense of the war, as enemies.
“If I may, Councilmen,” said Wynn, his voice more calm than the others, “Our way of escape from the planet is the key to the matter.”
“I don’t follow you,” said Onnell.
“You see, we utilized General Grod’s transgate portal technology, found only on our ship, the Equinox. It would be extremely unlikely that this creature would make any attempt to follow us and more importantly, it doesn’t know where we have escaped to.”
Tiet was growing nervous. The thought was ever present in his mind; his own son carried one of the symbyte creatures inside his body. “So, you see, gentlemen, there really shouldn’t be so much concern,” said Tiet.
“I understand your dilemma, Master Tiet, but please understand ours,” said Onnell. “We are simple people; farmers and merchants. We came here to Kosiva to escape the war. We wanted no part of it then and we want no part of it now. This province is all that we have.”
“Perhaps we should just leave Kosiva altogether then,” said Tiet, frustrated. “We had hoped for peace ourselves, but it appears you are unwilling to grant our petition to stay among your people.”
“We are not saying that you have to go,” said Onnell. “Your suggestion might ultimately be the best solution, but we have been commanded by the prophet not to send you away. In fact, Aija himself desires to meet with you.”
“Where is Aija then?”
“He lives on the mountain of Honnib,” said Onnell. “Aija has sent a messenger proclaiming his desires with regard to your group. He expects to meet with the Barudii king in approximately three months from now and he has instructed us to pay you the kindest hospitality. He claims it by the will of Elithias.”
“Well, this is more like it,” said Tiet under his breath as he looked sideways at Grod. “We would—“
Tiet’s com-link pin beeped on his collar. “Yes,” he spoke chin down toward the pin.
“Tiet, it’s Kale!” said Mirah. She was nearly hysterical.
“Mirah, what’s wrong?”
“Kale—he’s gone—he’s run away through the transgate!”
“Calm down, Mirah, I’m on my way now,” said Tiet. He stood to his feet addressing the Gunirans, “Gentlemen, I have an emergency—we’ll have to continue this at a later time.”
“But we have more details that must be worked out before we—“
“Wynn, Grod, if you wouldn’t mind to stay and settle this, I need to get back to the ship and see what’s happened.”
“Of course, Tiet,” said Wynn. “Go on ahead and we will be along as soon as our business here is finished.” Wynn had more experience with this type of situation. He was measured in his speech, careful never to say more than needed saying and his neatly kept white hair and beard gave him a distinguished look that people respected naturally. Wynn could do this without him.
Tiet headed out of the council chambers. He was trying not to get too excited. Maybe his son had just gone somewhere without his mother realizing and she was mistaken. He was telling himself that explanation, but he wasn’t buying it. There just wasn’t any reason he could think of why Kale would take off through the transgate.
The Gunirans had been kind enough to offer his group several animals for traveling after they had hiked into the province for the meeting. Tiet unfastened the reins of his leore and climbed into the saddle. The domesticated animal was a quadruped with hooves. Its coat was short and fiery red in color with a blonde mane flowing down the back of its neck. Tiet turned the animal, with a pull of the reins, and a quick goading of the leore’s sides with his heels sent them both galloping away toward the outskirts of the province and their ship beyond.
