Soon they reached the docks. The soldiers then led them to a particular dock wherein was moored a distinctly Komislavian vessel, though its make was somewhat different from any other Komislavian ship that the boys had seen. By far the most welcome sight was three Komislavian men, standing in front of the gangway of the ship. One was apparently a Komislavian diplomat, and the other two, they found out later, were the pilot and navigator of the ship on which they were to board. These were all grown men, not students, though from their appearance it was plain that they worked either at the IC School or somewhere within Scavia. They had set up a scanner, apparently in order to ensure that the correct boys (and only the correct boys) came aboard, and the pilot stood at this, the diplomat stood at the pilot's left hand, and the navigator stood a little behind the other two. Djaisiuk, Jaeger, and Eriane could also see all nine of the other boys standing together in front of the ship. They spoke with one another and with the three new Komislavians openly. Jaeger and Eriane greeted the others happily as they approached, especially Creole whom Eriane was very pleased to see looked quite well. Djaisiuk made no reaction either in look or word, but rather kept his eyes fixed firmly on the ground in front of him. The boys were not at all surprised at this and did not bother him with conversation attempts or inquiries above looks of sympathy and minor comments of concern for his condition. Wysire approached Djaisiuk and Kiacyl and began to speak to the latter, supposing that he had come to say goodbye to the boys, but Djaisiuk quickly cut him off with a short gesture. Wysire was surprised by this, but he obediently backed away without asking questions. Enough of the other boys saw this to understand that they were not to speak to Kiacyl. Faquire started to question Djaisiuk about him, but Djaisiuk cut him off as well with a gesture. Kiacyl said nothing, but merely stayed very close to Djaisiuk, not looking at or speaking to any of the other boys.
Now that all of the boys were here, the diplomat asked for the boys to line up to be scanned before entering the ship. The boys immediately fell into line from oldest to youngest, as was customary, but there was a gap between Leil and Creole, for Djaisiuk did not move forward immediately. Eriane stepped out of line to come and assist him, but Djaisiuk motioned him away and moved slowly to the end of the line, Kiacyl keeping close behind him. Eriane looked at first as though he would insist on accompanying Djaisiuk, but Djaisiuk fixed him with a firm glance that seemed to communicate clearly his opinion of that idea.
The boys were scanned, one by one, and allowed to enter the ship. Each one went past the diplomat and pilot without difficulty. Eriane alone remained outside of the ship, watching for and ready to assist with any possible difficulty that Djaisiuk might have. At last Djaisiuk came to the scanner. It was only then that the diplomat seemed to notice Kiacyl. He frowned at Kiacyl in mild confusion and seemed about to speak as Djaisiuk carefully stretched out his right arm and placed his hand under the scanner.
"This is--" Djaisiuk began in a hoarse voice before the man could speak, but he cut himself off and paused. He grimaced from the pain that this caused in his lungs but soon continued. "This is my assistant," he said in a hoarse, weak voice, but in a tone that allowed no argument. "He need not be scanned."
"What?" asked the diplomat in surprise. "All must be scanned who intend to enter the ship; but that certainly does not apply to --"
"Sir," the pilot at the scanner interrupted.
The diplomat turned to the pilot and looked as the other pointed to the screen. He then frowned again in confusion. The navigator, still standing behind the two, leaned forward in curiosity and looked over the shoulder of the pilot. Immediately he raised his eyebrows and looked up at Djaisiuk in admiration.
Djaisiuk was well aware of what the three were now seeing: "Djaisiuk of the IC School. DO NOT QUESTION HIS ACTIONS. -- Taician". An order signed by the head of the school, embedded within his ID chip, informing all who cared to check that Djaisiuk's actions were not to be questioned. Should he choose to do something, anything, he had the authority of Taician, one of the highest authorities on Komislava, besides being the very highest within the IC School.
The diplomat and the pilot exchanged glances. They had both heard of Djaisiuk; everyone who worked in or with the IC School had heard of him, but neither of these two had ever met him. They had both been informed that he would be among the boys whom they had been sent to retrieve, but had not known until now which of the boys he would be. Now here he was. And it seemed that he was instructing them to disregard their own orders. He wanted to bring with them a Vukasovian! The boy was obviously not Komislavian. He couldn't have been with the twelve when they had been captured. Why would Djaisiuk want to do this? Wasn't it just what the Vukasovians had done with them? Would not this also be viewed as a case of kidnapping? There were Vukasovian soldiers in the room even now. Wouldn't they question if the Komislavians attempted to take thirteen rather than twelve boys aboard the ship?
"DO NOT QUESTION HIS ACTIONS. -- Taician" The diplomat licked his lips. He had his orders, but Djaisiuk's authority was on the same level as his own. Taician had sent him on this mission, and Taician had given him the specifics and directives. Seeing that they were mutually exclusive, the question seemed to be: which of Taician's orders should he now obey? He stood silently, staring at the screen, unsure of what to do.
Djaisiuk did not wait for him to decide. Suddenly, he withdrew his hand from the scanner. The screen went blank. The diplomat looked up, startled, but Djaisiuk merely turned away. He directed the invalid's chair slowly but purposefully towards the ship, and Kiacyl followed quickly beside him. Eriane, still waiting, had watched the proceeding in astonishment. The diplomat started to open his mouth as if he would, even now, call Djaisiuk back, but no sound came. Djaisiuk continued up the gangway, followed by Eriane, and disappeared into the ship, Kiacyl still at his side.
The Vukasovians in the room had not reacted. It was done.
The diplomat closed his mouth and swallowed. He then shook his head with a sigh, hoping that he would not be in too much trouble when they returned to Komislava. After all, Taician himself had issued the command that Djaisiuk was not to be questioned, and Djaisiuk had said that the Vukasovian boy was to accompany them. He shook his head again and turned back to help the pilot and navigator to disassemble the scanning equipment in preparation for departure.
From a far corner of the large docks, another sigh might have been heard, though it was carefully suppressed. Kandryl himself had carefully made his own way through the near deserted halls to the docks. Here he had hidden himself as well as he could to watch and see whether Djaisiuk would be able to do what he had promised to attempt. Kandryl firmly believed that Kiacyl would be safe in Djaisiuk's hands, should Djaisiuk choose to protect him. Djaisiuk had defeated Kandryl himself. Kandryl did not believe now that there was anything that Djaisiuk could not accomplish, if he truly wished it. And he had just done it.
Yes, Kiacyl would be safe. He would go to live among the Komislavians. They were a weak race, but they were pathetically kind. They were even kind to their enemies. It was true, Kandryl thought, that they may dislike Kiacyl at first for being a Vukasovian. They may even hate him for what his people had done to these twelve. But they would not kill him. They would probably not even mistreat him, no matter how intensely they disliked him. And, in time, Kandryl was sure that their pathetic, overwhelming desire to forgive everyone for any wrong committed would overcome their anger, and they would accept him.
Ever since they had left Earth to found a farming colony on Komislava, this people had been characterized by their illogical good-will towards everyone. They had grown, having now tamed and cultivated more than half of the planet. Their research had expanded and their technology had increased, yet they refused to research warfare. The only weapons which the Komislavians owned were for hunting, and only a few did that.
The people now called the Vukasovians had left Earth in search of new worlds to conquer. They had found Vukosava and had settled there. They had often tried to expand beyond their own planet, but the people of Earth, the watch-dog of the universe, would always step in to defend the underdog. It was enough to make one sick, Kandryl thought. Kandryl had always believed, as did all Vukasovians, that the Komislavians were too close to Vukosava to exist without being under Vukasovian rule. The Londarians had bent the knee to the Vukasovians several generations back and remained now very submissive to them. Komislava ought to do the same. Earth had no right to stand between Vukosava and Komislava. The fact that both races had the same origins carried no weight whatsoever with the Vukasovians. All who breathed lived to be conquered by them. But as long as Earth remained the most powerful planet, the Vukasovians had to content themselves with mere dreams of conquest. Kandryl sighed in disgust just thinking about it. Even so, he had to admit that he was, for the first time in his life, just a little glad of the fact that the Komislavians were safe from Vukasovian rule. Kiacyl would live there, and, as long as peace was sure, he would be safe. He would be a stranger. He would always be alone. But he would live. He would be safe.
When Djaisiuk had reached the scanner and the diplomat had begun to protest, Kandryl had experienced some of the strongest tension that he had ever felt in his life. He felt now that he had aged several years in the time that it took for Djaisiuk to move away from the scanner and up into the ship. That accursed chair certainly had moved slowly enough! But he was gone now. Kiacyl was aboard the ship; he was safe. The Vukasovian officer who had apparently been placed in charge of the repossession of the facility had entered the dock just after Djaisiuk had boarded. The pilot and navigator boarded the ship, carrying their equipment, as the medical chair and braces which had been used by Djaisiuk were brought out and delivered to one of the Vukasovian soldiers.
Now the diplomat was exchanging a few stiff and polite words with the Vukasovian officer. Now the diplomat was boarding the ship himself. The door was closing. The engines were starting. Now the ship was on its way. It had cleared the atmosphere. Now it was a quickly diminishing light in the dark sky. It was gone. Kandryl breathed another deep sigh of relief. Kiacyl was safe and would remain so. Nothing else mattered.
Hearing the sound of footsteps in the hall behind him, Kandryl tensed and turned. They were the sound of soldiers. They were still searching for him. Kandryl smiled. He had designed this base; he had built it. He knew every hall and passageway. The soldiers would find him soon enough, he knew, but he was not about to make it any easier for them than he must. Before slipping down another passageway, he glanced through the opening, quickly disappearing as the doors were being shut, through which the Komislavian ship had flown.
"Goodbye, Kiacyl," he whispered. "Farewell, my son."
Now that all of the boys were here, the diplomat asked for the boys to line up to be scanned before entering the ship. The boys immediately fell into line from oldest to youngest, as was customary, but there was a gap between Leil and Creole, for Djaisiuk did not move forward immediately. Eriane stepped out of line to come and assist him, but Djaisiuk motioned him away and moved slowly to the end of the line, Kiacyl keeping close behind him. Eriane looked at first as though he would insist on accompanying Djaisiuk, but Djaisiuk fixed him with a firm glance that seemed to communicate clearly his opinion of that idea.
The boys were scanned, one by one, and allowed to enter the ship. Each one went past the diplomat and pilot without difficulty. Eriane alone remained outside of the ship, watching for and ready to assist with any possible difficulty that Djaisiuk might have. At last Djaisiuk came to the scanner. It was only then that the diplomat seemed to notice Kiacyl. He frowned at Kiacyl in mild confusion and seemed about to speak as Djaisiuk carefully stretched out his right arm and placed his hand under the scanner.
"This is--" Djaisiuk began in a hoarse voice before the man could speak, but he cut himself off and paused. He grimaced from the pain that this caused in his lungs but soon continued. "This is my assistant," he said in a hoarse, weak voice, but in a tone that allowed no argument. "He need not be scanned."
"What?" asked the diplomat in surprise. "All must be scanned who intend to enter the ship; but that certainly does not apply to --"
"Sir," the pilot at the scanner interrupted.
The diplomat turned to the pilot and looked as the other pointed to the screen. He then frowned again in confusion. The navigator, still standing behind the two, leaned forward in curiosity and looked over the shoulder of the pilot. Immediately he raised his eyebrows and looked up at Djaisiuk in admiration.
Djaisiuk was well aware of what the three were now seeing: "Djaisiuk of the IC School. DO NOT QUESTION HIS ACTIONS. -- Taician". An order signed by the head of the school, embedded within his ID chip, informing all who cared to check that Djaisiuk's actions were not to be questioned. Should he choose to do something, anything, he had the authority of Taician, one of the highest authorities on Komislava, besides being the very highest within the IC School.
The diplomat and the pilot exchanged glances. They had both heard of Djaisiuk; everyone who worked in or with the IC School had heard of him, but neither of these two had ever met him. They had both been informed that he would be among the boys whom they had been sent to retrieve, but had not known until now which of the boys he would be. Now here he was. And it seemed that he was instructing them to disregard their own orders. He wanted to bring with them a Vukasovian! The boy was obviously not Komislavian. He couldn't have been with the twelve when they had been captured. Why would Djaisiuk want to do this? Wasn't it just what the Vukasovians had done with them? Would not this also be viewed as a case of kidnapping? There were Vukasovian soldiers in the room even now. Wouldn't they question if the Komislavians attempted to take thirteen rather than twelve boys aboard the ship?
"DO NOT QUESTION HIS ACTIONS. -- Taician" The diplomat licked his lips. He had his orders, but Djaisiuk's authority was on the same level as his own. Taician had sent him on this mission, and Taician had given him the specifics and directives. Seeing that they were mutually exclusive, the question seemed to be: which of Taician's orders should he now obey? He stood silently, staring at the screen, unsure of what to do.
Djaisiuk did not wait for him to decide. Suddenly, he withdrew his hand from the scanner. The screen went blank. The diplomat looked up, startled, but Djaisiuk merely turned away. He directed the invalid's chair slowly but purposefully towards the ship, and Kiacyl followed quickly beside him. Eriane, still waiting, had watched the proceeding in astonishment. The diplomat started to open his mouth as if he would, even now, call Djaisiuk back, but no sound came. Djaisiuk continued up the gangway, followed by Eriane, and disappeared into the ship, Kiacyl still at his side.
The Vukasovians in the room had not reacted. It was done.
The diplomat closed his mouth and swallowed. He then shook his head with a sigh, hoping that he would not be in too much trouble when they returned to Komislava. After all, Taician himself had issued the command that Djaisiuk was not to be questioned, and Djaisiuk had said that the Vukasovian boy was to accompany them. He shook his head again and turned back to help the pilot and navigator to disassemble the scanning equipment in preparation for departure.
* * * * * * *
From a far corner of the large docks, another sigh might have been heard, though it was carefully suppressed. Kandryl himself had carefully made his own way through the near deserted halls to the docks. Here he had hidden himself as well as he could to watch and see whether Djaisiuk would be able to do what he had promised to attempt. Kandryl firmly believed that Kiacyl would be safe in Djaisiuk's hands, should Djaisiuk choose to protect him. Djaisiuk had defeated Kandryl himself. Kandryl did not believe now that there was anything that Djaisiuk could not accomplish, if he truly wished it. And he had just done it.
Yes, Kiacyl would be safe. He would go to live among the Komislavians. They were a weak race, but they were pathetically kind. They were even kind to their enemies. It was true, Kandryl thought, that they may dislike Kiacyl at first for being a Vukasovian. They may even hate him for what his people had done to these twelve. But they would not kill him. They would probably not even mistreat him, no matter how intensely they disliked him. And, in time, Kandryl was sure that their pathetic, overwhelming desire to forgive everyone for any wrong committed would overcome their anger, and they would accept him.
Ever since they had left Earth to found a farming colony on Komislava, this people had been characterized by their illogical good-will towards everyone. They had grown, having now tamed and cultivated more than half of the planet. Their research had expanded and their technology had increased, yet they refused to research warfare. The only weapons which the Komislavians owned were for hunting, and only a few did that.
The people now called the Vukasovians had left Earth in search of new worlds to conquer. They had found Vukosava and had settled there. They had often tried to expand beyond their own planet, but the people of Earth, the watch-dog of the universe, would always step in to defend the underdog. It was enough to make one sick, Kandryl thought. Kandryl had always believed, as did all Vukasovians, that the Komislavians were too close to Vukosava to exist without being under Vukasovian rule. The Londarians had bent the knee to the Vukasovians several generations back and remained now very submissive to them. Komislava ought to do the same. Earth had no right to stand between Vukosava and Komislava. The fact that both races had the same origins carried no weight whatsoever with the Vukasovians. All who breathed lived to be conquered by them. But as long as Earth remained the most powerful planet, the Vukasovians had to content themselves with mere dreams of conquest. Kandryl sighed in disgust just thinking about it. Even so, he had to admit that he was, for the first time in his life, just a little glad of the fact that the Komislavians were safe from Vukasovian rule. Kiacyl would live there, and, as long as peace was sure, he would be safe. He would be a stranger. He would always be alone. But he would live. He would be safe.
When Djaisiuk had reached the scanner and the diplomat had begun to protest, Kandryl had experienced some of the strongest tension that he had ever felt in his life. He felt now that he had aged several years in the time that it took for Djaisiuk to move away from the scanner and up into the ship. That accursed chair certainly had moved slowly enough! But he was gone now. Kiacyl was aboard the ship; he was safe. The Vukasovian officer who had apparently been placed in charge of the repossession of the facility had entered the dock just after Djaisiuk had boarded. The pilot and navigator boarded the ship, carrying their equipment, as the medical chair and braces which had been used by Djaisiuk were brought out and delivered to one of the Vukasovian soldiers.
Now the diplomat was exchanging a few stiff and polite words with the Vukasovian officer. Now the diplomat was boarding the ship himself. The door was closing. The engines were starting. Now the ship was on its way. It had cleared the atmosphere. Now it was a quickly diminishing light in the dark sky. It was gone. Kandryl breathed another deep sigh of relief. Kiacyl was safe and would remain so. Nothing else mattered.
Hearing the sound of footsteps in the hall behind him, Kandryl tensed and turned. They were the sound of soldiers. They were still searching for him. Kandryl smiled. He had designed this base; he had built it. He knew every hall and passageway. The soldiers would find him soon enough, he knew, but he was not about to make it any easier for them than he must. Before slipping down another passageway, he glanced through the opening, quickly disappearing as the doors were being shut, through which the Komislavian ship had flown.
"Goodbye, Kiacyl," he whispered. "Farewell, my son."
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