Page 18 of Neverwylde 6
It was Bluv who finally gave him the courtesy of responding. “Initially, we received your emergency signal. Its location told us you had come in contact with a tegris. Do you know what a tegris is?”
“It is a phenomenon, usually a wormhole, that remains in an exact location. The problem with a tegris wormhole is that it is not stable. It appears and disappears infrequently. It cannot be predicted. Not when it appears, nor how long it remains open. Considering your question, I will assume that is what we fell through. But, in all honesty, I did not know we were anywhere near a tegris designated sector.”
“I would think not, since you did not direct your ship into that area.”
“But Plat did,” Kyber countered. “He knew the moment it appeared what it was. Has this tegris been explored? Is that how you managed to find us? Because you knew the neverwylde planet was on the other end?”
“You ask too many questions,” Jeha commented.
Kyber smiled to himself. That was his answer. Once rescue entered the wormhole, it was a simple matter to track the signal from Dox’s device to find where on the planet they’d landed.
“D’har Kyber.” Duruk finally looked directly at him. “To your knowledge, were there any other Seneecian ships in your location?”
“No.”
“So, to your knowledge, no one else, other than us, is aware of where you have been these past few months.”
Kyber started to respond when he sensed something was about to occur. Something that set the hairs on his body on end.
“No.”
“Then no one else knows of this purported alliance between you and those skints?”
Hearing his brother use the derogatory term for Terrans, his foreboding rose another notch.
“As far as I know, no. No one else knows of or is aware of the alliance.”
A small voice whispered in his ear, warning him. Telling him something was wrong. Something was amiss. “Remember what you thought earlier?” it murmured. “Remember? They have already tried you and found you guilty. All they need is the formality. The Triumvirate is present now. Do you know what that tells you? It tells you there will be no further hearings once you reach Seneecia.”
You have been found guilty.
The Terrans have been found guilty.
Kleesod, Massapa, Gaveer—guilty.
And once found guilty, their sentences will be imposed…with all due expediency.
“D’har Kyber, it is our belief that you acted unjustly and in defiance of our laws when you fought D’har Plat,” Jeha announced. “In addition, you knew your actions regarding contact with the Terrans was illegal, and sustaining an alliance with them would be considered treason. One final question. Is it true you took the Terran female as your consort?”
There it was. The question he had been waiting for.
Straightening, Kyber never broke eye contact with the man as he answered, “Yes, I did.”
“Then you know what the penalty for treason is, do you not?” Duruk inquired.
Kyber glanced up to see smirk come over his brother’s face. At that moment he knew exactly where Kelen and the others were. He knew exactly what was about to happen to them, and icy fear filled his bloodstream.
When this ship returned to Seneecia, he, his crewmembers, and every Terran would not be aboard.
The penalty for treason was death.
