Page 1 of Touch the Stars
Chapter 1
Warrior Baatar.
Alone.Alone.Alone.The word repeated in his mind with each click of his booted heels against the floor, echoing what was at stake through the cavernous marble passageway.
Family.
Life.
Honor.
I am not a traitor.
But Buuren was.Like an uninvited guest, the fist of grief squeezed his heart.How could his older brother have turned traitor to the empire?Brought dishonor and shame to their family?Was this why the emperor had summoned him to the sacred planet Ghara, the imperial seat of the Gharan Empire?To deprive his family of another member as an example to others?
If my death restores my family’s honor, so be it.
Odd, though, that an Undetan warrior, capable of killing a being with his bare hands, had no escort to the imperial audience chamber.Merely leaving his weapons in the imperial docking bay did not render himunlethal.
I am not a traitor.
In the end, his opinion did not matter.The emperor’s proclamation would be the final word.The voice of the empire, the reverent being the Ancient Ones had chosen to be its current overseer twenty years ago.
And I?
Click.Click.Click.
I am alone.
The alabaster-white egress and tall arched doors to the emperor’s audience chambers loomed taller and wider than any on his home-world, dominating his vision.A vivid reminder that even though Undetans stood as tall as two meters, they were not the largest of all the empire’s races.
On the other side of those doors, his fate awaited.For better or for worse.Imprisonment?Death?Pardon?
A hollow gong resonated through the still air, reverberating in his ears like a premonition of doom.Then the massive doors swung slowly and silently inward.A wave of anxiety set his heart beating like the wings of a trapped talon hawk, the fiercest of all the birds of prey back home.
I.Am.Not.A.Traitor.
He was forever a loyal citizen of the Gharan Empire and a warrior of the Undet people.And a warrior never showed their inner trepidation,especiallynot to the grand emperor.That would be akin to admitting familial guilt.He raised his chin, rolled his shoulders back, then stepped through the doorway.
The audience chamber reflected more white-on-white marbled opulence.The only color came from the massive columns cut from single pale-yellow gemstones, a few geodes, and small, carved, ornamental stone sculptures.Each piece of artwork was arranged on tall marble pedestals in the most eye-pleasing positions.
Grandiose, yet none of it was real.The entire imperial complex and everything in it, was no more than an illusion, made possible by the advanced technology of the Ancients.Each imperial leader defined comfort differently and chose their surroundings accordingly.As the current ruler was from Ragat, he would naturally find comfort in cold, hard ores and stones.
“You are Warrior Baatar of Undet?”The low, rough voice jerked his attention toward the imposing figure filling the left side archway.
The Ragatian’s putty-gray skin tone emphasized his resemblance to a living, breathing rock formation.His loose, silken shirt and pants in white, the shade worn exclusively by ruling imperials, proclaimed his status.
“I live to serve, my liege.”He lowered himself to his knees, the soft whisper of his brushed-hide uniform seemed louder than a stormy ocean in the austere chamber.
He bent forward until his forehead met the cool, white-veined floor.Unease tightened his stomach.Traditional formality or not, exposing the back of his neck to anyone went against all his warrior instincts.Which was the point, after all.Every warrior in the empire was at the mercy of the reigning sovereign.
“Rise, Warrior.”The emperor’s voice rumbled like gravel.“We have much to discuss and little time.”
He allowed a mental sigh of relief as he rose to his feet in a single fluid motion.All three of the emperor’s arms hung loose and relaxed at his sides; the muscular, dominant right arm was as thick as his own waist.The lesser arm below it, and the single, middle-sized left arm, were no less impressive for their lack of size.
For a race built for war and savagery, and which drank their enemies’ blood, this male had somehow defied his genetic history to remain untouched by such violent tendencies.So many had feared he would plunge the empire into a civil war or feed the citizens of the other member planets to his own people.Not only had none of that happened, but the empire had also enjoyed twenty years with no external threats.Even with the Bajiki Syndicate.
“Walk with me, Warrior.”The emperor turned and lumbered, with heavy footfalls, toward the other archway to the right.
