Omens
They were halfway to R'ren'nkia, taking advantage of the trip to pleasure each other while they had some time to themselves. It had been Zha'haabron's idea to cut the gravity so they could make love in zero-g...
Half an hour later, tangled in each other's hair and with their ribs aching from laughing, they'd given up, switched the generator back on, spent some time untangling themselves, and made love in a rather more controlled, though no more sedate, manner...
Strong hands slid around Radittsu's chest as Zha'haabron nestled against his back.
**What troubles you?**
Radittsu sighed and rolled onto his back, pulling the king's head to rest on his shoulder, running his fingers through the cold silky hair.
*Nothing, really. Well, there are a few things, but nothing I'm really worried about...*
Zha'haabron raised his head, resting his chin on one hand while the other stroked gently down the Saiyan's face, waiting patiently. Radittsu rolled his eyes and kissed his bondmate's palm.
*Well... There's Ti'aasaan and Zha'haarak and the hostlings. And Leteetza and her babies. It would have been good if we'd been able to stay on Vejiitasei, just to keep an eye on things. And then there's us, and whether all that... humiliation will pay off...*
It had been an uncomfortable three days, as Vinas and his team had poked, prodded, taken samples, performed intimate examinations and simply watched the two making love. Which Radittsu had found extremely offputting: if the venture hadn't been so important to Zha'haabron, to them both, he'd have given up at that point. Zha'haabron, naked and already aroused, had looked up from the examination couch and sighed.
**Zk'vissin, why is this so difficult? It does not worry you that the others are there when we're in the suite**
*That's completely different! They're - family. And anyway, it's not the being watched that bothers me - it's the... coldness of this whole thing. How can you put up with it?*
Zha'haabron shrugged. **There are certain similarities between this and the old ways of preparing zn'hre for hosting - although this is a lot kinder**
Radittsu had stared, horrified. The king had smiled and pulled him into a close embrace.
**Just think of why we are doing this. Close your eyes, enter me, and try to imagine we're alone...**
It had - eventually - worked. Though Radittsu had felt distinctly affronted when Vinas had insisted on performing a thorough internal examination of the king immediately afterwards...
The good news was that the damage caused by Dhr'ovaanon's brutality and hostlings had completely healed: Zh'leet could find no reason why the king couldn't host successfully again - although she insisted he'd need careful monitoring, just in case. Neither bondmate objected.
*...And I'm an uncle now, and I've only seen the child once. And it's moonyear next year - we'll have to make arrangements for the family to move back to R'ren'nkia for a while... Still, at least things have been fine at the enclave...*
Zha'haabron nodded: the last report from Gh'heegonan had been yesterday, and all was satisfactory. Then he frowned.
**What is 'moonyear'?**
Radittsu stared at him.
*You don't know?*
**If I did, I wouldn't be asking**
*Uh, right. Sorry...*
He fell silent, and Zha'haabron waited for him to explain. When nothing was forthcoming, he pinched a nipple between his nails, then let his hand hover over the other. Radittsu winced and raised his hands.
*all right, all right ...* He took a deep breath and wrapped his tail around his bondmate's waist.
*I really thought Leteetza would have explained all this.*
Zha'haabron shook his head, and Radittsu sighed. *Right... You know your defensive form? How you can transform if you're threatened?*
Zha'haabron nodded wryly. **I am familiar with the concept, yes...**
Radittsu grinned shamefacedly. *Sorry. Silly thing to say. Well, Saiyans can do something similar, only it's not so controllable.*
Zha'haabron sat up, head inclined, eyes bright with curiosity. Radittsu grabbed his hand anxiously.
*Don't worry! It only happens when we see full-moon light.*
Puzzled, Zha'haabron frowned. **I thought Vejiitasei had no moon**
The Saiyan sighed. *It does. Well, it's a twin planet, actually, but tiny, barren and with no atmosphere. It orbits us at a speed which keeps it in our shadow for most of the time, as it and Vejiitasei revolve around each other. But once every seven or eight years it - 'catches up' if you like, moves out of the shadow and sunslight reflects from it, and it gets brighter and brighter as the year progresses until the sunslight hits it full on...*
**How long does it last?**
*Full-moon - about 30 nights. But even when the moon isn't full, it makes us - twitchy. Not really safe to be around.*
Zha'haabron smiled. **And what, precisely, does moonlight do to you?**
*It transforms us into apes. Big apes.*
Schooling his features and refusing to laugh - Radittsu looked so embarrassed! - he asked calmly,
**How big?**
The Saiyan swallowed nervously. *Well, it depends how tall we are to start with...*
**How big?**
*In my case - about eighty feet tall.*
Zha'haabron stared, his eyes huge. Radittsu hurried on.
*Most of the population reverts to a kind of animal mentality too - loses the ability to think rationally. It can be very destructive.*
**Yes, I can imagine. Do you?**
*Lose my mind? No - the guard are trained to have some control over the transformation. So are the nobility and the upper echelons of the military: somebody has to try and keep some sort of order, or there'd be no planet left! We retain our minds - mostly, anyway.* He bit his lip, glancing at the king. *Our... basic instincts are enhanced though - which is why I must get you offworld.* He grinned, slightly self-mockingly. *You're irresistible at the best of times. When I turn ouzaru... well, you mustn't be anywhere near me.*
The thought was enough to bring tears to the eyes. Zha'haabron stroked his bondmate's mane, smiling.
**I suppose I should be grateful that R'ren'nkia is moonless!** He frowned, remembering something he'd found puzzling during council sessions. **Is that why Vejiita was so insistent on confirming whether the worlds he intends to subjugate are mooned or not?**
Radittsu nodded, expression serious. *There's not much that can stop a transformed Saiyan. Any problems with troublesome natives, we'd just stamp 'em out. Literally. But it's not the best way to assure them you come in peace! I think he intends only using R'ren'nkh'ian warriors on mooned worlds - at least in the early stages of expansion.*
Zha'haabron nodded thoughtfully, then gazed at Radittsu.
**Is your ki affected?**
He shrugged. *It's amplified proportionately. We don't lose any of our fighting skills - or the ability to fly.*
The thought of it all was frightening. And, bizarrely, somehow exciting...
But Radittsu was looking anxious, his tail twitching and quivering against Zha'haabron's skin. The king caught hold of it, stroking gently, and the Saiyan shuddered, moaning quietly. When he opened his eyes again, they were troubled. Zha'haabron frowned.
**What is it?**
*The transformation is controlled by our tails. No tail, no transformation.*
**Interesting. If something of a liability. I understand why most of you curl them around your waists most of the time - they'd be easy to lop...**
He inclined his head: Radittsu had paled and was swallowing convulsively, tail trembling.
**What's wrong?**
*Please don't talk about lopping tails - not even as a joke.* He paused and frowned to himself, then gazed at the king. *Although - if mine were... gone... I'd never be able to endanger you...*
Zha'haabron stared at him for a moment, then lay back down, pulling him into a tight embrace.
**Zk'vissin, are you suggesting you sacrifice your tail, for me?**
The Saiyan nodded, and Zha'haabron sighed.
**While I appreciate the sentiment, do you really think I'd be that selfish? Knowing how sensitive it is, how much pleasure it brings you?** He ruffled the fur, smiling as Radittsu groaned and shivered and gripped his shoulders in strong warm hands. **And me** he added, as the tail slid from his fingers and wrapped around his hips, the tip caressing his groin.
*No, of course I know you wouldn't be that selfish. But I'd do anything rather than hurt you.*
Zha'haabron kissed his cheek. **I love you. And your tail. We'll just have to make sure we never visit any mooned worlds - together, anyway!**
The Saiyan smiled up at him, though the smile wavered a little. Zha'haabron slid a hand between their bodies, caressing his love's flaccid genitals. Obviously the thought of losing his tail had had a dampening effect on the Saiyan's libido - an effect his bondmate quickly reversed. Radittsu sighed and rolled them over, thrusting into the king.
Right at that moment Zha'haabron didn't have the time to mull over the implications of his zk'vissin's revelations - that the knowledge would provide him with another weapon, should Vejiita ever try to renege on the alliance; that if it was the sight of moonlight that effected the transformation it must have something to do with the central nervous system - optic nerves, brain, spine; and lastly, fleetingly, that he'd have to warn Zh'leet: this might have serious consequences for any hybrid hostlings... But he'd make time. Later. When his zkai'da wasn't flooding every part of him with the most mind-bendingly glorious sensations...
Gh'heegonan dropped to one knee as Zha'haabron took his place on the High King's throne, Radittsu beside him, one hand on a strong blue shoulder. Without preamble, the big lizard addressed the king, keeping his head lowered.
"Ssii'iin, I have failed you."
Zha'haabron exchanged a swift, alarmed glance with his bondmate. With hindsight, they realised that the enclave was somewhat quieter than might have been expected, and there seemed to be rather more Saiyan guards in evidence than usual.
"How have you failed me?"
Gh'heegonan swallowed audibly. "Ssii'iin - Zha'geekaan and Dhr'ovaanon... They've escaped."
Zha'haabron froze, hands gripping the arms of the throne, knuckles white.
"And my zn'hre?"
"All present and unharmed, Ssii'iin."
*That's something, at any rate.*
The king scowled down at his regent.
"Look at me."
Nervously, Gh'heegonan raised his head.
"How did this happen? They were supposed to be secured."
"And they were, Ssii'iin, just as you commanded. But... It seems they had help from outside."
Zha'haabron convened his council - himself, his regent, Radittsu, Bri'seiyis, Sh'reaanon, Tal'orrin, Gh'riz (a male tz'een, one of Gh'veen's broodmates), the brood ph'ti'pa Firn'ir and Ishn'is, and Gh'dees and Zh'haru (male and female ko'ish'n respectively): the meeting was watched over by Suguri and Zh'anah's mate, Ye'vena. Radittsu had nodded to himself. It was a fair and diplomatic mix of types and genders.
It had not taken them long to detail what had happened - there really wasn't that much to tell. The two va'ha'da had been kept in widely-separated cells, in the cool lower levels of the enclave. They'd been fed - a minimal and dreary diet, but sufficient to keep them alive - and at random intervals one of three carefully devised narcotic mixes had been added to their food: one to enhance every physical sensation; one, more sparingly used, to induce euphoric hallucinations (making their return to reality the more despairing); and the third caused feelings of claustrophobia and panic. Neither Zha'haabron nor Radittsu felt that this treatment was anything like sufficient punishment for their actions - but the king had too much to do trying to create order in his rapidly changing kingdom. Devising appropriate penalties for the pair would have to wait a little. As it was, they were both suffering, from the treatment they were receiving, of course, but more from the knowledge of what they had lost, and at whose hands...
"How did they escape?"
Gh'heegonan stared down at the table: Bri'seiyis answered instead.
"Traders arrived, my Ssii'iin, bringing goods from the Southern Dunes. I knew two of them - they'd often been at Fha'rq's court."
Zha'haabron nodded: Fha'rq's clan was renowned for producing fine leather goods and rare fruits - Southern Dunes traders and artisans were eagerly welcomed everywhere.
"They stayed with us for eight days..."
"Long enough for us to become accustomed to them, and let down our guard." interjected Gh'dees testily, glaring at Suguri, who refused to meet his eyes.
"... and today they left. And Gh'heegonan and Dhr'ovaanon were gone." Bri'seiyis' shoulders slumped. "And the guards outside their cells were dead."
Radittsu rose to his feet and glared at Suguri, who quailed.
"They let themselves be overcome? Saiyan warriors?"
"No sir. Well, not physically. As best we can gather, someone gave them wine. The wine was drugged."
"If they were still alive I'd kill them myself!" snarled Radittsu, beginning to pace, his tail lashing furiously. Suguri stood to attention, unwilling to risk the captain finding any cause for turning on him.
"The narcotics used would only have disabled a R'ren'nkh'ian - painfully, it must be admitted, but they would not have killed." Gh'riz gazed around the assembly with customary tz'een composure. "Which means two things. One, we now possess the details of a narcotic mix which is lethal to Saiya-jin." He ignored Radittsu's scowl. "And two, it seems likely that whoever planned and executed the escape was unaware that Saiyan warriors were guarding the captives."
Zha'haabron closed his eyes briefly.
"What action has been taken so far?"
"I ordered as many of the guard as could be spared to find the caravan." Suguri's eyes flickered to his captain, who was still pacing angrily.
"And?" snapped Radittsu.
"Without success."
"The guards had been dead for about an hour when they were discovered." Gh'riz added. Radittsu glowered at Suguri.
"How could you not follow a trail only an hour old?"
**Zk'vissin, this is R'ren'nkh'ia. The area around the enclave is mostly sand**
*That's no bloody excuse! They should have found the caravan from the air!*
Sh'reaanon raised a hand.
"Ssii'iir, traders are mostly nomadic, desert-born people. If they choose not to be seen, you could walk over them and not notice they were there."
"We hunt by scent!" the Saiyan snarled.
"From above?" Zha'haabron inclined his head. Radittsu paused, then grunted in exasperation.
"I suppose not. Not under the conditions onworld." He resumed his seat, his tail still twitching angrily. "So what do we do now?"
Bri'seiyis glanced at his fellow zn'hre. "We have all attempted to contact our host-kin, in the hopes that someone may know something, be able to tell us where they're headed. So far we've had no news of the va'ha'da - but there are some disturbing rumours. It seems that some of the chiefs are less than happy with your sovereignty, my Ssii'iin."
"We were aware of that."
Bri'seiyis nodded. "Yes, my Ssii'iin. But we believe that Zha'geekaan and Dhr'ovaanon were freed so that they may rally the discontents and try to take over your throne."
In the silence that followed this announcement Radittsu sank his head into his hands.
... oh, wonderful. All we need now is a bloody civil war...
© 2001 October 21st Joules Taylor
