Steph Bennion - Hollow Moon

Despite not understanding a word Jaggarneth was saying, Kartikeya found himself nodding. Just as he was starting to lose the will to live, the voice in his ear crackled again.

“The Raja is here!” Yaksha exclaimed. “I don’t know how, but he is!”

Kartikeya gave an involuntary twitch as a surge of adrenaline invigorated his shattered will, then quickly looked to his left. Against all hope, he saw Surya and the girl Ravana standing next to Yaksha, busily clipping microphones to their collars. The old woman herself, smiling from ear to ear, gave the commander the thumbs up. A further glance at Jaggarneth revealed he too was aware of their arrival. With a relieved grin, Commander Kartikeya gripped the edges of the rostrum and contemplated the speech before him.

“Back to Plan A,” he murmured.

His fingers strayed to the remote control unit inside his sleeve. Now all he could think about was the hidden mind-probe device, waiting to be activated.

Away in the wings, Ravana felt Raja Surya reach out and take her hand in his own, both steeling themselves for the big moment. He had sent a message to his mother during the flight to Daode and she wondered if the Maharani would be watching the broadcast.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Surya asked.

Ravana nodded nervously and tried to recall why on Yuanshi she had agreed to the plan put to her by Surya over a hurried meal aboard the Platypus . On the opposite side of the stage stood Ostara and her father, both looking much happier than she had seen in ages.

“My little girl has all grown up,” she heard him say proudly to Ostara. Her father had become quite sentimental, remarking earlier that the sight of Ravana in the maroon and gold outfit Ganesa found for her reminded him of his dearly-departed wife more than ever.

Backstage, Zotz and a flirtatious Philyra were whispering urgently to Xuthus and pointing to something in the dressing room behind. Their band mates looked on in a hushed state of excitement. On stage, the holovid presenter turned to address the two speakers.

“Regrettably, we are nearing the end of our time slot,” she said. “The debate will continue following the final performances in the five-systems youth music competition, but for now would you care to make your closing statements?”

Governor Jaggarneth opened his mouth to speak, but Kartikeya was quicker.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the commander began, facing the audience. “I am grateful Governor Atman felt it right that I should be here tonight to represent the dispossessed of Yuanshi. The road to this peace conference has been far from smooth, for this is a war driven by corporate greed, one which has seen not only the loss of our right to govern ourselves but also the alienation of the followers of Taranis and the Dhusarian Church.”

“A dangerous cult which sanctions acts of terror against innocent citizens!” retorted Jaggarneth, surprising everyone with a sentence both clear and concise. “I put it to my fellow delegates that the commander is being disingenuous to the extreme.”

“Neither of you truly represent the people of Yuanshi!” Surya suddenly declared.

All eyes were upon the Raja as he emerged from the wings and walked to the centre of the stage. There he paused, savouring the ripple of excited murmurs from the audience as they recognised him as the Maharaja’s exiled heir, the subject of so many recent rumours.

“My father was the last to be so honoured and wanted only for Yuanshi to be united.” His schooling had prepared him for this moment and he sounded every bit the Maharaja’s son. “I am here tonight of my own violation, but this was not how it was supposed to be.”

As he spoke, Ravana walked onto the stage to join him, her heart in her mouth. With what she hoped was a dramatic flourish, she pointed a finger at Commander Kartikeya.

“This man arranged for the Raja to be kidnapped and brought here to be used as a puppet figurehead for his rebellion!” she cried. Seeing Governor Jaggarneth smirk, Ravana whirled around and pointed instead at him. “And this man allowed it to happen! Both of these so-called leaders were happy to use Surya as a pawn in their games. Neither is worthy to provide the leadership Yuanshi so desperately needs.”

“What is this nonsense?” retorted Jaggarneth. “Must we put up with this slander?”

“The young Raja is weary from his travels and is confused,” said Kartikeya.

Ravana saw him pressing a thumb against something in his hand, his scowl deepening by the second. Up in the control room, unseen by all, the mind probe gurgled and died as it succumbed to the half litre of wine Endymion had earlier poured into its data rod slot after liberating a bottle from Miss Clymene’s room. Kartikeya threw down the remote in disgust and glared at Ravana and Surya. Jaggarneth was not so easily rattled.

“Perhaps some introductions are in order,” the governor suggested. “Irregular though this interruption is, we should make an effort to swing our satellites around the same star.”

“We embody the two original colonies of Yuanshi,” said Surya. “I am Raja Surya of Ayodhya. My father was assassinated by special agents of the Que Qiao Corporation.”

“I am Ravana O’Brien of Lanka,” said Ravana, trying her best not to forget her hastily-concocted speech. “My mother was killed at Aranya Pass in an attack led by Commander Kartikeya himself. We have both lived in exile for many years, but having now again seen Ayodhya and Lanka, the heart and soul of Yuanshi, we are saddened to find that our home world still lacks a brain! I see no sign of it in either of you, nor in the minds of the Dhusarian Church. I come from a community where everyone is accountable for their actions. This is something I have not seen here in the shadow of Shennong.”

“You come from a forgotten colony ship, near a planet no one cares about, orbiting a star too dim to see!” retorted Kartikeya. “You do not know the mind of Yuanshi!”

“The fact remains that neither the Maharaja nor the Governor was elected to office,” said the holovid presenter, who had listened to Ravana and Surya with interest. “Do you not think that the government of Yuanshi should be answerable to its citizens?”

“Yuanshi is a business operation!” snapped Jaggarneth. “No more, no less!”

“It is home to half a million people,” Surya replied. “Something you seem to forget.”

“You’ve changed.” Kartikeya sounded disappointed. “A few days ago you were eager to seize your place as your father’s heir. This was to have been our hour! Lanka and the Dhusarian Church together to fight for what we believe is right! This war will not be ended by idle talk. What made you turn your back on all this?”

“The lies,” said Surya. “The scheming. Your refusal to help Ravana in her hour of need. But most of all, I can’t believe you thought it was right to ban song and dance!”

“What?” exclaimed Kartikeya. “That was the reason?”

“I was going crazy in Kubera not being able to listen to music or play my violin!”

Jaggarneth smiled. “Dhusarians do have some very odd ideas.”

“There are good reasons why Taranis made that ruling…” Kartikeya began.

“This is not the time for a debate on religion,” the presenter hastily interrupted. “We are almost out of time. Raja Surya, Ravana; your appearance here tonight is unexpected but not, dare I say it, unwelcome. Do you have any last words for your audience?”

Ravana glanced to the side of the stage and saw Zotz awaiting her signal. Next to him was a boy she recognised from the floating market. She gave Zotz a nod and as quick as a flash he disappeared behind the curtain to join the rest of the band.