Crux: Transmutation, #5

By Alice Sabo

When a ship with a Message Carrier is attacked, the Iguacans are forced to expose one more secret, resulting in a delicate dance of deception with the UCFS. Enemies are pushing their way into the 4 Rings and the embassy is on high alert.

 

The truth behind the ancient Iguacans who fled to Soona is slowly unraveled showing them more about their troubled past. An unexpected source brings them more information about the current state of the Delta Sector, and an ominous warning.

 

The ongoing situation with the Condrisites is angering the Mycastrians. Elaan knows that it is important for them to gain their own autonomy, but at what price for her people?

 

With new advisors and new skills, Elaan is working hard to keep her people on the true path. But with every odd occurrence and stranger she learns that they must move with the tide of events or be pulled under.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alice Sabo
• Release date: Mar 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201949099

Alice Sabo

Alice Sabo is the author of over 25 novels in 7 series. Her character-driven stories range across multiple genres including science fiction, post-apocalyptic, high fantasy, mystery and contemporary fantasy. Whether seeking lost cultures in an unforgiving galaxy or fighting the Darkness on the streets of the city, her books have strong world building, multi-layered characters and a satisfying culmination.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Elaan felt the surge of burning anger before she could identify who it was coming from. The burst of emotion invaded her meeting and distracted her from what was being said. 

Are you all right? Hunter asked.

She knew he felt her inattention to the important issues that they were discussing. She turned toward the door of her office, a warning on her lips.

Meelar burst into the room in a fury. "How dare you! How dare you children do this to me! You have no idea of the repercussions."

She stayed calm and waved her advisors back to their seats. Hunter remained standing, but Trash sat back down next to Terrance. Laon, still seated, watched with interest.

Shouting and name calling will not find you a solution, she said sternly. She refused to let him rattle her. This was the first time he’d spoken to anyone, and it wasn’t a good start.

This is totally unacceptable, Meelar shouted. He stomped across the room with his emotions wide open. "You have overstepped your bounds by light years. You stupid, stupid infants."

Stop it, she snapped with a mental poke to show her displeasure. His misinterpretation was obvious, but he was too highly roused to listen. Her mental gesture went unnoticed. Stop! She could not allow him to think that he had the power to cow her, but her move backfired.

Meelar turned on her, rage in his eyes, but he reached for Hunter instead. He grabbed his throat with both hands, taking a tight, choking hold.

Hunter flipped him, but he hung on like a limpet. A flurry of punches and Meelar winced but wouldn’t release him. Another tumble, but Meelar clung on. Hunter was failing, she could feel him struggling for air. With a thought, she gathered help.

Serelle, Narrist, Fistar and Makay popped into the room at the same time as she heard the meaty sound of Cazak throwing blades sinking into flesh. 

Thunk, thunk, thunk. Meelar was startled enough that his grip slackened. He stared at the knives sticking out of his body with a look of bafflement. It made him pause long enough for Hunter to break free. 

With a complicated twist and toss, he sent Meelar to the ground. He staggered back a step before dropping down into his chair. Elaan was very impressed with his moves. Hunter kept himself fit, and she was grateful to see he hadn’t lost any of his edge.

Three Cazak guards trotted into the room with stunners raised completing the security team. She signaled for them to wait. Makay wound a vine around Meelar pinning his arms. Narrist contained his mind, and Fistar went to check the knife wounds.

Put him in isolation until he calms down, Elaan said.

No, no no! Meelar stopped struggling but remained where he was kneeling in the midst of them. You must send me back.

Elaan felt the intense interest of all present. It was a question they had been asking for some time. Maybe now they would finally get some answers. Back where?

To the farm.

And where is that? she asked calmly.

He frowned at her as if just now realizing his location. Where am I?

Elskynara.

No, the planet.

That is the planet, Terrance said dryly.

You are not in the Surentai, if that is your question, Elaan said.

Meelar turned toward the window blinking in confusion. The what? How did I get here?

That’s a very good question, Elaan said. One we’d all like the answer to. You came here as part of a group that attacked the embassy. You were arrested and were being held by the Galactic Authorities. They chose to hand you over to us.

Embassy...Galactic...what? His mouth opened to ask more, but no words came out.

The Embassy for the Iguacan People in Exile, Terrance said proudly.

Meelar blinked like he’d been struck in the head. I... He shivered violently almost losing his balance. Then his anger was back. An embassy? he hissed. How...where...you, you don’t know what you’ve done.

Elaan was suddenly aware of the age sitting on Meelar, as if the poison had hid the very essence of the man. And since it had blocked his memories and abilities, perhaps it had been masking who and what he was. She sensed that he was much older than anyone else at Clouded Vale. It made her wonder how long he had been in the waking-coma caused by the poison. Knowing he was probably very confused, she felt a bit more compassion for him. I think that a great many things have changed that you were not aware of. May I know your House?

He glared at her. Absolutely not.

She found his refusal interesting, but perhaps it was just a vestige of the troubles in his previous time. You are reacting to things that happened a very long time ago, she said patiently. I think you will understand us better when you acclimate.

No. This is unacceptable, he snapped.

Elaan finally lost patience. He wasn’t ready, and she didn’t have the leisure to coax him along right now. You have interrupted my meeting. I do not have time for you today. Dark, please make an appointment for us to meet, tomorrow if there is time.

Meelar stared from her to Dark, then finally seemed to notice the others in the room. What are they? he gasped looking at the Cazaks.

One of the guards started to lower his horns, but Trash barked a word in Cazak sending them out of the room. Fistar handed Trash his knives with a tsk and shake of the head.

You have a lot of catching up to do, Elaan said. She waved at Serelle. He gathered up Narrist, Fistar and Meelar and vanished. 

If all is well, I will return to the greenhouse, Makay said with a searching look at his foster-son. He reached out a hand to Hunter.

I’m fine, Hunter assured him. He stood up again to accept Makay’s hug, but then sunk back into his seat with a grunt.

Elaan knew he wasn’t fine, but figured Makay could feel that also. Hunter was just about okay and that would have to do for the moment. She let Makay know she’d keep an eye on her surai. Makay ambled out of the office leaving them back where they started.

That was a rather dramatic entrance, Terrance grumbled.

He’s old, Elaan said.

Yes, I felt it, Laon agreed. Every day as more of the poison has filtered out of his system, I have sensed him more deeply. Today, he was fully there for the first time.

How old? Trash asked.

Older than anyone at the embassy, Elaan said. I think he is reacting to things that happened a very long time ago. Perhaps even before the forming of the Surentai.

If he won’t tell us his House, how do we get him oriented? Terrance asked.

I will do it, Laon said. I am one of the oldest here, with collected memories going back further than most. I might have a better understanding of what he is remembering.

Thank you, Laon. You might need to include Narrist in your discussions. If he has been disconnected for as long as it seems, he’s lost a vast amount of time, and he will need help adjusting. Elaan looked around at her advisors, but no one seemed unduly upset by the interruption. 

This incident was something she’d feared since taking on the responsibilities of leadership. A person arriving from the Surentai who was not just affronted but furious at the things that she had established. She had dreaded to be judged and found lacking. But now that it had actually happened, she found herself more annoyed than dispirited. Meelar was basing his accusations on faulty grounds, or at least ancient grounds. He didn’t understand their place in the here and now. Where they were now was not something that had been possible in his time.

Every tenuous step ahead that Elaan had advanced had been taken with strength and determination. To have someone tell her now that all she’d done was wrong was disturbing in several ways, but surprisingly it didn’t upset her. She knew in her heart that she was doing the right thing, following the best path for her people. There would always be doubts to deal with and fears of failure. Moving through them was the hardest part of ruling. And to get through that, she had her advisors, friends and family to stand with her.

She felt Hunter’s support flowing in from across the room. He understood her the most. And his understanding was important to her, not just as an advisor, but also as her surai. She could sense that his neck hurt where Meelar had grabbed him. She wanted to soothe his injuries but forced herself back to the mundane agenda before them.

How are the younglings progressing? she asked trying to refocus the group.

They are all very studious, Terrance reported. I’ve made sure that they shift Houses in different groups, so that they all get to spend time with different people. That way they can get to know each other better in different environments.

And hopefully get to know their strengths better, Laon added.

Yes, I think they have. There have been some odd questions. Terrance hesitated as if to say more but shook his head.

And the Nexus Room? Elaan asked. She knew most of what was going on, this physical meeting was for Trash and Hunter to catch up on things that happened while they slept. Having narass advisors did have some disadvantages.

The younglings are all doing a short stint there while we establish, um, best practices, Terrance reported stiffly.

Elaan could tell he didn’t feel happy about this new endeavor. Trash and Hunter also had doubts about them keeping tabs on the information flowing through the Message Carriers. She’d argued that it wasn’t as if they were going to use the information for their own purposes. But if some interesting tidbits came down the line, she might need to take advantage of it.

Can they network it properly? Trash asked.

We don’t have that many Message Carriers out there, Terrance said. Each of the younglings is only linking with one of them for a check in each day. Plus, it gives our people a direct line to the Embassy in case they have any problems.

And Dawn is coordinating the collection of information, Trash said proudly.

Elaan thought it was sweet that he’d taken such a liking to her. She knew it was difficult for Cazaks to deal with females, and to have a sort of stepdaughter must be extremely unusual for him. But with Terrance’s encouragement, they were making it work. Integrating the mixed species families was one of her most rewarding but difficult tasks.

Yes, Terrance said, trying to hide a smile. She is keeping a segregated program on the embassy’s internal link of all the information as it comes in. She’ll be doing an analysis of it when we get a goodly amount of it. Right now, it’s mostly checking back and forth between ships. Centralplex isn’t too sure how they want to use the network now that they have it. They’re still figuring out what we can do. Since nothing of much interest is going on, we can’t say how helpful the network is going to be.

Centralplex would consider this spying, Hunter said carefully. The deployment of ships is classified.

They already accuse us of being in people’s heads. How much worse could this be? Laon asked.

The government relies on us to keep this information confidential, Hunter said. If something happens to a ship, and there are whispers about our knowing its position prior to the incident, we will pay heavy consequences.

Your warning is appreciated and acknowledged, Elaan said formally. I understand their expectations, and we will comply with them. This is not to sell information.  It is to keep our people safe.

Hunter gave her a formal nod in return. She could feel his uneasiness. If the younglings got sloppy, the embassy could find itself in deep trouble.

Chapter 2

Terrance was quite pleased that Laon had chosen him to help question Meelar. He was so curious about this old Iguacan and eager to get some firsthand information. As soon as Elaan closed the meeting, they went down to Kintar where Meelar was being held in an isolation room. It was more about his anger now than any contamination. Elaan wanted him gently confined, and this seemed the best way to do it.

Isolation rooms didn’t normally have guest chairs. Terrance had sent a request ahead of them for a few to be sent into Meelar’s room. Laon had thanked him for the forethought. He was pleased to be appreciated.

Meelar was pacing the room when they entered. I don’t understand any of this. Who are you people? he snapped at them.

We are Iguacans who were smuggled out of the Surentai a very long time ago, Laon said. He gestured to the newly arrived chairs. The room was small, and they took up half of it.

Who are you? Meelar repeated as he sank into a chair. He seemed a bit less aggressive.

I am Laon of House Grahsoon, and this is Terrance of House Crintaal, Laon said.

Grahsoon is gone, Meelar said flatly. That House was not wanted even among our own kind.

It is not gone. They did try to destroy the House, but a few of us remain, Laon said calmly. He smiled while clasping his hands in his lap. This is going to be a difficult discussion, and I would ask that you remain patient with us.

Terrance admired his composure. Meelar was going to be prickly when they told him the truth. He couldn’t imagine being told that he’d lost centuries of time. It was unfathomable. And there was so much information that he needed. Terrance wanted to launch into all their achievements since Elaan’s arrival, but kept his mouth shut. This was for Laon to work out.

Why? Meelar asked with suspicion. His shoulders hunched, and his eyes screwed up warily.

Many things have changed while you were under the influence of the poison, Laon said slowly.

You say poison, but I call it a release.

But you lost all of your abilities, Terrance said, unable to keep out of it. How could you live with that?

It is exactly why I went there. I chose to go. To divorce myself of the madness, Meelar said with bitter pride.

Go where? Laon asked.

Soona.

Ah, Laon nodded to Terrance. We had thought as much.

They can’t stop you, you know, Meelar confided. If you contact the right people and can get to their compound, no one can stop you.

A sort of escape, Laon suggested.

A simple life, Meelar said defensively.

Not anymore, Terrance grumbled. He could see how lost Meelar was. He truly did not realize how much time had passed, or how he’d been used.

Why do you say that? Meelar asked, his frown darkening.

We are just speculating, Laon began, with a warning poke at Terrance. I can’t give you any facts, but from what we have pieced together, you were most likely sold to a syndicate on Ranbek.

I’ve never heard of that place.

No. I suspect you wouldn’t have. It’s not in the Surentai.

Terrance was getting antsy with the way that Laon was patiently doling information a snippet at a time. He wanted to burst out with everything that had happened and demand to know why Meelar had aided their enemy. He took a breath and forced himself to be quiet.

You say that they sold me? Meelar asked his anger easing into confusion. That was not part of the agreement.

That’s one of the great disadvantages of being a slave, Laon said gently. One cannot control one’s owner. The people from Ranbek wanted Iguacan slaves. You were sold to them, and I imagine they were less than pleased when they discovered that you didn’t have our usual abilities. We can only assume that you were then used for simple labor.

Why would the Soonans sell us after we’d made our agreements? Who are these people from Ranbek? Meelar asked. 

Laon looked to Terrance.

Criminals, he said, pleased to join the conversation. They are responsible for all sorts of crimes across the 4 Rings. And we are certain they are the people who attacked us here at the embassy. They killed our guards and tried to kidnap us.

Meelar looked deeply shaken. What are the 4 Rings? Why were you attacked?

They tried to kidnap us because they want us to work for them, Terrance said. He didn’t want to get into a description of the 4 Rings. That was more technical than he felt comfortable explaining.

Meelar shook his head. Then I can’t go back to the farm?

Well, that’s a different kind of problem, Laon said. Soona is very far away from here, and we do not have the ships to take you back even if we knew where it was.

Terrance knew that was a little white lie. Sleeth could take Meelar back in the Liberty with Elaan’s say so, but whether they were willing to send him was another question. Or Rantas might be able to get him there, but once again, that might be information that they shouldn’t share quite yet. He decided to take a different tack. They might try to sell you again, Terrance warned. And with your abilities intact, that would make you much more valuable.

Are you slaves? Meelar asked.

No, we are free here, Laon said. "We are building a new life