Sharon Green - Terrillian 2 - Warrior Enchained

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<HTML><HEAD><TITLE> Terrillian II: The Warrior Enchained </TITLE></HEAD>

<H1>Terrillian II: The Warrior Enchained </H1>

<H3>by Sharon Green</H3></CENTER>

<H3 align=center><A id=ref_1 name=CH>CHAPTER 1 </A></H3>

The day was sunny, bright and fresh after two days of rain. I stepped out

of my house onto the Neighborhood lawn, still wondering if I'd been wise

letting myself be talked into attending the Neighborhood party. After a week

and a half of being back on Central, I still wasn't in a party mood.

The blue, blue sky stretched far and wide above me as I walked; a small

breeze chased around here and there, stirring my hair; the lawn was cool and

green and thick as far as the eye could see. I wore a dress of pale yellow

that billowed around me to the ground, making me feel as if I were floating,

and my neighbors turned where they stood or sat, smiling and waving and

waiting for me to join them. The success of my assignment had been made public

three days earlier, but the rain had kept me from being mobbed by admirers

right from the beginning. I'd had to turn the call off to save my sanity, and

that in itself was a new experience. But then, one of my rewards was that I

saw everything in a new light.

"Terry, come sit over here," Leebril Conrad called, her face animated

behind the alternating pink and orange diagonal stripes of her face makeup.

"I'm so excited I may burst!"

"Not on a Neighborhood chair, if you please, Lee," Sam Raymond put in

dryly. "Save it for your own furniture."

"Samprey Raymond, you stop teasing me!" Lee pouted as everyone within

hearing laughed. "Just because you're Neighborhood Chairman doesn't mean you

can tease everyone-isn't that right, Terry?

A large number of eyes turned in my direction, and I could feel the sudden

wall of expectation arising from each mind behind those eyes. I was supposed

to say something monumental and historic, something legend would some day be

built on.

"What suddenly makes me an expert on Neighborhood Chairmen?" I asked,

watching Lee tug at the skirt of the Alderanean leisure suit she wore. She was

short and plump and the brief leisure suit looked terrible on her, but she'd

worn leisure suits before without caring how she looked-as long as she was

dressed in the height of fashion.

"Notoriety makes the acclaimed an expert on everything." Sam grinned,

stepping back to give me access to a chair if I wanted it. "If you plan on

staying home for a while, I'll probably end up losing the Chairmanship to

you."

"Not to me," I denied with a headshake. "I'm not Chairman material. And

even if I were, tomorrow I'm off on another assignment, so your position is

safe."

Sam echoed everyone else's disappointment at hearing the news, but he

seemed relieved even as he protested his displeasure. It was the main reason

I'd said what I had, even though I hadn't originally intended making an

announcement of it. His original words had been lighthearted, but he'd been

seriously worried.

"Terry, that's not fair!" Lee protested, getting to her feet once she was

sure I wouldn't be sitting. "You only just got back from talking those savages

into letting us build our complex on their silly planet! How can they give you

another assignment so soon?"

"Possibly it happened because I asked for one." I shrugged, ignoring Lee's

resentment. "I'm feeling very restless these days, and work is the best cure

for that."

"It certainly is," Ted Rohman agreed, putting an arm around my shoulders.

Tedlor Rohman was a newcomer to the Neighborhood, as tall and good-looking as

Sam, but five or six years younger. "But don't forget, Terry, work is also the

best thing to make us appreciate relaxation. I've been looking forward to

asking you to a real, but you've left me very little time. You'll have to tell

me what time to pick you up tonight."

"You pick her up?" Sam frowned, moving a step closer. "What makes you think

she's going out with you? I intended asking Terry out myself tonight."

"Neighborhood Chairmen and diplomats don't have every privilege." Ray

Ladiff interrupted the argument. "I've known Terry longer than both of you,

and it so happens I was going to . . . ."

"You're not a Mediator, Ray," Sam interrupted with a gesture of his hand.

"Just working in Terry's department doesn't entitle you to special

consideration. As far as knowing her the longest goes, longest doesn't mean

best. I can remember. . "

"That's right, longest doesn't mean best," Ted agreed, interrupting in

turn. "It seems to me this can be taken care of by. . "

His words trailed off as I moved out of hearing range, disgusted by the way

the three of them were acting. They didn't want to take me out, they just

wanted to be seen with me, showing everyone what big, important men they were.

I could feel everything they felt when they looked at me, no matter how they

tried to hide it.

"Terry, wait a minute," Lee called, hurrying after me. I stopped where I

was until she reached me, and she gave me a broad, friendly smile and asked,

"Aren't they disgusting? Can you imagine men fighting over a woman in this day

and age?"

I looked back at the three men engrossed in calm conversation and saw, in a

flash of memory, three other men facing one another in the rain. All three

carried swords and all three had wanted me, and only one had walked away from

the disagreement.

"I don't know if I can stand the excitement," I commented, again ignoring

Lee. This time she was jealous, even though it was common knowledge that she'd

already had all three men in her bed at least once each.

"Well, you can teach them all a lesson." She smiled, smoothing her straight

orange hair. "If you come to the party I'm giving tonight, they'll all be left

feeling foolish-especially if you stay over as my house guest until it's time

for you to leave."

I looked at her easy smile, seeing nothing but warmth in it, wondering why

I never realized before how shallow she was. Lee wanted me at her party and as

her house guest, but only for the prestige my presence would bring. It was

easy to feel that she didn't like me, that she resented my height, my slender

build, my un-made-up face, my plain, long brown hair. .The only thing she did

like about me was my reputation as a Prime Xenomediator, a reputation she

could use to advance her own cause.

"Lee, I'm crushed but I can't make it," I said, projecting the least amount

of honesty and regret. "There are still dozens of things to be taken care of

before I leave, not to mention all those reports on my new assignment. I'll be

spending the rest of the day and night on them."

"That's too bad," she pouted. "I guess I was looking forward to having you

come more than I should have." She hesitated briefly. "Well, you'll just have

to promise to be my guest as soon as you're home again. You will promise,

won't you, Terry?"

"Of course I promise," I assured her at once, patting her hand. "You can

give me a homecoming party."

"How lovely!" she squealed, clapping her hands in delight. "No one has ever

given you a homecoming party, and I'll be the first!"

She turned around and hurried away toward another group of our neighbors,

anxious to pass on the word about how important she was going to be. I watched

until she reached the nearest group, then turned away and headed back to my

house. The party had definitely been a mistake, but now I knew it as a fact.

Once I got the front door closed I leaned against it, automatically

clearing my mind of all the emotions that had been prodding at me. I took a

deep breath and went upramp to my living quarters, heading directly for the

bathroom. I'd already had one bath that day, but I felt the need for another.

I'd been bathing a lot since I got back from Rimilia, but whatever I'd been

trying to wash away still wasn't gone.

I dialed a hot bath, and by the time I was out of the long yellow dress,

the tub was filled. I stepped into the water and sat down, letting my mind go

back over the last two weeks and beyond. It was hard to think about, and the

passage of time wasn't making it any easier.

I'd gone to Rimilia to help convince its natives to allow the Centran

Amalgamation to build a complex on their planet, and everything had gone

according to plan-with one unexpected addition. I'd fallen in love with the

man I'd been sent to help, making the mistake of thinking he loved me, too.

I'd given him everything within my power to give and he had given me his

child-and then he had sent me back to the embassy we had on the planet, my

assignment completed, my talents no longer needed. I was an empath, a Prime

Xenomediator, and feeling's are impossible to hide from an empath. Tammad, my

beloved, the man I had been willing to give my life for, felt no regret or

sense of loss when he sent me away from him. This I knew better than any other

fact of my life, and the pain continued to plague me both asleep and awake.

I stirred in the warm bath water, thinking about transparenting the walls

around me then rejecting the idea. I no longer felt the need to reach out in

some vague way, groping for something I couldn't explain even to myself.

Empaths usually lived half lives when on Central, their gifts and the very

memory of those gifts suppressed until the need to use them came along again.

Then, once they'd reached their destinations, the triggering word would be

spoken to awaken them and let them do their jobs, the countertrigger coming

only when the assignment was complete. This time, as a reward for the work I'd

done for the Amalgamation, the countertrigger hadn't been spoken to me and I

still retained my talent, although I'd been forbidden to tell anyone. I

stirred again in the water, wondering just how much a reward I'd been given.

All the people I'd thought of as friends had turned out to be something else

entirely.

Abruptly I felt bored with sitting in a tub of water, and rose to my feet

without even washing. I'd felt the same sort of impatience on Rimilia-the

impatience to do rather than sit-and had been lucky enough to be able to take

over Murdock McKenzie's transport back to Central. Murdock McKenzie was in

charge of Central's Diplomacy Bureau-and considerably more, I was beginning to

suspect-and he had decided he and his people could wait for the transport to

return for them. I'd left the very next day after I'd been returned to the

embassy, and as soon as I'd grounded at Tallion City Outer Port, had gone

directly to the medical center. The tiny speck that was Tammad's child and

mine now lay in stasis, waiting for me to decide what to do with it, and my

body was protected again. I didn't plan on needing the protection, but I was

protected.

I toweled the water off myself, then picked up the yellow dress and carried

it back into the bedroom with me. It had come to me that I'd worn it only

because Tammad wouldn't have approved of a shorter dress, and in spite of

everything I was still dressing to please him. A man who beat me when I

disobeyed him, who ignored my wishes when his own failed quarters than-than

Tammad had allowed a locked door to stand between us. He'd broken the door

down immediately, striding angrily through the wreckage, then had

I stopped the train of thought and put my hands to my head, appalled at

what was happening to me. Could I actually be blaming men for rationally

discussing their differences rather than spilling each other's blood, for

accepting a refusal of disinterest rather than taking me against my will? The

men of Central were civilized and sensible, not barbarians who needed to be

criticized and sneered at! Then why was I

I cut off that thought too, closing my eyes against the anger building

inside me. It was all that barbarian's fault, all part of what he had done to

me. Wrong looked right and right looked wrong, and everything had to be

thought of and done according to his beliefs and preconceptions! He had forced

me, a Prime, into fulfilling his every desire, obeying his every wish-and then

had thrown me away, my usefulness over. I hated him, hated everything about

him-and hated myself for wishing he had kept me.

I went to my bed and sank down onto it, then stretched out beside the

reports I'd left there. I was going to have to force myself to forget what had

gone on during my time on Rimilia, and burying myself in work would be the

first step toward doing that. I was a Prime, one of the best; even if he

didn't want me, everyone else did.

I pulled the first report to me and thumbed through it quickly, verifying

that it held nothing but details about Alderan. Everyone in the Amalgamation

knew about Alderan, bow it was one of the greatest fashion centers, one of the

first planets settled by Central, one of the first to break away into

independence. Its main claim to fame, of course, was being the home planet of

the Kabras, but that need hardly be pointed out. Mediation assignments on

Alderan invariably involved the Kabras, which never failed to amuse me. In my

opinion, the doings of the largest group of professional soldiers in the

Amalgamation should not require the services of a Mediator to settle its

differences.

The second report described the disagreement one contingent of Kabras were

currently involved in. They had hired themselves out to a merchant on the

planet Defflore to protect his interests against a rival merchant-and

incidently take as much land and goods from the other merchant as possible-but

the second merchant had also hired a contingent of Kabras equal to the first

merchant's force. Such a situation had come to mean a standoff as it would be

foolish to expect two equal groups of Kabras to fight, and the only

alternative at that point was for the two merchants to come to a peaceful

understanding, or for one of them to hire an additional Kabra fighting force.

The presence of the additional force would give the merchant who had it

immediate victory-after all, a fight between two unequal Kabra groups is a

certainty in outcome without needing a single blow to be struck-and

reparations could then be claimed against the defeated merchant. In this

instance, however, neither merchant could spare the expense of an additional

force, and the agreement between them was quickly concluded. Not quite as

quickly concluded was the fulfillment of payment to the forces of the first

merchant, the one who had begun all the difficulty. He insisted he had been

expecting acquisition's from the efforts of the Kabras and would have paid

them from those. Without the acquisitions he was totally unable to live up to

his end of the bargain, and demanded that the Kabras remove themselves from

his property and return to their home world. The Kabras, of course, refused to

stir until their fee's were paid in full.

I sighed deeply and put the report aside, then stretched the weariness out

of my body. The Mediation would be dull and unimportant, but sending anyone

but a Prime to Alderan would be considered an insult by the Kabras. I'd been

to Alderan a number of times before, and had disliked being there each of the

times. If any other assignment had been available I would have refused this

one, but even Alderan was better than staying on Central. I looked again at

the third folder-which gave detail's on my transportation and time of

departure-then put it all aside and went into my kitchen to dial a meal from

my chef. Going to bed early would take care of the rest of the night, and

tomorrow I would be on my way-hopefully, to forgetfulness.

<H3 align=center><A id=ref_1 name=CH>CHAPTER 2 </A></H3>

The skies were gray above stuffy, dead calm when I left the transport at

Nidah Inner Port on Alderan. Unlike Central and most of the other worlds of

the Amalgamation, all of Alderan's ports were inner ports, situated right

inside the cities they were related to. That fact alone said something about

the Kabras of Alderan, but the Kabras themselves were pleased with the

arrangement-as though any civilized being could be pleased to have transports

take off and land at their front doorstep. I shook my head over custom and the

people who conform to it, then made my way across the open field to the

landings building where arrangements were made for visitor accommodations.

There wasn't a breath of air anywhere, not even on the field, and I was

pleased I'd brought an entire wardrobe of Alderanian leisure suits and had had

the foresight to wear one of them for the landing. The short skirt and low-cut

bodice gave my body some relief from the oppressive humidity, but I could

almost feel the perspiration on my face running my makeup.

The landings building was large, starkly undecorated, and totally without

air-conditioning of any sort, a reminder that Kabras supposedly believed in

living the austere life. I'd been vaguely impressed by the lacks on my first

visit to Alderan, but had soon discovered that the vast majority of the Kabras

paid more lip service than attention to the custom of austerity. Their own

homes were luxurious to the point of decadence, a sure sign of how far they

had come in the last three or four generations. Austerity was no longer

necessary, and they'd grown mature enough to realize it.

I detached myself from the group of new arrivals I'd been walking with and

went toward the pre-reservations desk, knowing arrangements would already have

been made for me. I stopped in front of the young woman behind the desk,

cleared my throat to get her attention, then suddenly discovered that her

attention was unnecessary.

"Terrillian Reya," came a deep voice from behind my left shoulder. "Welcome

back to Alderan."

I turned in the direction of the deep voice, already knowing whom I would

see. Garth R'Hem Solohr stood there, tall and unselfconscious in the short

Kabran kilt of officer blue, Ms long dark hair tied back with a small blue

band, his chest bare beneath the regulation straps of office, his feet thonged

into sturdy sandals. I had once told him how amusing it was to see a grown

man's bare knees, trying to insult him out of his usual air of extreme

superiority, but all he'd done was laugh and tell me he didn't mind seeing my

knees at all. I felt the usual stab of annoyance at the way he looked at me,

his mind full of sharp desire, his gray eyes filled with amusement, and found

impatience coloring my tone.

"One of these days I'll be considered important enough to be met by someone

of standing," I said into his grin, then turned to the girl behind the desk.

"Has a visitor registration been made in the name of Terrillian Reya, Prime

Xenomediator on assignment from Central?"

"But-but of course it has!" the girl protested, shocked out of her own air

of superiority. "Colonel Solohr is here to see to your every need and desire

and the Colonel's family is one of the oldest and most respected on Alderan!

How can you say . . .?"

"Now, now," Garth interrupted her. "The Prime is already aware of my

exalted status and abilities. She merely feels it necessary to protest our

acquaintanceship in the hopes of insulting me. The rudeness is simply her

usual manner of behavior."

"Rudeness is not rudeness when truth is involved," I shot back, immediately

feeling the girl's indignation. "Family position has nothing at all to do with

individual actions. Have you arranged accommodations for me, or am I to be

forced to sleep in the streets?"

"Never the streets, my dear Prime," Garth laughed, folding his arms across

his chest. "If no other alternative presents itself, you can always share my

accommodations."

"I would prefer the streets," I told him. "Would it be too much to ask you

to see to my luggage?"

"The matter has already been taken care of," he informed me with a bow

edged with sarcasm. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the transportation

I've arranged."

"Certainly," I agreed with a pleasant nod. "I'd rather have you in front of

me than behind me any day. Lead away."

The girl behind the desk was close to spluttering by then, something Garth

was well aware of as he took my arm and led the way to the street. His

amusement left me close to the teeth-grinding point myself. What would I have

to say to him to dent that obnoxious air of superiority?

"This vehicle is ours," Garth said, leading the way across the crowded

strollwalk to the sled at the curb. "If you find it unacceptable, I'll have it

destroyed at once."

"And then make me walk," I nodded, climbing into the sled by the door held

open for me by a uniformed Kabra of lower rank. "Or would you find it

necessary to carry me?"

"Oh, carry you, of course," Garth laughed, settling himself beside me on

the white fur cushion. "An opportunity wasted is an opportunity regretted."

The Kabra closed the door behind Garth, cutting off all outside noise, then

climbed up to the front of the sled and guided it into the stream of sled

traffic moving past us. Slidewalks were disapproved of on Alderan, having been

considered too effeminate by generations gone by. I wondered what they would

have thought of the force-field enclosed, decro-powered sleds their

descendants used to take themselves everywhere.

"You really shouldn't have embarrassed that girl like that," Garth said,

leaning back to put his arm across the seat top behind me. "Whether or not you

care for the idea, I do happen to be an important man on this planet. My

ferrying you around is a greater compliment than you realize."

"The girl wasn't embarrassed," I murmured, looking out at the crowded

streets and wondering why the emotional ocean wasn't as strong as it had been

on my last visit. "She was awed at seeing you and scandalized over my lack of

appreciation of the honor bestowed upon me. Her reaction was too generalized

to be personal."

"But, of course," be said, his tone still humorous. "How could I have

thought to describe an emotional reaction to you? Please forgive my

stupidity."

"What, again?" I drawled, evoking a chuckle from him, but not really paying

attention to the conversation. I was studying the people on the streets, those

riding, those walking, those going in and out of the large, square-cut stone

buildings rising all around. There was something like a mental curtain of

sorts between me and them, one that could be pushed aside easily enough when I

thought about it, but which fell into place again as soon as I turned my

attention to something other than wanting to know what they were feeling. My

gift had never worked that way before, and I didn't know why it had changed.

Was it possible I disliked Kabran pretensions of superiority so much that I

was beginning to block them out?

"I do seem to be something of a burden to you," Garth commented, his body

relaxing in enjoyment of the cool air suddenly beginning to fill the sled. "A

pity you'll be forced to put up with me again during your visit."

I turned my head to look at the self-satisfied smile on his face, knowing

he also felt self-satisfied, and then my mind seemed to-center on his, so to

speak. I became aware of something behind the self-satisfaction, something

that wasn't quite as flippant and free-swinging as he wanted me to believe.

"It's strange you should use the word, `burden,' " I said, feeling my mind

probe at him. "Bore, scatterbrain, obnoxious pain in the rump, yes. But,

`burden'?"

"Possibly I was trying to help you with your cataloguing of my virtues," he

chuckled, unaffected by what I'd said. "If you feel the word inappropriate, by

all means remove it from the list."

"The word wasn't my choice to begin with," I pursued. "Why would the famous

Colonel Solohr consider himself in conjunction with the concept of burden,

even to me? It seems an unconscious attempt at self-rebuke, possibly even the

hint of resentment at your current assignment. Where would it be more fitting

for you to be? Where would you prefer to be?"

"Don't you think you ought to save that for tomorrow's mediating?" he

asked, the smile gone from his broad, handsome face, a stiffness entering his

thoughts. "I'd never forgive myself if you became overtired."

"For some of us, thinking is nearly effortless," I commented, moving around

to face him. "You were off-planet on campaign for a while, weren't you? What

made you come back so soon? And why the dissatisfaction?"

"Terry, it really is unwise of you to continue with this," he said, the

stiffness having reached his voice and eyes. "Insulting me isn't as impossible

as you seem to think it is, and I doubt if you'd care for the consequences."

"Do you mean you'd challenge me?" I scoffed. "Just imagine yourself in

front of your peers under those circumstances. They'd laugh themselves silly."

I turned away from him with a headshake, deciding I'd accomplished what I'd

set out to do. His air of superiority had been nicely punctured, and was

rapidly being replaced with annoyance and frustration. It couldn't have

happened to a more deserving fellow.

The sled traffic was rather heavy, and we rode along in silence for a few

minutes. There was no doubt Garth was unhappy and dissatisfied with something,

but all I cared about was the fact that he no longer throbbed with desire when

he looked at me. Garth had wanted me since the first time we'd met, but the

desire was an automatic one, something combined out of his position and mine.

The fact that I'd refused him and continued to refuse him fed his desire, but

I had no interest in soothing his longings and satisfying his curiosity. His

interest in women wasn't particularly unusual; I just didn't care to have that

interest directed toward me.

"You certainly must feel secure in your position," he said at last, making

a great effort to recapture his former attitudes. "It would scarcely be proper

for me to challenge you, but Kabras have been known to be severe with women

who offend them. Are you trying to force me to be severe with you?"

I turned to study him again. He was making good progress in throwing off

the frustration I'd produced, even going so far as to try returning the

annoyance.

"Are you trying to pretend to be so uncivilized as to threaten a Prime?" I

asked in turn, arching my eyebrows in disbelief. "No one, on any world in the

Amalgamation, would so much as slap my wrist and we both know it. Are you

trying to impress me with your virility?"

"If I am, it isn't working very well," he laughed, the amusement real. "You

seem to have no trouble resisting me. Why won't you even consider the idea of

spending a night with me?"

"What, directness?" I gasped, pretending to be shocked.

"After I'd decided Kabran men didn't know the meaning of the word?"

"When all else fails," he shrugged, keeping his light gaze directly on me.

"Has the stratagem succeeded?"

"Not in the least," I came back. "Did you really expect it to?"

"You should know the answer to that as well as I do," he observed, still

staring at me. "Do you care to explain why I haven't succeeded?"

"No, I don't care to explain it," I smiled, a stiff, inflexible smile. "I

have no need of explaining my actions to anyone, least of all you."

"I see." He nodded, keeping his eyes on me. "I'm too far beneath you to

bother with."

"Exactly." I nodded, turning away from his smoldering anger. I much

preferred having Garth R'Hem Solohr angry and distant rather than amused and

near. I had sensed a boldness and restrained strength in him the moment we had

first met, convincing me how much safer it would be to keep him at arm's

length. It would be foolish to say I feared him-fear is such a strong

emotion-but uneasiness is uncomfortable enough to make one avoid it. Perhaps I

had now managed to avoid Garth as well.

A few moments later, Garth stirred and touched my arm.

"Your lodging at last," he announced, and I looked around to see the sled

pulling into the circular drive that led to the best visitor's Residence in

Nidah. It was so new I'd only stayed there once before, and I was pleased to

see it again. The suites were large and well furnished, and the food was of

better quality than anywhere else on Alderan. When we pulled up at its front

entrance, a garishly costumed servant stepped forward to open the sled's door,

saving the Kabra who had been driving from having to lower himself again.

Garth stepped out, turned to offer me his hand, then directed the servant to

see to the luggage in the compartment beneath the sled. The heat was wilting

after the coolness of the sled, but directly behind the entrance's air curtain

lay more cool air, supplied, so it was said, only for the comfort of

off-planet visitors. Those Alderaneans standing and walking about the immense

entrance foyer were far too good to notice bow comfortable they were.

Garth made inquiries as to which suite had been reserved for me, all the

while pretending not to see the marble and mirror surfaces all around us, the

plush white carpeting, the silver fixtures. As soon as records had been

checked and identities verified, we were led by a servant carrying my luggage

to a lift which swept us eighteen stories in the air, then to a cream-colored

door which opened on a green and blue suite. My luggage was left in a far room

to be seen to by the Residence's maid staff, then the servant bowed and left

us alone. Garth had stood himself to one side of the room, and once the

servant was gone he bowed to me.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have several personal matters to attend to,"

he said, his voice overly neutral. "I will, of course, return for you in the

morning."

"Of course," I nodded, turning away from him to glance around the room. "Do

have a pleasant evening without me."

"I wish you the same," he said, and then suddenly he was behind me, his

hands on my arms forcing me to turn back to him. "You are an insolent,

unbearably overweening woman. One day-"

He let the words trail off as he looked down at me, his emotions mixed, and

then he showed a grin.

"One day you may learn that T truly am a Kabra," he murmured. He let me go,

took my arm, slapped me hard on the wrist, then turned, strode to the door and

was gone. I gasped at the sting of the slap, furious that he would dare to

strike me, but he was already out of reach of any words I cared to say. I

stood and stared at the door for a moment, rubbing my wrist, then went to the

call to arrange for immediate maid service. I wasn't sure what Garth's gesture

meant, but I knew I didn't want to be alone in case he came back. His mind

pattern had very briefly become stranger than I had ever known it to be, but I

had no interest in finding out why it had happened.

The next morning, when Garth came to call for me, he found me already in

the entrance foyer, waiting for him. I wore a fresh leisure suit, completely

different from the one of the day before, but the only thing different about

him was the ceremonial sword he had added to the rest of his accouterments. He

came up to me where I sat and bowed very slightly, his left hand resting on

the sword hilt.

"Such exemplary promptness," he greeted me with amusement. "I thought it

would be necessary to come to your suite before my duties as your protector

might be begun."

"Yesterday a guide, today a protector," I remarked, getting to my feet.

"Your career seems to be progressing in leaps and bounds. At this rate, by

tomorrow you might even be a clerk in Central's Mediation department."

"Now, now, none of that," he scolded, adopting a fierce and dedicated look.

"Your protector mustn't be distracted with attempts at insult. You wouldn't

care to have him forget his duty at the wrong time."

"I've never been told what it is you're supposed to be protecting me from,"

I said, folding my arms. "Which of the two parties of the dissension is

supposed to be the dangerous one?"

"Both parties of a dissension are dangerous." He grinned, taking my arm to

lead me out. "My presence may be pure tradition and formality these days, but

at one time it wouldn't have been. You can never tell who will decide you're

biased."

"A Prime Xenomediator being biased!" I snorted, flinching at the heat as we

passed through the entrance curtain. "There couldn't possibly be anyone

foolish enough to believe that."

"You'd be surprised," he answered, opening the door to the sled at the

curb. "Most people don't know how mediation works, and when you deal with

ignorance, you also deal with fear and mistrust."

He climbed into the sled next to me, and we pulled away from the curb and

down the driveway, undoubtedly heading for Mediation Hall. He'd made a good

point about the way people think, and I was surprised to see such clear

understanding from someone who couldn't feel the emotions firsthand. Most

unawakened people knew little enough about their own emotions, let alone about

the emotions of others.

Garth seemed content to let the ride pass in silence, and in just a few

minutes we pulled up beside Mediation Hall, a large, grim, blocky building

made of dark stone rectangles piled one on top of the other. I felt my usual

shudder at the appearance of that building, sensing the flood of desperate

emotions locked in the cold, dark stone. But, as I'd always done in the past,

I forced them away from me and followed Garth out of the sled. A Hall guide

waited just inside the front entrance, and five minutes later we were entering

Mediation Chamber C.

The Chamber itself was familiar enough, being a large room containing a

small table at its center, three chairs around the table, and four benches

lined up about ten feet behind each of the two chairs that faced one another.

The chief adversaries were already in the room, each standing with his own

group of supporters, all of them turning toward the door when I entered.

Murmurs arose from each of the groups, underlining uneasiness and suspicion

from both sides, but the tenor of thoughts changed immediately when Garth

stepped in behind me. The Deffloran merchant group began buzzing frantically,

outrage in their gestures almost as clearly as in their thoughts; the Kabran

contingent hummed contentedly, considering their claim already conceded to. I

stepped aside to let Garth move forward ahead of me, then watched the

contenders as their attention centered on him.

"Gentlemen," Garth announced, looking from one group to the other. "I am

Colonel Garth R'Hem Solohr, assigned protector to the Prime Terrillian Reya.

Should any of you attempt to harm her or interfere with her mission, that one

must answer to me. Don't make the mistake of considering my commission an idle

one. I assure you I take it seriously."

Garth stepped aside, letting the men see me again. All of their eyes were

on me, the merchants with nervousness, the Kabras with faint annoyance mixed

with uneasiness. None of them had ever been involved in Mediation before, and

their hesitation was easy to feel.

"Gentlemen, please take your places," I said, walking forward to the third

chair at the small table. The room was unbearably close, and everyone in it

was sweating. Two men, one merchant and one Kabra, separated themselves from

their groups to join me at the table, and the rest of the men, six per side,

retired to the benches behind their respective representative. The Kabras were

dressed as all Kabras are, but the main representative wore the same sort of

ceremonial sword as Garth had.

When we were all settled at the table, I nodded to each of the men studying

me.

"You will now be discussing the disagreement between you," I told them,

settling myself more comfortably in the chair. "Speak to each other, not to

me, and don't look to me for decisions of any sort. Whatever decisions are

agreed upon will be agreed upon by you two. You need only introduce yourselves

when you first begin. Please proceed."

The two men began glaring at each other as I closed my eyes, meshing in

with the deep hostility they both felt. The Deffloran merchant stirred in his

seat, probably tugging at the tight, high collar of his shirt. He and his

contingent all wore the same sort of shirts, high collared and long sleeved,

probably so that they might, when dealing, open the collar's and roll up the

sleeves. The gestures were meant to show their willingness to deal, but

collars were unopened and sleeves unrolled that day. The merchants had taken

their stand and had no intentions of abandoning it.

"I will begin," announced the Deffloran merchant, his voice high and stiff

with resentment and defensiveness. "I am Raskar Alnid, a man who has been done

out of his duel A man who stands to lose all he possesses because of the knife

at his throat! A man who was cruelly threatened and robbed ...."

"Gently," I cautioned, projecting peace and calm at both men without

opening my eyes. The Kabra had been about to retort in anger, but both men's

heat cooled when they felt my projection. The bands of fire red in their minds

eased down to dull purple, still angered but well within their control. "Just

the actual happenings, if you please," I added.

"The happenings are not difficult to relate." The man huffed, a faint,

nearly unnoticed surprise behind his anger. He had intended pursuing his

complaints and didn't quite understand why he wasn't doing so. "I engaged

these-these-Kabras to aid me against my enemies and they accepted the

commission then refused to uphold the contract. Therefore I, in the same

manner, refuse to pay their outrageous demands."

"Our demands are not outrageous," the Kabran officer put in coldly. "We

contracted to appear at a certain place and time and did so. We now seek no

more than to collect our fee."

"For standing about like statues?" Raskar Alnid demanded. "For greeting the

troops of my enemy as brothers? For refusing to face them as fighters and men,

in defense of my claims and attempts?"

"Merely for appearing as we contracted to do, if you care to put it in that

light!" snapped the officer, sharing the other's outrage. "Our bonds cover

that, and battle against an equal Kabra force is specifically interdicted.

With two forces of equal ability, what sense is there in fighting? Both would

be wiped out without any settlement of the original argument "

As soon as the attention of the two men left me and they began speaking to

each other, I was able to move to the second phase of my purpose there. The

Kabran officer felt deep conviction in what he was saying, and I passed that

conviction on to the merchant, along with a sense of honor defended. The

merchant felt the emotions and hesitated, then dropped the outrage that he'd

been projecting so strongly.

"But Kabras are fighters!" he protested, not knowing I was passing on his

bewilderment. "If you have no intentions of fighting, why do you accept

commissions to appear?"

"We will fight any force other than our own people," the officer said, made

uncomfortable by the lack of understanding. "Should we slay our brothers,

nothing would be accomplished but our own destruction. Surely this was

explained to you?"

"I was told only of Kabran traditions," the merchant sighed, feeling the

officer's guilt. "I was led to believe I would be triumphant if I engaged your

force. Why do you hire out to both sides of a disagreement?"

"Would you have us practice favoritism?" the officer asked, attempting to

soothe the merchant's deep disappointment. "What if the commission we refused

was yours, allowing your enemy a clear path to victory? Would you have more

than you have now, or less?"

"`The thought never occurred to me before," the merchant responded,

frowning. "What am I to do now? I haven't got the amount contracted for, not

without a victory."

"But you agree we honored our contract?" the other man pursued, but gently.

At the merchant's defeated, reluctant nod, the officer added his own nod and a

smile. "Then settlement should not be difficult. Our honor is more important

than monetary considerations, and it was a recognition of honor we sought

here, not gain. Are you able to meet half the agreed upon fee?"

"Half?" the merchant blurted, surprised. "You're willing to fettle for

half, without argument?"

"Certainly." The officer smiled. "Our expenses were far less than they

would have been if we'd fought"

"Excellent," smiled the merchant, rubbing his hands together. "I'm sure we

can work matters out now to our mutual satisfaction. Would you and your group

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TerrillianII:TheWarriorEnchainedTerrillianII:TheWarriorEnchainedbySharonGreenCHAPTER1Thedaywassunny,brightandfreshaftertwodaysofrain.IsteppedoutofmyhouseontotheNeighborhoodlawn,stillwonderingifI'dbeenwiselettingmyselfbetalkedintoattendingtheNeighborhoodparty.AfteraweekandahalfofbeingbackonCentral,Is...

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Sharon Green - Terrillian 2 - Warrior Enchained

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