The Rise of the Omarlo Clan

By Rosylan McCallum

AFTERMATH OF AN INVASION. . .

Three brothers are caught in a web of deceit that has lasted for fifteen years. Collin and Johan Omarlo were raised on a distant planet unaware of their noble history. Rarg Omarlo the heir was raised under the iron cruelty of their grandfather Lord Marlis on the planet Urus. While Rarg Omarlo is thought to be weak, his mother the regent expects to control him through his young bride-to-be, Erin Omir. His grandfather expects to use him to gain control over the assets of the planet Racine, something Lord Marlis has wanted since the invasion.

DECISIONS FACING THE TWIN BROTHERS…

As events unfold Collin and Johan learn of their family’s exceptional history. Both question their older brother’s right to rule on their home planet. Before they can take any action they are separated for the first time. Johan is shanghaied and Collin is imprisoned.

Three paths, one goal . . . the rise of the Omarlo clan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 18, 2009
• ISBN: 9781450046701

Rosylan McCallum

Rosylan McCallum was born and raised in New York City. She is the middle child between a sister and a brother. She married and had three children, a girl and two boys. She has always been an avid reader and daydreamer. She raised her children, held down a career and finish college at night. She delivered her third and last child one week after graduating from the College of New Rochelle, School of Human Resources. She promised herself that one day she would write the stories that seemed to float around in her head. It is her desire that her stories entertain the readers and leave them with a need to want to read more.

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to my mother Maybel Hutcherson for her support. And, my sister Sandra Hutcherson for her patience and love.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Prologue

Centuries of interplanetary warfare resulted in the economic collapse of the nineteen planets comprising the Nissarian star system. Those who were alive cared nothing about the reasons for the start of the ongoing conflict. They only cared about finding ways to continue to survive the war’s devastating results. Generations had grown up accustomed to the constant sounds of war: missiles and bombs exploding, cries of pain from the wounded, cries of hunger and fear emanating from women and children—war’s most vulnerable victims. They knew well to hide from the constant menace of the sluggish steps, which signaled the presence of soldiers or mercenaries trudging through towns and cities. Interplanetary space travel had long since stopped being a common means of moving about. What little there was, the military controlled. Even under those circumstances, travel was sporadic. The problem was hazardous navigation through the debris of derelict ships adrift in space. This space junk was a silent reminder of the untold number of space battles fought and lost.

Then suddenly one day, the war, which had no true victor, was over. The frontline soldiers simply stopped fighting. Supplies such as rations, bullets, and medicine were among the last casualties that had ceased coming. Civilization had come to a brink. There was nothing left to sustain a war. Armies disintegrated, and everyone sought instead to get back home or to what was left of home.

Once again man had come close to the edge of extinction and needed to prove once more if he could be resilient enough to survive. Prior history told of his arrival in the Nissarian star system many eons ago under similar circumstances, that of fleeing war and extinction. He was now presented with another chance to survive and rebuild what had once been a thriving star system.

Those who were able to assume leadership became known as the planet’s house lords and understood that they must start over by first putting aside any and all differences and grievances. To jump-start the recovery process, the partially existing communication satellites were used to send word that a chosen representative from each planet was to attend a conclave on Meteran. This was a planet located in the center of the Nissarian system. The first meeting saw the founding of a governing group called the Coalition of Planets, COP. It was created to be the organization that would oversee state of affairs as they occurred during the period of reconstruction. It was decided by consensus that the highest-ranking house lord would be responsible for his or her planet’s reconstruction needs and, on a rotational basis for a term of five years, would govern as the head of COP.

However, not all of the planets in this star system suffered the same degree of fate. There were two small planets that were located farthest away from the center of the system warfare. They were Lagros and Racine, each located at opposite ends of the star system. They suffered little or no planet wide structural damage. They had no incidences of the sick and the dying abandoned among those who struggled to survive. They were unaffected for the most part as if no war had occurred. Because of their locations, the responsible war antagonists had long since stopped expecting much in the way of help from them.

The result was that over time, they were forgotten. They did, though, contribute their fair share of soldiers to the war effort. Their armies patrolled their space, mainly to ensure protection of their planets. They fought to keep the war away from Lagros and Racine. Those not involved in that process kept the agricultural and the industrial complexes on each planet going. The leaderships’ primary goals were to maintain the security of their planets and to preserve the necessary foresight needed to be ready when peacetime returned to the system. They knew help would be needed. Any who could provide this help would be in a good position to be first to receive untold economic wealth and power.

The first lord to assume COP’s leadership position was Lord Dargret Astral of the House of Astral. He did not want the post but was overwhelmingly voted into it by the other lords. It was known that his planet, Lagros, situated in the outermost region of the Nissarian system, had been most fortunate. They knew that Lagros suffered the least damage to its primary cities and towns. Though suffering from economic collapse, Lagros had its agricultural centers still intact; food was not a problem. Its well-fed citizenry had already begun to set up businesses to assist in the rebuilding of damaged cities and towns on other planets.

Most planets needed first to feed their people, so they were glad of any assistance. Because of this, Lord Astral was not particularly liked and was therefore marked as one who could afford to sit five years on Meteran as liege lord over COP. The other lords, concerned with their own planet’s interests, wanted the advantage of being on hand to supervise their planet’s recovery. So they willingly tossed Dargret Astral the boon of leadership. Racine’s house lord had taken a back seat position and allowed Lagros to step forward first with its offerings of help. He knew the action would put a target on Astral’s head.

Planetary representatives submitted requests for aid to this forum. The planets that were left in worse shape than others were the first to receive help. This period of new beginnings saw the strong assist the weak and resources pooled and shared. Realization soon set in that rebuilding would not be an easy task. Commercial starship travel, a must, was hampered. It dawned on those in charge very early that to clear the Nissarian system of its derelict space debris was a must.

This was a monumental task, and it would take years and most had not the time or resources. Still Racine waited. To entice efforts in this direction, it was suggested that a monetary incentive be created. It had to be some form of currency that all would accept. None had currency that other planets had any faith in. As it was, they had turned to the barter system as a means to begin to obtain their needs.

As COP’s head, Astral called for the institution of one central currency. He called for contribution from all planets of gold and silver, which would be sent to a central bank on Meteran. Then the new common paper currency would be redistributed back to each planet in equal amounts based upon the silver and gold contributed. All necessary services would now be obtainable through the use of the new paper currency or royal gold and silver crowns. Soldiers had been stranded on every planet. They were to be the first recipients of the new currency. Finally paid, they were able to obtain whatever passage they could find to return home.

Astral, eager to jump-start the clearing of space personally kept a close eye on the mint producing the currency. He assured all that there would be enough currency available to any who were willing to go into the new private trade of salvaging metal from the floating derelicts in space.

It was then that Racine’s house lord stepped forward. That was how the first planet to take full advantage of space salvaging as a business was the planet Racine. Very little was known about the current-day Racine. In past history, it was known to have been a prime source for machinery, be it farm or military. Racine had made the best starships. Astral gave it no further thought when Racine’s lord stepped forward to be contracted to remove the space debris. He surmised that like his planet, Lagros, Racine had avoided the devastating results of war because of its location.

In truth, Racine had never relied on inter planetary commerce within the system for its survival. It was self-sufficient. It was half agrarian and industrial. Its specialty before the war had been its commercial technical industries, which remained intact. At the war’s end, Racine had a sizable fleet of ships and was able to begin immediate pickup of their stranded people and provided reasonable rates of passage to others. With the soldiers’ return, other planets now had the workforce needed to revitalize the abandoned farms and other industries.

Half of Racine’s fleet provided transport while the rest was used for salvage. Racine had the largest number of individual companies working in space, salvaging metal derelicts. These derelicts were brought back and melted down in its many foundries and resold as raw metal materials. Racine also gave a fair price to other independent space-salvaging companies from other planets, and soon its companies became the primary buyers and exporters of scrap metal. Racine quickly became the center for obtaining for delivery the raw materials other planets needed for their reconstruction needs. This flurry of salvaging activity, besides providing massive wealth to Racine, also resulted in the timely removal of space junk.

At the end of the first five-year period, another lord was selected. He went to Dargret and asked him to continue in the position in his stead. Dargret saw no reason not to honor the request as all was going well on Lagros. This was brought before the members of COP. They readily agreed, as they were heavily involved with their own planet’s personal redevelopment issues. Reconstruction continued, still at a slower rate than had been anticipated.

By the fourth consecutive request for the aged Dargret to continue in the post, the House of Astral family, after twenty years in the position, decided to take a bold step and put forth a proposal in COP—an interim modification. It would allow members of their family to inherit the title general pro temp, governing over COP until such time as the voting members of COP revoked it. The other lords, with a sigh of relief at not having to assume the responsibility of overseeing COP, overwhelmingly passed the proposal. Centuries passed, and none challenged the House of Astral’s continuance in the leadership role. Six hundred painstakingly slow recovery years later the Nissarian system had regained its economic stability. It was again a system comprised of independent planets, which shared a common currency and allegiance. It was recognized that the first important step in the success of the recovery was the rate of increase in commercial starship travel as it related to the clearing of space. This acclaim became the first success attributed to the leadership of the Astral family. No credit was ever given to the efforts of the planet Racine, and it sought none.

The few planets that had been wise enough to align early with the Astral family received most favored status and benefited to the point of becoming very powerful during and after the years of recovery. However, the faraway planet Racine was able to become just as powerful without having to ask or receive any preferential treatment. The ruling family there worked hard and knew that Racine was a planet with a proud populace who pledged their loyalty only to the ruling House Lord Omarlo who in turn pledged his loyalty first to his people and then to COP.

Chapter 1

Once again, the Nissarian system’s nineteen planets found themselves in the midst of turmoil. The cause being the weak leadership of the current Lord Astral, general pro temp of the Coalition of Planets. Various factions had begun to muscle in for control. Within a short period, one faction survived to ultimately gain that control. It was called the Group of 3. The house lords that ran this faction were the House of Omir who represented six planets, the House of Ismael who represented five planets in the upper star system, and then the last and strongest was the House of Marlis that controlled the remaining seven planets in COP. Each lord within the Group of 3 vigorously worked to gather the support of the other house lords for an action against the current general pro temp. They wanted a vote to abolish first the title of general pro temp as was written in COP’s mandates and then secondly to dissolve COP. The intent being to substitute the Group of 3 as the controlling force in the Nissarian system. That no action had yet been taken was because within the Group of 3 there existed internal plotting for ultimate control. Each lord envisioned himself as becoming the one solitary ruler of the Nissarian system.

Of the nineteen planets comprising the Nissarian system, all but two were pledged to support the house lords in the Group of 3. Again they were Lagros and Racine. Lagros of course stood behind their House Lord Astral as the head of COP. Racine, under its Lord Imir Omarlo, stood neutral and alone, stubbornly pledged to COP and the current general pro temp. Lord Omarlo was quite aware of the weakness of the current Lord Astral. His spies told of the atrocities and abuses. The problem was he did not like the alternative, the Group of 3 and the direction they were going. He recognized a dictatorship in the making.

Racine’s stubborn position was a thorn in the side of the Group of 3. Racine, though a small planet, had wealth and power and could not be bought. As they pondered over what action to take against Racine, word began to circulate from unknown sources that Racine had developed a new revolutionizing device. The rumor was that it would give the user an advantage in the struggle for ultimate power. Spies were sent to Racine, but none could obtain any more details or even confirm the existence of such a device.

This unfortunately resulted in Racine’s neutrality finally being threatened. This became a great concern to the present Lord Omarlo on Racine. He, as those before him, had taken extra care in maintaining an independent and neutral position. Lord Omarlo’s spies told him that one of the lords had decided to strike first and would imminently take action against Racine. Lord Marlis wanted to invade Racine and establish control over the planet, thereby adding it and any such device that it may have developed under its sphere of dominance.

Lord Imir Omarlo and his first chancellor, Moham, were, if nothing, very much aware of the long-range ambitions of Lord Marlis. Lord Marlis had been most vocal in demanding that the House of Omarlo align itself with one of the house lords controlling the Group of 3, preferably to himself. But Imir had managed to outwit Marlis and keep his planet in a neutral position within COP until recent events. Imir had anticipated that an invasion would be soon. He had been told that information on the existence of the new device had leaked even though all manner of precautions had been put into place.

Lord Imir was in his twenty-seventh year and stood six feet two inches, brown in complexion with an athletic frame topped with curly black hair. He was considered a handsome man. His wife, Lady Tess Omarlo, was the only daughter of Lord Marlis. She was an ideal mate as she matched him with exceptional good looks, intelligence, and ambition. He married her knowing that she was the daughter of his enemy. He had hoped that the alliance in marriage and the resultant births of their children would put a damper on Lord Marlis’s designs on Racine. Faced with the failure of that idea, he was now in the unenviable position that no one would want. He had to consider his options. The one thing he knew was that he could not risk his family’s continued safety.

Two days ago, word had reached him that the Group of 3 had gotten enough votes to have itself declared officially second in importance to the general pro temp. He was also informed that Racine was being closely watched. Any attempt to mass-produce the device for his personal use would be like waving a red flag. That just the creation of the prototypes had leaked out proved he had infiltrators among his people. There was no time to search them out. It was too bad because the device once installed and turned on, could then concealed any form of transport from detection.

Imir had just left a meeting with three emissaries who were sent to Racine to deliver a message from the member planets of the Group of 3. He was informed that they still considered Racine to be a neutral member planet within COP. This Imir translated as meaning that none of the three houses trusted the other. The addition of Racine into the Group of 3 would favorably tip the balance of power. Time had run out. Imir knew that it would be foolhardy to put trust in this declaration of his planet’s neutrality.

With the help of trusted staff, he secretly had the concealing device installed in one of his star cruisers along with the only copy of the development specifications. He personally inspected the installation, and once satisfied that all was, as he wanted, he returned to the Keep. He had just seated himself in his living quarters when Chancellor Moham entered. Moham noted how tired the usually vigorous lord looked. He saw that within a short period of time, Imir had lost considerable weight, and his face now had a gaunt look to it. Moham did not envy his lord’s current position. But he felt it his duty to inform Imir that he should no longer avoid sharing with Lady Tess the plans that they had made for the family.

Imir, she must be told now. You both will need to be strong in order to carry out this bold move. Having said this, Moham moved to take a seat.

I know. I know.

Imir very upset rang for Nigel, his manservant, and asked him to have someone seek out the whereabouts of Lady Tess and inform her that he required her presence. Quite often, he and Lady Tess would discuss his ideas and concerns about the political boiling pot, which their planet had become. He found comfort in her quiet way of truly listening and understanding the issues. He knew she would think that this was going to be one of those times. The door opened, and Lady Tess entered the room.

Good evening, Moham, you are looking well. It has been two days since I have had the pleasure of your presence. Have I become such a bore to you that you avoid my company? Or is it the political intrigues that you are involved in, which keep you away from your adoptive family? Smiling warmly, she went over and embraced the frail old man.

Gruffly answering and looking embarrassed, he said, Lady Tess, it is my greatest pleasure as always at being in your presence. Lord Imir is lucky that I am seventy-two, or he would most definitely have to watch out for me as a competitor for your attentions. But as duty calls, you will have to forgive my abrupt leave-taking. Good evening, sires. Um . . . Imir remember my earlier words do not further delay. Moham was gone quicker than would be expected for someone of his age. Lady Tess was frowning as she had noted his hasty departure.

Hummm, he called us sires. Why so formal, and why was he in such a hurry to leave? She walked to where her husband was seated, and she bent over and kissed his forehead and thoughtfully added, Moham is still the gallant even for his age, but what did he mean by telling you not to delay . . . delay what?

Lady Tess possessed wisdom as well as beauty and often joined Imir and Moham in discussions of state. This was not a normal practice for ladies in her position whose domain usually concerned only the running of the castle Keep. Lady Tess not only ran her Keep but also kept herself abreast of the political environment. She knew her father was the greatest threat her husband faced. She was very concerned about what moves Lord Imir would take to ensure the continued sovereignty of their planet. She knew her father was attempting to box her husband into a corner, leaving no room for escape. Both were strong and very powerful men. Though she loved her husband, her vested interest was the survival of her three sons.

He looked up at her and smiled and then told her that as he saw it, there was nothing that could be done to save COP as a governing entity. The Group of 3 had the necessary votes to dissolve it and set itself up in COP’s place. He told her that the Group of 3 would draw Racine into the resulting conflict as a means to establish central control. He told her that sooner rather than later, one or all of the house lords controlling the Group of 3 would turn on Racine. He told her that they would be seeking the truth to the rumor of a new device. It was a rumor he said that was made up by his enemies as a convenient excuse to invade Racine.

He had purposely decided not to share with his ambitious wife the truth about the existence of the device that had been developed. He had not forgotten her parentage and the possibility of familial allegiance. He continued on to say that there was a window of opportunity to make a strategic move as a means to ensure Racine’s sovereignty. This act alone would aid the family in its quest to ensure the continuance of the name Omarlo as a ruling family. Imir also knew it would lend credence to the existence of a secret device as being just a wild rumor when nothing was found.

Lady Tess began to frown. She was still puzzled as to where Imir was going with this discussion. Lady Tess had learned long ago to trust her husband. It had been one of the first and hardest lessons that she had learned when she had joined Lord Imir’s household as his bride. Her experience as a female member of the Marlis family had taught her to trust no one. She nodded in agreement with the logic. He then added that the harshest part of his plan included the involvement of their twin sons.

Lord Imir stood and looked lovingly at his wife and said, Tess, there will be war. It’s unavoidable. We have three sons. The family must survive above all. Do you agree?

Tess noted the serious tone and the odd question. Yes. You have no argument from me over that. But what exactly are you proposing?

Tess, I know that this will be hard for you to accept as it has been for me who thought of it. I have had more time to come to terms with the rational involved. I hate that you, my dear, are just having it sprung upon you. I am sorry, but the twins are to be sent away to an unknown destination. If the worst happens, they at least will survive.

Tess, horrified, looked at her husband, and it was as if she had never truly seen him before. She saw a ruler of a planet, a mighty force to be reckoned with. She could also see that he had taken an immovable position on this. But he loved her and their family. This she was sure of, so he could not mean to do this, not to her, not to their family.

Where is Moham? Does he know of this plan? Has he agreed to it? Is this why he told you not to delay?

Yes.

no! No! It cannot and will not happen, not this! She pounded her fists on Imir’s chest until he held them still. How did you let it come to this? Let me go. I will speak to my father. We both know he is the real threat. I can get him to stop. I know I can. And what of our oldest, Rarg, he is just six and your heir. You mentioned only the twins. What is to become of him?

Lord Imir was finding it hard to control his own emotional state and, seeing the anguish in his wife, found some relief in telling her, Rarg will remain on Racine with us. This she accepted with some consolation, but she still voiced concern sending the twins away.

Imir, have you considered their age. They are young, only four years old. What real chance will they have for survival on their own?

Imir told her it was just an emergency step. He was assigning someone who he trusted that would give them the best of care. Once the crisis was over, they would return. Watching his wife’s tears, Imir continued to explain that he had a ship at the ready, and the onboard computer had been programmed to arbitrarily set the starship’s destination after takeoff. This way, if the worst happened, no one could say where it was going.

Lady Tess, still very upset asked, Who do you know to be so trusted that you will place the safety of the twins into that person’s hands?

Imir told her it was Drakar. Lady Tess was well acquainted with Drakar who was her husband’s cousin and first in command of Racine’s military and second in importance on Racine. She couldn’t disagree that he was a good choice.

In a last effort to dissuade her husband, she raised the point that he was military. What can he know about the care of small children?

Lord Imir, with his patience waning explained, Drakar will be targeted for death should there be a successful invasion of Racine. I do not fear for you, our son, Rarg or myself. I fear for my cousin. I want to save Drakar. He has been like the brother I never had and the decision is final. Drakar will accompany the twins. Lady Tess saw that her husband was adamant about this. That he in fact was not asking her opinion but telling her what would be. She left their chambers in an upset state and headed toward the nursery.

That night, Lord Imir was up long after his wife had finally returned and gone to bed. He and Moham had secreted themselves in his council chamber. Together they finalized the instructions that Drakar would find in the ship after it left the planet. To ensure the small group’s survival on an alien planet, they had already been enhanced with a quick-healing gene. They each had the secret mind-link implant given to all Omarlos at birth. This implant gave them the ability of silent communication and limited control of another’s thoughts. Should their exile be of long duration, Drakar was to instruct the twins on the family’s secret hand language, history of their home planet, and martial art skills. As they grew older, he would add training for all military weapons and spacecraft.

Finally, Imir and Moham looked at each other with the satisfaction that they had done all that was humanly possible to ensure that Drakar and the twins had a good chance, short of the unexpected, for survival on the distant planet.

It had been a long dreary cold day ending with what seemed an even longer approach to night. Supreme General Drakar Omarlo had been experiencing a sense of unease all day and could not say what the basis for this feeling was. Drakar, well liked and respected, emanated a commanding presence. He stood six feet three and possessed the handsome male Omarlo looks, brown complexion with curly dark hair. When growing up together, most who did not know assumed Imir and he were brothers. Standing in the Keep’s courtyard, Drakar pulled his coat close and was about to leave with a corps of ten men to scout the perimeter of the Keep.

A young man approached him with a message from the Keep. Opening it, he saw it was from Lord Imir and that he wanted to see him. With haste he entered the Keep and was directed to the battlement walkway where he found Lord Imir solemnly looking out over the walls at the surrounding landscape. Imir was wrapped in his favorite blue cloak yet was shivering from the blow of the north winds. This attested to the length of time that he had been standing in such an exposed area.

My lord, said Drakar, you sent for me. Has there been more news that I need to be aware of? Has the situation worsened? Come, let us go inside, you are shivering.

Ah, said Imir, it’s you, my cousin and most loyal supporter, come closer. The weather is cold, but what I have to say makes me so cold inside that I doubt if any amount of warmth will remove it. The time has come for a task that I desire you to perform. The successful completions of which rival even the importance that you place on being in the forefront of battle.

At first, Drakar looked puzzled, and then comprehension dawned upon his face. He had hoped that the plan to move the device away from Racine would not be a necessity, but evidently, this was not the case. But he held his council for he knew his cousin had more to say.

You know, said Imir, "I planned to hide the device, and in doing so, I also planned to send the twins away with it. It is to be their legacy. You know, during these times, there are not many that I would trust with the care of my sons. You and I have a special