Page 82 of Dark Space
‘This is an intensely unadvisable idea,’ he said cheerfully. ‘I love it.’
The darkness thickened, and Vesper made the jump.
We’d practised it a few times, so we were all ready for the feeling. It seemed to affect Anna more than us; though I didn’t strictlyenjoythe sensation of being ripped apart and being put back together again, it didn’t give me the nausea and vertigo Anna experienced. When Vesper re-formed us on the ground, Anna staggered; three sets of hands shot out to catch her.
‘Thanks,’ she said weakly, swallowing determinedly. She took a deep breath in – the air was laced with salt and the scent of kelp – and adjusted her skirt. Vesper smoothed an escaped lockof blonde hair back into place; I gave her waist a tiny squeeze before my hand fell to the antimatter gun at my hip.
‘I smell something sweet,’ Anna murmured. ‘Oh, look at those gorgeous lilies.’
I could hear the ocean from somewhere nearby, and, much louder, the sound of chatter. Vesper’s woodsmoke scent swirled around us, making sure Anna would be able to understand the conversations of the summit’s guests.
‘We’re ready, Bryn,’ Alcide said into his wrist screen.
The sight shield dropped from the orb ship.
I tensed.
For a long, incredible moment, the chatter continued unabated. In that moment, I could imagine we were here like all the other beings: here to debate the issue of intergalactic peace, and how we might achieve it. That we might be welcomed, our voices heard, our ideas considered. The moment was long enough that – impossibly – my tight muscles began to unwind.
Then a low, savage growl ripped through the chatter.
‘Oh, green gods,’ someone said.
A shriek came from nearby as the cast of Alcide appeared on the hull of our ship.
‘Her majesty Orla, third of her name, most excellent Queen of Natare, we greet you.’ Alcide’s deep, pleasant voice rippled across the crowd. ‘I am Alcide Severson, King of Scytha.’
A burst of uneasy chatter met that announcement; the news of the old King’s death seemed to be a surprise to most of the beings in attendance.
‘We were not invited to this peace summit, and I acknowledge the reasoning behind this. As Roth, we are part of the problem; perhaps even the largest part. We have been focused on expansion at the cost of other planets and other species, and also at the cost of our own home. We have made the skies unsafe.’
The chatter fell to a low rumble.
‘My royal father is dead, and Scytha enters a new chapter. The burden of kingship has fallen on my shoulders, but I will not mimic the King who came before me. I look to Scytha’s future, and to learning from her past. Scytha is dying; the Roth diminished. I stand on a precipice. Should the Roth perish, so be it. But I am asking for your help in protecting my people, in protecting mother Scytha, in beginning a new chapter for our world. I know, given the Roth’s recent history, this is asking much. I come before you to ask it anyway.’
I saw a slight shudder in the air as Bryn deactivated our personal sight shields and we were revealed to the delegates around us.
A deathly silence fell over the pavilion.
Alcide lifted his chin, then tucked Anna’s arm securely through his. ‘With the permission of the delegates, I would come before you to plead my case,’ he said. His voice was quiet, but it carried regardless. ‘My Queen and I seek your ears, and seek your mercy. We wish to seek peace; we wish for Scytha to take its proper place within our universe. We seek to sign the Pact.’
A blonde cephalopod male in his trueform pushed through the crowd, a growl rumbling incessantly from his chest. He was tall, as tall as me, and his chest was just as broad, wrapped in a high-collared military-style jacket that stretched over his massive shoulders. His limbs were a bright red that promised pain, and his fangs were bared over his full lip in a savage snarl.
‘Prince Morgan Eventide,’ Alcide said calmly.
‘Your ship is rather heavily armed for a king come to seek ourmercy,’ the male growled.
Alcide gave a graceful half-shrug. ‘We were quite certain you would kill us on sight,’ he said. ‘The weapons are a precaution.’
‘Tell your pilot to stand down, and we might not.’
A Tirian female made her way to stand beside him. Willowy and slender like most of her species, she brushed a strand ofdark hair, escaped from a net of sea pearls, from her pupil-less eyes. ‘My officers are checking the truth of your claims, Alcide King,’ she said. ‘It seems the Roth are rather preoccupied at present.’
Alcide bowed his head in agreement. ‘My cousin, Fiach, has seized the opportunity of my father’s death to consolidate his own power. He has met with some success in the military, but some resistance from the priesthood of the Dread Order.’
She gazed upwards. ‘And you have but a single ship?’
Alcide lifted his chin. ‘That is correct, Captain.’
