Tale of the Princess

XXII

"First things first," Shyra said, once everyone had settled with their hot, sweet tea. Shyra insisted on the entire crew being present, and Tara relented with a tight-lipped smile.

"Why are you helping us? I want to understand your reasons so that we can gauge our relationship," Shyra said truthfully. Rulers always took their time with negotiations and debates, and understood their allies through days of observation. Since Shyra didn't have the luxury of time, she decided on being blunt and honest. Rather like Arina.

"Ah, I see," Tara replied, and Shyra knew that Tara was pondering for an answer that would put her in the best light. Very well. Their goals would just have to match until they defeated Arawn.

"My goals are very simple," she started, leaning forward and steepling her fingers. "The baan have been marginalized for too long. As Empress Hira rightly said, we need to integrate ourselves with all the other species. So I'll receive all the benefits that you offered my brother. Besides that," she hesitated for a bit, and Shyra realized that Tara was about to disclose the real reason she betrayed her brother.

"Angad killed our entire family," Tara said at last, her fists tightening around her cup. "He couldn't wait until our parents died to become king, so he got rid of both of them. I..." her voice broke, and Shyra felt a rush of sympathy for her.

"I want revenge on him. My parents would have wanted that. I guess the only reason he didn't kill me was a disgusting sense of superiority. He wanted to experiment on my feelings and see how far I could go before I posed a challenge to him for the throne."

"Now that's messed up," Arina said, breaking the awkward silence that ensued from Tara's statement. "Don't worry, kiddo. Once we win this war, things willl be in a much better shape. If you want, I'll personally get rid of Angad for you," she said with a wink. Tara seemed to take her comment very seriously, or perhaps it was Shyra who was misunderstanding. Either ways, things were cleared up between them now.

"Since we've got that out of the way," Hira said, leaning forward and placing her elbows on her knees. "Let's discuss Arawn's whereabouts. We don't know where he is. We don't even have a clue."

"Not necessarily," Shyra said, a vital piece of information flitting back to her. "I've read about his clan before in a book. It was a children's storybook, and was probably exaggerated to show the Adairs as evil, but their backstory was accurate."

"So you're... what? Going to tell us a story?" Tara asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I am, actually," Shyra said, beginning to smile at the thought of passing a piece of history to more people. "I'll make it short because we don't have much time, but you guys need to know the history of the Adairs first.

"It all started when a rogue spaceship, much like the ancestors' of Ziya, crashed onto a huge asteroid. Unlike us, they weren't lucky enough to find a planet with water and liveable conditions, and their ship was too destroyed to move. So they managed with their resources as long as they could, and whenever they bumped into a planet, they tried to ask for help, but were always turned away."

"Ouch, that was rude," Hira winced. "They could have helped them out a little, at least, instead of turning them away."

"I guess," Shyra said uncertainly. "But all the planets were just settling in then, and probably didn't want to spend their resources. But the Adairs took it as a slight to their people, and when subjects started dying, they made their first invasion."

"That's the war they had with Alazar, right?" Arina asked.

"Yeah. So once they won a place for their people, the Adairs turned more and more ambitious, and began a long campaign, which every generation takes up where their parents left off. And here we are, with Arawn Adair."

"But this is something everyone knows," Naor pointed out in a tone that was trying hard to be respectful, and Shyra cracked a smile.

"Yeah. But I'm a storyteller as well, and I never like starting a story from the middle. The information we need comes now, so listen carefully. The capital city of the Adairs is Rahuketu, from where they manage their empire. It would be easy for us if Arawn lived there, but he and his wife live on the asteroid that his ancestors lived on."

"Then we just find the asteroid and storm it," Tara said with a shrug. "Simple."

"Except," Shyra replied, leaning back and taking a sip of her tea. "That asteroid is nearly impossible to find. The only way is to infiltrate Rahuketu and find out the asteroid's coordinates and path from there."

"Oh," Tara said, slumping in her chair. Her despondent expression almost made Shyra laugh.

"War is never easy, princess. You have the option to back out now, and no one will mock you for it. But if you get over your fears, you'll find much glory and reward from siding with us."

"Yeah, alright," Tara sighed, brushing her bangs to a side. "I'll just call my general, Shivin, to help us plan our next moves."

And so, General Shivin was brought on board as well, and they bent over a holographic map of the galaxy. Shyra had squirmed when they mentioned it and gazed longingly at her paper maps, but when she realized that the holograph could be moved around and zoomed in and out, she got on board with it.

"If I remember correctly, Rahuketu should be here somewhere," Shyra said, poking around and moving the map. "It's position is quite random, and it barely gets enough light from the major star in its vicinity, so it must be near the outskirts of this place."

"I think I found it," Shivin said, pointing his finger towards a corner of the map. Shyra zoomed into the zone, and smiled when she saw the round, pink planet with a neat label that read 'Rahuketu'

"Perfect," she said, rolling up the map. "Let's head for Rahuketu then. Hira, please pass a message to the other ships of our destination and tell them to follow exactly behind us. And since this is a stealth mission, our ships should stop just beyond their range. We'll figure out our course of action then."

"Yes, captain," Hira said, standing up and giving her a mock salute. Shyra's eyes widened as she accepted the command with a blush. She'd been called with much more powerful titles in her life, but this was the first title she felt she'd earned.

The others dispersed to do their duties across the ship, and Shyra decided to check on Ahsan, but Naor pulled her aside as she made to walk out.

"A word, empress," he said, his dark eyes flashing with caution. Alarmed, Shyra glanced around to make sure no one was watching them before nodding.

"I don't trust those soldiers yet," he confided, hisvoice dropping to a whisper. "Please ask them to remain here, or stay away while we get the location of Arawn's asteroid. It would be preferable if Tara and Shivin stay back as well."

"Oh," Shyra said, rubbing the back of her neck. "What makes you say that?"

"I... I'm not sure," he confided, pursing his lips. "I'm sorry for being so ambiguous, and my suspicious might as well be wrong, but this is too important to risk. If nothing goes awry, it'll be all the better."

Shyra studied him closely, turning his thoughts over in her head. It was a big risk they were going to take if they asked the army to stay behind, but she decided to trust him.

"Okay," she said, steeling herself with her decision. "I'll make up a believable reason to ask them to stay behind. Thanks for telling me your concerns."

A ghost of a smile flickered across his lips, and he bowed his head. "Thank you for hearing me out, and trusting me, empress. You'll make a great leader once this shite is over."

Shyra raised her eyebrows at his crude wording, but he simply grinned and walked out of the room.

"Okay then," she muttered to herself. "One disappointed army, coming right up."