T Southwell - Prophecy

"You never did have any manners, but why would I want to spy on the Atlanteans? You seldom do anything of interest, and when you do, you always tell everyone about it first."

"Empress, please," Vargon soothed. "Commander Tallyn's suspicions are his own, kindly ignore him. We don't wish to start a dispute about it. I'm sure your reasons for coming here are spawned purely by a righteous wish to be polite to your friends."

"Friends!" Drevina snorted, then caught herself and tore her glare from Tallyn, who now wore a bland expression. "Yes, of course."

"Good. Now that you have told us, it was nice seeing you again, and have a safe journey home."

Drevina shot Tallyn a last look of unadulterated hatred as she swept out, her brother at her heels. When the brisk tapping of their feet had faded to a distant echo, Vargon looked at Tallyn, shaking his head in reprimand.

"You shouldn't antagonise her, Commander. You know that Draycons have difficulty in controlling their tempers. Pointing out the obvious was unnecessary, and only served to anger them. Rest assured, whatever they came here to spy on, they've been kept too far away to find out anything. The orbit they were given is barely inside the third moon."

"Good. But I'd like to know what they're after. Since they lost the war, they've been looking for a way to win the next one."

Vargon nodded. "As we do. Have one of your scouts investigate the Vega system and report. Now, tell me of your encounter with this black ship." Vargon settled more comfortably in his hard-backed chair, and the rest of the council members squirmed and stretched.

At the end of Tallyn’s account, Vargon looked thoughtful, and the other council members turned to one another in muttered consultation. When they fell silent, Vargon roused from his reverie.

"So, the girl you found is the Golden Child. This is excellent news. You must extend to her every courtesy, and grant her every wish, so long as it doesn't put her in danger. All that remains now is to wait. Good work, Commander."

Tallyn bowed and retreated. Outside, Drevina waited with her escort, talking to her brother in the strange, hissing Draycon tongue. She broke off her conversation to approach Tallyn, surrounded by her guards, and he stopped, eyeing her.

"One day, Tallyn, I'm going to fix you, permanently."

"You've already tried that. It didn't work, remember?"

She smiled, her eyes filled with malice. "Next time it will. You're going to pay for your insults."

"Is the Drayconar Empire prepared for another war with Atlan? The last one, as I recall, left you nursing a lot of wounds. You should be careful what you say in public places. These walls have ears, and eyes, too, sometimes."

Drevina glanced around. "Our antagonism is well known, as is your disrespect. The next war between our empires will result in your defeat."

"Really? It's lucky for you that we know how often you lie, or that might be taken as a threat."

Her eyes glinted. "You'll pay for that too, I promise."

Drevina spun on her heel and swept away with her escort, Mertar trotting at her side. Their red and black-clad forms radiated hatred, at odds with the peaceful setting of the white pillared hall. He knew that provoking Drevina was unwise; he was just never able to resist it. She and her brother ruled the second largest empire after Atlan, and the war had cost millions of Atlantean lives.

The Draycons had attacked undefended planets and outposts, using biological and chemical weapons. The war had ended in resounding defeat for the Draycons when the Atlanteans had blown up their empress' palace on Jandar One, killing her. Drevina, daughter of the dead empress, still longed for vengeance. Ten years ago, she had started the Saurian War, but that could never be proven, and the only reason she informed Atlan of her discoveries was a lingering fear of the empire that had killed her mother. Her presence on Atlan worried him, for she seemed more confident than before, as if she had a trump card she was about to play.

Draycons had evolved in a distant galaxy, and moved closer to Atlan when their sun died. The Atlanteans had helped them, but soon learnt the folly of that. Draycon culture, morals and intellect were far more alien than their forms, and to them, helping others was a sign of weakness. Draycons believed that all victories were justified, no matter how they were achieved. A saying had sprung up, which summed up their mentality most succinctly, that a Draycon would stab you in the back with the knife he had borrowed from you.

Nothing was beneath them, if it gave them an advantage. Physically they were tough, able to withstand extreme conditions and breathe poisonous air. Those who had studied them had deduced that they originated on an unstable, continually changing hellhole, like a planet with an extended elliptical orbit, which became terribly hot as it passed close to its sun, then freezing cold as it moved away. Now they dwelt uncomfortably close, a mere fifteen light years distant, in the Regal Galaxy.

Late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the tall windows to dapple the tawny carpet in Tallyn's study. He was away most of the time, and Rayne and Rawn studied at his house, since travelling to the library was no longer necessary now that they had completed the groundwork. They spent more time on the vast data network that spanned the planets in the system. She and Rawn had made many friends amongst the users, most of whom were students. Rawn sat at Tallyn's desk, engrossed in a conversation with an alien on the fifth planet. Rayne lounged in a comfy chair beside a low table, studying the dynamics of a binary system. A soft pop from the lounge made her glance at Rawn, but he did not appear to have heard the noise. As Rayne turned back to her screen, she noticed a slight, astringent scent, then her eyelids slammed down.

Rayne woke in a padded grey room, her head pounding and her vision blurry. Her wrists were manacled, and a lacy dress that barely reached past her crotch replaced her utilitarian suit. She clutched her head and struggled to banish the terrible ache at the back of her skull, tears of pain stinging her eyes. When she brought it under control, she opened her eyes and looked around at a featureless cell that did not even have a discernable door.

After several minutes of trying to remember how she had got there, she gave up and worried about what was in store for her. She wondered if Rawn was in a similar predicament, or whether she had been the only target. She was sure this had something to do with the prophecy, although how anyone knew who she was remained a mystery. The crewmen who had been on Vengeance's bridge during the encounter with the black ship were all loyal to the Atlantean Empire. She could not believe any of them was a spy; some of them were almost fanatical in their fealty.

A door appeared as it slid open, and a tall, angular woman with green eyes and sharkskin entered, revealing pink teeth in a revolting grin. Rayne recognised her race as Draycon, her heart sinking. The woman studied Rayne, gloating, then spoke in Atlantean.

"So, little pink thing. Frightened? Your sort has weak, stupid females, don't you? Breeders. Humans. You were good at that, mind you. Bred yourselves right into extinction. How could the gods choose one like you to be the Golden Child?"

Her grin widened as Rayne stifled a gasp. "Ah, yes, I know all about you. You were supposed to have died on your miserable planet, but you survived, hidden like an animal in the ground. Those bungling idiots who said they had killed you have paid for their mistake. Our seer knew you weren't dead. And I followed the trail of that fool, Tallyn, to find you. This universe is filled with incompetents. So I have to do the job myself, don't I?"

She put her hands on her hips, running a red tongue over her lips. "Do you want to know what's going to happen to you?"