Page 53 of Lhora
“My father was a reel man on a cruiser. My grandfather worked at casting bow sprints. I’m the first and so far the only male in my family to go into active service.” He fingered the sleeve on his tunic. “My crew and I are grateful for the change of clothing.”
“Your uniforms are probably being cleaned as we speak. They should be ready for you come morning.” Conspicuously missing was his weapons belt and sword, and curiosity prompted her to inquire, “Did you leave your belt in the room, or was it confiscated?”
“I ordered the men for their weapons to remain in our rooms. I felt it would show the Esstika and the soldiers of our good intent.”
Lhora smiled. It made sense. She glanced around the table. “Is everyone present?”
Lon did a quick mental survey. “Other than our ship’s medic and the injured crewmen, I believe so.”
“All rise for the Esstika!” a soldier announce.
Everyone stood as Kai entered the hall. Behind her strode Fallmin. She graced them with a smile as she placed her hands on the back of her seat. “After listening to my daughter explain how it is that you’ve come to be here, I want to thank you and welcome you. Please know there is a place for all of you here, should you decide to stay. I know you have family who are worried about you. Your frigate is being overhauled if you wish to return to Coltross.” She turned to Lon. “But we can discuss this at another time. For now, eat up. You’ve earned your reward and rest.”
Fallmin came up behind his daughter and leaned over her shoulder to whisper directly in her ear. “Your mother told me your story. She said you have something important you need to share with the both of us. Come to our chambers when you’re ready.”
She nodded slightly, and her father went to take a seat beside his wife.
“Esstiss?”
Down the table, on the other side, she spotted Kalfis. The man raised his glass in her direction. “Thank you, Lhora. You were right.” Beside him, his brother Pullid raised a glass to salute her.
“Let’s all give thanks to Lhora,” Lon called out, getting to his feet. As one, his crew rose and saluted her with their mugs. “We owe you our lives,” the Vadris stated. “We were wrongfully accused and held illegally. If it weren’t for you, we would have perished in that dungeon because of the sadistic nature of our Sarpi.”
“Thank you, Vadris. But you do realize that you deserve a lot of the credit. If you’d gone ahead and placed me in the brig, as was protocol, we would not be sitting here now,” Lhora remarked.
“No,” Lon admitted. “Chances are our Sarpi may have been killed or captured. And if it was discovered we were in the vicinity but didn’t attack or challenge the Tra’Mell, which it eventually would be, we would have been accused of aiding and abetting the Tra’Mell. Even though we would have never survived a direct assault against three of their ships. The odds were stacked against us, either way. You allowed us the only path to freedom.”
“Somehow we must find out what the Sarpi is hiding,” Fobi spoke out. “We need to discover why we were unjustly accused.”
“We’re going to launch an investigation,” the Esstika assured them. “If for no other reason than to prevent such a thing from happening again. The last thing I want is for any of my delegates I send to Coltross to be bizarrely accused of something they’re innocent of. Now, enjoy your meal and a good night’s sleep. We’ll discuss your next plan of action tomorrow.”
With that said, everyone dug in. For the next couple of hours they ate and drank, and sometimes got a little raucous, but it was all in good fun. At one point Lhora glanced at her father when things got a bit too noisy, but he silently pulsed her to let her know all was well. He was reading these men the same way she was, and recognized the lack of evil intent. These were men who had been fiercely loyal to their Sarpi, until Sov destroyed that trust, leaving them confused and adrift. This slice of normalcy was what they were needing to help them come to grips with their present situation.
After a while, the Esstika and Gur Fallmin excused themselves and left. Lhora gave them a few minutes, then rose to bade the others a good evening before also exiting the hall.
“Don’t forget that the soldiers are aware of you being our guests,” she advised them. “And as our guests, we ask that you remain within or close to your rooms. If you venture elsewhere, you’ll be accompanied by a guard. This is a protective measure for all of us.”
“We understand and accept the conditions of your generous hospitality,” Lon agreed.
Giving him a quick smile of thanks, she departed the banquet hall and went straight to her parents’ chamber where they were waiting for her.
Her mother had already slipped out of her usual robes and into one of the old, ratty yet comfortable gowns she preferred to sleep in. Her father had stripped down to his breeches. They both sat in their overstuffed twin chairs before the fireplace as they sipped their glasses of meliss.
“Those are good men. It’s a shame they’ve been made to suffer unjustly.” Fallmin confirmed, holding out his glass to her. Lhora took it and sat cross-legged on the rug between them as he went to get himself another glass. She loved these moments alone with them. It was cathartic.
“That’s one reason why I felt I had to help them escape,” she confessed.
“Tell us what else you felt was important,” Kai queried.
Lhora took another sip of her drink. “When the Tra’Mell accosted us on our way to Beinight, they demanded to know why we threatened them.”
“They approached you?” Fallmin interrupted.
“They’d come from the north and were encroaching on Coltrosstian airspace. Vadris Lon asked them to identify themselves, but they were hesitant.”
“Did they identify themselves?”
“Yes. Eventually. They called their ship theBua Ca.Then they wanted to know why we’d challenged them. Lon told them it was standard procedure to challenge an enemy ship. That’s when they asked about their agreement.” She took another sip as her parents stared at her and silently waited for her to continue. “In fact, their exact quote was ‘We have an agreement with your Sarpi, have we not?’ When Lon asked them why the Sarpi would make an agreement with the enemy, they said it was for the betterment of Coltross. And to defeat their mutual enemy, the Beinight.”
