"Assumed Dead - 01, Plans and Fears" by Melia Arney

Lady Talio Taren, Head of House Taren, and current First Seat on the Kaesynalic Board of Nobles, walked down a long, airy hallway in the heart of the Kaesynalic Palace. Around her marble pillars rose to vaulted ceilings, gem-encrusted statues depicted others of her race balanced forever in graceful poses, doors of costly and rare wood lined the hall, each magnificently enameled, gilded, inlaid, or all three at once. The walls radiated color as the sun high overhead radiated heat, nowhere was something as mundane as white to be seen. Instead brilliant reds and vibrant blues crossed next to verdant greens that butted up to bright yellows, oranges, and pinks. On a world covered by thousands of miles of red sand and ivory stone, Kaesynalics compensated for the drab and empty appearance of their planet by adorning everything they owned, themselves included, with color, sparkle, and accessories, though not much else.

Talio mindlessly brushed a miniscule speck of red sand off the sleeve of her cream gashil, the formfitting bodysuit always worn underneath a Kaesynalic’s outer garb. The gashil served the purposes of wicking heat and sweat away from the skin, providing protection against Kaesyn 3’s constant winds, and allowing Kaesynalics to wear clothes that would be considered indecent even by most thirteen-year-old girls. Talio herself had only an embroidered sheer drapery of lilac cloth covering her chest and an equally transparent floor-length skirt of blue over the gashil. The skirt was slit from her waist all the way down, but knotted at the hem on both sides to keep the light cloth from billowing and interfering with her legs as she walked. Gold hoops hung from her minutely pointed ears in three places, a broach of highly polished metal inlaid with lacquered wood held the lilac cloth to her body, a matched armband was on her left arm, three rings with various stones were divided between her hands, and a jingling anklet of silver sparkled where it rested over her right boot. Though the leather of the boots was covered in dark swirls painstakingly etched over the surface, they were sturdy. No one skimped with footwear with boiling sands and blistering wind just outside the door.

However, Talio’s mind was not on her finery or her boots. Such things were everyday matters and hardly granted a second thought after they were donned. At the moment she had more important matters to consider and they had carved a frown across her face. It was an usual expression for her and sat out of place below her sea green eyes and raven black hair.

"You should smile, Lady Taren. The Board of Nobles may think you do not support their proposal."

"I don’t support their proposal, Erom," Talio said, the frown deepening. "They are the ones who want this war, not I."

"Then why have you agreed to it?" her bodyguard asked.

"Because the times are changing and I do not have the power being First Seat once granted me. These days I find myself more and more disregarding my own desires for the aspirations of the Board.

"You are still First Seat, Lady Taren. It is they who should cater to your wishes.

"Sadly, such is not how it is. For anything at all to get done, I need the backing of the nobles. They can tie up any proposal they do not like with endless squabbling and they are growing more hostile towards me daily. I hold little hope that I will retain my place as First Seat next term. I can only hope they think before they vote someone to the position they cannot so easily vote out of it."

"You worry about my brother." It was not a question. Erom knew Talio’s thoughts and feelings too well after the years they’d spent together. He’d been her bodyguard since he graduated from Tinoch Shimei secondary school many years before.

Talio nodded gravely. "He is a man who wishes more power than his current position will allow him. He is only heads a minor House. Though several generations closer to the royal bloodline than House Taren, House Joent does not wield the kind of prestige and wealth of my own. And though he is my husband, he has no power over House Taren or anyway to grasp it."

Erom suppressed a desire to gag at the mention of his brother and Talio’s marriage. Iranias Joent had taken Erom’s appointment as her bodyguard as a personal slight in the face of his efforts to woo Talio. House Taren and House Joent had been allies for generations and Iranias had used that old friendship to his best advantage. In the end to appease the heir of their closest ally, House Taren had granted Iranias Talio’s hand. A point that still left a foul taste in Erom’s mouth. Iranias did not love Talio and made no secret of it to her; he only prized her as the head of a large, prosperous, and influential House. There was no love lost between the brothers of House Joent.

"You fear he may try something?" Erom asked, not bothering to hide his dislike for his brother from someone who thought the same.

"I think he is capable of it, but I do not believe he is currently plotting anything or has the power to do anything even if he is. However, I see no reason not to prepare for the day he might. I can only hope that he will hold off until the current problem is resolved."

Erom nodded. Riots, unheard of in the entire history of the planet, had begun in earnest only a few short months ago and had steadily grown worse. There had been unrest in previous years, that was expected in any government, but such things had always been handled quickly with changes made or troublemakers removed. Now the people were ignoring the proper lines of authority and it was growing worse.

"A slave, Erom, a slave actually attacked its master yesterday. Luckily the poor man was not injured severely, but the slave had to be put down of course. There’s nothing else to do if they’ll attack the one who feeds and provides for them. The point is that this is becoming all too serious."

Talio sighed deeply, running a hand down the line of hoops in her right ear. "I am forced to agree with the Board of Nobles, we need this war if for no other reason than to have an outlet for the energy of the peasants. I do not like the idea of war, we have never been a conquering force before, but if something is not done, we may have an uprising on our hands."

"Let us pray it does not come to that."

Talio halted at a pair of large, ornate doors, but when Erom stepped forward to open them for her, she stopped him. "Hold a moment, Erom."

"The nobles will be waiting," he reminded her. They were late as it was and the nobles were already unsettled by the riots, angering them would not be a good idea. Unsettled and angered nobles became dangerous.

Talio smiled reassuringly at Erom. She knew what he was thinking. "Just give me a second to collect myself." She straightened the hang of the lilac cloth, tucked a strand of hair back into place, then signaled Erom to open the doors. When Talio strolled into the meeting hall of the Board of Nobles, she was poised, calm, and, in appearance, completely in control. The other nobles, however, were not.

When the doors opened, a roar of argument soared out of the room. That roar quieted to a mutter and then went out all together when the gathered nobles noticed who had entered. Chairs scraped against the floor as the Board rose to their feet. Talio walked with all the dignity of First Seat to her place at the head of the table, nodding to individual nobles in greeting. She gave Iranias a scrutinizing look before she nodded to him as well. She took her seat and Erom took his spot behind her, one hand resting casually on his blaster. As protector of the First Seat, he was the only bodyguard allowed in the room and he did not miss a chance to remind those standing before him that he was the only one permitted to carry a weapon either.

All but the man sitting to Talio’s left sat. He was Acenir of House Kyen, by tradition the closest family to the royal line. The Head of House Kyen was the official speaker of the Board; Nuai of House X’ata, one seat down from him and one spot further away from the royal line, was the secretary. Marriages between families could strengthen power and influence on the Board, but the ranking of Houses did not change. People only third or forth generation down from the royal line would be passed over in the succession in favor of children from Kyen or X’ata if no proper heir were born.

"The Board of Nobles welcomes you, Lady Talio Taren of House Taren, First Seat to the Board," Acenir announced before taking his own seat.

Talio accepted his welcome and then addressed the gathered council. "I am sorry for my tardiness. Other matters had my attention and since I know you all to be perfectly capable, I assumed you could do without my presence for a time. You did seem to be making great progress when I walked in."

More than a few nobles looked a little sheepish at having been caught in the middle of a shouting match.

"Perhaps," Talio continued, "if someone were to tell me what the cause of the conflict was, I could assist you in finding a solution."

At his spot less than fifteen spaces down from House X’ata, Iranias Joent rose from his seat. "If I may?" he asked.

Talio looked to Acenir. It was his right to speak before any of the others, but the man shook his head, giving his permission for Joent to continue. Talio filed this away for future consideration. Acenir was fiercely proud of his right to speak first. Perhaps her husband held more power than she had thought.

"Of course, Iranias. What was the trouble?"

"It is a simple matter really. Though we are all in agreement that the inferior worlds of the Allied Planetary Government must be brought under the supreme reign of the Kaesyn Imperium, we have not as yet been able to devise a way to make this a reality."

"Surely such skilled individuals and military geniuses as I have sitting before me can construct some plan to defeat the APG’s forces."

"If the First Seat will forgive me, it is not the forces of the APG that concern us."

"What is it then, Iranias?"

"It is the Dejine Order of Casters. Though our Epor are far superior to them in training, they are not superior in number."

"Forget the Dejine, any Epor is worth a hundred of them and their polluted Offworlder blood!" cried one of the nobles. And the arguing began anew.

"Any offensive we launch will not be effective without first eliminating the Dejine threat."

"Threat?! The Dejine are no threat!"

"That’s right, we should simply lay waste to their Enclaves and be done with them."

"Underestimating our enemy is the worst mistake we could make at this point! Besides, they have more than just their Enclaves. How do you intend for us to find the Hidden Planet? Or do you happen to have a map to Ekarku?"

"That only helps us. With them spread out they will be easier to pick off."

"Not if we can’t find them!"

"We should declare war now. The Dejine never bother themselves with external affairs; they won’t lift a finger to aid the APG."

"We cannot risk assuming that just because they have not acted with the APG in the past that they will not do so now! They’ve never faced a threat of invasion before."

"Silence!" Joent’s voice cut through the melee of arguments.

The meeting hall fell silent. Once again, Talio noted with growing unease, Joent had taken the duty that was Acenir’s by right; first to speak out of turn and then to order the Board to silence.

Unaware of the disquiet he had evoked in his wife, Joent turned to her with a slightly amused smile for the squabbling of the nobles. The kind one would give to a child who is not expected to know better. "As you can see, First Seat, we are in quite a conundrum."

"Yes, I do see." Then, after a moment’s thought, "Tell me, why is it that we cannot predict what the Order’s reaction to our invasion will be?"

"To be perfectly honest," Joent spread his arms out in a gesture of helplessness, "we know hardly anything about the Dejine. They are secretive about their personal affairs."

"Even our spies within the APG have been useless?"

"They can know only what the government and populace of the APG know and as I said, the Dejine are reclusive."

Talio sat and considered all she had heard. She did not like acting without information, and despite what some of the Heads of Houses might think, the Dejine, as the unpredictable element, were the most dangerous force against them. To plan they needed to be able to understand the Dejine’s motives.

"It seems to me that what we need is a spy within the Order itself."

"That has been suggested, but it is not plausible."

"And why is that, Iranias? We have managed to infiltrate spies through the APG’s entire political structure. Why do the Dejine present such a problem?"

"The Dejine take most of their trainees quite young, even younger than our own Epor in most cases. It seems that Offworlder parents fear the idea of raising a Caster."

"And the Dejine allow these parents to simply throw away their children?" Talio demanded. Though she herself was not gifted with the Talents, both her daughters were, as were Erom and Joent and no less than a sixth of the nobles before her. To give birth to a Caster was considered an honor. Though most noble Houses sent their sons and daughters into other forms of training after their primary education at Diomair was complete, common-born Casters were the heart of the military and the pride of the planet.

Joent shrugged. "They are only Offworlders, First Seat. One can hardly expect them to be civilized." Talio had to nod her head in agreement to that. Everyone knew that the Offworlders had been destroying themselves with various wars since the fall of the Jul Kal Empire. The Kaesynalics had perhaps had two small wars in that same time.

"I see your point, Iranias. Please continue with your explanation."

"Because the Dejine take their trainees so young, if we were to somehow slip one of our Caster children inside, they would need to be too young to have developed the necessary loyalty to the Imperium. Also, any medtech would be able to distinguish Kaesynalic physiology from that of a mere human."

"And why not openly offer them one of our half-trained Epor?"

"That would solve our difficulties with secrecy and loyalty. However, I doubt the Dejine Order would accept even a half-trained Epor. They have always had some type of aversion to our training methods and our use of the Elemental Talents. I believe they would think it not worth their time to attempt to reeducate the subject.

"Plus, after several thousand years of minimal communication between our respective schools for Caster education, it would take an absolute fool to not see the deception behind us offering them the honor of training one of our Epor. Though I do not put much faith in the intelligence of Dejine. They do train Furries after all."

A snicker spread throughout the room. Kaesynalics did not consider species covered in fur, scales, feathers, or anything besides skin, sentient. Humans they granted sentiency, though not overlarge amounts of intelligence.

"We do seem to have quite the complication, don’t we?" Talio stated when the snickers had died down. She peeked her fingers in thought. She could use this situation to her advantage. She knew it, and yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on how. Then it came to her. She smiled inwardly. This could solve a couple of problems of hers. A couple of problems named Jaerri and Mia.

"It seems to me," she began, and the meeting hall quickly fell into a hush, "that what we need is a child that is old enough to have developed the natural loyalty to their home system, but that is still young enough to be interesting to the Dejine. Also, we require a reason for offering this child to them that will not warrant their suspicion. It would take a special child indeed for this task." Talio allowed her smile to spread outward at that last part.

"If it is not too bold of me to inquire," Joent asked, rightly assuming her smile meant she already knew who to assign this task, "do you have such a child in mind?"

"Not child, Iranias, children."

Murmurs of confusion came from the nobles below. For the first time since greeting her, Acenir of House Kyen stood and spoke. "But, First Seat, more than one child will be even more difficult still."

Joent glared at him and Acenir instantly sat back down. Much, much more power than Talio had given him credit for. Joent turned to her again. She did not like what she thought she saw flash behind his eyes. "May I ask who these children are?"

"Why, mine of course."

The look of shock and disbelief spread faster than the snickers had earlier. There was a similar look in Joent’s eyes, followed by…what? Anger? What had she done to anger him? As far as she knew he held no love for the children who called him father. Why would he care if they were sent away?

In the corner of her field of vision she saw Erom stiffen. It would have been an imperceptible movement to anyone who did not know him as well as she did. They would have words later. She had already anticipated that complication. There was no time to dwell on it, though. The nobles were in an uproar for the third time since she’d opened the doors.

"Your daughters? The heirs to House Taren?!"

"But they are only eight, First Seat!"

"We cannot allow those of noble blood to be raised by, Offworlders, infidels, and…and Furry-lovers!!"

"By Furries themselves for all we know."

"Please reconsider. This is a task for commoners. Nobles must be protected from such negative influences."

"The risks are too great."

"If they have your heirs then what keeps the Dejine from using them against us?"

"SILENCE!!!" Every mouth in the hall snapped shut at Joent’s command. "Though I would not dare to question your wisdom, First Seat, why must it be your daughters that are sent to the Dejine? Surely a commoner who cannot later be used as a hostage would be a better choice."

Talio’s face remained serene and calm, but her voice was frigid. "You say that you would not question my wisdom, Iranias, and yet that is what you are doing."

Joent stiffened at the rebuke and made to reply, but she continued as if not noticing.

"It must be my daughters and this is why: they are the proper age, not too young or too old. I can tell the Dejine that I wish them safely off the planet due to the riots as a reason for sending them to the Order for training. More importantly, the Dejine would see this as a peace offering of sorts, a chance to open communication between our two schools.

"Furthermore, Mia is strong in the Mental Talents, which we all know is the only aspect of the Talents the Dejine accept. She is also already showing the early signs of being more than ordinarily proficient with computers, a skill that will assist her in acquiring information about the Dejine."

"Are you certain this is the proper course of action, First Seat?" Joent’s words were crisp and forced.

"Yes, Iranias, I feel this plan is best in both ease to execute and chances for success."

"Then it shall be done as you wish. An ultimatum…I mean a request shall be dispatched to the Dejine Order of Casters immediately offering to them the supreme glory of hosting the heirs of House Taren and continuing their education until such time as the riots have been squelched and order restored."

Talio nodded and turned her attention to the room at large. "If they accept, we shall have only a few months to prepare my daughters for their new task. Everyone must now focus his or her attention on that project."

There was a murmur of submission that she accepted by reflex.

"I leave this in the capable hands of the Board of Nobles, knowing it will be handled with the utmost care and attention," she concluded, standing and gliding out of the room. Erom trailed behind her with a look that made the nobles shrink a step back.

Back in the hall, Talio silently led the way down several long corridors until finally they stepped through a reinforced polysteel door and onto a large balcony two floors above the busy street below. It was less than an hour away from midday when Moira’s Fury would grip the city with winds strong enough to peel flesh from bone. Those that had errands to run were scurrying to get them done and return quickly to the safety of their homes. Though the city’s shield repelled the deadly winds, it was seldom one saw a person on the streets during the hour of midday.

Talio watched the people, the city, and the expanse of desert beyond without seeing any of it. "I know what you’re thinking, Erom," she said with her back still to him, "but this is how it has to be."

"Why, Talio? Why them? There are hundreds of Caster children in Diomair Edria; why choose your daughters?"

"My daughters?" Talio turned to look him in the eye. "Or your daughters?"

"We swore we would never speak of that in public," Erom hissed, casting his eyes around to see if anyone could have overheard. The balcony remained as empty as it had when they’d first set foot on it and even if others had joined them, the noise from below would have drowned out their talk. Talio had chosen the location for this discussion well.

"We’re alone on a balcony with no one in sight; it is not public."

"Alright then, why did you feel the need to volunteer our daughters for this?"

Erom didn’t hear what she said the first time. It had been barely a whisper. "Because I’m worried about them," she repeated when asked. "I’m worried sick."

The bodyguard was taken aback. Talio did not often admit to being afraid. "In what way? Do the riots really have you that anxious?"

"Partly. They are getting worse as the days go by, and I would sleep easier knowing the children were far away from the danger. But that is not all of it. I am also concerned about Mia."

"Mia?" Erom prodded.

"She is not adapting well to Diomair. Her temperament does not suit it. From what I know of the Dejine Order, she would be happier with them."

"But what of Jaerri? She is not like Mia; she loves studying with the Epor. Just yesterday she advanced another level in her training."

"That too worries me. I have no complaints towards Diomair, but I do not want her to grow to love it too much. Even at this point when she’s only been there a few years, she is having trouble accepting that she cannot continue on to Diomair Caldae when she turns fourteen. She is heir to House Taren and cannot forsake that. I would rather have her learn to control her abilities from the Dejine where there is no fear she will want to stay with them once her training is complete."

"I think you are worrying too much, Talio. Jaerri has always known she cannot remain with the Epor. And even if she did, there is always Mia to run House Taren."

"Is there?"

Erom’s heart sank. He tried so hard to forget the fact that Mia and Jaerri could not both live to adulthood that occasionally he actually succeeded.

Talio sighed and leaned against Erom’s chest. "Fate has dictated that I only keep one of my twins and though I hate to take the side of one over the other, if I had to give my opinion, it would be that Jaerri will be the one to live. I must take whatever steps I can to see that she turns into the kind of leader my House needs."

"Then you do not think Mia has a hope of survival?" he asked, trying to keep the pain from his voice.

Talio looked up into his eyes. "There is always hope, but murder is not part of her nature, not truly, and I do not want it to be."

"Without the capacity to murder her sister, though, there is no hope. Mia will die."

"Better to die as she is than to become something she is not. And if she can give us information on the Dejine Order before her death, then her life will still have meaning."

Talio looked down again, but Erom lifted her chin so he could once more see her eyes. A man could get lost in those eyes he thought, remembering when he had first seen her after returning from secondary school and done just that. "You speak of Mia gaining information, but not Jaerri. Why do I sense that you do not think Jaerri is cut out for this task at all?"

"Because I do not. But I cannot offer the Order one without the other and not raise suspicions. And as I said, I would be happier if she were away from Diomair. Do not be angry with me, Erom. I do believe I am acting in the best interests of both our children."

"I am not angry, Talio," he said, holding her tightly. "I will also feel more at ease knowing they are far off. You may think my brother is not up to anything, but I do not trust him as much. My reluctance is merely the selfish reason that I will miss them. Even though they are away at school now and don’t know the truth, I see them at holidays and can watch from afar."

"One day, my true husband, we will tell them."

She leaned up and pressed her lips to his. They stayed like that, arms wrapped consolingly around each other, each breath filled with the rich scent of the one they loved, until Moira’s Fury drove them back indoors and to their rolls of Head of House and bodyguard.